I am currently training for IM CDA but am headed to Abu Dhabi for two weeks in May, and am wondering if anyone has any training tips or experiences there that may be useful for me. I won't be bringing my bike, so finding a facility that has spin bikes is probably my biggest concern, especially as the two weeks I'm gone are quite heavy in terms of the training load. Advice?
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Re: Training in Abu Dhabi [.Bee.]
[ In reply to ]
I just spent 3 weeks in Fujairah, on the east coast of UAE. Military flight into Fujairah, commercial flight out of Dubai. The traffic is horrible there. Not India horrible, but still pretty horrible. Your choices for running outside may be: urban sidewalks/roads like LA, Chicago, Atlanta, etc...not quite NYC, sand sand and sand, road shoulders/bike lanes when available, treadmill in a nice hotel/health club. I did all treadmill running. I also brought my bike, trainer, and rented a big-ass fan from a light store. Rode nearly everyday in my hotel room as I did not want to die...on a deployment...to a friendly country...in a non-combat situation. I swam at our hotel pool (Hilton) and also in the Gulf of Oman. Was just wonderful, 27 degrees Celsius (81 F)...but I'm a lifelong swimmer...so almost nothing grosses me out. Very mild jellyfish stings 2-3 times on only one swim out of 6-8 swims. I kind of went in figuring I would get nothing in and then saw many opportunities and was also creative. I did the Elliptical...GASP! I ran the hotel stairs at our neighbor hotel (8 flights). I brought a swim cord/tether, tied it to a column, and swam basically in place in the Hilton's 23yd pool. You can find a way...but not much of it will be outside. Smog and dust storms may also be an issue as they were for us. Abu Dhabi is far bigger than Fujairah for the smog issue.
Enjoy your time there. Very UNIQUE place. One word of caution: culturally it is not really acceptable to "hang out" in your tri gear. Go train, go home, get out of your speedo and compression socks, and then go do your Starbucksing or grocery shopping or whatever tri-geeks seem to need to do in their workout clothing all the time:)
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Sub-9 IM. Navy SeaBee deep sea diver. Can Do!
Enjoy your time there. Very UNIQUE place. One word of caution: culturally it is not really acceptable to "hang out" in your tri gear. Go train, go home, get out of your speedo and compression socks, and then go do your Starbucksing or grocery shopping or whatever tri-geeks seem to need to do in their workout clothing all the time:)
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Sub-9 IM. Navy SeaBee deep sea diver. Can Do!
Re: Training in Abu Dhabi [.Bee.]
[ In reply to ]
If you are riding on the road, be careful. Emirati drivers are, in general, a bunch of dickbags towards anyone who is on 2 wheels.
If you get time off, fly to Oman and cycle there. Beautiful country, mellow people. You can get some hill workouts in Musandam (drivable from UAE also), or for a long weekend, try heading down to Masirah island. It is *magnificent* - possibly one of the most amazing places I have visited anywhere. Gorgeous beaches and virtually no people.
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Those who are slower than me suck.
Those who are faster than me dope
If you get time off, fly to Oman and cycle there. Beautiful country, mellow people. You can get some hill workouts in Musandam (drivable from UAE also), or for a long weekend, try heading down to Masirah island. It is *magnificent* - possibly one of the most amazing places I have visited anywhere. Gorgeous beaches and virtually no people.
--
Those who are slower than me suck.
Those who are faster than me dope
Hi there,
I was in Abu Dhabi for work for two weeks last year, one week in February and one week in July. I stayed in a hotel near the Madinat Zayed shopping center. I typically ran in the early mornings...would run from my hotel north to the really nice paved walking/running path along the Corniche. The running was quite enjoyable.
I also swam a few times at the beaches along the Corniche...was quite easy to find a 300 or 400 meter stretch to swim back and forth.
I did not bike outside while in Abu Dhabi...stuck to the exercise bike at my hotel gym.
The temperature in February was great. As you might imagine, the temperature in July was challenging. I do pretty well in heat so I did venture out to run in July...was usually in the low 100s (F) around 5 AM.
Hopefully this is helpful...enjoy.
Cheers,
Matt
I was in Abu Dhabi for work for two weeks last year, one week in February and one week in July. I stayed in a hotel near the Madinat Zayed shopping center. I typically ran in the early mornings...would run from my hotel north to the really nice paved walking/running path along the Corniche. The running was quite enjoyable.
I also swam a few times at the beaches along the Corniche...was quite easy to find a 300 or 400 meter stretch to swim back and forth.
I did not bike outside while in Abu Dhabi...stuck to the exercise bike at my hotel gym.
The temperature in February was great. As you might imagine, the temperature in July was challenging. I do pretty well in heat so I did venture out to run in July...was usually in the low 100s (F) around 5 AM.
Hopefully this is helpful...enjoy.
Cheers,
Matt