I had thought it would have been a more active day, but it began with a slow start and despite the great weather outside, lethargy from a slow roll off the bed simply means the rest of the day will be "no go"!
I was very inspired with my meeting and knowing Gary GL Heng - an astounding triathlete and ironman in his own right. It was terrific to have him talk about the Total Immersion programme to fine tune and tune up one's competitive swimming skills for these multi-races. He was adept in describing to me the drills 1 through 4, and emphasised the benefit of focussing on the first two up to full comfort, if the objectives are to be achieved.
I definitely will schedule myself at the pool, early and without any distraction, to take the slow pace of drills 1 and 2... Really can't wait, though, but these couple of days are difficult with the funeral to attend etc.
Anyway, by 3 pm I felt it was going to be a wasted day. Oddly, my whole body ached at one point and my legs just felt like they did not have any control... I knew something was wrong, but felt alert and reasonably energised. So, not to waste the beautiful sunshine, I thought it would be fantastic to take that long walk through Westlake to MacRitchie, and through the trails to Bukit Timah via the famed Rifle Range Road.
The walk itself is worth a full blog, for it held some surprises and had its moments. But I will list two down here: the first was finding another mudslide site, just off the locations WO12 and WO13 (marked concrete wells) on the trail diverting joggers around the Sime Track mudslide area. This mudslide looks very recent (see picture left), and is dangerously close to the ridge which the jogging/hiking trail sits on. The drop is also very precarious and you can hear the sound of the stream gushing beneath the vegetation at the drop below.
The other surprise occured as I crossed over the Rifle Range Flyover and hiked down the "S" curving road towards Mayfair Park/Bukit Timah. Then I spotted it: it was fully laden with green figs on the branches and main trunk, all over. Talk about Jesus looking at the fig tree in the Gospel and cursing it for not being fruitful. Now, when you look at this tree, you understand why it would be very obvious if the fig tree was barren. And it looks completely luscious and pleasing with all that fruit lingering on it. I am certain that a few more days and either the birds will get to them (good for seed dispersal), or these will fall and rot on the ground around it.
These figs are terrific when ripe to sun-dry, salt and eat. I have also seen the same figs in pickled form as popular snacks from Thailand, Taiwan or China. Well, I might as well add that I found a Cardamon grove as well... Maybe the lucky folks who follow me during my next stroll westwards through the Nature Reserve will know more about the popular orchard within, and not just those Tongkat Ali plants!
I had thought it would have been a more active day, but it began with a slow start and despite the great weather outside, lethargy from a slow roll off the bed simply means the rest of the day will be "no go"!
I was very inspired with my meeting and knowing Gary GL Heng - an astounding triathlete and ironman in his own right. It was terrific to have him talk about the Total Immersion programme to fine tune and tune up one's competitive swimming skills for these multi-races. He was adept in describing to me the drills 1 through 4, and emphasised the benefit of focussing on the first two up to full comfort, if the objectives are to be achieved.
I definitely will schedule myself at the pool, early and without any distraction, to take the slow pace of drills 1 and 2... Really can't wait, though, but these couple of days are difficult with the funeral to attend etc.
Anyway, by 3 pm I felt it was going to be a wasted day. Oddly, my whole body ached at one point and my legs just felt like they did not have any control... I knew something was wrong, but felt alert and reasonably energised. So, not to waste the beautiful sunshine, I thought it would be fantastic to take that long walk through Westlake to MacRitchie, and through the trails to Bukit Timah via the famed Rifle Range Road.
The walk itself is worth a full blog, for it held some surprises and had its moments. But I will list two down here: the first was finding another mudslide site, just off the locations WO12 and WO13 (marked concrete wells) on the trail diverting joggers around the Sime Track mudslide area. This mudslide looks very recent (see picture left), and is dangerously close to the ridge which the jogging/hiking trail sits on. The drop is also very precarious and you can hear the sound of the stream gushing beneath the vegetation at the drop below. 
The other surprise occured as I crossed over the Rifle Range Flyover and hiked down the "S" curving road towards Mayfair Park/Bukit Timah. Then I spotted it: it was fully laden with green figs on the branches and main trunk, all over. Talk about Jesus looking at the fig tree in the Gospel and cursing it for not being fruitful. Now, when you look at this tree, you understand why it would be very obvious if the fig tree was barren. And it looks completely luscious and pleasing with all that fruit lingering on it. I am certain that a few more days and either the birds will get to them (good for seed dispersal), or these will fall and rot on the ground around it.
These figs are terrific when ripe to sun-dry, salt and eat. I have also seen the same figs in pickled form as popular snacks from Thailand, Taiwan or China. Well, I might as well add that I found a Cardamon grove as well... Maybe the lucky folks who follow me during my next stroll westwards through the Nature Reserve will know more about the popular orchard within, and not just those Tongkat Ali plants!
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