My First Swimming Lesson

Okay, technically this isn't my 1st swimming lesson since I was about 8. That would be the freebie lesson from Keith my mysterious swim guru buddy (don't worry your secret identity is still safe with me) some months back. But this is the first time this ol' cheapo has paid any of my hard earned cash for a swimming lesson. :D Yes, I finally crumbled and asked R1 & R2's swimming coach (James) to give me a "stroke correction" lesson - that's James in the picture on the right teaching R1 to do the "reverse rocket kick" (cool names for swim drills seem to work on kids).

I think I should record the diagnosis before I forget:

• My kicking seems ok and I am no longer swimming with "sinking feet". Yay! All the kicking drills prescribed by Keith my mysterious swim guru buddy must have worked!
• I am pronating my body well and turning my head to breathe, but when my arms get tired, I revert to the heads up, ass down position. :(
• My hands are entering the water too close to my head and hence giving me a short stroke. I need to extend my hands further out to get a longer stroke.
• I am already doing the "S" pull under water, but my hands cross over the center line of my body and they should never do that.
• I am raising my arms too high in recovery and hence using up unnecessary energy. I should focus on a elbow-led recovery.
• I am not putting enough into the last 1/3 of the stroke when pull crosses over to push - i.e. when the pulling hand crosses my chest and turns into a push towards my feet. He says this is the most important part when it comes to propulsion and I am not putting enough into it.

The best part is that James went thru some simple drills with me specifically to fix the problem areas above and promised to write down a set of swim drills for me to follow - nothing fancy, just "old-school" front crawl drills that work on arm extension, elbow-led recovery, and of course kicking. He also suggested hand paddles to improve arm power. Will share more on the drills when I get it from him (may be in a couple of weeks due to my travels). James was even kind enough to suggest that instead of having regular lessons with him, I just do the drills as he suggested and engage him periodically for stroke correction - so either he is a super nice guy or I am a nightmare student! :D

On the biking front, I asked my dear wife to snap a couple of pictures of me in aero position as a check and here is one of them. In case anyone thinks the picture is blurred because I was FLYING, I must confess that it was taken on my 2M pixel camera phone, which is not too good with action shots in dark underground carparks. A couple of interesting observations - (1) I am still pretty stretched out on the aero bar, but if I put the bar any shorter, my weight rests too near my wrists and my fore-arms get uncomfortable; (2) I am sitting rather far back on the saddle - perhaps a proper Tri saddle with more padding up front will help? I was a bit concerned if my saddle was too low, but it seems okay in the picture ya? Any advice/suggestions from the bike gurus out there will be much appreciated!

I'm not sure if I will have time to post while I am on the road, so until next time, thanks for dropping by, train safe and God Speed!

So You Think Your Bike is Clunky?

Again, the daily contrasts in Delhi proves to be a humbling experience. I was sweating in the car this morning (the car overheated and the driver refused to turn on the air-con), feeling irate at having to be couped up in a HOT car under the sun, in the 45 degree Celsius (113F) heat. Then I saw this poor delivery guy straining on his bike, trying to keep it from tipping over, dodging the infamous Delhi traffic, amid all that dust the cars and motorbikes are churning up. Gives a fresh perspective on things doesn't it?

Thanks Ellie for checking up on me. Yes, I have been not been posting for a LONG time, and as you can see from my training log, I am not getting much training time either. It's been a very busy time for me at work and I have just started on another travelling spiel - 5 countries (India, Singapore, Finland, Indonesia, Bangkok) in 4 weeks. Thankfully the indonesia trip is a much needed holiday and I plan to take a few days off in June to cool off.

For those of you kind enough to ask, the two main reason for me missing the Olympic Distance Singapore Triathlon is
(1) my lack of fitness which started with the cold that put me off training for more than 2 weeks
(2) my hectic travel schedule now which makes training near impossible.

But... I will be making the most of the situation and doing some running in the gym while I travel. Will also be doing at least one Sprint Triathlon (Corporate Triathlon). Meanwhile, I will just keep training and hope for a Olympic Triathlon to come sometime before end of the year.

Train safe guys & gals, and God Speed!

Hi everyone! Sorry I have been away for so long. I haven't been updating my blog nor frequenting my favourite blog haunts (you know who you are!) because it just does NOT feel right blogging when I ain't training. This week, I finally stopped hacking out green/yellow phelm so I went for a "come back" 8km run. Wish I could say it felt great, but it didn't. I really suffered for backing off for so long.

Must confess that it is getting harder each day to get back to the routine of training and blogging. Being sick for the last few weeks have re-introduced me to the comforts of home. I have been watching the kids have fun in their swimming class (instead of getting some laps in myself), spending more time at work (and hence finally getting some important but not urgent stuff done), and spending quality time with Mrs Nitrox watching Korean soaps every night - we don't understand Korean and I am the only one who can read the Chinese sub-titles so I started as a translator and ended up getting seriously hooked onto it myself! Them Korean soaps are dangerous things! :D

In a way, I am glad for the break. It gave me time to slow down and sort out stuff at work, at home and also with the Lord. It also taught me a bit about pacing - I think I need to be more dillignet about planning rest weeks for recovery and to catch up with the rest of the world. I will probably not do the olympic distance Singapore Triathlon in July 1/2, given my lack of fitness thanks to the cold, but I will certainly get back into training simply because I enjoy it. Maybe will put back the oly dist tri to next year then... :( Please don't flame me for being a pseudo tri-blogger.

Oh, and I CANNOT forget wishing all the mums running tris and marathons a BLESSED MOTHER'S DAY. Kudos to you for balancing work (be it office or home), kids, the hubby, and training! You are stupedous ladies because I know I just can't balance the lot. Train safe and God Speed!

Not good...

Rachel commented last week that quite a few of us seems to have fallen sick, and this week Dawn (aka Pink Lady) is the latest casulty. :( So I thought I will share this picture of R1 (blue cap) and R2 (red cap) in their pink swimmies that will hopefully bring a smile to her face. Who says boys can't wear PINK? :)


Sorry for being away from the Blogsphere all week. I have not been having a good week - it is definitely not good when R1 and R2 are getting more training this week than I am. :( My excuse is that the cold I caught seems more severe than I thought, and since I am not a fan of cold medicine, it is taking a while to clear up. And no, I have not yet signed up for the Singapore Triathlon... :(

Must confess that I'm stuck in a bit of a grumpy mood (is there a male equivalent to PMS?), so I betta stop here for now.

Train safe all, and God Speed.

Recovery Week... AGAIN

First, I have to be a fair Dad again, and since I posted a picture of R1 in full armour in my last post, I'll just have to post a picture of R2 the stick fighter this time. :)

Sigh, last week's accidental recovery week has continued into this week due to travels and a minor cold, which I somehow caught in the dry heat of Delhi. Is that even possible - to catch a cold in 45C(113F) weather?!?!

A few things happened this week that really humbled me:

• Early in the week, I was heading out the door to the office, stressed out about the lack of training, and pretty much determined to have a rotten day at work, when I ran into my neighbours Mr & Mrs L bringing their 20-something daugther to the hospital again. She had contracted leukemia early last year and was on a wheel chair swaddled in blankets on a hot 86F day. Mr L was wearing a back brace, as he is in his 60s and is probably having backaches from regularly carrying his daugther in the wheelchair up and down the stairs. Mrs L was helping him, and when I said "Good Morning" and offered to help, they both gave me their usual beautiful smile and insisted that they can manage. To say that that was an awakening for me would be an understatement. Here I was, wallowing in self-pity about missing some training sessions, while there they were, exuberating the Lord's joy and peace in the midst of a protracted and terrible test. I drove off with a fresh resolve to not sweat the small stuff and to re-commit to prayer support for this beautiful family.



• Delhi is well into its hot and dry season. I arrived at night when it was an uncomfortably warm 35C (95F), and woke up to 45C (113F) in the morning. As you can see, it was a beautiful morning and even the pigeons outside my window did not seem to mind the heat that much. But the heat and dust combined gave me a scratchy throat and not the most pleasant of dispositions as I headed out in the car to the office. Right outside the hotel, we passed one of those colourful water trucks (looks similar to the petrol tanker that I took a picture of last time), surrounded by women and children out to get their (daily/weekly?) ration of clean water. I did not manage to take a picture this time, but I found this picture on Google that pretty much represents the chaos around that water truck. Again, it caused me to think about things we have come to take for granted and about the sheer contrast of lifestyles in India. In the hotel, there is a full sized pool, hot/cold running water, a shower and a bath in every room. Right outside the hotel grounds, these families living right in the capital of India (not even in the remote villages) have to depend on the morning water run for clean water. Suffice it to say that I now have a whole new appreciation of the clean, clear water that gushes out when I turn the taps at home.



• Last but certainly not least, I made fun of Steven when he posted about catching a cold. And of course I now have similar symptoms. :( And then Steven goes and run a scorching 6.2-miles in 38:08 @ 6:09/m pace on his 42nd birthday (while recovering from the cold). I am well and truly humbled. Go on over and wish the ol' fart a Happy Birthday! ;)

To the rest of you out there able to continue training, train safe and God Speed! I'll be out there before you know it. :P

A "Gideon" Moment

Pop quiz: What's the best beer in the world? (Hint: Look at the picture at the right.)

Answer: Well, I do enjoy Singha beer (local Thai beer), but I am not sure if it is the best beer in the world. In my "el cheapo" books, the best beer is always FREE BEER! ;) In this case, free beer at the Bangkok Airport Lounge - one of the few perks of a frequent traveller - enroute home to Singapore before heading to India again tomorrow. Such is the life of the modern day travelling salesman. I hav actually stopped unpacking my bags. :(

Last week was one of those weeks I call an "accidental" recovery week. I am glad that I am not alone - seems Chris just went thru one too. ;) As you can see from the side bar, I finally managed to squeeze in a Swim/Ride brick on Sunday before my flight, so here's to my accidental recovery food of beer and nuts!

On a slightly more serious note... Have you ever had a "Gideon" moment? The account of Gideon is recorded in Judges 6-7. It is a pretty long and detailed account, and it starts with a picture of Gideon quietly (fearfully) trying to thresh grain in the wine press (Judges 6:11). I was told that threshing is usually a noisy affair, done with lot's of noisy activity like beating the grain stocks, tossing the grain/husts into the air (so the wind will blow the husks away), and usually with much celebration as it is done at harvest time. But Gideon was living in a time when the Israelites were hiding in "moutain clefts, caves and strongholds" (Judges 6:2), because the Midianite hordes had descended upon the land "like swarms of locusts", destroying/taking everything (Judges 6:3-6).

Gideon was desperately (sheepishly?) trying to save some of the grain by using the wine press to quietly seperate the grain from the husks. Yet, when the angel of the Lord came to Gideon at the winepress, he called Gideon a "mighty warrior" (Judges 6:12)! Gideon certainly did not acknowledge that he was a "mighty warrior" - instead he doubted the message from the angel, claiming to be the least of the least (Judges 6:15), and asking for confirmation upon confirmation - including the famous dry/wet fleece miracles (Judges 6:36-40). The rest of the story should be is familiar - the short of it is that Gideon was brought to greater and greater faith in the Lord (and hence greater confidence in his appointment as a mighty warrior) and in the end, his simple, yet tactically brilliance plan enabled his 300 elite troops (Judges 7:2-7) to route the entire Midianite army of 135,000 (Judges 8:10)! Let's pause for a minute and think about this - this means each one of Gideon's elite troops felled 450 enemy swordsmen! Please step aside "Lord of the Rings", this is REAL stuff!

I confess to having a "Gideon" moment in my last post. The Midianite hordes was the Singapore Triathlon (Olympic Distance) on 1/2 July, and I was anxious about signing up and being so slow that I will come in after the organisers have packed up and left. :D

Believe me when I say that I am telling myself this as much as I am sharing this with the blogsphere: If you (like me) are having a "Gideon" moment, listen to what God is calling you to. Is he calling you to be a warrior athelete/triathlete/(full or half) marathon runner?

"What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us?" (Romans 8:31)

That is not to say that I have signed up. ;) But, I am less worried now because I know our Lord is able to give me the strength to complete this. Now if I can only get over the mental block of the sign-up fee. :D

Train safe everyone and God Speed!

Clip-On Aero Bars On Road Bikes... Part II

But first, a quick update: The rains continues in Singapore and I continue to run in the downpour - hoping tomorrow will be a good day for a ride. This week is a bit of a slow week due to work pressures - I will probably end up with a 4-training-session-week. :(

Yikes! I have a week to decide if I wanna do the OSIM International Triathlon (a.k.a. the Singapore Triathlon - Olympic Distance), which is on 1st/2nd July 2006. Those of you following this blog will know that I have been preparing for this since the end of last year, but I am still not sure if I am ready for it... Would you mind taking a quick look at the training log at my side bar and tell me if I should go for it?

And now back to the bike porn I promised - in case anyone is curious this is a 2005 Scott CR1 Team (stock standard) with a Deda Clip One aero bar. :) Following all that theory in my original post on Clip-on Aero Bars on Road Bikes, I thought I will share some pictures of my final set-up as it differs quite a bit from the original pictures posted. Not having the benefit of a professional fitting service (such services are non-existant in Singapore, probably because most bike shop owners are not Triathletes), it took me more than a few test rides to get it dialled in just the way I like it.

What are the changes I made?

• For one, I have shortened the aero bar by 2 inches (by the simple brutal method of sawing off the end near the stem so that I can retract the entire bar). This is a truly a compromise in ride comfort - the further out the bar extends, the more comfortable my fore-arms, simply because I am resting my weight on my elbows on the aptly named elbow pads. However, it is impossible to have my elbows on the pads on a road bike without either (1) sacrificing my road riding position by moving the saddle forward significantly, or (2) keeping the saddle position and stressing my neck, shoulders and back from over extending my torso forward. This is consistent with all the aero positioning articles I have been reading - sigh, I guess this is why a Tri bike is always preferred if the only use for the bike is for Tris - Tri bikes allow a comfortable aero position simply because the steeper geometry allows you to sit closer to the bars. Having said that, I have found my current aero bar position to be surprisingly comfortable (even though the pads are about midway between my wrists and my elbows), and I can stay on the aero position for at least an hour comfortably (have not been able to stay on the aero bars longer than an hour due to heavy traffic on my cycling routes).
  
  
• Another change is that I have lowered the bar so that it actually angles down rather than up towards the front. I noticed that some of the Oly Tri championship atheletes have their bars angled downwards and decided to try it. It seems to go against common sense, but somehow it works! I find it more comfortable to angle my wrist downwards when I am in aero position and it gives a more aero profile as well.

A few final pictures to better illustrate the final position of the aero bar on my bike then...


This final picture below shows my saddle height versus the height of the handle bars. This is where ol nitrox's age shows - the older one gets, the higher the handle bars. ;)

Hope this helps those of us still racing with aero bars on roadies. Train safe and God Speed!