A Race To Remember
Aquathlon, Saturday, 3 September 2005
When I heard about the recent Aquathlon, I immediately committed myself to it, and got myself registered (thanks, Stan!). For someone starting out, getting past the first step to the inevitable is a great way to get out of the comfort zone. It’s like that small, tiny push to that ball bearing which ignites the kinetic energy within it.
The other great thing was that a whole lot 
of friends I knew were planning to do the race as well. Among these were some of my former colleagues, and the members and staff of Club Oasis at the Grand Hyatt Singapore.
Unlike the frenetic and anxious state of my very first race, I awoke calm and rested this time. The only downside was that after the NUS Triathlon, I seemed to have lost some steam, and after two weeks ran my practice 11 km at MacRitchie which resulted with some soft tissue damage in my left foot. Then a few days later, I hit my right foot against some furniture, and while preparing a snack, flicked the sharp knife and nicked my fingers… I was being careless, bruised and chipped away without any real workouts! 
Right up to the morning of the race, I was not sure if the sprains and aches as well would go away, or if I could go the full distance with these.
When we were there, it felt good to see more and more relaxed faces and some familiar ones. The best was seeing the junior racers, who were all dressed up like pro triathletes and seemed very confident and race-ready. Before long, and after sipping water, and munching on bananas and Snicker Bars, the first races were flagged off.
It was terrific to see the guys in the Mixed Sprint Relay prepare for the wet start: Dean and Dexter Jr chatting with their friends and looking all relaxed. Dean was in the water first, and
Dexter, as always, plunging into the water at the very last minute and swimming with ease to the starting point. Dean previously had motion-sickness in the sea, but at this race, he put in both good time and came out strong and went on to run with his wife, Connie, through the whole Sprint distance.
Dexter Jr flogged a casual swim but with dreadfully good time clocked (all without training 
and after falling ill the week before, he explains), and also went on to run the rest of the race with his good friend, Enda. They both clocked the top fifth spot in the Mixed Sprint Relay. So, you can understand the sort of pressure I face just by being among them!
But it was all not perfect at the race – at least for the weather. For, just after the guys ran off with the gals at the Mixed Sprint race, the wind came up and it started to pour. Now, that’s an understatement. It was both sudden and furious: the barricades and banners, race EXIT signs, were all simultaneously blown down, and with the water raining down immediately, people scurrying with their race packs from the transition area, and spectators milling into the few shaded areas, it was real helter-skelter. In fact, apart from being worried about the windchill the racers will face, I was pretty amused and happy about the whole wet affair.
You see, it happened right before the race briefing for my flag off! But again, it meant that 
my energy levels might sump slightly. But at least, having been advised by Dexter Jr, I had waterproofed my running gear at the transition point, and crowned with a pink swim cap, I was happy as a mouse to move into the large shelter nearby with the rest of the crowd.
Unfortunately, there was the Women’s Open category which was in the midst of their long distance swim when the race was abruptly halted and they were re-called, disappointed. But the rain was thrashing and indeed it would have very uncomfortable to stay in the water through the burst clouds. So, Rina, my lovely ex-colleague, and eventually second in the competition, had to get out of the water and do the race all over again.
When the weather settled into a warm, humid and clear day, and after Dexter Jr, Enda, Connie and Dean, and Raymond (who ran the Sprint Relay with another club member) were all back, I was already at the wet start and ready to confront my own demons.
As this was my first long distance race and just my second full event, I knew it would be good enough to just clock the finish and if anything, as Dexter Jr advised, measure my performance over the years to get better. In other words, if you are just starting out, leave space for improvement! Sounds like sound advice from the book “Office Rules”, too!
The swim was great fun, and I never felt like it was a race. The only annoying thing was to have free-style swimmers who don’t know where the hell they are swimming and are constantly zig-zagging into everyone else’s lane. Other than that, I could see many really strong swimmers ahead of me, and trailed one breast-stroker who was simply powerful! He was bobbing up and down, and left a real furrow of water in his wake. I tried to stay in that
slipstream… After the first lap, we were being over-taken by the first and faster swimmers of the next wave. They were really impressive swimmers – straight, powerful, and nerve-wrecking fast! I swear they had motors implanted somewhere. I clocked a calm 37:30 on the 1500m swim. I will have to nail that down to 33 mins on breaststroke or switch to freestyle and nail that distance at 30 mins, to gain on the faster racers of my category.
As I got out the water, the funniest thought which got into my mind, was “Hey, you got to try and look good!”, and slowly inched my way towards the transition area. Oddly, the area was not frenetic and I suddenly lost steam, sat down and simply took my time. Perhaps it was a mistake, but I was not really feeling too racey at that time!
It was nice to be in my dry Salomon XA Series shoes, which I really feel terrific wearing. Soft and light, they may not have the advantage of the flat-down hard die-cut outsoles, but it has a smooth feel to each step – a unique bounce.
Off into the running lap, and I knew my strategy from the pace of the other racers. Most were already tired, and in all, only a small handful ever over-took me, and I over took a few more. But the pace was more of a fast jog. I knew if I had my heart rate monitor with me, I could have put in more speed and extend my strike a few percent more.
In any case, I was able to keep going and never had to pant. I only breathed through my nostrils through the whole 10 km, and clocked a respectable 50:18 to end with a finish of 1:27:47. I don’t think I could have done any better for a first race, long distance, and feel terrific about myself afterwards. But I know that you don’t have to feel you are in perfect physical condition to participate in any athletic event. You do it because you love being there among friends and doing the sport.
By the way, my aches all went away after the race. I got back into Club Oasis and even worked out. The next day I rested completely, and on Monday after the race, I swam 55 laps in the Bishan training pool, and another 15 at Hyatt. Then on Tuesday, I ran another good 12.5 km at MacRitchie.
I took a break from all that for a few days, and signed my contract with my new employer at 5.50 pm on the Friday, at the end of the week. Getting back to work will break my whole training regime, but hopefully not take me away from doing what I now enjoy so much.
When I heard about the recent Aquathlon, I immediately committed myself to it, and got myself registered (thanks, Stan!). For someone starting out, getting past the first step to the inevitable is a great way to get out of the comfort zone. It’s like that small, tiny push to that ball bearing which ignites the kinetic energy within it.
The other great thing was that a whole lot 
of friends I knew were planning to do the race as well. Among these were some of my former colleagues, and the members and staff of Club Oasis at the Grand Hyatt Singapore.
Unlike the frenetic and anxious state of my very first race, I awoke calm and rested this time. The only downside was that after the NUS Triathlon, I seemed to have lost some steam, and after two weeks ran my practice 11 km at MacRitchie which resulted with some soft tissue damage in my left foot. Then a few days later, I hit my right foot against some furniture, and while preparing a snack, flicked the sharp knife and nicked my fingers… I was being careless, bruised and chipped away without any real workouts! 
Right up to the morning of the race, I was not sure if the sprains and aches as well would go away, or if I could go the full distance with these.
When we were there, it felt good to see more and more relaxed faces and some familiar ones. The best was seeing the junior racers, who were all dressed up like pro triathletes and seemed very confident and race-ready. Before long, and after sipping water, and munching on bananas and Snicker Bars, the first races were flagged off.
It was terrific to see the guys in the Mixed Sprint Relay prepare for the wet start: Dean and Dexter Jr chatting with their friends and looking all relaxed. Dean was in the water first, and
Dexter, as always, plunging into the water at the very last minute and swimming with ease to the starting point. Dean previously had motion-sickness in the sea, but at this race, he put in both good time and came out strong and went on to run with his wife, Connie, through the whole Sprint distance.
Dexter Jr flogged a casual swim but with dreadfully good time clocked (all without training 
and after falling ill the week before, he explains), and also went on to run the rest of the race with his good friend, Enda. They both clocked the top fifth spot in the Mixed Sprint Relay. So, you can understand the sort of pressure I face just by being among them!
But it was all not perfect at the race – at least for the weather. For, just after the guys ran off with the gals at the Mixed Sprint race, the wind came up and it started to pour. Now, that’s an understatement. It was both sudden and furious: the barricades and banners, race EXIT signs, were all simultaneously blown down, and with the water raining down immediately, people scurrying with their race packs from the transition area, and spectators milling into the few shaded areas, it was real helter-skelter. In fact, apart from being worried about the windchill the racers will face, I was pretty amused and happy about the whole wet affair.
You see, it happened right before the race briefing for my flag off! But again, it meant that 
my energy levels might sump slightly. But at least, having been advised by Dexter Jr, I had waterproofed my running gear at the transition point, and crowned with a pink swim cap, I was happy as a mouse to move into the large shelter nearby with the rest of the crowd.
Unfortunately, there was the Women’s Open category which was in the midst of their long distance swim when the race was abruptly halted and they were re-called, disappointed. But the rain was thrashing and indeed it would have very uncomfortable to stay in the water through the burst clouds. So, Rina, my lovely ex-colleague, and eventually second in the competition, had to get out of the water and do the race all over again.
When the weather settled into a warm, humid and clear day, and after Dexter Jr, Enda, Connie and Dean, and Raymond (who ran the Sprint Relay with another club member) were all back, I was already at the wet start and ready to confront my own demons.
As this was my first long distance race and just my second full event, I knew it would be good enough to just clock the finish and if anything, as Dexter Jr advised, measure my performance over the years to get better. In other words, if you are just starting out, leave space for improvement! Sounds like sound advice from the book “Office Rules”, too!
The swim was great fun, and I never felt like it was a race. The only annoying thing was to have free-style swimmers who don’t know where the hell they are swimming and are constantly zig-zagging into everyone else’s lane. Other than that, I could see many really strong swimmers ahead of me, and trailed one breast-stroker who was simply powerful! He was bobbing up and down, and left a real furrow of water in his wake. I tried to stay in that
slipstream… After the first lap, we were being over-taken by the first and faster swimmers of the next wave. They were really impressive swimmers – straight, powerful, and nerve-wrecking fast! I swear they had motors implanted somewhere. I clocked a calm 37:30 on the 1500m swim. I will have to nail that down to 33 mins on breaststroke or switch to freestyle and nail that distance at 30 mins, to gain on the faster racers of my category.
As I got out the water, the funniest thought which got into my mind, was “Hey, you got to try and look good!”, and slowly inched my way towards the transition area. Oddly, the area was not frenetic and I suddenly lost steam, sat down and simply took my time. Perhaps it was a mistake, but I was not really feeling too racey at that time!
It was nice to be in my dry Salomon XA Series shoes, which I really feel terrific wearing. Soft and light, they may not have the advantage of the flat-down hard die-cut outsoles, but it has a smooth feel to each step – a unique bounce.
Off into the running lap, and I knew my strategy from the pace of the other racers. Most were already tired, and in all, only a small handful ever over-took me, and I over took a few more. But the pace was more of a fast jog. I knew if I had my heart rate monitor with me, I could have put in more speed and extend my strike a few percent more.
In any case, I was able to keep going and never had to pant. I only breathed through my nostrils through the whole 10 km, and clocked a respectable 50:18 to end with a finish of 1:27:47. I don’t think I could have done any better for a first race, long distance, and feel terrific about myself afterwards. But I know that you don’t have to feel you are in perfect physical condition to participate in any athletic event. You do it because you love being there among friends and doing the sport.
By the way, my aches all went away after the race. I got back into Club Oasis and even worked out. The next day I rested completely, and on Monday after the race, I swam 55 laps in the Bishan training pool, and another 15 at Hyatt. Then on Tuesday, I ran another good 12.5 km at MacRitchie.
I took a break from all that for a few days, and signed my contract with my new employer at 5.50 pm on the Friday, at the end of the week. Getting back to work will break my whole training regime, but hopefully not take me away from doing what I now enjoy so much.
