2010 Aviva Ironman 70.3 Singapore Triathlon

Yes, I have done it.

I did not finish in a good time, but I have completed it and I am happy about it.

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One year ago during 2009 Aviva Ironman 70.3 Singapore Triathlon, I was practicing my swim (around 1km) at Queenstown Swimming Complex, and I said to my friends that it was quite crazy to do half-ironman. I am a weak swimmer, I bought my bike 1 year ago, and I am an average runner. It was a daunting task for me, but with some trainings & perseverance, it is a good feeling to know that I can do it too.

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My Preparation

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Transition Area

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Race Statistics:

• Of the 1,396 entries for the Aviva Ironman 70.3 Singapore, there are 465 Singaporeans and 1,018 athletes representing 60 other countries.

• A total of 61 nations are represented with Hong Kong, Australia, the UK and US, and Japan, Philippines, Malaysia and the UAE very strong in numbers.

• 86% of the field are male with 14% female.

• The most popular age group category for both women is 35-39 (33 women) and 40-44 for men with 272 competitors.

• The oldest competitors are Japan’s Kazuharu Tsujii (Male 74 years) and Australia’s Pamela Williams (Female 57 years)

• The youngest competitors are Singapore’s Siew Mei Chan (Female - 22 years) and Tiong Han Yeo ( Male -20 years)

• There are a record number of 95 teams also introducing competitors to the incredible Ironman 70.3 distance in 2010

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The Race:

Prior to the race, I told myself that I would not push myself too hard, if necessary, I would definitely stop. I just wanted to participate and feel the energy. I was in the sea for a short swim to warm-up, and when I saw the speculator sunrise, I was really happy and glad to be alive.

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The Elites getting read for swim - Cowie on the Right.

(Taken from Lee T*** FB w/o permission)

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Swim-

To see the World Class Triathletes in action, was so cool. When my age category flag-off, I was one of the last few people to enter the water. I swam at my own rhythm, and decided not to push myself hard. I completed my 1.9km swim in 47mins and felt good about the swim. It was a good start.

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Cycling across Benjamin Shears Bridge

(Taken from: http://hooky3659.wordpress.com/2010/03/22/aviva-ironman-70-3-singapore-2010/)

Cycle-

I took my time to get ready for the 90km cycling (3 loops). After I exited the transition area and started paddling, it was quite bumpy on a smooth road. I knew something was wrong. I got off the bike, checked my chain etc... everything seems to be working. I started to paddle again, but it was still bumpy and I knew that I could not continue like this. I got off again to realise that I got a FLAT tyre!

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To make things worse, I have never change a flat tyre before, even though I have the Kit. To make even worse, it was the rear tyre that was flat, which meant that it would be more difficult to change. A lot of participants were cycling passed me. I was quite pissed off, as I am already a weak cyclist and this was happening to me. I tried to change it, but to no avail. A passerby (foreign worker) came to assist me to change as well, but after 5-10 minutes of trying, I knew that there was no way we could change the flat tyre.

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Fortunately, I was 500m away from the transition area. I pushed my bike back to the transition area and found Shimano Bike Mechanic to fix it for me. It was not easy for them too!!! After 15mins, they fixed my tyre and I was ready to go. In total, I wasted around 26mins because of this flat tyre. The transition area was completely empty when I left, and it was very demoralising. I was the second last person leaving the transition area, as another guy was still repairing his broken bike chain.

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The first lap (30km) was fine, and the highlight was when the elites raced passed me. I saw the number bid 0001 – Craig Alexander (The Reigning Ironman World Champion). I was cycling beside a world champion for a split second = Happiness. They must be in their 3rd lap already. For the second lap (60km), I was a bit demoralized to think that everybody was their third lap already. The last lap (90km) was quite tiring and to cycle across the Benjamin Shears Bridge for the 5th & 6th time was painful – there were people getting off their bike to push it. The positive aspect was that I hardly see anybody and I must say that it was quite a cool experience to have the whole expressway with the city view to myself. More importantly, it was the first time that I overtook people. Finally, I am not the last one!

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Craig Alexander - Bid No. 0001

(Taken from C*** FB w/o permission also)

Run-

I was really happy to get off the roadie and start running. I did not push myself too hard, as I could feel the strain on my heart and I just wanted to be safe. The afternoon heat was killing me, and thankfully, the sky was overcastted after my first 7km lap. The 21km seemed to be endless, and I was always looking forward to the next water point to cool myself. Around 2km before the finishing line, I was getting a bit emotional when I knew that I was going to finish the race, and thinking that I had seriously thought of not participating in the race.

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Total Time: 7hr 24min.
(Position: 843 out of 951 finishers)

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Rough Breakdown:

1.9km Swim  47min

Transition 1 6min

Bike Repair  26min

90km Cycle  3hr 30min

Transition 2  4min

21km Run 2hr 29min

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It is the BEST event that I ever participated. It was expensive though – S$375 for registration, excluding other expenses (bike servicing, bike accessories, supplements, taxi transportation etc..). But it is worth every cents. Below are the highlights:

1. Spectacular Morning Sunrise

2. Seeing the Elites in Action

3. Cycling across Benjamin Shears Bridge

4. Participating in the biggest 70.3 ironman in Asia

5. Craig Alexander cycled beside me (for a brief moment)

6. Feeling emotional and grateful that I completed the race
7. Wonderful Participants and Volunteers cheering for slow finishers like me

8. Participating with a group of wonderful friends. (Prior to the race, 2 of them got serious food poisoning – vomiting and bad bad diarrhoea, doctor recommended them not to participate, and they completed it. Respect!!!)

Lastly,

9. Really grateful to be alive.

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Full Ironman next? May be, May be Not...

I think I better see a Cardiologist first to have a peace of mind.

=)