Throwback: My First Multisport Race

2XU Biathlon, 9 Nov 2014

Background:
I started triathlon training at the beginning of September 2014, with the Metasports triathlon group in Singapore. I managed to regularly attend 4-5 sessions each week and they definitely helped me build the base and speed fitness required for multisport (short course), in a fun, competitive training environment. During training sessions, we would often ask each other, "what's your next race?" and while the racing season slows down towards the end of the year, (and athletes start their "off season") some were talking about a final race event for the year in Singapore. That piqued my interest as there was a "sprint" category; a short swim followed by a run (also known as an Aquathlon),and a distance I could definitely manage as a newbie.

Race Event Details:
Race Location: Changi Beach Park
Sprint Male Open (30-35) Age Group Category
Distance: 750m Swim and 5km Run

Standing focused at the front of the sprint category start line

The 750m Swim:

I was pretty nervous the night before and as a result didn't get much sleep. I guess the biggest worry was always how I would handle my first mass swim start, especially after reading articles that paint imagery of a "washing machine". The worrying does nothing to prepare you for it, as I was still the recipient of many elbows, and kicks amongst the chaos and splashing. To make things worse, the swim course had black coloured buoys that were extremely difficult to see. So instead of trying to sight the buoys, I tried to follow the feet in front of me (in hope they were headed in the right direction), and would check myself every so often by stopping and treading water to regain my bearings. The other issue on the day was that the swim felt longer than 750m, and not because of poor sighting. This definitely exposed my lack of swim fitness as I struggled to keep my desired swim pace for the extra distance. Exiting out of the water, I was exhausted, but happy that the swim was over, and my strongest discipline was next.

The 5km Run:

I didn't really get a chance to catch my breath; running out of the water and straight up a steep beach bank and into the transition area was tough going. I tried to catch my breath and settle down whilst slipping on my running singlet, and runing shoes. But the excitement got to me as I saw others rushing in and out of the transition area, and in the heat of the moment, I decided against putting on my socks to save a few seconds in transition. Quickly out of the transition area, the feeling of having heavy legs and heavy breathing lasted the entire 5kms, highlighting the residual impact of the swim on my run. I didn't have a watch to track pace or time, so was running purely on "as fast as I could endure". I also started to notice pain coming from my feet; behind the ankles, under the soles of feet and on the tops of my feet (later would I learn that my shoe was cutting my feet up as a result of going sockless). I just grit my teeth and focused on catching the competitors in front of me.

Out of transition and start of the 5km run

I managed to pass a handful of athletes during the run, but with about 500m left to the finish line,  I could see one more competitor ahead and decided to make one last push to see if I could beat him to the line. My wife managed to catch me sprinting down the final 200m straight, where I was almost alongside that competitor.

Final 200m sprint finish

Just as the red carpet signals the last strides before the finishing line, I gave it everything I had to pass the other competitor just metres before the finishing line. Nothing beats the thrill and excitement of out sprinting someone to the finishing line (only several weeks later would I realise that this sprint was the difference between first and second place for my age group). As the Sprint category race started with all age groups together, I was left wondering my overall time and how I ranked in my age group.

Close finish

This final picture captures the absolute agony I felt after giving everything I had on the run. I ended up sitting on the chair for a good 15mins to catch my breath before attempting to stand up and walk around. My wife and I waited for the results ceremony to see the age group winners, but unfortunately that was cancelled as the organisers had timing problems on that day and that they would provide the official times later on their website.

Finish line and absolutely shattered

Result:

Official Finishing Time: 39:54mins. I do not have the swim and run splits (lack of a watch) and the race organisers mentioned that there were technical difficulties with the timing sensors due to heavy rain the night before, so this will forever remain a mystery.
Position: 1st in my age group category. I only found out when I received a letter from 2XU with a couple of gift vouchers and an accompanying congratulatory note weeks later. Definitely a pleasant surprise, given the horrible swim and the rest of the race that was far from perfect. I guess the unfortunate coloured buoys and longer swim affects everyone so there's no unfair advantage to any particular athlete. Checking their website, I pulled the following race results:

Improvement Areas / Learnings:

• Practise sighting. You'll never know when race organisers will use black coloured buoys.
• Practise exiting the water and sprinting up the beach, as many times as you can to get used to this feeling of exiting the water as fast as you can.
• Practise transitions with the gear you will wear on race day. Not wearing socks on race day to save a few seconds cost me a week of blistery sore feet. Mind you, those few seconds were probably the difference between first and second, but a better strategy would have been to try shoes that would suit running sockless.
• Practise your running race pace, especially immediately after a swim (if you're competing in Aquathlon events). These specific exercise sessions are called "bricks", and super important for your body to adjust from one discipline to another.