Manjung people said, it was raining season there for the last 2-3 weeks. But it’s turned to be scorching hot on the event day!!! No rain even in the early morning before the event. The heat was as same as 2 years ago where i did my first Powerman.

the usual suspects from Chap Ayam Runners. some are Powerman 1st timers - photo by Abd Azri

With Chap Ayam frens at our homestay, moments before we left for the event - photo by Zila

Before the race, with Hadafi - photo by Zulhassan

With Hanafy & Det after setting up the transition - photo by Zila

Me posing before the starts, showed no sign of nervousness at all - photo by Zila

The race started with an 11km of run - photo by Jason Thai

The 1st loop - photo by Tan Kien Boon

yeayyy!!!! the usual jumping pose - photo by Izuan

After the 2nd lap of 11km - photo by Azri

Bike out - photo by Jason Thai

Speeding on the bike start - photo by Elaine

Approaching 2nd loop - photo by Elaine

My unofficial timing was 4:33… and it’s a PB ALhamdulillah.. that’s a bonus for me.. a big achievement for my hard work. Next year, of course will try a new PB again

The rewards, a nice medal and a Brooks finisher's t-shirt

For me, the medal & finisher’s T is secondary. The most important thing to me is the enjoyment of the gathering with my sports friends & doing what like together.

..but enjoyed it very much!!!

Last weekend was the busiest & tiring one. On Saturday, drove to Parit Yusoff, Batu Pahat. Attended my ex-sister-in-law son’s wedding. Depart 9am, arrived 12.30pm. She asked me to do wedding photography for her son. Did it, a complimentary photography from me.

Drove back to KL, 3.30pm – 7pm. That’s totaling 7 hrs of driving! Phewwww… never did that since a long time. Relax for half an hour, then rushed to Ovo Bistro at Damansara Utama, for Rock Reborn gig. Went there with Halil. Nice gig, perform by local rock metal band, Touch Mahal. Performing along were Rosli Mohalim (Sweet Charity guitarist), Zulkif (Headwind’s guitarist), Ajin (Blackrose’s vocalist), Shewolf (all-girl rock band) and lots more… Organized by Brothers in the Hood, lead by bro Bob. Bro Otega introduced me & Halil to this great event. We did some banner printing service for them. Great show!!! Will attend more in the future surely

The next Sunday morning, woke up early for the New Balance 15k run at Putrajaya! Hahahah… I’m crazy yeahhh!!! The run was so nice, the weather was breezy following last nite’s rain. It’s still cloudy and cold windy that morning. What a run friendly weather for us. A good blessing

Enjoyed the weekend so much. Had a good sleep & rest after all those activities

This is my opening triathlon race for the 2011 season. Kenyir was the place where I started my 1st triathlon last 2 years. So here I am again doing triathlon here. The famous Kenyir triathlon’s tag line : “Malaysia’s toughest triathlon race”.

Breakfast stop at Gambang RnR on the way to Kenyir (photo by Julie)

Went there by car pool in Julie’s car, Hancik (Rusfarizal) on Saturday(9/4/2011) 5.30am. Arrived at Kenyir Lake Resort & Spa at 11.15am. Checked-in, registered & went for a delicious ikan patin lunch Heavy rain started to pour.

A unique way to do election campaign, somewhere near Ajil, Terengganu

The rain stop for a while in the evening, that’s when we took the chance to try swimming at the swim course. The water was quite warm, and a nice swim we had.

Ready for tomorrow action! Notice my racing number sticker, so hard to stick it neatly

After the dinner & race briefing, we prepared our race essentials for tomorrow morning. And the rain still pouring heavily. Wondering how the weather will be tomorrow morning.

As I wake up tomorrow, it’s still raining. Wow!!! This is gonna be a tough race!

There’s a bit delay on the race start because of the bad weather. Mr. Chan, the race director announced that there’s a stranded lorry, blocking half side of the road on the bike course. Waiting the confirmation from the police whether the road is safe or not, or else, it will be just swim and run only After a while, the police confirmed it safe to cycle there, then the race started at sharp 8.30am, in heavy rain. Yeahhhh!!! This is gonna be an exciting race!

With Jaja & Hancik, while waiting for the race to start (photo by Ah Yim)

The race is about to start. Notice the heavy rain. Everybody are shivering in the cold!

The usual chaos of the swim start

Started with a cold body, fear to get cramp in the water during swimming. but it all went well…
Quite a chaotic swim start as there were lotsa 1st timers. Kick and slap here and there, there’s also a panic women hold my hand tight as she struggle to float, i lead her to the buoy. Finished the swim in about 38mins.

Quenching my thirst after the 1.5km swim (photo by Ah Yim)

I really like the cycling course. It’s a new route this year. Its a rolling course. Except for a one long (about 800m long) steep uphill climb. I managed to crank just 3/4 of the climb, then push the bike laaa the remaining climb Very mental challenging! I loike!!! hahaha …

It was still raining heavily during the bike course. Some part of the road was covered with water and small rocks that are dangerous to the small bike tires. Have to be careful for not to puncture my tires this time.

Clocked about 1 hr 40 mins for the bike course.

The running course also has a slight change this time, and i love it!!! Mentally & physically challenging! Lotsa steep hill climb.
The best part of the running course was we get to run on the road on top of the Kenyir dam. The view from the top was very nice, a beautiful panoramic scene of the man-made lake. Stunning! I wish i had a camera that time…

The finishing line getting closer and closer. Suddenly heard somebody shouted my name, a familiar voice. Its Julie, “Go Fairul go!! Sprint to the finishing line, beat the other two triathlete!” hehehe. I took that challenge. I sprinted to the finishing line, side by side. I win!!! hahaha yeahhh!!! No laa… i won the sprint to the finishing line only

All in all, it was a great triathlon race. Clocked 3hrs 20mins (unofficial timing), probably a new PB for me! A new experience for me, doing a race in heavy rain from the start till the end. Nice experience i must say. The cold weather helps too for not getting too tired.

Alhamdulillah, i survived another triathlon in my life. 6th triathlon done! And Alhamdulillah i managed to overcome the fear to get cramp because of the cold weather.

A view of Lake Kenyir from my room, it's raining heavily

Another view of Lake Kenyir

• I highly recommend the Lake Kenyir Resort & Spa as an accommodation option if u are having holiday here. Nice, spacious & cozy room, big bathroom, nice lake view. For more info, click here>>

• My two other triathlete friends, Julie & Hancik are first time doing Kenyir triathlon. Glad to know that they enjoyed the race so much! They even did their PBs! Congrats guys!!! Extra congratulations to Julie also for the 6th placing in her age group, entitled her cash prize of RM400! Happy to tag along & carpool with them, and be the unofficial tour guide for them.. hehehe

• A friend of us, Ajis has DNFed the triathlon. He got panicked during early stage of the swim. He was pushed, kicked & swam over by faster swimmers as he started the swim at the front row. He felt can’t make it through the swim anymore.

The new course map

• After lunch on saturday, we surveyed the cycling route, according to my last 2 years experience racing here. But the route seems impossible to race as the road was too badly damaged. Potholes here and there. We decided that it will not be the bike course this time. Later on the nite at the race briefing, mr Chan showed the new race course. Phewww…

• We had a great lunch at Jeti Pengkalan Gawi. The “Ikan Patin” there was tasty & so fresh. Highly recommended! And after the race on our way back to KL, we reward ourselves with “Ikan Patin” again. This time was at Temerloh RnR that is famous with “Ikan Patin”. Slurppppppp!!! RM12 damaged

• It took nearly 6hours to get to Kenyir (with half an hour breakfast stop)

• Not much photo taken this time because of the wet weather, not dare to take out my camera phone to snap pix

 

Kenyir mission accomplished, had lunch, tired, loads of satisfaction.. time to sleep. See ya again next year, Kenyir (paparazzo: Julie)

This year’s Powerman, i came with a target in mind. It’s to qualify within the 5hrs given time(getting the finisher’s T-Shirt off course), thus a PB for me.

Depart from KL a bit late, around 2:30pm, waiting for my friend Bedul(Shahrudisah) for his company training. The journey was accompanied with hot weather, but went smoothly. Arrived at Sri Manjung around 6:30pm, we went straight checking out the cycling route since this is Bedul’s 1st Powerman.

Reached Lumut Valley(our accommodation) around 7:30pm. It’s an apartment with 3 rooms and 2 bathrooms. Quite spacey and comfortable, worth the money since we r sharing it with 5 persons.

Went for dinner at KFC Lumut, surprised with a long queue there. Well, its a Saturday nite I like Lumut very much. It’s a small town, with a small jetty for tourist going to P. Pangkor. Unique, clean, friendly folks, not crowded, peace and i love to be there. Still remember last year’s Powerman, went for evening teh tarik at a stall by the jetty, on the evening after doing the Powerman, so relaxing…

Went back to apt, did my final prep for tomorrow’s race. Race bibs, bicycle, tri-suit, running & bike shoes, endurance drink, etc… Slept at 11.00pm.

Race Day

Woke up at 5.00am. It’s drizzling and cold that morning, a good sign for us Set up my transition, did a light warm-up run around the track and headed to the starting line. Meet some friends whose 1st timer in Powerman. Great to have them join in, hope to see more new faces next year ahead

1st Run

During the 1st 11km run. Photo by Snap Attack (snap-attack.com)

The race started sharp 7:30am. My strategy for this 1st leg run is to take it easy, not to push as i have more kilometers to go. Over took Nik Raiha, look like she’s taking it easy too. Not far ahead is Anchik (Rusfarizal). I just maintain the pace throughout the 1st run. Managed to clock 1:02 for it.

Bike

I’m a bit slow at transition area. Slowly catching up with the heavy breath after the run. Saw Shakhir and Dett came in after me. Aikkk? They were strong competitors, look like they were taking it easy too but i bet, they r strong in their bike leg. Have to queue when going out of the transition area. Ate a banana & drank a cup of Powerbar endurance drink at the water station at the bike exit. Took a pee stop at the toilet behind the grandstand and off with the bike.

Like the last Desaru Triathlon, i’m using the fast cadence method to get my legs warm-up in the early stage of the bike. As the distance built up, i shifted up to a heavy gear, 1 at a time, with no heavy force on my legs. Then i maintain that pace & gear throughout the bike course.

The most challenging part of the bike course was the long climb (abt 500m of climb i think) of the Raja Permaisuri Bainun Bridge. Unlike last year, this time the climb seemed to be easier my bike training really works well used the lowest gear while maintaining the cadence, i even managed to overtake some crawling cyclist. Yeahhhh!!! Feel great!

The bridge emblem

Raja Permaisuri Bainun bridge

Long climb

The bike course went smoothly, except the feel like wanna cramp at earlier stage. I quickly eat the ORS, and drink the water immediately to dissolve the ORS. That’s what i normally do when i’m facing the cramping feeling, it will came into effect in no more than 5mins

One more problem i faced was during unclipping my bike shoes upon reaching the transition. Tried to unclip it before reaching the no-bike zone, but it’s too tight. My bike had slowed down, so slow but trying to balance it while i’m unclipping the shoes. Cant do it myself. While balancing my bike, i asked for help from a supporter there to hold & support my body while i’m doing the unclipping. Successfully unclipped then. Phewww.. THat’s my 1st time experiencing that. I think because of the mud that stick under my bike shoes, got dried & made it stuck.

I didnt quite sure my timing for the bike, it’s around 2:20ish.

2nd Run

Starting the 2nd run, i stopped for pee again. Uhhhh.. i think i got bloated already. My legs feel easy, no pain, no cramp this time. This is a good sign. I managed to maintain the pace, slowly. I think i’m slow enough, but still managed to overtake quite number of runners too, hehehe Keep on running and running. Walked at the water stations only.

The weather was already hot. This time, the water stations served the iced water, good improvements from last year. Cool down my body at every water station.

1st loop was slow. Julie tapped my back & she overtook me… like zooommmm.. That was fast! She was in her 2nd loop and was about to finish the race. Saw Zulhassan in front, he was on his final loop also. 1st loop done. Looking at my HR watch, i got 45mins before the cut-off time, 5km to go. I can do this, just maintain the pace.

2nd loop was better than the 1st one. My pace was faster. Saw lotsa runners walking & stretching because of cramps. I just go on, dont wanna be affected of that scenes. Dush came beside me with his bike, offering a bottle of iced Coke. He asked me to just finish it. Thanks Dush. That was a instant supply of sugar inside my body, really need that. Didnt managed to finish it all, gave it to other runner. Then, Abu gave me another half bottle of Coke, again. Hhehehe.. thanks Abu. I just gulped a little, and made my way to the finishing line.

On my way to the finishing line. Photo by Aileen(Stupe's wife)

I finished in 4:49. A new PB for me. I qualified, finisher’s t-shirt & medal for me

Nik Raiha finished 6 mins after me. Congrats Nik for qualified on your maiden Powerman!

Post-race

Put my bike in the car, went for a shower at the toilet inside the badminton hall. Then off to the post-race lunch. Gather with my friends and congrats each other. Around 3:00pm, me & Bedul departed for KL.

My housemates during the event. Me, Julie, Fitri & Bedul.

Cantik plak no bib aku kali ni.. hehehe

Semalam (28/07/2009) aku pegi Stadium Shah Alam utk collect Adidas King of the Road(KOTR) 2009 race kit. Kaunter buka pukul 1pm. Aku sampai 12.50pm, org dah beratur panjang. Aiseh, lama lah aku kat sini, lunch hour sejam jer plak tu. Lantak lah, boss takde. Dlm race kit ada vest Adidas KOTR, race bibs & adidas brochure.

Stadium Shah Alam

Sampai2 jer dah ramai org beratur

Vest2 digantung utk memudahkan pemilihan saiz

6 kaunter disediakan

Aku ni citer jer lebih, mcm ler aku pegi lari KOTR nanti. Huhuhuh…

Siemens Run 2009 is now open for registration. You can register online or download the form and submit to them manually.

• Online registration form
• Download registration form

Hurry register yourself!
The first 2000 runners to register under category A-E will receive a free Reebok vest, others will receive a round-neck t-shirt.

Date : Sunday, 19th July 2009
Time : 7.30am (Reporting at 6.45am)
Venue : Teluk Chempedak Beach, Kuantan
Entry Fee : RM25 for all categories
Closing date : 12th July or first 1000 entries achieved

Hurry… register now!!!

Form: Download here

Asal2 nya, aku tak dpt nak register untuk Orange Run 2009 ni. Sebabnya, registration dah penuh hanya dlm masa 2 hari shj registration counter dibuka. Kuota hanya utk 3000 shj.

3 hari sblm race day, tiba2 kakak ipar aku call ada slot free utk Orange Run. Ada org tak jadi nak lari. Thanks banyak2 kpd Ms Julie & Joyce kerana bersusah-payah call member2 dia sana sini utk carikan pelari yg tak jadi lari pada hari tu. Finally, 5 org dr Slowmovers yg tak sempat nak register dpt lari Orange Run tahun ni. Yeahhhh!!!

Race start pada pukul 7.30am. Dimulakan dgn kategori lelaki, dan kemudian wanita menyusul. Jarak larian pada kali ni bertambah sikit drp tahun2 lepas, 11km. Run route nya juga tak berubah jauh.

Masa ni konon plan nak lari rilek2 happy2 - photo by PMtey

Cadangnya aku nak lari rileks2, main2 jer.. sebab tak prepare nak lari pun. Tapi tengok org lain laju jer, aku pon dgn tak sengaja terikut laju. Arghh.. belasah jer lah. Bukit double kat Bandar Utama tu pun aku belasah laju (pada aku laju lah tu). Ada 1 water station di bukit double tu. Pelari2 disajikan dengan air isotonik Revive. Sedap gak.

50m dari garisan penamat - photo by Ng May Ching

Aku berjaya tamatkan larian dlm masa 1:05. Konon lari saja2. Hahaha. Lepas tamat larian, aku beratur utk amik goodies bag. Pastu lepak2 makan & minum. Mcm2 ada. Oligo Koko, Nescafe, Revive, nasi lemak, sparkling water(nama dah lupa), mamee slurrppp, susu Dutch Lady chocolate(air favourite aku) & mcm2 lagi. Tu yg aku suka masuk Orange Run ni, byk makanan & minuman. Free entry plak tu. Makan lerr puas2.

Lepak2 chit chat ngan Encik IM Zulhassan. Bleh dikatakan dia ni mentor utk triathlon aku. Sedikit sebanyak dpt korek training method & tips drp dia. Thanks bro Zul.

Group photo bersama geng Slowmovers & BERNAMA

Lepas tu lepak2 ngan geng2 Slowmovers & BERNAMA. Amik2 gambar & balik.

Sekian report Orange Run 2009. Good organizer!!! Jumpa lagi tahun depan.

Pagi ni datang awal sket… nak book parking belakang Kelab Selangor. Sampai2 jer, dpt parking. Naik atas divider. Sempat tido se round dulu.. heheehhe.

Bangun kul 7.15am. Alamak, lom warm-up lagi. Gi warm-up lebih kurang, terus pegi ke starting area. Sambil2 tu mencari En. Halil(biras aku), nak pass running pouch kat dia, tak jumpa plak.

Race start tepat pukul 7.30am. Route mcm route 10k yg biasa digunakan dlm race2 lepas (Siemens Run, Power Run). Larian kali ni aku cuba push laju sket. Terutama skali kat section bukit di Bukit Tunku & Jln Duta depan Lembaga Peperiksaan. Bleh tahan gak, improved dari dulu. Kalu tak dulu situ ler tpt aku pancit.

Habiskan larian dlm kurang sejam (58min camtu). Tgh2 lepak minum air Milo, ternampak En. Halil. Aku ingat dia dah surrender tak jadi lari. Lari jugak dia rupanya. Waa suspek lu lah bro! Welcome back to the arena. Lepas ni bleh lari lagi.

Lepak2, minum2, chit chat, amik gambar ngan geng Slowmovers & chalooo…

Sekian report kali ni. Jumpa next week di Larian Menuju Puncak (Towerthon).

Gathering selepas lari

Memberi kata2 nasihat kepada pelapis2 Slowmovers

Bersama pelari2 dari NST

Sesi lompat tinggi2 (foto ole Mr. Tey)

Ni 1st time aku masuk GE 30km. Last year aku masuk 20km jer. Ok, let’s get on to the business.

Pagi tu kul 5.30am aku dah sampai kat tasik perdana. Lepak2 ngan ipar2 aku. Race kali ni aku tak nervous langsung. Rileks ajer. Badan pon dah cukup panas. Maybe sbb mkn kambing panggang kat Ulu Tamu mlm td kot.. hehehe.. Selamber jer mkn kambing sblm race.

Race for 30km category started at 6:15am. Mcm tahun lepas, start2 jer dah naik bukit. Tp tak rasa sengsara sgt bukit ni sbb lari in a close pack, energy byk lagi.

1st water station aku dah isap power gel. Padahal baru 30min aku lari. Lantak laa.. takut next water station jauh plak.

So far, larian aku takde masalah. All system went perfectly. Hehehe. Larian 30km & 20km split dekat u-turn depan Martrade. 30km kari terus sampai ke Tmn Sri Hartamas, ikut mcm jln tahun lepas.

Turun naik bukit, perghhh.. tak habis2 bukit. Dah ler bukit panjang2 plak tu. Adeh… namun, aku tetap maintain pace aku. “Jgn follow pace org lain”, bisik ku kpd diriku sendiri.

Diam tak diam, aku dah cecah separuh jalan. Power bar hulurkan satu Power gel, tak jauh pastu ada water station. Cepat2 telan Power Gel & grab air beberapa cawan. Fuhhhh …. terasa energy boost!.

Continued my run. Selisih ngan Alang kat depan Plaza Damas. He’s on the other side of the road. Go steady alang at your own pace. Asalkan sampai.

Next water station kat LHDN. Naik bukit lagi. Ingatkan terus turun ker Jln Duta. Menyumpah aku di dlm hati.

Cecah Jln Duta jer, nampak route marker, 22km. Hmmm.. lagi 8km. Tak jauh dah tu. Lari ikut Bukit Tunku lagi, tp ikut jln yg mendatar plak. Kira ok lah, bleh maintain pace. Lepas Komuter Bank Negara tu, ingatkan turun ke kiri menghala ke Padang Merbok. Rupanya ikut kanan menghala ke JKR. Adusss.. bukit lagi. Menyumpah dlm hati lagi.

Lari sampai simpang ke istana hinggap Sultan Selangor. Kat situ dah tak bleh tahan dah. Betis dah keras. Aku pon tanpa segan silu berjalan. Tak larat dah nak lari. Road marker menunjukkan 28km. 50m lepas tu aku lari balik. Lantak laaa… aku kene habiskan below 3:30. Tu target aku.

Good run

Sblm sampai finishing line, tgh aku plak rasa mcm nak cramp. Dah terpusing2 dah jari aku. Pelik aku. Tak pernah kene camni. Aku goncang2 tgn aku, tak ok gak. Aku teruskan larian dgn tgn & jari aku yg dah nak terpusing. Finally aku cecah finishing line. Timing 3:24. Alhamdulillah, below 3:30. Pegi pulang championchip, amik finisher’s medal. Tahun ni ada extra. Finsher’s T-shirt. Perghhh.. cantik aaa… Thanks GE. Bangga aku dpt finisher’s t-shirt, biarpun hanya 30km. hehehe.

Secara keseluruhannya, larian ni memang best, perfomance aku best, walaupon tak cukup training. Penganjuran pon bagus. Cekap. Keep up the good work GE!!!

C yaa next in the next GE!!!

(pics later)