The Longest Night for NightHawks & Kookaburras

In Week #9's training, the NightHawks and Kookaburras were tasked with their longest paced run (Marathon Pace) of 35km for the Full Marathoners and 21km for the Half Marathoners.

Because of the SEA Games that is currently happening, we made a swap of training locations with that of ECP/Gardens By The Bay to have our longest training run at the fringes of the 3 Reservoirs, starting off from MacRitchie Reservoir Park.

The turnout was subdued due in part to the opening ceremony of the SEA Games as well as the weekend's Muar Marathon in Malaysia where we have a number of trainees and trainers participating.

The evening started well with the trainees coming in early to collect their coveted NightHawk/Kookaburra training tees which came in very nice colours and of very good quality from New Balance SG, apparel/shoe sponsor of Ops NightHawk.  Some of the trainees put on their training tees immediately for the night's long run.

After a quick briefing, we pushed off in respective pace groups along Thomson Road towards Peirce Reservoir Road.  A string of blinking lights worn by the NightHawks and Kookaburras could be seen clearly, and were useful as guiding light for the following runners.

The night was cooler than last week's at ECP/Gardens, due mainly to the heavily forested reservoir areas which gave off cooling gases.  There were also mild drafts of wind which provided us with quite a refreshing run.

Instead of turning into Executive Golf Course and Seletar Reservoir, we headed straight on along Upper Thomson Road, Sembawang Road passing Nee Soon Camp.  The FMers parted ways with the HMers at the Maindai Link/Yishun Ave 2 junction as that was the U-turn point for the HM runners for their 21km distance requirement.

The FMers continued along the rather long Mandai Road at steady paces on the rather comfortable running surfaces.  It was a mild rolling terrain along that long stretch before we hit the large signboard at the entrance to the Mandai Zoo/Night Safari.

Groups 1-3 continued on till we reached the Zoo toilets for a total distance of 17.5km before taking a break at the toilet and drink fountain.  There was hive of activity with tour buses and tourists coming out of the Night Safari after their mystic adventure with the night animals.

After a good water break, the groups headed back out to the signboard,  With good timing banked in, some groups were able to spare some time to take a few candid group shots with the wild nature billboard and some funny animal poses.

With good execution of their individual fuel and hydration plan, the trainees were looking strong up to the 21km mark.  Some of the runners even upped their paces slightly to attempt to run a negative split, in preparation for the next few training session's Optimal Pace requirement.

As we ran as groups along the longish Mandai Road back, it was still pleasant as we had each other for motivation and encouragement.  We did pick up a couple of straggling birds along the way, and with encouragement, they continued to push on till we hit the next milestone near Nee Soon Camp where they could get some iced-cold isotonic drinks from the small provision shop.

By the time we re-entered Old Upper Thomson Road, the spirits were high as we meandered along the quiet road and there were a number of sightings of the Wild Boar pack (about 15 animals) moving along the forest fringes.

The soft strides of the NightHawks and Kookaburras along the OUTR in the quiet of the night provided the tempo for us to keep to Marathon Pace and enjoy the remaining segment of the return route.  Soon, we reached the Lower Perice Reservoir Toilet.  A quick check of the distance told us we have completed 31km and we were still feeling rather strong.

With just 4km+ left to complete the night's run, all were very motivated as we ran all the way back to MR Amenities Centre with chit chats and easy breathing.  Although the legs were tired, which was understandable at that stage, we did not feel like they were broken and many of the runners could actually run another 10km for a complete FM should they be asked.

All the groups reached back to the end point before the stroke of midnight, feeling very happy and satisfied they had accomplished 30km-35km of running at MP.  

We will be entering Optimal Pace training from next week with one more 30km run before going into the Tapering Phase.  Those trainees who have missed the longest run in week #9 are encouraged to come for next week's run to have better conditioning and preparedness for race day on July 5.

The NightHawks & Kookaburras Have Completed The Longest Run!

Photos By FatBird Chin and NightHawk Laura

GCAM and Sundown Training: Hitting the 30ks

The second half of Ops Kookaburra and Ops NightHawk marathon programs started with the participants breaching the psychological 18km (HM) and 30km for the Full Marathoners (FM).

It was yet a humid night and ECP was buzzing with weekend activities with lots of merry making as well as cyclists, runners and walkers doing their fair share of healthy exercising.  

The FatBird marathon trainees were all pumped up to do their longest run to date, and having the flattish route was meant to provide a more conducive environment for pace training and gauging of our pace sustainability.

Since we had done a similar route just 2 weekends ago, the briefing was kept short to allow for more time to cover the longer distances.  With the faster marathon pace targets, the expected end of training would be just over 11pm, allowing ample time for the participants to catch public transport home.

The first half of the run went well with smooth pacing all the way to Gardens By The Bay, Marina Barrage, Marina Bay Sands, rounding off from the Promontory before making our way back to ECP again.  The trusty trainers and pacers kept the trainees humming along steadily at target paces with planned water stops along the way to ensure that proper hydration protocols were observed.

The HM groups completed their 19km of night run at marathon pace back at Parkland Green in about 2 hours or so, giving their confidence and morale a strong boost.  The FM groups did well too, with just a small water/banana break at Parkland Green before moving ahead in flocks to complete another 9-11km.

The air was humid and many of us were sweating buckets, with swishing sounds of wet socks in our running shoes echoing in the rather quiet and serene night.  A few of the FMers experienced fatigue and symptoms of 'low sugar' after the 23-24km mark, evident that there were no top up of the fuel tanks with gels or sugar mixes.

It was another good experience with takeaways for practicing hydration and fuel plans for possibly the next few long runs of 28km-35km.  Without proper replenishment of the depleting glycogen stores at timed intervals, the likelihood of eroding performance and inability to sustain pace will occur especially past the midway mark of the FM.

All Kookaburras and NightHawks completed the night's targeted distances in good form and many happy faces could be seen sharing their stories and how strong they felt during the run.

As we dispersed for our wash-up and making our way home, the night had only begun for the patrons at the restaurants and cafes around the Parkland Green area.  Yet another session of training was successfully completed, and most trainees achieving the set training targets of the night with a number surpassing their own expectations...Well Done Kookaburras & NightHawks!

Photos from FatBird Rand, CK Chin

Transition from BaseBuild to Marathon Pace

The NightHawks and Kookaburras progressed into week #5 with a new route and challenge - transition from the BaseBuild pace into Marathon pace (which will set the tone from weeks 6-8).

This being another night conditioning long run made it even more challenging, although the route along ECP along Gardens By The Bay and MBS is overall pancake flat.  The weather looked threatening 1 hour prior to the training, but a check with our weather app showed we had a good chance of avoiding the rain, which we did eventually.

In view of the long 17km-28km distance, we had a quick briefing before starting off by 7:50pm as planned.  The respective group Trainers, Pacers and Trainees were all excited to test their paces along the new route, and also to put the night's training objectives into practice.

The whole route from ECP into Gardens and then MBS was well lit to our pleasant surprise, allowing us smooth access along the route.  The only hazard was the myriad of night cyclists dashing about which we had to be vigilant about.

The NightHawk trainers set very steady paces which prevented trainees from starting too fast in the first half, leaving room for a highly negative split in the second half of the run.  Although the night was windy, there were stretches that were humid.  It was good that most of the trainees had hydration with them as advised.

The Half Marathon trainees had a good run of 17km and met their targets of returning with a faster Marathon Pace after 8.5km of BaseBuild run.  The Full Marathoners were good through to 18-22km before some found the Marathon Pace harder to sustain in the final 5-6km.

Still it was a good training run for all, with many trainees having gone their longest distances for the first time.  From the funny way some were walking, it can be seen that the trainees were indeed stretched.  From the smiling faces when asked, it could be seen that all of them were proud and happy that they completed the mission and have advanced to the next level of conditioning.
  

The NightHawks and Kookaburras will advance into Phase 2 (Marathon Pace) from weeks 6-8 with more night conditioning runs of 30km+.  This will set the stage for bringing all into the final phase (Optimal Pace) in weeks 9-12 with a couple of 20km+ (HM) and 30km+ (FM) to ensure sufficient distance and pace conditioning for a fruitful race.

The Kookaburras & NightHawks Progressed Into Phase 2

Photos from FatBird Chin