Contender Puerto Rico Half Ironman water safety detail with bycicles on water.

Triathlon events have grown much since I did my first one in 1987.
The event has three venues; swimming, cycling and running.
There are different distances leading to the full Ironman distance which is double of our event.
I have witnessed some island triathletes become Ironman finishers even in Hawaii.

Here in Puerto Rico, the longest triathlon organized was this past December 13th 2009 called Contender half ironman(2500 meters swim, 50mile bike, 13mile run).

Last year,there was a first edition of this event and I participated and finished in six hours an one minute.
This year I did not train for the event because of I am just hooked on standup paddle surfing.

Just as an experiment I did an olympic distance triathlon last august with just paddling condition and
I was strong swimming, very strong cycling being my strongest event, but I left my legs attached to the bike for the run.I only ran half the distance and had to stop due to leg cramps. This was the first time I did not finish a triathlon.

My experiment turned out to be humbling experience as I watched others whom I usually see at the finishline pass me running.
I should have done the sprint distance, I would have done really well there, It's all good!

I started bike riding and running, crosstrainning with SUP, hopefully for next march I will be in triathlon shape to prove myself some oher time and arrive soon at the finishline.

Jet ski fumes are not friendly for swimmers! I myself inhaled some fumes in one event a few years ago.
I was asked by my triathlete buddies to watch out for them
in the swimm portion like Hawaiians do in Kona, Hawaii (origin of triathlons).
Here is another way jetskiis are being replaced, like in towin surfing. Jet skies will still be around in the future for fast big wave wipeout water rescues.
Many surfers with practice, can be towed into
a monster wave and surf it. To paddle into a big wave with a SUP is just natural and not as easy as it looks.

The event was held at Vacia Talega, Loiza.
Loiza is one small hard core town with the folowing: a paridise coastline, a wave very similar to pipeline when it breaks, and some more good reefbreaks along the coast.

Loiza is also characterized by a population of african descendents with a unique deepfried fritters economy,
creole cuisine and great rythms and beats.

Vacia Talega means an area where riches are brought to, accumulated. For a couple of hundred
years pirates introduced contraband through this sandy beautiful mangrove landscape which
is protected by the outer reefs of the north shore.

I invited Puerto Rico's surfing federation Sup big wave rider pioneer and champ Ernie Alvarez to lead the swimmers.
I mentioned the event to a Puerto a few friends and open ocean supsurfers of San Juan.

Mr. Ernie Alvarez confirmed, even with his tight expert SUP surfing instructor schedule.
Puerto Rico's Sup surfing champ basically has his second home in Wilderness beach Aguadilla,instructing SUP
surfing tourists and schredding the swells the bigger the better. Soon I will go out west to try an book him for myself so my SUP surfing improves.

Truthfully, i was unsure I would be able to cover the event with more than four Sup surfers.
Just imagine, you are told to sacrifice a Sunday at five in the morning to watch out for the safety
of swimmers.

For the past couple of months, before the event, two practices were held and most swimmers attended while me and one other buddy helped out watching out for a couple of hundrerd swimmers.

The event organizers were worried I was only a team of two SUP surfers. I told them to
"Forget about it, we will have many boddies out!".

Finally December 13th arrived and this is how the activity unfolded.
Carlos Sanchez arrived first onsite, a friend and Ocean Parks minimart owner was left nearshore to monitor incoming swimmers.

Art joined Mr. poland were in the water at five fortyfive am.
Art called me the a couple of days before and asked if he could join us, gracious! this The name says it all,
he is art in the water, supper fast and relentless Paddlesurfer, endurance SUP paddler,windsurfer, kitesurfer
and kite glider. This individual lives overtimer in the water everyday, he will do
what light and weather permits. Art is living his watersports dream in Puerto Rico and you could watch him all
day interchanging all his water toys and covering miles of ocean.

Mr.Alvarez, the champ made the two our trip from Aguadilla to be onsite at six thirty am to participate, I assigend the
champ the task of guiding the swimming leaders. Tanya Esperanza, confirmed mid week before and arrived at six fifteen at the event along with her other half and supersmooth operator businessman Michael Esperanza.

A late minute request, the afternoon before, the boat people whom responsibility was to place the event buoy markers did not show up and I was asked break of dawn to lay them out. Lacal police, state police controlling the roads for the bike portion along with bycicle team refferies.

Event start is at seven in the morning, towm roads are closed, some main highways as well with all swimmers waiting
the unplanned, unwanted pressure that we able to transform it as business as usual scenario.


Consequently, all my SUP team carried large bricks on their sups and dragged the tied floating on top of their SUPs as I paddled along them with a GPS device to mark distances and have dropped.

The event organizer told us to take our time, but at seven am was the start. To put it short, we did under pressure and
in time. This took balanceboard type skill, these bricks were larger and heavier than the usual bricks.

Tanya Esperanza, is a great SUP wave rider teacher and one of the fastest women paddlers in Puerto Rico.
Her SUP surfing hangout is about half a mile out on a reef break. If you drop in on her, she will let you know you
are in her backyard.

Michael Esperanza was set to the task of buoy judge, making sure all swimmers made it around the farthest buoy.
At one point the wind picked up and Michael just showed his upwind and wind manuevering skills.

Michael Poland confirmed two weeks before and made it out. Mr. Poland is windsurf, kitesurf repair man and a very fast paddler. He made time out of his busy repair shop to join past yhe experience of a buoy that went
adrift and Mr. Poland was able to paddle to it and secure it ashore, I was impressed.
Gracias "Tucan" por las fotos.

If you are in Ocean Park, San Juan you can find some local knowlege of where to avoid tourist traps.

Art took charge in the half ironman event to follow the tail
end ofthe swimmers and pumped them with bootcamplike chants(keep going, you can do better, stop wining etc..)

I was humbled by the view of all these great group of friends joinning me looking out for all the triathletes swimming.
for a unike sup paddling experience!

Thank you all.