MacRitchie - Lower Peirce - Upper Seletar - Nee Soon - MacRitchie

This morning, I got up really early (after just 4 hours of sleep) and in spite of the rumbling thunder, went to MacRitchie Reservoir to run with the SAFRA Running Club. When I got there, I ran into Balasing and BrokenRunner, who were at the reservoir for the SPCA Run. We also met Carine who was there for her "secret training" with the other MR25 runners. :)

Today's run was particularly special for me, because it was my first time running with my Polar RS200sd - watch, chest-strap and foot-pod. :) At 7:05 am, the slight drizzle had already ceased, and I began my run with Eng Hua, Gula and Anthony from the SAFRA Running Club, starting from the road between Carpark B and the toilets and going onto the 3.6 km Northern Trail in MacRitchie Reservoir. Then, after 25 minutes, we cleared that trail and took a right turn onto another trail which was shorter, had more gravel than sand and had a little, clear stream which sang all the way as we ran alongside it. 9 minutes later, we emerged at a carpark near to the Singapore Island Country Club. We then ran along Island Club Road until we hit Upper Thomson Road. We then followed Upper Thomson Road northwards until we arrived at the Lower Peirce Reservoir carpark, where we stopped for our first waterbreak. By this time, we had already run for 1 hour 10 minutes.

After our waterbreak, we proceeded for the next leg of our run along Old Upper Thomson Road. Along the way, we met Ben Tan, one of Singapore's finest sailors, as well as some MR25 runners and a horde of expatriate cyclists. We emerged back on Upper Thomson Road (near Yio Chu Kang Road), and continued northwards, all the way until Mandai Road. Then we went along Mandai Road, and then into Upper Seletar Reservoir Park. Time for a second waterbreak. We were already into 1 hour and 30 minutes of our run, and we had covered 14.3 km. The view of Upper Seletar Reservoir was great. I was still feeling rather good at this juncture.

After about 10 minutes of rest, we then ran out of the park along Track 7, crossed Mandai Road, then went up Bath Road, and sneaked into the former Nee Soon Camp. There were some extremely muddy sections along our route in Nee Soon Camp, and I got my right shoe (together with my precious footpod attached!) wet with icky, brown muck. In any case, by the time we cleared Nee Soon, I was feeling extremely breathless.

Eventually, we ended up in Singapore Island Country Club. Great view, nice golf-course, but I was feeling rather unwell. We took a third waterbreak there. It was already 2 hours and 11 minutes into our run, and we had gone 19.2 km. To my surprise, despite a rather long rest there, my heart rate was still at an elevated 140 counts per minute. The other SAFRA Club runners began to express their concern for me over this. They decided that we'll take the remaining run slowly, and advised me to go check with a sports doctor as soon as I can.

And with that, we embarked on our final leg back to MacRitchie Reservoir, cutting across the Singapore Island Country Club (while cautiously avoiding flying golf balls) and returning via the 3.6 km Northern Trail. I was in no state to run, and could barely manage a slow jog-walk. In any case, I made it back to Carpark B in 2 hours 57 minutes. I had covered 24.3 km. I was very out of breath, but it felt good to have completed the whole journey.
Overall, for the run, my stats were as follows:

1. Maximum Heart Rate - 181 cpm
2. Average Heart Rate - 158 cpm
3. Maximum Pace - 04:56 min per km
4. Average Pace - 07:17 min per km
5. Distance Covered - 24.30 km
6. Calories Burnt - 1881 kcal