The trick is to identify the "A" race and train primarily for that race. All else, are subordinate to the major race but supplementary to ensuring a good performance.
The Animo Sprint Triathlon - June 10th Ayala Alabang Village
My next race will be the Annual Animo Sprint Triathlon. This is a short but very intense triathlon involving a 900m swim, 30k bike and 7.5k upak run inside the very scenic, well paved and upscale Ayala Alabang Village. The swim is done in waves inside the 50m pool of De La Salle Zobel. Proceeds of the race goes to the scholarship of kids studying at the Saint Jaime Hilario Integrated School (for the Poor) - La Salle in Bagac, Bataan.
As reference, the school was named after martyred La Salle Brother, Saint Jaime Hilario of Spain. It essentially offers a La Salle quality education to the children of fisherfolks, farmers and provincial dwellers in Bataan. Tuition is only around P50/month as all other costs are generally subsidized. These subsidies are generated from fund raising projects such as the Animo Sprint Triathlon.
It's also the race where most runners or swimmers or beginners do their first triathlon. This is especially because of the safe conditions of the race (pool swim and exclusive village environment for the bike and run).
I am the defending champion in my age group :)
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| Last Year's Top 3 in the Age Group |
Run United 21k - June 17th, Mall of Asia
A week after the Animo Tri, I'll be reporting to the starting line of the Run United 21k (half marathon). This is organized by the Run Rio group so the race is expected to be WORLD CLASS. I'm determined to complete all the races under the Run United series which escalates to a 32k in a few months and a full martathon sometime October.
I aim to improve on my 1:38.30 performance from last year's 21k staging of Run United. Target time is 1:32.00. This will serve as a good training effort for the 70.3 Half Ironman in August.
Century 5i50 - June 24th Subic Bay, Zambales
This is the marquee race of the year! It is on its maiden run as the race series, though biggest in the World, is only being staged in the Philippines for the first time. This is a standard distance triathlon entailing a 1.5k swim, 40k bike and 10k run. The difference is that the swim will be point-to-point (meaning you start at one point and will not be doing loops but rather, swim to another beach 1.5k away). The bike is said to be very hilly (maybe 50% hills). This will help add strength for my quest to improve my time in the 70.3 Ironman.
Our company is the presentor for this race.
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| Presscon to Launch the 5i50 Triathlon (with Fred Uytengsu) |
Tri United Long Distance Triathlon - July 1st, Batangas
A week after the 5i50, I will be treking to Batangas to do the Tri United Long Distance Triathlon. This is a good tune up for the upcoming 70.3 half ironman. This race will entail a 2k swim, 60k bike and 15k run. My kinda race!
Cobra 70.3 Ironman - August 5th, Cebu
I plan to use July as peak training month for the "Grand Daddy" of Triathlons here in the Philippines, the Cobra 70.3 Half Ironman in Cebu. I've done all three 70.3's in Camsur and had a decent finish in two out of the three.
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| Rainy Ride in Camsur |
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| Headed for the finish line! |
Training Logic:
The trick is to balance the needs of each race and each of the disciplines and incorporate this logic into the training plan. I've started doing my long rides three weeks ago and have logged in two rides more or less within 100km. I still plan to do 4 to 5 100k++ ride over the span of the next few weeks despite the race schedules. This weekend will surely have to include a 100k ride. Even the day before the Animo race is likely to be a mandatory long ride. I guess I won't be defending my Animo Tri crown to give way to training the day before. I'll just race for the speedwork I can get from it.
Over and above the need to do Century Rides is the need to do ride along heavy hills. This is preparation for the Century 5i50 race which is mercilessly hilly.
The Unilab races (21k run and long distance Tri) are actually part of my preparations for the 70.3 Half Ironman. So, in a sense, they're both races and training sessions at the same time. A perfect match and a good excuse to do both.
The rest of the weekends will be long brick work outs (swim + bike or bike + run). The weekday workouts will likely be twice a day. Run or Ride in the morning as early as 4:30am and swim at night (after work). I find that a good combination of one tempo run, one interval run session and two long runs a week married with one long ride, two tempo rides at least 40k weekly and roughly 3 to 4 swim sessions are good to ensure a strong build up for the Ironman 70.3. The races form part of the training plan for the major "A" race.
Nutrition and Recovery
This will require a diet heavy on protein to help me recover. I have found that eating quality protein meals helps keep me from experiencing training fatigue (that "blah" feeling) and keeps me at a good pace while training. It also helps bring my weight down.
But my secret weapon is really my rate of recovery. For some profound reason, God gifted me with a body that heals and recovers really fast. Isang idlip lang and my muscles are once again ready for action (that's an exaggeration of course). But I really do recover fast. That's how I am able to take on 15 to 18 hour training loads a week which is where I'll be from June to July.
Timex 226 Anyone?
Wow, all these talk of racing and training got me to be so tempted to sign up for the Timex 226 in December. That's a 3.8km swim, 180km bike and capped with a 42.2k run. A full Ironman Disrance Race.
I've done this distance before in Korea (within cut off) and in Malaysia (6 mins over cut off). It's no joke.
Should I?
Wow 15-18hrs a week! That's half a month's training for me!
ReplyDeleteIronman Javy O! That's because you are a tri god! Eh, ang lakas mo kaya! Us mere mortals need to toil under the sun and rain. See you at the races, Idol!
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