Deadly Mind Games

Weary Soul. Back of the Pack. Saddle Sore. Breathlessness...
That's about sum up my day... The Beginning of my Day...

Waking up, I dread cycling...
I am not sure if I will be able to ride in the morning and complete the day on a high...

I woke up early, but I wait till the last possible minute before I kick myself out of the house.

With the thigh muscles still tingling since Sunday and the soreness of the sit bones , it was a start of an unpleansant ride.
Oh my... should I or shouldn't I revert back to my old saddle?
I love my new saddle, but the run-in period is way too long...
Too long cos I have not been riding a lot?
An extremely soft saddle may not be an entirely bad thing right now...

I was pretty cheerful along Lentor Avenue...
(How fast the mood swing is, right?)
I was dreaming the Ironman Dream...
Gosh, I am an extremely good dreamer.
If Ben can do it, so can I...
But I have only 1 year to prepare if I wanna do IMWA 2011...
But I won't have the benefit of the bootcamp, nor the time , nor the youth and vitality that Ben has...
(I know... it is all excuses... =p)

Took the Ang Mo Kio route to LongHouse.
Just as I am coming out from Sin Ming Drive, the group was rolling off.
I just did a right turn and follow suit.

Ohh... how I hate these CWX riders.
Stop doing your "brotherly love" things in a peloton...
U guys really think you guys are that pro meh....
For goodness sake, u guys wanna crash, go ahead, dun bring down the whole group with you!!!

Up till SICC Road, the group is pedalling at an extremely slow pace...
I tried to check my watch, but it proves to be difficult...
But most of us are free-spinning...

I rubbed my eyes and did a double-take when I saw who the lead riders are...

I could not stand the pace anymore and decided to surge in front of the whole pack... Ignoring Joyce call out... =D

Needless to say, the whole group overtook me and I got a stern lecture from Joyce for breaking away from the peloton and failing to stay ahead of the group...

What is becoming common about my group rides is that the last I will see the group is at Prata Hill...
That is just 4km into a 37km Mandai Loop Ride... Haiz...
So much for my Ironman Dreams...
One thing is for sure, I am at Ground Zero.
Back to Square One.
All I can do now is up...
I need to be able to follow the peloton for long distances...
But I wonder when I will be able to do that?
6 months, 12 months, Never... ???

I feel a need to quit my job...
To find a new job, so that I can ride...
Sounds so wrong...
Plus the fact that I love my current job, just that I hate the office politics that comes with it...
It sucks when your colleagues try to squirrel themselves out from their working schedules and their reponsibilites..
It sucks when you have to work 6-7 work-day weeks for 5 consecutive weeks.
There is no way I am going for Week 6. It is just hilarious, absolutely crazy that my other colleagues are enjoying the Public Holidays, the long weekends and I am on Buona Vista Hill slogging away...

Pushing on a ride before a working Sunday has took a beating out of me...

I literally lost the fire to exercise while in my current job...
Quit the job? Nah... The job still has a lot to offer me... I still have a lot to learn...
It is just one of those things... U cannot have the best of both worlds.

I defintely do not wanna slip into mild depression again.
I will choose stress over depression... Anytime...
Unfortunately, I do not have the aptitude to be a banker...
Else I will work a few crazy years as a banker and spend the rest of my career being the normal guy.
Haha... Dreaming again...

I have been raving about how good my wheels are for climbing, but since I stated the "facts" to the group, it has lost its magic...
The only thing I felt when I climb slopes is puking....

I am starting to find the sense of blogging...
*Sorry for the many rojak blog entries recently, just dunno how to sort out all my thoughts in a decent way. Get marked by a teacher, sure kena graded "F"*
How dramatically my life has changed over the past 4 years...
In fact, how much my life has changed as an adult...
These 4 years must have been more exciting though, as I get to interact with more people.
People you are sure that do not approach you armed with knives (to stab you in the back)...
That is the beauty of sports...
To get you away from the buzz of working life...
This blog chronicles my life through friendship, running and ultimately triathlons.

How fast your social circle expanded dramatically.
How you can make good friends and lost them overnight.
How you can go from knee pain running to pain free running.
How you start at the back of the pack to be in the middle of the pack...
How you start a wardrobe void of Dry-Fit tees (cos they are only worn by pros) to a wardrobe void of cotton tees. =D
Even cotton undies are losing their appeal. =D
How you start with a "cheap" aluminium bike to having a "cheap" aluminium bike with expensive wheels... =D
How I manage to find a BFF in the midst of this entire chaotic but organised mess.
How your conception that triathlons is only for the elites...
The thought of how crazy is an Ironman (limited to Supermen to SuperWomen) to an Ironman race that is do-able if one train for it.
To run from Yishun Ring Road Loop to running a marathon.
From Running to Biathlons, to Sprint Triathlons, to Olympic Distance Triathlons to Ironman 70.3.
I still remember how apprehensive I was when I took part in my first Sprint Triathlon. =D

Enough diversion. Back to the ride. =D

It was a lonely ride all the way to Mandai Shell.
As the group see me approaching, they pull out.
Chasing them is futile, they are just too fast.

Derrick pull up alongside me and we rode together while chatting.
Haha... thought his bike is a Made in Taiwan "no brand" bike till I saw the small logo on the seat post.
Haha, 有眼不知泰山...
It is a Black on Black Pinarello.
Not sure what model it is, but it has a bull dog stem...
Cannot find it on the official Pinarello website.
Anyone care to tell me what the model is?

Took a shortcut throught Chancery Lane...
Haha, brought back memories...
The previous and only time I rode through this shortcut was with Baoying and she was relating about cyclometer signal loss in Chancery Lane. Spooky...
The friendship you cultivated through riding...

We took our leave at Marymount Road and I took a slow ride home. =)