Triple Training Day 01/28/09

Woke up at 4:00 a.m. today to do some biking around UP. Initially planned to do at least 30K around the UP oval which would have been equivalent to around 14 loops.

Packed my things and neatly swung my office clothes on the hanger. Took a quick breakfast ( peanut butter sandwich ) and did my usual morning routines. Donned my triathlon jersey and cycling shorts.

Was about to attach my bike rack on to the car when I felt my stomach grumble. Hurriedly, I went back inside straight to the bathroom. After relieving  myself, I sat down for a while to feel if I need another trip to the "white house". With my stomach still acting up, I tried clearing it by sitting on the toilet bowl. It was already 4:45 a.m. and I wasn't sure if my stomach would be stable enough for me to go to UP and bike. I needed a back-up plan and I needed it fast!

Then an idea crossed my mind...I will just bike around the village at a 25KPH average and run immediately after to practice my transition for my upcoming participation in the Clark Int'l Duathlon on March 8. 

After taking a trip to toiletdome the 3rd time, I decided to push through with my alternate plan. The idea was to split my 10K between biking and running, 7K bike and 3k run at race pace.

I put my helmet on, wore my gloves and after getting a good satellite signal on my Garmin, I rolled off. I rode at 25KP immediately, no warm ups, no calesthenics. I was trying to take advantage of minimal vehicle traffic and asleep dogs.

I had a good sweat already after just my first 4K and sped up to 27KPH against the slightly brutal headwind. Upon registering 7K, I parked my bike home and changed shoes and started running at 5:30 m/km pace. I held that pace for the 1st kilometer then slowed down to a 6:20 on the second kilometer, then sprinted to a 4:40 on the 3rd kilometer. I was exhausted upon completing the 3K but it felt really good! Everything was done in 30 minutes and it was one of the best 30 minutes of my training schedule.

It was only 5:30 a.m. when I got back home. I thought that I could squeeze in a few more workouts before I prepare for work and hit the bench press. So as to complement my endurance training, I did circuit training with the freeweights.

After doing 1 set of 12 reps on the bench press, I stood up to do 1 set of 10 reps of upright barbell rows, which was followed by 1 set of 10 reps of cheat barbell curls. Did this for 3 sets.

The dumbells followed. After 1 set of 12 reps of dumbell flyes, I did 1 set of 12 reps of upright dumbell rows, then 1 set of 10 reps of seated barbell curls.

I was sweating profusely when I felt my stomach acting up again and had to rush to the toilet for the 4th time in 2 hours!

Still with a few minutes left, I concluded my workout with 300 reps of crunches, 100 reps for each side of my obliques and 60 leg raises.

A hefty serving of sunny side up eggs and meatloaf with sotanghon soup capped my early morning sweat fix. It was a good workout. 

Deo P.

What's next for me after the Happy Run?

After finishing my first 15K last yesterdayy at the Happy Run, I am now looking at the following races in the next two months:

Feb. 22 - Ateneo Aquathlon or RunNew 15K @ The Fort

Mar. 08 - Clark Int'l Duathlon

Mar. 22 - Condura 21K

I'm now choosing my races, primarily because it ain't cheap to join one.

In consideration of the above races, I am now going to train based on the following schedule:

Mondays Weight Training

Tuesdays Run at least 10K

Wednesday  Bike at UP Oval, start @ 5:45 a.m. and finish @ 7:00 a.m.

Thursday Weight Training ( a.m. ), swim training ( p.m. )

Friday Run at least 10K

Saturday Bike to Ultra, swim 10 laps, Bike going home

Sunday Bike 40Km, Run 5-10K, Club Manila East

If you like to join me, just drop me a note.

Deo P.

My Happy Run Official Time

Coach Rio really knows what runners look for in a race...speedy feedback mechanism to let them know how they ran. A day after the race, coach Rio already published the official results of the Happy Run here:

http://runrio.com/

Now, how can you not jon races organized by this runner?

Kudos to you Coach Rio for a job well done at the Happy Run!

My official time:

173 2723 Rodelio Patalinghog 1:26:28

Slightly slower than what my Garmin recorded but what the heck! It was a good race and I broke all my PRs. hehe

Deo P.

The Happy Run: My Happiest Race So Far

My cellphone alarm went off at 3:30 a.m. to wake me up for today's race, Drew Arellano's The Happy Run at the Fort. This race is in some ways a test of firsts for me as this would be my:

- 1st 15K race

- 1st time to race with a hydration belt

- 1st time I'm running with my cellphone

- 1st time for me to run with iced tea laced with hydration salts

I was confident I'd finish the race and aimed to run at sub 90 minutes. I have run almost the same route last week, and today was just going to be a review of what happened during the Bull Run and some error correction on my part on how I dealt with the "rolls" of the course.

I got to the venue at 5:15 a.m. and as usual, I was alone. I didn't see anyone I know until around 5:30 a.m. when Noel and his wife Jude ( both friends from PinoyMTBiker.org ) walked past by me. Noel was also running his first 15K and knowing how strong this guy is, I don't have the slightest doubt it would all be a walk in the park for him. He had his first taste of a marathon during the Bull Run's 10K and he finished a good 2 minutes ahead of me. Beginner's luck? I don't think so.

The race started at exactly 5:45 a.m. and I was in the middle of the pack. Slowly inching my way to the front, I suddenly felt the need to pee. Oh man! What a great timing! I was thinking whether to run aside and let it out, pee in my pants to avoid wasting time, or just hold on to it until the finish line...I chose to hold it off which was a good idea.

I knew I was pacing faster than I did last Bull Run and this I have proven true when I reached the 5K mark in 27:12. At that pace, I thought that I could also beat my 10K mark by roughly a minute or so.

The route took us through the Heritage Park. The place is heaven! I was smiling while running because the air was so cool and running there seemed so easy. I didn't feel exhausted even after running the slightly uphill roads there. I must have overtaken more than 5 runners during the series of uphills and downhills there.

At the 10K mark, I clocked in at 55:39, beating my Bull Run time of 57:35. I was ecstatic! I was telling myself already that I could finish in sub 85 minutes.

As we turned back to Lawton Ave., and with less than 5K to go, I was wondering how the route go as the distance from the 10K mark to the finish line was less than 5K, even less than 3K!

The surprise came at the  3K mark. We were pointed to Mackinley Hill. Oh no! The  last 3K was a combination of a fast descent and a killer ascent. I never expected it and thought of a plan on how to run it. I decided to roll with the descents and sprint it so I can relax on the way back up. As I made a U-Turn going back to the uphill part of that stretch, I started slowing down a bit to have enough juice in me to sprint the last 2K. 

I underestimated the uphill and slowed down to a walk about 300 meters back to Lawton Ave. That was when my friend Noel overtook me.

I started running again less than 150 meters before Lawton. My ego wouldn't be crushed by runners whom I've overtaken early on in the race. Upon reaching Lawton, I thought of increasing my pace for a sub-85 minutes finish when I suddenly felt a stabbing pain on my right abs....abdominal cramps! I must have taken more water than I needed!

I shook the cramps away by walking for around 20 seconds. It did go away, but everytime I would increase my pace, it threatened to come back, so I slowed down to a 6:30 m/km pace to hold off the cramps from coming back...my slowest pace during the whole race.

Seeing the last kilometer marker, I let it all out. I said "What the heck, there are a lot of people lined up already, what could be the worst thing that can happen to me?" I increased to a 6:00 m/km pace and ran after those who have overtaken me, and caught up with a few of them.

The finish line clock said 1:17:05 when I crossed it, but my Garmin, which I believe would be more correct, said 1:26:05, a good 65 seconds off my ambitious target of a sub-85.

The Happy Run is a great race, and I will never hesitate to join it again next year. 

Deo P.

Missing my Babies...

During the last two weeks, I have focused my activities on training for my first 10K and 15K marathons.  I have only ridden my roadbike just once...on a measly 15K around the UP oval.

Each time I get home from work since my last ride, I will always look at my bikes first before I get inside the house, that's how much I missed them. Before I go to work, I would always lift them up so I wouldn't forget how heavy or light they are. 

This afternoon, less than an hour before I started writing this blog entry, I unlocked my mountain bike and rode it around the village with the tricycles, FXs, motorcycles, vans, jeepneys and delivery trucks...I never inhaled much more fragrant vehicle fumes...ahhhh, it feels great to have the wind on my face, no matter how polluted it is.

My bikes aren't the most expensive, they are, in fact, both a little above entry-level bikes. My roadbike frame, a Merida 901 Road Race Series 08 model, is one of the cheapest frames around. It is made of butted  aluminum alloy with a carbon fork. Wheelset is Shimano and the rear derailleur is a Shimano Sora. The groupset that completes it is Shimano Tiagra. If you are a cyclist, you will know that my bike is a little above an entry level model. The aero-bar probably is a bit on the high-end but that's about it. 

My mountain bike, on the other hand, is a GT Agrressor 08 model. I bought it brand new a little over Php 13K. I have, since then, put on bar-ends, a cyclo-computer, a saddle bag and a hand-pump so I can be prepared for any mountain biking ride at any time.

My bikes may be cheap, but to me they are the best, simply because they are both what I can afford. I have ridden them both for more than 500 kms each, and they haven't failed me so far except for flat tires. I have ridden my mountain bike from Pasig to Los Banos and Sierra Madre, and my roadbike have pounded the UP oval and Manggahan Floodway en route to Club Manila East in Taytay, Rizal. It has conquered the uphill to Ultra and the practice roads of Valle Verde and Greenmeadows...and still is battle ready. Who says quality comes with a cost?

I am planning to build another entry-level bike, a full triathlon bike rolling on a TT ( time-trial ) frame. If budget allows, I will have it completed by middle of this year. Though tri bikes are really expensive, I know I'd find a way to come up with a cost-efficient road monster that will kick some ass on the asphalts...watch out for it!

Prepping for my 1st 15K Marathon

After running 10K in the recently concluded PSE Bull Run, I hit the road again last Wednesday to start prepping up for the Happy Run on January 25 at the Fort, Taguig. This will be my first 15K marathon and I'm more excited than worried on how I'd run this race.

Prior to running last Wednesday morning, I had a dual "sweat" day last Tuesday, lifting irons in the morning and playing 8 straight "hard" games of Badminton in the evening. "Hard" because these were purely Level B games with each team on the different sides of the court not giving any easy point to each other. My partner had cramps after the 8th game, signalling the end of the games, that was how exhausting the games were.

I hit the road at 5:30 a.m. on Wednesday, and immediately felt the slight numbness of my legs. I was in denial at first, and thought that I could shake off my legs' numbness after my first kilometer. I was wrong. My legs were DEAD! I had to struggle completing 4 kms when I initially planned on running  at least 10K.

Frustrated, I went home and did some abdominal crunches to cap off my disappointing run.

Yesterday, I told myself that I will run today, no matter what, at least 10K.

I woke up at 5:00 a.m., had a glass of water and freshened up a bit. At exactly 5:15 a.m. I opened the gate of my house, waited for my Garmin to get a satellite signal, then started pounding the road.

My first kilometer was a breeze, getting completed in 5mins, 43 secs. I was running easily but when I saw my pace, I slowed down further. I wanted to run at around 6:10-6:20 pace because I didn't want to end up not completing my planned run again.

After my 3rd kilometer, my throat dried up, making me pull-out my water bottle from my hydration belt. I was running well!

I took my run 1 kilometer at a time. When I hit 5 kms, I told myself I was gonna do 6 kms, then after 6 kms I said I was doing 8 kms. That went on until I reached 10 kilometers. It was already 6:25 a.m. and I was still running. I took a glimpse of my Garmin and decided to end my run upon reaching 12 kms.

At exactly 6:40 a.m. I stopped. My total time for the 12 kms: 1 hour 15minutes. I still am behind my target finish time for the Happy Run of 1hr, 30 minutes but I guess I'm ready for Sunday.

Recalling my entire run, I got a bit slower with the hydration belt slapped on my waist. I could feel the weight of the  bottles when I put these on. The big question running around my mind right now is whether to run with the hydration belt on or not. Running with this around me would mean a slower first half of the race, however, as the bottles empty up, I will be lighter and faster for the final stretch. Hmmmm....think Deo! Think!

My Swim Dilemma

I was huffing and puffing after 40 meters, and yet I was still short by 10.

This was the scenario last Saturday afternoon at the Ultra swimming pool. I tried to regain my swimming endurance to no avail. I even swam with a 2-count stroke but only managed to swim 40 meters straight, short of 10 meters to reach the other end of the pool. Pathetic!

Saturday, 01/17/09, I woke up around 7 a.m. with nothing to do. I didn't want to run or bike as I was afraid I'd ruin my legs and not run well on Sunday's PSE Bull Run.

Seeing my gym equipment, I decided to lift weights instead. After one hour and 20 minutes, I was done. Had a hefty breakfast for carbo load and took a quick shower....then again, nothing to do.

I was scheduled to  get my race pack at the PSE Ortigas at 2 p.m. in the afternoon, and could sneak a short swim at the Ultra after...hmmm, not bad.

So at 1:00 p.m., I left the house to get my race pack. On the way to PSE, I thought that maybe, it would be better to swim first, then pick-up my race pack after, the PSE office would be open until 6 p.m. anyway.

So, with a sudden change of plan, I headed first to Ultra. Not much swimmers...hmmm, GOOD!

A quick trip to the showers and off I jumped to the pool. Swimming like crazy, I started with a 1-2-3-4 stroke but only managed to swim like 30 meters...Jeesshhhh, what has happened to my swim? I tried again....getting the same result. I was out of breath after 30 meters and I didn't like it!

I changed to a 1-2-3 stroke and only got the same distance. Man! I was so frustrated!

The swimmers at the lane on my left had a coach with them, and I tried to strike a conversation with him and asked him if he can coach me. He was dumbfounded by my question that he couldn't answer back immediately.

"Sure", he said. "Can you swim so I can see what to correct with you?", he asked.

"No problem." I said.

Swoosshhhh, the water splattered when I plunged. 20 meters and I got back.

"So?" I inquired.

"You have the basics, I think your problem is your BRETING!"...Huh? Ah okay, BREATHING....

"Mag-bubbles ka muna ulit sir para maayos ulit "breting" mo..." I tried not to mind  his pronounciation and concentrate on my breathing. I also changed to a more comfortable but slower 1-2 stroke.

Got it! Swam more than 40 meters! Almost reached the other side of the pool but miscalculated!

Tried it over and over again and I could only manage 40 meters max, which was fine by me. At that point, I knew my problem was endurance. Running, cycling and swimming have different endurance parameters...you may be a "strong" runner or cyclist, but it's not a guarantee that swimming will be a piece of cake.

I left the pool at 3:30 p.m. to swim another day. I had enough. Like running, it was swimming 101 again for me...I have to develop my swim muscles to get back at a competitive level.

No worries, the Ayala Alabang Mini-Sprint Triathlon is a good  3 months away. I can still re-learn my strokes and gain competitive swim endurance...otherwise, I'd rely on my running muscles when I walk the swim distance..hehe

Deo P.

The PSE Bull Run 01/18/09

Waking up at 3:30 in the morning has become a habit for me during race days. On the  eve of the PSE Bull Run, I set my cellphone's alarm clock at 3:30 a.m., hoping to get everything in order before I leave the house at 5:00 a.m. This is my first official 10K marathon and I was bent on running a good race!

The day started out not really good as I only woke up at 4:00 a.m., making me rush through all the things I needed to do prior to the race. I had two rolls of bread with some left-over chicken and a glass of water. Went to the toilet twice to make sure that I let out all the extra baggages in my stomach. Feeling light and snappy, I rolled out at 5:15 a.m.

The race venue ( NBC Tent at the Fort, Taguig ) was already alive when I got there. A lot of runners were already warming up for the race. I tried to look for some people who I knew were joining but didn't have any luck finding them. Feeling alone, I went straight to the 10K runners area and waited there until the race officially started.

At 5:45 a.m., I was raring to go, but, since the announcer said that the race would officially start at 6:00 a.m., I decided to put on my Ipod and listen to some heavy metal stuff to pump me up. Sen. Pia Cayetano was there, and she looked really fit. I wished that the other senators would be like her and not just stay at the Senate and talk about non-sense. They need to go out and be with the real world.

As usual, like many other marathons, there was a mini-stampede at the start of the race. Runners were trying to squeeze themselves in front of the pack, myself included. When I found a spot where I could be comfortable running, I started running my pace.

I've never run at the Fort, and the whole route was new to me. Though I know the place by car, it was totally different on foot. I never thought that the stretch from the Fort Strip to the American Memorial Cemetery would be hilly, and it was a challenge. Good thing I ran around the vicinity of Ultra last January 3, otherwise I would have been physically "shocked" at this kind of terrain.

Though I had a bottle of mineral water in my hand, I still grabbed a cup of water at the 2km water station. I was saving up my bottled water for "critical" points in my run, points where my throat would be all dried up and there would be no sight of water.

I made the 5km turn in 28 minutes and 44 seconds, and that was the fastest I've run a 5km since I started running 5 months ago. I said to myself that I will be able to run a sub-60 if only I can keep my pace and not halt to a walk during the race.

After the 5km turn, the road was downhill in front of the Heritage Park. Seeing this as an opportunity to be faster, I let myself "roll with gravity", resulting to a less exhaustive but faster and longer strides. Doing this in all the downhills increased my pace from 8km/hr to 10km/hr without increasing effort.

When there are downhills, there are also uphills. After turning back near C-5, it was  all uphill until the end of Heritage Park. I shortened my strides and put my head forward to lighten my body, thus, making the uphill run less exhausting. I kept at 10km/hr average until I reached the American War Memorial, 500 meters away from the finish line.

I increased my pace to 11km/hr at the 500 meters mark and increased further to 12km/hr at the 200 meters mark until the finish. There was a queue of runners at the finish and I stopped my timer when I lined up. 

Total time: 57 minutes, 35 seconds.

Not bad!

Deo P.

Next stop: The Happy Run 15K

U.P. Bike Day 01/14/09

I tried to do my weekday bike laps yesterday at Club Manila East in Taytay, Rizal. At 3:00 p.m., I detached my roadbike's front wheel and pushed the whole thing into my car. After filling up my bottles with water and hydration salts, I sped off to CME planning to do around 30kms of bike at 30kms/h average speed, I wanted to finish the workout in one hour so I could be home before 5 p.m. in time for my daughters' arrival from school. On the way to CME, I noticed the strong winds outside, which was evident due to the swaying trees along Manggahan Floodway. No worries, I said to myself that if the winds were too strong, I could slow down to around 22-25 kph and still be at home before 5 p.m. And so I thought.

Upon reaching CME, the wind was blowing the tall grasses down, which would put the gustiness at around 40-45kph. Still, I was unfazed and decided to put  my bike together and ride.

Upon reaching 20 kph, a strong headwind from the east blew me back, and the 20kph easy cadence ride became a very challenging routine. After I turned on my first corner, it became worse. The easterly headwind became easterly crosswinds. I felt my bike wobble due to sheer wind force. Still, I managed to control the wobbling and went on. After my first kilometer at 22kph average, a strong headwind lifted my rear wheel almost causing me to crash. I stopped, composed myself and rode again.

At the 2km turn, the crosswind was now to my right, and was even stronger. I tried to avoid it by spinning at lower gears but maintaining my speed at 22-25kph. After my U-turn, a gust of strong wind lifted me and my bike to around  2-3 inches to my right. That was it! I went to my car, disassembled my bike and headed home.

While driving home, all I could think of was what a waste of time it was. I could have just lifted some irons at home and not put myself at risk of crashing. 

I then thought of  UP. Since the oval was surrounded by buildings and trees, it wouldn't be as windy as CME, plus the length of the oval is the same at 2.2kms.

I woke up at 4:15 a.m., had two pandesals for a quick breakfast, took a quick shower, then headed off to UP.

It was still dark when I got there at 5:30 a.m. I assembled my bike, checked my rear blinker if it was still blinking, then started biking. There were few joggers and only a handful of bikers, it was a bliss!

I have an eye problem, which makes it difficult for me to judge the depth of an image. I wouldn't know accurately how far an object is from me, or how deep a rut is, and this posed a problem especially when I have no headlights on my bike and the sun is not yet up, so my first 2 laps were at an average of 25kph.

On my 3rd lap, the sun was almost up and I could see better. I increased my speed to around 27kph and on my 4th lap, increased to 30 kph. On my 5th lap, I increased to 35kph. I must have been doing it consistently as when I looked behind, there were 3 more cyclists behind me, forming a peloton. I maintained my pace for 1 more kilometer then slowed down to 25kph and let the other cyclists overtake me. I pulled out my water bottle and took three squirts of salted water from my bottle, then sped off again. I re-joined the peloton after 2 minutes and we were avaeraging 35kph.

On my 7th and final lap,  I maxxed out at 38.6kph. I waived off the peloton and proceeded to my car to freshen up for work. It was a good ride.

New Year, New Goals

2008 was a year of realizations for me. I realized that

1. I love sports the same way I love photography;

2. I am competitive and wouldn't mind placing last in a race for as long as I really fought hard to win;

3. I love the great outdoors;

4. I am vain ( hahaha );

5. I don't want to age fast;

6. I am 40 and doesn't heal as fast as when I was 20.

During the last two quarters of 2008, being employed again and doing an 8 to 5, I felt my lifestyle was  becoming sedentary, and the additional 12 pounds I gained was a proof to this. Being "vain" and "fashionable", I didn't want to have flat truck tires around my waist, thus, I resorted to lifting irons again.

However, after weight-training for a month, I thought that there must be something else I need to do to speed up my weight reduction. Lifting weights helped build up my muscles again but didn't help in reducing my waist as much as I wanted it to.

After searching the web for some fast weight reduction techniques, I stumbled upon a site which promotes Triathlons in the Philippines ( http://www.triathlon.org.ph/ ). My interest was roused and it was then that I remembered being at awe at the triathletes I saw on TV getting out of an open sea swim and then immediately riding their bikes to race, only to run a number of kilometers upon getting down from the bike saddles.  I said to myself "you should do that Deo!".

Since that day, I have ran two 5K marathons and several mountain bike trail runs. I've also gone back to biking on roads and now have a Merida 901 Road Race Series road bike. Both my mountain and road bike have individually logged in more than 300 kms of roads, and both still look as fresh as the first time I rode them.

I also couldn't stop running. I now run at least 5kms 3-4 times a week. I do mountain trail rides at least once a month and do road biking at least twice a week at an average of 30kms per ride. I love the feel of sweat on my face...and I believe I have been addicted to it.

In 2009, I plan on doing at least 14 races broken down as follows:

- 5 marathons

- 6 triathlons

- 3 duathlons

I will be running my first 10K marathon on January 18 and will race my first 21K on March 22. On March 8, I will be competing in my first ever Duathlon, and I am really excited about it.

My last 5K training run was completed in 29 minutes, while my personal best for a 10K was in 1 hour 10 minutes ( I would have ran in sub 60 minutes if the roads were flatter, but the uphills and downhills around Ultra were really punishing! ).

My first triathlon is scheduled on April 19. I planned on joining the TLBF ( http://www.tlbf.org/ )  in Subic on April 2-5 but decided against it when they changed the distance from Sprint to Olympic.

It feels great to have the wind slapping your face in your morning runs or bike rides...and it's one feeling I will never, ever want to stop experiencing. I love sweating in the great outdoors...I am  TheSweatAddict.