Sorry for the hiatus, folks. It’s been a trying time. I know I’m quite far behind now, but I’ve also got quite a few half written posts in the drafts folder so you might start seeing a few double header days soon…
Anyway, one of the questions I’ve been getting a lot of is “what training is like?”, and “do you train every day”. To answer these questions, here’s what a week typically looks like:
Monday: 75 min swim Tuesday: Turbo Trainer class Wednesday: 90 min lunchtime run*, 75 min swim Thursday: Morning bike ride on Mount Faber Friday: spare day* / off day Saturday: Macritchie run Sunday: Long bike ride (about 100km)
All the sessions, with the exception of the ones with the asterisk*, are group sessions. This means you don’t suffer alone. And if you’re feeling up to it, have some other people to compete against.
Rodrigo (faking heart attack) horsing around after another Macritchie run
This is really important because you’ll be amazed how much harder you can push yourself when there are others around you pushing as hard, if not harder.
And there are the coaches – Mike and Scott – too. They spot mistakes, and show you how to improve. Not something that watching YouTube videos will do!
Got to Changi with about 1 hour to spare, but had to park at Changi Village and ride to the start. No biggie… plus it was a nice warm-up spin for the legs. The Transition Zone was a bit chaotic though. No specific spots for each participant. You could just park your bike and set up your own transition almost anywhere. Found me a spot on rack K10 and went for some warm up. Felt good in the water, and a strong current pushing from left to right, which would mean a quick run from 1st to 2nd buoy. Start: In my first race, I played things really safe and started wide and at the back of the pack. That meant a wide berth away from everyone and an uneventful swim. Today, I wanted to get over that phobia and face that “fear”. Started on what I thought would be the favoured end (the right side on a course with 2 right turns) in the second row. Looks like I was wrong on both counts. With the current pushing hard, I ended up being pressed against the line of small floats that was meant to help guide swimmers toward the first buoy. Ahead of me was the first line of swimmers who were mostly slower than the pace I was trying to hit. Very frustrating, but got over my fear of the dreaded “washing machine”. In fact, think I might have dished out more than I received. Only really got into a rhythm when I was approaching the first buoy. Sigh. Tried to make up lost ground, and I think I came out of the water at the front of the second pack from my wave.
Lesson: If you think you’re in with a shout, stake your claim at the front. Because if there are slower guys ahead, it’s going to be tough getting past them. No need to be shy, because it’s going to be worse when you have to climb all over them to get ahead. When I was on the final stretch coming up to the beach, felt the strap that was holding the timing device to my ankle loosen. Turns out it was, and I pulled it tight. Or at least I thought I did. Came out of the water, and felt it loosen again. Lost more seconds trying to fix it.
Lesson: Tape up the timing device strap. Don’t leave it to just the velcro to do the job.
Bike: Transition was fairly smooth and got off to a good cadence and pace on the bike. Seemed to be averaging 32-34km/h on the first 5km. Did the turn into the headwind on the next 5km, and dropped to about 30km/h. The next 5km I started to struggle. Couldn’t seem to keep pace anymore. Same lousy feeling I’ve been having on the long rides where the quads start burning. And the last 5km was just miserable. Took the opportunity to refuel with a gel and pray the run would be better.
Run: Dropped the bike off and hopped off on the run. Felt strong going into it, and seeing the TriEdge team on the side shouting their support just gives that little spark to kick things into another gear. Unfortunately/fortunately, my Garmin Forerunner 10 decided it didn’t want to cooperate today. So for most of the run, I was doing it on “perceived effort”. Only till the last 2km did the Garmin magically come to life. By then, seemed like I had been doing about 5min/km pace, which was the target pace anyway! By the end of it, turns out I’d done my first sub-5min/km pace run in a race. No doubt helped by the last sprint inspired by the TriEdge family on the sidelines once again.
(Potential) Lesson: May be I should just ditch the watch?
So, what was the result? 1:25:22.
More than 10 minutes faster than my first triathlon.
Should I be happy? Sure. The swim certainly felt less difficult. Overcame my fear of going into the crowd. Felt strong on the run too. Overall time clocked is obviously an improvement.
But…? What’s worrying is that I’m actually slower on the bike today than I was in my first triathlon. 33km/h previously, today was a struggle at 30.8km/h. 😦 Not sure what the issue is – Mechanical? Psychological? Physical? Made some adjustments to the bike and cleats yesterday. Will see how they work (or not) in training…
Maiden triathlon results6 months later at my next triathlon
There are days when you jump in the pool, and you feel like Michael Phelps. Ok, maybe the left pinky of Michael Phelps. But you know… You feel like you’re gliding through the water, breathing easily.
Then there are nights like last night, where I felt like I was hyperventilating half the time. Haven’t huffed and puffed like that in… awhile. Could barely sprint 50 metres, and didn’t feel the power in the strokes. Body position was rubbish. Kick was non-existent. The air felt like it was thinner, same like it felt when I was running a lung infection many moons ago.
Not sure what it was (wonky ventilation?), but apparently some others were puffing a bit harder than usual too. Think I managed to shake it off at Wednesday’s swim… Hope it doesn’t come back anytime soon. With that, here’s Taylor.
My biggest enemy in training is… The snooze button.
Woke up at 5 am today. Closed my eyes for a bit. Opened them again and it was 6.08am. That meant the squad had set off 8 minutes earlier from a starting point that was about 10km away.
Since time travel hasn’t quite come along yet, I would have to try to catch the squad somewhere along the way. I picked Thomson Road, where they’d be passing at about 6.40am. I got there in time and saw them pass me as I was getting the bike out of the car. (you weren’t expecting me to catch them on my bike, right??). Closed the gap just as they turned toward Old Upper Thomson Road. Phew.
Things were pretty much back on track until we hit Mandai, just outside the crematorium where traffic was heavier than normal.
Qing Ming.
This meant that our other favourite straight at Lim Chu Kang would be clogged, because of the cemetaries flanking the road. True enough, it looked like a wall of cars.
Thanks Nicolas (most photographed man in TriEdge), for making sure us back markers didn't get lost!
Still the uncongested stretch of Lim Chu Kang was long and hilly enough to make this enough of a workout. Along with the lorries blowing up mini sandstorms in their wake and potholes to keep you on your toes, it was enough for me.
Heading back, I headed back same way I came with Roro and Marcella. (Vargin and Jeremy were still blasting up and down the hills…) We parted ways at Mandai, where I saw this.
And this.
Saw a funeral cortege rushing to the crematorium – guess they were trying to get there by their allocated time – driving on the wrong side of the road.
More close calls along Thomson road where cars and mini buses came close enough to shave my hairy legs.
Moral of the story? Don’t do Mandai and Lim Chu Kang during Qing Ming. And don’t snooze.
Miraculously woke up this yesterday morning at 5.45am and took that as a sign that I should get my ass onto Mount Faber. So off I went.
Usually panting by the time I get to this section
It’s been awhile since I managed to get up there before work. But knowing how much work I need to do on the bike, it’s something that I need. Like coach Scott says, “Just get it done.”
Just round the bend is the highest point on the road before the descent begins.
Saw only Vargin and Kath though. Suspect everyone is doing their secret training some place else. I hear Athlete Lab is getting quite popular with their indoor cycling classes. I figure Faber is jolly good enough for me already… 5 laps and it was time to scoot off to work, and I was panting. Note to self: Wear gloves so sweaty hands don’t find it so slippery on the brakes, especially on the descent!
The skyline as seen from Mount Faber
If there’s a redeeming quality about this mountain, it’s the view. Not much time to stop and stare though. Till next week, Faber.
Some of the team went up to KL for Sunday’s Putrajaya Ironman 70.3 race. It’s a notoriously hot course, and there have been complaints about the way the race is run, but still everyone grits their teeth and gets on with it.
Nic still manages model running form in soaring temperatures
Despite the heat, some of the team clocked their personal best, like Nicolas above. David Watson (below) finishes 4th in his age group!
David Watson looking calm and collected after the swim
That’s really how diverse the group is. There are “real” athletes like David and Kath (below) who are challenging for podium spots. And then there are newbies like me, trying to do their first half ironman. It’s nice that everyone’s friendly and there are no divas to have to deal with.
Team pro, Kath Haesner pushing through the pain
Endurance races can be tough and lonely sometimes… Especially When you’re out in front. 😉 I suspect I’ll have more company from the back markers though.
Patrick looking good on the bike leg as always.
My team mates are a photogenic bunch. Strange how all my photos make me look like a hyperventilating walrus.
Check out the skinned knee and shoulder on Kenn!
There were spills along the way too. Kenn took a tumble on the bike, but still managed to get back on and finish the race. And he’s still smiling for the cameras.
Biggest props in my view, however, go out to Saleh. Kept soldiering on despite a nasty spill on the bike a few weeks back and squeezing in a wedding along the way. I would have melted into a puddle of goo. He kept on going and finished it in 8hrs. #respect
Public holidays are good insofar as you don’t need to wake up early to go to work. So you can go train.
As was the case this morning when we did a nice morning run at 7am at East Coast Park, preceded by running drills (quick feet, knee-ups, butt-kicks, bounding, sprints … ). Of the three disciplines (swim, bike, run), my run has the most room to improve technique-wise. Drills like the ones in the video below definitely help.
After that, we had a nice open water swim. Was really looking forward to that to test my latest piece of kit. And I’m really, really happy with it. Best investment I’ve made in triathlon this year. More on that in another post!
I’m really not a morning person, as you can see from the protest my hair is making.
The other great part about public holiday? Time for naps. Zzzzz….
One of the myths surrounding triathlon is that it’s an expensive sport. The sad thing is it’s not really a myth. 😦
The biggest component to the whole cost is as most people would think… the bicycle. They would be right.
Swimming gear, running shoes, sunglasses are a drop in the ocean compared to what you might pay for a bike. And don’t even get me started on the accessories.
I’ve had my bike for just over a year now. It’s an Orbea Bronze with an Shimano Ultegra 10-speed groupset. To the uninitiated, this means it’s a decent road bike, but quite distance some way to go from the stratospheric heights of bike technology. That also means I didn’t pay too much for it but still, it’s almost $4k. Fortunately I managed to split into payments (interest-free!) over 12 months, thanks to OCBC’s financing scheme available at some bike shops.
The bike has a carbon fibre frame, which means its relatively light, which makes for easier traversing across long distances. It’s also got a life-time warranty, which I’m curious as to how much of a hassle getting the warranty fulfilled might be. I purchased my bike at Soon Watt, located in the Frankel area, just walking distance from Kembangan MRT station. It was probably the 5th or 6th bike shop I’d gone to over a few weekends, but I met probably the most patient and least salesman of the lot. If you’re looking for a bike, check out Soon Watt and ask for Mave.
If there’s one thing harder than the Wednesday workouts, it’s trying to get up on Thursday morning to conquer Mount Faber on the bike. After all that kicking and running the previous day, my body doesn’t really want to subject itself to another round of smashing. The team assembles at 6.00am at MG, rides to the mountain, does X laps around it, and makes it back in time for work/breakfast. I can barely wake up early enough to drive there to do my laps.
On days I actually do make it to the hill in the morning, this is what it looks like.
Round and round I go…
There’s another route that’s even steeper, but think it’s more dangerous, so I’ll be sticking to this for now. It’s already tough enough given most of the time we’re climbing in the big gear, as opposed to the easier gear where you can spin up the pedals a lot more easily. Today, I missed 8 lovely loops on the mountain. Feeling guilty already. 😦
Like Coach Mike likes to say, time to take some concrete pills. First time I heard that, I actually tried to buy them off iHerb. 🙂
The toughest weekday for me, is Wednesday. This is where I’ve been scheduled to do a long run 60-90 min, and do a swim session in the evening.
Because I’m really not a morning person, I used to do the run after the evening swim, like a really long brick session. Coach said I should be spacing out my training though, so what’s the next best thing? Lunchtime runs.
If you’re familiar with singapore weather, you know that presents another type of challenge – the heat and humidity.
Still, I think it’s good to get a sense of how hot this are likely to get in Danang during the run leg.
Because it’s in the middle of the day, I’m running from the office, which is in the heart of the city. Today’s run was slightly different though. Former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew’s wake at Parliament House was on, and something like 300,000 were lining up across the city in snaking queues to pay their respects.
And here I was running around and between them. Apparently some queued for 8 hours. Now those are the real ironmen/ironwomen. I was cooked after my 1hr 25 min today.
A small section of the longest queue I’ve seen
It felt rather surreal, and I became hypersensitive to my surroundings, suddenly aware that the man they were all queueing up to see had something to do with almost everything I was running over, under, past, between, opposite and through. Gardens by the bay, Marina Barrage, the central business district…
jljl: my life in briefs 