Sunday LSD at MF

The legs felt ok after Blink Blink Run on Friday night....thats the good thing about running at a more measured pace. This morning's turnout at SAFRA MF was really small, likely due to the fact that there weren't any upcoming races for most of the runners. Trainer Jimmy Chow came after DO and I arrived, then Alex, Raymond, Colleen and one more runner (let's call him Katana for now) cos he wore the same Nike Katana IV as me today...haha.

My plan was to do a slow LSD, and I had my mini-MP3 player to entertain me. I brought along my new sweatband for a test run too. Thr group started at 7.30am, and proceeded towards Botanic Gardens, along Tiong Bahru, Delta Canal and Ripley Park. The morning weather was cool, with heavy cloud cover. The radio from my MP3 was pretty clear along the canal. I switched to my favourite playlist once I hit Ripley area. I was running just behind the group most of the way, enjoying the music and scenery.

There were lots of runners and qi gong practitioners in Botanic Gardens...a hive of activity. We took a water break at the usual BG toilet, and proceeded along Farrer Road, Holland Road and towards Ulu Pandan. Our small group was still running cohesively, at possibly a tad over 6min/km pace. It was still too fast for Sundown 84km, but was bearable for a 30-40km run. Colleen, David and Jimmy were mainly leading the pack. We ran along Clementi Road, into NUS and made a final pit stop at NUS Guild House. From there, it was a steady slope climb along Prince George's Park....the sun was out slightly, but the pace we were doing allowed us to go pretty steady.

All reached the top of PGP effortlessly. My Bee Gees compilation had ended, and I switched back to FM Radio. The reception along Buona Vista (99 turns) wasn't that good, possibly because of the thick foliage. Out onto Pasir Panjang Road, we increased pace slightly. I announced to everyone's delight that we had been on the road for 2.5hrs. With about 5km to go, we moved into cruise mode, chugging along nicely.

On the final turn up Henderson Rd, we kicked into slightly higher gear, and finished the run in about 3hr10min. Based on footpod and timing, we estimated the distance covered to be about 26-27km. Not a bad Sunday morning run, especially when all still felt rather fresh. All adjourned to Ah Kun for nice kopi, toast and eggs, discussing about the top article in Runners World, The Best Food For Runners :)

Distance: 26km__Time: 3hr10min__Avg Pace: 6:30min/km