Week 8 round-up

Monday: 14km pace run (afternoon) and 1.2km easy swim (evening)
Tuesday: Rest day
Wednesday: 2km wetsuit swim (morning) and 28km long run (afternoon)
Thursday: Rest day
Friday: 55km bike training [15km hill intervals] (morning)
Saturday: Desaru bike ride [20km-15km-35km-35km-15km-20km intervals]
Sunday: Rest day

Total Swim Mileage: 3.2km
Total Bike Mileage: 195km
Total Run Mileage: 42km

This week has been a pretty tough week for me. However, I am very happy with all the progress made in my training! =] I also learnt that rest is as important as the hardcore training itself..On Monday's pace run, I managed to hit 1hr 07mins! However, the 28km long run on Wednesday took more out of me. On the whole it felt better than the previous 28km and I completed it in 2hrs 51mins.

I begin to realise that the event in Switzerland is merely something that you just do, the real fun is in the process leading up to it. This realisation was reinforced by Jason during one of our long runs, and I felt it to be very true. On Wednesday's 28km, Lemin, Jiajie and Michelle joined Nicolas and I on our 2nd 14km. Their encouragement and support really made the last 14km more enjoyable even though I was silently dying inside..This was similar to the previous long bike ride where many of our friends cycled with us throughout the 180km, coming and going off, accompanying us through the long journey..This is why I do what I'm doing, this is why I love triathlon. The support you get from the community is insane! =]

Friday's hillslayer training was prematurely ended because Nicolas and I felt really weak. We decided to rest instead for the long ride the next day at Desaru. This was my 2nd time going up, and there were altogether 23 of us who went up this time. Coach David organised and we merely tagged along. Although my initial intention was to relax and spin down, I found myself caught in the thick of the action.

I was once again glad that all the trainings in Singapore has served me well against the killer headwinds in Desaru. The only downside to this trip was that some people just do not have draft ethics. In cycling, especially when the winds are ultimate killer, it is only courteous to take turns fighting nature. Jon Ma was the usual mad ass right smack infront fighting on his own, thus I decided to help him out. However, when I am drained and he took over, nobody except Alvin allowed me to slot back into the pack. I felt quite disturbed but said nothing. It is ok if you are just resting on someone else's wheel, but try to keep in line! I had a very hard time trying to get the draft because of some amateur's weird drafting antics..This once again prompted me to take the lead until I could not pull the pack on anymore, repeating the cycle. It was quite a bad 30km ride back to the sugarcane oasis in terms of experience, but the training was superb!

The highlight of the trip was definitely in the last 17km back to the jetty. Ling Er reminded me of the drafting formation which I mentioned earlier, and we decided to try it out once more, having failed 2 times before. Nicolas, Alvin, Ling Er and I each took turns at the front for about 10s before pulling over to the left and slowly taking position at the end of the draft line. The 2nd in line is now in front pulling the pack for 10s, and the cycle repeats itself. We started out abit rusty but got better as each rider got more and more accustomed to the plan. The 4 of us were riding easily at 36-38km/h! This was a really cool technique (something I saw on TV while the Tour of Turkey was aired). It was super fun and energy saving too! =]

It is now time to rest for next week's killer training! I have now less than 3 weeks before I fly off to Zurich..how time flies..

Unexpected finds

Today, I spent the morning doing groceries with mummy..We went down to Giant at Tampines to get the food items. Giant is really really gargantuan and they sell almost everything! Nicolas's poker set was also bought from Giant! =] I made my way to the non-food items section and looked around. I came back with a $9.99 kickboard and a $5.95 Eeyore (shown below).

It was so darn cute that I decided to place it on my car's dashboard! Hahas.. We finished off the grocery shopping and went home for lunch. After chilling around for awhile, I made my way to school with Nicolas for our 14km pace run and swim training with the team..It is now time to rest =]

Week 7 round-up

Monday: Church camp
Tuesday: Church camp
Wednesday: Church camp
Thursday: Church camp
Friday: Rest
Saturday: IPPT
Sunday: 140km bike and 5km run (5km warm up and 5km cool down ride)

Total Swim Mileage: 0km
Total Bike Mileage: 140km
Total Run Mileage: 5km

This week has been pretty chill, a good time to rest and recover for the final burst of training in the last month leading up to Ironman Switzerland. It was a good time to rest not only the physical man, but the spiritual one also. I think I over-rested the physical dude because after my IPPT, I was aching all over today! =] I am still trying to figure out the reason why..

Anyways, Nic and I decided to kill ourselves in the next 2 weeks. Therefore, we started with today. The "cursed" long bike ride followed by a 5km run was completed today! The curse has been utterly shattered...The pace for the 130km was very good I thought, maintaining in the region of 30-35km/h. Our quadriceps muscles were like rock solid after the ride. The run felt good and we both felt pretty strong. This is a good sign; now to look forward to the next 2 weeks' training. =]

Avoiding the sun..

This morning, before the sun came out, I made my way to Nicolas's place for our 1st wetsuit swim. It was 5.45am in the morning when we put on our wetsuits. Having tried on my wetsuit a few days before and knowing the trouble I had wearing it, I bought the Body Glide! =]

It has significantly aided me in my efforts to put on the wetsuit. I now stand a good chance in the fastest wetsuit wearing competition..hahas! =] Anyways, we entered the pool and started swimming. The wetsuit really made you float and keeps your body streamlined when you swim. However, swimming in it does require some getting use to as we both agreed. It was pretty tiring on the arms as some work done is used to counter elastic forces. =] There has to be more wetsuit swim sessions prior to our Ironman in less than a month's time.

After the swim, when we unzipped the wetsuit, hot air emerged from within. It was really killer..imagine swimming in it under the sun! We had a short but fun time at the pool this morning..there will be more to come.. =]

Happy day!

My past 3 days were spent at church camp.. It was a superb time to recover from all my training and prepare for my IPPT this Saturday. =] I have gleaned a lot from the people around me and the workshops given during my time in camp, and I hope to be able to apply them in my life.

I left early today to meet Nicolas for our medical screening at Raffles Medical located in OUB Centre. The entire thing took about 4hrs. When we left the carpark, the parking fee shown was a whooping $16! Needless to say, we both exclaimed in astonishment. Madness beans! I have never incurred such a hefty parking fee before in my entire life.. The conclusion was that parking in the CBD area is killer.

After the medical screening, I made my way to the post office to collect my airmail from the USA. My 2XU wetsuit has arrived! =]

Brand new wetsuit for just S$180 with shipping included! My goodness..killer deal man!

I tried it on and had a really tough time getting into it. I think I need to get some Body Glide to apply.. All in all, the suit fitted me well and I am really glad! =]

Now, there is one less thing to care about for my Ironman in 29days time! Another thing to add to an already happy day is that I passed my 1st Professional MBBS examinations! I got a B. Whoots! Now, I can fully enjoy the rest of the holidays without having that at the back of my mind! Praise the Lord! =]

Week 6 round-up

Monday: Rest (cough)
Tuesday: Rest (cough)
Wednesday: Long swim (4km)
Thursday: 5 x 2.5km hill run intervals (morning)
Friday: 70km bike ride + 5km run (morning)
Saturday: Rest
Sunday: Long run (21km)

Total Swim Mileage: 4km
Total Bike Mileage: 70km
Total Run Mileage: 37.5km

This week has been quite a chill week for me, and next week is not going to be any tougher as I will be attending church camp. =] So far, I think all the training has been logged in with less than a month before I fly off to Zurich for the long awaited Ironman Switzerland. Just 4 more weeks to go!

Vintage Raleigh restored...

Today marks the end of my Phase I restoration project with my Raleigh. Much have been done to it since months ago, and I'm very proud of how it turned out to be. Here is the final product for Phase I:

Some of the things to be fixed onto the bike first was the front and rear Campagnolo sidepull caliper braking system and the cool bell.

The Campagnolo downtube shifters, front and rear derailleurs, crankset and bottom bracket were then added on after much deliberation in converting the initial singlespeed Raleigh into a 6-speed bicycle.

Nicolas gave me one of his beautiful yellow Topeak bottle cage and I thought it looked perfect on the Raleigh, hence I got another one.

Initially, the rear derailleur cable was red, but I thought black looked much nicer and blended in better as all my other cables were also black. Therefore, I got it replaced. =]

These pair of Mavic rims with Campagnolo hubs and skewers are tubular! My goodness..never did I expect that my first pair of tubular wheelset will be on this vintage bicycle. I had always envisioned it to be for my Argon 18...hahas! It will come, soon after I recover from my burns... =]