Edging closer to M

It was a wash out on Tuesday, which is a pity. Sigh.

Wednesday head to the gym for a session of weights. Light weights about 60mins to keep it moving.

Had a swim on Thursday noon period. 54mins for 2km. Abit of sun burnt as a result...*grin*...

Even meeting some crazy people for dinner and had a 30mins cross trainer at Caltex. Seems like ages that i have been there.

Friday had a 50mins, abit of struggling effort bike session. Most probably body telling me something about yesterday session. Hmm...

Time for some running this weekend.

Swim...

Monday i am on leave..long story...and i have a good rest(together with slacking)....

This morning head to the pool. Though a bit late, i decide to enjoy the session. Re-learn how to enjoy the workout.

Did 1.5km in 44mins. Not chuan at all, slow and steady. The right toe keep giving me the eerie feeling.

The toe is gone..there is a gap between the nail and skin. Given it is the big toe, it has more surface, when i kick, the water create some pressure on the nail thus causing a nasty feeling.

Maybe i should just cut the nail. But it isn't total deteached from the skin. The edges are still intact, just the middle part that is hollow. If i cut, it should be a U-shape...which make it looks horrible. Sigh...

swim - 4 Nov 2010

Though i am slightly late, couldn't find any excuse, so i back in the pool finally.

The legs are tired. Can feel the stretch as i kick and kick..hmm...abit shiok!

It was a very relax swim. HR is pretty low from the feel of it as i slowly crawl forward.

Only manage to pick up the pace on the last 2 sets when the sky starts to show sign of imminent rains.

56mins for a 2km effort. Come up of the pool and felt light droplets...*phew*....

Swim Again

The last swim was in Desaru. I am back at the pool again. I have to. I am just getting too slack.

The right big toe nail is a gonna. Sigh...courtesy of TNF. :p

Can feel the strain while swimming this morning. Quite afraid to kick hard so have to baby swimming along.

I wasn't comfortable with the handicap and affected the swim at the beginning. It only get better mid way through.

After 9 sets, i have to call it a day. HR went up in the middle of 9th set. Sigh. Thought about pushing on for the last set, better not..in case i need to take medicine as i going for a medical test later and wouldn't want the test to be affected by external factor.

49mins for 1.8km. No choice, but to move on.

Desaru weekend

A weekend is spent in Desaru. A nice break. Should be good in preparation for TNF.

Another swim in the sea. Will it have the same problem i faced from my previous openwater swim? I don't know. Just whack and see how it goes.

Arrived in Desaru slightly after 5pm after the unexpected jam at causeway(children day!). Rush to the new official resort. Hmm..quite cool IMO, compare to the previous resort, although a little bit more pricy. Phew still make it in time for uncle chan briefing.

It was an unexpected turn of the event at the briefing, where uncle chan lament on the lack of supports from other parties and shed tears that this is the 15th year and final year for him in Desaru. He has enough. It was sad to hear this. This is my first official triathlon event that i took part and i have fond memory of this.

The usual makan and still makan are there for everyone to grow fat. Though someone still complains he should have tabao the fried kway teow back from rengit town. :p

The race starts at 10am. As usual i stay in the back and slow inches forward. Keep telling myself to calm down and move at a conservative pace among the splashes all over the place.

It seems like ages when i reached the first buoy and finally finished the first loop in 25mins+. Took my time to come out of the water before getting back in.

Again remind myself to calm down(i have been doing fine so far) and try to pick up the pace a little bit as i feel the effort is not enough.

For the rest of the course, i try to focus on the objective and push on. Coming out of the water in 52mins+. Damn! Abit too slow than anticipated. Nevermind, just run towards the transition area and complete the tag over. Officially my race have completed.

I walk back to the beach and give cheer to the rest of the folks coming up slowly 1 after another.

I came back on the road cheering the bikers slight 1 hour after the bike leg started. The weather is super hot and i have wet again!

Decide to follow Francis for a loop of his run. Just swim alone like not enough workout for this weekend. Still need another 10km to keep the engine moving. It was a super hot run and the water dripped nonstop from my cap! I almost wanted to asked Francis to continue the run alone. But knowing how tough it is to run on the heat, i decide to bite it and completed 1 loop with him. Phew!

Spend another night stay in Desaru, before heading back on Sunday. A good experience.

Back to Pool

I have to head to the pool. The swim is on Saturday and i am still not spending enough time at the pool.

Seems like unfamiliar territory at the pool. I know it is going to be tough in the beginning and it shows.

I struggle for a few hundreds, then warm up and move on nicely. No stress, just cruising along...and complete the 2km swim in 53mins. At least a starts! More of a relieve.

HR went up in the late afternoon. It starts for a 30-40mins..wasn't feeling comfortable then...and pretty tired at the end of the working day and decide to skip the run this evening.

Sat at CBD while the rest head off, since there is no other people driving there this evening. Quiet and humid night.

Heart - 31 Aug 2010

HR went up while i am still "baking" at home. Sai lah! :(

By the time i get out of the house i have decide that i shall forgo the swim.

In the office, HR went up for a brief moment again....twice in a day....Sigh...

Felt frustrated and head to the pool during noon time.

It was a hot and interesting swim. There is a gentleman that swim pretty close to me and we pace each other. He swims at a similar pace as i and we neck to neck for at almost 1km, before the last 100meters i just bolted away from myself.

It was a bit too fast, or rather not use to the pace, for me during the swim. After that i slow down and slowly moving along, until the breathing got so comfortable, i know i have slack too much!

49mins for 2km. It is good to be back at the pool again. Something i just get to it, one way or another.

As i about to leave office, something crops up and i have to stay behind. Sigh.

When i eventually reached CBD run, the folks have just move on and i am not even in proper attire for the run.

Steven jio me to go over to Duxton for a visit. I have been wanting to do so for a long time, finally get to go up. Cool.

Swim Woes

I need to get more sleep. I am not feeling that bad without the hours on bed, but i know the deficit will come and haunt me sooner than later.

I head to the pool, after some thinking. I don't want to push it and risk at this moment. Just need to keep as healthy as possible.

First thing i get into the pool is end up on a toilet seat. SHIT!

After relieving myself, the swim start. I wasn't comfortable for almost the entire swim. I breathing is not right or maybe i am pushing myself too much. It is just the same for running, something is just not "normal". The feel is bad. I know i can finish, but the struggle to go 1 step at a time is pretty stressful for a long period.

Pain is inevitable, but whether to go through it is voluntarily.

Finish 2km in 51mins. Not a good feeling swim.

Swim - Shoe

I head to the pool this morning. The feeling of pulling myself to the pool is not a good sign. I was slightly late and have to make a detour to break the "notes" in NTUC...I almost got distracted of what i am suppose to do. Lucky common sense prevail and i did reached the pool.

Water is decent and pace is pretty good IMO. Meet up with a lady..auntie that swim(i think slightly quicker than myself). So it gives motivation to chase after that auntie. I guess from the 2-3 sets onwards.

It is good that i can push myself a bit from time to time. I think the lady is actually in early 20's but in auntie body. Hehe...From the look at the body, it is an auntie "shape", but the face looks young. Couldn't have a good look on the surface. She finished early than myself.

At the end i manage to almost lap(i think still have 20meters). Sigh...at least i look forward to next round. :p

2km in 50mins for this morning foray.

Pick up my new cumulus...time to burn some rubbers soon.

Good Tuesday

Head to the pool as planned. It is going to get tougher to get to the pool in the future. Especially when the nearby carpark is going to implement EPS system soon. Sigh.

Heard on the news yesterday to curb season parking woes, the overnight parking will increase by 100%($4). That means, if i will to park under EPS system carpark, i have to pay $4+$1(7am onwards) just for the swim. That is excluding the entrance to the pool+locker price.

How to promote sports in this way? There are folks that are not parking overnight, just a small portion of the overnight(period). For a mere 40mins parking, i have to pay $4! It is not like this is a CBD area, it just a neigbhourhood carpark!

It only means a longer walk for me to the pool next time. Sigh.

The water wasn't that clear(maybe it is my goggle), but still decent temperature. Had a good 1.2km together with the butterfly ang moh. After that got a few decent pacers around to push me on.

51mins for 2km. Much better than the last swim. Good enough to start a Tuesday.

It suppose to be feeling good until the "sock" give way.

For whatever reason, i forget to bring the running sock this evening to CBD. I have 1 pair of gym sock, 1 pair of working sock with me. I think i can run "sockless". It is not as though i have not run before.

It was fine during the first 2km. Even got a chance to sight of LYK doing his walk in Fullerton area with his body guard. As i reach Clark Quay, the pain appear and it get worse as time goes on..i have to pull to a stop around Parliament house.

Both side of the arch are blisters. the top surface of the toes skin are broken and rubbing against the shoe. Even walking can feel the pain. Damn.

Together with Zhu Mao(who is kind enough to accompany me) take a long walk back to TP.

It was a ouch-ing experience later in the bath room as expected.

Swim.....55

Body ache as expected from yesterday workout, but not that bad.

Head into the water. It has been quite some time since the last swim and the stroke is rusty to say the least.

The ang mo did a butterfly 1km swim. At least i can get some pacing going this morning. After that it is a smooth and relax swim.

Decide to change to freestyle heavy on the last 2 sets to complete 2km.

A rather strange number appear on the watch 55......must be getting super old....:(

A wet day - 20 July 2010

I have to swim. I am getting too slack on doing the swim. So, I have to pull myself to the pool this morning.

It wasn’t comfortable at the beginning. Maybe more on mental than on physical. I have to drink abit of water along the way to get it moving.

A rather decent effort I felt. 2km is not a long distance by any means. I hope I can keep to a minimum decent effort moving on.

52mins is good enough for today. More swim ahead.

It was raining. It really WAS, until i reached TP. There is quite a bad jammed and i arrived slightly after 7pm.

There are more than 10pax waiting at the starting. Haha....so the run continues. The main group charge off first, while a few of the late comers about 10mins later.

We decide to take a shorter route and head towards helix bright and MBS area. It is a nice place to run, little traffic and basically run past the casino.

Pace was okay. Legs are light and with slight drizzling make it a wonder 5-6km run this evening.

A Tough Day

It was a hard day on Tuesday. It hasn't been this way for quite a while. Something was not right IMO.

Morning swim isn't good at all. I find it tough to get going, plus a lane is close, making the swim more congested than norm. I gave up after 26mins(1km). When is the last time i swam so short? I couldn't recall. It was disappointing.

I took a breather and try to swim again...another 100meters, i decide that this is it for the day.

Body just not responding and it is not as though i have a tough and tiring workout for the past week. Sigh.

Evening on CBD, maybe the run will do me good. As usual, the humidity was high and i am pretty wet and tiring when i reached Clark Quay. Felt hard and checked on HR. It seems okay, but the effort seem difficult to maintain. Something was not right again.

Slowly running behind, up to FC. Ok, tried 1 loop first. Don't ready felt like doing anything, except being coaxed by Ray and Claire. No choice, tried another loop. Felt so much better with chit chatting with Ray around. Seem that Claire went missing along the way.

We took a long walk, chatting along until Clark Quay when we ran again. This time, the pace is much faster, likewise the effort is higher(expected). It was a good pace running back to TP. At least the pace+effort(match), not unlike the start..

A tough day indeed.

Weekend special

It was a shiok workout this weekend. It does pose some challenges along the way, as the body not able use to it.

Saturday, 8 of us started the run from Queenstown. Both the calves are aching from the beginning of the run. We took frequent pitt stop which is pretty good as move along.

At least from the conservation, everyone is also affected by the slopes. I was feel abit chuan, which has been running at this feeling for the past few weeks. I don't know why, did i ran too fast a pace? Maybe, let me download the data and analysis tomorrow.

We stretched and finished the run in <3hrs>

We get into the pool and start our next phrase of the training.

The groin area like a bit aching from the start and it get better as the swim goes on. It starts to downpour and i was called out of the water after 450meters. Sigh..

A shiok cooling off in the pool after the run. Haven't done this for a long time. Cool.

Sunday, i head out of the house with the trusted Ironhorse at 5:10am.

It is like 3 month ago since i last have a session with Ironhorse. I have to spent 20mins or so yesterday to clean up and prepare for the bike session today.

Meet up with Tao and rendezvous with Batx at Casurina.

We proceed to Mandai, since heeshen say he will meet us along Mandai. It was nice to chit chat as we cycle along. It is slightly tough as the body not use to the slopes. Breathing is slightly heavy, but the quads like complaining me to slow down.
We did a loop at Mandai, meet up with heeshen and piglet before we adjourn to the prata shop for further chit chatting. :P

A nice cycle back home after that. What a lovely weekend. More to come I am sure..while we gear up for Oct events.

Swim in rhythm

Phew! When is the last time i follow the weekdays training schedule feverishly?

Today i completed another 2km swim. Similar timing like Tuesday. Which isn't what i expected, but i guess that is current fitness level. :(

Again there is many obstacles in the pool this morning, swimming in a single line is definitely not possible. Got some scratches along the way, but good also. At least i don't get to fall asleep during the swim :p

Twice swimming this week. Cool. Slowing getting the rhythm back.

Busy Week

Almost have to camp in office over the weekend. Sigh...When things don't work, everything goes wrong.

I get a day rest from workout on Sunday, which is not really that bad afterall. But i do prefer a run.

Monday had a 50mins bike session in the morning. Legs feel fine, jus that it seems abit weak. Strange feeling.

This morning had a 2km swim. Wasn't feeling that comfortable. Seems like putting in good effort and surprise myself with a 53mins effort. Maybe i am just getting slower. :(

It was a tough run. Tough in a sense, i haven't run at that "feel" for so long. Felt struggling, but should be fine. Just need some getting use to it. :p

10km this evening from TP to Kallang Sea Sports Club. The leg did not sng, which is a good sign. Cool! Hopefully not much aching tomorrow morning.

Thursday Delight(s)

Thursday promise to have something different.

Well, not as drama as the flooding in Orchard, more of a suitable kind.

Morning head to the pool. Couldn't recall when is the last time i get to this pool! Seem like months ago!

Still the similar faces, but the water is cold! Wow, maybe long time didn't swim in the morning, couldn't remember what is to be expected. I like COLD! Yummy.

The thing about swimming, i can test out my legs and see which part of it is aching and not risk too much on aggravating it.

At some angle, the knee cap give some light biting pain. Nothing too serious, apart from there. Hmm...just abit like struggling to keep pace. Felt like stamina not there...so have to use abit more effort.

2km in 52mins. Nice to start the day.

After work decide to head for the gym in the East. Since have a Buffet later and got time to kill. Good to go for workout first before the feasting!

Spent 50mins on the bike. It was a wet session as the ventilation there isn't that good. It was a smooth cycling, but a bit effort(due to lack of fitness)...and it only left with a few mins when the light ache on the knee cap(first experience this morning) starts to revisit. Sigh....

Quick wash back and head for Durain Buffet!

Thanks to Sotong, i have a quality Durain session! Haven't had this kind of quality durain in such big quantity before. Cool.

swim - 27 May 2010

Just before i stop the car, the rains start to falls. Though small in size..what a damper...

Nevertheless still proceed to the pool. Something is not right, the flood lights are off and the waiting uncles/aunties are not around. Damn..must be something going on today. No choice u-turn back. Sigh.

I still get my swim. But in the afternoon. The sun was hot and i have a hard time see where i am swimming. Also good give me the opportunity to sleep through the swim.

Felt strong and fresh throughout. The injury did cause some concern, but nothing major. Have to endure abit of mental though, just to finish the distance intended.

53mins for 2km effort. Should be decent, given the weather and lack of challengers to push up the pace.

Gonna rest..until D day.

Ready or not, the run still goes on.

BD Swim

For the past few years, this date is always a run day. This year, due to the schedule. It is a swim.

A swim @6:30am.

First time swim on a sunday morning at 6:30am. Given the congested nature of the pool on weekend, early swim is the best option to avoid the crowd.

Yes, it is surprising "empty", compare to the normal days whenever i turn up for morning swim. Middle "2 x lanes are corner off" for training? (i didn't see any training going on when i left).

Seems like ages that i hit the pool. It is nice to be back. Have to relearn about of the strokes, but still doable. Slowly moving along.

Complete 2km in 53mins. A bit rusty from the timing. :p

Nice way to start a day.

Gearing for .....long run

A day of enforced rest on Wednesday. Abit concern about the legs. It is not seemingly that good. Sigh. A rest could be good.

Thursday head to the pool. Cannot rest for too long. For the first few laps, it is like a disaster. The right calf experience light stinging sensation whenever i kick. OMG. This is very bad. I didn't expect this. Sigh. I have to change the angle of kicking to relieve the pain, as a result the pace slowed down tremendously.I felt i am treading water!

After a few sets, the pain went off and i am feeling good again. Pace resume and i completed 2km in 54mins. Not to push the body further, today is enough, though i have ample time left.

Err....went for a massage...the legs are sensitive and have to ask the masseur to "go light" until kena complains..."this is not massage"! This show how tight the muscle is. Sigh.....

Feeling much better on Friday. Spent 50mins on the stationary bike. Just a relax pace, moving along to get some workout and keep the body warming up for tomorrow long run.

Not sure will manage to complete the intended distance or not, given the body conditions. Let hope so. Whatever it is, will be.