Ok, finally some time to write a decent race report. Not going to be too long, nor going to be too naggy; I will just write about the right bits of it.
Day 1 Wednesday 21 Feb 07Flew to Langkawi on MI364. Checked in early at Changi Airport Terminal 2. Saw many other triathletes but other than Boon Pin, can't really remember anyone else. Ben and Alex from Bike Boutique also flew on the same plane.
Reached Langkawi, paid RM70 per person for the official transport. Turned out to be a huge mistake. Asked if bikes could be loaded on buses and we take the lorry instead but got turned down flatly. Harrowing ride over to City Bayview Hotel.
Reached hotel, damn shag. To our horror, we almost could not bring our bikes up along with us. Luckily security was not so tight for the first few days so we managed to wheel our bikes up secretly. Discovered that Grace's bike got slightly damaged on the transit from airport to hotel. Attempted to put some bits of the bike together before heading out for dinner. Day 1 finished with 2 bikes finally set up but 2 people with brains which needed to be removed, all the bits of them.
At the airport. Maxicab cost $40. Having your own personal bike mechanic? Priceless.
Being sandwiched by the crazy Bike Boutique duo of Grace and Alex.
Luckily bike arrived in one piece. Thanks to Beng for the box. =)
Woke up quite late, but still managed a swim in the morning at the hotel pool before heading down for breakfast. Met Andy (smallcircle sir) at the hotel restaurant who had just returned from a swim and run at the race site! Took in some race course info from him which proved to be rather useful later on.
Went for race registration at Seaview Hotel (the official hotel) after breakfast. Lots of people there and it was difficult not to get excited about the race. Grace discovered that she was going to be the she-devil while I got stuck with a rather boring number of 62. Went down to the race expo and bought a shirt and a box of powergels (2 free bottles and 1 free t-shirt!). Thereafter proceeded for lunch and our own personal body tune-up training. Went for the bike course recce with Choonwei, Chin Cheong and Si Kwan. Was lucky to have met them, as we were hopelessly lost on our first loop. Did a short run after our bike, and we went down to Dataran Lang (the famed eagle square) for carbo loading dinner.
Dinner was quite terrible; the caterers only prepared 700 plates for 700 athletes, no more no less. But actual turnout was like 900+ as friends and family of athletes turned up as well. That meant that late-comers like me had to eat out of the soup bowls. Haha. Kinda like dim sum. Ordered room service after the dinner and packed special needs bags for check in the next day. End of day 2.
Registered athlete band. The latest fashion accessory to hit Langkawi.
Apparently this devil does not wear prada. *grinz*
Me after making the above statement at the hotel room.
Who's up for guano for dinner?
Calm before the storm. This is the actual swim course.Day 3 Friday 23 Feb 07
Eve of race! Got played out by Choonwei early in the morned and missed the bus tour of the bike course. Looking back, it might have been a blessing in disguise. Spent the whole morning moping around and packing more stuff.
Went for race brief in the afternoon at the Langkasuka.
No its not the Karma Sutra! Brief was pretty straightforward and there were no surprises. Met some more SG triathletes and general atmosphere was pretty upbeat, considering how many first timers were there. Went for lunch with Jeffrey (Speedo) and Lau Peng Ka & gang at this nice western restaurant called Domino's. After that went back to hotel and did final checks before check in of bike/run bags and of course, my beloved P2K.
Check in was again at Dataran Lang. Weather was sweltering and I was wondering if it was going to be equally hot, if not hotter on race day. Racked my bike, pasted the nice bling bling Langkawi sticker on it and last but not least released some air from the tyres to prevent a blow-out on race morning. After that went back to hotel to get some rest, and I tried to be more relaxed. By this time the pressure of the race was getting to me! Dinner with a few of the guys rounded off day 3.
IML2007 lecture. Practicals were going to be conducted the next day.
More triathlete emotional baggage.
Number 61 never turned up. Presumably because of me.
Bling Bling..
Brain ache.
Race day Saturday 24 Feb 07
Woke up to the smell of instant noodles at 0400hrs. Grace was already following her race day nutrition plan and eating all sorts of food. As for me, I wanted to follow my race day back out plan and go back to sleep but I could not come up with a suitable excuse. Plus, I had a really bad stomachache (results of eating 20+ prunes the day before). So I got out of bed.
After breakfast I took the transit bus from hotel to race site. Grace had Choonwei to pick her up. So nice lor.. Sexual discrimination! Got myself body marked and went in to check on the bike. Well, so far so good. No blow-outs, nobody stole my wheels, my speedo seems to be working. Hmm. Not bad! Did my usual stretches and went to the toilet at least another 3 more times. I was feeling so nervous and jittery I would have jumped at a sneeze!
Finally, with 2 minutes more to the ironman clock, the starting gun was shot and this took many of us by surprise as it was still dark, we were still on the pontoon, and well, there were 2 minutes more! Many just plunged into the water and swam for their lives. I followed ensuite. The initial going was tough and I was dismayed to find after swimming about 20-30 metres that I had just crossed the start line. I found my pace after awhile and I felt I was swimming quite strongly. Maybe I could make it in 1hr30mins! Fat chance. Turned out that I was swimming in a zig-zag course. The fact that the buoys were so small/there were no lane ropes/it was still dark did not make things better. I reached the turn-around in 45mins and headed for home base. Eventually, my swim split was 1hr40mins, which was quite expected. Exiting the water, I headed for the changing tent, put on my gear and ran out to look for my bike.
Also as expected, there were no problems in locating my bike as it was the only one left in my row. Sharing a row with the pros makes things rather demoralising in this sense. Tried to find my rhythm but whatever I could muster was broken as I hit the first long and dreaded slope within 4km of the bike course. Saw many others struggling to get up and some were pushing their bikes even! Eventually made it up with some difficulty and I think I developed a cramp in my right thigh at this point, which made the bike course more difficult. Also, I developed a backache, maybe due to my raising my seat post ever so slightly when I was reassembling the bike. Darn. The first 120km of the bike was tortuous to say the least, but not in a "difficult course" sort of way. My backache made it difficult for me to ride uphill and get into aero-position, so I had to push my bike up the steep slope on each loop, as well as just sit up straight and clutch on tightly onto my arm pads using my palms, even for the flat portions of the ride. Due to my backache and thigh cramp, the distance and speed of my bike did not become a factor for me as I just concentrated on making it through each loop with minimal pain as I knew I had a marathon to run after the bike. The local kids and race support along the loops also helped to take my mind off the race and just to enjoy the scenic bike ride. Biking 180km in those conditions otherwise would have been unbearable.
Finally after the second turn around (120km) my cramps started to get better. I could now get into aero-position and this helped my speed alot. Finally I was back to riding 30-31kmh and I managed to overtake quite a number of athletes. I followed my race nutrition plan pretty well, chomping down on 6 powergels and 2 packets of sports beans, along with many bottles of Enervit (electrolyte drink) and water. Soon, I found myself back in Kuah, where I made a quick dash into T2, anxious to hit my personal target. What I didn't know was that the worse was yet to come.
"62! My number is 62 and not 602!" I tried to tell the volunteers, many of them who looked on belligerently. Wow this was getting to be quite frustrating. Apparently they read my number wrongly, and worse still, had misplaced my bag so I had to look for my own bag. Argh found it in a pile of messily placed run bags and I dove into the changing tent to change into my running shoes. As I ran out, I could hear the crowd cheering for the winner, Xavier Le Floch. Great , I thought to myself. That guy has finished and I'm just starting out on my marathon. Amazingly my run was quite good and my old ITB problem did not act up. My strategy of walking through the aid stations worked. At every aid station I would ask the volunteers for a "shower" which would consist of them pouring ice-cold water down my body and legs to prevent heat stroke (unofficial weather report: 43 degrees celsius!) and inflammation (read: cramps) of the muscles. My splits were pretty good and I managed to run 30km (3 loops) before nightfall. When nightfall came it became pretty hard to run as the roads were not well lit and I almost sprained my ankle twice. The run at this point also became pretty boring and I stopped to chat with an American couple. In the end, I managed to get back on my feet and finish up the run. By this time I knew I would not be able to go under 14hrs, which was my personal target, but heck, I was 100% sure that I was going to finish the race feeling strong! At the Seaview hotel turnabout as I passed it for the last time as the marshals waved me on (which meant I only had 1+km more to go). Wow.. I felt as thought I had eaten another 100 powergels or something as my feet magically felt light again. I picked up the pace and ran with more purpose this time. At I rejoined the main trunk road, I heard the pounding of music, as well as the roar of the finish area, and I knew why I was in Langkawi for. Why I was doing an Ironman. The suffering during the day, the sacrifices I had to make on a daily basis prior to the race, the amount of sleep lost due to training.. It was all worth it! Even if the finish platform had not been erected, even if the supporters were not as crazy and raucous, and even if no one else came to Langkawi, I would still have come. The liberation of running down the finishing chute. The realisation of my dreams. The fruition of my training plans. It was worth it. I ran up to the finish line, kissed the finish tape and pumped my arms into the air. 14hrs37mins. The toughest show on Earth. And I made it.
enam puloh dua, please!
No comment and no photos please!
Riding alone for thousands of miles.
I was sooo excited at the prospect of running the marathon after a 180km bike ride.
"Shower! Badang and Kaki! Sakit lahhh!" 
Innocent sponges were given as offerings to my legs who were threatening to disown me at this point.
Almost there!
Orgasm.
Aftermath Sunday 25 Feb 07
Got up around 9 in the morning and suprisingly could still walk, albeit with some difficulty. Lazed around then went down for breakfast. To Seaview again after breakfast, this time to return the championchip, get back our RM50 deposit, but most importantly was to get our finisher's t-shirt. Suprisingly the design is quite nice this year and its in my size! Yaay. Went for lunch (ate a meal meant for 5 just with Grace), went back to hotel to pack up and do some revision for upcoming tests.
Of course was still feeling quite happy and silly over the previous night's achievements. I was glad that it was over. 549 started and 464 finished. Although I did not manage to go under my personal target, I'm glad nothing went wrong during the race and I finished what I had set out to do. Yeah it was difficult, but who said that it was going to be easy? Pain keeps you alive! And suffering is good for the soul! Hehe! I'm addicted! Maybe Ironman Brazil next year?
Number 62, Jeremy Kang from Singapore..
You are an Ironman!
Savouring the sweetness of success.
Choonwei the bike butler came to help out.
Leaving in the stillness of the night. Oh I am such a romantic. =D
les femmes (Letch a mis un chemiser qui écrit "not only cute but also clever". Très disgusting lah!!! =D)
les types ne sont pas très gentil non plus
les aimants francophonies (damn cool lah) 
les gourmandes réunis
les francophonies de NUS!
