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.
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
