the pencil runs

In preparation for the half marathon at the end of the year, this is our simple plan:

1. Increase the length of time we can keep jogging.
2. Increase the speed of short-medium length runs.
3. Do other types of sports when we get bored.

To this end, we hope to run one slow and long distance a week, slowly increasing the length of this jog until we are capable of jogging for two hours or so.

We, the plodders
Last week we jogged a wonderful route from Bishan Park to Esplanade via the kallang park connector. It was mid-autumn's night and the night was full of sparklers, lanterns and candles. It felt like a tour through the heartlands of Singapore -- we ran past the Indian temple with their drums, the Chinese temple belting karaoke, the neighbourhood crime watch patrol with their neon sticks. We ran for 78mins -- approximately 11km.

This week, we jogged at East Coast Park. The breeze was great but the route far more boring than the Bishan-Esplanade route. The only good thing about East Coast Park is that the road never ends (the road ending is a big problem when you live on a small island) and you don't have to worry about traffic. Otherwise, it is quite boring. We sang, "We are the plodders of the world!" at the top of our lungs (took up all of one minute) and ran in silence for most of the way. We ran 1 hr 41mins, approx 13.5km. The sky was dark by the time we finished.

We, the bounding gazelles
For the first time last week, through some cunning manipulation, we managed to get to MacRitchie by 5:45pm to run the 10km route. Was a bit worried about it being too deserted on a weekday evening but it wasn't too bad. We ran this route at a medium pace, finishing it in 67mins.

This week we also ran two rounds of Bishan Park, 3.3km each. It was fast enough that we couldn't talk. There was a thunderstorm looming that night -- the kind of night where you can almost feel the static electricity in the air, when every five minutes or so, the blood red sky would streak with distant lightning, followed by a low deep rumble. Ran the first loop in 19mins, the second in 21mins.

We, the salamanders
Cycled to and from work twice this week. It takes the same time to cycle as to take public transport. A bit of the hassle with the working clothes and smelling decent for work, but it means I get to save a little money that I can spend on other things, like the Polar RS200sd or a night out with the gals. I will have to cycle back and forth everyday for six and a half months if I wanna save enough for the Polar RS200sd though. Bah.

So what shall I run tomorrow?

Posted on Friday, September 23, 2005 at 10:58 AM. :)