Pre-dawn deep sea jigging off the back of Crystal Coral at Luconia Shoals, about 100km off Miri, Sarawak.

Journey to Osaka. 39 days to go. As usual, I have not been training. Starting to worry. It's too late now. I will just focus on conditioning myself to be on my feet for at least 5-6 hours. No shame in being picked up by the bus. Perhaps I'll bring my camera along on the marathon and take pictures of people and the sights. Tim and Derek will have no problem. I am intent on enjoying myself. Off to an 'OK' start. I should be clocking 56km per week by now but barely doing a quarter of that.

I realize from my Polar watch that I have been doing some kind of activity (hiking, cycling or jogging) at least twice a week since August. This recent Sunday it took me 1 hr to jog-walk to Mayfair Park and another hour back. Last week sometime and also today, it took me 1 hr to get to the gates at Botanic and then back. That water fountain at the Orchid Gardens is priceless!

My new ride. Tommasini Techno (purple).
Dedaccai 14.5 steel tubes. Shimano Ultegra 6600. Ultegra seat post. Custom built wheels with Dura-ace hubs. Top tube 52cm c-c. Seat tube 48cm c-c. $3K.

Team Fatbird Running. Operation Sunbird - 12 weeks prep for 5 Dec Singapore Marathon. They're # 1. Couldn't have it without their help & encouragement :)

42.195km @ 45 yrs. On my back I wrote: Hurts so good. U know u love it.

I turned 45 years old last Friday. The past 5 years have been good. I don't think I was feeling like this when I turned 40 :P

This is what I'm currently reading. Love the wacky perspective this guy has on work and the world. One of the topic headings that speaks to me deeply is titled:

Doing the Unrealistic is Easier Than Doing the Realistic

Yeah. That's why I'm doing 42 @ 45 :p

I also concur with the following statement of his:

The question you should be asking isn't, "What do I want?" or "What are my goals?" but "What would excite me?"

This is an Amphipod Velocity - Full Tilt technology. Mine's blueish with black floral design. Nice. Best part is it works really well. It's a 20 oz Hydrofoam bottle. No bounce. No swooshing of water. I believe it may be the only one in Singapore :) Got the relatives to bring it in this past summer from USA. Fits my phone, car key, plasters & coins. Wanted to squeeze in a small hand towel but that was pushing it :P

21 days to 10.10.10 and 75 days to 5.12.10. Current status - severely out of condition. Still suffering from yesterday's 1st Team Fatbird Operation Sunbird training. Plan was to do 24km. Only managed 13km after U-turn at F2 carpark. Weird took me 1 hr 20 mins to get there but only 1 hr to get back......so I knew my distances were off. But it was nearly 8am when started so I was really roasting away. Legs are aching. Not as bad as on Sat 11.9.10 when I did a longish run - to Botanics via Clementi. Was too excited in the morning so didn't eat anything and we had to wait nearly an hour for everyone to gather - like 150 fatbird trainees. Nice bunch. Looking forward to it. Kinda like the Joyriders. So these are my Big Hairy Audacious Goals for the remainder of 2010. Have to figure out a way to pick up my pace :P

My Pace
I've done enough races to know that I am not fast but I always complete with enjoyment. I don't like to push it. I'm not competitive. So I usually clock 1 hr 15 mins for a 10K run which is a pace of 7 1/2 minutes per km. Last Dec I used Heart Rate Zone training and shaved off some time to complete 21km in 2 hrs 50 mins which is a pace of 8 mins per km.
I know I'm in trouble because I have committed myself to the 30km Newton Run on 10.10.10 (45 days & counting) and 42km for the Singapore Marathon on 5.12.10 (101 days & counting). Been major slacking as usual and have no running endurance base at the moment. Just been doing the random 15km early morning cycle and not much else.
Back to my pace. For the 30km, I will take 3 hr 45 mins @ pace of 7 1/2 min per km or 4 hrs @ 8 min per km. For the 42km, I will take 5 hrs 15 mins @ 7 1/2 mins per km or 5 hrs 40 mins @ 8 mins per km. That's assuming I can complete the distances and maintain the pace throughout.
Oh boy.....

To laugh often and much;

to win the respect of the intelligent people

and the affection of the children;

to earn the appreciation of honest critics

and endure the betrayal of false friends;

to appreciate beauty;

to find the best in others;

to leave the world a bit better

whether by a healthy child,

a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition;

to know that one life has breathed easier

because you lived here.

This is to have succeeded.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

(Luke): I can't believe it.
(Yoda): That is why you fail.