My Ironman Experience

It has been awhile since my last blogging. Nothing much to tell about my life. Still the same old me, single & lonely… err not that lonely actually. Life has been exciting so far. Anyway, what i want to write today is about my Ironman. I haven’t wrote anything about my experience doing Ironman last February. Before it fade away from my memory, i better write something about it.

After 31 years of being a couch potato (hell yeah, I was a chubby boy), I had relatively late start in the sport. At age 32, I kicked off my triathlon career by competing in a sprint race in Port Dickson. My first race was a memorable as I crossed the line behind many people, including men & women twice and half my age. Many pros are prime in their 30’s. Nonetheless, I was hooked on the sport.

Before the race the thought of doing Ironman  was so daunting; I characterized Ironman as an insane form of masochism and I prepared  myself the best I could based upon what little I knew about a sport with a year plus experience.  On a whim I signed up with little concept of what I was getting myself into. Damn, it was a RM500! I must not change my mind or no turning back. All I have to is training and training and training! I was training so hard, a month before the race I was so burnout. When the day come, no backing out. It was do or die and I went for it. It was a moment people could see the raw fear on my face. I don’t think I ever contemplated finishing the race, nor did I fathom that it was possible for me, mere mortal, to do such an outlandish thing. My only goal was to tackle the Ironman with maximum passion & determination.

I remember with  absolute clarity the  defining moment in my triathlon career, in my life for that matter, when I realized I was going to finish. Darkness was setting in on Langkawi Island and I was 10km from the finish. I was sunburned, exhausted and drawing on some force within that heretofore I did not know existed. As I ran through the check point near the turning point, an official time keeper patted me on the back and said “Please proceed to the finish line, you are an Ironman!” It was this moment that changed me and changed the way I look at myself and its challenges forever.

The soul-revealing battle against fatigue and doubt in pursuit of the of the arbitrary but sentimentally invaluable goal of crossing a finish line is defining moment of my life. When I crossed the line, I finally learned what the pull of Ironman was all about: the life long challenge of life. I was totally transformed into a different person! The race has bring the best, and the worst, out of all who seek the challenges. Ironman is one of the greatest challenges and accomplishment of the human will, and no matter how you break it down, everyone who succeeds there is part of a very exclusive fellowship.

Triathlon is more than just swim-bike-run. It is sport that challenged the human mind & body, a sport to be shared with others, a sport that gives back more that it takes from each competitor.