Icheon Seolbong Triathlon
| Swim (1.5km) | Bike (40km) | Run (10km) | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Record | 26:50 | 1:01:24 | 44:08 | 2:15:49 |
| Rank | Age Group 3/20 Male 18/507 |
Age Group 2/20 Male 23/507 |
Age Group 2/20 Male 26/507 |
Age Group 1/20 Male 13/507 |
August 2026.
It was the Icheon Seolbong Triathlon that I signed up for to check how my summer training was going. Since the venue was in Gyeonggi-do, I only needed a one-way drive of about an hour without needing to stay overnight, which made it less of a burden to attend.
This was my first time finishing first at a triathlon event, so it was meaningful, but looking at the detailed records, there’s still some disappointment. I heard a lot about how steep the hill was on the final run, so I think I saved too much energy during the swim and bike. Next time, I’ll try to push harder and finish within 2 hours 10 minutes.
The swim was a two-lap course around Seolbong Reservoir, and the water was cleaner and the course was better than I expected. I had heard there were a lot of water plants, but it wasn’t that bad. However, since it was two laps, there was some physical contact on the last lap. Some first-time participants swam rather roughly. Getting hit in the face made me curse. ;;
The bike course was really good. There were no hills at all — it was almost flat, with only slight uphills or downhills. I didn’t bring my cycling computer, so I couldn’t keep checking my average power continuously, but I rode comfortably at around 250 watts on the hills and about 200 watts on the flats. Next time, I think I could push a bit harder.
On the run course, I couldn’t pick up enough speed because of the hill. Lately, due to a knee injury, I haven’t been able to do much running interval training, which was a bit disappointing. Still, I didn’t walk the whole way up the hill and managed to maintain a good pace of 6 minutes per kilometer. Coming down, I sprinted at about 3 minutes 30 seconds per kilometer. Considering my lack of training, I ran well.
While biking, I got a drafting penalty for the first time. In triathlon races, the rule is that cycling should be done individually, so you need to keep about 12 meters of distance from the person ahead, but I don’t think I kept enough distance at the merging lane. When I first got the penalty, I was quite disappointed, but resting for about a minute in the penalty box actually turned out to help me recover, and I found myself thinking, “so this is what this kind of experience feels like,” which made it a positive experience after all. Next time, I’ll ride more carefully.
Since the event is held in Gyeonggi-do, the accessibility is good, so I’m inclined to participate again next year. However, it was a bit disappointing that, for a 28th edition event, the operation felt somewhat inexperienced — for example, registration took over an hour.