The Rollercoaster Effect

G'Day, Everyone!

Day two of Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS): not as bad but my legs are stiffer with residual soreness. I did not feel much of its crippling impact on Sunday as I suspect that adrenaline was flooding my post-42.195K body then. My official results showed me off my PB by two-and-half minutes. I missed my second Boston Qualifying time; I will have to apply in September with my Hong Kong Marathon time. Such is life! Move on is the operative phrase. You can choose to brood over upsetting results, or choose to result in further upset. I choose neither. I have another 21K race next week, so I am patient about it. I did enjoy PBs in my 21K, 25K and 30K at the recent Gold Coast Airport Marathon - I relish the memories and my strategy - no guts, no glory! I gave 100 percent of myself on Sunday, and have no regrets about it. Another day, another way. 

One day more till we depart for home. We were just at Warner Brothers' Movie World for the entire day. We took the new ride, Batwing Spaceshot - a must-do if you're here. You get catapulted up about seven storeys, then a partial freefall, bunjy-style. You get a few more such oscillations before your heart settles down. A few more rollercoaster rides including the Scooby-Doo Spooky Coaster (for its reverse drop, and hair-raising, hairpin turns) and the infamous, heart-dropping Lethal Weapon 2 ride - free-hanging legs. I screamed like a girl - not proud of it - but it held me through the 45-second ride with no whiplash symptoms.

Which were your hair-raising moments in your life? What was it like experiencing rollercoaster moments in your professional life? In business, we occasionally experience such heart-thumping and heart-wrenching times when we receive unpleasant news. Investors in stock-markets need to brace themselves for erratic market behaviors, much of which are beyond our control. You may miss your flight due to bad weather or QED. These inreconciliable periods are akin to your partner wanting to do the ride,and you hesitating for one fleeting moment. This can skew the emotional and attitudinal balance of partnerships and alliances. Do, or not do - there is no try as Yoda would grunt in abject annoyance.

When participants of a race have differing expectations from race organisers, this can exacerbate into online vitriole that explodes into one-sided arguments and diatribes. Invariably, personal expectations exceed public and published ones. It is in such rollercoaster moments that we question our opinions, and review our perspectives.

Ups and downs - such is life!
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Just won an online contest for most articles submitted in June, so that's my consolation. I am looking forward to some rewarding collaborations and alliances. One step at a time before we conquer those huge mountain trails and summit those peaks. Thank you for tuning in!

Qualifying for the Boston Marathon and Group Inclusion

My Eastern Night Riders (ENR) training buddy, Steven achieved a personal best time of 3:45 at the Hong Kong Marathon while I did a 3:29. We found out that we ran with no major expectations of the race, other than completing what we heard was a ‘hilly race’. I had aimed for under-4 hours, whereas Steven aimed for a sub-4:30 timing. As written earlier, perhaps slow may be faster.

Last night, I did an 11K time trial/tempo run. I ran the first four kilometres at less than 4:10 minute/K, which was one of my fastest intervals. The remaining distance was done at race pace, to determine if I was fully recovered about nine days after my last marathon. I completed my evening run in about 48 minutes, which was slightly off my last time trial set about two weeks ago. It would have been great to set a new PB – riding on the post-race fitness peak – however, it would have given me a sense of unrealistic progress. I took a week off heavy training because I will be engaged in the 70.3 Singapore (half-Ironman triathlon format) in less than three weeks from now. My staple diet is mainly shorter workouts with intervals and strength work.

It feels good to qualify for a race, gain entry into a group/club, and meet cutoff times. Qualification is about meeting standards set by the organizers. It allows inclusion into a group of people and practitioners. It is also a passport to meet other high performers so that augurs well if you aim to do much better. Mix around with entrepreneurs and you will gain insights about business, and develop your business acumen. Ride with the stronger cyclists regularly, and swim with the seasoned swimmers, and you will get better.

Congratulations to David Tay for qualifying for the Boston Marathon again! This 50-year-old life coach completed the cold and sunny Tokyo Marathon with his 3:28 race time. He is consistently fast and progressing well each year. Knowing that I am about one minute behind David’s recent marathon time encourages me to train smarter, and appreciate my improvements. Here’s to more frequent small gains! Congratulations to Richard Leong for his challenging finish; he completed the 42.195K with an injury. Get well soon, Tokyo Marathoner!

Lessons Learnt: How often do you appreciate your improvement? How do you respond to your personal progress? What engages you to enhance your performance at work, and at play?

Living Up to Expectations

Service fails when we do not meet our customer’s expectations. Thus, we learn about how to ‘under-promise, and over-deliver’. I believe that most customers (including ourselves) already know of this strategy, where we are short-changed as a customer, so that we can we be over-charged eventually. Talk about uneven compromises!

After watching the Ironman Triathlon World Championships two days ago, I was thinking about what goes through the minds of the professional and amateur athletes after the race.

For the defending champion, Craig ‘Crowie’ Alexander (AUS) winning twice in a row must be heady with excitement and euphoria (as far as I can imagine). Chrissy Wellington (UK), not only successfully defended her title for the second time, she also broke the long-standing course record (by one minute) set by her predecessor, Paula Newby-Fraser. Interestingly, several male professionals did not expect the superlative English triathlete to overtake them during the race. Chrissy needed a boost of motivation, so she went after the boys. I am sure that they were not expecting that!

For those professional who did not win, or make it to the top-3 positions, how do they feel? Do you think that they felt that they had disappointed their fans? Did they feel terrible because they did not meet expectations? I believe that to some extent, they did as professionals have a degree of obligation to their sponsors, family, fans, and themselves. This included former-world champions who wanted another shot at glory. To win once at Kona makes you a great athlete; to win twice, that makes you a legend. Some legends attempted a hat trick, and who can fault them for their enormous efforts on mercilessly hot day.

20-year-old, Rudy Garcia-Tolson (of Bloomington, California) did not meet the 9.5 hours deadline to complete his ride. To be fair, he is a double-amputee, above the knees, and he ran purely on his gluteal muscles (buttocks). He was severely disadvantaged, yet he made enormous ground by completing the 180km of sheer heat and harsh side-winds of Kona-Kailua, Hawaii. Kudos to Rudy for showing courage and true grit! In 2007, Scott Rigsby became the first double leg amputee to finish the Ironman. Both Rudy and Rudy have relentless determination and fiery willpower to attempt such a challenge, and boldy defy expectation. They defied (the odds) and defined who they are.

Congratulations to entrepreneur, Mitch Thrower for his 18th Ironman finish! [Sigh]. I have my work cut out for me.