An athlete usually can remain competitive for around 6-8 months every year. They will have a build-up training for maybe 3-4 months, reach their peak for 2-3 months, then they will have an off-season where they scale down on competition or dun compete at all. For me, my off-season is usually during the fasting month. This month is usually a period where I take a break from serious training. I'll just run lightly, maybe 2-3 times a week, just to remain active. This is the period where I'll try to recover from any injury that I have & plan ahead for the next year.
After setting my personal best during the Setia Alam about 3 weeks ago, I was on such a high spirit & I felt so strong that I'd skipped my usual one-week post-race recovery period. I continued training at high intensity becoz I felt strong. Then I had to take a 5-day break from training to go back to Tganu for my sister-in-law's wedding. So during that period, I didn't train at all. When I came back, thinking that it was okay, I did an 11km run at mid-tempo intensity, using the Taman Wawasan lap, which is quite tough. The result was an injury to my right calf. Now it's very likely that I'm gonna miss both PSP & PSKK.
I thought it was just a cramp. At KM 9, after coming down the hill for my 3rd lap, I began to feel pain in my right calf. So I stopped & stretched, & I continued running. But then I felt that the pain didn't go away. So I stopped running at KM10.5 & finished the lap walking. When I got back to my room I stretched as usual. I applied ice pack immediately when I got home.
The next day I went to UPM to train on the track. That was when I realized the injury was serious. I could only run for about 50m, then the pain came back. This time even with my calf sleeves on. & even using that couldn't prevent the pain. So I stopped running & went home. I only did weights during the weekend & continued the RICE treatment. Last Monday I tried running on the treadmill. It was as if the pain never even been treated. It was still painful. Now THAT is serious. I fear the worse, maybe muscle tear. If that is so there is no way I can run the 10,000m. Dun even think of running 1,500m, which is much, much faster than the 10K. I can only do the javelin, even that require some running. That is a bummer indeed, becoz I heard the 10K winner last year won't be competing this year, & this could be my best chance of winning an event. Bummer...
This should be a lesson to me. A painful lesson indeed. The best I can do now is to prevent this from happening again. & not to overreact that might cause it to become even worse & takes longer to recover. I've got the Seremban Half on 11/7 on my schedule, I dunno if I can make that one. I haven't registered for that yet. On the 31/7 there's the Men's Health run, maybe I can still do that. That would be my last race before I take a break during fasting month.
Haih. From an all-time high to an all-time low, in a blink of an eye. & all due to my own stupidity.
Livestrong.
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Setting a new PR at Setia Alam
I got up late, at about 5 am & about 5 mins after I got up, the rain started to pour in. I decided to wait it out & fortunately, it went away at about 10 mins to 6am. So I went on with my plan to ride to the start. Anticipating a cold & wet start, I decided to bring along one of my running tee. I'd earlier decided to use my red Nike top. I got to the start about 10 mins past 6am & was able to park right next to the starting line. There were signs of rain coming down but I decided to use the Nike vest anyway. & I took my Oakleys with me, with the black lens on. I won't be using it throughout the race. I met Azam at the Powerbar booth & decided not to wait for the other 2 runners becoz we dun recognize them & we didn't have their bib numbers.
The race
Azam earlier told me he forgot to bring his footpod along. Great. I'd set my target pace to 6:00 - 7:00min/km. We went off pretty fast. So fast that I was worried I couldn't maintain the pace. The rain came down at about KM9 or KM10, fortunately it wasn't that heavy. I lost contact with Azam at the turnaround. Although the course was slightly different from last year, it was mostly flat throughout. & we were really flying. My Polar couldn't stop beeping, I was going faster than 6:00/km for more than 40 mins. I decided to try to maintain that pace, I kept Azam within about 100-200m from me.
In my last half mara at Energizer, I made the mistake of not eating in the last 10K, with disastrous consequences. So I was determined not to make that mistake again. However, my Chocolate-flavored PowerGels proved pretty hard to swallow. I think I'ma have to try other flavors after this. Maybe Tangerine or Banana. & I kept myself hydrated to prevent cramps.It was raining, so the risk of getting cramps was significantly higher. At KM12 I began to notice my hamstring tightening.. so I had to pay attention to it. But I didn't slow down.
I managed to run 3 30 min 5Ks. I hit the last 5K at 1:42, which was good. & I was able to sprint to the line summore.
The verdict.
I clocked a new personal best of 2:04.38, which was 21 mins faster than Energizer. & I went faster than I did at NB 15K last month. Truthfully, I didn't know I could run like that. It really opened my eyes & mind that I could really run a sub-2hour half marathon. & it really boosted my confidence ahead of PSP & PSKK. I knew I could run faster than 55 mins for 10K, so I'ma train for that.
I also felt really fresh after the run. So fresh that I could afford to have lunch at Wendy's after that with my wife. I rewarded myself with Wendy's 1/2 pound double burger with fries, to cover for the 2600 calories I've burned earlier. I just didn't have ice-cream. Maybe later.
After this my next stop would proly be Seremban Half.. although it clashes with Klang Centro run, I think I wanna do another half marathon, since I'm gonna miss SCKLM. I'm proly gonna do that with Azam as well. Proly try to set another PR.
Livestrong.
The race
Azam earlier told me he forgot to bring his footpod along. Great. I'd set my target pace to 6:00 - 7:00min/km. We went off pretty fast. So fast that I was worried I couldn't maintain the pace. The rain came down at about KM9 or KM10, fortunately it wasn't that heavy. I lost contact with Azam at the turnaround. Although the course was slightly different from last year, it was mostly flat throughout. & we were really flying. My Polar couldn't stop beeping, I was going faster than 6:00/km for more than 40 mins. I decided to try to maintain that pace, I kept Azam within about 100-200m from me.
In my last half mara at Energizer, I made the mistake of not eating in the last 10K, with disastrous consequences. So I was determined not to make that mistake again. However, my Chocolate-flavored PowerGels proved pretty hard to swallow. I think I'ma have to try other flavors after this. Maybe Tangerine or Banana. & I kept myself hydrated to prevent cramps.It was raining, so the risk of getting cramps was significantly higher. At KM12 I began to notice my hamstring tightening.. so I had to pay attention to it. But I didn't slow down.
I managed to run 3 30 min 5Ks. I hit the last 5K at 1:42, which was good. & I was able to sprint to the line summore.
The verdict.
I clocked a new personal best of 2:04.38, which was 21 mins faster than Energizer. & I went faster than I did at NB 15K last month. Truthfully, I didn't know I could run like that. It really opened my eyes & mind that I could really run a sub-2hour half marathon. & it really boosted my confidence ahead of PSP & PSKK. I knew I could run faster than 55 mins for 10K, so I'ma train for that.
I also felt really fresh after the run. So fresh that I could afford to have lunch at Wendy's after that with my wife. I rewarded myself with Wendy's 1/2 pound double burger with fries, to cover for the 2600 calories I've burned earlier. I just didn't have ice-cream. Maybe later.
After this my next stop would proly be Seremban Half.. although it clashes with Klang Centro run, I think I wanna do another half marathon, since I'm gonna miss SCKLM. I'm proly gonna do that with Azam as well. Proly try to set another PR.
Livestrong.
Friday, June 4, 2010
Preparing for Setia Alam Half Marathon..
Tomorrow I'ma race in the Setia Alam Half Marathon, on a Saturday, & it's gonna be my first daytime half marathon this year, after Putrajaya Nite Marathon & Energizer Nite Run. Having a race on a Saturday will also give time for me to recover on Monday, which is good actually. Had the race been held on a Sunday, I would only have the rest of Sunday to recover.. but I guess, after having run in 3 half marathons this year, things would improve for me, in terms of my recovery.
I ran in Setia Alam last year, in the 11K category, where I finished in the top 100. The course was generally flat, except for some overhead bridges that we have to go through to cross the road. & we'll have to do around 3 laps I think, judging from last year.
A flat course & a target time of 2:10, 15 mins off my previous best. That means I'ma have to run 6:10 average for 21km... doable ? I dunno la. With the amount of training I've been doing, I hope I can beat my PR. Before Putrajaya Nite Mara, I've never ever ran more than 13K. Before the Energizer Nite Run, my farthest training run was 16K. Now I've done at least 3 long runs during the past 3 weekends, each run was at least 18K. So I guess I'm better prepared for this race. My runningmates, Azam & Shahwan was targeting sub-2hr times, I dunno if I can do that.. heck.. before Putrajaya I didn't know I can run 21K either.. so I'll take this challenge head on.
I'ma try & go to bed early tonite, I've to leave home before 6 am tomorrow, to avoid getting stuck in traffic. I reckon since I'ma ride my bike to the start, I shud be able to park pretty close to the start & not having to take the shuttle bus. My wife won't be coming along as well, so I better have enuff strength to ride back home after I finished.
Looks like I'ma use my new Newtons for this race. I dun have any problems with my Adizero, I tested it on Wednesday & didn't have any problems with it. Maybe it's easier to switch from Newtons to normal shoes than having to do vice versa. I reckon the Newtons are light enuff for tomorrow. Cushioning won't be an issue, Newtons are well-cushioned enuff. I've just bought a new Nike racing tops last week, bright fire engine red color. But most likely I'll be using my other Nike tops, the blue-green/yellow ones, becoz it goes well with the shoes. I'll keep the red ones for Pesta Sukan Perbendaharaan (PSP).
I thought Setia Alam were to be my last half marathon before puasa month, but last nite I came across an ad for the Seremban Half Marathon. I might be doing that one, on July 11th, a week before Pesta Sukan MOF (PSKK). I'ma miss the KL Marathon becoz of my participation in PSP. & I'ma miss the Siemens Run as well becoz of PSKK. So I guess I'ma do the Seremban Half & Men's Health Shape run on 31/7, my last race before puasa.
After Setia Alam, I'ma focus on my 10,000m in PSP & PSKK. I wanna go below 57 mins. So I'ma focus on building up speed for the event. I dun think endurance is gonna be a problem. The problem now is I'm lacking speed. I'ma spend more time at the gym, perhaps going back to twice a week. Of course do a lot more speedwork & intervals. It's just for 3 weeks.
Goodluck. Livestrong.
I ran in Setia Alam last year, in the 11K category, where I finished in the top 100. The course was generally flat, except for some overhead bridges that we have to go through to cross the road. & we'll have to do around 3 laps I think, judging from last year.
A flat course & a target time of 2:10, 15 mins off my previous best. That means I'ma have to run 6:10 average for 21km... doable ? I dunno la. With the amount of training I've been doing, I hope I can beat my PR. Before Putrajaya Nite Mara, I've never ever ran more than 13K. Before the Energizer Nite Run, my farthest training run was 16K. Now I've done at least 3 long runs during the past 3 weekends, each run was at least 18K. So I guess I'm better prepared for this race. My runningmates, Azam & Shahwan was targeting sub-2hr times, I dunno if I can do that.. heck.. before Putrajaya I didn't know I can run 21K either.. so I'll take this challenge head on.
I'ma try & go to bed early tonite, I've to leave home before 6 am tomorrow, to avoid getting stuck in traffic. I reckon since I'ma ride my bike to the start, I shud be able to park pretty close to the start & not having to take the shuttle bus. My wife won't be coming along as well, so I better have enuff strength to ride back home after I finished.
Looks like I'ma use my new Newtons for this race. I dun have any problems with my Adizero, I tested it on Wednesday & didn't have any problems with it. Maybe it's easier to switch from Newtons to normal shoes than having to do vice versa. I reckon the Newtons are light enuff for tomorrow. Cushioning won't be an issue, Newtons are well-cushioned enuff. I've just bought a new Nike racing tops last week, bright fire engine red color. But most likely I'll be using my other Nike tops, the blue-green/yellow ones, becoz it goes well with the shoes. I'll keep the red ones for Pesta Sukan Perbendaharaan (PSP).
I thought Setia Alam were to be my last half marathon before puasa month, but last nite I came across an ad for the Seremban Half Marathon. I might be doing that one, on July 11th, a week before Pesta Sukan MOF (PSKK). I'ma miss the KL Marathon becoz of my participation in PSP. & I'ma miss the Siemens Run as well becoz of PSKK. So I guess I'ma do the Seremban Half & Men's Health Shape run on 31/7, my last race before puasa.
After Setia Alam, I'ma focus on my 10,000m in PSP & PSKK. I wanna go below 57 mins. So I'ma focus on building up speed for the event. I dun think endurance is gonna be a problem. The problem now is I'm lacking speed. I'ma spend more time at the gym, perhaps going back to twice a week. Of course do a lot more speedwork & intervals. It's just for 3 weeks.
Goodluck. Livestrong.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)