Carpe Diem!

Today, I started my 9 trainings per week micro-cycle. The day begun at 5.30am with a 16km pace run. As I approached the turning point, I spotted Coach David! We completed the run together and had a little chat afterwards. The run was pretty good, averaging about 5min/km.

The bulk of the day was spent mugging in school for my 1st Professional MBBS. It was a pretty productive session. I then went for my 4km long and easy swim at 7.15pm. Dinner was 'da-baoed' and eaten as I completed my final wrap up on renal physiology. The day ended at 11pm with not only my brain being fried, but also my body hinting to me that sleep beckons =]

I hope to be able to do this for 2 more weeks and perhaps do some maintenance during the examination period and enter full throttle after it. A 70km bike ride awaits me tomorrow =] Till then, hang in there people! A week more to freedom, 3 weeks more for me! =]

A beautiful sweep...

Today, the NUS Aquathlon team participated in the TAS Inter-Collegiate & School Aquathlon 2009 and we won both the male and female tertiary categories! Today, it was evident to me that the team comes first...Every action from every member counts. You are only as strong as your weakest link.

Kudos to Ying Ren who claimed top spot again, without surprise. Zhiyun is also slowing making winning a habit by clinching yet another top podium finish. Joshua and Orlanda, from Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, secured 3rd placing in their categories too! Beautiful.. As you can see from here, being a medical student is proportional to winning races..Hahas! =] Ying Ren and Serene are medical students too!

I was very pleased also that the relay team consisting of Dong Xiang and Serene came in 1st. When the EXCO was discussing who to field for the female relay team to partner Dong Xiang, Serene immediately came to my mind. When she agreed after I approached her with the prosposal, I knew this was the team to beat! =] I was glad that this plan worked out beautifully.

Seeing the carvings on the overall male's champion trophy today, I gushed with pride. NUS was engraved for 4 consecutive years! Next season, the EXCO has really huge shoes to fill to take this already established team to greater heights. All the blood, sweat, tears, burn-outs, ups and downs from our seniors made it possible for us to taste the sweet results that we have now. The pressure is immense..

Thank you Zhiyun for reassuring us that our current sets for training is OK (because when Nicolas and I plan for running sets, we really just go by logic and the little experience that we have). =] Well, now that post-season has officially started for us, and the examinations are just around the corner, we can afford to focus on the important things on hand.

I will be looking forward to seeing Zhenyi and Serene at the pool after the examinations. They are a welcome addition to the team! =] Lastly, even though Jiajie and I got 4th today, I was glad that I gave all I had in the run and done my best (even if my best is not good enough). I did my personal best for a 5km run and will ride on this tide and aim for greater heights!

Befriending session...

I made a couple more new friends before going to school this morning. The alarm rang at 4.10am and it took me 15mins to ditch the cosiness of my bed in exchange for the early morning perspiration that was awaiting me the moment I stepped out of the house.

The befriending session started at 5.45am, and I ended off feeling stronger than before...

I called to the winds and they embraced me, silencing off my adversaries; I called to the hills and they lift me up, adding lead to the legs of my enemies; I called to the sun and it gave me added power to unleash my fury upon the competition. They are my friends, be afraid of them... - Norman

The beauty of University life...

...is when you know there's a bunch of people looking out for you. After my anatomy practical today, I received an SMS from Ying Ren (thanks bros, that was really super helpful). I then decided to mug at a corner table in the canteen in case I got hungry and wanted to eat and also partly because I was lazy to walk further to other 'mugging places'.

While buying a drink, I saw the 'ever-unfriendly' Dongs, and brief acknowledgements were exchanged. =] Hahas..Angela was the next in line followed by Aldrich and lastly Jiajie. It was nice to speak to them in the midst of such intense atmosphere as the exams are just 2 weeks away for them! Encouragements were free flowing and you know such words are not superficial, they mean what they say..

I really wonder what my University life would be like without the NUS Aquathlon team..I believe I have grown a lot in the past academic year. I look forward to the next year with hope and anticipation. We have to scale new heights and break new grounds! =]

Studying at the corner in the canteen was pretty productive for me. =] After which I went for track training and was glad to have survived the sets amounting to 7km. Tomorrow will be a long and slow run day.. =]

Sometimes you're down, sometimes you're up

Ever since last Wednesday's run with Coach David, I've not been training until the ride yesterday at Changi coastal road. Perhaps I have been training too regularly, so much so that when I actually take a break for 3 days, it felt like I was slacking for weeks!

The ride yesterday was pretty bad for me. After the 2nd loop of 30km, I was almost spent. It was a stark difference compared to last week's 100km ride. I attributed it to the lack of Thursday morning hill slayer training last week as I was resting.. It will be back this week, the hill killa sets are superb and must be done albeit tough!

Today, I went to the pool after school and did a 4km swim. I felt that I should be doing more of such training in preparation for the Switzerland Ironman just 3 months away! Speed work at such a time would be pretty meaningless (or is it?) =] I hope to up the mileage to 6km eventually, although Jason claims that 5km will be sufficient..We'll see..5km sounds really good too. =]

I will be doing the track sets tomorrow and I hope my right lateral arch wouldn't act up again..I need to be well..I really need it.

Something that has to be learnt...

More haste, less speed...Indeed, indeed.

What a gorgeous beauty...

Fully restored top of the line 54cm Raleigh Professional MK.IV (cream & brown) singlespeed bike circa 1976:

Ever since I first saw this beauty, it has been on my mind. =] I am going to do my own modifications to it during the holidays.. These are some things that I plan to add on to the bike:

Retro bell

Panniers

I will also be adding front brakes as well for safety measure.. =] I will post up updates on the modifications..This is so darn exciting!

Remember why you are doing what you are doing...

I believe many has seen or heard about Team Hoyt before, I was one of them. Perhaps through the years and after getting too caught up with the things surrounding us, we tend to lose focus on why we are doing the things we love. The initial excitement of completing a race is replaced by competitiveness and results. The simple joys in life replaced by feelings of dejection having not met expectations.

Do take some time off to watch this incredible video and remind yourself the reason you are doing what you are doing. The triathlon is a celebration of human spirit and its limits...



I cried like a baby after watching this, and I hope it impacts you the way it did for me.

Love is not because, but no matter what. – Jodi Picoult

Inspirational Gianna Jessen

Gianna Jessen's Biography from www.giannajessen.com

Gianna Jessen does not quit. Giving up is not an option to her. Gianna has what she refers to as the "gift" of Cerebral Palsy. She weighed a mere 2 lbs at birth and the doctors said she would never be able to hold up her head, sit up, crawl or walk. She began to walk by the age of three years old with the help of leg braces and a walker.

Gianna doesn’t believe that her Cerebral Palsy takes away her life, but, rather, enriches it. . . she walks with a slight limp today and runs marathons. On April 30, 2005 she completed her first 26.2 mile marathon after running just over 7 hours and was presented with the coveted blank blank award! On April 23, 2006 she completed the London Marathon as well. She is now determined to run marathons all over the place, because she was never supposed to even walk!

Gianna understands the plight of orphans, being one herself. She was placed into the foster care system early on in life, eventually being taken into the loving home of a woman named Penny. Penny has been a mother to 56 foster children in her life. Gianna was later adopted by Penny's daughter, making Penny Gianna's grandmother. According to Gianna, Penny saved her life.

Gianna is a Christian. Her life was given to her by the grace of God. She shouldn't be walking, but more miraculous still; she should not even be alive. Gianna's biological mother was 17 when she had a saline abortion in her third trimester. Many Americans don’t realize it is legal to have an abortion throughout all nine months of pregnancy. After being burned alive for approximately 18 hours in the womb from the saline solution, Gianna was delivered alive in a Los Angeles County abortion clinic. Her medical records state, "born during saline abortion"...this is what caused her Cerebral Palsy.

Gianna's travels and experiences have led her all over the world. Her life has been covered by many major news media outlets, including, most recently, the BBC News and World Radio, Sky News, and The Good Morning Show in England, reaching many people with a message of hope and conviction. In November 2005, Gianna spoke in several colleges all over Ireland and in December of the same year, spoke at a meeting held at the House of Commons in London. She has returned to England this year to speak in several parochial and public high schools. Gianna’s audiences include: churches - church youth crusades and women’s ministry retreats; various corporations as a motivational speaker; secular and Christian youth organizations and schools – middle school age through college, as well as several times before Congress - most recently having her testimony read before the Supreme Court in Carhart v. Gonzales.

A successful training session..

The 2 wolves set out the moment the sun peeked behind dark clouds that seemed like they were going to burst any moment. Lightning was spotted in the distant mountains, and the 'white-haired' blizzard was about to mount its assault onto the grassland..

The aim was clear, the motive instilled..They were going to go against the elements. The dark clouds were soon chased away by the 'white-haired' blizzard and the heat of the sun belted down onto the wolves. They were undeterred..Unstirred from their task at hand, they forged ahead. It was clear that they were training for something; something that would ensure their survival in the future.. The wolves were going against the elements to use them as an advantage when the right time came: when they were pursued by their mortal enemies - the humans.

Soon, the hills, heat and the 'white-haired' blizzard were moved by their persistence and they became friends. The wolves could summon them anytime in aid for survival. They were stronger, tougher, harder than before. It was a successful training session...

n/b: Inspired from Jiang Rong's Wolf Totem

Hill Killa..

I woke up at 4.30am this morning in preparation for my assault at the National University of Singapore. After downing my cup of Milo, gobbling 2 small sandwiches and popping a vitamin C tablet into my mouth, I was out on the roads. I love riding in the early morning as cool breeze and minimal traffic greeted me.

Having arranged this assault the day before after swim training, I arrived at Temasek Hall carpark on the dot of 5.30am. Soon, Nicolas and Jiajie arrived and we started our workout. Jiajie planned out the route of advance and we followed. It was painful, mind-screwing and impossible to complete if you are alone.

Each attempt to slay a hill was met with insane resistance. It seemed that they (the hills) know that we were coming for them. Each cycle I took on the pedals while climbing was accompanied by thoughts of just giving up and chill off. I was severly tachypnoic!

After 24km of hills, we were totally spent. We made our way to West Coast MacDonalds as the one in NUS was still not opened. It was really satisfying, having know that you killed some hills before starting the day. Breakfast never tasted so good..

Nicolas and Jiajie had classes and so they rode back to school while I made my way home as it was a free day =] After bathing, I was out again to Parkway for a meeting with Coach David regarding my Ironman Switzerland training.

We planned roughly the skeleton for the training programme and he shared about his experiences. It was a very fruitful meeting and I left feeling so much more inspired and motivated to train hard. It is definitely going to be tough, both mentally and physically; but I believe that with proper time management, it is possible. =]

Let the tough times begin.