Well.. well.. well.. I did the fasting today, and I mean a real fast (puasa) from dawn to dust today !!
Wuhuuu.. Congratulations and a small pat on my back. I decided to do the fast to test my endurance and also allow me to understand the fasting rituals better of my Muslim friends.
Started with the "sahur" (which is the pre-dawn meals). Alas, I was late in waking up and I managed to swallow 2 small High-5 buns1 full bottle of water (I think 1.5 liters size) followed by a 400ml of Nutrimeal.. That's it.. right before 5.30am !! Then off to work !
It's actually not that bad. Of course when it's almost 11-ish, the stomach started to growl. I tried to keep myself busy by working and that helps !! After 3pm, it was plain sailing.
I had wanted to go for a 5k run @ USM but the cloudy weather put paid to that..
Originally bought 2 meatball for buka puasa but ended eating at home with some pasar Ramadhan curry chicken and fried cempedak !
No small feat, though just for a day (14 hrs fasting to be exact) :)
Now planning for my 2nd fasting on Aug 18..
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Broken toe nails
Ever since I started running, I hv broken my toe nails more than the past 30 odd years added up !! Gosh ! Just clipped another one at a friend's house last night.. An already-injured one made worse.. Hope this does not stop me from running this week !!!
TRX Suspension Training
OK, I confess.. I fell into temptation and went with the hype to get myself this TRX Suspension Trainer (from Amazon.com) ! Paid $180 (RM545) for it which is a steal vs purchasing it locally which easily cost RM800+ ! :)
So what the heck is this TRX thingy ? From the web-site, it says : “ Born in the U.S. Navy SEALS and developed by Fitness Anywhere®, Suspension Training® is a revolutionary method of leveraged bodyweight exercise. Easily set up the portable TRX® Suspension Trainer™ and you’re in control. Safely perform hundreds of exercises that build power, strength, flexibility, balance, mobility, and prevent injuries, all at the intensity you choose. Weighing less than 2lbs. the TRX® delivers greater performance and functionality than large exercise machines costing thousands of dollars. The TRX® sets up in seconds so you can get and stay fit at home, the gym or on the road–wherever you want. Thousands of people of all fitness levels now train on the TRX®–from professional athletes who need peak performance to everyday people who just want to feel and look their best, the TRX® delivers”.
I have tried the TRX just once so far and I am not a gym buff but I hope this TRX will help me to provide more strength training opportunities even at home !
Will blog about it after I have used it for a month. For now, I hope it does play its role and not gather dust !!
Monday, August 15, 2011
Sunday (8/15) 22K combo run
I had one of the best run, and also the longest, on Sunday ! Thoroughly enjoyed it. This is also the day I don’t have any distraction and engagement for the day, so I didn’t hv to rush home immediately after the run. What started out as an LSD turned out to be a combination of various runs.. I usually run 15-16k using the Youth Park-Straits Quay-Tanjung Bungah Hotel-and back route for my LSD.
So as usual I arrived around 5.40am, did some stretching and I saw the big group started running. I decided to join them for a run and it turned out to be a 10k pace run for the first 5k (@5.50) and then I was left alone as the group made a U-turn back at Tesco Tanjung Pinang, ie the 5k mark. I decided to slow down a bit ran at 6:30 (a HM pace for me) for the next 5k. I guess I had enough gas in me that morning that I decided to run to the clock tower via the Gurney Drive way. The few young runners that morning was also an added motivation for me to run with them. I ended up looping the Esplanade clock tower and back via Gurney Drive. I can feel my speed work increases slightly, better leg power and cardio too ! So overall, a 5k@10k pace, 5k@HM pace, followed by a 12k LSD@~7.00.. Took me 2:32hrs to complete the 22k run in total.. Sore feet after the race but worth it, enjoy now, pay later !! :)
So as usual I arrived around 5.40am, did some stretching and I saw the big group started running. I decided to join them for a run and it turned out to be a 10k pace run for the first 5k (@5.50) and then I was left alone as the group made a U-turn back at Tesco Tanjung Pinang, ie the 5k mark. I decided to slow down a bit ran at 6:30 (a HM pace for me) for the next 5k. I guess I had enough gas in me that morning that I decided to run to the clock tower via the Gurney Drive way. The few young runners that morning was also an added motivation for me to run with them. I ended up looping the Esplanade clock tower and back via Gurney Drive. I can feel my speed work increases slightly, better leg power and cardio too ! So overall, a 5k@10k pace, 5k@HM pace, followed by a 12k LSD@~7.00.. Took me 2:32hrs to complete the 22k run in total.. Sore feet after the race but worth it, enjoy now, pay later !! :)
Monday, August 8, 2011
Speed Work is damn tough !!
Aug 8 (W33.1) - an auspicious day.. 8/8 :-)
Supposed to be a st day but since I did not do LSD yesterday and I came home earlier, decided to do some speedwork at the oval USM. Also, aince it's a Ramadhan, it will be less crodwed at the oval !
Did 5 laps of 420m each with a 2 minutes intervals of recovery (walking). So the 5 laps were tkmed at:
1:48, 1:38, 1:44, 1:56 and 1:39mins respectively.. Pretty satisfied with the speed work but it was tough.. Felt like passing out towar the last 100m.. LOL ! Will do the hill run next.. Hopefully at Bukit Jambul !
Supposed to be a st day but since I did not do LSD yesterday and I came home earlier, decided to do some speedwork at the oval USM. Also, aince it's a Ramadhan, it will be less crodwed at the oval !
Did 5 laps of 420m each with a 2 minutes intervals of recovery (walking). So the 5 laps were tkmed at:
1:48, 1:38, 1:44, 1:56 and 1:39mins respectively.. Pretty satisfied with the speed work but it was tough.. Felt like passing out towar the last 100m.. LOL ! Will do the hill run next.. Hopefully at Bukit Jambul !
Sunday, August 7, 2011
2 weeks into the 18-week First Marathon training plan
So here’s a quick check on my first 2 weeks into my 18-week training plan towards PBIM 42k, my FMV !! Verdict : not on-track !!
W31 was OK with an LSD (Youth Park, Tg Bungah Hotel, Gurney) on Sunday followed by Tempo Runs at USM oval tracks on the weekdays.. But it got downhill after that. I was down with some slight fever prior to my Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) trip, so I had to take it easy.. Rested on both Saturday (W31.6) and Sunday (W32.0) but managed to squeeze in a 5k on treadmill @ PSC when I accompanied the kids to the beach. Well, I must say running is the best cure for fever !!
W32 was pretty busy week with my business travel to HCMC. My audacious plan was to run at the treadmill for 4 days but ended with 2. Not a bad feat looking at my schedule especially I had to run an hr+ after heavy dinner !! So I did a 5k and 4.5k on Tuesday and Wednesday.. I arrived home on Friday but still missed Saturday’s morning run ! I guess I was in recovery mode.. Body felt lethargic due to late nights and the travel – I wonder what would happened if it’s a US trip recovery !! Sunday (W33.0) – was all looking fwd to a 20k LSD after missing the runs but alas ! It was raining… but then I was to lazy to do a check at 6am and I instead slept thru the next 4 hrs ! Guess I must listen to my body – I still need more sleep !! But the good thing is I still ended up with a 2.7k run @ PSC treadmill and a 15lap swim back to back.. Not a bad Sunday afterall..
So on to the next week.. Nothing to stop me from missing my runs – hopefully no more haze and runs.. Durian season is finally OVER for me.. But then, I hv not even started my Ramadhan juadah !! Guess back here, there is something to look fwd to eat every month !
W31 - 32.05km
W32 - 14.5km
and it's 16 more weeks to PBIM !!
W31 was OK with an LSD (Youth Park, Tg Bungah Hotel, Gurney) on Sunday followed by Tempo Runs at USM oval tracks on the weekdays.. But it got downhill after that. I was down with some slight fever prior to my Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) trip, so I had to take it easy.. Rested on both Saturday (W31.6) and Sunday (W32.0) but managed to squeeze in a 5k on treadmill @ PSC when I accompanied the kids to the beach. Well, I must say running is the best cure for fever !!
W32 was pretty busy week with my business travel to HCMC. My audacious plan was to run at the treadmill for 4 days but ended with 2. Not a bad feat looking at my schedule especially I had to run an hr+ after heavy dinner !! So I did a 5k and 4.5k on Tuesday and Wednesday.. I arrived home on Friday but still missed Saturday’s morning run ! I guess I was in recovery mode.. Body felt lethargic due to late nights and the travel – I wonder what would happened if it’s a US trip recovery !! Sunday (W33.0) – was all looking fwd to a 20k LSD after missing the runs but alas ! It was raining… but then I was to lazy to do a check at 6am and I instead slept thru the next 4 hrs ! Guess I must listen to my body – I still need more sleep !! But the good thing is I still ended up with a 2.7k run @ PSC treadmill and a 15lap swim back to back.. Not a bad Sunday afterall..
So on to the next week.. Nothing to stop me from missing my runs – hopefully no more haze and runs.. Durian season is finally OVER for me.. But then, I hv not even started my Ramadhan juadah !! Guess back here, there is something to look fwd to eat every month !
W31 - 32.05km
W32 - 14.5km
and it's 16 more weeks to PBIM !!
Monday, July 25, 2011
Single-Session Workouts for Marathoners
Why training once a day can work to your advantage...
When 24-year-old Yuki Kawauchi became the first Japanese runner to cross the finish line at this year’s Tokyo Marathon (2:08:37, third overall), race officials were left scratching their heads.
Who was this guy? Did he, an amateur runner who had previously run 2:12 despite holding down a nine-hour-a-day job while training for the marathon, really just outrun an entire field of full-time, triple-digit-mileage-logging Japanese pros?
He did.
Now that Kawauchi’s story is well-known, one thing that sticks out about it is his training in the lead-up to Tokyo: He turned himself into a 2:08 marathoner by maximizing single-session runs. In Kawauchi’s case — an unsponsored office worker holding down a full-time job — following the traditional elite marathoner’s playbook of accumulating 120-plus weekly miles through multiple “doubles” spaced evenly throughout the week simply wasn’t possible.
Kawauchi didn’t have the time.
Comparing his training log to that of most other full-time marathoners, one thing stands out: mileage. Kawauchi only manages to run about 373 miles a month — about half the amount his professional counterparts log. His weekly schedule was incredibly simple: one long run (22–28 miles), one speed session, and one trail run in the mountains; the rest of his runs were timed at 70 to 100 minutes.
That’s it.
Was Kawauchi onto something here? Since most runners don’t have the luxury of sponsorship and are usually too busy to regularly fit doubles into their regimen, should they take the Kawauchi approach to marathon training? What are the benefits of maximizing singles for marathoners? What are the potential pitfalls?
Before answering those questions, it’s important to understand the changes that the body undergoes when it runs for a long period of time once a day. Marathon Performance Training Group’s elite coach Brad Hudson says the magic number to hit in a single run is 80 minutes. “A lot of the science shows that once you reach the 80-minute mark, there is a bigger benefit in endurance enzymes made.” Hudson notes that studies have shown that the differences of enzymatic production from 60 to 80 minutes are enormous.
Long singles also make you a stronger runner. The longer amount of time spent during one session increases the flow of blood to the muscles. Ligaments and tendons are strengthened; capillaries grow and more oxygen can be delivered to the working muscles. Additionally, completing training in singles allows the body more rest. “When you are doing singles, you are giving the body a full 24 hours of rest,” Hudson points out.
As a coach, Hudson typically has his marathoners doing just two of these single runs a week — the rest of the sessions are doubles. But he says that for most runners looking to complete 70 miles and below a week, all singles is the way to go. “As our runners try to increase their volume into the 90- and even 100-mile range, we have to start including doubles,” he says. “But we still take advantage of the 80-minute rule for our doubles, where we will have one of the runs at 10 miles or more.”
One of Hudson’s athletes who fits this bill is former Penn State All-American Tyler McCandless, who recently PR'd at Grandma’s Marathon (2:17:09). McCandless says that Hudson has him running 130 miles a week, of which 90–100 are singles. “In marathon training, the longer single runs are important. They build mental toughness to handle ‘grinding out’ the miles in the marathon,” he says.
Another benefit that takes place during the long single is that you burn more fat than you do with two shorter doubles. Run Mammoth coach Terrence Mahon has his athletes incorporating two singles a week for that very purpose. “We take advantages of singles to teach the body, metabolically, how to burn fat at more efficient rates,” he says. “That is typically much harder to do when runs are under one hour.” On these longer runs, Mahon urges caution in terms of pace. He wants his runners staying in a zone where they aren’t becoming glycogen-depleted. “We look at that,” he says. “Sometimes we’ll do glucose testing, lactate testing, and heart rate monitoring to make sure they aren’t running at a state where they are going to burn too much sugar.”
Along the lines of fat burning, one thing that runners seeking to maximize their training in singles should be cognizant of is the dietary changes they may have to make as they strive to run longer in one session. “You have to make sure you are getting your essential fatty acids in and also replenishing your glycogen,” notes Hudson. “You absolutely have to make sure you are eating and drinking immediately after your runs. You have to load up on your carbs. If you are constantly running glycogen-depleted it’s very easy to get overtrained and injured.”
So what does this all mean for a runner who wants to approach their training week differently by increasing the amount of single-session runs?
If you are a marathoner who currently doubles, it might be a good idea to increase your overall strength and efficiency by experimenting with singles. Consider taking a week “off” of doubles and make it a singles-only week where the goal for every run is longer than 80 minutes (gradually working up from 60 minutes). Pay attention to how your body responds to that new, singles-only week, and consider working in these types of weeks routinely during your marathon buildup in order to increase your overall strength.
If you find yourself in Kawauchi’s shoes, holding down a full-time job and are only able to run once a day, then pay close attention to three things you may not have looked at previously: your average pace during all your runs (ensuring you aren’t running too fast in every session so that you don’t become glycogen depleted and that you are maximizing fat burning), duration (aim for exceeding 60 minutes), and nutrition (proper fueling after your run).
Admittedly, singles-only training isn’t for every serious marathoner. But the next time your schedule and clean clothes hamper don’t allow for you to cram in that second run, consider the benefits of heading out just once in the day.
Duncan Larkin is a 2:32 marathoner and writer from West Chester, Pa.
Excerpt from Running Times..
http://runningtimes.com/Article.aspx?ArticleID=23257&PageNum=1
When 24-year-old Yuki Kawauchi became the first Japanese runner to cross the finish line at this year’s Tokyo Marathon (2:08:37, third overall), race officials were left scratching their heads.
Who was this guy? Did he, an amateur runner who had previously run 2:12 despite holding down a nine-hour-a-day job while training for the marathon, really just outrun an entire field of full-time, triple-digit-mileage-logging Japanese pros?
He did.
Now that Kawauchi’s story is well-known, one thing that sticks out about it is his training in the lead-up to Tokyo: He turned himself into a 2:08 marathoner by maximizing single-session runs. In Kawauchi’s case — an unsponsored office worker holding down a full-time job — following the traditional elite marathoner’s playbook of accumulating 120-plus weekly miles through multiple “doubles” spaced evenly throughout the week simply wasn’t possible.
Kawauchi didn’t have the time.
Comparing his training log to that of most other full-time marathoners, one thing stands out: mileage. Kawauchi only manages to run about 373 miles a month — about half the amount his professional counterparts log. His weekly schedule was incredibly simple: one long run (22–28 miles), one speed session, and one trail run in the mountains; the rest of his runs were timed at 70 to 100 minutes.
That’s it.
Was Kawauchi onto something here? Since most runners don’t have the luxury of sponsorship and are usually too busy to regularly fit doubles into their regimen, should they take the Kawauchi approach to marathon training? What are the benefits of maximizing singles for marathoners? What are the potential pitfalls?
Before answering those questions, it’s important to understand the changes that the body undergoes when it runs for a long period of time once a day. Marathon Performance Training Group’s elite coach Brad Hudson says the magic number to hit in a single run is 80 minutes. “A lot of the science shows that once you reach the 80-minute mark, there is a bigger benefit in endurance enzymes made.” Hudson notes that studies have shown that the differences of enzymatic production from 60 to 80 minutes are enormous.
Long singles also make you a stronger runner. The longer amount of time spent during one session increases the flow of blood to the muscles. Ligaments and tendons are strengthened; capillaries grow and more oxygen can be delivered to the working muscles. Additionally, completing training in singles allows the body more rest. “When you are doing singles, you are giving the body a full 24 hours of rest,” Hudson points out.
As a coach, Hudson typically has his marathoners doing just two of these single runs a week — the rest of the sessions are doubles. But he says that for most runners looking to complete 70 miles and below a week, all singles is the way to go. “As our runners try to increase their volume into the 90- and even 100-mile range, we have to start including doubles,” he says. “But we still take advantage of the 80-minute rule for our doubles, where we will have one of the runs at 10 miles or more.”
One of Hudson’s athletes who fits this bill is former Penn State All-American Tyler McCandless, who recently PR'd at Grandma’s Marathon (2:17:09). McCandless says that Hudson has him running 130 miles a week, of which 90–100 are singles. “In marathon training, the longer single runs are important. They build mental toughness to handle ‘grinding out’ the miles in the marathon,” he says.
Another benefit that takes place during the long single is that you burn more fat than you do with two shorter doubles. Run Mammoth coach Terrence Mahon has his athletes incorporating two singles a week for that very purpose. “We take advantages of singles to teach the body, metabolically, how to burn fat at more efficient rates,” he says. “That is typically much harder to do when runs are under one hour.” On these longer runs, Mahon urges caution in terms of pace. He wants his runners staying in a zone where they aren’t becoming glycogen-depleted. “We look at that,” he says. “Sometimes we’ll do glucose testing, lactate testing, and heart rate monitoring to make sure they aren’t running at a state where they are going to burn too much sugar.”
Along the lines of fat burning, one thing that runners seeking to maximize their training in singles should be cognizant of is the dietary changes they may have to make as they strive to run longer in one session. “You have to make sure you are getting your essential fatty acids in and also replenishing your glycogen,” notes Hudson. “You absolutely have to make sure you are eating and drinking immediately after your runs. You have to load up on your carbs. If you are constantly running glycogen-depleted it’s very easy to get overtrained and injured.”
So what does this all mean for a runner who wants to approach their training week differently by increasing the amount of single-session runs?
If you are a marathoner who currently doubles, it might be a good idea to increase your overall strength and efficiency by experimenting with singles. Consider taking a week “off” of doubles and make it a singles-only week where the goal for every run is longer than 80 minutes (gradually working up from 60 minutes). Pay attention to how your body responds to that new, singles-only week, and consider working in these types of weeks routinely during your marathon buildup in order to increase your overall strength.
If you find yourself in Kawauchi’s shoes, holding down a full-time job and are only able to run once a day, then pay close attention to three things you may not have looked at previously: your average pace during all your runs (ensuring you aren’t running too fast in every session so that you don’t become glycogen depleted and that you are maximizing fat burning), duration (aim for exceeding 60 minutes), and nutrition (proper fueling after your run).
Admittedly, singles-only training isn’t for every serious marathoner. But the next time your schedule and clean clothes hamper don’t allow for you to cram in that second run, consider the benefits of heading out just once in the day.
Duncan Larkin is a 2:32 marathoner and writer from West Chester, Pa.
Excerpt from Running Times..
http://runningtimes.com/Article.aspx?ArticleID=23257&PageNum=1
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