I've done all I could

It's only three more sleeps away before I leave for Langkawi, and another two more before I'm at the Kuah Jetty starting line for the biggest race of my life.

The one week of Chinese New Year festivities has added nearly 2kgs to my weight, but I'm relieved that it hasn't quite affected my times. I did two 11.3km runs in under 49:30, whereas last year I struggled to do them under 50 minutes.

Swimming wise, I was humbled by my little brother (not so little anymore) who joined me for a one hour session. I did 3.6km, he did 200m more because he lapped me twice! We did a pyramid set of 100m, 200m, 300m, 400m, 400m, 300m, 200m, 100m. Partway through the set, he suggested that we each did our own pace. He went on to do the remaining on 1:25 cycles for each 100m, and he was able to hold them on 1:20!

Keith is now recovering in Serdang Hospital, from a sinus surgery, performed by our very own Dr Hisyam. I wish Keith a speedy recovery!

I was finally able to test out my new wheels. I joined Yip and Tomato Ray for a 93km ride from Bukit Jalil to Putrajaya and back via MEX highway. I'm glad that the 80mm profile wheels weren't too difficult to control. We finished the ride with an average of 30.3kph. My first training ride above 30kph, thanks guys!

That night, we had a lou sang dinner with the THG members, also to send off those of us taking part in Langkawi Ironman this year. Great company, thanks Jennifer for organizing!

The next morning, I joined Peter Lau of P2K for a 1500m swim time trial. We swam at the Putrajaya pool near the 70.3 race venue. It overlooked the lake and the Pullman hotel, which were really beautiful. Shahrom did the 1500m distance with me, whereas Barry and the other national juniors did the 750m distance. I'm really glad I did the time trial. It was indeed a confidence booster. I clocked 21:56, a personal best by about 30 seconds. And my pace was quicker than the boys who did the 750m too :)

I plan to do one more swim session and one more 11.3km run before I leave for Langkawi. For those at home and if you're interested, do check our progress here.

See you there and all the best to those who are competing!