Category Archives: running

I am Gerard Cinco and I am a Running Addict

Posted on by dimsumandsiomai
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I am a running addict. I’ve ran so much since I started late 2008 that I cannot really count how many kilometers I’ve ran already. I am sure that I have surpassed 1500 kilometers. Maybe we can start a 1500 kilometer club?

Races and Singlets

What you see is a collection of most of my running singlets. That’s only 24 of what I was able to get last night from all the others I could not find anymore. I know it’s a lot and I think I have more. I think I am missing 3 or 4 more singlets.

I love my black Takbo.ph singlet. It is iconic. It is a collectors item. But above all that, it has been a gateway for me to get to know other people in running. When I was just starting out with running, I didn’t know anybody. I didn’t have any friends. Every time I wore the Takbo.ph singlet, other people from Takbo.ph approached me and made friends with me. Thanks Argo for introducing yourself at Milo Marathon 2009. It was great meeting you Doc Topher at the AutoReview Run 10k. We had a good easy run that day.

The Rota run singlet is my constant reminder that I should strive to do better. I ran a sub 1:45 21k that day and so did everyone else. Everybody was surprised that the course was short. Everybody was disappointed and everybody felt deceived. Instead of riding on the bandwagon, I saw it on a different light. It chiseled in my mind that if I train hard enough and run hard enough, I could someday complete a sub 1:45 21k for real. Up to this day, the Rota run singlet is my reminder and inspiration of what could be.

The Ateneo Sesquicentenial run singlet at the right bottom corner is a proof of my hard work. I ran a 23:50 5 kilometer run that day and it is true that if I train hard enough and run hard enough I can get better and faster.

I love my Botak singlets. They may not be the most comfortable ones but I love them because they make me look like a seasoned runner even though I’m just a newbie.

I have a story for each of those singlets but I am sure this entry would get too long. How many runs have you joined? How many singlets do you have already? Tell me about in the comments!

Duathlon Training Tip # 201: The Perfect Run

Posted on by dimsumandsiomai
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The 2nd Powerade Duathlon is only weeks away and I need to put in some good run training. My first attack at the race left me breathless because I ran myself out in the first run. After learning from it and trying to figure out what went wrong, I have been vigilantly trying to improve my running endurance.

I did a tempo 6k last night and it looks like it needs more work. I wanted to see if I can run a 5:20 pace for the whole 6 kilometers. I started off really well but I slowly started to fade in the last two kilometers.

As you can see from the splits, I was no where near my target of a 5:20 pace. I need to improve this time. My last attack at this distance, I was able to finish the 6 kilometers in 31:51 minutes but that run left me gasping for air when I hopped on my bike. If I could run a little bit slower and maybe able to finish with my lungs intact, it would be a big success.

Last night’s run felt good and easy. After the 6 kilometers, I felt OK and I felt like my lungs weren’t about to explode. I think I can still push for a 30 minute 6k but at my fitness level right now, I don’t think my lungs will still be intact. I guess with little more training, I can push a 30 minute 6k with my lungs still alive. I guess with more tempos, I can finally push it to a more decent time.

If I can somehow manage a fast and easy 6k, might be able to get my sweet revenge at the 2nd Powerade Duathlon. My target right now is to not burn myself out in the first run part and I think my training is pulling off. I rested a little bit after the tempo last night and right after, I proceeded to run another 3 kilometers. The next 3 kilometers felt really easy. I felt fresh and I wasn’t panting like a diesel engine in the morning.

It was an easy sub6 minute per kilometer run and it felt good and easy. If I can feel the exact same way on the bike after the hard 6k run, I will be extremely happy. I need to see if I can manage to feel the same way on my bike. I need to do a brick this weekend.

Enjoying My First Triathlon

Posted on by dimsumandsiomai
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The joy and accomplishment I had at my first triathlon can be summed up with this photo.

Enjoying the run With that joy and accomplishment came pain and suffering but all that went away when I crossed the finish line. It was a long journey and after finishing the race, I am finally able to call myself a Triathlete.

The race started off with a long 950 meter swim. The count down to swim start was excruciatingly long. I could feel my stomach turning inside out and I could literally feel my motion sickness kicking in again. After throwing up at sea in my last attack at multi-sports, every chance I get to jump in the water has been a battle inside my head. It was a war between throwing up and letting motion sickness kick in and myself. I just hope this phobia goes away soon.

After a few more minutes, our age group was gunned off and it was pure chaos. It was hard to swim with nearly more than 50 other guys swimming along beside you. It was kick or be kicked in the pool. Joel advised me not to push myself too hard in the swim but the rush with the other swimmers made me push myself to the limit.I could not have imagined myself swimming with a group this big. It was a good thing that we always practice mass starts in our swim nights with the team. Thank you guys for training me. The first 7 laps were the hardest. I had to share the lane with a lot of other swimmers and it somehow made my swimming a bit cramped and conservative. I guess that helped a little in not burning myself out.

On completing the 7th lap, I got out of the pool and dived right back in.

Fail diveThat was my best dive of my career. I looked stupid and it hurt when I landed but it felt good. I passed some other swimmers and I could feel that I wasn’t sharing a lane with other guys anymore. I kept my pace and I slowly but surely finished the 950 meter swim in 23 minutes. I ran to transition and made my way to my bike. I was happy to see that not everybody from my age group hasn’t left yet. I put on my bandanna, helmet, race belt, and then my cleats and I was off. I was on my bike faster than you could say ‘fuji roubiax 2.0′.

I wanted to bike hard and finish strong. At the level I was at last Sunday, I could say that I did fairly well. It was 3 rounds on the ocho-ocho loop around AAV and it was a joy. Everybody was saying that the course was really confusing and I dreaded the day because of fears of getting lost. I wouldn’t want my good swim time go to waste and get lost in the bike leg so I took it easy on the first loop. As soon as I finished my first loop, I pushed harder on the next two. There was a strong incline that really slowed me down which brought me to the brink of standing on my bike to pedal harder but I resisted. I didn’t want my legs to get shot come run time. My time for the 30 kilometers was pretty decent but it was still slow compared to the other guys in my age group. I finished the bike in 70 minutes. Not bad if I compare that to my last bike race in Powerade.

That’s me coming out of transition. I love running and my photos from the event when I was running shows how much I enjoyed it. It was a 7 kilometer run that separated me from the title of triathlete. Part of me wanted to run hard in the first kilometer to end the race fast but there was a fear that I might not reach the finish line because I ran too hard. It was a long hard climb at the first few kilometers of the run.

Aprub

I felt sluggish and tired and I felt like I wouldn’t finish with in my target of 2 hours 30 minutes. Things slowly started to pick up when I got over the small hill. After a few more kilometers I saw a fellow age grouper who was struggling, I passed him. I saw another one, and I passed him too. I remember last year’s Kona Ironman, a video of which I gather lot of of inspiration from, where Craig Alexander over took those guys of smoked him on the bike and I felt like him. I was over taking guys from my age group and it felt good. I probably overtook four guys from my age group and it was euphoric. It really felt like a race and not just another fun run.

No more eyes I continued my pace until I reached the finish line. I clocked in my run at a little over 40 minutes.

Crossing the finish line was a feeling that I could not fully comprehend. It was a mix of both exhaustion and accomplishment. It was a like finishing and passing an accounting exam. It was like completing my first fun run. It was like all those things but more because now, I could call myself a triathlete.

With the bike See you on the next race guys.

With the bike Aprub No more eyes Fail dive Enjoying the run Running

Mini-Triathlon Weekend

Posted on by dimsumandsiomai
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IMG-7394 It was the last weekend before my first official triathlon at Animo and I needed to get some serious training in. I hastily and carelessly ran myself out in my first venture into multisport when I burned myself out in the first run part. With utmost confidence and conviction, I could attribute my crashing and burning in that race due to my lack of experience in the world of multisports. Not to be outdone the second time, I joined the guys in their triathlon simulation. It was a 600 meter swim, 30 kilometer bike and 4 kilometer run triathlon. It was a great experience and I learned a lot.

After a very dismal swim experience at Camaya, I was reluctant to jump back in the water. The fear of motion sickness kicking in started to haunt me. Before the swim started, there was a nagging voice at the back of my head telling me that I should be afraid of the water; I should start to throw up; I should get dizzy again. I tried to block it off with a little warm up but the voice still haunted me. I guess the Camaya swim was so traumatic that it even lurks over my should even in swimming pools. We all started our 600 meter swim at the same time. I took it easy. I wasn’t a good swimmer. I wasn’t what one would actually call a Michael Phelps in the making but I managed to complete the swim.

IMG-7428 Slowly but surely, I managed to complete the 600 meters. I made sure I kicked hard on the walls to get a little advantage. The Animo triathlon will be in a pool too so I could really use the walls to get a much need push. I came out of the water at around 11 to 12 minutes. It was decent. I was happy with it.

IMG-7540 It was race pace for me even if I took it easy in the swim. The moment I got out of the water, I took of my goggles and my swim cap and headed straight to my bike to put on my bandana, helmet, and cleats. It should be in that order. Top to bottom.

IMG-7543 I was out of ‘transition’ before you could even say ’60% Animo Sprint Triathlon Simulation Weekend it was’. I was happy. It was quite a walk from the pool going to the roads of Aguinaldo. It was 10 loops around the 3 kilometer route that was planned. As always, I took it easy in the first loop. There was a strong downhill portion of the loop that I enjoyed a lot. I tucked myself in my aerobars and went down that straight line with speeds of up to 40 kph. It was hair raising and pee inducing. The downhill slope was fun but right after it was a U-turn that we had to make which meant that we needed to go up that steep incline. It was a good 200 or 300 meters of steady climbing. I blazed through it in my first run. The second time around, I switched to a different gearing combination which left me breathless. Not because heavens opened up but the light gearing wasn’t really what I needed going up. I had an easier time pedaling but the light gearing made me go slower. I may have had an easier time going up but I spent more time in the incline because I was going a lot slower. The longer time and effort on the incline left me breathless.

IMG-7639 I look ridonk-culus with my helmet. It looks like it’s just resting on the top of my head. It must be because of my bandana. I finished the 30 kilometer bike at around 70 minutes. It was good. It was good enough for me. It was certainly better than my first foray into the distance. I’m happier I was able to keep up the tempo. I guess the time I spent on the trainer really helped.

I started my run quite conservatively. It was 2 rounds around a 2 kilometer loop and I didn’t want to run out of steam in the first loop. I was easily doing a 7 minute pace in the first loop. It wasn’t too hard to transition from run to bike but the exhaustion was catching up to me. I felt a bit disappointed with my run. It wasn’t the most spectacular of 4 kilometers I’ve ran but it was good enough. I finished at around 24 to 25 minutes. I could have ran faster but my colds were catching up to me. I am hoping I will feel a lot better on Animo day.

It was a good Saturday morning. I am hoping that I can apply what I learned on race day.