Running Strong Off The Bike

Coach has put me on strict training diet of ride-run ‘bricks’. Last Saturday morning, I rode for 4.5 hours and ran 40 minutes after that. Needless to say, my legs were thrashed the next morning after a 2-hour run (with 12X5-minute sets). Tomorrow, I will be doing 5 hours of paced (15-minutes X 6 speed sets) riding with a 40-minute run, immediately after I complete the ride. I am assured of my personal safety, as a few of my triathlon buddies (Chris Smith, Hui Koon, and Vijay) will join me for this extended session. The roads will be busy, as delivery trucks will be making numerous trips to the cargo complex.

Why do bricks? A brick comprises two disciplines, done back-to-back, as individual sessions. The purpose of a ride-run brick is to simulate fatigue of your recently ridden legs, for the marathon that is to follow. Running a stand-alone marathon is easier than running one after an 180K ride. The time differential for a pure marathon and one done during an Ironman is about 20-30 minutes. As my best differential (60 minutes) has a much larger margin, I will need to train specifically for this race to reduce the deficit. A strong runner may not necessarily do well during an Ironman triathlon unless he/she trains as closely to race-day conditions. Therefore, the pre-race training focuses on ‘running on tired legs’. There is a lot of psychological and mental stress on such prolonged sessions, and this is necessary to fully prepare for the actual conditions of competition. Mental preparation is the ‘difference that makes the difference’ between completing and doing a PB.

However, bricks are hard as these sessions increase in duration and intensity. What you consume on the ride determines your energy level for the long run. I will be reviewing my use of nutritional needs, so as to ensure higher energy levels and lowered risk of gastrointestinal (GI) distress during the run leg. Coach has requested I review another brand of sports nutrition by Hammer. I am currently using High-5 supplementation that has served me well for marathons and half-Ironman races.

Going Long

I found this week to be a busy one for me. In common parlance, I experienced a ‘long week’. This weekend will be no different for Coach has designed my program to comprise longer sessions, with immediate runs off the ride, and longer running sessions. I have been tossed the ‘bricks’ (two disciplines done back-to-back).

This morning, with minimal sleep for the last 48 hours I rode 4.5 hours (easy/moderate/hard) followed by 45 minutes of running in the pool. I coincided my ride with friends from TriFam (Desmond, Hui Koon, Matthew, Craig, Robert and Conrad). I caught up with them after my late start, and did three loops of Selarang (30K each with some mild hills) and the dreaded Hendon Road hill (a nice spanner to thrown in after hitting Selarang Hill). I was supposed to run on the road, however decided to play it safe as I was not sure of the physical condition of my left heel (residual plantar fasciitis?). By far, in the last two meso-cycles today has to be my longest session I have undertaken. I missed a similar cycle last week as rain wiped out any chance I had for a similar hard ‘hit’.

I have found that riding solo (save for other riders I meet on my ride) develops my sense of independence and alertness. It is also a useful simulation of race-day conditions: no-drafting and keeping to 7-10 metre rule; focus on nutrition and pacing; playing its strategically, as it is all about the marathon, not the ego.

On Sunday, I will have two sessions for running: A two-hour morning run (with intervals), and a shorter afternoon/evening (with short bursts). I look forward to the discipline in my pacing and accessing how my body holds after a 15-hour week (within a tight working schedule). Coach focused me on running stronger off the bike, as that has been my relative weakness within an Ironman race. He believes I can hold a 4:50-5:00 minutes/K pace, and score a sub-4 hour marathon that has eluded me for years. I have my work cut out for me for the remaining 6 weeks till I arrive in Lake Taupo, Auckland.

Leadership Lessons: What is your comfort level about working alone? How well do you take to autonomy? How do you take to prolonged projects? How do you respond to extensions on deadlines? How tolerant are you of delays, distractions and indecisiveness? Endurance, tenacity, persistence and determination are values to latch on when going long and far.

A Grand New Experience

Sunday – End of day 2 of workshop: Delightful students; all engineers with a penchant for learning.

Working on a new project in a new country is akin to scoring a new PB. First experiences are almost pure in nature. An experience reconfigures existing mindsets, perceptions, expectations and prejudices. Until you connect with a culture and its people, then all preconceived notions become irrelevant and useless.

Experiences are subjective; at least, how we interpret them is subjectively correct. There are no wrong experiences, only incomplete information and poor observations. The conditions of each experience leave it indelible mark cognitively, as a memory and its associated emotions. That is why bad experiences leave a bad taste in our mouths, and in our minds. Pleasant experience lead you consider reviving them, and coming back to the same place to renew your connections.

Working out in the gymnasium is a relatively fresh experience for me, since I rarely use apparatus other than my goggles, bicycle and running shoes. To use a stationary-bike with Internet access on its split screen was a treat. I was following the exploits of my friends doing the Twilight Run at the East Coast Park on Saturday evening. It was a ‘no-frills’, run as much for as long as you like training session, commencing 5pm till 9.00am the next day. Several friends of mine were still recovering from the physical challenge of the 1.9K swim, 90K ride, and 21 run.

Yesterday, evening I did a workout comprising of a double brick:

75 minutes of stationary-bike ride @ 130-135bpm and 85-90rpm

30 minutes treadmill running at 5 minute per kilometre and 3.0 incline

10 minutes static stretches; 2 sets each of circuit training: lateral raises (15 reps)/rotator cuff work (12 reps), 25 push-ups, 8-10 chin-ups

It took me a total of 2 hours to complete the whole lot. It was a great sensation to get off my behind, to engage in a serious workout after last Sunday’s half-Ironman triathlon race. After knocking down lots of water, I cooled down before I replenished my body with a buffet dinner.

I will be doing another marathon workout since I will be taking the red-eye flight home. Coach has prescribed me, Week 3 of my Boston Marathon program. I intend to hit another PB on a flat, cool course.

The Power of Purposeful Rest

Hui Koon reported on how he found naps before training benefitted him immeasurably. I tend to agree with this approach, since I sleep less before my training workshops. David Greenfield, Master Bike Fitter of Elite Bicycles agrees with me that sleep makes a great deal of difference in training performance. I function adequately with six hours of shut-eye, and best with nine hours. Albert Einstein used to subsist best on at least 11 hours of sleep – it must be because of prime numbers and the massive amount of thinking he did whilst awake.

Training is a destructive (catabolic) activity; we damage muscles fibres and other soft tissues in the process of exercising. It is during rest that our body recovers and recuperates – this is the anabolic (build) stage. Training prepares us to meet race day conditions, and sleep allows our body to recover completely so that we can repeat the process of the grind. Fail to meet our recovery requirements, and we flirt with fatigue and exhaustion; this can stall your training efforts significantly.

This morning, a group of 13 swimmers gathered at Tanjung Beach. Led by Matt, we did 4-5 sets of swim-run bricks. A brick is a back-to-back, combination of two activities done with little rest between. We swam a lap of about 350m followed by a short shoreline jog. This session was to prime the group for the Singapore Biathlon that occurs on 12 February. Bricks can be demanding on the body despite it mild, short appearance. Time for my Big Nap (one nap followed by another) now! My Duathlon beckons me. I start at 11.15am. Since it is the weekend, get some well-earned rest, too!

To the riders at Desaru tomorrow, ride safely!