Race Report: Trifactor Triathlon 2011

The Skinny

Swim:  21:11

Bike:  1:01.33

Run:  40.0something

Total:  2:02.something

1st Men’s Open OD

The Fat

2 weeks after the disaster of my race in the Philippines, I was looking for a bit of redemption. 

I signed up for the Trifactor Triathlon as a bit of a ‘filler’ before the Desaru LD triathlon in September.  But since I decided to pull the plug on Desaru and I was finally feeling healthier after a lousy last 5 weeks, I was hoping for a good hit out as I unloaded the bike and made my way to the race site.

Good thing the rain spared the grassy trasition area

Compared to the OSIM Triathlon, the transition area was significantly smaller.  One thing I don’t understand is why race organisers always decide to use the smallest signs possible to mark out the participant numbers on the various bike racks.  Making signs that are larger than post-it sized will not throw your budget into turmoil.

With "The Machine" at the start

Getting to the swim start was a piece of cake compared to the obstacle course during the OSIM Triathlon and after a quick warm up, I joined the rest of my wave in the small holding pen.  It was a nice change to have a Men’s Open category instead of the usual age groups, allowing athletes across the various age groups to go head-to-head. 

Trying not to get kicked as I ran across and down the beach

Points for style?

Calmer seas and a smaller field made for easier swimming at East Coast this time round.  I hit the front after the first turning buoy and tried to settle into a rhythm for the 2 x 750m swim.  Out in 21min11sec and what I hoped would be first, it was time for the bikes!

Deciding to ride to the road bike with clip-ons this time

Anyone who has raced a triathlon at East Coast Park knows that crowded roads and sharp corners are part and parcel of the bike course, so nothing out of the ordinary here!  However, you can always count on competitors swerving all over the shop as they jump from wheel to wheel or try to take u-turns on their aerobars to keep you on your toes. 

John Lieto having a flyer on the bike

Nelson The Machine

Kenley looking very comfortable

I was feeling pretty good on the bike, much better than at OSIM.  There wasn’t much time since getting back from Camsur to train, but it made a difference that I was feeling much healthier.  Through all 3 legs of the race, it was just good that I was able to push my body harder than in past weeks.  Things were dandy till the 4th lap of the bike when some one blew past me on the long straight to the u-turn.  I recognised his BPTC (Banana Prata Tri Club) tri suit and Compressport Quad + Calf combo and knew he had been standing next to me at the swim start.  I knew Arnaud wasn’t around so I had no idea who this was, but man, these BPTC boys can ride their bikes!  I tried to keep the gap to BPTC-Compressport guy from growing, but even while pushing a higher wattage than before, I was losing ground!  There were 5 waves for my category and I had no idea how fast any of the guys in those waves were going, but I knew that if I couldn’t win my own wave, it wasn’t going to matter.  So it was damage limitation towards the end of the bike as I tried to put myself in contention for the win with the run remaining.

distinct lack of a marshal screaming "DISMOUNT HEREEEEE" at Trifactor

 I racked my bike and took a look down the rack.  Unfortunately, there it was!  The white Cervelo with number 558!  I did hold out some hope that BPTC-Compressport guy was actually a lap down, but oh well.  As I picked up my visor, I saw Olivier (it is shorter to write his name than BPTC-Compressport guy) already some way out of T2 so I knew I had a couple of hundred meters to make up. 

5 more km to close the gap

The run course was one that I had run many times before, 2 x 5km.  2km in, I hadn’t made much in-roads on Olivier.  I could sorta see him there or therebouts, always a couple of bends in the road ahead.  At the u-turn, I finally had a chance to see just how far back I was, maybe about 200m.  I picked John up at a water point and we ran together for the rest of the 1st lap. 

With 1 lap to go, I was only 50m down and with Meryl urging me to pick up the pace, I wanted to shut the gap down ASAP!  I bridged up to Olivier, we traded some encouragement and kept going.  I had a step or 2 on him so put my foot on the gas and made my move!  I suspect my increase in pace was far more impressive in my mind than it was in reality.  I had a 30m lead with at the last u-turn.  I skipped every water point on the way back and focused on holding as much of my form together to the finish.

Not the most stylish of my finish line poses...

I crossed the line in just under 2hr03min, won my wave and the overall!  I was very pleased with how I raced and the effort I managed to put out, especially after the disappointment of 2 weeks earlier.  The bike route was short so the time doesn’t really count, but I felt much better than during OSIM a month before.  Even though I wasn’t in peak racing form, at least I was healthy and that made racing much more enjoyable!

Actually made it to the Prize Preso this time!

So it was a good day at East Coast!  A solid race and the win!  My foot held up and isn’t aching much today as I write this report, which is hopefully a good sign for the Singapore Bay Run this weekend.  There was actually a prize presentation to attend (take some notes OSIM Triathlon) and prizes that the winners actually had use for (take MORE notes OSIM Triathlon)!  Cheers all around!

Congratulations to everyone who raced on the weekend and to the Trifactor team for bouncing back to put on an enjoyable race.  Bigger hydration stations on the run would be good!  As always, a huge thank you to Meryl for the great photos, unwavering support and enthusiastic ringing of the cow bell!

See you out there!

Nelson, winner of 21km Run (Men's Veteran)!

 

With John and Kenley, manufactured rivals

With Olivier post race. 1st & 2nd Men's Open in Compressport!

Will post the official results when they are released!

~ by triproject on August 29, 2011.