Tech Woes...

We all know how technology works... they're there to give us information that we don't really need and even when we have that information, we don't really know how to deal with it...

well.. at least that's how I felt with the Suunto T3....its a Finnish product, and really... its a piece of crap... too difficult to learn.. and when I finally learnt it, its a bloody piece of murder to get it integrated with I fitness log... here's why...

the buttons tactile feel is crap... you don't really know whether your stopwatch has started or stopped.. or whether you just pressed the LAP button...you have to squint your tired eyes, eyes that have been stinged by perspiration, and doing all that while you are running... the beep also very soft.. can't hear.. so honestly, this watch is definitely for the young, anyone more mature with failing eyesight, should just stay away from this watch.

The GPS pod took too darn long to find the satellites...
the PC pod hardly ever works! It will download maybe a couple of logs and then its communication failure... the helpdesk is useless, giving me information that I already knew. After 2 months of almost daily communication with the helpdesk and still not being able to get one decent download.. the PC pod is not cold storaged.

Things that work ?
The foot pod. Exceptionally accurate. All that inaccuracy during the Standard Chartered Run, My bad...I re-calibrated the darn thing incorrectly.
When the GPS is working, its also very accurate.

Will I recommend a Suunto to anyone? Answer is NO! Buy a Polar. Dun buy a Timex.. or a Nike or a Puma.. Polar.

I'd still be using the Suunto... only because I spent good dollars on it. But i think after 2010... it may be time to change.

My 1st 10km Race...

Funny thing about life... ever see those amputtees playing basketball or swimming? Blind trying to run marathons and playing the piano.. they go against their fate, training and trying to beat the odds... ask them why they are doing this, and the reasons as varied as they may be, can be summarised to this: to prove something.

For me, to run is literally like getting the crippled to run... I hated running since I was a kid. Never understood why it hurt so much when I ran.. until mom and dad told me that I was flat footed. In the army, I realised that flat footed people will never become officers and will be resigned to be ''others's''. With that, I too resigned to my fate and never looked at running again.

Fast forward 20 years... with the birth of Gabriel and then Samantha and now Nathalie, staying fit and trim is not an option. Running was maybe the only way (for now) to get fit, strong and trim. And thus in 2003, I started my odyssey in running... to grow a love affair with the one activity that will cause me many many nights of pain...

10 km race... that was what it was suppose to be... but when my foot pod started to measure something else different, and my body was starting to alert me as it slipped into the pain thresh-hold, I glanced around, for the distance marker... and to my dismay, either my foot pod was wrong, or my body was starting to become complacent...
There was suppose to be 50,000 runners for this Marathon event, and it sure felt as if ALL of them were running with me at the same time.. of course, the truth of it was that perhaps only 5-8000 of us were running the 10k.. and the rest were probably in the Marathon and the 1/2 M.. still it was castrophobic.. smells, odours, sounds.. it was very strange indeed... you whizz by huffing and puffing walking folks... and faster runners were cutting you from behind... I kept my pace, my watch the pace keeper... slowly but surely, left right left right... I looked around the tall buildings at the business district.. and wondered if I would ever get a chance to find employement again...
Up at the bridge, my heart was strong and so were my lungs and legs.. a quick check, and I was doing around 11.2km/h up the slope.. cool... all the training up mount faber was not in vain... coming down heading towards Temasek Boulevard, it was a mind shattering 15.5km/h... actually its was more like THIGH busting.. rather then mind shattering...
The marshalls at the side.. waving red flags, feebly cheered us on... "hang in there! Only 3 more Km to go!!" I glanced at my watch... strange, it registered that I have already cleared 9km... my thighs were burning... and the sweat that were absorb by my shirt was starting to weight a tonne... I could feel every step, as I pounded my feet to propell myself just alittle more closer to the finishing line.. but where the heck was the finishing line? And there I was ... at the F1 pitstops, the roll of Ferraris lined up at the right hand side.. probably lined there to mentally tuant us, to get us to go faster.... afterall aren't the Ferraris a portal of fast lanes and flashy status? Ahhh.. the MODENA... sexy.. red and beautiful... and the Maranello... I glanced again... 11.2km/h... it certainly worked abit.. then on my right, an old fren passed me by, his arm tattoo gave his identity away, I called out to him, exchanged pleasentries and then he was off, he's in the sales line, and I remembered that he would call me whenever he needed "lobangs", but when it came to parties he somehow forgets about me, how do I know about that? Thanks to cyber space! His wife blogs about the parties and I've been reading them.. well, no more invitations to him then! once passed the F1 pits.. it was down the Esplanade road... Pain, and the feeling of disheartenness ( is that a word? ) and my speed was down to 9.5km/h... and for the first time.. I walked.. it was getting hotter, and the sun was in my face.. there were many runners, some walking some running... but I didnt see them, it might just as well be that I was on the moon.. all by myself... the legs wanted to stop... the lungs wanted more air... I wondered how much more pain? alright.. 1 minute of walking.. speed was down to 5km/h.... and total distance covered was over the 12km mark.. at least.. the entrance fee that I paid was worth it! The one minute was up... and I must say.. that short rest was really good... I started to run again, not jog... 12km/h... and the cheering crowds helped abit...
As I made that turn, the last 195metres.. Adrenalin flowed into my system... it was as if I had on new legs, new lungs and 2 hearts?! I peered infront, and the word 'FÏNISH' had a new meaning to me, it meant that I could rest.. it meant that I could go home, it meant that it was over, time to bask in glory..
In that short distance of 195 metres, tears welled in my eyes, a quick glance, I was sprinting at 18km/h, the pain was gone.. and all I wanted was to FINISH this...emotionals went amok, I was proud, tired but happy... I thought, what an achievement, I waited 39 years to run a foot race, I remember the times when the PE teachers would snarled at me, because I was flat footed, because running hurts and I could never run long distances well.. I hated running... but here it is... 10km.. FINISHED...
One thing that I learnt about this whole run was that, in life we have to expect the unexpected, just like in this race, it was surely more than 10km. But at the finishing stretch, I also started to learn the value of finishing well.
Standing before me, is a whole new opportunity for me to finish well in my life.. and what lies behind are the experiences that I can draw to help me to finish this objective. Friends come and go, sometimes, you buy them lunch, sometimes, they might buy you lunch... but watever it is, keeping a sensible level of expectations of friends will also certainly get us to be happier folks. And of course, if you have a religion, being faithful certainly helps!

2008, an eventful year..

To say that 2008 was eventful, will probably be an understatement...

From a Fitness perspective.. much was achieved in this year.. then in all the years of my life!

First off.. though non-fitness related, but will be a huge factor in my fitness in the latter part of my life.. is the birth of my third child, Nathalie in middle of 2008...

I finally completed my 1st ever 10km run race.. at the Standard Chartered Marathon Race...

there will be a write up on this subsequently...

I also did the cycling portion of the OSIM Corporate Tri... on my Kona.. to think that I waited for more than 20 years for my first bike race.

More to come?

Yes indeed.. 2009.. will probably see me doing probably another 1 or 2 more 10km runs.. and probably a half marathon..God willing that is!

I have also enrolled in the OCBC cycle race.. my aim... to be above 50%.. for my age group and also for overall..

2008 taught me.. the youth is certainly an advantage.. but nonetheless.. what we lack in advantage.. through sheer hard work and determination... nothing is ever impossible...

its about small targets.. just like in the movie 'the Patriot'.. when Mel Gibson taught his sons.. 'Aim small, miss small..'... aim for the small targets, easy ones that can be attained quickly.. then work upwards from there...

setting small targets, long term goals and have a ready set of objectives to align the targets and goals.. keeping in mind that the objectives can change.. and will change.. afterall, there are limitations, physically, for all of us.. physically we have to be very sensitive to our own pain threshholds.. only when we start to train towards fatique.. can we improve on our endurance...

Purpose of this blog

Its for me to see, how much effort I will put in to get myself to become a fitter and hopefully lighter ME.

Hopefully, I will have people who will see this as an encouragement..
hopefully, there will be friends keeping in touch with me via the blogsite, to encourage me on, and for me to encourage them with the fitness regime that I am going through.

IS/IS NOT

is suppose to be entertaining
is suppose to encourage, inspire and hopefully get people to perspire!
is about having fun with blood, sweat and tears
is about pushing pain barriers, pulling down fears and building courage
is about setting long term goals, short term targets and wholesome objectives
is about respecting the limits of the physical body
is about sharing my personal experiences

Is NOT about showing off physical poweress
Is NOT about blind and mindless ambitions to be faster and stronger but not smarter
Is NOT about all work and no fun
Is NOT about the bike or the shoes
Is NOT about the timing
Is NOT about the distance

My fitness blog

This blog will be used mainly for me to keep track on my efforts in maintaining my fitness, via various sporting activities.

Right now, much focus is being directed to doing frequent runs and rides.