New mother on the block, Serena Yang made an amazing comeback to Triathlon by winning her age-group at the Perak Triathlon in Lumut recently.

“I’m happy with results and my timing, as I had only resumed training for 7 weeks,” said Serena, now mother of a 4-month old baby.

“My swim went as expected, but my cycling was quite slow as I started off earlier and didn’t manage to draft anyone. They were too fast, and my bike fitness is only 70% now.”

The Bintulu-born lass might seem like she has not regained her original fitness level, but she notched a very respectable third overall placing behind SEA Games bronze medallist Irene Chong and SEA Games finallist Sue Teoh. Plus, she won her 16-29 years age-group category.

“It’s not easy to start training 2 months postpartum. I’m gearing for the SEA Games selection so this was a warm-up race which gave me a bit of confidence, as it was better than I had anticipated.”

Despite a rigorous daily routine, Serena commits to two training sessions a day while still breastfeeding her first born. Recovery between sessions is also hard for a new mom juggling her day and not getting sufficient rest. However, the support from her husband, Aldrian Yeo has enabled her to train while he takes over the reins.

“For my runs, I do a short run on the treadmill after my bike session. In a week, I try to swim 3-4 sessions a week, but it’s hard to predict my training time with a 4-month old baby in tow.”

A mother’s sacrifice is unconditional and often goes unnoticed.

However, given the challenges, this young mother hopes to finish in the top two spots at the SEA Games selection in mid July. Only the top two will qualify for the games, while the third-placed will be the reserve.

Photos provided by Serena Yang.