This is my third year joining the MR 25 ultramarathon. I have not been going to Macritchie Reservoir to run for sometimes, I somehow lost the feeling to run after this year’s 100km in January. Although it was a long time ago, the feeling to be competitive and run fast has weaned off. But I do enjoy doing things slower and more manageable.
Signing up for MR 25 Ultra Marathon again this year was more like supporting the club as I hardly joined their activities. Running alone in loops in MR can be pretty relaxing and fun since it is in your own pace and no one to rush you. 12 hours is very ample to finish five rounds. I decided to kick the ball rolling on 6th August, it was the Thursday before the National Day. I was more free and need not have to worry about work. Weekdays in MR is also a better choice as it is less crowded and I will not have to manoevre through the crowd. I was on time this round, decided to drive and park outside at the West Lake Road area, as the Gingko cafe is not opened till 07:30 hrs where I can get my $2 locker.
Although I was not in good condition, somehow down with some funny virus and on the road to recovery just one week ago. I decided to take it easy as weather is getting really bad these days. This time I really did not pack much, not even much simple food to bring along the roads. I just made do with one 250ml water bottle and the game plan was simple , stop at ameneties centre, stop at Ranger station. The rest , just keep moving walk or run.
Going in Rounds.
I started around 7:09 am which was a decent time and the first loop was comfortable come back but speed was not that fast. After the first loop, I went to bring my items to be kept in the locker so that I will not have to take that extra route to the Van for my necessities. The toilet has once again become my main rest point where I kept my stuff. Second round was still okay, I managed to run it through despite thinking that I might not be able to do so, but it was really slow run. Third loop on was really hot and humid and somehow my legs became swollen, I got worried. Nowadays I get more swollen easier than before not knowing why. It could be age or maybe health and the same pain in the glutes came back. During Cultra I also hurt the right big toe which was still taking sometime to heal. All the pain start to creep in from 3 round onwards, and I was thinking : Okay I better just stick to 5 rounds with the original ambition of doing a 6.
There was a brief drizzle on the third round but not enough to cool down the heat. My breaks this time were not longer but my speed was slower as compared to before that made the overall timing pretty slow. It was around 5pm where I had to decide to go for the six round or not, and I decided to call it a day.
Managed to take some pictures along the way and also enjoy the MR scenery over and over again. I had MR almost to myself most of the time except a few times meeting some really fast runners who came into my path. I think I will likely redo the stint again just to better the timing but we shall see.
