Annual Report

Hehe, it is the time of the year for me to do a summary of the entire year's races.

Relatively easy for me this year as I did not sign up for much races. =p

This year is very different. I cannot remember much of what happened during most of the races.
Stagnation or too much focus on the penultimate race?
Have to rely on my own postings to recall. =p

Singapore Biathlon - The annual race that I would not miss. For the first time I decided to start in the middle of the swim pack and really start to understand the washing machine effect.
Getting swam over is no fun... =D

OCBC Cycle - Got a free slot from a friend for the race. Still a typically dis-organised race.
What I do like about the route this year is that we get to ride on the East Coast Highway (Full Closure)! =)

Aviva Ironman 70.3 Singapore - Another horribly organised race. Had a terrible swim. Follow the swim pack and miss a buoy, thus a shorter swim and still came out of the water after an hour!
The reason why I am skipping HiVelocity organised races from now on.
They have the lane ropes on the shores which they did not put out on the race course, causing my wave to miss a buoy. To cumuliate to the problem, a small yellow buoy was used instead of the usual big white/yellow buoy.
T1 was nice though. We finally have Car Park F2 as our transition area.
Bike Route was from Car Park F2 to Changi Coastal Road causing a traffic jam for those going to Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal.
Saw fallen riders. One cyclist was out cold for a long time with no much assistance.
One ambulance cannot get to him cause of the traffic jam near TMFT.
Another ambulance got stuck in the mud.
It took more than half an hour for a third ambulance to reach him coming from Changi Village.
What partially shocked me is that it took the officials a long time to reach him given the amount of official motorbikes on the bike course.

Adri amazes me with her fine race. =) Go, Adri!

2XU Compression Run - My Birthday Run. =D Start the run with BFF, but lost her 1km into the run. =D Haha, hard for a 8-hour marathoner to keep pace with a 5:30-hour marathoner. =D
Ended the day with a birthday treat. =)

Tri-Factor Swim 3km - A race with sleep deprivation. Was working the graveyard shift and proceed for the race right after work. Did a lot of re-assurance to MHA even before I am able to proceed with the race.
This race was a trial swim for the 3.8km that I will be doing on 4th December 2011.
Pretty happy with the 1:20h timing. =)
Partly demoralising to know that ALL my friends beat my timing. =D

100-Plus Passion Run - The first time I have to climb over a few barricades just to reach the Start Line. There is no indication where the Start Point is nor how to get there. Yeah, this is the race standard that I have gotten used to. You got to figure everything out yourself.
Tried the Run-Walk strategy for the first time. During a race! *Faintz*
Worked well till 19km where fatigue took over.
Saw a lady lying motionless on the floor with wide-open terrified eyes.
Yes, it is not easy to forget those images.
Complete the race in 4:04hrs. Did beat my sub-4hr target.

Tri-Factor Bike 60km - Had a fun 30km spin with Sean and Ivan with Sean pulling us all the way.
35km in 1:01h! Crazy!
50km in 1:28h. Hope to go below 2h.

Happy to complete the race in 1:54h.
Disappointed to know most of my friends finished around 1:40h.
Still have a lot of catching up to do. =(

OSIM Triathlon - C-One is back racing again. =D Another issue with the swim leg. The big buoy was not anchored properly (Cannot sight it at all) causing a number of swimmers to swim off-course. Yours Truly included.
Saw a Security personnel moon-walking on the Bike Course.
The very people that are employed to keep order is fooling around on the race course!

Tri-Factor Triathlon - Left the house at 7am with race start at 7:45am.
House to Race Start becomes Transition Zero for me. =D
Lesson not well learnt. Always read the instructions carefully before Race Day. =p
One of the worst triathlon I clocked to date... Enff said.

BnB - Thanks to the persuasion of FOTR and the kind generosity of the donors who supported me for the cause, I am able to attend this race.
This will be the Bike A-Race for me.
If I can survive these two days, it will help a lot in my preparation for IMWA 2011.
One of the last if not the last rider to reach McD West Coast. =p
The first day ride start out well with strong headwinds after 30km.
Did 30km in under an hour which includes slopes. Amazed!
After 70km, I was deflated... Strong headwind plus searing heat makes for a dizzy spin...
Followed YP straight to the hotel after Petronas.
Completed 100km, skipping the additional 50km of rolling hills. =p
Second Day is 155km of rolling terrain.
Started well with FOTR riding in a pack.
After a while, we decided to up the ante with Sean, SE and I breaking away.
Again strong headwinds is causing havoc to our pace.
36kmh effort generate speed of 29kmh.
When the peloton caught up, I was surprised that I had the energy to pull away and did a solo ride to Belungkor!
With 11am cut off at Tg Belungkor a good 2 hours away, I have no reason to skip the additional 38km loop.
Had a break in Tg Belungkor and another one on Route 92 where Ivan and Sean decided to ride on first.
I have no idea that we are among the last riders in the group, as many riders have decided to skip Tg. Belungkor given the hot weather.
For the last 30km, FOTR and MAMIL rode together, finishing the race in fine style. =)
155km in 6.5hrs. How this ride will count towards the end of the year, I do not know. =(

MegaTri - The last long distance triathlon before IMWA 2011.
With a smaller size race, I was pleasantly surprised to emerge from the swim with half the bikes still racked! This is something new for me. =D
Learnt to finally rely on going aero to beat the headwind.
Out on the run, I pulled my ITB!
Haha, as they always say, you won't know where is your ITB till you pull it!
Geez, and I have to pull it during a race!
Thoughts were to DNF the race.
Was happy to finally complete the race.
9:05h completion time also gave me some hope for IMWA 2011.

New Balance Real Run - A free bib from a friend who decided to skip the race.
1:31h for a sinus-filled run.

Newton 30k - The last long distance run before IMWA 2011.
With a 4:04h completion for Passion Run 25km and a 4:38h Mega Tri Run 27km, I have no idea what timing I will post for this race.
Did around 4:40h for the race.
A real morale booster for my run for IMWA 2011.

IMWA
This is it.
The penultimate race of the year.
A triathlon distance I once termed as crazy and untouchable.
226k awaits and I am going to conquer it!
A race where you are a winner by clicking on the "Submit" button on Registration Day. =D
A race where Race Start sees an entire field of uber calm triathletes (Or at least that is how we all look on the outside. =D)
A race where most triathletes had spend a entire year away from the family, training.
IMWA is a race with half the field consisting of first-time Ironmen.
I realised at this moment when I am writing this entry, that my heart did not skip a beat looking out at Busselton Jetty nor driving around the Bike Course thinking of how to conquer the distances.
It is as though I am certain that I CAN and will DO it.
Having self doubts throughout the year, the thought was pushed to the back of my mind at the Start of the race, fear only to emerge 3/4 through the swim where I thought I might have DNF.
1:48h Swim Completion and I cannot wipe the grin off my face.
I have gained another 30mins for my run. =)
170km into my Bike and I was thankful. I prayed that nothing will happen during the last 10km.
Passing my bike to the bike catcher, I pumped my fists in the air!
9 hours on the clock, 8 hours to cut-off time.
The race is mine to lose.
The question lingers for my friends.
Can Jodan DO it?
Can a 3-time marathoner who has never did a sub-8 hour marathon be able to complete the race within the cut-off time?
In my heart, I know I can DO it.
Passing Signal Park an hour before the Run cut-off time, my morale roses.
200m towards the Finish Line, I was grateful.
Crossing under the Ironman Arch in 16:33:03hrs is a moment that will forever be etched into memory.