Chicago is not called the "Windy City" for nothing. Despite temperatures of 15-18 degC, the wind chill factors were enough to cut through my micro-fleece (lesson: research more on the place before packing), which was the only warm jacket that I brought. I was ignorant of the 'wind' until I arrived. Brilliant...
So after a few days enjoying the cool weather, I was back and blasted by the heat in Singapore.
Did a short recovery run on Tues morning, like 50min up and down Rifle Range Road. Legs started off light, then became weights after 30min.
Went down to Safra and ran around Canterbury with Alber on Thurs, about 12km. Ok, decent.
On Saturday, I tried out my brand new TNF shoes (I will blog about that separately). Felt in form and aided by the cool weather, I went from BT-MR-Zhenghua-DairyFarm MTB route. It was about 26 - 27 km, of which the last 4km was a sudden downpour. It was one of those catchment area rainfalls, coming down strong and hard. In no time, the trail was transformed into a teh-tarik-orange mud pool. At many parts, there was no where to step but right into the puddles, with no clue of how deep it might be. Most of them were feet or ankle-deep. After a while, I gave up trying to circumvent the waters (conserving the new shoes was futile). There is something about running in the rain, in the trail (very important - not roads, but trail), that makes one feel alive. Like a child told not to go out and play in the rain, this is like a rebellious streak at work. :)
Sunday was spent on a supposedly last long run with friends (before the TNF race comes up in two weeks' time). I ran to MR and met them inside along the way, then back out again to Zhenghua, up the park connector for a distance, u-turned and retraced the route. I got it wrong and continued towards the Ranger Station for a water refill, instead of towards Jelutong Tower. It was a good mistake anyway because by the last 1 km, I was very low on sugar and energy. Glad to make it back and end the run. 24km. Starving. Iced chocolate milk to the rescue.
Sunday, September 30, 2012
Saturday, September 22, 2012
Travelling Runs
Lots of things happened in the past two weeks, and I was grateful for a couple of runs to clear my head.
Did the same BT-MR route twice last weekend, and then I was off to Chicago for a few days.
Managed to get only 1 run done while I was there - about 12km along the Downtown lakefront (shoreline). It was a very long stretch of shoreline that linked a couple of parks and residential areas together, and looked like it could extend for quite a bit. I heard it was about 18mi long one way (~28-29km), would have been nice if I had more time. .... Then again, it was rather boring as well, simply going up and down along the coast with not much to see (Imagine ECP extended 3 times one way).
Through my travels, the commonly found running spots in every city tend to be along an extended coastline, or around a river/ lake, or some huge water bodies. While I have since realised that I do not much enjoy those routes, they do make for plan-less, safe and no-brainer runs. No need to figure out directions, just go and u-turn where appropriate. There would be fellow runners, walkers, cyclists and water-coolers (!) along the routes for company.
In my oft-garang-overly-enthused states, I have gone out running/ jogging in temperatures ranging from 0 degC to the 20s degC. On snow, slush, sand and tarmac. It was kinda fun layering and experimenting with my running gear (I was often the over-dressed runner around...) and taking in the sounds and sights. I see what the locals are wearing, and learn about interesting gear that never feature in the running scene here in Singapore.
The rare few occasions when I had to hit the treadmill in the gyms, it was a pure mental torture. I'm convinced that running on the treadmill takes out the feeling and experience of 'living' that running outdoors provided. Nothing like getting the cold air smack me in the face, waking me up instantly. Or breathing in the cool, crisp freshness of the morning dew and plants. Or listening to the rhythmic crunch of snow-slush under my shoes (never mind that my runners were white-coloured and not waterproof).
That pair of running shoes is the first thing that goes into my luggage each time I pack. They take me places. :)
Did the same BT-MR route twice last weekend, and then I was off to Chicago for a few days.
Managed to get only 1 run done while I was there - about 12km along the Downtown lakefront (shoreline). It was a very long stretch of shoreline that linked a couple of parks and residential areas together, and looked like it could extend for quite a bit. I heard it was about 18mi long one way (~28-29km), would have been nice if I had more time. .... Then again, it was rather boring as well, simply going up and down along the coast with not much to see (Imagine ECP extended 3 times one way).
Through my travels, the commonly found running spots in every city tend to be along an extended coastline, or around a river/ lake, or some huge water bodies. While I have since realised that I do not much enjoy those routes, they do make for plan-less, safe and no-brainer runs. No need to figure out directions, just go and u-turn where appropriate. There would be fellow runners, walkers, cyclists and water-coolers (!) along the routes for company.
In my oft-garang-overly-enthused states, I have gone out running/ jogging in temperatures ranging from 0 degC to the 20s degC. On snow, slush, sand and tarmac. It was kinda fun layering and experimenting with my running gear (I was often the over-dressed runner around...) and taking in the sounds and sights. I see what the locals are wearing, and learn about interesting gear that never feature in the running scene here in Singapore.
The rare few occasions when I had to hit the treadmill in the gyms, it was a pure mental torture. I'm convinced that running on the treadmill takes out the feeling and experience of 'living' that running outdoors provided. Nothing like getting the cold air smack me in the face, waking me up instantly. Or breathing in the cool, crisp freshness of the morning dew and plants. Or listening to the rhythmic crunch of snow-slush under my shoes (never mind that my runners were white-coloured and not waterproof).
That pair of running shoes is the first thing that goes into my luggage each time I pack. They take me places. :)
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
Second Warrior Weekend
The incessant cough was still around last week. Due to an unfortunate combination of work and coughs, I again was unable to get in any runs for the entire week. But! at least this past weekend was better than last week.
I managed the full loop on Saturday. The trail was surprisingly empty. Many runners must have stayed away to keep their energies for the Army Half Marathon the next day. I did not sign up. It just did not feel worthwhile paying to run 21km, especially since I had no time targets whatsoever and also far from any podium finishing.
On Sunday, we revisited the 32km route from last weekend. I decided to use my supposedly 'race day' shoes - my Salomon XA Pro 5. My word, they weighed and felt a tonne! Perhaps I had been so used to my Salomon Crossmax and TNF trail shoes, both of which were lighter, that I felt the drag on my legs. My quads had to work harder to lift my legs, and I had to concentrate on a proper running posture rather than shuffling and stomping my feet on the ground. Anyhow, by 10km, my legs were totally in fatigue. Another 22km to go, up and down, and up and down!
Despite the shoes, I was in better shape than last weekend. I could still run after the Golf Link and the remaining 5km. Last week, I was pretty much walking on low-batt by that time.
My friends were doing very well with their training plans and conditioning. Everyone completed the distance in better condition than the weeks before. I am so proud of and inspired by them all!
I managed the full loop on Saturday. The trail was surprisingly empty. Many runners must have stayed away to keep their energies for the Army Half Marathon the next day. I did not sign up. It just did not feel worthwhile paying to run 21km, especially since I had no time targets whatsoever and also far from any podium finishing.
On Sunday, we revisited the 32km route from last weekend. I decided to use my supposedly 'race day' shoes - my Salomon XA Pro 5. My word, they weighed and felt a tonne! Perhaps I had been so used to my Salomon Crossmax and TNF trail shoes, both of which were lighter, that I felt the drag on my legs. My quads had to work harder to lift my legs, and I had to concentrate on a proper running posture rather than shuffling and stomping my feet on the ground. Anyhow, by 10km, my legs were totally in fatigue. Another 22km to go, up and down, and up and down!
Despite the shoes, I was in better shape than last weekend. I could still run after the Golf Link and the remaining 5km. Last week, I was pretty much walking on low-batt by that time.
My friends were doing very well with their training plans and conditioning. Everyone completed the distance in better condition than the weeks before. I am so proud of and inspired by them all!
Monday, September 3, 2012
Our Weekend Warrior-ing
For the past two weekends, I tried to complete back to back long runs. Not as long as some of my fanatical friends, but ranging from 20-30km each.
Two weekends ago, I managed my usual 22-23ish km out-and-back route on Sat, followed by 30km on Sun with my friends who were training very hard for TNF and HK100. My waterbag bladder was leaking and within 20min, my shorts were dripping wet, straight into my socks. By the end of the run, my feet were like in a goldfish pond. Everyone finished the run. So very proud of my friends at the strong base that they were building up, consistently over the weeks. Doing very well!
And then I must have over-ran, aka ran too much, over-pushed. I fell sick for a week, in between flu-ish, shivers and hot, and coughs. So I stopped running for 5 full days, a record. The aches and temperatures went away, but not the cough. :(
When I attempted to run this last Sat, it was anything but easy. It should have been a nice run with fresh legs, but no. It was lethargic, and I did not finish my usual route. Cut short somewhere in MR and ran about 2h+. I reckoned it was 16km. Popped two panadols max that day and drugged myself with cough syrup.
Sunday was a lot better. I had a new hydration bladder (the inner waterbag piece) and new cool-dry socks. We planned a new route for 32km. Incorporated a 4km loop around Durian Loop, and I brought them to Wallace Education Ctr for pitstop. It was a different and tougher route, having more slopes and tricky tree roots. The weather was hot and I was so near to cramping. The last few km I just hobbled and jogged along. I only ate one Stinger waffle and was starting to feel energy-less by then. Again, everyone was able to complete the route despite the pain.Very encouraging!
Two weekends ago, I managed my usual 22-23ish km out-and-back route on Sat, followed by 30km on Sun with my friends who were training very hard for TNF and HK100. My waterbag bladder was leaking and within 20min, my shorts were dripping wet, straight into my socks. By the end of the run, my feet were like in a goldfish pond. Everyone finished the run. So very proud of my friends at the strong base that they were building up, consistently over the weeks. Doing very well!
And then I must have over-ran, aka ran too much, over-pushed. I fell sick for a week, in between flu-ish, shivers and hot, and coughs. So I stopped running for 5 full days, a record. The aches and temperatures went away, but not the cough. :(
When I attempted to run this last Sat, it was anything but easy. It should have been a nice run with fresh legs, but no. It was lethargic, and I did not finish my usual route. Cut short somewhere in MR and ran about 2h+. I reckoned it was 16km. Popped two panadols max that day and drugged myself with cough syrup.
Sunday was a lot better. I had a new hydration bladder (the inner waterbag piece) and new cool-dry socks. We planned a new route for 32km. Incorporated a 4km loop around Durian Loop, and I brought them to Wallace Education Ctr for pitstop. It was a different and tougher route, having more slopes and tricky tree roots. The weather was hot and I was so near to cramping. The last few km I just hobbled and jogged along. I only ate one Stinger waffle and was starting to feel energy-less by then. Again, everyone was able to complete the route despite the pain.Very encouraging!
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
My Weekly Thrills
Guess I'm probably only able to record my runs on a weekly basis, takes too much time to blog daily. We just had another long weekend, straight after National Day. It was Hari Raya Puasa on Sunday, which meant a public holiday on Monday. Did a couple of short morning runs, but saved my legs for the long weekend.
Ran my BT-MR route on Saturday, the weather was rather forgiving. It started off very hot but cooled off towards the late morning. 2:45h, normal.
Met up with friends for a long run on Sunday. They started from MR and I met them along Rifle Range Road. I brought my hydration bag that day (I normally hold a water bottle), and spent some time adjusting the bag to minimise bouncing and abrasion. What a huge difference the bounce and no-bounce made!
We were clocking mileage for TNF100. Well, sort of. I love long runs, regardless of events. :) We ran through the field to Zhenghua, cut through the Park Connector and flats, under the overpass, and over to the Gangsa MTB trail. It was a slightly different route from the actual TNF race, but eventually merged back to the same path, at which point we u-turned and made our way back to MR. We parted company there and I made my way back home through Rifle Range Road (again). Took about 4:30h in total, the last 8+km was in between jogs and walks. I think it was 30+abit km. I was starting to get hungry, but the run felt so good. :)
Rested on Monday. Wanted to run, but thought better otherwise.
So I ran in the BT-MTB trail this morning (Tues) before work. A recovery run as legs refused to be agile. They felt heavy but when I checked, there were no ankle weights. Ahh. Anyway, while I was on my slow-plod, I saw something slithering away. I stopped to make sure it fully disappeared into the grass before I continued. It looked like a snake, with vertical stripes, but I could be mistaken. It could possibly be the tail of a skink... though it looked longer than that. Eeeeks, snakes never fail to send me shivers just by seeing them.
On my way out, I spied two blue-breasted birds chirping and fighting over some berries atop a bush. Then there was a grey-yellowish bird pecking at the berries, oblivious to its rowdy neighbours. I think I should go get an animal-bird-watching book, so that I can start naming them right and sound smart, instead of describing everything as a bird, tree, or snake!
Ran my BT-MR route on Saturday, the weather was rather forgiving. It started off very hot but cooled off towards the late morning. 2:45h, normal.
Met up with friends for a long run on Sunday. They started from MR and I met them along Rifle Range Road. I brought my hydration bag that day (I normally hold a water bottle), and spent some time adjusting the bag to minimise bouncing and abrasion. What a huge difference the bounce and no-bounce made!
We were clocking mileage for TNF100. Well, sort of. I love long runs, regardless of events. :) We ran through the field to Zhenghua, cut through the Park Connector and flats, under the overpass, and over to the Gangsa MTB trail. It was a slightly different route from the actual TNF race, but eventually merged back to the same path, at which point we u-turned and made our way back to MR. We parted company there and I made my way back home through Rifle Range Road (again). Took about 4:30h in total, the last 8+km was in between jogs and walks. I think it was 30+abit km. I was starting to get hungry, but the run felt so good. :)
Rested on Monday. Wanted to run, but thought better otherwise.
So I ran in the BT-MTB trail this morning (Tues) before work. A recovery run as legs refused to be agile. They felt heavy but when I checked, there were no ankle weights. Ahh. Anyway, while I was on my slow-plod, I saw something slithering away. I stopped to make sure it fully disappeared into the grass before I continued. It looked like a snake, with vertical stripes, but I could be mistaken. It could possibly be the tail of a skink... though it looked longer than that. Eeeeks, snakes never fail to send me shivers just by seeing them.
On my way out, I spied two blue-breasted birds chirping and fighting over some berries atop a bush. Then there was a grey-yellowish bird pecking at the berries, oblivious to its rowdy neighbours. I think I should go get an animal-bird-watching book, so that I can start naming them right and sound smart, instead of describing everything as a bird, tree, or snake!
Monday, August 13, 2012
National Day Runs
Over the last national day short work-week, I managed to clock in my usual trail runs.
National day saw me waking up early and hitting the trail by 8ish (very early by my standards) and finishing the to-fro route within 3h. I had wanted to join my friends and meet them halfway for the run, but woke up late and missed timings, so I ran alone.
Then on Saturday, I was able adjust the route a little and add another 3.5 - 4km. I headed off Rifle Range Road and went towards Zhenghua, before rejoining along the Belukar MTB trail to get home (via the Wallace Centre and DF Quarry walls). The sun was blazing, the exposed field to Zhenghua was a downer, so difficult to run. Under the shade was a lot better. As I went to the water-cooler at Wallace Centre, I bumped into an old schoolmate, Wilson. Ah-ha! I did not know that one could book the exhibition space there for events. Idea, albeit very hot.
Sunday, my legs felt a bit tired. I was up early as I had a curfew to be home by 1030am. It was a dash, I put in effort to go faster than my usual comfortable pace. And lo behold! I actually made it sub-2:40h, saving about 5 - 7min. Pleased. :)
National day saw me waking up early and hitting the trail by 8ish (very early by my standards) and finishing the to-fro route within 3h. I had wanted to join my friends and meet them halfway for the run, but woke up late and missed timings, so I ran alone.
Then on Saturday, I was able adjust the route a little and add another 3.5 - 4km. I headed off Rifle Range Road and went towards Zhenghua, before rejoining along the Belukar MTB trail to get home (via the Wallace Centre and DF Quarry walls). The sun was blazing, the exposed field to Zhenghua was a downer, so difficult to run. Under the shade was a lot better. As I went to the water-cooler at Wallace Centre, I bumped into an old schoolmate, Wilson. Ah-ha! I did not know that one could book the exhibition space there for events. Idea, albeit very hot.
Sunday, my legs felt a bit tired. I was up early as I had a curfew to be home by 1030am. It was a dash, I put in effort to go faster than my usual comfortable pace. And lo behold! I actually made it sub-2:40h, saving about 5 - 7min. Pleased. :)
Monday, August 6, 2012
Olympics Season!
A whirlpool of runs in the past weeks, relishing life without classes.... for now. Shortish, longish, evenings, mornings and weekends, roads and trails. That sounds about all possible combinations of runs, doesn't it? I'm trying to run 2-3 times on weekdays, and twice on weekends. Did a couple of my usual BT-MR trails over the past weekends, decent to earn my next lunch. But not decent enough to burn off dinners. That weight gain is beginning to be an irritant...
This being the Olympics season, I managed to catch a couple of race replays over Youtube. Watching those well-trained, well-toned athletes in action was simply inspiring. If I were into the sport, it was inspiring to watch them execute those well-rehearsed techniques with such grace. If the sport was Greek to me, it was inspiring just oogling at those washboard abs and lean physiques (yes, superficial, I admit. :)).
I watched Mo Farah win UK's first 10,000m Gold, with a clear lead ahead of the runner-up. The last 2min of his race was pure brilliance, long gazelle-strides, graceful, steady. With an equally compelling story behind the scenes. And caught Michael Phelps in action to win his 18th Gold medal from the 4x100m medley. Watched the men hammer through the 100m heats with such thunderquad-power, and the women pole-vault themselves with agility. Saw Maria utterly thrashed by Serena (was she even playing tennis?). I missed our Singapore's table-tennis bronze medal match, but read the excitement over Facebook. Olympics is in the air! (At least within my community of sporty friends.) Would love to catch the showdown for the men's 100m final, but it will be at 4am and I do not have a TV. I think the Jamaicans will sweep the podium - Bolt, Blake, and Powell. Gay may successfully gatecrash the party, we will know in a couple of hours.
Back to keeping tabs on the Youtube channel.
This being the Olympics season, I managed to catch a couple of race replays over Youtube. Watching those well-trained, well-toned athletes in action was simply inspiring. If I were into the sport, it was inspiring to watch them execute those well-rehearsed techniques with such grace. If the sport was Greek to me, it was inspiring just oogling at those washboard abs and lean physiques (yes, superficial, I admit. :)).
I watched Mo Farah win UK's first 10,000m Gold, with a clear lead ahead of the runner-up. The last 2min of his race was pure brilliance, long gazelle-strides, graceful, steady. With an equally compelling story behind the scenes. And caught Michael Phelps in action to win his 18th Gold medal from the 4x100m medley. Watched the men hammer through the 100m heats with such thunderquad-power, and the women pole-vault themselves with agility. Saw Maria utterly thrashed by Serena (was she even playing tennis?). I missed our Singapore's table-tennis bronze medal match, but read the excitement over Facebook. Olympics is in the air! (At least within my community of sporty friends.) Would love to catch the showdown for the men's 100m final, but it will be at 4am and I do not have a TV. I think the Jamaicans will sweep the podium - Bolt, Blake, and Powell. Gay may successfully gatecrash the party, we will know in a couple of hours.
Back to keeping tabs on the Youtube channel.
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