The Waterboy

Welcome back to another "Storytime." Well, it's not an official title. So, storytime. I'll be continuing a story I posted 2 months ago about my first open water swim. Link  here . Just to recap, I injured my ankle a few months before the race. My race was compromised, and I had redemption in mind. I wanted to prove myself that I was capable of winning a race.  After the race in May, I had three months to prepare for the next race in August 2018. The organizers have announced a race at Bukit Merah Laketown Resort, Taiping, Perak. The categories offered were the 1500m, and 3000m swim for adults. I have never swan 3000m in a go before, so I opted to choose the sensible 1500 meters. I invited my teammates to join me in the race, but none were available on the mentioned date. So, it was me, myself, and I to train and compete in the race.  Competition Poster I started training at my university's swimming pool. My teammates were kind enough to join me in my training to h...

  My YouTube suggestions have been filled with running tips and tricks for the past few days. I'm always keen on learning things because even the fastest runners need a coach. While watching these videos, one thing was a little too common. All the videos advised beginner runners to run at an easy pace. Running at an easy pace has been gaining attention as it can reduce lactic acid build-up in muscles and faster recovery. At the same time, running easy all the time won't help someone to run faster. The suggested routine was to run easy all the time and run at a fast pace once or twice a week.  You see, when it comes to monitoring your running, there are several parameters you will have to monitor. Your heart rate, pace, cadence, and your own capability to keep going on . For some elite runners, easy paces are 5.00/km. Where else, a beginner runner's fast pace is just 5.30/km. This separates the best from the good ones.  So, how do you run easy? In my opinion, there are 2 w...

Unpopular Opinion: YOU DON'T NEED A SMARTWATCH! Yes. I have said it. You don't need a smartwatch. I think smartwatches are redundant to whatever gadgets we are using now . Now, nearly every person has a smartwatch on their wrist. These smartwatch serves a purpose to monitor their activity and comply to their daily needs like making calls, using the GPS, receiving messages and many more.  Let's think about it. We can make calls, use the GPS, listen to music and receive messages using the phone. So, why do we need a smartwatch? Looking at it from a "sports" perspective. There are dedicated monitoring devices that can be used to track your runs, swims, rides, and many more.  As for runs, phones can be used to track running . Simple apps like Strava, Nike Run Club, Runkeeper, and many more apps can be used to track using the phone's GPS. Well, there are some doubts regarding the accuracy of the GPS and other sensors. But, both phones and smartwatches are using the...

Since the first lockdown, my feed was full of posts on road bikes. Road cycling has been a new trend among Malaysians who are suddenly getting into the new norm. Some have more off days than before due to social distancing restrictions and some just have too much money lying in their bank. For some others, they just want to fill their time doing activities to keep them fit.  There are no proper statistics to prove this, but I can bet the sales of bicycles especially road bikes and mountain bikes in the past year. The sudden boom of cycling enthusiasts has made a fortune for all the bicycle dealers out there.  Diving deep into the world of cycling there are many choices to be made from. Every component is modular and can be fixed to any bike on any frame when it's matched properly. For this, we are only going to talk about road bikes. The main components of a road bike are the frame and the groupsets which include the brakes and gearing. The most common frame in the market is t...

13 May 2018 - Kelab Tasik Putrajaya Open Water Swimming Challange The team posing after the race On race day, we always prepare to leave for the venue early. We always warm up together and keep things cheerful as we wait for our event nervously. We get suited up and wait for the starter to call us to the line. Moments later, the host announces the participants to the start line. The countdown begins. T minus 10 seconds the airhorn will be honked. Everyone starts to countdown.  10, 9. 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, HONKKKKKKKKKKKKK THE RACE BEGINS The start will always be crowded, all the participants will be packed together very close. So, when the horn sounds, I had to make my way to the front very fast. I received some kicks to my hand and splashes of water to my face when I came out to take my breath each stroke. The start is always messy and barbaric. Everyone pushing and swimming to get ahead of the other. Thus, begins the 2km swim for everyone.  After the first 200m, the participa...

Posing in front of the start line Everyone will always remember their first take on new things. The first time you try a certain food, the first sip of alcohol, the first theme park ride, the first time they rode a bike/car, first everything. Well for me, I will always remember my first open water swimming competition. It was special to me because of the teammates that I had around. The whole journey towards this 'first experience' was a total rollercoaster of emotions.  When I joined the swimming team in 2017, I had very little knowledge about open water swimming. At the time, I merely know what was open water swimming, but I always see my seniors train for it. They were more experienced in it as they have already competed in a few of them. After 3 months of being on the team, the coach announced to us about an open water swimming competition that will be happening in the middle of May. We were 4 months ahead of the announcement and we were all excited. The juniors will have t...