Triathlete in Bangkok | Bangkok Post: learning

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Triathlons are more than running, cycling and swimming, they make you mentally tough says a French hotelier and top-ranked triathlete.

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PROFILE: Triathlon man, Hotelier Erwann Mahe talks about his passion for the multi-sport event by Yvonne Bohwongprasert

Erwann Mahe's decision to become a triathlete five years ago has lead him to have a more disciplined mind and positive attitude towards solving problems. The Frenchman - who is an executive general manager for Ibis Erawan Thailand - shared that while playing sports in general is good for the body and soul, triathlon sets itself apart in that it is a mind game. It takes much more than physical training to compete. Athletes can sometimes experience such acute fatigue, says Mahe, that only people with mental toughness can often make it to the finish line

Mahe admits that he got into triathlon very much by chance, developing his passion for the discipline gradually. An avid cyclist since his younger days, the globe-trotting hotel executive has always indulged in sports to let off steam. When he first came to Thailand seven years ago it was no different.

In a vain search to find a sport that would enable him to de-stress from the pressures of managing five properties for the Ibis hotel brand in the Kingdom, he decided on take up the multi-sport event which involves strenuous swimming, cycling and running on the advice of friends he had met at the cycling club he had previously joined.

Mahe took to the sport like a fish to water. He jumped at the opportunity to compete in his first ever competition - the Phuket Laguna Phuket Triathlon. Still wet behind the ears, he competed in the event with very little knowledge of the mechanics of the discipline.

''I had only six months to train for the event, which by any standards for a triathlete is low. The experience taught me so much about preparation. I was so unprepared, right from my attire to the sporting equipment for three-leg event. The entire experience on the other hand was highly memorable. I finished in the top 200 in a group of about 900 that day. So overall, I thought I did pretty well.

''If you don't happen to be leading in front of the pack, it is difficult to know just where your position is in a race up until the very end. During the entire course you attempt to improve on your previous timing, because that is the one aspect of the race that you are in full control of. You are constantly fighting against yourself because you always are looking to improve on your time.''

Three of the most memorable events that Mahe has competed in so far include the 2009 Ironman Langkawi, Malaysia, his first full Ironman course which he completed in over 11 hours of immense physical and mental power. Second, the 2009 Ironman 70.3 China, where he finished 9th overall, qualifying him for the world championship. Last but not least, the Ironman 70.3 Clearwater, Florida in 2009. This race was the world championships, a great experience for the expat hotelier to rub shoulders with the best racers in the world, while having the chance compare the skills between Asian and competitors from Europe and the US.

Training in Phuket and Pattaya was relatively easier, especially with the ocean and areas to swim, cycle and run. Any free time he could snatch from his busy schedule he trained, periodically competing both in Thailand and overseas.

However, when he moved to work in Bangkok, and his workload intensified, it became increasing difficult for him to train. A limited amount of places to run and cycle only added to his dilemma. As he was already hooked on the discipline by then, he worked around it to find both the time and places to train.

After five years he is still going strong. ''Triathlon tests your physical endurance like none other,'' says Mahe. ''It's such an adrenalin-pumping experience that you can fall for it hook, line and sinker.'' Being a triathlete has empowered him with more than just the opportunity to unwind from daily stress at work but also, it has taught him the concept of mind over matter.

Training in Bangkok for a triathlon is not always an easy task. Most Bangkok residents do their training for the running leg of the event at either Queen Sirikit or Lumpini park, but if you are lucky to live on the outskirts of Bangkok, there are many lush areas located in national parks where triathletes can train.

Practicing for the cycling leg can be somewhat of a pain as one has to get out of Bangkok's horrendous traffic. He suggests his regular hangout, Rama 9 on the way to the airport, to be the most accessible because cyclists meet up regularly over the weekends to practise there. If time permits, he advises people to head to Pattaya or Khao Yai for training, not only does it give them a change of scene, it helps then to get acquainted with course obstacles which they might encounter during an event.

Mahe polishes his swimming skills in his apartment swimming pool, and adds that Bangkok has actually quite few 50-metre and 25-metre pools at fitness club, schools and in some educational institutions, which can be utilised for practice...

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(Source: Bangkok Post, Triathlon man, Hotelier Erwann Mahe talks about his passion for the multi-sport event, 8/07/2011, Yvonne Bohwongprasert, link)

Athletics Vocabulary

triathlon - a sporting event including combined endurance swimming, cycling and running, races vary in distance (See Wikipedia)
triathlete - a triathlon competitor, a person who competes in Triathlon events

hotelier - a person who works in the hotel business, either as a hotel owner or a high level manager
executive - the highest level managers in a company
hotel executive - a high level manager at a hotel company

disciplined - controlled มีวินัย (ในการใช้จ่าย)
disciplined mind - when you are able to control your mind (to successfully complete difficult tasks and projects)

positive - good ที่ดี
attitude - the way you think and feel about something, as shown in behaviour
positive attitude - a good attitude; hopeful and confident, or giving cause for hope and confidence ซึ่งมองในแง่ดี

soul - the spiritual part of a person or thing วิญญาณ
sets itself apart - makes it different (from other activities)

physical training - fitness, exercise (for health and a strong body)

acute - happens suddenly; very serious เฉียบพลันและรุนแรง
fatigue - being tired
acute fatigue - being very tired, very suddenly

finish line - the end of a race or competition (when competitors pass by this line they are finished with the race)

by chance - what happens when you don't control events (example: gambling = games of chance)
passion for Y - love of activity Y
discipline - self-control;  following rules and standards of behaviour, forcing others to follow these rules (See glossary) ปฏิบัติตามระเบียบข้อบังคับ

avid - extremely eager or interested กระตือรือร้น
avid cyclist - bicycling was a hobby that he really loved doing

globe-trotting - travelling around the world

indulge in - do some fun activity (giving yourself a gift) (example: She indulged in a piece of chocolate cake after a hard day's work.)

stress - a feeling of worry and tension from difficulties in life; when you worry and think too much about problems
de-stress -  to get rid of strees (reduce worry and tension)
let off steam - relieve stress; reduce tension and worry

vain - fails to achieve what is intended
search - look for something; to look somewhere carefully in order to find something ค้นหา
vain search - look for something but not find that thing

strenuous - using a lot of effort, energy or strength ด้วยความมานะ บากบั่น

enable - to make someone able to do something, or to make something possible ทำให้เป็นไปได้
brand - a type of product made by a particular company ตรา, ยี่ห้อ

multi-sport event - a sporting event with more than one sport

took to the sport like a fish to water - really liked the activity and started doing it a lot
jumped at the opportunity - when he had an opportunity, he took the opportunity (with great joy)

wet behind the ears - inexperienced, not having a lot of experience
mechanics - the details how something works (such as a machine or a complicated process)
opportunity - a situation when it is possible to do something that you want to do (See glossary)

standards - an acceptable level of quality or achievement มาตรฐาน
which by any standards is low - is very low (everyone would believe)
memorable - likely to be remembered or worth remembering ซึ่งมีค่าน่าจดจำ, โดดเด่น

three-leg event - three part sporting event/competition/race (swimming, biking, running)
cycling leg - the bicycling part of the three part race

if you don't happen to be Y - if you are not Y (and if you were it wouuld just be because of luck or chance)
leading in front of the pack - be the person who is in first place (leader) or at least close to the leader in a race or other competition

improve - to get better ดีขึ้น
improve on your previous timing - get a shorter and better time in the race (shorter than previous races you ran)
aspect - one part of a situation, problem, subject, etc ด้าน,มุม
in full control of  
constantly - continuously; all the time อย่างต่อเนื่อง

immense - extremely large มหึมา มหาศาล
skills - a type of work or task requiring special training and knowledge ทักษะ ความสามารถเฉพาะทาง
snatch - take something quickly

workload - the amount of work that a worker must do each day ปริมาณงานที่คนหรือเครื่องจักรทำได้ระยะเวลาหนึ่ง
workload intensified - had more work to do in the same or less time
dilemma - difficult problem to solve
hooked - finding something so interesting or attractive that you want to do it as much as possible ติดใจ ตกกระไดพลอยโจน

endurance - the ability to continue with a difficult experience or activity for a long period of time
physical endurance - the ability to do hard physical activities (usually sports) over long periods of time (long distance running, being an example)
tests your physical endurance like none other - the activity is the best test of whether you have endurance (and not just give up when the going gets tough)

adrenalin - a substance that the body produces when you are frightened, excited, anxious or tired, the substance makes your heart beat faster and gives you energy (See Wikipedia)
adrenalin-pumping experience - makes you feel excited and anxious and makes adrenalin pump through your blood vessels

fall for it hook, line and sinker - believe something that is not true (completely believe, completely "taken in")
empowered - given the legal power to do something

unwind from daily stress at work - do something after work to reduce stress
concept - a principle or idea ความคิด

matter - physical substance in the universe สาร,วัตถุ
mind over matter - "the belief that the mind is more powerful than the body. Specifically, mind over matter refers to controlling pain that one may or may not be experiencing, such as holding one's hand under extremely hot water and feeling no pain" (See Wikipedia)

task - a piece of work that someone does หน้าที่ ภารกิจ
residents - people who live in an area ผู้อยู่อาศัย ผู้อาศัยในบริเวณ
outskirts - the areas of a town or city that are furthest away from the centre, the areas at the edge of a city ชานเมือง
lush - green and healthy (of plants) เขียวชอุ่ม
national parks - a large park (usually in a forest) owned and operated by the government

traffic - the number traveling to a place during a period of time (people, aircraft, ships, trains, cars, trucks, etc.) ความหนาแน่นของจำนวนคน หรือยานพาหนะในช่วงเวลาใดช่วงเวลาหนึ่ง
horrendous traffic - very bad traffic

hangout - a place where you like to stay with friends after work and on weekends (when you have freetime)
regular hangout - a place you regularly stay at in your freetime
accessible -  easy to get to (from other places)

give them a change of scene - see other places (because you are bored of the one place you go to all the time)
obstacles - things that makes it difficult to go somewhere or do something อุปสรรค
get acquainted with course obstacles - learn about the obstacles you will meet during a triathlon competition (fields, streams, mountains, beaches, etc that you have to cross)
encounter - to meet; to experience or deal with something, especially a problem เผชิญกับ (ปัญหา)

polishes his swimming skills - improve and perfect his swimming skills
institutions - large and important organizations, such as universities or banks สถาบัน
educational institutions - universities, high schools and other schools

practice - do some activity often (regularly) in order to do it better
utilised for practice - used for practice