Look more like 34 lah, hehheh.
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!
Saturday, 27 March 2010
Dark days
Some pretty black happenings lately.
On Monday, Perth was hit by the worst hail storm ever in 16 years. For a time period of 45 minutes, around 4pm, about 25mm of rain water was collected. The storm left 150,000 homes without power. There was severe flooding in Metropolitan area. Car windscreens were smashed by hail with the size of golf balls. King's Park had landslides, and nearby residents had to be evacuated to spend the night at the Perth Convention Centre.
Myself and Li-Ann were very fortunate actually. Our house had some slight water leakage on one part of the garage wall, but that was it. Li-Ann's car left window was cracked by hail and her car roof and bonnet now has acne pock marks.
Our workplaces had slightly more damage. The roof in my office boardroom was leaking, soaking the long table and leather chairs. The carpets still stink until now, there is a massive queue to get it fixed. One of the libraries in UWA had an underground floor and it was completely flooded, damaging all the books and materials. Li-Ann waded in knee deep water to get to her car.
To date, there are about a few hundred homes without power. Some of our close friends and colleagues had flooding in their living room, lights falling from the roof, sunroofs blown away. My heart goes out to these people.
Li-Ann is away for the weekend. Her grandmother passed away middle of the week. Very sad, but she has lived a good, long life of 94 years. It's a pity that I haven't had the chance of meeting her but she's in a much better place now.
On my recovery and training side, I did an 80km ride this morning. It was pretty windy, but I was happy to average at 29.4kph. After the ride, I dropped by The Running Centre in West Perth and 2XU Performance Centre in Subiaco, two recently opened joints. Yes, I was putting myself at the brink of temptation, but I'm glad I didn't cave in. I already have one too many of tri gear and apparel!
On Monday, Perth was hit by the worst hail storm ever in 16 years. For a time period of 45 minutes, around 4pm, about 25mm of rain water was collected. The storm left 150,000 homes without power. There was severe flooding in Metropolitan area. Car windscreens were smashed by hail with the size of golf balls. King's Park had landslides, and nearby residents had to be evacuated to spend the night at the Perth Convention Centre.
Myself and Li-Ann were very fortunate actually. Our house had some slight water leakage on one part of the garage wall, but that was it. Li-Ann's car left window was cracked by hail and her car roof and bonnet now has acne pock marks.
Our workplaces had slightly more damage. The roof in my office boardroom was leaking, soaking the long table and leather chairs. The carpets still stink until now, there is a massive queue to get it fixed. One of the libraries in UWA had an underground floor and it was completely flooded, damaging all the books and materials. Li-Ann waded in knee deep water to get to her car.
To date, there are about a few hundred homes without power. Some of our close friends and colleagues had flooding in their living room, lights falling from the roof, sunroofs blown away. My heart goes out to these people.
Li-Ann is away for the weekend. Her grandmother passed away middle of the week. Very sad, but she has lived a good, long life of 94 years. It's a pity that I haven't had the chance of meeting her but she's in a much better place now.
On my recovery and training side, I did an 80km ride this morning. It was pretty windy, but I was happy to average at 29.4kph. After the ride, I dropped by The Running Centre in West Perth and 2XU Performance Centre in Subiaco, two recently opened joints. Yes, I was putting myself at the brink of temptation, but I'm glad I didn't cave in. I already have one too many of tri gear and apparel!
Monday, 22 March 2010
Full on
Another miscellaneous update on the happenings of the past week or so. Yes, I'm doing these updates pretty often lately. Too many things happening to be making individual posts for each event.
It was darling's birthday on Monday. We had dinner at Sirocco, Burswood - a cosy bar restaurant place, seems to cater more for the hotel guests. I had the lamb souvlaki while Li-Ann had caesar salad. The food were pretty good, although a bit too strong in flavour. Reasonably priced too.
We then had dessert at Catalano, an italian cafe in Victoria Park. Coincidentally, two days later, we had dinner here with Li-Ann's family, who flew over for her brother's graduation. Food was good with large portions too.
The following few days we had very good meals. Including a trip to Swan Valley on Saturday and a fabulous German lunch at Elmar's.
On Sunday morning, after Li-Ann's family went back, I went for the 60km Freeway Bike Hike. It was a last minute decision. But I thought it would be a fun outing, as many of my SLB friends were taking part. Definitely more fun than doing a 60km solo training ride.
I clocked 1 hour 44 minutes for the ride (my speedometer showed 59 km - average 34kph). I pushed myself pretty hard actually, was only aiming for 32-33kph average. I originally wanted to stay off the aero bars as it was meant to be a group ride. But the winds were pretty strong and it seemed safe enough to use the aero bars as I wasn't in any pack. I stayed in aero about 90% of the ride. I enjoyed myself too, this was the only chance we could ride on the freeway - we had all three lanes closed up for us cyclists, all the way from Kwinnana to Joondalup.
Later that afternoon, our friend, Kiez treated us to a birthday meal at Shilla in East Perth. It was also a farewell for Justin, who is going back to Korea. We ate lots, we were so full until we skipped dinner that night. Thanks Kiez for the treat!
It was darling's birthday on Monday. We had dinner at Sirocco, Burswood - a cosy bar restaurant place, seems to cater more for the hotel guests. I had the lamb souvlaki while Li-Ann had caesar salad. The food were pretty good, although a bit too strong in flavour. Reasonably priced too.
We then had dessert at Catalano, an italian cafe in Victoria Park. Coincidentally, two days later, we had dinner here with Li-Ann's family, who flew over for her brother's graduation. Food was good with large portions too.
The following few days we had very good meals. Including a trip to Swan Valley on Saturday and a fabulous German lunch at Elmar's.
On Sunday morning, after Li-Ann's family went back, I went for the 60km Freeway Bike Hike. It was a last minute decision. But I thought it would be a fun outing, as many of my SLB friends were taking part. Definitely more fun than doing a 60km solo training ride.I clocked 1 hour 44 minutes for the ride (my speedometer showed 59 km - average 34kph). I pushed myself pretty hard actually, was only aiming for 32-33kph average. I originally wanted to stay off the aero bars as it was meant to be a group ride. But the winds were pretty strong and it seemed safe enough to use the aero bars as I wasn't in any pack. I stayed in aero about 90% of the ride. I enjoyed myself too, this was the only chance we could ride on the freeway - we had all three lanes closed up for us cyclists, all the way from Kwinnana to Joondalup.
Later that afternoon, our friend, Kiez treated us to a birthday meal at Shilla in East Perth. It was also a farewell for Justin, who is going back to Korea. We ate lots, we were so full until we skipped dinner that night. Thanks Kiez for the treat!
Monday, 15 March 2010
Zoom zoom
A quick update on the last few days of happenings.
Wednesday night, our SLB gang met up with Law and Ee Wen for dinner, who were from UWA. Ee Wen is returning to Perth for a couple of years for work.
We then had a simple cake cutting to celebrate Li-Ann's birthday in advance. I was pretty happy that she was surprised by it all.
Friday morning, I was on an early morning flight back to Malaysia. My high school classmate's wedding dinner was on Saturday night and I was the emcee.
Saturday afternoon, I caught up with Keat Seong, Jennifer, Frank, Yip and his brother, for lunch at Jaya One. We visited Athlete's Circle after that, and I gave in to temptation and bought myself a new tri suit. Orca 226 endurance suit at 35% off, and it matches my bike too. I couldn't refuse. Thanks Keat Seong for the loan while I didn't have cash with me at that time!
The wedding dinner was great. Caught up with many high school friends and high school teachers too. Here's to wishing Kenneth and Jaclyn a very blissful marriage. Thanks for giving me the opportunity to emcee your wedding, and I apologize if there were some unplanned confusion during the evening!
Sunday morning, I did the Bareno 15km run at Bukit Jalil. Joining me was my dad and brother. Mum and my uncle were meant to come, but mum came down with some food poisoning and my uncle had late flight from Medan the night before.
I finished the run in 1 hour 11 minutes. I thought I had it in me to do between 1:05 to 1:07, but after the first few kms, I felt my breathing was pretty heavy. So I decided to slow the pace to ensure that I actually complete the distance. I guess it still takes a while to recover after an Ironman.
I caught the night flight on Sunday, and here I am now, back in Perth. Li-Ann's parents are coming for the week for her brother's convo. In a way, I'm glad it is off season, so I don't have to worry too much my training plans conflicting with our eating out plans. Then again, some regular training could help burn off those extra calories, hehheh.
Wednesday night, our SLB gang met up with Law and Ee Wen for dinner, who were from UWA. Ee Wen is returning to Perth for a couple of years for work.
We then had a simple cake cutting to celebrate Li-Ann's birthday in advance. I was pretty happy that she was surprised by it all.
Friday morning, I was on an early morning flight back to Malaysia. My high school classmate's wedding dinner was on Saturday night and I was the emcee.Saturday afternoon, I caught up with Keat Seong, Jennifer, Frank, Yip and his brother, for lunch at Jaya One. We visited Athlete's Circle after that, and I gave in to temptation and bought myself a new tri suit. Orca 226 endurance suit at 35% off, and it matches my bike too. I couldn't refuse. Thanks Keat Seong for the loan while I didn't have cash with me at that time!
The wedding dinner was great. Caught up with many high school friends and high school teachers too. Here's to wishing Kenneth and Jaclyn a very blissful marriage. Thanks for giving me the opportunity to emcee your wedding, and I apologize if there were some unplanned confusion during the evening!Sunday morning, I did the Bareno 15km run at Bukit Jalil. Joining me was my dad and brother. Mum and my uncle were meant to come, but mum came down with some food poisoning and my uncle had late flight from Medan the night before.
I finished the run in 1 hour 11 minutes. I thought I had it in me to do between 1:05 to 1:07, but after the first few kms, I felt my breathing was pretty heavy. So I decided to slow the pace to ensure that I actually complete the distance. I guess it still takes a while to recover after an Ironman.I caught the night flight on Sunday, and here I am now, back in Perth. Li-Ann's parents are coming for the week for her brother's convo. In a way, I'm glad it is off season, so I don't have to worry too much my training plans conflicting with our eating out plans. Then again, some regular training could help burn off those extra calories, hehheh.
Monday, 8 March 2010
One week later...
So the post IM race high is slowly diminishing. Frequent checking of Facebook status updates, blog postings, Multiply photo albums is gradually reducing.
I've been back in Perth for about 6 days now. It did take me a while to get used to getting back to work. Mostly because I was having trouble waking up, I felt sleepy most of the time... I thought I read somewhere that apart from the muscle sores, it takes about a week for the body to recover physiologically as well.
But I can say I'm pretty much recovered now. No more sores. No more tiredness. Just a bad tan on my back, constantly dropping dead skin particles.
I attended my usual swim session on Thursday night. Felt pretty okay. I think I took longer to get back into my normal swim pace last year.
Saturday morning I did an easy 40ish km ride. I left my speedometer at home, so I had no idea how I fast or how far I was going. It felt a bit awkward doing a workout without any specific goals. I finished the ride in 1 hour 40 minutes.
That night, Li-Ann and I went out for a belated Valentine's Day dinner at Lago Di Como, a small cosy family owned Italian restaurant with interesting pictures.
Food was pretty good. I had the steak with seafood, while Li-Ann had the chicken risotto. Reasonably priced too. None of the mains were more than $35.
We then had a stroll at the South Perth foreshore before having some dessert. We saw a sign for $10 deal for coffee and cake at this posh restaurant, Palais 85. I felt a bit uncomfortable going in just for dessert but the wait staff were very accommodating.
Sunday morning I initially wanted to do an easy run but the pain at my inner left foot (which has been since December) was still there, so I decided to avoid running completely until I'm fully healed. I'm not in a hurry to get back into running for any upcoming race.
It felt a bit unnatural not having any training to do, or training to recover from on a Sunday. But we managed to attend to some overdue house chores.
This weekend I'll be making a quick trip home for a close friend's wedding. I'll be running the Bareno run with my family on the morning after the wedding. Let's see how recovered I will be to be able to dish out a 15km.
I've been back in Perth for about 6 days now. It did take me a while to get used to getting back to work. Mostly because I was having trouble waking up, I felt sleepy most of the time... I thought I read somewhere that apart from the muscle sores, it takes about a week for the body to recover physiologically as well.
But I can say I'm pretty much recovered now. No more sores. No more tiredness. Just a bad tan on my back, constantly dropping dead skin particles.
I attended my usual swim session on Thursday night. Felt pretty okay. I think I took longer to get back into my normal swim pace last year.Saturday morning I did an easy 40ish km ride. I left my speedometer at home, so I had no idea how I fast or how far I was going. It felt a bit awkward doing a workout without any specific goals. I finished the ride in 1 hour 40 minutes.
That night, Li-Ann and I went out for a belated Valentine's Day dinner at Lago Di Como, a small cosy family owned Italian restaurant with interesting pictures.
Food was pretty good. I had the steak with seafood, while Li-Ann had the chicken risotto. Reasonably priced too. None of the mains were more than $35.
We then had a stroll at the South Perth foreshore before having some dessert. We saw a sign for $10 deal for coffee and cake at this posh restaurant, Palais 85. I felt a bit uncomfortable going in just for dessert but the wait staff were very accommodating.
Sunday morning I initially wanted to do an easy run but the pain at my inner left foot (which has been since December) was still there, so I decided to avoid running completely until I'm fully healed. I'm not in a hurry to get back into running for any upcoming race.It felt a bit unnatural not having any training to do, or training to recover from on a Sunday. But we managed to attend to some overdue house chores.
This weekend I'll be making a quick trip home for a close friend's wedding. I'll be running the Bareno run with my family on the morning after the wedding. Let's see how recovered I will be to be able to dish out a 15km.
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