CIP 2018 Race Report

This race had the potential to be one of my best race, yet it turned out to be my first DNF due to a technical fault, which once again highlighted the glaring shortcoming in my racing repertoire - cycling.

Having done long distance road running (though not super outstanding) for years had given me enough experience on handling the effects and optimised my racing strategies based on my current physical conditions, I will also know when and how to push it when needed.

Swimming shouldn't even be a question since I'm carrying the TI name, though I should be looking at clocking even faster times

Cycling? Nah. Just use the same old cyclo-cross bike that I had bought years ago, with no upgrades or changes to the parts that I started with. (a well meaning friend helped me to procure this bike, thinking that I may need the versatility of handing different cycling conditions, even though I made it clear that the only reason to cycle is for racing tris. My fault that I can't tell the difference between road bike /tri bike /cyclo Cross)

Cheapo me trying to squeeze mileage out of the miserly fortune that I had spent on this bike, resulting in poor mediocre race results which I gladly used to explain poor race performances.

Again, the prep for CIP 2018 wasn't fantastic as I always do. No brick training, didn't clock the required mileage for each discipline, though I had a minor breakthrough in swimming.

After making some minor changes to my solo swim practices, of getting more used to faster tempo, I finally managed to, for the first time, break the 30 min barrier for 1500m in a pool. The gains were purely technique based rather than any physical conditioning, so I was pretty pleased when I clocked a 35min swim this year, which was pretty close to my pool pace. (a 10min improvement from last year, which I admittedly fared poorly)

The longest single ride that I managed to clock on training was at 78km, though I could feel that I managed to get some gains as well as I could feel I was getting stronger in the aeroposition. Though I had a minor episode in my final practice ride last week of getting stranded at the remote end of changi coastal road with 2 flats. The first was a long standing minute puncture that slowly deflated the rear tyre, which I realised on the ride and tried to fix it. I cleared out 2 small metal pieces from the tyre and used the CO2 cartridge to inflate the tyre, which ended up bursting immediately, as the inner tube was caught in a pinch by the tyre. Had to call dad for rescue at 6am without trying to get them worried about something really nasty that happened to me.

Well, it seems that I didn't really learn from that incident, and repeated the same mistake in the race. 25km into lap 1 and a fellow participant pointed out I was running on flat. Stopped by the road to fix it. Repeated the same steps but this time with the hand pump. The replacement was filling up nicely as I tried to get it to 80psi. And at the moment when I hit 80psi, I heard another burst, and at that moment, I realised that I repeated the same mistake and ended my race prematurely. My 1st DNF for a 703 race. Even when I was fully bloodied in cebu, I didn't give up.

This was technical, so there's no way I could get back into this race. As I came to grips with the reality of DNF, I could only pick myself up and slowly walk back to the transition area, hoping that the race officials will come by and spot me, and ferry me back to TA and put me out of my misery. After a long walk and multiple officials stopping by, one of them finally offered to ferry me and my bike on his motorbike - yes, handcarry my bicycle as I pillion on his motorbike. Whatever it takes man...

Got back to the officials tentage, and took my DNF, lamenting that chance of PB in such a rare fine weather. The officials suggested that I could continue with the run, just without timing chip and no official results (still DNF) and I jumped at the opportunity! Afterall I'm just after the fun of completing, timing didn't really mean much except for an official record. Not that the official timing will be of any use anyway.

Checked in my bike into the TA, did my T2 and started my run. It was a pretty unique experience though, as it was the time when the 1st female Pro just ran into T2, so I was effectively starting my run with the Pros!

Was a little ashamed of the fact that I'm a DNF, and the spectators took my photos as I ran past them, though I tried to keep my pace respectable in the first half of the run. Pretty chill to have the empty run course all to myself for lap 1, as I kept up the 5.30 to 5.45 pace for the first 10km.

Took the 2nd lap much more slowly as stitches and cramps started to set in. After a good 3km of run walk, I managed to get back into a slow jog to run off the pain. It never went off. I just managed to endure it as I picked up pace again as I got nearer to the finish line.

The time on my watch showed 1h59m as I crossed the finish line, but the distance seems to be 19km instead of 21km. Doesn't matter. What I had gathered was the damned mental strength and agility to manage the physical condition and pain to be just below the red line of cramping up again.

The race clock probably showed 4h51m when I crossed the finish line. I just kept low and walked back to the TA to pick up my hotel room card.

I probably raised a few eyebrows with the Elites on why this nondescript guy managed to finish so quickly.  (same expression I saw on those still cycling when I started run lap 1)

Even though this was a DNF, I guess I had more chuckles than being sad about it.

Key takeaways :
Best swim so far. Continue to refine my TI technique to continue improving!
Great management on the run. Grind through the pain and mental weakness, and the body can carry through.
Damned that freaking excuse of a lousy bike. Time to look into upgrading if I wanna continue racing Tris. Not only the physical bike, but also the knowledge, just like how I converted my worst discipline to my strongest suite. Time to get more technical.

Swim expo asia 2014 Race Report

Had been looking forward to this event ever since I had joined ny swim class, sort of like taking this as a graduation swim.

Signed up for all 5 events, which was a combination of 3.8k, 1.9k, 1.5k, 750m and 400m open water swims. All to be completed back to back.

The prep swim done a couple of weeks ago gave me much confidence that this will be a walk in the park. Especially after seemingly having ironed out the possible issues of swimming in a wetsuit, where the #1 enemy is chafing

My preparation for race day, as usual, a McD Fish Fillet meal in the morning with iced milo to wash it down, while I drive to the race venue. Thunderstorms roared and heavy rain and wind caused a 1.5hrs delay to the start of the first 3.8km swim.

By the time it was clear to race, the sea became more choppy. I stuck with my wetsuit and tempo trainer, and went at a pace of 1.20 sec per stroke.

Bad mistake.

Confluence of a series of factors caused me to abandon the 3.8km when I was into the 5th (out of 6) laps. First 3 laps of 600m went fairly ok, but the choppy waves really started taking its toil on me on the 4th lap as I started to feel seasick. The feeling of wanting to throw up did not subside as I continued swimming at a slower pace, ignoring the tempo that I had set on the trainer. The tempo was probably set a bit too fast, so my breathing and heart rate was on the high side on lap #4. The constricting wetsuit made the nausea feeling worse as I couldn't control my heart rate and breathing even after coming to a standstill on my swim (though the waves made sure it was an uncomfortable pause in my swim).

Sensing that it will be futile to continue with my swim, I decided to abandon the race and signaled for the lifeguards to pull me out of the water. 1st thing after getting onto the boat is to unzip my wetsuit, and I immediately felt much better. Though I did throw up my breakfast in the toilet 20 mins after getting on shore.

Managed to complete the remaining 4 events without much issues (without the wetsuit), though the seasickness got to me for the 1.9km and 1.5km swim as I threw up again after these 2 events.



This is the first time that I have a DNF in any form of race.
It is a milestone decision, but I believe I made the right call.
Getting to know my limitations better and not stretching all the way till physical failure, will pave a safer and longer lasting path for my future sporting endeavours.
I'm still proud that I still managed to soldier on despite puking after each swim for the 1st three events.

Still managed to pick up some new knowledge from this swim.

1) Never try new stuff in a race - taking this mantra further, it should be "never try a mixture of too many new stuff in a race"
Just learnt to use the tempo trainer not too long ago. Shouldn't have deployed it on a wetsuit swim without fully getting used to the wetsuit
Hyper ventilating in the wetsuit. Even though I didn't really hyper ventilate this time, but being unable to slow down the breathing to suppress my urge to puke when seasick, it can be reasonably superposed to imply that will have a similar effect if I really hyperventilate.

2) Managing the choppy waves.
Dave Cameroon mentioned about slicing through the waves instead of trying to ride the waves. It worked pretty well except for the other part, that I still need to breathe.
Slicing thru the waves works on the side when I wasn't breathing, but on the side when breathing is required, I had to ride higher on the wave to catch my breath (and sight), which equals to riding the wave.
I had to ride higher or I risk taking in seawater (which I took too much during the swim that is also the cause of the nausea).
My coach mentioned that we should breathe less in choppy waves.
After experimenting in the 750m and 400m when I did a sequence of 2 stroke, sight, 4 strokes, 2 strokes, 4 strokes. It worked.

3) Tempo trainer.
Getting too aggressive on the tempo without fully understanding the wetsuit effect is another big No No.
Putting the tempo trainer in the swim cap and having it press against my temples for more than 1 hour causes extra pain. Another big No No

Skip the tempo trainer for the next race. Just use it purely for training.
Race on feel instead.

Conclusion:
I'm fully convinced that my stamina & technique is definitely able to last me through the entire 8.35km challenge. Just that I'm not well prepared enough and poor prep decisions costed me the 3.8km swim. Not completing a race is not something to fret about, but completing a race without learning anything will be a disaster. I had learnt much from this race, which will better help me handle my future races, especially a 3.8km swim for Full Ironman, even if it will be in choppy conditions. DNF here is better than DNF or struggling through a Full IM race.

Looking forward to the next race - StanChart 42km.
Very little time to train now...

Race Report TriFactor OD 7 Sept 2014

Went into this race without heavy preparations nor expectations, since I was just looking to complete the race as a check for my fitness levels and to experiment with some of the newer stuff that I had learnt.

Of course there is always a comparison against my past timings on the same course, but beating that timing wasn’t top priority.

Pre race

Just my usual food the day before race, and my usual McD Fillet O Fish meal when I drove to the venue.

Used a bigger gym bag to carry all my race equipment rather than the smaller water proof bag which I had problems trying to fit everything in. Good decision.

Bike checked-in around 45 min before race, and remembered a tip from Winston on putting the bike shoes on the bike. Didn’t bring along any rubber bands, so I made do with a piece of plastic bag. Made sure that the knot is just strong enough to hold the shoes in place without dragging across the floor when I ran out of T1 bare footed, and loose enough for it to break loose automatically after I start pedaling.

Swim

Took it easy at the start and swam to the side rather than in the midst of the washing machine, as I wanted to test if the TI method will be really useful in the open water.

Swam the 1^st round mostly with the TI method, except for a couple of times when other swimmers came too close for comfort and I had to accelerate ahead to get out of the mess.

2^nd round was more of a 50-50 mix between TI and my old hard pedaling style.

Took me around 42 mins to complete 1.5km swim. About 5 mins more than what I’d have clocked with just the old hard pedaling. However, it was refreshing to get out of the water still feeling fresh in the legs.

T1

Lane markings was much better this time. With the lanes and numbers clearly marked out so there is no chance of missing my bike.

Nothing unusual this time, just that I noticed that I’m the only one who chose to wear my bike shoes on after mounting, rather than wearing the shoes first then running out with the bike.

Bike

Made a mistake in the settings after I had just replaced the battery for the bike computer the previous night. Wheel size was wrongly set, so it wasn’t before long then I realized that the bike computer was showing speeds that was definitely off the scale. So I had to ignore it and just refer to my watch.

Didn’t really thought much on how to pace the bike leg, so I just went at a pace that I was comfortable with. Hands on aero bars most of the time. Managed to clock around 31km/h on average, which given the winding race course, I should be reaching around 33km/h most of the time. Not too bad.

My quads only started to tire towards the end of the bike session, and I knew that it will affect my run..

T2

Dismounted shoeless. Ran in to transition, mounted my bike, ate a salt stick and ran out with just 1 packet of gel.

Run

Pace during the first 2km was still ok, but as cramps gradually set in on my right quad, my pace slowed to 7.48 min/km.

I had expected this to happen, and was going to experiment my school of thought that it might be possible to run off the cramps, so I persisted in slow jog without stopping (less @ water points) to see if this theory will work.

The cramps in my right quads persisted for quite some time before it gradually started to fade away at around the 6km mark when the left quads start to act up as well. Persisted with the slow jog and I gradually got faster and eventually ended the run without any cramps

Conclusion

Racing with my new Garmin Forerunner 910-XT gave me new insights into my swim leg which was not available on my old Polar RCX5.

Since I had split my swims into 100% TI method for the 1^st lap, and 50-50 for the 2^nd lap, it was possible for me to compare the swim data and see which was more efficient.

Barring the poor sighting in this swim (mostly my fault as I was too lazy to sight properly even though I could do it easily), the data was pretty evident that I had did pretty well in Lap 1 compared to lap 2.

The tips that I had picked up during the 1 hour session with TI and my subsequent 30 min of self training actually resulted in a much easier swim at roughly the same timing that I would have clocked with my old style. I can only imagine that I’ll get much faster and better when I’m able to fully absorb and integrate the TI method.

Played relatively safe on the bike this time. Wanted to lower the handle bars a bit before the race but eventually decided against doing so since I didn’t have the time to test it in training. Always stick to the mantra – Don’t try new things in a race!

The rubber band tip on tying the pedals and shoes is useful. I'll implement this properly for my next race.

Since I don’t have any more Tri races for the year, I’ll have all the time to optimize my bike.

Run timing wasn’t exactly stellar this time but it didn’t matter since that wasn’t my objective. However the an important breakthrough on outpowering the level 4 cramps (w/o using salt sticks) that I always experience in long D runs was worth it.

Lactic acid would have built up over the bike leg, and manifested in the 2^nd km of my run. Didn’t want to take the extra salt stick as it may build up my reliance on this placebo, so I persisted with the theory that if I run slow enough, my muscles will be able to flush away the built up lactic acid much more quickly than it will build up over a slow run. Pretty much similar to doing a recovery run on the day following race day. It worked!

Took quite a fair bit of will power and patience to do it though.

It will have been much easier to just adopt the same walk-run method that I had been doing in the SCMS for the last 10+ years, but I’d just walk away from this race without taking away anything.

On the same course, my timing for the last few years. Definitely much improved over the poor race last year, but I reckon that with proper prep, it should be easy for me to breach the 3 hour mark.

2012:     3:15:35

2013:     3:31:46

2014:     3:06:00

Bike distance is wrong... should be 36km instead

I perform better when there is no pressure to do so.
Best for me to do future races in a "I don't really care attitude"...

Ironman 70.3 Putrajaya Race Report

Finally managed to finish a complete 70.3 race (Taiwan wasn't a complete race since the swim was replaced by run)

It was extremely hot, probably around 34 degrees at its peak, and with minimal vegetation cover and no cloud cover.
It made me appreciate how the rain helped during TW 703
Every part of the race was better than my earlier benchmark except for the run, but I'm contented with the results given the extremely hot conditions.
Learnt some new tricks during this trip


Day - 2
Reached Putrajaya 2 days earlier to avoid the same rush during the TW 703. It was more relaxing to just stay around and explore the place a little bit, spend some time going through the merchandise at the expo (which were damned $$$) and generally lazing around.

Day - 1
Joined the morning trial swim organized by the 703 organizers. Good to have a feel of the water before the race. The water was murky with zero visibility with some dead leaves floating at dead corners. Good thing was that the water was warm with no undercurrents, plenty of buildings around for easy sighting, and it is not salty!
Went for bike racking around 4pm (1 hour to TA closure), then back to the mall for dinner.
Poor choice of dinner location at Dome cafe, with extremely slow service and poor availability of pasta that we needed.
Another group of Ang Mohs even brought their own pasta and sauce and passed it to the kitchen to cook when the kitchen ran out of it. One of them even volunteered to cook in the kitchen when the pasta took too long to be served.
Amazingly I managed to clear my bowels 4x in one day. Not Diarrhea. Maybe my body automatically cleanses itself in preparation for important races without deliberate changes in my diet.
Went to sleep around 10pm


RACE DAY

H-2
Woke up at 0445 for breakfast
Surprised that the hotel breakfast started at 5, so I skipped my own prepared bread/bananas/Milo for a proper breakfast
2 x hardboiled eggs, 4 x sliced bread as the minimum intake.
Skipped powerbar to avoid stomach upset, but on hindsight, I should have ate the powerbar since I had already broken in.
Slathered on the sunscreen.
Cleared the bowels 1 last time.

H-1
Arrived at TA 45 mins before closure to allow ample time for setup

Swim
Deep water start with close to 60 pax.
Not a good idea to go into the water too early and get surrounded by other people. Wasting energy and quite dangerous when there isn't ample space to tread water and start kicking each other.
Surprisingly the swim off was pretty smooth. Not that much of jostling like what we have in SG races. And I managed to kick into a comfortable pace that I stuck with for the whole race.

Completed the swim at 49.04
Not too bad.

T1
Managed to keep my composure and ran to my bike without any hiccups.
Helmet on, gloves on, shades on, shoes on.
Clocked 3.44
Good

Bike
Waited till I was on the bike before I turned on the GPS, which meant I could have missed a few hundred metres to a few km on the GPS but it doesn't really matter too much. Data is just data and I mostly use it for post analysis. Immediate data which was more important was on the bike computer.
Oh wait, I forgot to reset the computer before the race, so the Distance travelled could be wrong...
Oh well, just read the speedometer and go by feel.
First 2km into the ride and I started to feel my quads. Not a good thing.
I probably went too aggressive on my kicks during the swim and my quads were a bit fatigued.
Took the gels and salt and started to feel better to start pedaling at my normal speeds.
The course was more hilly than expected and my climbs were gradually reduced to turtle speeds as my quads tired through the 2nd lap. Had to rely on my superior handing skills to catch up on the speed on the downhills. The numerous spin training sessions I had imposed on myself in the aero position helped, and my handling in the aero position on the descents improved greatly. No more wobbling and top speed increased to around 50kmh with less energy expended. Still, my quads were tired so I had to rely more on strategy than endurance to finish the bike leg and not completely screw up my run later.


Clocked 3.25.40
Not too bad

T2
Dismounted the bike on bare foot and ran into TA.
Not sure if it was a good idea but the tarmac was blazing hot so it was really a fast run to the rack and a quick jump into the running shoes without sitting down.
Clocked 3.24
Good

Run
Immediately after I ran out of TA, I started to feel my quads again, and could only manage to do an extremely slow jog pace at around 8.30min/km while I took gels and salts to sort out the quads. Pressed on with slow pace and gradually started to pick up a bit of speed after a few more km.
It was getting really hot and cramps were about to set in.
I realized that my cramps will not go away if I continued with my usual mid foot strike and that will draw power from my quads. Decided to ditch the mid foot and ran with heel strikes (since my shoes was able to support it) to place the stress more on the calves than the quads. It worked nicely!
My quads were tiring and showing signs of impending muscle cramps (shutdowns) early in the run.
Experience and a good understanding of how my body will react was essential, as I had to adjust my running form to achieve the fastest possible pace that I could manage, while keeping the quads working marginally below before the muscle shutdown level.
It worked nicely and I managed to run continuously (less ~100m walk at every water station) till around 14km where the water station ran out of water and it was getting too hot to run without water to cool off. I was getting a bit dizzy when I ran without the water.
Decided that it was not worthwhile to risk a heat stroke on the run so I reverted back to brisk walking for the rest of the run.
Subsequent water stations were stocked with water but the shut down had occurred once I started walking.
Salt stick consumption is to be capped at 8 pcs per day, and I couldn't remember how many I had took so I just dropped the idea of taking the salt stick to clear the cramp and restart the run. Better to finish safe.

Clocked 2.43.40
Bad by my usual running standards, but I'll not risk health for results, so ultimately this is still acceptable.

Timing Breakdown:
Swim: 49:04
T1: 3:44
Bike: 3:25:40
T2: 3:24
Run: 2:43:40
Total Chip Time: 7:05:32

Post Race
Steamboat dinner coupled with a power packed fruit slushie for good recovery.
Stayed for 1 more night before driving back to SG on Monday morning.
Take it easy. Remember that it is a holiday trip for the family too.


The Good

1. Bring along bike covers and masking tapes to cover the bike for overnight racking in case of rain (which in our case, it really rained)
2. Use unique landmarks or lamp posts to recall where my bike is racked instead of relying on number checks during Transitions which may get confusing
3. Extra plastic bags and packing bike and run gears into 2 separate packs. Gear will remain dry in case of rain, and I'll not miss any gear during transition
4. Wore slippers to TA and kept it inside for immediate wear on bike check out
5. Sighting at around every 10 strokes to ensure correct direction. Maintained focus on correct technique to minimize drag (always missed this in previous races). Sighting improved along the swim and buoy turns executed smoothly with double one sided strokes.
6. Running cap is a live-saver. Must bring it for every 70.3 race. Saw many runners with visors putting a towel under their visors to avoid the heat. They might as well get a proper cap
7. Disposable water bottle is a live-saver. Must bring it for every 70.3 race.

The Bad

1. Safety issues for deep water start. Be the last to enter and move to the side/rear for safety
2. Numbness during bike leg - the saddle must be changed
3. Trusting the water stations. Throwing the water bottle away after taking confidence in the water points to have sufficient supply after lap 1 is stupid. I could have ran the full 21km and clocked at least 10 minutes faster if I had enough water to continue the run.

Perhaps

• Skip the long Q at the loo before the race. Just pee in the water :p
• Keep a Stage 3 power bar with Dear for immediate post race recovery meal. Maybe keep it in the fridge-to-go to prevent it from melting.

New Tricks

• Rack the bike on the gear shifters rather than on the saddle. Better stability in case of strong winds toppling the bikes.
• Bring along our own pasta and sauce and cook in hotel for carbo-loading dinner. (and order room service dinner for supporters) - learnt from the Ang Mohs at the dinner place!

MetaSprint Sprint Tri

MetaSprint Sprint Triathlon

Swim: 21:12

T1: 2:49

Cycle: 42:37

T2: 1:47

Run: 29:18

Total Time: 1:37:46

Final Category Position: 185/323

Considering the lack of training for the last month, the results from this race ain’t too bad (though I know I could do much better if proper conditioning was done)

Swim

Less than ideal start. Took the outside line and tried to swim a shorter route but somehow got sucked outwards instead and took a longer time to reach the 1^st buoy. Numerous tussles with froggers left and right, and had to take numerous double strokes to quickly overtake them for safety.

T1:

Messed up here. Couldn’t find my bike when I first ran in, and wasted around 30s looking. Too many white bikes and with the racks not numbered, it was too easy to miss my bike. Ended up spotting my bike by the number tag rather than recognizing the bike itself.

Ideas: Tie a bright coloured cloth or flag to the bike rack to make recognition easier for races with unnumbered racks.

Cycle:

Was pretty cautious on the bike leg ever since Roy reminded me not to overstress on the bike and reserve for the run, which is my strongest leg. Was targeting to maintain at around 30km/h, but ended up hovering between 28 – 31km/h. Not too bad. Tried the low gear fast cadence strategy at the end of the cycle to reduce HR and increase blood flow to calves. Worked!

T2:

Again had problems trying to find my spot.

Though not as bad as T1.

Run:

Started slowly at about 6:15min/km. Wanted to give my HR some time to stabilize first before ramping up the speed. Following the –ve split strategy, the first 2.5km should not be any faster than 6min/km. It was quite hot though, and I swear that splashing the cold water on my face alone lowered by HR by 3 beats.

Held back a bit more till the 3km mark then I started to let the legs loose and opened up the strides to go faster. Speed went from 5:40min/km to 5:20min/km.

Still had the extra energy left at the final 500m to go from 5:00min/km with a final all out full energy sprint. Good run but I think I can make it better by going slightly faster for the 1^st half.

Conclusion:

I’m happy with the run. By now it is quite obvious that speed calibration and strategy correction before any race is important. The last 21km run was screwed up as I relied on the 42km pace and strategy, which I ended the run much slower than my abilities with too much energy left in the tank after the run.

Though I didn’t do any calibration runs before this Tri, my previous races for 5km were quite on target and I just had to follow the same strategy which worked nicely.

There were some time during the swim when my mind drifted off, and it seems that I didn’t move that quickly in the water during that period. It seems to happen every time I day dreamed and didn’t do sighting. Next time I should try starting mid-pack. Perhaps with more front crawlers around there will be less need to do sighting and easier to draft as well.

Using the hamstrings for the bike this time has probably helped me to save my quads and calves for the run. Gotta practice more and clock more cycling mileage. Time to invest in a proper trainer.

Taking a break from racing and focus on training now.

Next event: TriFactor OD Tri on 18 August.