Quek Shio

Friday already la… still not over this event? 🤣 Ok la just about. 😁 Almost recovered to the point where I feel like working out again. Better do a recovery run before the end of the week to continue my Strava streak. Time to rub off the tattoo as well… during the last 5km I was absolutely sure I am never doing another 70.3 triathlon ever again… Oh well… 5 days later… I would say not soon, but not never 🤣 📸 @fotobyhanley

I think to be a triathlon support crew is more commendable than doing the event itself… unlike bouldering where I got to watch her in action throughout… this is just a hell lot of hassle from booking to packing…travelling… waking up and eating at odd hours… and tonnes of waiting only catch a brief glimpse of the participant for a few seconds… before having to wait again… Thanks bb 😘😘😘 Although you kept saying you enjoyed it… I honestly prefer the marathon arc where both of us get to train and participate together 🤗 good thing @chimarathon is next 😬 Also thanks to my @reservoirproduction family for holding the fort while I chase for this highly individualistic goal 🤜🤛 Special thanks to @fotobyhanley for the cover photo

My triathlon Pokémon evolution 🏊🏻🚴🏻🏃🏻 SWIM 1.9km - BIKE 90km - RUN 21.1km 2017 - Ironman 70.3 Langkawi - 6:20:51 2022 - Ironman 70.3 Desaru - 5:49:03 2026 - Ironman 70.3 Da Nang - 5:27:26 My thoughts: You can choose to improve anything in your life. But if you want to experience genuine progress, expect to put years of deliberate practice into any discipline. Then you MIGHT get somewhere… nothing is guaranteed. On the flip side, if after years you still don’t see enough improvement, be wise enough to seek help or quit altogether~ move on to things that yield better returns in your life. In our TakaChia group banter we say: “mm cai dak, gai jor kui” 😂 (If you can’t ride, then quit lah.) It’s a joke… but there’s truth in it. Don’t waste your time. We only have about 100 years at best… invest more into your native stats. No matter how hard you farm… it’s finite. Mine seems pretty certain to be in the creative field. Not my choice… blessed/cursed? So why do I even do this triathlon nonsense then? Killing myself under the sun when I clearly belong in a comfy director’s chair? They even ban cameras on course… a very clear line. Basically saying: your content ain’t shit, we don’t need your help. You pay, you come, you follow the rules or gtfo. Maybe that’s also one of the many reasons why I love it. It’s definitive. Absolute. You want results? There are no shortcuts. You can only race as well as you trained. A stark contrast to the creative world… which seems to keep getting muddier and lazier… made worse with AI. Gear matters, absolutely. Same for every discipline. You can buy the best bike, the best shoes, the best camera… hell, you can even buy awards~ But no… you cannot buy a finishing time. You will have to swim… then bike… then run… to earn it. 😉

Shall we address the elephant in the room? 🗿 S-Works Shiv TT + SRAM Red 🚴🏼 Quite literally, the bike is the biggest piece of the puzzle in triathlon. It’s the longest discipline, the biggest time investment, and in many ways… the true centerpiece of the sport. Usually I photoshoot the bikes when they’re still spanking new. But this one felt different. More like a mythical creature than a machine 🦄 It demanded patience. Adaptation. Care. tuning…. and eventually… taming… before it could finally begin to reveal its magic. I’m happy to say… we get along pretty well now 😎 So here are some photos of the iteration that stopped before the transition line at Ironman 70.3 Da Nang exactly at targeted pace. Yes, we have returned to homeland safely 😌 None of this would have been possible without the incredible support from the Specialized family, whom I truly can’t thank enough for believing in the journey. Special thanks to @giahuy.jpeg for the race photo 🙌 So… er… POWERMAN 2027? 👀

Ironman 70.3 Danang - 5:27:26 - Personal Best SWIM 1.9km 🏊🏻 - only 4 hours of swim training. Swam straight along the buoy line and finished faster than expected. PB. 🐸 BIKE 90km 🚴🏻 - Finally acquired the TT position. 🥹 Stayed in the aero bars throughout. Pedalled smoothly, heart rate under control, and came very close to target pace. Beautiful ride~ 😘🤌 RUN 21km 🏃🏻 - Settled into target pace by KM3. ☀️ The much talked about blazing hot sun was fully out by then... Enjoyed the run until 13KM... CRAMPS‼️💥 Damn it... out of flow... here comes the pain... which only got worse. Form out the window... pace affected... but somehow the legs were still turning, albeit with some loose screws... 😧😖😫 I could’ve slowed down intentionally to relieve the pain a little... 😮‍💨 ...but nah. Let’s kamikaze this shit and see who dies first! 👹 ............ Sub 5:30:00 mission accomplished. A little proud... but humbled by the many friends and athletes attempting double the distance... 🫡 Utmost respect... but no, my time has not yet come to go full Ironman. I shall return to my marathon questline ~ Thanks for the EXP and inspiration ~

To get here with the bike intact… and no injuries… I consider this the completion of the training cycle… it’s done. Sunday is just a victory lap. Whatever happens happens 😌 All the best to all participants. See you on course ~ 🏊🏼🚴🏼🏃🏻Ironman 70.3 Da Nang

10 days to Ironman 70.3 Da Nang 🏊🏻🚴🏻🏃🏻 Pretty obvious I got obsessed with the side quest of running a sub 20-minute 5K, but I allowed it because it was just too hard to resist 😜 Plus, I’ve already done two Half Ironman events and feel like I’ve achieved most of my objectives in this training cycle. By now I feel fairly comfortable on the TT bike. What was once a real pain is now honestly quite a joy… Glad I finally got to ride one after a decade. The runs have definitely built a solid foundation for the next chapter: Chicago Marathon training. That’s the A race. 😎 As for the swim? Oh well… I’ll probably swim a couple more times during pseudo taper week 😆 See you in Vietnam next weekend!

Thanks for everything, but it’s time to say goodbye. 📷👋 These are probably some of the last images I captured using the Micro Four Thirds system. 3. Lesser Green Leafbird 2. Mountain Peacock Pheasant 4. Crimson-winged Woodpecker 1. White-rumped Shama 6. Dusky Langur 7. Black-crested Bulbul 8. Ruby-cheeked Sunbird 9. Ochraceous Bulbul 10. Maroon-breasted Philentoma 12. Asian Brown Flycatcher 13. Spectacled Bulbul 14. Siberian Blue Robin The original post-pandemic plan for the creator in 2021 was to head out into the wild on a bicycle with the camera to create. Hence, the MFT system was chosen for its weight advantages. Of course… things didn’t go according to the initial plan and have evolved significantly. 😌 For the most part, I was on the bike a lot but without the camera, while my recent adventures doing the polar opposite have led me to a fulfilling journey of photographing wildlife, especially birds… because that’s what we have most of in Malaysia. As of 2026, I’m really enjoying it… it balances things out beautifully. I could not have predicted many of the events that transpired, and I am truly grateful… the camera system has served me very well indeed… but alas… it’s time to move on… to full frame. 😏

Coppersmith Barbet 🦜📸 Parenting… some might say it is the hardest job in the world. The older chick is already well developed, yet clingy and demanding. The younger one is far behind, fragile, and still fully reliant on constant feeding. It is a full time job… dawn to dusk… With my ongoing work streak and Half Ironman training, time in nature has taken a back seat these past months. But with taper week approaching and race day just around the corner, I can already feel a window opening up again. More time with the camera outdoors. More moments with fellow earthlings. Special thanks to @eason.earth for the intel, happy to see your life list growing rapidly 😁 📷 Lumix GH7 Leica 200mm f/2.8 + 1.4tc Oh… and a big change is coming. Let’s just call it an upgrade 😉

I’m a sub 20 minute 5km runner~ it only took me 10 years 🤣 Started running in 2016, but only managed my first sub 4 minute kilometer in 2022 at MPSJ track, where I also met my beloved… but unfortunately that was the same run where I picked up Achilles tendinitis and got sidelined for a long time. Injured and out… but having seen a 3:59 km, which felt unbelievable to me at the time, a seed was planted. For an ectomorph who spent his twenties chain smoking and eating junk, it was quite obvious it came down to a lack of structural strength. True enough, after around 3 years of gym work, I feel much better, faster, and far from injuries… touch wood. That classic question: what advice would I give my younger self? Probably this… health is the divine foundation where everything else is built upon. I don’t regret going all in on the creative side. If I hadn’t, I wouldn’t be where I am today. But I would probably throw some stats into Str and Dex instead of min maxing everything into making videos. Because there’s no respawn in real life… and being a glass cannon isn’t ideal. But what the hell man… I still can’t quite believe it. Wooooooo~ I don’t belong here… and yet, here I am. 😜 👟 ASICS Metaspeed Edge Tokyo #sub20 #5km #asics

Another year older, another year wiser (allegedly). 😏

March in a glance 🏊🏻🚴🏻🏃🏻 A great month of training. Minimal drama. Nuff said. One month to Ironman 70.3 Da Nang.