Trying new things

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It was not so long ago on the first of Jan 2011, my close friend from university, Siew Noi, invited me to Pulau Ubin. She rented a chalet there and invited a few of our friends including some hostel mates of ours back in the NUS KEKR days. As usual she had some surprizes. She got hold of a wake boarding operator to come over. The instructor Paul managed to get her 9 year kid to wakeboard and it looked fun. I have never tried it before and I gave it a go. It was not easy and some of my friends failed to stand while the boat pulled us out of the water. I failed too at first but after a few attempts, I managed to get one run standing on the wakeboard for around 80m before I lost the grip and ended in the water. I was 47 years old then and it felt great learning something new. In 2014 a cycling trip with my athletes to Ubin and the chalets are no longer in operation. How things can change in just a few years.

I am afraid of heights but in 2014 at the age of 50, I managed my first attempt at things like jumping from the height of tall coconut trees, flying fox, jumping from the 2nd level of a boat and rock climbing all in less than a week. With my colleague, Aaron Subair, we led a group of engineering students to an outdoor leadership camp at Bintan. It was fun and when the students attempted the outdoor activities I gave it a try too. It is amazing how small achievements can give one so much joy. I had a great time with the students and even managed a morning run on the beach when most were asleep.

 

With knowledge and exercise, one can delay the aging process. I am not the fittest person at my age but I am fortunate to not be like many of my friends who are saddled with weight related health issues such as diabetes, high blood pressure and heart diseases. The health problems is probably a product of 24x7 connection via mobile in this modern 21st century lifestyle. Some are already changing their lifestyle and I hope the majority do as health care cost is increasing at a very fast rate and waiting for something to break down is not the right solution even if one had the money.
I only run an average of twice a week although I am on the track 6 times a week to help my athletes. Even with the little time spent exercising, my 2.4km run time of  10:25 is within gold timing for those above 50 and better than most students in NYP. I wish I could spend more time for myself and run a bit more. It may just happen in 2015 if I stopped coaching.




I just bought a fruit juicer and blender which I hope to help improve my nutritional intake and help some of my athletes. It is healthier to eat the fruits raw but a bit more fun to work with the juicer. Stay tuned for more as I experiment with a mix of different fruits and vegetables. I am using the recipes in the book “The funcky fresh juice book” and it is occupying my two weeks break from teaching.

Make small changes and it will bring much joy in the long run.
Hoping for a healthy 2015 for everyone!


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