20km Trail Run Weekend + Others
SATURDAY
So comes the trail run Saturday. The PTR (Pre-Dawn Trail Runners) group formed in FB by JM have now offcially 6 members. All of which turned up. HG, new to the group and fellow barefooter turned up. Picked up Ryo at 5.35am and got to the meeting point a bit late. Did not manage to take my ritual pee before the run haha so rushed off in pursuit of the group. Upon reaching Venus drive and before getting to the trails, I stopped to take a leak but seeing the guys already going in I rushed and was fumbling with my lights....inevitably, fell down at the start of the trail and got hit on my left knee (which is still painful today....got a bit of a limp while walking) and some rashes on the right shin. Nothing major cosmetically but it did hurt a bit running and I still have about 17km to go! Luckily HG waited for me and we ran together until we caught the tail-end of the group.
As usual I slowed down the group a fair bit as they have to stop to wait. I don't feel good about this and will run the course on my own in the near future. Chasing down runners lighter and more experienced than myself is rather challenging and good thing is that it only improves me. Bad thing is I really think they can do this trail at 6:30min/km pace if pushed hard but I am a good excuse for them not too. Actually, doing the 20km solo may be a good idea and kinda adventurous. I have a 25km loop drawn up as well as a 30+km brutal loop in mind for trails, we'll see.
At Rifle Range road, JM whipped out his antiseptic spray which seemed to help reduce the pain a little bit. I could not walk properly but strangely running was ok but not at a high pace. I felt much better going into Woodcutters this time and for sure it was much easier that the last anti-clockwise loop. Still, my speed was capped and I couldn't do much more faster. Good thing was Ryo, YC and HG hanged back with this pace so I did not feel alone haha.
Upon hitting Old Upper Thomson Road, I took off my shoes and went barefoot. So did HG and Ryo. Felt GREAT getting off my soggy shoes....initially a bit worried that my feet would be too tender and wet, hence prone to blisters but the fear was unfounded. I felt great and did the 2.5km back along side with YC. Repeated the mistake of having beers again after the run......felt terrible and sported a sore throat after that.
I decided to run with my unused jerseys and they proved to be great. Very comfortable and I could put stuff at the rear pockets....did not bounce much too. Only had 1/2 a banana midway and did not consume the gel I took along. Managed to completed the course in 2hrs 25mins.....did not get lost at all. Decent pace of 7:30min/km (for me!). The Road Gloves felt much better on the trail compared to the Puma's and still gave that minimalist feeling (not as much as the Puma's though).
All in all a nice outing, enjoyed myself very much and very happy that I survived with a better time and felt good physically after the run.
SUNDAY
I did not feel great the previous day after the run and beer plus the fact that Liverpool lost to Manure in the game that previous night. I ditched my plans to cycle 115km solo and decided to wake up a bit later and see how it goes. Got up at 6am....felt 'ok'...so decided to to a recovery run...with more urban running. Just a 10km loop going from Macs to the end of ECP, turn out Fort Road and back via East Coast Road. Wow, I did not imagine jumping up and down of curbs can be so taxing on the legs! Managed to complete 10km slightly over an hour.
I was on the pumas, without socks and man, they felt great without socks! This pair of shoes have gone with me on this journey for 530kms and still going strong....they are simple the lightest and most minimal shoes ever. This is strange because the H-Streets were never meant for running and marketed as walking/fashion shoes. at 60bucks a pair, I think they are a steal. Look great for my weekend outings as well. I'm glad I have a spare pair lying around. Easy to wash and dries very fast as well.
CRC SHOPPING
Ordered a hydration pack (Salomon XA 10+3), Zoot CompressRX running tights and a new Garmin HR soft strap. They were having a free shipping going with any purchases above 200SGD. I'm pretty sick of my HR dropping off after running couple of kms and they are not that comfortable for runs (manageable for rides). Also, for Trail runs, I find holding a bottle and light is quite a chore especially when chasing these guys....just want to try this out. Who knows, it may prove to be great even for my long road runs. I really hate white elephants. The Zoot, well, it was just a filler purchase to hit the price mark....I think they could be a good option for my event runs.
Therein lies the paradox. I'm getting minimal on the feet but filling up with gear elsewhere!
So comes the trail run Saturday. The PTR (Pre-Dawn Trail Runners) group formed in FB by JM have now offcially 6 members. All of which turned up. HG, new to the group and fellow barefooter turned up. Picked up Ryo at 5.35am and got to the meeting point a bit late. Did not manage to take my ritual pee before the run haha so rushed off in pursuit of the group. Upon reaching Venus drive and before getting to the trails, I stopped to take a leak but seeing the guys already going in I rushed and was fumbling with my lights....inevitably, fell down at the start of the trail and got hit on my left knee (which is still painful today....got a bit of a limp while walking) and some rashes on the right shin. Nothing major cosmetically but it did hurt a bit running and I still have about 17km to go! Luckily HG waited for me and we ran together until we caught the tail-end of the group.
As usual I slowed down the group a fair bit as they have to stop to wait. I don't feel good about this and will run the course on my own in the near future. Chasing down runners lighter and more experienced than myself is rather challenging and good thing is that it only improves me. Bad thing is I really think they can do this trail at 6:30min/km pace if pushed hard but I am a good excuse for them not too. Actually, doing the 20km solo may be a good idea and kinda adventurous. I have a 25km loop drawn up as well as a 30+km brutal loop in mind for trails, we'll see.
At Rifle Range road, JM whipped out his antiseptic spray which seemed to help reduce the pain a little bit. I could not walk properly but strangely running was ok but not at a high pace. I felt much better going into Woodcutters this time and for sure it was much easier that the last anti-clockwise loop. Still, my speed was capped and I couldn't do much more faster. Good thing was Ryo, YC and HG hanged back with this pace so I did not feel alone haha.
Upon hitting Old Upper Thomson Road, I took off my shoes and went barefoot. So did HG and Ryo. Felt GREAT getting off my soggy shoes....initially a bit worried that my feet would be too tender and wet, hence prone to blisters but the fear was unfounded. I felt great and did the 2.5km back along side with YC. Repeated the mistake of having beers again after the run......felt terrible and sported a sore throat after that.
I decided to run with my unused jerseys and they proved to be great. Very comfortable and I could put stuff at the rear pockets....did not bounce much too. Only had 1/2 a banana midway and did not consume the gel I took along. Managed to completed the course in 2hrs 25mins.....did not get lost at all. Decent pace of 7:30min/km (for me!). The Road Gloves felt much better on the trail compared to the Puma's and still gave that minimalist feeling (not as much as the Puma's though).
All in all a nice outing, enjoyed myself very much and very happy that I survived with a better time and felt good physically after the run.
SUNDAY
I did not feel great the previous day after the run and beer plus the fact that Liverpool lost to Manure in the game that previous night. I ditched my plans to cycle 115km solo and decided to wake up a bit later and see how it goes. Got up at 6am....felt 'ok'...so decided to to a recovery run...with more urban running. Just a 10km loop going from Macs to the end of ECP, turn out Fort Road and back via East Coast Road. Wow, I did not imagine jumping up and down of curbs can be so taxing on the legs! Managed to complete 10km slightly over an hour.
I was on the pumas, without socks and man, they felt great without socks! This pair of shoes have gone with me on this journey for 530kms and still going strong....they are simple the lightest and most minimal shoes ever. This is strange because the H-Streets were never meant for running and marketed as walking/fashion shoes. at 60bucks a pair, I think they are a steal. Look great for my weekend outings as well. I'm glad I have a spare pair lying around. Easy to wash and dries very fast as well.
CRC SHOPPING
Ordered a hydration pack (Salomon XA 10+3), Zoot CompressRX running tights and a new Garmin HR soft strap. They were having a free shipping going with any purchases above 200SGD. I'm pretty sick of my HR dropping off after running couple of kms and they are not that comfortable for runs (manageable for rides). Also, for Trail runs, I find holding a bottle and light is quite a chore especially when chasing these guys....just want to try this out. Who knows, it may prove to be great even for my long road runs. I really hate white elephants. The Zoot, well, it was just a filler purchase to hit the price mark....I think they could be a good option for my event runs.
Therein lies the paradox. I'm getting minimal on the feet but filling up with gear elsewhere!
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