Port Dickson Triathlon 2011

This was my 3rd time doing this race. My time was the same as last year, but position wise , i was in the top 40 rather than top 20 last year! so i guess its a combination of me getting worse and the field getting better!

The swim looked a bit shorter this year, and i went out pretty hard. We had to run the first 50m or so due to low tide, and that didn't help. 200m into the swim I blew up and actually had to switch to breaststroke for a few minutes(ridiculous!!). I guess i just really went out too hard. Foggy goggles AGAIN!! there just seems to be no way around it!

I started at the front of the swim start and to the right – out of the way! That paid off because in spite of all he trouble i had i guess i finished the swim relatively OK but did not feel very good at all! had to walk back to the beach!!

Transition was ok. standard 3 step procedure. everything taped to the bike. Helmet , belt and go.

The bike course was ok…this being a drafting event you have to be really good and hold probably at least a 38 kmh pace alone to stay out of the groups. I stuck with a group and finished the bike segment in a group as well.

Being out of shape , the run felt very hard, but in fact was shorter and probably easier than normal. It was a new course and required some running on the beach. Probably not that hard, but the lack of training, due to my foot injury(and lazyness among other things) had me suffering. I lost 7 positions on the run, where i normally gain positions.

I got chicked on the run once. I hate that.

Now to let my foot heal and get back into regular training.

Is this a restart?

My son is now almost 9 months old. I have started running home from work 4 days a week to try and get some miles in. The route is crap. hot and dusty, polluted and i seem to be always waiting for the traffic light! But at least i get a workout. Its about 7 km but I can extend it by looping around Tasik Titiwangsa. (so far i have not felt up to it and have been taking the shortest route home)

I have signed up  of PD Tri – Olympic distance and the KL Full marathon. I am really just going by feel here. I hope i can claw my way back!

What ever it is, this is my sport, so even if it takes years, ill be back.

My New bike ( Specialized SL2 with Shimano 105)

A few weeks ago , I bought my first proper road bike (as opposed to a Tri Bike) . After I traded in my old wheels for the FFWD full carbon racing wheels ( tubulars) I was always worried about punctures and although not the main factor - i seem to have rode less!!

So I got this as my everyday training bike! – I love it!!!

Its a Specialized SL2, with 105 group set and fulcrum racing 6 wheels . PERFECT for training and everyday rides! ( I love it!!!)

So far i have less than 10 rides on it. I hope to ride it more!

light at the end of the tunnel

21k in 4 days. feels like I'm starting all over again.

Start Again?

The past few weeks…2 weeks 2 days to be exact have tested my mind and body. Fatherhood is one hell of a challenge. It makes the Ironman look like a walk in the park! In the Ironman, at least you get to sleep after the race!

However, I’m happy to say in the past 3 days I have done 3 sessions . 2 short 5k runs and a bike ride. I suffered on all of them, and what few months ago would have been a fraction of normal training has left me sore and fatigued.

I aim to try and find the correct or rather manageable training schedule to fit into my new life  and hope i can put the said schedule into practise soon!

The Newton 25 k is next Sunday.  I have yet to decide on starting. I am registered so perhaps if i can get a few decent runs in this week…i may show up.

I WILL NOT QUIT.

Quiet August

Nothing has really happened Triathl0n-wise . This month. At the most,  went to the Specialized Shop and drooled over the SL3 for a while . i just LOVE that bike.. sigh. RM 7800. for just the frame.  hmm…decisions decisions….

Newton 25K run in less than a month. if I'm lucky i can start training in a week or so.

Port Dickson Triathlon 2010

PD Tri is quite a nice race. For the price of the entrance fees, it is relatively well organized and pretty established. The route was the same as last year so those who have done it before have a bit of an advantage. My only comment,I guess is,  for those who are used to the Unlce Chan triathlons, its great – but there were some first timers who could really have used a bit more information about the event. The website could be a  bit more informative on rules and regulations as well as the course route. I had no complaints but if it was my first tri – I'm sure i would have been unnecessarily nervous due to not being very clear on things.

Right. On to the race .

Swim. I weaselled myself into close to  the 2nd row at the swim start. Right behind  the usual suspects(winners) and some proper looking swimmers. It was a bit of a mess, but i didn't have much trouble swimming into people because the front row took off pretty quickly. Well, not surprisingly visibility was poor, goggles fogged up and I lost my way.

I followed  a swimmer on my left and after the U-Turn, i thought i must have cut a corner. Well i was not the only one…so i did my best to get back on track and was in my lane not too long after.

My bike transition was ok. Helmet , belt and go. Everything else was taped to the bike. That works well – ill stick with it.

It took all but 10 minutes to get into a group i caught up with and i stuck with them the whole time. On the way back into bike transition, one guy in my group lost control while undoing his shoes and ended up in the bushes by the road. I’m sure he was not hurt, but a pretty unfair deal considering he did a lot of the pulling.

In the run transition i noticed that a lot of people were really fast in and out. I was ok but the socks did slow me down a bit. I need to think about getting some non blistering shoes to run in and cut down transition time.

On the run, I gained 5 positions. I was running with my one piece tri suit and it was getting kinda hot. So I took of one shoulder . Didn’t help much and doesn't look too good either. Next time ill leave it on. 

I guess the lessons from this race are :

• Use New Goggles (this time i was lucky not to get Disqualified )
• Use 2 piece Tri Suit. Its cooler on the run.
• do Speed work for the run. even at less than 5MinKms, its not enough for a good placing
• I need to get strong enough on the bike to drop the pack- at least a fair distance fr0m the end to have an advantage for the run( even my fast run only got +5 placing)
• tape power gel by the top of the pack to the bike so you can rip it off and consume immediately
• Don’t use the Polar 800PTE for racing ( or figure out how to make it work during the race).My current setup was too complicated and distracting. The HRM does not work during the swim.
• For these OD don't stop at the drink station if not needed. its faster to run with my own water from the transition.

Well thats it. Hope i get to race again soon. family matters will require my priorities in the months to come.  Will see how my run to work plan works out. I hope it does.