After the last blog post, I got a bit more motivated to blog more and here I am again. The nice thing about having school holidays is the luxury of doing stuff anytime of the day, going for a run on a weekday morning instead of evenings and weekends. However, this is one of the rare times I went out for a run on a weekeday morning, even though I've started running now and then two years ago and a few holidays had passed since. The Simpang Kiri PCN is about 1.5km from P's place and I've started running there last year. It is a refreshing discovery and something different from my usual route heading towards the temple and back, nowadays I frequent this route instead of the usual 'temple run'. This route is preferred as I can do a minimum of 8km with one loop, but the way to the temple and back is only 4km.
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| A new running route that I've discovered last year |
I had intended to do a LSD last weekend, or at least a mid distance run, but I went for a trail run instead and my quads were really hurting till now. After a day of rest, I've decided to go for a longer run on Monday morning. It was a really warm morning, with the sun shining down strong at 7am. The previous time I was here, the weather was really cooling, so I managed to do a 17km run. It was considered a feat as my longest run on my own was 18.88km a few months back during the CNY season in preparation of the Nagoya Women's marathon.
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| When the sun is not so strong, this part of the route is really nice to run |
This is the first time I've brought a bottle of 100 Plus with me, there is a vending machine at Sembawang Park (6km point on the route) so usually I run without bringing any hydration. It proved to be a wise choice to have a drink with me as perspiration was dripping down my face like running water due to the hot weather. Usually it is cooling to run next to the body of water early in the morning, but it was already quite warm yesterday morning even though it was still early. I felt disgusted with the weather forecast which predicted that there will be rain at 9am, it is far from the truth as the sky was clear blue and there were hardly any clouds at 8am.
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| Sembawang Water Venture |
It was only the beginning of the year when I ventured till the end of the Simpang Kiri PCN and I discovered it led right up to Sembawang Water Venture and the Handler Bar, I run to this part of the route with some nostalgia as I spent a part of my youth here kayaking in the past. It is nice to sit on the steps for a short while, catch my breath and stare out at the sea. On weekends, there will be some uncles fishing near this area, but they were nowhere to be seen on a weeday.
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| The calming sea area at the end of the PCN |
The small road leading in to Sembawang Water Venture used to look eerie and creepy to me in the past, but now I look forward to this part of the route as it is well covered by trees and always cooling. The only negative thing was the long slope leading up to the main road, but now I see it as part of my training for Hakusan and conquer it with patience and without stopping.
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| Heading back using another PCN |
Reaching the Sembawang Park is a motivation for me as they have isotonic drinks at the vending machine and I always bring two-dollar notes for the water break. Yesterday morning was the first time all the drinks were sold out at the machine, so I was really glad with a strange stroke of luck, I already finished a bottle of 100 plus earlier. I felt a little bloated from the 600ml of hydration, so I only took a few sips of water from the water cooler. I ran back towards home using the Canberra PCN and I hit 9km point when I reached the NTUC downstairs. I brought extra notes so I could get a bottle of H2O from the supermarket. I almost wanted to end my run then as it was already 9am, it was a tiring run and I was at the void deck of my block. There was a heated debate within me as the plan was to continue on for a loop to the temple and back, making it a run of at least 12km-13km, it always seems nicer to hit a two digits for the distance covered.
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| Familiar grounds |
After downing half a bottle of H2O, I convinced myself to carry on as 4km more should be quite fast. The next part of the route is familiar grounds to me as I had been running there for years, its my regular training route for a short 5km run anytime. Fortunately, this part of the running route is blocked by the flats so it was relatively cooler until I reached the empty field near to the temple. I braced through this part and was really glad when I finally made the U-turn and headed back home. I clocked a total of 13km for the run, it was not that long but still felt quite draining due to the weather. I had wanted to go back to office after my run but I ended up sleeping and resting the day away. It took a full day for me to recuperate and got myself hydrated again.
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