Desaru revisited

Since our training ride to Desaru last year, we'd been talking about another ride up. Finally came about with a few changes.

The ferry is no longer in operation, so we had to take the bum boat. $10 per pax, with $2 bike charge. But had to wait for 12 pax before the bum boat would leave. With only 9 pax, we had to pay a small surcharge.

Missed the turning toward the undulating route (should take route 92 towards Kota Tinggi, first left turn after the Y-junction leaving Renggit). So we did the coastal route (route 90) instead. Strong headwind going north, and it was tough to maintain 25 kph.

At the Petronas station, we deliberated over taking the rolling route back, but since we were unsure, we opted to take 90 back. Note: south-bound is easier than north-bound.

Unfortunately, CL had a tumble along the flat due to strong winds. Nothing serious apart from abrasions and a wobbly front wheel.

Last ferry at 4 pm. We reached the Pengilih ferry terminal around 3 pm, with time to spare. 106 km.

Next time, we'll do 130km :)

A new milestone to sleep on

Completed a 80-lap swim session today. Took all of 2 hours. And after that, I treated myself to a nice meal and took a nap!

Reminded me of the first time I ran a 10km - on the treadmill in aircon comfort - more than 6 years ago, and I promptly took a nap after that grueling session. More recently, it was the long run that necessitated naps. Not the kind of sleep-deprivation naps associated with early morning rides. But the feel-so-shed-that-I-need-a-nap kind.

Wondering whether a 4km swim is equivalent to a 42km run?

Fixed point theorem

The fixed point theorem by Brouwer is something I learnt in graduate school. Formally,

The Brouwer Fixed Point Theorem states that a continuous mapping, f, of a convex, closed bounded set in Rⁿ into itself necessarily has a point, x₀, where f(x₀) = x₀.


Put simply, it says that there is a point (say on a surface) that will remain unaffected by some transformation that affects all other points around it. Imagine a point on a beach that remains untouched by a tsunami. That is a fixed point. Or a point in a cup of coffee that remains unaffected by the stirring of a spoon. 


For a better explanation, please click here.


The coffee example (attributed to Prof William Z) came to mind some weeks ago when I was holding my water bottle during a run. I noticed that I could minimize the stirring and swishing of the water inside the bottle if I held it in  a particular way and ran with as little sideways arm motion. In other words, I believe that there can be a fixed point inside of the water in my water bottle. 


Doing that made me run with a slightly better form. Or so I believe. 

Back on the roads and easing back into training

Been a while since I rode with the FOTR gang - largely due to the Dec hols and Jan conferences. My fitness and endurance were suspect, so I took it easy the first few rides out. On the first, I had to chase down our speedsters who were unfamiliar with the u-turn at Maris Stella and that took quite a bit out of me. But the SCP1 held up well, much to my delight. Skipped the Sunday ride cuz the first ride out took too much out of me.

The following weekend was another CCR-loops and we deliberately went non-drafting on the aero position. Since my freak accident mid last year and with all the road events in the second half of 2010, I had grown out of sorts with the aero position, and to be honest, a little tentative. So it was good just to get comfortable. Felt pretty good after the ride, considering that I was able to average about 30kph on the aero position, non-drafting.

The past CNY weekend was the first back-to-back rides for me since the break. Sat was supposed to be a 118 km round island, and it started rather furiously with everyone anxious to burn off that excess calories. Braddel and KB above 34 kph. I volunteered to take the steady-paced riders on a shorter route but the rest (and there were 12 of us!) decided to follow us. So we hatched up an alternative route, that brought us through CCR, service road, Nicoll hwy and to MBS. The stretches along CCR and even the service road were speed zones. That I was able to hang in with the group was sufficiently satisfying. We averaged about 34 to 35 kph over these stretches, thanks to CT and YP.

Picture perfect setting at MBS, and a kind runner (along with his kind companion) took this nice pix for us. The enhancement was courtesy of JY, one of our new members.

Up Keppel viaduct we went, and inspite of the potholes, the group averaged 38 to 39 kph pulled by SC and AY. What a high. Traffic was a tad heavy, and note to myself: avoid the viaduct in future after 7 am!

IN had a puncture along Jln Buroh and that cut short our ride. Decided on breakfast at Clementi - the roti prata shop was thankfully open. Managed only 97km.

Sunday was a recovery ride for me. Smaller group, but good to have EL's German friend join us. Even on his hybrid bike, he was fast! PL also joined us for the first time. With only 6 months of riding experience, he impressed me with his ability to ride at SC's speed. 

The positive point about this ride was being able to maintain 30 kph in aero position with HR around 145. That is the sweet spot I want to maintain, preferably at lower HR. 

BTW, did several NUS loops, including SBV on a weekday, and it was good to get the quads burning again. Hopefully I'd get back into form soon.

By the end of the week, I had logged 15 hours of training this week - 3 runs, 3 rides, 3 swims and 1 gym session. A little sore, but glad to be back in the swing of things again. Especially after the long break.

Riding in the rain

Been raining almost every day for the past week, and our last two rides were wet, wet, wet.

12 turned up for Sat's ride and we were completely drenched barely 30 min into the ride along CCR. One effect, though. We went slower on account of the reduced visibility and wet roads :)

Does it mean that we are so hard-core that rain, heavy or light, does not stop us? 

Rave Runs: John MacArthur beach state park

In what would have been a boring out and back along the pavements of Singer Island, FL turned out to be a serendipitous discovery of sorts. After about 4km in 20C temperature (with windchill it was about 15C) out, I met HO on the way back. Didn't recognize him at first with his shades and running gear. It was about an hour ago that we listened to his research presentation - an interesting one, I might add.

HO told me about the great run through John MacArthur park, just up ahead. $2 entrance fee (which he didn't pay cuz he didn't carry any with him), but I gamely forked out the money. And it was certainly worth every cent.

First through the paved road passing by some carparks. Then the broadwalk over the waters. Not very long, possibly 500m long. Ospreys gliding and hovering overhead just 10 m up, hundreds of them. Didn't know they were ospreys or sea hawks, but for an informative signboard along this very same broadwalk. Must have an abundant fish about here to support so many of them.

On the other side, there was a sandy trail off to the right, which I promptly ran into. Not very long, much to my disappointment and I u-turned and went up a flight of steps to view a gorgeous beach. Facing me was the Atlantic Ocean. Very nice indeed.

Back out of the park, headed south again for 1.5km before backtracking to the Hilton. Managed a negative split for the 15km, which was nice given that I had not gone for a long run for more than a month (since APIM70.3).

Rounded off the run with a satisfying plate of 2-entree fried rice from Garden Malls. :)

Wintry Denver

One year ago, I endured a bitterly cold winter in Atlanta and ran a PB in the WDW marathon under sub-zero conditions. This year was much better, or so I thought. The first few days in Denver - the mile high city - was sunny, clear blue sky with temp hovering only about minus 5C.

And then the storm warnings came and my flights to Florida were cancelled. I rebooked, got cancelled again and rebooked. This morning, Denver woke up to one of the snowiest winters in many years. About 2 inches of snow. It snowed the whole day.

The hotel pool is heated and one can see the snow falling and swirling outside the pool window. The closest thing we can get to a hot spring in Japan. But with just a quarter (or less) size, it would take only two strokes to reach the other end. Not appealing in the least.

So it was back to the treadmill for the past four days. Twice were early in the morning due to jet lag. Couldn't complain about the new gym equipment, after all the Embassy Suites at Stout St opened less than a month ago. Easy jogs to get back into the swing of things after a long layoff.

Btw, today's the WDW marathon 2011. One year ago, I scrunched at the thought of the Goofy challenge. Interestingly how a year changed that perspective. 21k followed by a 42k seemed doable. Just have to take it easy.