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Wednesday, December 18, 2013

Hamstring Rehab and Week 9 IMMY

Injury is the devil to all athletes, both pros and age-grouper. More often than not, these injuries can be prevented by being a bit more sensitive to how the body reacts to training. Too much and too soon usually lend to more problems and it can be demerital for someone that is training for something big.
Closer to home, I am at the verge of committing this preventable injury known as hamstring pull or strain.
How It Happen:
Believe it or not, Hamstring injury is not exclusive to people training for specific sports, it happen for people that sit too long everyday at the desk too. This is how many of you non-active people pick up a bad backache and hamstring injury as they are both interlinked via the Sciatic nerves! Read about Sciatica here
I do not have an issue with this as I actually stand up and perform my work in the office. I take it as an opportunity to stretch my lower body while typing away. Here is my all time favourite (because this is the single best way to loosen those calves!)

Calf Stretch. Photo Credit Jay Sulivan

For me specifically, these hamstring problem/injury/strain is due to me clocking in those mileage over the past 9 weeks. Progressively loading the body with longer distance if not higher intensity, something got to give. I take it as part and parcel of my journey.
Here is the funny thing - my experience with Sciatica and rehabilitation of it equipped me with more than adequate knowledge to help prevent recurrences of these injuries - but somehow, it still happen and I now find myself revisiting my own notes figuring how to "fix" this.

Main Cause of Hamstring Injury
1. Imbalanced muscle. The hamstring being used more and caused the muscle to get stronger in relation to the quadriceps (thigh muscles), causing it to be tight and preventing the leg from extending fully (straight)
2. Explosive movement. Caused by sudden burst of speed during race/training. Enough said. I been going 100% if not 110% on my speedwork and hillwork.
3. Not using the hip flexor adequately during run. This limit me from using the hamstring fully. Despite correcting my gait and running style, I still fail to "run from the hip". Must.stop.running.like.robot.
4. Overtraining. I believe I am not at that stage as i did not exhibit the symptoms, but it could be myself over-estimating my capabilities. The mind is a very strong muscle and often, it manage to convince us to do things we could not - and pushing beyond our own capabilities is one of them, which we will pay later in form of injury. *ting ting*

Rehab and Fixing it
Here is the bad news - hamstring injury is the toughest to heal (completely) and it will take time. I have about 40 more weeks before Ironman Malaysia, but what about the other races in between now and then?

The push to get the body back in order starts immediately with simple RICE or Rest, Ice, Compression and Elevation. I been utilising the ice-bricks in the freezer and placed it on the hamstring for about 20minutes every day or on days I could afford to do it more often. This will minimise the swelling. Applying compression has been minimal that I uses trigger point massage more to elevate the pain- and it is working. I often sleep with my feet elevated (with a pillow) as that is the best way to recover even from walking. Now, REST, that is the toughest part. I am getting to that soon (to make rest part of the plan)

I have been foam rolling and stretching and that could had prevented the pull moving from stage 2 to stage 3 (complete tear). I know loading on the mileage and keeping the intensity high is the main reason for this. Foam rolling helped with keeping the ITBS and PF at bay, but I totally took the ham for granted - just because they have never complained. If you are suffering the same, i have a guide to make your own foam roller. Not very swanky, but it work as well as those sold for 7 times the price.

What other things I could do? Do share. I am on my learning curve and am all ears (and eyes).

Massages? Yeap, I have incorporated it into my plans and try to do it once a month. Been helping especially the last session where the hamstring trigger point was deactivated and a relief were felt - big time.

Week 9 Ironman Malaysia training log
After a "take it easy" Week 8 clocking below par distance in training and seeking the distance drop the past 3-weeks, I am hoping that Week 10 will see the return of the mileage and time spent on the road and saddle. It is often easier to be in denial and ignore these because of personal ego and to avoid those "I told you so" questions by friends and family. Here for the long(er) run, so I have to remind myself, with help from friends and family, that it is OK to slow down and reassess.

Thank you, dearest wifey for the support given thus far over the past 9 weeks of intense base building, which I would term as a success. I've never bike that much before, let alone spending 30mins on the average EVERYDAY perfecting the push-pull pedalling and staying in the aero-position. Never easy, and those of you in the same boat as me, heading the same (Xterra Malaysia, Ironman 70.3 and Ironman Malaysia) direction, be reminded to allocate rest in between those hard training days.
See you on the road!

Skechers GoBionic Trail Review

I first wrote about the Skechers GoBionic Trail in September 2013 and has clocked about 200++km with it running in the trails over the past 12 weeks or so, it is fitting that I should share, or rather post a full report on how the shoe is holding up until today.

The reason for delay is unfortunately commitment to work and also the opportunity to review other Skechers such as the NiteOwl (in GoRunRide2) and the new GoRun3, which is more relevant for general runners.

close up of the 4-way mesh

The GoBionicTrail or GBT in short (in this blog, not officially by Skechers) is a replacement to the GoTrail (GT) that has served me really well. In case you miss this gem of a trail shoe, read them here.

To reiterate, the GBT is NOT an "upgraded" version of GoTrail, in fact, it's a brand new trail shoe as the design and features were totally different from GT.

GoBionicTrail in Orange.

GoTrail in Blue

The Soul of the Shoe is the Sole

With a trail shoe, what is important first and foremost is the GRIP. A pretty trail shoe with minimal or suspicious grip is like using a working leather shoe walking on newly polished floor. In short, it is disaster waiting to happen. I have great experience with GT with it clocking really high-mileage and the grip deteriorating only perhaps by 20% compared to new with the last run I did with it.

And i am not expecting the GoBionicTrail to be any less.

A fast comparison of the sole between GBT and GT showed two unconventional pattern - one resembling a rubber-like football studs (GT) and the other makes you wonder if there will be sufficient grip (GBT) due to no-Chevron like lugs (directional lugs)

GBT's sole. Non-directional lugs.

GT with the stud-like pattern known as Pods

Chevron is a red-indian word for a V-shaped object. Notably on the military rank up till Staff Sargent. A famous brand uses this (lug shape) approach in their sole to provide grip.

Familiar? Taken from this website

Question remained unknown to many that has not tried the GT or GBT about the ability of the sole to bring you through the trails. Bear in mind though, many trail shoes are designed and created NOT for tropical weather and ground. Those of you regular in the trails will know that the silt and clay, added with sand and grits will render your expensive trail shoe useless once it is water and dirt-logged. In 2012, I wrote an guide on buying a pair of trail shoes. If you interested, click here to read more.

Most important factor for a pair of good trail shoe in this region is the ability to "Self-Clean" aka the lugs is aggressive that it allow stuck mud/grit/dirt to expel itself as you run, thus preventing any of them getting stuck between the sole, adding on more weight and making every steps afterwards to have lesser grip.

Into The Trail!

I run with this shoe without socks as I've grown accustomed to be as minimalist as possible. The only time i wore the socks was the second time when there was a hot-spot and I wasn't sure if it is the shoe or the feet. Turned out, it was just a transient period of "breaking" in and since the second run, no such issues anymore. The video above was the first use experience running it in Kiara down TnT - a nice 200m downhill with elevation loss about 100m. That is a 45 degree descent if you are wondering. Looking back at the video, i felt the "speed" of things going around and i must say I am pretty glad the shoe provided those grips when it mattered most (like jumping over ledges and making a sharp turn at switchbacks).

Pushing through the trail

Being in the "Bionic" range would meant the shoe is built to be a minimalist in spirit. Flatter profile and more real ground feel.
From experience, I realised that the "ride" height is important. Much injury has been (previously) sustained by wearing a higher-drop trail shoe where it raise up the ground feel and make landing a bit un-stable. The GT and subsequently GBT, offer better grounded stable ride, which in return helped with performance in the trail run.
How It Is So Far
200++km clocked. Technically at it's 50% lifespan if I were to benchmark it against GoTrail. Surprised by how the shoe still hold up being soaked in rain,
Traction:
if GoTrail was awesome, GBT is superb. No complains here as the shoe go where i point my toes to. Landing, bouncing off and taking off were pure joy.

Feeling at home

Fitting:
Snug with more room for the toes to splay, essentially lending more balance upon landing.
Cushioning:
Despite being a minimalist, the cushioning is more than sufficient. The thinner sole was great for me though i know my teammate Jun Shen commented that the GoTrail was more "minimalist" feel for him. Wait for his write up for more details.

Speed.

Protection:
If you are worried about the sole being thin and jagged rocks or thorns could puncture the sole and thus, injuring your feet, the GBT comes with Stone Shield built between the sole and the insole. I've ran with this shoe covering pretty much any terrains you can think off in the trails and if there is anything that was sharp, jagged or dangerous, the GBT already protected my feet. Here is an evidence of (what i believe) a sharp edge biting into the heel during one of the more aggressive run I had. I say aggressive as I usually run down hill at 3:30 to 4:30 pace, and if that is fast on tarmac, it is amplified in the trail with quick decision needed when landing.

The bike at rear

My last run with the shoe was last Saturday. It also marked the shoe passing the 200km point and I thought it will be interesting to compare the shoe again after the distance. To start with, the appearance of the shoe is still....same. Bear in mind i wash this shoe as it i gets sweat logged every time i hit the trail. That's an average of 15 wash or once a week!

Doesn't looked "aged"

The tell tale sign of wear and tear (meaning I've been utilising it) is at the sole. Noticed the fine grain of sand and silt from Kiara? These will kill any good trail shoes on the long run by being micro-abrasive.

Love and Abuse

Looking closer on the sole will tell you despite clocking in the distance, the sole is still holding up. The Resalyte material is really hardly despite the "softness" and how thin it came with the shoe. This is abuse in the trail that kept the shoe grip very much the same from day-1.

A closer look

I could not find any other area of wear other than at the fold of the shoe's tongue. As it's made from a single piece leather material sewn onto fabric (which actually help making it comfy and light), it sort of have abrasive marks at the stitching fold. No big issue actually. Just to highlight.

wear at tongue

Other than that, the other area of wear and tear is the back of the heel (at the sole) per the photo above, which I believe was the result of landing on a sharp/jagged edge rock.

Looked new!

Bottomline:
If you are looking for a pair of trail shoe and get worried about what and how, or if it is too expensive or otherwise, this could be a good start with the pricing about right. Many trail shoes cost about 30% more than this and they serve the same function in the trail. Gear wise and reliability, if you run the trail as much as I do, or more often, you are likely already cycled through a few brands and landed on one that you swear by.

No hard and fast rule here - but if your trail shoe cost almost double of the GoBionicTrail, perhaps, this is a good training shoe and you can save the expensive pair for races. I do run in my heavier Brooks Cascadia 5 from time to time as a mean to add on more weight and give the leg some extra work.

If you are a beginner and wonder if trail is what you like (or otherwise), get yourself a pair of discounted/on sale/past seasoned trail shoe and see if you like the dirt (and awesome nature). But if you have only budget to get ONE pair...this is a good choice.

The Pros
For the price tag, you get a legit performance trail shoe that is light and fast. Question remains how confident are you charging downhill and how fast can you push yourself up those hills. The sure grip takes the "if" away as you wonder to leap off the ledges or walk down. There wasn't hesitation on my side when I run the trails when things happen in split second. Those of you running in the trail with me will know what sort of trail-runner I am in Kiara.

The Cons
The Agion treatment to prevent smelly shoe worked until about a month ago when the shoe saw great difficulty in drying under the relentless rainy weather with no sunshine. Either that or i have really smelly feet. My wife ain't complaining (about my feet), so I guess I've over-washed the treatment away. No amount of treatment will last weekly sweat-drenching and water dipping (never with soap, just spray clean with water, brush off the sole and drip dry under shade, the lower humidity during hot weather will help dry them - fast!).
The Deal (on how to get this free!)
Remember this post from my blog yesterday? Have you consider joining the competition?

Lastly....
Enjoy the short video below of me running down part of Dirty Deeds, a short 400m downhill over elevation loss of about 80m before it joins up with Snake and Ladder.

Note: This pair of Skechers GoBionic Trail is sponsored by Skechers Malaysia via collaboration with 2ndSkin Asia Athletes program. Thank you Skechers Malaysia and 2ndSkin! This pair of GoBionic Trail retail for RM369 (Women) and RM399 (Men) and is available at all Skechers store.

Skechers - 2ndskin FB Contest

Taken direct from Team 2ndSkin blog, an opportunity to win a pair of Skechers GoBionicTrail (GBT) by purchasing the new Go Trail (in) Vaporlite and posting the most creative way.

If you have not read about the GoBionicTrail, it is not too late to see how this new addition that was launched a couple of months ago here. I promise you a full review of the shoe after using it for 200++km and I can tell you won't be disappointed with the shoe in the trail.

I will also post a review of the new Vaporlite material (with Go Trail) print below and this is my first verdict : It is so light you may wonder if you did wear anything!

New Go Trail Vaporlite - any lighter you have to run topless

Wear. Click. Win.
Stand a chance to win a pair of Skechers GoBionic Trail (worth RM399) for men and (worth RM369) for women when you submit your most creative photo wearing the latest 2ndSkin Go Trail Shirt!

Contest ends 14th January 2014. Hurry over to www.2ndskin.asia now!

Contest description:
Log on to www.2ndskin.asia and click on the contest tab banner.
Purchase the latest 2ndSkin Go Trail Vaporlite shirt and it will be delivered to your door.
Take several crazy creative photos of yourself wearing the shirt.
Submit a maximum of 2 photos no larger than 1MB each to info@2ndskin.asia
Please include your full name and contact number with your submitted entry.

Contest ends on the 14th January 2014. Results will be announced within a week of contest closure.

There will be one grand prize winner of Men's Skechers GoBionic Trail and one grand prize winner of Women's Skechers GoBionic Trail.

2ndskin and Skechers reserve the right to publish all photos submitted for this contest.

Ironman 70.3 Putrajaya Relay Talent Match

As many of you following the Ironman Malaysia event knows, one of the happening is the Triathlon Relay which allow two or three individuals to form a team and race it as one. The combination allows everyone a chance to experience multi-sports in their area of comfort which meant if you can't Swim, you can Bike and Run. Or you do not have a Bike, so you can Swim and Run. Or you are a super strong individually and wants to compete on those terms to see how and where you stand compared to international world class triathletes.

Seri Wawasan Bridge. Swim turn is right at this bridge. Photo from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seri_Wawasan_Bridge

An effort by Athlete Circle to encourage more to join has seen the creation of a Facebook Event page where you can try to find your match or "best talent for the job" scenario. Head over to the Event Page and start searching.

To cut and paste directly, this is what it said, in the most simple term.

-----

If you are keen to take part in the team event for Ironman Putrajaya 70.3 (April 13, 2014) but you do not have enough team members, here's a great place for you to shout out for potential team members.

Terms and conditions:
1) We are not responsible to pair or match any team members to your requirements. This is just a platform for you to advertise your talent and availability or request for other's support.
2) We encourage you to NOT reveal your full details such as phone number, email or address here. Just request interested parties to PM you directly.
3) We are not responsible for any issues between team members found through this platform.
4) We encourage you to meet up face to face with all team members and have sufficient understanding on each other's capabilities before committing into a team.
5) We do not allow any profanity or racist remarks or any remarks or statement that is deemed offensive and rude or irrelevant to the purpose of this page. Such posts will be removed.
6) We do not endorse any commercial transaction or any monetary dealings in the offering of your support as a team member.

For more information on the Team Relay event in Ironman Putrajaya 70.3 2014, please go to http://ap.ironman.com/triathlon/events/asiapac/ironman-70.3/putrajaya.aspx#axzz2nBRsCEi2

TRAKS Open Letter to Dato’ Abdul Rahman Dahlan

Destruction in Kiara. Yeap, that's the harsh reality of what is happening and still happening in Kiara. In recent month, the small landslide that happened mid-way up the hill was used as an excuse by the agency to do an open cut on the slope, exposing the whole hill-face to the raining season. Don't believe? This was taken on December 7, 2013.

One may question the wisdom of the destruction if it was opportunity to create something better, or perhaps making the situation worse. Whatever it was, TRAKS has written a open letter to Dato’ Abdul Rahman Dahlan, the Minister of Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government, Malaysia, which happened to promised to look into the plight...

Much talk and no action? You decide. This is the full letter to the minister, the ball has always been in the minister's court, just that no one is playing ball and someone is using the extra time to score some own goals.
This was taken from TRAKS' website here

Happy Birthday Love

Today is the Sultan of Selangor Birthday, it is also my wife's birthday.

Happy birthday darling. May you be blessed with the best of everything in life and thank you for being there always for me and the family.

Love you!

White Ribbon Run And Week 8 IMMY

Last Sunday, myself, wifey and wifey's friend ran the White Ribbon Run organised by AWAM. It was a non-competitive run held to raise awareness for "Against Violence to Women". It was one of the cheapest race in recent time with a fast-dry like running t-shirt and unexpected finisher's medal and goody bag. No prize money for winner and that has sort of reduced the presence of fast runners. On the same day was the GM Klang 21KM run.

Andrew, Chit, Tjean Na, Wifey and Don

The organiser mentioned that close to 3000 people registered for the race and from my estimates, perhaps close to 2000 showed up. It was almost a 50-50 split between the 7km and 3km category with many parents seen with their family and young kids. A good sign that parents are embracing the healthier lifestyle now.

Part of the crowd at the front

It was a race for me that I will treat as a "training". Not because there were no prizes (as I've never come close to podium anyway) but because part of the plan for my IMMY training is to "stick to the plan" - and it was actually a rest day on Sunday. Plans changes and since i've rested more than I should in Week 8, a "race" on Sunday doesn't sound too bad of a plan.

With Don. A regular at running events and part of the Skechers' family

So, what was my plan? The route was part of Bukit Tunku which promises some hill work and opportunity for speed work. I decided to turn it into a tempo run. Make it a RACE tempo run. That would meant effort of pushing through at LTpace of 4:24 or thereabout and within acceptable effort as I have a spinning session planned after the run. One has to be "efficient" with the time and effort put in.

The officials flagging the participants

The horn blasted and everyone started running. For a non-competitive race, many were seen sprinting the first 100m up a hill. Don was strong and pulled away really fast like on turbo. It was also that moment that my bib has to dislodge from my running pouch and I had to slow down to check to see if I should hold, pin or remove the bib altogether.

I tried catching up and clearly I failed in the first 500m. Don and a few others were too fast and I was pushing the run to be a 5c workout if i continued to push. Having a bit more racing experiences help me to be more pragmatic with my race approach. First, i have to stop to fix my bib, which i did. While doing tat near JKR, i subconsciously counted 6 person that ran past me, plus 3 others in front, I have to catch up to 9 person if I want to test how competitive I was.

And you know what? I allowed myself to push a bit harder going under 3:30 pace and caught up with Don near KTM station behind Bank Negara. That was a good interval run!

I was clearly starting to be disorientated due to hyperventilating

By some luck, Don slowed down and I managed to overtake him about KM3 and he kept close. For once, in a race, i was leading. :D It was sure lonely out there with just the motorbike leading! Just when I thought I will continue to lead, two runners (later found out to be brothers) overtook me at KM5. They were fast - my 4:15 pace looked stationery as they pulled very strongly away. I then realised I was slowing down and my 5km was completed in a mediocre 21:30. Factoring in the hills, It was actually a-OK timing. Of course things can be better and excuses such as these should not even be justified (that it's a hill, hence, slower is OK)
Don overtook me soon after and then an expat runner cut me with ease - 10-2-1-3-4 and finally 5th. It was a short lived 2km lead in the front and a reality 5th placing in the end.

as captured by Tey at final 50m

I crossed the line in 30:48 (Garmin timing). A good pace that if i can hold it for another 3km, I possibly score a PB for 10km at 43:12 - and that was at lactate threshold pace 4:24; very manageable speed!

Goody bags waiting!

It was a well organised race taking into account the no-prize policy. However, they more than made up for it when there were 50-lucky draws and countless trolley travelling bags for grab! I did not get any lucky draw, but I know a viking friend grab a 32inch LED TV!

nicely done Andrew

My consolation for coming in 5th was a cap and the feeling that I know I put in yet another quality training session to start my Week 9 IMMY dream. Week 8 has been challenging with work-travel and these will only get busier as the new year comes in. Not going to complain as the job pays my bill, and racing is just a balance that gives me the opportunity to be better than I currently am. Not complaining of the low mileage, but happy to say since IMMY training started, the journey has been rewarding.

Week 8 IMMY.

Accumulated 8 weeks time committed worked out to be 53hours 26mins and 10 seconds covering the distance of 1421.81km. I can already tell that 2014 will be an awesome-mileage year. Starting of Week 9 and a decent 45km has been logged since. Time to turn up the intensity and work on shorter speedwork on both run and bike.

If you are training like me, don't stop, I will catch up soon.

For more photos of the AWAM White Ribbon Run, Click Here for Part 1 and here, for Part 2. Don't forget to LIKE TriStupe.com on Facebook!

Penang Bridge International Marathon 2013 Cheats

Spot The Difference.

Rest assured that the photo is the same person and I've removed his face as the investigation may still be ongoing. The person above is a strong runner, always podium winner in local races. Known famous runner. Strong and young. He took part in 21km or Half Marathon in PBIM...But in the lower photo, running on Penang Bridge, he was caught on camera with a Men Veteran FULL MARATHON Bib...and he finished his race with his legit 21km bib. I am not sure of his timing, but it should be between 1:07:16 to 1:07:47...(between 3rd placing and 5th placing). I was told that this man's PB for 21km is usually 1:1X...so a 1:07 gave him a SUPER PB improvement of at least 3 minutes....and those running at those speed will know how difficult to improve even just 1 seconds.

So, meaning, he had a head start WITH the FM folks at 2am...as the HM starts at 3:15am...a 1:15 hours differences.

Ready for more?

Now, spot the similarity

The man at the photo below is also a very famous veteran runner. Known runner among locals. Super strong for his age. Sponsored runner of New Balance. Spot the SAME number, but different color bib? The man finished the FM in 3:00.

How did they pull it off?
Interesting isn't it? Here we got photo evidences of two very strong Malaysian runners pulling off perhaps one of the most well planned cheat in the running scene.

Here is my opinion on how they managed to pull it off...

1. FM starts 2am. A first ran with B's Veteran Bib (suspected to be fake, that is why color is NOT green).

2. HM starts 3:15. for their level, 1:15 more than enough to cover 21km. This meant A can run slower than usual and still come up first Malaysia for 21km. He cross the line champion Malaysia for 21km. In fact, he scored a 1:07:XX, coming in between Kenyans. Nicely done.

3. B then take over and run remaining 20++km pai-kau-kau lat and finish in Sub 3hours because A already cover 21km for him...next time marker is at Km25(?) B can re-start at KM25 and everything is still believable.

4. B finish FM Veteran in good timing...and I was told the intention for this was for Boston qualifying...and a 3:15 for his age group is suffice ;-)

They were both disqualified by the PBIM organiser and I was told (second hand info) that they are now banned from entering races under (this) PBIM organiser.

I've lost all respect for this two very strong Malaysian runners that has inspired many runners. Their past races and records is now hanging in the balance. COuld they had done the same? Because stunts like these could not be planned and pulled off just once without more detailed planning and understanding the race route.

Having said that, some of you may not know that the recent Powerman Malaysia RELAY category winner were disqualified as well...why? lets just say if the timing were true (that leads the relay team to winning the race), we could had a world class 5000m runner that could give the world record holder a run for their medal...like literally. Good that the organiser knew about it and taken the steps to disqualified them - but damage were done as the Men Relay Team has stepped onto the podium and obtained their moment of glory.

If you are planning to race and know you are a very strong runner or in contention to win something, do it right and do it honestly. If you lose, make sure you walk away with your head held high, and not being exposed and shamed in social media and being banned by organisers to ever take part anymore.

If you are in doubt about your own abilities and how you should approach sports, learn from my kids here.

Remember the Sportsman Prayer?

O God please help me to win for i always want to win,
But if in thy inscrutable wisdom thou willest me not to win,
Then make me a good loser.

For when the one great scorer comes to write against your name,
He writes,
Not that you won or lost,
But how you played the game.

And you cheaters in sports...you will forever be remembered on how you played your game.

Update December 7, 2013

The news has made it into Sin Chew and now, they are both shamed on national media. I say, well deserved (and about time!)

Read it full here : http://news.sinchew.com.my/node/337330?tid=1

Skechers Warehouse Sales

I've never been mroe excited about warehouse sale than this one that I am flashing in the blog. The collaborator of Team 2ndSkin, Skechers Malaysia is having a warehouse sales!

Here is a map to this warehouse sale, which is really Skechers' warehouse!

View Larger Map

Week 7 IMMY : Basework Done

Week 7 : 5:35 hours and only 187km

The challenge of Work-Life balance has started to creep in with Week 7 seeing a series of high-level meetings that has pushed the priority of training a bit behind. Though I did managed to not miss a session of spinning over the week, the challenge was to put in adequate running mileage. With meetings and entertaining extending over dinner time, running only happened twice in Week 7, further depriving the training and pulling the time spent and mileage clocked.
PERHAPS, it is a good chance to rest the tired body. It was no joke, to train non-stop for the past solid 49 days. Coincidentally, I clocked a total of 49hours and 5minutes, which worked out an hour average per day.
Onwards to Week 8 and I could sense a low-level overtraining syndrome has started to seep in. Denial is playing in my mind, but I will play it safe. A long way to go and it is really important to get out of the abyss of overtraining and move up the next level.
High intensity focused relentless training does funny things to you.
Now bring on the next level - the Sub-40 10km will happen, soon enough.

Xterra Malaysia Open For Registration

It's official. The registration for Xterra Malaysia Teaser and World Championship Qualifier has started since December 1, 2013. Early bird registration ends in 30 days aka end of this year. If you are interested to register for the race, head over to XTERRAMY.COM (at time of posting, there is some technical glitch if it is not ready, come back again soon)

As shared in my previous update, the above events has been confirmed and will take place on February 8th and 9th giving a superb chance for those wanting to attempt multisports a chance to do it in a race-condition. PLUS point is that you get to do what I believe the FIRST ever OFFROAD Duathlon in the country!

To add on to the excitement, the next major event is the Xterra World Championship to take place in May 2014.

This will be the qualifying race to Xterra World Championship in Maui where you will race with the world best Xterra Warriors. Rest assured that "getting dirty" is just a starter for races like these. Being in a Tropical Country, be ready to Get dirtier because I was told by the *sinister* Race Director something will be added for a full on experience - afterall, you can wash up at the lake nearby ;-)

ps - I will be racing both the race as part of my preparation for Ironman Langkawi. The timing of the "Teaser" and "World Qualifying" is just nice as a warm up and recovery for me. See you in the mud?