Grateful, Thankful

I'm thankful for the past 100 days. It was pretty awesome training hard for my first two Olympic triathlons & learning so much along the way. Once again, thanks to my dietician, who really showed me what a big difference proper dieting (yes, you might say 'Durh!?') can help in overall performance.

This looks alot harder than it looks. Really.

I've also enjoyed the training i've gone through. All those dreaded static station mondays, 10k sprints on wednesday, long-painful runs on fridays and lap-after-lap of 1 hour swims in between. It was tough at times, but seeing how much fitter/stronger i've become in 4 short weeks really gave me a kick. Yes, it's not easy, but i want to do it again.

Apart from training, i've had good company. The love and support from loved ones and friends, even those who did so 'silently', are not forgotten. Even the simple stuff like a chat over coffee helped to break the routine. Gorging on buffets was also fun, like a temporary-release from the strict dieting, and having good laughs over all that made it heavenly.

Then after going for reservist and taking a break - much has changed. The diet is gone, i've snacked on junk food and overate at every meal, the training has stopped completely. And sadly, i've lost some of that wonderful company.

So as December's 42km marathon and the Half-Ironman Triathlon in March looms closer, it's time i got my focus back. I'm prepared.

It's red too! Awesome!

I'm totally in love with my spanking new Asics Cumulus 11. I'll miss my Adizero; it has served me well and is, in my opinion, the best lightweight sprint shoe. But for a full marathon and half-iron, it's time for adequate cushioning, comfort, performance and to be injury-free.

Got new running kit, courtesy of Nike too.

And come tomorrow, it's back to the good old simple diet. Trainings will get longer and harder than ever before - now that i'm not just doing a full marathon, but the half-iron is not a exactly a walk in the park.

Perhaps i won't get the support i used to. Having less time to meet up with the guys, losing a dear one along the way, but i'm still counting on God's Love & Grace to get me through it all.

Ready for Race Day

Got the day off from reservist duty to rest before my next Triathlon tomorrow. Tomorrow's race will be abit more exciting - now that i have been armed with proper nutritional advice, apparently i must go below my OSIM timing and do a sub-3hour race.

Honestly, i wasn't counting on doing a faster timing. I was planning to do as slow as i can, enjoy the race and not risk fainting like i almost did the last time.

But i felt assured by my lovely dietician that this was not to be the case, if i take her advice religiously. So i intend to.

I really wasn't expecting it, so i was pleasantly surprised that she got me the necessary supplements (is that what you call it?) to get me through the race.

She patiently instructed me when i should take each supplement (to which i really hope i won't be too overwhelmed during the race to forget) and i couldn't help but to feel assured once again.

Apart from nutrition, i'm still left hanging in terms of race strategy. I'mon my own on this one. Knowing that my swim leg is the strongest, i feel i'm hitting a plateu on my bike and unless i have enough stamina, i'm going to bomb on my run. So my plan is to go a sub 30min for my swim, take my transitions nice and easy. Do a consistent pace for my bike and by the time i get to my run, i should be able to maintain a good pace and hopefully give a final burst at the end.

With that (broad) strategy and a detailed diet that will apparently keep my body well-fuelled throughout the race, a sub-3hour timing now looks plausible.

Thank God for the many undeserved favours granted for this race, i'm going to swim, bike, run with a smile and let Him do the rest!

What Next?

Four more days to my next Triathlon. Learning from my earlier race, i'm going slow. Key word for Sunday's race is consistency.

And i feel good, i've been running at least 12k and swimming 3k every alternate day for the past week. I've also been feasting on the carbo-laden food made available in camp and though i feel a tummy coming back, it has undoubtedly given me energy to do my swims and runs.

While i never liked the regimentation of the military, i'm still thankful for my 3-week long reservist. Being unable to buy anything at my whim and fancy, and having all my meals covered means i hardly have any need and time to spend any money at all.

Since i get slots of free time in between my duty, i actually have time to catch up on reading. It feels good to finish a book in 2 days. I'm eager to swallow more!

More importantly, i get to swim and run every alternate day. Or at least i've been disciplined enough to do so. So far, so good. It almost feels like my dream to be a professional athlete. I get to swim and run practically all day long!

In fact, after this post, i'm going to hit the pool (and judging by the weather from inside my room, it looks like i'm going to get a tan) then when the sun is setting, it's time for a long run. And i've found good music to keep me pumped for my runs. I've stumbled upon this from the "9" trailer,

Coheed and Cambria's 'Welcome Home'

So, today shall be the last day of exercise before i rest and prepare for Sunday...

Time to gear up and enjoy the week ahead!

It's Only Been One Week

It's only been one week, so there's two more weeks to the end of reservist. Thankfully, i've had pretty good swims and runs the past week to feel satisfied and prepared for this Sunday's triathlon.

I won't be 'going all out' or as hyped up as i was for OSIM. This triathlon, organised by Trifactor, is pretty much a feel-up triathlon to before i delve into training for the stan chart marathon, again to prepare for the biggest event of 2010 - The Half Ironman Triathlon!

So this sunday's triathlon would be more of efficiency, sustainability and more importantly, safety. Last thing i want now is an injury. The longer runs are causing my right knee to feel sore and i'm starting to experience those jolting pains every now and then. Perhaps is because i left my glucosamine in the office, so i haven't been taking them for the past week. Yikes.

For now, i'm facing the challenges with my in-camp training. We're actually treated like recruits. That sucks. It's different to have tough training for reservist, but to be yelled at and told off my warrant officers and even 19-year-old NSFs? That's totally unecessary.

I'm just leaving all that to God to handle and i'm sure He's the best person to watch my back. For now, i'm just enjoying the time away from the office and more time to train.

Majulah Singapura

Started reservist last week, and i still have two-and-a-half weeks of it to go. Reservist for me is guard duty, in-camp for 27 hours, book out and report back in within 20 hours. Although guard duty is fairly 'senang', it's the feeling of having the weekends (yes, saturdays and sundays) stuck in camp. Yikes, i'm doing reservist and i get weekends burnt?! Darn.

And the fact that my training for my next triathlon has been disrupted, it's a real sore. But i guess i'll make the best of it.

Since i'm out now with some time to spare, i think i'll hit the pool and go for a long run tonight!