PD Triathlon

The first time I saw PD triahtlon was 4yrs ago. From just watching our family has graduated, with this year three of us taking part in the Olympic Distance. We missed out on the sprint as we choose to do MUDS duathlon instead -not enuf time to do all the races in one weekend.


Lazy to write another race-report.

Just a few highlights:
At the last part of the returning leg (about 150-200 m from the beach) one of the swimmers suffered severe cramps in his legs and couldn't swim anymore. He held unto a buoy and waved to the kayak and waterscooter for help. The kayak and scooter saw him but as they were on the other side (the open sea side) they were unable to reach him. In order to reach him, they would have had to cross the ropes and across the lane of uncoming swimmers. There were no lifeguards placed on the inner side. When it became clear that no help was going to arrive, Jeremy (one of the relay swimmers and a certified lifesaver) took hold of the guy and started pulling him to the beach.(hihi Jeremy was my student for CPR course last year) I swam alongside to calm the swimmer and in case Jeremy would become fatigued. (happy I took the trouble last year to get my own certification as a lifesaver)

Even though we continued to wave and shout, no attempt to help us was made. In the end Jeremy had to pull the swimmer all the way to the beach. When we reached the beach a stretcher was waiting but the swimmer was fine once he reached dry land.
My point what is the use of having a stretcher ready at the beach if there are no means of getting the swimmer out of the water?



In the morning my legs were stiff from the duathlon the day before. I cycled most of the 40km together with Emma (Emma fromUPNM, I can only match Emma Bishop's cycling speeds in my dreams).
Suffered badly on the run, couldn't handle the heat. Everytime I tried to run my calfs would cramp gues I shouldn't have done the duathlon the day before. Anyway finished the event, got another medal for my collection.


Triathlons are for people of all sizes


Nice calm sea


Three wonderfull vibrant ladies: Sue Ee. JuliJewel & Jaja


Danial's swim times are improving


Hubby was flagged off in an earlier wave


Life-saver Jeremy


Victim (UPNM cadet -newbie)


Big fat mama



My handsome son (hehe, i know all mothers say like that)


I still dont look good in thights SIGH


Emma, the only female UPNM TRI-athlete


Lotta ladies watching Mej K......



Danial has learned how to potong sayur, watch and see







Local VIP acknowledges the applause from the crowd

Juli, a really strong runner

Nurina, a really lousy runner

Aini, certified TRIATHLETE

Certified friends

Sanjeev, the heat and cramps got the better of him. Luckily he was back on his feet 10 minutes later

Pictures by Mr Tey, Norizan and Aini

MUDS UKM

The first of 3 University series duathlons took place in UKM.
it was a overcast morning with a slight drizzle of rain. My aboslutely favorite wheather for races!
A record of 52 UPNM cadets took part. Quite a few new faces, the club is growing. Of course also quite a number of other friends took part and some new faces as well.
From our family Kalam, Dayan and me took part. Danial's bike is still under repair and with so many cadets participating there was no spare bike to borrow.





With Shaiful (Belacak) and Dayan




Dayan is a happy finisher
All pictures thank to Aini!!!!

Had fun cycling and running, nice to do a shorter distance for a change. I ran most of the 2 x 3km.I dont know my time, forgot to check and Malakoff only publishes the winners times on their website.

Unfortunately during the race a lot of the marshalls were poorly briefed about their role. Some apparently thought it was their job to make sure none of the traffic would be disturbed by the racers. They stopped cyclists to let busses and other traffic go first. Orthers let cars come out of side-roads into the path of uncoming cyclists. At one point in the route is a steep curved downhill slope, still traffic was passing by from both sides -a recipe for disaster.
Fortunately nothing untowards happened but that was mainly due to luck and not to planning.
Safety during races is still neglected (see next blog entry)

Another RM150 richer

Before the race

UPNM's triathletes, after the race

We arrived back from Kenyir late last night. The travelling can be as tiring as the triathlon itself.

Our race-report.

We left on fridaynight. Came home from work packed our bags and got in the car. We drove untill 2.30am. I had enormous difficulty keeping my eyes open but scared Kalam might fall asleep at wheel I forced myself to keep chatting. (Having worked nightshifts for many many years helps). We stopped at a guesthouse in Marang and slept till the next morning.

After breakfast we continued our journey.

Last year was the first time I visited Kenyir and to me it is one of the most beautifull spots in Malaysia. The views are breathtaking...

Rest of the day was spend registering for the race, sorting out racegear. Went for a boatride (triathletes turned pirates). And taking the kids for a swim. Steph, Dino and Sue Ee joined the waterfun. Steph showed me how she navigates while freestyling, a skill I still haven't mastered (but after Steph's instructions -with some practice- i think I can get the hang of it).

Evening the usual carbo-loading dinner. The food was nice but having only one buffet resulted in loooong queues. And the resort was apparently not informed that triathletes eat double the amount of 'normal' people. (They probably thought all these athletes must be super weight conscious). At least all got some food, some only side-dishes, others only main meal.....

Triathlons are addictive not only because of the sport but also because of the many nice people you get to meet. All of them with an 'can do' attitude and no-one belittles the accomplishments of others -instead we cheer loudly for each other....

Slept soundly on our rented houseboat.

My dear friends (and training-partners) Sue Ee and Xman

RACE-DAY. I have been really nervous about doing Kenyir tri. Having done the relay cycle-leg last year I knew only too well the hills ahead (and the previous year they nearly got the better of me).

But chatting away at the start-line Siok Bee gave me the clue for the event. She was chanting to herself 'I gotta learn to love this/ I gotta learn to love this' etc before the swim start. I started wondering why i was nervous, there is nobody to impress, my times are not gonna knock anyone over. So what if I'm the last finisher. I'm doing this because I enjoy it! All the years being cooped up at home with little kids, now I can finally enjoy being active again outdoors -and that is my passion, never mind times / placing and such.

Swim went okay, switched between breast stroke and freestyle, practising navigating skills (needs more practice - ended up in the rope a few times). Kept abreast with Sue Ee all the way.

Got on the bike but that first hill is daunting, phew so just push the bike. The rest of the cycling went quite well. I didn't push myself, just enjoyed the breeze and the beautifull scenery. Waving to all the friends overtaking or allready on the way back. saw Kimberly fly by with some relay-cyclists. This year I didn't struggle, just had fun (my only aim is the finish the race). Met up with another orang putih (we overtook each other a few times) -Chris. Hehe after chatting for 10 minutes we found out were both Dutch and switched to our mother tongue.

I think only 5 cars passed us during the race

Arrived at T2 with a few cyclists still behind me. Emma (the only female UPNM cadet active in this sport) accompagnied me the whole run. It was fun having someone along. My planned stategy was 'walk uphill /run downhill' which we maintained during the race. Gradually we counted down the km's. The last hill is really really nasty (even walking!).

I finished in 3.58hr, happy to finish below 4hrs. Hubby was waiting at the finish-line.

Prize giving was also fun. Emma's team won third prize (she swam the relay-leg earlier). My category had only 8 participants so I got the 8th place (and I'm RM150 richer hihi).

Danial had a good swim time (below 34min I think, those swimclasses are paying off)

After lunch went for another swim with the kids, before reluctantly climbing in the car for the long journey back.

Next year's Kenyir tri will be in March, I hope our family can stay a bit longer that time.

Enchanting beauty of Kenyir

Dayan, our family photographer forgot to take his camera. Pictures by Amir

See you next year in March