The Ironman

OK. Well, its no secret that I'm putting myself through grueling training sessions in order to get myself in shape so that I can compete in the triathlon. The particular triathlon I intend to enter is the PD Triathlon in July. There are 2 races, the sprint and the Olympic distance. The Olympic distance triathlon consist a 1.5km open water swim, a 40km bike ride and ends with a 10 km run. The sprint, which is what I want to do is a much shorter 750m open water swim, a 20km bike ride and a 5 km run. At my current shape and form (as well as determination) I didn't think I have a problem completing the sprint. I was tempted to join the Olympic distance but have resisted this temptation. The main objective of competing in this race is to learn as much as I can and to help prepare for the next race (well, that would be the objective of every race I enter).

What happens after this momentous event- more events and longer ones at that. So this is how it's supposed to progress:


Sprint- 750m swim, 20km bike, 5km run
Olympic - 1.5km swim, 40km bike, 10 km run
Half Ironman - 1.93km swim, 90km bike, 21.1km run
The Ironman - 3.86km swim, 180km bike, 42.2 km marathon run

The ultimate for the triathlon is of couse, The Ironman - 'Swim 2.4 miles! Bike 112 miles! Run 26.2 miles! Brag for the rest of your life' (on The Ironman Registration Form)

I've always been fascinated by this event ever since I saw video clips of Julie Moss crawling to the finishing line in the 1982 Ironman.




I had originally put in a 1 year cycle for the triathlon distances. So based on my planning and schedule, I will only be competing in The Ironman 4 years from now.

But then I asked why tje long wait? Of course getting the body trained and ready for the event is important but the state of mind as also important (maybe even more so). The more I thought about it, the more I realise that there was no reason to wait so long. Of course trying to train for the next Ironman (which by the way is 10 April 2011 in South Africa) in the next 7 days is just ridiculous and foolish but training for one in a years time is definitely possible.

Right now, I am looking for my first 70.3km Half Ironman. The nearest one is the 70.3 Half Ironman in Phuket on Dec 4 2011. That's in 8 months time but I'm not sure if there are any places available. There used to be a 70.3 Ironman Putrajaya which is very much nearer to home but like the Langkawi Ironman, the Putrajaya 70.3 Ironman seems to be a non-starter for 2011.

Well, let's see what happens in the next few months....

About Reza Ali

Reza Ali Reactivated tells of the journey of Reza Ali as he embarks on transforming himself from a 120kg (35kg overweight) 46 inch waist unhealthy and unfit person to someone who can compete in a triathlon. Don't be afraid to dream. Take action. Correct your mistakes. Learn from failures. Bit by bit, you will get closer to your dream.

If I Can Do It, So Can You.....

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