Just Keep TRI-ing

Sprint Distance  Started the day with a bad swim. I forgot how to swim in a wetsuit since it was my first wetsuit swim since April. I also had major sighting problem and ended swimming 200m longer than I should.  My pace was 2:12/100m. I knew the swim was bad but I didn't expect it to be that horrible. As a comparison I swam much faster in Oman and the last DWS Triathlon. Both sub 2:00 and non wetsuit. I was beaten by pretty much everyone including those who usually swim much slower than me.  I tried to recover on the bike but I can't seem to produce enough power to ride close to my FTP especially in headwinds.   I guess my race was over 10 km into the bike. There's no point pushing myself to the limit and risk getting injured one week before IM70.3 Bahrain. I backed off and continued the race without any urgency and just enjoying what's left of the race. The run was just a protocol. I took the opportunity to focus on correcting my form foot strike. I hope I can repl...

25 November 2016 It was my first ITT of the season. My cycling fitness is no doubt improving but I am still sluggish to even compete for podium in my category (Men C category) which is the slowest category in Qatar Chain Reaction racing handicap ranking. The ITT took place around Lusail Sports Arena on a two laps of 11.5km course. My target was to maintain around 160watt which is marginally higher than my current FTP of 156watt for the whole 23km ride. It was quite windy and I was struggling to put on a consistent effort. I only managed 39:27.7 for an average of 158W for 34.8kmh speed. I believe my biggest mistake of the day was I started the race without a proper warm up. I only did a short 5km warm up which was not nearly enough. In the end I was still happy to finish the race in 5th position in Men C category, 2:41 behind the category winner. Results HERE Distance: 22.9km Time: 39:27.7 Rank Category: 5...

It's all in the hips. I recognize that all my running related injuries came from as a result of my weak hips. Here are some exercise to strengthen the hips  

I have not been running very often nowadays. Last night I ran 18km (the longest in 3 months) I had this pain at the top of my inner thigh. It's likely a groin pull after I forced the adductor muscles to work hard after slacking for a long time and my bad running form off course. Its time for hamstring pull and groin stretch. Hope the pain will go away as I have a 10k race in a 50km relay team in a week time. Here are some useful stretches for runners I found      

I have been struggling to find a good energy drink for race day and training after my bad experience in South Africa last April. I really hate the gels in long races and I the thought of having another gel after 7/8 hours of racing is enough to make me puke. I have tried few brands. Some are better than others but I really couldn't stand the taste and the sweetness that are all too common in most products. Then I started taking Carbo Pro products the last couple of months after I heard about it from Malaysia's top triathlete, Rupert Chen and Malaysia's ultra running icon Razif. I simply love it. It's tasteless. Well not as tasteless as pure H2O. I has just a tinge of sweetness and the mixture is light and easy on the stomach. I have also started using other products like Metasalt, Recovery Amino and VO2 Max Endurance. I really hope I found the last piece of the missing puzzle in triathlon racing; the nutrition. My first tub was signed by Rupert Che...

After a rather disappointing first IM last April , I think it is make sense to go back to South Africa and do it again hopefully with better preparation and without the dramas. 

It pains me to leave QA_TRI triathlon squad. I love the brotherhood and bond among the lads in the squad but I have to make this important decision early before we go too far in the season. This is not good bye. We are going to see each other a lot and like my mate Dave said, 'We are buddies before QA_TRI and we will still be team mates in TriClub Doha'. I would like to thank coach Ryan and my team mates for everything they have done and accepted me for who I am being the slowest in the squad. Well I am may be no longer part of the squad, but I will still attend the swim sessions with them. So this is not good bye. Get used to it, this is pretty much the view we could expect from them. The awesome squad: From Left Dave, Andy, Me, Aizal, Fabrice, Ryan, Francis, Lee and Ethan (Not in Pic Gamal)