Endorphin Addict

endorphin November 17th, 2009

It has been raining most of the evenings and it foiled our Tues nite ride. So, Sun ride was much looked forward to. What’s more when pcc cycling god said Bentong ABC ride. Woohoo…

OJ talked Mohan & Kiran into it. 6.30am we convoyed from Sri D’sara toll and reached GSRA 7.05am. There’s already a honda with bikes. The ride starts with downhills for a good 8-10km before we hit the flats with a little incline here & there. I guess Don’s world class sales pitch worked. Despite the cold wind, we blast down the hills into bentong in just a little over an hour. The power of Bentong ABC.

Too fast, too early. Aunty Ice kachang not wake up yet! Shop not open! So sad :(  We ended up at mamak where we sapu all their bananas. I think the mamak owners must be thinking, “mana datang monyet2 semua ni ?” Monyets with nice bikes. LOL.

Now the reality sets in. We had fun on downhill. Now, to go back…..Climb !!

The last time I climb this hill was before interstate. It was the 2nd ride I brought Amanda with flat pedals. I can still remember how I suffer in silent since I was just to outdoor ride, trying to get ready for IS 09. So, I was silently worrying a little.  

The peloton was moving at about 25kmh with the initial slight incline. But some people who has been training & craving for speed cannot take this oldman speed. Clarence was 1st to break away. Johan answered. Amanda Answered !!! Teik, Don,…But the main peloton was conservative. Amanda let go of the chase and join the main group after a couple of minutes, leaving 6 hardcore souls battle into the climb, who went up did the McD hill before coming down to carpark.  Duh…LOL.

Slowly, the peloton broken up. I was just tailing OJ, Ashley, Joe & another Malay dude. Ahead was M. With last week experience with M which Mohan also noticed his riding style, I was very watchful & careful. :p. Not long, we hit the T-juntion where one can see the climb ahead was getting steeper. I think Joe was mentally ”defeated” and he signalled us to move ahead. The rest of us moved on. Kiran came along.  M was infront of us still. We picked up C & Sergio. Sergio took the 1st opening and overtook M & C leaving me & Kiran behind, staying at a safe distance. I got my break when we hit one of the corner where M & C swung over to the other side of the road, giving me a big opening. Woot….I took it & caught up with Sergio. About 1km away, I saw OJ about 200m up ahead. 

2 hours, the climb was done. 69.07km, 1613 cal and no ABC, no ice cream.

But nice ride, not suffering like the last time. Phew…Thanks to the return ride leader Dennis. Good to see Mr & Mrs Prez as well as Dennis L.  

Don’t rain tomorrow nite, plsssssssssss……….

No cut & paste lah…

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endorphin November 13th, 2009

In Oct, the world most gruesome event, Ironman Kona. I have posted in my earlier post that Malaysia was represented by Carmen Leong, Wong Ah Thiam & Yee Sze Mun. What is so different, so impressive, so worth mention is Mr Yee Sze Mun is 72 yo. At the beginning of my blog, I mentioned the very driving reason of me doing vigorous workout was not to be like the many late 50s or early 60s which we all can see in morning wet market, in malls, who are unable to move around, be independent coz they can’t even manage themselves but needed children / grandchildren’s support. This article prove my point.

Mr. Yee - 72 but he still nails Hawaii Ironman

(Courtesy of the Star-Online)

I am an Ironman, and an Ironman does not quit.

Veteran triathlete Yee Sze Mun said negative thoughts clouded his mind when he felt the discomfort at the beginning of the cycling leg at the Ironman World Championships in Kona, Hawaii, recently.

But the plucky 72-year-old pulled through when he remembered the solution suggested by Mark Allen and Brant Secunda in their book entitled Fit Soul, Fit Body in his attempt to earn the stature as an Ironman for the 14th time.

Jubilant: Yee celebrating his triumph after completing the gruelling Ironman distance at the recent world meet.

“When the mind is in the stage of confusion, fear and filled with negative thoughts, the remedy is ‘Be quiet. Quiet the mind.’ And I followed the silence to erase the demoralising reasoning battling in my mind,” he said.

And he finished the gruelling race comprising a 3.8km swim, a 180km cycling course and a 42km run in more than 16 hours.

Emerging from the water slower than expected by 10 minutes, Yee described the conservative start in completing the opening swimming leg of 3.8km in 1’51:37 as the warm-up to the race.

In his sixth appearance at the world meet, Yee was prepared to face the unforgiving gusty condition on the terrifying cycling course.

However, his misery started as soon as he mounted on the saddle and the instant pain on both hips impeded him to push harder on the pedals.

At the 10km mark after a steep climb, Yee’s agony was compounded with the unexpected muscle strain on his inner left thigh.

“From my past experience, I have always suffered and expected a slow split in this part of the race. But, it was the first time that I felt insecure about not finishing the cycling segment in my 16th attempt over the Ironman distance. When dropping out became a possible outcome, my inner voice reminded me that I am Ironman and an Ironman does not quit. If I throw in the towel, I will not only be shattering my own dream, my family and friends will also be dejected with the failure,” he added.

Although Yee picked up the pace after the 55km mark as the pain subsided, the next obstacle emerged again negotiating the legendary Mumuku wind as he entered the 16km ascending route to the half-way turnaround mark.

“The sudden blast signalled the torturous wind tunnel. The headwind was so strong on the way up. Despite having the wind assistance on the descend, the Mumuku is renowned for claiming many victims by blowing them away with the unpredictable crosswind to spice up the challenge. Having experienced the unfortunate fate in the past, I was braking constantly to stay in control of the wheels. It was a nightmare with the wind bashing me around and causing my bicycle to zig-zag on several occasion,” Yee said.

Coming on the flat ground, the Goddess of Fire Madam Pele turns on the heat for the endurance athletes approaching the end of the 180km cycle.
Yee said his wife, Wong Yoke Sum, daughter Joyce, son Rodney and daughter-in-law Ivi Ng also went through a long day worrying about him encountering mishaps on the cycling course.

“They followed my progress via the live tracker on the Internet to ensure that I was still in the race,” he added.

And Yee moved into the final transition with an 8’19:32 effort on the cycling leg ahead of the cut-off time combining first two disciplines by 15 minutes.

Following the 42km marathon run, Yee completed the tough course in 16’32:41 to pick up a finisher medal as an immortal gift for his son’s wedding the following day.
“I was fortunate that the strain on the hips and thigh did not come back to haunt me in the segment that counts. I knew that I was in control with 1’05 left on the clock to complete the last four kilometres before the 17th hour cut-off,” said Yee.

“My spirit lifted on the final stretch. I felt energised and gave a final push to the finish line visualising the images of the finisher medal and my family waiting for me.

“Even before I got to the starting line, my daughter was so confident that I will make it and tailor-made a personalised finisher T-shirt for me. I am glad that I did not let them down and share the satisfaction of accomplishing a dream.

“I hope that my son will share my legacy with his offspring that his father in his golden age went through a long exhausting journey of more than 16 hours to earn him a meaningful present on the eve of his wedding,” said Yee, who finished 17th in a field of 26 starters in the men’s 70 to 74 years age-group.  

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endorphin November 8th, 2009

Tues was a disappointment. All of us standing in front of KSH staring up to heaven…it was a heavy washing . So, today, I guess everyone needs to payback their weekly due.

Jo, OJ, Jamie & I suppose to convoy to Bangi but as usual, Jo somehow ended up somewhere else instead of our meeting point. Kononnya, it was GPS fault . Good thing was all work out well, he made it to the carpark in time. Melvin wasn’t that fortunate. He was late & missed the train. He did 70km solo.

Despite of Lumut Powerman, we had a good turn up - 40!! The carpark was FULL!! The mutant legs Daniel & Andrea were there. Terry the fast & furious returned too. I was wondering if they gonna tear up the peloton speed.

I had a bad calf from mid week so I wasn’t sure how well will I fair in the ride. With a phiten plaster on, I was just playing by ear. Worse come to worse, I do 70km. Well, the plaster worked superbly. Yes, Daniel, Titanium Sticker LOL.

Could they do it for their buddy’s return ? I was pleasantly surprised that Daniel, Andrea, Vong pulling the train at the lower 30s range. It was nice & cruisy with couple of regroup pit stops.

I guess cycling god needed a dose of speed. He supposed to sweep but then he took short cut & became in front of the peloton at abt 7km before Gold Coast Bagan Lalang. All I heard was “Lets GO!” and the speed went from 35 –> 38 –> 40 –> 42 –> 43kmh. Mad. By 38km, Joe, Sergio & me were dropped.  Joe turned around & said to me “can’t even TRY to hang-on” LOL.

 Mid point break.

Unlike earlier, since every1 now knows the route (the route back) and it is getting really hot, so the return leg has no more regroup pit stop. Andrea & Hsingling was pulling the long train at 32kmh. At one point, Vong said there’s technical problem behind and Don as sweeper has stayed back to help, so we moved on. With the hot sun over us, everyone is feeling the fatigue. But every1 was eager to reach back. When Daniel took the train, the speed went to up a little but still cruisy & nice. As we approached D’Palma, the only climb, the peloton broken up a little and realigned positions after the climb. I was behind Malcolm, not someone I would like to draft coz he was very inconsistent. He tends to swing everywhere, not holding the paceline. I have seen him ride this way in IS and the last ride up Frasers. In the end, Terry went forward & I took the chance & followed. So, I ended up beside him. Well, he still do the same thing. I can’t hold my peace anymore. I told him, “Malcolm, hold the paceline else you will be endangering yourself & others”. His response was sometime we went of dreaming. What ?!?! Anyway, I said nothing after that & moved ahead to the tail of OJ. As we come to a gentle slope, I guess JK was a little tired from the pulling and he slowed. Daniel followed. The next thing I heard was “woh ooo00″ and I felt quite a tug on my back wheel then it went “PUG”. I heard Per Li shouted something and we all stopped. Malcolm went down. It was a scary sight at 1st coz he was laying there not moving. But actually he fell protecting his bike. Thank God, it was just minor injury and he was able to ride back instead of calling for rescue car. After rested for a shortwhile, we all make our journey for the last 10km back to carpark.

Total distance 95.6km, 2357 cal, calf ok (Phiten plaster worked!) with a little knees sore & mild headache due to heat.

Moral of the story :

• Riding is a team sports. Consider others.
• When you are fatigue, do not over stretch till your concentration & reflection are compromised. Don’t be so kiasu.
• Hold the paceline when you ride in a peloton. Do not swing in & out from paceline to paceline. You should only  slipping out on the right / left side slightly to scan the terrain ahead for safety
• Make sure focus & concentration is ON ALL THE TIME so that you are ready to react. Long ride & heat has big impact on it.
• Gauge yourself honest instead of over pushing your limit. Unless you are really season consistent strong riders, else keep a gap which allow you to react.

Failing to exercise the above discipline strictly, you are not only endangering yourself but the rest riding in the peloton unnecessarily. It’s fortunate that those behind Malcolm stop in time.

Cycling god, pls no cut & paste pls. Soli.

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endorphin November 1st, 2009

It’s off season, there is no immediate or mid term riding event to target for except those who are doing next week powerman or maybe the year end 2 days 210km interstates covering Penang, Perak and Kedah. Even that, athletes seems to be quite relax about it. It’s year end, everyone seems to be slumber aje. Futhermore, one of the regular ride leader is recuperating from slipped disk. So, most rides nowadays are below 100km. In fact I have been doing only very short neighbourhood kind of ride, between 26.5km climbing to 66km rollings. Plus it’s monsoon season, often time we wake up to pouring rain. Good excuse to go back to bed.

After the “marathon rain” since Fri nite, we’re blessed with clear sky this morinng, all set for a hot day. Today, it’s an unofficial ride though coz there were quite a bit of happening,  Terry Fox run, Genting Trailblazer & Cyfora Open road. So, there’s no ride leader.

B4 7.30am, Tony, Azahar, OJ, Eri, Chris, Malcolm, Kuan, Kai, Mel, Teik,…wow..a good 17. Dayem, Esa turn up for real. I thought he was joking last nite. The fast & furious legs. His min speed is 35kmh. Look around, oh shoot, I am the only female rider. Jialat liao. How to keep up ? I can only pray & hope I guess. Although it was an unofficial ride, it was excellent of Teik to assume the ride leader role and give a quick briefing as there were 2 new riders. We picked up Don H & Ultraman @ Kota Damansara Petronas. Now the peloton is 19. Good to see Don back to ride after a long break since his last accident.

As we reached GCE, the peloton already broken to 2 or was it 3. With Esa & Soloist in front and Kai chasing hard on their tail, I was doing what I can with OJ, Malcolm, & Mel with a gap in between. Just b4 the temple, OJ did his usual I will pull stunt which actually is a break away. Mel was hard on his tail while Malcolm & I had to chase. Dayem, need to fix my short burst acceleration. How to ride like Esa lah…hmm…..steriod jab ?

About 9ish, we reached Ijok Petronas. There was already one guy there. Apparently, he got the wrong info that the ride starts at 7am. Champion lah. It was a long break. < 20min. Teik’s instruction for the return leg was “keep the speed down so that everyone can follow.” I secretly smile to myself. :p. So, he & Azahar set the pace up in the front till GCE and Teik dropped back to check on the back. Excellent leadership. On the long gradual climb of GCE back, I tried to hang on to the tail of Kuan / Ultraman. Phew. 11.05am, we’re back to CP. 82.8km. The longest ride since ICR. Legs a little stretched but all good. Thank God that Esa was not in front to tear the peloton speed apart coz he dropped back to help that champion guy who came to ride with only a can of 100plus, didnt replenish in Petronas and bonked big time. Really champion. 

Thanks to Teik for the drinks too.  

Oh ya, almost forgot, note to cycling god “NO CUT & PASTE!”

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endorphin October 22nd, 2009

The convenient of “moden society”. We are all guilty of it, I am sure. Most of us take it for granted that anywhere we go, we can buy drinking water if we are thirsty. However, has anyone question the “integrity” of all the bottled water ? Maybe we go by the brand, eg. we probably think Sprintzer is quality ensured & safe; or maybe some go by the Sirim thingy. However, looking at the amount of brands and the quantity that flood the market, I have doubt. I have heard from some ex-bottled water industry people mentioned that it is not as we think. It is bottled water = tapped water. Of course, these informants won’t be shouting out loud on the street to declare that. So, here is a piece of someting for your own judgement call.  

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endorphin October 13th, 2009

Ironman Kona happened last weekend. An Ironman one must qualify for. Disappointingly, Wong Ah Thiam who qualified, didnt get to go due to visa issue after all the hard work.

Carmen Leong from Malaysia came in 13:49:39 flying Malaysian flag. (check the link for the video of her finish)

Most impressive, Malaysian 72 yo SZE MUN YEE complete Ironman Kona in 16:32:41. (Check the link for the video of his finish) Totally salute your guts, spirit, determination, most of all showing an examplary example of how to age gracefully, fit, healthy & strong, to the many Malaysian !!

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endorphin October 9th, 2009

Lance race & won Colorado’s Leadville 100 MTB !!!! Back to where he started, COOLEST !!!!

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endorphin September 21st, 2009

For once, it was nothing about what’s the distance we’re going to cover; No watching of cyclometer speed; No sizing of who is in the first peloton, 2nd peloton & so forth. It’s tripple. Nobody will chuckle at you on granny.  Rest if you need to. Infact, it is a start stop start stop thing. Wait is perfectly ok. There is no rush of time. It is perfectly alright to push, up or down. 

There is no traffic sound but the sound of insects or birds, the sand under your tyres. No, it is not a puncture which you heard the squishing sound of tyres against pebbles;, the water from the mud….

7.30am - 12noon, a real surprise neighbour who didnt expect to see me at all, a muddy bike & dirty legs later, don’t exactly feel like I just had a hard workout except the several spurts up the hills. By the last loop, I am getting a little more comfortable in bike handling bouncing through the rough  terrain and a little improve in handling the downhill that I rode all the way down from where Drama King had his puncture though slow as compared to season MTBers

Will I do it again ? Hmm..maybe. 

I like : 

• compete-less spirit
• Better kinship of the clan
• nature
• it is skills base
• Very accomodating to noobies

I don’t like : 

• to push bike ! how typical of a roadie
• the mess after

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endorphin September 18th, 2009

Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri Maaf Zahir Batin to all muslim friends. May you have a fabulous Raya !!. 

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endorphin September 15th, 2009

It is always nice to see the strong cyclists in action. They lighten up the ride, break it all apart

They came with a goal, a purpose, ie, to take every climb with storm. Although it is only < 27km ride, one can see the fury of it. The flats was the silent before a storm. The moment we hit the climbs, ACTION ! As the rest of us grind up the hill a pedal at a time, these fellas come blasting pass, “foom, foom, foom, foom”, you can hear the power of their pedal stroke. Man, that is cycling. The rest of us are but just kids play.

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