3rd Sprint Triathlon: Personal best! =D

Just yesterday morning I had my third sprint triathlon race. It had been quite a while since my second race and this time I wanted to make sure that absolutely everything was set correctly so that nothing could go wrong.

Was quite early at the starting line therefore I had ample time to set up my stuff in the transition area and also to speak with some training mates. My targets were already set weeks ago, time to beat 1hr 20 minutes and if I'm feeling like doing a miracle, 1hr 18 minutes.

Got in the water few minutes before the start, concentrated and off we go. I did a steady swim while trying to keep my heart rate down as possible. Got out of the water after 17 minutes, not the best of times but I was aware and to be honest I was trying to finish the swim in 16 minutes but that's not a problem, I could make up the lost ground during the run and bike.

Transition 1 (swim to bike) was flawless! Manages to complete the bike section within 36 minutes 21 seconds. Was sure that till that time I was going to do a personal best however I wasn't sure about the sub 1 hr 20 mins target.

me (on the right) during the bike section

Transition 2 was fast too and without any flaws. Began the running section with a good pace, did not cramp at all and kept pushing and finally I managed to finish the race in 1 hr 19 minutes 19 seconds. :D

I was really happy with my time but now I will be competing in the season's last race and I am making it a point to complete the final race within 1 hr 18 minutes!

That means only one thing...train harder and smarter! :)

Completing my objective was only possible with the help, assistance and suggestions of my coach Fabio Spiteri and with the patience and help of my Fiancee Erica Grech :D Thanks a lot

Until next post, stay tuned for more updates.

Malcolm

Dare to be there - I'm in! XD

So, following my last post on this blog, I asked my followers to send an SMS so that I could take past in the "Dare to be there" TV Show. First of all I would like to thank all the friends, relatives and whoever sent an SMS with my name. Secondly, I am proud to say that I made it through the final selection and "I'M IN!!!!!" :D

I was extremely happy when I saw the result and I cannot thank you enough, since without your SMSs, I couldn't make it through this selection! THANKS AGAIN!!! :D

Just yesterday we had our first challenge and it was REALLY fun! All the athletes were divided into 9 teams of 3 persons each. We competed against each other by doing archery, paintball (capture the flag), paintball (sharp shooting), slingshot (with water balloons) and knife throwing.

I did really good in certain sports and moderately good in other....considering that I never threw knives, used a paintball gun or held a bow and arrow in my hand I am pretty satisfied with the result!! :)

Next challenge will be held next month and apparently it should be a water based challenge/s.

Triathlon training hasn't stopped, although last week I couldn't train as much as I usually do due to personal priorities. Will try to train harder this week. Also, I am really looking forward for my third race...hopefully nothing happens to my bike and I can give 100% and do a personal best of sub 1hr20mins! :)

Till next time, take care and thanks again!!

Secondary objective: Dare to be there Challenge (TV reality show)

It's been quite some time since my last post. So here's a quick update.

Training has been going good however have been training intermittently due to other (more important) priorities I have in life. Have been doing more weights especially in the upper (core)are to try and improve the swim. Running is going quite good however haven't been concentrating on speed these last weeks. Concentrating more on the bike to run part. Don't want to fade and have cramps in the first 1 - 2kms :) Cycling I'm improving and I am trying to gain more speed and control the lactic acid in my legs as well.

In addition to training I have recently done an audition for the "Dare to be there Challenge" which will be aired on ONE TV within the coming months (end of summer I presume). I have been shortlisted however now I need all your support to make the last step and be able to participate in the program.

Please send an SMS to 50614441and write Malcolm Aber in order to vote for me. :)


Thanks

2012 Championship - Race 2

Last Sunday the second race of this years' championship took place at Salina/Coast road area. Everything was set, training was done and quite honest I was quite confident that I could do a good personal best. In fact my aim was to finish the race in 1 hr 18 minutes.

Started the swim and was feeling good so kept swimming whilst holding a steady stroke. I finished the swim in 00:17:46 (2 minutes 8 seconds faster than the first race). I know it's still slow however I did not want to risk hyperventilating during the swim, at least not during my second race.

Went through the transition in 44 seconds, (9 seconds slower) however I knew that this would happen since during the first race the cycling shoes were already clipped on the bike, slipped and crashed just after the transition while wearing the shoes and I didn't want to risk it again. So I had to wear the cycling shoes before taking the bike and then just clip in and go, and that's why it took me 9 extra seconds. I was quite confident that I would make a personal best in the bike since I had cycled a lot this month so 9 seconds wouldn't be a problem.

During the first kilometer of cycling I could feel something bumping on my back wheel...felt like as small bump every revolution. Immediately, my first thought was that I had a slow puncture or a pointed stone got stuck on the tyre itself. Suddenly, during my second kilometer I could clearly hear and feel that something is wrong with my bike. The bumping sound increased dramatically! I started trying to inspect my bike while still trying to keep up the race pace.

It took me about 2 minutes to identify what's wrong on my bike. Basically, the rear tyre came off the rim and the tube followed. I had to stop because I thought that if I take a puncture during a sprint triathlon I will would stop. I did not want a D.N.F. near my name. As a quick fix I deflated the tyre from 120PSI to about 30 PSI, tried to put the tube back in but no use. I had to continue the race with a very low pressure tyre, the tyre and the tube constantly scraping to the brake shoes. This will not work, after some meters I would have a puncture for sure. I quickly loosened the brake shoe as much as possible and tried to pedal again.

Fortunately enough, only the tyre was scraping the brake shoes now, meaning I could continue the race however I had to be very very careful and to avoid potholes due to the low pressure tyre. If I take a pothole, that could lead to a puncture and also damaging the rim, something which I definitely didn't want to go through.

After some kilometers I could smell burnt rubber and I was really afraid of having a puncture at that point. At times I had to stop pedaling to avoid lactic acid in my feet however this was not possible. The first time I stopped pedaling, the bike almost came to a halt after 10-15 meters. I immediately realized that this would not be an easy ride and had to continue pedaling whilst being cautious of potholes. Finished the bike in 38 minutes 58 seconds (1 minute 30 seconds slower than the first race).

At that point I knew that I had to make a quick transition and a good run in order to stick to the 1 hour 23 minutes 38 seconds. Transition lasted 35 seconds (4 seconds faster than last race) but now I could feel that my feet were already in pain. I wanted a personal best so I had to run at lest 5 minute/km.

Managed to stick to my 5 minute/km and finished the race in 1 hour 23 minutes 22 seconds. Did a personal best by 16 seconds. Was really angry about the bike part but I much now focus on the next race, within a month and a half. I have to train more, focus on a faster swimming style, have to get a faster bike time and a faster run. I want to finish the next race in 1 hr 18 minutes or less!!

This is what is left of the tyre:

Second race of the season

Since when I finished my first race, I have been working hard on my weaknesses and practicing not to do any further mistakes. The second race will take place within 11 days and I can now say that I can and will swim better, cycle faster and maybe run faster too.

I am confident that I will be completing the race in less time. In fact my aim for the next race is 1hr 18 minutes...maybe I am aiming too high...who knows...we'll see! :)

My first Sprint Triathlon - Official triathlete

Last Sunday I raced with Malta's top triathletes in the first Sprint of the Maltese Championship. I had been preparing for this day since last November. Lost weight, gained muscle and now I can proudly say that I am official triathlete! =D *wiiii!!*

The night before the race I ate a plate full of pasta so that I would have some carbs to use during the race and set the alarm to 5am. Usually, I do not like to wake up this early however yesterday I woke up at 4:15am. Maybe because I was quite excited since it's my first official race :)

I had everything set up the day before so theoretically, all I had to do is, wear the trisuit, and drive to the Coast Road (opposite Coastline Hotel). My fiancée also woke up early (at 5am) so that she would help me if I needed anything and also give me some encouragement during the race. Drove off to the race venue and while I was taking out my bike I noticed that I had a flat on the back wheel and I had also forgot the water bottle at home (too late to go and get it by that time).

Called Fabio (my coach) to check if he had a spare tire tube and a spare water bottle. The phone call ended with a positive answer and within 5 minutes I had a new tire tube and a water bottle. I quickly set-up my transition area, fixed my flat and did some warming up before the race. Needless to say, the water was really cold at 7:15am but we all had to go in and swim 750m....*BRRRR*

Ready.....set.....GO!!!!!!.......had a good start for the first 150 - 200 meters but I had heavy breathing problems so I had to switch to a recovery swim, thus I started swimming using the breast stroke. I tried various times to swim freestyle again however I could not cope with my breathing. Then I thought, I'll swim it using the breast stroke and then push during the bike and run.

One of the golden rules of triathlons states: NEVER TRY SOMETHING NEW DURING A RACE!....what did I do? The opposite!

Since it was my first race I knew that I had to clip my bike shoes to the bike before the race starts and attach 2 rubber bands to the bike frame so to keep the shoes upright. Got out of the water, grabbed my bike, mounted it and the rubber bands did not break with first pedal stroke so I decided to break them manually while still moving. Broke the first one, no problem...while I broke the second rubber band, I swerved with my racer (due to lack of momentum) and fell from the bike. :( Got up as quickly as possible, mounted the bike again....did 4 pedal strokes so to get a good momentum and then I got both feet in the bike shoes to start cycling.

Did my 20km bike, then off to the running part. Suffered from calf cramps during the first 1km however it felt better after a while.

Finished the race in 1 hour 23 minutes. quite happy with the result however I am determined to cut 3 - 4 minutes of my time if I swim better. Therefore, I decided to swim a whole lot more in the open water until the next race (within a month I believe). If I can swim 750m all freestyle I would have already gained 4 minutes, without any efforts.

Well done also goes to Keith Galea who managed to finish the race with an impressive time of 59 minutes, 39 seconds!

Last but not least, I would like to thank all those who encouraged me before and during the race, especially me fiancée, Erica Grech! :) Thanks sweet!

My first Sprint Triathlon - 2 days to go!!

With ONLY 2 days to go for my first sprint triathlon, I am quite confident that I will complete the race in a good time. I already set up some target times...I am sure that I can do better but since it's my first time, I don't want to risk suffering from another stitch during the race and having to slow down or walk!

Just yesterday I swam with a friend of mine (who is also having his first debut next Sunday) the exact same route as we shall be doing during the race. To my surprise it wasn't that different in open water. In terms of buoyancy I didn't feel any difference, the only difference in open water is that you have to perform sighting once in a while because you do not have a line at the bottom to guide you. after swimming half course, I could feel that breathing in open water is different....harder maybe....but I am determined to overcome it too!

Just after the swim comes my favorite part, biking! then straight after the bike part, running! I am sure that it will be extremely fun to do after all that hard training!

Good luck to everybody who is participating in next Sunday's sprint! Have fun! :D