Category: Sports

It’s 4:30 AM on Sunday 7 September and I am awake. My alarm clock has not gone off yet – it will in less than 15 minutes.

A little groggy, even though I went to sleep early last night, I get up and get ready for the day.

Thursday, I collected the race pack for all three of us; Friday, Richard and I attended the race briefing and on Saturday, David, Richard and I looked at the transition area and decided how we were going to pass the baton (or in this case the “ChampionChip”) during the race.

Here is the full team, after we have set up pur equipment on Saturday.

From left to right: Dave (AKA Georges – Tri50+ Runner), Richard (Tri50+ Cyclist), Pierre (Tri50+ Swimmer), Moraig and Donald (both brave, or crazy enough to do this as individuals…)

We were early – Richard’s bicycle looks very lonely.

The excitement has been growing for some time now, and today is the time to prove what we can do.

I have been swimming hard for four weeks.  I regularly do 60 laps of the complex pool (25 m long) in 32 to 33 minutes.  The first time I tried a full 2 km (or 80 laps) of the pool, I did it in 42 minutes.  The last time, a week ago, I did it in 36 minutes.  I know that swimming in the sea, with 100 competitors around me, is very different, and much harder, but the improvement is still there.

Since I have packed my gear last night, I am ready by 5AM and I leave.  East Coast Park is just waking up.  It is still dark outside but there are 100 people in front of me waiting for “body markings” – since the race starts with a 1.9 km swim, all participants have to have their number marked on their bare skin.  The line moves fast and I get through without delay.  Richard is behind me, and gets his number done just right …

I relax for breakfast – a tub of yogurt – about all I can manage to ingest with my knotted stomach.  I also have a bottle of water from which I take regular sips to insure I am well hydrated.  The organisers and volunteers are doing the same around me and making final preparation for the long day ahead.

By 6 AM I meet Lee Lee, Richard, Moraig and Ronald in the main tent.  Moraig and Donald are doing the full race – Richard will be taking over after me for the cycling leg – Lee Lee is there to support all of us…

Competitors throughout are preparing their equipment while it is still completely dark outside.  The atmosphere is eerie with lots of activity at a time when this should not be the case.  The weather is perfect.  air is cool, there is no wind to create waves and the threat of rain is low.

Richard and I are ready for action – “Muscle Men!”

I must begin to concentrate and get ready for my race.  I leave my post-swim bag with Richard’s bicycle and join a large number of people at the “swim start”.  The elite athletes leave at 7 AM.  I go off to the side so that I can do a little warm up and get the feel of the water.  I have had a mild cold for a few days and therefore am not sure how I will do.  All feels OK!

Audrey has joined us – she did the swim last year and I did the run.

At 7:15 AM, all women competitors leave and men follow at 5 minute interval for different age groups.  The teams are last, scheduled for 7:40 AM.  I am ready, but still have to wait.  Dave joins us at that time and I am glad for the moral support.

7:35 and the last wave of men individual competitors leave.  There are 85 teams, so I am encourraged that the start will not be too crowded.  In the past two “biathlon” that I did, the start almost drowned me – after 200 m I was ready to give up.  My strategy in this case was to start fast, try to get ahead of the crowd and stay to the right of the course, away from the ‘direct’ route.  Unfortunately, since 1400 competitors left ahead of us, there is a constant stream of people completing their first swimming lap and starting on the second.

Count Down: 10 … 9 … 8 … 7 … 6 … (my heart accelerates) … 5 … 4 … (competitors start inching forward, anctious to get going) … 3 … 2 … 1 …      no horn …. TOOOOT! and I go.

Three steps and a dolphin dive (just as I planned) and I am swimming.  Four strokes, breathe, four strikes, breathe, four strokes, breathe … start to relax … two strokes, breathe, two strokes breathe … get into sustainable stroke rate … swim … get away from slower swimmer on the left … swim … I get to the first turn after 150 m and realise that I need to slow down even more as I am out of breath.  But the start worked out OK and now I just need to sustain. 350 m to the next turn, than 100 m towards the beach than 300 m than 50 m back to the beach.  Just take it one step at a time.  Throughout I am surrounded by other swimmers.  I see green caps, who left 5 minutes ahead of us, and I see yellow caps, on their second lap, who left 15 minutes ahead of us.

I complete the first lap and look at my stopwatch – 22 minutes, not quite as good as I expected, but below my goal of 45 minutes for the full distance.  Dave is first to spot me and shout encouragements, Audrey is just after that – I get renewed energy…

Less than 100 m of jogging along the beach, three steps, dolphin dive – this is not the time to loose concentration – and I am swimming again.  There are still a lot of people on all sides of me.  there is the one “purple cap” rigth in front of me.

side bar – in order to identify competitors in the swim, all people have to wear a swimming cap and the color of the cap indicates the wave in which they left.  Elite competitors have white caps, ladies have orange ones, men go from yellow to blue and green while all teams have purple caps.

I have in front of me a direct competitor – and we have about the same pace.  I have heard that you can actually draft even in swimming.  When you swim directly behind another person, you use 5 to 8% less effort.  I do my best to stay right behind the person in front of me – but I am not sure if it really helps.

Again, 150 m out, 350 m across, 100 m back toward the beach and 300 m across.  I gradually increase the pace, just like I did in the pool; by the last turn, and 50 m to go, I am at full speed.  Stroke … stroke … no sand keep stroking … stroke … stroke and touch bottom … I get up … I am done … except for the 200 m jog to get to the transition area where Richard is waiting for me.

A quick glance at my watch shows 44 minutes.  Happiness, but I was secretly hoping for better.  Running in the sand is not easy, but later there is a blue carpet that makes it easier.  Fresh water shower – no time to waste.  The timing mat is ahead – the swim almost ‘officially’ done.  All I have left is an easy jog back to transition where Richard and Dave are waiting.

Than “SNAP” – if this were a cartoon, there would have been a big bubble with “SNAP” in a very ugly font all over it.  I am convinced that I actually heard my muscle when it tore.  I certainly felt it!

Like a hero with superhuman strength (RIGHT! Ha Ha Ha!) I hop and limp and crawl back to transition where I can give Richard the timing chip and get him going on his 90 km cycle.  While Richard gets the timing chip from my ankle and puts it on his, Dave is there waiting with the bicycle – I am just glad it is over…

Andy Ong, a friend I have cycled with, and Zhou Miao, a technician at the plant, are still waiting for their swimmers to get back – I am feeling a little better that we might be the top EM team…

Richard does his first 30 km lap in 55 minutes and does the second lap in the same time – we have a pretty good idea of when he will get back.

First back in transition is Donald after a very good cycling leg.  He left 15 minutes before me, but is now about 20 minute ahead of Richard. Next came Moraig – she left 25 minute ahead of us, but is only 5 minutes in the lead now.

It is 10:50 and Richard pulls in at the end of his leg.  The temperature is up and so is the sun.  Dave now has to deal with both for 21 km.  My concern is that he has not had much experience in Singapore and may not be able to deal with the heat.  I start to feel guilty (a bit late for that, I realise) at having invited him on the team since he just moved here 2 weeks ago.  After 1 lap, he look OK.  After two, he look a bit red… but he is still going strong.

Donald is first to finish with an excellent time under 6 hours.  Moraig is able to stay ahead and finishes just ahead of Dave.  He crosses the line and smiles – glad that the punishment is over.  We collect our “medal” and “Finisher” T-shirts as rewards.  Our total time is just under 6 hours, much better than last year.

There are still a lot of competitors out on the course.  It is impossible, and unfair, to compare a team performance to what it takes to do the whole race as an individual.  But we started last and finished in the first 300 competitors overall.  I am very happy with the results.  And we do look good!

As last year, the main reward is just to finish and to be part of such an incredible event.  To see the satisfaction of competitors when they get to the end of the race is unique.  One lady ended with a cartwheel and back flip.  Several others crossed the line with their whole families who came to watch.  All were applauded by the crowd and us, recognising what it took to get there.

Afterwards, I went home and was finally able to out my leg on ice and try to get the swelling down.  It is better today, and I am sure will improve further, but it is clear that I am not going to do much running or cycling for weeks to come.  Everybody tells me that this is a part of getting old, but I refuse to accept that.  As soon as possible, I will be back on the training track, swimming Mondays, Gym Tuesdays, Running Wednesdays, Cycling Fridays and Dragon Boat Saturdays.  I just love the heady feeling and will get back to it as soon as possible.

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Please do not let the title fool you – there is nothing routine about running a 1/2 marathon for me and after the debacle at the Singapore Triathlon, I had a lot to prove to myself.  It was therefore important for me to do well in the SAFRA Singapore Bay Run and Army Half Marathon (SBR&AHM).

I had run three 1/2 marathons in the past.  The first, in 2006, I finished in 2h28.  The second was not quite as good, with 2h35 but the last, at the end of 2007, was a significant improvement at 2h16.

Once again, I had choices to make.  Not realising that the event was the evening before the run, I had signed up, with most of Papillon, for the Singapore Fireworks Celebration.  We decided to have a pic-nic before the event, but the weather was questionable.  It was raining most of the day.  With the uncertainty as to whether the fireworks would even happen, and the fact that I did not want to get home late, I decided to leave early to go home.  I am sure my friends will understand that I needed to do well on Sunday.

I went to sleep early (before 10) but also woke up early (I was wide awake at 2AM with butterflies having a party in my stomach and head).  The alarm woke me up again at 4:45 and I got ready to leave.

I started to wonder why I do this!  It is still dark outside and I have had a very short night.  The only people up at this time of night are the ones finishing their party and eating before going home.

But than I approach the Padang and realise that there are many more people like me out there.  Hundreds of people are converging towards the finish line – always good to know where the agony will end!  By 6:00 I am at the starting point, concentrating, stretching, warming up, drinking water, sizing up the opposition (not really, I know that I am my opposition!) and in general getting ready for the race.

At 6:30, the start is given.  It takes me about 45 seconds to reach the starting point, a lot less than most people who are still walking behind me.  This is the largest running event in Singapore with 75000 participants in three separate races (21, 10 and 6km).  The ‘elite’ runners, those doing the full distance, get to leave first – the 10k starts at 7:30 and the 6k starts at 8:30.

The SBR&AHM has one feature every year that makes it special.  The run starts by crossing Shears Bridge.  If you drive over Shears Bridge, you would not think about it as special – it is just a large highway bridge.  But when you run over it, it is a totally different thing.  The bridge starts after the 2 km mark, therefore for me after about 12 minutes of running (my pace is about 10 km/hr, or 6 minute per km).  The road than goes up for the next 12-15 minutes, not a steep incline, but continuous and tough none the less.  And of course, you need to come down afterwards, and when you are running, going down really is not much easier than going up.

At the 7 km mark, I am in East Coast Park, and I can see that the elite runners are already on their way out of the park on the other side of the barrier.  It is somewhat tough to know that after 42 minutes of running, you are already 5-6 km behind the leaders.  The path winds around the park and eventually we get to the turning point at 9.5 km.  Now, I can see that the crowd behind me is a lot bigger than the crowd in front of me.  When I get to the end of the park, they are still coming in and I can see that when I am at 13k, there are a lot of people just getting to 7k!  And they must be thinking, just like me a few minutes earlier, “wow! all those people in front of me!”

The second feature of this SBR&AHM was coming up.  The brand new park connector from East Coast Park to the Marina Barrage, and the first time that people get to cross the brand new Marina Barrage.  Unfortunately, this is still a dirt path, and with the rain of yesterday, it is quite soft and tricky – not easy running.  The barrage is at about the 16 km mark and therefore I only have 5 more to go for the finish.  However, these are always the toughest.

I am still running in a crowd, constantly passing some, and being passed by others, always having to pay attention to those around me.  It is amazing to me considering that we have been running for almost two hours, that there are people who have already finished and others at least 1 hour behind me.  In Marina Park, we have to cross one road with traffic.  Cars and trucks are desperately trying to cross, but there is a constant stream of runners, making this totally impossible.  Fortunately, the police is keeping a close eye on everything and allow me to keep going without stopping.

Just out of the park, I see the best sign in the world: 20 km – only one to go.  I share my feelings with the runner next to me, and he agrees that the news is good, and we will make it.  I am tempted to accelerate, but my body refuses to respond.

Collier Quay, Fullerton Road, 500 m to go, Connaught Road, St. Andrews Road and the finish! The race clock shows 2h12 but my stopwatch, started when I actually crossed the starting point, shows 2h11m35s – my best time so far.

Once again, I wonder why I do this.  I am exhausted, absolutely drenched in sweat; my legs are hurting and I am really thirsty.  Than I realise that “I did it!”  I did what I set out to, it was not easy but I still managed a better time than before.

There is always a crowd at the finish.  I meet Jui Goy, who finished a few minutes before me – now I understand why he was not at the Fireworks last night.  Return “ChampionChip” (the device that gives exact race timing along the course and at the finish, and therefore also prevents people from cheating), get my finisher’s medal and relax for a while with a well deserved bottle of water.

By 10AM, I am home, showered and refreshed.  While a lot of people are just starting their day, I am already done with mine – there is no way I will be doing anything else today!

The results are out and I am 465th out of 1645 “men veterans” – still cannot bet used to that term for me.  By the way, Veterans are all people above 40!  A good result.

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It was time for the annual Jurong Island Dragon Boat Race.  An event dominated the last few years by the many ExxonMobil teams entered in the various categories, except last year where results were disappointing compared to previous years.  We therefore needed to improve…

Last year, indeed, we had won ‘only’ two cups out of four (ladies and Veterans) and three sets of medals – not bad, but not as expected.  The final photo was still one of success.

As you may recall, my mixed team, Papillon, had crossed the finish first in the final, but was later disqualified as we had finished in the wrong lane … An costly mistake.

A lot of practice, by all teams, had gone into doing a lot better this year.  We had entered 8 teams overall, five in the Open competition, and one each in Mixed, Ladies and Veterans. SRC had seven teams entered and most of the other companies a lot fewer.

Three of the teams entered in the Open division qualified for the semi-finals and eventually for the final (there are only 6 lanes) and two other teams, Tiger Lillies (Ladies) and Roaring Forties (Veterans) went directly into the finals as there are less than 6 teams entered.

Papillon had to prove a lot following the disappointments of the previous three years – and we had to do it without our coach Patrick who had other commitments that day. The team did very well in the heat, finishing well ahead of all the other competitors as seen on the picture of the finish below.

Success was repeated in the semi-final, with Papillon again finishing ahead of the rest.

The final overall results were much better than last year.

Sea Blades won the Open division and Aces came in second.

Roaring Forties won the Veterans by a margin of only 0.03 seconds.

Tiger Lillies were unfortunately beaten into second place for the first time in five years – a well deserved silver medal nonetheless.

And Papillon won the mixed division, beating SRC convincingly, and in the correct lane.

The award ceremony was again dominated by winning EM teams – Papillon getting their Gold medal from the EM Chemical Plant Manager himself – the picture says it all, joy and not a small amount of relief.

With so many EM teams getting medals and doing well, we decided to have, once again, a combined team picture on the podium.

That evening we had a fantastic BBQ at Ken’s place, with good food, good company, excellent home-made beer and even entertainment.  Not a bad way to finish the day.

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The verdict is in and it may have taken me 50 years to learn this but now I know: I am mad!

Actually I am probably too harsh on myself – I did not have deep enough thoughts to consider madness for the first few years of my life and therefore it probably only took me 46 or 47 years to learn this.  In any case, I am a slow learner, but you must agree with me that it is not easy to admit something like this.

So what finally triggered this revelation?  The week-end of 12 and 13 July! And of course a lot of things that happened before that.

It all started one day in June 1957 – but I will skip a few episodes to 2006 and an innocent proposal from a friend:  “Pierre, would you like to run in the JP Morgan Run – it is only 5.6 km?”  I said yes and he is still my friend – I do not blame him for what happened after that.

I actually enjoyed the run, and the competition and wanted more.  I than agreed to run the 1/2 marathon in December 2006.  Than another friend talked about a ‘biathlon’ (swim than run) and I completed my first one in March 2007 and enjoyed that.  Here I am coming out of the water during that event.

Than I found out about the Singapore Triathlon, and I was doomed!

In 2007, I signed up and trained really hard for 2 months.  On the day of the competition, I was ready, but the weather was not.  After swimming 1.5 km in a sea that looked more like a washing machine and cycling 10 km in a driving rain, the organisers called the race off because it was getting dangerous.  I was devastated, and compensated that day by winning the silver medal in a local charity Dragon Boat race with Papillon.

I was determined to do better this year.

I set up a rigorous training program in May and June to prepare: Monday – swim, occasionally followed by run or cycle; Tuesday – Gym; Wednesday – Run; Thursday – rest; Friday – Cycle; Saturday – Dragon Boat; Sunday – Cycle and Run, or Swim and Cycle.

All was going well until I was faced with a decision – actually a series of decisions.

My week end started early on Saturday 12 July.  I had to organise paddles, life jackets and the all important ‘butt protectors’ as well as drinks for Papillon as we were competing in the Corporate Community Games that day.  This has become a very important competition for us as last year, this was the first time that we won anything as a team.  We won the bronze medal in the mixed competition when few expected us to do that well.  Read all about it in my entry of July last year.  This was the picture of us with our first medal.

I arrived at Bedok Reservoir early enough to see the completion of the Men’s competition. ExxonMobil Teams took 2nd and 3rd place behind Citibank.  A much better result than last year when no medals were won.

The mixed competition was tougher with 18 teams entered.  I did not row for the heat and we came in first with a good lead over … the other ExxonMobil Team – Roaring Lillies.  This meant that both teams went directly into the semi-finals.

Here is the whole group before our respective semi finals.

Fortunately our two teams were in different semi-finals.  Papillon went first and the finish was very, very close.  I had taken my usual place at the back of the boat with Ben (the two ‘mountains’ were back together again) and I knew we were not first as OCBC was clearly a little in front of us, but Citibank was very close and I could not tell who was second and who was third.  However, we were reassured when we saw the EM fans on the docks jumping up and down holding up two fingers.  Only the top two teams from each semi made it to the finals!  We were in but, as we found out later, with the worst qualifying time.

The final was a blurr to me.  There was a false start, the first I can ever remember.  We shot out quickly and had a small lead but OCBC was coming back slowly.  The finish between OCBC and ourselves was again very close and this time, we were not so happy when our friends held out TWO FINGERS.  We did one better than last year, but maybe not as good as what we could have done.  There is always room for improvement.

As we did last year, we ended up celebrating the medal at my apartment.  Only this time, I had asked everybody to leave around 10 PM as I needed rest.  The Singapore Airforce celebrated with us with a fantastic aerobatics display – this was one of the final rehearsals for the National Day Parade that will take place on 9 August.  The food took forever to get here, but we had fun and did not really care, other than the hunger we all felt.  We listened to music – no Queens this time – and talked and relaxed.  At about 10:15, without any prompting on my part, some one said “Let’s go” and within 5 minutes the apartment was clean and everybody had left.

On Sunday – It was Triathlon Time!  And it did not go all that well.  The swim was OK – it was difficult and it took me 40 minutes to complete the 1.5 km (my usual time is about 30 minutes) but I was 6th out of the water in the ’50 and over’ category.  Here is the start – I am to the left of middle, starting my stopwatch and wearing the orange cap and the red and white top

  The cycling went OK as well.  I completed the 40 km in a little over 1h20m, about the time I was hoping for.  However, as soon as I started running, I knew I was in trouble.  After 2 km, I could barely run.  After 3 km I started walking and I knew that I would  not complete the event.  I had no energy left, was dehydrated and could not drink enough to feel better.

So my second Triathlon ended with DNF!

Did the events of the day before contribute to this?  Probably not the ideal preparation for a 3-hour endurance race.

Would I do it again? Without a second of hesitation – YES! 

That’ why I am MAD!

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Last year, Papillon lost in the heats to a team called NewUrbanMale (NUM) by only 0.5s after a nearly 5 minute race.  I never got over it – most of us did not.

See post on the subject in July 2007

This year, our goal was: 1) make it to the semis and 2) Beat NewUrbanMale!

Once again, there is no Inter-Corporate Mixed competition so Papillon is entered in the open division together with EM Ace, EM Roaring Forties (our veterans) and EM Refinery.  EM Sea Blades is in Inter-business clubs and houses and EM Tiger Lillies is entered in the Inter-Corporate Ladies. A full house as last year.

Just as a reminder, this is one of the largest Dragon Boat competitions in Singapore and is definitely the longest at 800 m.  This may not seem like much to you, but 4 1/2 minutes of hard rowing is a grueling race.  Most of the other events we will enter are run over 250 or 300 m.

Papillon is drawn in the fourth heat, against Manulife, Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), Shell, and Health Science Authority – no NUM.

The start is delayed as two of the teams are having problems setting up. They have a new starting ‘method’ for this year with a pontoon and the boats are held in position.  It is much easier once you are in place, but a little more difficult to get in position, especially since the wind is strong and against us.  We wait patiently, breath deep and concentrate.

The start is good, with our new strategy of 30 hard strokes propelling us into the lead.  Very quickly, it is a two boat race, between ourselves and RBS – all the others are far behind.  After our hard-10, we are even with RBS, but they do a hard-10 and take a 1 or 2 seat lead.  Patrick, our coach, is thinking for all of us, and does not call for a second hard-10.  He also does an abbreviated charge of only 50 m.  The rules are simple – the top two teams in each heat qualify for the semi finals – no point in wasting energy now.

We come in second to RBS with an excellent time of 4 m 51 s, slower than last year, but we were rowing against a very strong wind.  The other teams in our heat are very far behind.  Here are the results:

Most of the teams in the other heats have times above 5 minutes.  A lot of the top teams do not go all out in the heats, true, but we have a time in the top 10 which is not too bad considering that we are competing against all male teams and we have 2 (very good) ladies rowing with us.

Our first objective is met.

Sunday – we are in the first semi-final, with HP (who had the best time in the heats), our old friends NUM, UBS, Citibank and National Health Care.  Three other EM Teams are qualified for the semi-finals – a better result than last year. 

Earlier in the morning, the Tiger Lillies had their semi-final (only 12 teams signed up) and qualified in third place for the final.

We know our task is difficult.  Only the top two teams in each semi-final will qualify for the final.  HP is probably untouchable so once again, it looks like NUM, and our performance against them, will be the deciding factor.  In the heats, NUM Had a slower time than we did, but, as I said earlier, this is not always a good indication of the potential of a team.  We board the boat near the finishing line and therefore use the 800 m to the starting point as a final tune-up and warm-up.

We have a good start.  Since I am on the left side of our boat, I can glance at HP and NUM and we are even with them.  After 200 m HP starts to draw ahead with a faster maintenance pace than we can maintain.  NUM draws ahead as well, but our hard-10 brings us back closer.  After 400 m, the race is essentially decided.  HP and NUM are stronger than we are and slowly draw away from us.  One more hard-10 brings us closer, but not close enough to challenge.  In the end, we are close third, beaten again by NUM!

The advantage of being part of a larger Dragon Boat family is immediately obvious.  We are clearly disappointed not to have advanced to the final but when we return to the ExxonMobil tent, we are greeted with applause and pats on the back by all, dragon boaters and fans alike.  Just what we needed to realise that what we did was an achievement after all.

Unfortunately, none of the other EM men’s team qualified for the finals.  The Lillies did quite well, coming in 5 th place overall.  HP won both the men and the ladies competitions!

Just as a point of comparison, the top 10-men competition is the Inter-business houses and clubs.  Their time is 10-20 seconds faster than we can do.

And the national final for 20-men boats is more than a minute quicker …

We have a long way to go before we can compete at these levels.

Overall, we had a lot of fun … we took this photo of the ‘happy’ family at the end of the day.

Coming up: Corporate Community Games on 12 July and the Jurong Island Races on 26 July (which I will unfortunately miss).  We are ready as both of these are true mixed competitions where we have a better chance of success.

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For those of you who know me well, you know that I often try to use just the right words to say what I want.  So you will not over-react when I tell you that on Sunday I ran in the inaugural Singapore 70.3 Ironman Triathlon.  This is ½ the distance of a full ironman triathlon, ‘only’ 1.9 km swim, 90 km cycle and 21 km run.Let me now put at ease those who did not read carefully enough.  I did not complete the full triathlon, I was part of a relay team and RAN the final 21 km.The day started for me very early as I was nervous as always before a competition.  I woke up around 4 AM and after some tossing and turning, got up and left the house on time to get to the East Coast Park at about 7AM.  The elite athletes were first off at 7:15 followed by all the ladies and than the men.  Teams finally got underway at 7:45 with Audrey doing the swim for us.  Richard and I were there to send her off.  It was a long wait not knowing how she was doing.  After a little over 50 minutes, she came out of the water and ran towards the T1 transfer area, giving her timing chip to Richard so he could start the cycling leg.  I drove to the new floating platform on Marina Bay to wait for my turn.  I timed every one of Richard’s 4 laps to be able to predict when it would be my turn.  By the third lap, Lee Lee, Richard’s wife, arrived on her bicycle and takes this picture of him as he goes by. 

In another 35 minutes, around 11:25 AM, it will be my turn.The wait is long, and more and more people complete the cycle leg and start on the run.  These are the real athletes, those who complete the whole race on their own.  I am relegated to the transfer area for teams, and get to talk to a few other competitors, one from Hong-Kong and another from Singapore.  We all agree that (a) we could not do the whole thing on our own and (b) the wait is the worst part.

I am getting more and more nervous; the temperature keeps increasing, and there is no sign of the thunderstorm that was predicted for early afternoon.  As I am getting ready, one of the competitors arrives and nearly collapses in front of me.  He complains of severe cramps, but declines any assistance I offered – not sure what I could have done but…At 11:22, right on time, Richard completes the 90 km and passes the timing chip to me.

I am off on only my second ½ marathon ever.  The start goes well and I am feeling good for the first 5-6 km, except for the heat – since I am carrying my own supply of isotonic drinks, I use every water station to pour cold water on my head and try to stay cool.  Than I hit my first “wall”.  I know that I can work through this and slow down a little, enough to recover some.

After a little over 65 minutes, I am back at the starting point, wondering if I can actually finish the race, looking for some way to cool off…

 – Found it! A man with a water hose – pure heaven.

I do not stop.  One thought of Audrey’s and Richard’s disappointment if I were to do so is enough to keep me going.  I hit another hard spot at the beginning of the second (and thankfully last) lap.  I have to slow down a little more to keep going.  The promised shower finally arrives and helps, a little.  But it is very brief and not enough to really cool things a whole lot.  Throughout the course there are organizers, race marshals, first aiders, water providers and bystanders who keep clapping and encouraging us to continue.  So I do.  I finally crossed the finish line around 1 PM completing the 70.3 miles (122.9 km) for the team.  Audrey, Lilly and Richard are waiting right after the finish line and we get our “finisher’s” medals; there is even a pool filled with cold water where I can try to regain some strength. 

Opportunity for another team photo… with our medals!

I have no time for recovery.  Tonight, I leave for Perth and a one week vacation in Western Australia.

I just have to stop scheduling these trips after a major sporting event (this is the third time this year!).  It is all I can do to remain awake and functioning for a late night departure.  One good thing, though – I had no problems sleeping on the plane after the day that I had!

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