Dancing Your Own Dance

The world championship of Ironman triathlon takes place in Kona, Hawaii every year in October. It is considered the holy grail of long-distance triathlon for would-be qualifiers, as well as the Big Dance on the Big Island for those who qualified.

Tomorrow, on 4 December, several key races are taking place in the Asia-Pacific region. There are the Singapore Marathon, Ironman Western Australia, Phuket Triathlon, and Angkor Wat Half-Marathon. We wish all participants a safe and memorable adventure in their personal quest!

Dancing With the Stars is a popular, prime-time, TV competition in the USA. You can watch many episodes on YouTube to appreciate the athleticism behind ballroom dance, salsa, rock & roll, and many more styles. What is salient is that the celebrities have their preferred dance-forms, as well as the ones they struggle with. In any case, they aspire to do their best to qualify for their next round with their partners (who are actual professional dancers).

Dancing teaches us many things, including rhythm, timing, coordination, cooperativeness, and teamwork. This is analogous to sports, be it running, triathlons, or swimming. Movement is one large, coordinated, synchronicity of gross muscle and fine muscle moves. When the body is educated, it has learnt new patterns of movement with respect to specific muscles that engage in these moves. Our brain is one clever organ that learns both good and bad habits quickly and takes shortcuts when it can.

A few tips before your big dance tomorrow:

1)    Do a brief session, rehearsing your event (i.e. short sprints, on-land swimming, short pool session, or quick spin on your bike).

2)    Conduct a final check on your race attire and nutritional support. Lay out your stuff before you pack them into the Transition bags.

3)    Replace faulty equipment and attire immediately; mechanical failure and wardrobe malfunction are killers to one’s mental focus.

4)    Rest your feet for the rest of the day. No shopping if you are overseas (do that the day after the race, as you’ll benefit from the walk).

5)    Stretch if you feel tense, however not too deeply to risk a strain or sprain.

6)    Attempt to sleep early. Have several naps if you have difficulty with long stretches of slumber.

7)    Focus on personal mantras that help you stay focused. Use music to help you relax, but not on race day.

8)    Avoid people who arouse anxiety for you. Just say you need to rest.

9)    Find your space. Respect other people’s space. John Cooke describes his 'quiet before the big dance'.

10) Visualise your completion of the race. Practise your finisher’s pose (Two thumbs up, waving of hands, rolling on the floor Blazeman style, leaping heel click like Crowie).

You have done the preparation. Time to relish in your execution of the race. The test is in managing yourself throughout the race. This may be the toughest examination you may have taken. You have completed two-thirds of it: training, and for showing up at the start-line. If you had your choice of dance, which would you choose? To each his/her own! Sometimes, we just have to dance to the beat of our own drum.

Enjoy your special day. It is another ‘birth-day’ for you. Appreciate every moment in the finisher’s chute. Whatever happens - you are already a winner. Think of two things: get my right-sized t-shirt and medal. Good luck!

What To Do When You Have 20 Minutes to Spare

Let’s be clear: we cannot save time. We can only manage our time.

Time is a measure of moments, periods and duration. It is an abstract concept yet it is so real in how we spend it. Unlike currency, time is not something tangible that we can put in a bank vault or safe-deposit box, only to draw upon it when we need to. Fitness is something else worth investing, for we can draw upon it when we decide to, at our own expense. However fitness is a temporal thing for it diminishes with time, however relative to each component: flexibility, strength, power, agility, endurance, and stamina.

What can we, purposefully, do with a finite packet of time of 20 minutes – about the minimal time to activate our aerobic (cardiovascular) fitness?

1)    Post on Facebook the launch of a charity event (this morning, I received great community support for an event focused on physically-challenged athletes). As a result, I have decided to make a financial and volunteer pledge.

2)    Share an article online, with your comments, about something useful with your friends.

3)    Send an electronic mail to one or two friends you have not been in recent contact with.

4)    Send several SMS text (written in grammatically correct language) messages to re-connect with somebody on your electronic Phonebook.

5)    Read several online articles and, perhaps, post your feedback. You might get a reply from the writer,, and connect with a resource in future.

6)    Edit your corporate newsletter, report, electronic mail, or blog (previous articles).

7)    Do a CrossFit session, or creatively work out an intense but short circuit training session to work major muscle groups.

8)    Clean your bicycle: totally degrease the chain, re-lube it, and wipe your frame down with a moist cloth.

9)    Learn something online. Google it up. Wiki it up. Read a chapter off your new book.

10) Check a new word. Translate it into languages you are familiar with, and check its accuracy.

11) Do a stretching session, focusing on any injury-prone areas, existing injuries, or very tight spots (back).

12) Send questions to experts on your Facebook or Twitter account. Learn voraciously. Make learning a habit.

13) Watch an online presentation, like TED.COM. View YouTube for lectures and presentation by celebrities and renowned speakers (example: Richard Feynman on his Physics lectures - Six Easy Pieces).

14) Meet a colleague at his her office and bounce a few ideas off them. Seek a second and third opinion.

15) Do a body check: Do you need to drink water? Would it be a time to take in some nutrition? Make a whey protein smoothie, peanut-butter sandwich, or drink a glass of water – and do something else to fill up the remainder of the 20 minutes.

16) Add to this list.

Be flexible in your use of time. Be purposeful. By the way, this post took 20 minutes to write. 20 minutes spent with intent can go a long way toward enriching your life.

My 20 Pre-Race Preparation Tips For Singapore 70.3

It is two days from the fifth edition of the Half-Ironman in Singapore, and here are my pre-race tactics that are designed to enhanced my racing focus, and reduce my confusion and anxiety.

1)    Lay out exactly the race-day stuff you will need.

2)    Eliminate unnecessary weight (equipment).

3)    Load all my energy gels (High5 Energy Gels and Energy Source 2:1) into two fuel-bottles (one each for bike, and one gel bottle for run).

4)    Eliminate unnecessary stuff on the bike/body (except watch, race-ID band).

5)    Use elastic laces or lace-locks (reduce chance of dangling shoelaces and affected rhythm and pace).

6)    Put your bike shoes on your pedals, and keep them horizontal with rubber bands. Practise mounting/dismounting and slipping the shoes on/off before the race – not that difficult.

7)    Use your regular sports-drinks (one prepared bottle on your bike), and one empty cage for disposable bottle. A drop-bottle between your aero-bars may be convenient for constantly having your drink.

8)    Stick fuel-bottle into running shoe, so you can retrieve it as you shoe up.

9)    If you think that constitutes extra weight, stick the gel-sachets into your tri-suit pockets. Swallow the gels before you drink at the aid-stations.

10)Final bike check for brake cables, tyre quality, and tightened bottle-cages.

11)Use a running visor, or have a haircut instead. Stay cool.

12) Bring a tyre patch-kit, or inflatable system.

13) Bring spare goggles and racing socks.

14) One large towel to locate your bike, sit down on, as you wipe your feet before wearing your shoes. Grit and debris can cause abrasions.

15) Do one swim in your actual race-gear. Avoid changing tops or tights – wastes time.

16) Fasten your race stickers early onto your bike and helmet.

17) Do one last, easy, wetsuit swim the day before to stay sharp (I did a 30-second ride/run workout 12 hours before the Hong Kong Marathon) or short run/spin. It keeps your muscles activated without exhausting them. Avoid it if you are fatigued.

18) Be up, at least, 2.5 hours before race. Have a light breakfast, black coffee (if you need it), water and one energy gel.

19) Have a mild warm-up before race. Rehearsing your swim strokes in the water certainly helps!

20) No mental pressure on yourself. Pace yourself, smile, feed and hydrate yourself. A PB is a bonus.

I hope that this helps you. Remember to attend the race briefing to have a sense of the route and safety rules (bike-length penalty). For the Ironman 70.3 Singapore edition, we do the following pattern: Swim (2 loops); Ride (3 loops); Run (2 loops)

Racers and supporters - Have a great day out! 

*****

Last night, I did a 11K tempo run of about 4:25 minutes/K. I was pleased I finished relatively fresh, without the telltale laboured breathing I am used to when my body shifts to anaerobic mode. I almost ran into 2005 Hawaii Ironman Triathlon World Champion, Faris Al Sultan near my finish. The crowd was getting thick with pedestrians and picnickers strolling, unaware, on the running path. I recognized Faris from my 2008 Ironman Malaysia on Langkawi Island.

I completed my dual-set with 30 minutes of easy swimming. My coach, Fox sent me a list of things to do before Sunday’s race, mainly on transitions. I wasted too much time in the past on silly, useless, methods. With two more days of rehearsals, I am sure I will reduce some of this down time and enhance my racing experience. Today, I will collect my race-kit at Suntec City, perhaps watch the press conference with the pros, and then follow up with an easy run with Pete Jacobs – Kona’s best marathoner (and one of its best swimmers) last year. I will do a specific run clinic on Monday with Pete; the last session I had with him was about a year back and I focused on forefoot running. It obviously worked as my running improved much over the past year. It should be a fun day.