Sunday, July 29, 2007

My Inaugral Olympic Distance Triathlon That Was NOT To Be...

I collected the finisher's medal but did not do a Olympic Distance Triathlon at the OSIM Triathlon today. There was a Category 1 Thunderstorm (i.e. high chance of lightning) mid-way through the swim start waves, and the organisers had to stop the race and pull everyone out of the swim and bike legs (my wave has not started yet, but some triathletes were actually told to stop the race midway thru the swim and bike). When it re-started, the race got shortened to a 20km bike and 5km run for the rest of us (yup, no swim) due to time constraints. :-( As you can imagine, it was not a popular decision as this was a ITU race where some of the participants were fighting for placement points.
I am feeling kinda bummed myself too - I don't think there is another Olympic Distance Triathlon in Singapore this year, so this may well mean that I have to wait one more year before I get another shot at a Olympic Distance Triathlon. Not good.
Will post more details once I am better able to collect my thoughts...

15 comments:

tryathlete said...

Safety first, on the kiasu safe side.

"Cat 1" - didn't we all wish for that during NS!

Deb said...

Wow...kindof of 'kewl' you get the medal for the 'the race that never was'. That's a keeper! Gives you more time to trian for something else, eh?

Unknown said...

Wow. Safety first, you definately don't want to be messing with lightning.

I know that you must be very disappointed after training so hard for your first oly, only to have the race turn into something else because of weather.

Remember that God knows best; we don't always understand why things are the way they are.

Unknown said...

Sorry to hear about that. It was out of your control though. I hope you are able to find another one, but there are other challenges out there as well.

Robin said...

wow-- someone didn't tell the weathergods that there was an important tri goin' on! that's too bad. safety 1st though it is true. but i see why you are bummed. scout out the calendar. 3 summers ago when i was supposed to do my 1st tri ever...i waited too long to register (didn't know these things actually fill up!) and it was the last local one of the season and I had to wait until the following summer to even do a tri. are there any more sprints in singapore? also look with a fine tooth comb for an oly--you are trained for one now! :-)

Anonymous said...

I was a 1st time OD participant. I put in so much discipline and effort over the past couple of months to make sure my first OD tri will be a decent one. It was a huge letdown for me personally. I totally understand how you are feeling.

But the decision to stopped the race was the correct one. But they could planned better on the re-start. I managed to complete one lap of the swim. While I am not a strong swimmer, at no time did I feel that I needed to be fished out. I walked away from the sea very proud inside. Nothing replaces training, absolutely nothing. But that does not in anyway lessen how awe struck I was by the power of Mother Nature, I was tossed around like a cork. Yes, we have seen storms on TV but if you were in the water yesterday, OMG it was 'scary'. It was a humbling experience.

Wilson Tan said...

Thanks for dropping by blog. It's great whenever people of similar get together and talk about common interests. Are u doing the iron man in sep? I'm not, but my brother is. He was supposed to do the OD too.

Anonymous said...

Sorry to hear about the race events. We have an Olympic Tri this Spring in Florida - You are welcome to visit the states, but our weather is unpredictable at best! Congrats on the medal! Hope the boys are doing well.

Jessica said...

Times like these make us realize that we are not in control of the weather. Sorry to hear the race was shortened, but it is better than a DNF!

Try doing your own Oly, maybe with a few friends... . You're trained for it, and already have the medal, so why not ;)

Sixteen Chickens said...

Kewl... I think you should hold an impromptu Oly. Maybe gather a couple good friends to be your support staff plan your route and just go for it.

Robin said...

i like Wylee's idea if there are no other OD tris in your area!!!!

you could get a few triathletes who were supposed to do the course together and do it --swim/bike/run. even if it is a different route, you can map out the miles. i bet R1 & R2 would love doing waterstops for daddy!

Steve Stenzel said...

It's good that they pulled everyone and no one got hurt, but still, that SUCKS!!

Cliff said...

Kewl,

Sucks about the weather..U can do the whole distance on your own :)...i know u can do it. Your body and mind is very ready for this. :)

Anonymous said...

What a bummer! And, after all that work. :( But, I guess it's better that no one got struck by lightning! I guess it's time to look forward to next year - or find another event somewhere else. So sorry! :(

Iron Pol said...

Wow, have I been out of the loop. (They blocked blogger sites at work)

Sorry about the race breakdown, but safety has to come first. After what happened in Chicago this past weekend (one guy died due to a heart condition, likely aggravated by heat and dehydration), it is good to see race directors taking precautions.

There will be other races. Find one and sign up, as that provides motivation.