Running with Champion Triathlete Arland Macasieb

The day before I left for San Francisco, I snuck in a run with Arland Macasieb at Ayala Alabang.

– Arland is the cover of TBR Magazine – Nov/Dec 2011. Get your free copies! –

For those of you who don’t know, Arland is the Philippine elite champion of the Ironman 70.3 2011 and a 12-time Ironman finisher. He qualified for Boston Marathon in 2011 with a time of 2:52.

Before our run, I asked Arland to take it easy on me.  I was still recovering from New York Marathon and was set to run California Int’l Marathonin a week’s time.  He obliged and nonchalantly replied that he just finished Ironman Arizona last November 20. He set a new Philippine IM record with a time of 9:44:30.  His marathon time at Ironman Arizona?  Oh, just 3 hours and 19 minutes for his 42km.  That’s right after the swim and bike, guys!

I thought I was the only one crazy for setting myself up for multiple races, but I learned that Arland was set to do Timex 226 Iron distance triathlon on December 3, just a day before my CIM.  So, he agreed to run easy with me around Alabang Country Club.  Of course, “easy” is relative; it was definitely easy for me, but it was probably a walk in the park for him.

– Quick lesson on form and technique from Arland –

After our brief run, he shared with me some techniques he practices in his runs and as a Newton brand ambassador.  Here are a few things I learned that day:

• For proper form, pull up the knee and land on your midfoot.
• Do not overstride. Your foot should not go beyond your shoulders.
• Instead of focusing on your pace, focus on cadence.  Cadence is the number of steps you take per minute. Aim for 90.  Arland shared that, in a race, he checks his cadence and not his pace.  He advised me to change my window display on my Garmin.
• To increase speed, your stride increases.  Your leg stretches backward, knee goes higher.  Again, do not overstride.
• Use your core for power. Arms remain relaxed.