March 15, 2010
There’s something magical about riding on the roads in the morning. This morning, I was a little later, only got out at 6.30 and in half an hour’s time, I really regretted it. Singapore’s roads after 7 a.m. are just disgusting and crowded. But it was a really good ride and surprisingly, I covered almost 10km quite smoothly before the knee pain kicked in. My life seems to have take a turn for where I don’t judge how my body responds to something by the lack of pain but the length of the delay of pain, I don’t know if that’s funny or tragic. But the pain more or less sorted itself out when I got home and went to stand in the freezing cold pool for ten minutes. I guess I don’t quite mind the ice cold pool downstairs so much any more, as long as I don’t have to swim in it.
Anyway, today’s bike route according to mapmyrun.com. And don’t worry, I wasn’t fool enough to go on the AYE, I just went under it… =p
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March 15, 2010
The final timings for the duathlon is finally posted online! I’ve finished in exactly 1 hour 30 minutes. Having seen the breakdown for my timings, I’ve come to a few conclusions.
1. Preparation is everything. I could have saved myself a lot of time in transition and during the bike leg if my seat had been the right height and I didn’t need to check on my toe wound and struggle with opening Ibuprofen packets while changing into running shoes. Note to self: Buy those race lace things.
2. Be careful in training. There is no point in training if you’re gonna injure yourself and end up with downtime trying to recover from injuries. My knee and ankle come to mind. Also, grated toe.
3. Its also a good idea to find out when a race is happening so you have something more than 2 months to train for it. Your body will thank you and so will your timing.
Anyway. Having done this one, I’ve decided to go for Powerman Malaysia in November. My legs are sort of less angry at me today so tomorrow, I’ll be starting training again. The more immediate race will be Bike Asia, which I highly doubt I’ll be able to survive a solo this year considering the shape I’m in. But then, well, who knows, eh? I’ll also try to put up my views on mapmyrun.com sometime by the end of this week. It’ll be a rather insane week for me so please be patient.
Posted in Sports | Tags: cycling, Running, Sports | 3 Comments »
March 14, 2010
I did it.
Sunday morning, I hauled my ass out of bed at 6 in the morning so my parents could help me bring the bike down to Sengkang for the Tribob duathlon. So I went, set up my bike and the usual nonsense, popped more Ibuprofen for my toe and knee, waited and then raced.
And holy shit, it was hard. But I finished the damned thing and didn’t die. Oh, and looked pretty good doing it, if I do say so myself, wearing my green running skort for it.
I could have done a few things smarter though. Like not riding 20km home from Sengkang after the duathlon. Yes, you heard me. My first duathlon, and I do such a thing. Should your first duathlon or triathlon take place half way across the island from your house, do the smart thing, arrange to crash at a friend’s hour nearby or arrange a ride home in a car. Trust me. Post-race, especially your first one, is no time to be riding half way across the island to get home on the busiest goddamned roads of Singapore on a Sunday. Somewhere by Upper Paya Lebar road, I was cursing at traffic and riding so slowly, I might actually have been a hazard to myself. By Kembagan, I was struggling to stay aware of the traffic. By Siglap, I was no longer aware of the traffic and not giving a flying fuck that I wasn’t aware of the traffic.
If you’ve also committed the folly of riding home halfway across the island fighting tiredness, bad traffic, hordes of people and the heat, you won’t be fit for civil human conversation until you’ve had a LONG nap, shower and tons of food. Ah, yes, food. Did I mention how fucking STARVING I am now?? Yes, absolutely starving.
Another smart thing I could have done was to check the height of my saddle before the race and tightened the quick release. Because my seat was really low and if your bike seat is too low, trying to pedal with a bad knee will aggravate the knee pain. Which leads me to the next thing.
Ibuprofen. Its your friend if you have a grated toe and a bad knee. For one, if you grated your toe on rough pavement barefoot running the day before your race (anyway, what are you doing barefoot running the day before a race, bodoh??), your toe will not appreciate being stuffed into a running shoe, then cycling shoe, then running shoe and made to run and cycle. No siree, it will not. And if you’ve managed to fuck your knee up so royally that it hurts all the damned time, I promise you, the pain will come back at the worst time possible. Like in the first lap of the bike leg. Demoralising and painful. In a time like that, you have to remember to bring the Ibuprofen with you on your bike. It will not be enough that you’ve popped two on waking and have more waiting in the transition area for you. When your instincts say to pack the Ibuprofen somewhere on your bike for the bike leg, do it. Because when the pain relief wears off and your knee sears and your toe revolts, you will want to bash yourself over the head for not listening to your instincts. Only, y’know, bashing self over the head leads to being knocked out and probably not finishing the race which you cannot possibly live with. In which case, may I suggest profanity?
Another thing that will be profane is your language as you begin on the second run leg and realise that your ass has cramped. Yes, seriously, my ass cramped as I started running my second leg. And because I find the words “My ass is cramping” so utterly ridiculous, I was afraid to stop running in case I might suddenly find the need to sit down and ask someone for one of those cramp relief spray things. So I just kept going and tried not to giggle manically at the idea that my ass is cramping. It would probably have not happened, if on Saturday when my boss asked me to attend a training session to learn core exercises to teach, I had refrained from actually doing any of those exercises in the session. Turns out, you do need your ass muscles to be daisy fresh and ready to run and ride hard. Really.
Honestly though, ass cramp. I’m gonna add that to my list of “Weirdest places I cramp in”.
Seriously, you start running the first leg and wonder “How the fuck will I finish this??” then the bike leg comes and your toe hurts and you think “Fuck me, am I actually gonna finish this?” and the second run leg starts for you and your ass cramps and you’re like “WHAT THE HELL WAS I SMOKING??!!” But you know what? You are gonna finish the damned thing. You can actually finish it. Seriously. Your body is not gonna want to stop even when your mind and other parts of your body is screaming at you to. Its like being possessed. You just keep going and going. Sure, maybe it gets slow to the point of ridicule at some points but you do keep on going. And going. And eventually, that last 400 meters across a grassy field lurks up to meet you. And you’re running on the grass! Which leads to the finish line! And then you’re done! FUCKING DONE!
Afterwhich you are going to decide “Hey, maybe I should find another duathlon to do this year and actually train hard for it.”
So to recap:
1. Technical checks. Extremely important.
2. Arrange for transport and whatever logistical needs way before hand.
3. Don’t injure yourself before the race.
4. You won’t think its possible but you can actually finish the goddamned thing. Honest.
Oh yeah, and its important to actually hang around until you’ve gotten all your timings or you’ll be waiting for the race organisers to put the results list up. Which will kill you because you don’t know the timing for your second run.
Posted in Sports | Tags: Running, Sports | No Comments »
March 13, 2010
So my first duathlon is tomorrow. It will be the beginning of a great year for me, I intend it to be that much. I’m jittery because I haven’t got everything planned right down to a T, my toe HURTS, putting my foot in a cycling shoe HURTS and also, I’ll be getting all of 4 1/2 hours of sleep tonight because I can’t sleep. Due to the pain, I’ll also be running and biking while taking Advil, not a terrific plan since Advil has been known to give me gastric pains and can lead me to injure myself more but I’ll take it and deal with the consequences as they come while eating plenty tonight to stave off any gastric pains.
So a few things to get me through tomorrow:
1. From Green Zone “Whatever you want here, I want it more than you do”
2. From Mark Twain “Under certain circumstances, profanity provides a relief that is denied to even prayer.”
3. I can, I will, I am able to do this.
At the very least, I’ll be wearing my running skort tomorrow so if I’m not fast, I’ll look good. Some comfort there?
Wish me luck, lovies! This is gonna be GREAT!
Posted in Sports | Tags: Sports, Tribob Duathlon | No Comments »
March 12, 2010
The Blackberry rings. Its 7a.m. Oh bloody heck. Yes, three terrific words to start the day with. Between sleeping at 1 a.m. and waking up every other goddamned hour to pee because the bloody collagen pills you’re taking for your knee requires you to drink 1.5l of water minimum consistently throughout the day (no, you can’t just drink 1.5l at one go, it apparently won’t work the same way), waking up at 7 a.m. is not exactly the kind of thing you want to do on a Saturday. Also, it seems the waking up at 7 a.m. can make a girl think of herself in the third person. Okie dokies then.
Eventually, your ass is hauled out of bed and as you dress, you wonder what you should do. Last night’s run felt pretty brilliant. Ideally, you’d be hauling the mountain bike to the trail halfway across the island to go bash through the trails but there’s the duathlon tomorrow and your busted knee. You’re supposed to be saving the knee for the run and bike tomorrow. Plus, after busting out the knee on Sunday, you’re strangely reluctant to get on the bike and ride, a reluctance you simply cannot understand.
So you do what you always do when you have no idea, you throw on running shoes and go towards the beach. Except that this morning, instead of running from the top of the hill, you simply walk. Along the way, an old man chirpily calls out “Good morning” as you walk past him. You have to remind yourself that not everything in this city is hostile and try your best to return with a smile and a “mornin’!” while avoiding eye contact. Just because eye contact with anyone gives you the heebie jeebies and well, he may be friendly but he might also still be a loon. Considering that you’re a loon magnet, its always better to be safe.
At the beach, the Singapore Biathlon is going on. Somehow, you still feel strangely resistant towards running, so you do what any sane person would do, you pull your sneakers and socks off and head off on the pavement barefoot. Which by the way, feels strangely bloody good. Unexpected because you’re also icked out by how the pavement feels under your barefeet and the pinecones and twigs look threatening as hell. Oh and there’s this feeling like something has stuck itself into your left foot and might pierce the skin any time soon. But overall, ignoring all of that, it feels GOOD. The first time you ran barefoot, it was around a track and it felt like a great foot massage. This time, the pavement is harsher, everything hurts a bit more but its still wonderful. Kinda like crack, one hit later, you need another hit. Fast. All sorts of things run through your head. Being out in the morning feels good. The sun isn’t hot yet, everything’s kind of cool. Except for the crowd, the vibe is pretty decent. Running barefoot makes you feel more connected to the earth. Its like removing a layer of squishy rubber from beneath your feet and bringing you one step closer to the earth, the source of all energy. Maybe, you theorize, that’s why you feel better after the shoes come off. Its not very different from tree hugging, having some exposed part of you in contact with the earth makes you feel more alive, more energetic and somehow, in the words of the Mad Hatter, muchier.
The first time you grind your toe into the pavement, its sort of a wake up call to stop dreaming and focus on the way you’re running. Its probably the only time you will agree with the ChiRunning guy, mindfulness while moving is essential. Not because of anything else, simply because you’re naturally klutzy as hell and will stumble over anything, even a flat pavement. You might also agree with Mr ChiRunning that there is a way to lean forward while running and make your core do the work instead of your legs, you’ve tried it with maybe 5 seconds of success at maintaining it and your knee didn’t hurt. Fucking miracle, really but then you somehow lost the feel of that form again and went back to running the old way, stumbling every now and then trying to find that magical sweet spot of running without a painful knee. Jesus. But anyway, somewhere before the sailing club, you stumble again and grind your toe into the pavement again. This time, looking down, its a mess of blood and skin. Christ on a stick. You sit down, clean the blood off with your sock and assess the damage. Not as bad as it seems but still pretty fucking painful. Shaking your head, you decide its time to put the sneakers back on. You’ll be racing your first duathlon tomorrow with a painful toe and you’re not even sure if it’ll be possible to cram that foot into your cycling shoes which are already too small for you and applying a lot of pressure on the exact spot where your toe has been ground. Limping back to the Bayshore underpass, you keep telling yourself “Pain is good, pain is VERY good, pain means you’re alive, goddammit!”
Eventually, you get the hell outta the crowded beach. You’re actually sorry that you have the shoes on. A whole load of thoughts run through your head.
Maybe humans were meant to run barefoot after all.
Maybe you shouldn’t run barefoot, considering your tendency to grind your toe into surfaces while moving.
Maybe, maybe…your next pair of running shoes should be these things 
See? Crack.
Posted in Sports, Things I like | Tags: barefoot running, Random Ramblings, Sports | No Comments »
March 11, 2010
“Thailand has mobilised about 40,000 security personnel ahead of mass rallies by “red shirt” opposition protesters over the coming days.” – from BBC
Well, hello 2008, all over again. Only this time, I’m not in Thailand. Seeing news like this makes me happy I’m no longer living there. But that makes me sad because Thailand is definitely one of the places I feel at home in. Honestly, I don’t see what more there is to protest about. Stuff over the last two years have shown that neither party’s will ever be satisfied with either government. Whether their respective governments do a good job of looking after the country, well they both have done their bit so we can’t really say one is better than the other, it just depends on who you’re talking to.
The saddest thing about this, from what I’ve seen in 200,8 is that while these two political lots duke it out, its the people who just want to go about their business trying to earn a decent living who will suffer. And a decent living isn’t exactly easy to earn in Thailand if you aren’t one of those lucky ones who have the right everything. Maybe its less a matter of which government is less corrupt or ‘better’ but more a matter of who can slap these political idiots upside the head and tell them to fuck off and stop creating trouble so their country can maintain some form of economic stability for everyone.
Posted in In the News | Tags: Politics, Random Ramblings, Thailand | No Comments »
March 11, 2010
A little woozed out after a long day and much tiredness. Went to run at the Evans road track with some friends yesterday. Was pretty terrific, got about 4 km in and then we decided to give barefoot running a try. Honestly, as icked out as I may be about the idea of running BAREFOOT in populated areas where human debris like glass shards, nails and dog poop may lurk, I have to say barefoot running is quite awesome. I love the amount of feedback I get regarding where I’m landing and how I’m using my feet while running barefoot. So for now, maybe I’ll start running barefoot on the track. And maybe one day, I’ll get my guts up to run barefoot on pavement.
Ok, fun things for today:
Green tea + grapefruit juice = not only refreshingly delishush-ness but apparently, the citrus juice might help make the antioxidants in green tea more available to our bodies. Considering that green tea’s antioxidants is supposed to help with muscle soreness after workouts, I’d say it not too bad an idea.
“A study found that citrus juices enable more of green tea’s unique antioxidants to remain after simulated digestion, making the pairing even healthier than previously thought.
The study compared the effect of various beverage additives on catechins, naturally occurring antioxidants found in tea. Results suggest that complementing green tea with either citrus juices or vitamin C likely increases the amount of catechins available for the body to absorb.” - from www.newsciencedaily.com
I like my drinks pretty bland, so my blend of choice is 1/3 of my 25 oz water bottle of brewed green tea, another 1/3 of ruby grapefruit juice and top the rest up with ice cubes and plain water. Its just mildly sweet tart enough for me to enjoy and not get a crazy tastebud rush from too much sweetness. I’d probably halve the tea and juice mix and throw in a pinch of salt if I want to lug it out for workouts on the days when plain water would just make me hurl.
I also have a mystery. A mystery bruise, that is.
This bugger came to my attention on Monday. Its pretty high up on my inner thigh, which is where my saddle comes in contact with my thigh while riding. Only thing is, I simply cannot imagine how the hell I can get a BRUISE from riding. Seriously. Its not like I’m bouncing up and down hard on the saddle or anything. I wasn’t even going off stairs. Seriously. *Shakes head*
Oh and have I shown you Voodoo Sally’s newest little sister? Have I?
Her name is Electra. She’s a Cannondale. Much thanks to Anne and Ching for passing this pretty little girl on to me. I can’t wait to take her out once her new tires arrive.
Posted in Geekette, Sports, Things I like | Tags: Bikes, Random Ramblings, Running, Sports | No Comments »
March 10, 2010
Its fast coming to mid-March and I realised today that my first duathlon ever will be this Sunday.
Let the nail biting commence.
Since January, I’ve been pushing my ass to start running at least once a week and doing some riding. Which is more activity that I’ve had in the past year but is still not enough. I believe the whole thing started with Alan asking me if I wanted to consider taking up road biking. And things sort of went from there. Among other things I’m doing, 2010 will be the start of challenging myself to progressively take my thing for sports to insane levels of…well, insanity.
Doing something insane in biking and running has always held a fascination for me. Swimming, not so much, I’ve never enjoyed being in the water too much. But the idea of riding punishingly grueling distances or running myself close to collapse is enticing. I’ve never had a chance to do it, because for a long while, I truly believed I was wasting everyone and my own time on pursuing something like that due to the fact that I’m inherently lazy and/or just don’t have the thing needed to do stuff like that. But among the changes I’ve made to myself this year, I intend to start believing that I can do shit like that until proven otherwise.
A few things I intend to do this year would be first up, the Tribob Singapore sprint series duathlon this Sunday. Followed by going for the Bike Asia endurance race solo, the Army half marathon and finally, the Singapore marathon at the end of the year. I might pick up one or two other oddities to do but that’s pretty much it.
In the long run, there’s the insane, self inflicted challenge of finishing the Bike Asia race solo next year with a respectable distance clocked and then doing the Adidas Sundown marathon. I’m still undecided though, whether I should hazard the full marathon or ultra-marathon.
So, after the duathlon, I’ll be starting to haul ass on bike and road to build up my endurance for the Bike Asia race. I’ve even gone and bought a skort to ride it in. Because, y’know, why just ride off road trails for 12 hours at a go? Do it in a skort too, eh?
Posted in Sports | Tags: Mountain Biking, Running, Sports | No Comments »
March 8, 2010
Chloe and I headed to watch the OCBC cycle thingy because Alex had gotten a slot last minute courtesy of an extremely serendipitous visit to the pub. While hanging out by the track with someone a friend had introduced to me earlier on, Chloe did some snappy snappy and got her first taste of sports photography. Which she (and I) decidedly does not like.
Ok, I’ll admit, I don’t like sports photography. Maybes its just me but I think my life is fast moving enough and the camera is a chance to slow it all down and catch the slow moments. In other words, my skill level isn’t there to capture people moving above 30km/h with any kind of decency at all.
But, Chloe got this one shot and while its not too terrific, I love it because it was the very moment of silence before the assorted race hoopla and finally, the riders came through.
Posted in Project 52, Sports | Tags: Photography, Project 52 Peeps!, Sports | No Comments »
March 4, 2010
Alice in Wonderland came out yesterday. Of course, as soon as Michelle called me, I started shrieking about it to her and it ended in us going to watch it last night. Just because Johnny Depp is in the film (my reason for watching) and because its awesome (our reason for watching). And it was. It was utterly, wonderfully awesome. Mich had wanted to watch it in 3D and honestly, I wish I could too but there wasn’t a 3D show at 10 pm last night and also, 3D movies make me feel sick.
But never mind. Because the damned thing was still awesome anyway and it was the first night. What could be better?
I remembered having a copy of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass as a child. It was a fascinating read for an 8 year old, I loved reading long books then even though I never really understood what I read, I had the most fantastic dreams of Wonderland after reading it and the adaptations of that book for children would pale in comparison to the volume my dad had bought me.
Alice in Wonderland does not disappoint. Well, ok, the story line in Alice’s world? Disappointing as heck. Its far too fairytale, far too glazed over version of a young woman’s reality in Victorian society. Everyone knows that in that era, even if a woman wanted to, there was no way to avoid getting sucked into a marriage instead of being able to work in her father’s company and earn her own living because a woman in that society without a man, is utterly without protection or rights. BUT, we shall not go there.
Instead, we shall focus on what happens in Wonderland. Or Underland, as we see in the movie. The first thing about Underland, you’ll notice is Tim Burton’s, by now, extremely familiar style of animation. The colors jump out at you, the costumes and objects are delightfully surreal and colorful and everything is just gorgeously fantastic. Its a proper fantasy world in there, with a slightly demented twist that just makes it all the more wonderful. The characters are an extension of the visual effects in there, they are loud, larger than life, twistedly demented and utterly lovable.
And of course, there’s Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter. I have the world’s biggest crush on Johnny Depp, its no secret, I love anyone who looks like he’s nothing more than a pretty face but has the depth and brains to carry off the insane roles that he plays all the time. Looks and insanity – those are very important traits for a man to have. Along with Johnny Depp is Helena Bonham Carter as the Red Queen, the utterly bonkers and rather sadistic tyrant of Underland. You’d probably remember this pair from Sweeny Todd and honestly, I think the two of them do have an energy that seems to rub off on each other in these sort of roles. Joining the party of pretty people who are terrific at playing twisted and demented characters, is Anne Hathaway who actually does a pretty freaking awesome job of playing the White Queen. In fact, my favorite character of all might be the White Queen in that movie. The White Queen is this floaty, dreamy, tree hugging hippie fairy princess sort who floats around in a dreamy daze of sorts. But she’s got this slightly nutty side to her, that comes across pretty well in the one scene where she mixes up the shrinking potion for Alice. In short, the White Queen is my kind of girl.
I’d say watch Alice in Wonderland for the visual effects and the well played character but don’t expect Alice’s storyline to be much good if you can’t stand the standard ‘and they all lived happily ever after’ romantic comedy type endings. I’d say that everything else about the movie more than makes up for the shitty, overly positive and unrealistic ending, and I do intend to watch it a second time. Also, Johnny Depp reciting ‘Jabberywocky’? Makes me very, very weak at the knees.
Jabberwocky by Lewis Carroll
‘Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.
“Beware the Jabberwock, my son!
The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!
Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun
The frumious Bandersnatch!”
He took his vorpal sword in hand:
Long time the manxome foe he sought—
So rested he by the Tumtum tree,
And stood awhile in thought.
And as in uffish thought he stood,
The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame,
Came whiffling through the tulgey wood,
And burbled as it came!
One, two! One, two! and through and through
The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!
He left it dead, and with its head
He went galumphing back.
“And hast thou slain the Jabberwock?
Come to my arms, my beamish boy!
O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!”
He chortled in his joy.
‘Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.
(Source: www.wikipedia.org)
Posted in Geekette, Things I like | Tags: Alice in Wonderland, Movies | 1 Comment »
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