Race Report - Subic International Triathlon 2010

Honestly, this race almost didn't happen. If not for peer pressure (aka Drew), I would not have participated. Back in February, after my terrible Ironman attempt, I decided I wanted to do a marathon.

I have never run a marathon, and all those kilometers I logged gearing up for Ironman seemed wasted as I practically walked the entire marathon at Ironman. As soon as Jaymie posted The Bullrunner Dream Marathon, I immediately signed up. It was slated for May 22, and Subit was slated on May 2. This meant that the triathlon fell right smack into what would be the biggest run week. If I was to do both, one would have to take a backseat, and I decided the triathlon would.

After taking a break in March, I resumed running in April. I put in a few swims and bike rides here and there, but my main focus was logging in those miles for the marathon. Subit race day came pretty quickly. Before I knew it, I was having the customary beers with Team Super at The Lighthouse. One turned into two, two turned into three...a familiar story. My teammate Jake asked me what my race strategy would be. He caught me off-guard as I myself did not know at that point. I said it would be 'controlled aggression'. As I really did not know what pace my legs could produce, I could not really do much. Controlled aggression for me meant not holding back too much, but also not running myself to the ground.

Race Day

After some hurried setups of T2 then T1, and a few minutes of swim warmup and light stretching, I found myself toeing the startline of our wave. I gained some confidence, and positioned myself towards the front of the line, about 15 people to the left. I figured this would be a good position. The starting gun went off and so did we. I tried to put in some effort in the first 100m, and it paid off. After around 200m, there was no longer any mayhem. At the first turnaround, I found some feet...bubbly feet. When you see bubbles, you know that's a kicker - and you know that only good swimmers can maintain kicking hard for 1500m. I quickly latched onto his feet, trusted his navigation skills, and enjoyed the ride. After the first loop, I checked my watch and it was 12:40 - whoa! I quickly dove in and latched onto the stranger's feet once again. He towed me thru the backmarkers and onto a swim PR. We exited the water in just over 25 mins. Amazingly I was not huffing and puffing. I later realize that he was a UP swimming alumnus - thank you sir! You are my Bubbly Toes!

I jumped on my bike, and finally pulled off a smooth flying transition (shoes on pedals). I began the tricky part of the course, which was the climbs. This was only the 2nd time on my tri bike since IM, and I was testing a brand new position, so I didn't know what to expect. I went on a decent pace on the uphills, and tried to be as aerodynamic as possible on the downhills. As I hit the turnaround, I started to see familiar faces zooming down. This is usually the point wherein the elites start catching me and zooming by. Surprisingly, only a few people caught me on the bike. On the flats, I just maintained my position, and tried to keep a decent cadence. I rolled into T2 at around 1:15 - success!



All my races have quirks, and this one was in T2. I had totally forgotten where my rack was, since it was early and I wasn't really paying attention when I setup T2. It took a while, and a marshall finally helped me find my rack. I slipped on my shoes, race belt, and our (Drew & I) secret weapon - GSP 'Kamikazee' headbands.

Trying to pace with Idol Abe Tayag

I began running at a decent pace. My run strategy was simply to run with what I had, and try to keep pace. Early on, I felt the effects of long running - I had no speed in my legs. I chugged along and made the most of what I had. Early in the 1st lap, uber runner Martin Lorenzo zoomed by, and made me look like I was sunday walking in Luneta. My pace was slowing down every lap (that's why they call me Positive Split), and there wasn't much I could do about it. At around the 3rd lap, Abe Tayag had caught up with me, and I tried to pace with him. 1k later, I had dropped - his pace was just too much for me to bear. I chugged along the remaining laps, and finished the run decently in just over 48mins.

No its not Karate Kid, its GSP!

All in all, I had a pretty good race. 2:30 total, 20th place overall and 6th in my age group. I was able to slash 7 mins off last year, and improve my standing by 2 places - despite being in a sea of elites, former national team members and a Kona Qualifier.

Next stop, my first marathon @ The Bullrunner Dream Marathon.

Team Super Reprezent!

Customary recovery BBZs at The Lighthouse

'When you move like a jellyfish
Rhythm don't mean nothing
You go with the flow
You don't stop
' - From 'Bubbly Toes' by Jack Johnson