Long Night

It was a hectic week, not lest because I have a presentation tomorrow morning and I'd not completed the slides.

I thought of skipping the Safra run tonight. But we had a corporate event in the afternoon, with a good buffet lunch and excellent homemade ice-cream. So I needed to run off the calories. I got to Safra late and did an easy slow run around Cantebury estate with Alber, trying to keep sight of the other runners. There was a new runner who was lost in the compounds so he followed us out of the loops onto Alexandra Road. I wanted to conserve my legs for the long run tomorrow evening, so I skipped the MF loop and went down HarbourFront instead. Did some crunches on the gym-ball after the run. Have to keep up the abs routine if I want to squeeze into my new CNY dress.

Shared a quick dinner with Linda at the Henderson market and had a Teh-C to get a caffeine boost. I had to rush back to continue working on my presentation slides. It was going to be a long night ahead.

Gym and Abs

The morning was not my day. My shoe strap, which was recently repaired, snapped in exactly the same spot on my way to the MRT station. My laptop hanged in the office, a new colleague moved in and was incessantly loud, and I nearly misplaced my beloved M-frames.

Needed a cardio-break today. Had been working out non-stop since last week. Stayed back in the office a little so could not make it for spin class anyway. I went to Safra gym to do some light weights - back, triceps and abs. I was trying to tone up my abs. Muffins seem to be appearing all round. :( Went on the gym-ball and did about 100 crunches, front and sides. Then I used a free weight and did some more side bends. Hmm.... the strategy didn't seem to be working, abs are still flabby. Sigh.

6x MF Loops

We had a discount today. No stairs because of the slippery steps from the rain. Instead Ong added an extra loop, so the target was 6 MF loops tonight. My right knee felt tight, I'm not sure if that was the ITB area. Not a good sign. I went down the slopes very cautiously, focusing on my upslope timing instead. I managed to keep around 4:30-4:40min consistently for the 6 upslopes. It probably was not fast. I experimented with different uphill running styles to see which felt easier or faster - lifting thighs higher, shuffling small steps using calf muscles, and so forth.

I managed to survive the 6 sets, and returned to the club for some stretching. I did some crunches on the gym-ball. I am hooked on the ball lately, in my attempt to get some abs and drop 1kg.

Mixed-terrain RPM

Monday's RPM class was a good one. Ali jigged the usual RPM routine and programmed 2 mixed-terrain tracks back to back, leaving the class in heavy panting and heaving. There was a guy on the bike next to me and another directly behind who were tracking their %max HR. I could see them clearly in the window reflection. We subconciously pitted our "speed" against one another via the reflections, trying to match or outdo the spinning cadence on the fast tracks. I felt such a healthy glow after the class, having maxed the workout.

Safra Tampines Location Run

I was deciding between going for Tampines Safra location run, or a Sundown Marathon familiarization run organized by the SGRunners. Tampines was organizing a 14km along the newly opened park connectors in the eastern side, which was also part of the Sundown route. It was probably more difficult to try that route on my own. So I went to Tampines early in the morning. It was a lively social run with many Safra runners. Many took the chance to chat with fellow runners along the way.

The route went past Bedok Reservoir and across the PIE to the park connectors towards Kembagan and Siglap. We stopped at several key junctions for the big group to gather and take photos. The multiple stops made the 14km feel like a tempo run. At the u-turn point at Kembagan, a few Tampines runners set up a water station to supply chocolate-flavoured Endurox to the group. It tasted sort of like diluted Milo.

After the run, Sam conducted a cool down stretching session. A group of us then followed Adam, our F&B manager, to a nearby hawker centre for yummilicious braised pork ribs noodles. Excellent!

Gear Shopping

I had decided that this week would be my recovery week, ie. no long runs, after the KL race last weekend. Curbing my temptation to head off to Macritchie for a run, I went for a spin and pump class instead. I drove my new Little Greenie to the gym and parked it for 3h. The ensuing parking charges gave my heart a harder workout than the classes - $11! My eyes blinked double as the fees flashed across the display and my cashcard beeped at the exit. Ouch. Ok, it was going to be better carpark planning henceforth. Not to mention cheap cheap lunches for the month.

After class, I went to Sam and Eddie's new showroom openhouse to check out the gear that they carried. There were a couple of items on super marked down prices, and I bought 2 pairs of Pearl Izumi tri tights for $45 each. The original price was $129! What a steal. They would come in handy for the Sabah race. :) Since I was in the eastern area, I popped by Cycle Craft to get a bike pump - the tall standing type. Viki recommended a particular model for roadies, and a customer beside me ayed in agreement. I hoped the new pump would be able to hit high pressures without me having to jump up and down on the handle bar, trying to push the air through!

Recovery Run

Our first Safra run for the week after the KL Pacesetter. We were doing a 12km recovery run around Kent Ridge Park and back. I arrived at Safra late because we were in the midst of packing our office cubicles for the big move tomorrow to our new floor. Goodbye spacious window prime real estate seat. Hello teeny weeny cube.

By the time I changed into my running gear, the group had already set off. It was a cool night for a run, after the heavy downpour in the afternoon. I was wearing my slippery Pearl Izumi Synchro Pace so I ran very carefully on the wet paths. Alber did a slow jog with me, chatting along the way.

After the run, I met KC and Dom to discuss our race logistics. Amongst other race gear, I had to find a MTB for the Sabah race. We would probably sign up for the less extreme category so that we could enjoy our first adventure race together, without killing ourselves or one another. The race sounded fun, but the training commitment seemed high in view of my other races.