This was the first time that I went for beach training with the F1 Runners club. It was held at Tanjung Beach at Sentosa... and yes, it was in the wee-early morning on a Saturday! But the weather was good, and the company of runners was good... so what was there to gripe about. It was going to be a fun!
I took a taxi because there was no way that taking the MRT that starts only at 5.45am would get me there by 6.30am. Plus, I had to take the Sentosa Express to the beach itself. But oh well, its once every quarter, so let's go for it! That's the photo of the signage when I got there... and as you can see, it was STILL dark. I have never gone to Sentosa this early in the morning! It was deserted...
Feeling the coarse grains of sand on the beach got me thinking - would I get abrasion from running on this sort of ground? But it was my first time, so how would I know... Let's get on with the training first, then see how. It turned out alright after awhile...
Beach training was exhausting, though a new experience for me. The initial warm-up jog was like 1km on mixed gradient of sandy slopes, which really began to tone up my outer calf muscles. Now that I am typing this Blog three months after, I can really feel how this sort of training is able to train different parts of our leg muscles, which would not be trained just by thumping on the flat ground in the nearby park. After joining F1 Runners, I have noticed that the inner and outer segments of my shin and calf muscles getting stronger and firmer. This is serious training! Hahaha!
After the warm-up and stretching exercises, we commenced with relay exercises - one legged hopping, two legged hopping, crab crawl, bear crawl, hopping with ball, without ball, etc. Check out those photos below! It was fun but exhausting! =)
I took a taxi because there was no way that taking the MRT that starts only at 5.45am would get me there by 6.30am. Plus, I had to take the Sentosa Express to the beach itself. But oh well, its once every quarter, so let's go for it! That's the photo of the signage when I got there... and as you can see, it was STILL dark. I have never gone to Sentosa this early in the morning! It was deserted...
Guess what? I went there with my running shoes... only to realise that beach training does not require us to wear our running shoes! So embarassing, I had to ask Lexxus (the trainer) to allow me to store my running shoes inside his van. Going shoeless was a new experience as I have never run without shoes before...okay, maybe when I was a child, perhaps I did play barefoot on the beach. =)
Feeling the coarse grains of sand on the beach got me thinking - would I get abrasion from running on this sort of ground? But it was my first time, so how would I know... Let's get on with the training first, then see how. It turned out alright after awhile...
Beach training was exhausting, though a new experience for me. The initial warm-up jog was like 1km on mixed gradient of sandy slopes, which really began to tone up my outer calf muscles. Now that I am typing this Blog three months after, I can really feel how this sort of training is able to train different parts of our leg muscles, which would not be trained just by thumping on the flat ground in the nearby park. After joining F1 Runners, I have noticed that the inner and outer segments of my shin and calf muscles getting stronger and firmer. This is serious training! Hahaha!
After the warm-up and stretching exercises, we commenced with relay exercises - one legged hopping, two legged hopping, crab crawl, bear crawl, hopping with ball, without ball, etc. Check out those photos below! It was fun but exhausting! =)
Next up - agility training using cones to guide us in sprinting in S-curves to strengthen our calf and ankle muscles. This was done in relay format where each group competed in friendly competition. It was a thrilling experience with the last leg of the agility circuit requiring us to perform high knee lifts while running through the beach current! That got all our running shorts wet... but frankly, our legs were too tired to care... and we still had to sprint back up the beach... and that concludes ONE set of the agility training. Following this, we continued in our groups with the sprints up the beach, doing three running loops around a large cone, before sprinting back down the beach to our group... and into the water! Wow... We were all wet... but happy! And it was great to be in the cooling waters!
Too bad that I did not manage to get photos of the tug-of-war that was the last 'exercise' of the day! The side that wins twice wins, and my side won! But it was friendly fun... though it really toughened our arms, back, legs and definitely ankles! Cool... Wish we could do it again... though it was tiring!
By the time we ended the training, it was like 10am. The sun was fully out, and it was time for our bath! The shower was great... such a good way to cool off before heading home... just before I left, I took photos of the beach, where all our footprints lie... See... =)
Oh please do not scold me... but I was so exhausted, so I ended up rewarding myself with an expensive and hearty Nasi Lemak for breakfast! Somehow the food at the Food Republic food court is costly! I wonder why... Isn't it a food court... Hmm... but it was delicious!
Sound fun, looks fun, but I feel tired after reading it.
ReplyDeleteI won't be able to take it with my fitness level, sure faint before the clock hits 8am.
Shiroi Ryuu aka Luke Walker
http://shiroiluke.wordpress.com/