Monkeys, Slopes & the Zoo ...

Alarm rang at 5:30am. Almost decided to sleep in but thankfully there was an sms from last night that I didn't read. So read it and that helped to stir me from my dreamy state.

Ate, changed and was taking my own sweet time until I realised daylight has shone through the clouds and it was getting brighter outside. The haze seemed to be bad and after ensuring I have my ipod, water, keys, money & ezlink card, I rushed out of the house telling myself I should at least do a short run before the haze thickens.

My left leg sadly was still not feeling too good. Every step hurt somewhat and I was worried about whether my LSD could materialise. *grumble grumble* After some light stretching, I started my run. Not good, was limping a little due to the pain on my left leg. Wondering to myself what exactly was the problem and why was I suddenly plagued with this pain when I hadn't been doing anything drastic. I kept to slow pace and run/walk for my runs and I haven't up my mileage significantly. I have done whatever I thought necessary to prevent any injuries but now I felt another injury in the making.

Not knowing where to run as this was an impromptu LSD, I decided to stick to an easy route where there are less traffic (less pollution since the haze is bad enough) and so decided to just head to YCK, towards Casuarina & beyond. The first run/walk segment and I was already panting coz of the gradual slope right at the start. I limped everytime I re-start each run segment, cursing inwardly at the pain. Really frustrating to run in this condition and throughout the run, I was wondering whether I would be able to carry on.

About 30 mins into the run, I finally felt better and regained a bit of my confidence to carry on with the run. Passed by ST Electronics, Apple Computer. Was contemplating turning into the minor road (as indicated in the street directory) but decided against it. Didn't want to be amongst all the workers in the industrial estate on a Sunday morning (paranoia taking over), better stick to the main roads I reckoned.

Finally reached the Teacher's Estate, turned right and passed Casuarina. I came to my favourite stretch of road - at Upper Thomson. The trees lined each side of the roads neatly, with their uppermost branches & leaves touching one another, provided shade to the road underneath. On days when the sun is out, you can actually see streaks of the sun rays shining through the gaps formed by the leaves, illuminating the road. This quiet road just looked so serene, so calming, almost divine.

The DR in me was actually toying with the idea of running to MR and back, but being the DR, who just continued to run straight ahead, I actually ended up near Nee Soon camp -__-" (reminds me of the Fri nite run few weeks back when we ran to the boys' camp!). Thankfully before reaching the camp, I saw a signboard that says "Singapore Zoo". I was recharged knowing that I could be exploring a new route! Without another thought, I crossed the road into Meng Suan Road, effectively turning out of Sembawang (and bading farewell to Nee Soon camp). Soon, I see several runners overtaking me (actually at my speed, even ah peks and ah mms can overtake me ba :P). I guessed they must be from the MR group but of course I didn't have a chance to confirm. I decided to just follow behind them and soon I saw them turned into Upper Seletar Reservoir. Hmm, is that the way to Mandai ? Anyway, since I have never ran into USR, I decided to just follow them. Apparently this is a very popular route for runners because I saw many runners running into and out of USR. Had a short bio-break (first time I need a bio-break in an LSD! Must be the barley that I took the morning) before continuing on. There was a slope leading up to USR and I was panting by the time I got there, but what greeted me on top brought warmth to my heart. I saw the Overviewing Tower, the landmark of USR. Brought back childhood memories (and I'm sure to many others) as this is where families will bring their kids for a weekend morning stroll. Too bad I did not have a camera with me to take a pic of the place. The reservoir with its vast body of water seemed so serene in the early morning, the only thing that mar the scene is the haze, blurring the nature reserve that populated the opposite end of the reservoir.

Left USR and decided to continue my journey to Mandai. Passed the Nee Soon Flyover and trotted on along Mandai Road. I spotted many monkeys along the pavement and had to siam them by running along the road. Still passed many runners who were possibly on the return leg of the run. Gestured a Hi to one friendly elderly runner (who btw, was running effortlessly) and passed this very fit & tone looking lady runner in purple zoot attire. She was very friendly and I think she recognised me from earlier on at USR as she overtook me, and she gave me a very bright and warm smile. Shwee! One guy later overtook me and turned around to ask whether I was afraid of monkeys (coz minutes before he was behind me and must have seen me avoided the monkeys by running on the edge of the road). He later asked whether I was going to the Zoo and I replied "I will try to!", before he waved and said "See you later!" and left. These runners are really strong!

I later saw this same guy u-turned at the bus stop and we smiled & waved goodbye. Hmmm, apparently they are not going INTO the zoo. I recalled Divey telling me that it is another 4km to go into the zoo entrance, but I figured since I was already so close, it just wasn't an option to give up and not run ALL THE WAY to the zoo! Its an LSD afterall and I had not covered sufficient distance anyway. So I proceeded on, saw many cyclists along the way, even one big group of them waiting at the bus-stop opposite. The road into the zoo is LONGGGG but cooling. Very nice stretch to run actually except that there are just way too many slopes for my comfort!! Passed the place I would never want to go (Mandai Crematorium), OrchidVille. The road seem never-ending and if not for the huge welcoming signs hanging from the lampost, I wouldn't be sure I was running towards the Zoo. Finally reached the zoo entrance 2hrs++ into the run. The zoo wasn't open for the day yet (hence it was really deserted).

I was feeling very lethargic by then and was mentally calculating the distance I should have covered by now (about 16km I figured) and at least 8km more to go. I decided to end the run at about 3hrs 20+mins and wished that my legs would not give way before that. Thankfully the run out of the zoo seemed sooo much shorter and I heaved a huge sigh of relief when I passed the bus-stop where I bade farewell with the 2 runners previously. I carried on with my run/walk though the resolve to stick to it was waning. I was feeling very tired, pon chet, and at some segments i was doing 7mins run and 3 mins walk. My water supply was getting dangerously low and there were no 7-11 or provision shops nearby. To add to that, I was getting very hungry. Thoughts of power gel came to mind. Maybe that's what Roentgen meant when he insisted that I had to take some powergel and isotonic drink everytime we do LSD. Is my lack of refueling the reason why I was feeling so tired ? I was comparing my last 3 LSDs to this current one and I could feel a significant drop in energy this time round. My legs were threatening to give way, I was physically and mentally tired and I didn't feel like the past LSDs where my enthusiasm and energy was still pretty high at the end of the LSD. I was getting desperate and I had fleeting thoughts of downing Peel Fresh Orange Juice, energy bar & plain water. As I jogged, I just hoped that I could reach Sembawang (or the stretch before Sembawang where I recalled there is a coffee shop) soon enough to refuel. When I finally reached the coffee shop, I was just soo relieved. Bought myself a can of 100+ (surprise rite ? since I always refuel with plain water) and a bottle of water (to refill my water bottle).

Rested there for a good 10 mins, watching the patrons tucking into their dim sum breakfast, and seeing that there is a yong tau fu stall, I was just soooo tempted to end my run and have my breakfast there!! Mustering resolve I had left (not to mention discipline to complete the run!), I left the coffee shop and continued my SLOW run back. My run/walk segments became more erratic, I was feeling really tired and my legs were threatening to give way. Again, this is the first time I actually feel all the lactic acid building up in my legs, that I might just fall into a long kao !! I had to keep my spirits up and trotted on. Finally I could continue no further and stopped my LSD at 3hrs 20mins. I figured I should have run about 24km and that is all I set out to achieve anyway. I was still far from home (shortly passed the air con Prata Place) and I decided to just walk to cool down before deciding how to get home. I have 2 options : bus or cab. Bus - I was drenched in my own sweat and taking a bus didn't really appeal to me. Didn't want to wet the seats and didn't want to stand in a bus looking all wet and smelling bad! So I just walked and hoped to jump into a cab but alas! there weren't a cab in sight! I walked a good 40+ mins (or possibly more) before I successfully hailed a cab at Yio Chu Kang road! I could hear the loud sigh of relief inside me when I got into a cab, knowing that my LSD is near and I could finally have a good meal real soon.

I ran a total of 3hrs 20 mins today. Based on the street directory, I covered about 25.8km (should be less ba). Including the time I walked before I managed to get a cab, my LSD time is 4hrs 10+mins.

A very tiring run today, but I'm glad I managed to run/walk to the Zoo, passing by the many places that I like, including the tree-lined road in Upper Thomson Road, Upper Seletar Reservoir. What a wonderful way to spend a Sunday morning.

Ok, now I need to go catch up on my sleep.

KahSngJazzy