My stint in rugby had left me with strings of injuries that forced me out of competitive events for good. With an acute back pain, there was not much to be done. My weight ballooned to 120kg and I desperately needed a hobby. I chose golf (?). Despite having 4 golfers chasing after one tiny ball throughout the entire 18-hole golf course, it’s actually an enjoyable game to play. Golfing requires a lot of skill and time. A socialite’s game. This was before social networking sites came along, of course. I probably shed 3kg from all the huffs and puffs around the course. Smoking, that is. Plus you don’t have to be an expert to know that a golf swing isn’t actually great for an ailing back too.

I can’t quite remember how I quit golf for cycling. But I do remember it feels exactly the same when you’re riding your bicycle as a child. I sold my golf set to fund the purchase of a used road bike. I couldn’t fit into a cycling jersey at that time so I put on a football jersey instead. I was conned into a 50km ride to Putrajaya one night and took 3 hours to complete the ride. I did a 3-day, 400km ride that took me through 3 states and never looked back since. I did a fair share of racing and organized races for fellow friends. At the peak of my avidness, I rode an average of 200km per week and shedding 20kg off my weight. Then it all came to a halt when I got busy with my wedding and subsequently having our first child after. It’s difficult to restart after having stopped for quite some time. I went on the bike several times only to feel a bit depressed trying to get the old form without success. I resorted to being a food-hunter on the bike. My rides would be worked around the good places to eat, off the beaten track, in and out of kampungs. I (still) have the intention to write a photo-journo book on this soon. Needless to say, the weight came creeping back.

Being around triathlete friends, I have always thought that they’re crazy to be doing the sport. And I really thought they were absolutely mindless to do the Ironman in Langkawi every year which requires them to swim 3.8km in the open water, then bike around the island 180km and to top it all off, run a full marathon of 42km before coming to the finish line. You’re given 17 hours to complete all that. I had a first hand experience to witness all of them beating every odd to finish their race by their own abilities and sheer human willpower. I was in awe of a great spectacle and quietly asked myself if I could do it? The first task is to get myself running and the problem is I hate running. Being overweight doesn’t make it easier to run, either. I enrolled myself into a 11km run event to kickstart myself. I walked mostly and came to the finish line at 2 hours, feeling absolutely destroyed. Strangely, that feeling kept me going and brought me to the KL Half-Marathon. A 3 hours ordeal through the undulating path in the city centre is no easy feat but I finished it. I also started to swim regularly again and participated in the PD Triathlon which would require me to swim 1.5km, bike 40km and run 10km. It wasn’t easy. It was painful. But I kept on going. Then you have friends back tracking the route, cheering you up to the finish line. That is priceless. Nothing beats that. And for that very reason, I will be doing my first full marathon of 42km in Singapore this Sunday.

To me, it is a measure of the human physical and mental (mostly) ability to finish what you started. It’s a journey quite closely associated to life itself. And the great thing about Triathlon, is that EVERYONE can do it. If this fat bloke can do it, why can’t you? I’m advocating this to the masses right now. Yes, a Tri4U. Would you willing to give it a try if there’s an event in much shorter distances? Would you do it if you can just walk in the pool, if you can’t swim? Use any type of bicycle and even walk instead of running? I can’t promise you it will be easy. But I can promise you that same feeling most of us feel when you reach the finish line.

If you think you can’t possibly be doing all this. Watch his clip and think again.

http://www.teamhoyt.com/

Kharis Idris
Director
.myFuture Foundation