The Swim;-
As this is my 2nd Ironman Race & to have such a strong current in the big China river, it really worry me ( I tot IM Race always have a nice calm swim course). Was still pondering which direction to head out when i see everybody dashing into the murky river. Upon reaching the inner loop of the 3rd buoy i was kind of struggling & feeling tired. Somehow i saw quite a number of swimmers walking along the shoreline. I then headed to the shoreline & decided to walk & got a few bad cuts from the rocks. When i got into the 2nd loop of the swim this safety boat came beside me & checked whether i was doing ok & actually telling me to head to the shoreline. Eventually I managed to clear the swim with exhausted body walking up to the Transition Area.
The Bike:-
I was very excited to head out to the bike route after my swim. And i was pedalling hard to battle with the head wind, gradual long climb & heat. After pedalling for 25km i was kind of feeling not rite on my quad(cramp seem to start coming in). Oh shit, not now! When i was at 30km aid station, Chris McCormick aka Macca & a few pros were zooming passed me. Wow, these boys were fast! Ah, at this point of time i started to get cramp. Damn, 150km to go & i had my cramped now. How to survive! Furthermore, i didn't carry any salt tablets with me at all. I had never experience this kind of bad muscle cramp in my training or even in my Langkawi Ironman race. I was cursing left,right,up,down all over as i am going to pay a high price for this( I doubt i can complete this time). Not long after what a relieve to hear someone behind calling my name. My saviour, I was so happy to see Mark as i desperately asking Mark for salt tablets. Thank you Mark of his kind soul for sparing 2 of his salt tablets to me.
Anyway it lasted me only for an hour & i started to get cramp again. When Shawn kona Ann Leong caught up with me i again asked for salt tablets. Thank you another kind soul Crazy2tri for sparing her salt tablets. The rest of the journey was just struggling, suffering, groaning with pain, stopping & resting. I was checking the time on & off to see whether i can make it as the bike cut off time was getting nearer.
After some calculation i was thinking i might not be able to make it in time but my mind was telling me i have to give all out & give my best so that even if i dont make it i would not live to regret. Without hesitation, i was sprinting the last 20km bearing the pain & throwing all the water bottles away so as to lighten the load (somehow psychologically it work). I came in just before the bike time cut off.
The Run:
The Race official came into the transition tent & asked whether am i going to continue the run. Of course i told him & i am gonna to make it to the finishing line. I remembered by the time i started to run it was 1745hr. I was full of confident as i was heading out to the run route. I was wrong, both of my legs just felt so heavy & simply just want to walk only. & i know if i were to walk all the way i definitely wont be able to make it. Along the way some of the crazy2tri was passing me salt tablets. Thank you once again.
When i was running my second loop i became the last runner at 30km mark. i checked my time & i was wondering again if i can make it. But when you have come this far it is really mind over body. My mental was telling yes you can make it. I tell myself you can do it & just continue to run, run, run as i was telling & pushing myself.
At the swim transition route, I was asking the Race official how far was i from the finishing line.
7.5km & my clock show 2315hr.
With great determination i pushed myself again & so happy to see Logan & David Chua came to me & encouraged me to push on near the finishing line. Finally i crossed the finishing line with 13 minutes left cut off time.
Having heard enough of the tough condition of China Ironman. I just want to Thank you our chief, Ching Hong for getting into this really Crazy2tri China Ironman Race.
I remembered when i finished my Ironman Langakwi somehow i was still feeling strong & energetic but Ironman China i was left with no energy & limping just to get back to the hotel & dumped everything aside. It was indeed a tough memorable IM Race.
In conclusion, developing the right pace is one of the most important lessons i must learn and also to carry plenty of sodium.
I am proud of myself to have completed, and i cant wait for my next IM Race. That is IMWA 2010. And i am hoping more Crazy2Tri kakis can join in this Race & have fun togehter.
Once again Thanks Boon Pin for updating such a exciting Ironman C2T report back home.
It's even better than tracking in ironmanlive.com.
Reese
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