Am preparing for the PJ Half Marathon in Sept. First time joining such an event...

Damn hardcore

Eh this is journal rite ??? shift it to the sub forum ba ^^

Training Summary:

Saturday - 13/4/2007 (7:55 a.m)

Weather - Sunny (26'c ~ 28'c approx)

Venue - Titiwangsa recreation park

Target - 10km in 1hr @ 10kmh

1st 2.8km --- 17m57s

2nd 2.8km --- 18m27s

Last 1.4km --- 8m49s

Total time: 45m15s

Total Coverage: 7km

Average speed: 9.28 kmh

Remarks: Start late again although wake up around 6:30am. Today has change a new pair of socks that newly bought this week, but clearly there is some different in my stride that makes it inefficient and need to compensate by putting in extra stamina. Also it is quite obvious that i do not like to run under the sun and perspiration seems a bit excessive compare to normal condition.

The 2nd lap, my run struggling all the time and actually has a feeling of hunger! At the end only manage to cover another 1km+ after the 2nd lap. Dianogsis of failure: Stamina depleted (Fuel tank) faster than breathing (Gas tank).

I belief that the sun will rise even earlier during the 2nd half of the year and eventually need to start running earlier.

Do admit that im a Vampiric runner. See sun die.

Time to hybernate.

Deadalus, tumpang thread yah. Yeeck, Syd G and others here interested in running, please visit this forum for runners. We need more members. Thank you.

http://forum.lowyat.net/topic/333939/+200

This post has been edited by phoenix: Apr 14 2007, 01:44 PM

Enjoy your first run. It will be a much different experience to run among thousands other runners in an event compare to running on treadmills.

Also belief that if you run 14km per week (in two session), you will burn out another 4kg in 6 months time. I bet it will.

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Glycogen debt and distance racing

Due to the body's inability to hold more than around 2,000 kcal of glycogen, long-distance athletes such as marathon runners, cross-country skiers, and bicycle racers go into glycogen debt, where almost all of the athlete's glycogen stores are depleted after long periods of exertion without enough energy consumption. This phenomenon is referred to as "hitting the wall" or "bonking". In marathon runners it normally happens around the 20 mile (32 km) point of a marathon, where around 100 kcal are spent per mile, depending on the size of the runner and the race course. When experiencing glycogen debt, athletes often experience extreme fatigue to the point that it is difficult to move.

_______________________________________________________________

Calories facts:

Banana: 95 kcal per 100g
Chocolate: 500 kcal per 100g
Glucolin © Glucose: 345 kcal per 100g

This post has been edited by deadalus: Apr 14 2007, 11:52 PM

Don't forget to have a well-nutricious diet too.

What kind of diet do you suggest for those preparing for such long distance runs?

Ha my problem is this -> I cant slow down. I guess I love sprinting more cause all the weight training made my hamstrings and quad rock solid (well, almost) and my calves are kinda lacking behind. Whenever I do lesser than 9.0km/h my calves will start whining and I'll sprint to 11km/h - calves will hurt less cause hammies do the work but then I'll start panting like I'm having asthma. Haihs.

But my dad used to participate in runs a lot in the 80's and I'm planning on continuing his humble legacy .

Well... This is me. The day before a run or marathon, I will take a good rest. No workouts, just basically relaxing and clearing my mind. As for diet, I'll load myself up with carbo, mainly rice or pasta. The amount is depending on the run the next day whether 10KM, 21KM or 42KM.

An example will be my recent 42KM KLIM 2007. Lunch, I went for banana leaf rice the day before. Took around 2.5 bowls of rice but I cut down on spicy stuff. As for dinner, I had pasta before going back home to sleep at 8pm. On the marathon day itself, 2 hours before the run, I took a bowl of cereal with just a bit of milk and took a PowerBar performance energy bar with 500ml of water to ease nutrients absorption. And 30 minutes before the run, I took a PowerBar Gel together with 500ml of water. And along the way, every 10KM or an hour I will down another PowerBar Gel when needed.

Banana is a good source of potasium and energy. For those whose stomach can take it, it is highly recommended. I can't take it before a run as banana is high in fiber and will cause me to go to the loo.

BH Petrol 9KM Orange Run:

Sunday - 15/4/2007 (7:35 a.m)

Weather - Sunny day (26'c ~ 28'c approx)

Venue - The Curve, Damansara

Target - 9km in 51min @ 10kmh

Total time: 1h09m02s

Total Coverage: 9km

Average speed: 7.82 kmh

Remarks: Overslept and wake up at 7:15am , the beginning of a disastrous experience. Take 1 cup Glucolin, 1 banana, 2 tiget susu biscuit before im on my wheels. Leaving my house in Kepong exactly at 7:21 a.m and cruising around 120kmh in LDP. And to my surprise, i reach THE CURVE at 7:31 a.m and all the participants start to line-up for the start of category A,B,C. Manage to squeze into the horde few seconds before the start. (Actually when i wake up and aware that its already 7:15am, i almost give up any hope of reaching there in time.)

First 10 min, basically still not fully recover from the shock. My plan is to accelerate in the initial stage since the race is relatively short in distance. Things do look good with the help of 2 steep downhill slope during the first 2~3km.

However is generally disappointed that there isn't enough traffic police to monitor the traffic and consequently we are running alongside with motorist and some occasional disturbance from impatient road user. Afterall, they provide you with the FOC Carbon Dioxide.

Things getting nasty in the 2nd half of the race, this is where all those killer uphill slope comes in play. Very surprise to find out that i clock 32min after reaching the half-way mark as i expect to cover a greater distance from my initial efforts. It seems to me clearly that the distance is actually more than what i've expected. When i come accross the Kg. Attap part around 46min (damansara plus toll) and surely there will be at least 3 ~ 4km ahead before reaching the finishing point.

Nevertheless, have endured the 6 uphill slope throughout the race and running non-stop until the 1 Utama traffic light at 1hr4m+. By then, am totally flattened and couldn't help but limping towards The Curve.

Definately will treat this event as a 10KM race if i am to take part in the next year BHP Orange Run as it seems to me that this 9KM event is tougher than most of the 10KM Run that i have participated previously.

Training Summary:

Saturday - 21/4/2007 (7:15 a.m)

Weather - Cloudy (22'c ~ 27'c approx)

Venue - Titiwangsa recreation park

Target - 10km in 1hr @ 10kmh

1st 2.8km --- 17m33s

2nd 2.8km --- 18m06s

3rd 2.8km --- 17m53s

Final 1.6km --- 8m58s

Total time: 1h02m31s

Total Coverage: 10km

Average speed: 9.65 kmh

Remarks: Take 300ml Glucolin + 2pcs medium banana 40min before workout. But it's proven that my stomach wont works well with such a food load.

Minor Lower abs cramp start haunting me in the first two lap and the food i take earlier on is jumping up & down inside my stomach. Glad that i survive the 2nd lap, energy start to kicks in when im running the 3rd laps but there isn't much to improve on timing since the 2nd lap is really lagging badly.

Try to sprint during the last 1.6km but eventually flatten in the last 100m. Limping towards the finishing point and clock a reasonable 1hr2m timing.

*Out of curiousity, i weight myself before workout and after workout. Surprisingly my body weight drop by 2kg after i complete the 10km training . (I take body weight rigth after the 10km run with empty stomach before breakfast)

Fueling my body for the running will become a priority, otherwise my body weight will keep dropping as long as i continue the morning running session.

This post has been edited by deadalus: Apr 21 2007, 01:34 PM

Diet summary prior to 10k event:

300ml Glucolin>>>>>>>>165 kcal
120g banana>>>>>>>>>120 kcal
300ml pineapple juice>>> 100 kcal
300ml nestum>>>>>>>> 100 kcal
4 slice wholemeal bread>>300 kcal
21g oatmeal>>>>>>>>> 50 kcal
BigRice + 2meat + 1 vege>500 kcal [Lunch]
300ml Glucolin>>>>>>>>165 kcal
300ml 100plus activ>>>>>80 kcal
45g Raisin>>>>>>>>>>>130kcal
Rice + Meat + Vege>>>>>600kcal [Dinner]

Total Calories = 2,310 kcal

This post has been edited by deadalus: Apr 22 2007, 01:57 PM

hey deadalus. pm malaysian potato to move your journal to the journal section. pm him with your journal's link

Exercises for enhancing springiness and energy efficiency

1. Spring-jogging

After a nice warm-up, jog along with very springy, relatively short steps, landing on the mid-foot area with each contact and springing upwards after impact. As you move along, your ankles should act like coiled springs, compressing slightly with each mid-foot landing, then recoiling quickly, causing you to bound upwards and forwards. Move along for one minute with quick, spring-like strides, alternating right and left feet as you would during normal running;

After one minute, jog normally for about 10 seconds, and then 'spring-jog' for about 20m, alternating three consecutive spring-like contacts with your right foot with three contacts with the left (i.e. three hops on your right foot, three hops on your left, three more on your right etc until you have travelled about 20m);
Jog normally for 10 seconds again, and then spring-hop for 20m on your right foot only, before shifting over to 20m on the left foot alone (making sure you land in the mid-foot area with each ground contact).


2. One-leg hops on-the-spot

Stand with your left foot forward and your right foot back, with your feet about one shin-length apart from front to back and hip-width apart from side to side. Place the toes of your right foot on a block or step 6-8 inches off the ground and direct most of your weight through the mid-point of your left foot;

Hop rapidly on your left foot at a cadence of 2.5-3 hops per second for 40 second. Your left knee should rise by about 4-6 inches with each upward hop, while your right leg and foot remain stationary. Your left foot should strike the ground in the area of the mid-foot and spring upwards rapidly, as if landing on hot coals. Your hips should remain as level and motionless as possible throughout the exercise, with very little vertical displacement; After hopping for 40 seconds on your left foot, shift over to your right; Take a short break, and repeat once more on each foot.

3. Box-hop with 'sticks'

Hop quickly up to the box on your right foot, then onto the platform and immediately off the opposite side; When your right foot hits the ground, react explosively - hopping forward as quickly as possible, resisting the temptation to let your ankle, knee, and hip flex dramatically and also the natural tendency to spend a lot of time on the ground before hopping forward. The movements should be smooth and quick at all times. Continue hopping for three more hops, and then 'stick' the final landing on your right foot, holding your body position, as a gymnast would do at the end of a routine;

After a second or two of holding, run back to your original position, and repeat the series of hops; After 60 seconds, shift over to the same routine on your left foot;
Rest for a moment, then repeat. Key points: maintain relaxed, upright body posture at all times and avoid looking at your feet or the ground as you hop along. Be sure to begin this exercise on a very forgiving surface - beach sand, soft dirt, soft grass or a relatively springy basketball court floor. Once you have built up considerable hopping strength, you may use harder surfaces.


4. Indian-hopping

Jog for a few strides, and then take a jogging stride diagonally to the right with your right foot; When your right foot makes contact with the ground, hop once, then explosively hop diagonally to the left, landing on your left foot; When your left foot strikes terra firma, hop once, then explode diagonally to the right;

Carry on alternating left and right in this fashion for 45 seconds. Rest for 15 seconds, then repeat. Stay relaxed at all times, moving in a coordinated and rhythmic manner and keeping the hops very springy and quick. Avoid the tendency to look at your feet.


5. One-leg squats with lateral hops

Assume exactly the same starting position as in 2 above;
Now, bend your left leg and lower your body until your left knee is bent at an angle of 90°; Then hop about 6-10 inches to the left on your left foot, keeping the right foot in place; Hop back to 'centre', then repeat on the other leg and return to the starting position, maintaining upright posture with your trunk and holding your hands at your sides; Perform 2 sets of 12 squats on each leg, with a one-minute break between sets.


6. High-knee explosions

Stand erect but relaxed, with your feet directly below your shoulders;
Begin by jumping very lightly on the spot, but then suddenly - while maintaining fairly erect posture - jump vertically while swinging both knees up toward your chest;

Land back on your feet in a relaxed and resilient manner, then explode upwards again, aiming for as little time on the ground as possible while trying to maximise vertical jumping height;
Complete 15 high-knee explosions, rest for a few seconds and repeat.


7. Shane's in-place accelerations.

Perform 3 x 20 seconds of Shane's In-Place Accelerations. To carry these out:
Stand as in 6 above;
Begin by simply jogging on the spot, but then - when you feel ready - begin to dramatically increase your 'stride' rate, building up fairly quickly to as rapid a speed as you can sustain on the spot. Keep your feet close to the ground: you're not going for high knee lift but rather for dramatically minimised foot-contact times - and an ability to get your feet to spring off the ground as soon as they make contact.

Maintain erect but relaxed posture at all times. As you accelerate up to 'top speed', it sometimes helps to turn your legs slightly outwards at the hips until you become more accustomed to the exercise.
Perform 3 sets of 20 seconds.


8. Hop sprints.

At a park or on a decent track (resilient surfaces work best for this drill, especially initially), mark off a distance of 30 metres. Go to one end of the marked distance, then hop the 30m as fast as you can on your right foot, staying relaxed and trying to avoid excess vertical displacement of your centre of mass. Focus on two principles: push off as hard as you can each time the right foot hits the ground, but forwards rather than upwards make each stance phase (the amount of time your right foot is in contact with the ground) as short as possible. You are looking for very powerful, productive hops. Once again, avoid the tendency to look downwards, keeping your gaze fixed ahead, as you would do during normal running.

After about four weeks of carrying out these exercises twice a week, you'll begin to notice a real difference in your springiness and explosiveness, and after 6-8 weeks, the effects will be even more dramatic. You'll begin to notice an increased springiness in your running strides, and you will also notice that high-quality running paces are beginning to feel easier.

Owen Anderson

From http://www.pponline.co.uk/encyc/0950b.htm

Power Run 10km:

Sunday - 22/4/2007 (7:35 a.m)

Weather - Sunny day (26'c ~ 28'c approx)

Venue - Dataran Merdeka

Target speed - 10kmh

Total time: 1h08m40s

Total Coverage: 10.93km

Average speed: 9.55 kmh

Remarks: Wake up early morning at 4:20am and finish my pre-workout meal by 5:00am which consisting 1 cup Nestum & 4 slice of Wholemeal bread. Take 250ml of Glucolin by 6:30am before the departure to Dataran Merdeka.

Able to make it to the front 2nd/3rd row before the run start at 7:30am. As the distance for this competition is slightly longer than my normal training for 10km, subconciously i monitor my speed for the later stage to avoid any chance of not completing the race.

Initially the 10km route will pass by Bank Negara and Tmn Tasik Perdana which doesnt cause much problem to fellow contestants. Things getting difficult when we are enduring the sharp and extended uphill slope in Bukit Tunku; nevertheless decided to make a fast sprint till the top since generally stamina seems sufficient at this stage. The breezing green atmosphere and fresh air in bukit tunku are lovely as always, and it helps to minimise the pain in enduring the uphill task and shorten the punishment psychologically.

There is a water station with 2 peoples distributing 100 plus which obviously cannot supply the drinks in time. Consequently, i've lost 20~30sec here to get the water.

After the bukit tunku stretch, i've encounter the second test in the race during the long jln duta part for the next 25min+. The runner's lane is well barricade by some plastic cone along jln duta with plenty of traffic police monitoring the situation. As i progress toward 42min, there is an intense muscle cramp near my right abs, and supported with ample stamina + strong determination to improve my performance, decided to continue the run at normal pace. Before taking the turn to the fly-over heading to tmn tasik perdana, a policeman was cheering up all the passby runners and i responds with a thumb up.

During the last 1km near the lake garden, i try to catch up with the two female runner that i've been benchmarking since the start of the race. Manage to overtake both of them when we passby Royal Selangor Club, but unluckily when i've reach the dataran merdeka my stamina is totally depleted and limping toward the finishing point. At the end, the two runners overtake me again in the last 100m, they are more resilient than me eventhough i got the upper hand physically. Shame.

p/s: Despite running on a longer distance with few killer slope, the average speed is almost identical with my training timing on a flat running track. Hopefully my good form will carry on to the next running event.

This post has been edited by deadalus: Apr 22 2007, 06:29 PM

There is no need to be ashame of yourself. You did great in the run and soon you will be able to clock below an hour.

Training Summary:

Saturday - 28/4/2007 (6:45 p.m)

Weather - Cloudy (28'c ~ 30'c approx)

Venue - Kepong Metropolitan Park

Target - 10km in 1hr @ 10kmh

1st lap --- 25m07s

2nd lap --- 26m45s

Total time: 51m52s

Total Coverage: Unknown

Average speed: Unknown

Remarks:

Training Summary:

Sunday - 29/4/2007 (8:15 a.m)

Weather - Rainy (20'c ~ 23'c approx)

Venue - Taman Tasik Titiwangsa

Target - 10km in 1hr @ 10kmh

1st 2.8km --- 17m57s

2nd 2.8km --- 18m30s

3rd 2.8km --- 17m37s

Last 1.6km --- 9m00s

Total time: 1hr03m05s

Total Coverage: 10km

Average speed: 9.52kmh

Remarks: Wake up at 6 a.m and the sky pouring heavily. Very reluctant for the running outing as it is a perfect sunday morning for a long nap until noon. But in light of the coming running event next week, has to train for further improvement. Take 1 cup glucolin + 1pcs medium banana + 45g Ligo Raisins by 6:30 a.m. The rain cease at 7:45 a.m.

Try to incorporate a new technique "spring jogging" as describe in previous post. But seems that it does not help much as the timing remain a high 17min per lap. Abs pancit from the beginning of 2nd lap, even 1.5hr is not sufficient to digest the food i take earlier...

Throughout the entire 2nd lap, im running as im half concious half slept. Worst still, i experience some shining aura for at least 10min+ which never happen before. The idea of quiting is hanging in my mind until the end of 2nd lap.

Was a bit furious that i clock a modest mid 18min for 2nd lap and decide to pia all out in the 3rd lap. Totally abandon the unfamiliar running technique and stick to my normal running style. But the temperature is not ideal for peak performance and at the end only manage to finish 10km within 1hr3min05sec.

Not an ideal way to conclude for this tiring April. On the bright side, there still 2 holidays in the following week to do some minor adjustment here and there.

Congratz. You are certainly getting better and better. Keep it up.