My First Ironman 70.3

After 4 years absence, the Ironman franchise is back in Malaysia, the Putrajaya 70.3 on 13th April 2014 and Langkawi IM on 27th September 2014. Since I have done the Ipoh Century Ride twice and Port Dickson International Triathlon once (in 2012, 2013 DNS due to asthma), the next endurance event to tackle would be the 70.3. It is called the 70.3 since you will be doing a 1.2-mile (1.9 km) swim, a 56-mile (90 km) bike ride, and a 13.1-mile (21.1 km) run. The total in miles would be 70.3 miles (113km).
On the 7th November 2013, I registered for the Putrajaya 70.3, taking advantage of the opening special of USD199 registration fee.

I kept it a secret since I didn't want to embarrass myself. Of course it was no longer a secret from my wife when the credit card statement arrived later but none of my triathlete buddies knew about it.
I thought the secret was out of the bag when Doc Zali Mohd posted this screengrab of the Ironman registration confirmation on the triathlete's WhatsApp group. But it turned out to be a fake created to fool others. Well, it almost fooled me!
  
Doc Zali's fake screengrab
Thus the training began in earnest. The schedule is simple enough, noon Tuesday to Friday I would be running on the treadmill at Sukmaria, usually for 3km. Tuesday to Sunday evening (6 to 7pm) I would be at Pusat Akuatik Darul Ehsan (PADE), learning and training to swim 1.9km freestyle (FS) on my own. On Saturday and Sunday, I would be cycling at the Guthrie Corridor Expressway (GCE). Monday would be my rest day since PADE is closed on that day :D
My cross training schedule
Undergraduate and postgraduate students examination in January 2014 disrupted the schedule but I tried to find time to train even during the family vacation time at Golden Palms Resort in Sepang.
Luckily the local triathlete group Tadonamo organized 2 swim clinics, the first one on 11th January 2014 and the second one on 9th March 2014. The swim clinic was held at the Putrajaya Maritime Centre and we swam loops in the lake. More than 160 participants turned up at each session. These sessions helped to generate confidence among the participants for open water swimming.

Part of the 163 people who turned up for the first swim clinic
5 of the Rangka Triers who registered for Putrajaya 70.3. From right; 1-Maddie, 2-Me, 3-Naza, 4-Acid, 5-Pejal & Luvis Phuah (Tadonamo) at the second swim clinic.
Safzan Tripaku & Me in the water
After the second swim clinic, I tried to ride along the earlier planned Putrajaya 70.3 Ironman route, a loop of 45 km distance but I got horribly lost and nearly ended up riding to Bangi after missing a critical junction. Trying to get back on track, I took the wrong slip road and ended up on Persiaran Timur instead of Jalan Wadi al-Ehsan. Exhausted and out of water, I went back to my car via Putrajaya International Convention Centre (PICC), the highest visible landmark in Putrajaya. Not a good sign!

The route that I took
Unfortunately 3 weeks before the Putrajaya 70.3 Ironman event, I caught the flu bug from one of my clinic patients. Gargling with Difflam didn't help. On Sunday 30th March 2014, 2 weeks before the event, the sore throat became a full blown asthma attack. Training ground to a halt and despair began to set in. The same thing happened the year before, a week before the 2013 Port Dickson International Triathlon and I had to give up the slot. I can't do the same for the Putrajaya 70.3 slot since I would have to forfeit the USD199 registration fee :(
I spent the two weeks before the event at home, on sick leave with acute asthma. I took two courses of antibiotics, hoping to somehow recover before the event. I did recover from asthma but physically I was ill-prepared for the event. There was no way that I could complete the event within the 8 hours 15 minutes cut-off time. Since I was in no physical condition to check out the new bike route announced by the organiser, I recce the route in my car on Monday 7th April 2014 and noted the many climbs (horror!). So when I sent my bike to Bike Tech Subang for the pre-race servicing later in the day, I had them installed my climbing cassette (11-28) on my bike.

Final cycling route for Putrajaya 70.3 and the elevation profile
After Friday prayers on 11th April, I went to Putrajaya to check-in and pick up my goody bag and registration material. Check-in was very professionally done and everything was settled in less than 5 minutes. Although there were many souvenirs on sale, I just bought the event official t-shirt for RM89 and RM80 worth of PowerBar & PowerGel. It was uplifting to see my name displayed at the entrance of the venue as one of the many participants.
My name at the entrance of the venue.
I listened to the event briefing and I was lucky enough to find an empty seat beside the national paralympic triathlete, Sabki Arifin!

With Sabki Arifin
It was stated during the briefing that we would be using the bike lanes as part of our cycling route. I tried out those bike lanes during my cycling excursion on 9th March 2014, so I knew how bad were the lanes. The bike lanes were dangerous with tree roots growing underneath and creating dangerous bumps. Most of the drains lost their covers long ago. This is bad news indeed.
I spent the night preparing the items for the event. All these items were packed into the 2XU transition bag, a gift from my lovely wife.

Items for the event
All bikes must be checked in at the transition area before 5 pm on Saturday. So I went after zohor so that I could catch the transition area briefing at 2.30 pm. When I checked-in the bike, it was raining. I met Naza of Rangka Triers at the transition area. When we were listening to the Aussie guy giving the transition area briefing, the rain was pouring. But he continued to regard it like a light summer rain. Those who ran for shelter were derided as softies, so I stayed on :p

My bike at rack 449.
Despite all the preparation, I did not sleep well that night. I woke up twice with stomach upset. The anxiety was getting to me. So at 4.30 am I got ready and drove to Putrajaya, stopping by the Subang Jaya McDonald's for breakfast. I arrived in Putrajaya at 5.30am but I was not allowed into the transition area. Instead I made full use of the nearby public toilet :) So that's the third time I had to go that morning :D
Upon entering the transition area, I prepared my bike by inflating the tyres to the correct pressure, securing 4 PowerGels to the topbar and inserting the two water bottles into the bottle cages. I prayed fajr prayers within the transition area since it was a hassle going out and coming back into the transition area. Then I laid out everything that I would require during the bike and run leg alongside my bike. I took everything else that was not required, stuffed them into the transition bag and left the bag at the left-luggage tent. Once done, I again lined up at the toilets to relieve myself before the event started.

Me, Naza & Pejal. The Rangka Triers have too much free time! See what they come up with! Very good resemblance I must say!
We gathered at the swim start area and met with the other 1235 individual participants. I met with the other Rangka Triers participating in the event such as Ng KC, Acid, Naza, Pejal and Maddie. Two other Rangka Triers, Sayuti Zahit and Syariz Sehat were in the relay event, taking part as cyclists and/or runner. Anyway the swim event started 20 minutes later due to the tardiness of the officiating VIP. So instead of starting at 7.37am, I started at 7.57am. It was a water start but luckily they have a pontoon which I could hold on while waiting for the starting horn.

Can you spot me in this official photo?
Upon hearing the horn I swam at a leisurely pace to complete the 1.9km using breast stroke. We swam from Menara Monumen Alaf Baru towards the Iron Mosque then towards Seri Wawasan Bridge and then back to Menara Monumen Alaf Baru.

My swim

Halle Berry coming out from the sea :p
Coming out from the lake after swimming for 1 hour 8 minutes, I leisurely walked to the transition area. Putting on my cycling glasses, helmet and gloves, I pushed my bike towards the bike start. I put on my cycling shoes and immediately suffered cramps on my right thigh. Despite the cramps, I mounted the bike and rode towards Persiaran Timur. At Persiaran Utara, we rode in the bike lane. It was a dumb idea to force the cyclists to use the bike lane. It was a dumber idea to cover the drains with the unsecured red and blue cover which was not nailed down. So when the cyclists hit them, the cover moved and the cyclists went down with it. During the first loop a Malaysian Chinese cyclist fell a few minutes ahead of me and a Caucasian female fell right behind me. Even the national paralympic Sabki Ariffin fell there and ended up with severe injuries, requiring 6 stitches and not finishing the race.

Cycling near Iron Mosque
My cycling glasses fell apart at the end of the first loop. Luckily I had my normal glasses attached to my heart rate monitor strap so I put them on during the second loop. The weather was especially hot and I ran out of water quickly. I ended up taking 2 water bottles at the 3 water stations just to keep dehydration at bay. During this loop I suffered cramps of both my thighs and right knee especially during the climbs at Persiaran Timur, Persiaran Apec and at the end of Persiaran Tasik. I just reduced the intensity and kept on spinning the pedals. I also started to feel hunger pangs since it was already noon but I already ran out of PowerGels. All the other Rangka Triers overtook me at various stages of the second loop of the race so I was already far behind.

At the end of the second loop of cycling with Rangka Triers supporters cheering me on
I finished the bike leg in 4 hours 7 minutes, a very slow pace indeed but I was not expecting much due to my long illness prior to the event. In fact I already planned on quitting after the bike leg before even starting the race, since I knew I was not physically prepared for this. But upon entering the transition area, I heard the announcement that the event area would only close at 5 pm, giving me 3.5 hours to complete the run leg. So I ran. Run, Forrest, run!
Me trying to catch up with Azman BJCC aka Ironman during the running leg
As I was entering the run first loop, I bumped into Azman BJCC who was starting his second loop and he encouraged me to go on. But I was not able to maintain a good pace. Instead I was having epigastric pain and I was not able to differentiate whether it was chest pain or indigestion ("perut masuk angin"). At the first water station near the Pink Mosque, I saw a still, unmoving body on a stretcher being pushed into the ambulance. I asked them what's wrong and they said dehydration. If they said that the person had died, I would have given up there and then, due to my chest pain. Instead I pushed on. The water stations have also ran out of water, only isotonic drinks was available. Drinking that made my epigastric pain worse. So maybe it was indigestion.
After 8km, I ran into Naza Rangka Triers who was finishing his second loop. I told him about my epigastric pain and my desire to DNF. He asked me not to do that, instead he asked me to continue with the second loop until the sag wagon pick me up. DNF with honour. I also met BJCC Lini Kazim who told me to go on. Instead I took out my phone and called my wife. I told her of my desire to quit and she said it doesn't matter, I am still her Ironman despite all this. So my mind was made up, I would quit at the end of the first loop and walk into the medical tent and get medical assistance for my epigastric pain.
Rangka Triers hard core supporters
But how can I quit after seeing these Rangka Triers hard core supporters at the finish line? One look at their faces and I immediately continued the second loop. Apparently the gate to the second loop was closed after 5 runners behind me passed through the gate. I tried running but ended up with cramps of my calves so I brisk walked instead. After the 12km mark I tried to run to catch up with Samsul Bahari Adnan who overtook me but I ended up with severe cramps of both calves. Took me a while before I was able to start moving again. So I walked all the way.
At the 14km water station, I asked the volunteers where is the sag wagon? They told me the cut-off time was pushed to 5.30pm, so no sag wagon yet. Suddenly I felt hope, that somehow I could finish this event. I just had to make sure that I don't have any more cramps. So I pushed on. It was lonely then being the only guy on the running track but I persevered. 3 hours 57 minutes later I arrived at the finish line. The crowd had already left but the volunteers crowded at the finish line and cheered me on. I may be the last to arrive but these volunteers made me feel like a winner. Thank you guys!
Moments at the finish line. Pictures courtesy of Khairi Muin.
I finished in 9 hours 25 minutes. They took the timing chip and gave me a finisher's medal. Nice! I immediately walked to the left-luggage tent which was being dismantled but luckily my transition bag was still there. After picking it up, I walked to the transition area and my bike was once again the last bike there. Deja vu!
My wife called me to congratulate me for finishing when I was in the transition area. I was just glad that I didn't get a scolding for changing my mind about DNF at the end of the first loop :D
Last bike in transition
Since I finished well beyond the official cut-off time of 8 hours 15 minutes, I did get messages asking me whether did I get a medal and certificate? I am happy to say that I got both!

Finisher Certificate
Due to the long exposure to the sun and the lack of protection, I ended up being sun-tanned and sun-burnt. Even the race number was burnt into my skin.

Sun-Tanned Badge of Courage
Nik Om of Tadonamo shared the full results of the event with me. Out of 1235 people who registered, only 1081 turned up for the swim event. Out of these, only 992 finished the event. A total of 91 people did not finished. BTW I noticed 2 persons (Bib 600 and 876) who did not swim. They just cycled and ran. Maybe because they just want the finisher medal only. Something to show off at the office. So it is possible to beat the system if you just want the finisher medal.

Swim survival analysis
Among the finishers, I did okay in swimming. I was above the 90th centile but I was not the one with the maximum time. Overall swimming, Aussies were the best, Malaysians were the worst.
Bike survival analysis
Among the finishers, I did okay in cycling. I was above the 90th centile but I was not the one with the maximum time. Overall cycling, Aussies were the best, Malaysians were the worst.
Run survival analysis
Among the finishers, I was the third worst in running. I was above the 90th centile but I was not the one with the maximum time. Another Malaysian and a Japanese was slower than me. Nothing to be proud of. Overall running, Aussies were the best, Malaysians were the worst.
Despite the poor timing, I was so proud of what I had achieved that I stenciled the Ironman motto "Anything Is Possible" onto my name plate at the office :D
I wonder if they would make a fuss if I add the Ironman logo before my name? :p

Name plate on my door
Joe Woon BJCC produced an excellent video of the Putrajaya 70.3. You can see me goofing off at 1:23 and 18:35.
IM70.3 Putrajaya 2014 from Joe Woon on Vimeo.

My First Triathlon

It began innocently enough. Early in January 2012, Doc Taufik needed enough participants for an adult swimming class. It was on Monday night, from 8pm till 10.30pm, conducted at Desa Tasik public pool, which is quite near to my place of work. The monthly rate was very reasonable (translation: very cheap!). So a total of 8 cyclists/runners signed up. One of us later dropped out due to time-constraints. At least 3 of us would turn up at every lessons, or else it would be cancelled. So after a few months, most of us were able to swim competently, either breast-stroke or front-crawl or both.

It is hard to teach an old dog new tricks. Being the eldest of them all, I was struggling to master the front-crawl . Yet the rest of the younger crowd were whizzing in that 25m public pool.

When coach Jeff timed us, I was the slowest of the lot for the front-crawl . But since the rest were doing very well, they were pushing for the next horizon, for something to motivate them even further. Three of them joined the Alice Smith School TNT KLASS Triathlon 2012 (400m Swim, 6K Bike, 3K Run) on 10th March 2012. They did the swim leg using breast-stroke only! Later a lot more of them signed up for the Nexus Triathlon 2012 on 28th April 2012

On the 16th April 2012, Doc Taufik dropped the bombshell. Turned out that they signed up for the swimming class was because they wanted to join the Port Dickson Triathlon, Olympic Distance. That means 1.5km swim, 40km cycling and 10km running. Everyone in the group had signed up except for me. The PD Triathlon OD is on 8th July 2012 and I already signed up for the Ipoh Century Ride on the 15th July 2012. Two extreme endurance events back to back, wah! Not my cup of tea. I put it at the back of my mind since I had two prior events to worry about, the PCC Interstate Ride 2012 (Kajang->Kuala Pilah->Muar->Johor Baru) from 28th April 2012 till 1st May 2012 and the Letua 100km ride on 13th May 2012.

But a week after completing the Letua 100 ride, I ended signing up for the PD Triathlon. How can I not join my swimming buddies in their pursuit of athletic excellence? ;-) Anyway these guys were very persuasive. I really signed up just to avoid their persistent persuasion. My original plan was to collect my goodie bag, come up with an excuse at the last minute and not participate :-D

I was really not prepared for the triathlon. While I was dilly dallying whether to sign up or not, the guys had already did their trial runs in Port Dickson for a few times. The first and 3rd session was on 12th May 2012 and 16th June 2012 which was organised by Tadonamo. The second session was organised by Rangka Riders on 3rd June 2012. They also have their weekly BRICKS (Bike Run Swim) session every Wednesday night in Putrajaya. I only have my Monday night swimming class and weekend cycling with my missus! Oh boy, I was really in trouble.

Thus begin my training in earnest for the PD triathlon. I signed up with the gym in PPUKM (known as Sukmaria) so that I can make use of the treadmill during lunchtime.

After work, I would stop by at Pusat Akuatik Darul Ehsan (PADE) for my swimming practise in its 50m outdoor pool. Since I only had 7 weeks to prepare, I concentrated on doing the breast-stroke only. On weekends I tried to fit in 40km cycling, 1.5km swimming and 5km running. Due to the congested pool at PADE during weekends, I would be lucky to even get 1km of swimming.

In that 7 weeks of training I only managed to fit in only 14 sessions of swimming, 7 sessions of running and 7 sessions of cycling. Not enough training for the PD Triathlon. I was so worried about not being physically prepared that I even forgot to book accommodation in Port Dickson. Luckily Anas Najhi, Jeli's friend, allowed me to share his accommodation at the Port Dickson Golf Club and Resort. Thank you Anas!

After giving my lecture in PPUKM on the 7th July 2012, I drove to PD and met up with Anas and Jeli at the resort. Jeli did his sprint triathlon already in the morning and was on his way back. Even at the sprint event, 22 out of 300 plus participants didn't complete the swim leg although it was only 750m long. Later I drove to Avillion to register, pick up my goodie bag and meet up with the other participants.

I had a look at the swim leg route and realised that it is a different kettle of fish altogether. Open water swimming is very different compared to swimming 30 laps in a 50m public pool.

That night after dinner, I attended the briefing given by Uncle Chan. He announced a cut-off time of 4 hours. My heart sank. In training, it took me an hour for the swim, one hour 40 minutes for the cycling and two hours for the 10km run. Total of 4 hours 40 minutes. So it would be impossible for me to do it in 4 hours, consecutively with no rest in between.

Afterwards I went back to the resort, along with Kingmarul and Khai who would be squatting with us. I prepared the bike for tomorrow's ride and sorted out the stuff for the transition area, keeping only the bare necessities.

I woke up at 4 am and drove to the starting point at 5 am. I prayed at the Avillion's prayer room. I left my bike and the other stuffs at the transition area and had my number painted on me. Met up with Azman from BJCC and he gave me valuable pointers on how to get through the 1.5km swim leg. I found the other guys from my swimming class already warming up, running around the hotel.

Once it was almost time to start, all the participants congregated at the beach. Those from the swimming class took a group photo, together with the rest of Rangka Riders.

We were released in waves, according to age group. The first group released was males below 29 years old. 5 minutes later it was males between 30 to 39 years old. Again 5 minutes later, it was males between 40 to 49 years old(my group), then males above 50 years old with the ladies. Those doing relays were released last. From the swim class, only Doc Taufik was in my group. He did the swim using front-crawl and I was breast-stroking my way forward.

There were no buoys marking the lanes as promised by Uncle Chan due to the massive storm the night before. Instead we had only one massive buoy in the middle of the sea. Upon reaching it, we had to turn left and head into the Avillion cove. At the cove opening, there was a buoy. From there, we swam further in towards the jetty. Once we reached the jetty, we loop back out of the cove and turn right back into the beach. At all the turning points, there was a huge buoy to aid navigation.

The faster female swimmers caught up with me at the cove opening. When I arrived back at the beach 46 minutes later, I was clearly exhausted since I fell back into the water when I tried to stand up.

But I was relieved to survive the swim leg alive. Immediately I asked my pal Zali to call my wife and tell her the good news :-). However my heart rate was at 160 bpm.

I ran from the beach to the transition area (T1), to start on the next leg of the race.

I went through the showers on my way to the transition area.

Only Doc Taufik and Abah were at the transition area. The rest had left already. I swallowed the contents of a PowerGel in my vain attempt to recover my energy. I also wasted precious minutes getting ready and resetting my watch for the bike leg since my Polar doesn't have multisports mode.

I took EFS Liquid Shot with me since I was seriously exhausted. The route from PD towards Linggi was a rolling route with plenty of climbs. Once I reached the 5km mark, the lead riders were already on their way back. Abah overtook me at km 8 and I couldn't do anything about it since I was spent. Breast-stroke swimming really took everything out of my legs. Sipping the EFS Liquid Shot kept me going especially the last 10km of the 40km ride. My legs were beginning to suffer from cramps due to the various climbs. Once I reached the 35km mark, I was relieved since it was downhill all the way.

As I rode into Avillion on my bike, the leaders were already finishing their 10km run and making their way to the finish line. You can see the pain etched on my face as I made my way to T2 to change into my running gear. I completed this leg in 1 hour 36 minutes.

After changing into my running gear, I slipped a GU rehydration tablet into my water bottle to help me stave off my cramps. Not only was I having cramps, I was also suffering from jelly legs from the cycling. So I could barely walk the first 2km of the run leg.

Although Uncle Chan promised 100+ at all water stations, which was stationed at every 2km, only the second last water station had 100+. The rest of the water stations only had plain water. After Tg Tuan Resort, I attempted to run on and off, or walk at a brisk pace. By the time I reached the 5km checkpoint, they already ran out of yellow ribbons so they gave me their last red ribbon instead. The return leg was on the beach ("off-road"). By the time I was about to reach Avillion, the early finishers were already leaving the race site, including almost all of my swimming buddies.

I arrived so late that only Abah and Zali was still waiting for me at the finish line. Thanks guys! I really appreciate it. Otherwise I wont have this excellent picture/video of me at the finish line!

I completed the running leg in 1 hour 38 minutes.

By the time I arrived at the transition area, my bike was the only one left!

What's left was the long drive home. At least I completed the triathlon despite the lack of training, within the cut-off time. I have no one to blame but myself for the overall poor timing/personal best.Out of 300+ of males in my age group, only 202 made it back before the cut-off time and I was number 199!

Conclusion

Everyone from the swimming class survived the swim leg of the race. Coach Jeff was very proud of the achievements of his adult students. As for me, I need to master front-crawl so that I can save my legs for cycle and run legs of the race. Most importantly I need to learn to run and do the 10km run in 1 hour instead of 2 hours!

BTW despite swimming 1.5km, cycling 40km and running 10km, I did not lose any weight. My weight was exactly the same before and after the event ;-)

P.S. - I didn't recover in time for the Ipoh Century Ride on the next weekend. I ended up doing the 170km ride in more than 7 hours. Lesson learnt; "Don't bit off more than what I could chew."

Photo credits :- Most of the photos were taken by Zali Mohd, one by Eng Tiong, one by Swee-Chuan Khoo and another by Ivan Bengho. Copyright of the photos belonged to the respective photographers.