26th March 2025 Cycle2Work

Cycled to work and cycled home

24th March 2025 Cycling

 Duty Week Starts. 

So does Stella internship

Late at night, while i was doing server patching, I decide to go for a spin while waiting for the patching to complete.

23rd March 2025 Cycling

 As my duty week is commencing tomorrow, i decide to take T-Rex for a spin in case i do not have a chance to ride the entire week

22nd March 2025 Cycling - Simpang Kiri

 Took T-Rex for a spin at Simpang Kiri. 
I was barely 20 mins into my ride when the sky started to drizzle. 

I try to ignore it, but the drizzle persisted.

Took a look at NEA rain area and the rain is threatening to come from the right.

Decided to call it a day and took 861.

When i reached home, it still have not rain and Khatib is dry as a bone.

Was feeling upset but the sky opens up 5 minutes later 

18th March 2025 Cycling

Looking for a way to clock the 39 exercises required for AIA Vitality Challenge.

Decided to take the bike for an easy spin along Sembawang Road and 3 rounds around Lower Seletar Park to clock the necessary 30 minutes. 😜

16th March 2025 Cycling

 Did an easy ride from home to Springleaf back home.

15th March 2025 Cycling - Amos

 Met Amos at 7:15am and we proceed to cycle towards Geylang Bahru Market for breakfast.

At least that is what the plan is.

Pretty interesting route he choose.

Instead of cycling straight down through AMK Central, we cycled through AMK Ave 10.

Must say it is a great choice, as we avoided the crowd and the construction around AMK Central.

Plus the cycling path along AMK Ave 10 was wide enough to accommodate pedestrians and cyclists.

It is a small diversion and we are able to connect back to Bishan Park Connector.

First time I rode through Bishan Circular Cycling Ramp. 

It was open 4.5 years ago, I had cycled to MBS twice during Covid-19, yet I never knew it existed!

Or maybe I have (looking at Google Maps).... now i am so confused. 

Again, looking at Google Map, I finally realised that I cycled through the CTE underpass.

Was supposed to cycle through CTE underpass during Covid-19, but it wasn't ready when we were there.

Crossing over to Bendemeer Road, Amos was ready to stop for breakfast, but I wanted to show him the crossing across Kallang Bahru.

First you have to cross the traffic lights, find the dirt path hidden beside the bridge and navigate down the narrow path with your bike to get back onto the Kallang PCN.

Guess what? we found this underpass instead!

Nice.

This perks both our curiosity, so instead of turning left to go to Geylang Bahru Market for breakfast, both of us decided to just continue towards the city.

First we check on each other, to see if both of us still have the energy to continue.

I was worried for him, he was worried for me.

Cycling onwards, I was really surprised to see another underpass along Boon Keng!

As if the surprises weren't enough, there was a 3rd underpass across Geylang Road!

We proceed to Golden Mile Hawker Center for breakfast. 

Amos mentioned that he usually cycle here for breakfast before cycling home. 

I did not pay much attention to the remark. (Major mistake)

Again Amos check on me and we decided to take the longer route back through Gardens by the Bay, Marina Barrage Dam and National Stadium.

We have barely started when my right knee started to hurt. My quads are hurting too.

Still we continued. Stopped at Marina Barrage for a break.

I am surprised when Amos decide to rest longer than I expected.

Is he tired?

After about 20-30mins of rest, we continued. 

Across the dam, my quads are giving out.

I am truthfully hurting, yet Amos seems to be still going strong.

At Tanjong Rhu, i decided to call it quits. 

One, i cannot keep up the pace.

Two, i do not wanna injure myself.

I was surprised when Amos say he will continue to cycle home.

That has always been my ethos, but not today.

I wanted to cycle with Amos towards Kallang Road so that I can go Kallang MRT/Stadium MRT when 

he told me there is a Tanjong Rhu MRT station.

I looked back and was surprised that we cycled past the MRT station and I din notice it at all.

Took the TEL train and change to North-South Line
Just reached Khatib MRT when Amos texted me he is at Yishun.

The guy is an animal. 

How did he travel faster than our MRT system

14th March 2025 T-Rex

Was not sure if i am ever going to blog again. 

But here I am.

Was on leave on Thursday and Friday and ended up buying a foldie.

Was not sure if I was even going to get motivated, but I went ahead and got it anyway.

Had a look through my accounts on Thursday, things are starting to look up but I am still not in very good hands.

Hence this purchase.... I am not sure if I have made the right choice. 

I had always wanted to get a bike... been thinking about it for years in fact.

I just had a good feeling about the bike, hence i got it.

Weighing in 20th March 2021

 To say I feel annoyed is a huge understatement.

Weigh loss has always been tough for me.

Guess my environment did not help.

But more often than that, I think I sabotage my own efforts.

Have to find a diet plan that is sustainable, but i guess at the end of the day, it boils down to mind power and will power.

I tried Intermittent Fasting before, but my working hours makes it tough.

Keto Diet isn't sustainable, but these days, I hear that quite a few guys do Keto Diet with little carbs.

I am hovering ard 109kg now.... Let me check in in a month's time. 

14th March 2021 - Hoka One One Arahi 5

Never felt so excited about getting a pair of running shoes.

Having just got a pair of Skechers Max Road 4+, it is kinda wasteful to get another pair of running shoes so early.

But March 2021 came Project Love Sneakers by Running Lab....

I decided to trade in my old Salomon hiking shoes and get a pair of running shoes from Hoka.

Hoka was founded in 2009, and during that time, I was finding the thick soles ridiculous for runners.

But as technology evolved and new brands come onto the market, it seems like everyone is following what Hoka did... 

Tried Bondi 7 , but it did not fit well....

Was recommended Hoka Arahi or Gaviota , Saucony Hurricane and Asics Kayano....

I also prefer to do a bit of research before I plonk my money down on a pair of running shoes, so I decided to come back another day.

Interesting how things have really evolved over the years.

Asics Kayano now have a little brother Kayano Lite.

Love to try the Lite, but even more excited to try Hoka.

Arahi is comparable to GT-2000 while Gaviota is Hoka version to Kayano.

Kinda interesting I never gotta own a GT-2000 before :D

Looking at the Youtube videos, it turns out that most of the guys who ran to lose weight, almost all of them are wearing Hoka. 

There is even a video from Runner Kao from Singapore who owned two pairs of Arahi 3, where he clocked a total of 2450km at the time of the video.

Given that the shoes was only released in January 2019 and the time he made the video was made 10 months ago, that is a crazy 200km clocked monthly.

Kudos to a guy who started running to lose weight.

=========

Went to Running Lab, tried the Arahi 5 on the treadmill....

It was a joy to run in.... Soft soles and had the rocker feeling of Skechers Max Road 4+

Took the shoes out for a night run.

First thing I felt was.... my feet is sinking into the shoes, cradled snuggly but not tightly into the soles.

Much like bucket seats....

The soles is a lot firmer and better to run in than MR4+ 

Overall, it feels like a premium pair of shoes.

Then you start wondering, why are all shoes not build this way. 

I will definitely be sticking with Hoka for a long while.

 Soles are build like how I felt most rocker shoes are built these days.

Dense fore foot, denser mid foot , soft rear foot soles.

This will definitely get non-mid foot runners to change their gait.

Let see how the following runs go.

14th March 2021 - Running Shoes

I always have this love-hate relationship with running shoes.

When I first started running when I was still studying, it was always Nike running shoes.

I abandoned them when my running soles dis-integrate during the runs, leaving me to walk barefoot home for 5km. It did not happen once, but twice!

So I tried Saucony, bought during my NS remedial training.

This is probably the most ridiculous pair of shoes I had.

Paid $80, did one remedial training with it, and threw it away.

The pain on the shins throughout the training was excruciating.

I was given a pair Adidas running shoes, it did not work out at all, there is no cushioning and much like Zoot, they dun really offer much options for broad feet.

Then came Asics Kayano....

The choice is a non-brainer.... It is the best maximum stability shoes for over pronators.

And given a clydesdale like me, it is a must have, or so the experts say....

Did a marathon in due course, and the weight of the running shoes make me wanna quit.

So I went no one has gone before....

I wore Newton stability trainers for my next marathon, much to everyone's dis-beliefs. Why? Cos heavy guys should never wear trainers for long distance running, worse a pair of mid-foot trainers.

From then on, I only looked at trainers.... no more running shoes.

Choice is easy, it is lighter and it is cheaper.

My next choice of shoes is price driven....

I cannot afford Asics and Newton runnings shoes, not even with the discount given for SAFRA Running Club members.

So my only choice is New Balance.

Nothing fantastic, just that it did not gives me any issues and it is one of the cheaper brands in the market.

After that I literally fell off the grid....

Under Armour were all bought in Japan, every pair less than $100.

Which is why now I do not look at shoes costing more than $100.

My current Under Armour running shoes, having kept in the store room for too long, is breaking apart.

A lot of patch work after every few runs, it gives me more grief during runs than pleasure.

Last month, a friend passed me a voucher for 50% off Skechers shoes.

So I looked at a brand not known for running shoes and was surprised to read about their latest technology, Hyper Burst.

There were a lot of reviews, given that the company is based in USA.

Not an excellent pair running shoes, but I see where 50% can bring me.

Turns out, Skechers dun sell much of their running shoes outside of USA.

So I was stuck with the only model available here.

An interesting sole... tells me that technologies and competition has really driven all these shoe companies to innovate.

I can really feel the rocker effect when I am running.

Essentially, based on my feet, the front to mid soles are made denser than the rear sole, mid soles being the most dense. Thus giving you the pushing effect....

Like this shoes other than the only complaint I have. my toes hurts after every run.

The toe box is just too big....

Thus this brings me to the excitement which I shall post separately.

Running Shoes over the years

======================

Asics Kayano 14

Asice Kayano 15

Adidas AdiZero Breeze

Adidas AdiZero Mana

Newton Motion

New Balance 1190

New Balance 1500v2

New Balance MR904

New Balance Minimus Trail MT00

VivoBareFoot Stealth

VivoBareFoot Ultra Pure

Under Armour Speed Form Fortis

Under Armour Micro G Velocity

Under Armour Bandit 3

Under Armour Bandit 3

Skechers Max Road 4+

Hoka One One Arahi 5

14th March 2021

 Totally forgotten I blogged last July till I login.

Things ain't looking good. 

I managed to keep my constant weight till December 2020. 

Then in a course of a month, I ballooned to 113kg....

I have since pushed it back down to 110kg, but I could not get it down much further.

It is a constant battle in the morning, trying to think what to eat.

Can I really keep meat off the table?

Can I do Intermittent Fasting? 

So far nothing worked out.

Weight 110.1kg

BMI 35.9%

Body Fat 33.1%

Muscle Mass 39.0kg

Bone Mass 5.7 kg

Body Water 48.9%

I am hopeful....

I am go with Mark Leong 23 days Diet in the near future. 

It is kinda scary to see my Body Fat staying ard 33%.

When it was 22-24%, I was already stressed, now at 33%, it looks and feels life threatening.

20th July 2020 Musings

Time to re-ignite this blog.
Not too sure how well I do with blogging right now.
Looking at the way I write previously, I am not so sure if I can write in the genre.
Let's us all hope this writing won't stop...

Weigh-in 106.1kg
Body Score 35
BMI 34.2 (Normal 18.5-24.0)
Body Fat 35.8% (Normal 18-23)
Water 45.7% (Normal 55-65)
Protein 15.0% (Normal 16-20)
Basal Metabolism 1883kcal (Normal > 2053kcal)
Visceral Fat 17 (Normal < 10)

Muscle 64.5kg (Normal 50-60)
Bone Mass 3.4kg (Normal 2.0-4.2)

Body Age 50
Ideal Weight 67.2kg (Normal 57-77)

My first aim is to get my weight below 100kg

I check online.
There are so many people dealing with yo-yo weight loss.
They have tried numerous times, numerous methods.
They could not keep the weight off.
I truly belongs to that category. :D

Let's see how the progress will go.
Wish me luck.

Mount Kinabalu Trek

The stage was set.

I am going to do the 2nd craziest event in my life.

This is going to be epic. I have never done any trekking before!

30 years ago, I wasn't able to go.
1 month ago, I wasn't able to go.

So when Tekko casually mentioned about the trip end-May, I jumped at the opportunity.

The trip was paid within the next 24 hours.
Had my first training within the next 48 hours.

I have to plan some training between work and holidays. ;)
Injured my elbow, shoulder, ankle and knee all within a span of a week. :(
Flu and fever decided to pay me a visit too.
How 'cool' is that!

When the ankle got a little better, I went for my first trek at Bukit Timah Hill. 
As it was a last minute decision,  I went with what I had. 
T-shirt, shorts and slippers!!!
Trail trekking in VBF is fun!
You learn to be extremely cautious.
Did some geo-caching at the same time and managed to find my first cache. :)
Develop a blister coming downhill and decided to go barefoot. ;p

D-2 
Reached KK, spent a night in town and sample their local fare.

D-1
Last minute purchases before proceeding for lunch en route to Don Bosco Orphanage.
Part of our trekking costs went to the orphanage. :-)
Reached Mesilau Resort and had dinner cum briefing.
Mostly spicy food, so I make sure I dun take the gravy.

D-Day
Din sleep well. Not too sure if it was the excitement or the altitude.
Took Panadol Max in the middle of the night to ease the headache (probably due to the hard pillow). Lol.
First thing I noticed was the bloodshot eyes. When the rest are up, I noticed they have them too!
I guess we are all not used to the altitude.

Missed out on the final group shot cos I was stuck in the loo. :p

Have our Laban Rata packs weigh and tagged.
We are all curious how much we are carrying along the way.
Jancy 5kg, Gilbert 6kg, Daniel 8kg!!!
I had 2 liters of water with me (1.5L 100-Plus , 500ml water)
Turned out that was one of the worst decision I had made. 
I lost 500ml of 100-Plus before I even before I start the climb. The drink just fizzle out from the air opening and drinking tube in my Sawyer bottle.
I had about 300ml of 100-Plus along the trip and I am not too certain if the drink contributed to my DNF.
Although I was already short of water, I decided to pour away the rest of the 100-Plus...

All started well, we were all making good progress.
Before 500m, the group of 12 has already progressed forward and I have only Sarah to play tag. Lol
I went uphill faster, but she literally flew downslopes.
The pondoks (shelters) along Mesilau Trail are not spaced 500m (which is the case for Timpohon Trail), so we were glad when we finally hit the first pondok at 1 km mark.
Had a short rest before proceeding. Definitely less than the stipulated 5 minutes. ;) 
With a running engine, you won't wanna stall it. 
The scenery from Pondok Schima is awesome! Definitely a preferred trail if you wanna to take in the scenery while climbing.
After Pondok Schima, it is mainly downhill for about 1.5km before you reached the swinging bridge.
From there onwards, it is all uphill.

I was all systems go till the swinging bridge.
After about 3.3km mark, every uphill step I took, I feel nauseous.
I vomit some gooey stuff. Stuff that I dun identify and pretty sure it is not gastric fluid...
The stomach is swelled to its max.
I am thirsty and hungry, but I do not dare to touch my water and food.
I am afraid that once I eat or drink something, I will throw out more than I ingested.
Waited for Dragon, our last guide and asked for his advice.
To trek 4.5km to Laban Rata or am I able to turn back towards Mesilau Resort.
He advised me to go back to Mesilau, where he and Tony will arrange for my alternative accomodation and transport.
Thanked him and proceed back towards Mesilau.

Trekking to 3.5km took 3.5hrs.
Trekking to the second Pondok Bambu at 1.5km took 3hours.
Resting here, I decided to ditch all my 100Plus and food sans the Snickers bar.
Rationed out my 500ml water and had a Snickers bar.
I feel much better after a while.
Things got better, but it still take me almost an hour to reach Pondok Schima.
Resting at Pondok Schima, I spotted the water tap that we have all missed earlier.
Refilled my Sawyer bottle and drank to my heart's content.
The driver (with his 7 and 10 years old sons) and Search and Rescue guide were worried when I did not reach the Mesilau gate at 3pm and came looking for me.
They were so glad to find me at Pondok Schima.
When I rest enough, the S&R guide follow me all the way back to Mesilau Resort.

My first trekking trip is short lived but I do gain much from the experience.
Immediately after the climb, I told myself that there is no way I am coming back.
But slowly understanding the conditions, I am aware that there are many factors affecting the climb.

Mitigating these factors, there is a greater chance of me ascending Mount Kinabalu successfully.
1. Obesity. Think it play a huge part.
2. The waist pouch. It works like a pump, pressing against the protruding belly. Lol.
3. No more 100-Plus.
4. Do not prep the food intake as though I am taking part in a race. I need real food! Lol
5. My fever and flu 2 weeks prior to the climb. No way to mitigate this. Just unlucky...

First Post of 2014

8 runs in 9 days.

Nah... that is not what I am going to write about.

Rather it is more of what happened lately.

First, I took the advice of blogging less and exercising more.
This helps as I do not face a back log of blog entries to fill. Lesser stress. :p

In November 2013, I got into such bad respiratory illness that I had to undergo 5 rounds of antibiotics that it finally cleared.

Then came the Rapha Festive 500 Challenge. The first real challenge that I am doing on Strava.
Of all the previous Strava Challenges that I have signed up, I have never complete any. :-(
What entice me more for this challenge is the coveted woven Rapha badge.

Without any training going into the challenge, I think it is pure perseverance that I managed to complete the challenge.
What really helped and made the whole challenge a wonderful experience is :-
1) Tires 23 Front 25 Rear. After my epic year of punctures and numerous suggestions that I swap to a 25, I dutifully did it. (Check online first to make sure your frame can take a 25.)
One can never imagine the comfort of a 25!!! Save my butt and thighs...
Moreover, there is no loss of speed.
If u read cycling articles lately, a lot of pro teams are switching to 23/25 too!
Having used Continential tires all my life, I decided to try out German technology Schwalbe and it did not disappoint. ;-)
2) Cycling partner helps. LG was my unlikely partner for two of the rides. I have never rode with her before but since both of us are keen to complete the challenge, it is game on!
SE accommodate me for a ride too! Thanks, boss!
For the record, I makan every 40km during the entire challenge and both LG and SE went along with me. Thanks, guys!
3) MaxiFuel Electro Tabs. I have always used Endurox, Clif Shot Electrolytes and Gatorade for my drinks but none of the supplements has as much effect as MaxiFuel.
4) Go Pro. It gives me a sense of security when I cycle. After Freddie's Loyang incident in July 2012, I have never venture onto Loyang till I got the GoPro. Some say it is a false sense of security, but I beg to differ.
5) 50-30. The climbing combination. But to me, it is the best combi that I can ask for. I can understand why I suffered so much for the past few years.
I started with 53-23 -> 53-25 -> 50-25 before I got the 30 from IN and never looked back.

After the Challenge, I was hoping to keep up the momentum, but things dun always work out.
It was back to a ride a week. :-(
Worse was to come during January 2014 to mid-February 2014.
The night was so cold that my nose started dripping when night falls.
I had to rely on Piriton to sleep.

10th February 2014. The day my running craze started.
I was feeling full during lunch time so I decided to put on my running gear!
Turned out it was the same day that the weather has turned warm, but I like it aplenty! :-)

A week later, I started evaluating what had happened.
Turned out, Strava was the greatest motivator. As long as you do not sign up for the wrong challenge. Lol.
I have always set Garmin Auto-Pause to 'Off'. I felt that it give a athletes a false sense of accomplishment.
Much like why I am never keen to get a cyclometer anymore.
A race simply does not give you time to pause.
Strava simply termed total as moving time.
Haha, spin it any way you want, but it help motivate me. :p
I have since use RunKeeper and Garmin as my backup.

I have always been a number guy. But since the last week, I forgo the numbers game.
No more 4 x 10km equals 40km.
10 x 4km will give you the same outcome but at 2.5 times the effort.
In fact, running a shorter distance, I have fuel in my tank and legs after the run.
I used to think that I should run till I am exhausted. This usually happens at the three-quarter stage of my run. I literally have to drag myself the last 1-2 km home.
It probably turns me off running.

This past week I was filled with endorphins that I was not able to sleep.
The thighs are not sore after a run, so there is literally zero downtime.
I turned off the 4am alarm clocks and let the body clock dictate.
Results dun lie. It has worked wonders.
Ohhh.... And the number crunching game has taken a break for now too.
Ohhh.... If anyone is wondering, I have only signed up for the MetaSprint Series this year.
So I am not training for any significant races. Purely due to work commitments than anything else.
In fact, I missed last weekend's MetaSprint Aquathlon due to work.
2013 I have miss so many races and I am not keen to throw money into the drain anymore.

Chapter 0.
Undoubtedly, this has also help to get me back into the fray.
There has been many offline chats about the current state of affairs that we realised that a separate group is warranted.
It is awesome to see many pioneers coming back to ride. :-)

Okay, time to sleep. :-)