Tim Reed, Ironman 70.3 World Champion, is currently in town for the Standard Chartered Marathon Singapore (SCMS).

Reed loves Singapore 

I caught up with the 31 year old professional triathlete at the SCMS press conference yesterday, and Reed – who revealed that this is his first time in Singapore – has nothing but praise for our sunny island nation.

He says, “So far we have explored Chinatown and Little India. I have heard mixed responses of Singapore from people; some are not huge fans of Singapore but others love it. So I feel that you have to check it out for yourself and I am impressed.”

He also took part in a run earlier this week, with local runners and soaked up the sights and sounds of the Marina Bay area, which he had nothing but praise for.

Reed added, “I really love how the Singapore Government has created the infrastructure and sporting facilities to put on big events. That is a real positive for Singapore as it seems like the Government is very proactive and all of the opportunities here, make Singapore a great place to live.”

No quick fix to doing well at sport

Reed, who has been involved with triathlons since 2007 and had turned pro in 2010, also revealed that there is no quick fix to doing well in an endurance sport. He says, “Be consistent. You do not get better from training. Instead you get better from recovering. For age group triathletes especially, if you have a heavy workload, it is no use adding a heavy training load to that because the body cannot recover. Adapt your training around life and vice versa.”

He added, “Also be patient. Endurance sport takes a long time for athletes to reach their potential, about 10 years. There is no point in thinking that you can go hard for two years with training and you will get there. Set your expectations at a realistic level and do not expect to compete with the pros whilst you are holding down a full time job. If you are unrealistic then you will only set yourself up for disappointment.”

Pace yourself appropriately during races

Being good and doing well not only applies to training. It is also important to pace oneself appropriately during races. Said Reed, “For running, set out at a reasonable pace and push the speed only on the second half of the run; that is how people have their best races in running. You need to be able to control yourself in the first few kilometres; it is very easy to get carried away but you will have a disastrous race after that.”

He added “Triathlon is similar; focus on pacing the bike well so that you can still run after that.”

It is also wrong to think that because cycling and running uses different muscles, you can push hard and not expect to cramp during the event. Says Reed, “If you ride too hard it does not matter because you will have no more energy left to run, regardless of the muscles that have been used.”

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Running with Tim Reed

SCMS 2016 Press Conference 

Run with Luis Garcia