Change of plans

As per my training plan, i was to do intervals at the NJC track next door but I figured that since I had run hard on Monday at the Westin, I would instead do a longer but slower run this evening. Took my water bottle in hand and headed out to Bishan PCN. The plan was to run at around 9kph or a tad slower for the entire run to give my legs a much needed rest.

As it so happened, i maintained a faster pace than I should have going at about 9.3kph for the first 3-4 kms, and funnily enough, the effort really felt like i was running slower than that. I ran 6kms out, stretched my legs a bit and then came back although towards the last 3-4 kms of the run, the muscles around my shin were feeling a little tired. The 12kms was done in 1:18 which is ok considering the fact that this was meant to be a restful run - need to get the discipline to maintain slower speeds even if I could go faster.

So thats the end of March - 157kms on the road and off it as well. Things have gone according to plan better than i could have ever dreamt of, hope April plays along! :) Happy running !!

Treadmill-ing @ Sydney

I had to make a quick fire trip down to Sydney for a couple of days on work and had to settle for running indoors (on the treadmill in the gym) as I had gone to work straight from the airport and by the time I got back in the evening, it was already around 7.30pm or so.

As per my training plan for Monday, i was to run an easy 5k but when i was in the gym, i felt that running 5km (at the easy running pace) would amount to slacking off and so set up to run a fast 7km (i started running at 8.20pm and the gym was going to close at 9pm). After a warm-up inclined walk for about 5 minutes, i started my run. The speed progression over the 7kms was in kph (10,10.5,11,11.5,12,12,10.5), working out to a pace of just over 11kph, and a total running time of 38minutes. Pretty decent run. The next day evening (Tuesday), i was in flight on my way back to Singapore and thankfully i had planned for it to be a rest day which it ended up being! :)

Spirits of the Woods - McRitchie trail run

The morning got off to a slightly late start than usual - i was up at 5.50am as opposed to the usual 5.30am and so by the time Sumedha and I reached MR, it was already just past 7am. We had bought 2 hand-held bottles from New Balance yesterday and were keen to use them today as both a hydration pack as well as a fuel belt prove to be an overkill for a distance of 10.5kms.

We got off to a pretty slow start as part of the warm-up, going at about 8 - 8.5kmph for the first couple of kms. I ran ahead and at the 3.5km mark circled back to join Sumedha who was about 3 minutes behind me. As we went through the next 1km or so, we kept the pace steady and at a fork in the path, she told me to run at my own pace and she would follow at her comfortable pace (this was around the 4.4 km mark). From there on, I sped up to 10+kph to see how long i could sustain it given the undulating nature of the terrain. Unbelievably, i maintained a strong run (by my standards) through out the remainder of the run and in fact finished the last 600m of the run at a 11.2kph speed. I ran the first 5kms in about 36.5mins (8.2kph average), and the next 5.6kms in 33.5 mins (10kph average). Total run was 10.6kms in 70mins.

It was a fantastic run for 2 reasons - The latter part of the run was a clear indication of my improvement from 2 months before. And the second reason was after the run, I felt a little sore in my shins for about 20 mins or so and then felt completely fine after that. The first 4 weeks of training has gone as per plan. 9 more to go !! :)

Another satisfying 10k at Bishan PCN

Today was one of those days where I felt like I was in the mood to push myself! Feeling good and for some reason, happy about getting to run today. Legs were cooperating and so my 10km run started, with a prayer on the lips that it does'nt rain for the next 1 hour or so as I had taken my iphone along with me for a change to listen to some music.

The first couple of kilometres to the start of the Bishan PCN as usual served as warm-up although I did this at a slightly faster pace than usual (9.3kph). Once I got into the PCN, it was like getting a chance to release some pent-up energy. Although there was the ever so little threat of the niggle becoming nagging, i was having a fortuitous run and decided to push my luck as far as it would go. Down the 1.8km stretch before the 1st overhead bridge over braddell road, i was oscillating between 10.5kph up to 12kph. The overhead bridge is a walk-over literally and then I resumed running until crossing under the CTE and a few hundred metres ahead which marked the 5k turn. Quite a few folks out to run today, and i was overtaken by 2 guys around the 3km mark who were literally floating on the road at 13kph+. Absolutely no sign of any effort whatsoever! Several old uncles were out today too - its inspiring to see some of these guys proving that age is just a number!

I turned back and ran an equally fast return half, and in fact down the 1.8km stretch, held a 11kph+ speed for a respectable while. When i finished my run, I had clocked 61 minutes which was bearable. And more importantly, although my time hasnt improved vastly over the past couple of months, there has been a significant difference in the effort i feel i have to put in. At the end, i wasnt breathless or even fatigued, just breathing a bit heavy and feeling the worked out muscles in the leg. In fact, heart rate dropped to below 120 within 2-3 minutes of finishing the run which is a good sign.

Next up, after badminton tomorrow, is a morning 10.5km run at McRitchie, which I may decide to skip to give my knees some much (k)needed rest! Sundown training plan - So far so good !! :)

Signs of trouble??

I have been having a very weird niggle on my right knee, to the left side of the kneecap, accurately described as a dull pain that does not really prevent me from doing anything. I do know that if I ignored it, I am asking for trouble. Runner's knee is the last thing I want to deal with it and so if i need to back off my mileage, I should and would. I have increased my mileage quite significantly in the past several weeks and therefore need to be extra cautious.

As per my plan today, I had to do an easy paced 10k in 64 mins. I started out about 6:45pm when the evening was bright and fresh after a brief spell of rain. I didnt want to try going out at my normal speed, so ran the first few kms to the Bishan PCN in a steady gentle pace. The niggle remained but I did feel like it was easing up a bit and so picked my pace just a wee bit in the second half of the run. When I did come back home, I saw that I had run the 10k in 67 minutes which was 3 minutes outside my target but I was quite happy with that, as I didnt force myself at all and moreover, was feeling good with the effort.

My next planned run is for Friday, a repeat of the 10km I did today. I am considering changing that to a 30 lap swim rather than a run, to give my weary knees a well deserved break! And as an aside, the Bishan PCN is a great place to run for those who want pleasant, flat terrain which is not too crowded.

Training plan status: 24 days completed in the 90 day plan. And so far, so good !! :)

In the mind ...

I ran a very slow 7km recovery run to accelerate the recovery from yesterday's HM at MR. Ran comfortably and later found that I never went beyond Heart Zone 3 which was great. Averaged 8.4kmph for the entire run (1st 3 km splits were within a second of each other :) ). This run was the usual home loop.

Received this month's edition of Men's Health Magazine (perks of the Urbanathlon $128 registration fees!!) and they have an entire section devoted to running. However, while the questions are tolerable or good, the answers are painfully short of being anything meaningful (several of them anyway).

I have been scouring the internet reading about ultra-marathoners and their exploits. Its just mind boggling to know what some of these guys are capable of. Having read the awe-inspiring book "Born to Run" by Christopher McDougall 2 weeks ago, i was even more amazed to come across the profiles of a few runners who embody the spirit of running like no other.

Two people come to mind. Jenn Shelton and Tony Krupicka. There is more than enough of their lore on the internet so I am not going to add anything here. These two are truly in a league (and dare i say world) of their own. I count these two as the upstarts. In the pathbreakers group, I put together Scott Jurek, Matt Carpenter and Ann Trason. I hope to get to read more about them in the next few days to come.

Another delightful outing at McRitchie (MR)

Its amazing how my weekends always end up with me getting less sleep than on weekdays! :) But its all for a good cause and I love the feeling of getting up at 5.30am on Sundays to run at MR. I was feeling just a touch tired from yesterday's badminton session but was not unduly worried about it for the start of the run always seems more "tiresome" (not tiring) that it actually is.

I started my run at around 6.45am with the intention of running 2 loops of the 10.5km trail, armed with my 2L Camelbak, 4 packets of PowerGel and a good range of hiphop songs to listen to while running. I figured I was feeling good in the "hunger" department, and so didnt have anything to eat before the run. At 6.45, the MR trails are quite dimly lit as daybreak is still a good 15-20 minutes away and so one needs to be a little more aware of the trail run than usual. One of the best things about running in the trail early morning is that you see very few people, and for most of the time, its just you and the trail, the trees and the ambient buzz, the stones adorning the path ahead and the kingfisher searching for breakfast. I ran a gentle 8kph in the first 2-3 kms to warm up and then increased my pace.

The one thing that I did today was not look at my watch at all during the entire run to know what speed I was doing. The couple of times I looked at it was to just check the time I had been running. As I labored through until the 5km mark, I was beginning to wonder if I was up for doing another 16kms, and just like that my legs seemed to get into their groove and I began to run at a very enjoyable pace (i later found out this was around 9.3-9.5kph). Interestingly, until the 10km mark, I didnt feel the need to have even a sip of water or open a powergel packet. I completed the first loop in about 68 minutes and then took a planned walk break, where I satiated my thirsty throat and also had a power gel packet. After walking for about 3-4 minutes, I came back up on the start of the trail and by this time, the sun was cheerfully bright and the number of runners on the trail seemed to have quadrupled. I thought my legs were feeling heavy but as I started on the 2nd loop, i once again got into my comfort zone quickly and ran at a steady pace for longer than I have before.

When I completed the 2nd loop, and had crossed the 21.1km mark, I saw on my Garmin that I had timed 2:27 for the run. Safe to say, I was more than kicked with this for this had been my fastest half marathon distance yet, and I know that my HM speed on the road can only get better (the MR trail is fairly undulating and keeps your heart nervously anticipating the next uphill run). Its amazing how if you dont arbitrarily decide some pace to run at, and just let your body do its own thing, you usually end up with better results than you planned.

A great run today

When I drove back this evening from work, it was pouring cats, dogs and other assorted members of the fauna. I figured that my plan of running a 10km run had gone kaput and so asked my domestic help to make a cup of tea and a hot steaming plate of noodles. Sure enough, after i had my last mouthful of really yummy noodles, the rain stopped !! I figured that I would give myself about 20-30 mins of waiting time before deciding on whether to run or not.

At about 6.45pm, I decided that I would go for a run and if I didnt feel good, i wont push myself. As i stepped out, there was a still a thin sheet of drizzle that made me feel damp but not wet. I started and within 45 seconds, my Garmin went haywire (rain clouds?)! I reset and continued on my run hoping that it wont act quirky after that. After a decent warm-up pace of around 9kph, I felt really good for the rain had really bathed all the trees and the grass and given a fresh look to everything around me. I increased my pace to 10.5kph and ran the 2.5kms till the start of the Bishan PCN. And was I glad to have run today! The PCN strip was sublime, with the road completely deserted, water gushing in the canal next to the road, and all the trees along the strip had shed their flowers in the rain to form carpet patches on the black ribbon. It was a fantastic feeling to run and I was holding a 11+ kph pace for a considerable while. I crossed the overbridge at Braddell road, and checked my Garmin to confirm that it was overshooting by 500m. So I had to run an extra km just to ensure that I would actually be running 10kms. I turned back and was able to continue maintaining a healthy pace although after the 7km, a faint side stitch made a cameo appearance but other than that, it was truly a great day to have been out running.

Next up is a planned 21km run in McRitchie on Sunday morning (not counting badminton in 8 hours time). Just hope the rain gods are merciful !

My training plan : Status update

I am on Week 3 of my 13 week training plan towards the Sundown Marathon on May 29th. So far, I have managed to largely stick to the plan which is a very good thing to have happened. Atleast it gives me the confidence that my plan is not overambitious. Not yet anyway. Of course, on a daily basis I have had variances but in a week, I usually cover the differences.

Up next is a 10km run this evening after I am back from work, play badminton tomorrow morning and then run 21km in MR on Sunday morning (2 loops). Running in McRitchie reservoir (the aforementioned MR) on a early Sunday morning is cathartic to say the least. I still have not done justice to all the running trails there but will soon explore a lil bit when i get the chance.

Sometime over the weekend, I am going to go and get a new pair of road running shoes. More on my gear some other time.

Race Reviews: Feb 6th - Green Power 50km hike @ Hong Kong).

Writing a blog review for a 50km race is tough. I have only put down the small nuggets that I remember here.

The Green Power 50km hike was something that I signed up on a whim after hearing about it from my friend in HK. While he was running in the teams category, i decided to go it alone as I couldnt have managed getting a team from Singapore to HK.

The prospect was as exciting as it was daunting. I had never covered more than 25kms on foot before and several times before the race, i was occupied by thoughts of having bitten off more than I can chew. And to boot, the course is reasonably hilly with climbs and descents of several hundred steps on more than one occasion. However as a compensation, the weather in Feb (in HK) is chilly and therefore makes things a wee bit easier than if the race had to be run in blazing sun. Based on past information, i thought it would be good to target a time of 9:00 to 9:30 hours because of the both the distance and the terrain.

The run started off at the Peak where I found out that until the buzzer goes off, I am going to be freezing in the wind. In hindsight, being dressed in a singlet was the best thing that could have happened as after the first few kms, i had warmed up enough to start running at a even pace and be breathing comfortably. Even before I got to the venue though, i had a very challenging time getting ready cos i couldnt figure out where the switches to the lights in the living room were and got ready in extremely dim light! (It was 5.30am or so when I left Amberish's house and I didnt want to wake others up in trying to get ready so was pretty much tip-toeing all the time!).

Having reached the Peak and with about 15 minutes left for the race to start (6.45am), I took my Garmin 305 out of my bag, downed a powergel, took my 2xu running cap and gave my bag in for deposit. After my bag had been securely sealed in the luggage cage (which wouldnt be opened until the end of the race), i realized that i had forgotten to take my iphone out!! That was supposed to have been my companion for the next 9 off hours in the outdoors but brilliant me just forgot all about it. Dreading the hours of monotony ahead, i crossed the start line in windy, cold but otherwise 'excitable' conditions.

In the first 500 metres, my laces came undone and this can be totally frustrating, especially when you are running down a narrow path which is jammed with people as it is. I stopped to do them tightly, let several people through and then continued on my run. The first 10km were wonderful, with great views along the run including several panaromas of the HK bay area. I was chugging along at a 8.5k pace, running slightly faster on the flats and slowing down on the climbs and descents. The first water point was at 10km (1:20) but I decided to not stop as I had my hydration bag with me and was feeling good about the run. The next 9 kms ran through trees and over small rivulets which made for equally great trail runs, the end of which was the 2nd water point. I had originally planned to take my powergel packet here but was feeling strong and decided to plod on. I reached the 25km point in 3:20 which was surprising considering the fact that i hadnt really tried going fast or anything. Twice enroute, i had to stop at public loos and took my own time in waiting in the queue, using the facility and then getting back on the road. I had even stopped on the run to give some heat balm to another runner who was cramping severely. So despite all these delays, i still had managed good time.

At the 30km, I had to stop as my laces had come undone again and some small stones were troubling me inside the shoe. When i stopped here, it was the first signs of cramps coming on. I gingerly tried trotting but my legs wouldnt let up so had to walk until the cramps subsided and i could start a gentle run again. The 2nd half of the race was significantly more difficult than the 1st half with several long and steep climbs which made me stop and catch my breath on atleast 5 or 6 occasions. And to make things more painful, i realized that my Garmin 305 had lost satellite signal and i had not idea of how much more i had to go. As i kept up with a run/walk strategy, i saw the Garmin come back to life and showed i had another 14kms left which was in my mind doable. Trudging along until I reached the next checkpoint (which was 2 kms down), i found that the water stations had run out of cups and had to drink electrolytes straight out of a 2L bottle! At this point, i thought it would be good to check the remaining distance and was stunned to find out i had only 6kms left. This completely deflated me cos I thought that when I cross the 42.2km mark, i would remember the place for the rest of my life (my first marathon distance on foot) but i had already crossed it and was at the 44km mark! Continuing my way over the Dragon's back, and with a little less than a couple of kms to go, I figured that if I ran really fast, i could make the 50km mark in under 8 hours!! Miraculously my cramps disappeared, and i hit a 10kph speed from 48.5 until 50km which i crossed in a time of 8:02, much faster than what i had originally targetted!

In all, the race was fantastic because the terrain was lovely, the views awesome and other runners seemed to be enjoying the run as much as i did. If i come back to do the run again next year, i will be more ambitious and try running the race in 7:30 !! :)

North East Run 16km Results

I have tried to create a basic excel sheet from the PDF. Ranks are in the 1st column (and might be approximate). I have had to truncate long names and hence its better to search using Bib number rather than by name. Last column gives the chip time.

You can download the file here.

Race reviews: March 14th - NorthEast Run 16km @ Pasir Ris

Wifey and I had signed up for the NorthEast Run 16km on a Sunday, the evening before which Singapore had witnessed pretty heavy rains. We were both hoping that Sunday morning would be kinder to us.

The race was to start at 6.45am and we drove down to reach at about 6:20am or so and thats when the saga of finding an available car park spot started. For 20-25 minutes, we were driving in and out of HDB car parks, going through seemingly never-ending spirals of 5-7 storeys before realizing that the entire car park was full. We finally managed to find one which required super tight maneuvering to park and by the time we walked to the start line, it was 7.05am.

As we started the race late, the crowd had already thinned down and we settled into a nice 8.7 kph pace as warm-up for the first couple of kms. Within about 600m of the start line, there was a traffic signal manned by an auxiliary officer and several people had to wait before being allowed through. This was a real pain so early into the race but luckily when we reached the signal, we just ran straight as the roads were empty. After about 2km, I told my wife I was gonna go for my pace (9.5kph for the reminder of the run) and broke away. It was a great day to be out and I struck a nice rhythm after about 4kms. The 16km route has several overhead bridges that needed to be combated and in a strange way, that made the run a touch more challenging.

About the 8km mark, i was on 0:52 which was in the time range i was looking to be at. One great advantage of starting right at the back of the pack is that you get to overtake a lot of people and that is morale-booster even though i was just looking to enjoy myself. The route went into Temasek polytechnic and came back out, and there were frequent patches of the route that were bathed in sunlight and others which were well shaded by the HDB blocks. There were several volunteers all along the course and that was great cos unlike some earlier fiascos in local races, there were no misdirections. And it was great to see young school kids come out on an early Sunday morning and get in on the act.

At about 11km, i was feeling good and started running at a 10kph pace. I was able to hold this pace until the end of the race and finished in 1:35. But the one thing that completely pained me was the fact that while the race was touted as a 16km race, it was only 15kms long. My Garmin 305 tracked 15km and I later found out on SGrunners that several others had experienced the same thing. The route and my splits are here: (http://connect.garmin.com/activity/26913776)

Overall, i thought it was a decent enough race. I had participated in it as part of my training for my first road marathon on May 29th, the Sundown Marathon. And if i can stick to my training schedule, I should be able to go under 5:18 which is my current target.