Finally I've finished a full Ironman.
3.8km swim. 180km bike. 42.2km run.
It's the dream of all triathletes to complete one. And having done 4 half distances I decided to take the plunge.
Last year after one of the races, I told the guys next race let's do somewhere where the weather isn't hot.
Cairns seemed the perfect race as it wouldn't be too cold and would be during the school holidays in June. I wasn't sure if I should do the 70.3 or the full for a while, but eventually reasoned that having travelled so far and spent so much I may as well do the full distance.
Eventually only Roger and Keith (and later Jaclyn) signed for the 70.3. Eddie and me took the plunge for 140.6 a bit later. Eddie and me did our first 70.3 in Putrajaya 2 years ago, so it felt right that we would do our first full distance together!
By now I knew how to train for a 70.3 but was in virgin territory for a 140.6. I knew it was now more volume and had to find some way to fit that volume in to my schedule. I knew pacing was important so my training was more focused on endurance and less on speed.
I followed the Trainer Road low volume plan for full distance triathlon as much as I could. Swim was of course with the Yellowfish squad and the awesome Trinergy team on Fridays. Saturday I would do a long distance non stop swim.
Bike would follow the Trainer Road programmes and long rides on Sundays. Similarly runs followed the trainer road plan.
Bike would follow the Trainer Road programmes and long rides on Sundays. Similarly runs followed the trainer road plan.
I was peaking at 14 hours per week, and recovery weeks were about 10 hours.
However one thing I learned is that life happens. With a family and 2 kids, things will never go to plan and I did what I could. I also had a work trip to Germany for two weeks in my final peak period so I advanced the plan and hoped for the best.
In the end my longest swim was 4k, longest bike 140km and longest run was 20km plus.
However one thing I learned is that life happens. With a family and 2 kids, things will never go to plan and I did what I could. I also had a work trip to Germany for two weeks in my final peak period so I advanced the plan and hoped for the best.
In the end my longest swim was 4k, longest bike 140km and longest run was 20km plus.
Let me be frank. I was the last few to cross the finish line and I think one major factor was inadequate training. But I learned a lesson there.
Race week
We took a flight in to Cairns on Wednesday arriving in the evening. Logistics was a bit complex as Eddie and me were sharing a car, and I had my family with me.
Thankfully Roger who had arrived earlier drove to the airport and helped picked my family. Eddie and me drove to the airbnb with our bikes.
Roger had gotten us a beautiful house called Bedrock. It had a beautiful view, lovely garden and swimming pool and we felt so at home. It felt good seeing everyone there as we started to move in. We were about 2.5km from the Palm Cove jetty which would be our race start point. So we agreed to do a run to the jetty and back the next morning.
Thankfully Roger who had arrived earlier drove to the airport and helped picked my family. Eddie and me drove to the airbnb with our bikes.
Roger had gotten us a beautiful house called Bedrock. It had a beautiful view, lovely garden and swimming pool and we felt so at home. It felt good seeing everyone there as we started to move in. We were about 2.5km from the Palm Cove jetty which would be our race start point. So we agreed to do a run to the jetty and back the next morning.
 |
| The beautiful view from upstairs of Bedrock |
 |
| Triumphant and Singapore represent |
 |
| Even had a mini pool! |
The next morning, Roger, Keith, Eddie and me ran to Palm Cove to recce and sight see. The area was being setup for the race on Sunday, and I managed to find my T1 spot.
 |
| Croc alert! |
We took some pics and ran back to a wonderful breakfast cooked by the wives.
After breakfast it was off to the race expo at the finish line in Cairns city about 25km away.
It was a big expo with a huge tent for Ironman merchandise. Guess where we spent most of our time. After shopping and lunch we headed back and set up our bikes.
We decided to do a recce swim the next morning and the wives cooked a lovely dinner.
 |
| Family x ice-cream |
 |
| $$$ |
We decided to do a recce swim the next morning and the wives cooked a lovely dinner.
Friday
We arranged to leave the house at 6:45am. At 6:30am, Keith, Eddie, and Jac had their wetsuits on so I hurried to put on mine. Roger started to put his on.... 15mins later he hadn't made much progress. Keith and me helped him pull it on and we went to Palm Cove.
The water was choppy as expected but not too cold. We found a nice spot and practised swimming to the jetty and back a few times and try to get used to the water. My previous races has lovely clear waters especially Cebu... Cairns was like swimming in East Coast Park back home, brownish water and no visibility.
Jac was understandably intimidated by the water but she managed a few swims. We washed up and headed back to grab breakfast (again cooked by the lovely wives), and headed to the race expo for registration.
There was already a long queue when we reached there but thankfully the AWA queue was much shorter. There were only 2 counters though so it still took some time and the sun was out in force by then.
 |
| The long queue for athlete check in |
 |
| Fortunately the AWA queue was much shorter |
Finally it was Eddie and my turn. For the other queue the volunteers would cheer and ring the bell if the registrant was a full IM first timer. After registration and getting our bibs, we headed to another tent where we were given our street gear bags with some discount vouchers etc inside.
I think it took about an hour for everyone to finally get registered and we headed for lunch. The wives wanted to go shopping so we headed to the outlet mall nearby. After lunch we left the wives to shop to their hearts content while the rest of us headed back to do a recce bike ride.
The plan was to ride up to Rex Lookout and back, about 20km from our accommodation. The road was really rough and I was rattling all the way. As the road was a highway, (Captain Cook Highway) there were a lot of cars passing by. In Australia most cars are careful around cyclists and give ample space but you only need one lousy driver to really ruin your day. Besides being rough it was a winding road with some rolling slopes. Would have been a beautiful ride if not for the roughness and the cars.
Rex lookout would be the toughest climb of the bike course and sure enough it kicked up with some twists and turns for about 900m. Elevation was 4.5% according to Strava. It wasn't that bad, Mt Faber back home was worse and I could actually climb slowly at 200watts.
The view was beautiful though and here I'll let the pictures do the talking....
We took a lot of photos and potential profile pics!
After we were done we headed home.... And the wives weren't back from shopping yet 😂
We re tightened the bolts on our bikes, pasted the race stickers, washed up and waited for another yummy home cooked dinner.
After dinner we packed our stuff for the next day.
Saturday
When T1 and T2 are 25km apart, logistics become complex. I was outvoted against doing another swim, so the plan was to ride to T1 with our bikes and bike bag and run back.
We were given a blue bag for bike, red bag for run, a street gear bag another red plastic bag for run special needs and blue plastic bag for bike special needs.
It became important to make sure you packed correctly as once you checked in, by right you couldn't touch your stuff till during the race. This would be especially true for the run gear bag 25km away. Also we had to consider that the special needs bags would be disposed of after the relevant leg.
This is what I packed:
Blue bike bag
Helmet
Cycling Shoes
Socks
Triumphant bike jersey with one Bonkbreaker and 2 GU gels in the pockets.
Two small towels
Red run bag
Jacket
Running shoes
Socks
Triumphant cap
Hydration belt with one packet Tailwind nutrition in the bottle and two additional packets in the pouch.
Race number belt
Triumphant run singlet
Salonpas quick pain relief spray
One towel
Street gear bag
Swim cap and goggles
Timing chip
Change of clothes
Slippers (race morning before start)
Phone (before race start)
Special needs bag were to be dropped off on race morning so I'll get to that later.
On the bike
One spare tubular tyre (with tape)
Co2
Tools
Tyre levers
Strapped on rain coat
One bonk breaker and 2 GU gels in bento box
T1 check in would close at 4:30pm and T2 2pm.
As most people would be staying near T2 in Cairns city where the finish line was, there wasn't much of a crowd when we checked in. We were one of the first few bikes, and the first bike transfer shuttles were just arriving.
The start point for 70.3 and full were about one km apart. T1 would be very near the swim exit for those doing full, while for the 70.3 , if you were unlucky you could be running almost 1km to your transition slot.
For the full distance, you racked your bike at your slot, then hung your bag up at the change tent. Eddie and me set up, took pics and went to find the rest. We met up and ran back to our accommodation.
After washing up and breakfast we headed to T2.
I was very chuffed to find that there would be catchers to grab our bikes after the bike leg and they would rack it for us. We would only need to proceed to the change tent, grab our run bag and change up.
After depositing our bags, we hung around to listen to a transition tour, where the guy was also briefing about the race, what to expect what to do etc.
We then had a Vietnamese lunch, and I brought the family to the Australian Artillery and Armour museum. After that I brought them to Palm Cove beach for a bit and headed back to the accommodation for a delicious home cooked dinner.
After dinner and showering it was time to apply our number tattoos.
And then it was off to bedtime. Shit is now real!
Race day
I woke up on race morning not feeling the best. My little boy had woken up crying after sleeping an hour and I couldn't quite sleep after. It was quite chilly that morning and I felt wheezy and chest felt congested.
Still there was no way I wouldn't start. I had a quick breakfast and after a toilet visit got into my wetsuit. Even though Eddie and me would start at 7:40am, we would go to the start point with the rest who would start at 6:30am.
Jasmyn dropped us off and headed back to pick up the support crew. Eddie and me headed into the transition area to pump out tyres and set up. Danny Goo was already there and loaned me his headlamp (that's something I gotta remember to bring next time). During the recce ride, the rough roads and strong side winds had given me trouble with handling and I was a bit apprehensive about the bike course. I had read online the previous night about tyre pressures and the recommendation was to lower my tyre pressure. I pumped 115psi for the front tyres and 125 psi for the rear, instead of my usual 130/140 psi. I think this worked as during the bike, I was more comfortable and the bike wasn't twitchy in the crosswinds.
Eddie and me headed to the change tent where we somehow convinced the volunteer to pass us our bike gear bag. I'm not very sure this was allowed though and after us more and more people started asking for their bags.
I popped in my shades, and erm ciggies as well as a flask of hot water and chamois cream. When we were done Eddie and me got out of there quickly.
We deposited our special needs bags and pump at the relevant trucks.
So here was what was in my special needs:
Blue bike special needs:
One croissant
Red run special needs:
3 x bags of tailwind nutrition
After realising the 70.3 start point would be a 10min walk minimum, we decided to just stay where we were and wait. I really should have put my inhaler in the bike gear bag.
The sun rose and the 70.3 race started although we didn't realise it as we couldn't hear anything about the 70.3 race. We chit chatted with some of Eddie's friends, put our slippers and phones into the street gear bag and dropped them off, took a quick dip just to get used to the water temperature and headed to the start pens when the announcer called.
The support crew had come over all the way from the 70.3 start point which was great!
After chit chatting a bit we headed into the pens. By now the 70.3 leaders were coming out of the water.
As usual it was self seeded pens according to your expected timing. From experience we knew it was better to start in the pen ahead of your expected timing.
At 7:35am the pros flagged off. We waited our turn but when we turned around somehow we realised we were the last few. Feeling a bit uncomfortable about that, we wriggled our way more to the front.
Very quickly it was our turn to hit the water. A quick look at the clock put it at 8:02am.
Swim
I hit the water and headed out to the first turn buoy. I felt OK, though choppy I didn't feel panicky. I relaxed myself and swam at an easy pace... my strategy was just aim for the next buoy. After turning at the first buoy I tried to look for the next buoy. Couldn't see it in the choppy water so I just headed where I could see most people heading. After about 200m if I sighted at the top of a wave swell I would see the buoy and continued to aim for it. This repeated after every buoy and I counted them as I passed. I knew it would be 4 buoys then the turn buoy, another turn buoy, 4 more buoys straight then the final turn. It was an anti clockwise course.
So I just relaxed and swam and counted down the buoys. Somewhere there I followed the wrong person for a while, when I managed to see the buoy I realised I was off course. After a while the cold made my thighs feel like they would cramp so I kicked lightly a bit more to keep the circulation. Also after a while, I started feeling slightly wheezy. Reaching the furthest turn buoy I took a quick glance at my watch. I realised it hadn't started, I must have pressed start at the wrong screen. The time was 8:53 though so I knew I was going much slower than expected.
We were told after turning and heading for the jetty the currents and waves would be in our favour. Somehow I didn't think this was true and I was pushed off course by the waves more and more.
Finally I reached the final turn to shore and swim exit but the waves threw me off here too. I finally managed to stumble out of the water feeling dizzy and disoriented and a bit unhappy that I had taken so long.
My wife and the support crew were cheering though but I stumbled and fell right in front of them. Picked myself up and started taking off the top part of my wetsuit. I stood at the shower area a while to get my bearings and stop feeling dizzy and take off the top half my wetsuit. Once I felt a bit better I headed to the change tent.
T1
Ahhh volunteers. Especially in Australia the volunteers are great! I was passed my bike gear bag and ushered to a seat. There was an oldish guy volunteer maybe in his 50s, working the change tent. He was covered in droplets of water, his glasses had lots of water but he was helping everyone out happily no nonsense.
He told me to sit down....adjusted the lower cuff of my wetsuit over my timing chip, and just pulled. In one smooth motion my wetsuit was off. I thanked him and told him he was a pro! He laughed and encouraged me and moved on to the next person. Not an easy job, being damp and yet no sense of complain or resentment from this guy, he was sincerely helping everyone out!
I drank some hot water from my flask, dried myself off, applied chamois cream liberally, pulled on my Triumphant jersey and stuffed my wetsuit cap and goggles into the bike gear bag, grabbed my bike helmet shoes and socks and went off to my bike. The area was wet so I didn't want to put on my socks there. Reached my bike put on my socks and shoes took my bike and off I went to the mount line. Here we go!
Bike
I started off at an easy pace, aiming for just 50-55% ftp. I felt pretty OK and after 15mins ate my Bonkbreaker. The road didn't feel as harsh but it was windy and my nose was running. It wouldn't stop running all thru the bike. I did still have that slightly wheezy feeling though.
Soon I was at Rex lookout for the first of 4x climbing. Although Rex lookout is the highest peak, it wouldn't be the only climb.
Most of the bike course from Palm Cove to Port Douglas would be rolling hills with twists and turns. This segment was a beautiful bike course though, very Rapha and went mostly along the coastline with stunning views of the beach. It was windy though with headwinds and strong gusts of crosswinds.
After climbing Rex lookout I started enjoying myself on the bike. Seeing my average speed was pretty low I decided to try to go a bit faster, try to brake less on the downslopes etc. I started singing to myself and enjoyed the ride, but always conscious not to go too hard so soon.
Soon I entered the town of Port Douglas and passed the 40km marker. Not all the roads were closed here, and on some roads we had one traffic lane plus the bike lane, for two way bike race traffic. These were marked by cones everywhere.
I had been very cautious on the bike not wanting to take any risks. However I was in aero position with my head down slightly and when I looked up there was a cone right in front of me.
I slammed into the cone and crashed. The wind was knocked out of me and I lay there for a moment stunned. Fortunately there was a motorbike with 2 officials which stopped and helped me up.
I took stock of myself and was glad nothing was broken. I had abrasions and road rash on the left elbow, hip and knee, foot and a bit on my back as well as a bit on my right palm.
The lady official helped to pick up my co2 which had rolled off and checked on me. She radioed my crash in as well as my location and race number. She asked if I was OK and I said yeah... She asked if I was going to continue... I checked my bike and gladly found nothing wrong, no puncture, misalignment etc. I looked at my wounds... at the bike, and said yeah I guess I'll carry on.
She put on some gloves and helped wash my elbow and knee with saline and asked if I wanted to bandage it. I said no it's OK, got on my bike and gingerly rode off.
I cursed myself for the inattention and especially ironic was that I had been trying to be careful all along. I lost track of how much time I had lost but knew at least 15mins.
I rode on to the end of Port Douglas where the big uturn was. We were told there would be crowds cheering, mc here shouting our name as we passed and a big live screen. Well all true except the crowds. It was rather erm quiet. I was in no condition to enjoy anything at that moment anyway so I just made the uturn and rolled on.
My mind was off by now, I was bleeding, nose perpetually running,feeling wheezy, had no watts in the legs and after the crash badly wanted to smoke. I fought the urge as much as possible but after passing the 60km marker I spotted a little turn off into the woods and stopped, took of my helmet lit up and took a pee. Feeling a bit better after that I rode on... My next target was special needs.
I went back up Rex lookout again and uturned a little after that. Soon I reached the special needs spotter and shouted my race number to the volunteer, a 50ish lady. She radioed my number in and when I reached Special Needs they had my bag for me.
I stopped and munched into my heavenly crossiant. A lady participant who I believe was Thai passed me and sat with her friends. She took out a package and opened it... Oh. My. God. It was chicken rice. Gary Tan had told me he had seen this in one of his races but I couldn't believe I was actually seeing this myself. My crossiant suddenly looked so.... Inadequate...
I washed down my crossiant with some Endura from the aid stations... And almost reluctantly carried on. Headed up Rex lookout again where there was a small Japanese family who cheered me on. Headed into Port Douglas again where I eyed the cones with apprehension.... Uturned at the end where there still wasn't much of a crowd.... Near where I had crashed I saw another participant hit a cone and fall as well.... Well seems like I wasn't the only one...
Carried on and finally climbed Rex lookout one more time... Told myself congrats you've climbed the sucker 4x today, if nothing at least that I could be proud of. I knew it was another 20km to palm cove and about 25km further on to T2.
I was quite mentally drained from crashing and generally having a lousy day. I had been fighting the wind all day and was sick and tired of it. From all the reports I read though, the tough part would be the last stretch into t2.
And so I rode on and passed Palm Cove and where our lodging was. I so wished I could just turn in. From here I knew it was flat all the way.... But the wind was relentless. I thought it was straight all the way to T2 like how we drove there everyday but somewhere around Smithfields we turned into a small road thru some fields and small houses... All the while with the wind blowing... After looping thru that, suddenly I was back on National Highway 1 headed for the airport. Here the wind got worse as there was totally no cover... Turned into the airport and into a small street and suddenly I could see all the runners looping thru the park.
It looked really crowded in that park and I felt quite demoralised. I rode on to T2 and it was by now almost 5:30pm...
T2
I dismounted and wheeled my bike and a volunteer came up to take my bike... Love the volunteers. I unstrapped my raincoat from the bike and stuffed it into my jersey pocket. There had been a light drizzle at Port Douglas on the bike but it was too light to put it on.
I felt a mixture of happiness and demoralisation. Happy that I had completed the swim and bike, but demoralised at my time and knowing I was far behind most people. The MC at the finish line looked over and said, 'Paul, you WILL be an Ironman! ' I smiled and waved and started into the change tent where another volunteer told me 'Nice socks!' I smiled and thanked her and went in.
I sat down and took stock of myself. I had 7hours to complete the 42.2 km run. Physically I felt fine despite my injuries, not exhausted ,no cramps, pain or bad aches. I can do this I thought.
I changed my socks and shoes, put on my hydration belt, race number, cap and chucked in everything else into the run gear bag. I wasn't sure if I should bring my rain coat since weather looked fine but thought aiyah just bring la.
There were quite a few people in the change tent, some looking exhausted with a thousand yard stare... Suddenly I was glad I wasn't in that bad a shape. So I took a deep breath and strode out.
The run course headed south past the Ports North Marina, Cruise Liner Terminal
and Ports North Docks. Runners then proceed back past the finish line venue and Esplanade Lagoon and continue north through the parklands adjacent to Cairns Esplanade as far as Airport Avenue.
Athletes then complete the first lap returning through the parklands to the Esplanade Lagoon.
As I headed out and collected my first lap band, I saw Eddie starting his second lap. I was happy to see him and knowing it was his second lap meant he was doing well. Caught up with him and we chatted a while. I told him though to go ahead when he needed to. We jogged together for a while and the crowd called out to both of us by name and encouraged us. Soon Eddie trotted off and it was just one foot in front of the other.
I was averaging about 8-9min per km then including one minute breaks at the aid stations. My hydration bottle had Tailwind in it which I topped up with water at the first aid station. There were another 2 packets in my hydration belt and 3 packets at special needs.
I ran /walked the first lap and doing the math in my head thought I could do it under 7 hours at this rate. I cheered to myself at the 7km mark and took a longer walk break. I was happy to collect my second lap band...it was getting dark by now and cold. I looped into the wharf and out thru the parklands. My walk breaks were getting longer... And soon everything would deteriorate.
After 20+km, I could barely keep my back straight and head up when I ran. My wheezing thru the day was getting louder. It was all I could do to keep moving.
Started the 3rd lap in pretty bad shape... It had started to rain and I was glad I had brought my rain coat which I put on. After the loop into the wharf, I saw my family and Keith, Jasmyn, Roger, Eddie and Jac cheering me on. 10 more km to go!
It was the longest hardest 10km of my life. I couldn't bring myself to run anymore and walked as fast as I could. It got till half my mind couldn't even walk and I had to will myself to keep moving. It was now wet, dark, cold and not many people in sight.
Even at this late hour though, there were random people around who would encourage you. The aid stations were still fully stocked but it was all sweet stuff (fruits, gels, bars, Endura), I was sick and tired of all these and craved something salty. I couldn't even stomach my Tailwind anymore and just grabbed water at the aid stations. The volunteers were still positive and encouraging though and I thanked them. They were all awesome being still so positive this late into the night.
At 39km my Garmin died. All along I thought I had 30mins left but I knew the race finish line would close at 12:40am and I needed to hear those 4 words... So that was my aim, reach before they closed. When finally I uturned at almost the airport I knew it was about 3 more km straight no more loops and uturns. I asked every volunteer the time and walked as fast as I could.
Around 1km to the finish line I saw Roger and Eddie waiting for me. 'Come on Paul you can do it! ' shouted Roger and started pacing me in his flip flops. Somehow I made myself run and he encouraged me all the way.
As we got closer, there was Keith shouting encouragement and as I finally turned into the esplanade I saw my wife cheering me on. Got confused a bit but finally found my way into the finisher chute...
Ran down the chute where there was a very small crowd cheering....and then those 4 words which had been my mantra thru training and the race... 'Paul Tan, you are an Ironman! '
A volunteer put the finisher medal around my neck while another covered me with the finisher towel. She asked if I was OK and did I need anything. I told her I needed to go to the medical tent to dress my wounds and she led me there.
There were 2 other guys there and one of the medical staff passed some hot chocolate to one of them. When we saw that, both of us asked for hot chocolate as well. One of the staff washed my wounds and stuck some plaster over it. I asked for some more so I could change the dressings.
I stumbled out to get my finisher Tee. My heart dropped for a moment when I found the tent closed but fortunately somebody was inside and he opened the tent flap and gave me my T-shirt. I then went to search for my street gear bag and saw food!
There was a long buffet table with pasta sausages etc... Even though it was so late there was still a lot left. I took some food and started to eat. The rest were waiting for me just outside the fence and we talked and Keith started interviewing me on facebook live! A man can't eat his sausages in peace!
When I was done I looked for my street gear bag and bike gear bag and pump. I changed my clothes and then exited to my family and supporters.
It was now my birthday and they had another surprise for me. A birthday cake made by Daphne out of pancakes! After a birthday song I ate the candles which were made of spam I think. After that we finally headed home.
And so that was the end of my Ironman adventure. Lots of people to thank!
My wife of course for giving me the time to chase this crazy Ironman dream...
The Triumphant Team Cairns family - for making Bedrock a home! Thank you for supporting me in the rain till so late, and driving my family around.
Team Triumphant - for supporting and tracking me from Singapore, I gave some of you some drama and scares haha. Also for some company on those dreaded Seletar loops.
Team Trinergy for the awesome positive vibes on those Friday morning swims.
Flora Teh for the bike box loan and swim sets.
Roger for pacing me that last stretch. All along I thought the cut off was 17hours....it was only a few days ago that I realised it was 16:30! Without Roger that last stretch I might not have made it!
A full Ironman is a long day at the office. However it's at lower intensity and the aftermath felt the same as a 70.3, just the usual minor aches and pains the day after. Most of all its a mental game. My darkest moments came on the last lap of the marathon... I like to think it's in these darkest moments that Ironmen are born. You may want to give up but keep going, one buoy at a time, one pedal stroke at a time, one step at a time. Anything is possible!
Thank you for reading, if you have any comments or questions do leave them here or DM me.
Work hard, dream big!
Rex lookout would be the toughest climb of the bike course and sure enough it kicked up with some twists and turns for about 900m. Elevation was 4.5% according to Strava. It wasn't that bad, Mt Faber back home was worse and I could actually climb slowly at 200watts.
The view was beautiful though and here I'll let the pictures do the talking....
 |
| That top of the world feeling |
We took a lot of photos and potential profile pics!
After we were done we headed home.... And the wives weren't back from shopping yet 😂
We re tightened the bolts on our bikes, pasted the race stickers, washed up and waited for another yummy home cooked dinner.
After dinner we packed our stuff for the next day.
Saturday
When T1 and T2 are 25km apart, logistics become complex. I was outvoted against doing another swim, so the plan was to ride to T1 with our bikes and bike bag and run back.
We were given a blue bag for bike, red bag for run, a street gear bag another red plastic bag for run special needs and blue plastic bag for bike special needs.
It became important to make sure you packed correctly as once you checked in, by right you couldn't touch your stuff till during the race. This would be especially true for the run gear bag 25km away. Also we had to consider that the special needs bags would be disposed of after the relevant leg.
This is what I packed:
Blue bike bag
Helmet
Cycling Shoes
Socks
Triumphant bike jersey with one Bonkbreaker and 2 GU gels in the pockets.
Two small towels
Red run bag
Jacket
Running shoes
Socks
Triumphant cap
Hydration belt with one packet Tailwind nutrition in the bottle and two additional packets in the pouch.
Race number belt
Triumphant run singlet
Salonpas quick pain relief spray
One towel
Street gear bag
Swim cap and goggles
Timing chip
Change of clothes
Slippers (race morning before start)
Phone (before race start)
Special needs bag were to be dropped off on race morning so I'll get to that later.
On the bike
One spare tubular tyre (with tape)
Co2
Tools
Tyre levers
Strapped on rain coat
One bonk breaker and 2 GU gels in bento box
T1 check in would close at 4:30pm and T2 2pm.
As most people would be staying near T2 in Cairns city where the finish line was, there wasn't much of a crowd when we checked in. We were one of the first few bikes, and the first bike transfer shuttles were just arriving.
 |
| Getting ready for bike check in |
The start point for 70.3 and full were about one km apart. T1 would be very near the swim exit for those doing full, while for the 70.3 , if you were unlucky you could be running almost 1km to your transition slot.
For the full distance, you racked your bike at your slot, then hung your bag up at the change tent. Eddie and me set up, took pics and went to find the rest. We met up and ran back to our accommodation.
 |
| Lots of sunscreen available |
 |
| And er Vaseline... Double dip anyone? |
 |
| Looking out towards a great adventure... Classic Triumphant race pose. |
After washing up and breakfast we headed to T2.
I was very chuffed to find that there would be catchers to grab our bikes after the bike leg and they would rack it for us. We would only need to proceed to the change tent, grab our run bag and change up.
After depositing our bags, we hung around to listen to a transition tour, where the guy was also briefing about the race, what to expect what to do etc.
 |
| The athletes |
 |
| And the all important support crew |
We then had a Vietnamese lunch, and I brought the family to the Australian Artillery and Armour museum. After that I brought them to Palm Cove beach for a bit and headed back to the accommodation for a delicious home cooked dinner.
 |
| Replica of the German Tiger |
 |
| Our carbo loading dinner |
 |
| What do the letters mean? |
And then it was off to bedtime. Shit is now real!
Race day
I woke up on race morning not feeling the best. My little boy had woken up crying after sleeping an hour and I couldn't quite sleep after. It was quite chilly that morning and I felt wheezy and chest felt congested.
Still there was no way I wouldn't start. I had a quick breakfast and after a toilet visit got into my wetsuit. Even though Eddie and me would start at 7:40am, we would go to the start point with the rest who would start at 6:30am.
Jasmyn dropped us off and headed back to pick up the support crew. Eddie and me headed into the transition area to pump out tyres and set up. Danny Goo was already there and loaned me his headlamp (that's something I gotta remember to bring next time). During the recce ride, the rough roads and strong side winds had given me trouble with handling and I was a bit apprehensive about the bike course. I had read online the previous night about tyre pressures and the recommendation was to lower my tyre pressure. I pumped 115psi for the front tyres and 125 psi for the rear, instead of my usual 130/140 psi. I think this worked as during the bike, I was more comfortable and the bike wasn't twitchy in the crosswinds.
Eddie and me headed to the change tent where we somehow convinced the volunteer to pass us our bike gear bag. I'm not very sure this was allowed though and after us more and more people started asking for their bags.
I popped in my shades, and erm ciggies as well as a flask of hot water and chamois cream. When we were done Eddie and me got out of there quickly.
We deposited our special needs bags and pump at the relevant trucks.
So here was what was in my special needs:
Blue bike special needs:
One croissant
Red run special needs:
3 x bags of tailwind nutrition
After realising the 70.3 start point would be a 10min walk minimum, we decided to just stay where we were and wait. I really should have put my inhaler in the bike gear bag.
The sun rose and the 70.3 race started although we didn't realise it as we couldn't hear anything about the 70.3 race. We chit chatted with some of Eddie's friends, put our slippers and phones into the street gear bag and dropped them off, took a quick dip just to get used to the water temperature and headed to the start pens when the announcer called.
The support crew had come over all the way from the 70.3 start point which was great!
After chit chatting a bit we headed into the pens. By now the 70.3 leaders were coming out of the water.
As usual it was self seeded pens according to your expected timing. From experience we knew it was better to start in the pen ahead of your expected timing.
At 7:35am the pros flagged off. We waited our turn but when we turned around somehow we realised we were the last few. Feeling a bit uncomfortable about that, we wriggled our way more to the front.
Very quickly it was our turn to hit the water. A quick look at the clock put it at 8:02am.
Swim
I hit the water and headed out to the first turn buoy. I felt OK, though choppy I didn't feel panicky. I relaxed myself and swam at an easy pace... my strategy was just aim for the next buoy. After turning at the first buoy I tried to look for the next buoy. Couldn't see it in the choppy water so I just headed where I could see most people heading. After about 200m if I sighted at the top of a wave swell I would see the buoy and continued to aim for it. This repeated after every buoy and I counted them as I passed. I knew it would be 4 buoys then the turn buoy, another turn buoy, 4 more buoys straight then the final turn. It was an anti clockwise course.
So I just relaxed and swam and counted down the buoys. Somewhere there I followed the wrong person for a while, when I managed to see the buoy I realised I was off course. After a while the cold made my thighs feel like they would cramp so I kicked lightly a bit more to keep the circulation. Also after a while, I started feeling slightly wheezy. Reaching the furthest turn buoy I took a quick glance at my watch. I realised it hadn't started, I must have pressed start at the wrong screen. The time was 8:53 though so I knew I was going much slower than expected.
We were told after turning and heading for the jetty the currents and waves would be in our favour. Somehow I didn't think this was true and I was pushed off course by the waves more and more.
Finally I reached the final turn to shore and swim exit but the waves threw me off here too. I finally managed to stumble out of the water feeling dizzy and disoriented and a bit unhappy that I had taken so long.
My wife and the support crew were cheering though but I stumbled and fell right in front of them. Picked myself up and started taking off the top part of my wetsuit. I stood at the shower area a while to get my bearings and stop feeling dizzy and take off the top half my wetsuit. Once I felt a bit better I headed to the change tent.
 |
| Stumbling out of the water |
 |
| Almost face plant |
T1
Ahhh volunteers. Especially in Australia the volunteers are great! I was passed my bike gear bag and ushered to a seat. There was an oldish guy volunteer maybe in his 50s, working the change tent. He was covered in droplets of water, his glasses had lots of water but he was helping everyone out happily no nonsense.
He told me to sit down....adjusted the lower cuff of my wetsuit over my timing chip, and just pulled. In one smooth motion my wetsuit was off. I thanked him and told him he was a pro! He laughed and encouraged me and moved on to the next person. Not an easy job, being damp and yet no sense of complain or resentment from this guy, he was sincerely helping everyone out!
I drank some hot water from my flask, dried myself off, applied chamois cream liberally, pulled on my Triumphant jersey and stuffed my wetsuit cap and goggles into the bike gear bag, grabbed my bike helmet shoes and socks and went off to my bike. The area was wet so I didn't want to put on my socks there. Reached my bike put on my socks and shoes took my bike and off I went to the mount line. Here we go!
Bike
I started off at an easy pace, aiming for just 50-55% ftp. I felt pretty OK and after 15mins ate my Bonkbreaker. The road didn't feel as harsh but it was windy and my nose was running. It wouldn't stop running all thru the bike. I did still have that slightly wheezy feeling though.
Soon I was at Rex lookout for the first of 4x climbing. Although Rex lookout is the highest peak, it wouldn't be the only climb.
Most of the bike course from Palm Cove to Port Douglas would be rolling hills with twists and turns. This segment was a beautiful bike course though, very Rapha and went mostly along the coastline with stunning views of the beach. It was windy though with headwinds and strong gusts of crosswinds.
 |
| Photo by Delly Carr. It's on triathlete.com and used by Ironman along with the congrats note and IM cairns logo in a congratulatory email. No I didn't do it myself. |
After climbing Rex lookout I started enjoying myself on the bike. Seeing my average speed was pretty low I decided to try to go a bit faster, try to brake less on the downslopes etc. I started singing to myself and enjoyed the ride, but always conscious not to go too hard so soon.
 |
| Enjoying myself on the bike |
Soon I entered the town of Port Douglas and passed the 40km marker. Not all the roads were closed here, and on some roads we had one traffic lane plus the bike lane, for two way bike race traffic. These were marked by cones everywhere.
I had been very cautious on the bike not wanting to take any risks. However I was in aero position with my head down slightly and when I looked up there was a cone right in front of me.
I slammed into the cone and crashed. The wind was knocked out of me and I lay there for a moment stunned. Fortunately there was a motorbike with 2 officials which stopped and helped me up.
I took stock of myself and was glad nothing was broken. I had abrasions and road rash on the left elbow, hip and knee, foot and a bit on my back as well as a bit on my right palm.
The lady official helped to pick up my co2 which had rolled off and checked on me. She radioed my crash in as well as my location and race number. She asked if I was OK and I said yeah... She asked if I was going to continue... I checked my bike and gladly found nothing wrong, no puncture, misalignment etc. I looked at my wounds... at the bike, and said yeah I guess I'll carry on.
She put on some gloves and helped wash my elbow and knee with saline and asked if I wanted to bandage it. I said no it's OK, got on my bike and gingerly rode off.
I cursed myself for the inattention and especially ironic was that I had been trying to be careful all along. I lost track of how much time I had lost but knew at least 15mins.
I rode on to the end of Port Douglas where the big uturn was. We were told there would be crowds cheering, mc here shouting our name as we passed and a big live screen. Well all true except the crowds. It was rather erm quiet. I was in no condition to enjoy anything at that moment anyway so I just made the uturn and rolled on.
My mind was off by now, I was bleeding, nose perpetually running,feeling wheezy, had no watts in the legs and after the crash badly wanted to smoke. I fought the urge as much as possible but after passing the 60km marker I spotted a little turn off into the woods and stopped, took of my helmet lit up and took a pee. Feeling a bit better after that I rode on... My next target was special needs.
I went back up Rex lookout again and uturned a little after that. Soon I reached the special needs spotter and shouted my race number to the volunteer, a 50ish lady. She radioed my number in and when I reached Special Needs they had my bag for me.
I stopped and munched into my heavenly crossiant. A lady participant who I believe was Thai passed me and sat with her friends. She took out a package and opened it... Oh. My. God. It was chicken rice. Gary Tan had told me he had seen this in one of his races but I couldn't believe I was actually seeing this myself. My crossiant suddenly looked so.... Inadequate...
I washed down my crossiant with some Endura from the aid stations... And almost reluctantly carried on. Headed up Rex lookout again where there was a small Japanese family who cheered me on. Headed into Port Douglas again where I eyed the cones with apprehension.... Uturned at the end where there still wasn't much of a crowd.... Near where I had crashed I saw another participant hit a cone and fall as well.... Well seems like I wasn't the only one...
Carried on and finally climbed Rex lookout one more time... Told myself congrats you've climbed the sucker 4x today, if nothing at least that I could be proud of. I knew it was another 20km to palm cove and about 25km further on to T2.
 |
| Final climb up Rex lookout |
I was quite mentally drained from crashing and generally having a lousy day. I had been fighting the wind all day and was sick and tired of it. From all the reports I read though, the tough part would be the last stretch into t2.
And so I rode on and passed Palm Cove and where our lodging was. I so wished I could just turn in. From here I knew it was flat all the way.... But the wind was relentless. I thought it was straight all the way to T2 like how we drove there everyday but somewhere around Smithfields we turned into a small road thru some fields and small houses... All the while with the wind blowing... After looping thru that, suddenly I was back on National Highway 1 headed for the airport. Here the wind got worse as there was totally no cover... Turned into the airport and into a small street and suddenly I could see all the runners looping thru the park.
It looked really crowded in that park and I felt quite demoralised. I rode on to T2 and it was by now almost 5:30pm...
T2
I dismounted and wheeled my bike and a volunteer came up to take my bike... Love the volunteers. I unstrapped my raincoat from the bike and stuffed it into my jersey pocket. There had been a light drizzle at Port Douglas on the bike but it was too light to put it on.
I felt a mixture of happiness and demoralisation. Happy that I had completed the swim and bike, but demoralised at my time and knowing I was far behind most people. The MC at the finish line looked over and said, 'Paul, you WILL be an Ironman! ' I smiled and waved and started into the change tent where another volunteer told me 'Nice socks!' I smiled and thanked her and went in.
I sat down and took stock of myself. I had 7hours to complete the 42.2 km run. Physically I felt fine despite my injuries, not exhausted ,no cramps, pain or bad aches. I can do this I thought.
I changed my socks and shoes, put on my hydration belt, race number, cap and chucked in everything else into the run gear bag. I wasn't sure if I should bring my rain coat since weather looked fine but thought aiyah just bring la.
There were quite a few people in the change tent, some looking exhausted with a thousand yard stare... Suddenly I was glad I wasn't in that bad a shape. So I took a deep breath and strode out.
The run course headed south past the Ports North Marina, Cruise Liner Terminal
and Ports North Docks. Runners then proceed back past the finish line venue and Esplanade Lagoon and continue north through the parklands adjacent to Cairns Esplanade as far as Airport Avenue.
Athletes then complete the first lap returning through the parklands to the Esplanade Lagoon.
As I headed out and collected my first lap band, I saw Eddie starting his second lap. I was happy to see him and knowing it was his second lap meant he was doing well. Caught up with him and we chatted a while. I told him though to go ahead when he needed to. We jogged together for a while and the crowd called out to both of us by name and encouraged us. Soon Eddie trotted off and it was just one foot in front of the other.
I was averaging about 8-9min per km then including one minute breaks at the aid stations. My hydration bottle had Tailwind in it which I topped up with water at the first aid station. There were another 2 packets in my hydration belt and 3 packets at special needs.
I ran /walked the first lap and doing the math in my head thought I could do it under 7 hours at this rate. I cheered to myself at the 7km mark and took a longer walk break. I was happy to collect my second lap band...it was getting dark by now and cold. I looped into the wharf and out thru the parklands. My walk breaks were getting longer... And soon everything would deteriorate.
After 20+km, I could barely keep my back straight and head up when I ran. My wheezing thru the day was getting louder. It was all I could do to keep moving.
Started the 3rd lap in pretty bad shape... It had started to rain and I was glad I had brought my rain coat which I put on. After the loop into the wharf, I saw my family and Keith, Jasmyn, Roger, Eddie and Jac cheering me on. 10 more km to go!
 |
| 32km |
It was the longest hardest 10km of my life. I couldn't bring myself to run anymore and walked as fast as I could. It got till half my mind couldn't even walk and I had to will myself to keep moving. It was now wet, dark, cold and not many people in sight.
Even at this late hour though, there were random people around who would encourage you. The aid stations were still fully stocked but it was all sweet stuff (fruits, gels, bars, Endura), I was sick and tired of all these and craved something salty. I couldn't even stomach my Tailwind anymore and just grabbed water at the aid stations. The volunteers were still positive and encouraging though and I thanked them. They were all awesome being still so positive this late into the night.
At 39km my Garmin died. All along I thought I had 30mins left but I knew the race finish line would close at 12:40am and I needed to hear those 4 words... So that was my aim, reach before they closed. When finally I uturned at almost the airport I knew it was about 3 more km straight no more loops and uturns. I asked every volunteer the time and walked as fast as I could.
Around 1km to the finish line I saw Roger and Eddie waiting for me. 'Come on Paul you can do it! ' shouted Roger and started pacing me in his flip flops. Somehow I made myself run and he encouraged me all the way.
As we got closer, there was Keith shouting encouragement and as I finally turned into the esplanade I saw my wife cheering me on. Got confused a bit but finally found my way into the finisher chute...
 |
| Feel like a rock star down the finisher chute... Even if I'm almost the last one |
Ran down the chute where there was a very small crowd cheering....and then those 4 words which had been my mantra thru training and the race... 'Paul Tan, you are an Ironman! '
 |
| I am Triumphant! |
A volunteer put the finisher medal around my neck while another covered me with the finisher towel. She asked if I was OK and did I need anything. I told her I needed to go to the medical tent to dress my wounds and she led me there.
There were 2 other guys there and one of the medical staff passed some hot chocolate to one of them. When we saw that, both of us asked for hot chocolate as well. One of the staff washed my wounds and stuck some plaster over it. I asked for some more so I could change the dressings.
I stumbled out to get my finisher Tee. My heart dropped for a moment when I found the tent closed but fortunately somebody was inside and he opened the tent flap and gave me my T-shirt. I then went to search for my street gear bag and saw food!
There was a long buffet table with pasta sausages etc... Even though it was so late there was still a lot left. I took some food and started to eat. The rest were waiting for me just outside the fence and we talked and Keith started interviewing me on facebook live! A man can't eat his sausages in peace!
When I was done I looked for my street gear bag and bike gear bag and pump. I changed my clothes and then exited to my family and supporters.
It was now my birthday and they had another surprise for me. A birthday cake made by Daphne out of pancakes! After a birthday song I ate the candles which were made of spam I think. After that we finally headed home.
And so that was the end of my Ironman adventure. Lots of people to thank!
My wife of course for giving me the time to chase this crazy Ironman dream...
The Triumphant Team Cairns family - for making Bedrock a home! Thank you for supporting me in the rain till so late, and driving my family around.
 |
| Triumphant Team Cairns 2017 |
Team Triumphant - for supporting and tracking me from Singapore, I gave some of you some drama and scares haha. Also for some company on those dreaded Seletar loops.
Team Trinergy for the awesome positive vibes on those Friday morning swims.
Flora Teh for the bike box loan and swim sets.
Roger for pacing me that last stretch. All along I thought the cut off was 17hours....it was only a few days ago that I realised it was 16:30! Without Roger that last stretch I might not have made it!
A full Ironman is a long day at the office. However it's at lower intensity and the aftermath felt the same as a 70.3, just the usual minor aches and pains the day after. Most of all its a mental game. My darkest moments came on the last lap of the marathon... I like to think it's in these darkest moments that Ironmen are born. You may want to give up but keep going, one buoy at a time, one pedal stroke at a time, one step at a time. Anything is possible!
Thank you for reading, if you have any comments or questions do leave them here or DM me.
Work hard, dream big!
