Where: Desaru, Malaysia
When: 16/08/08
What: Triathlon
Distance: Swim 2 km - Bike 90 km - Run 21 km
The swim was probably one of the toughest I had ever done in open water. The buoys were lost between the waves and personally I felt the swim course could've been marked better. Most of the buoys were as big as my mobile phone. Still the navigation went fairly well, but my goggles decided to live a life of their own. They were too tight and I started to get a headache, and thus resulting in a loss of concentration. The last few hundred meters I swam using breaststroke and my goggles taken off. Once on land, I felt relieved.
I decided to listen to the advice of my coach and some friends for the bike leg. Control your bike and stay within your heart rate zones. I surprised myself and was able to maintain the same time difference with other top age groupers, and even went faster than Wong An Thiam (I had never beaten him before on the bike). The last 20 km though, I couldn't ride in the aero position anymore as my glutes were tightening up and I didn't want to take risks for the run. Other than that, thanks to my punctual nutrition intake, I felt both physically and mentally fresh.
The run always turns into an imaginary game of Pacman for me. A little figure eating away at all the food that lies in its path, in triathlon terms: other runners. My confidence was incredibly high, borderline cocky, and I approached it with one single determination: "I WILL catch all the non-pros." My pace for the first 5km was incredibly high and when I looked at my watch (18:13), I was like, wow dude that's Chris McCormack territory. I tried to keep my pace as high as possible without blowing myself up and at the half way mark, my timing was still excellent (40:15). However, I started to get a bit restless because I hadn't caught anyone of significance. I made sure I kept my focus and kept the pace up, and then it happened, I started seeing people just ahead of me at the U-turn and water station section. The number two guy in my age group was struggling, and Dino was just ahead of him. That lifted my spirits and soon I passed both of them, although the heat was also starting to hit me pretty hard too. And then Mother Nature heard my prayers, the clouds magically appeared as they were a gift from heaven. With 3 km to go, I suddenly saw Razani's orange tri-suit. The competitive me just couldn't give up that opportunity and I upped the tempo again. And guess who was ahead of him, the athlete who was first in my age category. He looked at my number, panicked, tried to run faster, and with an over-my-dead-body attitude, I placed an ultimate sprint out of my legs. I wanted first place no matter what. Thanks to a time of 1:24:10 on the run, first place was mine. What a sweet way to start my half ironman career.
I finished fifth overall in a time of 4hrs49mins. The first four athletes were pro-athletes, so I was very pleased to be the first amateur to complete the race. My run was the second fastest of the whole field (600 athletes), even three minutes faster than Pete Jacobs. A nice boast for the ego, but I also know he was taking it easy. Months of hard work paid off.
When: 16/08/08
What: Triathlon
Distance: Swim 2 km - Bike 90 km - Run 21 km
The swim was probably one of the toughest I had ever done in open water. The buoys were lost between the waves and personally I felt the swim course could've been marked better. Most of the buoys were as big as my mobile phone. Still the navigation went fairly well, but my goggles decided to live a life of their own. They were too tight and I started to get a headache, and thus resulting in a loss of concentration. The last few hundred meters I swam using breaststroke and my goggles taken off. Once on land, I felt relieved.
I decided to listen to the advice of my coach and some friends for the bike leg. Control your bike and stay within your heart rate zones. I surprised myself and was able to maintain the same time difference with other top age groupers, and even went faster than Wong An Thiam (I had never beaten him before on the bike). The last 20 km though, I couldn't ride in the aero position anymore as my glutes were tightening up and I didn't want to take risks for the run. Other than that, thanks to my punctual nutrition intake, I felt both physically and mentally fresh.
The run always turns into an imaginary game of Pacman for me. A little figure eating away at all the food that lies in its path, in triathlon terms: other runners. My confidence was incredibly high, borderline cocky, and I approached it with one single determination: "I WILL catch all the non-pros." My pace for the first 5km was incredibly high and when I looked at my watch (18:13), I was like, wow dude that's Chris McCormack territory. I tried to keep my pace as high as possible without blowing myself up and at the half way mark, my timing was still excellent (40:15). However, I started to get a bit restless because I hadn't caught anyone of significance. I made sure I kept my focus and kept the pace up, and then it happened, I started seeing people just ahead of me at the U-turn and water station section. The number two guy in my age group was struggling, and Dino was just ahead of him. That lifted my spirits and soon I passed both of them, although the heat was also starting to hit me pretty hard too. And then Mother Nature heard my prayers, the clouds magically appeared as they were a gift from heaven. With 3 km to go, I suddenly saw Razani's orange tri-suit. The competitive me just couldn't give up that opportunity and I upped the tempo again. And guess who was ahead of him, the athlete who was first in my age category. He looked at my number, panicked, tried to run faster, and with an over-my-dead-body attitude, I placed an ultimate sprint out of my legs. I wanted first place no matter what. Thanks to a time of 1:24:10 on the run, first place was mine. What a sweet way to start my half ironman career.
I finished fifth overall in a time of 4hrs49mins. The first four athletes were pro-athletes, so I was very pleased to be the first amateur to complete the race. My run was the second fastest of the whole field (600 athletes), even three minutes faster than Pete Jacobs. A nice boast for the ego, but I also know he was taking it easy. Months of hard work paid off.
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