First Ramadan

Ramadan was officially declared by the Moon Observer Committee to start July 20. This will be our first Ramadan experience - the holy month for Islamic people.
We didn't know much about Ramadan prior to being immersed into middle eastern culture. Mostly because we don't know any muslims back home and because the religion is a minority, so there's no real change in our society. I would compare it to a mix of Christmas and 40 days of Lent.

Weeks leading up to Ramadan, it was becoming clear that there was a buzz in the air as people were getting ready for this special occasion. It lasts for 4 weeks, starting with the sighting of the new moon and ending on a full moon followed by Eid Al-Fitr (celebration ending ramadan). During the month, people are required to fast - not only food, but also water, smoking, and even gum (my vice ;). This makes for some interesting dynamics in the office! Thank goodness the work hours are reduced to 7am-1pm or 9am to 2pm for muslims. Non muslims carry on as normal, even though 90% of the people are at home resting or preparing for Iftar (break the fast at sunset). So the office gets eerily quiet in the afternoons. You can still get a coffee in the morning thankfully, but you have to congregate to the 'sin' room to do so!
Muslims are also suppose to do more praying, good deeds and give back to charity. There are a bunch of sale specials on for the month at the grocery stores, car dealers, clothing stores, etc. Ramadan kareem ;)

All the restaurants are closed during the day and reopen in the evenings around Iftar, luckily the grocery stores are open all day. Alcohol is not sold anywhere during the month so we had fun stocking up on booze at the club store - everyone had their carts loaded to the max. If you dare go out in the evening, you'll face traffic jams and really really crazy drivers as they are likely hungry, dehydrated and trying to get to where they're going for Iftar. We have been told that each break the fast is typically a feast with family and friends that lasts until early hours of the morning. I give it until next week before people really start coming late to work. But then again it's culturally acceptable, which is odd to us. We did get a chance to tie on one before ramadan started, some friends hosted pre-Ramadan parties in light of what was coming!

There is supposed to be a day during Ramadan where non muslims fast for charity. I'm looking forward to trying it out to see what they've gone through over the past few weeks. Hopefully we will be excused from work at 1 as well...

And a link to an article that is ridiculous! I still can't believe what I read over here sometimes. Article

What a triathlon in +40C feels like

Don't worry, I'm not about to say we did an Ironman in +40C. Nope, that would just be crazy! A sprint is more than enough...

Last weekend was the grand finale of tris before summer holidays. Again, as with every Friday morning start, we strongly debated sleeping in...or rolling out of the bed to get in some miles before it gets too hot. Luckily the start time was bumped up to 6 AM. Good for minimizing time in the sun, but bad for trying to be alive at 4:30 am.
It was a smaller group, which is expected in the midst of the summer months, maybe 20 people with a mix of individuals and teams. However small, the level of diversity is quite unique - we have a former Oman national team member(who beats everybody by at least 5 min), rusty ironman competitors (if I don't say so myself ), tri newbies that haven't gone further than a sprint, and junior athletes <12 yrs (but are super fast swimmers!).

The best way to describe the race is like a game of 'pickup triathlon'. And it really is a compliment to the race. It's pretty unique that you can run a triathlon with minimal planning and resources. The ocean is very likely to be calm, and give the Friday morning start (on holy day) the roads are quiet so road closures and traffic control isn't needed. Plus the weather never changes, its guaranteed to be hot!

This was our 2nd Azaiba beach triathlon and the rundown goes as such: You show up with your stuff, and there's a quick race briefing (in case there is a newbie) - swim around the buoy, then the boat, making a triangle. It may be 750 or 650m depending on the tides. Then transition is a quick rinse of the salt water from the mouth and eyes... and onto the bike. But be sure not to mount until clear of the 'mount line', the invisible line where the parking lot turns into a road. And then onto the road for a 20 km loop to The Wave roundabout and back. Of course minding traffic and stop lights - proceeding at your own risk. The wind feels like a convection oven, so by the time you hit the run, and you are medium rare to well-done.  The run course is a flat, straight out and back ( Al Humdilillah). I don't think anyone could bear a slight undulation by ~ 7am as it's already close to 40C with the humidity. The water station is at the turnaround, which literally saves people from heat stoke and dehydration. 5km isn't far, but in this heat, it feels unbelievably far! Afterwards we all jump back into the ocean, for a semi-cool down (the ocean is hot too).

What makes it all worth the effort is the trip to Darcy's Kitchen afterwards with the group for breakfast and race recaps.       

Transition: good thing the curb is huge. Makes for a good bike holder.

The P2C and Dual ready go!

Adam was running 0.05 seconds ago...he just crossed the line, didn't you see the tape?

The beach and our time keepers/aid station/officials/moms of the junior athletes ;)