I completed my first virgin OD triathlon, yeah yeah yeah! We trooped to Port Dickson over the weekend, many of us in the group were first-timers - Henry, Alber, Eliza, and myself. The grand plan was to try not to be last one out of the waters and aim to finish the race without cramps.
Swim - The waters was nice and calm, made my swim a lot easier. The women were flagged off after the men. That was great, because in Singapore, they usually got the women to start first, and we get swam/ crawled/ kicked over by the guys catching up from behind. The u-turn buoy seemed forever in the distance. But I was behind, and there were only about 10-odd swimmers near me, we had all the space and calmness to ourselves. Nothing to distract nor upset our rhythm. Got out of the waters, and surprised to see about 47-48min. Much better than my budgeted 1h - yes, that slow....
Bike - Mounted my bike and rode off. Experimented with the gears that Eddie taught me, playing with both the 1st and 2nd gear in front. In the past, I would only adjusted the back gears and crank my way up the slopes. Nice feel, high cadence with less effort on the upslope. However, it could not really capitalize on the flats and downslope, at which point I would switch to the bigger front gear. The route was like a series of rolling Mandai slopes, quite enjoyable. Some stretches just flew down at high speeds of 40kmh without pedalling! Cleared my ride in 1:30h without much panting. Save the legs.
Run - My legs felt really fresh at the start of the run. I usually get cramps in my past duathlons. Today was the first time that I ran cramp-free! At a few times, my quads threatened to sieze up, but I simply slowed my pace and the cramps disappeared. I started with a 7min pace to ease into the run, and worked my way to a 6min pace, overtaking quite a number of people. The weather was insanely hot, beating down mercilessly on the uncovered highways. At every water point, I would grap 2 cups and drench myself. Helen caught up around 5km (I overtook her on the bike), and ran ahead, I could not catch up with her. The end was soon in sight, an escape from the unbearable heat! I sprinted the last 20m with a Singaporean guy in front of me. Done. 62min run. Race completed. Yes! Total about 3:30h. Survived!
.... The lift in our apartment block was spoilt! We had to deposit our bikes in Alvin's room in a different block, and then climbed 14 storeys up to our room! But somehow I was still in a hyper mode, and skipped hopped my way up. Still on an adrenalin high after the race. Haha.
Good experience, plus a sun-kissed face and shoulders. :) Looking forward to the next overseas race. http://picasaweb.google.com/simsps/PortDicksonTriathlon20July2008
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