The Obligatory Best of 2014

With 2014 winding down to its last day I think it would be fun to share the obligatory best and worst of the year. But let's focus on the best shall we.

Best Race - Milo 21K - This was my first 21K run. I fumbled at the start, got going from there, endured the blisters, kept my composure when I felt cold from my sweaty shirt, misjudged the last couple of kilometers and still went on to finish in 1:38.

Best Adventure - Audax 300 - It was an early start at 3:00 A.M. The lights of the bikes were awesome, the sunrise was breathtaking, the rain poured hard, the sun was too hot, the road was endless, the coastline was fantastic and the mountains on the other side was magnificent. 

Fastest Run - During the first run of the Duaman X2 Duathlon Race in Nuvali I ran the first 10K in less than 41 minutes. The course was only 10.8K according to MapMyRide and I also got into the sub 20 minute 5K Club on that day. The bike was too slow though.

Longest Transition Time - Challenge Philippines 70.3 - I clocked 18 minutes in Transition 1 while waiting for my friend so we could bike and run together.

Best Preparation - RUPM and Bohol 226 - It was the first time I felt ready to run long at a pace of 5:00 minutes per kilometer for 42K. But of course that didn't happen on race day. And for Bohol 226 nothing really happened at all.

Shortest Race - 5K Run - Building up to a marathon I did a 10K, 5K, 21K and a duathlon.

Best swim course - Challenge Philippines - I can see the bottom most of the time.

Best Bike Route - Tri United 3 70.3 - A ride from the beach to the Subic tollgate was great and the next kilometers were ridden at SCTEX Tollway. Try Google Earth to see the route: Subic Dungaree Beach to Porac, Pampanga.

Best Run Route - The Challenge Philippines run route in what looked like a jungle was unique but the lack of kilometer markers on a jumbled course made the RUPM city run a better course to me.

Race I can recommend - From the few races I joined in the past year I can recommend the Subic International Triathlon with its new race course. For 2015 I think they renamed it to Asian Triathlon Championships.

Race to look forward to - I'm leaning towards Run United Philippine Marathon maybe in the first week of October, 2015 just because I like to run a marathon during that time of the year.

Best Shirt - This one's hard; Challenge Shirt loses its print, Tri United 3 has its bold color, Run United looks Run United, Duaman X2 is youthful, SuBiT has red streaks on black, Bohol 226 has distance numbers on the back, hmmm... I'll save the best shirt for next year.  ;P

Event to look forward to - I guess it's the Audax 400 or Audax 600 for the sheer distance and love of cycling.

So how about your 2014? One thing is sure, we both enjoyed our races and events. RIGHT?

My training ground: How I wish I could workout in the cold... Naahh! Posers don't do that!