More time to think!

Having now freed up 12-15 hours of weekly training for a couple of weeks, I have more time to think. I have spent the morning first meeting other parents (well 99% mums) at the coffee morning organised at Thomas's school for new parents and then at the Singapore Association for the visually handicapped where I have presented a small project. These two worlds could not be any more different. They are only meters apart as Thomas' school is a stone's throw away from the SAVH, but in reality there are zillion miles apart.
Some have short term concerns: what are they going to do this afternoon: tennis or hairdresser? Massage or coffee with friends? Some others have not got such important decisions to make. They may not worry about the afternoon because all the afternoons are the same. Unless some volunteers (not me- or not yet) are willing to brighten their world.
I don't care about knowing what are the best coffee shops in Singapore. I care about knowing what's happening within the SAVH.

Lesson of humility

I have spent the past 30 hours in hospital undergoing an hernia repair. This small experience made me realise how important health is to me and also how fragile it can be. Loosing a good physical shape can take a few hours, regaining it can take days or more likely weeks.

Lately I have heard that one of my classmates at LBS, Gavin Maitland, has completed a triathlon after a double lung transplant in March 08. What a man! And a what a lesson of courage and humility. I feel extremely humbled by Gavin’s performance.

I have spent most of the night awake (I shared the room with a very noisy patient) thinking about life and looking forward at the future.

Hernia

Just one day to go before my second hernia operation in less than a year. I kept bad memories of the first one which was done in the UK. I remember the surgeon starting to draw with a marker on my body. I asked him "What are you doing Doctor?" to which he replied "Oh don't worry, this is just to mark the zone I will open". Straight away, I told him, "that's the wrong side, my hernia is on the left hand side". He casually replied "of yes, of course"... Scary surgeon.
The surgeon in Singapore seems much more professional, I am sure I will be able to update you in a couple of days.

Another 4:15 a.m. start

Thursday 16th April 4:15 a.m

Time to wake up - cycling jersey on, no time for shaving just a couple of slices of toast and 1/2 liter of orange juice. Left home at 4:45 a.m. to reach the meeting point by 5 a.m. Met about 20 other riders from "Joy Riders" that ride most days at 5 a.m.

That's the start of a 65 km bike ride that takes 2 hours and a lot of sweat.

At 7:15 a.m, we can finally enjoy a bit of breakfast, then went home, swapped my cycling shoes for running shoes and ran for 30 minutes. I feel tired, but it is just the beginning of 6 months of training. So keep smiling :-)

Now it's 11 p.m. and I desperately need to revise my swimming instructor course. The exam is coming up tomorrow.

Aviva 70.3 Ironman, Singapore 22nd March 09:

This was my first medium distance Ironman (Sim: 1.9k, Bike: 90k, Run: 21k) and I was very pleased to finished in 109th position (out of about 700 starters) in a time of 5h22.

Shortly after the race, I decided to go for a full Ironman distance. It will be the Western Australia Ironman on Dec. 5, 09 (Busselton near Perth).

Loads of training in prevision...

Detailed results gere:

http://www.ironman703singapore.com/uploads/results2009/Ind4044_male.xls

Countdown to the Big 40 (October 26th):

40 year old. For some reaching the age of 40 means getting fatter, slower, more often depressed, enjoying herbal teas and quiet weekends gardening or looking at pictures taken a few years back with melancholy. Some others opt for a mid-life crisis, buy a sports car, wear tight trousers, have a mistress, sometimes of all of the above and realise eventually that they have been foolish (well at least by the time the money is running out, wife’s running away and trousers causing gastric problems).
I will try not to fall in either extreme. I belong to the “bottle half-full” camp and it has to be a bottle of wine of course. So I have decided that this year will be the ideal year to devote more time to my family and to my other love: sports. Forget the boring spreadsheets, the convoluted e-mails, the never ending conference calls, the nerve racking office politics. My new office has no door, no computer, no ceiling and invisible windows: it is called the outdoor and I love it. The pay is meagre but the job satisfaction immense. Many of my friends seemed dubious when I announced my intention to train as a fitness and swimming instructor. Right now I am busy completing my certifications in coaching sport, researching my target markets. From a personal viewpoint, having dreamt for years to compete in an Ironman time has finally come to do one. It will be in Western Australia (Busselton) on Dec. 5th 2009 and there is no way back.

So over the next few months I will attempt to demonstrate that life starts at 40. This blog is meant to celebrate nature, outdoor sports, humility, curiosity, humour and new challenges. I would like to share a few thoughts with you as I approach the age of maturity.