Suck It Up And Move On!

It took me almost a full week to work the soreness out of my legs; the high antioxidant pomegranate juice helped. I did not use compression tights to accelerate my recovery, or at least reduce the stiffness however watched my nutrition and rested for about five days. On the fifth and sixth days I did swimming; Friday was 2 hours of pool drills, and Saturday was a 75-minute, open-water session.

At Monday Tri Swim, we had a total of 22 swimmers. Our menu by coach Dion was: 200 Warm up > 100x3 Front & back kick/Free > 100x2 dolphin kick breaststroke/Free > 100x3 Paddles w/fins > 100x5(4) Sprint 75 jog 25 & 25 dolphin dives 75 freestyle > Treading. Plus, 25m butterfly stroke/75m freestyle. I felt fitter and able to hold my sets, although I was fatigued towards the end.

After a dismal finish at TNF100 last Saturday and a DQ (apparently, I missed the second timing-mat) was just a result, and I have moved on. If I was reinstated, my partner and I could have been on the podium. Such is life!

I have signed up for Sunday’s Newton 30K Run, and I think I may just race in it. My last foray took me about 2:35 for the distance. If all goes well, I may just equal it. This will be my last long run until the 4 December Singapore Marathon. I hope to do better than my 2009 PB of 3:36, if the weather is not too hot and humid. I also signed up for the Berlin Marathon 2012, since I missed out on Boston. I have not decided which Ironman would be my 13^th and Switzerland would be an option, however it would be smack before the London Olympics 2012.

My approach would be to suck it up, and just do it. It is so easy to make excuses, and procrastinate from work. I had enough rest and a painful recovery and it is time for me to start engaging the Ironman triathlon training mindset. I have about 16 weeks to get into competitive shape and a sub-12 hour PB. I owe it to myself to achieve that. If push goes to shove, I will embrace the suck. If I want to earn a personal best, I will have to brave the tough days ahead. After 11 Ironman races later, it is business as usual. Tonight I will do a tempo 10K run and tomorrow I will do a short ride just to reinstate my riding legs; it will be science meets my senses strategy.

Embrace the Suck!

The above mantra came from Chris ‘Macca’ McCormack, world champion in the triathlon (2007/2010) in his first book. This morning, I thoroughly appreciated the meaning of ‘Embrace the Suck’.

This morning, after getting a lift from my ever-generous swim-buddy, Desmond I lined up early on the Esplanade Bridge – to jockey a good start position. I found Muscle Poon and Brian, who kept me company for the first-half of the Singapore Bay Run/Army Half-Marathon. The air was thick was excitement, anxiety and nervousness – I empathised with my fellow runners, as my heart rate started to rise, just before the flag-off at 5.15am.

The morning was humid, made more stifling with the close proximity of runners. After going fast and furious for about 10K (and securing a PB), I felt my speed fading. I had to do some form of damage control, so I drank more fluids, chaffed down a packet of High-5 gel, and paced myself slower than the first-half. I seemed to hit a ‘second wind’ in two gulps, which took advantage of. The more patient runners overtook me; payback can be a pain! The Fort Canning Hill climb was a good way to increase my pace and lead over those around me, so I captured that. Self-doubt and worry started to whisper to me like a schizophrenic's busy mind; I had to refocus despite the physical discomfort, and mental distractions. It was getting hard to stick to a 4:30 pace, so I ran intuitively opting not to glance at my Garmin watch. I was pleased to see my time under the finisher’s archway read 1:33:03 (34th out of Masters, 4:26/K pace, and top-2 percent overall). It was a very good morning, despite three hours sleep, and sustaining a testosterone high after watching last night’s Mixed Martial Arts competition at the Indoor Stadium.

Was it an easy race? No. It was not easy for a neophyte or a veteran. How much you put into it, and want to get out of it will add to the discomfort/pain factor. When it feels hard, it probably is, or it could be a passing phase. We do get down at times, so we rise up, stand up straight, look forward and take another step forward. The ‘suck’ as Macca describes it is the moment when it hurts, and things may go awry. So, you suck it in, embrace it, and go with it. It is akin to boxers rolling with the punches. Insist, resist or persist. You may draw much from taking on the challenges that are flung your way.

I am grateful for the grand company at the end-point, seeing many happy faces, especially those who earned new personal best timings. Sanae took a photograph of Vijay and I, probably the only photographic evidence of my participation today. ‘Run Couple’ Rachel and Poon Zhi Li were interviewed on ‘live radio’; both did sub-1:30 times, and Zhi Li did it on Vibrams Five Fingers. Minimalist shoes were on active duty this morning, including an overseas runner who ran on taped toes.

I was also pleased to find out that I have, finally, improve my performance to be on par with my personal ‘icons’ in endurance sports: Victor Chan, David Tay, Mika Kume, Melvin How, Lieu Yee Leong, Freddy Yeoh and Ironman Poon. They have been instrumental in shaping my racing development over the years because of their positive attitude to sports and life.

After posting on Facebook my preliminary results, the comments came in rapidly for which I was stoked by. I have enjoyed a spate of PBs in local races, as well as overseas marathons this year. After a disastrous year in Ironman racing last year, I think I may have found some comfort with my new knowledge, skills and applied experience in racing.

Observations & Affirmations: 

1)    Mok Yin Ren and I were suffering from plantar fasciitis, and we swapped note about treating it. The final-year medical student and SEA Games qualifier finished first this morning in a time of 1:11.

2)    I met PB earners who shared a similar philosophy of ‘less is more’, and ‘train less, run faster’ PROVIDED the aerobic base is strong, training is consistent and you are well rested.

3)    Extra bodyweight (including muscle) can restrict your running speed.

4)    Minimalist shoes can still spell good timings however if you want to do very well, race in minimalist shoes/racing shoes. Barefoot racing can be a disadvantage.

This evening, I will meet Nate Carlson and the military team from Hawaii that did well this morning.

Have a good weekend!

Tomorrow: My collective approach to running less, safely and faster.
Photo-credit: Key Power International