Jenn on the Run: 2012 November 4 - Murray Man Long Course Triathlon

How i spent my birthday weekend? By racing of course...well, its not actually by choice.

So many things to prep for this trip. Drivers license, car, accommodation, training, GPS etc.

Thankfully, in the end, all went through very well.

We had so much contemplation on how to place the 2 bikes in the car. The whole objective on getting the Nissan X-trail was for the 2 babies. No longer is my FLX Merida gonna be out expose in the hot sun or rain.

Where were we heading? Barmera - Riverland west of South Australia. What's there? Good question. No idea. I dun think I would even consider going there other than for the race. Sorry SA. If Malaysians travel to Perhentian Island to get some sun and beach/lake, Australians would come here.

Located ~250km away from the city, I would have never considered driving 3hrs long a great thing. I remember the time when my family had to travel to Ipoh for Chinese New Year holidays. But having the auto-cruise on the X-trail is simply amazing!!!!

Totally besides myself, I did not book my accommodation in time at Barmera and the nearest town, Berri. So the next closest was in Renmark, about 30mins drive away. KS & I stayed at the Renmark Motor Inn, smack right in between KFC and McDonalds....hahhaha

One of the host, Rosy, was a wonderful lady who welcomed us. We requested for a twin-bedding room.

Clean and spacious for the 2bikes and our stuffs

Big screen tv on the wall with small kitchen appliances eg. microwave, toaster, fridge, kettle etc.

Bathroom was meticulously clean

We registered at Barmera for our race stuff and realised that KS & I were the minority (only asian triathlete).

Wasn't much of a wetsuit fan after several attempts to swim in it.

So cute...dog also got life jacket..was asking ppl to throw the ball out into the water for him

Eventhough his legs was shivering.

Course map for Long course distance (2km/80km/20km)

The swim was 2km distance (2laps x 1km)

The bike ride was 4laps x 20km = 80km

Run was 4laps x 5km

Race pack

U aint gonna spot me or KS...like i mentioned..minority

It wasn't as cold as expected. Made sure to apply loooooooaadddss of Body Glide on my neck and arms.

Previous I had bad rubber burns on my neck and I had difficulty taking off the wetsuit from my arms.

Fresh water lake swim so it wasn't salty, so thankfully I wasn't thirsty after the swim.

Still felt that I was swimming with paddles the whole way coz using extra energy/strength with the wetsuit.

The bike was the most torturous part for me since I'm the worst cyclist ever.

4 loops x 20km. Heading out the 10km was craaaazzzyyy. The wind blowing from all directions. The sahara dessert on my right whilst the lake on my left. I could feel the sun burning me from above. I was practically riding at 18kmph out, but was able to recover abit on the return.

Come the 3rd loop, my paced dropped to 15kmph and the last loop was down to 11kmph with no one in front or behind me.

My right ITB was hurting, which made me stop to stretch it out. The whole time I had wanted to stop and call it quits but no support car in sight. Well, if you do get a flat, you only have 10km to walk back.

KS's coach took this picture of him

Last but not least was the 20km run (4loops). I would prefer to run compared to cycling. Some might think otherwise. First 1km, my mental state was bad. Walk run every 100m. Got to the 1st water station, I was provided electrolyte, ice water, jelly beans and diluted coke. Even the home owners were outside their house ready to hose us down due to the heat of 40 degrees. I total salute the volunteers. The dedication they have in helping the triathletes.

Only a few steps away from the water station tent, the volunteers came to me, helped change my wet towel, applied sunscreen etc. When I told them I had 1 last loop to finish, they said they'll be here for me. When they saw me arriving again, I could hear them say "I see her! I see her!" Never had I felt such ... feeling in a race!! So alive eventhough I felt half dead. They cheered me on when I left for my last 3km to the finish line.