The TRI-Factor Series is one of Singapore’s long-standing Multi-Sports series which began in 2009 and has since grown from strength to strength. And it is an inclusive event engaging participants of all ages, demographics and abilities to take part in a triathlon and try out the sport.

Click here to view the TriFactor Triathlon 2019 photos.

So as such, there are several categories for the masses and these are Long (2.25km Swim / 42km Bike / 15km Run), Standard (1.5km Swim / 36km Bike / 10km Run), Sprint (750m Swim / 18km Bike / 5km Run) and Freshman (200m Swim  / 12km Bike / 2km Run) categories for adults, as well as a Kids category (100m Swim / 6km Bike / 1km Run) for the young ones.

Participated in the Freshman category 

Due to other commitments that I also had on the same day, I took part in the Freshman category which was scheduled to flag off at 9:50am this morning. 

I reached Angsana Green, which was the race location, at about 9:15am – which would give me enough time to go to the restroom, set my transition area up and get my body markings done.

Then after that, I hung around the race village and took a few photos of myself, while waiting for my race start.

Beginning the Race

It turns out that the Freshman start time had been slightly delayed – and it was 10:09am when I finally began my swim.

Swim

For the Freshman category, we had been tasked with swimming two loops of the 100m circuit.

And I would say that the swim this time around, was better than I had expected – because I managed to do freestyle the whole way.

The way out had been relatively smooth going for me and I rounded the green buoy with ease. 

But there had been some current which I could feel on the way back and which had smashed me against the lane rope on a few occasions. However, the current was, thankfully, not too overpowering for me this time around. I suppose it could have been worse.

In that sense, I was happy that I could at least remain calm and concentrate on my stroke, without panicking this time around. Usually, if I panic in the water, I would tend to switch to swimming breaststroke.

However, as this had been a two-lap swim, it had been pretty demoralising though, to see several of the others heading out of the water – when I still had one more lap to go.

Transition 1: Swim to Bike

When my swim was finally over, I got out of the water already feeling exhausted and having to catch my breath, and walked over to T1 to pick up my bike.

Bike

The bike leg was quite good. For this leg, we cycled two loops of the 6km circuit, which would take us from Angsana Green in the direction of carpark F2 and G. 

It was getting slightly warm by this point but the weather was still bearable. 

As well, there was also a slight bit of breeze in the final 3km of the bike leg when we were cycling near to the sea. It was also a great chance to recover a little bit after the swim. So this was probably the most enjoyable part of the race and my ride was over all too soon.

Transition 2: Bike to Run

The sun was already out in full force by the time I headed into T2 to rack my bike and head out for the 2km run. 

Fortunately the run was short, but due to the heat, I quickly realised that my heart rate was already in the Steady zone when I began running. 

Run

The running route brought us from Angsana Green, towards the cable ski park with the u-turn point for the Freshman distance around the seafood restaurant. 

I was happy to see this u-turn, as it meant that I was halfway done with the searing run. Running is usually my strongest leg, but the heat was a real dampener and did not help at all.

I gradually picked up the pace after the halfway point, and then with 100m left to go, I sprinted through the finishing arch, to complete the 2km run segment in slightly over 11 minutes. 

Finishing 

Crossing the finish line, I was happy that I was done with the triathlon. 

And after catching my breath again, I headed over to the medal collection point, where I picked up my race medal and a bread roll.

Race Village 

Back at the race village, I checked out some of the booths that had been available there. 

And these had included a hydration booth provided by Pere Ocean where there was water available, as well as other booths from Oakley and Bikes n Bits. A massage tent was on-site too, to help athletes to recover after their respective races.

Also, there was also a VIP tent too, with a generous breakfast buffet consisting of food such as chicken wings, char kway teow, bite-sized pizzas, cream rolls and egg tarts. 

All the food was rather yummy and it had been a great way to replenish my energy after finishing the race.

And I spotted a few corporate tents too, where athletes were congregating with their colleagues.

Had A Great Time

Overall I would say that I’d had a great time at the TRI-Factor Triathlon and that it was a good morning workout to begin a Sunday with. 

So I would definitely be back again.

Thanks TRI-Factor Series for the race slot.