Sunday, March 1, 2015

Week #8: The Toughest Challenge To Date - Twin Hills Repeats


Coming off from Week #7's long run intervals at Gardens By The Bay-Marina Barrage, the Falcons were thinking nothing would be more challenging that that - and they were once again surprised with the twin hills repeats in challenging sunny conditions in Week #8.



We took the reverse route this time to inject freshness to the training by taking the Telok Blangah Way access up to Mt Faber via Morse Road, bypassing the prata row at the foot of the MF Hill.  



It was a straight run at Marathon Pace all the way to the top of MF, with no break whatsoever.  The Falcons were prepared with some smooth pacing and control of energy release, very careful not to expend themselves before the first hill repeat challenge is done.



The Half Marathoners were required to do 2 1.6km MF Hill Repeats, which they gamely accomplished in good form, before moving as a group to the next Hill Repeat Challenge at Labrador Park. The Full Marathoners had to achieve 4-5 repeats @ MP before being allowed to move to the next Challenge, and the majority with their strong base made the cut without too much trouble.



The run into Labrador Park was a short reprieve from the hills and high cardio intensity being pushed.  The 2.2km repeat at Labrador Park was a lot less hilly with a good 1.6km being very flat, which was useful when recovering from the double slope ascent up the Labrador Tunnels.



The respective Pace Groups by now were very accustomed and knowledgeable about their target paces.  With their good teamwork forged by group leaders and fellow group runners, there were many untied groups going throughout whole challenge throughout.



Happy faces could be seen when the final requirements at the Labrador Park was accomplished, for that meant only a 5km run back to SAFRA ClubHouse, although there could still be some undulating slopes to tackle along the way.



Most of the Falcons were drained when they finally completed the final hill repeats at Labrador Park, but their performances were high commendable as they have given their best efforts to sustain the pace throughout the entire challenging stretches.



As we proceeded back to Clubhouse, there was a slight drop in paces and some even had to take a few quick walk breaks just to recover sufficiently to push on.  Running form and pace control were not lost even in the face of tiredness, evidence of a sufficiently strong base built up over the past 7 weeks of training.



We were elated when we finally caught the sights of the Clubhouse.  All of us were drenched in perspiration caused by the fierce rays of the sun beating down.  In spite, we held on strong to maintain pace for a highly satisfying finish.



With all the hard base-build work accomplished, many Falcons are looking at the start of Optimal Pace training beginning Week #9 where they can put their new found strength to sustain good paces to meet race day objectives.

The Falcons Survived The Twin Hills Challenge

Facebook Photos by FatBird Chin