Week 5 round-up

Monday: 28km long run (afternoon); easy swim (evening)
Tuesday: 50km bike ride
Wednesday: Rest (flu)
Thursday: 16km pace run (night)
Friday: Rest day
Saturday: 165km bike ride
Sunday: Rest (cough)

Total Swim Mileage: 0km
Total Bike Mileage: 215km
Total Run Mileage: 44km

This week has been quite a relax week for me. After Monday's long run in the 3pm heat, Nicolas and I almost died on the next morning's bike ride at 5.30am (which explains why the mileage covered was only 50km). After the bike ride, I was down with sore throat and then subsequently flu. I decided to make this week an easy week since Nicolas was also going to Thailand to chill out with his Dad. Training proper will resume next Wednesday =]

In the next few days, I caught up with loads of lost sleep and rested pretty well. On Thursday, Jason and I went on what he believes is the first and last time he will ever do it long run. He picked me up at my place and we headed to F2 carpark at East Coast to begin our run. My aim was to do a long relax run as I was still recuperating, but the pace picked up quite abit as we U-turned at Fort Road. It was a good run, not because of the training value, but because of the things we talked about during the run. HTHT, as what Junyang will call it. Heart To Heart Talk. =]

On Friday, a few of us met up to watch Terminator Salvation. It was a pretty good time of fellowship I would say, but a pity that I could not stay for dinner as I had other stuffs to attend to. Tonight, Jason is organising another movie outing to watch Night at the Museam 2. He is on a movie-going high!

The bike ride yesterday was one that was planned at the start of the week. A 180km ride followed by a 5km run. I prepared my nutrition plan the night before and made sure everything was settled for the ride the next morning. I woke up the next day feeling abit sick, but I decided to go ahead with the ride as I wanted to test out my nutrition plan consisting of dried fruits and nuts, jelly beans and M&Ms. The previous nutrition plan failed and hence I was determined to make this a success.

The ride seemed to be plagued with a lot of problems for Jason, Jiajie and I who are participating in the Ironman in about a month's time. None of us completed the 180km ride, much less the 5km run..Jason, as usual, was beaten by the Zzz monster and failed to meet us at E2 carpark. Therefore, Jiajie, Serene, Junyang and I started off first while he joined in later. Throughout the entire bike ride, our friends joined us to motivate and push us on. Serene and Junyang were there from the start, then Yu Qiang joined in after our 1st loop followed by Yong Sheng aka Bear Bay who joined us after our 3rd loop.

Yu Qiang, as he was riding the next day, dropped off after about 40km with us. Next, Serene dropped off to call it a day after the 100km mark. Jiajie then had pain radiating down the lateral aspect of his left thigh which originated from his knee. He decided to stop and rest while Jason and I continued. Yong Sheng dropped off after the 130km mark, and Junyang left us after the 155km mark. Jason and I were left on our own from the 155km mark. There was another 25km to go.

As I was feeling a little jaded and tired from the 5hr+ ride already, I decided to take Jason's draft (something I don't believe in doing during training). It proved to be a bad decision. My front wheel clipped onto his back wheel and I was out of control. I was falling to the right but then suddenly I steadied the bike and was moving into the other lane of the coastal stretch into oncoming traffic then I fell to my left and skidded into the paths of oncoming vehicles. It was another fall for me again, or should I say, another dumb fall again.

Jason then helped me to the side of the road and helped me check my bike while I did checks on my body. I felt the world slowing down and felt dizzy, so decided to lie down to rest for awhile. Thoughts of the incident went through my head and I chastised myself for the once again lacking focus while biking.

Jason and I then shared the packet of M&Ms that I brought for the ride which exploded in my back pocket during the fall. Thankfully, I escaped with just minor cuts on my palms and a mis-aligned STI shifter. It could have been much much worst with the heavy traffic on the opposite side of the road, I could have been hit by a vehicle! I knew that God is always watching over me, protecting me. Jason also agreed that it was a miracle that I escaped unharmed.

I hailed a cab and was on my way home after 165km on my bike computer. Jiajie, Jason and I then met up again at 2pm at our favourite eatery, Fei Fei Wanton Mee, for lunch. We sat there for 3hrs talking about almost everything under the sun. I could not agree more with Jason when he said that the real fun is not in completing the Ironman, but in the process the leads up to it. =]

Week 4 round-up

This week marked the start of my full time training for the Switzerland Ironman. It was killer fun! =]

Monday: 19km long run (morning); 4km long swim (evening)
Tuesday: 100km bike ride
Wednesday: 12.5km hill run intervals (morning); easy swim (evening)
Thursday: 85km bike ride (43km flats, 42km NUS + Mount Faber hills)
Friday: Rest
Saturday: 10km run (Bintan Triathlon)
Sunday: Rest

Total Swim Mileage: 4km
Total Bike Mileage: 185km
Total Run Mileage: 41.5km

The trip up to Bintan for the event over the weekend was super fun! =] We did pretty well, especially Orlanda and Serene who were first-timers. Both of them clinched 3rd position in their respective races (Sprint and Olympic Distance). Lemin did very well too, a super strong swim time and the best transition time in T1 and T2! He came in 4th. Junyang and Angela who were also first-timers did well in their races too, coming in 6th and 11th respectively. Our relay team consisting of Dong Xiang, Jiajie and myself came in 2nd.

It was a very beautiful sight to see everyone enjoying themselves, and to see so many people taking their first steps into a journey of a lifetime - triathlon. I hope we all still enjoy what we love doing. =]

Something I always wanted to do..

Today, I took my Raleigh out for training. This was something I always wanted to do but never did get down to doing.. =] With my Argon at T3 awaiting some minor fixing, I decided to try training with the singlespeed Raleigh..


The intended mileage today was 110km, so I slipped on my running shoes (Gel Noosa Tri 2) to be more 'flashly', as I did not have front and rear lights on this bike, and headed out. Serene, having gotten her pedals and cleats recently, was ready to try them out today. The entire bike ride went by smoothly, even the weather was superb! =]

The Raleigh held up well on the flats as well as the slopes; it was killer. In the end, the average speed clocked was around 32km/h for the 3 loops of coastal (90km). Never have I imagined this bike to be capable of that.. =] Singlespeed is indeed pretty cool, without having to change gears at all throughout the ride.. =]

I will slowly convert this bike into a tourer.. =] I will post the pictures up when I start to 'zeng' it =] Hahas..

Week 3 round-up

This week was one of the toughest weeks of my life..I have never studied so hard for an examination before in my entire life! Medicine is really in a league of its own..

Monday: 1st Professional MBBS Paper 1
Tuesday: 1st Professional MBBS Paper 2A
Wednesday: 1st Professional MBBS Paper 2B
Thursday: 1st Professional MBBS Paper 3; 4.5km swim
Friday: 1st Professional MBBS Paper 4
Saturday: 180km bike
Sunday: 20km run (2km warm-up, 18km pace run)

Total Swim Mileage: 4.5km
Total Bike Mileage: 180km
Total Run Mileage: 20km

Anyway, I am even more motivated to train harder for the Switzerland Ironman as Lemin and Michelle are both coming up to support us! Whoots! After which, we will travel Europe together. Super killer rocks sia..

Good day

Today, I sent my sister off in the morning as she is going to attend summer school at UC Berkeley for 2 months. In doing so, I missed Sentosa training with the team and the early morning run with Nicolas. My plan for the day was to go on an easy 80km ride to get myself ready for what is to come next week when I resume my micro-cycles. I started my ride at 10.24am.

Prior to that, I checked the weather forecast and it was all clear =] The ride started out really good, I felt really fresh even though the last time I cycled it was 40km (heavy rain) 11days ago. I planned to cruise through training today for there was a 38km run waiting for me the next day. The 38km run was Coach David and his friends' training programme, but he asked me along =]

Knowing clearly I was going to die tomorrow, I wanted to ensure that I live today. However, after 2 loops of coastal, I felt really good; hence I went for another round. This will take my mileage up to 110km..The deciding factor to turn insane came went Nicolas called me to indicate that he was not going to turn up for the 38km tomorrow. This set me thinking...

So far, my run mileage has been a consistent 21km. A 38km run will be a huge jump for an increment! Hence, I decided that I will do a 16-20km run tomorrow, and another 26km run on Monday morning (my micro-cycle starts with a morning run on Mondays). If I did the 38km, I think it will leave me dead for at least a week, destroying my training programme. Therefore, I decided to go for it, a full 180km mileage for bike today.

I completed the 3rd and 4th loop in good time and started on my 5th loop. Initially, I felt really drained, adding insult to injury was the headwind. It started to get more forceful now..Also, the sun has been up in the skies throughout my ride; I started to feel its effects..

I struggled to maintain my speed at 30km/h. It was then, the skies took pity on me and rain fell.. It was weird because throughout the entire 30km loop, some parts were raining and some parts not..hahas..but I'm not complaining, the rain somehow boosted me and I was hitting 30-33km/h all the way to the finish.

All in all, I completed the 180km in 6hrs 17mins. It was 4.41pm. I will recover for tomorrow's run at 4.30am, and then start the week fresh on Monday. =]

Attempt the difficult; attain the impossible.

A new friend to be made...

This is currently my favourite clip from Youtube:



I hope you like pain...

=] This actually ties in to my post-examination plans in a way.. Pain. Pain is a friend too, and I have to make friends with it too. After my spots examination today, I met up with Coach David for lunch at Parkway Parade and then chilled at his place for awhile discussing my training programme for the upcoming Ironman in July.

Exciting sets are to be done; insanity is a strong pre-requisite. I personally feel that after the whole Ironman experience, I will be a better person. There is so much to be learnt, reflections to be made and challenges to overcome. I am very excited.

After the discussion, I met up with Nicolas and Mr Ho in Victoria Junior College to catch up, leaving just before the skies pee-ed on the eastern side of Singapore. Weather nowadays is getting super erratic, I hope it does not affect any of my trainings! =]

Into the wind

Today saw the burden lessen with all heavy papers for my 1st Professional MBBS cleared. There is a final paper tomorrow where they give you specimens and you have to identify them and answer questions related to them.

I really feel that the examiners are expert mind-gamers (Jason, you pale in comparison). A neuroscience question in the physiology paper, no neuroscience questions in the neuroscience, head and neck and musculo-skeleton paper! There was also the physiology question in the anatomy paper too. Sometimes, you do know the answers to all those questions but you begin to doubt because the paper type was specifically told to you! Well..thankfully I answered to the best of my abilities..

After the paper today, I really craved for some sort of exercise. Ever since last friday's 21km run prior to church service (killer post on this after the exams), I have not done anything other than hardcore, insane mugging. Hence, I decided to swim today. The weather was good and I initially decided to do a 4km swim. However, something overcame me in the water and I decided to add 0.5km to the mileage. I completed 4.5km in 1hr 47mins in a comfortable, relaxing manner.

I felt really good to be back doing the things I love. I felt so at peace in the water today that I almost fell asleep! Sleep deprivation has had its toll on many many of my course-mates. I have heard stories of some of them sleeping during the examinations! Seriously man..all this studying is just to pass the examinations, let alone ace it! I have never experience something as BIG as this before. The 1st Professional MBBS examinations showed me the limits of my mugging capacity. It has never reached such frontiers before; I'm in unchartered waters (in my life).

Anyways, I had a mini-reflection during the swim today as I focused on my strokes and gliding technique. I realised that the more you struggle, the more you sink. That is the same for life. Chin Ee has been the latest to impact me with his words. Trust your brain. That was what he said prior to the paper on Tuesday. There is no point panicking and wallowing in past actions, look forward to the future where your actions might still be able to effect some sort of reaction.

I really have to thank all those (tagboard people) who have showed me encouragement after the paper yesterday. Thank you! Jason, who self-proclaimed to be my source of encouragement through my entire examination, your support has been really evident =] Nicolas, thanks for that phone call, it really made a heck of a difference brother! Not forgetting God who has never left me throughout this entire time even though I felt that He did; I was the one who moved, He didn't.

Lastly, I will end off with something the man of the moment, Chin Ee, texted me:

When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it.

What else can I say...

I took my 3rd paper in 3 days this morning...So far, the 1st Professional MBBS examinations has abolished so much of my once-held-in-high-esteem-thoughts about examinations.. I never believed in 'hugging the buddha's leg at the last moment' or simply put - mugging right before the start of the examination. I always saw it as redundant and would rather use the time to calm myself down for the paper. This examination has seen me waking up at 5.45am to study prior to a paper at 9am; not once but twice, so far..

I could always finish studying almost everything there is to be studied prior to a paper. However, that is not the case for Medicine. There seem to be an endless amount of stuff you have to know.. I was dealt 3 hard blows from the past 3 papers and all I am asking is to pass. I hope I do pass. I need to pass.

I will hang on..with 2 papers left, I must..God, save me..

Week 2 round-up

This week was pretty disappointing for me in view of how much I have achieved last week..Well, something's gotta give. I focused more on my run mileage this week. It is just 5 more days to pure training.. I can do it!

Monday: 3km swim followed by 21km run (evening)
Tuesday: 40km bike ride (ended prematurely due to rain)
Wednesday: Mug
Thursday: Mug
Friday: 21km run (evening)
Saturday: Mug
Sunday: Mug

Total Swim Mileage: 3km
Total Bike Mileage: 40km
Total Run Mileage: 42km
Total Mug Mileage: insanely high

I could have made it big!

4D Results for 4th May 2009

1st: 8279
2nd: 1376
3rd: 4017

That was my carplate number..hahas! If I had known, I would have bought it man.. =] But well, it is not possible to know it beforehand..hahahas!

I, Norman

I, Norman, am going to Ironman Switzerland 2009! =] The idea above was inspired by Joshua who saw that with a play of characters, IRONMAN can be NORMAN! The rest is history, as you can see..hahahas..

I'm currently de-stressing from my biochemistry metabolism by meticulously creating the above.. I really love the look of it..Ok, time to hit the books again!

Rain is my friend!

Got up at 5am today for a ride with Nicolas scheduled at 5.30am. Thanks brother, for ditching your cosy bed the 1st day after your examinations to accompany me in my quest to conquer the world while it sleeps =] It was agreed upon that after 80km, MacDonalds' breakfast awaited us.

Both of us having sore buttocks and legs were taking it easy today. Upon hitting the end of Changi coastal road, there was a slight drizzle. However, we decided to go ahead with the training. Within minutes, the clouds let out their accumulated wealth on us, and soon, it became a little too heavy for both our liking. Cycling with Rain is really quite an experience, you work harder to overcome puddles formed on the ground and also your overall weight as water soaks through everything. Oh, and my favourite part: free bike wash! My cassette looks super clean (like it was de-greased) after the brief encounter with Rain.

Hence, my mileage today is a mere 40km, but I am glad to have made a new friend! Well, I treat that as a sign for rest. Will use the remaining of the day to train my mind...to the books!

I think I'm getting sadistic...

Today, Joshua cycled over from school to join me in my 3km swim followed by 21km run training. The plan was to complete the entire session in 3hrs. After mugging for hours, I really needed an outlet! =] The entire session was pretty much uneventful with us feeling super tired towards the end!

After the swim, we realised that we did not bring out any gels or food to snack along the run, hence we did a pit stop at MacDonalds'! This is really my 1st time doing such a 'transition'...after getting a box of McNuggets, we proceeded with the run, snacking on the nuggets! It was really hilarious!

Thanks Josh for the company today and for doing the sick sets with me. I really can't fathom how it would have turned out had you not come..Ok, back to the books..bleh!

Week 1 round-up

This week marked the start of my intensive training and studying. It was really very fruitful, although there are some areas which can still be improved on.. =] So here are the workouts that I did:

Monday: 16km pace run (morning) and 4km long swim (evening)
Tuesday: 80km bike ride [at 30km/h] (evening)
Wednesday: 21km long run in 2hrs (morning) and 3km swim [1km-easy, 1km-pulling, 1km-swim] (evening)
Thursday: 2km swim [pulling] (evening)
Friday: Desaru bike ride [20km-15km-35km-35km-15km-20km intervals]
Saturday: Rest/Mug day
Sunday: 110km bike ride (afternoon)

Total Swim Mileage: 9km
Total Bike Mileage: 335km
Total Run Mileage: 37km

There needs to be more work put in for the run.. I hope that all these training will aid me in Switzerland.. =] Now, let's look forward to the new week! =] 2 more weeks to freedom!

Something to de-stress...

Love Story by Taylor Swift meets Viva La Vida by Coldplay - Piano Cello by Jon Schmidt



Enjoy =]

It is paying off!

Today, I did my first long bike ride in Desaru! =] The entire ride was 145km long inclusive of travelling to and fro Changi Ferry Terminal. For the entire 104km in Desaru, we met with all the elements: sun, wind and hills. Prior to this trip, I was in full anticipation to see whether or not my training programme was effective in battling the strong headwinds and steep hill climbs in Desaru as stated by many who have been there.

I took the first 15km in moderate pace and tried to maintain 30-35km/h while in the same time fighting off the temptation to catch the break away pack led by Lemin. I held on in the peloton. I realised something during most of my long distance trainings that patience is a very important virtue in endurance sports. You have to be very aware of your abilities and not over-push in the initial stages when you feel fresh and strong only to crash at the latter stages when you have nothing left in you to produce that final kick. Therefore, I held on.

In the subsequent 35km, I pushed the speed abit and was in the chase pack..throughout the entire ride, I made up my mind that I was going to try and take on whatever the elements threw at me. That meant simply no drafting and taking on the hills with good cadence even though at times my legs seem like they have no strength left in them.

After a short water break, we were back with the return leg of 35km. Initially, my legs felt really tired, but as I progressed into the ride, it loosened up and I was back in action =] Deciding to catch the break away duo, I worked with Lemin and Joshua in the chase pack. I felt pretty strong and decided to go for it, increasing the speed, taking on the hills as they came. This time, the winds decided to pay me a visit...The headwinds in Changi costal road was nothing compared to those in Desaru; my bike computer showed that my speed was decreasing even though I was cycling just as hard. I hang on to the course, delighted with the breeze that came. I needed this new friend, and I was determined to make it happen..

I kept at it and continued to push. There are times when the combo of direct headwinds and hills came to put an end to my pursuit, but I was glad that all the training done in Singapore has put me in good stead to overcome them. I ended the 35km feeling good and pushed to the limit. It was a very good ride.

After the seafood lunch, we made our way back to the jetty which was 15km away. I was determined to end this training on a high after Lemin gestured that we overtake those infront. Prior to his suggestion, I was hesitant to making that move out of respect for all the veterans who were so much more learned than us young punks. Somehow Lemin managed to stoke that fire in me..I broke out infront and made the break away with him. Soon, we were joined by the strongest cyclist in the entire trip who was consistently infront during the ride. He pushed the pace in an attempt to drop me. He succeeded and pulled away for a considerable distance. I looked at my bike computer and there was only 7km to go; I had almost nothing left in me. Not to mention, the strong headwinds were present. I was merely hanging on to complete the ride back to the jetty in a respectable manner.

Soon, I saw that the uncle infront had trouble with the strong headwinds. This was where friends matter.. I summoned whatever little that I had left and increased the speed to 33km/h. I could see him getting bigger and bigger. He was within striking distance. I timed my overtaking to coincide with a road hump and a slight downslope. He slowed down for the hump; I sped up for it, lifting myself off the saddle as I took on the hump and immediately paddled as hard as I can to drop him.

All that I had on my mind was to reach the jetty. There was only 4km left and the headwinds were still beating down on me. This was where I thought of the various rides in the early morning or late evening at Changi coastal road battling the headwinds. It has became my friend. As Jiajie puts it: During training, the wind is my enemy; during competition, it is my friend.

I ended off the ride on a high note and was very delighted =] All my training is indeed paying off!

I find the best shortcut is the long way, which is basically two words: work hard. – Randy Pausch