Sunday, August 19, 2007

Desaru (Now with even more pictures)

The race didn't start off too well. The conditions for the swim were horrible. With 3-foot swells, it was difficult to navigate and get into a good rhythm. And it seemed like it just went on forever. Finally got out of the water in 1h07m02s, only two minutes faster than last year. So I thought I was going to have the same tough time as I did last year.

But things got better after that. Had probably the fastes T1 ever and it was on to the bike. The bike leg was simply awesome. Rain started falling midway through the first loop and the crosswinds were killer. At times, I was nearly pushed off the road by the winds. The deep dish wheels I was using didn't help much. But by the end of the first loop, the rain had cleared up and conditions were much better. I finished the first loop in one hour flat, the second in 58 minutes and the final in 1h04m, for a total time of 3h02m02s, over an hour faster than last year's 4h05m51s. Of course the cooler conditions helped a lot this year. Last year it was so hot, my skin was bubbling from the heat.

Looking fast on the bike



Senn going aero

My T2 time was slow because my race belt decided to fall apart on me. As I was running out, I found my belt around my thighs. A quick look showed me that the buckle had come off. Spent two minutes trying to get it back together. Hastily put it back on and it was on to the run.

Race belt sorted, it's off for the run


It took me about 5km to get my running legs but and all the people I overtook on the bike were overtaking me again and just pulling away like I was standing still. But I kept on running the entire first loop. At this point, my initial target of sub-8 hours was modified to sub-7 hours. The second loop was a run/walk, mostly running. In the end, I came home with a run time of 2h33m47s for a total time of 6h48m16s. Much much better than last year's 8h35m35s.


Ice is a miracle cure for anything while running


The finish line: 6h48m16s



Senn crossed the line in under 8 hours. Well done!


The imcyclist.com team with MC Lan and Uncle Chan


All in all, I had a good race. Some weren't so fortunate though. Please spare a thought for Bernard, who had a nasty crash on the second loop. Apparently the guy in front of him decided to stop to puke... in the middle of the road. Bernard couldn't avoid him, went smashing into the puker's rear wheel and endoed. End result:

a carbon frame broken in three places



Pictures courtesy of Ivie. Thanks!

12 comments:

Adrian said...

well done mate! powerman here we come!

Anonymous said...

man, WELL DONE!!! see you at the next gig i cant afford to miss anymore :)

SaifulAzri said...

very good...improve banyak ek..congrats!

Chief Kutu said...

Well Done Ariff.....u are great.

Panther

Abu Soffian said...

Well Done...bravo,,,bravo

Jaja Shah said...

congrats! timing manyak improve wooo

bola2api said...

sedih aku tengok bike bernard tu..

buleh claim insurance/T mobile/the puker ?

tryathlete said...

Thanks everyone, really appreciate your comments.

Aini: tak tau lah kalau boleh claim insurance tak, but bernard is trying to get the puker's contact to claim something from him.

Anonymous said...

well done bro...jeles aku tengok gambar. takper...next year :-)

nak komen sikit boleh tak. hihih :-P

senn looks a bit too stretched out in aero (IMHO). maybe raise the saddle a bit, push it forward and tip it down a bit, place her a bit more over the BB, work the wuads a bit more and save the glutes and hammies for the run.

just a suggestion mate :-P

tryathlete said...

adzim: yeah, both senn and I agree that she does look too stretched out. that's what you get wih a slacker road geometry. and because of height limitations, that's as high up as the saddle will go. but will try moving the saddle forward. thanks for the suggestion

nurina said...

CONGRATS,
Hope to see you together with Kalam, Stupe, Shazly etc at the finishline in langkawi,
i'll b there to cheer you all on

tryathlete said...

nurina: I'll definitely try to make it to the finish line next year. This year I got to the finish line in an ambulance...