Budding star

eyes on the ball. back swing. step forward.

follow-through.

That's is a fine looking forehand.

Re-activating

It's been awhile... the blog has gone quiet... no news... no reports... no stories... it suffered some kind of a natural death.

In the past 6-months, work has taken over my life. I'm not giving any excuses.... but that's the reality.

I'm a wage earner. Working for people. Taking instructions from the top. Slaving for a big capitalist corporation with gigantic appetite for nothing except profit. Balancing work and life is a constant difficult act, more like fighting a loosing battle. When pressing deadlines looms, i dropped everything and pinned my butt, facing the emotionless IT monitor, forcing others to be become paid slaves too.

The long hours spent in the office has done nothing good to my mental and physical health. I have gained some kgs too. I have lost the vigour and motivation while never managed to stick to a solid training regime or a routine, something which i have no problem adhering to just awhile ago.

My normal 6-days-a-week-1-day-rest training schedule has dwindled invariably. Let's not go into intensity level, it fluctuates as wild as the Composite Index in recent times.

I blame it on myself... me and me...

i let 'it' take over my life... I have forgotten how i was 3 years ago... a man weighing 160kg with a 60 inches waist-line who can hardly breathe after a few flights of the staircase...

I got complacent while conveniently using the work pressure/work stress as the prime reason for slacking off.

(hitting my head on the wall.... very hard)....

I dont want live the life i had before...

I have to manage my work. I have to work around it. I have to deal with it.

All is not lost.

Despite the ups and downs , I ended 2009 season with some encouragement - hitting PB for Mizuno Wave run followed by another PB at the Powerman 2009 (albeit sprint event only). It baffled me, how the PBs were achieved despite the erratic or less training during th eperiod. The intensity and motivation, however, were not sustainable. It was easy to turn down training invitations when i used to breathe and eat with it not long ago. The adrenalin flow swells and contracts as quickly as Tiger Woods popularity.

Picking up where i left off, I started 2010 with a some encouragement too. While others were reaching their peak especially the Ironmans, traditionally, Jan-March are my low down period. Nonetheless, by completing NB30km (my longest ever run race) and Putrajaya Night Half Monty, i did something which I've never done in the past. Hence, there's still hope.

As usual, i would easily get pumped up after reading the many Ironmans race reports. Their stories and experiences inspired many others including me. These guys are warriors in their own way.

I have pondered and procrastinated over it for quite awhile and i think the time has come.

It's time to take action, change and take charge of my life.

I'm re-activating all systems.

I'm back.

Those who say I CAN..

The best tonic i badly needed.

Hang Tuah Fail SPM

nak tergolek wa gelak.... mmg kelassss....

Beef Macaroni

I have an Iftar potluck gathering tonite in Sg Buloh at SK's house.

Everyone has to bring something and i told wifey what should i bring to the gathering. I had a few options already but considering the people coming are mostly triathletes and food concious people, i was down to bringing healthy food.

Wait a sec, healthy food? nahh... what the heck.... let's carbo load. That would be a better choice. The guys wanted satay kambing but i just dunno where to get it during this fasting month. I will try to get it later anyway.

In the end, we decided to cook beef macaroni. Carbo loaded protein with vegetable as fibre. Healthy enough larr...

This ws how it was done.

Simple ingredients.

Tomato puree, chilli boh, blended garlic and onion. Eggs for finishing touch. Salt for taste.

Thinly sliced cabbage for fibre.

500gm macaroni. boiled with a pinch of salt. Strained.

Tumis all the ingredients together gether and add the mince meat. the aroma is heaven. Fasting make more challenging.

add salt and keep stirring the mix. let it simmer. The smell will invade the whole kitchen.

Add macaroni and stir until well covered with the beef sauce.

Add two/three eggs depending on your preferences. Cover the eggs with macaroni and let it cooked underneath. Stir well.

Add cabbage and stir well. Keep the heat low. You just wanna let the cabbage wilt in the heat. not overly cook it.

Beef macaroni with eggs.

Wahllahhh.....

Enjoy.. Le Tuang...

Weekend ride : 25/7/2009

Menu : Bt14-Bt18-Genting Peres-Kuala Klawang-Bt18-Bt14
Actual : Bt14-Bt18-Genting Peres-Kuala Klawang-Bt18

Big group today. There were easily 12-15 riders at Bt14. Another 4-5 waiting at Bt18.

The train from Bt14 left around 745am. We met the Bt18 train around 20mins later.

By the time we got to Simpang Tiga, there were easily 23 riders going up Peres.

From Peres, when i thot most of them were going to Klawang, it turned out to be most of them turning back to Tekala. Special note to Senn, "You conned me again.. and again.. and again..!

Only 10 of us were stupidly brave enough to head to Klawang. And most of them were Ironman. IM Azwar, IM Bacin, IM Dicky, IM Ishsal, IM Abu, IM Adeline, Dek Dush (not sure an IM or not but he's damn strong), Alwin, Vicky and me.

Ride to Klawang was smooth. But riding back was not. It was hot, humit, hazy and hell.

While the rest were blazing up reverse Peres like Contador, Vickey and me were left behind to suffer. Well, i for one, has gottten used to being dropped by these mutants.

Anyway, on the way down from Peres to Simpang Tiga, Vickey alerted that my rear wheel was wobbling. We did a quick check at the Simpang and it turned out to be that one of the spoke had gotten a bit loose. As we were riding towards BT18, the wobbling got worse. It made me worried, now.

We catched up with the rest while they were having a drink at one of the stall 7km frm BT18 town. Alwin examined the wheel again and the news was not good. It was at that time i decided to search for a rescue. Luckily, Mac was still having lunch at BT14 and I SOS him for help. Mac being the ever helpful guy, had turned back came looking for me. He rescued me at a bus stop 500m before BT18 near the bahulu shop. Thus, my ride ended there.

Not the kind of ending which i had wished for but it's better to be safe than sorry. I was told that if the wheel condition deteriorated further, i could risk an accident should the wheel collapsed all together.

By then, i had covered 114km. The first long ride of the year. I'll take it anytime.

The Klawang ride and the torturous reverse Peres climb stood true to its name. I wish to conquer it outright, one day. Perhaps, one day i will but until then, it will always haunt me.

The lads are in town...

Awesome...

So does a Red Devil....

Muahahahaha....

PDIT - From sista's eyes

My lil sister did this wonderful tribute. Nak nangess wa tengok....

I love you, Jan. (She's the one wearing the blue Superman T-shirt)

PDIT 09 race report - from her eyes

The unexpected race report. I guess i have the unofficial team manager to do it for me now.

Click here.

My race report will come, soon.

Recovery

After a two full days of resting, i went out for a short run today. A recovery run, sort of.

Recovery rate has been better now. By mid-day today, i felt fresh again which in the past it would normally take three days to reach similar condition.

Most importantly, there's no sign of injuries or pain. I dont even need to pop up Ponstan (pain killer) pill which normally i would. I dont even take any recovery or protein drinks this time around. Body, legs, shoulder and mind are responsive and alert. Very good sign.

I'm spending quality time at home with my precious loved ones. Taking my mind off triathlon and SBR for awhile. Race report had taken a back seat as ive been collecting PD tri photos from various sources and will piece everything together when the mind is ready.

Training may start again tomorrow before picking up the pace as the weekend comes nearer.

In the meantime, im enjoying the rest and the body deserve its reward.

Odyssey

I've been waiting for this magical moment ever since i started doing triathlon....

At this point of time, i was the happiest man in the world....

Believe in your dream and it'll come true.

The odyssey continues...

Meal plan - PD tri

Early morning:
2 glasses of low-fat milk
2 raisins bun
1 banana
1 cup black coffee without sugar
Water

30mins before start race :
1 Powerbar
500ml water

Swim:
Gallons and gallons of saltwater

Bike:
1 bottle 100plus
1 bottle Nuun electrolyte drink
2 pieces of dates
Half Powerbar

Run :
1 Powergel
Loads of water at the water stations

All systems go

I did a quick what Yusran called Body System Testing (BST) yesterday and today.

Yesterday, i went for a quick swimming practice and except being slow as usual, i dont foresee any major problem.

Today, woke up at 530am (that's how the biological weekend clock works now) and went out for a quick ride (approx 10km) around the house to check and ensure that the bike is in good condition. More importantly, reminding the muscles what they're suppose to do tomorrow.

Got home, i swapped the bike with the running shoes and hit road approx 3km.

After all this, i felt fine and good. I passed the BST. Now, resting and enjoying some quality family time. This is also the best time to do mental conditioning and visualize how the race would tomorrow.

Personally, speed is not my concern. I not competing with anyone nor the time. Im competing with myself. Defeat myself, i shall.

Finally, good luck and best wishes to everyone. See you at the finishing line..!!!

PD tri 2009

I am looking forward to this year's edition.

It's not because it's an international event. It's not because this is the biggest local OD tri event. It's not because many celebrities grace the prizing ceremony. it's not... it's not.... it's not...

Then, why?

Because my loved ones will be there. It's their first time witnessing me in SBR. The thought of having them together for race day makes me overly excited. I can feel the adrenalin rush as i am wirting this. I feel like i am doing it for the first time.

Wifey, kids, sister and sis-in-law are riding in the bandwagon to join the PD beach party.

What more motivation can i ask for?

I promised myself that i will do my best and cross the finishing line.

I do, I tri.

Xterra, Malaysia 2009

This is long outstanding post. Only pix report
Venue : Teluk Cempedak, Kuantan

Race briefing with ol' skool mates

I will cross this finishing comes race day.

People behind the scene. You guys made it happened..!!

carbo-load.

Race day. MTB, for a change.

My humble weapon (so-called).

Can you see the break pad? It was worse during the actual ride.

Re-enactment of the finishing run. I made it in approx. 5hrs15mins.

Bravehearts.

You survived..!!

Penangan Xterra

Sebelum.... suci bersih

Selepas.. suci dalam selut

Muahahaha...

X-terraminated

On a wet Sunday, 7/6/2009
Teluk Cempedak Kuantan
After 5hrs 15mins 53sec of painful racing
1.5km swim, 30km mountain biking and 10km trail running was conquered.

X-terra Msia 2009, terminated.

Brick... sort of

Sunday, 31/5/2009

Fasek (uni buddy) got hold a road bike after four weeks toiling with the old work horse, my legendary MTB.

He came with a brand new pair of shoes and cycling jersey. He came not knowing the overall menu yet.

Weather was fine. Yeah, fine as in searing hot and you could even cook an egg on your helmet.

Venue was Putrajaya, mosque carpark tobe specific. We decided to do the Powerman route plus two loops criterium around the big roundabout with a park on its hill.

We ended up cycling for approx 50km or so. A mixture of interval, speed and pacing training all in one. Fasek was cursing like mad. The hot weather pushed his temperature even higher and when he thought switching to a roadie would be easier than the MTB, he was greeted with the unforgiving scorching heat.

As we reached the car park again, all were not done yet. We changed to our running shoes and hit the road towards PICC. He got his first taste on how does it feels to be running after cycling. His first transition.... sort of. We turned back at the roundabout as the heat was a bit to strong on both of us. We did approc 3km or so. I thought that was enough as an introduction to duathlon.

For me, it was good to be back into serious training and the brick session reminded the muscles of what to be expected in the coming months when the season starts.

To Fasek, it was a gallant effort and watch out guys... he'll be around sometime soon.

Keeping active

Since the NB15k, i have re-focused my training away from running. Im giving my feet the well deserved rest after piling up the mileage of more than 100km per month prior to the NB15km. It might seemed a lot to some but it's actually just an average of 25km per week and approx 3.5km per day. If you break up your training into small portions, you will gain the mileage and base volume without even noticing it or suffer the agony.

Ive heard too many stories about plantar fasciitis, knee/ankle/heel pain etc and whenever i felt my body needs a break, i will listen to it. Infact, resting is a form of training too.

Anyway, for variety sake, ive switched to playing sports such as tennis, badminton, squash and golf in the past two weeks. This is also to kill the boredom and keep my mind away from swim, bike and run. Nonetheless, cycling is a permanent workout during weekends thanks largely to the reunification with an old uni buddy who'd recently being hit by the cycling bug. After 4 weeks, my buddy manged to cover on average of 60km per session on his sleek tyre MTB. I think the distance is not too much neither too little. Just nice to keep the body system active. Due to the volume of training, ive also lost another 4kgs in the last month. Every pound i loose, im a pound nearer to my target.

From my experience, running is one of the most effective way to loose weight. So, if you wish to shed that extra pounds, get a reasonable comfortable shoe and start walking/brisk walking and eventually run. It doesnt cost much and you can do it almost at all places.

There are a few races coming up this month but the ones that i may participate are Xterra (off-road triathlon) and Stan Chart (running). I havent decided yet (yeah, working life been taking my training time away, a lot) but i wish i have the can at least participate in one of them.

Above all, let's not keep ourselves glued to the tv or the couch. Force yourself out of the couch and get the butt kicking.

Will the real you please stand up? Please stand up.

Race Report - NB15k

This is a long-outstanding post. Didnt have time to update immediately. enjoy reading it.

I had only slept for slightly more than 4 hours before the alarm clock woke me up at 5am. Groggy head and body was tired. Maybe I havent fully recovered from the hard cycling training i had the day before and the lack of sleep and insufficient rest made it worse. My butt and right thigh were still tight. I felt a tinge of pain on my right knee as well.

I was contemplating of ditching the race until a reflection flashed in upon me on all the efforts that i had poured into training. The mileage, the hours spent, the agony, the pain, the recovery and many other sacrifices that went into preparing for the race. Can this be pre-race nervous attack? Sometimes one can easily forget all the hard work when facing adversity and choosing to quit is always the easy way out.

Anyway, after a quick breakfast - we left the house and got to Lake Garden at around 630am and it was still dark. Pitch black. As this was my first road run race, i was amazed with the number of runners at the park. Ramai giler siol.

Walking to the park, i had visualised the kind of run that i would do but it didnt help much as i know even know the actual running route!! Yeah, my fault. I should have asked people about the actual route then strategize my run. Anyway, it didnt matter because i didn't have any lofty target. I knew i had done enough training and personally, i just wanna finish the run. No matter how long it would take me to do it.

Race started at precisely 7am. I saw the Kenyans lining up in front and as the horn went off, within minutes they were gone already.

While i was treading slowly amongst the mortals at the back, I looked around and it was inspiring to see pakciks, uncles, oversized guys participating in the event. Running is for everybody - all ages, shapes and sizes. All you need is a sports shoe and you can grab anything from your wardrobe to wear as long as it is comfortable to you.

From starting point, the route took us to Memorial Tun Razak - Masjid Negara - Bukit Aman car park - Bank Negara - Tijani - Double Hill - Tugu Negara - Lake Garden.

In the first km, i was kinda warming up (yeah, i should have warmed up earlier) and people kept zooming and flying through leaving me behind like a sad tortoise. At times, I felt pathetic for not being able to catch up with them. But who cares, it's not about beating others. It's about beating yourself. I kept reminding myself not to be influence by the pace of others even if he's your friend. Azmar, Laif, CK, Juli, Adeline, Jamil, Mac and a few other LeTuangs passed me too. I kept the speed to my own capability.

I ran so slow and upon reaching the foot of double hill, i had resigned to walking only. Double hill had many others walking or running at walking pace. I guessed once you walked, you tend to walk again. I did just that. haha... sakit sket jer, naik bukit sket jer, terusss jalan kaki...

Anyway, I had two mini packs of Sunmaid raisins (one each at 6km and 10km) and Powergel (at 12km). Two water stations served plain water. i was like ?????? paid RM45 and they gave plain water only ker? Dah larrr, wa dapat singlet size M. Haiyaaa... at least they could have served isotonics at the 10km mark.

As we were approaching the hill before Tugu Negara, i paced myself against this one slightly bigger built guy. I noticed he was consistent all the way. I walked and jogged but kept telling myself that i should never loose sight of him. He practically became my target and followed his pace.

Upon entering Lake Garden, my legs were still good despite the stress pain which popped up once in awhile.

By now, i could hear the noise at the finishing line. In any race, every time i hear the loud noise coming out from the speaker, I would get pumped up. Suddenly, the adrenalin rushed right to the brim and the legs got the energy from i dunno where.

Wifey waited patiently from his man to cross the finishing line. Her first time she's withnessing it.

After almost 2 hrs (i didnt time the run cos i left my watch at home), very slowly - i crossed it. I lifted both my hands in the air while saying my quiet prayer to the divine. To some people, maybe there's nothing to shout about in completing a 15km run but not for me. For somebody who weighs more than 100kg, it was a big deal. It makes more emotional having wifey and lil sister waiting at the finishing line. I kept telling myself, i have my loved ones waiting patiently at the line and i must finish it. No two-way about it.

I punched my hands into the air. The feeling and satisfaction was unbelievable. I'm addicted to it. My inner self simply exploded in frenzy and no words can ever described it (or at least, i dunno how to put it in writing). The sense of achievement was in its purest form regardless whatever position you came in the end. Best....

My biggest fans.

After the race, i went round the plaza and met some familiar faces. Here, Jamil... fast runner

Arif... two-time Ironman

Letuang office bearer, Chomel. Juli, Ironman - another fast runner.

Letuang chieftain. Chief Kutu. Dont play2 with this old man. He can put anybody 20 years his junior to shame. Easily.


Zul, Triathlete Cap Ayam - Ironman oso. Very fast runner too.

One for the album. The slow coach.