The Challenge Series

A truly national series should ideally have a race in each capital city. This ideological approach provides opportunity for all triathletes to compete locally. Adelaide (SA), Canberra (ACT), Moreton (QLD), Hobart (TA), Sydney (NSW), Perth (WA) & Geelong (VIC).

 

Worlds Qualifying Spots

As host nation each Olympic Distance Age Group has a maximum of 25 spots available. Points will be allocated to positions 1-25 in each age group i.e. 1st will get 25 points and 25th will get 1 point.

 

  

Saturday

Collected my rental car & started my drive up north towards Redcliffe. The journey took 45mins-1hr. Ozzie being too helpful had sufficient road signage but I still got lost. Registration & bike check-in was from 5pm-8pm. Beautiful Redcliffe is like your typical PD but with cleaner beaches. The sea looks just as murky though. Collected by bib No. 64 & freebies eg. bag, towel & cap. Transition area bike rack was coordinated by numbers. Thankfully No.63 didn’t race so No.62 & I had more space to spread out. I got home about 8.30pm and had only 4hrs of snoozes when my alarm rang at 3.30am.

 

 

 

 

 

Since this was a smaller race, there wasn’t that many people participating. A little ‘paiseh’ to park my bike next to Cervelos. Cervelos is one of the big brand names that professionals ride while mine is just a 2^nd hand Trek bike that cost like ¼ of a Crevelo. I wrapped up my bike coz we have to leave it overnight. Didn’t wanna overheat the tyres & also to protect my precious soft saddle. Good thing too coz it rained that night.

 

 

 

Swim (1.5km)

My 1^st ocean swim. I had confidence in my swim after passing puberty with my technique. Also gotten use to the unsighted murky water (meaning swimming blindly). But the part that caught me was the current & waves. I ended up swimming breaststroke the whole 1.5km cause I felt I wasn’t going anywhere faster swimming zigzag. And to end it all, trying to run on shallow water, up towards the beach. So close yet taking me agessss to get out of the sea.

 Bike (40km)

My weakest leg. I hate loops. Passing numerous U-turn & going thru the same torture 4x. Rain made slippery roads, making turns & speed high risk. My faithful red ‘kecik’ bike was a toughy making through those obstacles safely.

 

 Run (10km)

Run was straight forward on the beach pathway. 3 loops, with water stations at every 1.5km. Kept a very good pace with frequent water pouring on my body & head due to the humidity. I didn’t even wear my sunnies the whole race coz it was overcast weather.

 

I wasn’t that happy with my time because I was slower by 5mins from my previous race. I learnt the biggest lesson is to wear socks when racing or else apply Vaseline all over ur feet if running sockless. A definite painful lesson. Slippers for the rest of the week. Also wore my new Croc tri-top. Comfy and light.

 

 

My 1^st time away from home for Chinese New Year left me quite homesick. Cannot hear “Gong xi Gong Xi” song without tearing. Keeping to tradition, I decided to pay a visit to Brisbane Chung Tian Temple (http://www.chungtian.org.au/) for midnight prayers. 

 

 

Their big “Blessing Bell” in the center court is believed to be the heaviest and the biggest bell in Brisbane (I think it’s the one & only bell in Brisbane).

On the 1^st day of CNY, my true love gave to me….just felt like singing. A must to drop by Chinatown, just to soak in the atmosphere. Whole day’s worth of performances such as Chinese opera, martial arts performances, puppet show etc. All the restaurants were packed with people all the ways to the streets.

Oh, coincidentally, it was also Australia Day. Something like Independence Day kua. So we were lucky coz it’s a public holiday for everyone. The other side of Chinatown, Valley Transmission was having their share of musical performances as well with Aussie rock band. So u can have the best of both worlds.

 

Having missed so much of Chinese New Year flair, I decided to at least perform a “low sang” session with my chinese colleagues. You can purchase a box of yu sang from the supermarket for only $15 a box.

 

 

 

Yusheng is Chaozhou-style raw fish salad. It usually consists of strips of raw fish (most commonly salmon), mixed with shredded vegetables and a variety of sauces and condiments, among other ingredients. Yusheng literally means “raw fish” but since “fish” is commonly conflated with its homophone “abundance”, Yúshēng is interpreted as a homophone for Yúshēng meaning an increase in abundance. Therefore, yusheng is considered a symbol of abundance, prosperity and vigor.-www.wikipedia.com- -www.wikipedia.com-

 

So we had a mixture of Malaysian, Taiwanese & Aussie (special invite) on our table. Kinda found out that this delicacy is mainly Cantonese coz my other Malaysian colleagues from a different dialect had never “low” before. Heh??!!! Oh and my mom’s ngaku crispy crackers, that I brought from home was a major hit. Yummy!!!

 

Cantonese dialect words

Chinese : low  = English : mix

Chinese : sang = English : raw

Chinese : Yu-sang = English : fish-raw(direct translation)

 

BUT NO ANGPAU!!!!

 

 

There was no doubt that the biggest celebration of the year would be the 31^st December (other that your birthday that is). I remember the hype counting down to the millennium year. Quite a number of my friends had to celebrate in the office.

Team Hyper Giler (THG) headers, the Raymonds, had booked a suite at the Parkroyal Hotel KL for a great night of celebration, socialising & boozing like there’s no tomorrow.

There’s nothing much I could tell except that I met some great bunch of people, all with the same interest, had my 1^st tequila shot & laughed till I had tummyache and just pure craziness.

 We had pregnant guys, guys with makeup, guys interrogated, girls molested etc. Also bringing cheer to the lifts by not letting anyone in & wishing them a ‘Happy New Year’ in return. There was an incident where models appeared before us, all the girls cried “Quickly close quickly close” while the guys “Oii!!” at us.

  

As midnight came, we crashed the hotel’s celebration at the swimming pool area. We were entertained with fireworks from everywhere such as Sungai Wang, Berjaya Times Square & KLCC. Everyone might be graining their necks & getting hammered on the streets, while I was on 6^th Floor enjoying the sights, having seen the fireworks closer than ever. Happy Oxie New Year to all!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

The running group that I am proud to be with, Team Hyper Giler (THG) had booked a suite at the Parkroyal KL for the convenience of gathering, boozing and not forgetting running. Yes…running on new year’s eve. The One Mile Dash made its debut this year for a 1.5km from Heritage Row towards Dataran Merdeka.  

 

 

As we all know there’s no way anyone would be driving in the streets of KL on new year’s eve with the number of humans jam thinking their grandfather owns the road.  So we decided to do a warmup jog to our starting point. If you saw 6 joggers on the streets from Sungai Wang, passing Hard Rock Café at 730pm that’s us. Oh..i started singing Auld Lang Syne too..hahah…hey I had good company.

 

At the starting point, we started scouting our competition. There’s always no such luck for the guys when the Kenyans are running. Thankfully for the girls, the Kenyan runner was in a different age group. So it was just down to me & Michelle. It’s kinda difficult sprinting when you’re a distance runner. We’re so use to controlling our pace to be able to survive thru the distance rather that pushing it all out from the start till  the end.

 

When the gun went off, fuiyoh…I see the guys only for like 5secs and that was it. I was their dust.  Running along Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman was so-so. Focus was just straight ahead. Few supporters clapping with encouragement while passing Sogo & my favourite textile shop, Kamdar. Michelle was just about 25meters ahead of me. Seeing her looking back a few times made me smile. Hey, I wasn’t laughing at her. Just that there’s a kiasu-ness in all of us.

 

Passing the finale arch was great. I’ve always loved racing at night. No complains about the weather. We had to wait for the 3^rd winner before prize giving ceremony. Woohoo!! Free Crocs. And I was making noise beforehand that the volunteers (who don’t have to pay $$$) gets free Crocs while the runners (paid registration) gets nothing. Plus the comparison of medal size between the finishers & winners was entertaining. We stopped for a bowl of Beef Balls Noodles for dinner and Jalan Alor for their famous Fried Chicken Wings before heading back to the hotel for our countdown.

 

The next day, I went to Crocs Subang Parade branch to collect my free crocs. Too bad limited colours available and only 1 type of style applicable.  (http://www.crocs.com.my/footwear.php) but heck, its free. There’s no way I was gonna pay RM129 for a bloody pair of slippers that’ll make me look like Ronald McDs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sekolah Sri Petaling Satu dan pelbagai bangsa Tenaganya digembeling Berusahalah untuk nusa   Wahai murid sekalian Bergerak maju sekata Agar tercapai impian Berjayalah cita cita

Hidup berjasa cogannya Mengikut fikiran baru Sopan santun pekertinya Hasilnya usaha guru

 When was the last time you met up with your primary school friends?  What would you say to someone whom you’ve not met for nearly 10yrs? Verbally “oh my gawd!!! It’s wonderful to see you. How have you been?” and mentally “Damn…he/she’s put on weight. What the hell happened?” Not being rude, just being truthful. But we are all polite beings.

 

As we grow older, we go thru different phases in life. Baby, child, teenagers, young adult, single/married adult, parents and grandparents. In my perspective, I sometimes find it difficult talking with a parent acquaintances, coz the main topic of conversation would always fall back on their kids. I’m not good with financial market neither in business. So what am I good at as a “catch-up conversation? hmm…i guess I’ll need to figure that out. 

 

 

I organised a gathering about 3months in advance, while I was still overseas. Kiasu leh. Thankfully once you have someone in Facebook, that’ll link to many others. Just spread the word, they’ll come swarming like flies. I guess the biggest problem I face would be trying to find a place to accommodate everyone. There’s no place like TGIF.

 

 Sri Petaling….sighh…I still pass by it every time (my family home is still in PJ). Has it changed? Can’t tell since I haven’t visited it since I left. Few memories I had during my primary school years. The haunted toilet where a girl got killed by hantu, my English teacher & my mom has the same name, the first time I slapped a boy.; for stepping on my shoe :p Oh and not forgetting when I realized the existence of older boys, hanging out next door at Bukit Bintang Boys School.

 

That night, I met up with doctors, consultants, air stewardess, director (who just came from a game of golf) etc. And me…sexytary hahahha… We were still wondering what happened to a few number of people, like the coolest boy in school, Shiraz (nickname She-Ra…remember the cartoon?) and the love interest that went around. It’s too bad that not many were able to make it that nite, but there should be many more gathering to come. Karaoke anyone?

Only a few days after my return for the holidays, I decided to go for the Malakoff 12km run, mainly to meet up with old & new friends I’ve been chatting with for the past few months.

 

Venue was at Taman Rimba Kiara, Taman Tun, with only 2 distance 12km & 6km. Thankfully I didn’t need to travel far for it. The original route for 12km was passing the Bukit Kiara Golf Club out towards the Sprint Highway (beautiful flat tar road) passing the Science Center, Hartamas & Kiara and then thru the Penchala Link Tunnel. But noooooooo….someone/something had to cancel that route. So the 12km runners was to run the 6kmx2 *killer eyes glare*.

 

 Race was at 7am so like usual we were all up & about at 5am. Yes yes….i know. The ungodly hour. But its either run early, finish early, no sun & faster back to bed OR wake up late, start late, get burn from the sun & sleep the whole day to recuperate. Wait….that actually sounds better. 

Met up with old friends, new friends, friends never met before but spoken with on facebook, photographer friends etc. Oh, I decided not to carry my camera with me this time since it was in PJ anyway. Nothing exotic to see.

 

 The starting line was a small arch with a narrow path (taman mah…) leading out towards Taman Tun roads. My 1^st loop of 6km had me cursing due to the incline hills at every 2km. Ok, I’ve been wayyy to pampered by Australia races (because they love us so much, they only give us flat surface routes).

 U-turn point was at the Bukit Kiara Lawn Bowl Complex & Netball Stadium. Spotted all runners favourite runner/photographer, Tey. He actually commented that I should research various different poses coz my “peace” sign getting abit boring already :p

 

Well, I timed a measly 1hr 4mins placing 14th in my category. Pretty disappointed at my result with all my training beforehand. I could have done better but being human, I would put the excuse on humidity and those darn hills. I can’t wait to start collecting medals again (Oz don’t gip finisher medals L I don’t feel appreciated)

 

I joined RAW (Real Adventurous Women) for another weekend event and this time it was waterskiing. I planned my route with the wonderful www.translink.com.au. What bus to take & what time.

 

The Brisbane Water ski Club Inc. is a non-profit organization whose goal is to encourage people of all ages and abilities to come and enjoy the pleasures of water skiing and wake boarding on the beautiful Brisbane River.

- http://www.geocities.com/brisbanewaterski/ –

 

Due to the heavy storm the past few days, the beautiful Brisbane River don’t look that beautiful anymore. From its light grey river colours to muddy brown. I kept asking myself “are we skiing in here? Is it safe?”

 

I was given brief instructions on how to waterski. Straighten ur arms, lean back & bend your knees. Right…easier said than done. I was provided wetsuit shorts (which was still too big for me) & vest. I wore my rashguard underneath to prevent friction to my skin.

 

I started off with the boom bar or learner bar. The boom bar is connected to the side of the boat. A good start cause the bar doesn’t wobble or slack like the rope. Once we’ve gotten the hang of it, then comes the rope.

 

1. Hold the rope in front of u, between ur legs,

2. U lean back into the water (u won’t sink coz of the vest),

3. bend ur knees & arms straight.

 

As the boat starts to move, ur upper torso will be pulled forward. That’s why u’ve to start off in a sitting position and lean way back. That way ur skis will generally glide thru the water surface below your bum.

 

Once I started skiing, I could only stay in the bend knees position for ~1min, then my back starts to ache. So I would slowly start to straighten my legs. Really need a good core for this sport. I learnt 2 hand gestures that the boat driver would give. One is the tut tut train (u know when u pull the rope to sound the honk on a steam train). That’s to tell the skier that bumpy water ahead. Skier to stay low & bend knees to absorb the impact. Another is twirling of the finger, meaning the boat is making a u-turn.

 

I did pretty well at my 1st waterskiing attempt.  With a few bumps here and there, and the temperature hitting about 34deg, the cold water was a pleasure to be in. Not forgetting our entertainment from pet doggies enjoying the water too.

 

*I was told that baby sharks & dolphins were spotted in the Brisbane River before *faint*

Croquet is a game played both as a recreational pastime and as a competitive sport which involves hitting wooden or plastic balls with a mallet through hoops embedded into the grass playing arena.

 I always tell ppl its the game that the Queen of Hearts played in Alice in Wonderland. If u dunno the fairy tale, then never mind. “OFF WITH HIS HEAD!!”

 

When I told my colleague I was gonna play this game, he said that it was “brutal”. huh? U mean we whack each other with the mallet? And yes, the game is mainly dominated by the elderly. 

 

After learning abit about it, now I understand. The strategy is something like pool/snooker. Max 4 players. Each picking a coloured ball. Partnering 2vs2, u strategizes the partnership on who hits between the hoops. U can whack ur opponent away / blocking ur opponent / whacking ur team mate closer to the hoop. Refer to diagram above, following the number sequence.

 Holding the mallet was really tough for me. I was so tempted to change to golf / hockey style. You know when we foolishly swing a bowling ball between our legs for fun? Well, this is how we swing our mallet. There’s also handicap like golf. The least number of strokes, the better u are.

 

I know that I was really bad at it coz I only scored twice after 2 games / 13hoops p/game. I had great fun & lots of laughter with the other ladies (older than me) :p This is a game that would make an innocent old lady be the most cunning player on the field with behind her hidden smile.

Once upon a time…there was an employee who worked very hard all year in the Kingdom of John Holland. Then one day, it was deemed that all loyal subjects & their partners be rewarded with sumptuous feast, music & merriment. And so on this magical evening, they gathered to celebrate, tell tales & honour their legends.

 

The theme “fairy tale”…. *fairy flies around ur screen* sparkles

 

A very casual event, no registration table & free flow of cocktail (at the start). U can bring a partner (doesn’t have to be a hubby somemore)

 

A lot of pics. Enjoy….

2 types dishes for appetizer, main & dessert set at alternate seatings. I had Wagyu Beef Bresola Salad, Barramundi fillet & Dark chocolate delice, hazelnut praline & pear mousse. *slurp slurp*

It’s funny. After going thru all the pics, I realise that I’m the only one wearing bright green. Like every big functions, we tend to mingle around more than eat. I was so tempted to try another dish other than the one I was served :p

 

The band was great. Had me dancing at my seat, even while I was eating. Speeches was long like usual. Long serving award was given out. Best Dressed Female was Cleopatra. Not her 1^st time either. I think the White Rabbit took the Best Dressed Male. He hopped to the stage..ahhah & Neptune & partner won Best Dressed couple.

 

After not wearing heels for a long time, trying to get accustomed to them again to hit the dance floor was painful. I had a great time good food, good music & great company.

 

Located at Sunshine Coast, Noosa is about 1.5hr drive away from the Brisbane city. I would describe Noosa, as a North version of Gold Coast except less busier and warmer. Many would visit Noosa for a weekend away just to hit the beach or to catch the sun.   “ONE of Australia’s biggest annual sporting events, the Noosa Triathlon, with over 8,000 competitors set to swim, cycle and run their hearts out along the beautiful Noosa foreshore. “   “The event is one of the most celebrated and unique triathlons anywhere in the world, and is steeped in a rich history and culture that makes it an unmissable experience.”

 

My partner-in-crime, Hannah & I embarked on this thrilling journey on Saturday morning under the hot blistering sun (walau eh…starting to sound like fictional writer already :p). Anyway, we planned to reach early coz wanted to test out the cycling route. No such luck. Due to a light traffic jam along the way & getting lost, we got there around noon, in which I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to make it back in time to check-in my bike. Sorry Han L

 

It was unlucky that Hannah wasn’t able to join the event as registration was full a month before the event. Extremely highly in demand. I collected my freebies & to my amusement, noticed a “Team Matching Board”. The team categories consist of 3 athletes performing the swim, cycle & run leg. So if your teammate can’t make it, u have other options as well. No reason wasting a good event. A few entries really caught my attention “Pick me! Freaking Fast!”. This definitely calls for desperation tactics.

 

I had a terrible encounter with the wetsuit swim at my previous tri event. Thankfully the temperature went up to 24.7deg, with a ruling of no wetsuit swim. Woohoo!! Guess my prayers were answered.

 

After wondering around abit, it’s time for shopping. I scouted various booths at the expo ie. Skins, Triumph, Scoda, NB etc. Going thru baskets of tri & cycling clothing, looking for the right colour, size, type & price. If you were wondering why Triumph, a lingerie giant, was at a sports event, is because we, women are also competitors. We too have special needs. I dunno what men personal needs are at a sports event that needs to be customised, but let’s not get into that :p

 

The Triathlon in Noosa is just one of the many events held as part of the Noosa Multi Sport festival including a kids only triathlon – Superkidz, the Noosa run swim run for all levels of skill and abilities, a Celebrity Golf tournament, the Tour de Noosa cycle competition, the breakfast fun run, Volleyball skins, the Noosa Ocean swim and the Noosa special triathlon for athletes with special intellectual needs, that runs for 5 straight days.

 

Looking for accommodation at Noosa a month before the event was nerve wreaking. All accommodation near the starting point was already full. Someone from above must be looking down on me when I found this great place only about 15mins bike ride away at good price.

 

The big D-day came. I woke up late, cause my phone died on me. Hannah had partied with some frens till 4am, and still had the energy to support the event. I went to transition area to setup my stuffs. I’m still consider myself weak coz I have yet the strength to fully pump my tires, had a teammate help me. There were about 25 waves in the Individual event. Mine was wave 17, 1hr from the 1^st wave. Oh well, gave me time to get use to the water temperature. I have trouble getting accustomed to swimming in cold water. I stood knee level for 5mins, then waist level, then shoulder level before I was able to properly do my warmup swim. Yes yes..puteri lilin.  

 

The CrocSquad tent was located along the run/cycle route, so it boasts up the spirit with the amount of support, motivation & cheers from your teammates as u go past them.

 

Swim – 1.5km

Like usual, canal water is extremely salty. but great buoyancy. After frequent trainings, I had bettered my confidence in the swim leg, though traffic jam as usual during the turns. The sun was rising on the way back, so had difficult time navigating my directions. Having yet to incorporate a proper speed & strength, my arms started to ache after 1km.

 

Bike – 40km

After much research of the map, i know there’s a hill known as “The Hill” hahahha. The main road was beautifully flat. At about 15km, we hit out towards rough terrain towards the hill. It was a bumpy ride, but generally alright. Many turns though. Each turn was labelled but didn’t help coz it didn’t tell out of how many turns in total. I was petrified when i suddenly heard *phisssss*. Wasn’t me. Thank god. Got out of the hill terrain back to flat main road. Easy peasy. The downhill got me at 60kmph woopee!!!! Really enjoyed this ride. (a teammate still calls me “The Malaysian Cannonball” till this day)

 

Run – 10km

The sun was already up high. I would like to relay my thanks the residents who hosed us down with water on this hot day. Just flat all the way with supporters the whole way. Unlimited water, keeping at a good pace. The only time i had to walk a few steps was when I was drinking. Have yet to master the skill of drinking/running without spilling the whole cup on me rather than my mouth. Felt kinda wasteful when water bottle was distributed. Only consumed 1/2 bottle, then throw.

 

 

 

To my luck, I bumped into Emma Snowsil (Gold) & Emma Moffatt (Bronze) (Beijing Olympics 2008 Triathlon medallist) at the Prize Giving ceremony. Photo opportunity J

 

Love this race better than Gold Coast. Mainly coz of the flatness of the route. I was talking to my bike the whole time. My bike “lau kai”/sulk coz I played with the gears too much till the chain actually came off. After sayang abit, it behaved itself.

 

Timing :

Swim (1.5km) = 0.34.06, Cycle (40km) = 1.32.39, Run (10km) = 0.58.47

Total : 3.05.34 (darn!! Less 5mins, then I would have been in sub 3hr)

 

I was quite happy with my 1st Olympic Distance triathlon. Oh, of course Happy birthday to me (the next day). I had just taken the next step of joining the elite age grouper. *sniff sniff* No fair. It’s just too soon. I’ll be the slowest in the group next round