GMC Triseries 2014/15 Race 3

25 April 2015

I was only able to participate in 1 of the races in this year's GMC Tri Series due to my hectic racing schedule. It was the Season finale race for us here in Qatar. Part of me was happy that the season is over so I can rest and do something else other than training and racing, but part of me was not ready to let go the best racing season I ever had. I did New York Marathon, Challenge Bahrain, Dubai Marathon, RAK Half Marathon, WTS Abu Dhabi, Nissan Triathlon Festival plus some local events this season. I was still recovering from a flu and was not feeling 100% , but I cannot afford to miss the last race of the season by sitting at home and feeling miserable. It was also a farewell race for my running buddy from DBRC, Alicia Mc Lennan who will be leaving Qatar for good the following day.

Swim

It is unique to the GMC tri series that the swim was held in a pool instead of open water. I felt good during the swim. I just maintained a nice steady rhythm. I was still slow and need to work more on my technique, but I felt relaxed going into the bike.

500m Swim: 12:12 (Ranked 60/91)

OMG

Bike

The weather was nasty. We were riding in a sandstorm with 30kmh wind speed plus some gusty crosswinds. I made a mistake for not changing my Zipp 808 deep aero wheel for the race. I found it very difficult to control my bike and the wind kept pushing me off the course. It was difficult and almost scary for a novice cyclist/triathlete like me to ride in this condition. The course was also quite technical. It was all cobbles with speed humps, roundabouts and tight corners to navigate. I tried my best under the circumstances and never felt stronger on the bike in any triathlon events before. I hated the conditions but loved the experience.

20km Bike 40:19 (Ranked 46/91)

Ride in a stormy weather was fun

Run

Fresh after the bike, I ran hard. It was hot and I started to feel sick but I was not going to take it easy. We ran four laps around the venue and close to the start/finish. Running in laps, we were always close to the crowd. It really helped me to push and I forgot about my sickness. I really enjoyed overtaking people. It was like the Pacman game. I was only being overtaken once, on my last lap, by a pro triathlete, Ryan Christian. I was imagining that I was in Elite Men’s race of a World Triathlon Series race when Ryan overtook me. His strides his speed and running form are typical to that of WTS pros. I huffed and puffed my way to finish the run. I was happy with my performance today and glad I did it. The race was very well organised and we also had awesome support from the volunteers, who are mostly the members of Triclub Doha. Now I cannot wait for the new season to start in October. 2016 will be a triathlon year for me.

5km Run 22:24(Ranked 17/91)

Overall1:18:09 (Ranked 40/91)