2nuksabroad: Abu Dhabi International Triathlon

We drove to Abu Dhabi this past weekend for the 3rd Abu Dhabi Intl Triathlon. We opted for the Sprint (750m, 50 km, 5 km) and there were choices for the Short (1500, 100 km, 10 km) or Long (3 km, 200 km, 21 km) course. It was a fantastic event - the venue was great, the race was well organized, and the weather cooperated with a nice 27C (as opposed to last year it was ~38C). The volunteers were telling us that people were fainting on the run...I can't imagine doing even the sprint in that kind of heat, let alone a 7-8hr day for the long course! This was the main reason for choosing the Sprint, not knowing how the heat would effect us. Myself, having a past of dehydration at Coeur D'Alene ironman in 29C, thought I best take it easy.

The drive from Muscat to AD is 500 km. We weren't sure what to expect at the border, having spoken to others who've crossed said it isn't all that straight forward. There are 2 separate checkpoints, 1 for Oman and 1 for UAE. It took an hour to get through, and we were on edge the whole time, not knowing what to do or where to go, and it's difficult to ask questions because of the language barrier, but we made it through. With a 30 day visa no less, not the 96 hr one.

About an hour into the UAE, you could start to see the differences from neighboring Oman. A 3-lane highway, even faster drivers (which I never thought possible). Literally 160-180 kph was typical, and nicer cars. The desert musk hid the AD skyline until we were right downtown, and what a city. Out of nowhere in the desert, there were huge buildings, developments, and people everywhere. It felt a lot more western and modern, people out walking without abayas and dishdashas, streetlights, modern buildings and stores, and the grandeur of the Emirates was apparent.
We checked into the Sheraton which was right along the corniche. I couldn't have picked a better hotel spot either. We were able to bike to and from the race venue, as it was 5 km down the beach. The entire city beach was lined with a bike path, walk path, parks, and seating areas. Absolutely well done. We were very impressed, and knew that we would enjoy our time in the city. It's horrible having to be confined to a car when it's a beautiful sunny day, so this was a welcoming change.
We biked down to the host hotel, The Khalidya, on Thursday to pick up our race package. Right when I walked into the hotel, there was Julie Dibens, last year's winner and one of the top Ironman competitors. We also saw Chris Lieto, another top pro Ironman. It was very cool. The race had 1900 athletes registered, up a few hundred from last year, which is good to see that tris are catching on in the middle east (it also helps that the race has one of the highest prizes, 1st gets 50,000 USD).
We more or less hung out by the pool and relaxed until race day, Saturday. There was an athletes pasta party at the Hilton Thu night, by far one of the best sponsored pre-race meals. The pros started at 7:20 and the sprint didn't start until 9:20, so we had plenty of time to see the pros swim and then get ready for our race. It went by really quickly, Adam finished in 1:59:23, 32nd male and 2:00:29 for me, 3rd female.

The pros put on a great race, close finishes by the men and women. We cheered for our fellow Canadian, Angela Naeth, who finished 2nd, and had a fantastic race! We got a chance to talk to Angela before the race and at the awards banquet later that night. It's very cool hearing her perspective on how the race went, and about training and travelling.

The weekend flew by, we didn't get a chance to see much of Yas Island (where Ferrari world is), but we'll be back. We went to the Grand Mall to do shopping and on the way out of town, stopped by Saadiyat Island (a multi billion dollar urban development). They are building a Louvre and Guggenheim museums! What an amazing development. That's Abu Dhabi for you! I can't wait to see Dubai as well.