First OD tri in Port dickson

Completed my first Olympic Distance (OD) Tri in Portdickson this morning on 25th July, 2010, with a timing of 2hr 55mins. Under my target of 3hr 20mins actually, though i was quietly pushing for 3hrs, after I came out from my swim. Splitting up the timing, 37:45 for swim, 1:15:14 for bike, 53:40 for run. The rest of it is the transition time that I took, which was a little slow., taking my own sweet time. lolx

Really happy that I've completed the tri without much problem. The swim was impeded by other slower swimmers infront of me, and I was personally not very confident, so i didn't dare to push faster and overtake too much. The waves were very calm, and water was sorta clear. at least I could see the legs kicking in front of me. Came up from the swim, feeling still quite fresh and a bit guilty why I didn't push.. but at least the timing was okay.

The bike was comfy, with rolling hills throughout the 40km course. Thanks to Ben who drafted me for the first 5km, I was able to regain my orientation and power and still maintain a decent 30-32km/h speed. After that, just tried to sustain the pace for the rest of the course.. and at the final 10km, decided that I was still a bit too relaxed, I drafted 3 other competitors to go at 38-40km/h. That really did push me a little, and my thighs got a bit tight thereafter.

The run was a little bad, cos of the cramps and tightness I got from the bike, had to stop 2 times to do some stretching, and thankfully I had prepared yokoyoko to be used on the run. It came in really handy and relieved some of my pain and tightness. While running, I know I had to finish the 10km in 58 mins to go under 3hrs, so I just had to keep reminding myself about that and keep going. On route, I was actually dehydrating, but didn't want to take too much water in fear of stitch that may cause me to stop.. So I sorta took a risk and endured through the last 5km without water, and phew, I made it back in 2hrs 55mins. Yipee !!

These are some of the photos taken there...

From Level 10 of our hotel resort. Quite a nice view of the sea..

Just to the left is the race site where we swam and transit.

The small room in our hotel, which was decent i would say, nothing fantastic.

One of the many stacks of bikes that went for the race..

My plate of carbo loading dinner.. Pasta, rice, potato, breaded fish, carrots, wedges. really a lot of carbo..

On the race day itself, Preparing our bikes and gears at the transit area.

Me, Myself And Zhiyuan with my bike, after the race. Tired, but happy me. =)

Ben, who went along to support and help out.. Thanks bro.

With my first OD finisher medal, I think there would be many more to come.. haha..

To those that were worried for me, thanks for your concern. I'm back safe and sound and a stronger me is here. From here on, I'll train harder and work towards my ultimate aim . = )