Port Dickson Triathlon 2011

Port Dickson triathlon is one of those events that you must do. It's near to KL, and most importantly, hordes of athletes will be there.

As much for preparation, it's really not that much that I had hoped for. For swimming, I think I've gained ground. Problem was, I don't wear a watch in the water these days, so I have no idea how fast I was going. Reassuringly, I could pace with the regulars in the pool. Bike, I've done a lot of distance, but for tri position, it would just be enough. Running, I don't have much doubt. I could still put on the speed if needed.

Another different approach to training these days, is to put more emphasis on cardio intensity. I think it does pays off. I've been doing times that I thought was impossible years back. I did a test run at bkt aman, and did the whole thing in record time 1:21. The prior best time was 1:33.

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Race Day:
Swim: We had to run like 50 meters into the water as it's knee deep, before we can swim. I did push but tried to stay within a comfortable range. As long as I could feel I am moving fast enough that's ok. On the way back, I had to stand up, wade through the water, then only start running back to transition.

I heard Shahrom & Hafiz Wong names being mentioned by the MC. I couldn't be too far off then. Now, problem was I was sitting on the floor trying to get socks on. Yes, I am still not comfortable with no socks. So that took some seconds.

Hooped onto the bike and it was time to test the new Transition bike. The early parts of the bike, I was passing everyone. I was trying to see who could make a good drafting team. The odd feeling was, where is everyone?

After turning right from the traffics after 5km, it's another 15km to the u-turn. I did work with one guy in blue, for some time, but then he dropped off after some time. After the u-turn, I did managed to catch another dude in powerbar bib 1101. He was pretty strong, so both of us took turns to race back to the finishing. Noticed big packs of peloton was coming in the other direction.

Now the bike was pretty fast. It's not that light with tri-spokes, but when you get it going, it does go.

Run: Back into transition, put on the shoes, and started to run. I noticed Allan Lee just beside on the start. The first few hundred meters wasn't well adjusted, as usual. I kept a high cadence and that did the work. But weird thing is, I wasn't really pushing it, or don't feel like pushing it. I could pass most of the guys, except on the way back after the u-turn, one guy in the younger age group ran quite fast ahead. Oddly, I didn't feel like chasing. But I did kept a fast pace, but not into the bonking zone.

Came back with the clock 2:12. Then I remembered it's minus 5, so that makes it 2:07.


Anyway, that time wasn't good enough to be in the top 10 age grouper. Position is 12th in 30-39 mens. So I was just happy I did a good time.

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Summary: Training on intensity has paid off. I could push harder & longer. But one thing that irks me, was taking too much time on the bike trying to work with other guys. That fast & slow pace really did disturb the rhythm. Maybe I should have just sit in aero, and gone all out. That could have saved more time.

I didn't pushed on the run too much. Maybe I was feeling too comfortable. Another reason was there wasn't anyone in front I could see in my age group. I think I should have raced harder instead of being happy with running just fast.

Swim, being the most technical of all, remains a hard discipline to master. Will need to focus harder on how to swim 1.5k fast.

Kenyir Tri 2011: Wettest Tri Ever

Nice view, if sans rain...

The rupiah joke is always up...

New route, the bike route (red) turns right, and we had to climb that #Q$%# hill.

Along side Msia Ironman legend (Sofian)

Opps..a bunch of guys at my tail...

Damn...I missed my running train...

Sofian and Richard Tang should turn pro now...

This year's kenyir tri was probably the wettest in history. I am used to monsoons at the eastern coastal areas during the season, so it wasn't something I haven't experienced. However it's odd that it came at this time of the year. Usually monsoons period hovers end of the year.

With such bad weather, the organiser had almost called off the bike leg.

Now this wasn't something I had wished, neither does the rest of us. The last time I was in kenyir was 3 years back for my maiden tri, so to have that, would have been a bummer.

Fortunately, the race went on.

Now for the swim, I hadn't been doing much swimming. So I wasn't really going fast. The start was ridiculously chaotic, as if suddenly everyone wants to sprint distance swimming. It took awhile to coast down the heart rate, but my strokes were pretty bad. When I came up, I saw Sofian along side. And seems like many athletes had made their way up.

Went up to the bike transition, and took awhile before I managed to get in the socks. I think that could have been 30 secs, as I tried to get my bearings right. I didn't brought the shades, and that proved to be an error later.

Quickly I took the bike and ran to the starting bike line, mount on it, and quickly dashed up the hill. Passed Sofian as I went up. Bike is not my forte, but I've been doing tons of hills at hulu langat, so the hills were pretty ok. But I was afraid I couldn't hammer on flats.

This year's bike route took a change. Rather than turning left towards the dam, now we have to turn right, go down a steep downhill, then turn left for a 12km rolling route, and back.

Since I hadn't got the shades on, riding behind someone has water splashing all over your face. Doesn't help that mother nature dumps torrents of blinding rain when you're going fast.

There wasn't much drafting to be done. I tried to work with someone for a few k, but that guy pace was a tad slow, so I thought I would just do it all alone. I did pulled him for sometime though. Before the 5km u-turn, I saw the first guy on the bike, then a peloton passing by. Opps seems like I am way far behind.

After the u-turn, it was pretty much a lonely affair, save for another athlete who managed to zoom passed. We cycled together, but not much team work, till we reached the dreaded hills back. I reckoned it's steeper than Bukit Hantu. Some cyclist were zig zagging on the way up. I thought, no way I am going do that, so I stood up and went straight up.

As I went down the slopes towards the transition area, I saw Dush, Andy with a bunch of guys already running in a train. Opps, looks like I got some catching to do. I think I could punch this one. The previous day I did a test run 4.84 km flat in 17:37 (pace 3.63m/km), so I know I could muster the speed needed.

Soon enough, passed Andy, then some thai? guys, and finally Dush after the left turn. Then caught up with the first girl winner, and then passed another 2 guys along side her. Afterwards, it was running on the dam itself.

It could have been scenic had it been not raining. I peered at the horizon and could see 4-5 lads around 500m in front. I have been running at high intensity, and this time it was the time to kick it. However it was futile effort, as I couldn't reach any of them.

Surprisingly I saw Shahrom coming down after the final u-turn towards the finishing. So I thought I couldn't be doing that bad.

After crossing the line, I went to checked the clock timing and was pretty surprised to do 2:13:08. I hadn't wore a watch, thus I was racing blind. I guess racing without one feels more carefree and you just go on chasing the next guy.

Got 5th as well in my age group (30-39). Something I thought wasn't possible.

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Summary: I was able race at a higher holding heart rate. So, in terms of cardio fitness, I was ready. However the swim was terrible. Yeap... I was actually lazy and skipped some sessions.

So, it's back to the drawing board. Lots of work to be done.

PD Triathlon 2010: Not Ready

Swim was slow...

Coming out for the bike leg.

Run...

Yes, if there's any description with this race, it's not ready to race. I've slacked on training. Reasons are many, partly work and less interest in doing Tris. But I did add some intensity training during runs, and also devised new ways for swimming, which mainly focus on technical efficiency rather than more power. As for going the distance, not that many workouts.

The swim initially had me gasping for air. Felt kind of weak and lacking of strength. As usual, traffic was blocked by breast stroke swimmers, and it's not easy to navigate. Once got kicked in the mouth, but realizing we are all in this big soup, it's nothing to get angry about. Time exit from the water was 28.5min.

Ran to the bike transition, and it's off. Now it's guessing time to see if I still got the legs. Yes, I am not even ready to bike TT mode cause I haven't been doing much training in TT mode. Roadie mode, I've got plenty from riding across KL, but that's different. But I was glad when I could still push 40 above going solo for the first few KM, when the fast riders were closing in.

The usual suspects were to be seen, Simon Cross one of them. He was so fast on the uphill, with a few other fellows, that I had no guts to chase him down.

Then another huge group with Leanord Lim came by, and we are much stuck until the end of the bike course. The peloton was fast and almost everyone did their job pulling.

As I turned into the road for the bike transition, the guy in front crashed into the bushes while trying to unclip. Just hope he's ok, if not bruised.

Went back to park the bike, and grabbed a gel to gulp down while running. I was merely holding in around 80%, while thinking if I should put it all out. Saw Simon on the way back from the turn around, and he was as usual fast as lightning.

At the turnaround it was 21 minutes, which was kind of odd, cause I don't think I could run this fast. But it gave some hope if I could double that for the run. So that was that, and I quickly put the pace up to finish in 2:19:46 in 17th place age grouper.

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There's still a lot of work to be done. But one thing that I didn't regret was intensity training. I could at least sustain speed & power while not going bonkers. The one thing that you need is to maintain power output based on your cardio intensity, and not allowing that to fluctuate too much. So if you've done your homework in intensity training, naturally you could hold it longer.

PD Prelude

Beautiful sunday on PD

Broga ride group pic..

Julie was pretty fast. First time I saw her on this bike.

I am riding a Cervelo...with sandals. Now who needs carbon soles?

PD tri is coming and I don't feel much prepared in terms of training. Broga ride on saturday was marred with both tubulars having slow leak. It actually happened just before the peres climb. Thanks for Ishal's pump, I thought the tyres could last this ride.

Then just before klawang, the front tubular went full blast puncture. Had to changed that one with a new one; lucky for bringing a spare.

Broga was hot. Had to keep on rehydrating. Once tekala, I decided to call it a day and hitch a ride from Adli to home. Managed to crank only 138km.

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There was a Tri clinic going on Sunday (got the news from julie). I didn't actually want to cycle...swim and run would be enough. However, the option of getting some cycling training done came, with a bike borrowed from Uncle chan...

For the swim, it was 600m out and back in a straight line. Kayaks and boat were there to guide us. And the water was pretty clear and not choppy.

Cycling is more like cruising, and sometimes pushing it. Can't really pushed anyway with sandals on.

Running? I think I did 2km....too lazy to run the full distance.

Being here without the usual Tri atmosphere was real pleasing. Quiet, calm and tranquile.

Sometimes you wonder why the need to push our bodies. Ralph Dixon was there as well, and here's what he said about Marathon Des Sables this year, "You suffer for 6 months training, then you suffer another 7 days", and when asked would he do it again, it's a positive no.

I drove home finding the answer, and I think it lies with our inner desire to go beyond what we can comprehend. There was one thing I didn't mentioned after 5 days ride of 1200km. The aftermath is a feeling of hollowness. You feel your body is there, but your soul feels like it can seep out anytime. It's as if time has sped forward, and you had aged to 100. Perpetual fatigue that only makes you want to lie down and sleep.

And that went on for 2 to 3 days, before your senses normalize.

It's not something that everyone would like, but then the ones who does this are not many as well.

Desaru Triathlon 2009: A better timing

Outta the swim leg...





Back from the cycling leg...

Running the last few km.

Kevin Siah, Ben Swee, Roger, Keat Seong, me...

This was a race that was not really on my books. I had booked Putrajaya Half IM, but with it bumping to Oct, I guess I would be bored to death without doing another tri.

Desaru is really really far. Travelling on road is at least 6 hours drive covering 400km of road. Raymond and I joked on how far we thought it would take to drive, but have no qualms riding the same distance.

Race day came. I wasn't nervous. I was just thinking of doing this the best I could. And this year the race started earlier at 9am. Thank goodness for that, as last year 10am had us cycling in very very hot wheather. As usual swim is pretty choppy, as we crested, and crashed up and down on the waves. Accidentally, I had gulped a few sips of sea water. My swim wasn't that strong. I just tried to maintain a good cadence of strokes and keeping the heart rate low.

When I reached the beach to go for the 2nd loop, I disbelievingly looked at my time of 15 minutes! Usually it's 20. The 2nd loop was far better with less swimmers. And I had the swim in 31 minutes. Note that everyone did better on a shorter distance swim. How short is anybody's guess.

As for the bike, I had a better transition than PD. Quickly got off to speed off for the 3 loops of ride. Now, the only flat part is the road just before the main one. The main road is not exactly flat. It's rolling hills all the way, and looking back, a Tri bike is not exactly advantageous.

The first loop was done below 1 hour. There's some parts of the ride which I can't help but stayed or draft behind the rider. It's not that I wanted to draft but I wanted to stay in front. After some time, I guess I'll just ride alone not to draft. But I do noticed pelotons going up and down. Yeap..drafting.

The 2nd loop, I was then going slower. I think Emma caught on me while going a long uphill. She was definitely using higher gears. Then Keat Seong went blazing up with his cervelo.

I didn't really push on the bike, but was just happy to make it below sub 3 (2:50) on the bike.

Then it was off to run the dreaded 21km. Last year I was mentally exhausted on the run. This year I could run more. Managed to bumped into Keat Seong and Kevin Siah who was at the lead. But somehow Kevin was walking?? He later mentioned he had cramps. Then managed to pass Keat Seong after 5km or so.

Now what's hard running after 90km of bike is not really the distance. It's the head, humidity and sometimes lack of wind. This year it was a bit cloudy, so it was pretty ok. You'll really need to be strong mentally just to complete the run. I find myself walking some parts of it, partly because I was getting bored pushing. I would rather enjoy the race.

Running was more fun when bumping into friends along the way.

On the 2nd loop, I was really low on nutrition. I had just half a gel on the bike and forgotten to take one on the run. Luckily Yee Hua came with some milo. Then I had 2 bananas. Well, that had me going..The last turn back, I turned on a faster pace. In fact it was the fastest part of the run. The faster the better to end this suffering.

Back in 5:21. The run was 1:55.

Thanks to all Lydia and Bernard for the photos and support. Without you guys, the race will be boring. And congrats to all the first timers in the long distance. It's certainly a battle well fought to the finish.

Port Dickson Triathlon 2009

Marina bay. We have to swim here..

After the swim..

At the end of the bike section

(pic from Faisal..)

Firstly, thanks to all THG members who had made this trip fun and exciting. Tri races is actually more of a gathering of friends and athletes, and maybe, the race itself secondary, unless you have your own target to win.

I went into the race with an elbow still injured, and still having fatigue from last sunday's long ride. So I don't expect much.

Now for the swim, I think everyone did badly. It was high incoming tide, and boy, swimming in it can get you sea sick from all the waves pounding. I opted to start from the rightmost side because of the wound on the right arm. If someone were to hit it at the right spot, my swim is surely a goner. And not being able to swim for a week made the effort a weak one. The time of 35 minutes says it all.

And for the bike transition, I spent a whole minute more, putting on socks, helmets, sunnies. Must've been the whirpool swim.

Biking section wasn't a blast as well. I couldn't find the strong rythm which I could usually pound. I was not there. When Simon Cross went blazing by in his black beauty, I tried to hitched a ride, but am only able to maintain 1-2k before I figured out I could get a heart attack. We were going 45 above and 50km/h.

The route itself is dotted with rolling hills. Nothing much too hard to overcome. Soon, I settled at a slower pace while trying to draft some guys. I did some lead as well, until I reached the u-turn clocking 37 minutes. Then it was heading back, where I stuck with a Look 496 biker lady for most of the time.

Now, I don't know if this is cheating but I noticed one guy drafting a motor bike. I thought, this ain't right. But then you have like 10 bikers following it. The motor bike would slow down if it gets too fast so the biker behind could catch up. Go figure...

As we head towards the highway, only then my legs came back. They were lost for most of the biking section. We stuck in a peloton, which I lead a bit, then it was off to running. If only this was how it was back.

Since, I haven't pushed much during biking, the legs were so fresh, I thought I just started doing the race. Was with Sam Matsunaga for awhile, then I left him at 2km point. I was hoping to do a 5 min pace. Then caught up with Zabil who said he was cramping, so I went pass. Caroline was happily splashing the runners with a hose.

Met Andy as well (did a 2:24) running the opposite direction. Then reached the u-turn in 23 minutes. Great!...So I quickly turned a faster pace back so I could hit 46 by the time back. Finally nailed the run in 45 minutes, which turned out to be just a nice negative split.

The girls did well with Siok bee, Mich, Jenn, and Lydia Tan winning top 10 position. Wondering when will the guys win something?

Time: 2:34:58

Xterra Malaysia 2009

A beautiful morning at Teluk Chempedak...

Queuing up for obligatory body marking..

Transition for both bike and swim...

The individuals go first...

There's some current to the left, so I set my sight a bit to the right of the buoy.

Got to run...!

Here's the pros....noticed he had some cuts on his back...



Home run...Sanggup Richard is just behind me.


Actually I was hesitating to join the race, but since Zain had been thinking of doing the bike section, and i need to balik kampung anyway, so we team up for the relay section. Besides, this is organised by our close tri friends.

The event was held at Kuantan's favourite beach, Telok Chempedak. Frankly, I have never swam in any beaches in Kuantan at all, though i live so near to them. Partly because of the effluent I have seen going into the sea...But, the beach is a lovely place because of it's location, eateries (yeap...MacD), and also Hyatt resort nearby.

Although it could be 3 man relay, I opted to do the swim and the run, and Zain doing the mountain biking section. The scene is almost the same as a normal tri event, except the transition area is filled with mountain bikes!

8am - Tengku Mahkota arrived to officiate the starting. The relay teams had to wait 5 minutes after the individuals had their start. I was hoping to dip below 30 minutes. I could see the rest of the swimmers are pretty strong. When the horn blew, all of us just flew into the sea, and fought to gain lead. After awhile...I settled for a fast but not optimum pace. Then, I suddenly knock into something, which turned out to be a jet ski with a floater at the back. It had came to rescue a girl swimmer, who had some problems.

We have to swim 2 triangle loops. And to my surprise, I managed to clock 13:12 minutes for the first, which requires us to run back on the beach for the second loop. Feeling great, I managed to complete the whole swim leg in 28 minutes.

At the transition, Zain was waiting. I quickly passed him the chip, and off he went for the bike part. Zain is from mountain biking background, and pretty strong and fast cyclist. I budget 1.5 hours for the bike section.

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While waiting, the results of the swim were out. And yeap, the other swimmers did much better. In fact one team went 19 minutes for 1.5k! Average would be 25 minutes.

While waiting in the waiting box, we could see how the pros went blazingly fast. One of them had scratches on the back, apparent from a fell. Then it's our national pros who were coming in, lead by Shahrom. Razani, Dino and a few others came back almost the same time. At 9:58am, the first relay biker came. I was anxiously hoping Zain could come back sooner, but since this is a first, I don't want to put so much hope.

At 9:20, he arrived, and I quickly unlaced the chip, and went for the run. Frankly I didn't have any idea how the run is going to be. The starting path have us going uphill a bit on gravel, then tar, then headed up the hill in trails, and then downhill. Afterwards it's going through a small park called Taman Gelora.

And then things became tougher as we ran up stairs, then trails up a fairly steep hill. I was pushing it from the start, but when the climbing started, I opted to powerwalk instead. The climax was getting a ribbon at the peak, then descend back on to the beach for a second loop. Now running on road is ok, trails pretty exciting, beach...pretty sucky because all your leg power is muffled by sand.

And now for the part I don't understand. We have to go through a waist deep 'stream', then pass some huge rocks on the beaches, make a U turn and run on a set of planks (which I thought was for bikes). Surely, the organizers could find a better place to run. Fyi, the stream is a waste water drain out, so not so lovely yea...

On the second loop, guess what. I finally found myself at the back of Sanggup Richard. I thought it would not be a bad idea to draft him. Puzi was nearby as well. Then Sanggup slowed down, so I decided to push ahead. I managed to lead until the part descending towards the beach. But he had stopped for drinks just 500 meters to finish, so I guess I'll just try to outrun him to the finishing line. Anyway, we came back almost together. My running time was 47 minutes 39 secs, and I couldn't be happier.

We finished 9th for the team event. So I guess we did pretty ok.

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All in all, there's some complaints, but it's pretty well done. But I won't be getting a mountain bike soon just to do this. Just looking at how dirty the bikers were is a real put off.

Anyway, my hats off to the Xterra team who had made this possible. My only grudge is not getting a finisher T for the team event..:)

Race: Desaru Long Distance International Triathlon 2008

Sunrise at desaru...



The starting point for desaru swim

Long sandy beaches...

Wong ah thiam left me in the dust...

Friday morning, with raymond ng's car, and Ngae, we headed southbound for desaru. Tagging along was Dr Tan and Jason Thiong in another car. Desaru is a place I've never been before, but from the pictures of it, it sure looks beautiful. All of us will do the long distance half ironman, which is 2km swim, 90km bike, and 21km run.

And as we arrived, it reminds me of terengganu, although the water is not as clear. But one thing is for sure, I'll love to retire somewhere at the east coast with the sea nearby.

Then I went for a test swim in the open waters. The waves were crashing and rolling. Somehow, I love it. Heck, if they have a long distance swim race, I'll prefer doing this compared to cycling and running.

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Race day:
I didn't feel particularly excited on the race. I was hoping a sub 6 hours finish. For nutrition, I've brought a few dates and a snickers bar. No powergel or powerbar, because the taste just sucks.
Another thing is the start time at 10am. I was left wondering, why 10am? why not 8 or 7am?

At the beach for the swim leg, already the temperature was high. The sea was turbulent as usual, and everyone was eyeing for the buoy. I told a few fellows, to use the sun as the navigation point. It makes sense because once in the water, you won't be able to see the buoy.

And as the horn went blowing, we raced to the waters. But it wasn't the seasick waves that is problematic. It was getting stuck in a traffic jam of swimmers. It's either you bump into the front guy's legs, or the person behind is clawing at your legs. As I got of the water for the bike, my time was 48 minutes and 57 secs.

The cycling leg was a bad one as I've found out that my front gear could shift to higher gear. I spent some time trying to push the gear changer, but to no avail. So I settled with that for the rest of the race. Better than having a puncture. Certain parts like downhill, I couldn't use strength to increase the speed, as the cadence went above 110.

Apart from the gear problem, the temperature was blazing hot. As I u-turned where I had to slow down, I could really feel the heat we were cycling in. And at the moment, I thought to myself, these triathletes are pretty crazy people. You have to be insane to pay money to be in this kind of condition.

Then some rain poured, and at least some parts of the cycling route was wet. But the wind was pretty strong as well, and most cyclist were just cruising along. Me included.

And now for the running leg 21km. It was nowhere easy. My personal best for 21km would be somewhere around 1:40, but with the heat, and after 2 legs discipline, I couldn't do it. It took awhile for me to get off running, and it got better as the heaven's poured. I was pretty shocked to find Siok Bee in front :), and also some few fellows. Yes, my bike was that bad. Adzim was pretty fast as well running in front.

Managed to catch up Abu, shazly, stupe on the run, but Julie was just fast and furious. Met Dr Raymond, who had a puncture, and he offered some refreshing ice, as well as Jaja supporting all the way. Thanks.

Also met hand injured Ariff, who was running in his arm rester, and overtook me. At first I thought he did the full with that, but it was his running leg relay. Anyway, it just shows how crazy are triathletes.

At the last loop back, Rashid overtook me. I said I was just taking it easy, but perhaps I was demotivated on the bike leg or just not having the mental strength in there. Somehow after that, I manage to run, and had Rashid pacing behind. Then I slowly picked up the pace. The speed interval training did really helped here, as I was running faster.

And in the end, managed to clocked 6:33 something. Not so good, but good experience at the least.

I knew desaru is doable, but I didn't expect such a gruelling experience baked in the hot sun. Ironman distance is surely double the torture.

More pics at
Desaru triathlon 2008 pictures

Kenyir Triathlon 2008 race

Kenyir lake, in my opinion, was quite a distance from KL. We took almost 8 hours to reach the resort, but the view of the lake makes everything worth it. With pockets of islands jutting out from the vast expanse of water, it sort of look like those magical painting of canvas oil with faraway blue hills, streams and lush forest.

We got a chalet facing the lake directly, and the view was superb. But probably the only thing hard to find here is a decent meal. It's either hotel food, or 15km drive to kuala berang.

Before the race, I slapped on a bottle of water and a power gel on the bike. That'll be enough for nutrition.

Race day. Atheletes start streaming towards the bike transition area. I was placed beside Ollie, a UK guy whom I had met at Chan's group. He'd done 2 ironmans before. Had some chat with the Tune Money sponsored guys (Shazly, Stupe, and Azmar). I would say their jersey were pretty cool.

Before race started, Mr Chan gave some final briefing. Then we were all hunched up near the edge, and the horn blowed. Bodies meets water, and I started swimming, although it was a bit rough with so many swimmers all around. After the first buoy, I got my bearings right, and was soon comfortably stroking. My greatest disadvantage was probably not able to breath on the right. If I had been able to do that, looking at the traffic would be easier, because we had to swim clockwise.

As I came off from the swim, I think I managed to do a 31 minute, which was right on my target.

Then I slowly ran up to the bike transition, put on the socks (which is a pretty lousy idea eventually, because it would be wet), helmet, and started the bike route. And just after the bike transition, we had to cycle up a 10-20 gradient slope for like 200 meters. No wonder it's billed as the hardest triathlon in malaysia. Then with some turning, the bike route heads up some scenic but hilly path.

My target on the bike was 1.5 hours, so I didn't push hard on the bike. Soon, many bikes were passing me by. If I can recall, Sam Pritchard, Azmar, Azwar, and Emma. In fact I didn't cut anyone on the bike.

Suddenly I heard a swooshing sound coming behind. I thought it was motor bike, but turned up to be a tri bike.

The route back after the u-turn was a bit easier and faster. At one point, I found myself pacing with Carmen.

As I neared the end of the bike route, I reserved all the energy to make the last steep climb back to bike transition. It was nowhere easy after 30+km on the bike.

At the bike transition, I quickly place the bike on the bar, and switched to running shoes. I had bought the fastest Saucony shoes in the market: Saucony type A2. It's very light, and it's certainly a change from the heavy basic Adidas I had been wearing.

Running was my strongest part, and soon I was passing the rest. I passed Sue, and I knew Andy must be in front. Then I passed Raymond Hee, who did a superb timing as well.

And surprisingly I passed Ollie, on the 2nd loop back. I did see Andy as well, ahead.
However, the runnning course is certainly hard as well. Not much flats but coming back running a steep hill is enough to sap anyone's energy at this point.

I managed to clock 2:43:07 on my watch. I had targeted 2:40, so I was pretty happy with the timing. My main aim was just to take it easy, and not push so hard. My bike timing certainly needs more improvement.

Another thing was, although the shoes were super light, I had some chaffing because I was wearing soaked socks. It was not the fault of the shoes, rather mine. Perhaps running sockless is a good idea.

And for a nicer suprise, Ong Siok Bee, Michelle Looi won some prize money...well done guys.

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Kenyir is a great place, so we stayed until Monday. Did some kayaking, which was pretty fun.



The view from the kenyir resort...


As usual, the carbo loading dinner comes with live performance...



Grinding up the last steep slope before run...

Finally at the finish line...

More pictures at Michelle Looi's blog.

A'Famosa Triathlon 2008: First Tri

myself, upiq, kam, kc...and azmar


Before our full OD distance Tri (siok bee, michelle, emma, Yit thing, John)

With tomatoman, 2 men relay instead of 3.


I've always wondered how's the feeling when hundreds of triathletes bob around in the water, waiting for the swim. It was a scene I had viewed constantly from youtube on ironman. A'Famosa, though not ironman equivalent, still provided ample experience on how to do a tri.

I got no bike. I didn't actually want to join until I got one. When Raymond Ng asked me to be his relay partner, I was in the "no" mood. Partly because of comments of the murky and smelly water during swim. Anyway, since it could be fun, I jumped in.

What's so fun about tri? Maybe because it's more complicated. You can be a good swimmer, but it does not really matter if you bike and run slowly. You can be a good cyclist but if you can't run well, you won't go too fast on the running leg. You can be a good runner, but maybe sink like a rock during swimming. Basically, you just gotta be good at all three discipline.

For swimming, it's more like dancing.

For cycling, having the best bike won't bring you far, if your legs ain't strong. And that's not inclusive of the bike technicalities you got to master.

But running, it's the easiest.

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The plan was that I do both the swimming and running leg, while Raymond Ng do the bike course. It's a 1.5km swim, followed by 40km cycling, and 10km run.

Now, while the rest of our friends were excited, I was kind of half excited. Maybe not doing the full individual distance, calms the nerves a bit. Those who stayed in the same accomodation were Ngae, Raymond Hee, Yik Ting, Barry, Joshua, Narin, Emma, Michelle and Siok Bee. Raymond Hee, Yik Ting, and John will be in the mixed relay. Joshua, Narin (from Uniten) with another swimmer will be in our same men's relay open.

7:30am, and we were off to the venue.

By 8am, we were all huddled near to the lake, just like the view of hundreds of yellow swimming caps bobbing in the water, that I had seen. I set my my Timex watch to time the leg, with a target of 30 minutes. The gun went off, without a warning, and soon, all of us start wading in the murky water. As the swim route was not straight, I found I had careened off course a few times. Swimming in pools is easy. You get to see a blue line beneath.

As I waded into the last turning into the landing area, I pushed as hard as possible. I had told my partner that I would finish around 30 minutes. After coming up from the water, I ran a fast sprint up to the transition area, and quickly handed a blue band to him. I clocked 33:58 minutes, which is pretty decent, but nevertheless happy with the outcome for a first time.

With nothing to do for the next 1 hour, I was able to witness how the rest of the triathletes continue on their biking leg. What was interesting, is that some are able to take off their feet from the bike when they came back from the cycling course, and into the transition, while letting the cycling shoes hanging at the pedals. With not a moment to waste, they'll quickly wear their running shoes in a second, and zoom off for the running part.

Raymond Ng did a fast cycling leg of 1:15. As soon as he handed me back the band, I quickly sprint for the next 10km. Since I was only doing the swim and the run, I was able to cut down many athletes. Although it's supposed to be a fun event, I had wanted to test my 10km time. But the best feeling was probably cutting a chinese guy doing the mens' relay as well. The rest were all doing the individuals, so it wasn't such a "fair" claim of beating them.

As I reach the finishing area, I looked back and noticed some of them was at the back, trailing close. I quickly made a dash, to ensure I was not cut off at the end. I had made it in 40 minutes and 7 secs. While finishing, I could hear someone shouted "3rd placing", but I doubted that we've won anything.

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I had been toying with Raymond's merida bike, and it had been fun. I used to have a mountain bike, so riding is not a problem. The problem was the seat is causing butt pain. How could one mount this thing for 6 hours? The fitting was alright, so I had decided to get a similar size bike, since he's just the same height as mine.

After the tri, I did a 10km bike ride just to test it out. On the way back, met with Upiq, led by Shazly's gang was edging him on the run. This guy was doing the full tri, to solve his weight problem, which I had much respect for him. He proves that we all have the will to change for the better. You can read more about him at stupe's blog.

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We all gathered for the prize ceremony because we got news that we won. Surprisingly, our team (tomato-ultraman) got third placing with the time of 2:25. Even more pleasant for Raymond Hee's, Yik Ting, and John mixed relay team, who also got third placing as well.

It had been great fun, so I've decided to go for Ironman 2009...couldn't be that hard since a bunch load of peeps I known have done it.

But first, I got to get a bike....or steal one.