Daily Log 29 March 2011 - Run, bike and swim

At The World Kidney 7km run Yesterday I wrote about a photography session with good buddy, Johan Sopiee. Johan is an excellent photographer who is fast gaining a reputation for himself in Malaysia. Being a photographer myself (many moons ago) I appreciate Johan's complete dedication to getting the shot done. It's normal to see him lying on the floor to get the perfect angle. We hooked up this morning to see if we can get some shots of me in action. I am truly appreciative of his show of support for my journey. If anyone's looking for a photographer, I am recommending Johan. So this morning's workout consisted of running and biking.

RUN All I had to do this morning was run and Johan would see what kind of angles he can get. So I ran and ran and ran. Sometimes I would run back and forth so that Johan could get the perfect shots so it was a good workout for me. I'll write more about the shoot later when Johan and I can display the pictures for the world to see. Suffice to say that what I saw him capture was fantastic. From a workout perspective, these are my POLAR data: Time 78 minutes Average cadence 64 Average stride length 74 cm Average Heart Rate 70% MHR Running distance 4.28 km Calories burnt 947 kcal I can't write much other than the fact that it seems like an interval workout as I had to alternate between running fast and slow.

BIKE After the run, we decided to get the bike out for a spin to see what kind of pics we can get. I wouldn't really call this a workout as it was only for a short time. Still, I want to capture the date in today's log so hat I can keep track of my workout. The POLAR data are as follows: Time 29 mins Average Heart Rate 65% MHR Calories 266 kcal Average pace 6 min per km Average Cadence 45 Distance 3.56 km SWIM The real star of today is the swimming I did in the evening. I had committed myself to mastering my swimming technique and the only way I can do that is to swim every night and do a lot of drills. Superman glide 2x50m Freestyle 4x50m Freestyle with fin 4x50m Thumb to Thigh 2x50m Touch and Go (aka Catch-up Stroke) 2x50m One arm front 2x50m (this is a new one which involves just using one arm whilst the other arm is fully extended in front) Closed Fist 2x50m Lazy arm 2x50m (this is a new one which is basically not letting my fingers leave the water during the recovery) Freestyle 10x50m Total Laps 30 I'm pretty focussed when I do my swimming. I have to be otherwise my form would break and all sorts of issues would crop up. Today I really focussed on getting each drill correct. When I first wrote about my swimming adventure, I mentioned that my objective is to be able to swim 750 m (15 laps) of the pool without stopping. Today I did 30 laps. Though I took some breathers between laps, it's gratifying that I've achieved that objective. I'm not going to put any time pressure on myself over the next few weeks until I start the official training for the triathlon. My objective is distance and the ability to sustain a pace for long periods of time. I believe I had a breakthrough today. Like my running, I've been searching for the right tempo and pace for me in my swimming.

What is the right tempo and pace. I can't describe the feeling other than when found, it feels right. When I was swimming my last 8 laps of freestyle, I started to practice breathing every 2 stroke rather than mu usual every other strokes. That allowed me to feel the sensation of gliding in the water and suddenly I wasn't struggling anymore. It was a pace that I feel I can sustain for long periods of time. Tomorrow I'm going to add another 4 laps and gradually keep increasing until I can go 50 laps in the pool. What a great feeling.... My POLAR data are as follows: Time 86 minutes Average heart rate 64% MHR Calories 885 kcal Total calorie burn today is an astounding 2098 kcal which is the highest burn rate ever for me. It's part of my strategy for the next 5 weeks. Long but low intensity workout to maximise fat burn. I want to get my weight down to 90kg before I do any speed work. Tomorrow is more running in the morning followed by the usual swim in the evening.