my Triathlon experience

From : BokHui


19 Apr....the day was nice for a gd tan...lots of hot bikes, hot babes...hot guys...ok got not so hot ones..but who cares...everyone were out to hav some serious fun..and the sun was ever so obliging...gd news for the skin..bad news for the bodies...went to hav my body marking done...now this was fun...u had yr race numbers marked on both sides of your arms and i realised this was the fav photo opportunity moment for most..darn..shld've got a camera wit me..since i got mine marked by 2 girls who juz can't stop giggling while painting my arms...:)

so i started on the slow wave...gauged i will take more than 20mins for the swim since I HAV NOT BEEN SWIMMING....clocked 19mins...was like half front crawling n half breaststroking...dun care la...just swam as pro as possible...no matter wat muz got a bit of action la i was thinking...

next..hit the beach...legs were still ok...ran to my bike..swiped the sands of my feet..socks on, shoes on, vest on, sunglasses on and finally helmet on...but wait...fatigue sets in...ok...powergel 1 pack 1st...bike off the rack...mount..hehe...now can rest liao i was thinking...but no "ON THE RIGHT" cries were constantly heard..fed-up with having to give way..I also up the ante and join in the "ON THE RIGHT" bandwagon..boy was i wrong...it seems my legs has not gotten over the muscles used in swimming and by peddling in low gear..i am not letting it enuff time to switch...and i was to pay for this mistake during my run...cycling circuit was a nice and flat n we got the entire changi coast road, so overtaking was much safer..

bike off..helmet off..i lose track of time by now..sun was blazing its ray on me..so glad i rmbr my sunglasses this time..so i started my run...eh...wait..legs funny leh...shit..feelings of cramps in both calf...alright..no nid to hurry...it better to finish slow then to finish injured...so i do my "leisure" run...and after 2 rounds..it ws finally over..so happy to cross the finish line and the girls at the end point was nice to raise the tape again for me to dash past...haha..my less than one sec of fame..

so that's my virgin attempt at triathlon...how did i feel one day after...muscles are aching, shoulders, calves, tighs, and even the groin area..but i still felt gd...will i hav another go again...you bet!

Two new members joining the run

Eight people turned up today for the 6km Track-24 run.
They are CM Lai, Doris Oh, Allan de T, YS Yun, BH Ong, HT Ng and HC Gan. Welcome Allan and Doris for joining the running group.

BK started the run early at 5:15pm. YS Yun ran from his home and met us at the Track-24. Doris and Allan started the run ahead followed by CM, HT and HC later as they waited a bit longer to see anyone else might be turning up a bit late.

CM has been joining the run group very consistently for Tue and Thu runs for the past 2 weeks. He started with about 2km run and today he was able to cover closed to 5km. Great improvement. Keep it up.

Allan was trying to get a new pair of running shoes. HT and YS gave their recommendations. YS Yun has privilage membership card with SportsLink which will get 20% discount. Whoever intend to get a new pair of running shoes, please contact YS Yun to borrow his membership card to enjoy the discount.

HT is joining the Triathlon in Bintang in May.

Oh ya.... thanks to HC for providing the free drink... 100-Plus.

Tuesday UPR Run

11 people turned up for the run today. No one from materials team turned up today... all very busy this week due to additional workload ?

HC, CS and CM all brought along several bottles of 100-Plus. We used up CM's first. HC will bring his this Thursday for the Track-24 run. CS can bring his again next week Tue at UPR. Thanks CM for this week sponsored drinks.

We welcome GuanHong for joining the AMK Hot-Runners group first time together for the run. HC found out through Facebook that GuanHong is a keen runner and invited him to join the group for the weekly FUN runs.

GuanHong's 1st comment : "the slopes are really jia-lat (tough)". We told him it was the same when we first started running there at UPR... all of us felt "punctured" at the slopes too but now all felt ok and enjoy the slopes.

HC & Janto provided transport from office to-and-from the UPR carpark. Thanks.

HC Gan, Janto, TL Yen, Raymond, GuanHong (1st time joining us), CM Lai, Steby, SokeHan (good to see her again after a long break).
Edwin Goh, CS Chan and Edmund drove there directly. HT still down with flu and did not join.

8 people (!) grouped together and ordered the Garmin Heart-rate, speed and distance monitoring watch. It should arrive in 1 to 2 weeks time. It's a steal at about US$82.00 (recession fire-sales price). Pete Laute and HC Gan bought theirs at US$138 ! If buy locally it is around S$400.

For sample charts click here.

Major price discount for Garmin heart-rate, speed and distance monitoring watch !!

Fire sales ! Price has dropped to only US$82.00 (at time of posting this) for limited period only.
During the last 2 IT shows the local vendor was quoting S$400 each.

7 people has expressed interest to order. BokHui is helping the team to buy all together to save freight cost. Those interest please contact either BokHui Ong , HT Ng or HC Gan soonest.

Garmin heart-rate, speed and distance monitoring watch with USB wireless dongle to transfer data to PC.

MJ is interested in the Garmin F305 model which cost US$176.

Sample charts for the US$82.00 F50 model (photo on the left) CLICK HERE.

Thursday run on Track-24

Four people met up at office carpark : HC Gan, HT Ng, JY Choo and CM Lai. HT showed up to say "hello" but not able to join the run due to flu.

This is the 2nd time CM joined us for the run. He joined us for the first time on Tuesday at UPR. At that time he did 1.5km. Today he increaed that to 3km, wow... good improvement ! Looks at how Happy he looked in the photo... must be a good de-stress for him and also keep him healthy.

Video of JY Choo and CM Lai below.

HC followed the whole 6km route closely behind CY who has been running very consistently at fairly constant speed of about 10kmph. Very good run today for both. HC felt still have a lot of energy left and he run another 3km back home plus another 1km. Click here to see HC's running data captured on his Garmin heart-rate, speed and distance monitoring device.

When running home, HC met YS Yun
along the YCK 10km route !
A pleasent surprise.

<= YS is one of our elite Hot-Runners... high speed and long distance.

=> HC as usual has been very inspiring and has joined us for both Tue and Thu runs.

Apr 14 UPR for Mong Sze

Somehow, the photo from my new Mot phone appeared with special dreamy effect specially for Mong Sze. Mong means dreamy. The camera must have sensed the day was dedicated to her. She provided the 100 plus and helped with the drinks as well. We wish her the more fun running after her departure from Motorola. Once a hot-runner, always a hot-runner.

Margerate was there as sent off party and to tough it out. She is building up towards her Sundown 42km. Between that, she has signed up for Passion Run 15km.

Wil simply likes to run and have been consistently good.

Pleasent George always there to give good company to all.

We welcome CM Lai, our new hotrunner.

Yip has also signed up for 21km Bridge Run.

Yanto back from secret training in Indonesia

Gan also back from secret Malaysia training.

First photo of Edmund solo in singlet. His motto is also to simply enjoy the run. He did 7km in UPR in 46mins. Wonder how fast he can go if he go beyond enjoyment into the torture zone.

Riess is back in the running with hotrunners.

Run for Fun

Run for Health

Run for Life

Thanks Pete for your continuous support and contribution of relent articles....

From: Laute Peter-FPL002

Date: Tue, Apr 7, 2009

Keep running - for life.

http://www.runningtimes.com/Article.aspx?ArticleID=16086

Boston's Fastest Great-Grandmother

Arlene Arneson

By Jacob White
As featured in the April 2009 issue of Running Times Magazine

Around her 50th birthday, Arlene Arneson had to make a decision. She already decided to quit smoking, but now needed something to occupy the time she spent enjoying her morning cigarette.

"I put my jacket on and went for a walk," she recalls.

Twenty-two years later Arneson finished her first Boston Marathon with a 70--74 age-division winning time of 4:27:38. "People were cheering throughout the whole race," she says. "The cowbells were deafening and all the kids wanted to give me a high-five."

At 5-foot-1 and 100 pounds, Arneson is modest in stature as well as pride. "Tickled," she replies, when asked how she felt about her win. When pressed about the significance of her accomplishment she quotes others. "Someone told me that winning Boston is like scaling Everest," she says, before qualifying the statement, "and I guess that's sorta true."

Arneson, a great-grandmother of three, is a part of the first generation of women to compete at Boston in the 70-and-over age division, which was first officially recognized in 2002. She was almost 50 when the first women's Olympic marathon took place, an event she proudly remembers watching on TV. "They didn't think women could [run a marathon]," Arneson says. "They didn't think it was healthy." Doctors have repeated this line to Arneson, telling her to stop running. She found new doctors.

Arneson relies on an uncomplicated training regime. She isn't part of a running group. She doesn't wear an iPod, a GPS watch, or a heart rate monitor. "I figure as long as it keeps beating I'm good," she says.

The closest thing she has to a coach is her husband of more than 50 years, Paul. A retired principal, he coached nearly every sport in his tenure as an educator. But for his wife he is a devoted fan, waiting for her at the finish of every race. "She loves to run, that's why she is good at it," Paul says, before adding, "I think she's crazy, but that's all right." When Arneson trains, Paul leaves fresh bottles of water along her route. After she is finished, he picks up the empty bottles so he can fill them again.

Like many masters, Arneson's running is often determined by her injury status. Arneson ran her first marathon, in Portland in 2006, at 70 years old, and won her age group; her time qualified her for Boston. She spent the next year and half, however, plagued by injuries. A heel injury kept her from competing at Boston 2007. Soft-tissue damage in her knee prevented her from running the 2007 Portland Marathon. Not willing to quit, she walked it.

On New Year's Eve 2007, Arneson had rotator cuff surgery to repair damage done when she was hit by a car eight years earlier. The surgery left her unable to run from January to March. She trained in her basement on a stationary bike and eventually a treadmill. Slowly she worked herself out of the basement and into marathon shape, and by April she was fit enough to win her age division in Boston.

Arneson claims there is no secret to her success; she simply loves to run. Her yearly race schedule includes the 12K Bloomsday in Spokane, Wash., the Coeur d'Alene and Seattle Half Marathons, and, in recent years, the Portland Marathon. She hopes to make the Boston Marathon a yearly event as well. "[The Boston Marathon] is paying my entrance fee this year," she says, tickled at the idea someone would pay for her to run.

Each day Arneson makes the decision to run based on a simple maxim. "The days I run are a lot better than the days I don't," she says, adding, "At my age I consider every day I can run a gift."

Author's Note: Last October, inspired by Arlene, my grandmother, I ran my first marathon. At the starting line I found her in the crowd. Around the halfway point I had the surreal pleasure of running with her for a few minutes. When she ran away from me, on her way to a new personal record, I smiled with pride as I told the couple running next to me, "That's my grandma."

Picturesque UPR 7 Apr

Francis Ong was captivated by the breathtaking UPR.

This is Mong Sze.

Smooth quiet runner Will

Pleasent George

Francis has the other pictures and hope he can blog about those as well. The group photo with the picturesque background is much anticipated.

Posted by: HT Ng

My experience with AMK Hot-Runners

From: Per SokeHan-F11548

Subj : My experience with AMK Hot-Runners

Learnt about this group thru HC Gan, and really glad that he introduced me to the group!

Started running with the group in Jan09..

Still recalled my first run.. I felt "conned"..

Intending to do 2.4km only around the field, ended up being "pursuarded" to do the ~6km Track24 route, with much challenges!

But no regrets, coz that started my series of 6km runs thereafter!

It has been a wonderful 3 months.. my stamina had improved, not to mentioned that this helps the well-being of my health!

Sports certainly can make one less lethargic & helps de-stress!

Always looking forward to weekly Tuesday for that rejuvenating run with the team!

Having clocked 1hr 27min for my previous Std Chart 10km run, my personal target is to complete next Sundown 10km run in 1hr 15min.. Still working on it, but with a clear goal in mind and the discipline of weekly run with the team, I am sure I will not be too far away! :o)

Let's keep on keeping on!

Best Rgds,

Soke Han

My new roadie

From : Bok Hui
Bought a 2nd-hand bike yesterday for my coming triathlon. Its a Raleigh Sport 2008 model...only 1-mth old and got it for $400 (original price $600+). Saw this on www.togoparts.com and went straight to view it with a friend on Sat night. We were pleased with what we saw and straight away the transaction was made!

If you are keen on trying triathlon, can start with a mini one first and see how you feel about it. http://www.singaporesprints.com organise a series of events for all all skills levels, including novice. I found the whole experience fun and it let you "try try" along the way to the eventual triathlon, albeit a small scale one.

Hello from HC

Sorry not able to join the group for the runs this week and next week as I am away in Malaysia visiting my mom and relatives.
Did a 6.5km run around the village area today. Will continue to run while in Malaysia. Will join the hot-runners again on Tue 14-Apr-09 onwards.
From : HC Gan
(http://hcgan.blogspot.com)

2 Apr's Run

After the great turnout on Tue for HC's farewell run, only 3 runners turnout today, YS Yun, Doris and myself so we hit Track 24. Weather was a little gloomy but other than that was a fine day for run.
From : BokHui