Never Stop Exploring - More than the usual MacRitchie Reservoir

I have been running at MacRitchie Reservoir for a number of years now and I like to think that I know the place pretty well. But last Vesak Day, we followed the runners of Trail Running Singapore for an exploratory run unto "unknown" territory.

We started off up to the usual Northern Trail. Somewhere inside the trail, we turned right onto a small trail and volia:

There was this long slanting grassy slope. It was slanting at about 30degree and kinda difficult to run on.

 There was even a small stream to add to the excitement.

Actually we were running behind the private estate along Thomson Road. The houses along the slopes are mainly bungalows and we were disturbing the dogs and causing them to bark non-stop. Luckily, they were inside the compound and we were outside.

 Eventually we came to this open patch with a gorgeous view of I presume, the Sin Ming housing estate.

It was also here that we have to turn back into the trails

And this trail leads to the Venus Drive carpark and SICC road which brought us back to the Ranger Station.

Quite interesting considering that we have never discovered this place after so many years of running in MacRitchie. Truly good to never stop exploring!

All photos courtesy of Trail Running Singapore

Growing old and slow

My long runs have been going down hills. Maybe it is a sign of old age or maybe I have really been super lazy. All along I thought my fitness level was still fairly decent and can run at a decent speed.

Then I did a long run in March from the office back home. Distance was about 23 km. It took me and the sidekick nearly 3 hours to complete. I was surprised that we took so long. I thought we ran at quite  a hard effort and the pace felt more like 6.30 than the 7.25 that it turned out to be. I  attributed it to running at night

As the sidekick has signed up for the full marathon for the Sundown, she had to train and I tagged along. The next long run above 20 km was a 25km run at the East Coast Park. We started at 11.30 pm and crossed into midnight. We were supposed to join the Punggol/Newton Runners but were late and ran at a furious pace to catch up. Or rather we thought it was a furious pace. It turned out to be 7.05 pace and I was struggling towards the last quarter. Previously for my longer road runs, I have still been able to at least manage a sub 7 mins pace and so I was really surprise that I was now doing above 7. Again I blame it on the night run.

To prove my theory right, I did a 16km run in the late afternoon and the pace was exactly 6.30. Yes it has to be the night running. So for the next long run of 25km, we started at 6am. And guess what, this time we took 3 hours 22 mins! There goes my night running theory!

So we switched back to night run and decided to start the next one at 4am. Target was 30km never mind the timing. I bombed at 15km! For I think the first time in my running life, I hit the wall at an premature 15km! It was so totally unexpected! I knew I didn't start off well. It was one of those run where you struggle to start and every little step seems to be such a bit effort. But I thought I could shrugged it off once I warm up. The warm up never came though. I ran out of steam and couldn't run at all. My whole body just felt like collapsing. The sidekick who was by then way in front ran back when she saw I was staggering. Lack of water? Couldn't be. I was carrying a hydration bag with 1 ltr of water and was drinking at about every 2km.  Hyponatremia? Nah I didn't think I was drinking that much. My waterbag was still more than half full. In the end, I walked another 5km and took a bus home.

So the night theory didn't work. The truth is probably I am getting slower and slower. Sign of old age or whatever. But the next run at 11 pm I went below 7min pace. 6.50min to be precise. Distance 20km. Still got hope?

Cold Storage Kids Run 2013

There are races for everybody, races for women and obstacles races and there is the Cold Storage Kids Run. The Cold Storage Kids Run is the first race specially for kids and to date it is still the biggest and only dedicated race for children up to 12 years old.

I have been involved in this event since its inception and over the years have seen it innovate to keep ahead of all the other races which have a children component. It added a stroller category a few years ago and this year it added a 3 generation category. 

But in my opinion, the most unique part about the Cold Storage Kids Run is that it is also open to handicapped children. Each year, children from the  Spastic Children Association of Singapore suffering from Cerebral Palsy participates as guest of Singapura Finance. This year, the invitation was extended to children from Katong School and Rainbow Centre as well. The grit and determination on the faces of these children as they struggled to complete the 800m I believe truly touches the heart of everybody there especially those who are parents.

Here are some pictures from the events:

A child completing in the 1600 category

The Singapura Finance Mascot, Phoebe

DJ Jamie Yeo with her daughter

A participant in the Stroller category

Children completing in the Special Needs Category

The volunteer cheering on the last participant of the day

 The Cold Storage Kids Run also raised S$11,000.00 to buy shoes for children in Cambodia.

Certainly, the Cold Storage Kids Run has proven that when it comes to children, this is the best event in the whole of Singapore!

Long Run Tea

Not only are there isotonic drinks and energy drinks for runners but now there is something else...tada...

Tea! Freshly brewed for long run.