Roadies' Guide to Triathletes

1. We use aero bars even on road bikes simply because it is more efficient. Get over it.
2. We tend to ride up front and pull because we are trying to get used to riding against the wind - drafting is illegal in most Triathlons - not because we are showing off or trying to prove that the aero gadgets are working.
3. We tend to bring a few bottles to get used to re-fueling on the go, not because we tend to drink more.
4. Sometimes we wear Tri suits or shorts to group rides because we intend to go for a transition run after the ride, not because we are anti roadie fashion (is that term an oxy moron?).
5. Pt 2 & Pt 4 together is why we tend to pull up front for most of the ride, and then slow down and fall back at the end of the ride. We are trying to rest/stretch before going into the transition run.
6. Pt 4 is also the reason why we don't usually stay for the after ride chat/breakfast. We are actually pretty sociable people.
7. Pt 4 is also why we wear ankle socks (running socks) rather than the roadie (above ankle) socks.

Seeing RED...

Bought this Japanese made Pearl Izumi Tri suit for the bargain basement price of SGD$99 (USD$70, 60% off retail price)! Ok, so it is an older model and probably not the best looking suit, but the quality is excellent and the chamois is just about perfect for me - I don't much like those towel thin "terry cloth" type of Tri suit padding so common nowadays.

I was actually checking out another Pearl Izumi suit marked down 40% to SGD$156 (USD$111), which has black/white/grey, and a much better match to my bike. Just before paying, I saw the one above on a rack, which is an even older model with the "unfashionable" red side panels. I had to smile to myself, because less than 2 months ago, I ended up buying a more expensive grey helmet instead of just using the replacement red helmet, just because of vanity - I wanted it to match my bike. This despite my buddy and Mrs Nitrox both preferring the red helmet, and despite the still small voice in my head telling me to stop being so vain. Oh well, another lesson in life, I guess.

On the training front, after a break of more than a month, I am finally easing back into training. Easing being the primary word here. Been a busy stretch at work, been travelling 3 of the last 4 weeks and will be travelling again next week, this time to Sydney & Melbourne.

OSIM Triathlon Pictures

Hi all, my OSIM Triathlon pictures are out and I have put them up on here on FaceBook. I must be gettin vain because this time I am tempted to buy a softcopy of one of them, so while you are there, please do 2 things:

1. If you have a facebook account, add me. :-)

2. Help me choose which photo I should buy. I think my current favourite is this one.

10min Video on How to Fix a Flat

Got a special deal on this tyre (Panaracer Stradius Elite Z 700X20C) at my LBS simply because it was the last one they have left. So I have done the radical - run 20C tyres at the front and 23C tyres at the rear. It works for rear wheel drive sports cars, so I guess it will work for my bike too. =)

Since I have to switch my current front tyre to the rear, and install this new tyre on the front, I offered to show a friend how to change a flat. Unfortunately, he got busy during the weekend and I fly off to India on Monday, so this video is for you, Philip. :-) What I forgot to say on the video is that if you've got a flat while out riding, it is IMPORTANT to thoroughly check the tyre after it is removed. Feel the entire length on the inside of the tyre and remove foreign objects if any. And of course, if the tyre is damaged, get your LBS to check if it needs to be replaced.

Rest and Repair

I guess it's time for rest and repair these 2 weeks before I re-start training again.

The same goes for my gear. First up new running shoes - these just arrived at the store and I got myself a pair. The sales guy told me I have the second pair to be sold in Singapore (someone else bought the 1st pair in the morning). Have not gone for a test run yet, but with so much techno mumbo jumbo, it's gotta be good! (The 30% discount I got for my TAS membership also helped.) :-D

Secondly, I managed to nick my rear tyre side wall somehow. Noticed a "bulge" which upon closer inspection revealed the fibres of the side wall construction (see below). Guess I better get a new rear tyre. I must say that I have not been impressed with the wet weather peformance of the Continental GP4000, so I think I may try another tyre.

Just realised that my spare inner tube work not work with my new wheels without a valve extender, so I think I will save myself the hassle and get a spare inner tube with a longer valve stem. Good thing I have a buddy who just got his first road bike, so the my current spare inner tube is not wasted. :-)

Official Race Timing - OSIM Triathlon

Swim: 00:53:37
Bike: 01:23:10 (includes T1)
Run: 01:08:26 (includes T2)
Total: 03:25:13
Position: 75/118 - Age Group Olympic Distance Male (40 - 44 YEARS)

I DID IT! (OSIM Triathlon Race Report)

Praise God, I have finally completed my first Olympic Distance Triathlon! You ironmen/iron ladies out there will laugh at this, but it was much tougher than I thought it would be.

Pre-Race
I slept rather well last night, none of the usual nervous energy that keeps me awake before races - I think not having any expectations except to try to finish works well for me. The nice thing about my wave starting at 10:40am is that I can wake up late and have a leisurely breakfast - coffee and 4 pieces of toast with peanut butter and honey. I even managed to take a quick self protrait before setting off (sorry for the poor aim, there's not much hair left up there anyway). :-)I arrived more than an hour before my wave starts, which gave me loads of time to fuss over my transition area. I even had time to watch some of the elite triathletes flying by the transition area - man, they are fast!

Swim (2 X 750m)
While waiting for the swim, I overhead the announcers making multiple warnings of a rough swim due to strong winds - seems the fastest swim by the "elites" has dropped from 16min (last year) to 21min. That's a whopping 30% increase! I tried not to think about it too much, and got in a quick warm-up swim, and sure enough, it was choppy. I even managed to drink some yucky sea water in the warm-up swim thanks to the chop. Not good.
Nervous minutes ticked by and it was my wave start. Perhaps having the mental expectation of a tough swim helped, and I did not struggle too much. I tried to relax and just bob along with the waves, so the swim did not turn out as uncomfortable as the NUS Biathlon. Still, there was lots of physical contact pretty much throughout the swim because the current was causing us to bunch up into groups. I even got kicked in the face twice by guys swimming breast stroke - which is exactly why I use a swim mask instead of those tiny goggles. Swim Time: >50mins.

Bike (4 X 10km)
The good thing about being a slow swimmer is that there is loads of room at the transition to put on my socks and cycling shoes. :-) I have always liked cycling, so was happy to be able to pick up the pace from the start and catch quite a few people early on. I don't like to fuss with HRM/speed/cadence meters in races. I like to just feel the wind in my face, and hear the buzz from the drive train. I had decided to put a bottle of Gatorade on the bike (which I would finish during the bike leg) and also a gel for "spare". The 1st 3 laps went by in a blur, and I was having fun. Lap 4 is when I started to tire, and I just could not keep up the pace and stay on the aero bars consistently. The sun was bearing down and I could feel the uncomfortable feeling that my entire back is dry and hot - mental note: maybe bring a bottle of water instead next time so I can splash some on my head and back. I decided to take the gel and wash it down with Gatorade - yummy! Decided to slow down and leave some strength for the run. Bike time: 1:20?

Run (2 X 5km)
The run was a totally different matter - I just never got up to pace on the run. It felt like I was just "surviving" and trying to make the distance. Somehow the 5km loop felt like it was going on forever - Mental note: maybe I gotta check the run distance sensor on my Polar, perhaps I am running short during training. Turning back for the 2nd 5km loop was a real morale buster - it was all I could do to keep running and not give up. Out of the blue, it started raining - a sudden tropical downpour. I didn't exactly pray for rain, but I did tell R1 & R2 that if it rained, it might be a good thing because the noon sun can be pretty terrible in this part of the world. I was thankful for the rain, it brought cool relief, but the downpour soon soaked my shoes and made them heavy and uncomfortable. I gotta be careful what I wish for, I guess. :-) Somewhere along the 2nd loop, I gave up my target time of 60mins and re-set the target to just being able to complete without walking. I was telling myself, "God brought the rain, you better not give up." :-) Run time: 1:10 (?)

So all in, a tough event for me. I did wear my trusty Timex, but I managed to mess up the lap times, so you will have to wait for the official results to see how I did. I did not put in quite as much training as I would have liked, so I am very thankful to be able to finally complete my first Olympic Distance Triathlon. There's actually a Night Olympic Triathlon in Oct, but that's the LAST thing I wanna think about right now. :o)

All Packed and Ready to Go

I have rather mixed feelings as I packed for tomorrow. I am thankful to be able to train and participate, but would have liked to put in more training. Then again, I guess I will always like to have put in more training. :-)

This will be my 1st real attempt at a Olympic Distance Triathlon - the same event got rained out last year and it so discouraged me that I actually stopped blogging for quite a while. When I look back, I may have been just as physically ready then as I am now, but mentally perhaps I just wasn't ready for it last year. A lot of thoughts are going thru my mind right now: With a late start (my wave starts at 1040am), would it get too hot? I did most of my training in the coolness of the morning or evening, will I be able to cope with the weather? Is my fueling plan correct? I will be biking/running through lunch-time, will I get hungry? Will it rain, and would my GP4000 tyres grip well in the wet? Is it gonna be strong currents like the NUS Biathlon? I usually get stitches in my sides in races, will they come back to haunt me again tomorrow? I had planned to do some light training during taper week, but I had to go to Manila and just could not squeeze in any training - have I lost form during taper week?

Then again, I think back 3-4 years ago when I could hardly swim 100m, bike 20km or run 5km, and was 16kg heavier than I am now, I guess I have come a long way. It has been frustrating many a time for me to note just how GRADUAL the improvements in speed and distance are coming along, but I cannot deny that I have gotten faster and fitter over the years. Am I going to complete the race tomorrow? I can't be 100% sure. But I am reminded that it is this uncertainty that draws me to Triathlons - the uncertainty that forces me to be humble and to just depend on Him.

God Willing, I will finish my 1st Olympic Distance Triathlon tomorrow. See you at the finish line.

One Last S-T-R-E-T-C-H

Yesterday was my last STRETCH workout before the Olympic Distance Triathlon next Sunday:

• Swam: 550m front crawl, 440m kicking (with buoy), 440m pulling (with buoy), 550m front crawl - total distance swam 1980m
• Biked: 67km
• Ran: 7.5km

Think I am ready? Somewhere between now and next Sunday is when I start asking myself questions like: Can I really do this? What was I thinking when I signed up? Wouldn't it be really embarassing if I got fished out of the sea during the swim? I wonder how many people in mountain bikes are gonna pass me in my carbon tricked-out speed machine? I just gotta take my own medicine and remember to commit my works to the LORD. HE will see me thru, AMEN!

New Helmet - Uvex Boss Race

Sorry the picture turned out quite small, but if you look VERY carefully, you will see that I managed to crack my helmet - a MET Sfero (only 2+ years old). Don't worry, I didn't fall or anything. Not entirely sure why it developed a hair-line crack. I get to buy a replacement helmet (same model) for half price, which I will sell to buy this beauty - the Uvex Boss race helmet.

Why didn't I just use the replacement helmet? Well, because the replacement helmet did not meet the most important requirement for bicycle helmets. It did not match the colour of my bicycle. :-) Yes a poor reason for spending twice my budget for a helmet, but middle aged men are vain that way. In fact the helmet cost so much that I am also selling my Mavic Ksyrium Equipe wheels and Vredestein Fortezza Tricomps racing clinchers. Had intended to keep them as training wheels, but my new carbon aero wheels are so sturdy that I will just use them as both training and race wheels.

So PLEASE tell me that my new helmet matches my bike perfectly... :-D

2 weeks from my 1st Olympic Distance Triathlon which means 6 more training days before my 1 week taper. Thankfully I did not seem to have lost much fitness in the 4 weeks of on-again/off-again training, God Willing, I will complete it.

Intimacy

I am now 153 days into into my http://www.bibleinayear.org/ reading plan, and a 40 days behind schedule, so I have caught up a little.

Today I my readings bring me to the Song of Songs, and it feels like things have come full circle. Back in Dec 2006, at our bi-annual church camp, this was where the speaker pointed me to. He told to look into the Song of Songs to find intimacy with God. He also said that when I have intimacy with God, others will see the presence of God in my life. I must confess that I don't think I have reached a deeper level of intimacy with God. I try to read His Word regularly, and I try to pray regularly, but I don't think I have grown significantly more intimate with God. I still feel as though I am too pre-occupied with this world - my job, family, training, etc... Please continue to pray for a break though for me in this area.

Talking about training, I am getting anxious. I am finally getting better (sore throat is gone and I have stopped snortin'/hackin' out greenish stuff), but I have lost 4 weeks of training to business travels, vacation/church camp and this virus attack. The OSIM Triathlon (my 1st Oly Tri ever - last year's race got rained out) is 4 weeks away, which means I have the next 3 weeks to pile on the training before tapering on the 4th week. I don't even know what I should be doing anymore - will the training I put in these 3 weeks even make any difference to my race form on Jul 13th, or is it just a mental/confidence exercise? I really do not want to pull out from the race, so I will probably just take it easy and if I can't finish it, tough.

The positive side of not being to train is more time with the family, which is always a welcome thing. This week is the last week of June school holidays so it was good to be able to spend some time at the beach...

God-Who-Forgives

According to my mailbox, I am 146 days into my http://www.bibleinayear.org/ reading plan, and a whopping 43 days behind schedule!

Just came across this verse that speaks so much about our God's nature:
"... You were to them God-Who-Forgives,
Though You took vengeance on their deeds." Psalm 99:8

Truly He forgives the sinner yet punishes the sin. Praise God!

I am less than a month away from my 1st Olympic Distance Triathlon (again), and it is not looking good. Training has come to pretty much a stand-still in the last few weeks due to business travels, vacation in Malaysia and I have gone from sore throat to snortin' out green stuff in the morning. Maybe I will call it an extended taper. ;-)

My 1st Olympic Distance Triathlon (Again)

I'm off to church camp for a week, and when I am back, I will be a month away from my 1st Olympic Distance Triathlon (again) - got rained out last year. I'm not quite as prepared as I would like to be (and learning that I will probably never be quite as prepared as I would like to be), so I will aim to complete and not compete in my 1st O. D. Tri.

Given that training opportunities at church camp will be limited, I am pretty much counting on current fitness levels to pull me thru. I am now running 17km long slow runs (in 2 hours), 2.2km pool swims (in a little less than 55 mins), and 60km bike rides (followed by 5km transition run). Let's hope that enough. :-)

New Carbon Wheels!

OK, technically they are not quite new. I bought them from a Finnish colleague at "buddy" price. He had them for a year or so and have been using them as race wheels for his BMC TT02. After trying the Easton EC90 tubulars, he had to get them, and I became the blessed owner of his carbon clinchers on Friday. Being colleagues and good friends at work, we did away with the second guessing and bargaining at comes with buying/selling, and I knew the wheels would be in good condition because he is quite a bike freak (like me). I also knew he would include the Titanium skewers and his almost new Continenal Grand Prix 4000s tyres, but was surprised on Friday was that he also included wheel bags and even a Dura Ace 9-speed casette for me as he knew I do not have one for the new wheels. Thanks Jarmo! As you can see from the pictures here, the wheels and even the tyres are in immaculate condition, so I am extremely chuffed to be blessed with these latest acquisitions.

OK, for the technically inclined, these are Mavic Cosmic Carbone SL Premium wheels (yes, quite a mouthful), and the main difference with the lesser priced Carbone SL is that the Premium comes with Titanium axle, nuts and skewers to reduce weight, and subdued white detailing (as opposed to the loud yellow decals on the SL). Technically, they are not really carbon wheels - as you can see, the rims (where the brake pads contact the wheels, and where the clincher tyres mount) are made of alloy. Only the 52mm "fairings" are made from carbon. As such they are not the lightest wheelsets out there, even for clinchers - 1755 grams per pair, compared to the likes of the ZIPP 404 clinchers @ 1660 grams and the Easton EA90 clinchers @ 1545 grams. Tubular wheelsets tend to be significantly lighter - e.g. ZIPP 404 tubulars @ 1252 grams and the Easton EA90 @ 1370 grams - but I can't be fussed with tubulars, glue/tape and pre-stretching. What's good about the Mavic Cosmic Carbone SL Premium wheelset is that they have the reputation of being strong and stiff. Since I have time to ride only once a week, strong wheels are a key criteria as I have half a mind to use them as both training and racing wheels. (I am still holding onto my old Mavic Ksyrium Equipe wheelsets for wet weather riding, but leaning more and more towards selling them for some fast cash.)

Took them out for my 2 hr weekend ride this morning and I have to report that I am 100% satisfied. I was all smiles with the noticeable improvement in overall "smoothness" - e.g. free-wheeling produces a muted "purring" rather than the mechanical "clacking" I am use to. Ride quality is significantly improved, and overall response/turn-in is excellent. The wheels feel very solid and stiff even under full-on out-of-saddle stomping - this is no fragile carbon wheelset that I have to tread gingerly upon! :-) Given that my old Ksyrium Equipes are only about 100 grams heavier, there is no significant improvement in acceleration/pick-up, but I was pleasantly surprised to find a 5% improvement in average speed in my first ride today - i.e. 6mins improvement on a 2 hour ride despite a unusally hot and clammy day. Not sure if this is my enthusiasm coming through, and it is hopelessly unscientific to make conclusions from one test ride, so I will be keeping my eye on speed/total time taken for my rides in the next few weeks.

Ok, enough talk, now for the pictures:

I'm one of the bike "freaks" who proudly rack up my bike in the living room - Mrs Nitrox thinks of it as storage, but I see a work of art. :-) I still catch myself admiring it when I am watching TV sometimes - Besides being good wheels, the carbon aero fairings goes very well with the naked carbon weave on my Scott CR1 frame. :-)

Here's a close-up of the rear wheel:
And here's one of the front:


Yes, early test seems to suggest that it does go as fast as it looks. :-)

Profile Design Lightning Styke (Lotsa Pictures!)

Woohoo, I finally have my Profile Design Lightning Stryke installed on my 2005 Scott CR1 Team, and headed out for my weekend 2 hr ride yesterday. I couldn't find much useful information on this clip-on bar in the Web, nor could I find pictures of it actually installed on a bike, much less a road bike, so I have taken the liberty to include lotsa pictures. The short of it is that I found them to be comfortable and fast, and got it dialed up just right after a few quick stops for minor adjustments. In case anyone is wondering about the red bar tape, I was too cheap to buy an entire roll just to tape up the bar ends, so I ended up with used bar tape at the LBS. Would have prefered white (to match the rest of the bike), but the wallet prevailed. :-)

When it comes to using clip-on aero bars on a road bike (with a drop bar), I think I am one of many who have learnt things the hard way. There just is not a whole lot of relevant information about how to choose a clip-on bar, and what works best on a road bike with drop bars. Road bikes tend to have longer top tubes, which makes mounting a clip-on bar tricky. My previous Deda Clip-One looked good and worked great, except for 2 problems:

1. The elbow rests are mounted on top of the drop bar, which meant very little fore-aft positioning of the elbow rests are possible. This can be a problem especially on road bikes because the long top tube may put the elbow rests (on top of the flats of the top bars) too far away from you, which results in a "stretched" position when you are in full aero tuck. [Read: Tired neck, shoulders and back after a couple of hours in aero position.] The picture on the right is what my Deda Clip-One looked like mounted on my bike, compare it with the pictures below of the new Lightning Styke clip-on bar.


2. The Clip-One comes in two sizes (26.0 or 31.7mm diameter handlebars), this means that if (as in my case) your handlebars have 31mm shoulders that taper to 26mm, you need to fashion your own "adapter" (in my case, used MTB handle grips).

If you look carefully at the picture on the right, you will notice that the Profile Design Ligthtning Styke solves the above 2 problems for me, because it mounts on the stem and not the base bar. This means that: (1) I can position the elbow pads much nearer to me (which mitigates the longer top tube on a road bike), and (2) I don't have to worry that my drop bar has 31mm shoulders that taper to 26mm.

The Lightning Stryke also comes with pretty high spacers to raise the elbow rests above the base bar, so if you decide to use them (as I did in the picture above), much of the flats of the base bar becomes accessible. I.e. now I can also grip the flats of my drop bar in case I need to sit a little more upright in climbs or just to ease my aging back. :-) With the Deda Clip-One, the elbow rests mounted onto the flats on the base bar itself, which means I had to hold onto the elbow rests instead of the flats if I want to sit upright. That always made me feel a little odd (especially since I have difficulty getting the elbow rests mounted securely despite my home made "adapters" - see previous paragraph).

Perhaps one last nugget of information before I let the pictures do the talking. The Lightning Stryke comes with 2 choices for how far apart the elbow rests are. This is certainly more restrictive than the Deda Clip-One simply because you can mount the elbow rests anywhere on the flats of the base bar. I found that even the widest setting for the elbow rests were more narrow than where I had my Deda Clip-One elbow rests, but even this ol' body adjusted to that pretty quickly. I used to have my elbows outside of my knees with the Deda Clip-One, and now my elbows are aligned pretty much straight on with my knees. This means that even though technically I can set the Lightning Stryke elbow rests much nearer to me (by using the 6 available fore-art positions), I had to reach a compromise position so that (1) my knees don't knock into my elbows when I am seated, and (2) my knees don't knock into the elbow rests when I am "stomping" out of the saddle. As you can see from the pictures above, I still ended up 2 inches nearer, which goes a long way toward mitigating for the longer tube tube of a road bike.

Clip-on Aero Bars Work!

Yup, I have removed my clip-on aero bar. The "go faster" kit that I hinted at was a new carbon clip-on bar to replace the Deda Clip One (more here) that I have been using for over 2 years now. Well, the LBS ordered the wrong stem and so now I am without a clip-on aero bar for a few days. So, off I go for my weekend ride, and you know what? I was consistently approx 3km/hr slower in the flats. At my (slow) bike speed, this equates to almost a whopping 10% decrease in speed!

I have always felt that having the clip-ons make a lot of difference, and now I know for sure. So if you are considering clip-on aero bars for your road bike, GO GET THEM!

So why did I decide to replace my trusty ol' Dedas and what difference does it make? Well, you'll just have to wait till I get the new clip-on aero bar installed (hopefully tomorrow). :-)

Updates

Wow, has it really been more than 2 weeks since my last post? Where has all the time gone?

So much has happened since then. I had to stop training for an entire month - essentially sincce the NUS (National University of Singapore) Biathlon - and am finally easing back into training. I am not quite back to race fitness yet, but getting there SLOWY. This week I hope to get back to my full training week - 2 runs, 2 swims, 1 strength training, and 1 long brick. As usual when my training level drops, I start thinking about adding/replacing new go-after kit, so keep your eyes on this space, I am receiving my latest "go faster" kit for the bike this week! :-)

On the home front, the latest news is that R2 fractured his elbow last Saturday night. The lil' guy was playing with some friends after dinner and running with much abandonement when he fell awkwardly. One look at the right elbow and it was pretty obvious that "something is wrong" - there was a lot of swelling and it looked like something was jutting out. So we rush to the A&E (Accident and Emergency) ward of the children's hospital where they confirmed that he has a fracture just above the elbow joint. They were a little concerned as the fracture is very near the joint, but there was too much swelling for proper diagnosis to be done. So they put a full splint on him and we are to go back for consultation with the orthopedic specialist on Thurs.

We were graced with a miracle at the A&E: The poor guy was clearly in pain and was not a happy camper at all for the entire period after he fell to while we were waiting at the A&E. He was cried and complained of intense pain, and finally settled down but his face was screwed up in pain. While waiting, we prayed over him and Mrs Nitrox also text'ed some of her "Mummies support group" to pray for R2. Literally within seconds of laying hands on his elbow and asking the Holy Spirit to come and heal him, he went from being in pain and miserable, to being his usual cheerful self. The doctors were amazed that he was so "cooperative" even when the splint was going on - they warned us that it might hurt, but all R2 was concerned about was not getting the plaster on his shirt! :-) PRAISE GOD! The doctors can't be sure if the fracture needs to be re-aligned (hence the need to come back to see the orthopedic specialist on Thurs when the swelling has come down). But, encouraged by the miracle, we are trusting by faith that the Lord is healing his little elbow, and continue to pray that R2 will receive 100% restoration in his right elbow without surgery. Please do continue to agree with us in prayer too!


Since coming back from the A&E, R2 has been pretty much his normal cheerful self (as you can see from the pictures). He does complain of some pain now and then, but it is more like 3-5/10 level of pain (right after the fall was 8-10/10, and after we prayed for him at A&E it went down to 0-2/10) . Most of the time, he is reporting 0/10 in terms of pain, so we are not even giving him the prescribed pain meds - Ibuprofen - just children's Panadol once so far. Encouraged by the miracle, we are trusting by faith that the Lord is healing his little elbow, and continue to pray that R2 will receive 100% restoration in his right elbow without surgery. Please do continue to agree with us in prayer too! Our God is indeed an AWESOME GOD!

Race Report: NUS Biathlon

Pre-Race (Sat 16 Feb '08)

I am having a nervous week leading to the race tomorrow. Even though I had timed it such that I would have the race at the end of a rest week, I just do not feel like I am recovering well from the previous 3 weeks of training. I did short run and swim intervals this week, but felt slow and lethagic. This will be my first ever biathlon, and my first 1.5km open water swim in race conditions. I am still half serious about sleeping in tomorrow and forgetting about the race. :-)

I decided to use my "Chinese New Year" red New Balance 835 (bought at a warehouse sale for SGD$35/USD$20) as my race shoes because they are lighter than my regular MR846 training shoes so I switched the Lock Laces over. Somehow, switching over the laces had a calming effect as it made tomorrow's race finally REAL somehow.

Let's hope I feel MUCH better tomorrow morning when I wake up.

Race Day (Sun 18 Feb '08)

Didn't sleep too well the night before - too much nervous energy - oh well. I don't believe in omens, but perhaps I should have guessed that the swim won't go too well when I saw the swimming caps being handed out. Yes, that is what you think it is - a swimming sperm!?!? I tried to encourage my buddies by reminding them that we were all made by the fastest swimming sperm at some point, so DEEP down inside us there must be a fast swimmer. :-))

Well, the swimmer DEEP inside me didn't quite surface - the swim was downright awful for me. There was a deceptively strong current going from right to left, and the swim lap was an inverted U - we swim 250m out, turn right for 250m and then swim 250m back (2 loops to make 1.5km). On the swim out, I got kicked a few times and decided to head for clear water. Problem was, the current brought me about 50m out to the left. Then I turned right at the buoy and pretty much came to a standstill because I was now swimming against the current. Sounds funny now, but it was pretty demoralizing to swim 8 strokes or so, sight, and find myself at pretty much the same position as before. When I finally get to turn back to shore, the current was literally pushing me against the ropes and I couldn't really swim proper strokes, but at least I was finally moving again. It took me 26 mins to swim 750m, that's 10 mins more than in my last Sprint Tri. When I had to run back and do the 2nd swim loop, there was STRONG temptation to just give up on the swim. There wasn't even a timing mat to record the number of swim laps completed! Somehow, I found the fortitude to continue and jump back in, despite noticing that I was literally one of the last swimmers still heading back in for swim loop 2.

The 2nd lap was pretty much a repeat of the 1st lap and I finished the swim in an embarassing 50:56, but at least I finished, and it looks like I even did a negative split (since the swim times included the swim-run transition). Out I go for the run then, which was pretty uneventful, except that again I got stitches on the run, which made breathing difficult and speeding up just about impossible. I don't know why I get stitches in races but never in training - can anyone help? One of my buddies say it is probably because I am too tensed up in races, gotta learn to relax a bit more. After the disastrous swim, I somehow managed a sub-60min 10km (59:23) - ok, not by much, but sub-60min it is, and a PR it is. Someone I met started telling me that the run course was probably short, but I just DID NOT want to hear that. :-)

So total time was a disastrous 1:50:19 for a 1.5km swim and 10km run, and race results confirm that I am in the last 10% of the Men's Open. (So my fears about coming in last in a race organised by the local university - where most of the participants & organisers are half my age - came true.) I sure hope this sets the baseline for improvement towards the international triathlon I am planning to do in June/July.

Swimming with Sharks

So I went for my swim test for the NUS Biathlon today, and as expected, everyone (and I mean everyone, including the organisers) is half my age. I usually don't mind being called "sir", but I detected a bit too much of the customary Asian respect for the elderly in the "sir"s after I told them I am 40.

Undaunted, I proceed for the swim test and started chatting with the swimmer who starts after me. A young, well-muscled and tanned chap, he confessed to being a slow swimmer. After more deferential chatter (these kids must not meet middle aged guys very often), Ol' Nitrox was eager to just get going. I mean, I am a big advocate of respecting the old, but I have never been this much on the receiving end before.

1st lap and I noticed that Tanned Young Boy (TYB) who started after me is using the breast stroke - heh heh, I thought, no pressure then. A few laps later, TYB seemed to be catching up (still using breast stroke). Forgeting the ravaging effects of 20 extra years on the body, I pick up the pace, refusing to lose time to someone using the breast stroke. Mid-way and this ol' body is over-heating, I am having difficulty breathing and keeping my heart rate in check. I cannot even think about a smooth stroke anymore. BUT, I am not giving up any time to TYB. I can't really remember much after the mid-point, just a lot of discomfort and threshing around. TYB and I finished the swim test at about the same time (36 mins or so - YES, I passed!), but I could not help notice how he was breathing a whole lot easier than I was as we walked to the changing rooms.

Man, this could be one tough biathlon... Maybe I should go talk to these guys about creating a seniors category...

One Door Closed But Another Door Opened...

Remember how I was kicking myself for missing the Singapore Biathlon? Well, sometimes when one door is closed, God opens up another - the NUS Biathlon. Praise God! He is such a kewl God. Best part is that it is pretty much the same course (just about all the biathlons/triathlons in Singapore are held at the same venue), and the same distance - 1.5km swim, 10km run.

This biathlon is organised by the National University of Singapore, which means I will be racing with young and lithe (read: fast) men/women, but I am thrilled just to be able to do a biathlon as a build-up to the International (Olympic) Distance triathlon in June. Someone's gotta come last anyway! I have not swam 1.5km in the open sea under race conditions before, so this will be a good experience to have before going to the Triathlon.

I will have to take a swim test tomorrow (30 X 50m in 40mins), and though I am reasonably comfortable of passing, you'll never know with these things, so your prayer support is much appreciated. :-)

Oh, and that's one of R1's painting from art class by the way. Pretty good huh? :-)