F1 Nature Run Race

Today, as it so happened was my 2nd wedding anniversary which i chose to mark by running the 15km Nature Run race through McRitchie Trails. So before the race review, a super humongous "Thanks for Everything" to my dearest Chups for a fantastic 2 years in marriage. You are my bestest friend ever! :)

Coming back to the race, which for some unexplicable reason started at 8am, meaning that i would be running in quite a bit of hot sun as would other runners. And humid Singapore makes this all so much more fun! Due to a strange quirk of circumstances, i left my Garmin305 in the car, and with no distance markers or timing device, i had no ability to gauge how fast i was doing and how much more i had to go during the race. Saturday's rain had also made the trails quite slippery at a few places and there were several passages where I had to slow down to a walk to avoid slipping.

The first km of the race was brutally slow as there were too many runners and too little trail. After i think about 1.5kms or so, the few uphill climbs by then had strung out the group to a small extent and it became easier to find running real estate. These uphill climbs were gentle to be generous in complimenting - for the uphills that were to come near the 7km mark were proper dont-try-running-me kinda slopes. I had played almost 2 hours of badminton singles on saturday evening without a break and the effect of that began to show very early into the race. My legs were hurting from fatigue and the first few kms which i usually run with a spring in my step were proving to be like the last miles of a half marathon. As it turned out, this was just starting inertia and soon enough after about 4kms in to the run, my legs got their act together and i was running along smoothly. Until I hit the slopes that is. Truth be told, for 80% to 90% of the uphills, i actually did run than walk but at some points, I felt so battered that I couldnt help walking. Coming down from the half way mark, i picked up what felt like a minor side stitch that gave me unwanted company for 20 minutes or so and then disappeared without notice.

With the sun beating down with a vengeance, and my breathing beginning to become labored, i struck out the last 5 kms or so at a healthy 9.2-9.4 kph (it felt like that, i couldnt tell cos i didnt have my Garmin305) and finished the run in a time of 1:32 (using the race clock time). Later i asked around and found out that the route was actually 13kms long and not 15 as was advertised. Nevertheless, it was a good energetic end to a race that had lost some of its sheen due to the misrepresentation of the distance. Mok, the local trackstar as usual won the event beating 2nd place by close to 2 minutes.