IVP Swimming 1500m

it's been a long journey, many ups and downs, which culminated on this one day.

did my warm ups, 600m free plus 8 x 100m on 1:50. the sports school pool was cold, but not as cold as i thought it'd be. must be getting fat, so got a bit of insulation.

i'll just skip to the race, cause thats the interesting part.

the horn went, and i plunged! i was in lane 2, b/w to shawn poon (lane 1) and johnson (lane 3). i decided beforehand that i would dedicate every 100m to people who have helped me in my journey thus far.

the first 100m was ridiculously fast. 1:14. this was for coach david, the man who must take the majority of the credit for my swimming successes thus far. i owe all that i can do in the pool to him.

second 100m was for jason. my companion in swim trainings and my neighbour and dinner partner in hall, and the occasional helpful advice.

third 100m was to JJ and mich. (they must come together in a pair u see) thanks for the encouragement and belief, and being great team mates.

fourth 100m went to nic and norms. the last min phone call this morning was very touching and encouraging. thanks for the support and comraderie from you 2.

fifth 100m was to zy and aldrich. thanks for your brilliant work last year that allowed me to develop my potential as an endurance athlete. pa thanks for the faith and trust, and zy for the undying support throughout, with the "go jon!"s before target sets.

was settling well (but uncomfortable. if it was comfortable then i'm not pushing myself) into a 1:23/100m pace now and was swimming neck to neck with shawn the whole time. then at the start of the 600m he picked up the pace. i couldnt match that and just maintained my own swim.

sixth 100m goes to weiming and sandy, our swimming captains. thanks for running the team with all the behind-the-scenes admin work (no thanks to ca-ca-ca-carson) and letting everyone else just having to worry about focussing on their own swims. thanks also for welcoming jason and i into the team with open arms and made us feel a part of this wonderful team of insanely fast people.

i started to zone out at this part, but the first 25m of the 7th 100m is for leon, who has been most forthcoming with his advice, experience and encouragement the whole time. really appreciate it man. the rest of the 7th 100m were to a few others who i drew inspiration from. they were just flashing through my mind already, not that they were not important =)



at this point i could no longer think so clearly anymore. my mental energies had to be devoted to keep pushing myself so as not to drop my pace. managed to keep up 1:23 to about 800m where i started to drop a bit of time to 1:25. this lasted till the 1100m mark, then the next 300m were at 1:26. i couldnt push even harder anymore as i had planned. last 100m i picked it back up a little to end it at 1:25. goodness, what a swim. i've never gone so hard so hard before. wonder what time i did.

looked up, saw at the end of my name were the numbers 20:55

WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

ok that was what was going on inside my head, though i didnt show it. coming in 7th (not that i care bout my position) and splashing around and cheering as if i won would be really wierd, not to mention that i was in a bit of a shock when i saw it. but inside i was ecstatic. (on hindsight i should have just done it, who cares about the others anyway) my target was 21:02, which at first i thought would be a bit of a stretch. but this was just unbelievable.

thanks goes out to God for this swim. without Him again, i would not hve been able to do this.

i finally realized how hard i had exerted myself when my lats burned and ached so much that i couldnt stretch them at all. even doing lat pull downs at the gym didnt feel so bad. but the pain also told me that i had given my all on this given day today.

happy =)

on and end note, will take a short break from swimming now to focus on stan chart, then the aim for Bi IVP season in march is to do a sub 20. can hardly wait =D

touched

as if to prove my point on about the aquathlon FAMILY.

i just have to blog about this right after the call from norms using nic's phone.

he called to wish me for my 1500m swim later, and so did the rest of the team, could hear the rest of them over the phone too. (JJ i heard what u said!) i was really touched by this small but significant gesture.

thanks so much guys. your support means alot to me.

motivation and confidence +++!

once again

emo....... shall go sleep it off...

Vid from Tri Center

Irony

I had an unhealthy day by my standards. one whole packet of peanut dark choc m&m's during lecture. 1 scoop of ice cream after swim training. alot of curry for dinner. but heck it.

anyway, did a target 800m set during swim training today. i played it conservatively, and it showed when i came back with a time of 11:33 (1:19, 1:27, 1:28, 1:27, 1:28, 1:27, 1:28, 1:26) was quite disappointed with myself after that.

i was in my own little world for a while after that, cant really describe how unhappy i was with myself, for not pushing hard enough and o keep the pace.

then zy and christine were gonna do their 400m target. an idea popped into my head, asked coach whether i could do it with them, he said ok.

this time there was no mistake about it. i pushed myself hard, injecting hard 50m's in b/w the swim to make sure i kept the pace up. and partly cause i was fuelled by my own anger at myself for letting myself down previously.

i red lined through out the 400m, and when i finished, i came up to see a look of surprise on coach's face. i asked what the time was, and he told me 5:32.

a ray of sunshine shone in my mind. that was a PB for a 400m. i cant remember my splits, but i remember how hard i drove myself, and it was almost like i dared my body to fail on me throughout the swim, fuelled by the disappointment of the previous set.

i got my confidence was back.

lesson learnt: i need a long warm up this saturday, plus a bit of fast 100's as well. and i have to remember to keep pushing myself throughout the 1500m, inject the speed now and then to make sure i dun get too comfortable. if it feels easy then i must be going too slow.

this saturday. i will/must not let myself down during the race. i wun win, but i'll make sure that i damn near push myself hard enough to make it count.

Brian Boyle's Story: Iron Heart

By Ashley Halsey

As the clock ticks down the final seconds before midnight in Lake Placid, Matthew Long's awkward stride carries him across the Ironman finish line. Less than four years earlier, he had been crushed by a bus in midtown Manhattan.

Born without arms and legs, Craig Dietz straps on a flipper to swim in a relay at the Pittsburgh Triathlon.

After four bouts with cancer and a heart transplant, Kyle Garlett is training to race Kona this year.

No mainstream sport in history so celebrates the triumphs of regular people who overcome adversity and beat awesome odds to compete. Triathlon has become every man's sport, and no challenge short of death keeps people from the starting line.

Behind the pros and age-group elite come the old and the ill, the disabled and the disfigured, and those who have met every challenge imaginable, who race for the joy of recovery from injury, disease and terrible loss, who race to celebrate shedding half their excess weight or recapturing fitness once thought forever lost.

Triathlon has become life in microcosm, a metaphor that gives truth to the wisdom passed from each generation to the next: work hard and you will be rewarded, have faith in yourself and you will excel; do not falter when an ill wind blows your way.

And so, they arrive at the starting line ready for the test, each athlete with a story made unique by his own motivation and perseverance, some with tales of achievement more startling than others.

There is no better story than Brian Boyle's.

There is more to it than was revealed by the spotlight NBC trained on him during the 2007 Ironman in Kona, more than the ESPN feature and more than he told Ellen DeGeneres last year.

In "Iron Heart," the story unfolds through Boyle's own eyes. Told with the help of award-winning writer Bill Katovsky, himself a two-time Kona finisher, it is riveting.

These are the things that Boyle did not know when his world came into blurred focus one day and he found himself in an intensive care unit bed. He did not remember driving toward home after a summer swim practice. He had no recollection of the massive dump truck that broadsided his Camaro, crushing it from the driver side like a tin can. No memory of being cut from the car or flown to the trauma center. And, pinned to the bed without the ability to move, speak or acknowledge that he was conscious, he had no way to find out.

"I'm alone in a white room and looking straight up at the ceiling. Bright lights shine all around me. My heart is beating fast. I try to raise my arms, then legs, but I can't move them. My head won't budge either. I can't blink or wiggle my fingers."

And then he realizes a priest is beside him, giving last rites.

Had he not been an 18-year-old state champion swimmer and body builder when the truck struck, Boyle would have died in the wreckage. In the aftermath, his ability to beat the odds could put every bookie out of business. Would brain function recover? Yes. Would he walk again? Yes. Would he swim again? Yes. Run? Yes. Bike? Yes.

Realize his dream of doing an Ironman? Yes.

The word "miracle" is overused these days, but when the full scope Boyle's dance with death is played out, the genuine miracle of his trip to Kona is underscored.

There's more to Iron Heart than just the miraculous. There's also a fair amount of triathlon insanity. What Boyle did three years after the accident was testament to triathlon's ability to put an exclamation point on resurrection. By any reasonable standard, it was just plain nuts.

The workouts that began as physical therapy had graduated to the weight room and led to a return to the pool. So, Boyle reckoned, why not an Ironman? Not a single triathlon on his resume or a race bike to his name, he sent Ironman an inquiry asking if he could race Kona. An NBC producer sent back this message: finish a 70.3 race and we'll give you a slot for the big dance. Boyle signs up for Steelhead and then realizes that:

"I'm grossly ill prepared and undertrained to do a triathlon, let alone a half-Ironman in two weeks.

Yes, two weeks to train.

"Yet what feverishly spurs me on is that vision of myself on life support in the ICU. If I had made it through that hell barely clinging to life, just how tough could a triathlon be in comparison?"

Two weeks later he manages the swim, wobbles off on his new bike and discovers life as a "back-of-the-packer" on the run. But he crosses the line in 7 hours and 13 minutes.

On to Kona, and this time he has a whopping two months to get ready!

That story - a 14:42:35 finish - was documented by the NBC camera crews who shadowed him throughout. But the story of Brian Boyle goes on. Last year he posted a 5:09.14 at the 70.3 championship in Clearwater. In July his 2:22:01 was good for an age-group ninth place at the New York City Triathlon.

Brian Boyle won legitimacy in triathlon as a survivor. Now he's winning it simply as an athlete. And his goal is to post a qualifying time for a return to Kona.

desserts

with all the impending deadlines, i should be more stressed up than what i'm currently like now. now i know why. following article from shine on yahoo. out of these five foods, i eat 4 of them. no wonder i'm not stressed. (spinach the only one i dun eat on a regular basis)
hope everyone can find this info useful and help with the approaching exams!


Done right, noshing when your nerves are jangling can keep you calm and healthy. Munch your way mellow!

Spinach
Three cups of spinach supply 40 percent of your daily magnesium, a mineral that blunts stress's effects on the body by stopping blood pressure from spiking, says Beth Reardon, R.D., director of integrative nutrition at Duke Integrative Medicine in Durham, North Carolina.
Stress Rx: Stuff fresh spinach into omelets and sandwiches to nix tension while you're on the party circuit.

Oranges
Healthy people who were exposed to cold viruses were more likely to get sick if they were under pressure, a study from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh finds. Even a brief bout of tension can influence your immune system, but vitamin C in citrus bolsters your body's natural bug barricades, so you can stay well.
Stress Rx Having your whole family over for brunch? Pour OJ.

Chocolate
This treat's pacifying powers are all in your head. "Cocoa boosts your body's levels of neurochemicals, which act on parts of the brain to help produce a sense of happiness and relaxation," says Alan Hirsch, M.D., director of the Smell & Taste Treatment and Research Foundation in Chicago.
Stress Rx: Drop some dark-chocolate squares in everyone's stocking, including your own!

Fish
Omega-3 fatty acids in fish such as salmon and tuna can help quell anxiety. Test takers who consumed more of the healthy fats for three weeks halted a surge in stress hormones when they were faced with a tough quiz, according to a study in Diabetes & Metabolism.
Stress Rx: Increase your omega-3 intake: Reach for smoked-salmon canapés from the appetizer tray.

Oatmeal
Spoon up serenity! The B vitamins in oats stimulate production of serotonin, a key neurotransmitter that sends soothing signals to your brain. Elisa Zied, R.D., author of Nutrition at Your Fingertips (Alpha Books), adds that your body digests oatmeal slowly, so you absorb the serotonin steadily.
Stress Rx: Have a bowl of oatmeal as a preshopping meal.

article from http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/health/5-stress-fighting-superfoods-527064/

shagggggg daze

woke up early this morning for the fam for the DSO caffiene-cycling test.

the nurse jabbed the needle into my arm 3 times. and still didnt managed to get enough blood. i think my blood likes to stay where it is, in my body.

o well, still continued with the fam. after an hour, my minds and my legs just didnt want to cycle anymore, so i stopped. uncharacteristically.

skipped food lecture, before going in and falling asleep for the remaining bit of the lect and the next lect too. like wth. might as well sleep in my room.

the highlight of the day was the run with zheng hong and mok. the plan was to do 10 x 2k's at 4:10/km pace. after 6 sets i had to stop and rest for one set. the two of them continued, till 9 sets into it we decided to stop (i did 8 sets). shagged le. not bad. 16k in 1 hour 6 mins around there. whew.....

God answered my prayer last night with the company for the run. I was starting to get sick of training alone, with my own personal targets and no one to be with me through this long and painful journey. thank You.

IVP swimming - 6 days

its less than a week away from my first serious swimming competition. my event 1500m free is on the first day, first event.

swim training today was tough, lots of fast sets. my right traps was aching a bit from i dunno why, and this slowed my target set a bit. 5:40. (2s slower than last week, but ave 1:25 per 100m) but at least the splits were better this time. not such a huge difference as per last week. now just need to work on lowering the times again.

the most sickening word in the world is 'almost'.

nike human race + sports award night

i had some hopes for the nike human race. i wanted to use it as a gauge for my fitness for stan chart. a sub 40min 10k would put me on track for a 3:10 marathon. another thing was that i wanted my shin to survive the run, and that it would not act up in the midst of me pounding hard on the concrete.

both were achieved today!

started at a 3:55/km pace. at first i was worried that i might be going too fast and burn out later, but it felt so good that i decided to maintain the pace, and see how long i could last.

the course was generally flat and nice to run, despite two U-turns. was able to maintain the momentum all the way till the end. i had the option of finsihing with a sprint. but with too big a gap between me and the two runners in front, and no pressure from behind, i decided to stay the pace rather than go hard and risk injuring my shin again.

finished at 39:25. ranked 25 in sg men's. definitely an improvement from last year's 42min. i really gave it a good shot, considering that i was so shagged at the end i didnt hear audrey and brenda who were calling my name at the finish line!

elston, norms, dex and some of the others also ran today. it was a super worth it race! 20 bucks get t-shirt (though a very bad cutting), water bottle, and lots of freebies at the race site (one whole box of fruit bars!!!)

went back to school to swim a bit, do some drills and all, then waited till 3 to head for NUS sports award.

was quite boring really, but also quite inspiring with the vids and pics and quotes they showed. the canoeing lady's mis-pronounciation of the word 'fight' was definitely a highlight.

the finally it was time for our team to take the awards. felt really proud and happy with what we had achieved together. i can recall all the times where we looked around and we see really tired faces, panting and almost dying. how we gave it all during races in the verge of collaspe. we deserve this. even though i had been in the team for only a year, i felt very much part of the family! sorry though i went home early tonight! quite tired from today already...

i must say that all the training i'm doing now is to prep for next season. with some of the monsterous powerhouses having left us already, i'm gonna try and fill the huge shoes that they have left behind, and not give the other uni's an easy time. can't wait for march to come!

like fishy in the watery

after a rub down by aunty rosa yesterday, i felt DAMN GOOD. previously i felt as knotted up as a pretzel.

swim training today was good. could keep with all the times without dying. target set 400 i managed to clock a 5:39 (1:21, 1:28, 1:28, 1:21) i did 5:46 the other day.

thats definitely a PB for a 400 after training!

now i just need to improve my splits, rather than have a 7 second difference in between 100s. my IVP target of 21:30 will depend on whether i can hold a 1:25/100m pace for 1500m.

another rub down next thursday is in order. it definitely helps!

today i got my red crocs slippers and xterra speedsuit! both are definitely worth the money! will post up photos over the weekend when i get my camera at home.

hope my shin will not be an isue during tomorrow's nike human race. i think i made a mistake by going for a morning run yesterday morning. =(

PS: i realise i may have under-caloried the past few weeks. i lost 1 kg. gonna eat more to bring it back to my ideal 67kg! yay, food!

it's shocking when things like that happen.

i'm still in a bit of a shock now.

thinking of how things like that can happen to one of the best of us is certainly a snap back to the harsh reality of life.

all the things we do now seem so trivial and insignificant in the larger scheme of things.

Lord we need your grace.

welcome back coach, welcome back speed

as predicted. i swam alot better today now that coach david is back.

we did 3 x 200m target swim. 1st one was 2:48, and he commented that it was too slow (WHAT!?) so i went harder for the next two and came back at 2:41 and 2:40. felt very good. my confidence in my swim is back.

biked to boon's today to change my saddle originally. then i ended up changing my cockpit (which i have been wanting to do for the longest of time) bike now looks and feels even better. shioks.

suspect my hamster are fighting when im not looking. both of them have a bloody front right leg. shall keep monitoring and separate them again if things go downhill.

PS: i got an ugly singlet tan from being under the sun for most of the day. oNO!

back on concrete

did a run in the morning... 10 mins warmup, 10 mins hard, then it started raining (passing cloud).... so i hid at a busstop till it passed...

continued again, this time did 15 mins hard before reaching home and did some hip strengthening and core work...

made kebabs for the YA botanic garden outing, NICE! (will put up pic some time)

pigged out like mad at botanic gardens. roti JON, my own kebabs, pineapple tarts, alissa's BRILLIANT! brownies and josh's konyaku jellies.

had alot of fun with the doulos team, played alot of new (and old) games and generally had a great time of fellowship.

went back to hall and went to do groceries for the week.

then i felt like going for another run, so i did. 5 mins warm up then hard for 6.7km (i measured on mapmyrun.com) finished in 28mins. thats 4:10 min/km

not bad at all! best part was that during the run i felt really really good. I was breathing hard but enjying it at the same time. been a long time since i had that feeling.

yay. =D now to get back to my assignmentS.

after effects

hard to believe, but 2 weeks on, i still havent fully gotten my swim back to 100% after the one week layoff from my crash.

did a mini time trial today for my 1500m with the bi team today. 23:29.

not good enough, considering i swam a 23 min before about more than a month ago. by all accounts i should be even faster now.

i can feel expectations from people on my shoulders, and its hard to shake off.

half the trip home did ease it a little though. whats the point of risk in this world if it is only a board game.

fuelled by inspiration

went for my 2 hour 20 mins grass run today. somewhere at 1 hour plus into it i was fading. I contemplated giving up. Then 2 things happened.

First was I thought of Macca and his 'die die dun give up' spirit during Kona (see below post).

Second thing was that God provided me company in Chun Kiak. With him time passed by much more quickly, and made the rest of the run bearable.

Thank You.

PS: Apples rock.

Ironman World Championship

stayed up from 1am to 9am+++ this morning to watch the race in Kona, and it was worth it.

Seeing Macca surge up from the bike, then blazing out of T2. He was on time to catch Lieto (then in 1st place) until he faded and had to walk. Then came the defining moment, where after Crowie (who will eventually win) and Andreas Raelert overtook him, he had the choice to continue walking or try to run.

He chose to run.

You can see it on his face, as he was grimacing under the Hawaiian sun. Yet here was a man who wanted to keep going, no matter what. He could have so easily chosen to continue walking, but no, he grit his teeth and pushed himself to continue running, even though each step must have been painful. (post race pic showed that he had a humongous blister on his toe)

That is the kind of spirit that inspires. The one that says "I wun give up!" despite mounting odds and waning motivation. That is when one digs deep into oneself to find belief in himself to continue on.

This doesnt only apply to triathlons. It applies to everything we do.

Thanks Macca. You may have lost the race (4th is still pretty damn good), but you have won over many people who watch you and were inspired.

i got my.... back!

yay! this morning's swim was good! managed to get most of my stroke back, though there are still some bits here and there that i have to fine tune and tweak here and there, but im aching in the right places at least! (thanks leon for helping me spot my stroke)

ok, tonight (or rather tomorrow morning SG time) will be kona!!! goodness, so exciting! go macca!

3-5-7, exhale...

got quite stresses up over my swim today.

i'm doing 1500m for IVP swimming. though im not expected to win against the pure swimmers, there are still expectations of myself.

1 week away from the pool and my stroke is VERY off. im not using the right muscles to pull, and as such i fatigue much quicker, and my speed drops.

but zy was right. i need to enjoy the process more than worying about the times. once i enjoy, eveything else would fall in place naturally.

i hope.

fruitful

well, i actually got A BIT of work done today (as opposed to nothing at all), completed my study plans for SEP, and ran for 2 hours 10 mins on the grass.

During the run, people who were around the track were thinking that I was nuts. I know. Cause they said out were they were thinking. heh.

Kona and Franky are warming up to me! They dun run away from my hands so much nowadays. They actually climb onto it! so cute!

back in the water

finally back in the water today, i took a risk by swimming, without being completely healed from my abrasions from the crash last week.

not bad. the scabs got soggy and gross, but they didnt come out!

on the bad side, one week away from the water has made me horribly slow. i hit 6:20+ for 400m today. HORRIBLE!!!!! how to do 1500m for IVP like that... must get my stroke back and everything STAT!

here i come again

i conclude.

i'm a VS boy through and through. our 'tradition' of doing last min work is so damn bloody ingrained in me. it is only when the deadline is staring me in the face that i can get any work done at all.

this explains why today as a productive day.

ran 2 hours on the grass today. shioks. thanks to mok also who ran with me for an hour plus to keep me entertained and also shared some tips with me.greatly appreciated.

happy!

recovery

the abrasions are healing surprisingly fast. now i understand it when zy says that 'we' heal faster. kinda cause athletes have this super human kind of thing i guess.

shin splints not getting better by much. im still unable to run on concrete, and cant go fast on the grass. my run aerobic is down too, couldnt even maintain a hard effort for 20 mins the other day.

JIALAT.

my boston dream is slowly slipping away!

jialat....

shit... suddenly in an emo mood...... (maybe its cause the song 'Lonely' by Akon is playing right now)

a string of flings, almost-could-have-beens, mistakes and complicated interests has been the tale so far.

my life's been pretty constant so far cept for this one aspect, and honestly i dunno why. maybe im too 'niao', or too busy with my own things (but i've made time for others before.........).

anyway, anyone looking for a guy who can cook (jason can attest to this), financially independent (may not be for long, hahaha), sporty (TOO-sporty), lame (U HAVE BEEN WARNED!), and Christian (VERY IMPORTANT) can step forth.

just make sure you dun have a penis.

random ramblings

think by now the whole world knows...(ok, hyperbooole....)

yup, i crashed again on the bike. this time at mount faber. 5 different patches of abrasions, plus 2 sprained (both) wrists. sian.

Swimming IVP in less than a month. i HAVE to heal quickly and get back into training!

i've been slacking in my work so far... somehow i dun have the motivation to get down on it. i really need a holiday break. ever since Jan 07 i have not had a holiday at all. NS and OCS in 07. attached to ship from Jan 08 to Aug 08. School started after that. ALL the holidays since then i have gone back for vacational attachment. I cant last too long like this.