Dayo Triathlon

After CCM, I got the chance to train again for a triathlon event in 4 weeks.  I haven't swum in almost 2 months and my cycling was limited.  I got myself a roadbike in late December but could not ride her yet.  I was afraid that a petty accident could ruin our 3-month marathon training.

The DAYO Triathlon is a sprint distance event organized by sugbutriathlon and sponsored by the Dayo brothers (Cebuano triathletes who are now residing abroad.)  This will be the maiden triathlon race of my new roadie: BAZINGA (a Kona Zing road bike).

Learning from the mistakes of my previous triathlon, I was more confident joining this event.  With no speed training, I targeted a very conservative time of 1:30, broken down into a 20-minute swim (2:40 min/100m), 40-minute bike (30kph) and a 30-minute run (6 min/km)

With strong winds that day, the water was choppy and most were swimming slower than usual.  I enjoyed it though.

The swim leg exit was a beach full of rocks so one should be very careful.

The bike leg was a 2-loop rolling terrain with very strong headwind.  At one point, I was descending at  50KPH but a side headwind almost knocked me over.

Then there's the run leg and I felt that core muscle pain again.  Later on I realized that I was too tensed during the bike leg.  Relax man...

Disregarding the pain in my body, I attempted to do a "jump" shot before crossing the finish line.  Kingking marvelously captured the moment.

I finished the event in 1:32.  I did not reach my target but we had fun, which I believe is the very reason why we joined this sport.  Next event will be on April 3: The Speedo National Age Group Triathlon.

CCM 2011

The Cebu City Marathon marks our 1st runniversary and will be our longest run to date.  Over the past few weeks, facebook status messages were all about marathons.  I posted my favorite quote:

"Trying to explain the marathon is like trying to explain color to a man born blind"

I am so excited to see that color at the finish line.

My longest run was 33K 3 weeks ago (my birthday run) and since then, I tapered to around 20K a week.  I did not do any speed drills as our goal was just "trying to finish".

The day (or dawn) has come.  We woke up and got ready at 2 o'clock in the morning.  Gun start was at 4 AM.  We arrived at the starting line more than an hour earlier and met some members of our running group.

I felt amazed that exactly a year ago, we joined the 5K category in this very event and we only got to see the 21K runners who were assembling at that time.  I never understood then why they would want to do that distance.  Yet, here we are today, preparing on what will be the longest time we will be traveling by foot: 42.195 kilometers!

5-4-3-2-1 fireworks! CCM 2011 has been dubbed one of the best (if not the best) organized marathon in the country.  Words cannot describe how well this event is organized.  Closed roads, lots of marshalls, abundant hydration, massage station, food, entertainment, you name it!  There was a showband at the SRP area and listening to them made me wanna dance while running.  :-)

Anyway, we ran the first half as expected.  The plan was to run easy and always hydrate at every water station.  I love calculations, even to the point of measuring the number of swallows required to induce 8oz to my body.  I still follow my rule: 8oz. fluid every 10-15 minutes + 40-60 grams of carbohydrates + electrolytes (potassium + sodium).

KM 21-30 was still okey as we knew already how it feels, nothing new.  After KM 35, the time now travels faster (or maybe we were just traveling slower).  We decided to just run/walk up to KM 40.  After which, the excitement and adrenalin rush started filling our veins. 

The finish chute appeared!  What a beautiful sight!  Finally, the "color" of the marathon unfolded in front of our very eyes.

 
And here's the medal.

  ...and the post-marathon nutrition (+ 2 lechons) as we celebrated with our running group

... and the group pic

..and the post-marathon party, with a dance instructor (good thing, there was no bending of knees :P )

We run, we eat, we partyyyyy!!! :-)

Windsurfing 2011

It has been more than 12 months since my surgery and I was excited to try again my big sail in this cold and powerful Amihan wind.  This season is windy and I was excited to sail again.

Feeling my renewed strength, I rigged my 8.2 sail and headed out.

The wind was at 18-20 knots gusting up to 25.  I used to have no problem handling this before but today, I wasn't feeling that well.  I had a hard time hooking up and footstrapping.  I fell a couple of times and it was so difficult uphauling or waterstarting.  I guess I have to be back to square one to have that "feel for the water and the wind" again.

After 5 or so times beam reaching, my arms were sore and my legs were tired.

And the most difficult revelation: I seem to not enjoy windsurfing that much anymore.  Hence, the sport will be at the bottom of my priority list for the time being.  I know it is temporary but I seem to like triathlon (that finding the perfect balance training for swimming, cycling and running) more. :-(

My Birthday Run

It's been months since I updated this blog due to work and other commitments yet I feel compelled to write about three things since my last entry: my birthday run, my first windsurfing this year and race reports.

Dec. 19, 2010 -- the 12th month since Kingking and I got bitten by the running bug.  Since January 2010, we enjoyed the running boom in Cebu and met new and fantastic running friends.   Come January 2011, we will be celebrating our first runniversary and it is but fitting to do it with a bang: our first full marathon.

My 33rd birthday is a Sunday, exactly 3 weeks to go for the Cebu City Marathon 2011.  Most of the running programs schedule this day as the peak training day in terms of distance.  Hence, this would be the perfect day to celebrate my 33rd birthday by running 1km for every year of existence which coincides also with the longest run as suggested by the training program.

15 friends from our running group, "Ungo og dagan", a group that runs every Friday night, showed up.  The route is from Consolacion (KM 13) to Catmon (KM 46), a scenic coastal road.  Being a beach bum myself, the finish line is at our favorite beach resort in Catmon with some beach foods waiting.

 
We stopped at the customary kilometer marking to mark my birthday.  Actually, we did food stops when there are interesting foods or drinks such as Buko Juice in Liloan, Ensaymada at Julie's bakeshop, Bananas, Bibingka, etc, etc.  The abundant ATM's (automatic tubig machine) is also a welcome treat for runners as we only have to shell out Php1.00 for a 250ml hydration.  I still carry though my hydration belt with powdered gatorade as I am very particular with the hydration/nutrition in my runs (8oz of fluid every 10-15 minutes, 40-60g of carbohydrates every hour, + sodium and potassium).

After 5 or so hours, we reached the town of Catmon. 

The finish line:

...and the post-run nutrition:

Special thanks to my sister, brother and brother-in-law for preparing the food and bringing the van.  As I was driving back to consolacion, I couln't help but smile how far we did travel that day.

'Till next year guys. :-)