Overview: I participated in the Port Dickson International Triathlon in Port Dickson, Malaysia last July 25, 2010. I was in my base period training plan and Port Dickson was just a side trip, an invitation I got from my fellow cyclists and triathletes. It was an opportunity for me to travel with them as well as to see Port Dickson Malaysia for the first time. The race was an over-distance (OD): 1.5km Swim, 40km Bike, and 10km run. It was my first PD OD triathlon. The water was calm and warm. Good thing, there was no jellyfish. The bike course was on a rolling road. I didn’t like it though. The run was perfect with water station every kilometer. I finished the race with relative ease overall - Swim 0:32:48, Bike 1:12:43, Run 0:54:54, and Total 02:41:26. I place 80th out of 222 in my age group.
Preparation: I managed to have two-quality swim before PD tri and the first one was only 1500m inclusive of main course 3 X 300. The second one was 2000m with 2X500m. I cycled 3-5 times a week. On weekdays, the average was 37km-57km and on weekends a 64km with occasional long rides of 100-130km. I did occasional brick (bike-run) on weekdays like 2hr cycle followed by 30-45mins run. Running is my weakness amongst the three sports.
Goals: The last time I finished an OD triathlon was in college, which was during the Philippine National Games 1997(PNG). The time it took me to finish was 3:06 hh:mm. I still remember my slow swim of 00:36:00, over an hour cycle and 1:06 hh:mm jog. I wanted to finish PD OD in less than 3 hours comfortably. My race tactic was to swim easy, applying Total Immersion technique, cycle in an easy pace at 90rpm, and run as if I am doing my brick: 2hr cycle – 45mins run/jog.
Race Morning: Woke up around 0430h, ate six pieces of coconut bun packed with high calorie content and a cup of coffee. That was my meal 3 hrs before the race and of course with some water intake from time to time... I packed up around 0630h and went to the transition area together with friends and fellow participants. The weather was okay, the beach was calm and the excitement started to pick up as athletes were settling in. I ate 1 Power bar while nesting my transition area after that I did a brief 15mins cycle in the nearby road followed by a 15mins easy jog. Fifteen minutes before the race, I calmly took 1 pack of power gel for endurance and I set my watch to 30mins repetitive interval for timed fuel intake.
Swim: The swim course was a one-loop boomerang shaped and a counter-clockwise swim. There were over 200 athletes in our age group 30-39. There were over 800 athletes massing along the coastline. I started at the back of the pack swimming an easy long stroke while remembering Total Immersion’s lengthening my vessel and attentively watching unwanted sole and elbow strike. Water visibility was around 5 or 6 feet that morning. There were numerous times were I followed faster swimmers, and then suddenly stopped and did a breast stroke for their navigational means. Next thing I knew was a darker shade of pale coming towards me with no remorse! There were some close encounters and there were unfortunate ones and hit me in the arms, shoulders, and thighs. The pack thinned out as we reach the first turn. I started to pick up the pace at the second turn, which turned out to be the half of the swim course. The swim was good. I was not breathing heavily as expected. Right after the swim course, there was this 250m run from the beach to the transition area that actually increased my HR to 185!
Bike: Prior to the race start, my friend reminded me that the bike route was on a rolling hills and he said that it was easy. It turned out to be not too easy for me. After a brief T1, I was out cruising along the flat highway for the first few kilometers. After I turned right, the suffering has just begun. The rolling road was not favorable to me and I was gasping for air at the first long climb! I was able to have a brief rest at the top, only to see there was another climb at the bottom of the hill. There were occasional flat road such that I was able to hold on to some athletes riding together and only to be dropped at the middle of the climb. Numerous groups have surpassed me; I was able to catch up with some of them even just for a while. It was futile. I have decided to drop my front plate from 52 to 39 and adjusted my cogs accordingly to do 80-90rpms and shifted to sightseeing instead! What a site indeed! There were a lot of road kills - snake, lizard, rodent and even cow dung splattered all over the road. There were unfortunate athletes who had bike accidents, some had flats, and some lost water bottles. After the turning point, I have decided to hammer back my cycling. I placed my plate back to 52 and set my cogs so that I can spin at 90rpm. I was doing reel cycling. 
I was spinning and did some sprint from one lone cyclist to another. There were still strong group of cyclist in tight formation that went passed me. Then suddenly the pain of rolling road settled in, I can feel the burning sensation in my thighs but I was able to delay the fatigue. I managed to suck it up and continue pedaling. I have decided to look out for slower groups so that I can rest. Luckily, I did! LOL! Less than five kilometers to the end of the bike course, the pack started to increase speed. I managed to settle with them. The leader has decided to break away and I was able to hold on to his surge. I did not put myself on the lead, for I was thinking the 10km run after T2 and I don’t want to walk that 10km run course. Finally, we turned left back to the highway and then pace started to build up again. We did the aero position in a tight formation. We over took lone cyclist one after another. I was smiling all the way as I was at the back of the pack pedaling effortlessly.
Run: After a brief transition, I goggled up 2 cups of water and pour a couple of cups on me to lower my core temperature. I started running in high cadence but in slow speed with small steps. I was happy during the run leg; the sun was up but it was not hot. After a while I went back to my usual brick pace. I was looking for a pacer. Yes, a pace that I can run along with comfortably. The burning sensations in my thighs were still there but I didn’t mind it. I sucked one power gel on my first 5km. Good thing was that there were water stations every kilometer and I was taking advantage to pour water over me to keep my core temp low. I saw guys run passed me as expected but it was not my concern. I didn’t want to walk in the 10km course. I was able to find a pacer one after another. All I did was speed play for the first 5km and decided not to continue my plan. I held on to my easy pace, which was my usual brick training pace. The site of the finish line was welcoming. I finished the run course strong with no aches and pains on my thighs. I suspected that the 10km course was not exact which I found out to be true after the race. Nevertheless, the race was great!
By: Cirilo Tradio (AKA triblues) http://insidetriblues.wordpress.com/2010/07/29/port-dickson-intl-triath…