Garmin 310XT

Finally, I decided to get a replacement GPS watch for my lost Garmin Forerunner 305..

I managed to get a super duper deal through Chris (THANK YOU CHRIS !) on this 310XT. So looking forward to its arrival by mid-Sept :)

Below is an overview of the watch from Garmin's web-site..

The rugged Forerunner 310XT is the triathlete's indispensable training tool — a GPS-enabled trainer that is water-resistant to 164 ft (50 m), tracks data in multiple sport modes and sends it wirelessly to your computer. This multisport device has up to 20 hours of battery life, tracks distance, pace and heart rate¹ on land, and goes from wrist to bike in seconds.

Track Your Swim

The Forerunner 310XT times your swim in the pool or the lake. And while the GPS signal does not track distance while swimming like it does on land, thanks to a recent software update, it now accurately estimates open water swim distance and average speed. Simply enable the Swim mode and press start as you begin your swim. When finished, press the lap button and the 310XT automatically processes a combination of the time and GPS data to compute an estimate of distance covered and average speed while swimming.

Transition Effortlessly

When you're ready to jump out of the water and onto the bike, Forerunner 310XT moves easily from wrist to bike with the optional quick release and bike mounts, making the transition between sports effortless. Forerunner 310XT categorizes multisport activities in one workout and also can log transition time in the process, so you can analyze your performance from start to finish.

Collect Workout Data

Forerunner 310XT tracks your position precisely with GPS satellite data and records distance, pace, heart rate¹, power data (from ANT+™-enabled third-party power meters) and more. High-sensitivity GPS and HotFix® satellite prediction mean Forerunner acquires satellites quickly and tracks your movement even near tall buildings or under tree cover. And using innovative ANT+ wireless technology, Forerunner 310XT connects seamlessly to an optional heart rate monitor, foot pod and cadence sensor.
When paired with the optional wireless heart rate monitor, Forerunner 310XT continuously tracks beats per minute and uses heart rate data in advanced calorie computation. Train in a certain heart rate zone to improve fitness and monitor your level of exertion. NOTE: Heart rate data is not recorded for swim activities.

Monitor Your Health

You also can track weight, body fat, body water and six other measurements when using the Forerunner 310XT with the Tanita BC-1000 body composition scale. The readings are stored on Forerunner 310XT, then automatically sent to Garmin Connect™ when in range of your computer.

Run, Sync, Store and Share

Once you’ve logged the miles, innovative ANT+ wireless technology automatically transfers data to your computer when Forerunner is in range. No cables, no hookups. The data’s just there, ready for you to analyze, categorize and share through our online community, Garmin Connect™.

Larian Hijau - a nice run, boosted by Panadol !

This is my 2^nd 21km this year, the first being the Sundown Singapore (2:04) in May’12. I am into the 8^th week of my marathon training but the last 3 days, I was down with fever. Blame it on the long Raya holidays and the non-stop eating and enjoying ! I Popped in Panadol to keep the fever in check and I was still in 2 minds if I should start the Larian Hijau on Sunday. It is going to be hectic week ahead with the Larian Hijau on 8/26, followed by Eco Night Run 8km @ Botanical Garden on 8/30, then followed on with the SP Half marathon on 9/1. Then in between, there’s 2 days mini-MBA that I am starting off !

Defying my own body’s signal, I decided to run @ Larian Hijau. This is supposed to be the first ever 21km run in Penang in years as most races are shorter ones (8km, 10km) even with the longest being Malakoff 17km. The race started at 5am in Bandar Perda, Bukit Mertajam. Waking up at 3.15am, got myself a light breakfast, I made my way to the destination. Since this is pretty much a local event, I could see many familiar faces. The event was organized by Andrew Loh, Alvin and with many volunteers, aptly themed “Green”.

This is also the first time I run a race without my GPS watch (I lost it, remember !?). I decided to use my watch’s stopwatch and bring along my iPhone to track the mileage. I was soon to find out that running ‘blind’ is actually not a bad thing as I won’t have to be limited by the pacing and keep checking if I am too fast or too slow. I just ran to my body’s capability, listen to the signals and just using the water stations as a measurement for my pace. I started strongly but after 6-7km or so, I started to feel the pressure rising and bodyheat started to rise. Oh No, I was telling myself.. I ain’t going to be hit the wall that early and DNF ! I decided to do the run fast-brisk walk strategy.. Run for 6-7mins, then brisk walk for 30s. I think I did that for 4-5 times, and it was useful for me to recover my strength. When I passed thru the 2^nd water station @ 10km, the clock showed 57:30mins. Not bad ! I was pleasantly surprise as I have no idea at all how was my pacing running in the dark. By then, I think the Panadol started to kick-in and I could feel the 2^nd wind coming. I picked up my pace, though I still deploy the run fast-brisk walk strategy for a few more times. I was running 5:15-5:20 pace in my last 2km and it felt good. Overall, I love the route, flat and a nice long stretch of road, although some stretches were really dark. No stray dogs, thank God !  I am glad I carried along my bike Cateye as a guide for motorists coming from behind, as well as fellow runners.The fact we passed through so many mosques during the run and it co-incide with the Solat Subuh makes it a run with the ‘kampong’ feelings.

Distance : 20.8km

Time : 1:54:31

Pace : 5:29’/km

Not exactly 21km, so not exactly a PB though I am very pleased for a sub-2 (I nearly gave up at mid-point), and a sub-5:30 pacing.

Now, as I write, I am recovering from my sore throat and fever. Had to take sick leave on Monday to recover.. Pay-back time ! :(

Hopefully I will be fit to run on Thursday night and Saturday morning.. The SP HM will start off at 7am, so it’ll be expected to be a hot run, not to my liking though !!



The MPSP Tower - Start and Finishing Point

Photo courtesy of Yu Quan. I think this was at 5-6km

Pic courtesy of Sean Wong - @ 20th km, before the McD

The medal - small but quite creative (can be used as key chain)

flip side of medal

Garmin Forerunner 305 - R.I.P

So my I lost my Garmin Forerunner 305 :-(   LOST, not that it spoiled beyond repair or any other reasons. So the fateful day on 8/8/2012 (Crap, what a nice date !). I did my speedwork @ USM field. I must have removed it after the run and forgot to bring home. Did not realized it until Saturday. I ran with my iPhone on Thursday and Friday was a rest day. Went back to hunt for it, no chance. The grass were mown clean and wheoever found it, good luck !
Very incovenient to run with iPhone.. but that looks like the temporary solution until I get my new replacement ! Or I may just run using my instinct in my 4 up-coiming races : Larian Hijau, Eco Challenge, SP HM and Larian Merdeka !
The bright spot is a friend is helping to get one on a discounted rate from US :)  So, until then.. let's wait and see..

R.I.P. My Garmin Forerunner who has been with me since April 2011, covering well over 2000km runs and traveled over so many cities and countries...

Chung Ling Cross Country - re-running the race 24 years later !

Another Sunday, another race. This time, it was a race not like any other. First, it’s a race for the Chinese only.. Well, as long as you have a valid Chinese names !  It’s also called the All-Chinese Annual Cross Country. This is the 55^th year Chung Ling has been hosting this, kinda unbelievable – 55 years ! Still, I think this is a racist race J  I do hope they open up to all Malaysian soon. Secondly, this race starts and finishes at Chung Ling, my alma mater ! It’s been 22 years since I last returned L  The building and structure are pretty much the same except there are more fences now – for security reasons I guess.

This race is kinda a redemption race for me. I used to really hate the annual cross country run which was compulsory as part of the co-curriculum requirement. I used to walk and jog and really toiled across the finishing point. Well, 24 years later, I am back, and ready to re-run the route with much better confidence and above all, enjoy the run !

Prior to the race, met up with the usual suspects of local running scenes. Mostly i-Run, the Forward Club and other club runners. The race started at 7.30am. The sky cleared up right before the race. Well, it drizzled a bit 30mins at 7am, so the cloudy skies, minus the rain, was a welcoming sign. The race took us through the Thean Teik area, the Sunshine, and then the dreaded uphill run at 4^th km. I still recalled the whole area was an estate 20+ years ago. It was called the Thean Teik Estate, but now it’s a big Then Teik township. We then moved into the Cheesman Road area, looped outside the State Mosque, moved back into TI School, then St John HQ before finishing the run at the school. It was stated as 9km but turned out to be 8.13km. Well, not that I am complaining J  I had a split of 5:04 and 5:01 roughly half the split. Ended the race at position #59 in the Men’s Open (they do not have junior veteran. The veteran group is >50years old  I think). Not bad for a Sunday morning’s workout !

Distance : 8.13km

Time : 41mins

Pace : 5:02’/km

Running along the St John Ambulance HQ (behind State Mosque). Photo courtesy of Cupido Kelvin

Photo courtesy of Cupido Kelvin

with Mr Choo before the race, photo courtesy of Uncle Alex Ong

Towards the finishing point. Photo courtesy of Chris Neilson

Before the race, photo courtesy of Chris Neilson

My Chung Ling High School - Glad to be back after all these years !

The Seni Perusahaan Building, where the race started

Position #59 in the Men's Open Category. No complain lah...

The Dreadful Runners' Stitch

From: http://sgrunners.com/blog/2012/07/30/the-dreadful-runners-stitch/
Runner’s stitch or also known as a side stitch or by the technical term exercise-related transient abdominal pain is the one condition that almost certainly experience by every runner at some time in either training or competitive circumstances. Runner’s stitch is a painful but entirely transient and correctable physical problem.

[Photo: DigitalRunning.com]

In some cases, the pain will also seem to radiate to the runner’s shoulder. Sometimes, the stitch will either slow the runner or immobilize him or her for a brief period while he or she endeavors to recover from the effects of the stitch.
In addition to the causes that have been identified as the potential reasons for a runner’s stitch, cold weather running is often cited as an aggravator of this condition, as is the consumption of food within one hour of a race or workout.

[Photo: Runnersworld.com]

One way to treat Runners’ Stitch is by removing or minimizing the applied force, by slowing or stopping the exercise and lying down until the pain subsides, can relieve pain. Alternative cures are listed and exist in much the same context as the cure for hiccups; Altering the breathing pattern; short, shallow breaths place a different stress on the diaphragm than do deep regular breaths. Often, a period of slower speed running or walking while taking very pronounced deep breaths will correct a stitch.

[Photo: Triggerpointbook.com]

Treating a Runners Stitch
Like any other muscle spasm, when a side stitch occurs it is important to stop the activity that brought the stitch on in the first place, or at the very least reduce the intensity of the activity.
Another effective treatment for a side stitch is to alter your breathing pattern. First concentrate on taking full, deep breathes and avoid shallow breathing. Then, if you are one of those people who exhale when your right foot hits the ground, try instead to exhale when your left foot hits the ground.

[Photo: stack.com]

In Summary to treat and prevent the runners stitch you have to

• Reduce intensity of Activity
• Deep breathing
• Run on an empty stomach

Preventing a Runners Stitch
Going from sitting to running speed  might save you some time on the watch, but this will result in irregular, rapid breathing patterns, that can result to a side stitch during the run. Instead Invest in two to three minutes of brisk walking, gradually work into a jog or an easy running effort, and then into your planned running workout pace. By doing so this will increase the quality of your workout and decrease the risk of stitches that arise from pushing the throttle too soon.

[Photo : newyorkonanickel.wordpress.com]

In Summary

• Time your pre-race meal to allow it to digest prior to the event
• Avoid drinking reconstituted fruit juices and beverages high in carbohydrate before and during exercise
• Stretching may relieve the pain of a stitch. Raise your right arm straight up and lean toward the left. Hold for 30 seconds, release, then stretch the other side.
• Slow down your pace until pain lessens.
• Massage or press on the area with pain. Bend forward to stretch the diaphragm and ease the pain.

* If you continue to experience pain, see your doctor.
Running Stitch is common the more you run and become a fitter runner the lesser you will experience it.