Rain rain go away...
If you're living in Singapore or Malaysia, chances are that the weather has pretty much wrecked havoc to your training plans. Daily showers of accurate timing, usually starting at approximately 2pm and continuing to late evening or even late night, means that for the most of us who get our daily fix of mileage by running in the evenings, are left frustrated or feeling "cinya amkan".
What can one do? There are a few suggestions:-
1) Run in the rain. Only to be done if the rain is not excessively heavy (obviously a very subjective matter here) and there is an absence of thunder and lightning (very objective). Pros- very cooling. Can run longer and faster with the drop in temperature. Cons- Thunder and lightning obviously kills. Soggy t-shirts and shoes. Sloshing can contribute to blisters.
2) Run on an indoor track. Con- This is practically non-existent in Singapore and Malaysia. Tracks are mostly outdoors. Think Hayward Field, Beijing Olympics Stadium (The Bird's Nest).
3) Run on the treadmill. How many of us actually own a treadmill? Next to none. If anything, the treadmills are usually found in the gym. So, to use a treadmill, we have to be members of a gym. If you're a "pure" runner (in the sense that your only form of workout is running and nothing else), then it is obviously a waste of money to be a member of a gym, and to use the treadmill in the gym only when it rains. But, if you're living in a condo that has a gym (and by extension, treadmill), then good for you.
4) Cross train. Find other ways of getting in your workout. But this usually involves going to a gym too (See 3) above. Alternatively, find an indoor pool and swim! For instance Kompleks 3K in Subang Jaya has an indoor pool. Also, invest in a cardio machine that is cheaper than a treadmill at the same price, but better quality. A spinning bike for instance. A RM2k spinning bike is definitely going to be a reasonable quality machine compared to a treadmill of the same price.
5) Get a trainer for the road bike you already have (like me). The trainer is placed on the back wheel and mimics road conditions. You sort of lock this thingy at your rear wheel and just start riding. With a remote, I can change the terrain by making it more hilly, or simulate riding on a flat road. I've been using this for the last week, for 2 hours each time, in front of my tv. Watched "Without Limits" for the umpteenth time, riding faster in the scenes where there were races, also watching Eurosport on StarHub, watching the cycling races, notably the Tour of Lombardy, trying to mimic the hard riding when the riders were on the flats, and standing up when they were hitting the mountains.
What can one do? There are a few suggestions:-
1) Run in the rain. Only to be done if the rain is not excessively heavy (obviously a very subjective matter here) and there is an absence of thunder and lightning (very objective). Pros- very cooling. Can run longer and faster with the drop in temperature. Cons- Thunder and lightning obviously kills. Soggy t-shirts and shoes. Sloshing can contribute to blisters.
2) Run on an indoor track. Con- This is practically non-existent in Singapore and Malaysia. Tracks are mostly outdoors. Think Hayward Field, Beijing Olympics Stadium (The Bird's Nest).
3) Run on the treadmill. How many of us actually own a treadmill? Next to none. If anything, the treadmills are usually found in the gym. So, to use a treadmill, we have to be members of a gym. If you're a "pure" runner (in the sense that your only form of workout is running and nothing else), then it is obviously a waste of money to be a member of a gym, and to use the treadmill in the gym only when it rains. But, if you're living in a condo that has a gym (and by extension, treadmill), then good for you.
4) Cross train. Find other ways of getting in your workout. But this usually involves going to a gym too (See 3) above. Alternatively, find an indoor pool and swim! For instance Kompleks 3K in Subang Jaya has an indoor pool. Also, invest in a cardio machine that is cheaper than a treadmill at the same price, but better quality. A spinning bike for instance. A RM2k spinning bike is definitely going to be a reasonable quality machine compared to a treadmill of the same price.
5) Get a trainer for the road bike you already have (like me). The trainer is placed on the back wheel and mimics road conditions. You sort of lock this thingy at your rear wheel and just start riding. With a remote, I can change the terrain by making it more hilly, or simulate riding on a flat road. I've been using this for the last week, for 2 hours each time, in front of my tv. Watched "Without Limits" for the umpteenth time, riding faster in the scenes where there were races, also watching Eurosport on StarHub, watching the cycling races, notably the Tour of Lombardy, trying to mimic the hard riding when the riders were on the flats, and standing up when they were hitting the mountains.
Anyway, nothing beats running outside, so here's to hoping the weather clears up soon (doubtful though, its the monsoon season, right?).
On a side note, I bought the Nike Lunar Racers. As Bill Bowerman said in the movie "Without Limits", "...light as a feather". A review of it can be found in Jamie's site (18th October 2008). I've only run in it once (due to the weather) and it was amazing.
On a side note, I bought the Nike Lunar Racers. As Bill Bowerman said in the movie "Without Limits", "...light as a feather". A review of it can be found in Jamie's site (18th October 2008). I've only run in it once (due to the weather) and it was amazing.
posted by pm19 at
11:58 pm
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