It has been a hard 4 weeks of base building for me. I’ve been spending so much time in the pool lately that I have been neglecting my runs and my bike rides. I am proud to report though that the my increased swim mileage is doing wonders for me in the water.
The joy and accomplishment I had at my first triathlon can be summed up with this photo.
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.
That 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.
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.
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.
See you on the next race guys.
It was a day at the beach that I would never forget. It was a day at the beach that would mean a lot of firsts for me. It was a day at the beach for an aquathlon. It was Camaya Coast Aquathlon day last May 29. I made it to Camaya HQ at around 4 am. I registered and I was on the bus headed for Camaya. As much as I hated bus rides, the ride to Camaya was a pleasant one. Sharing the ride with the Endure peeps is a joy. I lost all my fears of motion sickness during the bus ride. It was a long ride but it was a fun one.
We got to Camaya a little after 9 am.
It was quite a ride but it was worth it. We took a boat to Camaya cove and the boat ride proved to be one of my worsts. I sat in the middle of a boat which really seemed comfortable when the boat wasn’t all that full yet but it soon turned into a convection oven ready to cook me up well done. To add to the heat, my motion sickness kicked in and I felt a little dizzy. I always had this puking feeling whenever I would do big races and I had one at the race, both figuratively and literally.
The boat ride was finally over and I was so relieved that I didn’t hurl my guts out on Mike and Marvin and I bet they were too. We were greeted by the staple TRAP emcee upon arriving and it was a joy. It was as if Camaya was waiting for us and we felt like VIP’s. We got our customary drink and we got ourselves bodymarked. I was sweet number 18.
Good old coach Rick Reyes briefed us about the race and the course. It was fairly simple and we were off the the starting gates for a mass start. The aquathletes along with the trail runners all lined up and we all went blazing at around 10:30.
The first 3 kilometer run on the trail was fairly easy. I wasn’t anything as heavy and technical compared to Timberland’s trail course so I was comfortable going fast into the trail.
I was looking good up until the first part of the run. I completed the 3 kilometer trail run at around 30minutes. I got to transition right away. I took off my socks and my shoes and got my goggles ear plugs and I was in the water before you could say Camaya Coast Aquathlon.
I felt good going into my first 500 meters of the 1500 meter swim. The water was cool and serene. It was a sight to see the small fish swimming right under me. I felt like aquaman at that point. I kept my pace and I was able to complete the first 500 in 15 minutes. I was happy with it and I kept on swimming until I complete 1000 meters. I was still on target because I finished the 1000 meters in 30 minutes. A finish time of 45 minutes in the swim wasn’t too far away. As soon as I reached shore at the end of my second loop, I felt dizzy. The waves were a little stronger and I think when I was swimming, my motion sickness kicked in and it really put me out of whack. I had to sit on the beach of a while. I puked a little. I even took off my swim cap to relieve the pressure on my head but it never helped. I went back in the water dizzy and sick. My world was spinning.
I tried to swim properly but the throbbing feeling in my head got worse every time I submerged my head. I can’t remember how many times I stopped at the buoy to recompose myself but it was a lot. I even puked in the water while I was holding on to the buoy. I kept on swimming. I alternated between breast stroke and free style and I eventually finished the last 500 meters in 30 minutes.
I was so relieved to get out of the water but my dizziness didn’t end just yet. I puked once again when I was putting on my shoes. I was close to quitting at that point but since I already completed the hard part, I could easily run the last part of the race.
I thought I would be able to run of the spinning but I wasn’t. The spinning went on even after walking off the whole length of the beach. It made me walk the rest of the run and it game me a really really bad time. I was the last man to finish that day but I am still thankful that I did.
I was still feeling dizzy at this point but this is team endure goofing off.
A big congratulations to all the girls name Pepsi, Tiff, Zinnia and Ellen for bagging podium finishes. Team ShEndure represent!
I will remember to drink Bonamine next time I swim in the sea.
Went back to Subic to cheer for Tito Bong and take photos in the process. It was a lot more packed this year compared to last year and the years before. This was my third time shooting the event and I must admit I was kind of getting bored already. The boredom went away though when I was able to take photos of the takbo.ph guys and Tito Bong. It was great seeing them in their best form. See you guys next year. I might not be able to take pictures though because I plan to join next year.
A fruitful week indeed. I spent the whole week, Monday to Friday training and trying to lose weight for BLC. Four weeks have passed since the kick off of the BLC and since then, I have stepped up my training and revamped my diet. It’s funny to notice that this challenge is making me train non-stop for this but it is the only way to motive me.
It was indeed a fruitful week. Monday and Tuesday started off with some runs. I have dubbed Mckinley Hills as my secret training grounds and it looks like it is looking to serve me well. Monday was a very easy 10 kilometer run. I did the same run the next day albeit with a little difference. Bumped into Marga and Gail and I had so much fun running the training grounds for a second time. Tuesday was a great semi-long run for me because I was able to ran a lot more than 10 kilometers.
Wednesday and Thursday came and I couldn’t really force myself to run everyday. I went to the condo and swam. I am starting to learn how to swim again. After finally finding my goggles and earplugs, I went off to the condo pool. I started off doing breast stroke and it went well. I was able to complete around 10 laps back and forth in a I don’t know how long pool. Nonetheless, it was a great swim. After much hesitation, I tried to swim freestyle. I made sure my earplugs were on really good because I panic when water gets into my ears. I need to practice swimming more. I need to be able to conquer my fear of water. Time will come I guess.
Friday came and it wasn’t any different from the past four days. I tried to do a tempo run. I was in and out of Mckinley Hills plus two rounds around BHS in an hour. Not really sure how fast that was but I believe it was tempo-ish enough. Hoping to get faster.
Rest day tomorrow. I need to get fresh legs for Sunday’s NB run. Hoping to do a sub2:20 or better.