One Day More

Tomorrow we'll discover

What our God in heaven has in store

Amelioration

A casual 20min tempo run at the gym turned out to become my 10k PR. 

What began at tempo pace(or so I thought) progressed into a run longer than expected.

Previously while training for the SCMS 2012, the fastest extended pace I held was an 8km run totalling 35:50 which left me fatigued. I have no idea how my existing fitness managed my pace today.

A month ago, I was struggling to handle a 13.2km/h average for 4km. 2 weeks ago, I could barely hold a 13.3km/h average for 20mins. If you check my running log, you'll have realised I clocked in only 16km of running in the past 2 weeks. What could possibly explain the significant increase in performance?

If you actually did check my log, you'd have realised that I engaged in some other forms of physical activity ~ I simply refuse to credit this improvement to "just feeling good today" and instead suspect that out of the other activities(strength/core work, cycling, swimming, soccer etc), some had significant impacts on my improvement. After all, I'm very much a person who believes that results have to be earned. A quick consideration led me to the following inferences, bearing in mind the aerobic base that was built in the latter half of 2012.

1) Core work increased stability which helped breathing and form significantly. 

2) Strength work, along with an interval I attempted(4x3:05 at +4% incline, 14km/h, 1:55 rest) helped leg power and cadence.

3) Swimming improved my aerobic threshold, functioning as cross training.

4) The single instance of cycling probably had no impact(yet).

5) Unfortunately, I don't think hockey or soccer led to much improvement. Nonetheless, this is based on my fallible logic.

These supplemented my basic running fitness, thereby leading to a satisfying improvement(which of course, did not just happen after 2 weeks). The result was a 43:38 10k with 22:18/21:20 5k splits, averaging 13.75km/h(I do all my paced runs at +1%). 

The danger of improvement is, however, the fear of failure during subsequent attempts. How best can one avoid failure? By not trying.

If you don’t know what you’re capable of, then take a risk and find out — and by that I mean a risk for you, not for your peers.  Let the world tell you when you've gone too far.  Let it knock you down and say, “This is as far as I’m willing to let you go.”  Make sure the walls you hit are made of reinforced concrete and not of your imaginary self-doubt.  Don’t be such a wuss when it comes to risk-taking.  My standard for risk-taking is, “If it won’t land me in a prison or a coffin, it’s worth doing.”

Steve Pavlina

Try

I'm wondering what it'll be like to do a triathlon :D

Cherish

"It's gonna be bittersweet because, you know, this is it. It's almost like in life they say, well, you know, like they said, in life, you get excited about something you know. Once it's over it's over and it's never gonna come again. So you gotta live in the moment and that's, that's what I'll be doing."

Jon Blais 

Quench

Much delayed

Pursuit

"Once you have been there and done that, you feel happy for a while but the joy fades with time and you realise it is empty"

"Many have asked why I want to share the secrets of my success. Now I may not be able to take anything with me but I can still leave something behind for my children and students as real joy comes from giving and sharing"

Edwin Lim

The Straits Times, Home, 19 Jan 2013

Twenty Twelve

I feel it's necessary to blog about 2012 as a whole (kinda), despite how I have been limiting blog posts on this site to running-related posts only. Yet I'll keep them brief and vague, you'll have to ask me specifically if you'd like details.

2012 was a year of many new experiences, just as most years have been, due to my very tender age. I developed and directed relationships, encountered a few setbacks and enjoyed many blessings. The culmination of the various aspects definitely grew me to fit in my own skin.

A few weeks ago, the phrase "unprecedented favour" popped into my mind. I am certain I've experienced it - credit going to God - and I am grateful. Grateful for the people he has placed in my lives, grateful for the blessings he has showered upon me, grateful for the setbacks that I've experienced.

I note these, bearing in mind that He can give and take away - and let's not realise it only when it's too late.