Kirsty is about the same hieght now but without Uncle Simon's help!
Thursday, September 04, 2008
Uncle Simon and Kirsty - Triberg Waterfalls 1991
Kirsty is about the same hieght now but without Uncle Simon's help!
Wednesday, September 03, 2008
Holiday - (Shilpa's Version)
Shilpa wrote this email to here parents and brother and sister - it sums up the holiday beautifully, ENJOY.
"Hi Everyone,
We are back!
Had 3 weeks of fantastic hols although it's great to be back home (except the jet lag bit; I finally got some sleep last night).
Will start with the plane ride to Germany which Simon and I weren't sure what to expect with Seb n Sid coz we've never done a 12 hr journey with them nor have we done long trips without a maid. They were good as gold. Slept 8-9 hrs of it and then watched Bob the Builder and Winnie the Pooh and ate the rest of the time. By the time we arrived in Germany, they were fresh and ready to start their holiday (and so were we). And you wouldn’t believe how easily and quickly they settled in with their cousins and Aunty Angela and Uncle Markus - almost like they've known each other for ages. They didn’t cling to Simon or I at all - just played all day in their sand pit, in our hotel playground, walking in the forest, playing with their dog, KiKi (whom of course I wasn’t very comfortable with especially when she tried to lick me), plus the hundreds of toys that Nico and Sven had for them. They just loved it.
And so did Simon and I. It was really good to see Angela and family after 3.5 years. You wouldn’t believe how big and tall Kirsty and Jan are now. Remember them at my wedding. Well Kirsty is 18 and is over 6 ft tall. And Jan is 17 and is 6 ft 2. Seb and Sid had to stretch their necks and tilt their head all the way back to speak to them.
They live in the Black Forest which is literally paradise surrounded by forests, pine trees, fields, HUGE open lawns, and the most gorgeous views right at their door step (I mean literally). Simon and I took advantage of the place and went running everyday (and Simon ran twice a day most days) - some days with Angela and her running group. It was brilliant. For the first time ever, I actually WANTED to run. And guess what, we didn’t have to worry about the boys coz Uncle Markus and cousins kindly kept an eye on them whilst we went out running.
Weather thankfully was excellent and for the first time, I wasn’t freezing cold. We managed to survive everyday with ONE or NO jumper.
We went to Lake Constance one afternoon on a ferry ride and then on to Monkey Forest. Seb as usual was in his element with animals to the point that he didn’t even realise that one of the monkey's was being really aggressive towards him; Seb continued laughing and attempting to play with this vicious monkey and in the end Superman Daddy had to rescue him.
Also went to Triberg Waterfall - first proper waterfall the boys had seen - not sure if they were wowed by it or not but they kept saying BIG waterfall mummy, BIG waterfall daddy. We did a short walk up, took loads of photos and then headed back down to a café for some black forest gateaux (you can't not have that when you are in Black Forest). Lots of wheat beer for Simon and Markus of course.
Ate and drank loads. Angela and Markus cooked us some great meals especially Brunch the last day was to die for. Simon loved all the wheat beer he had. We also indulged in lots of ice cream - one of our favourite joints is an ice cream shop in Villingen (we visit this place EVERY TIME we are in Germany) - some really yummy concoctions and so of course Mommy, Daddy, Seb, Sid, Markus and kids all had huge ice cream delights.
Just opposite this ice cream shop is a trough (an olden days watering trough right in the middle of the shopping street which I thought was really cool coz we wouldn’t find that anywhere in Asia) where Seb n Sid splashed water at each other (Seb was soaking wet by the end of it) and then played with Sven and Nico on the roundabout. (You'll see Seb soaking wet in one of the photos attached).
I even took the boys for a walk in the forest with lots of pine trees and all they could do was look as high up as possible and say, Mommy, Christmas trees VERY BIG and then run around them. Little darlings, they walked around without complaining.
The first part of our holiday came to an end very quickly - a week just flew by - and we were very sad to leave but at the same time were excited and looking forward to the second part of our hols with Chris, Chantal, India, Kofi and their cats and dog, Purna in England.
Once again, the boys just fitted in easily with India and Kofi - it did help of course that they have a dog, Purna and 2 cats (Seb loves dogs and Sid loves cats), they have a huge back lawn with swings, slides, tree house, children's tractor, cars and lots and lots and lots of toys.
Chris and Chantal just had their house extended so we got our own room and Kofi very kindly gave them his room which made our stay really comfortable. The boys had two single beds with truck and digger and dog beds and a bedroom full of toys - they definitely didn’t need mommy and daddy.
It was here that Seb n Sid learnt to say "MOMMY and DADDY" with a very very English accent which is beginning to really annoy me now. In fact, they turned completely English. When Seb and Sid were annoyed with Simon or I, they would say "Shilpa I don't want to do this or Simon come here now"........at one point Sid even said, Shilpa Cross come here Shilpa Cross.......I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
Boys were very good with their meals. Chantal was actually shocked. She kept saying, your boys eat well. Thank god I was thinking to myself coz literally a week before we left for hols, sid still wanted his daal and rice everyday. But he actually surprised us all. He ate better than Seb and tried everything new. He even ate steamed TREE (Broccoli) and sweet corn and carrots. Phew!
Simon and I had a great time catching up with Chris and Chantal and Rocky. (Chris took time off work and Rocky came to visit us) Did lots of running (AGAIN) but this time through fields, tiny little lanes, along little villages. And days when Simon and I ran together, Chantal was more than happy to look after the boys.
Lots of beer for Simon. He loves the English pub and drinking culture when we are on holiday. Weather was good to us once again bar one day of rain I think.
Took the boys to Deal Castle. First castle visit for boys and Mommy. Some bits of it were pitch black so walking through it was scary enough for me but Seb n Sid were quite cool about it.
They went inside one of these olden days brick oven and thought it was cool and thoroughly enjoyed their castle visit.
Went on a train ride, pub lunch and an amusement park the next day.
Even a walk on the beach.
All really great fun, especially the train ride and bumper car in amusement park. Reminded me of Magic Land days.
Even went to London for a day. Took the boys on London Eye but they didn’t seem too excited about the BIG FERRIS WHEEL. We had taken them to a similar size Ferris Wheel in Singapore about a month before hols so we think Seb and Sid were trying to say, "Been There, Done It". Went to Trafalgar Square but unfortunately there weren't any pigeons around. All we saw is a huge crowd watching Olympics on the big screen.
We then grabbed some lunch at Pizza Express - it was just like any other pizza place except they did special 4 course kids menu. So they got a little starter, and then the main course, and then ice cream and then to end the meal a babbyccino at the end (which was frothed chocolate milk). Really cool. Their greatest joy that day was to sit on a red double decker bus. Both boys got in the bus and walked straight up the stairs right to the back watching other buses go by. As we were heading back to Chris and Chantal, we had to take the underground (subway) to get to the main train station and it was hilarious coz seb n sid wanted to walk (of all the times, it had to be today. Usually they say "Carry mummy and daddy"). Undergrounds being as crowded as they are and getting onto trains on time such an issue, we were very stern with the boys and wouldn’t let them which ended up in tears and screams..........Sid refused to get on the train throwing a real tantrum. He said " Siddhart want walk to the train". And just as we got in, the gates closed. We didn’t find it funny at that point but laughed about it later.
On our last day with Chris and Chantal, we went to this tiny little café on the beach to have full English vegetarian breakfast. YUM!
Second part of our hols had come to an end; we didn’t want to leave.
The 3rd part of our hols was with Simon's parents and I was a bit unsure of how the kids would be coz there wouldn't be any other kids or toys. But I was wrong. Grandma and Grandad had organized cars and toys and books for the boys plus their humongous back lawn with geese and chicken (the boys fed them and put them to bed most evenings). All very amusing to the boys. And not to miss the caravan which to the boys was their own little house. Needless to say, they settled in as soon as we got to Brownhills (where Simon's parents live). Plus as soon as we got there, Simon's mom had organised a chocolate cake to celebrate Dad's bday a few days before we got there. Guess who sang Happy Birthday Grandad and blew out all the candles???
It was really good to see them and they were delighted to see us, especially to have the JUNIOR CROSS's visit them. Spent a week with Mom and Dad. Had a brilliant time. Ate and drank LOTS. Lots of pub lunches, had a Chinese take away one evening and even went to a really nice Indian restaurant for dinner plus all the wonderful food Simon's mom had bought for us, especially the chocolate cake and chocolate delight.
One of the pub lunches was by a canal which was very cool. The boys enjoyed watching the boats go through locks. Sid wanted to get on them but mummy had to explain that these are people's homes and people live in them but he didn’t understand it. In the end I had to say, OK you have to buy one of these boats to get on them so where is your money. And he said, in the piggy bank at home. So I said, there you go, your money is not here so you can't get on the boat. At which point he said, Daddy, buy boat daddy. Siddhart want to get on the boat. Poor Daddy!
I even helped Dad close a lock.
And once again, Simon and I did lots of running, this time with Dad. Can you believe it, he is 76 and runs 10 kms in 1 hr 7 mins. Amazing! And his mom did Nordic walking whist we ran. Ran by the canal, lake and little bits of forest trails and hills. By the end of our trip, Simon had run almost 300 kms and I had run about 100 kms. We have come back fitter than we left!
Simon's parents offered to look after the kids one day whilst Simon and I went shopping to Birmingham and had one day to ourselves without kids, which was really good. We didn’t do too much shopping though coz everything was so expensive compared to Malaysia and we get everything here now, so there was no real craze. Ended up buying the boys GAP stuff again (although we get it here anyway) and got myself some more Gap jeans (yup Kud and Ritu, I did) and Simon got a jumper from Zara. That was it, our shopping was complete. And when we got back that evening, the boys were happy to see us (and we were happy to see them too) but it wasn’t like they really missed us. They just happily played with their grandparents.
We took the boys to a huge playground with lots and lots of swings, slides, see saws, etc. They loved it.
On another day, went to Cannock Chase which is like a Forest Reserve where we did a 5kms walk with the boys. Oops, don't think they really liked that very much especially uphills. It was only downhills that they loved. Very very pretty though (photos attached) and then we ended up at a huge playground again.
Now the best bit is yet to come. Simon's mom told us of this huge theme park with Thomas the Tank Engine in it.........Little did she know that there is a whole 6 acres of everything Thomas in it (can you imagine that?). We met up with one of Simon's childhood family friends Michael and his wife Aneke and kids there so it made it even more enjoyable for Seb n Sid. After a very tiring day queuing up for each ride, we were glad to be home and the boys fell asleep as soon as we got into the car. That's how tired they were. But they loved it.
We even got them Thomas drinking cups and a Thomas wall clock for their room. I would have happily bought the whole Thomas store but not when I saw the prices in pounds and started converting.......
It was slowly hitting us that our holiday was surely coming to an end. Very sad coz we had such a good time. I suppose it was made easier by the fact that Seb n Sid were enjoying themselves too.....plane ride back wasn’t too bad either. Daddy and the two boys got lots of sleep. Mommy didn't. But hey at least the boys weren't any trouble.
A very outdoorsy trip as you can tell - I guess you can do that in countries where its not soooo HOT and soooo HUMID.
Lots of hugs and love
Shilps
"Hi Everyone,
We are back!
Had 3 weeks of fantastic hols although it's great to be back home (except the jet lag bit; I finally got some sleep last night).
Will start with the plane ride to Germany which Simon and I weren't sure what to expect with Seb n Sid coz we've never done a 12 hr journey with them nor have we done long trips without a maid. They were good as gold. Slept 8-9 hrs of it and then watched Bob the Builder and Winnie the Pooh and ate the rest of the time. By the time we arrived in Germany, they were fresh and ready to start their holiday (and so were we). And you wouldn’t believe how easily and quickly they settled in with their cousins and Aunty Angela and Uncle Markus - almost like they've known each other for ages. They didn’t cling to Simon or I at all - just played all day in their sand pit, in our hotel playground, walking in the forest, playing with their dog, KiKi (whom of course I wasn’t very comfortable with especially when she tried to lick me), plus the hundreds of toys that Nico and Sven had for them. They just loved it.And so did Simon and I. It was really good to see Angela and family after 3.5 years. You wouldn’t believe how big and tall Kirsty and Jan are now. Remember them at my wedding. Well Kirsty is 18 and is over 6 ft tall. And Jan is 17 and is 6 ft 2. Seb and Sid had to stretch their necks and tilt their head all the way back to speak to them.
They live in the Black Forest which is literally paradise surrounded by forests, pine trees, fields, HUGE open lawns, and the most gorgeous views right at their door step (I mean literally). Simon and I took advantage of the place and went running everyday (and Simon ran twice a day most days) - some days with Angela and her running group. It was brilliant. For the first time ever, I actually WANTED to run. And guess what, we didn’t have to worry about the boys coz Uncle Markus and cousins kindly kept an eye on them whilst we went out running.
Weather thankfully was excellent and for the first time, I wasn’t freezing cold. We managed to survive everyday with ONE or NO jumper.
We went to Lake Constance one afternoon on a ferry ride and then on to Monkey Forest. Seb as usual was in his element with animals to the point that he didn’t even realise that one of the monkey's was being really aggressive towards him; Seb continued laughing and attempting to play with this vicious monkey and in the end Superman Daddy had to rescue him.
Also went to Triberg Waterfall - first proper waterfall the boys had seen - not sure if they were wowed by it or not but they kept saying BIG waterfall mummy, BIG waterfall daddy. We did a short walk up, took loads of photos and then headed back down to a café for some black forest gateaux (you can't not have that when you are in Black Forest). Lots of wheat beer for Simon and Markus of course.Ate and drank loads. Angela and Markus cooked us some great meals especially Brunch the last day was to die for. Simon loved all the wheat beer he had. We also indulged in lots of ice cream - one of our favourite joints is an ice cream shop in Villingen (we visit this place EVERY TIME we are in Germany) - some really yummy concoctions and so of course Mommy, Daddy, Seb, Sid, Markus and kids all had huge ice cream delights.
Just opposite this ice cream shop is a trough (an olden days watering trough right in the middle of the shopping street which I thought was really cool coz we wouldn’t find that anywhere in Asia) where Seb n Sid splashed water at each other (Seb was soaking wet by the end of it) and then played with Sven and Nico on the roundabout. (You'll see Seb soaking wet in one of the photos attached).
I even took the boys for a walk in the forest with lots of pine trees and all they could do was look as high up as possible and say, Mommy, Christmas trees VERY BIG and then run around them. Little darlings, they walked around without complaining. The first part of our holiday came to an end very quickly - a week just flew by - and we were very sad to leave but at the same time were excited and looking forward to the second part of our hols with Chris, Chantal, India, Kofi and their cats and dog, Purna in England.
Once again, the boys just fitted in easily with India and Kofi - it did help of course that they have a dog, Purna and 2 cats (Seb loves dogs and Sid loves cats), they have a huge back lawn with swings, slides, tree house, children's tractor, cars and lots and lots and lots of toys.
Chris and Chantal just had their house extended so we got our own room and Kofi very kindly gave them his room which made our stay really comfortable. The boys had two single beds with truck and digger and dog beds and a bedroom full of toys - they definitely didn’t need mommy and daddy.It was here that Seb n Sid learnt to say "MOMMY and DADDY" with a very very English accent which is beginning to really annoy me now. In fact, they turned completely English. When Seb and Sid were annoyed with Simon or I, they would say "Shilpa I don't want to do this or Simon come here now"........at one point Sid even said, Shilpa Cross come here Shilpa Cross.......I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
Boys were very good with their meals. Chantal was actually shocked. She kept saying, your boys eat well. Thank god I was thinking to myself coz literally a week before we left for hols, sid still wanted his daal and rice everyday. But he actually surprised us all. He ate better than Seb and tried everything new. He even ate steamed TREE (Broccoli) and sweet corn and carrots. Phew!
Simon and I had a great time catching up with Chris and Chantal and Rocky. (Chris took time off work and Rocky came to visit us) Did lots of running (AGAIN) but this time through fields, tiny little lanes, along little villages. And days when Simon and I ran together, Chantal was more than happy to look after the boys.Lots of beer for Simon. He loves the English pub and drinking culture when we are on holiday. Weather was good to us once again bar one day of rain I think.
Took the boys to Deal Castle. First castle visit for boys and Mommy. Some bits of it were pitch black so walking through it was scary enough for me but Seb n Sid were quite cool about it. 
They went inside one of these olden days brick oven and thought it was cool and thoroughly enjoyed their castle visit.
Went on a train ride, pub lunch and an amusement park the next day. 
Even a walk on the beach.
All really great fun, especially the train ride and bumper car in amusement park. Reminded me of Magic Land days.
Even went to London for a day. Took the boys on London Eye but they didn’t seem too excited about the BIG FERRIS WHEEL. We had taken them to a similar size Ferris Wheel in Singapore about a month before hols so we think Seb and Sid were trying to say, "Been There, Done It". Went to Trafalgar Square but unfortunately there weren't any pigeons around. All we saw is a huge crowd watching Olympics on the big screen. 
We then grabbed some lunch at Pizza Express - it was just like any other pizza place except they did special 4 course kids menu. So they got a little starter, and then the main course, and then ice cream and then to end the meal a babbyccino at the end (which was frothed chocolate milk). Really cool. Their greatest joy that day was to sit on a red double decker bus. Both boys got in the bus and walked straight up the stairs right to the back watching other buses go by. As we were heading back to Chris and Chantal, we had to take the underground (subway) to get to the main train station and it was hilarious coz seb n sid wanted to walk (of all the times, it had to be today. Usually they say "Carry mummy and daddy"). Undergrounds being as crowded as they are and getting onto trains on time such an issue, we were very stern with the boys and wouldn’t let them which ended up in tears and screams..........Sid refused to get on the train throwing a real tantrum. He said " Siddhart want walk to the train". And just as we got in, the gates closed. We didn’t find it funny at that point but laughed about it later.On our last day with Chris and Chantal, we went to this tiny little café on the beach to have full English vegetarian breakfast. YUM!
Second part of our hols had come to an end; we didn’t want to leave.
The 3rd part of our hols was with Simon's parents and I was a bit unsure of how the kids would be coz there wouldn't be any other kids or toys. But I was wrong. Grandma and Grandad had organized cars and toys and books for the boys plus their humongous back lawn with geese and chicken (the boys fed them and put them to bed most evenings). All very amusing to the boys. And not to miss the caravan which to the boys was their own little house. Needless to say, they settled in as soon as we got to Brownhills (where Simon's parents live). Plus as soon as we got there, Simon's mom had organised a chocolate cake to celebrate Dad's bday a few days before we got there. Guess who sang Happy Birthday Grandad and blew out all the candles???
It was really good to see them and they were delighted to see us, especially to have the JUNIOR CROSS's visit them. Spent a week with Mom and Dad. Had a brilliant time. Ate and drank LOTS. Lots of pub lunches, had a Chinese take away one evening and even went to a really nice Indian restaurant for dinner plus all the wonderful food Simon's mom had bought for us, especially the chocolate cake and chocolate delight.
One of the pub lunches was by a canal which was very cool. The boys enjoyed watching the boats go through locks. Sid wanted to get on them but mummy had to explain that these are people's homes and people live in them but he didn’t understand it. In the end I had to say, OK you have to buy one of these boats to get on them so where is your money. And he said, in the piggy bank at home. So I said, there you go, your money is not here so you can't get on the boat. At which point he said, Daddy, buy boat daddy. Siddhart want to get on the boat. Poor Daddy!
I even helped Dad close a lock.
And once again, Simon and I did lots of running, this time with Dad. Can you believe it, he is 76 and runs 10 kms in 1 hr 7 mins. Amazing! And his mom did Nordic walking whist we ran. Ran by the canal, lake and little bits of forest trails and hills. By the end of our trip, Simon had run almost 300 kms and I had run about 100 kms. We have come back fitter than we left!Simon's parents offered to look after the kids one day whilst Simon and I went shopping to Birmingham and had one day to ourselves without kids, which was really good. We didn’t do too much shopping though coz everything was so expensive compared to Malaysia and we get everything here now, so there was no real craze. Ended up buying the boys GAP stuff again (although we get it here anyway) and got myself some more Gap jeans (yup Kud and Ritu, I did) and Simon got a jumper from Zara. That was it, our shopping was complete. And when we got back that evening, the boys were happy to see us (and we were happy to see them too) but it wasn’t like they really missed us. They just happily played with their grandparents.
We took the boys to a huge playground with lots and lots of swings, slides, see saws, etc. They loved it. 
On another day, went to Cannock Chase which is like a Forest Reserve where we did a 5kms walk with the boys. Oops, don't think they really liked that very much especially uphills. It was only downhills that they loved. Very very pretty though (photos attached) and then we ended up at a huge playground again.
Now the best bit is yet to come. Simon's mom told us of this huge theme park with Thomas the Tank Engine in it.........Little did she know that there is a whole 6 acres of everything Thomas in it (can you imagine that?). We met up with one of Simon's childhood family friends Michael and his wife Aneke and kids there so it made it even more enjoyable for Seb n Sid. After a very tiring day queuing up for each ride, we were glad to be home and the boys fell asleep as soon as we got into the car. That's how tired they were. But they loved it. 
We even got them Thomas drinking cups and a Thomas wall clock for their room. I would have happily bought the whole Thomas store but not when I saw the prices in pounds and started converting.......It was slowly hitting us that our holiday was surely coming to an end. Very sad coz we had such a good time. I suppose it was made easier by the fact that Seb n Sid were enjoying themselves too.....plane ride back wasn’t too bad either. Daddy and the two boys got lots of sleep. Mommy didn't. But hey at least the boys weren't any trouble.
A very outdoorsy trip as you can tell - I guess you can do that in countries where its not soooo HOT and soooo HUMID.Lots of hugs and love
Shilps
Monday, September 01, 2008
Holiday - Part 1 of 3 (Germany)
As mentioned in the earlier post, Germany was awesome, beautiful and invigorating. We had an amazing time and ran every day - I actually ran twice most days - it was just too perfect!
One morning I rode through the forest with my brother-in-law, Markus - what a buzz - he told me of the time that my father asked him if he knew where he lived? A strange question you might think but what my dad was getting at is that Markus and my sister live in paradise and they should never forget how lucky they are.
Clearly Markus does know that he lives in paradise and he does know how lucky he is - we're very envious (although we consider ourselves to be very lucky living in a tropical paradise too).We ran with the running club again that evening - the first half an hour was with the local kids to encourage them to run. The focus is on fun, gamboling through the moss, jumping from log to log, running in zigzags through the forest, you get the picture. Lots of fun but not too stressful. After that the kids went home and then the club usually runs for another half an hour but because we were there they took us on a special "tour" of trails and climbs until we were totally lost but totally wowed by the scenery - magical.
Other things of note in Germany were: -The indoor heating pool in our apartment complex, the boys loved that. The Wheat Beer - Daddy loved that. Gorgeous Ice-creams - Daddy loved those too.
One day we went across Lake Constance on the ferry and then to the Monkey Forest where the kids got to feed popcorn to hundreds of monkey's.
Great fun for the boys although Seb being Seb didn't realise that the screaming and aggressive gesticulations from one rather large monkey meant that perhaps he should back off - instead he stood there laughing while the crowd stood in shock - Daddy jumped into action and unceremoniously grabbed Seb and all was well. Seb of course didn't have a clue what all the fuss was about.
Another day we went to Triberg to see the waterfall - gorgeous of course. I have a photo of myself and Kirsty on my shoulders when she was one and a half years old at the waterfall (see post in a few days when I find it). I suggested that we take the same picture again but since she is considerably taller than me I should go on her shoulders - she declined, strange!
Big thanks have to go to Angela, Markus, Jan, Kirsty, Nico and Sven for making the first part of our holiday so perfect. Markus and the kids looked after Sid and Seb when Shilpa, Angela and I ran together (greatly appreciated); they made us the most magnificent German brunch the day before we left - we still dream of that. Markus took time off work to be with us (fueled me with copious amounts of wheat beer), Angela took time off revision for her University exams (she's taking them now, good luck sis), she and Markus drove us hundreds of kilometres to and from airports, sightseeing, shopping etc, their kids looked after Sid and Seb as if they were their own baby brothers -THANKS SO MUCH, YOU WERE ALL WONDERFUL TO US.
PS. Thanks also to Unterkirnach Running Club for embracing us and showing us the wonderful trails and paths of the Black Forest.
Normal service has been resumed
We're back from a wonderful holiday in Germany and then the UK. Didn't want to come back but having said that it's always good to be home. Sid and Seb adored it - especially the temperate weather (i.e. "cold").
The boys also picked up a rather exaggerated and annoying (although very amusing) "ENGLISH ACCENT". They cry out at the top of their voices now MUMMY and DADDY in accents straight out of St. Trinians - in fact it reminded me of a Catherine Tate sketch - ENJOY
The boys also picked up a rather exaggerated and annoying (although very amusing) "ENGLISH ACCENT". They cry out at the top of their voices now MUMMY and DADDY in accents straight out of St. Trinians - in fact it reminded me of a Catherine Tate sketch - ENJOY
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Sam's Desaru 1/2 Ironman Distance Race
As you may know I'm on holiday with the family and having a great time. The triathletes I left behind in KL though were left with few excuses to avoid doing one of the hardest races around - The Desaru 1/2 Ironman Distance Race - I call it the Devil's Cauldron Race.
Sam send me an update which is a very worthy race write up - here's what he wrote: -
"Re Desaru, the day started as a real scorcher in true Desaru style. All the participants stood at the starting line sweating their balls off as Chan did his race briefing yet again (I guess he had to since only about 20% of the participants attended his evening briefing).
The shape of the swim course was changed this year to a long “out” followed by a short 100m parallel to the beach and then back to the start, 2 loops. The water was very choppy and once you were in the water, you could not see the first turning mark. The only thing to guide you was the line of small buoys that went vaguely in the direction of the turning mark. Most swimmers kept to the outside of the small buoys where it became a bit of a bun fight and a roller coaster. I chose to take the inside line with the small buoys to my left which turned out to be a wise move. I had much clearer water albeit it was still choppy and I was able to get into a rhythm, if you can call it that after 50m or so. I had no panic attacks, thank goodness. In fact, I quite enjoyed the conditions. They kept my mind occupied on the job at hand and when I came out after the swim in 43min or so I discovered I was ahead of Randy and Japanese Sam, both of whom normally beat me on the swim.
One reason for the choppy sea was the strength of the wind, even at 10am in the morning. So I knew that there would be some head wind on the bike. Sure enough and soon onto the bike, you could feel the effects of the wind. Of course, this helped you in one direction and it was against you in the other. I decided to adopt a conservative approach and to save myself for the run particularly since it was turning out to be a very hot day (39C) and very reminiscent of Langkawi. The last thing I wanted to do was to “bonk” so I took on as much water as I could on the bike which meant stopping at the turn-around by the golf course to refill my bottles since they only had small plastic cups and jugs as means to dispense the water. There were no bike-friendly water bottles that you could pick up on the move. Given that this water station was the only one marked on the bike course, it should have been managed better. I finished the bike course in just under 3 hours which is a tad slow for me but under the conditions, it's what I chose to do in the belief that the worst was yet to come.
I went out on the run not knowing where I was in relation to the others in my age group except for Michael who was not far behind me. As I started the run, the heat of the day started to take its toll and I could feel my body overheating. I got as far as the golf course turn-around and gave myself a "Langkawi shower" by pouring loads of iced water over my head and back. Phew! You could see the steam coming off me in true cartoon style! I knew I was taking too long at the aid stations but it was either that or blow up! So, I took every opportunity to cool down and to take on two cups of water and the odd gel. I could see that Michael was slowly but surely catching me up. Eventually things started to improve and I got into my stride and my breathing became less laboured. I passed Alvin from the Philippines who was in 1st place. He was suffering from cramps and persevering like a true trooper. At the half way point, the sky clouded over and I became less concerned about overheating and more concerned about picking up my pace albeit I was still stopping at every aid station to take on water and to cool down. With about 4k to go and on that nasty little incline, Michael comes past me looking strong. I could not respond and once around the roundabout and heading back to the finish opening my stride, I knew I could not catch him. Good on you Michael! I finished 2nd in 5.22 and I was very happy with my time.
We all went down to Sungai Renggit for the traditional "fish supper" that evening washed down by a few bottles of ice cold Heineken. Lovely! We then retired to that famous ice cream parlour called the "Petronas petrol station" in Desaru for a well earned Cornetto before turning in for the night to watch the 100m men's final on the TV. It was yet another great dayin Deasru. However and for some, the day did not end there. You will be amused to know that Dr Tan who did the race, Nage and Jason of Pacesetters stayed up in the hotel bar drinking beer until 2am.
Cheers mate and I trust all is well in Euroland!
Sam"
Sam send me an update which is a very worthy race write up - here's what he wrote: -
"Re Desaru, the day started as a real scorcher in true Desaru style. All the participants stood at the starting line sweating their balls off as Chan did his race briefing yet again (I guess he had to since only about 20% of the participants attended his evening briefing).
The shape of the swim course was changed this year to a long “out” followed by a short 100m parallel to the beach and then back to the start, 2 loops. The water was very choppy and once you were in the water, you could not see the first turning mark. The only thing to guide you was the line of small buoys that went vaguely in the direction of the turning mark. Most swimmers kept to the outside of the small buoys where it became a bit of a bun fight and a roller coaster. I chose to take the inside line with the small buoys to my left which turned out to be a wise move. I had much clearer water albeit it was still choppy and I was able to get into a rhythm, if you can call it that after 50m or so. I had no panic attacks, thank goodness. In fact, I quite enjoyed the conditions. They kept my mind occupied on the job at hand and when I came out after the swim in 43min or so I discovered I was ahead of Randy and Japanese Sam, both of whom normally beat me on the swim.
One reason for the choppy sea was the strength of the wind, even at 10am in the morning. So I knew that there would be some head wind on the bike. Sure enough and soon onto the bike, you could feel the effects of the wind. Of course, this helped you in one direction and it was against you in the other. I decided to adopt a conservative approach and to save myself for the run particularly since it was turning out to be a very hot day (39C) and very reminiscent of Langkawi. The last thing I wanted to do was to “bonk” so I took on as much water as I could on the bike which meant stopping at the turn-around by the golf course to refill my bottles since they only had small plastic cups and jugs as means to dispense the water. There were no bike-friendly water bottles that you could pick up on the move. Given that this water station was the only one marked on the bike course, it should have been managed better. I finished the bike course in just under 3 hours which is a tad slow for me but under the conditions, it's what I chose to do in the belief that the worst was yet to come.
I went out on the run not knowing where I was in relation to the others in my age group except for Michael who was not far behind me. As I started the run, the heat of the day started to take its toll and I could feel my body overheating. I got as far as the golf course turn-around and gave myself a "Langkawi shower" by pouring loads of iced water over my head and back. Phew! You could see the steam coming off me in true cartoon style! I knew I was taking too long at the aid stations but it was either that or blow up! So, I took every opportunity to cool down and to take on two cups of water and the odd gel. I could see that Michael was slowly but surely catching me up. Eventually things started to improve and I got into my stride and my breathing became less laboured. I passed Alvin from the Philippines who was in 1st place. He was suffering from cramps and persevering like a true trooper. At the half way point, the sky clouded over and I became less concerned about overheating and more concerned about picking up my pace albeit I was still stopping at every aid station to take on water and to cool down. With about 4k to go and on that nasty little incline, Michael comes past me looking strong. I could not respond and once around the roundabout and heading back to the finish opening my stride, I knew I could not catch him. Good on you Michael! I finished 2nd in 5.22 and I was very happy with my time.
We all went down to Sungai Renggit for the traditional "fish supper" that evening washed down by a few bottles of ice cold Heineken. Lovely! We then retired to that famous ice cream parlour called the "Petronas petrol station" in Desaru for a well earned Cornetto before turning in for the night to watch the 100m men's final on the TV. It was yet another great dayin Deasru. However and for some, the day did not end there. You will be amused to know that Dr Tan who did the race, Nage and Jason of Pacesetters stayed up in the hotel bar drinking beer until 2am.
Cheers mate and I trust all is well in Euroland!
Sam"
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Lauftreff Unterkirnach
Shilpa, Angela and I turned up for the weekly running club Tuesday evening run. It hadn't stopped raining all day but we weren't going to miss this for all the tea in China.
Not much English was spoken but enough to get by and the people we met were absolutely delightful - which I must say hs been my experience of Germans throughout my life.
Angela briefed me that the group would split into two groups after an initial warm up - a fast group and slower group - she assured Shilpa and I that we could chose which to go with. However, as we were being introduced I heard the word "Ironman" escape from her lips, there were a few eyebrows raised and then she turned to me and said you'll be in the fast group!!! It didn't appear that there was a choice any longer.
We were soon jogging along and then we were off road and then off off road, running over roots, through mud and up and down tiny tracks - it was wonderful (if not a little wet). We then split off and headed up what I thought was a mountain (little did I know this was just warm up for the real uphill time trial). Shilpa and Angela went with the more sensible group.
I got to the top in third place but then it got scarey, they headed down hill at break neck speed - so of course I followed - somehow I survived but was then told that we would soon be going up a very very steep hill but not to worry it was only 600 metres - being told not to worry nade me worry ALOT. We headed vertically and caught the slower group. Angela later remarked on the contorted look on my face - she wasn't exagerating. Fortunately I'd invited Mr. Ego to run with me so I managed to ignore the fact that my lungs were exploding, my legs were ready to fall off but when the lactic migrated to my arms - my arms for goodness sake, then I started asking myself whether the Germans measured 600 metres the same as the rest of the world.
At last it came to an end and I managed a third place again which satisfied Mr. Ego - clearly the worst (or the best, whichever way you looked at it) was over. We then had a 20 minutes run with both groups together to the end. This has to go down as one of the most exilerating and enjoyable runs I've ever done or ver likely to do - AWESOME. Thanks to Angela and the running club.
Not much English was spoken but enough to get by and the people we met were absolutely delightful - which I must say hs been my experience of Germans throughout my life.
Angela briefed me that the group would split into two groups after an initial warm up - a fast group and slower group - she assured Shilpa and I that we could chose which to go with. However, as we were being introduced I heard the word "Ironman" escape from her lips, there were a few eyebrows raised and then she turned to me and said you'll be in the fast group!!! It didn't appear that there was a choice any longer.
We were soon jogging along and then we were off road and then off off road, running over roots, through mud and up and down tiny tracks - it was wonderful (if not a little wet). We then split off and headed up what I thought was a mountain (little did I know this was just warm up for the real uphill time trial). Shilpa and Angela went with the more sensible group.
I got to the top in third place but then it got scarey, they headed down hill at break neck speed - so of course I followed - somehow I survived but was then told that we would soon be going up a very very steep hill but not to worry it was only 600 metres - being told not to worry nade me worry ALOT. We headed vertically and caught the slower group. Angela later remarked on the contorted look on my face - she wasn't exagerating. Fortunately I'd invited Mr. Ego to run with me so I managed to ignore the fact that my lungs were exploding, my legs were ready to fall off but when the lactic migrated to my arms - my arms for goodness sake, then I started asking myself whether the Germans measured 600 metres the same as the rest of the world.
At last it came to an end and I managed a third place again which satisfied Mr. Ego - clearly the worst (or the best, whichever way you looked at it) was over. We then had a 20 minutes run with both groups together to the end. This has to go down as one of the most exilerating and enjoyable runs I've ever done or ver likely to do - AWESOME. Thanks to Angela and the running club.
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
We're on Holiday
On Saturday I had my last ride with the group for a while and then back home to chill out and pack. Sid and Seb had a late afternoon nap in the hope that they'd stay awake until we took off for Frankfurt at midnight - then the hope was that they'd sleep until we landed or almost. Amazingly the plan worked a treat, daddy even got to watch the movie "Ironman" (strangely not a piece of Lycra in the whole movie) and Kung Fu Panda - cool!
My sister, Angela and brother-in-law, Marcus, had kindly driven 3 hours to collect us from Frankfurt and took us back to the Black Forest. Spent the day chilling out and then ate a huge bowl of spaghetti we then went for a run through the forest with Angela and Shilpa - great idea but eating the spaghetti first wasn't such a good idea. We survived 5.5k and felt a million dollars.
I then ran again the next morning, evening and then again this morning - 40k under my belt already - the plan is to exceed 300k in three weeks plus a bit of swimming and biking. Running with Angela's running club this evening and then going to make my nephew Jan suffer tommorrow morning on another 11k jaunt.
Weather is awful today, pouring with rain from the moment we woke up and pretty cold for us - we're loving it - the air is pure elixir and the scenery straight out of the Sound of Music - to top it all I had the biggest ice-cream sundae that man has ever conceived of yesterday with Rocher chocolates - life is good.
Sid, Seb and Shilpa are loving every second of it too, the boys are just lapping it up.
My sister, Angela and brother-in-law, Marcus, had kindly driven 3 hours to collect us from Frankfurt and took us back to the Black Forest. Spent the day chilling out and then ate a huge bowl of spaghetti we then went for a run through the forest with Angela and Shilpa - great idea but eating the spaghetti first wasn't such a good idea. We survived 5.5k and felt a million dollars.
I then ran again the next morning, evening and then again this morning - 40k under my belt already - the plan is to exceed 300k in three weeks plus a bit of swimming and biking. Running with Angela's running club this evening and then going to make my nephew Jan suffer tommorrow morning on another 11k jaunt.
Weather is awful today, pouring with rain from the moment we woke up and pretty cold for us - we're loving it - the air is pure elixir and the scenery straight out of the Sound of Music - to top it all I had the biggest ice-cream sundae that man has ever conceived of yesterday with Rocher chocolates - life is good.
Sid, Seb and Shilpa are loving every second of it too, the boys are just lapping it up.
Tuesday, August 05, 2008
Ride and Fly Alert - Sat 9th & Sun 10th August
Ride on Saturday will be to Salak again via the Putrajaya elevated highway. Start time 6:30 at MegaMall. I'll be riding from home and adding as many k's to the route as my legs will allow as this will be the last ride for me prior to going on holiday - without my bike - boo hoo boo hoo!Sunday morning many of Team Tri Hard will be doing the Adidas King of the Road 22.7km run - thankfully my travel agent has tremendous foresight and compassion and I'll be flying to Germany shortly after midnight (Saturday/Sunday) with the family. Enjoy and good luck team.
Monday, August 04, 2008
Shimano's electronic Dura-Ace
By Lennard ZinnShimano has formally announced plans to release Dura-Ace Di2, a new electronic shifting option for the all-new 7900 series Dura-Ace, in January.
Composed of dual control shift/brake levers, front derailleur, rear derailleur, a wiring harness and battery pack, the new Dura-Ace Di2 7970 components integrate with components from the upcoming 7900 series Dura-Ace group, while adding only 68 grams.
Electrically actuated shifting eliminates cable friction and contamination. The shifters are now merely switches, which also allows for creative placement of optional remote shifters while reducing the weight and profile of the main shifting units. For example, a rider could place remote switches out on the ends of aero bars as well as on the top of drop bars near the stem.
Derailleur movements are computer-controlled and servo motors in both front and rear derailleur create synchronized shifts.
Click here for the whole article
Week/Weekend Overview
Probably for the first time this year I am in the groove! I'm actually motivated and excited about training and I'm doing it consistently. Consistency is the key to success without a doubt. If you don't have the miles in the legs then that 10k run (last leg of an Olympic distance triathlon) is going to bite you (it did for me at PD). The best cyclists are always the ones that do the most kilometres (simple mathematics that one!) and swimming - well in my experience it's not about the distance or the time in the pool (they certainly count for a lot) but for me I have to have a least one long coached session a week, a quality session! Plus I have to do additional weight work as my upper body is weak as a lemon pie.PD was a wake up call, I'm now dropping the Kg's and I've completed two mega weeks of training and kicked off my third week with a 60k ride before work this morning - I'm tired but feeling good. It probably helps that Shilpa, Sid, Seb and I are off on our holidays on Saturday night so getting in as much cycling time as I can before 3 weeks forced "rest" is easy.
Last week I managed 6 swims (including my coached session), 6 rides (including a rather painful, hilly and lonely long ride - enjoyable though) and 6 runs including a long run on Sunday where a clocked a 45 minute 10k on the return leg. It's all looking good so far - Rebuilding for the second half of the season!
I'm hoping to do a few swims on holiday and run at least once a day. I might even get a few rides in on borrowed bikes - I'll be taking my shoes and a pair of pedals in that hope anyway.
I'll be missing the Desaru half Ironman distance race - a race that always chews me up and spits me out so I'm not too disappointed but good luck to all you guys doing that.
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
INSPIRATIONAL
Thanks to Sofian for this, it is truly inspirational and should make the average person be ashamed whenever they say "I can't do something because...". This clip demonstrates that however long the odds, however great the handicap (or in most people's cases the imagined handicap) there is always a way - you just have to believe it, find it come what may and then work hard enough at it.
If this doesn't inspire you and bring a tear to your eye then you're reading the wrong blog.
If this doesn't inspire you and bring a tear to your eye then you're reading the wrong blog.
Ride & Run Alert - Sat 2nd & Sun 3rd August
Saturday 2nd Ride
Ulu Yam is the destination this week.
Meeting points:
True Fitness, Sri Hartamas. Time: 6.15am.
Traffic lights at right hand turn for Ulu Yam shortly after Batu Caves. Time 7:15am.
Distance from KL about 90k (round trip)
Distance from Kajang exactly 143k (round trip)
Sunday 3rd Run
Sri Hartamas
Meeting Point: Bukit Aman Carpark 6:15am.
Distance about 21k (round trip)
Ulu Yam is the destination this week.
Meeting points:
True Fitness, Sri Hartamas. Time: 6.15am.
Traffic lights at right hand turn for Ulu Yam shortly after Batu Caves. Time 7:15am.
Distance from KL about 90k (round trip)
Distance from Kajang exactly 143k (round trip)
Sunday 3rd Run
Sri Hartamas
Meeting Point: Bukit Aman Carpark 6:15am.
Distance about 21k (round trip)
Thursday, July 24, 2008
PD Olympic Distance Triathlon - 20th July 2008
So the Sprint Distance went OK the day before and I'm feeling pretty good for the OD race (albeit a bit over race weight).
I hadn't stayed for the briefing the previous night as it was getting too late and I needed my beauty sleep (see the pictures - I need a lot of it). Sadly I didn't sleep well at all which was not a great start - Oh well ay!
I managed to get an idea of the course from people at the start, it was the usual swim and bike but a new run. I wasn't too worried about that, I knew it was going to be a struggle by that point but I was working on my usual philosophy - DENIAL.
I had an awesome swim (for me anyway), out in 26 minutes, managed to stay focused from start to finish (something I've been aiming to improve on - I didn't manage it in Singapore but was very pleased here).
Patrick ran past me in transition, WOW, I've never beaten him in a swim before, looking good I thought. Not only that but Don was just behind too.
A quick transition and I was out on the bike, I started picking people up right from the start and I doubted that I'd see Don or Patrick again - how wrong I was! Things were really picking up speed-wise and I looked back to see them both there - darn!
A few K's into the bike and I was starting to look forward for Iwata's pack, but then suddenly there he was on the side of the road - he'd just remounted and was struggling to pick up speed on the hill. Apparently, someone had caught his back wheel and he'd had to stop to realign it.
I wasn't going to hang around and let him jump on the back of the pack so I danced on the pedals and upped the pace - not only had I already got Patrick and Don in the pack (my age-group in case you hadn't worked it out) but the Thai guy that I narrowly beat the day before was with us plus at least 3 or 4 other 40 year olds amongst the now swelling pack of bikes. I also knew that the winner of the Singapore race was way out in front, as was Razani plus my old nemesis Ip from Macau. Goodness knows how many others in between - who told all these "stars" to come and do this race!
I decided to bide my time and try a breakaway after 45 minutes ride time. Coincidence or what, 10 seconds before my attack and Patrick flew off the front. That was enough for me, I went with him up a long ascent and then pushed the pace down the other side. He then took the pace on again up the next rise. We were really hammering it and I doubted that anyone would be within 100m of us behind. I looked back and would you believe it, the Thai guy was right on my wheel and the massive pack was strung out for several hundred metres but with everyone pretty much still in some sort of draft zone.
OK, I got the message so I literally slid to the back of the behemoth pack where I met Olly from the British Consulate. We had a very pleasant chat while cruising along at about 40kph until about 1k from transition, at which point a made my apologies and eased to the front of the group - the last thing you want is to be coming into transition at the back of 40 bikes.
The tactic worked well and I was out of transition in seconds and running and remarkably fresh legs. I was up to speed straightaway (no wobbly bike legs today). The first 5k was up hill to a turnaround and then back the same way - it was hot and going to get hotter. After about 2 1/2k I heard the inevitable flippty flop of Don's running style and he ever so slowly pulled away from me. Never mind I thought, I'm running well so let's see what happens later.
To cut a painful and disappointing story short soon after the turnaround my lack of run training this year, Singapore Tri the previous weekend and the Sprint race the day before all caught up with me but I've no doubt that what made the real difference was the added kg's I was carrying. 1kg = 3 seconds per k (if you believe the magazines or physics - which I do) and I was 10kg over my race weight which equates to 5 minutes over the 10k run. No only that I later realised that I was horribly dehydrated.
With just 1k to go Patrick ran past me shortly followed by the Thai guy. I finished 7th. Very disappointing on the face of it but I knew my shortcomings for this race, I make no excuses I only had myself to blame. As it happens I thoroughly enjoyed the race and the weekend. Sid and Seb arrived after I'd collapsed for about half an hour so they didn't have to see the worst of it but they did see their Dad pick up his prize RM400 (only RM100 less than I won 2 years ago when I came second - what a pleasant surprise).
Back to the hotel for lunch and then a gentle drive home well before it was dark - awesome weekend.
Postscript - if you're 40-49 and intending to race in a forthcoming Triathlon, be warned, I'm on a diet, I'm motivated, I'm training hard AND I'M LOVING IT.
I hadn't stayed for the briefing the previous night as it was getting too late and I needed my beauty sleep (see the pictures - I need a lot of it). Sadly I didn't sleep well at all which was not a great start - Oh well ay!
I managed to get an idea of the course from people at the start, it was the usual swim and bike but a new run. I wasn't too worried about that, I knew it was going to be a struggle by that point but I was working on my usual philosophy - DENIAL.
I had an awesome swim (for me anyway), out in 26 minutes, managed to stay focused from start to finish (something I've been aiming to improve on - I didn't manage it in Singapore but was very pleased here).Patrick ran past me in transition, WOW, I've never beaten him in a swim before, looking good I thought. Not only that but Don was just behind too.
A quick transition and I was out on the bike, I started picking people up right from the start and I doubted that I'd see Don or Patrick again - how wrong I was! Things were really picking up speed-wise and I looked back to see them both there - darn!
A few K's into the bike and I was starting to look forward for Iwata's pack, but then suddenly there he was on the side of the road - he'd just remounted and was struggling to pick up speed on the hill. Apparently, someone had caught his back wheel and he'd had to stop to realign it.
I wasn't going to hang around and let him jump on the back of the pack so I danced on the pedals and upped the pace - not only had I already got Patrick and Don in the pack (my age-group in case you hadn't worked it out) but the Thai guy that I narrowly beat the day before was with us plus at least 3 or 4 other 40 year olds amongst the now swelling pack of bikes. I also knew that the winner of the Singapore race was way out in front, as was Razani plus my old nemesis Ip from Macau. Goodness knows how many others in between - who told all these "stars" to come and do this race!
I decided to bide my time and try a breakaway after 45 minutes ride time. Coincidence or what, 10 seconds before my attack and Patrick flew off the front. That was enough for me, I went with him up a long ascent and then pushed the pace down the other side. He then took the pace on again up the next rise. We were really hammering it and I doubted that anyone would be within 100m of us behind. I looked back and would you believe it, the Thai guy was right on my wheel and the massive pack was strung out for several hundred metres but with everyone pretty much still in some sort of draft zone.
OK, I got the message so I literally slid to the back of the behemoth pack where I met Olly from the British Consulate. We had a very pleasant chat while cruising along at about 40kph until about 1k from transition, at which point a made my apologies and eased to the front of the group - the last thing you want is to be coming into transition at the back of 40 bikes.The tactic worked well and I was out of transition in seconds and running and remarkably fresh legs. I was up to speed straightaway (no wobbly bike legs today). The first 5k was up hill to a turnaround and then back the same way - it was hot and going to get hotter. After about 2 1/2k I heard the inevitable flippty flop of Don's running style and he ever so slowly pulled away from me. Never mind I thought, I'm running well so let's see what happens later.
To cut a painful and disappointing story short soon after the turnaround my lack of run training this year, Singapore Tri the previous weekend and the Sprint race the day before all caught up with me but I've no doubt that what made the real difference was the added kg's I was carrying. 1kg = 3 seconds per k (if you believe the magazines or physics - which I do) and I was 10kg over my race weight which equates to 5 minutes over the 10k run. No only that I later realised that I was horribly dehydrated.
With just 1k to go Patrick ran past me shortly followed by the Thai guy. I finished 7th. Very disappointing on the face of it but I knew my shortcomings for this race, I make no excuses I only had myself to blame. As it happens I thoroughly enjoyed the race and the weekend. Sid and Seb arrived after I'd collapsed for about half an hour so they didn't have to see the worst of it but they did see their Dad pick up his prize RM400 (only RM100 less than I won 2 years ago when I came second - what a pleasant surprise).
Back to the hotel for lunch and then a gentle drive home well before it was dark - awesome weekend.Postscript - if you're 40-49 and intending to race in a forthcoming Triathlon, be warned, I'm on a diet, I'm motivated, I'm training hard AND I'M LOVING IT.
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