What it feels like to be a biathlete (or even triathlete)

It was the 3rd day of Chinese New Year. There was no visiting with my parents, so I decided to go and swim that day. That day was meant to be set aside for swimming long beforehand, but I decided to do some running after that as well. So as to decide whether my mind and body can handle the strenuous exercise and henceforth sign up for the Navy Biathlon on 26th March.

Friday morning. There were more people than I had expected at the swimming pool. Especially kids taking swimming lessons. They are quite irritating at times. Well, I did my usual 50 laps and then got out of the pool to go shower and changed out of my swimming suit into shorts and a dri-fit top, after which I got my bike and cycled home. Dumped my stuff and then out of the house I went after putting on my running shoes.

There was a time difference of 22 minutes between the point I got out of the pool and the moment I sarted running. It was around 10.15am but thank goodness it was quite cloudy. It was not as sunny as I expected and hence, the run was totally bearable.

When I started running, my body trunk felt rather heavy on my 2 supporting legs. But I could still go on as my mind was fresh from the swim and a good night’s rest. I ran a new route somewhere to Teck Whye where it was more shady, but there were quite a bit of slopes as well. They were the more laborious terrain I got to go through in this urbanized neighbourhood of mine. :p Zapped a lot of my energy.

After the 52 minutes run, which I had hope to run longer actually, I went home and I was actually quite energetic on the whole. Felt good to have done what I set out to do and to test my limits. Finally, im one step closer to my dreams! Signing up for the Navy Biathlon was inevitable! *Chuckles*

Looking back at how far I had come, I realized I have continued to grow this few years although there’s no more Judo trainings. I’ve come to appreciate running in a manner I have never before and am pushing myself to do things I used to dream about only in the past. I could still remember how I was so inspired by the 1st triathlete I knew when I was 15. That was during OBS and the person was my very own instructor. Ever since then, I developed an almost unspeakable and unexplainable respect for these multi-sport athletes who have to excel in not only 1 sport, but 3 sports! And it’s an endurance test out there! I did not even DARE to dream about becoming one, for they’re simply super human beings! At least that was how a 15-year-old used to view them!

Haha… It’s been almost 7 years already… And that 15-year-old has certainly started to dream of being one triathlete, or at least, a biathlete over the years. And she’s certainly one step closer after signing up for the Navy Biathlon 3 days after she tried out the biath training. When she told a veteran triathlete (who also happens to be a budget traveler) that she finally signed up for a full-distance biathlon, it seems like he was more than happy to hear that!

It was the NUS biathlon today; 800m swim, 5km run. I did the team relay with an old pal of mine, Lili. Hah… Actually missed the closing date to sign up for the race, but due to some glitches on the organizing committee part, we got to participate and even had fun! Albeit our flag-off was only at 1pm! I must say that this is the worst organized race I’ve ever taken part in, and the latest to start as well. Registration starts at 9am, but when we arrived at 10, the registration queue was sooo long that it stretched for 100m! Serious! It’s also the 1st time I ever woke up to the sun already risen on a race day. Hmph.

We had fun nevertheless, and it stirred the athletic seed in me again. The event just ended, but im missing it already! It’s a gathering of athletes who have trained hard for the dual-sport event and who understands the pain and experiences fellow biathletes go through during the race and during their individual trainings. Great feeling. Brought me back to the old Judo days when we would be in 1 big group and never mind if u did not win a match, it was the number that counts. And with numbers come power and a sense of belonging and pride of being an athlete in whichever discipline u are in. I really miss that feeling. Very often nowadays, I can only relish in that feeling as a loner. Looking at those groups of bi/triathletes, I really envy them.

It was a really fantastic day. Not only did I manage to complete the event with a good pal, but I managed to drop by the Operation Lumos chalet to visit the guys down there, namely Zhixian, Annie, Jason, Zhenping, Mai bug, Joyce & Kevin. Jingyi, my Judo senior was one of the participants as well! Great to see everyone and know that everyone’s still as cheerful, talkative and lovable. :)

On the way out, actually met another senior, Wenyun, on the bus. He had just finished a Salsa performance on Siloso Beach! Missed it. And talk about a small world. Small Singapore actually. Met Nifal, a judoka from another school on the way out of Sentosa before we crossed the bridge. He was biking. Wenyun and I were just talking about Sureen, another judoka before we met Nifal. Seems like it’s time for a gathering… Hah!

Before ending this off, I almost forgot to mention the most important person I met at the biathlon actually. And that is my OBS instructor. Yeah, he’s a triathlete who has just did his 1st Ironman challenge in Langkawi last year. F.Y.I, the Ironman is a very tough race comprising of 4km of swim, 180km of biking and a full marathon of 42.2km!!! Take my hats off him. Did not go up to say ‘hi’ though. Will do that the next time I see him at Navy Biathlon! :p

I would be training hard for my very first biathlon on the 26th March! It's something that I never thought I would actually will myself to carry out, but I truly understand what it means by 'Where there's a will, there's a way." It's not impossible, it's doable, I may not be the top few(I don't aim to!) but I have taken up this challenge and plucked up the courage to sign up for the biathlon. I will do it to prove something to myself! ;p

It is not the mountain we conquer but ourselves.
Sir Edmund Hillary, first to summit Everest (1953)