Pre-race mental training

Here some routines that i go through before my races that I would love to share with all runners, especially my fellow SRJCians. All the best for the upcoming Will Run! =)


Visualization

Days before and even till moments before the race, i will visualise the race route in my head. (Of course i have done my research and checked out the race route, even if it is an overseas race!) I will picture myself running in "perfect form", hitting the bends hard, adjusting my body to weave through human traffic and even how i will draft other runners then moving in for the "overdrive" when the time is right. I will picture myself running through all the "tough" portion of the race, eg. upslopes and choke points.

During the actual race, i will not be taken by surprise or be impatient as i have rehearsed the race many times in my head, in all posible senarios (good and bad). This boosts my self-efficacy and my confidence of reaching my goal.


Affirmations

Constantly reminding myself that I am a marathon runner and i am good at what i do: run. Our minds operate in the present so the more we tell ourselves something, even if it is not yet true, the faster our mind believes it and begins working now to make that affirmation a reality.

Every season i have a quote for myself. I will constantly repeat this quote whenever i feel jaded or tired during training or racing. Last season, the quote was "every single step counts". This season the quote is something i came up with and i think it is awesome =) "my determination has no equal".

Find a quote for yourself. Repeat it in your head. Know that you can break all limits as long as you do not restrict your mind.



Block the Negative

Irregardless how many times i have ran a marathon/ half marathon/ 10km, there will be a time when the negativity creeps in. The evil that prevents me from performing well.....


i am so tired...
the weather is too hot...
i need some water...

oh gosh.. the person in front has stopped. maybe i should stop too...
half way done.. omg.. 21km more to go... arggghhh..
my feet is killing me...

sound familiar? I face these as often as anyone out there. The difference? I block them out as soon as possible. I zone myself back in again and tell myself that i wanna race with no regrets.
I will repeat my quote to give me strength and to re-focus myself.
my determination has no equal..
my determinaiton has no equal... 
my determination has no equal!

I had visualised myself encountering such moments. I have pushed through and overcame them in my mind numerous times. Thus, I know I will overcome it in reality.
I remind myself that the decision to push through is correct. I have faith in myself. Becuase. I have trained too hard to give up on this day.

Block out the negativity and bring yourself back into the zone. This is the time when you may feel your "second wind".

and my last words to all SRJCians before our 2012 "unstoppable" Will Run:

START UNKNOWN.
FINISH UNFORGETTABLE.
BE UNSTOPPABLE!


Time to rock and roll
\m/

Zac

internship at srjc

and so.. 5 weeks of internship is coming to an end. honestly, i cant bear to put an end to this. i am having so much fun and i have made so much awesome memories.

recalling back at my first day of internship, where the was so much awkwardness between me and the rest of the staff room till today where we are able to joke around and even share some personal issues with each other. =)
special thanks to those that came to make everything so much better for me. you know who u are! :)




SRJC has developed into a running school and every single staff and student is so ever motivated to run and clock the distance. It has truly developed into a school which i am proud to be a part of. Probably that is because i have become a marathon runner. nevertheless, having a school tradition and school spirit is something that was truly lacking during my time.. so this is a great step forward!





During this period of time, i was assigned to the new cca, runners' club. As always, the first few sessions with the students are very never easy as they do not open up to me. However, i am glad that as the sessions continue, their running mechanics got better and their personal best has been improved. With that, they started to trust my training more, opened up more and i have definitely built new friendship with students of runners' club. It is really an awesome experience.





The main event during this internship is definitely the will run. It is a 75min race for the boys and 90 mins race for the girls where students attempt to clock the maximum mileage possible. For every km covered, a $1 donation is given to the school, in which a portion of it will be donated to charity.

My basketball boys have all been running hard during the PE lessons to build up to a good race. i am certain they will do well and that they will do me proud. i have faith in them. Boys, remember that i have never doubt your abilities. so, do not limit urself. jiayou for the upcoming A division!

Since the PE department has duties to fulfill during the actual race, we have done our will run separately from the rest of the school. yesterday was my run. to be honest, the distance i clocked wasnt good enough for a celebration. but i would like to dedicate my run to my beloved basketballers, runners' club and my pe class. You guys really do mean something to me and i really enjoyed every moment i have spent with you! :)




and of course i would like to thank asics ;) Heres my sexy blue racer! vroom vroom!




all good things come to an end. it is the ending that makes everything in life so special and precious.

i will miss SRJC.
i have began to like SRJC.

=]

love u peeps.



Zac
nil sine labore

do not wallow in self-pity

successful people make choices not sacrifices.

thinking of "sacrifices" will only add up to more negative vibes instead of positive vibes, which is the initial idea when we first begin our journey. we all want to have head towards a better and more positive future dont we?

so here are some thinking i personally think we should have, in order to eliminate any thoughts that sacrifices are being made as we embark on our journey:

remind ourselves why we embark in the journey in the first place

telling ourselves that it will all be worth it

being clear that this the right decision

have a good support team to reassure us that it is all worth it

focusing on all the positive things that we have achieved and put the journey into perspective against our old lives

thinking about how much more control we have over our old lives and how much more fulfilled we have felt since we had embarked on our mission



all these are easier said than done.
i have written all the "answers" and will be reading them every now and then as i am my best motivator and this is a decision i have made for myself. i am
proud of it.

onwards and never back down. more positivity and effective communications with others can prove to be a very important element.

time for me to be even more discipline as i move closer to kobe marathon 2012.

2012 is gonna be a fantastic and extraordinary year for me.

may god bless me and japan.

ROAD TO OSAKA 2012 begins now.

Zac Leow
peace
:D

making me proud

i finally realised one the best feelings and proudest moments in my life occurs when "i give".

recently one of my basketball boys had a time based race and midway through the race i saw him and i encouraged him. his reply was short and really sweet "zac. i will make sure i do 14km today. i really wanna make you proud".

such a simple sentence. really sums up alot to me.

i want to continue to motivate and inspire more people to out-do themselves.

first. i will have to lea by example.

its time go go go!!



Zac Leow
peace
:D

everything happens for a reason

the more i think back, the more i see a pattern. there is indeed a reason/lesson for every setback i have encountered over the years.

recently, i had a few setbacks , which included my fantastic fall, but i held firm to my values and my determination pulled me through.

i am finally reaping the fruits of victory from my 400m repeats and 5km repeats. it feels so awesome to be rewarded.

needa re-focus now and then to keep myself in check. make sure i reach my short term goals to that the ultimate goal will be achieved! :)

all can be done if i keep faith!
it will be done.




Zac Leow
peace
:D

tea chapter, my new studying place!

yesterday was my off day from internship and i decided to have a relaxing afternoon out. so i headed towards neil road to have korean lunch. its awesome man. awesome..

as i was walking around, i came across a store that i had visited as a kid. like literally a 7 year old child.. really amazed to see this store still standing strong. Tea Chapter!




and so i proceeded to the 2nd story and ordered myself a pot of tea to enjoy the afternoon..



looks really cosy and traditional. really a very nice change from the hectic city life that we are so often bombarded with.








beautiful colour of the tea under the reflection. so zen.. haha..




plugged in my power cable and tada! time to surf net and enjoy my tea!! heehee..




there is actually a "tea master" that will show u the proper way of tea appreciation. and sad to say, i am really bad at it. haha!! but definitely a new experience for me :)




so this is where all the different type of teas are kept. really very traditional. me likey!!








to top things off, i had a dessert! pu'er tea jelly. really refreshing and something different! i felt so "healthy"! ho ho ho..




a picture of the boss looking at some of the stuff i was doing. really nice, good looking man. very good communicator too!

really had a very good relaxing and nice experience. shall go back often to study! :)

u guys can give it a try yo!


=D

the fall

hasnt had the best of luck recently :(

on wednesday, while conducting my PE lesson, i slipped and fell, crashed into a pillar and gave myself a deep cut. initially, i thought the cut was manageable and and i continued running. after 800m or so, i felt increasingly pain with every step. hence, i stopped running and walked back towards my PE dept. as i was walking back, i realised the portion of my exposed socks were soaked blood red and i saw streams of blood flowing down my shin. "bad news" i thought.
i reached for my first aid kit and wanting to dress myself, only to realised the cut was so big and deep that i actually saw my bone.

"damn, what should i do".. i forced the muscles together and bind them tightly with the bandage and i iced it immediately to prevent further bleeding.. and i requested to be sent to the doctor asap.

so as always, i went through my phone book, dialed a few numbers and got myself a doctor waiting for me just down the road from my school.

i received 3 big stitches and was asked not to run for 1 week.

totally depressed man. no running.. arrrggghhh!!! so i kinda cheated. im biking now as im typing. haha!!




My blood red socks




my bandaged leg after the stitching..




the swelling wound and the 3 big stitches. scarred for life. but ok la. part and parcel of life right? ya..


cant wait for 1 week to be up so i can running and stop biking!! arrgghhh!! hate biking