Bintan 2010

When my friend did the Bintan Triathlon last year, I thought to myself, "That is something I would love to do." From that day on, I couldn't get it out of my head. I began running last fall and when the weather turned cold and my children were sick, I was tired and gave up...for a time. In March, in a desperate attempt to do something to inspire me to get in shape, I booked my ticket to Singapore and registered for the race. Now I was stuck. Stuck but determined (at this point point I did not even own a bike). Thanks to Jim, Susan Grace, Miriam, Anna, James, Margaret, and Daniel we mustered our way through a make-shift training plan. I think with nearly every training swim, bike or run I had one of my children or Jim with me. One of my favorite training memories is a rainy/overcast day last spring when Jim and I went biking and running and then went for Sushi at one of our favorite restaurants. We finished our date with ice cream at Baskin Robins. I also loved going swimming with Susan Grace and Miriam at night (the YMCA is open for lap swimming from 9-10 p.m.) Daniel and Margaret were good sports for the run but got tired of the long bike rides. One day after the race I asked Margaret if she wanted to go for a bike ride and she said, "It's too long, Mom". To sum it up, my training was very mediocre and filled with feelings of frustration, guilt and exhaustion. On the other hand, in the beginning when my bike rides were shorter and not combined with my runs, it sure did boost my spirits to get out and exercise. Two to three hours of exercise in one day is too much for me at this time of my life. I learned that I need to be content with a 5K run or a 30 minute bike ride up the mountain.

Traveling to Bintan was something I worried about doing from the day I booked my ticket until I got back home. I traveled alone, with a big, obnoxious bike through three countries. Much of the time I was white knuckled and jittery. When I finally got there I had to reassemble my bike that was broken down into many pieces so that it would fit into a box. Wrestling the bike into and out of cabs in the wee predawn hours of the morning with strange foreign cab drivers was awkward to say the least.

When I finally got to Bintan and had my bike set up, I was overwhelmed with the intimidation I felt from all of the athletes and their snazzy equipment and confidence. I have never felt so intimidated in all of my life. On the day before the race I decided to join in with some other athletes and bike around the race route. It took about five minutes for them to leave me in their dust. I was so far behind them that I couldn't catch site of them even on the long straight aways. There I was on some small island of Indonesia in the tropical heat of early afternoon. I was hot and tired and very lost. I mustered my way through the race route watching for the triathlon signs that would tell me where to turn. I felt so alone. So under qualified. After my exhausting 20 kilometer bike ride I went back to my hotel room and changed into my swimming suit. I thought it might be a good idea to swim for a bit in the ocean before the race. I walked down to the beach which was relatively empty. I waded into the warm water and began to swim, thankful that there were very few bystanders to notice that I really didn't know what I was doing. I swam for about 10 minutes when I noticed that some sea slim was clinging to my hands. This distracted me from concentrating on my stroke and brought me back to the reality that I was swimming in the ocean and not the pool at the YMCA. I looked up and realized that I was in deep waters and all alone. I became very aware that the ocean is endless (top to bottom and all around). A feeling of panic crept into the bottom of my stomach. I took a deep breath and started back to the shore. When I reached shallow water and stood up, my feet sunk into the soft sand and that sand seemed to absorb all of my energy. I could hardly walk to the shore. "What am I doing here?" I thought.

That night I couldn't sleep. I kept seeing myself in the deep, dark South China Sea all alone.
Race day came and I was nauseated with nerves. I waited until the last moment, and even then it was all I could do to wheel my bulky mountain bike over to the transition area and find a place out of the way to hook it up. "Why did I do this to myself?" I thought over and over.

The race began and I was timid and careful and tried to stay out of the other athletes. I got kicked a few times during the swim but I was relieved that the swim went better than I expected. I had a great advantage in that I breathe to the left and that was the side that the guide buoys were on throughout the whole swim, making it easy to orient myself and swim the shortest route. The biking was tough but a light rain made the rolling hills bearable. The only trouble was, when I got to my bike in transition, my water bottle was gone. I never did find it. No drinks for me on the bike. The run was tough, my legs felt like lead (stupid me, why did I do that bike ride yesterday?) I didn't get to a drink station until 2K. I drank a power drink and it felt like it went from my dry mouth to my very depleted muscles. I drank another one, with it, I felt a boost of energy. Thankfully the run was scenic and the beauty of the seaside and the lush forests kept me distracted. Cheering bystanders also made me smile.

When I finished, I felt so good. I've never felt a runner's high like I did finishing this race. I think it lasted a week. I also felt a surge of confidence that bordered on arrogance. I got back to Seoul and started planning my next Triathlon. I couldn't wait to do it again, there were so many things I could improve....

Within three hours of my race I was heading back for Seoul. I took an overnight flight and was home in time for church. It took about a week for me to come back down to earth and realize how distracted I had been. It's good to go away, but it's always better to be home.

Race: Bintan Sprint Triathlon, 750 meter swim, 20 kilometer bike, 5 kilometer run. My time 1:57:34.