Eternal Sunshine of the Clueless Mind

Only You

2011-12-15T22:26:00.001+08:00

It take 2 hands to clap

2011-11-12T00:37:00.000+08:00

I need and am trying to be a better. You need to learn to control your temper.

2011 Season Review

2011-10-27T19:04:00.003+08:00

Now that all the racing is done and dusted, I finally have time to sit down and look at my season so far, and update my very inactive blog once again.

For the benefit of those who missed it, you can read my mid-season review here---> Eternal Sunshine of the Clueless Mind: mid season review

Did quite a few races after IVP, so i shall focus on the more important ones. The main month was July, where I raced 4 races over 4 weekends. Lesson learnt: I can't handle that kind of physical load unless I was in a better condition. Anyway, these are the highlights for the rest of the year...

First up was Port Dickson International Triathlon, where I had the one of the best swims in the field, biked in a group of 4, and held on to my top 10 position on the run, overtaking Barry Lee in a sprint finish. This race gave me much confidence in my abilities and I had to dig so deep during that last part on the run. That effort gave me RM400 as a reward. =)

First pack swim

All that transition training paying off. Ready to rock the run after rollin' the bike.

I can't even describe how deep i had to dig and how much this hurt. But it made me RM100 richer =D

Next up was OSIM Tri. After fading to third the year before due to shin splints, I was in it this year to win my age group. And win it I did =D

wondering why I wasn't wearing my oakleys? THEY WERE STOLEN!

running off the bike with 10 mins lead

Sharing the podium with Team SW Orbea teammate Henry!

The gf who came down to support =)

Trifactor Triathlon. I was aiming to win the series overall this year. I got 3rd for the swim, and a good run. But I encountered a technical during the bike race and that cost me valuable points that would relegate me out of the running for the series title. So I was determined to make my impact on the triathlon race.

I look like spiderman

One for the sponsors. Orbea, Easton and Orca!

Finishing first in the first wave meant that I was the first finisher back! Awesome feeling.

3rd overall in the triathlon

SUNIG Aquathlon
Finished 2nd individual and the team got 2nd as well, beaten by NTU for the team title. Had a good swim, and held the lead till 1km to go where LuKai from NTU blitzed past me. Still, I was happy with my own personal performance in this race.

Stupid idea to make all of us wear a personal flotation device

Look Ma! is flying!

After these there was an Individual Time Trial where I came in 10th with a good time and a good performance, and Swimming IVP, where I hit a PB of 20:15 for 1500m freestyle. A bit disappointed with that time as I knew I could hit below 20 minutes, but I started too fast and ended up swimming in stitches.

Last race of the season; Team Time Trial. We rode an average of 41.5kph over 36km. It hurt, but we got 3rd in the Sports Category.

Well done boys

Thanks goes out to my sponsor, Soon Watt (Vic, Mave, Daryl, Ahmad, Bob), for the support throughout my season and allowed me to train and race to the best of my abilities while helping me take care of my equipment. As well as the boys in the team for the rides and fun.
Thanks to Coach David Tay, for advicing me and torturing me in the swimming pool. Also to the NUS Aquathlon Team for being fantastic teammates who stuck together through all the sweat and blood.
Thanks to Khoonnie the girlfriend, whose support and advice has certainly brightened my season. I love you.

All in all, it has been a good year. Topped my age group, and consistently finished in the top 10 or podium. Managed to identify certain weaknesses too, so that's something I will be working on for next season.
Till next year, train hard, train smart, train safe. See you all out on the race course next year ;)

Part 2

2011-09-01T23:59:00.000+08:00

I like to push my own limits. Its awesome when I find out what I'm capable of and I love it. Its one of the reasons why I love doing Tri so much.

Sometimes I like to push others' limits too. They find out things about themselves they never knew.

But a reminder to self. Don't push others' limits too far. Getting mad at myself is very different from getting others mad. I have a tendency to do that and I need discernment.

On a learning curve.

Lessons

2011-08-31T23:22:00.000+08:00

Today I learnt another lesson in this relationship. And probably something I knew all along but I had too much pride to admit to.

In things that involve 2 people, there is double the number of things to be respected, things that are important to the other person.

Roger.
Over and out.

Best Birthday Ever

2011-08-13T01:05:00.000+08:00

That was what I said the night before my birthday itself. And that prediction came through.

I planned two meet ups. Lunch at Clarke Quay with the KPC young adults who could make it, and dinner at Pepperoni's with the bi/swim teams. And through it all, I had my gf with me.

I want to thank everyone who took the time to wish me a birthday greeting, and those who wante but couldnt make the meet ups, and those who did. The pizzas at Pepperoni's were AWESOME. Khoonnie, my gf for spending the whole day with me, and conjuring up a cake from out of nowhere. You were a large reason why the prediction came true.

Thank God for bringing me through 23 years of life, and looking back from 10 Aug 2010, to 10 Aug 2011, it has been the most amazing year. 4 and a half months in NOLA. Meeting Khoonnie in school. Quite a few athletic achievements in races. It has been quite a year.

Now as I move on to another stage, I hope it will be another fruitful year ahead, full of fun, joy, laughter, love and fighting through tough times, with my gf and friends by me. <3

lately, thursdays have been awesome

2011-07-22T00:10:00.002+08:00

this time, i'm afraid of failing

crunch time

2011-07-19T00:40:00.000+08:00

im struggling to stay afloat here. you're keeping me sane.

teevee wisdom

2011-07-15T10:53:00.004+08:00

nostalgic workout

2011-07-13T00:41:00.000+08:00

missed running with the varsity sports group from NOLA today, so I did a workout that we often did in Audubon Park just opposite my college in NOLA.

1 mile warm up
1 mile hard
1 mile easy
3/4 mile hard
3/4 mile easy
1/2 mile hard
1/2 mile easy
1/4 mile hard
1/4 miles easy
220 hard
220 easy
cool down

thanks jenny and the VSNOLA running group.

Run hard, Live easy!

2011-07-10T23:59:00.001+08:00

I half-expected this. But I told you about how I saw them nonetheless because I wanted to be as open as you were to me.

Have faith in me.

revenge!

2011-07-09T23:36:00.003+08:00

tee hee

nice nail polish
*photo edited on threat of death*

W31RD05

2011-07-07T23:06:00.003+08:00

We are all a little weird and life's a little weird, and when we find someone whose weirdness is compatible with ours, we join up with them and fall in mutual W31RDN355 and call it love.
~Author Unknown

Wonderwall

2011-07-06T00:52:00.002+08:00

the greatest gift

2011-07-03T00:53:00.002+08:00

i can give is my time. not money, not anything else. just time. even if it means just 2 semesters.

The moral behind the mtv...

2011-06-30T00:13:00.001+08:00

Go to 3:00. The clean shaven guy with neat short hair trumps the hairy guy with a messy mane anytime.

Hobbesian wisdom

2011-06-23T20:53:00.001+08:00

Calvin: "Hey, Hobbes... Hobbes!"

"It's bedtime."

Hobbes: "Ooh, I wouldnt have wanted to sleep through that."

Calvin: "I wonder why we dream when we sleep."

"Do our bodies get bored? I wonder why we don't just plain sleep."

Hobbes: "I think we dream so we don't have to be apart so long. If we're in each other's dreams, we can play together all night."

Calvin: "Hey, Yeah!"

"Well, I'll see you in a few minutes, ol' buddy!"

Hobbes: "I'll be there!"

ZzZz... ZzZz...

Guess Who's Back?

2011-06-23T07:38:00.000+08:00

Finally!

mid season review

2011-06-21T11:02:00.001+08:00

Well, this has been kinda overdue, considering I usually do it after the IVP season. Guess I've been too busy mugging for exams to do it.

Had a pretty good first half season. Started a little rocky with me having to get back used to swimming in a 50m pool (compared with the short course ones in the States), plus running in the heat and humidity.

My focus this year was to race mostly the short-course circuits, doing mostly OD races, after all the LongD races I did last year.

My first race SingBi. For me it ws kinda a revenge race cause I got jelly-fish-ed last year. This was a chance for me to whow what I could do this time. Had to race under Lincoln's name though cause my race registration was screwed up. I got to rock my bright green speedos and top this year!
Finished 7th

3 lao jiaos

Represented Soon Watt for OCBC cycl60km next. The whole aim was to finish without crashing. I achieved that (can't say the same for Mave and Tek though) and I was pretty pleased with the performance. My time-trialling skills brought all the small packs back together into the peloton. Alot of people got me to thank for.

Next was the SMU-organised Waikiki sprint (750m swim 5k run)
came in 2nd after getting my ass handed to me by NTU's Henry on the swim, then putting more time into me in the run. Gave me a very good idea what the competition was for this season.

Then was the one race that I was aiming to ace for this part of the season. I trained specifically for this by running the NUS BI run route over and over again for weeks. I put in more hours on the swim as well, and I stayed off the bike almost totally for this period of time. I had a fantastic PB 800m swim, then managed to hold Mok off for most of the run till bout 1k+ to go. It almost ended in a sprint finish with Henry but the lead from my swim and the run training all paid off as I crossed the line 4s ahead of him. Once again we won the Overall Tertiary title for the countless year running. I clinched second, behind Mok, but in what I like to call "Best of the Rest". Heh =p

but I think of all the things I won this year, the best one did not invlove any crossing of a finish line of any sorts.

see you in 2 days

k-3

2011-06-19T16:54:00.000+08:00

come on jon hang in there just 3 more days.

celebrate father's what?

2011-06-19T01:04:00.004+08:00

a friend shared this on facebook today

God created men, called them to be fathers and charged them to lead a family. Families are destroyed because men fail to lead as a father. Conviction of the day: "Created as a male, chose to be a man, called to be a father, charged to leave a legacy."

looking back on the past 22 years plus, i never saw my dad as an example to follow. in fact, there were never much highlights. or rather, positive highlights. all i remember were the negative ones. the beatings, the abuses, the unreasonable-ness, the quarrels with my mum, the bad decisions, especially the ones which got my family into debt, and the once-in-a-blue-moon-but-too-little-too-late moments of regrets that he showed.

dont get me wrong, it is not so much of hatred, but rather disappointment that i have with regards to him. our relationship could have been so much more, and i would be so much closer to my parents, just like what other kids have, such as just and uncle rodney. but i feel i never had much of a family bond to being with, partly thanks to the lack of a role model.

when i saw that facebook post, it reminded me of a duty that men, husbands or fathers, should perform. and my dad barely did any of that.

there is though, one think i learned from him. he showed me how not to be a man, and rest assured that i will do much better as one.

putting in on the line

2011-06-16T23:23:00.003+08:00

taking a hugeass gamble with my special sem.

its 'do-or-die'.

and the thing is, i still need one more mod, otherwise it's all useless.

perhaps, the greatest gamble of my academic life (and that's saying something, considering i did only 6 subjects for my O'levels)

whatever happens, just be by my side.

you said, "toss away your fears and mine, for my sake"

ok

happily ever after

2011-06-13T23:05:00.003+08:00

marianne lee (now NEE!) and samuel got married over the weekend. i've been to quite a number of weddings, but this was probably the most touching and "awwwwwwwh" wedding i have ever been too.

maybe it was cause i've known marianne since we were kids when she, bryan, just, m.hui and i took swimming lessons together. and i think the rest of the kpc kias all felt it with me, seeing one of us who grew up together (ok i didnt know her for as long as the rest, but long enough) committing her life with her other half just made it really special.

the fact that the 2 of them made the wedding totally their own helped too. they followed the formalities and all, but along the way they had those little bits where they spoke to each other, joked and laughed in their usual way, with no attempt to hide their unique personalities. they were just being themselves, and that made the occasion all the more beautiful.

i pray for those two all the best. thanks for sharing your joy with all of us!

PS: gonna try and get a nice photo to put on this post as soon as i can find one

the song is self-explanatory

2011-06-12T11:23:00.001+08:00

9 more days

3 words

2011-06-08T23:12:00.002+08:00

i

miss

you

yea im old school like that

2011-06-05T20:56:00.002+08:00

yesterday i watched this clip of armageddon on youtube

the last part where bruce willis says goodbye to liv tyler made me tear

its been a long time since i felt that way. besides that one time where i made you our promise, my tear ducts have been relatively inactive.

i used to feel alot. almost every single little thing, and i would get affected by it. but heartbreaks and disappointments one after another, i started to desensitize myself over things. slowly, i built up my walls, and hid myself behind them. there was no point for me to show that was 'soft' in this world. my background have made me had to work/fight for what i wanted, and i couldnt show a weakness, not to those out of my closest circle anyway.

but yesterday i realised that with you, some of those walls have come down. and im starting to feel more once again. whether its a good or bad thing remains to be seen, but so far, things that have come with you tend to be good.

missing you already

send offs

2011-06-03T23:41:00.002+08:00

i sent 2 people off at the airport today, on 2 separate occasions.

i love them both, though in different ways.

siz, have a good time in aust, doing and learning something you love, and serving the One who loves.

babe, whatever i can say has been said. you'll be on my mind. one day i wont have to bid farewell inconspicuously.

till i see you and you again.

sweden-1

2011-06-03T00:49:00.002+08:00

have a safe flight,
have fun,
bite your kor,
shop nice stuff,
take awesome photos,
see europe,
be careful too,
and then come back to me when you're done

i'll be praying for you =)

lesson learnt

2011-06-01T22:17:00.005+08:00

c'mon jon learn to prioritise. in 2 days time you'll regret that 45 mins swim.

"i'm gonna get your heart racing if that's what you need in this teenage dream tonight. let you rest your head on me if that's what you need in this teenage dream tonight."

updated: it scares you to open yourself to me the way you have. you're not alone. but im holding it together for us both

my super lifesaver

2011-05-29T23:39:00.002+08:00

over the weekend i watched the gf for her lifesaving competition, and she not only won, but set the new meet and (i think) national record for the toughest event, the super lifesaver.

being supportive. literally.

reward for my champion =)

childhood dreams

2011-05-26T22:52:00.001+08:00

i loved dumbo when i was a kid, so this photo speaks quite a bit to me

midweek

2011-05-25T23:47:00.002+08:00

nothing but you. couldnt have spent the day any better.

the way you hold my face, my arm, my hand. and i return the favour.

more than 6, love.

if i have to wait another 24 hours, so be it, cause...

2011-05-24T09:25:00.000+08:00

i can dream

2011-05-22T21:04:00.002+08:00

But reality is so much better

Pizza, macaroons and tea.

http://klch.tumblr.com/post/5766848189

ippt wy 2011

2011-05-21T00:42:00.001+08:00

sit ups - 43
chin ups - 12
shuttle run - 9.9
SBJ - 234 (ARGH, 4 points)
2.4k run - 8:24

woohoo new pb on the run average 3:30/km. awesome job today jon.

dear microsoft,

2011-05-16T20:33:00.000+08:00

now that you have bought over skype, can you make it possible for people to touch through the screens?

yours sincerely,
jon

freedom's last day

2011-05-11T22:45:00.001+08:00

yesterday was my last day of freedom before i go back to base.

i couldnt have spent it any better.

love

2011-05-06T23:29:00.002+08:00

hugs are awesome

where the road goes...

2011-05-05T22:54:00.003+08:00

we made it through one semester.

this has probably been the best semester i have ever had in NUS. needless to say, you were one big reason for it.

we weathered the toughest part of the school term. i saw you at your lows, and i tried my best to be there for you.

now im hoping that i will have two more awesome semesters like this one. or even awesome-r.

honestly im a little apprehensive. blame my lack of discipline the past 2 years to not have worked harder. this sem your constant presence in the libraries and study areas have made me study much more than i used to. thank you

last night, as we were by ourselves (with a drunk guy sleeping on the table nearby) and everything else drowned out, it felt just right.

now we wait for the exam results. but wherever the road goes, as long as you're by my side, it should be good.

<3

We

2011-05-02T01:04:00.008+08:00

You made me smile, made me laugh, made me appreciate you for who you are.

The way you make my heart sing.

I was looking for someone I could love, and you were willing to let me do so.

Put yourself in my hands, trusting me, your wonderwall.

And you understood me, take me for who I am, flaws and all.

I feel very blessed.

1

2011-04-18T02:33:00.000+08:00

a whole month of awesome. many more to go.

now this is what i call budding romance

2011-03-29T18:25:00.001+08:00

1000 words, and more

2011-03-19T23:13:00.000+08:00

I'm Clueless

2011-03-13T11:03:00.004+08:00

But you are the sunshine of my mind

XTERRA Wetsuits

2011-02-22T23:43:00.004+08:00

Really happy to have Xterra Wetsuits as a partner of mine for my 2011 season. Now lemme tell you guys more about it!

Last year I was looking to buy a speedsuit to use for my races. I figured that over a long distance swim, the speed advantage of a speedsuit would be multiplied several times over. So I looked at the market, and there were sooo many options to choose from. My biggest problem was the sizing. Most companies offered their suits in the generic small medium large sizes, which gave me quite a headache as I'm considered tall for my weight, and I always found myself in between small and medium sizes.

Then I came upon Xterra's website (http://www.xterrawetsuits.com/), and was pleasantly surprised when I found that they offered their suits for those of us in between (small long, medium large, etc.) I emailed them for help regarding shipping to Singapore, and before I knew it, I got my speedsuit in the mail.

My first impression with the suit was awesome. It fit perfectly, and was flexible and I was able to put it on without too much hassle. One feature that I really liked was the breakaway zipper. Rather than having a string tied to the zip (which most companies use), all I had to do was lift it up, and I could open the suit up from behind. No more fiddling and trying to find a string while running towards transition!

I used to own a wetsuit whose brand also features an "X" in its name (go figure), and I hated swimming in it. The shoulders were too thick and inflexible, and I got tired swimming in it really quickly. When I got the chance, I purchased a Vortex 3 Fullsuit Wetsuit for my race in Clearwater, Florida, the Ironman 70.3 World Championships. The difference was instantly noticeable, as the really flexible shoulder section made me enjoy swimming in a wetsuit. I stopped getting tired really quickly during the swim, and came out of the 1.9km swim during the race in 30mins, a new PB!

Even though my speedsuit (Velocity 0.02) is now deemed illegal for WTC races, I still use it in the ones where it is not banned. However, I am looking forward to getting my hands on the new Velocity-M, now WTC-legal! It debuted during the Ironman World Champs last year in Kona, and if my past experiences with Xterra are any indication, this new swimskin should be awesomely wicked fast!

Read more about the Xterra Advantage here: http://www.xterrawetsuits.com/products/#advantage

For those who need a wetsuit or swimskin to kick off their 2011 season, use the coupon code SA-JMA when making your orders! This will give you the suits at the following great prices!

-Vortex 3 Sleeveless USD$139 (u/p $300)
-Vortex 3 Full USD$189 (u/p $400)
-Vector Pro X Sleeveless USD$199 (u/p $400)
-Vector Pro X Full USD$299 (u/p $600)
-Vendetta USD$500 (u/p $750)
http://www.xterrawetsuits.com/products/mens/wetsuits/

First out of the water at OSIM Tri 2010 in my Velocity 0.02, all smiles!

NOLA I MISS YOU

2011-02-08T23:36:00.002+08:00

Its been about a month since I got back to Singapore. But more significantly, its been that amount of time since I left New Orleans. And freaking hell I miss it.

Woke up one morning thinking that I'll do a 3 miler along the St Charles streetcar track. Then I realised that I was back in Singapore.

I miss the friendly strangers in the Crescent City, how you can strike up a conversation with people around.

I miss the St Car, going down the GORGEOUS St Charles, with the really nice architecture houses. Heck, I even miss the hugeass potholes.

I miss the beautiful campus of Tulane.

I miss Walmart. It has like, everything. And Whole Foods, one of my favourite haunts with its wide variety of food, the pizzas, the baked goods, all from wholesome ingredients!

I miss Magazine St. Away from the big malls and conventional shops, and a whole street that goes on for really really long of shop houses, each unique and different in their own way.

I miss going to the Lakeside, just watching the water on a nice sunny day...

I miss the French Quarter, how it comes alive at night, and the live jazz music there.

I miss watching the Saints games, at least during normal waking hours.

I'm gonna be missing a whole host of races. The Mardi Gras Marathon, the Crescent City Classic, the Pelicanman (no chance to defend my title), Barathon, The NOLA 70.3 IM.

I'm also gonna miss the Mardi Gras itself!!!

But most of all, I miss my friends. Those from the Papillon Apartment, the Chuangs, Diego my cycling buddy, the TU cycling team, the classmates I was just starting to get to know, and of course, the Varsity Sports crew!

And packing is just the easiest part..

2011-01-04T14:14:00.002+08:00

After hours of dumping, packing and cleaning, I am finally ready to move out of my apartment. Looking back, its been 4 of the best months I have ever had. Sure, I stupidly took THREE Level 600 (grauate level) classes, one supremely boring Philosophy class, and the worst ever cinema class, and the workload kinda killed me. BUT, I did everything I wanted to do here in the states, and I got more than what I bargained for, in the most positive of way.

I must admit, when I first got told that I was going to be sent to New Orleans for exchange, I was a little apprehensive. However, since I cant refuse the offer from my school in the choice of destination for my exchange, I decided to look on the bright side. The first day I got to New Orleans, it was storming. In fact, it stormed for the first two days I was there. And when the rained cleared up, it was hot, and humid. I was thinking "Aw crap, I came halfway around the world to get the same type of weather as Singapore."

But I soon got to experience the side of NOLA that most people who have not lived here get to know. The people, culture, and attitude of the city is amazing. Out of all the American cities I have visited so far (I have been to quite a number), the people in New Orleans are by far the most friendly and welcoming (with maybe the exception of Hawaii. But then again, its Hawaii) I never fail to get a smile and a greeting from people around, or on the streets. At first I was not really used to it, cause in Singapore people mostly keep to themselves, though I must say I like the attitude of the people here alot more.

And as the title of this note says, packing really is the easy part. Because I have got to know so many good friends here, and saying goodbye is the most painful and difficult bit. Within this short 4.5 months away from home, I really feel that I have taken root here in NOLA. They have all been so friendly and helpful to me, especially since I can't drive (I do walk alot though hahaha) and even though most of them were 'training partners' to me at first, they have become SOOOOOO much more. Mark Berger, Jessica (CONGRATS again!) Nic, Stacy, Dominic, Carolyn, Adam,Ann Elise, Lanie, Doug, Jenni, Mark Carter, Chrishelle, Carolina, Ashley, Gary, Nell, Fergus, Myles, Ryan (did i get everyone?) Thank YouS and I am going to miss you all on tuesday, thursday and saturdays!

farewell dinner at louisiana pizza kitchen

carolina and chrishelle after their beer mile

jessica and nick, BEFORE their beer mile

the lovebirds. definitely AFTER the beers

carolyn, jessica and i before ole man river half

hi ashley! one of our long saturday runs

mark, me, chrishelle, adam.

jenni! coach and friend!

lanie! schoolmate and running partner!

post ole man river

stacy. giving everyone else a chance by not running the race

these are the folks who made long runs and intervals really fun, and nothing better than hanging out after runs on thursdays!

then there are the people i ride with. at the pelicanman duathlon i got to know diego and friends. i then rode almost every week with diego, really such a kickass cyclist, and sometimes with steve who we both call a 'machine'.

long rides into the headwind, and avoiding stupid ass dogs, then running off the bike made up my sundays, then we would catch the saints games on tv at kona club or diego's place. thanks bro for everything.

of course, Tulane cycling, another fun group who i looked forward to ridin with on fridays and saturdays. rides into the headwind on the levee along the missisipi wiver, and the city rides where we explored the cresent city on our bikes. Jordan, Mike, Ric, Doug, Allie, Carlo, Alex, Randy. wishing u guys an awesome season ahead, with gatorade!

my sociology of education class gave me a chance to give back to the city as well. I tutored Tahj and Jariell on wednesdays on reading. It was a pleasure and I loved this two kids. Unfortunately on the lst day Tahj was too hyper and I didnt manage to get a photo with him. But here's the lovable Jariell

wishing her a future as bright as her smile!

then there are those who lived in the papillion with me. my best friend there, and my companion on tues and thurs morning 730am shuttle rides to school, katie! im really gonna miss hanging out with her!!! The others from the apartment include Pete (England), Carly (Ireland), Virginia, Carmen (both from Spain) and Franziska (Germany)

katie!

my classmates! Max (thanks for being my guide in NYC dude), Beau, Samantha, Miles, Chloe, Ellyn, Margot, Sabrina, Mia, Tina, Schuyler, Moira, Julie, Jilian, Gwen,Hank... (i definitely missed out some, but u all know who u are!)

then there is a family, not from NOLA, but still who have welcomed me and made me feel at home in Atlanta and Maryland. The Chuangs! Saying hi to Christine in the NUS pool was one of the best things I have done all year, and maybe my life.

thanksgiving at the chuangs'

christine and way joe here in NOLA with hand grenades!

Last but not least, my HK roomates Juno and (Gemma u spend so much time up here anyway) thanks for the company and friendship! hope i get to go back to HK soon to visit u guys

juno and gemma!

Thank you everyone for makin my experience in NOLA. Im gonna miss watching Saints games during normal daytime hours (im gonna have to wake up in the middle of the night to watch them in singapore), the street car, the buildings, the people, the food, the knowing that there is always something happening in New Orleans. I will come back one day, whether it be vacation or something else, but I will. And If anyone of u come to Singapore, do lemme know!

Ironman 70.3 World Championship 2010 Clearwater

2010-11-15T13:16:00.006+08:00

I dunno what it means when my blog entries are race reports. But since I'm finally blogging once again, I guess no one should complain.

Training for this race has definitely been different from all my previous races. I had to swim by myself in a 25 yard (as compared to a 50m) pool in school. Cycling was only done twice a week with Tulane cycling and the insane Diego and Steve aka the machine. Running was my one real focus, thanks to the Varsity Sports crew. And this being the World Championship, I knew that I was playing with the big boys in a whole different league. As such, I had very different expectations for this race than all my others. I had aimed to do this race since December last year, when I started the training for the Singapore 70.3 in order to qualify for the World Champs.

Woke up in the morning rather anxious to get down to transition to get all my stuff settled. After a usual oats breakfast and a pre-race banana, we headed down and did the usual preparations. We donned our wetsuits and did a little warm up. Thankfully the water was not as cold as I had expected it to be, and I was feeling a little nervous, but looking forward to FINALLY getting this race underway.

This was my first ever swim in a wetsuit during a race. I dreaded swimming in one because the last wetsuit I owned had such thick shoulders that I got tired very quickly in it. I sold that one off, and bought a second hand Xterra Vortex 3. It had such thin and flexible shoulders that I was able to swim with my normal stroke. Once the horn went off, I charged into the Gulf of Mexico with the rest of my 18-29 wave.

It was insane. I finally knew what it was like to be a middle-of-the-pack swimmer, getting grabbed, slapped, kicked and knocked about by everyone around me. I was pushing people aside as well, trying to get some clear space ahead of me so that I could swim unobstructed.

Near the first turn of the swim, I found myself in the middle of a very large pack swimming our way quickly through. We caught some of the slower swimmers from the earlier waves and kinda swallowed them up then spit them back out behind us. We were like the crazy washing machine from hell.

Got out of the water quickly and employed the quick service of the volunteers to help peel my wetsuit off. Got the bike gear, and mounted DD and it was time to hit the bike course!

Whoever said that Clearwater is a flat course was stupid. It was not hilly, but it was definitely not flat as well. There were a shitload of false flats, and as usual, headwind. Cycling in New Orleans has gotten me pretty used to the headwind around here, but the false flats were definitely something I had not been able to train for in the pancake/soup bowl-like city. Add to this the fact that I had to change my cassette just one week before the race, and was not used to a different cassette ratio. So I struggled to find my usual rythmn during the bike; I was either having to muscle the gears, or spin a bit more than usual.

There were also a shitload number of draft packs that formed up on the bike leg. I know it is not easy to maintain one;s distance on this course, but if I could do it, I do not see a reason why these guys couldnt. I guess they will have to live with the knowledge that they cheated during the world championships.

Anyway, back to me since this is my blog. My left glute started to cramp with 20km (12.5miles) on the bike left. I managed to grab a bottle of electrolytes from the aid station and drank it hoping that it will help with the cramps. Finally, I hit the Gulf to Bay Blvd, which was the homestretch. Up the bridge and down, and I was back in T2. By now, all the athletes from the earlier waves were already running the remaining half marathon.

I changed into my running gear and ran out of transition feeling really good. I found my running legs really quickly and settled into a nice rythmn early on. Then I hit the bridge.

The first half of the ascent was still good, but as I neared the top, my quads started to cramp. I pushed through, and it felt better on the flats. And since most of the time, what goes up must come down, I managed to find my leg speed again and was overtaking alot of people. It was quite a rush and I was happy with my new-found confidence on the run.

Having spent most of the year since last November with shin splints, an injury that had side-lined my running most of the time, it was like a new start for me. After about a year of seeking peofessional advice, icing, grass-running, and massages, I was finally able to run almost-carefree-ly. I felt happy, and relieved to be able to be "back".

Fespite the relative low humidity of Florida, the sun was still out, and I was losing salts faster than I had anticipated. Salt crystals were encrusting on my legs and suit, and I realised this only when I started cramping when running up the bridge again. I was grabbing coke and electrolyes at the aid stations to replenish what I was already almost empty on. Thank gdness that the run leg was an amazing one, and 21km (13.1 miles didnt seem that long).

On the last uphill I cramped bad, I took 10 steps walking, then started running again on the flat top of the bridge, charged downhill, and focused on making a fast return on the last 2km home. Despite my cramps threatening to cramp at any point, I forced myself to just keep pushing onward towards the finish. Hitting the finish line I thanked God for bringing me through an amazing day! Then I a wave of dizziness hit me and I almsot fell into the arms of a volunteer. The bottle of electrolytes they gave me saved me from collaspsing into a a spasm of cramps.

Richard finished shortly after me, while Ling Er made her comeback from her horrific car crash last year to complete as well, followed by Jocelyn and Norman, who had rough days but toughed it out to finish! Must thank them for being such gret travel companions, and the asisstance they gave when I needed it. Thanks also go to Ji Wen for being out one-man support crew, all the wellwishers in Singapore, and to Diego for being my personal bike coach and training buddy, the Tulane cycling team for the rides out on the levee, as well as the Varsity Sports crew for getting me back running and loving it! To Soon Watt for the equpiment support, and KPI for the Shotz electrolyte tablets (which I should have taken more of). Thank you!

Swim- 30:13
T1- 2:57
Bike- 2:32:15
T2- 2:25
Run- 1:38:59
Total- 4:46:49

Interview

2010-09-27T10:17:00.004+08:00

1. What made you join the Arts pageant?
A good friend of mine who was in the organising committee asked me in a way that I couldnt say no to. Haha, and besides, I thought I should try something new and that it would be fun.

2. Any secret tips to winning Mr Arts?
Nope. Just be yourself!

3. What is the best thing that came out of your win as Mr. Arts?
I wouldnt say that there was a best thing that came from winning it, but the people I got to meet and the friends I made were definitely the highlight of the experience.

4. I’m sure you get loads of attention from the ladies. What do you look for in a girl?
I get attention!? I did get asked before whether I'm a breast or ass kind of guy. To be really honest, I like to look at someone's eyes. Seriously! They're usually the first thing you see about a person, and I think that it really makes such an impression. And at the risk of sounding cliche, she got to be smart (not strictly the academic sense), and confident. Of course, a pretty face doesnt hurt!

5. What is your height and weight?
179cm and 67kg

6. What is your exercise and diet regime in maintaining your physique?
I don't train to maintain my physique. Rather, I train to improve my athletic performance and feel good. Whatever physique there is is just a bonus.

7. Is there anything in particular you eat to keep fit?
I generally eat more whole foods in my diet, which means food that is unprocessed. I find that food can taste really good without all the added chemicals and stuff. I actually like vegetables and fruits alot, so I have no qualms about going vegetarian if necessary, though I do enjoy meat.

8. What food do you stay away from?
Fried food. I really cannot stand dunking so much oil into my system. I felt queasy the last time I tried.

9. What is your favourite food?
Thats a really hard one, cause there are foods that I almost HAVE to eat everyday... But if I really have to name one, Peanut butter on wholemeal bread definitely up there.

10. Are there any favourite foods that you’ve had to give up for the sake of sports?
McDonald's fries. A rare treat nowadays

11. What is the “not-so-naked chef” about? Is there a reason to why to document everything you eat?
It was actually a blog I started for my Sociology of Food module back in Year 2. We had to do a food journal, so I figured that a blog would be easy to upkeep.

12. Cycling, running or swimming? Why?
Another tough one. I like the freedom I get in the water when swimming. Running is really enjoyable when I am just moving along by myself and just feeling the adrenaline of the moment. On the bike I enjoy the speed and company, as well as being the best mode of travelling and exploring places you don't usually get to see. Can't decide!

13. You are very involved in sports. From your blog, I see that you’ve taken part in the Iron Man, and other triathlons. What other sporting events have you taken part in before?
I did table tennis in Pri sch, Air rifle in Sec sch, and was in soccer in JC

14. How many medals have you won (starting from Primary school)?
Too many to count.

15. What is the most severe physical injury you’ve suffered that was sport related?
Shin splints. I'm still recovering from it now.

16. What has been your biggest obstacle (emotional or physical), and why? How did you overcome it?
I got shin splints in October 2009, just as I was aiming for the stan chart marathon. As a result I had to skip the race, and take time off from running. During that time I lost all my running speed and was unable to perform the my best for the 2010 IVP season. Alot of "what if's" entered my mind, but I don't like to look back and mope on "what-could-have-been's"

17. What is the longest distance u have cycled, ran, and swam?
My longest swim was 10km, longest bike 197km, and longest run 42.2km. (All on separate ocasions)

18. How do you balance your busy university schedule with your trainings?
I usually put in half to an hour of training in the morning, then depending on my schedule for the sem I usually have classes around the late morning to afternoon period, before heading to another training session at 6.

19. What is a typical week of your training schedule like?
Swims on monday and wednesday, bike and run on tues and thurs, light training or just complete rest on friday. Saturday will be transition training (swim-run) of some sort and a long bike ride on sundays.

20. We have all experienced the urge while running or cycling to stop for a break. What do you tell yourself mentally to keep yourself going?
I think it all depends on motivation and passion. I have a goal that I want to achieve, and I am willing to put myself through the training to achieve it. And if I don't love what I am doing, then there is no point in doing it. Of course, there are some days when I can feel my body is really fatigued and I'll just take the day off to rest.

21. What is the biggest sacrifice you have had to make for the sake of this hobby/love for sports? Time with friends. Its inevitable, since I got to juggle my studies as well. Its a matter of prioritization, and I know what I really want so I will go do what I have and make some sacrifices.

22. Do you have a special personal routine you go through before your endurance events?
I tend to have the same foods before a race, and get a deep tissue massage two days before.

23. Seeing that you’ve already taken part in the Iron Man, which is among the most physically challenging event around, do you foresee the challenge/motivation dimming in time to come? What other events do you intend to take part in the future?
Before the Ironman, I thought that I would need to take a long break to recover physically and mentally from the race. However, after the race I found myself even more in love with this sport (if that was possible), so as soon as I felt physically able, I was back in training (about 1 week after the race). However, if one day I do lose love for this sport (touch wood!), that is when I will stop doing it. Up next on my schedule is the Ironman 70.3 (meaning half ironman) World Championships in Clearwater Florida.

24. Do you have an ultimate goal in mind regarding this hobby?
Representing Singapore, and going to race in the Ironman World Championships in Hawaii would be the ultimate

25. Besides endurance events, I understand you like hamsters and cooking too. Could you tell me a little more about these interests? Do you have any other hobbies?
Generally I like animals, especially cute furry ones. My mum's a great cook, and I suppose I got some of those genes from her. I like making my own meals cause I know what I am putting in it, and I get to experiement with different foods and styles of cooking. And nothing beats enjoying a cooked meal after putting in the effort and thought into making it. Besides, cooking tends to be cheaper than eating out.

26. What values from endurance events can you take away and apply to your life?
Nothing is really unachievable as long as you believe enough in yourself and put in the effort to make it work. Still trying to apply this to my studies though.

27. If you were to leave the readers with a quote, what would it be?
In today's society, so many people like to pigeon hole things and say"Don't do that, it's too hard" If you want to do something that you are passionate about, then chase it, because it is with only passion that you will succeed. - Chris "Macca" McCormack.

28. "When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, 'I used everything You gave me.' " - Erma Bombeck

This quote was listed as one of your favourites. Why? How does it apply to you?
I believe that God gave me a gift in my love for this sport, and I believe that I can use this sport as a platform to reach out to people.

29. Which is more challenging? Final Exam week or running the last lap at a triathlon?
Definitely Exam week. Why? Because I love doing one and I don't love another.

30. Where do you see yourself in the next 20 years?
Still on this Earth I hope. and married.

31. In your blog, you stated that the comment “for his age, he’s quite slow” by your coach’s friend caused you to give up swimming for the next couple of years. Would I be right to infer that discouragements have a very strong impact on you? Are there any other circumstances where discouragement had a similar impact on your decisions?
I think I had quite a low self-esteem when I was a kid, and I was always trying to find out what I was good at. So at that point of time, to hear something like that just made me feel like not swimming for a while (4 years!)

32. What is your source of motivation?
It varies, whether it be winning, or contributing to the NUS Aquathlon team's win, or trying to prove some people wrong, or simply just wanting to fulfil my God-given potential =)

33. Who is your greatest inspiration/support?
Chris "Macca" McCormack. An Australian triathlete who has won countless triathlons at various distances.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_McCormack_(triathlete)
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=663116252#!/MaccaLive?ref=ts

34. What is the greatest sense of achievement you’ve ever experienced (does not necessarily have to relate to sports)?
Finishing the Ironman, definitely. To have invested and sacrificed so much for a one-day event to swim 3.8km, bike 185km and run 42.2km and to complete it in the time that I did, is something that ranks up there.

35. Does it make a difference to you if you are defeated by a female (as opposed to a male) at sports?
Nope, cause it simply means that she is better than me. And I'll be driven to improve to try and not get defeated again, whether it is a male of female.

Beginning of a 4 and a half month journey...

2010-08-18T09:52:00.001+08:00

I got a blogging burnout after my previous post. Now that I have finally recovered (or have nothing better to do), I shall make a couple of posts to update!

One month passed quickly after I came back from Frankfurt, and after another hustle and bustle period of settling admin and stuff, I was finally ready (more or less) to head off to New Orleans for my exchange.

But before that, I must thank the people who took time of to send me off, bless me with umm... blessings, and also reminded me of my own birthday.

The NUS Bi team and Tri 21 for the farewell dinner at vivo, plus the horsing around after that. The KPC Kias for the prayers and the birthday cum send off dinner at Bugis.
The poeple from Soon Watt for the "blessings", well wishes, teachings, and all great companionship.
Auntie Michelle and Leo for helping me with getting to the airport, then back home, and back to the airport again for the most frantic checking in process ever.

Flew from singapore to tokyo which was quite ok. Watched 2 shows along the way. Then the flight from narita to minneapolis was a disaster. NO PERSONAL TV!!! and the shows were baddd! slept most of the way for the 12 hour flight. It was insane i tell u.

Spent 17 hours at minneapolis by going to the Mall America. Fantastic mall. There was an amusement park with roller coasters and all inside, plus a huge ass amount of shops. we went around the whole mall before finally heading back to the airport. Our flight was 6 plus the next morning so we just sat at the Mac's and used our laptops while I finished a book.

Two short domestic flights later we were finally in New Orleans! Home for the next 4 and a half months!

Ironman Frankfurt 2010

2010-07-06T04:47:00.007+08:00

The morning came with us waking up at 3:30am. Had my usual oats and cereal breakfast (a much less smaller portion than usual of course) with an orange before grabbing the gears before Josh and I headed out to meet the rest. It was pretty cold so I was all wrapped up in a jacket and compression.

The shuttle from our hotel to the race ite was pretty fast. In about 20 mins we were there. I had my iPod on with worship songs on. I would either be relying pretty heavily or even meeting my maker today, so I wanted to set the mood right.

Got to my bike and placed my snack bars, pitstop and water on to it, then got the tyres pumped. Since the race starts at 7, I had almost 2 hours to burn before the start, which I used a good chunk of to check out the pros (Macca especially) setting up their bikes. I had 2 squares of Ritter Sport Extra Fine 71% Dark Chocolate to give my body an extra kick.

Macca setting up his Specialized

Josh and I were supposed to meet Teryn before heading out to the lake to warm up, but we couldn't find her so we headed down ourselves. Waited a while before getting in, only to realise moments later that I had lost Josh as well. It would be more than 12 hours later before I see him again.

In order to skip the horrendously long toilet queue, I did my little business in the Lagener Waldsee hoping that will make the water a bit warmer. Since wetsuits and speedsuits were banned for the swim (water temp being about 25C), I was decked out in just a pair of trunks, and I could feel the water coming in warm and cold waves.

The race was to start from a water start, meaning we would have to swim out to a line of buoys and wait for the start signal. Teryn managed to find me near the front of the start. Since the rest of the athletes were moving in to the start line too, there was no way we could swim back through the throng of them to move to a less crowded position. Time to start was 7 mins. The crowd just kept closing in on us at the start line, and we were getting kicked and bumped around even before the start.

7 mins later, BANG and we started the race. The starting pace was frantic. I had people slapping my feet, legs, butt and back as everyone were eager to release all the pent up tension. A couple of hundred metres later I found some space, and legs to draft behind. This usually does not happen, and it was a welcome relief. I would follow a pair of feet for as long as possible, before letting it go, or going past the swimmer and finding a faster pair to follow.

2300 people swimming!

The swim was 2 separate loops, with the first longer than the second. I found my rythmn and glide very quickly, and focused to lengthening my strokes and controlling my breathing. After 59:51, I was out of the lake and ran up the loooonnnnng sandy shoreline up to T1 where I grabbed by blue transition bag and got to the tent to put on my tri suit (thanks to the volunteer who helped me), put in my gels, ran to my bike and brought in out of transition and onto the 185km bike course.

coming out the water

getting to rip it up with DD

Due to some road works along the bike course, there was a change to the bike course from previous years, which added on 5km more to the course. To Singaporeans, we would say that this is a good thing as we are paying the same amount for more (hahaha).

Started the bike at a steady 35 to 36kph. I was mindful to keep the pace steady and not over-extend myself too early. There would be alot more kilometres ahead to push myself. The route took us through downtown Frankfurt to the countryside. The first hill we hit was called "The Beast". Surprisingly, for people living in a continent full fo famous hills, most of the Europeans were pretty bad climbers. They were struggling up the long ascent while I passed them one by one. It was only on the equally long descents that they would zooom past me no matter how hard i paddle on the biggest gear. Somehow gravity works better for them.

"The Hell" was a short 500m uphill stretch that was on cobble stones. I now have newfound respect for the cyclists who do the Paris-Roubaix race. On the cobble stones it felt like my bike was trying to throw me off. I had to hold on for dear life while having to remember to turn the pedals to move forward. The spectators supporting there were amzing though. There were 2 dudes dressed up as the devil and I had fun making faces at them.

having "fun" at "The Hell"

The route through the countryside was full of ups and downs, and many stretches where it looked flat actually had a small incline that made me wonder whether it was the wind, the slight elevation or just me getting tired. I was getting overtaken on the left the nonstop at this point and I just had to plonk my head down and keep going.

The German crowds were really really fantastic. They were all over the place using noise makers, clappers, bells, loudhailers and whatever they could get their hands on to cheer us on. I lost count of the number of kids standing by the side of the road trying to get high 5's. This was most pronounced at "Heartbreak Hill" coming at the end of one loop. It was a straight ascent for a couple of kilometres that was lined with crowds. At some points I could not overtake the other riders simply because I wold ride into a supporter if I went out to the side to tried to.

The many loops of coastal and trainer rides I did for training really helped mentally. 2 loops with this kind of amazing scenery was nothing compared to the supreme boredom of those training sessions. I went out on the second loop still feeling pretty good at this point. My nutrition consisted of GU gels, Natural Valley Bars, and Shotz electrolyte tablets dissolved in water. Going out I was confident that if all went well I would hit my goal of finishing the bike under 6 hours.

At about 130km I was starting to feel a bit of fatigue. I took down another bar and gel to try to delay the onset of any potential cramps. One thing I had done was to write down the names of groups or individuals who had helped me along the way of this Ironman journey. Everytime I took out a pack of gel to down I would see the names, and remember what these people had done for me and what a blessing they have been in my life. It really made the ride more memorable and easier to get through this way.

After what seemed like a long while, I hit Heartbreak hill again. I just spun my way up past the people who were ahead of me once and got to the long downhill stretch that would bring me back into downtown Frankfurt and into T2 finally. The part of my body where the sun never shines was aching so badly at this point as the padding in my tri suit was ridiculously thin.

Having waaaayyy too much fun at Heartbreak Hill

I took quite a big risk by not carrying any spares but 2 Vittoria Pitstops. I saw some people by the roadside having to change their tubular tyres, something I was unfamiliar with and would be an instant game over for me if it happened. I am so glad to finish without any incident of note. I was prayed on the bike that God would keep us all safe for the bike and also to hold the weather up for us.In the end my bike time for the 185km was 5:42.

Finally turning into T2, I saw Luke's wife Karen, and surprisingly, Coach David. What was he doing there? He was all changed and carrying his camera. He was suppose to be out on the bike as well! Something must have happened. Turns out he had a case of hypothermia in the swim, could not breathe and had to dnf.

The volunteers at the transition helped catch my bike and bring it into rack it for me while I grabbed my red transition bag containing my socks, shoes, visor and more gels. Now this was the promblematic bit. Having been blighted by shin splints for the majority of the first half of the year, I had to take a slow recovery back to running fitness. My longest run was 14km just 2 weeks ago. How am I going to survive something 3 times longer after over 5 hours of swimming and cycling? I was going to find out. I said a quick prayer for God to grant me strength for the upcoming 42.2km, and also thank him for the weather He blessed us with.

My goal for the run was to run happy. I just wanted to feel comfortable and run my own pace. Surprisingly, the first 8km was pretty good. I was actually overtaking people and feeling very happy with it, and it showed as I smiled my way through. I even tried to make conversation with a guy running next to me (he didn't reply though, giving me a shag face).

Marathon up ahead!

Then I hit the wall early. My early strides slowed to a shuffle, and all the people I had passed earlier on were reversing the pass. I was just focusing on putting one foot in front of the other. My core was in pain/stitching/almost-cramping so I walked at the aid station to down some water, coke and powerade.

At the third loop I started finding my rythmn again. I was so sick of gels that I was just surviving on the coke, powerade and water the aid stations provided. The spectator support was also incredible. They lined the 4 x 10km run route along the river and kept shouting words of encouragement, calling me by name cause of it being printed on my number tag. The sun was out, but the humidity was much lower than Singapore, so it was a comfotable temperature to run in. This was not the case for most of the Europeans as they were desperately grabbing cups of ice and sponges trying to cool themselves down. Every step now was pain. Blisters were forming especially on my little toe on the right foot, and every step I took made it ache more. The cobble sections of the road we had to run over certainly did not help as the uneven surface made it hurt more.

Pushing through......

After I got the scrungie indicating that I had ran 3 loops, I picked up my pace a bit more. I was really motivated now by the though of finishing. The fourth loop was just a blur as I pushed my way through, digging deep inside to tell myself to just keep going. The smile was gone as I gritted my teeth and just kept going and going. I though about the first Ironman Hawaii World Championship video I had watched. It was 2006 and Chris "Macca" Mccormack was chasing Norman Stadler off the bike. He pulled 9 mins off the lead and gave it his all, coming to just 71 seconds off to finish 2nd. That really inspired me to push through the way I had to.

There was a German wearing a green tri suit and green compression socks that I had seen during the bike and had been trading leads throughout the run. Now I caught him for the last time and pulled ahead. With the last scrungie, I was ecstatic and was focused on the last 4km for the finish.

Running down the finish chute was amazing. The crowd lined both sides of the finish chute and I cheered and highfived with them as I ran down. The feeling is really indescribable. As I reached the finish line I saw the time 10:45:52. I was quite shocked! I don't carry a watch with me when I race, so I had absolutely no idea what speed I was going. I crossed the line, thanking God. I then got down to roll across the line again in memory of John Blais (another inspiration of mine).

AMAZING German crowd giving the race finish a fantastic atmosphere!

I was still in quite a bit of shock at what had just happened, and it took a couple of seconds more for it to sink in. What I had once thought of as almost impossible, had dreamed of, had just become a reality. I almost teared just thinking about it.

Final results:
Swim 3.8km - 59:51
T1 - 5:11
Bike 185km - 5:42:01
T2 - 2:20
Run 42.2km - 3:56:29
Total - 10:45:52 13th in M18-24 Age Group

Thanks must go to God from whom all blessings flow. He had given me a love for this sport, then protected me while I trained for it, provided for me in terms of finances and material support, as well as great company to do this race with. Kept us safe travelling around, as well as in the swim and the bike. Hearing my prayer for strength and his healing hand while I ran 3 times my longest run, not letting my shin splints worsen, and carrying me through on wings like an eagle. All that I had, have and will do is due to His grace an mercy.

Thanks must also go to my travel and race companions. Josh, Coach David, Luke and wife Karen, Kok Sin and wife Agnes, new friends Teryn, Chris, Ram and Sean. To Just, my BFFLF for being my greatest supporter, Jiajie, Jason, Norms, Nicolas and the rest of the NUS Aquathlon Team, Tri 21 peeps for your unending support and well wishes. Soon Watt for the servicing and packing of my bike and loaning the excellent Easton EC90 Aero Wheels which brought me through Frankfurt and over the cobblestones. Macca and John Blais for the incredible source of inspiration you have been. My parents for the logistical support, as well as the many many many friends, supporters and well wishers, thank you all for all playing a part in bringing me through "The Longest Day of the Year".

Finisher Certificate and Medal!

Ironman!

The Jouney...

2010-07-03T23:51:00.001+08:00

This has been a journey that started over a year ago. From my decision to do an Ironman, then obtaining a slot for Ironman Frankfurt and from then on it was all a long road of preparing for what is undeniably the biggest race of my (almost 22 years of) life so far.

Back in Secondary School, I hated running. The 2.4km we had to do for fitness tests was a pain the ass. I knew that I was an above than average runner, but I did not enjoy doing it. The only reason why I ran was to either pass the tests, or to accompany friends, or forced to do so in school inter-house meets. It was only in Junior College that I started to enjoy running more when we had to run 4km for warm up during soccer trainings. I was a goalkeeper and I was able to run with my friends who played outfield. Oddly enough, I enjoyed the company, as well as the silence between me and my beating heart and moving lungs. The adrenaline rush was an added bonus after the run was over.

When soccer season ended, I needed an outlet for all my pent up energy and release from the stress of studying for my A Levels. I turned to swimming.

I had been swimming since I was little. However, due to my lanky build and small frame, I was nowhere near fast enough to turn competitive. I was above-average-fast, but still not fast enough to join the ranks of the club swimmers where Singaporean swimmers blossom. At 13, I did a trial with my coach for the 50m freestyle. When my hand touched the wall, I looked up, and the very first thing I heard was my coach’s friend saying to my coach, “For his age, he’s quite slow.” Upon hearing that, I gave up swimming totally for the next couple (and probably the most important developmental) years of my life. During these years I was active (if you can call such an immobile sport as such) in air rifle and soccer.

I started swimming again in JC after my classes. The nearby pool had been renovated and the facilities were pretty good. I just swam for fun, and doing first 10, then 20, 30 and eventually 40 laps at a go. I rediscovered what I loved about swimming. There was a sense of peace and serenity when I was in the water. Gravity was barely-existent, and I felt free like a fish in the sea (pardon the cliché analogy).

All these continued when I joined the army for my National Service. I was one of the faster runners in my company, scoring high on fitness tests. I continued swimming on the weekends whenever I could. This carried on when I entered the Officer Cadet School and subsequently signed on with the Navy. Factoring in swimming, running and other fitness tests we had to do, I had the best physical fitness in my batch. If not for my course officer’s blatant favouritism, I would have received the best physical fitness award.

In early 2008, I saw an advertisement for the Singapore Biathlon, which was a 1.5km swim in the sea, followed by a 10km run. Seeing how this combined both my two loves together, I registered and began training for it on my own. I would jog to a nearby swimming pool, do a 1500m swim, and then head out for a 10km run. I did this many times to prepare myself for my first ever endurance race.

On the race day, I did the swim quite comfortably in the sea. Then the run came, and I fell in love with it. I was enjoying the run so much, and I felt so comfortable during the 10km. When I finished, there was that immense sense of achievement and satisfaction. I could not wait for the next biathlon!

Many things happened after that. I was even stricter with my own diet than before. I started working out almost every day. I had found an outlet for the energy I had inside, and I was enjoying every single lactate-burning moment of it.

In August that year I disrupted my service to the Navy to further my studies at the National University of Singapore. There I joined the biathlon team. I remember clearly how I heard about two other freshmen who were competing in the Singapore Ironman 70.3. For someone who had cramped during his virgin marathon in May, I was in awe of these two guys. I could not fathom racing for 5 to 6 hours at all. I mean, that is sick, man. I later met these two guys who would become part of my circle of close friends, Jiajie and Jason.

Meanwhile, I was training actively with the biathlon team and loving it. Finally, I got tempted into investing my money into a bike. With much help from Jiajie, I bought an Orbea Aletta Tri Bike, which had to be brought in from Europe as the bike shop (Soon Watt) did not have my size at that time. So I borrowed Jiajie’s road bike to do my first triathlon. OSIM Corporate (Sprint) Tri, a 750km Swim, 20km Bike and 5km Run race. To sum it up, I fell head over heels with doing Tri after that race. That very night, I made the decision to sign up for the following year’s Singapore 70.3 Ironman.

I watched the video of the2006 Ironman World Championships at Kona Hawaii which Jiajie had since passed to me. It was my first time watching an Ironman, and I was fascinated by what I saw. Especially that of Chris “Macca” Mccormack. He is an Australian Pro Triathlete who on that day, came off the 180km bike 11 minutes behind the leader. He ran his guts out and managed to cut the lead down to 90 seconds before he ran out of real estate and finished second. I was inspired by what I saw and how deep he had dug in to do what he had done. I instantly became a fan.

To cut a already very very very long story short, I now find myself about to attempt my first Ironman 1 year 8 months since I started doing Tri. I still hold the same love (or more) for the sport and enjoy it for what it brings me. I thank God that I am able to experience the fruits of the spirit while I am out there, whether training or racing, and the new experiences and friends it has brought me.

In another couple of hours, I will be doing the Ironman, and I will dig deep, I will fight. I will race hard and smart, and I will make sure I will draw from myself whatever it takes to reach the finish line, knowing that on this day I had given my all and have done my best, holding nothing back. And at the end, I... will... be... an...

IM Frankfurt D-2

2010-07-03T03:19:00.004+08:00

had a long start to the day today. joined teryn, chris and their friends in their rented car to the lake where we are going to swim on sunday. we got lost along the way and it became a 1 hour long drive there.

when we FINALLY got to it, we werent allowed to park our car inside the park, so we found another way in the woods and "bashed" our car through it to get to somewhere near the lake.

the lagener waldsee is BEAUTIFUL!!! it really is amazing. i lovvve it! i opted not to swim in my wetsuit, and the water was cold at first, but once i got warmed up it was very comfortable and i felt really good swimming in it. i loved the lake so much i was a bit sad when we finished our short swim and had to leave.

so beautiful!!!

bringing the GT cap to frankfurt!

went back to the hotel to slack a while before heading out with coach david and the rest for lunch. we went to the irish bar again, and i had this kickass huge sandwich for just €4.80.

went to the race expo again where i bought the ironman tap watch. after calculating the cost and taking into account the tax rebate, i realize that it was quite a worth it buy so i got it. saw andreas raelert there as well as someone who i suspected was faris al sultan. but i wasnt sure. otherwise i would have taken a shot with the speedo man.

went for the race brief after that. o lo and behold! o joy! it was declared that it would be a non-wetsuit swim! (i dun like swimming in my wetsuit) another thing was that the weather forecast expects the temperature on sunday to run up to 40 degrees Celsius. Seriously??? i came all the way here from singapore just to race in hotter temperatures??? man...

had a great carbo loading dinner with josh as the rest didnt want to eat at the dinner (beats me why). and i got to meet my ironman inspiration Chris "Macca" Mccormack and the flying dutchwoman Yvonne Van Vlerken and got their autographs and photos! super happiness!!!

the flying dutchwoman. just last month she won austria 70.3 by 0.1 seconds.

Macca. Ironman World Champion, ITU World Champion, European Champion, host of ITU, 70.3 and other Ironman wins. This guy has done it all. A living legend in every right.

after all this, we got back to the hotel relatively early and packed our transition bags. all . 3. of. them. this ironman is really different from all the races ive been used to doing. but i must really admit it is very well organized and puts all the singapore races to shame.

ok, tomorrow we´ll be checkign in our bikes as well as 2 of our transition bags. gonna get to bed early too cause i´ll need all the rest i can get!

day 2 of my fantastik frankfurt journey

2010-07-02T04:03:00.003+08:00

today we went to the race expo to collect our race packs as well as see the race goodies!

bought quite a bit of stuff. including a pretty expensive but very very very nice jacket that will come into handy when i go to the US... the stuff they have for sale is amazing... they have EVERYTHING... like what im switzerland people said, u can just bring your credit card to the race expo and u can buy all u need for the race there.

trek speed concept. front view below

orgasmic!!!

spent the rest of the day relaxing, chilling, citadel-ing in the room with josh, just resting. after which we went out for dinner with chris and "iron maiden" teryn at an irish pub. food was good and quite reasonable. and did i mention. i LOVE the bread here!!! so nice!!!!! i love bread!!!!

ok gonna sleep. tml morning gonna do a lake swim!

my race tags and stickers

and btw, i met macca in the morning! but soooo stupid i forgot to put in the memory card in my camera... =(

frankfurt day 1

2010-07-01T04:13:00.003+08:00

gonna TRY and blog everyday... stupid inter-continental hotel doesnt have free internet in the room so i gotta go to the lobby to tap free internet...

got to frankfurt last night, heaved by humongous bike box around the airport before meeting coach david and the other adults then headed to the hotel. was too tired after my 23 hours of being awake so i went out like a light the moment my head hit the bed.

woke up at 6am (frankfurt time, which is about 6 hours slower than Singapore) this morning, ate my breakfast (usual oats and cereal) before fixing up my bike. josh came around this time so he came and fixed up his bike with us too.

DD is built! thanks Soon Watt for tuning up my bike, and loaning me the Easton EC90 Aero race wheels!

the plan was to go for the bike tour at 11am. it was going to be one loop of 84km of the race route. quite a number of participants showed up, mostly german. the pace was easy and with the european wind and low-level humidity made it very comfortable despite the bright sun. we barely sweated!

josh and i during one of the few stops

the ride was really fun, and at one downhill section, we were going at 50+ to 60kph without pedaling. REALLY SCARY!!!!!! my hands were on the braking tapping it just a little just to make me feel safe.

the view along the route though, was AMAZING!!! i haev never seen anything so beautiful while on a bike before. just feels of gold and green of the vegetation.if my bike handling was a bit better i would have been able to take shots of the scenery and put it up. but alas, you guys will have to settle for these.

the race organisers were really fantastic. they had guys on motorbikes riding behind, around and in front of us to block or clear off traffic so that we could complete the bike tour pretty much without any unnecesary stops. they even provided water! felt like the tour de france man!

the motorbike riders who facilitated the best bike ride i ever had!

after the ride we went to walk around the city area. josh did quite a bit of shipping, and we had ice cream at EURO 70 cents! thats dirt cheap!!!!! but it tastes great! YUM!!!

dinner was a half chicken and some salad. the food here is quite a reasonable price, and the quality is pretty good as well. hope the weather stays this way on sunday as well. i dun mind the sun, since the humidity level here makes the heat quite bearable, or at least im not sweating like a pig like i would usually do.

ok tomorrow would be time to collect my race pack! gonna turn in! still qutie tired from my flight yesterday...

PS: Macca is staying at the same hotel!!!! AHHH!!!!! and i saw yvonne van vlerken today!!! AHHHHH!!!!! o joy! life has never been better...

my beautiful misery. hahaha.

2010-06-28T22:08:00.000+08:00

2xu and Shotz

2010-06-24T21:52:00.004+08:00

Thanks goes to Sham of Key Power International for helping to obtain sponsorship for some items for my upcoming race at IM Frankfurt!

2xu Elite Compression Tights

Been using my old pair of 2xu compression for almost 3 years now, so about time i got a new one. Thanks so much for the timely gift! It really helps with reducing fatigue and faster recovery after hard trainings, and I wear it to sleep almost every night!

Shotz Nutrition

Shotz Energy Gel - so many flavours! Wild Bean, Cola, Cola Vanilla, Wild Berry, Berry Vanilla, Lemon Lime. At first look I can tell it is going to be quite easy to take down, as it is really smooth, liquid-y, water-y, easily digestible and convenient during a race cause I dun have to wait for a water point. And it has Caffeine in two of the flavours as well!

SHotz Energy Bar - delicious nutritional energy bar with complex carbohydrates, protein and whole grain. Apple Berry and Chocolate Almond flavours. ideal partner when I need something healthy, low fat and low sugar energy packed snack!

Shotz Electrolyte Tablet - no more measuring, no more mixing, no more fuss. Drop one Shotz tablet into 500ml of water and away I go! Very simple, and ideal for me with my insanely high sweat rate to replace the electrolytes i lose during a race to prevent crampings!

this seems a bit show-off-ish, but its just cause im really really happy and grateful for this blessing. Good to know and very heartening to know that there is support for aspiring athletes (especially cash strapped ones) to help achieve their dreams. Thank God for these little blessings along this long journey that has been full of logistical and financial nightmares.

Thank you KPI!

Tri-factor Series Tri-bike 2010

2010-06-20T19:22:00.000+08:00

The reason why I went back to register for the tri-swim and tri-bike even though I couldnt do the whole series this year, was because I found the tri-factor series really fun, and after last year's positive experience, i wanted to do it again just for fun and for training value.

Last year's tri-bike Josh and I had fun within our pack averaging 36kph before i sprinted my scrawny butt off at the finish. This year, without Josh around, I decided to play it this way: Keep up with the fastest pack that my ability could keep up with.

I got to the race site about 15 mins before my wave's start. And me being the cycling noob i was, put myself in the middle of the start chute. Once the horn was blown, the front group of people went off quickly. All their fresh legs meant that the first lap was already ridiculously fast. I had to ride at 40kph to catch that front group that had quickly broken away. I had to catch on to that pack so that I won't be at a disadvantage just at the start of the race.

The moment I got onto the back of this pack, the front half of this pack attacked. WTH... I jumped out from behind and pumped to catch this new group. The pace was retarded. I was going at 43-44 to close the gap on this new group.

Trust me to have a shit luck. The moment I caught up with this pack, 3 of them decided to break away. WHAT THE HELLLLL!!! It's akin to taking the treat away from your pet dog just as it is about to eat it.

Since I had already committed to chasing down the leaders, I put my head down to catch them again. 43 was the number as I slowly but surely bridged my way up to them. One of the guys looked surprise whn I came up behind them, as if I had just appeared from out of nowhere. I took my time to catch my breath behind them, before the 4 of us took our turns to work at the front, maintaining at about 40kph.

This went on for 3 of the 4 loops. There were 2 roadies, and a fellow tri-biker in our group. One of the roadies was from the geylang riders while the other was a team midpoint guy. The tribiker was on a argon e112. On the 3rd loop, the argon got a gap on the 3 of us, and i wanted to catch back up to him, but the 2 roadies were getting tired by then, and we couldnt close the growing distance, so we let him go.

A huge pack from a later wave had latched onto the 3 of us, but they were pulling at 36-37. I got impatient and went ahead. Bunch of craps just latched onto my rear wheel. Everytime I motioned for them to take over, the pace dropped. I was getting quite annoyed, but there was nothing I could do. So I just worked within the pack to conserve my energy.

At the last turn right with 2km to the finish, I jumped out and went for it. I hit 47kph and kept it around 42-43 after that. With a couple hundred metres more to go I kicked one last time to secure finishing 2nd in the wave, and ultimately 6th overall. huge improvement from last year's 37th place (or somewhere around there) finish. Check the speedo, ave speed was 38.8kph.

I was very pleased because I felt that I had given my best effort. I was not let down by myself but just by riders who didnt want to work.

Thanks must go to Soon Watt for lending me the pair of EC90 Aero Tubular race wheels. They really made a difference. Thank God for keeping me safe during the race too. Saw one guy who had to get his face bandaged (ala Amos) because of a crash.

I was impressed by the guy on the e112. I chatted with him after the race and it turns out he only started riding in Jan this year. This is one sick sick dude.

I went for another 60km with a number of hills in between, then headed out for a run with turned into a run/walk as i melted and dehydrated from the 12 noon heat.

The prep for frankfurt is more or less complete. Tomorrow onwards I will be tapering for the biggest race of my life so far. I pray for strength and protection as I head towards the end of this loooooonnnnnggg journey.

getting chicked

2010-06-14T22:54:00.002+08:00

Definition: Only applicable to men. Refers to a male athlete being beaten by a female contemporary. Eg; Jon got chicked in the pool today during swim training.

Goodness. i am so smashed from swim training today. Even yesterday's 150km bike ride didnt feel so tiring. For the second week, Christine and Jing from Georgia Tech's swim team joined us for swim training today and just whooped my ass. Or, to put it in simple terms, i got chicked.

Christine is a-m-a-z-i-n-g. She said she was a short-d swimmer, most being 200m. Crapppppp... Her long-d still kicks butt. She did a blazing fast 5:15 during a 400m target, chicking me by a good 14 seconds. I found her player profile here.
http://ramblinwreck.cstv.com/sports/c-swim/mtt/chuang_christine00.html
Scary stuff.

Jing also kept up the pressure behind me so that there was no way i could slack. And this was her being " out of shape " (i know a particular someone who would say that any shape is a shape) and she is still fast! check out her profile here.
http://ramblinwreck.cstv.com/sports/c-swim/mtt/li_jing00.html
holy shite... 16:57 for 1650...

but despite the obvious ego-bruising, i really enjoy swimming with the two of them. its been a while since i had someone who could push me (or pull) during swim trainings. my swim's been stagnating for a while, and these two freakish-ly fast ladies came at the right time to help me peak for IM frankfurt. its really a privilege to be able to swim with them. and with the way things are going, i can only improve! so away with the ego and bring on the "chicking"!

"in the midst of the pounding of my heart, straining from my lungs, i found peace"

2010-06-08T23:34:00.003+08:00

last week, i had a moment where i saw things. clearer, more defined, and perhaps, enlightening.

heck it, make that three moments.

during a trainer hills session, i found a rythmn that comes with the efforts u look for when climbing. it was also amongst this that i found the moment to be peaceful. even as my legs were burning from the lactate, sweat dripping down my face and my chest heaving in and out, i found that part of me that loved this sport, the passion that burned as much as parts of my body did.

then, another session where i went for a 7km run, and i found my tempo. as my feet pound the tarmac along the pitch black pavement, (the street lights were off for some reason) i felt at peace. even if the effort was hard and my mind was prompting me to keep up the pace, i found the joy that i used to have when going out for my long runs. and i loved it.

friday night i went for a long swim session and after i was done with the whole session, i did a backstroke to just swim down. the pool attendants had turned all the lights off, and i was just looking up into the night sky. there was no sound but that of my breathing and my arms splashing. in that i felt peace.

its been a while. maybe i have overlooked them in the recent times, or maybe i was simply not looking for them. but in a week where i was coming back from a week of recovery that was supposedly for the body, i found a mental recovery as well. as if it was a remind of why i was doing this sport. it maybe hard, painful, tiring, excruciating and time consuming (anymore adjectives?)

but like a cigarette to a smoker, or a whiskey to an alcoholic, or even power to a despot, this is what i draw meaning, peace, joy and passion from. triathlon.

thank you Lord for this particular blessing. and to re-post a quote i once put up here.

" When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, 'I used everything You gave me.' " - Erma Bombeck

short notice

2010-06-04T09:39:00.002+08:00

shall post a quick one since i manage to wake early and get a short brick session done first thing in the morning...

this week has been good. it maybe saying something that i gauge how good my week has been from the quality and quantity of my training, but it makes me happy, so why not. been putting in some solid workouts this week as compared to the pathetic-ness of last week. run is starting to come back, and im in a good mood cause of it, since i really do like to run (even though its the most painful part hahahahahaha sadist)

i think that there maybe a correlation between my performance and bodyweight. last week i weighed about 67kg (which was about my weight for the past 2 - 3 years) this year i've been at 68-69kg the whole way, so maybe the sudden drop in weight may have affected my training. yay, excuse to eat more =p

sent marianne off for her 10 month africa stint the night before. cant believe that i'll say this, but i think i'll miss her. i've known her as long as i have known my best friend (cause she's his sister. DUH) and even though we dun talk that often, she's always been a cheerful Godly friend that i could look to for some intelligent nonsensical conversations (and the occasional bickering. hahaha) wish her all the best in africa. maybe she'll bring back a pet lion. =D

ok gtg. i did say this was a short update.

run-bike-swim-carbo load. Reverse Tri!

2010-05-28T23:33:00.002+08:00

ran 4km with the KPC kias this morning for R4TW, was good, though the blistering pace set by bryan was quite painful, but glad i managed to hold it for most of the way to finish ahead.

then it was onto my bike to head out to mt faber for my weekly hills session. bumped into the cychos (not literally), and continued my loops after they were done. did 15 painful loops in total, then headed home slowly. total mileage 100km.

rested a while at home before heading out for a short swim, 2km at delta, then headed to vivo marche to meet the team for the farewell and gathering dinner for delphine. as usual, time spent with the team was great fun. had a crepe with smoked salmon and chicken, which turned out to be super filling that all i could fit in more was some salad and i was done.

really happy to have done such a hard day of training after 4 days of not much training done. i'll treat those 4 days as a recovery week. tomorrow stretch and rest and get ready for sunday's long ride again. things are looking good again!

update!

2010-05-24T22:58:00.002+08:00

ok! i know it's been eons again since i last updated, so here's one...

the exams were tough, but fun. i had 5 papers in the lengthy period of 4 days. but studying with the team in the library for the 2 week period lead up up to that made things much more enjoyable (if u can call exams mugging that) and motivating. we pulled each other through the season, we pulled each other through the exams.

then the hols came, and for the first time since i ended my A levels i got to take a break, mind you, that is from 2006, FOUR years!

i applied for no pay leave from the navy, so i can use the free time to train for my Ironman. Training has been going quite well, my bike is getting stronger and my long rides are going according to plan, progressively of course. Swim is still the same, though im still getting used to the use of the wetsuit, cause it is still very stiff since it's new... Have just started running again after 5 weeks of rest, looking good at the moment, though i will still have to take it slowly and steadily so i dun get the shin splints back again.

yup, thats about it so far, quite boring, but it's a routine that im comfortable with and im enjoying it. looking forward to going for exchange next sem, new orleans here i come!

My Season in Pictures

2010-05-06T00:47:00.004+08:00

5 races in 7 weeks summarized in photos below. Like they say, a picture speaks a thousand words...

Waikiki Aquathlon (Sprint D - 750m swim 5km run)

Leading the swim

Thanks Fana for this!

Changing on the run. In a sprint every second counts.

Dying on the run.

NUS team 1 wins!

The team's first race and victory!

Sing Bi (1.5km swim 10km run)

Enough said.

TeamNUS Aquathlon at Sing Bi 2010

Aviva Ironman Triathlon 70.3 Singapore (1.9km swim 90km bike 21km run)

Men's 18-24 from NUS and SMU. Thanks Xterra for making great speedsuits.

First out of the swim for my age group in 32mins

Another Fana photo. Posing for the camera before going out to suffer on the bike course.

Trying to beat the wind while the motorbike drafts me. =p

Suffering. Pain. Agony. Argh the result of not being able to train my run...

Finishing in 5:14 and thanking God. 6th in my age group.

Norman and I claiming our slots to go to Clearwater for the 70.3 World Championships.

NUS Bi (800m swim 5km run)

Men's Wave 1 getting ready to go

Balancing. Really. The floor was wet and slippery.

A personal victory here.

The best part of the day

Finishing 3rd in the Men's Invitational Cat. Mok holding Josh and I together so we wun fall off.

NUS wins big for the IVP. Again.

OSIM Int'l Tri (1.5km Swim 40km Bike 10km Run)

Ready to go!

First out of the swim again on a tough swim day. Love the Xterra speedsuit.

Hammering the bike after my bad technical and noob mistake which wasted my swim lead.

Not in picture. Josh and Lemin overtaking me on the run. Now running for 3rd place.

The moment when my season ended. Thank you Lord.

NUS sweeps the podium in a 1,2,3 finish. Josh 1st Lemin 2nd Me 3rd

OSIM Intl Tri 2010 - happy and disappointed

2010-04-11T18:21:00.003+08:00

Is there a word that describes feeling happy and disappointed at the same time? If there isnt, I think those Oxford people should invent one.

This was the last race of my 7 week long season in a series of 5 races. Waikiki, Sing Bi, Aviva, NUS Bi then OSIM. Last week, I decided that I wanted to end the season on a high, so i got some good quality tapering work done on both my swim and my bike. (i decided against running much to let the shins recover) I was really looking forward to hammering it out on the bike, cause by all accounts, the power i was able to generate and hold on it was improved from last year during the tri-factor period.

My race strategy for OSIM was simple. Swim fast, fly on the bike, then hang on the run.

The race turned out almost according to plan. The key word here being almost.

There was a surprise on the swim. I thought the tidal stream would not be very strong, as the tide was changing. O how wrong I was. The waters were ebbing and it kept pushing everyone including myself under the lane rope on the first stretch. It was most annyoing, and despite my best efforts to compensate by aiming right, it was to no avail. Only after turning past the first buoy then it was better. BUt since it was a two loop swim, we all had to go through that stretch for another round. I would eventually come out in about 23 min+. Could have been better, but taking in the conditions out there, I was quite pleased with it. First out again =)

The bike was where i really wanted to extend my lead. (I had about 3 mins from the swim) The moment i got on the bike i felt real good and was going at 37 to 38kph. Some guy from the earlier wave came up to me and 'jio' me to ride with him. It was good as we were pulling each other at 38kph COMFORTABLY. then on the S-bend at the sailing centre, i went into the curve too hard. the back of my bike smacked into the barrier, but i kept my balance and continued on. However, I couldnt push my speed. Even mashing at 90rpm on a big gear i was struggling to maintain 30kph. It was ridiculous. My hamstrings were burning and powerless, and i was trudging along at 27 -29kph.

I was thinking that there was something wrong with me, and my body had just "bonked". After half a loop, i just stopped by the side. I concluded I was done, and was prepared to walk back.JJ had stopped to check on me, but i was pretty miserable at this point. People were overtaking me like nobody's business at this point, including Josh. Then as I was about to push my bike back, I noticed the problem. After the knock with the barrier, my rear brake had shifted and was basically rubbing with my rear wheel. $#@%*&! FREAKING HELL! i quickly adjusted the brake and went off as if a fire had been lit under my arse.

I was basically doing an individual time trial at this point, just hammering it nonstop, at for a moment imagining that i was Fabian Cancerella. My swim lead had evaporated, and it was down to my bike to try and salvage the situation. The next 2 loops i averaged 38kph, and went into T2 in second place just seconds behind JJ, who i managed to catch just metres out of T2. I knew my run was going to be pretty horrible, so i just wanted to do what i could, and make those who wanted to catch me really work for it.

Gdness. Months of not training my run was obvious. I struggle to find any rythmn i could sustain (excpet for my pathetic miserable snail like pace). Not to mention the heat. I asked God for no rain, so i cant really complain since He really did take the rain away and returned it with the sunny weather. After the first loop (it seemed longer than 5km. really. sumpa.) Josh and Lemin had both overtaken me, and despite my mind's pleadings to stay with either of them, but legs refused to listen and i was just wanting to finish the run.

Finally, after 50mins (SLOW RIGHT!!! 5 min per km... retarded man. deprove by 10 huge freaking mins...........) i finish the race... results showed my total time was 2:24. bike time was 1:10. Really wasted. I thought I could do 1:05 or better with the way i was going. That half a loop with the brake rub really destroyed my race. It was my mistake that I did not stop to check after the little incident with the barrier.

Overall, Zhiyun got first for her cat, then Josh won ours, followed by Lemin then me. JJ also got fourth, so it was basically a 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th place sweep. BUT I cannot stop thinking. What if? What if i had stopped to check the brake? I would have been able to continue to build on my lead and take a much bigger gap into T2, and make josh and lemin work that much harder to catch me (MUAHAHAHA evil laughter) or MAYBE, not catch me at all. That one mistake by me cost me my race.

Dun get me wrong, credit must really go to Josh and Lemin for pushing themselves and they really deserve their placings. Lemin pushed till he was on the verge of throwing up at the end. Take nothing away from them. Im just disappointed that I was unable to give a better account of myself, and in a sense, felt that i had let myself down. I am happy that we had all down well, but on a personal level, this was not how i imagined how i would end my season- let down by a mistake.

gotta thank all who came down to support! Coach David, zhan yuan, dex, jason, lala! and YING LIANG!!! our ever-dedicated man with the camera! on this note, im gonna take break from tri-ing for a while, bout a week or 2 to focus on my exams. i'll still keep swimming, and maybe do a bit of gym for core and overall strengthening. maybe just a little cycling, but definitely off the run for at least 4 weeks to let my shins recover. then it's onto IRONMAN FRANKFURT!!!

NUS bi, to wrap up a great year for the team

2010-03-29T09:35:00.000+08:00

Yesterday was NUS bi, the IVP race for the 4 unis of NUS, NTU, SMU and SIM.

it was a super early morning start, waking at 5 and reporting at 6plus. my wave was supposed to start at 715. after the registration, the usual cam-whoring, complaining about the race organzers and an almost non-existent warm up, NUS team 1 consisting of Mok, Josh Li, Me, Nicolas, Lemin, Josh Lim and Dex were ready to go.

the swim was tough, though i could feel that i wasnt going as hard as i wanted to. maybe it was in anticipation of the super tough run later, or (more likely) the lack of a proper warm up, i didnt manage to hit the sub-11 timing that coach and i wanted to go for.

came out of the swim 2nd (behind NTU's sick sick roderick) at about 11:20something, and after a very fast transition (if i may say so myself heh) and went off. i took the lead just as we exited the MPSH building and started the run course of endless hills.

at the first hill i was already panting my ass off from the swim. gd ness. but i tried to remember how i went up that hill during thursday's transition training and pull myself up and over. once on the down hill i just took advantage of the free speed and turned left to go round arts.

i looked back at this point. no one. "where is mok?" scenarios ran through my mind, wondering what had happened to him. he was just a couple of seconds behind me in the swim, and by all earthly logic, he should have caught me long ago.

down the TH slope and turn towards biz i finally got a glimpse of mok. he was less than a 100m behind me, and by the time i hit the start of the PGP slope, he had caught and overtaken me. (took u long enough!) i slogged myself up that short but probably the steepest slope, then tried to get my rythmn back for the second part of the PGP slope. that looooonnnng stretch was just adding more pain to misery.

turn left again into KE7, and i knew the end was near. after the 1st (and hardest of the 3 slopes in this area), josh caught me. his footsteps were so loud. at this point it was soooooo damn tempting to just slow and stop. just walk. but the better and braver part of me screamed "NOOOOO!" and i forced myself onwards. i told myself to just aim to keep josh in sight.

pretty soon i hit the last downslope to go down the last slope to the finish. i was in so much pain at the end, where you feel your lungs were not big enough to take in the amount of oxygen your body demanded. i crossed the finish super happy that the run was over, and also as a peronal victory. total time: 34 mins flat.

team 1 managed to sweep the top 5 men's position, and with 7 of us from NUS in the top 10. it was another great result for us. this would guarantee us the first place for men's IVP team.

the girls also did great despite some last min setbacks to clinch 1st, 4th and 5th in their race, and managed to win the women's IVP team by a margin of 2 mins. (whew. scary.)

both our men's and women's team 2 also managed to get the 3rd places!

the individual 3rd medal today was the msot important medal for me today. not that i am placing myself above the team, but rather it was because today was such a personal victory.

having been blighted by shin splints since late last year, i have lost alot of confidence in my run. to prep for this, i have been doing my brick sessions on the NUS bi route. after an hour or so of hardwork on the trainer i dragged myself to hit those slopes time and again. on the run, it was the thought of not wanting to let myself and the team down that pushed me onwards. i imagined the joy of that we would all experience at the end, and told myself that if i just keep pushing it would be one step further to make this dream a reality. i was not gonna let all that training be wasted just becuase i didnt want to push anymore. and it really summed up something that i have always been telling myself. "if u want something bad enough, u will have to work hard enough to get it"

it has been a long journey with the team this year. the freshies are now considered "seasoned" and have taken over. great job by the prev exco in bringing us through. thanks goes to coach david for always pushing me in the pool and being a great guide out of it. all the sweat, lactate and pain we gone through has culminated in this one day and we certainly enjoyed it. yesterday we celebrated the results, but more importantly we celebrated the journey that we have all gone through together as part of a family (albeit a very sick family). looking forward to the next long and painful that the new exco we bring us on.

loves, hugs and kisses, XOXOXOXO
jon ma

aviva ironman 70.3 singapore 2010

2010-03-22T09:01:00.002+08:00

i woke up this morning feeling cold. it took a really really hot water shower, some breakfast and warm water to warm me up. took a cab to chinese swimming club as i wanted to take a short walk to the race site. the cab driver said he didnt have a bank account so he couldnt take NETS, so i had to ask him to send me to a ATM machine to withdraw money for him. diao.

at the transition area, everything went smoothly and quickly, unlike last year where my inexperience made it a long and draggy process. tyres were pumped, helmet, racebelt, shades, shoes were prepped, and i was left with a ridiculous amount of time to socialise and queue for the porta-loo.

only had time for a short swim warm up, which i felt really good. the tidal stream wasnt that strong, and the low tide didnt really affect me much. my stroke felt good, and i carried that confidence to the start line.

the pros went off, followed by the age group women. then it was my wave which consisted of 18-24's, and a large group of men above 45. i was standing next to number 206 (i was 207) mark luckin. when the horn sounded, he sprinted into the sea and i chased to catch him.mark set the pace for the swim, with me swimming next to him and another man from the other age group swimming with us. that guy was fast, and soon dropped mark and i after the second turn. i tried my best to follow and stay in his draft. once we hit the shore and ran to start the second loop, i managed to catch him. along the way there were quite a few people shouting my name, though i didnt manage to catch who they were. this time the man and i swam side by side for most of the second loop, with our hands and shoulders hitting each other most of the way, it was really quite a "fight". on the final stretch back to shore we split up and were swimming our separate ways. i didnt see him, though i heard he came up a bit before me. but i managed to come first out of the swim for my age group in 32mins. mark came up about 50 seconds behind me.

T1 was a bit long due to the aero helmet, but once on the bike it felt really good and i just started pedaling quickly and was on my way. mark caught and passed me on benjamin sheares bridge and took the lead from there. i was determinded not to let the gap open up too much and gave chase. my feet at this point was numb from the pain killer i had taken before the start (for my shin splints) and it was quite a wierd feeling. after 2 loops, the gap between mark and i was still about the same. then JJ caught (finally) with me on the 3rd loop and pulled me for a short stretch, though i was dropped pretty quickly by him. the benjamin sheares bridge was such a horrow for me last year. this year it was much more different as my slowest up the bridge was only 20kph, and it felt much easier. all the hill trainings really paid off.

the stretch towards the U turn at big splash was always a thrill, with so many supporters and people cheering for the competitors. at the end of the third loop i caught up with mark luckin again, and we zoomed into transition together and ran to rack our bikes. the commentator himself seemed quite excited at our competitiveness.

my T2 was no match for my australian compatriot, and he zipped out of transition waaaay ahead of me. on the first 1k of the run, my left quad started to cramp up. after going up the bridge i had to stop and stretch. that was when ashley overtook me. (WAH LAU EH DAMN FAST CAN)

my lack of run training really showed on the 21km. having been blighted by shin splints since last year november, i havent really been able to run as much as i would have liked, and my longest run to date has been 9km 2 weeks before this. i struggled to find my rythmn and was just shuffling along. everyone was overtaking me left right centre. male, female, old, young. i felt pathetic, as compared to just last november when i managed to run under 40mins for a 10k. i caught up with JJ on my second loop (he was doing his first cause he was in pain all over the place and had to stretch) we ran together for the next couple of kilometers, until finally i got a bit more momentum and went ahead at the 12km point.

i was able to get back some pace at this point, though i still walked the aid stations. the singapore sun was in its full glory at this point, and i was being roasted. cup after cup of water was poured over my head, and i just tried to down as much electrolytes as i could to fight off the niggling cramps that were threatening to surface. i was running a few kilometers at a good pace, before having to slow for one km, then going back to that pace again. some parts i ran to the side on the grass the reduce the impact on my legs and the strain on them. the supporters at this point was amazing, they really helped everyone out there and made it a bit easier for all of us out there.

i was decked out in full macca attire, and saw him along the way. it was quite exciting, and he cheered me on along the way. too bad he left before i finished so i could not get a photo with him or something.

finally after damn long, i was just 2km from the finish. ben lau had been running behind me the whole time, though i kept pushing myself ahead before he caught me again. finally i cracked and he overtook me and never looked back. on the last km i got a bit of speed again, but by then it was too late and he was to finish before me by a bout a min.

approaching the finishing chute i wanted space all for myself, so i let 2 people (not from my age group) to sprint past me. i had the luxury for the whole chute to myself when i finished.

i thanked God, for answering my prayer for the weather, for protecting me on the bike, for the support i received from my friends, for being able to complete the run, and i was just very thankful that i was able to do what i could do.

my splits were as follow:
Swim: 32:01 (1st out)
T1: 1:34
Bike: 2:37:56
T2: 1:28
Run: 2:01:18 ( i know. SLOW)
Total: 5:14:17 (6th in age group)

afterwards, the clearwater slots were rolled down to norman and i cause everyone else in our age group from 1st to 8th didnt claim them. SHIOKS! and jocelyn will be coming with us as well! w00ts!

managed to achieve 2 out of 3 aims for today.
1) first out of swim CHECK
2) clearwater slot CHECK
3) sub 5 hours NEXT YEAR after i get my run back to where it used to be

Thanks also go out to the many supportes!
Just (amazing signboard) Elaine (learn how to use camera properly) Norman's mum and sister Agnes, David (thanks for the help), Dex (thanks thanks thanks for trusting and lending me your wheels), Fana (i'm waiting...), Qiurong, XuePing, SaiYann, QiuKun, Delphine, Mich, Ying Liang (thanks for the shots), Mok, Dinah (damn fun to see you two!) , serene, ling er, desmond, the SMURTS and the NTU guys as well, and of course, MACCA, for the inspiration. (hope i didnt forget anyone!)

Ok, time to sleep. tomorrow will be painful. pictures up soon!

A-minus 1

2010-03-20T19:44:00.003+08:00

it all started in august

it was a race of little consequence, that i just wanted to do for fun, and see how things went. then i came back from the desaru long d tri in 4:55.

"wow, doing a sub-5 half ironman is well, doable... hm............."

about half a year later, i now get the chance to see whether this thought can become a reality at the aviva ironman triathlon 70.3 singapore. i started training in december after i decided to skip the singapore marathon and just focus on the season in march this year.

everything is in place. well, almost everything. the shin splints from last year is still there, and i have not been able to train my run much. instead of being able to be all rounded in all 3 disciplines, i now have to take a gamble by going hard on the first 2 legs and hang on for the last 21km.

and instead of having my own set of reynolds race wheels i had to borrow a pair due to financial restrictions. o well, thanks dex for the dura ace c50s!

tomorrow will see whether the dream that started from a thought 7 months ago will become a reality.

but whatever happens, i will give thanks to the Lord for the blessing He has given me, and i race as a form of worship by giving it my best to not waste the passion and ability He has given me.

Amen

my act of worship

2010-03-15T23:42:00.001+08:00

" When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, 'I used everything You gave me.' " - Erma Bombeck

1st Big Race, and a Jellyfish Stole my Paycheck

2010-03-14T09:04:00.000+08:00

It started just like any other race day. Conditions seemed good and I felt ready. After a short warm up jog with Mok and then a swimm, we headed to the start line and squeezed our way to the front.

When the horn sounded we charged into the water and started stroking away. The plan for Mok and I was to go easy at the start before going ahrd after the turn. We were pacing each other quite nicely on the first stretch, though i was sandwiched between Mok and this angmoh who i was jockeying positions with. This kinda distracted me a bit and before i knew it Mok was about 2 body lengths ahead of me.

I lengthened my stroke and pulled harder to catch up. I was making progress as I could tell I was getting closer.

Then it struck.

I felt a line go around my neck and my right shoulder. Then it was as if someone switched on the electricity and I felt a very painful jolt. I stopped and grabbed the lane rope and sat on it. One of the swimmers in the pack behind paused to ask whether I was ok. I told him that it was a jelly fish sting. I tried to swim again but it was way too painful to continue, and i knew my day was done.

I waved to the seaboat nearby that I needed help. They brought me onboard and we headed back to shore. At this point i was in extreme pain, with my right side twitching uncontrollably. Tha pain was insane I tell you.

Some of the officials on the shore were more shocked than I was. They just stood there and stared while I was spasming in pain, so i shouted at them on where was I suppose to go. Really, imagine being in so much pain but still having to manage the situation. I wass rushed to the medical where they started pouring vinegar on my stings. I started shaking, spasming, twitching all at the same time and i started to cry from the pain. I have never felt this bad before.

Some of the team who havent started their waves came over. I could sense that they were quite shocked. I must have looked quite a mess, but I was quite uncontrollable at this point. The MO's and medics there were pretty good, they were really caring and good at reassuring me. JJ came over to watch over me while the rest still had their races to get to.

All of a sudden I felt numbness across my chest and it ot quite difficult to breathe. The whole medical stuff jumped into action, sticking needles and patches all over me to watch my parameters. They stuck these tubes up my nose to deliver oxygen to help me with my breathing. I was having an allergic reation to the jellyfish venom. The whole of my upper body felt numb. I could only remember starting up at the celing while the staff tried to take my BP and vital stats and inject me with stuff.

After a while then the numbness subsided, and I could sit up once again. After a while more of observation they let me go, though with the advice that i should seek medical help if I have a reation again.

My whole body was a mess. My sense of balance were off and i stumbled everywhere. The medicine they gave me was pretty strong, and I was drowsy throughout, in addition to the pain around my neck and ears.

Thanks goes out to the team for taking care of me and being there for me when I really needed it. The presence of you guys made it that much better to go through the shit i was in. I had never hit so low before, being in the immense pain I was in. At that point, the race didnt really matter to me, but it was more of the pain that I had to get through. I was listening to the emcee reading out the names of our team memebrs as they crossed the finish line, and from what i could tell it was another good day in the office for our team.

Thanks also must be to the Naval Medical Staff who were quick to act whenever my condition worsened and really took good care of me.

Last and definitely not least, thank God for keeping me alive and safe. Things could have gotten worse along the way, but it didnt. He also gave me a network of good friends who stuck by me along the way.

Now the pain is much lesser as compared to as previously. Though the pain is still there, though milder, and im probably used to it already. Hope that i'll recover fully soon to continue training for aviva next week, which is admittedly the one race that i have been aiming for since last year.

PS: not much photos for sing bi this year. i was either away from the cameras or not in a mood to be camwhoring. saddd. and i lost the chance to make some winnings for this year's race. dammit.

taper time!

2010-03-10T08:46:00.002+08:00

finally, after months of training and prep, the season is fully upon us.

sing bi is this sat, then aviva 70.3 the following sunday, and nus bi the next sun to round off the month.

next month will be osim and then TTT.

time to taper and as the pros like to put it, "soak up the training". yay end of hard trainings!

waikiki

2010-03-05T19:04:00.002+08:00

this is waaay overdue.

waikiki organised by SMU on saturday. the first race of the season, first of 5 races over the next 7 weeks.

the race was a sprint D bi, 800m swim and 5k run. only ourselves, NTU and SIM were taking part since SMU could not as they were organising.

we sent in 2 teams, mine consisiting of myself, josh li, josh lim, lemin, zhiyun and patricia, and we were gonna race against the other 'team 1's' of the other unis.

after a bit of a warm up and race brief, we were started. the usual mess of a swim start was cut short as i sprinted the first stretch to the first buoy for us to turn. from then on it was clear for me all the way.

apparently in the middle of the usual swim start "fight" zhiyun got kicked and dislocated her shoulder. i only found out after the whole race that she popped her shoulder back in and restarted with the second wave.

i just kept going on in the swim, and it felt real good. i was first out from the swim.

my transition was a mess. my swim cap refused to come off and my top went on inside-out,frontside-back. heck it, i was gonna do the adjustments to it on the run.

having not done ANY running speedwork for the past couple of months, it was obious that my lead would not last long. about halfway through the run, josh caught up and overtook me while i just wanted to hang on and at the same time maintain my form.

i finished and thanked God for a run without any pain in my shins. our two teams won both first and second placings and the juniors got a good exposure and learnt a few good lessons.

all in all it was another good outing for the team. rewarding as well!

team 1! (QK taking patricia's place)

team!

burnt notes

2010-02-25T00:21:00.003+08:00

not blogging much nowadays. training and mugging (ok, not so much) is taking up most of my time.

training is as training will be (trying to sound chim) swim sessions are hard, each one im having to go into that dark little place in my mind to try and get through the sets. IVP didnt seem so hard.

doing alot of bricks nowadays. im hitting the bike quite hard every session so my legs are pretty spent. my horrible lack of run training shows and it kinda depressing as comparing to last season. o well. gotta make do with what i have.

first race of the sesason coming up. waikiki organised by smu. we'll see how it goes.

160

2010-02-20T23:59:00.002+08:00

had a super long ride with JJ and amos yesterday. not to mention eventful.

we rode up to JB via the causeway. the traffic in the city was crazy. frankly i was super scared. i hope u guys can understand. my history in cycling ain't exactly a pretty one.

JJ had a flat in the city, so we stopped for about 30 mins or so to fix it back. after that it was on the way to highway 92, where we would ride to desaru, then to the town of ringit, before ending at the pengerang ferry terminal.

along the way, we encountered a brief shower(thank God it was brief and light), and a dog which ran out to chase us (i never accelerated faster).

then amos had a flat. spent about another half an hour to fix it. it wasn't able to fully inflate, but we carried on.

pretty soon it was obvious that amos would not be able to continue. the half inflated tyre was slowing him alot, before it finally blew too. without anymore spare tubes to replace his 650c tyre, we had to flag a taxi along the highway to bring him back to the ferry terminal to head back home first.

after that, JJ and i went kinda crazy. we just pushed for the rest of the ride on a route full of rolling hills. we would come down for a hill at 40 to 50 kph, then start going up the next one at 40, until near the top where we (or rather, I) was pushing to go at 20+. there was some good scenery along the way which was quite pretty and made me lament the fact that i wasn't confident ennough to bring a camera along to take photos while riding. maybe some day.

this went on for quite a long time until my back cramped up after 120km. stopped for a while to stretch before getting back on the saddle to hammer it out till we reached ringit.

took a much needed water break at the wanton mee stall where we just kept downing liquids, before finishin the last 17km easy to the ferry terminal. by the time we reached i could not feel the numb-ed part of my body where the sun has never shone.

ride back was so-so. with our fellow passenger being very annoying. shall not explain.

eventually, we landed back in SG, and took a slow commute back home. total mileage for the day was 160km (i rolled the wheel a bit to round it up) Thanks JJ for the great training session!

how fitting

2010-02-13T15:11:00.003+08:00

From Theodore Roosevelt:

"It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done better.
The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again,
because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause;
who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly,
so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat."

Dream as if we'll live forever, Live as if we'll die tomorrow.

on my way to a sub-5hr finish for Desaru Long D tri. hope that i can repeat it for aviva.

one of those days, in one of those places

2010-02-10T21:58:00.002+08:00

i went into today's swim training feeling quite tired. i had not been getting enough sleep the past week (no thanks to a very disciplined 7am+ body clock and my recent penchant for sleeping past 12)

warm up was ok, though i could tell that i was not in a good shape. then came the pulling set, 8 x 200m. i did the first set with a rpetty good timing, and i thought it was gonna be one of those days where i just have to power my way through it.

i was wrong.

by the 4th set my mind was feeling so heavy and a bit delirious. i was just pulling brainlessly and my eyes were so heavy. so halfway through the 5th set i stopped. i had to do something about it.
so i ran off to buy a can of coffee. it was my first coffee in over a year, and i hoped that the sudden caffeine rush would wake me up.

and ta-dah! it did work. my mind was a bit more awake, and i resumed training with a good 400m kicking set.

next up were 4 sets of 6 x 50m. got through it with relative ease as compared to the pulling set earlier on. i could feel my body waking up.

last set was 5 x 100m "goal" set (just a different name from target set) goal was PB + 5s. for me that meant 1:15. (holy shit)

first 100m was a disaster. 1:19. baaaaaad. told myself i really have to push myself to not waste this training.

second 100m 1:15! obviously i was happy, and now i had a feel of what this time felt like, i knew how hard i had to work to hit the time again.

third 100m 1:16. not bad. and this time i really had to push my tired mind and body through it.

fourth 100m 1:17. uh oh, starting to drop time!

last 100m 1:16. whew! good end to the training.

what was more remarkable about the goal set today was those second 50m of the swim. with my head still feeling kinda heavy from the lack of sleep, i had to push my swimming muscles to keep pulling and stretching out to maintain the stroke, despite how useless they felt. i was in that part of the mind where i was fighting the body's urges to stop. physically and timing-wise this was definitely not my best. BUT mentall, it was a triumph today, when you tell yourself to push through that second half of a 100m, to keep stretching out the arm and pulling no matter how tired you felt.

i guess this is what makes triathlon, or endurance sport so addictive. as much as there are team mates and supporters cheering you on when you race, you have to reach deep down into yourself, and find out whether you are a fighter or a quitter, to whether you can push yourself to reach something somewhere that you once thought was impossible (or more often the case, unwilling) to go to. and when you get there, you come out of it more than satisfied, and hopefully, wanting more.

SBS strikes again

2010-02-07T00:09:00.003+08:00

this is kinda late, but i think it is blog worthy material.

so on tuesday i went to mount faber to do some hillwork on the bike. it was my first time there since crashing there last sem.

i was pretty happy after 8 loops and felt that it was a good session done, so i headed back to NUS for my 10am tutorial.

that was then it happened.

a bus had spilled oil all over lane 3 along pasir panang road, the right side of the road where i tend to keep to while cycling. i could not move right into another lane as there was the morning traffic rush of cars zooming down the second lane, and i was forced to stay in lane 3. the oil was black, and on the black road surface, indistinguishable. as a result, i slipped and slidded in the oil. the bus had broken down in front, and my bike went off to one side of the bus, while my head smashed into the bottom right hand side of the bus. literally, my helmet saved my life.

the bus driver was very nice and helped me up, then called an ambulance for me. i had 3 patches of abrasion along my left leg, one of which had torn a hole in my tights and near my butt. scdf arrived soon at the scene to apply soap and wash off the oil. one of them used his hose to help me wash my wounds.

the ambulance arrived and here was something kinda ridiculous. they said they were not allowed to put my bike in the ambulance, and one of the medics asked whether i could lock my bike at the bus stop while they sent me to the hospital. i gave him a look which i hoped made him feel damn stupid over that ridiculous comment. in the end the issue was resolved when i offered the solution of me taking a cab back to hall to put my bike down before heading to the hospital. they actually needed an accident victim to come up with a solution for them.

to cut the long story short, i suffered abrasions on the left leg, a sprained wrist, and a bump on the head (could have been more than a bump of not for my helmet) i got backt o hall and have to thank iajie for alot of the help he gave me. went to nuh and got cleared and missed my tutorial. my bike got a couple of scratches, and i put it at ah boon for them to help me check it out and write an evaluation for the damage done so that i can submit to sbs for compensation.

as it turned out, another cyclist crashed due to the oil spill too. he broke a rear wheel. sbs is in trouble now.

as per what always happens after a crash, im a bit sick of the bike at the moment, though with season coming soon, i will have to get back into training soon.

good new at the end of the week. my bone scan showed that i didnt have any stress fracture, though the inflammation is there. will have to take my run slowly now to prevent it from getting any worse, and really train very sensibly to get my run fitness back in time for season.

week in review

2010-01-30T00:13:00.003+08:00

what a week.

monday: went to see sports med at AH. x-ray my shins, was told i had to do a bone scan. wah lau eh. $$$. very very shiong swim training.

tues: rode up and down the slopes of NUS. people at the busstop must be thinking i was nuts.

wed: i died during swim training. kailua died.

in the afternoon she scratched out all the food from her pouch. at night i noticed her just lying one corner not moving. she was almost lifeless! i moved her a bit to try and get some reaction. she started having periods of spasms. an hour later there was a particularly violent one, then she died. buried her the same spot where i buried franky.

thurs: not in a good mood. did some aqua jogging. came to the conclusion that i could not afford to buy my racing wheels since i am going for ironman frankfurt in july. saddd

fri: went for my bone scan. $90 bucks =( they injected me with something that warranted this label around my wrist.

does that make me radioactive?

anyway they did the scan afterwards on my shins, then they asked me whether i had any pain at my right ankle. i said no. they said they needed to do an x-ray on my right ankle. wah lau eh. $28. ka-ching.

ate alot of peanut butter during the day. like by the spoonfuls. did an hour an a half of core in the hall gym while watching american gladiator. every friday.

ok thats it.

same old same old

2010-01-25T07:11:00.002+08:00

i really want to post something new here, but as the blog title suggests, everything is still the same as when i made the prev post.

it's not a bad thing though, stability in life can be hard to find nowadays.

update

2010-01-18T21:44:00.002+08:00

i wonder why my shin doesn't want to recover. piece of shit.

anyway, just an update on things, since i know how irritating it is to be following a blog that doesn't update with anything but videos. (im assuming hopefully that there are people who follows my blog. if not then... whatever... this just a place for me to say what i want)

training has been good, i'm picking up on the season training again esp with coach david pushing us every swim training. my stroke is back, and now working on my turnovers. mok kicked my ass during training today.

bike is looking progressing good. the trainer work and long rides are showing effect. did a bike fit over the weekend and im gonna have to get used to the new position, but otherwise my leg strength is improving.

my run is surprisingly still in existence. i thought it would be totally gone, but apparently the cross training from the cycling is limiting the damage. my stamina is not there though, but the muscular power is there. gonna do long grass runs till i rcover from the shin splints proper.

mugging has been great. the 5 day week is a blessing in disguise. i get to focus on one module a day, and im on track for my readings, which is a first. things are looking good at the moment.

hope everyone is doing fine as well at this moment! do pray for haiti and the victims of the earthquake!

Ironman Hawaii World Champ 2009 Highlights

2010-01-18T00:37:00.001+08:00

she's good

2010-01-13T22:53:00.001+08:00

pixie lott - band aid

ksadjfiowerjjnsdjvhwreufhjsdnckjwehf

2010-01-12T10:17:00.001+08:00

my fujitsu crashed again. or rather it fizzled out with a pathetic whimper.

back to the old dell. haiz.

as such i wun be blogging as often as i used to cause i dun really like using this huge cumbersome thing.

2010

2010-01-05T22:49:00.002+08:00

i'm glad i didn't make any resolution whatsoever to not procrastinate. cause that's what i did in doing this blog post 5 days later than i first said i would. lesson being, dun talk what u can't walk.

this year's a huge one for me both academically and athletically (is there such a word?)

1) this sem i'm doing two level 3000 mods, two level 2000. all of which are soci mods. the last time i did 4 soci mods was last year where i didn't do very well. this sem i'm gonna make it different. i'm also doing a level 1000 european history mod which i'm hoping will help to pull up my cap a bit. FOCUS! (otherwise cannot do honours sia)

2) IVP (top 5), Sing Bi (top 5), Aviva Ironman 70.3 (qualify for clearwater), OSIM tri (podium in my age group). the 4 local races that i want to really come through in. though i really need my shin to heal properly and quickly otherwise my running discipline will be like shit.

3) ironman frankfurt in july. my first ironman. nuff said.

4) student exchange to tulane university in new orleans in the US. still waiting for the paperwork to come through though. if everything goes according to plan this will be an experience of a lifetime.

5) i gotta wise up financially as well. lesson has been learnt. no more reckless spending and gonna be super thrifty this year.

lets make the first year of the new decade a memorable one (for all the right reasons)

year 2009

2009-12-31T15:13:00.002+08:00

finally i'm back in the blogging world! haha, been really busy recently so i wasnt in the blogging mood much. anyway, a quick update is that i've been attached to the frigate RSS Supreme. quite a nice bunch of crew and officers (lest 1). i enjoyed working with them.

the shin is recovering well. it's been week 5 of my recovery and i did 5k yesterday with the team, then another 5k today with the ship crew for cohesion. obviously my cardio is a bit off now but i'm sure that with some hardwork and patience (important!) i'll get my form back by season.

it's been quite a year. so many things i am thankful for. God has really blessed me with much this year, especially in my athletic career. that's not to say that things have been all smooth sailing, but i choose to look at the positives rather than the negatives.

1) a wonderful first season with the bi team. it was really fun and amazing, and i look forward to the next one in about 3 months time.

2) my first foray into ironman (or rather, the half-ironman). suriving it was one thing. completing it with my friends is another. some of the most painful but also the most memorable 6 hours of my life.

3) running the fastest marathon of my life so far during sundown. only to have the timing chip screw it up for me. i'm still certain i did 3:20 something.

4) venturing into OD tri racing and also the hardest bike route ever at lake kenyir, then port dickson. ouch.

5) finally getting my COC (yay!)

6) doing a sub-5hr half ironman at desaru. granted the swim was probably about only 1.5k, but still.

7) winning my first (and very lucrative!) race. h20 biathlon.

8) PB for OD tri. 2:14 during trifactor and finishing 2nd overall.

9) committing myself into doing 1500m free for NUS. then finishing 20:55 when i was aiming about 21 mins. this was really really gratifying.

10) winning my second race, RP Bi.

11) learning about recovery. how much rest my body needs and what kind of training i respond better to. unfortunately some of this i had to learn the hard way.

12) being attached to the frigate and having a good VA. not too stressed and also quite a good learning experience.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

it's been a long year, and there's a longer one coming up ahead. i'll do a post on things i'll look forward to in 2010 tomorrow. time to go for a bike ride.

perspective

2009-12-21T05:06:00.002+08:00

it's all about how u choose to look at things.

half full or half empty.

it's your choice to be happy or miserable.

ok gtg and refill my fill up my half full water bottle.

sea games

2009-12-13T22:56:00.004+08:00

been watching the sea games swimming. pretty amazing. quah ting wen must be half-mermaid.

congrats to dinah for getting 3rd in the cycling individual time trial! all the ebst for the mass start tomorrow! kick them if they try to kick u! pretend it's a triathlon swim start!

maybe... just maybe... if i keep training and keep going at it hard enough... 2011?

we'll see...

PS: i did a 10 plus min jog on the grass today... after which i became breathless. HAHAHA. my run chui liao... from PB of 39:25 for 10k to nothing.

Plans for 2010

2009-12-12T21:29:00.003+08:00

posting this cause i dunno what i want to talk about, but still feel like updating my blog.

races to kill at the present moment in the upcoming year.

1) IVP

2) Sing BI

3) Aviva Ironman 70.3 Triathlon Singapore

4) OSIM International Triathlon

5) Ironman Frankfurt

more to follow..........

Brian Boyle - Iron Heart

2009-12-08T23:09:00.003+08:00

60% blood loss. Heart moved across his chest. Pulverised organs and bones. 2 months of medically induced coma.

Fast forward 3 years.

Ironman finisher.

another proof that nothing is IMpossible

Stan Chart 2009 - A Spectator's Perspective

2009-12-06T13:08:00.002+08:00

this was the first time that i was watching a race rather than taking part in it. taking into account my long term goals next year, i decided not to run with a shin splint that is taking longer than usual to heal (probably cause i've still been running until last week).

i reached the race site just in time to see mok come into the last 200m. he finished with a time of 2:43. he was the top singaporean. considering this was his first marathon, it is an understatement to say that this was a good debut.

ashley was 8 mins behind him at 2:51 to finish second sinagporean. been hearing alot about how he'd been training. must have paid off.

saw the rest such as (in no particular order) junyang, bear bay, mark, baldwin, lucas, josh, zhixiang, eddy chun kiak, nicholas, elston, sanny and quite a few others finish. it looked so fun.

most importantly, i was down to watch the rubicon-huggs runners come in. saw uncle rodney, doing his umpteenth marathon. then there was just, my best friend for 15 years doing his first marathon. he only picked up running this year with the AHM, then decided to do the 42.2 today. he did about 5hours plus plus, which for a first timer doesnt really matter. first time just complete can already. my first marathon i cramped and walked the last 10km, so this was quite an achievement for him.

inside, i was feeling happy for everyone. some hit their PB's some didnt. but they finished, and the smiles on their sweaty faces meant it was all worth it. the time and effort spent training were all worth it.

obviously i felt sucky (understatement). the top 2 singaporean men were both uni students, which goes to show how the younger guys stepping up to the marathon distance are making quite an impact in the scene. a few months ago this was my dream too, to do a sub 3:10 to qualify for boston. never is easy to come to terms when there is a gap between what u want and what u can realistically get is too big to cross.

i just have to be patient and know that with the rest time i will come back stronger and faster. in the mean time, go mok and ashley. go boston (if u decide to go) and experience my dream for me. hope to join u guys one day. cheers.

I stayed up for 10 hours to watch the whole race and it was worth every single 600 mins

2009-12-04T01:28:00.001+08:00

looks easy? looks are deceiving. 17 hours of racing compressed into a 1 hour plus show.

mind made up

2009-12-01T10:37:00.003+08:00

i've decided. i will not run stan chart this sunday.

reasons being:

1) dun want to worsen my shin splint into a stress fracture. let's take it easy now so that i can build my base for next season =)

2) minimal training. rather than do a sub-par marathon, i should be patient and then aim for another marathon where i can actually perform.

3) if i want to take this whole endurance sport thing seriously, then i should take the signals that my body is giving me seriously too.

4) next year's aviva, sing bi, ivp, and frankfurt.

cheers to me. i'm growing up. =D

i still want to thank my sponsors for stan chart. rubicon (a head hunting firm) and huggs (coffee and sandwich cafe) for the running top and shorts. sorry i will not be able to represent you all in the marathon. i will be there to support and wait for u guys to cross the finish line though!

now to find someone i can borrow a camera from..........

dream dream dream

2009-11-29T21:31:00.002+08:00

why do i see myself crossing the finish line of stan chart overjoyed and in disbelief?

when i know almost for certain that it will not happen?

i maybe able to run, but im not sure whether my legs will hold up for 42km with minimal training.

my longest run so far is only 20km.

why?

but if i dun have this dream, then where will i be?

after all, isn't life about dreaming?

I dun watch American Football, but this is pretty amazing

2009-11-25T18:05:00.000+08:00

Play of the day: Grant's Kenneth Acker's amazing punt return touchdown

RP Bi

2009-11-22T23:09:00.004+08:00

almost cant believe that it's been a year since this race happened last year. how time flies.

last year i took part in the relay team event and swam 400m while norms was my running partner for the 1.5k run. we got third that day.

this time i was in the individual category with josh and dex. there werent really any preps for this race, mainly cause it is so short (450m swim and 2.4km run - though we all agree that it was not 2.4km. way too short)

NUS was the only uni participating, alongside the other polys and this time, singapore sports school. scott ang was there. scay kid. he swims damn blooody fast, not to mention that he's representing singapore in the youth olympics next year.

JJ chartered a super duper nice van to take the team to RP. after a short warm up, we were soon up on the blocks to start.

my swim was stiff. i was still aching from gymming on thursday, so my back felt like a block of wood (or whatever is stiff). i saw the 2 swimmers from SSS gaining a ridiculous lead over all the rest of us. my only thoughs were just to keep pushing so that the deficit would not be too big out of the water.

finished the swim in 6:25 at third position (definitely not at my 100%). got out of the pool and headed to transition. one of the SSS kids was still at transition while scott was already running out. at that point i was about to put on my shoes when i noticed that the shades on the shoes were orange. it was josh's! (the perils of having the same shoes with same lock laces next to each other) i jumped into my own box to get into my shoes.

i realised that i had too many things in transition for such a short race. race belt, shoes, shades, singlet. wah lau. so i bit into my race belt and grabbed the singlet and ran off with my shades on my head. i had to change while running so as not to waste time.

scott had about 25s over me, and i had no choice but to push real hard on the run to catch him. at first it looked like i wouldnt be able to do it, until slowly but surely the gap between us closed that i knew i had a shot at this.

i told myself to keep up the ridiculously painful pace i was running, and soon after i passed scott to get into the lead. then we hit the slopes of the run course. wah lau. damn painful. but i knew that after the slopes it was just another 100m or so to the finish. so i kept going at it till finally near the end i saw that i had a comfortable lead and i could pose for the ending. it was a sign of thanksgiving to God at the finish line.

the night before i actually prayed for victory. it was the first time that i had made this kind of request. usually i just pray for a good race, but never to win. but the night before i realised that this was a race that i could win. so why not right?

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything , by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving,, present your request to God. - Philippians 4:6

my run time was 7:46, so total was 14:11.
josh came in 4th, while ZY won her race as well! orlanda, delphine and dex also took part and finished in good time. Nic and JJ got 2nd for the relay cat, with ben and zhan yuan finishing up the rest of our team's performance. thanks goes out to norms as well who drove all the way down to woodlands to support us!

another rewarding day for the team! the oldies certainly showed that we are no pushovers!

Jon Blais, August 30, 1971 - May 27, 2007

2009-11-18T23:36:00.001+08:00

http://www.waronals.com/

HAHAHAHA DAMN FARNY!

2009-11-17T23:10:00.000+08:00

"Unfriend" named word of 2009

NEW YORK (Reuters Life!) – "Unfriend" has been named the word of the year by the New Oxford American Dictionary, chosen from a list of finalists with a tech-savvy bent.

Unfriend was defined as a verb that means to remove someone as a "friend" on a social networking site such as Facebook.

"It has both currency and potential longevity," said Christine Lindberg, senior lexicographer for Oxford's U.S. dictionary program, in a statement.

"In the online social networking context, its meaning is understood, so its adoption as a modern verb form makes this an interesting choice for Word of the Year."

Other words deemed finalists for 2009 by the dictionary's publisher, Britain's Oxford University Press, came from other technological trends, the economy, and political and current affairs.

In technology, there was "hashtag," which is the hash sign added to a word or phrase that lets Twitter users search for tweets similarly tagged; "intexticated" for when people are distracted by texting while driving, and "sexting," which is the sending of sexually explicit SMSes and pictures by cellphone.

Finalists from the economy included "freemium," meaning a business model in which some basic services are provided for free, and "funemployed," referring to people taking advantage of newly unemployed status to have fun or pursue other interests.

In the political and current affairs section, finalists included "birther," meaning conspiracy theorists challenging President Barack Obama's U.S. birth certificate, and "choice mom," a person who chooses to be a single mother.

Novelty words making the shortlist were "deleb," meaning a dead celebrity, and "tramp stamp," referring to a tattoo on the lower back, usually on a woman.

(Writing by Belinda Goldsmith, Editing by Miral Fahmy)

article taken from: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20091117/lf_nm_life/us_words_unfriend

my achilles heel

2009-11-15T20:15:00.005+08:00

the dream: do a 3:10 for stan chart and qualify for boston marathon. (and probably be the youngest singaporean to run there)

the plan: run from hall to home this morning. total 30km.

the worry: shin splint on my left leg thats recovering.

the reality: shin splint didnt act up. BUT achilles tendon (i think. more or less) on my right leg protested against the exertions. after 18km when i reached ECP i couldnt run anymore from the pain. walking to find a bus stop to get home was the most painful walk i ever had. felt like screaming the whole way.

the remedy: iced it when i got home and it got better. now still really sore though.

the conclusion: thinking i should give up stan chart (im leaning towards giving it up) and lay off running for a month or so after RP Bi this weekend till everything shit thing in my legs recover. the bigger dream is still next year's Sing Bi and Aviva and Frankfurt.

Paolo Nutini - Coming Up Easy

2009-11-11T15:06:00.001+08:00

taylor swift on SNL

2009-11-09T10:59:00.004+08:00