Running Around the World: Country #29, Singapore

Quote of the Day: Jet Lag cures include a 2 hour workout and a 15km run. How does a 45 minute nap sound instead? www.beready.net

Photo Courtesy of time.com


Singapore marks the 29th country I've run in. I think I'll try all the suggestions in the Quote of the Day today. My impressions of Singapore so far after 1/2 a day.

1.  Stay at the Traders Hotel if you want to be close to good running (The Botanic Gardens are 1 block away and there's a golf course across the street). If you search on google the Botanic Gardens are usually at the top of every list of things to see in Singapore. I took care of that in my first morning run. 
2. I've also checked out the pool and the gym. The pool although not square is large enough (3st. 30 meters end to end) to work on your swimming form. The gym is good but it looks like it will be hot in the day. 
3. Singapore is known for its large Ex. Pat community and I think I found it. The runners in the park, the folks walking the streets, and everyone at Starbucks is not from here. Sure many could be from the hotels around but you can tell a local from not a local and there are lot's of local western faces in the crowd. 
4. Singapore is home to the largest Marathon weekend in the world. Something like 100,000 runners take part in one of 3 or 4 races. That is evident in the number of runners I saw today. I didn't ask where to run this morning. I walked out the hotel found a group of runners and followed them. They showed me the way. 
5. The other thing this location is good for is cycling. On my run I saw 2 riders tucked into their aero bars. On the elevator back up to the room I shared the ride with an Aussie guy and his bike. He had just ridden 2 hours on the streets around the park. He stays in this hotel each time he comes and he brings his bike. 

It's a good life....
Dave

Mobility for Your Feet

Quote of the Day:"Armstrong also said that every top rider doped during the prime of his career and that his doping techniques were unexceptional, if not conservative"

Read More: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/more/news/20130305/lance-armstrong-interview/#ixzz2MlxuBNdH

I don't have a problem with Lance Armstrong. He's done as many good things as he has done bad. But he needs to admit that he was determined to be the best at everything which included his "program". Just leave this quote out and I'd be fine. Yes, every one doped but most everyone also got caught. You did not which makes your program better. 

MobilityThe number one question I get is this "I'm injured, what do I do? In the San Diego Area I am a connector. I connect injured athletes to specialists who I think can help. The shoe cobbler, the massage therapist, the chiropractor, the trainers you name it they get the referral. To some degree it makes sense. 79% of all runners this year will suffer some kind of injury. Just in my household alone, I stepped on a date that put me on the ground writhing in pain. That ballooned up ankle kept me from running for 6 days. Marco suffers knee pain often. Mary has a displaced rib currently that although is not a result of running it is all connected and since the rib issue running has not been consistent.

I stated earlier that I believe mobility is more important than flexibility and flexibility is important. Mobility it taking that layer in your body that is limiting your range of motion and making it fluid. I was first introduced to mobility by Chris Maund at the Chek Studio. At the time I was still recovering from a nasty bike accident where fixing my face was more important than fixing my structure. 8 years after the accident, Chris worked on my structure. He taught me how to mobilize my lower back to make sure tightness there did not limit what I had to do. I still use that mobility today almost 18 years later. Chris also taught me that taking care of my feet was maybe more important for a runner than anything.

Phil Wharton taught me that taking care of your feet was also a form of mobility. It was mobility that fixed my ankle. Slowly but surely I got that baby more mobile each day. I met Phil in Boston MA. He was part of a group brought in as Friends of adidas when I worked for that brand. He has the calmest demeanor and is simply a walking talking running guru. He's just brilliant. The below video is one of his best. If you simply do this routine or part of this routine 5 minutes before you run, bike, swim, hike, climb etc and then spend time doing again as part of 30 minutes each evening of mobility and stretching and your chance of injury will be greatly reduced. Other than dates, my injury rate is quite low and it's due in large part to guys like Chris and Phil.

I'll write more on Mobility and Stretching. There is no one answer and not everything I talk about or put on this page will work for everyone.  But it's worth at least a try for everyone since 79% of you will get injured this year.

It's a good life....
Dave

Desert Sprint Triathlon

Yesterday was the Desert Sprint Triathlon. I raced it to test my fitness and to test my life. First the test my life part.

I flew to San Francisco on Friday to work with Javier Gomez. My return flight put me in San Diego at 8:30pm. I picked up Mary and Marco and we drove to Palm Springs. We got to the hotel around midnight and got to bed around 1 am.  3.5 hours later I was up and ready to get to racing.

I chose to do a long warm up riding my bike starting in the dark to the race. I find the older I get and the shorter the event the more warm up I need. The race started fine. A hard sprint to the first turn made sure I wasn't punched, kicked or lost my goggles. I settled into a hard pace and was soon out of the water. Slow as molasses transition and I was out on the bike. I told Marco before the start that my plan was to redline the entire race. LET'S GO, YES, ARG!.......Pace was hard and felt smooth.....On your left was a constant. LET'S GO, YES, ARGGGGGGGGGG! Short little climb to transition (still amazes me that when the road goes up most go backwards). Off the bike with another sluggish transition and I was on my turf the run. LET'S GO, YES, ARGGGGGGGG! Instantly the run felt strong, I could run hard and not feel it. LET's GO, YES, ARGGGGG! I was running through the field. Let's remember that my age group was the 5th to start so the a big part of the race was in front of me. Finally at mile 1 it was silence. Just me, by breathing and my pace. The LET'S GO, YES, ARG! was this dude who road behind me most of the way and who got off the bike with me. He wouldn't shut up. I pushed hard on the run to drop him so I could get some silence. Soon the race was over.

I learned that the training I'm doing is working. In a very short time I went from struggling through a 1/2 marathon, traveled around the world and put in 2 weeks of adjusted training and boom I felt strong the entire way. More on what I"m doing later.

After the race it was some R&R with Mary and Marco. The Desert did not let us down.

It's a good life....
Dave