try it ... try triathlon ...

"...i think for the start of 2010 i was suppose to blog something about what i wanted to do and how i never managed to do it .. how i wanted to do stuff for 2010 which will only be hot air come 2011 ..."

better late than never ...

my new found interest in triathlon

triathlon is just like travelling ... msut have distance .... stamina ...

output ?

whole lotta fun ... personally ... experiencing something new is the only reason i think makes people grow ... just like babies ... every day is a new sensation .. new experience .. first steps ... first everything ... and that's why babies i guess .. is always smiling ...i have a lot of routines in my life ... but when it comes to races .. i alwasy feel fresh ... always something new to learn ..to experience ...maybe i'm an adrenaline junkie ...maybe ..

distance for me doesn't necessarily mean the race distance .. of course to some it's overwhelming .. but it can't be done .. with my head firmly gripping to that principal ... i'm going to prove to myself that it can be done ...the distance is also the years/journey it takes to finally land me at Langkawi for a full ironman ...

and stamina .. is to finish it off ..not to blow up half way ... give up half way ... but to arrive to that destination ,....where you see yourself when you started .. begin with the end in mind ...


starting it?

I must thanks Fox Mulder for me being in triathlon ... he introduced me into this business ...he was wearing this really cool timex watch with the "indiglo" feature on x-files... and i really wanted this watch because i wanted to be cool like fox mulder ...and i finally got a timex (years later and a current model).. and it has this little ironman logo on it (under the timex wording)... timex is the offical timekeeper for IM....

fig1: my wife bought me this watch .. life changer ...thanks dear ..

With that watch ... i was obssesed about chrono-ing evertyhing ... how much time i spent from home to the office ..how long do i have to shit before i'm late to work ... how long for a person to order mcdonalds ... and of course how fast i can finish the serdang course which was only 6 km - my longest running distance then ...unfortunately ..the watch is currently under repair .. (never ask a watchshop that doesn;t sell timex to change you the battery .. the next thing you know .. your watch is filled with water .. idiot!)

after that .. i have purpose to running ... i wanted to a) run non-stop b) maintain or break my personal best .. before i know it ... 6 km became fun .. running thru sri serdang . .watching kids coming back from school ... thru the pasar malam ... watching factory workers coming off work ... bangla's and people watching me like i'm running away from something .. the UPM chicks ...but honestly serdang is a great course to run.. a lot of things to see ...and the time keeps getting better ... so gradually i increased the distance .. but the course have to be interesting .. luckily my new housing area has scenic routes also ...

now ... i manage to finish 20k non-stop (almost half-marathon) ... and it felt good .... to be able to finish something i thought would be impossible ...

but i didn;t want to just be a runner ... i wanted to do triathlon ...

fig 2: my first 10 k ... felt good afterwards .. and automatically hooked on running races...

then come the swim ...

swimming is the discipline i enjoy the most .. training or racing .. it's basically swimming man .. it by default fun ... but triathlon swimming is difficult ... 3.8km ... open water ....i know doing 1 hour per week in the pool would not cut it .. so i decided to step it up ... but how .. efficient swimming requires technique ... who is going to teach me that ..?

answer: dave scott .. with good clips on you tube .. has a lot of tips and drills to perfect the art of triathlon swimming ... for the first 3 months i became obssesed with swimming ... hitting the pool averaging 4 times per week ... spending around 6 hours per week correcting my techniques... and at home .. i watched re-runs of countless swimming tips downloaded from you tube and practice in front of the mirror where and there were time i have to convince my wife i'm not nuts ..i'm just looking at my stroke baby...without a proper teacher to guide and correct my faults... i have only myself to count on ... i also spend a lot of time at the pool watching proper swimmer doing their stuff and learning fthru that as well ...

and now i manage to swim 2k non-stop ...practice does makes perfect ...

fig 3: body marking prior to my first open water swim at desaru (500 m) .. survived ..

2 out of 3 ... i told my self if i can swim up to 1 km .. i would buy i bike .. because i can compete in a sprint triathlon consisting of 500m swim ... 20k bike .. and 5 km run ... and after i completed my first 1 km at the pool .. i called up kadir and alin .. for some bike tips .. which bike to buy with my limited budget ... and i bouth a merida 901 .... around RM2k ... it's ok i guess ... it got me through races ...

i still don;t feel physically comfortable compared to running/swimming when training on the bike .. until now ... for me .. the bike portion of the triathlon is the time to fuel up for the run ... but 180 km man .. i really can't just ride through that distance .. i must practice so i would not struggle as much or even worse drop out... so that's what i'm gonna do ... after the DPA 6 months .. gonna get me an aerobar ... upgrade a few components ... and ask dave scott for some bike tips ... via you tube of course ...

and with help from some interseting routes suggested by kadir .. i can hopefully enjoy cycling ...

fig 4: cycling at powerman 09... that smile says it all "40 km ...i'm screwed dawg"

with that .. i can conclude that ... triathlon serves up my hormones quite well ...

it has the adrenanline factor, distances, challenges ... and most importantly it provides me with new experiences and a whole lotta FUN ...

and all the things that people say about how practice makes perfect ... to be patient .. basically work to get what you want...

.... it is true

... i mean ... of course it's true la.... but to literally realizing those captions .. it's an awesome mind boggling feeling.... i figured if i incorporate it in whatever i do and keep the faith ....with time.. it will come to me ...

annex1 : results 2009 - personal best

1. 1ok run - 50 minutes - top 100 out of 400 runners
2. 20k run - 1 hour 50 minutes - top 50 out of 400 runners
3. powerman 09 sprint- top 20 out of 200 participants
4. triathlon 09 sprint - top 20 out of 40 participants

annex2 : targets 2010 (conservative) - you will do this .. i hope

1. 30 k / half marathon (marathon - unlikely due to DPA)
2. olympic distance triathlon
3. half-ironman
4. be able to ride for >120km (bagan lalang or PD)
5. be able to ride to pedas
6. 4 km swim .. pool pun ok la ..
7. wife to join in some fun run races

DPA

I'm off to INTAN mont kiara this monday for 7 months for what should be .. based on those who previously underwent the course ... annoying. But there would be some fun modules sandwiched between the 7 months. The duration was suppose to be for 6 months but due to ramadhan they extended it to 7 months ... hari raya man .. must go back ...

That's why i'm at the office on my day off ... packing up some stuff ... just to check if i left anything behind. .... the thing that i'm glad to leave behind is work of course :)

Obviously i'm gonna miss my little unit ... hadzim faeiq and my wife .. hadzim faeiq for sure ... but my wife so much so because to be honest i'm heavily dependent on her .. she prepares most of my stuff . .arranges a lot of stuff ... important to little things ... and not to have that would be a great adjustment ... either i'm too lazy or she's just good at taking care of me ... the latter would make me look better ...

well ... i guess ... that's life ... my life ...

milestones

i'm fully satisfied to have completed the sprint tri at desaru. I probably could have finished the long distance event but i think i'll save that for next year. Anyway, i don't want to finish all out flat. I want to finish the race like it is a race. Not just finishing it since i think anyone can finish a triathlon. Its just a matter of time.

My target was simple. non-stop & finish. My calf kind of starting to turn against me during the run but 200 meters along the way it wears off. Later on, i found my rhythm and finished. completed the race in 1 hour. The first guy completed it in 39 minutes i think. Still a long way to go for me to get close to that time.


went to watch the long distance event on saturday. took off from senai at 7:30 am and arrived 8:55 am. The first thing i wanted to do was take a look at the sea. I've heard many people mentioned that the waves are vicious. indeed they are. But it's just for the 100 meters. Then it looks ok. Saw hundreds of people starting the swim and i wished i was one of them. But its not my time yet.

The bike portion of the race was pretty cool. Saw lotsa cool tri bikes ranges from expensive cervelo bikes to merida 901 (my road bike). Exactly the same. Learned some stuff on transition. I got bored waiting for them to finish 80 km so i took off and went back home.

i wanted to download few more pics but since the internet is so fucking slow and i'm fed up so i'll just post.

this is my home town

Race Date:
19th July 2009 (SUNDAY)
Race Start / Finish:
Pusat Sukan Parking lot, University Putra Malaysia
Race Start Time:
7.30am - Bike / Gear Check In9.00am - Race Start
Race Kit Collection:(collection of race numbers)
Saturday, 18th July 2009Pusat SukanUniversity Putra Malaysia10.00am to 2.00pm
Race Briefing /Clinic:
Saturday, 18th July 2009Dewan Serbaguna, Pusat SukanUniversity Putra Malaysia12.00pm
Categories:
• Men's University• Women's University• Men's Open• Women's Open• Men's Team• Mixed Team• Media
Prizes:
Top 5 winners in the Individual category will receive placing medals.Top 3 winners in the Team and Media category will receive placing medals.
Closing Date for Entries:
12th July 2009

VISIT : http://www.duathlonseries.com.my/v2/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=46:upm&catid=1:latest-news&Itemid=54

COME ON GUYS.

THIS IS UPM.

THIS IS MY HOMETOWN!

seat height

seat height need to be higher, not utilizing the right muscle groups. Anyway last night went on a 20 k ride. and i thought 13 k was easy but trying to do it the time trial way is pretty tiring. I was just makan angin last time. so must put some effort la. be faster. cadence training when longer la. shorter route i should do time trial.

going to adjust the height some more.

new track

Race Information
SPRINT TRIATHLON
Date : 11 July 2009, SaturdayTime : 4.00 pmDistance : 750m Swim, 20km Bike, 5km RunVenue : Admiral Marina & Leisure Club, Port Dickson
OLYMPIC DISTANCE TRIATHLON
Date : 12 July 2009, SundayTime : 8.00 amDistance : 1.5km Swim, 40km Bike, 10km RunVenue : Admiral Marina & Leisure Club, Port Dickson

SPRINT TRIATHLON
Date : 2 Aug 2009, SundayTime : 9.00 amDistance : 500m Swim, 18km Bike, 3km RunVenue : Desaru Golden Beach Hotel

LONG DISTANCE TRIATHLON
Date : 1 Aug 2009, SaturdayTime : 9.00 amDistance : 2km Swim, 90km Bike, 21km RunVenue : Desaru Golden Beach Hotel

gotta find new track ... damn it ...

hills

the bike ...

i think as the bike section of a tri as doing a physical activity while carrying a piece of metal with you. as far as running and swimming is concern you have to just carry your body ... propel forward and go as fast as you could ... with a bike .. its different .... the gearing ... and there's breaking .... and the adjustment ... bike fitting ... oh ... so many things to consider ...

anwyay ,.. the rule of thumb was to have a staright leg when you're on a sitting mode with your feet parallel to the ground ... WITH a slight knee angle .. i realize yesterday that my angle was too big ... and hence the un efficient pedalling which left my legs sore ...

i'm gonna raise the seat a bit and see how that would go .. otherwise i'll have to adjust the cleats ... we'll see ..

anyway .. found a great track now for cycling ... 21 km ... bkt mahkota - sri putra - bukit mahkota - nilai 3 - bukit mahkota ....so that's a good olympic distance ... about 4 hills ... and 1 quite long one ... which i can practice pedalling while standing .... and gearing of course...

also a running track of 6 km .. and a long one 12 km ... so i don;t have to go to putrajaya to cycle anymore ... and take off my tires and get my hands dirty from the chain grease and stuff ... and not to mention the headache when putting the tires back on ...

there;s a putrajaya tri this year ... maybe if its on .. i'l ldo the olympic distance ... we;ll see

athlete movie

damn it,

why didn't i know about this movie?

where can i get this movie?

defy definition - totally agree

pyramid

I was on a 1+2+3+4+5= 10 scheme before and last night i tried the 2+3+4+5+6 = 20 scheme. It rained last nite at the pool but they still opened the pool anyway since there were no thunder. anyway, the 2nd scheme is better since it saves a lot of time. And that way i could prepare for the olympic distance = 1.5k.

never tried open water swimming. I'm going to save that. I read somewhere that it is better to save your first competetive open water swimming for your first tri.

duathlon

Malakoff University Duathlon Series 2009 (MUDS)

First time trying out a duathlon? Why not? With the MUDS everyone from young to old, new to experienced can take part in these shorter distance duathlons that aim to encourage more University students into the multi-sport of DUATHLON.
Come on and DU-Lah by marking these dates in your racing calendar:

• 19th July 2009 (Sunday) - Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) ke UKM confuse gua!--> 3km Run / 13km Bike / 3km Run
• 25th July 2009 (Saturday) - Universiti Tenaga Malaysia (Uniten)--> 3km Run / 14km Bike / 3km Run
• 1st August 2009 (Saturday) - Universiti Malaya (UM)--> 3.5km Run / 14km Bike / 3.5km Run

JOM LA MASUK!!!!

for more info

http://www.duathlonseries.com.my/raceinfo.html

swim, bike, run - YOU WILL DO IT

ran my 2nd 10k run on sunday. the 2nd run was ok since i'm running with new shoes. last time, i was running with my nike free and let me tell you .. there is little support on the muscles and at times it hurts .. causing me to fatigue even quicker ...

i think for swimming ... i got a good hang on the whole stroke thing ... did a pyramid scheme which gave me time to rest without compromising the effort needed to finish the distance ... good thing i found it on the internet ... very good tip .. ... so i manage to do 30 laps ... and i felt ok afterwards ... so that's like 1.5 k ... so i guess ... that's quite ok ... i see no point trying to do 1.5k non-stop now .. maybe later when my stroke count is reduced .. and i move more or less like a fish ...

i hate to bike ... but i just have to ... when i see this big hills ... i know it will hurt ... i hate it when the gears slipped ... and the fear of a punctured tyre ...

been running and swimming for the past year and a half ... i think .. and just started cycling ... i'm doing my first duathlon in july .. and then my first tri (sprint) in august ..

next year's target ... hopefully i can finish a half marathon and a full olympic tri .. maybe if i'm confident enough .. i'll try the 70.3 (half IM) ...

i sure wish i have some one on the same mission as mine ..

this is just the beginning ...

leave your old self behind ...

run - run+bike - swim+bike+run

multisport sure cost a lot of money though ...

its a bad time to be an arsenal fan

i have little to no interest in watching arsenal win ...

i can't imagine how arsenal will finish fourth this season with that defensive display ...

but i still enjoy theo walcott splitting defenses ...

2008

ok ..

2008

1. got married to farah waheeda ... she gotta get use to my tastes... i like my food salty woman! .. 2. i switched job ... a relief? no! .. all jobs are the same ...
3. i picked up swimming .. which i think is a great way to spend your time ... beside spending time with your wife ... heck ..i took mine along ..

i think there should be more things fy2008... damn it .. i can't believe i only manage to think of only 3 things.. ..

oh yeah ..here are some more ..

4. climbed mt kinabalu
5. went to redang
6. went to thailand
7. bought a drum set
8. bought an LCA camera
9. got new handphones
10. got an underwater bag (which is like ... the coolest thing ever .. helloooo!!)

item 4-10 : i wish ..

note to self .. FY 2010 please check whether item 4-10 has been fulfilled .. tq..

yang.. tolong add kan gambar kat blog i ni kalau u free ...tq

recap

since everyone is posting their recap of 2008. I might do so as well to keep up with the trend.

speaking of trend and blogging ...

it really is mind boggling how a person can copy and pastes someone elses blog and post it as their own.

i mean .. wtf? u are potraying a life that is not yours ... which is kind of pathetic ... since these people can;t even make up lies ...

i think lying is easy ...verbally ... but when u are trying to project this mega personality of yours through blogging ... the hardest part would be to convey the lies into complete sentences ..you resort to cutting and pasting .. some one elses life ... including the pictures ...

when you reach that low ... than there is no hope ...

ok ...

around new year last year ... i posted about going to kinabalu ,.... which i still ahven;t manage to do .. but i did went for my hney moon .. which is kinda nice ..

and also during the new year time ... i can't shake off these weezer tunes outta my head ...it's pre-set to turn on during the new year ..

maybe the 3 hours non-stop weezer jam session did it damage .. i miss that ... when everyone else is busy sucking up bottles and kissing or licking or whatever ... we were like screamin " say it isn't so !!! and pink triangle on her sleeVE!!!"and when our throats started to hurt we would slow down to " hep hep ... when you're on a holiday ...."

and the stink of a studio .. that is one unique smell that your smell buds will never forget ...

this is like .. the coolest thing i ever did for my new year ...

and as far as u know ...i might be lying about all the above ...... or this could be the writing of someone else ..

HNY09

HNY09

And to Arief and Jamaliah .. congrats ...

it's the new year .. time to list down those resolutions .. ..

but to tell you the truth ....

some things are better left like it is ....
lover, family and friends ..

Blog: Lying to myself has never been this easy

the 4 of us : me, kadir, pet and arip.

**what's new

allen iverson swithced teams, we can switch phone lines, i'm married, switched job. nothing much happening.

the current most recent thing i could remember is the cameron trip.

why on earth did we decided to climb irau. 5 hrs up and down with the last 3 hours in pitch black.

too much man vs wild i tell you.

wafi got himself a new truck. which is the coolest thing ever. the idea of being on the back of a truck while travelling to a unique destination at night under the moon is sooo kewl.

but for now, i only manage to experience being on the back of his truck covered in mud, tired, wet and all in a big ol plastic bag.

kewl

Arsenal: Youth vs Experience

Arsenal won the carling cup tie against wigan. The 3rd goal which was a delicate chip from carlos vela was superb and the sign was good for the arsenal youngsters.

apart from the carling cup, Arsenal also proved their worth by beating manchester united 2-1. What else can i say, when they're good, they're the best. When they're out of form, it jsut doesn't happen for them.

but arsenal is still the kewlest club ever.

ARSENAL

theo walcott the new #14 & gael da man clichy ...
our new #1 between the sticks
training the new goalie ...
sagna's hair is as cool as he is ... no doubt ...
new guy aaron ramsey .... he ain't english ...
theo n clichy with da weight ball ...
new kid learning from to the master ..
nice boots ... looks new ...
2nd team .... startlets ...
boss ...
coach n boss ...

i'm in no mood to work ..

why should i ?

i'm getting married ...

and all the pre-maritial jokes are getting lame and anoying .. but i know they mean no harm ..

i feel as if there are some things .... still not completed yet ... but i don't know what ...

today i'm at home listening to mp3 .. and downloading ... which i ahven't done for a long while ...

now i feel

i love the way a song just kinda catches your immediate attention. don;t you?

it just struck you...and sends shivers all over your body .. and the whole time ....you tingle and blown away ...

then, for the rest of the day you are trying to figure out what was the title of the song?

crap .