I will be back

Did the ironman 70.3 in Singapore in 2009 this year and I swam with a metal implant on my collarbone. The swim took its toll on me and I swam only 1 lap thus I did not officially complete the event. Here's a pic of me on the bike.

I am taking a break from triathlon for awhile and concentrate on my running and swimming first. Also, I am having a major exam coming up in March 2010 and will focus on this the time being. I just sold my P2SL and I am looking for a carbon tri bike 54CM next year.

I've to let her go

Last shots on the night before my Cervelo P2sl leaves me. :(

Steel Man

On the right of the picture shows the hook plate holding up my broken right clavicle. I just had a follow up with my specialist and was advised to go for physiotherapy. My surgeon mentioned that I had damaged some ligaments and this will be quite a long road to recovery about 3-6 months.

My physio gives me about 4-6 months for me to recover my full strength. So for the moment, it's back to basics on how to rotate my shoulder.

My broken right clavicle.

As a result of my crash in the 70.3, I suffer a broken right collarbone.

My surgeon diagnosed it to be a distal clavicle type 2 1/3 and I went for a surgery for a reconstruction of my right clavicle (collarbone) which included implanting a metal hook implant.

I will most likely be out of action for about 2-3 months and looks set to postponed my Ironman pursuit. But my triathlon racing career is not over yet, this I promised you.

Mind you, I thought a surgery was a simple procedure but the pain after the general anesthesia wears off is unbearable. Even the painkillers weren't useful in reducing the pain. I definately wont want to go through this again.

Ride safe pals.

Murphy's law

if anything can go wrong, it will.

That's what happen to me during the Aviva Ironman 70.3 2008. I've had done months of preparation but a cramp during the swim forced me to complete the swim leg at 1:19 and a crash after exiting T1 caused me a broken collarbone.

What happened during the crash was just plain unlucky. After exiting T1, before the right turn to Fort Road, I was swerving left to avoid about 3-4 water bottles on the road and next time I knew, my front wheel got stuck on the drain cover beside the kerb and I flew at 40km/hr. Next thing I knew, I landed on my left shoulder with a heavy bang. I quickly get up and brought my bike to the grass patch and called for help. I laid down for a good 5 minutes thinking my race could be over with this crash. But with the help of a kind ang moh and a volunteer, I managed to change my tube and continue the race after about 60 mins. It was painful riding with a broken collarbone and I didnt know what kept me going. Must be my ego.

Nonetheless, I finished albeit only doing a 60km bike loop as I took about 60 mins to recover during my bikecrash and the broken collarbone sapped away me energy during the bike leg and caused me to pedal at 25km/hr and not helping were the fact that the rear brakes were stuck onto my wheels forcing me to mash my way throughout the bike loop.

For the run, I walked throughout the 21km run as I was too weak to run and I had to rest my right arm and not forced it to swing too much.

My Sprint Triathlon

My first triathlon pictures

Exiting the swim in Changi.




On my way to an individual time-trial at 33.5km/hr average speed for 20km



The run



This picture caps off the day.

Singapore Sprint Triathlon

I signed up for this Sprint Triathlon for my passport to the Ironman Langkawi Malaysia. (Ironman requires you to complete at least a sprint tri)

The course is actually a 750m swim, 20km bike, 5km run. This was held at Changi Beach Park. On the way to the race venue, I chatted with a taxi driver and he was introducing me medicine for my knee cap. Damn knowledgeable folk. He mentioned that my right knee was due a lack of fluid between the knee cap joints as I have overused my knee cap. And he introduced some supplement to me too.

Thats the reason I picked up swimming and bike as it will be put less stress on my poor right knee.

Swim: 24:19
I position myself right at the back of the start and mine. The start of the swim was like a washing machine. Breast strokers were beside me and i avoided them like the plague as I dont want to get kick in the face. I zipzag for the first part as I have problem sighting as the buoy was on my left and I can only breathe on my right.

I think I hit quite a few folks because of this and after the first left turn, I kind of master how to sight. I think the 750m was easier than it was in the pool because I have more buoyancy due to the saltwater.

Transition 1: 01:23

Bike: 35:42 average speed 33.6km/hr
As I am a pretty weak swimmer, I was one of the last to exit the swim. But I made it up for the bike by passing most of the pack and I was never passed in my bike except for one guy. I time-trial at an average speed of 33.5km/hr for the bike split.

Transition 2: 02:14

Run: 25:34 mins about 5min/km pace

Another of my stronger segment, nothing eventful. My target was a 1:30 finish and I made the cut at 1:29:11

Not bad for a first event. Next up will be Singapore Ironman 70.3 I need to swim more.


http://www.singaporesprintseries.com/Sprint%20Triathlon%20Results%20Overall.pdf

Here's my official results:
Full Name Cat. Pos.
Kah Kiat Lim M20-29 24

Swim Time # T1 Time # Bike Time # T2 Time # Run Time # Total
24m 19s 330 01m 23s 80 35m 42s 79 02m 14s 335 25m 34s 86 1h 29m 11s

Now let's put these numbers into perspective:

My swim I was placed in position 330 out of 358 competitors (last 92% cohort)
My transition 1 from swim to bike was 80 out of 358 competitors ( Top 22% cohort)
My bike I was placed in position 79 out of 358 competitors (Top 22% cohort)
My transition 2 was placed in position 335 out of 358 competitors (Last 93% cohort)
My run I was placed 86 out of 358 competitors (Top 24% cohort)

Period, I need to improve on my swim times and tie my shoe laces a little faster.

The unique experience on races

The alarm sounds at 3am and I am feeling strangely alive at this hour. I have had a night of broken sleep. Slowly, I made my way out of bed and stretch a little. The whole family is still asleep at this unearthly hour.

Into the kitchen, I made myself once of the few important meals, grabbing the gatorade water bottle marking how much i should drink before the race.

4 slices of bread and 1 bannana with a cup of coffee is what will get me through the morning. I showered to stretch and warm those muscles and put on your race gears and stretched a little. Not a word has been spoken yet as the whole family is still alseep.

Race bib checked, power gel checked, water bottle checked, running shoes and socks all set. I drive to the race and arrive at the start. I stretched a little and run a little as warm up. The heart keeps pumping again - relax!

All's quiet and I see a few friends and wave exchange a few words. Good luck and see you at the finishing line. I moved myself to the sub-4 hour pen and the mecee calls out and announces there's ten more minutes to the race. I am at the start pen and the anticipation of the race is killing me,will this be another personal best? The horn goes off.

The story on the race doesn't matter, it hurts a lot as most races do. But once I have retired from the world of running, swimming and biking, I knew I will miss the pre-race experience. The processes, the pre-race rituals, the motivating words you mumble to yourself before the horn goes off, the training that you do in the wee hours of the morning and the concentration you've

No other circumstances in my life can match the pre-race jitters. It makes me feel in charge of my mind and body. During this period, my mind will be free of all the rest of the stuff in my life and the concentration will be on the race.

So stay an athlete as long as I can, for only an athlete will enjoy this unique experience.