Little Superhero Girl

 

photo credit: wee teck hian

I did it! : )

A big thanks to all the crazy supporters who cheered me on at the Aviva Ironman 70.3 Singapore race. It kept me going… to finished the race in 7:04:49. A few minutes shy of my targeted 7 hours. But given all the misfortunes that have saddled quite a few participants - jellyfish stings and tires punctured by reckless thumb tack saboteurs - I’m grateful to have finished the race safe and without incident.

I also survived the 1.9k swim… sans the sinking feeling of dread! Thanks to a friend who helped me address that “fear” through hypnosis/visualisation therapy.

Most of all, I’m heartened by all those who have so generously donated to my “Triathlon for Tetra” cause amidst this dismal economic climate… (in no particular order)…

• KH Foo
• Lilian Khoo
• SS Ngoi
• Chew Kheng Chuan
• Eric Khoo
• Joseph Luo
• Linus Tan
• Jeffrey Siow
• Rachel Chan
• Ansley Ng
• My ever supportive aunts, Jee Jong & Linda Chew
• Roy Sim
• Lin Leong
• Ren Lee
• Dr Adela Tow
• Calvyn Siaw

Thank you for your support! We appreciate your contribution - big or small.

Also, a special thank you to Dr Leslie Kuek for sponsoring my race fees… and my mom for sponsoring my race outfit.

Almost $5k was raised for the Tetraplegia Workgroup! And I couldn’t have done it without YOU.

Charity, Race

Race

Remember the story of the hare and the tortoise? The moral of that story being “the slow and steady wins the race”.

Well, I sure hope that will hold true for me at the Aviva Ironman 70.3 race next Sunday!

Judging from my performance at this morning’s sea swim… I really need to keep my fingers crossed for the waters to be nice and calm on race day.

Swimming is not my forte. And, not my favourite either. (Read previous post.) I’ve told the coach before: I am not aiming to be very fast in the water… I just want to finish the 1.9km swim comfortably, and within the cut-off time.

Yes, there is a time limit for each leg of the race:

Swim – 1.9kms - Cut off is 1:10 after your wave start in the swim.
Bike – 90.1kms - Cut off is 5:30 after your original wave start.
Run – 21.1kms - Cut off at the finish is 8:30 after your original wave start.

*This is to ensure that it adheres to the same time limits held by the Ford Ironman 70.3 World Championship in Florida USA.

This morning, we were supposed to swim 2km within 1hr. The timing was for practical reasons as we only had the safety boat for a limited time!

Each loop, marked by red buoys in the water, was estimated to be about 430m. We had to swim four loops… plus an on-shore turn-around after two loops… which brings the total to roughly 1.8km (methinks). And my time: 57 mins.

That will only give me a 13-min buffer to finish the remaining 100m… which is sufficient, if the water conditions are as calm as it was today!

The swim leg is my biggest hurdle. In order to finish the rest of the race (ALL 113.1km of it), I need to clear the swim segment within the qualifying time. Remember, the more distance I cover, the more money I will raise for the Tetraplegia Workgroup.

If you wish to donate to my cause, it’s not too late! Do drop me an email at kianyan@gmail.com with the title “Triathlon for Tetra” to let me know the amount per kilometer that you wish to contribute. It will be a total of 113.1km of swim, bike and run.

No amount is too small : )

Wish me luck!

Charity, Race, Training Charity, Swimming, Tetra, Training

I do not consider myself a particularly “charitable” kind of person. Even though I would be willing to help out in any way I can, when the opportunity arises.

I believe that different people contribute in different ways - some give effort, some give time, some give money. And each part is equally important as they come together to make up a greater whole of “doing good”.

This year, I decided that there was something that I can do. To take something I like to do… give myself a challenge… and raise some money for charity in the process. To “give back” to the less fortunate all the kindness I have received from both friends and strangers alike. That this can be my way of paying it forward.

The Aviva Ironman 70.3 Singapore triathlon race is the chosen challenge for my mini charity fund-raiser!

Why? Because this will be the longest triathlon distance I’ll be attempting so far. And thus, would be appropriate to be called a “challenge”.

I started doing triathlons in 2007, starting with the sprint distance (750m swim, 20km bike, 5km run) and progressing to the olympic distance (1.5km swim, 40km bike, 10km run) in 2008.

The Aviva Ironman 70.3 Singapore race is a half-ironman triathlon distance of a 1.9km/1.2 mile swim, a 90.1km/56 mile bike and a 21.1km/13.1 mile run… adding up to a total of 70.3 miles of racing distance, which explains the name “Ironman 70.3″.

Through this triathlon race, I hope to raise some money for the Tetraplegia Workgroup (more about it in another post!).

If you would like to support my cause, you can choose to donate $xx for every kilometer that I will complete in the Aviva Ironman 70.3 Singapore race. It will be a total of 113.1km of swim, bike and run.

Any amount is welcomed!

All donations are tax-deductible. A receipt will be issued if required.

Do drop me an email at kianyan@gmail.com with the title “Triathlon for Tetra” to let me know the amount/km that you wish to contribute.

Remember… no amount is too small!

Charity, Race Charity, Tetra, Triathlon