One week to Hell, and a Link to my second home...

Its me again, Fie.

Boosh, me and my dad are one week away from the New Balance Real Run 2009. As mentioned, it is my first sanctioned run and I am rather excited about it. Training have been hampered by the ah zhong's wedding stuff going on, but it should still be fine. (as in I can finish it without dying/puking/nua-ing)

I saw the new New Balance 1063 running shoes and I do have to say that it is one pretty piece of art! I almost bought it on impulse until I found out I do not need a new pair of running shoes. And it is not some dress shoe you wear to Orchard or a wedding, so even though it does look spanking, it will not get a lot of mileage with me at the helm.
Deep in my heart, I do think that the yellow highlights fit my yellow Ironman Timex watch perfectly though.

By the way, I know you have been wanting to know what does an aspiring Ironman do during his spare time? Let me tell you. They write a second blog. Something that goes like umm...

-----> http://9d20.blogspot.com/

This is what I do in my free time, when I am NOT doing light training, watching Gossip Girl episodes, teaching tuition, tennis-ing, meeting friends to chat, or the crappy chinese 9 o' clock serial - Ting Tang Policedungs.

Feel free to spend your valuable time flittering between both damn good blogs and yes kids, there is never too much of a good thing!

You get a double dose of Fie's prose and mad humor. Life has never been this good without being this cheap.

Okay off to my training.. Onward ho !

"Due to technical difficulties, I regret to inform.."

Aloha readers,

It has come to my unfortunate knowledge that the Singapore Aviva Ironman Triathlon has been moved forward to March. This means that Booshee and me technically have only five more months to do preparatory events while still pushing ourselves physically to make the cut.

In stark reality, this also means that we will be making the Osim Triathlon next year (In July?) our goal instead. In March, we should be starting our first ever Sprint Triathlon event, so that the schedule will not be compromised. So much for the international sports event calendar being stable and stuff.

On a brighter note, my brother Shane is now a proud daddy! Hooray and rejoice all baby-lovers of the world! Here comes the new addition – Christian Caden Kwek!!!

Yes, you guys are asking the questions. Will Christian be a future Triathlete? Does Caden have the three things? Is Kwek cool beans like us? Or will Christian Caden Kwek just do the proper stuff in life and be like really successful in the things that really matter?

Okay Okay. Back to the main topic. ( Baby K will be blogged in future as a potential superstar.)

As if we are not reeling a bit from the Aviva shocker, I also regret to announce that Team Boofie will be slacking these few weeks (three weeks to be precise), as I am tied up in unforseen preparations for Ah Zhong’s wedding. He is blindly testing the Goddess of Fate and actually reuniting Bedside 40 AGAIN!

*sharp intake of air*

For the uninitiated, Bedside 40 is a really cool*1 Xinyao band formed in the late 90s by four rather untalented Chinese males. Their dubious claim to fame is having made the entire Neptune Court and two random pub/eatery in Suntec City close down after “lively” live performances there.

As said, I am the drummer/clanker/spastic gum-chewer of the band and will be having jamming sessions on Wednesdays and Saturdays prior to the big day.
(Our performance, not the wedding.)

Soooo, Team Boofie will not be meeting on the scheduled days and we will be training on our own for the time being. Not to worry, our pure enthusiasm will take us through, starting with…… the REAL run!!!! 19th October here we come! Singapore better start to be really afraid of our brimming whatever'ness.

The first appearance of Team Boofie in public is arriving.

Are you ready for the tsunami that is brewing this side of the island? (something in that vein.)

*1 Never hot.

Rain or shine. I really cannot tell. (/flips coin)

Hey all Team Boofie wellwishers,

It is the middle-end of the year again. The weather is mad, raining and not, and then chunking bits all over but in a while, it is fine again.
Welcome to the monsoon season. Me and booshee were caught in one of the sessions last week. My diary went:

8pm - booshee arrives. Morale is high.
8:10pm - weather looks good. Wind is great, almost air-con like. We start our 10.6km run.
8:35pm - reach tanah merah bend, near the food centre. going into the army camp road. Starts to drizzle.
8:39pm - The monsoon rain hits. We are stuck but had to continue running. My Ipod is wet, I am drenched, shoes wet, spectacles fogged and blurred. Morale is low.
8:45pm - On way back towards Simei. Rain still belting down, but Ipod played "Somewhere only we know" to the backdrop of a very red and cool sky. Morale boosted bits.
9:03pm - (53 mins) reached my condo. Totally soaked. Walked past the gym. My very dry dad smiled at me from the treadmill. Right.

Yeap. I had a good bath and the whole schedule for the night was disrupted. Swimming had to be cancelled. Our once-a-week heavy day was washed away.
Now we had time to ponder. And eat like "toot". We waited for Gari's DnD session later on in the night. At least, the mental marathon will not be deterred.

Meanwhile, me and booshee felt that the sessions were getting too easy and we were going too soft on ourselves. We need something to spur us on, to focus our energies.

Relying on pure impluse again, we decided to sign up for the 15km New Balance REAL Run in October. (I didn't come up with the cheesy name.)
Sand,trail and road running all rolled into one. Mmm. That should be rather fun and a good distraction from all this gloominess.
I will calibrate the cool Nike+ wristband that I bought for my dad and put it to some use for once.
Will update more on the next post.

Peace all.

Cool? You are anything but cool !

Life these days for me have been quite healthy.

Not like really very healthy, but its a good start. We are just trying to get used to a "fit-cercise" lifestyle, somthing that I last did like twenty years ago in secondary school, where I played sports at least two/three hours per DAY, and got myself charred to epic Malay/Indian skin tone proportions.

Currently, the "fitness" schedule that I am loosely following goes something like this:
playing tennis once/twice a week, swimming twice a week trying to learn the semblance of a proper front-crawl technique, and running 11km once/twice a week.

Yes, I could be doing more, but that will really feel like "training" and it will not be fun. The thought of that happening is anything but cool. I could be doing less, but then, it will not even make me exert or sweat properly, and it kind of defeats the purpose in the first place.
Anyway, peaking and training to maximum efficiency should be done before the big events. (sounds like I actually know what I am saying but I dont, but you get the gist.)

So this is the happy median for me now. I do hope to play more tennis though.
*rolls eyes*
But I have not got over the Federer hangover yet. He is still my tennis hero, but the monster Nadal is whooping him left and right. Sometimes centre.
A bit sad but as it has always been for ME, its the way you win something that matters the most . I will rather NOT win if it is not by my own way.
The vision of the future me in my Litespeed mountain bike as I cruise through the Ironman section comes to mind. Everybody can say that I am slow and that I am wasting valuable time while being overtaken by nuns and senile ministers, but I will honestly prefer to complete the race with the bike I love, thank you.
On a sidenote, I have decided to use the k-90 Wilson racket more these days, at least for a couple of months so that I can connect with Federer spiritually through this act even though it makes no absolute sense whatsoever.

Back to serious business. Closer to the end of this year, tentatively November, when me and Booshee enters one of the many Olympic Distance (OD) Triathlon that will be around at that time of the year, the couple of months before that will definitely be more intense than the casual training now.
And high on our priority list is deciding if we bozos need a tri-bike for the 40km(OD)/90km(1/2h-iron) ride section come next year September. (clown horn.)

But for now, Team Boofie are still in the midst of recruiting more suckers for this prideful venture. Our casual wednesday session (swim) is from 8-10pm, while the more intense saturday session (run/swim) is only from 7-10pm. Very do-able.
And you get to swim for kicks, and see the beautiful Simei scenery at the poolside or at the Cheers store when we go out for late-night drinks.

If you are out of your mind, do not mind moving your limbs about twice a week, and love torturing yourself for nothing except pride and maybe a medal or two, then this sport is for you!

Good sport! Good sport! As they always say.
(*mutters* But.. but.. Alfie say one... Guys? Guys?~)

Cool?

You are anything but.

Nothing is impossible? Anything is possible?

We have started our training program as scheduled with effect from 1st June 2008!

To train for Ironman is NOT A JOKE and in fact fie and me are trying our best to stick on the training program as close as possible,trying real hard not to miss a single day.

To the people out there, i urge you to join us in this meaningful sport!



This could be the only pride accomplishment in your whole life worth bragging?



See links as below;



http://ironman.com/columns/ironmanlife/kevin-mackinnon-profiles-energizer-keep-going-hall-of-fame-nominee-scott-rigsby

http://ironman.com/events/ironman/ironman-world-championship/reinertsens-finished-business

If people like Kevin mackinnon and Sarah Rein could finished a REAL IM race, what kind of reasons you could think of that YOU CANT DO IT?

Bascially there ARE NO REASONS!

Anything is Possible,,and

NOTHING is IMPOSSIBLE !

"Ironman? No, I haven't watched it yet."

Sometimes i do have to give it to the youth of today. Their ignorance, blissfully unaware of world affairs, general knowledge and the significance of it all, makes them a candidate for stress-free living.

Take Liting, my ex-tuition kid, as an example. She is an okay child and all, 13 years old this year, and your typical singaporean teenager.

Full of angst about friends and enemies who betrayed her trust by going out on dates with her 17th or 18th boyfriend i cannot really remember, she could also be over the moon raving about her first kiss in a cinema. in a nutshell, she can really blow hot and cold.*1

Hark! Leonidas in a darker tone, with a yellow ironman watch to boot. what more can you ask for in a man?

She came over to my house the on thursday and was kinda shocked at my new hairstyle. I went for this roman-greco look, read: geeky, with really short hair at the top and ultrasloped sides. she asked me why i decided to make this drastic change, but trust me, i have had drastic-er hairstyles in my life. I told her that I was an Ironman (tm) and this was the proper look if i was to endure through hours of swimming, jogging and cycling in the hot and humid singapore weather.

"Ironman? No, I haven't watched it yet.", was her immediate reply.

She was referring to the blockbuster marvel summer hit "Ironman". she didnt know no nuts *2 about the "real" Ironman. Grit, determination and unsung heroes are lost on the youth of today apparently.

They want glory and anything and everything else fast, and on their lap in the quickest time if possible. i do admit that when i was young, i wanted the same feeling. but deep down inside, i realized i was always the guy that preferred to make the final pass to the striker for the winning goal. If i were to score the winning goal, so be it, but being the creator makes me feel better inside. I was the indirect reason for the win anyhow. you cannot take that away from me. i prefer private pride to full-fledged glory.

I am the unsung hero, the wind beneath their wings, the flame that light the candle which toppled and burned the entire village down, and dare i say, the sole reason that this very planet is revolving for, in a very broad sense.(did i also fleetingly mention that i am quite modest and shy by nature?)

Anyway, enough about me. it is time to shine the spotlight at the others supposedly involved in this interesting little adventure.

Gwaby (vek's gf) is interested in joining us and is pulling vek along for the ride. she is looking to lose 10 kg as a positive side-effect in the whole process, and on the way, showing vek how it should be done, aka proper swimming and jogging techniques.

vek's involvement in the training will immediately stop if gwaby quits halfway. he is very confident that he will not need to do the swimming and jogging (two activities that he hates to the core and back) much, as he feels gwaby will not be able to keep her focus on the training for more than a couple of weeks or months.

But what if she can? what if gwaby suddenly finds out that, hey! she wants to discover her inner limits, to know more about herself? with her personal pride bursting forth, she might even want to show the world (vek) that she can do what others (vek) say she can't?

Then i can forsee a new confident young woman reborn. and a very tired vek swimming and running for the next goddamn year.

god bless him. and amen to that. at least, he will be a fit, fit man.

EDIT: Gwaby is not joining it seems, never saw her at training, so much for the confident young woman reborn.

*1: not in that way, you perv.

*2: don't know anything about nuts or related products.

WILLPOWER!

Will power is just funny...DO you have it?? do you even remember how it feels like?

I DO ...and what i call it?? my IRON WILL!




Back to the 45km of cycling event on 25 may 08 (sunday).

Fie and Shane could not join due to personal commitments..so meet up with Vek ..our resident "dwarf" at Paya Lebar Air base.

8.00am>People..lotsa of them. queuing up..not for free gifts..or a full body rub,, but for a full body security scan!

8.20am> Registered to enter the 45km cycle race and given a tag.

8.30am> RACE begins!

Weather was nice and cooling and overtaking senior citizens, plump ass skaters, kids and clowns riding singled wheel bikes is just plain FUN!

1st 15 km >>Joyride..refreshing with ass hugging Ger skaters in front of me,,i mean,,skating in front.

Next 15km>>Resident dwarf is darn fast ,,,perhaps he is er,, chasing some rider's stinky ass ..,not sure,>?is he? I continue cycling>

Last 15km>>HOT! it is like inside an oven,,it is so hot,,i am burning! my butt is giving way,,, but Nevermind,,i am Booshee,,i just have to finished it! period.

Last 9km>> seeing stars and my neck hurts.

Last 7km>> Cycling and looking at floor. (dont ask me why)

Last 2km>> torturing,,the strong wind is slowing me down but i have my willpower!

FINISHED LINE!

watch reads 1050am+ Vek finished approx 2hrs 10 mins and i finished appox 2hrs 20mins++...NOT BAD :P

Now some pixs <>


Ahem..me> and veky

NOW> 1 Step closer to our IRONMAN dream!

When there is a will, there is .. (usually someone dying soon.)

Okay, I have heard that as long as you have the will, it is stronger than skill. What they did not say is that the skill should be relatively near the region of the endurance required though.

I was talking to ah zhong a couple of days ago and he recounted how he had the will to go on, but his legs just broke down on him on the 26th km of the marathon he participated in last year.

I cannot imagine myself running 21.1 km, after cycling 90 km and swimming 1.5 km based on pure will, and using "sitting on the sofa watching american idol/prison break", or "grinding on countless mobs in my favourite MMO", as relevant experience. At least not yet.

I do believe that team boofie and the WuBz-crew, with the right mentality and a realistic and down-to-earth perspective, coupled with our natural mad-ass genes and ultra-competitive "grind you down" nature, not forgetting our extensive sports background as gay volleyball players and decent male cheerleaders *1, we should be just fine.

Watch out, aunties, grandmas, pre-pubescent children and infants! we are gunning for you!

you know who we are gunning for. so just cooperate and lay still.

Will is a funny little thing. So is alex's will(ie). Breaking the pain barrier and fatigue walls are part and parcel of the tri-experience, and having an abundance of willpower could help in that aspect. Thinking of the ultimate high - crossing the finish line, getting a completion medal; not wasting the 300 odd dollars of the registration fee in the process, and even mental images of the tears and cheers waiting for you during your final approach can spur one on to greater heights. Trust me, we will need all the will that we can get.

I have been psyching myself up for the weekend, where i will be getting basic equipment for the training next week. A cheap casio/timex sports-watch, a good pair of running shoes (Nike wide-soled) are on my agenda for this week. I might also consider a nice pair of speedos to swim in but I have not decided to take the plunge yet. (pardon me.)

Tennis might have to take a backseat for now, as i will be reducing the frequency of my practices to maybe once or twice a week. We only got so much time and this is my sporting priority. Being an ironman is never an easy path and that is the price we have to pay to scale our..our dreams. *fake tears welling up in eyes, choking up, ready to recieve the obligatory Oscar.*

On a sidenote, the French Open is starting next week and i will be rooting for roger again. the old fogey is fighting an uphill battle to win over his fans and critics for his lacklustre performances this year, but.. with his new coach and all, rog should at least touch the quarters and mesmerise the world with his sublime skills and impeccable style. hopefully, a certain someone (cough) will not make it FOUR in a row, and grind out a predictable victory.

I will be posting more on this weekend's training and boofie's new equipment in the next installment of the coolest blog this side of simei, and then some.

*1 : sorry, but i do have to say that the volleyball/cheerleading thingy aint team boofie. not to be picking on alex or anything, but i was actually describing his teenage life.

"The three things ... Do you have it?"

If you do not recognize the above-mentioned phrase, please kindly refer to this so that you can brush up on your knowledge regarding Captain Obvious and his verbal capers.

Also, booshee has started his regular posts on the site so do come back regularly to support my crazed and optimistic tri-wannabe partner. He posted about his idol in his previous post and soon, i will be posting about mine- Faris Al-Sultan, better known in this circle as The Sultan of Sweat, or to us as a bastard speedo-wearing lovechild with tons of innate stamina and a balanced approach to all three disciplines of the sport.
In view of boosh's undying spirit and hunger, i do hope the fire will burn long and strong after the training sessions start.

Our home-brewed specialized training starts a week from now, and we should be hitting the gym and the waters on those days. We (Team Boofie) pinpointed swimming and core strength as our only major weaknesses for now and will look to shore them up pronto. There is a niggling suspicion that we will soon unearth more weaknesses in the days to come.

Actually, on the same day after the ketam experience, we went back to :

Part 1: Soak in the pool, cycled from the headquarters (my home) to east coast at night, chilled out there a bit, did bike skills with shane, vek and didi at the ultra-smooth concrete sports area and then headed onto changi village via coastal road. me and vek timed ourselves and completed coastal 7.03 *1 in about 11 mins 30 secs. I will have to get a cyclometer so as to chart the distance, speed and time more accurately.

Part 2: we headed up to the Cheers at changi village proper itself and Team Boofie hydrated themselves up for a casual 4.5 km run along the changi beach.

*1: approx. 7 km of black tarmac path flanking the uber boring changi coastal road.

team boofie checking their hi-tech equipment and pondering their fate before the ghetto-lon.

It took us about 28 - 30 mins approx. and we were rather satisfied with our first ghetto "bi-athlon sprint mini-version", not forgetting me and booshee had only 2-3 hrs sleep the night before and me, a ketam trip earlier that day.

I do understand that we cannot afford to do the 2-3 hr sleep and then train the next day kind of mentality once we start doing this seriously as it might result in middle-aged men "slippage" of particular body parts. we do not recover like young men anymore and more care should be taken to preserve our rather fragile bodies.

We at Team Boofie will have to work doubly hard to acquire the three things that Capt. Ade-Obvious reminded us about.

Ending on a high note, i give a shout out to shane and vek, who are volunteering their time/skill to head our elite Whats Up Buoyz? (WuBz) technical/logistics race-day team. We look forward to working with them and i see a great partnership forming.

shane looking particularly pleased and serene after he secured a place in the WuBz team.

Christine Wellington!

Booo shee...the man with few words...

Christine Wellington.. ahem!

She is not a movie star,,,,She aint your Vollyhood porn star....she aint your favourite ang mo ice cream seller next door and nope..she wont give out free B.. er...stuff..either..

She is no other than "THE 2007 Ironman World Triathlon Championship "Woman CHAMP!

AKA Muppet! *smiles*

The IM race which consist of a 2.4 mile (3.86 kilometer) ocean siwm in Kailua-Kona Bay, a 112 mile (180.2 kilometer) bike ride across the Hawaiian lava desert to Hawi and back, and a 26.2 mile (42.195 kilometer) marathon along the coast of the Big island ; finishing on Ali'i Drive.

Her Timing>>9:08:45 !

She is such an inspiration to all people wanting to join Iron man races and you could read her blog as follows;
http://www.teamtbb.com/christinewellington/

I got quite teary after reading her story....i admire .Her will, Her strength ...Rookie to world IM champion,,,what a Dream.!.

Anyway, she makes me wana complete my very own Iron man race with FIE! and with style!! ,,

AND she looks darn cute with those mesmerizing smiles,,Shes my idol!....(echo)...

Swim 2.4 miles! Bike 112 miles! Run 26.2 miles! Brag for the rest of your life!
”
— Commander Collins, (1978)