There’s one thing to be said for triathlons – they’re over nice and early! Yes, you might have to get up at 5am but by 9am the day is yours again. And so it goes this morning at the Al Mamzar triathlon.
I have always been more of a morning person. Still, I find this less and less true these days. Perhaps two children have left me tired, more likely now it’s work that may lead to a sleepless night, or it might be that I’m getting into the Arab rhythm, sleep during the day and up late at night (particularly during Ramadan). Whatever it is the alarm goes off this morning and I barely know where I am let alone what I’m supposed to be doing and what’s making all that noise in the middle of the night.
But it’s not the middle of the night. It’s after 5am by the time I’m roused and Jason already has Jasper up and dressed. He’s bright eyed. I pull on some clothes and wake Harley who, this morning at least, is channeling the way I feel in the sleepy way he falls out of bed and into the car. The new DVD player in the back of the headsets puts this right straight away and it’s a pleasant drive through the morning twilight up to Al Mamzar.
As we pull close we warn the boys that they’ll have to jump out with me. Parking is a way away and we need to get Jasper registered and set up. Thankfully this appears to be a rather seamless process and, apart from not having any XS t-shirts, we’re on our way quickly to rack his bike and lay out his shoes and towel. Then it’s down to the beach. By now it’s full day light and we’ve all shaken off the remnants from the sandman last night.
Jasper takes a dip to get himself in the mindset, there is some confusion over some drifting buoys but soon the first race is off. Jasper is amongst the smallest in his group and there is a team here that belong to a triathlon squad but he does well. Despite getting slightly trampled at the beginning of the swim, he’s off to a good start and soon draws clear of the main group. He’s not in front but he’s by no means the last of them and has a fairly strong swim.
We cheer him on and then race up the beach but I miss his transition coaxing Harley along. I see the back of him as he takes off on his ride and we walk over the road to wait for him. It’s an 8km ride and I don’t think he’s ever ridden that far before so I’m keen to see him come past us.
In the end, it’s a shorter wait that you’d think and he has us, plus Harley (who makes more noise than any 5 year old should be expected to), to cheer him on.
This time we catch his transition and he’s off into the run in no time. Before long he has looped around and he’s down the finishing stretch, looking rather stretched himself.
Unsurprisingly he’s exhausted. He’s done only a little training in running and swimming and none of it has been put together. He recovers quickly though and has some water and an apple as Jason & I search for a coffee as if our lives depended on it.
After the Al Mamzar triathlon and despite the temptation to jump in for a swim ourselves, we head back to the car. Given that we’re in Sharjah already we decide to take a drive around and see what we can find and we stumble across the Al Majaz Waterfront where we park and take a walk. It’s a pity that it’s only just 9am and not much is open yet as there are a couple of nice looking kids playgrounds that would be perfect. As it happens we find a Zaroob (Lebanese street food) restaurant and I have a craving for zaa’tar mankeesh having just come back from Beirut this week. Lebanese food is seriously addictive.
We order and enjoy our breakfast before heading to the mini golf for a round. We’re the only ones on the course, it is still a bit hot during the day, even thought the worst of the summer heat has come off. This is why most things here don’t open until 4pm. None of us can wait another 5 hours though and it’s time to head off.
Jasper has completed another triathlon, we’ve had a lovely family morning and we’re home again before 12pm which means we still have enough time to actually do something for the afternoon. Perhaps the 5am wake up call wasn’t such a bad thing, you never know, I may even revert to being a fully fledged morning person again.
Good To Know
RaceME runs all sorts of sports in Dubai and the Emirates.
Would I Return?
Yes. Aside from triathlons, Al Mamzar itself has a great beach and park. The Al Majaz Waterfront is another option (though note the late start on most of the children’s attractions) and Sharjah proper (cultural centre) is just around the corner. All within a morning’s reach from that 5am alarm.