Roadies' Guide to Triathletes

1. We use aero bars even on road bikes simply because it is more efficient. Get over it.
2. We tend to ride up front and pull because we are trying to get used to riding against the wind - drafting is illegal in most Triathlons - not because we are showing off or trying to prove that the aero gadgets are working.
3. We tend to bring a few bottles to get used to re-fueling on the go, not because we tend to drink more.
4. Sometimes we wear Tri suits or shorts to group rides because we intend to go for a transition run after the ride, not because we are anti roadie fashion (is that term an oxy moron?).
5. Pt 2 & Pt 4 together is why we tend to pull up front for most of the ride, and then slow down and fall back at the end of the ride. We are trying to rest/stretch before going into the transition run.
6. Pt 4 is also the reason why we don't usually stay for the after ride chat/breakfast. We are actually pretty sociable people.
7. Pt 4 is also why we wear ankle socks (running socks) rather than the roadie (above ankle) socks.

Seeing RED...

Bought this Japanese made Pearl Izumi Tri suit for the bargain basement price of SGD$99 (USD$70, 60% off retail price)! Ok, so it is an older model and probably not the best looking suit, but the quality is excellent and the chamois is just about perfect for me - I don't much like those towel thin "terry cloth" type of Tri suit padding so common nowadays.

I was actually checking out another Pearl Izumi suit marked down 40% to SGD$156 (USD$111), which has black/white/grey, and a much better match to my bike. Just before paying, I saw the one above on a rack, which is an even older model with the "unfashionable" red side panels. I had to smile to myself, because less than 2 months ago, I ended up buying a more expensive grey helmet instead of just using the replacement red helmet, just because of vanity - I wanted it to match my bike. This despite my buddy and Mrs Nitrox both preferring the red helmet, and despite the still small voice in my head telling me to stop being so vain. Oh well, another lesson in life, I guess.

On the training front, after a break of more than a month, I am finally easing back into training. Easing being the primary word here. Been a busy stretch at work, been travelling 3 of the last 4 weeks and will be travelling again next week, this time to Sydney & Melbourne.

My Country, My Home

Singapore's National Day is just around the corner, and this year marks the 1st year where we proudly fly the flag at our apartment. My father has been loyally flying his national flag at this house every August for as long as I can remember, but this is the 1st time we're doing it. Maybe I am getting sentimental with age.

On the bible reading front, would you believe that since my last post on this in June, I have caught up with my "reading deficit" of 40 days and is now right on schedule again? Yup, I have been making use of the extra time during taper and the rest weeks after OSIM Tri to do some mugging. =) Now that I have finally caught up with the daily readings, I am running out of excuses to be still resting...

One Last S-T-R-E-T-C-H

Yesterday was my last STRETCH workout before the Olympic Distance Triathlon next Sunday:

• Swam: 550m front crawl, 440m kicking (with buoy), 440m pulling (with buoy), 550m front crawl - total distance swam 1980m
• Biked: 67km
• Ran: 7.5km

Think I am ready? Somewhere between now and next Sunday is when I start asking myself questions like: Can I really do this? What was I thinking when I signed up? Wouldn't it be really embarassing if I got fished out of the sea during the swim? I wonder how many people in mountain bikes are gonna pass me in my carbon tricked-out speed machine? I just gotta take my own medicine and remember to commit my works to the LORD. HE will see me thru, AMEN!

New Helmet - Uvex Boss Race

Sorry the picture turned out quite small, but if you look VERY carefully, you will see that I managed to crack my helmet - a MET Sfero (only 2+ years old). Don't worry, I didn't fall or anything. Not entirely sure why it developed a hair-line crack. I get to buy a replacement helmet (same model) for half price, which I will sell to buy this beauty - the Uvex Boss race helmet.

Why didn't I just use the replacement helmet? Well, because the replacement helmet did not meet the most important requirement for bicycle helmets. It did not match the colour of my bicycle. :-) Yes a poor reason for spending twice my budget for a helmet, but middle aged men are vain that way. In fact the helmet cost so much that I am also selling my Mavic Ksyrium Equipe wheels and Vredestein Fortezza Tricomps racing clinchers. Had intended to keep them as training wheels, but my new carbon aero wheels are so sturdy that I will just use them as both training and race wheels.

So PLEASE tell me that my new helmet matches my bike perfectly... :-D

2 weeks from my 1st Olympic Distance Triathlon which means 6 more training days before my 1 week taper. Thankfully I did not seem to have lost much fitness in the 4 weeks of on-again/off-again training, God Willing, I will complete it.

Intimacy

I am now 153 days into into my http://www.bibleinayear.org/ reading plan, and a 40 days behind schedule, so I have caught up a little.

Today I my readings bring me to the Song of Songs, and it feels like things have come full circle. Back in Dec 2006, at our bi-annual church camp, this was where the speaker pointed me to. He told to look into the Song of Songs to find intimacy with God. He also said that when I have intimacy with God, others will see the presence of God in my life. I must confess that I don't think I have reached a deeper level of intimacy with God. I try to read His Word regularly, and I try to pray regularly, but I don't think I have grown significantly more intimate with God. I still feel as though I am too pre-occupied with this world - my job, family, training, etc... Please continue to pray for a break though for me in this area.

Talking about training, I am getting anxious. I am finally getting better (sore throat is gone and I have stopped snortin'/hackin' out greenish stuff), but I have lost 4 weeks of training to business travels, vacation/church camp and this virus attack. The OSIM Triathlon (my 1st Oly Tri ever - last year's race got rained out) is 4 weeks away, which means I have the next 3 weeks to pile on the training before tapering on the 4th week. I don't even know what I should be doing anymore - will the training I put in these 3 weeks even make any difference to my race form on Jul 13th, or is it just a mental/confidence exercise? I really do not want to pull out from the race, so I will probably just take it easy and if I can't finish it, tough.

The positive side of not being to train is more time with the family, which is always a welcome thing. This week is the last week of June school holidays so it was good to be able to spend some time at the beach...

God-Who-Forgives

According to my mailbox, I am 146 days into my http://www.bibleinayear.org/ reading plan, and a whopping 43 days behind schedule!

Just came across this verse that speaks so much about our God's nature:
"... You were to them God-Who-Forgives,
Though You took vengeance on their deeds." Psalm 99:8

Truly He forgives the sinner yet punishes the sin. Praise God!

I am less than a month away from my 1st Olympic Distance Triathlon (again), and it is not looking good. Training has come to pretty much a stand-still in the last few weeks due to business travels, vacation in Malaysia and I have gone from sore throat to snortin' out green stuff in the morning. Maybe I will call it an extended taper. ;-)

My 1st Olympic Distance Triathlon (Again)

I'm off to church camp for a week, and when I am back, I will be a month away from my 1st Olympic Distance Triathlon (again) - got rained out last year. I'm not quite as prepared as I would like to be (and learning that I will probably never be quite as prepared as I would like to be), so I will aim to complete and not compete in my 1st O. D. Tri.

Given that training opportunities at church camp will be limited, I am pretty much counting on current fitness levels to pull me thru. I am now running 17km long slow runs (in 2 hours), 2.2km pool swims (in a little less than 55 mins), and 60km bike rides (followed by 5km transition run). Let's hope that enough. :-)

Pictures from JP Morgan Chase Run

Pictures from the JP Morgan Chase Run that I wrote about in this post.

Chilling out on the company bus. Hmmm.... I guess we were expecting a whole lot more to take the bus...

The obligatory team photo before the start. It's nice to be able to run right through the city centre, check out the city skyline in the back!

Let it be known that Ol' Nitrox takes his warm-ups very seriously. No need to ask who's that leaping off the ground then. ;-)

Updates

Wow, has it really been more than 2 weeks since my last post? Where has all the time gone?

So much has happened since then. I had to stop training for an entire month - essentially sincce the NUS (National University of Singapore) Biathlon - and am finally easing back into training. I am not quite back to race fitness yet, but getting there SLOWY. This week I hope to get back to my full training week - 2 runs, 2 swims, 1 strength training, and 1 long brick. As usual when my training level drops, I start thinking about adding/replacing new go-after kit, so keep your eyes on this space, I am receiving my latest "go faster" kit for the bike this week! :-)

On the home front, the latest news is that R2 fractured his elbow last Saturday night. The lil' guy was playing with some friends after dinner and running with much abandonement when he fell awkwardly. One look at the right elbow and it was pretty obvious that "something is wrong" - there was a lot of swelling and it looked like something was jutting out. So we rush to the A&E (Accident and Emergency) ward of the children's hospital where they confirmed that he has a fracture just above the elbow joint. They were a little concerned as the fracture is very near the joint, but there was too much swelling for proper diagnosis to be done. So they put a full splint on him and we are to go back for consultation with the orthopedic specialist on Thurs.

We were graced with a miracle at the A&E: The poor guy was clearly in pain and was not a happy camper at all for the entire period after he fell to while we were waiting at the A&E. He was cried and complained of intense pain, and finally settled down but his face was screwed up in pain. While waiting, we prayed over him and Mrs Nitrox also text'ed some of her "Mummies support group" to pray for R2. Literally within seconds of laying hands on his elbow and asking the Holy Spirit to come and heal him, he went from being in pain and miserable, to being his usual cheerful self. The doctors were amazed that he was so "cooperative" even when the splint was going on - they warned us that it might hurt, but all R2 was concerned about was not getting the plaster on his shirt! :-) PRAISE GOD! The doctors can't be sure if the fracture needs to be re-aligned (hence the need to come back to see the orthopedic specialist on Thurs when the swelling has come down). But, encouraged by the miracle, we are trusting by faith that the Lord is healing his little elbow, and continue to pray that R2 will receive 100% restoration in his right elbow without surgery. Please do continue to agree with us in prayer too!


Since coming back from the A&E, R2 has been pretty much his normal cheerful self (as you can see from the pictures). He does complain of some pain now and then, but it is more like 3-5/10 level of pain (right after the fall was 8-10/10, and after we prayed for him at A&E it went down to 0-2/10) . Most of the time, he is reporting 0/10 in terms of pain, so we are not even giving him the prescribed pain meds - Ibuprofen - just children's Panadol once so far. Encouraged by the miracle, we are trusting by faith that the Lord is healing his little elbow, and continue to pray that R2 will receive 100% restoration in his right elbow without surgery. Please do continue to agree with us in prayer too! Our God is indeed an AWESOME GOD!

I'm on leave

It's school holidays this week so I've taken leave to spend more time with the boys. :-)


On the training front, I'm still recovering from the flu and hacking out green stuff, so it's another no training week. :-(

R1's Chinese Show n Tell

This is a bit long, so I won't blame you for not watching it to the end. ;-)



My literal translation:

Good morning Teachers & Friends of P2C. Today I am going to tell you the story "Si Ma Kwang Smashes the Pot" (Si Ma Kwang is a famous Chinese scholar/wise man who lived ~ 1019-1086.)

Once, when Si Ma Kwang was a little boy, he and his friends were playing in the garden. There was a large pot in the garden which was filled with water. The children played hide-n-seek, and were having a great time.

Just then, one child decided to find a good hiding spot so that the others cannot find him. He decided to hide in the large pot. He was not as tall as the huge pot, neither did he realise that it was filled with water. As a result, no sooner had he climbed up the pot, that he fell in with a loud "SPLASH".

All the kids panicked and ran around, not knowing what to do. Only Si Ma Kwang remained calm - he picked up a large rock from the ground and threw it at the large pot with all his strength. The rock smashed a large hole in the pot and the water flowed out. The child was saved!

I like this story because Si Ma Kwang is a clever boy. When a problem arises, he is able to remain calm and think of a clever solution to the problem. Thank you for your attention.


[ What follows is some questions and answers, soI will spare you the details. :-) ]

Quick update on training end: No training done since the NUS Biathlon, partly due to work and partly because I picked up the flu bug. I seem to have a pattern of falling sick when I visit India - I think the stress and lack of sleep (4.5 hr over-night flight back) got to me. R2 coughing into my face in his excitment to see me come home probably didn't help either. :-) So it's 1-2 weeks of rest for me then (I am on antibiotics). :-(