Cheering

When Reuben and I were in KL last weekend, Reuben participated in a Duathalon.  What is that, you might ask?  Triathalon = 3 events, duathalon = 2 events (in this case, run, bike, and another run).  Funny now that I think about it, because "dua" means "two" in Malay (see?  I am learning Malay!)

 The day before the race, I picked up some signboard and Sharpies and fashioned myself something to cheer him on: one side for Reuben and the other side for everyone else.  It's only reasonable to go to a RACE and expect to CHEER people on, right?

He was so glad to see me

Apparently not!  Not only was I the only one with a sign, but I was the only one doing any sort of cheering, and really the only one with any sort of positive "you-can-do-it" motivation.  Before the race, when I was standing by the start line with the "Reuben-side" of my sign, I saw people snickering (ok, I might have also been yelling out his name into the crowd to try to get his attention).  I'm pretty sure they were just jealous that the sign didn't have their name on it.

See all those people standing around doing nothing

Part-way through the race I went to the mid-way point of the bike ride and stationed myself at the bottom of a killer hill.  No one was snickering at me by then!  I started chatting with one of the race organizers while I was standing there and he mentioned casually, "I've never seen someone like you at a race before."  Really?  Malaysians have no spirit.  Except for badminton.  No wonder they suck at the Olympics.

Reuben did great in the race, considering it was wicked hot and the course was super hilly.  Nothing we're not used to here!  On the sidelines, I ended up making a pretty big fool of myself, but despite that I got a lot of positive feedback.  Some participants thanked me after the race for the motivation.  Maybe I'll start a trend and we'll see more signs at the next race.

Speaking of next races, Reuben and I are officially signed up for the Port Dickson Triathalon in July!  Now I have to find a bike.  And figure out how I am going to practice open-water swimming.