What doesn't kill you makes you stronger, right?

Ironman Malaysia – Langkawi Island – February 2007 – Simon Thomas – sith@patana.ac.th

Even after experiencing 4 hours in the medical tent after my first attempt at this event in 2006, the transition from “ I will never do this again “ to signing up for another long day in the sun had come even before the pain in my legs had subsided. For those unfamiliar with the actual distances involved in the Ironman Triathlon, it consists of a 2.4 mile (3.86 kilometre) swim, followed by a 112 mile (180.2 kilometre) bike ride and a 26 7/32 mile (42.195 kilometre) run – All in the same day!
With so few real challenges in day to day life, for me an Ironman presents an event that is both achievable within the boundaries of a normal 9-5 life and is significant once achieved.

Getting to the startline of any Ironman competition in a decent state to complete the event is a journey in itself. Unfortunately with the all the advancements in modern technology no one has invented a magic pill to prepare the body and mind for long distance events such as these – if you want to complete the swim, bike, run combination without any permanent damage, then you better be prepared to do a lot of all three to prepare. It takes a lot of determination but also long hours, 1000’s of kilometres of swimming, running and biking get you this far, coupled with plenty of 5am starts to avoid the exercise unfriendly heat here in Bangkok. It is not a very social undertaking!

Ironman Malaysia is situated on the tropical island of Langkawi which lies some 30 km off the mainland coast of northwestern Malaysia. Of the 21 Ironman events in the world – this one is billed as ‘the toughest show on earth’ thanks mainly to the tourist friendly but horribly consistent sunny weather which means the temperature hovers around the 100 degree Fahrenheit mark. When this heat is coupled with the high humidity it makes one feel that they are competing in a sauna!

The preliminaries for an event like this are long – Briefings and inspections all day – you have to have your bike inspected by the race mechanic and your body checked by the race doctor, it’s as if they know that these are the 2 most likely things to fail causing permanent injury! After signing a coverall indemnity waiver that left no stone unturned, I was pronounced ready to race (at my own risk) and given a number, timing chip and some goodies. No turning back now.

Like a condemned man I allowed myself my first real fast food meal for 6 months at McDs (strictly for the calories!), and got an early night, knowing that the combination of nerves and cautious over hydration would mean more time in the bathroom than the bed!
RACE DAY - The drama started early in the day for me as I arrived in the dark at 6:30am to check over the bike that I had left in the transition area the night before and found a flat tire!! This was a potential disaster as my spares were earmarked for the race itself, after 20mins of struggling to patch the precious inner tube and with the start time fast approaching I thrust a spare tube into the hands of one of volunteer mechanics and managed to extract his promise that the bike would be ready to go by the time I got out of the swim – I could of kissed him but a hug had to suffice!

Around 550 competitors from 33 countries made it to the start line in Langkawi, unfortunately I did not have time to see them all as I rushed into the Porta loo next to the swim start - My body always knows when it’s going to race and was preparing itself for a long day…
THE SWIM: The swim was a 3.8 km one loop swim in the tranquil waters of the Kuah town harbour. Ironman swim starts are not for the faint hearted – everyone hits the water at the same time and in this mass of bodies, every few strokes an arm or legs invades your space and seemingly tries to drown you but after a minute or so the field stretched out and I found myself in relatively empty water.
One of my major conclusions from last years suffering was that although technically it is a race, the event should not be treated as such – last years racing tactic got me a great swim and bike time but had me walking, almost crawling the final 35 Km of the run. In this event, the tortoise can really overtake the hare... with this very much in mind I had to keep resisting the urge to do battle with those going past me but after around 45 mins I started to feel increasing nausea and had to stop and try regain some composure – 5 mins of retching later, I pulled off my race swim cap and continued, instantly I felt better, I must have been overheating in the bath tub temperature waters. After 1hour and 13 mins of thrashing about I pulled myself from the water and into the ‘swim to bike’ transition. I was almost 10 mins slower than last year, but feeling so good it was like I had done the whole thing in a boat - it was all going to plan.

THE BIKE: On shorter distance events the transition between events is a speedy affair; with some athletes hopping on their bike in still dripping Speedos. For me the Ironman gives a chance to do things in a more civilised fashion. A full change of clothes, a drink and some food later and kitted out in my well padded shorts with Vaseline and sun cream plastered all over most parts of the body I jumped on my thankfully fixed bike and headed out on the bike course.
The bike route is a new 3 loop course that could best be described as hilly and undulating with some significant gradients to wear down participants. The problem with this sort of course layout is that you know that every long downhill becomes a long uphill a few hours later!

The Ironman bike ride requires as much mental discipline as physical stamina. Apart from the occasional word or two exchanged whilst passing or being passed, it's a quiet conversation-less 6 hour part of the day. With the draft marshals buzzing back and forth on their motorbikes ensuring everyone rides their own race my usual shorter race tactics of hiding away from the wind behind a real cyclist was just a day dream.

Keeping hydrated and well fed was my number one priority all day, another lesson painfully learnt from past experience. Lack of energy and dehydration creeps slowly up until it’s too late, so with aid stations every 10K I made sure that I took food and water onboard at everyone. How do you go to the toilet and continue riding at 35k/mh, I had a few not very successful answers by the end of the bike section. It was around 2:30 in the afternoon when I finally placed the faithful stead back onto the rack where I had taken it from over 6 hours earlier. Steady bike ride for me as I averaged just over 30Km/h for the entire 180 KM course.

THE RUN: Take all the things that make a marathon difficult; hills, heat, humidity, and combine them with an already drained body, mind and spirit and you might be able to begin to imagine what it's like to start the final Ironman marathon late in the hot afternoon sun. It’s the run that makes the race in Langkawi so tough.

Actually my spirit was not broken yet and as I jumped off the bike my legs seemed to want to cooperate but even so the work ahead was certainly cut out for me. 42 K is a long way. After a flat start the 4 loop run course turns into a gradual 5km climb along a road that just kills any idea of running a really fast time. At the top the course retraces its steps only to turn around and climb the shadeless torture test back up again. Aliens landing on the Ironman run course would quickly come to the conclusion that humans were perhaps a masochistic lot; the course looks more like Napoleons retreat from Moscow than a voluntary race. Cups, sponges and even conked out runners littering the road, by this time of the day most runners had adopted a sort of forward shuffle more than a run and concentrated on getting from aid station to aid station which are placed at 1km intervals along the course. Thankfully nothing lasts for ever and the race finishes alongside a giant eagle statue which dominates the Jetty Point port area from which everyone is taken directly to the medical tent to be weighted and assessed – I lost almost 5 KG – (its all back now with interest) – Dieting the Ironman way…


THE CONCLUSION: Amid the suffering, I had some very peaceful, enjoyable moments with myself during the race; perhaps it is true and what doesn’t kill you can indeed make you stronger - mentally if not physically! Hanging around at the finish until late into the night you can see the personal battles that people have to finish this race – including athletes with significant disabilities – Ironman Ironkawi had a blind athlete and an above knee amputee amongst the finishers this year. It is very moving.

Ironman is a lifetime experience that I will cherish and remember for a good while to come. I am happy to have finished (alive!) and now am dreaming of my ultimate Ironman goal – The World Championships situated in the spiritual home of Ironman – Kona, Hawaii, but with my finishing time some 2 hours from qualifying I have a long way to go!

The race statistics: 551 athletes started Ironman Malaysia and 460 finished the race within the 17 hours cut off time – Luckily I was one of them in 12 hours and 9 mins – the winner professional Triathlete Frenchman Xavier Le Floch from France managed 8:43.

More information http://www.ironmanlangkawi.com.my/



SEE YOU NEXT YEAR!