Woooohooo I just finished an Ironman race.

Pre-race

My flight to Naga was Saturday 6:15 am. My bike was brought by car by my brother, so no bike check-in hassles.

We arrived Naga after a short flight, greeted by a brass band, and local girls putting leis on us.

We were going to stay in Naga city, outside the CWC venue. After breakfast, we proceeded to CWC to get our race kit, and check in our bikes and gears. It was a festive atmosphere in CWC, with lots of banners, people milling around the booths, triathletes checking their stuff, doing some more practice. I saw Macca and company still doing some running.

I made a test swim in the lake, and biked around the CWC area to test the bike as well. Orientation was held in the afternoon. One last check on the bike and transition bags, and went back to Naga for dinner and rest.

The Race

Race start was at 7 am. We woke up at 3:30 am, had a quick breakfast and proceeded to CWC. We arrived around 5am. I filled my bottles with Gatorade, taped the Gu gels on the bike, made a final check on my Bike and Run transition bags. Proceeded to body marking (no. 256) and went for a quick warm-up swim.

The Swim

It was a mass start for age grouper and the pros. The pros were positioned in the waters, treading in the deep part already, while the age groupers were on shore. When the horn start sounded, it was total mayhem, as can be expected when  400 swimmers kicking and flailing at the same time.

Water visibility was absolutely zero; it was like swimming blind. I was getting kicked and elbowed on all sides. Imagine being on the receiving end of a 2-beat kick, it’s the equivalent to getting kicked every second.  In other words, this wasn’t only swimming, it was defensive karate as well! At some point my goggles were kicked loose I had to stop to reposition it. My swim cap was also getting loose all the while. I must have dranked a lot of water I was getting bloated already. I was swimming in a zig zag manner going from side to side instead of straight out.

The second loop was a bit easier as there were already fewer swimmers, and the buoys were more visible. I checked my watch as I got off the lake: 54min.  I was expecting my time to be a bit faster, but with all the chaos the chaos out there, I had to settle for it.

The Bike

Transition to bike was quite fast. Helmet on, race belt on, shades on, gloves on, bike shoes on, gulp of gatorade, and I was off. The plan was simple. Try to average 32kph, finish one bottle of gatorade every 15km (or every aid station), and one Gu gel every 45 minutes.

It was an amazing sight looking at all the school children who lined up practically the entire stretch of the bike route. They were waving little yellow ironman flags, and cheering the bikers. I must say that it really does pump you up, and brings out a little more speed in you.

I could hear the kids chanting over and over, “Go Ironman, Ironman, Go Go Go”.  The girls would be shrieking as if celebrities were passing.

The bike route was relatively flat, although there were some rolling parts. I think I averaged more than 32 kph fo the first hour, probably because of the excitement, the cheering and the still fresh legs.

At the second hour, I was exactly at the 60 km mark, which meant I was down to 30kph average. At this point my legs were threatening  to cramp. That’s when I remembered to eat my anchovy sandwich, my salt source. Compared to last year when I was fumbling to get my sandwich, this time it was neatly placed on my Bento boxes, already cut down to bite size. The saltiness was a nice contrast to the sharp taste of Gatorade and the sweetness of the Gu. Somehow the cramps disappeared.

As I got to an aid station, I would come to a full stop, re-fill my aero-bottle and speed off. Mental note: practice getting the Gatorade bottle on the fly, and refilling on the move. Hmm maybe next year.

I tried to double-time on the last hour, my target was to finish in less than 3 hours. I managed to arrive back to CWC in 2:56.(average 31kph)

The Run

Transition to run took me a bit longer. Bike shoes/ socks off, helmet/shades/gloves off. Run shoes/socks on, running cap on, swig of gatorade, and off to the run. All in all it took me more than 4 minutes.

As I started the run, my total time was at 3:57. Still on course for my target. My run plan was to do the first 10K in 1:10, second 10K in 1:15, and the last 1K in 0:07, for a total of 2:32.

The run route took us to the farm part of the town, going through narrow barangay roads. There were aid stations every 1.5 km. School children were also cheering all over. I reached the 5k turnaround aid station in 32 minutes. It was the most energizing aid station, with a cool shade, and a lady doing a one-person cheering squad. The bananas were great, I should have eaten more.

As I went back towards CWC, the sun was at its peak, and at this point I had to slow down to a walk. The heat was just too much, my body slowing to a walk almost automatically. I reached the first 10k mark at 1:15.

The second loop became more business-like. The school children had gone already (after all it was past lunchtime). The sun was still bearing on us. Everything was still. Just the sound of tired feet shuffling. Looking around, you can see the the running/walking wounded. One guy with a bandage on his eye, must have been kicked in the swim. Another one with a nastly elbow wound, still fresh, from a bike spill.

By this time, the aid stations were already serving Coke. Nothing like sugar to keep us going.

According to my most optimistic target, I could finish to finish in 6:22. By the time I reached the 20K run mark, it was already 6:32. I adjusted my target to finish below 6:40. I had one kilometer and about 8 min to go. Normally this should be easy to do, but after swimming, biking and running 112 km, the last kilometer is always the hardest. In fact I had to walk again at some point here. It was a nice gesture that there were 2 foreign pros at the last 200 meters encouraging us on to finish strong. I crossed the finish line at 6:39 on the clock.

Race results here.

Two weeks to go before the big day. Registration has already closed. Turning down the training volume before the final taper.

Scrolling through the athlete list, I see big names like Chris McCormack – the 2007 Ironman Champion, Terenzo Bozzone, the reigning Ironman 70.3 Champion, and others such as Cameron Brown, Emma Bishop, Bree Wee.

Seeing such champions, it feels like joining a basketball league with Kobe Bryant and LeBron James playing. Or maybe it’s how Angola felt while playing against the Dream Team with Michael Jordan and gang.

Who do yo think will win the race? It’s being billed as the clash of the Tri-tans, a toss-up among Terrezo Bozzone, Chris McCormack, and Cameron Brown.  Cast your vote here.

Aside from 400+ individual competitors, there are 50+ relay teams, which include the likes of Olympic swimmer Akiko Thompson, running coach Rio “Runrio” dela Cruz, Padyak Pinoy champion Santy Barnachea.

With 5 weeks to go before Camsur, the Globe Run for Home 21K race was the perfect tune-up run race. I have not been able to do the full distance on training, so this seemed like a good opportunity to do so.

The race started at 5am with a big crowd of 21K runners. I heard that there were more 21K runners than 10K runners, proof that 21K is indeed the new 10K, as Levy had previously observed. It was indeed a fun race going through the Makati Business District, with a run pack that was pretty fast. I was 1:03 at the 10K mark, and eventually finished in 2:19, decent enough for me. With timing chips and all, the race had pretty awesome race results summaries, and cool photos too. Here is my results summary. It basically tells me I’m a middle of the pack runner (or more acccurately, back-of-the-middle-pack hehe).

One of the reasons for joining the race is so that I would be able to run the full distance. I had wondered, in the training plan I’m following, why the full run distance was not covered. In the case of the swim and bike portions, the full distance can be covered, with 50-60 minutes of swimming, and 3-3.5 hours of biking. But the time allotment for the run is only up to 1.75 hours, not enough to do 21K (not yet).

Well, recovering from yesterday’s 21K race, I know why the training plan doesn’t cover the 21K. Unlike swimming and biking, running really destroys the body, such that it just takes longer  for the body to recover, considering the training schedule to follow.

This is true even for bike-to-run transitions (bricks). The plan only allows 15 min bricks. I’m always tempted to do a one-hour or more brick (which I was doing last year). Reading up on most triathlon literature, however, the advise is only to do up to 45 minutes brick, as the most important thing is to get the body to be accustomed to running of the bike (at this point, something my body isn’t yet doing). I guess the reason for wanting to do the full distance is to gain the confidence that it can be done come race time.

It’s exactly 5 weeks to go before Camsur. This is where the training goes on overdrive, before the final taper. Looking forward to enjoying the race, come August 23.

Here is the bike elevation for the Camsur Ironman 70.3, as provided by Paolo from the Secretariat. It looks quite flat. I do hope this translates to a fast bike time, with plenty to spare for the run! Big ring all the way! (Click for a larger view).

I recently sent some questions to the Secretariat of the Cobra Ironman 70.3 Philippines. Below are their answers to my questions.

Updates 07.13.09 : Cut-off times and final schedule included below.

1. What is the official energy gel and energy drink?  Will energy gels be available for sale? – the official energy  drink is Cobra, energy gel is Hammer Gel. Both are available for selling.

2. What drinks will be available at the aid stations? There will be water, Gatorade and Cobra Energy Drink available on the race course.

3. What are the cut-off times per event? The approved cut-off time is 8 hours from race start. The specific cut-off times for the swim, bike and run is still to be set by WTC.

Update: The cut-off times are as follows:

The swim course will be closed 1 hour 10 minutes after the actual start of the race. Swimmers remaining in the water after this time will be disqualified and will not be permitted to continue in the event.

The bicycle course will be closed 6 hours after the actual start of the race.

The race course will be closed 8 hours after the actual start of the race.

Please refer to the 2009 Ironman 70.3 Philippines Rules.

4. Will there be a bike shop to do bike check/repairs? There will be about 6 certified mechanics to do bike-check and minor repairs.Race Management is still in talks with a local bike shop that would sell minimal(e.g. bike tubes, tires, etc) items at race site.

5. What is the schedule of activities? – please see attached (file) FINAL schedule.

6. Will there be a qualifying slots for the Ironman  Championship? – There will be qualifying slots for Ironman World Championship 70.3 at Clearwater Florida.

Event Date: August 23, 2009
Last Day to Register: July 31, 2009

With Subit out of the way, and after taking few days off from training, it was time to focus on Camsur. I downloaded a 20-week Half-IM training plan, only to realize that Camsur is just only 13 weeks away!

Oh well, just have to start somewhere in the middle. I distilled the training plan to a simpler form above for easy reference. The original can be found here, which has the details like pace, hills, etc.  In any case, what’s important for me at this point  is to get the training volume, and just mix up the pace as desired. Hopefully, this should be adequate enough to get me a decent time, say a sub 7

Next problem: how to transport the bike!

The biggest Subic International Triathlon event (SUBIT) was held last Sunday with over 400+ participants. What’s new about it was the swim part, which was done at Dungaree Beach, instead of the usual beach at the Boardwalk. This was a welcome change as Dungaree offered clearer waters and a much pleasant swim. The consequence of this was that there would be two transition areas: T1 at Dungaree Beach and T2 at the Boardwalk area.

For the first time, we managed to catch the pre-race briefing and dinner. After getting our race packets and getting some food, Butch, Jerome and myself settled into Legenda to prep our bikes.

We woke up at 3am, had several peanut butter sandwiches, proceeded to bring our stuff to the T2 area, then went to T1 to unload the bikes. The additional complication here was that I had to bring the car back to the Boardwalk area, since I didn’t want to go back to T1 after the race. Good thing JP Dy offered his driver to bring us back to T1 from Boardwalk, which after this whole operation, we got to reach at 6:30 am already. We just had enough time to do some warm up and settle down. Mental note: next time bring a driver.

By this time the elite men had already started their race, followed shortly by the female age group and the team relay. The adult male age groupers started at 7am. Imagine 200 participants trying to paddle and splash their way through in a small area, and so it’s not a surprise why everyone describes this as being in a gigantic washing machine.

I positioned myself at the back, and managed to settle into a comfortable pace just before the turn-around. One thing that worked for swimming in a crowd is that I didn’t have to do as much sighting, since i could follow the swimmers ahead of me and at my side.

I tried to enjoy the clear waters, the corals and some fish life, when I was jolted by the dark abyss that suddenly appeared. Good thing this was already near the turn around, which provided some comfort that I would be back to clear waters again. I was quite happy with my swim, in the sense that I felt comfortable all throughout. Maybe I just need to improve my kick. Mental note: Be serious with the drills.

After 2 swim loops, it was on to T1. My swim time: 43:18. I rinsed myself at the showers, put on my socks, bike shoes, helmet, visor (I decided no gloves this time). Then off to the bike.

The bike route went up the hills almost immediately. I found myself already huffing and puffing in short order, with a couple of athletes overtaking me. Mental note: get some serious hill training. And shed those extra pounds fast.

Halfway through the ascent, it was quite a sight to see the first riders going down at breakneck speeds. The striking thing was that all of them had wide grins, or maybe that was the wind plastering their faces. In any case, the rest of the ride was quite pleasant, the slow ascent being compensated by the fast descents after the turnaround.

As I approached the boardwalk area, I could see most of the triathletes starting their run already. And I still had to make another 10K bike loop! Luckily, I still had a few guys in company so I had better just get on with it.

I finally got into T2. Bike time: 1:49. I changed socks and shoes, had a few gulps, then sped off for the run. Or maybe it was a fast walk. I could not make myself run faster. The hot blazing sun made it worse.

As I began my first loop, I was wondering why it seemed I was suffering more in this race, compared to previous races. Could be the new age group I’m in . Most certainly it was the inadequate training. The second and third loops were even harder and it seemed longer, seeing almost everyone finished already. I had to run-walk at the 4th loop, but the thought of nearing the finish made me pick up the pace. My run time: 1:19.

I finished in 3:51, certainly not my best time, but the thrill and fun (ok, more like relief) of finishing was there as it had always been.

Race results here.

Ed Note: This is a guest post from Jerome Araullo, who ran his first ever full marathon in Hongkong last Feb 8, 2009.

HOW I SURIVED THE 2009 STANDARD CHARTERED HONGKONG MARATHON

I believe that my last weeks’ adventure is worthy of being recorded in the annals of the internet because of two things : One, I wont have to retell the story over and over again to friends and relatives, and Second, when I can no longer run, ride a bike, or swim, this blog can help me recollect.

I never had my own blog

Perhaps I feel that there are just too many blogs out there in the net and I don’t want to bore people with some personal anecdotes to death. Thanks to D’ Great Groundhog Dude for lending me some airtime thru his well read sports memoir.

So here it is. Let me tell you about my exploits in Hong Kong. How I survived it and the 2009 Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon… Alone.

PRE-RACE
I Arrived in Hong Kong February 5, 2009 in the morning. I had exactly three days before The D-Day… My first 42.26 kilometer run… a full marathon… The 2009 Standard Chartered International Marathon in Hong Kong.

My first day was my busiest. After arriving at Hongkong’s Central station, I proceeded to Wanchai at the Hong Kong side and checked-in my things with my wife’s best buddy Rita (who sings for a band at the Bulldogs bar in Tsim Sha Tsui).

I had to scrap my original itinerary for the afternoon and opted to spend the remaining hours of my first day in Macau.

February 6, 2009 – Friday
Overslept! Woke up at 730am. Today is REGISTRATION DAY for overseas runners!

After taking a shower I got my back pack and ate at a nearby noodle shop. With my trusty ol map, I proceeded to Causeway Bay to register.

Volunteers from Standard Chartered Bank were still setting up at the Victoria Park when I arrived. I was asked to return at 12noon. There was already a short line in the overseas runners registration area when I came back.

The registrants were mostly expats, and some newbies from all over who traveled to HK just to run their marathon. Boy was I happy to see Kababayan runners. Mga tiga Cebu si Leszl Lumindas Gitaruelas, Mendel Lopes, and Brandon Bon who is a fitness first instructor in Cebu. They were all running the half marathon.

Later on, two Pinoy couples arrived Cris Litton and a friend. They were going to run the full marathon also and will write about the experience for Nike.

Moments later, the Kenyan delegation arrived. Some runners had their picture taken with them.

Registration fee was in cash only for late registrants like us: 440HKD or the USD equivalent. They also collected a 100HKD deposit for the timing chip.

The RACE KIT consisted of the following goodies:
1 Runner guide
1 jersey
1 Baggage collection bag
1 tote bag
1 sticker
1 bank promotional material
1 Finishers Medal – Yes, Kahit hindi mo matapos may medal ka na! Wooohooo! Bale wala ng photo op with the medal sa finish line.

February 7, 2009 – Saturday
Woke up at 530am.

Got out at around 6am and searched for a new noodle house for carbo loading. Reconned starting line and designated baggage drop off area. As I was walking along Nathan road guess who I saw? Two of the Ethiopian runners running! Wala bang taper taper para sa mga ito?

My biggest mistake for the day was I still pushed through with my IT to do some sight seeing and shopping. “Hey! It was my first time in Hong Kong!”

Sham Shui Po  Prince Edward  The Peak  Central  Avenue of the Stars (Lights show) in Tsim Sha Tsui  and Nathan road!!!

LESSON FOR THE DAY – Next time plan where you will have your carbo loading.
• Never assume that their Mcdo and KFCs in HK serve spaghetti.
• Never assume the Spaghetti House serve cheap spaghetti.
• Resist the urge to shop or tour HK before race day.
• Next time get a room with a TV

11:00pm Back at the tenement, I prepared the following stuffs for My Marathon:
• New Balance Singlet
• Running tights (shorts)
• Fuel Belt with 2 flasks only (with Pokari Sweat)
• 10- Gus (1 of them Roctane)
• 1 cellphone (a must)
• photocopy of my passport (mahirap na baka madeport)
• 1 small bottle of Omega pain killer
• 1 running socks NB
• My Asics running shoe with the 100HKD timing chip

FEBRUARY 8, 2009 – RACE DAY
330AM – All 3 alarm clocks go off!  I did some brief stretching on the bed (hmmmm) and left the tenement to go to the starting line.

I had a bowl of macaroni soup and cup of coffee at nearby Mcdo Peking road.

The starting line for the Marathon and the half marathon was at Nathan road near the Mira hotel in Tsim Sha Tsui. The full Marathon was scheduled to start at 8am.

I spent the next 3 hours stretching, hydrating, and eating. The nearest Adidas shop along Peking road opened early, and the staff members were sticking Adidas post-its on runners backs which had different messages on it.

I met a kindhearted HK-based Kababayan named Pixie Ferrer, who realized my predicament as a lone tourist and runner. I explained my problem and she agreed to shoot my pics at the starting line and email them to me after the race. Her hubby was running the 21K. (Thanks again Pixie!)

The 21 K runners were warming up at the back-end of the road. The elite marathoners, warmed-up business class style. They had a block in Granville road cordoned just for them for warm up.

Honestly, if someone would ask me where I encountered the proverbial “Wall” I would definitely say, it was at Kilometer ZERO. I was a constant visitor of the portalets which were lined-up along Haiphong street. I went to the portalet more than 10 times and even threw up a couple of times due to pre-race anxiety. I was simply scared s@#$less! (note: the portalets here smelled horrible also!)

A few minutes before 8am, the runners were called to go to the starting line. The elite runners – the Kenyans, Japanese, Singaporeans, including our very own Eduardo “Vertek” Buenavista….. were all in front… ready to leave us their trail of Hong Kong dusts.

Amid blaring techno music, the emcee finally gave a short but very stirring speech for all of us. It was so inspiring that I had goosebumps all over my body and this made me feel like puking even more. I realized, “what a minute this is far better than the rousing call during the last PSE Bull Run!”

Oh I wanted to back out.

While everyone was counting down, I closed my eyes and clasped my hands and said my standard prayer. “Magpapakabait na ako, patapusin mo lang sa akin ang marathon na ito.” He he he. Really.

Bang! The runners stormed down to Nathan road, turned left at Austin road  then to Canton road Wui Cheung  and we entered the West Kowloon highway.

I was surprised, that I was feeling strong during the start. It was like I left all my anxieties at Nathan road after the gun went off. I kept telling myself like a mantra “This is what I trained for” over and over.

After a few minutes, my mantra changed. I started to do my countdown :”O Jerome, 41 K na lang. ”My god! I knew this was going to be a loooong day.

Most of the time, say about 95% of the race, we were running on Hong Kong’s national highways or expressways. If you’ve taken the bus from the airport to either Kowloon or Hong Kong island, you have definitely travelled on these magnificent roads.

Watsons distilled water were supposed to be served at every 5K point. But I believe I saw water stations at every 2.5K or so. If Im not mistaken also, the ISO-Tone sports drink were made available earlier as well as the Cadbury chocolates. Sosy!

Volunteers at every water station were all cheering (go on?) to all runners. At one station, they were playing a recorded cheer na naka-loop! Astig!

The ambience for me was intense in most parts because all you can hear was the panting and huffing of runners in Chinese!

(Note: We should have the Iso-Tone drinks here in the Philippines also. They have this minty taste which makes it refreshing even at room temperature).

At the 10K or 11K point, inside the Teung Ching tunnel, the lead pack (4 Kenyans) of the race was already on their way back. Not too far was Buenavista on a toe-to-toe battle with another Kenyan. Their strides were so close they were already overlapping. I cheered our Kababayan “Go Buenaventura!!!” Ooops! (the following minutes, I was trying to remember what Vertek’s family name was.

TURN AROUND POINTS
Finally we reached the Tsing Ma bridge where the first turnaround was at 15.4Km.

Forgot to mention, the organizers had set cut-off times for different distances/locations. “Runners who fail to reach the following locations before the specified times as stated below must board the official buses.” This is in order to facilitate the opening of the marathon route to normal traffic at 1:30pm.

For this point (15.4Km), you have to be in within 2 hours before the double decker grim reaper gets ya!

The Winds at the two bridges near Lantao Island were merciless. Just like what a Singaporean 3:20 marathoner warned me before the race. He said in his distinct Singaporean accent :”Is this yo first? Take it easy ok? And watch out for the bridge!” He wasn’t kidding.

At 20.3 Km at Ting Kau bridge, the cut off was 2 hours 40. I was IN at 2:14. I was still feeling strong when I reached half way at 2:18.

I knew I was slowing down already at 25K since the group I was running with was already ahead of me by several meters. I got the Omega pain killer from my belt and spread a generous amount on my quads and calves.

At 27K BOOM! I started going bonkers. I felt the fatigue on my legs, and my quads were twitching wildly. By this time, first aid officers were deployed every 2Km giving out those wonder Chinese liniment lotion to tired and weary runners. They were so hot selling that in some stations they ran out of stocks!

I reached the 30K mark at 3:42. Many have arrived in bonkersville at this point. They were sitting under tents covered in blankets and being consoled by their loved ones on their mobiles.

The grim reaper from time to time passed by us ferrying unsuccessful runners back to the finish line.

The highway leading to Hong Kong island was endless and brutal. I started doing the Galloway run-walk intervals not out of technique but out of necessity. Inside the Western Harbour Tunnel, I chanced upon fellow Pinoy runner Ms. Ivy Macainan and gave her a high 5!

Outside the tunnel, about 8 Km more to go, I sped things up a little bit as I negotiated Rumsey Street flyover at HK Central.

I knew I could give the last 5Km a stronger kick but I was already afraid that would result to cramps. I kept on applying those Chinese wonder lotion and my Omega lotion and gently massaged the affected muscles. The last thing I would want to happen here is suffer a cramp and jeopardize my first marathon.

Ive ran so many 5Ks, 10Ks, 21Ks, and even 25K events. But this marathon’s final 3 kilometers was the most vicious 3K Ive done so far. I continued to hydrate and emptied the remaining flask in my fuel belt. I still stopped to massage my legs just to make sure the twitching stops.

As we entered Lockhart road and St. George Street, the deafening cheer of the Sunday’s shoppers crowd reververated throughout Causeway Bay. It was an amazing feeling running through those streets giving our worn out bodies another adrenaline rush for that one last kick to the finish line.

I made my last turn and saw the blue and green flooring leading to the Finishline Arch. It was unbelieveable. I slowed down a bit because I wanted to savor the remaining seconds of the grueling test. I wanted the pain and suffering to last a little bit more because I knew it would take a looong time before I run another 42.

Our Kababayans from Cebu were cheering me on as I crossed the line. There were about a hundred of us who crossed the line all at the same time.

5:26:49 was my time. Saved by 4 minutes before the cut-off of 5:30. Faster than Katie Holmes’ NY Marathon time, but not enough to beat Ms. Winfrey.

The crowd then started making a countdown to the 5:30 cut off. I turned back and saw several people dashing for the line to make it. A few did, but there were many who didn’t even if they were almost there. They were just an arms length away, and they didn’t make the cut off. It was dramatic. As far as I’m concerned, as long as you crossed the line, cut off or no cut-off, it’s a marathon.

Ivy Macainan was still at the finish line and we had our picture taken. I got my things and sat in a corner to rest my worn out legs. It took me a while before I could get on my two feet again.

I met the Cebu runners and learned that Leszl Lumindas won 3rd place in her 21K division. Mendel Lopes on the other hand finished 4th in the mens 21K challenge. I later found out that Leszl is a coach to many runners in Cebu. After HK, she will be competing 10K and 21K at the 2009 Arafura Games in Australia in May.

———
Well this experience has taught me many things. First, I learned what my body is capable of. This is where I felt one of the worst pain ever. I was aching all over, your glycogen levels are down… your body is shutting down and shouting at you to stop and quit.

The experience remains surreal todate. I can’t seem to remember the agony, the amount of pain I was feeling during the last miles of the marathon. But I kept on running because there was no way in hell that Im not crossing that finish line at Causeway Bay.

Now I know why non-runners will never understand why we put ourselves to such misery. I cant explain it, but one will have to run it and finish it for him to understand why.

I was telling myself towards the end of the race that I will probably not run another marathon in the next 5 years. Well, I was wrong. Ano ba ang susunod?

So that’s how I survived my first trip to Hong Kong. Hong Kong is an amazing place with so many enterprising people. I will definitely be back in 2010 to run my second Hong Kong Marathon but this time Ill make sure that my family is with me in this awesome Hong Kong adventure.

With the last triathlon race already done a few weeks ago, it’s unofficially the start of the off season. Actually for me my season already ended even before that with my last triathlon at Alabang last October and the New Balance 25K run in November. What surer sign of off-season than my bulging belly!

Looking back, it was a great year for local triathlon, as well as the running and cycling scenes. We had a full calendar of races this year, with even some conflicting events that you had to make a choice whether to run this marathon or race that triathlon or do both back-to-back! For sure, the bar in race organization has been raised high this year, especially with an army of bloggers eager to raise hell or praise to high heavens as the case may be.

Yes, blogging indeed has helped fuel the popularity of the local endurance sports scene, inspiring first-timers and beginners and motivating long-time enthusiasts. In my case, I blogged my way to  2 Olympic triathlons, 2 sprint triathlons, 1 Half-ironman, several long distance running races (15K to 25K), not to mention a long distance road bike race. Not bad for a desk-bound corporate serf

If this year is any indicator, next year promises to be even more exciting, with perhaps the biggest event to look forward to being the first Ironman 70.3 race in the Philippines planned sometime in August. Season’s Greetings to everyone and a race-filled and healthy year ahead of us.

It was another interesting weekend for endurance athletes with twin events happening: the opening of The Bike Boutique shop at Subic and the New Balance 25K power race at Clark.

First stop was Subic on Saturday afternoon. I picked up Jerome and his son Joshua at Marikina Riverbanks and proceeded to the North expressway, hoping to catch the talk by legendary tri coach Brett Sutton, which was part of the activities for TBB’s Subic branch opening at the Grand Season Hotel. Too bad we only caught the last 30 minutes of his 3-hour talk, but it was well worth it. We could see everyone hanging on to his every word. It was an intimate gathering, maybe around 30 people, with the Team TBB pros, the national team triathletes, and the age-groupers.

We got a load of acronyms from the coach. First he told us to be TUF, or hold our Technique Under Fatigue.  This basically means to train such that we maintain our rhythm or cadence even after fatigue sets in.

In the presence of greatness: Josh, Coach Brett, myself, Jerome, Rebecca

He also told us to mind the 3Ms – Medium, Moderate, Mad. These are the three training efforts, which roughly translate to Comfortable (Medium), Uncomfortably Uncomfortable (Moderate), Uncomfortable (Mad). Basically train at higher than Medium, preferably at Moderate, and once in a while go Mad.

We were fortunate enough to get invited to the dinner, which took care of our carbo loading requirements for the next day’s race. Going by looks, we were positively obese next to the pros! We had the chance to chat with Rebecca Preston. We had no idea who she was at first but luckily a quick browse of a Triathlon magazine lying around at the hotel lobby revealed she was no. 5 at Kona last year, and we heard from the talk that she was most recently Powerman Malaysia 2008 Female Champion (Monica Torres came in 3rd).  

The TBB shop, just at the front of the hotel, has a well-selected array of items for sale, at a reasonable price, judging by the cost of the Rocket Science race belt (350 pesos compared to 500 in Cartimar), which Jerome immediately snapped up.

Look ma, no more tapes

This is probably a breakthrough in the local biking scene as for the first time, an international biking shop opened here. According to Melvin the store manager/national triathlon team coach, the prices are the same as in Singapore. What we saw was just a fraction of what they intend to sell, so we should be seeing a wide and fresh array of bike equipment and accessories, adequately stocked. If it’s not there, items can be shipped in very quickly from Singapore, coupled with the fact that it has Duty-Free status in Subic. We saw compression socks, Gu holders, Park tools, Adamo saddles, etc. As we left, we saw Caloy having his brand-new Cervelo P2C being serviced by Team TBB’s  mechanic, flown in from Malaysia.

It was already 9pm, so we went off to Clark to check in Jerome’s favorite hotel, for the next day’s 25K New Balance race. We dozed off as soon as we got to the hotel. The next morning, we left early enough for the race site on to get our timing chips, chat with some racers, and get herded to the starting line. The race started just before 6am. It was a fun race as there were a lot of runners. We started as a noisy crowd of runners up to the first couple of kilometers, slowly transforming into a silent gritty run.

Fashion-wise I saw not a few people wearing compression socks, mostly tri people, so next year seems to be the breakthrough year for compressions socks. I guess we have to get used to the retro Back to the 80’s look with knee-high socks

Father and son savoring their medals

Remembering Brett’s talk, I was trying to be TUF all the way, but after the 12.5K turn-around, I ended up being Totally and Utterly Fatigued, and had to slow down, even walking at some point. I was aiming for a sub-3 run, but ended up doing 3:06. Still trying to burn off those Belgian fries! I felt pretty good at the end, except that I had to endure 3 hours of painful chafing from the rough New Balance jersey. It was a fun race seeing all the people, kudos to extribe for a well-organized race.