#lovetri

I really need to get back on the blog. Yes, I went for a trail run. Yes, I found a beautiful location. And yes, I was my usual "incident magnet" self ... #sbtc_greenarmy #tzeromultisport #liveyourpotential #opmoverunners #runner #trilife #trichicks #lovethislife #lovetri #trailrunners (at Enoggera Dam)

1.9 km Swim, 48:47. "Take deep breath, calm down & swim again" - Yanti Ardie, Ironman Calm waves, cloudy sky, cool temperature, clear water, it was just a really damn good morning for an open water swim! Well, not if you had to run & swim with hundreds other people on a 5m wide & 200m long starting course with lots of kicking, punching, leg pulling, elbowing, pushing, colliding each other path on their swim. It was like my baptism to the world of triathlon. I literally swam on survival mode but thanks to mbak Yanti's advise, I managed to pull myself together and got through that chaotic swim start and swam back to shore safely. Personally, the swimming stage has been the most intimidating part of triathlon. It's the decisive first stage, to finish below cut off time (COT) and proceed to bike stage, or to fail and waste your months of training + expenses just to spend the rest of holiday with regrets. The swim itself was 1 of 2 main reasons why I boldly signed up for Ironman 70.3 Vietnam as my very first competitive triathlon. Just because I could swim 2,000m freestyle under 1 hour in 24m long swimming pool for a few chances, I convinced myself "Hey, I could do this!". With zero experience+knowledge in triathlon or open water swim & 4 months to race day, as advised by om Surya Lie (2x Ironman) to swim efficiently & conserve more energy for bike & run, I learned Total Immersion (TI) swimming technique from Youtube (keyword: Total Immersion tiswim). Through trial and errors in the pool 3x a week + 4x open water sessions with Tribuddies & JAQ, I then had more confident for the swim part. It was far from perfect TI technique but at least I managed to shave 5 minutes from correcting my form & maintaining consistency. Things I learned & wish could have done better on the swim: 1. More drills, intervals, bilateral breathing. 2. Open water sighting & testing the swim course. Extra distances = more energy + more time. 3. Stay calm. 4. Get a soft & anti-fogging goggles. 5. Get open water sessions as many as possible. #ironman703 #im703 #im703vietnam #swimbikerun #trilife #triathlon #triatworld #endurance #startrunfinishrepeat #lovetri #swimmer #noGoalTooBig