Saturday, September 27, 2014

Weekend #3: The Western Hills


It was a clear day as the Sunbirds gathered at SAFRA Mt. Faber for the start of their 3rd weekend session.  Because of the Straits Times Run the next day, a number of trainees were resting at home while those who turned up planned on doing a lighter version of the workout.


Still, there was the majority of trainees who were present for a good basebuild workout, sandwiched with 30-60min worth of hills repeats for building cardio and leg strength.  The respective pace groups trailed along with the thin force of Sunbird Trainers/Pacers for most of the way, most of them enjoying the workout.



The hills at Labrador Park although challenging, provided a good source of shade and coolness giving the runners a love-hate feeling each time they tackled the highlight of the run.  


It is through these long runs interspersed with different hills and undulating terrain that will build resilience and strength in the runners progressively.



After the hills segment was done, the groups went back out onto the Telok Blangah Road and towards Harbourfront for more of a paced run on relatively uneven terrain.  The Sunbirds lapped up the training in good spirits, made stronger with a slow but steady buildup and maintenance of BaseBuild (sub Marathon) Pace.  



The weather turned much warmer by 9am, and it was good to see that most of the trainees were well prepared with hydration belts and packs.  Still, there were requests for stops at Petrol Kiosks on the way back for that 'heavenly' taste of bubbly iced-cold isotonic drinks.



With the top-ups and encouragement of the experienced training crew, all of the runners made it back strongly back at ClubHouse by 2.5hrs, with the final group coming in before the max time of 3hrs.  



It was probably a good end to the run as the sun was shining fiercely by then.  The iced-cold Gatorade and bananas provided a good source of replenishment to the Sunbirds as they chatted within their groups to determine the distances covered and the effort expended.


From the smiling faces on the faces of the trainees, we could tell that all had a satisfying workout and are progressing in the correct direction and pace towards a good marathon base for race day in December.

The Sunbirds' First Taste Of The Western Hills

Facebook Photos by FatBird Chin, Ronnie

Sunday, September 21, 2014

Weekend #2: Building The Foundation @ MR Trails


The first half of the Ops Sunbird Program aims to build up a good foundation of cardiovascular strength and endurance before progressing on to pace training to extend that endurance to be sustainable for the duration of the Half or Full Marathon.


This Weekend saw the Sunbirds taking to the MR trails for a good dose of hill slopes and trail running.  Many of the trainees, especially those that have not tried the full course of this segment were excited and yet apprehensive if they were able to complete within regulation time.


The respective pace groups started off towards the undulating and rocky Northern Trail after a welcome and program/route briefing.  Although there was quite a number of newbies to one of Team FatBird's regular training areas, the Sunbird Training Crew and Pacers were able to manage their respective groupings pretty well.


In addition to the blend of trails and road terrain during the whole long run, another feature of this course would be the numerous undulating slopes the runners have to traverse, bringing the training challenge degree a few notches up.  It was good too that we are still in base-building phase with a slightly slower pace requirement, making the whole run more manageable for the majority of the Sunbirds.


The final 5km on the return would normally sap the remaining reserves out of the trainees, but not too evident for the strong cohort this time.  Many of the trainees were able to follow basebuild pace to have sufficient fuel and strength left to sustain the final 5km of slopes and more slopes.


Training ended on a high note by 10am, where a debrief was conducted to remind trainees of the importance of recovery and stretching those tightening muscle groups.  After recording of the run timings and refueling with bananas, the trainees did ask relevant questions about training and recovery.


Team FatBird's trainers were on hand to answer those questions - in the end, all who were present benefited from the knowledge and information sharing.  The next session will see us tackling hill repeats, but this time it is at the other popular training ground of TFB - the western slopes and hills region.


With 2 weeks of the training program completed and 10 more to go, there remains much to be covered with the build up of mileage and intensity progressively.  Interested runners who wish to board this training flight is still in time - you just need to get details and register at www.OpsSunbird.com.

The Sunbirds Blazed The MR Trails

Facebook Photos from FatBird Ronnie

Sunday, September 14, 2014

A Roaring KickOff To Ops Sunbird 2014


Operation Sunbird 2014 got off to a roaring start in nice weather at the Playground @ Big Splash, ECP last Sunday morning.  In spite of the multiple weekend races where a number of Sunbird trainees were participating in, the turnout was still respectable and it was great to see many first-timers as well as returning satisfied trainees for Team FatBird's structured training.



After the registration and tee-shirt sizing (for the training tops and finisher singlets) were done, a short welcome address and overview of the training program were given to give all trainees a sense of what was to come for their 12-week training journey with Team FatBird.  

A sense of excitement and slight apprehension were in the air as the participants were placed into their respective training groups according to target timings and base abilities.  They will be exposed to Team FatBird's FlightZONES and PowerFLIGHT training systems as we help them progressively train up for their HM and FM distances in order to complete the races comfortably and with good timings.



After the customary training group shots, the respective training groups of 1-4 were flagged off for 13km (HM) and 21km (FM) and BaseBuild heart-rate zone(2).  Led the their trainers and pacers, the eager-eyed trainees were lapping up the km with smiles on their faces, quietly confident that they have made the correct choice of committing to waking up early for the next 12 weekends to accomplish the important and meaningful marathon goals they have set for themselves.



The first 7km was rather cool and cloudy, making it easy for all to get into the rhythm.  The more experienced runners had with them sufficient hydration and even gels/electrolyte to fuel their run.  



The HM runners turned back at F2 carpark to proceed back to the Playground in high spirits, while the FM runners carried on with their set paces towards the Sailing Centre where they were given a 1-2min technical water break.  From there, most continued on to the NSRCC for the 21km U-turn mark.  



By then, there was a fair bit of sunshine and heat, causing fatigue to set in sooner than relished.  We threw in one more water break for the FM runners, before pushing back all the way to the start point at Playground.  




Many of the Sunbirds were able to keep pace with their respective groups, and for the newer ones who were tiring after their conditioned distances were maxed, the patient and reliable Pacers brought them back with additional walk-breaks in addition to a down-shifted pace.



The iced-cold isotonic drinks at the end of the run was lapped up by the thirsty and tired runners.  Still with beads of perspiration and slightly sun-burnt colors on their faces, all Sunbirds gathered in the cool comfort of the shady grass patch for a debrief as well as additional training information for the next session.



The training objective for the first session was amply met to the trainers' expectations, and our initial assessment was that we have a pretty strong group of trainees this year.  We are hopeful and quietly confident that all of the Sunbirds will do well at SCMS in 12 weeks' time. 



There are still limited training slots available for this training program, and for those who wish to hop on to this flight, you may check out the website www.OpsSunbird.com for schedules, FAQs and REGISTER HERE!

Flight OSB14 Has Lifted off To Expectations!

Facebook Photos by FatBird Ronnie, MK.