Different Strokes for Different Folks...and a non-race report

I was supposed to do the Metasprint Discovery Triathlon (stupidly short distance triathlon). I didn't. I did however pack my bag the night before, drive all the way to the race and set up my bike in transition. What I also did do was muck up the start times. For some reason I read that my wave started at 10.50am. It didn't. It started at 10.20am. I could feel angry, but instead I felt more stupid than anything else. You see, I'd actually got to the race area at 9.55am. Enough time to sort out my shit but instead I was taking my own sweet time to set up. And why not? I assumed I had close to an hour before my race started. Thank goodness I strolled over to the information area to find out where the start point was otherwise I'd be standing around the race start looking like a complete idiot. As it was I felt pretty foolish when I had to walk back to the transition area 20 minutes after popping my bike there to retrieve it sheepishly and drive quickly home hoping no one would notice that I was neither body marked nor looking like I had done a race of any sort.

My friend, Mun in da house (he made me sign him up, so I decided to give him a name he'd remember for life on his race bib!) who signed up for the sprint did pretty awesomely though. We talked after about doing a triathlon again and he was keen on signing up for a Olympic distance triathlon. I wasn't so keen. I have a 1.5k swim race coming up in May and for me working towards that was my highlight of the year. It was a do-able distance and a distance that I knew wouldn't cause me to hate myself too much mid-way through. Mun felt that he wanted something to work towards so for him doing a long swim was lame because he could do it in the pool, he wanted something more than that. I wanted to tell him that technically he could do a full triathlon if he had a pool, put his bike on a spinner next to it and then went out after to run 10k but he went into a dead zone and the phone line got cut off.

I did start thinking, however, why people did races and (as obvious as it probably is to everyone else) it really was for different reasons. Back when I was younger I always thought that people thought the same way as me. It never occurred to me that something I felt strongly about meant absolutely nothing to someone else, or vice versa. I realised later that people were inherently different and that we make friends with people who share little similar parts with us. I said before that friends were like bits of a jigsaw that make up a persons life because no one friend is exactly like you are, but just a wee bit similar. In the same way, I took for granted that people took part in races for the same reasons and the same goals.

For me, I like the swim leg in a triathlon. I'm not great at it, but it is the most decent of my 3 legs. Mun seems more bike-friendly. I once took part in a longer distance triathlon relay with 2 other girls. All 3 of us couldn't imagine ourselves doing what the other person was doing. I definitely would not have enjoyed cycling 60k (I think that was what it was), nor would I have enjoyed running 18k. My 1k swim was fine for me.

Then there's the other bit where I'm starting to realise I like races that interest me rather than races where I push my limits. I'm not a huge limit-pusher. I've always been very content with where I land. There are times when I sit around and think 'oh I think I might be able to handle a full tri' or 'I'm sure I could finish a full marathon' but then I think about the sheer amount of training that goes into it and I lose my nerve. The same way, the best 10k I've ever done (maybe not the fastest) was when I was back in Manchester after almost 8 years and I did a 10k run around town. The weather was beautiful, it wasn't stupidly hot and it was interesting seeing how everything had changed in Manchester. It wasn't extremely efficient because of the constant sudden stops where I stood in front of a building going 'oh the university has some some new fancy glassy thing going on there' or 'wow they haven't changed the law school building, have they?', but it was enjoyable and it really made me enjoy running. I love the trail races in Singapore, because they're different and this year Rich and I hope to go to Angkor Wat to do the halfie there.

A tri interests me in so far as when I get bored with doing one thing, I'm doing something else straight after. Which works for a mini or even a sprint distance one. But Olympic distance? That's a long time of doing something I may not actually enjoy at all! Basically what this means is I have a short attention span and I need a race that interests me.

So I seek out races where I know I won't be bored out of my mind. Mun takes part to push himself which is admirable. I wish I had that perseverance or strength of will, but I'm really just deep down just a lazy little thing who bores easy. In a way it's good that I've come to this realisation since I never really thought about why I take part in these races. I do like the competition with random people, the adrenalin that comes in a race and the fact that I push myself more than I would if I were swimming / cycling / running by myself. But most of all I need the fun factor in the whole thing and a lot of races in Singapore are starting to lose that. That said, there have been some interesting races popping up so there is still hope! I just wish they'd stop holding triathlons at East Coast Park with the gross waters and the mind numbingly dull runs!

Northface City Race - Mid Distance (Team) Race Report

The City Race was quite a bit of fun,and Team Small Dragon Baskets did well considering the complete lack of any semblance of training. All our "we should train like we're running a half marathon" plans pretty much crashed and burned over the two festive periods. I think of us 3, Gina probably put in the most training although she got hit with consecutive bouts of some kind of flu a month before. Rich's spirit was willing but his flesh wasn't so much, so he didn't get much in. Me? I did everything BUT run because I am still on the ban from my podiatrist. I swam, cycled on the stationary bike, used the elliptical... All things considering, Rich seemed to have the most energy (Gina and I also agree that his longer legs meant that with each stride he covered more distance), Gina wilted in the heat and I could only run up slopes because I got a stitch on flat ground.

For me, the good part about the City Race is that it is a hell lot shorter than Let's Take a Walk, so none of us felt too much like dying after. Also the element of surprise was pretty interesting. Essentially everyone has to 'check-in' 30 minutes before the race and they'll give you a map with 5 checkpoints and then you and the team pretty much figure which order you want to take them. Rich did awesomely with the map and what we lost in our severe lack of fitness we made up for in superb orienteering. If I had been in charge of that we'd be taking all the scenic routes and finishing heaven only knows when.

Anyhoo we walked most of the run (and the day after weirdly enough our arms and backs were aching more than our legs) and did a mad sprint to the finish line. All 5 metres! Fancy that! At least we ended things with a bang. Inside the race area, we were greeted with free Subway sandwiches and tons (and I mean like a whole variety) of fruit. I grabbed an orange because only challenging fruit interest me while the rest grabbed sandwiches and bananas. I thought that was pretty decent of the race organisers. We all agreed on two things at the end - one, that we thought it was a very well organised race and two, that it would have been lonely doing it alone. And I'm sure Gina would want the last word in and say that she much prefers running 10k to walking/running 20k.

Race results - Just under 20k in 3:20:04 hrs

No Rest for the Wicked

But tons of rest for me. Again. I'll post the report of Safra Avventura tomorrow, but Rich and I sort of completed it yesterday (you'll see) and I ache so bad. Neck down, everything hurts. Down to my good ole sesamoids.

Just got back from my podiatrist and I've been made to take a month off running. Bah. I also got my insoles adjusted to help get the weight off them. So no Green Corridor Run for me then and potentially no Aquathlon and maybe no City Race. And I was really looking forward to the City Race because it seemed like a whole lot of fun orienteering and running around the city. Ah well.

What I've Missed

My legs ached after the next day after my 2k run/walk. Pretty depressing. Still in my bid to cram as much ‘training’ as I could in the week before the race, I hit the gym and pedaled my way to race fitness…or at least as close as I could get to some semblance of it given the lack of time. This pretty much means my legs haven’t actually stopped aching since Tuesday. I kind of regret being a bit of a lazy arse the past couple of days now.

That being said, I did miss the aches. The past few weeks where I was down with the flu have been a chance for me to get a good rest after the 50k walk, but I was literally going stir crazy after a couple of days. Thankfully, I had friends in town so I was kept sort of occupied, but I still missed doing something…or moving. And more than just restlessness, it really felt as if something was missing.

You see, every time I go out for a run, a walk or hit the pool, there is that alone-ness that I actually really like. I actually enjoy those few minutes where nothing is going through my head except things like ‘dang, that’s a song I haven’t heard in ages’ or ‘wow, that stitch came on pretty fast’ (before all that is swiftly taken over by my incessant whinging in my head). Then there are those days where everything that could go wrong has and all I want to do is pull out my shoes and go for a run…a sort of metaphorical escape from it all. And yes all the crap is still there when you’re done, but those few minutes you were out there, they just stopped mattering for a while.

What I basically beating on about is that whilst my quads are still aching 3 days after doing my sad little 2k attempt at a run, my head is grateful for that 20 minutes much missed reprieve. So there you go, there’s my ‘sort-of’ admission that I do like running more than I make it out to.

What I’ve done:

Wednesday – 20 mins on stationary bike

Thursday – 15k on stationary bike

The Longest 2km Ever

After doing nothing except maybe a swim or two during the festive period because I was either banned by my podiatrist from running or just down with the flu, I decided to go for a run yesterday. I figured it'd be good to get a couple of km under my belt before the adventure race on Sunday that I have done absolutely no training for.

I pretty much got a stitch not very far into the run and I had to slow to a walk just under 1km. After walking off the stitch, I managed to get back into a sort of trot-run and then it was back to walking again. It took me a good 20 minutes to finish 2km which is a complete morale sap. And despite it being such a pathetic attempt at a run, my foot still hurt after and I had to ice it again. Ah joy. I foresee the upcoming adventure race being a wonderfully enjoyable event!

Meantime, I got my results back from the X-ray I did last week and I have no fractures (woohoo!) but the sesamoids on my left foot are considerably smaller than those on my right. Essentially they're not happy with all the weight on them. As to why they were perfectly fine for 30 over years of my life but are now acting up is beyond me. All the same, woohoo for no fractures!

What I've done:

Saturday - 1.5k swim 

-                     360m warm up

-                     240m drills

-                     240m kicks

-                     120m strokes

-                     240m free/breast

-                     240m IM swim

-                     240m cool down

Yesterday – 2k run/walk

Let's Take A Walk - 50k Report

The last time I attempted Let's Take a Walk's 50k with the girls, we didn't finish up and my legs didn't like me very much even though I didn't take it the whole 50k. However, because Gina's off in Melbourne being the good housewife she is, I was short a team to walk with.My friend Melvin had agreed to do the walk with me since he'd done it twice before. But even with Mel, we only had 2 and LTAW required 3 to a team. What do you do in times like that? Post it up on Facebook and you will  inevitably find a bunch of people insane enough to join you. And so we welcomed Chris and Shah to our team which we 'creatively' decided to call 'The Team with No Name'. As a digress, that makes for a rather confusing name because every time we checked in at a check point people would look for 'No Name' rather than what we were actually called.

Our pre-walk training was conducted one week before the actual walk because Chris was based in Melbourne and didn't arrive till early December and I was overseas when he just got back so our team training got pushed pretty late. It was pretty much a crash course, training wise, since we decided to jump straight to a 20k walk and did the last 20k on our route. That being said, this was probably the most training I've done for a big walk ever, so despite it's lateness and the fact that it was barely even half the total distance we were supposed to walk, it was still better than doing nothing.

The few days after the 20k walk I could barely get around. So I decided to read up on what I was supposed to do pre-50k walk. I was going to do anything to get me through the damn 50k, so 3 days before I started carbo loading (random aside: plus I also decided to wear my compression pants for the walk). Now I generally don't like carbs, but hell if it was what made the difference in me finishing or not, I was going to stuff my face with them. The night before I force-fed myself whole wheat pasta (which is probably the most disgusting thing ever created), so I was all set!

We met at 7.30am on a rather drizzly Sunday at Hong Lim Park and got ourselves registered then we got started. Essentially the checkpoints were:

1. Commonwealth
2. Rifle Range Road
3. Ang Mo Kio Avenue 3
4. Punggol Promenade
5. Pasir Ris Town Park

We made checkpoint 1 and 2 in pretty good time. The sky was overcast and the rain made for pretty pleasant walking. We even had time to stop for a quick breakfast at McDonalds at Queensway and for me to ice my leg (will ramble on about that later) and make another stop when Chris' lovely missus came with ice (another ice stop for me!), isotonic drinks and trail shoes for Chris.

We hit MacRitchie reservoir right after checkpoint 2 and then the sky opened and we got completely rained on. The ground was sticky and whilst I liked the fact that my feet got a short break from pounding the pavement, the terrain slowed us right down. After that short spell of rain, the sun came out again and baked us (that was pretty much how the day went - rain, sun, rain, sun rain, sun - I felt and probably smelt pretty disgusting at the end of the walk) and made the last bit of the MacRitchie portion a bit painful.

Shah had to drop out after that because her back was killing her, but fair play to her, she was sick the week before and couldn't attend the 'training walk' and yet she'd made it 25k! Pretty awesome!

After we popped Shah in a cab, we were starting to flag. Made it to Bishan Park for lunch at McDonalds and more icing before heading to checkpoint 3. After that, the walk lost all element of fun. We had done the last 20k the week before so we knew what to expect and what was coming was just a whole lot of flat park connector walks with not a lot to see. We were also starting to realise that our 7.30pm target to finish was looking very very unlikely. Plus, by that time we had walked for about 9 hours, my feet were starting to ache and each step was pretty darn painful. Chris was also going through the same agony with his feet and Mel, although he had no issues with his feet, was starting to get a bunch muscle problems.

We stopped at a food court for dinner about 2k from the finish point because I just couldn't bear the thought of having another McDonalds meal and we weren't sure there were restaurants that'd still be open when we were done with the walk.After stuffing our faces with food, we headed out for the last 2k which was probably the most painful but yet our fastest 2k in the entire walk. And then it was all over! We finished 50k! In just under 14 hours! Woohoo!!!!

My feet were swollen the next day and I still have a nasty heat rash on my ankles and feet. My podiatrist has put on his 'serious face' and told me that I had probably aggravated my sesamoiditis as we had both expected and because of that I had to be good and take at least a week (or more) of rest and relaxation and no walks or runs till the new year which kind of puts a dampener on my training for the adventure race in January!

All the same....WE FINISHED 50 KM!!!! Awesome awesome walking, team!!!!

Karma

The flu bug's been going around and a bunch of friends have caught it. I've been priding myself on having a strong immune system and being above all this 'illness' thing until I fell ill on the day I flew back from Hong Kong. The plane ride was hell and I felt like I was spreading the plague to the rest of the passengers.

So since I've been back from HK my training count has been a big fat zero. And I still have a nagging cough that just won't go away. I do realise that it's been only a week and generally a flu can take ages to go away, but still...

Team with No Name

'Let's Take A Walk' is back! I've only ever done this with them once because the year after they did a night walk and I'm not too keen on walking 50km when I should be fast asleep. Gina, Rach and I were the Manchester Uni Aunties. We didn't quite manage to finish the whole 50k then though and decided to throw in the towel about 45k. With Gina in Melbourne this year it almost looked like this was a no go, which was a shame, because they took a one year sabbatical and I'd been looking forward to them coming back!

Mel stepped up to the plate first, he was an old friend and I bumped into him the last (and only) time we did this and figured he was a good person to rope in. After him I just needed 1 more to make the minimum of 3 to start a team and I threw it out to Facebook. Voila, we now have a team of 4, we have a plan to do this in 15 minute run-walk intervals and hopefully we'll all be fast friends (and not total enemies) after the whole thing! So behold the Team With No Name - Mel, Chris, Shah and I!

All this means is I need to start training for this. Not really sure where the heck to start. It's not hard walking, it's just hard walking for ages and ages on end. And short of me training by doing 12 hour walks every weekend, I'm not entirely sure I know quite where to start. If anyone has any idea, help me out here!

In the meantime, I've done a run with my new runners and they gave me a blister. The ankle collar may have been a bit high or my socks were too low or I didn't have my usual insoles in there so it all rubbed wrongly. The toe bit feels a bit funny too...more cushioned? I guess it just takes getting used to. I do love me some Asics. Tonight I'll try another run this time with the right insoles and a higher pair of socks. Maybe with all these variables tweaked I'll grow into it! As for the run, if you've been following this, I've been doing my previous few runs blind. Well insofar as I didn't bother bringing out my footpod (my Garmin is now permanently residing in Rich's place because I'm absolutely useless with technology) and so hadn't a clue how far I had run. I dug out my footpod for the last run and realise I hadn't been running all that far all this while, which is a bit of a bummer. I logged 5.5k in 37 minutes and there I was thinking I had become such a speedster because my 30 minute runs had seemed far! Tis always nicer living in ignorance.

What I've done:
Monday: 5.5k run in 37:16 mins
Tuesday: 30 min spin followed by a sad amount of crunches and lots of stretching.

Questions Answered

First off, a big WOW and congratulations are due to my friends who completed the Melbourne Marathon - Chris and Gina. I knew they were both going to do a Full and a Half respectively, but it only occurred to me the day before the actual race that they might actually be doing the same race albeit different distances. Doh! All the same, Chris ran sub-4 (better than Paul Ryan!) and Gina ran sub-3 which is pretty awesome considering the only time I did a halfie, I took ages and ages. So well done, you awesome running people!

Other than that, the weekend was pretty much a blow-out. Hardly did anything because I was so dang tired. I managed to make it down for pilates on Saturday and then did a quick walk up the Nature Reserve with Rich on Sunday. Did a short run on Friday which turned out fine minus the return of my all-too-familiar stitch...Didn't go too far because well...erm....I was just plain lazy. Because I knew I wasn't going to go too far, I tried to run a bit harder...which maybe explains the stitch. So that didn't last very long either.

Whilst mid-run, I thought about my podiatrist and I realised that I'm kind of glad I went to see him. Rich says I walk like a cowboy sometimes and I never really understood what he meant, but it's the whole flicking outwards that my foot makes when it leaves the ground. I know it's to compensate for something, but I forget now. Then there's been that annoying pain on my little toe that never really quite went away and the foot aches that cause a whole bunch of hobbling around. In all, it's nice to know that there's a reason for all of this. Makes me feel that I'm not actually that much of a freak and that maybe I can run (not that I'd choose it as my first sport of choice) a little more pain-free once I get all that fixed up.

I've finally got myself a new pair of runners. I decided to go cheap and headed to Queensway (sports gear mecca!) over the weekend and got me a sweet new pair of Asics Gel-Nimbus 13s for $70 less than the usual specialist running store I go to! I did miss having someone there who said 'yes, you should wear this shoe and in this size' though because I'm terrible at making a decision. Even something as simple as 'do I want this in a size 6 or a size 6.5?' I spent a good half hour deciding that. This despite the fact that I brought my old shoes along and it clearly showed 6.5. I ended up buying a size 6 and then going home rummaging through all my old shoes (all size 6.5 as expected) and heading back the next day to change it. Maybe that's what the $70 gives me - extra time and peace of mind. Plus Queensway is like a zoo in the weekends, way too many people! Meanwhile I just hope I got the right pair of shoes.

What I've done:
Friday - Ran 20 minutes
Saturday - 45 mins Pilates
Sunday - Walked Bkt Timah Nature Reserve

The Foot Report

I went to see the podiatrist today and have learned that I have one foot a wee bit shorter than the other, and that I walk funny and have been walking/running funny for a while. That's the short story. The long story involves a lot of walking around, reaching for my toes and standing around while my little toes and big toes were moved around.

Bottom line is, I need custom-made orthotics because I am over-compensating for my feet by walking funny and over-working muscles (or something like that). I also need to stretch my calves and hamstrings twice a day, do an ice bottle massage after each run and I need to either get regular sports massages on my calves or do it myself with the foam roller. Oh joy.

Plus I've got to change my running shoes (which I kind of knew, but didn't think I ran enough lately to justify getting a spanking new pair of runners) which means a trip down to Queensway tomorrow to find a new pair, which he kindly recommended a few.

The good thing that came out of all this is that I've been given a free pass to skip the halfie I signed up for. Woohoo! I can sleep in and not feel bad that I'm being lazy! He did say thought that I should shoot for the trail race later in the month I also signed up for. Which is fine, I like that race anyway.

So now my foot is taped up and he says to run tonight with the tape on. So far I've walked with the tape on and it's dang uncomfortable, and for some reason my heel is starting to ache a little. Not sure how my run is going to go.

All in all, I quite like this guy, aside from being rather good eye-candy, he seems to know his feet. He's the 3rd podiatrist I've seen ever and I felt more informed coming out of the appointment. It could well be that he spins a good tale, but hell if I'm paying that much, at least spin a good tale!

The Fine Line

Yesterday I went on my run hungry. I'd eaten an early lunch and all I had for tea was a quinoa cookie, so before I started my run my stomach was growling. I figured if I just drank a whole bunch of water it'd help that. Well boys and girls, it doesn't. My original plan to run from the train station all the way home got halved and I had to get on a bus to go the rest of the way. Talk about humiliating.

It was insanely hot yesterday as well which didn't help at all. About 1.5k into the run I was dripping sweat and feeling exceedingly hungry. I stopped at one of the traffic lights and when I started again, my legs just felt like lead and I just couldn't find any energy to drag them along. I think I struggled through maybe another 2k before I called it a night.

The thing that went through my head throughout the run was why running was just such a miserable sport. Granted there are days where I love the run and all that, but then there are so many more days where I just want it all to be over very early in the run. I don't get that swimming. Other than when the coach makes us do ridiculous interval sets, I rarely ever am in the pool thinking 'oh my gawd, when is this going to end?' And just the number of parts that ache when I run is ridiculous. People ask me 'why do you run if you don't enjoy it?' and really I think there are only 2 reasons - 1. I wouldn't enjoy stopping as much as I do if I never ran and 2. every time I see some guy/girl running and how they make it look effortless, I forget how much I ache and feel like crap half the time and wish I were running with them. I'm calling it running amnesia. That'd be the only way to explain why instead of looking at someone running and going 'thank goodness that's not me', more often than not, I'm thinking 'I wish I were running'. Weird, but true.

Maybe I'm just in a slump and need to find a way to get out of this. I also need to find that fine line where I'm not overly hungry or completely stuffed before I do my next run.

What I've done:
Tuesday - 1hr swim training (covered 2k)
Yesterday - 30 minute run

To Run or Not to Run

Last week I did a 40 minute run and for 3 days my legs ached and my left foot started acting up in protest at the work I put it through. It got so bad I actually had to hobble out of bed the past few mornings because it just hurt so much. 40 minutes - that's it. Not like I ran 40km. In fact I doubt I even did 7k. It is all very demoralising. So a part of me is seriously considering the fact that I may never do a marathon because my poor feet just can't take all that pounding. I may actually just have to admit that running may not be quite my thang!

I'm not going to give it up just yet though, drama-queen rant aside. I'm going to try a run again tomorrow and see how that goes. Then I've made an appointment to see a podiatrist on Thursday because the internet is spitting out way too much possible feet problems I might have and much as I love this chinese dood I go to to 'fix' my foot, I'm starting to feel that he seems to be treating the symptom rather than solving the actual underlying problem. Damn left foot!

The annoying part about all this is that my run on Friday was actually pretty awesome. I ran stitch-less and nothing ached too much. I saw some pretty odd people (one woman was carrying a sort of handbag while running...why???) and I ran a bit further than I usually do! So it really is a real bummer that it all fell apart over the weekend.

On a random aside, I went to the Nature Reserve on the weekend to do a quick walk and as I was coming down from the top, I saw a family and their maid. And then I realised the maid was carrying all the snacks and water for them. It didn't look like all that was very heavy, but it was ridiculous! What took the cake was the fact that the father was wearing a '42k finisher' T-shirt. Woohoo, he can finish a marathon but can't carry a few bottles of water? Seriously? I was not impressed with that.

Also, if you ever decide to go to the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve, go early. The early morning crowd up there are a lot nicer than the folks who rock up at 9am. No one said 'hello' and when I greeted people sometimes I barely got a reply. They just didn't seem happy which is a real shame.

What I did:

Friday: 40 min run
Saturday: 45 min pilates
Sunday: 40 min walk up and down Bukit Timah Hill

Recovery Be Damned

I signed up for a halfie in November. I was won over by the whole 'women's only half marathon' and thought 'ooh that'd be fun!' Only, after getting myself registered, I suddenly recalled that I didn't half like running all that far and I found out that it started at 5.30am. Oh joy.

So my post-race, laze-around-and-be-a-couch-potato plans got thwarted by my over enthusiasm at this whole 'all women half marathon' and all I had is a good 2 days to pig out and do squat. Yesterday I got back to some semblance of 'training' if you might call it that - only I didn't do any running. The sky's been a bit crap lately. Thanks to the lovely folk over in Indonesia (Sumatra to be exact) and deforestation by slash and burn, the air this way has been pretty hazy. I could run on the yawn-mill, but let's be serious...that really isn't likely to happen. So in training for my halfie all I've done so far (and that was all done yesterday) was to go for a spin class and a 1/2 hour session in the pool where I think I managed only 1.25k in distance....ah well, we'll write them off as recovery work-outs.

I was going to run tonight but my good friend Jeanne just rang to say she was in town for a layover for a couple more hours. Talk about last minute notice! No running tonight, instead I shall be knocking them beers back and catching up with an old friend I haven't seen in ages now! Come on, surely that's a better way to spend a Wednesday night than doing a 5k run. I'm not even going to bother to pretend that I'll wake up super early to do my run tomorrow. Ain't happening.

What I've done
Yesterday:
45 min spin
1/2 hr swim training

Team Small Dragon Baskets

Post race photo of Small Dragon Baskets! Rich looks like the only one who did anything!

Cold Storage Triathlon Race Report

It's been a while and I have a confession to make. I don't report on some races namely races I feel embarrassed to talk about. For example the latest Tri-Factor Sprint Triathlon I did. I sucked giant ass and well...what can I say, I was lazy, I didn't train quite as hard as I should have and I just plain didn't take the damn thing seriously. The only thing on my mind was finishing it up early enough to make it for champagne brunch. Sooo....no race report on that unfortunately...I've said too much as it is!

Anyway, on to a race report on the Cold Storage Triathlon. Technically just a race report on the swim leg of the Cold Storage Tri since that's all I did...and pretty damn slowly, might I add. Our team consisted of Mun, Rich and I. Rich was dragged along for the ride essentially since Mun and I had discussed doing a tri relay and were looking for a runner. Poor Rich - thanks to the weird time schedule, Rich pretty much had to run in the mid-day sun.

My wave started at 9.50am which is pretty late considering some people were actually doing the full triathlon on their own...I would NOT like to be starting my 10k run at noon! Since there were that few relay people, we had to start with the age 50 and over individual men's wave.There were a crap load of men - I spotted maybe 5 girls tops. When the whistle blew I pretty much let the wave of men fight their way in before I strolled into the waters. Surprisingly there weren't any breast-strokers with this lot. I guess men think it's not macho enough to start of breast-stroking? Who knows.

All was going sort of fine-ish I suppose. I didn't swim like a snake, I sighted every 6 strokes (except when I forgot, then I did some weird trying to catch the buoy at the corner of my eye whilst trying to breathe and glide and remember a whole bunch of things I was supposed to do), I didn't get kicked in the ribs...it was all good!

Then I spotted some chick hanging off the ropes. I think it might have been her first time in the sea but she'd pretty much freaked out. So I stopped. I can imagine how scary it can be swimming in open waters. I'm not that freaked by it since when I was windsurfing I got pretty used to being thrown off and floating around (even then I had my board to hang on to!) but I know sometimes when I go to Sentosa (a grand total of maybe 5 times) to do laps at the lagoon I sometimes think 'If I just had a cramp here or if there was some undercurrent that dragged me out, no one would spot me and that really wouldn't be a fun way of dying'. I told the chick I'd swim with her for a bit. So she went a bit and stopped and hung off the ropes again. I checked to see if she was fine and we swam for a bit again before she had to stop. We did this for maybe 100-150m. Then she tried to go it back stroke and went the completely wrong direction. So we stopped again. By this time she had got herself pretty winded and was pretty much over it. We shouted over for the canoe and I think that was it for her. Fair play to her for trying though. I'd have given up and called it quits much much earlier on.

The race of the swim was pretty uneventful other than a damn stitch and the weird fact that there was no where to grab a cup of water when we got out of the sea to do our 2nd lap. I suspect it has something to do with the fact that you do a full 1.5k (instead of two 750m laps) in the sea without coming out in other triathlons, so they're trying to mimic that? I was freakin' thirsty at the end of those 2 laps. After I got out of the sea, still no water in sight. And then they made us run. There were plenty of cuss words in my head at this point of time, the sanitised version pretty much read 'why the beep do I have to run? I'm the beeping swimmer and they make me run? Where the beep is the beeping transition point? And why isn't there no beeping water in sight!?!?' The run bit sucked ass. We had to run over some overhead bridge thing (lower than the ones you get on the street) but what a pain in the proverbial ass that was.

I was so happy when I shoved my sandy, salt-watery timing chip to Mun and could finally grab some water...from the water bottle that Rich passed to me. Mind you there was still no water point in sight. I think they just hate the swimmers. That has to be it.

I sat around with Rich waiting for Mun who nailed his bike leg (6th out of 15th! - 40k in 1:17hrs) and then caught some breakfast with Mun whilst waiting for Rich who despite having done zero training did pretty well (11th out of 15th - 10k in 1:07hrs). We finished up 12th overall thanks to me. I let down the team! I did, however, beat my PB 1.5k timing and finished my swim in 39:06mins. Yay to me! And yay to Small Dragon Baskets! We didn't finish last - which really was the goal of this race.

Race Report by the cyclist in the team - http://tourdejapan.wordpress.com/2012/10/01/cold-storage-tri-29-09-12/


Timings:
Swim (1.5k) - 39:06 mins
Bike (40k) - 1:17:52  hrs
Run (10k) - 1:07:41 hrs
Overall - 3:04:38 hrs

Sickies

Be warned, this is going to be a 'poor me' rant. I promise to keep it short though!

And I was doing so well! I think I got through almost half a year without falling ill. Then again, I was following a better schedule than I was the last week. I just rediscovered Touched By an Angel and I've been keeping stupid hours. Urgh, going to load up on the Vitamin C, Echinacea, and garlic...ain't no Vampires hanging out with me for the next couple of days!

I've also gone off and injured my right shoulder, so I've been told to lay off the front crawl for a week at least. Which makes swim training a little bit lame. Plus I've to do a whole bunch of strengthening exercises to get my shoulder blade to stop shifting so much and screwing up my tendon again. Not fun. To top that off, my right toe was hurting too and I went for a run (yes yes, I thought I'd run off the pain) and aggravated it, so was told to lay off running for at least a week too. So essentially all I can do by way of training is cycle...Blech.

When it rains, it really pours.

Okay, rant over!


What I've Done:

Saturday - Swim training (2.1K)

Monday - Ran 4k in 28 mins

Tuesday - Swim training (kicks and breast stroke only - 800m)

Here's What's Dumb

What's dumb? Having a 2hr rock climbing class right after swim training. It basically made the session kind of pointless since my arms starting trembling pretty much 1/3 way into the session. Which made for a rather short climb session. Ah well, you learn from your stupidity eh?

I overdid Saturday. I wanted to swim, climb, get some of my assignment (I'm taking some graduate diploma in compliance) done, head to church and do all that before my grandmother's 80th birthday dinner. When I got to dinner I was exhausted. But it was good fun meeting with the extended family and catching up.

What I did:

Saturday
- 1hr swim training (Total: 2.3k)

- 1.5hr rock climbing

Sunday
- 40 min trek @ Bkt Timah Nature Reserve

Personal Trainer-less

Ever since I quit my personal trainer, I haven't been doing any weights at all. Zip, nada, zilch. I remember vaguely justifying why I didn't need personal training classes with 'I can go down to the gym to use the weights any time. I don't need to pay someone $100 bucks to tell me how to use weights!' Obviously after I quit my trainer, I also quit going to the gym do anything other than spin classes or shower. It seems if I don't feel $100 poorer, there isn't much motivation to weight train.

After weeks and weeks of telling myself I had to fit a strength training session somewhere in the week and procrastinating; on Wednesday I had the choice of either doing a 5k run or doing calisthenics at home. Neither was very appealing. That probably explained me finding everything under the sun to do before actually deciding that I'd rather just do something in the comfort of air conditioning.

I did a quick 5 minute warm-up on the elliptical then proceeded to do a kind of circuit training of sorts. 10 crunches, 10 side-crunches, 10 girly push-ups, 10 lunges, 10 squats, 10 dips...then I pushed it to 15 on the next set and stayed at 15 for the 3rd set. I was sweating like a pig at the end of it. It wasn't even as if I was doing all this with weights strapped to my arms even, but I was just knackered at the end. And this was barely even a 30 minute work-out in all!

Two days later I still have to lower myself carefully into my seat because my thighs are aching. Actually, everything that could ache is aching. And after swim training last night, everything is aching more than it was yesterday. That being said I haven't ached in a long time, so this actually feels pretty good!

On a side note, a good friend of mine is now cycling Japan. He's putting me to such shame. I want to say I'll do the same someday, but I really doubt it. Everyone makes cycling look easy. It sure as hell doesn't feel that way when I'm in the saddle. And I'm talking flat roads here. He's going up and down mountains and still going on. Nutter!

What I've done:
Tuesday: Swim training
Wednesday: 30 minutes calisthenics
Thursday: Swim training (2.2k total)

My Short Break

So there has been no update for the past couple of weeks (months, even?) because I've just been lazy. I got a bit of swimming in here and there but nothing much else. Since my mum insisted I had to attend my Grandmother's 80th birthday instead of doing a halfie, I quite happily acquiesced and then proceeded to do absolutely nothing.

In some other news, G has moved to Melbourne, which means my only training buddy is now an expensive text message away. It's going to be a lot harder (and more expensive) to text her incessantly on how proud I am of my running/swimming/jumping achievements. Boo hoo. Good news is she'll be back next month for a wedding and to take part in the Tri-Factor Sprint Tri with me. That actually kind of reads as bad news as well since it pretty much means I have to actually get my act together and get my ass back on the saddle again.

Meanwhile I leave you with some pretty hideous pictures from the Bintan Triathlon

"Running" out from the swim leg

There are actually shots of me smiling on the bike leg. I've no idea why. I look a bit deranged smiling to myself though!

My new found friend...whose name I didn't know. We walked a good 1k together and here we were trying to look like we were "running" it. Good work on her though, she did the entire race (that's 20k on the bike saddle) in her swim suit!




Tearing my way back...that chick in pink behind me (part of some relay team, which explains her energy!) overtook me just before the finish line...Beeeee-yatttchhhh!

If anyone could look more constipated on finishing a race it'd be me.

Slow Step Back to the Grind

After Bintan I was so happy. I could drink freely, do something other than swimming every other day and stop freaking out about cycling. Then I remembered I signed up for a halfie in July. Which means it's back to my runs again.

However, since I only have to train up my running, I now have time to go back on my walks! On Sunday, I went off to do Dairy Farm-Mandai with C, an awesome American chica. We started off around the same time as some bikers and they caught up with us about mid-way through. Actually, I think they may have lapped us and gone on their second round, but we like to think we were really legging it. Which would explain my aching calf muscle on Monday.

Anyhoooo, yesterday I officially started my halfie training with a 5k run. About 3k through I had a stitch but struggled through with Adele, Bruno Mars and Tina Turner. I dread to think of the 11k I'm supposed to be doing this week. Maybe I should move it to next week instead.

What I did:
Sunday: 2hr walk
Yesterday: 5k in 35 mins