Train hard and survive

Writing skill is just like a knife. You need to keep sharpen it to keep it effective. I have stopped writing this blog for almost a month. First it was the final exam earlier this month keeping me away from this blog. After that, it was just training, training and training. I know it is just an excuse and it pretty much is. 

Like I said, it is all about triathlon training recently. Unlike last year, I am kinda taking it really seriously this time and I kinda need to. The main reason is the competition I am gonna participate in, the Alpe d'Huez triathlon, is really daunting. 2.2k swim, 115k bike and a half marathon, all within 12h hours time limit. It is not the typical half Ironman 70.3 format, it is way more than that. 

This triathlon is really focus on the cycling part. By looking at the route profile, it can already knock out whoever new to cycling. To give a comparison to any Malaysian cyclist, the route is roughly composed of climbing up and down the Bukit Bendera twice plus a final climb up to Genting Highland. No flat road, the only chance to recuperate is in between climbs, during the descents. And the final climb, the legendary Alpe d'Huez climb is freaking hors-catégorie climb, the toughest category of all.     

Cycling route profile (image from http://www.alpetriathlon.com)

If you are not into cycling and have no idea how tough the route is, then the half-marathon still can get your jaw drop. The run isn't just about the distance but the fact of running a half-marathon at the average altitude of 1900m. Plus some uphills and downhills, it is without a doubt very challenging. 

The top contenders can finish it in around 6 hours and this is the time reference. My physical condition for now, I estimate myself to finish within 9 hours. I can do the swimming part no problem and the cycling averagely. The run? It is all about surviving for me. Never compete in a trithlon of this distance before and regarding the level difficulty, it is gonna to be hard for sure and I expect another great but painful experience again.