Training 2009: Week 17 and Race Week

210709 1800hr - Run
Workout: Hills
Description:
5 laps Bedok Reservoir hill
Timing: 2'40 per lap
Distance: 6km
Feeling: Did the hill set with moderate pace. Feel tired after the 3rd lap. Will aim to do more often after race

220709 1800hr - Swim
Workout: Swim Interval
Description:
Warm Up
1000m: Various warm up sets (forget details)

Main Set
1000m (moderate)
2x4x100m (moderate hard)

Drills
200m: mass swim

Timing: 1000m: 21'30
Distance: 3km
Feeling: 1000m swim wasnt meant to be a time trial, but i did like one. Struggled through the 2 sets of 4x100m. Mass swim is to draft each other and do cornering, didnt draft anyone as im too tired.

250709 1500hr - Bike
Workout: Bike+Hills
Description:
3 laps of Coastal and Selarang Hills
Timing:
Approx 3hrs
Distance: 70km
Feeling: Didnt had gel again for this set, super tired. Tried to stand up and climb the hills. Used SCR for 1st lap, BCR for 2nd set and mixed of both for the 3rd set. To simulate the race course of 3 laps for Desaru.

260709 1500hr - Brick
Workout: Long Bike+Run
Description:
1 lap Coastal+Selarang Hills
Run to Pasir Ris Flyover and back

Timing: Approx 2hr
Distance: 30km
Feeling: Leg is still fatigue from the bike session the day before (which is good for the brick). Super hungry after the session

SUMMARY OF WEEK 16

Swim: 3km
Run: 5km

Bike: 100km

290709 1800hr - Swim
Workout: Tapering Swim
Description:
Warm Up
400m: Choice
200m: 25m exp, 25m easy

Main Set
1x50m: All Out
3x100m: PAT
200m: P@1900m
2 sets
100m Easy

Drills: Learn Plunging
Timing: Nil
Distance: 1.6km
Feeling: NA

300709 1800hr - Run
Workout: Tapering Run
Description:
Warm Up
20min: On Track

Main Set
1000m: PAT (4'30)
4x200m: PAT (45s)
Timing: Met timing
Distance: 5.8km
Feeling: NA

SUMMARY OF Race Week

Swim: 1.6km
Run: 5km

Bike: 0km

RACE WEEK!!!
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Desaru Long Distance Triathlon 2009: Prep List

Tomorrow will be setting for Malaysia, Desaru for my Half Ironman Triathlon.. Still doing bag packing and preparation work. This race turned out to be my most last minutes preparation. Oversea race is not as easy as local race. Need to think about currency to bring, itinerary, clothing, transport etc...

Below i came out with a list of items which i will be bringing over.
Equipment

Swim
Jammers
Goggles

Bike
2x Spare tube
4x water bottle
Tool Kit
Sunglass
Running Top
Socks
Cycling Shoes
3x Power Gel
Helmet
Race Belt
Glove

Run
Running Shoes
1x Power Gel

Clothing and footwear
Sandal
2x Shirt
3x Bottom
1x Quarter Pants

Misc
Sunblock Lotion
Passport
Wallet
Handphone + charger
MP3 + charger
Foot pump
Pouch
2x Shoe bag (Clothing and Shoes)
Contact Lens Solution
Glucosamine Cream

Will do up my race plan tomorrow in the resort. Also have a backlog of last week's training set.


I'm Prepared!
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Why I Make My Life So Difficult

Felt that i was so super burnt out the last week especially after Tues (which seems like the only rest day i have). Willingly accepted the slots to work on Wed and Thurs. Both which are super last min, but since I'm still able to make it for training so why not...

For the whole week, i didn't have the chance to sleep on my bed for more than 8 hours. Always wake up while the whole family are still in bed. Best still, one of the morning is having a downpour in Tampines! and I'm making my way to WORK!!

Wed and Thurs: Wasn't so tired, even thou i had training after work. But Thurs is a sleepy day for me as I'm catching the Tour De France live till 11+ pm the previous day. I have to wake up at 4+am in order to make it for the morning 510am taxi..

After a long day with work and training, the night i continue with my TDF chase till 11+pm again, laying on bed at 12mn.

Fri: Oh gosh, another morning shift, need to wake up super early so reach work place on time. Thought it will be super easy day, but I'm wrong! Not physical demanding by mentally tired.. Reach home 11+pm, catch the final kilometers of the TDF where most of the excitement are.. Same thing, laying on bed at 12mn..

Sat: Thanks god no morning shift. Oh dear, its the ride with Joyrider. Wake up at 5am, to have my early breakfast and make my way to meet Grace and Wilson 6am at TP Taxi Stand. So tired that i slept on the pavement as I'm 10mins early. Ride there is sleepy and tiring, body still sore from Thurs run and stretch cord pulling. Felt as thou the whole upper body is strapped with weights.

Thankfully we reached Tampines at 830am, got to have a long sleep before i get ready for evening shift work. Asked to leave early so not to take the midnight transport which is super waste of time. Extra 2hrs to get home.

Sun: My body had reached its max from previous day. Leg sore form the ride, upper body still aching from the stretch cord. Had bring down the brick set to 2 instead of 3, which choice. Read my training log for more info.


New week: Woke up 9am today!!!!!
YES! I'm free from any commitment! Never booked any days for this week. Abit regret as no work = no money. But i feel that i really need some rest. Maybe will consider 1 day, but see how.

Going to pamper myself with a upper back massage at Wan Yang while Foot Massage at Pasir Ris West Mall later today. Maybe will drop by the pool for easy swim this evening and make my way to Grandma House for dinner. Sorry not going Coastal for extra mileage today.


REST DAY
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Training 2009: Week 16

140709 1800hr - Run
Workout: Tempo Run
Description:
1 Round Bedok Reservoir
Timing: 1hr 15mins
Distance: 13km
Feeling: Ran with Grace on her new route which is a portion of the Sundown Marathon route. Damn shag due to work the previous day and the unanticipated extra distance. Maybe because we ran too fast at the early stage.

150709 1800hr - Swim
Workout: Swim Interval
Description:
Warm Up
4x100m: IM reverse. RI 20s
2x100m: First 15m Exp, last 5m Exp. RI 20s
200m: Negative split

Drills
4x100m:
25m Scull, 25m PAT, 25m Scull 25m Bilateral. RI: 20s
100m: Easy

Main Set
1x50m: All out. RI 10s
2x100m: PAT. RI 20s
2x50m: P400m. RI:10s
3x150m: PAT. RI 20s
100m: Easy

400m: Fist Drill
200m: Sighting
100m: Easy

Timing: All within Set
Distance: 3.1km
Feeling: Swim was good, liked the 4x100m drill set. Can really feel the fore arm have the strength to activate the pull once the hand enters the water. Main set tried to used 2mins as PAT

160709 1800hr - Run
Workout: Swim Interval
Description:
Warm Up
1 Round Bedok Reservoir
Drills

Main Set
6x200m: PAT-10s (1'35 - 10s = 1'25). RI: Walk back to start line
3x300m: PAT-10s. RI: 1min

Warm Down
Walk 2 rounds Track

Timing:
6x200m: 42s
3x300m: 1'03

Distance: 8km
Feeling: First track training after 2 weeks. Warm up have moved into the reservoir, the set still focusing on drills and track work to reinforce the drills we practice.

180709 0600hr - Bike
Workout: Long Bike
Description:
Warm Up:
Cycle to Thomas Road

Main Set:
Cycled back with the Joyriders

Timing: 2hr 15mins
Distance: 58km (total)
Feeling: This time managed to follow some left behind riders. Figured out how to hold onto the BCR gear ratio. Pretty excited for holding above 30km/hr. In fact a few moment we hit 40km/hr.

190709 0800hr - Brick
Workout: Long Brick Set
Description:
2 sets
1 lap Coastal + Selarang hills. Head towards TP(transition area)
Run towards the roundabout along Bedok Reservoir

Avg Speed: 28km/h
Timing: 3hr+
Distance: 60km Bike, 4km Run
Feeling: First set was good, even thou we can feel the ache and sore from yesterday's ride. Pace is going above 30km/hr along Coastal. Run, we managed to keep a decent tempo for the 2k route.

Second set wasn't that good. Grace fall back along Coastal, no motivation to cycle hard after i exit Coastal Rd. The way back is slow and inefficient. Didn't managed to do the run, legs are too 'soft' to lift the legs. Noticed that i didn't eat gel along the way, WHICH I SHOULD. More than 2hr of training/activities, i need to consume in order to move.

SUMMARY OF WEEK 16

Swim: 3.1km
Run: 25km

Bike: 120km

This is the hardest week i trained so far. Not due to the training program, but the increase of work days in it. Will be taking a break next week (from work) to focus more on the training as its 2 more week to Desaru

2 Weeks to Desaru
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Bike Fitting using Motion Analysis

Just did some DIY bike fitting at home over the weekend, after viewing almost all the bike fitting clips in YouTube. Saw one of the clips in YouTube, stating how they used motion analysis to do bike fitting/analysis. Just nice, Grace who has trainer, is going to Port Dickson over the weekend for race. So borrowed the trainer, hook up my camera and ACTION!

Riding on a new bike again, confused with the bike fitting theories recommended by different people. So decided to film myself to see how i look like while riding instead of hearing people's comments. Perspective can be different from view's of different people, which leads to the wrong buy of my titanium frame.

Currently judging by personal comfort, going for longer rides to see which area needs to improve. But worried that my current 'comfort' position might be straining my knees, or not optimizing my effort when riding.

Google online, looking for 'ideal' leg bend angles, poseur etc... Trying to find the commonly used figures.

Upper body Poseur

Looks pretty decent to me, not to upright nor to forward.. Looks like I'm tipping toes when pedal is at 6 o'clock (had lowered seat by 5mm)

Leg Bend Angle

As said earlier, googled on leg angle. Mostly recommend 30-35 deg. I don't know how they get that figure. What i assumed is the difference in angle when knee is bent from a straight poseur.
The above picture is not very accurate, forget to paste a sticker over my pelvis bone. So have to estimate the point.

Knee Over Pedal

This is to check the fore/aft of the saddle. Looks fine to me. Except on a few occasions, my knees will move forwards by 1-2cm. On a clip showing bike fit for tri bikes, they figured this guy with 3-4cm knee in front of the pedal spindle. So i think its fine, anyway i don't always move forward.

Overall was glad that i can see how i ride and some figures regarding my current position. Problem with using motion analysis is the camera angle and position of it from the user. The areas away from the camera focus point tend to convex out. Still cant beat bike fitting with the help of a friend doing the measuring while you cycle.

Sorry, didnt wanna go throught the features of the software im using. Pretty tired of drafting this post already. The only main features is, it can slowdown and pause split-seconds of your action and take measurements.


Bike Fit Anatomy
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Training 2009: Week 15

070709 1800hr - Run
Workout: Tempo Run
Description:
1 Round Bedok Reservoir
Timing: 45mins
Distance: 10km
Feeling: Ran with Grace and Yan Ling, doing the longer running route which grace came out with. The run is excellent. Pace is good, with constant increase of pace after half way. Will work to achieve this kind of pace for 21km

070709 2030hr - Bike
Workout: Easy Bike
Description:
Ubi - Coastal - Tampines
Focus: Maintaining cadence at 90 above, using BCR

Timing:1 hr +
Distance: 28km
Feeling: Used BCR for this ride, hoping to slowly increase the gear ratio while maintaining the same cadence.

080709 1700hr - Swim
Workout: Swim Interval
Description:
Warm Up
3x200m: (30s RI)
2x100m: IM (30s RI)
2x100m: Negative splits (1st 100m faster than 2nd 100m) *Did only 100m

Drills
100m: Front Scull, heads up
100m: Single Arm Scull
200m: Lung Buster
100m: Easy

Main Set
6x100m: PAT (RI, +20s)

Warm Down
100m: Easy

Timing:
6x100m: Did 2mins for 6 sets, instead of 2'10
Distance: 2.1km
Feeling: Training is short, 1hr session. Still manage to squeeze in some drills and warm up for the main set. Feel good for achieving the 6 sets of 100m. Will consider doing it with more sets within it for own swim session.

090709 1800hr - Run
Workout: Run Interval, Pacing
Description:
Warm Up: 10mins
Drills: 10mins

Main Set:
2x 5x400m
RI: 1min
RI between sets: 3mins

Timing: 1'35
Distance: 4km
Feeling: Managed to hold the pace very well. The LONG RI is very tempting to speed up but decided to stay with it.

110709 0730hr - Bike
Workout: Long Ride
Description:
Ride with Joyrider
Avg Speed: 30km/h
Timing: 2hr+
Distance: 60km
Feeling: Was dropped by the pack in less than 30mins. Not used to pack riding and the unstable speed. Anyway main aim was to increase mileage to 60km, which i did. Objective met.

120709 1630hr - Bike
Workout: Moderate Hard Bike (Spin)
Description:
20km ride
Avg Speed:
28km/h (overall trip)
Timing:
1hr
Distance: 20km
Feeling: Super disappointed that my tire punctured when on the way back. Loss the momentum to run. Initially was planning to ride 1 round coastal loop and run 2km for 2/3 sets. Until such unfortunate event happen. Will do my last brick next Sun at ECP

SUMMARY OF WEEK 15

Swim: 2.1km
Run: 14km

Bike: 108km

2 more weeks till Desaru. Next week will be the last week for any hard training. Yet have booked 2.5 days of work. Hope to get enough rest while juggling between these 2 commitments.

4 Weeks to Desaru
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Training 2009: Week 14

280609 2000hr - Bike
Workout: Easy Bike
Description:
Ubi - Coastal - Tampines
Focus: Maintaining cadence at 90<

Timing:1 hr +
On target timing
Distance: 28km
Feeling: Compare to last week's ride, this time round is much much better! Can at least enjoy the ride rather than keep shifting my saddle position and hand rest.

010709 1800hr - Swim
Workout: Swim Interval
Description:
Warm Up
3x200m: (30s RI)
2x100m: IM (30s RI)
2x100m: Explosive first 15m and last 5m (30s RI)

Main Set
3x100m: (2'20)
3x100m: (2'15)
3x100m: (2'00)
(Above are 2'40 sets)
200m: Lung buster

2x200m: (2'10)
(RI: +1'30)
100m: Easy Swim

Speed Set
2x50m: All out

Warm Down
100m: Easy

Timing:
Hold all sets
Distance: 2.7km
Feeling: Main set didn't manage to feel the descending pace. Pace is quite off, cant hit the slower pace. Was disappointed that i cant do the 4x200m set. Sprint set also cant do with the main team.

020709 0730hr - Brick
Workout: Easy Bike (Spin) + Short Run
Description:
Coastal 4 laps
Spin at 100+
Avg Speed:
26km/h (overall trip)
Timing:
1hr +
Distance: 40km
Feeling: Calves are tired after the session. Cant control my pace well after the bike. Tend to speed up and end up slowing down catching my breath.

040709 0730hr - Run
Workout: Easy Run
Description:
To and from NSRCC
Timing: 1hr+
Distance: 10km
Feeling: Ran with Coach Pekya, the pace is good, what i wanted. Compare to the runs i did myself, the cadence is much better. Hope to achieve this pace for brick

050709 1715hr - Brick
Workout: Moderate Hard Bike (Spin) + Short Run
Description:
Coastal 4 laps
Spin at 100+
Run: 10mins
Avg Speed:
29km/h (overall trip)
Timing:
1hr +
Distance: 40km
Feeling: Head wind was strong! Really strong towards changi village. The session feel like interval, with the resistance marking the difference. Run is fine, short 2km round my neighborhood. disrupted by the sudden downpour.

SUMMARY OF WEEK 14

Swim: 2.7km
Run: 14km

Bike: 110km

Putting in more effort the bike and run. Will continue increasing the number of session. Find that i didn't do as much morning session as planned. Maybe too tired from work. Swim is disappointing, hope i can do better next week.

4 Weeks to Desaru
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Microtrends: the small forces behind tomorrow's big changes

Title: Microtrends: the small forces behind tomorrow's big changes
Author: Mark J. Penn & E. Kinney Zalesne

First i thought this book is got to do with economics similar writing style as freakonomic. But it turn out to be more like sociology (not sure if its the right category), mixed in with politics, bits of marketing behavioral and supported with stats tics (which i cant decipher at my level, but basically is just graph line suggesting increase or decrease)

What I Like:
A total of 15 chapters which in all touch on 75 different case studies he made. Instead of the usual 50+ pages for a chapter from a non-fiction book. Each case study varies 4 to 10 pages, make lazy people like me easy to read. Each chapter talks about general issues we see in daily life (US context) but not spotting the 'micro' trend.

Some example:
Love, Sex Relationship: Office Romancer, Commuter Couple
Work Life: Working Retired, Extreme Commuters
Health and Wellness: Sun-Haters (sun-tanning issue), 30-Winkers (sleep issue)
Family Life's: Pet Parents, Late-Breaking Gays, Dutiful Sons
Author came out with interesting topic title to address the issue, maybe even suggesting a 'new term' for such trends. A new term commonly heard local recently "foreign talent"

What I Dislike:
No matter how interesting the author tries to present the findings, there is still some topics which i have no knowledge on, such as Politics and Race & Religions.. So end up just reading for the sake of reading for some of these topics.

Food for Thought

"By the time a trends hits 1%, it is ready to spawn a hit movie, best-selling book, or new political movement. The power of individual choice is increasingly influencing politics, religion, entertainment, and even war. In today's mass societies, it takes only 1% of people making a dedicated choice - contrary to the mainstream choice - to create a movement that can change the world"

"An average person cannot tell the difference between 4% unemployment and 8% unemployment. If you have 100 friends, and a few more are employed or unemployed, you cant accurately gauge whether the economy is going up or down. If twenty of them were unemployed, could; in other words you can easily see firsthand the complete disasters and depressions. But you cant see the changes in the normal range of statistics. You cant really see the difference between an economic boom and a recession, which would be the difference between 4% and 8% unemployment"

Paragraph taken from the Introduction and Conclusion of the book

So any trends we can spot in our local context other than above mention foreign talent?
Actually i don't really see it as a new trend. Its has been around since the day, Sir Stamford Raffles landed on this small island (first foreign talent). We are just happen to be the foreign talents' descendants. Look at it from this perspective, it just take 2 generations to produce a "Singaporean", who are speaking better English that's all..

Will my favorite color Pink be the next new Black? Will I have children ended announcing they are attracted to their same sex? Or animals being my grandchildren? How about Internet government critics group, the ruling party for our nation?

WHY NOT, Since all it takes is 1% ?!

Trend Spotting
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Forecast for July 2009

Yes its 1st July 2009!!! Other than receiving GST credit, I also have to start planning for my training for Desaru HIM.

Finally able to kick start my run and bike sessions, decided to place Training as TOP PRIORITY, follow by Work... Few days not be be touched by work are Wed and Thurs as official training are held. While Sat, I'm planning to join the cycling groups for long rides.

Mon, Tues and Sun, i planned to work only 2 out of these 3 days. Whereas Fri, i can only work morning till evening shifts. Had planned for 2 training sessions for each day, but all pretty short and easy workout, basically just to condition my body back to cycling and running.

Time Schedule
*Firm dates are highlighted

Shag Month Ahead
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