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Kickstarted the Philippine tri season with two weekends of racing at the Ironman 70.3 Subic Bay last March 6, and the inaugural Tri La Union just two days ago. Technically, it's not even summer yet, but everyone was definitely feeling the heat! The Century Tuna Superbods Underpants Run the day before IM 70.3 is also a must-do for both racers and non-racers. Good fun for a good cause!
I had a pretty good race in Subic despite encountering some rough patches on the day. I had a bit of bad luck on the bike after a few rough sections past the u-turn point - my front bottle cage came loose and I dropped my bottle! I had actually just skipped grabbing a bottle at an aid station, as I thought I still had a full one left, and didn't want to carry any more 'extra weight.' You can trust that I was mentally kicking myself for riding at km 50 with zero bottles and no idea where the next aid station would be.
After about 25 minutes of riding without hydration, I was starting to panic. Filipino elites Joseph Miller and John Philip Duenas passed me at that point, and out of desperation I accelerated and rode up to John and begged a bottle off him (he had three). He handed me a bottle filled about a quarter full with water. I was disappointed, but beggars can't be choosers. Towards the end of the course there were two more aid stations, but both handed small water bottles (no squeezy type bike bottles). I was already feeling hungry and my eyelids were starting to droop at this point, but I just told myself to try and keep Joseph in sight, and I'd get to T2 where there would be gels and sports drinks. Normally I eat four GU gels for 90-km, but on some days, in some conditions, I guess you just need to eat more.
Note to self: Carrying an extra gel won't hurt, and skipping hydration stations on hot days is a big NO-NO.
I had a pretty good race in Subic despite encountering some rough patches on the day. I had a bit of bad luck on the bike after a few rough sections past the u-turn point - my front bottle cage came loose and I dropped my bottle! I had actually just skipped grabbing a bottle at an aid station, as I thought I still had a full one left, and didn't want to carry any more 'extra weight.' You can trust that I was mentally kicking myself for riding at km 50 with zero bottles and no idea where the next aid station would be.
After about 25 minutes of riding without hydration, I was starting to panic. Filipino elites Joseph Miller and John Philip Duenas passed me at that point, and out of desperation I accelerated and rode up to John and begged a bottle off him (he had three). He handed me a bottle filled about a quarter full with water. I was disappointed, but beggars can't be choosers. Towards the end of the course there were two more aid stations, but both handed small water bottles (no squeezy type bike bottles). I was already feeling hungry and my eyelids were starting to droop at this point, but I just told myself to try and keep Joseph in sight, and I'd get to T2 where there would be gels and sports drinks. Normally I eat four GU gels for 90-km, but on some days, in some conditions, I guess you just need to eat more.
Note to self: Carrying an extra gel won't hurt, and skipping hydration stations on hot days is a big NO-NO.
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The first and last 3-km of the run were probably the toughest and hottest. I was rushing to exit T2 with a couple of athletes I know, Lindsay Fraser and Imogen Simmonds, in the hopes of running with (well AHEAD) of them. It's always more fun and exciting to pace off of people you know. After about 3k, I put a bit of a gap on the girls and could spot Katy Duffield in the distance and passed her around the 4km mark. I just shuffled my way, one step at a time. The 1-liter water bottles, sponges, and ice were a big help. I was still looking for more calories on the run as I had already consumed my one gel right out of T2, and there was none on the course. Running hungry is never good, but I just tried to drink as much cola and sports drink as I could. In the end, I paid for my nutrition mistakes and felt a gradual slowing down in the last few km. But I was just happy to be out racing amongst friends, and improve on last year's splits. I had a great time on the out-and-back course that allowed me to watch a bit of the men's race! Exciting! Who else was starstruck seeing Crowie running in 1st???
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The following Friday I drove up with LC to San Fernando for the inaugural Tri La Union. We had a pleasant 3.5-hr drive from Subic via SCTEX and TPLEX. The swim start was at the gorgeous Thunderbird resort at Poro Point, and the bike and run course took us through the town of San Fernando.
You could tell that the guys behind the event are experienced triathletes themselves - the attention to detail was very impressive. Lots of giveaways, prizes, and FOOD pre and post race! And the support from Mayor Ortega and the local government of the city of San Fernando was in full force. Shoutout to all the volunteers and policemen who manned the busy streets for us that morning.
Special thank you's to JB and Jonathan from Tri Union, who took such great care of us over the weekend. We really enjoyed our time with you and all the triathletes from up North. We hope you continue to grow the sport in La Union!
You could tell that the guys behind the event are experienced triathletes themselves - the attention to detail was very impressive. Lots of giveaways, prizes, and FOOD pre and post race! And the support from Mayor Ortega and the local government of the city of San Fernando was in full force. Shoutout to all the volunteers and policemen who manned the busy streets for us that morning.
Special thank you's to JB and Jonathan from Tri Union, who took such great care of us over the weekend. We really enjoyed our time with you and all the triathletes from up North. We hope you continue to grow the sport in La Union!
Thunderbird resort. Photo by LC Langit
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Congrats to Maria Hodges and Sandi Menchi in 2nd and 3rd, and to all the finishers and winners last Sunday. We capped off the weekend with a side trip to San Juan, the surf capital of the North, which was just a 20-minute drive away.
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Now it's time to recover and head on to Manila to build my new Specialized Shiv Tri! Woohooooooo! Looking forward to riding it hard the whole of April in Phuket with Jurgen Zack and the rest of the Z-Coaching squad! I'll see you guys at Ironman 70.3 Vietnam next!
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