Iron willed

firstly i want to apologise for the lack of updates.
i guess i was sort of demoralised when my injury didn't recover in time for standard chartered marathon. i passed my number bid to my buddy mac, and he did a fantastic job at the marathon with no training! i did accompany my gf with her 10km run though. :)

i decided to take my ippt in the last week of december to allow maximum time for recovery. however when i tried to book a test date 2 weeks ago, there was no ippt test dates from the last week of december to the first week of january!
luckily i checked back last week and there was 1 test date on the 6th, just 1 day before my birthday!
i decided to try my luck though i haven't really been training specifically for it.

i'm glad i made the right choice.
extra $200. finally i can buy my shoe?

1:20 AM

i've finally made up my mind to get the asics GT-2130 already. it was a straightfoward decision but yet i took me quite a while to come to a decision.
first i didn't know if i should buy it, then i couldn't decide where to get it and then i realised there is a 2140 in US already!

last week i went funan's running lab with mac and white lim after helping out at GE women's run.
this filipino lady who attended to me was quite knowledgeable and professional
after walking and jogging on the treadmill, she explained to me that i do over pronate especially on my left foot.
she recommended me the kayano after i told her my old 2100 doesn't give me enough support at the arche.
looking at the kayano, it does have a duo density foam that extends further back than the 2130. not sure if that really mattered
also the drawback is that the kayano is around $60 more than the 2130s!

it costs $144 at peninsula, and S$192.90 at the running lab.
but i have a 20% discount at the running lab so it works out to be $154.32. the good thing about the running lab is that i get to try the shoe on the treadmill before buying. though i have sort of decided on the 2130, i will leave my options open until i try it out. all this for $10 more is definitely worth it.

if u're keen to see what is ur foot type and running gait, u can click the link below. it's a neat video from runnersworld.com explaining pronation
http://www.runnersworld.com/video/0,8052,s6-4-0-4,00.html

then recently i realised that the 2140 is already for sale in some online stores in USA even though the launch date is in january! what's more it looks cooler!

i couldn't decide if i should wait for this. it would probably be available in SG in january i guess. but this also mean that i would be doing the standard chartered in my old and worn out shoe.

experts say that running shoes should be replaced after 300-500 miles which is 480-800km, others say that they should be replaced every 6 months!
my current GT 2100 lasted me 3 years! i guess i am close to 500km on those shoes.
it's time for a replacement :)

2:14 AM

i checked the result and i finished 79 with a net time of 51.05, a good 7 minutes slower than that of my targeted 20th position.
still i shouldn't be too hard on myself considering 79th out of 1600+ other participants in the category is encouraging.

honestly speaking, i made the wrong choice pushing myself in the run. till now my left knee still hurts.
i haven't run at all since that day. Standard chartered marathon is coming and i am running out of time.
tomorrow i will be doing some swimming to keep my fitness level up

1:24 AM

today i went to the real run afterall.
i ran into howhuat at the holding area. he's 1 of my army section mate who went to sign on, he's going to be a 2nd sgt next month. on the right is my fellow section commander ong. he's now working at home team ns and is the organiser for the race!

section 3 reunited

this is the starting point before everyone gathered.

Initially i thought i could run with the top few runners at least for 3-4km at the start. I squeesed my way to the front few at the start point.
however I was caught totally unprepared when the route started trial came so quickly. i'm damn impressed that they could run so fast on the soft sand because i was slipping and sinking at every step! I guess i might have aggravated my injury a little at that point a little.
after the trial it was flat road all the way till the beach run. nv know it could be so hot at 8am. somemore this is October!
i endured all the way till after the beach run and after that i cannot tahan already. walked for a good 100m when the route was sheltered. then at the next water point i poured water all over my head and ran till the end. many times i wanted to stop because of the heat, but if i stop it would mean more time under the blazing sun. so i just kept on running to save my life!
after the race i straight away walked to the shade and immediately into the air con holding area.
really can't stand it!

oh yah today i experienced the runners trots again.
in short i lao sai after the run again. First at the changi exhibition centre/holding area, then at white sands, then at eugene's house and a few more times at home!
i thought my breakfast was ok. i ate a bowl of cereal, 1 slice of gardenia fruit loaf bread, and 2 eggs in the morning. i'm sure there are other times when i do that and it was ok.

i did a bit of googling and according to the Handbook of Sports Medicine and Sports Science it affects 20 to 40% of runners. the real reason is not known but it affects runners more than swimming or cycling!
then it claimed that it might be because of dehydration or lactose intolerant.

might be true, i think i drank milk the night before and i might be a little dehydrated during the hot race today!
click the pic for the full article

last but not least

here's my verdict on my 'SKINS' tights.
it did not live up to it's hype
all the stuff about improving performance, enhancing recovery etc, didn't happened. at least for me.
it's comfortable and nice to run in, but definitely not worth $97
need to book ippt soon to recoup my losses!

8:31 PM

my preparation for the new balance real run have been quite bad
initially i registered for the 10km in hope of finishing top 20.
few weeks ago and i could complete 10km in 42 minutes which would mean 17th place based on last year results

first i caught a flu last friday. had to stop all my training till wednesday.
being too eager to restart my training, i ran 5km on wednesday, and wanted to do some interval training on thursday.
i went to the track on thurs night. i sprint the length of the track and had to stop aruptly because there were puddles of water at some parts of the track. at that point of time i felt that i tweaked something behind my knee. it was a reccurrance of an old injury that i sustained while cycling a year back.
i decided to stop the interval training and do a 5km slow jog instead.
during the whole jog my left knee felt funny. running on adrenaline, i decided to press on. at around 3+km i had no choice but to stop. but after walking a while it felt alright again and i jogged all the way home which should be another 1+km.

i nv learn my lesson. sometimes it's better to stop and i have to accept that. i am no longer a 18 year old punk running around having fun. it's time i start taking better care of my body.

yesterday i went to sch and had difficulty walking down the stairs. wh and mc commented on y am i always injured. i guess they are have a point. maybe in championship manager or football manager, my injury proness would have a score of 20, just like michael owen.

thankfully today it felt so much better.
i'll make a decision tonight on whether to go tomorrow.

2:06 PM

after missing out on this year's ironman, i was quite demoralised.
thought got to wait for another year. nv expect them to bring it forward due to f1 in sept.
i love f1!

this will be the day i make my come back
prior to that will be
New balance real run
standard chartered marathon
NUS invitational biathlon sprint distance
and Singapore biathlon

first i need a new pair of shoes to slowly replace my current pair
i went to running lab and got them to examine my fit and running style.
and they recommened me asics 2130. which is the later version of my current 2100

probably $130

next i need a pair of tights from skins

$90

and i will get the money from my ippt reward :D

1:25 AM

9:55 PM