Miri Triathlon - last race for the year?

This is the furthest I have traveled to do a tri.
And the first time I ever had to put my bike in a box and fly with it.
It wasn't easy. Because it was huge. Transportation was a problem.
But we got to the airport alright. Thanks Dad. And thank goodness he had the foresight to own an Avanza. It was a tight squeeze (2 bikes!!) but we managed. Saw some other triathletes on the flight (night flight - ETA Miri @ 9.30pm) Hate AirAsia staff in handling our check-in of sports equipments (BOTH WAYS) so if AirAsia top guns just so happen to be reading my blog (I don't think so),.... please be aware that your ground staff are horrible, horrible and RUDE.

It was my first time in Miri. Arrived rather late but was pleasantly surprised that they had a bus from Sarawak Tourism to shuttle triathletes and their huge bike boxes to the hotel (Go Sarawak Tourism!). Promptly checked into the Park Everly Hotel upon arrival at the hotel. That's the official hotel for the Sarawak International Triathlon. It's not a bad place. Except that, the land area was infested with sandflies and as I am typing this, I am scratching the aftermath of the sandflies attack.

My other half and I walked about 1km away (what's 1km when you've done a 42km marathon? The figure seems very trivial these days!) for dinner. Dear Uncle Chan's recommendation and it was not bad. But oily as hell. Greasy food seems rather disgusting lately.... then we walked the distance back to the hotel.

I'm so lucky MOH is around. He assembled the bikes :) While I sat back and watched TV. Ain't that something? When I'm supposedly the one more nervous about the race, you'd think I would've been hands-on making sure everything was right. But when it comes to nuts, bolts and Allen keys.... I'm an idiot. He, on the other hand, is MacGuyver. He did a damn good job.

Next morning, woke up....... late. Ahh, the bliss of sleeping in...... lazed around the room. Called Randy (cos I was hoping he'd brought his bike pump which I forgot).... see if anyone was interested for breakfast.... only to find out that our room actually came with breakfast and we missed it! Ohhh, I was so irritated. No prizes for guessing at who :P In any case, we met up with Randy at the registration. Huh... everyone's doing the Sprint AND Olympic distance. I had only planned to do the Olympic distance actually. But decided to join the crowd so signed up for both.

After registration, we had to sit through the briefing session. I don't know why I bother. Because half the time, you make me look at a map, I get lost. Tell me to turn left and right, when we get to the junction, I'd have forgotten. So, in all my races, road or tri, I am especially thankful to the marshalls for directing me the correct way.

After the briefing, a few of us (Randy, Ivie, Sam, Carmen, myself and MOH) went for lunch. Walked over to some shops and had wanton noodle. Then stocked up on my junk food and 100Plus. 100Plus not so popular for East Malaysia races. I see Red Bull made more prominence. Must be that "Malboro Man" image of East Malaysian males. Hmmm....

Promptly got ready for the Sprint, taking place at 3pm. The bloody transition area was a good 2km away from the hotel. Had to cycle there ("warm-up, warm-up" says Uncle Chan). I wasn't feeling really good, considering my idiotic rib injury. Keep telling myself, it's only a Sprint. I'll take it slow and easy. Just a warm-up for the race tomorrow. As always, at the start of the race, I always get jittery and nervous and feeling a kind of dread... like "oh my God, why did I put myself through this?"...

What I had always liked about East Malaysia VIPS (taking my experience with the Mild Seven Outdoor Quest 2004) was their respect for time. They were always early to flag-off. Not us waiting for them, but them waiting for us. I see that had not changed. Given Peninsula VIPs, I could slap them for all the times they had been early. (Never).

And so......... "bang" goes the gun. And away we swam. I was one of the last! Well, I was accompanying MOH :) And I realised, with every stroke I took, my left rib was crying out in agony. I couldn't risk injuring it further by pushing, so I resorted to keeping at pace with MOH. Still, I came out of the water faster than he did. Then, went on the bike. God, it was difficult even to breathe, cos every breath was a sharp pain to my left rib cage. Disastrous. I went slow. In fact, by the time I got to the running leg, I was going to die soon. It was not that hot, thank God. But for the first time ever, I walked during a race. MOH and I walked and chatted and tried to get it over and done with. We even did interval training! (sprint for 5 lamp posts, then walk). And for the first time ever, we crossed the finishing line hand-in-hand. It was fun in that sense. But I knew..... for the Olympic distance - I will pop the painkillers before I race. Eventhough my drug supplier Jodie said not to. But I didn't come all the way here to do a dismal performance! I want to do it well! So, there you go. Decision made.

From the finish line, had to freaking walk all the way back to the transition area to collect the bike. I was really in pain. I felt like my whole body had gone to war. I'm not sure mentally, it does me any good, doing the Sprint. I was almost last. I was in pain. I just didn't feel like I could do the long distance. Oh dear...

The same group of us went out for dinner together. Guess where? Same place. Oh, I think the place is called the New Tanjung Seafood Restaurant. Carmen did the ordering (actually, I'm not sure that's how you spell her name. Forgive me if I got it wrong) and food was good. Generally, all the triathletes are really nice people. Everyone's stripped off their status (rich, Datuk, son of so-and-so, etc). We are here for one love - endurance sports that really make you go insane. The only competition is not who has more money in the bank, but who's faster. They're just nice. They share knowledge, info, bike pumps, and always ready to help. (For crying out loud, Jodie loaned me her bike thinking I'd do faster with it - whom I was told "you better not crash in it.") Well, in so far, that had been my experience. Of cos, there are some who has their noses up in the air and keep to themselves or their elite clicks, but most of them are there to have fun and to go crazy driving your body to the maximum output levels. It's like when you meet one of them at the airport, with the bike box, and you know they do a tri, there's a nod of understanding. No need to shake hands, no need to smile. Just a nod of acknowledgement to say "hey, we're doing it too." Like a secret between a select group of strangers.

After dinner, Randy, Ivie, myself and MOH went to look for ...... ICE CREAM! Yes, nothing like that sugar to pump you all up. (no, I'm kidding. Sugar does you no good before a race.). We found this place called Pete's Deli.... and I got a Trifle instead. It's ran by,.. Pete, I guess... who's this middle-aged guy speaking in the Queen's English. Quaint little place, I tell ya.

Back to room...... and slept early.

Next morning, woke up early for breakfast. I had scrambled eggs and toast and a spoonful of muesli (because I saw Kimberly Yap taking a whole bowl of Swiss Oatmeal and Muesli!!). Then, went back to my room for my Milo (i just had to have my Milo. I'm so used to it before my workouts that I think it mentally prepares me somehow!) I already had butterflies in my tummy. Loads of it. I popped my painkillers and then, away we left for the transition area. My mind at this point was already at war : "Just take it easy.... you're injured. It's ok."... "No! I must do well! I was dismally disappointing yesterday. Today, I must do Top 10!!" Over and over it went.

Today, I told MOH that he's on his own. I'm going for Top 10. Ain't gonna be accompanying him.
And once again, the VIP flagging us off was early. Bang! Went the pistol! I swam,...... and was so determined in avoiding being kicked cos anyone kicking my ribs would ensure I raced in pain thereafter. I got pulled, but didn't get kicked (nor groped).... I didn't quite like swimming in the sea water.... it wasn't exactly clear-blue (why do they always make us race in murky, dirty water where you can't see shit??!) and there's that salty, fishy taste in your mouth that makes you feel really thirsty! I felt quite good during the swim, actually. 1.5km and although there was a slight pain in my left rib, I could breathe more normally without the sharp pains. And I was making slightly good time. I knew I was the 41st person to get out of the water. That was in the top half!

I ran out and got dressed for my bike. I hate pulling up my bike shorts when I'm still dripping wet cos the shorts always get stuck. Damn. But if I'm never going to make Top 3, I'm not going to invest in a tri-suit. :P And away I pushed off on the bike. It's always a relief to be on your bike after the swim. Well, at least for the first 2-3km for me. After that, it's a mental and physical torture (I realized, I really dislike the biking leg of the race....especially the idiot hills). On the way out, I actually bumped into Uncle Chan and chatted with him (yes, I even had time to chat) when MOH caught up with me and said "Two more girls just got out of the water! You better go! Still got time to chat?! Tsk... tsk...tsk...!" So, I left Uncle Chan behind on his mountain bike and went off. I must say, MOH was pretty strong on the bike. He was ahead of me. Whereas I was trying to just get through the bike leg. 3 girls subsequently overtook me. Damn. But I have to say, this time around, I was feeling quite good for the race. As in, physically, despite my rib aching.... and mentally. Eventhough I was weak on the bike, I told myself, I would overtake them for the run. I was so sure I could. It wasn't like at my last tri, where with every kliks that I completed, my confidence level dropped. And guess what? I even forgot to time myself! The hill was a major pain in the ass for me. It was long and steep - well, the first hill that was. Like it was never ending and my legs were about to give way. But rolling down hill was awesome. It is only during races that I let go and ride with the wind. During my normal rides, I'm so afraid of being roadkilled. Whereas during a race, the traffic policemen are around to halt traffic. Speaking of which, there was one traffic police on a bike, who was so nice, because I was biking alone, so he halted traffic and all for me (like a personal convoy) and at one stage, during one of the hills, he actually took pity on me and told me to draft behind him. Thank God for drafting to be allowed. Hahahaha. But I think drafting only really works if you're really fast. For someone like me, at the most it does is ..... slightly less wind-resistance :P Thank You Mr Policeman!

Finally, I finished my bike. Then, went out on the final leg - the 10km run. I was still feeling good both physically and mentally. I thank God for the painkillers. But I am also wondering now if my eggs and toast breakfast had something to do with it. I didn't get cramps and I was running all the way. Overtaking all the girls who overtook me on the bike :) It was great. I was even singing along with my iPod wannabe. Yes, there was still that annoying pain in the ribs, but it wasn't at all like yesterday where every step was utterly painful. I'm trying to think - besides the painkillers, what worked for me today? Can't pinpoint a straight answer.

And after a hot, hot 3 hours, I crossed the finish line. It was awesome. I felt like I could do another 10km run. So, admittedly, I didn't push myself that hard. I should've. But ... it was either do it comfortably or push and risk putting me out of training for a month. So, nevermind. I did alright and I was happy. After 30 minutes or so, I saw MOH make a turn........ approaching the finish line. I accompanied him for the last 300metres of the run, right to the finish line. He was really funny. "After this, I'm going to drop dead and sleep. Please, please, please do not disturb me ok?!".... "yea, yea... whatever you want. Just finish. It's not far." (So proud of you for finishing!!)

And so........ just like that, the race was done. The damn body marking number is sun-tanned into my skin now. I tried to even out my tan, but no avail!

We were late for the Closing Ceremony & Lunch. Forgot that on this side of the world, everything's very on-time. But I took ages trying to scrub out the marker pen number :P Lunch was alright. After the Red Bull and water and 100Plus along the race route, I couldn't eat much!
I heard bits and pieces of the speech - that next year, the race date for Sarawak Tri would be 22nd November... and the budget's been increased to RM80,000 (I always knew Sarawak & Sabah Tourism had loads of money). Then came the prize presentation.

I came in 6th place for the Sprint - which was a laugh considering I walked half my 5km run. But it was out of 7 persons competing. Haha. For my effort, I got RM100 cash prize. But my real deal was the Olympic Distance which I emerged 7th. I'm happy. Out of 12 persons, I think. And got RM200 for that. Hah, so I got our room cost covered :) Randy, who did faster than me (of cos) managed 8th position in his category... and got less money than me. Where's the fairness? Oh, I tell you, it's fair. He could always put on a skirt! I guess, in a way, the A Famosa 10th placing was a prouder win... it was 10th place out of 23 others in my category. Whereas this is only 7th out of 12 persons..... hmmmm

And so..... that was that. My last race for the year... I think. Before that big move to Khmer land.

In the evening, MOH and I went cycling out to town (yes, didn't get enough of the bike during the race :P) in search of a dinner place. Miri is kinda like Palembang. Nothing touristy about it. Nothing unique to buy or eat. Like Malacca for its cendol, or Ipoh for it's Chicken Hor Fun. But Miri..... nobody knows what is special - except Kolok Mee (which is really Dry Noodle).... in the end, we went back to the New Tanjung Seafood... and had seafood.... Crabs, Squid, ... it was dirt cheap! We chowed down on 1 kilo of crabs and that was only RM28!!

Tired out, we went back..... as usual, my Macguyver disassembled the bikes and packed them back into the box (I have no clue which Allen key to use where)... while I watched TV... and then fell asleep and snored. By then, my painkiller had worn out and I was feeling the brunt of the assault on my ribs.

The next day, we lazed around by the pool after breakfast. My main objective was to even out my tan (I hate funny tan lines).... again, was swarmed by sandflies - me. Swam a bit.... then got ready to check-out. We had a good 5 hours to kill from check-out till time to leave for airport. So we took a taxi into town for lunch. I had some funny hot & sour noodle (i don't even know what it's called now)..... and then we walked some shopping mall.... and went to the supermarkets.... I'm surprised that most of the goods sold at the supermarkets were China goods. Even their Mentos and Wrigley's. But really, there was nothing to purhase that was unique to Miri. Good in a way I guess. Save money. Plus most shops including eateries were closed on the weekends.!

Then, we went back to hotel and had a drink at Pete's Deli again. Our shuttle arrived promptly at 7pm to get us to the airport. It was nice, considering we were the last 2 left at the hotel and they still sent someone over to ferry us (and our cumbersome bikes)... Met another triathlete and his girlfriend at the airport. Spoke awhile and exchanged contact details..... like I said, everyone's nice in the tri-circle.

And so..... goodbye Miri........... I hope to be back next year for the race. Hope I can.
For now, I have 2 more weeks to Cambodia and still waiting for my official time from Triathlon Malaysia.