Week 20: Trade-off

Summary of Week 20

Depositing some run mileage @ MPKJ Half Marathon. 1h44m unofficial time. PR. Photo: Action Pix Asia FB #ironmantri #ironmantraining #immy2016 #ironmantriathlon #halfmarathon #running

A photo posted by Hafdzuan (@hafdzuan) on Oct 16, 2016 at 9:57pm PDT

Training Goal: Absorb training
Personal Goal: MPKJ Half Marathon
Distance Covered:130.63km
Duration: 14h12m
Elevation Gain: 890m
Overall Training Completion Rate (Actual Vs Planned):
103.4%

Swim Time:
2h40m
Swim Distance:
6km

Bike Time:
5h55m
Bike Distance:
88.7km
Elevation Gain:
587m
*For indoor bike - time measurement only
**Including brick

Run Time:
3h19m
Run Distance:
35.93km
Elevation Gain:
238m
*Including brick

Time Spent Doing Strength/Core/Stability Exercises:
2h10m
*Including rest/chit chat

Time Spent Stair Climbing (ascent):
7m1s
Elevation Gain:
65m
*Based on what was recorded

Unaccounted for
~ run drills
~ stair - descent

Training Notes for Week 20:

1) The week started well with me having some time to get in some swim done. Did all the prescribed workout. No improvement. Just focusing on rhythm.

2) Not much bike since its recovery week. Didn't do anything out of the ordinary. No long bike ride.

3) Run was great. Did few tempos to prepare for the half marathon on Sunday. More on that on race notes.

4) Brick was ok.

Feeling Notes for Week 20:

1) Was still feeling a bit fatigued. But this week I rested better and ate better. So as of now, feeling quite ok despite the hard half marathon effort on Sunday. I am not getting lazy judging by the wordcount for this week's training notes, just that my focus has shifted to racing the Ironman. So now it's basically just getting the training done. Not much to reflect about in terms of training.

I've been observing and I think its not that difficult to make a sub. Could save me lots of time and money. I only need to convince my wife its easy to make. #lazybutneedy #suboftheday #slimchance #hungryfella

A photo posted by Hafdzuan (@hafdzuan) on Oct 14, 2016 at 3:40am PDT

2) Got my bike serviced and also booked the ferry. As I shift my attention to getting to Langkawi, I also realized that this last few week is gonna be tough. The baby is due soon. Hopefully everything turns out fine.

3)  I was quite involved with family matters and missed some workouts. Lately, as I try to match my training comittment to life committment, I also discovered all the trade off I've made.  So missing workouts actually made me realize the things I've foregone. As race day draws closer I don't think the missed training days will matter much. I figure, it's better for me to have more rest at this point but at the same time try to do as much as I can when time permits. I am grateful for the life I have and training is currently still a significant part of that.

4) I'm not nervous about the race as I have other important things going on now and also after the Ironman. I'd probably just get it done and go back home. I'm actually looking forward to just finishing the race and go back to real life. Ironman training has taken a lot from me. But it also provided me with valuable insights about life and how to make training sustainable.

Race Notes for Week 20:

1) This was my last race before Ironman. The MPKJ Half Marathon was the race where I set a target to finish Sub-2 and also plan to push the effort a bit as always in races. The race plan was to be comfortably hard in the first 15km and go all out in the last 5km. The negative split or 2/3 negative split has been my go to strategy for races.

2) Preparation was not ideal. I arrived just in time. I was at the back of the pack but it was a long race and I needed to warm up anyway, something I learned the hard way at the Semenyih Eco Trail Run. I warmed up during the first 2 - 3km. There were some hills and I focused on keeping the effort steady. The same strategy I employed during the Mantin Hill 2 Hill Challenge except I didn't have to walk the hills this time. Got passed a lot but it didn't matter. Previous tune up races taught me to race my own race. So after the halfway mark I stepped it up. This time I was pacing a guy who matched the pace I could sustain. At one of the water station he stopped but I continued. I had 7km left but it was at that precise moment I decided to go full gas till the end of the race. I manage to did that with the downhill section facilitating the process. At that time my pace was faster then anticipated and I knew even if I jogged, I will sub-2ed this race.

3) Eventhough Sub-2 was imminent I still pushed on. I finally finished in 1h44m. Didn't get any placing card. I later learned that the winner was actually at least 30 minutes faster so it was quite naive of me to think that I can get anything from the race. A PB for me though, so that was nice. Hung around, met some people and waited for the award ceremony where a training buddy got in the top 10. Also used the time to observe normal people run as a reminder of how lucky I am to be doing what I'm doing and also some stretching.

4) To be honest I knew I can sub-2 this race since I've been hitting and maintaining race pace in training. I am also pretty much aware that a difference of 5bpm in heart rate can mean a lot in terms of energy exertion. So this race was just to validate my training and my thoughts on effort. I also used this opportunity to observe my aerobic limit and match that to a heart rate number as a guide for Ironman.

5) So a PB. But what was most rewarding was to see all the training paying off. And also got to observe how pushing my limit correspond to the way I feel. I will probably still need a heart rate monitor especially during the start of a race since that's when heart rate and effort/pace don't actually match. Other than that, this race also serve as a confidence builder for the Ironman marathon. I agree with Eric Orton (the coach for Chris McDougal author of born to run) that an athlete needs to know their body and I believe for this race, I was in control of everything my body was doing. I didn't care much about pace as I view pace as the outcome of the many outputs that I can control. There's still plenty to learn and discover as training continues.

6) As for the race, it was close to home, had timing chips and pretty decent water station. Nothing to complain about the course. So, overall it was a cool race. Will do it again since I don't have to get up super early to reach the venue.

7) Next week, I have to cancel the longest ride scheduled for this whole training plan. I do have a long run, a long brick and a long swim still in the pipeline before taper. Other than that, still a lot of tempo workout to be done but with reduced volume, so maybe I can see how fit I've gotten before Ironman. And for the baby, I hope everything will turn out fine.

8) 23 Days to Ironman Langkawi.