Singapore Biathlon 2011 - Post Race(Yukari)

First of all, thanks to coach KK, Samantha, and all the members in Team Sapphire, to wake me up from long sleep and lead me to right direction. I never imagined 6 months ago that I am here and have completed this race.

Long story before telling about the race...  I had >25 years blank for swimming before coach KK invited me to join the team. I used to be a swimmer before, burned out already at the age of 18, not willing to continue after graduated high school. The training was really hard like a nightmare, in the peak period 5km or even 2 x 5km a day.

Now I started to swim again but I was no more an athlete and I easily become breathless every 50m I swim. I did not think I would be able to swim long distance anymore. In Team Sapphire, under coach KK's panorama view, I had a chance to know my bad habits in swimming. Learning correct form controlling speed slow, medium, hard was so new and difficult to me at first. Every time the training was too enjoyable to call a "training". I felt my negative feeling about swimming gradually diminished.

The race day, at the start point I got so nervous and it was too late when I noted I was dashing in the middle of crowd. All that happened was exactly as learned from coach KK. People on people, goggles kicked out, drank seawater... Then I was horrified to find the timing device on anklet getting loose. I touched one end of fastener belt... I could not tell if it's ok to keep swimming. I thought I better remove and tighten it again to prevent dropping. Loss time for a minute or so does not matter, rather than ruin the race... While doing so people hit and swam over me and I felt like sea sick... OK, that's race. Anything can happen. Never mind lah, keep going! After the first buoy, it became easier to swim. I tried to recall my comfortable rhythm to keep swimming. Good thing about sea swim is there is no wall to touch and turn! It was a long way feeling like swimming forever. After the last buoy, I started to kick stronger as I learned in the training, to prevent jelly legs. As I exit from water I heard someone call me just behind, it was Samantha! Feeling relieved to find not being alone, we dashed for the transition area. It was difficult to put on socks and shoes having cramp on toes, spread Vaseline around armpit, sip water, and then started to run.

East coast should be familiar for me with other marathon races. However with fatigue after swim, it took time until I come to the state of "feeling nothing". Lawrence called me from the other direction when I stopped and tie the timing device getting loose again. In the 2nd round I finally started to feel comfortable to run. Lawrence found me again, then came my husband. Relieved to know he got no accident so far and even running faster in his first race. Then I came back to myself to keep concentration for the rest of the race. In marathon races I usually feel pain in muscles and joints while having stamina. But this time it’s opposite, almost no pain but less stamina. My legs might be stronger after full marathon, but feel harder to run after swim. So I tried to use my whole body to carry legs forward.  When the finish line comes in sight I gathered all my strength again to complete the race. Feeling so happy and excited I forgot to stop my watch until I received the finisher’s medal…

It’s such a precious experience. The race itself is individual but after the race I met team members and share the moment. I was thankful to everything. I’m much older than most of you but I believe I still can improve more and wish to prove that. In doing so, I hope that I can also encourage young promising athletes.

Yukari Takesawa  (01:30:44  (swim 00:33:12 / run 00:57:32))