Posts Tagged with: "Cebu"

Two more days until the big day!

I actually have an hour to go before I leave for the airport and fly off to Cebu. This may be the last time I’ll post before I race on Sunday as I expect to be caught in the whirl of activities that surrounds Ironman 70.3 Cebu.

I’m all set. I’ve packed my bags.

– Can you find my peanut butter and jelly, bagels, and gummy worms in there? –

– Awesome bike bag lent by Joey of Dan’s Bike Shop to keep the boyfriend Shiv safe and comfy –

Along with the luggage, I’ll be bringing along a whole lot of mental toughness, focus, and some sense of humor for the race. (Hey, I can’t start crying now about jellyfish, waves, and crosswind right? So, um, I figured I might as well just laugh about it! Hah!)

It’s a little over an hour’s trip to Cebu.  But, the journey to get to Ironman 70.3 has taken months of sweat, sacrifices, crashes, and tears.  It’s also been the most fulfilling months for me when I learned about my own mental and physical strength and where I truly pushed myself to the limits despite my fears.  I’ve been fortunate enough to receive  guidance from the best coaches around (who I’ll thank in a post next week) and from family, teammates, friends, and even you readers who’ve always been supportive of me.  I couldn’t have done this alone!  But, at the end of the day, the Ironman 70.3 is a solo journey.  As with everything in life, you are truly on your own out there facing your own demons and winning your own battles.

It’s been a long, challenging road just to get here, and, I’ll see how it all ends—or shall I say how a whole chapter of my life begins—after Ironman 70.3 Cebu on Sunday. Until then!

6:49. That’s the target time set by Specialized for me to finish Ironman 70.3. If I finish before then, I own the handsomest bike I have ever set my eyes on, the Specialized Shiv, that was loaned to me during the past few months. If I don’t, then I’ll have to purchase the Shiv if I want to keep him.

My thoughts:

1) Holy #@%*#! What did I get myself into?! I am dead!

2) It’s a fair target time. It’s achievable, but it’s not going to be a walk in the park too. I can do this! I will do this! I will own that Shiv!

3) Holy #@%*#! I can’t ride that fast! I’d rather pay for the bike then kill myself on the road! (Wait. I take that back. I think my husband will kill me first if I have to pay for that bike!)

4) I’ve done the work. I am physically and mentally ready for Ironman 70.3. Move over Pete Jacobs!

5) Holy #@%*#! I have to run that fast under intense heat after swimming and biking?!

6) 6:49? Pffft. I’ll finish 10 minutes before then with time to spare to kiss the Shiv, hug my coaches, and high five my teammates.

7) Uhm. Why am I doing this again?

Like many other triathletes signed up for Ironman 70.3 Cebu, I’m experiencing a wild mix of emotions—fear, excitement, anxiety, restlessness, doubt, confidence, and more—in the last two weeks leading up to the race.  In short, I’m going nuts!  (This target time is pushing me even closer to the edge, ya know!)

No one knows how our race will go. All we know now is what we did in the past months to prepare our bodies, our minds, and our hearts to endure whatever is out there in the water and on the road.

Target time or not, I’ll be giving my best come August 5 anyway. We probably all will. So, I’m heading into the race giving everything I’ve got, hoping for the best, and I’ll just swim, ride, and run strong heeding my coach’s last orders: GIVE THEM HELL!

Wish me luck. And, if you have time, please say a short prayer for me.

I don’t know how I survived the past week.  Really.

With three weeks to go, my program last week was heavy.  As in, ton of BRICKS heavy. (No pun intended.)  Total number of hours I worked out last week was 14 hours.  Longest I’ve ever trained!  (Imagine, I could’ve flown from Manila to LA with all that time and with much less sweat!)

KILLER WORKOUTS

I swam my longest ever, 3km, on Friday, rode my farthest distance, 110km in Nuvali on my Shiv Saturday, then ran 24k with friends on Sunday.  If the workouts weren’t long, they were intense; those are what I did on the other days that week.

Except for the run (don’t be surprised), I wanted to quit each workout that week.  While swimming laps with Coach Martin, at the 6th out of 24 repeats, I was thinking I could just pretend to drown, which was not very far from how I looked at that point.  During my bike trainer sessions at home, the cushy bed upstairs seemed to be calling out my name every 5 minutes; I replied “No thanks!” with all my might in between groveling and gasping for air.  As for the run, nearing the end of the 24th kilometer, I felt like I could do more, but, um, the smell of breakfast beckoned so I knew it was time to stop.

HIGH FIVE!

Surprise surprise, I did accomplish every single workout the past week.  There was a lot of groaning and whining, but, at the same time, there was a lot of laughter, pride, and high fives along the way.

I am completely amazed at what my body can do now compared to a few months back.  (I am equally astonished at how much weight I’ve lost despite all the food I’m eating!)  I am also equally aware of how—through months of training this body at specific skills—I’ve also inevitably trained the mind to become stronger and more focused.  And, the latter, my friends, is what I think matters most and is, so far, the biggest gift this journey has blessed me with.

WHAT’S IN STORE FOR THE COMING WEEK?

This coming week is all about back-to-back twice a day workouts.  (Say what?!  Coach Andy, I never heard of such punishment!)  Man, these triathletes have been putting themselves through these grueling workouts probably for years now and I’m the new runner who’s foolish enough to try it. Hah!

So, let’s see how I fare this week.  I expect a lot of suffering and a lot of fun! (Yes, I’ve learned the past few months that the two can actually co-exist.)

Little Miss Bull Runner and I attended the Press Conference for Cobra Ironman 70.3. She hated her dress so she was not in the best of moods. On the other hand, I couldn’t help but contain my excitement for this highly anticipated race. Hope to see you in Cebu on August 4-5, 2012!

– with Vima (Kulit Runner), Li’l Miss Cranky Bull Runner, and Jun. Photo courtesy of Vima, Kulit Runner –

Here’s more info about the upcoming race. See you there!

PRESS RELEASE

The Cobra Energy Drink Ironman 70.3 Philippines takes to the sea in Cebu as the province hosts its fourth staging as well as the Alaska Milk Ironkids Triathlon on August 4 – 5, 2012.

After racing in a man-made lake the past three years participants will swim in open water as the Cobra Energy Drink Ironman 70.3 Philippines holds the 1.2-mile swim part in the sea starting at the beach of the Shangri-La’s Mactan Resort & Spa in Mactan Island.

The province of Cebu will literally host the event with the 56-mile bike ride traversing four municipalities ( Lapu Lapu, Mandaue, Cebu City and Talisay). The culminating 13.1-mile run will be at Punta Engano, Lapu Lapu City.

Race organizer Sunrise Events, Inc. promises to top the wildly successful races of the past three years assuring that that this year’s race will be its biggest, most exciting edition yet.

A huge field of 1,319 individuals and 115 relay teams from 31 countries, with 350 on the wait list, will test their strength and endurance once again as Ironman 70.3 Philippines provides another once-in-a-lifetime triathlon experience.

Alaska Milk Ironkids Triathlon on the other hand is for the youngsters. It is the local junior version of the international triathlon series, Ironman. It is open to kids age 6 to 14 years old and aims to promote an active lifestyle for kids to promote their health.

Leading the Cobra Energy Drink Ironman 70.3 Philippines are the professional triathletes including back-to-back champion Pete Jacobs of Australia.

Jacobs, who has become a regular fixture of the Cobra Energy Drink Ironman 70.3 Philippines, will gun for an unprecedented third consecutive victory after winning the past two editions in 2010 and 2011.

He will have his hands full against Cobra Energy Drink Ironman 70.3 Philippines inaugural champion Terenzo Bozzone from New Zealand who won the 2009 race. Other male professionals include Fredrik Croneborg from Sweden, Justin Granger from Australia, Mathieu O’Halloran of Alaska TeamTBB Philippines who now lives in the Philippines and Jesse Thomas from the United States.

Defending champion Belinda Granger, also from Australia who is fresh from her triumph at the Century Tuna 5i50 Triathlon in Subic, aims for back-to-back titles against familiar face Bree Wee from the United States who was in third place last year. Ali Fitch of Alaska TeamTBB Philippines from Australia will also be in the mix.

The presenting sponsor of the Cobra Energy Drink Ironman 70.3 Philippines is Globe Telecom. The official carrier is the Philippine Airlines. Media partners are MultiSport magazine, the Philippine Star and Studio 23.

The event is also sponsored by Alaska Milk Corporation, Century Tuna, David’s Salon, Intercare, K-Swiss, Oakley and Powerade. Official photographer is Finisher Pix while the host venue is Shangri-La’s Mactan Resort & Spa.

Official hotel partners are BE Resorts, Crimson Resort & Spa, Movenpick Resort & Spa, Radisson Blu.

The Ironman 70.3 Philippines has become one of the most-awaited sporting events in the country attracting thousands of participants since its inception in 2009.

For more information, check out the Cobra Energy Drink IronMan 70.3 Philippines website, www.ironman703phil.com.

Where did the past couple of weeks go?! After Laguna Phuket Marathon, a long bout with intestinal flu (yes, when you’re training for a tri 1-week downtime feels like forever), and a couple of milestones in biking and swimming, I’ve realized that I barely had enough time to stop and write this. So, here’s how training went the past couple of weeks:

SWIM

Swam my longest ever distance, 2.9k. Wow. Never did I imagine myself swimming this far. Imagine, when I did my first mini sprint in 2008, I wanted to die when I had to swim 750m.

BIKE

Finally, I ticked my first century ride off my to do list! I wrote about it HERE. Just like the swim, I never thought I could ever bike this far. Nope, not after a handful of stupid bike crashes and having difficulty riding in aero position or dismounting.

How did it feel to bike 100 kilometers?  It felt like crossing the finish line of my first marathon!  It was about achieving what I once thought was impossible.  It was about hard work, not just in those past few hours of that ride, but during all those past months combined since I got my Shiv.  It was about having this fantastic thought cross my mind once again:  If I can do this, then what can’t I NOT do?!

– Jun and I after our 100k ride at NUVALI –

I still have a long way to go with biking, but it’s been a great ride so far.  (No pun intended.)

On another note, Coach Andy conducted another power meter test on me last Friday. And it wasn’t fun at all. It was quite the opposite. It was 1 full hour of Suffering.  Yes, Suffering with a capital S.

The Power Profile Test was conducted using a Computrainer Lab unit, one of the most accurate commercially available ergometers in the market, with CS 1.6 load measurement software and Training Peaks WKO+ analytic software.  The test took roughly an hour including warmup and recovery per test of 3 x 5seconds Neuromuscular, 1 x 1″ Anaerobic, 1 x 5″ VO2 Max, and 20″ Functional Threshold Power.  (But honestly it felt like 4 hours especially since I came from swim training and we did this during lunch.)

– The start: when I could still smile –

– with Coach Andy Leuterio: the King of Suffering (kidding!) and my bf, Specialized Shiv –

– See the laptop? It showed my watts, calories, speed, distance, etc. All photos courtesy of Andy Leuterio-

The results? Coach Andy sent me a Power Profile showing my Power-to-Weight Ratio per specific test: 5 seconds, 1 minute, 5 minutes, and 20 minutes and Power Based Training Zones based on Hunter Allen and Dr. Andrew Coggan’s book “Training and Racing with a Power Meter”, which compares power-to-weight ratios for a vast range of cyclists ranging from untrained individuals to world-class riders.

For now, my rating is: “Fair/Moderate” for 20 minutes max, “Moderate” for 5 minutes max, and “Untrained” for anaerobic and 5sec sprint (hey, that’s pretty accurate! haha) My heart rate of 170bpm is pretty high for my Functional Threshold Heart Rate.  Coach Andy told me to watch my heart rate during the bike portion of Tri United 2 to avoid bonking and to just catch up on the run.  Hey, hey, I like that plan!

RUN

Highlight for the past couple of weeks was my Run United 2 half marathon. I didn’t realize how much I missed running. It was just wonderful to go out there and do the one thing that I love and feel completely comfortable doing. At the back of my mind though, I was thinking: How the hell do I run 21k after swimming 1.9k and biking 90k?!

Wish me luck at Tri United 2 on Sunday, July 1.  It’s going to be one long race: 2k swim-60k bike-15k run! Let’s go!