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)

Week 8 Base Training - Feeling Lousy

Felt really lousy for the whole week, both physically and mentally. Began to feel the effect of cumulative fatique from the recent increase in training. Also, work has been very busy and stressful.

It seems that I've paid the price for the lack of 'training specificity'. I've been running too much on the treadmill lately (including Monday to Friday this week) and this morning I planned to do a much needed long run (2 hours +) in the Botanic Gardens. And I really learned something valuable today. Since running on the treadmill uses slightly different muscles than running on the road, my hips muscles and joints got very sore when I ran on bitumen/concrete pavement. In addition, the humidity impact from running in an air-conditioned gym is very different to the real world and I was already soaked in sweat not long after I started . After around 40 minutes of running, I began to feel very unmotivated and stopped for 10 minutes to rest. Was seriously considering to walk or catch a bus home. However, the humidity improved to a more tolerable level, I managed to run back home.

The lack of long run puts a serious dent into my preparation for the KL Half Marathon on 30 March. In January, I only managed to do a single 24k run and this month, I was only able to do a single 26k sightseeing run with friends (lots of rest stops). Although, the HM is still a good 5 weeks away, but I really need to up the ante in the next three weeks. My aim is to do sub 90 (I've done it twice in Australia but never in Asia) but given my lack on long run, this goal looks a bit of a stretch.

Anyway, here is my daily training from last week. Lousy, right?

Monday:

40:00 jogging @ 5:42 (grade 2%)

Tuesday:
AM: 30:00 easy @ 5:22 (grade 3%)
PM: 30:00 easy @ 5:07)(grade 2%)

Wednesday:
60:00 easy @ 5:06 (grade 1.5%)

Thursday:
Stamina Intervals: 4 x 1600m @ 4:10 min/km, 400m recovery
Total workout: 55:00 @ av 4:40 (grade 1.5%)

Friday:
AM: 30:00 jogging @ 5:47
PM: 20:00 jogging @ 5:36

Saturday:
Off

Sunday:
82:00 easy @ 5:08 (long run cut short)

Total: 68.0 km for the week @ av pace 5:12 min/km
Year to date mileage 532.0 km @ av pace 5:10 (av 66.5 km per week)

Week 7 Base Training - Mixed Week

A week with mixed results. Felt great early in the week despite doing 92k last week (highest week Since Sep 07). The CV intervals on grass were smooth and easy runs were really easy. However, fatique began to set in later in the week and things went downhill from there. Felt sluggish on Thursday and Friday and easy runs suddenly didn't feel too easy.

Went to KL for the weekend and there was a cross country race so I decided to jump in. This was one of the lead-up races for next month's KL Marathon hence lots of local fast runners turned up including a couple of Kenyans who are based in Malaysia. I was in the Junior Veteran Category (35-45) and according to the advertisement, the route was supposed to be 6.2k.

It turned out to be one of the least enjoyable race that I've ever done because it wasn't well organized. Firstly the distance was much longer than 6.2k and being a first timer without any clue about the route & obstacles, I thought that I took the wrong route. I didn't see anyone with the same colour bib (same age group category) until the last 500m. All the guys that I passed and ran with were the Open Category runners who ran 8.2k. At the end, the distance turned out to be 7.54k by Garmin and according to the locally-based runners who have run the same race last year. A second issue were narrow paths (fit one person only) hence it was difficult to pass people. Since we started at the same time with the kids, lots of them started walking not long after the gun which led to congestion. Thirdy, a couple of the grass hills were like walls and people had to crawl/climb and there were lots of steps as well. Finished the run in 34:33 in the 12th place for the Junior Veteran category. Slightly disappointed because I just missed out on the top 10 and the prizes.

Anyway, enought bitching! Here's my training for this week:

Monday:
70:00 Easy @ 5:12 (treadmill 2%)

Tuesday:
CV Intervals: 4 x 1k @ 10k pace, avg. 3:56 (grass)
Reps: 5 x 150m avg 30-31 secs

Wednesday:
AM: Yoga
PM: 45:00 recovery @ 5:31 (treadmill 2%)

Thursday:
AM: Gym work
PM: 60:00 Easy/Moderate @ 4:53 (treadmill 1.5%)

Friday:
49:00 recovery @ 5:27 (road)

Saturday:
Off

Sunday:
FTAAA Cross Country Race, 7.5k in 34:33, 12th in 35-45 age group

Total 72.0k for the week @ av pace 5:08 min/km
Year-to-date mileage 464km @ av pace 5:10 (av 66.3km per week)

Week 6 Base Training - Rat and Fat

This week is the Chinese Lunar New Year week: Thursday and Friday are public holidays in Singapore and combined with the weekend, we had a nice little break. Welcome to the Year of the Rat !! Took advantage of the situations by running more mileage than usual, including 21k on Thursday and 26k on Saturday. Also, (for a change) managed to do four consecutive days of outdoor running.

Had a couple of Stamina workouts, 5x1200m @ LT on treadmill on Tuesday and 3x3000 @ ~HM pace outdoor on Thursday. On Saturday, I joined about 30 other runners from the local running messageboard to do an undulanting, 'sightseeing' 26k run to celebrate the Year of the Rat in the western part of the island. Total time was 3h:30m but the total run portion was only about 2h:20m and the remaining 1-hour plus included drink stops, stairs walking, and waiting for the slow runners to re-group. Nevertheless, it was a good run as we tackled some really decent hills including the steep Vigilante Rd (80m elevation gain) and ~2k long Mt. Faber (100m elevation gain).

During the run, I also realized that my weight was on the 'fat' side when compared to the local Asian runners. At 70kg (of 'wagyu grade 1 quality') I was about 7-10kg heavier than others with the same height. My BMI is 24.5 which placed me at the edge of the overweight category. A 5k reduction to 65kg will put me in the healthy range, but I don't really know whether I can do this. Even when I was doing more mileage in Australia, my lightest weight was 66-67kg and that was usually after a long run when dehydration took place. I think I really need to do something about my weight ASAP. Weight loss leads to reduced oxygen cost of running and in turn, leads to faster and more sustained running. To kick start the process, I have decided to go alcohol-free from today.

My training for this week as follows:

Monday
AM: 40:00 easy @ 4:53 pace (1.5% incline)
PM: 27:00 easy @ 5:27 pace (3.0% incline)

Tuesday
LT Intervals: 5 x 1200m @ 4:03 pace with 300m jog (1.0% incline)
Total Workout: 46:00 (av 4:36 pace)

Wednesday
AM: Yoga
PM: 40:00 jogging @ 5:39 pace (2.0% incline)

Thursday
Stamina Intervals: 3 x 3k @ 4:15 pace/approx. HM pace (road)
Total Workout: 21k in 1:39 (av 4:44 pace)

Friday
40:00 jogging @ 5:47, 73% MaxHR (grass)

Saturday
'Sightseeing Run' with SGRunners (undulanting route)
Total Run portion: 26k in 2:20 excluding ~1 hour stops (rest, waiting for slower runners etc)

Sunday
43:00 jogging @ 5:45, 71% MaxHR (pavement) + stretching/pushups/situps

Total 92k for the week @ av 5:11 min/km
Year to date 392k @ av 5:10 min/km (av 65.3k per week)

Week 5 of Base Training: January Review

A fair start to the year.... 288k total for the month. Training composition includes 82% of slow-to-easy pace running, 11% at moderate-to-marathon pace, 2% at HM effort to LT pace, and 5% at 5k-10k paces.

My goal for January was to get fit after 3 months of slacking off during the transition period to Singapore and to be familiar with 5-6 running days per week. I think I've achieved these two goals, however I am still behind in terms of long runs. I only did two runs longer than 18k for the whole month !!! Long run is a bitch, still finding it tough to wake up early during weekends and when I start around 8am, the temperature is already in 30s (plus the humidity)

Will continue Base Training for the next 1-2 months before moving onto Marathon Training phase (3 months). My aim for February is simple: 1) Do a bit more running at HM/LT effort and most importantly 2) Long Runs or Die !

My training this week was as follows:

Mon: AM 35:00 recovery; PM 32:00 Easy/Hills
Tue: 65:00 incl. 10k steady @ 4:40 pace
Wed: AM 30:00 jogging,; PM 25:00 jogging
Thu: OFF (busy at work)
Fri: 60:00 easy incl. strides
Sat: OFF (holiday in Bangkok)
Sun: OFF (holiday in Bangkok)

Total 48.0 km for the week (av pace 5:12 min/km)
Year-to-date mileage 300 km (av 60.0 kmpw, av pace 5:10 min/km)

Week 4 Base Training - Treadmill Affair

This week I ran less than I wanted to and also failed to do a long run.

Had five sessions on the treadmill and two sessions on the road. Surprisingly, I have developed fondness to 'dreadmill' running (ouchh...). It is much cooler running indoors (vs. running outside) and the gym has a nice view overlooking Sentosa Island. I love to play around with the speed, for instance starting the run at a tortoise pace and then gradually increasing the speed by 0.1 km/h every 1-5 minutes (depending on that particular session's purpose). I also found that my leg turnover is faster on the treadmill. Even at an easy pace of 5:00, I already ran around 170 strides per minute, so at a faster pace - my stride rate should be in the 180s.

On Saturday, I participated in the social/fun run relay event organized by SG Runners (running messageboard). The team had 3 runners and each runner did 2 x 3k laps. I did both legs in 11:21 and 11:42 . I planned to run them at CV or 10k effort, but was sucked into chasing people in the first leg so I ran faster than I wanted to. After around 30 minutes of rest waiting for the 2nd and 3rd runner, I ran the second leg at a controlled effort and on-pace. Overall it was a good test for the legs, although I am not really sure whether it generated a significant physiology stimulus given there was a LONG rest period in between.

Next weekend will be a wash since we'll be in Bangkok to meet the in-laws. In light of this, I plan to squeeze in as many miles as I can on weekdays. Hopefully, I can reach 300km in January - frankly not a lot of mileage but since I haven't done more than 300kper month since last August - I guess I'll take it.

Monday
53:00 Easy (av 5:18 - treadmill)

Tuesday
2 x 4000m @ Steady (4:48, 4:37, 4:26, 4:17) + 1000m @ LT (4:00)
Total workout: 13k in 62:00 (av 4:47 - treadmill)

Wednesday
Off (business in Jakarta)

Thursday
Morning - 35:00 Slow (av 5:31 - treadmill)
Evening - 20:00 Easy + 20:00 Moderate + 4 strides (av 4:58 - treadmill)

Friday
30:00 gym work + 30:00 jogging (av 5:40 - treadmill)

Saturday
VO2Max: 2 x 3000m in 11:21/11:42 (av 3:50 min/km) as part of SGRunners Relay
Total workout: 12k (lots ot waiting time)

Sunday
48:oo easy recovery (5:21)

Total 66.0 km for the week
Total time 5:34:30
Av pace 5:04 min/km
Year-to-date mileage 252.0 km (av 63.0 km per week)
Year-to-date av pace 5:09 min/km

Week 3 Base Training - Reality Check

Felt much better this week - the calf strain has virtually gone away enabling me to run pain-free. Did two quality sessions, CV intervals on Tuesday and Tinman Tempo run on Thursday, followed by my longest run in the last three months at (please guess)......a mere 24 km !! Yes, the stats pretty much showed my endurance shape which has spiralled into pariah status. A 2-2.5 hours long runs were my weekly diet back in Oz. But since I am here, long runs always proved to be the most difficult session, underpinned by the harsh weather and lack of motivation.

I began to use HRM in some of the key workouts this week. Basically I need to accept that my running pace in Singapore has slowed by 10-20 secs/km compared to Oz. Back then, I considered 5:20 min/km plus as a jogging pace, but now 5:30 is definitely not a recovery pace and is actually more like an easy pace. My long run pace has also slowed down from about 5:00 to 5:15-5:20 min/km. Another example was Thursday's Tinman tempo run - 6k @ 4:15 pace at av HR of 177 bpm or 90% Max HR. In early 2007, I had a LT test in the lab and my pace at 90% MaxHR corresponded to my LT and this was at 4:00 min/km. Hence, this is another example of 15 secs/km slow down.

Next week will be a busy week in terms of work so I don't know how much I can afford to run. Next Saturday, I will be doing a relay run (three man) organized by the local running messageboard. This is a social event, so I plan to run the relay leg at tempo training effort.

My training this week was as follows:

Monday
20:00 easy + 7:00 @ 5% grade (av 5:20 min/km - treadmill)

Tuesday
Morning (grass field) -
Intervals @ 10k pace: 4 x 1000m (3:51, 3:59, 3:53, 3:54, av. 3:55), 2:00 jog
Strides: 2 x 00:40, 4 x 00:15
Total Workout: 55:00 incl. warm up & cool down

Afternoon - 20:00 jogging (av 5:47 - treadmill)

Wednesday
Morning - 1 hour Yoga
Afternoon - 40:00 slow (av 5:34 - treadmill)

Thursday
Steady Tempo: 6k in 25:33 (av 4:16/177 bpm)
Hill Reps: 4 x 100m
Total workout: 50:00 (av 4:42)

Friday
20:00 gym work + 45:00 slow (av 5:32 - treadmill)

Saturday
2:05:00 Long Run (av 5:13)

Sunday - 42:00 easy (av 5:14 - treadmill)

Total 78.0 km for the week
Total Time 6h:46m
Av pace 5:12 min/km
Year-to-date mileage 186.0 km (av 62.0 km per week)
Year-to-date av pace 5:11 min/km

Week 2 Base Training - Rehab

A week of mixed results, I guess. On the positive side, my strained calf got materially better after a couple of visits to the physio. The guy did a combo of torturing deep tissue massage, ultra sound and electric wave for S$70 (45 minutes session). While some areas of the calf are still tender at the moment, but overall, I can pretty much run without any significant pain or soreness.

On the negative side, I wasn't feeling that great over the weekend. Had sleeping problems and just wasn't feeling energized. Although, I could run pain-free but my body just didn't feel like running. Planned to do 105-120 minutes long run today but decided to call it quit after 70 minutes. My running motto for this year is the words of famed-coach, Arthur Lydiard: "Train, Dont' strain!"

I will visit the physio again tomorrow for possibly the final treatment. Since this week is pretty much a washed-out, I plan to to run 70+k next week including a couple of quality sessions.

My training (all at easy effort) last week was:

Mon: Physio treatment (no run)
Tue: 25 minutes elliptical
Wed: 40 minutes jogging + Physio treatment
Thu: 37 minutes easy
Fri: 55 minutes easy - moderate (out in 30:10, back in 25:40)
Sat: 34 minutes jogging incl 4 light strides
Sun: 72 minutes easy

Total 45.0 km for the week
Total time 3h:59m:00s
Av Pace 5:18 min/km
Year-to-date mileage 108.0 km (av. 54.0 per week)
Year-to-date av. pace 5:09/min/km

I also want to say thanks to a HK-based runner/blogger called 'by7' for writing a comprehensive outline of his marathon training. He recently ran Fukuoka marathon in 2:37 and finished 6th in the HK Half Marathon Championship last week with a time of 1:15.

Week 1 Base Training (but dunno 'bout next week)

As mentioned in previous post, I'm targeting to do Gold Coast Marathon in early July which leaves me with about 6 full months to train & peak for the race. My plan is to do base training for about 2 months before moving onto marathon specific training for the next 4 months. Looking at my running log, I've been averaging about 70-80 kmpw between January to September 2007. Since returning back to Singapore, my average mileage has gone down to about 40 kmpw. In light of this, I aim to build my mileage back up again to around 80-90 kmpw by the end of Feb.

Ok....week 1 of the base training phase... We were holidaying in Hong Kong for New Year and the HK winter was really running-conducive. It was cool at around 10c and very dry - perfect! Also, the Disneyland Resort was really quite and there is a scenic man-made lake called Lake Inspiration (1.5k loop) within the resort. To take advantage of the conditions, I did CV intervals, followed by a moderate-progression run the day after. The calf strain still persists but I decided to run through it.

Tue 01/01: 46m:00s Easy Run (av 5:25 min/km)

First run of the year. A nice leisurely run on treadmill at 1.5% incline (The Langham Hotel) to burn the excess calories from fatty Hong Kong cuisine. Found a restaurant near the hotel called Guandong restaurant in Kowloon and gee, the honey glazed BBQ pork is heavenly !!

Wed 02/01: 35m:40s Easy Run (av 5:30 min/km)

Another very easy run on the hotel's treadmill, this time at 3% grade. Another round of Cantonese BBQ for lunch, this time at a small restaruant near the Mid-Levels in Central and it has Anthony Bourdain photo on its window.

Thu 03/01: 1h:01m:00s (av 4:32 min/km) incl. CV Intervals

20:00 warm up (4:55) from Disneyland Hotel to Lake Inspiration, then 3 x 1600m at CV pace around the lake. Splits 6:16, 6:22, 6:15 (av pace 3:57 min/km) with 1:30-2:00 jogs for recovery. Then 4 x 200m Repetitions in 0:41, 42, 42, 42 with 60secs rest, followed by 13:00 cool down (4:50) back to the hotel incl. x 00:15 strides. Haven't ran 1600s at this effort for ages hence was pretty challenging. The weather helped tremendously, unsure whether I could do the same workout in Singapore.

Fri 04/01: 1h:15:00s (av 4:51 min/km) incl one-hour Progression Run

Took advantage of the cool weather in HK by doing another quality workout after yesterday's CV intervals. 10:00 warm up (5:30) from hotel to Lake Inspiration, then 60:00 Progression Run (15:00 @ 5:00, 4:45, 4:40, 4:30 min/km), and ended with 5:00 cool down. Felt really comfortable effort wise, but calves pain re-appeared again. Was limping for the whole day. Flew back to Singapore.

Sat 05/01: Rest

No run to rest the calves, but did some stretching and push-ups.

Sun 06/11: 1h:40m:00s Easy Run (av 5:16 min/km)

Back to the hot and humid Singapore and struggled with the conditions. Ran from home to Botanic Gardens and back. Av HR was 159 bpm with 181 being the highest and for god's sake I didn't run any faster than 5:00 pace at all !! Calf was really sore.

Total 63.0 km for the week
Total time 5h:17m:54s
Av. Pace 5:02 min/km
Sunday weight: 68.8 kg (post run)

Went to see a physio today to check my calf strain and had deep tissue massage plus ultra sound/wave treatment. Looks like Week 2 of Base Training will be at very minimal mileage sinceI need to nurse my sore calf and prevent it from going bust. Probably I'll go against the doctor's order and try to squeeze in 1-2 runs this week (or maybe just cross training) in order to lessen fitness erosion.

Sore Resolution

Happy New Year to everyone!! May all of you have wonderful runs, injury-free year, and running PBs in 2008...

In my last post, I mentioned that 2007 was a forgettable year in terms of running. In order to get out of the rut, I plan to make the following changes to my running:

1) Becoming a MINIMALIST (ouuch....see below)

I love running in light-weight shoes like Nike Frees or racing flats (Adizero, Saucony Fastwitch). I wear them for most of my workouts including tempo, intervals, and recovery runs. For long runs, I normally use Asics Kayano for added protection. But frankly, I never enjoy the Kayanos. On the contrary, the minimalist shoes always feel so good and my training paces are typically a tad faster in them.

However, lately I've been experiencing soreness in the right calves. It felt so bad after the run that I had to limp for the rest of the day. After 1-2 days of rest plus Voltaren/Deep Heat gel application, the pain then disappeared. But the problem is that after a few days of running, the pain re-appears out of the blue again. It is really ANNOYING!

My guess is that the sore calves might be attributed to the running terrain in Singapore where it is virtually a concrete jungle (back in Australia, 40% of my mileage was on grass terrain). It seems my muscles are not strong enough to handle the surface. There is a small cricket field (Padang) about 2k away from my apartment. One loop is only 800m, so running around and around will be a bit boring but perhaps better than nothing. Also, since I've been here, my mileage has effectively halved from my old levels in Australia, and this leads to unwanted weight gain and in turn, added stress on the calves.

Ouchh...I'm limping right now, how long before the soreness goes away?

Any thoughts on the calf soreness issue? Is this a typical result from the switch to minimalism? Should I do calf raises?

2) Run more on TREADMILL

I've decided to become a member at Planet Finess, a gym near my office. I need to fork out around $65 pe rmonth but this will allow me to run during lunch time. Since I plan to do a marathon this year, running on daily basis will be a necessity. I also hope that by switching some of my training runs from concrete to treadmill, it will lessen the stress on my muscles and legs. In addtion, the gym has swiss ball/yoga classes and I plan to occasionally do them in order to strengthen my core.

Other 'smaller' changes for 2008 include:

3) Move my daily running log from cool running to runningahead.com

4) Try to join some of the local running group runs to make friends...

Ok..gotta go. Still in Hong Kong right now for holiday, will post more next week. Cheers for now.

Farewell 2007, Welcome 2008

Honestly, I am glad that 2007 is over. It was a year of big changes in life as well as disappointment in terms of my running. Firstly, I got married hence finding the time to run was a bit difficult (we were in long-distance relationship previously, hence I had freedom to run). Secondly, we've moved back to Singapore which is really not a conducive place for running (humid, crowded, lack of races). Thirdly, after 3 years of consistent training, it seems that my running performance has plateaued. My mileage and PB history so far:

2005: 3575k, 14 real PBs+ 8 first race PBs

2006:, 3700k, 7 PB

2007: 3300-3400k, 1 PB

All in all, I had little to cheer about in terms of running.......

I've been thinking a lot about my running plan for 2008. When I returned to Singapore in October, I thought I would solely focus on 5k/10k/21k since marathon training would be a humungus challenge given the heat/humidity, new job, and lack of running places. However, since then I have had a mood swing.

Firstly, I didn't fare too badly from the weather judging from my last two races (not great time, but okay). With more time, I think I should be able to tolerate the conditions better. Perhaps I should treat this as 'heat training' and hopefully I can perform better when I do 'cool weather' races. Secondly, there are possibly no 5k/10k races in Singapore until April or May next year. How motivating is that?

I've been searching the web for races in the region. Given my measly mileage in the last 3 months, I think a marathon in 1Q is definitely not a viable option. 2Q is more realistic - a couple friends from Perth will be running Canberra Marathon in April, but I am unsure whether I'll be in a racing shape 3.5 months from now. Domestically, there are two new marathons, namely Sundown Marathon (night) in May and Lion City Marathon in June, but I doubt I can race to the best of my ability in humid conditions.

The most viable option looks like Gold Coast Marathon in early July. It seems to have all the tick in the boxes - it is fast and flat, with a decent field size (not small but not gigantic), pacer group availability, good weather, and a nice place to go for a short holiday with my wife. It is also a good 6 months from now. I can simply do base building for a couple of months before jumping into marathon-specific training for the next 3 months and then into taper.

Here are my tentative (but not complete) races for the first half of 2008. Once the local running calendar is out, I might do a couple of track races (3k, 5k) such as Allcomers Meet, SAA road relay etc.

30 Mar: 10k/21k as part of Kuala Lumpur Marathon

The probability of doing this one is probably 80-90% as KL is about 1hr by air from Singapore. Probably will do 10k or 21k to gauge fitness shape (albeit a hilly course)

31 May: 'marathon training run' or relay as part of Sundown Marathon

This is a new marathon/ultra to be held at night time in Singapore. I'd say the probability of doing this one is about 60-70%. If I do it, I might run

the relay (two-person team) or the full 42k as a slow training run - five weeks before Gold Coast.

8 June: Saucony Passionrun 15K

The probability of doing this run is about 50-60%. Basically I will use either this race or Phuket HM in the followng week to gauge my marathon goal shape.

15 June: Laguna Phuket Half-Marathon

If I don't do the above, probably I will run this one because we can combine this with a holiday. Since this is 3 weeks out before Gold Coast, I might either run the HM at all-out to test my marathon shape or simply at marathon-goal pace for pace familiarization.

6 July: Gold Coast Marathon

Barring any injuries or physical/mental breakdown, this would be the GOAL race for the first half of 2008.

Quiet Time

Ain't much goin' on last week….

Have done very little running - only 3 x 30-45 minute runs plus a short fartlek session in the last 8 days. There is a new X factor that possibly can hinder training, namely tropical downpour during the monsoon season. The rain could go on and on for more than 24 hours non-stop. We had a couple of those days last week.

My weights has ballooned to 70.6kg due to Singaporean yummy but fatty diet as well as low mileage.

I expect my training to be very minimal this month. Will spend this week in Bangkok, Thailand for a workshop so perhaps I can only afford to have 3 training runs at most. For Christmas, my parents will be coming over hence there will be little running. For New Year, we'll go for a holiday in HK Disneyland.

I look at the local running calendar and there are virtually no races for the next 4-5 months (some charity/fun runs could exist but not in anyone's radar at the moment). This has deflated my running appetite a bit.

Perhaps it is a good time for a break. A full month to rest the body and mind in order to get ready for next year.

Will think about my goals and planned races for 2008 in the next few weeks. Due to busy schedule, please expect delays in posting a blog. Also, need to do a bit of negotiation with my wife, possibly for running 2008 Gold Coast marathon in July.

Singapore Half Marathon 2007 (too many people !)

Finished the HM in 1:32:xx.... slightly disappointing....

My 'cool weather' HM is 1:27 and I was hoping to get 1:29-1:31 in Singapore, taking into account the temperature differential. At the end, it wasn't the temperature that was the main problem, but it was the 'traffic congestion' that slowed me down.

The event was just too big - 40,000 runners participating in the 42k, 21k, and 10k. The marathoners started at 5:30 while the half-marathoners started at 6:15.

Was doing Ok for the first 6k, averaging 4:18 min/km. After that, I started to catch the slow runners and walkers (5-7 hours marathoners) and had to zig-zag my way through for the next 10k. During this segment, my pace slowed down to 4:28 min/km - a lost of almost 2 minutes. I couldn't count how many times I got bumped left and right because I was trying to navigate my way through.

After 16k, we had a turnaround point and it was free traffic from there. My pace improved to 4:16 min/km for the last 5.1k . However, I couldn' run any faster as my hip began to get very tight and the mercury began to heat up.

Garmin GPS measured total distance as 21.74 km (av. 4:16 pace). I think the zig-zaging during km 7-16 led to the extra distance.

I think the organizers should design a different route for HM-ers in order to prevent 'bottlenecking'. Also, slow runners should learn race etiquette by keeping left at all times. Met the 11th place finisher from Australia at the finish. He has a PB of 1:13 and finished the HM in 1:24. He was very disappointed with the organization and lack of discipline/knowledge of slow runners.

Otherwise, a good flat course and nice weather for Singapore standard.Well done to all !

Position: 28 out of 7402 overall, 5 out of 871 in Male 35-39

Drink and Thrive

First of all, good luck to those running Singapore Marathon & its associated events this Sunday.

Also, all the best to a fellow blogger called 'by7' who is based in Hong Kong. He'll be running the Fukuoka Marathon this Sunday - where Samuel Wanjiru will also make his marathon debut. The marathon's cut off time is 2:45 pace, so basically all runners need to run every 5k segment in 19:35 or faster. Otherwise, the race will be over.

Saw this timely article on hydration. A US-based coach called "Tinman" commented as follows 'Most people know & understand that fluid and carbohydrate ingestion improve long-term distance running performance (over 90 minutes of running), but they do not know that research shows that even 1 Hour of intense running (80-90% of VO2 max) is improved too; by ingestion of fluids and carbohydrates, independently'.

Even low levels of dehydration (eg, less than a 2% loss of body weight) impair cardiovascular and thermoregulatory response and reduce the capacity for exercise. Heat exposure also reduces the athlete's ability to train and compete, an effect that can be independent of hydration status. Even if athletes are well hydrated, hot weather alone will reduce their capacity to exercise. Optimal performance is possible only when dehydration and hyperthermia are minimized by ingesting ample volumes of fluid during exercise and by taking common-sense precautions in keeping cool. Recent research has demonstrated that consuming fluid in volumes approximating sweat loss maintains important physiological functions and significantly improves exercise performance, even during exercise lasting only 1 hour. Carbohydrate ingestion also improves exercise performance, an effect that is independent of, and additive to, preventing dehydration.

http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1318513

Tinman further commented that it does pay to consume fluids and carbs DURING the race, especially early because their is a delay in emptying. He figured it takes about 4-6 minutes for fluids and carbs to start first reaching your bloodstream, and it really takes off 8-12 minutes after consumption.

To all runners, make sure you drink, drink, and drink......

Training wise has beeen so-so. I don't have a high target for Sunday's HM but I'll try my best. If I suck, I'll just chalk it up and treat it as a training run.

Saturday, 24/11: Easy Run
Ran without a watch. About 60:00 easy in Fort Canning park. Also, did 6 short hill sprints and 2 downhill strides.

Sunday, 25/11: Progression Run
17:00 warm up from home to Botanic Gardens (5:14/139)
10:00 @ 4:50 min/km (156 bpm)
10:00 @ 4:40 min/km (165 bpm)
10:00 @ 4:30 min/km (165 bpm - low HR due to drink stop)
10:00 @ 4:20 min/km (176 bpm)
24:00 cool down (5:06/161) back home

All up, 18.1k in 1:28:43 (4:54 pace av). The worrying thing is that my HR during the 4th segment of the progression run was already averaging at 176 bpm or 90% MaxHR. This was only after ~50-60 minutes of running with only 10 minutes spent at 4:20 pace. Hence, I doubt very much I can run between 4:15-4:20 pace on Sunday.

Perhaps Tinman's Heat and Performance chart was right. I should expect my pace to be around 4:30ish due to heat/humidity.

Tuesday, 27/11: Fartlek
10:00 warm up
3 x 4:00 at approx 10k effort (3:55-3:58 pace) with 2:00 rest
3 x 00:40 strides
5:00 cool down

Woke up late this morning hence was short on time. I've done a couple of CV workouts in Singapore and I found that I am struggling after the 3 x 1000m. In Perth, I used to be able to do 5 x 1000m comfortably. I think a combination of weather and low mileage in recent weeks have contributed to this.

Wednesday, 28/11: Recovery Run
One hour easy run along the Singapore River & Marina at HR 140-150 bpm (71-76% MHR). Don't know the exact distance.

Friday, 30/11: Easy Run
8.3k at easy effort in 41:40 (5:01) at Fort Canning. Did 3 x 00:20 strides at the end.

Heat and Run

Thanks all for your comments.

I've registered to do a Half Marathon next week (2 December) - which is a second fiddle event to the gigantic Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon on the same day. Around 38,000 have entered the marathon and its associated events and registration was closed about three months before race day. Since the marathon is the showpiece event (elite wining time 2:14 in 2006), the HM field will not be competitive. Last year there were 6500 runners in the HM and the winning time was 1:20.

I recently look at the Heat & Performance Changes Chart by a US-coach called "Tinman" and he postulates that running performance will be affected by heat & humidity as follows:

Temperature Performance Change
111 F / 44 C -12%
100 F / 38 C -08%
90 F / 32 C -05%
80 F / 27 C -03%
73 F / 23 C -02%
65 F / 18 C -01%
59 F / 15 C No change
53 F / 12 C No change

My HM PB is 1:27ish and that was done with a starting temperature of 8c or 45 F and relative humidity of 75%.

Presently, I think I am in about 1:30-ish HM shape. My training volume has been pathetically low, with the longest run of 24k about six weeks ago, and since then I only did three 18-20k runs. Mileage has been averaging about 50k in the past couple of months vs. 80k-ish previously. Hence, my endurance sucks big time at the moment.

Singapore temperature in the morning (7am) is about 27c / 80F with rel. humidity of 90% - equivalent to about 90F in apparent temperature. During the race, the apparent temperature could rise to 38c / 100F.

Based on that chart, my HM time is predicted to be slowed by 5-8% or between 1:34 to 1:37. So lets wait and see !!!

Sunday, 18/11: Recovery Run
45:00 on MacRitchie trail. Planned to do 60-90 minutes but couldn't stand the heat and humidity. Cut the run short.

Monday, 19/11: Recovery Run
30:00 along Singapore river, av HR 142 bpm

Tuesday, 20/11: Marathon Pace Run
3k warm up from home to Botanic Gardens
2 x 5k @ 4:30 min/km (av 163 bpm)
5k cool down back home, with last 200m fast

Did okay for the first 5k, but had to stop a couple of times in the second 5k as the humidty got better of me. All up, 18k in 1:26:40 (av 4:49)

Wednesday, 21/11: Recovery Run
40:00 minutes along Singapore river, av pace 5:24

Thursday, 22/11: HM Pace Run (abbrieviated)
Had a night out and had a bit of hangover. Planned to do 3 x 10:00 at sub-HM pace but felt crap and stufffed after two rounds. 2.4k w/u, 2 x 2.4k in 10:00 and 9:52 (av 4:09 min/km, 167 and 172 bpm) with 2:00 rest, 2.7k c/d. Too much alcohol, the weather was too damn humid.

Accidental Winner

For my first ever race in Singapore, I decided to do Run-A-Movie 8K race at the East Coast Park this morning. Given I only arrived in the country 3 weeks ago and still acclimatizing to the hot/humid conditions, my goal is to run under 4:00 min/km for the whole 8k (sub 32 minutes).

I always know that races organized by charity groups typically have two characteristics: 1) the distance is normally inaccurate (typically short), and 2) average field depth. And it turned out that my prediction is right. The course was measured as 7.1k according to My Garmin 305. And I ended up the overall winner...accidentally that is !!

Arrived at the park pretty early and did 4k warm up incl several strides and lined up at the front. After the gun went off, I was probably in the 5th position by the first 100-200m. Then the runners began to disappear left and right and I was second by the 1k mark. The runner in front had a good gap of about 100m on me and I continued to tail him. Reached the 3k mark (according to Garmin) in 11:51 (3:57 pace). To my surprise, we turned around 500m later, meaning the course was short. I began to sweat heavily at this juncture as the temperature went up. Was clicking at 4:01 pace for the next couple of ks and maintained the 100-150m gap with the front runner. I then had a little side stich and the guy upped the ante in the last 1000-1600m, by increasing the gap to 200-300m. The finish line was behind a food court and I didn't see him again after that. I crossed the '8k' line in 28:21. But according to garmin, the distance was only 7.1k, hence my av pace was 4:00 - which is what I planned to run at.

Not a fast time given I did tempo training runs at this pace when I was back in Australia. But given the hot weather and high humidity, I am fairly pleased. There are still a lot of work to do in order to get back to my 'cool weather' PBs in Australia and to exceed them. The good thing is that I could run a bit faster today since I wasn't pushing super hard. The field was thin - the front guy was 100-200m ahead while the 3rd place guy was 400m behind me, hence I was 'safe' in the middle. Anyway, I'd call it a hard tempo run.

At the winners' ceremony, the organizer announced the 3rd place guy's name as the 2nd place winner. Was my number not recorded? A few seconds later, they announced my name as the 8k winner for the Open category and Overall. I was surprised and honestly told the presenters and the guest of honour that I am actually a second place finisher and not the winner.

A couple of possibilites exist: a) they guy's number wasn't recorded, b) he didn't register but decided to race anyway, or 3) he was doing a tempo training run and he didn't cross the finish line and ran to another route. To whoever this 'phantom runner' is, you are the real winner, mate !

For my troubles, I received 4 movie tickets + ryder sunglass + medal.

Training wise, this week was as follows:

Tuesday, 13/11: Fartlek
20:00 ez + 3 x 1k @ 10k pace with 2:00 rest (4:02/167bpm, 405/172, 3:55/175) + 4 x 200m with 1:20 jog (39, 42, 44, 38). Splits were all over the place again as Garmin had troubles receiving signals. Couldn't find a long stretch of road alongside the river, hence did the 1ks intervals on 500m section (turnaround). Felt crap.

Wednesday, 14/11: Recovery Run
A cruisy run along the river in the evening, 37minutes, av. pace 5:33, HR 143 bpm

Thursday, 15/11: Easy-to-Moderate Run
15:00 ez to Padang, then 3.2k @ Medium Tempo effort (4:18 pace/170bpm) on grassy field, 3 x 00:20 strides, 15:00 ez All up, 46 minutes, av. pace 4:52, HR 159 bpm. Nice to be able to run on grass again !!

Friday, 16/11: Recovery Run
30:00 along the river again, finishing with 2 strides, av 5:21.

Saturday, 17/11: Race
4k warm up incl strides, 7.1k 'race/tempo' in 28:12, 5k cool down. Total 16k.

Home Sweet Home

Ah....at last !! Finally we've moved to our apartment. Some of the furnitures & appliances have arrived (bed, tv, microwave), but no sofas & dining tables until early December. The property boom in Singapore has driven up furniture demand, resulting in 1-2 months backlog.

Managed to do more outdoor running this time including the famous MacRitchie Reservoir, which has undulanting trail and bitumen roads - great for long runs on weekends. My apartment is a stone throw away from Singapore River and the Promenade passes through Clarke Quay, Boat Quay, the Fullerton Hotel, and the Esplanade Theatre (approx distance 2.5k one way). For those who don't live in Singapore, these areas are night-life heartbeats of the island - there are a glut of cafes, bars, restaurants including Hooters and the famous Brewerkz microbrewery. I also found a public track in Queenstown (about 15 minutes by bus) to do my speed workouts.

Wife is going back to Australia for 2 weeks hence my running volume should increase during this period (but don't tell her, okay?)

Sunday, 4/11: Aerobic Medium Long Run
First ever run at the much-fabled Singapore's running mecca - Macritchie Reservoir. The first 4k was on trail and the rest on rolling, bitumen road. Nice !! Ran up to the 10k drink stop of MR25's 35k race (held on the same day) and then back. All up, 18k in 1:35 (5:16 pace). Met up with DO from SG Runners and Dave (O runner) from Cool Running Oz.

Tuesday, 6/11: Easy Run
A late night run (10pm) on Mandarin Hotel's treadmill, starting at 10 km/h, increasing the pace by 0.1 km/h every minute. All up, 8k in 40:08 (5:01 min/km av).

Thursday, 8/11: Tempo Run
Another run on the hotel's treadmill. 1.6k w/u, 5k LT tempo run in 20:00 (4:00 min/km), 1.4k c/c. All up, 8k in 36:03 (4:30 av). The effort felt easy in the first 10-15 minutes, so perhaps the treadmill speed was a bit suspect.

Saturday, 10/11: Track Intervals
8am: A morning jog from home to Esplanade and back. Approx 5.5k in 30:00 (5:27)

3pm: VO2Max Intervals at Queenstown track (hard surface)

1.8k warm up with 2 strides
5 x 800m with 400m jog. Splits: 2:54, 3:01, 3:01, 3:03, 2:58 (av. 3:44 min/km, HR 176-186 bpm)
5 x 200m with 200m walk/jog. Splits: 38, 43, 43, 43, 43 (av. 3:30 min/km)
1.5k cool down

First interval sesssion in a month (also first one in the tropics) and struggled big time. The 1st 800m was too quick to my liking and the rest suffered. Was ok with around 2:10 recovery (one lap) for the first 3, but then had to take equal period rests. HR reached 195bpm (my MaxHR, I think) by the 5th, hence I decided to call it quit after that. Average HR was 182bpm vs 173 bpm in Perth (10bpm lower).

Sunday, 11/11: Aerobic Medium Long Run
Ran from home to Botanic Gardens (3.6k), around 60 minutes within the garden, then ran back. 20.2k in 1:45:12 (5:12 min/km). Legs felt a bit heavy from yesterday's track workout, also a slight niggle on the archilles.

I've registered to do an 8k run next Saturday. Not expecting fast times given my sporadic training and weather acclimatization. But it would be a great test to evaluate my fitness level and hot weather tolerance ability.

Hot, hot, hot !

Hot, hot, hot ! How can I train in this kind f**king weather !

Finally we landed in Singapore, yes....30c and 90% humidity - all year around. The coolest temperature is 25c but that's at night time. In light of this, the way forward is probably to either start running really early, use treadmills a lot or (most likely) a combination of both.

We stayed at the Mandarin on Orchard Rd - which is about 20 minutes walk from our apartment in Robertson Quay. However, since the current tenant will vacate the apartment on 31/10, we'll be staying in the hotel and (by the suitcases) for 12 days. We spent the first few days shopping for furnitures and electronics. Fortunately (sigh), most things are much cheaper here than in Australia, for instance, a 42 inch plasma TV by LG costs less than A$1500. However, coffees prices are pretty steep here - a cup of latte costs around A$4-6.

Running has been pretty minimal - averaging 40k in the last 3 weeks due to relocation. Probably will stay in the this range until we have fully settled here and explored the local options.

Saturday, 27/10: Recovery Run
Hate to say this but I did my first run back in Singapore on treadmill. I'd say Mandarin hotel has the worst gym among the 5* hotels on Orchard Rd. The treadmills are old and the gym was smelly (yuk !). Started at 6:00 min/km, progressing gradually to finish at 4:45 min/km at 1% grade. All up, 10k in 52:48 (5:16 min/km)

Sunday, 28/10: Easy Run
My first outdoor run in Singapore and I must admit the conditions wasn't that horrible. A, cool overcast morning certainly helped. Ran 2.5k to Singapore Botanic Gardens, then 7k within the garden itself plus another 2.5k back to hotel via Orchard Rd. The garden has a lot of nicely, surfaced bitumen paths, so it would be a great place to do tempo runs. Can picture myself doing long run here on weekends. The issue is that I couldn't find any drinking water tap there. All up, 12k in 1:01:30 (5:08 min/km)

Tuesday 30/10: Medium Pace Tempo
Have been running at easy paces for the last 1.5 weeks or so hence decided to do something a bit brisk today. All up, 8k in 36:40 (4:35 min/km) including 24 minutes @ 4:15 pace.

Wednesday 31/10: Easy Run

Didn't get a 'pass' from my wife to run outside in the rain, hence another run on the dreadmill. 12k in 1:01:33 (5:08 min/km) - with the last 3k at 4:40 pace.

Friday 2/11: Recovery Run

An easy recovery run at 2% grade before work in 30:20 (5:37 min/km).

Overall, too much treadmill running to my liking....hopefully I'll be able to do more outdoor running soon...

Farewell Perth

Unfortunately, running had to take a back seat on my last days in Perth. My last few days turned out to be really, really busy. We moved out of the apartment last week and stayed in a city hotel for a week. One we arrive in Singapore, we'll again live on suitcases for 12 days until we can move-in to our apartment in Robertson. Was busy at work - a lot of job hand-overs, tidying up unfinished jobs and loose ends as well as a couple of farewell dos organized by the company.

I felt that I've gained some weight due to a combination of less running and (much) more eating. In the last three weeks I only ran about 3-4 times versus 6 times a week previously. In addition, we've embarked on a gastronomical 'pig-out' tour - visiting our favourite restaurants in Perth with an excuse as 'for the last time'. This week, I'll blog my running a bit differently, adding my 'food diary' as well:

Saturday, 20/10:
Medium Long Run: 24k in ~2 hours (5:02 min/km). A couple of ks warm up before meeting my running buddy, Rob at Bell Tower. Did 2 laps of the Bridges for 19k total. Pretty much cruising the whole run despite windy conditions. After bidding farewell to Rob, did 8 x 00:15 strides on grass before running back to the city.
Dinner: Marinated kangaroos, chilli muscles and of course, some pale ale at Little Creatures.

Sunday, 21/10:
Hill Reps: 8 x 170m hill + 3k w/u & 3k c/d. Felt like crap today probably from too much alcohol last night. The reps were done in 31-34 seconds (3:14 min/km avg.) with walk/jog recovery. Was stuffed after the 4th rep.
Dinner: Went to Freemantle for fish n chips then a basket of brownie sundae at Baskins Robbins for dessert.

Tuesday, 23/10:
Recovery Run: 35 minutes (5:28 min/km). A slow run on the grassy area on riverside.
Dinner: A tender, succulent baby goat stew with pasta at Romany in Northbridge.

Wednesday, 24/10:
Easy Run: 13.5k in ~70 minutes (5:08 min/km). Feeling really lethargic, hence had to bag my planned tempo session for my last run in Perth. Hips were pretty sore, presumably from the hill reps session on Sunday. Saw Ben Cousins running in South Perth. It was a shame I couldn't do my last run in Perth on a high note.
Dinner: A famous, cheap Japanese place on Shafto Lane called 'Taka' for lunch, several sushi plates at Jaws for dinner and finished up with a huge chunky apple pie at the 24 hour Fast Eddys.

Will be flying to Singapore later this afternoon, so my next run will be done in Singapore. We'll definitely miss Perth - also thanks to all my running friends here, Rob, Epi, Jon, and Homo. I hope I'll come back and do some races here again !

Singapore...here I come !!

Ten More Things About Me

1) I am havin' a mid-life crisis...haven't broken any substantial running PBs for a long time...

2) I love racing various distances, week-in week-out, all year around. I think this is why I have become a CRAP racer !! Probably I can race much better with periodization and focus.

3) I loathe running in heavy-cushion shoes (urrghhh !). I normally use racing shoes for tempo/intervals workouts and light-weight trainers (Asics DS Trainer, Nike Free) for my long and general training runs.

4) I don't use HR monitor to dictate my running pace, bur rather as a data recorder .....

5) I love doing short-hill sprints, especially after tempo/intervals.

6) Due to the heat/humidity and lack of running areas in Singapore, unfortunately I need to resort to a 'dreadmill' more often than not. But....unfortunately I can't run at fast pace on a dreadmill....'coz I get a feeling that I might slip and fall off...

7) I am quiter...once I know that I can't rach my goals, I prefer to slack off or even DNF the race (Any advice for building mental toughness??)

8 ) I am a massive holly-cow sweater. I normally wear a headband.

9) I will try to do pool-running on my recovery days or as a second workout (it's nice to have a pool just outside my apartment).

10) I don't like running with underwear (the in-built undies are enough !)