Words can't describe how relieved I am feeling right now for signing up on Friday. Had I gambled and waited just a few days, I might have missed out! If that were the case, I wonder what would I be doing for the rest of the year, with no major race to train for, or to look forward to!
Anyway, a quick look of the confirmed entrants.
A total of 9 of us would be racing under the Jalur Gemilang of Malaysia.
F30-34 Lai, May Senn
M35-39 Blanarik, Miroslav
M35-39 Oakley, Denis
M35-39 Ratchaga, Ezer
M35-39 Sidek, Nik Arif
M35-39 Tang, Richard
M40-44 Frenz, Tobias
M50-54 Ismail, Mohamed (Sofian)
and myself in M25-29
It seems there is a biased distribution of entries towards the M35-39 category... and May Senn will be our sole female representative!
And not far from home, another friend of mine from Brunei (and the only one) will be doing this as his second Ironman.
M25-29 Junaidi, Ahmad Fathi
A few more friends in Perth (not that many as I don't have many tri friends here).
John Cooke M45-49, whose blog I follow regularly and I had the pleasure of meeting during a Craig Alexander appearance.
Viv Oldfield M25-29, my podiatrist, of which our sessions always overrun into the next appointments as we find ourselves talking away about Ironman races and training.
Shao Wu M35-39, who swims in the same group session as I do. Very quick on the bike as well as the run, and is making tremendous improvement in the swim as well.
Sam Goh M25-29, from ECU who trains with North Coast Tri Club and is representing Singapore at this race. I met him at Busselton Half last year.
For the full list, click here.
It's more than 7 months away, but I can't help getting excited! So excited that I finally broke 58 minutes for my 13km run this morning. Still a long way from my usual pace, but definitely getting there!
Wednesday, 28 April 2010
Monday, 26 April 2010
Slowly but surely
I hope you guys like the new look of my blog. I've always wanted the layout to show my archives with drop-down buttons and my blog list to be arranged in accordance to most recently updated. But I never knew how. But thanks to Li-Ann, I found out it was just a matter of upgrading my blog template and adding in some widgets!
And the new template is SO EASY TO USE! Well, better late than never, I supposed.
It is the ANZAC Day long weekend. A good opportunity to spruce up the house a bit. We borrowed a grass cutter to tidy up the overgrown weeds in front of our driveway. I gave the new car a good wash.
Training wise, Saturday's ride had some pretty challenging winds, blowing at about 20kph. But the tailwinds at the end helped, I finished 82km in 2:43:11, averaging 30.1kph. On the course, I could see some guys putting in their last few miles before Busso Half this coming Saturday. Complete with aero helmets and disc wheels.
I did another two 13km runs this week. 58:12 on Wednesday and 58:21 on Sunday. I keep telling myself not to worry, my running legs will be back eventually. The recovery is improving though. When I did first run in five weeks last Saturday, I was sore for days.
The public holiday on Monday allowed me to sleep in a bit. I did an hour swim session at midday. But I struggled to meet my interval times when it came to the pedals with pull buoy set. Perhaps, I'm a bit overtrained and needed some rest.
Wishing all of those competing this Saturday the best of luck! Tear up the fast, flat course of Busso!
And the new template is SO EASY TO USE! Well, better late than never, I supposed.
It is the ANZAC Day long weekend. A good opportunity to spruce up the house a bit. We borrowed a grass cutter to tidy up the overgrown weeds in front of our driveway. I gave the new car a good wash.
Training wise, Saturday's ride had some pretty challenging winds, blowing at about 20kph. But the tailwinds at the end helped, I finished 82km in 2:43:11, averaging 30.1kph. On the course, I could see some guys putting in their last few miles before Busso Half this coming Saturday. Complete with aero helmets and disc wheels.
I did another two 13km runs this week. 58:12 on Wednesday and 58:21 on Sunday. I keep telling myself not to worry, my running legs will be back eventually. The recovery is improving though. When I did first run in five weeks last Saturday, I was sore for days.
The public holiday on Monday allowed me to sleep in a bit. I did an hour swim session at midday. But I struggled to meet my interval times when it came to the pedals with pull buoy set. Perhaps, I'm a bit overtrained and needed some rest.
Wishing all of those competing this Saturday the best of luck! Tear up the fast, flat course of Busso!
Friday, 23 April 2010
New ride (not the two wheel kind)
As some of you may recall, from an earlier post, Li-Ann's car got written off after the hailstorm.
So here's the new car we've got. 2008 Mitsubishi Lancer, 2.0L 4 cylinder engine, constant variable transmission, auto cruise and auto stabilization. Low mileage of 11,000kms. Got it for a pretty reasonble price from a private seller.
With this expenditure, maybe I would hold off from spending anymore on tri related equipment and apparel... temporarily.
Having said that, I just registered and paid for my entry in Ironman WA. I heard that there are only about 200 places left, and I didn't want to miss the boat! So for those of you still contemplating, be quick!
So here's the new car we've got. 2008 Mitsubishi Lancer, 2.0L 4 cylinder engine, constant variable transmission, auto cruise and auto stabilization. Low mileage of 11,000kms. Got it for a pretty reasonble price from a private seller.
With this expenditure, maybe I would hold off from spending anymore on tri related equipment and apparel... temporarily.Having said that, I just registered and paid for my entry in Ironman WA. I heard that there are only about 200 places left, and I didn't want to miss the boat! So for those of you still contemplating, be quick!
Sunday, 18 April 2010
Tired legs and a full stomach
After 5 weeks of layoff from running, I decided to do a 13km run (as opposed to a 30 minute one as suggested by my podiatrist, my bad!). The new orthotics have slightly higher arches but are softer and more flexible too. It allows more rolling inwards, to balance out my current over pronation.
I completed the run in just over 58 minutes. A far cry from my usual mid 55 minutes and my personal best of 54 minutes. I started off pretty well but couldn't sustain the pace. Looks like I have to ease back into my running regime.
In the afternoon, we did a bit of gardening. I never did have a green thumb. But I'm pretty pleased with our effort.
Moses in the cradle... hope these little plants will brighten up our barren grass patch a bit.
The next morning, I did my usual 80km ride. It was pretty windy, blowing at above 20kph. And I was feeling pretty sore from the run the day before. The Red Bull Air Race was on, but honestly I didn't see any planes flying that morning. I finished the 81.83km ride in 2:44.22, averaging 29.7kph. Slightly slower than last week, but I can't complain.
For lunch, darling and I treated ourselves to a buffet at Atrium, Burswood. It was a promotion - $20 per person for a weekend meal. Apparently, the restaurant will be closed from mid May until end of the year.
The place was packed! Good thing we had a reservation. But there was a queue to get a table, a queue for the seafood and even a queue to pay! Nevertheless, there was enough food for everyone, so we stuffed ourselves silly. And after Entertainment Book discount, it turned out to be $30 for the both of us, very worth it!
I completed the run in just over 58 minutes. A far cry from my usual mid 55 minutes and my personal best of 54 minutes. I started off pretty well but couldn't sustain the pace. Looks like I have to ease back into my running regime.In the afternoon, we did a bit of gardening. I never did have a green thumb. But I'm pretty pleased with our effort.
Moses in the cradle... hope these little plants will brighten up our barren grass patch a bit.The next morning, I did my usual 80km ride. It was pretty windy, blowing at above 20kph. And I was feeling pretty sore from the run the day before. The Red Bull Air Race was on, but honestly I didn't see any planes flying that morning. I finished the 81.83km ride in 2:44.22, averaging 29.7kph. Slightly slower than last week, but I can't complain.
For lunch, darling and I treated ourselves to a buffet at Atrium, Burswood. It was a promotion - $20 per person for a weekend meal. Apparently, the restaurant will be closed from mid May until end of the year.
The place was packed! Good thing we had a reservation. But there was a queue to get a table, a queue for the seafood and even a queue to pay! Nevertheless, there was enough food for everyone, so we stuffed ourselves silly. And after Entertainment Book discount, it turned out to be $30 for the both of us, very worth it!
Wednesday, 14 April 2010
Special lady in my life
Here's to wishing my mum a very happy 54th birthday!
Look more like 34 lah, hehheh.
Look more like 34 lah, hehheh.
Sunday, 11 April 2010
Another one bites the dust
My usual Saturday 80km ride finished with a pleasant surprise. It was pretty windy to begin with. I struggled to maintain 29kph average for the first 20kms. But as I always say, for every headwind, there is bound to be a tailwind (well, most of the time, not always!).
And sure enough, I was flying back at the last 20kms, clocking mostly about 37kph, giving an average of 30.4kph for the entire distance, equaling last ride's PB effort.
There were plenty of tri bikes on the course. I assume most of them were preparing for the upcoming Busselton Half Ironman in less than 3 weeks time. Call me biased, but I get this indescribable sense of belonging when I pass by a fellow rider on a tri bike. I don't get this feeling when I'm passing a group of roadies coming from the opposite direction, a group big enough and aggressive enough to knock me off the cycling path!
Okay, maybe that's a discussion for another time...
Li-Ann brought her car, which suffered some minor dents from the hail storm few weeks ago, for an insurance assessment. And unexpectedly, her car was taken in for a write-off.
We're both pretty shocked, but I guess there's probably no way she could sell the car for anything higher than the insured value. So, we are now looking for a new ride (the four wheel kind). We've been through some ads and papers, looking for one which is fairly new, low mileage, economical fuel consumption and no more than A$20,000. A hard find I know, but I'm sure there is one out there.
And sure enough, I was flying back at the last 20kms, clocking mostly about 37kph, giving an average of 30.4kph for the entire distance, equaling last ride's PB effort.
There were plenty of tri bikes on the course. I assume most of them were preparing for the upcoming Busselton Half Ironman in less than 3 weeks time. Call me biased, but I get this indescribable sense of belonging when I pass by a fellow rider on a tri bike. I don't get this feeling when I'm passing a group of roadies coming from the opposite direction, a group big enough and aggressive enough to knock me off the cycling path!
Okay, maybe that's a discussion for another time...
Li-Ann brought her car, which suffered some minor dents from the hail storm few weeks ago, for an insurance assessment. And unexpectedly, her car was taken in for a write-off.
We're both pretty shocked, but I guess there's probably no way she could sell the car for anything higher than the insured value. So, we are now looking for a new ride (the four wheel kind). We've been through some ads and papers, looking for one which is fairly new, low mileage, economical fuel consumption and no more than A$20,000. A hard find I know, but I'm sure there is one out there.
Monday, 5 April 2010
Happy Easter
For those of you back home, we had a four day weekend :P
But as many of our friends were away on holidays, darling and myself found it a bit hard filling up our time. The highlight was having dim sum with Brendan and Andrinna on Sunday morning.
And probably the most Easter-ly thing we did was looking for discounted Easter eggs and hot cross buns at the shops.
I did a double 80km ride, one on Friday and another this (Monday) morning. Both were in excess of 30kph average, which I'm quite pleased with. I never exceeded 30kph average in any training ride for the whole of last year. Perhaps one of the benefits after recovering from an Ironman race - stronger legs.
Speaking of Ironman, this is a bit late, but I've finally figured out how to publish the pictures from the PDF copy of my Ironman album, which was done by the guys at Snap Attack. Enjoy!
But as many of our friends were away on holidays, darling and myself found it a bit hard filling up our time. The highlight was having dim sum with Brendan and Andrinna on Sunday morning.
And probably the most Easter-ly thing we did was looking for discounted Easter eggs and hot cross buns at the shops.
I did a double 80km ride, one on Friday and another this (Monday) morning. Both were in excess of 30kph average, which I'm quite pleased with. I never exceeded 30kph average in any training ride for the whole of last year. Perhaps one of the benefits after recovering from an Ironman race - stronger legs.
Speaking of Ironman, this is a bit late, but I've finally figured out how to publish the pictures from the PDF copy of my Ironman album, which was done by the guys at Snap Attack. Enjoy!
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