Overslept!

We totally overslept for the run this morning. 8am run. 8am woke up. Uh oh... Informed the guys to go ahead, while I rushed down to MR.

Managed to run 2 loops, in a bit of a struggle. Could not fathom the thought of finishing 50km, fast, in an even more unforgiving terrain. Arrgh....

Sputtering Ride

We tried a different route to Mandai today. I brought the guys from my house to BB East Ave 6, Ave 8, out to BB Road and to 10-mile Junction.

Distance from the revised route to Mandai Shell = 12.5km
It was a nicer route than Upp BT because we had a relatively flat & fast stretch along BB Road. The other section with heavy traffic was into Choa Chu Kang, just before 10-mile Junction.

We did 2 loops in Mandai - 26km each.

Then we retraced the same way back. Alas some stretches were wet, the aftermath of rain. And one particular are along the residential CCK estates, the rain came down rather hard, with buses splashing water all over us. But when we reached BB, it was clear skies!

We rode directly to Rodalink to tune the guys' bikes. Total distance approx 78km.

I think we will take a while more to build up the mileage to 100 and beyond.

The Rainbow Run

I did an easy run tonight. Our training route was 11km, a rare break! I decided to give my legs a rest after the past 2 days of hill & track. Along the way at Tanglin/ Alexandra, we sighted a large & brilliant rainbow. Its arc was so wide and full, it was gorgeous! Of course there was no pot of gold at the end. Or I was too slow & missed it. Post-run, I gathered from the many Facebook postings that the same rainbow had been sighted all over the island by several runner-friends. How beautiful!

Good Track

First class of Strides tonight. I had a good track workout, probably because it was the first class.

Coach said "introductory" today.

Drills - 4 sets:
Jumping jacks x20 of 4 counts
Push-ups x12
Leg raise x2 of 30sec
Plank x2 of 30sec

Run. This semester we will be focusing more on distance and pace, in preparation of the year end marathon... even though I am not taking part.

For our group, we were to run 3 sets of: 400m @ 3min, 800m @ 6min, 1600m @ 12min. ie, run + recovery within the stated time. I was able to keep a consistent pace and still breathe. For unknown reasons, my legs felt rather fresh and strong tonight.

1st set:
400 - 1:38min
800 - 3:51min
1600 - 8:13min

2nd set: 1:34; 3:50; 8:12

3rd set: 1:40; 3:55; 8:07

Approx 5min pace I think.

Labrador Hills - That Wobbly Feeling

That unfamiliar wobbly feeling. Long lost and relived tonight. We ran loops at Labrador Hills, in an counter-clockwise direction. Because Jimmy claimed that there were 3 dogs somewhere along the route, though I did not understand how reversing the direction would make the dogs 'disappear'. The counter-directional route had a shorter but steeper slope vs our usual gradual but long slope.

45min OTOT. My pacing was all wrong, went out fast and slowed by about 20sec per subsequent set. I managed to finish 5 sets - 7:42min, 8:23, 8:44, 9:04, 9:02, 9:00. My legs felt like jelly after that, and I was totally drenched. A very unfamiliar sensation. Then we jogged back to club, up the Henderson slope where my legs really died.

I had some pain on my left ankle/ heel. Could not tip-toe and support my weight. Something felt locked. Ouch.

Swim Re-acquainted

First day of swim class. I might have forgotten how to swim. Coach wasted no time in re-acquainting everyone with the water. Drills and drills to warm up.

Then 200m - 100m fast, 100m easy. He gave us a target of 2:05min + 3:30min. 5 sets, plus 100m sprint. Ahh, we missed the first target right from the first set. Oops.

200m - 5:03min, 5:07, 5:16, 5:17, 5:20
100m - 2:29

Followed by 5x 100m in 3min - 2:27, 2:33, 2:33, 2:40, 2:34

5x 50m 'sprint' - 1:07, 1:16, 1:18, 1:20, 1:09 (and I thought I was going fast...)

4min treading water

Yeah! Felt good to be back in the water.

Mud Pool

Ran with Lai Chee at MR this morning. The heavy rain yesterday left us a muddy playground and we splished splashed our way through. It was a nice easy run, at conversational pace. We chatted throughout the run. LC was on a recovery run, and I was fresh from not having done anything in the week!

The path from MR towards Rifle Range was closed for renovation until 5-Nov. Hmm... did that mean that TNF race might have a slight change in route? We detoured and went up part of the Treetop walk wooden bridge to rejoin the mud path. It became really muddy when we went towards Zhenghua. No choice, had to step right into the mud puddles. There were many MTB cyclists gathered around Zhenghua Park. It was really impressive to see them handle their bicycles over the obstacle-laden trails (obstacles to me...).

LC's Garmin beeped reminders every km. We carried on back to MR, this time turning into the reservoir after the pipe-drain (instead of the wooden bridge). Still chatting. We finished our run approx 23km, and saw Sok Hwa and Teacher Lee in the carpark. It was a good run in a superb cool weather. Ahhh.... Enjoyable.