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.

=)