During the weekend, I took part in the Polar Training Run, which was a fringe activity held in the lead-up to the Great Eastern Women’s Run (GEWR) on 9 November this year. This fringe event was for race participants as well as those taking part in the race’s #RunToLiveGreat programme.
A group picture together after the Polar Training Run!
Held at the Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park, this was a good training session for the GEWR.
Happy GEWR pacers pose for the camera!
Dynamic warm-up drills
We started with a warm-up session comprising of dynamic stretching drills and light jogging. Drills included high knee lifts, butt kicks and dynamic alternating lunges.
Unlike the standard static stretches, doing dynamic stretching utilises the motion of the muscles to stretch them.
There are many benefit of doing dynamic stretching too. That’s because unlike static warm-up drills, these dynamic drills utilise motions that are similar to what the runner will do. So they will warm the muscles up nicely. According to our trainer, simply doing static stretches such as standing on one leg and balancing on the toes will not warm up and loosen the muscles before the exercise session – thus increasing one’s chances of injuries.
Warm-up lap followed by tough interval training
Once we were fully stretched and warmed up, the training session itself started. First we ran a warm-up lap of the prescribed training route. According to my GPS sports watch, this was about one kilometre long and the warm-up lap was to familiarize ourselves with the route for the upcoming interval training session.
Running with my pacer. (Image: GEWR).
Then after that, each runner was required to pair up with a pacer. The pacers motivated the runners for the interval laps and kept them going according to their desired pace. We were supposed to do 10 interval laps of this training circuit but due to tiredness and fatigue (I ran a 50km trail race the day before), I’ll admit that I lost count of how many we actually did.
Pacers were great at motivating us
My pacer was Teddy Chong, who is also the group leader for the 2 hours 20 minutes pace group at the Great Eastern Women’s Run. I thought she was really great in motivating me and helping to push me forward and digging into my reserves of energy whenever I was feeling fatigued from the hard training session and when my pace started slowing down.
It was a really hard set of intervals, but in the end, I managed. It felt great to be able to take a few sips of the cool, refreshing 100-Plus isotonic beverage in between each set, though. I think that this was probably what kept me going!
Total relief when the session ended
That’s how dynamic drills should take place. (Image: GEWR).
But I’ll be honest that it was a total relief when it was time to cool down. By this point in time, I was pretty exhausted and the static cooling down stretches that marked the end of the session really couldn’t be more welcoming for me.
A pretty good workout session
As a whole, I must say that it was a pretty good and tough yet enjoyable training session that really got my heart pumping and the adrenaline coursing through my veins.
The final GEWR fringe activity, the Sh’Bam Rockout by True Fitness, will take place tomorrow, 18 October for those who have already registered.
Leave a Comment