Anyhow, i got up at 6am, trying to find every excuse known to man not to take part in the race. However, i showered and got all prepared for the race nonetheless, putting on my Zoots Tri Tights and Mizuno Orange vest. After having a bar of PowerBar Triple Threat for breakfast, i packed my stuff and left for the transition area.
At transition, i arranged my stuff according to the bike + run sequence. Among the items in the transition basket were: my Ironman socks, NB735, Adidas shades, Mizuno Orange vest, Bell Black helmet, Nike White cap, Yellow PowerBar towel from PD Tri, 1 pack of powergel, 1 powergel waterbottle filled with tap water to rinse my feet with after the swim and a bottle of 100+.
I did my customary warm ups and stretches and headed for the beach with Sassyrunner. The sea didn't look as intimidating as the day before. I put on my swim cap and googles and went into the sea for more warming ups. That didn't do any good to my confidence as the high waves made me more afraid. I started to have serious doubts about competing. I headed back to shore, thinking about important things like work, house and Ed. Don't think i want to risk my life just for a race.
Before i could think further, the MC called out all competitors to assemble and gave a short briefing. I didn't hear any of his briefing as the worries i was having blocked my hearing. Next thing i knew, the horn sounded signaling the start of the race.
Being at the back of the pack, i walked slowly into the water. My heart was beating very quickly. Soon the water reached my neck and i had to start swimming. Most of the swimmers were already at least 10m ahead by then. I swam. The wave was still high. I continued swimming, ensuring that i kept near the lifeguards on duty.
After a while, i called out to the lifeguard on the canoe. I asked if he could follow me and he replied "I'm the sweeper, i only follow the last swimmer'. I then replied "I'm the last swimmer" but to my surprise he replied "No, there are others behind you". I turned back, seeing some others struggling like me. The "sweeper" came near us though, and i stroked my way slowly towards the orange buoy.
Next i realised i reached the orange buoy and needed to turn right to swim parallel to the beach. Surprisingly, this part of the swim was a piece of cake. Before long, i reached the next buoy and needed to turn right towards shore.
The swim back to shore was so much harder. Each time the wave run me over, i glided forward but then felt the current pulling me back. After a while, i decided i couldn't get to shore. I was still a distance away from the tide mark at the beach when i decided to give up, calling for the lifeguard again, telling him that i can't go in. He approached and told me to put my feet down. Wah laa, i could feel the sand on my feet.
Walking until the water was at my knees, i started running to the transition area. The crowd which was still at the beach turned out to be my supporters; Littletigger, Balasing, cFred, Eunice, Sotong and wife etc. Armed with cameras, they took many photos of me running towards the transition area. 500m swim completed.Got to my bike, put on my socks, shoes, vest, helmet, shades and drank the 100+ before leaving for the mounting line. Jerry from Trifam cheered me on as i left for my ride. Heading out, i had to turn right towards the gantry before left to the side road with the steep slope. Then is a right towards the second roundabout for a loop and left at the first roundabout back to the startline.
My legs were aching from the swim and my butt from the LD ride. I overtook a lady on a mountain bike who screamed at me to wait for her. I looked forward and reached the side road, where a group of Sikh seemed to be having some sort of activity. They cheered me on as i passed. I dismounted at the bottom of the steep slope and pushed the bike to the top.
At the main road, i saw a couple up ahead. This couple was just ahead of me during the swim. I tried catching up to them or at least maintain the distance. I overtook a couple of father and daughter/son team after the last roundabout before reaching the transition area. IMD and Sassyrunner had already finished their race, and stood by the side of the road cheering me on. 18km ride completed.
I hooked my bike at the transition, removed my helmet, put on the cap and took a sip of
water before running out. Suddenly, the ballon gantry/banner fell towards me. It missed me but blocked my path. Without thinking too hard, i rolled on my stomach over the fallen gantry and continued my run, to the laughter of onlookers. Cfred took some pictures of me heading out (later on i found out that he accidentally ran into the cable that kept the gantry up, causing the gantry to fall towards me) while IMD joined me for the run, telling me that the run is less than the indicated 3km.
I overtook a competitor before the u-turn. Feeling a slight pain on my back, i slowed down, allowing the competitor to overtook me back. Seeing my friends near the finishing line cheering me on, i sped up and finished the race in 1:24.
A weekend well spent. I have done 2 half marathons, 1 a day apart. Now, i can add this LD relay bike ride and individual sprint, also a day apart, to the list.
Swam: 0.5m
Cycled: 18km
Ran: 2km
Time: 1:24
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