Sweet dreams are made of these

It feels good to be back..

Cold water shot through my system like electricity; I struggled to breathe. My arms felt like lead, disobeying my command to move. Invisible creatures welcomed me with sharp stinging pains; the sodium felt nice in my mouth. I was at peace in the water...

It felt really good to be back training with the team after being out for so long. I knew this week was going to be tough, but I paced myself and tried to ease back into training slowly.

Something I never shared regarding my Ironman experience was the emotion I had when I crossed the finish line in July 2009. I had no emotion. I had visualised that moment prior to the race so many times in my mind; Would I cry? Would I be too overwhelmed for words? There was nothing of that sort that day. Blank.

Until now, I still cannot understand what happened back there in Zurich. I am hoping to find an answer and I know there is something to be learnt. Time will tell. For now, I am happy to be able to do the things I love to do and once again feel the sensation of sand rubbing against an abraded ankle =]

Week 9 round-up

Monday: 2.5km wetsuit swim (morning), 14km pace run (afternoon) and 1.8km easy swim (evening)
Tuesday: Rest day
Wednesday: 2km wetsuit swim (morning)
Thursday: 35.5km long run (evening)
Friday: Rest day
Saturday: 80km bike ride and 5km run (evening)
Sunday: Rest day

Total Swim Mileage: 6.3km
Total Bike Mileage: 80km
Total Run Mileage: 49.5km

This week has seen the effects of the large amount of training slowing starting to show. Physically completing a workout is no longer the question; the problem was more toward the mental side. More often than not, Nic and I dread the workout even before embarking on it, and these are sure signs of over-training.. Therefore, we both decided to take it easy from now on to fully get the mental faculty back to its optimal performance for the Ironman in 2 weeks time.

I did my last killer training on Thursday. It was a mileage run and I decided to try the 30km coastal route that we usually cycle for our trainings as the running route in East Coast Park has become really very boring. I brought along 2 gels with me as I started off from carpark F2. The plan was to hydrate whenever I see a petrol kiosk or foodcourt along the way.

I did not bring money and that was a mistake! There were so many times during the run that I wanted to just stop and take a cab back to F2, but I held on. It was also pathetic to be at a petrol kiosk with no money to buy drinks and having to hydrate from the toilet's sink. Lesson learnt: always bring money. =]

Anyways, I was dying entering the last 8-10km, and the sky was dark already. My legs were dead weight and I decided to just stop and walk back figuring that the distance was already more than my intended 30km. I walked out to the main road to see where I was in relation to PK (pang kang) bend, and to my surprise, it was right ahead staring at me! I had given up when I was already so close to the end! Freaking heck.

I went back to running and finished the run with a time of 3hrs 35mins. After that, I seat down as my legs were really tired and I proceeded to lying down to rest before walking back to F2. It was quite a good workout, but I hope I will not feel such pain after my Ironman in Switzerland..

Here is a poem infront of my table that I always read when I feel like giving up. The author is unknown..

Don't Quit

When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,
when the road you’re trudging seems all uphill,
when the funds are low and the debts are high,
and you want to smile, but you have to sigh,
when care is pressing you down a bit-rest, if you must, but do not quit.

Life is queer with its twists and turns,
as every one of us sometimes learns,
and many a failure turns about,
when he might have won had he stuck it out;
don’t give up though the pace seems slow—
you may succeed with another blow.

Often the goal is nearer than,
it seems to a faint and faltering man,
often the struggler has given up,
when he might have captured the victor’s cup,
and he learned too late when the night slipped down,
how close he was to the golden crown.

Success is failure turned inside out—
the silver tint of the clouds of doubt,and you never can tell how close you are,
it may be near when it seems so far,
so stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit—
it’s when things seem worst that you must not quit.

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..

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.. =]

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!

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. =]

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..

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.

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 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!

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! =]

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.

The tough month is almost over!

Whoots! Today was the NIE Biathlon at NTU, my 4th race in 4 weeks =] It was not exactly a very good race for me as my core gave up, again, during the last 1km. I really have to solve this mystery man..was talking to Coach Tay about it and he thought it was probably due to the sudden intensity that I have placed on my body that it went into shock. Maybe I need to do more transitional trainings..maybe my core is not strong enough..Well, I will slowly uncover it.

I was particularly happy with my swim today! Prior to the race, I warmed up at the diving pool and felt very comfortable in the water. It was this feeling of total immersion and gliding in the water, it was marvellous! Upon plunging, I surged forwards and kept ahead of most of my competitors. The feeling was the key. I never felt so at peace in the water before. It was so pleasurable! =] I managed to come out 4th in the swim leg and was already planning my strategy for the run leg. I decided to keep it relax until the 1km mark and then slowly build up the pace. I almost pulled it off but was hindered at the final stretch by the mysterious force! I felt like shit as it was the final part of the race. Giving up really crossed my mind but I just endured and took the pain in. In the end, I finished the race.

The thing that I am most sad about was the fact that some of the seniors are leaving the team as they are graduating in a few months' time. NUS Aquathlon is like a big family to me, so it feels as if some family members are leaving for some faraway place. Hahas..but I think they might drop by once in a while to check us out..hopefully. I feel like I am emo-ing..bleh.

Also, I suddenly feel that a huge part of my life is missing after the end of this biathlon season..The meeting up with everyone during Monday and Wednesday's swim training, the run sets on Tuesdays, long runs on Thursdays and sentosa training on Saturdays will certainly be missed. Going through hell with your teammates is really a very very enjoyable experience. There is so much to learn from others and yourself. You blossom faster. I look forward to the next season with immense anticipation, hope and thirst for greater success for the team!

Lastly, I will end off with a quote from Qiurong during my conversation with her after my race. "Years later, you will look back at this race and realise that this was the race that made you faster."

At the core of it all: An epiphany

Core definition from www.dictionary.com: the central, innermost, or most essential part of anything.

Today, I competed in my 3rd race in 3 weeks, there's still 2 more to come in the next 2 weeks! =] The race today was different from the previous races; today, I was racing with a bunch of friends who together with me had gone through 1 year of training for this event. I was racing with my team - NUS Aquathlon. It is amazing to see how I have changed over 1 year; last year's race expectations were different from this year's. I completed the biathlon last year in 1hr 48mins. Therefore, any timing this year will make me feel good about myself theoretically, but no..

Today's swim was ok..I felt good for the swim out to sea. It was at a comfortable yet slightly fast pace. I made a mistake by sticking too close to the lane rope and got boxed in. The swimmers were super rough in the water, my goggles got slightly pulled off and sea water infiltrated the left one. It was a war out there. Upon the final turn into the stretch heading back to the beach, I got disorientated and I think I swam outside the demarcated lane. There was no one (marshaller) who came up to me to direct me back! When I realised, precious time had ticked away. I was aiming for a 27-28mins swim, and with that mistake my swim time became 32-33mins.

Whilst in the water heading back in the correct direction, I was thinking that perhaps I had been too slack. I should have checked out the swim route prior to the race! With a rough guide of the route, I would have been in a better position to estimate where I was in relation to the beach. Well..as Randy Pausch puts it in his book, The Last Lecture, ''experience is what you get when you didn’t get what you wanted." I believe that was what I had gotten in the swim today and from all the races back in 2008, experience..

Upon exiting the waters, Lincoln was there to cheer me on. I think he sensed that I was abit disappointed with my swim time as I told him the night before that I wanted to hit my target time of 1hr 15mins. "It's alright! Catch up on the run, you can do it!", was what he shouted. Off I went into the transition area, slipped on my shoes, took my running vest and bolted out for the 10km run. I was still filled with the confidence based on my 10km timing in the Newton Active Run last week and was aiming to run a 43min 10km in order to hit my target. I knew that it was possible, but I was wrong..

For the initial 5km, my anterior core section just died on me; it felt very very tense and I could not extend my stride length to go faster. I could only maintain a 5min/km pace. I have never ever felt this way before in my years of running, this was a first. Part of me wanted to just give up and seek medical attention, but another part of me wanted to go on as I was not competing for myself. I was spurred on by teammates Nicolas, Jon Ma, Zebin, Joshua Li, Kep Kee, Joshua Lim and Lemin who had made their 1st U-turn and were heading off for their remaining 8km. I hang on at that freaking slow pace.

I prayed for the pain to go away, asking God to take it all away. It was then that I got my epiphany. I have always taken part in endurance events because in the process of doing them, I find God's provision and love. He has never failed to help me whenever I needed that extra boost. He was always there for me. I looked within and asked myself, "had I done the same for Him?"

At church last night, Pastor Pacer was expounding on "Is Jesus your Lord?" He brought up very interesting points that modern day Christianity has evolved to a state of self-centredness from that of God-centredness. I could not agree more. More often than not, I find myself praying prayers like: "God, please help ME...", "God, I pray that you give ME..." It is all ME, MYSELF and I. The message preached nowadays has been diluted to the state that people receive the wonderful gift of salvation because something is promised to them. "I receive Jesus into my heart so that I can have a peaceful life ahead", "I receive Jesus into my heart so that I can experience His blessings".

Is Jesus really our Lord? Or is He just a vending machine, called to in times of need, forgotten in times of peace? Jesus owns us, not the other way round. It is expressed clearly in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, "Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body."

My cramped up core muscles also made me remember a concept I learnt while reading a book entitled: Stop Acting like a Christian, Just Be One by Christine Caine. "Just as our physical core is responsible for every move our body makes, our spiritual core is responsible for our every thought, emotion, reaction and decision." I got it now, He was trying to show me the importance of the spiritual core through the phyical core. I now understood how hard it was to run with a cramped up physical core, therefore I could parallel it to how hard it was to live in this world with a weak spiritual core! This was the wake-up call I needed.

My spiritual core is indeed pretty weak, and I have been doing nothing to try and strengthen it. As with many things in Christianity, a divine paradox once again shows up: building up a strong spiritual core will make life so much more easier to live, but to build up that strong spiritual core is not easy. I likened the run to the road of life, with a strong core, my run will be so much easier..

Soon, Shaun and Coach David overtook me at the National Sailing Centre. "Hang in there Norman!", shouted Coach. Aldrich was now also catching up. "Come on Norms, hang in there". I decided to give it a shot. I figured out that now I understood what He was trying to tell me, maybe He will take the pain off for the remainder of my run, which was about 5km. I gave chase to Coach David and Shaun and managed to catch up with the latter. After the 2nd U-turn, I upped my pace and my core loosened up more. I felt so energized and decided to revise my target to hit below 1hr 20mins.

I spun my necklace with the cross now behind my back as it was bouncing about infront and maintained the faster pace. I then realised that I was like 'carrying the cross' as stated in Luke 9:23, "And He said to all, "If anyone would come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me."" It was getting really personal this time.

When I crossed the water point, I took a cup of water and gulped it down. Another realisation dawned upon me! My goodness, could you believe it that all this took place in my head during the 10km run! The water served a purpose only temporal; it quenched my thirst for the time being. It can be likened to what the world offers in terms of material possessions and the like; they will satisfy you only for the time being, after which you will be in search for better alternatives. When you take your focus off God and His will for your life, your heart begins to seek after false loves. As John 4:13 beautifully elucidates, "Jesus said to her, "Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty forever. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life."" Jesus is the only way to true satisfaction.

I finally managed to see the finishing point in sight and made a mad dash for it, hoping to hit my revised target. I crossed the line at 1hr 19mins flat on my Timex. Aldrich immediately congratulated me and helped me out. During the course of the run, I did voice out to him that my core was gone. He encouraged me throughout the entire race to hang on. My last realisation came, that spiritual support is very important in our walk with God. The people we hang out with, the support they give be it spiritual or not is very important to sustain us through life's tough patches. I feel glad that I had set a personal best which is a huge improvement from last year even though I believe that I could have done better.. However, whatever I gleaned today is still so much more apart from the race. I will end off with quotes that impacted me from my captain and boss, Aldrich, who will be stepping down in 1 week's time. Whoever is going to be captain will have really freaking huge shoes to fill! =]

"Don’t worry, you've built your base and nobody can take it away from you."
"Don’t burn out, take it easy; you’re only year 1, there’s still next year."
"This is just a small race, look at the big picture."

Finish strong!

The end is very near..All that the team has trained for the past 1 year will be put to the test this Saturday at the Singapore Biathlon. Today, we had our last swim training prior to the race and I felt really good coming out of the water after training (or should I say before the end of training). I did not complete the last set of 5 x 50m sprints as I really felt pretty drained from all the sets before that, and the last thing I want is to get super drained out before the race this Saturday.

We did a 400m race-pace swim followed by 2 x 200m and lastly 4 x 100m. The timings decrease for each decrease in distance. I did a 7min 05secs for my 400m and was shocked. I could never imagine myself hitting that timing. Although it is really not that fast, but to me it is an improvement and I am really glad that this occured in my last training prior to the Singapore Biathlon. All the hard work I have put in for my swim is slowly showing and I hope to do well in the sea this Saturday.

1hr 15mins is the time I wish to hit this weekend. I can do it, I must do it, I will do it. Game on.

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

The Valentines' weekend..

The swim training on Friday the 13th was quite cool for me in many ways. =] After recovering from sore throat and flu, I thought that I will struggle in the pool that day for training. However, I tried my very best to hang in there during the sets and managed to complete them. I thought I gave my best that day and did not regret at all. It was indeed a very good workout. After the training, my upper body was aching (probably due to too much inactivity during sick times).

After training, I rushed to cell group at the faculty of Engineering and caught up with the rest. Li Yan and Joanna came back from China and they brought us gifts! Hahas..I got a monkey! It is super cool, its hair changes colour based on the temperature! How cool is that!? =]

On Saturday, Valentines' day, we had training at Sentosa. I seriously did not feel like attending it but I did. I was still reeling from the effects of the last 2 days of training. After coming out of the water for the 1st set, I quickly put on my shoes and commenced the running leg. The blister on my Achilles' tendon was taped up but came out after the very 1st swim. A mixture of sand and salt assaulted the open blister and quickly send pain signals to my brain. It was freaking pain, but I had only one thing on my mind: catch the person in front. After a while, the pain seem to take a back seat as slowly got used to it.

Out of the 5 sets of transition training, I completed only 4. I thought the timings were pretty decent, though I would very much like to improve on them further =] To wrap up the training, Zhiyun introduced her Valentines' day special in which we were to pair up and swim. The second person will hold on to the first while he/she swims. I did it with Lemin and it was fun! Thankfully we were not last =x hahas..

Today, the gang met up for the usual Sunday morning bike training. We did 8 x 5km sprints down the coastal stretch. It was insane! After being off the bike for like 2 weeks, I found it hard to keep up, but I ignored the effects of lactic acid in my quadriceps and sprinted to keep up. It was osgasmic when we completed the sets! This is the kind of training to start the day! =] You will end up feeling really good about yourself for the rest of the day! Hahas..

Ending off with some quotes from chocolate wrappers:

"The best way to forget all your troubles is to wear tight shoes"

"The curve of a smile makes a lot of things straight"

Inspiring..simply inspiring..

I just watched Gattaca on HBO for the 4th time in my life over lunch today. I still vaguely remembered the 1st time I watched it...somewhere in Secondary 2 I think. =] Anyways, I found out that as we age, the things that we pick up are different from before. These were the things that really spoke to me today:

Anton: So how did you do this Vincent?
Vincent: You want to know how I did it? I never saved anything for the swim back.

My goodness, when I heard that I was totally dumbstruck. Vincent was a 'God-child', meaning he was born naturally. His brother, Anton, was a genetically-engineered baby, 'perfect' in every aspect. Vincent and Anton always swam in the sea when they were young to compete. Anton always emerged winner. However, as they grew older, Vincent started to get better at it. Until one day, the 2 swam so far that Anton could not go any further and required rescuing. Vincent was there to save him. The above dialogue happened in the sea in the middle of the last swim before Vincent's departure into space - his ultimate dream. Anton was expressing concern that they have lost sight of the shore and that they might be lost and should turn back. Vincent however, felt that they were closer to the 'other' shore and wanted to keep going. Finally, Anton required rescuing by his brother again.

As Vincent was not 'perfect', he had to 'beat the system' in order to work in Gattaca, a space-related company. It was his dream to go into space and he never once lost focus. He assumed the identity of Jerome, another genetically-engineered person who looked almost similar to him but was crippled due to a suicide attempt gone wrong. Jerome was given another boost of life by Vincent's dream, and the 2 worked together to fulfil this seemingly impossible goal.

Vincent: Thank you for everything.
Jerome: No, thank you. I've only lent you my body, you've lent me your dreams.

Vincent's dream was the only thing that kept Jerome alive. After Vincent finally reached his goal and took to the skies, Jerome committed suicide again, this time successful.

One thing I have learnt from this show is that if you really want something bad enough, you will get it. Watch Gattaca, it will be worth your while.

Thanks for believing in me more than I do!

Today at the pool, I was still reeling from the effects of Monday's training. During the pulling set, I could barely feel my arms propelling me further, faster. After 1 set of 4 x 200m pulling, I joined the other group doing the 4 x 150m pull. I took the extra time over there to work on my strokes whilst pulling. I put into action what Zhiyun said about being streamlined in the water. It was pretty fruitful.

After the kicking sets, I decided that today was going to be a 'light work out day' for me, so I remained in the lane which had to do 2 sets of 8 x 50m sprints. My usual lane was doing 8 x 50m, 6 x 50m, 4 x 50m and lastly 2 x 50m sprints. However, my plan was not to be. Coach identified me in the mass of human beings and got me to rejoin my group. I reluctantly did.

Coach was right, I was wrong; Coach 1 - Norman 0. I completed the sets, managing to keep up with the group until the last 50m of the 2 x 50m sprint. It was during those sprints that I realised that sometimes you don't really believe in the things you can do. Yesterday was an example too - after completing 10 x 400m with an average timing of 82s, we had to complete another 2.4km. I thought I would just die, and that doing a 10min timing was going to be really hard. It was Zhiyun this time scoring the goal; Zhiyun 1 - Norman 0. I competed the 2.4km in 9mins 16secs.

Being in Aquathlon has really taught me many many things that will see me through life. It is like a family here.. and the father will be boss Aldrich who has always encouraged me and given me sound advice, you're the best Captain! =]

It is good that tomorrow is a rest day for the sprint distance time-trial on Friday. My target will be 34mins, I hope I reach it..