Friday, October 16, 2009

When using the best is not an entitlement of the winners

We feel the same pounding on the tarmac. Same jaw grinding during crunches. Pespiration, lactic and pain. It’s all the same.

For many, if a ‘normal’ person is to do something extraordinary or similar to what winners would do, their mind will be filled of pretense description of this very person. This hurts, especially for people always on the ‘2nd tier’ of competition. I haven’t won any races before but a few considerable good rankings, best being 2nd.

I believe we are all entitle to our right of giving ourselves the best in order to race our best even when our best may not be the best in the race. What’s wrong with getting a good set of racing wheels for my bike? I may not be super speedy on the bike but if it makes me feel good while racing, where’s the harm? Many commit the fallacy of thinking that the equipments you own determine who you are. It’s true that seasoned athletes do their research and are very profound in their equipment knowledge. Some pros are sponsored thus using the state of the art stuff. Yet ‘commoners’ who use these ‘good’ equipments are ‘suppose’ to perform. Often, you will hear people saying “Aiya, I’ve a $2000 bike and I still win your $10000 bike.” Listen to yourself and laugh.

Thursday, October 15, 2009

like a roller coaster

life is full of ups and downs. just about a month back, i broke my own personal record in OD triathlon with a 2:30 at Tri-factor. yet i wasn't even close to that magnitude of success at my 3000 steeplechase last Sunday at IVP.

but it's really time to forget about the past and look what is ahead. and of course, i'm back to running marathon after a 1.5 year absence. i'm confident to break my personal best of 4:04. and i will.

Friday, May 15, 2009

updates!

woo.. long time already. lack of updates. here we go.

well basically, it's the summer holidays now! from April to August! damn shiok right. but that's for most others. i opted to do summer term so my holiday effectively ends in june. but well. it's only 1 module and i just wanna fulfill my 9 mods per year 'quota'.

last sem was purely madness. there were so many things i have to split my equally pathetic 24 hours (like everyone else).

Job -
i found work at the start of the sem at The Bike Boutique (TBB) and work there 2-3times a week. quite a good learning environment there! picked up a lot of things on bikes and met a lot of interesting figures. i would say i have a better knowledge about bikes but of course, not the best. haha.. got more to pick up. will still be working until probably when i need to look for internship in a year or two.

School -
studies in SMU is never 'slack'. u will always have the next presentation, project, meeting and assignment to submit. the true end only comes with the end of the final exams. i did 4 modules and results are as summarised below:

Business, Government & Society: A
Technology & World Change: A-
Academic Writing: B+ (surprising though! prob my final paper got an A which pulled up my C- from one of the written assignments!)
Microeconomics - B (haha.. no comments on this man.)

i would say it's not fantastic grades.. but definitely.. much improvement!

Training -
this pretty much takes up the other time i am not involved in the above 2. tues and thurs run training. mon wed fri swim training. which leaves the weekends to cycle. haha.. tuning up for Bintan Triathlon OD and well, going on well =)

this month also marks the 5th month i am with Yims. they have been incredible and we always have so much fun together. given my busy schedule, i am very glad that she is willing to put up with seeing whatever (that is left) of me and not dump me! hahaa..

early this month, it was my bro Lim Zihao's birthday. remember the waxing party. hey bro! take it easy ya.. i know your beloved girl left for a month. brace yourself! the return will be sweeter! =)

that's all for now.. ;)

Saturday, May 9, 2009

Nike Free 5.0

A lot of people has been asking me about this new pair of Nike i have been walking around with. well, i really wouldn't be surprise. Firstly, it's Nike, many would know i am a sucker for the brand. Secondly, it's bright red and grey. Finally, it has a certain unique outlook which makes it out of the description for a pair of trainers or a pair of 'kai kai' sneakers.

well, as u would have guess, i'm talking about the new Nike Free 5.0.


the Nike Free series has kinda been around the market for a few years now i think. i have been wanting to lay my hands on a pair since.. i dunno when. however most of the time, my pocket is usually burned with a certain pair of trainers or some bike stuff ( yay yay i am a bike 'whore').

the thing about this Nike Free is, simply put, not meant for running. at least not anything more than 5k for an average runner. i remembered when i ran my first marathon, i spotted a few people wearing them for the race and months later (after i know more about these series of shoes), i am stunned by the fact that they could use that shoe to run 42km!

i think i am able to call myself an 'above average' runner (not supremely fast nor slow), at least capable of running 10kmabout 40mins. the first time i went running in the Frees, it was about 6-7km before i feel'it'. what do i mean? well, there isn't much support with the shoes and i am predominantly an underpronator: my arch collapse inwards when i run. i had a hard time getting back. BUT to do justice to the shoe, it was very comfortable, soft and true to its cause, i do feel like i am running bare foot. i've tried many brands such as Asics, Adidas, Mizuno, New Balance, Avia and other models of Nike. none offered the same responsiveness (the soft way, not the racer kind of way).it was a pleasant surprise to see a shoe being able to micmic every movement of my feet.

the shoes have a very good hug to my feet. i guess the tongue is kinda specially constructed. like always the Waffle like sole always offer a very good cushioning (but do take time to season before it becomes cushy). this is the thing i like about Nike shoes especially the Triax and Lunar Trainers. very soft and cushy. but the only bad point bout them is that they are too soft to have any 'rebound' or 'feedback' which is especially crucial for racing because u need this kind of responsiveness from minimalist shoes. i heard the Lunar Racer do offers that but well, nv got to try them.

after a few normal runs, i decided to try something new with the Frees. i tried a Brick training on it, meaning i got off the bike and ran in them for around 5k, barefoot. i was intrigued by the fact that the inner sections of the shoe was kinda covered in a velvet type of material which is exceptionally smooth and soft. i wanted to see whether the shoe's inner stitching would be ideal for triathlon (since we don't wear socks usually). to my surprise, the result was good. no blisters or red spots on my feet. nice! but the ventilation of the shoes is not very good, therefore my feets was kinda drenched and soggy when i took them out. hahaa.. but it was a good experience to try.

well, after all the torture this shoe has been put through, i have to say it's at most suitable for short jogs etc. nothing like a marathon or even half. PLEASE, do yourself a favour. it's a very decent looking pair of sneakers though and since it helps to build up certain accessory muscles which overall increase the strength of your legs (yes i do feel a bit achy after long period of wearing them), it is ideal if u wanna buy a sporty 'kai kai' pair of shoes =)

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

life life

woo.. been a while since i've update my blog. since then let me see,

1) i got involved in a bike accident and my bike was wrecked.
2) i got a new road bike =D lighter and more zhng
3) took part in several races such as Sing Bi and IVP, did rather ok. not exceptionally well though
4) started training under my coach and see more direction in my training
5) started work at TBB and rather happy to be working there. environment is really nice

and well, soon exams gonna start.. 1 day from now. then 18th it will be over. then a loooonggggg break! (well.. i am taking Summer term from June.. but still a break!)

still madly in love with Yims and spending happy times with her. =D

i will update once exam's over!

ps: changed my blog header

Sunday, January 25, 2009

TT

and the clock stopped at 19:35.

had a 5km time trial (TT) at Bedok Reservoir yesterday. weather was hot, unfamiliar terrain but a flatter route than Nassim which we usually run.

looks like.. sub40 min 10k will be within reach.. have to train hard..

chose this number for good luck!

Thursday, January 15, 2009

zhng-ed my bike

Bumblebee upgraded to

Assault Bumblebee