This ranks up there with my all time favourite routes. I ran this route during training as a student at RJC. Going past these familiar pavements always brings back memories of those good old days of near-daily long runs with Mr Leong. We were so crazy then… he refuses to run with me anymore though, cos he thinks I’m completely nuts. I wish he knew it was him who caused all this!!
Shady, quiet, good rolling hills. This route has it all. And you generally only have to stop two times, once going out and once going back at the Holland Ave lights. Other than that it’s go go go!
I had to drag myself out of bed today. Had second thoughts. Had the urge to sleep in after a long week and working till 10pm last night. Somehow I managed to jump out of bed and lace up my shoes. Surprisingly I was quite a bit faster today than the last time I ran this route a couple of weeks ago.
Anyway, that’s done. Hope to get a short spin on the trainer in later in the evening. Off to church now!
Oh, here’s what I did this week:
Mon - 1h 30min bike, computrainer
Tues - 2h run, Kent Ridge
Wed - 50min water running
Thurs - 10.5k run, Evans-Tyersall; bike to work and back
Fri - 40min intervals, Chip Bee loops
Sat - 1h 30min bike, computrainer
Sun - 11.5k run, Clementi-Old Holland
2 Comments
Hi jeanette
I have been following your blog and noticed that you really RUN A LOT! GOOD ON YOU. I used to run but not even a teeny tiny fraction of the mileage you cover. I am not running now becos i have had heel surgery and knee surgery the last two years. Reason : too much impact sports like running.
Am wondering how you do it without any
injuries to your legs! Please do tell me the secret.
Thanks and keep on running. How I envy you :)
Cheers
fiona
Hey Fiona,
Thanks for your comment and for reading. Actually I used to run more, but now I focus more on quality than quantity, because with work commitments I just can’t find the time and energy to run as much as I did in school. Also because I swim and bike now, which takes away some of the monotony of just running, helps my fitness and also gives my legs a break!
So that leads me to my secret…. I think it’s a combination of luck and sensibility.
Luck being I think I’m blessed with good biomechanics. I guess the size and shape and weight of my body is suited for running. I’ve done a few tests on treadmills and results show that I’m an efficient runner. I run in very lightweight shoes with very minimal cushioning without any problem.
And sensibility being that I’ve learnt to listen to my body. I used to run every single day but now I run on average four times a week and try not to run two consecutive days in a row. Biking and swimming are great cardio complements for running.
I find runners, especially beginners, try to do too much too soon, and run into injury. The kind of distances I’m running now is a result of gradual build up over the years, from running 3km in secondary 4 to 6km in JC1, then 10k, 20k, 30k, 40k… and so on. I didn’t rush from running 10km races one year to 84km races the next. The body takes time to build up and adapt. Runners need to know how to periodise their training according to their goals. For example, I took five months to prepare for the Sundown Ultra, split into four week blocks with every fourth week for recovery. After the Sundown I didn’t run for a week, then slowly eased back into running with a few 6km easy jogs. It was only a couple of weeks ago (that’s about two months after the race) that I started running seriously again to train for other races this year. I pick and choose my races, with only two or three key races a year. Other races are just treated as training for the big races. I find many runners try to do everything, and want to do everything well, which is not possible. The body needs down time. Overdoing it just causes injury.
Many runners also neglect cross training and core training, which are as important as running training itself. You don’t just need your legs to run, you need your whole body to be strong. Every part of the body works together, like a chain reaction. If you have a weak link, then that opens the door for injury.
Modern shoes offer technology to address runners’ problems like over pronation and under pronation, etc. But these shoes don’t correct the problems. As Physio Solutions physiotherapist Gino Ng told me, isn’t it better to correct your running style and learn how to run properly?
So… very long winded… but there are many ways to avoid injury…