Bintan Triathlon - Olympic Course - TriathlonOlympic

Didn't feel like I was swimming hard but well ahead of all but the #1 woman (who DNF'd due to bike issues). Offshore current; when I tried to breathe to left to navigate, kept getting water in the face so I generally lifted my head to sight on the buoys and this probably cost a little time. But nobody else was close. Great swim with clear water!

Can't think of anything.

Okay transition; found bike quickly but time still mediocre compared to other top finishers. Maybe because I had to stop at the mount line to tighten the straps on my bike shoes.

Properly fasten bike shoes when putting them on; in retrospect (see below) tape energy bars to bike or put in bento box rather than tri-suit pocket!

Just an unrelenting suffer-fest, even to get that very mediocre time. My legs hurt the entire time. Troubles began straight away with steep uphill start--almost came to a complete stop. Maybe I needed to start in an easier gear! Then at about 3 km, something fell off my bike and got caught in the spokes; lots of clattering before it fell to the ground. Unclipped and got off (on a hill) to check; fallen object turned out to be one of my energy bars. Didn't even bother to go after it, just cussed and went on. At that point about six of the top women passed me. Had real difficulty with the hills. Realized I've never ridden my road bike on rolling hills and had no clue about what gears were best; some gears didn't want to shift--maybe need lubricating or fixing due to lack of use (no hills in Saigon). Very thirsty despite drinking both 500ml bottles. Managed to swallow part of fruit bar and small banana but felt like tongue was stuck to mouth by end. Discovered a new gear (literally) on the way back and this increased my speed. 11th overall at end. Never been so glad to get off a bike!

Ride a road bike on rolling hills and learn to use the gears effectively. Minor problem--our only hill in Saigon is a bridge with a steep, about 1 km up and down slope. Tape nutrition to bike or use bento box or similar. Pre-open energy bars. Develop better overall bike fitness to ride with the "big girls". Take bikey for checkup--maybe something needs lubricating and/or adjusting. Drink more--see if I can find 750 ml bottles that fit in the cages.

I felt I had a good transition but my time was slow compared to other top athletes. Maybe just need more practice.

Not sure. Needed to drink more on the bike. I took some electrolyte from my "parked" bottle as my mouth was totally cotton at end of bike.

Not as strong a run as I was hoping for, but it was good enough to move me from 11th to 4th, and doubt I could have done much more. Didn't feel that great off the bike, but nobody passed me and I just worked on passing people one at a time. Was getting into a rhythm when I suddenly got really bad "lockdown" type cramps in both quads just past 3 km. Maybe a combo of poor bike fitness and dehydration. Tried to find an accupressure point and suceeded in hitting something that triggered spasms so excruciating I screamed a four-letter word.Impressive bruise later. This resulted in being followed by one of the medical team for a while. He advised me to drink more electrolyte (it didn't work); slow down and walk (no way!), finally I tried eating the remainder of my fruit roll and this, oddly, seemed to help a bit. First time I have ever eaten anything on a run. All the while kept running and passing people, albeit much more painfully and less gracefully. Got cramp under control but not able to pick up the pace, esp. on the hill. But still passed people. Cramp pretty much resolved itself by km.8 so I attemped to pick up pace. Just then a "female issue" began. At that point I started to giggle like a nut--everything that could have happened had, except for maybe a bike crash. Remaining two km. felt pretty good and went well, considering. Very glad to see the finish line!

Better hydration on bike. Better bike fitness and use of gears so legs don't lock up on run. Maybe don't try accupressure while running after biking (but I do it a lot in training and usually can get rid of cramps with it).

Walked around, got a massage (which didn't help). Walked around some more. Went into ocean for a bit to splash/stretch (helped). Walked out to find a slower buddy, jogged her in (painful for both of us). Walked what seemed like a half-marathon back to bike depot and hotel. Next time, I will just go back and swim in the ocean!


Total lack of experience with road biking on a hilly course; how to use gears effectively. Possibly some mechanical issues with the gears. Weak bike fitness in general. This affected both bike and run.


The actual race was very well-organized; beautiful, challenging course, though the bike leg was a bit much for me. Loved the long swim in clear blue water. But logistics of transport, etc, were very difficult, very poor response from associated travel agencies and race organizers. Logistics of getting to/from Bintan from Saigon are challenging anyway (not a long weekend, not possible to get Friday off, end of school year), so I would probably give it a miss next time.