The Left Wing: Redemption..

I waited a long time for this...

A chance redeem myself..

A chance to improve my time last year..

A chance to prove that given the proper training... I can do it.

and finally...

I DID IT!

Yup.. I admit.... I raced with a chip on my shoulder.

I promised to myself that I wouldnt talk about this anymore.. and I'm gonna keep that promise.

Except for this moment.. hehehe..

I left my old team simply because, some people on that team, said I didnt deserve to be on the team because I havent proven anything yet. That I didnt have what it takes.. unlike them. Even went as far as saying they will leave if I stay on the team. There were other issues but, those we're really petty.

Weird huh? Isnt a team supposed to develop and help their weaker players? As soon as I heard that, I left immediately. I joined that team because I wanted to get better. I dont want to be associated (hehehe..) with a team that has elitists.

Ok enough about that.. thats over and done with. Besides, I already blogged about it.. its just set in private ;)

I sacrificed 4 months of my life training for this 1 event.. The Whiterock Triathlon (WRT)... the most famous and mecca of all long-distance triathlon races in the country.

Last year, I think I raced around 10 major races. For 2008... I raced only two. The Subit Tri and the WRT. My whole "tri-career" revolved around WRT.. which became my "A" race.

My social life has definitely taken a pounding because of this. There were countless times when I was asked to go out on a weekend and I said no because we have an early bike ride or run the next day. Date with someone? Well it better be on a sunday because thats the only time that I could stay up late because the next day is our rest day. :) Hehehe..

Now for the million $ question... Why am I doing this? I think thats the question every triathlete asks himself... shouldnt I be out partying? shouldnt I be just relaxing and working? Enjoying the perks of life?

Your entire household is already sleeping... and you're out there.. in the living room.. biking and cranking your trainer. Sweating it out with nothing but the boring nightly news to entertain you..

While everyone is thinking where to have dinner or where to go after work.. you're thinking about what time you'll be able to sneak in your "1 1/2 hour moderate" run..

While everyone is preparing to go to work or have breakfast.. you wake up earlier than them because your 4 hour ride starts just when everyone in your family is "about to leave the house". And what happens if its raining? You can't call it a day and go back to sleep.. you cringe everytime you wake up on a long biking weekend and its raining because you know its gonna be you, your bike, the turbo, and the boring tv all over again.. FOR 4 HOURS. Not to mention you still have to do a 4k swim afterwards.

Missed your morning swim? Well prepare to suffer under the glaring heat of the sun.. You must swim now because you still have work to do for the rest of the day... your face gets vandalized by the tan marks left by your goggles... Sunburned? Who cares? After that you still have to go to the gym or do an easy 1 hour bike. I got so dark I already stopped using sunblock. :) No use anyway. Besides.. I'm starting to dig this whole new dark thing. hehe

So... was it worth it?

I dont know.. maybe I just liked the pain our training brought. Masochist? maybe... Motivated? You bet. Knowing that this could probably take me to the promised land.. the place that would vindicate everything.. the place where I'd find my "bulalakaw".. my friends term for a medal.

Or maybe.... I really just wanted to prove something.

I finished with a dismal 6:48:27 time last year.. Far from my 6:15 target.. I could barely walk when I got to the finish line. My legs down to my feet was cramping up.. even my toenails!

This year though, I got my target and upped my time by over an hour. I finished with a 5:43 time which was enough to get me 3rd place in my age-group. The biggest achievement of my so-called multisport career so far. Back then I was just racing to finish... now I cant believe I'm even thinking of racing for the podium.

It was a weird feeling really.. knowing that as you were on your way to the finish line.. you may have just made it... you may just have gotten your wish. You trained hard for this.. did it really pay off?

Its just something I wasnt really used to.... yet.. and I think I like it. :)

I'm also really happy for my team. The Gold's Gym Triathlon Team, now called Gold's Gym Multisport :). This team went thru hell and high water in those four grueling training months. Not only in training but also in a lot of other nasty stuff as well. Which I'd rather not talk about. I'd rather focus on making this team fly. The 2009 season will definitely be a good year for the team.

Our road to the WRT race was the best part.. all our training sessions... our crazy antics just to keep us sane.. the wild Iba, Zambales rides.. our wacky swim time trials.. the long 2 1/2 hour runs! The race itself for me.. was really just an icing on the cake.. baked to perfection :).

Whats important for me is that.. we all had an amazing finish! Everyone on the team completely destroyed their time last year by an average of 45 mins to over an hour! A fantastic result if you ask me. I guess MAO really knows what he's talking about. :)

This group always believed in me since day 1. They never doubted me.. nor questioned my abilities. They kept on telling me, I'm getting fast, getting better, etc etc.. yeah its true at first I thought its just part of the whole camaraderie thing. See coming in this whole multisport world, I always just wanted to finish the damn races... of course in my mind I dreamed of what it would be like to climb the podium but... back then.. I was really doing it simply because I wanted to... lose weight. hehehe.

This team will push you hard in training.. no question about that.. but they will also never hesitate to lift you up if you go down. Team first before everything. Isnt that what its supposed to be all about?

I got injured 1 month prior to the race. Its tough because its the same injury I got when I did whiterock last year. Same ankle.. same injury.

I've been kicking myself 'till now because I havent missed a single training session before I got injured. I was able to do everything on the program.. and was feeling really, really strong.

I managed to survive two nasty bike crashes.. got battered and bruised but still managed to do the training... and then just because of a simple "slip".. its over.. I couldnt run or even bike really hard.

Good thing I was still able to swim with the injury.. even if it meant kicking with just one foot :(. Its tough but what are you gonna do? You're already 3 months deep into the training.. you sacrificed a lot already.. are you going to let it all go down the drain? I wont. I'd rather let my ankle snap during the race... at least I tried. Thats better than doubting myself for the rest of my life. Like what the great Lance Armstrong said.. "Pain is temporary... Quitting is forever".

I missed around 3 good weeks training because of that.. just when the training was peaking and was focusing more on speed work. I could run yes... but I'll definitely be in a lot of pain afterwards. It was really a tough situation... your mind and heart is willing.. but your body just cant take it anymore.

Kudos once again to my therapist... Butch Ong and the whole Sante clinic crew.. who never gave up on my ankle.. who urged me to go on and run and dont mind my ankle because they'll take care of it. You're a miracle worker doc! and I'm happy to say that we made it!

Now on to the race...

We arrived in subic a day before the event... we checked in at our favorite place.. Playa Papagayo owned by a triathlete and a good friend, Frank Lacson. Staying in a resort managed by a triathlete has its own perks.. aside from getting triathlon designed meals.. you'll also get the benefit of having an early breakfast (restaurant opens at 4am) plus they wouldnt mind if you check out late the next day.

The Swim - I had a lot of mixed feelings before the start of the swim.. knowing that this is it... the moment we have all been waiting for... after doing my warm ups and my pre-race/training stretching routine.. I just took a deep breath and then prepared for the gun to fire. Theres no turning back. I was restless but some reason.. I was also calm. I just kept on thinking to myself.. 2k swim?? Heck, I swim an average of 10kms+ a week. How hard could this be?

At gunfire, I made the mistake of trying to draft with some of the fast-but-not-that-fast guys.. thinking I could draft off them and save some energy. But I was dead wrong. The moment we got into the water, it was like hell. I got stuck in the middle of the washing machine and lost a couple of minutes just to get my bearings straight. After the 1st lap I made a concious effort to stay on the outer lane.. where the water was calmer and I could do the last 2 laps faster. I ended up with a 43 mins swim. 3 minutes short off my target which is 40 minutes.

T1 went smoothly this time.. compared to my previous WRT.. this time I had a battle plan.. so everything went... well... normal to say the least. :)

The bike - the moment I've been waiting for... because I knew this is my strongest discipline and could really gain ground if I push hard enough.

Days before the race though, I've been bothered about the elbow pads on my aerobar.. it just keeps on getting loose everytime I hit a bump or a hole in the road. I decided not to adjust it anymore and ended up paying for it. I think I lost a clear 2-4 minutes on the bike because of that. Everytime it'll go down I'll try and force it back up. Which sometimes, almost caused me to crash.

For most of the time on the bike.. my arm was resting on the basebar itself.. instead of the elbow pads.. which was really uncomfortable.

As for my gameplan, I just stuck to it the whole way.. making sure that I was properly hydrated and was getting my nutrition. I maintained my target RPM and I managed to execute my gel and liquid plan to a T. The powerbars though were another story. See for the whole ride, we were supposed to finish 3 powerbars.. ok I thought.. I practiced this.. no problem. That was until I started chewing it! It was really tough to swallow.. especially when you're biking at race pace. I almost puked a couple of times because of it. That's probably the last time I'll eat a powerbar. I finished the bike with a time of 2h42m :) Just the time I hoping to get. Actually I didnt set a target time on the bike. I just want maintain my target RPM and let it take me to wherever. If it makes me do a 3h plus bike.. Its ok. In the end, it worked and I ended up with a very good bike split. So I guess it really works afterall. Hehehe.. Whats the magic rpm you ask? Ask TeamBB :)

During T2.. lets just put it this way.. last year.. I think I wasted almost 8 minutes here! Hehehe! After my bike last year.. I was so wasted already. So tired that I didnt know how the heck I'd be able to finish the 20k run. Hehe.. T2 was a breeze this time.. simply racked my bike.. got my t2 gear and changed. :) I blazed off t2 still feeling strong... that is until....

The Run - hehehe... yup... the run... the famous WRT run course.. where the heartbreak hills and the microwave awaits... a stretch of really tough hill climbs and a very long path of open road.. Honestly, I was feeling really good coming out of t2... I was feeling really strong.. I was feeling a slight pain on my ankles but adrenaline is taking good care of it.

I have a target pace in mind already.. which I was doing until I reached the 2.5k mark... suddenly my calves started to cramp.. uh oh.. Not again! I tried to rest and stretch it for a bit.. which worked.. for just a very short time.

I still managed to run a bit.. up to the foot of the heartbreak hills.. I really wanted to conquer it but I guess I still have a lot of dues to pay.. I almost walked the entire uphill section because of cramps and just made time on the downhills. I got second wind when I entered the base. I was able to run most of it.. that is until it was time once again to conquer the damn uphills on my way back. It was the same story.. walk.. ok brisk.. walk the entire uphill section.. and then make up for it on the downhills. This time.. even my quads were cramping. It was becoming really hard to run and stretch because if I stretch this muscle group.. the other one would cramp up because of the slack.

Frank of Playa Papagayo was right.. the remaining 2.5k left when you cross his resort would be the toughest, hardest, and most painful 2.5k of your life... I was really starting to cramp up so bad... I just kept on telling and psyching myself that this 2.5k is NOTHING... It almost just 1 loop at the UP acad oval.. how hard could this be?? 1 loop there is just our warm-up!

When I saw the Total gas station.. I just gathered everything I had and gave it a final burst.. just enough to make sure that I get to the finish line still running. :)

I'd like to take this opportunity to say big THANK YOU to everyone who supported us... to my friends who screamed their lungs out and gave me the motivation to finish the race strong... to my family who really surprised me by being there.. it was the first time they ever supported me in a race. Their presence and the fact that they're waiting for me at the finish line kept me going. When I was suffering on the run.. I just thought about my two nieces.. I wanna cross the finish line towing both of them.. should I carry them? I could but I'm afraid I'll cramp up, fall, and humiliate myself in front of everyone! Should I carry just one? Its gonna be World War 3 if I do that. Good thing when I got inside the resort.. I didnt see any of the two rascals. Turns out they got tired and went to sleep. Problem solved. :)