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.