CNY Ride with AAA

It was quite an effort getting up early on a Sat especially after 2 days of CNY eating and gambling. But it was also an opportunity for me to go the distance with AAA as I do not have to be home by the usual 10am to take my daughter for swimming lessons. Dragged myself out of bed at 630am, prep 2 bottles of water (1 x Accelerade and 1 x Water) and a packet of Gu-Gel in anticipation of a long ride. Headed towards Longhouse at 650am and had a quick breakfast before moving off. We went on the usual Western route pass Upper Thomson / Mandai / Kranji / Neo Tiew and LCK. As usual, was dropped at the Neo Tiew stretch but was with great company, Janice and Mel, enjoying the scenic route and the fresh air. Took a break at the LCK bus-stop and then the group decided to head towards Raffles Marina to do some "TTT" formation riding. "Huh whazzat?" Never mind, lets just do it!

We began to ride in a two row formation (can't remember the technical term) along Jln Ahmad Ibrahim and Andrew was giving instructions on how to speed up, how close you need to be from the cyclist in front and how not to slow down too much after taking over as first rider. Amazingly, the team together with newbies like myself and Mel managed pretty ok in the beginning stretch and we were cruising in the pack at about 33-35km/h and that was after about 60km of riding. It was my first experience riding in formation and it felt like the group was pulling me along and I felt I needed less effort to cruise at that speed compared to riding alone and having to overcome the wind resistance. When we reached the Raffles Marina stretch, the group decided to push a little harder and this time they averaged 35+km/h and when it was my turn to be the front rider, I had to ride at about 36-37km/h in order to get to the front.

About 2/3 of the way I finally experienced what being "bonked" is. My legs began to not respond to my orders to keep with the group, so I had to pull out...SIGH! My speedometer reading began to drop from 35 to 21 km/h in quick time and for the rest of the west coast route, was barely breaking 25km/h. Took a final stop at the petrol station along west coast road, looked at my watch and it was already about 1030hrs. Decided to call home to let Peng know that I'll be back at 1130hrs instead of 11. Downed a bottle of gatorade and a pack of gu-gel (on hindsight should have taken it at LCK) and off we went towards Binjai Coffee Shop. The last stretch was mostly mind over matter for me - my mind was telling me that what mattered was the yummy Bak Kut Teh and Ice Tea waiting for me at the Coffee Shop just about 10km down the road. Well that worked and I finally reached Binjai but to my disappointment, the coffee shop was closed. AARGH!!!

Looked at my watch and it was already 1115hrs - better get home quick before my 1130hrs curfew. When I reached home, I was as usual greeted by my little cutiepies but what surprised me was seeing Peng on the bike trainer...



WHAT A RIDE AAA!!!

SUNDOWN Marathon Trg (Week 18) - Long Run 1: 10km @ ECP

Did my first "official" SUNDOWN Marathon Trg weekend long run at ECP this morning. Got out of bed at 645am, washed up, changed, downed a glass of MILO and off I went to ECP CP B1. This is the first long run (week 18) of an 18-week marathon training plan and I was quite looking forward to it.

Arrived at CP B1 at about 0725hrs, did some stretching and off I went at 0730hrs sharp. It was a slow and comfortable run and I enjoyed every minute of it. Met a few familiar faces along the way and even at that time, there were so much life at ECP, with runners, bladers, cyclists and the Malay families in their tents rising up early for a morning dip in the sea. The waters were calm and at some point actually felt like taking a dip in the sea. Completed 10km in just under 57min. Although I did not have a HRM but my breathing was comfortable and I think my HR was prob in the 60-70% region. Felt great after the run and treated myself to some Roti Prata from Adam Hawker Centre on my way home. Reached home at about 0915hrs and was greeted by my two lovely princesses. Can't think of a better way to start a Sunday morning.

My Race Plan for First Half 2008

Its been some time since I blogged... well maybe cos my last race was actually the OSIM Corp Tri in Nov and for the whole of Dec I was kinda in an "off-season" mode. With the start of the Chinese New Year (since it already Feb) ;>, I shall begin by sharing my race plan for the first half of 2008.



My first race for this year will be the Singapore Biathlon on 1 Mar 08. This will be my first ever "full distance" race as my last few races were half distances, OSIM Sprint Tri, Army Half Marathon and OSIM Sprint Corp Tri. Just completed the swim trial last wednesday and barely passed the test clocking 39min for 30 laps. Still sorting our my swimming and prob need some coach to sort out my technique. Any recommendations?



My next race will be the Adidas Sundown Marathon - the first ever night marathon in Singapore. This will be my first full marathon and have just begun an 18-week training programme that requires me to run 5 times a week with a long run in the weekend. I will be training for this race with the Amateur Asian Athletes a.k.a AAA group and have been doing intervals with them on Tues and will try to make it for the long night runs on Sundays. Its difficult for me now to join them for all the training as I have to juggle work, family and training for both the biathlon and marathon. So my Sunday long runs will be in the mornings. I also try to do some cross-training by joining AAA for long rides on Sat mornings or go to the Gym on Sat afternoons when I take my daughter for swimming lessons.

Well, this is as far as I will commit to for now in terms of the races for the year. The later half will probably include at least one OD triathlon and maybe even the Ironman 70.3 in Sep. For now, will focus on the next two races...