The Journey of a new Triathlete

Training partners are always great in terms of being motivated and seeking advise.. no matter doing triathlon, Ironman or Ultra running, that is why I frequently used this hashtag #foreveralone cause I am more often than not alone when doing training.

Training for an event demands much from an athlete such as mental focus and more importantly discipline in all aspect of schedule, diet and workout.

I met Zurairi by chance, one day when I was training but I will not expound on that part, as he already had explain of our moment in his featured article.  Do read up on his write-up as guest post on his determination to be a Triathlete (if you say you can’t, this post might change you)  Do follow him on Twitter @arieternity where he shares his passion for triathlon.

Guest Writer:  Zurairi (Singapore) 27 August 2012

My Journey to be Triathlete

After my Kidney Transplant in 2008, (Previous post) , I decided to exercise because my doctor told me to control my cholesterol level.  I also wanted to exercise because keeping fit and healthy will ensure lesser complications due to my condition. After 3 months rest from the post operation, I realise my fitness level is very low after I was struggling and panting after climbing the flight of steps at the overhead  bridge. I realise that I need to start soon.

I started with very light jogging around my neighbourhood.  It was about 1.2km route around my block of flats.  My friend also introduced me to swimming. Mr Razib is a triathlete and he taught and coached me the techniques of swimming freestyle. In 2008, I started with swimming front crawl breadth wise along the pool. With commitment to improve on my technique, I made the trip to the pool 3 times a week. I started to swim 15m breadth-wise and now I’m able to swim 1500m.

For running, I have my wife to thank because since I decided to start jogging, she would also join me in my runs. We started with jogging around our neighbourhood. We started with 3 round, basically it’s about 3km. We sometimes jog at east coast to enjoy the longer route.

Gradually, we increase the distance bit by bit and both of us can now jog about 12km in a single training session. We also took part in most of the runs for example the Race against Cancer 2012, Run for Hope 2012, Real Run, Nike We run Sg to name a few.

Currently both of us are training for our first half marathon.

Mr Razib asked me, since I can swim and run. Why don’t I join the triathlon events? I was interested. However, I do not have a bicycle. But that did not stop me.

On December 2010, I signed up for TriBob Aquathlon, Duathlon and Triathlon 2011. I have signed up for a Duathlon and a Triathlon without a bicycle.

In February 2011, my wife and I bought our road bicycle. Since we have a bicycle we took part in the OCBC cycle 2011 and my wife also signed up for TriBob Duathlon

While I was cycling around my neighbourhood, one of the days, I met a cyclist on the road. Little did I know that he’ll be my cycling coach and motivator. Yes, the author of this blog Mr Isaac Loo. He’s an incredible guy and really motivates me. I had no experience riding a road bicycle but he was there to teach me the techniques of cycling. Not only that, he’s also an Ironman Triathlete, so he also taught me techniques in running and swimming as well.

I am very lucky to have very supportive family members and friends who have seen me through this journey. I would not have achieved 3 triathlon medals in 2011 without their support and motivation.

It has been a fantastic journey for me and I will continue with this passion.

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