Some of you asked about my race, so I thought I will share with you my race diary, its something I write to remember key races I do. I hope it will motivate some of you to take up triathlon, or in general, push yourself. Having done the Ironman 7 years and 7kgs ago, I had no doubt I could complete the Ironman 703 (half distance). Doing an ironman really gives u a very different perspective...it makes almost any challenge surmountable. I wanted to do this race to prove to myself that I can still do it despite my heavier workload, and its also a great goal to go out and exercise a little and replenish that energy bank for the next phase of growth of the company.
AVIVA Ironman703, Sunday 2Sept 2007
Trivia: The Ironman first started in 1978 in Hawaii, when some athletes debated who is fitter. A swimmer or a cyclist or a marathoner. One of them then decided to create a race to end that debate, do all three in succession: The Waikiki Rough water swim (3.8k), The Round-Oahu Bike race (originally a 2day event, 180km) and the Honolulu Marathon (42km run). The world's first Ironman was hence created.
Recently, the Ironman70.3 format was created, this is half the total distance (70.3Miles): Swim 1.9k, Cycle 90k, Run 21k. Asia's first ever Ironman703 occured last Sunday here in sunny, humid Singaporem right smack in the city.
1100 athletes signed up, 600 from Singapore. My wave (35-39 age group) started at 7:35am...the sea off Bedok Jetty was quite choppy, it was a pretty chilly morning and the winds were up.
As if to remind us of the enormity of this endeavour, a guy from the wave before us raised his hands to signal that he is in trouble only 150m away from the beach just before my wave was to start...all of us watched with bated breathe as he is pulled out of the water. At 7:35am sharp, Mr. Teo Ser Luck (Perm Sec, Ironman Triathlete and Friend) flagged us off, and over 200 of us headed into the water. As the course was a rectangle, heading east wards, I could not see the buoy at all as the sun was just rising from Changi...I just made sure I swam together with the crowd, hoping I don't get kicked or have my goggles swiped out or swim off course too much.
Other than getting waves crashing into my face as I attempted to breath, and hence taking in seawater in my nostrils, the swim was pretty uneventful for me. I completed the 1.9k swim in just about 50mins, ran the 250m to the bike transition area and got dressed for the 90k bike leg, which will see us ride into the city via the ECP.
Hitting the ECP at Fort Road, we all got the first taste of the infamous bridge climb. Laboring up the benjamin sheares bridge at just over 15-17kph, we were to do that for 4 more loops, climbing the Sheares bridge a total of 4 times. Along the way, I saw many cyclists give up...some were walking their bikes up the bridge, some crashed whilst coming down at high speed at the Rochor Exit, others had flat tyres and were frantically fixing it along the road shoulder. It was quite a surreal sight...as I cycled passed the Marina Sands Casino project (its a crane farm!), the beautiful Shenton Skyline, the Esplanade and the floating platform, where the finish line was...the ever elusive finish line, and then cars zooming by, and a bunch of cyclist in swimsuits crawling up the bridge.
Biking has always been my strongest leg, I was doing 33-35km on the flats and hitting a top speed of over 50kph on some downhill stretches. It was exhilarating as I passed some young lads in some pretty fierce looking bikes with 10speeds (I was riding my pretty sexy looking 17yr old Zipp with 8 speed...its so old, they don't make'em anymore!). I kept to my nutrition plan of about 400 calories per hour, thats roughly a few good swigs at my protein drink, and one pack of PowerGel (with double caffeine to kill the pain and help burn fats...of which I have a good store of! :-) Along the way, I spotted Reez on top of the Rochor Bridge near Suntec City :-) That was a nice surprise!
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I completed the 90k bike leg in 2:51min, just under the 3hr target I had set. (averaging 31kph). The next transition was very smooth, the logistics were very well planned. A volunteer took over the bike from me to be racked, and passed me my Run Bag, which we had checked in the day before. I changed into my running shoes, swapped the cycling helmet for my running cap and away I went.
Usually, when u get off the bike and try to run, u end up running like a duck, and I usually develop massive cramps in my quads. However, today was different. Somehow, I found a spring in my step, and headed out for the run. The weather was really hot at this point, sun overhead, it was just before noon. The run route was two loops of 10.5k around Elizabeth Park, Marina Bay, Kallang River, National Stadium, Nicoll Highway and back to the Floating Platform and was mostly shaded.
At about the 8km point, whilst trying to overtake another runner along a narrow pavement, I tripped over a root and, combined with my jello legs, I fell hard face down. My knees were badly scrapped and my right arm, which got caught under my body as I fell, was all scratched up. I quickly stood up, checked that I had not torn any ligaments or broken any bones and carried on with the run. Just ahead was a medical post. As I was way ahead of my target of 7hrs (at this point, I was averaging 6.5mins per km, which meant I will have completed the 21k in about 2:16), I decided to go in and get my wounds dressed. The young First Aiders were quite hopeless. They took forever to give me a lousy bandage, and did not have enough water to wash the wounds. I figured I wasted about 10mins in the tent.
I continued running. A triathlete's motto is "Finish what you started". I was in considerable pain anyways, so it really didn't make a difference. At 13km, I almost tripped again as the bandage was falling off and almost tripped me. I yanked it out, and left my wound exposed and continued running. In fact, I was cursing that my very expensive ($16) high tech double layer anti-blister white socks which I bought for this race will be irreparably stained with the blood that is flowing down my shin like a tapped rubber tree. I doubled my nutrition and had a PowerGel every 30mins and I chose the 4X sodium version, to ensure the cramps don't develop and my lactic acid buildup in my legs had time to drain. I drank at almost every water station to stay over-hydrated, and had some flat Coke, which gave me a sugar rush, and the caffeine numbs the pain. At about 18km, I started to feel the cramps coming. It first developed in my left toes...I had to step on my feet firmly to straighten out my toes, so they don't curl up and freeze in massive cramps, which I knew will spread to my calves and quads. I started running with smaller strides and limited range of motion...near the end, I spotted Andrew, Jade and her parents at the Lim Bo Seng Memorial along Elizebeth Park, so I perked up my chin, and pushed forward. In the last 1km, I opened up my stride and zoomed straight for the finish line. As I entered the platform, I could hear the MC calling out my number and name. That felt good. I passed the Finish Line at the Floating Platform at an official time of 6hr 13mins, clocking a 2hr 32mins half marathon. Thats quite an achivement, considering 2 yrs back, I did the StandardChartered Half Marathon (without training, but fresh) and only did 2:13mins.
Due to my travel schedule and that the past few weeks were crazy, I did not get to adhere to my training program at all. I figured I only achieved 15% of what I wanted to do to prepare for this race. I remember coming up to the Friday before the race at the briefing, I thought this will be a really painful and slow race as I was so tired and unprepared. I was targetting a modest 7hr race. But somehow, by the end of the cycle, I knew I was well under 7hrs, and potentially even 6:30. Its amazing that when u put in the miles when you were younger, your body seems to remember it well after several years of abuse (late nights, entertaining and changing time zones more than I take the MRT) and only needs a little training for it to recall and replenish its energy source. I don't know how long this will last, but I don't intend to take it for granted! Most importantly, I completed the race without any injuries. As many of you may have heard of people dying at the finish line. Its true...last month I did a race in Port Dickson and someone did not come up from the swim...his body might still be somewhere in the Malaccan Straits I think.
In hindsight, I could have done under 6hrs. I did not give myself a tough enough stretch target, hence I don't think I tried hard enough. I should not have wasted 10mins at the medical tent, I could perhaps have pushed a little harder...but throughout the race, I was mentally satisfied, as I was already way below my initial 7hr target.
Lesson: if you aim low, you will never achieve much.
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