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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 1st 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 😦
Jenn Jenn 
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