Baling International Duathlon Report July 27
One of the rare multi-sports event to be held in the Northern region. When I read about it, I wasn’t sure if I would take part in it. Not sure if I’ll be fit in time. But then, since I have registered for the Powerman in November, this would be a good start to my “racing season”.
When Haris told me that he’ll be taking part as well, I decided to take part as at least I would have some company. He booked a room for us as well as for a friend of his, Kevin.
The race distance listed was 6km run, 36km bike, and then another 6km run. I haven’t had much run lately. Cycling should be a problem as I have been doing round the island a few times lately.
Arrived around 5pm at Bayu Hotel. It is about 1 and a half hours drive from Butterworth. Took the opportunity to take the ferry instead. The drive was pretty straightforward. The hotel seem pretty new. Met Haris and Kevin downstairs. They were doing up their bikes.
Briefing was at 6pm. There were quite a number of Thais. There was a van outside with the word “Thai police” one it. Mostly Malaysians with the foreigners from Germany, Australia, Hong Kong and SIngapore. The run route was a bit tricky, with lots of turnings and looping. Bike route was a litte bit tricky at the beginning, but straightforward once we got onto the main road. Mr Chan keep repeating that we will pass KFC 4 times!
As for the hotel, not that bad I guess. RM150 for a room for 3. A little bit pricey for a hotel in a small town. Worse still, there was some mix up and they gave us the room for 2 only! BUt at least it was clean, has hot shower and the view outside was excellent. Outside the room was a beautiful limestone hill. Reminds me of Ipoh.
Had dinner in a Malay food court in town. Walked in the pasar malam after that as Haris and Kevin felt like eating more. Went back to the hotel after that, got our gears ready and checked. Watched TV for a while and slept around 10pm.
Kevin didn’t really had a good sleep, and woke up around 5. I also woke up around that time, but just lay on my bed while he did his stuff. Got out of bed at around 5.30pm. Went downstairs for breakfast at 6. They served packed nasi lemak, some variety of bread and nescafe. Had a pack of Nasi Lemak. Went back to the room and ate some chocolate bars.
Reached the race site around 7. It was at the vicinity of Dewan Tun Abdul Razak. Just hang around the transition area, did the usual warm up, toilet, and checked out the people and bikes. Race was delayed by quite a bit. Was supposed to start at 8am. Waited for the Lion Dance troupe to arrive for “Good Luck”. Flag off I think was around 8.40am. Usually Mr Chan’s race never starts late.
Took it easy for the first run, since I didn’t have the running base. It was slightly uphill in the beginning, pass the Baling Hospital. Then it was downhill and mostly flat. Ran past the kampung area. Lots of people were outside their houses watching. The scenery was very nice. Started out near the back, but slowly cut a few people. Didn’t really looked at my watch when I finished, but it was around 42 mins for the run.
T1 was simple. The first part of the bike was the same as the run. Then it goes out of the town, turning left in front of the hotel, and then straight for about 13km or so. Mr Chan announced earlier that the bike route distance was about 32km, instead of 36km. The route was undulating, but not really that steep. Pushed quite hard. Remembered to drink some fluid, but forgot to eat something. Wasn’t feeling that hungry anyway. It was a little bit hot, but not blistering type of hot. Was alone most of the way. Towards the end, some guy drafted behind me. The best part of the route was the long downhills. Seems that I went up to 52km/h, which I don’t remember when.
When I got back, a number of people have finished. Bike time was about 1hr 11mins, with average speed of 27km/h. Not too bad I guess. Had problems putting back on my socks (I don’t wear socks with my bike shoes). As usual, had difficulty running in the beginning, and my calf muscles started to tighten up. Stretched a little, and walked up the hill. Started to get the feel of running, but the rest of the way I was alternating between walking and running with more running towards the end. I think my 2nd run, which btw was only 5km, was about 40mins.
Total race time was about 2hrs 38mins. Quite satisfied in general as I know my fitness was not there yet. Haris did in 1hr 57mins, while Kevin was just over 2 hours. Congratulations to them for their excellent timing.
Lunch was provided, and seems to be sponsored by the BN ADUN of Baling. More than 3 hours after the start, the last participant finished. The announcer announced that he was a stroke victim. I noticed earlier in the race that his running posture was a little bit different. Quite amazing actually for him to be able to finish the race. Everybody there cheered when he approached the finish.
My dad recently suffered a stroke as well, and that moment it was quite emotional for me. I was so touched by his courage and enthusiasm. My eyes got a little bit teary.
We got back to the hotel room, took a bath and packed up. I parted ways with Haris and Kevin.
While on the way driving back, there was something wrong with my car air-cond. Whenever it turns on, the car will jerk a little and my car radio will reset. This means that the air-cond is drawing a lot of power. To play safe as I don’t want my car to break down in the middle of nowhere, I decided to turn off the air-cond and drove with my car window open. And man, it was a blistering hot afternoon. Sweated in the car while driving. Decided to take the ferry again. At least got some shade while crossing over to the island.
Overall, it was quite a fun race, especially with Haris and Kevin around. I would definitely do it again next year. Furthermore, I must support races in the northern region, so that it will be organised again in the following years.
I got a number of races coming up. Merdeka Ride For Green on 16 Aug, Cendana Hikathon on 4 Oct, Putrajaya Triathlon on 1 Nov and Powerman on 8 Nov.
Also, I am seriously considering taking part in Ironman Langkawi again, which falls on the 28th of Februrary 2010. This gives me about 7 months of training left. I am starting to get comfortable with my swimming again, my bike base is much higher than the last time, with running my main problem now.