Types of Workouts

Although my training looks pretty unstructured and random, there's actually order within the chaos. Every week, I have a few quality workouts that I hope to complete and as long as those are done, I'm pretty happy.

Disclaimer: Everything posted here is based on the hours of reading I've done whenever I feel lazy to go for a run. If there's anything that is inaccurate, don't blame me for it!

For running, I try to have one longish run (anything 10k and above for now counts), a track session of intervals, and a tempo run.
The long run is quite short now, especially since the run for the Olympic distance (or standard distance) is 10k. But it will slowly go up, and probably capped at around 15km. Not because I don't need anything longer, but rather because it gets a bit too time consuming and very boring to run for 1.5hr alone.
The track workout involves me going to the-you guessed it right-track. I find that a few fast intervals of 400m-1.6km is good to get you used to the goal pace and to work on leg turnover/strength. Without these sessions, I will probably never run below a 4:00min/km pace. I also tend to run slower outdoors, so these workouts are reserved for the track. I tend to enjoy the thought of running these at such fast paces, but once I'm at the track the only thing I enjoy about it is...well there's nothing.
Tempo workouts are sort of intermediates between track workouts and a normal run. The distances I run vary between 3km to 6km of tempo (excluding warmup/cooldown), and the pace is usually around 4:30ish for me. These runs are haaaard. At least for track workouts I know there's a rest I can look forward to after just a couple of minutes. But for tempo runs the only rest comes a long time later. However some people think this is one of the best types of run for mid distances.

As for cycling, I also have 3 workouts I try to do each week.
1. VO2 max intervals. For me these mean any intervals of less than 7 minutes, pushing a really hard speed throughout the whole thing. The cycling equivelant of track workouts I guess.
2. Lactate Threshold intervals. The only one that I do/know of is the 2x20min workout. This raises your LT and I find it teaches me how to pace myself properly. Tough tough workout because 20min is a really long time, but I feel very satisfied whenever I do one of these because of many anecdotes of how useful these workouts are.
3. Solo long ride. So far I've only done 1 of this, and it was very satisfying to know that I can achieve a 35kmh average on my own (just a bit of drafting) for 90km. Only thing is, well, its super boring to ride for 3hr alone. But it has some sort of therapeutic effect too.
One problem with the the first and second type of workout is that you need a place where you can ride for the desired time undisturbed. In Singapore it's impossible to find a stretch of road to cycle for 20min straight, so what I do is cycle around a loop of roughly 3.5km. For now this loop is still quite undiscovered, which is a good thing :)

A good week is one where I managed to do all 6 workouts according to plan. I try to space these out as much as possible to give myself time to rest so I can perform my best, but with 6 workouts and only 7 days a week it gets a bit difficult. So there you go, a bit of order within the chaos of my training week.

Weekly Consolidation: 4/13 weeks

Monday: Cycle - 5x5min intervals
Tuesday: Run - 5.3km
Wednesday: Rest
Thursday:
AM: Run - 8km easy
PM: Run - 800m intervals avg 3:07
Friday: Cycle - 2x20min intervals
Saturday: Run - long 13km
Sunday:
AM: Cycle - 78km 35.2kmh
PM: Run - 8km with 3km tempo

Once again another week with no swimming. I'm starting to get a little worried now. Wanted to squeeze in a swim somewhere but just couldn't find a nice time where the pool is empty.

Running mileage is increasing a bit, from 29.3km last week to 41.4 this week. The shin pain seems to be going away so that's a good thing, but not the big toe pain which has been with me since almost a year ago. The pain there is bearable, just irritating.
The 800m intervals almost killed me. I didn't have any goals for it, and wanted to see what I could do. Around last November I was running 3:11, and now I was running 3:01 - 3:05. I pushed too much on the first 4 sets and almost fainted/puked after the 4th one. So for the last interval I ran really easy, too easy probably, and ended with a less than optimal 3:15.

For cycling I managed to do a VO2max workout, LT workout as well as a longish ride. However the first 2 rides my timings/speed weren't great, not too sure what's happening there because the past few weeks I've been doing quite a bit of quality cycling and was hoping for some improvements.
However the 640 ride on Sunday was a confidence booster, with a new highest average of 35.2kmh. The pace was fast and furious almost the whole ride, and at Kranji I *almost* got dropped. We also got a free massage from the rain along Keppel Flyover which made everyone slightly nervous because a fall there wouldn't be nice.

The school holidays have started, so that means more time for training and studying (ironically). Hopefully I can do 4 10hr weeks and by the end come out much stronger. And next Sunday there's the 5km MR25 TT which I'll be going for. I previously ran it in December in 21:38, so we shall see where I stand compared to last December before my injury and hiatus.

This week my Zoot will pass the 1000km mark! It still looks pretty good though, and can probably last me another...300-400k?

Weekly Consolidation: 3/13 weeks

Monday: Run - 9km trail
Tuesday: Cycle - long ride 108km, 34kmh average
Wednesday: Run - 10x400m intervals on 1 min rest (avg 1:28)
Thursday: Run - 10km slow run
Friday: Rest
Saturday: Cycle - solo long ride 92km,
34.9kmh average
Sunday: Rest

This week's training went fairly well, except for the two unplanned rest days due to unforeseen circumstances.

Went for the Joyriders ride on Vesak Day. After last Saturday's failed round island ride, I wanted to go for a slightly longer ride to clock some saddle time. The ride took us from Longhouse, past Mandai, Kranji, LCK, Tuas, Keppel and ended at Amoy street. The pace was very fast for most of the ride, going >38 on the flats all the time. Reaching Longhouse, my average hit an all time high of 35kmh. This ride was a good confidence booster after getting dropped on Saturday.

Solo 90k ride on Saturday also went very well. The pace was fast enough for me to feel pretty beaten by the end, yet slow enough that I could finish the ride strong.

Wednesday brought another good training day, although I was struggling to get out of the house at first. The 10x400 intervals in 1:30 with only 1 min rest seemed impossible at first, but somehow I got through all the sets under goal time. According to Macmillan, this is a pace a 20:00 5k person should be doing, so maybe I'm pretty close to that now.

Even though the week brought a few quality workouts, it also brought along a few nagging pains to my leg. Maybe I'll cut back running a little next week to prevent any injury which I seem prone to getting.

As for swimming, still haven't gone for one since around 2 weeks ago. Hopefully I am making the right decision.

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Staying motivated

Everyone has days when you have to wake up early yet once the alarm clock rings you happily snooze it until you are late. For triathletes this seem to happen more often than not, simple because early mornings are the norm and one can hardly remember the last time one woke up at 9am. Other than the early mornings, I also struggle to get out of the door for a run some days, such as yesterday and the day before. Only after a lot of self persuasion and mental hardening did I finally drag myself out and get my workout done.

The key to getting past these days where you just don't feel like doing your prescribed workout, I feel, is to have a target in mind and to remind yourself that if you slack now, it gets much harder to hit that target. For me, the long term target is to place in my AG for the next race, and a more short term target is to clock 40km of running this week. The goal should be something manageable and something you really wish to achieve for it to be useful.

Just having a target is seldom enough. It helps to train with a partner such that you are "obliged" to turn up for the workout. Of course that person must care. More often than not once you have an appointment you seldom
will want to sleep in.

For me, I usually just tell myself to suck it up and just do it. Once the workout is done I usually feel much better and accomplished. Remember that while you can snooze the alarm clock, you can't snooze your race!

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Weekly Consolidation: 2/13 weeks

Monday: Cycle - 20k TT plus some VO2 max intervals
Tuesday:
AM: Run - 6.2km
PM: Run - 8km hills
Wednesday: Rest
Thursday:
AM: Run - 8km
PM: Cycle - 2x20min intervals
Friday: Run - 9km at MacRitchie
Saturday: Cycle - 75km constant fast ride, 33.4kmh average
Sunday:
AM: Cycle - 60km with hills and some VO2 max intervals
PM: Run - 7km with 4km tempo (4:30/km pace)

Quite a huge training week, over 10 hours with 4 bike rides (228km) and 5 runs (38.2km). Weather wasn't very kind at the start of the week, but eased up when the rain came.

Time trial on Monday went well, managed 37.1kmh for 20km. I am planning to do this time trial once every month to monitor my progress. Eventually the goal would be 40kmh for 20km, and then for 40km :)
All the rides were pretty good, with some hard honest effort in there.
Got dropped on the group ride on Saturday. The original plan was to go for the 6am round island ride with Joyriders, but the group was just too fast for me. Looks like I still have some ways to go.

Running wise I'm still building up mileage. Few fast workouts for fear of injury, and can already feel my left shin feeling weird. Still managed to do a 4km tempo just now in 18 flat.

As for swimming, maybe I'll do 1 swim every 2 weeks ;)

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Weekly Consolidation: 1/13 weeks

Monday: Rest
Tuesday: Run - 6.3km in the morning
Wednesday: Run - 8km
Thursday: Swim – 30min easy
Friday: Run – 10km total with 5km tempo in 22:02
Saturday: Rest
Sunday: Cycle - 81km with Joyriders 6.20 group

Quite a scaled back week, eased back into training after the race. Run mileage was lower than I liked, but it may be a good thing not to jump right back into it, least I get some running related injury again.

The 5k run on Friday went amazingly well. It was a much needed confidence booster after the dismal run during the race.

The Mercury was given some TLC at Bikelabz for a full service, and only came back to me on Saturday. I had wanted to go for the 6am ride which was longer, but too few people turned up. 620 ride was at quite a slow pace, but added in some training value by surging along Mandai, LCK and Keppel Viaduct.

Polling Day was pretty exciting, and I appeared on TV :) Hopefully my family won't have to repent for 5 years

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Weekly Consolidation: 0/13 Weeks to OSIM Triathlon

Monday: Run – easy 5.3km in 27:16 before school
Tuesday: Rest
Wednesday: Cycle – 40min with 3x5min intervals, stopped early due to rain
Thursday: Swim – 50min, practiced sighting and drilled high elbow catch
Friday: Run – 7.2km in 33:58 (4:43/km) Charity run (Operation Smile Run) organised by school. 1 round - $1 for cleft lip patient. Max rounds in 36 minutes.
Saturday: Rest (practiced transition)
Sunday: Singapore Sprint Series Race

This week was much lower in volume and intensity to taper for the race. Original plan was to run around 6.4km in 36 minutes for the charity run, but I really wanted to raise money for the patients…actually it was more like my ego couldn’t take it going so slowly and getting passed by so many people, so I ran slightly harder. I doubt it actually affected my race on Sunday, so that was a good thing.

The race went well in the sense that I got 2nd in my Age Group, but bad in the sense that my run totally fell apart. Based on this race, my focus in the coming weeks would be on my run. Higher mileage, slightly higher intensity. I will probably go for the MR25 5k TT in June to see where my run fitness is then. I will try to remain my cycling intensity and probably put more structure in my rides rather than just to clock the mileage. Thinking of adding a 20k TT at the Fernvale loop every 2nd Sat/Sun of the month.

As for swimming…I haven’t seen much improvement in my times despite the trainings. It may be a chicken and egg thing: I swim less because I don’t see the improvements, but I don’t see the improvements because I swim too little. But even if I up my swim and my timings drop, I’m quite certain if I spend that time on running I will see more gains. Hopefully I am right about that!

Tribob Sprint Series Triathlon Race Report

The day started at 540, and drank some coffee to boost the system and some ham and cheese bread. By 630 I was out of the house and on the way to Changi Beach Park, with my parents sending me there and to support me.
 

The Mercury all ready to rock and roll!

Reached the race venue around 7am, and went to the transition area to set up my area. Chose quite a prime spot in the transition area, and one point race directors can improve on is to make the transition area more fair, and the position of bike racking wouldn't make any difference.

 

Met Ben Khoo, who got the best spot in transition. He was in the elite wave, and ready to own the race.

At 740, half an hour before my wave start, I went to do my swim warm up and get used to the salt water. Water was murky as usual, but thankfully there was no sea bugs who would give me hell for 1 whole week and make me look like a chicken pox victim.

At 8am the elite wave was flagged off, and next would be my wave. 10 minutes later, my first proper triathlon started!

 

You can just spot me at the right side of the picture

The Swim:
I ran into the water, and scrambled for position for about 100m or so. After that I settled into my rhythm and focused on a high elbow catch and high cadence. However my sighting was quite off and I was swimming quite far off from the line. The course was 1 triangle loop and the sea was very calm. Thanks to the small wave start, my body did not face much abuse from the foot of other swimmers.

After around 15 minutes (which I found out about after the race) I emerged from the water. Saw my dad and smiled for the camera.

 

Took off my cap and goggles while running to transition. Entered T1 and did not have a problem finding my spot. Put on my race belt, aero helmet, unracked my bike and off I went. The run to the mount line was a good 100m away, and I was so thankful to not be running in my cycling shoe.

The Bike:
The bike course was 2 loops of Changi Coast Road, pancake flat. This was my first time cycling after a swim, and thankfully there was not much difference. Was going at speeds faster than 37kmh pretty easily, although there was not too many people to overtake on the 1st round. Compared to races at East Coast Park, this bike course was much much better. Roads are much wider and there was nothing to focus on but to keep my speed above 37. I was taking in quite a lot of sports drink on the bike, which on hindsight was not a good thing to do.

Clearly my cornering skills needed more work.

At the halfway point, the distance was around 12km (!). Lost some time whenever there was a turn, but overtook quite a lot of people on the whole. Nearing T2 I slipped out of my cycling shoe and my practice paid off.

Dismounted at the line and ran past the crowd into T2. Racked my bike, took off the Specialised TT2 helmet, slipped on my Zoot and zoomed straight out for the run.

The Run:
Starting the run my abdominal area started hurting, and I knew things wouldn't be good. The trisuit was too tight around my torso area, plus the whole bottle of Gatorade slushing in my stomach didn't help things. The stitch was getting quite bad and after the 1st km which I ran in around 4:15, I had to stop and walk for a bit. After around 30s I felt much better and could continue my run, but I knew trying to achieve a 5k PB was not going to happen today.

I took the second km quite easily to ease off the pain, and was not that surprised to see 5:15 on my watch. The 3rd km went by much better, although breathing was still hard due to the tight suit. And my race tag kept slipping to the back and I had to keep adjusting to keep it in front.

The 4th km was pretty slow and I just couldn't push hard even though my legs weren't feeling tired. Somehow
managed to up the amp in the last km, and ran down the finishing chute with a 4 min flat last km.

 

Final race results:

Swim (750m) - 14:46 (5/18)

T1 - 1:20 (3/18)

Bike (25km) - 42:19 (4/18)

T2 – 1:06 (2/18)

Run (5km) - 22:46 (5/18)

Overall - 1:22:19 (2/18)

Went to check my results on the computer right after the race, and couldn't believe it when I saw "2" under Category position! Lost out to Ben Khoo by a good 7 minutes, who had a blistering fast race. Stayed around the race venue until 11.30 for the prize presentation. It was only when my name was called out before I believed that I got 2nd with my mediocre timing.

 

First time on the podium (or stage in this case)!

Overall the race was pretty well organised, with a great race course. However, there was one major problem: the bike course was 5km longer than supposed to be! Thats 25% more and clearly not accidental. Also, the transition area could have been set such that it would be more fair, and the mount/dismount line could be closer to the transition area.

It was my first proper triathlon, and I'm stoked to place 2nd in my AG, even if my timing wasn't excellent. I could have pushed much harder on the bike and run. And I learnt that I should not drink too much before the run, but rather just rinse my mouth and spit out the water.

I already can't wait for my next race!