Cairns Airport Ironman 2013 (2nd Ironman)

Ironman race.. Swim 3.8km , Bike 180km and Run 42.2km... All within 17hrs. What makes any ordinary man or woman embark on an almost impossible mission . To many it is just a crazy event.

But to many ironman out there, it is a spiritual journey. Yes... Spiritual Journey. Dreaming the impossible ...ironman nirvana ....jumping into troubled waters, putting your butt down clocking those miles tirelessly, enduring the elements , digging in deep into your soul and giving it all out, overcoming obstacles, adjusting your mind and goals, cheering fellow racers who are worn out, constantly, painfully pushing your limits and praying for strength .
That's like experiencing life in 17hrs.

Preparation for the Race
We started training about 2 months after Busso Ironman 2012. It felt harder to get back to training, knowing what was installed for us during the upcoming race. And the hilly ride for Cairns Ironman seemed to be daunting. After all the preparations and hard work, we set off to Cairns ... without our ardent supporters. ..our family.  Taking part in Ironman race is an expensive affair... so bringing the whole family to each race is prohibitive from a cost perspective. Hopefully the family can come along when we head down to exotic  race locations. 

The boys at the Airport sending Kana and myself off.

 Checked in Cairns Novotel. Not too far from race site. The weather was cool (20 to24C) with intermittent rain.  Checked in and started exploring the sleepy town of Cairns.  Headed down to the race Expo by the pier.

To meet MACCA face to face must be one of the biggest highlight of this race. Really cool and down to earth guy. He is the People's Champion. Had a quick chat with him . Made my day.


Race Day

Kana at the Transition site with a sea of very expensive bikes.   Out at last after 3.8km swin

 

Started the swim almost 5 minutes late. We were waiting at the Pier when the horn went off . Instead of steadily going into the water, i did a hasty jump which dislodged my goggles. Not a good start .  With a few hundred impatient races around me, putting on the goggles seemed to be a very difficult task :) But I managed ... By the time, we starting swimming the safety boat was right behind us. That meant we were the last swimmers.  Started to focus on the long and relaxed strokes and clearing one buoy at a time. Finished the first 1.9km loop in 45 minutes. Now for the 2nd lop of 1.9km . The waves started higher and rain clouds started coming in. Great ..... Exactly what we needed. Eventually came out of the water really exhausted in 1hr 40 minutes. What a relief!   The transition run to the bike was really a long way.. But glad to be out of the water and now .... off to the hilly ride

Kana enjoying his bike ride

 

The scenery along the Cairns coast was breath taking. But that was not enough to take away the pain of the hilly ride.  The saddle was getting really uncomfortable and i was waiting to start the run.
Thankfully after more than 6hrs 50 mins on the bike and 180km later, i finished the bike portion of the race safe and sound.  Now off to the run leg ... a FULL marathon.
Even after 10 hours of racing, my body was almost depleted of all energy, I was still looking forward to the run. Must the adrenaline rush ... Well that didn't last too long. After 5km into the run, i had my first leg cramp. That kind of scared me .That's too early in the race. So i dropped the pace and made sure i had more electrolyte drinks and food of course.

The skies turned dark around the 15km mark and it was really hard to see the road and feel the sensation of running. The mind goes through funny and sometimes dark moments. I looked up to the skies and thought of my Father. A man of character and a tough cookie who fought hard till  his last breath. "Give me your strength Dad" I said to him..... That small prayer helped.   



At about the 25km mark, i entered Cairns town... Meanwhile my thoughts all about my buddy Kana, whom i had not seen for a while during the race. Very worrying.... After 30km mark, we met. To see your buddy safe and sound completing the race is such a joy and relief. We hugged, glad to see each other safe and still running. The Ironman race is very brutal . Anything can go wrong .. But today it went well for both Kana and myself.  12km to go... This is the hardest part .

When I crossed the finish line in triumph with my hands up, I looked up the skies and thanked God and my late Father. The Ironman finish line ..feels like walking down the gates of heaven, where your fellow ironman and supporters at the end waiting to congratulate me on completing a long, painful, treacherous and arduous journey. The next few hours are amazing. The "high" that one gets after an Ironman is simply awesome. Now, time to enjoy the after race party ..

The impossible is now Possible.....now my mantra is "Anything is Possible"

Back home after a 10 hours flight, our ardent supporters met us at the airport.  All this racing and time invested into our training won't be possible without our family support. So big Thank You to them.

What's next... Melbourne IM 2014 . The spiritual journey continues....

First Ironman Race at Busselton , Western Australia 2012

The Dream came true !. Finally .....I am an IRONMAN! Unforgettable moment. The finish was spectacular.  The atmosphere at the finish was electrifying and the crowd was awesome. Nothing like an Ironman finish. All the pain and agony that I suffered for 14 odd hours vanished when I entered the last 200m of the race with my hands held up high...

The Impossible ... just became Possible ..

I take this opportunity to give credit and  my utmost respect to Kana.. my training buddy and mentor.  Kana convinced me to take part in the Ironman Western Australia race after catching up with me during the Singapore Aviva 70.3 Ironman 2012 race. Back then it seemed almost impossible. I barely survived the race and to do something double that distance seemed virtually impossible. I am happy that I was convinced to take up the challenge to do it.


Here's the video  of my race in Busselton.

 
We started training in June 2012 , which gave us a good 5 months to complete the race.
We enrolled in Athlete Lab in Singapore, a Sydney based Triathlon training group. http://singapore.athlete-lab.com/

Eduardo is the Head coach at Athlete Lab and he provided us with great plan to approach the training systematically.  He first found out our strength and weakness.. There were more weakness than strength. After which he developed a customised training which was very volume based ..i.e. bloody heavy training ..


Fast forward to 1st week of December. Our families joined us for the race and the pre- race jitters were overshadowed by our children presence and wife support.  We arrived 5 days before the race which gave us sufficient time to adjust to Perth's "summer" weather. It was cold in the morning and hot in the noon .



Race day seemed to arrive very quickly and all the months of preparation has led us to the starting line.
The ironman swim involves at least 1400 racers swimming, kicking, pushing, hitting you in choppy waters. Swim start in an ironman race reminds of Koi fishes jostling over each other in a crowded pond to eat the feed that is being thrown to them..  Really stressful... The only way to avoid this is to flank the corners but clock more miles during the swim.
The cold water swim also presented us with a challenge. Being in Asia, water is warm throughout the year . So jumping into the cold water with a very tight wetsuit was a huge challenge. But once we got over the awkwardness of being in a wet suit, the buoyancy of the wet suit became a boon.



Out of the water sooner than expected, so I was pleasantly pleased with the time and headed to bike portion of the race which proved to be huge challenge.
The crosswinds and headwinds slowed me down considerably. After having witnessed several accidents and bike being swayed in the wind, I decided to ride conservatively.
It took a long 6:45hr to complete the ride and the butt really hurt.
Once I was out of the saddle, I was back in my element.... the run.

The initial 5k was such a buzz .Must be the adrenaline... after reality sets ... together with heavy legs and empty stomach... It is gruelling ... but that's what Ironman is all about... Mind over body.

About the 40km mark, I could hear the announcer calling out the competitor's name and calling them an ironman. That got me so  emotional.. I was crying for about 2 km .... till the finish.




Kana on the right and myself on the left.

Once the final 200m was in sight, I was delirious.... shouting out loud ... "I am an Ironman" to everyone .... and running towards the finish in daze totally missing my family who were trying to call out to me... Such is the Ironman finish

So it was a HAPPY ending .. finished the race safe and sound ...and lived to tell the tale.








I can never over emphasis the importance of family support. Kana and I spent hours or even the whole weekend training for this big event, missing some important family outings and missing on kids activities.
Without their support and kind understanding, the achievement won't taste as sweet. Big Kudos to them.  Till .. the next race beckons us..

First Half ironman race (2012)

First Half Ironman race
With a few triathlon races under my belt, it was time to go the "distance" ... with the Half Ironman race.  1.9km swim in the sea, 90km bike and half marathon(21km). Daunting task.

Training Plan & resources
Went straight to library and i borrowed some good books on Triathlon. I chanced upon Joe Friel's "The Triathlete's Training Bible".
http://joefriel.typepad.com/blog/books.html

The book was very useful for first timers like myself to orientate with all the different aspects of long distance triathlon racing. Correct equipments (bike, watch. goggles, trisuit, shoes), nutrition, swimming techniques, biking and racing strategies. So much to  learn in such a short time.

Phoon and myself at Aviva 70.3 Pre race briefing

The Singapore Aviva Ironman 70.3 was in March 2012 (now discontinued in 2013) and i figured that finishing it would be a great way to start my 40th birthday. So based on all the research done and books that i had read, there was a training plan ready... it required at least 12hours of training a week. Now comes the hard work.

Training Alone ?
Training alone is always difficult and if you do that, there is no one pushing, reminding or motivating you except ... yourself. So i tried teaming up with some friends who into the Tri scene and luckily found 2 buddies who were willing to train together. Phoon Teck Seng, my ex-boss,now good friend and Dan Tung, another kaki whom i got to know during my marathon training days.

There was alot of sharing of information, usually i am on the receiving end and i tried out the techniques during each training session either be it a run, swim or ride.  Long ride/run were reserved for the weekend where i was able to have a good nap/rest after 4 to 6 hours of riding & running. These long sessions were made slightly easier only because someone is riding or running along with you.
I suppose, having a training buddy or group will make the hard training much more bearable or even enjoyable