Night Hawk #5 - Steady-Birdy Pace

Field Report filed by FatBird Anthony
Photo Slideshow by FatBird Jancy


Another warm morning awaited us at the NightHawk session #5 as the 50+ runners gathered for registration and chatter. Most of the runners have arrived by 7:05am....cool....getting better. The menu this morning was similar to last week's 10km-28km. It was also a week prior to our night LSD next friday, The Dusty Run II. A slightly larger group from SAFRA MF joined in this morning's run. This morning's pace will be moved to the TFB Steady-Birdy HR Zone (Marathon pace).

NightHawk Central 8 (redcon ACTIVATED)

About 80% of the runners were familiar faces. Lai Chee and Lesley walked in nonchalantly just before the start. A short brief and introductions to the NightHawk Central 8 marshals and their respective pacing distances, and away we went. NightHawk A, comprising of Jancy, Beng, Terry took care of the 10km-20km runners while NightHawk B, comprising Keonz, David, Yrannath, Spencer and Anthony paced the 20km-28km runners. The starting speed was much better, with most of the runners checking their paces and avoiding the urge to surge. I ran along a bit with 2 new ladies who joined from Running Lab...they were to go for 20km. Ivy came alone in spite of her kakis not turning up.

In the distance, the sun was emerging as we headed towards NSRCC. The Temasek Poly Dualthlon was about to begin. I took a quick break at the toilet nearby, and came out to see the mid-pack and LaserRunner (who was doing 20km). DO came to say that Team A's NightHawkers are all cleared in front, and we ran together to catch up. Terry, Han and scoop turned back at the 20km point, while I proceeded on to catch up with Suan (who turened at the 13km U-turn mark). YN was waiting at the 14km U-turn mark, while acid and the rest went for the next U-turn. Lai Chee/Lesley went all the way to Changi Beach Park toilet.

NightHawk ladies

While YN, wee, Bev and Bern returned, I went slightly ahead to meet up with acidburn, ZhiLei and Charmane. ZhiLei mentioned she did not have sufficient rest and seemed to be a little dehydrated. Fortunately I had a small bottle of gatorade which did help a little. We proceeded on with a more comfortable pace of about 6:15min/km, and soon found ourselves reaching NSRCC. The small group was at the cooler at NSRCC, and we joined in to lap up the water. A dog nearby joined in to quench its thirst in that mighty hot sun. After a few refills of my water bottle later, we continued on in high spirits to tackle the remaining 8km.

Along the way, I was advising ZhiLei to hydrate more, and not to start off too fast and furious. She has the potential to do at least a 4.5hr marathon if she follow the training plan and practice proper hydration and refueling. Soon we caught up with Bev and Bern, and we were running in a small group again. Running along ECP always allow me to bump into so many familiar faces, too many to recall....all I know are they are good running friends and kakis who will always bring a smile to my face even in very trying weather...hehe. With 2km to go, we picked up speed a little and proceeded to run non-stop all the way to complete the approx. 29km distance (for me at least). It was yet another satisfying run......somehow my legs felt more tired today compared with last week. As the training distances get progressively longer, the runners are looking to arm themselves with fuel belts and hydration systems as well as powergels and recovery drinks to stay the marathon course.

Soaking it in at the Watering Hole

Generous contributions to the FatBird drinks fund continue to pour in, and that should help to keep the drinks, bananas and Sng Paos flow steady for the next few weeks :) I would like to take this opportunity to thank all who are so supportive of Team FatBird and what we do. I had LiLian from the meet-ups team to pick a nice tree for a group photo. The NightHawk Central 8 also took a series of nice group photos, along with FatBird individal profile photos, all for our new website which we hope to launch by end April.

Overall a satisfying run for all, and it seemed that there was minimal walking today compared with last week....could be the runners getting stronger and more conditioned. The Dusty Run poster should be ready by next week, and all are getting excited for the Apr10 Dusty Run premiere....Let's Kick Some Dust, We Will Have A Blast :)