What could be my most satisfaction experience to date this year must have been the PD International Marathon. The feeling of euphoria of receiving the finisher medals and then handing it out to my team mates is pure joy although i was in pain and close to dehydration.
How the event unfold was the following:-
Our swimmer was flagged of at 8:20 am and he came in under 30 minutes to tag Chipang our cyclist. Now, normally for a 40km course, one would average about 1 hour 15 to 1 hour 30 minutes. Coming to the 1 hour 30 minutes mark, I received news that our cyclist had a puncture and could be late, it was about 10:45 at that moment of time.
There were only a handful of us left (6 or so runner) and our swimmer walked up to me asking me where our cyclist was, and when would I start running. His subsequent remark made me more panic, when he uttered "Oh, please, please..I need to have this medal after all the efforts I have put into swimming".
I sat there feeling helpless, since if the cyclist came back too late, it would be almost difficult for me to make the run and come back within cut off, and worse still, if he did not have the replacement tubes and pump, we will not finished and not get our medals. That was the most uncomfortable feeling that I had although I had agreed with Cipang that this triathlon was only for fun. I also was not sure how i could help Cipang out there.
15 minutes later, he came back and i rushed to take over the arm band to carry out my run at 11 am. It was blazing hot and some of the water station did not have any more 100+ or were on the verge of wrapping up. Standing down or giving up is not an option, I had to carry on with the run irrespective of the weather. Word of encouragement from fellow runners on the other side of the road encourage me to carry on and as I managed to overtake a few runners, i got to feel better. As I was about to reach the 5 km mark, i saw my close fren Phoebe walking. I slowed down and walk with her coaxing her to take my water as she had cramped. She assured me that she will recover at the next water station and i pushed on.
At the 7.5km mark, i was greeted by an Angel who had cycled to look for me to keep me company. With her coaxing, i had managed to keep a steady pace and managed to catch up with Patsy and paced Patsy to the finishing line. I had made several walking stops and had it not been for the encouragement by Patsy and this Angel, i would not have made good time back under the hot scorching sun of PD. I reached back at the finishing line and was greeted by the medals and a cold towel.
I had not let my team down.........what a weekend.
20 comments:
Mac,
Thanks for not losing hope..i still felt guilty of what happening and thanks to you and Hadi the swimmer, I can have my first medal in this sport. Hope we can ride together sometime.
Chipang
chipang,
On hindsight, i think we had FUN. I shud have stayed around to celebrate more, but alas I had promised to be back in KL by 4 pm.
No worries, we will cycle together sometime
Kita kena "educate' sikit swimmer hang tu....if u are reading this young man, PLAY THE GAME or else don't be in a team...well done Mac & Chipang.
Mac Hero!!!!
big bro its not the distance, anyone can finish 10k with training, its the sheer will power & the desire to complete the race, not giving up no matter under what circumstances or what is thrown at us that makes u the real winner ! you tha bestest !! i dunno how u did it, but u did it, running 10k under the hot sun at 12pm in PD with no shade .. ok, we are all certified crazies .. welcome to the club .. clap clap clap..
to chipang & mac
heartiest congratulations to the team ahlong bukit beruntung .. beruntung jugak akhirnya , dapat medal !! clap clap clap !
chipang having a flat at last 15km is devastating, lucky u had spare tube & got down to repair it, of course the prize goes to the crazy who is willing to run under hot sun @ noon to make sure all got the medal also la hahaha :)
weldone everyone !
p.s. chipang, where did you find the ikan bilis swimmer to comlete swim in less than 30min ??? hmm may be i shld recruit him 4 my next race .. ahhah
yesss..hero definitely he is!! saiful you are our hero too!! anyway i have load of fun last weekend..thanks to you guys.
hi mac,
Running in the hot sun is no joke. Congrats...
mac my hat's off to you. running when you did is no easy feat. you've got heart, man
Woohoo..thanks guys for all ur support, now where is that swimming coach ;-0
Abg Chipang,
Never feel guilty in the race no matter what happened that's out of your control, v all r in the team. It's not your fault and u have did very well in your PD tri race..the most important things is safety...well done!
Mac,
Dun worry about the "young swimmer", probably he's first time joining so a bit excited but remember this's "INTERNATIONAL ASIAN CUP TRIATHLON RACE" and v r going for "FUN and SELF-CHALLENGE AS WELL TEAM RACE". Definitely v r not going to be placed or position in top 10 in 1330 participants. I dunno this young swimmer but I can see he keep approaching you, I hv no doubt about the feeling of helpless and pressure in you being the first time in Triathlon race, me too having the same feeling being a relay swimmer and often worry couldn't pace fast which'll delay biker left behind :-( after the good advise and motivation from chief, I totally agreed it's just a "GAME" no winner and no losser. The most important things is all the swimmers, LeTuangers and Tune's race members are back safety with cheerful expression :-)
Congrats, another achievement for u :-)
Luvis
Mac,
Swimming coach???Who needs swimming coach...haha...Kan our team ada ramai non-swimmers yg boleh ajar..hehe.
Luvis
Mac - the swimmer is young and most probably very excited. So that is understandable. And knowing you, you had to make sure everyone is happyla.
Knowing Chipang, he most probably think that the world is cussing him non stop. :)
Well, Mac and Chipang, you guys did the inevitable, you guys finished the race, and end of the day, that was what count.
Lets not be some athelte that gives up half way because they know they won't win! (it's nicer to say you DNF than you Did Not Win)
well done Mac
Sofian
well done Mac...admire your spirit and determination!
i'm so proud of u, well done mac
panas gila PD. aku ingat time tu baru kul 10.. rupanya dah kul 11.30 hahaha.. minah lembab..
i checked my polar, and it said max temp was 51 degrees C.. mcm tipu jer.. polar aku kong ker?
but indeed it was hot. and well done to u for finishing it no matter wat..
so u r doing the individual event next year right?
lifesaver:No lah, don't worry. I just do it for fun. Maybe this will be the last triathlon i am doing ;-)
Stupe:thanks for those encouraging words. I think I know who/what u are talking about ;-)
Sofian, Ali, dancing chiken: Thanks
Aini: I think I will retire from Triathlon. Will just do duathlon from now on.
GOOD JOB MAC!
I was so proud to see u kicking the course in the face in ur last km under the heat.
big heart mac, brave brave brave!
can't wait for u to be a regular in the tri scene
BCO:You are my inspiration dear ;-)
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