RMAF 21km

I am sans car now , and I've taken my trusty old Shogun to bits (permanently) so Planet X came out to play to get me down to TUDM this morning for the 21km. I arrived and locked up the bike. Was puzzled as to where all the runners were. Headed off towards a large inflatable arch about 300m away that I thought was the start. As it turned out, the start was another 600m away and so I missed the gun by 3-4 mins!

Mmmmmm - not a good start! I was seriously considering 20min run followed by a DNF but after a few minutes I caught the imcyclist gang and then Patsy Yap, so my spirits were lifted. After less than 1km I also came across a bunch of girls walking, and each carrying quite sizeable shoulder bags - very strange!?!?

I took the first few km at a snails pace and as I passed all the back-markers thoughts of a DNF fizzled out. This run had distance markers every km so I could regularly check my pace. I was doing 6:00/km but had lost a couple of mins at the start after chatting with imcyclists. I began to feel good and from 45mins to 1:37 felt quite fast and managed to dip under 6:00/km pace.

By the last few km I was on target for a surprise sub 2:06 and eventually finished in a very pleasing 2:03:15. But acording to a few different sources, including me, the distance was only 20.4 ot 20.5km. Anyway, I'm pretty pleased considering that I've done zero exercise in the last 2 weeks except the NB 15km and a ride up to Genting.


20.4km in 1:03:15 @ 6:03/km (or 2:07:03 pace for 21km)

15km in 1:31:10 = 30s outside PB!

NB 15km

I missed my 1:30 target, but still managed a respectable 1:32 time even though the first 2km was really congested.

Sub 1hr Bomba

I kicked off an ambitious 3-event weekend with what looks like will be my final run around this well-used 10km course, on which I did my first ever 10km run in 2006.

The last time I did this route was in last years Power Run. I missed my target by a few minutes and failed to break the hour - so yesterday I was determined to a 59:xx time or better.

I felt ok to start with and felt better as time went on, especially once we hit the long downhill on Duta towards the final couple of km on Parlimen. I reckoned if I got to the Bukit Aman lights in 51:00 I could break 1hr.

As it was I was 30s down so really went for it down past Padang Merbok as I remember the final few '00m round Merdeka Sq taking longer than you might expect. I passed one guy who'd been running just ahead of me for a while, and he latched on to me, but I managed to beat him (I was secretly quite pleased about that!).

I wasn't sure if I'd make it until the final turn onto the field, but managed to dodge the throngs of 7km runners to finish in 59:20 - hooray!


THANKS to Tey and Ah Fook for the photos!

Surprise!

Thank to Hon You for these photos of me in the last 100m of the recent Klang 21km.

Klang 21km

Sorry to say it, but this was the least pleasant half-marathon I've done. Partly due to the nature of the route & traffic, and partly due to my well-being.

The first 5km was ok and I felt like I was going quite fast. I don't usually start picking off the runners ahead quite as early in a race as I did in this one. So I was a bit disappointed not to get to the 5km drink station until 33mins+. I then began to tire and slow down a bit, and didn't feel that great. Also, the route consisted of many long straight flat roads with the odd bridge, at some points allowing me to see the route 1-2km ahead. I don't like routes like that - give me Double Hill any day!

Despite 500ml of Isostar before the race my mouth felt dry. The 10km drink station was welcomed, and came after 1h03m. Until then my HR had been a consistent 82%. Downed a rather disgusting "caffe latte" gel. So it would appear that my pace had improved (or km markers were inaccurate). Despite this I was feeling more fatigued and really struggled over the next 5km. HR dropped to 79%.

However this 3rd 5km took me only 23mins (confirming the inaccuracy of the km markers) and my gel began to take effect. Morale was lifted as this meant I'd done 15km in under 1h28m. So from about 16-17km I went into boost mode and managed to pull away from the nearby runners.

As the finish line came into view I pushed a bit harder and "potong sayur-ed" my final victim, but the route kept on going on & on & on and I eventually discovered that my final sprint, supposed to be about 400m, ended up being about 800m and I was "potong sayur-ed" myself by one guy. The last 6km took me 39mins and I finished in 2:07:18 - a very similar time to a couple of 21km's I did last year.

THANKS to Abu for noticing that I left my medal behind!

THANKS to KPAC for the run, and I'm delighted to see they're happy to have foreigners in the race. Shame about the traffic on the route!

Screwed

My planned number of hours training has been totally screwed up by my recent illness and holiday, but never mind lah, I am there or thereabouts in terms of my performance goals, and it's hardly a crime to miss my 8hrs a week target!

Whilst in Dubai I only managed a single 35min morning run (according to my HRM it was already 27-8 degrees at 7am!), and after returning I did nothing until last night. Earlier this week I was still overcoming the time change, and my mind was occupied by job matters, so training took a back seat.

But I shook off the cobwebs good and proper last night with a "half-pyramid" 1600-1400-1200-1000-800m interval run. I was going for 600-400-200 too but my tanks were empty!

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And I was on my bike an hour later, spinning away for an hour while watching Fleche Wallonne. The finale was great! With a few km to go Wegmann pulled away from Grivko just after their breakaway partner fell, but as Wegmann hit the Mur de Huy, Grivko was catching him, only for both of them to be swallowed up by Evans,Rebellin, Cunego etc... with 6-700m to go. In the end it was Kirchen (who was in my 2007 Tour fantasy team) who was strongest. Poor old Wegmann and Grivko lost 0:53 and 1:25 respectively in only the last 500m!

The Mur De Huy is 10% average / 25% max, and Kirchen is still on his big chain ring!

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Back to the pool tonight (if I don't feel too tired after watching Man U & Barca draw 0-0 last night). Then hope to get another short fast run in on Fri am. Bike ride Saturday am (a novely for me!) then Klang Pacers 21km on Sunday. Next weekend is a long one, so hope to get a decent run and ride in, and then A'Famosa Tri the following Sunday.

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I've signed up for the RMAF 21km on 25 May, and the Bomba 10km on 10 May. On the latter day, I'll be doing the 10km in the morning then the Sprint Tri in the afternoon. Oly Tri the following a.m. A'Famosa is not a "biggie" in my plan for this year, so I feel I can do a 10km run and a slow sprint tri the day before. I should still be able to beat last years time anyway now that I can do front-crawl, have a much faster bike, and have improved my running.

Marathon Man

I shot down another 2008 target yesterday by finishing the KL Marathon in under 5 hours - 4:53:57 to be precise. Here's my split times -

5km, 31:53 - 0:31:53
10km, 35:38 - 1:07:31
15km, 30:52 - 1:38:23
20km, 30:19 - 2:08:58
21km, 07:03 - 2:15:45
25km, 29:36 - 2:45:21
30km, 32:51 - 3:18:12
35km, 40:12 - 3:58:34
40km, 39:18 - 44:37:2
42.195km, 16:15 - 4:53:57 *not including pitstop

I was 124th/200 in my category. Official results for my category are here.

I met Eugene, Abu, Saiful, Ngae at the start and off we went. I went at my current "easy" pace which means about 65mins for 10km. Before Kg. Attap Azwar made an appearance on his "silly" bike. I love the way he has a triathlon-style aero bottle-holder on it! Along Syed Putra Steve Lee and Karoline came along, and Uncle Chan was accused by some DBKL guys of pacing runners as he ambled alongside us on his bike. (Pacing people already 30mins behind the leaders? - come on guys!)

Over the hill towards TUDM, I eventually shook-off a guy who was sprinting-walking (very unusual marathon strategy - doing that after only 6km!). Just after the 10km timing mats it was time for a pitstop - I won't go into details apart from to say that I was well-prepared for it. 3m31s later I rejoined the race and headed back into town.

Well into my stride now, I headed along Jalan loke Yew and then Jln Cheras. Just before 20km I joined Abu again, and reached halfway in about 2h18m. So far so good - I can slow by 25 mins or so in the 2nd half and still make it in 5hrs.

Through town again and I was beginning to overtake a number of runners. A few people beginning to suffer by now. Then the 21km front-runners began to whizz by. Gulped down a gel after about 2h30m and this helped me make it to the 30km mark. At 30km I was beginning to slow markedly - and so was everyone else. Once we we got to Jln Tun Razak I chatted to a Thai runner, who seemed to think I could speak Thai very well! Sorry to say I've forgotten a lot of Thai so it was a short chat.

Past PWTC and a long incline up to the first of the very attractive "...km to go" signs! My legs were beginning to struggle now but I kept going - baby steps. Finally got to the downhill stretch towards Duta, where I began to feel that I was losing my sense of the gradient (i.e. running slightly down still feels like running slightly up!).

Once on to Duta I was very slow now, down to about 8:00/km, but still ok for a sub-5 finish. From 6 to 3 km to go my stomach muscles became very sore which slowed me even more and I started walking a few times, but not for long. After a long time without seeing anyone I knew, I caught sight of Eugene on the other side of the road, and then Karen, Abu, Steve & Karoline in hot pursuit!

For some reason the last 3km didn't go down Jalan Parlimen, so we ended up on part of the Double Hill route past the JKR offices. I could sense the finish now and my timing was ok so I kept jogging along - there was certainly no repeat of my 21km sprint finish last year!

In the last 300m I was overtaken by a rather short - and friendly - middle-aged gentleman who ended up beating me by a few seconds. However I beat him to the girls handing out goodie bags a medals because he collapsed about 1m after the line! Glad to say I think it was a simple case of exhaustion.

So that was it. I'm happy I can say I've done a Marathon, but at the moment it remains to be seen if I do another one in the foreseeable future.

Gel intake - 2h35m, 3h20m and 4h05m.

Pacman

The reason for the reduction in blog posts is...Pacman!

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We've decided on our hols! Delhi is too hot and not 6yo friendly so we've decided to hop over to Dubai on 12th April for 6 days. It's not too hot at the moment and there's plenty of stuff for Lucas such as water parks, beaches, Ski Dubai etc... And J and I can check the place out and see if it would be nice to live there for a while.

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I can't stop thinking about KLIM this weekend. I'm itching to get my number, chip and vest tomorrow. I'm keeping my engine ticking over with some short super-easy runs. 5km after work on Monday and 4km this morning. I'll probably get another 5km in before Sunday.

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Back to the pool tonight - my first swim in 3 weeks - so I'm wondering what sort of shape I'll be in. Fingers crossed.

Back to Pacman now...

Speedwork

KLCC

6 x 1000m: 4:50-4:46-4:42-4:41-4:52-4:47

Recovered

I finally recovered from my throat infection and by Saturday I was greatly looking forward to breaking my 12 days of inactivity with a 21km run to Hartamas.

Felt fine in the first 5km, 3mins faster than usual. 2nd 5km felt slow but still arrived in a reasonable 1h5m including the Petronas loop. Felt better on the next 5km and surprisingly didn't tire much in the final 5km and finished in a pleasing 2h8m, considering my recent lay-off.

Today my legs feel more tired than usual. Anyway I plan to get an easy run in this evening and another 10-15km later in the week, 21km again this Sunday and then take it easy with running the following week leading up to the KLIM 42km.

Monday Blues

We had a nice weekend but didn't do anything particularly exciting. I had a bit of a lie-in and went for a later than usual run. I hadn't run all week so felt like I must get one in, and I knew that if I left it later in the day - it would not happen. So I did a really easy Double Hill in 1h06m. I saw Ngae in the Bukit Aman car-park and he told me about his off-course Ironman swim where he took 30mins longer than planned!

Later Lucas & I had a nice lunch in Bukhara in KLCC while J had her hair done. Then we took him to the playground and for a swim at home in the evening.

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The posters for Horton Hears A Who are up now and I'm more excited about it than Lucas! This story is one of his favourites and I've read it to him in bed a million times - on 13 March it'll be time to see the full-action technicolour movie version!

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Not a great Monday. I thought I'd cheer myself up with a likely 5km run PB, so I headed off to KLCC after work and was duly rewarded.

6:50-6:54-6:54-6:48 = 27:26 (5.2km). New PB by 56secs.

5k time was 26:24.

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I'm taking Wednesday off work as I have one million personal matters to sort out, which can only be done M-F 9-5.

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Shimizu (and other bidders) will be submitting their bids for the Pahang Selangor Water Transfer Tunnel by midday today. I hope that the upcoming election, and change of KTAK Minister, doesn't delay the bid appraisal and award process too much!

KLIM Circuit Run 2

While the Ironmen were still in bed nursing tired bodies, minds and souls, I was running 8 x 2.8km laps around Lake Gardens. Thankfully it was a longer and more interesting loop this time, and I managed a decent run (2nd longest distance run ever!).

Lap - Distance - Time - Total
1 - 2.8km - 16:21 - 16:21
2 - 5.6km - 16:07 - 32:28
3 - 8.4km - 16:01 - 48:29
4 - 11.2km - 16:02 - 1:04:30
5 - 14.0km - 16:08 - 1:20:38
6 - 16.8km - 16:34 - 1:37:12
7 - 19.6km - 16:28 - 1:53:40
8 - 22.4km - 16:02 - 2:09:43 (5:48/km)

Probably did a 15km PB in there, and missed my 2008 target of 1:55:00 for 20km by only a minute or so. Less than 2:02:00 for 21km too.

So I am definitely in better running shape than last year. Today's run was comfortable to say the least. My weight is back down to last years min of 76kg too, so I've lost 4-5kg in the last 3-4months. My aim is to keep at 75-6kg for the rest of the season.

Interval Run

Trying to go for a good mix of tempo, interval and LSD runs this week. Did the tempo on Monday, and am due for 135mins LSD on Sunday (KLIM Circuit Run 2), so last night was time for intervals again at KLCC -

Plan: 5 x 1,000m @ 4:52

(my target pace is 50:00 per 10km = 5:00 per km. 3s faster per 400m = 8s faster per 1km... 5:00 - 0:08 = 4:52)

Actual: 4:48-4:41-4:48-4:52-4:40.

About 10s slower per interval than 2 weeks ago, but my HR was correspondingly lower and i felt comfortable. Also did 5km this time compared to 4km previously.

So I'm hoping for a 9-10 lap effort on Sunday - 20.7-23km @ 5:52-6:30/km.

Can't Think of a Title

Random nice pic, illegally copied from cyclingnews.com...

David Zabriskie's Tour of California Felt TT-bike

Tour De Langkawi

A pat on the back for me please! I kid yee not - Ruslan Ivanov was one of my tips for TdL success and he brought home the beef-bacon - well done to him - and me!

PB

I did a Double-Hill run again last night, and despite not really going for it, I managed to knock about 50s of my personal best to set a new record of 58:17. Starting from my usual spot in Bukit Tunku, my splits were approx 22:30 at Bukit Aman lights, 27:30 at the right turn before Bang Negara KTMB station, and just under 50:00 at the final left turn before the final killer hill.

Langkawi

I wish to offer a huge amount of GOOD LUCK to everyone I know (too many to list) who's taking part in Ironman Langkawi this Saturday - I'll be following your progress all day online, from the comfort of my desk. And on Sunday a.m. when you're all in bed, or up but unable to walk properly, I'll probably be off to the Lake Gardens for the 2nd KLIM circuit training run - although I don't quite fancy the idea of running 2.3km laps for over 2 hours!

Traitor

Someone who I wish was in Langkawi - so I could ask one of you to punch him - is Mohamed Al-Fayed. Al-Fayed, who was born in Egypt and who has been refused British citizenship due to his dubious character, has the bloody cheek to question the nationality/citizenship of Prince Philip (The Queen's husband) and say that he should be sent back to where he comes from. Well I tell you what Mr bloody Al-Fayed - just because you own a shop they frequent doesn't mean you can insult the British Monarchy - why don't YOU f*** off (sorry Mum) and go back to where YOU came from!! That's the last time I ever go to Fulham FC (which he owns).

How many countries in the World would put up with rich foreigners going on and on and on ad nauseum about Diana's death, conspiracy theories etc... and then insulting senior Royals - OFF WITH HIS HEAD I SAY!!!!!!!!

Double Hill

Return to Le Double Hill yesterday evening. Finished in 1:00:08 - missing my 10-month old PB by 55secs despite what felt like a blistering start. A bit disappointed - but my PB was set in the morning - which I think favourably affect one's threshold & energy levels - and my average HR yesterday was 4bpm less.

So - a pleasing start to another weeks training.

Quiet Again

I've been a bit quiet again recently (I tend to blog during lunchtime in the office, so when I have a few days off the posting drys up unless something truly exciting happens).

On Thursday evening I did a 1600-1400-1200-1000-800-600-400-300- 200-100m interval run at KLCC. It's amazing how well this type of run breaks up the monotony of running laps. I would normally be bored stiff doing 5 laps there but this run had me doing 6 without too much trouble.

The following morning I did the Double Hill with Arif, while Bacin & Steve Lee marched off to Hartamas. Later that day I managed 50 mins of swim drills in the condo pool.

Saturday am - Putrajaya 50km ride with Bacin, Dicky Z, Laif, Andrea Android, Azmar and Rashid. I was riding my Planet X so as usual the flat stretch towards the KLIA toll was wonderful - I cruised along comfortably at 36kph+ and caught a certain Mr Ray Hee KK (secret training on his own) just before the toll. In the end my average speed was about 29kph which is pretty good for me.

Later I nipped down the road to GE Mall for lunch with Jackie and Lucas. He's a huge Chicken Rice Shop fan, so he had chicken rice (in case you were wondering what they serve) and I downed some sarnies and a Starbucks.

In the pm I took Lucas to ISKL for a first football lesson. He did quite well and - being a good few inches taller than his pals - made the most of his body size, and football being a "contact" sport. A nice goal with the outside of his foot and in off the post too!

On Sunday I had a lie-in! I eventually sloped off to the Bike Boutique for a while, where I discovered their rooftop 25m pool, and plans for triathlon training sessions. Then off to Lake Gardens where I jogged around the 2.3km loop (carrying right calf muscles strained during Thursday's intervals) behind a cycling Lucas, before a game of footy and a go on the playground.

Bad to Good

My week started badly. On Monday I was suffering from PRT (Post-Race Tension) and that co-incided with encountering a distinct lack of co-operation from certain colleagues at work - so you could say I had a "bad day".

On Tuesday my brain and legs were both still a bit fatigued from the 30km run, but I managed to join the PCC evening ride and, for a pleasant change, stayed on for some recovery roti canai and chit-chat.

The week brightened considerably on Wednesday (a recently announced public hol) when I went for a 50km ride around Putrajaya followed by a swift 10min transition run. I spent the rest of the day doing little chores and tidying up bits n pieces of personal "business" that I would do regularly if I had more than 24hours off at the weekend!

Jackie and Lucas flew to Singapore on Thursday so I set up the turbo trainer in front of the TV and did a 1-2-3-4-3-2-1min (hard) pyramid set whilst having my mind nicely numbed by American Idol - I only watch the audititon shows as they can be quite entertaining - almost like a freak show. I later settled in front of the box and indulged in some cheese and a few glasses of red.

On Friday evening I went out for a rare evening of beer and wining and dining with a colleague from Hong Kong, and another who's retiring next week and heading back to England after 20 years in Asia. We had some great food (lamb) and nice Chianti in Flam's restaurant on Cangkat Bukit Bintang. I'm proud to say I declined the offer of further pints after dinner, and got a taxi home, with my morning cycle to work on my mind.

Taxi #1 quoted RM20. Taxi #2 quoted RM15 (better). Taxi #3 went on the meter - it was RM6.90 - but he asked for RM10. I was going to give him RM10 anyway - my policy is to reward drivers who just invite you to hop in and go by the meter.

Saturday am rode to work. After work I dodged the cops (demonstration at KLCC?) and traffic wardens and did a swift 3 laps (a mere 3.9km) but included a 1-2-3-4-3-2-100m pyramid of sprints. Wasn't feeling great - must have been the previous nights wine.

I'm typing now (Sun lunchtime) as I'm quite excited about my run this morning, and I'm waiting for a call from J & L to pick them up from the LRT on their way back from S'pore...

I've done plenty of running recently, but very little this week, so this mornings 1h15m KLIM training run suited me nicely and yesterday at work (I switch off by Saturday 4pm!) I was working out how fast I'd have to go to squeeze 6 full 2.3km laps into the 1:15 time limit. The answer was 12m30s laps at something like 5:30/km. Very unlikely I thought.

To my great surprise - and delight - I managed to do 6 laps in 1:13:53, and I must admit my pacing was wonderful - increasingly fast laps all the way...

6 x 2.3km @ 12:31-12:26-12:18-12:16-12:15-12:07 = 13.8km in 1:13:53

I reckon on lap 5 I must have passed the 10km mark only 20s or so down on my PB. I really think that my training routine is responsible for this...I don't just go for "a run" anymore - I do short sprints with rests, intervals, acceleration runs etc...at quite a high intensity, following sessions printed in 220 Tri mag. This combined with LSD runs definitely seems to be having the desired effect.

And...in a couple of hours I'm heading off to Sepang to drive a 350Z around the track as fast as I can!

KLCC Interval Training

Plan: 4 x 1,600m @ 7:56, with rests to 60%HRmax

Actual: 7:29-7:50-7:59-7:59

Here Comes the 30

It's the Pacesetters GE 30km run for me this weekend and I'm quite excited! Due to my reluctance to run 25km last Sunday, this run will be my first ever over 21km, or 2h25m.

I excitedly took my reg. card off the kitchen notice board on Monday morning and it's in my desk at work until I pop off to Lake Gardens on Saturday morning to get my number (0047?) and vest.

My plan since October has been to do this run in 3h20m. Based on the same pace as my two best recent 20km runs I can do a 3h09m, which gives me an 11min zone for a final 10km slow-down. Inside 3h20m will be great but to go a few minutes faster would be wonderful!

It'll be dark at 6am so if I don't see anyone or say hello - here's good luck to you from me now.

I have some questions...

Are we given a Powergel at the Hartamas turn?
Are there km markers?
Do we do the loop past Bank Negara KTM station 3 times?

and most importantly...will Tau Foo Fa be served at the finish line!

A Bridge Too Far

Recent happenings....

On Saturday I took delivery of my new toy - a Finis Tempo Trainer. It beeps at intervals according to your desired swim stroke rate / run stride rate or cycling cadence (i.e. small intervals 0.2s - 2s) or for lap times (1-10 mins). Apparently its a good training tool for swimming. You can clip it to your trunks or tuck it under a swim cap and use it to stick to a pre-planned stroke rate or pace.

Went out for a lovely Thai meal with Jackie in the evening at the Basil Leaf restaurant on Jalan Damai. You can't beat a good Thai spicy beef salad!

Off to bed at a reasonable time and up again a little after 5am for a (planned) 25km run. However, as predicted during a chat with a fellow runner at the halfway point, the seemingly magnetic lure of the car-park meant that it ended up being only 20.7km.

I maintained a good pace for the first 10km and started the second half with an extra "Petronas loop". I struggled a bit on the way back but my legs came back to life and I finished at an average pace of 6:18/km, my best yet since my training restarted about 13 weeks ago. BTW in that time I've run 344km - 26km per week - compared to 17km a week average last year.

Back at home I spent some time with adorable innocent 6-year old son Lucas, who chose that morning to ask - "Daddy? Is motherfu**er a bad word?"

After "Is mother..." I wondered what he was going to ask (he usually says "Mummy") but didn't think for a second what would actually come next! I'm not automatically blaming the influence of his mates for this but I am as sure as I can be that his knowledge of language like that has not been garnered from his family or within the walls of his home, and I do have my doubts about how some of his friend's parents control their kids exposure to violent games and movies, bad language etc...

Lucas and I then headed off to Bangsar Shopping Centre for a couple of Scalextric races (both of which I lost) and an Oreo McFlurry (highlight of the day!) before heading off back into town by LRT to catch the final stage of Jelajah Malaysia.


It was nice to see a successful small breakaway group in a criterium - it's so much more interesting than a big bunch procession.

Then home - Man U v Geordies - pizza - bed!