Saul Alvarez: Remarkable Results

After my 3rd knee operation in 2009, my surgeon said he would like to see me run a full marathon. I smiled and thought to myself: “You must be crazy”!

A few months later, I competed in the 10 KM Standard Chartered Marathon event. However, the experience was not an enjoyable one due to my excessive weight, I reached a point, where I did not even want to look at the weighing scale anymore.

After the 10KM race, I told myself it had to change. In my younger days, I used to be a top athlete, strong, fit, and flexible. Life seemed more enjoyable; I had more energy and was also able to sleep better.

A work colleague referred me to Shem Leong, the Singapore Ironguides coach. I asked Shem if he would take the challenge to design a marathon program for me as I had absolutely no interest nor intention to ever compete in a triathlon, mainly because of the swimming.

Shem took on the challenge and the result was remarkable: I competed in a 12 KM race 4 months after my 1st The Method training program and managed to reduce my 10 KM timing by 22 minutes (from 1:20 hrs to 58mins). On the physical front, I was also weighing 14 KG less. It was a tough race but the result gave me great confidence for my 1st half-marathon that was merely a month later.

My 1st half-marathon was a truly enjoyable experience. I finished it in 2:14 Hrs, which was even less than what I had set out to do. The most pleasing, however, was that I had neither muscle aches nor soreness after the event, plus I had lost another 2 KG.

Today, as I am writing my story, I have already signed up for the Ironman Switzerland in 2011. And yes, I wrote just a few paragraphs earlier that I had no intention to ever compete in a triathlon because of the swimming.

Thanks to Shem, The Method and the remarkable results to date, I am getting back into shape; feeling strong, fit and flexible, with lots of energy and being 16 KG lighter. But most importantly, all the training and competition is an enjoyable time for self-exploration, to learn more about my body and mind, and how it reacts to the various circumstances, planned and unexpected ones.