Our first tri out

Avillion Admiral Cove

Hence, no workout for me but as usual the weekend was full with endorphines although it was experienced by my offspring. We were in Port Dickson for Kaklong's first triahtlon. Amir bailed out when he can't commit to the swim demand - wise of him. Yes, these are superkids we are talking here. They swim like seals, not dugong. Amir is a strong runner and on the bike. Perhaps I'll just make sure he excels in the coming Duathlon.

We arrived in PD Friday evening for race kit collection and race briefing at Avillion Admiral Cove - cool place. Our first triathlon briefing and us the parents also shared the jitters. However Uncle Chan (UC) was there to make it a jovial and in relax mood though top priority is safety. The race course was designed to ensure kids race in a secured area and not prone to open traffic - cool approach so as to lessen parents' fear of kids safety. We checked out the course later between the sunset and rushed for Kaklong's final carboload.

Saturday was race day for three categories i.e. Sprint Category, Kids 13-15 years and Super Kids 11 years and under. The Sprint was flagged-off at 8.00 a.m. sharp - UC is a punctual guy. The atmosphere was still relax since most of the Sprint triathletes are newbies and some expereience ones perhaps treat it as warm up for the bigger race on Sunday. Well what do you know? We still have fellow RBU covering the PD tri footage. We have Nik behind his SLR's lense - good thing Nik behave today unlike when he has mju tough series on his hand. And we also have Syah and family. Syah was brave enough to wade into knee high deep water to get a feel of salinity on his skin. And the rest were the CAR friends. Nice to have familiar faces around at our first tri out.

RBU and CAR combined

It was an interesting sight as they started to saunter away into the water and took their time to start swimming. Saiful was one of them and a few other familiar faces - all first timers. Approaching 100m, a few of them stopped and held on to the buoy and UC started shouting for them "Swimmers, you are welcome to come back. Don't worry!". Everybody on the beach started laughing with UC's encouraging quote. If I were them, I would have waited until all swimmers make their u-turn and beach myself together. Hah!

They continued with the cycle and running league and still the race atmosphere was casual. The emcee at the transition area did a good job. Next category was Kids 13-15yo. This was a totally different tempo. It was fast and energetic. The sprinted towards the sea like chasing the waves away and in minutes they started appearing one by one closely from the water and dashed for the bikes and run. In 40 minutes these strong boys and girls have digged  350m swim + 9km cycle + 2km run. Wrapped! Spectators were still in awe when the last participant crossed the finish line.

OK. Make sure you remove those afterwards eh?

Last one was of course for my dearest Kaklong's category. We have 35 Super Boys and Girls and as usual UC was able to control the race jitters and fear. Coach Azwar and Aunty Stephanie was there to lead the stretching and warm up swim. Yasmin held on to me a few times telling me she's a bit nervous. Who wouldn't?! I comforted her and gave the boost. She had to bring the kickboard for confidence and she will definitely sign up for a better competitive swimming lesson after this.

The horn was blown and all these little wonders started dashing into the lowering tide like baby turtles. I don't dare to watch further and start worrying cause I know they have loads of kayakers, jetskis and even divers to ensure safety as top priority. It was a 150m swim and lucky for them it was low tide. Í assumed they only swam 100m and ran in the knee high deep tide for the remaining 50m to and fro. Kaklong was among the last few to come back. She later told me the delay was due to sharing her kickboard with another girl which needed her help - nice.

Kaklong finished her swim strong and still had to run 150m to the transition area. She tossed the kickboard and goggle to mom and I was running with her encouraging her not to stop though she almost wanted to. There were a few more kids were already huffing and walking. I was surprised Sarah of CAR was there to run together for support. Thanks Sarah. Kaklong put on her shoes, helmet, race belt and pushed her bike to the Bike Out point as practiced. Perfect. And I was running - again, along her cycle route but only for 100m before I realised Amir was following me. Aiyo! Amir!

Mommy! What's this? Pity people will step on it nanti...

Kaklong was a bit on the disadvantage side with the cycle part. Her bike was undersize. She had to put extra effort as compared to a few others with real roadbikes. Argh! Is there any cheap or used kids roadbike for sale? A new one will tear my wallet RM1900 less! No worries Kaklong, superdad will find a way. Amir? OK we'll discuss that later. The 2km to and fro took ages for her to come back. I started to worry, and so was Amir. Yes, Amir is the worry type boy. He started throwing possiblities for the delay i.e. puncture, lost, mechanical problems. Aiyo! As I wanted to go look for her, she appeared with a few other kids. They were in a peloton! Hahaha! How clever of them. 

As usual I was shouting my lungs out when Kaklong passed me and started to wait for her u-turn for the second 2km lap. However, mommy called and told me Kaklong straight went into the transition area as directed by marshals. What?! A few other kids were also given the same instruction. Dunno what happened but I was chasing Kaklong for her run stretch. Now she started to feel the fatigue and I knew that she needed all the support. It was a 1km course, on the grass and carpet mostly. Though she almost wanted to stop and walk, she still battled the race. The final 50m to the finish line was fantastic when she had to sprint with two more boys. I think she clocked 23 minutes but the bundle of joy was more on completing her first triathlon.

Ziillions of thank you to all for your support and wishes. May we have a breed of new Malaysians. Fookyah!

Eh? Where's ayah?

shhhh...ayah tengah berkenalan dengan brader Milo daaa