Tri Factor Swim

Tri Factor Swim. The first race of a four-part race series organised by Orange Room.
The swim is held at Tanjong Beach, Sentosa.

Tanjong Beach is a sheltered bay, which should provide an excellent venue for swimmers who is planning to do their first Open Water Swim.

Arriving at the Beach at 7.30am, I was surprised to find the beach pretty quiet.
Not really your kind of race venue. =)

Met up with a couple of like-minded triathletes, Sywog, LT, Tao, Yankee, Piglet, FrootLoops, Kia Liang, Jeslynda, Daniel Gan, Daniel Yong, Kristal, Kai, Eliza, Kah Han, Winnie,Corrinne, Donna, Boon Kiat and Dave.
The usual volunteers BananaMan30 and Sanjeev were there as well. =)

8am Race Briefing. Had a look at the swim circuit. Oh my, the water sure look choppy this morning!

8.15am Sounds horn and we are off!
Once again, I am the last man left standing in the water as the rest of the wave dashes ahead.
Hmm, chiong too early, u may pang chek later, I told myself.
Guys, you are doing a 3km swim, not 750m!!!

At the first U-turn, I was pleasantly surprised to find myself as the 2nd last swimmer.
Never mind, time will tell.

It wasn't long before the 1st jellyfish struck me on my ankle.
Ouch!!! Ignored the pain and let adrenaline take over.

Hmm, the sea water sure taste extremely salty today.
Did my sighting by targeting on the left side of the tower, but keep finding myself swim off course.
(It wasn't till the 3rd lap before I realised that the lane ropes is sagging very badly.)

In the midst of the swim, I find myself taking unusual amount of seawater as breathing becomes labourious.
Ahh...the bay where it open out to the open sea is bringing very choppy waves. My usual stroke and glide can't work, as I need to climb higher for breathing.
Instinctively, I started breathing out from the sides of my mouth.

Doing the U-turn at the far end of the beach, Nicholas Fang was staring at me.
Hmm, what have I done? I did not hit you leh.

Was stung by a jellyfish right across the wrist. Pain is intense but bearable.
Flashback of Singapore Biathlon 2007 started appearing. I dun wanna DNF again. I won't give up without a fight.

Looks like Wave 1 is the jellyfish clearing group. =S

Almost swam into a huge log which appear out of nowhere.
Tried to signal to the officials, but din see any around.
Hopefully they will see it and remove it.

Nearing the aid station, the water is clear and shallow.
I wanted and could have walked 50m in the water, but that would have defeated the purpose of this race, right?
Had a cup of water before I went into the water with Dave.

After another U-turn, Boon Kiat overtook me and thumbs up to me.
Haha, how did he recognise me?
Opps, dun tell me I just kicked you. Sorry, mate!!!

Once again, I hit the choppy waters and is forced to alter my swimming strokes.
Gotta remember to switch before I reach this area in the next 2 laps.

Reaching the far U-turn point, I realised why Nick was staring at me just now.
Must be complaining about me doing a shortcut.
Due to my super fogged out goggles, I missed the U turn point at the small buoy 5m away, which is positioned after the big buoy.

Had wanted to clear those fogged goggles, but after the awful jellyfish sting, I decided to keep it on.

Out of the water, slowly took 2 cups of water before re-entering the waters, only to see Winnie coming out of the sea and flying back in again.

Completing the turn, it is another whole new experience.
Ever felt like a raft floating in the open sea?
That is how bad the waves is right now.
You are literally rocking from left to right while swimming.
How to swim liddat?
Luckily, I din get seasick. =p
This is the same set of waves that I encountered as I went on to complete my 3rd and 4th laps.

Coming out of the water for the final lap, I caught up with Eliza.
Chatted her while swimming.
She just completed her 2nd lap and she thinks she will be late for work. Jia you, Eliza!

Coming out at the end of the swim, I make it cross the Finish Line in a time of 1:31:40.
Finished my bottle of Boost before I went around to kay-poh. =p

Finally met BFG in person. Nice meeting you! =)
When the results are out, was surprised to see Kristal timing was not displayed.

It turns out that Kristal got stung badly on the face and had decided to pulled out of the race.

Was treated to a static open water swimming display by a 3km competitor.
Went to warned the officials, only to be told that they have been monitoring him since his 1st lap (this is his 2nd lap).
They even send a safety to check on him, but he mentioned that he is fine.
Great determination.

Stay around a little while longer, before I proceed to have a shower before driving home.