2nd Aug, after a good 10hrs sleep 'walup' plate of long-tong & nasi lemak flush down with a nice cup of kopi-O. Had laksa then took 2hrs nap. All these to gain back that which I lost yesterday; my mind n body was utterly drained by the sea, hills n roads of Desaru. The nearest comparison was 27yrs ago when i was an army recruit. This is much worst than any of the marathons that I ever ran.
1st Aug, 6:30am the final preparation begun. As usual, didn't sleep well (must bring my smelly bobsters next time!) enough to last me thru the day. Left the chalets n walk to race site with Perry, Fion, Maryanne, & Ken . Laid out barang barang n proceed to beach at 8.30 for warm up. The sea was cold n very choppy; did some breast strokes to feel the waves n found it very difficult to use front crawl. Was feeling a bit giddy after a short swim n my confidence level plunged to new low : ( "Can survive or not?" The plan is to stay near to the buoys, just in case i need to hang on.
SWIM(2K) 2 loops of 1K: Formed up at starting line.
It was a mass start, so hundread of bodies & thousands of flinging limbs, the inevitable happened; kana punch on my right eyes (thanfully my goggles stayed intact- Perry got it worst, goggles slipped off his eyes), kana kicked in the abdomen by a froggie n swallowed few mouthfull of salt water. It took me 400m to get use to the temperature n choppy waters. The cross current was so strong that it easily sweep us off course if we don't check our sighting regularly. 2nd loop was easier as we were adapted to the waters. A prayer of thanks after completing loop 2 n head for T1.
Time: 44mins
BIKE(90K) 3 laps of 30k: After the 1st loop, it was like "Shit! Do I have to do this 2 more X!" The hills were tough (to me). Having ride mostly on flats, this was terrible. The last time I felt like quitting any physical exertion was when my Army officer made us run up sand dunes meant for sea reclaimation! On the hills of Desaru, I almost want to throw in the towel after my 2nd lap. The heat, the climbs, the aches, the mental focus,...in my last lap, I was climbing the hills at 10km/h n was trying to shift to the lowest possible gears available, only to find that there was none lower! #$%*&!! why the bike manufacturer don't add in more low gears! After over 20yrs, I found myself talking aloud to myself on the hills of Deasaru; "John, one last hill!", "John, u can do it! Come on! 1 step at a time!", "I am gotta make it!".....When I fnished lap 2, ppl were already running! How demoralising!...."never mind, finishing last also must complete". Started to count ppl behind on my last lap; 21, ok so still won't be last. I was totally depleted (mentally n physically) by the end of the bike leg.
Time: 3hr 43mins
RUN (21K) 2 laps of 10.5K: There was nothing left when I got off the bike; the head n body were empty. After the 1st lap, the thought of quitting resurfaced. "I have come this far would be a waste to quit now"...was reduced to walk/run regime for the final lap.
Time: 2hrs 34mins
Total Time: 7hrs 13mins
Lessons Learned:
1) Don't try this without adequate preparation! I was not, so more suffering than enjoyment.
2) Hill training for cycling is a MUST!
3) Fueling was adequate (5X gels, 2X Rasins, 1X Banana, 3X Salt Tabs)
Conclusion:
1) My current fitness is not ready for half-Ironman and above (the Full Ironmam thingy wld remain as a distant dream)
2) Overall was happy with the swim and glad to be alive to do another race. Satisfied to finish within my targetted 7hrs 30mins.
Very impressed by those staying for hrs to cheer on strangers like us! Some even distributed food n drinks.
AM NOT GOING TO DO THAT DISTANCE AGAIN ANYTIME SOON!!!
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