Taper or Prelude to HKTW?

I enjoyed the run this morning. Having never been to Tampines biking trail was already a feature i excitedly looked forward to.

Took the first train that reached Redhill at 6.16am and reached Tampines at 6.55am. A red army of Salomons led the way to the start point. Serene and i tot they were gonna take a bus so we went on our own. Thankfully we bumped into Hadi who took us there...or else blur me wld have hollanded.

The men's cate was flagged off at 7.30am. Spotted Alvin and Hairul who were leading the pack (as expected). Saw a few familiar faces from AAC. Uncle Jack arrived JIT and joined the pack at the rear. After about 15min or so, the remaining cates begun their run. As i was carrying my hydration pack with all my stuff (dun dare to trust VGO's deposit system after Mizuno Bedok Run 07), i decided to start at the back...way way back, near the "hidden" portaloos :P

Kena bottleneck at an early 2km? Some girls were so "terrified" of the mud and shrieked as though they were stepping on poo...heheheh. One poor girl even dropped into a mud pool whilest crossing. This lady was actually stretching out her hand to help her cross but somehow she fell and was dirtied waist down. Being at the mid to back of the pack, when they stopped, i can't overtake since the paths were pretty narrow. Perhaps it is a blessing in disguise that i am not at my best form lately...i am more patient abt bottlenecks. It was a stop-wait-walk-run cycle for 4km in the cooling "jungle". What a pity. It's the best time to gain speed. Well, my health is more impt and i told myself i will take it easy for this one.

The crowd was more evenly spaced once i hit into the sunshine-rich sand+gravel field...ehhehe. Most couldn't tahan the heat. Altho i'm not like Serene who thrives under heat, i normally could keep a consistent pace. However, my body wasn't coping well again. I was feeling a bit "lembeh"...u know...like u havent eaten breakfast in the am and goes for a run?. That shouldn't be the case since i ate 2 buns & a milo in the morning. It wasn't salt loss or sugar low as my water was filled with some Gatorade and i made an effort to eat sweets in between. I told myself to focus on my breathing and every step forward...can't drift into TNF-alike-semi-conscious mode.

I approached the TNF method - run on flats and walk up slopes. The route was winding and u could see runners at different points on the remaining field. At one point, i even sighted the start/finish line but it wasn't 7km yet :P Somehow, certain scenes just remind of HH's HKTW pics...those upslopes at the opposite end of the hill when u r climbing UP? hahah.In any case, i told myself HK trailwalker is gonna be tougher than this hence i have to stay motivated to keep moving.

Approaching 8 or 9km, there was this volunteer who nonchalantly shouted "give up" (i am pretty sure he didn't meant "don't give up"). I showed him my middle finger (with my back facing him) and continued running. The 2 volunteers ahead of me saw that and got a lil' startled. It's the first time i responded "negatively" to an ill-mannered volunteer. I am always appreciative of volunteers and will make an effort to smile back or thank them as i run past...no matter how tired i were. This time round, i somehow decided to respond towards this audible discouraging rudeness displayed in the midst of a scorching race. Haiz..another case of a physically-developed man with a terribly delayed pubescence (i'm not a feminist :P ).

Saw Kelly aka Ripley of sgrunners towards the last 50m of the race, busy snapping pics. She asked me why i was there, i asked her back why isn't she running...hehehe. She then took a few shots of me as i crossed the finish line (Gam siah Kelly *smile*). I hope my big pimple isn't obvious on the pics :P

With the closure of this trail run, i am now inching to the next.