Managing Expectations

Past 2 weeks training sessions had not been good. Made me felt as if I had lost my stamina and endurance fitness after the 2 weeks of reservist as well as the bout of flu. Was telling Coach about it and he mentioned that it could due to the high and positive thinking when I was doing well during the daily sessions as well as the AVIVA70.3. And probably due to the inactivity and flu as well. I had expected deterioration. But not as bad as what I had been getting of late.


Wednesday did a session of 75km. That was pretty alright though I know that my cadence was off. I use to ride 90-95 comfortably. That had gone down to under 90. I thought: maybe it was the interval session the night before. So did not put much thought to that.


Thursday started really late on a 11km tempo run. Stopped on the 1st loop of a 4.1km coz I knew I wasnt going to make it for another 2 loops. And that was only a 5:20 pace, which on normal days would be not too bad especially on a shorter run like this. I attributed it to the long work hour and dinner I had with my ex colleagues. Run started past 10pm. So I stopped.


Friday swim session. This was the 1st session by Coach since 3 weeks ago. Dark clouds loomed half way through but I managed to finished all the sets anyway. An absolute nightmare. 4x200m, 10x100m, 10x50m. Before the break I was doing 3:20 for the 200m, under 1:40 for 100m and under50s for 50m. All decreased by 5s per lap this time! 3:35, 1:45 and 52. I was back to beginning of the year times!


Saturday. Had a late Friday night at work. Back home only past 1130. Rushed to prep my bike for Saturday and only turned in half hour past 12. Basically only had 5 hours of sleep or less. Planned to do a 180km ride just to clock the mileage. Waited with Andrew for Wilson for an hour but no show because of a silly miscommunication. In the end, started on 3 loops of Mandai with Andrew and thereafter decided to ride our to the usual long route on my own after Andrew had to leave. Cadence again was off and I know for sure I had lost my cycling legs.


So how do I manage all these setback? Probably 1st start is to forget all the targets I had set in my mind for Cairns. By removing all the expectations for myself will reduce the pressure to amp my sessions up. Slowly rework it through the course of the next few weeks. If things do get better, perhaps relook at the expectations again. If not, just let it pass and handle Cairns has it comes. Its not pleasant to have to go through this. Perhaps, looking it as a family holiday and enjoy snorkeling, theme parks with my family will be something I can look forward to. After all, this is only a triathlon.


Easier said then done, perhaps. But better psyche myself up so that my holiday wont be spoilt.

Mountain Bike!

How true is this? Think some bits are in jest.


http://www.cycling-inform.com/bike-skills/136-unwritten-rules-of-cycling-etiquette


I have my own code. I will not draft others if I do not know them. And if I had wanted to, I would have asked. So more often, I will not bother with drafting others.


The thing is, most cyclists on the roads here do not bother and suck wheels as much as they can. Without asking, I find it most rude and intrusive. And the best part was, they suck wheels so quietly that I didnt know they had sneaked behind. The Saturday ride I had one such rider. He was initially drafting on a big container. Later he sucked on my wheel. What a bummer. Then again, I shouldnt implement my own code on others.

***

Took over this MTB from a friend at a steal. He needed to let it go coz he was preparing for a 2nd road bike at his place. Its alloy frame but comes with XTR gruppo. Suppose to be the best component for MTBs. And guess what? I know nuts about MTB. A good start for a cross training after Cairns perhaps? Although this will be shared more between myself and my older girl. Notice that the saddle is really at its minimum.


Akward colour, as my wife said. But with such a low cost and only meant for recreational riding, it should suit me just fine.

***

At night, started on my interval training late. Realised I had a 200m running route across the road. So used that as a good distance marker. 10 x 400m at 1:44 pace, prescribed by Coach. But managed all in under 100s. But I did walk 400m as recovery in between, which I think Andrew will say that would be too long a break. I use to run with him and the MR25 guys and do the same routine but at 2:30 intervals. Means, run fast pace and start the next lap on the 2:30. That was one hell of a session.


I think session was good enough for me. At least the mind remained fresh and the sets didnt look too daunting. Under 100s laps meant that I would be able to do under 10min for a 2.4km run. Could hold the pace for 6 laps but with loads of huffing and puffing definitely.

My Wife Is A Triathlon Widow?

In the tabloids yesterday, there was a short article about how some wives were made "widows" by soccer, tennis, golf, table tennis. First time coming across soccer/tennis/gold/table tennis widows. Essentially, these wives were widowed by their spouses' obsession with the sports. How some they will not be able to attend some special functions because their spouse had to play those games.


Before I started the sport, I use to drive my kids over the weekends for their enrichment classes - English drama, piano, Chinese drama on Saturdays and swimming on Sundays. But with my training regime over weekends, my wife had taken over the role of the chauffeur.


So now my wife is an ironman triathlon "widow".


But we still manage family outings with friends. And mainly because I keep my dinner times available and train in hours that are transparent on weekdays. Admittedly, it doesnt always go according to plan and more often than not, some things will have to go. Family had been most accommodating so far. And I sure hope this continues into the future.

***

The return to training had not been an easy one. A flu bug knocked me off my feet for a few days. And sessions had shown that I was not totally fit yet.


Started with Friday's 15km tempo run. In the end, broke up into 5km in the morning and 12km in the evening. Managed the 5:25 pace only for the 12km. Saturday's planned at least 140km ride but only rode 90km. Legs felt weak and cadence was just not up to mark. Was pressing more than usual.


Came Sunday. Mind was just not strong and had thought that 24km at 5:30 pace would be hardly possible. Decided not to go out for the usual long route and did 6 loops of 4.1km in my estate. Almost flat ground would give me a certain advantage and it sure did. Completed the 6 loops in 22:21, 22:18, 22:18, 22:26, 22:28 and 22:24. Quite consistent pace. But I had help with me as well. Andrew did the run with me. And the bloke just completed 15km time trial in 62min in the morning! A very easy 24km for him definitely.


The sun took a peek during the 1st 3 laps and my HR shot up tremendously. Subsequently, it decided to have mercy and hid its rays and I had a glimmer of hope. Thereafter, HR went down to a more manageable rate.


Today am feeling much better. Should get a clean sheet of bill by tomorrow perhaps? And hopefully will be able to get into gear and full steam ahead for Cairns. 5 more weeks to go.

Choices

I gave it a go at 15km tempo run at 5:25 pace this morning. Stopped on the 13th lap at the track. Head was feeling light and giddy, breathing strayed from the usual which shouldnt have happened at this pace and legs cadence was slowing. The last was indeed true when I checked with my Polar software after downloading the data.


The same old thoughts came back to haunt me and the feeling of frustration grew and ate me up. But this time round I was more in control. Yes, it was a good chance to head out with my family for a good breakfast. And that I did!


As I walked home, the heavy heart got lighter. And indeed, life is about choices. This time, do I choose to be frustrated and spoil the day, or I could see it from the perspective as having the opportunity to spend good time with the wife and kids? I chose the latter. And am so glad I did.


Will be attempting another round of 15km# later with Andrew. Probably on the track again instead of tarmac. Hopefully this time, the body will hold up. And tomorrow will be an easy ride, target distance of 180km ^. Just to ease myself back to riding again after missing almost 3 weeks of sessions. Hopefully all will be still good to go.


# Completed 12km (30 laps) all laps under 2:10. Total time taken was 1:02:43. Slightly faster than 5:25 pace. So all is good. Didnt want to be too tired for the ride on Saturday morning. Thus decided to reduce by 3km. In any case, I had already done 5 in the morning. I ran on lane 1 while Andrew ran on lane 8. Thats 456m per lap for him. And it was still a very comfortable pace for him. Bugger!


^ Not even close! Managed only half the distance. Cadence was way off and could feel that the legs were very heavy. Just satisfied that I could easily overtake a bunch of roadies who initially overtook me. Whole pack broke up into different pockets after a while, while I slowly reeled them all in, except for the lead few riders. Given more road I would have reeled all of them. Yeah, still cant stand the showy roadies.

***

Read Chrissie Wellington's blog on her latest win at IM South Africa - the one that Clifford did on his 11th chase of IMs. The iron lady - no, not Margaret Thatcher - won her race with the fastest run split even among the male pros. It was simply amazing! In the blog, there were pictures and one was taken of her legs. Her legs were so toned that the veins were popping out at the calves.


Actually, the veins on my legs are also coming through during work outs. Strangely, it gives me satisfaction. Probably because I have never seen my legs like that before and also more likely, that I know I have been giving my legs a good work out thus far.


I am not losing the weight I was hoping to do since January. And there are still loads of spares around me. But heck, it will have to do. Maybe I can feed on these spares during the race? And perhaps come back leaner?


Yeah right... This never happened. Not for the past 2 ironman anyway. The holiday with the family will just put them all back anyway. Next time. Maybe next time. I will watch my calories and lose the weight instead of training to shed the extra pounds.


Maybe.

K.O.

It was a really silly thing to happen. Having endured the reservist for 2 weeks, on the last day in the morning, I felt symptoms of an onslaught of flu bug. I had been saying that it would take quite a strong bug to get me down and indeed it happened. The bug knocked me off my feet and been lying on the bed the whole day today. The medication I got last night just was not working. An initial dose of antibiotics and lozenges - probably a milder form. This morning I saw the same doctor and asked for something stronger. And stronger they got. Could feel the difference almost instantly. The sore throat had diminished, the runny nose had almost dried up. Just had a slight hangover of dizziness. Perhaps due to lack of food since last night?


Doctor told me to drink chilled electrolyte drinks as well as ice cream since I was not in the mood of solid food. And that I did. Udders ice cream with bread twice and 2 bowls of porridge. Soft food was very gentle on my throat.


My return to ironman triathlon training had just hit a snag. 2 weeks of just a couple of runs, once swim and once rubber chord training is not going to be put me back on track for Cairns. It is coming up in 6 weeks and that is including this week. Coach had to stop me in my tracks to remind me to stop stressing over training for the race. After all, there will be other races to do well in.


Sometimes it is hard to catch myself in my following my training schedule. After all, who would not like to see an improvement with all the hard work put in? But in the end, instead of thinking of training, I let it go and rested. Hopefully I will be able to get back into the routine stronger than before.


In any case, even if that doesnt happen, it is not the end of the world. After all, I am not depending on this as my livelihood and I do have a family to look after as well. I read this with interest and delight.

***

On the last day of reservist, there was an announcement that there were some of the soldiers who had already done their time and completed at least 10 years of service to the SAF. Pleasantly surprised was that I was also called up. It felt good to be classified as MINDEF Reserve (also known as MR), while the rest of my peers still have yet to complete their cycle. However, I am older than them, so this is warranted.

Another Trashed Run

Started the run just past 3pm. Scorching hot temperature ranged from 29 to 36. I would presume it was 36 when I started. Average was 32 at the end of the run.


1st 16km in 1:38:40 and 2nd 16km in 1:40:42. Heart rate shot up to at times above 150 on the 1st 16km, probably primarily due to the heat. Total crap was the 2nd 16km. I even took the easy way out by running in my estate after 20km - as flat as can be. I had thought I would benefit but turned out to be otherwise. My long run of 32km timing is dipping - from 3:06 till 3:20. It sucks considering that I had been resting for the past 2 weeks. And it is not making it any better with the race looming in 6 weeks time. Damn!

Equipment Care

I am not quite into taking care of my equipment till recently when I realised that the cost of replacing parts of the wear and tear were increasing. This time round was another indication of being "penny wise and pound foolish".


I recently sent in my bike for servicing. My mechanic found that my handlebar was not in very good shape. I was quite surprised that my usage over the 2 years of training and taking part in triathlons, the salt deposits had corroded the aluminium bar. The white/yellow patches in the pictures were indentations as a result of the corrosion.

Not wanting to risk any problems in the coming race, I changed it out and threw the old piece away. A result of not changing the bar tape regularly, although the last change was just 5 months ago? The above picture showed the revelation of the white salt deposits after the bar tape was peeled off. And my dear friend had to endure the foul smell that came with it. Really disgusting I must say.


So yes, from now on, the bar tape will be changed regularly as well. By hook or by crook.


Cant wait to jump onto the bike again. It has been 2 weeks of absence. Before I took the break for reservist, I was feeling tired from riding. Probably suffered a burn out then. But now I am back and am looking forward to riding again. So the break must have done me good psychologically.

Again A Slack Week

What a slack week. Hope I dont put on weight from inactivity. Managed to do my interval training on Tuesday: 1km, 2km, 1km x 2. Took 4:08, 9:07, 4:27 and 4:32. Far cry from the 4:22 for 1km and 9:04 (2km) that Coach gave me for this week. My only excuse is that I am not on the track and it was difficult to check on my time. I was running in 1km laps.


Thursday did an 8km tempo run. Suppose to be a 5min pace but took 40:22 instead. Again wasnt sure of the pace I had to run. I must have started pretty slowly as I know I was running faster during the last 3km. It was a very comfortable 8km run though. Maybe I have rested well for the past 2 weeks and legs had recovered from the months of training for the 1st half of the year.


Cairns is coming. In less than 6 weeks. I will have to get my performance to peak by then. Dont think anything much I do within these 6 weeks will matter any more. Now should be mere sustaining what I have trained since beginning of the year.


Lets see. I had started on intevals which for the past 2 years I had never dabbled on. I started on stronger swim since WA 2010. Bike wise, not much had really changed. Perhaps the next race I should work on a stronger bike. Maybe a change in methodology as well?

***

Have decided that I will not do the Marina21k run and the Army Half Marathon. Instead I have signed up for Mega Tri Singapore long distance triathlon. Slightly longer race than the 70.3 - 2km swim, 102km bike and 27km run. Yes, I am still choosing my races this year. And hope to do more triathlons than runs. Besides Newton 30km, the next run will be StanChart marathon.

Restful Week

Started reservist on the wrong foot. For the 1st two days, I had splitting headaches which went away with painkillers. With a night off, I went home and measured my blood pressure, it shot up through the roof! I had no idea at all for this sudden surge. Probably due to lack of training for the week? Too inactive for too long? Monday was the swim, Tuesday did nothing. Thursday did an easy 8km run and Friday did a slightly faster 5.4km run. Didnt manage to follow what Coach had prescribed.


Today, I managed to get out of the flat about 2pm to do a 24km run. 1st 10km in 53:37, 2nd 10km in 59:45 and last 4km in 23:30. Total time taken was 2:16:53. Again a far cry from the 5:30 pace I was suppose to hold. Heat really got into me when I started. A hefty 36 degrees - according to my watch. Of course not throughout the run? But yes, I would say that at 2pm, that would have been a possible temperature.


I had thought I would be able to give it a good go for today's run. Terribly disappointed I must say because I felt really trashed during the run. Could be the heat or it could be just myself. Looks like I have more to do with the run.

When Is Too Much Just Too Much?

Nit picking on the smallest of issues in recent times, like the extent of personal attacks on 27 year old incumbant MP, can really leave an ill aftertaste. It just like eating the same food over and over again will change the taste buds, from pleasant to an overkill.


So, how much of endurance training should we do? Met an old friend today. He knew I was into ironman races - cos he has seen me running around the area and that I have lost a lot of weight since I left the school - and he shared with me this link.


I doubt that I will fit the category of people training seriously and hard. I am just going by what I think I can do. Will this research be applicable to me? I hope not.

***

Havent done my run for the day. Spent the whole day settling my work as well as errands I needed to run before I go for my reservist. Not forgetting there was rain in the afternoon. As well as hunger.


Probably wont be doing the intervals but instead go for a light run in the morning tomorrow before I report. Run off all the sweet stuff I had been eating since the 33km run on Sunday. Somehow the body had been craving for that sweet stuff which I seldom consume usually.


The break is here. I hope not to lose any fitness during these 2 weeks. I have brought bungy cord to replace my swim and more sets of running gear. Hopefully I will be able to squeeze in some runs before meals of some sort, as well as include core exercises. Contemplated bringing in the yoga mat but decided not to. At least I still have my Sunday to do the long runs.

Kids Tribob Duathlon

A family outing in the morning yesterday. Was there to cheer my kids on their 2nd duathlon for the year. They were severely handicapped like the 1st race. Bike can only go as fast as their fixie will allow them. Again. But the red faced kids were fun to look at. Suffering not on my end but theirs! Nice! :P

***

Saturday saw the early morning rain wash out any possibilities of riding. Decided to have breakfast with my wife after dropping kids for their enrichment classes. Started my bike session just before noon. That only meant that I could not hit the 200km that I planned to and in the end did 120km only. It was nothing of high intensity considering that I had some residual fatigue in me and also had to hold back because of the prescribed 32km run on Sunday.

From this ride, I realised that eating up after the session was very important. I felt faintish after the ride despite having nailed my nutrition on the bike. Missing lunch could have contributed to it and perhaps not carbing up for the week could have been a factor as well. Because all fainting spells were gone after I ate up a double portion of spaghetti.

The run was suppose to be my last big one before I break for reservist. But instead of my usual route of 32km, I decided to run to my parents' place and have my dinner there. Huge mistake. It turned out to be the hardest 32km run I had to do in a training session. I had to keep climbing slopes for a good 7km of the route. I got to the last 4.5km and I decided to turn into the track to finish up the rest of the mileage. I was just too trashed to do any more slopes. The body was feeling too weak already.

To make things worse, the GPS did not compute the laps accurately and I did almost 33km. And that took me 3:27. Way way off the mark of 5:40 pace that Coach had tasked me to do. Will live to see another day.

LOOK Keo Power Pedals

LOOK (pun intended) at the review here. Could this be the future of powermeters as well? Many considerations though. I have heard of how fragile LOOK pedals are because of the presence of play at the spindle. And with the strain gauge at the spindle, will there be a compromise in structure? Just a perspective from a layman, nothing scientific. The pedal is probably the part that is most ill treated in the whole bike besides the tyres. Clip in and out all the time, used as a bike stand against the kerb, 1st part to hit the ground if bike topples sideways? And if you think that its going to be cheap because it is so small, think again. 1600-1800 euros! That is more than the price of the Quarq.


However with another competitor, with the market dominated by upmarket SRM and Quarq, midmarket Cycleops and the low end iBike (which I use), this may be good for end users. Perhaps the price of these equipment will feel the heat and reduce its prices in due time and made more affordable to a bigger market segment in the cycling industry.

***

Bollocks! I have to miss JP Morgan because of work commitment. Irony is that this was suppose to be corporate race. Afraid there will be no choice. It will be the 2nd DNS for this year! But with 1 DNS, I have compensated by registering for 5km Open Water Swim at East Coast in July (and I signed up for Newton 30km over the weekend).


I will have 1.5years to train for IMWA 2012 after Cairns. No letting up. Hopefully to do an 11 hour race then? Very, very ambitious I must admit but will work on the bike as well as run. I dont think my swim can go down much further. Even if it does, it will be too small and may not be significant for the whole race.


And in 2013, perhaps Norseman. IF I can get a slot. Otherwise it will be back to June/December races again. Am hoping that I can mark my 5th ironman chase with the toughest IM in the world. And yes, the target will be the black tee.


Lets see how things turn out. A plan can only be just that, a plan. There are still too many variables in life. Uncertain variables.

Tired Week

Hectic season has come to pass and gone with the wind. Could finally breathe in huge sigh of relief. Spent the week trying to convince my wife to go with me to Annapurna on a 50km trail run cum holiday but she had flatly turned it down. It was suppose to be a trip without the kids.


On hindsight, it probably would not make much sense to get to Pokhara if we dont get out of town to trek? Unless we go there just to enjoy the slow moving lifestyle, low cost of living and appreciate a different culture and lifestyle we wont get to see in Singapore. I think the run includes going up Poon Hill where there is a magnificent showcase of the Himalayans at dawn. Have wanted to go back to trek in Nepal again but the very thought was snubbed out by The Wife so many times. No choice but to put a pin in that thought.

***

The press had loads to debate on various local issues. One of which was a picture of a army boy who had his backpack carried by his domestic helper. And the other was the fielding of a 27 year old (or young) politician for the coming elections.


Of course with the above picture, sparked off a furore of doctored pictures on the internet related to the domestic helper, just to spite the young soldier. To what extent should we as parents pamper our children? I know I dont. At least not in terms of simple things like carrying their own burden. When my girls started school, they were already carrying their own bags, despite them being big and bulky. Has the growth in wealth, led to a new generation of youths who are probably a far cry from their forefathers who could take in the hard knocks of life? Or is the new generation expected to be performing at a different level of competence that do not require such lifeskills any more? Is the old school of upbringing passe or are they still relevant in the current knowledge base economy? The evolution has taken for a turn. I suppose we can only find out the impact of this in another decade or 2. Hopefully the change is for the better of the society. Although frankly, I personally doubt it. Perhaps not all are in this state, but quite a handful I am sure. Being in schools, I have seen quite a fair number of students heading in this direction of over sheltered nature. And the "I, me and myself" mindset.

***

The week had passed so fast. Soon it will be reservist time. Was hoping to intensify sessions before the 2 weeks break from everything but the body just refuse to budge. Some of the guys chipped in to buy a clock for Monday's swim session. Before I could offer to contribute, Dion said that it was fully paid for already. Clock was useful in timing the rest period as well as the intervals between swimmers. Useful but not sure if the price tag was well worth it. $490!


Tuesday's lone interval session didnt turn out too well. Did a 7:10 1.6km, 15:04 3.2km, 2 sets of 800m in 3:34 and 3:27. All sets were over what Coach had prescribed. I am still not in tune with doing quick sets without looking at 400m lap splits. The inability to gauge my speed was probably largely due to unaccustomed to faster pace runs. And on top of that, I was doing intervals alone. I miss the heart thumping sessions with Andrew and the MR25 runners. And I miss the opportunity to train with people who would serve as a motivation and provide the social interaction as well.


As the week progressed, the fatigue slowly ate me up. The bike ride was suppose to be 85km, mostly to serve as a reduction of workload. Really, the sets were not all that tough. But after the ride I just did not feel like doing the 4km run. And I gave in.


Thursday got slightly better. Somehow this felt like some sinusoidal curve. Up and down throughout the week. Did 6km tempo run but instead of 5min/km, completed in 28:30, which worked out to be 4:45 pace. Pretty decent because I know I could have gone on beyond the 6km quite comfortably. Maybe even 10 if I had dug in slightly. So 5min pace is comfortable over 10km. This bit is comforting.


This morning was a day off from work. Did my swim sets after dropping my kids to school. 1km time trial in 17:26, hitting under 1:45 for most laps. Thereafter completed 10 x 50m on the 55s. 3 x 200 in really tired times of 3:27, 3:35 and 3:37. Notice the drop again. Final sets of 3 x 100m all under 1:45.


Hopefully tomorrow's 200km bike session will be fine. Will try to carb up more and rest more tonight. Maybe it was all due to sleep depravation. Been going into the sessions feeling sleepy and tired. Havent had a chance to do my short naps before the sessions. Hopefully that could be a contributing factor. 70.3 fatigue should be gone after more than a week. That shouldnt be used as an excuse any more. Just got to perk up the mind!