Sgrunners banana relay

Today in East Coast Park, the sgrunners site organised an interesting event called Banana Relay. The participants are divided into teams of 3. Each participant need to run 2 laps of 3km. Total distance is 18km. When running, the participant need to carry a banana and need to pass the banana to the next runner. I was in team "R". I did my first lap in around 16.5 minutes which is pretty good time. My second lap is around 18 minutes (6 min/km pace). At the beginning of the 2nd lap, my left ITB start to get tight. However, this time, it is not so bad as before that I cannot even run. I continue in a slightly slower pace and finish the 2nd lap in a reasonable time. I was wearing the ASICS Gel-1120. It seems to work well and help me to reduce my ITB problem.






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Brisk walk at 8km/h

Today, I have another drill on brisk walk at night with a target speed of 8km/h. I came pretty close to it, finishing the 9.5km at 7:32mins/km pace.


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Exercise for Hip & Glutes

Here is another set of exercise to help strengthening the hip & glutes which may help to reduce knee problems

Gluteus Medius Strengening

With my ITB condition, I keep search on the net to see what may be the root cause. Seems that relative weakness of gluteus medius can be a reason (at least, it fits my case). Below is a video on how to strengthen gluteus medius.

Tempo Run

Since I have a high-to-medium arch, I used to use cushion type of shoes - Nike Pegasus, Mizuno Precision, New Balance 755. These cushion shoes worked well for me until the after the SCSM07. I found that my left knee has ITB problem. And after only a short distance of running, I will have tight ITB and force me to stop running. I observed that my left knee rotate inward which is a sign of pronation. Therefore, I was thinking about getting a stability shoe. It just happened that I saw some Asics Gel-1120 on sales in Royal Sporting House at S$120. I bought a pair of it and it is a cushioned stability shoe. I will see if this help me to reduce my ITB problem. So, this run is my first run with the Gel-1120.

I did a tempo run with the shoe. Since it is new, it is better not to go all out by a little reserved.


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The Gel-1120 feels better than my other cushion shoes but at the end of the 3.2km run, I feel that the ITB is getting to the tight condition. Still wondering what's wrong...

Run/Walk at ECP

After the SCSM07 & MR25 Ultra, I slowly building up my LSD mileage again. Originally planned for a 20km run/walk @8km/hr pace. I did achieve the pace in the 1st hour. However, at around 8km, there is some sharp pain coming from the bottom of the right foot. Not sure whether it is an early warning of Plantar Fasciitis. Better take care of the foot instead. I took a short break to examine my right foot and finish another 8km at a slower pace of 7km/hr. I tried some taping on my toes, it seems to work fine. Though the taping at the ball of foot does not go so well. Not sure whether the taping cause the sharp pain or not. Will try different combination in the future.


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Night LSD

This is my first time having a night LSD exceeding 10km. It is part of the drill for the Sundown Marathon. Tonight, I want to test what is the sustainable brisk walking speed. I finished 12.5km at 8km/hr. Though a bit tire since it is after a whole day of work.


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Run/Walk using Nike Free 5.0

Although I have got my Nike Free 5.0 a few weeks ago, this is my first time running with it. In the last few weeks, I wore the Nike Free occasionally to get familiar with it. And I did a brisk walking with it before. Initially, running with Nike Free seems to be normal. But just after about 1km, I can feel that it is different, but difficult to say what is different. I tried to adjust my running pose to less leaning, more upright. But still, my ITB start to tighten pretty quick, just after 1.8km. I switch to brisk walk for 400m and run for another 400m. It definitely feel different, maybe as it was advertised that it can train up some not frequently used muscles. After 1 loop, I still feel go and I go for a brisk walk for the 2nd loop.


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I will use the Nike Free more for short distance training first and use my other shoes for LSD.

New Garmin Forerunner 405

In CES 2008, Garmin has introduced a new GPS watch Forerunner 405. It has GPS, can communicate with footpod, Heartrate Monitor via wireless using ANT+Sport technology. Most important, it looks like a normal watch!!! It also feature a touch sensitive bezel. Cool!



Also available in Saga Green color with US$299 retail price





Link to Engadget.com

Comparison with 301 and 305.

Recovery Exercise

After three days, finally, the two blisters from the MR25 Ultra are settling down. The one on the toe has dry up already and completely recovered. The big one under the forefoot has dry up, no longer causing pain. And the surrounding no longer in red colour. However, there is still discomfort in it as the think skin has not been taken off yet. It is like I have an extra patch of "sole" on my forefoot. It is uncomfortable though not painful to walk.

I did my recovery exercise today with a combination of universal gym, stationary bike and the elliptical cross-trainer. It exercise most of the muscle in my body. Hopefully, I will wake up tomorrow in a much better shape. I am planning to remove the dead skin from the blister tomorrow as well.

2008 New Year Resolution for running

Happy New Year for 2008. Still nurturing my blister. I poked a hole yesterday and drain some of the liquid from the blister. It gets better today, at least, the blister shrinks and the surrounding is not as red.

For the first day of the year, it is time to set the resolution for 2008:
1. Complete at least one full marathon within 5 hr 30 minutes
2. Complete Sundown Ultra Marathon within cut off time of 15 hours
3. Participate at one ultra walking event (either KL 24 hours or Penang 12 hours)
4. Complete my usual Stirling Loop within 16 minutes (12km/h speed). My current personal best is 17:26.

These will help me to set the foundation for a Centurion event (100 miles or 160km) in 2009.