These things happen. However, I always thought that they would not happen to me. Well it did. Maybe it was just bad luck. Maybe it was poor judgement. Maybe a combination of both.
I went for a swim at Balga Leisurepark on Tuesday night. I placed my bag in the changeroom. It only contained my clothes, access card to the pool and my bunch of keys, which consist of car keys, house keys and office keys.
I started swimming at 6.20pm. About 55 minutes later, I returned to the changeroom with my bag wide opened, clothes thrown to the side. My first thought of relief was luckily I did not bring my wallet or phone with me. But that relief quickly changed to panic when I could not locate my keys! I quickly reported the incident to the staff at the front desk. The shift manager escorted me to where my car was located and true enough, my car was gone!
The receptionist was quick to contact the police and after finalising the report, I used the front desk phone to call Li-Ann to pick me up. Once we reached home, I started calling all my credit card companies and banks to cancel the cards. Murphy's Law... normally I leave my wallet at home when I swim, but I left it in the car this time as I wanted to fill up the tank after the swim.
Nothing much we could do after that, but at about 9.20pm, I received a call from the police saying they found the car and the culprits caught. According to the front desk staff, they are mostly likely a group of teenagers who have been banned from the centre for previous misconduct and it seems vehicle vandalism is pretty frequent. So I don't think I'll be swimming there again!
My car is still with the police at the moment for further investigation. It has been a bit inconvenient for the past few days, but Li-Ann is very supportive, sending me to work and all. To be honest, I rather have the car be written off as it is insured, and we could get a new one. God knows what they have done to it.
Another first for me, I did a 20km bike time trial hosted by the Australian Time Trial Association at Champion Lakes. It was quite a drive, about 45 minutes away. I found it really hard. The winds were blowing strongly, with gusts knocking me off balance a few times. And there were some tight corners which I slowed down a lot due to my poor handling. I thought I could achieve an average pace of 35kph but after the first of four laps, I knew there was no way I could clock that in those conditions. Hence, finishing in 36:54, averaging 32.5kph. Can't complain.
Sunday, 10 July 2011
Sunday, 3 July 2011
Scenic rides
I've cycled a total of 267km this week. I think that's a personal record for me, although it's a measly figure compared to many others, including some of you who read this blog. Still, it gives me quite a satisfaction and I know this record would soon be broken.
Saturday's ride was probably one of the last few rides in the hills. All but one of the Cyclebespoke people didn't show up. Shaun, the only one who came, said we're probably the only ones brave enough to ride in the rain and wind. He also said, he could think of another word other than brave... we both knew what the word, and chuckled quietly to ourselves.
It's a good thing Shaun came, as even though this would be my third time riding this route, I'm still unsure of the way. Shaun brought me up to Mundaring, where we bade farewell and I continued to Mundaring Weir. One upside of riding alone is you can take your time, riding at your own pace, taking a toilet break and... something I've been wanting to do in prior rides, getting a picture of the beautiful Mundaring Weir dam.
The next morning, I had another 3 hour ride in the program but this time on a flatter course. I started from the city and did a loop around Shelley Reserve. It was so peaceful and quiet, and the view was just gorgeous. Any photo taken would not do justice to the experience, hence, I didn't take any hehe. I then rode to the Left Bank, East Fremantle and made another loop at Shelley before heading back to the city.
Normally, my legs are pretty shattered towards the last few kms if I have longish rides back to back. But they held up pretty well this morning. Must have been the big feast of a dinner Li-Ann and I had the night before at Little Caesars.
And look what my parents got for me for an early birthday present... thanks mum and dad! I love you!
Saturday's ride was probably one of the last few rides in the hills. All but one of the Cyclebespoke people didn't show up. Shaun, the only one who came, said we're probably the only ones brave enough to ride in the rain and wind. He also said, he could think of another word other than brave... we both knew what the word, and chuckled quietly to ourselves.
It's a good thing Shaun came, as even though this would be my third time riding this route, I'm still unsure of the way. Shaun brought me up to Mundaring, where we bade farewell and I continued to Mundaring Weir. One upside of riding alone is you can take your time, riding at your own pace, taking a toilet break and... something I've been wanting to do in prior rides, getting a picture of the beautiful Mundaring Weir dam.
The next morning, I had another 3 hour ride in the program but this time on a flatter course. I started from the city and did a loop around Shelley Reserve. It was so peaceful and quiet, and the view was just gorgeous. Any photo taken would not do justice to the experience, hence, I didn't take any hehe. I then rode to the Left Bank, East Fremantle and made another loop at Shelley before heading back to the city.Normally, my legs are pretty shattered towards the last few kms if I have longish rides back to back. But they held up pretty well this morning. Must have been the big feast of a dinner Li-Ann and I had the night before at Little Caesars.
And look what my parents got for me for an early birthday present... thanks mum and dad! I love you!
Monday, 27 June 2011
Two great coaches
As some of you might have already guessed, when I mentioned previously that I started a new training program, it is actually a coached program, under a great mentor, Bill Scanlan. Bill did a top notch race performance at Ironman France over the weekend, finishing 10th overall! He gained 38 places after the swim. I feel really proud to have him as a coach, and I'm already feeling the improvement after doing his program for about 4 weeks now.
The other person I want to mention is my dad, who I would say, is like my life coach. Until today, although I've already been working for 6 years and achieved my own financial independence, whenever I have difficulties making decisions, no matter how major or how petty, dad always point me to the right direction. Fathers Day was celebrated all over the world (except Perth) two weekends ago, here's a happy belated father's day, dad!
Dad ran the full marathon distance at the Standard Chartered KL Marathon yesterday. Despite stomach aches in the early stages of the run (including a portaloo visit), and cramps towards the last 10kms of the run, forcing him to resort to run-walk those last few kms, he finished just 6 minutes off his personal best. Cramps had always been a problem to dad in the full marathon, but that doesn't stop him. Instead, it fuels him even more to improve the following year!
Well done and congrats to both!
*picture courtesy of Mr Tey*
The other person I want to mention is my dad, who I would say, is like my life coach. Until today, although I've already been working for 6 years and achieved my own financial independence, whenever I have difficulties making decisions, no matter how major or how petty, dad always point me to the right direction. Fathers Day was celebrated all over the world (except Perth) two weekends ago, here's a happy belated father's day, dad!Dad ran the full marathon distance at the Standard Chartered KL Marathon yesterday. Despite stomach aches in the early stages of the run (including a portaloo visit), and cramps towards the last 10kms of the run, forcing him to resort to run-walk those last few kms, he finished just 6 minutes off his personal best. Cramps had always been a problem to dad in the full marathon, but that doesn't stop him. Instead, it fuels him even more to improve the following year!
Well done and congrats to both!
*picture courtesy of Mr Tey*
Thursday, 23 June 2011
5 years anniversary
A last minute gift for my darling fiance
We ate at Boulevard Restaurant, Hillarys Boat Harbour but were somehow disappointed with the food quality
Hence, the dessert pizza at Little Caesar's... never fail to satisfy
One of the last few anniversaries before we become a married couple!Love you, darling...
Sunday, 19 June 2011
More pictures from Perth Marathon
Courtesy of Tom Kroyer from the Break Your Limits Facebook page.
Nat coming to the changeover
As fast as my legs can take me
Paul finishing the run for us
A good Sunday
Perth Marathon Relay
Perth Marathon, organized by the WA Marathon Club, in it's 33rd year of running this year. I did the full distance for 2007 (my first marathon) up to 2009 (marathon PB), skipping it in 2010. Now I'm back at this familiar event, doing the relay instead. Our team was Break Your Limits Foursome with myself, Nat, Dave and Paul. And our race number was 69! I wanted to crack a joke about it this morning, but it was probably a bit too early for that hehe.
The weather was pretty clear and still, which was great, as it was nothing like that for most of the week. It was also nice to meet Dennis Tan of North Coast Tri Club in person, after corresponding for a while via Facebook. Dennis wasn't running that morning, but he came with a portable radio to cheer the runners, what a nice guy! Thanks Dennis for the picture tag!
I was to run the third leg, a distance of 14.4km. I was targeting anything under an hour, a pace of 4:10 per km. I had quite a hard week of training, including 1.5 hour run during the week and a 3 hour bike ride yesterday in some pretty wet and windy conditions. Plus, we had quite a late night, with our friend, Shirley's birthday dinner, treating us to a delicious feast of Korean BBQ. Lots of meat for protein, but hopefully won't give me any problems with digestion for the run.
I brought Li-Ann along as I needed her for my transport, being my start and finish points were at different locations. I anticipated that my relay changeover will occur about 1 hour 45 minutes after the race start, which started at 8am. Hence, we had plenty of time. We had our second breakfast at Prinz of Vienna, an almond croissant and a cinnamon scroll of massive portions! Add these to a thick and super sweet, tall glass of hot chocolate... I hope my stomach holds up!
Fortunately, I managed to visit the toilet again before I start, so it was all good. A handful of relay teams went passed as I was waiting for Nat for the changeover. Nat too did a PB for her 12.5km run, awesome! The first few km markers were probably under distance, as I was clocking under 4 minutes for them.
But I soon get settled in, overtaking some more of the relay runners. One runner overtook me just before we got into halfway of the distance, but I kept him in sight, about less than 100m away. I was averaging between 4-4:10 most of the way, reminiscing this familiar course but with a lot more in the tank and with much less pain! Also, there was slight tailwind, which was very handy!
I didn't catch up to that runner in front, but I finished in 58:44 as I passed the wristband to Paul. A pace of 4:05 per km, very happy with that!
Paul beat our car back to the finish. There was a lot of congestion at the Burswood complex as the Dalai Lama was having an event there. We met up with the other Break Your Limits people before dropping Paul back at his car and then, heading home.
I have an easy week of training on the program next week, which is most welcomed!
The weather was pretty clear and still, which was great, as it was nothing like that for most of the week. It was also nice to meet Dennis Tan of North Coast Tri Club in person, after corresponding for a while via Facebook. Dennis wasn't running that morning, but he came with a portable radio to cheer the runners, what a nice guy! Thanks Dennis for the picture tag!
I was to run the third leg, a distance of 14.4km. I was targeting anything under an hour, a pace of 4:10 per km. I had quite a hard week of training, including 1.5 hour run during the week and a 3 hour bike ride yesterday in some pretty wet and windy conditions. Plus, we had quite a late night, with our friend, Shirley's birthday dinner, treating us to a delicious feast of Korean BBQ. Lots of meat for protein, but hopefully won't give me any problems with digestion for the run.
I brought Li-Ann along as I needed her for my transport, being my start and finish points were at different locations. I anticipated that my relay changeover will occur about 1 hour 45 minutes after the race start, which started at 8am. Hence, we had plenty of time. We had our second breakfast at Prinz of Vienna, an almond croissant and a cinnamon scroll of massive portions! Add these to a thick and super sweet, tall glass of hot chocolate... I hope my stomach holds up!Fortunately, I managed to visit the toilet again before I start, so it was all good. A handful of relay teams went passed as I was waiting for Nat for the changeover. Nat too did a PB for her 12.5km run, awesome! The first few km markers were probably under distance, as I was clocking under 4 minutes for them.
But I soon get settled in, overtaking some more of the relay runners. One runner overtook me just before we got into halfway of the distance, but I kept him in sight, about less than 100m away. I was averaging between 4-4:10 most of the way, reminiscing this familiar course but with a lot more in the tank and with much less pain! Also, there was slight tailwind, which was very handy!
I didn't catch up to that runner in front, but I finished in 58:44 as I passed the wristband to Paul. A pace of 4:05 per km, very happy with that!
Paul beat our car back to the finish. There was a lot of congestion at the Burswood complex as the Dalai Lama was having an event there. We met up with the other Break Your Limits people before dropping Paul back at his car and then, heading home.
I have an easy week of training on the program next week, which is most welcomed!
Sunday, 12 June 2011
Lake Monger 10km Run
The last time I did a 10km race was probably more than 5 years ago, when I ran about 44 minutes. It was the Asics Bridges run. I did continue running the distance in my training, and if my memory doesn't fail me, my best time was just under 42 minutes. But even then, the last time I did a 10km training run was also nearly two years ago.
Hence, coming into this race, I did not have any set expectations. I had quite a full session this week, with a 3 hour ride in the hills the day before, and I would have logged nearly 48kms in running mileage after the race. The last time I ran more than 40km was nearly 1.5 years ago, as I did not clock in the long miles during my preparation for last year's Ironman Western Australia due to injury.
Having said that, I was feeling pretty good. And judging by my current fitness, I was targeting for any time under 41 minutes. I felt relaxed at the start of the race. The good thing of having done much longer races before, a short one like this may feel like a walk in the park (but the pain I felt later while actually running is VERY different!)
It was organized by the WA Marathon Club, a small local race, three loops around Lake Monger. The turnout was probably just over 100 people. The course is flat, but it was pretty windy. Luckily, we were sheltered by trees most of the time. I probably started a bit too quickly, and I struggled a bit with my breathing. I was surprised when my watch showed 3:54 at the first km marker, but it later showed 4:17 for my 2nd km split. Hence, I knew the markers will be slightly inconsistent.
Finally got into the groove after the first lap. There was a guy who was like, 3 times my size, Ipod in one hand, wearing cotton T-shirt, bermudas and gym trainers and he was running alongside with me up until the second lap. My ego was yelling at me, "No Way I'm losing to this guy!" So just after we got into the 3rd lap, I turned up the pace and he dropped off.
Redlined for the last 2km and sprinted home to a new 10km PB of 40:26. Pretty stoked with that! There wasn't any fanfare at the finish. There weren't enough water cups even after 45 minutes. I wasn't sure if there were prizes, but I didn't care. I did a good run and I'm happy with my time.
Now to get something to eat...
Hence, coming into this race, I did not have any set expectations. I had quite a full session this week, with a 3 hour ride in the hills the day before, and I would have logged nearly 48kms in running mileage after the race. The last time I ran more than 40km was nearly 1.5 years ago, as I did not clock in the long miles during my preparation for last year's Ironman Western Australia due to injury.
Having said that, I was feeling pretty good. And judging by my current fitness, I was targeting for any time under 41 minutes. I felt relaxed at the start of the race. The good thing of having done much longer races before, a short one like this may feel like a walk in the park (but the pain I felt later while actually running is VERY different!)
It was organized by the WA Marathon Club, a small local race, three loops around Lake Monger. The turnout was probably just over 100 people. The course is flat, but it was pretty windy. Luckily, we were sheltered by trees most of the time. I probably started a bit too quickly, and I struggled a bit with my breathing. I was surprised when my watch showed 3:54 at the first km marker, but it later showed 4:17 for my 2nd km split. Hence, I knew the markers will be slightly inconsistent.Finally got into the groove after the first lap. There was a guy who was like, 3 times my size, Ipod in one hand, wearing cotton T-shirt, bermudas and gym trainers and he was running alongside with me up until the second lap. My ego was yelling at me, "No Way I'm losing to this guy!" So just after we got into the 3rd lap, I turned up the pace and he dropped off.
Redlined for the last 2km and sprinted home to a new 10km PB of 40:26. Pretty stoked with that! There wasn't any fanfare at the finish. There weren't enough water cups even after 45 minutes. I wasn't sure if there were prizes, but I didn't care. I did a good run and I'm happy with my time.
Now to get something to eat...
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