Monday, June 30, 2008

Nadia - Week 2

Need i write more?

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Monday, June 23, 2008

Runners' Survey

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Tuesday, June 17, 2008

The Days Before Nadia's Birth

Friday 13th June
I attended my last EXCO meeting in my capacity as the OPA committee member. I've served and i am letting others to continue with the responsibility? Will i miss it? Yes. Definately.

Later the same evening, i had to go for a company function. My GM was promoted to VP and he feels that it's everyone's hardwork, so, a celebration get together followed. I brought wifey along, knowing very well that it might be her last day being able to go out before Nadia's birth.

As the venue for the function is near Nike's HQ, i was told to go and collect some stuffs for seeding. Without hesistating, i went.

Courtesy of Nike Malaysia, i have with me one unit of SportsBand... it's Nike+ without the iPod. It's a watch that fashion after those wristband and unlike just any watch, it could tell me my PACE, DISTANCE, KCAL BURNED and TIME ELAPSED. How cool is that?

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And what is cooler?

It is ONLY RM229! WAY BELOW owning an individual Nano and purchasing the SportsKit.

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The unit consist of 3 things : The Wristband, the Main Unit and the Transmitter.

THe wristband is made of rubber with one piece of metal stud (with the brand name, no less) that will hold the unit on your wrist. It is one size fits all. Unless your last name is Banner and you have the tendency to turn GREEN, then it will fits you like a glove.

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All one need to do is to download a software (to sync the unit with the nike+ website) and they are ready to go. It is also highly reccomended that one calibrate the unit for higher accuracy.

I will post a separate entry for this once i get the chance to run.

Oh ya, a potential con? This unit does not have a backlight...making it impossible to use it in low light condition (like running with me at ungodly hours).

I've also recieved a NikeFit spinning shorts (read : cycling shorts - Spinning is actually a trademarked term for those RPM classes, which is also tm-ed). I will get to try it Sunday when i ride with the guys and girls.

Saturday 14th June
We had to go to Dr. Raman in the morning. Wifey due for the check up to ensure that everything is fine and hopefully, there is nothing of any concerns.

We checked into Dr. Raman and saw Damien and wifey. Congrats to you bro!

Our turn came much later and Dr. Raman checked and scanned wifey.

Then there were silence.

"Aileen, you are delivering on Monday. Water level is low", Dr Raman said.

That triggered some panic. We weren't expecting her to come out that soon.

Pardon me for saying, but i had WORK all in my mind! I was already thinking about what emails to send out. Who to send out. What to delegate.

I worries too much.

I immediately sms-ed my colleagues and bosses. A solo sms followed to the client.

The rest of the Saturday, however, wasn't spent drafting out the work delegation, but it was for the apartment we used to stay in for rental!

Went over and cleaned up the place we once called home. I gave it a through mopping and ensure that all items needed are there.

Then i went over to Edwin's shop and picked up helmets. Giro Advantage 2 TT helmet - in Tune Money colour!

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:)

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Speed Weapondry

Then, later in the late evening, sister in law brought over her magical vacumm cleaner - that vacumm that could suck the life out of those bed bugs and mites. Got to prep the cot for Nadia!

And before retiring, i went into the storeroom, looked at my Dream and can't believe it is still inside the Box i made for IronMan. I then pumped the tires of other bike and called it a night.

Sunday 15th June
6.00am and had my bike loaded on the roof rack.

Drove 40km to Hulu Langat Batu 18 to meet up with the rest of the usual gang for a ride up Peres.

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5 minutes into ride and blazing at 36km/h

I love Peres.

Peres is my steroid.

The group this time around was big. Tengku Zafrul, the CEO of Tune Money was riding with us that morning. Bernard Chandran (Dato')(or as how Chief Kutu would call him DBC), designer extraordinaire, was in his sleek Super Light Soloist.

The ride up Peres was predictable. Hard. You can do Peres every week and it still give you the pump in the thigh. The moment you think going up Peres is easy, try going up on large chainring. The moment the big chainring becomes easy, try pushing up with the 52-17 gearing. If you managed that, you are well on the way up at 25km/h.

My hats off to Tengku Zafrul and DBC for making it up Peres as if it was their regular Sunday ride.

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Father Day Ride

What's more. The ride was to commemorate Father's Day! We had great fun, especially on the final 10km where we did some speed work. Everyone was in the peloton and was going at 35-45km/h.

The same day too, i tested the NikeFit spinning shorts...and i tell you, despite my initial worry that i will get chaffing with the overly padded shorts (the inside has like 2 layers of sponges, place/arranged in some funky shape as per pic below)

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double layered at some part

I've not cycled since A Formosa (Which i did only in my trunks) and i was expecting the worse when i wore this shorts. I forgot to lube it up with petroleum jelly as i was rushing out.

But somehow, either my ass' skin has grown so thick that it has it's own build in chamois, or that this shorts proved to be more function that look (you know how some items are more look that anything else, eh?) I did not have any chaffing despite the high cadence of that 40km distance.

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Front

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Back

The thighs also has anti-slip rubber on the leg loop. Great to prevent the thighs from riding up during those hard cranking on super speed cadence.

If you can find this short, buy it. It's worth it. For general size reference, i wore an L and i have a 34 inch waist. Unless you are Josiah Ng with a 34 inch thighs...an L will suit anyone around my size just fine.

I got home at about 11am and then did some final rounds of errands with Wifey and MIL.

Went to Tesco to get Ryan's milk (i wished Bandit is still with Nestle, then milk won't look that expensive) and a pack of 10kg rice (RM44!!???) and headed to Amcorp mall to change some Tupperware.

Wifey then bought me 2 cupcakes.

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And aptly wished me Happy Father's Day.

We then went to have a late lunch(buy one free one type la) and then i went back to office to work - and did not go back until 9pm.



Monday, June 16, 2008

Nadia - HERE!

We checked in this morning at 9am at PMC. Anxious and not entirely sure what to expect. I meant, this isn't the first time we are going through this (ok, it's the second time) and to a certain extend, we did not freak out like how we did previously.



We opted for a single room this time around, reason being, Wifey thinks it's better to let me sleep properly; previously, i was sleeping between 2 chairs. This time around, i have the option to sleep all over the floor without fear that anyone will step all over me.

Wifey was due for C-Sect at about 1pm. However, due to some twist of fate, we had to reschedule to 4pm. Wifey was really hungry - her last meal was this morning at 6am. Poor her. She has to go on without food until tomorrow! As i'm writing now, she is in hunger, while baby is sucking on her!

At about 3pm, Wifey was wheelled into the OT. I tagged along. Anxious feeling all over me. Somehow, it felt different. Nadia will be borned not full term. She will be circa 38 weeks only. Plus with wifey's water level low, i was actually bracing for some worse case scenario kind of thing. Touchwood, of course.

Friends that i smsed gave words of encouragement, helping me to take away all the "what ifs". My only other comfort zone is that Dr. Raman and Dr Dhomo is with us - the same 2 doctor that delivered Ryan.

THere was another man in the waiting room. Apparently, his wife is under GA and delivering as well. SO he has to sit inside the cold cold room and wait. I was luckier as Dr. Dhamo managed to insert the epi needle much easier compared to 19 months ago.

Like clockwork, Dr Raman and his merry (wo)men operated on Wifey and now, for the first time to the whole world wide web...say hello to Nadia Kathleen Lim Ri-Anne!



She is a healthy 3.3kg heavy and 30.3cm tall babe. At 38 weeks, she has the potential to grow up to 3.8kg within the next 2 weeks should wifey carry her to term. She is the same weight as her brother, and as tall.

But of course, she is more dainty and sweet - and she has much much more hair compared to Ryan!

Wifey got back to the room close to 6pm and immediately after Nadia was cleaned and having her body temperature stablised, i brought her to wifey to be breastfed.

I tell you, compared to Ryan, Nadia's instinct to latch on (as what the lactation consultants would refer to) was like taking the duck to water.

As i'm finishing this post up, all i can say is that Nadia and Wifey are sleeping hand in hand, cuddled and safe.

And i couldn't be happier.



Ryan? Oh, he is still trying to figure out who/what is that small bundle all wrapped up in the blanket...but this loving brother did went and kiss Nadia! Jealousy? I think this boy will be more possesive and protective than jealous!

GetActive Invite

I've always wanted to be a Personal Trainer. I believe i have the drive to drive people to their aim and their goals.

So, when i recieved an email to ask me to go for an "open house" by this local Gym, i can't resist but to extend the invite to all of you. So peps...GetActive!!!





Friday, June 13, 2008

Quick Updates

1. Nadia is now 3.0kg (Tuesday). We have to visit Dr. Raman tomorrow for a check up as Wifey's water level is low. Hopefully things improve or she will be admitted tomorrow.

2. I am attending my last meeting as the Exco Member of OPA (Old Putera Association) now. This is my 6th year.

3. THANK YOU! Look out for me racing in their color!

4. Nike Sportsband...here i come.

5. HQ IT is auditing all the PC and Laptops. I stand to lose my iTunes, my Mapsource and some of the softwares which i've been using. I am keeping my finger crossed that those softwares will be allowed, else, i have to get a PC just to do my iTunes, GPS etc etc.

6. Stress.

7. Happy Father's Day.



Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Run Stupe, Run!

Felt good.

Managed to chase AJ this morning in the run. He started off a good 10 minutes before me (i woke up late) and i managed to catch him near Jalan Johar.

Infact, i think i did my best 10k timing for this route.

Infact, i did a good 1 mile run timing as well.

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I did my 10K in 55:41

I did the 1 mile in 8:178:14

Suddenly 8:00 is damn do-able.

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Thanks to Shazly for making this morning run possible...and thanks to AJ, for being a rabbit i need to chase.



Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Happy Belated Birthday Pa and Happy Birthday Ma!

I am an useless son.

I forgot my dad's birthday last Friday and only realise that i forgot while packing up to leave office at 11.30pm.

So, Happy Belated Birthday Pa!

And today, it is my Ma's birthday.

So, Happy Birthday Ma!

Thanks for giving birth to me and i will do my very best to be a prodigal son!

Update:
Here you go, two picture of the reluctant parents to take pic. Naturally, you could see where i inherit the "unshy-ness" to pose.

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First they pretend to be shy

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Then some TLC


Monday, June 09, 2008

Happy HIIT-ing!

Went out around 2pm yesterday for a quick 5km run.

Before i go on, lets set some record straight:
1. When i say "quick" - it really meant as fast as i possibly could in the current fitness state
2. When i say "can die" - i really meant can die.

OK, now lets hear a story about my can die HIIT trianing i did yesterday.

800m - slow (5:40 pace)
800m - fast (5:00 pace)
400m - slow (5:15 pace)
400m - fast (4:30 pace) - start to die
200m - slow (5:15 pace)
200m - fast (4:15 pace)
100m - slow (5:30 pace) - obviously tired
100m - fast (4:45 pace)
1000m - slow (6:00 pace) - to catch up with my heartbeat
1000m - fast (5:00 pace) - can die.

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corresponding speed graph against distance

i managed my best mile yesterday. I did the 1 mile in 8min 27 second. I must do better. Nearest benchmark is to do the 1 mile in 8 minutes. I aim to do that within the next 6 weeks. Make that 3 weeks.

So, in 3 weeks, i better be able to run 1 mile in 8 minutes.

Milestone

By the way, user of Nike+, make sure you calibrate your unit, else, you won't get accurate reading. :)


Sunday, June 08, 2008

Calibrated Nike+ and Garmin : 9km run

Did a run this morning. Feel really good. I was kinda hoping to get the rhythm back.

I was really interested in finding out if my calibrated Nike+ was as accurate as the next best thing i have, the Garmin GPS. So, with my handphone behind the shorts, Ipod on the left hand and Garmin on the right, i set out to run this morning at 8.30am.

The proposed route was from home, towards 1Utama, turn right into TTDI and head towards the Park, run 1 round in the park, follow the road infront of the mosque, turn left into LDP, uturn and head back home. I reckon it would be roughly about 10km.

The initial run was great, i managed to cover the first 2km in a commendable 10 minutes. I must keep reminding myself not to push it. I am not as fit as i was. Not as *seasoned* as i was before. What used to be a simple 10km "out and back" run has now turned into something else - "sole-searching".

i constantly check the Ipod and the Garmin, to see if the speed is consistent. I found it hard to compare as the Ipod broadcast the speed as minute pace (ie 6:00 pace or 6 min per KM) and the Garmin is in the more usual KM/H.

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On the Nike+, I managed to clock a predictable 9.1km run in 55 minutes. Average pace was 6:00. Compare that with the GPS that says i clocked 8.9km in 54min.

But what was more impressive was from the Garmin's software, i actually see the undulating terrain which i ran. The pic above showed the profile on the top left corner. Impressive (as in the GPS)

THe Nike+ and GPX, however, clocked me in at the same average speed. Which to me, is good.

With only 200 meters different within 1 minute of time, i must say that i could safely take the Nike+ calibration to be almost 95% accurate.

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This Nike+ thingy is like playing game la, if i had it last year during my run up to IM08, i would has easily clocked more mileage than i thought i did in my whole lifetime.

Perhaps, this is just another way of telling me that i still have tonnes of IM to do, and it is not too late to start clocking in those mileage...and bloody do a PB in next year's IM09.

:)

One more run tomorrow, I promise!

Wednesday, June 04, 2008

IM09 - Here I Come

Seeked permission from my boss and went down to town to LIEM.

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woo hoo!

Paid the RM500 and picked up my IM08 Cert.

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Training starts now

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Proud

So far, there is 51 people that has registered in the website. You are not considered as a participant until you paid up.

So, Fellow Malaysians, You got until 30th June 2008 to pay up your RM500 and confirm as a participant. However, please be reminded that you need to register at the official website first, before being eligible for Malaysian Early Bird Rate!

Go pay up at :
LIEM Sdn. Bhd.
9E, 5th Floor,
Wisma Tai Yoon,
Lorong Medan Tuanku 1,
50300, Kuala Lumpur.

Payment by Cheque and cash only. For Cheque, please pay to LIEM Sdn. Bhd.



Monday, June 02, 2008

Nickelback - Rockstar

This is my current PowerSong. Maybe i should just be a Rockstar...and not an IronMan.



Nickelback - Rockstar

I'm through with standin in line
To clubs I'll never get in
It's like the bottom of the nineth
And I'm never gonna win
This life just hasn't turned out
Quite the way I want it to be

(tell me what you want)

I want a brand new house
On an episode of cribs
And a bathroom I can play baseball in
And a king size tub
Big enough for ten plus me

(so what ya need)

I need a a credit card thats got no limit
And a big black jet with a bedroom in it
Gonna join the mile high club
At thirty-seven thousand feet

(been there done that)

I want a new tour bus full of old guitars
My own star on Hollywood Boulevard
Somewhere between Cher and
James Dean is fine with me

(so how ya gonna do it)

I'm gonna trade this life for fortune and fame
I'd even cut my hair and change my name

Cause we all just wanna be big rockstars
Livin in top houses
Drivin fifteen cars
The girls come easy
And the drugs come cheap
We'll all stay skinny
Cuz we just won't eat
And we'll hang out in the coolest bars
In the VIP with the movie stars
Every good gold digger's
Gonna wind up there
Every Playboy Bunny
With their bleach blond hair

And well...
Hey hey I wanna be a rockstar
Hey hey I wanna be a rockstar

I wanna be great like Elvis without the tassels
Hire eight body guards that love to beat up assholes
Sign a couple autographs
so I can eat my meals for free

(I'll have a quesadilla haha)

I'm gonna dress my ass
with the latest fashions
Get a front door key to the Playboy Mansion
Gonna date a centerfold that loves to
blow my money for me

(so how ya gonna do it)

I'm gonna trade this life for fortune and fame
I'd even cut my hair and change my name

Cause we all just wanna be big rockstars
Livin in top houses
Drivin fifteen cars
The girls come easy
And the drugs come cheap
We'll all stay skinny
Cuz we just won't eat
And we'll hangout at the coolest bars
In the VIP with the movie stars
Every good gold diggers
Gonna wind up there
Every Playboy Bunny
With their bleach blond hair

And we'll hide out in the private rooms
With the latest dictionary and
Todays who's who
We'll get you anything
With that evil smile
Everybody's got a
Drug dealer on speed dial

well...
Hey hey I wanna be a rockstar

I'm gonna sing those songs
That offend the censors
Gonna pop my pills
From a pez dispenser
Get washed-up singers writing all my songs
Lip syng 'em every night so I don't get 'em wrong

Well we all just a wanna be big rockstars
Live in hilltop houses
Driving fifteen cars
The girls come easy
And the drugs come cheap
We'll all stay skinny
Cuz we just won't eat
And we'll hang out in the coolest bars
In the VIP with the movie stars
Every good gold digger's
Gonna wind up there
Every Playboy bunny
With the bleach blond hair

And we'll hide out in the private rooms
With the latest dictionary and
Todays who's who
We'll get you anything
With that evil smile
Everybody's got a
Drug dealer on speed dial well..

Hey hey I wanna be a rockstar
Hey hey I wanna be a rockstar

Mixed Weekend

Fresh from knowing that IM09 will still be RM500 until end of this month. I went back after a long tiring stressful day at work (seriously, i've not worked so hard before i joined this company. I have a portfolio of at least 331 sites to be done this year, of which, half was completed). The stress gets to me. But i believe i could better manage it nowadays, compared to previous work.

Friday was one of those days when the items in your pending list gets utterly unbelieveably stressful.

So, i went home, had a quick dinner and the food did not comfort me (yes, i do succumb to comfort eating). I went upstairs, came down with full running gear and told wifey i really need to "sweat it out".

Off i went into the middle of the night (okok, 10pm, not middle yet la) and ran as fast as i could.

I did a 4:30 pace for a good 1km and continued to run faster. I was running as if i was trying to outrun the dogs which (barked as if my ass was their dinner) in the neighbourhood. I clocked 2.5km in less than 10minutes.

Then i started to have churning feeling in the tummy.

I feel like vomitting. The rice. The vegetable. The meat.

Held back. Slowed down. Almost at tears.

I called it a night at 4.44km, clocking in at 24.54.

If IM09 training had started, it was the day i felt like quitting.

I walked into the home. Dejected. I intended to do a 10km around the neighbourhood. I failed. I went up for a shower and proceed to send my Mum in law back. Came home, feeling like shit. Watched some tv. Went to sleep.

Saturday was dedicated to prepare the apartment we used to stay for new resident to move in. We decided to rent out the apartment once called home for the next 2 years. It was spend:
1. shuttling from my sister-in-law's apartment to collect one fridge and one tv, then;
2. headed to my mum-in-law's house to offload the fridge and take her fridge, then;
3. loaded up the fridge and brought both the item to our apartment, offloaded and;
4. then all the left over stuff in the apartment was collected;
5. loaded up and sent to our current home.

The rest of the day was spent fixing up some minor nitty gritty at home.

I wanted to go for a run on Sunday at 5.30am. Do the usual 20km run (which i know will be reduced to walk at 15km). But Ryan had to wake up at 4am, played and became needy until 6.30am...and there goes my plan for the 20km run.

Then this morning...again, the plan to do a simple 10km was distrupted when Ryan awakens at 4.30am...

Seriously, i think quitting the sports seems to be the best thing to do now.