Sundays Stingy Tri - as reported by Patricia Weismantel (Trinerds)

It was an early 7 a.m. start to the Laem Mae Pim Olympic Triathlon on Sunday. Conditions looked perfect - the water was calm, the sun shining and it wasn't windy. After an informal briefing the swim was off with 60 some competitors taking the plunge into the Gulf of Thailand. It was two laps of a rectangle swim, and it didn't take long for the racers to realize the calm surface of the sea was deceptive as the danger lurked just below the surface in the form of jellyfish. There were diferent kinds, some spongy, some with long tentacles, but they all stung and burnt. Poor Pablo had one wrapped around his throat and had great difficulty breathing. He had to pull out of the race and today says he looks like "Freddie Krueger munching on a tennis ball." The rest carried on, whinging about their stings (at least I did) , to the 2 loops of the relatively flat bike ride alongside the sea.
Highlights included a sprinter riding a small wheeled bike, another on a rental complete with a ba sket and one rider having his own support truck following him. The run, also two in-and-out loops, was luckily primarily in the shade but had the challenge of inhaling smoke from the numerous food stalls grilling squid and meat. The water stop, when it appeared, was self-service at one stop and handed out by the winner of the sprint competition at the other (thanks!). A very casual race overall, a doctor on site would have been reassuring to Pablo, but it was a good warm up to Phuket.

Results from the Thai Triathlong Chamionships published http://www.thaitriathlon.org/event/detail/trr.htm Photos available at http://www.thaitriathlon.org/webboard/on/post1075.htm