Dilemma

What am I suppose to do? What am I suppose to say?

Another "out of the Blue" order came through. I am to commence following the BMI training in Lumut. Talk about being shocked. That makes my daily routine to be as below.

0730 BMI Training
0900 prepare to go to Penanjong
1030 arrive in penanjong
1400 POC/PTI AARM Training
1730 finished

If talking about the amount of training, I am quite nervous as to whether my body can take it or not. As for logistics, I seriously doubt that I will be able to cope the commute, even if I were to stay in Lumut.

My family will now take the luggage compartment in the boot (not even the backseat), as the administration seem more screwed than ever.

On the brighter side, I will definitely lose weight (that is what they want). It is like back to recruit training, but in two, very far apart training areas.

Makes me go back to the thoughts of whether I should even stay in the army or not.

The only things keeping me here are my wife and soon to be born child. Too much to think now...

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Sport: Swim

Having my skimpy lunch after a midday swim training. Today was mainly drills, so I was focusing more on my swimming technique.

I started with a warm up of 4 widths. Then proceeded with my training.

15 bubbles.
2 widths kicking (I really suck at this)
Rest.
6 width pull float. 10 bubbles in between.
10 widths paddle assisted. 15 bubbles in between (exhausted!).
4x 25m sprint. 10 second float in between.
4 width cool down.

It seems that I have not improved at all from the previous week. I hope I can remedy this in the following weeks. It is an uphill challenge that I must succeed come July.


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Location:Swimming Pool, Penanjong

Turn of Events

I sit here, thinking about the past couple of hours.

This turn of events puts me at an unsteady place. I had just recently finished a course in Penanjong, and was ready to get back to my daily work routine. A certain event had recently transpired (sounds posh), where Kurt had been selected to go to IMT. Why is this important?

He left the AARM Team, and left an opening for a Team Captain. I was not expecting that I would be chosen, but I received the news last night from Tn Zul. I was to report to the Shooting Ranges at 0730 in the morning.

I got to the shooting range and mindlessly did not know what to do.

Come Midday, Tn G Yu and Tn Khairil mentioned that there should be a change in the appointments, considering that everyone of the Team Captains were new. So, after the afternoon briefing, there was an appointment change. I was not too fussed as I have yet to settle in.

It turns out that I am chosen to be the Rifle Team Captain, and so I will start training with the men tomorrow.

What will happen with my daily routine? How will I cope? Is this a blessing in disguise? Or is this the bitterness at the end of the lollipop? Only time will tell.

I can not think too much apart from the need to perform in the taskings that have been passed out. As the saying goes, "You can only work the cards with the hand that you have been dealt with"

I need to sit on this one. And I know that I need to really think about this...

"carpe diem"


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Location:Penanjong

Review: Thor

Thor: The Movie. An excellent movie. It has all the necessary details that make it the Marvel Legend it is. The movie itself was straight-forward and keeps itself open for future "add-ons".

There was a continuity with the other Marvel superheroes, when SHIELD was included, Clint Barton (Hawkeye) took a supporting appearance as well as mention of Stark (Ironman).

I like the fact that they kept the story simple, because of the many different possible ways for Thor to learn, this was the most simple albeit easiest for him to basically grow up.

For me, I rate it 4/5. :)

Wishlist 001

Man, I have a wishlist. Like almost everyone else. It is getting shorter, but I will be very content if I could get these things.

1. Cervelo P2 Ultegra
2. Zipp 404 clincher
3. Garmin 310xt
4. Mavic Cosmic SR
5. Asics race 8
6. Lifetime supply of Powerbar, Powergel n the sorts.
7. A fitter body...

If only it were to come true... :)


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Location:In my head n heart

Sport: Swim

Just finished my slow n easy swim sesh with Tn Zul. It was not the best of training, and I ended up simply swimming 300 lengths (meters - correction). Tn Zul did a whopping 2k into the swim... Now that is something... Oh well... it is motivation for me to keep pushing...

That seems too short. I need to put more determination into my training. Tomorrow there is a planned group cycle, we will see my performance then...


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Location:National Stadium Swimming Pool

Sport: Run

Afternoon run today, to end my course in Penanjong. What a sad end to the course. Three weeks in Penanjong and I only managed to train (kinda) once with Tn Fakhrul. It was a swim training.

So I had the idea to run the Sg Buaya route, but running without a partner I eventually turned back at Gren2 entrance. I wanted to keep a steady pace, but it seems Tn Fakhrul is right, I am having a sort of depressing week in my training, with everything seems to be on the low end of training. From my swims, my runs and my cycle rides. Everything seems to be dropping below expectations. I hope that this is only momentary and I will improve the coming weeks to come.

On to the stats shall we?

Run: 06 May 2011

Start Time: 1650 hrs (4:50 pm)

Run Distance: 5.46km

Run Time: 30mins 02secs

Average Run Pace: 5mins 30secs per km

Calories burnt: 492 cal

Seems okay, but I felt like I was breathing out of another hole. Hah! Exhausted. Moderate effort, still a long way before I could "complete" an olympic distance triathlon. We will have to see in the following days.

Rant: Upcoming Events

So, here I was, preparing to go back to my daily routine and training. I got word that I am going to have to put that on hold.

I have 3 events that I am looking forward to.

1. ABDB Olympic Triathlon - To be held on 01 July

2. Panaga 34th Triathlon - To be held 30 October (not confirmed)

3. TDDB Time Trial - To be held in November (to be confirmed)

Thinking about these events, and the amount of training to be done, I get disheartened everytime something gets in the way. Now, who would not be? It has been a long time since I was fully interested in training.

I always wonder how the others do it. In the end, it seems that I need to keep my mouth shut and just do it.

Several upcoming events that may hinder my training would be the major events in the army calender. Yet, I do not see that as a problem, as everyone is supposed to be involved. Maybe it is just me taking things too seriously. And I should take things seriously, like my fitness, weight and family.

Too many thoughts will lead to a depressed man. I need to stop for a while... Let us see where this will end up.

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Panaga: Results

Here are the results of the Panaga Triathlon. I agree with Tn Fakhrul, it is to complete rather than compete.

Pics: Panaga Triathlon

Here are several pictures of the recent Panaga Triathlon. Quite unpleased as I only have 1 picture among the hundred pictures... and its a wide shot as well... must get into the spot light next time... Haha... The Full album can be found here.

As you can see, it is a wide shot... of me taking off my shoes prior entering T2. Hmph... No other pictures as of yet... :S

Sport: Run

Closing training for today, I finalized on going for a run. It was a tough choice between cycling and running. I really wanted to go cycling but there was no one around to bring along.

My run started from the back entrance of the Officer's Mess. Slowly working my way around the front of IL HQ, MRS and headed towards the primary school. Feeling winded, I slowed down to catch my breath. Then, it was a return trip back to the mess.

I ran an approximate distance of 5.02k, at an average pace of 5'30". Calories burnt at 452.

My run training is in a phase where I try to keep my cadence up for a longer distance. Once I can achieve a high cadence run of a minimum 8k, I will move on to the striding and endurance phase.

My stride is awful. I can not produce a nice lengthy stride. Probably due to flexibility issues. Hope to remedy it soon. I have less than two months now.

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Location:All around Penanjong

Sport: Training

Went for my first swim after the Panaga Mini Tri, in fact, it is my first training session after the tri.

Tn Fakhrul invited me for a swim at 1230-ish, but had to cancel due to work commitments. So I went by myself. I consider todays swim to be short. Well, I felt damn tired after the swim and I did not do my usual lengths.

Here is a break down of my training today:

Started with 15 bubbles,

2 widths free style,

10 bubbles,

5 lengths unassisted with 7-8 bubbles between each length,

2 lengths with paddles,

15 bubbles (exhausted!),

4x25m sprint (deep end to middle of the pool) with 30-45sec floating in between.

As I said, not my usual lengths, but I hope to increase my sprints to atleast 20 or better 40 half-lengths. That is what Tn Moza (Pak Richard) taught me...

Looking forward to my afternoon session.

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Location:Swimming Pool, Penanjong

Sport: Panaga

Could not get my mind off the event this morning so I will relive it in words, starting with when I arrived at Panaga Recreational Club.

I met Tn Farhan and he was talking about how modest he was in attempting the triathlon. I received a phone call from Tn Fakhrul, wondering whether I was awake or not. I mentioned that I was at Panaga already and he told me that they (Tn Fakhrul, Tn Masmun, Tn Amirul, Tn Airul) were on the way there. I went into the clubhouse and asked where to register. The organizer said that it would be another 10 minutes, so I went and set up my bike and transition area.

Almost finished setting up, I met several army boys (god, how I wish I could remember their names) and we talked about the event. After a little bantering, I went and registered. I got my right arm written 64 and proceeded with putting the race numbers on my shirt. I saw the Sirs arriving and greeted them. Well, Tn Airul was the first to greet me, but I greeted them generally. Haha.

We went in and waited for our turn to get in the pool. Tn Amirul was going on about whether I could beat another contestant. Boy, was I nervous. I seriously do not know how I will perform in the water. I saw Tn Fakhrul started off, quite strongly I might add. Then, Tn Masmun. In the midst of it all, I could not help but smile at the effort given by the participants. My number was mentioned and I went into the pool. I started with freestyle but on my second length I could feel that I was losing it. Halfway through length three or four, I was mixing and matching several strokes. I ended up with breast stroke for the rest of my swim. How humiliating. :S

I got out of the pool, and somebody congratulated me. being slightly disoriented, I just smiled, high fived and started running to the transition area. Got on my towel, cracked open a waterbottle, proceeded to rinse my feet and put on my socks, then shoes. Here came the slowest part of the transition. My shirt. I did not dry my body off well, so My shirt was stuck halfway up my back. This is the time I realize that I should probably get a tri-top. Put of my sunglasses, gloves, lastly helmet. During that time, I noticed Tn Fakhrul was in the transition area as well. He started cycling a good 6 seconds ahead of me, and I know that I will not be able to catch to him on the cycle.

I started spinning out of Panaga and turned right. I looked down to my down-tube and was horrified, I did not have a bottle. Stupid! I was going to try and finish my cycle leg with out fluids. Hmmm... so I ended up spinning at 28 to 31 km/hr. My thighs felt like lead at that time. I had a good 3 people overtaking me on the cycle. An italian dude, a female participant and a full triathlon participant (I knew that because he had 14 on his arm). I got into the transition area and turned around, and saw participant number 51. Female participant, vaguely familiar but I could not place her face at that time. So we started the run, and I kept thinking to myself, keep the normal pace, breathe normally, come what may... haha... sadly, by the time I got to the beach part of the run, I was seriously tired. I did not have my heart monitor with me so it was difficult to calculate my heart rate. deciding that not pushing it is better, I walked to catch my breath. Bad choice, because once you stop, there is a tendency to stop again. I saw the white tents and trudged along in a slow jog.

The triathlon is done with, now I want to know how well I did. hmmm....