The Kookaburras were all excited about doing their longest run to date, and a night one to boot. Into their 3rd week of training program, the trainees gathered at the MacRitchie Reservoir (MR) Amenities Centre with their respective pace group trainers and guides on what was a relatively cool evening.
The training briefing was kept short to get the run underway as we expected a long night of pounding the pavement and connectors. With all the blinking lights and watches set, we were flagged off in our respective groups and headed in the direction of Pierce Reservoir Road.
It was great to see that most participants had hydration and fuel belts on them, and we didn't spot a single headphone on any of the trainees - good observance of the night safety training protocol. The run along Thomson Road, Pierce Reservoir Road, Old Upper Thomson Road (OUTR) was pretty smooth with the good marshaling by the Pacers and Running Guides.
The Kookaburra HM were the ones to U-turn first at the end of OUTR (to/fro 16km). The rest of the groups proceeded on along Upper Thomson Road and then Sembawang Road.
The Kookaburra Full Marathoners proceeded along Mandai Ave, still pacing along nicely in their respective groupings. Kookaburra FM made a turn at the SLE flyover (to/fro 25km) with their respective guides.
Target Marathon Pace (MP) were well maintained by the runners all the way on the return. It was not till 18km that some of the runners were feeling the effects of low glycogen stores and insufficient hydration.
The Pacers and Guides made a few quick stops for the runners to get drinks from the stores - a run-saver as it allowed the effects of the marathon 'wall' to be delayed. enabling the runners to continue to sustain their paces for more km.
The run back along OUTR was one of quiet and calm in the serenity of the night. Flanked on both sides by forests, it was cool and away from the bustle of the road traffic. Running along this stretch in groups certainly help the trainees to push through the 'mental' states as well as offering good company and safety.
A final quick pitstop was made at the Pierce Reservoir toilet, before finishing the final 4km back the the MR Amenities Centre. It was sweet relief and a great sense of satisfaction for many of us to have made the night's objectives (16km-25km distances @ MP), and we might not have done it without the good leadership of the group Trainers and Pacers coupled with cool, crisp weather.
The Kookaburras did well in their basebuild mission, and they will be looking forward to face-face group LSD with Team FatBird in a fortnight.
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Operation Kookaburra, the 12-week marathon training program to prepare runners for the July Gold Coast Airport Marathon (GCAM) got underway from the eastern Changi Beach area. A good group of enthusiastic runners were already registering their attendance and having a couple of group pics to warm things up. As the weather was not looking too good earlier (although it did turn out to be cool and dry by start time), a number of Kookaburras might not have turned up for their first training session.
There were lots of happy chatter and din, bringing to live the otherwise 'evening winding down' beach area. A welcome and quick training and route briefing were conducted, at the same time providing intelligence updates of the group of Infantry 'patrolling' along the main Changi Coastal axis.
The Kookaburras, being new to the game but with their own trainers/marshals, ran alongside the serene and refreshing Changi Beach was rather refreshing; a sight to behold with all the flashing and blinking of headlights and other light sources coming off the Pacers and trainees.
The target was to hold a sustainable target Marathon Pace (MP) for the 13km and 21km distances for the various pace groupings, and to build up a good foundation and base to eventually tackle the entire Half or Full Marathon distances at the GCAM.
When we reached the Changi Coastal axis after about 3km, we ran smack into the long lines of Infantry POPers (Passing Out Paraders) executing their mission finale. They were organized to afford a narrow, but passable access for our runners...as we ran pass the lines, there were lots of encouragement for our runners from the friendly troopers. It was quite entertaining to listen to the troops singing along to keep motivation levels high, and that perked our own flock to fly at very good paces as we headed towards the NSRCC.
The Trainers and Pacers were working overtime to lead and guide the flock of Kookaburras along the mentally-challenging Changi Coastal route all the way to their respective U-turn points at Changi Coastal mid (13km) and NSRCC (21km). Because of the dark areas of our advance routes, the extra lighting and observance of night running protocols helped us to attain the smooth paces we were targeting.
The return onto the Changi Coastal axis provided the final 'killer' touch to the training as the mentally-drained runners were fighting the zzz-monsters as well as fatigue along that LONG and LONELY stretch. There was just too much temptation to slow down, and even walk. If not for the groups running together, it would be difficult for many of the runners to keep up with their target paces.
There were delightful faces at the Changi Beach toilet point where the runners finally got out from that 'challenging' stretch to get a good breather in that humid weather. It was close to 11pm, and with 3km to the end point, the runners had to make one final mental push to get their machinery moving towards completion. TRAIN HARD, RACE EASY is what we always hope for our trainees to attain - overcoming the different challenges during training will put us in good stead for an easier but fruitful race day.
Everyone received cheers at the end as they crossed the finish of the night's training, and recorded with pride their distances and timings covered. It was definitely a hard day at the office, but it brought a sense of satisfaction to many of the trainees and trainers as well, knowing that we put in our best efforts to prepare for and eventually complete well the training.
The Kookaburras have done a great job and cleared their initiation with the team. They will now look forward to steady progression in building their bases and paces up for July.
Run Kookaburras, Run Kookaburras,
Gold Your Race Will Be!
Operation Kookaburra Facebook Photos
