Drove up over the weekend to Desaru with my buddies for tri event. This is my 2nd 70.3 equivalent distance i had done since september 2008 Aviva 70.3.
The venue is nice and relaxing and the whole event was very casual. It almost seemed like a backyard event organised by the local tribesmen. The atmosphere was great and fun especially from the jovial commentary from the mc at the beginning of the swim start.
However, the course was not as easy as expected. The sea was extremely choppy with huge waves and i had huge mouthfuls of the seawater which was saltier than singapore's. Although we were told that the swim course was way bit shorter than 2k and i reckoned its about 1.6km given my timing.
The 90km bike leg was the killer for me. There were several climbs that were long and moderately steep which was not helpful for me as i'm not a strong climber myself. Of course what goes up must come down so there were a few really fast descend over 50km/h for me.
I felt real punctured before i could transit to my run due to the over exertion on the hills during the bike leg. First sign of cramps on both my thight set in just as i stepped out of T2 for my run and i could barely run comfortably and this went on for the next 6-7km of so. The thought of giving up was so close and i was devicing ways on how i could just end it with a DNF. What kept me going was the finisher medal which i wanted and knowing that my no.1 supporter is waiting for me at the end. So i coaxed myself into believing i could do it and psyched my mental up. And from 8km point onwards i had a surge of determination and i went on a much quicker pace that was close to what i had trained for.
Well the ending was sweet and i had a real sense of achievement which was tremendous. Once again i confirmed my belief - anything is possible. Despite the happy faces and relaxed demeanors, many of the participants are here to set their PB. So many ladies were fast like hell and finished way before me. haha. Better train harder for my next race.
Here are the preliminary results i got from my own timex. Not sure if we are going to get any official results or even certificate since we are not chipped during the event. I'm quite satisfied with my own timing giving the prep i had. But definitely could improve abit more on my bike and alot more on my run.
Event: Desaru Long Distance Triathlon (2km Swim-90km Bike-21km Run)
The venue is nice and relaxing and the whole event was very casual. It almost seemed like a backyard event organised by the local tribesmen. The atmosphere was great and fun especially from the jovial commentary from the mc at the beginning of the swim start.
However, the course was not as easy as expected. The sea was extremely choppy with huge waves and i had huge mouthfuls of the seawater which was saltier than singapore's. Although we were told that the swim course was way bit shorter than 2k and i reckoned its about 1.6km given my timing.
The 90km bike leg was the killer for me. There were several climbs that were long and moderately steep which was not helpful for me as i'm not a strong climber myself. Of course what goes up must come down so there were a few really fast descend over 50km/h for me.
I felt real punctured before i could transit to my run due to the over exertion on the hills during the bike leg. First sign of cramps on both my thight set in just as i stepped out of T2 for my run and i could barely run comfortably and this went on for the next 6-7km of so. The thought of giving up was so close and i was devicing ways on how i could just end it with a DNF. What kept me going was the finisher medal which i wanted and knowing that my no.1 supporter is waiting for me at the end. So i coaxed myself into believing i could do it and psyched my mental up. And from 8km point onwards i had a surge of determination and i went on a much quicker pace that was close to what i had trained for.
Well the ending was sweet and i had a real sense of achievement which was tremendous. Once again i confirmed my belief - anything is possible. Despite the happy faces and relaxed demeanors, many of the participants are here to set their PB. So many ladies were fast like hell and finished way before me. haha. Better train harder for my next race.
Here are the preliminary results i got from my own timex. Not sure if we are going to get any official results or even certificate since we are not chipped during the event. I'm quite satisfied with my own timing giving the prep i had. But definitely could improve abit more on my bike and alot more on my run.Event: Desaru Long Distance Triathlon (2km Swim-90km Bike-21km Run)
Date: 1st Aug 2009
Venue: Desaru
Bib No: 168
Age Group: 25-29
POS: 57/69
Results:
Swim split - 39:00min
T1 - 4:42min
Bike split - 3:18:24min
T2 - 4:02min
Run split - 2:29:55min
Combined - 6hr 36min 05sec
Always wanted to do backpacking in europe. This is probably listed as one of the must DOs on many singaporean's wish list. I think if i can give it a little twist it would be a nice way to go off the beaten track.
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