Day 94: Gardens by the Bay

My macbook was sick for 2 weeks and was confined in the mac hospital for a couple of days.  It had liquid in its lungs. I was sad when the possibility of losing it hit me but it's a good thing that apparently, the motherboard was ok and it just had an episode of power trip. 

Anyway, the past two weeks have been intense.  We started with the tempo runs, from doing just a 5-min tempo in a 50-minute routine to a 15-minute alternative tempo run in a routine of 5 walk, 5 er and 5 tr.  Tempo running is exhausting. We are not even sure if we're doing it properly.  Should we do TR for the whole 5km or just parts of it?  I need to talk to someone. 

Last Saturday, we also did  a 14km run.  We ran from home all the way to Makansutra, around the Marina Bay area and back home. We were too tired though so we stopped running along Lavender and walked the rest of the way home instead. That day, I reached my record # of steps. 37,000 steps.

Early morning view of the water 

my highest number of steps

Today, we went to do the same route but fell short.  We started an hour late.  The run towards Marina Bay was ok.  We even went to Gardens by the Bay and Marina Barrage before running the entire Marina Bay area.  By the time we were done, it was too hot to run/walk back home so we just took the bus.  

Because the view was beautiful

Today, I clocked in 27,000 steps. And a slightly sore knee.

It's barely over a month before race day!

Day 81: Recovery with a bit of sore knee

Training this week has been pretty much consistent except for missing out on Tue.  We ran on Wed, I had a yoga plus run on Thur, rest on Friday and 12.8km run on Sat.  And a 4.8 run today.

We did McRitchie again but went the opposite direction.  We noticed how difficult it is to run this time, with all the uphill slopes, rocky trails, and uneven terrain. We are no longer used to this, we were spoiled by the flat pavement of roadside running.

rowers on their Saturday training

on the way back

the trail

Our route is also longer this time.  We started at the left side of mushroom cafe and went all the way to the ranger station.  Starting at this part is more difficult because of the many uphill climbs.  Going back is easier because it's downhill, but more stressful to the knee.  And I think it took a toll on my knees.  There's no sharp pain, but it's difficult to bend it when I sit down on the floor.   I think it's time to get some knee support.

Next week, we're starting with tempo runs. Im bracing mysef for it.

Day 73: Training for that long run

It's Saturday.  Time for that long run for the week (my training plan includes a long run with an increasing distance every week).

Target is 11.2km.  My housemate M and I started from our place, went to McRitchie, ran the open trail, and back.  It was an easy run, with us talking while running.  Talking about immigration, life's meaning, happiness, family life, and having a baby.  Neither of us are married.

I turned on my pacer to track my pace.  But it was unintentionally turned off along the way (my screenlock is not working properly so my phone sometimes has a mind of its own).  I just knew we ran for two hours without stopping (yay!).

This was our view midway.

The reservoir.  Other parts of it were filled with kayakers and paddlers.

Upon reaching here, one would hear the uncle in maroon shirt, playing what I assume is a Chinese musical instrument that sounds like a violin.

When running at McRitchie, one would really feel the difference between running in a park and running along the road.  It's easier to run in the park.  Probably it's the oxygen. Or the entire environment itself.

When we went out resuming our run along the roads, tiredness kicked in.  We were on our 9th km at that time.

We have to get used to this.  Next week is going to be longer.