Meet a Triathlete: Corporate Guy Javy Olives Believes Hard Work Pays Off

“Meet a Triathlete” is a series of interviews with age-group triathletes that I’ll be publishing for the next few days leading up to Ironman 70.3 Cebu.  For all these interviews, I collaborated with my Coach Andy Leuterio of Alpha Tri.  To read more interviews, search “Meet a Triathlete” in the search box.

In this interview, we feature my Unilab Active Health teammate and friend, Javy Olives.  Javy is a corporate guy and family man so he’s a 1-workout/day guy, 10-14 hours max/week because of his other commitments. Among his recent accomplishments:

• 1st 35-39 AG Tri United 1
• 1st 35-39 Tabuelan Tri (70.3-distance)
• 3rd 35-39 AG Tri United 2
• sub-12 @ 2012 Timex 226
• Oh, he’s also a TBR Dream Alumni.

– Triathletes Javy and Levy finished strong at the inaugural TBR Dream Marathon in 2010 –

Name: JAVY OLIVES
Number of months/years in triathlon: 2013 is my 5th year
Age: 35
Job: Product Development Manager

What do you like about triathlon?
I like endurance sports in general since it’s where you really get to see what you’re made of. There is no hiding from yourself when you are out there grinding it out for close to 12 hours.

Why did you decide to sign up for Ironman 70.3 Cebu?
I like to do 2 Half IMs and 1 Full IM a year, and until recently there has only been White Rock & Ironman 70.3 Philippines. Personally I enjoy ‘small city’ races like White Rock, 226, and most recently, Tabuelan 111 more, as it has less of the glam and its more of what the sport is really about.

– At Timex 226 Bohol –

Give us three words to describe your training with Coach Andy for Cebu.

1. Epic – There were sessions that made you think WTF? Then you get thru it and are glad you did it.
2. Nerve-wracking – Is that one word or two?  Since we usually just get a week’s worth of plans at a time, you never know what you’re gonna get!
3. Exciting – Each week is different, and even the sessions are different, so that really helps break the monotony of Swim, Bike, Run, whilst building endurance, strength, and most especially, character.

Can you share what your training week looked like last week?
1 swim, 3 bike sessions, 3 run sessions

What is your goal for IM 70.3 Cebu? Do you feel confident in achieving your goal?
I’m hoping to set a new PR at the distance, which means going sub 5:09. More importantly, my goal is to pace the Swim-Bike well, keep my nutrition under control so that I can have a good run off the bike.

– Javy at Tri United 2 –

If you could only give one tip to people who want to get into triathlon, what would it be?
There are no shortcuts. There is only hard work, and hard work eventually pays off.