MY TAKE ON LONGEVITY IN ENDURANCE-SPORTS (Anecdotally-Scientific) Part 2

Ironman 70.3 Philippines 2017: Thankfully, did not walk except between aid-stations

This concludes a two-part series of my tacit experiences and wisdom gleaned from racing in endurance sports for 14 years.

11) Stretch whenever you can, systematically would be best. However, in its absence a sports massage, or self-massage (with a trigger ball or roller) helps in promoting recovery. Learn to knead, jostle, press and pummel sore muscles.
12) Water-based activities like swimming or water-jogging, reduces undue impact from land-based activities like running. Use aquatic activities to release the body from gravity-based sports-induced stress. Also, cross-train by including other activities (swim, ride and run are examples).
13) I never had a major spate of injuries, save for one case of a hairline fracture on my toe (2 months NO running), mild plantar fasciitis, and being hit by a taxi while riding (beyond my control) where I sustained a cheek fracture in 2010. Staying injury-free means being disease-free. Move from dis-ease to ease!
14) Increase your intake of antioxidants, and choose those that suit your body (natural and packaged). Include tonics made from herbal remedies and concoctions. Bone-broth or soups are very useful.
15) Seek the help of physiotherapists, chiropractors, bodycare specialist, nutritionists, massage therapists, and the like - they help remind us to stay mobile, nimble and functional.
16) Include High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) sessions, occasionally. 1-2 such sessions awakes the body to new-found activation and, perhaps, speed. Use strength-based , gym sessions to supplement your development of musculature.
17) Seek a coach to help you with plateaus and form/gait correction. Seek a coach if you wish to be competitive and improve on your personal best (PB) timings.
18) If you are racing, then train to race. You cannot work beyond your trained threshold of intensity.
19) Seek your motivation: If you train with a team, it has its inherent 'push and pull' factors. If you prefer the occasional solitude, then do your long sessions alone. If you are uncomfortable with toxic members, steer away from them. Mix with those who help you achieve your Best Version of Yourself.
20) It is a life-long journey towards personal excellence, so there is still much to learn, educate and glean from personal experience.

MY TAKE ON LONGEVITY IN ENDURANCE-SPORTS (Anecdotally-Scientific)

After being in the endurance game since 2002, I wanted to share my mild wisdom sustaining my performance over 4 competitive age-groups.
1) Have more than 6 hours of sleep each night. Get a comfortable mattress, curtains drawn, and away from electronic devices (if possible).
2) Skip a day of exercise, if you feel like it. It is, after all, an extreme sport. You need not be extreme about life, in general.
3) Nutrition is one of the keys to recovery: Eat sensibly, guided by what is healthy for you.
4) Reduce your intake of refined sugar and refined grains. Whole-foods, relatively-unprocessed, home-cooked, allows control in this option. Pack your home-cooked food to work.
5) You need not live a monastic life: Exercise may be part of your lifestyle, and may not be your only life. Exercise is a form of self-expression.
6) Race occasionally to test yourself, however each race is an intense workout that requires full recovery. Our races validates our hard and consistent training.
7) Focus on good sources of fats: coconut oil, olive oil (EVOO and normal), butter, eggs, and animal fat. Figure this one out on your own as it is very subjective based on beliefs and practice. Reduce the GMO-versions (corn & soya), when possible.
8) Have 'easy' days intersperse 'hard' workout days. Off-Season, focus on Low Heart-Rate, Distance-Training.
9) 80:20 Rule when it comes to eating. Use your intuition and tastebuds as your guides.
10) Check for food allergies. Once identified, reduce or eliminate that food type.
*This was first posted on my Facebook page.*

Valuing Oneself & Others

How do you measure performance and value your talents?

Have you 'actually' measured your value?

'Perceived value' translates into 'actual value'. That is why the best people are sought after by potential employers and executive search specialists. When these people value your skills, wisdom, experiences and competencies you get compensated more, are recognised and  valued even further. 'Pay for the best' is the truism when it come to employment and employability.

How do you appraise your value? How do you get valued like a precious diamond is assigned a price-tag, or your property/real estate is appraised?

Before your next performance appraisal, do a SWOT Analysis. Born of marketing, and used to assess the value of a brand, SWOT can be used to assess your valuable skills, and Unique Selling Points (USPs). SWOT is an acronym for Strength, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. By identifying, in detail and exactness, your Strengths (abilities and capabilities) - you can project your Opportunities (including future value and potential). Your Weaknesses need to be reduced, and converted into competencies or your Threats increase to become your risks.

Do a SWOT Analysis before your next Performance Appraisal interview, job interview, or when updating your LinkedIn profile. 

Leadership Lessons: How do you value yourself? How do you value others? How do you answer questions relating to value, relevance and importance?

Running Into Your Fifties

I will hit the half-century mark at year's end, with about 11 years of endurance racing and training in the bank. What have I learnt in my years of sustained efforts and performances?

LESS IS MORE: As I enter a new age-group (AG), I have found that more rest and recovery enhances my performance. By performance, I mean either increased speediness, or retarding the degradation process of performance. Between my Boston Qualifiers (BQ) of 2013 and 2015, my time was slower by 54 seconds. In effect, it was negligible as I lost about two minutes for a forced bathroom break. Plus, I prepared for this third BQ in less than six weeks. My usual BQ preparation is 12 weeks, or 3 months, with 3-4 workouts per week. All my runs are done at tempo-paced, fartlek, or time-trial. Intensity supercedes 'junk miles'. In the off-season, low-heartrate, aerobic activity is crucial to building up the 'fat-burning, aerobic-base'. I subscribed to Phil Maffetone's approach to building sustained endurance fitness.

EATING WELL IS KEY: With an orientation to eating 'clean', and applying the 80:20 Rule, my recovery is much better. I have included more essential fats into my diet, increasing it to about 20-30 percent of my overall diet. What has changed is including extra-virgin olive oil, coconut oil, butter, eggs, and fish oils. An increased use of antioxidant-laden nutrients such as krill oil, deep-sea fish oils (Omega-3 fatty acids), pomegranate juice, tart cherry juice (for reducing muscle soreness), colourful vegetables, probiotics (gut bacteria), and ginger. Eliminate or reduce allergy-causing foods, as it sabotages your overall health.

STRENGTH TRAINING IS A MUST: Muscle mass loss is significant once we pass the 40-year mark. I learnt the hard way that maintaining and even increasing muscle mass (lean tissue) is critical to running better. Long-distance runners, marathoners and ultra-marathoners are too 'skinny'. The emaciated look can be perceived as unhealthy. A weak upper-body supported by stronger lower-limbs, may jeopardise potential speed required for attending to hills, and the last burst of sprint speed for the finish or PR/PB. Commit to a gamut of regular, functional-strength-focused activities like yoga, core-strength, cross-training (e.g. riding and swimming), circuit-training, plyometrics, CrossFit, and the like. Gaining lean muscle weight (and thus, strength) is fine, and would not affect your performance.

STAYING MOTIVATED: Performing well physically, gives one a heightened sense of confidence. The occasional PB/PR can be empowering, whilst poor performance can riddle my race-plans with doubt. The key is to review each performance and learn what can be prevented, reduced or eliminated in future races. Sometimes, it can be physiological and beyond my control. Focus only on what you can control. The nice thing about 'aging up' and entering a new AG, would be the implicit or explicit allowances on qualification times, or potential podium placings in the Masters' category. My static time for my BQ, has recently earned me another 5 minutes for my BQ lottery. I look forward to a slot in the 120th edition of Boston Marathon with a margin of over-12 minutes for my new AG.

My Boston Marathon Journey

I am not a big fan of running. I love watching runners. I enjoy watching competitive runners on television. I enjoy the big sprints to the finish-line by Olympic-Distance triathletes.

I began long-distance running in 2003, having never gone beyond one 10km race in my life. I had assumed a middle-distance running career in my youth; mostly self-trained and driven by personal motivations. I studied all I could about running and runners. I lived and breathed Sebastian Coe, Steve Ovette, Jim Fixx (The Complete Book of Running), Dr. George Sheehan, Abebe Bikila, Frank Shorter, Bill Rodgers, Alberto Salazar, fartlek, interval training, cross-country, Adidas, et al. I was obsessed about running, doing it almost daily while pursuing an education.

I excelled in running although it was more a means to an end: To finish the session as soon as I could. My mantra was ‘Get it over’.

In 2004, I began doing triathlons and my first marathon. I was hooked on both. No, I did not enjoy running but I loved running faster and earning Personal Bests (PB) and Personal Records (PR).

The cool weather (end-winter) in July on the Gold Coast is conducive for a BQ/PB.

My first marathon yielded a 4:11; my second was 4:24 (with my first and only attack of ITB syndrome). That was when I discovered the need for deep-tissue massage before races. A spate of sub-4 hour marathons followed when I completed the Bangkok Marathon under the elusive 4-hour mark. When I earned a 3:36 in Singapore and 3:37 in Berlin (2010), I knew I had the capacity and capability to earn a BQ on my flip-side of 40 years.

I qualified for Boston Marathon in 2011 at the Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon (SCHKM). I clocked 3 hours 29 minutes and 59 minutes, which put me within one minute of the qualifying time of my age-group (45-49 years). With my first BQ, I applied for the lottery and was declined.

My second attempt to earn a BQ at the fast course in Berlin Marathon 2012 was marred by a hairline toe fracture two months before. I was diagnosed with that painful symptom during Ironman Switzerland, and I hobbled to an uncomfortable 4:00 finish. And, that was that.

Minutes after clocking my second BQ of 3:16 at GCAM2013.

My second BQ (and third attempt at a BQ) was at the Gold Coast Airport Marathon (GCAM), where I clocked 3:16. I was eight minutes within the revised BQ of less than 3:25:00. I also improved my PB/BQ by 13 minutes on my ‘Run Less, Run Faster’ approach: 3-4 running sessions of 10-21km each, supplemented by a triathlon diet (cycling and swimming). I applied for Boston marathon 2014 and was accepted into the 118^th edition. Despite strong objections from naysayers that it would not be possible on such a meagre running diet, I achieved it. It is important to strongly believe in your ability, training plan, performance, and be focused to accomplish the seemingly impossible. What is deemed ‘impossible’ might be ‘unrealistic goals’ at one time.

My next goal is to earn a stronger BQ for the 120^th edition of Boston Marathon. A performance near-3 hours would be deeply satisfying. I will begin serious training for it after completing one marathon (within Ironman Lanzarote) on 23 May. A narrow recovery and fitness training of seven weeks, will make it highly challenging after my 19^th Ironman attempt to hold less than 4:30/km throughout the July 2015 race.

I will share more of my Boston Marathon journey shortly.

Staying On Top of Your Game

‘I once met a renowned farmer. He was the top in his field. He was the only one.’

How long can you be number 1? Numero Uno? The Chief Poobah?

Maintaining your position or status is one thing, maintaining your performance is another. Performance does not stay static, unless you are experiencing the doldrums or nadir due to injury or illness. That is why we talk about peak performance, timing it to coincide with a major race or competition. We can miss the mark because we failed to time our peak performance. That accounts for the observation that we tend to be fitter after a major race, than before or during it.

How do you stay at the top of your game?

Consistency is one major factor that contributes to prolonged time at peak performance. Repetition and regular practice makes for more perfect games. You may not always bowl Perfect Games (300), yet you can create a sense if readiness and responsiveness for each opportunity. Luck is a term to describe flukes and aberrations of normalcy; you cannot fake poor performance.

The other factors are determination and dedication. Stay committed to your cause and purpose. Reduce your procrastinations. Motivate yourself to do what you set out to do. Keep your eye on the game. Be on the ball. When the going gets tough, keep going. If you can’t secure a personal best timing, then go for the completion. A Disqualification (DQ) has more permanence on your disappointments than a less-than-expected outcome. Do your best. You best only matters.

Like an approach to athletic excellence: go as fast as you can for so long. This may work, as long as you are mentally and physically ready to take on your best, and with the best in your field.

How Important Are Past Achievements?

If you measure the worth of a person, do you measure him for what he has done, or what he is about to do?

Resumes are set ablaze with any iota of achievements and accomplishments. Many interviewees learn to play up their strengths and nullify their weaknesses. Certainly, the extreme version is when embellishments and selective deletion either makes for a fascinating candidate or a dubious and suspiciously ‘too good to be true’. You may be familiar with the saying: If it is too good to be true, then it’s too good to be true.

Yet, having observed these through anecdotal evidence and first-hand accounts, enhancing your resume is vastly different from padding your LinkedIn ‘work history’ or updating your Facebook profile page. As you design personal and professional challenges and achieve your goals/outcomes, these add on to your value of your credibility. Credibility involves experience and expertise. How much are you doing to develop both dimensions of your persona and stature?

In recent days of the London Olympics 2012, we have noticed how in the choppy, equal-lane, world of swimming two main messages. Firstly, how quickly it is for audiences and fans to dismiss a champion’s past performance because of failure to meet expectations. Secondly, consider how an emerging champion is questioned for their youthful potential. Either we have become cynical about human performance, or we are losing touch about the hard work and dedication each candidate has invested to build their status and reputation. Michael Phelps earned both kudos and kicks for his disappointing showing (for not bagging gold in his pet events), while the Chinese teenage-torpedo Ye Shi Wen is being suspected of using illegal sports-enhancing drugs. How does it feel to bear the weight of an entire nation that pins its hopes on you to do well, or bag a medal, or a gold medal? The shadow of other people's doubts (and even mistakes) can follow you around like Lance Armstrong, years after retiring from a marquee race. Accusations, however unjust and unfair, blemish one's reputation just because of doubt.

There is just no way to work around the doubters and the haters. Haters will always hate.

Pedantic & Purposeful Preparation for Switzerland

I use Social Media 2.0 in a variety of active ways. My preferred applications include Twitter, Facebook and Blogspot. I use these tools for learning, sharing and building online and face-to-face relationships. I gratefully appreciate the opportunity to sense and recognize different perspectives from the experiences of others. Seek and ye may find. Ask and you may learn. Apply and you will realize through your experiencing, reflection, genuflection and insights.

In recent weeks, I have interviewed my Ironman friends (Reeves Lim, Neil Franks, Walter Strach III) who completed Ironman Switzerland since 2007. I have learnt that the bike course used to be three loops, and it will be done twice this year. The run course is relatively flat around Lake Zurich.

Most of my questions revolved around the ride, including two climbs known as ‘The Beast’ and ‘Heartbreak Hill’. As such, I have focused on building my riding strength, so as to ensure more resilience during my marathon. To earn my sub-4-hour marathon, I would have to not only improve my run but also to ride strong and not be fatigued. I recall the challenging times and experiences climbing in Ironman Lanzarote in 2008 and 2010. My lack of training and experience riding hills, led me to my longest race rides and a compromised marathon time. I took 4:44 to complete my marathon last year on the Canary Islands.

Running my ass off, for the final sprint into the finisher's chute. A tactical race (and tempo-training run), I had to start near the line and complete first. In terms of nett timings, honorable participant 5240 ran slightly faster than I. However, I placed a position ahead of him. Congratulations, mate! That's the way races go.

The past two weeks, I have earned my personal bests in training and racing. All my races are strategically arranged to allow me to peak on-time, and develop my sense of competition. My A-race is Ironman Switzerland (15 July), and so I need to be in my A-Game, with my A-races supporting my preparation. All the racing and [mostly] solo training will, hopefully, converge to a surprising finish, with memorable milestones throughout the race period. My friend, Dex Tai will be doing three back-to-back Ironmans beginning next weekend. It is part of his Cause and charity of choice, while I will be using my race to promote my Causes. I am grateful for my current fitness, supportive community, and dedicated family for allowing to achieve my performance best.

Another training run, a month ago. I used this race to assess my relative fitness for the 21K. A marathon would have affected my recovery and recuperation. I was pleased for holding this pace and still earn a sub-1:40 finish. My ranking was still top 1-percent of the field!

Leadership Lessons: Do your homework. Research thoroughly, interview comprehensively, and study the course assiduously. Mental rehearsals can help you create a sense of familiarity and déjà vu. Training is the ‘done that’ while your attempt is the ‘been there’. Create simulations to achieve a ‘been there, done that’ sensation. Make your training sessions tough enough without scaring yourself. Enjoy the process/journey.
Photo-credit: Running Kaki

Power of Self-Assessment (But A Little Feedback Helps Heaps, Too)

Copyright: BruceLee.com

Measurement is a critical aspect of determining progress and progression. How well have you performed lately? How did you assess that?

Schools and educational institutions administer tests and examinations, to assess the effectiveness of the educational and learning processes. How students fare in their tests, gives a reliable measure of rote learning and their study methods. Whether actual learning has taken place leaves much to be desired. Michael Fulan wrote: ‘There is so much education going on this country, but very little learning!’ referring to the Canadian educational system. This observation can be extended to other countries, too.

Self-assessment is another way of measuring improvements and results. Athletes who use the scientific method to measure their progress, may glean enough useful information to assist them in adjusting their training programs, so as to meet their need for competition and races. With the use watches and monitoring instruments, we can gather feedback/data on heart-rate, cadence, speed/pace, distance, location, terrain profile, average moving speeds, and power. Increases in total distance, average speed and recovery heart-rates help in empirical assessments. Other non-instrument based measurements include recovery rates, muscle soreness, appetite, ability to sleep uninterruptedly, hydration levels, cramping, nutritional needs and feedback from your coach, are other factors that contribute to the total performance equation. Performance = Work + Rest.

Leadership Lessons: What are your tools for assessing your performance? How do you know you are still making progress? How do you monitor for stagnancy and stasis? Which tools would you consider reliable in assessing your growth and development? How much are you doing to develop your competencies and capabilities?

Do You Take Enough Of Such Nutrients?

In the sports of endurance, our body undergoes much physical and mental stress. Complete rest (mainly sleep) and full recovery is one of the major keys to progress and performance. Nutrition is the other crucial leg in the tripod of sporting performance, if we are to continue to improve and attain our personal bests. Longevity is the goal of many lifestyle athletes, as well as serious amateur athletes.

In these processed-food-dense times, there are 12 key nutrients that can help us retard the premature aging process. These include:

1)    Vitamin D

2)    Astaxanthin (from a microalgae)

3)    Ubiquinol (Co-enzyme Q10)

4)    Fermented foods/Probiotics

5)    Krill Oil

6)    Vitamin K2

7)    Magnesium

8)    Polyphenols

9)    Folate (Vitamin B9, or Folic Acid)

10) Vitamin B12

11) Curcumin (Tumeric)

12)Vitamin A

How many of these anti-aging nutrients are you consuming? How much of your foods are natural-based? How deliberate are you in reducing your processed food intake? Defy the hands of time, and reverse your chronological clock!

Warming Up For Performing Up

Warm-ups before a training session or race is vital to how well you may perform. Cold, tight, muscles can suffer strain or sprains. Your body can be put into shock when you, suddenly, impose intensity of movements.

Warming up, as it is more scientifically known, is the process of gradually increasing your body temperature through activity. An easy jog, followed with limbering exercises, is intended to increase the body’s temperature, increase blood circulation to the active muscles, and accustom the heart to increased pumping. Contrary to misconception, stretching is not exactly warming up. It may be part of the warming up process, yet it is not, in itself, a warm-up. Deep stretching can be counter-productive and cause your muscles to lose tone, and not be able to exert its optimal strength. Warming up is a thoughtful and deliberate process, that is tantamount to preparing for your best performance.

Experienced performers and presenters also use warming up. Vocal exercises activate the muscles involved in delivering the best sound your larynx can produce. Singers and speakers go through a routine of stretching the tongue, lips, cheeks and throat. Part of warming up also enhances alertness of your brain before a presentation or meeting. This aspect is, unfortunately, overlooked and taken for granted. Rehearsals are an integral part of the warm-up, and helps total recall during delivery of keynotes and speeches. Mental warm-ups also work as we make connections with the content, as we read a mind map or flip the pages of a workbook or PowerPoint slides.

Do your warm-up, and enjoy revitalized results!

Floating On Your Performance

I love watching runners who seem to ‘float’ when they run. It is as if they possessed the winged heels of Mercury. This is especially more so with lighter runners, who may be less muscled in their torso, however have dynamically efficient legs with high turnover. You recognize the style: small strides yet large cadence. This morning, at the East Coast Park I witness a few runners with such running prowess and abilities.

Last weekend, I observed that all the elite runners at the New York City Marathon 2011 were frequently floating over the challenging five-borough course. Excellence in long-distance is measured by economy of movement, finesse, and a distinct gracefulness that hard training and frequent racing creates. Such ‘fleet-footed’ and ‘light-footed’ runners seem to skate over invisible ice, and move like fast animals. Think of the gazelle, horse, fox, panther and cheetah – functional muscles that move with power and certainty.

In the FINA Swimming World Cup 2011 held in Singapore last weekend, the top swimmers were skimming on the surface of the water. Singapore’s Tao Li lost to the world-record holder by half a second, and she was certainly floating over the dense and splashing medium.

Our body’s ability to sense ‘floating’ can be attributed to many conditions. Being on cloud nine, being in love, having a sense of recognition, and enjoying a sense of achievement can be a heady feeling. The sense of euphoria that comes from the ‘runner’s high’ or the sense of ‘winning’ can be addiction-forming.

Leadership Lessons: When was the last you floated on a splendid performance? What do you do to create natural moments of euphoria? What have you done for your staff that created a shared sense of accomplishment? How often do you celebrate your team’s success? Do you often catch people ‘doing right’?

Upgrades and Uplifting Moments

Software is ubiquitously upgraded almost everyday; we receive regular updates and patches to be installed to our operating systems. We take great pride when we upgrade our houses, hoping to deliberately bump its perceived value skywards. We relish in the next android phone launched by Apple, opting for an iPhone with an additional alphabet attached to it. Applications-developing companies hope that owners of their shareware games upgrade – by buying at their Appstore – to a paid version, embellished with more bells and whistles than a music store.

Corporations provide recognition and rewards of its performers by way of bonuses, incentives and promotions. High-potentials earn an accelerated career pathway, allowing their ambitions and aspirations to be fulfilled sooner. Beyond pure performance appraisals, peer appraisals can also matter in a 360 Degree Feedback System (360DFS).

It feels nice to be acknowledged. The knowledge that we are positioned higher than our counterparts and colleagues may enhance our confidence. We feel empowered by our sense of achievement and its raises our self-esteem and self-worth. Once a professional athlete earns world championship status, his/her status is upgraded; same goes for amateur athletes who secure a podium spot in the Olympic Games. Your value, credibility and influence rise in tandem to your accomplishments.

I found out today that I was promoted 23 positions above the previously posted results of the Newton 30K run held on Sunday. This now, assuredly, places me in the top-5 percent that I suspected I earned; confusion in the timing and results' layout created significant displeasure with the competitors. My timing stayed the same, validated by my own recording on my Garmin 310XT watch; this data matters more to me than relative ranking. I have observed that as easy as it is to host a sporting event, that irate participants easily disengage from future support. Tribes can downgrade your efforts and good intentions as their results and experiences are emotional issues. It can cost us a bit for an upgrade, yet a downgrade (by others) can cost us so much more.

Leadership Lessons: When was the last time you upgraded some of your beliefs? What have you done to upgrade yourself? How much do you assist in the development and growth of your staff? What have you done to enhance the capability of your staff, so that they might choose to stay relevant and employable?

Lead With Your Values: Choice & Courage for Enhanced Performance

Your values matter! Every moment that you interact with somebody, you are expressing your values. Even during a race, you are exuding expressions of your values. Values support our beliefs, and both prop up our behaviors. Choice determines if we do something, or nothing. Yesterday morning, hundreds stepped into the holding pen of the Big Splash area to be flagged off for either an 18K or 30K run. To sleep in, or to run a hard race - what's your choice?

Courage is activated when we intend to complete a mission. This value takes on many forms: from deciding to signing-up for an event to training for it. It is expressed not just as bravery, but also daring to do something in the face of adversity and doubt. To plunge into a physical challenge while poorly prepared, is a demonstration of stupidity and recklessness. Planning, following a plan, making adjustments, considering feedback and learning from your mistakes add up to Performance. We need to measure, and measure up to expectations.

My friend, physically-challenged athlete Singapore Blade Runner activated his sense of courage yesterday. As such, many supporters expressed their recognisation for this leader in our running community. Mohd Shariff was inspired by a double-amputee world-class sprinter when he lost his left stump in 2008; and he now runs for many worthwhile and worthy causes. His leadership value saved his life when he switched his perspective – I am proud to call him my friend and one of my running inspirations.

Leadership Lessons: Which value are you expressing at this moment? Which values are parts of your signature? How do you breathe life into your personal values? How do you express yourself clearly as a leader? Who inspires you, and which part of their expression affects you positively? Do you sell with your values, or is it just another transaction?

****

Yesterday’s morning race yielded a windfall of photographs for me - thank you, my friends for your consideration! I was so intent on completing the tough race that I was less aware of my surroundings at some points. One friend teased me as being proud, as I did not respond to his call. I was nursing early symptoms of a cough that I refocused my energies to other mind games; thus, I occasionally overlooked external cues. Perhaps it is time for me to get a new set of eyeshades, to give the illusion that I am watching my surrounds.

My focus throughout the two-loop challenge was to focus on my running gait, being relaxed, and engaging my intuition. I hoped to marry all these factors and have a good performance. I am pleased to announce that I did, and my decision to stay alert to my internal balance, awareness and senses equated to a personal best timing.

Photo-credit: Le Giang & Teh Eng Tiong