Running Diary, day0030

31st Dec 2013, 24C, rainy.
Recovery run 4.6km in 41min. Quads pain worse in the afternoon, seemed to be DOMS. Wish tomorrow be OK.
Total ran 3025km in 338hrs, over 95% were barefoot (accumulated over 5000km mileage). Fail to run 5000km a year as proposed because of injury due to less seasoned batefoot in the 1st half. The 2nd half was better.
Plan to run 4000km in 440hrs next year. Focused on ultras. Need to balance work, family and running. Next training target: barefoot 100km at Twilight Ultra Challenge in Mar. 2014. See ya!

Running Diary, day0029: What is the healthier training habit

30th Dec 2013, 24C, overcast.
I did not run today. I wish no serious DOMS in the evening and could resume running tomorrow morning. That is why I had not push to 7 laps yesterday. I was grateful that energy conserving made no tiring feeling after 10 more hours work out. I was grateful that healthier vegan foods gave my energy throughout the race. I was grateful barefoot training made my feet tired-less. saw some runner said a respect feeling developed towards MacRitchie trail after accomplishment. I will say I developed love to it. Because the enjoyment I experienced. It all because I choose the healthier training methodology, thus out came the happier feeling.
So far most runners I knew enjoy their run only after achievement in new PBs, longer distance conquered. They bear pain an suffer fatigue during the race in exchange those achievements. They push hard and overload during training. They piss off easy run as "junk miles". Could running its be enjoyable? Could we develop health and fitness,as well as happiness?
Yes. The first thing is conserving, conserving energy for longer workout, for the rest of day's activity (work, family), for the next day workout, for the next race. One should never go all out wherever in a race or in a training. Using maximum effort usually means reaching over maximum heart rate, wearing out muscles and tendons. Believe your feeling, those unpleasant feeling will do no good to your body. Even you will see some fitness improvement. It will degrade your health. Human body were developed for longer moderate activities, like hunting and collecting seeds/fruits our ancestors did in thousands year ago. We were not designed running as a Cheetah, burst in short distance, rest the rest of the day. We are design to walk/ jog all day long to stalk the prey, to find the food. All our ancestor need to is conserving energy, the exhaust the prey, to find the next fruits bush.
The second thing is consistence, our body was designed to repeat the moderate workout day after day. As some research disclosed: the skeleton muscle damage recovery (when it is reversible) is 24 hours, consistent with human biological clock. The moderate workout mildly wear out muscles and tendons. The human boy developed a gene to refresh the body in a night's sleep. If we stay in moderate workout that only develop reversible damage, then  out body will develop the physical beniefit in a possitive cycle-- it is what Supercompensation theory described. If the workout intensity increases, the damage becomes irreversible, that will be no compensation at all, only degradation (because muscle cell could not be revive once dead) in health. At the same time, if one does not exercise in a daily basis, the supercompensation will not work so there will be no improvement in fitness at all.
Here come the conclusion: to achieve better fitness and health. One should exercise everyday in a moderate effort, conserve his energy to repeat it day after day. One could only feel enjoyable when his body is comfortable. No pain no gain is bullshit. Consistence is the only truth.

Running Diary, day0028: MR25 Cross-country Ultra Marathon race report

I completed my 2nd ultra: 6 laps of MacRitchie trail (63km) in 10:42. Though it was my longest workout both in distance and length, I finished it in much easier effort than previous one(5 laps). It might be because of greater mileage accumulated.

I strictly stuck on my plan: flat and down slope jogging, up slope walking. First 3 laps I was a little bit faster: 1:40 each. Later 3 laps I ran with Safra club mates and each in 2:00. Because of no running up slope, my calf was freshy even after run, my core, glutes and upper body was also relaxed. Left knee had been uneasy during lap2 but soon relieved. The only problem was my quads, maybe they were my weak point, maybe I hopped to much down slope. After 3 laps, slight soreness came. After 6, it tasted like DOMS. It would be my next focus for ultra.
I ate a lot, hydrated a lot. Only lost 1kg weight. That was within my expectation: my body had tried to generate over 200Cal per hour by busying digesting the food I prepare. The vegan food worked. The only problem was I got gastric disorder (went to toilet after each lap) after lap2. I reckoned it because I comsumed yam and papaya: too much dietary fiber generating too much gas. Next time I should avoid these. Sushi and green bean paste& soup were best, bread had been demonstrated last time. They were all candidate for the next ultra.
I prepared 3 pair of shoes for the race. But finally I only wear VFF Seeya with Injinji toe socks throughout the race. I used to train trail with VFF Treksport and felt pain each time after 2 laps. This time I had plan to wear Seeya when feet were fresh and change to Treksport after 6 hours. To my surprise, Seeya had much better feeling than Thicker-soled Treksport. I did not feel any pain even after 4laps. So I stuck on Seeya and not even change socks. The near 11 stress test shown thinest soled Seeya the more qualified trail running shoes against traditional wisdom. I thought it might be due to more Seeya's more flexible soles made it more suitable for barefoot runner: one could recruit more foot muscles during each landing on the uneven terrain, as I had trained during barefoot running. The more thicker and harder soled Treksport weakened the ability of my foot, just like another traditional shoes.

The FB link to the photos by a lot of supporters and me:

Running Diary, day0027

28th Dec 2013, 23C, overcast.
Today skipped run for tomorrow's MR25 12hr ultra. Inspired by Scott Jurek, I prepared vegan foods: cucumber sushi, avocado sandwich, cooked yam, green bean past and soup, papaya, pear, pickles. All natural plant based homemade foods. I will try to eat 200~300Cal foods per hour while the real energy consumption will be double. So after 12hr I will  be 3000Cal in debt, that will come from 750g fat burning. If I hydrate properly, I'll only loose 0.75kg weight.

Tomorrow's strategy, eat as much as I can, sa far as comfortable to find out a suitable ultra fueling pattern. run as slow (no faster than 6kph) to avoid interruption of training.

Running Diary, day0026: Zen running

27th Dec 2013, 23C, sunny.
I logged 10k today, a lttle bit faster, 1:08. The HRM was still out of order. Later I brought RS2032 button batter to see if it would be Ok.
I was trying to practice Zen during running. That is "eating when eating, sleeping when sleaping". I did run only when I was running, no listen to music, or doing anything else, exept thinking. I though maybe I should not even think, just focus on run. Maybe I could have senced the danger ahead and avoid the fall. OK, let's keep on more focused Zen running.

Running Diary, day0025: My new running buddy

26th Dec 2013, 27C, overcast.
Today is a big day. I got a new running buddy. My baby girl completed her very 1st run, in barefoot. She was just 2yrs 10mths old and clocked total 2.24km in 38:39.
I did not run this morning and after diner I wanted to clock some mileage. My baby girl saw and wanted to run with me. Then I let her followed me one loop arround our HDB neighborhood in barefoot. She was not like her older sister, she follow me slow jogging and walking, but never dashed. The first round she clocked 1.28k in 18:39.
When I sent back home and would go out for another run, she cried and chase me out. So I had to take her with another round. This time looping the neighborhood garden, our Green Oval. She was happy and just ran her way: playing when she saw something she interested, and keep on walking/jogging when I waved at her. The road sufface was a little bit rough than the concrete one outside the HDB. She "ouch"ed soon. So we had to stop, she clocked another 956m in 20min. One our way back, she asked if I'll go out again after we back. I said yes. She asked me not, because she'll be sad. I promised her to stay.
I hope it be a new era of my running life.

Running Diary, day0024

25th Dec 2013, 26C, sunny.
Walked with my kids to the beach, I felt could log some miles today. So I started an afternoon run at 3pm. The right knee was still tight until 8km, when I saw a seasoned runner and began to chase him. The wind was strong so it didn't feel very hot and I didn't sweat much than in the morning. My HRM was out of order today so I had no idea what it was. I only know it took 71min to finish 10k. Normal effort.
Compared with morning walk (~5km), my barefoot post run (10km) feel was much better. It implied barefoot worn out dominanted by time. More specificly, I thought it was dwelling time of foot contact to the ground. That means I need to keep on running during a ultra as long as my heart could stand. Otherwise even walking can kill me in the race. So, let me prepare for the 7min pace for the 100km three month later.
Attched the photo by Samsung S4, quite awesome macro for a handphone.

Running Diary, day0023: Christmas gift

24th Dec 2013, 23C, sunny.
Today had a great fall in 4km. It was dark and my right foot stuck by something on the uneven ground. Right knee hit and the left side sliding. My watch flew 3 meters away and left palm bleeding. I had not been injured since July. I never anticipated I fell on the road instead of trail, while jogging. I finished the rest 6k. Fortunately the fall awaken me instead demoralizing me. My heart rate reduced from 133 to 126 under the 6:41/km pace. My body felt lighter as if something draging my feet had been blew away with the fall. The runner's high made me forget the pain. After run I went to the market and then to see the doctor. Doc said I was fine and would be ok in a week. I asked him if I could continue to run he said yes. My knee felt better in the afternoon but palm still bleeding. Thanks for the gift...
Let's get back to good side, my girls like the easel I brought for them as one of the Christmas gift. They drew some picture as gift to their daddy and mummy. So sweet!
Wish all merry Christmas! And fastest recovery ----to me!

Running Diary, day0022

23rd Dec 2013, 23C, rainy.
Perfect weather, perfect run. The weather was cool though the wind was slightly strong from north. The rain was just like adding some lotion to the skin. First 4 miles I kept HR below 130, and kept below 140 for the rest. 10km in 69min, average HR 130. Keep going!
Mum had decorated the christmas tree with children, so it was Daddy's turn to prepare all the gifts and wrapped them up!

Running Diary, day0021

22nd Dec 2013, 23C, overcast.
Today ran with Elias CC running club. 9.6km in 1:15 with wife.
Continued to read Scott Jurek's Eat & Run. It was the best part when he won 2 toughest race in two weeks: Western states 100 followed by Badwater. That was so-called "on the edge". He had amazing body condition mastety that made him kept running on the edge and peak. Jurek also mentioned a lot of biologocal mechanism in ultra endurance running, that I had seen on Noak, Lydiad, and Maffetone's books. The theory was not new, but solid came from Jurek's experience. But I think the most important thing was how he made daily life in a positive cycle which kept training, rest (recovery), working, eating, in a perfect balanced state. The super fast recovery might be the result of vegan diet as he emphasized. I still think he had very strict self discipline to carty on his tough training and dietary.
I came up a post in FB said jogging made injury compared with "running", simply because more steps made in the same distance. The author made cheeting by neglecting the impact difference between long and short strides. I used to saw this post on natural running center. And it was posted by a local barefoot running group again. Had one been practicing barefoot running for longer time, he would not believe this nonsense.

Running Diary, day0020

21st Dec 2013, 23C, raining.
Today I logged 17.8k in 2:04, totally under 140bpm. No more chest pain.
Afternoon collected MR25 12hrs Ultra racing pack. It looked pool was bigger than before. The route is different to last year, full loop around the reservoir. It should be easier than last year. I was a little bit ddisappointed because last year's route was more exciting. I told Torrenn on site registration is still avaible, hope he finally get his slot.

Running Diary, day0019

20th Dec 2013, 24C, rainy
No run today, slept late. Had sinfully dinner with colleagues. I found I was lived in a different Singapore than the city center. Also fortunately I don't need to cope with the temptation of the city life. Let's get back to my run. Must addmit I ran too fast and deviated from the right track these days. Need to strictly control heart rate.

Running Diary, day0018

19th Dec 2013, 21C, overcast.
Ran 14.8km in 1:36. After half way I began to find the speed feeling: propelling with body rotation, keeping head steady and driving thigh, like Chi Running advocated. I focused on form and let go heart rate, ended up with HR reached 160. And some residue chest pain. Maybe I should go have a ECG.
Evening is SAFRA Tampines running club annual gather together party. Met a lot of old friend, and got know some new. Torren wanted a MR25 ultra slot, but this time not many people registered and thus no one wanted to give up. He got lobang from SCM race expo, a pair of Vivobarefoot shoes.

Running Diary, day0017

18th Dec 2013, 25C, tornado
Back from Melaka yesterday 9pm, we all tired and had a sound sleep. I decided to have one day off. My order from Amazon arrived, it was a Kindle Paperwhite 2nd generation. I could not wait and bought 2 books: Bernd Heindrich's Why We Run: A Nature History and Scott Jurek's Eat & Run.
Later afternoon there was a supper storm dipped whole Singapore into water. Somebody even spotted tornado.

Running Diary, day0016: Bridges Over Melaka River

17th Dec 2013, 28C, cloudy.
Today I followed the riverside route reached the turning point of river cruise yestetday. There was very

T few people walking or jogging there. Only met a group of local teenagers jogging and wandering, saying hi to each other. Thought there should be more foreign jogglers than locals. It was quiet and peaceful.
The pathwaw beyond river cruise was under construction. It was rather ulu (rural) in Melaka. Thought a few years later when I visit here again I could run further. Right now it was no more than 10km out and back. Enough for walker and joggler but far below my expectation :P 

There were eight bridges across the river, where I weeved through. They are beautiful, I can wait to see the nineth, tenth bridge...

Today total run 15km, 1:40.

Running Diary, day0015

16th Dec 2013, 31C, sunny.
13k in 90min, mostly below 140bpm. There were still DOMS residue. I looped Datran Pahlawan square more than 10 loops before day break. Then turned to historic sites. At the beginning I was weeving through the street around Jonker street until I came to Melaka river side. I found there seemed to be a exercise walk path at both sides of the river. I followed it and surprised to find it rather long and scenic. I decided to come again the next day to finish it.
Later in the afternoon we took the river cruise along the river. I could re-examine the route, it was longer than the cruise route. And found several runners there. I was happy to find a runner friendly route and it made my trip even exciting.

Running Diary, day0014

15th Dec 2013, 31C, sunny.
Today I took my family to Melaka for a three days' trip. I did not plan any run today. We got up at 6am to catch up the coach leave for Melaka at 8am. It was 2pm when we arrived hotel. Checked in and took a short tour around the historic sites, it was already 9pm. It was a long hot day. Travelling with two young children took more energy than marathon. I need a sound rest. And luckily, the DOMS after yesterday's run was insignificant, hopefully tomorrow I'll be refreshed.

Running Diary, day0013

14th Dec 2013, 30C, sunny.
I started at 9:30am for 2 loops MacRitchie nature trail run. It was preparing for the MR25 12hrs ultra marathon two weeks later. I joined last edition and finished 5 loops. This time I planned to do one more loop and try not to impact the next day training (last time I rested 2 days for DOMS).
It was a hot day and I wish the race day would be like last year. I walked up slope and ran down slope, each loop took me 90min, average pace is 8:30/km. The heart rate, dreadful 150. I should run no faster than today. Let's see how is the DOMD the following days. And more important, try suitable fueling pattern for future ultras.
The only thing I learnt today is trail running is totally different to road running. It is more demanding core/ upper body muscles, and perception/ reaction than road running. During road running, you can leave it in auto pilot mode, engaging fewer muscles and mind, and even in sleep walking mode can do. But in trail, you should alwsys stay focused, watching out for the incoming terrain, changing tempo, stetching out legs to make smooth transition from rocks to rocks. And more important, core drived technique is more critical to help achieve the goal. Becsuse one can not have solid landing on the uneven, rocky, and slippery terrain. One can only make sloppy and swift contact and quickly move forward. Otherwise one will break his knee or ankle. Core driven keep one moving with gravity (especially down slope), and upper body swing helps to keep balance. The more complicated terrain, the more demanding the whole body and mind synchronization. It was fun. It was just like dancing. The whole body is awaking. I regain my core driven running technique today!

Running Diary, day0012

13th Dec 2013, 26C, sunny.
If no rain then hot, it is typical Singapore. Ran 10k in 1:09, The warming up was still slow and took more than half an hour. Then I could pick up 6:30/km pace with proper form and easy feeling, though HR was not low enough( jus below 140). I wish soon can bring down to 130.

Running Diary, day0011

12th Dec 2013, 26C, sunny.
Similar as yesterday, 14.7km in 1:38, fail to control pace and heart rate. Felt sluggish again. I could not imagine I ran 1:38 for half marathon just a few month ago.
Joined 3rd meeting preparing for Northeast Run 2014 in Elias Community Club in the evening. This edition was hosted by our Community Sports Club. As a member, I joined the committee. Today went through the logo, theme, website, quotation and decided event day (16 Mar 2014), registration date (20 Dec 2013). Race category are men open, women open and men veteran for 14k. And 4k fun run themed cosplay. Sponsored by People's Association, and no road closure (venue is in the Pasir Ris Park, same as 2011 edition), the registration fee is only SGD20 in early bird stage. It is clear most running event made big money, no wonder more and more events in each year.

Running Diary, day0010

11th Dec 2013, 24C, sunny.
Set off 5:48am, ran 15.2km today, total 1:45. The HR monitor was out of order. But it seemed hard to suppress HR below 130. Even durian could not help. Just let go. Forget about heart rate, I focused on runnning form, run more smoothly. Good ending.

Running Diary, day0009

10th Dec 2013, 24C, sunny.
Another hot day, I guess it one reason my heart rate high. Can hardly keep below 130bpm. And the pace sucks too, below 7:30/km. End up with 10km in 1:15! And I felt sluggish.
Felt better in the afternoon. On the way home I came up with my favourite durian, Red Prawn. Brought one to share with my kids. They are also durian fans. Hope it bring energy to me...

Running Diary, day0008

9th Dec 2013, 23C, sunny.
Started at 6am, tried to maintain HR below 130bpm, finally ran 12.4km in 1:29. It was hard to control the pace below 7:00/km after 6km if maintaining the high cadence (I think >180). And also hard to have HR dropped below 110bpm no matter how slow pace I make. It seemed long way to achieve my supper recovery, ultra running goal.
From tomorrow, I'll walk the final 300m of my running routine (from the last traffic to home) to monitor HR recovery rate. It should be a key index for aerobic fitness. I saw Suunto provide this kind of data output.

Running Diary, day0007

8th Dec 2013, 23C, rainning.
Join the routine Elias community club Sunday morning run with my wife. Perhaps due to last week's marathon, not many people shown up and most took 6km short cut instead of the whole 9km route, except us and Japanese runner Suda who finished 8th in SCMS 10k race. He was the lead runner and we were the last. I picked up with my wife's usual 7:40/km pace, it was so easy and heart rate was around 120bpm. I wish I could push it below 110bpm soon so I could regain a 5:30/km MAF pace. So this month I will stick to the heart rate zone below 130bpm, centered around 120bpm to accunmulate longer training time.
My wife and I finished today's 9km run in 1:09. I acvumulated 9hrs training time this week, total 70km. It is good start right after a marathon race.

Moving To Ultra, My 7th Marathon, Or a LSD

It's my 4th time paticipating in annual Singapore marathon, and 7th marathon.  Training was interrupted by work and family issues. I lost my peak performance after achieving PB in September's Army Half Marathon (1:38:11). And a serious flu I got two weeks before race made it even worse. Sekiya Ryoichi's autobiography saved me from deep valey. I got inspiration and adjusted my goal.

Sekiya's philosophy is simple: good time arrangement among family, work and running. Run as much and as easy. Good timming achieved after sufficient time on running acummulated. In a word: run as much as you can manage. The only key to train more is run slow, so slow is not a shame. I gave up sub4 plan and decided to run it as a LSD and continue to train immediately after race. That day my two daughters were also run kids category. So I arrange with my wife to meet them at Esplanade Bridge after kids flag-off. I should only run a 5:15hrs marathon and get there by 10:00am. 

It was a shame that I got up late and hurried to start line 25min after flag off, without eating anything. The situation became more serious: it meant I need to run a ~4:45 marathon with empty stomach. The good thing is: it was right on my MAF pace zone at the time (~6:30/km). and I had SAFRA running club supported in East Coast Park (where I fueled 1 banana and 1 sng bao, another sng bao after turning back). The weather was great, I had no problem maintaining a 6:30/km pace, even had the luxury going to the toilet for 6min (same toilet as in year 2012 Sundown and 2011 SCMS). My barefeet also didn't encounter much problem. Road condition was still sucks in Marina East, and after Gardens By the Bay. I could run faster than last time  because of increased barefoot mileage. I met some barefoot runners along the way, two Indians, one from Malaysia "Bare with me" running group, and two from "Singapore barefoot minimalist" running group who wore their signature Tee. They all ran debut barefoot marathon. I encouraged them and moved on my own pace.
I arrived Esplanade Bridging at 10:00am sharp. I tried to call me wife but no answer. I waited at Anderson Bridge, watching other parents and kids running by for 5min. I finally reached my wife and She told me they were rejected to enter the course for late coming. I told them to wait for me and I made my way to the finish line.

I hurried collecting the medal and Tee, and made my way to Esplanade Theater. I later found my family in the bridge. Till then I had been running for 5:09hrs, all together 45km, long enough LSD.

Later we were able the get into the course with the help of one warm heart road Marshall. Both kids was happy because they can run and win medals. Me too, and my best part is cross finish line again, with Feican. My annual marathon goal accomplished.

It was a good long run. Not much stress to body. I even planned to run most marathons as long run except the one I pursue for PB. Now my target is ultra, run slower and healthier. 

The statistics said I passed 1686 runners at last 5k, and only overtook by 93. I think the 93 were that 5min I wait in the Anderson bridge : )

Before we enter the course, we cheered for the runner in Esplanade Bridge, took some photos. They can be found in my Facebook: Face book album link

My happy family day!

Running Dairy, day0006: Route from Pasir Ris to Lower Peirce and Bishan Park

Dec 6th 2013, 23C, sunny.

Started at 5:47am, from Pasir Ris, through Lorong Halus wetlands (2.5km mark), via Punggol Park (6.5km mark), Punggol -Hougang PCN, Ang Mo kio AVE5 (9.5km mark, instead of Yio Chu Kang Road to avoid hilly terrain), reached Lower Peirce Reservoir (15.5km mark, through the Broad Walk entrance after Casuarina Walk in Old Thomson Road). Then crossed Upper Thomson Road and ran through Bishan Park (18~21km). Finally I jumped to the train in Bishan MRT. Total 22.51km in 3:10:24, AVG pace 7:38/km (excluding stop for traffic), HR 126bpm.

The run was rewarding, not only scenic, but also very light body loading. The post run feeling was amazing, I was refreshing after this 3hrs run, no stress at all! I think that is what the real easy run looks like, and the running philosophy Sekiya Ryoichi advocated: run more with low intensity, leaving less stress to body, so you can run even more. Longer your body indulging into the aerobic exercise, more endurance you gain.
Weather was fine and I only get hydrated in Punggol Park and Bishan Park, Starting with empty stomach as usual, I finally ended up with 1 glass of sugar cane juice and a piece of papaya, nice!

Ps. My barefoot mileage reached over 5000km.

Running Diary, day0005

6th Dec 2013, 5th day after marathon, DOMS finally gone.
Sunny, 24C.
Eesy run 10k in 1:11:49, Pace 7:06, HR131bpm. Quads are so critical to running performance. After recovery, speed rose and HR dropped significantly. I felt strength coming back.

Running Diary, day0004

5th Dec 2013, 4th day after marathon, still DOMS.
Overcast, 24C.
Get up @6am, easy run 10.03km in 1:14:35, Avg pace 7:26/km, HR 131bpm. This time DOMS lasted for 4days, maybe I should run in lower heart rate. Tomortow if it is still there, I'll run around 120bpm.

Running Dairy, day0003

4th Dec 2013, 3rd day after Singapore marathon, DOMS better than yesterday.
Light rain, 24C.
Get up @ 6:20, recovery run 6.23km in 44:58, Avg pace 7:13/km, HR 132bpm. It looks I start to run a bit earlier, normally I only ran after 2days full rest. This time the revovery run seems not helping relief DOMS. And I need to train more to improve recovery speed, the key to ultra.

Running Dairy, day0001

2nd Dec 2013, 1st day after Singapore Marathon. Minor DOMS in quads.
25C, Raining.
Getting up @6:20am, toileting, drinking 1 glass of water, recovety run 6.27km in 46:43, Avg pace 7:27/km, HR 129bpm. Felt good in the rain.
Felt drowsinees at work, sore throat, caughing. Slept after 10:30pm.
From now on, I'll take running dairy just like Sekiya Ryoich did.

Running Dairy, day0002

3rd Dec 2013, 2nd day after Singapore Mararhon. Solid DOMS feel in quads.
25C, overcast.
Get up 6:15am.
Recovery run 6.22km in 48:28, Avg pace 48:28, HR 131bpm. Not as good as yesterday, HR monitor jump to 150~170bpm at the 1st 2miles. The actual HR should be lower.
Felt ok at work. Wish DOMS gone tomorrow. Sleep @ 11pm.

Losing Peak Speed, My 4th J P Morgan Corporate Challenge

My running career started from preparation of J P Morgan 5.6km race in 2010. And I got improvement in PB each year (2011, 2012). This year it came to an end. Though I still ranked 1st in my company with more seasoned runners joined this time, I only clocked 24:40, fell 2 min behind my last year PB (22:59). Ranked 231 in the entire field, compared 97th in last year.

Despite the slightly longer (~100m) in course and hotter weather (30min earlier start than before), The top 1% runners seemed to score equally well as before.
I was managed to start near to the front and started slow (from below chart you might found it the slowest start ever). It did not help. I could not speed up to 4:00 pace after 1km mark as I planned, and I could not even keep 4:10 pace, degraded to 4:30 at last, end up with 2min slower than last year. More shamefully, the heart rate was insanely high and it should not come from a runner claimed training with MAF method. It was out of my max heart rate!

Split      -2011 Pace    -2012 Pace  -2012 HR    -2013 Pace  -2013 HR
1km        4:01                3:57              182bpm       4:37               185bpm
2km        4:03                3:52              190bpm       4:13               189bpm
3km        4:09                4:09              189bpm       4:21               191bpm
4km        4:33                4:23              187bpm       4:20               192bpm
5km        4:42                4:20              186bpm       4:32               193bpm

I could only attribute this to the temperature, the heat of the course that burnt my soles because I ran barefoot. I could not pump up sufficient blood stream to the leg muscles and use most to cool down the body and soles... I knew that was not the only reason. I was losing my peak speed, as a result of aging when I entering my 40s. Last month SAFRA inter-club road relay already shown a sign: I could not clocked sub-4min pace in a 2.4km run. If it was 3 years ago, I could do it in a 7.5km course with only 6 month after starting to run. So it's time for me to turn to longer distance, and ultra-marathon as other mid-aged runners did. Bye-bye speed, I'll get it in longer distance.

Meta Sprint Aquathlon 2013, My 2nd try

It was my 2nd time join the race. Because of good experience last year. Despite no training almost a month during CNY,  I brought more cheer leaders to give me power, here they go: my two princes.

The course was same as last year, except the the first turn of running course pulled back a little, made it shorter by ~200m, measured 4.84km, according to my Garmin305.

The swimming course was same. 2x out and 2x back made 750m. Thanks to organizer to upgrade to uncle group (40-49), I could start in early waves (wave 4). The tide in Palawan beach was low at that time, but already higher than last year. This time I tried to use open water sighting every 5~10 strokes, avoided wasting effort in zig-zagging. I don't think I improve my speed a lot since last year. But TI sure save a lot of effort for me. So I didn't felt sluggish as I crawling from the water. I scored 21:18 for swimming leg, compared with 24:04 last year.

Despite gasping at the beginning of the run, I soon recovered and both breath and stride became relaxed. I listen my body and ran in an average 4:40/km pace, HR~177bpm. It was right in my 5k HR zone, according to Jack Daniels' formula. I made this even pace till the finish line, finished in 22:33, compared with 23:58 last year. My final ranking was 106/207 finishers in the age group, better than last year's 123/189 (30-39 Group).

One interesting thing. When I was about to leave transition. The official found I wore no shoes and want to stop me. I hurried off saying "it's OK, I'm fine with it", leaving the worried official behind, saying "it's rule, you can not run without shoes!" I don't think they were going to DQ me and deprive the joy from me. But I was surprised when the official finally caught up with me after halfway U-turn and informed me he's going to record my bib number for "leaving transition without any shoes". I said I was fine with it and already violated this rule last edition. He didn't get me out off the course and let me enjoy, what a nice person.
The post run session was playing an celebrating with my daughters in the beach. The race left me only relaxation, family fun, nor even post run muscle soreness. It was amazing.


Thanks Tekko volunteering photographing the race, some of the photos credited to him and "Running Shots"
Album1
Album2

8hrs44min: A Good Beginning of Ultra Marathoning

One of my 2012 goal was completing a ultra marathon. I skipped TNF Singapore because I was full participating running event in during that time. The year end MR25 Ultra Marathon looked like a better choice. It was 4 weeks after Singapore Marathon and I should have enough time to recover. The 12hrs event requires completion of 5+ laps (51km) of designate route in MacRitchie Nature Trail (total ascent less than 1000m in 5 laps) to claim the medal, and the most laps in least time won. And it was cheap, only S$40, as much as a 10k road race. I joined with some of my SAFRA running club members.

2 days after Singapore Marathon, when the DOMS (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness) is gone, I resume my training and clocked 100k each week followed. I also visited the venue and did on site rehearsal 1 week before. The 2 laps run killed my quads for lacking of trail running mileage. I had to rest 3 days till it recovered. I didn't think I was ready to run rehearsal pace (8:15/km) an so I decided to slow down to 9:00/km. To play safe, I planned to walk the 1st and final lap and rest 10min between each lap for refuel. I only need to run 3 laps now. And it would take 9hrs, hope my Garmin305 could survive.

Race was started 7:05am in front of MacRitchie Reservoir Park Amenities Centre. Around 400 runners participated and it was slightly raining. We winded our way about 500m along the lake to reach the trail entrance.

Then followed by a upper slope. The out going part of the route was mainly ascending and muddy terrain. So walking the 1st lap was a good idea.

After the largest slope in 3.5km mark, we climbed to the Island Club Road and switch to Terentang Trail, mainly gravels.

Before 4.5km mark we entered the most tough part: Sime Track.

First we need to pass a sever ponding area which existed since the raining season.

Then the uneven rocking part.

After ~600m we finally reached 5.1km turning point, Petaling Hut. I planned to cover the part in 1hr but I was fresh and walked really fast despite the climb, I was 10min ahead of schedule.

The return part was much descending and I began to run. Forget about the plan, I was warmed up enough. I was careful to be relax and not to push during upper slope. My lap time was 1:39 instead of planned 2:00 when I get back . I was in the mode and not hungry at all. So I just pick up 3 bananas, leaving my supplies in  the package deposit.

The 2nd lap was even more smooth. I just follow my strategy: run at down slope and walk to climb, taking pictures all along the way. 

The 2nd lap only took 1:31. This time I use my supply: 1 piece of bread and 1 pack of pickled cabbage. The  pickled one was a genius idea. Most supplies were carbos and sweets, the pickled cabbage brought juicy and fruity flavor and provided sufficient salt in more natural way. The 10min refueling break totally refreshed me. 

I headed out for another round and hope to be back by lunch time. The 3rd round took 1:38, the legs were a little bit tired and even in the more descending back part I walked more. I was right back in lunch time and finished another piece of fruit bread with my favorite picked cabbage. I left organizer's supply along because I had no experience to eat much normal food during run--They supplied rice, mee goreng.

The 4th lap was full of eateries. At the turning point the staff handed me a red bean bum. They must worried about the runner missed lunch at start, so sweet! And 1km before the trail exit. A group of supporters were cheering for the runners. They handed out fruits, drinks, and even Sng Bao! I picked up mu favorite flavor, Ribena. These people were really adorable! 

The 4th lap was slow and took me 2hrs to finish. I had already finished my pickled cabbage and this time only ate 2 pcs of bread with peanut butter. The last lap I had planned to walk, but I still try to run on the flat part, avoiding to run both upper and down slope to save my quads for the next week run. At the same point I encounter the supporters again, this time they offer me a Tau Huey treat. I was full of surprise and gratitude.    Eating Tau Huey and ran away.

In the final lap, every step was a achievement. I walk, run when not tired, and took photos to record the moment. At last stretch, I met one of my colleagues and we walked together the finish line. As well, we were greeted by the group of supporters and enjoyed another round of muscle spray : ) At last we clocked 8:44 for the 5 laps. We qualified us as ultras!

In this race, there are a few iconic figures encouraging me on future running.

Uncle Oliver Ker, was in his seventies, very active in the running field. You would hardly missed him in most long distance races. Salute!

Sifu Rich Chai, a veteran barefoot runner, founder of Malaysia barefoot running group "Bare with Me". This time he finished 6 laps with handed made huaraches! MR25 is just his training run for next month's Vibram HongKong 100. Wish him good luck!

Torren, my SAFRA running club barefoot buddy. Inspire me a lot in barefoot running. It was him I decide to train more hilly session and increase my weekly mileage to 100km. This time he complete 8 laps in 11hrs, looked like still could run another day, awesome!

The organizer and supporters for the race are first class. We have many volunteer photographer following all the way, thanks to there great effort! Kudos! Here is their albums, enjoying the tons of happy faces!

Thanks Thomas Leong ambushed to catch us! His FB album: 

MR25 Cross Country Ultra

Marathon 2012

Thanks the lady from "Running Shots" follow up all the way through out the route! Their FB album: 

MR25 Ultramarathon 2012 Dec 30 - K1

MR25 Ultramarathon 2012 Dec 30 - M1/2

MR25 Ultramarathon 2012 Dec 30 - M2/2

Thanks Daniel Chia! His FB albums:

MR25 Ultramarathon 2012

MR25 Ultramarathon 2012 (Part 2)

Thanks MH Chua! His FB albums:

MR Ultramarathon Part 1/2 2012

MR Ultramarathon Part 2/2 2012

Thanks Ashe Ek, His FB albums:

S'pore MR25 Ultra Marathon 2012 #1

S'pore MR25 Ultra Marathon 2012 #2

S'pore MR25 Ultra Marathon 2012 #3

S'pore MR25 Ultra Marathon 2012 #4

S'pore MR25 Ultra Marathon 2012 #5

S'pore MR25 Ultra Marathon 2012 #6

S'pore MR25 Ultra Marathon 2012 #7

Running Kaki's albums

MR25 Ultra Marathon 2012 - Album 1

Eye-See-Eye-Shoot's FB albums

MR25 2012 (Album 1)

MR25 2012 (Album 2)

Finally comes mine!

MR25 Ultra Marathon 2012 (1)

MR25 Ultra Marathon 2012 (2)

MR25 Ultra Marathon 2012 (3)

Workout details in Garmin Connect and route map: