My First Olympic Distance Triathlon

I was a doubtful starter for my first olympic distance trialthlon (1.5k swim, 40k bike, 10k run) at the 1st Iba Invitational Triathlon at Iba, Zambales on April 14, 2007. This was because of my erratic training schedules specially for the swim part which needs a lot of improvement. I joined the sprint distance (750m. swim, 20k bike, 4.5k run) adventure extreme tri last Dec. 2006 and survived the ordeal. So I thought I could do the olympic distance. Why not.

I was supposed to leave with my friends Fri before noon but had so many things still to do related to work. So I just asked my friends to bring my bike & stuff and plan to catch the shuttle bus leaving at 5pm or take the Victory bus to Iba late night or early am the following day. It happened that a friend and fellow participant called up and told me I could take a ride with his wife who would be leaving at 4am on Sat. So I coordinated with his wife and she would picked me up along the way near my place. No hazzles on the rendevouz in the morning and we were on our way with my friend's wife behind the wheels. We were in Iba in record time. No traffic along the way that early and the new North Expressway was smooth as silk.

The race would start at about 1pm and we got ample time to relax and prepare our gear. We checked out the water about noon time and was surprised to see that the waves and swells are getting larger by the minute. I was taken abacked for a while but regained composure with the thought that I got friends with me to this and also their first times. So when the starting gun went off I swam with all my might but taking it easy since this is just the first leg of the race. We still have to negotiate the 40K bike and the 10K run under sweltering afternoon sun. The water was getting hotter towards the end of the swim. I was one of the last out of the water and off to the transition area for the bike leg. The bike part was relative flat but it's the hottest part of the day and I was still thinking of conserving energy for the run part. The run went around the town thru the busy traffic and off to the bike route part which is less congested. People are cheering on and egging along the sides. Some where heckling others were just mumbling local dialects and I could not discern what it was. I must be too exhausted by then to notice. I was able to overtake some and felt good about it knowing I still have some reserves left. I gave it all when I saw the final bend and the finish arch. I finally made it and a sudden gush of relief & satisfaction enveloped me.

After dinner I decided to ride home with a friend who had to be back also that night. We took a quick snack at the Subic area and had to drop by the gas stations for coffee to keep my friend awake throughout the trip. We got to our place past 2am and I was already totally wasted. I was awake for almost 24hours already. But no regrets and actually looking forward for the next race which is the Subic International Triathlon which is also an olympic distance race. This is would be in about two weeks time.