Latest Exercise Tool
It looks like a metronome.....and it is a metronome. Got it from a guitar shop. About the size of a credit card though slightly fatter. This is going to help me run more efficiently. The plan is to increase my running cadence to as close to 180bpm.
Tested it out today. Was able to maintain about 140-150bpm for a short 3km route. But I was holding it in my hand and all that bouncing around made it go berserk. Started going off by itself. Went back to 100bpm by itself. Got rather fed up. Thought I probably spoilt the little thing. But it seems to be back to normal now. Only problem is.....it's a moody metronome.
Thinking may have to invest a little more and get the clip-on Seiko DM 50 instead. Hmmm...hope Swee Lee has it.

Swimming
I have to find a more suitable time to swim. This week, I chose to swim after BSF meetings but that's mid-day. Although it was cloudy (even drizzling) on Monday, those UV rays still got me and I was darker. So I have to avoid swimming from 11am to 4pm. That's going to be a challenge but I'll have to figure it out.
I warmed up with 10 laps of breaststroke. Took 13 instead of 14 minutes today.

Then I put on my 'zoomers' (short fins) and worked on the drills. Laps 11 & 12 were KOS (kick-on-side) drill. I always get water up on my nose when I breathe on my left. Laps 13 & 14 were Catch-up Drill. I quite like this. Helps me work on having longer swim body. Work on pull & rotation. Laps 15 & 16 were Catch-up Drill with Thumb Scrape. Make sure the thumb scrapes the thigh to make sure I finish each stroke properly. Laps 17 & 18 were Single-Arm Drill. Isolating the stroke for each arm so it's correct. The straight arm starts to ache though. Laps 19 & 20 were the Fist Drill. To focus on using forearms for the pull. Laps 21 & 22 were back to Catch-up Drill (yes I kinda like this) but breathing bi-laterally. I discovered that I get more oxygen this way so it's good. I must perfect this bi-lateral breathing.

Next 8 laps (23 to 30) were interval training. Back to breaststroke. A continuous flow of moderate 25m followed by 25m sprint. To improve my swim fitness and teach my body to recover quickly. Felt good today. Not so breathless. Aim to increase this to 10 laps next week.

Final 4 laps was warming down. Moderate breaststroke. Total 34 laps today. Total time 53 minutes.

Training Reflections
I'm still not sure how I'm going to do the Olympic Distance instead of Sprint this May. I have 8 weeks left. I didn't sign up for any group training this time. Decided not to eat into family time in the evenings and weekends like last year. So, I try to train in the mornings.
However, I did sign up for Tribob's Bintan Training Camp in about 16 days. Early Saturday till late Sunday. It'll be a 60km cycle on Saturday straight off the boat. Then on Sunday a 'at your own pace' OD. The comforting thought is that there'll be a support vehicle. I suppose I'll have more confidence when that camp is over. At least I will be familiar with the course and be able to complete it. Only thing is to work on my timing.
The swim. 1.5km in open sea. That's 30 laps in the pool. Quite happy with my 32 laps this past Monday. It was 10 laps breast stroke warm-up, 10 laps of drills, 6 laps of 'speed-play' and 6 laps of warm-down. Combination of 25m breast stroke, then 25m of freestyle.
Of the 3 sports, been cycling the most. Tuesdays on road bike. Wednesdays on mountain bike. The first to get a feel for the distance of 40km. The second to maintain & hopefully improve my stamina. Interval training at Gangsa loop and Bukit Timah hill.
The jungle was just beautiful today. It's been raining the past few days so the track had puddles. The rain changed the terrain a little. Uncovered potholes and swept in soil. The air was so fresh though. It was mid-morning but felt like dawn. Riding thru the trails always gives me joy. I burst out in praise of the Almighty God for His creativity & beauty in nature.
My weakess area is the run. I have not been running at all. How am I going to run 10km after all that swimming and cycling? I really need to run more consistently. The plan is to do at least 20 minutes interval training of running at least 3 times a week.

Litespeed Tuscany
This bike is made of titanium. No, I don't own it. It costs something like $11K. Maybe one day...if I'm mad enough. I saw one of these at the bike shop the other day. The owner let me pick it up & even offered to let me test ride it. But I didn't....just looking at it, I knew it cost a bomb. It was light as a feather. Just amazing. Thing is...titanium is a lot stronger than carbon. My road bike is aluminium. Most people upgrade to carbon frame after being bitten by the bug. But I'm thinking....if I had the $$$, skip the carbon and upgrade straight to titanium. Then again, it's not the equipment.....it's the 'engine' that makes the difference. My 'engine' is kinda out of tune...but trying.

Around here, however, we don't look backwards for very long. We keep moving forward, opening up new doors and doing new things, because we are curious...and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths". Walt Disney

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." ~ Mark Twain, 19th century US author

Ulu Pandan Park Connector
This is a dis-used railway line that is an illegal crossing between the two parts of the Ulu Pandan Park Connectors. I believe it actually belongs to Malaysia. It'd be absolutely lovely if someone like NParks put decking on top of it and then we can just cycle along the railway line. From Jurong to Johore!

Cleaning Juno
The bum aspect of owning things is that they need to be cleaned. We spent a long hot afternoon bailing water out of Juno. So much rain over Dec....so much water. Now it's raining again...I can only imagine. The good thing about bringing the boys out with us is that they have no choice but to amuse themselves. Squatting under Juno for shade, talking to Baobei, playing with the sand on the ground. Elliott is nowhere to be seen because he was hard at work bailing water. What a good son.

My Babe
That was Cast #4 that came off on 19 Feb. That's the machine with the circular blade that saws the cast off. I couldn't watch when the nurses were doing it. Just my son's arm at stake. Anyway, so many wasted hours waiting at Clinic A @ NUH, waiting to do xrays, waiting for Plastering Services in Rm 19, waiting to see orthopaedic doc....every week since 24 Dec 07. So glad it's over. Hope nobody else in the family breaks anything ever again!

Off-Road

This rainy weather is bad news for cyclists. So decided to put in pics from drier & happier days. There's Tang Village, Jurong Lake, Gangsa Loop & I think that's Upper Seletar reservoir near Track 15....where Tim saw BIG fish.