Breaking the Jinx

Race account:  UPLB National Age Group Triathlon, December 14, 2013

The UPLB triathlon is a sentimental favorite. It was my first triathlon in 2003. That was a decade ago! Has it been that long? I also hail from Los Banos - born inside the former university hospital (now CMT building) about 200m from the race start/finish, schooled in its womb till college, with the University as my childhood and adulthood playground.

You would think that such familiarity with the locale gives me race advantage, but for some strange reason, my race performance almost always suffers when I am in my hometown. I rarely cramp during the swim leg, but I somehow did in my first triathlon race and several years after when I sought some revenge. On those freak cramping incidents, the debilitating cramp happens when I pull a calf muscle as I haul myself off the pool in the first round of the swim. It was the type that remained lock despite all efforts to relax and would hound me till the finish line. In short, on multiple occasions, I would finish the swim without kicking, bike with a single leg and basically walk off the run leg. The jinx was so bad that for this nth try I decided not to inform family members who live nearby.

 On my nth try:  Athlete #147

I was also there to accompany an officemate doing his first triathlon. I would have wanted to do the sprint distance which was my first race, but I opted for the mini-sprint so I can guide my friend. It turns out I have other friends joining for the first time, also accompanied by mutual friend. Great. That kind of support environment makes for memorable triathlon, and a lot of teams have been founded on this helping out spirit, my team Endure included.

Officemate Kazu in his first triathlon

My race plan was simple:  Enjoy and try not to cramp. I swam just two notches above leisurely, practicing what I preach to my newbie friend that there is no point in exhausting oneself in the swim when that means gaining only a minute or two at the expense of labored effort in the last two legs of the race. I was extra careful going up the pool in my first leg. Success, no pulled muscle. Three rounds more and I finally finished my stroll in the pool. I was so conservative in the swim I probably finished near the bottom of my swim wave.

The funny truth is, we are only three males in our age group. Half-Ironman finishers James and myself, and first timer Noy. There was supposed to be a fourth person, but he could not make it. The three of us joked it was just a matter of determining the ranking. All I wanted really is to break my UPLB jinx. I came in to help and enjoy, not race for myself. But we did jokingly admonish the perky youths 13-19 in our swim wave to respect their elders :)

I really intended to catch up in the bike leg. With the hilly Challenge Half Distance looming large in my mind, I have been spending more time on the bike. I hope to harvest some pay-off. In my assessment, I did reasonably well on the bike for the current fitness and training level I have. I tried to narrow the yawning gap between James and myself, but he was just way ahead in the swim and bike. I was expecting my friend Kazu who started a wave later than me would catch up with me on the bike, but we basically maintained our bike distance. In our assessments, we both enjoyed and met our expectations on the bike. By some miracle, the bike gap between Noy and myself narrowed down to as close as 400m, but I would learn from Noy later that he had cramps on the bike leg. Noy has not fully recovered from a recent illness.

I was surprised to catch Noy on the transition area. We left the area just seconds in interval. While I was not yet spent, I knew then that I haven't gotten back my previous running speed. I was still on the jogging phase of my training so there was no way I could outran Noy. All I wanted is to run after Noy as much as my training will permit. A newbie can pull up an overweight half-ironman. Overall I was happy with my run. For the first time, I was running on Baker Field grounds without cramps! My steady jog was interrupted only by short walks on inclines near the auditorium.

Eventually, I crossed the finish line: running, challenged but not spent. Just how I imagine perfect race should be. For the kind of excess weight I am carrying, it was a perfect effort. I was extremely happy to break the jinx. I made a mental note though that I can be faster and happier if I just lose at least ten pounds. I have the experience and maturity, but these qualities can only partially offset excess baggage.

Breaking the race jinx was my chief reward, but the sweet icing on the cake was getting a foot-tall trophy for simply showing up and finishing. James, Noy and myself, we had a dozen laughs on the happy accident that put us three on the podium. Newbie Gail, wife of Noy also ended up first place in her age group. Sometimes, the stars align, allowing ordinary blokes like us our moment in the sun.

Thank you God for the happy memories.

Noy, Gail and James

Challenge Yourself

I do not know what possessed me. Weeks back when I first heard that there will be a new half-ironman distance in the form of Challenge Philippines, I was both excited and dismissive. Excited because the Challenge Family seems to present a more laidback, family approach to triathlon; Excited because I missed this year’s Ironman 70.3 race in Cebu. Dismissive because the bike course is in the dreaded hills of Subic and Morong. I hate biking hills! I have to propel my current over 200-pounds self to the top, only to plunge with my balls up my throat as the downward force equals my massive mass times acceleration due to gravity.

But on August 14 on the launch date of Challenge Philippines I found myself registered! Yes, on the first day! It began innocently with me Googling Challenge Philippines and then reading a race brief. The race slogan got into me: Challenge Yourself; Race for a Cause. Sometimes, the best way to conquer one’s fears is to face them head-on. I have already conquered my childhood, drowning-induced fear of water. I have already fallen in love with running. I have yet to be comfortable with plunging down hills on two wheels. In Subit, I will always let others go at least 200meters ahead before I ride over those hills. I suppose this apprehension harks back to a vivid childhood memory of running over – actually hitting a playmate – as I struggle to pedal-brake the grown man’s bike I was riding in my enthusiastic sprint to the finish line. It is about time I slay this demon.

Race for cause: it is a personal crusade actually – a crusade for health and life balance. A war over stress and the pounds it brings. A war to reclaim my life and restore balance. A series of battles to rid my fatty liver of sweets I consume to power through the work day. It is a personal crusade that rings true for many, and I hope to engage my fellow men in this journey. Just like my first marathon in 2009, I want this to be both personal and communal. There is something beautiful and powerful in man and society working together for the good of everyone. I was a witness to that in takbo.ph. In my team Endure. I want to re-live that. Once more, I hope that God will reveal His magnificence through us.

Risk taker and risk manager that I am, I have read the fine print and know the risks and rewards. The Challenge Half distance is actually good for slowpokes like me. The swim cut-off is 1:30, laxer than Ironman 70.3. The bike cut-off is more forgiving at 6 hrs after race start. But it remains challenging in that the final race cut-off is 8:30. The message seems to be that you need not be good in all legs, but you have to push more in at least one to make up for your weakness in others. The bike is nothing to sneeze at. This bike course will probably the toughest I will face after Subit, Camsur and Cebu. There is no expressed restriction on mountain bikes or hybrids. While that is a good fall-back, I do hope to race in a road bike.

So here I am all signed up. I am already drafting my weight loss and training plan. The hills and ravines look foreboding, so help us God.

posted from Bloggeroid

Power of Three

Power of Three

3 races registered -

an aquathlon, a duathlon and a 10K.

3 PRs courtesy of friends:

a sub-50 swim-run, a sub-2hr dua,

and an awesome 51min foot race.

3 DNS in 7 days

all because of a calf muscle

that cramps when pulled or stretched!

3 times I've got this:

One coming out of pool lap in NAGT LB,

Two jumping on a VFF photoshoot,

Three going for a giant, air-filled Earth Ball.

3 weeks I set aside to tame my calf;

3 weeks are all I've got before Subit;

3 weeks to bring down my weight,

with only swimming as my exercise.

Sigh. sigh. sigh.

But the Power of Tri is such,

that a man is compelled to surge on against the odds

On May 1, I rely alone, on 3 years of tri wisdom,

and maybe some favors from gods

Neptune, Mercury and Mars.

My Third Triathlon: Speedo NAGT Oct 2008

I was not supposed to be in this triathlon. I was supposed to be resting a day after my 10K Adidas KOTR. But crazy man that I am, I called up the TRAP office the afternoon before the race to register. I would do the mini-sprint again, to redeem myself. I felt good completing the Animo Sprint (well, mini for me) last September, which was supposed to be a fun event for my group of friends, but minutes after crossing the finish line I was already castigating myself for taking the legs too lightly and not aiming for better times. Surely I could have done better.

And so there I was in AAV setting up my stuff inside the transition area at 5:30am while my fellow try-hard athlete friends are still on their beds. It was a bummer for me that on the rare occasion that I was early, my wave had to start the last at 7:30 am. I had to wait for 2 hrs! Of the 40 or so males in the mini-sprint, there are probably just 5 people I recognise from previous ANIMO sprint. There seem to be a lot of newcomers or new faces, something which I actually welcome as I still am a newbie myself.

Swim.
I may be a leisure swimmer, but I still fancy myself as a water baby and I badly wanted to improve my swim time. I promised myself I would be more aggressive, but apparently the others are more determined than I am. Everyone it seemed sprinted from the time the race signal was given. I thought I was already good at swimming through tight spaces, but it was real challenge to go past the swarm, especially with the kids (13-15) and the breaststrokers swimming alongside. I thought the swarm will end after 2 laps, but I had to fight my way through 5 laps. At least 3 times I had to stop or slow down; otherwise, I will hit other people or some breaststroker will kick me in the face. In my mind I was screaming, "Can you please make me pass through and not hog the whole lane!!!" Despite the struggle, I finished with a decent 10:55, partly carried away by the fast ones some of whom finished the swim within 7 minutes.

Transition 1: I learned my lesson and brought my slippers near the pool for the walk/run back into transition area. I saw one put shoes near the pool site, an idea I may copy next time (unless I consider using bike cleats instead, err, I may be getting too far ahead on this idea).

Bike
My weekly practices seemed to have helped. I have had enough of the scenery during practices that I did not look at dogs and houses this time around. I was amazed myself, but I did overtake at least 2-3 people during the bike leg. In true triathlon tradition I tried to greet or encourage these people, my simple way of paying it forward for encouragements I have received in the past. I got cheap thrills from the occasional overtakes, but later in the run one of the persons I overtook confided to me that it was his first time to ride a road bike and that he was not familiar with the gears. Bummer. Overall it was a good ride and I managed to pare down my time by 8 minutes including the transition.

Run
Transition 2 was quick and uneventful. I felt good coming from the bike ride, but I fared below expectations during the run. To start with, my legs are not yet fully recovered from my Adidas run the previous day. Worse, I brought the wrong pair of running shoes. I should have brought the pair with more cushioning as my legs are already beat up by the third leg. So my legs were like bricks for almost the whole run duration. It was a bit disheartening to see 2-3 people overtaking me this time. To add to my misery, the race course was slightly altered with the last part being an uphill-downhill trip along University Avenue. My time was about 3 minutes more than my last mini-sprint.

Overall, it was an 12 minute improvement from my last race. It was not bad considering I had a 10K run the previous day. I believe other triathletes did the same double-race booking. We are addicts all. The best part for me is the shirt. I like what it says in the back. When I finish my first real sprint, I will wear it with pride.

Training for Speed

It has been two weeks since I decided to seriously aim for speed - to swim, bike and run faster. Since I was starting from a very low (rather, slow) base, I figured my initial improvements should be dramatic. Well, I did improve but I am not sure it was dramatic.

Swim. My benchmark for the swim is my personal best of 12 minutes for a 350m distance. Another is my 32min time for a 1K swim. The third parameter is the 19 strokes per 25m lap. So far, I have managed to swim 350m in 9min, 54sec. I also managed to swim 25m in 29 seconds! According to a swimmer friend who used to compete in inter-school races, their swim team always aimed for less than a minute per 50m, so I guess my 29-second 25m lap should be good enough. I haven't tried measuring up to the other parameters.

I have several observations though about this swimming for speed. First, swimming to relax is way more fun, although beating target times gives one a nice jolt of personal accomplishment. Second, I improved my time considerably by turning up for air less often. Third, I realised that my left arm is a bit weaker when I go all-out in stroking the water. I should remedy that with weight training. Fourth, I tire more easily and huff heavily after each lap, simply because I have to always push myself to my limits everytime. This is the only way for me to wake-up whatever fast-twitch muscles I was born with and train my body for high-intensity, anaerobic sprints. Eventually, I hope my slow-twitch, aerobic body will soon elevate its tolerance for this anaerobic workout and I will tire and huff less. Only then can I enjoy swimming again. Or maybe I can learn to like the occasional anaerobic sprints.

Bike. This is my waterloo, I admit, although I believe this is one area where I can make the most improvement. I started with the goal of beating my time of 40min for a 12k bike through the hilly terrain of AAV. The first thing I have to overcome is my fear of accidents. Slowly I hiked my saddle up to the point where my toes are barely touching the ground when I'm seated on the bike. I did numerous practices doing downhills in our village, and would congratulate myself everytime for surviving each round. A week of this and I did the 12K bike again. On my first round I did 35min, 31sec. The second round, I was a measly 5 seconds faster! Well, the 5 minute overall improvement should be good enough for that period. A few days after (during the Feast of Ramadan hours after the stormy skies cleared), I tried it again. On damp roads I managed 33min, 22sec. Yehey! And then it rained again. Sigh. I am hopeful that the road bike I will soon get will vastly improve my time.

Run. This another area of difficulty. Although I have ran in at least a dozen road races and finished long distances of up to 25K, I am far from being an efficient runner. Being overweight, I have short strides and I am pitifully slow. On a treadmill, my average speed is probably 7.5km/hr. The fast few days I have managed to elevate that pace to as high a 9.5km/hr. My goal is to comfortably run at 10km/hr. Only then can I reasonably and seriously dream of enlisting for a full-blown marathon. I feel that my bike training help my running tremendously. I have stronger quads and glutes which allow me to have longer strides. On hindsight, I think I have been relying too much on my calves to do the running for me. Lately, I have been focusing on making the bigger muscles (glutes and quads) do some of the work while running. Hopefully I am doing things right.

Speed, Power and Endurance

Athleticism is defined by speed, power and endurance. Of the three, the one quality I have the most is probably endurance. I am not a natural athlete but one thing I possess is a mind that empowers my body to endure repetitive, low-impact physical activities, to transcend the drudgery of repetitive motions, and to plod on when the going gets tough.

More than my physical abilities (which are limited to start with), it is my confidence on seemingly boundless powers of the mind that attracts me to physical challenges like the road races, marathon or the triathlon. They may seem like physical feats, but for me they are achievements of the mind. If the mind wills it, these races can be done, even by an overweight bloke like with me flat feet and no history of athleticism to be proud of.

It was this thinking that made me do and finish my first 5K run. I may not ran fast, but I can endure through it all and finish. I progressed and endured through 10K, 16K and even 25K runs. I even did 2 mini-sprint triathlons. All these times, my goal was simply to finish, and hopefully have fun in the process. It was fun for most of the races I did, but for a few others (e.g. the 25K), I simply endured them. I have accumulated enough finisher shirts - an achievement by itself when I look back to the times that I envy friends who sport these shirts. At this point, I guess I am finished with simply finishing. It is time that I progress to other goals apart from simply enduring and finishing.

This brings me to speed. Can I run faster? Swim or bike faster? I may be mentally fast, but I am physically slow. Speed was something that I never trouble myself with. I run to finish within maximum allowable times; I swim to relax and keeping times for my swim laps seemed inconsistent. I would count laps swam or hours spent swimming, but never how fast I swim a particular distance. I can swim for 2 hours straight in pools without really getting tired. Often, it is simply boredom, wrinkled fingers or running out of things to ponder on while stroking the water that forces me out of the pool. I have become so efficient at swimming that I seldom get dead tired. Neither do I lose a lot of pounds after hours of swimming. What I probably achieved from it is aerobic workout, a week's load of endorphins, a breakthrough in an issue I have been mulling over, or plain mental relaxation.

I had a rude awakening about this desire for speed when a friend casually asked me to race him in a 25m swim. I gave it my best shot but my friend to whom I have been giving swim tips beat me to the finish line. Yes he was taller than me and he was almost dying from shortness of breath but the fact is he beat me. Why is that? I am supposed to be the better swimmer who do not tire easily. Indeed, I was not huffing after the impromptu race. Therein lies the answer - I was simply not trying hard enough. I simply aimed to finish with slightly faster than normal pace, while my friend pulled all the stops to get the best time. I was not mentally geared for speed. I am not hungry for it.

My disappointing time in the bike leg of a recent mini-sprint triathlon I did made me assess how fast I can bike. On a cycling machine in a gym, I tried to check how many RPMs I can do. I was underwhelmed. Even on the lowest resistance level I was having difficulty reaching the 100 RPMs. I was not tired and huffing, but my nervous system and muscles simply do not react fast enough. My body is not used to speed!

I am really thrilled with trying to push my speed limit in swimming, biking and running. I am still trying to achieve and get used to 100++ rpms and slowly building my treadmill pace from leisurely 7km/hr to hopefully at least 10km/hr. Last night I comfortably reached 8.5km/hr and I am pleasantly surprised to discover it is more enjoyable than the 7km/hr I am used to. Slowly I am trying to teach myself to enjoy instead of fear downhill biking - to savor the wind on face instead of constantly putting on brakes out of fear of accidents. I am also excited to beat my test time of 32min for a 1km swim.

I just have one concern in my new found craving for speed. I want these athletic pursuits to be my outlets for relaxation. I do not want to be caught up in the mad drive for speed. Every now and then I will probably benchmark my times against others, but I do not want to compete with others. At best I will compete with myself. For the most part, I will enjoy the moments I am on the road or in the water.

I am exploring the concept of power. With power comes speed too. The last time I focused on power was when I was active in dragonboat rowing. I am now trying to put more power in my swim, bike and run by doing weights and resistance training. If there is one kind of power that I want to be intoxicated, it is this power.

Enjoying my Second Triathlon

I enlisted in the Animo Sprint Triathlon (mini-sprint category) with only two goals in mind. First is to have a better finish (I finished last in my first triathlon!) and second is not to have cramps during the race. (My hamstrings and ankles ached during the bike and run legs in my first triathlon). My miserable performance is my triathlon debut is attributed to lack of preparation. A week after doing my first Milo 5K race in Baguio where I sprained my ankle from race start due to lack of warm-up, I wanted to redeem myself and do the next first challenge that came along - the 2003 UP Los Baños Triathlon. With crazy egging from my group of rowing friends who did the Baguio Milo race, I enlisted in my first triathlon.

I was better prepared in my second triathlon. I knew that biking and running are my weak points so I hit the gym almost daily for exercises on the cycling machine and treadmill. I also did the bike race route for two consecutive weekends prior to the race. I of course made sure that I could still swim the 350m required.

I was bent on enjoying the whole race that I took my sweet time for most of the course. I forget it was competition and acted like I was doing leisure sports. For starters, I arrived relatively late at 6:30am. I calmly got my race back and had myself number-marked. I very slowly unpacked and laid out the stuff I would need for transition to biking. Finally I proceeded to the pool area to wait.

I believe I was too successful in calming my nerves before the race that I became too relaxed. I took my sweet time cooling myself by showering. Because I was not hurrying, I lost the opportunity to do practice swims before the race. I was a bit jolted when the signal for swim start was given and a swarm of guys swam through me as I was still navigating myself toward the starting wall. I tried to get my bearings in the first 2 laps, and then I relaxed again. I did the same meditative strokes I use to do when I swim alone. I do not know if I was fast or slow, but I did leave behind some people. Towards the middle of the swim course, I felt the lanes were mine alone. I suppose the good swimmers went ahead, while the new ones were left behind. I was there in the middle concentrating on form and conserving energy for the next legs.

In an attempt to get into my swim zone, I zoned off all the chaos and commotion. Very calmly, I climbed out of the pool and headed to the bike transition area. Only after the swim did I realize that my watch chrono was off. In the transition area, I leisurely put on bike clothes and shoes and chewed through half of a powerbar. I just realised I needed to hurry up when a friend arrived from the swim leg. The transition from pool to bike mount took me six leisurely minutes!

The bike leg is my Achilles heel. In my first and crazy triathlon attempt 5 years ago, my thigh muscles hurt like hell from lack of previous use. For my second triathlon, I was better prepared. I pushed the effort level on the cycling machine to 10 (with 12 being the highest) to prepare for the arduous uphill segments. On race day, I purposedly did not exert much effort on the level surfaces so I could have energy stocks for the uphill. The ascends worked my upper leg muscles but not really to the point of pain or exhaustion. Confident that I managed the first ascend, I relaxed even further. It was then that I turned the sprint into a bike tour of the village. I admired the nice houses and beautiful dogs from my road vantage point. I saw labrador retrievers, a German shepherd and a pug. After my village tour, I dismounted from my bike with the urgency of a vacationer. One of the race organizers was yelling "Finish strong, brother" but it took him two friendly yells for me to realise that they were addressed to me. I was still calm in my second transition phase, but was faster.

The running leg for me was most uneventful. For one, many others have already finished that there were less people to race with. More importantly, for an overweight person like me, running puts so much stress on the knees and ankles. My wide flat feet does not help either. I cannot run fast for instance. I am just jogging really. So I I have not reached that point where running is pure bliss, where you have long, effortless strides fully supported by adequate heart and lung capacities. I would like to believe that swimming has developed my heart and lung, but my weight is really killing my legs. I have shed 15 lbs since I started training again in August, but I need to shed more! I enjoy this kind of bliss in swimming; soon, I hope to have the same feeling in running.

Return to Triathlon

On September 14, 2008, I completed my second triathlon. After 5 years, I am returning to the sport I first tried in 2003. It was September 13, 2003 when I first tried to do what seemed to be the unthinkable for me - swim, bike and run in the same day. An Aquarian, I have always loved the water and can spend hours swimming in a pool, but I do not really biking and I hate running because of the stress the sport and my heavy weight put on my legs.

I knew I would want to do triathlon again, but I was not sure when that will happen. Middle of this year a group of officemates were trying to learn to swim. I am far from an excellent swimmer but I swim long enough to offer a few tips. While I did attend swim classes in high school and college, I was mostly self-taught. I view myself as an intuitive swimmer. By sheer passion for it, I learned to swim the free and the breast stroke for up to 2hrs straight at a relaxed pace - becoming bored way before my body gets tired. I was never fast, in fact I think I'm average, but I know how to swim without getting tired easily. And so my officemates and I will trade experiences and learning techniques. The little that I know I shared. I am not sure if my technique is correct, but my greatest self-discovery in freestyle is learning how to roll my shoulders and body with each stroke, allowing my arms to reach farther and my body to do some of the work involved. I picture myself as a streamlined screw efficiently boring through just below the water surface. I learned this by watching how the Olympians do it. I still remember my teen hero 1998 Seoul Olympian Matt Biondi of USA and recently I get inspiration from greatest Olympian ever (so far), Michael Phelps.

My frequent exchanges with my new swimmer-officemates bring back memories of those years when I was quite active with sports. From 2001 to 2003, I picked up a variety of sports - badminton, dragonboat rowing, underwater hockey, running and triathlon. I did not excel in any but I was having a lot of fun trying them. I was far from being a natural athlete, but during those years my nerdy self was at its fittest form. My officemates now are also getting to be more active. Four of us even tried a 5K road race. I am also itching to be fit again. Two years of being dog crazy has left me spoiled and plump like the toy dogs I show and breed. I thought it was unthinkable but my 5'7" frame ballooned to a high 205 lbs! Slowly our interests intensified and goals converged, until eventually we summoned the will and courage to sign-up for a mini-triathlon - a first for three of my officemates, the second for me after 5 years of lethargy.