Saturday night. I was late the familiarization run. 815pm. I drove along the road towards Carpark 1 and saw runners spread out along the PCN. Oops. 8.25pm. I spent some time trying to get a lot at CP1 before meeting up with Eddie. Henry & Ben were there at the organizer's pavilion beckoning us to start running quickly. Henry even offered to drive us to intercept with the runners! :)
Alber and Eddie paced each other while I slowly hummed along behind. Today we should attempt the actual Sundown 42km route. I had done most sections of the route, but not in its entirety. The Coastal PCN was very mental, easily 10km of the same scenery - ie. nothing much. The lamps along the PCN were unlit, relying instead on the roadside street lamps on Coastal Rd that ran in parallel to the path. There were many night cyclists and roller-bladers along the PCN, and many times we were squinting to see one another from the opposite direction. Those on wheels often occupied more than two-thirds of the lane too without the courtesy to keep to one side. It was such an accident prone stretch, I hope NParks would turn on the lamps on the actual race day.
To kill my mental bordom, I started counting the number of planes that took off. Many were SQ flights, I wonder what exotic destinations they were headed for and adventures that awaited. Very slowly we turned towards East Coast PCN. This newly opened stretch of PCN was worth the exploration. To my mind, the most trying stretches were the Coastal (start) and Loyang (end) PCN. For the ultra-participants, it was good that Coastal came first while we were fresh, but it also meant the 40-50km would be a torture. The Loyang stretch meant a painful end of the 1st round, but it would be somewhat easier as the 2nd round drew to a finish. So there was no way of escaping the 'pains' of either PCN.
We finally reached the water point at ECP, and was horrified to learn that it was only the 17.5km mark! Horrors! For the amount of time I took to reach there. Oh crumbs. Topped up my bottle with the Endurance drink - hey, I was holding the same drink! - and continued to Big Splash. The route was changed apparently. There was an extension to Big Splash instead of crossing the bridge straightaway to Siglap. Felt quite down and started strolling on the u-turn. When I reached the water point again, Eddie was making plans for "evacuation" transport! I was also feeling down and that seemed like an attractive option. Haha. But I'd not be able to forgive myself for quitting now. So Alber and I jio-ed him to do another 10km with us. We proceeded to Siglap with Jancy, Vincent, and Stardust.
Maybe it was the sip of Gu-gel that I took. The caffeine, oh yes mighty caffeine. I felt perked after crossing the bridge and was able to pick up speed along the Siglap PCN. Alas I had to stop at the Kembangan MRT to wait for Eddie. Motioned for Alber to follow the rest as I knew the way. After a few traffic lights and still no sight of Eddie, I decided to move on. I ran alone through the quiet estates, crossed another bridge towards Bedok. Low and moody. Walked and jogged. Reached a toilet area and was surprised to see a water point there. The group was there. One SGRunner had volunteered to set up a support shop there - 100plus, bananas etc. Thanks for the effort!
We set off for Bedok Reservoir. The route was different from the previous times I did it. Apparently it was revised to avoid a construction area near the condominiums, hence the earlier Big Splash extension. Luckily Stardust knew the way and I just followed. We cut through Blk 710 and crossed the traffic lights at Blk 714 into Bedok Reservoir. There were 2 runners there asking us for directions. We all ran along the west (left) bank to a new and totally dark carpark, cut through to the main road, and turned right along Tampines Ave 10. At the traffic junction, turn right again to Tampines Ave 9. (After the event, we learnt that many runners had gotten lost around the Reservoir area and did not know how to get to the Tampines PCN.)
Ah, now I knew the way. Tampines Ave 9 was along the MTB trail and the coastal PCN that I receed a few weeks ago. :) We jogged towards the Esso kiosk along Ave 9. We were about 10km away from the end point. Just 10km, I could persevere. I felt a very mild tightness in my left hip. I stopped to do stretch both hips and was alarmed to feel the same ITB sensation on both sides. Panic. Deja vu flashback of how I probably ignored warning signs on my right side causing the subsequent inflammation. I stopped immediately and decided to bail out. Even though there was no real pain, the last thing I needed was ITB strains on both hips! There were cabs aplenty. Along Loyang, I was spotted many runners strolling and very slowly finishing the last few kms of the run. Way to go!
I think I'm not very cut out for night runs. Haha. I need my sleep cycle..... Whereas Alber seemed to get faster and faster as the night progresses. He was still full of energy after finishing the 42km and could prance about! Very demoralizingly, it was my 3rd DNF for night runs.....
Grin and bear with it. Save to train another day, Live to run another race. :) We went to gobble up nasi lemak at the Changi Village market.
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