TRISTUPE.COM

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

My Resume

I am looking for new opportunity with my career.
As most of you that know me via this blog and in real life, i am a dedicated worker. I take my work seriously and giving 100% is usually an understatement. I treat my work as how i treat my races - i am committed to finish it and i do only my best. Many times, i guide and help others along the way. That speaks of my leadership quality.
I am not trying to oversell myself, but my four short years in the current company spoke of my commitment and achievement as i moved up from being a field engineer to a regional practice lead for Asia.
My resume could be viewed here : Ee-Van Resume as of July 2011
I look forward to receive any opportunities for a face to face meeting. I thank you in advance.

Port Dickson International Triathlon 2011

I've not done a triathlon race for a year. One complete year. The last i raced was last year PD Tri. It was a harrowing experience when you raced and not think about your own well being. That was for being hard-headed.
Last weekend race was sort of a comeback for myself. having tattooed myself with a Swim-Bike-Run tats on my right calve with "140.6" (denoting Ironman Triathlon distance), it is not just about "living up to the name" anymore but making the sports a part of my life. It has always been a part of my life since i found the joy of Tri-ing. Greater joy beckon when you are given the opportunities to help others in the sports - be it to encourage, offer advices or just by being there to see them complete.
I did exactly that yesterday.

I've raced long enough but not as long as some senior triathletes. I've paid my dues and I've did all i could with the limited time and resources i have balancing work and life. It's never easy and we all know that Work-Life balance is a myth. I've not respected myself or the distance for the race yesterday as i did not have the chance to train - i only picked my bike up from Edwin on Friday (and he asked "you training this Saturday is it for Sunday race?, in a sarcastic voice no less).

Coincidentally, I've sort of decided to stay close to Ezan for yesterday's race. She will be doing her first full Olympic Distance triathlon in PD this year. She did the Sprint last year and decided on the full monty this time around.
Game plan was that we will both swim in our own wave, i wait for her at her bike in T1 and we do the Run together. While i know she don't really need me to accompany her, but i guess i just want to be there "just in case" of that puncture or that extra push that she might need.
My total time taken yesterday was 3:37. not exactly my best but it was the only tri race i did over the past 12 months. I am happy. I raced it well and with great company. I enjoyed and managed to run in RunningSkirt. I believe i am the first triathlete that did so in Malaysia. :)
Swim : 0:34
Bike: 1:29
Run: 1:16
T1 : approx 20mins
T2: approx 2mins
I was pretty surprised with my swim. Having only swam once within the last one week. I was expecting the worse. Calm nerve and staying away from the main bunch (including swimming way outside and not next or near the buoy lines) helped. Calm water helped too. Perhaps the swim was under-distanced as well. Felt like it was a 1.2km instead of a 1.5km. I exited the water and was surprised i came in slightly less, or more than 30mins. Can't recall, perhaps it was 31mins. Took a really really slow walk back to T1.

Some said i lost weight. Some could not recognise me as i was fatter when they knew me. I felt that stress has made me lost some weight, not exercise. not happy with the still "pale" complexion. iron level in question? Photo credit to Tey.

At T1, i managed to snap a lot of friends photos of which I've uploaded in Facebook. You guys and girls know who you all are lah!

Speaking of T1, i saw a girl, in her haste, broke her Oakley M-Frame's frame. Yeap. Anxiety does stupid things to you in T1. We triathletes MUST stay cool in all situation. When you failed to stay calm, you will:

miss your transition area/bike and start running up and down like headless chicken thinking someone took your bike;
forget to bring along the essential gears such as gels, pumps, sunglasses etc;
wear your helmet the wrong way;
fall as you try to clip onto your bike;
forgot to smile and enjoy the race.

I witnessed all the above. I've always took my time in T1. After all, the time i lose to the next person out of the water after me and beat me at T1 could be minimized if i efficiently power through the bike section. Something I've learnt in that three Ironman distance i did.

The 40km bike was alright. PD bike route is rolling. It gives a fair bit of workout for both climber and sprinter. For the stronger cyclist, PD is actually considered as flat with no climbs. Most "bumps" are taken cared off by momentum as the triathletes sort of "glide over" while maintaining the cadence. For myself, my best timing for PD biking was a cool 1:10. I did a 1:30 yesterday and there was only fun. Took the opportunity to impart some advice to Ezan to pedal on a consistent cadence on the smaller chain ring to conserve the legs for the return 20km and the run later. Many beginners made the mistakes of powering through the first 20km only to fail to keep up in the last 20km which was slightly downhill all the way.

Ezan was strong on the bike. That was not a coincident but hard work that was put in. All she need now is to learn to use the gears to her advantage. Pounding on big chain ring is good if the route is flat and if you have the strength to power them through at least 80 cadence. Else...better be efficient and spin on those rings!

Entering T2, the ever familiar jelly-leg feeling was missing. I've not pushed hard on the bike which will allow me more reserved energy for the run. Got to my 2115 on Row C and put on the skirt. Initially i wanted to just commando it but taking off my tri-shorts in public would cause Uncle Chan to ban me for life. So, with a smaller thighs under the skirt will do this time!

The run route this year was slightly changed to accommodate for better safety. This meant there are about 3 or 4km of "off road" running on softer sand and along the far fringes of the beach. It sort of gives a gist of "Xterra" feel.

The run was alright with me taking more time running up and down taking photos of friends.

Rudy - SAC Marshall in town for a meeting and decided to check PD Tri out

Kak Jenap in her usual antics

The usual suspects. :)

If any of you ran past this stall in the next photo and wondered what the uncle was selling, it was actually fishing lure or live baits aka worms.

RM5/pack. not entirely sure of the efficiency, but i say if a stall is setup, i believe there is a market for this item.

Running in the skirt has gotten me a fair bit of attention. I believe i am the first MALE Triathlete to do this in Malaysia. Perhaps, it will be fashionable as well one day. I was nicknamed "amoi" by Ezan. Fine by me as there is no shame in running like a girl as most of the girls i know (including wifey) runs faster than me!

photo credit to Tey.

As i approach the finishing line, i told Ezan to go for it. This is her moment. Her first full Oly Tri. She deserves all the accolades and fanfare. Even without me, she would still be finishing the race in the time she wanted i.e. 3:30. Very good for a first timer.

For myself, nothing brought more joy than to run the short 80m to finish with both Ryan and Nadia. The last it ever happened was when Ryan was 2 years old that i crossed the Desaru line with him. How times fly and it was such joy to walk slowly with them to the line.

It will be my dream one day that the kids will want to Tri as well. Can you imagine the commotion, the bicycles, the running gears and the swimming gears that will be scattered around the home in a couple of years time?

It will be priceless.

Congrats to all finishers - first time or your 10th time. I hope yesterday's race was as good as it was for me! See you all soon at the next Tri race!

Swim-Bike-Run. Repeat!

p.s - this report was written over lunch time and posted after office hour.

You Never Walk Alone with Standard Chartered Bank

A few English football teams will be (and already are) in Kuala Lumpur in July. The excitement of the fans could be felt from the Facebook wall posting to the Twitterville. They are here to play against our local Heroes, the Harimau Malaya.
Malaysians are passionate about their football. There are a good following of the major clubs. While some jump into the bandwagon to support the team of the day, there are many hardcore that I personally know whom their support to this particular football club was like a heirloom passed down from their grandfather to them. I am not talking about the wannabe club with a devil as a mascot but i am talking about LIVERPOOL!

As you all know, Standard Chartered Bank is the official sponsor for Liverpool Football Club. The synergistic partnership has been known in (the football) world over!

Image taken from Liverpool FC Website

So, how would you like to win TWO free passes to see your TEAM in action against HARIMAU MALAYA on July 16, 2011 at Stadium Bukit Jalil? Wait, you even get to see a player of your choice too!

Standard Chartered Bank will be making this possible with a few easy steps below.

Step One

Go to this Website HERE

Step Two

Write on the wall and send a message (up to 140 character) to your TEAM...

...And click SEND. Once you do that, you will be prompted to...

Step Three

...Create an AVATAR or Randomise it. I've done one for myself that looked like i am the cool (goal)keeper for Liverpool!

You then click SUBMIT and will be prompted to the next step...

Step Four

Fill up all your (legit) info, if you don't, how else will they contact you if you win?

Don't forget to correctly click on "Malaysia" (if you want to see the match on July 16,2011) and also on the "I Accept the T&C". Once you are sure your info is correct, click SUBMIT.

Step Five

And that's it! You are on your way to win TWO passes. But that's where it need some involvement from you.

Share your message and avatar on Facebook or Twitter. Get your friends to "LIKE" them on the GetBehindYourTeam page. The more "LIKE" you get, the higher your chances to be on the TOP 10. Once you are in the TOP 10, your message will be chosen to be one of the lucky winner to win the passes and see your TEAM in action against Harimau Malaya!

Thanks to Standard Chartered Bank for making this possible!

Of Protest & Misquoting His Highness

This is a apolitical rant. Skip this if you are happier reading about race reports.
I am just an ordinary citizen. I pay my taxes. Abide by laws. Pay up my summons. Put up with bad local governance. I've voted three times since i am of legal age (1999, 2004, 2008). I've voted for the government in 1999 being the naive brainwashed (due to national school policies that i grew up with) and I have voted for the opposition in the last two election.
Yes. "Undi itu Rahsia" or "Vote is Confidential".
But are we really sure they are? I've on all three occasion noted that my ballot paper was marked. I have forgotten on the last two occasion to bring an eraser. I want my vote to be confidential - as it should be.
After 15 years since turning 21 and of legal voting age (and voted), I have slowly seen, or rather saw how things has been practiced in the country. I grew up in the "Mahathir" era. Where everything seems to be "perfect". Then it was the Abdullah years of nothing been done and now, the Najib's era. Nothing much has changed, really, except we now got our self-proclaimed "First Lady Of Malaysia", that was "perceived" to rule the country.
I would had agreed to that title if it was Tun Siti Hasmah. I bet many of you would agree with me.
Anyway, as all of us now know, the key word now is YELLOW. Anything of this color is apparently illegal. many has been mocking the decision by our own Home Minister and the Polis that "anyone wearing yellow - shoe, car, shirt etc" will be arrested as it's illegal.
Yellow is the color chosen for this movement called Bersih. It's a coalition of NGOs. Very much like Perkasa. Look, an NGO can have ONE person representing it. So, having 64 NGOs supporting you could meant there are only...well, 64 person involved.
I am not going to speak at length about Bersih. You can read it here as someone obviously has so much time to actually create a version in Wiki : Bersih in Wiki.
I am not against clean election. But that doesn't mean i support Bersih.
I love my country and what the future holds for my family and kids. But that doesn't mean i support Patriot.
No, i despise Perkasa and any racial bigots. And as a lawyer friend aptly asked me "how about those silent bigots". My opinion is that the silent bigots are not as damaging as those that threaten violence or when they open their mouth, shit actually smell better.
So, The Supreme Commander of the country. The Yang Di-Pertuan Agong, has finally spoke yesterday. he has requested that the Bersih and Government "work together". I must say His Highness has said enough to be fair to all parties.
Some might say that the speech by His Highness was scripted and prepared by the ruling government. If that is the case, that goes to show that the ruling government has acknowledged that Bersih is a force to reckon with; though i would much love that His Highness speak impromptu and warn everyone involved.
With that done, it's pretty obvious that most (if not all) media will carry the speech by His Highness. Bernama was the first to do that, followed by many others.
However, the headlines in all the media was less than desired. The word "illegal" and "haram" are used over and over again!
Now, NO WHERE in His Highness speech has His Highness mentioned ILLEGAL or HARAM!!!

Yeap, the imagine above is a bit too small for normal reading. Here is the excerpt from both the media.

Bernama text in Bahasa Malaysia - click to enlarge

NST Snapshot of the same speech - translated

No where in the text (of the official speech) in Bahasa said it was illegal. But somehow NST managed to interpret it as "illegal". It's clear misquoting. Did they use Google Translate like how the monkeys did when the China premier came to visit?

Some rakyat get caught for "waging war against the Agong". I believe the above runs along the same line. Many people get reprimanded for a lot less and will His Highness now need to call for a PC (press conference) to say he was "misquoted" by NST?

Before i go and mind my Monday business, let me leave you with our country's principles or Rukunegara

KEPERCAYAAN KEPADA TUHAN
KESETIAAN KEPADA RAJA DAN NEGARA
KELUHURAN PERLEMBAGAAN
KEDAULATAN UNDANG-UNDANG
KESOPANAN DAN KESUSILAAN

BELIEF IN GOD
LOYALTY TO KING AND COUNTRY
UPHOLDING THE CONSTITUTION
SOVEREIGNTY OF THE LAW, and
GOOD BEHAVIOUR AND MORALITY

As a citizen in Malaysia, ask yourself (first), how many have you been following? The way i sees it, the present government has breached the "upholding the constitution" part - being a democratic country, we are allowed our freedom of speech and the freedom to gather. Many of those threatening violence has obviously breached the last Rukunegara. The Principles MUST be read as a whole, not dissected to any one's whim and fancy.

Your future and your children's future is at stake. I say let Bersih, Patriot and the Government (both opposition and ruling) march down the road and demand for a clean AND safe election. This will be the perfect time to weed out those MPs that has underperformed and of suspicious character.

Come General Election #13 - vote wisely and don't be the fool that vote for the clown.

Eating Clean - A White Collar Dilemma

Breakfast. Lunch. Dinner.
For those of us that spend more time sitting in front of the PC or out at work, this is a dilemma, especially those that tries to eat clean for health and weight-control reasons.
The abundance of (unhealthy) food being sold by the hawkers and eateries leave much to be desired. Even office pantry is a sinful place to be for those that tries to eat clean.

Butter crab

Coffee, fortified beverages, creamer, condensed milk, junk food/snacks are just some of them. Caffeine messes with your system no matter how much you say you say you need them (thus i save them for race morning, if i need it). Fortified beverages are nothing but cocoa with loads of add-on and sugar. Creamer are hydrogenated vegetable oil, otherwise known as trans-fat. I don't need to elaborate about junk food/snack.
I have my diet sins too. I used to stock up a lot of dried sour plum. I have a bottle of cordial on my desk (gladly, I've not touch it for months!), i bring junk food for those "comfort eating" at work.
These has to stop.
Lunch is always a challenge. That RM4.99 meal is just too good (read : wallet friendly) to let go. But I know that every single fries i take brings me closer to more clogged arteries. Everything is processed. OK, how about we eat that bowl of Nyonya laksa? Goddammit those coconut milk in the curry broth with steam chicken and uncooked cockles are just too darn delicious to ignore (and i just salivated while typing this).

Mee Jawa Best In The World

That plate of nasi briyani with succulent beef in dark soy sauce and tonnes of vegetable (got to be healthy right?) perhaps takes the monotony away from the lunch hour.

Nasi Briyani Ayam...with vegetable...right...

Wrong. Wrong. Wrong. (and i so hate myself for eating them all!)
Technically, they are all "home cooked", or how else they landed on the platter for the serving? But little do most of us know that whatever we see being served are actually bad for our health. Some hawkers claimed to use the "freshest ingredient" and that usually meant rejected vegetables bought at cheap price from the hypermarket (i just saw someone in uniform of a kopitiam around Mutiara Damansara buy "reduced price" vegetables). For economy and maximum profit, most of them recycle the oil they use. Most know that oil can only be used a couple of time for frying. The more we expose oil to heat, the more they oxidizes and break down to carcinogenic materials. Seen the pisang goreng (fried banana fritter) lady's cauldron of oil? Golden yellow or dark brownish?
Wait, it's golden yellow. But is that "refined" oil from "recycled oil"? Meaning, were they re-processed used cooking oil?
OK. Eat healthy. Take sandwhich. Subway. O'Briens. Can't be bad, no?
Did you just ordered your sandwhich with extra meat and "please more mayo and that sweet onion sauce, please"?
You get my drift?
It's never easy to eat out. It gets more difficult when you are trying to eat clean. You ARE what you eat.
So what are you now?
A walking lard? A sedentary chap fan (mixed economy rice)? An active fried chicken? A walking Sambal Belacan?
But i love my teh tarik! Can i ask for it to be "kurang manis?" :(
With gastric re-visiting me and with more dilemma in trying to get back into shape (and not be a "has been" triathlete) i find myself constantly fighting with my stomach and palate. But I've made my mind that i will eat to live. Not live to eat anymore. Of course i do have those occasional "cheats". But they are far and seldom anymore.
Give a thought on what you put into your mouth today. Look at your lifestyle and see if you need that much calories. Check if your bread are made from "refined fortified flour". See if your muesli bar has more chemicals you can't pronounce than natural ingredient. See if your "fruit juice" is made from 80% sugar and 19% preservative and 1% "fruit extract".
Yes, healthy diet is boring. Some stood at the edge of being visually repulsive and tasting worse than fermented durian. Fancy a concoction of spirulina with chia seed?

Eating healthy is not cheap. Organic food cost a bomb. Anything healthy will have the seller marking it up at higher price to justify the "ingredient". Often, we just take it for granted what was served to us is of the best possible quality. Sometimes they are true, often, they aren't. So what do a white collar worker like me earning pittance wages and has a family to feed do? If i were to eat out, an average lunch will be costing me RM6.50. I am trying to stay away from spicy food for health reasons (i am a Malaysian for crying out loud! No sambal belacan???) and that usually meant the choices are limited. Today, i took a stroll to the local hypermarket with a gastric developing in the upper left side below my heart. Bought a pack of simethicone for better night sleep (hate waking up with a sour tummy!) and walked over to get some boring vegetable. Saw two packs of "cheap salad" that will expire in day's time, checked the condition (not soggy) and got them both at RM1.90 and RM1.50 per 125gram each. I walked over to the bread counter and was contemplating that Pita bread only to find it being made using "enriched fortified protein flour". I settled for a hard no-brand (in house) loaf of wholemeal bread that cost RM2.80.

I try not to buy those "branded" bread as they usually have shortening (to make the bread super duper pillow soft). So, the "hard" bread was a compromise i have to make.

And i walked back to the office, sat in the pantry, washed half a pack of the salad (and i was happy they were in good crunchy non soggy condition) and ate them.

But am i really eating healthy? I guess i can't win all the time. Not when the tummy is making your hand shiver as the pain radiates through your body.

Respecting The Distance

What does it really meant?
In the simplest defination, it simply meant that you MUST train for your race.
But WHY?
You do not "just go and run" a 5km if you are a beginner or jump in and do a 42km just because you've done a couple of 10km.
You do not assume 100km is do-able just because you have done many 42km or don't expect that just because you have done a 42km before, your next 42km will be a stroll in the park.
Often time I have seen just how some noobs (beginner) call their run a marathon. Fair enough as a 5km or 10km run is a (pseudo)marathon as your weekend activities consist of walking for hours window shopping in Mid Valley or One Utama.
I am running a risk of offending many readers of this blog (most are first time visitors with only about 30% returning readers). But YES...
I cringe every time someone tells me he/she runs a marathon in 1hour and 30 minutes.
You see, when you do that, you are NOT respecting the distance.
And you certainly made a fool of yourself and undermine anyone that has put in effort and sacrifices and mileage to complete a certain distance.
Take myself as an example. I've completed nine humble timed marathons, three Ironman triathlon races, countless long distance triathlons, countless Olympic distance triathlon, many adventure races, many duathlons, many more short runs and does 21km on weekends for mileage. Just for Standard Chartered KL Marathon alone, I've clocked in no less than 10 long slow distance (LSD) training. Don't get me started on the mileage (and hours I have to wake up) to train when i was training for my Ironman races.
Am i bragging now?
NO.
I am merely RESPECTING THE DISTANCE.
By respecting the distance, you will learn about your own ability. You will surpass your own limits. You will find out what others put in to be better (weekend) athletes.
By respecting the distance, you will know what to do when you have cramps. You will know what food and diet to follow that suits your body the most. You will be prepared for the unforeseen when you race.
By respecting the distance, you will go out for your training or race - and come back alive.
Sadly, not many give themselves that respect and learn to respect the distance.
Unless you are Lance Armstrong or some super athletes, you can just wear your shoe and go out for a run and ace it (by the way, Lance can finish a 42km in sub 3hours). But these professional knows that they too, have to respect the distance.
I have to get this off my chest and i see this as an opportunity to educate. Back when i started running, no one was there to guide me. No one cared about telling me to "train". No one certainly told me that 42.195km is a far far distance.
My wife took 8 months to fully train for her first Marathon. And that too, she was jittery about it on race morning. She respected the distance. She put in the mileage. She not only ran a good race but she recovered so well she is ready for another run today!
So, apart from respecting the distance, what is the next most important aspect of running?
Staying alive.
There are many death related to running. Remember the casualty during Adidas King Of The Road? How about Last year's SCKLM? I am not implying that they did not respect the distance here by the way. Far from it.
For those of you that ran yesterday's SCKLM, did you not noticed many paramedics around? Did you not feel comfortable having them around? In my most humble opinion (and trust me, i can be a huge critic and could make race organisers feel uneasy), yesterday's race organisation was amongst the best I've ever seen in that many years I've been doing (purely) running sports! What was there to complain?
The water was adequate.
There was isotonic enough to drown you.
There was even banana about KM16 for the full marathoners.
Medic were everywhere.
Medic were equipped with mobile defib. Two were at least on bicycle. You know how heavy are those?

And i was utterly disgusted when some ~~"runners"~~ participants complained about UNRIPE BANANAS in their POST-RACE bag and NO BREAKFAST WAS SERVED AFTER RACE.

Look. You are certainly NOT respecting the distance. Let alone respecting yourself when you make those statement.

Then there are participants that registered but for somereasons did not went to collect their race kits and asking "how to redeem back". Where can...
So can i buy a Happy Meal, don't eat it, and ask for refund? (Sadly, one past event organiser has decided to set a precedence and refunded not only MONEY, but also race kit, medal and finisher t-shirts to ALL participants because they screw up the run). I sure hope he/she meant that they want the race kit (i.e. the bib, the race pack, the muscle ointment and the recycle bag) and not the medal, T-shirt and eeerrr...bananas.
So dearest running friends - those that is starting to run and decided to run for health or to run to socialise, please, respect the distance. Please know the differences between the committed distance. And certainly please don't make a banana out of yourself or demand for a breakfast after a race. If it makes you feel better, a plate of Nasi Lemak has enough energy to let you run 21km and climb 10 flights of stairs. So, if you came to run 5km...and want a breakfast...you are NOT doing yourself a favor and you are respecting those that has put in the time and effort to train!

You are allowed to throw the unripe bananas at me if you are offended by what i wrote above. Breakfast not included, but i might offer you some salt tabs and my drinks, perhaps even help you with your cramps if i see you rolling on the ground. :)

Wifey 42km Debut DONE!

She did it.

Forty Two Freaking Kilometer Around Kuala Lumpur. And she did it in style by finishing the race way ahead of me.
She raced an injury free race, well hydrated, had fun, looked great and most of all, finished what she went to do.
Eight months ago, running a marathon (again, i am stressing, a marathon is a race of 42.195km distance, but to be a bit less anal about it, lets just put it as 42km) was perhaps something that wifey would not even consider. With the decision to "give back" to her a a bit of encouragement, she decided to pick up running a marathon.
Sensible eating (she has not had a Nasi lemak for eight months), a lot of self-refrain (food), understanding the technicality and also the demand to train, Wifey now knows what it takes to respect the distance.
The early morning jitter is only normal even for seasoned marathoner or athlete. Anything can go wrong in a race. Today alone:
- I've spoken to a man that forgot to cut his toenail, and ended up walking/running like a penguin;
- I bumped into my junior in VI (Victoria Institution) that attempted his first 42km (hello Jo Yan!);
- Made new friends that i shared my Hammer Nutrition salt caplets, spoke to runner that is against Lynas;
- Exchange some thoughts with a lady that was concerned that she won't get a finisher medal for her first Marathon (Hello Genie!);
- Had one runner asking me if i am "Tri Stupe";
- Felt sexy that at least three instances of runners telling me i got nice legs (and arse); and
- the list goes on and on.
The icing was to know very well that Wifey was way ahead of me and WILL finish the race.
This post is dedicated to her. Aileen Marathon Har. We have been tracking her progress for the past eight months (since August 2010) and look at the transformation that she went through!

August 2010. Pencala Link 10km run.

LRT June 2011

June 26, 2011. Standard Chartered KL Marathon. FMV 6:10

Well done Wifey. The glory is all yours today!

Real Men Wear Skirt

Going to be running in SKIRT tomorrow for SCKLM. It will be a full 42km in Kuala Lumpur.
The idea of doing this was the brainchild of Choi that brings in these wonderful Running Skirt and also Karen which has made effort to get this come true for some of us.
The intention of this was actually to raise some fund, have fun and to make running more enjoyable. As some of the runners that will be wearing the skirt can be considered as veteran for finishing up to 55 marathons, there got to be ways to "liven" up the whole experience beyond just "running" and going home after.
Have fun seeing the photos. And have fun ogling at us in skirts tomorrow. Yes, the MEN.

My biggest challenge is to ensure no VBL. For that, i get lesson from dearest wifey.

Good luck to all of you racing in Singapore and Kuala Lumpur tomorrow! Race well, race safe! And most importantly, HAVE FUN!

Featured in Oriental Daily and Carbo Loading

I can now tell my kids that they were in newspaper when they were young. :)

The article, i was told, speaks about us having a healthy lifestyle. While we all have our sins with food and laziness, i sure hope the article (in the paper) gives an insight to our everyday's life.

On a separate and very related topic since it is 3 more days to go before SCKLM, i am going through some gastric issues and lack of rest. Just got back from wonderful Kuching (for work) and will be in Alor Setar and Sungai Petani for the next two more days. I am putting myself at a risk of not performing this Sunday with the lack of training and also planning of proper carbo-loading. The following paragraphs will show just how much i am not practising what i am preaching. It will serve as a good reminder for myself in the future.
Speaking of carbo-loading, many people did it wrongly, or has the wrong impression about doing any sort of loading before any major event. While some see it as an opportunity to "binge" on food, we must remember to fuel the body only with good food. We are what we eat. I've long forgo that i "live to eat" and would "eat to live". I am very very selective with the food i take and most of the time, i sounded anal about it.

Carbo-loading are typically done if you are going to embark on an endurance event of no less than 90minutes. And by that, the intensity and the purpose of the carbo-loading could differ from one person to another. This also meant that you should not justify carbo-loading just because you are planning to do a 10km run in 2hours or a 5km fun run in 90minutes. The most common mistake one could do is to carbo-load a day before any major race. The body could not convert the fuel to glycogen on time if you eat a day earlier. In fact, the usual acceptable timeline would be a week before the event.

Many people carbo-load wrongly as well, which could be demerits to the whole exercise of carbo-loading. Before one carbo-load, or consider to embark on doing so, they should exercise hard enough to deplete their energy or glycogen level to prepare the body for the upcoming loading. This state of "hunger" is important as our body sort of reacts to certain situation/abnormality when pushed to the extreme.

Then for the first 3 days, they will be on low carb diet with more protein and on the fourth day, they start to take in more carbo (high quality carbs yah) with low glycemic index (GI). What this meant is to take in complex carbs. Rice don't make it. So does pasta (a common mistake even by race organisers). The perceived starvation from the first 3-days of carbo-loading (which you aren't really loading anyway) will force the muscle to "absorb" as much carbs as possible on the last four days. This will effectively raise your serum glucose level (or blood glucose level) without raising your insulin (or getting the sugar high) or spiking your sugar level. You do not want to have an elevated sugar level as once the sugar has been used up, you will have what the athlete calls "Bonk". Your body will then crave for "sugary" food and your body will slowly shut down to conserve energy.

So what is good carbs? Aim for complex carbs. It is anything with whole wheat (full/whole grain stuff like oats, brown rice), fruits and even yogurt (plain variants) and milk (doesn't matter high or low fat). Basically, eat healthy unprocessed stuffs. Any food with GI less than 55 is good. Do some read up to find out more of food glycemic index (GI) value and you will understand what i meant. In fact, during the (only) three Ironman i entered in 2008, 2009 and 2010, i literally made my own energy food from expensive organic ingredient such as rice malt syrup and agave syrup. You can read them here : Homemade Energy Gel. Myself and wifey even made our own muesli as those available in the market are sugar laden and garners it's so called nutritional properties from SUGAR. Read about these wonderful muesli here : Homemade Muesli Bars.

Do complement the carbs you take with protein and oil too. An endurance athelete has to train his or her body to utilise protein and fat as fuel. While it sounded funny to be eating oil to burn oil, we are talking about good oil. The good virgin olive oil, the good grapeseed oil, the good CLA. Skip any animal (saturated) or peanut/palm oil. Load up a bit more on your salt and balance it off with banana (potassium in banana will balance off the natrium or sodium in the body). At the current point of time, i am a big fan of Chia seeds. Read about them in ~~the Internet~~ my blog as well. :)

Remember to rest well, do some short runs, perhaps a 5km run at easy pace and learn to relax the muscle.

This last few days is important. There is really no time for last minute mileage for it will do nothing but burn you off within the first 10km of your marathon (42km ya) or 21km race.

Good luck and see all of you this Sunday!

Featured As A Runner in Jamie Pang's Blog

Most of you could be big fans of Jamie "Carboman" Pang. I knew about him when i first joined running as a supplement to my fitness when i started adventure racing about 10 years ago. Little do i know, he asked me if i was interested in some sort of "interview" and be featured as a runner in his well known blog.
I do not call myself an accomplished runner. Compared to many "veterans" out there that has clocked more mileage and even more events compared to me (Ronnie PM1 has 280 finisher medals from runs!), i am nothing but just your usual "Joe". Compared to many that has picked up running about two or three years ago, they could had clocked up enough of Marathon within that short period of time compared to my EIGHT (thus far) since five years ago. So, there is really nothing to brag about. I've given ONE talk about running (beginners' level) and i am very happy to see those that came for the class actually running beyond just that one talk! Imagine what i could do if my achievement were more credible (like winning races, being on podium etc).
However, we are all in the sports not because we want to be better than everyone (it's never an ego game for me) but it has been always a health factor for me.
In the short but concise "interview", I've answered numerous questions from the Sifu himself and this was how i fare.

Read about my interview with Jamie Carboman Pang by clicking on this line.

Cats Whiskers at The Waterfront@Park City

I don't usually post about fashion but here is my first. Cats Whiskers (women clothing boutique) has just recently closed their longest operating branch at Desa Sri Hartamas (due to wavering crowds to the area - not sure about you, but Desa Sri Hartamas is almost dead now!).

So, in replacement, they moved to a more community based area at Desa Park City.

Read all about it here: Cats Whiskers@Parkcity

Nadia Turns 3 Today!

My girl is 3 today. I made extra effort to wake up earlier to go over and see her. Really misses them sleeping in the same room as me. She is attached to me and is much easier to manage compared to Ryan. But then again, that was what i said about Ryan at 3 as well.

The past few days, i kept having some notion if my kids will still love me when they grow up older. They hold my hands nowadays and gives me hugs and kisses. Will it end? Many friends has told me that changes will be inevitable and many told me to nurture them, be their friend and grow with them. Perhaps it's how i went through my younger days that has made me feel somewhat disconnected. Don't get me wrong, my parents love me to bits. I grew up with my mum being the strict mother that rules the house with utmost discipline (but she crumble and has spoilt her grandchildren). My dad, which worked so hard to make ends meet, 7 days a week, is someone i see only in the evening when he is back from work and he will then takes nap in late evening to recuperate from the long day.

I wished that he had spent more waking hours with me. But i grew up knowing that he did what he have to do.

I see the cycle repeating. With my long hours at work - i only see the kids for 2 hours at most (If i am lucky to be back by 7pm) before they retires to bed by 9pm. I've avoided working when at home. Keeping the laptop and BB where it should be - away from reach.

But still. I felt it was inadequate.

Today, when i see Nadia my heart felt mellow. She greeted me with her usual zest and hugged me. I then took a photo of her, with me.