Fast 1st Hour

I thought I should redeem myself from the incomplete Dusty Run on Fri-Sat. There was a good number of runners at Safra this morning. Ricci, Freddy and Aik Hock (SGRunner Ultraman) were there, still looking fresh after the super long Dusty Run. Today's route was 18km from Safra to Zouk, Robertson Quay, Fort Canning Hill, Esplanade and back via Shenton Way, Harbourfront and Henderson.

We started off at an easy pace. I was conservative, mindful of my hip ITB. I had been trying to recall when and how I had injure myself, but it was probably an accumulative thing. Perhaps it meant resuming my routine massages. I had not been going as often as I did last year, despite higher mileages this year. Seemed like a recipe for trouble.

Ricci, Freddy and Aik Hock were surely taking things easy. If I could keep them within sight and even draft them at various points, they must be doing a relaxed recovery pace - though it was hardly relaxing for me! No idea why but I felt very energized and strong this morning, so I sped up and tried to stick close to them. AH had a relaxed posture and gait. I kept observing from behind. Small shuffle steps, knees hardly lifting. That seemed similar to my style. I knew I was going hard because I was panting. I had no idea how long I could sustain that pace, it was faster than my regular, and I was in the front pack. Of course all the other runners behind could easily overtake me once their engines started. It stayed that way for an entire hour. I followed the 3 guys up Fort Canning. Every step upslope came with a psychological hesitation. Slopes triggered off ITB. I chose to err on caution and moderated my pace on the slopes. Especially on the way down.

We stopped for a water break. An Australian runner joined us for a short stretch. He was staying at a nearby hotel and was flying back that evening. Tall and lanky, his strides easily doubled mine. Anyhow, I was too focused on keeping up with Freddy and AH to bother with social conversation. At some instances when my concentration wavered, I tried to keep cadence with AH's steps. We passed Boat Quay and reached Esplanade in 1h. The drafting and pacing came to an end after an hour's hard run. I usually took longer to cover the distance during our evening runs.

After a break, we made our way back to Safra. I could not resume the earlier pace but was happy to go slow. I was happy for that one hour of great run, I felt redeemed. Not just for the Dusty Run, but the many weeks of self-doubt. :)