Easter Sunday, a warm and pleasant day in Sydney and being on gardening leave I was feeling very restful. The day before we had been at Curl Curl beach and I had been swimming in the surf for a few hours, a rare treat. It was also one of the last days we had in Sydney before we all got on a plane back to Hong Kong to start packing. We were moving again and the destination this time was Singapore. A new job and a new country for the Day family and our 2 cats. Easter Sunday, the day I got the email that started,' Congratulations, you are going to Hawaii." Training in the tropics for Hawaii? You have to be kidding! What cosmic alignment just took place?

I had kept the training going since IM Western Australia Nov 2005 (my first Ironman), but had not found my 'groove' quite as easily. In many parts this was due to a very unsatisfactory work situation and the tension I had as a result was actually starting to play havoc with my shoulders and therefore my swimming. Perhaps I can claim for the physio bills after all! In the few weeks that I had in Hong Kong after leaving my last job, I found my 'mojo' again……it had just been temporarily locked away. The long bikes out at Tung Chung, runs around Pokfulam, and the Peak, and having time to swim, when the pools decided to reopen, all made for a far happier individual and it began to feel like a good thing again.

We got on a plane on May 14th from Hong Kong to Singapore and checked into a serviced apartment (which was more like a resort!) The location, Orange Grove Road, was ideal for runs into work, it had a 30m pool, and there was a lot of cycling activity that began just around the corner at the top of Orchard Road. There are some large cycling groups that have been formed over the years in Singapore and I managed to join one and ride with a few different people in the meantime as well. Instantly, the heat kicked into the workouts but so too did the clean air. My lungs felt better! However, after 6 weeks of this there was a need to get into our house and begin to get more settled. Routines always work and help us to get settled. We have all got them now, school runs, early work starts, Claire's training plans...  being settled helps the focus to stay on the training, but even in the serviced apartment it was a lot easier as my work life was in much better shape.

Living in Singapore provides a lot of training options. I work in the city and have access to the Farrer Park Swimming Complex, a 50m pool, at lunch time. Closer to home I have begun to use the Katong 50m pool, open until 9pm, which costs the grand total of 90 cents SGD (USD 58 cents) to get in. The cycling is good on the eastern side of Singapore as the East Coast Park offers long roads with light traffic that then leads onto to the Changi Airport road that is a straight along the side of one of the runways.   This is where packs form and speeds of over 50km/h are managed in pace lines (even faster with the odd nutter slipstreaming behind a truck). There is often a decent headwind as well, and adding in the heat we have a perfect Kona training environment. Running benefits from the East Coast Park as well, but hills are a little hard to find so I try and loop around the residential areas near our house, which offers a few.

On August 13th, the last day of me being 36, there is the NUS Long Distance Triathlon with a bike leg that loops around the city. It's a 1.5/60/15 race. In a few weeks the infamous Desaru Half Ironman is just across the border in Malaysia (1hr ferry trip from Singapore). This is the well organized race that ran out of water last year, and was my 2nd ever triathlon! Then all eyes are on Kona for the 21st of October……my second Ironman.

It has, so far, been a perfect decision to move to Singapore.

Chris Day