Swimming Duku

Today I went for a swim with my anonymous friend. It's been quite some time since I swam. The last time I did, it was during the NTU Sundown Swimathon which lasted through the night. Today's session is sort of like a break from all the running. Not that I have been running a lot in the first place but a change is always nice.

But my day didn't turn out so well at the start. Last night, I slept at close to 2. This morning, I woke up at 630. Dammit. Too early for me cos I'm a guy who really treasures my sleep. Oh well. My day began with a lot of driving. Then, the sky grew dark and it started pouring. It's pretty scary when you drive in such bad weather. But then again, the silver lining was swimming may have to be cancelled and I can get back to sleep. :) What a pleasant thought. Unfortunately, the sky started to clear by about 10am and it seemed inevitable that I have to put my tired body into the swimming pool. Crap. Oh well. I should go swimming, shouldn't I? Considering the fact that I have not run since my very long run last Friday night, I kind of feel guilty for not running. In addition, I planned to run like on Monday and last night as well. The key word is planned. I didn't run in the end. The Procastinator in me was simply overpowering. Hence, I have to psycho myself to swim today. I must. Crap.

So off at my school's pool in the town. Nice little pool on the 6th floor. Small though. Only 25m. So what this means is that I have to swim two laps to cover one lap in the big pool. Sighs. Luckily for me, I've had training in swimming previously. Thus swimming, to me, is kind of a breeze. My strokes, I would say, may not be the best but is definitely more efficient than most people. :) So I can take it easier when I swim. :) So today I did 120 laps in the pool. That's like 60 laps in the big pool or 3km. Good distance but I'm having a headache. Smaller pools means more turns. I do twice the number of turns than I would have to do in a big pool. My head's a bit light now. Still is. Also, usually after swims, my body feels exceptionally tired. So now I'm just lazing my tired body away in a cafe. Procastinating again by blogging. Crap. Okay back to work. I am so sleepy. Sigh.

Saturday's Newspaper

Did you read Saturday's Sports Section of the Straits Times? There's this article on fitness, well more on marathon running which is pretty good. It's an article from the New York Times but reproduced by the lovely people from Singapore Press Holdings. Here's a little summary of what it's about.

Constant Pace
It is important to maintain your pace in your runs. You don't really want to start off at a blistering pace but end up without ending the race yet suffer plenty of blisters. Haha. Though it gets really exciting at the start of races, always keep in mind the distance that you are trying to complete. If you are aiming to do like a 5km race, then maybe a good start off the block is essential. But for a marathon, you probably have to think twice. I have seen friends who are very very good at running long distance but coming back slower than me because they start off really quickly. There's this quote from a board I keep seeing at the StanChart Marathon. "Run Your Own Race". I think of all its quotes, this is amongst its best.

Cut down on running before the race
The second point raised was not to train so intensively just before the race. Obviously you would not want to run a 21km training the day before the Marathon would you? You will not recover for the Marathon. But then again I know of people who have done 7 Marathons in 7 Days. But that's another story. Well the point is, you do not want to exhaust yourself before your race day. So what's the guideline? I'm not too sure myself. I know of a friend who is stopping his training 10 days before his race day itself. For myself, I stop training a week before the event. Maybe within that one week I will do like a 3km really really really slow run but that's about it. My rationale is that it helps to circulate blood in my legs. Haha. But what the hell, to each his own eh. I'm weird. Haha. But in all seriousness, I stop all training at least 5 days before the event.

Personal Mantra
Having a personal mantra, or slogan if you will, is very helpful in races. This is to remind you to keep fighting hard. Remind yourself what you are training so hard for. It helped me a lot during my previous events as well as my 2.4km run. It may sound weird but self-talk and such slogans have been proven scientifically to improve athletes' performances. I read it somewhere in an Organizational Behaviour Textbook. So how do you come up with a personal mantra/slogan? Think of your own past or someone you really admire. Have you ever been in a school team that was known to win numerous trophies? Or maybe you admire some athlete? Some inspirational ones include Mr Lance Armstrong or Michael Jordan.

Drinking
Another tip given in the article is to drink water. Drink early before the race so that you do not feel bloated when you are at the starting line. And drink along the way. I like this tip a lot and I feel it is something that many runners ignore nowadays. I know of some runners who don't drink water at the earlier water points and only look for water only when they are really thirsty and dehydrated. I think that's not such a good plan. I feel that one should drink water right from the first water point. The trick is not to drink so much at a go. There's no point in running on a bloated stomach right? The tip given in this article is to fold one end of the cup into a funnel and just let it into your mouth. It doesn't matter if much of the water is not drunk. What matters is you get a little water into you. By the time you start feeling thirsty, that is already a little late to start looking for water.

Change Halfway
The last tip given in the article is to 'plant' a new set of running top along the way. It is said that it feels much better to have dry clothes that do not stick to your body during the run. Haha. I don't know what to think of this one as I have not done it. I personally feel it's too troublesome to be implemented. But hey, to each his own eh?

Hope you find these tips helpful because I did as well.


Cheers!

Long Long Run

Yesterday I went to East Coast Park for a run with two of my friends. A really really long run. It was part of my training for the Sundown Marathon. Hoping to complete and try to do a good time. A friend of mine keeps goading me to beat his timing of 4.34. I would love to do that, but that is not my main priority I guess. Completing safe and sound always is.

We started at Car Park B1, the first car park at East Coast at about 9pm. And we just ran. and ran. and ran. Past Big Splash. Past Macdonald's. Past the Chalet. Past the Seafood eating place alongside the Cable Boarding Place. Up to then, pretty fresh. Still talking to my friends. Bantering. All's good. Past Bedok Jetty and slowly but surely the fatigue begins to set in. But still talking. Then we ran past I think it's Outward Bound Singapore and then some sailing place. That's the last car park along East Coast we ran past. But on we went, continuously pounding on the road. The next landmark would be the chalets of SAFRA Recreation Club I think. This is confirmed when we ran past the entrance of the club itself. Next, we ran past this ulu restaurant called Shore Restaurant. And finally, we reached our turning point. Our turning point is where the runway actually begins. If we ran a little longer, we will hit the spetacularly boring Coastal Road. Sighs. Considering from where we started, our turning point looks very far. Damn far. Too far! haha. Time now, 10.05pm. 1 hour and 5 min of suffering, and that's only halfway. Crap..

So turn back we did and this time round, my two lovely friends were still chatting happily away. Gosh they're fit. Me? Well I'm just hanging at the back, trying my damnest to look fresh and keep up with the pace. Gosh how tired I am. But Car Park B1 is still literally miles away. Sighs. So again, step by step we went. Past SAFRA Recreational Club and to the start of East Coast. We saw a couple of other runners running pretty quickly. Being the pretentiously nice person I am, I clapped and cheer them on. They reciprocated. How nice. I sort of got a little habit of cheering people on when I see fellow runners, especially during marathons when I am suffering as much as them. I believe the appropriate word is empathy. I believe it helps them and it helps myself as well. I feel motivated myself by motivating others. But that's probably just me. Oh well, soon we reached the last car park of East Coast and we stopped for our one and only water break. Time 10:20pm. Why am I doing this?

Alas, our short water break ended and on we went. This time round, my two supremely fit friends are beginning to widen their lead. Every once in a while, they'll turn back and check if I'm still alive. How nice. What great friends I have. Past Bedok Jetty and I tell myself that's like at least 5km left. How'd I know? Well the holding area of the triathlon is always near Bedok Jetty and you have to run towards Car Park B1 for about 5km before you made your turn back to Bedok Jetty. 5km more so I tell myself. Then we had the pleasant distraction of seeing the food centre, the cable boarding place and the Seafood place. Next up, the chalets. By this time, one of my friends decided to take off and off he went, slowly but surely widening the gap between my other friend and myself. Now we are all running alone by ourselves. But he should have done that. No point running so slow to accompany slow pokes like myself. Macdonald's soon came. Again, nice distraction. It takes my mind off the mental torture of why I put myself through this. Now, we are at Area C. Sighs. Area C seemed never never never ending. It never did seem to end. I saw a signpost that said Area C and I so wished that was the last one. But alas, I saw another and another and another. I don't really like Area C.

But soon, not soon enough though, I saw from afar the beautiful lights of our starting point - the toilet at Car Park B1. Trodding painfully to the end point I told myself to push on. Finally, I past the end point. Time now 11.15pm. 2 hours 15 minutes of pain. Gosh. My legs are so soft. But I couldn't stop walking just yet. The cramps are setting in. Crap. Oh this is so painful. Why do I keep putting myself in such pain.

Oh well, the run, although torturous, was pretty good. It turned out to be a little more painful than expected but enjoyable due to the company. I think all in all, we should have complete at least 21 km, at least that's why I let myself believe. I checked my route on this webbie, mapmyrun.com, it says only 10 miles. Unbelievable. I tell myself it's a US webbie and hence not accurate. Anything to lie to myself to make myself feel better. haha. So anyway, I would like to thank my friends for the run. Good run and thanks guys. Next week, after the exams, maybe we can do another. Gosh I can't wait.. not!

Events Events Events

Currently, I am training for one event - the Sundown Marathon. It's a marathon that will last through the night. From my understanding, I believe the marathon will begin at 12am! Well there's another major event for that day. That is the Ultra-Marathon! 2 Marathons in a row! 84km! Madness! Who exactly in the right mind will put themselves through such torturous pain?

Hey but then again, when my dad was doing all his half-marathons and I haven't entered into National Service, I also thought those people who ran marathons are mad! Why pay money to suffer? Haha.. Well maybe one day you will see me participating in this distance. :P Well to my one and only er.. friend participating in this distance, all the best! :)

Well apart from Sundown Marathon, there are other events coming up. Lion City Marathon and Passion Run are two which are coming up quite soon. Right now, I'm not sure if I'll take part in that. Would make a lot of sense to be training for these events as well. But time will tell. And also if the better half of me gives me her blessings. :P

My anonymous friend has been "persuading" me to join him in an overseas marathon. He's looking at going to Australia for the Gold Coast Marathon. The marathon's on the 6th of July and it's really really tempting. But for now, it's still under consideration. Till then, will keep you updated on the events coming up.

Terrible Terrible Weather

Its 5.10pm. I was scheduled to meet my anonymous friend for our run today. Alas, someone up there doesn't really like the idea of me running today. Sigh. Have you noticed the terrible terrible weather lately? Now correct me if I am wrong but isn't December supposed to be the wetter season? Why is it that now in April is it raining as much as it was in December? This is so screwing up my already desperate running schedule. This is depressing.

Are there any suggestions for substitutes for running on such terrible terrible weather? Oh great. Lightning now as well. I guess I'm not heading back to school any time soon. So sorry anonymous friend