When I was starting, I thought that I could be better than most triathletes in my age-group. I have been indulging in sports most of my life: varsity basketball, badminton, golf, gym.
But that wasn’t what happened. Instead, I would always be in the middle, either lower middle or a bit on the upper middle of the finisher’s list. Though I have breached the top 40% of my age-group in a race once, that was an exception rather than a norm.
What’s the point of this blog entry?
In a beginner’s perspective, I am writing down the 10 things that I have learned or realized in racing a triathlon. I’ve done 4 of these races ( more than 4 and I won’t be a newbie anymore, right? ) already and I guess its high time that I share these things and hopefully, some people who want to experience tri-ing can pick up a thing or two.
1. Train months ahead of a race
This shouldn’t be brushed off, no matter what your physical condition is. Training properly is your key to finishing a triathlon. Don’t rush your training as you will be prone to injuries. Have you read my Condura 42K 2010 account? That’s a good example of what not to do.
Training way ahead of a race gives you confidence, a much-needed mental trait at the start of the race.
2. Swim more than the race distance
Swimming in pools alone is very, very different from swimming in a pool or sea or lake with hundreds of other swimmers. I learned how to swim properly a month before I joined my first triathlon, a mini-sprint. I told myself that if I was able to complete a 50-meter lap, then there shouldn’t be any problem finishing 350 meters of swimming in a congested pool….NOT!
I sprinted at the start of the race, then slowly faded on the 4th lap. Then, as if fate was punishing me, a splash of water ended in my mouth and choked me. I thought I was going to drown and panicked big time, and hung on to the lane divider for dear life. I wasn’t equipped with the necessary skills to manage such situations and got off the water among the last ones, with a very, very humiliating 12++ mins swim split.
This would happen again in Camsur 70.3. Before this race, I was doing 2K swims in pools in less than an hour, so I thought I’d have a swim split of about the same time come race day….again…NOT!
Open water swimming disables you from kick-starting every 50 meters, so you’re slower. There are no sea or lake floor markers which you can use as reference if you’re swimming straight or straying away from the course.
Include sighting practice in your swim workout. Don't do this and swim 100++meters more during the race.
My swim split was 1 hour 14 mins, 4 minutes beyond the 1:10 swim cut-off, which, thankfully, was not enforced.
As a suggestion, swim more than the distance you are racing in a pool and try to do it within the target time you plan on completing the swim portion. Also, try to mimic open sea or lake swimming by not touching the lap-ends in the pool, instead, turn around swimming, not stopping.
Also, practice “emergency” swimming or what to do if you panic. Doing this regularly will give you the confidence in the water. Try swimming backstroke or floating, strengthen your breaststroke too which you can use for “sighting” in open waters.
3. Relax in the swim
During the race, if you’re a slow swimmer like me, start at the back of the pack. Enter the water around 1 minute later than the stronger ones to avoid getting kicked, punched or swam over. Relax, and think of happy thoughts while swimming, and don’t mind the depth of the water. Swimming in 50 feet and 8 feet deep waters is the same, your feet won’t touch the bottom if you stand.
Now, if you’re really nervous about the swim and suffer from panic attacks every 2 minutes, swim near the buoy and hold on to the ropes to recover. Breath-in until you’ve calmed down and swim again. Repeat this if necessary. Better be slow than drown, okay?
4. Transition Fast
To get back some time, practice transitioning fast. In order to do this, make sure that your bike has everything you need: helmet, sunglasses, shoes, gloves, etc. Just wipe the water off you and wear your cycling gear. Helmet first, then sunglasses, then race number then shoes and off you go. Keep the sequence in mind: top to bottom. Your number one enemy at T1 is confusion on what to wear first.
If you transition 30 seconds faster than the guy who smoked you in the swim, that’s like getting back 25 meters of swim advantage. Substantial? You bet!
5. Know the bike course
Bike is the longest part of a triathlon and it pays to know the course, or at least memorize the map.
I promised myself not to race in Ayala Alabang anymore due to one simple reason: I always get lost in the otso-otso loop.
I raced there twice and got lost in the bike leg in both occasions, resulting to slower times. The map was posted weeks before the race but I was too lazy to even look at it, and I paid for it dearly. The sad thing is, those weren’t the only races I got lost.
It became a habit for me to look at maps and study the courses of a race, whether these are triathlons or duathlons. I have to do this or else, I won’t stop knocking myself on the head.
6. Bike like you’re being chased by a lion
Someone told me to take it easy on the bike and reserve some of my energy for the run. I followed this in this year’s SubIT. My strongest among the three disciplines is the bike, and it is with deep regret that I didn’t give it my all in this race, I could have made up more time.
Though I felt good after dismounting, I also faded in the last kilometers of the run leg due to heat and exhaustion. Now I know!
Since running is the last part of a triathlon, it’s the part where the pros and elites are tested. They dig better than you coz, well, they’re pros and elites. Heard about how Craig Alexander caught Chris Lieto in the last 5 miles of Kona 2009? The camera captured all of it. What it didn’t capture were the swarm of age-groupers walking the marathon. Yes, that’s a normal sight in long distance triathlons, people like us walking.
Even if you take it easy on the bike, there’s no stopping the sun from baking you to a limp so better to hack it out on the bike and then survive the run. I’m sure you’ll be in good company.
Chris Lieto is not really known for his running, but for his cycling. If he didn’t register the fastest bike split last year, he would have ended up beyond 5th place.
Attack where you are strong.
I have a friend who’s a strong runner and swimmer. Bike is his waterloo. Everytime he dismounts and runs, he always fades, almost to the point of bonking. Reason: he doesn’t eat during the bike portion.
Your body burns thousands of calories in a triathlon race, so you need to replenish these burned calories during the race itself, especially if its long distance.
Buy a bike bento box, put gels and powerbars in it, and practice eating while on the bike, together with pulling your water bottle and drinking and putting it back in the cage…and save your race.
In last year’s Camsur 70.3, I had one gel for every 15kms I rode, a total of 5 gels during the bike and a last one before I ran. I wasn’t hungry and had the calories to burn for the run, I just had too much to drink and was bloated. Lesson learned.
8. Wear visors, not caps
I used to wear caps during races, until I discovered how much more convenient it was to wear visors instead. Imagine this: you are approaching a water station, got hold of two cups of water, drank one and threw the cup away, took off your cap to pour water on your head and put your cap back on.
Imagine this now: You are approaching a water station, got hold of two cups of water, drank one and poured one on your head.
Which one is faster and easier to do?
Enough said.
9. Wear socks on the run
Don’t do this and have blisters on your feet. That simple.
10. Smile at the finish line
…and look good in pictures!
Thank the Lord for giving you the strength to finish the race. I read somewhere that there are no atheists in the last kilometers of an Ironman, live it.
brother thanks for the tips.....
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