Week #6: Gear Up A Notch

Weeks #6-8 will see the Sunbirds entering the mid-phase of training, with increasing distances at Target Marathon Pace (MP).  The start-timings are also adjusted to commence early to cater for longer time-on-feet.

This Saturday's session was started from Changi Beach point, a relatively new location for many of the Sunbird participants.  The smallish group soon got down to their business of pace training after a quick briefing of the routes and respective new training paces.

With the Trainers donning their new blue tees, it was easier for trainees to follow the respective groupings on their 16km and 30km journeys along the well-paved Changi Beach Park and onto the 'mentally challenging' Changi Coastal Road stretch.

Spirits were high as the runners soaked in the new settings and focused on moving at a notch up in terms of training pace.  The Coastal Road stretch was kept bearable with much chit-chatting at Basebuild Zone, with the many Shelters passing us by quickly.  Soon, it was time for the HM trainees (doing 16km) to turn back, while the FM runners (30km) ventured ahead while maintaining MP.

Many of the Sunbirds ran well all the way to their respective U-Turns, and were looking pretty fresh in that cooler first half.  However, the sun made the return a lot more challenging, and that was when the actual training started to take shape.  Proper hydration and good fuel plan was another important takeway for the morning, as a few runners struggled with mild dehydration and fuel depletion, especially after the 20km mark.

By 10am, the sun's rays and high humidity pushed the Sunbirds to exhibit their resolve to call upon their accumulated 5-weeks of foundation to maintain good pace.  Although there were some walk breaks in between by Groups 3 and 4, they were short with good recovery and pace maintenance.

Group by Group, the Sunbirds finished strongly at the end, even in the face of the high heat and humidity.  All were still able to move around, record timings and review their runs with the group trainers - an indication that they had not maxed out, and still had reserves in them (for continuation of a few more km if called upon).  

The trainers were impressed with the progress of the Sunbirds, and their commitment to building up their endurance for a good showing on Dec 1.  We will have a slight cut in mileage next week for some recovery and adaptation of training effects to take place, before moving on to another few 30km+ Optimal Pace runs in the final phase of the training program.

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