Sam writes: -"Folks
Well, didn’t we all do well! Our extended team really ‘cleaned up’ at the weekend and by my rough calculation we collectively won close to 10,000RM. Not bad eh! Its better than a kick in the teeth, as they say……
Well, for those who endured the long journey to Lake Kenyir, it was not all in vain. Everybody did extremely well on what must be the toughest Olympic distance course in Malaysia. Everyone in our group came in the top ten of their category and collected some well earned cash. The race was held at the usual venue of Lake Kenyir Resort and the race started with the usual greater than 1.5k swim set by Mr Chan! By all accounts, the swim was closer to 2k. Nevertheless, the triangular swim course was well marked and it had plenty of support craft on the water plus three scuba divers, one on each side of the triangle. I guess they were there in case someone tried to take a short cut and swim underwater for 300m!
The hills start immediately after you come out of the water with a steep incline to T1. Once on the bike, there is a nice flat section for 100m before a 15% climb for about 300m. What a nice way to start a bike leg? The out-bound bike course is undulating and inclines gradually (btw, the Wed morning ride was definitely an excellent preparation for the Lake Kenyir course). The scope for drafting is limited so many suffered on the bike in complete isolation. Nevertheless and from what I could see, all of our lot seemed be cycling well and strong. After the bike turn-around, the return leg felt easier. I was lucky, I tagged along with three other riders and that made the bike leg much easier. The group I was in picked up Randy some 10k from T2 and he fortunately hung on until the end.
Once into T2, someone turned the heater on and the temp seemed to increase by tens of degrees. The run course is punishing with two loops of nothing but steep hills that are exposed to the elements. Oliver, a recent newcomer to Malaysia but not to triathlon looked like the proverbial beetroot at the end but I’m sure that that will be short lived once he gets acclimatized to the KL heat. In the men’s overall race, Eugene was having a good day in the office and he beat off the challenges of Razani and Wong to win in around 2.05. In the lady’s race, Kimberly was showing how proper professional training can do to an athlete’s performance. She was miles ahead of Steph in 2nd but our very own Emma was closing in just behind. Steph’s days are numbered!
So and after a grueling race, our team did very well in their categories with Carmen in 2nd, Emma 3rd, Chris 6th and I forget Randy’s and Bee’s placing. Great job guys.
And while some of the gang was in Lake Kenyir, Hayley, Julie and KK did the Siemens 10k in KL. Well, what can I say? The girls did us proud yet again with Hayley and Juile coming in 1st and 2nd respectively and were ‘in the money’ too. Way to go girls. I am sure that KK had a good race too since his running has improved a lot of late. A dark horse for the PD race perhaps?
Anyway, its back to work this week with our usual Wed morning ride at 0545 at the Kerinchi toll. On Saturday, we will be doing the ‘Salak loop’ meeting at Mega Mall exit at 0630. Appreciate if you can let me know if you plan to join either or both rides. Cheers.
Sam"
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