Decided to start out on the left of the course to keep track of location heading to the first buoy and not be pushed off-course by the current. Breakers made breathing tricky but my pace was good. Rounding first buoy definitely felt hard work against the current but concentrated on style and sighting to keep on course. After second buoy, heading back in opposite direction felt almost like surfing on the current but first part had drained me and really noticed it when getting out of the water for the second lap. Gave my wife a "this is much tougher than I expected" look and headed out for the second lap. Really focused on pulling long and breathing well on the second lap and avoiding back markers from the previous 2-3 Waves.

Do more open water training in choppy conditions to help modify stroke and be more efficient.

Transition went well and while my feet did pick up quite a bit of loose dead grass cuttings and dirt I managed to wipe off the worst.

Had shoes attached to rear QR by rubber band (as I had done on my previous Sprint) but the band did not break! had to do so manually and wasted a bit of time getting up to speed as a result.. Will definitely take time to practise this again before next Tri.

Took the first lap relatively easy and then pushed on a bit from there on the second lap. Was a little tricky to feel exactly how hard I could push and still have enough for the run as I was not used to the new bike and it felt easier than I expected. Drank well from my mix of water and 100plus so thought I would be well set up for the run. Legs above the knee just started to feel a little tired towards the end.

Wasted a little time in T2 but generally not too bad. Took my two small bottles of Water/100plus mix with me on the run.

This is where it all hit. about 300m into the run I started feeling the muscle just above my left knee (Vastus medialis) tighten so I cut back my pace a bit to see if it would ease off. Unfortunately this did not work so I stopped and tried to stretch it out then carry on. This helped for a short while but each time I tried to up the pace it came back. In order to prevent total incapacitating cramps I was forced to keep the pace very low and walk every now and then - a real dissapointment but I told myself that the goal was to finish and just to keep plugging away. I did manage to pick up the pace to a respectable level in the finishing chute though!

I think I will need to incorporate more brick sessions into my training leading up to the next Tri and also experiment with nutrition and maybe salt tablets to find the best solution for me to avoid those cramps (any suggestions welcome!). I have also since adjusted my bike set-up slightly which I hope will give those muscles a slightly easier time of it...

Walking around the race area for a while, stretching etc


Leg cramping on the run.


Rumoured that the race will be moving to Marina Bay next year to accomodate the increasing number of participants. If so, I will definitely be back to try it out at a new venue!