It's starting to melt!

Well... not quite. But we have been getting more sunlight and the temperatures are getting a tad bit warmer. As it should be, as we are only a couple of weeks from when it officially becomes spring. But every now and then, we get a cold front and snowstorm... and it seems that winter is NEVER going away.

Yes, I am whinging, as much as I hate whingers. But I'm getting sick of running on the treadmill or riding on the trainer. I took a gamble to run outdoors this morning. It seemed mild enough at -5C. The trouble with melted snow during the day is when it gets colder overnight, it freezes turning into ice. So the paths were pretty slippery this morning. I did slip but the fall was pretty gentle, so not a scrape. It did hurt my ego though.

After having not ran outside since November, it was difficult getting back into it. I struggled with my breathing in the cold air and somehow couldn't bring my pace up. Of course, I was being cautious too with the slippery paths. But I have been slacking off in the past couple of weeks too. Only running once a week and had been nursing a cold, which I am happy to recovered from. But now my left foot is feeling a bit sore for some reason. So I'm taking it easy.

But I hope to get back on the train soon. Winter is almost ending (I hope!) and I have the Forest City Half Marathon in just over 2 month's time. I would like to start the season with at least a decent performance.

What a pleasant surprise!

I received this email yesterday from Ironman mail. Usually an email from Ironman is a promotion for upcoming events and since I've more or less planned out my 2014 race calendar, I don't take much notice. But this particular email was something different.

 

I totally didn't expect this at all! I am truly humbled. The gift may not be much and personally, I think it's great marketing to get people to do more of their events. But it's a nice encouragement to know that I'm heading in the right direction in this triathlon world. And hey, how often does Ironman give out things for free, right?

Here's the ranking system explained straight from the Ironman website.

Rankings

 

New in 2013, The Age Group Ranking System (AGR) recognizes the best age group athletes in the world at IRONMAN and IRONMAN 70.3 races. 

The new AGR system builds on the pilot program started in Europe in 2012. This year the global AGR will score IRONMAN and IRONMAN 70.3 races, but will not include 5150 Triathlon Series events.

Some important notes about the 2013 AGR:

→The AGR in no way replaces the current qualification system for the IRONMAN World Championship or IRONMAN World Championship 70.3.
→The world champion for both IRONMAN and IRONMAN 70.3 is determined at the world championship events. The top-ranked AGR athlete may not also be the world champion.
→Athletes are encouraged to double check the rankings to ensure all their results are listed. If an athlete’s name or other information is listed differently in two different races, the system might not match their race performances accurately. Any discrepancies should be reported to agr@ironman.com.

Scoring:

You may race as much as you’d like in 2013, but only the top three (3) race performances are scored. You can improve your ranking by improving on your race performance. (For example, if you have a strong performance in one IRONMAN race and two good performances in IRONMAN 70.3 events, you may choose to race another IRONMAN 70.3, improve your finish time and improve your rank.)

The AGR recognizes age group athletes in three different categories: IRONMAN, IRONMAN 70.3 and a combination of both race distances. The AGR is not connected to KPR (Kona Points Ranking) in any way.

 

The AGR allows IRONMAN and IRONMAN 70.3 athletes the opportunity to see how their race performances compare to competitors in their age group throughout the calendar year. Rankings will be updated weekly.

I am ranked 520th out of 13,531 in my age group worldwide. And because I only did two Ironman branded races for 2013 - Ironman Canada and Ironman 70.3 Muskoka, I missed out on points for the 3rd race. The GOLD positions (top 1%) went up to 136th. For 2014, it would be tough as I only have one Ironman event, being Ironman Malaysia. But we'll see how it goes.

More info on this Age Group Ranking system here.

My best man

When Li-Ann and I got married just over a year and a half ago (boy, time sure flies!), I did not actually have a best man at our wedding. I had my band of hengdais but being a Libran, I did not pick a favourite.

Well, this blog post is about my best man. The best man in my life. This is very different from a best man at someone`s wedding. And I can`t stress that enough... as very often the best man at wedding is one who makes inappropriate jokes about groom (and sometimes the bride) in an inebriated state.

The best man in my life is none other than... my dad. My dad celebrates his 59th birthday today - just a year shy from the golden 60. But it seems that my dad is a bit like Benjamin Button and appears to be aging backwards. He recently hacked 13 minutes off his PB at the Newton 25km run about 2 months ago.

Dad with his signature HANDS UP pose at the Newton 25km Run. Photo credit: Chan WK

And judging from his fashion sense... I guess my wife can`t complain anymore about me dressing as though I'm in my teens!

Mum and dad in their matching Paul Frank t-shirts

There are many of my matters which I leave to dad to take care for at home like my life insurance, income tax returns etc. Dad is also a very handy person. When things need fixing around the house, dad always know what to do. Sometimes I take these things for granted. And I do not realise it until we need to get something even as simple as drilling a hole to put a picture frame up. In fact, Li-Ann is a lot better than I am!

Happy birthday dad! And just wanted to say thank you for everything you have done for me... and still doing for me. Missing you lots and I hope to be home more often in the future to be celebrating your future birthdays with you in person. 

Missing out on OZ day and CNY

Gosh... my last post was the first post of the year and now, we're nearing the end of January already! Partly to do with me blogging less often. Not that I'm unusually busy, just haven't found anything exciting enough to be worth blogging about. And I think opening a Twitter account has something to do with that too. I have been posting micro news regularly through Twitter and hence, not leaving much for me to blog about.

Anyway, so here's my 2nd post of the year. Nothing much has changed over here really. Still cold, cold and bloody cold! We do get a "warm" break every now and then, when the temperature moves closer to zero celcius but has been in the negative teens for most days. I haven't ran or rode outside since mid November. The problem with running on the treadmill at hard efforts most of the time, not always can my legs keep up and it's pretty demoralizing to have to manually turn down the speed. Whereas when I'm running outside, if I feel tired, I just slow down and not think much about it. I know it's the same thing, but somehow it feels different!

Well, only about 1.5 months or so until it's officially spring. And I hope we get some spring weather earlier than that. I'll be signing up for the Forest City Half Marathon soon. The early bird entry ends this month. It'll be my first race for the year... but it's so far away in 3 month's time! Well, the good thing is, I get to do some outdoor runs in early spring before the race. We'll see if I can better my half marathon PB from 3 years ago - race report here.

It has just dawned upon me that it's Australia Day this Sunday. It's funny how you miss and appreciate these things when you're away. We have occasionally gone to see the fireworks but sometimes it has been too much of hassle with the road closures and high traffic. One memorable Aussie Day ritual was the underground triathlon organized by my good friend Dennis. I did it for the last two years. Man, I sure miss those days. Wishing all my Aussie mates a happy Australia Day!

With my partners in crime - Sam and Dennis. Thanks Dennis for the pictures and organizing everything!

And in a week's time it'll be Chinese New Year! Although I haven't been back home for CNY every year, I was home for probably only 3 times in the last 10 years, it still doesn't make it any easier not to miss spending it at home with family. This would be Li-Ann's first CNY away from home too. So we'll try to have our own festive celebration on our own. My wonderful wife is going to make my two favourite CNY treats - pineapple tarts and bak kua! The atmosphere won't be like home of course, but it will still be special regardless. Wishing all my family and friends a happy Chinese New Year! May the year of the horse gallop you to plenty of happiness and prosperity! Kiong hee huat zhai!

CNY last year with my in-laws

Dad's birthday is always near CNY. We had buffet lunch at Majestic Hotel last year.

Fresh start

It has already been close to a week into the new year. How time flies! To many, starting the new year means starting with a clean slate, a fresh start. I've decided to jump on the Twitter bandwagon. I know... it has been around for ages and I'm lagging behind. My Twitter page is listed on the right hand side of this blog. I've also given my blog a new look. For most people, the new year is also a time to set new goals and for many triathletes, this relates to their training and races for the upcoming year. My latest article was featured on Lycraheroes here on how to get back into training after the festive season, thank you Lycraheroes!

We had a nice 9 day break for the Christmas - New Year period. There was a bit of ice storm in Southwestern Ontario the weekend before Christmas which left certain parts to have their power cut off for days. It was a pretty sight with trees being coated with shiny ice but it was inconvenient and sometimes dangerous getting around. We had a lovely Christmas dinner with Li-Ann's cousins and had a short visit to downtown Toronto, our first since we've been here. It was pity that it kept snowing and we could barely spend much time outdoors.

For New Year's, we took a drive to Niagara Falls. Again, the roads were very slippery with snow and the wind was pretty strong that day. Our car actually skidded on the way to the winery where we initially planned to visit for some ice wine tasting. Luckily nothing bad happened. The wheels did get stuck in a thick layer of snow but a kind couple who were passing by in their 4WD came to our assistance and towed us out. After that, we decided to call it off and head back to the B&B. At night, it was still windy and cold -20C with the wind chill! The plan was to watch the countdown concert featuring Demi Lovato, but we skipped that too and watched it on the live stream from the comfort of our room. Still, it was a nice getaway and the Always Inn Bed & Breakfast is a great place to stay if you're visiting Niagara Falls. It's managed by a Zimbabwean couple and we highly recommend the place.

On my training front, I've just been ticking along, nothing too crazy. About 2-3 sessions each of swim, bike and run. All of these are done indoors. One of the bike sessions include the group bike class with Coach Sheri, with our own bike trainers. It's a nice change in environment from facing the window in our living room. The aim each week is try to get just over 200kms of mileage or about 10 hours of training. I can't wait until summer comes when I can start getting serious in my training.

So far the first week of 2014 has been pretty uneventful except for this morning where we had over 1 foot of snow blocking our driveway. The road in front of our house doesn't get ploughed as it's a residential road with not that much traffic. Took us (my wife shovelling and I tried to steer the car out) over 30 minutes before I could get moving. I thought it would have been a day off from work but unfortunately, it wasn't.

Until then, we'll drive safe and keep warm over here. For our friends back home and in Australia, I have to say I'm really envious of the sun and heat you guys have over there!

2013... another chapter

Today is my last working day for the year. Only a couple more sleeps before Christmas and just over a week before the year ends.

2013 has been interesting to say the least. Moving to Canada early this year, the other side of the globe with a time difference of over 12 hours and climate difference of over 40 degrees Celcius during winter. The snow has been coming and going. Yesterday was a first where although it didn't snow but we have crystalized ice all over the roads making them into skating rinks and the car was frozen with a layer of ice that I could not break. I stayed home a while more and went to the gym later when the ice have thawed.

Having a new job at the hospital on a contract basis in the finance division and dealing with physicians' finances was another experience. I have less autonomy and there is more red tape than my previous jobs but I'm getting used to it. Took me over 6 months just to get to know what's going on and I'm still learning as I go. Only another 9 months more in my contract and I doubt I'll be able to know everything at the back of my hand by then, but hey, that's the way contracted work goes. Just try to do my best in the given timeframe.

Starting my small coaching service for fellow triathletes back in Malaysia was something I've been thinking about for some time. So I'm glad that things took off pretty well with the athletes I coached achieving their goals with flying colours. And I hope to build on this next year, as I'm competing in Ironman Malaysia myself so it would be exciting going through the same training cycles with my athletes and racing on the same course with them on the day.

On the side of my own training, it has been fun training with taskmaster Coach Sheri and Team Sheri athletes. The dynamics of the group is very diverse compared to the Break Your Limits team back in Perth. Not better or worse, just different. And I look forward to training with Team Sheri once again in summer - Splash N' Dashes, Megadays and Niagara camps, can't wait!

We'll be off to Li-Ann's cousins this Christmas and then to Niagara Falls to usher in the New Year. So my next blog post will probably be in the 2014 year.

Until then, thank you all for reading this blog for another year. Wishing you a very Merry Christmas and a happy new year!

From the other side...

I've not mentioned this in my blog before but I started a small coaching service for triathletes in Malaysia specifically for those aiming to race in a half Iron or full Iron distance. It was something I have been thinking about for a couple of years now but I didn't make it happen until sometime middle of this year. I've done triathlons for over 10 years now and although I've had my fair share of training and racing experience, coaching is a different ball game altogether and I'm conscious of imparting wrong information. As we all know, what works well for an individual may not work or even be detrimental for another!

Anyway, after being coached for the last three seasons under former pro triathlete Bill Scanlan in Perth, and currently by Sheri Fraser, the grand dame of Ontario triathlon, I decided to take the plunge and see if I can give something back to the Malaysian triathlon community. As I'm geographically thousands of miles away, technical aspects like swim stroke analysis was going to be difficult. So I roped in my brother, a former state swimmer, to conduct these sessions for me. All my athletes were impressed and most made separate arrangements with him to have ongoing sessions. From there, it took off further through word of mouth and referrals, he's pretty much booked out for most of the week with stroke correction sessions. It's great to see my baby brother (okay, maybe not so baby anymore) having such a success with this.

Coaching athletes was definitely not without it's challenges. There are many things I've taken for granted as an athlete myself. I've been blessed to be given the opportunity to train overseas, with world class facilities and top notch infrastructure e.g. a 75km bike path with no interruption from road traffic. Li-Ann is very supportive and quite often, she's occupied with her research work, so I don't feel too guilty being away and logging the long miles during the weekends. Yes, I have it easy and it did take me a while to realise that the athletes I coach have it different. Very different. One's a pilot who travels several times a week. The other works night shifts. And finally, another one gets last minute calls for business trips. Plus the heavy traffic in Malaysia suburbs makes it almost impossible to log in mid week outdoor workouts. And with young families, long training hours on the weekends would be a massive hurdle to overcome.

But hats off to these guys for being determined and pulling through these challenges. The past few months of coaching came to the final test in the past couple of weeks. One competed in Challenge Laguna Phuket, the other two at Ironman Western Australia. I've never been so anxious tracking live results before! The end result? I'm happy to say each one of them achieved their goals... and more. I've always had my heart skipped a beat each time I see a finisher line or a finisher medal picture. But seeing pictures of these guys celebrating their race finishes is even more special... much more. I felt that a part of me crossed the line with them!

But the credit should really go to them. The effort is mostly theirs and they all deserve the rewards. Congratulations and well done, guys! You guys inspire me. Thank you for giving me this opportunity to share this truly humbling yet invaluable experience with you. I'm already looking forward to the 2014 season. With Ironman 70.3 Putrajaya and Ironman Langkawi making their comeback, I hope to be able to work with many more to achieve their goals.

In the meantime... for those looking for a triathlon coach, you know where to reach me *wink*