If at first you don't succeed, try and try again.

Looking forward to Sat 3 Nov & beautiful weather this time!

Luke's Vegetable Patch

This was a June school holiday project. Started off with seeds and now look at how overgrown it is. The chicken wire cover is not supposed to be there. It was put there to prevent the birds from picking the seeds when he first planted it.

But before we knew it, the vines had intertwined themselves and it was not possible to remove without killing the plant.

On the left with the stick for support is my basil. It's from Gourmet @ Guthrie. I needed basil for my chicken and bought the plant. Stuck it in the ground and amazingly it's still alive.

The big leaves belong to the cucumbers. We ate the big one today. Pretty good. Home grown organic cucumbers!

The funny shaped leaves belong to the watermelon. But none in sight so far......

Tuesday Bike Gang

These are my cycling "si-fu's". One day, I will have as much stamina & cycling technique as them. At the moment, I can just about keep up. It's the hills that I fall behind. And toward the end of a long ride, the take off from the traffic lights too. An easy ride for them is now a hard ride for me. But I'm working on it....

Triladies
Well, the event I've been training the last 12 weeks for was this morning. It started out nice and sunny. I took 17 minutes on the swim (breaststroke all the way - didn't care since I kept up with the freestylers), 40 minutes on the bike (kept to my 26-28km/hr) and was still feeling fresh.

But didn't get to run. It was an intense storm that was Category 1 with a teeny bit of lightning. So the race was cancelled. Erring on the side of caution.

One angmoh was really upset she didn't get to finish and started shouting at the officials.

Running is not my forte so I was quite happy to not have to run. Some 'seow on' people went for a fun run anyway. Tim & I went to eat 'chai tow kway' at the hawker centre. So....the whole process of preparing for this tri has been great. I'm hooked. And come next tri, I think I'm going to go for the Olympic Distance instead of the Sprint. Today was very 'doable' and I know I would have achieved my goal if not for the weather.

Don't you like the pic of me on my bike and my head cut off? At least I was smiling....

Shape Run 2007

Orange is the 'in' colour for run competitions this year. This is the Nike DriFit tee that I got for Shape Run yesterday. It's got a neat little pocket at the back just right for my Creative Zen Nano to sit.

The Mizuno Wave runners' tee was also orange.

So was the Passion runners' tee.

My Sugoi Tri Suit is orange too. Good....cos orange is my colour.

Finally well.....I think.
I have not exercised since Sunday 26 August. That is 13 days ago. It feels like a very long time to me. I'm anxious to resume my training but conscious of the need for full recovery. It was an awful sore throat, runny nose and phlegmy cough I had. Full blown. Still spitting out a bit of remnant phlegm - no longer green though.

I am looking forward to the Shape Run this Sunday. Tried to pick up the Race Kit @ Marina Square just now but discovered a terrible queue. Wasted no time waiting there and am now wondering who I can bribe to get the deed done. Once upon a time, I was patient enough to stand in line. Like sheep. But it's such a &^^%#$!!!!! waste of time. It's a sin to waste people's time like that!
There has to be a better way.

The Value of Time (author unknown)

To realize the value of one year:
Ask a student who has failed a final exam.
To realize the value of one month:
Ask a mother who has given birth to a premature baby.
To realize the value of one week:
Ask an editor of a weekly newspaper.
To realize the value of one hour:
Ask the lovers who are waiting to meet.
To realize the value of one minute:
Ask the person who has missed the train, bus or plane.
To realize the value of one second:
Ask a person who has survived an accident.
To realize the value of one millisecond:
Ask the person who has won a silver medal in the Olympics.

Time waits for no one.
Treasure every moment you have.
You will treasure it even more when you share it with someone special. -->

To Be Inspired.....
I'm down with sore throat and runny nose. My tri training is gone off whack and I'm in dire need of inspiration. So here it is. The song is great and it's going to be playing in my head when I'm swimming, biking and running...and feel like quitting. This father-son team of Rick & Dick Hoyt is nothing short of amazing.
Dream. Believe. Achieve.
So what' stopping you?

team hoyt

East Coast Park
There's a lot of lucky people who live in the East that can enjoy doing their morning walks & exercises along the East Coast Park. It's about 10km from Fort Road all the way up to SAFRA golf course. It's a good place to bike for me as I don't have to worry about cars & buses. Sometimes pedestrian traffic is more fickle though!

It was lovely this morning. There's just something about the sea. The constant breeze. The smell. The rhythmic sound of the waves. So I spent some time sitting on a bench, closed my eyes and just soaked in the moment. A little later I decided to make good use of the time to do my BSF (bible study fellowship) homework. We're studying the book of Romans and this week's homework is just 4 verses. But just take a look at it.

Romans 11: 33-36
Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!
How unsearchable his judgements,
and his paths beyond tracing out!
Who has known the mind of the Lord?
Or who has been his counselor?
Who has ever given to God, that God should repay him?
For from him and through him and to him are all things,
To him be the glory forever! Amen.

It was very easy meditating on these verses in such pretty surroundings. It took me half the usual time to complete it. I think I'll go biking in East Coast more often now!

Base Phase over....
I'm following a training plan. I just completed the first 5 weeks of Base building. The objective being to build a strong aerobic base. Just get my body used to a progressive increase in volume of exercise. Not strenous - but easy and long yet able to hold a conversation....sort of. I have been swimming, biking and running 6 out of 7 days. I topped if off with a 1hr 15min run last Saturday from my home to Botanics and back. May have overdone it a little. Have a blister on my fourth toe. Crap.

Now I'm to move on to 4 wks of Build Phase. This will involve interval training - spurts of faster pace to push the body a bit more and hopefully increase my speed. I'm currently taking 5 minutes to swim a set of 200m, biking at an average speed of 26km/hr and running at a real easy pace of 6km/hr. It's very average and the cows will all go home if I don't improve. So I need to move from aerobic to anaerobic training.

I also will need to do 'brick' sessions. Training my muscles to switch from swimming to running....or running to biking. I'm entering this phase with a little trepidation because it's definitely more physically demanding. I'm going to be so pooped out. As it is, I have had to take short power naps a few hours after my exercise these past weeks because I was just feeling zonked out. Cannot operate. Especially when I need to drive.

There will be 2 wks of Peak Phase and 1 wk of Taper and then.......the real thing on 23 Sept.

Bike Route
Biking in Singapore is very enjoyable. Yes, there are cars, buses and trucks on the road. So there is a need to be careful. I've been out a few times now.....and it's really very enjoyable. I always wondered where all the cyclists go. Well, today I shall try my best to recall where we rode.
Started off at the Al Ameen Kopitiam where we meet. It's near Hillview - Jalan Remaja to be precise. Then it goes something like this:
Straight up Upper Bukit Timah Road - Woodlands Road - Left on Kranji Road - pass the beautiful bridge with Kranji Reservoir on left & Johor Bahru on right - Neo Tiew Crescent - a nice windy road - past Bollywood Farms - Left on Lim Chu Kang Road - a broad 6 lane runway - where I was left in the dust as the seasoned bikers accelerated - left on Choa Chu Kang Road - Sungei Tengah Road - Bricklands Road - then end up somewhere on the Bukit Batok Roads.
We stopped to refuel with yummy 'sui jiao mien' & H20 w China Apple Juice. Then an easy cruise back thru Bukit Batok roads, left on Hillview then finally up left to Jalan Remaja again. That's about 40km. It was nice. Very nice. And healthy too!

Mrs Horn
Picture this. Mixed nouveau riche couple. In their mid to late 30's. 3 Labrador retrievers. Designer house. Argue with other neighbour over boundary wall even before moving in. Drives a big black gas-guzzling SUV. Other car is a convertible sports. Toddler son. Expecting another. Very 'gung cheong' about son. Has recently developed annoying habit of horning every time she comes back to alert her maids. Suspect the maids are usually in the basement/dungeon and so they don't hear it the first time. So 'towkayneo' horns again. The maids then scurry and stand at attention as she backs the car into her porch. Sigh. This has been a very quiet and peaceful neighbourhood for the last 10 yrs. And now this. She goes in and out of the house several times a day - morning, noon and night. Each time she comes back she announces it with her horn. The sound - absolutely jarring. It shatters the peace and serenity. What's a neighbour to do?

Half-Marathon here we come....

I belong to a Saturday running group consisting primarily of veteran men. That's 45 yrs & above. Last Sunday we braved the rain (along with 8000 other nuts) to participate in the 10km Mizuno Wave Run @ Bedok Reservoir.

The trail around the reservoir was very pretty and the weather comfortably cool. But our shoes got really dirty because of the puddles. It also took just as long to stand in line for the goodie bag as it took to complete the run. Silly things people do on Sunday mornings. Anyway, the reward was a delicious Yong Tau Foo lunch at Goldhill Hakka Restaurant along Changi Road. Spent most of the afternoon completely zonked out.

Anyway, our fearless leader See Chin, has got it into his head to take his running to the next level. Half-Marathon. Our consultant, Nicholas, a seasoned marathoner, says if we can do 10km......we can do 21.1km. At the most....walk. So we signed up. The date - 2nd December! Yee hah!

GOOD GRIEF!!!!!!!!!

And so the most important question of the day is..............is there hope?

Renergie Morpholift

" My face is lifted & re-defined. I challenge the law of gravity."

Thousands of micri-lifting effects work to tighten & lift my skin, whilst maintaining suppleness and comfort. Wrinkles appear visibly smoothed, skin feels firmer. My facial contours will look re-defined.

Doesn't that sound good? Yes, these things are now my beauty regime courtesy of a dear friend, who is looking out for my skin. Toying with the idea of taking a close up pic of my 'crow's feet' eyes for a before and after look. Might be a bit too revealing though. Hmmm....see my mood.

My Cannondale R600 CAD2

She's hand-made in the USA. Petite frame size of just 45cm. Fitted with 650cc tires instead of the usual 700cc. Has a Selle SMP ergonomic saddle. Her previous owner is an Ironwoman who recently came back from Kona. I just upgraded my compononents from the Tiagra group set to Ultegra. A world of a difference. Cost me more than the bike itself but well worth it.

Gave me the confidence to do my first road ride yesterday. We started out at Hillview, went all the way to Lower Seletar Reservoir and had yummy dim-sum on the way back near Mandai Road. Think that was about 40km. My legs today are a tad heavy and my bum a little sore. But boy.....that was fun. Looking forward to next Tuesday already!

Triladies 1st Sea Swim

Lucky Draw Winner!

I won for myself a Orca Race Tri-top. Have the black & white on top left. Apparently it's worth $70. I can't imagine paying that amount for such a little bit of special cloth. It's made of 'Aqua-glide' - one of the most advanced fabrics in the world to be fast, have air permeability etc.

I shall wear this for the race (unless I get given a nicer one for my birthday) but may have to fork out to get the bottom.

1st Sea Swim Training
This morning I skipped church (gasp!) to attend the 1st of 3 sea swim training sessions. We met in East Coast Park near Carpark F2. Nice sunny and windy day. Medium tide coming from south. Lots of junk in the water. Plastic bags. Sea weeds. Durian husk. Packet drinks. Pretty yucky. The tide was shifting so the current was all over the place. David (aka Yellowwfish), our Triladies swim coach, set up 4 floating buoys as our course. We did triangles and squares about 50m.
Decided to swim breaststroke as am most comfortable with it. It was choppy. Several times when I came up for air, I also gulped down some frothy East Coast water as well. As forewarned by David, we should just swallow it as trying to spit it out might cause us to choke. Later I realized it's easier to swim free-style. Easier to cut through the swell and less water injested. After about 11/2 hrs of zig-zagging these floating buoys, I really don't want to think about how much un-necessary sodium I've injested. The other awful thing about East Coast is the oil. Don't really see it nor feel it...but it's there. The evidence - bits of it on our feet. Perhaps when we're standing in the shallows. Last bit - there was quite a blob I stepped into. The way to get it out is to rub sand - need the friction to get the slick off.
All the way driving home, I kept thinking about whether I'd get the runs from this pollution I've drunk.