Well, this was my third year participating in the annual Perhentian Island Challenge event. This time, I took the bus with a bunch of fellow participants and we were flagged off from KL to begin our 8 hour journey to Besut. Eventhough I had 2 seats to myself, sleeping was a major problem. I don't think a Cirque De Soleil contortionist can be comfortable in those seats either.
This year's race course only consists of one island - Perhentian Kecil which meant the organizers excluded the kayakking discipline. Oh how I love kayakking to and fro both islands at 2pm. That is when Perhentian really exudes her natural beauty. Anyway, the course had an 11km track which included trail running, 600m swim and a 500 step climb up to the twin wind turbines.
As usual, I was in my red speedos to the delight of everyone. I could hear the men saying "Alaaaa, speedo merah dia lagi tahun ni...." and the women "I wanna rip those speedos off with my mouth".
We were flagged off at 1030am and as usual, we ran through trails that led us to Long Beach, Bubu Resort, Petani Chalet and the main village. I brought my camera along and captured some stunning shots of the Perhentian coastline.
While we were deep in the jungle and following the trails, sometimes we would encounter some participants running on the opposite direction and when I asked, they said they missed a checkpoint or two. Boy, will they suffer for their ignorance and lack of listening abilities during the race course briefing.
Another thing I noticed was that when I catch up with other participants in the jungle, I feel like I've made contact with The Others ala Lost.
By the time, I reached D Lagoon resort, it was 230pm. 4 hours have passed and with no training whatsoever before the race, cramps were apparent on my right leg. From D Lagoon, we were supposed to swim all the way to the shores at the bottom of the twin wind turbines. Halfway through the swim(awesome blue waters), my leg started to freeze up and aunt agony took over. Like a man, I took the pain....I took the pain for 2 minutes and after that, the cramps subsided for me to continue. I limped all the way through the 500 steps and occasionally, I'd look behind to absorb the most magnificent sight throughout the entire race. If you've been to Gunung Mat Chincang in Langkawi and was in awe with the view, you'll get exactly that when you're at the twin wind turbines.
I finally crossed the finishing line at 3pm with much funfare. We were shipped back to our tents and at around 6pm, a storm approached and unleashed hell. I felt like the campers in the Blair Witch Project with all the chaos going around outside of the tent. Most importantly, I got the best seats to watch the fireworks they usually have at the end of the ceremony.
Join me at PIC 2010. This invitation only goes out to the ladies.
2 comments:
congrats to the new speedos for surviving the challenge!!!
Speedo man! You are a legend in my eyes and an inspiration. I can't believe I found your blog.
Keep those red Speedos running good sir!
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