7) Nutrition is another KEY. Ensure adequate natural foods and supplements. I am into more vegetable/fruit in my meals, and I find it to be strangely useful for more energy. A vitamin/mineral supplement helps to ward off nutrient deficiencies as our immune system is vulnerable to weakening. L-glutamine (an essential amino acid) after each run/session and before you sleep helps boost your immunity so we do are less prone to colds. I haven’t had a cold in more than a year.
8) I have a deep tissue massage session at CORE CONCEPTS (Novena or Tras Street) for 90 minutes once a week 6-8 weeks leading to an A-race. I developed very tight calves, inner thighs and ITBs and this definitely helps heaps. As prescribed by my coach ‘Fox’ I also do self-massage regularly while at my desk or watching TV. Little things add up. Loose muscles function better at races. Be aware that you lose muscle tone after these deep and sometimes painful sessions. So, if you must train light that day, do it later but not immediately after.
9) Training alone. It helps us stay focused as our sport is very inward-looking. We are comforted by our discomfort. I train without music. However, I enjoy riding with a pack for safety reasons. I pick a few ‘pacers’ and stick with them for as long as I can.
10) I do mostly long and short runs at tempo pace. I rarely do intervals and speedwork as tempos fit my schedule and location. I run 11km or 21km at 5min/h pace minimum and aim for 4:30min/km as these are my target race paces. For the Sundown Ultramarathon, it was 6min/km for the first loop (thus, a 4:12 timing), and it went 6:30-6:45min/km after stomach issues. I never run more than 2.5 hours as it is hard on my legs. Frequency of run is more useful than duration.
11) Talk to elite Masters athletes and learn from them. I ask a bunch of questions and adopt and adapt to what I think is useful for me.
12) Above all, smaller races keep our racing ‘edge’ up. It hurts for sure, but you get confident when you over-take, or stay patient.
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