Just Keep TRI-ing

I will be super busy this week before my leave next week. I was also expected to stay back after work. So today I ran at 4.30 AM right after fajar prayer. It was a nice change. I haven't been running before work for more than a year. It was so refreshing and I was so energetic at work too. My HR was stable and the run was enjoyable due to an improved weather than the weekend. I dont have much for the remaining of this week as I am already start tapering for my SAFRA Army Half Marathon next Sunday. I am just going to take it easy and cant wait to have a break from work. Garmin Data here: 8 km zone 1&2 HR by Syafei at Garmin Connect - Details Sure Can One Lah Syafei

The race pack collection for The SAFRA Singapore Bay Run and Army Half Marathon was held this weekend at the Singapore Expo. I don't understand why the expo was held a week before the event and not on the same weekend. This surely not ideal for oversea's participants like me. Luckily I have my dear sister, Sariati in Singapore to do that for me. Thanks sis, sorry to trouble you but I am going to make you proud. Im so excited for my first race in Singapore.

Thanks to my friend, Hozumi-san who bought me these two Asics running top in Japan. It us impossible for me to get the right size here in Doha. The S size shirts here are still too big and I supposed I could squeeze another small human in the same shirt. I tested the Singlet few days ago and really felt the different. No more nagging loose fabric rubbing the skin and im so not into a baggy look. This singlet looks like what Malaysia's national athletes are wearing. I feel like a pro already. Well to be a pro you should at least look like one. Sure Can One Lah Syafei

I had a great interval session at Aspire Dome this evening. It was my first time running at the indoor track, but with the sweltering heat and humidity now plus I am training by HR rather than pace, I thought I give it a try. I made a right decision. My HR was so stable and I had a consistence HR, pace, cadence pattern through out the session. My programme was 8km (2 km Zone 1, 3 x 1 km Zone 3 with 2 mins jog at Zone 1 in between + 1 km Zone 4 and finish off with 2km cool down Zone 1). I got too carried away with the training and surprised on how easy it felt. I even had great time running in group, chatting and joking with Karl, Shawn, Paul, Tobias and JC. They called me a little pacemaker every time I took the lead after my 2 minutes recovery. Then they played chasing the rabbit game with me, I had to tell them that I was actually training. I lost count of my fast lap and ran an extra fast lap. I was waiting for the alert from my watch when I ran the last fast lap at Zone 4, but it d...

My HR monitor works perfectly fine this evening. No spikes of 200+ bpm of sort. But my HR did affected greatly by the humidity. It was 37 Celsius with 70% humidity at 8 pm and it felt like 49 degree. The programme was 10km pyramid (3km Zone 1, 1.5km Zone 2, 2km Zone 3, 1.5km Zone 2, 2km Zone 1). At the end I had to slow jog and walked intermittently to be in Zone 2 and just mostly walked to be in Zone 1. But I was pleased with my training. My HR graph does look like a pyramid. I sweated profusely, I have never been so drenched. Now I understand why some of my friends prefer to run on 'dreadmill' in this weather. Garmin Data here: 10km tempo by Syafei at Garmin Connect - Details Sure Can One Lah Syafei

Today's long run was especially hard not because of the pace or distance, but the humidity. The 33-36 Celsius felt like 48 degree with with 87% of humidity. I also messed up with my HR and I ended switched it off and ran according to Coach Sarah's HR and based on effort. As long as I can speak a full sentence without gasping for air and can chat happily with Coach Sarah, I will be OK. We were supposed to do 15 km in Zone 1 but just did 14 and spent the last km walking when our HR refused to go down. Hoping for the weather to get better soon. 14km Zone 1 HR by Syafei at Garmin Connect - Details Sure Can One Lah Syafei

I did my first interval training for Munich this evening. The programme was 8km as 2 km in Zone 1, 4 x 1 km in Zone 3 (175 bpm) with 2 minutes recovery jog in between and 2 km zone 1 cool down. Interval is my favourite among all the training as it provides me with the dose of speed that I have been craving for. However, this evening's programme only limits my speed within Zone 3 HR. It was like running with a hand brake engaged the whole time. It was not satisfying enough and I was still pretty relaxed when I concluded the training, but I know the training will get harder and harder as we progress to the race day before the tapering starts. The weather was still hot and humid at 37 Celsius with 67% of humidity, and it affected my HR as I progressed through the session. The pace for my Zone 3 started with 3:42 and it slowed down to about 5:40 on my last split. I was also working to improve my running form by trying to land my foot near the centre of gravity, high cadence and focussi...

I had a much better run this morning. My pace in Zone 1 HR, though I was not supposed to concern about it has improved a lot from 6:40 ish min/km to about 6:10ish. My HR however was greatly affected by the sun. It shot up every time I was running in sunlight. Like a vampire, I had to stay away from the sun as much as possible by running in the shades of the towers around Porto Arabia. The programme was to run 8 km, starting with 3 km in Zone 1 HR (152 bpm), 1 km Zone 2 (163 bpm), 1 km Zone 3 (175 bpm), 1 km Zone 2, 2km Zone 1. I found running in Zone 3 was the easiest. My HR was actually lower than 175 when I ran at around 5:10 min/km. Zone 2 was somewhat more difficult as I had to adjust my HR and brought it down from Zone 3. I ran the session very conservatively and ended up with a very low average HR at just 153 bpm. Im not sure if this was a good thing, but I think it is. See what my coach say about it. Another good news was, my knees felt great even after the HIIT circuit I did la...

My third HIIT session. It was still very hard though I can feel a little improvement. I was getting better at the burpees, but it sapped all my energy and I was struggling to complete the squat thrust and 1 leg hop, while OK on the others. It was also hard as I was eating the whole day from Eid party I hosted. But I am positive that it can only gets better. Oh yes, my knees seems fine this time. The HIIT may have strengthen my joints I believe. Sure Can One Lah Syafei

Friday run back at the Cornice. I was excited to see my DBRC friends after a month of training or hibernating to be more appropriately during Ramadan. Too bad i was struggling at the in the bathroom after mammoth feasting yesterday and ended up at the Corniche zero marker 8 minutes late. I was supposed to run with Coach Sarah but I guess she would have thought I had too much Eid parties and decided for a lie in. I took a short cut and managed to catch them at the Woqod Station, 5km into my run. I ran the remaining 5km with Coach Sarah. The weather horrible today, 35 deg Celsius with 70% humidity. Though it wasn't really killed me as I was running so slow, but it caused my heart rate to beat a lot faster. According to Coach Sarah, by up to 20bpm. So I had to run a lot slower with walk breaks to keep my HR in zone 1 or 152 bpm to be exact. After a week of HR training, I finally managed to let go of my infatuation with pace and speed. I did not even bother looking at pace and elapse t...

We went for a short 6.5 km run at Zone 1 HR. It was  definitely a lot better than the first two runs I did. At least this time I was able to run almost entirely except for some walk breaks when my HR went over 152. Here is my Run data Fun run with Coach Sarah by Syafei at Garmin Connect - Details

Second run session this week. I was still struggling in getting used to HR training. The plan was to run at zone 1 HR for 2-3 minutes plus fartlek up to 175 bpm for 20-30 sec. I was still unable to run a steady pace at the required HR i.e 152 bpm. It was either too low or too high with a slightest change of pace. I also need around 1 minute of walking to get my HR down to 152 after each fartlek, while it took around 30 sec to get to 175 bpm from 152. My HR monitor was less erratic this evening with only one anomaly spike recorded. Again Strava did not get the pace of each split right. The more accurate data from Garmin Connect can be retrieved from the following link: 8 km Zone 1 HR Fartlek by Syafei at Garmin Connect - Details I will be having a short 'fun run' with my coach tomorrow. Perhaps she could asses if I have been doing it correctly. Till then. Sure Can One Lah Syafei

It was my first run session in programme. The session requires me to run 10km at Zone 1 Heart Rate (152 bpm). It was impossible to stick to HR below 152 bpm let alone running exactly at that specified HR as my HR fluctuates easily. I had to run very slowly, I could be easily over taken by a grandma on walking frame should I run any slower. I had to walk at some point especially between km 2 and km 4 as my HR mysteriously shot up to 180, 190, 200s without any reason. I cannot understand how's that even possible as I did not increase my effort level or pace, and I did not feel any different. I managed to get my HR stable at some stretch and found my ideal pace to run in Zone 1 is around 6:40 min/km. My average HR for the session was 149 with maximum HR recorded at 214. Though I did not feel any signs of fatigue, I felt a little pain on my knee caps towards the end of the session but the pain was gone  as soon as I completed the run. I hope that's normal. Here are the split: 6:19,...

Today was my first day of official training for Munich. And what could be more harder than a high intensity circuit training, after a full day of fasting? After less than an hour of heavy feasting during iftar? It was also especially hard after enjoying 2 months of sedentary life. The circuit involved the following exercises: High arm jumping jacks Mountain climber Run and drop Full press up Skaters side Weighted squat Running man Jump lunge Burpees Spider lunge Side to side jump Plank dips Squat thrust Long extension Standing mountain climber Squat leap High knees run Russian twist 1 leg hop and balance Back lunge hold  and finishes off with some stretches.  I felt great until about halfway into the session when that burpees really killed me off. It was all down hill from there onwards. I even felt the food inside my tummy bouncing all over the place when I did the burpees. Then I had side stitch on high knees stationary run. That what happen when your body was asked to run a...