AVIVA 70.3 HALF IRONMAN

I HAVE DONE IT..!! I completed my 1st ever HALF IRONMAN and is a step closer to my dream.. yes..!! HALF IRONMAN consist of 1.9km of Swim, 90.1km of Bike and 21.1km of Running.. 2 Sept 07 shall be a history in my life.. The best race i ever had..

Pre-Race
On friday, i went to collect my H.I.M race pack at Millenia walk and purchased an event tee.. After which went for the briefing with Kk and Aero from sgrunners.. loneshark wasn't there as he was still busy in his office.. After briefing go home sort the things out.. and prepare my Run Bag as i have to check in with my bike on Saturday at ECP.. woke up early on Saturday and cycle from my house to ECP.. check in my bike and run bag then chao.. on my way back the weather was so hot that i worried that my tyres may burst under the hot sun.. i was praying for rain.. but it didn't.. *sigH* that very night i intend to sleep at 8pm.. but i couldn't.. i was tossing and turning on my bed and finally i fell alseep arn 1+.. i dunno why this is always happen to me before any races... am i too excited or what? haha...


Race Day
Woke up at 4am, had a quick bath and ate two breads and a cup of Milo as my breakfast.. relac awhile on my sofa, then prepared my stuff and water bottles.. My dad then fetch me to ECP and reached there at 6... Wow.. T1 was damn crowded and the atmosphere was really gd.. check my bike and luckily it is okAy.. i lay out my bike gear and look for Kk, aero and loneshark.. We head to the starting area and the elite were all line up and ready for the swim.. it really exciting to watch the elite start off cos they were among the best Triathete in the world.. after the elite and ladies started the swim, it was my wave.. as usual i'm not very gd in swim or i started off somewhere near the back..


Race Day - Swim
1st thing i get into the water was get kick by a fellow participant.. well.. this is just part and parcel of triathlon.. you will get used to it.. =) i started slow in my swim as i do not want to get caught in the middle of the pack.. it is always tough for the 1st few hundreds metres as you are swimming against the current and out from the beach.. it was tough and i used a mixtures of breast and freestyles to get pass the 1st Bouy.. after the 1st bouy the sun was shining against the swim direction.. this made sighting of the 2nd bouy very very hard.. all i could do was just to follow who ever is infront of me.. if they go side way.. then gd luck to me.. haha.. i must admit i struggle during the swim even though the sea was rather calm compare to previous experiences.. as expected, some of the participants whose waves start later than mine swam passed me.. finally after about 50mins of swim, i reached the shore.. i took out my goggle and swim cap then start jogging to T1.. When i reached T1 i couldn't believe my eyes.. where are all the other competitors from my age grp category..!! there were like less than 10 bikes which means that i'm one of those last few swimmers to get out from the sea.. Felt very demoralising as i change into my bike gears.. =(


Race Day - Bike
i mount on to my bike and left T1.. along the way exit towards fort road, saw quite a number of cyclist fixing their pucture tyres.. i was so afraid that my bike will give way too as i did not carry any spare tube and pump.. after fort road, we were cycling along ECP expressway towards Marina.. Wow this was the 1st time that i ever ride on an expressway.. you can see CBD building right infront of you.. this makes the cycling more enjoyable and less painful.. after abt 8km, we had to cycle up sheares bridge.. it was tough.. but still alright.. din really put in all effort along this stretch as i still have another 80km of cycling ahead.. after 600m of upslope we were rewarded with a steep downslope.. the wind gusting against you and it is one of the best part of this bike route.. after passing marina floating platform, we had to cycle another 4 loops (marina to kallang each 20km) after marina, we have to cycle up sheares bridge again.. this make the bike route challenging.. i shifted to a lower gear and keeping my momentum as i cycle my way up.. i was over taken by a number of cyclist.. along this stretch there was a huge traffice jam due to the closure of the road.. i can't rmb during which lap, there was a grp of 3 ang moh kids wind down their window and keep shouting "Go, Go, Go..!!" they were so cute.. i look at them and gave them a smile... Yes.. this is exactly what a competitor needs at this part of the race.. "Cheers and Motivation" they were cheering so loudly that i could hear thier voice even i was 20-30 metres away from them.. i really appreciate their support... Thanks Kids!! =) during the bike, saw Kk and loneshark but didn't see aero.. maybe he was too fast.. i was hoping to overtake some of the people from my Category.. but somehow didn't.. maybe afew only.. anyway.. after abt 3hr++ of non-stop cycling, finally i reached the end point for bike.. i unclip my shoes and dismount from my bike.. there was this lady in pink who was clapping for me.. and said this to me "You did great, Yi Wei.. keep on going.." Wow.. how did she know my name.? i stunned for awhile and realised that our name is printed on the no. tag.. yes..haha..!! as usual i looked at her and returned her with a smile.. slowly make my way to T2 while the volunteer push my bike away for me.. after which i proced to T2 and change into my running shoes..

Race - Run
After 4hr of non-stop exercising, i have to complete a half-marathon 21.1km of run.. yes..!! i'm not kidding.. after i put on my shoes, i started with a slow jog.. slowly pick up abit of pace..at this time it was arn 12noon and the sun was hot.. i quite surprised that my legs didn't feel cramp.. i don't know why. usually there will be a bit of cramp.. maybe i hydrated myself alot during the bike and the day before.. i ran for abt 2km non-stop until i reach the 2nd water point.. i stop and drank a cup of water.. after tt i find it diffcult to get back the momentum again.. haiz.. shouldn't have stop.. but anyway i told myself that i'm am still well within my target of 6hr 30min.. so why not take it slow and enjoy the run instead of pushing and suffer from cramp after that.. so for the rest of the route, i run and walk..taking it slowly.. use alot of cold-sponge to cool my body down.. along the way had a few chat with some of the participants... then during the 2nd lap, rain started pouring.. the weather was very weird.. one moment it was raining heavily and the next it was very hot with the heat burning right above ur head.. after two loop of running, finally i saw the finishing line.. i slowly ran pass the finishing line with a time of 6hr 32mins.. the volunteer put on my finisher medal arn my neck and gave me my finisher towel.. yes..the feeling was gd.. felt great..!! anyway, 6hr 32min was not my net time.. this is the time base on the start time of the elite... shall wait for official result..

Luckily saw Kk at the finishing area.. was lost inside as i dunno where to return my chip and get my drinks.. he then showed me the way.. saw a milo van.. couldn't resist it so i drank 3 cups of milo at one go.. did a few mins of cool down stretching and then collect the 3 bags.. after which my dad fetch me home.. yawn!! was slightly tired but i still have the energy to meet up my friends for dinner at town.. =)

Feedback
+> Thanks to the orgainers for bringing in 70.3 HIM into Singapore.. The whole race was well managed and orgainsed.. hopefully we can have a FULL IRONMAN in near future..
+> The volunteers were great.. they did not just do the task that they were assigned well but also give support and cheers to the participants.. this makes the whole event felt gd for the us..
+> The supporters were fantastise..!! 2 thumbs up for their effort.. They even cheers for strangers like me.. really appreciate those who brave through the sun and rain just to support us...
-> There were some Senseless Singaporean who just cross the biking route even though it was close using barricage.. Pls lah.. if u see there is an event going on, why u still wanna cross it.. endanger ur life and safety of the participants.. *siGh* Why not try crossing an F1 route when they are going at a speed of 200++km/h..? Seriously i dunno what exactly some of the Singaporean are doing.. i felt ashamed too.. really some are brainless... Can't help but to condem those who tried or did cross the bike route..

Overall Experience
I'll give this race a 10/10 rating.. though it was $300++ but given the effort that they put in, it worth it.. i seriously enjoyed the whole race.. Will definitely take part again next year..!!

Lastly to The PC ATHLETES who were part of this race.. you guys have done well.. i'm very proud of you guys even though i don't know anyone of you.. Hope to see all of you taking part again next yr.. =)