k r i s a n d r o

I will start chronicling my training data and methods here from race to race. One reason for this is to serve as a running diary and the other is for anyone who might be interested to know how I train. I am only an amateur long distance runner and I definitely will not say this is the right way to train but I collect a lot of data and I am seeing good results from my training.

*Warning* This will be an extremely boring post for most, so do not read beyond this line if you are not interesting in running data.

Training period: 26 Jan 2011 – 28 May (Sundown 2011, 21.1 km)

• Distance ran (Excluding racing distance): 473.25 km
• No. of runs: 59
• Highest Weekly Mileage: 48.55 km
• Average running distance: 8.02 km
• Time spent: 46 hrs 47 mins 31 secs
• Max. distance ran: 20 km
• Avg. speed: 10.1 km/h
• Avg. heart rate: 157 bpm
• Avg. cadence: 166 – 174 steps/min.
• Calories burned: 32,233 kcal
• Weight change: 67.8 kg (9 Feb) – 64.5 kg (28 May)
• Lowest measured weight: 63.2 kg (29 May)
• Resting heart rate change: 63 bpm (30 Jan) – 56 bpm (12 May)
• Lowest measured resting heart rate: 52 bpm (24 Mar)

Race Details:

• Race Name: Sundown 2011
• Distance: 21.1km
• Time: 2 hr 02 min 13 sec
• Avg. Pace: 5:48 min/km
• Avg. Cadence: 164 steps/min

Training details:

I train mostly in heart rate zones. The zones are defined by assuming through calculation that my Maximum Heart Rate (HR^max) is 192 bpm and my Resting Heart Rate (HR^rest) is measured once every 3-5 days. I measure my HR^rest 1st thing in the morning before I get out of bed and it’s at least 24 hrs after the previous run.

These are my heart rate training zones with a HR^rest of 56 bpm:

The bulk of my training is of Long Slow Distances (LSDs) and the rest are Tempo Runs, Short Intervals & Long Intervals. I chose to adopt a 10-day training cycle instead of the more common 7-day cycle because I didn’t want to run 4-6 days straight with just 1 or 2 days of rest. The 10-day cycle also allowed me more flexibility in the event that I had to skip a session or two and was still able to keep to the important scheduled Long Run.

This is one real example of my 10-day cycle:

• Day 1: Warm-Up Jog – 1.5 km, Short Intervals – 800 m x 6
• Day 2: LSD – 8.8 km
• Day 3: Rest
• Day 4: Warm-Up Jog – 1.5 km, Long Intervals – 2.7 km x 2
• Day 5: LSD – 8.8 km
• Day 6: Rest
• Day 7: Warm-Up Jog – 1 km, Tempo Run – 6.6 km
• Day 8: LSD – 8.7 km
• Day 9: LSD (Longest Run) – 20 km
• Day 10: Rest
• Total distance (including jogging laps during intervals): 71.79 km

Types of Runs:

LSDs: These are ran in Zone 3. I will divide the distance as equally as I can into 11 parts (Zone 2.7 to Zone 3.7) and slowly allow my heart’s bpm to rise as I jog the distance. Barring sections on routes with down and/or up-slopes, my speed will naturally increase as the effort of my heart increases which results in a overall negative split.

Tempo Runs: These are ran in Zone 4. I will divide the distance as equally as I can into 12 parts (Zone 3.7 to Zone 4.8) and slowly allow my heart’s bpm to rise as I run the distance. As with LSDs, the overall timing of each run is a negative split.

Short & Long Intervals: After reading about efficiency of interval training distances by Arthur Lydiard, I mainly do distances of short intervals (800 m) and long intervals (1.5 km & above). I run as fast as I can (entering Zone 5) with the last session’s timing as a guide for each lap. Upon hitting the end of a lap, I will slow jog until my heart rate hits Zone 2.9 before I start my next lap.

Race Comparison:

(Click to enlarge)

Race to race comparison will show a very skewed improvement this time because the races are so far apart (almost 2 years).

Fitness comparison:

As my LSDs are done with the same effort (heart rate zones), I shall compare LSDs of similar distances over a time period.

As you can see, there is marked improvement in speed even with a decrease in effort (avg. heart rate).

Summary:

Seeing that I manage to finally complete a training period and run a good race, I’ll be adopting the same concept in my build-up to Singapore Bay Run & Army Half Marathon (21.1km). However, my planned mileages are in preparation for my 1st full marathon in Dec for Standard Chartered Marathon Singapore.

Feel free to ask me or discuss about my training plans and running. I can be easily contacted via email through my contact page, on Twitter or through Facebook.

Training has been great from the start of the year ever since I threw my shoes away for Vibram Five Fingers although I was probably overly enthusiastic with the momentum that I faced injury at the end of April. After 4 months of inactivity, I finally started training again at the start of September and the result is even more rewarding when looking at my data and my form.

“What doesn’t kills you, makes you stronger” – Friedrich Neitzche

Of course I don’t train to kill myself  but I definitely can see myself getting stronger after each setback.

Of course I can’t say that I ran as much as the Jan-Apr period since this is only the 2nd month into my current cycle of training but the difference is that I am running further per run on average and taking my slow runs even slower – to the point of finally calling it a jog. I am also running harder for my fast runs and tweaking it here and there to better suit it for long distance training.

I used to think that in order to run fast, one has to train fast but after reading about Japanese marathoners, they really emphasize on clocking mileage and they are extremely fast in the marathon – If I dare say, the fastest group of marathoners one can find in Asia. Some of the Japanese run as much as over 1,200-1,300km per month. That is 300-325km per week and 42.9-46.3km per day even if you ran everyday. A f**king marathon everyday! Crazy much? Haha!

Interestingly, most of their mileage is done at a “slow” 5min/km. Seeing that they race 42.195km at 3min/km, 5min/km is definitely slow for them.

As an Asian, I shall look up to their training (instead of the Americans) and hope that one day, my “slow”  jogs will be as fast as their “slow” ones.

Last year, I finish the Singapore Bay Run/Army Half Marathon in 2hrs 43mins 32secs. I shall aim high and say it here…

I’ll finish the half marathon at Standard Chartered Marathon in under 2hrs on 5th Dec 2010!

I started joining long distance races only last year and signed on for 3 of them so far: Singapore Bay Run 2009 (21km), Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon 2009 (42km) & Adidas Sundown Marathon 2010 (21km).

A couple of weeks before Singapore Bay Run last year, I was out with flu for a good 3 weeks and struggled to complete the whole of 21km. I didn’t even go for the Standard Chartered run because of a persistent hacking cough that lasted for 3 months before the race.

The Adidas Sundown Marathon 2010 is just this Saturday and guess what? I have been out injured because of a suspected inflamed tendon in my right foot that has been plaguing me for the last 3 weeks. Did I trigger this injury from training?

Nope!

I got it from chasing down a bloody bus because I wanna get home earlier to run!

Yes. That is my foot and the x-ray scan of it. No. HP Touchsmarts does not do x-ray scans but they sure make a useful backlight to see film like that.

I know that people always have an impression that I am pretty fit and *ahem* I think that is not far from the truth. *cough cough*

But I am and have been quite injury prone throughout my life and while I embark on this long distance running phase of my life, it seems pretty apparent that my injury woes continue to bug me like a persistent STD. (Not that I have one…)

KuKuNehNeh claims that I am cursed from running and told me to stop signing up for races because SOMETHING ALWAYS happens right before the races that displaces me back to square one sometimes even when I was training very hard.

Am I cursed?

Yeah I did it! I finished the whole of 21km despite my initial worries about the SAFRA Singapore Bay Run and Army Half Marathon 2009.

It is my very 1st time participating in a public mass running event (The Big Walk doesn’t count right?) and the very first time at attempting to run a distance of 21km.

I did predict that I would probably finish the race in 2hrs 30mins – 2hrs 45 mins and my timing is very far off from the predictions but I didn’t expect it to be a painful one! My body started to breakdown at the 14km mark and I had to adopt a run-walk-run method to be able to finish the race.

I knew I was putting in too much effort when my heart rate monitor told me that my heart was beating at 189 beats per minute which is the highest I have ever seen from all the runs I did before in my training runs. The over-exertion was also confirmed by the chills running through my body when my heart rate was that high.

There was mostly sweaty men surrounding me and no babes around me to attribute the high heart rate to and so from the 14km – 15km mark, I decided to run based on my heart rate which was probably the smartest decision made that day. I stopped to walk when my heart rate started to hit a high and started to run again when it’s lower and stabilized.

At the 17km – 18km mark, I started to develop cramps on both of my lower quads and eventually my left ankle. It was very punishing to walk much less to run but I told myself to ‘finish strong’ and I made myself run the last 1.5km – 2km through the finishing line.

I don’t have the experience of running other races to compare how well the organizers did for this one but I think I enjoyed it pretty much. The water points are plenty and nicely spaced out; there were many musical performances throughout the route that provided morale boosting beats; queues at the end of the race for the medals are almost non-existent.

Other runners also provided great entertainment. There was a runner whose watch beeped constantly throughout his run. In my head I went, “BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEPPPP…….”. There was an uncle who let out a pretty wet fart when I was jogging right behind him though it could have been the sound of his turbo boost as he sped away after that.

Much thanks to KuKuNehNeh for waking up early with me at 3am to prepare breakfast and to drive me there where she waited a good 3 hrs and more for me to finish the run.

*MUACKS*!!!!

I am quite looking forward to the full marathon in December despite aching from head to toe right now. Now pardon me as I end this post to get up painfully from this chair to get a drink by walking like a guy with swollen testicles heading for the fridge.