Öhrn Life Management

I made a decision before Laguna Phuket Triathlon in December 2007; that if I could finish that race and feel ok, I would sign up for an Ironman 70.3.

The reason for this was that I felt that the swim was what kept me from triathlons to begin with and it is also what keeps me from the longer distances.

The swim section in Phuket is 1.8 kilometers, so only 100 meters shorter than in an Half Ironman. Then of course the bike and the run are longer but I figured I could train enough of those to be able to finish.

I finished Laguna Phuket and felt great afterwards so there I was. A few hours ago on the beach of Hainan, looking out at the not so tropically clear water waiting to dive in.

We had a typhoon in the area in the week leading up to the race, it was windy and raining so hard we could not even do the training rides on the bikes that we wanted. But oh well. Come race day and the sun was out and we had about 42° C throughout the race…

There was a strong current in the ocean for the swim and also a lot of confusion during the actual swim for a few of us that were trailing in the back of the pack. On the beach they told us to turn at the first buoy, out in the water they told us to turn around at the second buoy… oh well.

After a couple of minutes of discussion we managed to move on. I finished the swim in 39 minutes and I think they shortened it due to the currents.

They bike leg took place on highways, and roads across the island. There was a short section when we rode through a couple of small villages which was fantastic. Could have been one of the nicest sections I’ve ever ridden, definitely the nicest section of a race course. All the people in the village were out cheering us on and it was just great. Especially since we were just coming in from the rice fields and a terrible cross wind just before.

The last stretch of the bike was along the ocean highway, and it felt like it would never end. But it did and I switched to the run. On with the running shoes, the hat and I grabbed my Red Bull. Off I went.

I wished I had been running inside a sauna instead, that would have been less hot.

A fairly nice route – nothing really exciting except for the last 2 kilometers, when we ran through the old part of Haikou city before entering the park. That was marvellous. I was cramping up really bad but the crowds kept me going all the way to the finishing line.

It took me a LONG time to do that 21 mile run, but it took most people a long time.

It turned out that I finished 7th in my age group and was eligable for a slot for the World Championships in Clearwater.

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When you find a hotel in Thailand it is very often nicely designed, maybe you find it on the Internet and the pictures are fantastic, the view from the rooms breathtaking. The hotel or resort is located on an exotic tropical island.

The price is fairly high, but it is your weekend off and away so you figure it is worth it, it will only be three nights anyway.

You arrive, you are greeted in the beautifully decorated lobby, high ceilings so you can’t really see the wood panel up there. You don’t really look around at all, you drink your welcome drink and feel good.

Then you are shown to your room, or your bungalow rather. You enter, you look around and you find mold in the ceiling. Mold? In my expensive Bungalow? This is not what you paid for, this is not like the pictures you saw on the Internet.

It turns out the pictures were taken 6 months ago when the resort was new – 6 months later means NOT new. Nothing has been done to the rooms or bungalows to make sure that they stay in good condition.

You explain to them that you can not stay in a room with the ceiling full of mold. So they show you another Bungalow – which also has mold in the ceiling.

Then you tell them, look, we want to stay in a Bungalow with NO mold. Please show us a room with no mold.

They say it is full  – but you can upgrade, it’s going to cost you…

Is this Asia style or just Thai Design and hospitality?

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