Standard Chartered KL Marathon Race Report - Team Athlete Chan Jun Shen

Team2ndskin Athlete Chan Jun Shen and Deo AH broke their personal best in Standard Chartered KL Marathon! Checkout Chan Jun Shen's race report and his tips to get faster on race day!

2016 is a big year for me to chew ever since I set up my goals to be achieved. The main goal is to pass my Air Engineer’s board followed by all the sporting achievement goals include breaking all my personal best by end of the year. My main goal took up a lot of my time, I come back to my room really late at times. Hardly get an 8 hours working routine because I need to learn as much as I can in the Air Wing. Not complaining, I enjoy learning new things. 7^th of August became my big day to break my long overdue personal best for Marathon Distance. The last time I seriously ran a 42.195km was in 2010 when I finished 3 hours 38 minutes with lots of walking at the last 10km, poor pace management. I knew I have the potential to do much better than this but I had some other commitments, so I put this goal on a rain check. Standard Chartered KL Marathon is my best chance to break my PB. 

Preparation 

Based on my race records, I consistently clock average 4.19-4.25mins/km in all my Half Marathon distance. So I worked out my pace from there. I was a fat 58kg athlete 4 months before SCKLM, the goal was to shed 4kg before the race week, consistently carboload after training, stay injury free by stretching every day and gradually increase the training mileage. I bought a digital weighing scale, every day after training I will strip off naked for weighing before I key in my weight data in Garmin Connect. As I slowly increase my mileage, I notice my ankle couldn’t take the stress. I went back to Garmin Connect and check my Running Dynamics to confirm my running gait. True enough, I have very minor imbalance in Ground Contact Time. The left foot kick off faster than the right foot, taking up more stress compared to the right foot. I did some correction drills but not much improvement seen, the left foot is still kicking harder than the right. I came to the last resort, working on my cadence. If I can up my average cadence from 180 to 182, I can greatly reduce the ground impact and also improve my vertical oscillation. I set the metronome in Garmin Forerunner 920xt every time I do cadence drills. It helps to keep my tempo without overstriding. Roughly one week leading to race day, my resting heart rate went down to 49 beats per min. I was very well rested.

Utilizing Garmin Connect to correct my running gait.

Pre Race Day

I weighed 55kg before I drove back to KL from Lumut with my squad Lt Quek, he will be losing his marathon virginity in SCKLM. =p I got my race pack delivered to my house but he didn’t, so we still had to drop by the race expo to pick up. I didn’t check the race pack collection area so we both went to Dataran Underground instead of Kenanga Wholesale City Mall, rookie’s mistake! Then we walked to KWC Mall, brisk walk passed all the booth saying hi and wishing each other good luck for tomorrow then got back home by noon. Quek and I had super heavy Nasi Goreng Kambing, my way of getting a good sleep. I love to sleep after heavy meal. 7pm we were already on the bed. At 10pm, I was awaken 2 times by Azan, then I couldn’t get back to sleep anymore. I watched youtube, checked the race route, had a look at my race gears, then laid on my bed again. I just try to let the body lay flat and rest despite not able to sleep. The pre race jitters got really serious, I was listening to my own heart beat middle of the night. 

Race Day

 

Train ride to race start.   

Had my breakfasts, 4 breads and kaya, 2 bananas and a hard boiled egg made by my mum before she slept. The complementary train ride was a big thumbs up from me. This shows how much of attention to details given by the organizer to make everything easy for all runners. Baggage check in was a bit far from race start, but I believe it was a smart move to prevent congestion at the starting line. 30 minutes before gun goes off, I was inside Pen2 doing my warm up. I had a lot of thoughts lingering in my mind. GPS signal locked, metronome set, virtual partner good to go and all alerts are working in my Garmin Forerunner 920xt. I am very sure Skechers GoMeb Speed 3 is perfect for me, the only thing I modified was the traditional laces replaced with lock laces. Annie said she wanna run with me but I told her that I am willing to screw up this race holding at high pace, so if I fumble this time please proceed with her podium goal. I will try to hold 4.45mins/km as long as my body could take it. 10 seconds before the race kick off, I took a few deep breath and wet my body with the mineral water I carried too cool my body down. I wore my 2ndskin Vapor Lite running vest, so the evaporation mechanism helps to cool my body off.

First 3 kilometer I was doing like 4.15mins/km without realizing. I slowed down a few times just to stick to my 4.45mins/km plan. Deo and I were running side by side but we didn’t talk, both wanna PB so we save the nonsense after the race. =p Many runners formed their pack but I never bother to follow, I have my virtual partner in my watch already. I took a caffeinated energy gel at Jalan Jelatek Fire Station kilometer 10, one capsule of Hammer Endurolytes and Hammer Anti Fatigue. Up till kilometer 21 as I entered Duke Highway, my rhythm was awesome as I felt fresh, super fresh. Average pace was holding at 4.30mins/km. There were a few rolling hills around kilometer 22, all of a sudden I felt a little sluggish. My watch’s alerts never stopped beeping to warn me that I am slower than 5.05mins/km! Weh panjat bukit la for sure la slower! I picked up my coke given by OP Azrul X Game, he paced me a bit with his new bike. Didn’t get a chance to have a glimpse at his new race machine. Maintaining a caffeine free diet gave me the advantage of kicking the pace higher once I get my caffeine boost. Soon, I was back to 4.30mins/km pace. My parents were on the highway cheering for me in the wee hour because Duke Highway is just next to my neighborhood.

I had to consume more gels from kilometer 24 onward. I started to starve a little, pace was dropping to 4.40mins/km also. My simplest rule, eat energy gels when hungry. Every 5km I took in one gel. The change was a dramatic one, from super fresh at kilometer 21 come to slight hunger at kilometer 24. This is not good. I am aware of the major climbs at kilometer 33 onward, so I needed to refuel at every single water stations. The drum beats along the highway kept my tempo going, and the volunteers were really helpful in assisting us. I snatched one cup of isotonic, and two cups of plain water. My Skechers GoMeb Speed 3 was not soaked with water despite some of the cups I missed, the ventilation was superb!

Kilometer 30, I was a struggling to keep my 4.45mins/km pace, my face tells everything. I still can finish this within my PB time because I am more than 20 minutes ahead of my PB time! Hydration and refueling went as per planned, till around kilometer 34 I snatched a Caffeinated Hammer Energy Gel given by my team mate Tri Stupe. I stuck the tempo set by my metronome, keep up with the 180 beat per minute. The slow pace alerts really discouraged me, I can’t dig anymore deeper in my reserves! Kilometer 35 onwards, I barely survive the hilly winding roads of Langgak Tungku at 5.00mins/km pace. Although I am lacked in LSD mileage, I have nothing to regret because every single day I am racing against time to finish up my work! The mental battle starts now. Legs feeling the tingling cramping sensation. 

Kilometer 35 took a long time to reach, I saw my 2ndskin team mate Jason. Took another coke, drank as much as I could to get the caffeine boost. Yuan Yu Fang local women champ overtook me at this time. Then I saw my UPNM batchmate Aiman, he escorted me with my 5.00mins/km pregnant tortoise pace. Still ahead of time, possibly hit a 3 hours 21 minutes finishing time! 

I was about to tell him that if I ever collapse please wake me up, I have 20 minutes nap to spare for my PB =p Hope he knows that I wear my LifelineID Companion. I cannot wait to settle this and go home to sleep! 

 

Smoked a Half marathoner=p

Kilometer 40, I up the pace to finish off whatever I left in my tank. Tried to take one more Hammer Anti Fatigue and end up dropping it. Huge disappointment! Till now, I had sucked in 11 gels in total! Surely my urine will be the same colour as the energy gel later. Haha. The legs start to cramp, my jaw and fingers cramped also. If any shorter distance runner bang me, definitely my weak body cannot take the hit already. I just need to survive 9 more minutes and I can collapse after that. 

 Sufferfest! =)

Just keep going!!! 500m before the finishing arch, my parents, Edan were cheering so excitedly. Aiman left me here to let me conclude my mission. Come on!!! I pumped my hands and kick as hard as I could to score the very final phase of my Marathon at pace 4.10mins/km. Once crossed the finishing arch at time 3 Hours 22 Minutes 40 Secs, beat my personal best by 16 minutes! That’s around 3 kilometers ahead! Hoorah!

 3 Hours 22 Minutes. New Personal Best by 16 minutes! =)

My body hurt so badly, once I received my medal and finisher tee, I laid down on the floor and nap. Aiman is a true friend sitting next to me ever ready to give me assistance, then my parents came. I had massage, didn’t have to queue because I finished the race early. Haha. One thing for sure, I was not in disbelief because I could have done this long time ago if I put an effort to break it. In the meantime, I use the apps made by organizer for us to checkout on our friends. Quek and Annie were still out there. Deo already finished a few minutes behind me, he scored his PB as well! I was so glad for the race went smoothly and uneventful. I will be taking one week of break from running, let my two toenail peel off first before I come back to training. I am done with my marathon dream this year, next will be Ironman!

 

Let me sleep first =p 

 With my parents=)

 Lt Aiman the Great

 

My Thank You wish =)

Thanks to my parents for waking up so early made hard boiled egg for my breakfast and stood by the road cheering for me. Thanks to my friend OP Azrul X Game for offering me the bottle of coke that revived me from a sluggish 5.00mins/km pace to 4.30mins/km at those critical kilometer marks. Thanks to my team2ndskin fellas, it is always a fruitful discussion prior to race day. Thanks @jasoncolour and Tri Stupe for the coke and gel at the Langgak Tungku ever ending hills, I was brought alive from dead. Thanks to @alphot for escorting me starting from kilometer 35 when I was really struggling and bonked so badly, it meant a lot to me. Thanks to all family and friends for tracking me and all the midnight good luck wishes. Thanks to @becca_jori for being so understanding throughout my busy days working and training, you're the best girlfriend ever! ;-) Thanks to @2ndskinasia @hammernutrition @skechersmalaysia @garminmalaysia @lifelineID and most importantly Royal Malaysian Navy for all sorts of support including providing gears and fuels for this race. Thanks to Tadonamo and Old Putera gang for keeping track. Congratulations to my buddy virgin marathoner Lt Quek for the strong finish.

3 hours 22 minutes, my new Personal Best for marathon distance 42.195km specially dedicated to everyone who supported this mission of mine.
‪#‎team2ndskin‬ ‪#‎teamNavy‬ ‪#‎teamOP‬ ‪#‎garminmalaysia‬ ‪#‎hammernutrition‬‪#‎2ndskin‬ ‪#‎skechers‬

‪#‎GoMebSpeed3‬ ‪#‎NavyEngineer‬

 

  Finisher Certificate. Ranked 39 Overall. =)

4 Days after SCKLM, I sat for my Air Engineer’s board with my boss and I managed to pass it smoothly. Next target is to pass the Chief Engineer’s board for me to slash the biggest goal of this year! Nobody understood the pain I had in my body underneath my uniform, I never complain or give any excuse to skip my work for the sake of racing. All age groupers face the same challenge, just like me. Right now, my motivation is high and strong. Hopefully 2016 will be a fruitful year for me!

Garmin Vector 2S Review - Tri Stupe

An extended write up from Tri Stupe on Garmin Vector 2S after Jun Shen's previous entry. Both of them have been comparing notes and this time around, Stupe provide a more lengthy entry touching on installation of the unit and a few important metric for Power training. Here you go!

Garmin Vector 2S Review

For cyclist or triathlete, training using Heart Rate Monitor or HRM seems outdated with the availability of "more affordable" power meter. Power meter can cost a fortune especially when you factor in the pricing of the bike and gears you already invested in this (already very expensive) sports. Why aren't HRM enough? Like many others, I've toyed with the idea, and wished I could afford one - or rather, for the technology to be more affordable so it's possible to get one, or two (or depending on how many bikes you may have ;-))

Vector 2S

Athletes comes in all different level of fitness and capabilities. Even ourselves, our heart rate differs everyday depending on our rest, performance and even the weather. So, to be training at "10 beat per minute" more than yesterday may very well meant different level of effort if you had a tough day or an easy day (at work or at training). However, having a consistent benchmark such as power, which is a function of force multiply by distance over time. It sort of provide a number where you can use to benchmark your training against. The level to generate 100Watt (W) when you are fresh or tired is the "same" to the power meter. But to get your heart to work to generate that 100W when you are tired, may meant busting your heart rate at Lactate Threshold than when you are fresh. 

An analogy I could use would be to compare Heart Rate to a vehicle RPM while Power is the capacity. A car going uphill may require higher RPM (HR) to generate the same climbing power and definitely lesser RPM (HR) when you are moving on a flat ground. Now imagine if you can train at a given Power irrespective of your HR... you will become a more efficient cyclist or triathlete!

Garmin Vector 2S

Lucky for me, the good people in AECO Technologies, which is the authorized distributor of all Garmin products in Malaysia has been kind to provide myself and Chan a unit of their latest power meter to be used for our training. Chan has provided a write up on why in the team's blog. We both have been using the Vector2S and has compared a few notes on training. Among others, we soon found out that I can churn out more power compared to him. Question was - am I a stronger cyclist because I can fire up higher power? Now keep this question in mind while I continue today's review of the 2S.

First up is the Garmin Vector 2S itself. It is a pedal-mounted power meter. Other variations available in the market (for power meter of other brands) are crank mounted, bottom bracket mounted, hub mounted and crank-spider mounted. My exposure and knowledge was nil until the Garmin Vector 2S. This review will be specific for Garmin Vector 2S; until I manage to (afford???) another different type to compare. 

The Garmin Vector 2S (I will call it 2S from now onward) is an upgrade from the original Vector where the older pod appears to be a ring (O) that goes through the bike spindle versus the newer Vector that has the pod coming as a clamp (()). The plus side? Easier installation. Meaning, You can remove the pedal and re-install it on another bike faster and easier. Ideally, I would think for such investment, you may unlikely remove the pedal and the pod. That is unless you decided to do so (or use a different bike setup like a road bike vs a TT bike) for race reasons. 

The closer look of the Pod clamp

Vector 2S is single sided pod aka on the left pedal while the full fledged Vector 2 is both pedal - which gives you better left-right accuracy where power generation is concerned. On the "left" only power meter such as 2S, the total power are multiplied to provide the reading. While some of you may now argue the accuracy of a one-sided unit - I believe manufacturer like Garmin would had factored in this when building the algorithm to compensate or to correct the readings. For that, Garmin units has function of "Smoothness" in percentage (%) which could mean how smooth your pedaling motions are, and these translate to efficiency. 

Continue Reading at Tri Stupe's Blog : What's in the box?

Powerman Malaysia Duathlon - Deo's race report

We've heard it that the recently concluded Powerman Asia Duathlon Championship - Malaysia has closed with a bang, not only it was properly organized, it has also made its way into the Malaysia Book of Records for being the 'Largest Participation of Duathlon Championships' in Malaysia, with 2,645 participants of 39 nationalities. Out team athlete Deo was lucky to be part of the record by taking part in the Classic category (10km run, 60km bike, 10km run). It was his first ever Powerman race and third duathlon appearance. Deo, who is more known as a runner shared how he managed to capitalise his strength in running to overcome his cycling leg.

Read on how the race went for Deo...

--------------------------------------------------

Powerman Malaysia made a return after 2-year hiatus. It was last held in 2013 and was not held on the year I got my bike and learn how to cycle and hoping to do a duathlon race. With Powerman not held in the last two years, I had my share of duathlon racing just from Port Dickson International Duathlon, which I can say I did quite awesomely, finishing under 4 hours in both years. So when it was announced back in August last year that Powerman Malaysia will make a come back to Putrajaya, every duathlete or the duathlete-wannabe got really excited, myself included. Registration was done early but training was hard to come by. I last cycled in August last year after PD Duathlon until I picked up my bike again two weeks before Powerman to get back into the rhythm. Only one brick session was done prior to the race day and even that, the bike leg was just over 30km as we called it a day after I had my tire punctured and spent a good 30 minutes on a very hot day replacing the tube. The only good thing I took home from the brick session was that the second leg run started at 12pm on a very hot day, which gave a good simulation to the hot Powerman Malaysia.

Unlike PD Duathlon, Powerman Malaysia's route is a bout loop. The two 10km run legs were done along a 5km route while the 60km bike loop was done over a 30km route. So for sprint category, they just do one loop each for run 1, bike then run 2. Came the race day, I thought I was quite ready for it. I am all confident with my running, except that I was worried I may go too fast in the first run leg leaving me with tired legs for the second run leg. For bike leg, I got my bike tires replaced to a new pair, this was long due. I was just hoping that I was spared from any mechanical problem. Even a puncture scared me so much. And as my weakness will be the bike leg, suffice if I could maintain a 30km/h average speed for the 60km ride. Gears wise, I was hoping to minimize the time spent in transition zone and it worked well for me during the race. I managed to carry/uncarry whatever things as planned although there were still some snacks and Coke in my transition basket that I didn't touch at all. The race pack and kit collection was on Saturday, which was also the day when we have to check-in our bike. But everyone was worried to leave their bikes exposed under the hot sun. So, it was allowed to check-in our bikes in the morning before the race.

Race day came. I was up early. Went to the race site early and was among the first ones to check-in the bike. Couldn't spot much people that I know, just a handful of them. Changed well wishes. Had the much needed toilet break before I got really sleepy. Dozed off for a while on a bench nearby and about 6.30am, I made my way to the start pen. As it was a record participation for Powerman Malaysia, I guessed it was better to get in early and get a spot as closer to the start line as possible. I managed to get a spot some 50 meters behind the start line. I looked behind and couldn't see the tail of the pack. There were so many people, and came from many countries too. Next to me was a group from Sri Lanka, and we have the elites from all over the world. That includes Emma Pooley, former Olympics silver medalist in time trial, who eventually won the women's category.

Race started at 7am and I had a great run. I ran like it was a standalone 10km race in the first few kilometers but later as the route went a little uphill along the back route after Petronas, I reminded to slow down a bit, afraid that I may lose out of steam for the bike and second run leg later. But by that time, I was quite at the front and I didn't encountered much human traffic jam. When I got back to the start line, the sprint category hasn't been flagged off yet. So there were loud cheers from them as I passed them by and I heard my name was being called many times, here and there. That lifted my spirit a bit as I moved past the start line and transition zone more swiftly for the second loop and the first running leg. Same story in the second loop but when I was around Petronas, I was already strategizing things to do in the transition zone. What's first to do, second, next, and so on before exiting the transition zone for the bike leg.

Got back to T-zone in an official time of 0:44:37, which I think was fast and no wonder there were not that many in front of me. I was recorded as 71st runner overall. The good things about being early into the T-zone is that it wasn't crowded and the aisle that takes you to the exit of the T-zone was clear for you to run with your bike. The T-zone itself was a little small and crowded where the space in between one bike to another is too close apart and there wasn't much room for you to lay your butt on the aisle. And of course, you get lots of photos too by being quite at the front pack. I got everything I need for the bike leg, took of the running t-shirt and leaving with just tri-suit, put on cleats, gloves, helmet, sunglass, chucked Hammer gels and electrolytes into the back pockets as well as the hand pump; and I was ready to go. I was timed at 0:03:40 in the T-zone and the bike leg adventure began.

Starting the bike leg, fuelled by Hammer Gel #howIHammer
[photo by Soon Chung Lim]

Not long from the start of bike leg and going into the highway stretch along Lebuh Wadi Ehsan, I was overtaken by many cyclists, thin, fat, young, old, like a thousand of them. Some were just on normal bike but mostly on TT bikes where they lay their arm lazily while cruising past me with the loud sound of their bicycle crank. At times I got quite annoyed that I couldn't match their speed but I couldn't do much. I could just ensure that my average speed will not go down to below 30km/h as planned. As much as I wanted to hook on any peloton, Powerman rules don't allow you to draft. I asked one of the marshals earlier what is considered drafting? and he answered, to ride in no less that two-bike space in between you and the rider in front. Officially, you have to ensure the gap is 10 meters apart. But with only one lane on the highway that is closed from public for the bike leg, there was no way that you could be draft-free, especially during the uphill sections. I can consider myself lucky as it was still not as crowded from the position I was riding so it was a smooth ride. After a while riding along the highway, I was back to start/line area for another loop of the bike leg. At that point of time, I really wished that I had signed up for the sprint category. Nevertheless I still have to continue for the second loop. This time there were less people overtaking me, maybe they are also losing steam. Same story as in the first loop, very lucky not to encounter any issue until I got back to the T-zone for the final run leg. My bike leg was timed at 1:53:46 and placed 455th place overall. So actually, there were only about 380 people overtook me, not a thousand lah *phewww...

Cooling it off during the second running leg...
[photo by Nik Fahusnaza]

Entered the t-zone, rest my bike, change shoes, and off I went for the run leg. It was almost 10am. It was not as hot as during the Sunday when I did my brick training. But it was still really humid. There was a water station right after the T-zone exit and I poured a cup of water on my head while sipping another cup. Then I moved for my run leg. My legs felt strong. Although I felt cramps were coming on the calves during the bike leg (which was quite strange), I felt good with the legs this time around. I was running at 5:00 pace in the first km until cramps came attacking both calves. I had no other options than to slow down and jog at pedestrian's pace. When I felt the cramps had eased, I picked up my pace again. Had to stop few more times before the cramps went away for good. I told to myself that the cramps may not be due to the heat or dehydration but more for the transition from cycling to running and the muscles were adjusting themselves, I thought so... They went away with 7km to go in the race and I could run again, all the way, only stopping at water stations for cups of drinks and iced sponge. By this time, I overtook a lot of runners, and entering into the second loop for my last 5km run, I also overtook many of those who were still in their first loop. By this time, many runners were seen walking on the side pavement, instead of on the road, to shed themselves from the sun. Somehow, I feel the loop route is better than one big loop as in PD Duathlon, as you get to bump into many others, encourage them or being encouraged by them.

Nearing the Ministry of Finance building, I knew the end is near. I got even stronger and swiftly run to the finish line. Completed my run leg in 0:52:01, for overall finishing time of 3:37:31, which I am really happy with. That puts me in 118th place overall (out of 1,316) and 16th out of 283 in Male's 35-39 age category. The timing also puts me as 49th Malaysian. Not that bad, as I managed to recover from my slow bike leg and overtook many of those overtaken me in the bike leg during the final run leg. I remember a friend mentioned to me before the race, "Don't worry, you'll be fine. Duathlon is more about running than cycling..." and she's true!

My 1st Powerman Duathlon result.

For my race details on Garmin Connect, click here.

Tips of The Month - Garmin Connect Sleep Tracker

The market has so many sleep trackers to offer customers but understanding the data to fully utilize the functions are the most important thing. For this month's tip, team2ndskin would like to share on the sleep tracking function of Garmin devices such as the Garmin Forerunner 920xt, Vivosmart, Vivosmart HR, Fenix 3 and so on. The Sleep Tracking feature is available in Garmin Connect. Once the phone is synced, last night's sleep pattern will be available for viewing. This is a very basic sleep tracking feature, but enough to have an idea how well was the sleep. If we were to go into detail, sleep is actually divided into many types.

Stage 1 Sleep : Drowsiness & Closing of Eyes. Most easily get awaken.
Stage 2 Sleep : Further slowing down of brain activity and increased muscles relaxation.
Stage 3 & 4 : Deep sleep and growth hormone peaking.
REM Sleep : Rapid Eyes movement. Blood pressure increases and heart rate increases.
*we go through all these sleep stages throughout the night.

Garmin simplifies all of it and divides sleeping pattern into Deep Sleep, Light Sleep and Awake. I set my sleep time to 12am to 7 am to assist the device in tracking my sleep. 

The graph explains my movement throughout the night. As clearly seen, the first quarter shows significant drop of movement as the brain activity slows down. In the middle of the night I was awaken, could be mosquito bite or even phone notifications which interrupted my deep sleep. 

The summary shows my sleeping pattern hours. Tracked by Garmin Forerunner 920xt.

HOW IMPORTANT IS SLEEP?

Record breaking athletes take anabolic steroids to stimulate muscles growth, better strength and increasing the lean mass of an athlete. To overcome age limitations on athletic recovery from workout, growth hormone are injected to increase physical performance and build up injury resistance (faster repair). Both of them are illegal.

Sleeping on the other hand, was never illegal. Sleeping greatly improve recovery, repairs itself and rebuild muscles tissues. Because the output of growth hormone during sleep is at its max level, sleep is actually anabolic. Studies have shown that the more you sleep, the more testosterone the body produces. More testosterone means greater athletic performance. 

HOW TO IMPROVE SLEEP?

1. Stop watching electronic displays and turn off notifications to avoid interruption. We want to get into deep sleep, the longer the better.

2. Get adequate exercise during the day, not an hour before sleep time.

3. Shut down all mobile networks, transmissions and wifi hot spots. It decreases our sleep quality.

4. Sleep in the dark. The darker the better, sleep hormone melatonin can generate better. 

As your sleep improves, so does your recovery and athletic performance. You will get stronger the next ready and ready for higher exercise intensity the next day. Hope this article helps. Sync your Garmin and start checking your sleep =)

Garmin Team2ndskin Running Clinic Batch 5 - High Intensity Interval Training

Dear Participants of Garmin Team2ndskin Running Clinic,

We received huge turnout for today's High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) this morning at Stadium Kg Pandan with some of the runners from previous batches. Job well done for all who had completed the HIIT session and also survived Tri Stupe's mini strength training session before we called it a day.

I have a few points to highlight as a friendly reminder as all of you start your own HIIT session. By emphasizing this few key points, I hope runners can get stronger, faster and stay injury free. HIIT sessions are hard in nature, there is no two ways about it. The higher the intensity you can handle, the greater the improvement on your athletic capacity. Human body is amazing and brilliant in adapting to optimal amount of stress.

We did a variable distance and pace throughout the session. The whole objective of the fast and slow pace was to allow the body to recover during the slow pace. The fast pace is crucial! Every fast pace should be an attempt to SCORE max heart rate! An opportunity not seized is an opportunity missed! As I've always said, Go Hard or Go Home. Undeniably, it demands Max Motivation. 

What is the big deal of scoring Max Heart Rate? Max Heart Rate allows the heart rate zone to be more accurately divided into 5 different zones. The formula (220-age = max heart rate) is widely used among the athletes although the accuracy is not even close to what Garmin can offer. Utilize the Garmin Connect to revise your workout and correct the mistakes. Once a week, grab the opportunity to do the HIIT session, allow the watch to "recalibrate" the zones with your latest Max Heart Rate. 

Our team2ndskin is ever ready to answer if you have any doubts or questions. Get your well deserved rest and be ready for our next session. =)

Best Regards,

Chan Jun Shen

Team2ndskin Athlete

5 X Ironman Finisher

Cyberjaya Twincity Marathon - Deo's race report

With read how Chan did in his half marathon race at the recent Cyberjaya Twincity Marathon. Now, Team 2ndskin athlete Deo unveiled how he got more than what he wanted (or expected) from his full marathon race, where he finished in 10th place in the Men's Open category. It didn't come easy for him but the perseverance and dedication to training has paid off, at least from what we have witnessed. It was his 34th full marathon to date and more to come from him.

Read on how the marathon went for Deo...

--------------------------------------------------

I didn't plan to sign up for this race but somehow trapped into signing for it by my buddy who didn't start the race after all as he was out of town on the race weekend. After a PB effort in Nong Khai Marathon in early December, I didn't plan to run in any marathon until April as I need to build up a good mileage and strengthen my core further. And after the quite disappointing and suffering experience during the first edition of this marathon in December 2014, where the route was trashed with undulating elevation, the boring route around Cyberjaya and Putrajaya with nothing much to see and no one cheering for you, and the high humidity weather; I was just not interested to join the race. But with registration done, and I am chasing to do 7 full marathon races this year in quest to do my 40th full marathon races by my birthday in December (#40on40 #birthdaymarathon), I told myself just go for it, treat it as another long run for the upcoming TransLantau 50km race in March. The one thing that really worries me was the lack of LSD runs after Nong Khai Marathon. I even tried to run a half marathn distance on Friday, a week before the marathon and I suffered, couldn't run all the way and had to stop and walk many times.

I was worried, even on the race day morning itself. Probably the things that could give some relieves were that the Race Director assured me that the marathon will be enough in distance, unlike last year, and up to the race day morning, I noticed that all the comments I blogged about the marathon in 2014 have been addressed. The promotion for this marathon has also been really visible with lots of 'attractions' offered to runners like the teh tarik and roti canai station, which I didn't get to enjoy obviously. And the number of participants have grown by many scales, I don't have the numbers but you can notice it by just looking at the crowd during the start or browsing the race photos. Anyway, for the marathon, I was aiming for a modest target, a sub 3:45 will make me really happy.

I arrived at the race venue quite early, and got a chance to walk around the still quiet start area. Did my 2km warm-up lap around the area. Bumped into my little brother who was fresh from his half marathon PB of 1:42 a week earlier and that was his only second HM. He was a volunteer for this race. After I was done with my warm up lap, I walked near the main stage and there were trophies for top runners and noticed the trophies will be given out to top 10 runners in each category. Deep inside, I harbor a hope of landing myself on one of the trophies. With 3:45 timing, based on 2014's race result, I would have a chance to be inside top 10, I told myself. So, from a modest target of just run a 3:45 marathon, the target has now shifted to getting into top 10. But it was still a tall order. Bumped into many more friends as I waited for the race to start. It was more happening this year. The organizer even had the fried noodle ready that morning should any runner would like to have some foods before the race.

Before the race with some of many friends I saw/met that morning. This one is with Ray, Fazli and Bukhari the RD.
[photo by ActionPix Malaysia]

At 4am, suddenly the horn sounded. But no one started running... until the man behind the horn asked us to run, then only we realized it was the start of the race. No countdown lol! So, the race began. It was humid. The route in the first 10km was the same as of in 2014, if I'm not mistaken. So, I sort of know the sections with uphill elevation, especially along Shaftsbury Square before we entered the motorcycle lane towards Putrajaya. I started quite well, with the strategy to run as fast as I can afford to, in order to have ample buffer for the anticipated slower second half of the race. First 10km completed in 46:30-minute, and that was even faster than my first 10km in Nong Khai Marathon. I was running at 3:30-hour marathon pace and surprisingly, many more runners in front and behind me were running at about the same pace. Some of them, I had never seen before. Along the way, especially in the uphill sections, I was overtaken by several runners while the front bunch of 7 or 8 runners were already out of sight. My hope for a top 10 finish got slimmer and I wasn't hoping for it anymore.

I just continued running, still hoping for a sub 3:45-hour finish. The elevation got worse in Putrajaya and those who know me, know how I really hate running a marathon in Putrajaya. There were slight changes to the route, one that I noticed was the one going into Precinct 20 (the graveyard route) and this year, we didn't run in front of the PICC. My second 10km was done in a slower 50:24-minute and total time was three minutes slower than Nong Khai. So, sub 3:30-hour is no longer in the equation. The full marathon runners have spread out from each other at this point, but I was joined by the half marathoners, overtaken by the leading runners. As we headed back to Cyberjaya, we had to go quite a steep elevated road (before the Fire Station) and as it was almost 30km done, I don't have anymore strength with my legs to run up, and don't want to trash my legs further as there will be another 12km of quite flat section to deal with in Cyberjaya. So, I walked up the elevated road and in the middle of my walk, 2ndskin team mate Chan came from behind and urged me to run with him. He was on pace for a top 10 finish in the half marathon category. I didn't follow, just enjoyed my short 'honeymoon' walk before starting to run again as I entered Cyberjaya. Third 10km was done in a slow 55:20-minute.

Drinking and showering is allowed during a marathon. Keep hydrating while keeping the body temperature low...
[photo by RFF]

The last 12km in Cyberjaya was all familiar route for me, eventhough most part of this section was ran in dark as the street lamps shut off earlier than expected/sunrise. There was even a junction around KM31 where half marathoners turn right while full marathoners go straight, where a lot of people got confused (and most probably were not directed properly). Some full marathoners (including the 4:00 pacers who most probably didn't do enough homework of the route) turned right into the HM route and ended with a shorter 3km marathon distance. And I saw a handful of half marathoners (most probably the front runners) had to backtrack as they missed the right turn and went straight into the FM route. They ended up running 3km longer than the actual HM distance.

My pace became slower, legs were tired, even the Hammer Gel could not do wonder to help me pick up my pace again. At that point, I was just hoping that water stations came as soon as possible so that I could take a short break and have a short walk while having my drinks. There was a moment when I was approaching a water station, feeling relieved that I could walk again and have my drinks. But when I arrived at the water station, when I asked for water, the volunteer there told me that there was no water, only teh tarik is available. He even told me that water is available at the next station, some 500m away. Right away I said, "Shit!" as I had to run for another 500m to the next water station. Then I realized it was the teh tarik and roti canai station but I didn't see that because it was still dark when I arrived at that point.

I was struggling to keep to 5:15-minute pace in the final 5km of the race...
[photo by Amin Jaafar]

So, it was run with occasional walks in between, up to KM37. As I realized I could do very well below 3:40-hour timing, I decided to run all the way in the last 5km, albeit at a slower pace. And in the last 3km, I think I overtook two or three FM runners but I wasn't sure which category they were in. Still, the hope for top ten finish had gone long ago as there were too many runners in front of me, from my count at one of the u-turn sections earlier. My fourth 10km was done in a slightly better time of 53:47-minute. I just continued to run and finish strong, with the slightest hope to better my Kuching Marathon timing as the fastest local marathon race for me. But it was not meant to be. I arrived at the finish line with a nett time of 3:36:21, about 40 seconds slower than Kuching Marathon, but well ahead of my initial target of 3:45:00. And to my surprise, I was handed a position card for 10th place in Men's Open! It made my day, definitely! and it was a pleasure to wear it around my neck while friends came to me congratulating me for the effort. Great day, it was for me to finish in top 10, given the strong field of runners.

Icing on the cake! 10th place in the Men's Open category.

Overall, I was satisfied with the run, not expecting to run a sub 3:40-hour race. And that was achieved with lots of walking *sigh* which I know I could save about 5 minutes had I not walked. In terms of the organization of the race, I can say it was really well-organized with all concerns for the runners were taken care of, with nice finisher t-shirt, finisher medal, proper set-up of finishing area, the foods, the RPC venue, plenty of water stations with cold water and icy-cold sponges at certain section. All I can say is that, keep up the good work. The only comments I could give are on the 'missed turns' of the route, which definitely the race organizer needs to look at and the main stage that was located quite far away from the finish area where only podium finishers care to be around the stage after the race.

And that wrapped my 34th full marathon, six marathons away from my #40on40 #birthdaymarathon quest.



For the results of Men's Open full marathon category, click here.
For my race details on Garmin Connect, click here.

1st Nongkhai Marathon - Deo's Race Report

Team 2ndskin athlete Deo was not sure if he could run another sub 3:30-hour marathon, after breaking the 3:30-hour barrier in Tokyo Marathon earlier this year. So, he had carefully chosen his next marathon to have another attempt at it and to close the 2015 season with a peace of mind knowing that the Tokyo Marathon feat was not a fluke but it was just the beginning of many, many more fast marathon timing for him. He went to the inaugural Nongkhai Marathon, at the north of Thailand, where the temperature and humidity level on the race day as well as the fast course gave the perfect ingredients for a near-perfect marathon condition, and came back not just with another sub 3:30-hour marathon, but also a personal best timing, bettering his previous mark by 14 seconds. And to make it sweeter, it was a priceless birthday gift for him which fell on Friday before the race.

Read on how the marathon went for Deo...

--------------------------------------------------

Mission accomplished!
Although barely... and I was about to miss it by a whisker but escaped by fate and a little bit of luck.

From the very first time I heard about this marathon, I had put a very serious consideration to run the marathon for few reasons. One, it is held on my birthday weekend and apart from the boring and crowded Singapore Marathon, there were only a few other marathons held during the weekend, one of it is Macao. So, with little options, maybe I should give this inaugural marathon a try. Then, after google-ing the location, it reminded me of Vientiane, Laos. It is the home of the 1st (and the last, so far) AEC Vientiane Marathon, which I ran in 2013 (you can read it here). It was a good race for me, where I clocked my first 3:4x-hour and had a PB, helped by flat route and the cold weather.

Nong Khai is a city in northeast Thailand, lies on the Mekong River, where the city is about 4km from the Thai-Laos Friendship Bridge. Just on the opposite of the Mekong River (although not directly opposite) is Vientiane, the capital of Laos. The city is is 626km north of Bangkok and 60km north of Udon Thani. So, from Kuala Lumpur, you may fly direct to Udon Thani (with a transfer in Bangkok) by AirAsia. From Udon Thani, you may take a public van outside the airport at THB200 per person. The journey to Nong Khai takes less than an hour and the van can send you direct to your hotel. In my case, as I wanted to arrive in Udon Thani via the first flight in, I flew out from Kuala Lumpur on AirAsia's last flight to Bangkok, arriving in Don Mueng Airport around midnight and spent overnight at the departure hall before taking the first Thai Lion Air flight out from Bangkok to Udon Thani. For accommodation in Nong Khai, I stayed in Asawann Hotel, just about 1.3km from the race venue. And for Muslim folks, there is one Muslim (Halal) restaurant located along the shop houses a few blocks away from VViang Lifestyle Mall (the race venue). It is owned by a Paskitani (if I'm not mistaken) guy whose wife is a Thai. They can cook any Thai food and for breakfast, you can have roti naan or whatever you want to have (just like how he answered us when we asked what he can cook for us).

In front of the Thasadet Market - one of the main attractions of Nongkhai. The marathon route also passed this place on its way back to the finish line.

At the Wat Mi Chai Thing, one of the many temples in Nongkhai, during my Saturday morning run. The temple is also located along the marathon route.

With the registration done and logistic arrangement made, the challenge for me back then was to look for a traveling buddy. Convincing friends to go to a race at this remote place and non-popular race like this was quite challenging but I knew one friend who would buy into this idea. And true enough, I had Shahidan with me in Nong Khai just like how it was in Vientiane, although I wasn't sure if he would make this trip only until a few days before the trip started. Then, it was to train for the marathon. Post BUTM100, my training went down south and I gained weight. Deep inside, I was quite relieved with the cancellation of SCKLM because I wasn't sure if I could run a good race with my condition that time.

But for Nong Khai Marathon, I had planned it to be a special marathon, probably as a gift for my birthday and was eyeing quite a high target from it. Based from my experience in Vientiane Marathon - the flat routem the high altitude, and the cold weather, I had specifically picked Nong Khai Marathon to try to go for no less than a 3:39:59 marathon, if not a PB (better than 3:29:15, Tokyo 2015). I was in dire need to try to run a sub 3:30-hour marathon again, to see if I'm worthy to be in the league and that the one in Tokyo was not a fluke. In between the cancelled SCKLM and Nong Khai, I focused my training on mid-distance speed (those of 20-25kms) by trying to hold to sub 5:00-minute pace as long as I could, and on the hillworks for cross-training. On weekends, hillworks were done in Gunung Broga and Tokwan but when back then when it was hazy, treadmill was my best friend, set it up with 15-degree elevation and tried to run it. For LSD, I only had one run of more than 25km which was during the Ricky Lightfoot Borneo Challenge where it was a very slow race with combination or lots of hills. I had two other races in between to test out my speed - the 22km 2XU Compression Run and the 15km LHKSNS.

At the race pack collection with the traveling buddy, Shahidan

Done with the bib collection. Hopefully 31 will be the lucky number for my 33rd full marathon.

As expected, it was a chill morning with temperature around 18-degree Celcius (slightly higher than in Berlin 2012) and remained cold and cloudy until race ended (even until noon). Nong Khai, just like Vientiane, is located some 150m asl, and that explains the cold weather, I think. As our hotel is just some 1.3km away, we decided to walk/run to the race site, instead of taking a tuk-tuk ride. We arrived at the race site with some 20 minutes before the flag off at 3am and the place was not crowded at all. Even there was no queue for the drop bag, and even the public restroom inside VViang Lifestyle Mall. After we're done with all that (bag drop and toilet break), we headed to the start line just outside the mall and on the main street. The set-up reminds me of Hatyai Marathon. Again, it was not crowded at all at the start line. From my judgement, I think there were less than 200 runners at the start line (from the race results, there were 125 total full marathon finishers). From there, I knew it would be a lonely run where runners will be spread apart from each other, especially when you're doing sub 3:30- or 4:00-hour pace.

At the start line with few minutes before flag off. Not pack at all! You can walk to the most back of the pack and still walk to the front again to start your marathon :p

The race was flagged off at 3am Thailand time. It was just a short run in the city as we headed out from the city towards Tha Bo, a neighboring town. At about KM3.5, we were on a 2-lane, intercity road that connects Nong Khai and Tha Bo. I've studied the route map and I knew it was a long straight route up to KM18 before you make a u-turn for another long stretch before entering the town with some 8km before the finish line. The long stretch reminded me again about Hatyai Marathon where a major part of the route was ran on a long highway. But for Nong Khai, it was not a highway but a rural intercity road, just like the old road from Tanjong Malim to Bidor, for example, where you can find houses, villages and shops on both sides of the road. The only thing is that, you could barely see much because it was still dark. On map, you could see yourself running along Mekong River but the truth fact is that the the river is behind those houses and villages and you can't see it from the road until you get back into Nong Khai city.

And I decided to start from the front...
[photo by Amazing Field]

As expected, the route was pancake flat and you wouldn't feel the slightest incline. True enough, upon checking my race details in Garmin Connect, total elevation gain was just 29m while elevation loss was 28m. A great recipe for a PB run! But eventhough it was pancake flat, one has to be mentally prepared for the long 30km out-and-back route as I mentioned earlier, and you have to constantly put all your efforts to move your foot in front of another, and repeat throughout, as there was no downhill to give you momentum, and in most time you'll be running alone along the whole course. I entertained myself by calculating my pace with several target finish time, expected finishing time, how much time I have to rest or allowed to have walk breaks, all those things. There was nothing interesting to tell in the first half of the race except that I noticed that water stations were placed every 2km with the local energy drinks served every 6km, if I'm not mistaken. Some stations served fruits but I didn't bother. I was good with Hammer gel which I consumed a pack for every 45 minutes.

My run was great at the beginning. My first 10km was done in 46:35-minutes and the second 10km was done in 46:37-minutes. At that moment, I thought of achieving a lot better than my PB in Tokyo, only if I could maintain the same pace. I even achieved PB for my half marathon, 1:38:38-hour, four minutes better than my HM PB in Sundown JB 2015. The goal at that time was to maintain sub 5:00-minute pace for as long as I could. I was still doing great up to the u-turn at KM18. Approaching the u-turn, I could already saw the front runners making their ways on opposite direction towards the finish line. There were not that many though and I was in 13th position at the u-turn which is not bad, I told myself. Not long after the u-turn, I saw Shahidan on the other side and I reckoned that he was doing a 5:30-minute pace at least, not bad either. But it was not so surprising as he has been training on the high altitude environment in Africa.

I continued running towards the city, still trying hard to maintain the 5:00-minute pace. It was same story about the route and the water stations. At one point, the HM and FM runners merged but it didn't give much problems as the number of participants were small. Only problem was that, I lost count on my position as some runners overtook me whilst I overtook some but I couldn't distinguish which categories they were running in. As much as I wanted to smash my PB by few minutes, my legs wasn't thinking the same. By KM28, my pace started to drop to more than 5:00-minute. Next goal kicked in - which was to maintain my average pace to sub 5:00-minute for as long as I could. I think the legs started to tire early due to the lack of 30km+ LSD training. I slowed down, but I tried as much to minimize the manage by keeping the pace to under 5:10-minute now and it worked. It kept my average pace to be under 4:50-minute all the way up to KM36. My third 10km was done in a slow 49:40-minute, that gave me 2:23-hour for 30km. That means, I have about 1:07-hour for the next 12km+ to finish under 3:30-hour. On paper, it sounds so doable but with the weary legs, I wasn't sure.

Just passed one of the water stations on my way back to the city. At this point, the FM runners were already merged with the HM runners.
[photo by Amazing Field]

We got back into the city with 8km to go. It was a 4km run by the river to the end of the city, make a u-turn and another 4km along the main road and shop houses on left and right to the finish line. My legs got really tired by KM36 and it got worse after the u-turn. The last 4km was like forever and it was so dreadful. I was moving like my legs were strapped with heavy chain that they could barely move. My thighs were tight, my glutes were sore. Thankfully cramps stayed at bay throughout the race. I regretted for missing my LSD runs. It was a mentally long stretch, like never ending. Just like in Hatyai. There were a few times that I stopped to walk for some 15-30 second before picking up my run again. My mind was calculating the pace required in the last two to three kilometers and sending the message to the legs but the legs just couldn't process it and make it happen. The mind got frustrated a bit and just let the body goes with the flow. During those walk breaks, I was even content to finish outside 3:30-hour as it was still a good effort, I think, to finish with the timing. I was ready to accept the defeat, to accept the fact that I was still not a sub 3:30-hour marathon material, that I'm still not ready for this.

It was a very slow 53:11-minute for my fourth 10km split. Something that I need to work on.

I was cursing the never ending stretch, when all shops on left and right looks exactly the same to me, and with my body started to feel cold (which I never felt that way before) like I want to faint, I saw the finishing arch from afar. But I just couldn't gauge how far it was but I was sure that the race will not be over distance or over distance by much (like in Tokyo). Looking at my Garmin FR920XT watch, I thought there could be a possibility for me to PB by the slightest margin. All I had to do was just run until the finish line. In the end, the earlier pace I had made up for the slow final 4km of the race. I was also thankful that the race didn't go to over distance, just ngam ngam 42.22km, again similar to Vientiane, as I didn't have enough buffer time for sub 3:30-hour if it does. I was glad that it was a PB! although by just 23 seconds from Tokyo. 3 hours, 28 minutes and 15 seconds - this is a new time to beat for me. Pace wise, I actually did better in Tokyo as it went 1km longer.

That PB moment! Crossing the finish line feeling all satisfied. But still there is a slight painful expression on my face...
[photo by Amazing Field]

It was all jolly after the race. I could not hide my satisfaction and my happiness that I messaged my team breaking the news to them first. I was grinning from ear to ear although the legs were quite in pain. The results came out not long after that, I finished in 13th position overall and 5th in Men's 30-39 age category. No trophy or prize for me as it was just for top three runners in each category but I was more than happy to bring back this PB with me. If in Tokyo, I wasn't sure when I could do sub 3:30-hour marathon again or even coming close to the mark, but after Nong Khai Marathon (and Kuching Marathon), I was sure that it will come more often from now.

Until the next race!



For overall results of 1st Nongkhai Marathon, click here.
For my race details on Garmin Connect, click here.