Ashley Liew of SMU took part in the recent race in Valencia and has done Singapore proud by finishing in a very good timing. We have asked his achievement through an interview with him.
Why did you take part in this race?
- Singapore Management University gave me the rare exciting opportunity to race in this bi-annual competition, this year in Spain. I embraced it because it would be against the world’s best. Participating in a competition on this scale would give Singapore, as well as myself, invaluable race exposure.
Why did you not focus on marathon as you were the first runner-up for the 2009 Standard Chartered Marathon race?
How did the race go?
For me, it was definitely an eye-opener against the extremely strong field. My competitors may have been university students, but their standards were truly world-class. For example, the Men Winner’s 10km run split after a 1.5km swim and 40km bike was sub-30min! This made it a tough race start to finish despite the nice conditions.
Moreover, I was racing with an open wound on my foot which I had sustained a week earlier during another triathlon competition. I had removed 13 stitches the day before this WUC race. On race day, the dressing tore off at the swim start, making my entire swim torturous. The hard bike ride split my wound further, so to avoid further aggravation I was very conservative on the run. All this made it a tough day and I could not hit a personal best.
Were you happy with the time?
Considering my horrific injury a week earlier, my goal was to finish this WUC race without regrets. I had even contemplated pulling out before the race. My race time was minutes slower than my personal best time – that upset me of course. However I had no regrets as I gave it my best shot in the circumstances.
Any problems that you faced during the triathlon?
As mentioned above, my wound re-opened during the swim warm-up, messing up my rhythm. This made me play catch up during the bike and run. When I got off the bike to start the run, my right leg was slightly numb. I managed to shake it off after the first steps but I could not run the 10km as efficiently as I would have liked to.
What were the split times?
1.5km swim – 29m12s, 40km bike – 1h9m37s, 10km run – 43m22s. Total time: 2h25m16s.
Will you be running anymore triathlon races?
Yes definitely, but that would wait until early next year 2011.
How is you girlfriend’s support in this race?
My girlfriend Goh Zeling was extremely supportive of me, although she was still on overseas university exchange. She was initially very concerned about my injury and did not want me to race, playing Devil’s advocate. But once I made the judgment call to race she gave her usual fullest support.
What is your future target?
Triathlon wise, it would be to qualify for Hawaii Ironman World Championships 2011, while emerging overall Singaporean champion at Singapore Ironman 70.3 2011.
What is your advice for a triathlete who wants to be a marathon runner?
When training for a marathon, your running mileage has to increase. Also, your race strategy has to be very different as you have to focus your pacing and energy entirely on one discipline, compared to three.
What is your advice for a marathon runner who wants to be a triathlete?
In order to excel, a lot of training base volume is required on the bike if you have no prior experience – it may take a while to see the results but be patient. Likewise, mastering an efficient swimming technique requires time and supervision. An important thing to remember is that a triathlon is not simply three disciplines put together, thus it is critical to incorporate brick training, e.g. swim-run, bike-run.
Who are those who have helped you in this race?
I have my coaches to thank – Coach Rameshon and Coach Kang for all the hard training before race day. In addition, our Team Singapore Chef de Mission Coach David took care of all our administrative aspects, giving us peace of mind in Valencia. Last but not least, all my training partners from SMU who never stopped supporting me.
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