Having heard about this event just a week prior, I decided, why not. What more could I ask for - a free, timed race within walking distance from home.
I did not bother with any specific preparation for this. I stuck to my usual strength routine on Saturday, a contraindication when a race was to be held within the next one or two days. However, though this was a race, I was content with merely treating it like a tempo effort.
The alarm went off at 5:25, after which I washed up and grabbed a glass of milk. That was to be my only nutrition prior to the run, in comparison to my usual heavier cereal breakfasts. I then strolled over to MacRitchie.
This event, held on the 11th Jan, was to be part of MR25's series of progressive runs throughout the year. Being the first in line in 2015, this was to be a single loop around MacRitchie's trails, totalling around 10km. I suspect that due to the buzz from an endurance held at the location just a week before the 11th and due to the manageable distance of this event, many showed up.
After collecting my timing device, I proceeded to jog, very gently, for about 5-10 minutes before some leg swings. Due to the large crowd, the race flagged off slightly past 7.05am (instead of the 7.00am). It was undoubtedly the most anti-climatic flag off, with the director just saying "Start" without any countdown.
Having not bothered going too close to the front, I was somewhat trapped for the first 700m due to the narrow path. It was only till we headed into the trails that the crowd gradually cleared as I began overtaking runners. It was an uneventful first 2-odd km till I heard footsteps behind me. Subsequently, a tall Caucasian overtook me.
I trailed him, all this while maintaining a comfortable rhythm, possibly travelling at half-marathon effort. Despite the effort, the pace was undoubtedly slower than half-marathon pace due to the uneven and challenging terrain. Furthermore, having taken nearly a month's break from regular running, my fitness had plunged. Nonetheless, I was reminded that I had intended for this event to be a workout, not a race and I was not intending to get into the anaerobic threshold till the second half of this run.
The route then took us along Island Club Road for a brief moment before a left turn took us up a steady uphill towards the Ranger station. All this while I stuck behind the Caucasian as he continued on an even pace. It was probably after an awfully rocky section around the 5km mark that I noticed he was slowing and I took my chance to pull away swiftly. It was then that I decided henceforth I would attempt a tempo effort. This enabled me to overtake two fit looking competitors in Red and Black respectively.
After the rocky section, however, they soon caught up with me and overtook me. They didn't seem to be breathing hard - while I was at my upper limits of tempo pace - so I didn't follow. I was however, a little torn, because having overtook many people by this point of the race, there were few others in front. Having heard the briefing prior to flag off, I knew that the route was meant to veer off to another path, yet having had not much experience running these trails, I was uncertain where exactly that was to occur.
Thankfully, though I gradually lost sight of Red and Black, there was a marshal placed at the vital turns, taking us to the long stretch of Lornie as we approached the 8km mark. Further in the distance, I noted Red and Black, along with two other runners. At this point of time, I was running hard. No straining, yet certainly not breathing comfortably. This mimicked the later stages of my tempo runs back in 2014. The remainder of the distance was uneventful as I was unable to catch anyone, though I did manage to approach another Caucasian who was slowing. No kick for me however, as I didn't want to exert excessive anaerobic effort. Gun time was 47:17, with nett time possibly slightly past 47. Certainly not an easy race, considering the terrain and elevation profiles, though undoubtedly a good strength builder. Just for reference purposes, I felt my effort would have produced a sub-44 on a flat road course.
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| First race of 2015. Controlled effort, slower than expected but nonetheless satisfying. |
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| Spectacles dropping as I drop the pace downhill. Credit to Chan Chai Hui. |
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