Run of Dunnos

Not sure why, but I've been feeling more and more lethargic as the days pass. Been feeling this way for the past couple of weeks and it doesn't seem to be letting up .... so have been slowing down considerably and not pushing during my workouts.

I wasn't even prepared to run on Sat morning. Thought to just sleep in and nuah for the weekend and forget about trying to run.

Well, we never get what we asked for do we ? Bio-clock woke me up at 6+ and not one to go back to sleep after waking up, decided to not waste the morning tossing and turning in bed and try to head out for a run.

This is a run of Dunnos for the simple reason that ...

1. I didn't know I was gonna run
2. I dunno where to run to
3. I dunno how long (time & distance) I will run
4. I dunno whether I CAN run (since I'm feeling so tired)
   

I put on my running shoes, shades & ipod and was still thinking where to run when I reached the void deck. Damn. Finally decided to run the usual Yio Chu Kang - Upper Thomson Road to visit my fav tree-lined stretch. However, somehow this stretch didn't have the same appeal to me today. Started my run and felt laborious in my breathing. After passing ST Electronics & NCS, my usual route was to carry on straight to hit the Teachers' Estate. However, I was just so dreading the run and I kept toying with the idea of ending the run. I knew that I had to change my route if I want to continue … this again exemplifies my character that routine bores the hell out of me and I will need to constantly inject newness into my routines. Not good not good L

Hence, at the junction of Yio Chu Kang and Lentor Ave, I turned right towards Lentor Ave. This stretch turns out to be quite nice to run, as there are no traffic lights. Its just one way straight ahead and one can basically just run without any need to think. My motivation came when I saw a park ahead after about 2-3km. Yipppeee! Turned out I arrived at Lower Seletar Reservoir Park and there was the LSRP Fishing Jetty. The weather was nice at that time of the day, the waters still and there were a couple of men fishing at the jetty, which was small and nothing like the one at Labrador Park. But it still is a treat for me :) I took my walk break at the jetty, stretching and taking a good look around the surrounding before proceeding on. There were already a bunch of kayakers gathered in the park ready to start their day kayaking and further down as I ran, there were still others standing by the side of the reservoir fishing. The park was small and short and it took me a few minutes to run out of the park and back on the road.

I ran along Yishun Ave 1 and would have wanted to carry on straight to the Orchid Country Club (which is where I thought I would be headed based on the signage shown) if not for the fact that I was 1hr into the run and need to replenish my fluids. The road ahead seemed ulu and big trucks were parked along both sides of the road. Not a very enticing stretch. Hence I decided to again turn Ave 4 where civilization beckons and I trotted on in search for mineral water. I passed Yishun Ring Road and realized I was back where I ran 2 weeks back when I went to the Sembawang hot springs and was surprised I got myself to Yishun. I passed the Yishun Park and finally found the same kpt where I stopped for water the other time. I gulped down the ice-cold water and felt recharged to proceed with my “adventure”.

Being the DR that I am, I just ran wondering whether I would be able to find my way to the hot springs (haha). Well, in short, I didn’t. Ended up (in retrospect after checking the streetdirectory), I realized I just did a big loop around Yishun & Sembawang. I hit Sembawang Road and ran past Khatib camp, past those horticultural farms or whatever (again, a very nice stretch to run since it was quite cooling) but got to a point where there weren’t pavements and I had to endanger my little life by running by the side of the road, in the same direction as the traffic.

I reached Nee Soon camp and found myself along the stretch where I ran my last LSD last year – my LSD to the Zoo. I ended my run at the nearby kopitiam to buy the much needed water. People were feasting on their dim sum and stuff. Initially I thought to refuel at the kopitiam too, but wasn’t feeling hungry at all right after the run, so decided to just walk and drink to cool down. I walk for a good 20-30mins before taking the public transport (bus … and then taxi :P) to get me home.

Interesting run.

Estimate distance : 16km (should be longer considering I covered some short distance in the park etc.)
Total time taken : 2hrs