PTO Asian Open

5th place...again.

Introduction

Unaffiliated report as if written by Sam Long.

It was really great to come and see what Singapore is about and I've really enjoyed my time here.

This race was always going to be tough with an insane group of swimmers. These PTO races are super competitive and a great opportunity to race the best and learn from the experience.

Travelling with a two week old baby at home is a massive sacrifice for our family. It's been a bit of a whirlwind having just done the US Open, now the Asian Open and then off to Finland in just over a week for 70.3 World Champs.

The Tools

Category	Brand
Trisuit	Zoot
Wetsuit	Aquasphere
Bike	Trek
Helmet	BOA
Sunnies	Oakley
Bike Shoes	Giro
Run Shoes	Asics

The Swim

Alone and Behind

Time: 00:29:36

The swim is always going to be topical for me and there are always lots of haters insisting I'll never be successful with my relatively poor swim.

That being said, I feel I had a decent swim and swam to my current ability. Before the race I was rated second to last by tri-rating and I swam second to last. We had eight out of the top 10 swimmers here, with just Jan and Alisair missing, so I knew it was likely that I would be swimming alone with such a competitive field.

It was still very tough with the exceptionally hot water and mentally, it was a battle being so far behind the leaders. The crowd really picked me up in T1 and made a big difference to my state of mind.

The Bike

Hot Hot Hot

Time: 01:51:54

When I got onto the bike I knew it was time to get to work! I could see the packs working together and this is definitely a course where cycling with other athletes would help a lot.

I was still overheated after the swim! I think it took me about half of the bike to eventually get my core temperature down. There were two u-turns so I got to see my competitors often and I wasn't pulling back any time. I kept my baby boy and Lara in mind to give me strength during this tough time.

Eventually, I started to make up big time at about the 5th lap and I could see many athletes starting to come back to me. I suspect they all went too hard and were not paying the price.

Belief and Committment

Photo credit: PTO

The Run

Hanging Tough

Time: 01:05:47

I started the run in 9th place and quickly set my goal: let me match what I did in the PTO US open and get into the top 5.

Jason West sped out of transition and I was already about 20s behind him! By about 6km I had already caught a few guys. I could just see Daniel Baekkegard ahead. I've had many tough battles against him so I knew it was going to be difficult to catch him.

Unfortunately I had a severe stomach cramp on the last lap possibly from dehydration. I had to try every trick in the book to stop the cramping and not walk.

It came right but as I had passed Daniel I had Denis Chevrot speed past me! I stuck with him as long as I could but had to settle for 5th.

Closing Thoughts

General Satisfaction

Overall I think I am satisfied. I've never been out of the top 10 at a PTO Open so that record stays intact. Essentially I moved up fron 19th to 5th over the bike and run. I'm going to keep the humiliation of being along at the back in the swim close to my heart in the coming months to motivate me.

What Went Well

My believe and committment made me really proud during what was a tough race and many moments where I could have "given up" the fight. I felt I showed courage lining up against the best swimmers with no place to hide.

Need to do better

I'm working really hard on my swim and I want to be better but it is going to take a long time. I need to get into the front pack and once I'm there then the whole racing dynamic will change!

Results

Category	Result
Overall Time	03:29:10
Overall Position	5
Swim Time	00:29:36
Bike Time	01:51:54
Run Time	01:05:47