Spinning Away Excuses

I did a 120K ride this morning and afternoon, as the weather was inclement. The monsoon season deters riders from making their pedaling sojourn since it means cleaning up after making a mess. Your bike forks are subject to accumulation of dirt and debris that are spun inside during your ride. A wet road enhances adhesion of these foreign particles, and scratches to your paintwork are a risk you take when ride. It was tempting to call the ride short when it drizzles, however brave the elements and temptation we must. Otherwise, plans become compromised as we fine easy excuses to ditch training.


I have focused my energies in training to completing specific sets, swimming more, getting my nutrition needs pin-pointed, developing rising strength and flexibility. I am certain it will convert into the outcomes that I seek in my quest for my PB in Taupo. I note all my measurements on my Garmin 310XT, as my RPE, and for my post-training evaluations.


Fox sent me my new weekly training schedule. Mercifully, this week is  ‘easier’, with less emphasis on specific sets. It is more about keeping my body engaged in the routine, as well as recover from the last fortnight’s work. Sleeping about 7-8 hours a night has been instrumental in my ability to make some gains in strength. I am fully recovered from my flu, and should be shifting towards higher gear.

Water-Logged And A Watershed Ride

Water is one of the five elements of the Chinese, accompanying gold, fire, wood and earth. In chemistry, we know that this natural compound is derived from the volatile hydrogen and combustible oxygen. The human body is 70 percent water, and sustained dehydration can lead to many serious symptoms that may lead to disease.

Our group of six riders unanimously cancelled this morning’s ride into Desaru. Due to it being May Day, the bumboats into Malaysia were enthusiastically booked up, and the latter queues were, unbearably, long. Our 6.00am breakfast of roti prata (Indian wheat pancakes) was soon followed up by a 9.00am brunch of Chinese dim sum snacks. As you can see from the snapshot, we were quite focused about our nutrition.

My ride there was about 20K, so my total distance upon my return would have been 40K – an Olympic Distance ride. I decided to insert a short session of intervals – 2K hard and fast, followed by 2K of reduced cadence (both sets done on almost the highest gear ratio). In some ways, I felt the intensity mimic the climbing of hills; one stretch of Lanzarote (Canary Islands) lasted 4K of a gentle gradient before you hit the mildly distracting petrol-station.

After completing 100K, I decided to head off for lunch (I get frighteningly famished after aerobic activity) when I felt my pedaling feel bumpy. I thought I had run over some debris from the earlier bout of rain, however it felt too urgent in its plea. It turned out to be a flat on my rear tyre – not good as I was on carbon rims, and surely did not want to damage it. I gave the flaccid tyre a quick inflation with my aerosol pump, however it did not fill up fully. I un-cleated my shoes and walked barefoot to the hawker-centre whereupon I had some grub, and called for a taxi back. My first call, annoyingly, yielded no takers and a few random flag-downs of arriving taxis had concerned looks from the drivers of my dirty bike and my predicament. I muttered some unmentionables under my breath before continuing on my sojourn to the food-stalls.

Despite the puncture, I was glad I chose to ride in the drizzle; in spite of the rising horrid humidity I completed my planned sets. The gremlins did reveal their voices whispering tempting messages into my vulnerable brain, but I resisted – crucial on race-day when it is so easy to succumb to a walking spree when fatigue hits you with full force. With exactly three weeks to my next Ironman race, I will focus on tapering – still doing up to 60 percent of the usual mileage and duration. It is so easy to slack off and elect excuses to be inactive. This morning’s DNS (Did Not Show) weighed on everyone’s mind for some time, I am sure.

A Big Shout Out to Brian Tan for successfully defending his title at the TriBob Mini-Sprint Triathlon! I am looking forward to our group 20K run tomorrow morning and listen to his race story.

Pete Jacobs wins Ironman Australia today. It is his first IM win. Congratulations Pete! I am waiting for my friend Terry Tc Campbell (55-59 years) to cross the line by midnight – he has completed a dozen-and-more IM triathlons. Go for it, mate! [Tc successfully crossed the line an Ironman - again - in 16:53:45]

Photo-credits: Vijch G K

Getting Back Into the Groove

This morning, I got up at 3.45am just to make the meeting time of 5.30am for Triathlon Family’s ride into Johor Bahru, Malaysia. A group of about 15 people turned up at the old petrol-station in Mandai, and then made its way to the Causeway checkpoint; most of us took a taxi there as it was situated near the northern part of Singapore. The Causeway is a 1.5km bridge that physically separates Singapore from Malaysia.

There were two rides: 150km or 180km (the new route with more, and challenging hills). Due to rough road conditions, and the erratic drivers, I almost lost my balance with one road hump/bump, and lost my Cat-eye speedometer in the process. Despite these shake-ups, I renewed my passion for riding. I have drifted from cycling for the last two months as I focused my energies on qualifying for the Boston Marathon 2012. With that achieved, I can harness my energies into doing a ride and aggregate PB at Ironman Lanzarote.

We broke away from the main pack at the turnoff to Desaru – where the Desaru Long Distance Triathlon takes place every August – whereupon we headed for our replenishment point at the Petronas petrol-kiosk. Actually, Hui Koon and Ping broke away ahead many minutes before, doing their version of the Shinkansen Express. We had fun climbing the medley of slopes – uncommon in pancake-flat Singapore – and certainly more so, when Matt bought a medium pack of crushed-ice to share. As the heat intensified at about 10.00am, Vijch and Desmond gratefully enjoyed the cold reward by stuffing into their drink-bottles as well as underneath their jerseys. Wilson decided to call it a day as he made his way by cab to bid us adieu; it was his first long-distance ride at Desaru, which is overwhelming for most first-timers. The rest of us swallowed deep when his cab rode off in a trail of dust, but I exaggerate.

Our gang of four arrived at the jetty at about midday, after a short drink refill. Although we booked a bumboat back easily, the journey exceeded the normal hour of travel. I was the bookend and watchful eye for the stack of bikes – two Specialized, one Colnago, and one Elite - for fear that they would be scratched when the boat was tossed by the occasional high wave.

Despite my sore calves from Friday evening’s 90-minute VFF run (and two weeks into my marathon recovery process), I took on this morning’s hills with minimal discomfort. I certainly have more work to do, but it’s has been a very good start. Back to my Monday swim sessions beginning tomorrow to work my anaerobic energy system.

Big Shout Out: Congratulations Charles Teng and Teryn Tham (and the other 30 participants from Singapore) for completing Ironman New Zealand 2011! You did well on an unusually wet and challenging day.
Photo-credit: Vijch GK.

Wet and Wild, But Whatever!

‘One day it started to rain, and didn’t quit for four months! There was a little bit of stinging rain…and big old fat rain…rain that fell sideways…and rain that seemed to come up from upside down! Shoot – it even rained at night!’ ~ FORREST GUMP.

We could have stayed in bed, and found solace and excuse in the rain. Yet, we chose to commit to our plan to ride in Desaru, Malaysia – a boat-ride away. The weather held, gingerly, in the early morning when we enthusiastically met up at the immigration checkpoint of Changi Jetty.

Over at Desaru, the main group splintered away early, with a 6:3 split. Andy, his friend Alev and I decided to wait out the sudden downpour. After some preamble, including a quick breakfast (as it rained mercilessly with minimal visibility), we met up with the rest about one hour out from the town – with pelting rain, persistent headwinds and wantonly speeding traffic. Once again, the group connected, and then disbanded as quickly – headed for the jetty.

Hui Koon described his experience in our wettest ride ever. It pretty much sums it up. I am glad we did this trip, despite the challenging conditions. I also adored my relatively new bike, and the latest finer fits to my aero-bars. My ride was smooth and comfortable in spite of the numerous pockmarks on the foreign roads.

It was a cold day, which reminded me of the cold races I had to bear: Berlin Marathon, IM New Zealand, and IM Western Australia. I prefer my races and training hot, as I am consciously hydrating my body with fluids. Today was exactly one year since I did my last Desaru ride, where I was unfortunate to be hit by a taxi on home soil, after a satisfying long ride. I had to face my demons, and overcome my residual anxiety with riding.

Leadership lessons learnt today: Never let up on an opportunity to test myself. Keep my sense of adventure. Manage the variables. Stick stubbornly to the plan. Adapt and adjust your plan when risk factors surface and accumulate. Above all, engage my values of persistence, patience and sense of purpose.