Sort-of Birthday Run

Birthday Saturday

I turned a year older. My dear friend, Lee, said older but better. :) I had grand plans to do a birthday long run, but did not manage to wake up in the morning. Oops. In the afternoon, Alvin and I drove to JB to eat and pamper ourselves with facials and hair cuts. I rebonded my hair, and the stylist told me not wash it for 3 days. That's an impossibility given that I was due for a morning run in 10hrs!

Sunday Run

This morning Safra planned a 25km run from clubhouse to Marina South Pier, and ending with 2 loops up in Mt Faber. It was a humid day and I could not tie my hair due to the rebonding. It was hot, hot, hot. I started off the run with a relatively fast pace and light legs. That felt good given the very dismal week I had. At some points, I was even running alongside KK, but fell behind after we crossed into Marina South area. Today I deliberately weaned myself off my trusty Endurance drink and used plain water instead for the run. I wondered how long I can sustain the pace with water. I stopped for a refill at the Pier while Julie ran ahead, speeding up in her usual fashion. I definitely cannot run like her, I think I'm deprived of any fast-twitch muscles and have no explosive power whatsoever!

I took along a Clif-shot gel (Orange Cream) after coming out from Prince Edward Rd. It was the first time I'm trying the gel - it tasted like the Fruitella soft-chewy candy that we used to eat when we were young. Alber, Heng and I ran together out of Marina South and back to Kg Bahru, and then the two guys fell behind. I went up the steep MF hill, and was beginning to feel the strain from the upslope. There were 4 roadies training on the MF loops. After we crossed a couple of times, we started saying hi and giving thumbs-up to encourage one another. It certainly brightens the day when fellow runners or cyclists smile at and encourage one another along the way. A simple flash of smile or thumbs-up sends positive vibes for the tired bodies. I finished another pack of Gu-gel (Choc) before returning to clubhouse. I took 3h to finish the run, and it definitely felt >25km. My conclusion - Powergel works for me, the other gels simply could not match the "kick" of Powergel. After the run, Jaime and Ong gave me a Sugoi tri-tank top as a present. :) It was white with red prints and fitted me perfectly. Lovely!

In the afternoon, Alber came over to help wash the bicycles which had been left uncleaned since last week's Powerman race. I was increasingly getting agitated at the thought of my dear bicycle being caked in dirt for so long. It was a funny sight, two grown-ups each squatting by our respective darling bicycles and slaving over them. Degreasing, rinsing, hairdryer blow-drying, lubricating and pampering the bicycles. I always get a kick out of seeing the chains expel black dirt after degreasing, and then seeing water droplets scurrying out of screws and bolts from the hairdryer blasts. The last stage was to lub the chains link by link, as well as my cleats and pedals. Ah, inner calm restored.