Race Report (Sorta) : Kenyir Lake International Triathlon 2013

Well, this isn't gonna be a very thorough race report or maybe it doesn't qualify as one. But I'm just gonna briefly mention as my observation as a spectator and casual photographer. Well, I'm gonna kick in a bit of our "road trip" adventure too. ;)

The DR gang at Kenyir Tri 2013.
When all is done.

It all started a few months back when the DR gang were on the subject of triathlons. Kenny was aiming to do his soon and the others were still quite apprehensive of the idea. The idea came about when someone suggested of doing relays for the Kenyir International Tri 2013. Meaning a group of 3 participants doing each discipline of swim, bike and run respectively. This was just to get into the idea of what triathlons was all about and not to "kill" ourselves as we know we aren't ready to do individuals yet.

Team 1 was formed earlier on with Mark on swim, Kenny on bike and Yvonne on the run. There was supposedly a Team 2 with me in it. Unfortunately that didn't happen as I wasn't able to commit due to personal reasons that period of time and we couldn't get anyone else to commit.

With that, Team 1 went ahead for registration.

Closer to the date, Kenny invited me to tag along to Kenyir. I immediately said YES! Although I was disappointed that I wasn't able to take part but at least I get to support my buddies and to absorb the whole Tri atmosphere.

Our morning started early on a Saturday morning. Kenny, Von and myself headed to Ipoh to fetch Mark and we headed straight to Kenyir from there. Our road trip was a long one (combined of almost 8 hours driving) but we never felt short of topics to yak about throughout. From highways to challenging bumpy trunk roads, we finally reach our destination at the Kenyir Lake Resort.

Getting the race pack.

Arrived at Kenyir Lake Resort!

After registration and getting the race packs, we headed to our accommodation for the night. We stayed at a boat house called Bahtera. Unique, I would say. However it was a "cooking oven" at noon and freezing cold at night. But at least the beds were firm and nice to sleep on.

The Bahtera. Boat house we stayed on. 

The short nap...

I took a short nap while the guys did a short recee around the race route cum "warm up". By 7pm, we headed back to the resort for dinner and briefing by the organizers. We were surely entertained by Uncle Chan during the briefing with his hilarious one liners. He surely brought the house down.

Taken during carbo laoding dinner. 

Once briefing was over, we headed straight back to our accommodation and had a good night rest. I quickly knocked off in an instant.

By 6am, many were awake and I could hear loads of moving noises. Kenny was already up and prepping and so was Mark. However, Yvonne was still asleep! I tried to wake her up and her only reply was "My run is gonna be around 11am onwards. No need to wake up so early la...." I laughed my head off at her comment. She slowly made her way up as I slowly prepped my camera gears.

Kenny gazes to the horizon.
Added 10 secs to it?

The DR relay team.
Kenny , Yvonne & Mark.

We headed to the race site and it was really a sight to be behold. Many were already starting to warm up near the lake and getting their arms stamped. I started shooting away as I observed the whole event.

  

All I can say is this : I've seen many triathlon events on video and I'm always been inspired by them. But seeing this event right before my eyes is really an eye opening experience for me. I'm truly humbled by all of the preparation that is needed to do a triathlon and I salute every triathlete's hardwork and dedication. As a spectator, it was very daunting just to see one swim 1.6km, bike 45km & run 11km. Back to back; right under the hot sun and with a throw in of hills, hills and hills. I've found a new found respect to this sport.

And here are the full sets of photos taken during the event.

Misc shots : https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.300019303460274.1073741826.215755491886656&type=3

Swim : https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.300024763459728.1073741827.215755491886656&type=3

Bike : https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.300033053458899.1073741828.215755491886656&type=3

Run : https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.300040293458175.1073741829.215755491886656&type=3

All and all, I have to say it was an exciting event and I've learned much from it. I'm sure my buddies did too. So the next question is, when will it be my turn? I'm not lying when I say that I'm eager to do a tri. Many have shown their support and said I could do it. Well, one step at a time. It takes planning and it's definitely in one of my "to do list" in the future. In the mean time, I've still much to improve in my running techniques. Of course I still have to master my biking skills and my swimming techniques as well.

I'll skip the part when we were returning home. It was a long tiring journey home but we had loads of happy and positive memories of Kenyir Tri. Till the next round. ;)

MPIB 2013 Race Report (Sorta?)

The start of MPIB 2013

First run of the year. To those who participated MPIB 2013, how did everyone do and how did you feel?

I've heard many had done PBs for this route or distance. Congratulations and good for you. A great way to start the year. For those who hasn't, fret not as there are many more runs to come and always remember that running is a sport of passion. The most important thing is that you ENJOY the run rather than just care about how fast you could finish. No puns to the former either. Fast is good; given the right reasons.

Jamie claims this is his "stoned" face cause no sleep the day before.

I didn't participate in this year's edition and I know many of you were very surprised. Well, give me time and I will get back on track. I've a few races coming up in mind but I'll be very selective of which ones I would do. This is just to keep my training fresh and I hope I don't get burned out like I previously did. 

Anyways, I did go to MPIB 2013 as "the kepoh photographer on the bike". Glad to have met so many friends, the usual suspects and new. Of course I was also there to show support to my Dutamas Runners gang.

The usual suspects (photogs).
There is more they weren't around this area.

Since I didn't run in this race, I couldn't comment much about it but it seems that everything went well that morning. A strong turnout of runners already gathered at Padang Merbok as early as 5 AM and the anticipation built till the first gun off.

Ronnie See whizzed through with purpose.

I mainly went to 3 different spots during the race to shoot. First was at the Mahameru Highway (just before entering Bukit Tunku) which wasn't an ideal spot to shoot as I would had thought initially. Just as the female leading runner was passing by, the street lights decided to turn off! My first few shots were all blur and dark; missing out mostly all the lead pack runners. I've no choice but to gostan balik to a brighter spot; which was at the traffic light bridge. It was still early light and lighting is extremely challenging. But I managed to stay on till the last few runners passed.

Yim Heng Fatt aka the return of Sarong Party Boy
with balloons tied to his back.
Flying somewhere? ;)

Next I cycled towards Persiaran Sultan Sallahuddin. The 5KM runners passed by here earlier and there were still some passing through. It didn't take long until the lead packs of the 12KM and 8KM came whizzing through the quiet road. It was a great spot for shots with lovely green background  but I couldn't stay too long as I was viciously attacked by mosquitoes! How I wished I had my repellent with me.

Michelle Looi in her custom made running tee.

With that I headed straight downhill towards Tugu Negara and shot whatever I could from a junction. Less mosquitoes this time. 

Yvonne showing off her proudly earned
4th placing for the Women Open 5KM category.

Midway through, Von texted me "4th place!" and later "Raymond 6th!". Wow! Two DR gang podium winners. Ain't that bad. Congratulations to you both.

Met Yvonne back at the main venue and she had her K4 tag hung around her neck happily greeting me. (ps: She ran with a running dress/ skirt while at it too)

While she went to change, met with the others as well.














All in all it was a great day. I kinda regretted that I didn't join this run but I wasn't really ready for a round of Bukit Tunku considering I hadn't been there since SCKLM. But I indeed had a great day and enjoyed myself. As Jamie put it; the "Bandit Volunteer".

Bandit Volunteer? Me?
Photo courtesy of Kahwai Low. 

So here are the links to my sets of shots from MPIB 2013. And again congrats to all the podium winners!

Set 01
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.263710030424535.63083.215755491886656&type=1

Set 02
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.263732987088906.63086.215755491886656&type=1

Set 03
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.263762737085931.63092.215755491886656&type=1

Set 04
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.263789577083247.63108.215755491886656&type=1

Set 05
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.263804837081721.63111.215755491886656&type=1

And here are some random shots taken with the wonderful peeps at the event.

The ever cheerful and sexay emcee of the day, Julie Wong.

Flanked by champions!

The volunteers! The real "engine" behind the event.

Just wanted to show Tomatoman's cute pose in his podium shot.
He definitely is HAPPY. 

Banyak duri around the roses.
Last shot of the day with happy faces.

Great Eastern Live Great Run 2012 - Running on homeground

Just over the weekend, The Great Eastern Live Great Run 2012 just took place. If this sounds familiar, it's actually quite like the Great Eastern Women's Run in Singapore. In our country, all gender mesti participate. ;)

Held at Martrade and route around the Dutamas area, the Dutamas Runners gang was of course pretty excited about it. After all, this IS our training ground. So when registration started, we quickly did it in a jiffy. 

The DR gang early bird registration : From left Seng Chor, Kenny and myself. Sequential numbers!

So you could imagine Seng Chor, Kenny and myself were quite surprised when our bib numbers were running sequential numbers. Talk about being kiasu! (ps: actually we didn't know we registered at the same time and it's purely coincidental.) 

I was pretty excited the day before but I tried to get as much rest as possible. I told myself not to get overly excited like other races where I loose sleep over it. For once, I decided that I should skip my compression wear and GU gels this time round. Probably didn't need it for a short race and not wanting to rely on it so much. 

The main stage area and gathering point.

Morning started out early as I calmly left the house and head to the venue. It was a short drive since I stay nearby. Already there was a large crowd of people slowly swamping into Martrade.

Clockwise from top : (1)The official photographers and photog buddies - Jason, Darren & John "Katak" Ling, (2)Sue Leng , (3)Part of the setup team - Winnie & Grislle , (4) Crystal & Alex.

 After leaving my bag at the baggage counter, I was ready to do some warm ups. Not before I met up with some of the guys along the way. Pleasantly surprised was to see Jason and John "Katak" Ling (my photog buddies). They were part of the official photographer team covering the event. I made sure they take my photos and checked where they were positioned at the run.

Walking towards the startline, met up with the setup gang that I've worked with during the recent We Run KL 2012. They have been working since the day before and they were still pretty energetic. Great job!

The startline already crowded.

I'm usually quite kiasu when heading towards any startline. I prefer to be close to the start rather than start at the back. From previous experiences, this was to avoid zig-zagging slower runners after the gun off. 

From top left to bottom : (1)My DR buddy - Kenny G , (2) Therese of Hivelocity, (3) The Real Ho & Weng Woo, (4) DR gang - Raymond T. (5) The ever fast, Edan Syah, (6) The Forever Young - Uncle Oli, (7) The ever fit - Herny. (8) Mrs. Moey of Ton Ton, (9) Michelle Eves as bike marshal

Being 30 minutes early before gun off, I'm bound to always bump into friends inside or outside the pit. Since I was in a "Korean" mode, I kept calling everyone Oppa (which soon I found out was a wrong term to use on anyone. Apparently only young girls can use it on slightly older guys). How embarrassing. (-_-)||

While inside the pit, I kept my legs moving so I don't cool down too much. Must keep the heart rate pumping. The gun off was delayed by 6 minutes, which felt quite like an eternity. The crowd began to feel anxious and the emcees were trying to keep everyone occupied with some music and some activities. I was beginning to feel worried as the sky is getting brighter and the sun rays can be quite glaring at some parts of the route.

Once the gun was off, I wasted no time overtaking as much runners as possible but conserving energy at the same time. I'm mentally prepared as I know what waits before me - hills, hills and more HILLS!

Bumping and over taking Sharon.

The first 2km was pretty easy as the road was going downhill. Loads of runners were speeding through. Part of me wants to go with them but I stayed with an easy pace. I need to conserve energy for the later parts.

Clear skies! After 3km mark heading towards Publika.

As expected, the glaring sunrise!

Capt overtook me around the 4km marker. I thought he was at the front being that he is part of the "elite". More added pressure as he encourage me to push. We were pretty close to each other for about a kilometer before he sped off. I had to slow down a bit (as expected) cause of the glaring morning sun. Even with my sunnies on, my eyes were squinting.

Next up was the turn heading towards Hartamas. This is the part that I started to speed up.

If this was the scene of "Sound of Music", better start singing "The hills are ALIVE....." cause this is where the terror begins. Jalan Sri Hartamas is a popular road for runners doing their training run. It's famous for it's continuous ascends and descents. KM6-KM9 is gonna be FUN!

First obstacle course - Climbing over Water Barricade.

 Arrival at Plaza Damas is greeted with the first obstacle course : Climbing over 2 walls of water barricades. If you are wondering, this is kept with the organizers theme of "Over coming obstacles in life". How fitting. It was pretty easy actually but somehow I saw some people cheating by bypassing them.

Made up a bit of time as I quickly jumped over the barricades as many were struggling. I need to quickly make it downhill and make a U-turn to catch up.

The rest of the route is pretty much straight forward. After the U-turn, the route was in reverse and we need to head back towards the finishing line.

Running pass the infamous coloured wall structure outside Publika. 1.5km to go!

 The last 1.5km I really pushed hard. Basically because I was hungry! A couple of hills and we were back at Martrade again. About 200M to the finishing, one more obstacle course to go.

CG guarding the last obstacle.

The last obstacle - Zig zagging through a "maze".

The last obstacle was a "maze" (or the lack of one). A quick left-right-left and you're out of it. A good and fun addition but could be further improved next year. The team of supporters (including CG) were at the obstacle course giving support and encouragement to every runner.

Out of the maze, a quick turn to the left and the finishing line is just a shot away. I quickly blast through the finishing and was very happy with my timing. At the same time, I was cringing cause the DJ decided to blast a certain "Gangam" song when I crossed it. Happy nonetheless. ;)

Ever cheerful Jolene. 

Walked through the welfare area to collect my finisher medal and was greeted by the ever cheerful Jolene. Dun play play. She has done more FM that I did.

After collecting the goodie bag and a quick change, it's time to meet up with friends at the staging area and finishing line.

From left : Yin Yin, Gilbert , Tan Wah Sing and me.

Cute little boy helping out to pass Tau Hueh for the participants.
Such a joyful sight to see young ones helping out.

With Ultra-Marathoner Frank Chong of Running Lab Malaysia.

Jason was so busy snapping away that he wasn't aware that I was calling him. Well, he needs to do his job.

Closing to the finishing line, Kenny G & David.

Showing off our sequential bib numbering. Except Capt's bib number was a bit later.

It was Uncle Oli's birthday, so I decided to do an impromptu birthday song for him. Please don't mind my suara sumbang la cause I can't sing properly for dear life. Happy Birthday Uncle Oliver. Stay forever young and continue to inspire! (ps: Uncle Oli does Full Marathons and Ultra-Marathons! No words can expressed how incredible his feats are). 

Top Podium Finishers.

Edan pointing out his winning results.

Group photo with all podium winners and the GE team. 

Mr & Mrs. Moey. Congrats to Moey on his 4th placing in the Men's Junior Veteran Category.

Congratulations to Mr. Tan Wah Sing on his 3rd placing in Men's Senior Veteran Category.

Edan and his 3rd placing mantle. Congratulations Edan!

A quick pic with the fastest Human Snail. Amazing costume bro!

All in all it was a great event and I honestly can say I enjoyed it very much. I'm sure many would agree. Everything was very well organized.

Later I found out that I did a personal PB for 5km by shaving off 3 minutes! I'm so glad. :)

Here are some breakdown points:

Pros :
1. Sufficient water stations and the sponging station was an additional bonus.
2. Excellent route with obstacle courses.
3. Race venue was huge and catered well with more than 5,000 people.
4. Finisher Medal - One of the best I've received. Very solid and well made.
5. Volunteers and support team were helpful in all areas.

Cons (not really but if I had to nitpick) :
1. Gun off should be on time. Not a big issue for me as long it's not delayed too long.
2. Obstacle courses could be more challenging. Always room for improvement.
3. Suggested parking areas may seemed a bit far from venue but a good warm up before the run.

The organizers definitely did well in this event considering this is the first one done by Great Eastern Malaysia. If ever there is a Live Great Run 2013, count me in! :)

The awesome looking and solid finisher Medal for Live Great Run 2012.