After a week of unhealthy to hazardous blanket of haze from the Kalimantan fires, the Sunbirds were thrilled to see a drastic dip in psi levels overnight, which meant we could activate session #3 of Ops Sunbird training.
There was a reasonably good turnout in spite of the upcoming Straits Times Run and a few overseas races this weekend. As many were joining FatBird training for the first time, the trainers provided an overview of the training program which focuses on building and strengthening the running base in the first half of the program, before progressing on to pace training in the 2nd half.
After last weekend's hills and trails run, this morning's workout aimed to stretch the resources of the trainees with a rolling hills run sandwiching a 2.4km Fig-8 hills repeat for good measure.
A 5km run at Basebuild Zone (2) into Labrador Park from start at SAFRA MF set the tone for the morning's training requirements. Once into Labrador Park, the respective pace groups went about repeating their 2.4km laps with the hills tunnels in between providing a challenge to raise the effort for many of the Sunbirds.
The cloud cover provided good shade as we tackled the Labrador Park segment, although the humidity was still a contending factor for many of the runners. The experienced Sunbird trainers and pacers led their respective groups of trainees well as evident in most of them sticking closely and pacing steadily as cohesive units.
When the 30min for the HM and 60min for the FM were completed, the runners still had sufficient reserves in them for the 5-6km back to SAFRA Clubhouse. A number of new trainees who did not bring hydration along were feeling the effects of fatigue from dehydration after about 1 hour of running, but this would serve as a learning experience for all to have sufficient hydration for long runs.
The HM trainees completed their 14km and the FM runners completed 26km run back at SAFRA Clubhouse, wearing beaded sweats of perspiration on their faces but exuding a sense of satisfaction of finally getting that long run in (after many days of non-workouts because of the haze situation).
With week #3 successfully completed, the Sunbirds are confidently progressing on to the next quarter of training with more hills at Mt. Faber next week. We should be expecting more Sunbirds returning back for training in week #4, and hopefully with the haze abated by then, we would be able to finally have a smooth progression training towards our objectives for the Standard Chartered Marathon Singapore (SCMS) and a few other overseas marathons like the OSAKA, New York, Chicago, Chiang Mai and Taipei marathons.
The Sunbirds Were Soaring High In Clear Skies
Photos by FatBird Ronnie
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