1k4tribike

Hitting the asphalt again

2011-12-31T09:19:00.001+08:00

Tomorrow's a new year. Which means a new race season is about to begin. There's Condura Skyway Marathon on February (I'm just doing a 21). SUBIT in May. July is for Bike King's long distance tri. Then the Ironman 70.3 in August (Cebu? why Cebu? I haven't tried CamSur yet!).

But today is base-building time. Finally, a run longer than an hour. Here's hoping (and praying) that 2012 will be better than 2011, all-around.

Cheers!

Ending the Racing Year with a Whimper

2011-12-05T12:45:00.000+08:00

The race started an hour late. Not enough marshalls along the short (and only) route (5k). Water stations on the sidewalks poorly located; runners had to cross vehicle traffic to reach the hydration stations.

On the other hand, this race forced me to run again after a long hiatus (since my last post). Still in a quandary whether to register 42k or just 21k for the Condura Skyway Run next February 2012.

Merry Christmas everyone!

My last 21K for 2011

2011-10-24T23:13:00.002+08:00

I'm taking it slow for the final quarter of 2011. Adidas KOTR last Sunday was 2:20. Looking forward to the 6th leg of NAGT in UP Los Banos, my only tri race for the entire year. Sigh.

53:53

2011-09-12T20:51:00.000+08:00

Finally broke the 1 hour 10k record! Not a runrio race. Not the KOTR. Not a runnersrunner. Simply an Integrated Bar of the Philippines (lawyers association) race with barely 500 participants yesterday, 11 September at the Mall of Asia.

The organizers said they thought about the race just a month ago. We got the race sticker (not race bib) on the day of the race itself. Assembly time was 6:00 a.m. but it was already 10 minutes to 7 when they sent us 10kers running.

Regardless, I was able to set a PR!

Thanks IBP!

Old Man Surprise

2011-06-19T08:44:00.001+08:00

I woke up this morning pleasantly surprised to see the poster above made by my brats. Alexa, 9, also fixed me a ham and cheese omelette for breakfast (Red, 7, said he beat the eggs).

Being a son myself, I requested the brats to change some words in the dedication on the white board for my old man.

When Amy saw the poster, she also recycled the dedication for her own Papa.

The best brats in the world!

Happy birthday, Pilipinas!

2011-06-14T06:02:00.000+08:00

To celebrate the 113rd birthday of the Philippines, I ran the 21k with Team FNSLAW in the Independence Day Half Marathon Race in and around Fort Bonifacio. Just an easy run, with no personal record to break. Will reserve PR pace for the Manila Bay Clean-up Run on 17 July.

No nonsense bib for a no nonsense race.

The Bonifacio Route. I wonder what Andres Bonifacio would say about celebrating freedom day with a run.

Animo STK 2011

2011-06-13T07:10:00.002+08:00

The brats did a great job finishing their respective waves in this year's Animo Super Tri Kids at Ayala Alabang.

Judge swimming 50m without the help of any flotation device this time.

Red on the bike after a quick transition.

Alexa sprinting towards the finish line.

Gab holding off a full bladder after completing his mini-sprint.

Going back to school after an eventful summer.

Red (7-8 TRI) and Judge (U6 TRI) podium-finished, while Gab and Alexa improved their respective times from last year's race. Wahoo!

Brick-ing

2011-06-04T08:39:00.000+08:00

The Super Tri Kids sponsored by Animo La Salle is a week away. Gab and I saddled up for a 12k bike and he ran for 3k around Xavier School.

Generally, procrastination does not work in endurance sports. I do hope there is an exception.

From 3 to 10 to 15

2011-05-30T11:52:00.001+08:00

I registered in the European Chamber of Commerce (ECCP)'s Run for Integrity only for 3K, knowing that this would be part of my recovery after the grueling pace 21K of Greentennial last weekend.

Last Friday, soon-to-be-dad Buddy came to me and said that he sprained his ankle and had to flake his 10K registration. I arranged to take his 10K bib in exchange for my 3K place.

Yesterday, I made a commitment to be in the green zone (about 6:40 min/k) to take it easy for the 10K as I did not run for the entire week. When I reached the 10K turnaround in front of the Yupangco building, all the yellow-shirted 15Kers coming from SLEX U-turn still looked fresh so I ran bandit and pushed through Gil Puyat Avenue.

The lack of weekday training, of course, took its toll and I shuffled the last 3K back to High Street finish at 7:50.

The post-race breakfast was excellent: malt and hops!

So I'm still in the recovery mode, this time from the 15K.

Missed by a Minute!

2011-05-22T22:08:00.001+08:00

What would have been a personal record was lost in a minute! I have been preparing for a sub-2 for the Greentennial 21k for the past 2 months, doing the intervals and hill trainings. But my pace wasn't enough. If you see the micoach chart, I consistently ran sub-6 min/k (note a 2:02 clock but I was at the end of the pack at the start line). No other choice now but to improve the pace. Maybe later this year. Meantime, have to go back to another hobby: triathlon.

Training for a sub-2 Half Mary

2011-04-07T22:30:00.000+08:00

Day 1 last Tuesday of my sub-2 half marathon goal. Target date: 15 May for the Greentennial Run at the SM Mall of Asia. This means I will let SUBIT go for this year. My first triathlon would be Animo on June at the latest. I'm seeing a La Sallian trend here.

Virgin No More

2011-03-28T22:13:00.000+08:00

Race update: Another 21ker born! Nanding, who was having issues with carbo-loading and powerbars, finally completed a half marathon in Globe Run for Home 2011. Here are the before and after photos:

After the race, Team FNSLAW tried out Mercato Centrale for breakfast, which was conveniently located along the race route. Just couldn't resist the aroma of grilled meat wafting out of those two tents...

This is my second 21k for this year. I'm still debating whether to join the Subic International Triathlon this 1st of May or radically prepare for a sub-2 this Greentennial Half-Marathon in May.

Congratulations to all the finishers! Team FNSLAW will be joining the Run for Japan benefit race this 17th of April.

Half-Mary Virgin

2011-03-25T22:14:00.000+08:00

Nanding, my law office colleague who will be doing his first 21k during this Sunday's Globe Run for Home, asked me (1) whether he needs to carbo-load Saturday night and (2) whether a powerbar would help him in his run.

Assuming Nanding physically prepared for his half-marathon and the only remaining things on his checklist are these two items, then he's good to run the race this Sunday regardless. My limited experience in running 5 half-marathons (the last one being the Condura 2011) taught me to worry more about spending time burning rubber than what I would digest the night prior and during the race. Having said that, then:

Carbo-loading. I have the usual staple of pasta or rice for Saturday dinner, nothing different from my normal fare. I am more conscious about having an early dinner so I at least have two hours to grind everything before going to bed, which at the latest is 10:00 p.m. so supper should not be later than 8:00 p.m. The other important dinner ingredient is vegetables to make sure that I move everything out the following morning before the race.

Nutrition gels. During the race, I make sure that I replace lost salts and other important minerals (especially potassium) quickly and easily with nutrition gels. I slurp one sachet of Hammergel after 90 minutes of running. I also hydrate at every aid station, alternating between a small cup of water and sports drink. Another colleague of mine, Mike, munched on a Cloud 9 chocolate bar midway his first 21k. To each his own, I suppose, but I like mine really fast so the nutrients will seep-in during the run to the finish.

Ultimately, my goal is to enjoy the run and be injury-free for the next race. So have fun on your first Half Mary, Nanding.

This is bad

2011-03-23T10:04:00.000+08:00

What happens when you have a 21k for this weekend and you just had two training runs prior, each at less than 10k at that?

Enjoy the race and have fun! No sense in trying to set a PR and have a debilitating injury in the process. Target pace this Globe Run for Home: 9 min/km. I intend to take photos using the BB phone and see the results.

Back in the Saddle Again

2011-03-15T21:15:00.001+08:00

Finally, after two weeks of being indiposed, I managed to run a solid 7k. Don't know whether I have sufficient time to train for the 21k in Globe Run this coming 27th, though. Just going to take it easy.

For the 2nd batch of Dream Marathoners this Saturday, good luck! Your "first time" is always the most memorable. Mine was. I still have goosebumps whenever I pass through Santa Rosa-Nuvali going to Tagaytay.

God-speed!

Race Waivers: Reading the Fine Print

2011-03-07T21:27:00.000+08:00

I DNS'ed yesterday's Run United.

I have been under the weather since Thursday and no amount of Vitamin C, SUSTAIN, nor pineapple juice could remove the phlegm in my lungs. Worse, I have no training since two Tuesdays ago. Even though I registered only for 10k, there's no sense risking injury or prolonging the malaise.

Speaking of injuries, all organizers now require participants to sign waivers even before paying up for the race. But do we actually try to take time to read and understand what we are signing off? Let's take the Liability Waiver and Race Agreement included in the registration of the next mega-race, Globe Run for Home 2011. (Full disclosure: I am joining this race, too). We are going to use their form as an example only and not in anyway to criticize, chastise, denigrate or ascribe blame.

I understand and acknowledge that my participation in any of the race categories of the Globe Run for Home 2011 ("Event") involves risks. Right off the bat, you affirm that the race is not a walk in the park. You can get injured (or even worse) while doing the race. By declaring that there is a possibility that you can get hurt, you take the race out of the realm on non-liability to the sphere of full liability. You don't go to the beach and not expect sand between your toes. And who assumes the liability?

I, intending to be legally bound, do hereby, for myself, my heirs, executor/s and administrator/s, voluntarily assume such risks and hold (put your favorite race organizer here) free and harmless from any liability, damages, expenses, claims or actions arising from any accident, injury, death, disability, damage or impairment that I may suffer... You do, together with all your relatives who, Heaven forbid, would survive you after you conk out of KM6.52 while trying to finish the 10k run. The moment you see the Pearly Gates, assuming that you don't have a will, your relatives immediately become heirs to any property you leave behind, which includes claims against any person responsible for your demise. Or if you left a will, your executor would file the claim on your estate's behalf. But because you (and your heirs and executor included) already assumed the liability, your heirs or executor could no longer file any claim against the race organizers. For how long?

and forever waive and release them from any such liability, damages, expenses, suits or actions. Well, until the end of time, whenever that may be. It is one thing to assume the risk, which you already did in the first part of the waiver. In this line of the fine print, you are now saying, hey, your favorite race organizer is inherently excused from any liability. Even though the Gatorade ran out in KM1. Or the swimming pool was greener than a vegetable soup. Or the road had more holes than the moon's surface. Because in the first place...

I attest to being fully trained and fit to participate in the Event. Further, I give my consent to the organizers to administer emergency medical treatment in the event that it is needed. You said it yourself, dude. Not only were you in tip-top shape to join the race, you got yourself a coach and had the time to train in between fixing the kids’ breakfast, commuting to work, working, picking up the kids, helping them with homework, washing the dishes and kissing your angels goodnight. But even though you’ve done your intervals, uphills, and tempos, still there is no reason why your favorite race organizer could not intervene, just in case.

Finally, I also give my permission for the free use of my name(s), image and/or voice in any broadcast, telecast, digital/internet/online and print media for the purpose of promoting and marketing the Event and the sponsorships and for any other legitimate purpose.You may not be Piolo Pascual or Angel Locsin (of course you look better than them) but if you have that most winning smile or most striking jump pose, your favorite race organizer owns the copyright over your image. This is not part of most waivers but since you’re signing up anyway, what the heck, why not earn money from advertising your face in their race. You become an extension of their marketing plan (have you ever seen a plain white singlet?), which is the entire point of the exercise (pun intended). You don’t get any royalties for their use of your own image.

Take it or leave it

Waiver forms are also called contracts of adhesion: there is no way for you to review the fine print and ask the race organizer to revise the terms if you find it too reprehensible (well, okay, you can have them blow-up your smile on their next EDSA billboard). If you don’t sign it, you don’t join the race. That’s why in case of doubt, contracts of adhesion (insurance, leases, credit card applications, mobile phone sign-ups, UELAs) are interpreted against the one who drafted the fine print. But race waivers are beyond any doubt: you claimed that you have trained properly and that you’re fit to run.

Kids

And because weekly races have replaced your Sunday family stroll in Luneta, any parent registering kids (everyone below 18 years of age) have to sign off waivers for the young ones, too. But we all know that kids have a better chance of finishing a 5k than us age groupers, so there is no cause for alarm here.

DNS

Since you don't have any choice but to sign up, your best bet is to make sure you're really okay the (Saturday) night before the race (two for the road!). If you have any doubt about your fitness (or your sobriety), there's no shame in getting a scarlet-lettered "Did Not Start" on the list of participants. Chrissie Wellington did last year.

Thunder Thighs

2011-03-05T21:59:00.002+08:00

My wifey pulled me to attend a ribbon-cutting ceremony yesterday at the National Commission on Culture and Arts (NCCA) gallery in Intramuros, Manila of the opening of the University of the Philippines Baguio exhibit of its Fine Arts students. Being an alumnus of the school, I obliged. Good thing I did and managed to bump into Bobby Acosta, a.k.a. Thunder Thighs.

Sir Bobby "Thunder Thighs" Acosta, wifey, Adel Suesmith and Egai Fernandez (L-R) drinking tapey (rice wine)
to open the NCCA-UP Baguio Exhibit.

Sir Bobby teaches FA at UP Baguio and I met him when I entered college more than two decades ago. He did regular fartleks inside Camp John Hay, lifted weights and always Kenya'ed all the school-sponsored fun runs. He introduced "Mo-Jo" sandals in college, imported from the Diliman campus, and established a tight knit community of FA studes. I swore all the coeds swooned everytime he passed through the college lobby, to the consternation of all their respective college boyfriends. Who could blame them? He must have been in his 30s at that time but he looked like a freshman jock.

And he still does. He looks 20 pounds lighter and meaner than me. And when he attended the NCCA-UP Baguio exhibit, Sir Bobby commuted from the Diliman campus all the way to Intramuros using his bike, good 20k.

You can check out the UP Baguio exhibit

NCCA-UPBAGUIO Exhibit

at the NCCA gallery for the rest of March, just call their Information Office (632) 527-2192 local 612.

No Mother, No Face Diet

2011-03-04T00:54:00.000+08:00

I have been trying this new diet for a month now, following Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn's Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease. The basic premise is that anything which has processed oil is bad for the heart. So any kind of meat, chicken, or fish is a no-go. Vegetable oil, canola oil, olive oil and even coconut oil are proscribed. By-products like dairy and eggs (even yogurt, butter and margarine) cannot be eaten. Anything which has a mother or a face, Dr. Esselstyn said is not healthy.

So what have I been eating for the past month? Vegetables. Greens and beans. Lots of tofu. Sweet potato and oatmeal. Whole wheat bread.

And guess what? I dropped down 10 lbs and became a "floater."

A secondary benefit because of the weight loss: my knees aren't complaining anymore. I am now trying to see the effect of this diet to a triathlon race this coming May during the Subic International Triathlon, all things being equal.

Now where did I put that celery stick...

Down with the flu

2011-03-03T23:33:00.002+08:00

Sometimes, your body just says STOP. And then you have to stop. There's no way to fight it. Even though you know you have to run 10k for the weekend race, even though your newly cleaned bike wants your butt on the saddle. Okay, body, you win...but only for a couple of days.

Running with the Dolphins

2011-02-15T19:40:00.001+08:00

In front of the new St. Luke's Hospital at the 20k mark. Thanks to Runner's Runner (Jpeg Mendoza) for the grab (check them out at http://www.runnersrunner.com.

First 21k of the year at 2:17:00. Not bad for starters. Amazing view of the Skyway after the turnaround, watching the mass of humanity climbing over the EDSA interchange while the "Where the Streets have No Name" of U2 is blasting over my earphones. How often do you get to run on the Skyway? Until next year....42k.

2011-01-22T17:17:00.000+08:00

A 15k breaker this morning! Cool, crisp January weather, a little on the damp side after last night's downpour. Chilly than humid but absolutely perfect for an early morning run with Dave and Nat's running mates. Two more weeks to go before Condura and next weekend's target will be an 18k LSD.

2011-01-16T20:47:00.000+08:00

First multisport race of the year. 800 m swim and 3k run. Kids also joined as Super Tri Kids. Good training for the NAGT Oly next February.

Another 10k breaker!

2011-01-07T20:21:00.000+08:00

Wahoo! Broke the 10k barrier again, second time this week. Lesson learned: music helps drown the monotony, gives rhythm in positive split. Next week's goal: Advance to 13k plus!

Breaking the 10k barrier

2011-01-06T13:41:00.000+08:00

Finally, the 10k barrier is broken. This is the first time since the Dream Marathon last May 2010. Lessons learned: shorter strides, keep heart rate to average, hydrate, and don't mind the time. The objective is finishing the race and be able to walk away to brag about it.

Skyway 21k, you're next.

First Training Day

2011-01-03T13:10:00.004+08:00

I knew that I had to force the issue in order to start the 2011 triathlon training right.

6:30 a.m., I pulled Gab from bed to join me in swim drills. (I gave him a new Speedo orange pull buoy last Christmas so he doesn't have any excuse). But he couldn't find his goggles. We spent the next hour looking for his goggles. Was about to surrender the first training day to Tuesday when I checked the mesh bag for the third time and voila! found his goggles.

Went to Metroclub and did drills...only drills. Gab with his new pull buoy and me trying to do bilateral breathing. After about ten laps, we're both wasted. Time to go work.

Thank God there's Tuesday.