Caboolture Historical Village 6hr Run

Nothing is harder than running around the same loop, again and again, using the same leg muscles for the entire time, till the time is up.

This is what happened when a trail runner who spends most of his time running up and down trails/mountains, attempts to run the same loop on flat for 6 hours. I thought that my training would more than prepare me for running on flat ground. I was wrong! The repeated impact and strain on the same leg muscles pretty much destroyed my lower body from the third hour onward, and the rest of the run is reduced to a tired and broken man's desperate attempt to complete the time.

I started the first hour on a 13km/h pace. After 30 mins of running, my bowels started grumbling and needed a release. I held off the urge to complete one full hour of running before i rushed to my car and got my vaseline (i also forgot to apply vaseline on my body, which is the worst thing that can happen in any ultra event, ask any ultra-runner why!), and then bolted to the toilet to release! It probably took 7-8 mins to get back on the track again. And then i continued running.

At the end of 2nd hour, I had completed 25km of running. I was thinking to myself, if i could maintain 12.5km/hr of running, by the end of 6hours, i would have done 75km, which would be a massive achievement! Little did i know that my legs were smashed from the the third hour onwards. Even the compression quad and calf sleeves and my Hoka One One shoes did not prevent the onset of fatigue. By the end of 3rd hour, i had finished 37km of running.

From then on, it was a slog all the way. My speed varied between 10.5km/hr to 11.5km/hr. Very occasionally i would do 12km/hr, but this pace only lasted for a short while, before i went back down to ~11km/hr.

Time passed really slowly after that. My legs were crying out for me to stop. I reckon it's a rite of passage for every ultra runner, in that there will come a time in the race where every single cell in your body is screaming for rest, and yet the only thing that is keeping you from stopping is your spirit. I was holding on to God's strength, which shines the brightest in the darkest hour, and just placed one foot ahead of the other. My goal of reaching 75km has pretty much faded away, and now i just wanted to break 70km in this 6 hours.

In the last hour, I took a prolonged rest of about 5-6 minutes in the beginning, only to realise that i have 52 mins to complete 11.5km, if i were to reach 70km. I started to quicken my pace. It is as if i have detached my spirit from my body, and just plodded along with whatever strength that is left.

45mins remaining, I had 10km to go.

22 mins remaining, I had 5km to go.

13 mins remaining, I had 3km to go. There is no way i could do this, I have to pretty much run a close to 4min/km pace if i were to hit 70km. 

My spirit refused to give up! I was asking God to supply me with the strength to run till the time is up, and I would be pleased with whatever result i achieved.

When there was only 2mins30seconds left, I had 1km left. I started sprinting. Finally the clock struck 6pm. The run is over. I completed 69.56km in this entire time in 1st place. The first runner up did ~64km and the second runner up did ~63km. Here is my move.

In a way, I kinda knew that I could have hit 70km if i did not waste my time resting, rushing to the toilet, rushing to my car, and applying vaseline during the run (it should have been done before). Every minute in this 6 hour run counts. Nonetheless, I was happy with the result and how I broke through personal barrier and continued running in the last hour, even though my body has way exceeded the fatigue point. I think this is more important than achieving my target distance.

A big shout out to Deb Nichol, who was doing 24 hour event. (she previously did 6hr run in Feb 2013 and completed 74.66km). We ran past each other multiple times in this event. Her smile, generous spirit and bubbly and cheerful personality really lit up the entire village. She ran 239.54km in the entire 24 hour to break the Australian record!

One last thing to mention - my wife, Rebecca (our cousin from Sydney) and Adena (our friend from Mt Mee) set up a stall selling sushi, spring roll and potato gems in this event. It was a random idea by me because i did not want my wife to wait for me the whole time and i wanted her to have something to do. So we thought selling sushi would be a great idea! Besides, Australians love sushi too! So we pulled together our time, ideas and resources to set up a stall in Caboolture Historical Village. A big thanks to Rebecca, our cousin from Sydney who came all the way here to give us a hand. She really knew how to do business and majority of sales that we had was because of her (other than the fact that the sushi were yummy too)! We gave part of our profit to the Historical Village as a donation for allowing us to use the venue.

All in all, it was a great day of outing for all of us!

The final sprint

Totally spent and exhausted

Again, having my lovely wife by my side means a great deal of difference

Receiving prize from race organiser - Geoff

Our own T-health snack shop!

Change of plan

Sometimes things are just not meant to be. I received news that KL marathon has been postponed to 29 September due to public health concern over haze. Was quite disappointed initially, after i have trained so hard for it. But a while, i thought: well, if God closes one door, He surely will open another. So I have change of plan now. Instead of wasting my hard-earned fitness to natural or man-made events which i have no control, I am going to attempt a Fastest Known Time (FKT) project in some well-known mountains in Malaysia. And I will start with Gunung Nuang.

Fastest known time - as the name suggests, is the the fastest time known to cover a certain distance in a certain place. It is specific to a particular place, as other place with the same distance would have different course profile and elevation gain. You can also call it course record (CR), and it's not transferrable to other terrain or mountain.

Now i am not sure if there is an official FKT in all the mountains in Malaysia. I think in certain well-known ones there are, such as Mount Kinabalu or Mount Nuang. I don't know the FKT is for Nuang, though in the past i have been told by the old folks who live or work there that the FKT is around 2hours30mins, set by a Malaysian commando. Honestly, having climbed Nuang before, i doubt that is humanly possible. It's either it's not true, or the person who did it did not go all the way to the peak.

Anyway whatever it is, i will go try do my fastest time next Monday. I will start the clock right from the entrance to the mountains, go all the way to the peak, and then come down to the same entrance. The entire journey will be recorded in my Suunto Ambit so there is no way i can take shortcuts. While the time that i do may not be a true FKT (that is if i take longer than 2hrs30mins and the commando's timing is actually true), i will still be glad to set a time in this mountain which other people, including myself, can return to beat the time in the future.

There is something mysteriously attractive about mountains. I have that feeling since i was a kid. I remembered in my first ever mountain expedition (Gunung Angsi) led by my school teachers as a 14 year old, I broke away from the group pretty much half way in the expedition and hiked to the peak on my own. (that night, I received a proper scolding from my teachers) Somehow, i feel at home there. It's there i can connect with God the most, in the natural environment, surrounded by the vast wilderness. I suspect that the joy i would have there would far outweigh that of KL marathon. So I am glad. And i am at peace with myself. :)

Preparation for KL marathon

Firstly, i want to apologise for being so inactive in blogging this year. This year has been a massive year for me in my personal life (like getting married), in work (i am working hard to present some scientific papers in conferences and journals), and running. Hence, finding the time to write is difficult and i realise that the longer i stay inactive, the higher the tendency for me to remain so as time passes. But i thought as KL marathon looms around the corner, I just want to give everyone an update of how i  am doing.

The build-up this year has been a gradual, smooth-sailing, almost injuries-free one. I started serious training after our wedding on 23 February, and i slowly increased my mileage to around 100km per week (about 8-10 hours). For the past two years, despite my best effort and intention, i was not able to incorporate speed work and tempo run into my training because the moment i did so, i got injured.  This year however, has been a breakthrough year for me in that i was able to do them regularly. As a result, I have achieved personal best timings in all distances i have never achieved before. After being through countless disappointment and headache in the past due to injuries, I have realised the formula to injury-free is actually quite easy - sandwich these hard work-outs in between the easy ones and make sure you recover adequately before the next hard work-out will most likely prevent injuries from happening. So far, the only nagging injury which pops its ugly head out every now and then is plantar fasciitis of my left foot; but it usually responds well to 1-2 days of trigger point therapy (rolling the sore point on a golf ball).

Last month's Cook's Tour 50km ultra trail marathon was a memorable one. I initially selected this race (and Mt Mee Marathon) as preparatory races for KL marathon (which will be held next weekend), so i didn't have much expectation for it. Since these races were held close to where i live, i thought i would give them a go. Cook's Tour turned out to be a great race for me. I was leading from the start and was followed closely by another NZ runner -  Andrew (who won Wild Horse Criterium 70km this year) all the way till about 20km mark. From there, i slowly pulled away and maintained my lead till the finish, in 1st place at a time of 4:08:59.  The course was challenging, with a good 1053m of ascent and 1073m of descent according to my suunto ambit. (check out the move here). This is my first solo win in Australia.

This picture made me realise i need to cut my hair :D

Crossing the finish line!

One week following the race, my wife and I finally packed our bag and went for our long-awaited Honeymoon in Scandinavia (Sweden, Finland, Norway, Iceland and Denmark). During these two weeks of honeymoon, my training quite understandably took a back seat while my wife and i spent quality time together. We wanted our honeymoon destination to be different from the popular ones, so we chose Scandinavia since we both love nature and sea and mountains/fjords. These two weeks were one of the best times of our lives as we traveled together to some of the most amazing and beautiful places in the world. We also ate a lot in this trip, with buffet breakfast, lunch and dinner in most days of the trip. So not only did i gain some weight, I only managed some minimal training during this period (it was done mostly on treadmill in the hotels).

So from being very fit before the honeymoon, I have lost considerable amount of fitness after the honeymoon. This was worthwhile though, as honeymoon is once in a lifetime! I was back in Malaysia for two days (11-12 June 2013) before I returned to Australia for work. During these two days, I did some running in Taman Bukit Jalil (close to where my wife's family lives and my usual training ground). 10 minutes into the run and i was completely drenched in my own sweat. The heat and humidity again got the better of me. I did a 14km run in what i felt to be a moderate-to-hard pace, but my heart rate monitor says otherwise. It says i was running in extremely-hard pace (average heart rate of 168). This certainly got me worried because the pace was not fast but it is clear that my body was visibly straining.

Since I returned to Australia, I knew I only have two and a half more weeks to KL marathon. Clearly I have a lot of ground to cover but i have to guard myself from over-doing it. So I have to be very smart about the precise mileage, intensity, nutrition and recovery in this period. Under-doing it, I will find myself struggling to finish; and over-doing it, i would either get injured or arrive at the starting line tired. This period is extremely crucial in deciding whether I would achieve my goal in the upcoming KL Marathon.

So what is my goal? Since I knew what a marathon really is, I have always felt that a Sub-3 hour Marathon is impossible for me. If i could not even run under 40 mins for 10km, how is it possible to hold that fast pace for the entire 42km? Now, after all the training i have done and books I have read, I have seen a glimpse of hope that a sub-3 marathon might actually be possible for me.  So yes, I am aiming for a sub-3 marathon in this upcoming race. 

Obviously the heat and humidity are my biggest worries. And have i done enough in this period to regain the fitness that i had before my honeymoon? I am not sure. Coming next weekend, I would have to do my best to run a smart and surrendered race. Smart in the sense that i need do all i can to maintain my body physiologic parameters (blood glucose, hydration, temperature etc) in constant levels, and I also have to be very patient and run a sustainable pace. A surrendered race? Well, this means that I have done everything I can and I am surrendering everything to God Almighty. He will carry me through to the finish line.

Lord, if it's not Your will, I wouldn't have come this far in my running journey. You have my life at the palm of Your hand, so teach me to trust in Your goodness and perfect plan. Help me to do my best to glorify You. In Jesus' name, amen.  

Mt Mee Marathon

It's been four days since Mt Mee Trail Marathon, and i still have to pinch myself to see if it was all real. The aches and fatigue in my lower leg muscles assured me that i was not dreaming.

This year's Mt Mee Marathon (Mt Mee to Dayboro) assembled a decent field of strong runners, with the top three runners from last year's edition (Dayboro to Mt Mee) returning, Greg (a 2:40 marathoner) and Daniel Nunan (whose PB for 5km is 15:19 and he did 9:28 for glasshouse 100km last year) toeing the starting line. For the past two months, I have moved to Mt Mee (as a temporary accommodation before i move to Delaneys Creek at the end of this week). Mt Mee is indeed a training paradise for runners as its hilly terrain and beautiful trails meant that you can a great work out each time you head out.

For this race, i was determined to get my pace right. It's my first marathon since 2011 and i have forgotten how to pace a marathon, and the bonking experience in Pinnacle Classic is something that i don't want to repeat again.

When the race started, all of us settled into a comfortable pace, just running and chatting along. Greg went off with another relay runner and they both disappeared from our view in about 4-5km into the race. I was running with Dan, Richard (1st from last year) and Simon (2nd from last year), and Peter (3rd from last year) joined us soon after. The five of us traded places every now and then, but always staying in sight of one another. The first part is essentially a downhill run for about 10km, and then we started the first steep climb for over 7km.

When we reached the Rocky Hole (the bottom of the first 10km), Dan and I started to make a move away from other runners. From the way Dan was running, you could see a sense of ease in his uphill stride. We chatted a little during then, and i had to work hard to hide my nervousness running beside this runner star. He is the kind of guy that i read about online and in articles, so running next to him is definitely a great and adrenalin-filled experience. He would pull away from me in the uphill, and i would slowly wheel back in the downhill (thanks to the hokas!). At about 15km, we caught Greg and another relay runner. Greg was not enjoying the hills so much, coming from his road marathon background. Dan and i then continued our way to the gantry (17.5km mark) in first and second position.

From the gantry, it was mostly downhill (with a stretch of 1.5km of uphill in it) all the way to the bottom of Mt Mee, where the trail joins into tarmac road (26km mark). Dan and I continued in the same pace, and I tried to run as easy as possible in the downhill to save up for the last 16km of undulating road terrain. We exited the trail at 1:58, and we were now on the road for the last 16km. This is where i thought Dan would just speed off and i would never be able to stick with him.

I was holding my nerve at this point and i told myself i would run 1km at a time. We were doing 4:05-10/km pace then. To my surprise, i was still able to keep up with Dan, and the pace wasn't killing me. I was consciously keeping it under control because i didn't want to lose it halfway and end up having to crawl to the finish line. I wanted to finish the same way i started.

We then reached 34km mark where we did this out and back route for 3.6km. This part has a lot of uphill in it and we both had to slow to a hike in certain part. We then reached the turn-around and much to our horror, Greg was not too far away. Since the trail joins into tarmac, he has been capitalising on his road-running speed and slowly closing the gap. Ahh!

Soon after the U-turn, Dan started complaining about his hamstrings spasms. As a result, he was not able to pick up his speed anymore than what he was doing then. He asked me to go ahead, and with last 4km to go, the thought of winning the race occurred me for the first time in this race.

I mustered all that i have to try to hold off Craig, whom i know was coming strongly after us. Sadly in the last 1km, he overtook me. I tried to catch up but he was going too fast. I have reached my critical point and I had no energy left for the final sprint. Finally, i crossed the finish in 3:13:42, my new personal best for marathon.

Caboolture Road Runners: Me (Left),  Ian - runner up in 10km (middle) and Steve

Simon (runner-up in last year's Mt Mee Marathon)

Daniel (right) and Krista (Daniel's wife)

Greg (middle) and Sarah (Greg's wife)

Honestly, I could not have been happier with this result. I have never thought i would be able to run this time considering the amount of ascent (1034m) and descent (1505m) in this race. I was initially aiming a 3:30 for this race. Also I didn't mind being overtaken in the last part of the race. Being able to run and keep up with Dan is already quite a reward itself. My confidence level has definitely increased and i am now aiming to run a sub-3 marathon in KL Marathon (Malaysia) on 30 June.
   
You can see the move of Mt Mee Marathon here.

No offense here, but bacon is one of the worst food you can have during post-run recovery :D

Simon's son running like a champ!

Men vs horse round 3 (2 days after Mt Mee Marathon)

4.86km (63m of ascent). 18:11. Men won this time by 2 seconds!

Treading in the path of extremism

‘The purpose of a man’s heart is like deep water, but a man of understanding will draw it out.’ Proverbs 20:5

'A man’s steps are from the Lord; how then can man understand his way?' Proverbs 20:24

             The following post is not meant for runners and it’s mainly a sharing of what i am going through spiritually. It may confound Christians and make it seem like I am straying away from God but trust me, this is not the case.

  

              Lately I have been doing a lot of thinking during my run. Is the way I train healthy? Is there a place for competitive running for Christians? Or am I merely striving after wind or chasing my own goals apart from what Christ has for me?  Have I been too extreme in my pursuit of my own hobby? There are no easy answers to these. As there are always two sides to a coin, I can also argue in two different ways. But that’s not really what I am getting at.  I think what I am really asking is: Is God pleased with me and what I am doing? 

              I think about the hours that I put into running and the amount of discipline and sacrifice required.  They are massive. What would God say about them all? If I were to speak liberal, high-achieving modern day Christians, they would probably assure me it’s fine to pursue my own dream, that God gave me this talent for it to be nurtured, that I should do my best to glorify Him (these are the same group of Christians that you see in Australian idol or the X-factor). If I speak to the opposite camp – the conservative, dogmatic group of evangelical Christians, many would undoubtedly comment on how pointless it is to do what I am doing and how my time could have been better spent in reading the bible, praying, being involved in ministry and God’s work (as if running and ministering to fellow runners is not a form of God’s work). In their minds, running, like many other worldly passions, is to be avoided if one is to be serious about his discipleship in Christ.

                If the latter were right, how then would the world know about godly characters such as Eric Liddel (400m Olympic Gold medallist in 1924) and Ryan Hall (current American marathon record-holder), who spent countless hours training in the track and on the road and who, in my knowledge, are both furiously in love with God and His Kingdom’s purpose? How else would the world ever witness the intelligent, genius works of Galileo, Pascal, Newton, Faraday, Paul Brand who also spent numerous hours in their own field of work, studying, experimenting, observing, deducing etc.? Are they guilty of serving two masters – Christ and science, or sport, or medicine? 

Ryan Hall

Eric Liddell

Paul Brand (a missionary doctor who, despite multiple invitations to lead orthopaedic departments or research centres of some of the world's renowned hospitals, decided to spend a third of his career in India working with patients with leprosy)

                If ‘Seek ye first the Kindgom of God and His righteousness’ is strictly interpreted as reading the bible and Christian literature only and doing God’s work in the most traditional sense (i.e serving one another in church, or evangelising to strangers on the street), then many other sincere Christians would be discounted in their service to Christ in their workplace. It is true that if you have interest elsewhere, you may not have as much time reading His Word as compared to say, a person who is a full-time bible college student (a person can only do that much). I will also admit that because of the time I spend in work, studying and running, I don’t have as much time in reading the bible as I would like. But, that doesn’t mean I don’t love God as much, or these things (medicine and running) are more important than God.

              Somehow, it seems like our interpretation of the type of godly activity/work is very much limited to our narrow worldview. If we don’t like music or charismatic worship, we question why other churches are having worship like that of a rock concert with so much noise and lighting. If we don’t appreciate art, we would undermine the Catholic’s emphasis on expression of art in their church architecture. The truth is, God gives each of us a special element of Himself for us to bring it to full expression. Be it art, science, sport, music, they are all special and should be redeemed for His purpose.

               If only you could sneak a peak into the lives of these successful, outstanding folks, to see how they think, to understand what makes them so different from you, and to see that through all of it, they are still very much in love with God. They all work extremely hard, sometimes to the point of obsession (or else how can they be top leaders of their field?), but always guided by biblical principles, as they try their best to balance time between work and spending devoted time with God, though very imperfectly. They are nurturing the gift that God has given them in the most spectacular way, so that the world may see and be amazed by the extraordinariness of God’s people.

                The thing is, if you are only average at your work (I am not saying this in an arrogant or derogatory sense but as matter-of-factly), it will be hard for you to appreciate the heart behind these geniuses. After all, you probably think that it’s good enough for you to be able to recite bible verses and discuss some abstract topics like God’s omnipotence and omniscience, or the subject of free will or salvation on a table with other theologians. Or to end or begin all your conversation with ‘praise God’, ‘thank God’, ‘God will look after you’. Or to cling around Christians only in your holy huddle-muddle and be proud of your Christian accomplishment or service.

              Spiritual maturity is not measured in theological scholarlistic achievement, though meditating God’s Word does play a huge role in keeping you in line with God’s purpose and statutes. It’s the way you live your life, the motivation behind the things that you do, the purpose which you wake up for, how deeply you’d loved, how bravely you’d fought, that you will be judged for when Christ comes again.

  

               Coming back to why I wrote this post… To be very honest, i am not 100% sure if God is pleased with what i am doing. I don't want to be presumptive over this issue and think that my pursuit of this hobby can somehow be 'justified' because i make it sound like it is for God's glory. I fully understand that the heart is deceitful above all things (Jeremiah 17:9), and often times i can't even discern my own motives. There are only three things i can be sure. 1) I love running, 2) I want to do well in it, and 3) I want to do it God's ways and with His strength and wisdom. The challenge then, is for me to remain God-centred and constantly be abiding in Him.

                I know I don’t have a lot of time left in competitive running. Competitive running is taking a lot of hours from my life such that I won’t be able to sustain for a long time (During peak season, I train on average 8-10 hours a week). Next year will probably be my last. Raymun and I still have the massive project of running across Malaysia at the end of next year, which at this point I am not sure if it will come to past. If we are doing the project for self-centred reasons - to fulfil our desire and love for running, then we might as well forget it. We can run in our backyard for this. The only reason big enough for us to pour in our time and effort in planning the entire project is if we could use it to invest into the lives of our fellow countrymen, in helping them understand more about their health.

                My wife and I will have kids one day. When that day comes, I want to focus my time on being a father to them. When Rachel is cooking, instead heading out for a run, I want to sit with them to look after them and sing songs with them. When they are old enough, I want to bring them out for camping and hiking, and to show them a glimpse of God’s glorious creations, to tell them beautiful bible stories and make it real and applicable to them. If they are keen to pick up running, then perhaps we have some common ground to work on!

                Dear Father, bring me to my knees. Bring me back to You when i have strayed away. Hide me in Your love. Preserve me in the midst of trials and temptations. I want to run in the path of Your command, for you have set me free. In Jesus' name, Amen. 

Pinnacle Classic

This is my first official race of the season and I was very excited to see where i stand amongst a field of talented and experienced runners. Pinnacle Classic is extremely intense race with 18 hills to tackle in the course of 18km, hence before the race i have been logging a lot of miles in hilly terrain to prepare my legs for the uphill onslaught.

Prior  to the race, i knew the big three would be there: Ben Duffus (a young 20 year-old guy who has been winning all the races he joined and breaking course records at the same time. His PB for 5000m is 15:35), Caine Warburton (PB of 16:01 in 5000m who has been winning multiple ultra and middle distance races in the last 2 years), and Dave Coombs (the winner of Pinnacle Classic in 2011).

All of these did not matter when the whistle went off, when i led the charge to attack the first hill. I decided that i was going to run with them for as long as i could possibly sustain. I was able to run the first 4-5km next to them, but after that I started to feel I was not able to power up the hills the same way they did. At that time, my heart rate was sitting dangerously high at 171-180. Fearing that i might bonk in the second half, i decided to let them go and i would focus on running my own race. There were lots of cyclists then, and though they blazed past us with their road bike in the downhill, I was able to wheel them in, and even overtake them during the uphill.

I passed the half way point (9km) at 42 minutes. I thought the worst was over, and from then on it would be mostly downhill all the way. I could not have been more wrong. It was downhill for 500m, and then uphill for 200m, down for 600m and up for another 300m. So we continued on in this undulating terrain. Some of the uphills in the second half were extremely steep, and i had to switch on hands-on-knee hiking posture in a couple of occasions.

Unfortunately, going out too fast in the first half meant that my mental and psychological reserve were running low in the second half. I was overtaken by 2 guys in the last 5km (one at approx 13km mark and the other at 16km mark) and i just had no extra energy left to chase them. I mustered whatever i had left to ensure i finish hard and well, in 6th place, with a time of 1:27:27, and a total elevation gain of 790m according to my Suunto Ambit watch. (See the move here). The top three finished in 1:17, 1:19 and 1:21 accordingly.

All in all, it has been a great day out in the trail. Though I think i may have done better in my pacing and uphill running, I am pleased with the performance and i look forward to running with these guys again.

ME leading the charge in the beginning

The top three runners - who are all part of the Kokoda Racing Spirit team

2km more to go (i was eventually overtaken by the topless guy behind)

Male (Ben Duffus) and female winner

A new beginning and a new season (part 2)

For the past 2 months i have remained largely inactive in blogging, my apology for that. This is mainly because i am now a married man, which means i don't have the luxury of time as i would when i was single. Here is just an update of what has been going on lately.

Last month Rachel finally arrived in Australia, and we have moved to a 30-acre farm house in Mt Mee. The owner of the house is paediatric neurologist from the Royal Children Hospital who loves animals. She suffered a silent subdural haemorrhage (bleeding in the brain) which has taken her off work for the rest of the year, so she is spending most of her time here in Mt Mee building a hospice for the really ill children and their families. There are all kinds of animals in this house - Chickens, Guinea Fell (a type of bird), horses, cattles, piglets (to arrive soon), dogs etc. And each morning and evening, Rachel and i had to take turn to feed them. Coming from a nice, comfortable, clean and cosy home in KL, it was a big change for Rachel. Adjusting to a completely foreign environment with a completely different culture has not been easy. She had to spend most her time cleaning up the house, sweeping and mopping the floor, cleaning the kitchen, the bathroom, cooking etc (which again is something that she is not used to). I feel really really sorry for all that she has to go through, and i am really proud that she has been doing her best to stay strong in this period, despite being far away from home and needing to deal with all the household chores.

So what's my current routine like with this new life? I go off to work at 6.25am, come home at around 4pm, spend time with Rachel till around 5.30-6pm, and then i would head for a run (usually an hour) in the dark whilst Rachel prepares dinner, have dinner at 7pm, and then we would spend the rest of the night together. Now that I am in a different phase of life, marriage obviously takes priority over work and running so i only head off for a run if it doesn't eat into our time together (like when she is cooking or sleeping). This means doing most of my run in the evening on week days (in the dark), or early in the morning on weekends whilst she is still sleeping.

I have always dreaded running in the dark. My head-torch went out of battery in a number of occasions such that i had to rely on moonlight to provide me with some lighting on the road. Living in this part of the country also means that there is hardly any street light at all. Hence it has been a eerie and chilly experience, especially when i run past cemetery. Given that I don't have much of a choice, I really have to adjust to being comfortable running in the dark. There were times where i felt a deep sense of peace and calmness, like God is watching over my every footstep and lighting up the way with the stars and moon when my torch has gone off, and those were rare moments. Most times, i am at the edge of my nerve and is hypersensitive to every kind of noise i hear along the way. :( 

Work-wise, i am almost coming to the end of my surgical rotation. This surgical rotation has truly been phenomenal! I have been able to do a lot more in the ward, outpatient and theatre. My bosses and registrars have trusted me enough to allow me to assume responsibility that is beyond my current level of expertise, and this has given me a lot of confidence in tackling more difficult tasks and complicated cases. More than that, it also gave me a strong affirmation that i am on a correct training path, that Surgery is the way to go for me (considering the fact that i have always wanted to be a physician as a student). I have also finished writing up a paper on a case of bilateral obturator hernia and it's now pending publication. I am very grateful to all my colleagues, especially my registrars for teaching me and guiding me in this career pathway. Though there is a hiccup recently in my work, which resulted in me being reprimanded publicly and unfairly by a senior colleague (who himself has demeaning attitude and questionable work ethic), i am thankful for the support that all the other colleagues have shown me. On my personal level, I had learned that there are bitter people in every Specialty (esp in surgery) who are jealous of the progress that others are making, and are out to create obstacles and make life difficult for everyone. God, please give me the strength to forgive him, and the wisdom to learn to deal with difficult colleagues in the future. 

That's all for now. :)

At Pittstop (overlooking Dayboro)

Celebrating Rachel's 27th birthday in Sunshine Coast

Went for a bicycle ride together

Aster (Rachel's sister) came up for a vist

Don't they look alike?

Rachel's new friend - Adena who is a horse-lover

Louise and i

Horse-riding!

Welcome a new member of Tee family - Emin *Dong dong dong*

Best mates - Eli and Joel (my nephews)

Saying Bye to Rachel. She has left for home for a month :(