How Much Can We Prepare For A Race?

Kona looms around the corner. And for all ironman triathletes, we know that this is the epitome of ironman racing. After all, in order to take part in the World Championships, you will have to qualify. And to qualify, you will have to win your age group, or at least the top few.


What does it take to qualify? It really depends on the field for the race you are using to qualify in, as well as the level the triathletes you are competing against. As for my age group, I think even a 10 hour ironman will be hard to qualify for Kona. Yes, 10 hours will mean 1 hour swim, 5.5.hr bike and 3.5hr run. And transition timings have to be included. Thats an average of 32.7kph on the bike, 5min/km pace. Massive massive speed and fitness. Or you could even have a 5h bike and 4 hr run. Whatever it is, it is tough to qualify and onlythe top athletes do get there.


The pros complete their bike usually in less than 4.5hrs and run in less than 3hrs. Thats a massive 40kph average on the bike and sub4min/km pace on the run. Its no wonder they make a living out of it. How many age groupers will be able to get to that level, really?


3 times consecutive woman's champion for the past 3 years, Chrissie Wellington, and 2 times consecutive man's champion, Craig Alexander, will be pitting their endurance fiteness against their respective fields of professional ironman triathletes on 9 October. Chrissie is 33 and Craig is 37 this year. Will they be able to go on to repeat their feats again this year? Personally, I dont think there is anybody in the woman's field who can match Chrissie. Her prowess in the bike and the run is smoking hot. Craig has a huge run. In the 2009 Kona, he ran the competitors down, which was a 14min lead on him after T2, thereabouts. I really hope he can do it again this year.


But you never know. In a race, there can be so many unseen circumstances that could affect the athlete. Chris McCormack, also known as Macca, had gear cable ripped off while Normann Stadler had double flat tyre in the same race. Of course, there is also the mind that will make or break the race. I am sure Normann would have gone on to complete the race instead of DNF during that race if he had remained calm and fixed the flats or even wait for the technical support. But then again, I am not a pro. It was his livelihood. And to see his competitors zipping past him must have been really painful.


Enrico just got back from his Berlin marathon. He did a fantastic time of 3:37. Although not his personal best and did not qualify for Boston, I still think he did a great job. He was injured and still recovering when he raced. Not many would have been able to get a timing like that. I know I would not have. It takes a lot of different types of training and loads of discipline to maintain a pace of 5min/km for 42km, not withstanding the pros - marathoners or ironman triathletes alike.


We can only do so much to prepare for a race. Sometimes what is left is a little of good fortune to be able to attain our PB. To me, preparation not only includes doing well, but also to prepare the mind to be strong in case I do not do so well. I suppose this is the mentality from not wanting to DNF a race? Once I had a flat in an OD, I had brake rub during WA 2009 and this year I had a bad swim start at an OD as well. And it did cross my mind to give it all up and call it quits. I think if I had quitted, I would have made it a habit to quit everytime I encounter a difficulty. And it might be hard to get out of that hole once I had started it. So, I will rather finish slow then to give up the race. To me, the amount of time and training and sacrifices is just too much to be given up like this. I havent done too many races so I can preach this all I want. Perhaps, one day, it may just happen to myself. But until then, I will hold on tightly to this mindset.

***

Had swim on Tuesday and also spent over an hour on the bike trainer. Swim was interrupted by thunder, so was hauled up after warm ups, 5x200m and 3x100m. Completely missed out on the 1km TT. Quite pissed but what could I do?


Wednesday did a 60km bike followed by an 8km run. Had to whip out the 808s to test for Saturday's Desaru race. Felt good on the wheels, much smoother than the training pair - without a doubt, obviously - and clearly much lighter than the disc. Run was good too. Nothing strenous and felt strong. Probably coz I was not running too hard. Negative splitted the 2 halves easily. Non race pace made it simple.

Life Worth Living For

I finally managed to conclude on the book I picked up a couple of months back, Mennonite in a Little Black Dress (A Memoir of Going Home), written by Rhoda Janzen. And yes, I probably might not pick up a book written by a female writer again, especially when its about their failed marriages. The book reeked of bitterness and loads of ranting, at the same time about how she coped after her husband of 15 years left her for Bob. Yes, a guy he got to know from gay website.


There were lessons abundant I have to admit. But I picked the book with the genre that I cant appreciate that well. It did gave me an understanding of what Mennonite was and what the culture is like. I had absolutely no idea what or who the Mennonites were prior this.


More importantly, life's mistakes that we can make and how we learn from them. And of how we should pick ourselves up from calamities and how important family support can be.


A concluding section that struck a chord with me:


"That night I watched Eva and Jonathan put the girls to bed. This process involved two stories, two songs and elaborate combinations of kisses among siblings, parents and stuffed animals. As Eva and Jonathan harmonised a made-up song in the darkened bedroom, I found myself blinking back tears. It wasnt because this was a scene I would never know. I had no regrets on that front; I had made my decision, and I was at peace with it. It was more because I suddenly felt destiny as a mighty and perplexing force, an inexorable current that sweeps if off into new channels. Here was Eva, who could have made such different choices with her education and career path. Here was I, with my decades of restless travel, my brilliant but tortured ex-husband. And how sad it suddenly seemed to be buffeted by the powerful currents to which we had yielded our lives. So many years had passed. My childhood, my early friendships, my long marriage, all seemed to hang from an invisible thread, like the papery wasps' nest outside my study window. I had watched the lake winds swinging and tipping it, expecting it to go down, but it never did. Memory swayed like that nest - hidden but present, fragile yet strong, attached by an unseen force to perpetual motion."


I would want my memories be filled with joy and may they be pleasant ones for my family and friends. Because even though memories are a figment of our frail minds, they can be very imposing on ourselves and others around us. Since God had given us this chance to live, how will you want to live it with meaning?


And in Rhoda's words:


"I sometimes ask my college students if they think its possible for a thirty plus adult to experience saltatory ideological change. I tell them that i's not talking about the kind of gradual mellowing that results from age. Nor do I mean the kind of abrupt character fissure that opens in the wake of trauma or suffering. Rather, I want to know what they think about the possibility of a profound, lasting change that emerges from an act of deliberated, conscious self-determination. I want to know if they think we can change our core assumptions about what wer believe. About how we believe.
...
Can a skeptic ever be anything but a skeptic? Can a loner ever come to cherish groupthink? It was sobering to think that Eva's and my lives, so similar in potential and core interests, had taken such different turns, and that the only place they could ever intersect would be in the liminal space of childhood, or in the theoretical no-man's-land of alterity."

***

Collected my race pack for Newton 30km run yesterday. Number was nice. 0005! Never had a number that was single digit before. Makes me look like a pro - just like the professional's race in the ironman! BUT a far cry from it, I must say.


Did my 1hour pool session with the blokes from Trifam Monday squad. I was feeling good despite the weekend's long sessions. I suppose the Subway sandwich at 4pm gave me enough fuel. Yup, Subway has been my constant companion for a while already. Funny that I had never liked sandwiches before. And during my 1st trip to Perth in 2008, I simply refused to eat it and insisted on proper food despite the fact that the whole family was hungry and that Subway was the only place opened in the small outskirt town. And now? A meal is a footlong and tea break is a 6-inch.


I was a massive meat eater in the past and totally do NOT touch vegetables, for 35 years of my life. But ever since picking up triathlons, it has been a complete switch. Single portion of meat, double portion of fish, vegetables and beans. Even my wife has noticed the drastic change. Be it for triathlon or family sake, its a nice change in lifestyle for the benefit of myself. No, I am not seeking to live till 120 years old. I just want to live my life to the fullest with meaning.

***

SAFRA did not have my time for the half marathon. Apparently timing chip registered only at 2 check points. So the "official" timing was 1:58:30 but I suspect that was the calculated base on gun start. Anyway, since the variation was just a mere 15s, it shall be fine.

Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps

"Greed is good" now "Greed is legal". The movie started with a bang. Taking jabs at the financial institutions back in 2008 when the property bubble in US burst. I did not watch the The Wall Street in the 80s but I suppose there is really no need to. Can be viewed independently. Thin storyline, pretty predictable but I liked the many punchlines that peppered throughout the movie. It revealed pretty much of how unethical, amoral and manipulative man can get. Frankly, I do not think that is is that far away from real life, especially at the top level, and perhaps higher middle management.


I had once imagined myself to be in the industry, but have since grown out of it. I suppose there is more to life than just money. And would not life be happier without manipulative acts as well as working for an underlying selfish reason?

***

Saturday's 180km ride and 4km run was just as expected. Long and tiring. By the time I hit 140km, I was beginning to feel the fatigue getting into my legs. But I managed to push on. Upon reaching home, put on my runners and started on the 4km run. Pretty decent run for 21min. Legs felt alright despite the lactate from the cycling. Not too bad shape.


In the evening today, did a 4x7km run with 500m walk in between sets. 43:08 for the 1st, 40:31 for the 2nd, 39:17 for the 3rd and 38:12 for the last set of 7km. Terrain was rolling as usual at Mandai. The 2nd and 3rd set really badgered me badly. But surprisingly I could make push the HR up for the last.


Desaru 70.3 triathlon coming up next Saturday. No rest up for the week, as I told Coach and he is alright with it. Desaru will just be a training session for me. Not in search for a PB but just an outing with family, friends and a race, in that order or priority. Of course, I would want to do well, but I have to have my mindset right that it is just another race to prepare myself for WA.


Just like the following weekend's 25+30km run races... Oh boy...

2km Swim PB TT!

Today's 2km time trial swim was not shabby! Was not much of a TT coz I was not pushing myself very hard. But I do know that I was clocking under 1:55 per 100m. In total, I did a 37:30 for the 2km swim, pretty decent for myself I must say! Was very much surprised that I could pull it off. If I were to continue with this pace, which I thought I could hold, for another 1km, I would have done better than my previous 3km TT.


Tomorrow's Kulai bike ride is off. Julian asked me to join the Pinarello riders 90km session but I turned it down. I suppose if in Singapore, I should try to clock up the mileage instead. Coach had told me to do 180km, so I will be going back to that, plus a 4km run thereafter.


Long day ahead...

To the one who has, more will be given

My kids Saturdays are filled with enrichment programmes. They first start out the morning with English Speech and Drama which goes all the way till before lunch. Then they have piano lessons in the early afternoon. In the past they use to have Chinese Speech and Drama thereafter but recently had been taken out because we agreed that it was just too tiring for them - and for us as well! Then on Sundays, they have swimming in the late afternoon.


I use to chauffeur them around and I was the taxi driver and my car the taxi. But ever since I started on my long rides on Saturdays and long runs on Sundays, the role of the taxi driver has been taken over by my wife. Interestingly, my wife made a passing comment, jokingly, of course. The smartest woman is one knows the least.  And she concluded this because she had to take over my role as the driver as she knows how to drive and could drive the kids around. If she had not been able to, I would be left no choice and do the ferrying myself. And the more she is able, the more she is tasked to do.


Now, how true that can be! Is it not the same at work? The more able you are, the more responsibilities you undertake? Even the Bible quotes," To the one who has, more will be given; from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away." Taken out of context of course.


Fortunately, she has supported me all this time. What more can I ask?

***

I did my run sets yesterday after the rain. It was cool and air refreshing. And I found my legs again. They felt light and dying to speed up -felt lighter than AHM even - but I had to hold my horses because not only I have to do the sets, I also have to take into consideration that I will be doing a 100km up to Kulai from Singapore on Saturday. A fast and furious ride with the Pinarello riders from Cycleworx. Last I heard, they did the same 100km rolling terrain at an average of 37kph??? I think they are mad. But I will be doing a slower one with their second group of riders. I hope I will survive.


The run sets done were 3km warm up, 2x800m, 4x400m, 6x200m, 6x100m and 2km warm down. The legs felt good. Next Saturday is the Desaru long distance triathlon. And my girls may be taking part in the kids race. Looking forward to the weekend break. Would be nice to be away again.

Numbers

Life is full of numbers. We remember the birthdates of our loved ones and friends. We remember our car registration numbers. We remember the numbers in our addresses. We remember our age as well, although many women will want to forget them. One other number that is important to the ladies would be their weight. So secretive whenever they jump onto the weighing scale.

I used to be a Physical Training Instructor (PTI) while in the army. PTIs were probably the most hated personnel in the army back then. Maybe feared as well. They ruled the physical training (PT) fields like demi-gods. I remembered when I had my 1st PT as a recruit. I had no idea what it was all about. This tanned and lean looking chap, standing on the PT platform (about 1m cube) with the cross swords PTI emblem and motto "Endure and Excel", barking out commands with strings of expletives - when I say strings, I really meant the whole sentence with only a few English vocabulary - and we recruits did nothing else but followed them.

One of the exercises that we did was the run to "Pizza Hut". Now, in the PT field were 6 lampposts, labelled 1 to 6. Just what is Pizza Hut? The number to dial is 2353535 (back then was only 6 digits) for home delivery. And what we had to do was run to lamppost number 2, back to PT box and touch the ground the demigod stood, run to lamppost number 3, back to PT box, and on and on and on...

Another one that I remembered very well was, run to the obstacle and only the first 20 will need not do again upon return. This basically created a mad rush, clearly. And we would be in push up positions while waiting for the last man to come back.

So yes, army was fun and I learnt much from my PTIs when I became one myself. There were log PTs, rifle PTs, ALL "fun" sessions for the recruits under me. But I was not that bad. I have heard of others who were charged for overdoing it and causing physical hurt, eg. leopard crawl on the parade square! That was really bad I must say and seriously uncalled for. And some sessions, the heli-evac had to be called in for emergencies like heat exhaustion, etc.

In any case, yes, I was a lean bloke then. About 68kg. An easy 10km run was in the region of 45min. 15 chin ups were the minimum. Fitness was at the peak. 1 year into university, I put on 10kg. Yup, that was really hefty and my hall mates noticed the bulge in my tummy. And the weight slowly climbed up to 92kg over the period of studies and work. And I was still holding that weight in 2007.

End of 2007 during my Nepal trip, I got stripped down to 86kg - mostly muscle loss as well. I came back and my whole body was sagging badly. The 2 weeks spent trekking and with no idea how to carb up, my body was feeding on my muscles as well for energy. And it was then that I realised that muscle wastage was a real effect in times of hardship.

I knew I would gain back the muscles in no time with the good nutrition back home. But I wanted to stay at 86kg. Started on more regular runs and slowly, the muscles came back but with little weight gain. And it was in the same year, that I picked up the duathlon, triathlon and marathon.

At IMWA 2009, I raced at 82kg. Throughout this year, my weight continued to drop. Am now at about 78kg. Shedding this 4kg would put me in better shape for IMWA 2010. And I think I should continue to shed some more. Hopefully at an ideal weight of about 75kg by race day? What is amazing is that the weight can still decline, even with the huge amount of rice that I eat at every meal with 2 other small meals thrown in.

My weight has been a roller coaster ride, literally. My body fat content is yet to be ideal for an athlete - ranges from 12.5 to 13.5%. Although I am not on the look out for weight loss and body fat reduction, but it sure would be a nice consequence?

***

Monday's swim squad session went without much complaints. I suppose I had enough stored up energy from the past 2 weeks. But Tuesday's ride I rode with just water and no carb - I had put on some flab and Coach says anything under 2 hours, I can go without carb and that should help to trim off the extra weight gained. I stretched it a bit to 3 hours without carb and felt the effect I suppose? Either that or my legs were still not optimum after the 28km run.

Today's swim session was great - yet again! Usual warm up, and main sets of 400m, 300m, 200m, 100m, 50m and 10x50m leaving on 55s. All the 100m were clocked in under 1:50 and the 10x50m were completed under 55s (mostly in 51s) with only 1 lap that I took an extra 5s breather. Tiring, no doubt about it, but felt good that they were all accomplished.

Thank-Less vs Thank-Full

A colleague of mine posted on Facebook,"What is so hard about (1) queuing up for the lift and (2) saying "thanks" when someone lets you go in first?" And just last night, I had to reprimand my daughter for saying "I did not leave it there in the first place" when I asked her why she left the hair brush on the sofa after using. All hell broke lose thereafter with me. And it is not the first time I got such a retort. Hair bands left strewn on the floor, lights and fan left switched on after use, blankets undone. No, I do not pick up after them. Maybe their grandma did - I am not sure. So yes, its a habit that is still being inculcated. But it sure is hard sinking in. Is this the new generation behaviour? If so, where did they pick it up from? Home? School? Friends? Home education plays a huge role in molding the character. But with dual working incomes for most families in Singapore, maybe this had taken the backstage and less taught? I hope my kids will outgrow it soon with my nagging. Or I will slowly go insane with the constant reminders.


So many times I have actually held the malls' door open for my family to walk through and guess what? Strangers inevitably walked through. Well, I have no issues with this but it was the nonchalant walk through, without any form of appreciation that irked me to the core. What has become of common courtesy? And we are back to the same silly discussion: do we need the courtesy lion to remind us to be civic minded?

***

Today I did a 28km run after 2 weeks of absence from long distance run, excluding the half marathon last Sunday. It was difficult, especially after the hard 150km ride in the heat yesterday. Initially I kept up my HR to high Zone 3, which was the usual in the past I think, but I knew I could not sustain it after 5km. In the end just lived with trying to complete rather than have a good pace. My sorry legs were just not up to it. I cant seem to find them, sadly... Already they arent that fantastic, and now made worse. What is going on? I have absolutely no idea. Did the run at average of 6:10km pace. Was hoping to keep it under 6 at least, but clearly disappointed.


Getting kind of frustrated with the Polar HRM. Footpod is not quite accurate and the HR transmitter sometimes act up on me. Maybe it is time to consider getting a GPS instead since the Polar GPS has literally "crashed out on me". But that will be an additional expenditure. Maybe I will just live with the inaccurate distance and let time kill it off before I change it to a New Balance GPS or the Garmin GPS. I just read that the NB is quite good and its new in the market. Will wait out and check the users' reviews on it.

Gear Shifting

After Wednesday's nightmare bike session, Thursday was a break. Did not even do the short run. This meant that the past 2 weeks, my training miles had been very low.

Friday's swim was great after the day's break. 400m warm up, 400m kicks, 1x400m, 2x200m, 4x100m and 20x50m on the 55s, 200m warm down. The kicks are getting better. I remember I use to do 2:45 to 3min for EVERY 50m last year when I first started. Then it dropped to 2:20 beginning of this year. Just before June, I was doing about 2:10 and on Friday, I was getting home under 1:52. Kicks are the worse form of torture for me. Slow, tiring and embarrassing. The laps per 100m I was clocking up about 1:52 and the best part for the 20x50m? I was hitting home under 55s and leaving on the 55s for 16 laps. The other 4 laps peppered throughout the session, I took a 5s breather. It was tiring and I was gliding away, as much as possible to ensure that I can get under the 55s. Mental barrier was really high because 20x50m is really very testing for me. So it is a good thing I managed to complete it. Perhaps, the Monday's sessions had been beneficial. And without a doubt, the ample rest in the week also gave me the extra boost. Plus the shorter mileage before the 20 laps gave me the extra arm power?


Today's ride was great! Anything better than Wednesday's ride has to make it great? After all, it cant get any worse! 150km, with 10km big HR push on the 50th, 80th and 110th km marks. Weather was the usual hot, despite the rain on Friday afternoon and the drizzle at night. Suppose to do 5km run after the ride but only did 4km. The 1130am heat really got into me. Slow 4km run in 23:23. Darn!


Not sure what was the reason, maybe its the heat, maybe its the 2 weeks of low training in preparation for the half marathon - 1 week before and this week of recovery. I was really fatigued out after today's session. What I have observed is this: everytime I lay off, the first few big hits will always wear me down. But as I continue the big sessions thereafter, the body seem to recover better and the fatigue is not so overpowering. Perhaps, it is the age thing? With this, I think I will try not to lay off after WA's race. I should continue training.


Somehow there is a parallel with the habits we have in our lives. If we continue on discipline-less lifestyle, it will remain so and until we overcome the initial hurdle of getting out of bed to train/exercise, the sedated lifestyle will remain highly attractive. A friend of mine did the OSIM OD this year and had not gone back to serious training since, plagued by illnesses, fatigue and all. Probably more lack of discipline more than anything else. The same goes with studying. Garner the momentum and thereafter all the pieces in the jigsaw will fall into place.


This is also very prevalent in business? If the orientation of the business is not geared towards customer service, this will somehow translate down to the sales people. Take for example, Running Lab has got great guys who knew how to wait on customers. But for our local distributor of 2XU and Ceepo bikes are not knowledgeable unless you speak to the main blokes. And to top it off, not exactly very customer oriented. I had a recent frustrating encounter with them, while Matt and another ex schoolmate of mine who had problems with their bike purchases. It is no wonder then that so many people choose to buy from overseas, besides the cost being low, but also the fact that since customer service are not present in both cases, why pay the higher price? As much as I want to believe in helping our local businesses, I think the local businesses need to relook at themselves as well. It should not always be looked upon as a bottom line  strategy. Or should it?

Bruised Ego

While resting, I caught a documentary. Somewhere near Botswana, there use to be a river  that provided a rich source of life to the animals in the vicinity. Out of the blue, the water dried up and left behind 4 water wells. All life forms will have to gather at these water wells for their daily supply of water. And for generations during this 25 years of dry spell, the predators had an easy time hunting for food because the supply was in abundance.


Tide took a change and just as the river dried up, it was filled up again. The area flourished and the animals no longer needed to venture into the predator's trap that the water wells forced them into. The herbivores were free to venture along the 100km river to graze and the predators were suddenly at a loss of the sudden lack of easy meals.


The documentary went on the depict how the predators adapted to the changes and how the predators cooperated to hunt - how the wild dogs worked with the hyenas to bring down their prey. Apparently, the two do not get along at all in the food chain.


Just as it was with the animals in Africa, my good Tuesday outing also made a turnaround for the worse today. I thought I had recovered from Sunday's half marathon race - result which I can not find online, but its ok nonetheless. Coach had set me up for a 100km bike followed by a 10km run.


Everything that can go wrong, went wrong right from the start. First I forgot the magnet for the Polar speedo. Then my Polar HR transponder refuse to emit any signal to the watch. Both I had to waste precious time to return home to fix it up. During the ride, after 40km, the ball of my feet were hurting really badly. Last hour of training, I realised I lost my nutrition bottle for that hour - and the bottle was only on its 2nd outing only! And the best part? I absolutely bonked on the ride. It was so bad that I took more than 4 hours to get back home - including 2 breaks in between. This same 100km route would have taken me under 3.25hours usually - and without any breaks. I was so devastated that I sat out the 10km run, to nurse my bruised ego.


How do I know I bonked? I could not push my HR up for one. And I know my legs absolutely lacked the pushing power. At every downstroke pedal, I knew there was something was amiss. I am not sure if this is what Macca means by heavy legs but I strongly suspect that it was. Tuesday's session must have taken out the remnants of my legs. It came to a point that I wanted to bail out half way through the ride. But I was already at Jurong West new extension. Wife was still at work. So I carried on the snail's pace and just could not wait to get out of the saddle.


I am getting my sports massage tomorrow night. Coach told me to skip the run as well tomorrow if I want to and just do the hour of spinning session. I will see how it goes. May just do a short 10km easy run before the massage instead of the intervals. I would not want to have to sit down and nurse my ego again, relating myself to the animals in Africa again...

Nice Recovery

For some strange reason, Safra AHM left out of my results. I did some estimation from other fellas with about the same timing as me, I should be in the top 10-11%, top 1400 out of more than 10000 participants in the 21km run. Pretty good compared to last year's results. One of my former students came in 1:19 and another 1:36 thereabouts! Wow!

Was still aching in the morning and in the evening as well. But made it to ENR session. The usual guys were there but the fast blokes were missing. I had put on the disc wheel to help me go along in case my legs disappoint me again.

As it turned out, legs were pumping up pretty well. By the end of the 1st half of the loop, it was just me and Mervyn! Started the 2nd loop and another group of roadies (probably the Rodalink folks) overtook us. We pushed to catch up but could not get to them. Pack of 10 or more. Mervyn said that we did more work than that pack since it was only 2 of us. Marvellous thing was that I did most of the pulling between the 2 of us. Maintained speed of 38 and above. According to my partner, it was 40 constant. So that was good! (My speedo was not attached last night so could not keep track of the speed... Maybe thats a good thing too? So that I wont keep looking at the speedo while riding...)


It simply amazes me how the pros at IM do their bike with average speed of 40kph when I was struggling and pushing like hell to maintain high 30s? Lungs seemed to be on fire already for the short 30km while they have to do it for 180km??? Wow!!!

Coach reminded me that when I first started out with the ENR guys last year, I was always in the middle pack. The fast guys were always zooming ahead. It had taken me 1 year to be on par with a few of them. As Mervyn said, I have come a looooonnnng way. So it was a good achievement for myself.

On hindsight, I hardly train for speed in ironman. Most of my rides are just plain long. And from the start of this year, I had been training hills. Perhaps the luxury of such time and fantastic family support, I was able to slot in these long rides. I believe the long rides and the hills had been beneficial some how. Old school it may be, but long rides do work wonders. At least for me? With my age, I dont think I have fast twitching muscles to help me along now but I can try to train to jumpstart them to life again. Matt Fitzgerald in his article in Triathlete, mentioned that men above 40 will start to lose a lot of their athletic abilities, although he did clarify that all battle is not lost as long as we keep on training, stretching and recovering. And I will probably have to start incorporating strengthening and core exercises soon.

Hooligan or not?

Watched Invictus and a comment in the movie went like this: football (soccer) is a gentlemen's game played by hooligans while rugby is a hooligans' game played by gentlemen. Think the 2 sports had their fair share of dirty play, hooligan or gentlemen's game.


Recent years, the theatrical drama on the soccer pitch had died down very much from the late 1980s - when I started to watch some matches - till now. When every slightest touch during a tackle, the "victim" rolls on the ground, clutching the contacted part of the body and grimaced in "pain". The best part of it all was, after being stretchered off the playing ground, the player "limped" back and continued on his running as if nothing had happened. But all these changed when FIFA ruled that any of such drama can be warded a red card by the referee at his discretion. And this had resulted in lesser of such unprofessional behaviour.


Rugby also has its fair share of foul play. In the scrum, what goes on inside the mass of huge men, as long as it is unseen by the referee, there will be no form of penalty nor booking. What goes on inside the scrum? It varies from punches and upper-cuts into the face/stomach, pinching and squeezing of the genitals, to even biting of ears, arms or other body parts.


Fair play? Clearly not.


Off the pitch nor on the pitch, there has been no lesser of such drama. Wayne Rooney, 25 year old star player for world reknown English soccer club, Manchester United, got into the latest tabloids for his "social" visits to the prostitutes while his wife was pregnant with their first child. While he was younger, he was fiery and got into frequent brawls in pubs after getting drunk.


Gentlemen? Yeah right.


But what I could not believe was a comment his friend made when the tabloids spilled the beans about his night outings with prostitutes. The wife and her family are nothing without Rooney; everything they have now is because of him. If she cant take what he had done, she should just leave. Otherwise, live with it.


WHAT??? So just because the guy has the money and able to provide in abundance, he can do what he wants? A free for all country eh? I think this is clearly a consequence of too much soccer - brain damage from the excessive heading of the ball into the net.

***

Had an energetic swim with the squad at Buona Vista. Feels good to be back at BV and in the pool. Traffic is so much smoother and less time spent in jams. Despite the aching thighs from Sunday's run, I was able to keep pace with the rest of the blokes. Didnt go too slow. Probably because of the easy week last week.

Tomorrow night will be back with ENR ride again for recovery. For recovery? Funny... How can ENR ever be considered a recovery ride? But yes, looking forward to continuous harder training till end of November again.

First Road Run for 2010 - Army Half Marathon

My first road run race for the year. Base on my watch, posted a 1:58:14. Doubt the difference is going to be much from the official timing, but should be in the region of a couple of seconds only. Nonetheless, this is a 13min improvement over last year's AHM. Not my personal best though coz I just did a TT 2 weeks back in 1:51. The distance marker was the same as my footpod all the way till the 13th km but found that I had to run an additional 500m to the end point. So its either my footpod was slightly off or the distance for the race was wrong. Oh well, whatever it is, I was short of my 1:50 target. I had thought I should be able to push it but my silly legs just could not work find the pace after 15km, despite having negative splitted the 2 halves.

I stayed in the front pack at the start line. Coach said to do so, so that I wont get blocked up by the straddlers. And even allow the blokes to go ahead of me right from the start. I just had to stick to my prescribed heart rates. Frankly, I have not trained to go at this HR for such a distance. For the whole run, I was in Zone4. So that in itself was an achievement.

I do not have any excuse for a less than expected timing. My illness cant be used as an excuse. Neither the 3 bridges that all runners had to overcome. Not even the weather - after all, I completed the race when the sun was just up. No, age cant be used as an excuse either. In fact, it only goes to show that I will need to build up my running base. I think there is still room to improve. And Rome was not build in a day. I have only started on endurance training for 2 years. From a sedated couch potato for most of the 10 years since I started work, I think I have come a long way.

There were probably a few thousand more runners ahead of me? But I think there were even more behind me. Should be top 50% at least? As I drove away from the race site, I saw there were many more runners on Nicoll Highway. Good job fellas, for having decided to embark on this running journey. Hopefully they had found the fruition as much as I have myself.

Ever Ready?

Read an article from October's Triathlete mag. Author and medical doctor was preparing for his ironman race and just before the event, he had problem with his heels.


This just sounds so familiar. How many times have we heard the same story? As students we studied for an examination, entered the exam hall, lo and behold, none of the questions looked vaguely familiar to what we have prepared for? As adults, we prepared for our job interview, read up the company's profile and core businesses, got into the interview room, the panel of interviewers simply sliced up the confidence. As a first time spouse, what does it take to live with another person for life, putting up with the partner's nuances and idiosyncrasies? As a first time parent, read as much as we can on the know-hows, but nothing can prepare us for the realities the sacrifices we need to make for a helpless human being? And no amount of death stories in the world and violence in the media will prepare us when the life that is precious to us leaves us?


Can we be ever ready for anything that we prepare for? Nothing is absolute. And that is a life's lesson we all have to learn. And I learnt it yet again.


In building up to IMWA in December, I have signed up a few races. Upcoming one is Army Half Marathon on Sunday. I had a good feeling while coming up to it. Am sure Coach had his expectations as well. This week was a very easy week of training. This was to ensure that my legs would be fully prepared for the run. Coach had left his instructions for race day as well. My mind was slowly gearing up to it.


But guess what? Unknowingly, I fell slightly ill yesterday. No thanks to the thunderstorm. Of course, I am never one for Old Wives' Tales about staying out of the rain. I had thought that I was fit enough to overcome any illnesses now - which had been the case for the past half year? Though technically, it was probably not the rain that brought me down to reality but a combination of that and the cold air blasting away for 2 hours at ELITE while I was slightly wet during the bike fit with David Greenfield. David was fine tuning my fit and fixing up the bike for me as well.


Stubborn me thought it was nothing, with the eyes throbbing slightly this morning, went out for a 40km bike and a 4km run. I survived the training but in the evening I spent lying on the bed sleeping the grogginess off. So yes, no swim tomorrow. It is rest up or no go on Sunday at all.


Will it be my best performance in my life on Sunday? It remains to be seen. I do not have the crystal ball. But I can only prepare all the way to race day. What happens next will be how I cope. I asked my friend and colleague, a first time mom soon, "Are you ready?" And she responded, "No, but I will still have to cope."


So yes, I will have to cope with whatever happens. We are after all, mortals. A humbling experience. But better now than before an even more major race.

"Help! My Bottom Bracket Is On Fire!"

I wish this was my comment. But it was not meant to be. Sadly...


I went for a session with ENR after months of absence. It was the usual guys and was nice to have met them again. There was a guy whom I have never met. Japanese bloke called Tomoya in the forum, probably his name as well? Finished top in AVIVA 70.3 last year in his age group and went on to compete in Foster Grant Clearwater 70.3 Championships. His qualifying time? 4:44. It was amazing!


Anyway, back to the title. We were cruising along Coastal at almost 40kph and I was on big chain ring with cadence in the region of 90. Tomoya? He was on SMALL chain ring and cadence of probably 110 or even higher? It was incredible! Of course he did occasionally switch to big chain ring, but even then, his cadence was still very very high! Yes, I am sure his bottom bracket would have been on fire if not for the lubricant... And I think he would have to change his BB bearings really often!


There were only 3 of us in the lead pack and by the 2nd loop, there were only 2 of us. As per common practice in ENR, we all take turns to pull the pack. But with only 2 of us, I found it difficult to battle the wind and sustain the pull. I tried as much as possible to help out, but most of the time, Tomoya was the one who led the draft. I was merely sitting on him and getting my lungs to recover from the lead.


What was comforting was that I was able to last the 2 laps with this bloke. And with him helping to lead the pack of two, I was able to hammer in to the finish at the end. But I led him merely by only a bit. And considering that he was leading the draft most of the time, this lead I had on him is really not justified. It was a good session in the end I must say. Coz it is also clear that I have improved since I started on triathlons.


I am just so glad that he is not in my age group. Otherwise, he would be passing me really fast and demoralising me on the bike leg. Apparently, he is really strong on the run as well. Darn! Hammer hard on bike and yet still able to run well??


On a side note, he did mention that he did not come in 1st in all the 3 legs at AVIVA. This only means that the top participant on every leg did have a weakness in one or two of the other two disciplines. And it also means that this Tomoya has individual legs that are of equivalent competence. Wow...


This morning I had a 8km easy pace run. Averaged it in 5:19/km pace. Started off with body stiff and still cold. After only 4km, legs started to come alive. The 1st 4km I was doing a pace of 5:39/km. Meant that my 2nd half was about 5:10/km. The pace during the 2nd half felt good. Not too fast and yet comfortable. Hopefully it will be a pace that I could sustain for a longer run.

No End To Man's Imagination

Marathons have been a fanfare of late in Singapore. Everybody wants to complete a marathon. To them, it is the epitomy of endurance. However, a few years back, there was an ultramarathon - double marathon in a go. And just this year, there was a 5 marathon to be run continuously held in Singapore and won by a Physics lecturer. You heard me right. 220+ km.

For many of us, doing a triathlon in itself will be an achievement. Doing a half an ironman would be reaching for the sky. And attempting an ironman? That would be physically and mentally draining that it would take some one who has lost their pants. And of course, with ironman, there is the ultra ironman. Then there is triple ironman and oh yes, quintuple ironman. Check this site out! Anybody for dessert?

Enrico will be finishing his 10th IM in WA this year. Clifford has completed his 10th while in Utah. And it took them a couple of years to do so. Now imagine this: doing the deca ironman? Yes, 10 IM in 10 consecutive days. Stretch your imagination further DOUBLE deca ironman. Get these distances right:

1) swim 76km

2) bike 3600km

3) run 844km

And to top it all off, the icing on the cake? The swim is done in a standard pool, the riding and running are both done on a 1.9km loop. Each discipline must be completed before going on to the next. I have no idea how any one body is able to sustain not only the physical stress, but also the mental stress of doing the laps and loops over and over and over again.

This is the power of human mind. We are who we THINK we are.

One Year Closer

I am 1 year older closer to the big FOUR ZERO. Hope I will grow to be wiser...

Coach put me on a smaller menu today. 2km warm up, 3x3km with 500m walk in between followed by 1km warm down. Greedy me had lunch and wolfed down a tea break just 3hours before the run. And the chili just didnt go down well with the routine. So, the glutton in me overcame the common sense. Oh what the heck! The sinful lontong was just too overpowering! Ha ha!

Warm up was queasy. Stomach felt bloated and thought the tea break may just find its way out of my throat. Fortunately, managed to keep them all in. 1st 3km with 5:17/km pace, 2nd with 4:58/km pace and last with 4:25/km pace. Tried to keep the cadence low while gliding more. Pretty successful I must say? Coz the HR remained high. Getting more comfortable doing runs at the higher range of Zone 4 and sometimes going up to Zone 5 nowadays. Which must be good? Compared to last year while I was training for IMWA, my HR was always in Zone 3. I can only hope I can maintain it in a race. I know I tend to be more cautious in races. I will need to build up my own confidence to perform at the higher zones. I suppose doing the races will help in this? Next Sunday is Army Half Marathon. Shall see what happens then.

Nay... What Cycling Culture?

As expected, Friday's swim did not go too well. I dont think it was totally the fault of the interval on Wednesday. I think it was my mind telling me that I was tired more than anything else. Not sure. Maybe I was just plain lazy. Anyway, 3km swim in 60:48. Almost 3 min off from last week's session. I knew it was bad when I was lapping in past 2min every 100m. Darn!


Saturday's 160km was the usual. 1st 40km the HR was everywhere. Probably due to the rolling terrain. But the flats at Tuas, West Coast, Coastal, the HR was easy to maintain as prescribed. Nutrition seemed to be on track as well. However, the ride was peppered with incidents on the road. After leaving the group of friends and went my own route, I realised thereafter one of them was squeezed so bad at West Coast that he veered off into the ditch and crashed. Cut up pretty badly but he was fine, fortunately. Another guy had an argument with a truck driver for almost running over him. And on my way back home, had an idiotic driver who insisted that because she stopped for me, she was not in the wrong - although I had to steer myself from 2nd lane to 1st lane out of the danger zone, upon seeing her emerging from small lane into the SECOND lane immediately. Fortunately, there were no vehicles coming from my right. Otherwise, I would have been a goner too. Oh well, these are just some of the silly drivers on the roads.


Really, Singapore just does not have


1) cycling culture
2) most drivers need an education that cyclists are human beings too
3) most drivers need to remember that while they are in the protective shell on their vehicles, cyclists are not


Some parts of Australia have cycling lanes on the roads. But I have read about how some of their drivers have intentionally mauled into the cycling groups too. I dont think the problem just lies with Singaporeans. There will always be such people around. When will these people every come to their senses? Is it so tough to put themselves in the shoes of others? Just where is the moral sense of respect for human lives? Is common sense a thing of the past, a lost cause?


Anyway, I did a short 4km run after the 160km bike. Funny that I completed the run in 20min. Didnt feel fast but perhaps the legs turnover and stride distance may have made the difference? Oh well, good run nonetheless.

A Total Wreck!

Tuesday's interval training totally killed me. 3km warm up, 4x400m, 8x200m, 8x100m and 2km warm down. Today, I woke up with hammies, quads and glutes all aching. Did my 12km run in the evening today and even my arms were achy! Lungs felt as if they were on fire. Even the rib cage was aching. Legs just would not cooperate. I was totally thrashed by the single interval work out. Not sure if I will have anything left for tomorrow's swim and the weekends' sessions...


Elite Bicycle Singapore distributors, Adeline and Daphne, completed IM Canada over last weekend. Both completed and Adeline finished close to the cut off time. She had ITB problems and bad blisters in her feet. It was nice to know that her iron will made her cross the line. What I especially liked about it was that the athletes encouraged her on while she was walking - "Keep going, young lady, and see you at the finish line." I think it is such encouragements that will push ourselves to the end point when we tell ourselves we are done with the race.


So, go ahead, encourage the people around. You never know when you will make a difference to them - race in the IM, work or Life in general.

Tribute to The Teachers Out There

I read about this some time back. Some of us would have read this story in one way or another. Since today is Teachers' Day, I thought I would post it, as a tribute to all the teachers, coaches, trainers out there.

The dinner guests were sitting around the table discussing life. One man, a CEO, decided to explain the problem with education.

He argued, 'What a kid going to learn from someone who decided his best option in life was to become a teacher?'

He reminded the other dinner guests what they say about teachers: 'Those who can, do. Those who can't, teach.'

To emphasize his point he said to another guest; 'You're a teacher, Bonnie. Be honest. What do you make?'

Bonnie, who had a reputation for honesty and frankness replied, 'You want to know what I make?'

(She paused for a second, then began...)

"Well, I make kids work harder than they ever thought they could.

I make a C+ feel like the Congressional Medal of Honor.

I make kids sit through 40 minutes of class time when their parents can't make them sit for 5 without an iPod, Game Cube or movie rental."

You want to know what I make?' (She paused again and looked at each and every person at the table.)

''I make kids wonder.

I make them question.

I make them apologize and mean it.

I make them have respect and take responsibility for their actions.

I teach them to write and then I make them write. Keyboarding isn't everything.

I make them read, read, read.

I make them show all their work in math. They use their God-given brain, not the man-made calculator.

I make my students from other countries learn everything they need to know in English while preserving their unique cultural identity.

I make my classroom a place where all my students feel safe.

I make them understand that if they use the gifts they were given, work hard, and follow their hearts, they can succeed in life."

(Bonnie paused one last time, then continued.)

"Then, when people try to judge me by what I make, with me knowing money isn't everything,

I can hold my head up high and pay no attention because they are ignorant..."

You want to know what I make?

I MAKE A DIFFERENCE.

'What do you make, Mr. CEO?"

His jaw dropped, he went silent.

The skeptics would say that this is just a consoling story to comfort ourselves about how little we make. Perhaps. What I do know is that the power of influence of a teacher in the classroom, may be able to change the course of the students' future, for the better or for the worse, although, their future still lies within their own hands and decisions that they make. 

Regardless, Happy Teachers' Day to all of you out there!

***

Yesterday, I drove to East Coast to train. Havent done that in a while. Did 75km at Coastal, Selarang and Pasir Ris loop. Nice and flat and useful for maintaining consistent HR. Following which was an easy 8km run. Average pace of 5:32/km. Never trained at East Coast Park before. Nice, flat and breezy. Also easy to hold constant HR.

But neh, I wont drive all the way there to run. Takes up too much time travelling. Yesterday was just out of convenience - was already out, so thought I would do it there instead of going home again.