You, me and Tesky

Old school vs New technology

2012-02-10T20:14:00.007+08:00

10 Feb 12. Pay day.

People close to me knew i practically grew up in the swimming pool. I cannot remember when i got my first goggle tan-line on my head but it would be darn close to before primary school.

Swim instructors (public pool types) are rather old school in teaching. They laid my swim foundation by teaching strokes that was understood by a 4 year old. High elbows exit, centre line entry with thumb first and pinky last, the "S" pull, thumb to touch the thighs and exit again. These drills were practiced every week during the hour long swim class, those days i remember paying $20 a month and i learnt all 4 strokes within 2 years. During the 2 years, i also managed to take part in swim races where i learnt the difference between plunging and falling from the starting blocks. Throughout those years, my parents were there to cheer me every race. I was a happy boy.

Swim coaches are slightly different. My first swim coach gave swim sets that made my swim instructors look elementary. My first swim session (no longer called class) was 2 hrs straight. No one seems to talk or chat during sets, everyone was serious and i seem to be falling off the pace as the sets go. We were expected to be able to swim the basic 4 strokes, however the drills remained the same (high elbow……thumb to thighs). I was also introduced to training aids (fins, buoys, hand paddles) where stroke mistake are being magnified right in front of the coach. Normal penalties include a harsh 1 way conversation from the guy wearing the sunglass. In the 3-4 years of swimming under him, my strokes were permanently imprinted in my muscle system. I could swim 50m till 5000m in the same stroke standards. I raced sufficiently to sharpen my plunge style and pushed my body to the limit where body fats were single digit, so much for a junior secondary school kid. At this stage, i was swimming 4 sessions a week.

My last coach had the biggest impact in my swimming. She spoke little english, most of the times she was just shouting mandarin words from the side lines at us. I was first introduced to stroke count, 50m, 100m, 200m, 400m, 800 & 1500m sets over the 10-12 sessions weekly. Mandatory mental counting was require and it has to be +/- 1 stroke for every lap, this applies to training and racing (as a 13 year old, i understood the principle of train as you race, race like you train, everything is 100%). Failure to count strokes or outside the allowance earned flippers, hand paddles or pull buoys being thrown to the head. Those days, performance failures in training are equally as bad as failing in races. As we swam and grew up, the stroke count and the overall lap times reduced, that was the biggest takeaways from all the twice daily session in the pool. Stroke drills remained unchanged but there were more emphasis on swimming straight (think swimming blind-folded). By 16, i could do a 50m frontcrawl at 26 secs (30 strokes) and 50m backstroke 32secs (32 strokes).

Today, my stroke count had dropped to 32 strokes per 50m for 32secs lap, of course my body fat were also double digits. I had since gave up competitive swimming and taken up other sports that i had developed passion over the years. However, my training and experience manifested in my swim performance in my triathlon participation where I applied stroke counting to my swim pace. Most times i could exit the swim leg (OD to IM) within my desired swim pace. I am fortunate to have spent my childhood in the chlorinated pool (perhaps that should not be counted as a childhood) and being drilled repeatedly (days, months, years, day and night) to have my current swim stroke. For all the years of "abuse", i am thankful for what my swim instructors and coaches had done for me.

Many new swim training methodology emerged over the years. Every method were developed with the aim to improve swim times. For the new swimmer, understanding them will take time, mastering them will take a longer time (prob years). Technology enhances the training but it does not take away the requirement of hard work, sweat and at times blood. With a good foundation, technology (for performance or training) brings one to the next level of performance, that's where PBs are achieved.

One thing that did not changed over the years is consistency, technique and discipline. Among the 3, technique rules over the other 2. Proper technique reduced the effort of training (not elimination). Consistency in training method promotes muscle memory and baseline performances. Discipline strengthen the mental aspect of training and racing. Over the years, the phrases "Perfect Training makes Perfect Results" or "Quality Training" appeared. They applied to all sports disciplines and life in general i believe.

For those lacking in foundational training, focus primary on techniques. Once in the hand, performance comes naturally.

Thank god that no one throw training aids anymore these days….

Have an awesome weekend perfecting your techniques.

Not racing at a Tri Race

2012-02-06T23:29:00.002+08:00

6 Feb 12, blocked nose since the morning swim

Was up really early yesterday. Much earlier than my usual training days but was excited more than any other Sunday cos I was working as part of a crew of 30 volunteers in the Triathlon Family Sprint Race.

Donning red t-shirts, we moved bike racks, carried tables, mixed hydration, brief competitors, answered their transition queries, reminded them to wear their helmets before un-racking, telling them which direction to go, cheered them, yelling at them to dismount, reminding them again not to wear their bike helmet in the run leg, telling them which direction to go again, hi-five the finishers, congrats them on finishing, clearing up the rubbish, moving the bike racks back, carried the tables back, cleaning the tables and emptying the trash. Happy to have help out and even happier that all competitors finished the race safely.

As a volunteer, i watched the race from another perspective. I anticipated the queries and requirements from the competitors and hope what i gave was useful. My limited experience helped me in these situations.

Packed up and i rode a short but intense ride in the heat and windy Coastal road. I now understand how easily one could zonned out in the heated conditions. Muay Thai blew his rear tires after 12km and i was left alone to face the Selarang hills, Bkt Hendon, Coastal Road and the nasty cross winds.

Ate like an IM finisher at Angster's place thereafter. Still mindful that i have a long race coming up, i had to selectively chose my portions in the awesome Nasi Lemak made by the host and his wonderful family.

Came home slept like a dog for 4 hrs. What a Sunday!

Celebrate for Technology!

2012-02-04T17:12:00.013+08:00

4 Feb 12, next month this time hopefully not so limping..LOL

This morning, a record 20 swimmers turned up at Tanjong Beach for our controlled open water swim practice. As i check the attendance, there were easily 6 swimmers that turn up after hearing about our routine practice. They were here to all attempt their first open water swim before standing in their respective start line for the season's opening races (Sing-Bi, Super Sprint series, Tri Fam Sprint, etc)

Quick familiarisation brief was conducted before we commence swimming. With the briefing getting routine, i hope i did not miss any major pointers as i run through the key headings mentally.

Dennis brought along his new toy, the handsome looking but fearful (to me) Garmin 910XT (right computer). This good looking instrument was the latest in running computers (it's no longer a watch IMO) that could do almost everything less opening the beer bottol. As a replacement for the 310XT (left computer), the most interesting module allows stroke count and is able to measure swim distance. I grew up swimming and count stroke was almost 2nd nature to me allowing me to estimate distance and control my swim pace. As human counts are subjected to errors, it could only be an estimation and not dead accurate data but these new wrist computers remove the human subjectivity and replaced it with precision data via smart algorithm. It is indeed amazing for technology to catch up and reduce human errors, for that we should celebrate.

With every 2 laps ending, swimmers thank and wave us farewell leaving the last 6 swimmers to do the final 2 laps. I could see the dark clouds forming and closing in fast and made the decision to forsake the last 2 as i had done my longest set previously (in the pool). Each lap, i focus on smooth stroke and proper body rotation with the constant stroke count (cannot just switch off just like that..).

My left shoulder seems to be stiffer than normal and i am concern with a inflexible shoulder for IMNZ. After picking up golf, my left shoulder and left pinky finger was constantly stiff. Some checking confirmed that i over gripped when playing the game. Perhaps a trip to the chiropractor will be good to fix things up.

Had brekkie in the Malaysia Makan Street in RWS, the zhu cheong fun with curried yau tau foo was nice but i rate it 6/10 as compared to the Kampar ones.

Collected the Team Singapore IMNZ T-shirt on the way home, something to identify ourselves next month in the 17 hrs race.

Also brought 2 pairs of running shoes (Kinvara 2 & Fasttwitch 5) to replace my faithful pairs that completed numerous milage (Eight 21km races, 4 marathons, two 70.3 Ironman, 1 Ironman and countless training miles). My previous 2 pairs (Kinvara & Fast twitch 4) had brought me to speed and assisted me in PBs and race completion, life span for both pairs are at the terminal phase and i decided to replace them as part of equipment preparation for IMNZ 12.

Seems to be preparing well, better than Regensburg. Those speed sets at the work place should get my running legs fired up for the final discipline on 3 Mar 12. Will be volunteering tomorrow in Tri Fam Sprint competition as transition overall-in-charge. Organisation is my strength and yelling at people not adhering to instructions are my second nature. Good luck to all racing tmr (iterally…)

Final weeks of training

2012-01-29T22:26:00.007+08:00

29 Jan 12, Tough to stay away from the Bak Kwa in the current season!

Sat was a low tide, bummer. I wanted to swim out another 8 laps in the lagoon but would have to wait out another week. Lap Huan returned my wetsuit and i am ready to train in my race outfit once again (Bike and run were done in the actual race outfit i chose for IMNZ 12).

Des suggested running instead. I took the offer since i had not done a longer run in a few weeks. The plan was to run from ECP F2 till B2, cross into the construction site and run parallel to MBCG to Garden by the Bay East and back. It should take approximately 2 hrs (i didn't know the distance) in a steady pace (which will be conversational). Mr Courtesy came along and we ran Tri-some in a nice steady conversational pace. Angster needed to be home for Jr's swim class hence he took the Coastal route instead. En-route, we had to overcome a locked gate, kinda a obstacle course for me...The 3 of us reached the half way mark in about 60 mins, had a drink from the vending machine (i had my fav coke rush) and promptly ran back towards F2. We finished the 20.30km run in 2:17:00, reasonable pace inclusive of toilet breaks and hydration stops. I was reasonably happy with my run fitness and am assured that the big race on 3 Mar would be manageable for myself.

This morning, i dragged myself out of bed at 6am, drove back to F2 for bike training. Aristol, Roger Chan, Craig and Huey Phing Ping (Who did IM Regensburg 11) came along and we met Angster along the way. The plan was to do 120km, but the heat together with the run fatigue from yesterday made the run very uncomfortable. I had no power in my legs as i could not generate the required wattage on the flats (appr 150W only) and suffered on every climbs in the circuit. Despite the fatigue, i decided to proceed with the Bukit Hendon climb with every loop. The never-ending road seems to suck all my energies. I was drained mentally and physically after 80km….I also met Jason Chan on top of Bkt Hendon who told me that he is training for Meta Man, i wish him well in his journey. In the end, Phing (60km), Craig and myself (90km), Angster (prob 120km + Nasi Lemak), Aristol (120km) and Roger (180km) did what we could within the given time.

I came home for lunch and Dawny suggested that we go for a muscle rub. It was probably the most missed activity my body system missed for the past 4 weeks of milage. The shoulder blades, lower back, hamstrings were sore beyond words and it was a painful session as usual. Now the back are much more comfortable and i am sure i sleep better in such conditions.

Looking forward to coming Sat swim (horray! high tide) and Sun Tri Fam Sprint Race where i will be Transition OIC together with Tee (Both Beer Buggers). Looks like another awesome week is in the pipeline.

Take care, stay safe. Oh i miss the Bak Kwa!!!

Final Trg before the Bak Kwa

2012-01-22T21:26:00.004+08:00

22 Jan 12, Hamster in Coastal Rd

My deadline for training is 12 Feb 12 as the week prior to departure is going to be full swing at work. I am prepared to work late nights and long hours in the last 5 days leading to departure to IMNZ.

With the tight schedule, every training session counts towards building my system for the A-Race.

Last weekend's plan of 90+5 and 150+5 were only half achieved. I survive the Sat fast ride and short run only to wake up on Sun morning to thunderstorms. I decided to pass the training for safety sake and was kicking myself when i woke up to bright sun and dry roads. I made a mental note that this will be the last time i pass a valuable training session.

The crowd for the Sat Tanjong Beach Swim was 17 (it is growing by the weeks and i am happy about it). A couple more swimmers came to swim to prepare for the annual Singapore Biathlon (1.5 & 10). My 8 laps target was almost missed when the final 2 laps were only myself and Aristol, the rest of the swimmers promptly ran, showered and prepared for brekkie. Morale took a dip as we watched others walking ashore. For every lap, i focus on swimming straight and breaking the waves at the highest point hoping to catch a wave or two towards the shoreline. The uni-students gave a good run for myself as i chase them down, some of them were surprise to see a "new" swimmer in their pack too. I miss my wetsuit too, the buoyancy that would reduce my kicking giving them some rest. I should really get it back from Lappy soon. The last 2 laps were indeed lonely. I guess there isn't much difference between swimming in the pack or solo as every stroke is an individual effort. Such is the reason why swimming is my first love, i am pretty much a loner by nature i guess.

The plan for Sun is to ride the format i missed last sun, 150km! And if i could spare the time, i would run a short 5km just to test the legs. We started off at a reasonable pace, my target for this morning was the 5 Bukit Hendon climbs. I had to and wanted to do all 5 climbs at a steady pace. (As part of training for IMNZ 12, we notice that the bike profile included a steep but short climb after the transition area. With the images of Regensburg still fresh in my mind, i had to shake that monkey off my back and train the climbing part of the bike leg. Everyone could ride the flats, climbing is a different game all together and i am determine to better my performance in Germany). We almost immediately broke into 2 packs with myself in the rear. As usual, i start slow in fact much slower compared to my peers. Going at 32km/hr with a HR of 136bpm and 180W output. I spun mostly at around 73rpm which were lower than most times (normally i spin at 90rpm) perhaps the strong cross winds were cause of my riding style change. By lap 3, most of the riders decided that they had enough and turn off leaving myself, Iron Chef, Chinaman and Des (who smartly joined us at the pit stop). By Lap 4, Chef and China decided that they had enough for 70.3 Singapore and again i was left solo for the final lap. Cross winds, shearing heat and a sore lower back accompanied me for the final 30km. Each Bukit Hendon climb were harder than the previous and i kept my eyes on the road ahead of hazards. I punch my fist in the air on summiting the 5th time and rode steadily back to the car. I ran out of time to run but my legs felt reasonable to run. It was tempting to ride an additional lap but i knew my legs were not ready (Yes, there is a difference between 150km and 180km, and it is the final 30km that would either trash the entire system or bring one to a higher level of performance, I am not prepared for a negative output by doing that) and i would probably ride the 6 laps before 12 Feb.

I came home, toasted and roasted but was happy that i could keep my pace and target within sight.

With the next few days of feasting temptations, it is going to be tough but i will try (trying ensure 50% of success, not trying is 100% failure, LOL) to stay away from the Lunar New Year goodies. Beer however will still be consume in a mature quantity.

Happy Lunar New Year, hope training has been well for all.

*Photo credits to RugChow with his iPhone

At least 1 training for the weekend

2012-01-10T22:01:00.004+08:00

10 Jan 12, hey its payday!

With Tesky's condition last week, we had decided to stay home for the weekend. This allows us to spend some time with her while we observe her condition closely. As such, i reluctantly pull out of the Sat swim and run training handing over the session to Danny.

Danny rose amongst the swimmers over the recent years to swim in the front pack. As a runner, he worked hard in his swim (Mon night especially) and have won respect of many swimmers in the Tanjong Beach Swim group. Not that i am handing over the position any sooner but i reckon it is equally important to identify suitable facilitators in time of need to be away. There are a few suitable co-facilitators i believe. Many are equally keen to provide for the community while not asking for returns. Kudos.

On Sat, we kept a close watch over Tesky. She has since bounced back from her "near-death" experience. her blood count was a raising 31% (Mon) and she has regain some of her taste buds and has been eating well. While still not at her normal energy level, she was walking around the house taking short naps often and were more interactive to the rest of the neighbourhood doggies. To those that prayed for her, wished her well, encouraged us and helped us in direct actions we thank you from the bottom of our heart. Words cannot describe our excitement when she gave us her first pawed over the weekend.

With her condition improving, i decided to head out for the Sunday ride. After all, i do have an IM distance race to participate and i need to maintain my training in order to reach my goal.

I met Clifford, Aristol, Don Ng and Kenneth Kuan at Mandai by 6:45am. The original route of approximately 40km was amended after turning around at the end of LCK road. I brought the group to Tuas where i typically ride in the morning before heading to office. A loop of 40km+ took us around the reclaimed land. We had a short brekkie stop before heading back towards the city direction. Overall, i managed the 100km ride easily, enjoyed the pace and company.

Throughout the rolling ride, it felt good to have the legs to spin the cadence and wattage despite the mild head and cross winds. I could keep my HR below 150bpm and spinned at 95rpm cadence. While the wattages are still not as consistent, a shorter steeper climb would bring about 400-450W, not exactly sure if that is a reasonable power output. On the flats, i would be pedaling at 200-250W. Over the months of using the power crank, i realised that i have grew to be dependent on the power output and was rather lost when the power supply died on me last sun.

A few more of such rolling terrain rides would do me well. The terrain in Lake Taupo, NZ is not exactly pancake flat, having been there 3 times (2010) i understand the rolling terrain, winds and constant changing weather conditions would be the biggest challenge for IMNZ 12; the distance of the race just makes it worse…

Work started to pick up pace this week immediately. Was working late Mon and Tue, likely to be the case for Wed and Thurs as well. Time to earn that precious break every quarter, darn i am looking forward to it.

I had a short chat with my bike mechanic as i am planning to send the Transition in to prep for IMNZ, he informed me that he is relocating to HK for at least a year. I'm gonna miss him and his terrific bike tuning skills for a while. He shared with me his happiness working in the LBS industries as well as the flustrations at times. My input to him was to do things the right way at all times and to do the right thing pending the situation. I wish him well and plenty of wonton mee in the wonderful land of food and shopping.

How was your start for 2012? Mine started with Tesky's unfortunate situation, we managed to turn it around and had it under control. Some critical thinking amist the fear and desperation help, most importantly we had friends that came forward as well as lending a hand for us, much appreciation.

*Picture compliment from IMIM, taken by Kenneth Kuan

Our longest 12 hours.

2012-01-03T23:22:00.005+08:00

3 Jan 12, the toughest portion should be over.

The last 24 hrs was one of my most trying periods. This was how the events unfolded.

On New Year eve, Dawny noticed a difference in colour of Tesky's pee. We suspected she might have been infected, a quick call to our vet and we were assured that if she was eating / drinking and has no issues with her outputs then it may not be life threatening as the most of the animal clinics were closed and our vet was actually on holiday and only back on 4 Jan 12.

We maintained a watchful eye on Tesky's behaviour over New Year and found the pee to be consistent in colour, but she has been lazing around more rather than guarding her patio area against the her condo friends. We decided to check Tesky into our vet clinic when he returns. Meanwhile we spoke to the vet's staff assistance and managed to get some advice.

Yesterday morning while golfing (17th hole), Dawny called my mobile. Her desperate voice immediately had me keeping my tee club into the golf bag and running back to the car exiting the carpark within 5 mins. I am sure i had a PB for speeding in the day (i didn't keep my eyes on the speedometer but i knew it was at the 3 o'clock position for quite some distance, my eyes were on the road at all times) and was home in time to make the decision to send Tesky to the available animal hospital. When i came home, Tesky welcome me with the usual waggy tail and double paw on my thighs. Dawny said Tesky was barking at another dog after breakkie when she suddenly drop to her side and went jelly for a while. I decided not to take chances and get her immediate medical attention or at the minimal get it checked. There was no time to waste in my opinion.

We arrived at the animal hospital within 25 mins (i sped but was slower as compared, again i did not notice the speed i drove). They did an initial blood test (its SOP for all animals) and confirmed that her blood count were rather low at 15% (healthy levels should be between 30 to 40%). The vet on duty advice us to identify suitable blood donors in case of the requirement of blood transfusion for Tesky. It was heart warming to see friends and relatives turning up with their dogs prepared to donate blood. We were asked what was Tesky's blood group, and as Tesky's owners for the past 9 years, we were sorry and unable to provide that information. Hence more previous blood were required to be drawn for type testing and more importantly time was wasted in stablising her condition.

*Dogs blood group were much simpler compared to humans. Dogs were either positive or negative, like the humans negative blood group were rare. However transfusion can still take place despite the difference in polarities ONLY for the first transfusion for the recieving dog. Not the ideal situation but will stablised the condition and complications can be treated subsequently.

Tesky's blood group was confirmed negative. Of the big breeds that came forward for donation, all of them were positive type. The vet suggested warding her for observation before committing to a transfusion operation in case her blood count continue to decline further. Nacho provide a small quantity of positive blood in case of activation of transfusion, we warded Tesky into the hospital and send the friends and relatives off. Dawny and myself came home to rest up.

At 7pm, the vet called and said Tesky's blood count had dropped to 5% and they have decided to proceed with the emergency transfusion. We left for the hospital immediately and i sped thru the roads again.

At 5%, her red blood cells were basically clotting itself and the body is shutting down automatically. Any lower, death is confirmed.

The vet on night shift administered the medications for Tesky to prevent her blood from clotting and prepares for the transfusion op. He was not satisfied with the amount of blood Nacho donated previously and requested that we activate suitable donors again. We re-activated Nacho for a 2nd round and i called a friend who brought in Angel to help. There were 1 last test kit in the hospital and Angel's blood group was tested to be negative type! That was the best news we had over the 12 hrs ordeal. The vet successfully drawn a full bag (appr 400cc) and he assured us that this amount would suffice and proceeded with the transfusion op. We were told to head home for rest as the op will take 5 to 6 hours. We left the hospital at 1:20am thereafter….

At 5:30am, the vet called and said the transfusion would take some more time as the progress was slower than expected but was in good pace. Tesky has no initial complication symptoms and the outlook seemed positive.

At 7:30am, the vet called again and infored us that the transfusion was completed and Tesky wa resting. Her current blood count was 25%. We were relieved to hear no complications and her blood count level were out of the deadly level.

At 12:30pm, we visited Tesky and spoke to the vet on duty. Tesky's conditions were significantly enhanced, She was obviously still tired and stressed from the ordeal but she was still reactive to us. We fed her chicken for lunch which she happily consume. The vet assistant also came to inform us that Tesky's blood count was at 26% at 12pm. The pressure inside us release immediately as we are sure that the increased meant her system is fighting the unknown viral and is winning the odds. We walked her back to her Class A cage before biding her farewell. Her farewell bark assures us that she is well and doing fine.

At 8pm, we returned to the hospital with Tesky's beef dinner. The vet assistant informed us that Tesky's blood count is 31% at 6pm. This news assured us that her condition was stable and she was starting to recover from the viral with the assistance of the additional blood (from Angel) and the medications. Again, her farewell barks gave us assurance despite us missing her going home with us.

Currently (12:10am, 4 Jan 12) Tesky is still warded for observation (in case of a sudden drop in her blood count) while we await for the detail blood sample analysis to be conducted. We should be able to know the source of the problem and provide the correct treatment for Tesky pending the blood analysis.

———————————

It was heart warming to see the amount of response we got over the 12 hour. Dawn and me (and Tesky…) would like to thank those that came despite the short notice for the initial blood test for donor. Nacho, Claudine, Goldie, BJ and Cocoa (and their faithful owners and handlers) came within 2 hours of activation and waiting no less than 4 hours thereafter. There were another 8 dogs on standby ready to come forward but i cannot imagine having 20 large breed dogs in the hospital! So we had to put them on standby at home instead.

There were many people that help posted the request for a large breed dog with negative blood type through social media. We thank you for the assistance rendered and were appreciative of your patience as we decide on our course of actions.

There were also many others that went their way to gather dogs for blood donation. Their actions went from asking for dogs (neighbours, friends and relatives) calling up dog farms to check for availability as well as gathering blood test kits for suitable donors. We thank you for your efforts and time despite the silent hours of the day.

More importantly, Nacho and Angel for donating their precious blood.

Nacho donated 80cc in anticipation of a blood transfusion op, that 80cc (positive blood type) provided Dawny and me the comfort and assurance that the back up plan was available and ready to be activated if necessary.

Angel donated 400cc (negative blood type) and the entire bag was transfused into Tesky over 8 hours. That 400cc worth of blood significantly enhanced the odds and Tesky could live to fight another day. The time brought by the 400cc would be sufficient while we await for the blood analysis to determine the likely source of the problem and proper treatment can take place.

Dennis, Clara and Daryl, Dawny and myself own you guys and gal BIG time on this. Without your selfless scarifice, Tesky would not have pulled through and stablised herself.

Many thanks from the bottom of our hearts and our eternal gratitude from Dawny, myself and Tesky.

Training Session No 1 for 2012

2012-01-01T23:55:00.002+08:00

1 Jan 2012, great weather!

This morning, training was as per usual like any other sunday, the only difference was it is New Year Day or Day 1 in the new season. What was apparent was that we had quite some people that join the training today, obviously they did not regard New Year Day as a rest day and it was clearly demonstrated by them that training takes precedence.

The plan was to pedal 90km and do a short run to complete the brick session. TriFam newly appointed President, Andy aka smallcircle came to ride with us for a while, so that was kinda fun to have him around hi-fiving everyone. Penguin also turn up in her Yaris providing us some drafting distance, however i was more concern with rear ending her vehicle so i wave her off in case of an fractricide incident..

During the riding session, i realised that my power output was higher than previous training. The wattage was in fact it was double compare to previous. I was pedaling approximately 250 to 280W on the flats and about 380 to 400W on the climbs (i had initially thought that i was on good form and grin for a while). The winds were much more forgiving (wow golf language!) and with a relatively larger group we could go at a faster rate. The initial 2 laps were more serious as we were going at 38-40km/h on the flats with minimal drafting while maintaining HR at 170bpm. Robert and Vincent clearly demonstrated their cycling ability, while i could barely hang in the rear. Kenneth was new to the group, but he too clearly demonstrated his cycling power and the power of youth! I spent the last lap chatting/bitching/gossiping with Robert, kinda fun until he took off the final stretch.

Did a short run thereafter, the stuffy weather was hard on my lungs. Jog a little, walk a little and eventually finished it off with Clifford.

Learnt ONE main lesson today. I was totally dependent on my training instruments (HR, Powermeter, etc). The power supply ran out 2/3 during the ride as well as the run. I became rather lost, not knowing how much to push and how fast to pedal. I relied on my past muscle memory to complete the training. Perhaps it is unwise to be dependent on the instruments, may not be a bad idea to train occasionally without them so to reduce the anxiety. My power output was correct today, when i uploaded the date into the log book, it clearly shown that previous recording showed similar stats (there goes my grin..).

What a morning!

What a magnificent way to spend the first day of 2012 - training for my A-Race!

*Photo compliments from Wilsee aka Wilson Ang aka Angster Ang

Training during the Christmas period

2011-12-28T21:39:00.005+08:00

28 Dec 11, 3 more days to ending 2011.

We did a simple brick training (swim/run) on Christmas eve at Desmond's request. The large turn out with 3 new swimmers was surprising. It says much for disciplined athletes training for their events. Holidays or not, we continue training unless the weather kicks in (safety is the most concern in terms of training; which i totally agree).

It was spring tide (highest) and we manage 450 to 470m per lap. Each lap seems endless as i glide out my strokes, perhaps it was the festive season and we were rewarded with such high tide, nice wave, awesome weather and almost zero stingers! We did 4 fast laps; each lap waiting for the last swimmer to come in, takes a breather before we proceed to the next lap. The swim group eventually breaks into packs where they drafted each other with the occasional bumps and knocks. The short 4km run after the swim drained me. I could hardly followed the pace out and had to take a short breather just before the turnaround point. The runners were in form and were striding out effortlessly while i prodded on. I eventually completed the run with a happy face, crossing the imaginary finishing line in front of the faster runners.

We originally planned to ride during Christmas Day, but the morning rained out and most of us slept in till later part of the morning before we embarked on the usual x-mas activities. With all the recent feasting, Clifford launched a Boxing Day ride. Just like any Sunday, i woke up to the usual alarm chime and is please to see clear sky which meant the ride would be a go ahead.

The 2 loops Coastal / Selarang circuit is an easy 60km spin, however the addition of Bukit Hendon and the fearful year end monsoon winds made the 2 hrs ride almost unbearable. Maintaining a consistent power output of 95 to 110W on the flats was tricky, especially with the winds howling at a speed which the kite surfers would be proud of. The howling winds also tested my bike handling skills (the text book example of leaning into the winds actually work!). We were blown by cross winds up to half a lane across when the gust picks up especially at the coast area. I was on the aero position most of the time on the flats hoping to cheat the winds as much as i could while pedaling madly maintaining 90-95 rpms. Climbing the Selarang hills and Bukit Hendon was tough, but nothing i could not manage after the dreaded mountains of Regensburg. Climbing at a steady pace with a power output of appr 250W my powermeter's readings were getting higher (and slowly) as my training progresses. The high price tag of the powermeter seems to be paying off now.

Riding in a windy condition, i had to do the following;
- Maintain aero posture
- Pedal btw 90 to 95 rpms
- Maintain 75% max HR
- Maintain power output (110W - flats, 250W - climbs)
- Maintain focus on the roads situation (road conditions, etc)
- Maintain alertness on the changing wind conditions

With the changing wind conditions, the 4 of us choose not to ride any closer than require. This allow us to manoeuvre safely avoiding an unnecessary pile up when the gust changes direction. Muscle Poon caught up mid way and demonstrated windy or not, he could still ride it out; a true display of power and discipline!

Same evening on Boxing day, i went to Bona Vista Swimming pool to join the rest for the weekly pool session. Was rather disappointed that only 6 of us turn up with 2 lanes booked and paid. Using training aids, Jerry conducted the 60mins sessions covering 2100m of drills, speed and pace training. It was a simple back to basic type of training which i love as these are the fundamentals of good swim strokes (high elbow, glides, shoulder rotation, core tensioning).

This would likely conclude my training for 2011. While 2012 target is IMNZ, it will take place in the first quarter of 2012, there are 3 more quarters which i did not sign any races but i will maintain training tempo ensuring 24 months preparation for my 4th IM attempt thereafter.

Have a blasting last few days of 2011!

*Photo credits to Richard Leong and Clifford Lee aka IMIM

Looking back 2011

2011-12-21T20:51:00.004+08:00

21 Dec 11, confined to the study.

Been a hectic year. Both at work and at play, perhaps a small summary for my 2011…for work and play.

Work has been unbelievable. The pace that we do our business had changed and the bullet train couldn't match our pace in the office. Since graduating from course in 2009, my work exposure had taken me to various part of the world, making new friends with similar background and doing awesome stuffs (a lot of them happen in the real world but cannot be mention here). In 2 years, traveling 5 times to 3 different countries, conducting work for my guys at least 6 to 8 times, being assessed myself by others at least 3 times. Overall, my little role in the very big picture may seem insignificant but was part of progression for the organisation i work for. We certainly have moved miles, but the people mental picture still have some catching up to do. Some people have changed, many yet. But we must have faith in the system, things can only get better….

Had also been fitter physically at work. Been able to run a timing pretty close to when i first joined 15 years was comforting, especially with a slightly bigger tummy and some grey hairs on top. Had also been able to maintain my accuracy in my personal core ability over the years, this year was 23/24. Well most years were just 1 shot, cannot complaint much.

Enough of work…

Swimming remains my main passion. Nothing compares when you have the serenity of the water, gracefulness of strokes, power demonstrated in terms of plunging, turning, pushing off and finishing touches. Been in the water almost 3/4 of my life at this stage, and every session is a new experience. Nothing beats the excitement of starting off the blocks against 7 others, staring at the black lane with the Tango at both ends. Of late, swimming against sub 20 year olds and early 30s bugger seems the trend and as usual i give the youngsters a run for their money and mine as well. I dun always come first, but i usually give the champ some pressure in their races.

Triathlon racing this year should be considered good despite my higher rate of falling sick (my side bar displaying my race results testify that). I managed to do 90% of the races especially those in the build up towards IM Regensburg 11 - My 2nd Ironman distance race; i now know the difference between hills and mountains, the meaning of wet and the real feeling of cobberstones! With IMNZ 12 only 6 months after Regensburg, there was minimum rest prior to restarting the training. In between these, we assisted in initiating new Ironman(s) for IMWA 11. Between Clifford and myself, those were probably our happiest moment when our friends crossed the finishing line and joining our ranks as "Ironman"

Triathlon was introduced to me towards the terminal stage of my competitive swimming phase. I was getting older but not much faster so i thought might as well pick up running in preparation for my national service. It was also the same time this sport was at it's infancy stage, i did a relay race (as the swimmer of course, aced it, came out of the water 2nd overall and lost to the lead swimmer who was a Triathlete. It's hard to swallow the defeat when you are 18 year old) but my cyclist crash after 20km (that really didn't help me accept the fact) and i decided to do the entire thing on my own. In my first race (NKF Lifeforce Triathlon, OD) i remember finishing the swim very strong, only to be overtaken by the entire race.

New this year was me picking up golf. I used to call it an old man sport but these days, i barely survive a 18 hole game unless proper preparation existed. What caught my interest was the difficulty of hitting a ball (barely 40mm dia) with a club (80 x 60mm) and standing 1m away. Not to mention getting the ball to airborne in the correct direction and distance! Barely 3 months into learning the game, i am pretty much sold. I look forward to the monthly games and weekly practices now, golf channel seems to be consistently on the TV (if there are swimming competitions or Triathlon races, it changes for sure).

The only race next year is IMNZ 12. I have promised Dawny no more ra-cations (race and vacations) for 2 years so that we could travel to see places we desire. I also needed 2 years to prepare for IM Lanzarote 15, have heard lots of this race (winds, elevation, heat, surf waves) and i am determine to complete this tough cookie.

Meanwhile, Tanjong Beach swims continues and Desaru Rides will continue to be hot and windy! Thanks for reading my blog, a lot of the readers are anonymous to me. I hope your 2011 was better than mine. You can continue to sms, email or leave a message in this blog as i appreciate all feedbacks (negative inclusive!)

Cheers to 2011, lets welcome 2012!

A week in the celebratory season

2011-12-18T16:52:00.007+08:00

18 Dec 11, halfway through the office black out window.

This week leading up towards X-mas has been eventful. The gathering of friends and good ones usually comes with good food and wine. As we celebrate the end of the season (work, training or racing) be mindful of safety (rain = wet roads), responsibility (drink and not driving) and be open (mind, heart and soul).

On Fri, the swimmers of Tanjong Beach gathered to celebrate the year of racing. We celebrated those that crossed the finishing line of IMWA 11, SCSM 11 and basically every one's well being.

On Sat, triathletes and cyclists gathered to celebrate the wedding of Julian Loh and Sylvia Lee. We wish them the best in their marriage. Lots of holidays, shopping and fun! The wedding dinner was also unique as the 2nd dish was a lobster soup in replacement of shark fin soup. Would have been easily more than 10 years since i had a 2nd dish in a wedding dinner (it iss a norm to had the soup as the 2nd dish and 99.9% of the time it is shark fin soup).

This morning, a small group of hardcore athletes gathered at 7am in ECP F2 to train. We covered 2 big loops of Selarang circuit and 1 small loop of Coastal road. I also officially introduced Bukit Hendon to the new riders which curses and swears followed almost immediately. Had a short run to complete the session before heading home for a yummy lunch.

Perhaps the best news this week would have to be this.

This reinforced officially why we ride 2 abreast on the public roads. Drivers who does not understand needs to read this.

Elite Bicycles quoted the official road rules by the governing body.

CHAPTER 276, SECTION 140 - "No bicycle shall be ridden on the right of any TWO OTHER bicycles proceeding abreast in the same direction except when overtaking such other bicycles or on parts of roads or paths set aside for the exclusive use of bicycles. "

Thanks for reading and following my little blog, sometimes it's a complaint session, most times it's a way for me to express myself.

Have fun, be great and be safe! Have a great week everyone.

*Photo credits from VJ, Angster and Mr Chia Yong Soong (for crossing the double white lanes!)

3 Months to IMNZ 12

2011-12-12T23:10:00.002+08:00

12 Dec 11, Back from Pulai Springs

Got back from Pulai Springs this afternoon. We spent 2 days there golfing and lazing around. With 8 adults and 7 kiddies, it is sure stressful trying to organise meals, movement and activities. We barely manage it IMO, one could tell that the adults were stressed most times. Perhaps this is parenthood to me..

It's just under 3 months to IMNZ 12. My road to IMNZ started after IM Regensburg 11 as the race was registered in Mar 11. Having done the longest training run on 4 Dec (i still have my re-run in Jan 12') we should be commencing the riding training soon. We should be seeing ourselves in JB and Desaru at least 8 time i think. That should do us well and give us sufficient legs for 3 Mar 12.

Need to restart the swimming sessions to a more regular tempo as the sms started to come in asking when am i doing open water swim and run training again.

Jan and Feb would be a terrible month to do the final prep training as work in the office is going to be chaotic (maybe just a little) and i depart on the last day of a planning tutorial conducted by the assessors. Dammit, there couldn't be a better time to do either activity…

Been thinking quite a bit about golfing recently. As a new hobby, i have miles to learn. Consistency is key, focus is paramount, enjoyment and companionship is everest! So is the beering thereafter…

Stay tune, training blogs will be coming in hot soon.

Meantime, happy holidays and watch those carbs loading in...

SCSM 11

2011-12-06T16:23:00.008+08:00

6 Dec 11, a little sore but manageable.

The annual run on Sunday was bursting with participants. From the record books, it seems that there were another 'high' on the runners count this year. Good or bad it is up to the individual to interpret. Finishing a marathon in 8 hours in S'pore seems a common thing, again was it a good or bad thing? Good from the perspective of motivation, determination and encouragement, bad from the perspective of standards, hogging and high risk of collapse. Either way, it is up the to individual to interpret the outcome.

This run is also my training run for IMNZ, the distance fitted in with my recent run training (NB REAL Run and Powerman Malaysia) gearing towards the March A-Race. Was suppose to be pacing Eve Ang, hence all calculations (pacing and nutrition) were based on a 6 hours run pace (that's what i planned for her). In the morning when i met her, she told me to go ahead as she does not want to slow me down. My mind went through a through reset and re-calculation. With 15 mins to go and having to shuffle through the human crowd, planning the race was done haphazardly and it eventually came back to haunt me.

My hasty race plan is to run the initial 30km non-stop (so that accounts for the training run) and jog the remaining 12km (and get that medal within 5 hrs). I had lesser nutrition than plan and had to depend on the organisers giving out food (gels or bananas) en-route. A poorly calculated race plan is better than no plan, and so i ran...

The route is identical to 2010 where i ace the distance and ran a PB, so i knew where it is going to hurt me most and i am prepared for that. I broke the entire race to 5 leg (10km for each leg and the fifth being the final 2.195km). I ran the first 10km in 1:06 and the second 10km also in 1:06. The third leg was 1:17 as i had my favorite booster drink while walking. All these while, i kept the 5hrs pacers behind me and the 4:30 paces in sight. I knew i would be in reasonable timing if i maintain these pace.

My nutrition plan however was a disaster, i did not keep plan to hydration (i skip aid stations as they were overly crowded) and nutrition (i ran out of food by 30km, missing a gel station and the bananas). By the time i reached the construction areas of Garden by the Bay (this was where it hurt most in 2010 and it hits the hardest now), i was out of food and running on empty, i bonked....and i had to walked the entire stretch till Marina MRT station. Could not remember much except quite a lot of people tapping my shoulders as they run past encouraging me. Heck, i couldn't even catch up with the walking aunties!

I was still "zombied" when i reached the expressway. I decided to jog it in despite all my gels depleted. All the aid stations seems to have only water and isotonic. My salt tabs were also melted as a result of the perspiration initially, i open the container only to find every thing fused together.

Eventually i finished, the final 2 legs (12.195km) took a grand 2:07!

Overall, i managed to complete 30km in one push so i know IMNZ will not be a issue. I will need a re-run in late Jan in order to prepare properly for IMNZ. And for this run the rule of "Planning the run and running the plan" will be adhere to.

Disappointed? A little but that will not kill me. It would take a much larger defeat to turn me off the sport. I will rest up and re-start the training regime, the clock is ticking...Despite all the short comings, i actually enjoyed the first 30km, that was my saving grace and the heading home for lunch made by Dawny absolutely made my day. Nothing else matters...
------------------------------
While i was pounding myself silly that same morning a brave group of newbies did their first Ironman distance race in beautiful Busselton, Western Australia.

Heartiest congrats to Desmond, VJ, Hong Soon and the Singapore crew in WA.
Solid performances by Muscle Poon and Kelvin Seah
Very brave return to IMWA by the Angster

And the many many supporters out there, many of you were the reasons these manics could finish that race. Kudos!

Correct Motivations!

2011-11-15T22:37:00.004+08:00

15 Nov 11, long 3 working days left!

This afternoon Dawny and me drove back from KL. Our 4th quarter trip ended with both of us smiling. Here's a short recap of my version of the last 5 days.

We drove up the highway till Kampar where glorious food is abundance. Easy drive as it was week day and the traffic is relatively light. A simple but very tasty dinner with my aunt and cousin in the evening was the start of everything. I tried to keep my mind relax but focusing on the race on Sun (No golf for the next 3 days at least!). The weather also came in hard; thunderstorm and slight flooding. I sure hope for good weather on Sun but that's a bonus if anyone asked…

Race day was cloudless……one wonder why this is called the Chilli Duathlon Race of Malaysia. Dawny said she would stay in the room as the heat would be unbearable. I kinda couldn't wake up and had that sleepy look for the initial 11km of running, "WAKE UP!" Tee would yell at me. I wanted to blame the hotdog buns and milo breakfast for the sleepiness but i would be a loser if i did that i thought, hence i prodded on, slowly but steady…

When i started the bike leg, i wanted to ensure that my bib was still intact (last year it torn after the 1st run). As i pedal out, i realised immediately that packs of 10 to 15 riders were formed. I hated the drafting during races and went ahead as plan to spin it out on the 64km. I found myself in front of the pack that exited the stadium together with me for the entire lap 1. My power output was reasonable and i was spinning appr 34km/hr for the lap. Towards the u-turn point, i saw the pro riding back and the faster AGers in packs of 20 to 30 riders! And the motorbike marshal was beside the pack not doing anything! I am quite sure my blood pressure shot up and i rode harder to drop those bugger on my draft. By lap 2, i gave up on those "wheel-suckers" and just ride my own pace. A few smaller packs caught up behind me and i ease up letting them go ahead. One of the riders gave me the "Why-slow-down?" look as i ease to the rear. He must be swearing i bet.

Riding back towards the stadium, i caught a familiar look by the roadside in the small shady corner. Its Dawny! She came out into the heat hoping to catch a glimpse of me racing and rooting for me! I'm dead sure my blood pressure shot this time! Beats any adrenaline shot anytime.

I didn't fly into transition but i had a speedy one and shot out into the 2 rounds of heated 5km fast. The ice cold water and Gatorade was a real savers. I ran as hard as i could and as far as i could hoping to see my motivation again at the finishing chute. My calfs tighten and threaten to cramp out (happen last year) and i had to "stroll" a little. I know a few are closing fast and i know i am no match for them running; "I can always try….i die trying to hold them" i told myself. In the end, 1 old dude caught up 1 km before the finishing line. I know he's ready for his maiden IMWA on 4 Dec cos i had no answer when he tap my elbow while overtaking me, i had nothing left in my legs…

"Wah you woke up liao ah!" said Tee during the 10k, i had a smile then, but everything else was hurting.

Finished i did, i believe i race better than last year (results pending). No Dawny at the finishing chute, but a lot of friends shaking hands for surviving the day. I shoke the hand of the old dude and wish him well for 4 Dec (Believe me, you…)

Was great to see Dawny back in the room, i kiss and thank her for her motivation (prob less than a sec of shouting by her but easily a 40mins wait in the sun!). I silently thank my calfs for hold up too…

The rest of the trip were eating, more eating. Shopping, more shopping (Golf is allowed now..)

Totally enjoyed our 4th break. Doing well in the race was a bonus for me.

Ciao!

*Photo credits to Tan Kien Boon
—————————

Official results are out, i completed the race in 4:05:42. It was a tad faster than last year and i am happy for the performance.
Areas to improve will include better run times and a faster transition time. My bike split of 1:57 seems reasonable for the terrain and distance being ridden.

Unlikely to complete this race again next year as after IMNZ the compulsory 2 years of break will kick in. All races by then will solely be for maintaining suppleness.

4th Trip this quarter

2011-11-08T20:18:00.005+08:00

8 Nov 11. 2 more working days till departure.

This friday will be our 4th break for this year. It's a simple promise Dawny and myself make so that we could pace ourselves at work and have something to look forward to every 3 months or so. We believe that its important to work hard and pace ourselves in order to maintain work / life balances.

The breaks for this year were awesome, in Feb we went to Bali, Macau & Hong Kong was in May, Germany in Aug. Although we are not going anywhere far for the 4th trip, it would still be a decent break for us. Germany was a racation (race and vacation as invented by Kevin Seah) as i raced IM Regensburg and we visited Frankfurt and Munich thereafter.

As IMNZ 12' is still on my race schedule, i decided to do Powerman Malaysia as a prep race for my run legs with the running prep finale as SCSM 11'. It's a tough race for me especially as i am weak in the run leg, last year's race was the first time i experience cramping on the run after a short 65km bike ride and many lessons were learnt. I hope to do better this weekend.

A compulsory short stay in my hometown where delicious local food is a real attraction, while shopping heaven in KL is such a bonus. With my recent pick up in golf, the shopping must be good there or so what i was told.

After this trip, the next break will have to be next year Mar where we will go for a 2 weeks racation again. Both North and South island of NZ it will be, i cannot wait to show Dawny the spectacular landscape that amazed me in 2010 when i was there for work.

Honey, i promise you after NZ it will be vacations instead of racations!

Weekends...

2011-10-29T09:35:00.003+08:00

29 Oct 11, waiting for Dawny dental appt.

Have been hit by the flue bug for a few days. Coughing, blocked nose and sore throat is annoying enough not to mention a running race as a final prep for SCSM is only tomorrow. Hiaz, looks like i would have to DnS again and give away the bib.

Read Mok's article on ST this morning, he wrote about not competing unless in proper condition. It was also reported in the sports section that he pulled out of the SEA Games representing Singapore as his foot injuries are not healed. At my current state, i am probably at only 3/10 for racing status.

Dawny and me watched the Lion King Musical last night in MBS, i had not even watched the cartoon version hence had no idea what the story was all about. But both the entry (start and intermission) blew me away with the props, vocals and amazing employment of lightings. Overall, we enjoyed the show despite us occasional coughing away.

Dawny will be going for wisdom tooth extraction this afvo. She will be uncomfortable for the next few days. Hopefully the pain will be bearable for her.

Lucky Desaru Ride

2011-10-26T19:40:00.004+08:00

26 Oct 11, mid week break

On Sun, Clifford and myself led a small but relatively fit triathletes to ride into Desaru. While we had no immediate race coming, we felt the need to facilitate the rest to their races esp those heading to IMWA 11' (there were easily 5 to 6 first attempters on this ride).

The 140km route took us through the immigration gantry into the southern tip of Western Malaysia. As the day broke, we pedaled steadily towards Kota Tinggi and eventually turned into the main road that will lead us 52km towards Desaru (Petronas Station). To me that 50km+ was the real ride, it was usually hot, windy and with never ending climbs. On Sun, we were lucky; it was rather overcast and the winds were manageable. Everyone maximised the climatic advantage and rode their butts out. I was following my IM Regensburg nutrition plan and was relatively well hydrated and fuel till the pit stop. I rounded up everyone like a good-o-drill sergeant to mount up and carry on riding. The last leg of 30km tested my quads limitation. For the first time since riding Desaru i cramp on my quads, i find it strange as i am relatively well maintain in terms of isotonic and salt. Perhaps the initial portion did had some effect and it came on the last leg.

A quick lunch (RM175- 6 course for 8 big boys) and we headed into the jetty in one of the earliest arrival timing.

Today is Deepavali, where our Hindu friends celebrate the Festival of Lights. I took the opportunity to play a short 9 hole golf game with Clifford. We started early hoping to beat the crowd but was surprised that a small group of child golfing course was ahead of us in the queue. The best play today would have to be the tee off at hole 4 where i tee off, the ball flew low trajectory, hit the drainage curb, flew up, narrowly missed the expressway, bounced off the handrail towards the tee off box and landed with 1m of the darn good performance golfer; myself…

We were done within 1hr45mins and was able to have the rest of the day for ourselves.

Work pace is heating up. I am expecting a few late nights coming up. Training would have to take a dip, Newton 30km is this weekend. Would there be options that are realistic? I hope to find one….

*Photo credits to VJ and IMIM

New Balance REAL Run 21km

2011-10-16T11:48:00.006+08:00

16 Oct 11, still in the runner's high…

This morning i ran the annual NB REAL Run. It was enhanced from last year's 16km (and the many years ago) to this year's 21km. The race MC said that we asked for it to be added on, i wonder who wanted that? The annual 16km route takes us through sand, tarmac and some cross country terrain (That by itself is tough). With the additional distance meant longer tarmac and longer sand (i absolutely hated that sand stretch!).

As i missed AHM this year due to work, i was determine to run this as a training run. This would eventually prepare me towards Newton 30k and finally SCSM 11. This would be my run prep for my next A-Race ; IMNZ 12. I am running alot lesser than i would like to, as work pace picks up i also pick up golfing which also needed practice time. Now that golf is out of the way, i could focus back to race prep.

I started the run with a reasonable pace behind a huge crowd. I settled into a comfortable pace after 2km which will bring me back in by 2hrs 04mins. At the 4km mark, Gugugaga caught up with me. There was this 4 "MatSalleh" just behind him running with hydration packs but were going at a pace that were rather uncomfortable. I decided to stay with them for the next 6km and see how things go. I knew if i followed their pace i would blow up before finishing.

5,6,7,8,9 and 10km markers came and i was still with them. There was another 2 additional "MatSalleh" that joined our pack, by this time Gugugaga had taken off with his speedy legs and i was left alone with them (6:1 is a bad ratio). I was also glad to bring along 1 additional pack of gel since i lacked milage i thought it will come into use. The additional gel prove to be critical to fueling the legs and following their pace throughout. At 16km, my legs finally decided that they have enough pounding and i had to let the 6 of them go. The 2km sand leg coming up is going to be painful compared to previously 1km but i was determine to prod on. i was surprised to catch up with the first 4 dudes (they were walking…and shaking their heads when i overtook them) and eventually the last 2 dudes when i exited the sand leg. The final leg was also hot and glaring but as Triathletes, we are pretty used to such conditions (We run 10k after 10am, 21k after 11am and the 42k after 1pm). Keeping the finishing line as key focus, with only 3 km left at that point and i basically stride it in.

As i had the HR displayed throughout the run, i had no idea what was the run time. Just before turning into the final stretch, a spectator shouted out "well done, well within the 2 hrs mark!" That's when i realised i could have come closed to 1:59:00…

When i finally saw the finishing arch and the time displayed it was something i didn't expect. Compared to my running friends, i think this is elementary stuffs. For me, it was a sweet victory run. The distance seems a tad shorter but i am still happy with maintaining my pace.

This run gave me confidence for the next training. At least i think i am on track for the Taupo race.

Now for stretching and a well deserving afternoon nap.

The Adventures of Rascal

2011-10-07T17:28:00.008+08:00

7 Oct 11. Rainy, no swim, no bike, no run and no golf….

On wed, while driving into the estate trying to park. I spotted a white bugger running by the corner of my eye. My immediate notice was the lacked of a collar and an owner (maid, kid or someone) chasing it. It was just running around the grassy patch playing and amusing itself. The Jack Russell Terrier was full white with 2 brownie patch on the forehead.

Our concern is the JRT getting run over by vehicles. We were certainly hoping that it just escape out of the house.

As we approached the dog, it displayed a lot of apprehension and was shying away from us. It was fortunate that we had relevant knowledge in managing the situation. Some treats and being friendly always work for me. We managed to lure him to follow us into the house and had him on a spare collar. The estate management came by saying that they spotted it running around in the morning (that's easily 7 to 8 hrs before we encounter it) but had no leash or collar to control the JRT. They were however kind to leave a large bowl of water to prevent de-hydration.

He is a good looking fella, kinda super-active, bow leggard and had prop up paws (yes, he has flaws..). Tesky displayed unhappiness immediately when he enter the house. As we kept him leash to the gate (like the picture), he kept entangling himself while jumping and playing.

Overall, Rascal as we name him is as follows;
- He eats fast and messy without any preference
- He drinks in big glubs so its messy also
- He whines whenever he cannot see us in sight
- He pees standing (prob paper trained) in the house
- He poos outdoors (that's confusing)
- He just like to stand and hug your legs (no humping)
- He is lean, strong and a fast walker
- He has no idea what is the leash (it's a toy apparently..)
- He sleeps side ways

So we had him for 2 nights, and i slept in the living room for 2 nights as well so he could see me. We put up lost and found notices but no one came forward to claim him. When we walk him, people says they have seen him around but could not confirm his owner's details.

Last night, we tried to scan for his micro-chip but were unsuccessful in getting a reading. Perhaps he is a un-registered dog in the system. A hard decision was also made to hand him over to AVA as we could not managed his character with Tesky. We were sad about it, but i guess it would be the best option for him to reunite with his owner or find a new home. While the estate managers cared for him during office hours and we took over in the evening till the next day but we found it to be unsustainable in the long run. As Dawny instructed them this morning to hand it over to AVA, i know she would be affected emotionally. The 2 estate managers being dog owners themselves decided to seek adoption for Rascal (2 THUMBS UP BROS!), we also had no less assistance in putting Rascal up for adoption.

As i bidded him farewell this morning, he licked my face wet and give me the 'seeyathisevening' look. I silently said goodbye and wished him good luck. When Dawny told me the estate managers decision, i felt a lot better and was able to re-focus at work.

To Rascal, I hope you re-unite with your owner soon or find a new owner who is more responsible than your ex-owner. For the short 2 nights we spent in the living room, i do feel for you and love you. If not for Tesky's disapproval, i would have kept you. You have a bright dog-sonality and is good looking, i am sure you will be in a better home soon. All the best, i hope we meet again.

———————

This evening, as Dawny and myself are leaving the house Rascal was walked right in front of us. There was a maid that was walking him and we understood that he was adopted by a fellow resident within the estate barely a few hours ago. She asked how did we recognised him, we said the unique leash made by my climbing cord will be the only one in the world although it is already badly chewed up by Rascal.

I was very happy to be re-united with him again at the same location where we found him. Even happier that he is adopted by another family.

To Rascal, now that you are staying in the same estate. We will definitely meet again. Take care see you soon!

The old dog learning a new trick

2011-10-03T23:00:00.008+08:00

3 Oct 11. Great to be back for Mon TriFam Swim.

Of late, i had "better managed" my time at work and was able to head to the pool a little more consistently. Monday's TriFam swim has always been one of my favourite workout. Among the company of swimmers, there are serious swimmers, serious swimmers wannabes and of course a lot of swimmers….There are a fair share of rooster talks in between the sets as well.

I also notice that of late, a set of 4 x 200m would usually ended up as a set of 800m. Either i am much slower as compared to previous moons or everyone has since taken off in performances. The swim pace was totally off as we were trying to swim the 16 laps at a 200m pace…it's tough, but perhaps age has caught up (i see eggs hurling liao….). I know the swim sets will do me good in time to come (Mar 12' perhaps?).

Friends around me had also notice that i caught the golfing bug too. It was probably just early this year that i said that golf is a sport for old people (darn!) and i would never learn to play it. I started learning this game as a result of promising a fellow co-worker that should he be short of a student to start a golf learning course, i could be his spare student to fill that gap. Little did i know that i wasn't the spare but one of the main learners….

I admit that i was foolish to say that statement just beginning of the year. Golf as i know now (after 7 lessons and about 8 OTOT driving range) is a sport that could be played from young till old age. What caught my interest was that the amount of consistencies and effort to maintain in order to hit that darn ball. Even more was the techniques and patience to swing the ball out in a perfect flight path. I now understand the feeling when one swing, hits the ball, that "PING!" sound, the flight path of the ball, our finishing posture are all so so beautiful…

Of course, the shopping and gear hunting was great too, so much technology to learn and so much colors combination available.

While everyone uses 2 certain well known golf branding, i chose to start with a brand that i was familiar with… NIKE. It does catches attention and the occasional disagreement from the season golfer but what the heck, if Tiger Woods could use it, i figured out i could probably too…Either way, so long the ball flies straight, it should do doesn't it?

Well, next week is the last golf lesson. This meant officially i am able to participate in official golfing games (may not be a bad thing after all..)

Dun get me wrong, swimming remains my first love, rock climbing second (although i have since hung my harness up and using my 5T carabiner to clip my golfing gloves) and Triathlon probably taking a very close third place.

Golfing remains a new found interest at the current moment.

So who say an old dog cannot learn new tricks? And never say never…learn to say perhaps...Enjoy the week! Look forward to the weekends!

I am a Roadie wannabe...

2011-09-25T18:58:00.006+08:00

25 Sep 11, Brain fired and chargrilled from today's Desaru Ride

This morning 7 very brave souls embarked on a cycling journey in the small eastern part of Malaysia known as Desaru. Little do they know that going to be a toasting session by the weather…

It was a simple spin of about 100km. I was in my new roadie shoes, gloves and roadie bike for this easy ride. The gloves were rather new and snugg and no further than 5km, my palms were numb. I found it strangely that the road vibrations were higher as compared to last week. My numbness were unbearable by 10km and i realised that the snugg fit is cutting off my circulation and causing the numbness. I did a "bite the gloves" move while trying to ride at 30km/hr to remove it. It was immediate relief when they came off.

My "Heowness" in wanting a nice fitting pair of gloves turns out to almost killed my ride today. I spend the rest of the ride trying to make up for lost time in the front. Riding without gloves meant operating the integrated shifters with bare hands (they are only anodised, so am worry about corrosion in the long run. Carbon models would have been nicer but costier…)

Clifford barely rode for a short distance and had his first flat. He bravely waved us through and did his pit stop before carrying on. A pair of burnt fingers and 100km in the sun is not a good combo.

The weather was scorching hot and winds were in all directions despite the winding route.

I was also mindful to maintain the fuel level unlike last week where i felt light headed and almost bonked. Hence i diligently ate my energy gel and drank sufficiently to maintain hydration. We met the old hands of Bryan, Andy and Uncle Poon at the turnaround point. Good to always catch up with old friends.

The return trip was headwind throughout and i was aiming for a coldie refill at Sg Ringgit. By the time we reach back at the jetty for the 90mins ride back, 5 riders made it back, 2 up the lorry and everyone was toasted. To those that miss this round, you didn't miss anything….

Lessons learnt today
- manage imperfections on the fly.
- I am only a roadie wannabe, a REAL roadie would not make such a "heow" mistake….kns...

*Picture by Vijch, he rode hard and rode well today.

Celebration!

2011-09-18T20:25:00.008+08:00

18 Sep 11, it's a long Sunday for me..3 Things occurs this weekend for me

Yesterday, we traded our usual swim jammers, wetties and swim caps for proper presentable clothes cos it's our 2nd Anniversary Brunch (hooray). Yes, for once we didn't had to be in our training attire and were in casual clothes. Everyone look smart and did not waste any time to tuck into the lunch buffet in Ellenborough Cafe, Merchant Court.

Over the last 2 years, we had our little own space to train in Tanjong Beach. We also had our own thread in the local TriFam Forum, as the group grew bigger and we had our own FaceBook Group page. Yesterday, Richard completed the group's marketing strategy by distributing our very own Tanjong Beach Swim singlet. Talk about progression! Lov'in it!

Here Andy and Jolene volunteered to cat walked our new singlet!

This morning, i led a small team of riders (mixture of new and old hands) into Desaru. It is to be the 1st of 6 rides series (hooray!). The weather was hot, the winds were gentle and the hills were forgiving….as we pedaled towards the pit stop point, i realised that the Regensburg race had done me well by mentally preparing myself for climbs...(i tell myself that no climbs can be worst than Regensburg). I made the silliest mistake by not re-fuelling myself at the pit stop. I went ahead with just a coke and water re-hydration. By the last bit of the return leg, my tanks were empty and i felt that weird feeling of bonking coming. Riding on empty tanks was the worst feeling i had on the bike, one could easily faint and crash (this must never happen again)…Lunch was an intense serving of Malaysian Zhi Char and the coolest hydration drink known as Tsing Tao…The heat, winds and climbs were just not mentionable…

Straight after the ride, i changed into work clothes and attended the last parade for the office i first worked when i join the organisation. The same place where everyone started off seems nostiagic and filled with memories. I spent my proudest days and my darkest days in that same office. Everyone was older (more matured naturally) and we were all busy shaking hands and catching up with each other. They were finally done with their obligation and collected their certificates of services. The finale of the parade was when everyone threw their caps up in the air and high-fived everyone. One had to witness the scene in order to understand the brotherhood of sticking to each other for 10 years after the initial 2 years. This celebration was one that could not and should not be missed. Seeing is believing…(Hooray!)

It's going to be another mad week in the office without the shield of my boss.

Have a good week recovering from the weekends.

Photo Credits by LeGiang, Vincent Yang and Craig Toh

Skipping the annual run

2011-09-04T22:04:00.004+08:00

4 Sep 11, worked 14hrs straight this morning.

The annual SBR/AHM was on this morning. The tasked was given to my office to organise this annual running event in the S'pore sporting calender and the people had worked 5 months to plan the event. All plans came to this very day for execution, do or die was today.

A lot of people refer to the event as Shears Bridge Run / Army Half Marathon. Just for education purposes, SBR meant Singapore Bay Run which is for the general public participation. The name has been changed from the original Shears Bridge Run to the current name since 2005 (i think..). The Army Half Marathon which runs as a parallel closed event is for the servicemen and women that serves the Singapore Armed Forces.

I had also signed up for the competitive (open) category as part of my personal build up for IMNZ 12'. My feet was ready to pound again, but the last minute request for reinforcement to aid the organisation committee came and a decision was made. It was a easy decision actually, like i always tell people, 'Never go against something that is paying for your hobbies…' So support our guys it was.

Was assigned to be in-charged of the facility where we would house the guest prior to commencement of the run, however due to a last minute 'failure-to-engage-by-the-alarm-clock' syndrome for one of the urshers and i was informed in 20 mins head start to take over the role of urshering the flagging off officer. A quick re-orientation of task and equipping of a walkie talkie and i am good to go (we have been train well enough to expect the best and prepare for the worst).

Had to walk the flag off officer to the platform for him to do his job, walking 5m ahead of the group was stressful. The eyes were always looking out for hazards and route to be taken. My role is to get the person from Point A to Point B, smoothly and timely while others do their roles accordingly. At the start point, he flag off everyone at 0515hrs and promptly continued with his own 21km run. I thought back and suddenly remembered that i could have also ran alongside him ensuring that i will not miss his arrival at the end point. Of course, i was not in my running outfit and he had 6 runner buddies with him to ensure his pace is all right and carried the necessary nutrition and medical aid.

Standing at the start line, staring into the runners taking off would have been the worst feeling i ever had. This is one event i had not missed since 2000, it's my yearly ritual but this year i took a break, not due to injury or overseas work requirement but work requirement for the event itself.

The rest of the morning task was similar. Met many friends running but could hardly afford the time to chat more than 2 sentences due to duties. My apologies to those that i met, wink or mildly waved at friends but couldn't say "hi!" or congrats you for that much deserved PB.

Event ended at 1130hrs. Have been awaked since 2am and working. It was straight to the showers and bed once i get home.

Reading the various social media had my conclusion that it is a fast course (despite the cornerings) and a tad shorter than we expected..There were the many compliments for the organisation (efficiency and effectiveness) as well as the negative comments, people would just have to understand and accept that organisers work within numerous limitations and may have differing objectives. They cannot served everyone one's needs, certainly not this morning's 40,000 runners needs…kudos to the working group that pull it off and make it today.

Darn, the medal rack will have to take a skip this year for SBR/AHM.

Have a blasting week.

25 ways to tell if you’re a triathlete

2011-09-01T23:47:00.002+08:00

1 Sep 11, Happy Teachers Day?

This was on a New Zealand blog but it's so good I wanted to share it. You can also join the group in FB

25. One of your goals this year is to be faster at getting out of a wetsuit.

24. You talk about a “hammer” and “brick”, but you’re not referring to construction

23. You spend seven days going to eight stores in four malls before buying a pair of running shoes. But you take one afternoon to go to one car dealership and walk out with a new car four hours later.

22. That charming cologne (or perfume if you’re a girl) you wear to work is chlorine.

21. You have more water bottles than glasses in your cupboard.

20. You have enough pairs of old running shoes sitting in your closet to open your own shoe store.

19. You immediately bow down before someone with the Ironman “m dot” tattoo. (Is it really tragic I’ve got one of those?)

18. You have NO idea what to do with yourself on your off day. You mowed the lawn, cleaned the house, washed the car, and there’s STILL four hours of daylight left! Aarrgghh!

17. You often show up to work in the morning with goggle imprints around your eyes

16. You have so many tan lines you look like a zebra Running socks, bathing suit, jersey, biking shorts, tri shorts, sunglasses, gloves, watch, etc. (This is really nice at the beach.)

15. The first three items on your grocery list are Gatorade, power bars, and gels. (Make that Horley’s Replace, gels and pasta - power bars do not have a good effect on my body.)

14. You get funny looks when putting on Body Glide on your neck because people think it’s deodorant.

13. About half the shirts you own have at least a dozen logos on the back of them.

12. You wait a couple of days to take your car in when the check engine light goes on, but when your bike needs a tune up you take it right away.

11. You refer to the front hall of your house as the “transition area”.

10. The one “suit” you own has ORCA on the chest. (Or Ironman. Though I really, really want one of the new Orca suits.)

09. When you get home from a training session, the newspaper is just being delivered to your house.

08. You consider work regeneration time between training sessions.

07. Your bicycle is in your living room. (Or bedroom.)

06. Your car smells like a locker room - and you are the only one who doesn’t smell it.

05. There’s a separate load of laundry every week that is just your workout clothes. (One load? I should be so lucky. Try three or four.)

04. When asked how old you are you answer 35-39.

03. Your first thought when you wake up is how high your rest HR is.

02. Your spouse cried during Terms of Endearment; you cried during the television coverage of the Hawaii Ironman. (Every time. And inspiring triathlon videos.)

01. Most of this list doesn’t seem like a joke to you.

To Give or To Take

2011-08-30T23:11:00.006+08:00

30 Aug 11. It's a no training day.

Slept in today, felt great when i read the papers amongst the kiddies learning to swim in the pool barely 20m from my patio. I am familiar with the swim instructor especially after the numerous sat swims i did when the tide is low in Tanjong Beach, he used to give me the 'look' whenever i pause for a change of swim sets. I felt the 'look' every time and guess he might felt threaten by my presence, afterall teaching the kids swimming was his livelihood and personal preservations have always been a priority in human survival.

In my mind, i just wanted to swim. To enjoy those quiet moments, the stroke efficiency and technically counting each lap wanting to maintain the stroke count.

Enrico wrote an interesting page about "Giving Back To Your Community" and the first line quote was "Its better to give than receive". A very powerful sentence, i tried to find the "Like" button but realised i am reading a Blog instead of a FB thread.

Indeed, giving seems so much more fulfilling.

In the course of my work i have received coaching sessions (some called it guiding sessions or scolding sessions) that made me professionally better at work.

In sports, i grew up initially with swim instructors and eventually coaches. I hated them when they yell at us or demanded us to perform at a certain standard. Now 20 years on, i thank them for giving me a solid foundation in swimming especially in stroke and techniques. I should also thank them for my wonderful childhood experiences of chlorinated waters, hand pedals, pool buoys, fins and a permanent google tanlines on my face ; )

Since 2 years ago I started facilitating my own Open Water Swim Group in Tanjong Beach, Sentosa. In our small group we share swim techniques, motivate new comers and provide companionship to the first timers that wanted to experience swimming in an unknown, unmarked and uncontrolled open water conditions. In my absence, there are swimmers with similar passion that would take charge and continue with swimming hence i am also happy to say that the system is now automated. The session is free, anyone with some reasonable swimming background can join us and the only requirement is to don a brightly colored swim cap (safety reasons) and to approached the session with an open heart.

Forming the group was not smooth running. I was questioned on my integrity and professionalism for organising such activities. I was also 'asked' what motives i harbour for not charging a price for the swim sessions. I took these comments with a pinch of salt mostly as the senders may not understand what we were doing, perhaps they should come see for themselves the amount of laughter we generate during the short 6 laps of swim. Of course, between flustrations i also get "Thank you" emails, SMSes and PMs from those that benefited from us. I believed in the course of facilitation, our group have easily inducted 10 to 20 new Triathletes and a few Open Water Divers. These positive feedbacks kept the group going.

Of late i have also started a small cycling group on Sun. With the dying (or died-ed) cycling group from TriFam, a few individuals have approached me to start re-start the cycling sessions on Sun. I was initially doubtful as my strength was in the aquatic realms and i faced obstacles when i formed the swim group but decided to proceed on anyway. I merely gather a few friends that needed a push in training so that they could survive in the up coming long distance Tri race and rode according to the distance required. A rather simple and minimum training plan.

I remembered 2 years back as running pacer to a good friend in SCSM. Crossing the finishing line between a PB for her and a DnF was a significant difference. It certainly felt good to be part of the process although all i did was to run a sustain pace and instructing her when to eat and drink during the run with the occasional 'motivating' words given.

I also take back from the community. Every monday, the TriFam Swim Session facilitated by Dion is an excellent session to gain speed in swimming. Dion is experience (a multiple Ironman finisher himself) and could easily give "hated" swim sets but everyone seems to "quietly" and "willingly" execute his swim sets. I believe he is a simplified version of my childhood swim coaches….

I believe in myself. Perhaps facilitating others to success and short cutting their learning curve is my way of giving it back to the community.

Cheers to a good week.

Spinning Away

2011-08-28T17:01:00.006+08:00

28 Aug 11, Post PE

Stayed up late last night hoping to catch the PE announcement, afterall the Returning Officer is a darn "Cool" fella. I ended up sleeping in the living room platform instead till my alarm woke me up for the routine Sunday ride.

Was on the road spinning away by 7:15am with Desmond, Robert and Miss Penguin. The plan was to do 60km easy pace but we soon lost Miss Penguin shortly after the flats portion. We decided to ride around the area and try to find her since it was her first ride with us and she was probably unfamiliar with our training routes. When we link up with her eventually, the pace dropped to a more sociable pace so conversations was possible (less the climbing portion of course..)

We settled for dim sum brekkie at Changi. Not the usual post Desaru dim sum fiesta but was sufficient to keep the stomach a little filled.

Riding the Transition today felt so familiar. The bike performed flawlessly, shifting was crisp and power was transmitted smoothly from pedals to wheels. Just 19 days ago, the shifting was impossible, every component was twitching with disturbing sounds…The magic fingers of my bike mechanic was incredible, he used to tell me that building a bicycle is science but tuning it is an art. So while i could fix 95% of my bike problem, Andrew would give his finishing touch to the last 5%. Hard as i try, i cannot even come close to what he is doing….well, there's a job for everyone; Andrew's to sort out the bike while mine is to ride the bike, God IS fair…

Beginning to get the fitness back as the days past. I find pedaling at 200watts manageable, Selarang climbs were easy (really!) and stroking the 400m lap in Sentosa was a breeze. I now look forward to some light running next week; while i lost the opportunity to run the AHM 21km due to work, i still need to maintain the run fitness (which is always my concern) as the coming running races are just as challenging. Meanwhile, stretching remains a daily affair in the early morning and evening.

This morning apart from our routine Coastal ride, there were also other activities happening in the little red dot;

1. A lot of runners would have tried their hands on the Adidas King of the Road race within the city area. Urban running route is always very nice!

2. Die hard triathletes would have tri it out at the Tri Factor Triathlon in ECP E1. Good-O-Traditional Triathlon location, history at its best!

Many of my friends have achieved their own PBs (bettered timing, pace or out-perform expectations), many have also managed to achieve their first tri, furthest distance, etc. Many have spoken, some have attempted but you have done it! Well done my friends, my heartiest congratulations to all of you. You make sports look GOOD!

While all these are happening, another smaller group (with huge fire of passion) were patiently waiting to sign the inaugural Ironman Melbourne (Asia Pacific Ironman Championship). Daring to commit make all talkers look like pre-schoolers..the event itself achieved a PB of her own as it was sold out within a very short time (abt 3 hrs i think). These passionate participants will see themselves at the start line on 25 Mar 12', i wish them well; train hard, train smart and stay safe!

It's going to be a short week for me and I feel the spring in my steps as i go about doing things.

Have a blasting week!

Restarting the engine

2011-08-26T21:55:00.008+08:00

26 Aug 11, Itinerary for NZ completed.

It has been 19 days since i pounded myself in Regensburg. Since returning, i have yet attempted to stress my feet as i could not put pressure on individual feet. However the daily stretching and massages have been useful in aiding the recovery.

On Wed, i passed the responsibility of a 21km cross country running race member to another fellow co_worker. The co-worker was initially skeptical about aiding the team but had to take up the responsibility as he was the next best option. The office team eventually came in 2nd position overall despite being the most senior (in age) team amongst the teenage teams (averaging 20 to 22 year olds). The team manager initially put his joker card on me banking that i could perform after returning from Germany, but that all went south when i suspect i had stressed the feet beyond its limits while pounding the cobble stones.

A lot of people at work was surprise when they see me at the side lines supporting rather than being supported...when i explained to them the amount of physical stress the body goes through in the 14 to 16 hrs most are amazed but also said that this short 21km is "chicken feet" for me, an Ironman....

While i could swim, and spin the bike. I must say i could hardly walk fast, not to mention running and walking the flight of stairs does take additional effort while trying to recover from the physical stress. So for the rest of the people, Ironman are merely mortals that went bersek and sign up for a crazy race; and yes, Ironman are also human beings, they do get injured occassionally….

I am eager to recover so that i could re-engage my training system for the next 6 months preparing for IMNZ in Mar 12'. At my current state, my assessment is that the feet are approximately 80% recovered. I could probably start doing light running next week to aid recovery and strengthen the tendons that have been on rest for the last 3 weeks. The 6 months is going to be a repeat of swimming (Mon and Sat), cycling (2 complete series of Desaru Death Rides), running (3 x 21km, 1 x 30km and 1 x 42km) and finally a lot of daily stretching. Will be maintaining most (99%) of my gears for IMNZ since they have all worked wonderfully in Germany for me (so no reason to go shopping...)

Tomorrow i will facilitate the Tanjong Beach Swim just like most of the Sat after i started the group officially under my charge about 2 years ago. It's a good feeling to taste the salt water and roll those shoulders to stroke out the 400m lap. I also look forward to meeting the swim group after missing out for 3 weeks.

Will also be riding on Sun, hopefully the weather will be good.

Did some research for the next long race...

I like the swim course for IMNZ. Straight forward, easy navigation but the water start is going to be a concern. Hopefully, history will not repeat again.

The bike course is definitely more forgiving as compared. It will be a shorter and a little more gradual based on the bike profile. It would be critical that the Transition perform mechanically well, i would probably kick myself in the head after what my bike mechanic did to resolve the front derailer..

The run route will not be as flat compared to Germany but whaddahell....

Just need to pray for good weather on 3 Mar 12, IMNZ is notorious for 4 seasons within the day cycle (Huat ah!)

Ironman Regensburg 2011

2011-08-17T15:00:00.018+08:00

17 Aug 11, Happy 38th Matty

Just 10 days ago I participated in Ironman Regensburg. It's my 2nd M-dot race and I packaged the trip as part of a vacation for both Danwy and myself, hence it's a racation some would called it.

With the trial swim, bike recce and warm up run completed, I had everything planned out for the big day. Bike check in was warm and sunny so I said to myself perhaps the weather forecast (13 to 17 degrees of clear weather was reported) went off course this time.

Race day morning was a bummer, we awoke to a slight drizzle and I knew we are going to be in for a very long day.

As we geared up, the rain got heavier, had to pass Dawny the bike poncho so she could have some shelter. A lot of activities in the transition area so that kinda bring our HR up and keeps everyone excited. The area was totally cordon off to spectators and we could only wave to each other at the swim start.

I did my usually swim warm up and decided that I would stay in the front and gun for a reasonable swim time. The countdown to start was nervous as hell, it wouldn't matter if you are a rookie or a old hand. The narrow frontage is going to be a lot of thrashing for space for the initial 600m.

Gun goes and I sprinted with the guys next to me for the first 200m. The faster guys started to catch us and I was getting pulled and push down. It was tough fighting the bigger guys to jockey for space as they were much bigger in build. In the end, I had to stop to catch my breath or I will hyperventilate and it will be a show stopper for the entire day. The water was also colder (lower 20s) as compared to the warm up swim making each breath a challenge. I had to stop another 3 more times before I could find my pace, I knew I would not be able to match my swim pace in 08. The lake (or pond IMO) was rather small for the 2000+ competitors swimming together, hence drafting was everywhere in the swim. For the entire 3.8km, I had hands and legs all thrashing around me. I was extremely happy to reach the swim exit and get out of the thrashing.

As a run up the ram, Dawny shouted out for me and she finally got a decent picture of me this time. I felt the rain and knew the bike leg is going to be even tougher. The changing tent got really crowded and I joined a few others in changing outside the tent (in the rain).

The frozen fingers did not help in zipping or buckling up for the bike leg. While I did not spend extra time in the changing area it felt forever in that little space. When I finally got to my bike, I could hardly feel my fingers and fortunately unracking only requires the hands and not fingers. As I mounted I realized I did not stop for Dawny to catch a pic of me on the bike, dammit..

Pedaling out towards Brember (appr 25km) in the rain was hard, but it was useful having done a bike recce. I spin up the same route as the day before and was relatively comfortable despite being dripping wet. The bike route was 2 laps of 80km and the remaining distance were spent cycling from T1 and towards T2.

There are total 4 sections of the climb till Brember each lasting between 1000 to 1600m. At section 1, i managed a refill and was climbing at a steady pace using 50/19 and i was maintaining a 300 watts output, the going was only 18km/hr but i told myself to steady the pace and only push harder on the flats. Towards the end of section 2, i drop the chainring to small spinning a higher cadence till the crest. At the crest of section 2, i tried to upshift my front and realised the tension just could not raise the chainring. I knew technically its going to be a challenge. I stopped, dismount and place the chain manually onto the big chain ring before flying down hill towards section 3.

From that point on, it was big chainring till the legs felt like blewing apart, drop to small chain ring, spin up, reach crest dismount, manually mount chain to big chain ring and carry on. By Brember, my legs were rather thrash but i told myself the flats were coming up so i could recover.

Most of the riders flew downhill in excess of 70km/hr, some portions were technically challenging in terms of downhill cornering skills, i did witness some of the riders going off course into the woods or skidding onto the ground. Staying safe took precedence. The wind were also relentless in getting the fingers and toes numb.

By the time i hit the foot hills, i decided to put on my rain vest. It stayed till the end of the bike leg and was my best friend for the entire bike leg.

There was still 1 extremely long climb on the flats, it was easily 1000+m and i had to do the chain ring act once more. The flats were manageable but the rear splashes from the font rider was irritating. Couple with the wind and rain, it was just uncomfortable.

By the 2nd time i climb up to Brember, my legs were spent. Most of the energy were spent pedaling up the mountains and fighting the cold and wind. I drank some coke, ate some bananas and went along my way. Throughout the bike leg, i did not see the sun at all and was cold, wet and hungry. I just went about pedaling making the best out of a very miserable situation. As i was wet throughout i couldn't really feel my fingers, my biggest concern was braking as i didn't know how hard i was squeezing the brakes. I only wanted to get to T2 safely and get dry.

When i entered T2, most of the bikes were already racked, morale took a beating at that point. I dried myself especially the feet and was happy to change into dry running clothes. Running out from T2, i knew my tanks were empty. I had to fuel up or risk bonking big time. My strategy was to run from aid station to aid station, in the aid station i would walk through eating or drinking.

I had 2 pieces of mini cheese cakes and cut oranges. It certainly felt good to consume solids and i began running at a steady pace.

The run course is 4 laps of about 10km along the river astride the town (that's actually how big Regensburg is). 40% of the route is cobble stones, 40% is lose granite (think Bedok reservoir) and 20% tarmac. The cobble will eventually prove to be the worse to run on as they are slightly smaller than half a feet, hence we land each time on 2 or 3 stones. They are not design to be even for winter purposes and i find them really hard to run on. Spectators actually line up along the cobble stone route to cheer us on so it was kinda difficult to slow the pace as well.

I took the first lap relatively motivated and was on a reasonable pace. I met Dawny on lap 2 and was super motivated by then. I had originally wanted Dawny to pass me the long sleeve running tee but at that meeting point i rejected it, it would later haunt me for lap 3 and 4.

The sun started setting and i was starting to feel the cold setting in but i missed Dawny then and was rather demoralised, i had to walk a little in lap 3 as well. By lap 4, i was running 50m and walking 50m. I shivered everytime i went into the shades.

In the end i cross the line. It was all dark by then, i planned for a day finished but the weather got me first.
I only wanted to survive this race from the point i realised my front de-railer failed me. I was not racing anyone but myself.

This is not a bitching session, nor is it an excuse session for my poor performance on 7 Aug. I learn some very valuable lessons from the very long day. This race taught me to respect the following;

1. Weather (winds and rain can and almost will put an end to anything)

2. Terrain (It's so difficult to train for the climbs and practice the technical descent)

3. Equipment (My stem broke, the cables seems to stretch and front de-railer failed)

Sorry for being so long winded, was a very long day for me....Longer for some as well....

This is a short (well, it's 15mins..) video of our 2 weeks trip in Germany, i can understand flipping 700+ photos can be rather boring....maybe this will help...

Pedaling up towards Brember

2011-08-06T04:22:00.002+08:00

5 Aug 11, attended race brief.

I reminded myself that the race expo is a bad place to be cos there are simply too many temptations for shopping but yet for every trip I needed to make, some was purchase....every thing seems to have a reason for it...

This morning, we rode up the mountains towards Brember (it would be about the 25km point of the bike leg), the day did not start well for me as the Transition refuse to shift regardless of the tension I applied. After a few tries, it managed to shift but at a rediculous tension strength. Well, we still proceed with the ride anyway since no bike shops open this early.

The ride was cold, the foggy visibility made riding difficult but we pressed on. The climbs were easily 1000m+ in length, with limited shifting capability, I was dropped by the rest almost immediately when the serious climbing starting. Clifford fell climbing after losing focus riding and checking the weird sound from his front wheel. Flying back down at 60km/hr was seriously fun (but eyes always on road ahead). It was immediately back to the bike shop for tuning. The cold was a constant throughout, just slightly lesser during the climbs, but freezing on the descent.

The local bike mechanic was extremely helpful in getting my problem solved, they immediately confirm that my replacement stem were brought from them the day before. A few adjustment and the Tranistion is roaring to go! the cost is a donation in their tip box, no charges required.

Race brief were as per SOP, a lot of information were not new but local context were added in. We also decided to skip the carbo dinner and opt for our own pasta dinner.

Packing of the race bags were tough as the riding clothes were still wet from this morning.

Tmr is bike check in, hopefully I need not be require to be at race expo again.

Ironman Regensburg Checked In

2011-08-05T01:04:00.005+08:00

4 Aug 11, D-3

It's our 3rd day in Regensburg. Since we arrived, we have been seeing more Triathletes streaming into this little quiet town in Germany.

On the night of our arrival, when assembling the bike the lateral stem bolt snapped when I was tensioning it. The M3 bolt snapped and the bolt shalf was stuck in one of the stem thread. There was no way to removed the bolt nor was it safe to ride with only 1 lateral stem bolt. I kept my cool in front of Dawny despite the rapid thoughts organization regarding the options available (panicking would not help at 10pm local - 3am S'pore time).

In the end, I decided to find a local bike shop and purchase a replacement stem instead. I also inform a fellow participant to standby a spare piece in case the local purchase was not possible.

Was lucky to be able to find a local bike shop the next day and purchase a replacement stem with exact dimension as per the broken one. I was back in business. The replacement was expensive for a average branding but I guess it will have to do for now.

This morning i did my first swim in the race site and I am very happy with the swim conditions. The water is a tad cooler compared to IMWA 08' but was nice to swim in a freshwater lake with clear visibility. I did a short 1km swim and decided that it save the rest for race morning.

After lunch, we checked in at the race office and officially register and collected our race kit. A very simple race kit which consist of only the race bib numbers (bike, helmet, bib and race bags) and 3 different colored race bags. A complimentary race transition pack was also given as part of the registration (so for those M21 whiners, a Ironman race is also this simple and we paid easily 10 folds addition). A short stay in the race expo cost 160 euros, for those weak in self discipline you would realized the often handing over of your credit card to the cashier seems frequent and uncontrollable...

Will be riding tomorrow up to the 30km point to feel the climbs so that we will not be surprised on race day.

So far so good, most of the S'poreans had arrived and a preparing well for the race.

Weather forecast for 7 Aug is going to be clear with low temperature. All fingers crossed at this point in time.

Spectating at OSIM

2011-07-31T19:20:00.003+08:00

31 Jul 11, 24 hrs to departure

This morning i took a spin to ECP to spectate the 10th edition of OSIM Triathlon. Didn't realised that it's already into her 10th year and going strong. The amount of participants speaks for itself the reputation of the event. Most of my friends would rather spectate instead of competing as the race course is rather tight and filled with excited participants. Riding there and back was useful to keep my spinning legs supple and gave me enjoyment of riding as a roadie.

It was a choppy day to swim today, standing from the beach i could see that a lot of swimmers struggling in the endless pool (wave, current, wind). The multi-loop biking course had a few participants confused after they lost count (i thought), some rode more, some rode less...And looking from the side line, it had not changed for the last 10 years, the bike course is aggressive, technical and really fast. The run leg was just pure heat from the afternoon sun....I'm glad i am not in this race...

Had a few sms this afternoon thanking me for organising Tanjong Beach Swim as they (i had no idea who they were...) managed to survive the choppy sea swim this morning. They mention that the Sat sessions were useful and were appreciative of us facilitating. I replied with appreciation and hope they continue to swim with us regardless of events participation.

The Tanjong Beach Swim Group in FB had grew in members strength significantly. A normal Sat session, we see an average 12 to 15 swimmers. Currently at 80+, i would expect it to reach 100 members soon. I never dreamt that the group would grow to be of such size.

Have finally completed packing, just a day to go for departure. See you in 2 weeks time.

Prepping for the big trip!

2011-07-28T17:58:00.009+08:00

27 Jul 11, 10 days to the big race...its packing time

Today we ended the official work with our American counterparts. It was a good 2 weeks where we shared experiences, work processes and make new friends. While we are younger in history and less experience, we certainly held our ground and showed them that the mad S'porean could multi-tasks and work into insane hours! The friendship was forged since then...

Switching back to reality, we are departing to Regensburg in 4 days. I am about 75% packed, awaiting for the Transition to be ready (Sat) and some final packing for the tech stuffs (camera, electronics, etc) and we should be good to go. Dawny, however only started to decide on the boots she should wear and the rest of the apparels will follow...she's about 25% good to go...

It's been a tough year juggling work and training (including racing). Overall, i have completed the following key training mile stones;

- 2 sets of 80 laps in the pool
- 190km Desaru ride
- 160km Desaru ride
- 140km Desaru ride
- 42km SunDown
- 21km Tri Factor
- 21km Marina 21

The final 2 sets of 21km was certainly useful to fine tune my race pace for the run leg. It's only about 2/3 compared to 08' but i guess that will have to be do especially when work load is higher and i got lazier...

I re-joined the Monday night swim training where i definitely got some speed back. The weekly Tanjong Beach Swim were also increased both in terms of frequency and milage which i hope benefited others as well as myself. The daily laps in my home pool (10 steps from the patio) certainly kept my strokes up. I hope all these adds up and is sufficient on 7 Aug...

In terms of cycling, my daily route to work has changed from a mere 5km to alternate days of 30km with the occasional Jurong Hill or NTU circuit. How could one forget that Bukit Hendon actually exist and can cause enormous discomfort when pedaling the short stretch. Those desperate hill climbs certainly tested my legs and increased my quads strength. I enjoyed those long rides via Desaru especially those with howling winds, endless road vibrations and scorching sun. The serenity of solo riding is ultimate, there is nothing but the wind, vibrations and heat... The investment in a power crank also helps in maintaining power output in terms of training. Going at the average of 180watts, i hope that i could maintain this level of power out put on 7 Aug...

Ever since i changed my running shoes to 0.5 size larger, my feet has felt more comfortable. While the timing did not show a significant improvement, i felt that the running effort were easier despite the high milage. The 3 times weekly office runs were useful to maintain the fartlek training, not to mention the occasional tempo interval where the 2 old man stress me till i throw up, all these are for the speed (that's what they say, i didn't believe them then.....) The last two run events were particularly useful for getting my legs to be supple. I did not do any additional 32km training runs during the build up and i hope my legs will bring me through on 7 Aug...

Along the way, i also lost some weight (gotta be happy with that..) and have developed the habit to stretch daily (morning and evening). But i didn't kicked the habit of the daily beer so i guess i could continue in Beer-Fest-Germany!

So 7 Aug will be my A Race for 2011. I planned the journey 8 months back, i executed the training and adjusted along the way to fit my work schedule. In 10 days time, i will be ready for Ironman Regensburg.

Cheers to an awesome 8 months journey!

*Picture from Ironman Regensburg

Final Training Completed

2011-07-24T10:30:00.007+08:00

24 Jul 11, alittle sore but very happy...

Last night i ran the inaugural Marina21. The event did not have a good start inviting criticism initially from many runners during the organizing phase but yesterday's event was a blast! The difference in running terrain made up for the narrow route and hydration points were just rightly spaced and being able to see the national day celebrations (helicopters flying, fire works, etc) was a bonus for the evening.

As this is my final tune up prior to departure to Regensburg, i wanted to ensure that i run injury free and able to run at a sustain pace. I also made a decision to run in my Kinvara instead of the Fast Twitch in order to decide which shoe to bring for Regensburg. The Kinvara was my PB shoes for 42km and i had always been comfortable to push my paces in them despite the lacked of support for the feet and was proven after last year SCSM that i limped for a week. The Fast Twitch had some additional support and i usually could come in reasonably fast in that as well. But the Kinvara IMO is my lucky shoe....

I started the 2 laps route with a reasonable pace of 6:00/km and i found lucky me in a group of ladies. They certainly gave me a run for their monies (or mine). There were a lot of short sprints and side steps to overtake people due to the narrow run path. The difference in terrain reduced the stress of pounding and i did find it comforting to run on grass patches. At 16km, before i could slow to a walk, Winston and KK came by and push me along (thanks to them, i would have walked almost certainly). I thank the volunteers at the last aid station and began my final 3 km stretch for home run. The finishing chute was loud with music and it reminded me of IMWA when i cross the line. Winston was waiting for me (he finished about 2 mins ahead), i shook his hand and thanks him for the motivation.

Throughout the run i was focusing on my breathing, posture and foot landing. This ensure that my running form will not be compromised for Aug and Teryn should hate me on this...

As i walked into the finishing tent, i check my watch and was surprising to see 1:59:00. It's a PB for me for this distance, very happy especially since i am not too much of a runner. It proves that route with narrow path and occasional dark walkways and packed with large runners can still produce PBs. I hope those that originally fires at the organizers could reflect on their comments (many used social media to verbally 'attack' the organizers) after completion of their runs yesterday night.

Marina21 was like a reunion of TriFam triathletes. Reeves, SK, Ed Kor, Danny Wan, Enrico, Aristol, Roger.....When was the last time we all met like this? Should be at least 2 years back...

So my lucky shoe has done it again for both the full and half marathon distance. Which one to bring is the question?

Have an awesome week ahead!

Tri Factor re-run?

2011-07-18T23:01:00.003+08:00

18 Jul 11, late night working.

Missed the monday swim session again. Darn.

Received the news that yesterday's organizer is going to re-run the event again, this was after the ho-ha about the route (it actually got into the papers), and the long list of complaints in the social network.

Some said unfair to re-run cos timing not good.
Some said its not about the improved logistic
Some said its unfair due to certain month of the year
Some just said its unfair....

I think its bollocks.....for all those that whine...

Who's responsibility is it to run the correct route? Why did they chose to listen to the marshaller if they were given the race route 1 week early? Were they forced to take the turn? Did they take the turn willingly?

Did the runners get a drink, yes, after a little waiting for the volunteers to quickly pour the drinks into the cups. I agree that the hydration points were rather further spaced as compared, so it's not organized properly. But it's not equal to badly organized.

I will not take the re-run. My reason was simple, i ran the route according to what i was brief (in the race booklet) and it was spot on 21.00km. The hydration station was further than ideal but i managed the imperfection and turn that into advantage as others falters into dehydration (i adjusted my pace so that i could last till the next aid station, yes i memorize that too). So IMHO the race was reasonable, not the best but will suffice.

For the re-runners, technically the run is DQ for them. Are they going to return the medal first before re-starting?

My respect to the organizers. Sincere, Courageous and Truthful.

Weekend of High Waves and High Pace

2011-07-17T22:56:00.002+08:00

17 Jul 11. Super cold coke in a warm day.

My jottings over this weekend.

Sat morning sees the usual swim group turning up at Tanjong Beach for the lagoon swim. With the weather coming in and the light sea breeze i knew that it's going to be a choppy swim for the day. I smiled after i parked when i saw the waves crashing on to the beach. Most of the swimmers were rather stoned when they saw the intensity of the waves. With the situation as such, i needed to give extra advices as caution and assist the swimmers to get thru the first lap. Basically i told them the following;

1. Maintain swim stroke - There are tendency to switch to shorter strokes which will raise HR significantly.

2. Additional sighting - As the waves are throwing is around, better sight more to ensure we are heading in correct direction.

3. Sight at the high point of the wave - Told the swimmers to sight at the highest point, at the lowest point of the wave everywhere is water and we do not see anything else.

We managed 4 laps of tumbler washy machine swim. It was certainly not everyone's game including me. I was busy sighting and trying to catch the next wave that i could not count any strokes for any of the laps. Basically, i was fighting the waves for the 4 laps.

In the evening, Dawny and me attended Eve Ang's wedding. Finally we got rid of her! Reeves, YF, Kevin and Julzz probably celebrated the pleasant move. Congrats my side kick!

This morning, i ran a sustain paced 21km in the Tri Factor Timex Run series. I started slower than my normal pace and only picked up the pace after 8km. I was careful not to push myself beyond my comfort zone and sustain another burnout or similar injuries. I watch Enrico and Cyborg Poon battle it out on the long stretch of Nicoll Hwy before picking up the pace catching some of the other runners. Running at approximately 70% effort for sub 6 min pace per km, i managed a modest timing and was relatively happy that my legs were reasonably snappy and supple.

Met many friends during the run that commented that the route was poorly mann by marshallers resulting in a lot of extra distance clocked...it was evident in the Tri Factor FB page that many runners demanded a reasonable explanation for such occurrence...

Personally, i memorized the entire run route (based on the race booklet) and ran the route without assistance from any of the marshalers. I felt it was a personal responsibility to ensure that i am aware of where i am running and where is the next turn. I did not have a problem and when i stop my Garmin at the finishing line, it reads 21.00km (got to be happy with that!)

Had my deserving nap and daily stretching. The legs felt tired but not sore, i have certainly recovered from last weekend's unhappiness in training form.

More stretching and hydration to follow, got another 21km run this Sat. Finger cross to make similar timings.

Symptoms of burning out

2011-07-11T21:34:00.009+08:00

11 Jul 11, still tired.

Did some research on the wonderful internet about sports burning out performances. Interesting, some of the warning signs are as follows;

1. Physical Fatigue
2. Frequent Cold / illness
3. Chronic injuries
4. Loss of fun
5. Loss of meaning
6. Difficulty focusing
7. Performance problems
8. Behavioral problems

For detail information, please refer to the article from Competitive Advantage

Of the 8 signs, i had s/no 1,2,3,6 and 7. That's 5 out of 8 and i saw it coming 2 weeks ago, i was just hoping it would hold until pass 7 Aug.

1. Physical Fatigue - Was tired most of the time, even standing around waiting for Dawny seems like a chore.

2, Frequent cold / illness - Bloody cold stuck with me, those who draft me in Desaru had it worst, i was constantly blowing my nose...

3. Chronic injuries - The stress tendon would be the best example

6. Difficulty focusing - 15 mins was about max if i sat in front of my desk

7. Performance problems - The ride milage dropped from 190 to 90 to 50km in 3 weekends. I could not believe my power meter; i was cranking 120 watts at 190HR (it's ridiculously hard effort but only cranking out small power)

My own personal experience was my loss of taste buds being the ultimate symptom. While i had very little taste buds, yesterday i loss it all. Lunch, dinner and including breakfast this morning (all MSG food but they tasted bland...). Dawny says it might be stomach flu (if so then it adds on to s/no 2)

I had a few sms asking what is the cause and remedy of burning out. Honestly, i do not know. The internet also does not prescribe a cure or remedy for it. It merely says rest, variety, re-priority...

Competitive Advantages article mention "Remember, rest is part of your training as an athlete .... If you don’t take time to “sharpen your axe,” to rest your mind and body giving them time to recharge, then you will become increasing less efficient and DULL. Keep in mind that many times the fastest way to get where you really want to go is very often the slowest. GO SLOWER, ARRIVE SOONER!"

I guess the best remedy would be proper practical planning (think 3Ps).

While i attempt to recover from this ship wreck phase, i still have two 21km runs to complete. The Tri Factor 21km seems like a yearly ritual and the much heated Marina21 (new event and to honor my words). Hence a constant reminder to feed my system so i could bounce back ASAP.

Burn out strikes again

2011-07-10T20:39:00.004+08:00

10 Jul 11, Really tired and probably running a fever.

I think my body system took the last bit of training this morning and decided that enough is enough. Its starting to shut down since lunch time and the very familiar feeling was encountered in 08' when i was preparing for IMWA.

Since Jun, i have been putting in considerable training milages. My body is often stress beyond normal limits, while massages and stretches can do so much i am also aware that it's a matter of time i will experience burning out.

Have been running a fair bit at work. Every Mon, Wed and Fri running outwork did strengthen my running performance, although shorter in distance (up to 10km) for each session i am running almost 30km a week (nothing high i suppose) and the legs were first to get the stress. I could always feel the tendon running from the lower back through the glutes till the back of the knees were consistently tight.

Have also been swimming a lot these days. I re-join the Mon night Tri Fam Swim and the speed work does wonders to the swim speed. My shoulders were first to feel the stress, the left shoulder joint is certainly inflamed for the past 2 weeks. The weekly Tanjong Beach swim were also adding my swim milage (from 4 laps to 8 laps which is quite normal nowadays).

Riding took the most out of my system i believe. Since Jun, i completed 3 Desaru rides (2 sets of 120km and a super 190km). In between the Desaru rides were 90km in Coastal Road and the daily commuting between home and office. While the short distance only require me 15 mins to spin into office, i usually pedal out to LCK, NTU and Jurong Hill for training in anticipation of the mega climbs in Regensburg. The same stressed tendon from running is causing some discomfort in riding especially when the pace picks up.

This morning planned 90km were eventful. Started with Sabre drafting the front pack and losing control after his front wheel contacted the rear wheel of his draft. At the 11km point, he was send skidding off the road, gashing his both elbow, knees and wrist. While the pace was similar to last week brick training, i found the pedaling tougher. IronChef said that its warmer compared as his drinks were 'not cool' much faster compared. Was also nice to see Lap Huan bringing Joyce and the sister out to ride and at Bukit Hendon, i was breathless and hardly talk. I saw the ladies standing at the top breathless too. At 50km, i realize i needed fuel but could not consume any of the packets. I was riding based on the only bottle of Coke during the pit stop. I wanted to throw up by the time we hit the final stretch coming back. My fuel level dipped rapidly and by 60km i was struggling to pedal back to the car (redline liao) . All my bottles were emptied and i was still dehydrated. We went to Carls Jr for brekkie where i ordered a set of fried zucchini and coke. The coke was nice but the zucchini tasted like soda biscuits (it was tasteless despite the sauce!)

I came home. Slept like a dog for 4 hrs and i am still tired. Could hardly take the dinner although Dawny ordered all my favorite dishes.

Yup, i am quite sure i am burnt out. Just like 08' i needed a break away from Tri training (i went diving instead) but this time with work building up in the office and a mere 3 weeks to departure i could not afford the break. While i am ready for the big race, I needed to find alternative to recover from this episode and be fresh at the startling on 7 Aug 11.

After having done all the training, luck will be optional on race day.

Thanks for reading and following my blog. Have a solid week.

and the point is?

2011-07-07T22:15:00.007+08:00

7 Jul 11, Watching TdF 11, waiting for Alberto @$$ to be kick!

Received several messages over the last 48hrs regarding my posts in the Marina 21K FB group. Some were via FB messages, some came by sms, some by email.

Well, i get my fair share of shelling, accusation and appreciation too. Surprise i must say but these all went to the trash bin or were deleted immediately after reading cos they take up memory space (both IT devices and in my limited storage capacity bird brain).

Got quite a bit of shelling. People wrote about runners collapsing and dying and it was almost like the event did not have medical coverage. What a joke! Would any of the organizers even think about reducing medical coverage in times like this when an average joe can go 'jogging' faint and pass on...Would the authorities have even approved the event without a proper safety / medical plan? I could not believe the naive nature of our people at times. Many claim the insufficient safety/aid-station/medics/directional signs etc. It is failure if all these were not catered but in this case, everything is plan for, sufficiency is dependent by personal tolerance level. I concluded that some runners certainly will need the ambulance driving beside them, passing them hydration (chilled isotonic) immediately when they stretch out their hands, cheered by the ever motivated young medics (better if female) and all these happens on a 3 lane highway (10.5km long) where they will not bump into the next runner.

Accusation were not that far off as a lot claim I AM one of the organizers. Well i was almost part of the team having been approached early this year. However, Jul proves to be a busy month at work and couple with preparing to go Regensburg i was glad not to be of hindrance to the team. Well, its true that i know the organizers and that why i speak up for them. They are listening for sure, responding is optional. I have learnt the phase, "We will consider your inputs seriously" from work and "We did consider but unfortunately your suggestion could not fit into our context."

Appreciation were few. Some wrote that they admire my inner peace (its boiling i bet you). And they always ask in the end "Do you really think its going to be ok?" If you DO feel unsafe, you should pull out. If you DO feel that you are going to be the one that might faint and pass on, stay at home with the ambulance number at quick dial no 1....

Had a few that says my comments were 'Zen'. Wow, didn't know i was like Yoda, perhaps the forehead only...ha ha

I didn't ask how they get my contact (phone number/email/FB) cos i dun know these people. The power of networking in the current era does allows people to be tracked down even if you are not related. Interestingly, there were people that agree with me that there are just too many bitching in the group and its not helping the situation. If we do a head count, there are probably about 5 trouble makers in the group out of the 800 odd members,,,In the end i read the messages, had a laugh and deleted them almost immediately.

And the person that brought up the 50 laps of 400m was ultimatum (Lady Gaga get more respects than you...). Also asking if the 'positive' group would maintain the same attitude if we paid $500 for this event is ridiculous. Obviously limited in knowledge, $500 in an international event is nothing. IM China 11' was cancelled 1 week before the event, airfare, accommodations, race registration were almost burn into the air of Beijing (it was definitely more than $500!). IMNZ had the swim leg cancelled a couple of years ago, no refund and no buts.

You do it if you want to, not because someone tells you to...Last i remembered, no one put a gun on anyone's head and force you to click the 'submit' button. Get a life!

Apology for the bitching, i couldn't help it....

From Competitors to Organisers

2011-07-05T20:50:00.008+08:00

5 Jul 11, did a reversed triathlon this evening.

Its 4 weeks to departure and i have two 21km running races line up as a final tuneup prior to IM Regensburg. I hope both races will do my legs well allowing me to stride it out during the run leg of my 2nd IM attempt.

Of the 2 events, one of it were organized by some of my close tri friends. They have matured from racing (Sprints, ODs, 70.3s, IMs and Ultras) to organizing. My beliefs tells me that they were not out for money but to attempt to organize an event for the locals. These events for the sportsmen by the sportsmen principles were ideal and a lot of supporters started to roll in and in a short time span the event grew to be of significant in participation.

However, when the race route was release, many expressed their disappointment and frustration on the event team. A lot claim they were misled into participating, similarly a lot of people express their dissatisfaction and demanded a changed in route or refund. The social network suddenly became a weapon of choice for these group of people.

There was also another group that stood up against the general flow of tide and mention their support for the event team. They related the difficulty of organizing an event, the political difficult of getting route clearance (in late Jul where NDP rehearsals are in full bloom). These group get their fair share of criticism from the former in the social network media also.

My take?

Its never easy to step out of our comfort zone. The event team left their previous role as competitors and bravely took up the organizer role. Very gusty i must say, but being in this country satisfaction is never achieved in the service industry as the following expectations are constantly being demanded;

1. Awesome low race fee (better if free!),
2. Awesome goodie bag (better if it is bags instead of bag),
3. Awesome new route (better if it go through the entire city including the Istana, the Tiger Brewery, both the IRs and the Zoo!),
4. Awesome cheerleaders (better if they are good looking and below 20 year old!),
5. Awesome medical support (better if there were ambulances at every aid station with below 20 year old medics!),
6. Awesome aid station (better if it has coke, 100 plus, Gatorade and everything else on the supermarket shelves + it MUST be chilled!)
7. Awesome Compere at the finishing chute (better if it was Mike Reily!)
8. Awesome car parking at race site (better if it was free parking!)
9. Awesome finishing medal (better if it was a limited edition gold plated coin that weighs!)
10. Awesome finisher Tee (better if it there were a competitor Tee, an event Tee, a finisher Tee and comes in Polo, Singlet, T-shirt each and it's made of a choice of dri-fit, cotton or kevlar! And it MUST never run out of sizes from xxxxs to xxxxL!)

That's 10! I could probably think if another 10! For everything else, it must be cheap, fresh and damn big tits (say that in the local dialect!) Come on people stop bitching, is it all about the "Me! Me! Me!" thing?

Reflect on ourselves the reason for taking part in this race? To train? To race? For the medal? or for the route?

Regardless, i am going to enjoy myself on that 21km. I didn't care less if it was along a long-kang and didn't come with a bloody finisher t-shirt.

Press on team!

Changing over to tapering phase

2011-07-03T23:12:00.002+08:00

3 Jul 11, Headache.

With the bulk of my training completed i started out on the tapering phase for IM Regensburg this week. As the longest training discipline was merely a week ago, my physical system is still wanting to go slow and long for each session.

I started out this early this week with a short but fast run. My legs just refuse to stride out fast, instead it gave me the usual shorter strides telling me they are still in LSD mode. The 5 x 500m power run circuit was just plain killing the hamstrings, running with the younger chaps made me feel good but alias i know they are much younger when they just pull away at the terminal climb of each round. Still the hamstrings get a good work out.

I also spend 3 days outside the office organizing our equipment for the public to view as part of the 1 Jul events. The 3 days were late (6am, 1am, 2am) in knocking off work and i clearly had the fatigue on Sat's swim session. I could barely complete 4 laps (let alone the 8 i planned). Each lap was only a swim drill that i could manage, there were not speed and i had some of the usual slower swimmers really near me this time. That scared me a bit...I also opted to swim in a swim wear instead of the wettie in case IM Regensburg water temp was higher than normal and wettie was not allowed. This way i could at least work out the necessary fitness. The swim group is indeed getting larger and i do realize i have some difficulty controlling the swimmers, i would hate to apply my control mechanism at work on the swimmers....

This morning brick training was one of the better executed training plans. Cliff, Desmond and Iron Chef set out just after 7am into Coastal. The pace i wanted to ride was around 34km/hr on the 30km circuit with our favorite "Bukit" Hendon thrown in. We managed to adhere to the pace less that one moment where we decided to stir the roadies pack and rode up to 48km/hr for a couple of km. Iron Chef displayed his cycling capability and i must say he has maintain his fitness very well for t he last couple of years. We finished the training with a very hot 5km run, Iron Chef and me ran side by side throughout ( i believe he is stronger than me in the run - Heck everyone IS stronger than me running :).

From the moment i got home, the headache was pounding since. Likelihood of dehydration..

This weekend also marks a few overseas races;

Ironman Korea
- Congrats to Cornetto Kitt for coming in 1st for his 70.3 age group.
- Congrats to Choo Ling Er for coming in 1st for her IM age group.
Looks like both will be going the World Championship (Las Vegas and Kona) accordingly.

Gold Coast Marathon
- Congrats to Mok Ying Ren and Asley Liew for superb run time
- Congrate to Enrico and Danny for their performances (have yet received their official timing but i believe it will be good)

It is only 4 weeks to departure and I like the idea that tapering allow one to train at the race pace but 1/3 the milage. But first to get the body to understand that it needs to do fast work instead of the snail pace over the last 11 months.

A little self motivation : I love the weekdays, cos after that is the weekend and its training time!

Weekend Hell Training (Swim and Bike)

2011-06-27T16:06:00.007+08:00

27 Jun 11, 2 tone tan.

Dawny's unwell so i decided to pass the Mon night swim and stay home with her. Tesky's just wagging away.... : )

Tide was highest at 5:30am on Sat. With the tide difference relatively minimum i decided to try my luck and proceeded with the lagoon swim. Turn out that it wasn't so bad starting at 7:30am, just that we lost some sleep time and it was darker when we commence. It was a relatively large turn out and i am realizing the difficulty of controlling the swimmers. The 6 laps of rocking waves was nice to simulate open water conditions and i had sufficient distance to swim out my wetsuit in preparation for Aug. We should be able to increase the swim distance to 10 laps (~4km) within the next 2 sessions.

As there were new swimmers every week, i am getting better with the swim brief prior to starting (hopefully clear and simple to understand). I also constantly remind them to maintain their swim technique just like the pool coaches and simple race tips that facilitate swim starts and exits.

Nice to see Le Giang taking her first few open water swim with us after she started swimming in order to take part in Tri races. A sub 4hr marathoner, it is good to see her conquer her fear of opening water swimming and progressing towards OD races.

The ride into Desaru on Sunday proved to be a monster hell ride. It will be the longest training ride before heading off to Regensburg in Aug. The heat build up almost immediately as we pedaled into the route (JB, Kota Tinggi, Sedili, Balau, Sg Renggit, Pengarrang), The constant headwinds, 40C heat, long climbs and endless road vibrations were very tough on the riders. Going against the strong headwind, the only riding position that make sense was to be on the aerobars and the lower back would eventually feel the strain, i think i held that position for about 90km in one push. My focus was to maintain the power output (145watts average) regardless of the cadence/speed that i am on. The stretch from Sedili to Balau was the worst leg - 45km of pure agony as i could only average 130watts at appr 22km/hr. The road vibrations added the discomfort for the 2 hrs segment. Every body joints supporting my body weight were screaming to take the road shocks. At some stage i also thought my entire aero cockpit was going to fall off, but my trusty mechanic would have done his job professionally and ensure everything was fasten accordingly to the torque requirement.

With the high energy output, we were famish by the time we reach Balau. From that stretch onwards, it was a constant feed of Mee Goreng, Sugarcane juice and Maggi Goreng...We ate whatever was available, calories (apart from energy gels intake) were what i needed to fuel the constant spinning of the pedals.

191km later, i finished the mother of all Desaru rides on my trusty Tioga saddle (had to prove a point that paddings were irrelevant....ouch, i can hear the counter fires already...).

Bottom line, I am now ready for the Regensburg bike course.

*Coffee shop picture compliments from Angeline Tan

Changing the way i blog

2011-06-23T20:55:00.003+08:00

23 Jun 11, playing with the huge 27"

Finally got the iMac, had a reasonable deal so i decided to go for it. Something i wanted to get rid of the old computer and use a new platform that is rather less problematic as compared. Not really going to change the way i blog i guess, just the means that's all. After all, i have tried blogging via the BB, ipad and now just the iMac.

Took a lot of getting use to, for a start 27" from one end till the other took sometime. The usage of the system, look and feel were all new. All these are worth getting used to i was told.

Nothing much happen at work so it was a easy week.

Went riding in Desaru last Sun, the 140km of cross winds did caused a lot of discomfort but all of us just head down and pedaled. In the end, we did make the destination at Pangerrang but was relatively beaten up by the weather, the blazing sun, endless winds, pouring rain and the flying debris certainly makes it exciting.

We celebrated Tesky's 8th birthday on Tue, the little furball got a decent 3 course meal (meat balls appetizer, Shepard's Pie mains and Birthday muffin as dessert). I must say she is one lucky doggie. As usual she puts her best behavior in front of my parents and everyone else.

Looking forward to this weekend activities. Swimming very early in the morning in Tanjong Beach lagoon (something i have not done for a very long time) and riding into Desaru again towards Tg Sedili (something i have not done for a very long time, AND i am not excited about this)

Angeline fell last weekend, her 2nd in 3 weeks. She's got to be the record holder for spectacular bike performances with her bandaged knee and scrapped elbows. On her 2nd accident, she cracked her helmet. This simple but yet important lesson demonstrated the importance of wearing helmet when on the road. I reminded her to replace it since it is beyond use (less display).

Some more things i did :)
- Signed SCSM 11' - Need that to prepare for IMNZ 12' (i heard it's a toughie)
- Collected my new 'Share The Damn Road' cycling jersey (its awesome)
- Had a office gathering - You never know how one behaves after a couple of pints ha ha ha, good time i must say.

Train hard, Train Safe.

The Swim & Run Weekend

2011-06-12T16:36:00.007+08:00

12 Jun 11, 3 hrs nap (Beat that!)

Had a relatively good week. Some time for myself for training, work, admin for IMNZ 12 is almost completed.

Yesterday, we re-commence the Tanjong Beach Swim after a 6 weeks break. There was not much confidence as non of us swam the water prior to check for floaters (aka jelly fish). With a deep breath, i took the initial strokes leading the rest into the 400m lap. Quite afew swimmers came with wettie (for training and protection reasons) and a lot came in Trisuits for max protection against the floaters. Sin Guan remain brave and attempted the unknown in his ever speedy speedos.

We managed 4 laps. Had a group shot taken and had a brunch in Vivo City. Shortly after, it poured big time again. I returned home to a nice nap after a very cold beer. Life is good.

In the evening i prepared for the yearly Mizuno Mount Faber 10km run. A toss up between the new K-Swiss (foot hugging, laceless but achilles cutting for the moment) or my trusty Saucony fast twitches. The blisters at the achilles are my concern, its rather painful that they cut at the sides instead of the rear. I decided to bring both and see what happens after warming up.

The warm morning welcome the usual crowd at the event. The blisters protection strip seems to hold fine so i decided to continue with the K-Swiss. Had some compliments for the lucky bib number. I was recently lucky to have received #789 (for Aviva 70.3) and #123 (2XU 12k Run) and was hoping for #456 for this event. Well #3333 seems alright too :)

Went at a happy 5:34 pace and completed the very humid run just shy of 56mins. Nothing fantastic compared to my other abled antelope friends...But am proud to push the entire race without stopping inclusive of aid station. Crossing the finishing chute i was soaked head to toes, dripping wet on my shorts.

Brought brekkie, came home in time to catch Dawny waking up. I did a short 10 laps in the pool to aid recovery before we chow down the packed noodles while watching last night recorded "Cirque Du Soleil" - Was nice but nothing beats seeing it live, i fell asleep after 30 mins and we decided to adjourned the day by another 3 hrs of napping (got to be happy abt that, Tesky too had her share of 3 hrs on her own pillow).

Looking forward to dinner with my folks at Skinny Pizza.

Have a fruitful week (training, work, home matters, actual fruits too)

*Tanjong Beach Photo compliments from Cliffleesc
----------------------

Played with my new toy Garmin ForeRunner 210 and found that my run time today was reasonable. I clocked 55:29, not a PB but quite closed to 09' where i clocked 55:12. Dawny reminded me that the timing was clocked 3 years back and i was 3 years younger.

Hello Training.

2011-06-06T22:46:00.007+08:00

6 Jun 11 Sore Shoulders

Today marks the final chapter at work that i am responsible for the past 11 months. The event has ended in Apr and we have finally concluded with an overall debrief and presentation. It felt good to have walk the journey and close it in proper means, deep inside my heart i knew it was time to head back to training, discipline training.

I celebrated the small success with a opening night in Ice Cold Beer last friday with the Tanjong Beach Swimmers, the dress theme was "Your Last Race" and true to any discipline athletes, they turned up in their finisher tees and we had a couple of Sundowners, Kapas and Tri Factor swimmers and the very awesome IM Lazarote personalised finisher. Will have to make it more interesting next round, perhaps "Your Favourite Racing Attire"....

Was suppose to be a long Desaru weekend but having too many riders giving it a miss and the potential risks involved riding in very small group, i called it off and decided to ride Coastal instead. Woke up timely to leave home and reach ECP F2, the clouds did not look promising but i wanted to push on.

A couple of kids came and asked if i wanted to wash my car for 10 bucks, they were apparently doing some school funds raising. I said go ahead and paid the cheeky.

Pedaling out on the Transition reminded me that its meant for speed and everything was configured to beat the clock. i barely reached the opp end of coastal and it rain (yes, it rained so hard that the little island was flooded for a few areas). I took shelter in a lonely bus stop with some recruits and they were like 'nice bike, how much ah?' Ha ha, if only i was in my work clothes....

All these while i wondered where was VJ...prob taking shelter also..

Rained stopped and i proceeded to crank out the remaining 70km on my own. Its lonely out there, hardly a soul riding but i guess its mental training as well. Glad that i push on. Wanted to do an additional loop but i did not have my h/p with me (no h/p, rained big time, no response) and Dawny would be anxious and i decided to head back to the car.

Well the car WAS washed indeed...

This evening i decided to pop by the Mon Trifam swim training, its almost a year since i swam with them. Julzz was like "wow, time to buy 4D!" I was happy to stick to the sets, not very fast but i could hold my pace. This session marks my return to the schedule Mon night swim, these are my speed sets and would give me what i needed for Aug. Also made friend with the pool staff to allow me to park my bike next week onwards for the swim, this meant no more riding pass Jurong Point at 5pm dodging mad traffic just to get home to pick up the car from Dawny :)

My shoulders are sore but the feeling is good. Its time to get back to discipline training.

*Photo compliments from Dennis Quek

2 years in waiting

2011-05-29T22:49:00.006+08:00

29 May 11, Not as sore as i thought i should be...

Did the SunDown Marathon last night, the 42km run has been on my mind ever since 09' that dreadful day where i threw in the towel after only 15km. Yesterday at the start-line, i told myself to finish this 'unfinished' business.

My objective was to finish, no injuries and that would give me confidence for IM Regensburg in Aug.

Armed with new monitoring technology (Garmin) and running technology (Saucony), i started into the night pacing well with the 4:30 runners. Le Giang was one of the pacers in the group and i was happy to sit in the pack with them. I knew the pace was too fast for me but i thought at least i could ran a first leg 1 and try to hold leg 2.

I turned at the 21km mark at 2:11. Very happy with the pace (i could prob run a sub 2 hrs for AHM now). The 2 soft drinks i had helped with the sugar rush and propel me till about 26km. From there on, my legs felt really tired and i was starting to doze. Fighting the sleepiness was hard as i did not do any training in the night. Embarrassed to say, i have very little training; Working late, being sick, on holidays were all factors. No excuses for myself, for everything there is a price, and i paid for it from the 30km mark onwards. I jog/walk for abit but largely was fast walking, i realised i was walking slower than most walkers, darn...

Coming into the finishing leg, i decided to jog it in. Time check; sub 6 hrs. A rather embarrassing timing but i thought at least i paid my dues after 2 years of waiting. Met up with the rest and found VJ completed sub 4 hrs (nice when you have your GF waiting at the finishing chute) and Des coming in around 5:10. Lap Huan did a double (21km+42Km) that cost him 9hrs+ (ouch!). Decided to pass breakfast and hop on a cab home to catch some sleep.

Took awhile to get a cab, was lucky to catch a Merc changing shift. The journey home took 50mins (20 mins were spent trying to get out of the race area. S$58 later, i open the house door to total silence (even Tesky didn't greet me at the door), had a hot shower, struggle to put on my compression tights, crawl to bed (had to get Tesky off my pillow first) and shut my eyes for real...

Didn't limp as much, but i suspect tomorrow will tell the real soreness.

Take care, thanks for reading, have a blasting week ahead.

Resuming training after 2 weeks

2011-05-23T16:39:00.003+08:00

23 May 11. Office, oppsssss.

After staring at the bikes, goggles and running shoes for 2 weeks odd (including a long weekend of sports shopping in HK) the cough did get better and I could do reasonable distance of swimming, riding and running. Perhaps it was the beer in Macau and HK or the wonderful egg and milk pudding we found and ate everyday...

During the Vesak Day holiday, Dawny and myself went on a short (but intense) trip. I would always imagine Macau to be the Las Vegas of Asia. The rooms in Venetian was awesome, food was relative, but the visit to the ruins of St Paul was so much better compared to the casino facilities. Nothing beats the Cirque Du Soleil performance, as usual both my palms were swollen after the show, to me it's a sheer performance of human strength, control and accuracy all in a musical form (no lions or elephants of sort).

In Hong Kong, we stayed in Violet's place in Tung Chung. It's a 40 mins MTR ride out to town but 10mins to the airport. Saving on accommodations makes sense. Food and shopping was common on tourist list, we were not very much different. As recommended by IMIM, i went to meet Kent Wong, a Hongkee Kona 10' finisher. He runs a well stock but hard to find Tri-shop in Wanchai. Needless to say, some good shopping was executed and I was much happier. With the latest shopping from Hongkong, IMIM said my bike is now 'pro' standard liao...the rider is still amature I said ha ha..

Was also glad that the 4 day trip did not add weight to my tummy..

Started to run on thurs and fri, although only 45 mins it gave me confidence after the 2 weeks of coughing hell that I should do fine in the coming SunDown marathon. My previous fitness base was not destroyed in that 2 weeks.

Yesterday in Desaru, for the first time I trial the power meter system. For 130HR I could crank out 195 watts going at 31km/hr maintaining average 92rpms for 100km. Not exactly sure if that is a good performance by any standards, but it felt good to tuck into aero position, ride out the cadence into the winds and catch the front riders. It's also a first that I turn at the roundabout immediately heading back towards Sg Ringgit non stop, am happy to complete that training after a long layoff. The power meter works very nicely and I would recommend anyone to go into power training system. The new gear (ceramic BB, aero helmet, bike shorts, front hydration system) were all working at my expectation. The weather was otherwise, started with a downpour in the boat ride, slight tail wind riding out but super head wind riding in. The sun just fire the heat up to top the icing. We were cooked literally... Overall, a very tired but happy rider still.

In the office today, I did a 45 mins tempo run. Started late I was lagging behind and had to play catch up. The guys up front wasn't exactly slow either. Had a hard time catching up, eventually I ran out of distance but was happy to close the gaps.

SunDown Marathon is this Sat. I had 10% of the training compared to SCSM 10. It will be a training run for IM Regensburg. Its also a night run so the requirements are totally different and coming from the 09' DnF i am back with a vengeance to get that distance done in the night. A 5hrs run will be decent, and will give me confidence into finishing the Aug race.

Reflections Thrice

2011-05-10T22:31:00.010+08:00

10 May 11, payday is happy day

Been a rather rough week for me. Although the long weekends are repeatedly one after another my plans did not go accordingly for the last 2 weekends.

3 things kept bothering me over the last 2 weeks.

Training - Zero done, literally. The cough and phlegm situation got worsen and i could only stare at the swim jammers, bike and running shoes wondering when i could re-commence training. With IM Regensburg barely 3 months away and SunDown Marathon a shy 2 weeks i think i am under training for this round. Although my weight has dropped but i think i lost muscle mass which translate to power generation. Seen the doc yesterday and he thinks i am quite a endurance to take the ENT situation for over a week.

IM China blew the rest of the world today. They announced the swim leg is going to be cancelled due to some construction work that coincide the race dates. Rubbish, as far as i am concern. What type of administration they are running there i do not know, i am darn sure my country's system beats them hands down (abit more in a while). An Ironman race turned into a 180km bike and 42k run, i call that a Biathlon instead. Many have gotten a refund and suddenly IM Regensburg or Korea seems a logical choice for many. I have gotten easily 20 sms today enquiring about IM Regensburg.

Sat Night Fever - For a start, people with histories of running into the law or have doubtful value systems should never be running for seat(s). You must be out of your mind to even trust them...

Over the weekend, a measuring tool for the incumbent players to gauge supportability by the people was conducted. The big boys maintain the lead but had also sustain some pretty serious loss. In a week concluding, we loss 2 very capable representative. People are not deciding with a bigger picture in their mind (heck people even crossed the box they didn't like...). Shorter goals and a lot more personal benefits are the flavor of the current generation. I think if you want something (house, better living conditions, etc) work for it, nothing is free, even Tesky has to play obedience when it comes to dinner! Most have forgotten that we were one of the least hit country in the recent financial crisis (thanks to a very strong financial reserves) and some innocent gladly asked for S$60 billion 'loose change' (does he knows how much S$60B means is actually?).

In the end, we have so much petitions to remove a particular candidate in the social network that i feel is ridiculous. With the big boys, everyone selected to join them is subjected to being screen, groom and evaluated prior to confirmation. Did anyone ever asked if the 24 year old was that good, she would have gone under the radar of the lighting? Never and i bet my last cent...I believe everyone has a role, no one is born a politician, some training have to take place, 24 or 27 year old regardless (think what were you doing when you were 24 or 27?).

My 2 recent bosses (whom i had served for previously) are excellent examples, it took my company some 20 years to groom them to be ready to released to the jungle out there and they are READY.

Move along people, you casted your votes so accept the results.

If one is dead serious, join the party and make a difference. Posting online and taking potshots make no differences from any other chatterbox.

To those that really opposed, i respect you. You earn my salute.

To those that join because of the free car parking, shame on you.

Work - It seems to be never ending. Just when the flame of the big assignment was about to end, several other smaller flames emerges. Some were unthinkable if we failed, others seems un-failable. There isn't a 'good to have' anymore, everything was 'important and urgent' and 'important and critical'....

While we slogged in the sweating heat. Elsewhere the yanks seems to have hit the jackpot. The news read that a certain evil figure head was finally caught up after 10 years, but the news started to deviate daily to the circumstances of the case in its final moments and hence i have my doubts as well. Its unthinkable to be looking through the cross hairs and making that eventual squeeze, i have done it over the last 15 years but only at a plastic board which is a lot more easier to decide.

Certainly the 'heros' were commended, but was that final move necessary? Would a proper court trial be more appropriate?

---------

Health situation seems improving after the few bouts of meds prescribe by Dawny's fav doctor. Certainly looking forward to the weekend trip to Macau and Hong Kong although i would have to DNS my Tri Factor 3km swim.

Meanwhile, Life Goes On!

May Day weekend

2011-05-02T21:18:00.002+08:00

2 May 11, coughing.

Was looking forward to officially testing the Quarq crank this weekend. Since installation, the Transition has been hung in the living room for the longest time, completed the Edge 500 calibration and settings and everything thing is good to go except for the weather.

Yesterday was supposed to be a fast paced solo Desaru ride. But due to the public holiday, the ferries were jammed pack with holiday goers. My last sight of Angelina was filled with envy as she do her 180km ride for 2 days. We gave up after 2 hrs waiting for a seat and went for IM breakfast of dim sum....certainly hearty for the general population.

With the change in training, I decided that I would do another round of training this morning. A quick post on social media found 2 groups riding; Julzz and his small roadie pack and Dawn Riders with their 90km. Figured that the 90 prob do me better, I contacted Giang for the ride details.

This morning I woke up at 0430hrs to see dark clouds looming over my patio. I decided to ride the roadie and be friendlier to the rest so again the Transition got passed. A quick SMS and we were good to go. I pedal out and was at the meeting place within 10 mins. Kyne (Dawn Riders leader) remembered my Softride a few years ago. We pedaled out and was soon met by the drizzling rain. It was familiar pedaling with the Polar system, everything was working well and i had no reason to change it to the Garmin less the power output. Most parts of the ride were at 35km/hr average and I pedaled 98 rpm for cadence. Heart rate was also at 80% so most times I was comfortable. There was no need to speed due to the wet roads and some early morning traffic.

I was shivering while waiting when one of the rider had a flat without spares. It was a reasonable paced ride, only thing I hated was the super early timing to meet. I turn off headed home after 32km and was dripping wet, thanks to my rain vest at least the core areas are drier.

And now, I am coughing my guts out. Despite a nap to sleep it off, it got worse. The phlegm was building up and I thing training needs to take a pause. I pause to recover and go further...

Have a wonderful week.

10 Checks to keep sanity

2011-04-28T21:17:00.004+08:00

28 Apr 11, a day before the grand royal wedding

Back at work after the big assignment last week, now starts the slow and boring journey of debriefing and reporting.

While at one of the sessions, i drew up a checklist to remind myself what was my outlook to the rest of the world.

Here goes, just for fun,

1. I own optical pieces with a oval shape branding on the sides. Several pieces actually..

2. At least one of the time pieces had a red dot on the watch face.

3. 3/4 of my apparels had dates, distance and some form of sport branding printed on it, some of it were afew years old, just refuse to chuck them.

4. I have forgotten how to tie my shoe laces, they stretch alot more than i could remember...

5. I have weird tan lines on my thighs. Argh.

6. I wear a weird metal tag on my wrist or ankle with inscriptions of my particulars on most weekends. Opss.

7. My bike tires cost more than my car tires (tyre for tyre), crazy.

8. I think about the next destination to go....racing....shss..

9. I prefer to wear a elastic belt than a leather belt, hmmm...

10.I think spandex are not just for weirdos. Viola!

Looking forward to the Desaru Ride on Sunday. Have a blasting week.

:)

5 days of intense work in the office

2011-04-23T23:45:00.003+08:00

23 Apr, low tide so no swim.

Work stuffs 7 days ago was a blur....the entire office stood up and prepared for what was a very tense 5 days of work. We didn't go home for 5 days, the guys worked 12 hrs shifts and probably slept 6 hrs over the few days with a lot of interruptions.

It ended on wed afternoon when everything concluded. Leadership qualities was put to the test and professional competencies were maxed out. Overall, the 5000 odd participants with 300 vehicles did not sustained a single accident. That's pretty good IMHO... 9 months of prep work and all was shown in the 5 days.

Was still recovering from the fatigue and even though it was Good Friday here, I pass the training and went fishing instead. The quiet times btw the rod, reel and the fish was good for my soul. A lot of thinking and self reflection was done. Towards the end of the day, I notice the appearing of relatively large jelly fishes (0.5m) on the surface, I easily counted 30... This is a cause for concern for the Tanjong Beach Swimmers. Barely a year ago I had to be driven to the A&E department after a brief contact with one of these monsters in the lagoon during lap 1. I decided to pause the swim while I attempt to investigate the situation. Until I concluded safety is in place and the jellies are gone the swim will not take place, risking the swimmers is not what I intend to do.

Had sent the TT bike in for assembly of the Power crank, Andrew says collection is mon evening so I guess it will have to be the roadie until otherwise. Looking forward to the little social ride.

Will be heading to Desaru following week. Time to re-start training from where I left them.

Doing a running race.

2011-04-10T11:22:00.005+08:00

10 Apr 11. Ran 12km but ate a marathon breakfast.

Since Jan, we were doing quite a bit of speed work training at work. All the 800m and 1km speed running was h3ll for me. But i was also curious how much it paid off since then.

I took the fitness test on 1 Apr and was pleasantly surprise at the 2.4km run time. Its been awhile since i see the figure '9' on the first digit of my finishing time.

This morning i woke up to fresh air and was ready for the 2XU Compression Run. I always had problem managing pure run events (from fitness tests to running races) as i needed a longer time to warm up my systems. As such i prefer to run after the swim and bike (IMHO).

Was a massive crowd at the start. Met alot of friends and training buddies and all were keen to do a decent timing on the 12km circuit. I however was not keen, i had butterflies in the stomach...

The route is relatively flat with some slight climbs but all is manageable.

When the horn goes, i went with what i thought was a reasonable pace. I reach the 1km marker at 4:04, 2km marker at 8:20 and the 3km mark at 11:50. I did the maths and was stunned!! Too ridiculously fast i told myself, i also told myself i would likely pay for it later..I dropped the pace eventually and was running close to a 1hr/12km pace. The light shower was a good way to cool off. I eventually held the pace to a 1:04 finished. Was a little disappointed that i could not hold the 60mins pace but was happy to see many familiar faces this morning.

Had brekkie with Enrico after the run. Like the thread title, i ate a marathon after the 12km run, cannot go wrong with that...

Will not be blogging for the next 2 weeks, cos the work pace IS going to be crazy, really crazy..

Take care, train safe.

Changing the training methodology

2011-03-26T14:13:00.012+08:00

26 Mar 11, Running the Twilight light Challenge in a moment

Should have recovered from last week 6 hr ordeal. This evening i will attempt the Twilight Light Challenge from 5pm onwards. Race director, Ben Swee is an old friend, he had this event i believe for the runners to build towards SunDown Marathon coming up. Simple event, 10km circuit with logistic and safety support, event runs from 5pm till tomorrow 9am. Run as many laps as you like and start stop as you like. Basically, no frills.

Brought a Power crank set yesterday, was rather apprehensive when it comes to internet shopping at such a price tag. Locally only the standard 53/49 are sold, i needed the compact version and only available overseas hence the purchase. Using ANT+ technology, it will significantly change my cycling training. All these years, its based on cadence and HR. From this point, it will be power and HR + Cadence. I do not know what i am heading into but i believe that may be the way ahead.

Need a head unit to do display, Polar HR system is not able to integrate this portion. Hence a need for a secondary display head unit. A lot of recommendation came for the Garmin 310XT. Its functions are unbelievable (like a Mac!). Its looks are however opp, its huge and totally unattractive to wear it out before or after the training session (hey looking good is important right?).

For the price of the 310XT, i could have brought the following 2 items and still train in similar manner.

1. Garmin Edge 500 and Garmin FR 60

I think the Edge 500 and FR60 looks more appealing as a combo for the new training tool. Meanwhile its patience to wait for the crank to arrive.
--------------

Yesterday evening run proves that i have yet recovered from the previous week.

Barely 15km into my run, i felt everything tightening. All the stretching and massages didn't seems to work. I completed 20km comfortably, waited for some one to run the last 10km with. Ed Kor came along and i decided to tag along him for the last leg, by the time i hit the 22.5km mark, i decided to call it a day at the 25km mark and not risk getting injured.

Finished 2:53:33, if not for Ed i would have thrown the towel at the 22.5km point.

Could not eat dinner despite the awesome cooking by my mother-in-law (its true, she's a good cook). The tougue could not taste much and i could hardly swallow the rice. Classic case of overburning soon.

70.3 Singapore - This one for Dawny!

2011-03-21T22:54:00.007+08:00

D+1, Post race.

The long week ended with my mid point race. I had most of the activities planned from till race day, or so i thought...

With zero physical training from Mon till fri, i was not hopeful that muscles will be supple and ready for the continuous pounding on sun.

Had a shorter (4 lap) swim on Sat. I needed to facilitate the session as there were others that are not taking part in the sun race. Eunice got stung by something which she said was rather painful (jello?). The painful episode last year i sustained was a reality check for the swim group. My concern are those swimming with speedos, jammers and swimsuits as they are more exposed compared to the speed suits or wettie swimmers. Some swimmers highlighted the risk of swimming a day before a race, but this is after all facilitation so i was ok with it. Was also reminded to have white vinegar in my equipping to aid anyone that requires it.

Slept early on Sat and waking up at 5.30am on race day was easy.

Reaching the race site to find that i left my cycling shoes and my spare kit at home were the biggest surprises. Thanks to Dawny, sacrificing her beauty sleep to deliver my beloved Time Tri Shoes timely so that i could continue with the race. I decided to leave the spare kit as it was mounted in the roadie on the upper bike rack (Dawny will have difficulty getting the canister without the roadie crashing on top of her) and have faith in my equipment.

With some relief, i decided to start my warm up routine.

As the 2nd last wave of the race (0830 hrs), it meant finishing the bike at appr 1200 hrs and running thru the 21km till about 1400 hrs. In lay man terms, HOT!

I had a very good swim start. I decided to go to the extreme right, sensing my tactics i see Hui Koon tailing me to the start line. We shook hands wishing each other good luck and counting down the seconds. At the horn, i ran in saw an opportunity beside the camera crew, dive in, hard sprint for 100m and i had clear front for the entire 1st segment till the turnaround buoy. 3 out of 4 swim course were facing currents, choppy waves and alot of breaststrokers made it difficult to maintain swim form. Stroke counted appr 1950m while many said the swim was longer than usual, i dunno....

Was really happy to mount into my cycling shoes. I told myself to make this one count for Dawny. Spinning 34km/hr was easy. Throughout the 30km bike circuit, only a small portion was head winded. There were huge draft packs throughout which the bike marshal seem to have problem controlling. I decided to just ride my pace and do what i wanted; NO DRAFTING. The rest of the stronger riders eventually caught up with me. Was surprise to hold Cyborg Poon till lap 2. I was also mindful of where the rest of the training mates were during the ride to self check my performances. Turning in to T2, the crowd were still there cheering which was heart warming.

Heart warming quickly turned into heat management; it was HOT. Had a speedy transition to start the run. My aim was to run continuously for the first 12km. My pace was not spectacular but moving. Enrico passed me just at the finishing stand, i was rather disappointed that i could not maintain my lead till the 10km point. I podded on making the best out of what seem to be a stuffy, hot and dry afternoon sun. At the 12km mark, i fizzes out. Had to walk off a burp from the Pepsi (whodahellservespepsiintheracefromacan!). At my most frustrated point, it rained and cooled off. Again i told myself to finish the run/walk cos Dawny started the day for me. Slowly but surely i crossed the finishing chute.

Not a fantastic timing despite the grind off my previous best by 7 mins. But i learnt a few lessons;

1. Have a dummy checklist for all equipment; so you will not leave anything behind.

2. There isn't a need to eat or drink at every aid station; i plan only 30% compared to my previous nutrition plan, no throwing up or bloating so its good.

3. Plan your race, race your plan; follow the draft pack to blow up didn't seem logical.

4. Be optimistic; it will cool off when you need it most!

5. Have faith in your equipment; use them according to the technical specifications
_____________

Overall results;

Swim 46:05
T1 3:07
Bike 2:44:37
T2 1:57
Run 2:31:47 (ouch!)
Total 6:07:33

It was a tough day out there. The choppy swim, hot head-winded ride and a very very hot run make it a mental game on sunday.

Ultimately, managing imperfection was necessary. Congrats to all that survive.

*Photo credits to Richard Leong, who also graciously safe kept my BlackBerry phone.

Stepping on the scales..

2011-03-17T22:41:00.003+08:00

17 Mar 11, late nights and irregular meals.

Had a tough week, its working away from the actual office. Little personal space, alot of distractions and endless working. All these over the last 2 weeks couple with irregular meals meant fatigue.

I step onto the scale after dinner surprised to see 70.3 kg (Its got to be my favorite number for this week!). Either the scale is faulty or i have successfully lose the extras. I did felt the 'baggy' bit of the work pants recently, and i had to belt on which i did not normally do.

Losing the extra weight meant lighter, suppose to be faster but i doubt i will go faster this weekend.

It will be my 3rd 70.3 Singapore this saunday, i took a break to support the rest and had a fun time manning illegal water point. As i had a longer 'A' Race in Aug, i needed something in this distance to prep my system back to racing mode (or shocking it back). I have yet plan the race strategy as work overdrive me the last 2 weeks, i guess it will be a nutrition and equipment trial for this one, if i could run the 21km in 1 push i will be very very happy.

Have also signed IMNZ 2012. The race was sold out in 24 hrs! Its better than striking the lottery in my opinion. That's 2 IM distance races appr 6 months apart, some proper planning and training need to be done for it.

So here's to a new weight, a 6 hrs race coming up and a whole lot of powergel along the way.

Spinning in a pack

2011-03-14T22:16:00.004+08:00

14 Mar 11, 6 days to 70.3

The past weekend was enjoyable. I woke up early to walk beanie and decided to go for a spin on the roadie. It poured on sunday so i slept in and spent time at home just reading the papers and watching telly.

The short sat ride was nice, going thru mandai a pack of 20 roadies caught up with me. They were all caucasians riding relatively high end road bikes. Its been a long time since i rode in a pack and i decided to jump onto the draft and hang on for as long as i could.

I soon realised this is a express train. The riders were working about 2 to 3 mins in the front pulling hard before falling back. As the sole local in the pack i think they decided to not let me play and only rotated between themselves. Going along Kranji at 48km/hr was hardly a good look, i was busy focusing on the road, the rider in front and the ever winding road. At 48km/hr, it certainly felt like the good-o ENR nights. Could feel the determination of them to drop me, every turn got faster and steeper, but i was determine to hang on.

By the time we hit LCK road, we were still going at a crazy pace. The guys kept looking back. At the long flat stretch, a lone triathlete TT himself to the front of the pack and began pulling away, "viola Triathlete!" i said to myself. That lone guy made me proud to be riding on aerobars.

At the end of the long flat stretch, one of the guys from the pack pull up alongside and asked why i did not have a branding on my roadie frame. He was subsequently surprised to find that the entire bike had no labels.

I smiled back at him and the lights turn green...

------------

The entire ride took just 45km. It was hard, fast and very technical but beneficial in terms of training. These are one of those rides one could do to add speed to their training system.

Desaru Ride 4

2011-03-06T20:01:00.005+08:00

6 Mar 11, hot and sweaty.

Ride 4/6 started at 0530hrs from the meeting point at Mandai road junction. Of those that turn up today, there were a few new faces that came to try out their fitness against this rolling terrain ride.

Clifford planned for a 180k route visiting the dreaded Sedili bridges before heading back to Balau and to the jetty. The 180k route is long, hot, windy and lonely. I did that only once but the memories stayed with me till today.

I however only plan to re do the 140k training as my main race is in Aug and that long ride is a tad too early. I find training between 90 to 150km the most beneficial in terms of training gains.

The initial part of the ride found myself in a pack of 4. Was happy to stay within view of Hui koon, Pink and the very strong roadie. I pedalled a conservative pace till Kota Tinggi where the 140k group is suppose to split. I waited for some 10 mins before the next group came along with the riders for the shorter routes. The remaining ride was kept at appr 34km/hr, main thing I wanted was smooth climbing with good form for the endless rolling hills and the last few km were really hard to maintain the form. I was empty just before Petronas and was happy to have solid food rather than gels to fill the stomach. The ice packs came useful to help cool off from the rising heat.

It was a enjoyable and relatively social ride overall. Form maintainence is key as I believe that holds the key to performance. Am happy to report that my form for riding has improved over the months. The post ride Tim sum lunch was a good way to end the day's training.

2 weeks to 70.3. Let's see.

------

Overall my stars reading sums up the day,

You should find that you are having fun today, no matter what you are doing. Taking out the trash, listening to an older relative prattle on or even getting stuck in traffic, it is all good to you. :)

Taking the plunge once again

2011-03-03T23:02:00.006+08:00

3 Mar, i type at work, i type at home..

When i left competitive swimming at 19, i started to pick up running to get ready for National Service. Swimming always had a special place in my heart.

This week, the annual swim meet by my organisation had me swimming some events to get some brownie points for my company. I missed competitive swimming; all the rules, technical stuffs to execute and the speed and efficiency of swimming sounded good. Heck even the chlorinated pool smell brings back memories.

The swim manager respectfully asked what event i wanted to swim. I said, any event you could not fill up just write my name. He must have been laughing his head off thinking what a idiot! and he said for my age group he needed me to swim the 50m freestyle, 50m backstroke and the 1500m freestyle.

At 38 year old i belong to the old guys in the Masters Age group of 30 to 39. What disadvantages i said to myself. I realised i am one of the oldest when i took to the starting blocks. Anyway, i did my best in the events to get points for the company.

Swam the 50m back stroke and was happy that i maintain underwater for the entire 15m before stroke up, touch the wall in 3rd place behind my 2 juniors swimmers. Swam the 1500m, swam my pace and freestyle turn all 29 of them. Maintain 35 strokes per lap. Managed another 3rd placing. Swam the 50m freestyle with only 2 breath. I swear my lips are blue when i touch the wall. Got into finals for Tue, happy with that.

All in, together with the Mon, Wed and Fri PT program my body broke down yesterday night. Old dude seems sadistic in wiping us to shape. The farlek, interval and hill runs are never ending, i did suspect that his watch runs 70 secs per min during the farlek sets.

The rest of my co-workers said i seem to take his sets well. I replied that we are all suffering just at different pace. Every lap seems to make me puke, i am holding my stomach well but i dun think for long. I wonder what sets await us tmr.

Got a Sat swim and another long ride on Sun coming up. On a positive note, all these are good for me. Like the old dude says, "if you are hurting now, it means your muscles are getting stronger..."

Sunday Brick Training

2011-02-27T18:14:00.008+08:00

27 Feb 11, blogging while having a footy rub. Awesome combo.

This morning a few of us decided to continue training despite the dreaded Sunday wake up call. 6 of us rolled into ECP F2 carpark and prepared for the 90km ahead.

The winds were blowing a little immediate when we hit the training routes. My plan was to hold the aero position for as long as it takes, speed was a bonus. I was pleasantly surprised when i cranked out a 35km/hr into the head winds and maintaining it till the foot hills of Selarang. I also took the group up 'Bukit' Hendon, a short but intense climb. A lot of groaning and huffings were heard climbing up while screaming downhill were common. We managed 2 loops of the ride (out of 3) and Clifford had a very loud flat coming in. As he did not have the tool to re-inflate it and we had to call off lap 3, much to the celebratory cheers of Reeves and Rugchow.

We returned to the cars only to find Clifford unloading from the taxi he halted. We decided to continue with the run and I planned the u-turn to be at the tennis centre (eventually, the brick run turnaround will be at B1) for today. Made Lap Huan and Rugchow run the same route as well. The heat was building up, but it was still bearable. Lap Huan was cramping ( he said heat management was an issue) and I said either you work your way around it or train in it. He has the same problem with climbing on the bike, I said all of us also suffer on the bike, but training makes it bearable.

This morning ride made me understood more about managing the hills, winds and heat. I managed to hold the aero position for almost 45 mins in 1 push. That's reasonable in building the neck, back and shoulders to hold the position. Another day of training, another day nearer to the A-race.

I was told i macham Macca, i am flattered....

With 70.3 only 3 weeks away, there are only so few training left. Got to maximized them and get ready for the mid point check.

Desaru Ride 3

2011-02-20T21:14:00.002+08:00

20 Feb 11, grateful for the overcast weather today.

Yesterday's wetsuit swim in Tanjong Beach was a great kick start to the wetsuit swimming routine that i am jumping into. The 2XU sleeveless was a great change from the old Blueseventy that i wore in IMWA 08. A smaller group turn up despite the end of Sing-Bi the week before. Boss came to join for the 4 lap and i must say he still holding his stroke very well despite the lacked of practice, i hope his shoulders hold up the next few days.

This morning, 18 riders turned up at for the Desaru ride. Its a ride in, boat out option so that meant a 100 km before pit stop. The roads were mainly dark when we rode through the customs and i had to exercise a lot of caution looking out of potholes, road debris's and other vehicles. The super train left almost immediately when we started. My plan was to ride a sustain pace till the pit stop, my going was largely around 33km/hr. These days, i just train at sustain pace which i think is useful.

It was also good that the overcast weather with minimum wind sets a ideal conditions for riding. Sepoy suck on my wheel the entire morning and i could hear him shift his gearing when i shift mine. It got a little frustrating after a while but i decided to just ride my plan.

Overall it was a reasonably fast ride, faster than my usual ride in option. Happy riding and made new friends too.

Another long week in the office

2011-02-18T18:39:00.003+08:00

18 Feb 11, TGIF!

It was a long 5 days in the office again. Work seems to be endless and just when you thought you outsmarted the big boss, he surprises me again and again with new tasks, ideals and requirements.

Only managed 2 workouts this week, a 7km tempo run on Mon and a short 5km tempo run with static circuit exercises and 2 x 700m intervals on Wed. Other than that, it was the daily 20mins of commuting (i couldn't do the routine longer route before or after work) as i was just brain dead by the end of the long day.

Based on my HRM, i have 170 days till IM Rugensburg. Not a lot of time, but i think i am progressing sufficiently. With the remaining races as buildup, i should be on time for the Aug race.

Starting the wetsuit swim in Tanjong Beach tomorrow. Will have to take time to get use to the heat build up again, but this time without the tight shoulders feeling. My target is to do closer to the 1 hr mark in Aug, this will take speed-work, distance swimming and a lot of stroke drills. I counted 25 strokes in my new pool, translate that to metric means around 39m which is a rather odd distance to train in. However i have been spending some time in the pool. Connivence is the word as it is 10 steps from the patio to the pool.

I have been riding 80+km most weekends since the year started. On Sun, i will be going for the 155km Desaru epic ride. I love the route as it will spread out the riders and it would be the closest to solo riding during races. The long rides are timely and i would have to find the rime and energy to go back to EnR rides to get power, strength and speed. Will be happy to do a 6 hrs ride in Aug.

My legs have felt stronger compared to last year. The routine running to office and schedule training runs has strengthen my lower limbs. With the coming running events to enhance performances i look forward to a sub 5 run splits in Aug.

Dawny is having company dinner tonight, looks like my dinner partner is going to be Tesky. Sweet.

Singapore Biathlon 2011

2011-02-12T20:25:00.005+08:00

12 Feb 11, 2 blisters on the feet.

This morning I completed the annual Sing-Bi. This event stretches back for the last 15 years I believe. I had been on the race on and off in the beginning but recent years I have been on the race yearly.

It's a exciting race, much akin to every multi sport athlete first race. The intense 1.5km swim is always packed and crowded. The 10pm run is but flat, fast and very pressurized as the loops provided the constant visual of those chasing you from behind.

This year's swim was exceptionally packed, the initial 200m was very fast, very physical. I had to push away a few very close swimmers in my path. I was knocked around quite a bit too. With the current against us on the return leg, I did find the going harder but manageable. It was also easier I found with a longer stroke and shorter beat to get more streamline and head into the current. I finish the swim in 30:34, definitely not a good time but I thought with the recent hectic work schedule I will have to make do with it.

I started the run with a reasonable stride, I was going at a 6 min pace initially and was feeling good about the first 6pm. I had a gel at 6km and knew that should last me till the finishing chute. With the office chase packs closing in, I knew I needed to push the pace a little. I caught up with Eve in the first lap and was trying very hard to maintain the pace that I had very little breath to do a conversation with her. I had 3 guys running alongside throughout the run leg and we could tell that no one is willing to let the pace go. It was almost like 'why not you give up first?' damn... It's bad to have the 3 of them much higher grade than me in the office...but no, there is no such things as hierarchy here. I shifted the pace, and by 8km I managed to establish a very very small lead against them. The last little climb up towards the finishing chute was hard, I met Richard and Le Giang for a final finishing shot. Crossing at 53:27 and overall 1:24:00 seems a lot slower compared to the last few years. But the drama for this year sure beats the history.

The 2 blisters accompanied me home.. : )

-----------

On race day, i met many of the Tanjong Beach swimmers.

Congrats to Sin Guan, he did exceptional by coming in just shy of the top 10 position. There are no short cuts, just plain hard work for this amazing veteran competitor.

For the rest of the swimmers, i hope you had fun, cos i did!

A week of deserving rest

2011-02-06T00:00:00.006+08:00

6 Feb 11, should be resting instead of blogging.

We returned home yesterday after spending 6 nights in exotic Bali. It was a truly positive experience for us. From the old school Hard Rock Cafe Bali to the very private Kanishka, Seminyak Resort it was an full recovery and recharged completed for me.

Hard Rock Cafe hotel was old school style. Everything was related to a theme, either Elvis or MJ. From room service to the breakfast to the indoor pool/beach one can find enough rock history in every corner. While the resort is rather old, I think it's reputation is maintain at a high level in the popular Kuta area.

Kanishka is everything a honeymoon couple would like. Privacy and space but with all the amenities build in. Dawny and me could have stayed indoors and watch telly the entire day but instead we chose to go out after breakfast and returning only after dinner. We visited Ubud, Ulawatu and the famous Jimbarang for sea food dinner. And we did watch the telly till late every night.

It was almost I possible to train in Bali. The pool was small (Kanishka had a 5m pool, Hard Rock was too shallow and sandy) and the traffic was too hazardous to run in.

We did sufficient shopping and sampling the local food menu, we also extended the food menu to Italian, Japanese and American other than the traditional Indonesian menu of Nasi Goreng, Mie Goreng, Soto Ayam and Nasi Campur.. Bin tang beer was the daily necessity to ensure hydration (cos the water was not ideal for consumption, come on..)

This evening, I hosted dinner for our close friends. We received a lot of compliments for the new house and catches up on each other recent happenings. I totally enjoyed the house patio area, so did Tesky, she slept on the windy patio area.

Time to get back to training. All the recharging need to be put back to use. Tomorrow 90km brick training is a start, we all have to start or re-start at some time.

Happy CNY! Happy and safe training.

Desaru ride 1/6

2011-01-23T22:10:00.005+08:00

23 Jan 11, distinctly defined tan lines.

I went along with the Desaru group this morning. With the wind charts displaying prominently that the wind direction is NE to SW, it meant simply that it's going to be head wind riding out and probably tail wind coming back.

Was also introduced to Charles Teng and his group as we will be riding together on this trip.

Shortly after starting from the jetty, the front pack decided that the pace is to be upped. My plan was to ride a sustain pace between 28 - 32km/hr and only open up on the way back (I know it's junk miles, but that should be fun). I decided to stick to my plan and let them break away hoping to catch them when the hills appeared. I pedaled with some effort to maintain the cadence, fighting the head and cross winds was mentally draining. But I did managed to closed the gap and was within 500m of the front pack.

We reached Balau to find the place closed and decided to go to the beach area to try our luck for resupply. Miss Magnum decided that the Ramli burgers are not her taste and they pedal off to Petronas. The greasy burger was worthy of their names and filled my tummy up. However I knew they are unlikely to stay put once I resume pedaling.

The return journey was well supported by the tail/cross rear winds. I was going comfortably at 45km/hr, and picking up the pace catching the Charles bike train. 45 mins into the return journey, my core was constantly in contraction and out came the remant of the burger. It is definitely not a photogenic shot and I was happy that no one witness it or was affected by the side blast that came with it.

Overall, a good 110km training ride.

--------

Some of my friends took part in this afternoon Duathlon race amid the heat. Its a fast course with plenty of photo opportunities, loops were the flavour of the race requiring participants to mentally note their progress failing which meant a DnF. Congrats to those who finished, Hi-5 for the podium guys. I can never manage the pace of such ITU style racing where riders are really close to each other and the pace is crazy. I much prefer the longer races where I can build my pace up comfortably.

---------
The long dreaded week is finally ending this week. What lies ahead is a deserving break for me and Dawny - Bali. I am looking forward to the break and spending some time together.

Have a blasting week!

*Picture compliment from Vijck

End of a long week.

2011-01-22T22:30:00.002+08:00

22 Jan 11, post no 365. If I was more diligent, this would have taken only a year..

It was a long week at work, a lot of planning requirement. Although tiring, I find the outcome worthwhile as we are doing things as close to the actual situation. I also learnt a lot regarding the real stuffs over the last 2 weeks as compared to the listening to others tales.

I did zero workout over the week, the usual canning sessions where we do insane intervals were passes as the fatigue from the planning exercise took over. As I result, I felt weak and restless by wed, the last 2 days were really a drag and I was looking forward to the weekend.

I took the chance to facilitate the Tanjong Beach lagoon swim on Sat. With the tide rising I decided to do my dreaded brick sets. It would be a lap of lagoon swim and a lap of the beach run.

Seems to have lost a fair bit of swim fitness, struggle a little especially when the waves came onto me. I wanted to at least maintain proper stroke count and stroke form which i am happy to achieve. The initial laps were decent, the run was a lot harder especially with the soft sands. My run stride seems to be of reasonable form, perhaps it's the payoff from the recent high than normal milage running. Most of us only managed 4 out of the 6 laps as fatigue kicks in, I stopped after 4 as I realized that I could barely hold my swim and run form. Live to train properly another day.

Going Desaru tmr, it would be likely very windy. Going to burn the quads, hamstrings and everything you could think of...

Flexibility

2011-01-13T22:47:00.002+08:00

13 Jan 11, been a long week. Going to be longer next week.

Its the prelude to next week long drag of detailed operational level studying. Alot of discussion, decision making cycles and tutorials for this week, and the art of operational planning will be use in great detail.

Early this week, my trusty Blackberry had afew mishap. A couple of falls, knocks and flips had the cover of its roller ball damaged. The final blow came this afternoon when 'someone' knocked my notepad over and in the process dislodging the roller ball. The culprit merely placed the 'dismembered' BB back on my desk with the roller ball missing. i found it afew meters away from my seat and realised the roller ball is beyond operational mode, from WIA, it became KIA....

I spend the next few hours using the keypad to continue using the BB function. When desperate, one will adapt and learn to survive. By dinner, i was able to send text messages, BB messages, and respond to other requirements.

Perhaps this is the real flexibility...

90k Coastal Ride

2011-01-09T16:35:00.005+08:00

9 Jan 11. Windy but no stopping us.

It was a windy morning, at ECP F2 i could feel the wind going and knew its going to be similar to the Desaru ride conditions. Cliff and me rode out to do 90km. Both of us were wearing aero helmets and we were both on our Transitions.

For this ride, i had 2 new things to trial - the aero helmet and the D.I.Y aerobar pads.

Once onto Coastal, the effect of cross and head wind were immediate. A little determination to keep pedaling and maintaining it above 31km/hr, i realised that the trick is to take the mind off the wind and it became a number game on the speedometer. Took a lot of focus to keep the number to +/- 1km/hr.

My new aero helmet did not have any air vents in front for air intake and i felt the heat build up in round 1, after an hour i realised that a slight tilt in position fitting resulted in the air flowing through from the side and via the ear flaps. From there on, the remaining laps were manageable with the heat. I am beginning to like this shorter-tail aero helmet, definitely worth the money spent.

I was initially concern with slipping on the aerobar pads. Turns out that the pad is super comfy (thanks to the think foam) and was relatively stable even on the speed strips. Its 10% cost compared to what i paid previously, cheapo but functional.

It was a good work out staying considerable amount of time on the aerobar. We managed average about 32km/hr for the ride before linking up with Datuk Tee and Enrico (who both woke up late this morning and with Muay Thai MIA). Overall the ride was well within the 3 hrs mark.

There were a lot of riders on the road despite the unfortunate accident early this week. There is still a lot of talking regarding the accident but riders continued training despite the not-so-ideal conditions.

We had a quick breakfast catching up on the latest gossip in the community before heading home.

Good way to spend Sunday morning :)

This week's jottings

2011-01-07T23:16:00.004+08:00

7 Jan 11, 1st week at work, kinda tiring.

Early this week, i received a surprise sms from a old friend. Asking if i was riding along Coastal Road on Monday morning. A few hours later, i received the dreaded news of a pair of cyclist (both from my company) were hit by a vehicle on Coastal Road, 1 x KIA and 1 X WIA. Its a sad day for cyclist, sadden by the fact that the casualties was also promoting road riding / driving safety.

Hui Koon had his fair share of unreasonable behavior regarding road safety vs riding. His feedback were abruptly turn down and written in defensive mode. It felt disgusing to read that response especially when it counter argue that the fault was in the riders rather than the driver and the person in charge of the vehicle. I have my fair share of close calls and unreasonable driver behaviors. Usually i will just wave them through, sometimes i display of the palm asking, 'What?' to them. At the very worse, a clutched fist at them. Mostly i get over it when i reach the destination, i chose road focus instead of dueling on the flustrations. I also learn not to argue or try to change their mindset (hence my bucket list) cos many mental model were too cemented. Some understood, many were mis-understood. There is certainly much reflection in this case.

Its a tough week at work. Many turn up after the long Dec break asking for datelines and details for upcoming work. I felt that there were no reasonable direction given prior to the break to the few staying back, granted perhaps we did not have the foresight to do the necessary delivery in Jan but i thought some understanding would be nice. Not everyone understood that we cannot leave the office empty for 1 entire month, not at least my office!

Over the 5 days, i manage to participate in the office routine fitness training. It wasn't easy for many after the long Dec break and wanting performance. The trainer (42 year old and could kick my ass anytime running) gave interval sets that were so breathless. I managed 2 sessions this week, with one interval sets pivoted on a slope. I almost threw up after every round. The striding and fast pace were tough and i am feeling it now on my hamstring.

Not looking forward to the following weeks, its planning for another large scale operation.

Train Safe.

Windy Ride

2011-01-03T07:22:00.007+08:00

3 Jan 11, wind burns

Yesterday I assisted a friend to lead a small group of riders into Desaru. Its been awhile since i ride there so i thought why not get some miles in.

The day started with the usual meeting at the ferry terminal, boatman Ah Chew as I know him is one of the best around. His knowledge of stacking the bikes, quality of his boat is by far the best around. I did the usual thing Clifford would have done. Collecting the ferry costs, route briefing, ordering food, splitting the bill, etc. I did also try to between the groups initially to ensure that both groups are riding safely especially the slower group.

The environment was not nice to us throughout the 100km, sun, rain and winds were abundance and everywhere. I only manage 25+km/hr on some of the long down hill, guess how fast we could climb in the endless head and cross winds. 'Such are the wind conditions in IMWA 10' echoed Ben who completed the big race last Dec, there were a few riders that were part of the 4hrs madness in IMWA registration and i hope they understand what they are in for. The endless climbs brought back memories of my own training on 08' when i was preparing for IMWA. It is going to start all over again now that IM Regensburg is in my journey.

Although tough ride, I did find it nice and challenging. The environment provided the challenges and it was nice guiding the riders through the quiet roads, plus the buttered lobsters was nice (it's a first for me... ;)

Today is a off day before the hectic workload kicks in, gotta run quite a few errands so it's busy in my own terms.

Hills, winds and sun? Come on, you can do better than that! Btw, the tan lines on my quads is visible again, Ha.

Pictures by Genevieve Lee

Happy New Year Day

2011-01-01T23:47:00.007+08:00

1 Jan 11, its 1.1.11 people!

while most people were busy counting down at the year end party, i believe there were at least 18 very discipline sportsmen that were in bed early yesterday.

This morning Tanjong Beach lagoon swim was a great! We had at least 18 swimmers that turn up timely for the high tide work out. Throughout the week, i had numerous sms, FB messages and PMs from TriFam Forum that requested for the details of the swim. Perhaps its the attraction of doing Brick Training (Swim/Run) that people favor.

We swam 4-6 laps in the choppy lagoon and did a short but relatively fast 4km run. Had a easy time in the lagoon but i do find myself struggling with the pace and heat during the run, i told myself i got to do something about it or i will face the annual huff and puff in SingBi again.

Finally met John Cooke today, we have been reading each other's blog for sometime and is great to finally put a face to the name and shake hands.

Was happy to see new faces, some were brand new that they just wanted to explore the experience of swimming open water. Its also rewarding to receive appreciation from the swimmers saying that they would like to return to swim again, a lot of people were also asking when is the next swim. Hearing all these makes me feel that its worthwhile to facilitate the swim sessions despite the occasional inconveniences.

With the SingBi race round the corner, runs will be integrated into the swim sessions. Its going to hurt a little but its all good...

Enjoy your 2011! See you at the next high tide!

* Photograph provided by Naomi Cheah

My Bucket List

2010-12-27T18:29:00.003+08:00

Inspired by my friend Enrico on his blog on the Lust-for-Life, i hung the thought for the last 24 hrs (less riding on the roads) and decided something like this for myself.

My personal Bucket List

1. Dive the Great Barrier Reef
2. Complete 10 Ironman Triathlons before I turn 50
3. Visit Antartica
4. Sail the Amazon River
5. Travel the silk road from China to Paris
6. Fly a helicopter by myself
7. Cook a 8 course dinner for my wife
8. Swim the English Channel
9. BASE Jump out of Angle Falls
10. Drink a bottle of wine no younger than 1900

My top 3 Bucket list to help others
1. Help 10 people complete an Ironman
2. Help 10 people to NOT be afraid of dogs
3. Get 10 people to change their negative mindset about cyclists on the road

Maybe things will change as i aged, but i guess this will do for now..

The power of the Cornetto.

2010-12-27T16:43:00.003+08:00

27 Dec 10, Carls Jr waiting...

As I am on leave today, I wanted to make use of the day to do some light training. After dropping Dawny off in the office I headed for the very familiar ECP F2 carpark. This is the place I spend endless weekends leaving the car there while doing training.

Pedal out into the windy coastal road. Met Datuk Tee on his way in, we shake on it wishing each other happy holidays and I proceeded to do the 2 laps sustained effort ride. It is windy, a lot more compared to the usual days but this is the year end monsoon so what can we expect. Traffic was heavier compared to the normal sunday with a few solo riders sharing the road.

I was solo throughout the 60km, no one to talk to, no one to smile. I was humming to myself throughout the ride. It would not get worse I guess, even during the Ironman I had people to talk to...anyway, 2 full hrs on the aerobar does felt good.

Returning towards the car, I felt hungry. But did not want to take a gel cos I felt I didn't need to push my gasto-guts anytime sooner than the actual race. I saw the bike rental shop with the Walls Ice Cream logo. I knew that's what I wanted, paid for a choco cornetto and rode back savoring it while pedaling (sorry guys got to multi task a little here).

Got back to the car, I changed into my flashy bright shoes for a short run lap. The energy from the ice cream gave me enough to stride out. I met Babumouse enroute and we stride together for a couple of kms. He was wearing the VFF and although only his 4th run, he is already into his 14km mark, woot I must say...we bided goodbye after my 3pm mark and I was maintaining a 5min pace, strangely I felt decently ok with it. I guess the ice cream must have cooled my core temperature down plus gave me some energy to run the 6km. Coming back to the car park I was looking forward to a icy cold coke to reward myself for this short brickwork.

Time for longer bricks...

Seasons Greetings

2010-12-25T19:02:00.002+08:00

25 Dec 10, Merry X Mas

It's has been a fun filled year for me. Since graduating from the course last year, I have open my perspective on many things especially at work. I have also started to practice the art of listening and critical thinking to assist me at work as well as for my outside life.

Work has been busy, and would likely be busier for next year. While a lot of details are not allowed in unsecure forum, I did enjoyed the 12 months of intense work with quite a few traveling trips in between. I learn to play in the side lines supporting the main players and made myself 'useful' for them to employ my expertise. Was told next year is my critical year, would not place it within my priorities as I have believed for the last 15 years to do what is right based on my work requirement.

Training and racing took a dip this year, if you look at my race profile there were a lot less races compared to other years. I did however changed the way I train, a lot more tempo runs with selected LSD in between to ensure that I did not reduce my training quality. My PB in SCSM was a nice closure for the year, it's not fast compared to my other friends but for my going sub 5 has been a big thing. While all the runs are merely to build up for the utimate A Race, it was nice to see significant improvements after all these months of perseverance.

The main event for me in 2011 will be IM Regensburg. Everything else are for build up and are part of my training plans. With some limited experience, I hope to achieve a reasonable performance for the race.

I have had good fortune of many running friends that offered valuable advices and experience sharing with me, I dedicate this page to them, it was them that help me get to my running status now, thanks folks!

I wish everyone happy holidays, take a time to savor the festive seasons. Loading up alittle is normal and fine after all we are all humans. Dun Drive and Drive, remember always.

Viola!

Have you seen this guy?

2010-12-23T18:26:00.003+08:00

23 Dec 10, piss of by the grey Lancer driver...

Anyone seen this guy around? Been wanting to linkup with him, he seems to have disappeared. No FBs, TriFam Forum, no respond for sms, email...

Nigel Chua aka Prata. One of the finest triathletes and runners around, my IMWA journey in 2008 was influence significantly from him.

Anyone with his information can contact me please, thanks.

Jottings for today

2010-12-22T17:03:00.005+08:00

22 Dec 10, Its almost X Mas!

Got of work today early. Want to run an errant to fix my work medals, i got them for quite a few years but have never got around to get them put together. I decided to get them done, got a feeling i might be needing them soon. The medals like my race medals are recognition for performances. Like races, we perform at work over a sustain period of time and the organization rewards us accordingly. My race medals are currently in storage as we are staying in a temporary house, come Jan 11 i will proudly display them once again.

Had lunch with Mum, one of the few occasion that i could find time of work to have a meal with her. Its always nice to have mum around.

Came home and saw a short youtube clip on Kona Ironman 2010. It was remarkable. All the competitors demonstrated the will to fight despite the tough conditions. The actual dvd was not release yet, but thanks to Psyrixx who broke it down to 10 parts, you can catch it on the web. It is AWESOME!

Met my mechanic at the new bike shop today. I was surprise to see him in a mechanic outfit again, he said he got out of the training as he did not get to ride enough. He was happy to make this choice, and i am happy to have him back to the industry as he IS the only guy i trust to meddle with my bike (i have yet experience a gear skip on a bike tune by him).

The picture below is Cliffy's new ride. It is build, tune and prepared by my mechanic friend. Awesome!

* Photo courtesy of Clifford Lee (10 Times Ironman Finisher)

Another awesome weekend

2010-12-19T15:49:00.008+08:00

18, 19 Dec 10. Dried corns and a cold cold coke...

With the year ending in a couple of days time, I kinda feel that people would unlikely to continue to train. I was proven wrong on both days.

Yesterday started with the lagoon swim, I was pleasantly surprised by the large turn out. I had returning swimmers and a few new faces for the short 4 lap swim. It was choppy but surprising clear throughout the session and there were no shortage of swimmers to push my own pace for the 440m lap. A few swimmers asked how do we manage the waves which they find problems, our answer is to power through but this needs training and some gutsy maneuver.

Of late, I have also observed that my stroke count seems to have increased over the last few sessions, i hope it was due to the tide and not me dropping swim standards. Will need a session in the pool to confirm that.

We had a quick brekkie in Marina thereafter. Met Poon who shared with us his success stories in IMWA 10.

We got on towards Kaki Bukit where the Saucony Sale was on. With the recent change in branding, i do find Saucony models more suitable for me. I got the Fastwitch which was fiery orange colour.

This morning, wet roads and heavy head winds welcome me and Reeves in Coastal. Our short 55km training ride was fast, furious and focus! I had to use 100% concentration while pedaling to ensure that i do not skid off or crash onto any road obstacles. It felt really good pedaling the Transition (my last ride on it was Powerman) and i maintain 37km/h on the flats despite having a weak right foot. The bike is still functioning relatively well despite the last service being Feb 10.

There were also many riding groups on the road this morning wearing the new OCBC Road Safety jersey. The bank promotes safe driving giving the 1.5m that cyclist deserve when on the road. It is a common knowledge for new drivers in their Basic Theory Test but usually forgotten after passing the TP. I do hope that this could make cycling and driving a little closer in emotion but further in actual road distance for the safety of the cyclist. The jersey will be part of the giveaway when one sign up fro the OCBC Cycling Competition but I could not convince myself to partake as the pace is just too unbearable for me and the amount of potential crashes that could take place. I got myself last year's jersey (by buying it off someone)and is very happy with the material used and the amount of technology thought-thru they put into a simple product.

It is very tempting to run. I saw many runners out there this morning doing their striding. My right foot just isn't ready, i could not tell why but i didn't feel right yet. Maybe another week.

IMWA 2011 sold out in 4 hrs!

2010-12-15T17:42:00.004+08:00

15 Dec 10, back on the saddle today, the foot held up.

The biggest news today would probably be the sold out of IMWA 2011 within 4 hrs! It says so much about endurance races around the world. The fact that people camp in front of their computers overnight waiting for the registration to open up demonstrated the desire of many to take the path into an Ironman.

I had many friends that managed to register this morning. Many were first timers, some returning athletes and a few confused ones...I wish them well, happy training and a long 365 days target to maintain. Its an exciting journey that i walked in 2008 and i assure you every race is similar in emotion but different in attitude (same same but different).

From the registration point comes the following;
- Logistic planning (1 page ain't sufficient..)
- Travel planning (when to get in, when to get out)
- Training (scheduling, racing, tapering, recovery)
- Shopping, my fav (new toys, replacement toys, compulsory toys)

Eve wrote interesting about closing the year by getting skinner, perhaps the participants for IMWA 2011 should also get used to bad tan lines and counting calories also...

Enrico wrote a confirmation checklist for all to do self reflection if you are an Hardcore. Tick those that applies to you, strives to achieve all if possible.

;)

Getting the correct treatment

2010-12-10T15:36:00.002+08:00

10 Dec 10, payday, bonuses and all matters money..

It's day 4 of the swelling feet. Actually the bulk of the swelling is gone. The nightly icing of the feet reduce the swelling to a walkable posture for me.

I had a lot of people telling me to go get alternative treatment, with good intentions of course. I do believe in massages but at the current state I think the last thing my feet tendons want is a rub! I chose to let the deal with the swelling first before worsening it any further.

I got rid of the walking stick yesterday also, it felt like a dependency issue for me since day 1. While I walk at a slower pace I do continue with life, my boys that held the door for me said they did so cos I am injured, 'but I am NOT a handicap!' I replied

Had many friends attempting IMWA10 on the same morning of my marathon. I am glad that everyone crossed the line that day, many are first timers with a few returning veterans (I assure you they are no way in veterans timing, they prob kick my @$$). Congrats to all, for the new finishers welcome to this very special status, to those returning warriors well done for facing the same challenge again.

It's Friday again, the weekend beckons....

A confirmation trip

2010-12-08T14:25:00.005+08:00

8 Dec 10, back from A&E

The swelling did not go down this morning. With a supervisory role at work this morning, i got Dawny to drive me right into the sport activity.

I decided to get the foot check too, just in case. Knowing what is wrong allows me to put things in perspective and adjust training accordingly.

Met a old friend on duty and managed to jump the queue. He arranged for me a trip to the A&E to get x-ray and confirm the injury.

At the A&E, the nurses were jokingly saying i am the 5th patient from SCSM since the morning. The doctor on duty made me do some really difficult stance (for now..), i had little mobility of the toes and ankle. All those wriggling and slant ankle positions were so difficult to achieve.

The good thing was that the scan did not reveal any stress fracture (which i am really concern), she said stress fractures are usually too small to be detected unless using MRI. Its likely a serious strain of the foot tendons given the pace i ran (guess she ran too).

She was contemplating casting the foot (NOOOOOO...) but decided not to as i could manage those difficult stances. I was told to reduce mobility and if swelling and pain persist head straight back to A&E.

Guess all i could do now is as such...icing it lah..

What a bummer....Have a stress free week. :)

Somethings others will never understand

2010-12-07T21:16:00.005+08:00

7 Dec 10, home icing the feet.

Saw this video in youtube, darn funny.

For all Ironman wannabes, please share this with your colleagues, friends and family. Caution, reactions may not be what you expected...

The fine line btw fighting spirit vs stupidity

2010-12-07T13:07:00.005+08:00

7 Dec 10. Unknown condition.

I went for my deep tissue massage last night after an entire day in compression. The Malay lady was kind enough to reduce her rub intensity to gradually raise the pain factor. The massage place is nothing but just a Spa place (non of those dodgy places) but had the service available, since I went last year as part of the marathon prep I thought I could return for comfort again.

For every limb and back, I was eventually biting my lips and clutching my fist to endure the final hard rub from her. I knew it was worth the pain as she kept saying, 'adik, relac sikit lagi. Besok boleh jalan'

90 mins later, I walked down the stairs, slight soreness but no limping :)

I return to the office and was walking relatively normally. As duty calls, I slept in the office couch and raise the cushion beneath my legs to prop my feet up. Slept soundly thru the night.

This morning I woke up to find I could not put pressure on my right feet. It took me 7 mins to walk 20m to the washroom to brush my teeth, it was pure agony. I checked that the remaining muscle group was no longer sore but the right feet just did not heck it. Eventually I had to get Dawny to pass me the Leki tracking stickbto assist me moving around. My office boys were giggling about the fittest guy around limping, I told them I could still beat them hopping on my left leg, ha!

I hope it's not broken or stress fracture due to the sun run. It's really a fine line between the two. I will have to rest it another day before deciding what to do with it. Fingers crossed.

4:37:37

2010-12-05T16:08:00.008+08:00

5 Dec 10, in compression tights.

This morning i ran the annual SCSM. It is a performance i wanted badly esp since i had completed the last 2 (08, 09) and DnF SunDown (09) without a reasonable performance. Running being my weakest discipline I wanted to prove my few months of training, research and planning pay off this morning.

Was at the race site early thanks to the speedy bus driver. Loiter around till 4:45 and walked into the race pan. My race pan was beyond 6 hrs putting me at least 800m from the start. The startup was very difficult since it was flooded with people straddling around.

I race accordingly to my plan. Caught up with the 5:30, 5:15 and 5:00 pacers easily by 30km. I was hoping to catch the 4:45 pacers but it took a long while. Finally at the 40km mark i caught the glimpse of the balloons secured to their shoulders. I knew by then i would safety cover the run sub 5 hrs. The salt stick screwed me this morning, i only managed to consume 1 out of 4 tabs. I knew i would be in trouble and compensated by drinking more isotonic (like 2 cups per aid stations), the bladder was uncomfortable for the last 10km for sure.

At the 39km mark, the marathons runners merge with the 10/21km runners. There were more walkers then runners. The last stretch up the Shears Bridge was killer, i had to constantly shout 'Coming Thru' amongst the walkers.

I crossed the line very very happy of my humbled PB. It's nothing compared to my other friends who fly thru the 42km but it's still a great feeling and i know i will pay the price over the next few days..
-------------------
My race data as follows;
10km - 1:05:57
20km - 1:02:28
30km - 1:00:25 (yeah!!)
42km - 1:28:46
Total - 4:37:37 :)

Ave HR 84%
Max HR 93%

Total Caloric - 3327 Cal

1st Weekend Every Dec

2010-11-28T21:23:00.004+08:00

28 Nov 10, a week to the yearly main event.

As i prepare for a long week of work. The yearly events loom nearby reminding me the pain and joy everyone goes through.

1. Standchart S'pore Marathon - This year will be my 3rd attempt (07 and 09), with alot more preparation previously, i felt rather naked in prep. But what i lacked in preparation, i make up in experience and better quality type training. My plan is to follow the 4:15 pacers for the first 30km, if my system is able to maintain i will continue the pace. If not i will drop back to the 4:30 pacers. My nutrition plan is to consume Powergels (i'm good at it) at 10, 16, 28, 35, 40km and salt tabs at 10, 20, 30 and 38km. Hydration is 1/2 cup water and 1 cup isotonic every aid station after 5km.

2. Ironman Western Australia - I completed mine in 2008, my longest race thus far. I enjoyed the race totally after a 1 year race prep. This year there are newbies and returning athletes attempting this 17 hour limit race. I wish all competitors well, race safe and hard. While my attention is for Aug 11, this race has a special place in my heart, kinda like my first girlfriend feeling... :)

Have a sunny week ahead!
----------------
After thoughts,

I will never ever forget the feeling after crossing the 2007 Standchart Marathon. I was very sore, very tired but very happy. Dawny said i snore within the count of 3 upon hitting the pillow. All the sorness reaffirmed that i could finish the marathon, and could possibly attempt the Ironman. It was the start of my IMWA journey. Despite heading for a driving holiday that night, sitting in a cramp up economy class airline for 7 hrs and limping for the next 6 days. I was happy that i could and will do an Ironman.

A new target, a new build up plan

2010-11-23T21:09:00.006+08:00

23 Nov 10, a busier week awaits.

Quite afew people got the news, i signed IM Regensburg 2011 2 weeks ago. It will be my 2nd IM attempt, after IMWA 08. Originally the wait for for IM China but i had no confidence of the event coming online despite the assurance from the organisers.

With a new A-race confirmed, the buildup starts almost immediately.

The coming SCSM is a good buildup for the legs after the Powerman race a week back. Running has been my weakest leg, and i wanted to do more to build this weak link. Its very tempting to train on the discipline that we are comfortable instead of the weaker ones.

The annual Sing Biathlon is a cannot missed event in my calender, one of the main reason i continue to facilitate the open water swim is to allow newbies to take on the event alittle more comfortable. Either way its good for the running legs after the mad swim.

Got the 70.3 and SunDown Marathon signed as well. Although pricey, i do find values in taking part in 70.3 race to get system and training plans validated.

For SunDown, damn i had to redeem myself after the 2009 fiasco of DnF.

Prob will have some more races signed esp running races to get the running legs in shape. Heard the Regensburg routes are not easy, then again which Ironman is easy?

------------------------

Found this A4 printed paper presented to me by my former office before i left in Dec 08. It meant alot to me after 24 mths working with some of the best people in the industry, we went thru alot of together and i treasure all the memories with them. Ho'ah!

Getting Things Done

2010-11-21T22:21:00.003+08:00

21 Nov 10, Tired and Rainy

Yesterday Tanjong Beach swim one of the best i've had. It is clear (3m vis) and choppy (good simulation). Of the 3 new swimmers that join us, the 2 ladies were new to the event and needed swim tips. We gave them our assurance and swam the 6 laps. The bugs were alittle heavy but did not stop us. We completed the laps just before the rain comes in. After SCSM, i should be starting the runs after swim for those that is preparing for Sing Bi.

I also collected my SCSM race kit in the afternoon. Administration was smooth and the expo had plenty of opportunities against your wallet. The queue for Sundown was like 0 mins before you can get to the counter, i guess doing a marathon is getting common nowadays...Either way, i went back to the car and sign up using my iPad...

This week was a tough cookie, too many things going on...

Mon - Still in KL recovering, makaning, shopping for post Powerman race.

Tue - Mad rush at the office cos Wed is holiday, 3 meetings straight. Evening was spent being brief on the schdule for dawny's sis wedding.

Wed - Alvin and Denise big day and i was requested to run the day's schedule. To me it has to be clock work with no mistake. Quite alot of people got 'some' from me, Dawny says its a occupational hazard. Sorry, its a task for me to accomplish and i am not prepared to fail it. My apology to those who felt offended, i was JUST doing my job, no hard feelings. The day started at 0500 and ended 0230 on Thurs.

Thurs - Grumby day, must have been Wed fatigues...cannot remember what did i did...must have been meetings, and more meetings.

Fri - Alot more meetings and discussions. Was at the office gathering at Paulaners, had 1.5L of Munich Dark (got to start getting use to German beer) and home at 0200.

I slept through this morning. I intended to do a 2 hrs run as a follow up after Powerman to build for SCSM. The fatigue completely destroyed me at 0530 hrs..

Gotta change plans now, its going to be running to and fro office from now till race day. I am thinking of 70.3 Singapore as well...as part of the Regensburg buildup..I'll sleep on the price tag first...maybe tmr..

Along the way, the Powerman Malaysia race

2010-11-17T06:08:00.004+08:00

17 Nov 10, up early for the family wedding event.

Over the weekend, Dawny and I went for a short trip. 4 days to be exact.

We drove up north on Friday morning after brekkie, non stop till Kampar. I was born there and spent my early childhood days playing in the little town. There developments were tremendous over the years although the old town maintain her original style over the years. The key thing was to visit my aunt who I have not seen for 7 years. She's aged a little but still look ok, independent and rational in thinking despite the age. Food was the next closest reason, Dawny had her best mix of Malaysian prawn noodle soup with 'lai' noodles. She was absolutely happy while I enjoyed my traditional chee cheong fun and glutinous rice. YUM!

Sat post breakfast (Malaysian style), we drove the short trip towards Lummut for the Powerman Malaysia race. It's reputed as the hottest race in Malaysia. Thanks to Teryn who booked the room for us, we checked in to the simple room with a big balcony good for drying gears. Had a quick change and headed off to a quick ride to the race site to collect my race pack. The 15 rider pack started on the wrong foot and got lost pedaling for 45km and still not located the race site (which was suppose to be very near to the hotel) despite following a 'experience' ironman. We eventually had to ask for directions at a petrol station where my bahasa was put to test being the sole conversant with the pump attendant who from Indonesia and spoke zero English...we found the race site which was just across the junction from our hotel, it was indeed near being 5 mins of pedaling from where we stayed. I was sure we were pretty warm up by then.

Race day was a mix of rain and heat, I woke up to the rain drops. The race distance of 11, 64, 10 is not long but challenging especially with the late morning heat. I had a reasonable 11k run coming in just shy of 56mins, the bike ride was rough and I could only managed 2:09 which was a clear sign of lacked of milage. I cramped out the first 3km of the 2nd run but managed to find my legs and ran the cramp out. I finished 4:26 standing without cramps, was happy to be within my target of 4:30. The race certain was hot, my tan lines attain to that and I will very likely return next year with a proper prep program.

We left Sunday 1hr after my crossing of the finishing line towards KL, it's dawny turn for her race. Shopping was on her agenda. Massage was mine. It's painfully but pleasurely done. Plus I finally get to taste the famously popular Mdm Kwan nasi lemak. It is indeed worthy ofbher status. The extended shopping race sees us leaving KL at 1700hrs and driving in the dark back south. The car was filled with my bike, race gears, dawny's shopping and a lot of food stuffs.

I am still limping from the race, my obvious milage was ridiculously low and I concluded that I finish the race based on pure experience and calculated risks. My limited fitness from 3 weeks of Oz deployment took a severe dip. Such was the price to pay, work vs passion.

Btw, I signed for IM Regensburg 2011. Have a blasting week.

Moving onto the next chapter.

2010-11-07T07:59:00.005+08:00

7 Nov, Home after 17 days in Oz

While in Oz waiting for the flight i checked the tide tables and found that the tide was good to swim on Sat. Yesterday morning, only 4 swimmers (incl myself) turnout to face the super tide. The water line almost hit the beach chairs by the time we are done with 4 laps. It was almost 460m per laps and the dogs were having a howling good time running around in the shallow waters.

It rain this morning so the round island ride could not start. I did not want to ride on wet roads for the hazards that is obvious. Perhaps later in the afternoon the roads will dry up and i could go for a spin to test out the new outfit I brought.

I had afew changes to the race kit but since mounting them i had not tested them while in training. The following were new to my race kits

1. Saddle - Got a Tioga White Spyder Twin Rail
2. Trisuit - 1 piece Ironman Trisuit
3. Racers - Saucony Kinvara

Kev wrote about spending on his tri gears recently, i thought it was essential to keep us going in the sport. Like drinking (ok its not a good example but the only one i am familar with), a little is ok, not excessive. My spending for the sport seems to have taper off (taper does not equate to termination). The equipment does go thru alot of trashing during training/racing and we do due justice by replacing accordingly but not excessively. I realised when that when both the roadie and the TT bike were completed, i had no reason to buy new toys until something broke...

While in Oz, i found an area where there was a Sports Warehouse and a outdoor shop. I probably spent half a day wondering around the places checking out gears and gadgets. I got myself a new fishing spinning tackle (shimano rod, reel and line) for only half of what i would pay here for a domestic brands, quite a deal really.

Its a short week for me as i will be driving up north for Powerman Malaysia on Friday morning. Its a race known for its heat or hotness like chilli (from what the website says the hotness race in Malaysia) the distance are 11,65,10 where the final 10km are known for causing cramps, and severe dehydration to competitors. I thought it might be good for training the legs for the IM race (i can hear the rest laughing at my stupidity). The Powerman and SCSM are all part of the buildup for IM China, which i hope will be a go ahead.

Have a awesome week ahead.

Coming home.

2010-11-02T08:13:00.003+08:00

2 Nov, warm and sunny, just like home.

It's been 17 days since touch down, perhaps 17 days too much...

The learning curve is still steep, amongst the many task I had to do, everything seems to be a top priority. Which is to go? I chose rest and face booking...calling home took a dip too but Dawny understands how all this is being done. She walked the path with me the last 7 years and I am very grateful for this soulmate.

Manage to get all the task done, nothing less expected and 'no' 'cannot' impossible' are not allowed to be heard in the work area. Failure is not an option but a motivation for everyone to push on.

I learn to work with others that flies in the sky to support us and those that support us from behind the front lines, was pissed at those that didn't team play. But all is well after a chilled beer, nothing gets in our way since most of us were well in decade friendship period.

Really looked forward to coming home. Looking forward to comfort food, soft bed, telly and my wife company. Tesky must have missed me, Dawny mentioned that she sits by the door every night waiting for me, to us she is not a pet but a family member. For that I am always happy with my current state.

Got races coming up, power man, SCSM and of course the ever waiting of IM China...time to change gear from work to training.

See you soon back in sunny Singapore.

All prep ready to go

2010-10-14T17:08:00.004+08:00

14 Oct 10, departure tomorrow

The buildup of work over the few months have accumulated to this point. Tomorrow we depart to Oz for the execution of the training as planned.

Everything was carefully planned and in detailed. After all, it's a challenge to bring 2000 pax over a 7 hrs flight and 2 time zones we better do things right and do the right thing.

Had to do a med check this morning as part of the insurance coverage, I step onto the scale and was rather surprise to read 71.2kg, that's 4 kg loss over this week, darn....everything was good according to the doc, ECG, pee and blood seems normal.

Had lunch with Julzz, YF and Eve thereafter, happy to catchup with them.

Had my footy rub too, I am ready for the next 3 weeks of dirt, dust and sleepless nights...bring it on!

Slogging the Newton 30k

2010-10-11T21:58:00.002+08:00

11 Oct 10, sore calves.

Last week super combo of cold and stiff neck accumulated on Sunday with the Newton 30k run. While i enjoyed the night fishing on friday, the fatigue totally put me out of place.

On Sunday morning, my BB phone alarm decided to fail on me. Thanks to Enrico who called me at 6.40am, i awoke to a very grumbly mood and immediately realised that i was late (to pick Enrico as well as for the race). Was flustrated for about 30secs until i told myself, 'heck, i could still use this as a training race..' What follows was a mad rush of washing up, changing into race clothes, driving (and having breakfast) towards the race site.

I managed to reach the race ground by 7.02am. Dun asked me what i did...but i did it. When i open the car door, i heard the horn go off. Shoes on, HRM, visor and sunnies and i am off. I crossed the starting chut at 7.07am. My professional training at work has taught me well, but no warm up (think that screw me up quite abit).

30km is a long run, to make things challenging it is 3 loops of 10km. At 7am starting, the last loop is going to be hot. I managed a reasonable first 2 loop faster than my AHM timing but at 26km my calves decided to give up on me, the strain is telling me that its going to pull soon (not cramp, not strain, itrs a bloody pull feeling). I realised there is nothing i could do to eliminate it; gels, salt tabs or electrolites would not be able to get rid of it. Simply put i lacked milage.

I slogged along the next 2km and by 28km (i could see the finishing chut but need to do a 1km and u-turn) i decided that enough is enough. I walked the remaining 2km, including crossing the chute.

Was rather disappointed that i cross the line at 3:39:48. The last loop took me 1:35, the last 4km was just slow and painful. At least i expanded 2896 cal for the run.

This would be the last training before i head of to Oz for work, when i return within 2 weeks is Powerman. I will need to do a maintainence programe when deployed in order to keep some shape in.

Will be out of internet for a while, see you people when i am back.

2010-10-09T12:28:00.005+08:00

9 Oct 10, its Kona today

Just returned from an overnight fishing trip my classmates. I was totally reborn into the new hobby (i used to fish during school vacations). There will be more trips to come.

Tonight thousands over the world will glue their eyes to their computer monitor to follow the annual IM World Championships coverage. I have yet missed the last 3 years and certainly not planning on missing this year despite my participation of Newton 30k tomorrow morning.

My friend Enrico wrote a page regarding the considerations to think thru before doing an IM. As one of the swim facilitators, i would like to share my perspective of the 3.8km swim. To alot of people its a daulting distance but its doable i assure all. My 10 tips (in similar order as Enrico's) for the swim is as follows;

1)Try your new googles at least 1 week before your big race day. This allows adjustments and replacement if neccessary.
2)Race in your training pace. If you are a 1:30 swimmer in the pool, follow that pace.
3)Have a spare Gel in your swim cap....This is not a joke.
4)Be comfortable with the 76 laps in the pool first,be comfortable swimming in open water.
5)Apply lubricants on your main contact points during the swim (armpits, inner thighs) There are also other lubricants that can replace BodyGlide IF you are sufficiently adventurous.
6)Learn to suit up and strip off your swim gear by yourself, most people are surpirse that they could not reach the zip or string behind their back. Ensure that you are comforty in your race clothes underneath the wettie.
7)Stretch everyday. Period.
8)Get a swim instructor if you need stroke correction. Get a coach to 'torture' you in the pool with insane swim sets(e.g. Pyramids...) to get you faster. Faster must mean first right strokes.
9)Learn to draft swim, its the only time you can draft legally in the race.
10) Learn to count your strokes(when i first introduce this, i am sure i had people laughing), its your pacing and the only way to swim your desired swim spilt.

My humble inputs based on my limited 1 IM experience.

Ironman Kona 2010

2010-10-03T12:10:00.003+08:00

3 Oct 10, D-7 days.

Next week is the annual Hawaii Ironman. Without fail my intention is to watch the race again via internet. Following the race from start to end hopefully.

In the mens race, it would be almost sure that Andy Potts will exit the swim within the fist pack. On the bike, Chris Lieto should be driving the Kona Express with his Trek Speed Concept. On the run, there would possible be 2 winners, Criag Alexandra and Andreas Raelert. Whoever has the best run splits WILL win Kona, i would love someone to break the run prime of 2:42 and see the sport moves into another era.

In the womens race, it would almost be impossible to beat Chrissy Wellington baring a technical failure. The closest will be Miranda Carfee who could possibly run closer in timing compared to the Brit.

Whatever it is, anyone in Kona deserves a pat on their back. I will be watching it closely.

On a side note, Enrico returns from Berlin Marathon with 3:37. Harsh weather but still good work mate.

Alamak rain again...

2010-10-03T10:22:00.002+08:00

3 Oct 10 Beanie barking at home..

It rained again this morning. It's the 2nd weekend since we shifted into the rental place. I missed the morning ride again as I did not want to risk riding on the wet roads.

This morning is the final race for Tri Factor Triathlon, it's wet! It's risky but I wish all Triathletes a good and safe race.

Yesterday, it was the annual Desau Long Course Tri. It's known for blistering heat, rolling terrain and surf like swim conditions. A lot finished and a lot had their first experience of cramps and accidents. Well done for those that finished and speedy recovery for those that kiss the roads.

Next week is Newton 30k, I have accidentally signed up for Mizuno 10k as well. Collected both race packs yesterday and decided to go for the Newton for training purposes. Going to giveaway the Mizuno.

starting the weekend right

2010-09-18T17:16:00.002+08:00

18 Sep 10, typing on the iPad is fun!!!

Facilitated the lagoon swim this morning. 8 laps of quite fast swimming had my shoulders rather sore now. Muscle Poon came in his brand new wettie brought off eBay. He did 4 laps and call it a day after the heat buildup and shoulder soreness..

I figured out that less chatting, more swimming and tighter drafts makes the workout a lot more stressful. But that took the social bit away. While I wanted to do more and eventually do 10 with my wettie again before IMChina.

I am still waiting for the china race to open, with limited hotels in that region I am pretty worried about the amenities in the race venue. My backup plan can be France or UK depending on work situations.

Got the iPad yesterday, my plan of converting the entire IT system into a Mac just started. Eventually the plan is to have a iMac at home, while i do minimum work using the iPad. The rationale of crossing over to Mac is irrational according to my boss who is a Mac fanatic.

Looking forward to the short brick session tomorrow and the brekkie with another new iPad user.. : )

Running the new AHM route

2010-09-12T18:11:00.005+08:00

12 Sep 10, Dad's Birthday.

This morning i ran the annual AHM. It was a awesome experience to run alonside thousands. I also choose to run as a competitor this year as oppose to a non-competivity runner. I was so close to the front liners that i felt quite 'Pro' for a while.

Slight difference from the other years, the organisers decided to route the run route to encompass the DNA bridge, Shears Bridge, Nicoll Hwy Bridge and eventually the Esplanade Bridge (At the last 1km, alot of runners felt the strain even going up the gentle bridge). Flag off timing were also brought forward this year, at 0515 hrs it meant runners gunning for 2 hours would come in just after first light. The route is fast and differentiated the boys from the men, me? i guess i am still a kid when it comes to running races : )

I met many friends along the way, many of them running for PBs. While i believe that racing pushes one alot more, this morning i decided to smell the air. I ran non stop till the finishing chute. I must admit that my legs didn't have the speed but i felt comfortable running the 6min/km pace. I thought i was going for 5:30 but the dim lighting bluffed me. I cross the line at 2:08:07. No blisters, no cramp and running on a conservative nutrition plan (i skip alternate aid station).

Quick chat at the race expo and i left. Did not bother to take pictures with the folks from office (we are suppose to so as to mark attendance). I went for a recovery swim instead, 30 laps with only 2 others in the pool was great. At least the lactic acid was alot lower than previous years.

Had brunch with Bro and mum in Botanical Gdns, got a huge dinner at Tung Lok for Dad's birthday.
________________

Official results are out;

I am 704th (33%) of my division grouping
Averaging 6:04 min per km or 9.9km/hr
My splits are 1:08:17 and 59:49 (its a -ve split, gotta be happy for that)

Should be happy lah i guess.. : )

Long Weekend

2010-09-11T08:15:00.002+08:00

11 Sep 10, less we forget those that perish in that dreadful day.

It has been a busy week, as we had our friends from Uncle Sam that came in for a 4 days meeting. Apart from doing my job, i find myself hosting and getting around the guests. Perhaps it was my keen interaction with foreign friends or my 'Aussie' accent, we enjoyed each other's company throughout the duration. Thanks to them, i also got an opportunity to visit the Army Museum (with a Director's Tour) and a trip to Asia Pacific Brewery (APB) where they brew World Class Tiger Beer. They spoken so much about Hawaii, i got to get a trip up there to see for myself.

Brother is also landing tonight, while my dad will be celebrating his birthday tomorrow. Its a double bonus for the Wong Family.

Yesterday, i went riding with Cliffy and Reeves. A short and fun 55km ride only. Saddling up the TT bike was awesome, the speed and aero position was a good track for memory again. While the roadie was nice to ride, i started with a Tri geometry bike and was always nice to ride a TT bike.

Tomorrow is the annual 21km SBR/AHM, for a change this year i register myself as a public runner instead of tagging along the office as a internal runner. A new route also brings us into the Casino area before heading up the bridge. Would target to complete the run by 2 hrs as a gauge for year end 42km.

To go forward or not to go forward?

2010-09-03T23:15:00.002+08:00

3 Sep 10, Rental Place

This morning as i rode into office i realise that the traffic was alot heaviler as compared to the last few days. It must have been due oversleeping, and starting the journey to office later resulting in me getting caught in the morning traffic.

I was caught in a traffic situation that comprise up to approximately 50 to 60 vehicles (alot of bus, trucks and some morning drivers). As i came to a traffic junction, i decided to ride through the convoy of vehicles to the front (something i usually not do). I did not want to get caught inbetween all the traffic and decided to have the front clear with everyone else be able to see me (i hope). As the light turn green, i went for it till the next traffic light with afew vehicles overtaking me but giving me sufficient space.

I realise as i pull up into the office that it was a controvsery of something i usually tells people not to do while riding. Posted it on FB and had a relatively dosage of feedbacks.

The new route to office took about 10 mins extra. Its nice to ride esp during the early hours, terrible during the peak hours.

Looking forward to tmr swim and Sun riding session.

A new place for the next 8 months

2010-08-29T21:41:00.002+08:00

29 Aug 10, missing the old house.

Yesterday, we moved from the house we stayed for 7 years to the rental place. Its going to be a short 8 months stay while we wait for the new place to be ready.

It was alittle nightmarish packing, moving and unpacking. We also realise that we do have quite abit of things with us.

We were rather reluctant to leave the house. Afterall, we stayed there since we were married, designed the entire house on our own and had Tesky with us after 3 weeks of moving in. Everyone was kinda sad, Tesky included (She would not pee at the pee tray and kept looking at the door). Dawny shed a little when we finally said goodbye this evening after handing over the keys to the new owners.

We moved on. This place is home for the next 8 months, not the best but it will do.

Moving House

2010-08-24T22:36:00.002+08:00

24 Aug 10, working on a 4 year old laptop running on Windows Vista! Hastala Vista!!!

Been packing the house abit this week, actually Dawny and the cleaner has done much more than i do. I am in charge of throwing away the garbage and providing the muscle strength of lifting and putting things away.

I also realise that we do have alot of old things that we kept with us. Photos, gifts or momentos. I believe human beings are sentimental creatures that cheries histories. I bet alot of us do have that old race t-shirt that we are just unwilling to throw away despite the falding colours or deteriorating material.

As the packing goes, more boxes are getting packed and Tesky is finding less space to move around. The next 8 months will be a challenge as we are only unpacking the neccessary stuffs and keeping the rest in the boxes. I have already misplaced some things around the household, it is going to be more problematic going ahead with packing, unpacking, repacking and re-unpacking....

Supporting the next generation

2010-08-20T21:23:00.003+08:00

20 Aug 10, new haircut today.

My friend Enrico wrote a page on Sports and Leadership, he quoted several examples of his encounters, experiences and expectations. I must agree that passion drives behaviour, the passion of leading, sharing and guiding can sometimes be higher than that of our passion for the sport. Leaders (age, sex, experience and performances without discrimination) of the same band must continue to do this important role.

On a similar note, this week my office hosted a band of leaders. Students from the year long course (which i was part of last year) came for their finale game of planning and battle of wits.

With majority of the key leadership away for other taskings, the facilitation was done by students of last year's course. We listen without judgement, provided our inputs and feedbacks but not everything were accepted smoothly, our thoughts were challenged, questioned and clarified professionally. In the end, everyone gain, Students of 2 different years as well as course instructors.

My humble experiences sharing from 8 months in the office since graduation felt welcome. The course instructors were grateful for our contribution, honoured by our performances coached by them and delighted in our truthful sharing of experiences. Many were surprised by our knowledge and application gained with only 8 months of work in the office.

Despite the busy schedule, i felt the value in facilitating this week. If given a chance to do it again, i would glady take up the task again.

The Hokkaido Trip

2010-08-18T21:00:00.004+08:00

18 Aug 10. 37 year old + 1 day.

Dawn and i spent 12 days in Hokkaido early this month, we totally enjoyed ourself. We stuffs ourself daily with fresh seafood and beer (Hokkaido is known for Sapporo Beer).

On day 1, things did not go our way as we found out that driving in Japan requires the international driving card. We did not have 1 and have to travel around by trains instead. Dawny shed a tear saying the holiday was ruin, i told her train need not mean a bad thing, we will see different thing that we couldn't if we drove.

12 days later, Dawny was a very happy gal.

What do i like about Hokkaido?
1. Freshest Seafood
2. Best tasting beer
3. Friendly people that is willing to talk and smile
4. Lots of greens scenary, endless infact
5. Availability of Hi-Tech gadgets (if you think iPad is cool, there's much more)
6. Everything has a schdule (and you need to follow it)
7. Darn clean cities despite a lacked of dustbins
8. Little english but they are SOOOOO willing to try to communicate with you
9. Largest variety of vending machine. You can get anything and everything.
10. Heated toilet seats with the nozzle

* Picture of Dawny and the sunflower is my favourite shot for the trip. For more pictures of the trip, click here.