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hello :)
A-V-I-V-A
Monday, March 22, 2010
11:10:00 pm
So, the dreaded day has come and gone and I'm left with a BIG BRIGHT YELLOW SMILEY smiling back at me as I type this :)
FIRSTLY, thank God for this amazing race season thus far. One more to go, just one more which I'm gonna be taking it easy! Thank God for no jellyfishes! (fishii? fish?) Thank God for no punctures!
And so, it was a pretty cool experience in all. We were lined up behind the elites cuz flag-off was 2mins after. REALLY cool to see them all up close in their gear and waiting for the horn to sound. And SOOooo cool to see them run off and jump in! The swim was fine with me getting a little lost towards the end haha.
The bike was okay on the first round. Except when you exit ECP you immediately hit that first upslope and the legs felt SOOOOoo bad. SO tight you can't imagine! The U-turn was nearer than it seemed. So it was mostly just Keppel Flyover which I've done before! The best part, is drafting the lorries! And going down on the drops, squeezing into a tiny teenyyyy ball on every downhill. And so it was pretty consistent, 30mins there for 15km. Again, always cool to see the pros zoom by!
Then on the second U-turn at Keppel, I retardedly crashed into the barrier while turning. My turns are usually pretty wide as they are already. But with the wheels, not quite so used to them. And so I was out for a few minutes. Thank goodness for the ppl who fished up my bike and fixed it up in a matter of a few minutes and I was on my way again! A little down though. The slopes killed. Really killed.
Ate SIS gels for the first time. Orange! REALLY GOOD STUFF BY THE WAY! Better than PowerBars and PowerGels I believe! (Sorry Jiwen!)
So I started off one of the first few cyclists out (women's wave went first see) and came back one of the last few! (don't worry Marcus I know how you feel!) Thank goodness for Jiwen saying "your helmet" if not I'd probably have ran off WITH my helmet HAHA.
The weather was pretty good till the last bike loop. The run route was pretty okay! Into this secret bridge place! Didn't know F1 pit is so near ECP! More like a "Y" instead of a "H" I would say! The looping added more fun and cheer cuz u see all your friends! I love the COLD sponges! COLD 100 plus, WATERRRRRRR.....
It wasn't till I removed the shades to wipe the water (from the pouring of cups) from the eyes that I realise how HOT it was! And then pop the shades back on immediately.
The whole world went by me on the bike leg. And I went by the whole world on the run leg! Revenge in place hahahahaha. The run was the highlight of the race for me actually. I think I could've gone on for more and a bit! The legs felt like they were going so good. SIS orange gels? The pace was good and all I was thinking was "I'll do just fine as long as God keeps the legs turning" which He did so ALL GLORY TO GOD!
1st for my cat (which only consists of Angela and me bytheway. Every one else disappeared/withdrew/didnt come) 24th female overall! And that's inclusive of the 8 elite females. 2nd / 3rd Singaporean! And to me, that's pretty cool oh yeah, seeing as how I'm actually the youngest female competitor hehehe. (Information courtesy of "Race Statistics" in the handbook) 27th for the swim, dropped to 60+++ position for the cycle, and the run left me 11th! After the elites, Trudy Fawcett and another angmoh. Now, AIN'T THAT COOL! Hehehehhehe.
The run, is SOOOoo impt! The gap u can pull on the swim and bike is only this much. Okay, my cycling needs MUCH MORE work. Can the ProfessionalS coach me please!
The best feeling on earth, is immediately after crossing the finishing line, and the subsequent few hours!
I think I do like doing this. This distance doesn't feel TOOOoo bad. I know I can improve! And so within a matter of a few hours, I parted with 500bucks for a round 2 of a 70.3, this time, in FLORIDA! Ahhhhh :)
I like the race atmosphere, everyone being so friendly! I like how our first names are printed on the tags where ppl can call your name to cheer for you. At the massage tent while waiting they were really nice! Nice to know Trudy Fawcett remembers me! They were saying how I went "VROOOM" by on the run! They spoke to me about my Nike shoes? And just being friendly and kidding around in general! Pretty fun hehe :)
IMMENSE thanks goes to THE SISTER! For monster school lessons. For helping with the bikes and all! For cheering me there! For the POWERFUL OAKLEYS and SIS GELS! And for the accompanying bf shooting pics with the bright neon green iphone.
And then there's my happy squirrel, where the words "thank you" doesn't quite come close to what I feel. For being there the WHOLE way since early in the morning. Seeing me at transition, cheering for me on the bike (altho I didn't see at all haha), being there during the run, and most of all, waiting for me after the race! So patiently, helping me with the bike stuffs, making me my make-shift aviva bag (hehe), going here and there with me, holding my bike while I ate, and EVERYTHING :)
Then, MANY THANKS to all fellow competitors being so encouraging throughout the entire race! Rod, Marcus, Sumiko, Mark! And then Jon ma, Josh, Norman, JJ, Angela! Really good to see them again and again looping round and round with the encouraging words, smiles, thumb ups, claps :)
AND to Junyang too, and the MANY other ppl! Sorry that most of the time I didn't see/heed (especially on the bike leg, concentrating!) But all encouragement and cheers are so welcoming! To those friends of friends who were there, THANK YOU. To the volunteers handing out water and marshalling, THANK YOU. To the random ppl by the roadside, cheering for FEMALES, cheering for #41, cheering for NTU (hahhahaha!), cheering for me, THANK YOU :)
Last but not least, LEEWEI! For coming down to capture a few pics! Despite it being his first free weekend! :)
It was a good race, $375 well spent I would say!
And so I heard I'm in the newspapers for the SECOND TIME in 2 weeks! Apparently this one got me much attention from friends who sms-ed congratulations which I found not so deserving because well, what say you about the competition? But at least, I got it with a faster timing than last year's :) Well, personally I felt last week's Singapore Bi 2nd placing was a much greater achievement!
And so the rest of the day was spent out and about, driving around the place, dropping at the Jambion's house. (I'm sure he'll park way better than me! HAHA)
Right now? I'm feeling bruised all over still. (THank goodness no abrasions though!) A little achey from doing my longest race as yet: 5hrs33mins47s. Sitting VERY HAPPY in a nice clean room with nice clean sheets. And with the mind thinking about a particular someone hehe.
Okay I've got a confession to make: I finished up the entire cup of (not nice) grapes while blogging this and waiting for Mr. Boyfriend to reach home! (Which he did more than a while ago)
So......... goodnight my friends! It feels pretty strange, to suddenly have so much time! Projects mostly in, presentations almost all done, no trainings, oooooo..... that means.... MORE J TIME! :)