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Hi, I'm Miguel Huelamo from Spain and
I am a member of STRIC Shanghai Tri Club. I started with the road
bike some years ago and I enjoyed it very much. The first time I
rode a bike I crash twice as I couldn’t up clip from the peddles. I
rode 24 km in more than an hour and was sore for a week. That was a
while ago now and with time and training I have improved a lot as I
discovered when I made my first triathlon in Hoi An, Vietnam last
weekend August 23, 2008. Over the last few months I have done a lot
more cycling and improved my position, speed and distance. I think
in August I did around 800km which included the race and a heritage
ride in Vietnam. I
started with the idea of the triathlon in May 2008. At that time I
was riding around 250 km per month and doing some workouts in the
gym. I had the chance to start going to the swimming pool 3 or 4
times per week during the lunch hour and I decided to train for a
triathlon. I choose the Olympic distance because I felt it was
achievable, even for a guy with little training like me. I never
really swam freestyle much and when I started swimming again I went
for 30 minutes sessions at a time. After the first month I was doing
more and more and by the end of the second month I felt my style had
improved and a more natural position in the water and I could swim
the 1.5km Olympic distance without any problem. I wasn’t swimming it
fast at first but the speed came over time.Starting to run again was the hardest and most challenging for me. Last time I did any seriously running was in High School 12 years ago. The first time back I was running my pace was around 9 to 10 km per hour over no more than 5km in distance. I got really sore legs for days but I stuck to it working in the correct cardio ranges and I was able to improve. My training at the moment consists of three 10km running session which I cover in 51 minutes per session. Most days I swim and run or swim and ride, I rest and recover 1 or 2 days per week and I do it because I love it and its fun. I don’t expect anything from it but I love being fit and it is so satisfying to be able to do something I wasn’t able to previously do.  I
got in contact with KP from STRIC Shanghai Tri Club and we spoke
about racing and he said to join the Club. I didn’t say much as I
was a little confronted as some of the Club members were quite good,
winning races all around Asia. I found out they happen to be a bunch
of very nice and welcoming people that offer me advices and
encouragement and shared their experiences. This was very good and
gave me the confidence I needed to commit to a race.On race day I arrived early to the transition area and set up my gear with common sense, placing it in order as I needed it like KP suggested. After I got my body marked with my race number I went for an easy 10 run, so slow than even the flies overtake me. It was an afternoon race and in transition it was the hottest part of the day, around 1pm. I was covered with sun block and sweat, but feeling good. I swam a little and go to the start line 5 min before the race. A few seconds before the start, I had 136 heart rate, pretty high as I was a little nervous. The swim was two laps with a 50m run back to the start for the second lap. The first lap swimming was nice, I tried to draft behind some faster swimmers, get a few kicks and ended giving some too. The run between the laps was difficult as I felt a pang in my ribs and I was panting, my heart rate was quite high. I went back to the water for the second lap very slowly until I could swim. I lost a minute there but I need it to focus for the second lap. My plan was to keep as close as possible to the buoys and to swim as many unnecessary meters, keeping an eye on the flags near the finish and get it done.  I
arrive to my first transition tired but with a very clear idea of
what I have to do thanks to Freddy and KP for the tips. Clean the
sand off my feet with a bottle of water, put the race belt, helmet,
glasses, gloves and shoes, take a deep breath and go running to the
bike mounting line. Not a fast transition but secure and I didn’t
forget anything. On the bike I didn't had to think, just push forward. A glucose at the start as the swim was hard on me and I needed to refuel, another one at the half way mark (20km). My plan was to hydrate drinking plenty of fuel and keep an eye on the heart rate. My plan was to relax and enjoy my pace, say hello to all the people I overtake, being careful on the corners, looking for bumps, potholes, etc... I arrive into transition two feeling very relax and comfortable until I had to start running. This is where I felt I was tired. The first lap was hard, in a mental way. I was having doubts "can I make it?", until I realize that I can make it, maybe not as fast as I will like, but of course I can finish... The 2nd lap was better more fluid running, not so rigid, and the last one was even better. The last 500 m I increased the pace and in the last 150 m I had a sprint finish with a guy I left behind in the red carpet crossing the finishing line. I was so happy finishing as I had set up my goal of finishing this event in less than 3 hours which I did. My final results: Total Time: 2 hours 50 minutes 25 seconds Overall Place: 19th Age Group Under 30’s Place: 4th Swim: 37 minutes 12 seconds Transition 1: 1 minute 37 seconds Bike: 1 hour 12 minutes and 28 seconds Transition 2: 1 minute 13 seconds Run: 57 minutes 52 seconds I'm really looking forward to my next race. - Miguel Huelamo Triathlete and STRIC member |
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STRIC - Shanghai Tri Club is a
free and open club. We take no responsibility for injury during events
or training. |
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