Aussie Day weekend

What better way to celebrate Australia's birthday - by doing a sprint triathlon! There was one already formally held in Point Walter. But we decided to have our own at Sorrento Beach, without the hassle of registration fees and all that jazz. Thanks Dennis for organizing and taking our pictures. I stayed with Sam throughout the course and it was good that he pushed the pace during the run, we actually clocked 4 minute km for the last 1km! 

The brave 7 (one more person came later) who turned up that day

Running into transition with Sam

With our race director

I didn't head down to the city to watch the fireworks display this time. Without a car, it was going to be a bit of a hassle. I had an early night in and woke up the next morning for a ride in the hills. It was quite windy and I rode a bit slower than usual, but not much. Luckily I started my ride early as the weather got hot pretty quickly.

I sold another big furniture today. The bed and mattress is now gone. I'll be sleeping on the sofa for the next 10 nights or so. The fridge will be picked up next Saturday. At work, my successor started on Monday, so he already had five days of work. Trying to hand over as much information as I can without overwhelming him too much. 

Not long now until I bid farewell to Perth.

Transport challenged

It started off with a bit of drama over the weekend when I locked myself out of my car. I closed the boot with my car keys left inside. Paid a costly $150 for the locksmith to open it, took him less than 2 minutes! And I didn't have my phone with me, luckily Sam was there as I just finished the final session of his study.

I have sold both my cars now. The second sale I was paid in cash and had to frantically find an ATM which allowed me to bank it in. It was a feeling of uneasiness and paranoia when I had someone else within the same room, waiting for their turn to use the machine. The sale took place in Leederville and I wasn't able to deposit the full amount. I was meeting the boys for dinner in Northbridge after, walking there with the remaining cash was nerve wrecking, luckily I was able to deposit the it when I got there!

On my first day without a car, I ran to work. Well, most of the distance anyway. Running with a bagpack was harder than I thought. The bouncing motion was uncomfortable and the straps were giving me a bit of chaffing. I had to take some walk breaks in between, every now and then. The whole distance was 13.7km running through the shared paths, just a couple of kms further than it would have been if I drove straight down the freeway. It took me nearly 90 minutes including the walk breaks. In the afternoon, I was able to use the pool car from work to go home. I'll probably do this a couple of times next week and run every other day too. It's not a bad idea, I only need to get up at 6am instead of 5am, and I'm at my desk at 8am, rather than 9am, and I get to put in a workout session too.

Another week...

Another week into the new year, and another week closer to my departure from Perth. This week started with a Jacobs Ladder workout in King's Park with the boys - Sam and Dennis. Down and up the 242 steps plus running a circuit of the steep hill on Mount St, 5 times through. That workout left me handicapped for most of the week. I was limping when I walked and I had to skip all the run sessions that I planned for. I was still able to ride and swim though.

Papparazzi Dennis Tan took this picture

Saturday I did the second sprint tri simulation test as part of Sam's study. My right quad was still feeling a bit tight. It affected my bike time but not my run time, which was a bit weird. One last session next week. In the afternoon, we planned to watch the TV coverage of Ironman Western Australia 2012 but midway through, the power supply went off. It didn't go off completely but it seemed to be really low on power. The stand fan was turning slower and slower and the TV kept flickering on and off, as though the power was generated by someone running on a treadmill! In the end, the power only came back on just 15 minutes after the show finished!

Sunday I did a ride in the hills this time. My usual route of Mundaring Weir via Darlington and John Forrest National Park. The winds were blowing from the east, so it was a bit tough going into the hills but I had a nice tailwind coming back. I'm glad I completed the ride in well under 3 hours, which is similar to the times during my peak. The overcast weather helped too.

I managed to sell some more furniture from the house. I now have to bend down while eating my meals off the coffee table and try not to spill food all over my laptop. I've pretty much closed the deal on selling one of the cars, just waiting for the cheque. The other car, I'm still meeting interested buyers, which is also a good thing, as this means I still have a car to drive around for the time being.

Something new...

So we're already a week into the new year. I truly enjoyed my week off at home, catching up with family and friends. Even raced a 25km run, which I clocked just a minute slower than the year before. I've been back in Perth for a few days now. Slowly getting back into the routine. Trying to start myself on a consistent training regime again, mainly to shed the extra kgs I gained over the festive season and also to bring back my fitness to where it was. But I'm in no hurry. Just enjoying the flexibility of unstructured training... for now.

I did a simulated sprint triathlon as part of my friend Sam's sports science study. 750m swim in the pool at a controlled pace of 82.5% effort, which is 1:54 per 100m. It was rather difficult actually to slow myself down that much and I could feel myself almost sinking in the pool. The 20km ride was done on the wind trainer. It was a bit of a mental test riding at hight intensity with no other competitors to chase. On to the 5km run, thank God it was around the UWA campus, and not on the treadmill. I averaged 4:25 per km and finished in just over 70 minutes for the lot. Pretty happy with the effort. I have 2 more trials to do in the next 2 weeks.

On Sunday, I did a 100km ride down the Freeway South bike path. I thought the many mind numbing long rides down the path before Ironman WA will put me off riding that route for a while, but it's the most convenient way to put in 100kms without having to stop too much for traffic. I struggled on the way back into the headwinds, the return journey took me an extra 15 minutes. Obviously still not quite there yet in terms of my endurance, both physically and mentally.

I have quite a bit of packing to do, to vacate the place to be rented out. I've listed both our cars for sale. Not much time left, hopefully there would be some interest, otherwise I'll have to bring them to the used car dealers and I probably won't be able to get much there.

Farewell 2012...

As it is only a day before Christmas and the year comes towards an end, I would like to wish everyone a very merry Christmas and a happy new year! I never quite believed the Mayan end of world theory, looking forward to many years to come!

2012 has been an eventful one. On June 23rd, I got married to a gorgeous lady, my darling Li-Ann. Although we have been living under the same roof for about 1.5 years before that, there some subtle differences in our lives since that special day.

I completed 2 Ironman distances this year. In fact, if you count Ironman WA the year before, it adds up to 3 in a period of just over 12 months. I think I've matured as a triathlete - many thanks to Bill's coaching and training with the BYL team.

Come 2013, changes and challenges a plenty. New place - London, Ontario. New job - I'm still looking for one. New people and culture altogether. Let's not forget my passion - triathlon, training in a place that snows 4 months of the year will require some thinking outside the box!

I'll be away from Christmas day, will be returning to Malaysia for a week. Until then, enjoy the silly season! See you in the new year!

More pics from Busso

Pictures courtesy of Li-Ann, Dennis Tan, Andrina Goh, BYL and Finisherpix

My biggest fan, the night before the race

At the start line

The calm before the storm

Glad to be out of that choppy water!

Pretty average swim time

Let's try to fix that on the bike

Chasing Tom at the Rushleigh Rd turnaround

Still smiling at the start of the run

And a bit of horsing around too!

Finished Ironman no. 6!

Post race celebration at Duckstein brewery

 

Ironman Western Australia 2012... a race of a different kind

I came to this race with big goals and expectations. Even a big investment in a new bike, new shoes etc. the lot! As most of you would know, I fell short of my sub 10 hour target and made it through the finish with 10:16.28, about 1.5 minute slower than my PB at Ironman Cairns early this June. In fact, I clocked almost the same splits for each leg, talk about being consistent!

Disappointed? Somewhat. But given the conditions on the day, I was just glad to have finished strongly. The waters were choppy during the swim but in comparison, my swim time was still pretty average. It was hot and windy on the bike, which made it difficult to clock a high speed. Luckily Tom from BYL passed me on the second lap and it helped with my pacing. Onto the run, the mercury rose even higher and it was difficult to maintain the pace I started. The drinks stations could have been better spaced, it has been the same for the last years - some really close to each other, some really far. Despite improving 8 minutes on last year's time, my age group ranking dropped by 13 places to 22nd but I improved 14 places overall to 140th. I've given it all on the race course and I could not have asked for more.

I'm afraid this isn't one of my usual detailed race reports. After doing the same course three years in a row, I can't seem to find the creative juices to write it much differently. But what I can definitely shed light on how much I enjoyed the company of the Malaysian contingent doing this race, most of them staying at Amaroo Motel too, and most of them doing their first Ironman. The pre race stress and chatter outside the corridors of our rooms, and asking for tips and advice. I felt very honoured to share some of my experiences.

I can also share on how much stronger I feel in the lead up to this race. Coach Bill certainly did not take the brakes off in my training plan this time. And though I feel tired and beaten up at the end of most weeks, I knew I would reap the rewards when it matters most on race day. I'm proud to say that I could keep up (most times) with the BYL group rides and finally feel that I'm part of the group and no longer that slow one that the group has to drag home. It was great fun training with you guys and a bit of healthy rivalry did push me beyond my limits on race day.

As some of you may already know, my wife Li-Ann and I will be moving to Canada for the next two years. Li-Ann took up a research position in University of Western Ontario in London, two hours away from Toronto. She left yesterday morning and as I'm writing this, she's already in Canada, a foreign place so far away and our communication is somewhat limited. The past few weeks had been stressful for her - sorting out our visas, getting rid of furniture and belongings we don't need, arranging for our place to leased out, packing for a trip to to a place where temperatures drop to negative 30 degrees!

All of these whilst my mental space had been pre occupied with the Ironman race, I did not give much help. Still, Li-Ann gave her full support on race day, even took the car out with Sam and Dennis to cheer me on at the bike turnaround on Rushleigh Road. She was sunburnt and exhausted at the end of the day. Thanks, darling! I love you, darling!

An amazing shot taken by Dennis Tan

What's next for me? Well, going to Canada will be an adventure in itself. But being the Ironman junkie I am, I have already signed up for Ironman Canada in Whistler on 25 August. With over 4000ft of climbing on the bike course and nearly 700ft of elevation in the run, it's going to be one epic race!