Bricks: This Isn’t About Construction!

I did an unusual ‘brick session’ this morning. A brick session is a physical training session that combines any two activities back-to-back, with a mild pause between (swim followed by run; run after a ride). After substituting my tempo running session with a 12K race (2XU Compression Run) that flagged 7,000 people off at 7.00am, I reached for a recovery breakfast, a well-needed bath, fresh set of attire, and cranked out a 3-hour ride along Coastal Road. This run-ride brick session was certainly different from the reverse – more a norm at triathlons – in that it pre-exhausted different muscles of my legs (mainly hamstrings and calves).

I, gratefully, scored a PB in the 12K run – an unorthodox distance – and returned home an unofficial 53:50. Because the race was determined on gun-time instead of Nett time (which takes longer to calculate, I suppose) I had to squeeze my way to the front of the competitive pack. The non-competitive wave was flagged off 15 minutes after the main wave, which frenetically shot off upon the blare of the starter’s siren. As it was a mixed field, there were many faster younger males and females, including some veteran runners. Very impressive!

The post-race, recovery time was interesting for me. I collected my race medal (differentiated male from female) and two bottles of Pocari Sweat (electrolyte replacement sports drink). It was good to see many of my Facebook connections, including regular triathlon training buddies. I enjoyed watching them run through the end-point. There is something both exhaustive yet deeply rewarding about completing a race.

Racing or competing holds many intangible benefits. Prior to an A-race, racing in B-races (secondary priority) of shorter distances can help us:

1)    Build personal courage for future racing

2)    Boost our confidence when we earn personal best times

3)    Apply refinement to our nutritional strategies when racing

4)    Develop muscle memory and muscle fitness

5)    Work at a higher threshold of fitness

After some mild stretching and walking around, I leaned over the barricade (with Matthew who was setting a blistering pace up to the 3K mark) to locate familiar faces. I was successful and this led to nice conversations and several photo opportunities. I saw rarely seen friends like Adrian, Kenneth, Lloyd, Ben Swee (who is off to his second Boston Marathon next weekend), and Crazy2Tri friends. Deca-Ironman Kua Harn Wei as there, to lend support to runners and promote his inaugural mega-triathlon (a half-Ironman-plus triathlon).

Today is Ironman South Africa: Singaporean Clifford Lee will be attempting his 11^th Ironman finish – all the best to him!

Chrissie Wellington won in a new record time of 8:33:56. Raynard Tissink won the Men’s Pro field in 8:05:36.


Photo-credit: Triathlon coach, Lloyd Ngoh

Lessons From Comic Book Heroes & Real-Life Sports Heroes

‘Thor’ – the Norse god of thunder - will be the next comic book character to be brought to life via Hollywood. Once again, Natalie Portman appears; she was the lead actress in ‘V For Vendetta’, about an underground, anti-establishment, renegade-terrorist. Shot in noir style, it was artsy yet believable in its Orwellian plot and premise. If there is a cause worth believing in, believers will uphold it. A Cause becomes a call for action – like the myriad of charities aimed at assisting a post-quake struck Japan.

This week, I watched a re-run of M. Night Shyamalan’s ‘Unbreakable’ which focused on superheroes. What if there was a man who was born so fragile that his bones break at the slightest movement? What if, he believed that there was another person – his antithesis – that was indestructible? This comic-book premise is about heroes and anti-heroes. 

*****

Tomorrow will be the 2XU 12K Compression Run. After the sudden strong downpour this evening, I expect an interesting morning. I hope to hold a 4:30 pace for the whole race; it is my time trial for the week (part of my Ironman and Gold Coast Marathon goals). That would be an assuring pace to work on (54:00 for 12K), as we make our way past iconic landmarks like the Singapore Flyer, Marina Bay Sands’s Helix Bridge, and F1 pit-stop/grandstand. The last time I ran there was at Pete Jacobs’s running session. I am looking forward to a tactically sound race, focused on clever and disciplined pacing.

Clifford Lee reported that he witness Zola Budd win the Iron Girl Race today at Nelson Mandela Bay – site of tomorrow’s Ironman South Africa. She was the famous barefoot runner, unfairly accused of tripping Mary Decker during a major race. Decker admitted, subsequently, that she was at fault. However, I was disappointed that silence on her part may have compromised Budd’s career, and more importantly, the desire to run to her potential. The  Budd-Decker Olympic, 3000-metre race was the race-of-the-year, yet yielded tragic results. Enjoy the Runner's World interview from 2009 - it is a very well written piece.