Jocelyn Wong's Blog

5th woman across the line at the Toughest Show on Earth

The “Toughest Show On Earth”–that’s what was written on all the banners and race materials for Ironman Malaysia.  Crossing the line as 5th woman at an M-Dot Ironman is something that I had never fathomed when I watched my first Ironman as a volunteer and spectator almost 10 years ago.  My 18-year-old self just wondered if she could finish one.  Before midnight. I was mostly worried about making the 2hr 20min swim cut-off.

Even a year ago, I’m not sure I imagined I could do this well. And leading up to this race, I wasn’t sure what to expect. Not to say that I have no goals or expectations…it is just very different to hope and dream and wish certain things and then to have them actually happen in real life. Or maybe it’s more that I have been told to be very patient, so I thought I would have to wait a little bit longer. Either way, Coach says this is part of why I do well. Apparently my expectations (or lack thereof) keep me from getting a big head and blowing up from overconfidence. But I am getting ahead of myself.

The swim was an out-and-back straight line into the salty sea. Swim out 1900m and then turn around and come back. I was fighting in the pack the first 15 seconds and then found myself with Miranda Aldritt, just the two of us together. We smacked each other at first and then she went ahead and I stayed on her feet, though she slowly crept ahead. I’ve been working on yet another new swim technique but Coach said to just “swim hard” however which way I wanted. When we got to the turnaround, I looked at my watch for the first time and yuck…46 minutes!!!! Oh sweet baby Jesus. No way am I finishing the swim in over 90minutes! Newly inspired (or rather, horrified at myself), I swam as hard as I could all the way back. Apparently there was a current against us going out, as my second half only took 32 minutes. Swimming 3.8km on your own is much harder than in the giant washing machine of age groupers–heading back the water suddenly became more turbulent from the masses of amateurs swimming the other way; I really thought there were extra boats out there or something. Swimming in the Krabi pool with no lane lines proved to be good practice for open water swimming.

Dear God, if I can't have world peace, how about a little bit of swimming ability? Just a little?

I jumped out of the water as last place female pro, slightly less horrified that my watch said 1:18 and not 1:28 or worse. I launched straight into the “Damage Control” game, also known as the Denial Game, where you tell yourself everyone must have swam slow today. By like 10 minutes. Thus you don’t get freaked out or panicked or depressed and ruin the rest of your race. I am getting really good at this game.

hustle!!! 23mins down!

I got on White Tiger and stuck to Coach’s race plan for me: swim as hard as you can, hold back on the bike by 15-20 minutes, and then run them all down. Race smart and beat the people who you weren’t meant to beat. Patience, patience. I focused on getting the nutrition down–Gatorade at the aid stations and Hello Panda cookies in my bento box. The bike course was hillier than I expected, and some of the road surface wasn’t very smooth or fast. I just rode solid, holding my pace steady and increasing the effort as the ride went on, but never going balls-out, and passed the first pro woman around the 3-hour mark.

the coolest bike pic in the world, as mentioned before.

Then something weird happened. Towards the end of that third hour, I passed 3 more pro women, all in a row. Maybe everyone really did swim bad. Maybe they were already blowing up from the heat? It wasn’t too hot, if you were biking fast enough it was almost breezy… Strangely enough our national anthem, the Star Spangled Banner, started playing in my head…I think because Coach had always said that at hot races, those who went out too hard would start to detonate. But if I paced myself well, I would be bomb-proof. “The rockets red glare, the bombs bursting in air, gave proof to the night…that our flag was still there…” I think subconsciously I was bitter that I missed most of the Winter Olympics.

The fourth and last lap of the bike, that last hour, the aid stations ran out of EVERYTHING. No Gatorade, no water. I forced myself to keep eating my Hello Panda cookies…you need this nutrition, eat it!! And 2 or 3 aid stations later finally got a small bottle of water to wash it down my dry throat. Everyone else was in the same situation, I figured I would rehydrate on the run…Camelbak time! I rolled over the timing mat with a 5:20 bike split, hey not too bad for holding back 15-20mins eh? It ended up being the 3rd fastest bike split too, rockin’!

grunting my way up the big hill with Maki yelling "SUGOI!!!"

Got into transition and asked the volunteers in the change tent how many women had come through. “only 5. you are number 6!” NO FREAKING WAY.

The run was 5 laps, about 8km out-and-back each. Now as much as I like to perpetuate the urban legend that the Wongstar does not feel heat, I could tell it was hot. Someone later said 39*C, someone else said 41*C (that’s 102 to 106*F), but I wasn’t worried. I was thrilled. In a very twisted way, I find that racing in the heat is much easier than training in the heat–there are aid stations every kilometer giving out cold drinks, ice, and cold wet sponges. When do you get that in training? Umm, how about NEVER.

I had my two Camelbaks ready (one in T2, one at Special Needs) and would take in 1.5 liters of Gatorade the first 2 laps and then 2 liters of thawing frozen coffee the last 3 laps. I had even debated on filling them up all the way but was glad I did, I actually finished everything I carried and needed extra Coke at the aid stations when the Camelbaks went empty.

So how did I feel? I FELT AMAZING. I am not going to lie and you can hate me all you want, but I will be honest: I felt ridiculously good, crazy strong, and just SUPER.  Photographic proof of how I felt:

World peace! SUPER!!! Lap #3

I would run through the aid stations and grab a couple cold sponges at each one, squeezing them over my head, sipped on my Camelbak and plodded along, nothing spectacularly fast. Just holding about 5-minute k pace (about 8-minute miles). 3:30 marathon pace. Which I guess is somewhat fast in hot conditions?

I was confused at who was leading the women’s race…I thought it was Edith, who was right behind me–I’d see her behind me at every turnaround and apparently I wasn’t going much slower than her as she didn’t catch me and lap me until my 4th lap. And then I saw Belinda out there, with Hillary behind her, which confused me because I was thinking that Edith was winning, Belinda was in 2nd, and Hillary was catching Belinda. (Turns out it was Belinda winning, she had lapped Hillary who was in 3rd, and Edith was running 2nd.)

ok, maybe feeling less super but still very strong! Lap #4

So I was 6th woman and just held steady. Heading out on the run loop seemed warmer, and then coming back there was a bit of a breeze–so I enjoyed coming back more, plus it meant going back towards all the cheering spectators. One Asian spectator was wearing an American flag T-shirt and yelled “Japanese!” to me as I went by the first lap. “NO, American!!” I yelled back. From then on, he and his friends would chant “USA!” for me every time I ran by.

There were also many people I had met through training and racing around the world that cheered for me, both on the race course and on the sidelines. The support was overwhelming, lots of cheers for both Wongstar and Jocelyn…even the Korean athletes who I had competed with in Jeju or GreatMan would yell “hwai-ting!” as I passed them. The Asian female spectators were especially enthusiastic and I was hoping maybe they’d catch a little bit of inspiration seeing an Asian girl at the front of a race…I do my best to represent!

up and over the overpass--the one "hill" on the course. Lap #4

I had this song in my head…the DJ Tiesto version of Maroon 5’s “Not Falling Apart.” Coach has taught me to develop a bomb-proof marathon shuffle, so that’s what kept going through my mind, “…I’m not falling apart…” Turns out my 3:37 marathon was 3rd fastest among the pro women–only 6mins slower than champion Belinda and within 11mins of Edith’s run split (the fastest for the day)…huh…since when does that happen? Brilliant race plan, Coach, and good execution by the Wongstar!

When I switched out the Camelbaks after 2 run laps, I was super happy that freezing the coffee had worked amazingly. I too, was still feeling amazing and not really affected by the heat much until the 4th lap–that’s when I started filling my sports bra with ice. I think the humidity actually picked up, rather than the temperature.

heel-striking, Coach would be proud! Lap #1, yes I went out of order.

Somewhere along the way I had slipped into 5th position, and I was starting to run down 4th and 3rd…but ran out of time and distance.  By Lap 5 I really just wanted to be DONE! I was feeling decidedly less SUPER. Finally went by our hotel one last time, but then there was another 2km to the finish line back at the jetty, and it was THE. LONGEST. TWO. KILOMETERS. EVER.

I did the winner's pose. I felt like a winner.

And finally, there it was. I was so happy, I felt so strong the whole day–if I had to choose just one word to describe how I felt for the race, that would be it. STRONG. (I thought this during the race too.) Ok, maybe not in the swim but the other 90% of my day… I am still amazed I only ran 10mins slower than my best Ironman marathon, and in much tougher conditions… STRONG!!!

I’d like to thank all the sponsors that helped get me to where I am today. From just wanting to finish an Ironman before midnight to somehow finishing as 5th pro woman and actually feeling STRONG the whole day:

• TeamTBB & the Bike Boutique: thank you to my teammates who inspire me and push me every day, Alex our team manager for this fantastic opportunity, and Brett for showing me the way and demanding more of me than I thought possible. You asked me nearly 3 years ago if I was ready for my life to change; everything I’ve achieved these past months has already been more than I ever thought possible and we can still say “this is only the beginning.” Thank you so much for everything!! I really am living the age group triathlon fairy tale
• All our equipment sponsors: Cervelo, Avia, BlueSeventy, 3T, Scody & ISM Saddles for the gear that helps me go faster. I still scratch my head and think “really? we get new stuff every year?” But I’m not complaining!
• My travel sponsor, Mark Cathcart, for help funding the travel expenses. You’ve known me since I was a delusional age grouper with dreams of becoming a triathlon superstar. Thanks for always believing in me and fueling these dreams!
• My newest sponsor, Haamonii Smooth Shochu, for the post-race celebratory beverages. Thanks for your support and the good times had and to be had in sharing harmony around the world!

Photos courtesy of ASI Photo, Maki Nishiuchi, Pee Kay Pixz, Makoy Almanzor–thanks!!

currently hanging out in fetal position with the signs that 1st Mate made for me!

hola mis amigos.  I’m hurting.  That race was tough.  Really big wind on the bike and I think I pushed too big of a gear into the wind as my low back seized up at mile 10 of the run.

It was one of those ironmans were you die and then somehow come back to life.  I walked for 3 miles, stopping to bend over and stretch out my back (it looked like I was trying to fart) then got to special needs and started sipping my Starbucks mocha frappuccino.  Really thought I would have to walk it in…damn that’s a long way to walk.  I forced myself to shuffle and I think the caffeine kicked in.  Got a second wind and somehow picked it up again.  Didn’t want to give up my top 10 placing…surprised no one caught me when I was walking and that I still ran up to 7th pro.  Not sure that’s correct, but I’ll take it.

all things considered, I’m happy with the race and proud that I ended up salvaging it.  3 ironmans in 5 weeks is pretty tough and I am relieved to take a break from racing and traveling.  A year ago I would’ve been over the moon to go 10:37 in an Ironman with a sub-5:30 bike and sub-4:00 marathon.  Funny how much has changed in just one year!!

We’re here in Cozumel until Thursday morning so looking forward to chilling out and having some fun.  First Mate took a bunch of video so I’ll post those up this week.  I really hope they don’t enforce the 10% of 2nd place rule because 7th place is supposed to get $875…  and I didn’t go fast enough.  Or Bella went too fast.  ;)

Thanks everybody for all your support.  I really had to dig deep today.

shuffling my way up to top 10!

It’s the day after Ironman Florida and I am just checking in!  I’ll write up a proper race report on the flight back home tomorrow if I am not passed out in my seat.

It was my 10th ironman-distance race, can you believe it??  And the 5th one for this year!  I am now in the double digits and starting to lose count.  :)  I wanted to get top 10 and break 10 hours again to show that my 9:55 at GreatMan wasn’t a fluke.

It was also my first pro race here at home in the USA and the biggest pro race I have ever done (21 pro women on the start list).  My swim was atrocious at 1:18 and it put me in a VERY VERY DARK PLACE mentally.  I felt like I should give back my pro card and wanted to quit the pro triathlon life, go back to being “normal” and starting looking for a full-time job where I don’t have to be poor all the time.  I thought “isn’t it enough to win two ironman-distance races in Korea and break 10 hours?  You’ve already done everything you ever dreamed of in triathlon.  You can retire now.”

But as I am learning the more I do these ironman things, you are always going to have those mental lows.  Some races you sink deeper into the dark place than others.  Not surprisingly, my dark place usually finds me during or right after the swim.  Other people go into that dark place during the bike or the marathon.  So much of ironman racing is mental and I am finding that your overall performance is not a matter of whether you go into the dark place or not (that’s a given and should be expected) but getting yourself out of that place, and not letting it suck you in and ruin your whole race.

Somehow I managed to HTFU mentally and fight my way through all those stupid age group packs on the bike, run hard after trashing my legs on the bike and salvage my race.  I didn’t know what place I got until after I finished the race!  I was overjoyed to go 9:54 and very surprised that I had fought my way up to 10th place.

I told myself over and over “Never stop fighting.”  My very painful marathon was a new PR at 3:27 (first time under 3:30) and my bike split was a very fast 5:00 but more about that later in my RR…

Thanks everybody who has been following me.  I got a lot of “Go Wongstar!” cheers from people I haven’t met who were either watching the race or racing with me.  It was really helpful because I was definitely hurting the whole way through that marathon!  Don’t let that smile fool you.

{okay I promised to get this up before the next Ironman, which is tomorrow, although I don’t have my awesome race photos yet so it is a lot of text.  I am trying not to get too nervous for tomorrow so going through my last race is good, because I figure all I have to do is the same thing I did in Korea and I’ll be fine!  Enjoy.}

when I win this race outright, they'll change the name to "GreatWoman"

Going into race morning, there were many people surprised that I would race Ironman Florida just 2 weeks later.  Well, I had always thought of GreatMan as a dress rehearsal for Ironman Florida, a nice long training day where I could practice my race nutrition and pacing, and hopefully get paid for it too!

The swim was in the ocean but on a protected beach from the big waves–I was pretty excited because it was nothing like Jungmun Beach in Jeju!  Meaning it was totally flat!  Yeah!!  I started my watch over a minute early because the countdown was in Korean, and ended up swimming in the FIRST PACK with 3 or 4 other guys.  There were a couple guys that had broken away early and swam solo but I am pretty sure I was in the first pack.  After the first lap we ran out on the beach and my watch read 34mins, which was really 33mins…okay, not bad.  I wanted to repeat the 1:05 swim I had at Embrunman, and had to remind myself to swim hard, it wasn’t going to just be given to me on a silver platter.

My arms got tired on the second lap and I would lose contact with the pack sometimes, then sprint to bridge the gap.  Not very efficient, I know…  But I ended up staying with them and when we got out of the water, my watch clicked to a 1:09, and I was disappointed, but then again I knew I actually swam 1:07, only a couple minutes slower than I wanted.  Still it is my second fastest swim ever and much, much faster than all those 1:20 to 1:30 ironman swims I have done!!

When I got to the bike racks, I was kind of giddy because out of the 11 pro bikes on the rack, there were still at least 5 of them.  Yes, for once I was not the last pro out of the water!!  The RD yelled that I was in the top 10 overall.  Excellent!  The weather was pretty cool too and I had contemplated arm warmers…but then I figured if I was going hard enough I would warm up quick.

The bike course was about 20% hilly and 80% flat (like a good nerd, I did some math in my head while riding: a little over 10mins of some rolling hills over one lap, which took a little over 50mins).  The main hill was a 1km climb at the beginning of each lap, or about 140 pedal strokes, I counted them by 10’s.

For the 80% flat parts I just put Blue Steel into my biggest gear and mashed the heck out of my pedals.  After the race one of the Korean guys asked me why I pushed such a big gear.  Considering that I probably outbiked everyone but Mr. Oh and Ryan, I told him “Because I am strong and it makes the bike go fast.”

There were six laps of the bike, which some of the guys had said was kind of boring.  But I beg to differ…I find that if I am focused and going hard, I do not get bored.  It’s not like you are there to admire the scenery (that’s for before and after the race, see the mural photos).  I find if you are getting bored, it means you are losing your focus and you need to HTFU.  To keep it interesting, there were many turns on the bike loop, including a few sharp turns and a U-turn.  On the sharper turns I took the opportunity to get out of my saddle and pedal hard for 15 pedal strokes coming out of the turn to stretch out my legs.

we went by this power plant 6x, very exciting.

My goal was to definitely go under 5:30 for the first time (my bike split PR is 5:35 from Ironman China), and of course there was “5:15″ in the back of my mind, the magic number that Coach once told me was a bike split worthy of race wheels.  Ahh yes, RD HyunSik and some of the other pro men were baffled that I was a pro and did not have race wheels.  I had to explain that Coach thinks it is more important to get your legs stronger to go faster instead of relying on the equipment to make you go faster.

At end of lap 3 (halfway), my watch read 2:36:30–definitely on pace to go 5:15!

Apparently Ryan saw a line of 10 or so guys sitting on my wheel and though we were “working together,” which makes me laugh and laugh and laugh, because I wasn’t aware there were so many of them back there.  Nobody attempted to pass me because they weren’t strong enough to!  They just sat there for a free ride and I tried to pretend nobody was there, although I would hear some of them laughing every now and then as I was putting my head down and hammering.  More than once I thought, these boys should get their balls cut off because they should NOT be drafting A GIRL!!

I also thought “I am Tereza Macel!  super biker!  hear me roar!  RAWR!!”  She is my biking hero.  :)

I started passing a pro guy here and there during the 2nd half of the bike, which really surprised me.  Like many age groupers, they were decked out in their fancy race wheels and aero helmets; Ryan had said some of these guys had gone in the low-9’s at ironman, which is pretty good for a Korean boy.  The first one I passed, I thought “ok, he’s kind of weak sauce.”  Then there was another.  Then after the 4th or 5th one, I was wondering what was wrong with them.  I guess they weren’t eating their Hello Panda cookies.  And that was when I knew I was riding well.  Clearly if I can pass the Korean pro men and their carbon fiber deep race wheels with my magical $120 wheelset…well, maybe I am doing something right.

there was a very fast & pretty stretch of painted murals on the seawall. the "E-H" is the "Tae" in "Taean." I'm serious!

There was one age group guy sucking my wheel for the whole 5th lap, and I couldn’t shake him until we hit the hill at the beginning of the 6th lap.  He finally tried to pass and then blew up halfway up the hill…bye bye!  I actually sped up quite a bit the 2nd half of the bike–lap 5 was probably the quickest as I was trying to outbike the lame drafter.

The bike aid stations weren’t the most…organized or efficient.  Small race.  They were giving out fluids in DIXIE CUPS.  So I actually stopped at the ends of laps 2 and 4 to get them to refill my aero bottle and bike bottle with Gatorade.  I would yell “Gatorade!” and they would hold out a Dixie cup, then I would say “no, MORE!”  and they would say “Mool?” which means water, and then reach for the water instead, then…  you get the idea.

I went through a bike bottle per lap which seemed enough given that it was very mild weather-wise.  I hit the dismount line in 5:09 so I most definitely negative split the bike…2:36/2:33.  Excellent.  I am most proud that I was able to do this on a race where I had no opportunities to draft, legally 10+ meters or what, and without race wheels or an aero helmet.  bwahaha.

I got into T2 and quickly pulled on my Avias and Camelbak #1.  I wasn’t quite sure where T2 ended and the marathon began, and after the race found out that my 3:33 marathon split actually included the transition time.  So I went 3:30 or 3:31!  New run PR

My lead biker was one of the women on staff who was also an Ironwoman herself and had gone to Kona several times.  She was biking waaay too fast that first stretch but gave me an orange beacon to follow.  We ran from the beach area to the start of the run lap, in the middle of nowhere surrounded by fields.  It was a very desolate 4-lap run…especially that first lap, there was maybe only 5 of us on the run course at that point but I saw nobody except my lead biker.  The run lap was extremely flat but the hardest part was how empty and barren it was…I find marathons with many spectators and fan support to be the easiest to get through.  They cheer for me, it makes me smile, they love that I smile and cheer more, I smile more, etc etc.  This marathon?  I had a very focused serious face most of the way.

The lead biker only stayed around for the first lap (she later rejoined me after the last lap back to the finish line).  At the end of the first lap, I saw Ryan right before the U-turn, and he looked like death, telling me I was right about to catch him.  But before I could do this, he somehow got a huge second wind and came back to life!  It took me quite a while to catch him–I was thinking, “wow, he’s putting up a really good fight!!”  We had been talking smack before the race about whether he would get chicked or not–he had just done Kona 2 weeks before.  I was a little hungry so I grabbed a chocolate cookie at one of the aid stations and it had marshmallows in it too!

There were no kilometer markers at all on the run, and I wasn’t sure how long each lap was, or how long the section from the transition area to the start of the lap was.  I miscalculated, trying to do math in my head, then figured I would just have to see what time I hit when I finished 2 of the 4 run laps = halfway done.  I hit it at right about 1:45.  Perfect.  Now just hold on!

“Special food” was what they called the special needs station.  I swapped out my Camelbaks and #2 had been frozen with my special iced coffee mix.  It tasted really good but I realized during my fourth and final lap that freezing the second Camelbak actually backfired as it was still half frozen!  I had to stop for Coke a couple times on the last lap but otherwise ran through the aid stations.  The second half of the run was very difficult mentally and I had to dig deep to keep the pace going.  I never lost the desire to go as fast as I could but I had to convince my tiring legs to keep going.

I stayed motivated by picking off guys that I was lapping.  Some of them put in good fights which was nice because it really pushed me.  I also thought of my teammates quite a bit.  Bella, who was once my “lead biker” during the last interval at a big track session.  Coco, who had told me that you are either born a winner, or you weren’t.  And that I was born with the mind of a champion, even if I didn’t necessarily have the talent.  I thought “I am a teamTBB ironchick.  We are tough, we are fast, we never give up.  We are warriors.  And there is no reason I cannot break 10 hours today when some of them can break NINE.”

I tried not to jump ahead and think about breaking 10 hours too much but I knew that it was a possibility.  When I left T2 my watch said something like 6:24, and I had thought “ok…all you have to do is a 3:30.  You did that at Embrunman.  You did a 3:15 solo marathon.  You are fitter now than you were in France.  You can do this.”

I thought about all the marathons I have done this year.  Before the race I had actually tallied them up, because Coach had always told me I run more marathons than anybody I race against.  Since March I have done 12, whether they were in an ironman race, a monster run, or a track marathon.  GreatMan would be marathon #13.  So what was this marathon anyway?  Just another long run.  And I always feel stronger during the second half of the marathon.

After 4 run laps, my lead biker joined back with me to take me to the finish line.  She said there was only 3k to go, which I found very hard to believe.  So I didn’t believe her.  Then the RD HyungSik came by on a scooter and started yelling “You did it!  You did it!”  I wasn’t done yet, so I yelled “Not yet!  I still need to finish!”  It was the longest “3k to go” of my life, and the finish was rather anti-climactic.  My watch read “9:55″ and I didn’t quite believe it.  My second half marathon was only a minute slower than the first half.  There was hardly any one at the finish line, and the photographers actually made me run through it a second time because they didn’t get the finish photos!  That was when I learned only one person had beat me–Oh Young Hwan, who won the men’s pro race.

winner winner chicken dinner! Mr. Oh Young Hwan & Wongstar

I won a 10kg (22-lb) bag of rice too.  Which I gave to the nice little old lady who owned the hotel because I’m pretty sure I’d get charged for excess baggage on that one.

only in Korea can you win a big bag of rice.

And a nice block of glass that says “women’s pro champion” in Korean!

or maybe it's crystal?

Ok it’s showtime again!  Another fast ironman tomorrow, stay tuned!

as I begin to write this it is midnight after the ironman here in Taean.  (Which FYI is pronounced “Tay-on” not “Tie-Anne,” good to know if you are trying to figure out which bus to take and the Koreans don’t understand where you want to go because you pronounce things wrong…)  I am hyped up on all the caffeine from Camelbak #2, the excitement of my first sub-10 ironman/MASSIVE PR and of course kind of hungry, so I can’t sleep.  I figure I might as well start writing my race report…

Where to begin?  Well as you know I stayed in Korea for almost an extra month when I found out the GreatMan race was postponed rather than cancelled completely for this year.  The last couple weeks of training by myself were very solid even if I had some trouble getting out the door sometimes.  The weather had gotten colder (windier too actually) so much that I needed to wear my vest and arm warmers that I didn’t think I would need after leaving Swiss camp.  And the teammates and Coach were all gone…but I did manage to get the work done on my own and was excited to smash my old IM PR of 11:08 from China this year.

I left Jeju and flew into Seoul on Friday, then took the bus to Taean, about 2.5hrs.  Being a foreigner traveling by myself can be a little intimidating, but everyone is very friendly and helpful here in Korea.  All you need to do is A) get someone to write you the Korean names on a piece of paper, then you B) clutch the paper quite obviously while looking around a lot with a confused expression, C) ask someone nicely in English, and D) smile big.  The English part is important because unlike my white teammates it is really not obvious that I am a foreigner until I open my mouth.

ANYWAY.  The race director, Kim HyungSik picked me up at the bus station and we drove to Hakampo Beach, where the race was being held.  We all had rooms at the motels within walking distance to the transition area and swim start, SUPER convenient!  HyungSik apologized that the rooms were not very fancy but I was quite happy with it, I mean it was way bigger than my studio in Jeju and had a refrigerator and cable TV!  Plus how many races give you free entry and 3 nights accommodation?  I even managed to get all my dinners paid for.  (Thanks to the RD and also Ryan’s friends for the post-race dinner!!) :D  V.I.P. superstar treatment!  Ok so it is still my first season as a pro and I still get excited over things like free entry and accommodation and meals.  At Embrun, Coco thought it was funny I was so excited over free breakfast

This was my first time going to an ironman race by myself.  Ryan, who I met in Singapore and China, lives here in Korea and would also be racing but wouldn’t be coming until the night before the race with some of his friends.  I easily made a lot of new Korean friends (smiling big helps and so does being the Jeju ironman champion) but it was also nice to have my own room and be able to focus on doing my own thing before the race.  I actually got the most sleep I’ve ever gotten before an ironman–10 hours two nights before the race (the night that counts, as they say) and 8 hours the night before!

I put all my things together while watching many episodes of Cold Case on one of the English channels.  It’s kind of funny to see what American shows are broadcasted in Korea that they like to watch…  Grey’s Anatomy and Ugly Betty of course, but also a lot of CSI, Cold Case, Ghost Whisperer…and embarassingly enough the Tyra Banks show.

There isn’t much around the beach area in terms of a real grocery store or restaurants (other than traditional Korean restaurants) so my pre-race ice cream fat-loading consisted of eating one of these Korean ice cream sandwiches from a convenience store. 

It is a fish ice cream sandwich.  Well the outside layers are like ice cream cone layers shaped like a fish and inside is a layer of vanilla ice cream and a layer of red bean.  I had been wanting to try one for a while and figured this was the night!

The other really funny thing I’ve learned is that red bean in Korean is called “pot.”  So this is actually an ice cream sandwich shaped like a fish and filled with… “pot.”

The fish layers were a little soggy as I am sure it has been sitting in that freezer for longer than I care to know, but the ice cream and “pot” did not disappoint.

I set my alarm for 5:15am assuming the race was starting at 7am.  It actually started at 7:30am, of course I didn’t understand the Korean race briefing or the race program and schedule which was all in Korean.  Ryan and I were the only foreigners racing since the Taean county officials had closed the race off to foreigners because of the whole swine flu hype, but luckily since Ryan lives here and I lived in Jeju for 2 months, we were both considered Korean residents for all intents and purposes.  I got a mini English race briefing but the RD forgot to mention the start time got changed.  Luckily it didn’t start EARLIER!

However, I woke up in a cold sweat at 4:30am because I had one of those school nightmares.  It was Thursday in my dream and I had an essay for a nutrition class due at midnight, and some other assignment due on Friday, both of which I hadn’t even started yet.  Not only was it already Thursday but it was 11:17pm on Thursday night, and I frantically started writing the essay in my head so I could get to a computer and transpose it.  Something about carbohydrates.  I was in such a big panic, and then towards the end of the dream as I was waking up, I thought, wait a second, I am in Korea, and midnight on Thursday in the USA is not for almost another day…I think I have more than just 40 minutes to get this paper done.  And as I woke up it took me a while to realize: “Stop it, stop it, you are not in school any more, you do not have any more homework due, you have already graduated, you have your bachelors’ and masters’ degree.  WAKE UP WAKE UP YOU ARE RACING AN IRONMAN TODAY!!!”

would've been more of a nightmare if these weren't packed yet

I think my subconscious was confused because of my blog about the triathlon academy, and it didn’t remember that to pass nutrition class all I need is a six-pack, not some stupid essay.

…and so that’s how race morning began…

#9 is a very lucky Chinese number! not as lucky as #8, Ryan got #8.

to be continued!

P.S.  To elaborate on the significance of the number 9 in Chinese culture, here is what Wikipedia has to say:
“Nine (九) is considered a good number in Chinese culture because it sounds the same as the word “longlasting” (久).”

longlasting…  ironman…  I think there may be some foreshadowing here but you already know the ending to this story