Chinese New Year Eve Run

I got up at 6 am today, and made my way down to Mt Faber SAFRA for a Chinese New Year Eve Run with the other runners from MF SAFRA Running Club and SgRunners. An attendance check revealed a stunning turnout: DO, DreamRunner, Ong, CherryRunner, BabyMonster, Kumaran, Cokiee, Ironmandreamer, DiverRunner, Run.run.run.away, BrokenRunner, Littlefoot, Cosmic_Wind, Kops21, Superboy82, Freddy, Chairman, Wong, Alan Yeo and Eileen. Kellylim22 was also there to be our event photographer! :)

We started our journey at 7:15 am from the Clubhouse, and went along Depot Rd, Alexandra Rd, then across Telok Blangah Road and into Labrador Park. We ran up to the Longyamen rock, did a loop around it, then headed for some hill training, going past a lovers' cafe, before exiting the park onto Telok Blangah Rd towards Sentosa. By the time we crossed over the Sentosa Gateway and reached the Visitors Arrival Centre, we had already covered about 10.2 km. It took us about 1 hr 15 mins. The map below shows our route from SAFRA to Labrador Park until our crossing of Sentosa Gateway.

10.2 km so far

At the Visitors Arrival Center, we were joined by Hedgehog and Sotong. And off we went on the Nike Real Run route, though we decided to cut short a section of the route (where the satellite dishes were). That effectively meant going from the Visitors Arrival Centre towards Tanjong Beach, then Palawan Beach, Silosa Beach, Jungle Trail, and then past the Musical Fountain to Cinemania, then back to the Visitors Arrival Centre. Ironmandreamer, Littlefoot and I slowed down our pace considerably, compared to the rest. So while the rest steadily kept up their pace and completed the Sentosa circuit and then headed back to the Clubhouse, Ironmandream, Littlefoot and I took a leisurely stroll in Sentosa. By the time we left Sentosa, we had covered 19 km, and the three of us had been on the move for about 2 hr 30 mins. The map below shows our route from SAFRA until we were about to exit Sentosa.

19.0 km so far

The last stretch to the Clubhouse was also a leisurely one for me. I didn't want to stress my legs too much. I was already doubling my mileage, from about 10 km for my previous few runs, to over 20 km today. If I kept running hard, I could get injured, which would be a terrible thing. So Ironmandreamer, Littlefoot and I walked some more down Telok Blangah Rd, turned into Kampung Bahru and then into Telok Blangah Rise, bought drinks at a provision shop, and returned to the Clubhouse. Total distance covered? 22.5 km. (But probably more...I think I underestimated the route covered in Labrador Park and the Jungle Trail...). Total time taken? A relaxing 3 hours 10 min. :) The map below shows today's entire route.

22.5 km so far

After showering, some of us went for lunch at the Telok Blangah market. I ate a bowl of mee rebus. Later, Kops21 gave me lift down to Tiong Bahru where I got myself a haircut. But I still felt I had energy in me, so I took a bus back to SAFRA and did some swimming. Great sunshine, clear waters, and not many people around. Fantastic! Then feeling hungry, I went to Bukit Merah for a bowl of fishball noodles.

I got home at 3 pm, feeling really exhausted, but the day was well-spent. Thanks to all my fellow runners for their excellent comaraderie and company!