Dusty Run

A long overnight run tonight. 55km Dusty Run. The turnout was good, about 30 odd runners gathered at the NTU SRC carpark in anticipation of interesting training run. Many were taking part in the Sundown Ultra - why else would we sacrifice a Friday night to do a crazy run like that? :) The full route was pretty much my cycling training route in the past. It was a good riding route for its many straight stretches on wide roads with little traffic or civilization. But those very reasons made it a very demoralizing and mental run. I was on 2 wheels then, instead of 2 legs now.

I slept very little the night before. Crashing out some presentation slides. Sigh. Thankfully (Or perhaps not so) that the run was starting at 10pm. Managed to get home early and sneaked in a 2h nap before dinner and the run. I decided to try my new Succeed energy drink for the run. It claimed to be good for workouts lasting more than 3h.

We started off with a loop inside NTU. It was my first time running within the campus and on unfamiliar territory. NTU had a much larger compound and more rolling hills than NUS. We stayed close together as a group at a very slow starting pace so that people would not get lost in NTU. Then we headed out to Jln Bahar and Lim Chu Kang cemetery stretch. Runners began to space out along the long straight road. Deja vu as I recalled the many 6km loops I rode - about 3km from start of traffic light to the next light. It was boring to ride, let alone run. The path seemed never-ending. "U-turn at the next traffic light", faster runners on the opposite road called out. A simple instruction which took forever to materialize.

Anthony, DO, Jancy and some others were practising their 30:5 run:walk strategy. Alber and I began with 60:5 instead. The group comprised fast runners to begin with, so they were quickly ahead of me despite more stops. Perhaps starting off with the Nanyang slopes without sufficient warm-up irritated my hip ITB. I had to constantly stretch and 'hammer' at it every 45min. Had to keep it soothed and not let it flare up like the previous night long run.

We reached NTU again and headed off towards Pioneer Rd North. Just past the Nanyang Community Club was a coffeeshop where we took a drink & toilet break. Then we continued to Jurong Hill near the Bird Park. Melvin started walking back at the junction of Pioneer Rd because of his knee ITB. We reached Jurong Hill and took some photos. Wow, I did not know such a place existed. There was even a Japanese Teppanyaki restaurant atop the viewing tower! The expansive view in the background was that of Jurong Island, unblocked but nothing scenic. A newfound location nonetheless.

We left the hill to go on a totally demoralizing stretch of industrial along Jurong Pier and Jln Buroh. Totally. By then I had shifted downgear to a 30:5 pacing. There was zero civilization except for a couple of night shift workers and a petrol kiosk, where we stopped for drinks. I paused to stretch very often along the roads. If one day you were to spot a dark figure by the roadside trying to execute a standing cross-legged lean-to-one-side bend, that would be me. Oh what the heck.

Finally the familiar bridges leading to Pandan Reservoir appeared. I was awake, yet felt very tired. My legs were so heavy, my running form was quite non-existent. Jancy turned back to look for Vincent. She later headed back to NTU due to a knee pain. I jogged with Mohan for a short stretch along Pandan Reservoir. The wafts of freshly baked Gardenia bread assailed our noses in the pre-dawn morning. Mmmm...... Deep breaths. Mohan asked how far it was to the next check point and I told him about 2-3km to reach West Coast Park McDonalds.

Alas I did not reach Mc. By the time I reached the flats near my old house along West Coast Highway, just 1km from Mc, Alber and I decided to end the run and head back to NTU. I probably walked and stretched more than I ran, and it was pointless to continue. We cut through the flats and flagged a cab. A number of runners were already prematurely back at NTU when we reached - Benny, Jancy, Mohan and some others. I took a quick shower (there was hot water!) and left for a quick breakfast. It was past 4am when we drove away, and saw Ricci and Freddy running back around Jurong West area. Wow, power! They looked like they were still going strong. I reached home around 530am, washed up, stretched and stretched, and hit the bed by 6am. I was totally knocked out until 2pm the next day.

It was a good experience doing long runs at night. Not only did the body have to deal with the usual stresses of long distance, it also had to combat fatigue and sleepiness. Double whammy effort!