Bon Voyage

In about 10 hours time, I'll be on board a plane to start my journey to Canada. Yes, it would be a long travel   - close to 30 hours, and I'll be stopping by Tokyo and then, Chicago. My flight ends in Toronto but I would be taking another 2+ hour bus ride before I arrive in London. I have to say, I am pretty excited - this would be my first time seeing snow (the REAL deal, not those man made ice shavings in Mt Buller). At the same time, I have this somewhat daunting feeling of what awaits me in the next few months or so.

The last one week has been pretty awesome. I caught up with family and friends. I barely paid for my meals, thanks all those who treated me! I did my first long ride of 150km since Ironman WA, it was a big group of nearly 40 people. The sun was scorching hot when we returned and I was toasted by the end of the ride. The day after, I rode an easy 40km with my sis up Genting Peres. I think this is the first time we rode together actually. Fun and eventful outing it was.

Yesterday marked the last day of Chinese New Year. I enjoyed the company of relatives, as after all isn't that what Chinese New Year is all about - family. This is also the first year for Li-Ann and myself to be giving out ang pows rather than receiving them! Took us some getting used to. Perhaps it's time for us to get the process started so that we can reap some return on investment soon *wink*

Although it's farewell... it would only be farewell for now. I'm not sure when is the next time I'll be returning to Malaysia or Australia. But I'll keep on blogging... just in another side of the world and in another timezone!

Kiong Hee Huat Zhai

A  bit belated but here's to wishing all my blog readers a very happy Chinese New Year! May the year of the snake brings you peace, prosperity and lots of happiness! Week one of my two week break has just flown by and here's what I have been up to.

Chinese New Year at my dad's hometown in Raub. The last time I went back to celebrate was 3 years ago. It was also Li-Ann's first time celebrating it with my relatives.

My turn to celebrate Chinese New Year with Li-Ann's family.  This picture taken with bro in-law's camera and I borrowed his T-shirt too (which later was given to me hehe) as I did not have anything appropriate to wear.

Dad's belated birthday lunch - delicious buffet meal at the Majestic Hotel KL. We couldn't resist taking a picture with  the doorman dressed in colonial costume.

A ride from Putrajaya to Port Dickson with an awesome group of people. Thanks to  those who organized it and supported us along the way. You can see we were well taken care of... with plenty of food at each stop! Pictures courtesy of Nik Raiha Kosai.

Did a 6km open water swim the day after the ride. It wasn't a race and the buoys were small and far apart, making it difficult for sighting. The final buoy was removed partway through the swim as it was faulty. I stayed with another lady and we turned back early as the final buoy wasn't there anymore. According to her Garmin we swam 5.9km, which was close enough and a personal record for my furthest swim in the open water.

Mum and Dad joined me for a short getaway as well as to watch me swim. It's always nice to have them supporting by my side at these events.

Donated blood for a friend in need. I've been quite selfish in the past, keeping myself away from the blood bank, thinking that it will affect my training. Now that I'm on holiday, there's no excuse.

One more week left before I embark on a new adventure. Let's make the most of it!

Farewell Perth...

In about 20 hours time, I'll be boarding my flight back to KL for just over 2 weeks before I head off to Canada. My feelings are somewhat mixed... excited to embark on this new adventure, but sad to leave this place at the same time. Perth has been my home for the past 10 years. I will miss running along the Swan River on Mounts Bay road... taking only 15 minutes drive to the nearest beach to catch the sunset... watching the city skyline from King's Park... fish and chips by the harbour in Fremantle... Little Caesar's pizza at Hillarys... riding up the hills in Mundaring... and many more!

Most of all, I would miss the people.

Instagram photo by Natasha. Farewell Chinese New Year lou-sang lunch and very touching farewell gifts, thanks guys! 

Paparazzi Dennis in action. Drinks at The Garden and dinner at The Burger Bistro, Leederville. Thanks boys for the treat!

One last run in Perth, starting from King's Park

I have a full day of packing to do, so that will keep me from reminiscing too much. Perth, you have been really good to me for the past 10 years. I probably don't give you enough credit, much less than you deserve.  We may or may not be back after our stint in Canada. But I do hope for the former.

See you Perth... and may we cross paths again in the future!

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.