I was analysing why I encountered sleepless night on the eve of recent Johor Duathlon race and the profound feelings lingered on even a few days after the race.
For my maiden attempt at the Lumut Duathlon on 15 May 2005, it was even more bizarre: three days before the race, I felt dizzy and was given half a day medical leave to rest. But on the race day, I was perfectly okay. Penguin-3, who went to the Lumut Duathlon with me, can attest that.
So on two occasions, the symptoms showed there were tensions before the race and pleasant feelings after the race.
On the eve of Johor Duathlon, though I was sleeping on a firm and silky smooth bed in a comfortable hotel room equipped with air-conditioning, it did not help. I woke up every two hours to check the time passed.
After more than 48 hours of deep thoughts and self-analysis, I somewhat found the answer as follows. It is similar to those artificial intelligent robots that diagnose problem themselves through DIY.
Childhood Days
During my childhood days, I spent most of my years running around the entire neighbourhoods with Tang Chee Loon as the Team Lead. He is now a marathon runner with one of the Johor running clubs. Back then, we went fishing at the nearby rivers, catching fighting-fish at the padi fields, flying kites during windy months, going to the nearby rubber estates for some outdoor quests, etc. Most of the times, it involved riding bicycle.
At that time, there were no BMX bicycles and no mountain bikes, just the normal Phoenix branded bicycle made from China. Since there was no gear system, we have to push the bicycles whenever we cycled up hills. And when the bicycle was taken up by the family members, we just made do with whatever bicycle: we even have to ride those black, heavy and huge bicycles meant for carrying goods. It was really a test of manoeuvring skills.
There was one day when I saw a teenage boy riding a racing bicycle with gears system (only three gears!). I was captivated by the machine and I said to myself that one day I would own one. Yes indeed, I owned one. With the advent of technology, my entry-level racing bicycle comes with 18 gears. And now I am into the Duathlon racing circuit.
No Speed Limit
Imagine buying a car with big engine capacity able to do 200km per hour only to be restrained by the speed limit of 110km. However, in cycling race, you can go as fast as you want to your heart’s content, and the authority would not issue you any summon. So, while on the racing bike, I have the “I want to break free” feeling. Obviously, I wish that I could cycle as fast as Lance Armstrong, the seven-time Le Tour de France champion.
Hearing My Name
I must admit that the Duathlon race is the only race in Malaysia where the organizer, Quick Release Adventures, take the trouble to announce your name when you were finally approaching the finishing line.
Two hundreds meters to the finishing line, I heard it loud and clear over the speakers that: “Number 170 from Pacesetters Kuala Lumpur Penguin Runner, KC Leong.” Well, that was the sweetest statement that I have ever heard. The power of that announcement lifted me up. The last 200 meters were run in the most effortless and blissful manner. At that moment, whatever complains on leg pain was just vanished.
It would be the icing on the cake if there was followed by big round of applauses. Since Malaysians are so busy, the moment that mission was accomplished, most of them left. Obviously, there were insufficient masses to generate the audible clapping sound. I think my profound feeling would double if the organizer could play those pre-recorded applauses. Just like those fire-crackers sounds played through the loudspeakers during the Chinese New Year festive seasons.
By Penguin-1 :-))
For my maiden attempt at the Lumut Duathlon on 15 May 2005, it was even more bizarre: three days before the race, I felt dizzy and was given half a day medical leave to rest. But on the race day, I was perfectly okay. Penguin-3, who went to the Lumut Duathlon with me, can attest that.
So on two occasions, the symptoms showed there were tensions before the race and pleasant feelings after the race.
On the eve of Johor Duathlon, though I was sleeping on a firm and silky smooth bed in a comfortable hotel room equipped with air-conditioning, it did not help. I woke up every two hours to check the time passed.
After more than 48 hours of deep thoughts and self-analysis, I somewhat found the answer as follows. It is similar to those artificial intelligent robots that diagnose problem themselves through DIY.
Childhood Days
During my childhood days, I spent most of my years running around the entire neighbourhoods with Tang Chee Loon as the Team Lead. He is now a marathon runner with one of the Johor running clubs. Back then, we went fishing at the nearby rivers, catching fighting-fish at the padi fields, flying kites during windy months, going to the nearby rubber estates for some outdoor quests, etc. Most of the times, it involved riding bicycle.
At that time, there were no BMX bicycles and no mountain bikes, just the normal Phoenix branded bicycle made from China. Since there was no gear system, we have to push the bicycles whenever we cycled up hills. And when the bicycle was taken up by the family members, we just made do with whatever bicycle: we even have to ride those black, heavy and huge bicycles meant for carrying goods. It was really a test of manoeuvring skills.
There was one day when I saw a teenage boy riding a racing bicycle with gears system (only three gears!). I was captivated by the machine and I said to myself that one day I would own one. Yes indeed, I owned one. With the advent of technology, my entry-level racing bicycle comes with 18 gears. And now I am into the Duathlon racing circuit.
No Speed Limit
Imagine buying a car with big engine capacity able to do 200km per hour only to be restrained by the speed limit of 110km. However, in cycling race, you can go as fast as you want to your heart’s content, and the authority would not issue you any summon. So, while on the racing bike, I have the “I want to break free” feeling. Obviously, I wish that I could cycle as fast as Lance Armstrong, the seven-time Le Tour de France champion.
Hearing My Name
I must admit that the Duathlon race is the only race in Malaysia where the organizer, Quick Release Adventures, take the trouble to announce your name when you were finally approaching the finishing line.
Two hundreds meters to the finishing line, I heard it loud and clear over the speakers that: “Number 170 from Pacesetters Kuala Lumpur Penguin Runner, KC Leong.” Well, that was the sweetest statement that I have ever heard. The power of that announcement lifted me up. The last 200 meters were run in the most effortless and blissful manner. At that moment, whatever complains on leg pain was just vanished.
It would be the icing on the cake if there was followed by big round of applauses. Since Malaysians are so busy, the moment that mission was accomplished, most of them left. Obviously, there were insufficient masses to generate the audible clapping sound. I think my profound feeling would double if the organizer could play those pre-recorded applauses. Just like those fire-crackers sounds played through the loudspeakers during the Chinese New Year festive seasons.
By Penguin-1 :-))
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