Just categorized my upcoming races into different grades last night to remind myself on the objectives for each event.
Originally graded the upcoming 2XU 21km run at "B", but having just visited the doctor this morning for a sore throat and slight infection, I may want to downgrade it to a "C" to play safe if I don't recover properly by Friday.
For a "B" 21km run, I should complete in less than 2 hours
For a "C" 21km, I should probably target around 2:15 hours. Spending any longer time on the route will be an unnecessary strain.
Been reading up a bit on how to structure my training program for the TwHIM.
Seems like a significant amount of time has to be devoted, as expected anyway.
Managed to find a few videos on how to improve swimming and biking techniques that seemed useful. I'll probably try them in my next workout.
Biking is my weakest sport out of the 3 disciplines, and it also takes up the big chunk of timing for a triathlon.
Gotta spend more time improving my bike endurance.
Tuesday, March 26, 2013
Monday, March 25, 2013
Duathalon yesterday
It was my "C" race since I have a "B" 21km run coming up this Sunday, so it was more of like a training event for me.
Though, did not do too well in the Duathlon yesterday based on my Perceived Effort Rate (PER).
Review of the race:
Ups:
1) Both Run1 and Run2 were significantly faster than last year. Comparison as below:
Run1 2012: 16:27
Run1 2013: 14:32
Run2 2012: 21:54
Run2 2013: 18:38
Downs:
1) Slower bike than last year. Though it isn't a direct comparison since the distance is slightly longer this year with more U turns that brought down the average speed significantly, still I can feel that I'm not pushing as hard as I could. A comparison on the average speed will be a better comparison:
Bike Average Speed 2012: 29.9km/h
Bike Average Speed 2013: 27.7km/h
2) T2 could have been faster if I had used cage pedals instead of clip pedals. This would have saved me maybe more than 1 minute since I had struggled a bit to put the bike shoes on and off the ride. Changing out of and into the running shoes took a bit of time as well. Nonetheless not a big issue since I thought it will have been more troublesome to change the clips to cage instead. Good improvised transition by not taking out the socks.
Evaluation:
1) Got sucked into the situation at the start of Run1 when everyone around me ran off quickly. Didn't really want to start off that quickly but it wasn't too big a problem for me to go at that pace for a short race. Need to take note not to stray too much off my planned pace for longer races.
2) Did not push as hard on the bike this time round compared to last year. This is a "C" race. No need to chiong.
3) Performed below average due to the overly high Heart Rate for Run2. Need to better manage the T2 transition from Bike to Run better in higher priority races. More brick training needed.
In all, I didn't train or plan for this race properly since it was the lowest priority, and I just went out like a noob without any proper prep and let my instincts take over. However there still there are some take away lessons from this race so it's still not too shabby.
Now with my #1 top priority "A" race for the Taiwan HIM, all other races are not that important now, and they will act as building blocks for the TwHIM.
Though, did not do too well in the Duathlon yesterday based on my Perceived Effort Rate (PER).
Review of the race:
Ups:
1) Both Run1 and Run2 were significantly faster than last year. Comparison as below:
Run1 2012: 16:27
Run1 2013: 14:32
Run2 2012: 21:54
Run2 2013: 18:38
Downs:
1) Slower bike than last year. Though it isn't a direct comparison since the distance is slightly longer this year with more U turns that brought down the average speed significantly, still I can feel that I'm not pushing as hard as I could. A comparison on the average speed will be a better comparison:
Bike Average Speed 2012: 29.9km/h
Bike Average Speed 2013: 27.7km/h
2) T2 could have been faster if I had used cage pedals instead of clip pedals. This would have saved me maybe more than 1 minute since I had struggled a bit to put the bike shoes on and off the ride. Changing out of and into the running shoes took a bit of time as well. Nonetheless not a big issue since I thought it will have been more troublesome to change the clips to cage instead. Good improvised transition by not taking out the socks.
Evaluation:
1) Got sucked into the situation at the start of Run1 when everyone around me ran off quickly. Didn't really want to start off that quickly but it wasn't too big a problem for me to go at that pace for a short race. Need to take note not to stray too much off my planned pace for longer races.
2) Did not push as hard on the bike this time round compared to last year. This is a "C" race. No need to chiong.
3) Performed below average due to the overly high Heart Rate for Run2. Need to better manage the T2 transition from Bike to Run better in higher priority races. More brick training needed.
In all, I didn't train or plan for this race properly since it was the lowest priority, and I just went out like a noob without any proper prep and let my instincts take over. However there still there are some take away lessons from this race so it's still not too shabby.
Now with my #1 top priority "A" race for the Taiwan HIM, all other races are not that important now, and they will act as building blocks for the TwHIM.
Thursday, March 21, 2013
My poor baby
Think this is probably the start of his teething phase, which will be difficult for him probably for the whole of this week.
He went into a slight fever in the morning, and fever again when we brought him back home at night.
It's really heart breaking to see my precious baby feeling so uncomfortable and looking so moody.
Really hope that he will recover quickly and show me his cheeky sunshine smile once again
Just do it!
Finally registered after Dear gave me the go ahead to join the ironman taiwan race.
Just as how Mayday's song goes:
要乘着年轻时，抛热泪洒热血
现在不做，以后一定后悔
I'm prone to crazy impulses.
This is another one.
Hahahaha
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
Traveling for the last 2 weeks
It had been a busy start to the month, traveling for 2 full weeks before settling down this week without the need to go around at least for 2 weeks, i hope.
So far the work for this month has been pretty satisfactory, but still could be better.
There is still some way to go to meet my quota for the year, but at least the possibility of ending the FY on a high is still there. Just gotta try harder and smarter.
Ryan is getting more and more fun.
He is putting up lots of weird and funny expressions from time to time, and he looks absolutely super cute when he is at it. There is never any boring moments with Ryan around.
Right now only the feeding part is still challenging, but it is a real blessing to have Ryan in my life.
I guess I may miss Ryan's garbled mumblings after he learns how to talk, but nonetheless this is a learning journey for both me and dear, and we will enjoy every single phase of Ryan growing up.
There are so many things that I want to teach Ryan as he grows up!
Bro is going to shift back to SG at the end of the month.
I had just read my old entry not too long ago about Bro leaving for the US then.
Time has really passed so quickly.
Growing old...
Was discussing with dear earlier in the day on the possibility of me joining the ironmantaiwan race, which will entail a huge load of logistics to be sorted out.
The registration will open in 11 hours time... Still considering whether to join or not.
So far the work for this month has been pretty satisfactory, but still could be better.
There is still some way to go to meet my quota for the year, but at least the possibility of ending the FY on a high is still there. Just gotta try harder and smarter.
Ryan is getting more and more fun.
He is putting up lots of weird and funny expressions from time to time, and he looks absolutely super cute when he is at it. There is never any boring moments with Ryan around.
Right now only the feeding part is still challenging, but it is a real blessing to have Ryan in my life.
I guess I may miss Ryan's garbled mumblings after he learns how to talk, but nonetheless this is a learning journey for both me and dear, and we will enjoy every single phase of Ryan growing up.
There are so many things that I want to teach Ryan as he grows up!
Bro is going to shift back to SG at the end of the month.
I had just read my old entry not too long ago about Bro leaving for the US then.
Time has really passed so quickly.
Growing old...
Was discussing with dear earlier in the day on the possibility of me joining the ironmantaiwan race, which will entail a huge load of logistics to be sorted out.
The registration will open in 11 hours time... Still considering whether to join or not.
Friday, March 01, 2013
We finally meet again, IPPT Gold!
After scoring only silver for the last 2 years, regaining the gold standard this year was a especially sweet
Of course the extra $200 incentive helps a lot.
Ever since 2011, it has always been a mental obstacle for me to last the pace for the full 2.4km
Somehow I was like cheating myself, trying to fool myself into thinking that my fitness was still ok even though I had put on a lot of weight and not exercising as much as I used to.
For every 2.4km training run, I'll always only do the first 1.2km or 1.6km at the target pace.
The problem was that I did not push myself to finish the full 2.4km in every training run, always comforting myself that the remaining 800m to 1200m will take care of itself, especially since I used to be able to chiong for the last 200m which will pull back the timing.
How wrong I was!!
What doesn't happen in training, will have a very low likelihood of happening in actual races.
Adrenaline can only do so much. Stress and Fear will have a very negative impact, as evident in my SCSM2009 race.
Racing gives me adrenaline as I don't set a hard target that I need to beat.
I get far more stressed from trying to meet the IPPT Gold standard so that I can take the $400 incentive.
A series of events has changed the way I train and brought the confidence back.
It started from the second wind in SCMS2012 as a moment of realization.
From the second wind in SCMS2012, it gave me my first ever negative split in the MegaTri in Jan13.
The negative split in MegaTri gave me another negative split for the Aquathlon at a much faster pace.
Aquathlon gave me the confidence that my stamina is now ready to tackle ippt and bring the gold back.
Of course, the deliberate tweaking of my training runs to incorporate negative splits has helped tremendously in regaining my confidence in blazing through the 2.4km at full speed.
Next up will be the Duathlon, which may be a problem for me as I don't have much time to train on the bike from now till 2 weeks before the race.
Of course the extra $200 incentive helps a lot.
Ever since 2011, it has always been a mental obstacle for me to last the pace for the full 2.4km
Somehow I was like cheating myself, trying to fool myself into thinking that my fitness was still ok even though I had put on a lot of weight and not exercising as much as I used to.
For every 2.4km training run, I'll always only do the first 1.2km or 1.6km at the target pace.
The problem was that I did not push myself to finish the full 2.4km in every training run, always comforting myself that the remaining 800m to 1200m will take care of itself, especially since I used to be able to chiong for the last 200m which will pull back the timing.
How wrong I was!!
What doesn't happen in training, will have a very low likelihood of happening in actual races.
Adrenaline can only do so much. Stress and Fear will have a very negative impact, as evident in my SCSM2009 race.
Racing gives me adrenaline as I don't set a hard target that I need to beat.
I get far more stressed from trying to meet the IPPT Gold standard so that I can take the $400 incentive.
A series of events has changed the way I train and brought the confidence back.
It started from the second wind in SCMS2012 as a moment of realization.
From the second wind in SCMS2012, it gave me my first ever negative split in the MegaTri in Jan13.
The negative split in MegaTri gave me another negative split for the Aquathlon at a much faster pace.
Aquathlon gave me the confidence that my stamina is now ready to tackle ippt and bring the gold back.
Of course, the deliberate tweaking of my training runs to incorporate negative splits has helped tremendously in regaining my confidence in blazing through the 2.4km at full speed.
Next up will be the Duathlon, which may be a problem for me as I don't have much time to train on the bike from now till 2 weeks before the race.
Thursday, February 28, 2013
OMG....
This is sooooo OMG
Was searching for the Bintan Half Iron Man race then I realized that it was on 31 August, when I'd most probably be in USA again for training, so I probably won't be able to join it even if I wanted to.
Then I came across this gem......
Taiwan Kenting
2 November 2013
70.3 - Half Iron Man
It will be epic if I could join this...
I can even give up StanChart Marathon for this
But the chances of joining this race is close to 0.
1st, It is a grave sin to go TW without vacationing. It is not possible to do vacationing before or after 70.3 since it will probably put me in bed for a few days after the event. It is also not feasible to lug the bike around TW. (unless it is a bike-around taiwan holiday; this is even more ridiculous even though I'd absolutely love to do it if I have a chance, but it is not possible to combine this with a race of this magnitude)
2nd, annual leave is precious. It should be spent with family rather than burning calories and rubber. Bringing family out for a vacation is ok. Leaving family at home while I'm out enjoying myself alone - NOT OK.
3rd, $$$$$
4th, Triathlon is just a hobby. I shouldn't be overly investing too much time, energy and money into it. There are other more important things in life that I have to take care of, and are more deserving of my resources and attention.
Too bad *shrugs*
Andy Lau's song comes into mind:
我和我追逐的梦，擦肩而过，永远也不能重逢。
我和我追逐的梦，已在错过，只留下我，独自寂寞。却不敢回首
(this is overly dramatic though)
Damned. I should go karaoke again soon.
Sunday, February 24, 2013
Aquathlon
Completed the Aquathlon today with a satisfactory timing of 45:15.
A rather significant improvement to last year's 51:20
Swim: 18:27 (750m)
T1: 2:12
Run: 24:35 (5km)
Did a pretty relaxed swim, focusing more on gliding through the water instead of bashing through with hurried strokes. Maintained at a "1 breath to hyperventilation stage" speed which worked quite alright.
Quite happy to be able to overtake a few guys with a higher stroke turnover just by simply gliding pass them. Gotta focus more on improving stroke efficiency in the water rather than just pure stamina/strength.
My sighting skills have improved significantly compared to last year.
Still not too keen to jostle too much with other swimmers but perhaps I can try to move to the mid of the pack during the start to avoid being blocked by other slower swimmers.
Transition was ok as usual but could still probably improve with faster shoe slip-on.
Maybe I should try running without socks? Bare foot is still no no at this stage..
Managed to do a negative split again for the run :)
Ran a consistent 5min/km pace for the 1st 2km.
Slowed down a bit till 3km at about 5:20min/km to stabilize the heartrate.
Walked for about 5 secs to finish off a drink at about 3km.
Managed to kick into a higher gear for the last 2km at probably about 4.40min/km.
Still had enough in the tank to sprint for the last 200m to the end point.
Took a gamble on 5km run being too short for conserving energy, so I went all out with gun blazing and it paid off.
The tempo runs that I had been doing for the last month has shown results.
I ought to do more tempo runs during the ramp up phase rather than just focus purely on LSD runs to build stamina all the time.
Need to find a good balance.
Going back to reservist tomorrow!
Maybe I'll need to take the ippt in camp this time.
Maybe I'll regain my Gold again...
A rather significant improvement to last year's 51:20
Swim: 18:27 (750m)
T1: 2:12
Run: 24:35 (5km)
Did a pretty relaxed swim, focusing more on gliding through the water instead of bashing through with hurried strokes. Maintained at a "1 breath to hyperventilation stage" speed which worked quite alright.
Quite happy to be able to overtake a few guys with a higher stroke turnover just by simply gliding pass them. Gotta focus more on improving stroke efficiency in the water rather than just pure stamina/strength.
My sighting skills have improved significantly compared to last year.
Still not too keen to jostle too much with other swimmers but perhaps I can try to move to the mid of the pack during the start to avoid being blocked by other slower swimmers.
Transition was ok as usual but could still probably improve with faster shoe slip-on.
Maybe I should try running without socks? Bare foot is still no no at this stage..
Managed to do a negative split again for the run :)
Ran a consistent 5min/km pace for the 1st 2km.
Slowed down a bit till 3km at about 5:20min/km to stabilize the heartrate.
Walked for about 5 secs to finish off a drink at about 3km.
Managed to kick into a higher gear for the last 2km at probably about 4.40min/km.
Still had enough in the tank to sprint for the last 200m to the end point.
Took a gamble on 5km run being too short for conserving energy, so I went all out with gun blazing and it paid off.
The tempo runs that I had been doing for the last month has shown results.
I ought to do more tempo runs during the ramp up phase rather than just focus purely on LSD runs to build stamina all the time.
Need to find a good balance.
Going back to reservist tomorrow!
Maybe I'll need to take the ippt in camp this time.
Maybe I'll regain my Gold again...
Saturday, February 23, 2013
Mish mash of thoughts
1st ever CNY celebrations for Ryan and time just passed quickly and we are back in the usual rat race.
After 外婆 has left us, now the only place to visit during 初一 is at Ah Mah's place.
Glad to see Ah Mah is still relatively strong for a almost-centenarian.
Her eyes and ears aren't really clear, but she still speaks with strength so it's always good to hear her talk.
Bro is going to move back to SG for good.
I'm glad that he is coming back to spend more time with the family and probably settle down.
Kept psycho-ing him that he should not miss out this best part of the kids growing up phase, for it will never return.
Going for the MetaSprint Aquathlon in 8 hours time.
I'll probably skip the MetaSprint series sub events next year and just focus on full Tri events.
I won't be able to participate in every single event. Gotta pick and choose my battles.
Watched Ah Boys to Men II on Friday.
Quite strangely, apart from the usual army stuff, the stuff that resonated with me was on the father and son relationship.
Though it is still a long long way to go before Ryan grows up and enters the army, somehow the part where the father was so immensely proud of his son showing signs of maturing, standing up for his own believes, that really touched me.
As I watch Ryan growing up bit by bit everyday, sometimes I'd secretly tear with joy at simple stuff like seeing him laugh, feeding him, watching him learn new stuff, playing with him, giving him a bath, changing his diapers, patting him to sleep, bringing him out for walks.
There are so many things that I'll want to show and teach Ryan
天下父母心，我终于明了
After 外婆 has left us, now the only place to visit during 初一 is at Ah Mah's place.
Glad to see Ah Mah is still relatively strong for a almost-centenarian.
Her eyes and ears aren't really clear, but she still speaks with strength so it's always good to hear her talk.
Bro is going to move back to SG for good.
I'm glad that he is coming back to spend more time with the family and probably settle down.
Kept psycho-ing him that he should not miss out this best part of the kids growing up phase, for it will never return.
Going for the MetaSprint Aquathlon in 8 hours time.
I'll probably skip the MetaSprint series sub events next year and just focus on full Tri events.
I won't be able to participate in every single event. Gotta pick and choose my battles.
Watched Ah Boys to Men II on Friday.
Quite strangely, apart from the usual army stuff, the stuff that resonated with me was on the father and son relationship.
Though it is still a long long way to go before Ryan grows up and enters the army, somehow the part where the father was so immensely proud of his son showing signs of maturing, standing up for his own believes, that really touched me.
As I watch Ryan growing up bit by bit everyday, sometimes I'd secretly tear with joy at simple stuff like seeing him laugh, feeding him, watching him learn new stuff, playing with him, giving him a bath, changing his diapers, patting him to sleep, bringing him out for walks.
There are so many things that I'll want to show and teach Ryan
天下父母心，我终于明了
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