恒心,耐心,决心

This few weeks have been really shitty and as pessimistic as i try not to be i foresee the next week weeks being the same. some time back a friend of mine sent me a msg which i kept really chose to my heart. each time i feel like giving up i read it, take a deep breath and push on. I am sharing this because i hope it will help you in whatever plight you maybe in.

"Many of life's failures are people who did not realise how close they were to success when they gave up."

I may not succeed but I would not fail.

明天会更好

Juz had my reality checked. I'm not good enough and may never be good enough.

I juz got this from a fren. After reading it, it made me wonder if I really want to achieve dreams or am i merely saying things for the sake of saying them. I feel that this has been me of late a person who "sound like they're committed to being the best they can be. They say all the right things, make all the proper appearances. But when it comes right down to it, they are looking for reasons instead of answers."
Maybe its time to change.

I Can't Accept Not Trying

I visualized where I wanted to be, what kind of player I wanted to become,
I knew exactly where I wanted to go, and I focused on getting there.
Michael Jordan

On Fears

I never looked at the consequences of missing a big shot. Why? Because when you think about the consequences you always think of a negative result.

Some people get frozen by that fear of failure. They get it from peers or from just thinking about the possibility of a negative result. They might be afraid of looking bad or being embarrassed. I realized that if I was going to achieve anything in life I had to be aggressive. I had to get out there and go for it. I don't believe you can achieve anything by being passive. I'm not thinking about anything except what I'm trying to accomplish. Any fear is an illusion. You think something is standing in your way, but nothing is really there. What is there is an opportunity to do your best and gain some success. If it turns out my best isn't good enough, then at least I'll never be able to look back and say I was too afraid to try. Failure always made me try harder the next time.

That's why my advice has always been to think positive and find fuel in any failure. Sometimes failure actually just gets you closer to where you want to be. If I'm trying to fix a car, every time I try something that doesn't work, I'm getting closer to finding the answer. The greatest inventions in the world had hundreds of failures before the answers were found.

I think fear sometimes comes from a lack of focus or concentration. If I had stood at the free-throw line and thought about 10 million people watching me on the other side of the camera lens, I couldn't have made anything. So I mentally tried to put myself in a familiar place. I thought about all those times I shot free throws in practice and went through the same motion, the same technique that I had used thousands of times. You forget about the outcome. You know you are doing the right things. So you relax and perform. After that you can't control anything anyway. It's out of your hands, so don't worry about it.

On Commitment

I approached practices the same way I approached games. You can't turn it on and off like a faucet. I couldn't dog it during practice and then, when I needed that extra push late in the game, expect it to be there. But that's why a lot of people fail. They sound like they're committed to being the best they can be. They say all the right things, make all the proper appearances. But when it comes right down to it, they are looking for reasons instead of answers. If you're trying to achieve, there will be roadblocks. I've had them, everybody has had them.

But obstacles don't have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don't turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it.
  

So as we start a brand new week, i stumbled upon this very interesting article. what the author said really spoke to me and i'm gonna try hanging on to his words, maybe this week will be better. to find out what he really said read on, maybe u can find something that speaks to u too. 

The Secret of World-Class Performance

by Josh Kaufman

 

“If a man loves the labour of his trade, apart from any question of success or fame, the gods have called him.” – Robert Louis Stevenson

I haven’t gone for a run since high school.

My family moved to New London (a little one-stoplight town in northern Ohio) just before I started 7th grade. To meet some friends, my mom suggested that I join the cross country team.

For such a small town, the New London High School cross country team was very good – the year before I moved, the high school boys team won the state championships. The coach, Bob Knoll, was one of the most respected high school coaches in the state.

Before joining the cross country team, my previous running experience was limited to playing recreational soccer. I was a dorky little kid (4′ 10″) with thick glasses, and as my first cross country practices started, I did my best to stomp my way down the pavement and try not to vomit all over my clunky, non-broken-in running shoes.

I was miserable.

My Short Long Distance Running Career

Bob Knoll is a man who, in private, has a heart of gold. Some of my best memories from cross country are when I had to miss a practice in the morning, and my mom would drop me off at his house in the evening for a make-up workout. He’d pedal beside me on his bike, and we’d chat as we wove our way through the Ohio countryside.

During normal practices, however, Bob Knoll was merciless. He was ultra-competitive, tough as nails, and did his best to foster a competitive attitude among the team. I knew he liked me as a person, but it was clear he didn’t think highly of me as a competitor.

Truthfully, I wasn’t competing at all – I didn’t care. I didn’t care if people were faster than me. I didn’t care if someone else won the race. I didn’t care if I had to stop to catch my breath instead of running the whole way. Running was always hard work for me – something that must be endured until it was over.

I stayed on the cross country team until 9th grade. During my last year on the team, I wanted to get better, so I started pushing myself. I still hated it, but I thought that if I could tough it out, I’d improve.

My body rebelled against me. I developed exercise-induced asthma – after running for 10 minutes, my lungs would start to close. I injured the bones in my left foot, and was out for two weeks. When I tried to get back into shape after my foot recovered, I pushed myself so hard that I passed out on the side of the road, and was eventually found unconscious by one of the members of the girls team, who was running a different route.

I quit.

Hurdles Can’t Stop Me

Track & Field was much better – I ran hurdles, which appealed to me. I was just crazy enough to think that sprinting full-speed toward a waist-high barrier was fun. I wasn’t spectacular, but I won my fair share of races. It was challenging and a little quirky, so I kept doing it, and I got better a little each day.

The day of my senior conference track meet was the last day I laced up my running shoes. I haven’t run for nine years… until this past Saturday.

Born to Run

To change things up a bit, I’ve been listening to the audio version of Born to Run, a book about ultra-marathoners. Most of the book focuses on a tribe of native Mexicans called the Tarahumara, who are arguably the world’s best long-distance runners. The author, Christopher McDougall, spent years trying to figure out how he could run without constantly hurting himself. His search led him into the middle of Copper Canyon, the remote and treacherous wilderness the Tarahumara call home.

The Tarahumara don’t train for peak performance. They don’t wear high-tech running shoes. They don’t optimize their diet – more often than not, they smoke and pound corn beer minutes before the “race” begins. They aren’t “in it to win it” – there’s a bit of friendly competitiveness, but hard-core competition is unheard of.

The Tarahumara simply start running, and by the time they stop, several hours (or days) have passed and they’re tens (or hundreds) of miles from where they started. It’s not uncommon for them to run the equivalent of several marathons back-to-back, take a break, then go for another run.

The Tarahumara don’t do a lot of things, but what they do is essential: they just relax and enjoy the feel of moving.

You’ve Got to Enjoy It

Coach Joe Vigil has been studying peak performance in distance runners for decades, and has trained several Olympians. Over the years, he’s come to the conclusion that optimizing biomechanics can only do so much. To become world-class, you’ve got to enjoy it.

One of the things that struck me while reading Born to Run was the section in which Coach Vigil talks about the influence of sponsorship money on distance running. Long distance running started as something a few crazy people did just for fun. As the sport gained attention, sponsorship dollars starting flowing, with a surprising result: performance suffered. For many people, running stopped being fun and started being work.

One of the first things Vigil does is encourage his runners to make running fun again. Here’s his perspective on how sponsorship deals stack up against enjoying yourself:

“There are two goddesses in your heart: the Goddess of Wisdom and the Goddess of Wealth. Everyone thinks that they need to get wealth first, and wisdom will come. So they concern themselves with chasing money. But they have it backwards. You have to give your heart to the Goddess of Wisdom, give her all your love and attention, and the Goddess of Wealth will become jealous, and follow you.”

Wise words from a wise man.

“I Think I’ll Go For a Run…”

This past Saturday, I ran a little over three miles – my first distance run in nine years. My only intent was to have fun – and I did!

I ran mostly barefoot (I wore a pair of fun and funky Vibram FiveFingers), so I could actually feel the ground underneath my feet. It was a beautiful day – clear and warm, with a slight breeze – and I wove my way through Central Park, sprinted across the Great Lawn, and ran around the Jacquline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir. I ran at whatever pace I felt like; when I started breathing too hard or felt a cramp coming on, I stopped and walked. There was no competition, no times to beat, nothing to accomplish, and nothing to prove. It was great.

Running was fun again. I never thought I’d say it, but I’m actually looking forward to my next run.

What Does This Have To Do With Business?

Just like distance running, the world of business is often characterized as being ultra-competitive by nature. Here’s an interesting question to consider: does it have to be? Could it be true that uber-competitiveness is a detriment instead of an asset?

Elite performers in every area of life have one thing in common: they really enjoy what they’re doing. Not in the narrow sense of liking to win, but actually enjoying the act of doing the thing they’re good at doing.

Tiger Woods enjoys hitting golf balls, and his control is legendary. Warren Buffett enjoys researching companies to invest in, and he finds them. Lance Armstrong enjoys pedaling his bike up hills, and he’s unbeatable on an incline. Steve Jobs enjoys building cool new computers, and he produces masterpieces. Audra McDonald loves performing in front of an audience, and she wows the crowds. Yo Yo Ma loves playing the cello, and his skills are world-renowned. These superstars don’t “have to” do these things – they want to and they like to, so they do – and do it well.

Think of all of the things you “have to” do right now. What would it look like if you took away the pressure and performance anxiety and maximized the fun?

May you never work another day of your life.

Read more: http://personalmba.com/world-class-performance-secret/#ixzz0T16NW1Pt

 

Tomorrow we start anew. Focus.

Its 2 am and i cant sleep. i cant study too. so what shall i do? this week sucked. its the term break. its suppose to be te time that i can rest and catch up on some work but i haven been able to do either. i cant sleep and that screws up my sleep pattern which in turn makes me sleepy in the day and i cant get any work done. the term started out quite well but in recent week i some how seem to have lost the motivation to do anything. i juz simply go through the motion be it in class or at training. no desire no nothings, juz wasting my life away. this sem is goning to be a long sem. ok let me go read my textbook. hopefully that will put me to sleep.

goodnight or good morning!
(which ever way u choose to see it.)  

I'm not fine. i'm like a duck on a pond. everything looks calm on the surface but underneath its turbulent and frantic. do i like it this way? no i dont. why am i like that? i dont know. its really frustrating, there are so many noises in my head, so many conversation, battles between good and evil, dreams vs reality, pressure vs patience, pserverence vs giving it all up and never looking back again. i can sleep and thats what i really need now. i too need to find answers. answers to what? i dont know, cos i dont know whats going on in my head. i cant hear anything. the only certains in my life now are that tmr the sun will rise and another day will pass. the rest TBD.shit.

Guten Tag,
 
life's fine. its getting really hectic in sch, not sure why. it wasnt this bad last year. as much as i want to be in control i feel like a headness chicken banging my way around aimlessly, but somehow still managing to get my way around. i really need to come up with a plan or i'll neglect  certain modules or readings or whatever i need to do. thats for sch. as for training, everything is fine, getting better. i'm quite surprised with the way i'm progressing n my eagerness to push myself further. the patience part still needs some working on though. i have to learn to be more consistent in whatever i do, and juz have faith that as long as i stay consistent and focused, my effort will pay off. the road is long and the journey has juz  only began, someday, one day everything will be better. faith and patience.

till next time.Danke, Auf Weidersehen.   

Yesterday was pathetic, today was indescribable, tomorrow should be better, it will be better.

Tomorrow will be the first day of school. After three months of contemplating, dreaming, talking, feaing, it all begins again. Last sem started and ended very well. I hope for the same this sem and the next. Time for the talking to stop, we've got work to do. No fear. You can quit and they wont care, but you will always know.

Cheers

To start off, i juz want to say that no amount of words can adequately describe my experiences during this trip. but i'll try. here it goes.

Singapore: had a lovely send off by all the ppl close to us.

Zurich, mellingen: overwhelmed by the hospitality we received. we were treated too well. bike set up was awesome. never in my short live have i set up so many bikes in a single day. i think i'm going to intern at a bike shop next hols, quite fun.

Munich: long awaited, totally awesome. liked the bavarian culture and all its architecture. beer and sausage was good, beer house atmosphere was even better. slept on the floor in THE TENT for one night, cheap thrill. walk walk walk the streets of old town munich, free loaded on bread and sauce at the market. ate too much pastries. sleeper train to amsterdam.

On the sleeper train to amsterdam: talked for half an hour to a turkish welder who shared the same cabin as us. i didnt know germany or turkish. he only knew germany, turkish and one or two words of english so it was hand signs and gibberish for that half an hour. well at least when it came to talking about soccer we had no problems.

Amsterdam: freaking cold and raining. stood in the rain with a rain coat, shorts and sandals FREEZING. this is summer. got to the hotel but got turned away cos we were to early for check in. stumbled upon a library, free loaded on free internet and a chance to seek refuge from the awesome summer weather outside. two words to describe amsterdam, sex and drugs. tried some pancakes, traditional dutch pea soup and some smoked fish dish. got free shots of traditional dutch alcohol from the bar tender. slept in a boat, a super small cabin but it was fun.   

Back to mellingen: finally got to eat some good food and get some good rest. day before ironman switzerland.

IRONMAN SWITZERLAND D-DAY: exciting exciting exciting. totally awesome experience. highlight was the trip up HEARTBREAK hill. have to experience to understand. steep hill, great crowd lining the road partin juz in time for the participant to pass through on by one, ala tour de france mountain stage, great music that had the crowd including me, mich and xiu qing dancing none stop. the crowd hit fever pitch when the participants started their climb up the hill, every rider was cheered on and the noise of the crowd was deafening. awesome. had my man of the match moment when i jumped right into the path of the media motorbike when i spotted the cameraman filming the crowd. singapore has been placed on the ironman world map by an insane supporter. the bike leg too awhile which gave us supporter a breather. finally down to the run. excitement has now turned into fatigue, from being out there all day, and anxiety as i calculated the number of hours left and the pace each one needs to complete on time. everyone completed safely and before the cut off except for melvin who cut it too close. he completed with about 10 minutes to spare. me and norman were getting so worried that i almost took norman's bike to go and find melvin on the run course. end result 5 brave men, 5 IRONMAN.

Zurich to Venice: Drama drama drama. we got the train times wrong and ended up rushing out of the house and to the station. sweat sweat sweat. but we made it.

Venice: beautiful. streets were narrow and small and windy. but with jason ' the navigata' yip, finding our way around was a piece of cake. had the best museum tour ever thanks to jason 'the tour guide' yip. watched battle of the bands at st marco square every night that we were there. calling out to all gelato fans, venice is the place to be. gelato for breakfast, gelato for lunch, gelato for dinner. no money to buy lunch? no sweat, grab a gelato, fills your stomach in an instant.

Florence: nothing much for me cos i dont shop. started to fall sick which didnt feel great. the travelling, lack of sleep and the weather was starting to take its toll. the trip to pisa was fun but abit disappointing. took many outrages photos withs the leaning tower. had pizza almost every night cos its cheap.

Rome: the city of ruins. there were ruins everywhere even at the basement of some apartment block. palantino hill, colossium, circus maximus ruins ruins and more ruins. u name it we most likely visited it. for a change we decided to go watch the fina world championship which were in town. the swimming program had not started yet so we watched the water polo prelims. the atmosphere was fantastic, especially the match between the home team ITALIA and the usa. best water polo match ever. the atmosphere was electrifying. found a really nice kebab place near our hotel. had kebab for dinner ever night and never felt tired of it. superb. highlight of rome was the vatican city tour. best tour ever. the vatican city juz took my breath away. all the painting and juz the feel of the entire place was wonderful. surprise of rome was peeking through a key hole a the gates of the ambassy to the knights of malta. an unconspicuous key hole which had an unobstructed view of the dome of st peter's basilica, magnificent.

Paris and Le Tour: paris was juz beautiful and staying in the red light district within walking distance of the moulin rouge made it more exciting. the trip to the louvre was great. never been into such a huge museum before. we hadnt even completed one out of the three wings and we were exhausted. had the best crepes meal for one our dinners. both the food and the company made that meal one of the best. chillaxing on the lawns of the effiel tower was awesome. totally laid back. Le tour was coming to town, found an excellant spot new the final kilometer banner and stood there for 5 whole hours. seeing the cyclist and the caravan pass was really magnificant. to be frank we couldnt really see the cyclist as they were really going fast.

London: final stop before coming home. very rush. had only a day and a half. met my cousin on the first day and they treated us to dinner. really expensive, and it was only pub food. second day was all shopping, at least of mich that is. i wandered the streets of london. oxford street, regent street, soho, oxford circus, paddinton circus and alot of places i dont really know. juz kept walking and walking. spent one hour in borders looking for something to read. borders is leaving the uk and everything was 50% off. cool. managed to get two books.we found the best cinnamon rolls ever. tasty and it was dripping with cinnamon sauce, cool. so short time so much to do so much left undone. back again next time

A380 from london to singapore: quite cool to take the A380. all the excitement soon faded when we found out that we were allocated seats at the back of the plane NEXT TO THE TOILET! Outstanding. the mixture of food smell from the pantry and the smells of the toilet is something to behold. it didnt reall help that there was one boy who almost puked and someone had a stomachache. what a pleasent flight. 

Singapore: Home at last.    

Before this trip, i had doubts whether i had made the right decision to go on the trip or not. but looking back, i think i absolutely made the right choice. it had been a real eye opener, learnt so much about other cities, about history and about human nature. how exciting. now its back to work after a three week lay off and have to start preparing for school. lastly juz want to thank all those who made this trip such a wonderful experience.

 till next itme.

A good coach is not one that screams and shouts encouragement during training or during race, thats a cheerleader. A good coach is one who sits or stand by that side quietly observing his charges, observing their every move, every action, every reaction, every emotion, thereby understanding each individual and their needs. understanding someone by mere observation and able to instantly know how his charges are doing is an art that cant be learnt. its something you've got or you dont. what happened today surpised me. i'll be patient and never question his ability for it was trust and honour that made me stay on this boat when others though it would sink. to me this boat is shaky but its floating higher than ever before while the rest who abandoned it start to sink.     

Baby steps, bady steps, baby steps. We dont have to get too greedy any one year. Only time will tell, it will happen. Please remember that.

Hello, my name is liang lemin. i am 22 but my body aches as if i'm 72. i'm growing old.

Today i finally go back on my bike to go out for a spin. Have not touched the bike since bintan and hence it felt great to ride my bike again. After a very exciting Giro and a not so interesting Dauphine i've been itching to get back on the bike but for various reasons i did not do so. finally today presented a chance for my to start riding again. After the accident i lost abit of confidence on the road and was very tentative about today's ride but all went well i guess. Despite a little glitch this morning, the ride still went on. really enjoyed every bit of it.

This few days have been very nice. Sunday's run a macrhite made me rediscover the joy of running that i had somewhat lost.haven been to macrhite for some time. forgot how enjoyable and free it is to run there. on monday i finally had a good swim session, haven had one session where i didnt get pissed with myself for a long time now. today's bike renewed my confidence and desire to ride again. after bintan nothing has gone my way, everything seemed to suck especially in training, i hadnt lost sight of what i want, i think of it everyday, but i just lost the desire to pursue it. but now i think things are starting picking up (hopefully) and hopefully i am still on track achieve the goals that i have set for myself this year.

"its ok to not get what i want. but not ok not to do what i promised to do. and even if i quit now all i'll gain is maybe read a few more books, bake more, do more useless stuff. while if i train hard and right, i'll grow and learn. and i'll have less regrets if i carry through what i planned to do instead of quiting." - The former lady boss.

So keep dreaming and working to your dream. Dont destroy something before you even created it.

WARNING: To those going for the ride this saturday, THE FLASH IS BACK and he is ready to hurt so you better be too.

cheers.


 

Hello ppl, i haven been posting because i have nothing to say.anyhow i just found something to say so here it goes. this hols has not been going as i've planned. well plans are just plans and we have to adapt to the situation whatever cames our way. so after the total break down in bintan, i came back, managed to get sick and now i think i've recovered but somehow my body tells me otherwise. my it band is starting to become very tight and that is keeping me off running. i had planned to train full time this hols but i ended up being a full time bum instead. i'll be off to europe in july, really looking forward to it since europe has always been a fantasy and now i'm going to be able to realise this fantasy. i'll also be going to witness my first ironman. it'll be sometime before i come close to doing an ironman or even a 70.3, i still have a lot to iron out in the OD races so when i'm done and i think i'm ready i'll take up the challenge of a longer distance. lastly, maybe because of my boredom at home i've started to develop a taste for scottish bagpipes and drums, do check it out on youtube, not bad.

On a side note, after that dramas of the recently concluded Giro D'italia, this month's Dauphine Libere is kinda boring, not as exciting. hope Le tour will be more exciting. last point, i hope to complete my first tour of friendship in 2 years time.

till i have something to say.
cheers. 

After a week of sighing, brooding, sulking, wondering what if and what could have been, i think its time to move on.
We've got bigger fish to fry.

Juz got back from bintan. I really screwed up my race. Morale is quite low.

Swim: 29:23

Bike: 1:13:56

Run: 1:03:03

Total: 2:47:34

4^th in age cat.

Swim: the swim was ok. I know that i wasn’t ready for a fast swim so i mainly focused on maintaining my stroke and not trashing. Cut my toe during the plunge in during the swim start. very lucky not to get stung by the jellyfish floating around one of the turning bouys. Came out of the swim 5sec behind the leader.

Bike: haven been riding consistently so suffered alot on the bike. Had backache all 40km of the bike. Don’t know whether is it bike fit or juz poor fitness.bike course was rolling with long gradual climbs, something like desaru. Kept a constant 80-90rpm all the way, my rear sensor decided to malfunction during the race so could not read my speed or the distance i've travelled after 16 km. i  could not keep up with a huge group that formed and lost at least 4 mins to the leader on the bike.

Run: started the run well, managed to get into stride but i was really tired after the bike. Started out on a 4min per km pace. Was very comfortable. Managed to move into 2^nd place by 3km and build a sizable gap on the 3^rd place. Was very strong on the 1^st 5k loop. Starting the second loop i decided to pace my self and not overheat and explode. But still tried to maintain a 4 min pace. But i could feel that i was startly to suffer and slow down. Timings dropped to 4.30 pace. By 6 km i was already struggling to climb the hills, dropped to 5min pace. By 7 km i was struggling to do 5min pace. Dropped to 3^rd place. By 9 km, i had nothing left in me. No strength to run. Tried to slow jog but all i could do was walk. So i walked the last km of the race. Got passed into 4th place with 800m to go. I really could not find any ounce of energy to even slow jog. Don’t know whether it was the heat or my physical fitness or my mental fitness that caused me to lose. All through out the run i kept pouring water and sponging myself but nothing seemed to work. I kept slowing down from 6km onwards. I had to walk across the finish line and i cried walking every step of the way down the finish chute. I felt very lost, did have the face to meet the team who cheered for me throughout the race, felt as if i let them down with my performance. tried to avoid them but norman managed to grab hold of me and i just broke down. Really upset with my performance.

Throughout the entire race i had high hopes that i could make the podium. i was so focused on doing it that i totally forgot that the actual aim of the race was to see where i stood in terms of fitness and where i stood against my opponents. I'm not upset that i lost the race, maybe a little, i'm more upset at the way i ran the race. i've told myself that i would never DNF any race so i walked all the way to the finish. Walking down the finish really sucked. People all around calling out your name, cheering you on and all i could do was walk to the line. emotionally it was devastating. the feeling really sucked. the only consolation is that i finished.

a special thank you goes out to all those on the trip, junyang and mich for the encouragement and for listening to me sulk after the race. i apologise if i may have spoilt the PK mood in anyway. i had fun. Euskaltel Euskadi!