Hammer-ing ON : Feedback from Jun Shen

Upon reading the write up by my teamprincipal Eugene Teoh sharing his thoughts on Hammer Nutrition, I feel inspired to share my personal experience with the readers. My in depth interest to learn more about endurance nutrition started way back in 2009, the year when I spent more time training than studying in University. I was so eager to break my personal record but due to my tight schedule I had to figure out something to get me go faster. Instead of increasing my training load, I planned my nutrition for my 2^nd Ironman, and I finished faster by 1 hour 44 minutes compared to previous year.

Ironman 2009. Photo from Tey Eng Tiong.

I feel very grateful to be part of Team2ndSkin, fuelled by Hammer Malaysia for all of our races. I have raced many long distance races whereby Hammer products were my Pre, During and Post race nutrition. I’ve participated in many races this year, but I definitely wouldn’t have scored top position in both Sultan Ahmad Shah Tioman Island Eco Challenge and Langkawi International Irounbound without fuelling myself well. My reason for specially mention this 2 races is because no more than 20% of the racers survived this 2 events.

Photo from Jun Shen's Facebook. This is from Langkawi Ironbound

Sultan Ahmad Shah Eco Challenge’s organizer has made it very clear that there’ll be only 2 water stations along the 30km trail full of thorns and vines. A proper hydration is the most basic of fuelling needs for any exercise. However, too much of water can cause stomach discomfort and electrolyte depletion. Racing in extreme condition over 5 hours in Tioman Island, I had Endurolytes Fizz, Perpetuem packets in my backpack, and some Hammer Gels in the back pocket. Gels are very common race food, but Hammer has this “fast food” called Perpetuem. Perpetuem that I took was the powder form one, It is so flexible that I can make it as my hourly fuel, or mix it with minimal water into a small flask just like the energy Gels! Perpetuem delivered consistent and long term energy for hours without any stomach distress and I finished No 12 =)

Perpetuem Solid and Fizz : Fuel and Electrolytes

I became smarter for my next race the Langkawi International Ironbound. 24 hours of racing non-stop, I kayak round the nearby islands covering approximately 60km, Mountain Biking, Trail Running, Hiking and Caving. Total distance more than 140km, majority of the racers failed to survive. Endurolytes remains as my major source of electrolyte, I like it in capsules form, easy to carry. Perpetuem was my major source of fuel, but this time is in SOLID form! Now I have a few hours’ worth of fuel in a small tube =) The Hammer Bars are awesome too, the width of the bar is just nice for me to eat while kayaking. I can have the whole Hammer Bar in my mouth with 3 big bites, then my hands can start pedalling instead of holding the bitten bar. I was ranked top 5 with the Navy team for the race, my pace was consistent with proper fuelling. The only trouble I had was trying to stay awake for that 24 hours. Post race nutrition, 2 bottles of Hammer Recoverite like usual.

In a nut shell, Hammer Nutrition has various products which offers the flexibility to fulfil your needs during racing. My personal recommendation, try out Perpetuem and Endurolytes! If you wanna know more, checkout Hammer Guide for Success for more details. I spent 2 weeks to finish the book=p Better still if you can get the DVD version which explains everything in the book within 30minutes!  

Ahem...Hello Kitty? ;-)