Run Data

The beauty of technology! Here is this morning's run data from the Garmin Forerunner 50 that I bought recently.

We Are The Reason For Christmas

Night Run

Beauty and the "Cyclops":)

9 years ago, I did a run from MacRitchie Reservoir to top of Bukit Timah Hill with my biathlon buddy, Jason Lee......at NIGHT. It just happened that we were talking and then decided at the spur of the moment to do the run. We were pretty fit at that time preparing for the IVP Games, and we knew that finishing was not a problem. I was also familiar with the route, having done it once during daytime. The only question mark was how we would run in the dark. So armed with army L-torches:), we tackled the run and completed it, and patted ourselves on the back that we were probably the two most "garang" guys of that night!!

9 years on, I did the run again, this time with my wife, Emily, last Sunday night:) I have planned for this run since a month back. I have been running with Emily recently and I know that she is more than capable of doing the run. The only question mark was me. When I set the goal of doing this run a month back, I was still recovering from my knee injury. I wanted to use this run as short term goal for myself to get back to my former running form. I still get some clicking in my knee now, but it only occurs during the first few minutes of a run. I have been making use of my holidays to hit the gym at least twice a week to do some strengthening exercises, and this has been helpful in minimizing some of the clicking. Plus, I have also been slowly ramping up my running distances - I just did a 14k last week with Emily and I know that I can take the distance.

So, armed with a head lamp and a torch, a camelbak filled with Gatorade, a handphone (just in case of emergency), and a camera, off we went on our little adventure. Our LED lights bathed the trail with white light which made it so much easier to see. We were looking out for each other; pointing out exposed roots or rocky areas to each other. There were times when we would hear distant barking and our pace would pick up a bit:)

We left Mac at 8:20pm and reached the top of BT around 9:35pm, a distance of around 13+k.... I think. Though Emily was struggling a bit on the final climb, she made it! and I am very proud of her for completing the run. We were probably the most "garang" couple on the night of 21/12/08! When I first knew her eight years ago, she told me that she "ran around her neighbourhood". Wow! A runner I thought! But I was disappointed when she lasted less than 1.5k on our first run together. But through the years, under my guidance, and her own perseverance and willingness to learn, she has come a long way and has completed triathlons, marathons and was even a running coach for women for a while! I really enjoy spending time with her and I look forward to more adventures with her in the coming new year:)

My other new ride :)

The Planet X is finally built up and ready for some action:) And I am very proud to say that I assembled the whole bike by myself!:) Setting up the whole bike was a totally new experience for me. Though I went to BBI and learnt some bike mechanics from the experts there, knowledge is nothing without practice, and I have had zero practice since I got back. One reason is FEAR. At BBI, I was under the constant supervision of the instructors and my assigned buddy. At home, there is no one to rely on except myself. For a while, I was procrastinating this bike building project as I was afraid that I might fail, that it might be too difficult for me, that I might "malu" myself if the bike didn't work. Well, if you never try, you'll never know, right?

So I plonked some money on a Sram Rival groupset from some internet seller and bought a cheap toolkit from Pricepoint. One of the reasons I chose Sram rather than Campagnolo which I have been using the last eight years is due to cost. It is definitely cheaper to replace a Sram chain compared to a Campy chain, plus I did not have to buy a Campy chain tool that costs $200+, which might be obsolete in a couple of years. Well, whether or not this Sram Rival is going to be as dependable as my previous groupsets remains to be seen.
The first step to the bike build was getting the carbon fork cut.(sorry, no pics) I bought a hacksaw but after reading my notes, realised that I needed a saw with 32 teeth per inch. The one that I bought had only 24. After much hunting in the hardware shops in the Changi area, I finally found a shop near Race Course Rd that sells it. It was easy to saw the fork using a saw guide. It was over in less than a minute!

Installing the Sram components was "quite" easy. The Sram website gave excelent instructions. As I built my bike in the study room, I was able to access instructional videos and documents for the assembly of the various components from the internet.




Next I installed the cassette onto the wheel. The Sram groupset came with a Sram casette. But to my horror, it just did not fit into the Easton wheel! It was only then that I found out the Easton came with a 10 speed only hub that the Sram cassette cannot fit. So, no choice, got to shell out extra money to buy a Shimano cassette for my wheel :(




Once my wheels were installed, I could get on with the rest of the build. I wished I had a workstand, but that would cost more money, so I had to make do with a bike stand. It is not sturdy and I had to squat and bend, but it got the work done.
Here I am tightening the external bottom bracket cups.



The cranks went in next. Now, this one gave quite a bit of problem. The first time I tightened everything and then checked, I found that there was a bit of play (movement) in the crank. Then I took out everything and installed again....still, there was play. Man, I was trying to figure why it was so. Could it be the crank was faulty? You know, when you buy from the internet, it is difficult to get recourse. But after checking the mechanic forums, and putting lots of grease!!, I managed to tighten it properly and there was no play. I wished I had a torque wrench for this job, because I was so very worried that I might tighten too much and strip the threads!!

The brakes were the easist to install. I looked at the bikes in the house and thought that the srams lacked something, but they were alright.





The front derailleur gave me quite a bit of problem. I was supposed to align the outer plate of the derailleur cage with the chain rings, but no matter how I tried to rotate it, it was still angling inwards a bit. It was restricted by the derailleur mount on the frame. Even though I tried pulling at the cage, it would go back to its original position after a while. So in the end, I have to say that I came up with a smart idea of my own - not from the internet or any book. I took a file and filed at the derialleur mount so that my derailleur could angle out a bit more. And it worked!! I was careful not to file off too much otherwise there would be nothing to clamp on!


The shifters and cables went on nicely.

Now, I know that the thicker cables are for the brakes and the thinner ones for the derailleur.






And that the housing has to be cut before the cables are put in! :)






Measuring the housing length for the rear brake.
Yep! Lots of bending and squatting the last couple of days!






Installing the chain with the chain tool.
Did not read the instructions properly, I am one link too short!
But will just stay with it and see how it goes.
Surprisingly, the rear derailleur shifting did not require much tweaking around and has shifted nicely. I have a short ride on the park connector and other than some adjustments to the fd, everything has been great!


So here I am with my finished product.



This was taken on a whim after my trainer ride on my other bike. Seat height measured off old bike. So far, the bike seems to fit nicely. I have mounted the saddle on a middle of the rails position, so there is still plenty of room forward, if need be. This bike has a 76 degree seat angle so I am sititing more forward than I usually do, but it still feels comfortable at the moment. I am actually sitting quite forward (on the front portion of the saddle, like I do on my other bike) I am also pedalling with my head down. Well, I just got to get used to having my head arched upwards more to look at the road. Seat height might be a little high, may need to lower saddle a little.

Well, I can't wait to get my bottle cages and pump and saddlebag fixed, and get it out on the road!

My own set of (motorized) wheels :)

Yes, I have been driving my own car for the last one month. It's a 2 year old second hand Kia Rio that I bought. Why buy a car now? Firstly, I have been commuting to work on my bike for the past 2.5 years and I find that the traffic in the mornings is getting increasingly heavier and crazier. Honestly, I fear for my own safety at times and I do not want to end up injured or crippled and then Emily has to take care of me.

Secondly, I had a knee injury in the middle of the year. One of the reasons is probably because I was exercising too hard all the time and not giving my legs enough time to recover. It also does not help that almost every morning, I have to ride really hard from the serangoon fire station onwards till bendemeer primary in order to stay out of trouble. Hopefully, with the car, I will be able to recover more and train better :)

And of course, I want Emily to be comfortable and see different places with her. I have come to the point where I am getting sick and tired of always going to the same places to eat or relax. It does not help that taxi fares are now so expensive; it costs on average $8 to move anywhere!!

The last month has simply been great! I love the convenience that driving gives me. Moreover, my dad just had Total Knee Replacement surgery(more on that another day), so the car has been useful in ferrying him for his physio and dressing replacement sessions. I have also become Emily's chauffeur, fetching her to and from school most days:) I was also able to squeeze in a swim on some of the mornings when I had to go to school. Last Saturday night, I even drove the car through the Bukit Brown cemetery with Emily just for fun!

Well, I had a brief scare less than 1 week into driving my new car. Through my own carelessness and lack of familiarity with some roads, I actually drove past a traffic light just as it turned red! And that junction had a red light camera! I was worried sick because if caught driving through a red light, I can get fined $200 and get 12 demerit points. As a driver on probation, I can only accumulate 13 points in a year. Any more than that and my driving license will have to be revoked! There was really nothing I could do except pray and hope that the camera did not capture my offense. I checked my letterbox, the traffic police website and the LTA website everyday for the last one month, and I am really glad to say that NO, my offense was not captured! It's a good lesson learnt though, and now, I am more cautious approaching traffic junctions.

Ironman Inspiration

Thanks Youtube:)

In Memory of Heroes

It rained in the morning, but that did not stop people from turning up.
My cadets. In the background, names of soldiers who perished during the War.

Last Sunday, I accompanied four of my NCC cadets to the Memorial Day event for Commonwealth soldiers who died during WWII at the Kranji War Memorial. Though I have seen this sort of events on TV before, I have never been to one in person, and I went away from the event feeling moved and touched by the whole experience.

The Memorial event was a solemn one, attended by diplomats and military attaches from other Commonwealth countries. There was also a sizeable number from the various CCA groups, and despite the rain earlier, it was a good turnout. I got to listen to the most beautiful singing ever, by the choir from the Tanglin Trust School. Their sweet angelic voices was a perfect compliment to the event. My eyes welled up a few times (I was trying to control myself lest my cadets saw it) as I sang 'Amazing Grace' softly along with the choir.

One of the hymns that the choir sang was 'I vow to thee my country'. As a child, this was a hymn that I looked forward to singing in church everytime during National Day, but I have not been singing the last few years as I am now in a different church. I have never given much thought to the lyrics of the hymn before but as the choir sang, I sang along too and I finally understood the meaning of the lyrics. These soldiers buried in the cemetery had made the ultimate sacrifice for their country by laying down their lives, no questions asked. They have died so that we can have the life that we have now.

We must never forget that.


I Vow To Thee My Country Hymn
I vow to thee, my country
All earthly things above
Entire and whole and perfect
The service of my love

The love that asks no questions
The love that stands the test
That lays upon the alter
The dearst and the best

The love that never falters
The love that pays the price
The love that makes undaunted
The final sacrifice

And there's another country
I've heard of long ago
Most dear to them that love her
Most great to them I know

We may not count her armies
We may not see her King
Her fortress is a faithful heart
Her pride is suffering

And soul by soul and silently
Her shining bounds increase
And her ways are ways of gentleness
And all her paths are peace

It's My Life

acoustic version.....AWESOME!

October 14

October 14 is a day that is as important to me as my birthday, my wife's birthday or my wedding anniversary. It is a day that marks my one and only participation at the Hawaii Ironman Triathlon.

My love affair with the Ironman Triathlon started when I was in Sec.3. I was browsing through 'Bicycling Guide' magazine at a bookstore when I came across this article on Mark Allen, who was the reigning Hawaii winner at that time. I was immediately impressed when I found out about the distance of the Ironman Triathlon - 3.8k swim, 180k bike and 42.2k run. I was full of admiration for Mark Allen when I read about how he was racing to the finish; not struggling like most people do, but posting very fast times for all 3 segments! He immediately became my first sports idol - the one I imagine myself to be when I was out running. I wanted to be like him; lean, muscular, fast and wearing all those cool sportswear. At that very young age, I was intrigued by the distance and knew that I would do an Ironman one day when I grow up. I don't know why, but I just knew!


The magazine article that started it all. The pic of Mark Allen and Dave Scott racing side by side in 1989 with their lean bodies and steely determination is a constant inspiration!

It also didn't help that when I was in JC, I managed to catch the 1993 Hawaii Ironman on TV, and I had it recorded down on tape. That video became my source of entertainment throughout college:) When I was down with chicken pox early in JC2, I was really happy because I basically sat at home and watched the 1hr20min broadcast everyday for 2 weeks! Up till this day, I still watch the annual Ironman broadcast by NBC. Some people may criticize NBC for over-glamourizing the sport, but I simply love the broadcast! It has provided me with many an inspiration for my workouts, and those videos have played a major role in shaping my beliefs and attitudes throughout my growing years.

With the Ironman goal in mind, I spent the latter half of my teenage years running. I ran-walked my first marathon after my O levels, and thereafter, completed the annual Singapore marathon every year till 1997. I became a member of MR25, and was in the company of other like-minded runners. I began to experience the joy of running on the trails at MacRitchie and around the Central Catchment Area. I really enjoyed running because it allowed me to experience nature up close and at the same time, all my troubles just seemed to go away when I ran. I loved the effortless running that kicks in when the body gets warmed up.

But when did the swimming and biking come in? Well, with my officer pay during NS, I saved and bought a TREK 2100 road bike and started riding on the roads. I had no one to guide me. I would wake up really early in the mornings and ride while the traffic was light. I taught myself how to use clipless pedals and change gears, and ride defensively. Honestly, what you see now is the product of many years of trial and error.

In my first year in NUS, I did the NUS tri and came in third in the closed category. I did the entire swim using breast stroke! Thankfully, one of my friends introduced me to the NUS Biathlon team. The team coach was Kua Harn Wei, who is now an accomplished ultra-distance triathlete. He was the one who taught me how to schedule my workouts and how to swim front crawl properly using Total Immersion techniques. With my improved swimming and running, I began to take part in more triathlons.

I finally realised my dream of doing the Ironman in 1999. That was in Lake Taupo, New Zealand. My parents and my brother chipped in for my trip. My dad has always been supportive of my athletic endeavours, and I am really grateful to him for sponsoring me . I completed my first ironman in 12:12. I made a lot of rookie mistakes and suffered a lot in the cold but I finished. Now I can really call myself an Ironman!

The next year, 2000, I took part in the Langkawi Ironman. At that time, Langkawi was being held for the first time. I figured that that might be my only chance to qualify for Hawaii. The Hawaii Ironman is every triathlete's dream to complete. It is where legends are made, where the conditons are toughest and where the fittest gather. All those years of watching the Ironman broadcast - I just want to be there to experience the magic for myself. I ended up winning my age-group in Langkawi and earned my slot. It was a dream come through for me!

I was really disciplined in my training for Hawaii. I managed to hook up with this Australian lady, Ingrid Eadie, who used to race bikes in Europe. She helped to draw up a training programme for me. My swims were for recovery, and I biked and ran a lot. I managed to work up to 10 times riding up Mt. Faber at the peak of the training. On weekends, I would do the Changi loops. My long runs were up to three hours. She emphasized a lot on strength work, so it was a lot of hills and big gears. I did most of the workouts myself! I wanted to go to Hawaii, so I better do the work!


Haha!

I managed to arrive at Kona, Hawaii, one week before the race. When I stepped out of the plane, I almost wanted to cry. "This is it! This is what I have been waiting for all these years!"
I was alone all by myself. I had no other friend except for Daniel Yap, who was the other Singaporean at the race. I managed to look him up but I felt bad tagging around him all the time cos he was with family. So I just cooped up in the hotel room resting and waiting for the race to start. I managed to go on a ride with Daniel a few days before the race. I was totally demoralised after the ride. The wind....it was just so strong! It felt so difficult pushing my pedals. Even as I stood on the roadside to pee, I could feel myself losing balance. After the ride, I just went back to my room and told myself that I was going to put all my time expectations aside and race within myself, and make sure I make it to the finish line.

At the Saucony pre-race conference, I finally got to see Mark Allen and Dave Scott. They have each won 6 Hawaii Ironmans. They were standing there having a chat and I just went gaga when I saw them! I was just so excited! My heroes!!! They are the ones I always see in the Triathlete magazine and they were standing right in front of me! I think I kind of interrupted their conversation, and had a picture taken with them. I'm sure they encounter many dumb fans like me and they understand:)


On race day, I had a relatively slow swim, but that was on purpose. I treated the swim as a long warm-up for the rest of the day. I managed to latch on to a pair of feet and had a good draft the entire swim. On the bike, it was relatively easy for about 40k until the winds really kicked in. I felt like I was riding hard, but when I looked at my speedo, it showed only 20kph! And then the cross winds came! These side winds made the bike really unstable and I had to ride out of my aero position and hold the handlebar firmly. It was really scary and I didn't want to crash. But crash I did! Someone passed me too closely when a side gust was blowing, and my front wheel rubbed on his rear, and the next thing I knew, I was on the road! I was more worried for my bike than anything! If my derailleur or wheel was damaged, that might spell the end of my race. Luckily, nothing of that sort happened, and I was able to continue. On some parts of the bike course, I was able to have the wind directly at the back, and it really felt like flying! I was clocking 60kph on the bike easily! But that was usually short-lived, because the moment the road changed direction or the wind changed course, I was hit with a headwind or tailwind all over again!

Thanks to all the hill training, I felt strong most of the way on the run. I walked through all the aid stations making sure I got my fluids in. As I ran through town, people lined the road, cheering the competitors. A lot of times, the Japanese would cheer for me, thinking I am one of them. I got to see the epic battle of Carlos Moleda and David Bailey on their wheel chairs as they zoomed past me on the way back to town. (FYI, they are both paralysed from the waist down) Though I had plenty of company from the other racers, it was basically me alone, digging deep down inside for the extra something to keep moving when I felt like slacking.

I crossed the line in 11:18. Finally, after all those years of dreaming....I finally made it!

Bye Buzz, see you next time:)

Swim Form

Last week, Desmond and myself went to the pool to do some videoing of our swimming. Previously, we were able to take only above water shots of ourselves and rely on each other to point out our errors underwater. For a long time, I have been wanting to see how I swim and this is finally made possible due to the purchase of the Olmympus 850SW camera.

I was just too fast for des! He could only catch my legs the first half of the swim.
Well, kicking is weak. Although this is just relaxed swimming, and I am kicking just for balance, but it will be good to work on getting some power into those kicks!

Butt position is a bit low. I should be aiming to swim "flat" on the surface to minimize drag. There is body rotation from side to side which is good as power is generated from the core and lats are activated. Need to work on getting the "catch" right, cannot see high elbows at all

Caiught a bit of my left arm going too wide here. My right arm seems to pull straight down and crosses midline of body.

Yes, the midline crossing by the right arm is very obvious. What is my hand doing??
------------------------------
This is how it should look like!

Buzz

We have been dog-sitting Buzz for short periods of time for the last 3 years. This time round, Buzz will be with us for 10 days while his owner is on holiday. Buzz is the most adorable and cutest dog we've ever known. He has such good manners that even my parents and mother-in-law, who used to shun dogs, are bowled over by him. Honestly, I have never heard Buzz bark. He only makes a little noise when he gets excited; that is when I take out his leash and he knows that we are going out for a walk. Emily says that Buzz has got good EQ. He will come and cuddle beside me when I am watching TV, but if he sees that I am reading the newspaper or on the computer, he will just quietly lie one side and wait for me to finish.

I feel really privilleged that his owner trusts me and Emily enough to leave Buzz with us. Taking care of Buzz has given us an eye-opener into the amount of commitment and sacrifice needed to keep a pet or raise a child........this makes me think of my parents who have nurtured me so that I am who I am. Thanks papa and mummy!

Great Speech - Be Strong

Rocky......he's still one of my heroes :)

Perhentian Escape

I was at Pulau Perhentian in Malaysia with Emily last week. If you have not been there, you should! The island life is fantastic, food and accomodation is cheap and more importantly, the water is great!! However, the travelling there is a bit tedious as we had to endure a 13 hr train ride followed by a 45 min car ride, and finally, a 30 min boat ride to get to the island, but it was well worth it as you can see from the pics and video below!

We had a great time there! We had 3 days of snorkelling, did some jungle trekking and even kayaked round the island, a distance of around 13.5km! Frankly, that was the longest I've kayaked for some time and I am really proud of Emily as she has really come a long way from the time when she first learnt how to kayak. We were kayaking stroke for stroke almost all the time, and though she was lacking in strength, she made up for it with her persistence, and her patience especially when I being the captain of the kayak would bark at her "longer strokes! paddle properly!" :) I really cherish being able to spend that 4 hours with her, moving towards a common goal. Well, one other thing that drove us during the kayaking was the fact that we were kayaking without any support at all. It was either kayak properly or capsize. The north and north eastern part of the island was virtually deserted as it had a rocky coastline. If we had gotten into trouble there, I don't think anyone will know. It was really God's grace that we managed to kayak back safely.

The snorkelling is something that I will remember for the rest of my life. The water was very clear and there was such a wide variety of coral and fishes of different colours. I also managed to swim with turtles! The closest I had ever come to them prior to the trip was at the turtle enclosure outside the Underwater World at Sentosa. In fact, I had this crazy idea that one day I would try to jump in after operating hours and just swim with them. I now know i don't have to do that!! All i have to do is just go to Perhentian!


First day snorkelling at Perhentian.....I thought it was great, until I went on the trip to Rawa Island

Swimming with turtle! At least now I can safely say I am as fast as a turtle! :)

Feeding frenzy!

Emily having some fun!

Finding Nemo

Emily snorkelling

Me snorkelling:)

A song to remind us

I found this video when I was trawling through the web looking for pictures to make into a slideshow for my school's IC Collection Ceremony, of which I am in charge of. I was really excited when I found it because this was just what I needed; images to remind my students of their Singaporean identity and what Singapore means to them. I am really grateful to Pastor Rony Tan, the creator of this video for putting this video on youtube just when I needed it, and more importantly, this video has rekindled my love for Singapore at a time when it has dropped to an all-time low.

I have been pretty patriotic most of my life; as a kid, I led the school in the daily reciting of the pledge. As a cadet scout and later a scout, I promised to do my best, to do my duty to the republic of Singapore (I did!). As a soldier, I was trained to obey instructions and lay my life for Singapore if need be. I grew up reading about Lim Bo Seng, Lt Adnan Said and Force 136. I told myself I wanted to be like these brave souls. But over the years, this feeling of patrioticism has died down.

This video is a timely reminder to me of the great steps that Singapore has taken; from a struggling young nation to where we are today. We have gotten where we are, not only due to the vision of one man, but also due to the sacrifices of many people. These people have overcomed all sorts of difficulties so that we can have the life we have now. Just as they went against the odds, so we will also persevere and make Singapore the home that we long for. We must not let Singapore rot, otherwise the efforts of those before us will go down the drain.

Press on Singapore!

No Desaru for me

My racing season has come to a premature end. Over the weekend, I realised that my knee clicked whenever I tried to straighten it. It occurs at the 170-180 degress full extension. There is absolutely no pain or swelling; in fact I have been riding biking to and from school, went swimming yesterday, did some light weights just now, and I was not bothered by any clicking. The clicking occurs when I sit down or lie down and try to straighten my leg, then it becomes obvious.

I feel that any clicking is not normal. A search on the internet related knee clicking to injuries like ACL or meniscus tear. But symptoms for these injuries include swelling and pain as well, which I am not experiencing. I also read that a possible cause might be muscle imbalances in the quads, which is causing the patella to be pulled off course, hence the clicking. I think this might be the one. I have complained of slight pain in the achilles area since June, and this subtle shifting of weight when I run might have caused overloading of some muscle groups or change in stride mechanics.

Well, I am going to stop all the guesswork. I have already made an appointment to see a physiotherapist. He is still going to guess what is happening, but at least it will be an educated guess!! Just hope everything turns out fine!

Total respect for these guys!!

Just don't try this at home

Weekly Log

Week starting 7/7/2008
Mon: am 20 min easy run, pm 20 min easy run
Tues: swim 35min run 30 min
Wed: swim 35 min
Thur: 1hr run on park connector
Fri: rest
Sat: 2 hr ride at SBV (moderately hard)
Sun: 90k ride
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Weekly Log

Week starting 30/6/2008
Mon:swim 40 min+30 min run in the rain with desmond :)
Tues: Bike 1:45 mandai loops (big gear) +20 min run
Wed: swim 40 min including 8x100
Thur: 1hr gym including 30 min run on treadmill
Fri: 12k run with emily
Sat: 2 hr ride at rifle range
Sun: 80k ride
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I've managed to train a bit more this week. I have been icing the ankle area and stretching my calves almost every night, and this has helped eased the tenderness in the achilles tendon cum heel area. I was even able to do a 12k run with emily.......though it was at an easy pace. I was really impressed with her cos it has been a while since I ran with her at mac, and she seems to be running better and stronger......in fact, she was pushing the pace the last 3k!

Today, I did a 80k with des that included 2 loops around NTU. I also pushed the pace a bit on some of the flatter and straighter parts. I felt good on the ride, though I was bothered by my sore bum in the later parts of the ride. Definitely need to ride more!

Overall, it's been a good week of training. Am looking forward to tomorrow........Youth Day! Holiday!

Just warming up

Will try to post my weekly workout diary from now on
Week starting 23/6/2008
Mon:
swim 35 min
15 min run on treadmill
weights 3x12
Tue:
bike 2 hr, 1x pepys, 5xfaber ,hills big gear
Wed:
swim 40 min + run 20 min
Thurs:
run 20 min +2x25 floors stairs
Fri: Rest
Sat: Bike 2 hrs + hills at Rifle Range
Sun: rest
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I don't seem to have trained much this week. School started and I have been busy again. Gone are the long afternoon naps that I have been taking during my holidays. I am sleeping on average 7.5 hours, including naps, but it just never seems enough. The increased standing and walking and biking to school is leaving me really tired. Even today, I was supposed to bike in the morning, but that was postponed to a run in the afternoon that never materialised. All I wanted to do was get some sleep in before the next week kicks in.

I also have not been running much this week. I am not in much pain (on a scale of 10, I would rate it as a 1), but my achilles tendon attachment to the foot on my left leg feels tight when I stand after prolonged sitting. It also feels a little tender when I press it hard. So I have been diligently icing it everyday......it feels slightly better now, but it can definitely be even better! Also, the area under my right arch is feeling a little tight too! No pain when I run or walk, but it just feels tight! I've been rolling a ball under it and stretching my arch a lot the last couple of days. I also went out today to get a new pair of work shoes....I have been wearing the previous pair for the last 3 years.....it's time to get new support for my feet.

I find that I become more aware of my body the more I am into my training. Every ache sends warning signals to my brain; I just do not want a repeat of that overuse injury almost 2 years ago that derailed my training for months and I had to spend quite a bit of money to get it treated and be healthy again.

Ironman from the Inside

This video makes me want to do Ironman all over again!

Just arrived!

My new ride-to-be! I have been eyeing this frame for the last one and a half years. Now that the US dollar is at a low, I decided that the time is now and placed my order online when the school holidays started. There were some hiccups processing my order but it arrived last week while I was in Bintan, and I had to get Singpost to resend it today.

Out of the box, this bike frame is simply stunning, even nicer than the pics I have seen of it on the Internet. I believe mine is the only blue Planet X stealth tt bike in Singapore, for now :)

Unless I am hit by an irresistible urge, this bike will not be out on the roads anytime soon because I am going to build it up bit by bit, plus I don't think it is wise to switch bikes in the middle of the season.

Happy orgling:)

So.....what went wrong today?

"In those races where I fell apart, I saw the darkest parts of myself; the parts that were not strong, that were weak, where expectation did not meet reality..........."
-Mark Allen, 6 time winner of the Hawaii Ironman, and my very first sports hero

Well, today I had my worst race of the season at the city duathlon. I had a solid first run, had a solid bike for 3/4 of the way and got passed by many people on the final run because I was cramping badly. Honestly, I am disappointed because running and biking is supposed to be my forte, and I got passed by people who are usually slower than me :(

So what went wrong?
1. Expectation did not meet reality?
I ran a 41 min (i think) first 10k......which was not really fast for me. It was a controlled hard; I was not red-lining at any point. But when was the last time I ran a hard 10k? In January. Maybe my legs were simply not ready for the kind of pounding that it was taking. To want to run a fast 10k and then followed by a fast bike and run requires a certain amt of strength that I do not have, but I was running like I had it! For quite a while, I was running stride for stride with Tan Yeow Chung, Singapore's fastest Ironman, and I was thinking that it was an honour to be running with him and how nice it would be if I could beat him........wishful thinking!

2. Poor preparation for the race
I have raced six times in the last 7 weeks. Some of you must be wondering......am I nuts? No, I am perfectly sane. I just wanted to experiment what works for me in racing. For the last few years, I only did two to three races a year, and these are spread far apart, where it is hard to build upon each race's performance. So I decided that this year, since I am fit and injury-free, I will do as much racing as I safely can. The logic being that if I want to be good at racing, then I better be doing more of it.
However, this racing is not doing me as much good as I thought it would be. I was racing almost every weekend, therefore it took me some time to recover on the weekdays, and because I wanted to arrive fresh for the race, I neglected my speedwork. I could feel my run fitness dropping over the seven weeks. Perhaps, in future, I can still race often but space them like maybe once every two weeks?

3. Wrong timing of the race
Honestly, I wasn't even sure f I wanted to race. I am having my holidays now , went to Vietnam for a couple of days on a school trip - the food there was wondrful and by the time I got back, I was already feeling sluggish. I have planned to do much training but have not had the self discipline to get myself out of bed in the mornings. I find that I am actually training better during school time because everyday when I return home, I tell myself that I have to get out of the house by a certain time, otherwise I lose the opportunity to get my workout in. Basically, I was in switch off mode for the last 2 weeks and the results show today.

4. Weak hamstrings
I always cramp in my hamstrings and cramps are usually caused by electrolyte imbalance or fatigued muscles. I think my problem is more of weak hamstrings. Well, the solution to this would be to strengthen it by lifting weights. However, I have not been going to the gym due to lack of time. I really need to solve this problem, otherwise it will forever be a race limiter for me:(

Well, I have another important race coming up in August - The Desaru Half Ironman. Exactly 9 weeks to get everything sorted out. That's life isn't it? You try, you fail, you get up again and try some more.

Keeping things in perspective

I cringe when I see this photo.........bad running form.......leg too far in front:(


well done!!

Hi everyone,

I just did the Trifam sprint tri this morning which consists of a 750m swim, 16k bike and 5k run. Generally, the shorter the race, the more painful it is. Well, as usual, I had to do catch-up after the swim; in fact, i rounded a wrong buoy but I realised my mistake fast and lost not more than 10 secs getting back on course. Because of that mistake, I "lost" the pack and had to swim the last half of the swim on my own:(

I had a speedy transition; it is really much faster to have my shoes clipped in beforehand and it saves me the embarassment of fumbling to get my cleats in at the start line. And then it was off to twenty plus mins of pain on the bike!! My speedo was not working, and I was racing by feel, which is not a bad thing, cos you can get obsessed with htting a certain speed on the bike and neglect the signals the body send you. I was going at a controlled" hard, bearing in mind that I will probably have to run like crazy after the bike. Honestly, this is the best I have felt on the bike at any of the Trifam races. Though there were some sections where I slowed, i was generally pushing it most of the time trying to catch the guys in front, but all I saw was the long coastal rd....I was not making up much time on them.

I was running fast on the run and trying to catch the top masters guy in front of me.....I think he might have repreented Australia in the age group worlds cos he was wearing the Australia racing uniform, but I just couldn't put in the additional effort required to close that gap. So in the end, I finished 5th overall, 4th in the men's open.

In fact, as I am writing this, I am still a little bit upset that I did not make the podium. But LAWRENCE!! HEY!! WAKE UP!! SINCE WHEN HAVE YOU BECOME OBSESSED WITH PLACINGS!! REMEMBER, IT'S NICE TO WIN BUT WINNING IS NOT EVERYTHING!! What is most important is the EFFORT! Did I do my best today? Yes, I did! That is the most important. Honestly, there is no way one can be top dog all the time. Yes, I may be top dog at a small race, but there will always be someone somewhere out there who will be faster than me. Therefore, placings are relative, but what remains constant is the effort that I put in.

On a side note, my wife did the race too! I think she had a good swim and a relatively good bike, but she made a wrong turn and ended up at Tanah Merah ferry terminal:) When she came back from the bike, I was already done with my race :) She actually cried a little and wanted to stop, cos she knew she would probably be the last finisher after losing so much time. But somehow, she found the courage to continue after calming herself down and ended up having a good run. I am really proud of her for not giving up and finshing what she started.

Ok, that's it for today. Thanks for reading! One more race in Bintan next week!

Racing Strong

Me and Emily

The past two weekends have been pretty fruitful racing for me. First of all, I came in third overall, second in the 30-39 age-group at the Tribob sprint duathlon. I couldn't have been more satisfied with the way I raced. I had a relatively controlled first run; I was really surprised by the number of people in front of me within 200m of the run start. They took off like it was just a 3k run. At that point, I thought that I would have to scale down my expectations for the race. Luckily, once the run went into the Upper Seletar Reservoir Park and the slopes kicked in, I was able to move myself up the field and start the bike in about 6th place. Bike was 3 loops of 5k along my regular Mandai training ground and I was pushing the pace on the ups and trying to stay aero and smooth on the downs. I started the second run in 3rd position with the second guy, Clement Chow 50m ahead of me. I managed to put in a brief spurt and overtook him but had to slow down as my hamstring had that "wanting to cramp" feeling due to the effort. Once that went away, I picked up my pace again and passed Clement again on the slopes up to the reservoir park. I stayed in front of him till about 300m from the finish when he overtook me for the final time. I managed to hang on and finish just 1 second behind him. I won a Limar helmet for my effort and promptly gave it to Emily as hers is already quite worn out. She also competed in the du and it was really nice to be able to ride to and back from the race with her.

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Today, I raced in the A Famosa Triathlon at Malacca. It is an Olympic distance race that I first took part in way back in 1998 :) No top honours for me this time. I would have loved to be at the front duking it out with the best in Malaysia and Singapore, but the truth is, those guys are way faster than me. So what happens in races where I can't even see the frontrunners? Am I still racing? Yes, I am. I am racing against myself. In fact, every race is a race against one's limits, whether one is at the front, or at the back fo the pack. And it is through this racing that I learn more about myself, and try to be better. That's why I have been running for the last half of my life and doing tris for the last 11 years. Someone said this when asked why he chose triathlon, "So we can suffer, and in suffering we know who we are.":)

Today's race confirmed that I am a lousy swimmer. I was so slow that when I came out of the swim, all the fast bikers were gone and I was left riding with a group of three, of which only one was working with me. We were trapped in no man's land in between the pack ahead and the pack behind. But the most amazing thing happened on the run; I did not cramp up for the first time in a tri race in many years! In fact, I was running stronger the second half of the run. Maybe, it was because the weather was not as hot, so I did not lose too much salt or perhaps, I am really stronger this year and my hamstrings don't fatigue as easily. It really felt good to be able to run fast off the bike:)

Ok, that's it for today. Thanks for reading!

Below is an old trailer for the movie "What It Takes" that I found off youtube. Enjoy!!

Let the racing begin!

Yesterday was my first multisport race for the season; a 750m swim followed by a 5k run in the staff division race at the inter-collegiate and schools biathlon championship. It was a good warm-up for the 3 more races that I will be doing over the next 1 month:

Sprint Series Duathlon - 4 May
A Famosa Tri - 11 May
Bintan Tri - 24 May

Well, I came in first in my category yesterday :) I know it is just a small-time race, but it is really nice to be on top once in a while. I had won my category in this race 2 years ago, but sat out the race last year because of injury. So, to be able to win again is something special for me.

The sea was really bad yesterday......it was definitely one of the roughest open water swims I had ever done in recent time. Going out, the waves were coming at us, making it difficult to sight. Coming back in, the current was pushing us against the lane ropes. And I drank quite a bit of sea water too! Thankfully, I found a pair of feet to draft off for at least half of the swim, but it was still a struggle to get to shore.

The swim must have taken quite a bit out of me cos on the run, I did not feel as good as I wanted it to be. I was not able to run an even paced 5k; there were periods where I had to slow down quite a bit just to catch my breath. I was also trying to catch Kennieth and Shaohui on the run, as they usually come out ahead of me on the swim. But I didn't see them at all. After the halfway mark, I just told myself that either they are way in front of me because I had a terrible swim, or I am leading the race. Whatever it was, I had to stop worrying about them and just focus on running my race.

In the end, it turned out that I had outswum the both of them.....never in my years of racing have I ever come out in front of Kennieth in the swim. Either he has slowed, or I have gotten faster (really hoping for the latter!).

I hope this bodes well for my upcoming races. Am I ready for them? I dun think so. Well, you can't be 100% ready for any race, you just have to make do with what you've got. Training has been consistent the last few weeks, though I wish I can do more. Some days, I just come home from school really tired, and it is really difficult to drag myself out of the door. However, I managed to do some fast running on the track and on the canal path near my place and it has helped my running a little, I think!

Will update you when I get any pics or results from the race

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Hey! finally, at a ripe "old" age of 32, I have gotten my driver's license. This is my second attempt at it, and I badly wanted to pass as I did not want to spend any additional money and time on driving lessons again.

Someone from school actually commented that though I have only gotten my driving licence recently, I have been "driving" people up the wall for as long as she can remember! :)

Ok, that's all for today, thanks for reading!

Lawrence and Emily

Today, 12/03/08, is our third wedding anniversary.

Above is the video I played during my wedding. I had initially loaded the video onto my laptop and wanted to show it to the classes on Valentine's Day, but I was never able to get it to run properly. So I have posted it on Youtube for my classes to see.

I can never get tired of watching this video. Maybe it is because I conceptualized the whole thing myself; from shooting Emily, picking the photos, editting the video to selecting the right music to go along with it. I immensely enjoy looking at the montage of photos at the later part of the video......helps me relish the growing up years and our courtship days.

Recently, Emily and myself attended the Marriage Enrichment Retreat organised by my church. We spent a weekend at the Changi Village Hotel (formerly Meridien Changi)together with around 40 other couples. I found the retreat very useful as it allowed emily and myself to reconnect and look at our marriage from a christian angle again.

We've had our fair share of fights the last few years and sometimes, this can be very draining and will take its toll on a marriage. I was reminded during the retreat that God had put the both of us in each others' lives so that we can help each other. Many a time, in my haste to help Emily, I have been impatient towards her and that only makes things worse. I will need to change my approach as I have found out....men and women are really wired differently :) While watching a movie during the retreat, I was also reminded that Emily has chosen me out of all the guys that she knew......and this is something that I must always cherish.

Well, since the retreat, the both of us have commited ourselves to praying before we sleep every night. I really hope that we will keep this up as nothing beats coming to God with all our triumphs, failures and fears after a long day at work.

Wake-Up Call

I fell down while riding my bike last night.

For as long as I can remember.....ever since I started cycling, Scotts Rd in the direction of Newton Circus has always been my private drag strip. Almost everytime, after stopping at the traffic lights outside Borders, I will crank up my pace and try to get past the traffic light just outside Goodwood Park Hotel before it turns red. Sometimes, I make it, sometimes I don't.

Last night was just like any other ride. I was with Desmond, and we had just finished our Pandan loops and were on the way home. As usual, once the light turned green at Borders, I picked up the pace. In fact, I was feeling so good that I thought that I would be able to make it past the light with plenty of time to spare. As I was nearing the bus stop outside the ex-Holiday Inn at close to 40km/h, my bike ran over something on the road........I think it must have been a stone. That sudden impact....... though slight, caused my bike to wobble. I tried to control it but the next thing I knew, I fell heavily on my right side and ended up on the road. As I lay on the road, my immediate instinct was to look out for the vehicle coming from behind. Thankfully, it stopped. I quickly got up and went to the side of the road. Des was there. He checked to make sure that I was ok, then made me make sure my bike was ok. I was fine except for some abrasions on my right elbow and knee. Although I landed heavily, the fleshier part of my right hip helped take the brunt of the hit.

Honestly, it could have been much worse.

This accident comes as a good wake-up call me. Training has been going on well this year; I am feeling much stronger and faster on the bike, the swim is coming along fine and my run legs have not given me any problems at all, plus I brave the heavy morning traffic along Bendemeer Rd to work every morning and have emerged unscathed. All these have given me this feeling of invincibility; that whatever I want my body to do, it will respond.

Last night's incident reminded me that I am not so invincible after all. And that the reason why I am still writing this blog is due to God's grace upon me. As a cyclist, I can be careful, but if someone else isn't, I can just as easily end up as a statistic on the road, through no fault of my own. Everytime, I ride, I am putting myself through an incredible amount of risk, and I want to thank God for protecting me all this while.

Five Loaves and Two Fishes

A little boy of thirteen
was on his way to school
He heard a crowd of people laughing
and he went to take a look

Thousands were listening
to the stories of one man
He spoke with such wisdom,
even the kids could understand

The hours passed so quickly
the day turned to night
Everyone was hungry
but there was no food in sight

The boy looked in his lunchbox
at the little that he had
He wasn't sure what good it'd do
there were thousands to be fed

But he saw the twinkling eyes of Jesus
the kindness in His smile
and the boy cried out
with the trust of a child
he said:"

Take my five loaves and two fishes
Do with it as you willI surrender
Take my fears and inhibitions
All my burdens, my ambitions
You can use it all
to feed them all"

I often think about that boy
when I'm feeling smal
land I worry that the work I do
means nothing at all

But every single tear I cry
is a diamond in His hands
and every door that slams in my face
I will offer up in prayer

So I'll give you every breath that I have
Oh Lord, you can work miracles
All that you need is my "Amen"

Take my five loaves and two fishes
Do with it as you willI surrender
Take my fears and inhibitions
All my burdens, my ambitions
You can use it all
I hope it's not too small
I trust in youI trust in you

Take my five loaves and two fishes
Do with it as you willI surrender
Take my fears and inhibitions
All my burdens, my ambitions
You can use it all
no gift is too small

Lance Armstrong Sestriere Climb 1999

one of my favourite cycling moments of all time!!

Rejoined Tribob

Last night was my first swim session with Tribob after a long while. For some reason, I chose not to extend my membership with Tribob when it ended in 2006. Firstly, I was getting lazy; I did not want to make the trip in the evenings all the way to Farrer Park pool to swim and secondly, I thought that I could motivate myself to swim hard and long on my own. I thought that I could manage my time better and improve on my own. But I was wrong! After a lousy year of swimming last year, where I continually came up exhausted from the swim leg in triathlons, I decided that I should go back to organized swim sessions, where there is expert instruction from qualified coaches and other like-minded athletes around to push me.

Last night's training went like this:
400 warm-up
300 pull buoy
300m kicking
drill 200m sculling
drill 200m scull plus pull through
200m catch-up
4x100 (25m hard, 25m easy)
200m warm-down
Total: 2200m

I think that's what I did! Am quite happy with the workout....have not swum this long since Langkawi.
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On Sunday, I did the MR25 10k Progressive Run. Don't let the name of the run con you thinking that it is a leisurely run. No MR run is leisurely. The runs usually attract those who want to run fast. For me, I was using the run as a time trial to guage my own fitness. In fact this is my first really hard run since my leg injury at the beginning of last year and my first running race since the Mizuno run in 2006. I feel that my time in Colorado Springs helped a bit, especially the 50+K running week in my last week there. I am finally feeling stronger and I feel that my legs are ready to tolerate the hard running.

I am very happy with the result of my run. I just slipped in under forty minutes - 39:59! I was slowing down a bit the last k though. In fact, my legs were tightening up quite a bit. I am not a good downhill runner and I was not running as smoothly on the return leg of the run. Nevertheless, this run is a morale booster for me as it has really been a struggle for me to run properly after the injury.
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Well, everytime I talk about what I can do, I just have to remind myself that it is God who has given me the ability to do all these and I just want to thank him for all that I am.

Thanks for reading!

New School Year

Time really flies, it's been almost two weeks since I left Colorado Springs! School has started and I am back in school in the usual grind of things again. This week has been especially busy because the Sec 1 orientation is on. Even today, I have to camp overnight in school as my form class is having their orientation camp.

My form class this year is an express class, 1E2. My first impressions of them have been really good. In fact, they are very well-behaved compared to the NT classes that I have been having the last 3 years. The downside of this is that they are a lot less livelier than the classes that I am used to. I really hope that they remain this "angelic" for the rest of the year.

My teaching load for this year seems to be heavier than last year. I am teaching 4 levels of geography this year! sec 1, sec 3 e/n, sec 4n, sec 5n! I am teaching the sec 1's after a break of almost 3 years! In addition, the sec 3's and 4's are on the new syllabus, which I have not taught before, so there is plenty of lesson preparation in the form of creating powerpoints, worksheets and reading up before class!!
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Training has been ok this week. Took Mon and Tues off. Did a 30 min swim and 30 min run on wed. Rode about 2 hours yesterday. Not sure why, but body seems to have tightened up since school started, plus legs also feel a bit heavy. Maybe the body is just trying to adapt to the increased stress of waking up early, commuting to school, standing a lot and not having my afternoon naps!
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Barnett Bicycle Institute sent me my transcript for the BRO course that I did! I scored a 92.5% for my tests! I am very happy with the result! However, I am still very green and I need to clean my bikes and start maintaining them! But where to find time........so many things to do:(
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Ok, will go and do a 15-20 min run now just to loosen my legs a bit.

Thanks for reading :)