Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Coda for a half-ironman

Right after crossing the finishing line, I went looking for a post-race massage tent but could not found any. I finally found a tent full of iced coke, bananas and freshly-cut oranges on ice. Never has food tasted so delicious! It reminded me of a joke that the best tasting food are found in those restaurants that made you wait and wait... Minutes later, I found myself wandering to a giant tub of water -it was actually filled with ice-cool water for post-race recovery. Looking like a huge portable pool, the round tub looked inviting. Shoes off, I climbed up the short ladder and plunged myself into the cold water. What a great relief for the aching leg muscles! And boy, did those blisters really hurt! Soon the tub became more crowded as more and more runners found this oasis of relief and started to pack it in. Exiting the pool, I paid another visit to the food tent to devour some more bananas and drinks.

The day was still drizzling as I finally collected my bags(left at T1 and T2) and my bike. Finally a quick pose in the rain for some photographs with Norman before I headed off to the showers for a quick change. Heading toward my office, I walked the bike in the rain. I passed by some runners who had just arrived to run the final stretch. There were faithful supporters who clapped and cheered them on in the downpour. These runners must have taken about close to 8 hours for the entire race. Nevertheless, I didn't see any of them walking-their determined faces were reflective of their aim to finish the race well. Arriving at the office, I dismantled the front wheel and swiftly kept the bike frame & the front wheel in two separate places (I'm not telling you where - just in case my boss read this). I seemed to be quite adept at finding strange places to hide my bike now-thanks to my numerous hide-and-brick sessions at the stadium.

I ended the day at the movies with my family and friends. The Coke, popcorn and overpriced hotdog sure tasted better after a 45min swim, 3 hour bike ride and a 2 hour run. The show was good and its message was similar to the half ironman race's- It's about overcoming limitations and chasing one's dream. For me this was an apt ending to the race. My half ironman dream started with an 'impossible' thought to do a half-ironman race. It soon became a daring muse and then 6 months later, the “impossible” dream became Reality.

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