A few months back, coach introduced me to Infinit nutrition, a custom blended sports drink that eliminates gel, bars, salt and electrolyte tablets. It came by way of Mark Allen, who endorses Infinit.
A quick check of Infinit's website suggests that this product could be worth trying, especially for longer endurance events such as cycling where we don't necessarily want to fiddle with cereal bars, gels, etc. The problem is that the website does not accept credit cards from Singapore.
So I called the company and to my relief, they do make exceptions. And I placed an order. That was last month. The package came today.
Is Infinit really what it makes out to be? Can it live up to its hype? Nothing like trying out for myself.
Monday, February 8, 2010
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Checking the boxes
I heard many experienced triathletes say that it is crucial to spend enough time in the saddle in order to surmount the 70.3 and full IMs. What's intimidating is to be able to run 21km after clocking 90km for the 70.3. Which is why we had been pushing up our mileage on the bike.
What's supposed to be a 100km ride last Sat was reduced to a big ZERO as I came down with a fever the night before. Good thing I was back on my feet (er ... butt) again on Sunday, doing a 40km ride with the FOTRers. Anxious to make up for lost time, I went out for a long ride this morning, but my legs were feeling the effects of Sunday's ride and I headed back home after two loops, settling for 70km.
For this morning's session, my objectives were (a) get used to extra weight from another two water bottles - discernible increase in weight, (b) nutrition on the bike - which worked out reasonably well (except that I have to figure out how to get the small electrolyte pills out); and (b) short brick run - which also turned out well. This being the first brick run, I'd expect some difficulty finding my legs. Surprisingly, I didn't. In fact, it felt good to use a different muscle group instead of the cycling muscles.
More brick sessions are likely. What else?
(1) 120 km rides x2
(2) ride in the morning sun
(3) brick session around lunch time
(4) run in the afternoon sun
(5) open water swims x2
What's supposed to be a 100km ride last Sat was reduced to a big ZERO as I came down with a fever the night before. Good thing I was back on my feet (er ... butt) again on Sunday, doing a 40km ride with the FOTRers. Anxious to make up for lost time, I went out for a long ride this morning, but my legs were feeling the effects of Sunday's ride and I headed back home after two loops, settling for 70km.
For this morning's session, my objectives were (a) get used to extra weight from another two water bottles - discernible increase in weight, (b) nutrition on the bike - which worked out reasonably well (except that I have to figure out how to get the small electrolyte pills out); and (b) short brick run - which also turned out well. This being the first brick run, I'd expect some difficulty finding my legs. Surprisingly, I didn't. In fact, it felt good to use a different muscle group instead of the cycling muscles.
More brick sessions are likely. What else?
(1) 120 km rides x2
(2) ride in the morning sun
(3) brick session around lunch time
(4) run in the afternoon sun
(5) open water swims x2
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Ad-hoc swim lesson
Did I mention that MBH is taking swimming lessons? Yes, and I strongly support her.
Today, however, I took over her lesson with coach Gerald. Two for the price of one! That's a good deal.
Anyhow, coach Gerald prescribed several new drills to get better body balance with arms and legs, separately. What I really like are the 4- and 5-stroke swim that he had me practice. I'd read somewhere that it would be good to go to more strokes per breath, but what convinced me was that this would (a) allow me to better cope with OWS where others can bump into me or waves could disrupt my breathing, and (b) allow for faster swimming.
The 4-stroke swim was not too bad, but I struggled with the 5-stroke swim. Ran out of breath before the fifth stroke and had to quicken the last two strokes, which broke my rhythm.
Certainly need more practice.
Today, however, I took over her lesson with coach Gerald. Two for the price of one! That's a good deal.
Anyhow, coach Gerald prescribed several new drills to get better body balance with arms and legs, separately. What I really like are the 4- and 5-stroke swim that he had me practice. I'd read somewhere that it would be good to go to more strokes per breath, but what convinced me was that this would (a) allow me to better cope with OWS where others can bump into me or waves could disrupt my breathing, and (b) allow for faster swimming.
The 4-stroke swim was not too bad, but I struggled with the 5-stroke swim. Ran out of breath before the fifth stroke and had to quicken the last two strokes, which broke my rhythm.
Certainly need more practice.
Friday, January 29, 2010
First century ride
In any training, there'll always be landmarks or key sessions - measured either by distance or time. Reaching a (metric) century is one such landmark. 102 km bike ride this morning. It took 3:43, average speed of 27.6 kph on Changi coastal road plus Loyang/Selarang - 3 loops in all.
IN and I started off at 3:30 am, completing the first loop (36km) in under 1:30. Met up with KL, JN, SY and HC at NSRCC junction where we proceeded to do another loop. At the end of the second loop, SY and JN were game for a loop, and were only too glad to draft behind fresher legs.
Our speed during the first lap was conservative - about 27 to 28 kph. The second lap was a little faster, and surprisingly, we clocked about 29 to 30 kph on the third lap. On some stretches, we were doing 32 kph.
Other than some animal tales at Changi village - a cat dashed across our path and a dog scratching its bum in the middle of the road, and some friendly hellos from dolled up "girls", the ride was rather uneventful. I ran out of water after Selarang on the third loop and had to stop at 7-11 to get a refill. This was in spite of my regular water bottle and aero-bar water bottle.
On the way home, we were in front of a convoy of heavy vehicles and cars as the other lane was closed. The stretch was more than 1 km long, and picking up the pace almost gave me cramps. What's annoying was this SUV that repeatedly horned at us. Where's the graciousness that SM talked about?
A nice breakfast awaited us at home where MBH cooked up some delicious omelette with some sliced Italian sausages and glutinous rice.
The next landmarks would be 120km and then a real century (100 miles)!
IN and I started off at 3:30 am, completing the first loop (36km) in under 1:30. Met up with KL, JN, SY and HC at NSRCC junction where we proceeded to do another loop. At the end of the second loop, SY and JN were game for a loop, and were only too glad to draft behind fresher legs.
Our speed during the first lap was conservative - about 27 to 28 kph. The second lap was a little faster, and surprisingly, we clocked about 29 to 30 kph on the third lap. On some stretches, we were doing 32 kph.
Other than some animal tales at Changi village - a cat dashed across our path and a dog scratching its bum in the middle of the road, and some friendly hellos from dolled up "girls", the ride was rather uneventful. I ran out of water after Selarang on the third loop and had to stop at 7-11 to get a refill. This was in spite of my regular water bottle and aero-bar water bottle.
On the way home, we were in front of a convoy of heavy vehicles and cars as the other lane was closed. The stretch was more than 1 km long, and picking up the pace almost gave me cramps. What's annoying was this SUV that repeatedly horned at us. Where's the graciousness that SM talked about?
A nice breakfast awaited us at home where MBH cooked up some delicious omelette with some sliced Italian sausages and glutinous rice.
The next landmarks would be 120km and then a real century (100 miles)!
Thursday, January 28, 2010
OCBC family 5 km
Ever since the boys got their Trek 220 bikes, they had been out almost every day, even though it was just up and down the short lane. The other day, we went to the PCN along the Bedok canal where they completed more than 6 km.
So it was not too difficult for them to agree to participate in the OCBC family 5 km cycling event in March. The family package is quite attractive - 2 adults + up to 2 kids - for just $120 before OCBC credit card discount. Should be a fun event ;)
So it was not too difficult for them to agree to participate in the OCBC family 5 km cycling event in March. The family package is quite attractive - 2 adults + up to 2 kids - for just $120 before OCBC credit card discount. Should be a fun event ;)
Monday, January 25, 2010
Freak accident
It wasn't too long ago that I visited a friend in NUH. Today, I was there again to see a friend who crashed while commuting home after a 3.5 hour bike session. He was avoiding the curb, got caught in a depression and fell hard on his shoulder and head. Good thing the helmut cushioned the head, but not so lucky the shoulder. A broken collar bone that required surgery.
He was in good spirits even though his right arm was in a sling, and the aviva race was down the drain. His entire year might be affected, for the collar may take 2 months to heal.
I took to heart the lesson reinforced yet again: Always be alert on the roads, even at low speed.
Now to check whether my insurance policy is still valid...
He was in good spirits even though his right arm was in a sling, and the aviva race was down the drain. His entire year might be affected, for the collar may take 2 months to heal.
I took to heart the lesson reinforced yet again: Always be alert on the roads, even at low speed.
Now to check whether my insurance policy is still valid...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
