Christmas 2004 Morning Run, Yishun~Orchard

Christmas 2004 route : Yishun to Orchard
Finished work on Christmas Eve morning. Went for a very quick and short run with CT towards SAFRA for a swim. Wanted to test my Adidas ClimaCool Adventure shoes without any socks. Mistake! Got blisters on my right foot as a result. But it wasn't too bad.

Slept from afternoon till around midnight, while CT has punkgrrl for company. When CT woke me up, they were already waiting for me with Lamp Chop, salad, baked potatoes, and grape juice on the table, complete with candles for 'effect'.

After 'dinner', they turned in around 3am, while I surf around for a while.

Very soon, I got restless. I needed to get my ass off the bench. I needed to hit the road.

So, being as silent as I possibly can, I packed my hydra-pack, mobile, and wallet. Nike cap to keep my fringe off of my face, NB singlet, adidas tights and shorts, short socks to go with my NB900 shoes. Time to test them on hard roads. No music player for me, me no like thing dangling out of ear when running. Let me hear the sound of nature, and traffic, of course.

Started running at about 5:35am. This is the hardest part. To get out of Yishun itself seems to take forever. The long stretch of Avenue 2 plus Lentor Avenue is a long straight flat road, so luckily for me, it was quite easy to clear. I ran at a very very slow pace because I was hoping to conserve energy and see how far I can go. I sipped about a mouthful of water every 10 to 15 minutes and also when I have to stop for a while at traffic lights to keep myself hydrated and cool.

By the time I hit the Yio Chu Kang Road Junction, it was already about 6:20am, about 6.5km from my start point, that's about 45mins. Yishun done, time to tackle Ang Mo Kio.

Passed YCK MRT and Anderson Junior College without much difficulty as the road was level. But after that, there was about 700 to 800 metres of inclination of about 10 to 15 degrees. And towards the end of the down-slope, I had to walk, my left ankle and right knee was starting to hurt. I would later find out to my dismay that the whole stretch of this road all the way up to Marymount Road would follow this pattern, up down up down.

Took me about 20minutes to run through Ang Mo Kio and Bishan Park and hit Marymount Road. There were parts of up and down slopes when I was forced to walk. It's about 6:40am, getting brighter. My breathing was already pretty steady and relaxed, but my left ankle and right knee was starting to take center-stage.

Marymount Road was worse. Because of part of it being the Braddel Road flyover, there was a rather steep inclination of about 20degrees towards it. I was really struggling, and I was about to cross the road and run over to MacRitchie Reservoir Park and call it a day. But then I know that Thomson Road is just round the corner and from then on, Orchard Road is not too far away. So I persevered, hit Thomson Road, and head for the Mobil petrol kiosk (marked X on map) to get myself a Pocari Sweat and a Snickers bar for 'breakfast'. It was about 7am. I took my time to finish up the Snickers and the Sweat, and at the same time massage my knees and calf. Then I realized that I'm feeling cold! I rested too long, about 20minutes. The idling plus the cold drink and the morning breeze are cooling down my body temperature too fast and I know that's not good if I want to continue running.

So quickly, I picked myself up and started off again. OUCH! My right knee! PAIN! I know I need to get my body warmed up quick. So I started to walk briskly. After about 10minutes and a few tries, I can start jogging again without too much pain. 7:35am.

By about 7:45, I was at the junction between Novena MRT and the Revenue House. I know I'm near. Thomson Road done, time to do Newton Road.

Midway through Newton Road, my right thigh muscle started to feel a bit tight. I could sense a cramp coming, my hips were begining to ache. I started to walk and tried prevent the cramp from taking place. I was thinking to myself, "that's it, I'm gonna have to end my run at Newton MRT". Then this middle age chinese guy came running from behind me. We looked at each other and he waved and wished me a Merry Christmas and ran past me. I waved back and said the same. Suddenly, my right thigh seemed fine, and the energy from the Snickers and Pocari started working. I break into a run and tried to follow the man's pace, but then he turned right whereas I'm heading straight.

Within minutes, I'm already at Newton MRT. My limbs felt like they were about to break. But I can already smell Orchard Road from where I was, I'm not about to come all the way here just to stop at the door!

I pressed on and finally saw Mr. Ronald McDonald sitting outside Pacific Plaza. 8am. I sat down, took off my cap, and took a picture of us. Then I crossed over to Wheelock place and gave CT a wake up call before having my breakfast at Mac. The 3 of us then met up and proceeded to Sentosa for some fun in the sun.

That's it. 2.5 hours of pain and pleasure. About 16.6 km. That's not even a half-marathon! I'm taking way too much time to complete that distance! Hopefully, I can get my injuries sorted and improve on my timing in future.

This run also confirmed a few things for me,

1. Stamina/endurance aside, physical strength and condition is just as, if not more, important
2. Mental strength is essential in order to push your body to do more
3. A little encouragement from fellow runners works wonders
4. Some planning and strategy is good
5. Lie to yourself a little if it helps
6. Pocari Sweat is nice (no gas!)
7. Singapore is really tiny!

I think what helped me to push myself to run through the pain barrier and finish my objective here is that before I started, I alread got the whole route mapped in my mind. Divided into sections, they became many mini targets and were much easier to accomplish, rather than a straight point A to point B.

Everytime I felt like quiting, I'll tell myself to at least finish this section of the run. But when I reach that target, I'll tell myself that the next destination is not too far away and quite easy to complete. In my mind, I also try to visualize the section to be shorter than it actually is.

My next run will hopefully be less painful, and I hope to reach Sentosa. With luck, my joints will recover and get stronger, and I can work towards the marathon next year.

Pocari Sweat! With this, at least I can force a smile.

Need some more energy, fast!

Reached the endpt finally at Borders