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.

Finally got myself measured at Bike Labz (thanks Ryan!) for a proper bike fit. The Tachyon......which I originally wanted for myself, but grew impatient and bought the Bella instead....then when it was finally available, I bought it for Tim....but was too small for him...and so it's now mine again :)
Tachyon. The encyclopedia defines the tachyon as: a hypothetical subatomic particle whose velocity always exceeds that of light.
Yeah!

Wisdom from a Cycling Guru
I'm reading "We Might As Well Win" by Johan Bruyneel. This is the guy that put Lance Armstrong on the Tour de France podium 7 times. He's the strategist for Lance's victories. He also helped Alberto Contador win twice. It's such a delight reading this book just after watching this year's TdF on cable.
Anyway, he's quite the mastermind and I really like what he says about communication....

The true value of communication is often not so much what you say to each other but the simple, powerful fact that you care enough to say something to each other so often. It's the connection that matters. Hearing each other. Speaking to each other.

It's the connection....yes.....got to work on that connection.

Team 'MG Slowcoach' @ Bintan Triathlon 23 May 2009 - Nuj swam, I biked & Tsui Lan ran :)

NB Real Run

Sunday 19 Oct @ Changi Expo. It was a frying hot day and all 10,000+ runners were cooked well done. As usual, I was wondering why I signed up for the 15Km when there was a 10km available. Now I remember....I was attracted by the red freebie NB tee. So mindless. Well, the first 4km was the trail bit. It was uneven and full of rocks just the size to make one stumble and fall. I was ready to quit because I felt like we were in the desert. The start time was 745am and the sun was blazing like a furnace. Never bailed on anything so far so didn't want to start doing that. The awful part was the long, long, shadeless Aviation Road. I refused to run and just did my best power-walk. No desire to get heat stroke. My heart rate was pounding at 160-179bpm running & about 140-145bpm while walking. Unusually high. Must've been the sun. The only bits where I did run was in the shade near the Changi ferry terminal. Well, so glad when completed the event though it took me a good 2hr 18mins. Talk about slow. The only other good thing about this event was the nice toilets. That expo building is wonderfully big with clean toilets scattered all over the place. Lovely. 

Team CCMC

Here we are. Clean and well-fed on the terrace of Singapore Recreation Club. You can't seem the muddy Padang behind but it's there. All have madly signed up for more torture at Stanchart's Singapore Marathon.

SBR & AHM
Singapore Bay Run & Army Half Marathon. Started 630am....finished 945am. Well, I survived. My time was slower than last Dec....but hardly any training. Fortunately the aerobic fitness from cycling helped. The heart is ok....just the legs. It was lovely weather this morning - no sun at all. This is my first time running up Sheares Bridge. Not as steep as I thought it'd be. Nice route. The run along up & down along East Coast always enjoyable - sea on one side. New for everyone was the Expedition Trail beside the Marina Golf Course leading to the Marina Barrage. Bummer was the 16km water point run out of 100Plus & bananas. Drat. So happy I decided to run holding my little Newater bottle. Came in handy when I took my yummy chocolate PowerGel at about 9am. Worst bit of the route was in the Marina South area along Central Blvd with the concrete trucks polluting the air and nothing to look at. There were oodles of puddles here and there and everyone had muddy shoes...especially on the Padang where we ended. Today hundreds of sweaty elbows touched mine the whole 3+ hrs as people squeezed past people to overtake me. So gross. Of course, I was completely drenched in sweat. Began the run needing to pee but that came out as sweat instead. At about 15km my sweat-soaked socks started shifting around in my shoe and I knew a blister was starting to form. We had a lovely shower & breakfast at Singapore Recreation Club. My legs are aching a bit but not too bad. I wonder if I can go cycling on Tuesday. Hmm.

Improvement :)
Good grief. It's been 20 days since my last Joyride. How time flies. I was sick, sick, sick. Also, there was other stuff going on so couldn't make it. Good to be back. I really enjoy the few degrees cooler temperature at 5am than 530am. Anyway, just feel the need to record my first step of notable improvement. I stayed with the peloton until Mandai Road near the crematorium. I survived the 3 hills on Upper Thomson & Sembawang Road. I stayed with the pack. Yes! This is very satisfying. I was able to catch up again after the first drop. Second time dropped I about 20ft behind but had Cassandra for company after the zoo.....not bad at all. Third time drop I was turning off to Dunearn Road anyway but I had company with Carol. Nice. Good chatting today.
There are two things I know I need to do if I want to continue improving. First is to build muscle strength for the climbs. That would entail some sort of weight training. Second is to increase the frequency of my rides. As Scott said, after an absence he rides every day and plans a few longer distances. After 2-3 weeks of intense riding, he regains his form.