Running in Sentosa, Singapore

The hubby, kids, and I spent four days at Sentosa the past weekend. We had a fantastic time riding the rides at Universal Studios, hopping on the Skyride and Luge, viewing the sea creatures and watching the pink dolphin show at Underwater Adventure, dining at Festival Walk, and shopping at Orchard Road.  Aaah, I almost wish I could go on vacation again!

– Little bulls at the hotel –

– On the shuttle along Sentosa beachfront –

– Walking by waterfront at Sentosa right in front of Universal Studios –

– All set for our nth luge ride –

My only homework during this trip was a 15k fast-paced run. Saturday, I got up at 5:30AM for a 6:00AM run. I was all dressed and laced up only to discover that it was dark outside. Why didn’t anyone tell me that the sun rises at 7:00AM in Singapore?!

After a brief nap (in my run clothes), I left the hotel room at 7:00AM and took a 10 minute leisurely walk to the beachfront, which as advised by the friendly Pinoy staff at the Festive Hotel’s Front Desk, would be a great place to run.

– From hotel lobby to Festive Walk –

– Window shopping before the run! –

– Inspiration for the run. Mwah mwah! –

– Walked from here up to the Merlion then down to Siloso Beach. Fine, if you wanna be all hardcore about this, then you could run up the steps of the escalator too ala Rocky –

By the beach front, I decided to start my run at the Luge ticket office. Nearby were McDonalds, restrooms, and entrance to the beach.

– Luge and Skyride entrance. My starting point. And the kids’ favorite ride –


– That’s the ifly building –

– With the open water, flat roads for biking and swimming, this is a triathlete’s paradise.  I saw a triathlete training here under the intense 12nn heat!  Actually, I saw more than what I had hoped for. He was wearing way too tight speedos during the run heehee –

– Look! They have a jogging path which I only saw at the end of the trip. Check this out if or when you get there! –

I ran around 1km towards the right passing Siloso Beach. The roads were flat and faaaast. Would’ve loved to go faster if I wasn’t suffering in the heat too much.

– Loved the roads…but I was suffering in the heat and humidity. Who’s dumb enough to run at 7AM?!  Okay. No comment –

– Bikes for rent! I was tempted to rent one, but the Shiv at home might have gotten jealous –

I made a u-turn at the rotunda at the end. You’ll find a 7-11 there so bring extra money for hydration if you wish.

If you go farther down, you’ll see Shangri La resort and you even have the option of running the other roads in that area.  I opted not to explore that area because, um, it looked like a long, steep climb.

– Here’s where I made u turn. If you go past this area, you’ll see Shangri La and more roads to run –

– Entrance to Shangri la right in front of Underwater Adventure –

After the u turn, I headed back towards the Luge and went farther down passing other beaches such as Palawan beach. This left side of the road offers a longer route, but the same fast and flat roads. I enjoyed running here.  There were squirrels and peacocks for some entertainment, too!

After 7k, I felt that I couldn’t take the humidity anymore and decided to cut my run short. Out of guilt (and perhaps way too much eating the day before), I ran again a couple of days after covering 10k worth of intervals on the hotel treadmill. (Warning: there’s no TV in front of the treadmill so make sure you bring an iPod.)

I’m now back at Manila exhausted from the trip (that’s what happens when you have two little bull kids) and I must admit I’m not quite back into full training mode. As if that matters, because, in an hour, I should hop on my bike trainer and, by this afternoon, I should jump into the pool for a swim. Back to reality for this bull!