MR 25 Time Trial

It's been raining for the whole day and i thought i had to give the time trial a miss. Luckily it stopped raining about 4 pm and I headed to MacRitchie Reservior. I had 1 objective and that's to run below 25 mins for the 5km.

When I reached there, I was surprised to see so many runners there , mostly made up of school runners. Registered myself (got a BIB no 962) , stretched and went for a warm up run. Met Brian (Gugugaga) and Penelope who were also taking the TT.

Finally at 5 pm sharp, we gathered at the start point and off we go. Those strong runners went flying ahead. I was running quite comfortably for the first 2 km and just before the u-turn point , I felt a bit of fatigue (it was only 1 week before when I finished SCSM). Due to lack of interval training, I just could not speed up after the u-turn point and just maintain the pace.

I just kept going and going until I reached the end point. 23 mins 59 sec. Phew! it's below 25 mins. Was still panting hard and this just shows how long my heart hasn't been stressed.

Managed to speak to DO for a while before heading to the toilet to wash up. It's really a great experience and I promise to do better than this for the next trial.

Ultra-marathon, here I come.

SCSM 2007

Another marathon completed. After completing SCSM 06, i have decided to set a few goals

1.Faster timing of 4 hr 15 mins

2.Cramp free race

3.To have pictures running in style and smiles

4am : Woke up to prepare my drinks and breakfast. Meet up with Foong at 4.15am and took his car to City Hall. On the way , called Alvin (who is famous for bring late) and he's already there ! (impressive) and the carpark lots are being taken at an amazing rate.

5am : Reached Raffles City carpark. Suddenly my stomach had this sensation, queue up in the toilet at Raffles City. Finally had my business done and took a slow jog to the start line. Made my way to the under 4 hrs pent.

5.30am: "5, 4 , 3 , 2, 1 Go !" Started off quite conservative. Met Chui Chin along the way and we ran together. Took about 6-7 mins to reach the first km.

6.30am : Reached the 10km mark after 58 mins. Still on time to meet under 2 hrs for 21 km mark. Was keeping pace with Chui Chin until 18km where I slowed down for a drink.

7.30am : Reached the 21km mark after 1 hr 57 mins. Was thinking if I am able to maintain my pace, would be able to hit under 4.

8.30am: Managed to keep running until 33km where I started walking , that's when Foong over took me. By this time, alot of runners are getting cramps and applying alot of deep heat , so am i

I started to hit the wall but I told myself no matter what, I must better my timing last year.

It took some walk/jog to bring me to the 38km mark.

9.30am: When I reached the 38km mark water station, I was about to start walking again till I saw the 4 hr 30 min pacer. I told myself, no matter what I must run below 4hr 30mins and cling on to the pacers tightly. At the 40km, I began to lose sight of them but I still kept my faith and carry on running at a slower pace. Along the way, I saw alot of photographers and began smiling at them

10.07am: Another 30m to reach the end point, I kept looking back to make sure no one else is beside me so that I can have a nice finishing photo. Then someone from behind sprinted and I sprinted too. That's when I began to feel my calf hardened. Shit it's cramping , I thought. But I still forced a smile across the finishing line. 4hrs 27 mins. Not too bad though despite having a flu a couple of days back. It took me 20 mins of stretching before I started to stand and walk around. Met alot of sgrunners ( roonz, sotong, BoSe, BBM, Ronnie, Bee)

It took me almost 2 hrs to met up with Foong as all my stuff were in his car and both of us had no hp with us.

Next up will be the MR 25 TT and also the Ultramarathon. Here I come !