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 time it is when the alarm goes off, I barely know where I am. What am 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. Getting Jasper registered and set up is a priority and the parking is quite a way away. 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.
The Swim
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.
He’s off to a good start, despite getting slightly trampled at the beginning of the swim, and soon draws clear of the main group. While Jasper isn’t in the lead, 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.
The Ride
We only see the back of him as he takes off on his ride and we walk over the road to wait for him. The ride is 8km 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. We cheer him on as he goes past. Harley is his biggest fan and makes more noise than any 5 year old should.
The Run
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 put in a few swims and some laps around the block as part of his training regime, so he really pulled it together today. He recovers quickly and has some water and an apple as Jason & I search for a coffee as if our lives depended on it.
The Aftermath
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. We stumble across the Al Majaz Waterfront where we park and take a walk. It’s a pity that it’s only just on 9am and not much is open yet. We drive past a couple of kids playgrounds that look nice. They’d be perfect for us but the gates are firmly closed. As it happens we find a Zaroob (Lebanese street food) restaurant. After having just returned from Beirut this week, I have an instant craving for zaa’tar mankeesh. 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. This 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, maybe I’ll revert to being a fully fledged morning person!
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). In addition, Sharjah proper (with its cultural centre) is just around the corner. All within a morning’s reach from that 5am alarm.