Upp Seletar Reservoir
TriBob started the sprint series this year comprising the biathlon, duathlon and triathlon. This works well for folks who are trying out to see if they like triathlons or who are training for the full Olympic distance triathlon.
Curious me thought why not try the duathlon. Not ready for the swim yet, so biathlon is out of the question. The spring duathlon comprises a 3 km run, followed by 15 km cycle and anther 3 km run.
Had to borrow a bike.. a mountain bike at that. As I found out that day, there's a vast difference between mountain and road and tri bikes!
So this was how it turned out:
run 1: 17m 18s
transition: 1m 25s
bike: 43m 53s
transition: 1m 25s
run 2: 14m 49s
total: 1h 18m 59s
ranked 328/408
I was in the second wave, for women and veterans. Started off easy, doing about a 6 min per km pace. Transition went pretty well.
I read up about the anti drafting rules, of course. So less than 1 km into the cycle leg, I was mindful to keep my distance behind the front cyclist. But that required me to slow down. And after a while, I realized that no one else seem to abide by this rule.
In addition, the faster cyclists overtook, shouting (aggressively) "To your right!" as they do so. Some were shouting "Keep left!" Because the stretch along Mandai Road was only one lane, divided into out and back lanes, keeping to the left required concentration. I was concerned that an unsteady ride could result in collision, given how fast the others were going!
The cycle leg requires us to go three loops (5 km each). I was glad when the earlier cyclists finished their cycling leg. Then I worried, at the last turn, whether I was the last person! One lady past me, shouting encouragement and something about a mountain bike.
The last run leg was for catch up. The transition wasn't as bad as I thought. About 300 m into the run leg, I was back in stride. Overtook several others, and took less than 15 mins. That was probably the fastest 3 km I had run (5 min pace).
So I completed my first multi-sport event and happy for it!
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