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Port DicksonTri 2010

2010-08-01T00:40:00.000-07:00

A 5th ( Fatin ) in the 15 and under 7 th in the 13 and under ( Nana ) not too shabby for two open water first timers. Both came out of the water in the main group with the more established girls..( The Hong Kong athlete was long gone though...) A crash at the end of the bike leg involving Fatin and Aishah ( 6th ) delayed them both. Nana was happily riding along at her own pace.

For two girls who's first open water swim was 3 weeks before the race and for me still trying to understand 3 sports rolled into one ..I think we did OK...Fatin immedietly wanted to to another triathlon in 2 months time , but that race is 2 days before PMR exams . very-very important.. So we decided that at this moment exams should come first , further more ...There's going to be tons of time to prepare for the future.

10 steps forward....

2010-04-04T01:24:00.000-07:00

Been very quiet recently. but for good reason. Since thye last post, ( see below), I have passed my Majils Sukan Malaysia's Sports Science course, Finally managed to get Persatuan Triathlon Putrajaya set up and approved and went to Australia recently to see the Mooloolaba ITU World up on the 27 and 28th March 2010. Was quite an adventure in getting there. Landed at Gold Coast, and had to take a 5 hour train ride allk the way to Brisbane, change trains and on to the Sunshine coast. On top of that. The train had problems , 1 hour from my stop, so had to wait for a bus..However a nice way to see the country side.

I always had something for Australia. I so love their love for the outdoors and outdoor activities. There was practically NO overweight people in Mooloolaba. Everyone was either surfing, running, swimming or cycling.

The ITU race was incredible! It's great to see the athletes in flesh after years on only seeing them on TV , the internet. I remember going nuts when I asked Gianni Bugno , world champion cyclist from Italy for his autograf. Even by watching the ITU athletes race i learned a lot. Can't wait to put it in to practice.

YEA Kids Triathlon.!! OK What...!!

2009-10-27T04:02:00.000-07:00

How does an event be considered a disaster or a success? Every athlete has his or her horror stories. From bad signages to lost results. I've seen my share of race snafus...Norizan was once involved in a race where the cyclist's had to explain to the race commissars who placed 1st, 2nd and so forth..I was personally involved in a race up Fraser's Hill . the entire PELOTON went the wrong way! Only 5 guys , including me , were dropped early on. We did the right route. Unfortunatly How could you disqualify people like Shahrulnezza Razali , Wong Ah Tiam , The entire national team and most of the state teams. Sooo the race orgnisors decided the wrong route will be the right route! I was robbed of a podium place !!!! It's been 14 years since that race..I still have questions of " What if"s ".

So...my main story is..The YEA Childrens triathlon...I think we did OK...109 competitors, very little sponsorship( Thank you MILO) . A mish mash of volunteer race organisors( Non profit I might add) Very helpful race day volunteers..and Uniformed patrol personel from Putrajaya.

We were so unsure of ourselves especially after the TRIKIDZ episode. I learned so much in these last 3 months..The most important was.. I/we could actually pull of a race, and an OK one at that.

I cannot wait for the next one...Mean time , a short vid..from the YEA race. This is just of Hannan. Her first race without training wheels. She actually caught some kids on the bike and run..

Seeing the kids all bright eyed upon receiving a medal..Is a good indication that the kids loved it.

PUTRAJAYA KIDS TRIATHLON

2009-09-17T23:39:00.000-07:00

Announcing the first Putrajaya Kids triathlon on the 17th and 18th of October at the beautiful city of Putrajaya. It will be a 2 day affair with Saturday being the clinic , and race day on Sunday. ITU ( International Triathlon Union ) coaches will be present and so will a few national athletes.

Putrajaya is about a half an hours drive from Kuala Lumpur. The pool is behind the PICC ( Putrajaya Convention Centre).The cycle leg will be on large quiet roads which will be marshaled and clearly marked. The run will be by the lakeside under nice palm trees.
Safety is a priority , so paramedics , lifeguards will be on hand.

Please download the form pictured, and fax page 2 to the no. given

Basic Tips.

Any bike will do , racing , mountain bike , BMX , the bike you use to go to school will do fine.
You will need to bring your sports gear ( swimwear, goggles , swimcap , t-shits , shorts shoes and HELMET!! Very very important.

Photos from previous camps

Please email me at ybicycle@yahoo.com for more info

New revised swim program...

2009-07-27T04:41:00.000-07:00

Have recovered somewhat after Norizan dropped the bombshell of not having the confidence to do the Tri at PD ( see pevious post) We have decided to get back in to a swim program complete with coach, team and so forth.. So what better place to go then Hannan's swim school at Shah Alam , The SuperSharkz. It's a kids class but what could be better then swimming alongside athletes with a distinct target and plan. Bumped into Kash who was in another club

Did a few tests to check heart rate. Get a baseline time for 500m..And plan a weekly/monthly schedule. All very interesting stuff. Since the Tri season in peninsular Malaysia might be over...A revised target has been made. Won't write it down..just in case..we'll see in a few months.

Here's a short vid. Which also features Hamzah being himself..

AAAAGGHH!! Betrayed!! By MY own loved one!!

2009-07-14T02:15:00.000-07:00

Norizan is NOT in the pic!!

Most blog writers rant about the government , people in power and so forth...I wonder if anyone rants about their own WIFE!!! In my previous post I wrote about Norizan on track in doing the PD Tri on the 11th of July . it was a sprint ( 750/20/5). Since the last post , she swam 4 times a week , ran almost every day and cycled on the trainer for almost a few months..she took her own inisiative to go to the uncovered pool at 2pm until 4 pm to swim 1.2 to 1.5 km. in fact 3 weeks before PD she could do 750 meters in 15 to 16 mins, not once but almost everytime she got into the water...So...watching her training well, I got my hopes up high..UNTIL!! 5 HOURS BEFORE LEAVING FOR PORT DICKSON!!! she dropped a bombshell and in her matter of factly tone..." I don't feel confident. I don't want to do PD" I could have died there and then...

There was no point in forcing/ making/ pleading her to go . Negativity in Triathlon especially during the swim would be very dangerous..So..Your's truly ( me) left for PD all alone. All her friends were puzzled Norizan chickened out. I was reduced to a race fan taking photos. OK lah....

There are a few more TRI's on the calender ( Desaru, Kuching and Miri) but they are all far away and would cost a pretty penny. So..unless Mr. Chan ( race organiser) comes up with a short tri within this year..chances to do a tri for Norizan is washed up for this year. We could do Singapore though..but still expensive.

Unbeliveable...sad.....

PD is GO!! I hope..

2009-05-24T20:35:00.000-07:00

A'Formosa 08. I'm dead center of the photo without swimcap. Norizan is by the elbow of the guy in jeans.

The Port Dickson International Triathlon on the 11th and 12th of July is a go for Norizan. After the disaster of A'Formosa in 08 where she used me as a buoy to cling on to she has been going to the pool 3 times a week. with a month and a week to go Norizan can do 400m non stop at around 1 minute for 50m . The swim in Port Dickson will be 750m, Soooo if she can do it non stop..She should come out of the water around 15 to 17 mins..Cool..

Kimberly ! Come back!

2009-04-21T01:49:00.000-07:00

Most Malaysian triathlon fans know what has happened to double SEA games Gold medalist Kimberly Yap. I bumped into her at a road race in Putrajaya in Feb 2009. For the time being, she has switched to cycling. Why? Because lack of help from those who are supposed to help. TRIAM..You are to blame for losing a national athlete to...of all sports..cycling. I came to triathlon from cycling. I knew the **** which cycling is neck deep in. I had learned how some national officers, national coaches operate. I had enough and I thought Triathlon would be better..Opps..my mistake.

After a few years in TRI, again some of the nicest people are the athletes, age groupers and or the elites. Again the management is one of the lamest . There is very little money, no proper program. To be unable to help a double gold medal winner is sad. Hopefully after the Laos SEA games ( end 2009 ) Triathlon will be back on the list of SEA Games sports for 2011 ( Jakarta , I think ) and Kinberly would come back to Triathlon and TRIAM can get their heads screwed on properly..

2009-04-01T19:55:00.000-07:00

After much thinking..I got myself a video camera. Good stuff. A Panasonic. However after a month of playing with it I still prefer my EOS 450D SLR. Video although fun it can't really capture the moment unlike still photography...I do have an idea though..."TRAINING VIDEOS !!" At this time I'm still the camera operator , editor and director. I'll need a camera operator if I want to star in my own vid's.

This Vid shows Norizan on a stationary roller. A very usefull piece of equipment. Half an hour on it is like an hour on the road. You don't slow because of trafic, stop at traffic lights. and so forth....

Another good use for the roller is you can do seated sprints. A large percentage of recreational cyclists/triathletes spend toooo much time cycling at an aerobic level. Doing speed intervals will really assist in your overall speed.

Japanese School Aquathon , 31 Jan 2009

2009-02-01T04:00:00.000-08:00

Hello Race fans!

The Japanese school of KL again organised their aquathon and this time the Anakair-YB team got quite a bit of hardware( medals) . Fatin, Nana, NurIman and good showings from a few others was a good start for the year. I used the race as my final 2 hours of my TRI-SKILL coaching practical. Hopefully my report get approved.

The team is somehow becoming a girl's team. Not that I mind to much...A lot of female athletes don't get the same support/recognition like the boys/men in Malaysia( and in most parts of the world) and since the changing of the Sports Minister from Datuk Azalina to the new one..we haven't heard any news about the National Women's Games. I hope they organise it but I'm not going to hold my breath, Meanwhile, I'm going to do my part and help out these girls.

Brick session ( I think that's what it's called)

2009-01-19T20:38:00.000-08:00

the syncronised swimming team

Norizan & Daniel

Bike check before the ride

I do like this shot..If I say so myself

Training for the Malaysian 2009 triathlon has begun! Also to complete my Tri-skills coaching course i need my 5 hours of practicle. This session should take care of 2 hours of my needed quota . Did a complete brick session but low intensity and short distance ( 800m/10km/4km) at the UPNM ( major Kalam's place) pool. Major and I used the sports complex for the Kids Triathlon races, but security issues were raised ( It is an army camp though) can't really blame them.

Talking about practical for the coaching..My friend Jimmy Superfly of http://dunguncyclingteam.blogspot.com/ went to a level 1 cycling course recently, even though he probably would be better of as the lecturer instead of the participant. I couldn't go and probably wouldn't learn much anyway..The both of us started as so-so cyclist ( he was better) , then became bike mechanics and now, the next time we meet..hope fully as coaches..Nice.

Happy New Year...

2009-01-04T03:22:00.000-08:00

Norizan

Ezatty

Fatin

Hannan Irina

Zhairen and my partner in crime , Major Kalam

Nana

Nuriman Sofea

Presenting the very-very informal Anakair-YellowBicycle Triathlon team. Which consists of ...A mother of 2( Norizan) two ten year old girls, one eight year old who still needs her training wheels, one 15 year old girl, a 14 year old.. and 15 year old boywonder Zhairen Manan B. Zulkarnain brother of Nuriman Sofea (He's been in the papers twice! read it Here! : http://thestar.com.my/metro/story.asp?file=/2009/1/2/central/2918859&sec=central

And managed by me....( seen here at the Tri-skills coaching course in Singapore. around November 2008.

We plan to go to local tri's ( a'Formosa, Port Dickson ) and any with sprint distance events. There will be a serious target of the 2011 SEA games in Indonesia and The 2013 games in Singapore. ecpecially Fatin whose 14 and Ezatty whose 15. The both of them are incredible swimmers ( 1500m at under 20mins) , their running is fair to good. The only thing left in their cycling..And that's where Norizan and I come in..

However in the back of my mind is..How long can these girls last? The odds of them qutting is so great.Consider this: A team of Muslim girls about to become women, they have studies, boyfriends( maybe) and a whole host of things conspiring to make them stop. They have already been in aquatics for almost 7 years , with limited sucess and are still having trouble geting into the upper ranks of the swim results. They NEED good results soon before they get demoralised and quit.
I had a good heart to heart talk to one of the fathers and he was interested, and he believes his dauther is keen to. that's a good thing..Child atheletes really need their parents. I remember Norizan's parents we not too keen when she started cycling at 18. Her partner was this guy in a ponytail with torn jeans and 3 week stubble. She hated him but he was convinced she had the talent. He kept hounding her , telling her she did have the talent..He wasn't wrong. Now..the same dude has spotted 2 girls with talent and will try his utmost to send them to the SEA games..At least the SEA games..INSHALLAH ( God Willing)

( my next topic might be religion and sports) ( maybe)

Bali!!

2008-11-27T14:40:00.001-08:00

Just returned from Bali (1oth anniversary) . Wonderful place, wonderful people, wonderful experience. The whole family went plus my parents. Got them to baby sit Hannan & Hamzah on the anniversary day itself, while Norizan & Me spent a day on the beach ( Sorry, can't show you the pics, To risque...) promised myself "No internet!" for the entire stay. When i returned , had almost 150 unread mail...

Hannan had a whale of a time, the highlight was a swim with dolphins program. It cost a bomb for me! 80US dollars or around 450 Ringgit Malaysia or 1.15 million Rupiah! She really wanted it,. she has shown a love or interest in animals, so if she has ideas about a career with animals or the enviroment, especially the sea, money well spent.

Norizan loved it as well. after years of spending money going to races, buying equipment. I finally managed to save enough money for a long holiday out of Malaysia. If they are happy,I'm happy...

Nippon style aquathon....Hait!

2008-11-03T03:37:00.000-08:00

Nurina

Norizan

Hannan

The Japanese International School Aquathon in Saujana , KL was held on the 1st Nov. 2008. Norizan got a surprising 3rd. What was also surprising was Norizan was the youngest in the category..strange!! During her cycling days, she had to race against girls almost half her age.

the Japanese have a strange way of counting laps. Where I come from a lap would be from one end to another. The Japanese seem to regard a lap as " start from one end and return to the same end" That did cause some confusion . The lap counters did help by whacking the swimmers on the head with a kickboard to tell you that you had finished the swim.

Hannan did OK too. she finished in 22nd with two boys behind her. To her that's an accomplishment! I didn't help her in transition too. I'm positive she's the fastest in transition. Wish she could be as fast changing into her school uniform...

just got word there's the Chin Woo aquathon in 18th Dec...

Stay tuned....

The Swimsuit Issue

2008-10-28T01:03:00.000-07:00

Aini finishing the Port Dickson Tri.

Kimberly Yap also at PD.

A comment by Aini( bola2api) on Norizan wearing a swimsuit at the A'Formosa Tri. gave me inspiration for this entry. A few months ago this topic cropped up in swimbikerunmalaysia and I was pro swimsuit...I guess being involved in international level sport, makes me/us a bit more preocupied with what to wear than an age-grouper whose in in for fun and whose not to bothered with how long they take to put on something with a bit more coverage. We have set specific targets in triathlon ,and doing well in them is one of the targets , so time and performance during race is critical. Ease of motion , heat dissapation , rate of sweat has always been important to an athlete.

I have taken the responsibility and probably the sins of asking Norizan to wear a swimsuit however I do know what she's like as a person and I confident that what she wears while in sport is not detrimental to her, to her race and religion. I do to respect those who hold firmly to Islam's law of modest dressing even during sports and don't use it as a reason not to participate in sports.

Ride on Sports Fans..

A training we will go...

2008-10-26T00:48:00.000-07:00

Been cycling a bit recently..2 hours every saturday and Sunday with a total of 3km of swimming during the weekdays. Norizan( wife) to has been busy training. She has this small aquathon to go to on the 1st of November 2008. After the near disaster at A'Formosa lake..she's been swimming 3-4 times a week.

after almost 20 years of cycling I finally on my way to becoming a qualified coach...Did my level 0 ( as in ZERO!! can't they find a better name?!) Tri-skills coaching course in Singapore in October and I stand a chance to do a level 1 coaching course in early 2009. I'm thinking about concentrating with kids and women. Since I'm married to an elite cyclist who represented Malaysia, I seem more in tune with the female species...

That's her on the right...

Stay tuned, race fans..