First tempo weekend

The Kingfishers were not misled by the rather short scheduled 12km for the first weekend.  Indeed...their noses were sharp to be able to sniff out the challenge that came with the seemingly shorter distance - it was the challenging trail terrain as well as the long tempo pace they had to sustain during the 12km that would leave them with lots of respect for the undulating trails.

The pre-training briefing was kept short, and focused mainly on how to estimate the effort to be applied for the morning's long tempo run (LTR) - using Heart Rate, based on perceived effort or ability to converse during the exercise, and using a prescribed formula to calculate tempo pace for the respective timings they were gunning for.

After they were flagged off in waves, The Kingfishers gingerly made their way along the undulating Northern Route, moving at a relatively hard pace.  By the end of Northern Route, the groups were already segregated into the faster front group and a main body.  The runners were able to keep to their prescribed paces and effort, as well as observe proper lane discipline in the trails, making the morning's run not only 'profitable', but also interesting and engaging for all.

The Kingfisher Trainers did an excellent job of guiding the runners throughout the run, especially at critical junctions and turning points.  No trainee was reported lost, no trainee walked other than for short water breaks, and all trainees paced along strong, even on the multiple up slopes at certain stretches.

The run ended on time, and we were able to do a good debrief to share what we learnt in the morning, and also to give them briefings of the following week's activities and schedules.  There was a lot more exchanges between the trainers and the trainees, where group learning was activitly taking place for all the respective timing groups.

With week 1 successfully completed, we will welcome week 2 of intervals and speed training at both the tracks and outdoors with yet another interesting menu of new workouts that will piqued the Kingfishers' interests.  We were happy to note that none of the trainees sustained any injuries, although there have been some feedback of tightening muscles and aches after the hard workouts.  A the training progresses, we can only see the Kingfishers strengthening and conditioning for sustained speed ahead.

Picasa Slideshow, courtesy CK Chin

SOLEUS Exclusive for Kingfishers!

Soleus Running Watches, the official timing and pacing equipment partner for Ops Kingfisher 2012, is offering an exclusive discount to all Kingfisher participants on their wide range of attractive running timekeepers.

CLICK HERE for The Soleus Running Watch Catalogue!

20% + 10% Special Discount
(i) 20% discount from the retail price (inclusive of GST)
(ii) Another 10% off from the discounted price in (i) - after the 20% has been discounted

To take advantage of the special discount only for Kingfishers, please identify yourselves as 'Ops Kingfisher' participants with the 3 mentioned retailers and show your I/C for verification - from Aug 9.

Please send queries about this exclusive promotion or other FatBird discount programs to teamsales@teamfatbird.com. 

Official Time Keeper: Soleus

We are pleased to welcome Soleus Watch as the official time and pace keeper for Ops Kingfisher 2012.  Kingfisher training crew and participants will be using the wide range of Soleus watches to not only keep and capture real and interval timings, but also use enhanced features like Heart Rate Monitoring (HRM) for our FlightZONES training as well as GPS function for route and pace feedback.  Of course, the colorful range of this USA-based brand and attractive prices help to make that decision for getting a reliable timing measurement device a lot easier.


Soleus watches are named after a powerful muscle in the calf of a runner’s leg, which is used for standing, walking, and running, of course. Manufactured by Soleus Running, Soleus watches are designed specifically for the needs of runners, based on substantial research and runners’ surveys in the USA, featuring technology that is intuitive and essential to the serious runner. Key features of Soleus watches big digits, interval timers, lightweight materials and easy-to-use lap memory, interval timers and adaptable displays. Fast, slow, road, trail, uphill, downhill, forwards or backwards, whenever, Soleus will change the way you read your run. For more information on Soleus watches, please visit www.soleusrunning.com or at facebook https://www.facebook.com/SoleusRunningSingapore

Click HERE for the full Soleus Catalogue with pricing!

A Rousing Kickoff!

Ops Kingfisher kicked off to a rousing start with lots of slopes, hills and thrills.  After a good rest from Sundown Marathon end May, the trainees were anticipating some solid workout to rev their engines up for the Army Half Marathon in 6 weeks time - and they were not disappointed!

That being a rather new location to some, plus the ongoing bout of flu that has hit some participants, the 70% turnout was not bad.  The participants were not disappointed as they went for some neat hill repeats, that after being served a 3km appetizer of a run-up to the MF Hills, and then rounding off with a dessert of slopes yet again before finally settling back at the Clubhouse.

Some of the participants had jello legs after, while others claimed to have trouble finding theirs.  Overall, it was a great experience for all, and the sense of satisfaction worn on the Kingfishers' faces told a story on one unforgettable hills training menu.

With the first session of hills underway, the Kingfishers can look forward to more exciting training coming up, with tempo trail runs, speedwork at the tracks, intervals with scenic views, long hill repeats along tourist places of interest, and more...

There were a few enquiries about whether it is too late to join Kingfisher - the short answer is you will still benefit from the 6-week structured training program with the opportunities to do your own make-up training following the schedules, if you have missed a couple of earlier sessions.  Thus, if you have no training programs for AHM, do REGISTER for the remaining Ops Kingfisher slots HERE!  

Running The Bay?  Let FatBirds Show You The Way!