Training Camp

The Bintan triathlon on May 21st is approaching quickly - less than 6 weeks now. Neither Brian nor I have trained as well as we would have liked this spring so when we had the opportunity to attend a "triathlon prep clinic," we signed up.

Saturday we took the first ferry of the day over to Bintan island along with about a dozen other people training for the race. The organization sponsoring the race had two coaches who led the group and provided specific tips for the course.

When waking up at 6am on a Saturday for our departure, I was less than enthusiastic about the day and when exiting the ferry, I spotted a woman who also appeared to be on a day trip to Bintan. She was dressed in an adorable sun dress with a floppy beach hat, carrying a tupperware full of cupcakes. I pointed her out to Brian while exclaiming, "I should be THAT woman!"

Instead I spent the day in the company of a group of perfectly nice folks who apparently thrive on triathlon training much more than me. They all had their expensive racing bikes and the woman next to me at lunch had done Iron Man competitions. She probably didn't wish she was on the beach with a pretty drink in hand.

We spent the morning learning the best strategies for quick transition times when going from swim to bike to run. It was an informative session and I learned a few techniques when repeatedly exiting the ocean to get on my bike.

The ocean situation was entirely different. I heard the water in the Bintan race was gorgeous and I looked forward to that after swimming in the ship channel last year. I'm sure the water is beautiful but I was too busy gawking at the big waves. I wasn't prepared at all for that challenge and the first few times I entered the water, I had to fight the panic while attempting to swim. And I wasn't even surrounded by hundreds of other competitors like on race day. That was disheartening. However, the coaches insisted that by May the waves settle down and it won't be so rough. I can only hope.

After lunch, Brian and I were prepared to do some training on the bike and run course but it turned out the coaches expected everyone to do the entire course. I reluctantly entered the water again and it didn't feel quite so awful that time. The majority of the group were preparing for the Olympic distance event so they had to do twice the distance in each segment. So, when I exited the ocean to hop on my bike, almost everyone else was in the midst of their second lap of swimming. I took off and soon realized the coaches weren't kidding when they described the bike course as hilly. I was cursing less than 5 minutes into the ride, lamenting how I got myself into this situation. There was only one woman, Elena, close behind me as we began our ride around the island and at a couple points, I questioned which direction to turn because unlike race day, the signs weren't all posted for us.

After riding for nearly 40 kilometers (twice the distance I was supposed to ride) Elena and I admitted we were helplessly lost. Thank goodness she was out there with me because I had no money and no phone. And if you're lost on an Indonesian island, it's better to have a tall, formidable-looking Russian woman at your side.

A couple of friendly locals on motorbikes stopped when they saw us on a deserted road. I suppose we looked a bit out of place. One man spoke English well and phoned his friend with a van to pick us up and return us to the resort. Once we were loaded into the van with our bikes, I borrowed Elena's phone to let Brian know we were on our way and to please meet us at the lobby with cash.

Elena asked me if I had done the Bintan triathlon before and when I replied, "No," she made me laugh when she said, "Oh, a typical American, looking so confident while getting us lost. Why did I follow you?!"

I was happy to see my husband waiting for us and after paying the driver, Brian shared that he also didn't make it back on his bike because he had a tire blow out about 3 kilometers from the end of the course. He crashed on the side of the road and had to take a taxi back to the resort.

We managed to complete the 5k course even though we both felt beaten and I had cycled way too far for my poor legs. We finished, packed up our stuff and headed to the hotel for a well-earned dinner before our return to Singapore. Drinking Bintang beer on the restaurant balcony with Brian was easily the highlight of the day.

Neither one of us could understand why someone would recommend going the full distance 6 weeks before a race but the good news is that I did more than the distance and survived. I trust I won't get lost on race day.

While it was a rough day, the experience should help us at the race. It also reinforced my feeling that this will be my last triathlon for awhile. I'd rather be the lady in the sun dress toting cupcakes.