2014 Philippine Duathlon Races (as of June 24, 2014)

Slight changes on the schedule, specifically for PhilDua Leg3:

Just unfortunate that I won't be able to race on August as my family and I are already booked for Baguio for the long weekend.

But there's Marcos Highway for my bike to climb anyway.

;-)

TrainingPeaks PMC Review

Looking at my TP Performance Manager Chart (PMC), it only confirms that I've plateaued in terms of training since late April. There are a number of reasons/excuses as to why this happened but I'll spare you the details. The main thing is that I am becoming concerned of the 6-day workout a week routine vs my body's capability of handling the continuously increasing training volume.

I am learning a lot from my coach, but at times it seems that this 40-yr old body isn't what it used to be 10 or 20 years ago. I may need to throttle down on the training to have enough time for my body to recover, possibly a 2-day rest per week will be sufficient for recovery and changing the routine.

In the meantime, my A-races are coming up in September and November, so I think there's still enough time to suck it up and follow the training plan being sent by my coach. Hopefully my PM chart improves by then.

Race Recap: Phil. Dua Series - Leg 2 (Nuvali)

Arrived at the race venue with 30mins to spare. After placing my bike in the transition area I realized that I forgot to bring my bike shoes. This was a big bummer for me not just because my pace could slow down because of the reduced grip on the pedals, but also on the race photos (hihi). As things turn out later, this was not the only mishap that'll happen on the bike leg.

Race started promptly at 6am and the 6-30-3 duathlon was on its way. 

Run1 went by smoothly with me clocking at 35:50 or 6:00/km (Garmin time). This was a little better than my target (6:15/km) as I wanted to conserve for the bike and Run2. T1 was quick as I had no need to change shoes.

All that skipping of many of Coach's prescribed bike training workouts finally got back at me during the bike leg. I had a terrible (terrible!) time managing the long climbs up to the U-turn. I was pedaling but not on the pace and power that I wanted it to be. What added to the frustration was that I had to do this route twice to complete the prescribed 30kms (actual distance at 32km). I was regretting as well not focusing on tackling long low-grade climbs such as this one in Nuvali. To add further to my dismay, my chain fell off twice while was tackling two separate inclines. Had to stop and spend time to put the chain back on. It was a bike leg that I wanted to forget.

Grimacing my way up the incline. Just look at the those red running shoes! Totally unsynchronized! Hehehe...

Total bike time at 1:18 (approx. 24kmh average). Very poor.

Things turned for the better when I started Run2 (3km). I found good pace and, IMHO, I was KILLING IT in Run2. Nobody, and I mean NOBODY was able to overtake me during that leg. Instead, I was overtaking left and right, even out-sprinting a fellow racer 10meters from the finish line. THAT was truly memorable. Total Run2 time = 18:34 (or 6:07/km average).

Total race time: 2:16.

Next race will be on August and yes, I will concentrate on improving my cycling until then.

Nuvali anyone?

Phil. Dua Series Leg 2: I'm all set!

Well, it's my 2nd duathlon for 2014 on Sunday at the Philippine Duathlon Series - Leg 2, in Nuvali, Laguna. Glad to see that the race organizers have added a wrist band in the racekit, a preventive step from would-be bike thieves which unfortunately took one of the bikes in Leg 1.

Training has been stagnant in terms of volume in the past weeks, attributed mainly to either my laziness to finish the workout, or by daddy duties that should be prioritized. With 4 months into tapping the services of Coach Andy, my performance this Sunday will determine how far this coaching has improved me.

Training-wise, I've improved a lot. When before I only do 5-7km runs on weekdays, I can nowrun 10k easy runs with ease ---on a weekday. The bike volume (and intensity) has increased a lot since I went under Coach Andy's intense training regimen. No pressure for me to perform well this Sunday as I will just put in what I've done during training. Whatever happens, happens.

Hope to post a good result of this race by next week.

Here we go....

Post-Race: Alaska Cycle Philippines

The good:

1. Accurate distance (40km)
2. Good work on controlling the traffic
3. Lots of freebies

For improvement:

1. Wished the FinisherPix photos were free

I had a good time racing this one, improving my average speed from 28kph last year to about 30+kph here (1:17:40 chip time). I was able to hang on for most of the peloton groups that I encountered, ending the race with the one led by Alaska head huncho Fred Uytengsu. This was a good gauge to check if I'm improving on my bike.

Yup, I'm already excited for the next installment of this BGC race which happens this November.