True Love

What Are Words?


Anywhere you are, I am near
Anywhere you go, I'll be there
Anytime you whisper my name, you'll see
How every single promise I keep
Cuz what kind of guy would I be
If I was to leave when you need me most

What are words
If you really don't mean them
When you say them
What are words
If they're only for good times
Then they don't
When it's love
Yeah, you say them out loud
Those words, They never go away
They live on, even when we're gone

And I know an angel was sent just for me
And I know I'm meant to be where I am
And I'm gonna be
Standing right beside her tonight

And I'm gonna be by your side
I would never leave when she needs me most

What are words
If you really don't mean them
When you say them
What are words
If they're only for good times
Then they don't
When it's love
Yeah, you say them out loud
Those words, They never go away
They live on, even when we're gone

Anywhere you are, I am near
Anywhere you go, I'll be there
And I'm gonna be here forever more
Every single promise I keep
Cuz what kind of guy would I be
If I was to leave when you need me most


I'm forever keeping my angel close


I dont really follow American Idol much. But 2011 season, I caught an episode of a touching moment of one guy who stayed with his fiance even though she met with an accident and resulted in her suffering from brain damage(?) Chris Medina never made through one of the preliminaries despite being one of the few talents, but what was more important was his undying love for the woman he proposed to a few years before the accident. Heart warming to see the human spirit at its best.


Lyrics - simplicity at its best.

***

Today started the run early at 0630. Distance of almost 29km completed in 2:46:49. The last 6km was really really tough on the body and mind. Coach told me to keep it at 5:36 pace but no way I was able to keep to that, sadly. Seemed like I am unable to push the pace over long distances. Disappointing session yet again. The plus point was that I kept minding my posture and landing of the feet. To the point that when I stopped at traffic light, I could feel that my core crying out to give way. Hopefully the core had done its work today.

The Future Is Here!

Ever wondered if the finger pressing Head Up Display computer screen that Tom Cruise was browsing through in Minority Report will ever be a reality?


Or a room that automatically dims as you sit down to watch a movie at home, or brightens up on its own when you return home at night? Check this out! It is a reality in the making already! May be in its primitive stage for now, but soon will evolve into probably marketable? Or maybe its already in production?

***

Instead of swimming on Friday, I changed it to Thursday so that I wont have 2 consecutive days of running. Spent about 2 hours in the pool trying to get my swim better. Alternated laps of 50 with fist swim as well as sliding workouts for 10 laps (i.e. 5 each). Followed by 10x100m all under 1:40. 6x50m was suppose to be on the 50s but could only make it for 1st lap of 50m. The rest were about 52s. Somehow something is wrong with the efficiency. This was followed by 4x50m with hard 50m and 50m breast stroke recovery. Maybe I was just fatigued from Sunday's race.

Yesterday's tempo run was strange. I thought I was hitting out good and fast. Felt like a 4:30 pace. But turned out to be just over 5min pace. I suspect that the Polar GPS has computed the distance wrongly and made me run more than the prescribed 5km. Took 26:21. Too long... way too long. Came back very disappointed.


This morning went for a ride with Kin Kok. Did Mandai loops 8 times over. Total mileage of 172km. Was planning to do 10 loops but the weather got into me. Heart rate was too low and I tried to ensure that my powermeter read more than 170W. In fact, I did not even go out for a 4km run after the bike. I hope the Sunday's 70.3 race will start to wear off soon. This week had not been the same and my A race is coming up fast and furious!


 I have concluded that the powermeter is not that accurate. Reason being that it doesnt take into consideration whether I was riding with big chain ring or small. Like I mentioned before, it is probably driven mathematically by elevation, cadence, speed and wind speed somehow. At speeds over 40kph today, the powermeter registered 0W. I dont know why. Would I recommend the iBike system? If budget is a constraint, yes. Its better than nothing. If not and user is into accuracy, then most likely not. For me, it will work just fine.

Running Clinic with Pete Jacobs

I skipped a session with the Monday swim squad. Instead, I paid a token sum to attend an hour's running clinic with professional ironman triathlete Pete Jacobs. In the end, turned out to be almost 2 hours worth of session with him. Pete Jacobs is sponsored by BPM Sports and the company is run by Nicole Gallaghar and her husband here in Singapore.


Frankly, I didnt know who Pete Jacobs was till he competed in Sunday's AVIVA Singapore 70.3. And I didnt know that he did the fastest marathon in Ironman World Championships Kona 2010. All along I thought Craig Alexander did the fastest run time of 2:41:59 then but Pete did it in 2:41:06. 3rd fastest in Kona's history, the record being held by Mark Allen (2:40:04), followed by Dave Scott's 2:41:03. The last 2 since 1989!


Anyway, lessons I learnt much from Pete during the session:


1) Stretching exercises should not comprise of 20s static stretches. He believes that dynamic stretching is more apt because static stretching may tend to overstretch the muscles. The idea of stretching is to allow the muscles to retain its elasticity. This is to prevent any possible injuries from overstretching.


2) We have probably learnt from magazines, books, that while running a marathon, we need to keep our chest up and stand tall and straight. All this while, leaning slightly forward. The landing of the feet should be just under your body so that the pounding is not fully on the knees, thus reducing any possible injuries. Besides this, the landing of the foot should be flat while the body weight on the forefoot. I have been using Newton shoes and with the thick lugs, the landing tends to be solely on the forefoot and not flat. Perhaps it is time to relook at the type of shoes again. Having said this, I think most of us will know this technique of chest out and standing tall. The question is whether I can sustain this posture for the full 42km run when the fatigue set in after 7hours on the road in the ironman. I think it is a matter of reminding ourselves while we train. Maybe it will become habitual after some time? Hopefully not too long, for me.


3) The movement of the arms determine the pace of the strides. If we casually swing our arms back and forth, so will the legs swing leisurely. If we swing really fast and hard, the legs will follow suit. Compare Usain Bolt's 100m sprint. Even top marathoners have the jerking motion and that will have a bearing on the pace. Of course, as age groupers, our movement of the arms will not be as fast as the pros. But if we remember to have a sharp and faster swing, so will the cadence of the legs pick up. And all this while, when the cadence is higher, the landing of the foot will still be under the weight of the body and not ahead. Pete said that the pace is dependent on how fast the leg moved and not the stride. Although I cant seem to understand how the stride will not increase with speed.


4) One of the 1st few things that Pete brought us through was this (without shoes): jumping and landing on the forefeet, we were able to bounce very easily. However, landing on the heels will have a very dead thud that sends all the impact throughout the whole body. 2 things I learnt from this simple exercise, 1 of which Pete explained: the bouncy feeling is because the Archiles Tendon is a very strong instrument that is highly elastic and the 2nd, if we land on the heels, the whole body will become the shock absorber. Which is why the expert says that we should have some form of bounce when we run. Not the exaggerated bounce of up and down, but a more controlled one. In this way, the gliding movement horizontally will be a less concerted effort compared to the lift and push off of the feet.


5) The feet is made up of many fragments of bones, which are built to spread when the soles hit the ground. This works sort of like a shock absorber. The advise is not to tighten the shoes overly tight because it will prevent the bones from spreading and absorb the shock, which will in turn become floor pounding on the feet with no suspension. I suspect this was what happened when I ran with my K-Swiss. Maybe it wasnt the shoes after all? It was just the tight laces?


6) The feet should be on the ground for split second only. This means that the landing should be very light and quick. There should be minimal noise from the feet as we run on the tarmac. Pete looked at my posture and all was good except that there seemed to be a slight noise while running barefoot. I suspect that I was not quick in taking off after the landing? Or maybe I was braking slightly as I landed? I will continue to work on this.


7) Pete suggested running minimalistic. If all the techniques were observed, there will be no need for thickly cushioned shoes. The idea of running barefooted is for us to feel the natural way of running. And heavy cushions take away just that feel that will be important. He recommended racers. And this is not the 1st time I have heard this. The plus point is that racers are cheaper anyway. And I just bought a slightly cushioned shoes (Mizuno Wave Precision 11) after K-Swiss (with some discount, thanks to the Army). DARN!

***

Tuesday I failed to train. And it got me really peeved because I know I was short of time. Reservist training is coming up and that would mean 2 weeks of nothing. I would have to be more creative to come up with ways of training as I did last year. May have to spend the weekends on the bike trainer for longer sessions, work on core muscle groups. But definitely the aerobic fitness is going to suffer. Not sure if I can sneak in some short intense runs somehow?


It is the busy period now at work. For a week or two. Missed my 100km bike session today. Had to keep training session short and did Tuesday's intervals instead. 15min warm up, 2 sets of 6x400m in 1:40 with 2 min rest in between laps and 3min rest between the 2 sets. Completed all 12 laps and warmed down run for 10min. Could feel that the legs were not fully rested. I havent done my spinning session on Monday night as well to loosen up the muscles. 400m were done in 1:33, 1:44, 1:40, 1:39, 1:42, 1:36, 1:39, 1:36, 1:38, 1:39, 1:39 and 1:36. It was not overly stressful. Panting definitely but recovery was under a minute. If I had done with Andrew and the MR25 runners, I was doing 90s over 10 laps of 400m. It was a pity I would not be joining them any more. Having to run with them was stressful but I was sure I benefited over the past 3 months. Oh well, such is life.

AVIVA 70.3 20 March 2011

Yeah. That was my number tag! Didnt strike me till I got my bodymarking done. The volunteer muttered... 7-11... "Thank Heaven for 7-11"?


No pressure was what went through my head. I remembered in 2010, I didnt have any pressure doing the AVIVA 70.3 either. Not that I was confident of the race, but more of calming myself down. My Coach reminded me again that I had done the time training, I would not be any readier and told me to enjoy the race.


I did my warm up swim. On the way back to the shore, I found myself being swept westwards. And pretty strongly as well. So in my head, I was thinking that the swim may not turn out to be too easy. And I was right. According to ironman.com, I came out of the swim in 48:56! I had expected 35-38min! This was just too far off. I had planned to draft Matthew as I told him at the swim start. But the moment the horn went, I lost sight of him. there were so many blokes around. Some breast stroke, some grabbing my body. Past AVIVA had not been like this. I am not sure why this year was so different. Possible reasons were the current, my poor sighting and inability to find somebody to draft at all. I was passing people and people were also passing me. I kept swimming into people, even on the 2nd loop, which really frustrated me. Bad swim was what crossed my mind.


Coach told me to try riding out of T1 with the shoes clipped on. I had practiced it but decided against it to do it during the race because my shoes velcro tend to slip back very easily. Instead of fumbling with the strap while riding, I decided I should just run with my shoes. In any case, the ride out of T1 was a gentle slope, I may lose more seconds trying to put on my shoes instead.


Bike leg was good on the 1st loop. I let the faster riders zoom past. I was already holding speed of 35-38kph on my own. I didnt want to trash my legs. The 2nd leg There was a huge group of riders going at my speed together. I sat on their train and sped along at over 40kph! I had no intention to draft but the suction power was just too strong, and besides, they were going at my speed and I couldnt go any faster nor slower. So I took advantage of that.  Passed Poon when he slowed past the aid station at the start of 3rd loop. But the lead was not for long. He passed me pedaling leisurely. Darn! Clearly not "Muscle Poon" for nothing. And I lost the group on the 3rd loop because there were some of the guys who slowed down and the fast group had zoomed off again. I didnt want or couldnt give chase so for most of the 3rd loop I was on my own, riding at 32-35kph. Hell of a difference compared to the 1st loop because of the wind at different sections.

Photographs by Richard Leong

Photographs by Ng Yong Feng

According to the ironman website athlete tracker, my bike splits were 50:34, 47:56 and 51:55. Total time taken on the bike leg was 2:30:25.


Run was alright. Spent 1:45 in T2. Basically ran at the pace I was most comfortable with at that point in time. I wanted to push it slightly faster but the lack of confidence took control of it. I was afraid that I would not be able to sustain. Had told my wife that I would want to run hard since I had trained so much for it. Clearly didnt take place. I was able to pick up my pace and ran some of the runners down on the 2nd lap, but still not the fast pace which I trained at. As I entered the chute, I still had quite a fair bit in the tank. Possibly a very good pace for my ironman I think. Provided I can still do the same after 180km bike?

Photograph by Adeline Khoo/Alethea Lim

Crossed the line in 1:58:56. Total time taken was 5:23:35.


Among the local athletes, I was
1) ranked 20th of 420 (with 1 female ahead of me)
2) 3rd in my age group of 82 registered athletes (but only 72 took part in the race)


Among the international field, I was
1) ranked 59th of 339 in my age group
2) 266th out of 1538 athletes

Photograph by Richard Leong

This was a vast improvement over my last year's AVIVA, but bearing in mind that the bike leg had changed and the run could have been slightly shorter. I know of people who did not take part in it because of the bike leg which had the Sheares Bridge ride dropped for the 1st time after 5 years of inception of the M Dot event. Regardless, my target of 5.5hrs was met and surpassed. My first race of 2011 and it was good. I can only hope that Challenge Cairns will also be enroute to a good timing.


My family was there, as per past 3 years. And it was nice to see familiar faces in the crowd of people I didnt know. My colleague and friends were there to support the athletes too. I enjoyed the race. Even when my wife forgot to bring the camera to take pictures, I just laughed at her and went off again on the bike. Their presence was good enough for me.


Will I do it again? Why not? As Matthew said, it is not everyday that we will get to do a race at race pace and with all the support - although I hardly made use of the support except the sponges and water to pour on myself. I will do it again.

Fukushima 50

Community Involvement Programme, also know as the CIP, was started in 1997, for the purpose of "educating local students such that they will understand that each and every Singaporean has the role and capability of improving and enhancing our society and community". And "5 Co Curricular Activity (CCA) points would be awarded for 100 hours of CIP activities clocked over the 4 years in secondary school." Reference was taken from here.


Of course, over the course of major refinements, things have evolved, just like any system. But one thing remained the same, the "what is in it for us" mentality still stands: give me the hours of service learning or I will not do it.


Versus Tomoya, my fellow Japanese triathlete's comment on his Facebook status: asking my parents to come to Singapore. My dad says "oh just signed up for a new job. I'm responsible for this job, cant say no." My mum says "I cant leave Japan cos so many people in the north are suffering. I can welcome them to come to our house in Tokyo." I realised its about concerning about others, 1st priority.


I suppose it is out of concern and safety of his parents that Tomoya wanted his parents to fly to Singapore, amidst the chaos and radiation risks from the Fukushima nuclear disaster due to the tsunami and earthquake.


And not forgetting the Fukushima 50. Workers who were volunteers, or were volunteered for this job of continuing the job in the nuclear plant, exposing themselves to the dangers of radiation exposure, so that they could ensure that others may live. The media reported them as nameless, faceless workers, to face death many times over in a day.


I dont think the Japanese are looking out for CIP hours.

***

This had been a good 1 week break from work. Training and spending time with the kids - although for a good more than half was only with 1 kid, while the other was in Beijing on her school's China Immersion Programme (different CIP). Kid just got back and was one tired dude!


Monday's swim was pretty good. Turned out that I could do 100m consistently in 1:25 thereabouts for 3 sets worth. But of course the motivation was that I was chasing the faster blokes. Also learnt to change my stroke slightly - from Jerry, the former national coach for Triathlon Association of Singapore (TAS).


Tuesday was Coach's interval training. 6x800m in 4:20 pace. Managed on track 3:22, 3:25, 3:24, 3:22, 3:21 and 3:19, all under 4:20 pace. Nice!

Wednesday did a 95km bike ride followed by a 4km run. My powermeter, as expected, was blocked by the aerobottle. Power reading was virtually not existent. Decided to get a Topeak bar extender so that the meter can be attached away from the rear of the bottle. More things sticking out of the bike. The bike is just getting heavier and heavier... Well, by 120g this time. It is already heavy as it is now on race day! Darn!


Today did a 8km tempo run at night. Suppose to have done earlier but hunger got the better of me. Very cool night for a good under 5min/km pace. Did the 8km in just under 39min. Very pleased with myself because I know I could have gone on for another 2km or more. So that would have given me an under 50min 10km run. I havent done that for quite a long while already. Since about 19 years ago perhaps?

Calamaties 2011

Barely 3 weeks later after earthquake rocked Christchurch, New Zealand, last Friday saw a tsunami devastating the Miyagi prefecture in Japan. To-date 2000 bodies at Miyagi and more than 10000 unaccounted for. 2011 has not been a good start at all.


What was heartwarming, however, was how the Japanese people came together as a nation and helped as much as they could. Tweeter feeds mentioned about how some unlikely souls came forward with their money to be donated to help those who were affected, how some saved electricity so that more can be used in places that needed it more (I have no idea how this works).


Not forgetting the nuclear plant that is in near crisis. I dont think there is another need for a WWII situation, nor a Chernobyl.


I can only hope that this will come to pass fast and the Japanese will stand on its feet again.

***

Yup. My cheeky girl mimicking the statue at the Congo River exhibits at the Asian Civilisation Museum. The last time we visited a museum was the Egyptian exhibits at the National Museum in 2010 I think? Entrance was free for the both of us and we saw some of the permanent displays as well. After having spent 1.5hrs in there, walked towards the oldest bridge in Singapore, the Cavanagh Bridge. So tempted to take a ride on the trishaw just to let my daughter experience what I enjoyed back in the early 80s. Decided against it because it was drizzling.


A good day out with my girl nonetheless! School holidays are GREAT!

Pampered Feet

Been using Newton shoes since mid 2009. The conversion to that had been smooth and had never looked back. When new, the cushion was very absorbing and they have kept me injury free all these time.


However, I couldnt resist buying a heavily discounted pair of K-Swiss K-Ona Ironman edition shoes (old model) yesterday. Yeah, its one of those that the shop was clearing. Tried them out for the 32km run today. Silly me. Didnt expect the forefoot to get so sore from the pounding. Initially they had a good spongy return. But after 10km, my soles started to feel the bashing. Perhaps they have yet to be seasoned. So yeah, this is not Newtons which I can use on a long run even when new.


End result? 57:26 for 1st 10km, 58:02 for 2nd 10km, 1:02 for 3rd 10km and 11min for the last 2km. Total time was 3:08:16. Worse timing by 2 min since 2 weeks ago. The Lornie Road run was really tough on the legs after 18km. And it rolled for about 2km. With the soles crying out for help, it didnt help to make the situation better. Coach had wanted me to do it in 5:45 pace but it was not meant to be. Missed it by a morbid 4min.


Nope, cant blame the shoes for the lowered performance. I am still not able to go under 3hr for the 32km run. Which means that my marathon will not be under 4hours still. Long way to go...

***

Friday's staff race, yes. Forgot all about it. Really didnt think too much of it because if not for the absence of the fast runners, I wouldnt have podium the run. Came in 2nd in 17:53 for the 4.2km Bedok Reservoir run. The 1st guy was way way too fast, in 14:46. That's a blistering 3:30 pace! New guy from Holland. It was a good run for myself nonetheless. Never expected myself to do a 4:15 pace after all these years and with all the extra baggage (the spare tyres).

***

Last night I visited an old army mate who was teaching in the school where I use to be. He was having a school camp over the weekend. Spoke of his experiences and reminded me of how fortunate I am now. It brought back memories, both nice and not so nice. More of the not so nice though. And I wondered why will any one person want to make the lives of others miserable? What is there to gain? Reminded me of how mafia thrived in fear. End of the day, arent we all employees? Is there really a need to step on another just to get what you want? What is there to gain? Another promotion? For what? A display of power? Or a lack of self esteem?


Maybe my thoughts of work is warped. But I still do my job to the best of my ability and definitely beyond. I do not look for a pat on the shoulder nor monetary gains nor status upgrade. I have gone past that. Just let me do what I enjoy doing. Because if that is even taken away, work would have lost its meaning that is hung by the finest of thread/s.


Have we thought of how we may just be mere puppets in an economic circus ring? We may think we are the puppeteers, but are we? If not us, then who is really running the show?

iBike Pro

My new iBike Pro powermeter has finally arrived from the US! Came in a small box. In it was the computer, speedo and cadence meter, a CD for installation instructions and some printed setting up instructions. Must say it didnt look anything like the high tech looking SRM and Quarq powermeters that measure the power output from the crank, nor the Cycleops Powermeter that measures from the wheel hub. Then again, it is only at a fraction of the cost of the powermeters. What can I expect?


Didnt have much time to fiddle with it. So had to hurriedly get it installed onto the bike and set up the software, which was downloaded from the website. Did some basic set up for the meter and off I went on Saturday to ride with it. Had to do some calibration in the dark at East Coast. Not quite sure if it was set up properly even. But didnt matter then? Just get it over and done with.


Coach prescribed 25km warm up, 3 sets of 30km and a 25km warm down with a 4km run thereafter. The warm down I did was effectively 15km only as I was in a hurry to fetch my family, which I promised. During the 3 sets, I saw that my power output was only in the range of 130-150 and from the charts, the average for the 90km was really 140 Watts. Quite a disappointment I must say. In order for me to generate over 200Watts, I understood of how much effort I needed to put in. It seemed bearable, but how I would run thereafter remained to be seen. In fact, I doubt that I would be very effective in the run, really.


This was the 1st time I have used it in the training. I will need to do more rides to totally understand how my power output is really like. I was still using my Polar watch to track of my heart rate. Hopefully with these 2 tools, I will have a better understanding of my true effort as well as improve my biking splits in future and not blow up my run thereafter.


The iBike system doesnt measure the power output from the stress on the crank, nor the wheel hub. According to the manual, it measures the effort via the windspeed. But as I pedaled along, I think the programming goes beyond just the wind speed, but also from the cadence and speedo as well. And if I were not wrong, the software probably is loaded with statistical data base on the speed, cadence and wind speed and with a true matching power output. If my suspicion is right, then there would have been loads of experiments and data collection done prior to selling the instrument. Yes, the common complaint is that a measure windspeed may not be at all accurate because there could be cross winds or head wind in a ride. But hey, unless I am ready to fork out more than S$5000 SRM or S$2200 Quarq, I will have to live with these inaccurate numbers that may work sufficiently for an average age grouper. And since my silly V2C Cateye speedo had died on me, this doubles up as my speedo too. So, I am buying 2 pieces of equipment for the price of 1 - actually 3 coz it comes with HRM as well. If I subtract the price of the V2C, I would have paid about $500 for the powermeter alone. 


Yes, I can live with inaccurate numbers that can still help me understand my power output at this price.

THULE Modified!

Final modification for my ride - the Thule roof and bike rack! I should have bought them long time ago but I had held it back as I always insisted on cycling from home. But recently, I have been driving to Coastal and do the weekday rides there. The dirty bike been scrapping my wheel arch inside the car, the leather seats, arm rests. Not to mention the dirty chain and chain ring rubbing against the seat. If I continue resting the bike in the rear seats, the indentation would be permanent soon.


The worse part was that my 3 other family members squeezed in the front seat whenever my wife picked me up after a race, or from the jetty. Or ever so often my 2 girls had to squeeze in front when I bring the bike to work. I wouldnt be changing my car for the next 3-4 years or more if possible. So it makes sense to look after the car a bit and not let it age too ungraciously.


What I did notice with the roof rack was the whistling sound from the disrupted airflow by the rack and rails, especially while travelling on the expressways. It will take some time getting use to the new resistance.

***

Tuesday's track session was cancelled as it was a scheduled rest day. Anyway, I might have to stop training with the blokes as I need to get back home earlier from next week onwards. So I will have to get Coach to prescribe interval sessions then. Coach gave me 2x1200m and 4x800m intervals as the replacement. I managed 5:07 and 5:14 for the 1200m, 3:31, 3:24, 3:21 and 3:23 for the 800m runs today. Worked out to be less than 4:30 pace for all sets. I think I will have to make do with training on my own and hopefully be able to improve still. Although the session was still pretty tough but they were not as strenuous when I ran with Andrew and company. However, it will have to do from now on.


Wednesday did a 85km biking session. A few brief moments of heavy rain that made it more comfortable to bike in. And as usual the HR just couldnt come close to the prescribed level. Managed 8x1min sprints to end off the session. Had miscounted and was suppose to do 10. With the rain and wet road, I was pedaling with more caution. Better safe than sorry


Today did a swim instead of tempo run. Because I have a staff cross country race tomorrow at Bedok Reservoir. The fast blokes will not be running. So I am given the chance with a shot at the podium. NICE! Swim consisted of 20x50m (fast 50m 1 way and recover on the return - this was considered as 2 laps of 50m). Thereafter did a 10x50m with 2min recovery and a final 300m warm down. Somehow managed mostly 41s for all the 20m of so called sprints, with a few in 43s and some in 40s. Towards the end, the lungs felt expanded and did not feel as tired. Have no idea why though.

Better Now Than Race Day

Was the only comforting thought I could offer myself after having not finished the planned 180km ride (which I would have done a tad more if I had completed). I had done only 150km and about 10km from Balau and another 40km from Penggarang Jetty.


Sedili ride was the ride the bunch of us ironman triathletes did last year, including Clifford, Matt, Enrico, Prata, Mervyn. It was such a good experience that I had wanted to ride back there again. And when Clifford organised once yesterday, I jumped at the opportunity.


0530 at Mandai Shell and we rode out towardes Causeway. Rode with Bernard, Ping and Matt till the Desaru turn, where 3 of us went on straight and Matt turned into Desaru as he had planned to shorten his training. Short refuel thereafter and met with some of the remaining group 15-20min later. Some of us went straight towards Mersing as we thought that the right into Sedili was the wrong one. 10min later Clifford called me to uturn and use the right turn. By then, Ping, Bernard (the very strong roadie) and Chris had already sped off. For most of the ride, I was riding conservatively as I did not want to burst on the 180km ride, especially with the rolling terrain. So when the 3 sped off, I did not bother to give chase.


After the Sedili village, I was on my own as Conrad stayed behind to accompany a lady riding on her own. I had thought she was very brave to do that. The road was straight with some climbs. The heat was ever present and the road was empty. Absolutely devoid of human beings, with the exception of the few cars that sped by and some constructions littered among the forestry. I was having a good time whizzing through the quiet nature. Nutrition was on the mark and I had enough water even to pour on myself to cool my body down.


But at the 150km mark, the rear tyre fizzled out. Whipped out my spare tube and valve extender. Lo and behold! Both were short ones and could not fit into my 808s! 10min later the whole gang regrouped and tried on the pit stop. Rode for 300m and it fizzled out again. The ride was over.


Hailed some cars and finally one was kind enough to send me to the jetty. And that ended my exciting day. I had thought I would have to walk all the way back coz I spoke little Malay. I was saved by the lady rider, Angeline, who spoke fluent Bahasa Malay. Otherwise I would be stuck there for a long time.


In Arnold Schwarzenegger's infamous words in Terminator, "I'll be back!"

Long Work Week

This week has been a busy week. Couldnt spend enough time on the computer for my own stuff. Thursday worked late too. My colleague commented on Friday morning: it didnt feel as if we left the college. How apt indeed!


Nonetheless, I still managed my training session on Wednesday. Over 94km bike and a 6km run. Last stretch of the bike, Coach prescribed a 10x1min sprints on big chain ring and smallest cog, with 1min recovery spins in between. As I stepped on the pedal to power up the sprint, I could feel the rear wheel lifting off and at the same time traversing left and right. The traction of the tyre just could not take the power generated by the riding combination I suppose. Whats more, I was riding with the disc. Its been a while and likely the disc will make its appearance at AVIVA 70.3 this year. Run was completed in just over 33:43 quite comfortably.


Thursday missed a 4.8km tempo run. Planned to get up on Friday morning to make it up but was just too tired. Friday had a swim. Warm up, 10x50m on 55s and 10 push ups after every lap, 4x200m, 4x100m, 5x50m sprints (managed 2 42s and 3 43s, if these are considered sprints at all?).


Today did a 28km run. Suppose to be done in 5:47 pace but completed in 2:44 instead (and distance unsure too, thanks to the silly GPS that had decided to be inaccurate today. What a pain in the butt!). Started the run early in the morning and heart rate just could not pick up. I knew the pace was way off because I took longer than usual to reach the uturn point. Now I am so tired and hopefully tomorrows 180km to north of Desaru (Sedili) will be fine.

How Will We Live Our Lives?

The old season of China's Got Talent. Armless pianist Liu Wei. What was striking was what he said: he had 2 choices, either die or live an outstanding life. And he chose the latter. He did go on to win the title in 2010.

Yes, how would we choose to live our lives?

***

Havent had the time to remember all the personal best in my sessions. Last Friday I did a 1km swim time 

trial in 17:19, 1st 700m I was hitting home in under 1:45 per 100m, 8th and 9th 100m I did 1:47 and last 100m clocked a 1:46. I think I had been doing 1:47 per 100m in the past consistently for 1500, so this was probably one of the best 1km swim trial. However, I did notice that my strokes seemed to be more destructive coz there were more splashes. The gliding seemed to have gone from my swim recently, just like it did during yesterday's swim session.

Kind of think that my swimming mileage had also decreased compared to last year when I was training for WA. I remembered doing something like 8-9km a week a few times. But I suppose I dont have that much time to do such mileage during this period of work. Will have to live with it.

Today while the track was my 2.4km time trial with my usual track mates. Warm up striding was suppose to be 6 laps of 200m but I stopped at 4 because my legs felt tired already. And that was after I had done 3.2km of slow warm up as well. Time was 10:01. If I had been eligible for IPPT, I would have gotten Gold - assuming that I do not foul up the rest of the fitness stations.

It has been a long time since I did a 2.4km run. The last time was back in 2008 when I was still classified fit  for the army. And my 2.4km time was 11:30, with no speed work training. In fact, my fastest ever when I was in the army was a mere 9:32. Really not that fast compared to my peers and considering that we were training to be PTIs.

10:01, that is a 4:10 pace. My fastest I had ever done since I left the army almost 20 years back.

Best thing was this: my 60 year old mate beat me by 20s.

Oh.... boy!

Can I get faster? I dont know. But with this as a mark, only time will tell if there is any more I can improve.