Gold Rush! Team Philippines Dominates The 1st Asian Underwater Hockey Championships!

Now it can be told.. in the eyes of the Gentledog.

After all the calories gained strategizing at Mcdo..

After the countless hours deliberating the line-ups and yes.. even the design of the men’s team swimming trunks..

After all the e-groups drama and blunders..

When it comes to Underwater Hockey..

The Philippines is THE BEST in Asia.

We're the CHAMPS!

Except for a draw in the mixed division, Team Philippines from the Philippine Underwater Hockey Confederation (PUHC) dominated almost every game of the 1st Asian Underwater Hockey Championship (AUHC) held in Singapore.

The games were held at The Queenstown Swimming Complex. Located along stirling road, the complex was perfect for the 1st ever AUHC. Although the tile grouts takes a little getting used to, the pool was big and deep enough for underwater hockey. Stirling Underwater Hockey Club (SUHC) did a fantastic job organizing this event. Except for a couple of kinks here and there, which can be considered as growing pains, everything went smoothly and as planned. Next year, I hope PUHC will be able to top what SUHC did.

The games were on-time 99% of the time, the barriers did a fantastic job containing the wild underwater hockey players, there was LIVE COVERAGE of the games being shown on deck on 2 huge 50(?) inch TV’s, not to mention still having enough space for all the other players to loiter and hang around. The washrooms were big and water was never a problem also.

Going inside the venue, you'll immediately feel the competitive yet festive nature of the event. Everyone was in high spirits! It was great to mingle around and talk to other underwater hockey players from Asia. Despite the obvious language barrier, it was good that everyone knows how to speak English. In 3 days time, I think I saturated all the English in my vocabulary. Including the ones in my reserves. I was reduced to "Yup", "Uh-huh", and "Yeah" on the last day. Hehe..


Day 0 (Thursday) - Coup-de-etat!

History was made on the day we left for Singapore, not because of us but because of the coup-de-etat staged by the rebel military soldiers. While everyone was busy burying their attention at the Manila Peninsula Hotel where the rebels held their fort, most of us were busy haggling the traffic going to the airport. When I got to the airport, I can't help but feel patriotic seeing the other members of our team clad in matching Speedo sponsored, Philippine Team t-shirts.

We made quite an impression at the airport, with a number of people asking if we're part of the Philippine Team contingent that’s going to slug it out at the SEA Games. Only to see their faces turn into blank "huh?" faces when we mention that we're going instead to Singapore to play Underwater Hockey. Underwater What?!? Hehehe..

The flight took around 3½-4 hours which was honestly the longest 4 hours of my life. Not because I was afraid of airplanes but because I was butt-hungry. When I saw the flight attendants pulling the food carts I thought they we're going to serve us snacks only to find out that those damn junk foods aren’t free! 100 bucks for a freaking cup noodle?!? When I asked the pretty flight attendant why they don’t serve free snacks she just told me, "Budget flight lang po kasi Sir.. mura lang kasi yung ticket". What the hell? Good thing the flight attendant was pretty. Then as I lowered my head in frustration I saw this flag on my t-shirt and that told me everything I needed to know. Hehehe.. Say hello to our third world country :) Hehehe..

When we arrived at Singapore we just got our luggage’s and went on our separate ways. The SUHC people were gracious enough to host most of us in their houses. Some people were picked up by their kind hosts, and some like my group took a maxicab. My group decided to make a quick detour at Mustafa to have our $US converted to Singapore’s currency. We also had a quickie midnight snack at one of Mustafa’s infamous eateries. Wherein the use of serving spoons and utensils is practically unheard of. Hehe..

We got to Sam’s (our host) place around 5am already, which was really embarrassing to our kind host since he's been waiting for us since 1am. Not to mention that he's been stuck with Chock for the entire time. Hehehe.


DAY 1 (Friday) - And so it begins.. Team Philippines sets the benchmark.

For Jay, Chock, and the Gentledog (GD), the day started pretty early. Armed with just an hour of sleep, we were tasked to help our host setup the barriers. We slept at 6am and woke up around 7am and immediately went to the pool. To those who thinks setting up the barriers on our PUHC tourneys is hard enough, the barriers made by SUHC was even harder to setup. It was harder yeah but it was all worth the effort. Considering that it did its job really well. Along with some other SUHCers, we were tasked to carry the barriers, chains, and other stuff from the storage to the pool area. Which we happily agreed to do. Those barrier walls were heavy. It took two persons to carry 5 of those. Y'all saw how many barriers were used. Feel free to do the math :). The chains were also heavy as hell. Those chains weren’t the thin ones. They were HUGE. After bringing them to the pool area, we helped Sam and the rest of his Equipment & Set-Up crew put the stickers on the barriers. Then also helped them put the gazillion # of nuts and bolts together. We finished and got back to Sam’s place around 11am. By then we were talking about going to the various shopping places in Singapore. Which was put on hold because all 3 of us felt sleepy as soon as I turned the aircon on. Hehehe..

After a couple of hours recharging, the 3 of us were hungry. We went to this sorta-like hidden chicken rice place in Singapore which was recommended by our SUHCer friend Twang, which to our surprise, serves one of the best chicken rice in the whole country. We ordered a half-chicken which we finished in a record 5 mins time. We came back to this place the following day along with our fellow housemates and this time ordered the whole chicken! That didn’t last long either. Hehe.. The Chicken was that good. No wonder this restaurant got an award for having the best Chicken Rice Singapore has to offer. Sin Kee is the best!

The PUHC women’s team were barely challenged on their way to clinch the women’s championship on the very 1st day. Since Japan didn’t field their own women’s team, Team Philippines and Singapore went at it on a best of 3 format. Team Philippines won each game convincingly. Outscoring Singapore on their 1st game 14-0 and then upping the ante on the 2nd game. Finishing the game with a 15-nil win over the Singapore Women’s team. Those lucky ladies! They can now relax because they're already assured of a medal. Something which The Gentledog really wants. Selfish as this may sound but, I want the medal more than the mixed games winners certificate. Hehehe..

The PUHC men’s team also showed its strength against Team Singapore and Japan. On their 1st match against Singapore, the PUHC men’s team dominated the game with an 8-3 win over Singapore. Singapore on their 2nd game versus Japan won the game 6-4. On the last match of the day, Team Philippines overwhelmed Japan for a 14-1 victory. Though the game against Japan was a blowout, the game got really rough. Trust me, it wasn’t an easy victory. Every goal was a product of hardwork, teamwork, and determination. Everybody contributed to every goal.

It wasn’t the same for Team Philippines' X-Games division though, armed with mixed men and women players from PUHC, and playing against an all-men’s Singapore roster, the PUHC X-Games division teams lost on both occasions. Losing the 1st game 8-3 and succumbing once again to the all men’s Singapore X-games team on the 2nd game 4-3. Everything was still going as planned though because even with those 2 losses, those x-games are non-bearing matches. So technically, Team Philippines still has a perfect all win-zero loss record. GD though may have caused a commotion among the x-team players because of his suggestion that his fellow Mighty PUHCer shouldn’t play with the x-team on their 2nd game. The x-team was asking for reinforcements and Jay was telling GD that he's thinking of playing with our x-team. Given that we were going to play against Japan in a couple of minutes I told him GD’s side that he shouldn’t play there anymore but instead save himself for our final game against Team Japan. Because based on what I saw during their last match against Singapore, those Japanese players are no push-overs. Besides, why risk getting injured and wasted on a non-bearing game? Also, with your match against the very strong Japanese contingent only a few minutes away. Not to demean any of the x-game players but at the end of the day, our game is what will really count on the score sheets. What happens if someone from the men’s team got injured? What if someone from the men’s team plays all out at the x-games division and loses gas at the all men’s game? Who are you going to blame this time? Yes the term non-bearing hurts but quite frankly, it is what it is. A non-bearing game. Besides, why blame GD? He's not the team captain. If a players wants to jump in for the x-games then he/she can do so. He's just saying what he thinks is right. Also, can teams put in players from the men’s and women’s team to their x-game counterparts that easily? I dunno what the rules are about that but I still stand by my opinion. No one should underestimate any opponent. Not even Team Japan. Not even if they just have 7 players. After our game against Japan, despite the blowout victory, I think my opinion regarding that one was justified.

We all went to Kopitiam after the game for dinner. Where GD sampled their infamous cereal prawns which was costly but very delicious. After a few rounds of ice ka chang(?) for dessert, some of us headed to clark quey for a couple rounds of beer. Some of the went home already. We went to Hooters where we got our first taste of Ambassador Glenn’s generosity. This dude is one of a kind. Credit card limit size that is. Hehe.. Most of us got surprised (pleasantly of course.. hehe) that he took care of the bill that night. So in return, we made him pose between our 2 lovely girls for the evening.. Achi Michelle and Ditse (tama ba? hehe) Jowi and promised him that he will score a goal (take note) tomorrow at the mixed division.


DAY 2 (Saturday) - Domination, Determination, Perseverance, and the 1 hour dance routine.

This is the day The Gentledog dreaded the most. Because if you'll look at the rosters of the 3 Philippine Teams, our team (Phi2) had the most number of women. Phi1 had the strongest first 6 and subs (except for a few) of all 3 teams. While Phi3 had the most balanced team in terms of regular players and new player firepower. Phi2 only had The Gentledog as its male forward. The CF position was handled by Nix while the other wing position, by Nikki and Nadj. The Gentledog was sharing his with Margie. Our backs were anchored by Ferdie at the CB position along with Boy Toy Roy (more on than later.. hehe) taking care of the right back. Chari and Ines were subbing at the left back position. Backing up The Gentledog whenever he fumbles the puck. Hehehe..

Before the actual game itself, The Gentledog knew he's gonna pushed to his limits. Being the only male forward, he will be tasked to penetrate, gain ground, attack, and occasionally defend as well. Though its a task The Gentledog has no problems with, playing with a sprained ankle on day 2 is not how you wanna start facing your opponents. The Gentledog has been having problems with his 2 bum ankles for the longest time. Unfortunately for him, during one of the tune-up games with PUHC before the 1st AUHC, he sprained his right ankle pretty bad (again!). 1 week before the freaking 1st AUHC! When he woke up the morning of Day 2. His right ankle was swollen. But as always, and because of the expected earful that he will get from Nix, Chari, and the rest of Phi2 team if he decides not to play, (hehehe..) the Gentledog played. Thanks to chocks painkillers, my 6 months old ankle support, my quack quack self-medication, and a lil bit of luck, The Gentledog made it through.

Phi1 as expected blew all their opponents out. Scoring 8-1, 7-0, and 10-1 against Singapore(Sng)3, The Joey Carpio powered Sng2, and the Aussie Superstar Greg Bush powered Sng1 respectively. Against Japan though, the game wasn’t much of a blowout as we expected. Getting 7 points while letting Japan score 2 goals against them. The thrilling part here is that, In Phi1's 4 games, Ambassador Glenn was able to score a total of 4 GOALS! Yup! Count em.. 1,2,3 and 4!

Phi2 was able to get by Sng3 and the Greg Bush powered Sng 1 pretty easily. Beating them 8-0 and 8-3 respectively. Then the Phi2 girls Nix, Chari, Nikki, Nadj and Marge took the challenge of going against the stronger, faster, and rougher players from Japan to heart and helped Phi2 beat them 6-1. Joey Carpio's Sng2 squad though was another story. Even if Phi2 won 5-2, this was undoubtedly the toughest game Phi2 has ever played. Being their last game for the night, fatigue is slowly creeping up. Especially with the Gentledog.

The game was deadlocked 2-2 after the first half. The pressure was on. It was our closest game yet. They were pounding The Gentledog and the rest of my co-forwards everytime we try to attack. The game was getting rougher and more physical by the minute. Add the fact that the refs didn’t count one of Gentledogs goal attempt. Which could’ve made the score 3-2 in favor of Phi2. I swear it was a goal. I was scot-free on my breakaway and I flicked it high. Yes it was high but I was pretty sure that it hit the part BELOW the tape mark. I'm sure the other Sng 2 players saw that too because they went up as well as if I actually made the goal. I was in fact already on my way back to our goal area to prepare for the next strike. Only to find out that my goal wasn’t counted. Oh well, lesson learned.

Counted or not, its was all water under the bridge for the G.D after that. Nothing you can do about it anymore. Maybe the refs were right, maybe it wasn’t really a goal. But who cares right? It happened already. Move on. Yes, that pissed The Gentledog a hell lot, but I have to put all that behind me and just focus on our remaining task ahead. On deck, I can hear the cheers from my fellow Team Philippines encouraging us and boosting our morale. My ankle was hurting really bad already. The painkillers aren’t working anymore. Plus, G.D. was already dead-tired and worn-out. But so are my team-mates. So I cant use that as an excuse. Our starting 6 was playing without a sub for almost the entire game. Before one of the strikes, our CF Nix kept on telling GD to put what happened behind him and to just focus on winning the game. Maybe because she knows GD has the tendency to take those things personally. Sometimes way too personal that it affects his performance. But Nix was right anyway. No point crying over spilled milk.

During one point in the 1st half, with the game tied 2-2, we were all down in the water when another unfortunate incident happened to the GD. His dorsal stick broke! Talk about perfect timing! GD was shocked honestly. How unlucky can anyone get? Plus that happened after my no-goal incident. So that really stressed me A LOT. Feeling helpless without a stick, I immediately went up and screamed "Nabali stick ko!!!". I swam to our sub area as fast as I could and then just said to my teammates "Nabali stick ko!!! Pahiram stick!!!". Funny thing is, without even mentioning a word, Margie, Nikki, and Nadj (our subs that time) just held their sticks up. I had to make a quick decision on whose stick I should grab. Fortunately for me, Nikki was also using a dorsal stick. So I just ripped the stick away from her gloves and continued to play. Talk about adrenaline rush!

Inspired but still ticked off with the no goal call, G.D. and the rest of the Phi2 players gave it all they got at the 2nd half. "No way we're gonna lose this one" I thought to myself. My CF Nix has been telling us that we should win this game because if we lose, we're gonna be the 1st team in the mixed division to do so. Which is somewhat embarrassing given the fact that sometimes, we we're proclaiming ourselves to be even better than Phi1. Hehehe.. Hey.. nothing wrong with a little bit of swagger. :) We just have to make sure we back it up!

We were able to score 3 straight goals after that. The Gentledog was able to score 2 straight. Assuring Phi2 of the win. No way I or my super backs Ferdie, Chari, Ines, and Roy would let these guys score 3 straight and steal the game away from us. No way that’s gonna happen. I've always said to myself that pressure situations is where great players are born. Where the men gets separated from the boys. Its a unique and special situation to be in. Its either you crack or it makes you shine even brighter. Just imagine the thoughts running in my head before the start of the 2nd half.

1. We're tired!
2. They really didn’t count my goal?!?
3. How the hell am I going to blog about this?!? (Hehehe..)
4. If we lose this one, its gonna be a very long and embarrassing WALK going to the lounge area.
5. We're the only mixed team to lose! Yikes. That’s the fact which I'm sure we all dreaded the most.
6. If we lose, my “no-goal” will haunt me for the rest of my underwater hockey career.

After the win, we were just so relieved that it was finally over. We made it! 4-0 baby! Perfect record! Now it was time to relax and do some ref duties.

Phi3 had it the hard way. Routing Sng1 and Sng3 to a 6-3 and 8-3 victory, they were unable to get by Sng2 that easily. After their game, their scores were tied 4-4 which resulted on a draw. Giving Singapore their lone point on the standings. Their game against Sng2 was exciting. Down by 2 with a couple of minutes left, Phi3 rallied behind the rabid cheers of their fellow countrymen. My brother Mighty PUHCers Junvie and Jay held their ground and their defensive area which allowed them to score 2 straight points. The crowd went wild after they made the game-trying goal! They had a chance to win it but it just wasn’t meant to be as time ran out. Its ok though. We’ll take a draw anytime over a loss J.

As faith would have it, they still have one more team to face. Although it’s a non-bearing game, this team definitely are no push-overs. Ladies and Gentlemen I’m talking about Team Japan. Hehe.. Jay and Junvie's “Pang-himagas”. Hehehe.. If they got exhausted against their game with Sng2, just imagine how harder those 2 would have to work just to keep up with all those fast Japanese players. Man, they’re gonna be in for a treat. Hehe..

Team Japan won 4-3. After being tied 3-3 for the longest time, one of the Japanese forwards got a clean breakaway which enabled them to score the game winning goal. You just have to give it to Team Japan though. Those guys were playing their 6th game of the night already! And they ONLY HAVE 7 PLAYERS!!! Talk about stamina and endurance! They really earned GD’s respect after that. Though still inexperienced, Team Japan will surely be a force to reckon with in the future given the proper training and game sense.

After the games, we all decided to eat at Lau Pa Sat where we sampled more of Singapore’s finest delicacies. The food was good and it was pretty cheap! Some of us went home to change to party clothes for what was going to be a very unusual “gimik” night.

As soon as Chock hit the dance floor at the Hed Kandi bar and felt the music, he started dancing impromptu! No warm-ups, no pre-socializing with the other Team Philippine players! He just took the dance floor and danced to his hearts content! Not to be outdone, some of the foreign guests took the challenge of doing a dance-off with PUHC’s very own Philippine Monkey. Chock eagerly accepted their challenge and took on 3 guys which he later embarrassed. Words will not be enough to explain the craziness of Chocks entire act. It was as if he planned everything. No wonder he wore two shirts. 1 Polo and 1 Tight Fit shirt underneath. It was all part of his act. Hahahaha Polo first then hell take it off to reveal his shirt inside. Chock worked the dance floor in every way possible. Doing the worm, dancing on the corridors, and heck, even doing push ups on the chair! Hahahaha. All in 1 hour!

We decided to leave and head for Ministry of Sound (MOS) right after. The Gentledog was still tired as hell from all those games that he played. So he wasn’t really excited about it. Later on, we all just decided to go home and left Achi, Jowi, Glenn, and Idol Roy behind. Hehehe.. Where we later found out that someone did A LOT MORE than just dancing at MOS. I’d love to expound more on this but what happens in Singapore stays in Singapore. Hehehe.. You owe me bro. You know who you are. Gandahan mo stick ko ha. Hehe..

DAY 3 (Sunday) – The Finale, The Wild Party, and the Ring!

This is the day most of the men from Team Philippines was looking forward to. Because on this day, they would find out if they would go home with a gold medal around their necks. Failure is not an option. We didn’t come here to finish second place. We went here to win.

The Men’s Team first game against Japan didn’t start off as planned. The four of us (Gentledog, Chock, Jay, and Milo) arrived late. When GD and Chock got into the venue the game already started. We were 5 minutes late. Fortunately for us, we were going against Japan. When we got in the water, Team Philippines was comfortably up, 3-0. Team Captain Colet had no choice but to field in 2 reserves on the men’s team. Pulling Roger and Glenn (Yes.. Ambassador Glenn) out of the x-team lineups and into the men’s team. Wow! Roger was able to score a goal but unfortunately for the Ambassador, despite his HERCULAN efforts, it just wasn’t meant to be. But he played well enough and helped our team beat Japan.

I dunno if its strategy but we once again played Singapore just after 15 minutes! This was supposed to be a non-bearing game which we honestly could just forfeit because we were already assured of our championship slot. No more point playing Singapore 2 straight games. We could just decide that this would be the championship match and end the day early. But our Team Captain still decided to go for it. Total Domination! Clean Sweep! Nothing more, nothing less.

Singapore was able to score the first goal on both occasions, giving us a quick dose of reality check. Team Captain at one point was scolding us that we should dig deep! If we decided to stay up late last night, then we shouldn’t let our game suffer because of that.

Fortunately for the men’s team, all the Philippine players still had something left in their tanks. Although they played sloppy, well.. really sloppy, they still managed to beat Singapore’s best all men’s roster TWICE and get the Gold.

After the celebrations, everyone made their way to the banquet party at Merbau bar organized by SUHC. The party went really well! It was wild! Everyone, especially Team Philippines, were having the time of their lives. Nothing beats partying with a gold medal hanging on your neck. :)

As the celebrations continued, Chock, Gentledog, and Roger participated in this jack en poy game by Japan. You’ll take off a piece of clothing everytime you lose. Unfortunately for the 3 of us, by the end of the last round, we were also down to our underwears. Hehehe…

Almost everybody got drunk. Team Captain Colet treated each of the men’s team to a round of beer. But not to be outdone, Ambassador Glenn took care of the drinks of the ENTIRE Philippine Team! Furiously swiping his credit card in his bid to get everybody drunk and happy. Thanks Amba! Iba ka talaga!

As the program went on along with the awarding of the medals and trophies, the biggest surprise of the night happened when out of nowhere, Ferdie proposed to Nikki!!! Nikki and almost all of the girls cried their hearts out immediately. Nikki, so conscious that she doesn’t look pretty that night because she was already wasted, threw up a couple of minutes after Ferdie proposed to her. Hahahaha.. But its ok, despite smelling like puke and looking really wasted, Hehe.. everybody still congratulated her and Ferdie with gusto. I for one was very happy for those two lovebirds. Because believe it or not, The Gentledog played an instrumental part, both figuratively and literally, on how those two got together. :)

The party still went on after the proposal of course, but now everyone was really in high spirits! Just as we dominated Singapore and Japan underwater, the girls of PUHC dominated, caressed, groped, hugged, kissed, and had their pictures taken with SUHCs Aussie superstar, Greg Bush.

A lot of other things we’re happening inside and outside the bar. The Gentledog, Chock, and Beejay groped every lady that dared seat on our love nest. Hehe.. People were dancing everywhere! On top of tables, chairs, and even on the bar! Alcohol is really God's gift to mankind. :)

A lot of KISSING happened also. You name it! Enough to put Gretchen and John Estradas’ “KISSCANDAL” to shame. There was a girl to girl action, a girl to guy action of course, and heck, even GUY TO GUYY action! And also.. I dunno if I should say this but there was also a girl-to-errr-guy-err-ok-girl-ano ba talaga?!?-ok-both?? scandal! hehehe.. But what happens in Singapore, stays in Singapore :) I'm sure thats a line most of the guilty ones would agree to. :) You know who you are. Hehe.. The Gentledog included. ;)

Thanks for reading! :)

Wish Us Luck =)

Me and the rest of the Philippine Team from the Philippine Underwater Hockey Confederation (PUHC), will try to bring home THE GOLD at the 1st Asian Underwater Hockey Championships thats gonna be held in Singapore. We're gonna go against the Singapore and Japan national teams.We're leaving tonight so talk to y'all when we get back. Hopefully with a gold medal hanging on our necks.

Pray for us.

See yah!

GO TEAM PHILIPPINES!

DUing It Westgrove Style!

Dont just Tri! Du it!

Looks like I made the right decision. :)

Before anything else, I got the "Dont just Tri, Du it" line on one of our Duathlon events. Kinda catchy :)

A couple of days before the Westgrove Duathlon, I've been tormented on whether or not I should the duathlon or the 10k Healthway Marathon held at the fort. I already pre-registered for the 10k a month ago and was already dead set on joining it. Besides, it would be my mini-reunion race with some of my batchmates from AMCI so I was really looking forward to it. Unfortunately, a few days prior to the race I was asking the one who invited me whether or not the marathon is still pushing thru. I wasnt able get a reply from her so just I decided to join the Westgrove Duathlon.

Funny thing is , I got a confirmation from her that the marathon is still on AFTER i confirmed to my fellow PUHCers that I'm joining the Westgrove Duathlon instead hehe.. But its all good though... not much of a biggie. Its just sad because I myself have invited a couple of marathon newbies from PUHC to join the 10k. Good thing some of the PUHCers decided to join the Duathlon instead also.

Its been a hectic weekend for me last week. I was starting to get sick around friday if I remember correctly. That was a long day for me. It was the ingress of my 2nd consecutive carshow week (shiro didnt win anything =P) plus it was also our referees clinic for PUHC. So I just hurriedly left my car at Silvercity then went off to the clinic. Good thing I was able to bring our driver because after the meeting I was feeling sick as hell. Was able to sleep around 3am na . Then the morning after that I woke around 5am and immediately went to the Mall of Asia to bike and run a couple of kms with my training buddies. I dunno what has gotten into me but I still played hockey that night. Hoping that would somehow cure my flu. Was able to go home that night around 1am already. Was able to sleep around 3am then have to wake up at 5:30am to meet my duathlon buddies at our designated meeting place. On the way to Westgrove I was still trying to catch a quick 5-10mins powernap. Which I of course wasnt able to get.

During the entire race, I felt like a zombie. I was really feeling groggy and sleepy the whole time. Good thing the race was short. The Westgrove atmosphere was very unique. I dunno... maybe its because of the place which I heard was touted to be the next ayala alabang. The place looked really great and the houses were awesome.

I was pleasantly surprised to see a couple of familiar hardcore triathletes/duathletes doing the race also. Team PMI was there in full force along with racers from Team Al-terra and some other teams. Heck, even one of my bike mechanics was there also! Their presence alone made it clear that this is going to be a FAST sprint race. My bike mechanic alone can do a 10k marathon in 39 mins! We also saw fellow PUHCer and Triathlete Rafa in the mix. It was also fun seeing the young ones do their first triathlons! Going out T1 with their kiddie bikes! Some even had rollers!

I went there along with my fellow PUHC riders/training buddies Bong, Julian, Nadj, Jc, and Chari. From the get-go we made it clear that this is just going to be a tune-up race for us (yeah right!) so everyone should just take it easy and should prioritize their safety above anything else. (yeah right again!) With the 1st Asian Underwater Hockey Championship happening next week, risking and flirting with injury is a big NO-NO. Especially in a non-bearing and fun race such as this one.

During the registration I got the scare of my life when I saw the dreaded #66 race packet heading towards me. The guys in front of me got the #'s 60-64. I was really hell bent on avoiding that race packet no matter what. Good thing I got #65. One # shy away from the very unlucky # which went to my training buddy Julian. Goodluck to him I said to myself.

10, 9, 8, 7.. the countdown was on and the race went off! Team PMI immediately took the lead right from the start and never relinquished it. Julian got off to a fast start as usual with Chari following him a couple of meters behind. During the turnaround I was able to overtake Chari and managed to catch up with Julian during the transition. I think we went off t1 around the same time. Bong was right behind us while Jc and Nadj were a couple of mins behind.

The run route was short (yup we measured it). But I enjoyed the bike portion! Especially the uphill climbs! The rest of the route of was rolling. It was very tempting to go flat out on the downhill portion but I was hesitant to do so for fear of a crash. One mistake and its bye-bye to my international hockey career. Not to mention having a very badly bruised ego.

I was trailing Julian for the 1st 1/4 stint of the ride, with Chari following me closely behind. I managed to overtake Julian before the first u-turn but he managed to out-sprint me on the downhill part. Its ok though. There are still a couple of kms of pure uphill cycling up ahead. *grin* hehe.. I didnt notice Chari was behind me but she told me after the race that she was just tailing me for the entire 1st lap of the 2 lap bike portion. Thinking whether or not she'll overtake me on the downhill part since she noticed I was braking very erratically. Well honestly I WAS really braking a lot because I didnt want to go flat out at all. Hey, better be safe than sorry :) Crash on a concrete pavement? Yup, you guessed it. TOCINO wounds.

I managed to overtake Julian again on the pre-uphill portion of the steepest climb section. After that I was looking for him at the first turnaround but didnt see him anymore. I saw Chari and then Bong a couple of kms behind but no sign of Julian.

After the bike, the rest was easy. One more lap of the short run distance and it was all over. I managed to clock a respectable time of 52:55 while Chari managed to get the 3rd best among the ladies with a very fast 55:01 finish.

While fixing our stuff at the transition area, we saw Julian going in for his T2. It turns out he had a flat... and surprise surprise, what was his race number again? :) Bong had a strong finish as well along with Nadj and JC.

The post-race buffet was DELICIOUS! As usual, the PUHC riders had their fill of bottomless pasta, iced tea, cheese sticks (yup meron nito!), chicken fingers and bbq! SOSYAL! Hahaha.

The 400 registration fee was all worth it! Not to mention that you get a shirt and medal as well to boot after the race. :)

But for this certain PUHCrider... the race didnt end there. Not being content of doing just a Duathlon. She decided to up the ante and do a Quadathlon! She added a 10k marathon!!!

Instead of a Run, Bike, Run... She did a Run, Bike, Run, BUY! Hahaha. We managed to convince Nadj to buy this 10k worth, bang for the buck, trek mountain bike! After a couple of haggling with the shop clerk we managed to get it at 9k. P9500 if you charge it which Nadj did. Which was still a very good deal considering the parts included on the bike.

It was a beautiful green/floral themed Trek mountain bike armed with bontrager stems, seatposts, and handlebars. Though the groupset leaves much to be desired, it was still OK considering that Nadj is still very new to the sport and it would take awhile before she even maximizes the full potential of her current 7 speeder or the full benefits of having a better group set. So given the conditions plus the budget contraints, that bike was more than enough for her. It was still a very, very, very, very, good buy. I was really glad that Nadj bought the bike. Aside from being a mega good deal, the bike fits her and her personality.

During our impromtu dinner at this bbq place in katipunan, we all thought of a name for Nadj's new ride. When I suggested "GAGAY" I knew immediately that we had a winner. Hehe. So on that night, we christened her bike as "GAGAY: Ang Bulaklaking Manglalakbay" Hahahaha!

So much for the hell week. I was knocked out as soon as I got home.

Looking forward to a brand a new week! I'm now fully recharged and looking forward to represent PUHC and our beloved motherland at the 1st Asian Underwater Hockey Championship in Singapore! La! Hehe..

Shiro did it again! What a great year this has been.

Man am I proud of my car or what?

During the recently concluded Manila Auto Salon Carshow held at the huge SM Mall of Asia, Shiro bagged another award! Shiro got 3rd place in his division (rookie class) besting out 11 other entries for the award.

Kudos to my car audio tuner/installer JC Car Audio... though my system is 2 years old already, he still managed to make it sound really good! So to those of you whos into or into of getting into car audio, I highly recommend this shop.

I'm realistic.. though I'd be nice to get 2nd or 1st, how the hell can you beat a BMW 7 Series? LOL! That cars SRP alone is is nearly 10 times the SRP of my civic when I got it. Hahaha. And lets not talk about the amount he spent for his audio system compared to what I spent for mine :) But thats ok really, going into the competition I just wanna represent JC Car Audio. Thats all about it really. Im happy my car represented his shop well. :)

2007 has been a very good year to me..

Spiritually - My faith in God has never been stronger. Im really happy with the blessings that He has been giving me. Thats why I never miss going to Baclaran every wednesday to give thanks to Him. He knows what I pray for everytime I go there. I just wanna feel happy, loved, and content. Which is basically what I'm feeling right now.

Sports - A couple of years ago, Who the hell would ever thought I could finish a half-im distance triathlon? TWICE in 1 year? My sports life has been great so far. So no complaints. Aside from the various injuries, I've had a good year as far as competing and training goes. Though I still havent gotten the elusive podium finish yet, I know it will come. I just have to keep on training and pushing. My age-group bracket is one of the most toughest age-groups to crack. But I'll get there. I'm confident I will.

Underwater hockey is still my #1 priority when it comes to sports. Given the choice between triathlon and uwhockey, Ill pick hockey in 1 nanosecond over triathlon. I'm happy with my uwhockey game right now. Modesty aside, I've become one of the better forwards in PUHC (our uwhockey club). It feels good to know that the other players respect my game. I'm really proud about that because I worked hard to achieve that.

Financially - When i was 20 years old, I had a mission. Which is to retire when I reach 30. I'm 28 now and lets just say that my target is still achievable. Never say never :) Pretty stupid if youll think about it. Retire by 30??? By retiring I meant that I no longer would have to work, I'll just be living on interests and commissions. Its tough really, but like what they always say... "Mangangarap ka na lang din.. taas-taasan mo na. Libre naman eh :)" If I dont accomplish that goal, hey, I can always extend it till I'm 35 :) hehe.

Rides - As far as my car addiction goes, I'm proud to say that I'm over that stage already. (Yup.. I really am). Shiro is now what I've always dreamed of. All the things that I imagined doing and putting in car when I was still a kid, Shiro has all of those already. :) Maybe thats why I'm now leaning more towards Vans, Pick-ups and SUVs?? Hehehe or maybe I'm just getting old. hehehe.

Honestly, with my current lifestyle, my car simply cant cut it for me anymore. Yes he can still bring me to places but I really need a bigger car now. So sorry shiro.. If only I could put at least 2 bikes on you plus my other triathlon stuff without messing you up. Its more of me actually not wanting to torture shiro, than him not being able to serve me anymore.

As for my bikes, I'm really happy with my 2 machines already.. Cory and Macoy :) Cory, my road bike can still give those other 100k+ bikes a run for their money, hehehe. So theres no chance I'm selling her. I still havent reached her full potential as a road machine. My mountain bike Macoy has been great so far. Been able to ride him a couple of times pa lang and it feels like heaven on dirt tires! Its a far cry from my previous mountain bike.

Family - My family is my strength.. I'm really happy with our life right now. My dad, mom, and sis are all doing well... and so is my sisters family. She's pregnant again though (damnit here comes the tough babysitting part again) so that'll add another pamangkin to our stable. Which is all good of course. :) As for my mom, though I'd want her to relax more and not burn herself to death with work, I know that is what makes her TICK. She's a workaholic. I'm sure that if she'll slow down, she'll start to feel her age. Working gives her a purpose. So I'm really kinda 50-50 about it. Thats why I always ask God to bless her and my dad with good health. I love the pinoy family culture. Who says I have to move out anyway? Our family is sticking together until the end. No matter what other people say. I'll take care of my folks and my sis when they slow down. Thats one of my self-made roles in life.

Thats it for now.

Thanks for reading.

20+ Virgin =P

I finally did it!!! After 2 futile attempts of finishing a 20+ kilometer marathon, I finally got the 20+ marathon monkey off my back! I've done 20k runs at triathlons but that doesn’t really count because I walked off some parts of it. The pace is different too.

This is my 3rd try to finish a marathon event this long. I joined 2 previous 21k's before but unfortunately, I got lost on my first one (ended up just doing 15k) and wasn’t able to wake up on my 2nd attempt. Which was, honestly, a big blessing a disguise because I mistakenly packed my dad's identical but 1 inch shorter shoe in my gym bag. Had I been able to do that race, being my first 21k marathon, I would surely have a lot of dead toenails enough to run its own funeral service! Plus it could've been a very painful and uncomfortable run!

I'm really glad that I got de-virginized (20+kilometer marathon wise hehe) by the Extribe organized, New Balance 25k Power Race! Held at Clark in Pampanga, the race offered the runners a new and wonderful venue for marathons. Who says you can't do a race of this caliber outside manila? :)

As expected, with those guys in charge, the marathon went on as smooth as silk. The event was very organized, directional and distance signs were everywhere, the aid stations never ran out of water, plus they have portalets! And lets not forget the availability of the RFID Timing Chips to the 25k runners. Digital na tayo ire! He he..

The run was tough as hell, literally. IT WAS HOT! The race course even had its own version of the infamous HEARTBREAK HILLS of Extribe's Whiterock Half-Ironman. I wasn’t expecting to face those hills again this early.. at least not for a year. Hehe..

It could've been better if the race started a little earlier. Say around 6am like most local marathons but I'm sure they have their own reasons as to why they started it at 6:30am. Hey, at least I didn’t have to wake up that early. He he..

Prior to run, my target was just to finish the marathon and do it without walking. Being my first post-injury long distance run (here comes the excuses! hehe), I wasn’t really sure how my right knee and left ankle will react to the pounding. Good thing all the prayers, rest, and therapy paid off! I wasn’t able to train for this marathon at all but I'm glad that I was able to finish it well within my target time.

The contents of the goody bag that they give you at the finish line was hilarious! Hilarious in the sense that it fit the event to a T. Being a very tough marathon, who wouldn’t be glad to see the following after finishing the race?

1. Alaxan FR - Hahahaha.. Need I say more? Name says it all. ;)

2. Titan Tape Up's - Correct me if wrong but I think this is a new product. One read of the back panel tells you all you need to know why its included in the package. "Reduce fatigue, relaxes muscles and nerves". Hehehe.. After doing the Power Race, you'll definitely be needing this!

3. Alaxan GEL - I’m using this one right now! Hehe.. Didn’t know they already have Alaxan in GEL form.

4. Fitness First Face Towel - Wow sosyal :) Hehe.. San ka pa? :)

5. 2 Strips of Band-Aid - 25k Marathon + Wet Shoes + Soaked Socks = B-L-I-S-T-E-R-S. Can also be used also for yag-burns.. Hehehe.. For those wearing loose underwear and forgot to put on petroleum jelly.

6. Circulan Tablet - Nothing wrong having a good health supplement in hand after the race. ;)

Congratulations to all the finishers! Congrats to my fellow PUHC 25k marathon virgins and 10k first timers!

Kudos to the whole staff and crew of Extribe! You guys did it again! The staff and marshal’s were very efficient, from the check in area, to the aid stations, down to the guys at the finish line. Aprub!

See you guys at eXtri this december!!!

A Year Older

Wow.. I'll be celebrating my 28th bday in a couple of hours...

Am I looking forward to it? Yep.. Marks another full year of existense.

A decade already since I started legally watching r18 movies.

:)

I remember when I was still a kid I was really looking forward to that day.. Babaw ba? hehe. I looked forward to the day when the guard wont ask me anymore what my age is. Hehe.

Thank you Lord for very the wonderful year. Looking forward to another great year with YOU.

27 has been a very blessed age for me. And my previous ones also of course.

Thats why for 3 consecutive years already, everytime my folks would ask me what I would like as a gift, or if I'd throw a party, I'd simply say none and no.

And thats 100% sincere. Given what God has given me and my family, I have no right to ask for anything more. I just wanna continue thanking HIM for always blessing me and guiding me through everything that I do.

I'm happy. I'm content with my life.

My family is ok and intact.

And thats good enough for me. Anything that comes after that is just a bonus.

Thank you Lord for everything.

Non contact sport?

Hehe.. 3 hits in 1 week.

Now i know that I'm not superman. Hehe..

And they say underwater is supposed to be a non-contact sport? Thats a pile of bullcrap. hehe

I never back down from any challenge, sport, training or whatever, but last week. I finally decided to give my body some time to recharge and recuperate.

Why? Because last oct 23, thats a tuesday, A.R. gave me a very solid underwater taekwondo kick on my right rib. Funny thing was when I was asking for a sub, my team mates couldnt hear me because I couldnt speak. I wanted to but for some reason I had no voice. Probably came out along with all the air I had that time.

I still continued to play that night of course.. thinking that this is nothing serious anyway. It was painful but I just played through it.

Then the following hockey night, oct 25, thurs, I started to feel pain in my rib area. It wasnt THAT painful yet but it really stings everytime I go underwater. I couldnt bring my A-game (to my standards of course. hehe), because I couldnt breathe. It was too painful to take a deep breath so I had to make do with mini breaths before I go under water. Plus the pain was really starting to bother me.

The kick was incident #1.

#2 and 3 happened on the same freaking night. As if getting kicked on the ribs isnt painful enough, I got a huge concussion on my forehead because of a flick! Ferdie from the opposing team in my opinion was supposedly trying to swing the puck outside but decided to flick in back on the wall area because he saw a lot of defenders preparing for the swing. Me, on the other hand noticed what was happening and decided to go for the puck and attempt to ram it out of his hand. Unfortunately for me, he flicked it just when I was going down so the 3lbs puck hit my forehead really good. Good enough to give me a good ole' bukol. :)

It was all good though. He apologized for it immediately and I know for a fact that it was purely a hockey incident anyway. No big deal for the gentledog. Its my fault too also. As soon as I got hit, I immediately tried to feel if there was a gash, a cut, or whatever. Luckily for me, its just a concussion. A HUGE concussion :)

#3 was the final blow. As I was going up for air, I felt a painful solid thing scraping my back. And true enough, as I looked over to my left, I saw this loose underwater swimming pool lighting fixture! The damn thing was FLOATING. Its electrical wires was the only thing thats holding it.

It wasnt painful when I was playing.. I only knew the gravity of it when my hockey buds noticed this white skin on my back. Turns out my skin got scrapped really good. White meat anyone? :)

So there.. given the 3 injuries, I had no choice but to cancel my supposed mountain bike ride the following day. I wanted to, heck, I really wanted to ride my newly purchased mountain bike (more on that soon ;) that day.. But how can u bike when you couldnt breathe? How can you put on your helmet when you have a concussion the size of Alabama on your forehead? How can you wear your cycling jersey when u have this deep gash on your back? Band-aid wont be enough to cover it and prevent it from getting infected.

I also had to forego my scheduled bike ride that saturday and the 2 hour run the following day.

Crap.

Good thing there's no hockey this weekend. Ill get the chance to finally rest it. I tried to play through it last tuesday and wednesday. It was still painful. It just sucks because just when I thought I finally got over my injury bug, this happened.

I'm on painkillers now. At one time the pain got so bad I decided to rush myself to the hospital. For fear that I have a fractured rib or whatever. Good thing the results were negative. Probably just a bruised rib. Hehe.. Just?

The hospital gave me an injection which was really good. The pain was gone in an instant. Its kinda addicting though since the meds they gave me was crap. Compared to the shot they gave, these puny tablets just cant get to job done. It was still painful.

I also tried riding my mtb (couldnt resist hehe) last monday. That was a tough one also. Since it hurts everytime I take a deep breath, every breath and pedal was painful.. the ride route, being a very steep uphill climb, didnt help either. I still finished the ride so thats all water under the bridge now.

Another setback.. it just means that ill have to stage another comeback :)

Cant wait to be 100% again. I'm tired of getting held back because of injuries.

Got the shirt!!!

Phew.. I did 2 triathlons in a week. Last oct 7, I finally finished my first ever half-ironman marathon.. then just last sunday.. I joined another tri event. This time organized by TRAP which is the NAGT (National Age Group Triathlon).

It was a sprint distance. Wherein youll do a 950m swim, 27km bike, and 6.5km run. Though it may sound short compared to the half-im distance, its still very tough because youll have to do it as FAST AS YOU CAN. No pacing here.. just go flat out on every discipline.

I've always wanted to join NAGT because I really like their finisher shirts (I'm a sucker for event shirts). I'm glad I can finally add theirs to my collection. Hehehe.. only 1 shirt left to collect. Which is the Lakeshore triathlon. hehe

I was also able to de-virginize a couple of tri newbies from my underwater hockey club (PUHC). It was tough getting them to sign up but it was all good. I even lend them some of my stuff including my mountain bike. Hopefully, they'll get addicted to this sport as much as I am. Besides, its a very good cross training for underwater hockey. Hehe.

If theres one race highlight for me, its the fact that I AM NOW OFFICIALLY INJURY FREE! My ankle felt pretty good during my 6.5k run. My knees also held up as well. So I'm really happy about that. At least I can now train on my run. I have a lot to work on.

Finally Conquered The Rock!

The Whiterock Half-Ironman Triathlon has been on my crosshair for over a year.. Last year when I just did the relay, part of me kept on telling me that I should've done the full distance. I know I could already, but I still opted to do just the bike part.

I've been wanting to write about my recent Whiterock Half-Ironman Triathlon experience but for some reason.. I just cant find a way to kick-start my writing mood.

Now its already been a week so I dunno if I should still write about it or not anymore... But what the heck right?

Sad to say, I bonked during the bike leg of the whiterock half-ironman. It was really disappointing because that is supposed to be my strongest department. I knew my run would be a disaster because I had no training for it. Even though my aim was just to finish the half-ironman, I was hoping that I could do my target time which is 2:40 or 2:45 max. I ended up doing 3:01. 1 minute slower compared my last years bike leg, though I didnt swim for 3k then.

Up to now I still cant figure out what happened. As far as I know I did everything right.. I slept early (been sleeping early that week already), ate good food, had loads of water and gatorade, and had enough powergels to nourish at least 3 triathletes!

I started strong at the bike.. my target average speed was 35kph. An average speed of 30kph would get you in the 3 hour zone (mine was 3:01). I was doing around 37kph average for the first 15-20kms or so when it hit me without warning. I felt a twitch on the bottom part of my legs! I didnt know what it was so I kept on pedalling. It kept on bothering me so I decided to just spin and take it easy.. hydrate and take my gels.. hoping that it would do the trick but I still wasnt able to get rid of it. Thats when I knew I was in trouble. Could it be this bonking thing that most athletes have been talking about? No.. It couldnt happen to me.. I had the training.. I prepared for it.. and most especially, not DURING THE RACE!

After that it became a struggle.. I couldnt even last pedalling continously without standing up my bike and stretch my legs. The cramps got worse and worse.. By the time I finished my bike leg.. my legs down to my feet were cramping really bad.

For the run part was a complete struggle, I was cramping the entire 21k distance.. not to mention that I was still nursing an injured ankle that time. Every step was really painful.. but still, I had to finish the race. No way on earth would I allow myself to get a DNF (did not finish).

But still.. I was damn proud of that race.. I am damn proud that I finished it. I am damn proud that I was able to cross the finish line even if I was already cramping really bad.

Prior to the race though, being the astrological, zodiac, or whatever you call it guy that I am.. I have this thing for numbers. On my last Duathlon event (Run, Bike, Run), I got really bothered when I got the #13 race number. And true enough, like what the number means, I got 2 flats. Effectively kicking me out of contention for the race. So after that, I've always been weary of my race numbers.

Lo' and behold.. when I arrived at the check in station of the whiterock event.. I knew I was in for a disaster when I got #66!!!! 66!!!! For crying out loud! Of all the numbers available why in the world did I get #66!!!! I tried to beg the registry people if I could have that changed... but of course, its not possible anymore. I dreaded every second after that.

I didnt get a flat this time around but my bike leg was still ruined by those stupid cramps. Oh well.. as much as I want to blame my 66 race number, there's no point crying over spilled milk. Plus, there's always Whiterock 2008.

Next year... I'll be even more ready. I'll train like crazy. At least having those struggles and let-downs gave me a chip on my shoulder. Something that should inspire me pretty good.

Keep Pounding The Rock.

"When nothing seems to help, I go and look at a stonecutter hammering away at his rock perhaps a hundred times without as much as a crack showing in it. Yet at the hundred and first blow it will split in two, and I know it was not that blow that did it, but all that had gone before." -- Jacob August Riis

Come saturday, ill be embarking on my latest quest... and that is to finish the upcoming Whiterock Half-Ironman Triathlon!

I've waited a long time for this... spent countless hours and rode almost a thousand kilometers on my bike training for this one, swam countless laps.. though i kept on playing underwater hockey so that counts as part of my swim training too =P hehe, and then.. spent ONLY a measly total of around 10 hours running ON THE THREADMILL! The run part will be the weakest part of my race thats for sure. All those runs simply wont cut it. But thats ok, what can I do? I'm freaking injured. I'm just gonna enjoy the run part and walk to my hearts content. Hey, its legal to walk anyway. Nothing wrong with that. hehe

As much as it pains me to admit it, Yup.. I think I'm getting OLD. Hehehe.. I have a badly beaten up body (I have lots of injuries) or maybe its just because of the fact that I've never been the athletic type anyway. Before I joined PUHC (Philippine Underwater Hockey Confederation), I was just content on bumming around and drinking liquor to my bladders content. PUHC honestly started it all for me.. after I joined PUHC, I also joined AMCI Mountaineering Club and from then on, I also started joining marathons, duathlons, and Triathlons. The big cheese of multi sport events! =)

As of now, here are my injuries.. first one is my ankle injury.. I popped this a couple of times already.. which explains why its so weak to begin with. But this latest injury though is the toughest one. I got this injury almost 3 months ago! During one of our uwhockey tournaments, I didnt realize that I already injured my ankle while playing. Maybe its because from all the adrenaline. I just kept on pushing on pushing till I heard another "pop" again. Thats when I knew that i fucked up my ankle pretty bad. It started to hurt during the after hockey celebration (Good thing we won the tourney!) and then got really sore when i woke the next day. Couldnt freaking walk.

Sadly, just two weeks after the tournament, I joined my then-longest triathlon event. The o2 Olympic Distance triathlon. o2 simply because its the length of an olympic distance tri times two. The run part there was the hardest for me.. though i finished at a decent run time, it was pretty obvious that my ankle was already bad at that time. I had no lift when I was running and I was literally grazing the road with my shoes. But its ok.. Just keep on pounding the rock! Like what my favorite quote above says.

So after that race, I clearly couldnt run anymore. I still tried running of course (a really silly idea) and stopped when my ankle hurt.. I rested it again for a couple of days and then started to run again.. I can still feel pain so I stopped again.. Finally, after trying to run at the gym via the threadmill, I couldnt last even for 5 minutes anymore! The pain was simply unbearable. Thats when i finally decided to swallow the shame pill and get myself checked by a doctor.

Fortunately, the doctor didnt see anything bad with my ankle.. which was pretty weird since I was expecting to get diagnosed with a torn ligament or something.

Aside from the ankle injury, I also have this pesky knee injury which i definitely think I got from mountaineering. But its all worth it. The high that I got while I'm on the summit and the feeling of just pushing yourself while youre climbing up the mountain is a very very unique experience. Its simply you against yourself.. Will you quit? Or will you go on?

My knee first acted up when we were already on our way down from Mt. Kibungan. The 3rd mountain on our Basic Mountaineering Course program. I was enjoying jumping and trekking down so much that my right knee started to hurt. Maybe its from all those poundings. But being the stupid and proud guy that I am, I of course just decided to give it a rest and just let it heal by self-medication. Not the brightest idea in the world but, hey, what can I do?

And then lastly, I have this irritating pinch that I'm feeling inside my left shoulder. Instincts tell me its a rotator cuff injury. Which is pretty common to all hockey players. But I messed my shoulder when I was in Boracay last year with my family. Unable to compete in the Iba Olympic Distance triathlon because of our family vacation, I just decided to bring my swim gear there and train. For some stupid reason, I had the idea of swimming from station 1 to station 3. Which is somewhat impossible given the amount of people swimming in the water and the boats roaming around. So I just decided to swim the area.. WITH SWIM PADDLES! Given the amount of waves I was encountering, it was pretty tough to swim on that day. But still, why would i stop right? After a couple of mins of training, I heard my left shoulder pop. Given all my injuries before, you would think that this would make me stop right? But no, I still kept on swimming. The next day, my shoulder is already messed up. I couldnt even lift my left arm. It still hurts to this day.

I am just thankful to our Lord because he's been very generous, kind, and loving to me. I am thankful that I am able to do all these things.. which are definitely not your normal sports activities. He's letting me live my life the way I want to. Thats why I never miss going to Baclaran every wednesday. Been going there for almost 5 years now STRAIGHT. I only missed one or two wednesday nights because I was both on a family vacation. But I made it up immediately by going there as soon as I got home.

So this latest endeavor of mine is dedicated to you our Lord. Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you for always keeping me safe, for looking after me, and guiding me thru everything that I do. I will enjoy this race to the fullest. This will be the culmination of all my multi-sport dreams. Last year, I only participated in the relay event and did the bike portion. Which honestly, pains me because when I was there at the race I knew deep inside that I can finish the whole race. Now theres no turning back. Barring any accidents or injuries, (God I hope not) I'm gonna try and finally finish the whole distance.

This race is also for all my past and previous training buddies. Wouldnt be here without you guys. Lets get this over and done with!

1 step at a time.. after this, its time to focus and concentrate at the next BIGGER event..

More on that soon.

=)

All Mens Fast Game. Autobots Trump Decepticons!

One shall stand... and one shall fall...

The fight for cybertron and the spark cube is finally over. After 4 hard fought battles... the Autobots defeated their arch-nemesis, the Decepticons.

The Autobots won the 1st Best of 5 All Mens Fast League Series with a decisive 3-1* victory. # still counts.

Game 4 proved to be a battle of epic proportions. Both teams played full force, each sending their best possible unit for the game. The Autobots want to finish this series as soon as possible because they know that momentum can easily shift to the Decepticons if ever this series turns into a sudden do-or-die match. The Decepticons of course wont take this sitting down. With their pride on the line. Its a win or go home game for them. No holds barred. Nothing to lose.

The final score was 4-3, which goes to show how tough the game was. During the last 14 minutes of the game, both teams were unable to score a single goal. Game 4 (though I wasnt able to make a goal) in my opinion was the best game of the series. Each team fought hard, and got opportunities to seal the win, especially the Decepticons. With the gentledog out of the game for 2 minutes because of a dangerous flick, Megatron and his troops had the chance to take advantage of a 5-6 mismatch but failed. Credit of course goes to the Autobots for stepping up their defense and preventing the Decepticons to score.

Another blow to the otherwise fantastic Decepticon rally came when one of their gunners, escaping the tenacious Autobots defense, found himself doing a solo breakaway with the chance to score the equalizer but threw it all away when he misfired and flicked the puck over his opponents goal. It couldve been 4-all had it not been for that blunder. Call it a rookie mistake but things like that really happen. Heck, it even happened to the gentledog.

Its been said that the Autobots had it easy the entire series. That they havent been really "tested". And now that the series is over, the Autobots overcame everything the Decepticons could possibly throw at them and still managed to get the win. Proving to everyone who the rightful inhabitants of cybertron really are.

Now with the victory on their hands, what's next? If the previous Fast League is any indication, it can only mean that the 2nd series will be faster and tougher. Which the gentledog is sure everybody will be looking forward to again.

Though the league had a couple of blips here and there, its a fact that this is league is just on its maiden debut. Mistakes and adjustments are supposed to happen. Kudos to the entire All Mens Fast League committee, the team captains, the selection committee, and of course the players for making this possible. Looking forward to more faster, harder, and tougher games ahead!

Interestingly, because of the whole fast league mumbo jumbo that went on during the course of the series, we managed to get the attention of this very interesting personality. He said he wants to join the next fast league and of course, our beloved PUHC as well. I told him to just contact Nikki and get the details. I also adviced him (in a good way of course) that it wouldnt be a very good idea to show up at the next intro to hockey like this..

Hehehe.. Congratulations Autobots! Its time to celebrate and get our Autobots championship shirt! =)

Hitting the wall

At first I thought it was a joke.. guess its not.

For the last couple of days or so.. I've been bugged by this nagging thought.. this bastard shadow-like notion that keeps on popping inside my head every now and then.

Could I be really experiencing the quarter life crisis(qlc) already? I guess so.. even if my mind suggests otherwise.

I've had enough experiences that made me conclude that I already am.. heres a few.

1. At a bike shop.. when I was chit-chatting with the owner.. I told him that I couldnt buy the part that I needed for my bike because I was still busy setting up my car.. his reply? "Hindi ba matanda ka na para diyan ilang taon ka na ba?" Toink.

2. I'm starting to think about my "future" (nope.. I'm still not interested migrating abroad) more and more.. Toink.

- I'm starting to save for retirement.
- I'm now interested in certain "retirement plans".
- Just got my salary? My first instinct now is to save and invest.
- I think about what businesses to set up.
- Lastly, heres the clincher about the "future" stuff... I find my car now as a liability for me! So sorry shiro.... (thats the name of my civic) Believe it or not.. I'm now getting interested in station wagons, suv's and dear God... Vans!

Though some of that can be still be argued as not a definite sign of hitting QLC, for me, trust me it is. Maybe I'm thinking about vans and other big cars now because of my current lifestyle. I'm looking for more space that would make me take by bike to places easier. But how the hell would you be able to explain the retirement plans topic?!?

3. Before.. I used to be the youngest of any group that I was in.. I'm still friends with those peeps but now I sometimes find myself hanging out with peeps WAY YOUNGER than me. To my horror I couldnt dig what they dig. Even sometimes saying to myself I'm too old for this sh*t. Toink again.

4. In one of our family dinners.. cant remember anymore if it involved my entire family or just certain family members and friends.. my age became the topic of choice.. "Ilang taon ka na ba?"... "27" I told my sis.. "Tanda mo na pala no.. pwedeng pwede ka na mag-asawa". What the fu*k?? TOINK! Some of them argued.. "Hindi pa yan.. mag enjoy ka pa dapat" (Which I certainly am doing).. My sis replied "Oo nga alam ko yun.. yun lang yung age niya pang asawa na talaga". I later found out that he got married to my bro-in-law when he was 28! Yikes! Toink toink toink!

5. And the final proof that I am indeed hitting QLC... I'm talking about it! TOINKKKK!!

=P

Well I guess thats about it.. if it happens it happens. I'm ready to embrance it. In fact, I'm looking forward to it. Its gonna be a joyride.

I can say my life now is at its peak. My family and I are having the time of our lives.. thats the most important part. Were just starting to live better... more comfortable than ever before.. and we owe it all to God. He's the reason why were experiencing all these blessings right now. Whatever happens I vow never to stop going to Baclaran every wednesday. Been going there for the last 5 years.. straight. I think I missed only 1 baclaran night because we were out of town.. but I immediately made up for it by going to the Baclaran the next day.

Hey.. I guess blogging really has a purpose. I feel like I've just taken a huge chunk of dead weight out of my chest. Phew. Toink!

Game 3. All Mens Fast League. The Decepticons Escape!

In a race for the total domination of cybertron and the all spark cube, Megatron (seen in the picture), and the Decepticons won Game 3 and escaped being swept by the Autobots.

The score is now 2-1*, with the Autobots still leading the Best of 5 Championship.

Ladies and Gentlemen.. we finally have a series.

As expected, close-out games proved to be the toughest game of any tournament. With their backs against the wall and their pride on the brink of extinction, its clear that the Decepticons will do everything in its power to win at least 1 game and hopefully secure the momentum in their favor.

This time, the Decepticons left nothing to chance, they assembled their complete/toughest squad, came to the venue early, and played brilliantyly as a team.

It took around 3 minutes even before the 1st goal was made, thats how tough the game was. The game was fast, hard, and rough. The Autobots had its chances, they scored the first goal had the opportunity to go up 2-nil when the Gentledog (GD) stole the puck from the opponent and to his surprise, faced a completely unopposed and wide open goal, but overflicked it! (Yes, I did.. sorry guys.) Causing the puck to fly over the rusty metal goal. Yes it did hit the goal.. its just that it hit the "TOP" part. A clear no goal. That shouldve brought the momentum into the Autobots favor.

It's funny when you think about the classic pinoy saying "bilog ang mundo"... because just before game 3, A.R. from the Decepticons sent the Autobots this transcript.. "Fear the strongest players of the other team. Prevent them from playing."

Just like in the classic Hasbro cartoons, Team Autobots showed no fear against the Decepticons... and after game 3 last night, everybody now has an idea who that quote should refer to. No, the Decepticons didnt prohibit a single player from getting into the game, but upped the ante and prevented the ENTIRE TEAM from playing! With still plenty of time left and with the lead on their side, the Decepticons, also like in a cartoon series, deceptively forced Angel the lifeguard to stop the game by making him say that the clock has expired. Whats can a helpless, soft-spoken lifeguard do right? Especially when he's being screamed at by 10 adrenaline and testosterone filled hockey players.

Much to the Autobots dismay, that ended what could arguably be the most toughest and well fought match of the series. Talk about a spoiler. All along everyone has been clamoring for the fastest and toughest games possible for PUHC.. and here we are playing it.. and abruptly wasted it.

After the puck went outside for the nth time... and both teams now on their "equal puck" formations, instead of just going for the puck and letting a final goal decide whether game 3 will end on a tie or a clear Decepticon victory, the Decepticons instead loitered around and just pinned their hopes on their own personal "Angel". That is why for the author, that win by the Decepticons deserve an * mark placed right beside their at the standings. Yes, they got the win. For me, thats a win they cant proud of.. I surely wouldnt. (Correct me if I'm wrong kind sirs.. hehe). The 3 goals that they made against the Autobots were genuine goals.. no doubt about that. Those came from 3 different fantastic Decepticon team plays. The gentledog just isnt sure about the win. Yes, its ok to lose.. you win some you lose some. The gentledog is no sore loser (though i hate losing hehe), especially if you played against such a brilliant team. But that sucker punch leaves a sour taste in G.D.'s and the rest of the Autobots mouths. Hopefully, this will give the Autobots the extra swagger it needs to finish the Decepticons in game 4 once and for all.

Case in point, even after some of the Fast Game League'rs finished their shower, the rest of the players of the other game (mixed game) were still playing. So I guess there was really no time left. :) I rest my case.

Game 4 of the All Men's Fast League is on next thursday. Prepare for Battle!

Finally.

This is long overdue.. After years of pondering whether I should join the community or not, I finally did it.

I've never been a fan of blogs because most of the blogs I've seen are usually self-serving. Honestly, would you really write and let the public know about the negative stuff about your life? Of course not. I've always thought of blogs as a personal diary.. only thing is its online.

I still have my own journal here in my room but the problem is, in todays digital world, its getting to be pretty painstaking to maintain. Also, since i got so used to typing (tuldok system) already i now find it hard to write by hand. Pathetic. Plus I usually go online as soon as i get home. Leaving no time left for me to write to my journal.

Perhaps youre wondering what the hell is up with my blog url.. But you read that right.. Its really "Toilet Ideas". Why? Because most of the crap (no pun intended) and ideas that i come up with are usually hatched while I'm inside the toilet. I dunno why.. maybe its because thats my only me-time or maybe its because of the "aroma" of our toilet. I guess I find that therapeutic. Hehe..

With regards to the left wing header, thats just the position I usually play when I'm playing underwater hockey. Thats all there is to it :) Just thought that it has a nice ring to it.

So you got this far huh? Give yourself a pat on the back.. You have a lot of time in your hands my friend.. Hehe. :)

Seriously, have a seat and enjoy your stay. :) Welcome to a bit of my world. I said bit because I'm not stupid enough to post any of my private life here. Not that everybodys interested to know about it anyway. :) Well like what they always say.. its always better to be safe than sorry :)

My thoughts finally have a home.