The One About Food..

I live in Singapore, so much good food..

Must. Control. Got no time already. 2:35 is less than 8 weeks away. Must. Focus.

Input vs Output

So far, still no races planned for 2011. Was supposed to sign up for couple of runs in March, but i have missed the registration deadline in January, so i'm left races-less.

Once again, Chinese New Year is the season to overeat and spend all day visiting relatives. I'm glad i managed to eat only 2 meals a day (big meals nonetheless) and got a run in this afternoon.

But it's been really hard to stick to a firm training schedule. More often than not, i'm working til late during the weekdays, and sometimes missing meals. I can't remember how many times i've had snickers for lunch.

Yup, i even stocked up on snickers. That's bad it is.

With whatever remaining time i have left, i've been hanging out and meeting my babes and dudes cos i really miss them. With great company, comes great food...

Oh gosh, i really do need my peeps to just chillax and forget about the weekday grind. :) Mucho lurve to them.

But i guess there are consequences. Been 6 days since my last run and this is what happened...

Epic Fail. Hahaha...

I believe it can be done and it's definitely been done before. Juggling work, friends, family and training. I'm sure you know someone who is doing it. It's not easy, but it can be done.

I'm gonna learn, suck it up, get disciplined and do it all over again. Hopefully, i'll be one of those guys you know who can work, train and make time for all my awesome friends!

Ding Dong

Less than two to weeks to my first Olympic triathlon since May. Not satisfied with training to do a personal best, but i'll enjoy the race anyway. Training during these last weeks (before tapering) were going good. Not until the past weekend!

Blooie's!

Diet was totally out the window. Had Dim Sum to celebrate Grandma's birthday, had couple of beers, burgers, popcorn, chicken rice, belgium waffles with ice-cream and prata! [don't worry, i still managed to avoid pork/beef..the burger is chicken]

After a commendable attempt at climbing back up the fitness ladder, i'm now having diarrhea probably from the sudden overdose of oily junk food during the last two days.

I'm still going to run tonight, swim tomorrow, run again, run somemore then swim. Even if i have to poop in my pants!

...i am determined to.

Fat, Fatter, Fattest

I put on weight. 3kilos to be exact. I've stepped up training and been increasing my distances steadily.

Longer runs and swims mean that my appetite is insatiable and i've been eating everything and anything. It's weird.


I'm actually running more but i'm getting fatter. I know that i haven't been watching my diet; i've been eating whatever i can get my hands on. Like by the time i finish my 2 hour runs, i'm only left with ordering Macs. Either that or instant noodles. And i eat ALOT, to satisfy my hunger.

My tummy is back.

So my body is burning more fuel but i've been putting in crap to (over)replace the burnt storage. No wonder i've put on weight. (note: my exercises are all cardio, no weights, whatsoever) Think i really need to buck up on the diet part, especially when i'm training harder than before.

I keep telling myself this too, but i really gotta start cutting down on the late nights and the vices that come with it...

... but i've just gotten to know Mister Mac.

The painful climb

It's been two weeks since i'm back and as expected, it's the painful climb to get back my fitness. I've only been running and it's really painful both mentally and physically. My lungs are like the size of my fists; i run out of breath after 15 minutes of running. I miss going 2hours non-stop.

I haven't even hit the pool yet and i already feel like i'm becoming translucent. I miss the healthy tan but i'm really lazy to swim and late nights have not helped either. At least i feel like the alcohol and bad stuff is coming out of the system. During my first few runs last week, i can almost imagine me sweating out beer. Slowly but surely, i'll feel clean and pure. (damn sounds like i got STD)

I believe the European diet is alot healthier. Though we have several courses per meal, the food there is never (or very seldom) fried. There's no chili like what we have in Asia, so there's no greasy/oily chili sauce. The only thing about the European diet is that it can get salty and is carbo-heavy. Well, the latter is good for the long endurance training right?

In terms of training motivation, i'm glad that i'm finding some renewed peace and joy. I know i used to channel all the anger and emo-ness into my runs and that really worked. But as all that negativity melts away, i find myself running with pure motivation to get stronger/faster. I take inspiration from the great Chrissie Wellington; she's such a joy (literally) to watch.

My life's not altogether perfect at the moment and there are still a few question-marks, but i'm focused on what i need to do and prepare for future races. I'm starting to find time to meet up with friends and family too, so what more can i ask for? I'm sorry if my training made you feel like you were not important. Hey, i promise that's all different now. I'm just a SMS away, let's meet up!

It's all coming back

Did anyone tell you that re-training is a bee.eye.tee.see.heych.?

One month after my last race, i slacked and ate couple of quarter pounders. I certainly put on more than a half a pound in weight lor. I'm getting back on the training program and my fitness has dropped drastically. It feels like a rubber band around my lungs when i run and i'm out of breath after 15 minutes. It's demoralising when your belly jiggles too. And i don't know what's worst, having to wear a sports bra for your bouncing man boobs or the fact that you've got man boobs.

I'm not going to end up like that again!

I'm going to run, swim and do crunches until i get abs. Either that, or i'll look like an African kid. Either way, i don't want to be a fattie.

A pound of flesh

Oh no, it's back.

Having stayed away from the cheeseburger for the past couple of months, Mac's is back..with a vengence. I've been eating well for the past 1.5 weeks, but the Quarter Pounder is back.

And it doesn't look good. I think i'm going to be very tempted to order one after my run later tonight.

I mean, now i'm not really training for any specific race, i can take it easy right?

..like why. so. serious?

Secrets to Long Distance Performance

How very true. We can be training our lungs out, but if we don't do it smart, we might as well not be training at all.

I used to approach every run, swim and cycle with the mentality of 'torturing' my body. For most of the time, i did see some improvement but not only was i exposing my body to injuries, i started to loathe putting on my shoes, trunks or getting on my bike knowing that i'm going to be in alot of pain.

My experience with a dietician for my second Olympic triathlon really showed me how helpful some good expert advice can be. Likewise, this article i recieved in my mailbox was pretty enlightening...

The 4 Secrets of Long Distance Performance
If you are doing an event of over three hours in duration, there are 4 key things that are going to enable you to achieve a great result:

Use Lots of Fat - The first step to having a great race is having enough energy to go the distance. Many people break down at the 3/4 mark of a Half or Full Marathon or struggle to run well off the bike. Racers' Toolbox Fuel Efficiency testing can show you exactly why this is happening and show you how to maximize your performance through specific training to improve your utilization of fat. Fat provides twice as much energy as carbohydrate in case you were wondering why we are so into it.

Be Strong - We often here our clients say things like; 'I'm not fast enough, I need to do more speed training' or 'I always train fast but my results don't improve!'. 95% of the time the problem is not in the lack of 'speed', it is the lack of strength to sustain the 'speed'. In any long event your legs will fade long before cardiovascular system so doing the right amount of strength endurance training is crucial.

Matching Zones - To be successful in long distance events, you need to have a body with corresponding Fuel Efficiency and Lactate zones. Without this ability to burn fat and clear lactate acid from you system consecutively, you are going to struggle significantly after the 2 hour point in your event as you will likely run out of energy. Our goal in the lab is to help you sync your Lactate zones with your Fuel Efficiency so that over time you can go faster and faster and know you have enough 'gas in the tank' to finish strong.

Mental Toughness - If you look at any of the best athletes in the world, they are extremely mentally tough (Lance Armstrong is a great example). Mental toughness needs to be developed prior to the event, it is not just something that happens on the day. Specific training sessions that are at race pace over 1/2 or 3/4 of the peak event distance are invaluable.

1 more week to 40km cycle, 2 more weeks to 1.5km swim + 10km run, 3 more weeks to Ironman!

Food, what else.

My colleague is a temptress. Knowing full well i'm getting back on a diet, she took me out to ION Orchard for lunch and...

I had the best tasting japanese ramen yet - Aoba Hokkaido Ramen. Every aspect of the ramen was cooked perfectly. The noodles were springy, the char siew was flavourful, the broth is lethal. Yes, i drank every drop of it.

Had soft shell crab and mentai chicken wings (oh, the coating of cheese...) to go along with that. And that wasn't it...

Chocolate Souffle from Gusttimo. Oh man, oh man.. i was advised to eat it fast, because the chocolate tastes best when it's still oozing warm, ready to burst out from the sponge soft exterior. With a scoop of cool cream, the mix of hot and cold sweetness from the cream and chocolate really brought on a delightful flavour to the palate. Sweeeeeet.

So that's how you eat it. To quote a wise man, "like that then got flavour".

Obviously this post was supposed to be about the diet, but it turned out more like a food review. Epic fail.

I must go run tomorrow

Before i start to taper for next Sunday's marathon, this was supposed to be the final stretch of discipline and training.

I only have one word...

Oops.

It started out really well but with today's holiday break, it got abit out of hand when i didn't wake up in time for my run this evening and to top it off, i went i had Macca's for supper.

Oh, but it tasted sooooooo gooood. Yikes.

Hitting the wall...again

My 26km run last night was disastrous. After two hours and 35 minutes, i had to walk. Funny thing was that i felt like i paced myself well. After reaching Farmway LRT station, i felt really fresh and was pretty confident that i could make it all the way back without stopping. Wrong.

When i hit Serangoon MRT station, i felt hungry (yes! starving!) and thirsty. I took a quick detour into the MRT toilet and drank water from the public toilet. I must have scared the sh*t out of the commuters who had their evening ruined after a hard day at work, looking forward to the weekend, or party-goers who were glamorously dressed to some disco/pub. Darn.

(Aside: Funny how certain things that happen during the day give me the emotional-motivation to do all these runs. Sadly, none of them are happy. I channel all the stress at work, all the bad thoughts and i expire each and every one of them when i run. Yesterday's run was no different. I thought long and hard about what happened and realised that if i caused someone so much frustration and annoyance, then shouldn't i just back away? I mean, if i'm not wanted, then even as a friend, i would just disappear then. With that being said, it was during the run that i was thankful i know i have friends and company who really cared for me and yeah, though we argue sometimes, friends are people who go through thick and thin with you. So, i know when i'm not wanted. I'll gladly back off)

I admit, i didn't give my body enough fuel to do a long run. Guess i gotta consult my dietician again. But i was also wondering if i should continue to "punish" my body - my starving it, i am making it adjusted to work longer on less energy, so when i do load properly, i should be better, no?

So anyway, after last night. I thought, hey.. i deserve some crap. So this morning i had not one but TWO iced milk coffees. And for lunch...wait for it...wait for it...

"Ke Ai Ji" - Ain't that one "Cute" bird??

I ate one whole bird. plus fries man. Sheesh.

Damn, check out that grin. What a smuck.

Oh and for dinner? What else but my double cheeseburger upsized meal. Damn.

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!

Thankful for completing Sunday's triathlon. Having mixed feelings about it - i'm thankful that i've accomplished a Olympic distance triathlon. Yet i'm hungry to do a better timing. Well, considering i'll be due for another OD triathlon in 5 weeks' time, i'll have a chance to do better.

For now.. i will enjoy..

...me and my McFlurry.

What did i get myself into?!

My good friend, Miss Liyan Huang is now my dietician. Check it...i got a dietician. It's awesome isn't it? A professional (she's got a Masters degree, so don't play play) who will advise me on my diet to better my performance - I feel like i'm a professional athlete now. This is THE dream for me.. Or is it?

Well, i just realised that in order for Miss Huang to monitor my diet and advise me accordingly, she has to track my diet and exercise regime. Not a problem, i think... I've been training hard, training regularly. So i won't have a problem reporting in my every food intake and physical activity.

But my diet? Hmm..so now i gotta come clean. I have been snacking again. My relapse started a month ago. While i believe i can (still) control my cravings for big meals like steamboat buffet, chicken rice, prata, etc... i'm a sucker for snacks..

Pringles.

I'm able to finish a whole can..yes, even the Jumbo can (+40g more, somemore) in one sitting. Now that i have to report everything i shove in my mouth to Miss Huang, i must say goodbye to my favourite moustache-man-with-the-bushy-eyebrows-and-funky-red-bow-tie.

Pola snack.

Oh my gosh, even though there's a "Eat in Moderation" stamp that advises two packets a day, i can go 5 packets while watching TV. Worst part is - this snack is dirt cheap and easily available at the minimart just across the street.

And finally.. what i believe to be a popular favourite...Who can resist the crunchy biscuit oozing with flavourful cream chocolate that bursts in your mouth when you chomp down on it?

Hello Panda

Sigh...but now that i have a dietician to report to...

Goodbye, Panda.