Ironman 70.3 Cebu 2013

On it's fifth year this 2013, Ironman 70.3 Philippines has long been the "A race" of most Filipino triathletes. It has stood up to its reputation as the biggest, most festive, and most desirable race in the local triathlon calendar. Both veterans and newbies are drawn to the event not only because of the prestige the Ironman brand brings, but also because of the experience it has to offer both participants and spectators. Having raced abroad, and based on anecdotes from professional triathletes and age groupers alike, our 70.3 here in the Philippines is by far one of the most enjoyable here in Asia, and perhaps even the world.

Before anything, what does it mean to have an A race? It's easy to peg a particular event as a priority race yet doing so entails so much more than calling it that. After racing Timex 226 and eX-tri last December, I took time off from a structured training program. I recharged mentally, physically, and even emotionally. Prerparing for such a long race takes its toll. Surprisingly, only after a few weeks, I had my "mojo" back; I was ready to plan for the next season, and even put in some training to get back the rhythm of things.

Spending almost two decades in Ateneo, I became familiar with the French author Antoine de Saint-Exupery. While most know him for his book "The Little Prince," I find inspiration from his simple quote: "A goal without a plan is just a wish."

I spent the better part of December assessing what my strengths and weaknesses were and did a lot of reading on these topics. I knew my strong points; I also knew what I lacked, yet was lost on how to address these limiters. Having a degree in Computer Engineering helped me a whole lot; I was trained to be analytical, logical, precise, and most of all, disciplined. Whilst some would fall into the pitfalls of "analysis paralysis," a careful balance between a being logical and having a good "feel" of the sport is needed.

For the first quarter of the year, I worked on my Olympic distance speed. I really hated this distance. 2-3hours of red line racing is not my strong point; nor have I put in proper training to actually perform well. I decided to change that, I went outside my comfort zone which was long and steady racing, and delved into the realm of threshold and Vo2Max training. I did the workouts that I needed, not the ones I particularly enjoyed. Thankfully, everything paid off, as a point of reference, my finish time for  NAGT Leg 1 in Subic Bay surprised most, even myself:

2012 vs 2013

NAGT Leg 1

I continued working on my weaknesses and by the end of the first quarter, I shifted focus to Cebu. Preparing competitively for an Olympic Distance Triathlon and a half-Ironman is quite similar for me. The transition was smooth and gradual; total hours were still quite close to each other yet there was a shift in duration, frequency, and intensity. 70.3 training meant more steady miles, more recovery between bouts, and more emphasis on nutrition/hydration.

Tri United 2

I did the workouts needed to race a 70.3 well. These were not necessarily the "cool" workouts like fast "balls to the wall" bike rides, and PRs in half-marathon races etc. Instead, these were the workouts that most would rather avoid: swim time trials, 2-3 hour trainer sessions, hill repeats, and tempo runs. I hated these workouts, there were times when I was outright scared of them; but I sucked it up and did them anyway. In July, a month before Cebu; I joined Tri United 2, which was middle ground between an Olympic and 70.3. When I performed well for that race, I knew I was ready. After a few more weeks of fine tuning and adjustments. I began my taper; I opted for a short taper as opposed to a long gradual one. I was putting in a fraction of the hours I used to do, logically, I needed to taper less. 

Building, Peaking, and Tapering.. Blurred for your Inconvenience ;-)

Prior to the race, I did what I could do as a participant. Yet, certain things were beyond our control. When I arrived in Cebu, the weather was perfect; it was neither too hot nor too windy. There was overcast and a steady breeze, it was ideal half-Ironman weather. However, the day before the race, a strong squall surprised everyone. The wind was blowing really hard and it was accompanied by a strong downpour. Things weren't looking very good. Paired with the fact that I was planning on using a disc wheel and did not bring along a shallow rimmed wheel as backup, I was quite worried. I conceded to the fact that I had no choice, all I could do was pray that weather would be better tomorrow, and I solemnly cleared my mind of negative thoughts.

Zoning Out during Bike Check-in. Photo Credit: Emerson Go Tian

Pre-race

It was still raining quite hard up until 6am. I pumped up my tires and prepared my bike drenched and cold. I put on my speed suit early to give me some warmth. Looking back, a group hug would've been nice.

The Swim

Since it was a water start, we needed to swim out around 400m out of the shore to the start line. I miscalculated the amount of time needed for this. My start position wasn't ideal but I had to play with the cards I was dealt with.

Out of The Water. Photo Credit: Gregie Pamakid

The swim was choppy, waves kept hitting us from the side. This was harder than a "head current" since it took you out of your rhythm, and sighting and course correction was done more frequently. It took a while for me to get my groove, and only started to pick up the pace midway into the swim. I wasn't happy with my time, but it still kept me within striking distance

The Bike

Out of the water, I felt really fresh. Out of Shangri-la Mactan, I held back a bit and allowed my body to adjust. I gulped down a gel, a few mouthfuls of Gatorade, then I started to pick up the pace. After the Marcelo Fernan bridge, a few strong riders like Jami and Joey Ramirez, Jomer Lim etc. passed me. I stuck to my game plan and didn't ride at their pace. The really bad road conditions were quite challenging. I was weaving between the puddles and potholes and kept praying that my tires hold up to the beating.

Out of Shang. Photo Credit: Ana Ricablanca

During the SRP segment, road quality improved and this was where I started to churn out the watts. I kept as aero as possible because of the strong headwind. I wanted to catch up to the ones ahead of me but I also kept my efforts under control. Since I wanted a negative split for the bike leg and not implode in the run, I capped my wattage.

SRP. Photo Credit: REYNAN's PICs

Everything was going well, however, around midway into the bike leg. A group of riders caught up with me. They were drafting off one another and in doing so, completely blocked the lanes. I was faced with a dilemma: whenever I'd back off and give legal spacing between the riders and myself, another rider would slide right in front of me and I'd need to adjust again. On the other hand, whenever, I'd try and pass the group of 10+ riders, I'd have to surge really hard and would leave me gassed out. On top of that, surge after surge, they'd latch on to my rear wheel and pass me again. It was getting really frustrating. I kept my cool backed off from the pack and waited for a proper time to make a pass. The tight roads, strong wind, and short hills, made this even more difficult. Towards the end of the final SRP loop, I made my move, hammered really hard and overtook them. I needed to sustain the effort as long as I could so that they couldn't draft off me again. My gamble paid off, I had clear road for the last portion of the bike leg. I picked up the pace from the bridge all the way into Shangri-la.

The Run

Blazing out of T2. Photo Credit: Jaime Ang

Off the bike I still felt great. I made a quick transition into my Newton running shoes and went out blazing. I started out with a 4 minute/km pace and finished the first 10km in a really fast pace. By the end of the first loop, I was starting to feel the fatigue. I had anticipated this in training, I backed off my pace a bit and focused on maintaining proper form and a smooth stride. With around 5km to go, I caught up with one of my training buddies Ferdi (a veteran elite triathlete and a Kona qualifier). We had our own version of the Ironwar, as we ran beside one another all the way into Shangri-la. Sadly, I wasn't the victor in this duel. with less than a kilometer to go I was on my limit. Close to cramping up and even fainting I gave what I had all the way to the finish. Despite missing out on the Lapu-lapu (fastest Filipino Age Grouper) award, I was still happy to be the second fastest Filipino Age-Grouper. Though losing out by 16 seconds was painful, I was sincerely happy for Ferdi and proud of what I had accomplished. I finished the race in 4:46:15; the fastest I've ever gone for that distance.

Ironwar. Photo Credit: Craig Rice

Photo Finish. Photo Credit: Light 'N Up Marketing, Inc.

Photo Credit: Light 'N Up Marketing, Inc.

Post Race

The post race venue was heaven for any triathlete. After a quick shower using the Safeguard booth, I jumped into the scented ice bath. Soon after I made my way into the buffet; they served Krispy Kreme donuts, Mango "dirty" Ice Cream, Asahi Beer, Lechon, Barbeque, buko juice, and mangoes greeted us. I deserved to pig out after racing hard for several hours.

25-29 AG Podium Finishers. Photo Credit: Jana Cruz

The Podium was mostly dominated by foreigners. Luckily, we Filipinos still held our own bagging a few podium places across age groups. Fellow Newton athlete Keshia Fule of Fitness First also got 3rd in the Female 25-29 category. Triathlon is still young in our country, despite that, we were still able to give out solid results.

Hanging out with Macca, Cameron Brown, Pete Jacobs, and Caroline Steffen. Photo Credit: Jana Cruz

The season isn't over for me, I've still got another A race in Enervon Activ 226 in December. This will be my fourth Full Ironman. It doesn't get any easier; but, I've learned and I'm more prepared this time around!

5150 Course Preview

 

The Century Tuna 5150 Triathlon  is one of the most challenging races this year. Being a standard distance triathlon, it consists of a 1.5km Swim, 40km bike, and 10km run; however, what sets it apart is the level of difficulty involved. Despite the expensive price tag of $150 (I signed up initially at $180), I know this is going to be another epic and memorable race. Other races of this distance simply come up short when compared to this; the organizers really pulled all the stops to make this something out of the ordinary.

The first leg is a point-to-point swim from the Grande Island ferry dock to All Hands Beach. The swim start is several hundred meters deep; one has the option of either doing a treading start or starting from the walkway near the shore. I highly recommend starting in the water as starting from the shore puts you at a huge disadvantage; not only would one have to dive during gun start, you'd also need to swim out several hundred meters towards the real start line. Moreover, it gives you a Kona-esque feel; another aspect of this race that makes it so notable. To those who aren't that comfortable with treading, perhaps this link would help. It's not that difficult as long as you relax and practice it several times before race day.

The bike course is definitely the most exciting portion of this race. Coming out of transition 1, there's a short warmup along NCT road towards the airport; I highly recommend to start firing up your legs for this as the next phase would be the airport runway. During the race last year, the organizers had this Timex Challenge (Fastest Runway Split). If you want to have a good race overall, I recommend not shooting for this; save your legs, the next parts of the race will be a lot more difficult.

Out of the airport road, Subit racers would be familiar with the route leading towards Ocean Adventure; however, just before Morong Gate, racers turn right into the IDESS loop. This is one very technical portion of the race where passing is discouraged; roads are twisty, narrow, and fast! Watch out for tight turns, cracked pavement, and loose sand/gravel. I suggest dropping to a light gear for this part as it makes acceleration out of the turns easier. The final part of the loop is a hard climb where the burning heat of the sun greatly adds to its difficulty. After IDESS, one would need to make his/her way back to the airport. Take this time to let your legs recover and prepare for the infamous Tarlac Road.

Tarlac road is the winding and steep climb towards Crownpeak and Forest Hills. Turn right from Argonaut Highway, and you're immediately greeted by a gradient of around 6-7%. Drop down to the small chainring and a light gear; it's going to be a long climb. Once you "finally" reach the top, make your way through the roads near CUBI (make sure you watch out for signs and don't get lost).

Photo Credit: DrivingExperiences.co.uk

Even if I've raced it several times, the downhill road opposite Tarlac (Aparri Road) still scares me quite a bit. There are several sweeping turns near Tree Top Adventure are something to watch out for. My best advice for this is to brake and scrub off some speed before the turn, take the outer portion of the lane (make sure there are no oncoming vehicles though), put your inner leg up, lean into the chicane, clip the apex, and let your momentum carry you towards the outside. Do not make any sharp adjustments and merely feather the brakes; hard braking and sudden line corrections might cause you to lose traction. Once you reach the bottom, relax a bit, the hardest parts are over, it's time to find a good rhythm on the way to the Subic Exhibition Center, where transition 2 is located.

 

T2 is located well within the Subic Exhibition Center; this is where the Expo Center, race briefing /dinner, and race awarding/brunch takes place (unless they moved it for 2013). One thing I noticed out of T2 last year, was the immense heat. This area isn't very shaded so you really feel the intense rays of the sun. Take the first portion easy; the exhaust from the vehicles together with the ambient heat from the asphalt is challenging in itself. The organizers learned from last year's mistakes; instead of turning left towards Rizal Highway, the route traverses Argonaut Highway first before turning into Causeway Road. I hope this remedies the traffic deadlock we caused last year; we got our share of horns and cusses from irate motorists.

Most of the run course takes place in the Subic Golf Course. To say the least, it was full of turns and quite hilly! Aid stations were spaced out quite well which one should take advantage of to avoid dehydration and subsequent cramping. Despite the challenging terrain, the golf course is a good venue as it provides a refreshing atmosphere and scenery. On the way back, it's mostly downhill towards the Exhibition Center. If you don't feel exhausted by this point, it just means you didn't go hard enough. Once you pass Petron, there's roughly a kilometer to go before you reach the finish line. zip up your tri suit, fix your race bib, and practice your finish line smile; you've just completed one of the most difficult races in the Philippines.

Photos Grabbed from: Century Tuna 5150

SBR.ph Triman Race Recap

The final leg of the www.SwimBikeRun.ph race series took place in Fontana Leisure Parks last May 26. It consisted of a 1k pool swim, 30k bike, and 5k run. With roughly a month to go before Century Tuna 5150, I found this to be a perfect tune up race. Aside from the swim, the course was good preparation for the terrain in Subic.

Breaking down the race, the swim started out as expected. I knew how pool races go and already had a strategy laid out. Once we were given the go signal, a few of us sprinted to get away from the pack, the intense surge often pays dividends as you save yourself from the notorious "washing machine." This plan, however, backfired as most of the other racers decided to skip the mandatory wall touch. After the hard surge, I pushed off the wall only to encounter the mass of racers who crossed the line without reaching the end of the pool. This was trouble as I found it hard to navigate these guys especially with my heart rate through the roof. I decided to be patient and find my way around; after a few more hard sprints, I was in front and decided to cruise the rest of the way.

Photo Credit: Running Photoraphers

Photo Credit: Jana Cruz

Transition 1 was several hundred meters away and I literally had to run to my bike. Being a "test race" of sorts, I decided to use a full aero setup despite the somewhat hilly terrain. I used my disc, aero helmet, and went all tri-geeky with a camelbak hydration system. Since this was more of a fun race for me, I decided to play around try out how aerodynamically efficient I could be. The bike leg consisted of a long downhill segment, followed by a short flat portion, then another long "climb" with an average gradient of around 4-5%. I kept myself tucked in for around 95% of the course as I wanted to build my leg strength in this position

Clean and Very Aggressive Setup

Bike Course Profile: Roughly 270m total elevation gain.

Being in the aero position can have it's disadvantages, lower back strain is common for those who lack flexibility and shoulders and arms tend to fatigue quite easily. Another problem is the lack of visibility when you have your head hidden from the wind. I tried out Smith Optics' new Pivlock V2 to try and address this issue. Being rimless both in the lower and upper portion of the lens, it gave me the best visibility possible. I could easily glance behind me for oncoming traffic, and also keep my eyes focused up front without tilting my head up too much. Lens are also interchangeable which gives you more options for those overcast or rainy days. Weight (or lack thereof) is also an added bonus; these are the lightest sunglasses with interchangeable lens. I had no issues with the glasses sliding off my nose or with the edge of the lens rubbing against my cheek. I'll definitely keep on using this for my next races.

My Race Essentials: Newtons and Pivlock V2.  And Yurbuds as my training buddy (no pun intended)

Coming into Transition 2, I still felt quite fresh, and decided to try and push the run. I found this to be quite challenging due to terrain. There were uneven portions wherein you had to hop over tree roots, gutters, and loose soil. There were also a lot of twists and turns which meant you had to accelerate quite often. Despite this, the run course kept your mind busy which is definitely better than some of the boring courses I've encountered in the past. Surprisingly, it seemed like the three loops went by quite quickly for me and I raced towards the finish chute emphatically. There, I was greeted by Mr. SBR.ph himself and rushed to the expo center to grab drinks.

Photo Credit: Monkey Saladeer

Photo Credit: Running Photographers

 After the race, instead of chugging down on electrolyte drinks, I probably drank around 5 cups of Enervon HP and Choco Barley from Sante Barley. Something different and refreshing that I'll probably do more often.

Looking back on my race, I came from a high mileage week and still felt the load from the Tour of Subic. Since I'm focusing more on the half-ironman distance, my body now favors steady state efforts as opposed to hard sprints and short time trials. With the race wrapped up, I immediately began to analyze what aspects of my race I need to improve on. In the end, I'm still quite happy since I was able to bag first in my Age Group. The only embarrassing part is that I forgot the time my wave started and ended up blurting out the wrong finish time haha (my watch's timer paused because of the hard contact from the washing machine). All things considered, it was a great race! Thanks to Secondwind and Hector Yuzon for the slot and as always SwimBikeRun.ph and CDG for a great experience. Dapat next year may half IM distance na!

Photo Credit: Running Photographers

You can check out the pictures from Running Photographers and Monkey Saladeer (Don't forget to like their pages!)

P.S. Thanks to my friends for the support and cheers! Hope you guys had a great time watching us suffer :)

Jona, Steven, Me, Daniel, Jon, Jana, Rashell
Photo Credit: Pinoy Fitness and Jeff Lo

A Triathlete's Guide to Road Racing

Last Sunday, I joined the Aboitiz Tour of Subic Cycling Event in Olongapo. I prioritized Stage 3 since I wanted to have a really hard long ride that weekend.

Initially, I thought it would be the same as last year's road race.Which was an out and back ride from Subic Holiday Villas to the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant. That ride was one of the hardest routes I've done. The hills ("hells" seemed more apt) were steep and quite numerous. Going back, there were riders literally lying on the floor; it was a crampfest.

ToS Stage 3 for 2012

The organizers changed the route this year due to the numerous road repairs going to Bataan. The course, despite being faster and easier, was still quite enjoyable. It consisted of 4 loops inside the Subic Freeport Zone. There was a steep climb from Edgewater (near Dungaree Beach) towards CUBI (top of Tarlac road). This made it a great training ride for 5150 in June.

ToS Stage 3 for 2013

Of course I entered this race with training in mind. I love the thrill joining of these races and will continue to do so as long as schedule permits. Road racing adds another aspect in training in terms of bike handling, strategy, and physical conditioning. First of all, one must be confident with his/her handling skills especially when riding in a group. Be prepared to literally rub elbows with the riders beside you. Energy conservation and team tactics are also important in these types of events. Whilst this might not be very beneficial for triathletes, it is quite interesting especially when you watch the grand tours like Tour de France, Giro d'Italia, etc. Surges are also more prominent in these types of races versus the steady pace riding in triathlon bike legs. Attacks are more common and you are often out of your comfort zone. To prepare for these types of events, make sure you do a lot of VO2Max work and hill repeats. 

I compiled a short list for triathletes who wish to venture into road racing but are somewhat apprehensive in doing so.

Road Racing Tips for Triathletes

1. Remove the Aerobars - These aren't legal in cycling races unless you're joining a Time Trial event. Riding them in pacelines and pelotons is quite unsafe. It takes more time to reach for the brakes than if you were to ride the hoods or drops of a road bikes. This also means Time Trial or Tri Bikes aren't allowed unless you put drop handlebars and roadbike brake levrs (aka STI or Brifters).

Safe hand position to ride in a group or paceline.
Photo Credit http://www.nzta.govt.nz

2. Practice Riding in Pacelines - This skill is seldom used by triathletes since most triathlon races are non draft legal. As mentioned in #1, riding your aerobars in a group is quite dangerous and should be avoided (even in training). There are certain rules in paceline riding that are very important the most important one would be not to "half-wheel." This is when a rider overlaps his front wheel with the rear wheel of the one ahead of him. Once the rider in front suddenly decides to change lines, it would be a recipe for disaster.

Paceline by Leroy and TheBrick (Photo Credit to Garmin Center)

3. Look Through the Riders Ahead of You - Don't stare at the rear wheel of the rider ahead of you. Be aware of what the riders in front are looking at or doing. This gives you more time to react especially when there are obstacles, potholes, or turns that the group must navigate.
4. Microadjust - Don't make sudden changes in steering and pedaling; when riding in excess of 35kph, small changes are quite noticeable. More importantly, if you need to slow down, just feather the brakes to make sure that you wont surprise the riders behind you. In the event of a sudden stop, make sure you alert the people behind you and try to get out of the way of their "braking space".
5. Shave Your Legs - More Aero? Probably not, but it does look nicer! On a serious note, the main reason for this is to help clean "road rash" (knock on wood) easier. Bandages stick better and wounds are less prone to infection.

I Think This Guy (I shall not name) Prefers Waxing :P

6. Don't be a Tri-Geek - I know I'm guilty of this one so learn from my mistakes. Ditch the Aero Helmet, Speedfil, and other tri specific gadgets at home. Compression socks are a gray area since some people consider them Tri-Geeky. In my humble opinion, if you feel more comfortable with them then go ahead.

If you choose to wear compression socks, choose black or a dark color. The grease smudges from the chain won't be too obvious. Photo Credit CW-X

On a final note, since I wasn't able to use my tri-geek-gear this weekend, I'll use them this Sunday in Triman by www.SwimBikeRun.ph ... Of course I will write about my experience in this event so please check back in a week or so. Better yet, watch and experience the event!

www.SwimBikeRun.ph's Triman Sprint Triathlon

A Great Start to The Season

After Timex 226 last December 1, 2012, I decided to take a couple weeks off to let my body recover from the months of long distance training/racing. Once I felt recharged, I veered away from my structured training program; instead, I just focused on maintaining some level of fitness and prevent excessive weight gain from the holiday season. I wanted to have a mental break from my training routine without getting too “out of shape.”

 

During the start of the year, I decided to focus on my weak links for triathlon racing. I noticed I lacked short end power. For the couple of years I've been racing, sprint and standard distance races seemed to be my Waterloo. I couldn't produce the speed needed to perform well at this distance. I assessed what was wrong and noticed that I lacked strength but had a huge aerobic engine. To remedy this, I focused on muscular strength and anaerobic efforts.

I spent the past two months preparing my body for the upcoming season. Sessions were short and intense; the effort level was really high and recovery between sessions was very critical. During this phase, I primarily focused on efficiency and form. Once this is at an acceptable level, I started to lift weights, do short time trial efforts and I also did some sessions purely focused on generating force (big gear work, paddles, hill repeats etc.) Since racing was still out of the picture. I focused on getting the “dirty work” done rather than maintaining form for my races (where form=fitness-fatigue).

I decided to try out Yellowcab-Triclark's DIY Duathlon series. Race fees were minimal (mainly for the marshall's salaries). The race was a hammerfest; it consisted of a 5k run, a 30k bike ride, and a 2.5k run. Though the distances may seem short, intensity was through the roof. I was on the limit for around 80% of the race. During the first run, I already had trouble hanging with the legends Abe & Jumbo Tayag, Hiroshi Takei, and Rondee Aquino. I already knew the bike was going to be difficult as I felt my quads tightening with only 10k into it. During the second run, I was barely hanging on. I tried to run as fast as I could knowing there's a medical team nearby if I collapse. Despite all this, I'm glad I made the 2 hour trip to Clark as the race was one of the best "bang for your buck" races. A Php200 reg fee entiled you to a great race, and post-race food from the Taco Truck of Edward Ifurung. Of course, racing/training with TriClark wouldn't be complete without hanging out over a few beers.

 

Jumbo, Abe, John V, Rondee, Me, Hiro

A few weeks later, when I did my first tune-up race last February (NAGT Leg 1), I immediately reaped the benefits of my new training regimen. I was able to cut around 16mins from my finish time last 2012, I was even lucky enough to finish first in my age-group. This gave me some more confidence that I was on the right path; I tweaked my program a bit to address some areas that are falling behind.

Jay, Me, Paolo M., Chin

My next race was the Ateneo Aquathlon last March 3. Even though, this event wasn't one of my strong suits, also resulted in a PR as I cut my previous time down from 33mins to 31mins. I was outclassed in this race as I was only able to get 2^nd. Nonetheless, I was really happy with my performance especially since I went into it with a lot of fatigue.

 

TriUnited 1 last March 10 was a race I was really looking forward to. It was supposed to take place in Laiya, Batangas, which from experience, was a really fast course. Calm waters, flat bike and run route had the makings of a PR-friendly course. When the organizers transferred it to Subic Bay, they decided to make a relatively flat course compared to SuBIT. This seemed like another fast course though it would be tougher than Laiya.

Going into TU1, I decided not to taper or rest much since I was feeling good all week and kept on nailing my sessions. By Thursday, I was starting to regret it as I felt like I got hit by a car. Needless to say, I wanted to do well for the weekend, so I scheduled a session with my friends at Peakform in Bonifacio High Street. They treated my problem areas (calves, quads, knee) and assured me that I'd be ready for the race on Sunday. They explained to me the cause of my soreness and gave me tips/remedies to prevent or ease the pain.

 

Race day was something quite familiar to me. I cant count how many races I've entered but I always feel pre-race jitters. There's always that feeling of anxiety and excitement that you just can't control nor explain.

The Swim

It was a mass start for the Standard Distance participants. I knew this was going to be trouble because of the sheer number of participants. The small swim course wasn't going to help either. I positioned myself towards the front as I always do hoping to put some distance between me and the main pack. Once the signal went off, we ran, dove and sprinted into the water. For the first 100 meters or so everything felt great, I was in a good position and I was able to maintain a fast pace. Suddenly, I got kicked in the face which dislodged my goggles a bit. It was no big deal, I could still see a bit and decided to continue swimming. After a minute or so, I decided to fix it and everything spiraled down from there. As I was attempting to re-fit my goggles, I mistimed my breathing and it caused me to ingest some water. This really took me out of my rhythm, the body contact from the other swimmers also took its toll on my swim technique. I decided to hold on to the buoy line; this turned out to be a bad idea as my heart rate shot up. I had trouble recovering; it took me a few moments to regain my calm and swim properly again. When I realized how far behind I've fallen back, I felt a sense of urgency. I hammered my last loop and tried to chase the front pack.

 

The Bike

Going into T1, I aimed for a speedy transition to offset the mistakes I made during the swim. As I mounted my bike I immediately went into overdrive and hammered down from the airport road going to Argonaut Highway. I kept on pedaling for the downhill portions and reached close to 60kph for some segments. I tried to stay aero for this windy course as I stayed tucked and almost never went on my bullhorns. There were some segments though where I would go out of my saddle to climb or when I wanted to make a quick pass or surge. My goal for the bike was to trim down the lead so I could be within striking distance for the run leg.

The Run

Off the bike, I felt okay. Legs weren't cramping up though I did feel somewhat exhausted from the effort on the bike. It took me a kilometer or so to get my rhythm dialed in and built the pace from there. I tried to maintain proper form with my Newton Distance S shoes. With these shoes, I had to emphasize mid-foot striking and proper stride length. I've been doing well with these shoes in this training and knew that I could rely on them during race day. I committed to a 4min/km pace for most of the run. Since It was relatively flat, I developed a steady yet hard rhythm without going too anaerobic. I caught up with a few guys who were ahead of me and kept on pushing hard all the way. During the final segments of the race, I increased the pace to sub 4mins and just gave everything I had in the tank. After crossing the finish line, I was surprised to find out that I had actually beaten my NAGT PR with a 2:19:02 finish time. I had no regrets, I gave it my all even when things looked bleak. I didn't expect to finish first especially after getting left behind on the swim leg.

Post Race and Awarding

Another good part of racing is seeing your friends, training buddies, and teammates. It's always fun to catch up with them after the race; this is the time to exchange stories, share experiences, and make plans for future events.

Iah, Me, Kevin

#WU boys represented very well!
Retzel, TJ, Bobby, Javy, Erick, Drew, Elmer, Me

Team Secondwind (new faces for 2013!)

Photo Credits: Yellowcab-Triclark, Ateneo Aquathlon, Bike King Philippines, Triton Sports, Pet Salvador