A day in Williamstown

Saturday 31 March 07

We were supposed to go down to Chadstone Shopping Centre today but Clem decided he's not keen on shopping. So we looked at the train map and decided we'll just go down to the end of the Werribee/Williamstown line.

It's funny, Wiliiamstown is only about 30mins train ride from the city, kinda like Pasir Ris from Shenton Way/Orchard Rd, yet Williamstown is much more suburban. It's by the Port Philip Bay.

We were playing a game of throwing stones to hit a target rock in the sea.
Here's Clem looking cocky about hitting the target.

My turn.

Step 1) Aim for the target

Step 2) swing ur arms and get ready to do a standing broad jump

Step 3) jump as high as u can and throw the stone.

Clem was horrified to discover that there is no big shopping mall there, as in multi-storey air conditioned shopping complex, just 2 streets of shops. Oh wells. it's v nice and laid back with Alfresco cafes by the Wharf.

We walked by a small chapel and Clem had to pose next to this vintage car (it was someone's wedding car)

After an entire day of walking, we played in the playground while waiting for the train.
Me swinging.

Clem swinging--check out his facial expression.

On the train back to Flinders.

We walked a lil on Southbank. Enjoyed the scenery and watch a couple take wedding photos.

We caught Mr Bean's Holiday! haha. That makes it's 3 good movies in a row! haha Notes on a Scandal, The Illusionist and Mr Bean's Hol.

12th FINA World Swimming Champs

I realise I usually root for the race favourite, Australian or Japanese (if in leading position). So I was upset when Natalie Coughlin (USA) came in 4th in the Women's 100 Free. Good thing an Aussie, Libby Lenton won the race. Lenton's half a head shorter than the 2nd and 3rd place girls.

Women's 100m Freestyle start

Libby Lenton wins the race

Victory Ceremony.

Anyhow I was amazed at the champs--the organisation, technology and prestige. Auto moving cameras lining the poolside, underwater and overhead, groups of Poolside photographers running and diving onto the floor for gd shots, the media section with gigantic mop-head microphones, a section of the stand where everyone had a personal booth and flat screen computer in front of them, flag raisings and national anthems...
FINA WC inside the Rod Laver Areana

Anyway the stands weren't jam packed so we just changed to a better seat and me occassionally walking to the front for a better view. They're not strict about the seating actually, we should've just sat in the VIP section haha, or the 200 dollar seats.

Back to the race. I was in a dilemma during the 200m Breastroke coz the Jap guy was the fav and I want to support him coz he's Jap but the Aussie guy was hot on his heels. But luckily the Jap dude won.

Oh btw, saw Tao Li swimming the 50m Fly Semi finals. Not bad, she made it to the finals in 7th place. Impressive.

I was just thinking, the timings are insane man. The women are swimming 50m fly in 25sec. Wasn't that the winning time for Men's 50m Free just a few years back?

World Records are tumbling one after abother here in Melb. Hmm what if the pool measurements are inaccurate? In tonight's 2 hour session there were at least 3 new WR.

Women's 200m Breastroke, Leisel Jones of Aust won it by 4sec. How's that possible?!

Saw Michael Phelps twice today. 100m Fly Semi finals and the relay. Ian Crocker swam the 100fly as well. I noticed that Phelps has a weird body. His torso is extremely large! so his legs are kinda short. Crocker looks better actually. Anyway I was again upset Phelps came in only 3rd in the 100fly. I know its only the semis but i was hoping to see him fly right outta the pool and win it without even trying. haha.

Phelps in lane 5 (short blue and white tights), Crocker lane 4 (long blue and white tights)

AUS 4x200m Freestyle Relay Men's team.

1st-2nd relay changeover, Michael Phelps got such a big lead on the first leg.

Highlight of the race--Men's 4x200m Freestyle relay. USA was INCREDIBLE. They were ahead of the WR right from the first 50m. Michael Phelps was the first swimmer and he got a big lead which grew. Insane. The smashed the WR by one and a half seconds. It was a tense competition for 2nd and 3rd. The whole stadium was roaring, coz Aussie and Canada were battling for 2nd, and in the last 50m, Aust overtook Can. Phew. Love it.


When I walked outta Rod Laver Areana I thought it was snowing coz they were blowing millions of bubbles into the air.

It was a nice but very cold walk along the river back to the city. sigh. I love romantic moments but there's no one to share it with.

Monday 26 March in Mooloolaba!

It's a gloomy day, pretty chilly as well. We weren't very organised so we din manage to get any surf lessons but we HAD to go enjoy the sea anyhow. So we borrowed 2 body boards from the backpackers and headed to the beach like one of those pro surfers.

Damn the wind was strong. Anyway we were lying face down on the bodyboards and trying to ride the waves. The waves were damn big man. It's actually quite scary, coz if u dun ride the crest of the wave, and u crash with it, it throws you really hard down onto the sand. Yea once I got thrown by the waves and I crashed onto the sand and the bodyboard hit my head (u strap the string attached to the board onto ur arm). N before I could get back up another big wave threw me onto the sand. Scary.

Anyway the winds we so strong it was hard to walk and to carry the boards. Clem was trying to do a Baywatch style run on the beach with the board under one arm. Then the wind blew the board off and he was struggling to catch the board with was flying ard like a kite. haha, it's hilarious.

Anyway, one hour of fighting the waves and wind was enough. Darn cold. Can't even sit on the shallow sea n enjoy the water coz the waves are either crashing onto you or dragging you into the water when it washes back.

We had lunch of fish n chips by the beach. Trying to hold onto the fries lest they get blown away by the wind!


So we decided to enjoy the sea in another way--the Underwater World! haha. Here's a picture of the Wharf. Underwater World's next to it.


clem holding a Sea Star (the new name for starfish).

That's me holding up a tropical sea cucumber. It's super squishy and soft! When I put it down it was in a squashed up shape like when u squeeze a piece of plastersine.
Yea i picked up a big sea star.
Close up of the sea cucumber. Btw, u see those orange branch like things (with white stuff at the ends)? they're actually "fingers". They trap food for the sea cucumber and then the cucumber sticks its "fingers" into its mouth (the hole in the middle) one by one, in turn. So the moment it takes out one finger, another finger will move towards the hole and the white stuff on that finger will go all the way inside its mouth. Greedy cucumber cant stop eating.

When it's provoked like when i touched the white stuff, it retracted all its fingers (like a snail going back into its shell), so u only see a small hole at the top. EEEEEEEEEEKS gross i hate it.

Yup, Clem with his dream car--filled with water, plants n fish. This is a mermaid's purse. there is a baby shark growing inside. Cool eh?
Sea dragon. Looks like from the cartoons.
Seahorse. they straighten and curve their bodies funnily.
a frozen 7m long squid caught off the New Zealand waters. It's a "Monster of the Sea". The largest monster squid to be found. the eye is about 3/4 the size of my face.
Dun ask me what mutant this is. Iguana-tadpole-salamader-alien.

Otters. They're licking each other's necks.

Some fish with a sword at this mouth.
Don't u just feel like tying that turtle's neck in a knot?
SHARK ATTACK!!!!!!!!
ARRRRRRGGGGGGGGHHHHH. I hate these flapping stingrays. I just wanna fold them into a small square!
Me in the underwater tunnel

OOOOoooo check out those mean looking teeth!



Finally, we watched "Seals Behaving Badly". haha it wasnt much, wished there were more tricks tho. Anyway seals are big fat greedy things that cant stop eating. They glide in the water. When they're gliding, they'll spin round n round.
The end, we went back to the backpackers, and headed back to Melb.

24-26March in MOOLOOLABA!

SATURDAY 24 MARCH 2007


Woke up to a rainy Saturday morning in Melb. We took a cab down to the airport to depart for Sunshine Coast! Here's me looking cool in my backpack.

Our bagpacks

In Jet Star
Sunshine Coast airport. Clem standing in front of the plane. It's DARN HOT here! 33deg?

Heeellooooo Sunshine Coast.
Shared a cab with a fellow triathlete stayin at the same backpackers as us--Mooloolaba Beach Backpackers. Here's the view of the (2blocks) backpackers when u first step into the compound.
Entrance
View from the 2nd floor. Not bad eh? There's a small pool for playing pool volleyball, a barbie, TV, sofas etc in the common area.
The 2nd floor common kitchen.
Across the road from the backpackers is a Lawn Bowling club! haha all old men playing.


We grabbed a large Domino's pizza for lunch, assembled our bikes and headed to the race registration. We walked through the carnival tents. There's my bike getting checked at the Avanti booth.


Bumped into Pam at the registration area.
Clem and me on the verandah on the beach. Picturesque. The beach is AWESOME. so is the heat.
One of the booths at the carnival was Chocolate Graphics. They sponsor Emma Snowsill and her beau Craig Walton.
The start of the Ryders Cycling Grand Prix. Many of Aussie's top cyclists took part. It was part of the Mooloolaba Triathlon Festival which had the 5km Asics Twilight Run, Peregian Springs Mooloolaba Ocean Swim and the Ryders GP.
Clem and I putting on all the goodies in our race goody bag. What do u call that..golf cap thingy and extremely RETRO singlets! We look like clowns but that's ok, we're in the safety of our dorms.

SUNDAY 25 MARCH 2007

Race Morning, at 5am.

We went to set up transition at 5.15am then walked like 1km on the beach to the start line. Our wave's start was at about 6.50am. Btw, the sun rose at 5am.

When we were waiting around the startline, very smart Clemmie decided to take a pee in the sea. So he walked in until the water was about waist high and was happily looking at me (I was standing on the beach). Then suddenly, a huge swell came up from behind him and the wave crashed down on his head. So the poor peeing boy got thrown onto the seabed and hit his big hips. HAHAHAHA. I burst out laughing hysterically coz it looked super funny. Until I worried he dropped his race cap and goggles. haha but he didn't. Anyway there are many signs by the beach warning people of Dumping Waves which can throw you forcefully onto the seabed and you might hurt yourself. Lesson #1, face the sea when u're peeing.

Right, the swim start was pretty choppy coz of the big waves. But the swim felt good. It was a one lap loop, water was clear. I was swimming pretty well and on course. anyway, it was a pretty long run down to T1.

OH Oh, i must say, the race organisers are chauvanistic. Guys have the prime racks while the females have our bike racks far off. So we have to run a long way with our bikes out of and into transition. Piss me off. Yea, and there were a zillion bikes I almost forgot where my bike was. haha.

Anyway, the bike leg was good. There was a fairly long steeeeeeeeep hill outta transition, then it was rolling hills. Damn i felt good the first 20km. It was a NON DRAFTING RACE. So obviously, i din draft, i was way too scared of getting caught and get a 3min penalty! That'll suck. But then I was getting tired, and I saw big packs going by, so i decided I'll draft the last 20km back. But at the turn ard where Penalty Box2 was, there were like 15ppl in there., and a big sign which read "DRAFTING IS CHEATING". Being my honest self, i slowly pedalled my way back. My lower back was damn painful and my left adductor was cramping. WTH.

Anyway, onto the run. I was gg pretty relax the first 5km. Until I reminded myself I was actually RACING. haha anyway, there was a steep uphill which we had to run twice. Yea, Aussies are damn good bikers. Coz i passed many ppl on the swim and run, but on the bike...i think i passed 5 and abt 200passed me. hahaha.

Well whatever, it was a fun race and I loved the course. Hilly.

THE WORLD CUP RACE

We went to shower then rushed back for the World Cup race. Women at 11.30am. Here are some pictures of the Women's cycling leg. Drafting races are actually quite boring. the women were basically in 3 large packs. oh ya, there were about 70 elite women and 80 men in the WC event.

All the big shots were there--Female: Emma Snowsill (Commonwealth Games Gold medallist), Erin Densham (World U23 Champ), Vanessa Fernendas (World Rank #1), Kate Allen (Athens Olympics Gold medallist), Annabel Luxford (Mooloolaba WC defending Champ), Kimberly Yap (SEA Games Gold medallist).

Male: Craig Walton, Brad Kahlefeldt (Commonwealth Games Gold medallist), Javier Gomez(World Rank #1), Bevan Docherty (Mooloolaba WC defending champ & Athens Olympics Silver medallist), Courtney Athkinson (World U23 Champ). Simon Whitfield (Sydeny Olympics Gold medallist) and Hamish Carter (Athens Olympics Gold medallist) gave commentry for the men's race.

Elite transition--luxurious, there's even enough space to set up a shower and bed in your transition box. It spoils you man.



Elite recovery area just after the finish line.
EMMA SNOWSILL AND ME!!!!!!!!

Swim start for men's WC race.
Just look at that! Hoards of beach-goers lying on the sand baking in the sun. Like the Hamptons!
Up the hill on the bike leg. They were basically in 3 big packs.
Up the hill on the run leg. Courtney Atkinson quickly took the lead in the first of 4 loops, but was overtaken by Gomez then Kahlefeldt. In the end, it was a tense sprint finish between Kahlefeldt and Gomez. Clem (Gomez) and I (Kahlefeldt) bet the winner on a buttslap. I got to kick clem's ass haha.
Tis us sitting at the curb watching the race. I was totally sunburnt.

that night, we treated ourselves to a dinner of fresh oysters, chicken with risotto and steak. And of course a double scoop of Gelato each.