My Other Interest

Besides doing tri to keep myself active in physical activities i also have a couple of other interests. One of them is photography which i kind of started to pick up recently. I totally enjoyed it especially when i can capture nice photos and keep them as memories. I began to toy with the idea of taking nice photos for local tri events and created a simple website to share them with ou fellow local tri community.

You can visit my site here = http://shawntayphoto.webs.com/apps/photos/

Here are a few that i like.

Botanic Gardens Run

Did the botanical garden route today with A*. Total distance covered was 5km. The terrain was mostly flat except in the middle 2.5km point there was a gentle climb. Overall it was a good route to train on. I did it in 25mins with an average heart rate of 90%. Next aim is to do sub 24min. BTW, A* completed the whole 5km run own her own in under 43min which is remarkable improvement. Yay.

My Usual Route

this is another ran route i do frequently which is flat and easy and cover 5km. I did this with A* the other day and she was putting in huge effort and managed to run non stop for 3km for 26 mins. well done! Then we did some easy walking for the rest of the route and completed in 45mins.

Mount Faber Run

went down to mount faber this morning for the first time to do my run. have driven up countless times on my car but today was the first time i went up on foot. So i took it easy and did a comfortable 5km up and down in total. Total time taken was 30:14 with an average heart rate of 163 (85%).

Which Tri Bike to Get???

Felt B16 2009 (S$4000)Felt B12 2008 (S$3800)

Argon18 E112 2009 with Ultegra SL & basic clincher (S$6000)

Cervelo S1 2009 (S$3000)

Cervelo P2C 2009 with Ultegra SL & basic clincher (S$6000)

Cervelo P2C 2008 with Ultegra SL & basic clincher (S$5000)

Saucony's Grid Type A2 - My New Shoes

This is Saucony's Grid Type A2, a lightweight racer for the normal to slight flat footed runner with a neutral to mild pronation.

I just got a pair of this last weekend from running lab since my current asics is starting to split apart form the sole. But more importantly this Saucony is on 20% discount and it doesn't cost alot over S$100 which is quite attractive for me.

I always wanted to try out Saucony & Avia and with the offer plus the tri features (i.e. large breatheable holes to keep dry, easy slip-on finger rings & nice flashy color). Haha vain, i know.

Think this pair is good up till 21km distance given the limited cushioning which is ideal for the type of events i do. Yeah new shoes! Now i want to go and do more running.

Tribob Sprint Series 3 - Sprint

This is my first 3 discipline event this year! what a slow start compared to last year! But i coudn't handle anything further or longer given my current flabbiness. lol. This race is really relax cos i reach there almost 8am and still got time to dilly dally. And until 9am then i see the first wave charging into the shoreline. Honestly my buddy and i didn't quite know what was going on and did not know how many waves there were until we saw all the remant mens of all shapes and sizes began to line up at the start line; then we realised we have got to go. And yes we were in the "Men's Fun" wave!

The swim was surprisingly short for me as i did it well under 16min (out from water) which i quite doubted. After the race i checked with my buddy he also felt the swim course was a little under 750m, we suspected this was due to low tide. Well it's PB anyway. haha. I just sold my very good BLUE bike (bye) the day before the race and and to scramble to loan an oversized hybrid bike with braided wheels to do my bike leg - painful. I knew i was going really hard on the pedals and still not moving fast like i wanted to. Well at least i got a bike to do the race i thought to myself and instantly felt grateful to my bro Tim who so generously lent me his ride. Oh when it came to the run my first 1000m was lik super slow (over 7min) and i thought to myself i better push harder or else my target of 90min would be blown. Unfortunately, my powergel boost came only at the 2km mark and i finished my last 3km with a decent over 5min/km.

Overall, i felt good as i was close to my target and i actually rewarded myself with a KFC family feast the evening before the race! hahaha. Kudos to Tri-Bob for the well organised series! Ready to sign up for next race.

Event: Tribob Sprint Series 3 - Sprint (750m Swim-20km Bike-5km Run)

Date: 19th April 2009

Venue: Changi Ferry Terminal

Bib No: 2

Age Group: 25-29

POS: 58/108

Results:

Swim split - 17:42min

T1 - 2:01min

Bike split - 40:17min

T2 - 1:29min

Run split - 31:26min

Combined - 1hr 32min 55sec

Tribob Sprint Series 3 - Sprint

My Target for the next event:
Swim split - 20min
T1 - 1min
Bike split - 40min
T2 - 1min
Run split - 28min
Combined - 1hr 30min

Tribob Sprint Series 2 - Duathlon

Event: Tribob Sprint Series 2 - Duathlon (3km Bike-15km Bike-3km Run)
Date: 15th March 2009
Venue: Mandai
Bib No: 2
Age Group: 25-29
POS: 52/93

Results:
Run 1 split - 15:46min
T1 - 1:59min
Bike split - 30:56min
T2 - 1:37min
Run 2 split - 16:41min
Combined - 1hr 07min

Tribob Sprint Series 1 - Aquathlon

Event: Tribob Sprint Series 1 - Aquathlon (750m Swim & 5km Run)
Date: 22nd February 2009
Venue: Tanjong Beach, Sentosa
Bib No: 2
Age Group: 25-29
POS: 65/128

Results:
Swim split - 20:03min
T1 - 52sec
Run split - 27:49min
Combined - 48:46min

it had been months since i last posted on my blog. it had been month since i did any form of serious training. and it had been months since my last event.

this year started out slow and this swim+ run event at sprint distances is a good way to gear up for the 2009 season. quite excited when arriving at the venue to do the usual in-processing. but seriously i was in a very relaxed mood - no pressure and just have fun and enjoy the event.

i chosed to start in the last wave where it was non-competitive all male group. thought i got in the right wave as the pace was more forgiving and have less jostling during the start phase.

although the event was non competitive for me, i did set some target to make this event more meaningful. i was doing some laps yesterday in the pool and i took about 25min for 750m. so i thought anything close to 22min will be good. to my surprise i did it under 20min on my watch! i was so motivated to transit into my run then which i was targeting a slower 6min/km. which i also achieved just slight under at 29min. wow! i shaved more than 6mins off my target combine time of 55min. well done i told myself! hee dorry for the self praise and indulgence. don't we need some self encouragement and motivating from time to time? you know what i mean.

overall the event was great and i had loads of fun. the main difference is this time A* was there throdding around with my dslr for the first time to capture some nice moments. enjoy some of my favourite photos.

if you like to see the rest, follow this link:

http://picasaweb.google.com/teckheong/20090222TribobSeries1?feat=directlink