ANILA, Philippines - My story started four years ago at the finish
line of Ironman Malaysia 2008 in Langkawi — a full-distance Ironman that
involved a 3.8k open-sea swim, a 180k
bike race
and 42k run — all within a 17-hour cutoff. I trained for almost 20
weeks for that race, which took me 17 hours and six minutes to complete.
Yes, I missed the cutoff by a painful six minutes! They gave me the
finisher’s medal, but I was unable to earn the distinction of being
called Ironman. Thus began an obsession that would take me four years to
conquer.
For the uninitiated, the full Ironman is probably the most grueling
endurance sport there is. It starts with a 3.8k swim, which is like
swimming the length of EDSA from the Buendia intersection to Roxas Blvd,
within a 2:15 period. Immediately after that, one has to mount a bike
and ride for 180k. This is like biking from SM
Mall of Asia
to the foot of Baguio in La Union. The cutoff for this leg is about
eight hours. If one does not make it to the cutoff, he will be pulled
out of the
course and the day ends for him. Finally, after the tough swim and long
bike ride,
one caps the race with a full 42k marathon. This is equivalent to
running from La Union and heading back to Pampanga. In the Philippines,
the only official Ironman race is a 70.3 miler, which is sometimes
called a “half Ironman.”
It is an extremely painful and exhausting endeavor for sure, but
that’s what makes it appealing. It is the challenge of pushing yourself
to the extreme limits of physical — and oftentimes even psychological —
capacity. Once you cross the finish line, the announcer calls out your
name and shouts “You are an Ironman!” To hardcore
triathletes, this is the ultimate confirmation that one is indeed a member of the rare breed of people who have completed the distance.
In Langkawi, I was totally devastated to learn that I had just missed
the cutoff by a mere six minutes. This meant I had to carve out another
20 weeks of my
life
to train for another Ironman and go through the same agonizing
experience to lay claim to the distinction of having conquered the
extreme challenge.
AL :-
Interesting story about determination to reach for IRONMAN Status..
I salute you Greg..