Changing of the guard

Guest post by my wife

This weekend marks the commencement of the London 2012 summer Olympics, the pinnacle of global sporting events bringing together the greatest athletes on earth.

In this case, because it is British, it also brings us this.



The olympics is unique in the sense that it is one of the few sporting events occurring once every 4 years.

Things change dramatically after 4 years. This Olympics Australia's old swim giants Ian Thorpe, Geoff Huegill, Michael Klim have all been ousted by their younger, lesser known counterparts. Ditto for Michael Phelps by Ryan Loch. In some instances, very publicly and humiliatingly (to see what I mean, see Thorpedo's documentary, which I suffered through with Kevin)

And then you have these young stars coming out of nowhere. This girl is 16.


I suspect some of these giants will feel a little like this.

In any case, to put it into perspective, sport is sport. By definition, sport is
"Physical activity that is governed by a set of rules or customs and often engaged in competitively". Which means it can also be something like this:


So maybe we do take it a little too seriously sometimes? Anyhow, have fun watching the Olympics!

Rocky start

My first week under the training program for Ironman WA got off to a rocky start. I did the Wally Cairns cross country run in King's Park last Sunday. The run consisted of 5km laps, I planned to 15km but decided to stop after 10km as my left achilles felt a bit tight.

It got worse after Tuesday's interval run session and I skipped most of my running sessions for the week. I visited Nathan Doig for a massage and boy, did he live up to his reputation! It hurt like hell and it was the only time I wished that a massage ended sooner. But it's a testament to his magic hands and I feel much better now.

I have a feeling what started the sore achilles was probably the cold weather. It takes ages for the muscles to warm up and I probably copped it in the run session on my first day back. Coming from a place of average mid 30 degrees to consistently sub 5 degrees temperatures on the morning must have shocked my system.

It was so cold that my Timex watch, which is only just over a year old gave up on me on one of my morning rides. I took it to the shop to have the battery changed and the screen came back to live but somehow frozen. The guy at the shop couldn't figure out why it was so and refused to refund my money. Anyway, I took it home and after removing the battery and placing it back in several times, it seemed to be working again. All except one button, which I can live without.

Yesterday, a friend of ours celebrated her birthday at Make Your Mark Art Cafe. Pottery painting - a great idea, all of us had fun! And I rekindled my love affair with my hobby during my teenage years - art. And dare I say, my art teacher will be proud ;)

Thanks Tasha for having us, and happy birthday!

Wedding and honeymoon

We're back in Perth, it's been a week already. The past few weeks have been hectic, but it was all worth it. Very happy with how the wedding turned out, many thanks to family and friends who put in the extra effort to make it all happen. Here's some pictures courtesy of Pok Xian, Siang Chee, Pei Yee and Li Choong from their Facebook pages. And a slideshow of the wedding morning by our camera maestro Aaron Chin.

We had our honeymoon in Krabi, half in Koh Lanta, an island about 2 hour journey from Krabi town. And the other half in Krabi town itself. We were lucky that it was fine weather as we were told the week before there were heavy rain and strong waves. Snorkelling and visiting the night markets were fun. So was finding a massage parlour that wasn't dodgy and offered extra services. Making Li-Ann climb 1,237 steps up the Tiger Cave Temple was only fun for me haha, as you can see from her annoyed look in one of the pictures below.

One last time...

... one last post, one last fling... call it what you like, but this is the last one before I get on a plane back to home in Malaysia for my wedding. A series of 3 challenges for my bucks day/night, just like a triathlon. I'll let the pictures do the talking but keep the details to ourselves ;)

Pictures courtesy of Dennis Tan

Challenge 1 - karaoke session but at every hour, gate crashing a randomly picked room to join the unsuspecting patrons to sing a song

Challenge 2 - the classic Beer Mile! I had to make sure I finish first, otherwise I'll be penalised. I just want to put it out there that team Break Your Limits does not condone such shenanigans!

Challenge 3 - Outback Jack's 1kg steak challenge. Finish 1kg of AND all the wedges and veges within 30 minutes, which I failed miserably! Only manage to get through the steak in 25 minutes but there was no space left for the others.

Thanks so much boys for organizing my LAST ONE, it was indeed a memorable one!

Ironman Cairns 2012

Be careful, it's a long one! Just like the race ;)

Pre race

Our journey to Cairns on Thursday night started off with a bit of a hiccup in an hour delay to our flight. But no big fuss, if anything we arrived at a less ungodly hour at 5.30am the next day. We were lucky to be given our rooms early at Cairns Plaza Hotel instead of the usual 2pm check-in, which meant being able to get more rest. I had a bit of a shuteye, then assembled my bike and taking it for a spin. It was raining in Cairns for most of the week, and today was no different. My newly polished bike was covered with mud and sand just after the 30 minute ride!

The expo was a lot bigger than the one at Ironman WA. I was there on my own while Li-Ann was working on her thesis back in the hotel. I had to refrain myself from several occasions from buying something I WANT but don't NEED. Proud to say, I left the expo with nothing except the registration pack, which came in an Ironman Cairns bagpack - nice touch! The welcome dinner at the Convention Centre was a bit of a walk. I arrived late as I thought it was at the park. It was a table served meal, a nice change from jostling with other hungry triathletes at the buffet trays. I sat with my friend, Wilfred from Singapore and his fiancé. Wilfred used to swim with me at UWA when I was studying.

The swim practice the next morning started a bit late at 7.45am. It was a controlled entry down the pier. The water was murky, I could barely see past my forearms but it was very calm. One thing I noticed was the VERY long run into transition. Bike check-in was very quick, I wasn't asked to weigh in or register my timing chip. I later took the shuttle bus up to T2 where I checked in my run gear bag, the transition area was muddy from all the rain. I thought I would get my timing chip here, but the volunteer told me I am to collect it in the morning.

Race day

A later start at 7.10am means I only had to be up by 4.30am. The 15 minute walk to T1 helped in calming the nerves. But that didn't last for long. Remember I mentioned I was to collect my timing chip in the morning? Well, I was told wrong. I finally met fellow BYL compatriot Trevor and he said he collected his at bike check-in the day before. I must have missed it somehow. I ran around like a headless chicken for quite a bit, before an official finally directed me to a very inconspicuous cabin where I could collect my timing chip. Phew!

Swim 3.8km - target 1 hour

Li-Ann wasn't allowed onto the pier, so I kissed her farewell and took the long walk down. It was a bit of a bottleneck getting down into the water and organizers were rushing us so we could start on time. It was a 45m swim from the steps to start point, so that was my warm up. And barely a minute of treading water... bang, off we go! This is the first time I did this, but I spat some saliva into my goggles before the start to have a clearer vision. And I should have done this ages ago! I could see clearly throughout - above the water, underneath it was still very murky! I swam in a straight line and kept close to the buoys.

It was a two lap swim, the water was calm with some slight chop coming from the paddlers every now and then. My swim cap was slowly sliding upwards and I decided to knock it off completely partway. About 200m left to go, my watch was showing already over 59 minutes and I knew I'm unlikely to finish under the hour. Don't ask me why, I thought I was swimming well - just one of those things. Came up the steps and crossed the first timing in 1:03:07. The sub 1 hour swim will have to wait for another day!


Bike 180km - target 5 hours 30 minutes

The run into transition felt like forever. But as it turns out, my T1 time was only 45 seconds slower than Ironman WA. The grass coming out from the change tent was all muddy, so my socks were soiled before I even started my ride! I almost missed the exit out from transition and had to do a short detour. It was a bit crowded at the bike mount line, so my attempt at fly mount got a bit messy but no big dramas. Li-Ann caught me just before I left town, and because of the course layout, that will be my last time of seeing her until the second half of the run.

The first 30 minutes of the bike was a bit hairy, going through speed bumps and roundabouts. But once we got to the main section of the Captain Cook Highway, it was truly stunning! You have the view of the mountains ahead of you and the ocean by your shoulder. The earlier parts were pretty shaded, we went through some small inclines and I was anxiously waiting to see that big hill in Wangetti. It was a nice, calm weather, some light winds were present but not particularly strong in either direction. It seemed like the rain gods took pity on us that day, and the skies were clear and blue.

I got to my first special needs stop and had to wait for about 30 seconds before I could get my vegemite sandwich. Li-Ann's simple but splendid idea of cutting the sandwiches into half made it a lot easier for me to have them on the go. Within minutes after that special needs, we came to the infamous Wangetti hill. It didn't feel too bad - very similar to the climbs in King's Park, no where as steep as the ones in our Perth eastern hills. But having to climb it 4 times through in an Ironman race will take its toll!

I saw Trevor slightly ahead at the Port Douglas turnaround, which is a bit after 60km. I felt strong coming back and even chased a couple of Perth based XTR Tri club members. At 90km, my bike time was 2:37, which I thought I might have the legs to even split to make it 5:15 for 180km, but I wasn't going to get over excited. And indeed, I felt the energy began to wear off. Still, I felt strong, I think I have my nutrition sorted this time, my stomach could handle a gel each hour now. I passed Trevor at the 120km mark, which gave me a bit of satisfaction - after a couple of fun pre race smack talk on the BYL blog. But this is still an individual race of beating our own targets.

I regretted discarding a bottle with the IM Cairns logo, somehow the replacement bottles all had plain designs. The last few kms of the bike could not be longer and I swear, my bike computer was showing 181km and still no sign of the turn in point into T2. Finally, we got into T2, a quick handover of the bike, a quick slip into my shoes and away we go. My bike split was 5:23:16, could have been under 5:20 if it wasn't for the extra kms! A small pat on the back for myself - I actually ranked 5th overall with my T2 time of 1:37 :)

Run 42.2km - target 3 hours 30 minutes

Having averaged around 4:30 per km for most of my long runs, I thought I might give a crack at holding 5:00 per km average including walking the aid stations. Boy, was I wrong! It was really hot and somehow I wished for some rain that was lashing at us for the past couple of days. There were distance markers every 2km and my splits for each 2km went from 10 minutes to 10.5 minutes to 11 minutes. My timing band was cutting into my ankles and I had to stop to loosen it. I somehow misplaced my timing band sleeve, which I found out later I had it conveniently checked in with my run gear bag.

Once we got to the Captain Cook Highway, it was lonely and exposed. There were no supporters, apart from the aid stations every 2km and cars were driving past us. I just had to keep telling myself to keep on moving. This continued until about 22km, where we headed towards T1 in Fogarty Park. I was anxiously looking out for Li-Ann as I told her I would be back sooner. I soon found her before I made my first turnaround near the finishing chute. Seeing her did give me a boost. But it was shortlived as I started getting cramps. I decided to lengthen my strides and somehow that helped.

Heading towards the last few kms, I knew a finish time of sub 10:20 was within reach. I made the final turn into the finishing chute, gave Li-Ann a few kisses before running through the Ironman Cairns arch, gathering whatever strength I have left for a leap of joy once I crossed it. I finished with a run split of 3:42:24 and overall finish time of 10:15:10, slicing 9 minutes of my personal best! I came in 7th in my age group and 81st overall out of 760 who started.


Post race

This was probably one of the worst I've felt after finishing a race. Normally I look forward to the warm food at the athlete recovery area but this time I felt like I could puke my guts out anytime and I could barely stand straight. I even skipped the massage tent. I must have been pretty badly dehydrated but I didn't think it was necessary to see the medical attendants. What I managed to do though was to get a picture taken with Chris MACCA McCormack, it was nice to know that I finished early enough to catch him in the recovery area.


Acknowledgement

This blog post is turning into a novel already and I can't possibly thank everyone who helped me one way or another in making this journey successful for me. You know who you are, and I truly appreciate your support and encouragement. But I'd like to make a few worthy mentions.

Bill Scanlan, my coach and mentor, did give me a hard time in amping up the training right from the start but not without giving me time to recover and craving for more. Thanks mate! The extra miles did pay off, improving 15 minutes off my bike split says it all.

Ray Lampard or Mr BYL who runs the Tuesday morning BYL interval running sessions. Don't be fooled by this man's long locks and grizzly beard. He's a generous and kind hearted fellow, always giving us tips and advice without asking for anything in return. And it's very rare to find FREE training sessions these days, he does it for the passion of running!

The BYL crew and group rides - Steve, Sandy, Wusa, Adele, Kroyer, Wusa, Bokka, Trev and many others. Although you guys (with the exception of Trev) had finished your big season when I had my last few weeks, there was never a dull moment training with you guys from the beginning. Having you pushing the pace surely made me a stronger athlete - much stronger than I believed I ever would be.

The CEO and managers of my workplace, St Bartholomew's House. Noticed the small blue logo on my tri suit? St Bart's sponsored me a spanking new LG tri suit and some other training gear to go along. Although while I'm at work, often my headspace gets clouded with triathlon, these great people appreciate what I do outside work and are ever so supportive. St Bart's does great work for the socially disadvantaged is a great place to work!

Dad, mum, Karen & Keith. Within minutes of finishing my race, the Facebook statuses of my family members were posted congratulating me on completing my 5th Ironman race. From time to time I wonder if I will every grow up and focus more energy onto something more wealth creating for my future. But you all have always supported me in everything I do, I love you all!

Last but definitely not least - my wife, Li-Ann. You're my nutritionist, my race caddy and my biggest fan. Doing this race near your thesis submission and our upcoming wedding wasn't one of the smartest ideas I had. I've been grumpy and sleep deprived, especially in the last few big weeks. But you were very understanding and tolerated me throughout, ever so supportive. Even if it meant lugging your laptop and thesis drafts along this trip. And I haven't been overly enthusiastic when we look at things like which flowers to decorate the wedding car, I hope my mind will be clearer after the race! Love you, muaks!

And thank you! For reading this blog, wishing me well on Facebook, Whatsapp, SMS etc. I'll be triathlon hiatus and possibly blogging hiatus now for at least until end of June. Kuala Lumpur awaits me and soon after, honeymoon in Krabi, Thailand. Until then, see ya!

HBF Run for a Reason 14km

Unlike previously, I truly enjoyed this taper week. Maybe because I know I have done the miles in the past few weeks and now is really the time to recover. The extra to time to myself was most welcomed, and for once, the weekly mileage on my car exceeds my training mileage.

The HBF Run for a Reason was something I signed up for, as I was co-ordinating a team entry for my workplace, St Bartholomew's House. St Bart's also sponsored my tri suit for Ironman Cairns with our logo, so I thought I might as well print a few T-shirts for the team. The run starts and ends at the WA Cricket Association stadium, which I've not been into before.

I had a long-ish run in my program anyway, so the race will be timely. But I told myself that I was to keep at a steady pace and not get caught up with the adrenaline rush, and risk going too hard. It was a beautiful morning - fine weather with some light winds. Great atmosphere with musical bands and cheerleaders throughout the course. Running through the Graham Farmer Freeway tunnel was a first time experience for me as well.

The plan was to finish just under an hour, which is 4:17 pace. I found myself clocking just under 4:15 for most of the km markers, which were somewhat inconsistent - I could be running under 4 minutes for some, then close to 5 minutes for a couple. It was nice of Ray from BYL to be out that morning taking photos, thanks! The final km was a shocker, I clocked 2.5 minutes for that one, which only meant that the earlier markers were over distanced. I crossed the finish line in 58:17 - an average pace of 4:10, happy to dish out such a time with a steady, controlled effort.

The Ironman Cairns course preview was released a few days ago. The bike course seems like a rolling hills course but somehow the big hill at Wangetti doesn't look that bad. But then again, looks can be deceiving! The course does have it twists and turns with some speed bumps as we head out of transition. So does the run course, where we have to criss cross through some bar racks at the shared paths. Definitely an interesting one!

Only 7 sleeps away from the big race! My bike's been serviced (took it longer and more expensive than expected, but that's a story for another day!), I've had my massage, feeling good about myself, can't wait! Track my progress live on Ironmanlive.com, next post shall be my race report!

Race bike setup - without the disc wheel this time, so I can tackle the rolling hills especially that big one, which we have to go through 4 times!

Mega week 3 - The final hitout

My final big training week before I start to taper. And I couldn't have asked for a better way to finish this last block of training. I felt strong for most of the sessions, and this helped me keep my confidence up in a big way, just two weeks before the big race.

Monday I did a 90 minute aerobic ride. Started at the Narrows Bridge and did the Shelley loop with a bit of Applecross on Duncraig Road. I had nothing else on that day. Tuesday morning was the BYL group run. A new place this time. We went to Railway Street, near City West train station. The set was 9 x 720m. My pacing was not that consistent but I did my best to keep them as close to 4 minute per km pace. In the evening, I had a long swim set of 34 x 100m.

Wednesday morning I had a 2 hour ride. Went up and down Freeway South path. It was a cold one that morning. My cycle computer showed 7 degrees at one point, and it was so foggy that I had look above my glasses to see where I was going. My hands were frost bitten by the end of the ride. And the warm shower at my office was indeed welcoming! In the afternoon, I did a 45 minute run from East Perth train station to the Causeway via Burswood. It has been quite a few weeks since I last did this route.

I rested Thursday as I had an early morning meeting. Friday morning I had 2.5 hours long run - my longest ever this year! I was feeling strong and very pleased with the result. I did a total distance of 33.2km, averaging 4:31 per km with negative splits each 10km! In the evening, I did 3 x 1000m swim to recover before heading out to join the boys for Korean BBQ buffet dinner to celebrate Sam's birthday.

Saturday was the long 5 hour ride. Up and down the Freeway South paths again. There was a moderate north easterly wind but there wasn't much of a tailwind or headwind in either direction of the ride. Just constant sidewind, which was a challenge by itself. Still, I rode over 153kms - 3 kms more than I initially planned in that time frame.

Sunday, I had another ride - a shorter one of 2.5 hours. I decided to go to the Left Bank, East Fremantle via Point Walter. Also another route which I have done for quite a while. I had to ride to Shelley again as well as along Mounts Bay road past the Swan Brewery to make up the time. After the ride I had 30 minutes brick run. I felt comfortable but I didn't know I was averaging 4:20 per km, which was a lot quicker than planned.

7.2km swim, 335.5km ride, 60.4km run - about 18 hours of training. That wraps up my final week and I'm ready to taper! These past few months of training were sure a lot more intensive than what I did for Ironman WA last year. But I do feel a lot stronger and hopefully, this will translate to a positive result come race day.