SINGAPORE – When Choo Ling Er boarded the plane for the Ironman 70.3 Langkawi race a few days ago, she did not have high expectations.

After all, it had been only five months since she gave birth to daughter Kira Soh and she had estimated that she was only at 80 per cent of her full potential. It was also her longest race since Kira arrived.

She had even thought that competing on Saturday would be “a bad idea” as her first race back – the TriFactor Singapore Triathlon in September – “felt horrible”.

She told The Sunday Times: “But I had booked everything already, so I told myself not to think so much. That’s why I didn’t focus on the race (results), I just focused on completing every training session before this.”

To her surprise, she ended up winning the overall female title after completing the race in 4hr 47min 29sec, ahead of 67 other competitors.

The event in Langkawi was a half-Ironman race where competitors swam 1.9km, cycled 90.1km and ran 21.1km.

Choo, 35, said: “I was a bit worried, especially about the run, because I’m still having trouble (with my hip and knee joints).

“I was very surprised by how I did today and I didn’t expect to be hitting 4:47 so fast, so I’m very happy with that.

“I’m heading in the right direction and this builds my confidence and shows that, if I really work hard, I can achieve whatever I want.”

Choo returned to training a month after giving birth in late May and focused on strength and conditioning before working on her endurance. The following month, she started with 12 to 15 hours of swimming, cycling and running every week before hitting 18 to 22 hours in October.

She said: “My main goal every day was to complete every training session and take it one step at a time.

“There were a lot of ups and downs, breakdowns and (moments of) doubting myself but it has all paid off.”

During the race, she also adjusted her intensity during the bike ride, which helped her finish with a good timing.

While she might have gone all out in the past, she knew she had to conserve energy for the run, the segment that she was most worried about.

She also had another reason to finish quickly: Her husband Alan and daughter were waiting at the finishing line and she was eager to see Kira again after a night apart.

Choo, who dedicated the win to her family, said: “Of course, I missed her. During the bike and run (segments), I was just thinking of getting back as quickly as possible because she’s waiting for me.”

She has five more races this year – starting with Ironman 70.3 Puerto Princesa in the Philippines on Nov 13 – but her main target is to be ready for her first full Ironman race in New Zealand in February 2023, when she can qualify for the world championships for a seventh time.

She will also take part in the Nov 20 Great Eastern Women’s Run (21.1km).

Beyond personal targets, Choo also wants to inspire other women. She said: “I want to show women out there that, after giving birth, we can still have a dream or a goal and chase after what we believe we can do.

“It doesn’t have to be a marathon or triathlon for everyone else. If you have a target, as long as you set your mind to it and keep doing the work, you will eventually reach your goal.”