A "Fool" Print

Pre-Race

We were all gathered at Lavendar on Friday at 11pm to load our luggage and bikes into the 4 buses and then drove on to our destination. The whole journey took us 8hrs. Once reached our hotel, we had a quick breakfast and rest. Thanks to Alvin, the event director had made a special arrangement to give a briefing at our hotel stay. Subsequently, we proceeded to the race expo and did some last minutes shopping and a glance on the stadium as many were the first-timer. On the next day, we all checked out at 6am and loaded our bags to the buses. This year, we were given a number tag to tag along our buses to avoid any confusion to find where our belongings to. Once ready, we all rode on our bikes for 8km to the starting point.

11km Run

The weather was great at the stadium but the first 11km had not been a good start for me. For the first few kilometers, I could feel the strain at both of my calves, struggling. On the second lap, I felt slightly better and ran faster to compensate for the lost time. Completed: 55mins.

64km Cycle

There were 3 bridges to clear for the cycling route. Basically, the first 2 bridges were a gentle slope before overcoming a steep one at the last which was about 2km before the U-turn point. Again, I could feel my muscle pain, esp. at the right leg, and hardly could rode on, keeping 28km/hr for the first lap. During the ride, I could see many riders stopped aside on the road, pushing their bikes as their tires were punctured. By the second lap, the sun was out and the weather was terribly hot(38 degrees). Added to my woes, my legs’ muscles were losing power and barely could maintain the speed at 23km/hr. Then suddenly, the bike’s chain came off and I had to stop aside to fix it. This was where I felt my first cramp. Ok. Steady..just rode slowly and things would be fine -> I kept mumbling in my head. Completed: 2:30hrs (15mins behind what I anticipated).

10km Run

The last 10km run was the worst I had for the entire race. Immediately, out of the transition area, I had a terrible cramped, with muscles pulling strongly and tightly at both my tights extending to the knees. I could hardly walk, not to think about of running along. I limped and trotted for about 20mins before I recovered and jogged slowly. Cleared the first lap for 1hr with 30mins to go before the cut-off time. However, I knew it I was in a losing game as I could not finish in time. Completed: 1 hr 40mins

Total time: 5:12 and missed the cut-off time by 12mins. Ha.

It was a mixed feeling for me. Not because of not meeting the timing but it was the first time I ever being disqualified. On one hand, I knew I could able to meet the cut-off time but on the other hand, I was anguished at my poor performance and my trouble legs for giving me problems at most of long distance race. Oh well, until next time and hopping things could get better. Now, It was time to bath at the stadium toilet and hitting back home. In the end, I could still say I truly enjoy the whole trip and the race experience. Definitely, next year, I will be back!!