Race Report: AAV Mini-Sprint Triathlon 04/19/09

At 5:00 a.m. yesterday, I found myself driving along SLEX heading towards Ayala Alabang Village for my first triathlon, the AAV Mini-Sprint Tri for beginner's like myself. Funny, but I was supposed to feel nervous about it, but I wasn't. Was it good or bad? I was going to find out the answer later in the day.

After a few stops to ask for directions going to AAV, I finally got to the venue at around 5:40 a.m., just in time for the registration and racking of my bike at the transition area.

Saw some friends from takbo.ph namely, Ian and MJ. Ian was also doing his first tri while MJ was competing in the adults' aquathlon. Also finally met Javy aka ricecooker of pinoyroadies.org, a really cool guy who didn't scrimp on sharing his experiences with triathlon newbies like myself. He was joining the aquathlon.

The race also had aquathlon and triathlon for kids, a really cute event especially when you see really young kids racing their hearts out. I wished then that I had started on this sport much, much earlier....

There were a lot of first timers in the adult triathlon, and though I met and spoke with some of them at the transition area, I hardly recall their names. Talking to other first timers was also a way of easing the nerves, which by that time had started to shoot up, before the race. 

The distances for this triathlon were relatively short compared to sprints and olympic distances. 350 meters of swim, 12K of bike and 3.4K of run were distances much shorter than the distances I do whenever I train. I thought that bringing water bottles on my bike wasn't needed anymore, a mistake that would haunt me during the race. Though confidence helps in races, overconfidence is a no-no.

At around 7:45, the adult triathletes were briefed about the race route. The waves were divided into three: all female, those within the 30-39 age group, and everybody else. Being 40 years of age, I fell in the "everybody else" group, which also had Fernando Zobel de Ayala and some other Polo Tri members.

At around 8:00 a.m. we were called in at the pool.

SWIM: 350 meters 

The AAV pool measures 50 meters, with 8 feet at its deepest. My plan was to stay at the sides, close  to the ropes so I will only mind the swimmers to my right...one thing I learned from reading Javy's blog. However, several participants already occupied that  area at the starting point and I just did the next best thing I thought of, start at the rightmost part of the lane.

When Ani De Leon, one of the organizers and a famous female triathlete in the country, sounded of the start of the race, everybody rushed to get a good space at the lane.

I got kicked in the forehead early in the swim, and I believe I also kicked somebody else behind me. That was part of the race so I guess nobody was offended about it. I got my rhythm early in the swim, and finished the first 50 meters in around one minute.

I was strong on my 2nd 50 meters, even kick starting to get good acceleration. I overtook a swimmer ahead of me and was poised to overtake another one when I got  hit by a kick, which slowed me down a bit. Upon reaching the end of the 1st 100 meters, I was ahead of around 4 or 5 swimmers already. 

I swam the 3rd 50 meters without a hitch, and overtook someone who was already hanging by the ropes to rest.

The 4th 50 meters was when my problem started. I was pacing well, and  looked forward a sub-10 minutes finish on the swim. In the middle of my 4th lap, a participant on the 5th lane took a stroke which splashed water on my face just when I was to breathe in some air, resulting to a "choking" feeling for me. The water got into my nose and caused me not being able to get some air on my upstroke. This took its toll on me. I felt like drowning and had to catch my breath even before I raised my head again and I got to swallow water. I held on to the ropes to breathe and relax and after a few seconds, started swimming towards the end of my 4th lap.

I coughed at the start of my 5th lap. I felt my throat burned with the coughing. I lost my rhythm and had to hang on to the ropes to rest before I finished my 5th and 6th laps.

On my final lap, I rested a bit before I started swimming again, then walked towards the 5 feet mark before I swam again to end the swim part.

I got out of the pool in around 12 minutes, two minutes longer than what I have planned.

BIKE: 12K

Whatever time I lost in the swim, I planned on making up in the bike leg. I took my time in transitioning to bike which probably took me around 6 minutes from the time I got out of the pool until I mounted my bike. I was too slow.

I started on the bike thinking that if I rode my bike at an average of 30KPH, it would only take me 20-24 minutes to complete the bike leg. With 18 minutes already spent in the swim and T1, I will end the bike with a total time of around 40 minutes, which would give me 20 minutes to complete the run leg and be at one hour flat by the time I reach the finish line. 

I thought of hacking it out in the bike, and average around 35KPH. I thought this was do-able when I started pedaling out of Narra St. towards the main bike route. I rode in aero position right away and my bike responded, cutting through the wind making it easier for me to pedal.

Then, some surprises.

I never thought about the humps along the way, and the "rolls" of the route.

I rode my bike using the basebar 70% of the time I was on it. The humps and the climbs made me realize one thing: I brought the wrong bike!

I should have used my roadbike instead of my TT bike. Roadbikes are easier to use in a race than TT bikes when there are a lot of shifting involved, and in this  race, there were lots of of it!

Shifting gears up and down became "hellish" for me. The humps made me stay on the  basebar and not the aero bar as I was afraid I'd crash if I hit a hump.

I got slightly lost on my first loop and only realized it when a marshall shouted at me to get back.

On my second loop, another problem: my throat was all dried up and I had no water bottle with me. I underestimated the distances to the point that I thought I'd finish the race before I get thirsty, and its hitting me back.

I finally got to T2 after 24 minutes of bike. By then, my total time was at 42 minutes. I needed to finish the run  in 18 minutes to hit my target time.

HOWEVER,

Upon entering T2, I saw my friend Ian looking desperate. He suffered a flat tire on the first half of the bike and had no spare tube. He asked if he could borrow my bike. I told him that I would lend him my front wheel, as using my bike may be dangerous for him as he never rode a TT bike before and was really new  to cycling.

I helped him replace his front wheel and sent him off to finish his bike leg before I was able to change my shoes and started running. A good 6 minutes lost, one friend saved from DNF...what more can you ask for? Until this writing, I still am smiling at the thought that I was able to help out someone during the race...

RUN : 3.4K

I took a big gulp of water from my water bottle before I left T2 to finish the race. At the first water station just outside T2, I hydrated again with 2 cups of water, and poured a 3rd  on my head and back. I was already 48 minutes into the race and gave up hopes of finishing under one hour. Time didn't matter anymore for me. I was happy with how everything turned out by then. Seeing Ian on his bike rushing to complete his bike leg was enough for me to consider this a good race.

I ran at 6:30 pace initially, then increased my pace to 6:00 after the 1st kilometer of the run.

I was a good customer at the 2nd water station, getting 4 cups, 2 for my hydration and 2 for my sun-scorched head and back.

I egged on the athletes I ran across with. It was less than 2 kilometers to the finish and we can then call ourselves "triathletes", a reward more than anything that we wanted after yesterday.

200 meters to the finish, I thanked God for the strength and endurance He blessed me with during the race. A lot of things could have gone wrong but He made my path safe. Nearing the finish line, I looked up and thanked Him again. God is great!

Crossing the finish line on a race like this makes you want to do it again. Participants become friends instantly as you now share a common denominator in your sporting life. All of us became triathletes in the hot morning of April 19, 2009, and the euphoria was so great that you feel you know your instant friends forever, even if you hardly recall their names.

There were pains in the process, but those pains are motivation enough for us to train again a day after a race.  Pains are what make a race special, the more painful the race is, the more euphoria at the finish line.

Javy had a podium finish at the adults' aquathlon, Ian finished the race and I ate the free food with him, and MJ finished the aquathlon despite not being able to train the week before the race. Everything turned out well for everybody....even the triathlete who was running towards the finish line when the awarding ceremonies were done and everybody was already going to their cars on their way home....

And oh, by the way...I finished the race officially in 1:006:23...:-)

Deo P.