Smashing Mental & Physical Barriers

Congratulations Ewin Teo for being Singapore’s and Asia’s fastest finisher in the Ironman Western Australia 2011. He completed his race in 10:20. Perth-based Malaysian Kevin Siah also had a splendid day and came into the chute in 10:27, a massive improvement over last year. Congratulations to all the Singaporeans who completed their first Ironman triathlon!

Here is a personal report by Singapore’s oldest marathoner, Mr Kor Hong Fatt.

I finished the SCMS 2011 in ‘5:49:40’, and met my forecasted time of 6 hours. My target time for the upcoming SCHKM 2012 on 5 February will be 5 hours.

The bib that I chose to wear for the SCMS 2011 was designed not only as a beacon of inspiration for myself, but for the runners around me. It really attracted the attention of numerous runners and spectators before, during, and after the race. Many of them approached me and took photographs with me. Especially during the race, I received many kind words along the course, congratulations, encouragement, and comments like: ‘You are truly an inspiration.’ and ‘You are a role model for us’. It was very heartwarming to note that I did indeed stir some inspiration amongst the marathoners around me to continue to strive to keep on running.

Photo: Kor Hong Fatt

For my upcoming Hong Kong Marathon 2012, I will wear the similar unique bib in response to the Hong Kong Marathon's slogan: " Run For A Reason ". In respect to flying the Singapore flag high, my bib will show:

Age is No Barrier

4 Marathons in 10 Months:

Boston 2011 on Apr 18

Beijing 2011 on Oct 16

Singapore 2011 on Dec 4

Hong Kong 2012 on Feb 5

Running to celebrating my 80th birthday today

Singapore Marathoner

Kor Hong Fatt on 5 Feb 2012

I trust that Mr Kor’s words will launch us off into an inspiring week. Have a great week, everyone!

Results courtesy of Ewin Teo

Are You Suffering From Post-Racing Blues?

My friend, Jodan was surprised that we have a term called ‘post-Ironman blues’ when he expressed his sense of ‘emptiness’ after his inaugural completion of the 226K triathlon. It is natural to feel a sense of being ‘in vacuo’ after the racing season is over. Here is a list of 10 things you could do, when you experience the struggle of having too much free time on your hands, or want to resist the urge to go for a long run or ride.

1)    Enjoy the break from physical activity. Let your body heal, recover and get stronger.

2)    Get your body re-adjusted (chiropractor), re-aligned (physiotherapist), and relaxed (deep tissue masseur). Your body is still in a state of extreme shock, and can be unbearably tight (ITB, calves, upper back) posing future risks for injury. Most chronic injuries occur weeks after the actual event.

3)    Take advantage of your post-race peak, and race in short races (5K or 10K runs). You might even improve on your 5K trail-run ranking, hold your fastest riding speed for 3 minutes, or achieve your best 100m swimming speed in the pool.

4)    Participate in Master’s swim classes. Work on swim techniques, stroke rate, and racing drills. This tends to be one of the most overlooked areas of development. You may not win with the race with the swim, but you may certainly lose it.

5)    Go on a vacation and take stock of your priorities, including endurance race plans. How many races can you afford to do in a year? What will be the financial impact for overseas races?

6)    Join classes that focus on different aspects of your fitness, like flexibility, core strength and power (Pilates, yoga, spinning, CrossFit, or kettle-bell workouts). Run hills, and do intervals.

7)    Get back into your fitness lifestyle with bite-sized workouts. Down-scale and down-size all your efforts as you are still recovering from the physical assault on your beat-up body.

8)    Organise a gathering of finishers of a marathon or Ironman, and shoot the breeze. Swap stories and experiences, and bask in the myriad moments of mutual suffering and celebration.

9)    Join swim, ride and run groups and appreciate their energy and enthusiasm for each discipline. Time to move from training solo to being a groupie.

10) Do a post-race review of what went well, and what could be improved. Do you need to have your bike refitted? Could you tweak your nutritional plan? How did you legs feel after you got off your bike? Which parts of you body were the most sore after the race? How long was your recovery?

Stop being in denial. Accept the fact that with the end of each racing season comes a new one. Give your body and mind a rest. Racing is akin to doing exams, so time to celebrate the end of a successful season of competition. Enjoy your fitness and friends! Time to party!

Your Finishing Pose

Chrissy Wellington completes her win with the Blazeman Roll (in memory of the brave Ironman John Blaise who was stricken with Lou Gehrig Disease). Greg Welch did a high heel click when he crossed the line for his Kona championship win. Craig ‘Crowie’ Alexander celebrated like-wise with a similar diamond-legged jump this year. Macca stabbed the air with both his index-fingers when he won his first Ironman world championships in 2007.

Wilson embraces a familiar milestone (Courtesy: PhotoPix).

Your pose when you cross the line matters only to you. Whether you smile, grin, grimace or wince you made it. To go so far, for so long, indicates your true grit. Even if you did not complete in your attempt (due to injury and bodily dysfunction), the weeks of lonely, pain-staking workouts must account for something. Nobody has a right to wrest it away from your calloused hands. If you have to compete for it, so be it. It is a privilege you earned and you have every right to will yourself through the line, with or without assistance.

Vijay pumps his fist in his first IM finish (Courtesy: PhotoPix).

Register for your event. Train hard for it. Show up for race day. Be steadfast and resolute. Keep your eye on the prize. Jog. Walk. Crawl on your belly if you must. Just do what you need to do. Just focus on the end-point and reel yourself in. Your dream to complete is your magnet, that attracts you there with your plans and preparation. The suffering that you undergo is part of your journey, that adds to your character development and perspective of your world.

Soak in the sun. Bathe in your joy. Shower in your moments! Immerse yourself in your freedom. Plunge into your future. That is your destiny.

The runner in the background is headed for his dream.

The Sum of All Our Beliefs

'If you think you can, or cannot - you're right.' ~ Henry Ford


Our behaviors are driven by our beliefs and values. Renes Descartes wrote that we are govern by our thoughts, words and actions. Our beliefs are our motives and motivations for what we do. Our beliefs can limit or enhance our actions, and thus our results.


Sports and sporting activities include how we involve our beliefs. If our beliefs create choices for us, then they become relevant and useful for us in our future. When our beliefs reduce our choices and flexibility, then they need to be updated or removed from our mental programming.


When you earn achievements and accomplishments, they shift our beliefs about our capabilities. Each success in our sporting endeavours springs forth new beliefs about our abilities. I have noticed that the recent recepients of the Ironman Western Australian Ironman triathlon were eager to sign up for a new race. In fact, some attempted to sign up for next year's edition, which sold out this morning within 69 minutes! For those who did a personal best, tehir mental programming suggested doing another one in the near future, so as to crack new mental and physical barriers.


Shift your beliefs, update them, and restructure them - and enjoy new results and personal success!

Changing The Way You Look At Your World

Our opinions are our theories.

Theories change; thus, our opinions change, too. Our perceptions of our world are ours; they are entirely our own possessions. Our sensory interpretations of our world are part of our map. This map – a work-in-progress – is continually being updated. What is truth, fact, and reality is determined by our own choices, perceptions, mindsets and attitudes.

Positive-minded people are not born; they develop their positivism through their experiences, education, knowledge, opinions, awareness and judgments. Optimism can be learnt, although it may not be the most reliable and accurate indicator during a crisis. When crises emerge, we need to be prepared for the inevitable and unpredictable.

There are ways to alter the way we view the world with promise, premise and purpose.

1)    Surround yourself with experts, and learn from them by asking questions.

2)    Challenge the status quo. What is accepted may not be the best or most useful.

3)    Focus on useful behaviors; reduce or eliminate useless behaviors. We have choices.

4)    Focus on what has gone well; catch people doing right, instead of only the wrong.

5)    Participate in sports: it builds character; promotes a sense of healthy competition, excellence and achieving goals.

6)    Celebrate with others. Celebrate the success of others.

7)    Be inspired by role models, films and biographies. Ask what makes these people tick, differently.

8)    Learn by doing and immersing yourself in the experience. Plunge yourself into the change process.

9)    Travel is a good way to make comparison and contrasts with what we know, and have yet to know.

10) Stay actively in touch with others; network actively with people you have placed in your contact list. The future is about connections and connectivity. Harness technology for these reasons.

Connect The Dots When Lean Times Are Ahead

As I suspected months ago, the early signs of lean times are showing. The economy is slowing down – just read the national indicators for trade and industry, global news, and online patterns of behaviors.

What do you do when times are hard? Make hay while the sun shines. Strike while the iron is hot. Sharpen your saw.

System thinking teaches us to think in details as well as in big picture. The ability to chunk up, and chunk down helps us connect some of dots behind us, as well as ahead of us. Steve Jobs said in 2005 that he could connect the dots behind us, however we can lay down some of these dots ahead of us. The world is scattered with dots, some of these are obvious and others elusive. We need to learn how to lay a path to our future using some of these dots. These dots include our reference points such as our milestones, experiences, capabilities and relationships.

If the Six Degrees of Separation is a theory to be considered, time for us to reduce this deficit with active connectivity. Give yourself a kick on your butt. Nudge others around you out of their stasis. Waiting is a deathtrap waiting to be sprung. Activate whatever you fear the most. Scare yourself into admission instead of submission. Time to stop denying, and start doing.

Being broad-minded and open-minded is part of our education. Stop being one-sided and bias through your profession and organisation. Information flows on many levels and platforms, so we need to source, track, use, and evaluate it. Too much information can confuse, so we need to sort it and ourselves out.

What endurance sports have taught us are the values of patience, determination and persistence. Also, it is about preparation for a purpose, and executing a plan to perfection. These things help us connect the dots to our dreams, goals and aspirations. Becoming lean is part of the process of becoming fit and attaining athletic excellence. Fattening up before a race can help us retain our strength and power. Being lean can help us move faster, and even accelerate.

Leadership Lessons: Study patterns around you. Make mental connections. Seize opportunities to connect with others, although respectfully. Stop selling to your family and friends. It can still be business as usual, if you apply uncommon sense. Perhaps moving salmon-style, we can reverse the flow of the inevitable. Buck the trend by doing different things. Denounce the naysayers who have no track record of progress or achievement. Marry theory with practice and a sense of pragmatism. Keep lean, stay lean and be strong.

Sporting Excellence At Any Age

This piece comes from my triathlon buddy, David Chambers from Dubai. It is  a story about veteran excellence in sports. Cheers, mate!

Just so you know an Ironman is a 3.8km swim, 180km bike, 42.2km run and the cut off is 17 hours...ENJOY!

In October, Hollander eclipsed Robert McKeague as the oldest man to finish in Kona – at 81 he came across the line in 16:45:55. Hollander believes there are few keys to his longevity – both in sport and life:

1) He stretches every day.

2) Anaerobic training. “You need to push yourself,” he says.

3) “There are no fat old people so watch your calorie intake,” he writes on his website.

He also feels that triathlon is a great way to remain fit and healthy as you age. Here’s another quote from his website:

Especially for the older athlete, this form of competition (triathlon) is most beneficial because it involves several completely different disciplines. The swim gives you better upper body and improves the core strength. The cycling is great for a non-weight bearing aerobic work out and finally the run is certainly an aerobic work out. Now you move from one to the other sports, as your training requires. If a minor injury occurs you can keep fit in one of the other sports. The advantage for the older athlete is that you are training the whole body. If you are young you excel at one sport but as you age, if you put too much localized stress on the skeleton and muscles they break down and falter. If you have multiple sports you will have the likelihood of better overall health. In addition Triathlon encourages the older athletes and provides awards up to any age that can complete in the allotted time usually 17 hours for the Ironman.

81? Finishing Kona? Are you kidding me?

On another note, Singapore’s younger uber-marathoner and SEA Games gold medalist in triathlon, Mok Ying Ren (a future medical doctor) made it a three-peat in the brave defence of his national title. His story is inspiring for the way he made his recovery from race-related injuries.

A Day of Digging Very Deeply

That’s the reality of life. Sometimes, we earn what we expect. Other times, delays happen. There are no major failures, only hindrances to our goals and getting the right time. Edison said, ‘I did not fail 2,500 times. I found 2,500 ways which did not work.’

Macca wrote in his book ‘I’m Here to Win’: ‘A goal is a dream with a plan.’ Your plan may be reviewed after an event. That is the essence of reflection and reviews – an attempt to seek improvement and personal excellence. The two-time Ironman world champion took six patient attempts before he won his first well-deserved and executed world championship title in 2007; and his second in 2010. He discovered during those six years that he performed better intuitively, by asking the experts, and challenging what scientist said that he should not do. He dug deeply to find his own race, and left nothing behind when he raced.

Yesterday, my Perth-based, Singaporean-friend John Cooke completed his eighth Ironman. He completed his personal challenge under less-than-favourable conditions; he raced with the flu, and had to dig deep within himself to achieve his hard-earned title. Like he said, these are some the races that really matter. I agree. Usually the races that are most meaningful were earned in the most demanding ways. Sometimes, it may translate to cutting our losses, or revising our game plan. Like my run-partner, Melvin articulated yesterday, ‘I had to move from plan A to Plan C’. We decided to give our Boston Qualifier a pass when we realized our race-pace was too demanding on our racing conditions (my flu, and his injured heel). On a bright side, we both ranked top-2 percent overall. Live to race another day!

My coach, Fox had a terribly challenging day. Second in his age group to emerge from both the 3.8K choppy sea swim, and return from the 180K ride, he had to suffer his arthritic knees to complete a painful and crippling race. On-track for a podium, this setback may have caused his disappointment but being a Kona-finisher I am sure he will return stronger at his next race. It is hard to shake the Ironman triathlete mindset and spirit. You did well, Fox!

Congratulations to Team Singapore for attempting and completing Ironman Western Australia in Busselton yesterday. Ewin Teo was top Singaporean with 10:20. Kevin Siah, a Malaysian accountant based in Perth did a sub 10:30. Big shout out to my tri and swim-mates: Desmond, Vijay, Hong Soon, and Wilson. You are an Ironman!

Top Singapore marathoners at StanChart Singapore Marathon were Mok Ying Ren and Anne Date. Both defended their local titles successfully. Both top national runners dug deep to achieve their goals, which made it highly commendable.

On my second wind before I faded.

Photo-credit: Richard Leong

My 25th Marathon Checked

It was a tough marathon for me this morning. What started as a decent pace soon degraded into a race to finish it! I met the 21K mark at 1:43 and 30K at 2:25. At the 32K mark, my pacer Melvin How said that our chance for a 3:24:59 BQ was fading, so that was that. By then, my pace has slowed down appreciably with some short walks thrown in to clear my nasal passages of phlegm, re-fuel and re-hydrate. My strong ego, mental programming and my desire to complete what I started were my driving forces of my achievement. As I wrote earlier this year, DNF is not in my DNA (unless it is due to a serious injury).

On hindsight, it would have been useful to skip the race altogether. A bout of stomach flu, cough and cold in the last three weeks with negligible training mileage, is not a proper way to do well in a race. However, I wanted to complete it regardless of my convalescing condition. I just did the right thing – slow down my pace and plod on. I would not recommend that you adopt this competitive mindset, as there is a risk of incurring further disease.

My final gun-time of 3:41:09 was one of my personal worst in three years. I had wanted to crack my best Singapore Marathon time of 3:36 set in 2009, however the course was different and conditions were more challenging. A persistent, overnight rain provided initially cool conditions, yet the heightened humidity made it harder to finish in fine form around 8.00am when it was sunny. The only consolation is that I matched my timing with two of our top-10 local elite female runners. May of the veteran male runners lapped me at the final quarter, but they were awesome. I hope to be as good as them in the coming year; they trained hard and are committed.

I posted on the Facebook forum that my score-line for today was: Flu bug: Me = 1:0. As my friend, Caroline stated: If there's anyone who can take this ‘loss to bugs’ in his stride and use it as a positive learning experience it would be me. I agree with her for I will bounce back, be fitter and healthier, and achieve better results the next time. I am sure I will.

Photo-credit: Adeline Tan & Clifford Lee

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!