A trail of sweat

Well, good and bad news. I managed to complete 8.4k today non-stop. Good news is I could go the distance, bad news is the pressure was still there and the pain was threatening to flare up as the distance increased. As if every kilometre the pressure was going up a notch until a certain point where it would just explode. I don't know, this might be normal. I am slowly recovering I hope. From the start where I could only do 2K. Now at least I'm doing 8K. But I am sure running really slowly. I also tried adapting to forefoot running. It is tough the change my running style as I have to focus and keep reminding myself to land forefoot but I think it's better than heel strike. My calf muscles are killing my now but it's normal since I've never ran this way before.

Really hope I can do 42K end of this year. I just have to take it easy, tone down on the running frequency and learn from my mistakes last year, which is over training and heel striking. Today was a positive result. Let me recover, and hopefully Friday I will try another 8K and see if there's improvement. I hope that I'm on the right track to recovery, and really really pray I don't hit a wall or that my ITB forbids me to clock long mileage ever again. Fingers crossed.

Today is what, day 10 of Ops LabMONSTER? I've been taking in whey, albeit inconsistently. But I guess I shouldn't go overboard if I'm not training everyday. Just take on training days and I'll be fine.

This week's gonna be a tough week ahead. I wanna blog now that I want it to be tough. I want this week to train my mental and physical strength. I want to come out, enjoy the Friday and Saturday knowing the worst for the month is over. Weird.

Will be staying in till' Friday I guess. Hope I get through without any shit happening.

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Countdown to ORD: 6 months..

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In a dreamy, sleepy land

Well, I went for the Sundown Marathon after all. Did not participate, but went there as a supporter for my friends but more importantly, the watch the champions league final. Which Man Utd lost. Don't really want to recap on it, they got owned by the best team in the world now.

Anyway to say that experiencing the whole Sundown marathon fiesta really got me fired up again is an understatement. I actually felt uncomfortable and out of place being their as a mere supporter and not running. Great man, I have the motivation to run again. So it's running for me, after all.

But how do I overcome this freaking ITB problem? I guess for starters I am going to totally change my way of running and embrace this 'Newton Running' orforefoot strike. The explanation for forefoot strike is sensible, and I really believe it can bring me to the next level, injury free. Heel striking caused my ITB, coupled with my excessive training and over striding, I have no doubt.

I don't know or care if my ITB will heal soon enough, but I will register for Stan Chart anyway. I'm not going to miss it for the world, and if my ITB strike, I will still force myself to walk finish. But really, my ultimate aim is to run fast again. To beat my peers. Right now, seems like they are improving fast! A few of them just ran at Sundown FM/HM with great timings and one even beat my 5:04 by 56 secs!! So for my running buddies, they are definitely catching up. Which means I have to turn up the gas and work even harder to recover and improve my overall form.

Is the Four Hour marathon possible this year on SCSM 2011? Or will I crumble yet again? The next few months will be indicative. We'll see.

On another note, screw the whole uni application and my 'future' my now. I don't have to unnecessarily stress myself. I will think about it, but I don't like blogging about my studies and my 'future' etc.

Please let me RUN..!

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Peaceful Times...

It is indeed peaceful times for me. Yes the past few months have been extremely hectic, but at least I am not signing extra or doing SOL. Those days were draining. I've said before, the honeymoon days are over. It was over since March or Apr. I knew it was over when I could no longer chain offs. Either cos' of parades, lack of manpower, functions, events, duties, platoon meetings, induction, rehearsals, AHM training etc etc. And now the Istana is going through a complete overhaul with the new system, and the specs being doubly anal with us, life's can only get tougher, I forsee. I am ok with this, as long as they don't bother me too much, they don't mark me, they don't arrow me. Tough schedule -- okay, but I am sick of punishments and redundant meetings and discipline talks etc.

Going to see my physio in a bit. Didn't manage to get a run as I woke up late. Guess it must have been the NDP rehearsal and weights -- they took a toll on my body. Quite negative right now about my leg, but I can't skip the session so we will just go and see what he has to say.

I am definitely looking forward to a double free weekend. The first in don't know how many weeks. Ain't no way some bitch gonna call me for last minute activation/change duty, N-O NO! Because of CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FINAL, sundown weekend and I NEED a break. Hopefully Monday I can clear off but 90% no cos' they are being anal on status personnel. Say u love it..

Anyway after physio might be heading straight to camp for platoon meeting (again). Then have to stay in for second last duty of the month...I'm sad. But the weekend is coming..!!!

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Recovery

It is sad, but I just discovered an effective ITB stretch an hour ago. This is after months of suffering and going through useless rehab. I think the physio don't really think my condition is serious. He is just massaging and doing 'uv scanning' which I think is useless. And the stretch he taught was pretty useless, to be honest. Hell, in the first place he didn't even tell me my diagnosis. When I told him I suspected ITBS he acknowledged but didn't confirm it. I think that's quite unprofessional and I feel that he thinks that I may be 'chao keng' or that my problem was minor.

Going to public hospitals or physiotherapy for running injuries is useless. The only way is to find private clinics, certified orthopedics etc.

So tomorrow is hopefully my last physio session before I can stop going since it's useless anyway. I'd much rather bank on doing my own stretches learnt from youtube than waste time and $ on people who don't care. Well, that's life.

So it's what, day 5 of Ops LabMONSTER. I ain't gonna post anymore stuff, I'm going to lift some weights and drink some whey now.

Tomorrow hopefully I get in a 10K run in the morning before going to NUH.

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What Once Was.

Today marks the 5th day of "Ops LabMONSTER". Training is going on slowly as I have duties the past few days. I've tried to squeeze in some time to lift weights but I guess if I really want REAL results then I better start finding time to hit the gym.

Fking hell my internet connection got cancelled and now I'm just surviving on portable modem which is pathetic. Oh man...

Hopefully we can get some runs and gym sessions by the end of the week since I'm quite free already, expect Friday duty.

I don't know if my ITBS has completely healed, I don't think so. But I'm not going to be controlled by it anymore. The next run is going to be 10K and if it hurts so fking be it cos' I'm going to run until my leg breaks. I'm sick of this hibernating lifestyle.

I'm entering a world of hurt.

No, I'm already in a world of hurt man.

It ain't ending anytime soon...

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Because I'm serving my country...

Day 2 of Ops LabMONSTER. Did not take any whey today, cos' the tub was in camp and timing was very inconvenient. But I did eat quite a lot I think, from the feast during the cabinet swearing in at Istana.

Sucks to book in on a Saturday afternoon. Especially when you go out and see people, people my age dressing nicely and going out to have fun. Instead, I am carrying my uniform and heading to camp. Why? Cos' I have to do MPIA for the cabinet swearing in today. Have to serve my country.

Today's MPIA experience was quite positive. Initially I feared that there'll be screw ups esp with new guys doing, but they did ok. I'm just glad me myself did not screw up and I'm quietly proud of the fact that I have gotten over the nervousness when I first started doing MPIA. Cos' I'm a lao jiao son...

Anyway maybe I should've taken the whey. But one day doesn't hurt. I've brought the whole tub back home; I think I can prepare easier that way.

Tomorrow we will definitely resume training and whey intake. I'm thinking of a 10K run. But fk I need to make a trip down to expo for e race pack collection early in the morning. What a chore. But at least I've sold the slot.

Tomorrow's going to be a long day. Good or bad, up to me. Have to wake up early...

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The First Day

Ok blog I have started taking the whey powder today. Total of 3 scoops mix with water. Taste like crap. It was too sweet and medicine like...

Somehow I don't think I'll see any difference after one month but I'll just have to wait and see. At least I have not waste time and started already. So Day 1 is over.

I have tried to lift weights but Detail 3 totally screwed up my schedule, so I just did a substandard session. Better than nothing, right?

The thought of having to drink this crap for next month and possibly further is sickening, but if it yields results then I'm ok with it.

Of course, I may turn fat but that's just the risk. Anyway it's not like I'm not lifting weights so I think I'll get my desired outcome.

We will see.

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Ops LabMONSTER

There are many times I blogged that I'm going to start bulking up, but every time I try, there are no results. Not that I didn't try, but it's impossible if I don't take supplement.

So this time, I am fed up enough to just give it a go. I've gotten half a tube of whey isolate and I'm gonna start using. And if results don't show after one month of this training and eating, then I am really a failure in bodybuilding.

Show I take pics? Hm, it would be the most effective way, but I am kind of sick of taking pics. Unless there's really changes.

Hopefully after this period my chin up will increase and of course the ultimate aim is to become bigger.

I think I will start with 30 days for the transformation. One month is damn short for significant changes but if I train hard and take the whey consistently, there should at least be visible changes.

Well enough of the talk, time for some work.

Will update whenever possible.

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Rehab

I should be back to joining races soon if my ITB has really healed. The rehab seems to be working, but I haven't really run at a competitive level yet so I can't accurately gauge if I'm 100%. It's better to progress slowly though. Anyway the aim is to make it for AHM and Stan Chart...

Wtf is happening to the platoon nowadays...why so much pressure and unnecessary conflicts.. I guess with SAF Day and NDP coming, and two unhappy specs, the pressure is building up on everyone. The honeymoon days are indeed over. The worst thing is that I fear this guy may become somebody I hate...he is being a damn nuisance to the platoon..

Speaking of which I have to book in tonight for duty, then Sun to Tue consecutive...Ah can you feel the heat. (Literally I can)

Saving up for the targeted $5000 balance when I ORD is going well, with just short of $4K now (including gov $700). At this rate I might even reach $6K! I have become quite fond of saving up since my SOL days; watching my bank balance grow month after month is quite shiok. Best thing is that even though I have the extra $700, I don't have the mentality to want to splurge on stuff. In fact, it has made me want to save up even more.

Haix whatever time to go.

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Kvlt/Trve: The Revival?

Am I back for good?

First n foremost, I was on a hiatus for so long because I lost it. No more motivation to blog. My life has become dull and boring. (Yea, it was never that interesting anyway) If you saw my last post, "Lab goes to jail", you would know.

I was reading my previous entries and I decided that I couldn't just throw away this blog after spending so much time building it. Sure, there's not much readers but there are a lot of experiences inside which makes me realise the importance of keeping record of your life.

It's been what, 3 whole months since I posted. A lot of changes happened. The most obvious one would be the SOL episode (tt's where I went to 'jail') for bringing camera phone. Lesser said the better. What about the 360 degree change in my character in Istana? Or my ITB injury, which is still recovering (on physio now). Due to this, I have totally put away my races, INCLUDING 100K SUNDOWN ULTRA until my knee heals. I am going back to races soon, though. During this period I have also tried to bulk up to little success. But I hope there are changes, however subtle. Also I have tried out more daring stuff with my Istana platoon mates.

One thing that really started was the fact I started praying. To whom, I don't know. I would say it's my inner voice. But at least, it keeps me sane and I know I have something to rely on. At the same time I tried quitting Black Metal. It has worked relatively well, but I really do not know if it's best for me. Seems like without rage and depression, I have become a shell of myself lately. I have become worse, much worse especially if you ask my platoon mate.

Istana life is really shitty now, and might get worse when the mount-standby new system commences next month. I am already so called a lao jiao now but realistically there's still a long way. The next big event for me is doing MPIA for NDP. Get over that and we can start the ORD celebrations. Just 6 months...

Took n passed BTT also, now looking towards FTT and practical. But where to find the money?

There are lots more stuff to say, but right now, the priority is

GET BACK TO RACES N BODYBUILDING

ACT LIKE A NORMAL PERSON.

Thank you.

*Btw I just had to post this*-- one year ago I said that "烟花易冷" was just average and 'nothing special'. Well by the magic of Jay Chou, I have totally fell in love with this masterpiece after realising it's inner beauty beneath the "normal chorus". It is one of my favourite and most repeated tracks right now...

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