My Run at Macritchie Park

Lovely morning sun

Today, 2nd Feb, I decided to make a more consistent effort at running 5K regularly and plan to run continuously 10K before the month ends. That is my intermediate goal. It was my turn at cheuffering my elder son and his friends to school and immediately after that, I made my way to McRitchie Reservoir. McRitchie Reservoir was named so because in honour of the Civil Engineer McRitchie who helped design and build it in the late 1800s. The fact that it is still very much in use and a major stop for people who want to exercise,families , lovebirds, tourists and photographers that it is one of the major attractions of Singapore.


The band stand over the Reservoir

I started my run at roughly 7.50am and it was a cool morning. There were a sprinkling of cars and people of all ages and nationalities. At the start point,just after the band stand, I set off on a brisk pace with no trace of tiredness or soreness from my earlier run 4 days ago. Upon entering the path strewn with wornout stones and damp earth, I paced myself briskly and into the forest. A run in the forest is called 'fartlek' (Swedish) and it differs from road running because of the undulating and more challenging terrain. Most times, runner use trail shoes although I was using my stability shoes for maximum cushioning.The air in the forest was very cool, something like 22 deg C and it was lovely to run.


Canoeists in the distance

I made may way down the first hill and scampered up the second, it was a breeze, so I increased my stride length and started overtaking some people who were running slowly or walking. The beauty about running in trails is that due to the canopy above (forest leaves and branches), very little sunlight gets through to the forest floor and whatever diffused lighting which gets in does not heat up the trail very much. I was in my full throttle mode by mid-run and enjoying the fresh morning air and near empty forest. Many people prefer the Botanic Gardens nearby but I personally find that there are no trails and too many people going about their morning walks and jogs so much so its like I am swerving to avoid all manner of people, dogs, push prams and walking sticks !


Nice sunny morning at Macrithie Reservoir

At the half-way mark near the golf course I hit the signboard with my trademark "clunk" and returned back to the trail with renewed vigour. I was really into my run and made a mental note to try 2 rounds (10K) the next time I went to McRitchie.The plod plod of my feet on the soft earth also did wonders for my knees. It was much softer and gentler on joints so I think that I should try out more trail runs to improve my stamina rather than the harsh road runs.On top of that, the Pose Running method taught by Dr.Nicholas Romanov is an excellent method of running and increasing pace without straining the body. I finished my run in 28 minutes 45 seconds. I then went to the bench for the strech and warm downs and admired the lovely view of the canoeists in the distance and the chatter of birds over the reservoir.

It was indeed a good start to the day