Sundown Lead Up Run - Memories

The Sundown Organizer has put together a nice clip of our first Sundown Training/Lead Up Run where we had a great turnout in spite of the torrential downpour just an hour before run start...in the end, the highly enthusiastic Sundown Marathoners let their True Colours Shine Through...enjoy the video clip...

See You At Sundown Marathon!

Ops Kookaburra #5: A Good Build Up

The Ops Kookaburra participants went into their 5th week of training with a nice cool evening weather along the East Coast of Singapore.  The 3rd time we are having a group session with these runners preparing for the Gold Coast Marathon on 6-7 July, the goupings are more or less settled with the night's objectives to run a 16km and 28km distances in target Marathon Pace.

Along with the NightHawks (who are entering their tapering phase), the large group of trainees and Running Guides started together from C4.  The area was already bustling with night activities leading into the weekend, with the beach goers, cyclists and runners already into their strides when we were setting up.

We managed to flag off by 8:15pm, heading straight for the familiar Fort Road in our respective pace groups.  Although the Kookaburras were supposed to be slightly slower in paces than the NightHawks, it seemed many of them decided to fire ahead to test their abilities to sustain faster paces as gauges to help find their right pace groups.

A couple of Kokaburras headed into sub Group 1 category, while the Pacers maintained their Optimal Paces to serve as a guide for the runners' training.  The night air was rather cool after the late afternoon showers, and although more rain threatened, we were fortunate to maintain status quo.  Many of the trainees were able to sustain a good pace for up to 18km, then pushing on to 22km-24km without any threat of drifting off.

Hydration, nutrition and pace plans were put into serious practice to go along with the endurance building which should contribute to the proper progressive conditioning of the runners at target speeds in increasing longer distances.  The night was rather dark, leading to the runners focusing on the job at hand, and less of making merry - most all were rather serious in stretching their thresholds and testing out their race plans.

Running in groups went a long way towards helping the runners to keep motivated and focused in maintaining their paces, although it got to be rather challenging at the 'mentally-demoralizing' Coastal Road stretches.  After the U-Turn at the specified point along Coastal Rd, it became better as we strode towards NSRCC and then to the Sailing Centre.  

With about 6km to go, all runners were feeling strong enough to continue with target MP and proceeded to the end  point at C4 without much stropping, bar the quick toilet breaks for some water for hydration and cooling off in what was turning into a humid night.

By 11:30pm, 3.5hrs after running, all Kookaburras returned in reasonably good form, achieving what they had set out for the night.  A good majority of the Kookaburras are also using the upcoming Sundown Marathon at end May as a longest run to form a time trial of sorts, and also final longest run before tapering kicks in from June.

The current flock of Kookaburras look to be on firm ground as we progress, while the NightHawks are well conditioned for a good night at Sundown Marathon.  With the increasing instances over the past few weeks, there have been more reports of tightening muscles and pulls and pain in various parts of the legs; an indication that some time has to be spent recovering from the long runs, and more importantly, doing the R.I.C.E. treatment coupled with post-run stretches and even regular myofascial massages.

The Kookaburras will be doing their own training on week #6 in accordance with the prescribed training schedule.  Team FatBird trainers will be back with them in Week #7 when we will be tackling the 30km+ distances at target MP moving towards Team FatBird's Optimal Pace Plan.  We have good confidence that the Kookaburra trainees GCAM 2013 will come out tops on race day.

Run Kookaburras, Run Kookaburras, 
Gold Our Race Will Be!

Sundown Marathon: Lead Up Run #3

Photo Credit: Official Sundown Photography

It was yet another great turnout of highly charged runners in the 3rd and final installment of the Sundown Lead Up Run series.  The crowd started streaming in as early as 6:00am to get registered, collect their Optimal Pace Bands, meet up the Sundown Pacers as well as the Sundown Charity Ambassadors who were special guest runners.

The Playground @ Big Splash was a flurry of activity with 4-5 tents and bright lights.  We were able to get the briefing in by 6:30am after grouping the runners in their respective target pace groups along with the Sundown Pacers.  




Since this was to be the longest training run (21km for Half Marathoners and 32km for Full Marathoners), we were happy to flag off by 6:45am, just before first light dawned upon us - in the hope that it would minimize sun exposure in the latter part of the morning.

The weather favoured us with cloudy skies for a big part of the run, with just a couple of windows of heat from the sun, definitely a cooler affair than Lead Up Run #2 a few weeks ago.  The Pace Groups quickly settled into their Optimal Paces and were able to sustain that for at least the first 15km.

Other than the motivation and encouragement from the Sundown Pacers & Ambassadors, the 100 Plus and Maxinutrition hydration refuel points formed intermediate objectives that the marathoners looked forwards to reaching, making the long distances more achievable and even easier when tackled as a cohesive group. 

The first 21km was covered in good time with most of the groups arriving back to The Playground by 9:30am.  The HM runners were fully satisfied that they were able to complete their regulatory distances without too much trouble, giving their confidence a good boost for race night readiness.  

The FM runners, after a quick break of drinks and bananas, proceeded on at the encouragement of the Sundown Pacers for their final 11km of sustained Optimal Pace.  Most of the runners were still looking good, testimony to the reserves in them for the onward second half journey, which will surely test their endurance limits.  The groups still on their feet  were noticeably smaller by 10:00am, since a number from the HM categories and some who had started even earlier in the morning had completed their tasks.

The Sundown Pacers continued on with their mission to maintain the sustainable paces, and were looking undaunted by the heat of the late morning sun.  So too were the runners who were still at it, although it was mental resolve that kept them in their strides, all too determined to finish off the run strongly. 

In the end, it was sweet reward for most who completed their longest run to date, and at good paces to boot.  Although visibly tired, their faces exuded a sense of satisfaction at having given their best for the morning.  The confidence booster will put all in good stead for the Sundown Marathon on May 31 and June 1.

It was advised that the marathoners do a long night run the following weekend to inject night conditioning, before entering the tapering phase as we will lower the distances, albeit at the same intensities/paces.  There are more aspects to hone in the final weeks of training, especially in the areas of hydration, nutrition, adaptive recovery and sustainable pacing, which should ensure nothing much is left untested when the final night arrives.

The Sundown team are encouraged by the commitment and performances of the Lead Up Runners this morning, which showed good progress since the first Lead Up Run 5 weeks ago.  We are confident that the runners will bring out their best to Show Their True Colours on race night.  

Sundown Marathoners, see you at the start line!

Face Photo Albums
Official Sundown Album
FatBird Album 1
FatBird Album 2
FatBird Album 3

Weekend Training: NightHawks & Kookaburras @ MacRitchie Reservoir

The NightHawks were all excited about doing their longest run to date, and a night one to boot.  Along with the Kookaburras who are into their 3rd week of training program, the trainees gathered at the MacRitchie Reservoir (MR) Amenities Centre with their respective pace group trainers and guides on what was a relatively cool evening.

The training briefing was kept short to get the run underway as we expected a long night of pounding the pavement and connectors.  This being the 8th session of Ops NightHawk, the participants were all too familiar with their respective training groups and objectives, including the target paces they would be training at.  With all the blinking lights and watches set, we were flagged off in our respective groups and headed in the direction of Pierce Reservoir Road.

It was great to see that most participants had hydration and fuel belts on them, and we didn't spot a single headphone on any of the trainees - good observance of the night safety training protocol.  The run along Thomson Road, Pierce Reservoir Road, Old Upper Thomson Road (OUTR) was pretty smooth with the good marshaling by the Pacers and Running Guides.

The Kookaburra HM were the ones to U-turn first at the end of OUTR (to/fro 16km).   The rest of the groups proceeded on along Upper Thomson Road and then Sembawang Road.  The NightHawk HM were the next ones to turn back at the Sembawang Road/Mandai Ave junction (to/fro of 21km).  

The NightHawk and Kookaburra FM proceeded along Mandai Ave, still pacing along nicely in their respective groupings.  Kookaburra FM made a turn at the SLE flyover (to/fro 25km) with their respective guides, leaving the bulk of the NightHawk groups to go along the connector along Mandai Road all the way to the turn into the Zoo.  

A few groups took some nice photos at the U-turn (to/fro 32km) point where there were mock animals with a large billboard display, to demonstrate that they had made it to the extreme point of the night's training.  Target Marathon Pace (MP) were well maintained by the runners all the way on the return.  It was not till 25km that some of the runners were feeling the effects of low glycogen stores and insufficient hydration.

The Pacers and Guides made a few quick stops for the runners to get drinks from the stores - a run-saver as it allowed the effects of the marathon 'wall' to be delayed. enabling the runners to continue to sustain their paces for more km.

The run back along OUTR was one of quiet and calm in the serenity of the night.  Flanked on both sides by forests, it was cool and away from the bustle of the road traffic.  Running along this stretch in groups certainly help the trainees to push through the 'mental' states as well as offering good company and safety.

A final quick pitstop was made at the Pierce Reservoir toilet, before finishing the final 4km back the the MR Amenities Centre.  It was sweet relief and a great sense of satisfaction for many of us to have made the night's objectives (21km-35km distances @ MP), and we might not have done it without the good leadership of the group Trainers and Pacers coupled with cool, crisp weather.

The NightHawks have completed their longest run in good shape.  The next run will see them going for the maximum of 35km (FM) before the tapering phase sets in.  The Kookaburras did well in their basebuild mission, and they too will be looking forward to face-face group LSD with Team FatBird in a fortnight.



Facebook Photos Album 1, Album 2, Album 3

Impact Of Boston Marathon Blasts

What will be the impact of the twin blasts at Boston Marathon be for the Marathon running scene globally?

Team FatBird has given our comments to The Straits Times & Lianhe Zaobao 联合早报 regarding our participation and preparations for upcoming international marathon races.

The Sunday Times, 21 April 2013

How will Singapore race organizers and marathon runners be impacted by these recent events and what are they doing to prepare themselves better in the face of these times of high alert for the running community.

Lianhe Zaobao 联合早报, 21 April 2013