Aquathlon Race

I did an aquathlon race this morning in Mottingham, southeast of London. The venue of the race was in Eltham College because we were using the sports facilities in the college grounds. I must attest that I was impressed with the school's facilities. It's like a clubhouse!

A very huge sports field for a school

The race is called the Clash of the Tritons featuring a 500m swim and a 5km run. This is the equivalent of a three-quarter Chin Woo Biathlon that I used to do.

My time was:
500m swim: 9mins 10secs.
5km run: 23mins 2 secs
Total time: 32mins 12 secs

Swimming event in the indoor pool

Transition area

This time I raced under the "Pacesetters Athletics Club Malaysia" banner. When I looked at the participants' list, almost everyone was affiliated to a triathlon club. So, PACM certainly didn't look like it fitted nicely in the list. Anyhow, the MC later announced to everyone that I was "the furthest" they had in the race so far!

The queue for registration and body marking

Because the distances were shorter, the race was pretty much judged on speed rather than stamina.

My time has been fairly consistent for long distance competitions. So I have estimated a finishing time of 40mins based on a 10-min swim and a 30-min run time. Deep inside, I targeted 38. Anything sub-40 would be nice.

When the results were out, I was elated to find that I have shaved 8 mins off the estimated time instead of 2!

Running two loops around the sports ground. Bands given to distinguish the starting and finishing runners.

Still I am a little disappointed because I finished 32nd in my category. That's probably in the top 20%-25% of total ranking.

Biscuits and cakes for runners? That's so English!

The stakes

Ever since coming to the UK, I have never inched anywhere near 10% as I previously could in Malaysia. The level of competition in the UK is so much higher even though the training facilities here are old, cramp and expensive. Sometimes it dampens my spirit of putting anymore training. At other times it pushes me to excel better.

Ever since I have started training in the UK, I have also noticed the differences between the races here and in Malaysia. Competitors here are very passionate about the sports they choose. You can have any competition at any price and not throw in medals or refreshments but people will still race.

However, if the same happens in Malaysia, you can bet your last dollar that no one will show up and everyone will bitch about the race to eternity.

We sign up to a race by first asking if there's a medal, vest and goodie bag or how good they are.

Then again, I am not making a judgement that this is a wrong attitude but I am just saying that runners in both countries perceive competitions in a very different and unique way.

Like it or not, the constant feeling of inadequacy to me, is very much like the feeling of insecurity. And I believe, this insecurity thing always brings out the best of people. I'm sure it has driven me to break personal best records of previous runs one by one, as I unconsciously push the limits little by little even though the rankings have not only stagnated but worsened.

Or maybe I should accept the fact that top 20% is the equivalent of Malaysia's 10. Yes I can accept that. 1:2 is still better than 1: 6.5 if the law of currency applies.

Working with Digestives

I come in early to the office to catch up on news before I start working. So I have my breakfast in the office every morning.

One morning I ran out of cereals. It only filled one-eight of a bowl. Certainly not enough for me, no! So I rummaged the drawer to look for more food. I found a packet of digestives.

I tore open the seal and took out four pieces of biscuits. I broke them into quadrants and filled the cereal bowl.

As usual, a banana, cereals and milk for the morning.

After this accidental discovery, I found myself doing it every morning, even with the ample supply of cereals in the drawer! That's because it tasted really nice.

Digestives in cereals and milk. You'll love it!

I have been doing this weird combination on my seat ever since. So people hadn't noticed about it. At least that's what I thought.

This morning I decided to go into the pantry to do it since I have a new supply of milk to put into the fridge. There were three colleagues in there as well.

Gerry looked at the bowl and said, "Is that digestives?"

I answered yes. Two other colleagues looked on curiously.

Ted said with a little disgust in his face, "Does that go well in milk? That's really weird."

I asked him to try since I have loads of digestives. But he declined.

Gerry defended, "Ah! I think it'll taste brilliant. Like how they crush digestives to layer the base of cheesecakes!"

I nodded but Gerry continued, "You've been doing this for a while, haven't you?"

I laughed and said, "You noticed?!"

He replied, "I just didn't ask!"

Then lunch came. I took out my lunch box and tried to reheat the content. Coincidentally Gerry was in the kitchen. He joked, "Topped with digestives too?"

I proclaimed proudly, "No. Layered as base. Just like cheesecakes, Gerry...just like cheesecakes!"

Beijing Olympics 2008

I just returned from Trafalgar Square to see the Beijing Olympics opening ceremony with a few colleagues and am extremely proud of China.

I am still thinking about what I saw awhile ago.

My definition of a good show is simple. It's one that leaves a lasting impression and makes you think about it after it is finished. And Beijing has kept me thinking and talking about it even during work! That's why I think the show in Beijing was really good!

Some parts of the event nearly moved me to tears when I saw the faces of the performers. You can see from their expressions how much they wanted this and to give their all in an international event that could possibly be the only one in their lifetime. I must attest the expressions were such a powerful message they moved a "cold" person like me to the core!

I especially liked the human wave of Chinese characters, the display of "modern China", Shaolin performance, space adventure and the duet between Liu Huan and Sarah Brightman.

I can't remember a time when I got bored looking at the big screen with the thousands gathered at the Square. There was a sense of awe in everyone's face- Asians and Europeans alike.

The common phrases I heard over my shoulder were "Amazing!", "Really good...really really good!", "That's beautiful!", "Wow!", "Very impressive!"

So did anyone say anything bad about the event?

Yes! The western media being themselves just can't stop being cycnical. They brought up the same old subjects of human rights and freedom of speech records; air pollution, the terror threat, Tibet oppression etc etc during the broadcast. Which sort of pissed me a little.

I just don't get them sometimes. Anyway...

It doesn't really matter now, does it? Today China has shown to the world what it is really capable of and who the real gentleman is. Like it or not, China is bloody good and they really deserve this!

At 5pm awhile ago, a colleague turned on to the BBC Sport to see the ceremony live. I got distracted by it and then a few of us joined in. It was the lighting of the torch. Then it was followed by a series of fireworks.

After it was over, we smiled, looked at each other and then one of us asked a question that struck a chord to a question that everyone must have been thinking, "Now, how's London going to beat that?"

*Beijing images from BBC

Nike Human Race: London edition

I walked from office to Oxford Circus today and collected my race pack at the NikeTown. The email sent to us mentioned that we should avoid collecting the race pack during peak periods especially after working hours.

NikeTown, London

I did just that! When I arrived, there wasn't even a queue!

The lady at the counter must have been really excited about the whole thing. She took almost 10minutes to explain the event to me.

"Remember to keep this voucher. You can't get into Wembley without this. You get admitted into the concert with the same voucher."

She continued, "And here, this voucher - this is for you to claim a 15% discount for Nike merchandise. While this voucher here is for...."

Who's the crowd now? Runners or staff?

There were just so many papers in the pack! She then explained about the microchip. I think she was trying to make sure that this daft-looking Asian doesn't end up tying it on the headband during the race.

The t-shirt is a chilli red Nike dri-fit with an imprint of the running number. I'm runner 872,947 and I've been allocated to start on the first wave. That's going to be great because that means I can come back earlier to change for the concert afterwards!



Too bad they have passed Malaysia for this event. I sense this has something to do with our National Day celebration which falls on the same day. So, the nearest city for Malaysians to get involved is in Singapore. Nonetheless they have found a subtle way to make Malaysia being counted for the race.

I know some of you readers are from Chicago, Melbourne, New York, Paris, Rome, Shanghai, Taipei, Tokyo and Singapore. If you happen to run or know anything about this event, how's it like over there? T-shirt design? Level of organising? Care to share?

Week of Festivals

This weekend was the Malaysia Week and the Latin American Festival.

Malaysia Week lasted five days from 30th July to today. It was a good way to introduce the country to the people here. Location is everything. If it's right, everything fits together. Otherwise, it's a dread to keep it for another day.

Malaysia Week at the Potters Field

I have mixed feelings about the location of this year's Malaysia Week. We used to have the event in Covent Garden, which is like smacked in the middle of central London. This year we had it at the Potters Field, a park on the southbank of the Tower Bridge, which is almost like having an event in Padang Merbok - a location which is recognisable, relatively strategic but still a little isolated from the rest of the attractions. To put into perspective, Covent Garden is like having the event in the Bukit Bintang area.

Traditional performances

Food prices were a little steep by stalls standard. It was quite a struggle to rope some of my colleagues from Malaysia and Singapore to attend the event. The first thing people asked was if there were food. The question that followed was the price.

"7 to 8ish quid." I said.

"What?! No thanks..." was the common reaction.

Some even quipped, "How can they promote tourism in the country if the first impression about Malaysia is a rip-off!"

Malaysian food

To be fair, Thailand had their festival too and their food was around this price. But of course, if the prices were lower, a lot of people would have been able to enjoy the taste of Malaysia. Malaysians included.

Personally I felt the prices were just about right, only if the event was held in either Covent Garden or Trafalgar Square, like Thailand's. After all, the entire event was sponsored by the Malaysian government. That means there is no cost to the stall keepers. So I see no reason why should the stalls charge so much for food.

While we have been telling new Malaysian visitors not to convert while they're here, we'll still find it a struggle to convince them to go by the 1:1 ratio because we probably wouldn't pay RM7 for a meal at the pasar malam!

Of course, if the event was held in Covent Garden, five days would have cost Malaysian tax-payers a bomb! Then again, I asked if we really needed five days? I thought a weekend event was good enough.

Other than that, I had a good time at the event. It wasn't a place that I could spend the entire day unless if I had nowhere else to go. It was a good opportunity to meet up with other Malaysians or Singaporeans. Not that it matters, but for a moment I thought I was back in Malaysia, hadn't the Tower Bridge helped keep reality in check!

Another petty issue worth pointing out is that "tecnically" if we were to have such an important event to promote the country in a big city like London, we should "tecnically" be more careful with typo errors. Things like this affect our reputation!

On the southern side of London, there was a Latin American festival. Today wasn't the best of time for an event like this. It was gloomy and the rain was random. I had to use the umbrella on many occasions.

Paging for hermits...

And why do I see Jamaica's flag in here??

Performances by Latin American countries

But I still had lots of fun. It was a great day out with Cantab mates after lunch. We started with dim sum in Chinatown. Then we met up with two other mates in Burgess Park where the festival was held.

Dim sum lunch with Cantab mates

Churros con chocolate

Cantab mates

Arson victims

Eventhough the festival was bigger and livelier, it's not fair to compare it with the Malaysia week because the festival was a conglomeration of all Latin American countries while ours was just us.