I went there car pool with 3 other triathlete friends, Zulhassan, Azmar & Hancik. Zulhassan picked me at behind zoo negara, Azmar @ Ampang, and Hancik @ Seremban.

Fetching Hancik at Muzium Budaya, Seremban

We used the new route, the Senai(U) – Desaru expressway, that directed us straight to Desaru, faster & easier than the old road. Not quite sure abt the tol charges though.

You'll encounter this tall pillar of a long bridge when u use the new Senai(U) - Desaru expressway

Reached Lotus Resort at 2.30, collected race kits, did some shopping. Pretty good price they got there. Can get a trisuit at RM150, Fizik Tri saddle at RM200!

Our room, got stairs leading to the bedroom upside

The spacious living hall, easily can share up to 6 person comfortably to save budget Worth the RM200/nite price

A view from upstairs

Then checked in & had some rest & quick nap. At 5pm we went to the beach to do a swim test. The weather was good, but the water was choppy, felt dizzy while swimming on it. We hope tomorrow condition will be better.

Race briefing at 6pm & right after that we had dinner at Medan Selera Bandar Sri Penawar. Surprised with the cheap price tag there! Chicken chop, fish & chip & oblong burger RM5 each & a decent taste.

Race day

Swim

To kick start what is gonna be a long day today, i did a short warm-up swim. The water were less choppy than yesterday, but last year far more calm. In Desaru long distance Tri, we have to do 2 loop of swim, 2km in total.

The race started at sharp 8.30am. My usual strategy was to start at the back to avoid the chaotic kick & punch swim.

Start the swim slowly. Suddenly water become more choppy. The sea water here are clear. You can even see the sea floor, sea weeds, corals & fish if u r lucky enuff.

The choppy water made me dizzy but get used to it. Clocked 55mins for the 2km swim, wow, better timing than last year.

After the 2km swim, look serious yawww!!! - Photo by unknown photog

Bike

Hopping on the bike, i’m still catching breath from the 2k swim. Couldn’t spin fast, so i started with fast cadence in low gear.

This year’s bike part has a different route from last year. Doing 2 loops, 46km each. Lotsa hill for the first half before u turn.

Got 4 road kills! 1st 2 small wild boar side road, 3rd one a bigger wild boar on the middle of the road, then a pity small kitty, i think newly got hit by vehicle.. huhuh.. i haz sadding

The 2nd half is flat all the way before u turn. Yes its flat, seems easy, but its windy with headwind pushing me back, urghhhh…

The view was spectacular, paddy field on both side, and its hot, no tree, no shade at all, except a row of rhu trees(that’s where desaru got it’s name i think), abt 100m long thats all.

Saw the top of the mosque, yeah, thats where the u turn is.

Changed my empty water bottle with the full one, the black power bar bottle, with cold ice water.

Approaching 1st loop in bike - photo by unknown photog

Killing my boredom on the bike, i did bring my old SQNY Ericsson on the bike, playing my fav playlist loud on speaker it was loud that a friend told me he heard my music as he passed by me on the other side.

2nd loop, not much to tell, just the same route, but the day getting hotter. Completed the bike course, in 4hrs 10min!!! WTFBBQ!!!

Run

When i started running, its already 1.30pm.. just imagine the heat.. only crazy people like us do this LOL!

It started with running on sands, hot & soft sands, but i just walk on it, still recovering from the tiring bike ride.

Walked pass the power bar station, they gave me a slice of powerbar, just can take a small bite only.

The u-turn point a bit farther this time, near the end of the road.

Managed to catch-up with Zul Hassan. He thought of to quit the race, cant take it anymore. But I kept trying on encouraging him for not to go DNF. We came this far, at least we proud to at least be a finisher.

But later he asked me to continue my run n leave him sitting by the road there.

A while after doing the U-turn on the 2nd loop, I saw Zul Hassan running slowly. Felt happy seeing him continuing his run & applauded him for his strong determination!

Met with Uncle Chan, the race director at a water station near the resort while he was checking out & giving support for the remaining triathletes who is still running. Thanks uncle Chan for his dedication!

Finally, my long day has ended. I reached finish line, clocking 8:37.

I heard that many competitors DNF that day.

Thanks to my friends for making this trip possible & fun! As for now, i might not be doing it again next year the agony is enuf for now, hahhaha or maybe I can do the relay tri next year, who knows!

That’s the end of my belated very longggggg delayed Desaru Triathlon report

Woke up early to watch the Sprint Race Tri category the next morning

An age grouper winner got dehydrated badly. Lucky he did recover, thanks to the medics quick reaction

This time, I have to write this race report. There’s some interesting things happened, that i would like to share with u all about this race, the trip, the ambiance and the whole event.

For the 1st time, i’m going to do a half IRONMAN distance. That is 2km of swim, 90km of cycling and 21km of run. Look at the distance, sounds ‘easy’ rite! Hahahha. And still, i’m doing all these JUST FOR FUN yoooo!!! (Don’t ever ask me about what’s my placing in the race!!! seriously sick of it) Just ask abt how i enjoyed the race, that’s better

Me, Julie, Hadi & Bedul RVed at Pandan Indah & headed to Sg Besi Toll to fetch adik Fitri. Convoy in two cars all the way to Desaru. Pitted at S’ban RnR to quick breakfast. Exited at Kulai Jaya exit & headed straight to Desaru. Arrived at Lotus Desaru at 1pm, collected our race kits, had lunch and checked-in at Golden Beach Resort, abt 4km further ahead.

Had lunch at a food court near the Petronas(Photo by Bedul)

Heading to our room at Golden Beach Resort(Photo by Julie)

After a nap, me, julie & fitri went for short run & stretching session meanwhile bedul went for a short ride around there. Then we off to the race briefing at 6pm. We had dinner at the same place we had lunch earlier. The sup kambing, & sup ayam there was marvelous.

Short run & stretching session with Julie & Fitri(Photo by Julie)

The funny race director, Mr. Chan giving his race briefing(Photo by Julie)

Bedul(Shah), me & Nik after the race briefing. Bedul & Nik was in a team in long distance relay category (Photo from Nik)

Checking out our timing in the last PD Triathlon certificate(Photo by Julie)

Race Day

Unknown wood structure at the beach

The morning before the race, we took a walk by the beach & enjoy the sunrise(Photo by Julie)

Desaru Golden Beach Resort, last year's race venue

The race will start at 10am! That’s quite late, rite! But the reason Mr. Chan(the race Director) did that was because the start of running course will be slightly 2-3 pm, not so hot. OK lah.

My bike at the transition area, beside my dream bike. FUUUUU!

Swim

With Shahrizal before the swim started(Photo by Shahrizal)

Started at sharp 10am, the sea was very calm, but the underwater current quite strong. The sea water was clearer than PD, i even can see fishes & the sand below clearly. My strategy here is to follow the swimmer in front of me, so i dont have to make more effort to look up & navigate, less tiring If the swimmer in front slow, i overtook them n find other faster swimmer Had no problem at all during the swimming course. Finished my swim in about 1:02.

Bike

Start of the bike leg(Photo by Abg Sahril)

My biggest worries was bike course. I’m not good on bike. But i had made some effort to improve my cycling during the Ramadhan nite rides & after Raya rides with my cycling frens. Hopefully it’ll work now!

Started with a short climb towards the main road, i begin with a fast cadence to warm up my legs muscle, learned it from my cycling sessions with friends. As the distance build up, i’m already warmed up my legs, adding my speed, choosing the best gear while maintaining the cadence, going up & downhill. On the 1st loop, i think i’m slow. Dunno about what to expect on the bike route, where to slow down, where to sprint. So, i more like cruising on the 1st loop. The sun was freaking hot! Feel like wanted to faint. Once i reached the 1st water station after the 1st loop, i pour my body with a jug of cold water. What a relief. I feel re-energized & fresh! Completed the 1st loop in abt 1hr.

Drinking & pouring my body with iced water(Photo by Abg Sahril)

2nd loop was better. I know the route already, now i can plan my speed to conserve energy, and maintaining the cadence above 90. I managed to overtook some slower cyclist, that’s an improvement for me! The best thing was, i managed to overtook an expensive looking TT bike!!! What a morale booster!!! Nice one!

3rd loop, i started to feel bored already… with the hot sun burning my skin, just keep my pace to finish this cycling part faster. Arghhhh… i’m so bored! Hmmm.. what if i sing while cycling… hahaha, that’s a good idea to keep the boring feeling away! I sang some song along with what my iPod playing. A good method to forget about the tiredness also

Finished my bike leg in about 3hrs 30mins.

Finished the bike leg(Photo by Abg Sahril)

Run

Running is always my favorite part in a triathlon. Coz i came from running background. But running after doing a cycling, is not easy as it may look. DUring the early stage of running, my both legs felt so hard & heavy. But not long. Slowly the muscle adapt from cycling to running mode. No cramping this time Running all the way smoothly, with my own pace. Met some friends along the way, wave hands & gave high-five!

The heat on that day was killing! I showered at almost all water station. Have to do that to prevent heat stroke & fight fatigue. There wasn’t any shortage of water supply in all water stations. Some water stations served bananas, ‘lepat’ (power bar), endurance drink & iced water.

I was about to 'potong sayur' Jaja. Hahahah (Photo by Jaja's friend)

Finished my triathlon around 5pm. That was abt 7 hrs, i finished my 1st ever long distance triathlon. Alhamdulillah! I made it! Another title earned, another distance covered, another victory achieved!

The unusual group photo in front of our room. Look at the tan lines. Hahahhah(Photo by Julie)

Thanks to my tri & cycling friends for the Ramadhan nite rides, the brick trainings!

Driving back to KL along with Hadi. Nice chatting with u, bro(Photo by Hadi)

The end…

I’ve succesfully registered for the Port Dickson Int. Triathlon 2009 (11-12 July 2009). This time they use 2 new payment methods, Credit Card online & bank-in. To make things easy, i opted for the Credit card payment. Fast & easy. Nice job Triathlonmalaysia.com!

Now, i’m still considering wether to register for Desaru Tri or not. The big Desaru waves still haunting me. There’s also Putrajaya 70.3 Half-Ironman coming too. Very tempting!!! Bro Zulhassan said, the cost for going to Desaru Tri compared to the fees for Putrajaya 70.3 Half-Ironman not far difference.

Hmmm… Still thinking.