Last Thursday I ran with a friend for about 8km during my 17k long run. On my normal runs I would not be able to sustain the pace we ran at for a long time, yet it seemed pretty easy that day. It got me thinking about training alone and with others.
I often find myself training alone, almost all the time when swimming and running, and majority of the time when cycling. Triathlon is an individual sport; just you versus the clock. Thus is there any benefit to training with others?
One major reason I train alone is not because I want to, but because its just so much more convenient. I can decide to go for a run 5 minutes before I head out of the door, whereas if I have an appointment my schedule is kind of fixed already. I can also decide the pace, speed, duration etc depending on how I feel.
Training solo also has a psychological effect. In a group its much easier to ride hard (other than the drafting effect) but in a race how often can you find someone who is exactly your pace? I find that training alone conditions the mind to go hard and stay at that effort. Also in longer races like HIM or IM, you need to get used to being all alone for extended periods of time.
But sometimes I do have the urge to train with others. Other than the obvious benefit of having someone to talk to, there are actually other reasons why group training may be better than individual training.
As contradicting as this may be to the earlier paragraph, group trainings force you to go hard. Of course this is assuming you train with people of your standard or better. In a group ride, either you keep up or get dropped. In a club swim if you don't keep within in interval time you get left behind. And you can't give excuses or reasons to stop and rest.
If people expect you to turn up, its also much harder for you not to. You don't have to debate with yourself whether or not you should wake up at 5am on a Sunday morning; you just do it. It would require quite a lot of mental strength for me to go out for 17k hard on a Thursday evening alone, but this particular Thursday it didn't even cross my mind to not go out for my run.
And there's also the safety aspect. If anything were to happen, someone would know about it and your family/loved ones would know if there's any accident.
That being said, I still value training solo simply because it gives me time alone with no one else. Every day we are interacting with others and sometimes we need a bit of alone time to sort out our thoughts or just to block out everything else.
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Weekly Consolidation: 7/13 weeks
Monday:
AM: Cycle - 20km TT
PM: Run - 10k trail
Tuesday:
AM: Swim - 1 hr
PM: Run - 3x 1.6km
Wednesday:
AM: Cycle - 77km solo
PM: Run - 8km easy
Thursday:
AM: Swim - 40min easy
PM: Run - 14km long run
Friday: Rest
Saturday: Rest
Sunday: Rest
I'll post early because I doubt there would be any training done over Friday and the weekends. Even with only 4 days, this week was pretty huge. 2 sessions every day with plenty of studying in between for exams in 2 weeks time. My main concern was getting an injury, but somehow it worked out. Maybe the higher mileage over the past few weeks, along with all the trail, have made my legs slightly stronger.
The week started off with the monthly 20k time trial. Last month I did it in 32:16, which was a 37.1kmh average. This week I slashed off 30s to come in at 31:46, which was 37.7kmh. I managed to negative split it too (16:00, 15:46), which is always a good thing. Pretty happy with an improvement, even if it isn't by a huge amount.
Got in quite a bit of swimming the past few days. Right now its still easy swimming to get used to the water and for the swimming muscle to warm up again. I'm not sure how much I have deproved but it doesn't seem to be that bad.
This week I decided to do a different speed workout from the 400m and 800m mostly because I was bored of those distances. Opted for 3 x mile instead. It went pretty well and I hit my goal times and wasn't super spent after that either.
The past few weeks my running has been going superbly well. My guess is that it has to do with a combination of factors namely the weekly track session, higher mileage overall, as well as the trail runs. Now I'm also finding running much more enjoyable, mostly because I see the gains I am making and also because I am (mostly) injury free. I may consider signing up for an open 10k race after the triathlon just to see how fast I can go, and in future when I'm old and slow I can say at least I've ran XX:XX before.
AM: Cycle - 20km TT
PM: Run - 10k trail
Tuesday:
AM: Swim - 1 hr
PM: Run - 3x 1.6km
Wednesday:
AM: Cycle - 77km solo
PM: Run - 8km easy
Thursday:
AM: Swim - 40min easy
PM: Run - 14km long run
Friday: Rest
Saturday: Rest
Sunday: Rest
I'll post early because I doubt there would be any training done over Friday and the weekends. Even with only 4 days, this week was pretty huge. 2 sessions every day with plenty of studying in between for exams in 2 weeks time. My main concern was getting an injury, but somehow it worked out. Maybe the higher mileage over the past few weeks, along with all the trail, have made my legs slightly stronger.
The week started off with the monthly 20k time trial. Last month I did it in 32:16, which was a 37.1kmh average. This week I slashed off 30s to come in at 31:46, which was 37.7kmh. I managed to negative split it too (16:00, 15:46), which is always a good thing. Pretty happy with an improvement, even if it isn't by a huge amount.
Got in quite a bit of swimming the past few days. Right now its still easy swimming to get used to the water and for the swimming muscle to warm up again. I'm not sure how much I have deproved but it doesn't seem to be that bad.
This week I decided to do a different speed workout from the 400m and 800m mostly because I was bored of those distances. Opted for 3 x mile instead. It went pretty well and I hit my goal times and wasn't super spent after that either.
The past few weeks my running has been going superbly well. My guess is that it has to do with a combination of factors namely the weekly track session, higher mileage overall, as well as the trail runs. Now I'm also finding running much more enjoyable, mostly because I see the gains I am making and also because I am (mostly) injury free. I may consider signing up for an open 10k race after the triathlon just to see how fast I can go, and in future when I'm old and slow I can say at least I've ran XX:XX before.
Monday, June 13, 2011
Weekly Consolidation: 6/13 weeks
Monday: Rest
Tuesday: Run - 9.5km
Wednesday:
AM: Cycle - 56km
PM: Run - 5x800m interval
Thursday: Rest
Friday: Rest
Saturday: Rest
Sunday:
AM: Swim - 1 hr
PM: Run - 8km easy
A really short week with only 5 hours of training due to other commitments.
Only managed to get in 1 quality workout which was the 800m intervals on Wednesday. It was a fantastic run with great timings and I felt great throughout the sets. Running has been steadily improving and I really hope I won't get injured from now until the race. If all goes well, I will be gunning for a sub 45 10k.
The plan was to do a 20k TT on Sunday but was too tired from Saturday and decided to do the TT tomorrow. Not too sure how I will fare but hoping for an improvement at least.
And I finally got a swim in! Just wanted to get back my feel for the water and warm up those shoulders/triceps again after about 5 weeks off. Swimming fitness has definitely deproved but I'm certain it will come back quickly. I should be swimming more in the coming weeks.
Next week will be a little short too because I'll be going on a holiday. But I'll try to squeeze in my workouts before I fly off on Friday.
Tuesday: Run - 9.5km
Wednesday:
AM: Cycle - 56km
PM: Run - 5x800m interval
Thursday: Rest
Friday: Rest
Saturday: Rest
Sunday:
AM: Swim - 1 hr
PM: Run - 8km easy
A really short week with only 5 hours of training due to other commitments.
Only managed to get in 1 quality workout which was the 800m intervals on Wednesday. It was a fantastic run with great timings and I felt great throughout the sets. Running has been steadily improving and I really hope I won't get injured from now until the race. If all goes well, I will be gunning for a sub 45 10k.
The plan was to do a 20k TT on Sunday but was too tired from Saturday and decided to do the TT tomorrow. Not too sure how I will fare but hoping for an improvement at least.
And I finally got a swim in! Just wanted to get back my feel for the water and warm up those shoulders/triceps again after about 5 weeks off. Swimming fitness has definitely deproved but I'm certain it will come back quickly. I should be swimming more in the coming weeks.
Next week will be a little short too because I'll be going on a holiday. But I'll try to squeeze in my workouts before I fly off on Friday.
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
How courses are measured
One of the stuff that I read about is how race courses are measured, and I find that really interesting as well. What was the exact route that was measured, and how much longer am I really running? How can some races be sooo far off?
Well here are a few links that answered some of these questions and are very interesting read.
First would be the Jones Counter
Then something from DCRainmaker (awesome blogger btw)
And something slightly related is the accuracy of GPS watches, and once again I point you to DCRainmaker.
Anyway go check out his blog for tons of awesome information about sports technology. And food/travel if you are interested in that.
Well here are a few links that answered some of these questions and are very interesting read.
First would be the Jones Counter
Then something from DCRainmaker (awesome blogger btw)
And something slightly related is the accuracy of GPS watches, and once again I point you to DCRainmaker.
Anyway go check out his blog for tons of awesome information about sports technology. And food/travel if you are interested in that.
Monday, June 6, 2011
MR25 TT Updates!
The results are out! Looks like I'm a horse, I'll aim to be a hare in the August TT.
Position Name Timing Sex
Hare (19:00 – 19:59)
1 Wong Ken Mun 19:05 M
2 James Merrey 19:22 M
3 Neil Anderson 19:37 M
Horse (20:00 – 20:59)
4 Alvin Sia 20;48 M
5 Keith Scofield 20;49 M
6 Glen Copsey 20;55 M
7 Kenneth Kuan 20;58 M
8 Harris Andrew 20;58 M
GreyHound (21:00 – 21:59)
9 Staller 21:07 M
10 Kevin Rubotton 21:48 M
Deer (22:00 – 22:59)
11 Everest Yeow 22:02 M
12 Yeow chan Harn 22:24 M
13 Gemma Glynn 22:29 F Did Mens Route
14 Dana Fritz 22:40 F
15 Nena Fritz 22:58 F
Tortise (23:00 – 23:59)
16 Milan Sadek 23:04 M
17 Chris Darby 23:17 M
18 Paul Comerford 23:49 M
Snail (24:00 – 24:59)
19 Malcolm Tan 24:13 M
20 Tom Hegarty 24:20 M
21 Jonathan Perelra 24:42 M
Above 25:00 (YOU CAN MAKE IT!)
22 Martinellia 25:04 M
23 Aarow Simmons 25:11 M
24 Teo Hung Song 26:02 M
25 Lisa Kilday 26:26 F Did Mens Route
26 Catalina Yew 27:28 M
27 Esther 27:35 F
28 Toh Jian Hui 31:00 M
29 Heba 33:40 F
30 Amid Sabra 35:31 M
Position Name Timing Sex
Hare (19:00 – 19:59)
1 Wong Ken Mun 19:05 M
2 James Merrey 19:22 M
3 Neil Anderson 19:37 M
Horse (20:00 – 20:59)
4 Alvin Sia 20;48 M
5 Keith Scofield 20;49 M
6 Glen Copsey 20;55 M
7 Kenneth Kuan 20;58 M
8 Harris Andrew 20;58 M
GreyHound (21:00 – 21:59)
9 Staller 21:07 M
10 Kevin Rubotton 21:48 M
Deer (22:00 – 22:59)
11 Everest Yeow 22:02 M
12 Yeow chan Harn 22:24 M
13 Gemma Glynn 22:29 F Did Mens Route
14 Dana Fritz 22:40 F
15 Nena Fritz 22:58 F
Tortise (23:00 – 23:59)
16 Milan Sadek 23:04 M
17 Chris Darby 23:17 M
18 Paul Comerford 23:49 M
Snail (24:00 – 24:59)
19 Malcolm Tan 24:13 M
20 Tom Hegarty 24:20 M
21 Jonathan Perelra 24:42 M
Above 25:00 (YOU CAN MAKE IT!)
22 Martinellia 25:04 M
23 Aarow Simmons 25:11 M
24 Teo Hung Song 26:02 M
25 Lisa Kilday 26:26 F Did Mens Route
26 Catalina Yew 27:28 M
27 Esther 27:35 F
28 Toh Jian Hui 31:00 M
29 Heba 33:40 F
30 Amid Sabra 35:31 M
MR25 5k Time Trial
Went for my second ever MR25 5k TT. The first time I went was last December and I managed 21:38 for it. That was before my injury and few months off of running. My main goal was to PR in this, and also to see where my fitness is relative to December.
The day didn't start well, with heavy rains starting from 6am and even though it eased off around noon, there was still slight drizzle here and there. This was bad as it meant that the course was going to be mean and muddy.
Did a slow jog to the start point from school, and got myself registered with bib number 130. There was quite a big turnout in spite of the rain. Did a bit of warmup and mentally prep-ed myself for 20 odd minutes of pure torture.
At around 5am the horn went off and the front runners took off. I knew the start was going to be fast, so I made a mental note to go slow and not let my ego ruin the race. Tons of people overtook me within the first 10s, but I didn't let it bother me and just ran my own race. The first few 100m were still on concrete, and we reached the fitness station and the terrain turned into loose gravel. Someone stepped right on a puddle and made everyone around him wet, including me. However that was just a teaser for whats to come. After that, we turned off into the trail and the madness begun.
Another guy and I was pacing off some guy who's singlet said Keith, so I suppose he is Keith. The trail was muddy and there was small puddles here and there. After the first somewhat big puddle, I decided it was pointless to avoid them and just embraced the water in my shoes. The route was pretty undulating, and Keith stormed on the downhill. With our constant and quick pace we slowly overtook runners who were too ambitious at the start. About 1.8km in, we came across this huuuuge puddle that was ankle deep, and all 3 of us ran right into it like real men. After a few more puddles and mud, we reached the female turnaround point. The men continued on left, and after 100m was our turnaround point.
As we ran around some guy who was literally the turnaround point, he asked Keith what the time was, who replied something like "10:30, shit." I knew if I could keep up the pace, I was going to PR and possibly even sub 21. At this point I still felt quite good and was not struggling much.
We continued on at around the same pace, and was still overtaking people, but more slowly this time. After a while my lower left calf felt a bit tight, and the uphills became a bit of a struggle. I still managed to stay with Keith although he upped the pace a little.
Soon we came back to the huge puddle and everyone's shoe got soaked again. The wet shoes made it a bit hard to run fast. I was almost reaching my limits, but told myself to just stay with Keith no matter what. We ran out of the trail, which meant that there was only a short distance more to the end point. At the fitness station, Keith and I caught up with 2 other runners and it was going to be down to a sprint finish. Keith accelerated and no one could stay with him. One of the other guys couldn't keep up with me and the other guy and dropped back. With 50m to go we sprinted and I edged him out by just a little, crossing the line in 20:58.
I was so glad that the race was over, as were my legs. I think I paced the run perfectly, and couldn't thank Keith enough for it. The 40s improvement over December's race was a great confidence booster, considering proper run training only began 2 months ago or so. The course also wasn't ideal, meaning I could probably have shaved off another 5-10s. A 20:58 on trail without proper taper would likely mean that I can run a sub 20 5k.
Although the next TT is after my race, I will probably still go for it and try to break 20 the next time.
The day didn't start well, with heavy rains starting from 6am and even though it eased off around noon, there was still slight drizzle here and there. This was bad as it meant that the course was going to be mean and muddy.
Did a slow jog to the start point from school, and got myself registered with bib number 130. There was quite a big turnout in spite of the rain. Did a bit of warmup and mentally prep-ed myself for 20 odd minutes of pure torture.
At around 5am the horn went off and the front runners took off. I knew the start was going to be fast, so I made a mental note to go slow and not let my ego ruin the race. Tons of people overtook me within the first 10s, but I didn't let it bother me and just ran my own race. The first few 100m were still on concrete, and we reached the fitness station and the terrain turned into loose gravel. Someone stepped right on a puddle and made everyone around him wet, including me. However that was just a teaser for whats to come. After that, we turned off into the trail and the madness begun.
Another guy and I was pacing off some guy who's singlet said Keith, so I suppose he is Keith. The trail was muddy and there was small puddles here and there. After the first somewhat big puddle, I decided it was pointless to avoid them and just embraced the water in my shoes. The route was pretty undulating, and Keith stormed on the downhill. With our constant and quick pace we slowly overtook runners who were too ambitious at the start. About 1.8km in, we came across this huuuuge puddle that was ankle deep, and all 3 of us ran right into it like real men. After a few more puddles and mud, we reached the female turnaround point. The men continued on left, and after 100m was our turnaround point.
As we ran around some guy who was literally the turnaround point, he asked Keith what the time was, who replied something like "10:30, shit." I knew if I could keep up the pace, I was going to PR and possibly even sub 21. At this point I still felt quite good and was not struggling much.
We continued on at around the same pace, and was still overtaking people, but more slowly this time. After a while my lower left calf felt a bit tight, and the uphills became a bit of a struggle. I still managed to stay with Keith although he upped the pace a little.
Soon we came back to the huge puddle and everyone's shoe got soaked again. The wet shoes made it a bit hard to run fast. I was almost reaching my limits, but told myself to just stay with Keith no matter what. We ran out of the trail, which meant that there was only a short distance more to the end point. At the fitness station, Keith and I caught up with 2 other runners and it was going to be down to a sprint finish. Keith accelerated and no one could stay with him. One of the other guys couldn't keep up with me and the other guy and dropped back. With 50m to go we sprinted and I edged him out by just a little, crossing the line in 20:58.
I was so glad that the race was over, as were my legs. I think I paced the run perfectly, and couldn't thank Keith enough for it. The 40s improvement over December's race was a great confidence booster, considering proper run training only began 2 months ago or so. The course also wasn't ideal, meaning I could probably have shaved off another 5-10s. A 20:58 on trail without proper taper would likely mean that I can run a sub 20 5k.
Although the next TT is after my race, I will probably still go for it and try to break 20 the next time.
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Weekly Consolidation: 5/13 weeks
8 weeks to race day!
Monday: Run - 11km trail
Tuesday:
AM: Cycle - 78km group ride
PM: Run - 7km easy
Wednesday: Run - 10x400m intervals
Thursday: Cycle - 5x5min intervals
Friday: Run - 16.5km long run
Saturday: Cycle - 72km solo
Sunday: Run - 5km race
A solid 10hr week! By far the best training week I've had in a while. Got in most of my key workouts, highest weekly mileage of 54km for running, and PRed in a race.
Did not feel very strong this week cycling wise, but I'll only know where I am compared to last month next week when I do a 20km solo TT. Didn't feel very nice to get dropped on the 5am Tuesday ride, but at least I know I can ride strong and far alone.
This was a huge week for running. The intervals went great, long run didn't even feel that long, and the MR25 5k TT was a great confidence booster. Currently I am probably around a 43-44min 10k, hopefully I will be able to run that during the race if the training in the next 8 weeks go well. I'm feeling really pumped for running right now!
I'm also looking to get a new pair of shoes. My Zoot has around 1000km now, and Asics around 500km. Although I don't really need another pair because both are still in good condition, I want one :) I've been looking around, but can't find the right shoes for me yet. I also want to get some sort of fuel belt for my longer runs, as I MAY sign up for a full marathon at the end of the year :)
Monday: Run - 11km trail
Tuesday:
AM: Cycle - 78km group ride
PM: Run - 7km easy
Wednesday: Run - 10x400m intervals
Thursday: Cycle - 5x5min intervals
Friday: Run - 16.5km long run
Saturday: Cycle - 72km solo
Sunday: Run - 5km race
A solid 10hr week! By far the best training week I've had in a while. Got in most of my key workouts, highest weekly mileage of 54km for running, and PRed in a race.
Did not feel very strong this week cycling wise, but I'll only know where I am compared to last month next week when I do a 20km solo TT. Didn't feel very nice to get dropped on the 5am Tuesday ride, but at least I know I can ride strong and far alone.
This was a huge week for running. The intervals went great, long run didn't even feel that long, and the MR25 5k TT was a great confidence booster. Currently I am probably around a 43-44min 10k, hopefully I will be able to run that during the race if the training in the next 8 weeks go well. I'm feeling really pumped for running right now!
I'm also looking to get a new pair of shoes. My Zoot has around 1000km now, and Asics around 500km. Although I don't really need another pair because both are still in good condition, I want one :) I've been looking around, but can't find the right shoes for me yet. I also want to get some sort of fuel belt for my longer runs, as I MAY sign up for a full marathon at the end of the year :)
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