UM leg – MUDS (MALAKOFF University Duathlon Series)

No training wutsoeva between 21st to 26th July. So busy and many things to do. Come Thursday, planned to run and bike, but nothing could stop me from not to train.. ayyaa…anyway, before I could realize it the next moment was already Saturday. Set the alarm at 5.20am the night before. Race doesn’t start till 9am, but still hafta wake up early as I had to fetch 2 friends of mine ; Syaaban and Mael from uni.

I was already panicking for the no-training.. I took part in UM Duathlon before, so i know what’s the big hill like,plus I used to jog in UM during my pre-uni days. Anyway, we registered ourselves upon arrival. Not many people that time. But the crowd gradually built up after that. The weather was fine. Mendung2 suam (Malay for ‘not so cloudy/sunny, but just nice..’)<< betul ke my translation nieh..? Many familiar faces.

Race briefing, as usual, was conducted by Adele. But the crowd was doing more ‘briefing’ than her. I suppose everyone just couldn’t wait to start the race. Anyway, I wish people/racers could be more considerate when someone is briefing at the front. Not all are first timers, and at the same time, some/most are 1st timers. So, please, guys/gals/aunties/uncles, the least you could do is turn the volume down a little and listen to the race briefing. Nanti salah route, tersalah ikut orang, etc, mcm mana…? Last week at the UKM leg,Chan of UPNM was penalized 4 minutes to his race time despite emerging champion for his category. So, listen up okay. Chan, no offense. Akak kasi contoh jer…huhuh…

Race start : a flat start. at UKM it was down hill if i recall. Dear friend Masita was as excited as the racers that morning, as usual snapping fotos. *horn sound..* , stampede, participants zigzagging for clearance to get full speed, and wham ! Someone behind got hit..! And crash ! Alamak, I wondered sapa la insan yang kurang nasib baik pagi tuh..Had no time to look back eventhough I knew someone terlanggar the photographer..Prayed nothing serious happened.. *advice to all photographers, just be wiser when choosing your angle when covering sports events..*. The run route was fairly okay. We had to cross Taman Rimba. The course was a bit bumpy but okay, nice scenery,shade, beautiful plants around you. Yeah, that kind of atmosphere you get when you run loops at Taman Tasik Perdana, Kuala Lumpur. We had to do 2 loops of Taman Rimba. As usual, my engine takes a few minutes to heat up. I was at the back of the pack in no time. Nothing surprising about that. I HAVE to brush up my run…Once i gained the optimal speed, I overtook some people. 2 loops done.

T1 : This time didn’t bump into Steph at transition. Last week she was so relaxed at T1 but a mess for me. Hahaha.. this week didn’t ‘get’ to see her. Anyway, wasted no time at T1. I was the 2nd 1 out from T1(for my category) i think.

Bike : Love the hill. Hahahhaha… only 3 loops this year compared to the 5 loops in UM-NFC Duathlon last year. Some were already walking with their bikes. I made sure I had the right gear on before I hit the hill. So tak payah nak tukar2 gear sangat on the climb. Ros (Powerbar team elite) tak sudah2 psycho aku, asking me to chill, slow down and let her sister (who came in 3rd in uni category) to overtake me. Hahaha.. A good thing she gave me that psycho of a motivation. Cycled faster, but again, no idea how fast I was speeding as I haven’t changed the meter battery. Down hill, was rollercoaster. Enjoyed it.(Kakak2 tandem bike said downhill was like orgasm..hahaha!) The first 2 loops did the down hill pretty fast and used that downhill speed to build in the momentum to climb the following but less steeper hill ! Save energy kan ?! Anyway, 3rd loop was a near tragedy for me and another racer.

You know how narrow (but busy )university roads/traffic could be ? Plus the many junctions to exit to many departments/admin/office builiding ? not forgetting the humps and all. Well, the organizers did very well in controlling the traffic by placing marshalls here and there, plus the security also help ease the traffic flow. But they missed one junction after the 2nd hill (after Bukit Cinta). The guy in front of me was cycling fast, and so was I…(cewahh…).and suddenly comes this green myvi out of this junction from our left. Either the car came out a bit slower, or the guy in front of me suddenly jams the breaks, he and I would cross the finish line in an ambulance. Really, i was shouting and swearing(oppss…), (as if the driver of the myvi could hear me..) . But again, in races, for me the least, no time complain so much. Adoi..penat jugak menjerit rupanye..

Approaching T2, Mariana already doing her 1st lap, or second !! Step, no where to be seen. Ko dah lari la Steph..

T2 : I guess ramai lagi tak habis kayuh.. off for the run

Run : Rimba .. tak psycho lari kat sini. Makes you more at ease. hahah.. quiet the opposite of PD run route this year I may say. Cepoi (Shahrul Ambri) sponsored b y Corezone overlap me during my 1st loop at Taman Rimba. Other people, tak ingat sangat who.. Quite a relaxed run.. Just cant wait to finish. Ros, or was it Masita, was at the last corner before finish line. Sempat lagi to pose for the lens. Hahaha.. You’ve got to enjoy the race people !! Chill ! (ada part kena chill, ada part kena serious..e.g. : jangan lenggang mak kangkung kat transition..)

Finish : official time : 1:06 ..last week i was 2 minutes behind Steph, this week 3 minutes. Ye la, takkan nak compare my time with Mariana pulak. Steph is like my marker la for these 2 races only. Don’t talk about triathlons.*That’s a totally another subject..*Hahahah.. Placing : 2nd for Uni category, women. Anyways, I’m happy to complete the 2nd leg without much problem. Just that Ive to bear in mind, there’s no way in the world i could be satisfied with my time without proper training/preparation. Even the world’s best train.We are not mutants.

Other things i wanna add in this entry :

Nice to meet old,new, and not- so- new faces. Azman, you rock ! Sorry if aku terkompius hang ngan Upiq. So upiq is smaller than you now ? To Chan Jun Shen of UPNM, next week number 1 okay.. if number 1, i blanja you tgk Hellboy 2. Im in love with that movie.Soundtrack is great too. Ali, Farid cousin Abu, UTM duathletes , nice to meet you all !! To kakaks on the tendem bike, CONGRATS !!! Thanks coz menghilangkan kesakaian steph , ros and myself. Kay, again, to all finishers, CONGRATULATIONS !! God bless all of us. Amen

p.s. sapa ada ambil gbr masa ramai2 category winners tuh, please forward to me kay.. thanks !

UKM LEG RESULTS : MUDS WINNERS

UM LEG RESULTS : MUDS WINNERS