Attending Ironman 70.3 from the other side

I’m in Singapore, but not to race this time. With the leg infection and small surgery, I’ve decided to leave the bike at home and not to race, despite the fact the doctor told me I should go for it.

A small pimple on Friday evening that evolved to a leg infection, got me into hospital on Saturday night shivering with fever, and into a small surgery on Tuesday afternoon. I have a hole in my leg where I can put my finger in. If you are a curious person and want to see the pics, you can see them here, but be aware that they are gross .

I think most of my friends, knowing me, wouldn’t be surprised if I was doing the IM anyway, but they still would call me crazy, stupid, stubborn, all things that don’t have any foundation . And to be honest, I decided to leave the bike at home 30 minutes before leaving to the airport.

Interestingly, I was only asking the doctor if I could fly to Singapore, because I wanted to come with my cousin, has he came just to race with me, and he was counting on me to travel with me, as this is his first trip on his own. On the other side, I had non-refundable and non-changeable flights and hotel reservations. When I was telling the doctor that I had a Ironman in Singapore in 5 days, and before I could finish my question he told me “Go for it”. What ?! Was he telling me that I could race? Yes. But what about the swim, the water into the wound? Waterproof dressing should take care of everything, and as it is an open wound, there will not be any more infection, as long as I stay on antibiotics for the 7 days.

So why did I leave the bike at home? Well … I really wanted to do the Ironman, I’ve registered back in May, 10 months in advance. I’ve been practicing since August, participated in many races, paid a coach, booked flights, hotel room, everything. But I’ve set myself some goals that I use for every race: 1) Staying Healthy 2) Have Fun 3) Learn. On the day of the flight (1 day after the surgery) I went to the hospital to change the dressing, and I’ve rechecked the doctors affirmations from the day before, which he confirmed. He just told me “Listen to your body and you’ll know if you can do it”. Around 9pm when I was finalizing my bag, my leg was swollen around the ankle, but not only. I got preoccupied, and went to a ambulatory centre, to reconfirm if I could fly under this conditions. Again I got green light to fly, no risk whatsoever. But this worrying, the pain was not being fun, and worrying during the race about my health wouldn't be either.

Doing a Ironman 70.3 is a challenge, and for my first one, I want to be as healthy and fit as possible, not having to worry about additional stress factors. So I decided to leave all the equipment at home, and just bring my camera and be here to support, cheer and be the un-official photographer for my cousin Nuno and the other gang from Dubai.

So here I am, sitting in my hotel room, with a great view and with my leg raised, looking at pictures that I took this morning during the swimming practice and athlete registration. I feel jealous, and this morning I wished I was out there with them swimming, but it is great to be here to support people and take pictures, which I also love.

I’m sure I’ll have fun, and hopefully I’ll stay healthy and get better.