A bit late to write about this but my life has been epically busy over the past 6 weeks, absolute madness! But yes, it would still nice to get some recap of the two last races of 2014 season, Laguna Triathlon Phuket and Challenge Phuket Triathlon. I was really lucky to be able to get granted a leave from the medical school to race back home in my country. They were very understanding and I am very grateful for this opportunity. I flew back from UK just a few days before the race....was not very ideal. I was very jet lagged and find it very difficult with the heat. I have been training in much cooler weather in UK (around 10C) so racing in 40+C was a challenge. Arrived at Outrigger Laguna Phuket Beach Resort and got a very warm welcome from P'Pat and her team from the hotel. Thank you very much for taking care of my family and me during the race weeks, plus the lovely tri-suit too!! Trying to recover from the travelling was not so easy. I was still a bit tired on the race day of LTP and the heat was not helping at all. But I know all I could do was my best... well on the bright side, I got to race! Did not have too good of a swim as there were so many people. I found it very hard to get my own space and was not swimming in a straight line, especially on the way back to the shore as the sun was directly in your face! Challenging to swim in the sea for the first bit and jumped into the lagoon for the next... very weedy at the exit :p The bike turned out to be a survival mission too as I have never ridden those hills before and with my limited bike handling skills...the turns were ermmm difficult haha. But I was glad I did not have to unclip for the hills and managed to get to the run safely. On the 3rd km, the course was though the golf course and OMG it was like a frying pan for me. I got really overheated, my hear-rate shoot up and head was about to explode. Then I met P'Gai (Witthaya) and he told me the aid station is just around the corner so I hanged in there.....otherwise I was deciding which was the best pond to jump in! Finished the race coming 3rd for Thai lady and 5th in my AG....I felt like it could have been better if I have better preparation but all I could say is I tried my best for the shape I was in. And the award party was fun!! =D I had 6 days to recover for the next race, CPT which was the half-iron distance. TOUGH! but guess muscular wise I was ok since I did not think I bike/run hard enough to have DOMS as the heat was limiting me. The week has been busy but fun meeting lots of new people, catching up with friends and coach, and joining Thanyapura for some group sessions. On Friday I also had a good time getting the filming for TV show, KalamareTV with coach Jurgen. We had good moments of teaching and erm... trying to stop me from laughing! [STAY TUNED FOR THE ON AIR!] I felt more ready for CPT than LPT......more settled and less jet lagged. However, the heat was still very tough for me. I had much better swim (probably because I got whipped by Jurgen) but found swimming in the lagoon very challenging today as it was hotter than last week. I was not even on a bike and I'm hot already?! I was on the wrong gear on the first big hill of th bike course, forcing me to unclip and definitely a turtle going up and down the crossing bridge! Sorry everyone behind :p The run was just HOT and HOT. I drank lots on the way and probably had hundred of sponges. Thank you everyone of my friends for supporting me on the course, especially P'Micky who managed to find me coke for the aid station where they did not have it and coach Jurgen for an extra sponge and motivational speech! I was very happy with my result of 5.57 hours. I did not even think I would be able to manage a sub-6 on one of the toughest middle distance triathlon of the world, especially in 41C! Perfect way to end the second season of triathlon. Thank you so much to my friends, family and everyone on FB page for your support. Every messages and kind words were very much appreciated (and Brownies too ka P'Micky). It has been an amazing journey to look back and see how much stronger I got over the past year. It has been a very long season for me and now it's time for me to go back to study for my exam. It will soon be over by the end of March. I'm looking forward to see you guys again soon and racing more at home next year!! Best regards!!! #demonlegs
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