Bisikleta Iglesia 2015

Bisikleta Iglesia

Maundy Thursday

Days before our annual Visita Iglesia ride we weren't yet sure with the route. The choice is between a ride on the mountains and a roll in the flats going to Batangas. We decided to go up but a few kilometers later we ended up going the other way. Yep we changed our minds a few minutes away from our first church.

It was still dark when we met up at the first church

The ride was a successful century ride/birthday ride/Visita Iglesia. We visited 7 churches, ate twice courtesy of the celebrant and ended with a mileage a tad above 100 kilometers. 

At the farthest distance from where we came from

This is a traditional ride which we used to call penitence ride but the degree of difficulty became easier as we progressed in fitness throughout the years so an exercise like this doesn't call for a name synonymous to suffering. 

Breakfast at a Filipiniana styled restaurant

Halo halo stop before heading home

In the evening I brought my son to this place

Jogging 101 - Let's Make A Revolution

It seems to me that we are now populated by runners, and real joggers are becoming extinct. With a variety of races and fun runs that abound, each giving away race numbers and medals, the running community continues to grow attracting weight watchers, fitness buffs and certified joggers. But as a jogger hear me out before you jump to that other fence. 

Jogging is definitely easier than running. It is also easier to maintain good fitness based on jogging because it doesn't need structure. Running requires dedication, progression, hard and long workouts. Jogging, on the other hand, demands nothing but a fraction of your time at an easy pace which wouldn't break knees or back.

So how do you jog? Just jog for 20 to 40 minutes 3 times a week. It can be done every other day or on 3 consecutive days and you won't feel guilty that they are all bunched up or you've been short on mileage, you just do it and that's it. I think the health benefits of jogging is just just as good as any endurance sport and it's bottled in less than 2 hours per week. But then there's also walking which is a good exercise but definitely not as good as jogging and it doesn't make you as awesome as a jogger.

Let's start a revolution a la 70s. Just JOG!

Ironman 70.3 Subic Bay

March 8, 2015

1.9K-90K-21.1K

When the race date for Century Tuna Ironman 70.3 Subic Bay was announced I was already registered at Challenge Philippines and they were just 2 weeks apart so I was hesitant to secure a spot for this March 8 event. But I just thought it was too good to pass up and ended up using my credit card. 

The Training

Last year I was busy training for Bohol 226, an event that didn't push through, so it goes without saying that I had a fair amount of base fitness in me. I stopped doing workouts as soon as it was canceled though. I was about to start training in January but I had a minor accident and felt it would be foolish to risk the injuries that were sustained so the workouts didn't come until the first week of February, 2015. I had three weeks for Challenge and two more weeks for Ironman 70.3 Subic to condition myself.

The Swim

I was on the third wave out of four. Five minutes separated from the second wave, the horn or gun (didn't remember what they used) sounded for us. I tried a bit harder than usual to vie for a good position so I wouldn't get caught up in a frantic washing machine start. I guess I did well but right after the first turn I saw some red swim caps, o oh the caps worn by the previous wave, and decided to swim further from the buoy line to avoid congestion. My shoulders were fatigued early on because I was trying too hard. The swim course layout was an 'L' shape but I didn't see it that way during the swim. I got out of the water in 34 minutes. Yehey!

Transition 1

This is an interesting run towards transition area for the sheer distance between Dungaree Beach and the airport tarmac where T1 was located. It's definitely the longest I've experienced. As usual I put on my cycling shorts, a not so tight muscle shirt, race belt, cellphone and off I went.

The Bike

Now that the easy part was through I was hoping for a better bike leg than what I went trough in  Challenge PH. The plan was to count the number of riders who will pass me along the bike course and that number would be the target number of runners I intended to overtake during the run. But there was just too many people passing me since kilometer 1 that I despised counting and stopped altogether. The hydration stations offered Gatorade and water and they're handing it over to moving and non-moving riders. I almost had a bump in with a participant as someone in front of me totally stopped. It was windy in the tollway, where the beauty of the race course was at its finest. I saw the mountains on my left side smoking... yeah people were burning some trees out there. It was over in 3 hours 9 minutes with my legs still intact but barely. 

Transition 2

It was coincidence that the numbers 532 and 534 (me=533) were also in T2 so I was sandwiched while prepping for the run. I was hurrying for no reason at all, I guess it's the nature of the race where one tries to get a better time even if you're far out of the field. I didn't forget to change to my running shirt this time... hmmm I'm getting good at transitions. On to the heated pavement: The run course.

The Run

I was weighing my two options, to jog or to run. If I chose the latter I run the risk of not finishing the race so I went for option number 1, I jogged and it was the right call. After a few kilometers I could feel my left ITB acting up, it was my concern when I was just starting triathlon a couple of years ago. It wouldn't shut up and as the kilometers piled up the pain worsened. It was really, really HOT out there good thing that ice chips were all over the hydration stations even on the way back there were no limit as to how much ice they're willing to give. I've put those ice chips everywhere, in my shirt, on my hair, my mini towel, in my mouth, heck even in my Speedo. The run split was 2:16 and finishing time was 6:07, and I don't remember if I smiled for the camera at the moment. I got my finisher's medal and went for an outdoor shower. Ahh.. LIFE is good.

The Good: the route is an easy course in the familiar triathlon ground that is Subic

The Bad: my legs couldn't stand the test of a 70.3 for a nice run 

The Ugly: nothing went ugly even when my ITBS struck it wasn't ugly ugly.. but the porta-potties in Dungaree Beach were too few i think

The Race: Century Tuna brought Ironman 70.3 nearer to me, the expo looked like an EXPO

The Time: 6 hours 35 minutes = the average time of Age Group 45-49 Male

The Best: this is the only race where no one cut the course - said the head timer

The Lesson: just keep on moving

All In A Day Before Race Day - Ironman 70.3 Subic

Saturday, March 7, 2015

Pre Race Day in Pictures.

clockwise: 

1- Depart from house at exactly 5:38 a.m.

2- North Luzon Expressway

3- Restaurant at NLEX

4- Arrival at Subic via this tunnel

1- Arrived at SBECC to claim race pack

2- Body marking

3- Race pack and goodies

4- Photo wall picture taking

race expo

clockwise:

1- Transition area 1

2- Longest transition area runway

3- Bike check in tents

4- Swim start venue

clockwise:

1- Craig 'Crowie' Alexander book signing

2- Transition Area 2

3- Race Briefing

4- Dinner at Meat Plus

Some things not in the photos:

1- I lost my T2 bag so I had to ask for a replacement

2- I had a massage before going to sleep

3- The body marking came with Age Group marking

4- The bag of loots was the HEAVIEST I've seen 

5- I bought my race nutrition at Bread Talk

You only do what you can Do

After struggling in Challenge PH last week I spent the post race week without a single run to rest my frail body but obviously I have to prepare for Subic IM70.3 in two week's time so I just did what I could - hit the pool, rode the bike and played some classic PS4 games. ;)

I also replaced the mtb crankset on my road bike with the old 105 double compact. I found that the mtb cranks were harder to tune with the road cogs (the chains would sometimes get caught between the plates and I always found myself riding with cross chain.

I didn't get my usual long rides, long runs and long swims ten days prior to an event but I'm pretty much confident that the half distance race last February 21 helped me to prepare for IM70.3. With less than a week before the next race I can only hope that I could run three times before the race weekend.

Last Saturday I wasn't able to do key workouts because I had to go to the open house of the School of Humanities and see if my daughter would like it. After hearing from and talking to the professors of the Department of Philosophy and Department of Fine Arts my lady decided to enroll in Ateneo (Creative Writing and Information Design) and not in my green Alma Mater (LIA-COM, Literature and Advertisement), and also not in UST (BS- Pharmacy to pursue Medicine - something that I kept suggesting her). I am so proud that she gets to choose to pursue her passion in a good school even if it means she'll be cheering for the Eagles and me for the Archers come UAAP basketball season. ANIMO!

the cat inspires me to do some time on the trainer

the flat bar has to go away... back with the drop bar

School Of Humanities - PROCEED WITH PASSION

I love art and this one just looks awesome 

playing some classic games

the dress that got the netizens talking - the blue and black in the middle ... NO gold and white, right?

All In A Day Before Race Day - Challenge PH 2015

February 20, 2015

A look at how the day before race day unfolds.

1- Pick up of race pack at Harbor Point Mall, 2- Pepper Lunch, 3- Buma Hotel, 4- Buma Hotel lobby deco 5- Philippine Sports Arena during travel

1- Ocean Adventure, 2- Puro Tri Team during race briefing, 3- Stage performance after briefing, 4- Transition area during bike check in, 5- Panorama shot of race briefing at the finish line

1- Bike check in, 2- 2nd dinner at Meat Plus (1st was at the carbo party at Ocean Adventure), 3- Late night massage at Ritz Spa, 4- Challenge Expo at Harbor Point Mall, 5- Welcome speech from Challenge Family

Oh Challenge, I Fade - Challenge PH Race Report

Expectation: 6 hours 50 minutes, Reality: 7:12. 

By the numbers

I only knew about the exact date of the event last Thursday. I was still hammering on my bike route, swam a 2.2K time trial, and jogged for about 40 minutes with less than two days until the race not knowing that Saturday would be race day. It was luck that I got to check the event schedule and found out that it's not a Sunday race. Miracle number 1: I didn't DNS.

My pre race routine included a visit to the rest room when the race was about to start. I was in the line for a major necessity but it was getting too late so at around 6 minutes before the horn I proceeded to the starting line and prayed for the best. Miracle number 2: my stomach was not looking for the restroom throughout the race.

Maybe I should have sticked this tri tats somewhere else  

Swim 1.9K

It was a very clean start at the Camayan Beach Resort. I was on the fourth wave (M18-29, Male 40-49) and my first tri swim without the feeling of a washing machine start. The middle part was shallow and I think I saw a ship wreck on the last turn. It was over in less than 37 minutes. Miracle number 3: no washing machine start.

Transition 1

I wore my loose cycling shorts, loose muscle shirt (yes, I hate tight fitting clothes), my cycling shoes, sunglasses and race number; then I was off.

Transition Area

Bike 90K

From kilometer 1 to 89 people were passing me. It felt like everybody in my wave just overtook me. Even the athletes from the last wave overtook me on the hills of Bataan. The view was a typical mountain view, unpopulated with dense forestation. The road was endlessly winding and undulating. And the weather was HOT! The first 30 kilometers was OK by my standard but the last 60K was terrible. I had a better ride last year when Reggie was pacing. But still... Miracle number 4: I only had one stop and it was a brief one, I neither got a flat tire nor a mechanical problem considering that I used an MTB crankset on a Shimano 105.

You'll definitely run faster once you see this ;)

Run 21K

Just like Tri United 3 last year, I was already spent at that point. I was so 'laspag' that I forgot to change to my running attire. I didn't forget the cellphone though. I saw my teammate Lloyd on my entry to the forest, he was already on the way out to the finish line. The difference between last year and this time around was that I knew what to expect. I felt I couldn't run so I just jogged and tried to minimize the time I spend on hydration breaks. I was jogging much slower than Tri United 3 but I had a better run split. The run course took us to the forest reserve where PNP Special Action Forces were training specifically the Viper commandos. On short distance triathlons I usually overtake a lot on the run course but it wasn't short and on that day I couldn't seem to overtake anyone. Miracle number 5: I finished. 

Medal of Laspag 

So here goes...

The Good: the difficulty of the bike route added to the challenge that is Challenge PH

The Bad: my performance needs a little bit / LOT of improvement

The Ugly: I could have gotten this race for a much cheaper price as part of the Bohol 226 appeasement program hehe

The Race: Challenge PH Subic is very well organized unlike last year, the events within the event are all above average.

The Time: more than 4 hours on the bike, period.

The Best: the hydration stations and kilometer markers were big big upgrades.

The Lesson: be prepared even if it's not your main priority race

Philhealth Simultaneous Nationwide Run - 20K

February 15, 2015
20K Run

This is my first long run of the year leading up to Challenge Philippines on February 22. I am on my 14th day of training and this is absolutely heaven sent as the race is fast approaching and I don't have a single long run within my training.

before, during, and after the run

I was early on the venue because I have to distribute the race pack to my friends who were going to run the 20K. After meeting up and putting the number on our shirts we proceeded to give our raffle stubs to the organizer and waited for the start. An anthem and a prayer later we were told to line up near the starting line. There were very few participants, we can start at the front if we wanted to but we settled at the third row. Then the gun went off. It was 4:30 a.m.

The plan was to run alongside my two buddies Pong and Zaldy but after a couple of kilometers Zaldy, who just run the Condura 42K, got it going and left us. It was an easy run all throughout. At the halfway point we clocked 1 hour 15 minutes. We finished the run in 2:38. It was Pong's first run above 10K and now he's looking for more. Woohoo!

We didn't wait for the raffle announcement and just went straight to Jollibee for our breakfast, headed home for a sleep and somehow I think my body's aching especially the back of my knees... hmm.

Yep, It Started Alright

Procrastination is to January as Christmas is to December. But February 22 is Challenge Philippines and I'm glad to say that I already started training on February 2, 2015.

2015 training starts now

I have 3 weeks to prepare, and with 12 days in... it's all good and fun. I'm slowly getting some mileage on every discipline and it looks like my body is handling the workouts just fine - I'm still in one piece!!! :)

Although 3 weeks is a bit short to prepare for a half distance tri (duhh) it's not totally that bad since I had a good fitness base before I stopped working out on December 3, 2014. I just do workouts that I can comfortably finish, and because of that I'm holding up pretty well - I guess :).

There were a lot of creaking sounds from my bike

I am not working my ass off in fact I'm surprisingly calm despite the lack of training. My worries are the usual bits like race day flat tire, mechanical problems, porta potty issues, cold weather, etc... and my little toes. I have a busy weekend ahead so I may not be able to train as I would like to but hey I'm an age grouper right?