So enough about Ironman races for now … let’s go back to where it all starts for most of us: Sprint Triathlons.
This event distance is open more to the masses and especially great for juniors who are the future of our sport. The Sprint distance consists of a 750m swim, 20km bike and 5km run. There is also a Super Sprint category which is half of these distances. With the distances being much shorter it means you can put in a lot more effort in all three disciplines.
I remember collapsing over the line at a few Sprint Triathlons – more than what I have gone through after an Ironman because you are going all out giving it 110%. You are taxing the body in a totally different way.
The top guys would look to finish it under an hour. It takes a lot of time and dedication to hit that sort of time.
And, with triathlon being an individual sport whatever the distance completion is the primary goal for most along with making it fun. So I think this is a great distance to help you get introduced into triathlons and start you on the right road to getting fit.
The last sprint distance I took part in was on the Gold Coast in Australia when I won a competition with Jabra earlier this year and they flew me out there to compete. Normally I would not do such an event as my legs aren’t used to going at such speeds but it is good training and nice to mix up the distances from time to time.
Also worth a mention I did take the Age Group win at this race – not sure how but the Aussies must have been having an off day!
Someone in this region still new to the triathlon world herself but achieving success already in the sport and at the short distances is Sarah Maina.
She took part in race two of the JLL Triathlon Series this weekend at Jebel Ali Golf Resort, an event put on by the organisers Race Me. Below is how the race went for her:
Race report by Sarah Maina
My entry to triathlon was back in February this year, so I still consider myself a newbie triathlete though with the help from my coach Neil Flanagan, triathlete friends and my own interest in the sport, I have gained a lot of experience from the races I have participated in.
In this race report I will share with you my preparations, thoughts and experiences on my race day this past Saturday at the JJL triathlon, and will finish off with my advice for any new triathletes out there.
It all starts with a painful alarm waking me up at 4am in the morning. My first action this morning is to eat breakfast in order for my body to have as much time as possible to digest. My menu included; cooked sweet potatoes, not a feast but just what I needed since I had been sick leading up to the race.
At 5am I rolled into the car park of the Jebel Ali Golf Resort. It’s a cold and dark Dubai morning. I am amongst the first early bird people to enter the transition and quickly find my race number amongst the racks. Setting up my gear is not something I want to do in a rush.
I got everything ready, checked and rechecked that everything was in place and ready to access quickly. My bike shoes are pre-clipped onto the pedals which is a recent trick I have learned and now really appreciate after getting over the first scary attempts with this method. My helmet is ready on the aero bars, the bike computer and watch turned on and my running shoes ready to jump into.
The last thing I do is to take a mental picture of where my bike is racked so I can find it easily once the race begins. I have a thousand thoughts passing through my mind. I put on my wetsuit up to my waist to keep warm and walked down to the beach for the briefing.
As soon as I got to the beach I started my warm up while listening to the briefing. Despite having heard it before and read the pre-race information previously, I always listen carefully. After the briefing I went down to the water to warm up for my swim and to adjust my wetsuit as this is easier once water enters the suit. I got into the water and past my first shock of the very chilly water temperature; Dubai certainly has cooled down lately. I got my suit well-adjusted and completed a few swim drills. Getting back on shore I kept jumping around to continue warming up and keeping warm before race start.
At the JLL race the swim course is a 350m lap which means for my 750m swim I would complete one lap in the water, run up onto the beach to pass a cone and run back into the water to complete my second lap. Running out of the water to pass the cone takes the breath out of me, so this phase I was prepared to do slowly.
As the start sounded for my wave I jumped into the water with my mind fixed on being in the leading pack of the swim. I stayed at the front for the first loop and got happily surprised about how fast it went. I exited the water slowly as planned and turned the cone to enter the water again.
Getting back into the water things turned around for me. Out of the blue I felt my breathing getting blocked by the wetsuit around my neck and around my chest. I struggled to breathe and felt my swim efficiency decreasing. I tried to keep my mind calm as the suffocating feeling made me panic slightly. After turning back towards the beach in my final part of the swim I managed to get my breathing under control but my body was now tired.
I got to shore and out of the water and was placed 5th at this point. My run towards T1 was very slow and I was breathing very heavily, the cold water probably contributed to this. I got my wet suit open and pulled it down to my hips. Once I entered T1 took off my timing chip just to be on the safe side and avoid it being stuck in my suit when taking it off later. I sat down (not very professionally) and got out of the suit. I would not risk falling over but rather take my time as this after all was my first time racing in this suit. Once out of the suit I was back in my transition routine: helmet on, race belt on, grabbed the bike and ran. My transition went smoothly and I left T1 in third. After the mount line I got on my bike and entered my shoes with both elastic bands bursting at the right time, great. I picked up my speed before reaching down to close my shoes.
My body was all wet from the sea and being on the bike in the cold air rushing past me I started to cool down. Frozen muscle don’t really work that great but I managed to pick up a decent speed.
Sarah on the bike, her strongest of the three disciplines.
I passed the front girls early on and was leading on the bike course. I knew I would have to gain some minutes on the bike as I am a slow runner and the girls behind me would catch up. The bike course was smooth. It was four laps going from one end with a big roundabout to the other end in a straight line with a 360 degree turn to return. The bike course had some soft hills so playing around with the gears was a must to reach optimal speed.
Towards the end of my 20km bike ride I went towards T2. I made sure to get my feet out of my shoes and well placed on top of them to continue my paddling until the final moment before crossing the dismount line. When I jumped off my bike I landed on two very frozen legs which did not really feel as part of my body, but they knew what to do and brought me to my transition spot.
In T2 I racked my bike, jumped into my running shoes, grabbed my cap and watch and off I went. I started my run easily without looking at my watch as I knew my legs needed to warm up. Slowly I picked up the speed as I went along. The run course at the JLL race is a two lap track which mostly consist of a loose sand, not ideal for a slow runner like me. Anyways, I entered the sandy part and kept focus on shortening my strides and keeping a quick cadence.
Sarah on the run course.
I finished my first lap of the run and was pleasantly surprised to find that I had not been overtaken by any female runners yet. I didn’t celebrate though as I still had 2.5 km to go, and everything could change in the final few kilometres.
I felt good on the run and kept a good pace (feeling good should have made my coach’s voice appear in my head telling me to “get the legs moving faster”, but he was on mute apparently).
At the beginning of my second lap at the run track I was overtaken by Annie Crookes who passed me like a gazelle with great speed. I did not attempt to follow her as I knew this would be a very short attack and would result in me crawling over the finish line which would not make a very pretty finish line photo.
I let her go and kept focus on my breathing and cadence. Getting closer to the finish line I picked up the speed a bit and finished the race in a sprint. Once I passed the finish line my lungs were in great pain. The cold wind had really cooled down my body and I had chest pain for the following two days. Bring back the summer please!
I finished the race 2nd. I had the fastest transition in T1 and T2 which means I have become very efficient at my routine but there are still improvements to be made.
Sarah with her medal (left) and on the podium after the race.
I had the fastest bike time amongst the ladies. My final time was 1 hour and 16 minutes which I am pleased with considering my very slow run of 25 minutes, much slower than I expected.
Looking back on my race results I wish I pushed it more on the run although it wouldn’t have changed my position in the race.
Overall a good race day with many new experiences, things to improve and lessons learned.
My advice for newbies:
- Make a list of things you need for the race which you use every time as a check list before your races
- Prepare your breakfast the night before or make sure you know what to eat in the morning
- Make a mental picture of where your bike is racked before leaving transition to start your race
- Have your race belt pre-clipped and hanging ready for you to jump into. During the race you will have 10 fumbling thumbs so skip the hassle of having to close it and just jump into it.
- Add elastic shoe laces in your race shoes to make them easy to enter and avoid clumsy fingers messing up a simple shoe lace job.
- Take your time to warm up. Doing two jumps and a few quick arm swings won’t prepare your body for an all-out sprint race.
- Only consume energy gels/drinks during the race if you feel your body really needs it, otherwise leave it, your body will do just fine on water.
- Have fun
Interested in signing up for the next race at Jebel Ali Golf Resort on January 16? Click here.
