Week 2 of 8

This week's training is pretty much in-line with the Hudson plan. A total of 91k in 6 runs, with some shuffling here and there. He schedules two quality workouts, a threshold fartlek on Monday (which wasn't that hard) and 21k Marathon Pace Spec Test on Sunday.

All week, I've been pretty anxious about the 21k @ MP. Firstly, Hudson's plan is 20 weeks long and a 'spec test' after 14 weeks of marathon training is very timely. However, I jumped in only for the last 8 weeks of his program, meaning that I missed a solid chunk of aerobic support training. I also had 2 weeks of holiday (little running) and only started the training last week, culminating in my first 30k+ long run in 12 months, hence, I was really damn nervous. Secondly, given Singapore weather conditions, I had my doubts whether I could run almost continously in a non-race environment (solo) with limited hydration.

I decided to do the run in East Coast Park (near the airport, S$20 cab return) because it has a long flat, stretch of road of about 12k without any traffic. This is a rarity in a small country like Singapore. My plan was to run out and back for 21k with a brief stop in the middle. Because I wasn't sure whether it will have a vending machine at 10.5k mark, I decided to carry 500m bottle in my hand. Was very anxious during the warm up: even when running at 5:30 pace, my Garmin showed a HR of 140-150 bpm (normally around 5:00). The morning was humid as usual bit I thought it was warmer too.

I started at about 4:30 pace, but I wasn't feeling that flash initially, as the body probably took time to adjust to the pace and conditions. After around 5k, my body finally clicked into gear and the effort felt fairly okay. I reached the 10.5k mark (according to GPS) in 46:34, averaging 4:26 pace and 167 HR. Rested for just over 2mins to take gel, salt tablet, and 500m water and then started again. The second segment was harder and I felt like stopping after 2k. I continued to push along and tried hard to counter the negative thoughts. For some reason, the next 6k just flew like a breeze before I went into another bad patch with couple of ks to go. Legs were heavy and I really felt like stopping for a rest and drink. I continued to hold on and finshed the return leg in 46:40, averaging 4:27 pace. Average HR for this section was 169 bpm but reached mid 180s as I ran hard in the last 300m. The total for 21k was 1:33:15 (av 4:27 min/km) excluding 2mins rest.

Overall, I had a mixed feeling about the run. On one hand, I felt happy to complete the solo run with minimal stoppage and hydration (I am a heavy sweater). Given that I only joined the pgoram with 8 weeks to go and hence, missing a lot of solid endurance training, perhaps the result wasn't too bad. On the flip side, I felt that I didn't have a lot in the tank at the end. One thing for sure, I won’t be able to run at this pace for 42k in tropical country like Singapore!

As an aside, I bought a 2XU compression socks, which looks like a granny stocking. Since Seoul is pretty cold (5-15c) for someone who lives here, I am thinking to wear a Skin short and a long sock. I tried the sock during the MP run this morning but couldn’t feel any positve effects at all. Due to the length, it made the lower part of the body warmer too (extra sweat). At S$50, it is damn expensive for a sock !!!

Mon (Threshold Fartlek):
4.5k warm up incl dynamic stretching & strides
8 x 800m ON, 400m OFF (av time for the 800s = 3:11 or at approx One-Hour pace)
2.6k cool down
All up, 16.3 in 78mins (av 4:50)
Hudson plan calls for 3miles ez, 8 x 3mins @ HM pace + 2mins ez, 3miles ez, but decided to change it to 800s + 200s as they are close enough in terms of timing. Ran on the track clockwise for a change. The 800ms were done in 3:11, 13, 13, 12, 13, 11, 11, 07 - averaging just under 4:00 min/km pace or One Hour pace. Was ambitious in the recovery initially with low 2:00s but slowed to around 2:20 in the latter part. The total ON/OFF was 9.2k in 41:08 (av 4:28 min/km). Got no time to do a long cool down as I had to return to work.

Tue (Easy):
17.2k Easy in 85mins (av 5:00, 145 bpm)
Ran according to HRM on flat route. First 30mins < 140 bpm averaging 5:17, next 30mins <145 bpm averaging 5:00, and last 25mins at 150 bpm averaging 4:40. Felt so-so during the easy portion, but felt great when running at 4:40s. Wished I could have more time today.

Wed (Recovery):
6.5k Very Easy (av 5:30)
Treadmill 0-1.5% incline, also did 70 sit-ups

Thu (Easy):
14k Easy in 71mins (av 5:06)
Treadmill 0-2% incline. Started at 6:00 pace, worked down to 4:45.

Fri (Easy):
9.6k in 48mins (av 5:00) with 8 x 10secs hill
Circled a route with a 400m hill four times plus the hill sprints. Felt sluggish, perhaps the recent step up in mileage in last 1.5 weeks began to take its effect.

Sat (Rest):
OFF.

Sun (Marathon Pace Run):
3.2k Very Easy (av 5:30)
2 x 10.5k @ 4:27 min/km with 2mins standing rest
Splits: 46:34, 46:40, an HR 168 bpm (total 93:15 for 21k)
3.2k Very Easy (av 5:30)
All up, 27.4k in 2:08 (av 4:41)

Total 91k for the week, 2560k for the year

Week 1 of 8 (Seoul)

I've decided to follow Brad Hudson's training plan from the "Run Faster" book for Seoul. I don't normallly follow training plans per se because I believe workout structure & training efforts should be dependent on how I feel on the day. However, I am currently on borrowed times for two reasons. One, I have only 8 weeks (incl taper) to train, and two, I don't have any confidence in designing my own training plan for a 42k race (had a habit to over-train).

I like Brad's program (coach of Dathan Ritzhein who finished #10 in Beijing ahead of Ryan Hall ) due to several factors. Firstly, his principal is based on non-linear periodization. Basically, he suggests one to train at multiple paces consistently all year around with only a tweak in the final 4-6 weeks before a peak race to focus on specific race-pace endurance. For instance, for a 5k race, he recommends one to do 10k training (10k pace intervals, threshold) for aerobic support before focusing on 5k race-pace workouts in the last 4-6 weeks. For a HM race, the optimal aerobic support is of course, HM training (threshold, long runs). For a marathon race, he reckons the optimal aerobic support is also HM training. Why? By doing HM training, marathon pace will feel 'comfortable' because HM is a more challenging event aerobically. (Lets see and find out, haha) The good thing is my training for the last couple of months have been centered on HM training (race on 24 Aug), so I think there is something in common there.

Secondly, his level 2 plan seems to match for a runner of my standard. Brad has 3 plans: #1 for beginner, #2 for intermediate, and #3 for competitive runners. Level 2 plan encompasses 6 days of running (one rest day) and typical mileage of around 90kmpw. This training regime fits my life nicely. Thirdly, he schedules one interval type session (HM to 10k pace), one moderate session (MP run or progression), and a weekend long run in a typical training week. Again, there is some commonality with my training when I was preparing for the HM, except for the lack of long runs (duh !!)

However, there are a couple of main challenges. One, Brad's marathon plan is a 20 week program and I simply jump-in for the last 8 weeks. While I won't have any problems doing the intervals & tempo sessions in his plan, but I am severely short of long runs and aerobic mileage. My average mileage year to date is just under 70k, while the typical mileage in his plan is about 80-90k. Secondly, he schedules a series of tough long runs starting this week: 32k ez, 27k with 21 MP, 35k ez, 32k with 24k at MP+5sec, 37k ez, and 30k at MP+10-20secs. They might prove to be the archiles heel for me, who only did a handful of 20k+ runs this year.

Anyway, below is this week's training. Had no problem with the sudden increase in mileage. Made one tweak by replacing a 19k run with 5x1k intervals, as well as the normal shuffling here and there to fit my schedule. Reason for doing the intervals is to get back to fitness quickly after 2 weeks holiday.

Mon (Easy):
10k Easy in 50mins
Av pace 5:00 min/km
Ran the Leonie Hill Rd loop eight times. Haven't done any running on hills for ages, legs a bit tired.

Tue (Intervals):
2.4k Easy to the track with strides
5 x 1000m @ 8-10k pace with 90secs recovery
Average 3:51 min/km, 177 bpm (splits 3mins: 47, 51, 52, 52, 49)
2.6k Easy with strides
Total workout 11k in 52 mins (av pace 4:40 min/km)
Stretching/core + leg swings

Back to real world: lunch time run with apparent temp of 33c. Struggled after the 3rd interval. Av HR for intervals #2-5 was 177 bpm - higher than similar workouts a month ago at 172 bpm. Perhaps due to some fitness erosion from little running during the holiday.

Wed (Recovery):
9k Very Easy (av 5:25)
Treadmill with 0-2% inclines
Abs work (sit ups, torso rotation, back extension)

Thu (Threshold):
5.3k Easy to the track (av 5:14)
3 x 2400m @ HM pace with 3mins recovery
Average 4:05 min/km, 172 bpm (splits 9mins: 46, 48, 43)
5.7k Very Easy incl 4 x 10secs hill sprints
Total workout 19k in 92mins (av pace 4:52 min/km)

Ran at 6am: cool but awfully humid. The program had 3 x 10mins, but 2.4k at my pace is close enough (6 laps at track). The 2nd interval was tough, but managed to get back into the groove for the 3rd. I did a similar workout 7 weeks ago, averaging 4:01 & 174 bpm but with a shorter warm up, so looks like my fitness deteriorated a tad.

Friday (Recovery):
7k Very Easy (av 5:38)
0.5% incline treadmill
Gym work: pulldowns, deltoid, torso rotation, back extension, core exercises

Saturday (Long):
32k Easy in 2h:43mins (av 5:06)
Incl. 126mins on undulanting terrain (av 5:13), 10mins @ HMP, 18mins ez, 8mins @ MP

First 30k+ run in almost one year and it was difficult. Started at 5:45am to avoid the heat but it was humid. The first 2 hours was over undulating terrain and my legs were trashed by the hills. Ran the second hour in pouring rain too! To avoid getting bored, I spiced thing a little by doing 2400m on the track at HM pace in 9:57 (av 4:10). Then jogged home, running the last 8mins at MP effort. I think the av pace for today's run is a bit on the slow side, but given the terrain and the fact that it is my first long run in a long time, perhaps it wasn't too bad.

Sunday (Recovery):
6k Very easy (av 5:28)

Total 94k for the week, 2469k for the year

Holiday

Was on holiday for 12 days in Japan, hence training was very limited. Went to Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, Fukuoka, and Hiroshima.

On one hand, I felt the holiday is a major disruption to my training. I have a decent patch over the last couple of months and it feels diappointing to break that momentum. Furthermore, after this holiday, I will only have 8 weeks left to prepare for the marathon. On the flip side, since there were no peak races this year, I've been training pretty much week in week out for the whole year. Hence a short break was perhaps good for the mind and body.

Overall, I did a total 90k for the last 2 weeks - which is not exactly marathon training. I felt the holiday eroded my endurance slightly - judging from the workouts that I had in Japan. Out of the 4 runs during the holiday, I only had one solid workout: 3 x 5k @ sub MP on the narrow streets of Kyoto. The two runs in Tokyo were so-so. I wanted to run in Imperial Palace which had a 5k unintterupted loop but I had troubles finding the place by foot from the hotel. I ended up runnning around the local streets under a myriad of skyscrapers and overhead bridges and railway tracks (GPS was out of whack). I also found Japan summer was only slightly cooler than Singapore but was humid throughout.

8 weeks of training left to the marathon... I wish I can buy more time.

25/8: 35mins recovery
26/8: 45mins easy
27/8: 24k in 2 hours
28/8: off (fly to Japan)
29/8: off
30/8: off
31/8: off
1/9: 8k in 37mins (av 4:40) incl 2 x 1600m in 5:42, 6:00 w/ 3mins jog (Kyoto)
2/9: 18k in 82mins (av 4:33) incl 3 x 5k @ 4:20-4:25 pace w/ 2mins rec (Kyoto)
3/9: off
4/9: off
5/9: Approx 11k easy in 54mins (GPS went beserk in Tokyo due to skyscrapers)
6/9: Approx 15k in 74mins incl 5k tempo @ ~ HM pace (GPS went beserk again)
7/9: off (fly back to SG)

SAFRA Singapore Bay Run and Army Half Marathon 2008

1:28:33...

Not a PB (about 1 minute slower), but given the temperature differential between Singapore (24-26c, 90% relative humidity) and Western Australian winter (5-10c, <70% humidity), I think the result was comparable or might be better than my running times in Perth.

My confidence was low this morning as I only slept around 2 hours. Watched Liverpool vs M'borrough until around 12, but couldn't sleep until about 2am+. I guess I got excited too much by the race! Woke up at 4:30am, drank a cup of coffee and ate a slice of bread. Left home around 5:15am and jogged 2km to the start point.

Given the crowd size (70,000+ runners doing 21k, 10k, 6k), I went to the start line 30 minutes before the start time. By then probably there were already close to 1000 runners in front of me. Felt like being trapped in a can of sardines but that's the way Singapore races are. Everybody (either fast or slow) always wants to start in front.

At 6:30 the gun went off and I went out at sub 4:10 pace for the first 2k. At km 3, there was a 300-400m bridge and my pace slowed down to 4:25. Passed the 5k marker at 20:44 (av 4:09) and still felt comfortable. After around 7k, my Garmin and the actual distance markers started to show discrepancy. We then went towards the East Coast Park and passed the turnaround point (chip checkpoint) at 9.5k.

Passed the 10k (according to Garmin) in 41:23 (second 5k in 20:39) so still sub 4:10 pace. At this point, my Garmin was 400m ahead of the distance marker and I passed the 10k road marker in 43:00. We now ran on pavement for the next couple of ks before going to the unpaved section of the race route. My pace started to slow down due to the uneven, sandy like surface which was also a bit tilted (the surface wasn't that horizontal). I also began to struggle due to dehydration. Passed the 15k in 62:14 (third 5k in 20:51). The unpaved section seemed to be endless and finally managed to get a drink and took gel at km 16.

We then went back to the paved road at km 16 and my Garmin was still off by 400m to the distance marker. I was suffering for the next 3-4 km and km 15-20 took me 21:16 (4:15 pace). I passed the km 20 marker in 1:23:10 and fortunately, the distance discrepancy was now narrowing to around 200m. Ran km 20-21 in 3:51 and passed the 21.1k mark according to Garmin at 1:27:50. Crossed the finish mat in 1:28:35 with Garmin showed 21.3k. Since I was zig-zaging throughout the run then the total distance should be accurate at 21.1k.

Av HR for the race was 175 bpm of 90% Max HR. Reached a high of 193 bpm while sprinting to the finish.

Thanks for everyone for the advices and good luck messages. Plugging the HM time to McMillan calculator put me in a 3:07 shape for the full marathon. The upside is that Seoul weather is cool at 7-15c, so should be conducive for running. The downside is that we will be on holiday for 12 days and upon returning, I will only have 8 weeks (incl taper) to train.

Splits (according to GPS):

1k - 4:05/155
2k - 4:08/166
3k - 4: 25/169 (300m hill)
4k - 4:02/171
5k - 4:04/168
6k - 4:05/171
7k - 4:12/172 (gel, drink)
8k - 4:05/173
9k - 4:10/175
10k - 4:07/175 (5k split 20:39)
11k - 4:14/175
12k - 4:14/176 (drink)
13k - 4:06/178
14k - 4:07/180
15k - 4:10/180 (5k split 20:51)
16k - 4:19/179 (gel, drink)
17k - 4:16/181
18k - 4:13/182
19k - 4:17/182 (drink)
20k - 4:11/184 (5k split 21:16)
21k - 3:51/188
0.3k - 1:05/191 (according to GPS)

Training this week:

Mon (treadmill):
55mins Easy Run (av 5:17)
2 x 30 torso rotation, 2 x 40 leg swings

Tue:
Off. 30mins massage.
Tried a new masseur. He is from Traditional Chinese Medicine background and used point pressure techniques (different to the rubbing technique in normal sports massages)

Wed (pavement):
13.3k in 62mins (av 4:43 min.km)
Incl. 6k Moderate Pace Tempo @ 4:22 then 3 x 30secs strides

Felt sluggish for some reason and the Tempo run was harder than it should be. The av HR for the tempo run was 167 bpm compared to 169 for a 18k run (3 times the distance) at the same pace two weeks ago. Could be either due to muscle stifness from yesterday's massage or the 89% relative humidity. I hope this is just a temporary and one-off issue.

Thu (treadmill):
45mins Recovery Run (av 5:27)
80 sit-ups
Left knee cap was sore, after yesterday's run on hard pavement.

Friday (road):
45mins Easy Run (about 4:57) incl 4 strides
Garmin showed me running at 4:48 pace, but don't think I ran that fast this morning. Also, half of the run was on a hilly course and it was 90% humidity. Left knee cap sore.

Saturday (pavement):
30mins Easy Run (av 5:16)
5mins stretching

Sunday (road):
2.3k warm up
SAFRA Army Half Marathon in 1:28:33 (av 4:12 pace, 175 bpm) . 13th in Mens Closed (local) category.
2k cool down

http://www.safra.sg/UserFiles/File/SSBR%20&%20AHM%2008%20Results/21km_Men's_Closed_2008.pdf

Total 72.4k for the week, 2284k for the year

One week to AHM

One week to go before the Army Half. This week I did two quality sessions:
1) Tempo/Intervals Mixed Workout: 5k moderate tempo @ 4:20 min/km + 3 x 1600m @ 3:55
2) Long Run/Tempo Mixed Workout: 12k easy + 2 x 3200m @ 4:08 min/km + 7k easy

Next Sunday is the SAFRA Singapore Bay Run & Army Half Marathon 2008, which is the second largest race in Singapore with over 20,000+ runners (gulp). I assume that the race will be crowded with runners at all levels (fast and slow) wanting to start at the front area, so there will be a BIG BOTTLENECK (ggrrrrr…..)

For a change, I am trying to closely follow Tinman's HM peaking program. The plan is only for the last two weeks and a couple of people have gotten success with it (including Moby from CR Oz). It puts emphasis on volume maintenance rather than intensity. In fact, normal mileage is maintained until the last three days before the event. The plan is below in miles:

Week minus 1 ==> T: 8 ez; W: 2ez + 3 tempo + 3 x 1600m CV + 2 ez; T: 8 slow; F: 8 ez, S: 10 ez + 4 MP; S: 5 slow
Race week ==> M: 8 slow; T: 3ez + 4 tempo + 2 ez; W: 5 slow; T: 7 ez; F: 4 ez; S: race

What I did differently from the plan was less warm up/cool down for Tues due to heat, shorter recovery runs Thurs & Sun, and a longer/harder long run on Saturday (HM reps instead of MP continuous).

I don't know what to expect for next Sunday's HM. Back in 2006 in Perth, I did two half marathons between 1:27-1:29 under a different training regime. My current tempo and intervals are faster & longer than back then, but my long runs now are only about 22k due to the tough running conditions (versus weekly 30ks previously). Moreover, my mileage for the first 8 months of the year is about 400km lower than 2006. Hence, endurance seems to be my weak link. On the flip side, I did a HM last December here in 92+mins, but training is heaps better and I am better acllimatized this time around. All in all, anything near 90mins is a decent outcome for me, I think….

Can anyone give me an idea on what pace should I run for the HM?

Mon (treadmill):
36mins Recovery Run (av 5:38)
15mins upper-body weights

Tue (treadmill):
1 hour Easy Run (av 5:05)
5mins stretching/core, 60 leg swings
First 20mins av 5:24, second 20mins av 5:04, last 20mins av 4:50

Wed (road/track):
10mins warm up
5k Moderate Tempo @ 4:20
5mins walk to the track
3 x 1600m CV Intervals, av 3:55 min/km, av 176 bpm, high 187
Splits: 6:14, 6:17, 6:15 with 400m jog (2:30)
Cool down (total workout 14k in 63mins, av 4:30 min/km)

Cloudy but bloody humid! To make things worse, legs were still tired from Sunday's 18k tempo run. The effort for moderate tempo run felt harder that it was supposed to be. After 5 mins walk, did 3 x 1600m CV intervals and I was toast after the second interval. Just didn't have a lot of power in the legs, Decided to hang tough and completed the 3rd interval amid some difficulty.

Thu (treadmill):
30mins Recovery Run (av 5:40)
80 sit-ups

Friday (treadmill):
1 hour Easy Run (av 5:10)
Felt good. First 30mins av 5:27, last 30mins av 4:55

Saturday (pavement/road/track):
1 hour Easy Run (av 4:59/145 bpm)
2 x 3200m Cruise Intervals av 4:08 (13:13/168, 13:09/177)
35mins Easy Run (av 5:00/160)
Total workout 26.2k in 2:05 (av 4:47 min/km)

Ran 12k from home to Dempsey Hill to Cluny Park Rd to MoE track, did the cruise intervals on the track, 10mins rest to rehydrate, then 7k easy back home. The aim of doing the intervals after one hour run is to get a feel how the last 1/3 of the HM is like. Felt pretty buggered during the second interval.

Sunday (pavement):
35mins Recovery Run (av 5:22)
94% relative humidity !!!!

Total 83k for the week, 2211k for the year

Pearl Izumi Run Series 2

A good week with three quality workouts:

1) 5 x 1k intervals @ 8k pace, av 3:51 min/km with 200m jog in 1:20 for recovery
2) 2 x 5k Tempo Intervals @ HM pace, av 4:10 min/km
3) 18k Tempo Run, av 4:25 min/km, av 169 bpm (Pearl Izumi Series 2)

Had a good run today at the Pearl Izumi Pure Run Series 2 in Kallang. Planned to run it at 4:30 min/km (or 3:10 marathon pace), but felt good from the start. Started at around 4:20-ish pace and the pace was pretty much locked-in from there to finish, despite 2 sets of staircases and 2-3 walking breaks at the drink stations. Never felt laboured with the exception of slight tightness in the hip. The distance turned out to be 18-ish km compared to the 20k advertised. Finished in 1:19:48 in in 8th place (I think), so a good training run for the HM in 2 weeks time and Seoul marathon in Nov.

Mon (track):
10mins warm up + strides
5 x 1000m Intervals @ ~8k pace (av 3:51)
Splits: 3:51, 3:51, 3:53, 3:52, 3:49 with 200m jog (~1:20)
2 x 200m Repetitions (40, 41) with 200m jog
8mins cool down (total workout 10k in 45mins, av 4:30 min/km)

Felt unenergized and the morning was super humid. The plan was for 6-7 x 1000m at ~3:55 pace but ran faster in all of them (akin to approx race 8k pace). Consequently, started to feel the legs burning after the 3rd interval and could only complete 5 sets. Afterwards, did 2x200m compared to my usual 4x200m of Reps post-intervals due to tiredness.

Tue (treadmill):
40mins Recovery Run (av 5:30)
10mins upper-body weights

Wed (bitumen):
10mins warm up
2 x 5k Tempo @ HM pace with 1k jog in between
1st: 20:40 (av 4:08 min/km, av HR 169 bpm)
2nd: 21:00 (av 4:12 min/km, av HR 178, high 187)
Cool down (total workout 14.4k in 65mins, av 4:33 min/km)

Ran during lunch time, 30c, 80% rel humidty, apparent temp 35c. Found a 800m of (light traffic) stretch of road and ran back & forth. The aim was 2x5k under 4:10 pace. Legs were a bit heavy and the body is yet to fully recover from Monday's intervals. Ran the first 5k in 20:40 with av HR 169 bpm - same HR as my 5k tempo run in 20:00 a couple of weeks ago. So definitely I wasn't in a good form today. The second 5k was an uphill struggle from the start and my pace faded after 3k. Continued running at slower pace before picking up the pace at the end to finish right at 21:00. Av HR for the second 5k was 178 bpm.

Thu (treadmill):
45mins Recovery Run (av 5:30)
5mins abs exercises

Friday (treadmill):
62mins Easy Run (av 5:05)
Felt average. Initially used Hill level 3 but decided to downgrade to level 2 to make it easy effort.

Saturday (pavement):
35mins Easy Run (av 5:12)
Av HR 140 bpm, did 6 strides

Sunday (pavement/road):
10 mins warm up
18.2k Pearl Izumi Run Series 2 in 1:19:48 (av 4:24 min/km), 8th place
10mins cool down

Total 81k for the week, 2128k for the year

So-so week

So-so week. Couldn't run as much as I wanted to, with two off days :(

Did a good tempo run at HM pace on Thursday then a medium long run with Rob who is in town. It was nice to catch up with hime again. His improvement was indeed impressive.

Ran over 330km for the month of July and just above 2000ks year to date.

Was planning to do a 8.4k race this morning in Botanic Gardens, but couldn't make it. There is a 20k race (Pearl Izumi series 2) next Sunday which I plan to run as marathon pace training run.

Mon (treadmill):
30mins Recovery Run (av 5:38)
Busy day. No time to run.

Tue (treadmill):
93mins Easy Run (av 5:11)
First 9k in a slow 49mins (av 5:25), second 9k in 44mins (av 4:55)

Wed (treadmill):
35mins Easy Run (av 5:20)
Another busy day. Three treadmill days in a row.

Thu (pavement):
10mins warm up
8k Tempo in 33:17 (av 4:10 min/km), HR 169
4 x ~80m hills (00:17)
Cool down (total workout 13.2k in 60mins, av 4:33 min/km)

Hot afternoon even at 5pm. Started at 4:20 pace but the pace got naturally faster. Was tempted to run 10k (~41-42 mins) but stopped after seeing the HR climbing above 180 after 30mins. Still, av HR of 169 and a high of 182 bpm are lower than the same 8k tempo run 6 weeks ago (33:08) when I was averaging 176 bpm.

Friday:
Off. Felt a bit unwell from yesterdays tempo run in hot temperature.

Saturday (pavement):
107mins Long Easy Run (av 4:55)
Ran with Rob who is in town for the weekend. Started at sightseeing pace for the first 3k along the river to Singapore flyer. Then ran to Fort Canning and Botanical Garden at a decent clip (~4:50ish pace).

Sunday:
Off.

Total 65k for the week, 2047k for the year

Mizuno Wave Run 2008

Had a scare early in the week. My left ITB was hurting like hell and I was unable to run. Even walking was really painful, especially going down the stairs. Fortunately, my massage therapist was available and I could arrange a one-hour session on Wednesday. The massage was really a torture and I had to take Panadol for a couple of days to get rid of the pain.

In essence, I was lucky to be at the starting line at today's Mizuno Wave Run 2008. There were around 5,000 runners in total starting at Temasek Polytechnic stadium. Before the start, the race organizer mentioned that the course is about 10.3k. Therefore, not an accurate 10k race but at least they are being frank upfront and it showed that they have actually measured the course. Temperature was good for Singapore standards, probably 25c. However, I really wasn't expecting a good timing today due to the big crowd and since 4km of the course is on gravel, sandy surface. Given my ITB problem earlier, anything near my Lactate Threshold pace for 10k is good enough.

Started near the front and passed the first k in 3:56 among hundreds of runners. The next 2km were on a very narrow running pavement which can only fit 2 runners at max. My pace slowed down to 4:05 & 4:10 as I found it difficult to pass people. Then we started to enter the Bedok Reservoir which is on gravel, sandy surface. Km 4-7 passed by effortlessly in 4:01, 3:56, 4:01, 4:05. Heart Rate were hovering at mid 170s which is typical for LT-type run. Felt a bit tired during km 8-9 as I began to feel the effect of humidity and the pace slowed down to around 4:07. I picked up the pace slightly in km 10 (3:58) as we ran back to the stadium. Passed the 10k mark (according to Garmin) in 40:30. Ran the last 0.3k in 50++ secs but got outsprinted by a 17min 5k runner near the end.

Finish time was 41:21, averaging 4:01-4:02 min/km for 10.3k, which is right at my usual LT pace. Average HR was 174 bpm or 89% Max HR - again consistent with LT HR. High HR was 187 bpm (in the last 300m) versus my Max of 195 bpm, so I wasn't pushing it at all. In short, I wasn't labouring and the effort felt comfortably hard. Given the relatively cool weather this morning, perhaps there was a chance for me to get under 40 for the 10k. Still, it is a bit frustrating to see that I am training hard just in order to be able match my Australian PBs.

Anyway, I felt happy given I was unable to run early in the week. I will try to crack my 10k PB in December (a side event of the Standard Chartered Marathon) where the course should be quite accurate.

Mon (track):
10 mins warm up
5k Threshold Tempo Run in 19:55 (av 3:59 min/km)
3 x 400m Repetitions in 83, 85, 84, one lap jog for recovery
10mins cool down (total workout 12k)

Light rain, so it was cool (25c) for Singapore. The plan was to do 4 x 1600m at Threshold due to a weekend race. But I felt good so I decided to turn it as a continuous run. HR ranged from 140 at the start to 179 bpm at the end, averaging 159 or 82% max - the lowest ever . Three months ago, I did the same run averaging 176 bpm (90% max). Similar tempo runs a year ago in Australia showed average HR of around between 165-175 bpm.
Thinking about it, I might have been glycogen-depleted, resulting in lower HR (did a long run on Sunday). Hence, the HR comparison is not that perfect.

Tue (treadmill):
40mins Recovery Run (av 5:34)
Regretted doing the 400s after the tempo yesterday. ITB was painful and sore for the whole day.

Wed (treadmill):
Off. Sports massage for 1 hour
Cannot run, even walking was uncomfortable. Called for an emergency massage and had a painful one hour session. Took pain killers.

Thu (pavement):
15mins warm up
30mins at marathon pace (av 4:29 min/km), HR 163
15 mins cool down incl 6 strides on grass
Legs were stiff and rusty from the massage. Decided to test the legs by doing a short MP run. Conditions were hot, av HR higher is than Monday's faster LT tempo.

Friday (treadmill):
45mins Easy Run (av 5:14)
10 mins weights

Saturday (pavement):
35mins Easy Run (av 5:11) incl 4 strides on grass

Sunday:
2.2k warm up + strides
Mizuno Wave Run 10.3k in 41:21 (30th Mens Open category)
6k cool down

Total 66k for the week, 1982k for the year

Entered

Received an email from the JoongAng Seoul Marathon organizer:

Dear Sir,
I confirm that your registration and payment has been completed. We'll keep you updated about this marathon by email.
Best regards
JoongAng Seoul Marathon

So, the entry form is in. I have also successfully persuaded my wife to move forward the holiday date. We are now going end-August and coming back early September, giving me 7.5 weeks of training block (including taper) after the holiday.

The tough task is now how to properly train for the marathon. The good thing is that I am training for the Army Half Marathon on 24 Aug, so hopefully there is a natural training progression. Really gotta start ramping up those long runs !!

Anyway, training was good this week. Unlike other weeks, where I had to cancel or shorten my sessions due to weather/work/family etc, I was able to do all my targeted workouts. I've also shifted the time for quality workouts (interval, tempo) to the late afternoon after work (5pm). The weather is still hot but the humidity is lesser.

My next races are:
Mizuno Wave Run 10k next Sunday
Charity Run (tentative). Clown will be in town, looking forward to run with him again
Pearl Izumi 20k on 10 Aug (my plan is to run it at marathon pace)
Army Half Marathon on 24 Aug

Mon (treadmill):
40 mins Recovery Run (av 5:39 min/km)
15mins weights

Tue (pavement):
1.6k warm up
12k Tempo Run @ 4:20 min/km (av HR 166, 85% Max)
1.4k cool down (total 15k)

Cloudy and windy, which was a nice change. HR was steady between 160-170bpm throughout the run and was only in the 170s after 10k. Av HR for the 12k was 166, which is lower than 170 during a 8k run at the same pace 2 months ago. Interestingly, the HR was similar to the tempo runs in Australia where it was only 15c! But wait a minute, Singapore weather is never cooler than 25c. So either I have made improvement (despite no PB to show) or the HR monitor was wrong !!

Wed (treadmill):
45mins Recovery Run (av 5:32)
Abs crunches

Thu (track):
10mins warm up incl strides
6 x 800m intervals @ 5k pace with ~2:30 jog (400m)
89, 90 = 2:59
89, 89 = 2:58
89, 89 = 2:58
89, 89 = 2:58
89, 89 = 2:58
88, 86 = 2:54
Average: 3:42 min/km, av HR 171, high 185
3 laps of sprint straights, jog curves, then 6mins cool down

Was targetting 2:56 (3:40 min/km) but legs were a bit tired. Anyway, was happy to complete all six under 3:00. Recovery time between the intervals was right for me, I think.

Friday (treadmill):
36mins Recovery Run (av 5:38)
10 mins weights

Saturday (road/pavement):
2h:05m Long Run (av 5:07)

At last, a long run !! Longest run in 3 months - which showed how pathetic I am. The time did not include 4 drink stops and traffic lights.

Sunday:
36mins Easy Run (av 5:20)

Total 80k for the week, 1916k for the year

Toying with marathon idea (again)

Inspired by the success of fellow bloggers --- Clown, by7, Epi, Trailblazer etc in their marathons, I've been thinking (again) to do a marathon later this year. There are a couple of regional marathons around November/December, such as in Bangkok and Singapore but gee, the weather in these places are hot and therefore, unconducive for marathon running. Given the strong Aussie dollars, Sydney & Melbourne marathons are too pricey to my liking.

That leaves me with the Far East where the weather is cool (autumn). There are Beijing & Shanghai marathons but the air quality is terrible. The only one that appeals to me is JoongAng Seoul Marathon on 2 November. Morning temperature is around 7c - which is 75% cooler than Singapore. It is a large marathon with over 20,000 runners. The route is a bit undulanting, especially in the first 30k but flat in the last 12k, finishing at the Olympic stadium.

The catch is that registration closes on 15 July, so I must decide really quickly. Personally, I think I am still far from marathon shape given I always struggle running more than 1h:30m-1h:40m in the heat of Singapore. Another complication is that we will be going on holiday between 12-22 September (hard to do running), which leaves me only with a training block of 5.5 weeks before the marathon.

My thinking is just to register for the race anyway (US$50) and decide around late August before deciding to book airfares, hotel etc. If I am not up to it, I'll just forfeit the entry fee.

Training wise, I did 80k this week - highest in 3 months. Longest runs were 1h:30m. Gotta start increasing the duration pretty soon, I think !


Mon (treadmill):
30 mins Easy Fartlek (av 4:46 min/km)
incl 8 x 1min HMP on, 1min MP off
Only had 1/2 hour to run, so decided to do something a little brisk but not hard.

Tue (track):
12mins warm up incl strides
7 x 1000m Intervals @ 10-12k pace with 200m recovery
3:51/155 bpm
3:55/167
3:55/171
3:54/174
3:55/175
3:55/178
3:52/179
Average = 3:54 min/km, av HR 174, high HR 184

5 x 200m Repetitions in 40, 42, 41, 42, 42 (200m jog)
13mins cool down (total 15k)

Felt good in the first four, jogging 1:20 as recovery. Last 3 intervals were harder, took 1:20 jog plus ~30secs drink/towel stop as recovery. Ran the 200s clockwise.

Wed (treadmill):
45mins Recovery Run (av 5:38)
15mins weights

Thu (treadmill):
1h:30m Easy-to-Moderate Run (av 5:09)
Weather wasn't cooperating, so ran indoor. Started at 6:00 pace ending at 4:45 pace. First 30mins av 5:30, next 30mins av 5:07, last 30mins av 4:52

Friday (treadmill):
37mins Easy Run (av 5:20)

Saturday (concrete):
36mins Easy Run incl. short sprints (av 5:13)
Incl 3 x 10sec hill sprints + 3 x 10sec grass sprint
Slept at 3am last night. Felt sluggish.

Sunday (track/road):
2.5k warm up incl strides
3 x 2400m Lactate Threshold Intervals with 400m jog + drink
94, 95, 97, 96, 98, 97 = 9:37 (HR 165-168)
95, 97, 97, 98, 97, 96 = 9:38 (HR 171-174)
96, 97, 97, 98, 96, 95 = 9:39 (HR 176-184)
Average = 4:01 min/km, av HR 174 bpm, high 184

4 x 200m Repetitions in 44, 44, 42, 41 (200m jog)
6.7k cool down (total 19k)

Legs felt a bit heavy from the start. Last interval was tough because the sun was in full force. The 200ms in 44secs were the slowest that I've done in a while due to tiredness.

Total 80k for the week, 1836k for the year (av 65 kmpw)

Nothing much week

First off, congrats to my fellow bloggers who ran Perth & Gold Coast Marathons this morning !

As for me, nothing really exciting this week. Pretty much all easy running with a couple of 90mins easy runs. I was planning to do more mileage for endurance, but couldn't do so due to other life factors (wife was unwell, busy at work, heat etc).

Hopefully, next week will be a better week !

Mon - 45mins Light
Tue - 90mins Easy
Wed - 41mins Easy
Thu - AM 2 x 1k CV intervals then DNF due to heat, PM 30mins incl 25mins at HM pace
Fri - 35mins Light
Sat - off
Sun - 87mins Easy (HR 154 bpm)

Total 69k for the week, 1756k for the year

Pearl Izumi Run Series 1: 12k in Bedok

The plan was to run the 12k race at 4:10 pace, as a race simulation for a HM in 8 weeks time. I felt this is doable given that I did 8k tempo run at 4:09 pace on the track two weeks ago and it wasn't a big struggle.

Didn't taper but had to take Friday off due to work commitments (55k total before the race). Given the consistently poor organizations and inaccurate distances for races in Singapore, I followed Ewen's advice not to taper and forget about peaking. There are probably only 1-2 IAAF certified road races here, so will try to peak for those ones (and track races which are definitely accurate).

The course turned out to be very, very DIFFICULT with more than 30 twists & turns, 4 overhead bridges (stairs) and running through the lobbies of several apartments. I felt that I lost around 2 minutes due to the 'slow' course.

For readers outside Singapore, here is an example of public apartment (HDBs) where parts of the race course was ran today. The lobby of these apartment blocks are open space in order for people to meet, chat, and play mahjong..

The splits were very VOLATILE, with some splits varied by more than one minute due to the stairs. I am not good in stairs climbing so I walked on all of them and I had to hold the hand rails whilst going down.

Splits:
3:48/168 (got sucked in with the lead pack)
3:58/174
4:02/176 (pace was okay since we ran on straight paths)
4:12/177
4:13/177
4:20/179 (the course started its twists & turns)
5:16/176 (60 secs lost due to stairs up the overhead bridge & drink stop)
4:28/177 (twists & turns)
4:41/176 (drink stop)
4:18/183 (getting warm as indicated by HR spike)
4:51/183 (30-40 lost due to stairs up the bridge)
1:21/189 (last 400m)

Total distance was 11.4k according to Garmin, but I am not too sure how the GPS measured the stairs climbing up the overhead bridges. Finished in the Top 9 out of 200 runners in 49:35 (av 4:19 pace), which wasn't too bad given I probably gave about 90% effort. With a fast course and slower early pace, most likely I could complete the run about 1.5-2 minutes faster comfortably.

So, what's next? My next two races are a 10k in 4 weeks time (questionable distance, gravel surface) and a HM in 8 weeks time (big race, so distance could be accurate). I plan to increase my mileage over the next few weeks and make myself comfortable to run at HR 170-180 for a longer period of time.

My training this week:

Monday:
AM (track)
10 mins warm up incl strides
5 x 1000m at 8k pace Intervals (av 3:50 min/km) with 2:00 recovery
Splits:
3:47 (av 163 bpm)
3:49 (166)
3:52 (168)
3:51 (172)
3:49 (175)
6 mins cool down

The plan was to do 6-7x1000m at 3:55 min/km to train LT, but went too fast in all of them. Last week mileage was low (fresh legs), so found it tough to control the pace (it was akin more like 8k pace). Recovery was perhaps a bit short and was struggling in the last rep.

PM (treadmill)
26 mins jogging (5:39)

Tuesday (treadmill):
50 mins Recovery Run (5:23)

Wednesday (pavement):
10 mins warm up
7k in 32 mins at around marathon pace (4:32)
3 x 00:30 hill repeats, walk/jog return
6 mins cool down

Felt sluggish due to humidity and stiffness. It seems I was slow to recover from Monday's intervals. Haven't run at 4:30 pace for a long time so probably the body needs to adjust.

Thursday (treadmill):
72 mins Easy Run (av 5:09)

Friday:
Off
No run, team building day with work colleagues

Saturday (pavement):
36 mins Easy (av 5:18) with strides
Garmin had flat battery, so pace was approximated.

Sunday (pavement):
2k warm up with strides
12k Pearl Izumi Run Series 1 in Bedok Town park
3k cool down

Total 71.4km for the week, 1687 km for the year

No Run

Arrghhhh...

Woke up at 6am this morning and got quickly changed into my running gear that I had prepared the night before. Seconds after I stepped out of the house door, guess what....a torrential rain started coupled with thunders.

Waited at home and continually checked the weather website until 7am (race started at 8). Finally decided not to go.

I am not afraid to run in the rain. The issue was how I would get to the starting point. The race location in Punggol is far (for the local standard) from where I live. I don't have a car so I cannot drive to the race and wait in the car until the race starts. Train station is 15mins walk from my place, but it rained cat and dogs outside. Also, the race dosn't have any bag deposit so I can't bring spare clothing, umbrella/poncho, bags etc.

It is very frustrating given that I've tried to peak for this race. Did a hard race pace workout 10 days ago, a tempo run 7 days ago, a light interval session 5 days ago and the rest of the week were short, easy runs to peak.

This is an evidence that how races can be disruptive to training. If I don't do the race, probably I could do a quality session or a long run on Friday or Saturday. At the end, I ended up with a measly 45k for the week without doing any quality workout at all.

All in all, 2 months of quality training for 5k/10k and there were no results to show. The 10k two weeks ago had the distance wrong and today no 5k due to rain. Bugger.

There is no more 5K for this year. There are a couple of 10ks in the next few months but hopefully the course will be fast and distance will be accurate.

Business As Usual

Pretty much business as usual. Wanted to run more, but can't do it due to work & home commitments. A 5k race next Sunday then a 12k race the following week. Will run the 5k hard, the 12k race will be treated as a tempo run to prepare for August 24th Half-Marathon.

My training this week:

Monday:
30 mins Easy Run (av 5:26 min/km)
Tired. Last week's long hours at work seemed to drain me physically & mentally.

Tuesday:
Off - no time to run.

Wednesday:
3k warm up to the track (incl 3 strides)

5 x 1000m VO2Max (av 3:41 min/km), high HR 192
Splits (per lap):
86, 88, 43 = 3:37 (av 174 bpm)
89, 89, 44 = 3:42 (178)
90, 89, 43 = 3:42 (180)
89, 90,43 = 3:42 (183)
89, 90, 42 = 3:41 (183)

Recovery were 400m slow jogs and 30secs drink stop for around 3:00 total
2.4k cool down (total workout 12k)
10 mins stretching/core
70 abs crunch + 2 sets weights for torso and hip

Had enforced 3 days off in the last 7 days due to work. For me, this resulted in fresh legs but loss in endurance. Ran the first 1000m too fast due to fresh legs and had to 'fight hard' after that. Wanted to quit ater the 4th interval but after extending the rest to 4mins, managed to complete the last one successfully.

Thursday:
35 mins Recovery Run (av 5:35)
20 mins weights

Friday:
57 mins Easy (av 5:00) with 10 mins @ MP
Hot day, should have stayed indoors. Headache for the whole day.

Saturday:
42 mins Easy (av 5:05) with 6 x 00:10 hills

Sunday:
10mins warm up on the track, incl 3 strides

8k sub-LT Tempo Run in 33:08 (av 4:09 min/km)
Splits (per 1600m):
6:36/165, 6:38/170, 6:42/175, 6:38/180, 6:34/186
Av HR 176 bpm, High HR 191

28 mins cool down incl 3 light strides
Total workout 15.5k in 72 mins (av 4:38)

A good workout but found the last 1600m tough as evidenced by high HR (186 bpm average). Cloudy morning but humid.

Total 59km for the week, 1571 km for the year

Gotta try again

A crap week with a crap race.

Was super busy for the whole week as we were preparing to submit a tender by Monday. Was in HK for the weekend and arrived back Sunday midnight. Then travelled to Jakarta for 3 days for work and didn't sleep much. Worked for 15 hours non-stop on both Friday and Saturday and didn't go to the bed until 2am the day of the race. Woke up at 6am and went to the race location. Did 3k warm up. Weather was good for Singapore standard.

My aim was to go through the first 5k in 19:40 in order to have any chance of going under 39:20. After a few ks, the body seemed to be in sleep mode and unwilling to run. Just wasn't feeling it today.

The markers were longer than 1km. When I passed the km 4 marker, my Garmin was already showing 4.4k. Passed the 5k mark according to my Garmin in 19:52 so I was already behind schedule. Then the distance markers get even worse. Passed the km 6 marker, when my Garmin showed km 7. So the course was already off by 1k.

Since the race is definitely longer than 10k and I wasn't really feeling it, I decided to cut my losses after km 7 and jog easily to the finish.

Total distance was 11.5k according to my Garmin. All the runners who used either 405, 305, 205 and Polar reported 11.5k for the route.

Gotta try again…..a 5k in 2 weeks time (hopefully the distance will be accurate)

This week's training:
Mon: 40 mins Fartlek (av pace 4:30 min/km)
Tue: off - travel to Jakarta for work
Wed: 60 mins Easy (av 5:11)
Thu: 33 mins Easy (av 5:08)
Fri: 39 mins Easy (av 4:53)
Sat: off - work all day
Sun: Saucony Passion Run: 3k warm up, 6k in 24mins + 5.5k easy to the finish

Total 50k for the week, 1512k for the year

Last hitout

A pretty good week. Despite heavy workload at the office, still managed two good quality workouts. There was no soreness from Sunday's 5.5k race - which is good.

On Tuesday, I ran a 30mins moderate pace tempo + hill sprints. On Thursday, I did one last Big Workout before a 10k race next Sunday: 2 x2.4k @ LT, 2 x 1.2k @ 10k, 2 x 0.6k @ 5k on a wet track.

I don't know what to expect for next week's 10k. I feel that I'm pretty fit due to a diet of tempo and CV intervals over the last 6 weeks. On the other hand, things can also go wrong due to:

- Hot weather on race day
- The 10k starts after 3 waves of 15k runners. The race is on bike path, so expect congestion
- Will be working in Jakarta, difficult to find time to run & normally eat too much buffet.

Anyway, my training for this week:

Monday (treadmill):
35 mins Recovery (av 5:35 min/km)

Tuesday:
AM (pavement)

10 mins warm up
30 mins Medium Pace Tempo (av 4:22 min/km), av HR 163 bpm
7 mins jog to the hill
4 x ~75m hill sprints in 00:15 (Wishart Rd)
6 mins cool down
5 mins stretching/core
Total workout 11.8k in 55:15 (av 4:41)

Comment: No soreness from Sunday's race. Av HR was 163 bpm with a high of 171 which is lower than 170 bpm with a high of 183 during a 35 mins tempo run at same pace last month. Albeit a shorter run by 5mins, it looks like my fitness has improved.

PM (treadmill):
27 mins Recovery (av 5:32 min/km)
Comment: Decided to double because I missed Sunday's long run.

Wednesday (treadmill):
35 mins Recovery (av 5:34 min/km)
10 mins weights + 60 abs crunch

Thursday (track):
9 mins warm up incl 2 short strides (in the rain)

2 x 2400m @ LT pace with 400m jog
Splits: 9:46 and 9:38 (av 4:03 min/km)

2 x 1200m @ 10k pace with 400m jog
Splits: 4:38 and 4:40 (av 3:53 min/km)

2 x 600m at 5k pace with 400m jog
Splits: 2:11 and 2:14, av pace 3:41 min/km

8 mins cool down
10 mins stretching/core
Total workout 13.7k in 62 mins (av 4:31)

Good last workout before a 10k next Sunday. It was raining for the first 15 mins but then stopped. Garmin had a flat battery today so wore a Timex watch. Since it only has a stopwatch mode and doesn't have lap times, I had to count the splits manually. Felt pretty good for most intervals, although the 600s were too short to be challenging.

Friday:
Off

Saturday (pavement):

70 mins Easy (av 5:12 min/km)

Sunday (treadmill):

40 mins Easy (av 5:18 min/km)
80 abs crunch , 20 push-ups, 60 lat pulls

Total 64k for the week, 308k for May, year-to-date 1462k

Clarke Quay 20 Run

Entered a small, low key race this morning, with the start point located about 1.5k from home. The event is called Clarke Quay 20, organized by Singaore Polytechnics School as part of the Singapore River Raft Race held in the weekend.

No taper, ran 62k total between Monday-Saturday and had no off days in the last three weeks. My aim was simply to get a feel of running at around 10k pace for a reasonable distance before a 10k race in 2 weeks time.

The run was supposed to start at 8:15, but was delayed until about 9am due to poor organisation. By that time, the sun was already out in full force. The route started at Clarke Quay MRT towards Fullerton Hotel, cross Coleman Bridge and back to Clarke Quay MRT via Read Bridge which included steep stairs. Two laps plus a final home stretch to UOB Building. There were only 25 runners in the male category, all college students, mostly less than half my age. The top 3 wins cash.

Started with the lead pack and after around 1k, there were only four of us. At the 2k mark, the top 2 broke away and left us about 50m behind. Was running neck by neck with the 3rd runner, and he was a total dickhead. He had no sportmanship and tried to block me all the time. When I ran on the right side and tried to pass him, he moved to the right, when I tried to pass from the left, he moved to the left and blocked me. He was struggling and dying, and I guess the only way he could get 3rd place is simply to stop and block peole from passing.

At km 3, I decided to have enough and bumped him at the shoulder and yelled 'Ran straight!'. He was dying and a minute later decided to walk as he had no hope of finishing 3rd. From then on, I ran alone with the the top 2 around 200-300m in front. My HR went to around 188 bpm at the 4k mark and I then decided to relax the pace a bit since 3rd place was safe.

Finished 3rd place, 1 min after the winner and 3mins before the 4th runner. Won $100 cheque (US$75)

Splits: 3:34/168, 3:49/176, 3:50/182, 3:50/187, 3:58/188 and 1:52 for the last 470m. Total distance was 5.47k including 2 sets of stairs.

Anyway, my training for this week:

Monday (road):
92 mins Long Run (av pace 5:01, av HR 150 bpm)

Didn't enjoy the run. It seems that my recent venture into speed training makes fat buring harder. Also mentally, track running is more motivating due to the need to concentrate to hit certain times. Last 3k at around Marathon Pace

Tuesday (treadmill):
35 mins Easy (av pace 5:19)
40 abs crunch

Wednesday (grass):
13 mins warm up incl 3 strides
2 x 15 mins Tempo (av 4:08) with 4 mins recovery
4 x 150m Repetitions in 00:30
12 mins cool down

Av HR was 162 bpm for the first tempo segment and 171 bpm for the second one. Really happy with the run as HR was relatively stable and didn't go through the roof.

Thursday (treadmill):
40 mins Recovery run (av 5:34)
5 mins stretching/core + 50 abs crunch

Friday (road):
50 mins Easy (av 5:02)
incl. 8 x (100m strides, 100 m jog) + 4 x 00:15 hill sprints
5 mins stretching/core

Saturday (concrete):
33 mins Recovery run (av 5:27)

Sunday (concrete):
3.6k warm up in segments (race kept gettng delayed)
~5.5k race in 20:56 (av 3:50) incl steps
1.2k slow cool down

3rd place overall, av HR 181, high HR 191. Won $100.

Total 72.3k for the week, 1398k for the year

Good but Tiring Week

My preference is to do a very hard day followed by 2 very easy days like last week, but work commitments dictated my training week. Due to a couple of early morning meetings, I had to juggle my running and ended up doing 3 quality sessions in 5 days.

Did a short VO2 Max session on Tuesday, a moderate pace tempo run on Thursday, and then 4 x 1600m at 10k pace on Saturday. The latter session was especially tough (for my standard) and I was relieved to finish it. Unlike previous speed sessions where I could do the intervals progressively with the last ones being the fastest, my last interval on Saturday ended up the slowest and I had to work hard to keep it within the timing range.

Looks like my endurance has suffered a bit from the recent venture into speed training. My last long run (20k) was 2 weeks ago and since then, my easy runs were only around 30-50 mins. This Monday is a public holiday in Singapore so I guess it’s a good time to do a long run.

Next races are a 10k in three weeks time and a 5k a couple of weeks after that.


My training this week:

Monday (treadmill):
32 mins Easy (av pace 5:18)
50 abs crunch

Tuesday (bike path):

AM:
10 mins warm up incl 2 strides
8 x 400m at 3k-5k pace with equal time recovery
Splits: 1:26, 1:25, 1:26, 1:26, 1:21, 1:24, 1:26, 1:15 (av pace 3:30, last one 3:08)
10mins cool down

The plan was to do a VO2Max workout, e.g. 12 x 400m at 5k pace in 88 secs per 400m (or 3:40 min/km). But it turned out that I ran the intervals much faster than I wanted to, especially for the 5th and 6th intervals. Was tired after the 7th, so decided to close shop by running the 8th interval very hard.

PM:
15 mins upper body weights
20 mins easy jogging on treadmill (5:43)
15 mins stretching/core

Wednesday (treadmill):
50 mins Recovery run (5:28)
50 abs crunch

Thursday (track):
10 mins warm up
8k Medium Tempo Run in 34:23 (av pace 4:18)
10 mins cool down
5 mins stretching
Total 12k in 55 mins

Felt too lazy to run on the road due to traffic and heat (5.30 pm), so went to the track instead and ran clockwise. Felt really good. Splits per 1600m: 6:51, 6:56, 6:55, 6:55, 6:46.

Friday (treadmill):
27 mins Recovery run (5:37) - busy day

Saturday (track):
15 mins warm up incl 3 strides
4 x 1600m at 10k pace with 400m jog (av pace 3:55 for intervals)
10min rest (too tired to run or do strides)
30 mins cool down inc drink stop
Total 16k in 77 mins

Splits:
1:33, 1:33, 1:33, 1:35 = 6:14 (av 169 bpm),
1:33. 1:34, 1:36, 1:33 = 6:16 (av 173 bpm),
1:34, 1:35, 1:34, 1:33 = 6:16 (av 179 bpm),
1:34, 1:37, 1:35, 1:33 = 6:19 (av 181 bpm)

Around 5 hours sleep but decided to run anyway since the sky was partly cloudy. Last week, I was churning out 1000m intervals at 3:50 pace comfortably but today I found the session was much tougher. 4 x 1600m at 3:55 pace turned out to be twice as hard and I was relieved to finish the session in one piece. Had to really work hard in the last interval to keep within the target timing. Was totally spent afterwards and even too tired to do any strides.

Sunday (concrete/grass):
40 mins Recovery run (av 5:35, av HR 141 bpm)

Total 67.3k, 1326k for the year

Lovin' it

I think I am responding well to the switch to 5k-10k training, judging from a couple of track sessions this week.

The intervals are getting easier to do and I fell that I am getting stronger.

I also made a little tweak to my training after looking at Sean Wade’s training log (top US masters runner). Basically, after a hard day, I’ll take two easy days before I tackle another hard day. It seems to make a big difference as I now feel fresher on my hard days.

Did two quality workouts this week, 5 x 1000m at 10k pace mid-week and a 10k race simulation (6k tempo + 4 x 1k at 10k pace) in the weekend.

I begin to wonder whether all the crap running between January to March was attributed to the marathon training. Too much emphasis on long run and mileage done in an unconducive running environment like Singapore seem to break my body down as well as drain my physical and mental reserves. I always struggled running longer than 1 hour in Singapore as the combination of heat, humidity, and loss of fluid took a lot out of me.

Monday:
44 mins Easy (av pace 5:14)
Course: treadmill, random with various inclines ranging between 0-4%

Tuesday:
40 mins Easy (av 5:03)
Course: road incl 2 Mt Fabre climbs (between 1500-1600m each, raising 70-80m)
50 abs crunch + core

Ran during lunch time and it was blazing hot.

Wednesday (track):
10 mins warm up incl 2 strides

5 x 1000m CV intervals (av 3:52) with 200m jog
3:52 (93, 94, 45)
3:53 (94, 93, 46)
3:52 (93, 93, 46)
3:52 (93, 93, 46)
3:49 (93, 93, 43)

4 x 00:15 strides on rough grass
10 mins cool down
5 mins stretching

A good session, happy with the effort and strength despite quite minimal recovery period relative to my previous speed workouts in Singapore.

Thursday:
36 mins recovery (av 5:33)
Course: treadmill, random with inclines 0-2%
80 abs crunch + core

Friday:
40 mins Easy (av 5:15), incl 5 x 60-70m hill sprints (~15 secs)
Course: Concrete, undulanting

Felt sluggish, with sore throat from the traffic pollution

Saturday (track):
10 mins warm up

6k sub-LT Tempo Run in 24:32 (av 4:05)
Splits: 96, 97, 98, 99, 99, 98, 98, 98, 98, 98, 98, 98, 98, 98, 96
Av HR 169, with a high 177 bpm

800m jog + rest (gel, drink)

4 x 1000m CV intervals (av 3:51, av HR 171)
3:50 (90, 94, 46), av HR 167
3:53 (94, 94, 45), av HR 171
3:53 (93, 95, 45), av HR 170
3:47 (92, 94, 41), av HR 172
All with 100m walk, 100m jog for recovery

3 laps of sprint the straights (100m), jog the curves (100m)
5.7k cool down incl 5 x 00:10 hill sprints

Total 20k in 1:31:50 (av 3:36)

Beautiful weather, 26c cloudy and windy (like Perth in spring). A great race simulation ! The av HR during the 6k tempo was 169 bpm with a high of 177 compared to a 5k tempo at the same pace in April with av 176 and a high 189 bpm. So a 10bpm improvement at the same pace, although the weather condition is much cooler today. The great thing is that it didn’t go above 180 bpm as I probably ran it below threshold. CV workouts after the tempo were tough but the pace was comparable to the Wednesday straight intervals session.

Sunday:
37 mins Recovery (av 5:33)
Course: concrete with some on grass.

Total 68 km before tomorrow’s run, year-to-date 1258 km

Good signs

A good week with two speed workouts and a medium long run.

The highlight of the week was Thursday workout on a very cool, low humidity day for Singapore standard. Did a 5k LT tempo run on the track in 19:46 at av HR of 174 bpm and high HR of 187. This is much better than my last tempo run in 20:20 three weeks ago with av HR 176 and high HR 189 bpm. So about 2bpm lower but at faster pace (~34 secs faster), underpinned by cool weather and perhaps some fitness gain. In fact, the av HR from Thursday was almost comparable to the HR data from my tempo runs in Perth.

After the tempo run, I did 4 x 200m and for the first time did a couple in 36 secs (i.e. 3:00 min/km). Seems that my recent diet of hill reps and 200m reps which I did at the end of tempo/interval sessions have improved my basic speed. Now if I can only continue running at that pace for another 42k !! lol

Anyway, this week training is as follows:

Monday:
AM: 20 mins jogging on grass (av pace 5:57)
PM: 30 mins recovery on treadmill (av 5:30)

Tuesday:

AM: Hill Workout
15 mins warm up
3 x ~840m at Fort Canning Hill . Splits: 3:19, 3:22, 3:21, jog return in 5:00
5 x 170m hill (00:38, 38, 39, 38, 38), walk/jog rcovery
10 mins cool down

Tried something different as an alternative to track running. Ran from the bottom to the Fort gate - which is around 840m. The first 100m is flat, next 100m uphill (3-4% grade), next 200m flat/downhill, next 200m steep uphill (5-6% grade), last 200m gentle uphill (1-2%). Not sure whether the physiological stimulus is enough since only 10 mins of hard running were accumulated during the 3x800 but hopefully there is some neuro-muscular strength to gain. A good cardio/strength workout, will try to do 4 intervals next time.

PM: ~40 mins jogging with work colleagues to Labrador Park (av pace 5:49)

Wednesday:
AM: 10 mins shakeout on grass - too hot
PM: 38 mins recovery on treadmill (av 5:26) + stretching

Thursday:

AM: LT/Speed Workout (track)
2k warm up incl strides
5k LT Tempo Run in 19:46 (av pace 3:57), av HR 174, highest 187 bpm
800m jog + rest
4 x 200m reps with 200m jog. Splits: 00:38, 36, 39, 36
800m jog + rest
800m fast in 2:56
4k cool down, total 15k in 70 mins

Very nice weather for running, cool and surprsingly low humidity. Splits for the tempo run (per 400m): 1:34/145, 1:37/166, 1:36/168, 1:36/170, 1:36/172, 1:35/174, 1:36/176, 1:36/178, 1:35/180, 1:36/181, 1:35/183, 1:35/183, 00:39/186. The tempo pace was actually steady at 4:00 min/km, but a strong final kick in last 200m (savings 10 secs) skewed the total time a bit. First time doing 200s in 36 secs.

PM: Pilates class + weights

Friday:
35 mins recovery on treadmill (av 5:40) + stretching

Saturday:
AM: 80 mins easy on bike path (av pace 4:56) - sluggish
PM: 30mins easy on pavement (av pace 5:03) - humid

Total 78k for the week, 1190k for the year

JP Morgan Corporate Challenge 2008

An okay for week with two quality sessions: a 5.4k road race (JP Morgan Corp Challenge) and a long run in the weekend.

The JP Morgan Corporate Challenge was advertised as 5.6k but the distance turned out to be a bit short according to my Garmin and other runners who wore Polar footpod. The race was a charity event and attracted around 12,000 office people who ran, jogged, and walked the course in the CBD.

After 2.7k warm up, I went to the start line at 5:30 and it was packed already. Managed to bump some people and stood about 5 meters away from the start. Was squeezed in the waiting pack for a long 30mins. Weather was overcast and good. At 6:00 pm the race started. Km 1 was very crowded with runners, both fast and slow zoomed like there was no tomorrow. I had to zig zag left and right to pass people (split 3:51). Km 2 was still crowded and I wasn't feeling that comfortable at this point, perhaps the body was still adjusting to the pace (split 3:52). The turnaround was at 2.4k, the lane now became clear. Felt much better encouraged by office colleagues who saw me running as we ran past Singapore Flyer (split 3:51). Km 4 was uneventful as we ran back towards Padang (split 3:52). I had a side stitch in the next km and had to slow down a bit to get the breathing right in order to get rid of the stitch. Also lost a couple of seconds as I overan the Espalanade turn (split 3:56). Passed the 5k mark in 19:24 and I tried to save my energy in order to kick in the last 200m. But after a couple hundred meters I alrady saw the finish banner, so the course was slower than I thought. Saw the clock 20:4xx and sprinted to finish in 20:54.

In general, I was reasonably happy with the run given the fitness shape that I am in. I think I could have run it a bit faster.

The rest of the week were all easy, short runs except a 20k long run with a 8k tempo in the middle on Sunday.

Monday (concrete) :
35 mins Easy (av 5:24) incl 6 x 00:25 strides on grass

Tuesday (treadmill) :
40 mins Easy (av 5:19)

Wednesday (road race):
2.7k warm up
5.4k race in 20:54
4.0k cool down

Thursday:
AM: 20 mins Recovery (av 6:13) on grass
PM: 30 mins Elliptical

Friday (concrete/treadmill):
AM: 40 mins Easy (av 5:20, av HR 143 bpm)
PM: 20 mins Easy of hills on treadmill, 1.5-7.0% grade (av 5:18)

Saturday (concrete):
45 mins Easy (av 5:10, av HR 145)

Sunday (bike path):
20k Long Run in ~1h:38m (av 4:56) incl 8k tempo @ 4:22 min/km (av HR 170)

Total 70k for the week, 245k for the month, 1113k for the year

Chickened out of the marathon

First off, congrats to my running buddies in Perth, Rob & Craig who both went sub 3:15 in Canberra marathon.

Since I decided to ‘kill’ my marathon dream (Gold Coast in early July) and to focus on short distance (5k-10k), things have got a bit easier - at least in mental sense. There is no more pressure to do 2-3 hours long run in the weekend, no more pressure to do a 90 minute run in mid-week etc. When I am tired and or in no mood for running, I could just do a 30 minute run without feeling guilty. My mind feels more refreshed and relaxed, knowing that I am free from the burden associated with high-mileage, marathon training.

Yes, you can call me a chicken…

But I am really struggling to train for marathon in Singapore despte having been here for 6 months...at least, at this point in time. However, I wouldn’t discount the possibility of training for one in the second half of the year.

Due to the shift in focus, my racing plans for the next few months are:

23 Apr: JP Morgan Corporate Challenge 5.6k (confirmed)
18 May: SAA All Newcomers Meet 5000m track (considering)
8 Jun: Saucony Passion Run 10k (registered)
15 Jun: Mt Faber Run – uphill (considering)
22 Jun: Punggol Central 5k (registered)
6 Jul: Milk Run 8.4k (considering)

Below is my training for the week:

Monday (concrete):
35mins recovery (av pace 5:31, av HR 145) - humid

Tuesday (track):
15mins warm up incl 2 strides
3 x 1000m at 10k pace with 200m jog + drink stop (av pace 3:53, av HR 172, Max 182)
Splits per 400m: 1:33, 1:34, 0:46 = 3:53, 1:33, 1:34, 00:46 = 3:53, 1:32, 1:34, 00:47 = 3:53
8 x 200m with 200m walk/jog recovery. Splits: 41, 42, 41, 42, 41, 41, 41, 39 secs
6mins cool down

The plan was to do 4-5 x 1k but felt stuffed after the 3rd interval. Decided to do 200s in order to salvage something from the session.

Wednesday (treadmill):
25mins recovery (av 5:38) in Mulia Hotel, Jakarta

Thursday (treadmill/road):
AM: 30mins easy (av 5:15) in Jakarta
PM: 20mins easy (av 5:11) in Singapore

Friday (track/hills):
10mins warm up
2.4k tempo in 9:49 (av 4:05, HR 171) – aborted due to heat/humidity
4 x 13om hills in 27, 25, 26, 26 secs

The plan was to do 5-6k at Stamina Pace (~4:10 pace) but the heat/humidity (9:30am) took a lot out of me and I decided to quit the tempo. Was too wasted even to do cool down.

Saturday (road):
26k Long Run in 2:10 (av 5:00) incl. 8k tempo @ 4:23 pace (av HR 171, Max 185)

Sunday (concrete):
AM: 30mins easy (av 5:23, av HR 138)
PM: 42mins easy (av 5:25, av HR 150) - humid

Total 75.1 k for the week, Year to date mileage 1042.6k (av 65k per week)

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

Three signals emerging from my training this week:

1) The Good
Despite my continuing difficulties to adapt to Singapore running conditions, it was a nice surprise to see my tempo effort on Friday. I ran during lunch time, but it was overcast and humidity was low which bode well. Ran the 5k tempo on the track in 20:20 (4:08). The effort was fairly comfortable and I only began to fight after 10 laps. Whilst the pace was much slower than my old tempos in Australia, but it showed that I still have a good muscle memory. Comparison as follows:

11 Apr: 20:20 (4:04), av HR 176, Max HR 189 (Sing 27c)
13 Oct: 20:04 (4:01) , av HR 174, Max HR 186 (Perth 22c)
5 Sep: 19:56 (3:59), av HR 177, Max HR 184 (Perth 15c)

2) The Bad
The long run on Sunday was bad. Had difficulties sleeping on Friday and Saturday, but I don't think they are the only problems. My endurance is my archiles heel right now. Planned to do 26k but felt tired already after 12k. The humidity and tight glutes didn't help either, so I decided to cut the long run short at 17k.

3) The Ugly
After three physio visits, my shin splint has improved a lot. However, my glutes are still hurting and they don't seem to go away. The left glute is especially bothering, probably worsen by running on the track (anti clock wise). Most likely I have to accept that the glute problems will be around for the foreseeable future.

All of the above things seem to suggetst that probably I should focus on 5k-10k distances for now. How I can I do marathons and do those long training runs if the Bad (low endurance) and the Ugly (persistent glute pain) won't go away?

Monday (treadmill):
AM:
10 mins warm up
20 mins of 30 secs on, 30 secs off (on @ 16 km/h, off @ 10 km/h)
5 mins cool down

PM: Physio treatment

Tuesday (treadmill):
8k easy in 40:50 (av 5:07) with last 10mins at moderate pace

Wednesday (track):
10 mins warm up incl 2 strides
2000m at 10k pace in 7:41 (1:31, 1:32, 1:32, 1:33, 1:33 per 400m)
3 x 800m at 5k pace in 3:00 (1:29, 1:31), 3:04 (1:32, 1:32), 3:00 (1:31, 1:29)
2 x 400m at 5k pace in 1:29 and 1:24
All intervals were sandwiched with 1mins standing rest + 400m jog
7 mins cool down

I actually planned to do 5 x 1000m or 6 x 800m but the first interval was comfortable so I ended up running 2000m. In retrospective, this was too long and the rest period was too short, which made me struggle in the subsequent intervals. After three 800s, I was drained and decided to stop at 400m. Had a short rest and did the last 400m faster to close.

Thursday:
OFF - busy at work

Friday (track):
AM:
10 mins warm up incl 2 strides
5k Tempo in 20:20 (av 4:04, av HR 176, Max 189)
Lap splits: 1:37, 1:38, 1:39, 1:39, 1:39, 1:39, 1:38, 1:39, 1:38, 1:38, 1:39, 1:38, 00:40
Jog to the bottom of Mt Fabre
1.5km run up Mt Fabre in 7:37 (av 5:04, av HR 171, Max 189)
2.4k cool down

PM: Physio treatment

Saturday (concrete):
AM: 30 mins recovery (av 5:45, av HR 147, Max 160) - a crap run
PM: 18 mins recovery (av 5:58) - can't believe I ran this slow

Sunday (gravel):
17.2k easy in 1:29 (av 5:12, av HR 151, Max 177) - aborted long run


Total 62.2km for the week
Year-to-date mileage 967.5 km

Cripple

Not a good week. I've been struggling with glutes discomfort and shin splint in recent weeks so I decided to rest a bit and have physio treatment. In addtion, I've lost some running motivation since the KL fiasco. Running in Singapore is so hard, my running performances went backwards. Just felt like I am losing the plot.

My 'training' for this week:

Mon 31/03: Deep Tissue Massage
Tue 1/04: 50mins easy (av pace 5:28) with work colleagues (incl Mt Faber climb)
Wed 2/04: 30mins easy (av 5:20) on treadmill
Thu 3/04: Aborted track session, could only do 4 laps tempo @ 4:02 pace before retiring due to shin discomfort and heat/humidity
Fri 4/04: Physio
Sat 5/04: rest
Sun 6/04: AM 50mins easy (av 5:28) on concrete, PM 40mins easy (av 5:08) + gym work

Total 38k for the week, Year-to-date mileage 905k (av 65k per week)

Have scheduled a couple more physio sessions next week. Will try to do at least one quality workout since I have a 5.6k race in 2 weeks time (JP Morgan Corporate Challenge).

Kuala Lumpur Half -

In short, my Personal Worst time for HM distance since 2004 (the first year I took up running).

I've been struggling with sore hips for the last couple of weeks. While I could do easy run with no problem, but running long at a solid pace puts a lot of strain on the hip. I arranged for a deep tissue massage on Wednesday, but the guy was sick at the last minute and he could only do Friday which was too late since I flew to KL that day. That sort of put an end to my hope of getting a last resort.

Struggled big time even after only the first couple of ks and it spiralled downwards from there. The route itself wasn’t nice as we ran mostly on the shoulder of highways – which was heavily cambered/tilted. After running up and down the highway ramps, I passed the 10k in 44 minutes. While this is still ok for a 1:32-1:35 finishing time but my sore hips restricted me to sustain the pace for the rest of the race. From then on, it was an uphill struggle as my pace slowed down due to the tightness in the hip. I made decision to run easily and took walk breaks for the next 12k (total distance was 22k + by my Garmin) to finish in 1:44.

Couldn't sit comfortably for the whole day due to the sore hips, but luckily we took the plane home.

Just came back from a one-hour massage session. And boy, it was excruciating!

This fiasco has put a serious dent in my hopes to do a marathon this year. Inability to do long runs due to persistent hip problems and heat/humidity has pushed my running times backwards by a couple of years. Perhaps I should have a re-think and just focus on short-term distances for a while.

Week 13 General Training: Half-cooked

After two full days to recuperate, I finally was able to get rid of the flu bug and the sluggishness. Due to two weeks of 'lost training', my strategy was simply to get back in shape ASAP. While I understand this week's training sessions probably will only have minimal impact for this Sunday's race, but I just wanna make sure that my body will be familiar with the demands of running a Half Marathon (e.g. running ~90 mins in duration at a good pace).

On Monday I did a 19k run including a few ks of race pace on the treadmill - which was not a biggie despite using a 1% grade. On Tuesday I ran a threshold type work on a short 400m marked bike path. I am hoping that the training balance will be okay, not too little to have negligible effect, and not too much to cause any negative effect for Sunday's race in KL.

In essence, I felt that my endurance sucks big time due to lack of long runs. I will still keep a sub-90 goal in sight, but realistically I will be happy with anything under 1:35 given my poor fitness level. Also, I've been hearing information that the KL Half Marathon route was not a traditional 21.1k but closer to 22k. Hence, the above timing goal might be out of whack.

On a good note, despite a couple of low weeks due to flu & tiredness, my March mileage will likely to reach around 300k - the most since August 2007 when I did 350k that month.

Sunday 23/03 (treadmill):
8k easy in 42 mins (av pace 5:21)

Monday 24/03 (treadmill):
6.5k warm up in 34 mins (av 5:15, 148 bpm)
3 x 2000m @ 4:17 (170-173 bpm) with 500m recovery
4 x 2 mins @ 4:00 with equal time recovery
1.5k cool down
Total workout: 19k in 91 mins (av pace 4:50)

Tuesday 25/03 (treadmill):
AM: 2k jog + 20:00 weight training (upper & lower body)
PM: 6k easy in 31 mins (av pace 5:15)

Wednesday 26/03 (road):
2k warm up incl. 2 short strides
10 x 400m @ 10k-16k pace on 400m marked path, ~30secs recovery to turn around
Splits: 1:33, 1:36, 1:35, 1:36, 1:34, 1:34, 1:35, 1:34, 1:33, 1:35 (av apce 3:57, HR 173, high HR 183 bpm)
4 x 200m in 00:41, 43, 42, 42 with 1 min rest
1k cool down
Total workout: 9.4k in 44 mins (av pace 4:42)

Thursday 27/03 (treadmill)
10 mins weight training (upper body)
6.6k easy in 35 mins (av pace 5:21)

Friday 28/03 (road)
9k easy in 45 mins incl 5 x 8 secs hill sprints (av pace 5:04, 153 bpm)
Travel to KL

Saturday 29/03:
Probably 3-4k jog in the hotel's treadmill

Total for the week 64k, month-to-date 275k, Year-to-date 838k

Week 11-12 General Training: Miserable

Sore hips + flu bug = Double trouble !!

These two weeks have been a bitch for me. Caught flu and it still didn’t want to go away even after a week. Also, my old nemesis: sore hips have been bugging me lately, resulting in missed long runs and speed/tempo sessions.

My original target for next week KL Half was sub-90 (vs. my current ‘tropics’ PB of 1:32). With only 2-3 runs above 20k in the last 8 weeks, essentially I am well short in endurance.

The deadly twin pairing of the flu and tight muscles also made me un-energized and led me to tire easily. I found in the last few runs that I don’t have any strength to climb hills or run at a solid pace. In fact, the last few runs have been terrible and I could only last for 30 minutes or so. I plan to have a complete rest for the next 2-3 days and hopefully the flu will disappear and the energy levels will return.

In light of the above, I will be happy if I can run the HM under 1:35 – a time which I easily got three years ago. This is what you call a backward progress!!

My training in the last couple of weeks:

Mon, 10/03: Felt tired from yesterday’s long run. Did a 30 minutes turtle slow run from apartment to Esplanade in the morning. Av pace was 5:54 and HR was around 140. In the evening, did a recovery run for 40 minutes along Alexanda Park Connector. Av pace 5:34 and HR 141 bpm.

Tues, 11/03: Getting ready for tomorrow’s Wings 4.3k Cross Country Race. Did a 40+ minutes easy run on a 1-km loop with 2 small hills in the middle, including 4 x 125m uphill and 4 x 70m downhill strides. Av pace was 5:09 for the run. Felt strong and if it wasn’t for the race tomorrow, I would have done a long run today !

Wed, 12/03: Was roaring to race today, but it virtually rained non-stop since the morning. Was undecided whether to go to the race or not for the whole day. At the end, I decided not to go since it wasn’t fun to run a XC race in a wet weather. Went to the gym instead, and did an easy 65minutes run at 5:10 pace.

Thu, 13/03: In order to make up for the disappointment of not racing yesterday, did a speed session on Alexandra Park Connector whether there is a marked 400m path. The plan was to do 8 -10 x 400m at 5k pace, but only did 7 total. Recovery between intervals was around 1:00 which was probably too short for me. Split was 1:32/157, 1:28/164, 1:30/166, 1:29/167, 1:28/168, 1:29/170, 1:28/170. In the evening, did a 20:00 light jog on the treadmill.

Fri, 14/03: I found out that the XC race was actually postponed to today due to wet weather on Wednesday. Bummer! How could I race today after the interval session yesterday. Ended up doing an easy run on treadmill for 50 minutes at 5:10 pace/147 bpm. Later that night, I found that the times were quite slow and I actually had a chance to finish in the top 10. Bummer !

Sat, 15/03: Woke up with a minor flu symptom. The plan was to do a long run of around 24-27k with 4-5 x 1600m intervals at HM pace (4:15). Wasn't feeling good with legs and hips being stiff. After doing 45 minutes easy, I started running the 1600m and found the effort harder that it should be. About 400m into the second interval, I decided to quit and then run home. Perhaps it’s better to close shop and do the real long run tomorrow. Ended up doing 16k in 82 minutes or 5:10 pace.

Sun, 16/03: Take two, Planned to make up for yesterday’s failed long run, however I failed again ! Only lasted for a mere 1k. The whole body was weak and my legs had no strength. Try again tomorrow.

Mon, 17/03: Take 3. Felt okay for the first half an hour so due to the rest day. The plan was to do 6-8k tempo run at HM pace (4:15) but I couldn’t handle the pace after 3k. I did a couple of sub-90 HM back in 2006, but I am struggling to run at that pace now. Damn ! Another failed long run and ended up running 75 minutes.

Tue, 18/03: No run. Busy at work and no motivation to run after three crap days in a row.

Wed, 19/03: Went to the gym and did a 50 minutes easy run on the treadmill at 5:20 pace. Felt better.

Thu, 20/03: With 10 dys to go to the KL half, woke up early and planned to do a 90 minute run. But it rained heavily and had to resort to treadmill running. Was sweating a lot more than usual even after 5 minutes of running and the body generally felt weak. After 35 minutes, I decided to end the misery. Enough is enough.

Total mileage for the month: 215k
Total mileage for the year: 778k

Week 10 General Training - Finally, some quality

A quality week for my (usually low !!) standard. Given Kuala Lumpur Half Marathon is less than 4 weeks away, I decided to up the ante. Basically, these coupe of weeks are make or break time for me.

Managed to do 3 quality workouts for the week. A short tempo run on the treadmill on Tuesday – which I found to be wasn’t ‘that hard’. This is probably due to either incorrect calibration or just because of ‘conveyor belt-assisted’. Nevertheless, my HR was in the 170s during the tempo, hence I still worked fairly hard. On Thursday, I did 5 x 1000m CV intervals on grass with lengthy recovery, and finished the session with a few fast 150m. This is the most number of intervals that I ever done in Singapore since normally I was already stuffed after 3 x 1k or 4 x 1k. Pretty damn pathetic, isn’t it?

On Sunday, I went to the East Coast Park, the mecca for outdoor activities (running, roller blading, cycling) in Singapore. Did a 28k long run in 2:16 with around 15k of marathon-pace segments (8k, 5k, 2k) included. Was ‘fried’ at the end as I’ve never run this long for over 4 months !! Total mileage for the week was 84k.

Below is this week training. Oh ya, I’ve changed the name of the training cycle from Base Training to General Training since it is probably more appropriate.

Monday:
35:00 recovery run @ 5:42, av HR 140bpm (treadmill)

Tuesday:
Tempo: 6k in 25:00 @ 4:10, av HR 169 bpm
Intervals: 2 x 1k @ 4:00 with 2:00 jog, av HR 172bpm
Strides: 4 x 00:30 with 1:30 jog
Total Workout: 13k in 60:00 @ av pace 4:33 (1.5% treadmill)

Wednesday:
AM Yoga
PM 25:00 jogging @ 5:46 (treadmill)

Thursday:
Intervals: 5 x 1000m 'cut down' @ ~10k pace with 2:00 rest/jogs. Splits: 3:58, 3:57, 3:55, 3:53, 3:50. Av pace 3:55, av HR 171bpm
Reps: 4 x 150m in ~00:30 with 1:00 standing recovery
Total Workout: 11.6k in 55:00 @ av pace 4:45 (grass)

Friday:
40:00 recovery run @ 5:43, av HR 149 bpm (road)

Saturday:
~60:00 easy run @ 5:03 (gravel)

Sunday:
20:00 easy, 8k @ 4:30, 20:00 easy, 5k @ 4:30, 20:00 easy, 2k @ 4:30, 15:00 easy
Av HR for the faster segments were 170 bpm
Total Workout: 28k in 2:16 @ av pace 4:53

Total mileage 84 km for the week @ av pace 5:01 min/km
Year-to-date mileage 676 km @ av pace 5:08 (av 67.6 km per week)

Week 9 Base Training - February in Review

I had a business trip to Jakarta early in the week which limited my running. Also, I've been feeling a bit unenergized lately, hence a mini-break was probably appropriate. Since this week mileage was low, I squeezed in a short VO2 Max session on Saturday of 3 x 1000m. Probably could do 1-2 more intervals but was short on time as we had an appointment. Sunday long run was good with the help of an overcast weather.

For the month of February, I ran a total of 275km vs 288k in January. Year to date, my mileage was distributed as follows: 73% of slow-to-easy effort running, 12% long run (anything longer than 90minutes), 5% at steady-to-marathon pace, 6% at Half Marathon-to-LT effort, and 4% at CV-to-VO2 Max pace. The primary concern is still the lack of long runs. In Febraury, I only managed to do 2 x 21k continuous runs and one 26k run but with lots of stoppages. I MUST do better next month!

My training this week was as follows:

Mon: off (work in Jakarta)
Tue: 35:00 easy @ 5:24
Wed: 35:00 easy @ 5:30/146 bpm
Thu: 40:00 easy/moderate @ 4:52/156 bpm
Fri: am 25:00 easy @ 5:28/133 bpm, pm 25:00 easy @ 5:08
Sat: 3 x 1000m VO2Max intervals @ 3:42-3:45, av 176 bpm (on grass)
Sun: 21k easy @ 5:00/155 bpm

Total 60.0k for the week @ av 5:05 min/km
Year to date 592.0km @ av 5:09 min/km (av 65.8k per week)