Cycling is all about lungs and legs, not gear...

Isn't that obvious,speed on the bicycle no matter how sophisticated when distilled to its basic elements, is all about lungs and leg strength. The exercise scientist quanitfy that by measuring VO2 max, an index that measures the efficiency of gaseous exchange and utilization.YEt, as cyclist, the proverbial " bad cook always blames its utensil" instinct in us laments about our lack of aerodynamic insufficiency, unwanted weight etc as explanations for our inadequacy on the bike> Logically speaking all of us should just by mid level bikes spec"ed to its onto basic components based on what we know in our heart right?

Of course not. There is always a better groupset, set of wheels, stiffer frameset, more comfortable seat, stiffer shoes to set our pulses racing. We indulge in these because we want it for aesthetics, its "cool factor", the way it makes us feel on the bike.

Just got a road bike yesterday. some of it was part reason, part want more than need. The Wilier Cento Uno Di2 with ritchley front stem and Zipp 1080's. Took it for a spin this morning, felt like I was riding like the wind and marveled at the way it handled( certainly much better than a TT bike); the Di2 shifted gears like a charm. The electronic" whirring " sounding futuristic as the gears moves silently in place. I could keep up with a couple of guys on the Dogmas on the Mandai climb; wow that was a first.

I got back and wanted to look at my average speed. I supposed I should be a lot faster than previous outings. WHen the data churning was done and presented I looked at it eagerly,anxious. Well you guessed it, speed improved by only 1 km/h.

Do I Need a Coach?

Well the 70.3 has come and gone and it was personally a major milestone for me and I had completed it; oh ok i completed with barely 10 minutes to spare. Now for another mountain to climb. I am still deciding if I should be doing the IMWA. It may be a real tall order as it stands; but its either that or try to do another 70.3  race or 2 right?

I have been mulling over the need to get a coach to help me. Well SH needed it and it really helped him. He did a 6:06 and scores of other chaps have it. I have always baulked at   having structured training but I do acknowledge that:

1. it provides motivation
2. the other chaps in the class will spur you on
3. you meet like minded chaps who can be friends for which you can enjoy the races together.

The problem is the job i have does not make for organised training. A single case lasting 12 hours will put my training plans awry. Painful as it is, I am afraid I will waste money getting into a program i can't keep up with. Also I always thought and prided in myself the ability to push myself through barriers and self motivattion has never been a problem. I could no doubt still complete and train for an IM event by following programs in books/ websites but what if i could increase satisfaction by not finishing in the top half of my age group?

So the last 2 days I have been trawling Shem leong's and yellowfish and Tribob"s website deciding and I am still doing so.

FOTR ride

It has been a while but after the AViva, this ride was appropriate and felt right.  we didn't have everybody together. PK is still out with nursing his fracture, SY is recovering from his appendicitis so it was SE, JN, CH and JT who joined us from longhouse.

It was a recovery ride and we cycled in 2's chatted a little along the way and then we suggested going up RRR. CH and JT had not done it before. It was perfect conditions. Dawn was just breaking and it was not pitch black like the last time we rode; there was a cool wind blowing and traffic was light save for one or 2 taxi's and buses bringing people to ST kinetics at the end of the road.

After our breakfast i went to work but re- gathered at PassiONE where my bike position was adjusted. Felt more powerful after my revised bike fit. New bike position is more aggressive.

Will try riding tomorrow. Looks like i am the only one riding. I will plan to ride the Farrer Road-Queensway-Normanton- Adam-Thomson- Mandai- Upper Bukit Timah and charge up RRR. Well that's the rough plan.

Post Ironman 70.3 Euphoria?

You know, I think there is an element of truth when EW remarked that I had a bad case of post-euphoria and psychosis brought about achieving your modest goals at middle age( aka AVIVA ironman 70.3). I was starting to dream big dreams.Instead of another 70.3, I had boldly declared I want to try for the IMWA at Busselton, to raised eyebrows at home. I ran 2 big all day clinics and did some pretty complex cases over the last 2 days and will be operating tomorrow on another case where it was deemed inoperable by doctors in a patient's home country.

The last was that I entertained the ultra-marathon; a slot potentially vacted by PK because of his clavicle fracture. In the quietness, I think I may have over-stretched my imagination bit. I have not done much groundwork and with 8 weeks to the race, I have not done more than half a marathon and will have a sprint OD race in May before tackling the  penultimate 84 km race( all within one month)

WHAT was I thinking??

The Day After...

I thought it was supposed to be the most dreadful day. I thought I will be sore all over and can barely get off my bed. As I was watching the telly at half 9, I could barely keep my eyes open despite the cracker of a game between man u and liverpool.

As it happened, my eyes opened and i awoke at 5 am as always. I was surprised. I sat my alarm to wake up at 7 am to go to work but my body was used to the routine of old, 5 am for a run or bike. I was aching a bit in the calves and quads but not too bad. I scampered out of bed and  changed up and got ready for work instead of a workout.

I had a killer of a clinic but was doing a post- mortem subconsciously of my race. I was particularly interested in my thoughts at each segment of the race.

Pre- race: I was strangely detached though not in a negative way mind you. Rather I was not anxious and did not think very much about the potential difficulties. I was thankful the weather was decent and that my preparation was as good as it is.

Swim: I focused on turning my head and looking at the blue sky and tried to sight every 10 strokes, and kept my breathing even. I was mildly anxious when i noted the other waves were overtaking me and I saw very few yellow cappers. I thought about those hours in the pool and tried to use my core muscles.  I emerged 220 of 240 but felt good I kept to my race plan and a heart rate at 130/minute.

Bike: I kept my eye peeled on my speedometer and tried to keep my cadence at 80-90. In the first lap, I focused on following the rules of non-drafting and realized  everybody was doing with every given opportunity. I thought of my rudy project glasses and what a scoop for me to have bought it as it really came in handy with the dusty road and the crud you get on on the Sheares bridge. I noticed the debris from the Sands resort at the side of the road. I was conscious of my right quads, then left quads and debated on the merits and demerits of getting out of the saddle given the sorry state of my fatigued muscles. I tried to look for SE but could not see him. On the second lap, the muscles relaxed somewhat and i started to enjoy the ride. I was pedalling with decent efficiency in the aero position. I saw some cool guys with the aero helmets and resolve to buy one when i finally hit average 35 km-40 km/hour( hah that probably means never). By the third lap, I was suffering again, my back and bum was killing me. You know someone once told me you are never consciously aware of your arse till you get hemorrhoids, then it becomes conscious and in the forefront. It pre-occupies your mind with every movement. It was like that with my back and bum. With every pedal stroke, I was experiencing excruciating pain and had to grit my teeth and finish the 10 km.

Run: I focused on running form but before long I was so fatigued I could not go any faster before cramping up. I focused on getting from one aid station to the other and looked at the other runners in a similar plight. WIth all their sunglasses on I could not see in their eyes but could probably fathom what was in their heads.It should probably be like mine, which is "what am I doing fighting as I am fighting to  put one foot after the other". I told myself this is where the race starts and I have to dig deep into myself and summon every limited ounce of energy to keep moving. I smiled for the first time when I saw WL and the girls cheering me on excitedly.Who wouldn't? with the finish line in sight, I tried to regain some form and ran past the finish line with a grin on my face, glad it was all over.

So what is next? SE suggested Phuket 70.3; I thought Busselton is a possibility. When I mentioned to WL, she rolled her eyes and said plainly that I was plain looney.

Yes, probably I am but hey you only live once right?

Aviva Ironman 70.3 2010 weekend

Well in earnest the weekend started on friday; SE and I went to collect our race packs and then attended the race briefing. it was raining a fair bit on Friday. Met up with Albert and old friends William and David from the days of the bintan triathlon and sat in the main mega tent amidst pouring rain for the briefing.

Saturday did not start well. The heavens opened and emptied lots of water on us. My koi pond was full to the brim. The pipe in the pond that was supposed to maintain constant height of water was overwhelmed. The rain abated slightly at 3 pm and i was there to check in the bike. When i reached the transition site, there was a queue about 400 m long! it took us 1 hour to check in our bikes and another half hour to collect our timing chip. not stellar organization i must say.

On race day I got up at 4:30 am had a hearty breakfast before going down to ther ace venue. After body marking it was time to set up my transition.The weather was looking decent but given the overcast sky, i thought i will dispense with the sunblock. bad mistake.

My wave started at 0725 hours and I resolved to use the same strategy from last week. I tried to stay aerobic and develop a nice rhythm. Alas it was not to be, I was kicked a number of times, once smack on the right side of the head and another squarely in the chest. Never did find a rhythm after all these rude shocks but at least i stayed aerobic. finished the first loop at 22 minutes and got out of the water at 5 minutes. There were very few yellow cappers around by then. I surmised i was probably 90th centile in my age group; pretty much unruffled by this now.

Got my bike out and maintained a decent pace on the start. The sheares bridge climb was tough and OKC overtook me then. Gosh he was in a later wave( 5minutes) and had already overtaken me at such an early point. I was making pretty good time and on the return leg of lap 1, my chain came undone again. Had to stop to re-postion the chain but had difficulty getting the momentum going as it was on the bottom of the viaduct climb up ECP and I almost developed cramps. I was worried, given the early problem of cramps i was worried I will have difficulty with the run later. Decided to slow down a little to rest the legs and spin a little. did the first loop in 1:05; the second loop was a lot faster  and my cramps had abated so I put in a very decent 2nd loop. The 3rd loop was probably where it went pear shaped a little. My back and my bum was starting to hurt; my quads were also cramping up and by when i neared vivocity i could feel my calves acting up. The crosswinds were getting stronger and i was slowing down to 25 km/hour and by the time i was descending fort road, my bum was getting really sore. i could not get out of the saddle as i was worried my cramps will overwhelm me so i kept myself in the saddle. It was to turning out to be a true sufferfest and i was so glad to be done with the bike leg.

The run leg turned out to be even more painful. The sun was now out in its full glory and I wilted under the heat. It would not be an under-estimation to say i literally gritted my teeth to get through that. I could only take small steps and was not managing more than 7.30/km because any faster and i would go into a state of "status cramiliticus", a state exemplified in cramping of muscles in sequence in areas you least expect that would literally stop your run cold.

Saw my two little girls flying their little banners cheering me on and that picked me up. You always read about the feeling that you get when you cross the finishing line and i was wondering how would i feel. Would i be overcome with emotion and have tears welling up in my eyes, or will i be surveying the crowd savoring the moment or would i be awash with sentiments of accomplishments. In truth I was just so damn glad it was over.

Swim 51:16 min
T1 4 min
Bike 3:15:32
T2 4:50
Run 2:34:35

6:50:13

Overall ranking 691

Completion of the last week of training

Well after last week of training which was really a tapering, i am not sure if I had done too little. I did decent on swims, included 2 open water swims and 1 pool but did little on the bike and runs. I did 3 tempo runs all less than 5 km and then did one 50 km cycle and the last 2 cycles on the trainer at short durations. clocked 7.5 hours and this week would be doing a lot less.

I suppose its like what pk and the books, you can't do much to gain endurance mileage at this point now. I plan to do  light workouts over the next 3 days and then allow friday and saturday for race preparation and rest and quiet contemplation.

5 more days to go!

To all my friends who are doing the race, all the best!

Ghost of Open Water Swimming Exorcised

One of the reasons I was interested in doing endurance mulit- sports is not that I am a strong endurance athlete. Far from it. I was a particularly bad swimmer and whilst in my younger days I was keen on scuba diving, I have not swam for more than 13 years after getting married for more than 200m without stopping to sun bathe or have a beer. The thought of swimming in open waters was particularly terrifying when you do not have flotation devices( B.C or breathing apparatus; aka SCUBA gear) and the prospect of drowning after being swept away by a current of dragged under by some unseen force seems so real.

I figured I needed to face my fear and one of the things was I swam a heck of a lot. Taught myself front crawl; took some lessons and watched stacks of videos. Even after having a number of races, I still struggled and could not swim comfortably to get out of the water without a heart rate of less than 140 which of course affected my bike and run legs.

The particular difficulty at the aquatholon where I struggled with 750 m of OW swimming did little for my confidence.

Yesterday I had the opportunity to take part in the Aviva clinic.It was the most valuable lesson in OW swimming I ever did. I realised the problem with my swimming is that I sighted more than what was necessary and because of that I tired very quickly. I also subconsciously followed the pace and cadence of other swimmers. Bad mistakes which took up valuable energy.

Yesterday in the lengthy swim i learnt to draft, sight judiciously and stay relaxed during the swim to keep in the aerobic range. I actually enjoyed the swim and got out refreshed and for the first time a heart rate of 140!

I wanna do the the Milo triathlon 2010 because I want my father to be proud of me

That's what abigail wrote on her Milo triathlon entry slip in response to a question on why she wanted to participate. This girl at 10 years of age looks like a 7 year old; is the third smallest in her standard and rarely does anything physical but was quite adamant about it sometime ago. I hadn't done anything to really encourage her but she must have seen me in the early morning coming back from cycling when she was preparing to go to school or me running in the late afternoons. She was always curious. " Dad,  are you racing to win? Why do you go out there in the early mornings and put yourself through all that when you are always amongst the last? Do you really enjoy all this torture??" To a 10 year old whose main interests are makeup and dressing up and counts for characters on the Disney channels sitcoms and movies as role models, I find the questions amusing and in the early days thought that I should answer some of these questions as candidly as possible. Its the "spirit of participation that matters". Its a healthy lifestyle and i want to keep myself fit as long as possible to see you get married and have kids and your children have kids. I am going to give your mum a run for the money to see who lives longer. Occasionally it is the more subtle lessons of life; like learning discipline, learning to deny yourself as you work towards a goal. pushing your limits.

All that talk must have sunk into that little mind. She tool the opportunity to do open water swimming at the Tribob aquatholon; cycled at the Clementi cannel and ran around the neighbourhood. She had a mild flu 2 days before the event and we thought she would probably use that to back out but she didn't. On race day she was first up and was sufficiently bright eyed and bushy tailed for me to think she will truly go though with this. She swam her heart out, and pedalled as furiously as she could muster and finally in the run she pushed herself to the limit. as i ran with her i could encourage her.  I saw her grit her teeth and sprint at the home stretch.

She was a little green about the gills from over-exertion but she gave it her all.

Yeah, the old man was immensely proud of her achievements that saturday morning. Well done Gail!

A sense of loss

For almost 2 years now i had kept a little logbook of how much I have spent on bike, swim and run workouts. In Oct 2008, i decided to make dreams a reality by starting in earnest my training for a tri event. it probably coincided with me signing up for the tribob event. In fact I was so early with my registration that my bib no was 4! some chaps thought i was some elite age grouper then! Well that little notebook chornicles in a way all that i have done since i started on this journey. it records every workout and all the data is tabulated so that i can sort of see my progress. I must admit looking at my progress through the log is like watching paint dry. The improvement is almost indiscernible. Its only when you look at it after 12 months that you see some improvement in my times.

well yesterday, in all the hectic running in between hospitals,clinics and ward rounds, i left it somewhere . okay okay i lost it. i don't even have a clue where i left it. i spent a good hour back tracking to no avail.

its then that i feel a sense of loss, the chronicles of my journey into endurance multisports probably lost forever. its probably not critical at this point of my training and leading up to the last 2 weeks to the race but its akin to losing like your comfort pillow. you can't help feeling a sense of loss. in this regar i am thankful i have this entries to chronicle at least the last 3 months activity and also my garmin data which has detailed all the info since july last year.

Tough Weekend!!

The weekend's workouts were a real killer. I joined SE starting at 6 am for his killer routine which was guaranteed to be a suffer fest. Started with a 50 km ride which by a miscalculation became 60 km which was immediately followed by a 8 km run at 7 min/km pace. I was still quite all right but the ride did take a bit of a toll on me. Had some trouble getting the tires up to the right pressure; must be the valve we conclude. The trouble is other than the obvious which is a real risk of getting a flat, the problem was rolling resistance which i could feel was really high on my wheels that day.

After the brick run, we went for a 23 km cycle and that was when i really felt it. I slowed to 23 km/hr and struggled to stay on the road. after that we went on a 1 km tempo run. By 500 m, my heart rate was 170 and i slowed to a crawl and fell behind SE. I was so glad he stopped and announce the workout was over.

Decided I would really need to bring my bike in. The guys at the shop went through the bike; felt the tires and checked the crank and the chain and remarked wrly that I was probably next to loony to cycle in that condition.

The girls wanted to ride in the late afternoon and I decided to bring them to the canal for a ride and then thought i should do a 4 km tempo run. bad mistake, i was really knackered and could barely catch my breath.

I was incorrigible and on sunday decided to do a 20 km long run starting at 10 am. After yesterday's exertion i was probably mad to do clementi hills. i slowed to a 8 min/k  trot to keep my heart rate less than 140/minute. Took me 2:30 to finish 20 km. Tried out my caffeine gels which was not to bad.

All in all a good weekend; i probably overdid it but I should be able to finish the race on race day by 8 hours... hopefully!!

Its less than 3 weeks to go!

I admit I really had cold feet. I was doubting if my preparations were adequate. That despite all that effort in the last few months, my physical attributes and strengths are truly not quite up to scratch. My good mate SE gave me some timely advice: finishing dead last> DNF( did not finish)> DNS( did not start). Great advice indeed.  I promptly went out and did a long run of 20 km incorporating the hills of clementi and north buona vista and ulu pandan road. Had to carry the good old water bag( is that what you call it?) on my bag because weather was scorching and kept a slow pace of more than 7 km/min, aiming to run at a HR of not more than 140 on the straight and not more than 160 on the climbs. Took me 2 and a quarter hours but at least felt half decent. Also did a time trial in the pool of 2 km and completed it in 55 minutes with a combination of frontcrawl( with sighting) and occasionally breaststroke to simulate the turns. Also did a 60 minute workout climbing rifle range 3 times. The bike had been given a clean bill of health by the boys at Soon Watt and it was my first outing since the fateful crash. Was funny, went i mounted the bike i almost fell again this time on the right! landed on the bonnet of a parked jaguar! Thank goodness it was unscathed and there was nobody in sight to witness that embarassing moment. Did 3 loops huffing and puffing. my heart rate was 170 on the upslopes. had to avoid families of monkeys who by 630 were sitting in the middle of the road as they were not expecting any traffic. had to weave past them. i shudder to think of the possibility of me hitting them. given their close social structure, they would probably attack me if i was on the ground with a twisted bike after mowing down a couple of them. i know how sharp and fearsome their teeth are. i saw it at first hand at the lab!

as i move into the weekend, i have planned a bike-run-bike-run with SE tomorrow and hopefully i can do another hard bike followed by a short brick on sunday.

Bike Crash

Saturday was supposed to be our round island 100 km bike. we started out at half past 4 at SE ' s house and to be honest it was an enjoyable ride. We took on the Kaki Bukit Viaduct, Yio Chu Kang, Mandai, Clement and Keppel. We were riding down Nicholl highway with me leading the way and PK, CH and SE behind in that order. At the 84 km mark I was riding in aero when I hit something on the road. It was a moment's lapse in concentration. I veered into the wall on the highway and had to counter correct the swerve into the wall. As luck would have it the correction was probably in excess and I skidded, took a tumble and roll over on my shoulder. another split skin graft except this time on my right shoulder. I rolled over my bike a couple of times and felt the wheel of a bike hit my right scapula and SE's infinit which he has passed to me to try emptied all over me.
I looked up and was stunned to see the whole gang had gone done. PK had somersaulted beyond me and looked a bit dazed. It was only later that we realised he had fractured his left clavicle. Went to CGH and then Gleneagles before ascertaining that he did not need surgery( thank God!)
I think something like that will change your perspective of things. I wonder if the sluggishness this week has something that has changed me mentally. I would say there have been quite a fair bit of negative thoughts, like what if my training is inadequate? or like"who am i trying to kid!? i am not that young anymore". Well i have done little since then except for the sprint aquathalon). I got out of the water with a heart rate of 170 which of course truly wrecked my run. I could only manage 6 min/km and was really tired during the run. The swim was half of what I will have to do in 3 weeks time!
In a way this is pretty much crunch time isn't it. Its where self doubt can creep in and weaken your resolve. where negative sentiments and fear makes you want to retreat and do an about turn. It is the time where i would hope i can dig really dip and examine my heart; it is the time where mental barriers are broken and we know the true limits of our human strength.