Back to Training – on the road to SUB-2

I finally signed up for a half marathon for the year – not just your usual 21k fun run, it’s the Pinoy Fitness Sub-2 Challenge on November 15.  What made me do this?  It’s the challenge that I already did Sub-2 HM 2 years ago, without even aiming for it.  So basically I did it because of the training that I put in to it.

 

How soft did I become in the last 2 years?  How fast can I regain that running form?  Can I mix my race training with cycling?  Will this trigger my love of running, complement cycling and eventually jump to multisport?  These were the questions that made me decide to take the challenge.  And it cost me P1,350.00 to know the answer.

I am now going into my third week of training, and I still have 8 more weeks to go before the taper.  I will have to miss my birthday run – the New Balance run on November 8, because of this.

So far I’m doing okay in training.  I have logged 36km last week; this included 2 weekday 5k intervals, 1 10-miler moderate and a 10k recovery.  This week has been a good one with a couple of 5k intervals and I plan to do a 21k LSD on Saturday and probably a 5-10k recovery on Sunday – sorry, no-bike-weekend.

It’s also good to note that I haven’t had trouble waking up in the morning to do my runs.  I even wake up before the alarm!  Also no post run pains no matter how hard I run.  I guess all that cycling paid off after all.

On a side note, it seems that I can’t find my core and until now, trying to look for it.  I am currently running on brute leg power.  If I remember correctly, I used to run faster without that much effort.  That’s one thing I’m looking after.

Then again I don’t want to risk getting injured.  I love the feeling of worked-up muscles! But I still have a rest day plugged in to my schedule and supplements  to compensate.  As with the saying  “easy to bed, easy to rise” – it’s a  good way to live by.

Let’s see how this goes.  I'm so excited that I'm looking for a tune-up run some time October.  And so far this made me blog again.  I guess I’m really focused.

I'm back! Running my 4th Fit and Fun Buddy Run

Guess who is back into blogging?  Haha!  I don’t even know if I can even finish this. Let’s do this! (note - finished this after 3 days!)

Well I still run, as you can see in my Daily Mile run log for the past 12 months.  Yes, it has dwindled down a lot starting October, 2014 – to when I had the most toxic work schedule.  But still, not a week goes by that I don’t run.  I can say that I still have the runner in me.

My first run of 2015 was the Robinsons Supermarket Fit and Fun Buddy Run, held this July 5, 2015.  Unfortunately this year, my buddy is myself.  Haha!  As with every Fit and Fun it was a very calm and relaxed run.  Good weather from start to finish.  The race was a good one, a bit lacking on hydration stops.  I think I only saw around 3 of them?  Then again that's all I really needed.  

Loot was excellent!  It seems to be getting heavier every year.  Lots of useable stuffs in there.  Kudos to Robinsons Supermarket for being so generous.  Other races only have flyers and a few water bottles.  I guess organizers wanted to get more money than goods.

I managed to finish in less than an hour (Garmin time 53:43).  and up to now (July 24) official result haven’t been released yet.  Its good to know that I can still run a 1 hour 10k.  (update) Official race results says I finished 54:03.  Here are the results of the 5k and 10k.

I am considering doing a 21k this year.  Probably going to be the New Balance Run on November.  I haven't gone back to serious training though.  I might get into it this August.  

On the other saddle, I do bike a lot!  I just can’t find the right button to get data from Strava but I do have consistent weekend road rides – MOA and Antipolo routes, with a few Timberland trail rides with office friends.

 

Conquered Green Zone!

Oh, and I am happy to report that I am still (cigarette) smoke free and I’m planning to keep it that way!  But I still have my regular, occasional supply of smog from my run/bike sessions.

Aside from running and biking and nicotine-free lifestyle, I still find ways to keep the healthy living fire burning, if not make the flame bigger.  What better way to do that but with a clear perspective and a set of new gears!

1. New kicks – It was long overdue for me to replace my Saucony Virrata kicks.  I was already getting these pains during my run.  I was supposed to get the excellently hyped Saucony Kinvara 5 but I saw this irresistible offer for the Virrata 2.  And since I have no regrets for the first Virrata, I bought the updated one (and its green!) with a smile on my face! 
2. New trail bike – yes!  I mentioned above that I do trail rides and it is with my new

   

   
   

   Schwinn Moab 3 that I got from an irresistible deal from Betok Bicycles.  It’s a basic 29er currently fitted with 1x10 Deore drivetrain.  Its heavy.  Btw I bought it on the same day a year ago on January 31 as my road bike, what a coincidence!
3. New road bike – I wish…  It’s still the Revenio 2.0 with a few visual and mechanical improvements along with a new Selle SMP seat, again with a good deal from Betoks. I guess what’s new with this is that I can now climb Antipolo hills with ease.  Not fast, but I don’t have to stop and catch my breath anymore.
4. New Garmin – I replaced my Garmin FR10 this June 12 with a new Garmin FR15 with HR monitor.  Why?  I just wanted something new. Haha!  I am happy with its battery life.  Now I have incorporated HR training for my runs.  Less injury and I can manage to do both run and bike on weekends.  I feel the improvement on my endurance, and I am going to keep on doing the HR training.

So what’s next?  Aside from the need to do this blogging thing more often as it frees my mind from work stress, I will just keep on improving my run and bike routines.  Oh and I need to do some trails, Schwinn’s getting bored at home.

Cheers to more running and cycling!

1st run of 2015, Buddy run without a buddy!

Before changing the saddle

2014 - The year of the bike

2014 - a good year for fitness.  Yes, I have struggled a bit in my target running mileage for the year but this wasn't a complete loss as I added road-cycling in the mix!  Yes, I have been bitten by multi-sport and for a year now, I'm loving it!

Just to cap off the year with the races I have joined.  So far quite a few and slow compared to 2013:

RACE	Chip-time / Distance	GPS-time / Distance
Yakult (Mar)	1:35:31 / 16k	1:34:52 16.02k
Petron (June)	58:38 / 10k	No time
RUPM ( June)	1:00:58 / 10k	1:01.04 / 10.37k
38th Milo (July)	2:09:31 / 21k	2:09:38 / 21.62k
RSC F&F (Aug)	1:22 / 10k	No time
NB (Nov)	2:36:11 / 25k	2:36:12 / 25.77k
Domination (Nov)	1:59:40 / 21k	1:59:43 / 21.35k
Takbo Mo (April)		57:02 / 10.42k
Alaska Cycles (May)		1:24:29 / 40.83k
RUPM2 (June)		2:09:44 / 21.27k
RSC F&F (July)		1:09:06 / 10.04k
NB (Nov)	2:42:20 / 25k	2:42 / 25k

Key points:

• Managed to run a measly 779km this year, but a good 1,693km bike ride for 2014

• Managed to run a 2:42 pace on a 25k race without formal training (instead some weekday 5k and weekend bike rides)

• Couldn't sustain run-bike training early this year with the injuries, so I had to slow down on running (and also since biking is a more enjoyable!)

• Sinus Bradycardia - I have a big heart! (and slow heart rate) - I reckon i got this from being active (didn't get to have this medically-checked though)

• Lesser run-race as I find them expensive and difficult to enter (expensive in the sense that I'm still paying off my bike and there's a lot of upgrade plans!)
• First fun-ride under Alaska Cycles Philippines

New Gears:

• Road Bike - Yes!  A Raleigh Revenio 2.0 road bike.  Got this last February and improved its fit and look as much as I could.  It fits me well now.

original bike when I bought it

Current state of the bike

• That's it!  (the bike maintenance and upgrades are too much already) I'm in need of new running shoes as my Saucony is already past its due.

Moving forward:

I have managed to quit smoking.  Actually I don’t smoke at home, and the long holiday vacation somehow got it started without any effort  I just continued it to work (as of writing there’s been 2 weeks in, and still doing it, or not-doing it)

One trigger point was the New Year’s trail ride that I did with the office mates, we got lost at one point and had to climb back up with our bikes.  It was hard but I managed it.  My cardio was good - and I thought that if I stopped smoking I would improve more.

Third try at Antipolo - 70km

So far I have targeted a 1,000km mileage for this year.  I think its manageable.  To-date, I have been consistent with the work-week 5k’s and weekend 10k’s.  I will try to do at least 1 long runs per month, just to maintain fitness.  And I would want to be prepared for when I get a sponsored kit! :)

I will also increase my saddle time and mileage along with it.  I was able to reach the 70km mileage last weekend at Antipolo.  I’m getting there. 

Duathlon?  I’m not sure - race entries are expensive!

What’s for sure is that I will continue being active.  I will try to do “quality” runs while increasing efficiency on the bike.  Nutrition is important and I think the elimination of smoking in the equation will help in the long run.  Blogging - yes, blogging.  I will try to do more of this!

2014 pics below...

 

New Balance 2015 - the birthday run

Fail to plan then you plan to fail - almost always what I live by.  Not quite with running though.  I enjoyed biking so much that I let go of my long runs.  (Un)Fortunately my favorite brand, Devant, gave me a second opportunity to run the New Balance Power Run 2014 25k distance. 

 

I didn’t have any plans of joining any races so I am off to maintenance runs.  A couple of 5k morning runs on weekdays and a weekend bike ride was all I had coming in to this race.

So I decided to push through with my 2^nd-birthday race this year (even with total disregard on my fitness level) – in consideration of starting something long-term for running.

Race prep

The week prior to this race I had my longest bike ride at 60km.  Felt like a long run as I was #laspag (wasted) on that ride.  I had one morning 5k run that led to taper.

Last year’s chip time was 2:36 – this coming off a 6-week average mileage of 30 km.

This year’s time was 2:42 – this coming of a measly 10k average running mileage (with a lot of weekend bike rides instead of the long runs!).  I wanted to do a 6:30/km pace to be safe.

Race

Gun start was at 4am.  I was at BGC at around 3:30am, picked up my race kit at the timing booth and went in line along with the 5,000 runners!

Started out slow at around 7-minute pace.  Its okay, there are quite a lot of us and hard to dodge runners.  It started to clear at around kilometer-3.

It was a smooth run and alternated water stations.  Took gel at km-9, and km-14.  Banana break on km-19 and a lot of hydration stops after km-22.  I felt tired from km-21 onwards.  Had to walk a bit longer on water stops and declines, but I conquered inclines!

Post-race

Stretched a lot!  There was none of the soreness and blisters that I felt from the previous races that I ran.  I ate another banana and took a lot of liquid and went home.  Didn’t stay for the raffle or for anything, I just went there for the run.

So what did the extra 6 minutes cost?  It was the enjoyable weekend bike rides, lesser body aches, a lot of sleep and more quality family time. J  If you look at it this way, it doesn’t seem bad at all.

What’s next?

I have some new developments with my bike – new cockpit color scheme, optimized shifters and a newly packed wheelset from Betok (no real upgrade though).   

While for running, I have the worn-out Saucony Virrata shoe that already has 925km of mileage over a year of ownership (isn't it unfair?!)

 

I did manage to run a 10k over the weekend which left me with the chest cold and made me miss my weekend bike ride.  But the bike was given its due time with a few, small visual improvements.

So I guess that’s it – more bike rides and a few runs to get it going.  For now I’ll build up the bike mileage with a few long rides and sceneries – up next would be the Antipolo visit and hopefully a Tagaytay ride if I can. J  Cheers to that!