tri-ing to train in Vietnam

Hi Xin Chao! I'm Yanti, and boyoboy am I a woman in a 'developing country' situation ... I've been meaning to do the Vietnam oly two years now but life kept intervening!!!

Welcome to BT and triathlon!

I am also a former LD competitive swimmer, and I need to count whether I've done 10 or 11 marathons. Ha! (Except you know, maybe double your best time)

I started the Bali Triathlon Club here ... you might want to start a Google or Facebook group for your budding tri-buddies!

Sorry for the enthusiasm--it's just really great to meet a like-minded person. I'd actually like to start an Asia forum here at BT, specifically, Southeast Asia ...

What's your next race? I'm looking at Phuket 70.3 but am currently recovering from something horrendous, maybe amoebic dysentery, so that put a wrench in my training plans. I am registered, though.

Hi Tri-Aya/Yanti,

Actually my name isn't Xin Chao--that's "Hello" in Vietnamese. Locals seem to believe my name is "Motorbike--You?"  At times am tempted to take them up on it.  Training in Bali--wow! Sounds great, but I can imagine the reality can be pretty difficult. Running, etc. doesn't seem to be the done thing for women in SE Asia.  The harassment here is pretty constant, but so far nothing more than guys trying to look macho. I have had friends grabbed while running though--kind of scary. I try to dress modestly and don't hit the road out pre-dawn, which is when most problems seem to happen. 

Maybe we should start a SE Asia thread--there are plenty of us "hot women" here, mostly expats, plus lots of locals in Singapore and Thailand.   Right now I'm training for a half-marathon (run) at Angkor Wat in December. Still up in the air about next spring. I'd like to do the Bintan tri but logistics of getting to Singapore and then to the start on an island in Indonesia with bike in 24 hours are tough (boss won't let us take personal leave for races and there are too many of us to do it the sneaky way). I'd like to do an Olympic distance earlier in the spring but still looking for a race.  Am also planning to do the Tinman in Honolulu in July, for sentimental reasons; maybe try a HIM next year. The main challenge would be the bike--I need time to get used to riding a proper vehicle, and figure out how to pace. So far I have not been really happy with my runs--leaving too much on the bike to take advantage of what's left of my "speed" (right now about 42-43 minute 10K flat-out). 

The Vietnam triathlon was pretty nice, but.....there seemed to be no traffic control on the "village" part of the run course at all, at least by the time I got there after epic struggle with rental bike. On every lap, I got stuck in the very narrow village lane behind a beer delivery truck.  I'm sure some people wouldn't think this is a problem, but when you're trying to race....I have (pollution-induced, thank God not exercise-induced!) asthma and the only way I could keep from being overcome by fumes was stuffing a sponge over my mouth and nose. Thought I would asphyxiate.  So, you are warned!

Hope you're feeling better soon. Some horried intestinal thing is making the rounds here as well. So far have had good luck with the gut; if only my lungs would consent to breathe motorbike fumes and humidity instead of oxygen!