Singapore Biathlon 08

Singapore Biathlon 08 - Michael, Eve & Kian Yan
Originally uploaded by daftbitch.

I did it. Surprisingly.

I remember clearly standing at the start line at 730am, close to tears... and kept telling Kian Yan : " i am scared, how?". For two days before the event, i kept muttering to myself and friends : "I am scared. How". The panic and anxiety has set in.

At the swim start, there seems to be hundreds of people. The ladies were starting with the Men's Veterans. My coach Seamonster Alex was part of the manic bunch in my wave. Bernard facebook-ed me, and i quote, : "wahahaha, see how you die...". Now THANKS for calming my nerves. Rough swimstarts, i saw men & women elbows, clawing their way to find space to start their front crawl. I got kicked by some nasty froggers ( or breaststrokers, as they are known). My legs have bruises from them jump starting on my knees. My eye socket hurts cos some dude kicked the goggles on my face. Crap, worst start ever. I treaded water and just watched the commotion.

Soon i started my swim, and very determined to finish in front crawl, not breast stroke. I just aim to complete, not compete. It was a leisure swim, with me humming to myself : Everything by Michael Buble. By the time i hit 1km, it was getting boring. I tried side kicking to just bask in the race, watching birds fly by, and seeing the ships out in the ocean.

As soon as i hit land, i struggled to rid my face of salt water and to grab my running shoes to go. It was depressing when you see the 1km, then 2km, and then 3km markers. I mean, come on, you don't have to tell me i have 7 more kms to go. That's torturous. Before i know it, i paced myself at 1km per 5 mins or 5 mins 30 secs. It became more enjoyable and i felt absolutely fantastic once i crossed the finish line.

There! I finished my 1st OD Biathlon 1.5km swim + 10km run. And you know what, i am happy. The atmosphere's great. I managed to hang out with friends, take a bunch of pictures, hug a few soggy people.

So more races to come.
I came in position 101. Time : 1 Hr 51 mins 1 secs.
Not too bad i suppose, first OD event ever, first time i ever did front crawl the whole way thru.