Post-Race Reflection & Pondering

My individual results for Sunday’s 2XU 12K Compression Run:

Nett Time: 53:41

Gun time: 54:01

Rank: 92 out 5211 (Men’s Competitive - Gun-time)

Good news: top-2 percent of field of male entrants; it should be higher for the entire field of 7,000. Better news: I held an average of 4:29 minute/K pace; and that my plan of action for a 3:15 marathon is, on-track. Coach has been prescribing me my thrice, weekly sessions. However, my progress is still hampered by not doing enough specific, interval training sessions. After IM Lanzarote, I aim to do a few shorter races to brush up my speed. This may include another time trial with Macritchie Runners (MR25), to improve my time over the 5K cross-country route (cutoff time: less than 25 minutes). Do you know that their elite-level for Masters class is less than 19:30!

I was pleased to keep my pace up, and even overtake a few of my inspirations. However, I would rather lead behind them on their best day instead of their worst. It is my need to prove my worth, and do of my best. Mediocrity includes not attempting your best when you need to. Under-achieve, hold back too often, or give up too readily – these are signs of potential trouble, and resignation to resigning. Taking the short flight of steps and few slopes, I experienced some fatigue – it seems that I have been slack in my core workouts. I will need to resume my regular CrossFit sessions, focused on my strengthening work on my legs. I have to step it up, if you know that exercise. 

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I will be off for an overseas teaching assignment. I won’t be able to post. Thus, the advance post, dated as per daily uploads.

Monday’s Musings & The Monotony of Motorised Methodology

As I was stuck in mid-morning, taffy-sticky traffic – on my way to a business meeting – I could not help myself when I conjured up this alliterative title. Alliterations have a psychological way of playing the influence game on your mind. Remember ‘Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled pepper?’

The fastest runner on the block at IM South Africa yesterday was Chrissie Wellington. The three-time Kona Queen did a remarkable 2:52 marathon and outshone the men at IM South Africa – a full minute ahead of the fastest male competitor. Plus, Wellington registered a new world record time for the 226km triathlon. The lanky and perennially smiling, British professional constantly challenged and toppled the record books; she has demonstrated her continued dominance and prowess mano a mano, with the boys.

Big Shout Out: Veteran, Triathlon Family member, Clifford Lee completed Ironman South Africa in 15:40:51 – making it 11 in his cache of completed races.

The question may emerge occasionally: why take on these seemingly impossible activities? In an earlier blog, I suggested that such physical challenges (marathons, ultra-marathons, Ironman triathlons) serve to excite, entice and encourage the competitive and serious streaks in people. Because our potential is an elusive, intangible thing we would want to explore it when we can. Having experienced an event, we can add to our wealth of experiences and, hopefully, enhance our potential. We arm ourselves with new skills, develop mastery in existing ones, and measure up to new challenges to increase our capability. Through this, we hope to increase our self-worth, be worthy of attention, and become valuable to others.

I signed up for the Gold Coast Marathon this evening; I hope to do well with another PB that qualifies me again for Boston. The 113-year-old, Boston Marathon is highly competitive even to qualify and qualifying standards for the next two years will be more stringent. For starters, beginning next year the 59 seconds of buffer (after the qualifying cutoff time) will not be accepted. In 2013, the cutoff times will be reduced by five minutes across the board. In the overall scheme of things, standards are expected to rise and we can expect human potential in sports to rise. Qualifying for a Kona spot in our 60’s and 70’s may become more exciting in the years to come!

If only road conditions would improve substantially, and not be wrought with jams and impatience. If only cyclists are spared a fate that is unfortunate and harmful…four wheels good, two wheels healthier!

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. 

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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.

Captivated By Challenges

Singaporean climber, Khoo Swee Chiow will attempt his biggest challenge yet. He will complete all eight major summits in the world, beginning with his third attempt at climbing Mt. Everest on 15 April. He is sponsored Air Asia, which covers all the destinations to his mountains of choice. One of interviewees, Steven Novick climbed Everest successfully after a mano a mano battle with cancer.

There is a certain allure of danger that appeals to people. The danger is usually entrenched in some degree of risk and potential loss, or possibility of injury. It is no different when we travel on a plane, train or automobile; raising a child; mentoring a high-potential staff; trying out a new recipe. There are recipes for disaster around us, and we need to be aware and cognizant of them.

We wish Clifford Lee of Singapore the very best in his 11^th attempt for an Ironman triathlon finish. He will aim to complete Ironman South Africa this weekend. His recent report indicates choppy water conditions for the swim; we hope that the sea will calm down to present a good swim for him. Clifford completed, arguably, the toughest Ironman course in the world, Ironman St. George in Utah last year. He will be the first Singaporean to complete 11 226K races. I am, one month and one race, behind him and I can’t wait to complete my 11^th Ironman next month in Lanzarote, The Canary Islands. The game is afoot!

If IM St George and IM Lanzarote lay claim to being two of the toughest Ironman routes in the word, then is this the most dangerous bike tour in the world?

How do you identify future leaders in the company? Do you relish identifying high potentials? How do you know if your choice of future corporate champions was the right decision? What if you made a mistake by making a counter-intuitive selection?

Leadership Lessons: What captivates you? What would you consider as challenging? Would you attempt something just for the sheer heck of it?

Changes For the Better

In the face of numerous endurance activities on almost every fortnight, are we suffering from ‘too many events, too little time’? With room to err, and upset experienced participants with enhanced expectations why risk another inaugural event?

Having said that, there is always room for well-run events. Variety is the spice of life, so when you introduce new venues, routes and challenges then the event has a better chance of attracting the crowds. On the other hand, increasing the opportunities to prepare for a 10K run, biathlon, duathlon, triathlon or marathon can be useful and relevant to neophytes and rank beginners.

As part of the preparation for the Singapore Triathlon, new triathletes and endurance athletes can attend (at nominal cost) a series of training sessions offered by Back2Sports – a subsidiary of Core Concepts, an established chain of experienced and hardworking physiotherapists in Singapore. Incidentally, I will be leading a run session on 23 April, which covers the gamut of:

1)    Proper, injury-free, running techniques

2)    Safe running for the over-40’s (Masters category)

3)    Effective, but short warm-up drills

4)    Race-day considerations (attire, nutrition, and tactics)

5)    An actual run session, with Q & A integrated into the experience

I will also be leading another session for a new running race on 23 July – an evening half-marathon and 10K race called the Marina21K Run. This will be the third branded night event staged in recent years; it passes iconic landmarks in Singapore. Do join us, as I will, too, be sharing my findings on safer and speedier running for the 21K race, on 15 May. I will share how I qualified for the Boston Marathon on 3-4 specific, short run sessions per week. Isn’t learning part of change?

We have updated our blog appearance. Richard Leong, a professional photographer and graphic artist designed our new banner. I think it looks refreshing, and mostly, for making me look presentable and athletic-like. We focused on a clean look, minus irrelevant distractions. Stay tuned for more content!

Deliberate attempts at changes are, usually, for the better. No company opts to change for the worst. Transformations for both people and organisations focus on change, development and growth. Make those personal and professional changes, and enjoy significant differences: learn, apply, evaluate and appreciate.

Running Effortlessly: Running Doesn’t Ruin Knees

In spite of significant cases of runners who get injured from running, there are just as many who do not damage their ankles, knees and hips. With all the controversy about minimalist running, unshod running and barefoot running, the jury is still out. 

Here is a photo of Pete Jacobs, at his running clinic for BPMSports. He is the consultant coach for this boutique coaching company (based in Singapore). The third fastest male marathoner, of all time, at the world championships at Kona-Hawaii Pete has more than one reason to be noticed seriously. This top-10 finisher at Kona in 2009 and 2010 was the fastest over-42.195K last year in Kona.

Here are some key points about running better:

1)    Proper technique is the key. However obvious this sounds, it is still popularly overlooked.

2)    Run low. Run light. Keep your feet near the ground.

3)    Before you begin running, do barefoot drills.

4)    Warm up is essential for activating your core muscles and major muscle groups (glutes, hamstrings, quadriceps, calves, ankles).

5)    Keep cadence high. Keep frequency (leg turnover) high.

6)    Land flat on your feet – and wholly. Your Achilles tendon springs your feet upwards and forwards.

7)    Relax your arms. The rhythm of your arms follows your legs.

8)    Stand up straight. ‘Run tall’ (be at your tallest instead of slouching or bending forwards).

9)    When you run tall, you land with straighter legs and therefore less recruitment of muscles that fatigue.

The occasional sore knees or ankles earned from a hard session, is understandable. Use ice, post-exercise stretching, and self-massage to ease the discomfort. As long as it is not excruciating pain from injury, rest assured that proper running form requires some time to learn. However, the returns on investment will be deeply appreciated as your scheduled efforts translate into more speed and efficiency when you step up.

On a nutritional note, a long-term multi-vitamin supplementation to the diet yielded no strong evidence of benefits. Natural foods seem to be the way to gain our nutrients. Also, based on the osteopathic/natural therapy approach glucosamine use seems to be complemented with Omega-3 fatty acids/oils. I also did a nutritional type (NT) test yesterday, and my results pointed to a Mixed Diet. It still means I have to watch what I eat, as there are foods I am aware I am intolerant to. Such is life, and the pursuit of athletic excellence!

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I have been stepping up my training for Lanzarote; however, more on intensity than mileage. Over-distance seems to cause grief on my knees and ankles, so I do them only when scheduled. My body is going through a delineation process, where my weight goes up and down 2kg, with my body fat still meandering about the single digit zone. Last night’s rain after the 6K (@4:20 pace) was put to a temporary stop when it poured buckets, and I perceived that the immediate lightning risk was high. 10 minutes later, I dashed off when the lightning frequency was less, and spat out another 15K. I believe I held a 4:45-4:50 minute/km pace – so I was happy about that, despite my wet Newton Gravity shoes and one resultant blister. So, I am on-track for a PB (target of 3:15) at the Gold Coast Marathon in July. I have been following Fox's prescription of three, specific, sessions weekly whilst preparing for my 11^th Ironman. The pool running intervals are helping heaps as I have replaced my barefoot runs with a 2-in-1 approach (barefoot + intervals). My target is to hold 42.195K at 4:35-4:40 minute/km, to qualify for Boston again with a better timing and thus, better opportunity for the 2012 slot.

I am excited about my run clinic on 23 April. Lots to share, I assure you – if you want to learn from a 40-something, amateur athlete, who started endurance running only six years ago, and qualified for Boston. We are standing on the shoulders of giants!


Photo-credit: Richard Leong

Never Frown on the Small Business

A new business startup can be a hairy and hoary proposition. There are many indicators to consider, and there are countless variables that can jeopardize any creative attempts. You may have heard about painful and disappointing close downs of businesses that began with an optimistic premise. Animated conversations revolved about supporting a cause, a purpose – altruism and philanthropy as part of the company’s philosophy for business – however faded into obscurity and oblivion. The market seems intolerant of fly-by-night operations, and businesses that are built around hyperbole and multi-tiered promise of wealth and prosperity but require your 16-digit credit card number to proceed with your training kit.

Statistically, more than 90 percent of small businesses do not make it through the first year. It gets progressively harder to stay afloat in the subsequent, unless the new business-owner integrates strategic thinking, partnerships and alliances. Partnerships entrenched in shared assets and capital, invariably, end on a sour note with conflict over financial states and approach to business. Business built on a premise of failed promise, false evidence, falsified research, and a quagmire of confusion lead many down the path of the dismayed and disillusioned. Employment seems like a better choice than being your own boss.

Here are some considerations on how Small & Medium Enterprises (SMEs) can rejuvenate and re-energise industries in an ailing economy. SMEs can still act local, and think global. As I bantered with a friend today, if you were to scale up your retail business would you build another branch, or increase your existing floor space? Each is a different decision with different outcomes and challenges.

Having said these, the SME is a testing ground of wits, creativity, courage, and true grit. When you are self-employed, and even employ others, your mindset takes an enormous shift towards the future, possibilities, relevance, and connectivity. Every ounce of skill, iota of experience, dollop of influence, and bushel of potential in the fibres of your body will be called into action.

Even when things don’t go your way, there should not be any shame. It takes a lot to marry the conditions of book-smart with street-smart. You learn to turn a win-lose situation into a win-learn situation. Leaders from adversity sprout!

Reading Resource: Guy Kawasaki, The Art of the Start.

Leadership Branding (Redux)

We have spent the past two years of this blog focused on your unique brand of leadership – be it, direct or indirect approaches. To lead others around you is to express and assert your influence.

What about leadership branding? How do you brand your leadership? Applying Philip Kotler’s principles of marketing, what are your Promotions, Product, Place and Price? How about brand equity, brand value, brand positioning, managing brands, and rebranding? Leadership is about solving, serving, and supporting. Each dimension of your leadership style and philosophy has sub-sets to them, to which I propose: Positioning, Purpose, Prediction, and Providence (if all else doesn’t work – pray!).

Reeves Lim Leong of INGENS – a consultancy for branding and marketing research – offers us his professional perspectives:

1) Soft power. The ability to exert power and authority yet maintain the respect of brand followers. This is a principle from philosopher Lao Tzu.

2) Empowerment. Brand leadership empowers people to take their destiny into their own hands.

3) Influence. Listens to people's needs and the brand reflects these in action and communications.

4) Reproduction. Ability to reproduce and energise brand ideas and make it larger than the originators. Social networking empowers this form of idea virus or reproduction.

5) Love Leadership. I am sure you are quite familiar with this. A leadership brand takes people's love for life and exudes it. It allows for leadership that steers through the very same conduit.

Leadership Lessons: How will you express your leadership brand? What do you do to re-brand your style of leadership? How do position yourself around others? How will you lead with purpose?

Macca’s Last 7 Miles At Kona & My Next Race

I was watching a post by Biestmilch of his interview with Australian Ironman champion, Chris ‘Macca’ McCormack on his final seven miles with German Andreas Raelert in Kona last year. This is Macca at his passionate and introspective best!

Next weekend, I run in a 12K race – the equivalent of Macca’s last seven miles in the marathon. Macca expressed his maturity and expertise as a strategist when he raced. He stated that ‘training was the easy part. The hardest part was the racing.’ Love him or loathe him, he does play the ‘head game’ very well. He is akin to bodybuilder Arnold Schwarzenegger when he was vying for the Mr Olympia competition. He used to resort to psychological tactics like stealing competitors’ posing trunks, and pretending to eat before the competition. This upset contenders like Sergio Oliva (1970’s) and Mike Mentzer (on his 1980 comeback trail in Australia) who thought that he was superbly prepared; in fact, Arnold was not in peak condition but won because he upset the equilibrium and psyche of his adversaries.

Last night, I watched the docu-film, Fire on the Track – The Steve Prefontaine Story and observed film footage of the famed American national record holder (for all run events over -2 miles) and once-National Public Relations Manager for Nike, Inc. Steve was courageous in the way he attacked the track, always leading, and never relenting. This 58-minute film is supplemented with 3.5 hours of interviews with his coaches, team-mates and competitors; an interview with Bill Bowerman on his shoe designs; and a featurette of the Steve Prefontaine’s Trail (which was restored and used by runners in Oregon).

Another ‘Pre’ film that meets the exacting standards of a biopic of the legendary track runner is Without Limits. It was written with Pre’s training teammate, Kenny Moore (twice Olympic marathoner) and produced by Tom Cruise (who initially wanted to play Pre’s role).

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This week, I have been creative with my training sessions – doing stationary-bike/treadmill bricks. Having returned from the UAE on Tuesday, I completed a tempo/time trial run; several pool interval runs, and a moderate ride. As I was fatigued from a busy week teaching workshops, I missed my early ride this morning, as I slept another two hours. My lack of discipline proved to be useful as I rode for three hours, taking on a few slopes in the process, and then constructed it into a brick-session with a 45-minute pool run (with pyramid running intervals, i.e. 1-2-3-4-3-2-1 minutes of higher intensity, higher cadence running with one minute jogging between bursts).

I bumped into Ironman finishers Tee and Luke. Luke and I shared a 30K loop, and chatted about our similar approaches to training. For the Masters age-grouper, it seems like less is more. We both run three times a week, stopping when our form diminishes. We ride about 3-4 hours per session, however with intensity – rarely do we crank out junk miles (distance for the sake of chalking up mileage). Seven more weeks to Ironman Lanzarote, and this week will be a brutally honest week with tough sessions punctuating my pre-travel week. I intend to incorporate intense, Spartan circuit training sessions, too. Stay tuned!