Powerman Malaysia 2008

The big final duathlon race of the year for me and my last big race of 2008. Another event ive been laying eyes on since last year. Now im joining it! The Powerman Duathlon in Sri Manjung, my lovely home soil. I registered under Sprint category (5.5km run 32km bike 5km run). And im proud to say its an international level event with world class athletes. Cool!

Pre Race-Day report : Saturday 8/11/08

Al picked me up from my place (admist communication problems) and his lovely cute cousin tagged along as she is joining the race as well as Al's teamate. Mix Team event. Shoot towards home at abt 3.30 and reached by 6.30 to collect the timing chip and other stuff. Then went home. Al met the family. Then went to find CM and his gang to take them go makan. IN the hotel room i saw his new Look 595 frame. Dayemmm. Cis.....Went for dinner at Teluk Batik. Ikan siakap masak sweet n sour. Best n recommended. Cost u RM3.50 per 100g. Worth it. Then I slept at about 1.30 am. Late rite?

Race Day Report : Sunday 9/11/08
LATE!!!!!!!!!!! Alarm rang at 5.30....tutup balik tidur......woke up at 6.30am! OMG OMG! I tot this time really kantoi. I ask Al he din pasang alarm kah? Al : "Ada......but i heard yours so i off mine." T_____T"

Thank God we did all out packing n stickers n numbers n preparation the night before. We did super fast cleanup and bike up. Left at abt 6.50am. Reached by 7.00am. Luckily still many havent checked into transition area. And thank God this isnt KL. Otherwise i be dead. Sitiawan is next to Manjung.

So quickly check in and warm up for the race. What a way to start the morning race. Zzzz. Saw many of my good cycling/running frends there. Mac, Jaja, Aini, Arif, CM, Adeline, Michelle, Clarence, Jason, Kenny, Vong, PK, May Senn. And it was always lovely to hear Adele's emcee voice in the morning. Lovely gal. Then my dad came along to give some support.

7.30am
Individual (Long distance - 11k run 64k bike 10k run) racers went off. Headed by Jason Spong of South Africa, Andy Sutz of Switzerland (current World Champion) , and other top duathletes. Shahrom Abdullah (Malaysia's top duathlete) was there too. Very nice guy n very soft spoken.

7.40am
Relay Team (same distance as Individual) goes off.

7.50am
My turn! First 1km the legs felt good. Same cant be said about Clarence struggling to follow me and Patrick. I paced myself. Didnt want to run after the next guy/lady that overtakes me. Cant be bothered. I didnt train much so i wasnt expecting much. Running my first race on my home turf in the morning mist was just so nice. I miss home =)

Almost finishing the 5.5km first run. Legs still were good. Time was good too. 27 minits when i reached the stadium. Heard dad holler my name. Gave a quick wave then went on. Bike transition i took about 2minits. Wanted to calm down and not get another cramp for going too fast. Put on my helmet and cycling shoes. Went off with the ultimate mission : BURN the road of Sitiawan/Manjung with my Look frame. Maiden ride on home ground in a race. How wonderful.

I used high cadence and light gearing at 30kmh to warm up the legs. Worked well. After about 2km i got into the high gear TT ring and went aero tuck for the rest of th journey. Cyclist were all over the road. Some used ultra cool freaking bikes while some used down to earth simpler ones. I just blazed the road. First 5km was trying to find the best cadence and position. Kept at 34-35kmh steady pace and i planned to do 38 on the way back.

Cant help but hearing all the noises from the disc and aero wheels. Sounds exactly like a fan running beside you. Marshalls checking riders they dont draft. And in the far ahead distance.... the elite guys returning for their second lap. Amazing.

By the time i got to the Tunku Bainun bridge i went flat out on it. 28kmh up hill. The U-turn back was smooth. No one fell. More riders still behind me and still see an endless beeline of 500 cyclist on the road. The headwind that greeted me after the U turn prevented my to stick to my 38kmh plan. So i just rode 34 all the way back. And the right calf was going "Hey hey.....slow down.....i wont hesitate to pull the trigger." Had to unclip n stretch it for a while.

Thanks to all the marshalls on the road taking care of traffic.

Got back to the stadium. Got off and transitted to the final run. By this time i was 70% spent. Barely had enough to finish the final run. I took a powergel and water just incase. And the run was slow. I guess most were like tat. I was jogging the first 2.5km. And i found myself suddenly alone. No one infront and at the back in sight. I didnt wana push to save the legs. By 4km i started hearing footsteps behind me.....the last 1km seemed the longest last km (sounds familiar dont it?).

After the final traffic light junction to the stadium my watch showed total time of 1hr 59mins 40secs. I WANA REACH IN 2 HOURS!!!! I was just 200 meters away. OMG am i going to make it? Adele excitedly called my number and name while i sprinted to the line.....

2hrs 00mins 40secs. YAHOOOO!!!! Achieved target!

Cannot believe what i just did. Thank God for everything. Bloody best damn race ive had. Clarence came in later at abt 2hrs 35. Then the rest came in much later. I just lepaked arnd waiting for Al to reach n finish. Meanwhile lots of socializing went on. Met people. Asked about their race. Enjoyed the sun. Adele busy emceeing. Melody busy running around.

Oh yes....... the Mens Elite Champion : Jason Spong. Congrats to him. He did superb in 2hrs 45mins i think. Tats crazy nut time. LOL. His bike? Felt DA with Reynolds disc rear and 55mm front. Dayemmmmmmmm......... Shahrom came in 6th in abt 3hrs. Good job bro.

Bike porn everywhere. Saw Mac later on. Funny story of him getting punctured with tossings of tyre levers and pump. Al also punctured on the bridge. Apparently broken glass on the side. I didnt know also..... heard May Senn passed out on the first run. DNF. Oh well.......next year then Senn =)

I loved the free fruits. They should do it at every event like this! CM and Al's team's got 3rd for their respective categories (mixed relay and mens relay). Not bad.

After much sun bathing, went home to water bathe and come for the awards lunch. Tat was final stop at home. After tat would shoot back to KL. Miss home again =(

Awards Lunch (1pm)
Free buffet lunch. Was good. Fellowship was better. LOL. And i won a lucky draw for one session of fitness training worth RM120. Anybody wants? i dont really go to this kind of stuff. Habis makan by 2pm. by 3pm we all cabut after some photo sessions and final goodbyes.

Along the way saw others on the way home with their bikes strapped to the cars. Mine and Al's were happily enjoying the breeze on the rooftop at 100kmh. Then somehow met Mac Adeline May Senn and Shah at the Ulu Bernam RnR filling gas. Small world eh?

Reached KL by 6pm.

Thanks to Al alot for fetching me to and fro. =)

Next years Powerman i will surely enter again. Hope to improve my time.

1st run - 27mins
Bike - 58mins
2nd run - 25mins

See you all next year!