gct 2010

'...the world ain't all sunshine and rainbow...it ain't abt how hard u hit, it's abt how hard u can get hit and keep moving forward...it's abt how much u can take and keep moving forward...but u gotta b willing to take the hit...' - rocky thru mike neill

it all started from the nite before.
after the dinner that I had with the team and the rest of the participants, I went back to the place we stayed and kind of wind down. relax. as far as I can remember, I don’t think I ate anything anymore once I got back to my room. therefore, I took my sleeping med, as always, at the nite before the race, jst to keep my mind off the race and rest.
in the morning, I was up at around 4am. Took a shower, get the coffee ready for the cabinmates; ate some bagel with peanut butter and banana. Then I went down to be taped for the back problem that I had. afterwards, I went back up to my room to get ready to head to the transition area to set my stuffs ready for the race.
Set my transition properly as I planned. Helmet, glasses, gels, bars, shoes, shocks, powder, magic pill, drinks, check tire, inflate properly, talked a bit with teammates and other participants around the area. Then head back up to my room to get ready.
At around 6.15am, I decided to go down to the start line to kind of get my mind to the race and put on my wetsuit.
after having said wish my teammates for a great race, i waited for the horn for my wave to start. as the horn sound, i started the way i wanted to. went to the ocean with confident that i had trained for this. at first, well....didn't realize i was off the beaten path of the swim course, so try to focus, get back to the course and made it to the turn around with a little trouble. as though as the waves and current in the gulf (thank GOD for no oil, btw), i felt i was able to swim on my rhythm. swim the way i wanted. as i was getting back to the shore, i felt the current is moving sideways, therefore i decided to take advantage by swimming a little sideways so that i can catch the push from behind; and it did work. as i came out of the water and check on my watch, i realized i was faster than last year, thank GOD and thanx to all the friends that was along the swim course to cheer me on....
as i got to the transition to get ready for the bike, i started to feel a little pain on my back, especially as i was trying to peel off my wetsuit. i took a bite of the powerbar that i prepared for the bike. took a couple of sip of drinks and off to the bike course. as i looked along the bike course, saw quite a bit of my teammates. tried to cheer them on as they cheered me on. as i saw my teammates, i tried to catch them and tried to calculate how far behind and ahead me from them. the bike went according to plan, i threw the bottle that i wanted to throw and grab the nutrition that i wanted and needed along the way (gatorade endurance, waters, gels, and bars). until this time, the day was still overcast, no sun yet. so, i thought ok let's get this on and get this over with. as i get close back to the transition, i started to feel a little more pain than earlier, but yet i realized it is still manageable.
as i got to the transition and off the bike, i definitely feel the pain on my back, but yet with the help of the cheering of my friends, it was dfntly bearable.
in transition, i sit down to get ready for the run. as soon as i stand up to go running, i really feel the pain, but yet i know this pain will definitely go away as soon as i could run smoothly. i took one magic pill and saw a couple of my teammates pass me asking me how i was doin'. after i pass the first mile marker, just as the sun finally decided to showed up, my run felt ok. i felt i was running the way i wanted. other teammates were passing me and i took my time to get myself together and started to see other teammates that went back to finish the run.
as i was about mile 11, i started to feel a little weird. i know my body temp was warm, but yet i had a chill. not sure what it was, i started to walk and then i realized, i guess i had a mild heat stroke. i tried to brush that aside with another magic pill, gel, some gatorade and water. at this point, i realized i was missing my targeted finish time. disappointed? absolutely. i got 'hit'.
as i got to about half a mile from the finish line, i decided that this was the time make up some time, rather than having a miserable finish time (for me at least). so, i ran with whatever left i had in me to the finish line with seeing mike neill and my other teammates and friends by the finish line.
as i was finishing, i thank GOD for always being with me, giving the opportunity, help, and ability to be able to do this.
thank you also to all my cabinmates, teammates, and coaches in human powered racing for always giving me advise and encouragement along the way. God bless....