Sunday, February 25, 2007
Photos
Neil Ridley, Friend, South African, 54 years old, 8-time IM finisher, going for 9th IM in Marchthe first one is always special
that was what my friend from south africa, neil ridley, 54 yr old, now a 8-time IRONMAN finisher going on to 9 time soon in march after the South African IM, told me..."the first one is always special"...that what they always say...but i may not be able to tell cos this maybe my first and last one...
i did it...almost 8 months after i signed up for the ironman langkawi 2007...i completed it..
in 12 hrs 53 mins 01 secs
i shall try to recall the event from start to finish..
i planned to wake up at 4am...but as usual my body clock was really uptight on the day of the important race and i woke up by myself at 3am...i think it was perhaps i climbed into bed early at 9pm the previous night..but all in all it was the best sleep that I have had before an important race (i think). i expected myself to be much more nervous..but i think something tobias said that really helped me relax.."nothing to lose"...
so after waking up at 3am...i am like.."ok..shit" then i went back to sleep...and woke up again at 345am...it was as if my body didn't want to wait anymore...so i laid on bed..did some stretching...tried to get my body warmed up...then at 4am sharp...i got out of my bed and ate...1 and half pieces of banana loaf..water and some powergel endurance drink...then i went for a warm shower....put on sunblock....i came out...prepared the race stuff..(put on my tri suit..got all the things i needed in my personal belongings and special needs back..checked..double checked) prayed a bit..then sat on my bed and watched the inspirational videos again on my dopod..
the official ironman video and the team hoyt video...which would prove to be very helpful later...
so at 515 i got my stuff..bid my farewell to my sister and headed off to the lobby downstairs for the bus that would take us to the start pt at the jetty at 530..
we waited quite long..i avoided talking to people la..but responded politely when spoken to..and listened to tunes on my dopod..helps calm the nerves...finally at 0545 we set off..and left some of the late comers chasing after the bus..hee..i started blasting let's get started by black eyed peas..:)
so we arrived at the jetty at 0600..as usual..it was a mess..but i quickly got myself orientated..registered...weighed in..and body marked...
then i went to my bike to start preparing...first i did a mechanical checkup on my bike..made sure the wheels are spinning ok and the shifters are working after one night in the open...then i pumped my tires to 120psi..i checked the cockpit too..but i failed to check the aerobars properly which would prove to be costly later...i also perhaps should have listened to advice and pumped the tires to 115 psi instead of the 120psi in view of the heat that was to come..hmmm...
so anyway..at about 0630 i started eating my nature valleys energy bar..then did some light running..like 2 mins..then started to stretch...did the usual stretching routine..wished everyone i knew good luck...helped some pple with their supplies..checked the location of my transition bag..
at 0700 i jumped into the water for a warmup swim...just to get the stroke right...and make sure my goggles didn't fog up..as proven by repeated experiments..anti-fog don't work..the best bet is still licking the goggles just before the swim...
this is it...it has finally come...the start of the end of a dream..that sounds a little negative..but it is essentially what it is..:) that time..i knew..i have done all that i could to prepare for this race..
the rest is really up to Lao Tian Ye..so i prayed a bit...then i looked up...i felt like crying...it wasn't tears of fear or sadness..they were tears of gan3 dong4..then i felt a little silly for crying now..because a few drops did roll down accidentally....then i looked up...i realised i wasn't the only one...some of the asian (japanese) ladies were already covered in tears..in the other corner...some other japanese men were shouting their usual japanese cheers..:):) very inspiring...then i look back...some european caucasian men are giggling...almost like saying "what the f*** am i doing here on saturday morning?" or "shit man..hehe..what have i got myself into" or "it is going to be a long day"
i gave some of the usual pple the handshakes, hugs and well-wishes...
2 mins to the start..i gathered around the edge of the jetty...to prepare to jump in...the pros and some of the other guys were already in preparing for the deep water start...
then the gun went off...just like that...almost without warning...i looked around...then was this momentary pause in everyone..then we saw the pros swimming off...people started jumping in...i followed suit careful not to land on anyone...once i hit the water i quickly swam as fast as i could to get away from people jumping in...thankfully i was not hit...it was still quite dark at that hour...so it was difficult to sight..especially when the buoys were all so damm bloody small and far apart...so i just followed the mass/mess in front of me in the general direction...i think even the pros holan-ed because the organisers put the start tape in the wrong place...
in any case the swim went well..i kept reminding myself no to push too hard..to glide...watch my stroke and bouyancy and the time to whack for the swim is on the way back...but i whacked anyway la...which is a good thing i think...cos i managed to follow the crowd which blocked off the waves, drafted me, helped me sight...i was just looking out for the turning point.....i kept drifting to the left though...which was quite irritating especially when i was trying to follow the stream..oh..i received a kick in my eye too..some water went into my goggles in my left eye..which hurt a little...but it was no biggie..
i hit the turning point at about 40mins...but i think i may have pushed a bit too hard in the beginning..plus the tide was receding...plus the main bulk of the crowd has already broken off..(i am really a very slow swimmer)...plus i drifted too much left again (i think confirm something wrong with my stroke) when i realised it was already too late..the main stream has already left..so i was left pretty much to struggle the waves alone..i was just trying to swim to each buoy but the buoys felt further and further from each other...sian...the return leg was 57mins...
so my swim was 1hr 37mins 3 secs
i clambered up the metal stairs of the jetty...slipped and hit my shin...
T1 was relatively ok...i could locate my bag fast enough because i marked it with torn towel..i ate the stuff i needed to eat..but i think i ate the raisin bread too much too fast...i couldn't swallow and had to spit some of it out on my way cycling out...i heard my sis cheer for me..which was quite comforting...
T1: 2:28...
i was trying to go easy on the start of the bike...cos i knew what was coming...the whole route is generally quite hilly la..but not as hilly as desaru..but something like mandai + mandai + neo tiew + lim chu kang all the way...which is actually not so bad...
it consisted of LISRAM HIGHWAY (will explain why it is in CAPS later) then 2 complete loops along the remote north/northwestern part of langkawi..then on the 3rd loop out into the eastern edge of the island..
but there were 2 sections of hills that was scary..LISRAM HIGHWAY and a 2nd section of hills along the major loop LISRAM HIGHWAY...a name that i would remember forever...it was really fear...during my recee training i couldn't really confidently mount the hill...in fact i fell off my bike from stalling...pushed a little too hard and my chain fell off...thankfully i found that out early and made the relevant mechanical adjustments to my bike...
it in noteable that for some reason they printed its name in capital letters "LISRAM HIGHWAY" on the highway sign....the stretch was a double blow...a long relatively less steep slope...followed by a long S-shaped curving fast steep descend...then a steep but relatively less long slope...
so along the way from the start i was thinking...conserve for LISRAM conserve for LISRAM...
when i was finally there...i saw this long long queue of bikes struggling to get up...some were moving as slow as 5-10kmh...i heaved and heaved..remembering not to start too fast on the hills..stayed on my seat..downshifted..and spinned...my tactics worked and i cleared the 2 hills without any major problems except for sore thighs..heavy breathing..and some pain in the right knee..after the 2 hills then i really started spinning...i was trying to stay on the aerobars which was still quite comfortable...for now..
but i was also anticipating the second major section of hills...
this second section was quite a tricky...physically and mentally...it was not one of those hills with a down slope just before so you can make use of momentum to chiong over the upslope...the section before the real slope is a deceptive slight upslope...followed by a slightly steeper section...then almost flat section..somewhat like the video games..the minions trying to sap your health points first before you meet the final boss...which is a 10% slope immediately after the short flats..so it was a mind game really..the thing is on the side of the road uphill there was a sign board...10% hill in a yellow triangle..a stark reminder....you can already see people dismounting and pushing the bike up the first time round...and you know what? you needed to climb these 10% hills not once..but 6 times...
after those hills i cycled on without much problem...i was looking out for colin also...was trying to catch him asap..hehe...i saw colin at the Aid Station just after the 2nd turning point...then I knew I was only about 10km behind him..
along the way..i also motivated myself by telling myself it doesn't matter if I didn't have zipps (half the field had them, tmd each of these wheels, not a set, ONE, SATU is more expensive than my entire bike) or cervelos or cannondales..i am still going to take them...and so i did...i overtook the zipps and cervys one by one by one...it was quite motivating...
in my head the song "i can only imagine" from the team hoyt video and words from the official ironman video kept playing and playing...
then my aerobars came loose..first the right one then the left one...i am like..shit..should i stop to adjust them? shit shit...in the end..i decided against it..cos it was still usable..just a little more dangerous...i was thinking if i had to dismount for something else then i would attend to them...i think they came out because the road conditions were bad...and i didnt tighten the nuts enough...the vibrations of the road caused the nuts to come loose...
i caught up with colin at about the 75km mark..about less than halfway during the 2nd lap along the loops... at about the 120km mark i was starting to get tired...the sun was beating down..the heat was sapping up the energy reserves..i was trying hard to concentrate on proper hydration and executing my nutrition plan..but the aid stations were not very adequately resupplied...by 120km some of the stations have already ran out of water in proper water bottles that can be drank from..and they were giving out water in mineral bottles...and some of the mineral water bottles were not opened...i got one of those and tried to open it with my mouth but i dropped it...i was quite pissifying so i screamed at the aid station volunteer to open the cap before giving the bottles out as i rode past..half advising..half pissed off..half trying to scream away my fatigue..i hope the guy is ok..:(
the next few kms of the race went ok..i continued to spin up the hills..and tried to stay aero...especially on the descends...
i was thinking...so far the race quite good ar..the only problems were that my ass was hurting from the saddle, my neck was aching from the aero position and my right foot was in pain pushing the pedals..but otherwise..generally ok...i was thinking i might be heading for the perfect race..because i was quite ahead of schedule..
... WRONG! ...
the 6th and last time the 10% hill came up to me...i couldn't overcome it...i was too tired and too near the base of the hill...with about 500m to go before i could go up and over...i didn't want to risk a crash from stalling again..so i dismounted and pushed the bike over...fixed my aerobars and continued with the course...
at about the 150km mark..my front tire started to make a flapping noise...i thought it might be my brake levers coming loose from all the vibrations..so i loosened the brake while riding..and it became ok..and i became slower and slower...so i thought...shit..am i getting more tired...but i pushed on...the bike was getting a little difficult to manuever and i was overtaken by quite a lot of pple..about like 10-odd...i thought..shit..i think i really am getting tired...so i pushed on..but not too hard...i should have stopped to check on my bike la...because i later found out after the race that i was cycling on a flat..and i think the flat also caused me to skid and fall over at the turn 1 km away from the end...which is responsible for a bad case of pus-sy road rash...and the crash also broke the livestrong wrist band that i have been wearing since i gave away the one i trained in for the SG marathon to weili..my sis says the band is like my jade bangle..it broke to protect me..which i think is partially true la..it could have been worse...a lot worse..and the bike was relatively unscratched..except for the front wheel..i held the broken wristband for the rest of the race...thinking "you can break my body but you may never break my soul"
oh yar...haha..how can i forget? along the way the local kids sat by the road and cheered for us la..it was ok at first..they wanted to high five you..a minority clapped and cheered..but most of them were just looking for the water bottles we were throwing away from our bikes as we finished drinking from them...so they kept shouting "water, water, water, water, water pls pls pls.." throughout the entire 180km...it was ok at first but after a while it became downright irritating...but i guess it is still better than having to race alone like in singapore... except for the flat that i didn't know about and the fall and the screwed up, chipped front wheel..(PRECIOUS $$$) the bike went ok relatively..
so the bike was 6hr 30min 50sec..not bad...well within expectation especially after the recee ride and tour...
as i was cycling into the bike-run transition area...it was very near the final finish..but i didn't take a look at it..i still had a marathon to do...looking at the mess in the transition area, i decided to put my equipment from my run properly into my bag before starting the run..which turned out to be a good choice..cos some of my friends lost their equipment...otherwise the transition went ok...i decided not to change my socks..cos i know they would get wet soon from me pouring water over myself...which turned out to be a good decision because if i had seen the huge blister over the ball of my feet...it might have become a mental barrier...
T2: 2:12
so i went off running...i heard people saying, "oh my god, you are hurt", "damm, road rash, you crashed?", "you gotta put some water over it"
i had a water bottle in my transition bag..but under the heat..it was hot...but i poured it over my wounds anyway..as the water came in contact with the wound and the pain came, it was like epinephrine surged through my blood..gave me somewhat a bit of extra kick in the run in the beginning.....i threw my nature valleys energy bar away because i felt like puking..which i think is a mistake because i think my GIT was in need for some solid food as i found out later..
the run consisted of 1 km from the jetty area to the roads then 4 loops of 10km (5km out, 5km in) then 1km back to the finish at the jetty area...at the beginning of the run...the song "i can only imagine" became more apparent than ever and i felt the gan dong tears again...the run was hot...but i trained for it i thought...and it was about 3pm..so i could only get better as the sun is setting...so i just kept running...i didn't even stop for a pee...which a lot of pple did...
i kept my thumbs up throughout the run...to encourage the pple running already..and sort of to distract myself..so i kept running lor...i took some of the banana that was available and i immediately felt better...the course also didn't feature the powergels every station the organisers promised..so that was quite sian diao also..cos actually i could have brought the gels along because i did prepare for it..
everyone was simply in their own world of pain la...and there wasn't much you can do for them too..except to give them the thumbs-up a bit of low-fives to those you know...
the run was relatively uneventful..except i was trying to catch my friend chin cheong but failed..he seemed to pull away faster and further away each time i see him after the turning point...so i got down to chasing the people who walk...."WALKING IS NOT AN OPTION!!!" BOOMED a german guy as he ran past me...i gave him the thumbs up even though i think he was not talking to me cos that was the only english sentence i heard in the entire sequence... my motto of the run was "if you run, i might catch you. but if you walk, i will definitely catch you."
the other motivation i had was to get to the next aid station for the cold sponge bath and cold water and energy drinks...
the last lap...finally...i picked up the pace...when i reached the further turning point...i knew i had only 6km to go...so i picked up the pace even further...i was convinced not to let my Filipino friend miguel catch me..he was about 2km behind me most of the way...
at about 1km to go..i saw this jap guy shitting at the side of the road in broad daylight...i could see his ass..i caught up with him as he was finishing up and pulling up his tights..i remember him...his tag number is 58..i saw him in the morning before the race and he looked at me with this dismayed look..because there wasn't much space left for his bike on his rack and i was trying to clear some space for him...before i could finish he walked away with his bike... so i thought in my mind...stopping for a poop would be your biggest mistake...and i took off...i sprinted...to my surprise he followed...so we sprinted together...exchanging leads a couple of times...along the final right turn towards the finish...i broke away...he reacted and sprinted past me to finish just in front of me...
"YOU ARE AN IRONMAN!!!"
the finish was good...but i didnt feel exceptionally elated...partly cos the commentator read my name wrongly...tmd.....i was happy..but at the same time..it was really just mixed feelings...one part grateful "i COMPLETED without MUCH glitch", one part depressed "is this really the end?", another part quite matter-of-fact "i trained for it specifically for this race, i achieved what i thought i would achieve and i did not do anything spectacular..i simply finished what i trained for", another part was quite simply "i am dead tired and hungry"...the pain has not set in yet...
after i crossed the line...jap guy looked at me and bowed...i bowed back and gave him a hug...and then he said thank you...he was wheeled off in a wheelchair..i couldn't really what straight but i was convinced to walk by myself to the medical tent on my own to get my wound cleaned and treated...
run time: 4hrs 40mins 28secs
total time: 12hr 53mins 01 secs (192 out of 549 competitors from 33 different countries and 465 finishers) age group (18-24 yrs) ranking: 12th
i am satisfied...
i took off my shoes, it was then that i realised i had a big blister over the ball of my foot and i was bleeding at my achilles tendon area from abrasion..i took off my finisher medal without taking a good look at it.i only looked at it properly in the hotel..quite simply..it actually holds no particular special meaning except for a memory keepsake...the true journey began almost 8 months ago...when a combination of factors encouraged and inspired me to take up this challenge..throughout this 8 months...i became a disciple of triathlon and i have learnt a lot a lot a lot from it...not just swimming properly and a (somewhat) proper stroke, not just pedalling up hills, spinning and repairing the mechanical parts of the racing bicycle, not just running and running and running (under the hot sun), not just nutrition and keeping my body in tact from the rigourous training and racing, not just transition training, not just mental training, visualising your goal, key words, images to distract, remind and motivate you, not just earning and saving your way to getting your goal but also a lot more....
i have met people from all over the world and became friends with them...i have seen new pinnacles of discipline and passion even beyond that of mr ram...i have learnt how to work myself from beginning to end from someone who just learnt how to swim 50m freestyle in september 2005, learnt how to ride on a road bike august 2006 to an ironman finisher...(heh..i remember i learnt how to cycle from the 78 pple with huiqi during the first class bbq in j1..tmd..) anyone can do it...you just need to WANT to do it...DREAM, PLAN and WORK your way step by step...and eventually you will achieve what you want...and of course TIME plays major factor also...which is why you should never ever wait when there is something you really really really want to do....there is no time like the present...
i am really grateful for the friends who have encouraged and helped me along the way....esp my parents, sister, brother, my shifus yong chin and benji, kevin kok, 78 friends, jj, suriya, terrence, weikeong, ningyan, the indian meddies, 2nd floor library meddies, other meddies, pri sch friends, sec sch friends, cross and tnf team mates, coaches and teachers even the lifeguards at the nus pool etc etc etc.
so what next? Jeju? Langkawi again? Thai kickboxing? Mixed martial arts? drums? piano? bball refereeing? scuba diving? medsoc? lobo and try to be on dean's list? more urop? some other shit? i really dunno..as i was on the flight in langkawi during the take off..i was thinking...the best thing about this whole thing is that i do not know what i would be doing this time next year...i shall think about it...
but right now i just need to pass CAs and PROs..which is a challenge by itself...
i did it...almost 8 months after i signed up for the ironman langkawi 2007...i completed it..
in 12 hrs 53 mins 01 secs
i shall try to recall the event from start to finish..
i planned to wake up at 4am...but as usual my body clock was really uptight on the day of the important race and i woke up by myself at 3am...i think it was perhaps i climbed into bed early at 9pm the previous night..but all in all it was the best sleep that I have had before an important race (i think). i expected myself to be much more nervous..but i think something tobias said that really helped me relax.."nothing to lose"...
so after waking up at 3am...i am like.."ok..shit" then i went back to sleep...and woke up again at 345am...it was as if my body didn't want to wait anymore...so i laid on bed..did some stretching...tried to get my body warmed up...then at 4am sharp...i got out of my bed and ate...1 and half pieces of banana loaf..water and some powergel endurance drink...then i went for a warm shower....put on sunblock....i came out...prepared the race stuff..(put on my tri suit..got all the things i needed in my personal belongings and special needs back..checked..double checked) prayed a bit..then sat on my bed and watched the inspirational videos again on my dopod..
the official ironman video and the team hoyt video...which would prove to be very helpful later...
so at 515 i got my stuff..bid my farewell to my sister and headed off to the lobby downstairs for the bus that would take us to the start pt at the jetty at 530..
we waited quite long..i avoided talking to people la..but responded politely when spoken to..and listened to tunes on my dopod..helps calm the nerves...finally at 0545 we set off..and left some of the late comers chasing after the bus..hee..i started blasting let's get started by black eyed peas..:)
so we arrived at the jetty at 0600..as usual..it was a mess..but i quickly got myself orientated..registered...weighed in..and body marked...
then i went to my bike to start preparing...first i did a mechanical checkup on my bike..made sure the wheels are spinning ok and the shifters are working after one night in the open...then i pumped my tires to 120psi..i checked the cockpit too..but i failed to check the aerobars properly which would prove to be costly later...i also perhaps should have listened to advice and pumped the tires to 115 psi instead of the 120psi in view of the heat that was to come..hmmm...
so anyway..at about 0630 i started eating my nature valleys energy bar..then did some light running..like 2 mins..then started to stretch...did the usual stretching routine..wished everyone i knew good luck...helped some pple with their supplies..checked the location of my transition bag..
at 0700 i jumped into the water for a warmup swim...just to get the stroke right...and make sure my goggles didn't fog up..as proven by repeated experiments..anti-fog don't work..the best bet is still licking the goggles just before the swim...
this is it...it has finally come...the start of the end of a dream..that sounds a little negative..but it is essentially what it is..:) that time..i knew..i have done all that i could to prepare for this race..
the rest is really up to Lao Tian Ye..so i prayed a bit...then i looked up...i felt like crying...it wasn't tears of fear or sadness..they were tears of gan3 dong4..then i felt a little silly for crying now..because a few drops did roll down accidentally....then i looked up...i realised i wasn't the only one...some of the asian (japanese) ladies were already covered in tears..in the other corner...some other japanese men were shouting their usual japanese cheers..:):) very inspiring...then i look back...some european caucasian men are giggling...almost like saying "what the f*** am i doing here on saturday morning?" or "shit man..hehe..what have i got myself into" or "it is going to be a long day"
i gave some of the usual pple the handshakes, hugs and well-wishes...
2 mins to the start..i gathered around the edge of the jetty...to prepare to jump in...the pros and some of the other guys were already in preparing for the deep water start...
then the gun went off...just like that...almost without warning...i looked around...then was this momentary pause in everyone..then we saw the pros swimming off...people started jumping in...i followed suit careful not to land on anyone...once i hit the water i quickly swam as fast as i could to get away from people jumping in...thankfully i was not hit...it was still quite dark at that hour...so it was difficult to sight..especially when the buoys were all so damm bloody small and far apart...so i just followed the mass/mess in front of me in the general direction...i think even the pros holan-ed because the organisers put the start tape in the wrong place...
in any case the swim went well..i kept reminding myself no to push too hard..to glide...watch my stroke and bouyancy and the time to whack for the swim is on the way back...but i whacked anyway la...which is a good thing i think...cos i managed to follow the crowd which blocked off the waves, drafted me, helped me sight...i was just looking out for the turning point.....i kept drifting to the left though...which was quite irritating especially when i was trying to follow the stream..oh..i received a kick in my eye too..some water went into my goggles in my left eye..which hurt a little...but it was no biggie..
i hit the turning point at about 40mins...but i think i may have pushed a bit too hard in the beginning..plus the tide was receding...plus the main bulk of the crowd has already broken off..(i am really a very slow swimmer)...plus i drifted too much left again (i think confirm something wrong with my stroke) when i realised it was already too late..the main stream has already left..so i was left pretty much to struggle the waves alone..i was just trying to swim to each buoy but the buoys felt further and further from each other...sian...the return leg was 57mins...
so my swim was 1hr 37mins 3 secs
i clambered up the metal stairs of the jetty...slipped and hit my shin...
T1 was relatively ok...i could locate my bag fast enough because i marked it with torn towel..i ate the stuff i needed to eat..but i think i ate the raisin bread too much too fast...i couldn't swallow and had to spit some of it out on my way cycling out...i heard my sis cheer for me..which was quite comforting...
T1: 2:28...
i was trying to go easy on the start of the bike...cos i knew what was coming...the whole route is generally quite hilly la..but not as hilly as desaru..but something like mandai + mandai + neo tiew + lim chu kang all the way...which is actually not so bad...
it consisted of LISRAM HIGHWAY (will explain why it is in CAPS later) then 2 complete loops along the remote north/northwestern part of langkawi..then on the 3rd loop out into the eastern edge of the island..
but there were 2 sections of hills that was scary..LISRAM HIGHWAY and a 2nd section of hills along the major loop LISRAM HIGHWAY...a name that i would remember forever...it was really fear...during my recee training i couldn't really confidently mount the hill...in fact i fell off my bike from stalling...pushed a little too hard and my chain fell off...thankfully i found that out early and made the relevant mechanical adjustments to my bike...
it in noteable that for some reason they printed its name in capital letters "LISRAM HIGHWAY" on the highway sign....the stretch was a double blow...a long relatively less steep slope...followed by a long S-shaped curving fast steep descend...then a steep but relatively less long slope...
so along the way from the start i was thinking...conserve for LISRAM conserve for LISRAM...
when i was finally there...i saw this long long queue of bikes struggling to get up...some were moving as slow as 5-10kmh...i heaved and heaved..remembering not to start too fast on the hills..stayed on my seat..downshifted..and spinned...my tactics worked and i cleared the 2 hills without any major problems except for sore thighs..heavy breathing..and some pain in the right knee..after the 2 hills then i really started spinning...i was trying to stay on the aerobars which was still quite comfortable...for now..
but i was also anticipating the second major section of hills...
this second section was quite a tricky...physically and mentally...it was not one of those hills with a down slope just before so you can make use of momentum to chiong over the upslope...the section before the real slope is a deceptive slight upslope...followed by a slightly steeper section...then almost flat section..somewhat like the video games..the minions trying to sap your health points first before you meet the final boss...which is a 10% slope immediately after the short flats..so it was a mind game really..the thing is on the side of the road uphill there was a sign board...10% hill in a yellow triangle..a stark reminder....you can already see people dismounting and pushing the bike up the first time round...and you know what? you needed to climb these 10% hills not once..but 6 times...
after those hills i cycled on without much problem...i was looking out for colin also...was trying to catch him asap..hehe...i saw colin at the Aid Station just after the 2nd turning point...then I knew I was only about 10km behind him..
along the way..i also motivated myself by telling myself it doesn't matter if I didn't have zipps (half the field had them, tmd each of these wheels, not a set, ONE, SATU is more expensive than my entire bike) or cervelos or cannondales..i am still going to take them...and so i did...i overtook the zipps and cervys one by one by one...it was quite motivating...
in my head the song "i can only imagine" from the team hoyt video and words from the official ironman video kept playing and playing...
then my aerobars came loose..first the right one then the left one...i am like..shit..should i stop to adjust them? shit shit...in the end..i decided against it..cos it was still usable..just a little more dangerous...i was thinking if i had to dismount for something else then i would attend to them...i think they came out because the road conditions were bad...and i didnt tighten the nuts enough...the vibrations of the road caused the nuts to come loose...
i caught up with colin at about the 75km mark..about less than halfway during the 2nd lap along the loops... at about the 120km mark i was starting to get tired...the sun was beating down..the heat was sapping up the energy reserves..i was trying hard to concentrate on proper hydration and executing my nutrition plan..but the aid stations were not very adequately resupplied...by 120km some of the stations have already ran out of water in proper water bottles that can be drank from..and they were giving out water in mineral bottles...and some of the mineral water bottles were not opened...i got one of those and tried to open it with my mouth but i dropped it...i was quite pissifying so i screamed at the aid station volunteer to open the cap before giving the bottles out as i rode past..half advising..half pissed off..half trying to scream away my fatigue..i hope the guy is ok..:(
the next few kms of the race went ok..i continued to spin up the hills..and tried to stay aero...especially on the descends...
i was thinking...so far the race quite good ar..the only problems were that my ass was hurting from the saddle, my neck was aching from the aero position and my right foot was in pain pushing the pedals..but otherwise..generally ok...i was thinking i might be heading for the perfect race..because i was quite ahead of schedule..
... WRONG! ...
the 6th and last time the 10% hill came up to me...i couldn't overcome it...i was too tired and too near the base of the hill...with about 500m to go before i could go up and over...i didn't want to risk a crash from stalling again..so i dismounted and pushed the bike over...fixed my aerobars and continued with the course...
at about the 150km mark..my front tire started to make a flapping noise...i thought it might be my brake levers coming loose from all the vibrations..so i loosened the brake while riding..and it became ok..and i became slower and slower...so i thought...shit..am i getting more tired...but i pushed on...the bike was getting a little difficult to manuever and i was overtaken by quite a lot of pple..about like 10-odd...i thought..shit..i think i really am getting tired...so i pushed on..but not too hard...i should have stopped to check on my bike la...because i later found out after the race that i was cycling on a flat..and i think the flat also caused me to skid and fall over at the turn 1 km away from the end...which is responsible for a bad case of pus-sy road rash...and the crash also broke the livestrong wrist band that i have been wearing since i gave away the one i trained in for the SG marathon to weili..my sis says the band is like my jade bangle..it broke to protect me..which i think is partially true la..it could have been worse...a lot worse..and the bike was relatively unscratched..except for the front wheel..i held the broken wristband for the rest of the race...thinking "you can break my body but you may never break my soul"
oh yar...haha..how can i forget? along the way the local kids sat by the road and cheered for us la..it was ok at first..they wanted to high five you..a minority clapped and cheered..but most of them were just looking for the water bottles we were throwing away from our bikes as we finished drinking from them...so they kept shouting "water, water, water, water, water pls pls pls.." throughout the entire 180km...it was ok at first but after a while it became downright irritating...but i guess it is still better than having to race alone like in singapore... except for the flat that i didn't know about and the fall and the screwed up, chipped front wheel..(PRECIOUS $$$) the bike went ok relatively..
so the bike was 6hr 30min 50sec..not bad...well within expectation especially after the recee ride and tour...
as i was cycling into the bike-run transition area...it was very near the final finish..but i didn't take a look at it..i still had a marathon to do...looking at the mess in the transition area, i decided to put my equipment from my run properly into my bag before starting the run..which turned out to be a good choice..cos some of my friends lost their equipment...otherwise the transition went ok...i decided not to change my socks..cos i know they would get wet soon from me pouring water over myself...which turned out to be a good decision because if i had seen the huge blister over the ball of my feet...it might have become a mental barrier...
T2: 2:12
so i went off running...i heard people saying, "oh my god, you are hurt", "damm, road rash, you crashed?", "you gotta put some water over it"
i had a water bottle in my transition bag..but under the heat..it was hot...but i poured it over my wounds anyway..as the water came in contact with the wound and the pain came, it was like epinephrine surged through my blood..gave me somewhat a bit of extra kick in the run in the beginning.....i threw my nature valleys energy bar away because i felt like puking..which i think is a mistake because i think my GIT was in need for some solid food as i found out later..
the run consisted of 1 km from the jetty area to the roads then 4 loops of 10km (5km out, 5km in) then 1km back to the finish at the jetty area...at the beginning of the run...the song "i can only imagine" became more apparent than ever and i felt the gan dong tears again...the run was hot...but i trained for it i thought...and it was about 3pm..so i could only get better as the sun is setting...so i just kept running...i didn't even stop for a pee...which a lot of pple did...
i kept my thumbs up throughout the run...to encourage the pple running already..and sort of to distract myself..so i kept running lor...i took some of the banana that was available and i immediately felt better...the course also didn't feature the powergels every station the organisers promised..so that was quite sian diao also..cos actually i could have brought the gels along because i did prepare for it..
everyone was simply in their own world of pain la...and there wasn't much you can do for them too..except to give them the thumbs-up a bit of low-fives to those you know...
the run was relatively uneventful..except i was trying to catch my friend chin cheong but failed..he seemed to pull away faster and further away each time i see him after the turning point...so i got down to chasing the people who walk...."WALKING IS NOT AN OPTION!!!" BOOMED a german guy as he ran past me...i gave him the thumbs up even though i think he was not talking to me cos that was the only english sentence i heard in the entire sequence... my motto of the run was "if you run, i might catch you. but if you walk, i will definitely catch you."
the other motivation i had was to get to the next aid station for the cold sponge bath and cold water and energy drinks...
the last lap...finally...i picked up the pace...when i reached the further turning point...i knew i had only 6km to go...so i picked up the pace even further...i was convinced not to let my Filipino friend miguel catch me..he was about 2km behind me most of the way...
at about 1km to go..i saw this jap guy shitting at the side of the road in broad daylight...i could see his ass..i caught up with him as he was finishing up and pulling up his tights..i remember him...his tag number is 58..i saw him in the morning before the race and he looked at me with this dismayed look..because there wasn't much space left for his bike on his rack and i was trying to clear some space for him...before i could finish he walked away with his bike... so i thought in my mind...stopping for a poop would be your biggest mistake...and i took off...i sprinted...to my surprise he followed...so we sprinted together...exchanging leads a couple of times...along the final right turn towards the finish...i broke away...he reacted and sprinted past me to finish just in front of me...
"YOU ARE AN IRONMAN!!!"
the finish was good...but i didnt feel exceptionally elated...partly cos the commentator read my name wrongly...tmd.....i was happy..but at the same time..it was really just mixed feelings...one part grateful "i COMPLETED without MUCH glitch", one part depressed "is this really the end?", another part quite matter-of-fact "i trained for it specifically for this race, i achieved what i thought i would achieve and i did not do anything spectacular..i simply finished what i trained for", another part was quite simply "i am dead tired and hungry"...the pain has not set in yet...
after i crossed the line...jap guy looked at me and bowed...i bowed back and gave him a hug...and then he said thank you...he was wheeled off in a wheelchair..i couldn't really what straight but i was convinced to walk by myself to the medical tent on my own to get my wound cleaned and treated...
run time: 4hrs 40mins 28secs
total time: 12hr 53mins 01 secs (192 out of 549 competitors from 33 different countries and 465 finishers) age group (18-24 yrs) ranking: 12th
i am satisfied...
i took off my shoes, it was then that i realised i had a big blister over the ball of my foot and i was bleeding at my achilles tendon area from abrasion..i took off my finisher medal without taking a good look at it.i only looked at it properly in the hotel..quite simply..it actually holds no particular special meaning except for a memory keepsake...the true journey began almost 8 months ago...when a combination of factors encouraged and inspired me to take up this challenge..throughout this 8 months...i became a disciple of triathlon and i have learnt a lot a lot a lot from it...not just swimming properly and a (somewhat) proper stroke, not just pedalling up hills, spinning and repairing the mechanical parts of the racing bicycle, not just running and running and running (under the hot sun), not just nutrition and keeping my body in tact from the rigourous training and racing, not just transition training, not just mental training, visualising your goal, key words, images to distract, remind and motivate you, not just earning and saving your way to getting your goal but also a lot more....
i have met people from all over the world and became friends with them...i have seen new pinnacles of discipline and passion even beyond that of mr ram...i have learnt how to work myself from beginning to end from someone who just learnt how to swim 50m freestyle in september 2005, learnt how to ride on a road bike august 2006 to an ironman finisher...(heh..i remember i learnt how to cycle from the 78 pple with huiqi during the first class bbq in j1..tmd..) anyone can do it...you just need to WANT to do it...DREAM, PLAN and WORK your way step by step...and eventually you will achieve what you want...and of course TIME plays major factor also...which is why you should never ever wait when there is something you really really really want to do....there is no time like the present...
i am really grateful for the friends who have encouraged and helped me along the way....esp my parents, sister, brother, my shifus yong chin and benji, kevin kok, 78 friends, jj, suriya, terrence, weikeong, ningyan, the indian meddies, 2nd floor library meddies, other meddies, pri sch friends, sec sch friends, cross and tnf team mates, coaches and teachers even the lifeguards at the nus pool etc etc etc.
so what next? Jeju? Langkawi again? Thai kickboxing? Mixed martial arts? drums? piano? bball refereeing? scuba diving? medsoc? lobo and try to be on dean's list? more urop? some other shit? i really dunno..as i was on the flight in langkawi during the take off..i was thinking...the best thing about this whole thing is that i do not know what i would be doing this time next year...i shall think about it...
but right now i just need to pass CAs and PROs..which is a challenge by itself...
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