August 2008 ~ TRISTUPE.COM

Friday, August 29, 2008

Tagged : Little Known Facts About Me

Was tagged by KittyCat of A Pregnant Pause...thought i might as well do this, in the spirit of Merdeka. :)

1. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? Nope. But partly after a Chinese Idiom. Me and my siblings form the whole sentence.
2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED? Secretly, or openly?
3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? I am in Love with it.
4. What is your favorite lunch meat? I hardly eat lunch.
5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS? Yes - 1 Boy and 1 Girl. Hoping more would come.
6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? No. I'm a difficult person. I hate my own guts.
7. DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT? Do YOU looked like you can take more of my sarcasm?
8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? Yes, but are you gonna ask me if i still have my appendix next?
9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? Yes.
10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? got to be kokocrunch.
11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? Depending if i am running for the toilet or not.
12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? Strong what? I got 2 kids though.
13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM? Got to be Ben & Jerry
14. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE? Their shoe. It reflects the level of pride they have for themselves.
15. RED OR PINK? Blue
16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING YOU LIKE ABOUT YOURSELF? I love myself.
17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? This is a trick question. No win situation one la.
18. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO SEND THIS BACK TO YOU? Nola. They can feel free to take it up and do.
19. WHAT COLOR PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? No Pants. Wearing Jeans today and it's Nike Zoom Victory+ today.
20. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE? Turkey Sultanas - bought at Suki Bakery Shop
21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? Someone drilling upstairs in the office building.
22. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? Can i be magic color?
23. FAVORITE SMELLS? Again, trick question ah?
24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? Andri. Asking about Prevnar for Rania.
25. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU? Don't know her personally, only through blog. So, nothing to hate. Kitty, you hate me?
26. FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH? Don't watch sports. Do sports.
27. HAIR COLOR? Black.
28. EYE COLOR? Light brown. In my dream. Otherwise, black
29. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? I played contact sports.
30. FAVORITE FOOD? None in particular.. Just skip those spareparts please.
31. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS? Scary movies also got happy ending what. So, is this one more trick question?
32. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED? Frankly, with 2 kids around...
33. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING? Orange. Desaru Finisher Polo. Must be the worse ever they ever produced. The thread ran and the shoulder is falling apart. Sheesh!
34. SUMMER OR WINTER? Autumn.
35. HUGS OR KISSES? Both, and more.
36. FAVORITE DESSERT? Got to be ABC.
37. MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND? Respond to?
38. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND? to?
39. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW? Are Triathelete magazines considered as book?
40. WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD? The mouse of course. What else?
41. WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON T.V. LAST NIGHT? Future Weapons
42. FAVORITE SOUND? I would like to say something explicit, but since this is a PG13 blog...
43. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES? Elvis Aaron Prestley.
44. WHAT IS THE FURTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME? Sweden.
45. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT? Does smelling toe jam counts?
46. WHERE WERE YOU BORN? Hospital Sentosa. It is not Tune Hotel infront of Maju Junction.
47. WHOSE ANSWERS ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO GETTING BACK? Non. Take it and do it if you want to.

Happy Merdeka Day to everyone.

May the country progress and all of us citizen no longer just tolerate each other, but intergrate. Lets work towards One Nation. One Race.

Medical Treatment On Blisters Wound

Enough is enough.

Since Kenyir (6th July), it has been almost 9 weeks that i've been trying to heal the blisters i had on my achilles. While the right achilles are healing pretty well after Desaru, the same can't be said for the left achilles.

It has been infected for the past 8 weeks. Crippling me to a certain extend where training and races are concerned.

I guess "what don't kill me makes me stronger" is not entirely true. What don't kill you only make you more stupid. That is more appropriate.

very much the SOP for the past 6 weeks

Doctor isn't very happy with my delay in seeking treatment and told me that it could had gone worse. More so an open wound left unattended for 8 weeks.

I felt stupid, of course. Wait. Wifey has told me to see a few times. My mum has said she will pay my my medical. Shazly has told me at least once. Friends too, has reached saturation point to get my wound treated.

I did not do it.

Why?

"What don't kill you, makes you ~~stronger~~STUPID"

The real reason was that i did not see that the blister should require any medical attention at all. I had had blisters but most goes off after 2 days, even some really bad one.

So, why should this be an exception after 2 err...56 days?

Left leg, pus still coming out. You can see it healing, the 5 sen wound reduced to a tiny hole only. Not

Right leg. Better shape. But still inflammed

Doc gave me antibiotics for 5 days and some anti-inflammatory drugs. He also given me some antibiotic cream. The recent acne outbreak on my face and at the nape of my neck were apparently caused by this infection.

Papa too ugly. Don't want to look

Lets hope the medication works and i will be alright for some really serious rounds of training again.

Already, the pants that i tailored for my wedding, is tight and threaten to burst and i am already utilising the last hole on the belts i have.

Miracle Diet

Treatment cost me RM50. That is a good 2 weeks worth of lunch. Maybe that's the secret to lose 5kg in the next 2 weeks.

Nike LunarTrainer+ Review

This is long overdue. The initial 5km run did not allow me to fully judge the shoe's performance over a distance longer than 10km.

Then came Desaru. I did not see any other more suitable occasion to put the shoe to test.

Nevermind i had a crappy race that day (and i am still recovering from the blister from Kenyir), this entry is about the shoe.

I guess i've done enough write up on the shoe outlook here.

The few comments from a few person that tried my pair on before the race says that the shoe looked funny, with it's large fluorosent sole protruding like Ronald MacDonald on his Gay-er days.

Well, What can i say?

Ronald MacDonald did had his Gay day!

Anyway. As soon as i came in from 90km cycling, i changed socks and make sure that the gauze protecting my blisters wound are in the propoer location and position. The last thing i wanted to happen is that the wound brushes against the shoe and i end up with a brown patch on the shoe's rear (green + red = brown?)

THe first 3km was great. Infact after 2km of swim and 90km of bike, the plushness of the LunarTrainer was really a good change. Every stride i took seems to be running on pillow, literally. I was doing a 5:00 pace the first 3K and stayed within 1km from Adzim.

Well, that is until by some stroke of fate, the heels suddenly hada sharp pain and i know instantly my race is as good as gone.

the gauze, because it was raining during cycling, made them super compressed and there are nothing but just a piece of (gauze?) cloth between the shoe and the wound.

I slowed down from those good pace as the pain was just too much to bear.

Then heaven opened up. Sending torrential rain down and cool off all the runners.

The LunarTrainer had a chance to see how it perform in the wet.

Now, lets rewind a lil, the LunarTrainer has damn kaw plush cushioning.

And i remember Jakull Xcalibur7th telling me that the cushioning is so plush it actually absorb all the energy, and did not left any to rebounce back.

So, Newton's third law did not take place.

"For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction"

LunarTrainer did so well absorbing all the pounding you gave to it that there was no more energy left to rebounce you back.

And when it gets wet...it is like running on a pair of sloshing sponge.

But that did not stop me. The blister wound did.

You can see pretty much that my pace when i was running was pretty much at the same pace except those instances that i was reduced to walking speed to ease the pain.

I got so much energy left after the run that i did not feel as if i did a half ironman distance. Infact i drove back and still managed to clean up all the gears and did laundry.

The shoe worked fine. It cushioned as it should, and more (the support the shoe gave was great, it was really stable, maybe because of the Ronald MacDonald's sole).

Now, all Nike need to do is to put in some "control" measure to reduce the cushioning slightly while assisting in energy return. That would had made the LunarTrainer perfect.

Then again, it might be on purpose, afterall, it's a TRAINER and if the TRAINER makes you work harder than your usual run, thus buidling more muscle, and when you don the LunarRacer aka Apollo, you might just fly.

Whatever it is, this shoe is more than fit to run 21km in. No doubt it could bring you to the MLD (Medium Long Distance) of 30KM and maybe i should slot this in for next year's KLIM and see if it is possible to run this for 42.2km eh?

Before i log off for today. Here is my official Desaru Timing:

Swim : 00:51:45
T1+Bike : 03:05:33
T2+Run : 02:48:10
Total : 06:45:28

I am damn proud of my swim. This is my 4th swim this year. Bike was slower by a good 14 minutes compared to last year, partly because i spent time to put the plaster on properly. And the run, the most dissapointing aspect of the race. I might as well just go and cycle anohter 90km and it won't make much differences to my finishing time.

It is a race to forget, but i can't seems to forget it.

Desaru Pic 08

As much as i like to forget the race. Here are some happier time pic in Desaru.

out of swim, sea was more forgiving this year, but waves were as vicious

Out biking and happy with timing

Happy running - or just smiling for camera?

You could had done better papa!

Most Shifted In A Year

Three times.

I shifted cubicle three times this year.

The first spot was next to the cubicle i was sitting the second time, as per this pic.

The cubicle is right next to the main door and i constantly has to move to open the magnetic door for guests sometimes.

Current sitting place as of today. Previous place was just next to this one

With the amount of work i need to do, i got every single excuse to be messy.

It's a thinking man's table, no?

Recently, the office underwent a major renovation. We took over another side of the floor. With that the senior managers each gets a room for themselves. With that, the Country Manager decided to be kind and let me have one of the vacated cubicle...and it's next to a window! :D

A senior colleague told me that i must be the most shifted person in the office within one year.

Perhaps, the good record to go for is the most promoted person in the office within a year?

Yeah, that would make my day.

All the praises by the HQ in the US of A meant nothing if it is not translated to something more concrete. But i'm only a year in this office, and asking for a promotion is akin to Samy Vellu asking Pak Lah to get him back into cabinet. Not gonna happen.

Whatever it is. At least the Aloe Vera plant i have in the office will get some healthy sunlight.

Ah Girl : 2 Months 4 Days

How much she has grown. She now weigh a good 5.3kg, gaining almost 1kg in a month.

She has also grown taller by a couple of inches and putting her diagonally in her bed is starting to be uncomfy for her.

She has also started to kick around in bed and we would find her sleeping in a different position the day after.

Her feeding has been rahter steady. Still loving to suckle on wifey. She is bottle-fed when we go to work. No issue on either teats - natural or rubber!

We've also tried to give her the pacifier, in our effort so that we for once, could get a good 8 hours straight sleep. But she is not easily fooled.

And she don't get fooled because she is my girl. My flesh and blood. And if we think that Ryan is alert and smart, wait till you see what Nadia could respond to at 2 months. Comparatively, Ryan was "lazy".

But if there is one thing that these 2 siblings share, it would be their high threshold of pain.

2 jabs (Prevenar (brand name for PCV or Pneumococcal conjugate vaccine) and DTaP/IPV/Hib(Diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis (whooping cough), polio and Haemophilus influenzae type b), one on each thigh and all she did was wail for 2 seconds...

As she grows up, there will be bumps and bruises like how her brother has on him. God Bless!

One Year In Office

Today marked my one year working in this company.

Regret? None

Well, except maybe the killer hours i have to put in, going back at 8pm is a luxury.

My second day in office last year i was sent to a refinery for a week. Then it was outstation all the way until end of November.

Things has pretty much settled, to an extend. Now all i does is to manage the portfolio work. Those mess cleaning days when i took over in March are pretty much over. It was smooth sailing for a couple of months and now, the workload is coming back.

Do i love this job? Well, it is mentally challenging, much like any other race i enter. It is fun, just like any race i enter. It is frustrating at times, just like some of the races i enter.

In short, if i work as hard as i play. I won't go wrong.

And i'm so bloody tempted to just ask if the next person that comes for interview if they doing what i am doing. So far, it has been disappointing.

At times, i felt i'm biased as i was used to run the show alone (my previous assignment as the one-leg-kick engineer), and i expect others to do the same. My expectation for the juniors are pretty high and i do feel sorry when i push them too hard.

I push them hard because i push myself hard. No excuse for not pushing, right?

So, while i celebrate quietly in my small little cubicle in this office of 43 people, and enjoy the mee hoon that my mum just cooked this morning, i'm not discounting the fact that i am hoping better offer will roll in and give me more time to do the things i want. Perhaps it's not the right thing to do, more so in a public space such as this.

So, lets celebrate today by going through the weekly 2 hourly meeting with client. I will have anohter hour meeting with the US office tomorrow, otherwise it is the usual weekly meeting with the country managers of the other offices dealing with the same portfolio and come Friday, it would be the country manager/functional manager meeting for the Middle East Asia (MEA) region. Only day i am meeting/tele-conference free is....Tuesday.

The Day I Did Online Shopping!!!

Recently, my sister in law went to US of A with a friend for the Michigan Womyn's Music Festival. Mei Chern, an aspiring musician that wrote and produced her own music were there to perform as well. So, do give her some support by buying her CD. Cheap cheap only la.

Ever since i blog and started to learn to make some money out of advertisment placements and also writing reviews, i have a pretty large amount of money stacked in my PayPal account. Please bear in mind the amount did not just came out within 6 months, but a rahter long 2 years.

And obviously, being in Malaysia won't help as the US of A people has branded most Asians (particularly Malaysians) to be cheater cock.

They do not trust us anymore.

So, don't tell me i am gonna leave those money i have in my PayPal inside the PayPal and does nothing, right?

I tell you, i initially thought my money in the online bank could buy me all the things i wanted, only to find out about the limitation with the "express courier", unless the items are being sold by Amazon themselves.

So, with whatever online cash i have, i went on to purchase all the items below:

1. Timex Men's Brown Leather Easy Reader Watch #T28201

2. Timex Men's Classic Black Leather Easy Reader Watch #T28071

3. Timex Men's Camper Expedition Classic Analog Watch #T40011

4. Timex Men's Ironman Triathlon 30-Lap Shock Resistant FLIX System Watch #T5F851

5. Timex Men's Camper Expedition Classic Analog Watch #T43892

6. Timex Men's Ironman Traditional 30-Lap Flix Fullsize Watch #T5H591

7. Bell Fitness Flexband Kit

It cost me (virtually) RM817.21 or USD 250. That works out to be RM116.74 each item or USD35.59 each, inclusive of 1 day delivery of USD 3.99 per item or RM13.08 per item. Net price without the posting charges would be RM725.60(USD221.22) or RM103.66(USD31.60) per item. Pretty ok, considering the most basic Timex digital watch with the M-Dot (IronMan) logo is circa RM90(?)

Item 1,5 and 6 is for wifey and item 2,3,4 is mine. Item 7 is for the both of us to use.

All these wouldn't had been possible if i did not blog and if my sister in law did not go to US of A. So, THANK YOU ANNA HAR!

I got a balance of RM75 odd left from the transfer of the PayPal to my local credit card, which i had to pay USD5/transfer for. But it is all worth it.

These items are virtually FOC and do take a guess which one is my favourite item?

Desaru Tri 08 - Truly Disappointing

In case i don't get to update on Monday, decided to just update now.

I just got back from Desaru. Cleaned up the gears and put fresh new dressing on those blister wound.

My time split for this year's race:

Swim - 55 minutes
T1+Bike - 3Hours 5 Minutes
T2+Run - 2Hours 46 minutes

When i came out from the water fast and early, i thought i could had set a PB. The bike was predictably hot, unlike last year where it poured the last 60km.

Bike Average speed was 30km/h on the dot.

Run was a limping slow run.

Everyone i lead in the swim and bike caught up with me and overtook me as if i were walking in the park.

I will give the blister wound a few more days, then i will decide if i should seek medical attention. It is obviously infected and the flesh around the blister is tender and pounding.

But that is hardly an excuse to be finishing in a slow 6:46 this year, that is a 6 minutes off my 6:40 target...and i thought that 6:40 is already bad enough.

No promises if i will write more about this race. Enough said that it is one of my worse race - after having been racing in Triathlon for the past 4 years.

And this is my 4th year in Desaru. WTF was i doing?

Desaru - Here I Come (?)

Blister or not, here is my intended target for the race:

Last year's timing:

Swim : 1:05.13
Bike : 2:51.03
Run : 2:19.45
Total time : 6:16.01

This year target:

Swim : 1:10
Bike : 3:00
Run : 2:30
Total time : 6:40

Why?

Because i did not do any training at all.

My last swim was PD. Infact, this year, i swam 3 times.

A'Formosa, Kenyir, PD.

My biking timing sucks. Not enough mileage.

My run? lets say that i've timed myself, the fastest i could put the gauze and plaster on my blister/wound is a good 10 minutes.

Sorry Honey, guess you would have to wait for me longer at the finishing line.

Meaning i sleep a few round also Papa not back yet lor

Nevermind, i wait for Papa!

Of Azmar, Ordu and PD Tri Results

Azmar had a fall last Saturday on the way to PD.

Broke his collarbones. He was attended by our dearest Doc Hisyam at Serdang Hospital. one ENT specialist that deals with bones as well? Just goes to show how versatile Doc "Alleycat" Hisyam is.

Azmar shoe slipped from the pedal. Only reason i could think of is that the cleat dislodged from the shoe.

I feel bad for him. He will miss Desaru because of this and will recover in time to pick up the training for IM09 again.

Get well soonest Azmar. Gonna miss you on the races and rides!

I've been fighting to tame the Ordu. I know, i've only ridden him/her like 2 times - PD Tri and Putrajaya 67km. That goes to show how lack of a training i've been subjecting myself to.

On Saturday morning, while half the world is in Penang for Malakoff's 26km run and the other half were on their way to PD, i decided to take Ordu for a quick spin.

Time is a luxury nowadays. With Ryan moving towards the "teribble two" period of his life, and with Nadia constantly wanting attention, every hour i could muster up to train, i have to do it, whether i did get enough sleep or otherwise.

So, at 7.30am Saturday, while the world (at home) is still serene and not yet topsy turvy yet, i went for a spin.

Went from home to Sri Damansara and then U turn back and turn off at Penchala towards Hartamas and U turn back, turn back to Sri Damansara and then back home.

That is a good 42km.

And i did it in 70 minutes flat. Average was 33km/h and top speed on flat was 53km/h. It took me 77minutes to cover that pathetic 40km in PD. Still not acceptable!

I made minor adjustment to the aerobar. Made the extension shorter by shoving it into the holder by a good 3/4 inches and making sure that it is anatomically better. I am trying to get used to the bullhorns as it is starting to make my wrist twist in an uncomfy position that it aches.

HED Delta

Between Pain & Pleasure

Now, the thing is, i know i looked fast...and i know i feel fast, question is, am i fast?

I certainly not in PD. But Arif highlighted that it was a long run from the beach to T1, which most probably took all of the 7~10 minutes i had, which i claimed had lost to bad cycling. But is that just an excuse for the injured ego?

All the blings and no glory

Looking back, at least my PD timing is sub 3 hours. Something i should be proud off. Furthermore, i was running with 2 blister wound the size of a 5 sen on my achilles. Can anyone claim to still be able to achieve that timing with those cycling shoes and running shoes rubbing against those wounds for 40KM + 10km???

Perhaps the Ordu could?

Anyway, 5 days to Desaru and i am hoping that the biking legs will be a-ok and the blisters will be 90% heal...because come what may, if i have to bleed and cause the leg to go gangrene later, i want to d a better timing that i did last year!

I am now 78kg fat. A few friends are sniggering that my man-boobs are back.

Time to work on those diet now. Azmar, get well really soon.

REVIVE REV-CUP BATTLE OF THE STATES : MY ENTRY

This Week's Theme: BIG small
I just posted late this evening on the contest that is being held by Revive and the theme is BIG small. What this really meant is that you should as creatively as possible reflects the "spirit" of the theme. I've went into the facebook app page for Revive here to get some idea.

The contest mechanism is really easy. All it takes is some level of creativity to show what is your version or understanding of BIG and small. You then post them up in the Revive facebook apps page (of course, you have to "like" them first) and wait for comments and votes!
Points are then given by Rev-erees and Blue card, 5 points will be given if it’s a good picture which met the criteria. Red Card and No points will be given if it’s not up to requirements. 50 50? You’ll be given a yellow card for the effort which worth only 1 point.
Most of the photos taken shows little or zero effort and each of the postings stand a chance to win:
1. RM1000 per week/theme
2. RM6000 GRAND PRIZE after 6 weeks or 6 themes
I am posting up the photo you see below and hoping to score a full 5 points. You will then start to accumulate points and it is utmost important that you keep sending the photos in so that you stand more chances to collect even more point and help your state to win!

I had a harrowing time to find one of these baby in Penang. Little did i know, there were one resting just outside Gurney. They looked pretty harmless. I saw one in distress and decided to lift it out from being stuck to the silts during low tide. :D Of course, a bottle of Revive helped to revive me back again after fending off the larger males!

Fingers cross on winning the RM1000 this week! Woohoo!!!!!

OK - now, i just need the Rev-eress to "pass" my photo and put it in the gallery!

Port Dickson Tri 08 Results

Race report here : PDIT08

My race result for PDIT08...a rahter dissappointing 2:50:07

58 377 Lim Ee-Van Malaysia
Swim 00:33:15
Bike+T1 01:17:44
Run+T2 00:59:06
Total 02:50:05

The Evil bike ain't that evil afterall, it's the the percieved speed i got on the bike.

Yong Sui?

Yong Sui is a cantonese word for (direct translation) face bad or in military term, Marked Man.

Some people are borned to be marked man. Like Anwar for example. People are taking aim at his rear end like it's the the most priceless comodity in Malaysia. He fits nicely into the Yong Sui category.

Some people are made to be marked man because of their wealth. Those people most probably live in fear that their dogs will be dognapped or made into stew by some foreign workers as well.

But some people, like me, are just plain average joes which are marked for all the wrong reason.

And today, i found out that i am marked by an ex-colleague, which told another colleague to tell me to "watch out, i will mess with him before i leave" kinda thing.

You know what?

That chap don't know who he is dealing with.

I am a totally wrong person to mess with, in every sense.

:)

Right or not?

But if this posting sounded arrogant, that just goes to show why i am Yong Sui. :P

Haiya! Why la mess with my Husband?

Going Bananas Over Nike Lunar

I've stated before in my previous entry, that Nike Zoom Victory+ took over from Nike Victory Spike.

DO you even know how heavy is that Victory Spike?

Hold your breath.

It is 93 grams.

And that is freaking lighter than a banana.

See Here

or the banana skin.

If you are a lover of anything Bare...watch this

Now, how in the world did the spike get so freaking light?

FlyWire.

It was extensively reviewed by me in the Victory+ entry here

This feature singlehandedly made the Victory+ a cool 12ounces heavy. That is just a good 60 grams heavier than the lightest shoe i have (Pearl Izumi Streak).

But this entry is not about Victory+.

It is all about the Lunar range.

Aptly named. These shoes are LUNAtically designed.

LunarTrainer weighs in at 10.1oz and LunarRacer comes in at a light 5.3oz.

That is an insane 150 grams.

I kid you not

Nike previously lightest racer is the Katana and it comes in at a good 20grams more.

150grams is lighter than your average paged daily newspaper.

FlyWire was evidence through out the LunarRacer and this has contributed to the whole weight saving issues for any gram-grannies to drool and saliva over.

The LunarTrainer, clearly missing the FlyWire feature, comes in at 10.1oz, that is a good 10 grams lighter than Pearl Izumi's Streak.

Both Lunar shares the same LunarLite sole that comes with BRS1000 rubber for greater durability.

In comparison, on heel strike, the Lunar registered a 10G force shock and the Katana (with the already plush pillowy sole) took a 12.9G force.

That is as good as you strapping pillow on your feet and run with it.

The recipe for the ultra lite sole was shared with us yesterday, but i could not divulge anymore to you as i was told that by doing that i won't be getting anymore seedings material. But lets just say that it's a combination of one synthetic material with one natural occuring material.

Each of us yesterday was given a pair of Nike LunarTrainer+ for test ride.

The colour was the first thing that you will notice.

Fluorosent yellow sole on white upper. You can't get anymore pimped that this.

Plus, compared to Victory+, there is a huge reflective material that runs on the front of the shoe...would definately light up the morning/night (depending when you go running la).

Flexibility wise, this shoe is as flexible as Nike Free, losing out by just one degree. Closest competitor were those Bowerman series where it has flexibility of only 32 degree.

The short 4km run which we took yesterday did not last any longer than 22minutes. With people like Kim Yap, Sam Pitchard and gang, Jamie Pang and even Shahrudin, anyone running with this pack will definately suck in their tummy and lift up their legs.

True enough. I found myself panting (and struggling to keep up the pace) while people like Shahrudin did not even break a single sweat. Mutant.

The Trainer were plush. One of the more plush shoe i've ever worn. I know know what it meant to be running on pillows. With my heavy 78kg weight, the shoe sure got some heavy cushioning to be done. As it is light, i am almost running barefooted.

The energy return was really good. Running up the hill near Mutiara Damansara to Damansara Perdana was such joy as i even managed to lift my legs up while running up.

I hardly felt that the thinner than usual sole (almost rivaling Pearl Izumi's) doing funny things to my heel strike or my stride. I felt as if i was wearing a thicker trainer. The closest i could compare this to is either the Pegasus or the Izumi, where both were plush and give considerable support and rebounce.

Despite having a blister that isn't healing still, i was more afriad i would stain the shoe with the pus and blood which were still wetting the gauze and socks i'm wearing. I went to buy some thicker gauze and micropore tape to ensure that it won't happen.

I hate to have a dirty shoe. Especially this one.

Nike LunarTrainer will only be available in October 2008 in the market. If you are in the lookout or planning to get one by then, keep a lookout for this shoe. I can tell you that it will be worth the money you spend, if performance, light-weightness and bling factor are what you are looking for.

These shoes will put you to the Moon, if you can reach it.

By the way, you can start breathing now. Sorry i forgot to tell you to breath after telling you all how heavy the Victory Spikes are.

Fly Me To The Moon, Please!

RRP for Trainer - RM389 (available in October 08)
RRP for Racer - RM439 (No date indicated)

Organic Craps and Gardening

I was given 3 gunny sack of organic crap by Yish.

You read me right. Crap.

I've fertilised my garden with all these craps and some are doing really well because i followed his instruction. Some went downhill because i thought i wanted to plant one of them with nothing but crap. Shows that even if you have abalone everyday, it might not be good in the long term.

Crap

oil palm's ~~kernel~~ shells

oil palm's ~~husk~~ fibre

And I was also given by my MIL, a corn tree. Corn tree is also known as iron tree or scientifically known as Dracaena Fragrans. They are easy to grow and they grow well in our climate.

Corn Tree

And I felt like crap after failing to complete 90km of easy cycling.

Gardening seems to be the best thing to do to take the mind off the crappy training session.

What better way to channel all the anger and frustration to something like…dirt and soil?

With this as the only tool.

The tool of destruction (of frustrations)

And a pair of leather glove of course (in case I get blister on my palm and fingers before Desaru, bad enough the blister on my Achilles isn’t healed yet).

So, I hand augered down to 0.6meter with a borehole about 12 inches in diameter.

Soil stratigraphy outside my house was fill material (0 to 0.15m), followed by silty sand (0.15 to 0.5m) and silty clay (0.5m to 0.6m). No groundwater was encountered.

The iron tree has been soaked in the water for the past 1 week to help develop the roots. Before planting it, i shaved off some skin off the lower portion to give it a better "feel" with the ground.

I then used my body weight and use it to pile the tree down into the earth. I think i managed a good 4 inches extra.

I then top up the hole with the remaining crap and mix it with the soil which i dug up. I then scatter the kernel all over the grass bed (as the grass seems to be hard to handle now, it comes with the house) and top it with the husk.

Black rock like thingy is the ~~kernels~~ shells and the brown hairy thingy is the ~~husk~~ fibre

This way, not only i can reduce the chances of the grass growing back, i could almost guarantee that the stray cats won't come and do their business on the piece of grass bed (ok, small patch of lawn).

After that, i realised something. I just spread a whole bunch of fertilisers onto the grass...now all i hope is that they won't mutate and get even out of control.

And after an hour and half, this is what i got to show to all of you.

Iron Tree planted by IronMan

With that, i hope all my frustration thus far would be buried together with those bunch of craps.

Evil Not Exorcized

I’m frustrated. Been feeling kind of low with regards to training. I can’t fault myself technically as I’ve not been training hard enough. But perhaps the inability to train enough is what has been making me feel really down.

I know that I am not any pro or even registered amateur or even athletes that consistently been clocking good timing and wining some money.

I know I am a sponsored average Joe which is doing my best to justify my presence.

I’ve been marked by others which are clearly and visibly better than me in terms of sports achievements and even finishing. I might appear arrogant, but that is because you don’t know me.

Today (as in Saturday), I joined the rest of the worthy people for a 90km spin in Putrajaya. I am excited. With Desaru just right at the corner and (I’m not making it a secret, but I’m telling all of you) that I am hoping to better the 6:30 timing I did last year. It would be tough. Really tough. I’ve already failed to post a new PB even with a spanking new fast bike... But I know it’s easy to blame the gear for my inability.

What separate those that say they can’t and those that say they can are deep inside the heart.

I know I have it.

Today, I thought I had it. I was out to exorcise the evil bike.

Evil

With horns

Evil with small rear end

While everyone named their bike, I chose not to. That is because I’ve not tamed him/her yet.

It is like trying to tame a wild horse.

I was doing great the first 30km. Managed to finish the Mosque to Cyberjaya Lodge to KLIA u-turn is 54 minutes. Average was a good cool 32km/h.

Azmar and AJ basically kept the pressure on me. I could keep up and lead on the flat, but flatter when I climb. AJ makes it looked too simple. Just like TZ, making it looked effortless when climbing hills.

At 40km, I lost both AJ and Azmar. Shazly and gang was about a good km behind.

Then I got lost. Took wrong turning and went back to the KLIA uturn.

Then I felt like shit.

And I know it wasn’t my day.

I stopped at 67km.

Went home.

And did some gardening in my cycling shorts.

The truth is. I am still riding in the shadow of the evil Orbea. He/She remain triumph over me.

...

TriDaddy

Ryan came down with a fever after he slept for about 2 hours. Wifey was concerned as he seldom fall sick. Gave him some paraceptamol and gave him 8oz of glucose as he refused to take his milk.

It seems funny (and heart wrenching) to see him constantly sighing (for his age), breathing heavily and his pulse strong (can't say it's fast as toddlers has higher than normal heartbeat anyway).

"want milk?", I asked.

"Mai", he answered

Mai is hokkien for don't want.

"want bina?", i asked again.

"Ai!", he called out.

Ai is hokkien for want.

Gave him what he wanted as i was more concerned about getting his temperature down.

At his 21 month age, he is like a parrot now. He repeats anything you say, or ask him to say.

I've been teaching him basic words in English, Chinese and Malay.

He can complete the last word in any song i sang to him, which he is familiar with. That includes most nursery rhymes, some patriotic songs, some cheering songs.

Just yesterday morning, i thought him Selamat Pagi Papa.

He can't say it in full yet, but he can manage it word by word.

Semamat. Pagi. Papa.

Such joy to listen.

But having him sick, eventhough it is just fever, gets me all worried and worked up. Plus, he seems to be having some allergic reaction to something, but i just don't know what it is, his eyes swell form time to time and his lips too will swell at times.

Nadia, on the other hand, seems to be contended and growing up really fast. She knows how to smile involuntarary already. Talk to her and coo coo with her and she will reply with smile.

Such joy to see.

She has been breastfeeding really well. It might still be too premature to see if this breastfeeding frenzy will work until much later, but as it is, it seems to be working really well; compared to Ryan, that is.

Unlike Ryan, Nadia seems to have her eyes open even past 12am. In short, she is like me, refusing to sleep until past 12. Ryan is more like wifey, knocks out after 10.

I guess there is some truth in the sense that the kids will be closer to their parents of the opposite sex.

At this point, i really don't know what to do if i do not have them in my life. Which adds to my misery thinking if Ryan is better and if the allergy is something to worry about.

After Ryan and Nadia, i have to give a standing ovation to wifey. I can't deny the fact that home has been a touch and go for me for as long as i've been working in this office. I spend more physical time at workplace than at home.

Wifey has been singlehandedly handed the hard to handle Ryan and ever demanding Nadia. No less thanks to my mum in law and my own mum for helping out as well. But at times, we can't help but to think that one granma is biased towards one grandchild. Wifey and me decided that instead of looking at it negatively, at least we can see that either one of them will be loved more by the other party. Sticky la this subject.

"OK, I go home for a while, see you tomorrow", jested one of my guys.

It hit me really hard when he said that two days ago.

It goes to show that we've been clocking in way too much time at work. I for one has nothing less than 12 hours in my timesheet per day. Stuck in middle management is a hard thing to do, neither here nor there. Either do it or don't. I guess i still have a long road to prove myself to this company. Come 20th August, it marks my 1 year in this company. How times flies.

How how things changed.

This time last year, i was still busy trying to secure a job. I was also clocking in good running mileage on the Penchala highway in the middle of the day. Those days, i averaged 70km/week of running and a good 250km of biking/week.

Today, i'm struggling to get at least 30km/week of running and 30km/week biking. Lets not even talk about swimming.

Just like how Shazly asked me a while ago, "how's your swim? wait, ARE YOU SWIMMING?"

Today is 1st August. Today i received two training program for IronMan from two fellow IronMan team mates.

Neither one could fit into my life now, or should i say...is my life fit to do any now?