BG Run on 8 Oct`06 (Sun)

My right knee had this “clicking” feel after Animiles Run on Sat. Had to put on knee guard for my Mid-Autumn nite hike @ MacRitchie – thank goodness it was an easy walk to Jelutong Tower and we had a feast @ the top of the tower while watching the partially-conceal-by-haze moon. Reached home ard midnite and got ready my stuff for next morning run – packed my knee guard in my camelback, juz in case I need it during the run. Slept at 1am and woke up at 5.30am – need to catch the first train @ 6am to Dhoby Ghuat MRT and run 4km to BG. Had a mini snickers while waiting for the train. Weather was great when I exited from Dhoby Ghaut MRT station – clear with no hint of haze! Cool run along the quiet Orchard Rd – minus a few late-nite ravellers on their way home. Another fight @ Orchard Tower – groups of policemen and drunkards hanging outside the building. Felt the weight of my daypack as I ran up Nassim Rd – finally made it to SMU basketball court. Time check was 22min – wah, surprised that I could maintain 5.30min/km pace with additional load!

Tiwazz and tktan were doing their stretch at the basketball court while littletigger, charlotte n ronnie were running round the track. Soon more runners arrived – renoh, teelee, JT, kickjazz, divey & roetogen. We put our barangs in TLV before the run started at 7.15am. JT, kickjazz, divey & roetogen would be doing their run-walk routine while the rest followed renoh. We ran along Bukit Timah Rd – erh, surprised that we didn’t turn into 4th Ave (later found out that the route was modified due to the uncertain haze condition). Oh, taz, who came late and not aware of the change of route, lead charlotte to the slopes of 4th Ave! As we turned left to Clementi Rd, the upslopes began – one after another till Ulu Pandan Canal. My right knee was feeling sore and I put on my knee guard before the 2.2km to Bouna Vista MRT – littletigger shared with us that he used to put on knee guards on the run but no need to do that after he switch to wear CWX knee-length tight. Renoh stayed to wait for more runners while littletigger, ronnie, tktan and me continued – hmm, the knee guard was restricting my knee swing and slowed down my pace. We had a toilet and water break @ Bouna Vista MRT – thanks to tktan who brought coins, the iced cold 100plus tasted GREAT! Renoh rejoined us after waiting in vain for more runners. At the junction of Commonwealth Ave and North Bouna Vista Rd, we spotted taz, charlotte and tiwazz. We passed by Holland Village and continued along Holland Rd – very messy area with all the construction work going on. Was so tempted to stop running and take the bus to BG... Finally, BG was in sight and we turned left to Cluny Rd – oh mine, more slopes… Arghhh, saw the prata Shop and widen the stride – yeah, completed the run in 1 piece! Thanks to tktan for pacing and encouraging me – especially the last stretch @ Cluny Rd with words like “gentle slope”, “downhill all the way”!

Tekko came with hot buns for breakfast and the osteopaths, Jo and William, arrived to give the runners a personal running gait analysis. William started the analysis with me describing my problem areas – mainly hip and knee. Same as Paul’s analysis, my pelvis was slightly rotated which resulted in my hip pain. He did a quick massage on my right knee to ease the strained ligament – the clicking feel was gone! Than I was asked to show him my slow walk, fast walk and running posture. He observed that I landed on my mid-forefoot, supinate more on my right foot and my arm swing was restricted (didn’t do a full swing). This could be the cause of my knee & hip pain – oh, my stiff right last toe, too. Then I took off my shoes and socks for him to check my leg length. It appeared that my left leg was slightly shorter – or due to tight muscles. He advised to pay them a visit to do a thorough analysis. While waiting for all the runners to complete their individual analysis, we chitchatted and munched on buns and konnyuku jello (made these with my niece on Sat -- new flavour of fresh orange juice with aloe vera and lime-flavoured Gatorade). Jo gave a quick summary of the common problems among us. He would arrange another session 4-6 weeks later to see whether there is any improvement. Thanks to tekko for organizing this good session, and the buns, too!


After shower, we went to Adam Rd’s food centre for lunch. Had the big prawn noodles – didn’t suit my taste :( Many thanks to teelee for the ride home! Managed to take a power nap – I should consume powergel sparingly!

P.S. Maybe due to lack of sleep, ran out of fuel or Sat’s Animiles run & nite hike, was not in good condition to run… Next time, better take a good rest before a long run.

Route : Start @ Dhoby Ghuat MRT -> Orchard Rd -> Nassim Rd -> Evans Rd -> Bukit Timah Rd -> Clementi Rd -> Ulu Pandan Canal -> Commonwealth West Ave -> Holland Ave -> Holland Rd -> Cluny Rd -> End @ SMU basketball court

Distance : 19.6km
Time : 22min (first 4.1km) / ard 1hr30min (next 15.5km)
Avg pace : 5.30min/km (first 4.1km) / 5.48min/km pace (next 15.5km)