Wednesday, March 31, 2010
A little report on the recent race..
a) The swimming leg was not as good as I hoped. I was panting at the end of... Lap2?! And I started having a calf cramp at Lap13, and so there was a little panic. Enduring the pain and kicking with the other leg was the way to go. I pressed on without stopping for the entire 16 laps, at which another calf cramp developed on the other leg.
I still don't know the race results, but I THINK I didn't fail the 24 minutes limit, which wasn't too hard to meet. There wasn't many left in the pool when I emerged from my Wave 7 (each wave has 20 participants), because I chose to adopt the less-efficient but more sustainable breaststroke, rather than the freestyle which most of the participants did.
The first few moments after stepping out of the pool was a little painful, from the cramps. I brisk-walked to the transition area where I caught up with some participants.
b) The running phase was very tough. It was just 5km, but the route definitely ranked the toughest among any race I ever had. The moment I came out of SRC, I was faced with an uphill slope all the way to Central Library, then downhill to Arts, then upwards near Biz, and upwards somemore to the ulu offices. It was undulating all the way to PGPR, and then the way back via Kent Ridge Road was endless and hilly.
As the event was split into waves of 20 participants, that bustling feeling of a crowded race was totally absent. I could only see one participant in front the whole time, but could not see those I overtook behind. The school was deserted, especially so along the ulu roads. And when you're faced with uphill slopes one after another, it was really very de-motivating. Time and again, I stopped momentarily, then forced my exhausted legs to carry me further.
After what felt like a long and endless run, I finally reached civilisation, where there were a few random people around the library area. It was ending and I was thankful.
This had to be the longest 5km run I took, but it really was a test of sheer endurance, after a draining 16-laps in the pool and a late night before the race. But it was a good feel of how a biathlon is, though this wasn't a 'Real' biathlon, which would be much tougher when the swimming phase is held in the sea.
Gotta train more for future races!
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UPDATE @ 1st April: My timing was 00:59:45, just within the 1 hour target I hoped to keep.
人生是黑白的.
4:11 PM <3
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