It's the EVE before the EVE so here's the last few words to cap off 2013!

It's ALL ABOUT EVE...no not the movie of this title but about the coming NYE.

Always a gd time to wax lyrical; get all introspective; get all riled up; resigned, enthused, despondent or  elated.....whatever grabs us usually (or unusually ) at year's end when we tend to reflect that much more.  I guess we  are all pretty much subject and can easily fall prey to a whole gamut of emotions as we relive the year in a flash and take our lessons from events past that have invariably affected us and shaped us all for better or for worse....Well, I am taking this last opportunity to sound my blessings and do some ramblings before the year is out for good.

And writing for me is cathartic - much like getting a whole weight off your shoulders when you get yourself to really think about issues , distill them and put it down on paper (or in this case, cyberspace)...and ramblings they are, for better or for worse, but they are mine and one can choose to read on or not....

Getting the TT helmets weight off my shoulders!

As far as resolutions go, I found a gem of a write up from  Mary Anne Radmacher which I reproduce below :

"LIVE WITH INTENTION. WALK THE EDGE. 
LISTEN HARD.
PRACTICE WELLNESS. PLAY WITH ABANDON. 
LAUGH.
CHOOSE WITH NO REGRET.
APPRECIATE YOUR FRIENDS. 
CONTINUE TO LEARN. 
DO WHAT YOU LOVE.
LIVE AS IF THIS IS ALL THERE IS."

I will add on in prose my little bits :

Make each day count. Count Your Blessings.
Bless your friends as they have blessed you.
Feed them.
Believe in Yourself and make things happen.
Do what you Love and Love what you do!

After a year's hiatus, I finally had my usual year end gatherings at my place where I pulled out all stops to cook up a spread for my close friends. A labour intensive undertaking seeing as I eschewed catering preferring instead to prepare and cook with what I felt I had of a culinary talent! The results? 

No one had the runs..and the food was all well received! As you can see - I  like to feed my friends:) And what a nice bunch of new friends  they are! Blessed are we to find comfort, shared goals and gd cheer with others. One only hopes things last as long as they should... but in the meanwhile, there is always MUCH to be thankful for - the things we oftentimes take for granted: food on the table, an appetite to savour the same, friends to share it with, a roof over our heads, and a tomorrow always worth waking up to!

12 dishes for 12 guests :)

Ok ok..for those who are keeping count, the 12th item is the Sangria... LOL!

And so hopefully begins a time honoured tradition as we commit ourselves to the  familial bond of friendship  and have sup together at festive and celebratory times like this.  A sincere wish to share in the many blessings that I have had this year: 

where I verily had  been so shaped, influenced, motivated; made painfully aware of my foibles; learning to believe and to get out here and Just Do It; joyous embrace of Life and all its attendant promises of new and wondrous experiences there for the taking;  laughter & love, learnt of friends to sustain and fuel for all the undertakings that we set ourselves to do - as we are never alone in our journey!

So altogether a great way to usher out the old year and bring on the New Year. A very Merry Christmas and a Splendid New Year to all!

Let's all do something different and make a change for the better. People are mostly afraid of change from routine or getting out from their relative comfort zones...they would rather live life in stasis.....keeping the existing moments  as long as they can....yet in a blink of an eye the  whole world  indubitably shifts beneath our feet - this is the real world in a constant state of flux...n herein lies the paradox - we take a snapshot of the moment to preserve it in a frantic attempt to lay claim to a constant..but then that moment is  as fleetingly gone..ultimately there is no real preservation...only a life or moment evolved. So embrace change ! Take that snap shot by all means but do not hanker after what is past....learn to appreciate it by all means and learn from it ..but a progressive life is about being forward looking...

YEAR END STOCK TAKING and RESOs for 2014

It's coming to that year end time when we invariably look back at the immediate year past - all the days and months,  people and events that made up 2013 and how it shaped  and affected us. Stock taking is something we find ourselves doing as we cant help but look at all that has transpired that has added on to our psyche....

Looking back to learn from the past.....

We think about a similar time period one year before when we were on the precipice of 2013 and back gaze at what we hoped for then and made up as our own resolutions or aspirations for 2013. We wonder at how dichotomous those plans with how reality and fate dealt their unorchestrated and unexpected blows...and wonder why we never saw that coming...or how in the scheme of things we just moved along with the flow anyway and made it part of our reality....

Perhaps life is as unpredictable and should be as such. Too much planning takes away the joie de vivre and immediacy of life ....life can throw up oranges and lemons one day or protein shakes the other..and truth be told.. they are all drinkably gd enuf to make  refreshing and sustaining  drinks! 

A  team buddy of mine never likes too much planning and would rather just go with the flow with just a rough sketch of what he envisages to be the right thing to do to further his life.  He trusts that his decisons along the way will be as best he can make, taking in all exigencies of that moment. I suppose some pple can do that and do that well, being able as they are to process things to the very last minute to come up with an immediate plan that is up to the date relevant and the best bang for buck...best fit for the opportune time. Yet another is quite methodical in his approach to get things done and incrementally worked out a plan for the marathon he is undertaking - adding on the km as we go along with each successive training. Yet another Team member jumps on the bike, spins, gyms and runs to keep on top of things just  a few weeks be4 the big race only to taper down to relax mode post race..and start again - LOL. 

Perhaps I am too much of a planner by comparison and put too much thought and anxiety into setting things and eventualities up - and when things dun come to fruition as meticulously and constructively planned (or even as wishfully planned in forethought ), it's such a bummer and I get all flummoxed because I cldnt control as it were the inputs and outputs.  I recognise that as  both a strength and a bad trait - overly planned and it reeks of control-freakdom-die-die-must-have-it-this-way-or-else ...and too little and its all decidedly too laissez faire...tikam tikam...Ok..ok...  but some  judicious planning is good - some basic parameters of what u would like accomplished; committed to and subscribed to. I think we can agree to some extent on that. Operative word is 'some'.

Things that happen ,happen for a reason and life shld never be lived with regret but looking forward we shld always learn from our failures and mistakes; from all manner of situations that can only shape us and make us stronger and more knowledgeable having experienced first hand whatever life throws at us. We should also learn to listen, and listen well. 

Too often we pre-hear or qualify  well meaning inputs and the very voice we hear loudest is our own ingrained opinions! We shld be  be always open to 'good insights' and 'outsights' that we sometimes get to see when we step back and look at the big picture. Clouded as we are by our own ego-state-of-mind, we eschew the very checks and balances that are there from our friends and colleagues, family and loved ones...pple who care for us enough to tell us.

So the big thing in 2013 is getting the gumption and derring do to sign up in August for the 2014 Half Ironman..an act that to this moment I marvel at in my hungry foolishness. Maybe I was seeking some validation in life  - to accomplish some pinnacle of endurance and fitness that I harbored deep within my soul; or it could be something simple as keeping up with my new found friendships with equally mad  triathletes! But it is all good - life is unpredictable and its unpredictability makes for quick changes in our mindset and challenges and goads us to be bigger than our erstwhile safe day to day existence and mundane hopes - pushed the boundaries  of our experience and hopefully shapes and transforms us to  better, fuller characters with a zest for life .

To this end I also went headlong into the purchase  and commitment of a high end super go fast full carbon P3 Cervelo c/w  404 Firecrest Zipps. But  a man needs his toys, no? see later write up on P3 review and pimp my ride....but all this is posturing without affirmative action....

                                                     Pic: Go GETTER!! Out of the water...no more Child's Play - time to up the ante!!

Another embarkation is the need to fulfil my other talents which hopefully ...no - let me rephrase that...there shldn't be hope - that mindset seems to  imbue a sense of passiveness - we need affirmative action to see thru to  what we want in life - so the word i think that is apposite is wilfully....sees the professional light of day come the new year as I seek to push myself mentally and creatively to see whether I got what it takes. You never know until u try and one shld never fear trying . No regrets. Its all gd in the end as we can make it work any which way we like and still learn from it. Thank u to the powers and influences that be that have afforded the setting for the step up in heeding the call to create and do something worthwhile and entrepreneurial even!

So seize the day - carpe diem, I say , and  here's looking forward to 2014 with renewed vigour and affirmative action; some careful judicious planning...a whole lot of guts and mental preparedness and a healthy attitude of go get to it. We dun live to work...neither do we work to live..but we live to LIVE! And live it abundantly!

Come join me in my 2014 journey of  goal setting wilfulness, character building, soul searching and finding,  in the  enabling and encouraging company of like minded associates,  good friends and  good brothers  and best mates who altogether help us live that life of fulfilling purpose!

Happy 2013 and happier 2014!!

Rupertinum

And now looking ahead to what lies ahead ...I press on!

But first...the SWIM!!! LOL!

SWIMMING ENDURANCE - A Case of Mind over Water

I was always nervous and slightly fearful about swimming, not so much as a sailor cos invariably I would have my trusty life jacket on when sailing my cat or dinghy out at sea – and one would only need to thrash about after a capsize to get back to the boat and do all the correct drills for righting the boat - but the kind of swimming that takes u purposefully into the

All raring to compete in the OCC super Sprint Series

big sea! Prior to my first Triathlon, the only swimming I did in the sea in overhead water was swimming around our anchored yacht in the pristine waters of Tioman or Rawa. Now u are telling me we have to swim all the way out to THAT buoy and then some before coming back? And the half IRONMAN distance alone is 1.9km? What lies BENEATH??

Ok – too much. Let me go back two years plus and the decision to pursue the sport of Triathlon as a natural extension to swimming, which I was recommended to do as a sporting activity to help with my post – spinal operation care where I had undergone a laminectomy of my L5S1. They said it woulld help in building up my back again in addition to certain core strengthening and stability exercises. It was low impact and I look good enuf in my new Arena and TYR jammers so in I spashed!

 Swims at the club and community pool were done in earnest, with 3-4 laps done with moderate ease, but still tired and panicky after the laps as I felt there was no way I could possibly continue swimming well thereafter. But it was a pool with known quantums and I preservered as the Freshman Tris I signed up for only had 250m swim courses. That should be easy, no? With enuf training? I tried my best and cld only muster two laps of continuous freestyle 100m before having to revert to breaststroke. But hey – as long as I am keeping the distance. Soon I could swim 6 laps with better speed and ease…alternating freestyle with breaststroke which I found to be easier.

The freshman and Mini tris came and went. I was doing well in my category in these super sprints – consistently chionging coming top three out of the water. The longest I swam in a race event was 500 m as a standalone (won a medal there!) and 750m as part of an aquathlon. I was gasping at the swim run out but hey I made it! I found out that I always went too fast too furious and had to learn a thing or two about pacing and endurance racing..in swims, in bikes and runs (but those other disciplines – akan datang stories) And then came the fated decision to pull out all stops and just sign up for the half IM distance with tehrest ofteh guys…who had Olympic Tri distances beneath their belts but not me. what was I thinking?? Swimming 1.9 km was unheard of in my vocabulary much less my experience thus far. And this was to be my nemesis and crutch for the last two months. But the training began: one fine day in September I tried splashing about at the OCC Club pool with my Ironman Team Epower member Adrian and managed 20 laps without stopping in 29 mins. Adrian advises that I  put in nonstop 30 mins swims each time I hit the pool and build up the endurance from there...incrementally.

The next time I tried it- it was 28 mins and I even clocked a PB of 26 mins . All well and good but 1.9 km ..in similar form? I was doing alternate styles each lap and found that it worked best…giving me the peace of mind that I wld not tire out or drown as breaststroking was pretty much safe to me and I was kinda confident enuf about staying afloat and moving economically. We all know swimming is great for strengthening and toning muscles and developing your cardiovascular system as it improves blood and oxygen flow. Over time, I found that swimming actually provided me with greater endurance for running as I have larger lung capacity having found the strength to do 1000m swims.

This time I tried putting into practice what was preached : TO FOCUS, and to have POSITIVE thoughts during the swim. The focus is on the goal of finishing the swim..and not harbor NEGATIVE thoughts of failure or wanting to give up. It has been said that the mind is the control-center of this function, and in order for your body to receive an adrenalin boost, it's dependent upon one thing: the 'command' from your subconscious mind.

This means that if your mind is consumed with thoughts of fear, tiredness and the aching arms and legs, its mantra becomes "I can't wait for this race to end", and this means that adrenalin is regarded as 'unnecessary' and untapped. However, if your thoughts remain totally upbeat and positive during the race, and completely focused upon your goal of swimming a PB, your mind will signal the release natural power keg of adrenalin in its arsenal.

This Second Wind is also experienced in running. So the advice is out to keep your mind in super positive state during the swim - directed totally upon the goal (and not the negatives), and simply disallowing the fear, tiredness and negativity to cloud your mind. Well- I tried this out at the pool today – intending to draw on the adrenaline to push me and feed me till1.5 km...never be4 attempted...it went fine....and I actually felt fresh and calm and rhythmic even as I finished the 1000m 20 lap mark in about 27 mins....but alas – i couldn’t get up to the benchmark 1.5 km as halfway up the 24th lap – the lifeguard whistle blew a warning of a lightning storm so my experiment as an adrenaline junkie was curtailed. Oh well....next swim!!

Your mind and body are together a wondrous, incredible machine which can do almost anything you ask it to do, as long as you give it the right instructions. The Mind controls the body, and the mind is unlimited. I shall use this mantra when I get beyond the 1000m. Getting the strokes right an the swimming drills with aids and such? Now that’s another story.

 

Whether Breastroking or

Freestyling....it's all Good!!

TEAM EPO? What's in a name? TEAMEPOWER!!

It started out quite by accident as it was a fortuitous meeting of sorts after a group ride where 5 of us got together one Sunday in September. It was a ride which I planned with Adrian, and I brought  my best mate Cliff along; and  fellow Team ASG member Adrian had his Lilydale neighbours Ken and Kamen joining as well. We had a great time riding the fav Seletar loops finishing with the lollipop rounds at Seletar...

The bustop gang!

At Adrian's patio talking and playing shop!

Garmin's the way to go man!

The Team Epo logo...

Post workout victuals - de riguer after every session!

Look at the Team wear!

It's a great sport!!

 Airbase..and the de riguer rest stop at the bus stop shelter there. We had a greater time after the ride cooling off over drinks by the poolside discovering that we all had a bit of that same outlook on life and pushing ourselves out of our comfort zone to do things that excite us and make us better pple with resolve, a motivated outlook to succeed even if the race is only against yourself. 

 The feverish sign up for IROMAN CEBU 70.3 in October where we all managed to lock in our bid to take part in the limited slots kinda sealed the group fate. Our first foray as a group was the OCC Super Sprint Championships, and variously after that there were representations at Nusajaya Triathlon, Tour De Bintan and Powerman Kl where factions of the group continued their love of the sport. When scratching our collective heads for a fun grp name (we didnt consider Ken's tongue in cheek suggestion of Team Photo Opp..LOL) 

I came up with Team EPO - which u will see cheekilly emblazoned on our lilac V neck shirts at the OCC Super Sprint Event! What does it stand for? No ..no...not the banned substances that led to Lance Armstrong's downfall but Enhanced Performance Objectives. The idea behind is that once we set our minds to do something - like in this case, the sport of Triathlons, we shld embrace the sport full on with our energies, vigour and passion...and enhance our performance of it. The objective is to swim ride and run safe and enjoy the whole experience in a healthy way. 

 Enhance our training and workouts and races with proper diet, nutrition...enhance our mindset and attitudes with psychological mindsets to adopt and drill as daily mantras....gets our bodies in shape with gd exercise routines and learn about bio mechanics and core exercises (esp for me with my slipped discs disposition and laminectomy); i am also training them in Sports massage therapy and trigger point release; get the best of bpm and training aids like ourgroup buy of the Garmin 910XT, get vaccinated agst the latest flu bugs (we have resident Dr on tap); get up to date and au fait with CPR and use of the AED, get professionally done bike fits (will feature that after three of us pay the $450); get the best bikes we should afford (yup - time to feature my 2014 P3 soon c/w Zipp 404 Firecrests!!) 

We even group bought race ID bracelets! Watch this space as we share a bit more of our journey together and individually. Life is a sport and we will do all we can to live it abundantly and keeping fit, happy to be able to just get out there to swim bike run and share a sport with like mindeds. Cebu in August 2014 is gonna be a blast. Whats more blastworthy is teh journey there, and what happens beyond that! Here's to TEAMEPOWER!!

IN THE TWILIGHT ZONE: HEART RATE ZONING

HEART RATE ZONING Tracking your heart rate (BPM) with a monitor tells you exactly how hard—or easy—your heart is pumping. I started out with a simple Polar my mum insisted I used (she was so afraid that I’d push myself beyond limits!) and have in the past two months availed myself of the top of the range Garmin 910XT. OK ok – I am a tech geek and love new toys! Also – I carelessly left my heart belt behind at the East Coast hawker centre toilet after one Cold Storage Triathlon!

Group runs help u keep the steady pace....

Suffer together in Glee...and

Enjoy the flora and fauna on your runs in parks and such...

e

But I digress … this new toy helps avert the most common mistakes that runners usually commit - running too fast too furious (and here’s my homage to the late Paul Walker), which puts one at risk for injury and burnout. I have heard pple talking about running in the Zone. What this means is using the heart rate monitor to have your bpm fall within a certain prescribed range for your fitness level..eg 65 to 80 percent for most runs and perhaps expecting a 90 percent or more as one makes a glorious dash to the finish line in the last 100 m for the best of pic taking opp and to look as if you were running @ that pace all the while for the cheering crowd! Here is a general guideline that is prescribed: • Zone 1: 60 to 70 %; very comfortable effort; use this for warmup and cooldown • Zone 2: 70 to 80 %; comfortable enough to hold a conversation; most training is done here • Zone 3: 81 to 93%; “comfortably hard” effort; you may be able to say short, broken sentences. • Zone 4: 94 to 100%; hard effort; the pace is sustainable, but conversation is a few words at a time. I had been erstwhile using the old formula of 220 minus your age to arrive at the max hear rate. Using this puts my max at 169 (yes, yes, I am 51 yrs old) and 70% of that wld mean a 118 bpm target for running which means I wld have to casually saunter from start to finish. Hmm…quite the salah, right? I like to take pics in a race but this pace CMI wor!

The word is out that this formula may be inaccurate for most people. It’s better to monitor your heart rate based on something known as heart rate reserve, which is more accurate!! Here’s how to find your heart-rate reserve: • Get your max heart rate. You can get an estimate of your heart rate reserve, by doing a time trial or race at an all-out effort. • In a 5-K competitive race, you will likely be able to sustain about 97% of your max heart rate, If I used my last TRIFACTOR 5 km race recorded on Garmin as a test case, my max heart rate there was : 185 •

Alternatively, I will be doing 3.2 km time trial. Here’s how: On a track I will run 4 laps ( 1.6 km) easy to warm up, then run 3.2 km (eight laps around the track) at the fastest pace that I could sustain, trying to run each lap at roughly the same pace. I should then have a good estimate of my max heart rate. Should be ard 185 or more. Let’s see I will post the recording trial here in this blog in the near future! • Get your resting heart rate. Take your pulse at as soon as you wake up, before you get out of bed. Find out how many beats per minute by counting your pulse for a full minute. • Find your heart rate reserve. Your heart rate reserve (HRR) is your max heart rate minus your resting heart rate. • Know your zones. To find out which numbers to target on which runs, multiply your heart rate reserve by the zone you’re running in, then add back your resting heart rate.

 Here’s an example: • In my case I have a max heart rate of 185 and a resting heart rate of 78. • Your heart rate reserve would be 185 – 78 = 107. • To find out which number you should target for your warmup, when you want to be working at 65%, you’d use this formula: • Heart Rate Reserve x 65% + Resting heart rate • 107 x 0.65 (65% of heart rate for an easy run) = 69.55 + 78 (Resting heart rate) = 147.55 • So I wld target about 147 for my warm up. If the number is higher, I am working too hard. If it’s lower, I wld need to pick up the pace. VOILA!! See an expert.

This trusty Garmin really helps take the guess work out!

If you’re really want to find out exactly what your max heart rate and heart rate reserve are, go and do a treadmill test. This test typically involves running on a treadmill while hooked up to machines that monitor your heart rate and blood pressure.. Your heart rate at that maximum effort is your max heart rate. I would recommend this stress test for all who wish to embark on triathlons and races to rule out any unusual pre-existing condition that may be injurious to your sporting activity. I will be getting this done come 8th January 2014 – so watch out this space!! Know the limits.

Even when you know your max heart rate, and know the training zones, realize that there are certain limitations when using a heart-rate monitor to gauge how hard you’re working out. The following will cause inaccurate readings: • In the gym, the signals from the machines might interfere with an accurate reading. • Dehydration • Hot Weather • Existing Debilitating pain • Medications (pain blockers, etc) When you’re just starting to work out, you have to carefully weigh whether HEART RATE MONITORING is right to you. It’s best to work by feel at first. This is what our self appointed  motivation and fitness coach Kamen says.

Spend time naturally getting into a rhythm of walking or running that feels comfortable enough to hold a conversation. It takes a while to get to a point where the running feels relaxed and natural. Listen to your own body and get a feel of what is comfortable, what is painful and adjust your pace accordingly. Once you do, you should target that comfort feeling during each run. Believe in yourself ! Focus and listen to your body.

When all is said and done, being in tune with your own body and what it can do is something each of us should know and be totally aware of. Too often , I was guilty of constantly glancing at the Garmin to see if I was over exerting ...that in itself can be a distraction to good pacing and rhythm of stride. I guess once u got the basics and the feel, you shld put a little more trust in how u urself feel and just take glances at the Garmin to confirm the way you feel. Case in point is notwithstanding the low zone reading, you push yourself despite the unease in your breathing and palpitation ,slow down! listen to your body!! Even during a 6.2 km trial run I was reminded  NOT  to look at my Garmin watch and instead focus on doing rhythmic, regular, comfortable strides and pacing ...taking cues from whr I cld still hold a conversation or whr I was getting blue in the face LOL!  Luckily my best Dr mate Cliff was running beside me and I felt totaly at ease knowing immediate resuscitation is at hand from him!

In Endurance events, races are not won by sheer speed alone, but by being able to plod thru at a constant pace that doesn’t heat up your engine too soon too fast too furious only to hit a wall. There is truth in the adage ‘Slow and Steady Wins the Race…” after all. Come back next time to find out more about nutrition and fuelling pre and post race; and during the race itself. There’s a lot of writing and opinions out there too! I also want to see how we can track the heart rate zone in swimming.

Beware Buayas on the Route, though! LOL.