Athlete Profile : William Tan

The mental and physical challenges – the ability to control your state of mind, and the fight with time keeps me motivated and I want more of this sport.

1. First up - Tell us a bit about yourself. short background on work/ life/ sport etc etc / how did you come into triathlon. 

I was very active in my youth. I was a sprinter,  swimmer and rugby player in my teenage years. Work and young kids came along and my exercise regime slowed down considerably. In my early 40s, I was playing futsal and the image of my teenage years playing aggressive football resurfaced. In the midst of a tackle, I heard a loud ‘pop’ (it wasn’t champagne popping though it sounded like one) followed by intense pain! I tore my ACL, LCL and broke my meniscus. I chose not to go on the operating table. Upon my doctor’s advice I started cycling to strengthen my legs. That was in 2012 and it was how I started cycling. Two years later, a friend introduced me to sprint tri. From that moment, there was no turning back.

2 What do you like about triathlon, what keeps bringing you back for more. 

Given my torn ACL, triathlon gives me the opportunity to do not one but three different disciplines. Besides, triathlon trains the mind as much as develops one’s physical state. It helps me develop a healthy lifestyle, keeps me focused, disciplined and teaches me to manage my mind. I have learnt that if you want to do well in the race, you need to psych yourself up for the bike and/or run if you come out of a lousy swim/bike. The mental and physical challenges – the ability to control your state of mind, and the fight with time keeps me motivated and I want more of this sport. 

3. Tell us a bit about the journey - the ups and downs. The struggles with foot injury for instance.  

It has been both a painful as well as rewarding journey since my foot issue started back in 2017. The numbness in my foot set in at various distances during my run, and positively correlated to the intensity of my run. It starts with numbness before the pain slowly creeps in and then travels up to my knee. It is all mental from then on to psych myself, repeating my mantra to complete the run. 

The frustration and pain from my foot issue is demoralizing and at times creates fear when I run.  It is however rewarding when I cross the finishing line (albeit with a painful leg) with a decent timing. All the fear disappears for that moment.

I am still dealing with my foot issue. The numerous medical consultations from orthopaedic, physiotherapist to neurologist have not resulted in any significant improvements. Now I am trying out alternative healing modalities. I believe that a combination of mental, medical aids as well as smart training, I will be able to find a solution hopefully to a cure.

5. How did you feel crossing the line with a new PB @ 5h 11'?

I knew it was a good race while I was out there despite the pain during my run. While it was not a sub-5 that I am aiming for, the timing was a stamp of recognition for all the training I have done and trust I have in the plans. It gives me the booster and confidence, the positive feedback loop to make me train harder and continue to trust in the training and nutrition plans.

6. Briefly talk us through the race. High/ low points during the race.  Standout thoughts at certain points in the race. 

I started the swim feeling strong but felt slow towards the last few 100m of swim. When I got out of the water and looked at my watch. Sigh….a disappointing time. Told myself to put the swim behind me and psyched myself up for the bike so to gain some time given that bike is my strongest among the three disciplines. While I didn’t clock the timing I wanted, it was still decent. I was feeling really good when I headed out for the run. Feeling really ‘strong’ until the 5km mark when my leg numbness started (usually it starts at around 10-12km), then the pain came at around 8km and it just increased with time. At about 15km mark, I could feel the pain in my right knee as well. From the moment the pain started, I kept chanting a mantra, hanging onto the pace and eventually did my best run ever after my leg injury. 

7. How did your physical training prepare you for the race? You can talk about your typical training week, what happens when you miss a workout? 

I train seven days a week, just like everyone else in the squad, follow very closely to the training plans prepared for me by Shem. While I follow the plans religiously, there are times when I throw in some strength workout (mainly for core) to satisfy my endorphin-high hangover from earlier sessions.

Missing a day of training makes me uncomfortable. The guilt sets in and starts playing the mental game – “I should have…”. Missing two days changes my mood and if I still don’t get out to train on the third day, I will start to get on the nerves of people around me. That’s when my wife will say ‘Maybe you should train today….”. The workout helps me to de-stress, overcome jetlag and control my emotions. It is now part of my  lifestyle and I do that even if I am on a holiday…

8. Any mental hurdles that had to be overcome ? OR that were overcome on race day?

Definitely and I am still working on them…

1. Swim – swim to my capacity and don’t hold back as that is the only part of the sport that I will be using a lot of my upper body

2. Run – fear of numbness/pain. Chanting the mantra helps and perhaps there is a mental part – to reprogram my mind to ‘switch off’ the issue and tell myself my right knee (ACL) is ok. 

9. Please share with us the most important 'take home' messages that you have learnt about endurance running (training and racing) that everyone needs to hear.

Someone once shared this quote with me “Mind, a beautiful servant, a dangerous master”. It is indeed all relevant in triathlon. This sport has taught me to better manage my mind, which helps to push my body. Often there is an inner voice that tells my mind what I want and can do. 

Here is a little excerpt from a book I read, that reminds me of the journey I am on whenever I question my training and races.

The Reward is Within

The contest lasts for moments

Through the training’s taken years

It wasn’t the winning alone

That was worth the work and tears

The applause will be forgotten

The prize will be misplaced

But the long hard hours of practice will never be a waste

For in trying to win you build a skill

You learn that winning depends on will

You never grow by how much you win

You only grow by how much you put in

So any new challenge you’ve just begun

Put forth your best and you’ve already won

10. I always stress the importance of communication in the coach -athlete relationship. How did this work out for you?  You can share about how we worked around your foot numbness to give you the best chance of putting in a good run on the day. 

We need information so that we can strategize, and effective communicating between me and my coach was part of the key things in the run up to my Xiamen and Western Sydney 70.3 races in November 2019. I was preparing for two races two weeks apart while trying to control my foot numbness issue. The feedback from my training, advice and reassurance from my coach helped me to stay focused on what I had to, or shall I say could do under my situation.

It is beyond just communicating. It is also about trust. At times, I was questioning my readiness with just easy run sessions when others were gearing up for more intense run sessions. At the end of the day, I managed to clock my best run since my injury. While the timing can be improved, it is the proof that I need to spur me on for my next chapter;  the training plans worked and I delivered.  

9. What are the benefits of having a coach? The difference having a coach has made, compared to if you were to do this alone.. What are the characteristics for a good coach to look out for? 

There are tonnes of information and training plans out there, you just have to ask Google for them. All these standard plans don’t take into consideration your lifestyle and state of readiness/fitness. Most importantly it lacks the communication – the feedback, advice and encouragement that has kept me on the right track. At my age, and given my work schedule, having a coach to ensure that I am doing the right things and  minimise the risk of injury certainly makes my triathlon journey a more enjoyable one. 

10. What's next for you? 

1) A sub 5 for 70.3 and possibly a World Championship race

2) First full ironman in 2020 – I promised my fellow tri friends that I will do my first full ironman when I am 50 and 2020 is the year I hit the mid-century mark!

11. Think you can go quicker... ?

I have gone faster through the past 4 years of racing albeit only with small improvements over the period. The last race in Western Sydney has given me the booster. I believe I can and will certainly continue to chase the clock!