2013 In Review

The following dailymile charts show my run and bike distances logged per month from December 2012 to December 2013.

Run 2013

Bike 2013

As shown, training mileage for both bike and run was lacking. Work pressures for the past 12 months have contributed much to this, apart from shortened run workouts since I had no real goal run race for this year (I've only one 21k race to show for 2013: The Rexona Run). Thus with no goal, there wasn't the usual 12 or 16 week structured training done which usually contributes to high mileage per week. Nasty injuries due to lack of training also lessened my mileage.

My new role in the Company starting 2014 will (hopefully) be much lighter on load compared to 2013. This'll be a welcome sign in terms of my getting back in race-ready shape. I'm still 5lbs over my 2012 weight, and 13lbs over my target weight so healthy eating habits must be stressed coming into 2014.

Finishing a tempo run this morning (after yesterday's 50min bike and the other day's 7k easy run) was a good sign that I'm getting back to full training mode. I hope to keep the base-training momentum going so that I'll be ready when the 2014 duathlon season begins (which could be in April or May).

K-Swiss K-Ruuz 1.5: Stick With What Works

After 488 kms logged, it was time to retire my trusty K-Swiss K-Ruuz 1.5 racing flats. It was with me throughout my 2012 breakthrough year with several 10k and 21k races to its credit. This pair was also my weapon of choice for all of my duathlons (except for my last one this year at Subic, wherein I failed miserably on the run).

The replacement pair was a no-brainer. With SecondWind Running Store offering a 40% sale and with its already proven race performance IMHO, I bought the same exact brand and model for next season.

Yes, another pair of K-Swiss K-Ruuz 1.5!

K-Swiss should offer me a sponsor deal after this post, hahaha (wishful thinking).

After 488kms (left) vs the new pair

Old one (down) shows sole-foam slightly compressed. Feet feeling it after runs so it was time to replace.

The new pair sporting the Lock Laces from my old pair. Ready to race!!!

2013 Natl Dua C'Ships: Post-Analysis

Good thing that I recorded the 2012 and 2013 versions of the Duathlon Championships in Subic on my Garmin and towards Garmin Connect. Now, I can exactly see how poorly I performed this year:

Green marks indicate improvement while red, well, show where I exactly sucked.

For a split second, I thought that I improved vastly on the bike (as in my previous post). However, the 5:20 improvement above was only because the bike leg this year shortened by about a km or two (since the turn around point was at PureGold, and not at the middle of Yacht club and Remy Field). If I look at average pace, the 2013 bike pace would've improvement only slightly from last year'ss 26kph version. Even with the better bike setup, nada. I guess the extra 5lb body weight could be the culprit.

Run1 and Run2 obviously contributed a lot to my downfall on this race, especially Run2. Getting off the bike, I was not as fresh as I was in 2012 when I started Run2 this year. I could only imagine how I was able to run 28:14 on that last 5k last year. 

Sigh.

Lack of time to run due to pressing work, sickness, and that groin injury. I guess I have all the excuses to back me up. But I won't hide behind 'em as I know that I lacked the will to press my pace when I should've. This'll only make me train harder for next year. Bring back the structure on my runs (tempo, speed, long, etc.) please!

For the bike, as @paopedal mentioned over BBM, I will need to extend my long rides from the usual 40km to a challenging 70km (my longest is only a 60k which I did only once). Gulp!

"Over reach, but not over train, " he said. Wise words from the TeamFranzia cyclist.

Well I ran a tempo this morning (1k warmup, 4k tempo, 1k cooldown). It's not one of my trademark tempo runs, but it's a good start. It's off season so it's a good time to build myself again in time for next year's duathlons and run races.

Back to training we go...

National Duathlon Championships 2013, Subic

Pace yourself. Pace yourself.

I started the race (Run1 = 10k) trying to zoom like everybody else. My Garmin showed 6:15/km lap-pace so I uttered the words above in order to calm me down from the excitement. I don't have the run training, I said to myself, so keep the pace down. I eventually slowed down to a little above 6:30/km.

As I was coming off a nasty groin injury which caused me little training on runs 2 weeks prior, I planned to take the run legs of this race at easy pace and just try to hammer it on the bike. The race adrenalin showed me another way, as I was able to pace between 6:30-6:40/km throughout the 10k ---even with my Brooks Pureflows on. Yes, I ditched my K-Swiss K-Ruuz2 racing flats as I was afraid that it's contributing to the groin pain that has been bugging me lately. It could be the deteriorating EVA-foam after approximately (just) 300km on that pair. Fortunately, I didn't have any issues during Run1 (including that groin pain) except for the heaviness of the shoe vs my racing flat.

Gel at km9.

I finished Run1 at 1:08 which was 4 minutes slower than last year. I needed to catch up.


Can't Sustain

The Remy Field to Raceway bike course is mostly flat, with long low climbs. This is the 3rd time I'm riding this course (1st was during the Dua C'ships last year, 2nd was when the family had a vacation during Q2 of this year so I practiced it) so I was pretty aware of what it holds for me.

As I passed Puregold on the way to Raceway, I started to feel a familiar cramp on both of my calves. I felt the same in last year's race so I gulped on water and Gatorade to hopefully appease it. After 10 or so minutes, it subsided. Whew!

The aero-wheels and clip-on aerobars did well to compensate for the additional 5lb weight that I now have vs last year. The result: a 7-minute improvement from last year's race. My only concern is that I was at 28kph average on the 1st loop but I got frustrated for not being able to sustain the pace during the 2nd loop. My lack of endurance training on the bike showed (my weekend rides would usually max at 40km only at pasyal pace).

2nd gel at the 2+ hour mark.

Bike leg at 1:21. Better than last year's 1:27. Still, down vs last year on overall time.


A forgettable run

Last year, I was blazing (IMO) in Run2 (5k). I was hoping to chase training buddy @lingerboy so I was running at sub-6:00/km pace on that 5k. I was still fresh at Run2 last year, and when I recall my post on that race I still feel proud that I was able to finish that race (my first duathlon, btw) strong and fast.

This year, I was totally different. This year, Run2 was where I found myself mentally in, but my body was just out of it. My thighs were heavy, like bricks, as I started off Run2. The heavy Pureflows didn't help my cause as it contributed to the heaviness (in hindsight, I should've brought my K-Ruuz to hopefully get me into better pace since I can use that pair for Run2 only). Resulting pace started at 7:15/km. I found myself doing walk breaks during km3-4. My lack of run training and 5lb excess weight really showed in Run2 as I was struggling to run at low HR. Well, I guess those last 2 Maffetone runs that I did during the week before may have saved me in keeping myself in to "just run" at whatever cost.

Run2 at close to 8:00/km average. Worst 5km ever since I started running 2009!

Total race time was 3:14 ---12mins slower than last year.

There'll be a lot of post-analysis after this non-performance. It'll be something that, like Manny Pacquiao's shocking loss to JMM last year, I hope to learn from and try to improve. Here's my tweet an hour after that race:

My preparations for next year's Dua Championships starts now.

Nov 18-23 Training Log

After 2 attempts in the early part of the week to run, the left part of my groin was still hurting (see the 2k and 1k above). It was good that I had the bike to keep working out, but I needed the run.

Last Sunday afternoon (18k) I was able to make progress (finally!) by being able to execute a bike-run brick. Although the run was only for 4.7km and at a pedestrian pace (by my standards), I was happy to be running again.

***

Race day is coming up this weekend in Subic, the National Dua Championships. No, I'm not vying for a national team slot, hehe, but this is the same race last year (Asian Dua C'ships) that started my love for duathlons. With a great race venue that is Subic, it was automatic for me to sign up.

What's going for me coming into this race is that I've improved my bike setup and riding level (I was still a newbie cyclist last year). A new groupset (Ultegra 6800), 50mm carbon wheels, and clip-on aerobars should make me ride better at the Runway course this year. Of course, it's not (all) about the bike, so hopefully my 1-year riding riding experience will help me get a better bike split. Found out that the bike course will be the same as last year. This is gonna be F-U-N!

What worries me is my run. As I've just started recovering from a nasty groin injury, I might surrender to running the pace at easy effort. No use in forcing it but I'll see how it is by Run2. If all's well, then I will just have to make up for the time I lost during Run1.

See you there!

BGC Cycle Philippines: Loved It!

Biking's been a lot of fun for me lately so much so that running has taken a backseat. It's a different kind of high as man and machine conquer the urban roads of the metro with varying speeds and elevation, with the wind in your face and, at times, cars by your side.

The BGC Cycle Philippines event was a celebration of the cycling lifestyle that many of us have adapted to. There were events slated for young and old, newbie or experienced. It was a weekend wherein the roads were exclusively opened for cyclists only.

I joined the 40k Challenge event and it was more than I expected.

First, the registration process was smooth and the freebies that came with it (RPJ shades, bike bag, and a nice event bike jersey) was sulit enough for P1,500.00 early-bird race fee.

Who would've known that the race itself would be great as well.

The race would start in BGC at 6am and the course took us to C5, BGC, Buendia all the way to Roxas Blvd, around Quirino Grandstand and back to BGC via Roxas and Buendia. It was great to be pedaling along the route with no concern of cars since the marshals did a pretty good job. A special thanks to the police on motor bikes that escorted us on most parts of the course ---even though we were not the lead pack.

Not Froome. ;-)

The course, unfortunately, was about 36km only, short of the 40k target. I'm assuming that the loop behind BGC (University area) would've been a concern for the church goers nearby as it may have caused heavy traffic. But no big deal as I still enjoyed the race.

I finished it in 1:15:23 (chip time) which is about 28kph average. I'm hopeful that this isn't the last one. Maybe once every quarter would be nice. :-)

Injured. Can't Run.

Yesterday's planned bike-run brick workout sealed the non-deal for this weekend's planned back-to-back race: I can't run.

My left inner thigh complained as I started off my run, letting me grimace in pain trying to run it for 200m ---and failed. I had no other choice but turn back and walk to the house ---I was done.

I first noticed a slight pain in the same area when I started my 10k run last Saturday but it subsided. It started to increase in magnitude after my 6x400m speedwork last Tuesday morning. Ahhghh...

Searching the 'net revealed that I have groin pain. Pain in the inner left thigh....check! Pain when doing lateral movement...check! Sigh....

"Prudence is the better part of valor," I heard once before. Thus, with an ache in my heart I sadly sold my Sat Nuvali Dua racekit to a nice fella who lives in Laguna. Hope he has a good race.

The estimated recovery time of 2-4 weeks was very disappointing as I have another race on Dec.1. Yes, the National Dua C'ships in Subic which is one my A-races for duathlon (the other being the SCTEX Dua which I did last Sept).

I still have another race this weekend, the BGC Cycling event, with officemate @roadiemanila. As the groin pain doesn't appear during my recent rides, I'll still join this one (the 40k challenge) on Sunday morning. Should the pain want to show its ugly head, I'll take it easy as the bike momentum won't take much effort as compared to running.

Ugh, it sucks to be injured. The last time I had a serious injury was on my left knee when I was still a newbie with a persistent heel strike.

Keeping my fingers crossed that I'll be race-ready come December 1st.

For now, I will be having recovery sessions with my friends Alaxan, Salonpas and Omega. ;)

Nov 4-11 Training Summary

I was able to work out for 6 of the 7 days last week which hopefully brings me back to full training mode.

Mon - 6k run easy
Tue - 14k ride
Wed - 5k with 3k tempo run
Thu - weights
Fri - rest
Sat - 10k run
Sun - 37k ride

Of note would be the Wed tempo wherein I clocked 6.17, 6.17, 6.16 on the tempo kms. The pace, or lack thereof, shows that I still have a lot to go in terms of coming back to full form. The 5lbs gained from my racing weight needs to be gone to help improve as well.

Saturday's 10k was at 1hr 27mins. The slow pace only meant that I'm back to Maffetone runs again. At age 40, this means that I cannot exceed 140 HR. But since it was my first, I opted to run at HR between 140-150. Still it was a challenge as I succumbed to walks whenever I was nearing 150, especially on the climbs. When I ran Maffetone-style last year, I was able to keep my HR less than 140 at 7.30/km or so pace. Last Sat's run just showed how aerobically-challenged my body is right now. Hopefully, with more Maffetone runs, I'll improve over time.

2 races coming up this weekend. Yes, TWO:

Sat - Phil. Duathlon Series Leg 3 (Nuvali). 10k-40k-5k
Sun - BGC Cycle Philippines. 40k challenge ride

As I have registered for another duathlon on December 1st, I'll be taking this Sat's dua between easy and tempo effort. With the climbs at Nuvali waiting for me, it'll be better to approach this race prudently and just get acquainted with the standard dua distance in time for Dec 1. Sunday's 40k ride will be treated the same, as this'll be my first ever bike race. It'll be nice to be going around the metro with the roads open/secured for roadies like me.

Not Quite Bugarin...Yet

This morning I took the rare chance of biking in the province of Rizal since the family stayed overnight at Thunderbird Resort (which was quite a nice place). The plan was to drive from the resort down to the main road and park the car somewhere safe before I ride. I left the car at a Petron gas station which thankfully was ok with the staff there.

The ride was supposed to be from where I parked up to Pisong Kape and head back. This also comes with a time constraint to finish at 8am in time for breakfast wth the family.

I started 6.30am.

The Manila East road was smooth and even bike friendly as some of parts had bike lanes on it. Angono, my start point, to Binangonan was ok. It was as if this first 8-9kms was prepping me up for something...

...Cardona.

I have to admit that when I saw the Morong diversion road climb, I just had to get off my bike and walk it up. It was about 100m and the climb/grade was just too much for me. By the time I got on top, it was all descent back to Manila East Road. It was only when I uploaded my Garmin logs did I find out that THAT was the highest climb of the day ---and I had to walk it (ugh!).

The road was flat again as I went through Morong and then Tanay. It was still about 10km to Pillilia, my turn around point, when my Garmin told me that I was already at the 20km mark, and it was near 8am. Unfortunately, I had to turn back to my start point. Bugarin will come, hopefully next time.

As I headed back I chose to take the Cardona Town Proper route since the Morong Diversion Road will require a longer climb back. The town road still had a long climb but not as inclined as the earlier mentioned one above. It was still a challenge though as I tread to maintain good/full effort going up which I think I did pretty well for the whole 700m stretch.

I reached the car to end my ride after 41kms in 1:55. It was 8.30am so I hurried back to the resort for the breakfast buffet/reward (hehe).

Bugarin? Well every cyclist here says one must do it, and I think I will in the future. That Pisong Kape is still something to strive for.

DOMS

The day after the Rexona Run when I ran 21k after a long long while, I woke up to aches all over my body.

Every. Little. Bit.

Pain.

It was coupled with fever that reached 38C+. It was not a good day to have fever and body aches as it was my birthday that Monday.

It was a time spent with Mr. DOMS.

Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness.

First time to have experienced this. Primary cause based on my training logs is the lack of conditioning prior to my 21k race. The longest I ran weeks prior was 14.7km only. For a half-marathon, long runs of 16 to 18km are most ideal.

It took me several days before I could exercise again: bike. I only started running today with a measly 3km on the treadmill.

I've definitely learned my lesson here so I'll slowly build up my runs from hereon and not force myself to race longer than 10k if the training logs prove insufficient.

Lesson learned.

Rexona Run 2013: Surprised

SUGOD MGA KAPATID

As mentioned in my last post, I was only targeting to "just finish" this race due to my lack of training. A 2:30-2:40 would've been a fair time, a 2:27 would've been good.

But as I was packing my race gear, I decided to pick up my racing flats for this race. F*ck it, I said, I'm gonna race this one.

At the starting line corral I found myself at the middle of the crowd, with Pat of Running Shield just a few inches away. He can finish this one at sub-2:00, I thought, so there's no way that I'll be able to stick by him on this one.

The crowd was split in two waves, and as this race was going to be musically funded, out came Sandwich with Raimund Marasigan egging the 21k runners with a familiar tune. I was in the second wave which was released 5 minutes after the first.


DON'T YOU WORRY CHILD

The surprise 800m from the start that Coach Rio whispered to Pat was extraordinary. It was a 100m or so tunnel that had fantastic laser/club lights that bolted the senses to run further. So this was the reason why the gun start was at 3am (which Coach Rio mentioned to me as well when I claimed my race kit the night before). Too bad that this was the only tunnel that we're going thru for the race.

I was doing well, effort-wise. Unlike in my other races, I was not being controlled by my Garmin. I was only relying on it for pace feedback based on the effort that I last put in, not to adjust because the pace was this or that. I was letting my effort do all the control.

Gel at km5.


CALIFORNICATION

I was surprised by my effort in the first half of the race, managing paces between 6:30-6:40. The flyovers were climbed with ease. Probably because of the adrenalin that I was getting from the music playing all over the race course.

By the 12th km my effort was still good overall, but began to wonder if my Garmin was right. Pace feedback was at 6:50-7:00. I was doing well, I thought, but how come my Garmin was saying otherwise? Oh well, I just continued on with my race strategy and not mind the Garmin.

Gel at km13.


ELISI

By km18 onwards I was still feeling alright, stopping the water stations with the usual 1 gatorade + 2 water cups mix. I found myself a target guy to beat in those last 3 kms, changing leads until I was egged on by Rico Blanco's song to go all out and beat him in the end.

Finish time (Garmin): 2:22!

Wow, I couldn't be surprised by that performance. It was a great race (Runrio as usual) and I was just running on pure adrenalin all throughout. But I do believe that long runs of 14km is not enough for a half marathon race. You need a 16 or an 18 to get your body used to the distance, or else it'll fail you the next day.

More on that on my next post...

Panic at the Disco?

The Rexona Run is coming up this Sunday and it'll be my first 21k for 2013. Having preoccupied with cycling and duathlons, I reduced my road races and shied away from anything longer than 10k since January.

I forced myself to reg weeks ago for this race, as I felt the need to run longer ---something that I've been missing for quite some time now. For the past 3 weekends I managed to run longer, but probably not enough:

12.5 km
14.7km
14.0km

The recent change of office location and occasional nightshift work have reduced my morning workouts by a big deal. So much that I'm afraid that my goal this Sunday would be to simply finish. Any plan to speed up might result in hitting the wall in the latter part of this disco/rock laden race (which I'm excited for!).

I am far from being in PR-beating shape. With 6lbs gained, I really need to get the workouts (and the diet plan) back in! Hopefully Sunday's race would inject some endurance-junkie-juice back to my routine.

I hope to start by lining up a lot of races before the 2013 season ends. Apart from possibly joining the QCIM and Milo Finals 21k events, I signed up for a double-header next month (Nov16 Standard Duathlon and Nov17 a 40km challenge cycling event) and another duathlon if the Subic Dua by TRAP pushes through on December 01.

Hopefully all the training needed for all those races above will get me back into shape.

Going back to the Rexona Run, it's quite weird for RunRio to start the 21k event at 3am, which is usually reserved for full marathons. It's gonna be an early wake up call. This would mean that I need to get quality rest by Friday night.

Exciting Weekend Next Month

Back-to-back races, is it (excitingly) possible? :-)

Nov16:

Nov17:

40km Challenge

Weekends Like These

Saturday - Bike - 31.17km @ 23.3kph ave

Sunday - Run - 14.7km @ 7:26mpk ave

This weekend was good as I able to ride and run long (by my standards). I'm especially proud of this morning's long run, which was 2.2km longer than last weekend. As the Rexona Run is in two weeks, I just need one more long run next weekend, probably 16-18km, to boost my confidence going into the race.

Rather disappointed at myself that it took an upcoming half-marathon to force me to run long again. I really missed these "more than an hour" runs. I may have to register for more pikermis before I could finally motivate myself to run long without any race in mind. On the other hand, these upcoming races could surely wet my appetite for pikermis again:

QCIM
Milo Finals
etc.

On the bike, I am slowly getting the hang of riding long without an achy left elbow to worry. I am learning to relax my arms as I lightly grip the handlebars so much so that my clip-on aero bars have not been used as much of late. Probably I'll use them if I get another chance to ride at MoA.

I REALLY love the sound that my new aero carbon wheels make, like it's slicing through the wind as I pedal hard. Btw, I still have that 40km challenge ride coming up in mid November in BGC. That's definitely something that I can look forward to as well.

Hope you had a good training weekend too!

Running Half-Marys Again

 Yup, I signed up for this one online.

21k event.

Based on the shirt sizes available (XL and XXL) there are a few slots left. RunRio races selling like hot pancakes as usual since their races are known to be top notch.

Hope to have a good time here as the bands playing will provide a different feel on race day.

Oh yeah, I need to run a 16k and 18k with less than a month to go. Hehe...

Back to training....

Replacing My Brooks Pureflow

After 1,141 kms (yes I log my shoe mileage, hehe) which included 1 marathon and endless easy short/long runs, I've decided to retire my Brooks Pureflows from running.

As to which shoe brand/model to replace it with, it was a no brainer.

This time, in white!

Bought it from Toby's Galleria which sold it at 40% off. Good deal for a proven great performance shoe.

See you on the road!

(Non) Training Update

The daily mile training charts for my running and cycling shows that I've not been doing more of what is expected.

Running kms per month

Cycling kms per month

As seen above, running declined last August and my cycling since July. There are several reasons that I can think of as to why this happened:

1. Office location change from Ortigas to Ayala. Coming from QC, I now have to leave an hour earlier than usual to get to Makati. This means that my usual workouts in the morning would have to be shortened or sometimes none at all. Further, there's no nearby Gold's Gym there that will allow for lunchtime runs or spins.
2. Bad/Bed weather. Those two(?) weeks of continous rains due to storms or LPAs forced my weekend workouts to a stall as well. Much like this weekend wherein I planned to ride at MoA with @roadiemanila, the LPA forced to me to back to bed.
3. Not much races for me. So far this year I had 3 duathlons, showing my growing interest on the sport. But for run races, I only have ONE 10k and ONE 5k race so far. What? Not even a single half-mary this year? Sadly yes, I think the longest that I ran this year was a measly 14k months ago. But not to worry, my very few readers (hehe), as I'm thinking of signing up for several 21k's before the year ends. Of course, this'll prompt me to put in the needed run mileage. Probably the Rexona Run on Oct 20, plus QCIM and the Milo Finals in December. Probably.

My weight has suffered due to the lack of mileage, as our weighing scale shows I've gained 5 lbs from my lowest weight last year when I was breaking 21k PRs here and there. Blame it on Pancake House and Dad's, yummeh!

5lbs would be easy to lose if I watch my diet and bring back the run miles. Hmmm, I'd probably need one of those long bike rides as well so that I don't stress the knees if I only run.

Let's see what happens in a month, as I'll be 40 then. ;-)

Active Health Duathlon 2013: Pretty Good

I was coming into this race not specifically trained and not in shape (blame it on the Speculoos spread, hehe). With my last bike-run brick days before going into bonk city, I had to surrender that I won't have the optimal run pace for this event. Thus, the overall strategy was to put no pressure at all and just run at tempo effort. For the bike, I planned to gain lost time from the runs and enjoy(!!) what the SCTEX will have to offer.

The 6k-40k-4k dua started promptly at 6am ---on the SCTEX (yeeha!).

Found a good pic of me at the start (bib 449) -- pic c/o swimbikerun.ph

Run1 went smoothly with no issues as I lapped between 6:10-6:30/km based on my Garmin. I did pretty well, effort wise, as I controlled myself from speeding so I have enough for Run2.

It was off to T1 for the bike leg.

Approaching T1 -- pic c/o swimbikerun.ph

The transition area was quite long, probably close to 300 meters. As my bike was towards the end, it was a long run before I reached the bike.

I started the bike leg, well, not as smooth as I hoped it would be. I was pedaling hard as I could see that the road was flat but my cyclo computer showed I was on the lower 20s kph range.

Thus, my introduction to false flats.

According to bikeconnection.net:

false flat. 1. A surprisingly difficult section of road that looks flat but is actually slightly uphill. Usually, no matter how hard you pedal you go way slower than you think you should be going. 2. A stretch on a long hill that looks flat and tricks you into thinking you've reached the top when there's still more climbing to come.

It was a long gradual climb all the way to the turn around. But once you get there, it was pure heaven of biking downhill with speeds up to 52kph(!).

52kph.

Downhill.

AT. THE. SCTEX!!!

Enjoying a Pocari Sweat break near the turnaround -- pic c/o swimbikerun.ph

The word ENJOY may not be enough to describe how I felt on that part of bike leg. My new 50mm aero wheels couldn't agree more (wink wink). Towards the end of the downhill was the turnaround, and yes, back up again to those false flats and climbs. It was agonizing to see myself being overtaken going up, but it was enjoyable on the downhill (weeeee!!!! hehehe). Unfortunately I lost a lot of time no thanks to my poor climbing skills so it was up to Run2 for me to gain ground. I had a 2:30 finish time to catch.

Approaching T2 I was able to unclip my cleats and ran barefoot with the bike towards my station. Unfortunately, I was stopped by a race marshal as I unclipped my helmet without reaching my station yet, so I had to clip it on again loosing a couple of seconds. Lesson learned.

I reached my station, hung the bike, changed gear and was off for the last 4k run.

I was still feeling good during Run2 so I ran better but didn't really force it as I was afraid of bonking. I was lapping at probably 6:05--6:15/km, with my last km to the finish at about 5:57/km.

I finished at 2:33+, 3mins off my target.

Another lesson handed to me by the uphills. My bike climbing skills require a LOT of improvement.

On a positive note, it was a good race effort for me overall. Run1 was controlled and Run2 felt great effort and pace-wise. I need to train more to get back that optimal race speed again.

Yes, I will gladly sign up for this event next year!

Thanks Unilab, BikeKing!

Countdown to 2013 Unilab Duathlon

If my bike-run brick last week was any indication of how I'll perform this Sunday, then I'm going to bonk by Run2.

Last Saturday I did a 30k-5k bike-run combo around the neighborhood. By the 2nd km of my run, I totally gassed out even after consuming a HammerGel 15mins before my ride ended. I was run-walking as if I was on the 33rd km of a full marathon, my running mojo left at home. It was very frustrating.

I have only myself to blame as laziness in performing quality runs (tempos, speedwork) was left wanting days before. Of course, I can also also blame the bad weather the past two weeks but I should've found time to squeeze some runs here and there.

Well, this Sunday's race day so I don't know if my planned interval run workout and a run-bike brick will make me race ready. I will probably not force myself below 6:00/km pace on Run1 and feel myself on the bike so as not to over exert so I'll still have whatever energy left by Run2. If I'm still ok by then, I'll give my everything including the kitchen sink, so to speak, for the last 4k run.

Wish me luck!

Unilab 2013 Duathlon: Am I In or Out?

I'm happy to post that I was able to get onto the Start List for this year's Unilab Duathlon at Clark next Sunday. Woohoo!!!

Further, as the recent bad weather affected part of the bike route, it was announced that the bike leg will be reduced from 50km to 40km. That's ok since it's still the SCTEX that we'll be riding through. ;-)

Back to training...

2013 Unilab Duathlon Under Review

From swimbikerun.ph's website, the race organizers of the 2013 Unilab Duathlon will review the race (schedule, route, etc.) due to recent damage brought about by typhoon Maring.

A part of the SCTEX, where the bike route will be, was heavily damaged as seen below (pic c/o swimbikerun.ph):

Click here for details of the announcement.

Blog Facelift

Seeing that today's rains have stopped any sort of run/bike workout (although I was able to do a set of weights circuit with my trusty dumbells this morning), I decided to give this blog a new look.

Apologies for the meantime though since the slider section still needs updating with new images/info.

Hope you guys like it!

Unilab Duathlon Registration Saga Continues...

Last night I went through my Gmail inbox after a long day at work. A particular email with the subject starting with the word "APOLOGIES" from Bike King was quickly opened. It read:

Thank you for your interest in joining the Active Health Duathlon.

Earlier, you received notification on finalizing your registration. This notification was erroneous.

We sincerely apologize.

Our registration system was supposed to cut off the notification once we reached the quota of available slots.

You are presently on the wait list.

To see where you are on the list please visit our Active Health Duathlon Events page here:

http://bikekingphilippines.com/events_active-health-duathlon.php

Click on the Waitlist tab.

Thank you again for your interest, and once more, we apologize for any inconvenience.

Sincerely,

Bike King

So I clicked the link and replied immediately, as below:

I checked the website Start List and I saw my name there (#633). I already paid this afternoon at Secondwind Ortigas. :)

Thanks.

No immediate reply so I followed up:

Bike King Org,
Feedback pls. I already paid yesterday before I got your "apologies" email so pano na? I already booked my hotel at Clark.
I'm on your website's Start List and Wait List.
Let me know ASAP if I need to refund my reg and hotel fees.
Thanks.

A reply came, as below:

Hi,
You are on the wait list (#58). We will find out by next week on the final status of those on the wait list. We will give you a full refund of your entry fee if you're not accepted.
Thanks,
Raul

My reply as of this writing:

Hi Raul,
Thank you for your email. Again, kindly note that yesterday, I've already paid the reg fee AND booked a hotel in Clark (Hotel ****) for me and my family to stay. This would've been prevented if your reg system worked as it was supposed to, i.e. real time cutoff of the registrants upon reaching the quota.
I understand the system error that you mentioned but I hope you and your team can also understand the situation that I (and the others waitlisted) am in. Right now I just find this whole episode simply disappointing in my short history of race registrations. In the telco industry where I'm in, if system errors occur we charge the system supplier/owner for damages on its failure to fulfill a service since it caused customer complaints and destroyed the company name (Unilab and Bike King, in this case). As an endurance age grouper, I blog my run/bike exploits including races and this is the first time I've written 3 posts (so far) on the whole registration drama alone. Rather weird since I only do 1-2 posts (1st when I hear about the race and 2nd when I register) for races that I want to participate in. I usually blog a 3rd post for my race recap. But 3 (or 4) posts just to write about the race registration? Sigh...
Oh well....
I hope the notification of whether I'm in the list or not comes next week as you've said so I can make the necessary arrangements either way. If I can know the result earlier ---which is most probably not participating since the odds are against me as I'm #58 in the wait list (much like the impossibility of clocking a sub-3 42km for my age) --- please contact me via 0922xxxxxxx or 0917xxxxxxx so I know where to claim the reg refund, contact the hotel to arrange another refund (which I might not get the exact money I spent due to refund fees), and inform my family that the weekend getaway at Clark is canceled.
Still hoping for a positive outcome though.
Best regards.

Yup, much like your favorite primetime teleserye, I also want to know how this story will end.

Abangan...

Unilab Duathlon Registration Saga Ends

As it was near 12noon today, I searched for the best WiFi spot in the meeting area. I went to another room and, finally, was able to enter the Bike King website and open the registration page as they committed to open it up by 12noon, for a limited time.

And, finally after several info typing and clicking "Submit," I got this in my inbox:

I drove immediately to SecondWind, Home Depot Ortigas branch (yes, I skipped lunch) and paid the mandatory fee with the email confirmation print out in hand.

Finally, I'm in!

Time to train....

Happy...but not until August 7th

Glad to have stumbled upon this on FB this evening:

Needless to say that I'll be stalking the Bike King website like a hawk come August 7th, 12NN!

Like. A. Hawk.

Sad

Imagine my disappointment when I tried registering for the Unilab Duathlon last week. The website, like any bad news, was straight to the point:

I heard that the registration for this sold like pancakes that it closed within a day or so. I guess duathlons are the in thing now, especially for non-swimmers like me.

I read in the swimbikerun.ph forums that they *might* reopen registration since some have either duplicated their online entries or some haven't paid after the 3-day cutoff. Hopefully I'll be able to register if that happens.

Sigh....

Next Dua: 2013 Active Health Duathlon

Barely a week after my last duathlon (which btw the organizers have YET to release the full race results, ATTN: Adrenaline Race Org), I was able to find this announcement on the Unilab Active Health website linked from the swimbikerun.ph forum pages:

DATE: September 8, 2013, Sunday 
VENUE: SCTEX South Clark Exit, Clark, Pampanga 
RACE DISTANCE DISTANCE: 6km Run-50km Bike-4km Run

I was surprised with the 50km bike since I initially thought it was going to be 40k only. The longest that I rode in a duathlon was 40k from my first dua last Nov 2012.

But there's always a first time for everything: a 50k bike in a dua AND possibly riding along the SCTEX!!!

Yup, time to register. ;-)

HTFU!

Philippine Duathlon Series Leg 1: Better On The Bike

My target for this race was to finish below 2:10, just in time to drive back to the house for the usual family Sunday breakfast at Pancake House at McKinley Hill. That would mean finishing before 8:10am (if the race started 6am), with probably 56mins total run time, another 55mins on the bike, and 9mins transition buffer for T1 and T2 (worse case).

RACE START

There was some confusion among the male runners when the starting gun was fired, since the announcement said that we'll be released in waves according to age group. It turns out that there was going to be only TWO wave starts: the first one for elites plus males aged up to 44, then the second wave for the female and the rest of the men. 

Anyhow, seeing all the guys running made me start my race as well. :-)

RUN LEG 1 (6km)

I saw my pace hitting 5:30/km in the first 500m so I drew myself back, letting it settle to just a tad below 6:00/km as I was anticipating a dreaded climb at the Palms area. True enough, I passed it ---twice since we had to do two loops. By the 5th km I was excited to get onto the bike leg but I still had about 10mins to go before transition. I got myself ready by taking my only Hammer Gel for the race as I neared T1.

BIKE LEG (30km)

The bike course was about 70% flat and 30% hills which made me happy about my decision to keep my aerobars clamped in. As there were a lot of participants in this race, you really had to be conscious when overtaking AND when being overtaken. The turns are pretty tight, especially on that one turn with a muddy section wherein unfortunately I read in the SBR.ph forums that one participant crashed. Hope he's ok.

I managed to get my speed up here, surprisingly enjoyed it as I took the flats with impunity, seeing >30kph at times on my Cateye. The Cateye proved helpful in monitoring my number of loops (we had to do 6) so I never lost count since I just needed to look at the distance on the screen. It was probably short of 1km but I think I did well, finishing at 27.5kmh average pace as per the Cateye. It was +1kmh faster than my first duathlon in Subic last Nov 2012 so I was really happy with the improvement going into T2.

I entered the dismount area with my cleats disengaged (surprised that I'm able to pull my cleats off while on the bike even with a bulging belly, hehehe). I found myself a little tired as I walked to my station to park my bike and was slow to put back my running shoes. Good thing I installed my Lock Laces for this race to save on time.

RUN2 LEG (3km)

Leaving T2 (photo c/o SBR.ph)

It was going to be another loop before hitting the finish. My leg turnover was good coming off from the bike but pace was slow (6:15) than planned (sub 6:00). I tried to get in some more pace but I was probably too tired from the bike that I couldn't dial in my target pace. I just told myself to maintain 6:15 current pace and not slow down.

But there was the Palms climb again. It was difficult to get the pace better to 6:00 so I had to content myself with 6:15. I was actually getting slower, reaching up to 6:25 in the last turn to the finish. I sprinted the last 100m, telling myself, "last na 'to!!!" so I had to give my all.

I finished the race at 2:04:30+ (based on the clock at the finish arc), happy to be within my target finish time. My Garmin logged the race with a total 38.5km so it's short by 500m. Adding about 3+ mins to my total would still keep me below my target finish time of sub-2:10. Yey!

FOR IMPROVEMENT

I think I should've taken another gel about 5km before T2. It could've been a game changer going into Run2, instead of me believing all my stored fat would carry me in 6:00 pace in those last 3km of running. That's something that I may need to practice later on.

Or, I may have to slow down(?) a bit on the bike to leave some energy for Run2. Btw, as it is only my 3rd duathlon I need to practice on road etiquette while biking, i.e. staying on the right and ONLY moving to the left when passing.

Btw, when's the next leg for this series? ;-)

Bringing Back my Running Mojo

RUN REPORT

I'm happy to update that my running mileage has been increasing, albeit slowly, over the past 3 months.

From dailymile.com. The July 2013 here is from July 1-11 only so I predict it'll be more than 68km by end of the month.

My tempo and interval runs have been injected back, though not as heavy as when I was training for Marathon #4 last July 2012, but I'll take it. If it's a tempo run scheduled this week, it's intervals the next. I've also introduced regular easy runs without a Garmin nor watch, which puts no pressure on my run which I most often look forward to.

I still have a lot to go in terms of long runs. My longest so far this year has been a 14km last March. I'm slowly getting there as I ran 13k last Sunday (from an originally planned 10) and felt that I could do more.

Of course, I still have my 2-3 times a week of biking, with Saturdays at either MOA or Camp Aguinaldo between 30-40km per ride.

SUNDAY RACE DAY

I'm racing again this Sunday. It's a 6k-30k-3k event. I think I did better this time in terms of training compared to my last duathlon (Duaman @ Nuvali) so I hope to do better here pace wise. The bike course is a rolling one so I'm still undecided if I'll remove the aerobars from my bike. T2 will be faster I think since the Lock Laces that I bought and tested will save a lot of time as I transition from bike to run2. 

I hope I learned my lesson from my last race when I woke up late. Registration fee is P1,400.00 so I BETTER wake up in time! Hahaha...

Crash Course in Flat Tire Replacement

Last Saturday I rode from my home in QC to BGC. I planned the route and estimated one way to be around 15km in total. I started off at around past 6am, able to go as I pleased since there were only a few vehicles plying the roads at the time.

As I left the Ortigas Business District and headed to C5 via Shaw, riding thru the downhill was very inviting so I obliged. The feeling, as always, was very exhilirating.

As I turned right and climbed that short uphill entering C5, I noticed that my pace started to slow. I looked down to check my tires, and, as confirmed by another biker who passed me, "May flat tire ka Sir!"

I am convinced that the flat tire resulted from that downhill wherein I hit a rather sharp break on the road. Tsk tsk.

At that moment, I was along the bridge at C5 bordering Pasig(?) and Taguig, over the Pasig River. I stopped to the side and thought, "Well, here goes nothing..."

This was my 3rd flat tire experience, but on the first two (one in Greenhills and one in Camp Aguinaldo) I was fortunately near my car. I just packed my bike and took the flat tire to my LBS where it was replaced with no worries. This 3rd time, along C5, there was no "vehicle support" to help me.

Instead, fortunately, I brought along a spare tire tube, hand pump, and bike levers ---all conveniently placed in my bike shirt's back pockets. The hand pump and levers were of the Lezyne brand and were bought from Bikezilla which is a short walk from my office here in Ortigas.

With no experience except at recalling what the bike mechanic did in my first two flat tire replacements, I dove in and started the work. It took me about a little over 10 minutes, and thank goodness, I was able to replace the flat tire! Needless to say that I was able to reach my destination with no further issues.

Whew!!! Boy, was I glad that I brought along those tools and spare tube!

Here's a BETTER way of replacing the flat tire that I found on YouTube that you may find helpful ---just in case. :)

World Vision 10k: Better Late Than Never

As the gun time was at 5:10am, I set my alarm clock for 4am that Saturday night. I woke up to the alarm, and as expected, I canceled it in exchange for a 5 minute snooze.

Wrong move.

The next thing I knew I was woken up by my wife with her phone showing clearly the current time: 5:30am.

I have missed the gun time!

This is the 4th time that this happened since I started running 2009, with the first one being the McHappy Fun Run last Nov 2010. I thought about the comfort of my bed and how I can just sleep off this bad experience versus getting up and just run the race.

By not running I will just give up my P750.00 reg fee so I chose to get up and made my way to the starting area which was just 1km from where I stayed.

As I haven't really trained specifically for this race, I expected to finish somewhere between 1:02 to 1:05. Sub-60 was a long shot as I wasn't sure on my overall endurance after just 1 10k long run, which was done the previous Sunday.

I reached the starting area but the security told me that I was way past the cutoff time so I couldn't start on the mat. They just pointed me to start from the side of the arc. No biggie for me as I had my Garmin. The (only) advantage going for me for starting late is that I have a lot of space to work on from the starting line versus walking with the rest of the runners from gun start and weaving through the runner traffic.

I made my goal as I clicked "Start" on my Garmin: let's target a sub-60!

I started off, well, way too fast for my own good as I felt comfortable:

km1= 5:41
km2= 5:42

Until this time, after years of racing, I still haven't perfected the art of pacing. The succeeding kilometers showed my decline in pace well:

km3= 5:57
km4= 5:52 (took one GU gel)
km5= 5:52

My 5k split showed sub-30, a promising sight for my sub-60 goal. The rest of the course, especially the last 2k, is mostly uphill so I had to prepare myself for that by relaxing on the pace from km6-8:

km6= 6:07 (well this was one uphill, hehe)
km7= 5:59
km8= 6:34

I felt the need to slow down at about 7.5k of the race, my heart racing too fast and telling me to stop. I fought the urge to walk so I slowed (a bit) which resulted in that 6:34 split in km8. By the last 2k I had to give my all:

km9= 5:41
km10= 6:05 (uphill on 32nd street)

As I made that last turn, I looked at my Garmin and found sub-60 was within grasp. The only thing I needed to do was hang on in that last 400m to the finish line (which felt like forever to complete).

Photo c/o Vertical Finisher

As I stepped on the mat, I stopped my Garmin and was very pleased:

A sub60.

That was damn close!

FOR IMPROVEMENT

The race just showed that I need to improve on speed as I've earlier predicted. My running performance has really suffered since I fell in love with cycling late last year, thus sharing my training time between the two disciplines. I may need to bring back my running training/routine to go back to PR-beating conditions that was reminiscent of my 2012 races.

Next up is the July 14 Duathlon in Filinvest, Alabang. The run legs there will be 6k and 3k. I hope to do better pace-wise by then.


GOOD JOB RUNRIO!

As expected in any Runrio race, this was well organized. The price is still costly for a 10k race (P750.00) but it's all worth knowing that you have enough support on the route (accurate distance, marshals, hydration, etc).

World Vision, the recipient of the money generated from this race, is a non-profit organization helping out needy children worldwide with education and other needs. As a member for some years now, it has been a very humbling experience. If you have the opportunity, I encourage you to sign up as well.

Discovering STRAVA

I'm a very competitive person. In races, I would seek out runners ahead of me and try to overtake them as part of my motivation to finish at a faster time. Sometimes it worked, and sometimes my "impromptu competitor" out sprints me in the end. Either way, it's a healthy way of bringing out my competitive side in sports.

STRAVA is a new source of fueling that competitiveness in me. Thanks to @RoadieManila, I've signed up and have been uploading my Garmin bike rides for about 2 weeks now.

This morning I made my first serious attempt at becoming King of the Mountain (KOM) of the Camp Aguinaldo Fast Climb segment. It's a 700 meter climb with 1.8% incline grade that bikers and runners use for hill intervals/repeat sessions. I warmed up on my first climb, taking it easy and planning out where I will pour everything out and when to change gears when the climb starts to settle.

On my 5th try, I gave it my all with heart rate peaking at 169bpm (I maxed at 170bpm just after that segment ended). I felt that I did enough to beat the 1:34 record set last May 12 by another STRAVA member.

As I uploaded this morning's bike session to STRAVA, my jaw dropped as the Agui Fast Climb segment top notchers were recalculated: I finished in 1:36, two seconds shy of the current record.

Darn it!

It was, however, good enough for joint 2nd place (with 3 other members, including @RoadieManila).

I will DEFINITELY be back in Camp Aguinaldo next Saturday for another attempt at that segment. Hopefully, the KOM title will be mine (insert evil laugh here).

This is war.

And just like that, I'm registered for a 10k race!

To boost my training for my July14 duathlon, I have (stupidly?) registered online for a 10k race 2 weeks before it. Such is the convenience of Runrio races that registration is easy.

I'm a proud member of World Vision and what it stands for, so I'm more than happy to join this race that they're organizing on the 23rd of June. It's going to be held in BGC so logistics won't be a problem. I'll be joining the 10k event only as this will be a gauge as to how I'll attack the run legs of my next duathlon (a 6k and then a 3k).

This will DEFINITELY force me to sked my intervals and tempo runs again.

Here we go!

Next Race: Phil. Duathlon Series Leg 1

Yup, I just registered for this at Life Cycle Greenhills today.

6k run.

30k bike.

3k run.

The sked for the race is timely as it'll FORCE me to train seriously again. My runs are still wanting of tempos and interval training so I welcome the change from "training mode" to "training to race mode" from today until July 14th.

See you there!

Struggling

The above dailymile log says it all. After 6km, my (weak) mind won as it forced me to walk. I knew that if I started walking it'll be the first of many walk breaks ---and it was. An hour and twenty-one minutes later, I ran (just) 10k. By my standards, it was a bad run.

My last long run before yesterday was 14km more than two months ago. My last speedwork, 10x400m, was last April 1.Since then it was 5-7k runs here and there. No structure as I just ran as I wanted to. It was good, but my overall running condition deteriorated. Yesterday's failed long run punctuated it.

My long run endurance, and the mental toughness that comes along with it, has definitely weakened. I need to regroup, concentrate on committing to the weekend long run from hereon.

Work-Life-Run-Ride Balance

I read this short article and I could only nod in agreement as how my sports activities can affect my work and life aspects positively. In my view, this part is very true:

"...that cycling [or any sport for that matter --me] is something that keeps you happy, fit and focused.   Besides keeping us healthy, it provides us with a great deal of emotional capital that leads to increased productivity.  Many studies have shown that happy people are more creative, solve problems better and more quickly, are more self confident, and enjoy higher levels of leadership influence.  In other words, people who have passions outside of work (i.e. cycling in our case) are happier and perform better on the job.  Passionate people spend a great amount of time thinking about what they’ve accomplished, how achievable the task ahead is, and how capable they are of achieving it.  If people have one passion, it’s likely that they’ll be strongly driven in other areas of their lives as well."

pic from recruitguelph.ca

And this is why I run....

....and bike

....and run some more.

Duaman 2013: Duathlon #2 Completed

It was great to see myself wearing a race bib again. My 2nd duathlon after my maiden one last Nov 2012, I didn't specifically train for Duaman other than my usual runs, rides, weights, and weekly spinning class to keep me conditioned for the challenges that this race will present.

Getting myself marked (c/o GarminCenter FB)

The organizer, @swimbikerunph, did not disappoint.

The race was held in Nuvali, Santa Rosa, Laguna ---a place where I haven't done any training nor race. Based on the info I got days before the race, the route will have no tree cover and that the bike route will be challenging (which I will later find out to be both true).

By April 21, 6:30am, 600+ Duaman participants were sent off by no less than swimbikerun.ph's head honcho Carlos De Guzman who did the hosting tasks as well.

Run1 (3km) was completed just below 18mins. It was rather slow than my target 16:30 but was happy to have left some energy for the bike and run2.

The bike leg (20km) was the hard part. It consisted of a few killer climbs and rolling hills. I didn't falter on this part but finishing it in about 45-46mins proved that I still have a lot to learn on the pedals. The aerobars worked well on the flats and descents but the climbs, although doable, were a task for me. You may say my effort level here was at 8-9 out of 10. Still, it wasn't enough for this short but killer route.

Run2 (3km) was were I caught up with most of the athletes struggling (from probably giving their all on the bike). I have to admit that I have this "hidden smile" across my face while passing them one by one as I found myself very much in control of my pace. I finished this leg in probably 19mins.

I finished the race in 1:26, well within my 1:30 target. I was worried that I might lose time during T1 and T2 but I was fortunate to have practiced disengaging my feet from the cleats before bike dismount (I ran barefoot to my transition area) which saved a minute or two. Now if only I bought Yankz or that other brand  to save time on lacing up my shoes, that could've saved another minute or so.

Further, I was happy with my time since I was able to race throughout with a still recovering knee injury from my football stint several weeks ago.

DUATHLONS OVER MARATHONS?

With my current condition (still with some knee injury and no long runs to my credit), I may have to postpone Marathon #5 for now. Honestly, I just find the run-bike-run gig exciting. Pacing strategy really plays a lot here since you'll find most of them who didn't pace themselves suffer in Run2. You should give your all in Run1 and Bike, but you need to leave a little something for Run2. Determining how much of that "little something" is the one that makes duathlons very interesting and exciting for me.

But don't get me wrong. I'm still a runner so I will have to convince myself to either target a sub-2:00 half mary or run another full later this year (probably the RunRio one in October).

For now, the plan is to run another duathlon. But based on the race calendar it seems that I will have to wait until June.

Sigh....

Aerobars: A Last Minute Addition

I first tried them out in this morning's brick workout (bike-run). Actually, it's my final workout before this Sunday's duathlon. I enjoyed it so much that I can't wait to use 'em ---in the race.

Woohoo!!!

Prayers for Boston

In the words of @runblogger, it was like my family was attacked.

My prayers go out to all those affected by this terrible tragedy.

Run By Feel

I ran 7k yesterday without a Garmin. For a tech geek like me, it was renewing to just run without that beep sound telling me my pace. I didn't know my time by the run's end, but I think that my pace was somewhere between moderate and hard effort.

Weird, but I felt great running by feel.

pic from onnit.com

Reading this RW post has now tempted me to run marathon #5 in July without a Garmin or watch.

We'll see...

March 25-31, 2013: Getting My Mojo Back

Run - 23km (long run 10.8km)
Bike - 65km
Weights - 0

I was able to do better last week, with the Duaman distance simulation completed nicely last Saturday (3k run, 20k bike, 3k run). I lost pace on the 2nd run leg, probably due to a combination of having run 10k (at marathon pace) the previous day and wasn't able to replenish my calories during the bike leg (forgot to bring my energy bar). Yup, I definitely learned something that day.

I'm headed for a good start this week as I ran 10x400m this morning (Monday). Hopefully I've gotten my running mojo back in time for the start of marathon training next week.

HTFU!