| Sep 30, 2006. Saturday |
| Once again, Mr Leong couldn't run with me on Wednesday cos he was
still sick... this week was tough because I was doing a 39km run...
and doing that all alone in the stifling heat is no joke. I managed
to complete it, albeit puking my prawn mee soup out at the end. I swear
I'll never eat anything but sandwiches before a run! But when I finished
it I felt good because I persevered despite feeling like crap. Went
for a nice massage after that.... ahhh..... I was all alone today again. Was looking forward to riding with the Cycleworx guys after two weeks... but only Ernest showed up.. and then he didn't feel like cycling much, so I went at it alone. It was good in fact because it's going to be me, myself and I during the Ironman, so this morning was a real test of my mental resilience. I pulled through! AND felt good too! Went all over the place, as you would imagine one would do to cover 160km. Managed to keep it above 30km/h... so it's all good! And I'm starting to feel very comfortable on my bike and getting used to the new Zipp aerobars I got from uncle robs. Yaye. Came back and had a nice lunch with pink-poo-poo-sng at the airport. We walked around and chatted for a few hours. Then I came home and stayed in bed the whole day. I like days like these! Good ride, good food with good friend, good vibes all round! I have to be honest. I have been indulging in cakes of late, thanks to mister dee loy, the loyster oyster boyster... he brought me to Canele at Robertson Walk on Monday and I was back two more times this week! You can imagine how many cakes I consumed.... they have good sandwiches and salad too! And icecream! D.loy you are eeevil.... stop feeding me! Your off season, not mine! And so it is... three more weeks to the race, two before I leave. This week is my last hard week (and boy it was hard)... next week I begin my taper. I've been reading 'Iron Will', a book Mr Leong gave me five years ago to inspire me to Kona. Who would've thought I'd make it there? Ironically, I have not finished reading the book since he gave it to me, but I will in a few days. I'm psyched! |
| Sep 25, 2006. Monday |
Mr Leong couldn't run with me again last Wednesday, so I ended
up doing the three-hour run alone. I thought it would hurt, but I
actually felt really good. Was a bit disappointed that I had travelled
all the way to him and then he played me out.. although he was sick,
so I couldn't have forced him to run... but it was excellent training
for my mind! I persevered and had a fantastic run... and after that,
I went for my massage, which was the icing on the cake! |
| Sep 19, 2006. Tuesday |
| What?? Has it already been a week? Damn, time flies, even when you're not having fun. I've been feeling very tired of late... still chugging away at work and training. Nothing really exciting with training.. just that I did the SACA Team Time Trial over the weekend. Three 12km loops of coastal road with Ah Gu, Ah Soon and Tim. We, Cycleworx Team B, came in second with an average speed of over 40km/h. But I feel really lousy cos I think we lost cos of me! If I was in better condition I'm sure we could've won. The guys were just so strong, so awesome. Sorry dudes, but I will try harder next year!!!! Tomorrow I'll do a three-hour run with Mr Leong. I'm actually secretly hoping for it to be really hot, so that I can get used to the weather. My run last week, which started at 10am, ended at 12ish because I couldn't take the heat anymore. I ran down from my Pasir Ris place to Changi village, down Changi coastal road to East Coast Park. The worse thing was that there wasn't water in sight for quite some time.. so I was as dehydrated as a dried prune. Never again will I attempt that route! My favourite dish at present is green spinach fettucine with black pepper tuna. Easy to prepare and delicious to eat. Dunk some green fettucine in hot boiling salted water.. boil for 11 minutes. As you wait for that, reach for your can of Starkist black pepper tuna. Takes a second to open, which means you have 10min 59sec left to while away before lunch is served. In the meantime you could down leftover birthday cake in the fridge (like I do) -- cheesecake, chocolate cake, kueh lapis -- yes, I do have tons of cake stored up. You could also munch on fruits while waiting, like I do. And finally, finally, finally when the fettucine is ready, get a tong and pick out the noodles, dump it on a plate. Spoon tuna all over it, mix it around a bit, and DIG IN! Heavenly. Alternatively, just buy a bottle of pesto to replace the tuna (although I stick to the fish to get my dose of protein!). As you can tell, I have very low standards when it comes to food. |
| Sep 12, 2006. Tuesday |
So the news is out and the sports for the 2007 SEA Games has been
confirmed. DUATHLON IS IN! I was so happy to have found out (and broken)
the news yesterday. The swim has always been my weakest link. Now
with the duathlon in the Games (10k run, 40k bike, 5k run), that will
be my big goal for next year. Juggling work and training is going
to be hell, but I know I can do it. Hopefully I will be fast enough
to make the team and realise another dream of mine, to represent Singapore
at the SEA Games (and hopefully win a medal).
|
| Sep 6, 2006. Wednesday |
| TIRED! I think I'm on an Ironman high so I can't stop training. I
ran 13k on Saturday, biked 70+ km with the National Triathlon Team (what
a bore!!), did a 20min run-3.3km swim on Monday, and ran 17k easy with
Mr Leong yesterday. I think I overdid it abit,... so I rested today!
It is a fantastic feeling being on an Ironman high, but I think I have
to pace myself. I don't want to screw up the biggest race of my life!! There isn't much else going on in my life right now. Work's work. Training is as I described. And then there is nothing else to my life! What a bore I am! Thank you guys, though, for all the wonderful emails and congratulatory messages I have been receiving since I got back. It really motivates me when people tell me that I inspire them to do things. I never thought of myself that way, and I still don't, but I'm glad that I am of use to some people's lives! The biggest compliment so far, is that when I went to the New Balance store at the newly-renovated Raffles City basement, the guy at the shop congratulated me and said that there was an article of me pinned on their board. I thought they had the wrong person, till I was brought into the storeroom and there it was -- the article Nick Fang wrote of me winning in Korea. The store guy said to me, "You're an inspiration!". I was thoroughly embarassed by that! But really, it's an honour to be adorned on that shop's wall. Funny how we can make an impact on someone else's without even knowing it. At this point I just want to say thank you to my friends, familiy and supporters, and the good people at Nike and Standard Chartered for being there for me. |
| Sep 1, 2006. Friday |
| It's been a crazy week since I got back. Hard to imagine one week
ago I was just enjoying the Jeju sun and getting ready for my first
Ironman. One week on, life has returned to normal with a whole load
of work. After the race on Sunday I continued to train -- I swam for
half an hour the morning after at the Lotte hotel indoor pool and ran
for an hour and a half the following day, before catching the flight
home. On Wednesday I rested because I was down with gastroenteritis.
Yesterday and today I ran 10k easy. Pretty much just taking it easy
this week, before a good six week build-up to Kona. I got my hotel sorted
out today, will be staying at the official event hotel, the King Kamehameha
Hotel. Will be jetting out of Singapore on October 16 and returning
on Oct 25 (the flight actually leaves Kona on Oct 23 but I lose a day
coming back). I never thought this year would turn out like that, but
hey, I'm not complaining! I am living my dream. How many people out
there can say that they are? |