Yesterday it rained like there is no end and as if the whole island would be drowned. The Desaru ride looked washed out. But Clifford sent out a SMS: See you at the jetty! in the morning and off we went.
Total of 9 of us, Enrico included. I started out first with Tee and Don in the rain - both are training for Norseman 2011. It was a fast ride. Stopped over at a shelter waiting for the rest to come by but who knows they bypassed us using another route. Fortunately, we started out again after 10min. But only managed to catch up with the group about 1.5hrs later. We saw them in the distance while 1hour out from jetty. Caught them just before the uturn point.
Don and Tee pushed off about 300m away from me. Headwind was slowing me down a great deal but still tried to close the gap. When I gained ground, I lost them again when the downslope came. This happened many times throughout the whole 55km ride. It was an undulating - not surprising, after all it was Desaru. Something that we were too familiar with.
30min break at uturn point and we started out back to jetty - again in the rain. The swatting rain got quite painful on certain portions. And it really did get very heavy. But there was no stopping - we were home bound! The front group comprised of myself, Derrick and Tee. The last 10km, Tee got a cramp and it was just me and Derrick. I have never felt so much resistance from the water before. I was meshing my gears and was only moving at 30kph while I parted the endless 'red sea' pond of water on the road. The last 1km or so, Derrick found new fuel from his so called empty tank and zoomed straight on. I fell behind by about 150-200m. The last 7km was pure grit as my legs were already lactating up from the meshing. I didnt want to fall too far behind Derrick and held on. On hind sight, I should not have given him such a big lead when he surged forward. Darn!
The visibility was only 2m while in aero position and no wipers on my spectacles. I must have drunk a lot of rain water, collected from my aerobottle. But still a good ride overall.
Mad? Yes, the 9 of us were crazy enough to take on the Rain God. Fulfilling? Definitely! I will do it with the guys again anytime! Totally enjoyed myself!
Life is half spent before we know what it is. George Herbert, 1593 - 1633
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Saturday, January 29, 2011
SEA Games Record Holder - Rameshon
Thursday was a great weather to run. Did 10km trail in MacRitchie with my female colleague and another mutual friend. We did a conversational run. While resting at the cafe, met Murugiah Rameshon, Singapore's fastest marathonor and one of the coaches in the school scene. Not sure if he is still a national coach.
It was an interesting conversation with him. There were absolutely no airs. He set the SEA Games marathon record of 2:24:22 which still stands today. At age 43 in 2008, he managed to win the race in a time of 2:49:37. And I dont think he had a pacer then.
He told us about how the Kenyans were paid to train and run for the country. S$25 a month back in 2001. That was 10 years ago. But imagine the meagre amount. Not sure how this is compared to their cost of living? Also they had to stay 4 to a room that was really really small. The Kenyans had to be in it for the win because the prize money would be able to give them a good living for the rest of their lives. So yes, it was a means to their survival.
While Singaporeans run to keep healthy.
Sometimes we forget that we do not have to do so much physical work to make a living and yet we lament that we are poor? We need such reminders to shake ourselves up lest we forget how fortunate we are.
Or maybe its just me.
400m warm up, 400m kicks, 50m, 100m, 200m, 300m, 400m and decrease back to 50m in the same order. Followed by 6x50m on the 55s with 200m warm down.
Did my yoga and learnt a few new stretches, one called the Warrior pose, Tiger pose and the inverted V that is the concluding set of lunge-baby-cobra set. Yoga is really stretching much of my muscles that I had never stretched before. Flexibility is still not present but hopefully will come in the near future.
This morning did a 16km trail run, plus another 6 km to get to the trail and back. Coach had put me on a 13km one way but trail was only 8km 1 way - another excuse was that I had Desaru ride tomorrow and had no plans to lose my riding legs.
Well, Lunar New Year holiday is coming. I had better pump in more hard miles before I get fed/fat from the holiday delicacies. Having said that, really, training goes on as usual. There will be no relenting.
It was an interesting conversation with him. There were absolutely no airs. He set the SEA Games marathon record of 2:24:22 which still stands today. At age 43 in 2008, he managed to win the race in a time of 2:49:37. And I dont think he had a pacer then.
He told us about how the Kenyans were paid to train and run for the country. S$25 a month back in 2001. That was 10 years ago. But imagine the meagre amount. Not sure how this is compared to their cost of living? Also they had to stay 4 to a room that was really really small. The Kenyans had to be in it for the win because the prize money would be able to give them a good living for the rest of their lives. So yes, it was a means to their survival.
While Singaporeans run to keep healthy.
Sometimes we forget that we do not have to do so much physical work to make a living and yet we lament that we are poor? We need such reminders to shake ourselves up lest we forget how fortunate we are.
Or maybe its just me.
***
Managed to do my swim on Friday after the downpour. I had thought my training plan would have been flushed away - but alas, the rain stopped. Oh yes, the lazy bug was ever present.400m warm up, 400m kicks, 50m, 100m, 200m, 300m, 400m and decrease back to 50m in the same order. Followed by 6x50m on the 55s with 200m warm down.
Did my yoga and learnt a few new stretches, one called the Warrior pose, Tiger pose and the inverted V that is the concluding set of lunge-baby-cobra set. Yoga is really stretching much of my muscles that I had never stretched before. Flexibility is still not present but hopefully will come in the near future.
This morning did a 16km trail run, plus another 6 km to get to the trail and back. Coach had put me on a 13km one way but trail was only 8km 1 way - another excuse was that I had Desaru ride tomorrow and had no plans to lose my riding legs.
Well, Lunar New Year holiday is coming. I had better pump in more hard miles before I get fed/fat from the holiday delicacies. Having said that, really, training goes on as usual. There will be no relenting.
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
We all know about subprime and how it destroyed couple of financial institutions. We also know about the deficit that US is in already. I am no economist but the beyond the question of doubt, we are heading into some form of economic changes that only the political leaders or even the Fed chief knows about that the layman do not.
Some interesting articles that will serve as food for thought:
http://www.economist.com/node/17730464?story_id=17730464
http://www.economist.com/node/17900268?story_id=17900268
http://www.businessinsider.com/how-hyperinflation-will-happen-in-america-2010-9
Hyperinflation as had happened in Zimbabwe and Brazil and Germany and many other countries around. In the extreme event when the world economy collapes, what then?
I know of some people who are already hoarding physical gold and silver. These had been used as currency in the past, and if things get bad, they may be the only thing recognised for trade. Some had even gotten to the extent of buying land in another country, where they could grow their own produce for subsistence living. And they even have 6mths supply of food stored at home in preparation for the coming unknown.
How far should we take this fear? How prepared do we want to be? Will it happen in our generation? Or will it happen in future generations? Whatever it is, being prepared may just be a precautionary measure for survival in bad times. Can be be overly prepared?
It was a good session despite being thwarted by the weather. It was tough to maintain the sets of heart rates during the trainer session. It would have been better if I had done the 2nd run. It was a good time to train my legs and get them use to running off the bike.
Lets hope the weather holds up tomorrow. Will be doing an easy 10km run in the Macritchie trail. And also looking forward to the 120km Desaru ride on Sunday. Hopefully legs will be fine after the scheduled 26km Macritchie run on Saturday morning.
Some interesting articles that will serve as food for thought:
http://www.economist.com/node/17730464?story_id=17730464
http://www.economist.com/node/17900268?story_id=17900268
http://www.businessinsider.com/how-hyperinflation-will-happen-in-america-2010-9
Hyperinflation as had happened in Zimbabwe and Brazil and Germany and many other countries around. In the extreme event when the world economy collapes, what then?
I know of some people who are already hoarding physical gold and silver. These had been used as currency in the past, and if things get bad, they may be the only thing recognised for trade. Some had even gotten to the extent of buying land in another country, where they could grow their own produce for subsistence living. And they even have 6mths supply of food stored at home in preparation for the coming unknown.
How far should we take this fear? How prepared do we want to be? Will it happen in our generation? Or will it happen in future generations? Whatever it is, being prepared may just be a precautionary measure for survival in bad times. Can be be overly prepared?
***
Today was a day of rain. I was just surprised that there were no news of flooding anywhere yet. Coach had prescribed 45km bike followed by 5km run and another 30km bike followed by 5km run. Due to the rain, I did not get to get onto the road at all. But instead of staying at home and doing nothing, I did 1hr trainer session followed by 5km run (in 24:24) and another hour of trainer thereafter. Had planned to run again but the heavy downpour just stopped me from doing the run again.It was a good session despite being thwarted by the weather. It was tough to maintain the sets of heart rates during the trainer session. It would have been better if I had done the 2nd run. It was a good time to train my legs and get them use to running off the bike.
Lets hope the weather holds up tomorrow. Will be doing an easy 10km run in the Macritchie trail. And also looking forward to the 120km Desaru ride on Sunday. Hopefully legs will be fine after the scheduled 26km Macritchie run on Saturday morning.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
When East Meets West
The latest fan fare about Amy Chua - Tiger Mum's way of bringing up kids. Its pretty amazing how fast the controversy appeared in the Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amy_Chua
East meets west methodologies in raising kids. I take a difference stance on this. Somehow more like I take the best of both worlds. I believe in allowing my kids to explore on their own. I can even sacrifice the academics if need be - dont get me wrong, I still dont allow it since they will end of the day have to go through the system here - but I will want them to have a fulfilling childhood at the same time. Discipline, self motivation and independence is what I try to inculcate in them. It was not an easy teaching them this way. Spent countless times nagging and it required making all a habit and even scheduled. They however understood the good thing behind it - they could do whatever they wanted after they were done with their work. Most of the time spent reading though. No rods in my home. Because the sheer force from me can endanger their lives. However, it doesnt mean sparing the rod - rapping on the palms, buttocks as well as naughty corner. I think the last was the worse for them. Staring at the wall and doing absolutely nothing.
I probably am not the best of parent. Not the best of academic guidance for them. But I like them to have a nice childhood. After all, they are children and need the space and time to run free. Otherwise, when they reach adulthood, it would be a crazy and meaningless corporate rat race. Where will the meaning be then?
Monday's swim included a 1500m time trial. I miscounted with my watch and did 1400m in 24:19 - included slowing down coz the lane was just too crowded. I should be able to maintain the 1:45 for the last 100m and that would put me just outside 26min. Not too bad. It may just be my PB. Not too sure. Splits were about 1:45 per 100m. BUT I got lapped once by Andy! Dammit! And if Jerry had not had his cramps, he would have lapped me too. Thats 2 guys too many... Will try to lessen their lead on me over the course of the year ahead. I dont know how and if even possible, I can only try. After all, I am hoping to improve still. By how much, I wont know. Shouldnt be too much I am sure. After training for a year, I reduced by 4min thereabouts? Swimming is just so technical.
Did 10x300m in the evening today. Told 60year old runner that I would stick to his pace and true to my words I did. Recovery time was much faster this time. Some as short as 1:09. Most of the sets were at 64-65s. But considering that the recovery time had been reduced by 5-10s, I think it was a pretty good time for me. However, my buddy could not recover as fast - he was after all 60 years old! I could have gone slightly faster on the sets. But stuck to my words and didnt abandon the old man.
East meets west methodologies in raising kids. I take a difference stance on this. Somehow more like I take the best of both worlds. I believe in allowing my kids to explore on their own. I can even sacrifice the academics if need be - dont get me wrong, I still dont allow it since they will end of the day have to go through the system here - but I will want them to have a fulfilling childhood at the same time. Discipline, self motivation and independence is what I try to inculcate in them. It was not an easy teaching them this way. Spent countless times nagging and it required making all a habit and even scheduled. They however understood the good thing behind it - they could do whatever they wanted after they were done with their work. Most of the time spent reading though. No rods in my home. Because the sheer force from me can endanger their lives. However, it doesnt mean sparing the rod - rapping on the palms, buttocks as well as naughty corner. I think the last was the worse for them. Staring at the wall and doing absolutely nothing.
I probably am not the best of parent. Not the best of academic guidance for them. But I like them to have a nice childhood. After all, they are children and need the space and time to run free. Otherwise, when they reach adulthood, it would be a crazy and meaningless corporate rat race. Where will the meaning be then?
***
Monday's swim included a 1500m time trial. I miscounted with my watch and did 1400m in 24:19 - included slowing down coz the lane was just too crowded. I should be able to maintain the 1:45 for the last 100m and that would put me just outside 26min. Not too bad. It may just be my PB. Not too sure. Splits were about 1:45 per 100m. BUT I got lapped once by Andy! Dammit! And if Jerry had not had his cramps, he would have lapped me too. Thats 2 guys too many... Will try to lessen their lead on me over the course of the year ahead. I dont know how and if even possible, I can only try. After all, I am hoping to improve still. By how much, I wont know. Shouldnt be too much I am sure. After training for a year, I reduced by 4min thereabouts? Swimming is just so technical.
Did 10x300m in the evening today. Told 60year old runner that I would stick to his pace and true to my words I did. Recovery time was much faster this time. Some as short as 1:09. Most of the sets were at 64-65s. But considering that the recovery time had been reduced by 5-10s, I think it was a pretty good time for me. However, my buddy could not recover as fast - he was after all 60 years old! I could have gone slightly faster on the sets. But stuck to my words and didnt abandon the old man.
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Kids Duathlon!
Despite it being the barest registration bag I have ever come across in my short 2 years of doing multisport races, my kids seemed as if they had good fun attempting their 1st such race this morning.
Speaking of Triathlon Association of Singapore or TAS, it really disgust me to think that with the registration fee that I paid for my 2 kids, they did not get a race tee nor a finisher tee. During the registration, all I received on behalf of them were
1) timing chip with strap
2) number tag
3) stickers for helmet
4) sticker for bike
Ah! Yes! Safety pins to pin the bib number, how could I have forgotten that important thing? Race tee had to be purchased but they did not have size small enough for my girls. And finisher medal - which I half expected my girls not to receive.
Perhaps, I am expecting too much from the kids race. But this was applicable to the adult participants as well. As Enrico said, race pack was as bare as baby's bottom race.
It was a nice turn of event for me - that I am on the supporting role this time while they participate. Since they were on different waves, I had wait and run to bike transition and then to finishing point. Nice and exciting for me too!
Speaking of Triathlon Association of Singapore or TAS, it really disgust me to think that with the registration fee that I paid for my 2 kids, they did not get a race tee nor a finisher tee. During the registration, all I received on behalf of them were
1) timing chip with strap
2) number tag
3) stickers for helmet
4) sticker for bike
Ah! Yes! Safety pins to pin the bib number, how could I have forgotten that important thing? Race tee had to be purchased but they did not have size small enough for my girls. And finisher medal - which I half expected my girls not to receive.
Perhaps, I am expecting too much from the kids race. But this was applicable to the adult participants as well. As Enrico said, race pack was as bare as baby's bottom race.
Anyway, the girls experienced a fraction of what I did with NO preparation. In fact, my younger girl had outgrown her bike but all I did was raise the seat post so that it was more comfortable for her. Soon, she will have to take over the older sister's bike and the latter have to upgrade to 650 wheelset bike. Not too soon coz I am not about to spend too much on their bikes just yet. Maybe will still keep them on MTBs but with slick tyres.
It was a nice turn of event for me - that I am on the supporting role this time while they participate. Since they were on different waves, I had wait and run to bike transition and then to finishing point. Nice and exciting for me too!
***
Had planned to hope on bike trainer on Saturday morning and night. But was ordered to rest my legs by Coach. Even today's run later in the afternoon will be an easy 2km warm up and 5x4km sets with 500m walk in between. So will be taking things easy later and hopefully the legs had regained some of the energy for the upcoming week.#
# Consistent times for the 5 sets of 4km: 23:32, 22:10, 23:06, 22:18 and 21:14. Legs are still tired but were better after the rest on Saturday.
# Consistent times for the 5 sets of 4km: 23:32, 22:10, 23:06, 22:18 and 21:14. Legs are still tired but were better after the rest on Saturday.
Friday, January 21, 2011
Power of Sleep
Got out of the door feeling tired in the evening yesterday. Was suppose to complete an easy 10km run. Started out for 500m, stopped and walked back home. Mentally and probably physically I was exhausted. From work and likely accumulated fatigue from the week's training sessions.
Stayed home for the rest of the evening with my daughter. She kept me company while I caught a nap before dinner. Felt fresh and headed out at night to attempt the run again. Maybe the cool night helped, but mostly the short nap made hell of a difference. Completed the 10km in just under 55min, negative splitted the 2 halves. With the increasing intensity during this base period, I think my body is still trying to adjust. In fact, I have been catching naps in the evenings before I start out for many of the sessions. Even weekends I catch a nap in the afternoons. They make me more refreshed for the rest of the day.
I believe the track work had made a lot of difference in improving my cadence. I found it easier to have a higher turnover on the return 5km last night. Stamina wise I have also improved. Am able to hold the higher speed for a longer distance too. I can only hope that this keeps up. Looking forward to a whole new level of fitness for this year.
Stayed home for the rest of the evening with my daughter. She kept me company while I caught a nap before dinner. Felt fresh and headed out at night to attempt the run again. Maybe the cool night helped, but mostly the short nap made hell of a difference. Completed the 10km in just under 55min, negative splitted the 2 halves. With the increasing intensity during this base period, I think my body is still trying to adjust. In fact, I have been catching naps in the evenings before I start out for many of the sessions. Even weekends I catch a nap in the afternoons. They make me more refreshed for the rest of the day.
I believe the track work had made a lot of difference in improving my cadence. I found it easier to have a higher turnover on the return 5km last night. Stamina wise I have also improved. Am able to hold the higher speed for a longer distance too. I can only hope that this keeps up. Looking forward to a whole new level of fitness for this year.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Dropped Like a Fly...
Have you ever sprayed insecticide and the fly just fell off in midflight? That was exactly what happened to me last night. Got dropped like a freaking fly.
Legs felt tired from the weekend's sessions. Monday night I already felt it. On Tuesday before I left for the ENR session, I had the inkling that I may not be up to mark. Had decided to do bike instead of run coz running mate Andrew would not be running and secondly, thought biking might just be easier on me.
Tomoya was there. Tee calls him Japanese Tsunami. I call him Mr My-Bottom-Bracket-Is-On-Fire. 1st loop I managed to help pull at 46kph on the return. But my legs were fast fading. On the uturn, the blokes made the turn 20m earlier than me. By the time I wanted to catch up, they were speeding away again. My legs were already lactating up. Tee gave chase and caught up but my mind was weak. And so was my body. 20m for me to catch up, I was already going at 36kph and I would have to go up to 40kph to narrow the gap? I was in no state to do so.
And so, I got dropped like a damn dead fly.
The last time I got dropped by the group when I was a few months into training for IMWA 2009. I remember distinctively it was my 1st double session in a day - I did a swim in the afternoon and the bike at night. I lost the legs then. Last night, it happened again. It was so humbling. Feeling was horrible but it just meant I need to get back stronger.
On brighter side, it could also mean that the mid distance run I did on Sunday was really good quality stuff because such fatigue had not really hit me this bad before. Oh well, just to console myself, perhaps. The reality was, I still got dropped.
Today I did a 90km session with probably a 5km run with Andrew. 30km spin, 30km slightly faster, 10km with 200m sprints at every 1km, 10km speed and 10km warm down. Could feel the lactic build up during the 200m sprints again.
The run was a good quality run for me, with Andrew taking it easy, of course. Damn! I was doing just a bit better than 5:30 pace probably and it was a breeze for him. But the master of running has been running for 10 over years. He should have a huge huge base compared to my... 2 yrs... But again, no excuses.
Fatigue has started to seep in after 2 weeks of sessions. It is now a new level of training, yet again. Got to put up with it coz I dont have much time to Cairns.
Legs felt tired from the weekend's sessions. Monday night I already felt it. On Tuesday before I left for the ENR session, I had the inkling that I may not be up to mark. Had decided to do bike instead of run coz running mate Andrew would not be running and secondly, thought biking might just be easier on me.
Tomoya was there. Tee calls him Japanese Tsunami. I call him Mr My-Bottom-Bracket-Is-On-Fire. 1st loop I managed to help pull at 46kph on the return. But my legs were fast fading. On the uturn, the blokes made the turn 20m earlier than me. By the time I wanted to catch up, they were speeding away again. My legs were already lactating up. Tee gave chase and caught up but my mind was weak. And so was my body. 20m for me to catch up, I was already going at 36kph and I would have to go up to 40kph to narrow the gap? I was in no state to do so.
And so, I got dropped like a damn dead fly.
The last time I got dropped by the group when I was a few months into training for IMWA 2009. I remember distinctively it was my 1st double session in a day - I did a swim in the afternoon and the bike at night. I lost the legs then. Last night, it happened again. It was so humbling. Feeling was horrible but it just meant I need to get back stronger.
On brighter side, it could also mean that the mid distance run I did on Sunday was really good quality stuff because such fatigue had not really hit me this bad before. Oh well, just to console myself, perhaps. The reality was, I still got dropped.
Today I did a 90km session with probably a 5km run with Andrew. 30km spin, 30km slightly faster, 10km with 200m sprints at every 1km, 10km speed and 10km warm down. Could feel the lactic build up during the 200m sprints again.
The run was a good quality run for me, with Andrew taking it easy, of course. Damn! I was doing just a bit better than 5:30 pace probably and it was a breeze for him. But the master of running has been running for 10 over years. He should have a huge huge base compared to my... 2 yrs... But again, no excuses.
Fatigue has started to seep in after 2 weeks of sessions. It is now a new level of training, yet again. Got to put up with it coz I dont have much time to Cairns.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Down Memory Lane...
I started taking pictures with a SLR when film was still in use. Bought my personal camera, a Canon EOS500N - oh yes, I still remember the model AND it is still in the dry cabinet - since the late 90s. I remember it was the newer model of the EOS500. And I am still holding on to a manual Canon AE1 with a 50mm lens. Now that is antique. It still works. Passed down from my dad. The last I remembered, the pictures were really crisp and colours were rich. The marvels of film.
The disadvantage with DSLRs is this, there is no hardcopy of the picture for us to turn the pages. And we have thousands of pictures of the family, kids growing up over the few years and the memories are stored in the computer. We were converted to digital since 2003. Of course, it is probably the new standard of viewing pictures as compared to film, but being old school, wife and myself still prefer to physically handle the albums. Somehow it is more nostalgic. I dont know why, but it just is. However, I have to say, it is much more inconvenient to have so many albums lying around.
Over the weekend, however, we were forced to change our bulk all in one laser printer because the paper tray feeder just kept killing more trees. And we changed to coloured printer. It was a good thing coz now we are able to print our pictures that we want to display. But come to think of it, we should change to using the digital photo frame as well. Guess we have to embrace the technology.
I like photoprints. It gives me real knowledge how well the picture was taken. Sometimes the display on the DSLR can be deceiving. Sometimes the computer screen may be deceiving as well. Nothing beats the actual print. In any case, I should be changing the photos at my work station in a while. Pictures were at least 4 years old. Kids were still so young then. And I was still puffed up looking. And wife looked so young and innocent... Well, she still looked young and innocent NOW *sigh... she reads the blog... goto cover my ass*
At 120km I was beginning to fade and I had it coming. By the time I reached 130km I was screaming at myself to push it through the 10km and the 10km spin home was coming. It was a mind over body session. Top it off, did a 4km run which I forced myself to slow down. The weather was great for a workout. Overcast and cooling in fact. Really nice. But probably not ideal to train in with Cairns coming up. The environment will be harsher than the cool weather now.
Sunday did 3km warm up, 3 sets of 6km with 1km walk/jog and final 2km warm down jog back. Coach gave me a really tough 2nd set. I thought I wouldnt be able to make it. I havent done HR of 150-160 on 2nd set before and this was the 1st. Fortunately the terrain was rolling. With that all I needed to do was to speed up slightly and the HR shot up pretty much. So I was saved by the undulating route. Did a good last 2km for the last set but still not a 5min pace on average.
The fatigue was felt during Monday's swim. And when I got back to sleep at night, my wife said my breath was sweet smelling. According to Enrico, it was a sign of lack of carb in the body. And I think it was so too coz I had a slight headache. But I did carb a lot after the swim. Just did a google - ketosis. Not sure if this were the case for last night though. Maybe, maybe not.
The disadvantage with DSLRs is this, there is no hardcopy of the picture for us to turn the pages. And we have thousands of pictures of the family, kids growing up over the few years and the memories are stored in the computer. We were converted to digital since 2003. Of course, it is probably the new standard of viewing pictures as compared to film, but being old school, wife and myself still prefer to physically handle the albums. Somehow it is more nostalgic. I dont know why, but it just is. However, I have to say, it is much more inconvenient to have so many albums lying around.
Over the weekend, however, we were forced to change our bulk all in one laser printer because the paper tray feeder just kept killing more trees. And we changed to coloured printer. It was a good thing coz now we are able to print our pictures that we want to display. But come to think of it, we should change to using the digital photo frame as well. Guess we have to embrace the technology.
I like photoprints. It gives me real knowledge how well the picture was taken. Sometimes the display on the DSLR can be deceiving. Sometimes the computer screen may be deceiving as well. Nothing beats the actual print. In any case, I should be changing the photos at my work station in a while. Pictures were at least 4 years old. Kids were still so young then. And I was still puffed up looking. And wife looked so young and innocent... Well, she still looked young and innocent NOW *sigh... she reads the blog... goto cover my ass*
***
Saturday was adventurous. I was testing the limits. Went out of the flat with 3hours of fuel when the ride was almost 6 hours worth. Spent much time meshing up Faber from Morse Road. Saw another athlete meshing up as well, and he was on the aerobars. My my! A tough workout it must be for him. I was standing and pedaling on some parts. 53-23 chain ring and cog combination was a toughie. Hope it will help build up my legs.At 120km I was beginning to fade and I had it coming. By the time I reached 130km I was screaming at myself to push it through the 10km and the 10km spin home was coming. It was a mind over body session. Top it off, did a 4km run which I forced myself to slow down. The weather was great for a workout. Overcast and cooling in fact. Really nice. But probably not ideal to train in with Cairns coming up. The environment will be harsher than the cool weather now.
Sunday did 3km warm up, 3 sets of 6km with 1km walk/jog and final 2km warm down jog back. Coach gave me a really tough 2nd set. I thought I wouldnt be able to make it. I havent done HR of 150-160 on 2nd set before and this was the 1st. Fortunately the terrain was rolling. With that all I needed to do was to speed up slightly and the HR shot up pretty much. So I was saved by the undulating route. Did a good last 2km for the last set but still not a 5min pace on average.
The fatigue was felt during Monday's swim. And when I got back to sleep at night, my wife said my breath was sweet smelling. According to Enrico, it was a sign of lack of carb in the body. And I think it was so too coz I had a slight headache. But I did carb a lot after the swim. Just did a google - ketosis. Not sure if this were the case for last night though. Maybe, maybe not.
Friday, January 14, 2011
Wet Wet Week
Finally I got to replace my 20inch LCD TV in my bedroom with a 37 inch LED. All of a sudden, catching short snippets before sleeping got easier with better sound and brighter picture. The old one had its screen whitening out and speakers were botched up after 5yrs of usage. Prices of the TVs had really dropped very drastically. I suspect its because of the new influx of 3D ones. But I have decided that I would not be needing one of those. So might as well take advantage of the low prices.
Wednesday was a wet day but fortunately planned to sit on the trainer for 2hours. Had to hide myself in the theatre room to watch a movie as well and when I got out, I didnt realise it was a sauna - and that despite the fan blowing and windows opened. Took a while of ventilation before the heat dissipated. First time ever experienced this.
Thursday was a 12km run. Coach said it would be my recovery day for the week. But it sure was no recovery session. 2km warm up, 4km in 5:12 pace, 4 sets of 500m with 1st 2 were not too fast somehow, 5min pace but the last 2 sets of 500m were sub 4min pace. I think probably because I had to do some slopes for the 1st 2 sets. Whatever the case, I should try to join the MR25 Thursday workouts one of these days. But 4min pace for 5 sets of 1km is really daunting. The 4 sets of 500m had 500m walk as breathers. Felt that the 500m breather was just too short. And this is a recovery run?
I just got back from my 2nd yoga session since last December! Last Friday I forgot about it because of too long an absence by the instructor - she went on a holiday. But the lunge-cobra-plank combination is quite a handful but the stretches on the hammies and inner thighs were really great! I basically rushed through my swim today, skipped the 400m kicks and 200m warm down so that I could get into class on time. Times for the sets were still consistent and its a good sign. Not sure when the times will go down again?
Managed to formally introduce myself to Eve during the Monday swim coz never spoke to her before. She was making a come back to swim-bike-run, or so she said. Hopefully will see her more often. Its nice to see more people swimming on Mondays.
Goto turn in early. Its a 150km bike and 4km run tomorrow...
Wednesday was a wet day but fortunately planned to sit on the trainer for 2hours. Had to hide myself in the theatre room to watch a movie as well and when I got out, I didnt realise it was a sauna - and that despite the fan blowing and windows opened. Took a while of ventilation before the heat dissipated. First time ever experienced this.
Thursday was a 12km run. Coach said it would be my recovery day for the week. But it sure was no recovery session. 2km warm up, 4km in 5:12 pace, 4 sets of 500m with 1st 2 were not too fast somehow, 5min pace but the last 2 sets of 500m were sub 4min pace. I think probably because I had to do some slopes for the 1st 2 sets. Whatever the case, I should try to join the MR25 Thursday workouts one of these days. But 4min pace for 5 sets of 1km is really daunting. The 4 sets of 500m had 500m walk as breathers. Felt that the 500m breather was just too short. And this is a recovery run?
I just got back from my 2nd yoga session since last December! Last Friday I forgot about it because of too long an absence by the instructor - she went on a holiday. But the lunge-cobra-plank combination is quite a handful but the stretches on the hammies and inner thighs were really great! I basically rushed through my swim today, skipped the 400m kicks and 200m warm down so that I could get into class on time. Times for the sets were still consistent and its a good sign. Not sure when the times will go down again?
Managed to formally introduce myself to Eve during the Monday swim coz never spoke to her before. She was making a come back to swim-bike-run, or so she said. Hopefully will see her more often. Its nice to see more people swimming on Mondays.
Goto turn in early. Its a 150km bike and 4km run tomorrow...
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Wet Monday!
What a way to start off Monday swim. It practically rained the whole day. Through the swim session too. All of us were hauled out of the pool for more than half an hour. Dion the coach told us to complete our 1.5km swim on our own. I did 3 sets of 500, with last 2 sets with paddles. However, at the last set, last 100m I didnt manage to complete coz we all got called up again. It was then we decided to call it a day.
Enrico and my friend Andrew got conned by me to attend the session despite the rain, "No lightning, no thunder. All good to go." And another friend, called me on my mobile at 8pm to check whether I was crazy enough to swim still. Obviously, his call went unanswered.
Was I mad to do it? Maybe. But as we all say, if it rains during a race, be it ironman or OD, do we stop? Clearly not, unless the official cancels it? So the mindset should be similar? So many times I have been caught in the rain while riding and I had ran in a drizzle and also caught in heavy rain on a long run. As long as it didnt endanger my life, the session goes on. In any case, I enjoy my sessions and that is what is important. Running in the rain is quite soothing. It is something that I havent done in a long time since I was a kid. My kids love to walk in the rain. I think its good for the soul.
Take a look at Enrico's interview with Deca ironman finisher. 38km swim, 1800km bike and 420km run. What type of discipline during training will it take? What type of mindset is necessary to reach the end point? Strong grit, good strategy and immaculate execution.
Take a look at Enrico's interview with Deca ironman finisher. 38km swim, 1800km bike and 420km run. What type of discipline during training will it take? What type of mindset is necessary to reach the end point? Strong grit, good strategy and immaculate execution.
Today's track work was 3.2km warm up, 10x300m with 100m recovery. Managed to complete mostly in 61-63seconds with 1 set in 64s and last in 59s, followed by 2km warm down. Controlled my pace for the most bit and definitely better than last week. What I set out to do, I managed. 63s is manageable as long as I dont slow down in the final 100m. Painful yes, but I hope to reap the benefits in future runs. The group planned to run 5x1km intervals on Thursdays at 4min/km pace. I am not sure if I should hit 2 hard sessions of run in a week so I will stick to Coach's 12km plan. I will try in future, but not just yet. I will have to be patient.
Had to do something extra on Monday. Woke up at 5 in the morning to do an hour of bike trainer before sending my kids to school and me getting to work. Not sure how long I can keep this up but I can only try. Getting the morning session started was tough as I was still very sleepy. But after the cold cranking, the spin became better. Caught an old season of Oprah Winfrey on Channel 5 while spinning.
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Refreshed and Rejuvenated
The stomach of anger was no more this morning. What a great start to a new week. 2nd for the year!
Rode 90km and ran 4km yesterday in the morning. Ride was good. Did some slopes that I havent done in a while. But sitting position went haywire when I discovered that my seat post had slipped. The marking was gone and adjustment had to be done by gut feel. In the end, I believe the saddle is slightly higher than normal but I carried on. Now, suffering a nagging ache at the shoulder but going off. Hopefully will be gone by tomorrow for the swim.
4km run was at 5:26/km pace. Could feel strain on the inner thighs too at the beginning of the run. Again likely due to the wrong sitting position. Capped it at an easy pace instead of pushing the HR up, remembering that I have the run today.
Met a couple of blokes from the track work this morning while doing the 3x6km. Its the MR25 guys usual long run near McRitchie. I did a 1.5km warm up followed by 5:31, 5:28 and 5:00 pace sets, with 500m walk in between sets. Carb was kept to minimum and could feel the effect setting in during the last set. Fortunately I had reserved the last of 2 bottles of low carb drink to fuel the last set. I knew I was going to need it.
The feel of the run was good. In fact, all the runs had been good so far. It was the same feeling I had just before I went for WA2010. The stamina had been holding up and the legs were not disappointing. And all these despite going on lesser or no carb. I think the season had just started and everything is still fresh and rejuvenated. Let's see what will happen in 1 month's time. By then the fatigue would have set in...
But still, all was good today! Nice!
To hell with assholes...
Rode 90km and ran 4km yesterday in the morning. Ride was good. Did some slopes that I havent done in a while. But sitting position went haywire when I discovered that my seat post had slipped. The marking was gone and adjustment had to be done by gut feel. In the end, I believe the saddle is slightly higher than normal but I carried on. Now, suffering a nagging ache at the shoulder but going off. Hopefully will be gone by tomorrow for the swim.
4km run was at 5:26/km pace. Could feel strain on the inner thighs too at the beginning of the run. Again likely due to the wrong sitting position. Capped it at an easy pace instead of pushing the HR up, remembering that I have the run today.
Met a couple of blokes from the track work this morning while doing the 3x6km. Its the MR25 guys usual long run near McRitchie. I did a 1.5km warm up followed by 5:31, 5:28 and 5:00 pace sets, with 500m walk in between sets. Carb was kept to minimum and could feel the effect setting in during the last set. Fortunately I had reserved the last of 2 bottles of low carb drink to fuel the last set. I knew I was going to need it.
The feel of the run was good. In fact, all the runs had been good so far. It was the same feeling I had just before I went for WA2010. The stamina had been holding up and the legs were not disappointing. And all these despite going on lesser or no carb. I think the season had just started and everything is still fresh and rejuvenated. Let's see what will happen in 1 month's time. By then the fatigue would have set in...
But still, all was good today! Nice!
To hell with assholes...
Saturday, January 8, 2011
Civility
I read with interests with regards to the latest discussion on how some eateries ban children from eating in their premises. I snort at the action with disgust.
Yes, I agree. Some children can tend to be noiser than others. Some parents just do not teach their children the appropriate behaviour. I have seen multitudes of them. Hey, inappropriate behaviour transcends age. Clearly it exists in companies and organisations I just had a disagreement with.
A lady wrote into the forum today: But the logic is irrefutably sound: One rowdy child makes a pair of parents happy while the absence of a noisy brat makes a roomful of diners happy. And this article was entitled: Only way to signal civil consideration.
Whatever happened to tolerance? Is this really civil? And I wonder if this lady were a parent herself. Did she know what implications there will be? It is exactly what I do no believe in - that you will need rules to govern the actions that you take. That in a society like ours, that we will need "fines" to become civil. Where is the common sense that governs our actions? Or is this expectation of mine too much to uphold?
Noisy kids? Why cant you put them in a separate corner of the premise? Or perhaps segregate the dining area? Have we all forgotten that we were all children once? Did we not irritate the people around us with our childlike behaviour in the past, and sometimes even now?
Tolerance. Respect. As the society gets more affluent, these are lost in the woods. What more, these are our Asian values. Looks like I am a thing of the past. But I will still teach my kids my way and what I believe in. And I wonder, am I doing my kids justice? How will they survive in a selfish society like ours now, or theirs then? Perhaps, I should let the new beliefs shape their character so that they can withstand the test of time.
My values and principles that I have so firmly believed in, they have been challenged and had been unwavered till the response I got from an influential organisation and the non discreet disregard of the people around by the general public. Now, tell me, why should I remain civil to the people around me when they cant care less with people around them?
To me, this is THE generation.
DEgeneration.
Yes, I agree. Some children can tend to be noiser than others. Some parents just do not teach their children the appropriate behaviour. I have seen multitudes of them. Hey, inappropriate behaviour transcends age. Clearly it exists in companies and organisations I just had a disagreement with.
A lady wrote into the forum today: But the logic is irrefutably sound: One rowdy child makes a pair of parents happy while the absence of a noisy brat makes a roomful of diners happy. And this article was entitled: Only way to signal civil consideration.
Whatever happened to tolerance? Is this really civil? And I wonder if this lady were a parent herself. Did she know what implications there will be? It is exactly what I do no believe in - that you will need rules to govern the actions that you take. That in a society like ours, that we will need "fines" to become civil. Where is the common sense that governs our actions? Or is this expectation of mine too much to uphold?
Noisy kids? Why cant you put them in a separate corner of the premise? Or perhaps segregate the dining area? Have we all forgotten that we were all children once? Did we not irritate the people around us with our childlike behaviour in the past, and sometimes even now?
Tolerance. Respect. As the society gets more affluent, these are lost in the woods. What more, these are our Asian values. Looks like I am a thing of the past. But I will still teach my kids my way and what I believe in. And I wonder, am I doing my kids justice? How will they survive in a selfish society like ours now, or theirs then? Perhaps, I should let the new beliefs shape their character so that they can withstand the test of time.
My values and principles that I have so firmly believed in, they have been challenged and had been unwavered till the response I got from an influential organisation and the non discreet disregard of the people around by the general public. Now, tell me, why should I remain civil to the people around me when they cant care less with people around them?
To me, this is THE generation.
DEgeneration.
Friday, January 7, 2011
Frustration Turned Disappointment
Civility and road sharing is a lost cause. Cyclists, as much as possible, please ride safe. Your safety rests upon yourselves and yourselves alone. When anything happens to the rider, all the defendent will get is a $800 fine for thinking that a cyclist was a branch and sped away with the bicycle under the carriage, or perhaps a lesson on the Road Traffic Act, "Please note that according to the Road Traffic Act (Chapter 276, Section 140), Road Traffic (Bicycle) Rules, it is stated that “wherever part of the road or a path adjacent to a road has been set aside for the exclusive use of bicycles, no bicycles shall be used on any part of the roadway.” You are advised to adhere to the traffic rules and cycle on the park connector that has a designated cycling path in the future.", completely forgetting that inconsiderate driving constitutes "Failure of a driver in a vehicle emerging from a minor road to give way to vehicles on a major road especially at road junctions and causing vehicles to apply brakes or to slow down".
Frustrated by an email from the Public Affairs from a large organisation, simmered as I did my swim sets and gradually became disappointment. Common sense, empathy, sensibility, consideration just no longer has a place in this new world of ours. Life is treated with such scant respect. I wonder if the organisation would say the same thing to the family of its employee who recently passed away in a cycling accident as well. It really has come to a state that "if nothing happens, we do not correct it" mentality.
If the organisation's mission is to protect the the people, and yet do not treasure the lives of public, how much faith can you put in it? What is the difference from corruption then? Maybe there should be a new definition of corruption?
The 50m sets were tiring. In fact the most tiring of them all for today. But it was all good. Got my lungs feeling really strained.
Tomorrow is a brick session. Hope the weather holds up... And to wake up to a brand new day forgetting all the unpleasant incidents.
Frustrated by an email from the Public Affairs from a large organisation, simmered as I did my swim sets and gradually became disappointment. Common sense, empathy, sensibility, consideration just no longer has a place in this new world of ours. Life is treated with such scant respect. I wonder if the organisation would say the same thing to the family of its employee who recently passed away in a cycling accident as well. It really has come to a state that "if nothing happens, we do not correct it" mentality.
If the organisation's mission is to protect the the people, and yet do not treasure the lives of public, how much faith can you put in it? What is the difference from corruption then? Maybe there should be a new definition of corruption?
***
To a happier topic for myself, good swimming workout today. 400m warm up, 400m kicks, 4x200m, 8x100m, 6x50m on the 55s, 200m breastroke, 6x50m on the 55s and warm down. The 200m sets were completed in the range of 3:20-3:21, 100m in mostly under 1:40 and all the 50m were just under 50s.The 50m sets were tiring. In fact the most tiring of them all for today. But it was all good. Got my lungs feeling really strained.
Tomorrow is a brick session. Hope the weather holds up... And to wake up to a brand new day forgetting all the unpleasant incidents.
Thursday, January 6, 2011
And Yet Another...
How many lives will it take for drivers and road users to recognise the vulnerability of cyclists? The first fatal accident this year and we were not into the 1st week of 2011? Regardless of whose fault it was, the cyclist or the driver, a life lost would mean the loss of somebody's spouse, child or/and parent. In this instance, it was all 3.
I can only say with regret that cyclists though growing in number, it is just not economically viable to widen the roads to fit a cycling lane - after all we do not pay to use the roads, and the notion of saving the environment is not exactly an idea big enough for anybody to care too much, a novel idea more than something to be acted on. And all these despite having witnessed the massive erratic climatic changes, ranging from floods during summer in Queensland Australia and Pakistan, the blizzards in New York and Europe.
Nonetheless, I will continue to ride safely myself and be more aware of the traffic around me.
Cool evening and made it a good time for a run. Warm up 2km, ran 6km and warm down last 2km. Decided to walk the last 900m for the warm down. Kind of disappointed that I did not run too fast for the 6km - only managed a 5:11/km but the HR was on the high Zone 4 for the final 10min. And during that period I was running a sub 5 pace. But just wasnt good enough to reduce the average pace for the full 6km. Although my stomach felt a bit tight but it was no excuse. Perhaps another day.
I can only say with regret that cyclists though growing in number, it is just not economically viable to widen the roads to fit a cycling lane - after all we do not pay to use the roads, and the notion of saving the environment is not exactly an idea big enough for anybody to care too much, a novel idea more than something to be acted on. And all these despite having witnessed the massive erratic climatic changes, ranging from floods during summer in Queensland Australia and Pakistan, the blizzards in New York and Europe.
Nonetheless, I will continue to ride safely myself and be more aware of the traffic around me.
***
Hot afternoon yesterday. So instead of riding out, I chose to ride on the trainer for 1.5hrs. 3 sets of 20min with increasing HR. Tiring but satisfying. I dont think my legs will feel such fatigue on the road unless I pound up the slopes. Was a good quality session. Riding with sets made the session more bearable and the meshing actually took my mind off the boredom. I should do more of such sessions at home. And I could catch a few movies at home too, and definitely safe from the jaws of death on the roads.Cool evening and made it a good time for a run. Warm up 2km, ran 6km and warm down last 2km. Decided to walk the last 900m for the warm down. Kind of disappointed that I did not run too fast for the 6km - only managed a 5:11/km but the HR was on the high Zone 4 for the final 10min. And during that period I was running a sub 5 pace. But just wasnt good enough to reduce the average pace for the full 6km. Although my stomach felt a bit tight but it was no excuse. Perhaps another day.
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
300m Track Work
Tonight's track work was 10x300m with 100m recovery. 61s, 63s, 64s, 66s, 66s, 65s, 68s, 63s, 64s, 58s. Recovery time was 1:20 on the average. Since it was the 1st time I was doing 300m, I wanted to keep it conservative. The key to doing such speed work is to latch on to somebody in front so that there is more motivation to keep pace. I found that the moment I lose the front man by just mere 5m, my mind got a bit lax and simply cruised through. And that was exactly what happened with the 68s lap.
The 60 year old Uncle Lim helped me on the last lap. He paced me and I was forced to hasten the legs cadence. Although I beat him by 1s, seriously, I should be ashamed. I needed a 60 year old man to push me to that pace! There is more to be done definitely and I will try to amp it up next week during the similar work out. Perhaps 64s for all 9 sets and an all out in the last. And this time, there will be no chili sloshing in the stomach - did not learn my lesson and ate Hokkien Mee with chili at 1600 when the run was at 1830. Started with a 3km warm up, followed by a 2km warm down after the sets.
Andrew was really a monster. He clocked 51-53s on average with the last one in 48s I believe. Thereafter he ran another 2x600m with 90s pace with a female sprinter from the institution. But he has been running for more than 10 years - so I console myself...
Last night I met up with my Volvo friends for a meal/supper. Been a while since we met up and it was great fun talking about everything under the sun. And it was then I heard about a story that just made me look at the drivers in Singapore with disgust. Not only are they unsafe and callous, the egos are simply too big for their shoes - or in this instance, for their cars.
Lady friend of mine was driving along and the Clown tried to overtake her but without signalling. And since she was not in the mood to be bullied, refused to let Clown in. And Clown got so close and his front bumper hit friend's rear bumper. Clown's Audi was a total wrecked and my friend's SAAB was perfectly fine - I suppose it was because of the characteristic of the front crumple zone of all cars.
The first statement from the Clown was," You are a lady driver. Why do you drive like that? You should have given way..." Since when did we ever breed such an animal in Singapore? Where has all the education gone to? It is with disdain that I look at such a breed of animals behind the wheels.
Speaking of Audi, I caught National Geographic on Mega Factories that built Audi cars. It was a specific part of the manufacturing of the supercar R8. I could now appreciate why the car cost so much. The car was fully customised by the owner. It takes 4 days to paint the car. For the body works to be immaculate, the worker had to be lint free. Best of all, it was fully assembled by hands. Only the paint job was done by robots and this segment takes up 70% of the power consumption of the whole factory. Incredible!
The 60 year old Uncle Lim helped me on the last lap. He paced me and I was forced to hasten the legs cadence. Although I beat him by 1s, seriously, I should be ashamed. I needed a 60 year old man to push me to that pace! There is more to be done definitely and I will try to amp it up next week during the similar work out. Perhaps 64s for all 9 sets and an all out in the last. And this time, there will be no chili sloshing in the stomach - did not learn my lesson and ate Hokkien Mee with chili at 1600 when the run was at 1830. Started with a 3km warm up, followed by a 2km warm down after the sets.
Andrew was really a monster. He clocked 51-53s on average with the last one in 48s I believe. Thereafter he ran another 2x600m with 90s pace with a female sprinter from the institution. But he has been running for more than 10 years - so I console myself...
***
Last night I met up with my Volvo friends for a meal/supper. Been a while since we met up and it was great fun talking about everything under the sun. And it was then I heard about a story that just made me look at the drivers in Singapore with disgust. Not only are they unsafe and callous, the egos are simply too big for their shoes - or in this instance, for their cars.
Lady friend of mine was driving along and the Clown tried to overtake her but without signalling. And since she was not in the mood to be bullied, refused to let Clown in. And Clown got so close and his front bumper hit friend's rear bumper. Clown's Audi was a total wrecked and my friend's SAAB was perfectly fine - I suppose it was because of the characteristic of the front crumple zone of all cars.
The first statement from the Clown was," You are a lady driver. Why do you drive like that? You should have given way..." Since when did we ever breed such an animal in Singapore? Where has all the education gone to? It is with disdain that I look at such a breed of animals behind the wheels.
Speaking of Audi, I caught National Geographic on Mega Factories that built Audi cars. It was a specific part of the manufacturing of the supercar R8. I could now appreciate why the car cost so much. The car was fully customised by the owner. It takes 4 days to paint the car. For the body works to be immaculate, the worker had to be lint free. Best of all, it was fully assembled by hands. Only the paint job was done by robots and this segment takes up 70% of the power consumption of the whole factory. Incredible!
Looking Back at 2010
How much of 2010 can we remember? Let's have a recall:
1) The Haitian earthquake that shook the world.
2) Oil spill in the Gulf that created a furore by the environmentalists and residents in the nearby region alike. BP's attempt at plugging the leak that finally was successful after a few months.
3) The rescue of the 33 trapped Chilean miners. These miners were indeed fortunate to have been alive. Compared to the New Zealand miners.
4) World Cup 2010 and the birth of vuvuzelas.
5) iPhone 4 revelations - is this really newsworthy? I think it was because it created a new generation of mobile phone capabilities. Just look at the number of applications, also commonly known as APPS, created just for the phone.
Perhaps something closer to home:
1) The inaugural Youth Olympic Games (YOG)
2) The passing on of Mrs Lee Kuan Yew
3) Opening of the 2 casinos, Resort World and Marina Bay Sands.
4) Flash floods that plagued the island, something unheard of for a very long time.
I listed the above with much difficulties. The year past so fast that I could hardly remember what happened in the world and Singapore. I am sure there were many other headlines, financial, economical, political, technological and the like.
Perhaps for 2011, I will want to track more closely of the headlines and events that impact the world in the blog. And at the end of 2011, perhaps I will be able to tag what had happened for the year easier than what I had done above.
Yesterday marked the official start to the whole training season. I have only 2 races for the 1st half of the year - Aviva 70.3 and Challenge Cairns. Deliberately putting in fewer races so that I can focus on training rather than to race this time. Last year, I made the mistake of taking part in couple of more races than I should and that took away time from focusing on certain aspects of the multisport.
Taking 1 week break after December's ironman, and doing only basic sessions throughout the remaining part of 2010 had done me good. I was in no hurry to push up my heart rate and was just ensuring that I am burning bits of whatever I had gained slowly. I suppose this is one way of active recovery that many athletes and coaches talked about. And also, I will be able to keep myself motivated when I make come back. My longest swim was 2km worth, ride was about 100km and run was 20km. Come to think of it, this is like a 70.3 but of course all done on separate days. Heart rates were free to go in any way they liked, sometimes high, sometimes low. In fact, the only time I wore the HRM was during the long run on Sundays. Not even during the bike sessions nor the track work.
With the change I have implemented to the run routine, I hope I will still be able to improve over last year's PBs. Already the swim has improved by a couple of seconds. It remains to be seen whether the bike and run can get any stronger. Coach had already given me the programme for Week 1 of 2011, slowly nudging me towards the real stuff in the next few months.
Andrew did not turn up for the swim session last night because of work. But Enrico did and that was great! I did my part and brought more people to swim with the gang. And hopefully they will benefit as much or even more than what I have experienced for myself. Being fresh from not training long hours over the past few weeks, I did not feel tired from the hour of swim. Unlike in 2009 when I returned to swimming after the ironman race, I remember telling Matthew that I lost my endurance swim strokes. Not forgetting I put on something like 4kg over 1 month, from the over eating fueled by hunger spikes and lack of exercises. This time I put on probably about 1-2kg max. More to be trimmed definitely to get down to 75kg by June. Will try to do more 2 hour runs with less carb and more water as Joe Friel's blog mentioned about training the body to burn fats for fuel by not consuming carbs when training shorter sessions. His definition of shorter sessions were less than 1.5hr swim, 3 hours bike and 2 hours run. Although he mentioned no carbs, I will still include some to ensure that I do not run on an empty tank. Otherwise I will get a chiding from Coach.
Overall, a great start to 2011. Hopefully work schedule will not be too hectic and I will be able to do more quality sessions.
1) The Haitian earthquake that shook the world.
2) Oil spill in the Gulf that created a furore by the environmentalists and residents in the nearby region alike. BP's attempt at plugging the leak that finally was successful after a few months.
3) The rescue of the 33 trapped Chilean miners. These miners were indeed fortunate to have been alive. Compared to the New Zealand miners.
4) World Cup 2010 and the birth of vuvuzelas.
5) iPhone 4 revelations - is this really newsworthy? I think it was because it created a new generation of mobile phone capabilities. Just look at the number of applications, also commonly known as APPS, created just for the phone.
Perhaps something closer to home:
1) The inaugural Youth Olympic Games (YOG)
2) The passing on of Mrs Lee Kuan Yew
3) Opening of the 2 casinos, Resort World and Marina Bay Sands.
4) Flash floods that plagued the island, something unheard of for a very long time.
I listed the above with much difficulties. The year past so fast that I could hardly remember what happened in the world and Singapore. I am sure there were many other headlines, financial, economical, political, technological and the like.
Perhaps for 2011, I will want to track more closely of the headlines and events that impact the world in the blog. And at the end of 2011, perhaps I will be able to tag what had happened for the year easier than what I had done above.
***
Yesterday marked the official start to the whole training season. I have only 2 races for the 1st half of the year - Aviva 70.3 and Challenge Cairns. Deliberately putting in fewer races so that I can focus on training rather than to race this time. Last year, I made the mistake of taking part in couple of more races than I should and that took away time from focusing on certain aspects of the multisport.
Taking 1 week break after December's ironman, and doing only basic sessions throughout the remaining part of 2010 had done me good. I was in no hurry to push up my heart rate and was just ensuring that I am burning bits of whatever I had gained slowly. I suppose this is one way of active recovery that many athletes and coaches talked about. And also, I will be able to keep myself motivated when I make come back. My longest swim was 2km worth, ride was about 100km and run was 20km. Come to think of it, this is like a 70.3 but of course all done on separate days. Heart rates were free to go in any way they liked, sometimes high, sometimes low. In fact, the only time I wore the HRM was during the long run on Sundays. Not even during the bike sessions nor the track work.
With the change I have implemented to the run routine, I hope I will still be able to improve over last year's PBs. Already the swim has improved by a couple of seconds. It remains to be seen whether the bike and run can get any stronger. Coach had already given me the programme for Week 1 of 2011, slowly nudging me towards the real stuff in the next few months.
Andrew did not turn up for the swim session last night because of work. But Enrico did and that was great! I did my part and brought more people to swim with the gang. And hopefully they will benefit as much or even more than what I have experienced for myself. Being fresh from not training long hours over the past few weeks, I did not feel tired from the hour of swim. Unlike in 2009 when I returned to swimming after the ironman race, I remember telling Matthew that I lost my endurance swim strokes. Not forgetting I put on something like 4kg over 1 month, from the over eating fueled by hunger spikes and lack of exercises. This time I put on probably about 1-2kg max. More to be trimmed definitely to get down to 75kg by June. Will try to do more 2 hour runs with less carb and more water as Joe Friel's blog mentioned about training the body to burn fats for fuel by not consuming carbs when training shorter sessions. His definition of shorter sessions were less than 1.5hr swim, 3 hours bike and 2 hours run. Although he mentioned no carbs, I will still include some to ensure that I do not run on an empty tank. Otherwise I will get a chiding from Coach.
Overall, a great start to 2011. Hopefully work schedule will not be too hectic and I will be able to do more quality sessions.
Sunday, January 2, 2011
New Year!
Been quite an eventful new year. To start off 2011, an inconsiderate driver parked the whole car on the pavement, in front of the staircase that led to the lift of my block. Spent 2 minutes to knock sense into the common sense lacking woman and to a point of threatening to call the police before she found her wits to drive the car off.
Thereafter, the police rang my door bell at 12am (2nd Jan). My neighbour saw a stranger who tried to open my door and at the same time appeared to have stolen some shoes - belonging to other neighbours. The case is still pending investigation. But yes, it sure was an exciting start.
Lastly, my younger girl contracted chicken pox. No greater timing than this,when term is just about to start.
Lastly, my younger girl contracted chicken pox. No greater timing than this,when term is just about to start.
So what resolutions am I making for this year? 2 simple ones. First to spend more time with my parents and second, spend more time going through my children's work at night. It is so easy to forget these simple things after a hard day's work and even more overwhelming with the day's training sessions. Hopefully with the 1.5 years of base training I have had, I will not feel so tired after the sessions.
My running friend is training for his first 70.3 race. His weakness is his swim while the other 2 disciplines he will excel in them. Swam with him twice and with my little knowledge, tried to give him some pointers. He will also be joining in the Monday swim to get better, after hearing how much I have improved.
Last Friday, new year's eve, we did a 400m warm up, 500m, 400m, 300m, 200m, 100m and 2 x 50m swim sets.And it is probably confirmed that I have improved after swimming consistently the same timings with 3 sessions. So that is good news definitely!
Was suppose to do a 140km ride on New Years' day but decided to sleep in and spend more time with my family. After all, it will be 2 more days before the official start to a new season for Challenge Cairns. Not much time for that A race. 19 weeks in all only, excluding the 2 weeks of reservist in April that will be a disruption to the training routine.
Today did another 20km jog with just water for hydration. Met my former student on the way back of 1.5km. Chatted along the way as he accompanied me back. Young man did a 3:24 SCSM in 2010! It is great being young is it not? Anyhow, covered the 20km at easy pace again in 2hrs.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)