It was a day at the beach that I would never forget. It was a day at the beach that would mean a lot of firsts for me. It was a day at the beach for an aquathlon. It was Camaya Coast Aquathlon day last May 29. I made it to Camaya HQ at around 4 am. I registered and I was on the bus headed for Camaya. As much as I hated bus rides, the ride to Camaya was a pleasant one. Sharing the ride with the Endure peeps is a joy. I lost all my fears of motion sickness during the bus ride. It was a long ride but it was a fun one.

We got to Camaya a little after 9 am.

It was quite a ride but it was worth it. We took a boat to Camaya cove and the boat ride proved to be one of my worsts. I sat in the middle of a boat which really seemed comfortable when the boat wasn’t all that full yet but it soon turned into a convection oven ready to cook me up well done. To add to the heat, my motion sickness kicked in and I felt a little dizzy. I always had this puking feeling whenever I would do big races and I had one at the race, both figuratively and literally.

The boat ride was finally over and I was so relieved that I didn’t hurl my guts out on Mike and Marvin and I bet they were too. We were greeted by the staple TRAP emcee upon arriving and it was a joy. It was as if Camaya was waiting for us and we felt like VIP’s. We got our customary drink and we got ourselves bodymarked. I was sweet number 18.

Good old coach Rick Reyes briefed us about the race and the course. It was fairly simple and we were off the the starting gates for a mass start. The aquathletes along with the trail runners all lined up and we all went blazing at around 10:30.

The first 3 kilometer run on the trail was fairly easy. I wasn’t anything as heavy and technical compared to Timberland’s trail course so I was comfortable going fast into the trail.

I was looking good up until the first part of the run. I completed the 3 kilometer trail run at around 30minutes. I got to transition right away. I took off my socks and my shoes and got my goggles ear plugs and I was in the water before you could say Camaya Coast Aquathlon.

I felt good going into my first 500 meters of the 1500 meter swim. The water was cool and serene. It was a sight to see the small fish swimming right under me. I felt like aquaman at that point. I kept my pace and I was able to complete the first 500 in 15 minutes. I was happy with it and I kept on swimming until I complete 1000 meters. I was still on target because I finished the 1000 meters in 30 minutes. A finish time of 45 minutes in the swim wasn’t too far away. As soon as I reached shore at the end of my second loop, I felt dizzy. The waves were a little stronger and I think when I was swimming, my motion sickness kicked in and it really put me out of whack. I had to sit on the beach of a while. I puked a little. I even took off my swim cap to relieve the pressure on my head but it never helped. I went back in the water dizzy and sick. My world was spinning.

I tried to swim properly but the throbbing feeling in my head got worse every time I submerged my head. I can’t remember how many times I stopped at the buoy to recompose myself but it was a lot. I even puked in the water while I was holding on to the buoy. I kept on swimming. I alternated between breast stroke and free style and I eventually finished the last 500 meters in 30 minutes.

I was so relieved to get out of the water but my dizziness didn’t end just yet. I puked once again when I was putting on my shoes. I was close to quitting at that point but since I already completed the hard part, I could easily run the last part of the race.

I thought I would be able to run of the spinning but I wasn’t. The spinning went on even after walking off the whole length of the beach. It made me walk the rest of the run and it game me a really really bad time. I was the last man to finish that day but I am still thankful that I did.

I was still feeling dizzy at this point but this is team endure goofing off.

A big congratulations to all the girls name Pepsi, Tiff, Zinnia and Ellen for bagging podium finishes. Team ShEndure represent!

I will remember to drink Bonamine next time I swim in the sea.