Getting on...

This morning I received a SMS from a former student. I am not quite sure what she meant by "she did a dialogue session with minister Vivian Balakrishnan". But I suppose she was one of the organisers for the event known as Singaporeans in Conversation 2010.* Its fantastic stuff.


How do I know that I am getting on in life? That I am getting older? Yes, when I get news like these. Just recently, another of my ex student is now teaching in my college. Well, its relief teaching because she has some time to kill while her Uni term is on going. And I remembered she graduated back in 2007 only. Now she is my "colleague". Ah... not forgetting one of the essays written by a silly student. His definition of "elderly" was "people in their 40s". What a bummer! I am quite close to be an "elderly"... My first batch of students, they should be 28 years old now. I know of one who became a father at about age 22. Yup, think it was out of wedlock. Talking about student as colleagues, there is an student who is working in the same compound as me, but in IT support team.


Oh well, yes, I am getting on but life is still looking great for me. I am still able, working and best of all, am racing in ironman races! How much better can it get?


*Clarified with her - she got herself the job as moderator for the session after coming back on vacation from her overseas education.

***

Saturday saw me riding a 100km with ease. No longer felt the fatigue I got from last Saturday's 130km. This was then followed by a 10km which had its distance marked out wrongly by my silly footpod. Did only about 9km in the end I think. Pace was likely to be about 6:00/km or just a tad less. But nonetheless, hot run under the hot sun and humid weather.


Today's 21km time trial was stupendous. Warmed up 1km and started on a high HR 21km run. Coach broke it up to 3x5km and a 6km. I have never gone on these HR for a long distance run before. Today was the 1st. And it came up good. Could have been better but it was still good. Pace of 5:37/km, 5:20/km, 5:13/km and 5:06/km. Took a total of 1:51:45 to finish the run. It is my best so far. I had wanted to go under 2hours and I have achieved it. So all is well and good. However, I know my legs were feeling the heat because HR was just not going on the higher range which Coach had prescribed. But I told myself that as long as I am able to sustain a pace of under 5:30 throughout, I will be satisfied with the achievement.  So yes, all is good.


Enrico does an easy run for 21km in sub 1:45. Now, I wonder when I can ever do that. It is good to have a target in mind? That will keep me working on it. Perhaps in due time, perhaps never. The important thing is that I keep enjoying doing what I am doing. Keeping myself in the pink of health will be all I need to look forward to.

3km Swim Time Trial

This week seems to be a time trial week. Just did a 3km swim in the pool. Felt good actually, after the 400m warm up. Pool was empty and the sky just opened up. Took advantage of it in case the Rain God decides to change his mind.

Was touching the wall under 2 min per 100m. In the end, clocked up a total of 58:04 for the distance. Nice and easy did it. I glide as much as I could at every stroke. Nothing strenuous. End result was pretty decent. Time should be less because I took about 2 seconds to lap the watch. Slow movement I must say.

Was observing my strokes from the faint reflection from the tiles below me. Strokes were entering at shoulder width apart. Arms were pointing to the front. No hurried strokes. Just glide and pull, glide and pull. Consistently touching the wall at about 1:55 per 100m. After a while, the fingers started to go numb. It is the first time I have gone under 60min for a 3km swim though. So that's nice to know.

I have a 21km time trial on Sunday. This is in preparation for Army Half Marathon coming up in 2 weeks. Lets see how it will go, after the 100km bike and 10km run tomorrow morning.

4km Time Trial

Did a 4km warm up before the time trial and 1km warm down thereafter. Was hoping to do a quickie. Perhaps a 4:30/km pace, or maybe even 4:00/km pace. But it was not to be a fairy tale ending. Think I am too old to live in Never Never Land. Clocked an average 4:44/km pace for 4km. 18:57. The legs cadence just could not be increased. I was merely settling myself into a comfortable cadence and letting the leg dictate the speed. Probably the only good thing was that I was gliding more because my cadence was 88rpm. Another consolation may be this: no hyperventilation even after the run and that I could have gone for another 2km maybe, 3km more?

I do know that I was stronger than this before. I had gone on some runs when my return leg of 3km I could be running effortless and the legs still felt good. Maybe it was all the standing during my work today. Though I must stop giving myself excuses.


Disappointed? A tad perhaps because I had higher expectations. But again compared to my past running times, this is way far superior. And I should be satisfied that I have gotten here thus far. A reminder to myself: patience and celebrate every little improvement. Endurance fitness, speed are no instant noodles. It will have to take time to mold and nurture.

Achievement Over Character?

I am an educator. Every year I sit in this little room, discussing who gets which leadership award after a year with student leaders. And every year, we talk about the same thing. Who is better and why? For most, the decisions were unanimous. They were clear cut good leaders, high achievers, students with servant leadership qualities. This is after all a premier school. How much lesser can we expect from them?


Our job is made more interesting when we get some controversial characters. Most of us agree that they are fabulous leaders who did a fantastic job during their term. They were capable, eloquent, charismatic. And we always know, with all these, there is alway a "but". Yes, this has been the case, yet again. The character is lacking. It is something that I hang on to so dearly and I am now beginning to ask myself if I am too old fashioned for the industry?


After all, which company cannot appreciate a worker who can get to their goal, regardless of the ethics? Do the companies not provide subtle benefits in some way or another in order to for the business deal to go through? We all know this happens and still happening, be it government linked or privately owned businesses. They do need people who are are able to work without their conscious being pricked too badly. They do need people who dared to do the work most would avoid.


But at what cost? Does this explained the sprouting of the like of Wee Shu Min and family, and the high profile civil servant who splurged on improving his and family's exquisite culinary skills during an economic crisis?


No doubt, character development comes from home. But we cannot reduce the responsibilities in the schools. However, if we overlook the character flaw and still reward base on achievement, what would the student leader perceive himself or herself to be? That all he/she had done were right and flawless? Good friend and colleague of mine said let the world take care of it and humble him/her. I disagree because if a small problem that is not attended to while in primary school, I am sure will snowball to something bigger in future. No, I am not referring to delinquency but PERHAPS lack of empathy, pride, egocentricity, arrogance? Do we just pass it on and hopefully learn in due time?


Maybe I am just old school training. Perhaps, it is time to evolve. My silly student commented and I quote, "I thought you were one of those traditional teachers..." Dammit! Really? And I thought I was pretty liberated already? And I quote the same friend again, "sometimes in life its all about perceptions".

***

Today was the day I shaved my head in raising awareness and funds for Hair for Hope. My wife said I looked 10 years OLDER. Oh man!...


I felt naked and so susceptible to the phantom stares of people around me - a figment of my own imagination of course. It did strike me to be more conscious and I began to understand why the children will tend to be more withdrawn because they simply looked different from the rest of their peers. I had started on this project because I wanted to help in whatever little way I could. I raised a small sum of $843. [Could have been more if I had gotten help from my wife, which I did not because the card did not have enough space to fill up any more.] But what was more impactful was really the shaving. It was like something that had been with me for along time had been taken away. Although I cannot feel the actual pain  and emotional trauma the children will have to go through, but my heart goes out to them.


Will I do it again? Even if it makes me look 10 years older? Or even tip the UGLY scale even lower? Am afraid it will have to be a resounding YES. And one day, I would love to dedicate an ironman race to them?

Came across this video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gc4HGQHgeFE&feature=related

Look beyond the money making job that he is doing, which we know is highly possible. Let's just assume that he really treasures his life. Should we not be doing the same, and even more?

***

I had my swim today. Even warm up was tiring. Did the 1st 100m and I stopped to take a breather and completed the rest thereafter. I have begun to appreciate why Coach puts me on warm ups all the time. Even just before the race. Especially in swimming, this is very critical because it gets the arms warmed up to doing that motion for half hour (OD tri) to beyond 1hr (ironman swim). It gets better the longer you get into the swim. So, yes. Do that warm up swim before a race and it will do you wonders. Warm up of 400m or so is good.


400m warm up with 400m kicks - standard stuff. 2x400m, 2x200m, 2x100, 12x50m on the 55s and 6x50 combination of no breathing and sighting swim on each lap. All the sets were manageable except for the 12x50m on 55s. I was hitting the wall at 50-52s but only about 6-7 laps I left on the 55s. The rest I took 10s breather before taking off again. And the last 6 laps of sighting swim? They were crazy! Absolutely lung bursting.


Looking back, I started the swim dreading it. But upon completion, the sense of achievement made me elated. May not be my favourite part of training, but I will want to go back into the water again. Yeah. That's what people say a few days later when they finish an ironman too. But when they were at the swim start? "Oh what the hell am I doing here?"

Tri Bike Or Not?

Was doing a routine 100km bike in the afternoon. Weather was scorchingly hot! I swore I could have fainted from the overwhelming heat!


Anyway, I was on the last set of 20km when I met another cyclist on his tri bike. Presumably a triathlete as well? Coz he was wearing tri jersey. At the traffic junction, he asked me. "You did ironman Swiss on this bike? You must have done an ultra ironman."


Admittedly, I said I didnt do the Swiss. But I laughed it off at the last comment. Seriously, what is wrong with doing an ironman with a road bike? My bike is almost tri bike geometry already. I am quite sure it will serve its purpose. Chrissie Wellington did ride the same bike when she did her Kona in 2007?


I have been tempted for the longest time to change to a tri bike since I am more interested in doing triathlons than road riding. Can a tri bike really make me go faster? I am not sure how much faster I can push myself with a tri frame. I doubt it will make that much a difference. Since I am an average age grouper still new to the sport.


Oh well, perhaps another year? Or perhaps 2. I will want my Soloist to see me through a few more ironman. I have sunk in too much money to consider changing to another frame. As I have told my biking friends, my money doesnt grow on trees. The road bike will have to do. In the mean time, just train harder to make myself go faster, in all 3 disciplines.


Run after the 100km bike was great. Started off the 1st km pretty tired from the ride. But thereafter the pace just go better. Averaged the 8km run with 5:38/km pace. Seems like I am settling into a sub 6min/km pace recently. Even the 30km run on Sunday was done at this pace. Thats nice to know. However, the 30km was done without the 3.8km swim and 180km bike ride. I will need to train to bring this pace even further down so that I can do the 6min/km comfortable in the ironman.


There is still time.


I hope.

Childhood School Barber

Back in 1986 when I first got into my secondary school, I was amazed by how big the school was. Up on a hill, 3 long blocks of classrooms, a hall and parade square in between. AND a swimming pool! Compared to my neighbourhood primary school, this was a MAZE! It probably was also the only school with a barber I think?


The shop was tucked away at the back of the swimming pool canteen. All the brats who got into trouble with the discipline master with long hair would be sent there for a nice make over. I remember a cut was worth $2.50. I never got myself there in my 4 years. And thats because it was a hairdo that none of us would have wanted - 4 inch slope on the back and 2 inch slope by the side. I dont think it looks that bad now, but to us then, it was too shameful to be spotted with that unfashionable hairdo.


It has been a while since I had gone back there. However, for the past 2 years, I have been going back there every Sunday because my girls have swimming lessons there. The school has transformed. Oh well, I am sure they would not want to stay the same and not move with the times. The swimming pool had also shifted. And yes, ST Raju, the barber moved with the pool. I even see him attending to customers on Sundays. Now he charged $10 for a haircut. And no, I still did not make use of his service.


In June 2010, he had decided to call it a day. Yes, I think he had been with the school for the longest time. I have no idea how long it had been but he had decided to retire in India. So adios Mr Raju. So to all the ACS boys out there, yup, the man whom we grew up to know as our own barber, has moved on to spend his golden years in his native country. Fare thee well!

***

Morning was spent trudging along the pathment. 5 sets of 6km with 500m walk in between. Started off not too bad, for the 1st 2 sets. On the 3rd set, I knew I was going to hit the wall really soon. The HR just could not be pushed up. The legs just couldnt take up stride. My HR was hovering at very low end of the target set. The route the Mandai was a long and lonely one. The rolling terrain did not make it any more comforting.


The 1st set was more or less a warm up. 2nd set managed a pace of 5:50/km. 3rd set at 5:47/km, 4th set 5:58/km and the last at 6:00/km. Pace was on the decline and it was not good. I really think the 11-23 cassette played a huge role in this because body was fatigued from the shorter than usual ride of 130km. Even with 200km bike, I dont feel this way? It is all good because it will probably means I will be able to get stronger on the easier cassettes I have put on on my 808s. Desaru half ironman distance is coming up. Perhaps it will show an improvement over last year's performance.


Coach just told me that he will want me to a race paced 21km this coming Sunday. Lets see how I will fare. This is in preparation for the Army Half Marathon coming up. This also meant that my bike mileage had been decreased for the week. Should be ok I hope.

Invictus

Invictus

Out of the night that covers me,

Black as the Pit from pole to pole,

I thank whatever gods may be

For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance

I have not winced nor cried aloud.

Under the bludgeonings of chance

My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears

Looms but the Horror of the shade,

And yet the menace of the years

Finds, and shall find, me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,

How charged with punishments the scroll.

I am the master of my fate:

I am the captain of my soul.

William Ernest Henley

Invictus is Latin for unconquerable, undefeated. And it was the same poem that Nelson Mandela held on while he was in prison.

Yup. Caught the movie at home. And the same question I raise was also mentioned in the movie: how can anybody who got imprisoned for 27 years come out of the small cell ready to forgive those who threw him in?

I am sure that the movie was very much sensationalised. Some parts seemed to be out of place too. In all, it was a highly inspirational. I am not sure how far South Africa has gone since the seasonal high in 1995 after beating the All Blacks in their game? Did rugby really unify the country and rewrote history? Maybe I have been too indifferent since I am in this part of the world. I was too young to be too taunted by apartheid then when I was in college.

In the early 1990s, I was in the wave of craze over rugby. I played the game in army and went on to play for the hall while in university. It was quite hard to sustain because I needed a team to play. The moment I left the hostel in pursuit of the degree proper, the exposure got even lesser. But I vaguely remembered that when All Blacks lost that year, I was bemoaning because I was in awe of Jonah Lomu. The man that dominated the field during that time. Big, strong, powerful and fast.

Just what is so inspirational about the movie? The need to have a focus and its amazing power that summons the human spirit to unify at will, and as the King of Pop Michael Jackson sang, "It doesnt matter if you are Black or White." It reminded me of the YOG lukewarm support. Just what will it take to unify Singaporeans? Yes, that's me included. I am not pointing fingers at others, I am pretty much to be blamed as well.

As a young parent, I was taught never to dangle carrots for my kids to study, to do housework, etc. Dangling a carrot is an extrinsic motivation and this will not be ingrained into the character. We should encourage intrinsic motivation instead. So by paying the athletes for every medal they get, has not the focus moved from glory to country of representation, to monetary gains? Tang Howe Liang, our own silver medalist for weight lifting at the 1960 Olympics, I am sure did not have any monetary gains then. So what was his motivation?

The guiding principle for us to do what is right should not be governed by the fears of being fined - ala local campaigns - but to do what is right.

I am the master of my fate: I am the captain of my soul.

What is our motivation in our lives?

***

Did a short 8km run on Thursday evening. Shocked myself that I covered the 1st 4km at pace of 5:03/km and averaged the whole distance at 4:59/km. Was deliberately slowing down too because I told myself not to overstrain and not be able to train for the next few days. I think I could have gone on for a bit further with proper hydration and carb without fatiguing. So that is really nice to know that I have gotten myself to this stage. Also did some bike trainer sets at home later that night. One legged cycling was part of the menu. I must say that was a toughie!

Friday I missed the long distance swim because I was at work till late. Decided to spend some time with the kids at home instead thereafter. A good break!

Today's session saw me through 130km bike and 15km run. I had just put on new cassette for my training wheels. Used to riding 12-25 but now the spanking new 11-23 was energy sapping. Not sure if it was the cassette change. Maybe it was, maybe it wasnt? But legs sure felt the difference. Went on to the run and the HR shot up really high. Which might just be expected. This has been happening very often, especially during races. And somehow, I am not surprised any more. So I tried to keep it down for quite a fair bit of the run. At every slight surge, it would shoot up again. It was highly sensitive. Still I completed the 15km in 1.5hours. That made a pace of 6:00/km thereabouts? Pretty decent considering that I did not think I carbed up too well for the run. A mistake, yet again.

Tomorrow is a 32km run - 5x6km sets with 500m walk in between. Not sure if my legs will recover in time. They just will have to coz the run will start soon...

Youth Olympic Games 2010

It was an inaugural event for the young athletes all over the world. And it was even more so for the country because we are the host for the 1st ever event. But why is it that the support from the locals half hearted, lukewarm or may even be considered as absent? That when a young primary school who chased after the torch relay in the rain with his flip-flops can become a media attention? Was that really THE only portrayal of fervent support for the Game?

I know of many people who just cant be bothered with the event. There are some who even said that it was a waste of tax payers' money. But my thought of the money spent on the event? I think it has placed the country on the world map and recognised by people all over the world. That an island as small as ours is able to pull off an event that is probably 2nd to the Olympics and World Cup itself? The expenditure could be justified because the potential political and economical returns in future may surpass this. I cant be sure of this but even in businesses, branding and publicity accounts for the growth of the company, so why not the YOG?

I have also heard stories about the running of the event from volunteers. Yes, there will be hiccups. Yes, there will be unhappiness. Yes, there will be long hours. Yes, it will be difficult to swallow some of these hard feelings. Most likely, I would be too. Considering that it is such a massive event, the operations and organisational procedures that had gone into the planning must had been hard to do. As a non volunteer, I have the fortune to say that overall, the game seems to have gone on quite smoothly to date. Or at least, it appears to the public?

I have no answer as to why it was such a lukewarm response to the games. Perhaps it was due to the lack of publicity? Perhaps it was the indifference amongst the locals? Perhaps it was because there is a belief that not many local athletes will bring back the medal glory? Perhaps we all have more things to do with our daily lives and could catch the action off the TV broadcast? I myself am not a fervent follower. And it will probably be the same reason many other working adult/parent face. Just that some will have other reasons, like I have my training for ironman to follow.

Or really, is the support lukewarm? Maybe it just appeared to be?

***

Monday's swim session was a disaster. I was lagging behind all the way. Just did not feel up to the sets. Lungs felt like burning up. I can only console myself that I did a very heavy session over the weekend. But I cant use it as an excuse. Basically, my swimming is really not up to mark. The improvement is really marginal compared to my biking and running. I think my technique really needs correction. Who can I go to, besides Sea Monsta? It will mean additional cost and fitting the session into my training schedule. I had contemplated for a while already and yet to act on it. Mainly because I wanted to focus on improving my biking and run. I still have more to go with the other 2 disciplines.

Tuesday was a rain out. Did 50km bike and had to halt. The thunder cracked so loudly behind me as I biked in the rain, the lightning so bright that it lit up 1km radius probably, that I took shelter at the bus stop. Rain did not seem to subside. 30min into it, Colin called me and asked if I wanted a lift - I was emailing while under the shelter and he found out. He works at Tuas and I was near NTU. Half an hour later, I was in his car on the way home. Having rested more than an hour, I figured that it was no point continuing. Might as well go home and get some rest. So that totally blew my 100km bike and 8km run brick session. Darn!

Today was another swim. 400m warm up, 1km time trial, 1x300m, 2x200, 3x100, 6x50m, 100m warm down. Time trial took me 18:45. This was faster than last week's 19:23. And the watch says that my average per lap was about 1:52/100m or something like that. I hope to bring it down further considering that this is just 1km time trial. I need to do the same for 3.8km! How and when am I going to do that??

Patience, my young Padawan, patience. Self talk is eerily schizophrenic I must admit...

MAMIL - Middle Aged Man In Lycra

Came across this article somebody pointed the directions.

Middle Aged Man In Lycra - MAMIL. What a thunder! Hahahahahaha!

***

Caught a glimpse of YOG Opening Ceremony last night. Was a very impressive display of talent and creativity I must say! The creative director did a darn good job. And the amount of money sunk into it to put Singapore on the world map, considering that we did not invest much in infrastructure, S$400m did not seem like a hefty price tag to pay. The amount of time spent in planning a project as big a scale as this must have been quite a mind boggling job, having to ensure that the segmented portions can be seamlessly put together was definitely a herculean task. I sure hope that the closing will be an equivalent or better showcase of the abilities of Singaporeans.


Of course, on the flip side of the coin, the money can be put to humanitarian use as well. I cant say that I do not agree of that. I dont know how this can be reconciled. I guess there can never be black or white, right or wrong. Even shades of grey come in different gradients. It is not right to say there is "them" - the unfortunate and there is "us" - the rest of the world. Oh darn... I am not here to solve the world issues. I can only try to help as much as possible.

***

This morning woke up and the legs felt tired. But this is the usual feeling after every long Saturday outing. Gotten quite used to it already. The good thing was that the weather was very nice - shady and not humid. Started with a 1km warm up followed by 5 sets of 5km with 500m walk between each set, ended with 1km of walk home. Total of 29km run and walk.


Pace was good. Started with 6:21/km and went on to 5:26/km, 5:16/km, 4:54/km and finally 5:00/km. The last 5km I wanted to rev up my heart rate but the legs just couldnt fire any more. Basically was quite trashed up. Still very happy with the run times though, because the legs seemed to be able to take the stress and also getting stronger over time. Hope this will improvement will continue the same course till the end of year for the ironman. Gunning for a personal best for the course.

Encounter with YOG Volunteer

I havent done that many triathlons. But I have learnt to thank the volunteers. They are the ones who made it possible for us to be able to race. As much as possible, I thank them whenever I see them. Even during the IMWA 2009, I spent some time talking and laughing with them, AFTER I had just completed the race and felt completely smashed up. AVIVA in Singapore was slightly more tolerable and I could walk and thank our local blokes.

Today, as I was going about my 200km bike, my route to Coastal took me through a different route, because YOG was having a triathlon at East Coast Park. The cycling track was closed and this blocked the access to Coastal. Conversation with the volunteer went like this:

"So, how do I get to Coastal?"

"I dont know."

"But I need to get to Coastal."

"This road is closed for a race." He peers at my trisuit, my bike and my disc wheel.

"Are you a competitor?"

Yeah right! I am that young to be in YOG. THANKS!

"No."

"Are you representing Singapore?"

Hmm.. Is that a trick question? Matter of fact, probably you can say that I represent the country in the ironman triathlon. My bike even has the Singapore flag. So maybe I should say, "Yes, I am representing Singapore... but I am self funded."

"No."

"Then afraid you cant use this road."

Yes, I know. Clearly I can see that.

"But there are cyclists there." I pointed at the adjacent service road that will also lead to Coastal.

"They are foreigners."

So foreigners can use but I, as a local I cant use? Of course, I did not say that. I think he meant those were the foreign competitors. But looking at them... they seemed kind of old. Hell! I am young enough to be a participant anyway! So those could be competitors. Sure!

"Can I use that road? Is it closed?"

"You can try."

Before I know it, I was on my way to Coastal...

***

After the 200km bike I went for a 4km run at IM pace. Or I hope it was? Managed a 5:45/km pace with deliberate slowing down. Felt quite good I thought. For 120km on the bike I was alright. Managed to complete in 4hours. But Coastal simply killed my legs. The wind was just smashing. Not that strong, but strong enough to get my lactic acid build up so much. Felt like quitting at 140km but pushed on.


The return home during the last 20km somehow got bearable after I downed 2 bottles of coke at the 160km mark. Completed 180km in 6hrs11min and the whole 202km in 7hrs6min. But this included the walk along the beach because of road closure. Not that that made much difference anyway.

***

Thursday I did 400m warm up and 3000m. Worked through the 3000m in 1:00:47. Not that ideal because I was clocking 2:05/100m thereabouts for the last 1500m. Just not that good in the IM swim. Though this is an improvement of about 1:04 I did before.


Friday saw swim sets again. Usual warm ups and 5x100m with 1min rest in between and 20x50m with 10s rest in between each lap. 100m were done under 1:43 while the 50m were done in 55s. The 20 times were really lung bursting. 10s was just too short a rest but it is good for me?

Hair for Hope 2010

College is organising the above for staff and students within the premises on 25 August. I have signed up to be a shavee. Yes, havent had my head shaven since I was enlisted into the army. And it took a darn long time to have it grown back. Now, to support the Children's Cancer Foundation, am doing it again. Just a small step for me for the better good of others. More information about this symbolic move can be found in http://www.hairforhope.org.sg/

I try within my means to help. From the old handicapped buskers, right down to the aunties at hawker centres or the blind at MRT stations selling packets of tissue paper. I use to turn them away or even turn a blind eye when I was younger. But I have gotten over that and understand that not everybody will be as fortunate as I am. This is not about doing good for religious purposes, nor out of sympathy. It is for the sake of humanity. If we dont help, who will?

It serves also as education for my children, that we need to appreciate the things we have and attempt to understand the perspective of those who are not as fortunate. I hope they will learn to have empathy for those around them in future as well.

My Coach just got back from Bangladash on a work trip. He also said the same thing. That we spend millions of dollars in a sport and yet we can give a fraction of that to help the poor? What more can we say, when world leaders themselves could not come with a common consensus who should pay more for the pollution they create in their own countries? Go green indeed!

***

Training today started late. Suppose to have a double session of swim and a run. But due to the rain as well as work, started swim much later than I had wanted to. By the time I got home, I was just too tired to do the run, as much as I wanted to do my intervals.

Swim comprised the usual warm up, main sets of 5x100m, 1km time trial, 3x200m and 12x50m. Somehow the time trial did not go as well. Did a meagre 19:23 which I thought I should have done much better per 100m when I was hitting home 1:45 for 100m for the 100m sets, and 55s for the 50m laps. I think my pulls were not as efficient as they were meant to be. Will have to focus on the arms the next time round.

Family Time on National Day

Did a 2km run with my family today before I continued a 4km thereafter on my own. Seemed like my younger girl had some good running legs. She is light and long legged. Was running under 5min/km for about 200m before slowing down to something she could manage, under 7:30/km for about 1km. Considering that she is only 8, I was pleasantly surprised. And she had no prior training. Her running posture was upright and breathing was not heavy. No shuffling of feet and arms swinging with the same tempo. I am sure she could have gone on if not for me stopping her. My wife and older girl fell behind after 1km. Alright, my wife is not the athletic kind and the older girl has asthma which I hope she will outgrow soon.

Will see how much the young Padawan can develop in future. She is likely too late or to be too talented in this sport, but an exposure will help her with her interests in it. Probably get her to do warm down runs with me soon... I am hesitant to expose her to such pounding of her young knees. Yeah... typical cautious, protective and conservative parent.

My 4km run was under 5:45/min pace. Felt tired from the weekend's hit out I think. Pace felt slow and legs were heavy. Time to rest up for today. Nice... Nope, not doing the Monday's swim with the tri blokes. Its family time!

Thereafter, spent an hour riding with them at East Coast Park. It was a load of rubbish ride. These leisure riders were hogging the whole of the cycling lane and stopping as and when they like WITHOUT much consideration of the cyclists behind. And pedestrians? They were EVERYWHERE. Oh my! As if it was frustrating enough, I had to teach my 2 girls the proper way to bike by being aware of their surroundings so that they can ride safely. High expectations I have I suppose because I ride on the road all the time and always need to be focused and concentrating on traffic conditions. Oh well, they will have to learn and hopefully they will get use to it really soon. Am contemplating putting the older girl on a road bike to bike with me on the road one of these days. That will also teach her mind to tick more as well as being more aware of her surroundings. Nothing beats doing the actual thing and experiencing it first hand.

***

Asked Aristole to get me a generic IM tri top while he was there to do his IM. So that I can wear it during my long runs, but he got me the Switzerland one! Damn! If somebody askes me, I will have to say, "No, I didnt do the IM race there..." That is so sad. The jersey looks damn good though. Really, really nice. The material fits like a second skin and didnt feel the seams even. Havent got the chance to do a long run with it. This coming Sunday will see its 1st outing.

Of late, I have been donning tights for runs above 20km. There is less bouncing from the singlet and definitely reduces any chance of chaffing. Makes me more aware of my running posture and gait as well. Bought a new pair of Newtons from Uncle Chan from Queensway. Likely will have to buy another pair for training for rotation purposes. It will be another 4months of training before WA. Doubt my current shoes will be able to sustain the training.

***

More than 2 years ago I found a hamster, either abandoned or escaped from somebody's flat. Clearly became my children's pet. I told them that I will not be responsible for cleaning up the rodent. It is supposedly to have a 2 year lifespan, so I read from the internet? It had gone past that age. Today, I let it out to run in the flat. Found that its hindlegs did not seem to function normally already? Likely attributed to old age? Perhaps rheumatism? I believe the time will come sooner or later. Sure hope that my kids will learn to handle the grief then. It will be their first contact with death, besides the aquarium fishes that I set up many years back, which I have stopped for a few years already. I liked aquariums, but with my IM training, I just do not have the time to manage so many things. Will like to start again in future, and with proper CO2 system and landscaping then? Maybe...

What is your gold?

Sacrifices are what parents have done for their children. I know I have sacrificed myself a great deal for the family. For so long I had wanted a change in career but the financial commitments and opportunity costs then were so great, and with the financial crisis at the peak at the point I wanted to switch, I had no choice but to continue what I have been doing for more than half a decade, and to date still with my first job.

It is painful to know that I will likely not have other job experiences. But I have gone on to pursue other interests in my life that can be just as fulfilling, if not more. I have come to build friendships that I know will last a while because all of us are of the same mindset. Perhaps, even the same religious moral grounds - I have been a church goer for the past 19 years.

Today' service asked: what is your gold? A podium finish in a race, a new job title or a bigger paycheck?

My gold or goal? Is to know that in all I have done, I have given my best and no possession through ill gotten means. The song entitled "Already Gone" by Kelly Clarkson, if looked at it at face value is about letting a loved one go. I see that it goes beyond what the lyrics says. Perhaps treasuring a friendship is about not saying somethings that you would want to point out. Perhaps, even in the extreme sense, letting a ironman training session go for the sake of the sport so that the road can be further walked.

Stumbled upon this little story:

A group of graduates, highly established in their careers, got together to visit their old university professor. Conversation soon turned into complaints about stress in work and life.

Offering his guests coffee, the professor went to the kitchen and returned with a large pot of coffee and an collection of cups – porcelain, plastic, glass, crystal, some plain looking, some expensive, some exquisite; telling them to help themselves to the coffee.

When all the students had a cup of coffee in hand, the professor said:

“If you noticed, all the nice looking expensive cups were taken up, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones. While it is normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress.

Be assured that the cup itself adds no quality to the coffee. In most cases it is just more expensive and in some cases even hides what we drink. What all of you really wanted was coffee, not the cup, but you consciously went for the best cups… And then you began eying each other’s cups.

Now consider this: Life is the coffee; the jobs, money and position in society are the cups. They are just tools to hold and contain Life, and the type of cup we have does not define, nor change the quality of Life we live.

Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the coffee God has provided us.”
God brews the coffee, not the cups… Enjoy your coffee!

“The happiest people don’t have the best of everything. They just make the best of everything.”

Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly. Leave the rest to God

***

Morning started with a 75km bike followed by a 4km run. Small chain ring for the ride made me kept the cadence going and tire my legs out. Non stop action for almost 3 hours. A bit boring, but helped prevent myself from overtraining. Cant be pushing big miles day in and out.

Run of 4km was tiring and in the searing heat, even at 9am. Maybe the bike took my legs out: ran at 5:23/km pace. Made up for the increase average speed during the last 600m or so with an increased pace to sub 5min/km. Somehow I felt tired. Probably because I relied on Gatorade solely during the bike. Likely carb was insufficient?

Childhood Pool

Queenstown is one of the oldest estate in Singapore. Lived there since I was 1 year old back in 1974. Use to swim at the swimming pool nearby. And the last time I was there? No later than Primary 6, back in 1985. Never been there ever since I started secondary school. Till yesterday. Went for my first session of training for the day there. The place looked the same as 25 years ago. The only change was that the ticketing booth, which is now automated is up the stairs instead of the entrance to the pool. I seem to recall that in the past, they issued slips of coloured paper to provide proof of payment. The other drastic change was that the swimmer going into the pool now is no longer a 12 year old kid... Time has not been as kind to me as to the swimming complex...


Anyway, I did 400m warm up, 400m kicks, 2x400m, 4x200m, 8x100m, 12x50m and warm down. The water seemed to have some current flow? It pushed me sideways out of the lane while I kicked. And seemed to be flowing faster in 1 direction, lengthwise as well. My 50m laps differ by 5s on the average? Maybe its the more than a quarter of century old flowing or filtering system?


The second session was done in the evening. Did a simple 8km run at 5:34/km average pace. The pace seemed to be becoming more and more consistent. I hope it will get faster in due time.

***

Wednesday, I went off on time to train. Knowing fully well that I will be needed because of the event that would take place the next day. I had to go. Otherwise I would be back home really late. Physically I was out there hammering on my 100km ride session, but my mind was on the phone. True enough there were issues but my good pal helped me settled it, but not before I had to answer a few phone calls still. But nothing that crucial nor urgent. After the 100km bike, did an easy 8km run at 5:53/km average pace. And headed home to rest for the event.

***

Today's bike was 40km. My riding friends who usually ride with me on my Saturday long rides - which they dont follow through most of the time because it was just too long for them - abandoned me and went with Joy Riders. They said I was riding too short! Dammit! So much for riding pals! :-)


Riding short because I had to do a 20km run. Run felt good. Coz I botched up the preprogrammed running plan, I decided to abandon the plan and did the last 10km non stop. The last 5km I was hitting HR of 150 and beyond while clocking under 5min/km pace. It was a nice run because it was raining hard and thus cooling for me.


Running has never been so enjoyable before. Use to hate it. But the moment I got over the lethargy and fatigue from runs, I now look forward to hitting the tarmac all the time. Lets hope this keeps up my health as well as sustain me over many more years to come.

Nurturing Champions?

Been a few days since off the blog. Work had been over the top. But its all coming to an end soon. Will get my life back in order really soon.


Read an article in The Straits Times today. It was an interview with Professor Allan Snyder, "Every chump can be a champ". Prof Snyder is some brain scientist with some high credentials under his belt. He recalled the story of how former non-exec chairman of McDonald's Australia, Peter Ritchie, helped the street kids.


... took children off the street and trained them in the basic rules of serving hamburgers. In the process, a number of great leaders of the fast-food giant emerged.


"But then when I asked how the great leaders at McDonald's are identified from a group required only to learn simple rules, Peter said, "Easy, they are the ones who break the rules."


Their tendency to go against the grain also extends to what they want to do.


Prof Synder adds:" They dont want to be doing something that someone else is doing. To them, its no fun playing in that park.


...


"They dont accept the givens in any field. They challenge them; they are non-conventional people.".


...


"I believe we all have the innate potential to be a champion," he says.


"At the end of the day, it is our mindsets that limit our expectations of ourselves and circumscribe our boundaries.


"Ultimately I believe what makes a champion is a champion mindset. And the champion mindset can most definitely be nurtured."


There was a quote that said, "we are who we eat"? I think more apt perhaps, "we are who we think". Certainly echoes Prof Snyder's conclusion. So start thinking like a champion and we will be a champion in our own ways.

***

Sunday was a wet day. Planned to run early in the morning so that I could have some time with my wife while the kids had swimming class in the evening. As it turned out, it was a wash out. In fact, the wash out lasted quite a long time. Had to run in the evening and it was drizzling still.


It was a 26km run, ironman pace. Weather was very cool and the run was not that difficult. However with the legs still fatigued from Saturday's session, they were slightly achy as I started. Was worried that I could not last the whole distance. After all, with this 26km, I would have done a marathon but split over 2 sessions? Not withstanding that I did a 120km bike as well.


Did a check and found that I averaged a 5:59/km pace for the full distance. That was a good thing because I was feeling fine when I stopped. But if I want to run well in the ironman I should be doing better than this?


This week I am missing 2 sessions because of work. Not getting a very high mileage for bike. Coach reminded me that he wants to get me really good on the run so that I could pass those who start to walk at 28km or so. And I totally agree, the run will lead me to the finishing point. Not having runners' legs and much run training prior, I need to get the old legs use to the pounding. Hopefully with more mileage, the speed will slowly etch its way up.


Monday's swim session with the squad was great. Did not feel that my arms were getting hit big time despite the 2 sessions over the weekend. I was constantly touching the feet of several of the faster guys. I think they could have been tired somehow. Had to slow down quite often not to irritate them. Even had to overtake on some laps because I didnt think I would benefit if I continue to slow down my strokes to wait up. Of course, some of the guys protested in jest. One thing is for sure, my kicks are really really slow. The blokes were all powering ahead of me during the kicking set. Darn! I guess I will have to make up with the propulsion from my arms then.


Today's session will be a 100km bike followed by a 8km run. I hope the weather holds up. Will be trying out the disc again. Just for fun anyway. Will be taking it off really soon.