Laguna Phuket Triathlon : Why you should race here?
It is amazing to know that one triathlon event has been held for years after year for 25th consecutive times and ranked as the most running triathlon race in Asia.
Laguna Phuket Triathlon : Why you should race here?
It is amazing to know that one triathlon event has been held for years after year for 25th consecutive times and ranked as the most running triathlon race in Asia.
Even more this event has been held in my home country, Thailand since 1994.
Why this event is still popular among triathletes?
Why people keep coming back and the most important…
why you should race here?
Let's talk about this race. "The 25th Laguna Phuket Triathlon"
Laguna Phuket Triathlon was first held at Bangtao Beach , Phuket, Thailand in 1994. The first edition (Swim 1.8 km, Bike 57 km, Run 12 km) was won by Mike Pigg from USA. Since 2016 the race distance was adjusted to swim 1.8 km , bike 50 km, run 12km.
The uniqueness of this race starts from swim part which contains two bodies of water; 1250 meters in sea water and 550 meters in lagoon. Fifty kilometres of cycling takes you through Phuket's rubber plant roads and beach front roads such as Nai-thon and Bang-Tao Beach. Finally you will run two laps of 6 km pass Laguna Phuket Hotels area; Angsana, Laguna club and golf course. Then Finally the finish line is waiting for you at The Laguna Grove which is also transition area (T1 and T2)
All in all, this event is a perfect race-cation for all triathletes and their families. There is also a running event (2, 5 and 10 km) on Saturday evening which is perfect for non-triathlete to participate.
Here is my race note of 2018 event.
Pre-race
I had quite not a good sleep on Saturday night but on Friday night I was lucky to get a straight 9 hours sleep. It was quite strange as I did not feel any sleepy or low energy before the race start. This race is likely to be my last race of 2018 so I was very focus and ready to execute when the race day come.
Swim
I tried to follow my coach advice by not pushing too hard during this part and focus on pacing and drafting to faster swimmer. I started to pick up pace when swimming back to the shore and in the lagoon. Water conditions in both water was calm and clean on race day. Safety for athletes was superb as I saw many canoes with lifeguards along swim course in the sea. In the lagoon, two long stretch ropes were marked as one big lane to swim with lots of life guard along the way. All in all, the swim part for me was quite a good one and I felt great after finishing it.
Bike
In T1, I tried to be fast and effective and leave T1 as soon as possible. During 0-20 km I rode conservatively and made sure I had calorie and sodium enough for the hill part. During the main road was a part I can ride fast and produce good power. Unfortunately, this part was very very short.
For the hill part, I took my coach advice by not getting up too hard. In my opinion, the first hill before Nai-Thon beach was the hardest one for me. After that it was still difficult but I found that I can climb it quite effective even at the Tri-Sara hill.
My biggest problem was I cannot ride fast during down hill part , especially on this course because I did not want to risk for a crash which could happen easily during downhill. So I lost lots of time during the downhill part.
Once I reached the last 10km, I was able to ride with more speed again but the course was very technical; many turns and corners. So I could not make up time back for the time I lost on the mountain part.
The safety during this part was ok but not as good as swim part, especially during the main road. I had to decrease my speed a few time to give way to cars and motorcycles which cut into cycling race lane. Two aid stations were filled with eager and enthusiast volunteers to hand you bottles of water and electrolyte.
Run
I started running by feel in a slow pace and started to pick up more speed until I finished first lap. During the second lap my leg muscles ; hamstrings, calves , quadriceps were about to get cramped. So I had to reduce speed otherwise the cramp will stop me.
In the last 2 km, I tried so hard to give it all I got but It was like my legs have no strength and power left. So I finished this part around 1:10 hr which is ok but not the time I wanted to finished.
The running lane during this part, especially the first 2 km, was quite narrow and difficult to run side by side with other athletes. Running lane in the golf course was probably the best part of running as you had some shades and fresh air to breath and relax. All aid stations during 12 km run were awesome as you can find unlimited of water, coke, ice and electrolyte.
Post-race
My official finish time is 3:34:15 Hours. It was quite a mixed of feeling when I crossed the finish line. I felt glad to be able to ride strongly through those hills during bike course. In the same time, I felt a bit of disappointed not to be able to maintain my run pace during the last 5-6 km.
Above of all, it was a great experience for me to race this event again for the tenth time. I also felt delighted for race organiser for holding this event for such a long time and I am honoured to be a part of it.
TC Triathlon
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