I watched this video TriSwimCoach blog and I practiced the similar thing last week, though not exactly emulating how Grant Hackett was powering through the water but more of his technique. On Thursday I did 5 sets of 400m. Again I was clocking the range of 1:36 - 1:49, mostly probably averaged about 1:47 per 100m. This is a vast improvement over my 1:51 per 100m before I went for my ironman. The simple correction of keeping elbows more bent shaved off about 3seconds off my swim time per 100m. It was quite an amazing feat. Perhaps it is also because I felt more fresh from not swimming 3 times a week. Yesterday was the 1st swim for the week because I had to miss the Monday squad swimming session.


This morning I did a 65km ride with Andrew at Coastal. Planned to do a 100km, but decided to call it a day after an unpleasant incident with a military van. The irony of it all was that the van was a "safety vehicle". The van had stopped by the road and inching out of the side road. It got out so much that it was in the path of our lane. We had to veer off and risk being hit by cars on the right lane. It was not so much of the driver but the unacceptably poor attitude of the vehicle commander that I was really peeved with. The VC insisted that he "had done no wrong, why should I apologise?" and his first words to me was this and I quote "There is a Park Connector, you should be riding on it." and to top it all off, "Are there any injuries? If there are no injuries, there is no case."


What will it take for the residents here to treat cyclists with respect? Will bicycle lanes really work, when the basic lack of courtesy, consideration for the safety of road users and the absolute scant respect of lives  in general is possibly the root of the problem?


As cyclists, its a pity that we have to put up with such errant attitude from other road users. This is a common problem I believe and not unique to Singapore alone.

Family Outing to Pulau Ubin

The offshore island, where many mountain bikers get there to have some trail or "thrill" rides. Chek Jawa is probably the only marine coast available to us that is untouched, with the "rich" marine life, sea grass, corals. 10 minutes of bumboat will get us to the rustic island, where only a handful of Singaporeans reside. Most of the villagers would have shifted back to mainland Singapore already. During the SARS period, the culling of the poultry wiped out the chicken and duck farm, and probably their livelihood. That explained why most of them had to leave the island.


Anyway, it was a first outing to Pulau Ubin for my kids and my wife even! Yeah, explains how exposed she is to outdoor stuff! Started with my younger one not knowing how to change gears on the bike, then went on to my older one who hit a flat tyre 2-3km away from the bike shop. So the irondad had to cycle with the flat tyre back to the shop and got a replacement bike. Ahhh... yes, I am the tech support.


It was high tide and was quite a wasted trip to Chek Jawa. We did do a check on tide times but could only go there during that period only. But it was still a good time cycling the gravel road. An experience for myself even. Different from the usual smooth tarmac I get.

We also chanced upon a female wild boar - gender as told by the NParks wardens. I was pretty worried because my kids were feeding it. And other visitors stood next to it to take pictures with it. Wild boars are known for their aggressive behaviour. And I know they will rush at you if perturbed. Injuries may not be fatal but broken bones are a possibility. After 10minutes, I had to hurry my kids away, not willing to take any chances.

***

Just a few hours ago, in the evening, I went NYP to do the track work with MR25 runners. My first time with the group but I had a foretaste of it when I ran with Andrew. Did a 3km warm up, 10 x 200m sprints with 200m recovery and another 2km warm down. Knowing that I needed to shorten my recovery period, I did not do the 35-38s sprints I did last week. Controlled it to 38-40s sprints, with the last in 36s. Recovery was about 1:40 on the average compared to 2:20 average last week. It was a good thing that I experienced it for myself last week as it gave me an idea of what to expect this week. It was quite amazing how the reduction of 2s can increase recovery by 40s. I would say that last week was a 95% effort in the sets and this week probably close to 90%. Nonethelss, it was good. At least the consistency was there and I managed to keep up with the recovery times of the rest of the runners.


During the sets, I was being trailed by a 60 year old man. He was just about 2s behind me throughout the workout. And he is a 1:47 SAFRA 21km runner, 1:40 Taiwan 21km runner and 2nd runner up in the Swissotel Vertical Marathon this year for his age group. I would say that he should be the real iron hearted man... Hats off! 60 years old! Fantastic stuff! What a legacy!

New Year Resolution

I use to think that new year resolution is a waste of time and really juvenile. However, as I pondered on this before the year comes to a close, I realised that it is a way to induce discipline in myself to achieve certain targets.


It is like signing up for a race and training towards it. Its a goal for ourselves to work towards. In the triathlonfamily forum, there is currently a race going on among the athletes - to work towards ENR226. The plan is to take part in as many run races as possible and hit 226km. It started since October 2010 and already there is going to be a winner soon - 20km away from the mark. Its pretty amazing I must say! As for me, I am just at the half way mark. Could have been higher if I had gotten a slot at the MR25 ultramarathon - which I missed the deadline when I decided to sign up. But never mind. Its all for the fun of it.


Perhaps the resolutions should be tangible and achieveable. Not something like, "to end poverty in the world by end of 2011", or the slated "world peace". I am still thinking through, besides trying to attain even better timings in my races, what else I should work towards to, more for the people around than just myself. It is time to return to the people around me and be less self centred. Like the common saying, every little thing starts from home. As much as I would like to give back to the society, I shall take the baby step and start the good work from home first.


2011, ready or not, it is coming...

Bike Maintenance

How long do ironman triathletes spend on the bike? Training sessions are from 3 to 7 hours perhaps? The race itself is at least 5.5hrs for the average age grouper.


Considering this long time on the bike, and the high mileage involved while training, it is inevitable that the bicycle will face various forms of wear and tear. Such persistent change in parts include:


1) tyres - Clearly, this is the only part that comes into contact with the road. And this is the part that will keep the cyclist safe. Slipping and falling is the last thing that as cyclists we will want to face because there is a huge chance that vehicles will roll over us, secondly, it will mean injuries that will affect the work done in preparing for any race. I remember I rode my Michelin Pro 3 tyres till the white fiber was exposed in small patches. I had not noticed it until I slipped and crashed.


2) chain - There is mileage lifespan of about 1500km or so? My bike mechanic recommends something like 1cm between links as maximum and will require replacement.


3) cassette - Best to change them together with the chain but I dont. Usually I will only change them after 3000km or more.


4) brake pads - Very long lasting. The last time I changed them was more out of wanting to get rid of the old pads. I have no idea what is the recommended usage period.


5) lubricate - I lubricate the chain myself occasionally. This is to ensure that the chain is not overly dry and cause premature short life span. I use Dumonde Tech.


6) elbow rest cushion - changed to a pair of comfortable pads by Cee Gees as the original ones are a tad thin. However, Cee Gees do wear down pretty fast too. My doing or not, I dont know. There fabric exposed to the velcros are beginning to rip off. Probably have to think of a way to hold them down to the elbow cups if it does come off.


7) nuts and bolts - Any of them that are not stainless steel nor titanium, will rust. Recently I just decided to remove the bolts and buts from the elbow cups, sandpapered them down, resprayed them and reused. They were getting really trashed up (rusty) from all the sweat and water I exposed them to while out in my sessions. And these parts are not readily available. If I need to replace them, I would have to buy the whole set of aerobars - which was what I did to replace the J clamp that broke 1 week ago. Despite being made of aluminium, I think under the stress from transport to Western Australia, it decided to give way during my ride last Wednesday.


After having trained for this muti sport for the past 1.5 years, I have found that if I do not take care of my equipment, I will have to pay the cost of replacing parts that could have lasted longer if I had cleaned them up. 

Seasons Greeting!

What a fabulous time of the year! Filled with joy, feast, renewal of friendships and family ties. Not that this cant be done for the most part of the year, but Christmas is not just the reminder of the birth of Christ, it is also a time set aside for the remembrance of our loved ones. Although the setting is now very much secularised - believers or not - it is a joyful time for all.


We have the tradition in my home to have my wife's family and family friends come over every Christmas eve. But this year, we had to hold it on Christmas night itself. This tradition, come to think of it, had been on going for at least 8-9 years? For sure, ever since we shifted to our current place, it had been an annual affair. And it really is nice to have people filled up the place with laughter. We enjoy playing hosts. Just that the cleaning up thereafter is a real pain. My wife does the cooking, turkey, pork ribs, pasta, potato skins, salads, etc. every year with a couple of changes. The turkey is always there though. Nice!

***

Friday I rushed through a short swim in the early morning. Had to send my daughter for CCA in school. Managed 400m warm up and 1.5km swim. Remembered reading from Tri Swim Coach forum and tried out the technique - keeping the pull to the side instead of to the chest and elbow bent. For a while I thought I had my elbows bent. Apparently not so because with this change, I managed to swim below 1:50 per 100m pretty consistently. And there was no change in cadence or noticeable greater effort. This meant that efficiency had improved? Will try it out a few more times to see if this were true. However, it was quite a conscientious effort to swim in that manner. There was a definite need to unlearn and relearn this time.


I started the Christmas morning with a 105km ride with 2 other friends of mine. The 52 year old friend was under the weather while another partied till quite late and decided to sleep in. Knowing that these 2 guys are not that slow, instead of the agreed slow ride, it got to a not so easy conversational pace. But the blokes were drafting me. Freewheeling occasionally, as if telling me to speed up - although I would say it was not the case, I am sure. For we are all friendly riders.


It was nice and steady paced, with occasional surges peppered here and there. I do know that at a stretch of the expressway that we had to hop on, while coming back from Tuas, I was pushing at 47kph. Well under the speed limit of the carriageway anyway?


This morning hit out for an easy 20km run. Took just under 2hours to complete. Total no carbs. Just water for hydration. The idea was to get the body to use the body fats for fuel. I know I was getting fuel short on the return lap coz I could feel my legs getting heavier.


What I enjoyed the most was the fact that my stamina had not been affected too much despite not training as intensely? And despite the slight increase in body weight, running and cycling had not been so much hindered. I think I am on good track for this recovery period. It has been 3 weeks since the ironman. And we, my family and I, still relish the relaxing times we had in WA. Although there was really very little to do, the slow pace of life was definitely a great miss for city folks like us.


2010 came 12 months ago and is almost gone. Time passes really fast and it waits for no Man. Grab hold of all the opportunities life gives and live it to the fullest. Have we lived it to the best we can? Perhaps not. I know I havent. There are a lot more I want to do not just for myself, but for the people around. Maybe next year it should be a year of dedication to others?

The Bomb!

Ceramic bearings are DA BOMB!


I just swopped out the stainless steel bearings from my ZIPP 808s to American made ceramic bearings and the smoothness while riding just blew me apart! I have always been skeptical about the true efficiency and effectiveness of ceramic bearings. But this just removed any doubts I had in my mind. I just cant imagine if the BB and jockey wheels are changed to ceramic bearings as well... Soon to be done too... I should have upgraded for IMWA... Darn!


Went on 70km ride and it was brisk. Really. The rotation of the wheels are smooth and fast. The start up was also very fast. My legs were still achy after the speed track work on Tuesday and definitely not rested well for last night's ride. But I could pedal very easily still. Going uphill was easy and I wasnt panting that much. The increased in wattage must have been quite substantial with this increase in efficiency. It was amazing!


I am a convert!


In the meantime, it will be back to my old training wheels with SQUARE bearings...

Changes to Training Routine for 2011

How much have I improved in my swimming ever since I joined the Monday swims? Definitely more than I had anticipated. I was pretty skeptical that I could improve much but I have been proven wrong. I read from the magazine, that a way to gauge is to do a stroke count. I was doing 30 for a year, since 2009. Ever since I did this Monday routine, I have gone down to 23-26, most of the time, its 25. This is per 50m. I am looking to improve again and have made some changes to the equipment. And hopefully will not get any serious injuries. Will have to slowly adapt to it.

***

This morning I did interval training sessions with Andrew, friend from MR25 running group. Warmed up with a 2km run followed by 10 sets of 200m sprints with 200m recovery in between. Managed 2 sets of 35s, while the rest were 36s and 37s. But recovery jog of 200m was a tad longer. Andrew was encouraging enough to say that as my fitness improve, the recovery time will get shorter. Well, I hope so! Otherwise, I will be slowing down the track work of the MR25 runners.

This will be incorporated into my new training routine for next year. And perhaps I will be able to run stronger...

Resting Period

Been feeling hungry easily still. And I know I need to control my diet. Else I will start to put on weight and take sometime to reduce them again. Like I said, I want to reduce to 75kg for Cairns race. And no better time than to start now.


Monday I did the squad swim. Many of them were not around. They had decided to take a break after their 42km run, while others from Phuket Asia Pacific 70.3 Championships.


I completed a 50km ride on Wednesday. Made my way to the training ground of 1 month at Coastal. Traffic was silly heavy in the morning. Merely spinning away. Tested whether I could still push up the speed and managed to cruise at 40kph for about 1km or so. All is good. Later in the day, I could feel the legs slightly achy but had gone since.


Thursday was suppose to do a trail run but had gout attack and was feeling slightly under the weather. Took a day off... Oh what the hell! It is suppose to be 1 month off...


Friday morning I did a 400m warm up followed by a 2km swim. Managed under 36min for 2km. This is good coz double that and it will be my ironman timing. And might just be my best 70.3 swim time as well. In fact, I just realised, this is my PB for a 2km swim! Cool!


Today will be attempting an 80km ride with a couple of friends of mine. Supposedly leisurely but the new comer will probably amp up my ride. Oh well, just have some fun. Its been a while since I did hills and ride like a roadie. Hopefully can stick to him closely - he has very very high lactate threshold... Bugger!

Visting Perth

We have never been much of a touristy sort of travellers. So far, we havent really paid to do things tourists would do. Partly coz we dont like to pay for them, the other we prefer to do what the locals do. And the latter means we should be paying less at the less expensive places? I could be wrong, but well, if only money grow on trees in my backyard - if I have one in the 1st place, when I stay in a public housing, "pocket in the sky", as my friend would say.


If you ever get to Perth, some considerations for you:

Perth City - King's Park is a nice and peaceful place. Lots of green for the kids to run around. Maybe its peculiar just to my family. We love huge space and green lawn. Very good for the soul. The Swan River goes into the heart of the city. Nice place to walk along. Breezy in the evening. In 2008, I went for a light jog and came upon a school of dolphins swimming in the river, very close to the side. Absolutely breathtaking! Wild dolphins! My family missed out on the sighting. Returned in the evening and was hoping to catch them. Failed miserably.

Rockingham - Drove there to visit Penguin Island. To get to the island, we have to take a 10min ferry across. The thing is, the locals walk the sand bar to get to the island because you can actually wade through. But the authorities discourage it because of the unpredictable waves and current. Apparently, there have been people who walked and drowned. Not sure how true. I have seen it and I think waist deep is not to be fooled around with. Penguin supposedly to have 2000 of the smallest specie of penguine. Sadly, as you walk around, you wont be able to see any. Supposedly very shy creatures and gets startled very easily. There is a penguin feeding area with couple of "shows". 10 of them still very wild because the management believed in keeping them this way. Although, they would not be able to survive in the open sea because the acquaintance with human beings have been too long.

We stayed along Scarborough Beach, in a private apartment called Sandcastles. It is coast fronting and the wind and sunset was absolutely gorgeous. The horizon - which my daughter asked me, "whats so great about a straight line?" and I have no answer for - was clean and the colours of dusk was simply romantic. The beach is not suitable for swimming coz the waves and winds are really strong. Its a beach that the locals sail and parasurf at. A very long beach indeed.






Margaret River - We stayed at Losari. Big property and quiet. 5km drive away from the town. Owners are very nice and warm people. Villas are modern and nicely decorated. Comes with outdoor jacuzzi that opens up to the property. And not to worry, it was really private because the villas are very far apart from one another.


We are not exactly into wines. But we went to a few wineries with very nice views. One that we visited in 2008 was Laurance. Distinctive was its lady on a pole in its lake.

This year we visited another beautiful winery with a nice eating place - Watershed. Food was priced within reason. I had a special order of plain pasta only because the ironman race was the next day.


My kids on both ironman holidays, went for 2 hour horse riding experience with Horse Resort. Just slightly further up from Losari. The main compound, according to my kids, was the better of the 2 because of the sheer size of it. They went through the different paddocks and forested areas.

Prevelly - Short windy road. Use to have a cafe at beach end called White Elephant. This year we went back but the place was under construction. My wife liked the place. And yes, a good looking young man use to work there then...

Albany - We drove down south in 2009. A long long drive and of course back up again. The place we stayed in was called Seven Oaks. It actually is a local's residence but they rent it out as they had other properties. Away from the main road, it was really quiet at night. And not to mention absolute darkness outside. But its really cost and nice. Albany being very far south, the weather is much cooler than Perth city. And the fireplace made it cosy at night. Traditional fireplace - we absolutely enjoy it.

We visited the last whaling place while in Albany. Ok, one of the touristy thing we did. But hey, unless we drive out of the town, there was really very little to do within 20 - 30km. And my wife was not in favour of doing any more driving out anymore then. The next nearest attraction was like almost 200km away. We did visit the rock formations and the windmill farm nearby.


Pemberton - Just south of Margaret River. About 2 hours drive away. A very small town but offers much of nature. There are the forestry walks, trails, small dam and all. In 2008, we drove through the car trails before and there was radio channel to explain the history, the fauna and the flora. 4WD would be nice but my sedan drove through nonetheless. We stayed at Pumphill in 2009 and this year we put up at Diamond Forest Cottages (20km from Pemberton, picture below), nearer Munjimup, actually. Of the two, Diamond is a bigger set up with huge land. Pumphill has nice farm stay experience. We also went King Trout to do farmed rainbow trout fishing in 2008. Was a lot of fun for people who have not fished in their lives - US! It was sure-to-catch day.

Engine Overhaul

No, not referring to Rolls Royce overhaul of their engines for the A380. And neither am I referring to Qantas service - though I seriously think they should take a good hard look at their customer service coz my recent experience with them had not been acceptable AT ALL. Besides not responding to my feedback, making my whole family wake up at 5am to catch a 9am flight, the ground crew dented and cracked my ZIPP disc on the way back. And you guessed it, they have yet to come back to me after I filed my report. Buggers. This is despite a proper wheel bag tagged as "fragile". Yup, as far as possible, it will be Qantas no more.


My friend faced a situation at his condominium apartment, this time with his estate management people. It is times like these, that I find that by being layman without the proper influential network that issues are really hard to resolve. There is just no direct link for me to get in touch with Qantas with regards to this and it just infuriates me. Although, I have heard there had been issues with Singapore Airlines as well. Its simply amazing that we pay so much for air travel and we get poor service standards like trashing our luggages. Just where is the common sense of airline companies? And all they are interested are the hundreds of millions that they make in a year FROM US passengers.

***

The Bugatti Veyron has a power to weight ratio of 1000bhp to about 2000kg. That is a substantial 500horses to pull a 1 tonne machine by a 8 litre monster of an engine. In stark comparison, the Ariel Atom is a very small  light weight car of less than 500kg but its power is 300bhp for the supercharged version. As you can see, the Ariel Atom is a mighty mighty fast car, and this explains why the need for cars to go as light as much as they can. The Lamborghini Superleggera and Reventon are carbon fibered vehicles so that the acceleration can be increased marginally over the normal road versions.


And so often we have heard about the weight weennies of cyclists attempting to push down the weight of their steeds as much as possible. CF frames, CF pedals, Titanium bolts, etc, just to save a couple of grammes here and there.


This is not surprising because as with the cars, the amount of power generated by the cyclists is dependent on this weight drag. The lighter the combined weight, the greater the power and also perhaps, the more energy saved on the run for triathletes thereafter.


As for me, instead of trying to push down the weight of my bike in terms of grams, I will want to reduce my weight than to spend the money on weight saving nuts and bolts. My race weight for WA 2009 was about 82kg, WA 2010 was a tad under 78kg. I hope to bring this down to 75kg by the time I hit Cairns 2011.


However, I do know that there will be compromise in the amount of power generated if there is too much of a substantial weight loss. Matt Fitgerald wrote about this as well in the Triathlete magazine. So, it will be a fine line to draw between weight loss vs power output. I do not know what my best ratio is going to be like. All I know is that I can lose more so that I can gain more. What an oxymoron. My Coach did say that 75kg would be a good weight to get to with 10% body fats. I will see if I can get to that level this time.

***

Did a short run this morning to see if my legs would be able to fire. Not too bad and pleasantly surprised. My friend from MR25 - group of runners at MacRitchie - paced me. I ran the 5km time trial cross country route in under 27min. The qualifying was 25min. But I started the run still having a conversation with him for half the distance and he said that I should be able to meet the timing for the trial.


Not that I am working towards to join the MR25 running club - if I do qualify, all the better - but I am seeking to improve my run. Some of the group's faster runners do sets of the 5km TT with 1min rest in between, and each set in 18:30. That is incredulous and I am not attempting that feat. I am just seeking to run my ironman marathon with 6/km pace.


I hope to be able to fit in track work with the MR25 runners next year. And hopefully this will whip my running legs to good shape for AVIVA 70.3 and Cairns.

***

Something interesting that I caught outside the cafe in Busselton:


Swimming is the worst part of a triathlon...


If you stop peddling on a bike, you coast,


If you stop running, you walk.


BUT IF YOU STOP SWIMMING, YOU DROWN!

Let The Good Times Roll!

Like a little kid, excited for his first swim, I dived into the Indian Ocean while its waves lapped gently on the beach for a short warm up. Temperature was 21.5 degrees. And the announcement was "wetsuits are optional". Yeah right. Out of the 1400 participants, there was only 1 in swimming trunks whom I saw before I jumped in for the swim.


And I thought I was mad to take part in this physically demanding and mind grueling endurance race of 3.8km swim, 180km bike and 42km run.


It was 5th December 2010. The start to my second ironman triathlon in my life.


4th December was a leisure day. Bumping around with the family for a good part of the day and had my last heavy meal during lunch. Dinner was just watermelon and water. Slept at 9pm. Soundly like a baby. Never woke up till the alarm went off at 3am.


I had done the same thing last year. Keeping the stomach empty after lunch before the huge race. So as to give the stomach time to enjoy the last bits of solid food, digest and purge out everything by the next day. Race day had to be picture perfect and nothing sloshing in the stomach.


0415 and I was at the race start, preping my bike. Going through my mind what needed to be done during transition. There was something new this year. I bought a pair of arm warmers just the day before coz it was raining and was cold.


The cool water was up to my calves. Not much of the cold like last year definitely. It was a beach start as usual.


0545 and bang! The gun went off. The pros had started 15min earlier and they were no where to be found. I found myself somewhere in the middle of all the swimmers, nearer the front than I had wanted. Not because I was gung ho or competitive swimmer but because the rest of the participants were still standing on the beach and looking at the water hesitantly. I know that feeling. The feeling of fear creeping up and the butterflies in the stomach. But the thing was, the moment you start swimming, moving away from people, elbowing the next swimmer, kicking the face of the swimmer behind, etc., every fear just dissipated and whatever happened in training, happened there and then.


It was about 10min later that I found a pair of legs to draft on. The jetty had been under construction since last year, and it was still this year. Water was dull and visibility was a good way down to the sea bed. As usual, I was looking out for the sea creatures. But none was in sight. Probably jolted off the coast by the 1400 black seals on the surface - minus 1 in a triangle underwear.


Neck felt the stinging effect of chaffing about 1km out - midway of the distance of the jetty. Tilted head downwards to let the cold water run through, but soothing last mere seconds. I ploughed ahead still. Even had to drain the sea water from my goggles 2-3 times in case I get out of the water with swollen eyes. As I got near the end of the jetty - also the half way mark as well the turnaround point - I saw many swimmers jostling near the buoy. I tried my best to move slightly outwards so that I wont be caught in the bottleneck.


The swim back was surprisingly choppy. The current was pushing me nearer and nearer the jetty and I even hit the ropes. And worse of all, I lost my happy feet in front of me. I was on my own again for a good 400m before I chose another pair of happy feet. In fact, throughout the whole swim, I jumped from one to another coz some were too fast, while some were too slow. Some just appeared in front of me. Just my good fortune that this year I managed to find pairs of legs that move at the same pace as me.


And as it turned out - I found out after the race from Coach - the waves were indeed stronger on the return leg. I emerged from the water in 1:10:44. Well, this was the same swim time I did in the pool. Which means either (1) the wetsuit did help me to overcome the tide or (2) I was not swimming hard at all for the whole thing - wrong pairs of happy feet probably. Regardless, it was the timing that I had wanted to achieve. And compared to last year, this was a 11min improvement.


T1 was a hefty 5:56 long. What held me up was probably the arm warmers. Took me a while to push them up to an acceptable position. Without the warmers I could have done a min lesser perhaps? But they did come in handy. The wind was chilly on the bike leg. Temperature was much lower than last year and the skies were overcast. Through the forested part, my 2nd and 3rd loops had very light drizzle.

The bike leg was 3 loops of 60km, in sort of a capital I shape with the bottom horizontal shorter than the upper horizontal. The roads were very very rough and through it all, I was averaging about 31-32 kph only. The usual return route of about 5km met winds that would depress many. No where in Singapore will we be able to train with such an element. Winds were strong but not as strong as last year definitely. In fact, all the elements were not at full force, including the heat on the run, unlike 2009s race.

I managed to push through the wind at about 30kph at this part on the 1st loop, 28kph on the 2nd loop and 26-27kph on the 3rd loop. The winds just got stronger and stronger. Of course, my silly legs got more and more tired as well.

What I was most surprised was this: the usual stomachache and high heart rate after the swim? They were not there. My heart rate was unusually normal out of the swim. And I got the feeling I was off to a good start. I would most likely be riding the way I would have been training. And that was good...


Tried to pee couple of times but only managed one short flush. It was better than nought? Hydration not at its max compared with Chrissie Wellington's 6 times on the bike?


Nutrition was clock work. Each biden lasted 2 hours and that was followed. I only had 2 extra bidens on water from the aid station plus half a cookie. Carbohydrates were getting in an ingested for sure but I think the water was just not up to mark.


5:53:01 was the time I spent on the bike. Not too shabby for myself I must say! Thats above 30kph on average. As I neared the end point of the ride, I forgot to take off the shoes and gloves - 2 which I practiced during training. Spent some seconds to rip off the shoes. Just some seconds though.


T2 was 3:31.

Sun blocked applied, socks and shoes on, visor on and I was off. I was heading off to a great start. I felt good on the run. Legs felt light and healthy. Explained the cheeky kisses to my family as I went off - as seen in the picture above.


But good times were not to last. 4km to be exact. Legs started to fade and strides got smaller and smaller. Still managed a decent cadence though.

4 loops of 10.5km. By the 2nd, I told my wife as I passed her, I said: I am dying. I just could not pick up pace till the last 2-3km when my HR went up to the prescribed level. For a good 2.5loops of the run, the watch was beeping slowly, as if I were doing it a disservice for running at such a pace. The above picture tells it - no more smiles, no more cheeky faces. It was plain fatigue dragging me down.


It was strange that I managed a 1:10 average per loop. 4:44:29 was the time I took for the run. Not quite as well as I had wanted to do - 4:30 - but this will have to do?


I had my own fuel belt and relied heavily on it. I only took water from some stations and had to pee once on the 2nd loop compared to the 5 times I did last year on the run. That saved me some time. It was a 5min break? Or less?


But I did many times of 10s break to stretch my thighs. They were tightening up and losing its sensation. Many times I felt my lower left calf tightening up and thought I was in for a rough time if they lock up. Fortunately, they held on to the end.

Jubilation came as I collected my red rubber band - to signify to the marshalls that I am on the way INTO the chute and not continuing parallel to it - to continue on another loop. I had paid my dues of 3 black rubber bands and I was screaming with joy to get the last one for the return. Red WAS my favourite colour for that time.


And indeed, the joy of entering the chute was immense. This time, I took the time to hi-5 all the people standing near the chute right from the tip. And all the supporters who didnt mind the sweaty hands stuck theirs out gamely too.


I told my wife that this time, if I were to be on target, I would flex my arms below the clock - just as Craig Alexander had done in 2009.


11:57:42.


And flex I did.

During the run, there was a slogan written for the runners that went something like this: If you cant endure the pain, disappointment will be for another 12 months.


And this was exactly how I felt last year when I finished the race. The brake rub for a good 90km during the ride that resulted in very tired legs and slow speed, made me entered the chute knowing that it would not be a timing that would reflect of how much I had trained.


This year was different. There were no hiccups. Swim went smoothly. Mechanically, the bike held up. The run was just poor running legs and attributed to nobody but my not so athletic body. And it was the best race I could have possibly trained for in the year.


I was anticipating a 12 hr timing something like 1:15, 6, 4:45. But I got more than what I had wanted - a sub 12hour race. And that was good!


Compared to the 42 Singaporeans, I was 5th out of the swim, 5th out of the bike and 8th through the chute. It was unimaginable, however, that I was ranked 705 in the field. And that was not even the 50th percentile! A comfort for myself was: I was the 3rd Singaporean in my age group (of 12 Singaporeans) to complete. And 161 in my age group of 275 participants - also not even 50th percentile.


I wanted to be above 50th percentile but it was not meant to be. The rest of the field were still very much faster than me and my fellow Singaporeans. I think we have much to grow in sports. Perhaps one day it will get better. Not through me of course, but through other sportsmen and sportswomen, who are willing to forgo the material wealth - though now the country seem to be rewarding the golds, silvers and bronzes obtained in sporting games - and put the country on the world map of influence.

Challenge Cairns: Decision Made!

Yes, after much deliberation, I have decided to go with Cairns. Will pass on the Japan race by JTU and definitely skip Busselton next year. Race has been registered. Will come back to settle accomodation. Itinerary has not been planned yet, but should be driving up from Brisbane as I will want my kids to get to the theme parks in Brisbane when we drive back. Yes, 1700km drive one way is going to be quite painful. But split into a couple of days with multiple stops may be a good way to see Queensland. 3 consecutive years in Perth might just be an overload for my family. This is a good chance for a break from the Busso jetty and waters! So Cairns, here I come!

With this registration, it means I will have to skip the Sundown Marathon - registered because of a miscommunication with my boss. Oh well, from the past records, I DNS one race every year. I hope this will be the only one I will DNS in 2011. There are other running races that I will be training for and looking out to take part in - Northface 25km or 50km, Desaru half iron triathlon and Standard Chartered Marathon. And probably skip the rest.

Next year will be an exciting year again! Am so looking forward to it! But between now and next year, BUSSELTON, HERE I COME!!!

Olympic Sized Endless Pool?

Not many people in the world will be to afford an olympic sized swimming pool in their own backyard. So how do some of the triathletes overcome this? The invention of resistance based tub that can fit into a reasonably sized backyard or something. Its called the endless pool. Apparently you can do laps and laps of it.


I dont have one and have never tried it. But I came across something very similar and it was olympic sized! Oh well, it was a public swimming pool and there was resistance somehow in only 1 direction. I blogged about my childhood pool at Queenstown and I was there again today for a 1.5km leisure swim. In W-E direction, I took 27strokes while in the other direction, I took 24 strokes. My usual is about 24-26 one direction. Time wise, I was clocking 58-60s for that W-E direction while total for 100m was 1:53. The undercurrent was definitely there.


Last night I did a 4km swim instead of 6km. I was contemplating for a long time and half hour just before Fringe started, I got into my runners and set out for a run. Took about just over 20min thereabout coz I wanted to get back in time to watch the series. Couple of short surges, as my Coach would say, "to keep the legs alive".


Qantas managed to reduce the number of excess passengers to 3 as of today. I am hoping that this will be gone by tomorrow. In which case there would be no need for me to get up too early on the 2nd Dec.

***

Japan Triathlon Union announced that they would have a race on 19 June 2011. Not sure if this were firm but I am contemplating whether I should take the risk and register for this rather than Challenge Cairns. I have to decide by tomorrow before I fly to WA or I run the risk of having no WA to race for as well - registration opens on 6th December.

***

Packing the bike was a brisk after I confirmed that my seatpost did slip. Took me about 30min I think, to unscrew the parts and slip in all the gear. Everything went into the box except for helmet and trisuits. Last year took a lot longer. With that one time experience, did make things a lot easier. Still going through in my mind if I had left anything behind...

Race Week!

THIS IS IT!


No, it is not Michael Jackson's movie. My only ironman for this year and it is finally here! Preparation started immediately when Ironman Japan announced its race cancellation. Its only my 2nd ironman triathlon. To say that I have no jitters will be a lie. But my preparation has been done. There is nothing much I can do now.


I am packing. And as usual, packing the bike is such a pain. I still need to go back to ELITE tomorrow afternoon to check if my seat post had slipped - which I think it did and I did not notice it. Oh well, the woes of the carbon bike where bolts and nuts cant be over tightened.


Anyway, the main concern now is that my silly Qantas flight is overbooked by 26 people. Airline gave me silly options that were totally ridiculous - either flying up to Hong Kong and down to Australia, or reach Perth at past 11pm on the 2nd by a budget airline! And what I have to do now on 2nd December is to do a physical check in early to ensure that I get confirmed seats on the flight.


Quite frankly, the airline really did not try to resolve the problem amicably and this might just be the last time I will be with Qantas. If I did not get it wrong, they changed the plane to a smaller one and this had resulted in this situation and total no regard that I booked this flight like 6 months before. The best part was, although to my advantage definitely, Singapore Airlines had a similar timed flight that was not full, and yet, not offered to anybody? If an organisation is trying to resolve a problem, should they not be going to all extent and not look only at the cheapest option, when the repute had taken a big hit with the couple of plane incidents the past 3 weeks?


Besides this thing - which actually is a BIG deal to me - everything is falling into place like a jig saw. Rested on Sunday with a sports massage. Today was suppose to swim but played in the pool with my kids instead. Basically chilling out. Decided not to join the squad swim coz I needed to look after the kids. May do a run later. Short 6km. Tomorrow will try to do the swim and clear some work as well.


And continue packing...

Possible Flight Change...

Tapering for the big race did not feel as good last year. I was sick 2 weeks out last year. Pretty sick I believe. this time I was slightly ill but still managed to train. And with better health during the taper, I spent quality and quantity time with the family. With the kids school vacation, it made all things even sweeter.


I received 2 emails over the course of last week. Quantas changed my flight times for both trips. Today, I received a call, requesting that they put me on a different flight with different flight times. As I understood it, they have changed it to a smaller plane and somehow have to shift the passengers around. The only alternative I gave them was an earlier departure but I have yet to confirm with them. I suspect that this was a precautionary measure after the Quantas series of events recently - the A380, the technical problems. Not sure what the outcome is going to be like yet.

***

Did a big swim yesterday. Not quite close to my PB for the 3.8km swim, but a 1:11:37. Suffered from some shoulder ache today. Could be the swim, or my 1st session of yoga last night. And the yoga? An interesting session. Most of the positions I had done before - the stretches, lunge, tree, rest, etc. Pretty basic but good.


Did a 50km bike and 10km run this morning. Weather was not too hot on the bike but heated on the run. Somehow my legs havent been feeling quite fresh. Perhaps it was the week's sessions? Kept both disciplines to ironman pace. Run was manageable and finished it on the hour.


Somehow I have a problem with people whom I dont know drafting me - maybe I am just being a selfish ass. Last week I had a clown who drafted when I was riding at 30kph? Today I had another fella drafting me at 34kph. If I were riding with friends, that would not have been a problem? Or perhaps have the courtesy to ask? I am not sure if there is such a practice? In any case, I chose to drop them by hitting above 45kph. I think they got my point. Of course, my legs burned and HR monitor went crazy. Good training for myself still?

***

Brought my kids to watch Rapunzel: The Tangled Tale in 3D. This is my 1st 3D movie at the cinemas. And seriously, I am not too sure what fanfare is about? It is really not a big deal? Or maybe the cartoon just was not that well done? I saw a 3D movie at Tokyo Disneyland that surpassed this quality. I think I will pass on the technology for a while. So in the mean time, I will take advantage of the relatively low cost LED/LCD televisions in the market, and the declining prices of Blu-Ray movies.

***

Thereafter I caught "I Am Sam" on HBO. An old movie starring Sean Penn and Michelle Pfeiffer.  I remember watching it in the past but could not remember much of the movie. A touching film with top class acting by Penn. And without a doubt, a GREEEEAAAAAAT looking Pfeiffer.


And yes, my wife was sobbing away. Natural reaction from her with tear jerking movies like these.


And to all doing the Standard Chartered Marathon on 5th December? GOD SPEED!

Political Power

I caught the 2nd half of the movie Frost/Nixon on HBO. It was about the interview David Frost had with former US President and the only one who ever resigned, Richard Nixon. The incident was before I was born and covered Nixon's involvement in the Watergate scandal.


A simple google of the Watergate revealed that it was a complex issue that was highly politically driven as well as personally motivated. The shocking part of the interview (perhaps dramatised by the movie - I did not look up for the transcript of the interview) was when Nixon said that as long as it were done by the President, it cannot be considered as illegal. Again, revelations of the abuse of power, this time, with full self awareness.


The power granted by the people to a single individual, or a government, is binding and sometimes blinding. This is but one example. Recently, we hear of Aung San Suu Kyi who has finally been freed from political arrest and how just yesterday, North Korea fired artillery shells at their neighbour, South Korea.


Even in Singapore, scandals among top management in the like of SPH, SLA, not mentioning those who had been entrusted to look after the welfare of charitable and even religious organisations, like NKF - TT Durei, Chief Abbot Ming Yi, and on going investigation of Pastor Kong Hee of City Harvest Church. The education sector had its fair share with the Principal of ACS (Independent) having to step down for "behaving in an inappropriate manner".


I too have the power - the power to make my kids happy with the simplest of things. During this period of taper, I spent more time with my kids who are having vacation. I brought them out at night to enjoy the cool breeze at Changi coastal, and hear the roar of the airplanes taking off. Usually, nights were spent chasing them to bed coz they had to rise early. Last night was a good change and I could see their faces beaming with joy. It was so soothing to see them doze off in the car while on the way back. It is times like these that I appreciate parenthood.


My little one sent me a SMS the day after spending a night at her maternal grandma's place - "Good morning. Rise and shine. Hope that you had a pleasant sleep." - were her exact words. Brings a whole new definition to joy.

***

Last night I did a 10km run. 1st 5km at pace of 5:17 and next 5km at 5:14/km. The start of 3km took a while to warm up to the cadence. Thereafter, it just got better. 53min is still far from my PB but I am not expecting to do a PB all the time. It was a negative split though - just a couple of seconds faster (haha). Hopefully this will go down in time.


Did a 40km bike and 6 km run today at Coastal. Ironman pace for the bike but slightly faster than IM pace on the run: 5:27 for 1st 3km, 5:31 for next 3km. I will have to be realistic. If I can even manage a 6:00/km after 180km bike, I will be getting away with murder. I have done my homework, the rest is up to the elements, nutrition, strategy and execution.

Cairns or Not? That is the question...

Miscommunication with my boss and I thought I would not be able to race next June. So I signed up for Sundown Marathon. After registration, my boss clarified that he was ok with me racing next June! Oh darn! Woes of SMSes! Wasted my registration fees. Aristole said he would take over from me and I am going to hold him to his word!

So yes, almost all set for Challenge Cairns in June. But holding back because I am not sure with 2 weeks gone for reservist in April - yet again - whether it will be detrimental to my training plans.

Or should I give myself more time to prepare for WA 2011 and get stronger for Cairns 2012 instead? Problem is, I will not know which month Cairns 2012 will fall on. If they change the  race month, I will have to race WA again.

Decision, decisions, decisions...

***

Swim felt good on Monday. I was not too far from the fast blokes during the set drills. The last couple of fins sets I was on their feet. Most of the time when I train with the swimming gang, I would trail behind these fast guys buy 15m or more. I think the rest from the not so hard sessions since last week had given my body time to recover for next Sunday's ironman. Just what I needed as well. Spend more time with the kids. This is the time I return the favour to my family.

Last night I joined the Eastern Night Riders for the usual fast and furious 30km ride. There were just 7 of us, one of whom was a young chap who just joined the riding group recently - so I heard since I havent rode with this bunch in a while. For a good part, we were riding constant pace of 40-42kph. The last straight stretch I helped to pull at 46kph for about 300m. Lactate for the legs did not build this time, which was surprising. Could be because I was holding back so that I could last for a longer distance at that speed. For the whole ride, the HR must have been sky high - no HRM last night - and I was breathing really really hard. Overall, a good hard session for the taper.

Gout Attack!

Cousin had his wedding buffet dinner on Saturday. This was the same cousin I went trekking at Annapurna back in 2007. Havent seen him in a while. When he saw me, he said I looked completely different - lost weight and darker. Sounded as if I were a dried up banana...


Gout is the result of high uric acid in the blood which crystallises at the joints. Commonly found below the big toe, I had it there as well as the ankle and this time, by the side of the ball of the feet. Frustrating because walking is a challenge.


Think I had too much protein intake - little beef, some mushrooms. Had gout since Sunday morning - yes, despite that I still ran because I had my medication - silly thing is still around and seemed to be getting a bit worse today. Will let the day pass and see how it goes, controlled with medication of course. If it gets worse, I will have to take a shot from the doctor - I want to be free of it by end of this week. Dont need any tender sensation when I start the race next Sunday. Darn! I was just thinking that it hadnt come in a while, with a much more careful diet. Come to think of it, this is the 1st serious one this year I believe. And not that serious, seriously.

Week 1 to IMWA: Taper Week

I AM BACK! Yup, the lethargy was gone by the time I started on my run just now. Not before I had my sleep in the afternoon though...


For the past 2 days, my sessions saw elevated heart rates. Today's run saw the usual HR for the pace I was running. Did 3 sets of 6km, 1st at 5:29/km, 2nd at 6:09/km and the last at 5:18/km. Had a very slow 3km as warm up - really crawling. In between sets were 500m walk while the last warm down was a 1.5km walk.


It sure felt good to be back again. It had been 1 week of rubbish feeling.


Am I ready to face IMWA? Err... Not quite sure. But I have done my best for the most part of the year and with Coach's guide, I should live to see another year...


This is the last week before race week. Following Thursday I will be gone with my family, down south for my second ironman attempt. And 3rd time to Perth in 3 years. And yes, it will be likely that next year will have to be Cairns. It is time to change to a new place for a holiday.


Planning ahead, A races next year will be AVIVA Singapore 70.3, Challenge Cairns and if still around, Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon.

***

Noticed a hole on the tri suit that I planned to race with. Scouted around and decided on a 2XU. Not much of a choice, it will have to do for now. This week will try it on to see how it functions. If not good, I will bear with the hole on the old suit...

Wonder who sells Rocket Science 20BPM in Singapore. Always liked a white tri suit but it sure is hard to find in Singapore. Will scout and ask around again when I have the time. In the mean time, anything goes...