PD Swim-Bike-Run 2012, Instalment 1: The Swim

Folks! Here's the much anticipated report of the swim at the 1st PD Swim-Bike-Run held 28 Jan 2012. It's gonna have to be short this time.

If you recall, we were supposed to do loops of 500 m out and 500 m back. The plan was to have the anchor kayak paddle out 500 m and stay put while we swam to it. Thus we could do as many 1 km loops as we so desired. It's 'supposed' to look like Map 1 below...

Map 1: Grace & Kayak on 14 Jan 2012. 500 m out, 500 m back.

Why do I say 'supposed'? Because the Real Route the kayak took (Justin wore the Timex Global Trainer on his wrist) is Map 2 below:

November Notables and the Laguna Phuket Triathlon 2011

So, the last time I blogged was 29 Oct, 5 days before Spencer arrived in Malaysia for our 1 month adventure. November was just a really great month! How to do you condense a month's worth of happenings into a short blog post? Answer: You Don't. Heheh. You have been warned, this is gonna be a long post but this is my blog and I'm allowed!

Dedication
I'd like to dedicate this blog post to all my friends and family... and Spencer. Thank you for always being there for me. Love you all.

Pre-LPT Secret Training ;)
Quite a bit of what we did in November was geared toward the Laguna Phuket Triathlon at the end of that month. Neither of us had done a long distance triathlon before. The LPT calls for a 1.8 km swim, 55 km bike and 12 km run. Spencer has done a few sprints these past few years, is good on the bike and is a strong swimmer, but not runner. I took part in a few sprints this year, but had never cycled more than 20 km (blame my bike phobia!). So we went running to get him used to the heat. In preparation for the purportedly crazy hills on the cycle leg of the LPT, we also got some rides in: 25 km bike ride halfway up Genting Sempah, 35 km at Putrajaya with Raymond and Mich (thanks for the tour!), and 58 km at Hulu Langat with Yip (to whom we are forever indebted for loaning us his babies for that month, Thanks Yip!). The Hulu Langat ride was a huge confidence booster for me, because after that, I knew what 55 km feels like. Even then, nothing would have prepared me for the Naithorn Hills in Phuket... (more on that later). While Spencer and I packed our days with activities, we were careful to keep me to my sleep and diet regimen. Throughout Nov, I continued weaning off the hydrocortisone with no relapse.

Desaru 116 International Triathlon 2011 Race Report: My Mish Mash!

Dedication

For Mama

Pre-Race Training

Unfortunately, training wasn’t as much as I woulda liked. I had a relapse of my autoimmune condition early in Sept that left me quite weak. I readjusted my goal and training from trying to do well, to trying to finish. As I pulled out of the relapse, I gradually increased training, which was mostly done at home on my Pseudotrainer. If I could keep going for 2 hours, I would be able to finish the race.

Friday, The Day Before the Race

Teaser Update! Desaru 116 Triathlon, Singapore Total Immersion Swim Race, Putrajaya Night Marathon etc.

I'm baaaack! It's been a busy three weeks since my last post 'Why I Love Triathlon' and it's possibly gonna stay that way until December! Here's what (I hope!) will be a short recap of the past three weeks, and brief of what shenanigans Gracie will be up to in the next month or two. I will follow with detailed race/event reports some time in November when I have a chance to sit down for the full day it takes me to produce each of these things. Ya, I'm so pokey, but hey, it's worth the wait right? ;)

My health was generally ok this month, kidneys somewhat behaving, though joints hurt a bit. I put in decent effort training on my Pseudotrainer (elliptical machine = pretend bicycle since I still too chicken to cycle on road), some swimming and a good-ish running mileage. I probably spent 1 to 2 hours a day doing some exercise, i.e., 1 hr swim, bike or run, sometimes combined. All great fun!

Gracie in pretend aero position on Pseudotrainer

10 Sep: Port Dickson Open Water Swim, organized with the help of consultants Kash, Jaja and Dogpapi.

Why I Love Triathlon

It’s been a while since my last post where I posed the question ‘Why Do A Triathlon’ and received incredibly heartfelt and inspiring responses. Thank you so much. Your comments, and the events of the past two weeks have caused me to dig deep and truly examine my motivations for doing triathlons.

My motivations now are different from two years ago, when I loved the idea of Triathlon, but had not done one. Two years ago, I thought I was completely cured from the autoimmune illness that had put a serious damper on the previous 10 years of my life. I had been medication-free for over a year, and running 5 minute miles – feeling strong.  Triathlon sounded like an extreme physical challenge that would be my way of saying ‘Hey Life, I’m back!’. I imagined my healed, new body pushing through the limits of endurance, something my sick body could not do. I said to myself, ‘I will know without a doubt that I am strong and whole again when I finish my first triathlon’ (More background HERE).

Well, they don’t call Henoch Schonlein Purpura ‘chronic’ (lifelong, incurable) for no reason.

When I actually completed my first mini-triathlon ('Hoohathlon'), I was sick – in early stages of a relapse. During my first Sprint triathlon, and my first Olympic distance swim the following day, I had barely recovered from yet another relapse (Also read 'First do no harm').  Both at the Hoohathlon and Sprint triathlon, I was happy beyond words that I had crossed the Finish Line, but this happiness was tinged with a bit of sadness. This wasn’t how I imagined it would be.

I had imagined a ‘comeback Grace’ sending a powerful message to myself and others with chronic illnesses that ‘Yes, it is possible to take back your life!’.

Instead, here was a frail and still-sick middle-aged woman swimming, biking and running with the dream of one day being whole again.

I will be whole again!

Here’s why I love the sport of triathlon:

Why do a Triathlon. No, Really. Why?

What’s your motivation?

Photo credit: John Howe at triathlonjunkie.com

Are you a triathlon ‘virgin’, never having done a swim-bike-run of any distance (but want to)?

Or a seasoned triathlete with a few Ironmans under your belt?

Why do you want to do a triathlon?

If you have done one or more, why do you continue doing triathlons?

(Also, is there anyone out there who has stopped at just one? Is it possible?)

And a Triathlon is What? A History Lesson-ette

The first ever ‘modern’ triathlon was held California in 1974 by two dudes who put both their ‘strange race event’ proposals together to come up with the Mission Bay Triathlon:

·         Held after work on Friday evening. Convenient!

·         Fees: $1. (Yes folks, thats ONE DOLLAR)

·         RUN 6 miles (9.7 km), BIKE 5 miles (8 km) and SWIM 500 yards (460 m).

I think it was genius putting the swim leg last. After running and cycling nearly 20 km, it would have been very refreshing for the participants to plunge into the sea and splash around in deep open water with Jaws. 

Risks Triathletes Take 

Desaru Triathlon 2011: Hotels, Resorts, Where to Stay?

Obviously the best place to stay would be the Lotus Desaru Beach Resort because it is the official hotel / venue for the Desaru Pengerang Long Distance Triathlon 24 - 25 September 2011. That saves travelling time and avoids the hassle of finding parking on race day, when there are more important things to think about, e.g., 'how to swim in a washing machine?' and 'did I update my will?'
IMPORTANT: when booking at Lotus, make sure you ask for the special rates /package for triathletes / the triathlon. These are: 
3 Bedroom Apartment Suite (max 6 pax) : RM650.00 nett per night
2 Bedroom Apartment Suite (max 4 pax) : RM430.00 nett per night
1 Bedroom Apartment Suite (max 2 pax) : RM250.00 nett per night

Rates include daily buffet breakfast and welcome drink, PLUS free Water Park Entrance so it's a great deal for triathletes and supporters. (For Lotus address, reservation number, T&C, click HERE.)
If you don't ask for the special rates, you'll be quoted an expensive rate of RM430 (full board) or RM394 (breakfast only) for a 1 bedroom apt. Although the RM430 comes with all meals, I'd rather drive 30 minutes to Sg Rengit to chow down on seafood!

Other good options 10 minutes from the race venue transition are:

• Pulai Desaru Beach Resort (also '4 star', and quieter). It's $198++ (government servant rate yay!) or $330++ (standard rate) for 1 room if you call in (07-822 2222). Online rate is $240++ per night at Agoda (limited time only - thanks for the tip Cyn!)
• Desaru Penawar Inn, a brand spanking new budget hotel just 2 km from Lotus. (Call En Shamsudin at 019-7190102. If you can't reach him, try the head office 07-8221964). Weekend rates start at $98++ (single), $108++ (twin sharing or queen), $158++ (queen + single). Includes breakfast. Non-smoking. This hotel is managed by Koperasi Pelaburan Kejora and you would be banking into Bank Islam account number 01135010000404. Thanks Tajudin M. for the info. It's GOLD! 

If you're desperate (and brave), you could try Desaru Damai Beach Resort, a 1 star budget dig, that has received shockingly bad reviews on Tripadvisor (read reviews here).
NOTE: Desaru Golden Beach Hotel, a previous race venue, is CLOSED for renovations until 2014 (I just spoke with them)

I booked Pulai Desaru at the government rate for 23-25 September and was told that I can cancel a week before with no penalty. Then I decided to cancel Pulai and have booked with Penawar Inn so I can splurge more on seafood!  I may wait till Sept 5 to register for the triathlon (that's the last day to sign up or max 900 participants). For more info and to register for the Desaru Tri, visit Triathlon Malaysia. 


Check back once in a while as I will be updating this post with new hotels!

See you at Desaru!


A click on any ad below this post will put a few cents in my pocket, from the advertisers. Thanks for supporting my blog!


xo Gracie

Port Dickson International Triathlon 2011 Race Report Olympic Distance

The Olympic Distance Event of the Port Dickson International Triathlon took place on 24 July 2011 at the Avillion Admiral Cove. This year – the 10^th year this event has been held – a record number of 1450 folks from 36 nations took part. I did the Sprint Distance the day before (Sprint race report here) and stayed back to cheer on friends and racers. Also I’m just a 'kay poh', and wanted to see if the PDIT lived up to its reputation as one of the best organized, most well-attended, and bestest, funnest triathlons in Malaysia! It does!

All photos in this post by Tey Eng Tiong. Thanks Tey! And a big shout out to Paul for helping fix parts of this post! Thanks Paul!

GO! Hong Kong's top triathlete Lee Chi Wo leads the men's 30-39 wave
while also making a fashion statement in his neon pink swim cap.

Ramping up the competitive field were a bunch of elite triathletes who had flown in from Hong Kong, Macau, Australia and the Philippines. There were 50 mixed-relay teams and 53 all male relay teams. Together with the almost 700 individual age groupers, standing on the beach that morning were over 800 people ready (or not!) to launch themselves into the Straits of Melaka for the 1.5 km swim. 

Among the youngest was Salman Ali Shariati, who at 11 years of age had already earned the title of Double Iron-Man (8 km swim, 340 km bike, 84 km run). Now at 14, he would be up against the 16-29 age-groupers. The youngest was Yeong Yik San, 11 years old, who hails from a family of triathletes (pic below). The oldest was 74 year old 15-time Ironman finisher Yee Sze Mun. Also incredibly inspiring to see at the start line was the one-armed Mohd Sabki, out to prove that disability is no barrier to participating in this endurance event (pic below). Then there were the age-groupers - the bulk of the participants - a colorful mix of first timers, veterans and people who come back every year to PD to meet friends, maybe improve on a PB, or just have fun and finish!

Port Dickson Triathlon 1.5 km Open Water Swim: Taming the Fear

Dedication

This post is dedicated to Cynthia Gan, who on 24 July 2011, against crazy odds, overcame her paralyzing phobia of swimming out to the deep unknown, and swam her first 1.5 km open water swim at the Port Dickson International Triathlon 2011. She went on to complete the bike and run and finished the triathlon (her first of what will be many) that day.

Summary of Post

I wrote this post for three reasons. As a written record of Cynthia’s first Olympic distance open water swim, as I remembered it, and corroborating with Misni and Lina’s account (they were on the beach). For Kash, because I know you wanted to be there in person for Cyn but could not. And also as an encouragement for those of you who are struggling with the fear of swimming in open water (sea/lake).

A Bit of Background

I first got to know Cynthia at the Hoohathlon 2011, a first mini-tri for us both. She was already an accomplished ultra-runner, but had floundered on the 150 m swim leg of the Hoohathlon. She had only learnt how to swim not long ago, and her water confidence was poor. I didn’t realize how terrified she was of deep water until the PD tri clinic, where together with Kash, we tried to encourage her to jump into the water off the jetty. She did get up the courage to dip her feet into the water, but no further. She did swim in the shallower water along the beach that day, but could not go deep.

That was the day I ‘adopted’ Cyn – I have three younger sisters whom I love to bits and you just gotta love this girl; also, seeing the fear written all over her face struck a chord in me because I myself am afraid of the water (I’m afraid of drowning, and although I love swimming, that fear has never really left). I was concerned because the PD Tri was only 2 weeks away. This girl had run 100 km – proof of her tenacity and mental strength. I know lots of people would think she wouldn’t have a problem overcoming any fear at all, but I understood that this Fear of Deep Water is a whole new other kinda monster.

Port Dickson International Triathlon Sprint Race Report Result 2011 – A Perfect First Tri

Dedication

I would like to dedicate this post to good folk who suffer from Lupus (SLE, a chronic autoimmune illness), who face everyday the challenges related to their illness, and who continue to be productive and positive. They are among the unsung heroes in our world. For those of you who cannot run, this run was for you. 

Summary of Post

What coulda gone wrong didn’t go wrong. Everything that coulda went right, went right. Result: The most wonderful, perfect, first triathlon for yours truly.

Pre-Race

I went into this event with some worries because I was quite weakened from a relapse of my autoimmune disease two weeks prior. While I knew I would at least be able to stand at the start line on race day, I wasn’t sure if I could finish. I promised myself that I would be a responsible racer, and first, do no harm. I made peace with coming in last. I would savour every minute of this event.

A first triathlon – you only get one first time. I’m glad my Ma was there to share this experience (my support team & photog, thanks Ma!). 

What coulda gone wrong? Well, a gazillion different things from:

• ‘annoying’ e.g. forgot bicycle, to..
• ‘embarrassing’ e.g. faint and taken away in ambulance,

First, Do No Harm

Less than a week to go to my first Sprint triathlon at Port Dickson (23 July 2011) and it’s not quite ‘all systems go’ for Gracie. My kidney function appears to be better, but I’m weak from the couple days of peeing away all that protein and blood.  It usually takes a month to regain my strength after a relapse like this. And I don’t have a month. Not even a week.

Funny thing is I already know I could complete the sprint, thanks to the Tri Clinic on 3 July. Where I did the 800 m swim in 30 minutes, 20 km bike in 1.5 hrs and a 4 km run in 30 minutes. The last woman in the sprint (35 yrs & above) last year took 1 hr 45 minutes. So with my time of over 2 hours, I would be solid last! After that clinic, I had started looking to better my times tee hee. Just didn’t want to have the glamorous position of being last lah.

Well, today I re-revised my target for this race. I just want to finish.

I want to cross that finish line.

But I won’t say that cliché ‘I will do whatever it takes’, because… I won’t. I’m not going to push myself at the expense of my health and recovery.

I’m going to go slow and enjoy my first sprint triathlon. Every. Single. Minute of it.

Just you watch me!

Looking forward to last place J


A click on any ad below this post will put a few cents in my pocket, from the advertisers. Thanks for supporting my blog!

xo Gracie

PD Triathlon Race Clinic 3 July 2011

Summary of Post

Insider information on race route and some great tips from Uncle Chan. I did the Sprint distance (800 m swim, 20 km bike, almost 5 km run) today!!

So far so good

I signed up for the PD Tri on the very last day (1 July), after I was 51% sure of making it to the start line on Race Day (see also 'PD Tri - in my dreams only?'). Kidneys working? Check. Joints working? Check. Overall health status: alive and can move? Check. ALL SYSTEMS GO! Then I found out about the free Tri Clinic (Thanks Reza!) and almost fell over myself signing up for that too. I was afraid of swimming in the open sea by myself, so this clinic would be the perfect opportunity to do so.

Uncle Chan gathering tri clinic participants for the briefing

The Clinic – Uncle Chan’s Briefing

The briefing started 8.40 am with about 50 attendees. Uncle Chan informed us that

PD Triathlon 2011: In My Dreams Only?

Summary of Post

Struggling with kidney problems, all I can do is wait and see if I can recover before registration closes for the PD Tri (July 1). At the moment, it looks unlikely (Note: 23 July 2011, I did it! Race report here.). Nice thing though is, in my dreams, I am strong and whole, and running free!

Recurring Dream

It’s pretty cool that even when my real body is sick and weak, sometimes in my dreams Avatar Grace is whole and strong. I love my flying dreams, where I soar above the green fields and dodge the occasional power line.  My current favorite is my running dream. I am running lightfooted as a deer along a forest trail. Although I am going fast as can be, I don’t feel like I will ever get tired. Every breath I suck into my lungs revitalizes me. My body feels powerful. In this running dream of mine, I don’t have kidney problems bothering me… don’t feel weak from losing protein and blood in my pee ... don't have sharp arthritic pains shooting through my joints … I just … feel … good…  

OCD, Me?

“Don’t be so obsessive!”, my wonderful doctor of 12 years lectures when I tell her that I test my pee (with a dipstick)  for proteinuria every morning. I smile as I remember her kind-hearted scoldings, and I am still smiling as I journal the results of this morning’s dipstick test: “Trace” proteinuria, the dipstick says. Muuuuch better than the 4+ (ridiculous) reading on 18 June (which was the day before the Hoohathlon). Once I get down to “negative” proteinuria, and feel settled, I can again start tapering off the dratted meds (corticosteroids) that I take for my illness (Henoch Schonlein Purpura). Hopefully that happens in the next few days, so I can sign up for the PD Tri! If not? Well, if not, I’ll just go to PD and do the triathlon distances there whenever I am good and ready. There’s much to be said about ‘Mind Over Matter’, but if I push mindlessly when I am ill, it will indeed matter – it will kill me. :p . Don’t even get me started on ‘What Doesn’t Kill You Makes You Stronger’…

The Week Past

Didn’t do a whole lot of training this week but put in some time every day after work. Just enough to break a sweat, which is 30 minutes on my elliptical machine. My body is limited to gentle namby pamby exercise, however, my mind seems to have gone into Quantum Hyperdrive Fantasy Mode. I imagine myself swimming the 800 m (sprint distance) with the salty waves lapping against me… the transitions … the 20 km bike ride on my trusty road-slick-tyred mountain bike, wind against my face … my legs pumping through the 5 k run. I am grateful that I have memories of my past life (before and between bouts of illness) that I can draw on for my imaginings. We'll know by next week's post if the PD Triathlon is 'Only in my dreams'...

“A healthy man has many wishes, but a sick man has only one…”

A click on any ad will put a few cents in my pocket, from the advertisers. Thanks for supporting my blog!

xo Gracie

Hoohathlon 2011 Race Report: A Taste of Tri

As I sat down to write this race report, a plethora of emotions washed over me. The Hoohathlon that I participated in yesterday, 19 June 2011, was incredibly meaningful to me because I had always wanted to do a triathlon, and this was my first taste of a tri, an 'appetizer'. My journey to this point has been derailed so many times because of illness, and this flicker of hope almost snuffed out in 2009, that I barely dared to hope again to tri. A few years ago, I had thought my illness conquered, and had planned to do my first tri ('Tri-ing for Me: Triathlon after Illness). It never happened. A family crisis brought on the worst relapse that I had had since diagnosed with the rare illness (Henoch Schonlein Purpura) ten years ago. Instead of triathlon training and brick workouts, in a desperate bid to get better I ended up camped in the Florida Everglades with alligators, rattlesnakes and other friendly wildlife as my companions!

Humbled... and grateful. That is how I feel right now. Because I know I could never have gotten here without the support of the people in my life… my devoted husband, also my biggest cheerleader … my family and friends … my employer, FRIM, who accommodated for my illness… and my God.

Pre-Race Prep
For months I had been slowly tapering my medications under my doctor’s supervision, while preparing for the race. When I first started training I was very weak but I faithfully put in time on my elliptical machine every evening after work, increasing from 10 minutes to an hour a day, over two months. After I signed up for the race, I started training in earnest. The week before, I had successfully completed the Hoohathlon distances: 150 m swim in my apartment pool, 10 km bike and 5 km run at the scenic Kepong Botanical Gardens in FRIM. Unfortunately, I relapsed from food poisoning two days before the race. I wasn’t sure if I should/could/would do the race at all.

Race Day
I woke up 5.30 am, felt 'okay' (as much as a relapsing person with protein and blood in the pee could feel, which in the early stages

Tri-ing For Me: Triathlon after Illness

I am going to do my first triathlon this year.

Just being able to say that makes me so grateful. I savor each word as it rolls off my tongue. A surge of emotion wells up deep within my chest, and I feel like I could burst.

My life before
Having been sick with a rare autoimmune illness for a third (9 years) of my life, I had been through some pretty difficult times. This illness struck me down suddenly and rapidly. I found myself in hospital, swollen, colicky and nauseous. I was poked, prodded and jabbed, and underwent an interesting kidney biopsy where a few choice pieces of my left kidney were cut out from me while I observed the entire procedure. 'Henoch Schonlein Purpura' was what the doctors said. Statistically speaking, I would lose kidney function in 10 years, would have to be on corticosteroids for the rest of my life.

Gracie  back in those days, with puffy steroid-induced moon face.

For the next 9 years I was consumed with finding a cure. I tried every diet you could think of, every therapy out there (you can read about my gastronomic mis-adventures here) The doctors couldn't really tell me why I was sick, much less what I needed to do to get better. I continued to work, and completed my Ms and PhD degrees, during this time. I stayed active, but could no longer participate in many of the outdoor activities that I loved - any overly strenuous physical activity caused my kidneys to start acting up. I was constantly holding back, always having to remind myself to take it easy, not push too hard.

Fear
There was something about being chronically ill and in pain that changed the person I was. I became afraid. Afraid to push myself too hard. Afraid to eat foods that I thought (rightly or wrongly) were bad for me. My long-term use of the corticosteroids caused my skin to become paper thin, and I became afraid of falling or hurting myself. I bruised easily. I had developed osteopenia (early stage osteoporosis) and was fearful of falling. It was a sick fear that permeated my psyche, and despite my naturally optimistic and positive personality, this fear was constantly present. (you can read 'me and my steroids' here)

Fight
I felt I was fighting for my life, and time was running out for me. I relapsed frequently, each relapse worsening my already fragile health and further damaging my kidneys. Eventually I developed multiple chemical sensitivities and allergies to everything from perfumes, newsprint, car exhaust, you name it. I felt helpless as my world became smaller and smaller. I hardly dared to venture out of my safe house for fear of being exposed to odors and other substances that made me horribly ill. Even taking the steroids ceased to help.

Turning Point
I somehow managed to complete my PhD and executed an elaborate plan to keep myself alive in a new safe office and safe home. I spent my after work hours scouring medical journals, reading extensively about weaning off steroids and building adrenal sufficiency. After 3 months on an Atkins-type high protein diet, I was successfully reducing the steroid doses. And after 8 months, I was steroid-free!

Today
Nearly one year later, I still can barely believe that I am free of medication, and show no signs of illness or sensitivity whatsoever. I am cured!

So.

I am going to do my first triathlon this year.

xo Gracie

(Note: I unfortunately had my worst relapse a few months later following a family crisis but recovered somewhat after almost two years. I recently completed a mini-triathlon and went on to complete my first sprint triathlon too! This is the hand I've been dealt and I'll play it the best I can. I'm just grateful to be alive. Grace, 25 July 2011).