4-2; 30K Sunday

Carbowoman reminded me when my alarm went off this morning that it was raining outside. I replied "Yup" and headed to freshen myself up and get into my running gear. A few minutes later, I was downstairs packing 2 slices of peanut butter bread for post-run replenishment. I also brought along 2 empty bottles from the Nike hydration belt to be filled up with Gatorade at the 10K mark. I then grabbed my ClimaFIT jacket and cap and also the Illuminite cap in case I change my mind about wearing the 'warmish" ClimaFIT cap.

While exchanging SMSes with Geraldine, Wong and Tey about the status of the downpour in KL, I checked the Internet on the MU vs Everton results and was pleasantly surprised that the Devils came back from the brink of defeat to snatch victory yet again! Talking about determination to win and triumphing against adversity. The 3 of us had our own battle with the rain as well - even before we start.

To cut to the chase, Geraldine replied that the rain has indeed eased up and that was all the reason I needed. Reached the car park and promptly changed into the 2120 and decided to wear the Illuminite cap instead. It was still drizzling heavily but the time is already 5:35am and we shouldn't wait any longer. Just before we started Tey arrive on his bike carrying an umbrella! He took a couple of shots and we set off into the cold dark morning. Another event, the Malay Mail Big Walk, was scheduled to start at 7am. A quick calculation told me that we will be running into them on our return to the car park. Tey took a few more near The Tijani luxury condos before making his way to shoot the walkers.

The pace which the 3 of us were decent and steady. We took turns leading the pack. I had no problems going up the hills and reached Hartamas (10K) in 58:03. Filled up the bottles with Gatorade and started the journey back to the IRB office before the body gets a chance to cool down. Then we made the U-turn back to Hartamas and the pace was about a minute plus quicker - reached the station (20K) in 1:44.32. I thought a can of Red Bull would be a good idea so that was what I filled up into one of the empty bottle.

The final 10K was with Geraldine as Wong had to make a stop to plaster up his foot blister. We ran into the top walkers near the 23K mark and merged into the main group of leisure walkers after the IRB office. The problems of human congestion didn't surface until just after Tijani when I had to zig-zag between the strollers and a police patrolcar.


Geraldine had slowed down, so I was pretty much on my own - even though I was surrounded by walkers young and old. Since I was already on course for a sub 3-hour finish, I took the foot of the gas and just coasted back to the car park. While chatting with Lawrence, Geraldine came back, looking pretty satisfied too - we had a great run today.

Back home I downed Endurox and washed down the sandwiches with a cup of coffee. My legs are feeling fine but the tightness will probably come tomorrow (which is a rest day for me, but I may just do a bit of weights). I now have a rough gauge of my present condition and will know where to work on.

33:32 (Duta) > 24:30 (Hartamas) > 22:46 (Inland Revenue) > 23:43 (Hartamas) > 24:45 (Inland Revenue) > 29:46 (Bkt Aman). Total: 2:39.05, pace 5:18 per Buckeyeoutdoors.com computation. The actual distance is actually slightly less than 30K. That's why I want the Forerunner 205! No longer running a vague distance or doubting your timing.

Note: Thanks to Tey for all the great photos!

Quite Breathtaking!

I don't know how they did it but despite having a ravaged defence line, the great club pulled off a victory. Sir Alex employed the correct tactics and used the lightning-quick attacking pace to take the fight to the Italians. Granted Kaka was brilliant but as you can see from the clip below (from saikaiball.com), the goals conceded were soft in my opinion.


The battle's not over yet with a visit to the imposing San Siro Stadium next week. Just one more step to the Final, boys!

Of Spa, C1's 4th & NO RUNNING!

Had a really busy weekend. Our office had some leftover budget which was put into a spa outing for the 45 of us. Having had no previous experience at a spa, I found it to be quite a treat. I opted for the facial, shiatsu massage and foot reflexology package and I came away believing that as with most things in life, without pain, there can be no pleasure. Take for example the 80-min shiatsu session where I was pummelled, stepped on, squeezed, twisted and kneaded to get rid of the knotted muscles. My shoulder blades got the worst as the masseuse attacked the area incessantly with her feet and then elbows and arms. The foot reflexology was also somewhat painful but slightly more bearable. The foot masseuse told me later that she used only 70% of her strength. Food was flee-flow and I helped myself to 3 scopps of Haagen Dazs ice-cream. It cost RM350+ per pax but the usual rate was about RM500.

Sunday was Carbokid 1's 4th Birthday and the clan took him out for lunch at the Marche Restaurant. Food was good especially the saute mushroom (RM8). He already had an advance do at his school and with the Nanny's family on Friday.

There was no running on Saturday and Sunday. But there were plenty of eating. I believe the massage contributed to the bodyaches I encountered this morning. The area at the shoulder blades were still throbbing, so I thought I might as well maximize the day with C1. For more photos, head on to my photo album.

Not Letting Up - Mad 3 Days

Completed a 20K this morning. Had to do it as Carbokid 1's 4th birthday is this Sunday and I don't want to be out there running 3 hours and come home late to spend time with him. In order to still keep to my marathon training's weekly mileage, I needed to do a 20K (12.5 miles) today, a 14K (8.75 miles) tomorrow and another 20K on Sunday. Besides the supplements I've also started taking protein supplements on days of hard workouts - need to repair all those tissue damage. Not having enough replacement carbs and protein during hard training will also drastically lower the body's immune system. With the antioxidants and fish oil that I'm also taking, hopefully I can stave off the germs undoubtably planning an assault on my immune system.

We've bought all of C1's presents - a large box of Lego, a water gun and some of our friends have also got some stuff for him. Looks like it's going to be a bumper year for him in terms of presents. We've however not decided on where to go for lunch. Marche comes to mind, since it has a playland and a mall just outside, making it kids-friendly.

Twin Tuesday

"A marathon is so much more than 42k. It is the sum of who we are in one challenge."
I like the above quote very much. It was in one of the 400+ emails that was sent out to Steve urging him on towards to the Boston Marathon finish line. I shall pause for awhile and reflect on the 2 sentences.

FW: They need a bigger word for "THANK YOU"

Congratulations to Steve who put in a stupendous effort to finish the 111th Boston Marathon despite the unconducive (an understatement!) conditions. Strong headwind, rain and extreme cold hit the runners hard. As can be seen from the finishing times, even the elites were affected. Which made Steve's finishing all the more amazing. He had had his celebratory beer and is now trying to sleep. You can see that up to the 30K mark, he was still on course for a course PR.

 

Half - 2:04.50
30K - 3:05.41
35K - 3:45.01
40K - 4:29.15
Finish - 4:49.02

 

So Steve, here's to your quick recovery and return to the roads again! And yes, I think the Hansons' program works too!

-----Original message-----
From: Steve Runner phedippidations@gmail.com
Date: Tue, 17 Apr 2007 14:12:31 +0800
Subject: They need a bigger word for "THANK YOU"

Greetings fellow runners!

It's 2:00 AM in the morning, EDT and I'm having a tough time sleeping.  I don't know much about hypothermia, but if I didn't succumb to a level 1 stage of the condition...then something else is wrong.  I have the usual leg aches (which really isn't all that bad... just the usual post marathon leg pain you'd expect) and I'm insatiably hungry.

I had (and savored) my Sam Adams last night, as soon as I got home, and then crawled into bed with an uncontrollable case of the "shivers".

Just now (At 2 AM ) I woke up with a craving for pizza...so I crawled out of bed and have some cooking right now.

Anyway, I wanted to get a quick note out to let you know how incredibly thankful I am for your kindness and friendship.  I think you know that I don't consider any of you "listeners".  I feel a genuine fraternal connection with you, fellow runners.

When things started to get back on the race course yesterday, and I made it to mile 22; you can't imagine my surprise when John Ellis told me that all ten of you (okay, I'll concede that maybe there were a few more than 10 following me yesterday) were all shouting words of encouragement.

I can honestly tell you that I wouldn't have finished yesterday if John hadn't mention that you were out there, willing me to go on.  I was able to move down into Cleveland Circle and onto Beacon Street, and every time the pain and weakness overcame me, I kept thinking how I didn't want to disappoint you and was able to keep going. I'm not much of an athlete, but I am stubborn; and the thought of disappointing you with a DNF wasn't something I could accept.  So, when I say "thank you for being there", I mean that more than you know.

I'll have a lot to say about the race, and why things didn't go the way I wished they had: but I wanted to let you know that I consider this my best performance in a marathon, despite the finish time.

This Hanson Marathon Program I followed, along with John's advice, is just remarkable.  I have never felt so strong going into the hills of Boston, and so confident that I would do well.

I have some theories as to why things fell apart for me in the end, but no regrets. I crossed the finish line knowing that I had performed well under some extreme conditions.  The fact that it's 2 AM and I've been shivering uncontrollably all night is likely related to what happened to my body.

All I can tell you is that I am grateful beyond words that you cared enough to follow me yesterday, and that I'll never forget your kindness to me during the 111th Boston Marathon!

Pizza's done!

Run long

Steve

Singing In The Shower

I got to the BA carpark 15 mins late, which meant that I could've done 2K. After lacing up the Forsters, I took off towards the National Mosque - 1K down and 1K back up - on a 6-min pace. I once again had a change of mind and decided to ditch my hydration belt and Forsters and changed into the 2120s. Then I was off again to meet LiSar at the traffic lights just up ahead. We were on a steady pace and my suspicion that we were going at sub-6 pace were confirmed when LiSar (a regular sub-4 marathoner) remarked that I was going rather briskly. But I simply felt very strong and easy, and was even talking away as she shared some training and racing nuggets. Nearing the Selangor Properties Apartment, we were joined by Patrick (4:17 PR) who had just u-turned with his group. The Plaza Damas climb didn't get to me and on the opposite side, Kenny, Bong and Ching Tai were already on the way back - boy, these guys were early! Patrick pulled ahead in the downhill but LiSar and I maintained pace and reached the Petronas station in 57:05. It was a comfortable pace for me and there wasn't any tightness from yesterday's run. Gane was there standing beside his Beemer with 2 bottles of chilled Powerbar Endurance, which was extremely nice of him. He was supposed to have joined us but decided against due to nursing a slight cold. The stop was just about 1.5 minutes before LiSar and I started off back to the BA carpark. Patrick was still in the loo.

The return was initially done at the same pace but just after Place Damas, we found ourselves running faster and at the mosque climb, I found myself running hard enough to puff. This steep climb of about 100meters are always hard to run. Then nearing the foot of the IRB downhill, misfortune struck. I pointed out a little squirrel who scampered onto our paths and just about then LiSar let out a cry. She'd twisted her right ankle and it was bad enough that she couldn't go on. I thought she had jumped to avoid the nut-loving creature but she said she stepped on a large pebble which made her slip. As we weren't carrying our mobile, she suggested that I run along and call Gane to pick her up while she waited at the nearby bus-stop. It was already light and since there were enough runners that will be passing her position, I made a quick run back to the carpark. Boy was it a hard run. My nipples were chaffing like mad for some reason and my lungs and legs were starting to make their discomfort felt. I only realized how fast I was running when I stopped my watch back at the carpark. 51:05! I'd just run the Hartamas out-and-back in 1:48 and the total 22K in 2:03 (including the time taken to change my shoes). I couldn't do another 3K as I needed to ensure that LiSar is picked up. After failing to raise Gane on his mobile, I drove quickly to LiSar's position, back-tracking the same route to ensure she wasn't walking back. As it turned out, she was still at the bus-stop. When I dropped her off back to her car I saw that the ankle was swollen which meant that the injury was quite bad. Just as I'm able to run at her pace I've lost a potential regular training partner. Hope she makes a quick recovery, because to race fast, I've to train with the fast runners.

When I got home, I'd forgotten about my sore nipples until I showered. It was bad enough that I let out a yelp when the water hit the spots! Though I ended the week slightly short of the target mileage, I'm very happy. I passed the first week of intense training and obtained valuable status check on my level of fitness.

Special Posting: Phedippidations Boston Marathon Email Alert List: Race Day Message!

I'm taking a slight detour from regular posting today to lend support to my fellow midpacker runner and friend, Steve Runner who will be doing the 111th Boston Marathon in a few hours. Steve, a New Englander, who is the voice behind the popular Phedippidations Running Podcasts, has trained really hard for the last 4 months and will be aiming to improve his course record and marathon PR. If like me you've subscribed to his progress alerts as he passes the checkpoints, you'll be able to know whether he is on course for his goals. He will also be shooting some photos along the way. I fully appreciate what he's doing, as for folks like me, this is the best option of experiencing Boston, short of running the course. Below were Steve's message before setting out for the start at Hopkinton. Go get them Steve!

-----Original message-----
From: "Steve Runner"
Date: Mon, 16 Apr 2007 05:59:55 +0800
To: fdipmarathonalert@googlegroups.com
Subject: Phedippidations Boston Marathon Email Alert List: Race Day Message!

Greetings Fellow Runners!

Thank you so much for signing up for this whole "Marathon Notification List" thing.it means a lot to me that you'd have any interest in this middle age, middle of the pack, slightly asthmatic runners progress as I run the 111th Boston Marathon.  I'll be thinking of you and all your good wishes as I'm out there running this thing.

I'll try to keep the "email chatter" down.aside from this message, any message that you (or anyone else) posts to the group, and the "alerts" that you'll receive on Patriots Day  Monday).the only other message I'll send out will come to you a day or so after I set a personal course record when I cross the finish line on Boylston Street!

I've just uploaded a special "Intervals" edition of Phedippidations.  For those of you who aren't familiar with my goofy little podcast.these "Intervals" episodes are short format versions of the show.usually comprised of thoughts, opinions, observations or rambling diatribes which wouldn't fit into a regular episode of the regularly scheduled "Fdip".

Intervals episode 92B is a special "shout-out" of thanks to all of you who have been so thoughtful, kind and supportive in helping me on this marathon run.

I wish you could all run this thing with me, but in lieu of that.here are some things to watch and listen for as we share the experience of running the Boston Marathon:

1.      I've set the "Delivery Type" for all messages on the "Fdip Marathon Alert Google Group" to "email".  This means that the new default for most of you, is to receive a message every time I cross one of the chip detection mats along the course.  You will also be able to send messages to each other as I'm running the race, through the email address: fdipmarathonalert@googlegroups.com.  Note that if you are bothered by receiving these messages in real time, you can log into fdipmarathonalert@googlegroups.com and change your "Delivery Type" to "No Email", "Abridged Email" or "Digest Email".  Refer to the help links for an explanation of what these mean.

2.      If you want to see where I am on the course, without waiting for an "Alert Update", you can go to www.bostonmarathon.com and enter in my bib number, which is: 23627.  This will show you exactly where I am as I'm running the race, whenever you want, throughout the day. 

3.      I've made some predictions as to where I'll be as I'm running the race.  I expect to cross the starting line at 10:38 AM, but that's heavily dependent on how quickly I can line up in the corrals.  If you see that I've started the run sooner or later, you'll have to make the correction in my estimated times accordingly.  You'll know I'm doing well if I get to the "Goofy Little Speedbump" at mile 18 at around 1:35 PM.

4.      I have posted a photo of the Tee-Shirt I'll be wearing as I run, on www.steverunner.com

5.      I'll be taking pictures with my cell phone and posting them to my Flickr account; a link is available at www.steverunner.com  or go directly to http://www.flickr.com/photos/steverunner.  I'll probably not be taking a lot of pictures as I'm running, but I'll definitely take plenty before and after the race!

6.      I'll send some updates to my "Twitter" account.  You'll be able to read my "Tweets" (comments) in the little red box at www.steverunner.com

7.      Today (Sunday) you may receive a few "Test" notifications from the BAA.  These will be final "run through" tests of the system so that I can ensure the thing is working before I go to bed tonight.

If you've not heard, the weather on race day isn't going to be all that spectacular.   We're due for a fairly strong "Nor'easter".  This is a fairly intense storm which will form off the coast of the North Eastern New England, whipping up gales force winds from the south east, right into my face as I'm running towards Boston.

Wind speed is supposed to be around 10 to 20 miles per hour sustained, with gusts over 40 miles per hour, and the rain is likely to be severe.but, it will sure make for an interesting podcast!  I'll have episode #93 "The 111th Boston Marathon" out by next weekend.  Keep an eye on www.run.podshow.com or www.steverunner.com for more details.

No matter what the weather is, I'm confident and excited to be running this race, and I'm eager to prove myself on the course.

That's about it.

Thanks again for all your support, kind words, good wishes, PodCast Alley votes, iTunes reviews and friendship.

REMEMBER: If anyone asks you, you can tell them that you have a friend who is running in the 111th Boston Marathon. I'll meet you on the other side of Boylston Street.until then: I'm Steve Runner, reminding you to run long..and taper.

Steve #23637 Runner

Currently : Steve "4h:23m:06s" Runner  (hoping that this is the last time anyone will ever see this in my email signature!)

THANK YOU for your PodCast Alley Vote: http://www.podcastalley.com/one_vote2.php?pod_id=5693

 <http://feeds.feedburner.com/Phedippidations> Phedippidations

Phedippidations: The weekly PodCast for runners at www.run.podshow.com and www.steverunner.com

PodCasting from the 111th Boston Marathon: http://steverunner.com/PodCasts/FdipBosMarathon07.mp3

Watch me run:  http://groups.google.com/group/fdipmarathonalert

Join us for the: www.WorldWideHalf.com

Saturday

Having Kim for company this morning was great since many of Choi's Saturday group were unavailable. And it got better when LiSar's car pulled up. After handing over the CordyMax to DK, we set off into the dark cool morning. We coasted along until near the Selangor Properties apartments in 29 mins and turned back. The return trip took 26 mins and change. Reached the car park in 55:44 and still had time. On LiSar's suggestion, we went a little bit more via the Deer Park loop. After the photoshoot by the Star as promotion for the upcoming Kiwanis Charity Fun Run, the Beginner's Group set off - we had a good crowd this morning, including a few newbies (one of which is Rohaizad's colleague in Petronas). I took the 3K run as a warm down. DK was doing the lake loops to cover 25K.

 

Reached home and after showering and a mug of oats, went off the usual Saturday marketing at Tesco with Carbowoman and C1. Before heading home, we detoured to King's Bakery to order C1's birthday cake (he turns 4 next Sunday) for him to bring to his pre-school. C1 picked a chocolate cake, then headed to play at the indoor playground. He ran around for 45 mins (excellent cardio workout for him) and now he's asleep on the sofa. Me? I've got to vacuum the house and do a little mopping before catching a nap. Will do some stretching before sleeping early. Tomorrow's menu calls for a 25K which I'll start at 5:30am. By that time I should know the score of the FA Cup Semis match between Man United and Watford. Good luck boys!

The Hunt

It's a normal part of marathon training to run a series of tune up races, usually a 15K and/or a 10-miler in the weeks leading to race day. For the coming PBM, I've slotted the May 20th NB15K as the one and only tune up race. Coupled with a series of key runs I've penned down, they should be able to provide me important data on my physical and mental readiness. However, I'm a believer who employs some training workouts to practice race strategies. Not only are workouts meant to stress the body, but the mind too can be put to work. One such workouts happened yesterday.

If you do your training in parks or a looped route, you sometimes come across people who will run very fast and then stop. These fellas will overtake you and then stop some yards in front. You have two choices, both of which I use all the time. 90% of the time, I'll just let them go off - hey, they're not training for the marathon! I'm disciplined enough to maintain my pace, besides this is not a race. 5% of the time, if they're still around and running, I'll try to sustain pace and not allow myself to drop back further. Usually I stay about 200m behind them and practice pace discipline.

It all started when I saw 2 guys in trackpants around the turn of the KLCC track leading to the bridge. They were about 50m in front but after that they took off and were about 200m ahead of me. After a lap, one of them were still there (I'd dropped 1 when he slowed to a walk, let's call this fella Tiger Paw after the asics racing shoe he was wearing) and thus began my tracking of the gazelle. Except that I wasn't the cheetah, coz the cheetah's attack range (more like a Sidewinder missile) is too short and I'm a marathoner (think the Maverick missile). After a good half lap, I'd close him down to 50m and while I was fully aerobic and into my 5th lap, he stopped to join his friends by the wayside. At this point, I approached Tiger Paw from the rear who stopped earlier but now going at a brisk pace. Whether meant to ask him to challenge me or not, his other friends were egging him on. I'd to make a decision quickly as he was just 2 steps ahead of me.

Strategizing during the run can be fun and feels very empowering - as if you have power and speed on tap and are capable of dictating and responding to change in pace, so I opted to test the situation. I drew level with him and see how he responded. He upped the pace a tad. I stayed level. I went half a stride in front of him and he picked up his pace too. I was still comfortable. I didn't hear Tiger Paw panting, so I knew I had a hard run ahead. That was my last lap of my targeted 6 but maintaining small strides but increasing the turnover rate, I was confident over all the climbs - not only did I crest all the climbs comfortably, I purposely increased pace to drop him. In a race, I don't overtake a person unless I'm sure I drop him for good. So at the KL Convention Centre climb, I made a steady surge to drop Tiger Paw. He responded but was still a few strides in my wake. At the sharp left turn on top of the straight, I made a harder surge and held the effort. He couldn't respond. The gazelle was dead meat. To make sure he didn't catch me, I increased my strides and ran the downhill hard and held the effort until the finish in front of the mosque. I continued with a short slow jog and saw that Tiger Paw just finished and looked winded. I reckoned that he was about 50m or so behind me.

My final laptime? 6:06 (road pace 4:40)! My 7.8K average pace was 5:38, of which only the final lap was hard. The earlier ones were very comfortable.

Thigh Burn & Status Check

With 3 more days to wrap up the week, all workouts are becoming important. That's because my training program calls for gradual buildups from Tuesday leading to crazy Sunday. Mondays are rest days. Completing this week should move the confidence up for the next 10 weeks.

Diet
My diet has been good and the needle on the scales is staying put at 57.5kg. Been hydrating well too.

Shoes
I've so far rotated a couple of pairs with the 2120 bearing the chunk of work. It's logged more than a quarter of its mileage and some cursory checks on the outsole, I think it should be able to hold for another 400K at least before breaking down. I read in the Runners World Forums that many of the folks use up 2 pairs (regardless of brand) of shoes for a marathon training, which is not surprising. If you log 70K a week, a durable trainer which is designed to last 800K will reach end of life in 11 weeks. With the Pegasus standing in, I hope the 2120 will be around until tapering period at least. Will test out the Forsters over a multitude of distances in training as well to gauge its suitability for race day use. Depending on how race-ready I am on June 24th, I'll have 3 pairs of shoes at my disposal.

Other Gear
I've yet to really use the ClimaFIT jacket and cap. I either run in the morning when it rarely rains and evenings are dependent on weather, since I've already got my run in. I've also been going thru my vests/tshirts/shorts and even tights as 6x1.5 (average, since I don't run twice everyday) would equal 9 pieces of apparels per week. I've used the Kayano socks for the first time and it's pretty good. It's will most likely be the pair I'm going to be racing in regardless of the shoe I decide on.

Notebook Kaput

After only 1.5 years, my Dell notebook gave up on me. The OS refused to bootup (even in safe mode) due to hard disk failure. I believe I've been targeted by the PC Fair Troll. I'm seriously considering a Macbook. Only the price is stopping me from running out to get it. With a Mac I don't have to worry so much about patches and will have most, if not all, of my most frequently used applications. How? How?! Grrrrr!

Of Self Admonishment And Hope

I'm about to do something drastic today. Forced upon by the circumstances of waking early and sacrificing rest and subsequently quality time with the family. I want to train and run with a free conscience. I race the best when I have no worries about the family ie can my wife and Mom cope with the 2 kids at home? Are the laundry done? Are the week's grocery shopping done? Have I completed my follow-ups at work? I can't free myself from the shackles of guilt if I'm constantly having to go to bed early. Case in point. Halfway through my second run yesterday, the thought about not taking my son out for his biking haunted my mind. The weather was sunny after a late afternoon shower and it'll be very selfish of me to not bring him out. Afterall, I've done my workout in the morning even though I didn't meet my mileage. Entirely my fault as I woke up late and by the time I managed my 12K, it was time to rush to the market. The menu called for an 8K easy-moderate run but after 4K I decided to stop it. My son shouldn't have to suffer for my training intensity. When I got home, he was unfortunately showered and dressed in his PJs. I'd missed my window of opportunity and I regret that. I hope that I can learn from this lesson and from this self-admonishment. My quest to manage my already packed schedule continues.

If marathon training is already so tough on the athlete's time and energy, I don't believe that a person (non-professional athlete, have a family and full-time job) can still train well, or the best he/she can, without omitting (I abstain from using the harsher word "neglecting") some duties/responsibilities. Something has got to give - we can't have it all. I've only a certain period in time when I can continue to enjoy the joys and pains of the kids' early lives and once missed, there's no way of reclaiming those moments.

I'm going to leave now for lunch and do that drastic deed. The fire hasn't dimmed a bit... FO rthose who want to skip the above subject, here are some running articles to whet your appetite.

Early Rising Better Racing. The article's points apply for racing but I wonder if it does the same for training (reference is made to my 5am runs but going forward it should no longer matter)

Check out Dathan Ritzenhein's debut marathon training program. After reading through the article, I know that I've all the strength-building elements (short, explosive hill climbs, longer hill climbs, tempo and hard progression runs) built into my program. Of course, I can't be expected to emulate the mileage and intensity. but still the final piece awaits...

Cool tat on Ritzenhein's calf

C2's 3 Months Old Today

Had a good day today. After the 6am run with DK, Captain Lee and Wong (the pace was easy but I wasn't really awake until the 3rd K), I conducted the Beginner's Group with Wan. I'm proud to say that the we now see consistently over 10 participants, sometimes 20 (most are regulars) for the Saturday's Beginners Group. May of these runners have begun actively participating in local races as well. We have 5 who ran the KLIM 10K, 6 who did the 21K. I expect the numbers to rise and we hope this program gets larger as word spreads. Another good thing is that through our contacts with shoe dealers, the newbies are also wearing the correct footwear procured with good discounts of course. We are getting many of the runners to participate in May's Kiwanis Charity Fun Run in support of its Downs Syndrome Center. The technical T-Shirt that comes with the RM30 donation looks good and I urge you to support by buying one even if you're going to be running the NB 15K on that same morning.

After the morning run, I had a quick shower and zoomed home to pick the family up to go to the pediatrician for C2's scheduled jab and checkup. The doctor's happy with his development progress and the next visit will be in June. C2 surprisingly didn't bawl when the needle penetrated his butt cheek. We then dropped by the adjacent Sunway Pyramid mall for a walkabout. The mall is currently undergoing a massive renovation and it's not a nice place to visit while all the work is going on. It's difficult to find parking due to closed sections and it's not baby and stroller friendly at this moment.

We left the place at 2pm for Marco's Pizza for a late lunch. It was excellent and I wolfed down a delicious pasta meal, 4 slices of pane, 2 slices of pizza all washed down with ice mocha. Late afternoon was spent in front of the TV, a rare thing these days for me. Watched Blood Diamond on DVD, which was excellent. I'd been a fan of Ed Zwick's movies and this one is well balanced. Leo DiCaprio put in a good performance too.

It's coming to 10pm and I should be knocking off soon. My eyelids are getting darn heavy. Gotta get a good rest for tomorrow's challenge and marketing and to clear some household chores.

G'nite!

Training Log

Further to my previous post on the training log website Buckeyeoutdoors.com, I've logged down my workouts since beginning of April. Going forward, I'll be posting lesser on the training specifics unless there are some noteworthy happenings or developments in that area. Worry not, this blog remains very running-centric. I've made my log public so if you select Carboman (no surprises here), you'll be able to see what I've been up to. An interesting thing is that a few Pacemakers and other running friends have also started logging their sessions here. I'm not wrong to say that, even these fellas won't admit it, there's now some pressure on us not to miss workouts! This week is the final honeymoon week as far as my training goes. I've managed to put in a quality string of workouts. Even though there were some disruptions along the way and I never did go beyond 20K (yet) with the exception of KLIM, the quality have been there. I'm working harder, sacrificing more but the ACTUAL work is yet to start. There are 11 weeks to go, not counting this week, so the quest for longer runs will start next week.

I reviewed my training program and decided to tweak it a little by incorporating the sensibilities of the traditional plans (such as Glover and Higdon's) with the Hanson's. The Hanson program are a little radical but makes sense as well. Overall, my plan calls for consistencies and toughness. If I can last 1 to 2 weeks of this hybrid program, I'll be able to get through the remaining 11 weeks. We'll see....



On our way home, I saw 3 Mercedes' which had broken down by the roadside. They're not old models mind you. I spotted a C280, E200 Masterpiece, and another C. Perhaps it's the F1 thing, but everywhere I look, there seem to be a BMW or Mercedes (ok, or Honda too)! Yup, there are plenty of rich people in KL. Oh yeah, I also passed a couple of idiots who were twiddling with their cell phones while hogging the middle lane. May you - sigh - I don't wanna say it.

Carbokid 1, The Shutterbug

Believe it or not, these photos were taken by Carbokid 1 using my SE K750i camera phone. I may be partial but this fella is quite good!

Only C2 knew that he was being shot

By the time Carbowoman realized it, it was too late!

C1 proud of his Dad's running heritage

Self portrait

Pacing Oneself To Last The Week

So you've set up your training program, marked down the key workouts that you shouldn't miss, penned down the rest days and inserted a couple of cross training (for me, cross-training means doing household chores) activities into your weekly plans. You try to eat right, get enough rest and stay motivated to last the 4 months of running. It will get pretty tedious and you will be tired. You may be able to shake off lethargy for a few sessions but 4 months is a long time to be sustaining a training program. So how do you ensure that you don't get burned out?

Having enough rest, eating right and staying hydrated are the usual obvious best practices. However, one often overlooked item is often the training program. The risk of penning or modifying a training program on your own is often committing the mistake of cramming too much into the week.

Over the past 2 weeks, I've observed that I got quite winded by Saturdays as I'd run too many hard sessions over the weekdays. A weakened disposition on weekends will risk one missing the key workout in marathon training called The Long Run. I've since reviewed my program again and made some minor tweaking to the plan. I've made conscious effort to run at an easier pace for the 8Ks and above while the more intense workouts are done over a shorter distance. I will also start the week off gradually, doing easier paced runs and building the momentum towards a hard mid week, then a day's rest to recover for a longer Saturday and Sunday runs. If fatigued, I will remove a day's weekday workout so that I can sleep an additional hour, or move a morning workout to the evening.

I Need To Eat More

I weigh myself everyday and since a couple of weeks back the needle has been hovering between 57 to 58kgs (125 to 127lbs), in my birthday suit. That was down from 60kgs (132lbs) when Carbokid2 was born in January, before the week-long return to running over the Chinese New Year holidays. While I've not started on real mileage work, the intensity of my runs have typically been higher than usual for my marathon training. Many of the runs these days are done at around my KLIM'06 marathon pace. And I finish off nearly all my runs at sub 6-minute pace. A few times would see me charging up a short hill to end the particular workout - call that ending with a flourish :)

 

Now comes the thing. I've a deep suspicion that my food intake has not been sufficient. Though my weight has remained stable and I've not skipped meals, I noticed that my energy levels have waned slightly. It could be rest that I need, or more food, or BOTH! Since I've been ultra conscious about my rest, so I think it's the food/calorie intake. I need to eat more (healthy, high-energy stuff of course), add some snacking (alternating energy bars with oats) into my daily eating plan.

 

Since we're on the subject of eating, head on to ILOVEPASTA.ORG and ALLRECIPES.COM for some delicious (I'm imagining) recipes. Bon Apetit! 

Cool Online Training Log

I wanted to try out the Buckeyeoutdoors.com training log which I saw at the steverunner.com website. I think short of a client-based application, this has to be the most comprehensive one of all. It tracks training, shoe mileage, allows for the customization of equipment, routes and workouts. It also allows the user to specify the viewing rights of the log besides providing email alerts to your inbox as reminder of your training schedule. Sounds good? Then go to the link above and check it out.