the pencil runs

It was the perfect run, really. A new route, a view from the top of the hill, an unrelenting stretch of upslope, a new distance, and a new experience. I was very pleased that I did not stop at any point of the run, even after the horrible ten minutes or so uphill (See striped yellow on route). Somehow I managed to keep going and after a while, the road eventually went downhill and it felt a lot better. :) Really, another reason why this route is perfect is because you get the uphill done early in the run, and after that uphill, flat terrain is like child's play!

Actually, not really like child's play. It was tiring. But at least it was lots of fun, and I got to go home and draw a cool map!

Distance: 9km ---- Time: 54.1mins ---- Speed: 10km/h

To make up for the pig week I had last week, I ran on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday this week. Three days in a row! My timing is slightly down and I felt like shit after the run (which was slower than the previous two runs on the same route), but I'm not overly concerned. A week or two of running should put me back on track.


Mon: --- 4.8 km --- (8.1 km/h)
Tue: --- 4.5 km --- (10.1 km/h)
Wed: --- 7.2 km --- (9.8 km/h)


I've realised that it is easiest to train up in a gym. During my two week free stint at the gym, I managed to do some stuff that I've only dreamed about. Too bad I don't earn enough to get a credit card that gets me into the gym for free. I've been at my company four years and I spent four years in a university for a double degree overseas and I still don't earn enough to get a credit card. Damn it lah.

Smarts don't get you anywhere, you know that? Only ambition. Oviously I'm chanelling all my ambition into running.

Weekend getaways wreck havoc on running goals. Worse, they sap me of all desire to run, and all I want to do is to curl up with a good book or movie and snack on junk food all day and long into the night.

Total mileage this past week was 5km. 5km!! That is like a 75% reduction from the previous three weeks! I swear I have a new belly already.

On the plus side, the less I run, the more I read. I've gone through two or three books this week while lying on my new belly. On the minus side, in addition to the already-stated belly, my level of statisfaction with life now is at an all-time low, approximately the level it was when I was in Junior College, and that is low.

So really, the moral of this post is, pigs can't fly, but this one's sure gonna run tonight.

If you live in the US, you could use Google Pedometer to calculate the distance of your jogging route.

If you live in Singapore, you could use streetdirectory.com.

But you'll have to pay $0.53. (evil laugh)

 

 

I saw a snake. Within the first ten minutes of the ten km trail run at MacRitchie, I saw the bronze coloured snake slither from the middle of the path into the bushes. My foot was 10cm from the tail of the snake when I saw it. I yelped and jumped. It made me somewhat jumpy during the rest of the run too. Later, I jumped again when a twig hit my foot, and another time when I thought I saw something shiny slither away from the side of my eye (probably an insect). Eeuw. But the adrenaline rush was useful. :)

I was running the trail route alone for the first time too. After the snake, the only other thing that really scared me was this young-ish guy walking and listening to music. I supposed he scared me because he didn't fit into any category. Usually the guys who are alone on the trail will be running and the middle-aged men with the familes will be walking. Rarely will you see a lone fit-looking male walking on the trail. When I stopped for a drink, the scary guy ran and overtook me for a short while before I overtook him again in the last bit of tree-root ridden trail by the golf course. It was a bit scary overtaking him and having him behind me.

Women running alone have so many things to worry about. I ran with my handphone and a bottle of water. I didn't use the hp at all during the run but was happy to lug it along just in case I get bitten by a snake, or someone gives me trouble, or I run out of energy... Of course there is no reception right at the heart of the trail, but hopefully nothing untoward will happen on that stretch. I keep thinking about the poor girl who was left on the MacRitchie trail with nothing on but her tennis shoes.

The next mobile phone I purchase with come with emergency tear gas. (I wish!)

Route: 10k MacRitchie. Time: 61mins 40secs. Mileage this week: 29.5km