FatBird weekend run @ MacRitchie

A ad-hoc, last-minute run at MR was planned for Saturday after considering the need to burn off CNY excesses, and the flurry of activities this weekend. Due to the short notice, 12 came for the 20km MR25 Progressive Run route familiarization - Stardust, HophIng, David, Bug, SealBoon, kok san, Ang, YN, Spencer, Cheow, Soloman and myself. Ah Beng and Suan came early to deliver bananas...thanks. Bumped into the Too Family and one or two other running groups doing their weekend LSDs.

The weather was cool and windy, as we started off towards the Northern Trails. The pace was pretty quick at the start, and we exited in 23min. Up the SICC chunky slopes we went, and soon we could hear some panting amongst us...hehe. The golf course along the Reservoir side was clear this morning, and we enjoyed the nice quiet and scenery as we ran as a group. Soloman and I took a quick water break at UPR toilet, while the rest continued. We played catch-up along aircond road, as the newbies soaked in the sights.

There were quite a number of people doing their rounds of walks, jogs and runs. We said 'hi' to the runners and strollers as we ran past, and they too smiled back with acknowledgement. I was perpiring profusely as we tackled the slopes at UPR. The group reached the Main Gate to OUTR in 53min (9.7km mark). I picked up the pace slightly on the return, and had good fun running hard up the slopes with Soloman, Cheow and DO. YN was very strong throughout, and was the only sole gal running in the group...*woot*.

I did not have my fuel belt with me this morning; had to take another quick water break at the UPR toilet. We continued on across the bridge, flanked by huge expanse of water and greenery on each side. It was 'carbo-burning' time up those SICC slopes yet again, before we turned towards the Pump House leading to the Ranger Station. DO took the Northern Trail back, while the rest of US went via Sime Trail. I could feel the rocks beneath my Lunar Racer, but Managed to maintain my nimble stance with the shoes' flex. Kok San was getting a hard workout, and was keeping up very well. YN and SealBoon were as usual cool as cucumbers. Ang, Soloman and Cheow were having a field day right in front.

Out of Sime Trail, past Jelutong Tower, onto the wooden bridge, and then along the other side of SICC to the 'Tree Roots' area. I showed Spencer, YN and KokSan the tarmac path around the roots area, and we managed to emerge at the exercise area. With just 2.5km left, we picked up the pace, conquered the final 2 slopes, and reached back to the carpark in 2hr2min. The bananas came in handy for recovery. We washed up before proceeding to Adam Food Centre for makan....lots of chats and laughter....discussions centred on the Project Night Hawk - Sundown Marathon Training Program, KL and Phuket Marathons. Lots of interesting races coming up, and we have to embark on regular training sessions soon :)

Distance: 20.3km XC__Time: 2hr2min__Pace: 6:01min/km

Scenes from Hong Bao i-RUN

Hong Bao i-RUN Slideshow, courtesy FatBird Jancy

River Hong Bao i-RUN 2009

Lunar New Year Runs

Saturday
Organized a pre-CNY run for Team FatBird and frenz on Saturday morning. Good weather, nice turnout of 22 runners....many were back from SCSM08 to start up again. Met many other groups like David Tay's, too family, sgrunners, wee, all out ramping up their mileage. FatBirdz & Frenz were chatting about upcoming Sundown preparations, and egging one another to go for it...seems like we will have to prepare for more regular runs.

That morning was not my day....I was hit so bad by diarrhoea, and lost so much water, that I hit the 'wall' at the 10km mark....my legs felt like jelly, and I was reduced to walking 1km, running 200m....the worst feeling I have felt in a long time...

Thanks to the group for waiting for me patiently, and showing concern....apologies I could not join you all for the sumptuous makan, as my stomach was churning real bad...I felt slightly better now (at home), but still feeling weak.....it is not any of the CNY cookies/bak kwa as my family all seem fine....hope I recover in time for the big reunion meal tomorrow...all said, a good run for the whole group....cya all at the River Hong-Bao i-RUN next Thursday (Jan29)...cheers!


Monday
The weather was immaculate on the first day of New Year. Slept till late from the late night movies, and started off at about 10.30am. I had on my OX-picious red FatBird top to welcome the new year. There were 2-3 runners on the roads while lots more people in red were moving into the estates to 'Pai Nian'. I felt better this morning, and was happy to be burning off some of the excesses from the previous night's feasting. Bev did a shorter 7km run, while I completed the 10.5km distance. The final 3km was a tad hot with the mid-day sun emerging. I had a few good thoughts about some of the running plans I have for the coming year, and I hope for more BULL-ish happenings for me and Team FatBird.


Tuesday
It had been 2 full days of eating and indulging. Our tummies felt quite bloated, and there was this pent up energy. After getting home, and watching a little TV, we decided to go for a run to burn off the pent-up energy. The weather was windy and cool. We started off at about 10.15pm and finished the whole run in 55min. The pace was fast for her....as she wanted to be near me at that time of the night. She was strong, and I was enjoying the steady pace. I felt much better after the run, lighter tummy....but then, I went on to chomp on more CNY goodies and bak kwa, and watched more TV into the wee hours of the morning....what a nice relaxing holiday...hehe

Happy Lunar New Year 2009

Pacesetters GE30km 2009

Team FatBird & Frenz @ Finish Point

The SAFRA MF Gang

This was to be my 3rd Pacesetters GE30km race, and I have participated since the inaugural one in 2007. There have been rumours of a more challenging route this year, and I spent some time allaying the fears of those first-time 30km runners whom I have jio-ed for this run. A group of FatBirds have been preparing themselves for this run a few months back.

I arranged to drive up to KL with the SAFRA MF gang. Learning from our experience last year where we traveled at night, this year we decided to leave early Saturday morning instead. Adam with Alber, PS and Yean in one car, Eddie and family with Sumiko and bf and Karen in another, while me, Bev and DO followed in a 3rd car. The journey was smooth and we arrived at Hotel Coronade at 10.50am Saturday. After checking in, we immediately headed to Jalan Imbi for delicious Bak-Kut-Teh and Fish-head.

Since we were early, we went for some walking about the nearby shopping area, ate nice egg-tarts, before proceeding back to the Hotel to meet the FatBirds and SAFRA group for dinner at Jalan Alor. We had a sumptuous tze-char dinner at the usual stall, and met up with Alan Chao and a whole bunch of MF Runners. The Rainbow LOLO stall had unfortunately closed, and we could not satisfy our craving. We went on to San Francisco Cafe for our coffee, and some nice chats. IMD had kindly collected our race pack and had them delivered to the Hotel, and paid for our deposit for the Championchip....what a swell chap!

There was supposed to be a Championchip mat at the start point, but we did not see any. Instead, it was a late start at 6.15am, and soon we came up close with the initial slopes. I had told Bev, Terry and the rest to take a conservative approach at first. My tummy was still stuffed with all the good food from the previous day, and I could hardly wait to 'lose' them on the hills and slopes. The first 10km was pleasantly 'not-that-hilly' as I settled into a 5:18min/km pace. I traded places with a few familiar faces, notably Julie, before being overtaken by her....she was blazing away.

I felt good, and was busy watching my legs on the numerous down-slopes....too many of them, and some were steep. As the sky brightened, I plodded along at the constant pace. The distance markers were clearly missing, and I was fortunate to have my Garmin 405 to inform of the distance and pace. As I entered Sri Hartamas, I kept to a cautious stance. It was pretty smooth for me that morning as I meandered along the rolling slopes. I could see the Kenyans blazing in the reverse, and a distance away, spotted Tobias running back. I focused on moving forward, and did not wave to too many people as I wanted to conserve myself. By the 16km mark, I was overtaking some of the tiring runners.

On the way out, I felt much stronger, and relished the slight down slopes. Finally spotted Beverly and we waved to one another with encouraging claps. I increased the pace after 20km, and overtook a lot more runners. I went by Julie, Rhoda, and finally Prata at the last 5km. I felt good aerobically, but I was a little concerned about my legs getting bashed by the down slopes. I maintained a reasonably safe pace, and completed the 30km run in 2hr35min. Checking back, that is a good 11min better than my 2008 timing....not bad, considering that I felt much better this time too :) After collecting the very nice finisher's medal, and dri-fit finisher's T, I went for the chendol first. It was refreshing and yummy. I went back to the end point to welcome the rest of the runners in.

Cheerful FatBirds @ GE30km

A lot of the SAFRA and i-Runners also improved their timings. Leslie came in first in the Women's Open, Julie second, and Colleen came in fifth. YN was in 6th, just a minute behind...so 'sayang'. Benny did a respectable 3hr03min, Terry came in 3hr20min....wow, and Beverly conquered her maiden 30km in 3hr22min....outstanding performances by FatBirds. The other SAFRA Runners did very well too.

The TRYathletes

I went for more food and iced-milo. Lots of chats and photos followed, before we proceeded back to Hotel for a good wash-up, and then for very shiok Jln Alor Char-Siew noodles. The drive back to Singapore was relaxing, and we even had time for a mid-stop for ice-cream waffle. Overall a very nice trip and run, and I look forward to the next Pacesetters GE30km. The extra 1kg from all the food had stayed with me till now....haiz :(

Location Run @ SAFRA Yishun

It has been a year since SAFRA Yishun Running Club kick-started with a Location Run...how time flies. This Sunday, I was back again to join the 100+ runners from the various SAFRA Running Club branches to do a scenic 16km run from the Yishun ClubHouse. Many new members turned up, and the weather was real windy and cool.

Met with many many kakis and running mates....that is what I love about such group gatherings and runs. We ran along the Park Connector and then loop around the Bottle Tree Village. I had some good sharing and discussions about the recent FatBird Marathon Pacing effort as well as my Korea Marathon conquests.

After the run and a good round of stretching, there was breakfast of bee hoon with sausage and sunny-side up. Nice morning run, chatting with all, and I look forward to meeting many more in the running community at this coming weekend's GE30km in KL.

Base building for 2009

Hello FatBirds & friends,

The local running calendar in 2009 looks set to be another exciting one, from the 2nd rendition of the Sundown Ultra-Marathon to the SCKL Marathon in June and of course the year-end SCSM, interspersed with many intermediate-distance events like the NewtonActive Run, Shape Run, Human Race Run, AHM, et al.

To prepare runners (especially the new ones) for some of these events, we are exploring the possibility of getting together for weekly base training workouts of briskwalk-jog-run on weekends eg. Friday evenings, Sat mornings at ECP, Sunday morning LSDs at various locations islandwide. Those who are keen to join in please keep a lookout for announcements and discussions in Team FatBird's facebook or in the BLOG.

I am looking forward to yet another exciting year of runs and fellowship.

Cheers!
FatBird Anthony

MR25 (10km) Progressive Run 2009

The first timed run of the year to usher in 2009 at MacRitchie this Sunday. Another good turnout, many from SgRunners and Team FatBird, keen to try out this much heard about MR25 Progressive Run Series. I was there to put in my quota for this year just in case I am tied down with other race and training commitments later in the year.

Choosing to preserve the Lunar Racer for less rocky terrain, I decided to put on my near-retirement Katana IV for this relative short distance. The shoe still runs well, and it is so light with sufficient cushion...hmm...how I wish I can get another pair similar to this. With the opening of the Sime Trail, the 10km route this year is a loop (as opposed to last year's to/fro Northern Route) coming back via Lornie Road.

I started off relatively easy, choosing to conserve and get warmed up along Northern Route. Got overtaken by the usual speed demons, but I was happy to glide along and not over-stride. The breathing was ok, and the cool, cloudy weather helped. I was out of Northern Route in 18min+...hmm, slightly faster than the usual 19min+. I was surprised there were no water points this time, and I continued up the slope to Pump House.

The rocky trails at Sime Trail posed only a light challenge to the Katana IV....mid-foot cushion and flexibility was good. Traded places with a few MR25 regulars, and by the tree-roots area, spotted acidburn, Ultra, kk, Darren along the way. By the time I hit Lornie Road, it was just 2km+ to finish. I closed the gap with Ultra who was relaxing, until I passed him. He was motivated again, and we ran side-side all the way to the finish in quite a good pace...shiokz. We finished in 49min+, and then spent some time to cheer and guide the familiar faces in. Yamsong, Kopibaby, YN, Charmane, Sleek, Ah Beng, renoh all did very well, and have the potential to go even faster.

Individual & Group Photos, courtesy SteveChoo of MR25, BoSe of SgRunners

After the race, we went on to do a recce of the 5km Time-Trial route. The team will have having a number of runners joining in the MR25 TT in Feb09...wishing them all the best, and I know they will qualify in good form. After a quick wash-up, it was off to the meeting-point (Adam Food Centre) for dishings of the famous fare....lots of chats and laughter to top a very nice run outing. Till the next Progressive Run (15km) in March :)

Distance: 10km XC__Time: 49:30min__Pace: 4:58min/km