Triathalon Racing, Not Always a Cake Walk!!

Ok, I'm no longer a Sternie in Shanghai. But in February, this Sternie went back to Asia to race her 12th Ironman (2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike, 26.2-mile run), this one in Malaysia. The choice of Malaysia as my qualifying race (for the Ironman World Championship) was strategic. After being away from NYU for the fall semester, I had missed my classmates and also resolved to be more social, instead of spending 30+ hours/week on swimming, cycling, running, yoga, massage and lifting weights. Racing on Feb 28th would mean that I would only have to sacrifice my personal life for 5 weeks early in the semester. Also, in the winter, training is more productive and efficient because it is done indoors (I can read cases and textbooks while riding my stationary bike and my training isn't impacted by traffic, daylight or weather conditions). Lastly, I raced the ironman in Malaysia in Feb 2006, so I already knew the course, the weather conditions (105 F heat, near 95% humidity, strong winds) and the logistics involved with racing in Malaysia (four flights each way, kamikaze moneys and boars on the bike course, iodine pills in our water bottles, lack of western food). In most Ironman races, there is only one slot for our age group to qualify for the world championship in Kona and usually the winner takes it, it's rarely rolled down to the second place finisher.

I left Professor Galloway's Monday night Brand Strategy class early to catch my flight to Malaysia. I had been in the school mentality, but as soon as I stepped foot on the A train to JFK, I started to feel my nerves. This was a stark contrast from the prior four weeks of training when I felt energized, healthy and excited to compete again. But nerves are healthy, they let me know that I still have passion for what I do and that I'm deeply emotionally vested in my results. My mom met me at the airport with my bike box and gear bag (and a protein smoothie and veggies for the flight, I love my mom!)

Langkawi, where the race is held, is comprised of 99 islands, each a small or larger bump coming up from under the water. It's a stunning view. My favorite activity there is island hopping, which I did not get to do because of my short stay there and too many assignments due the following week. I opted to stay at the hotel to read cases and study for the corporate finance exam. Then, I had to deal with some bike issues, which took away some time, energy and focus.

Raceday arrived quickly. We lined up at the start line and swam following yellow flags for 1.2 miles out and red flags bag for 1.2 miles back. There was a strong current against us on the way out, just as in training the prior two days, so I expected my time to be slow: 37 minutes. On the way back a string of four Japanese men attached themselves onto my feet and stole some of my current that propelled me forward, I finished the 2.4-mile swim in 1 hr 8 min. (Most of my swimming is done with LABA President and swimmer extraordinaire Joaquin Vargas, I couldn't have a better lane companion than him)

Transition 1 from swim to bike was quick, about 3 minutes in all, then off on the 112-mile bike. The course was fairly fast and I felt strong on the bike. There were 4 loops and 4 steep hills to climb over on each loop, which took a lot out of us. Since we were practically on the equator, the sun was really strong and I felt my forearms, legs and back burn. One tactical aspect of the bike segment is to find a pack of people who are just a bit faster and hang on with them, but in this race I could not find anyone to ride with (not drafting, just within eyesight and proximity). I rode with a pack of 4 guys early on, but once we got to the hills on the first loop, I lost them. So I rode alone most of the time and I am sure that I did not ride as hard as I could have. Nonetheless, I was happy with my 5 hrs and 39 min bike split.

Transition 2 from bike to run was a bit slower, about 5 minutes, since it requires more actions in preparation for the marathon, both in terms of clothing and nutrition, since now already 7 hours in movement and depleted of hydration and energy. The run consisted of five 8km loops, plus 1.1km to get out to the loop and 1.1km to get to the finish (the conversions are imbedded in my memory). Over the first 4km, I felt horrible, my legs could not move, a sign that I had not done enough bricks (bike-run combinations) in my training. Indeed, I've done very little running in my training because my iliotibial band (itb) has been tight and I did not want to go to the start line injured. But it turns out that I was too conservative because my itb did not bother me during the run, so I should have trained more. I wasn't sure where I was in my age group coming off the bike, but the five-loop course would give plenty of opportunity to gauge where I am relative to my competitors and how they are looking and whether they are gaining ground on me. On my first loop I tracked all the race numbers and realized I was the first in my age group (my age group had numbers 651-665, inclusive). Now, I had to watch for the other girls and just maintain my lead. Turns out I had a very comfortable lead of 14 (Australian). 18 (Chech) and 28 (Japanese) minutes on the next three girls. The second loop I ate some caffeine gels and I increased my lead against the next two, but the fourth girl caught me up by 2 minutes, but I still had a 26 minute cushion. Next loop I starting feeling bad - my stomach was bloated and I knew I could not eat more gels for a while until my stomach calmed down, it's a fine balance between letting the gels process in my stomach and not eating enough and running out of energy. My lack of run training really did not help, since I felt I could not lift my legs or make myself move forward effectively as I usually do, it was very frustrating. On that third loop, my lead went down to 12 minutes, 14 minutes and 15 minutes. The Australian and Czech girls did not look strong enough to pick up 12 minutes over the remaining 18km, but the Japanese girl looked like a train that nothing or no one could stop. I was really worried and just prayed I can keep her at bay, maybe she will slow down over time. I ran as hard as I could, ready to collapse at each step. I kept telling myself I've trained so hard and sacrificed so much, I really wanted to go to Kona. On the fourth loop it was all but evident that she would pass me, it was a question of when. At the beginning of the fifth loop, I was now in second place of the age group. She had made up 30 minutes over the first 32km and then another 10 over the last 10km. I was so impressed with her running, she ran the 3rd fastest marathon for the women, even the professionals. And the next day she did accept her spot to Kona.