More please!
May 25, 2008
Well all the training i’ve been doing the past couple of weeks paid off this weekend.
What a day! It was amazing! Intense! I can’t find the right word to describe the event other than WOW.
It started the night before the race. I spent the evening preparing my things for the morning event. I had an early dinner then started packing my bag.
Check list:
1. Spare Bike in car
2. Triathlon suit
3. Goggles
4. Running shoes
5. Sun glasses
6. Sun block
7. Cap
8. Towel
9. The list goes on …
After a good night’s sleep i woke up at 4:00am. I was so excited, prayed, had a light breakfast and read a few pages from a book i’ve been reading recently.
I left the house at around 6:00am and headed to the club where the race will start. Registered my name and got a stand for the bike at the transition zone.
Before i know it i was in the middle of the crowd about to run to the sea and do the swimming part of the race. It all happened so fast.
There i was in the middle of the crowd swimming away. Trying not to hit anyone while swimming. It was an amazing feeling. We finished the 750 meters and i was off running to get my bike.
After a slow transition where i had to wash my feet before wearing my shoes because we were running on the beach i was good to go.
Took some of the energy gel i was carrying and i was peddling away. 5.. 10.. 15.. 17 kilometers. 5 to go i thought to myself. I have to catch the two people i see infront of me. I got them. I dropped the bike at the transition zone, put on my cap and started running. Or should i say wobbling away.
I couldn’t! my lower back was killing me. I couldn’t run, i think i pulled a muscle during the swim but i managed to get myself together when my brother caught up to me and asked if i was alright. I thought i have to try and keep up. Just don’t think about the pain.
In the distance i could see the finish line. 200 meters to go. I can’t believe it is about to be over. Give it all you’ve got. Come on! i told myself. I sprinted to the end and was so happy to see the welcoming face of my wife at the finish line.
I raced for 1 hour and 45 minutes which is not so good for a triathelete but i think it is decent for a first timer that only had two weeks notice before the event.
All i could think about after the race is “I want more!” When is the next race? I loved being surrouned by such fit people. It is ridiculous seeing how healthy and fit the competitiors were. Mainly expats from Saudi. I so want to reach that level.
I will continue training the same way and inshallah reach the top one day!
Race stats:
Swim: 750 meters
Bike: 22 KM
Run: 5 KM
Running detailed stats to be posted once i sync my ipod
Stats
Distance: 3.33 miles
Time: 37:58
Celebrity
May 22, 2008
So i get a call last week from our Head of International Marketing.
She was asked by the COO to check if they can use my smile for and AD, thats right MY SMILE 
I didn’t have a problem with it.
Before i know it, i was on a flight to London for two days. Shot the AD and came back last night!
I’ll post the AD once it gets approved by our company. There were other people there too, but they were from ad agencies, not people i work with. I felt like such a celebrity! Got a small changing room, make up room etc…
When they were shooting the AD, it was amazing. So many people watching and TVs everywhere; Executive Producers, Directors, producers, graphic designers you name it, all watching on. Talk about pressure. Good thing the only thing they needed from me was to SMILE.
So basically, i went to London, smiled, came back to bahrain
Time to focus on the triathlon this weekend, i’m so pumped up for it! I bought me a cool triathlon suit from London for the event, talk about good timing for the trip.
Swim and Run
May 18, 2008
I know i’m boring you with all these training posts, please bear with me, it really helps me structure my next sessions when i write about my previous ones.
My second, and most likely last, brick training session before the big race.
Went out for a swim and run this morning.
Swam for around 500 meters and ran 6 Kilometers. I know it is not the exact distance as the race on Friday but i’m just trying to get my muscles warmed up.
Running stats;
Distance: 3.76 miles
Time: 34:46 minutes
Pace: 9:14 minutes / mile
Calories: 499
Total Distance for all runs: 25.93 miles
Total Time for all runs: 3.7 hours
Check out my NIKE PAGE for a cool running graph of all my runs.
First Brick Training Session
May 17, 2008
You might be thinking, what’s with all this training? Well, even if you’re not i’ll tell you anyway!
I’m participating in my first ever Triathlon this coming Friday. It’s what they call a “Sprint Triathlon”, organized by the Bahrain Roadrunners Club. What is a “Spring Triathlon”? Well it is a semi extreme event that includes three intense activities, one after the other.
It starts at 7:30 am with a 750 meter swim in open water, ie. the sea.
It’s followed by a 22 KM bike ride
It concludes with a 5 KM run.
Well i’ve been training intensely for the past week because i only decided i will compete two week before the event. I’ve been doing a lot of running just to get into shape. Yesterday i had my first brick training session, which only means that i combined to activities in my training session.
The session was a 22 KM bike ride followed by a 5 KM run.
It felt great! I just kept on thinking why didn’t i do this earlier!
I’m confident about my biking abilities and running pace, my main concern is the swim. I can swim, obviously, but i never swam for 750 Meters nonstop which is the worrying part.
I went for a swim this morning with the guys and we attempted to do the distance. We managed to complete it but our pace was slow! It was difficult and i can only imagine how tough it’ll be on the day being surrounded by over a hundred other swimmers.
I’m so excited, i can’t wait. Just talking about it gets my heart pumping!
Well here are my stats for the brick training session.
Running Distance: 3.38 miles
Time: 29:20 minutes
Pace: 8:39 minutes / mile
Calories: 449
Total distance for all runs: 22.17 miles
Total time for all runs: 3.14 hours
2.51 Miles
May 16, 2008
Evening run before dinner with family. I was supposed to go out for an early morning run today but found it difficult to get out of bed in early because i was at a concert last night and didn’t get home till late.
Decided to make it up before going out to dinner.
Went out for a quick run. It was kind of windy so i’m happy with stats considering i was running into wind for half of the distance.
Time: 20:00 minutes
Distance: 2.51 miles
Pace: 7:57 minutes/mile
Calories: 333
Total distance for all runs: 18.78 miles
Total time for all runs: 2.6 hours
3.17 miles, somewhat the most consistent run
May 13, 2008
Went out for another run this evening.
I went with my wife to the nearby walk / run path. She walked around the path and i ran trying to impress her.
It was the most consistent run so far. I was steady and kept the same pace for the most part with only one exception that i can’t really explain, it was around the beginning of the run where my pace just seemed to drop so much. I don’t know what was going on. Overall i feel happy about the run.
Check out my NIKE PAGE for details and a graph of the run and previous ones as well.
Time: 26:07 minutes
Distance: 3.17 miles
Pace: 8:14 min/mile
Calories: 420
Total Time for all runs: 2.3 hours
Total distance for all runs: 16.27 miles
3.12 miles
May 11, 2008
I just got home from an evening run.
I feel good, after the extremely difficult Saturday noon run i had to push myself to go run this evening because my body was aching and muscles were stiff.
Nothing beats this satisfying feeling of taking a cold shower after a good run.
Time: 25:17 minutes
Distance: 3.12 miles
Pace: 8 min/mile
Calories 414
Total Distance to date: 13.09 miles
Total Time: 1.89 hours
4.63 miles
May 11, 2008
I did something that is so not wise this weekend.
I meant to wake up extremely early on Saturday to go for a quick jog but unfortunately couldn’t get my self out of bed in time. So by the time i woke up and finished working on a number of chores around the house it was already 11:15 am.
I thought i have to get in a run because i didn’t do much exercise the week before and i wasn’t feeling too good about myself, energy level was kind of low. So i convinced myself to go out for the run at 11:30 am, just when the sun is at its hottest!
I almost died out there! I was the only one running along the walking / running path and everyone that passed by in their car looked at me like i was nuts! Anyway i barely finished the run. Stats were bad mainly due to heat conditions but when it was all done i felt great about myself!
Time: 45:06 minutes
Distance: 4.63 miles
Pace: 9.43 min/mile
Calories: 615
Total Distance: 9.97 miles
Total Time: 88 minutes
