Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Dentures not included

Toward my last loop, as expected, my water supplies ran out and I had to rely on the drink stations to top-up my liquids. They handed us bidons (small bottles with nozzles) as we slowed down and reach out with our hands. Can be quite dangerous if not done with care. The bidons proved to be a challenge as the nozzle was rigid and I had to manually unscrew the lid for a drink. The second bidon was more receptive to my teeth and I manage to drink from the nozzle-after a really, really hard yank with my teeth. (The race pack should have included some dentures).

You may think how I keep track of the number of bike loops. In an endurance event like 70.3 half ironman, it's heart-breaking to hear of people who under-bike by one loop (more common) or overshoot by a loop(still painful) and get all their timings messed up. For me, I rely on the state-of-the-art technology counter meter available to me. It's called (Drum-roll please) .... a masking tape. Yes, for four loops of the bike route, just cut four pieces of masking tape (mine is white in color) and paste them on the front handle of the bike where you can see them easily. Peel off each piece as you complete a loop. Great stuff, isn't it?

As I approach the Champs stadium( same place where we held our 2007 National Day festivities), I dismounted and gave my bike to a volunteer. This time my transition was a bit better - I took off my bike shoes and put some plasters on my feet (I opted to run sock-less in my really old pair of Asics Tigers Paws, they really should be replaced as they are at least 3 years old). Next, I loop my drink belt around my waist and put on the shades and the visor.

Off I go then, to the last part (often the hardest) of the race!Unfortunately, both of my upper thighs had cramps...I just got to run them off and hope for the best.

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