Tapering - Science or Art?

It's 8 days to the biggest triathlon event in the country, the Cobra Ironman 70.3 Cebu. The list starting with Arnold Abad to tycoon triathlete, Fernando Zobel de Ayala total to 1,340 athletes registered for the event.

Tri Titan, Chris Lieto

This premier event will also showcase 16 Pros including Kona War Veteran and runner up, Chris Lieto of the USA who is best known for having gone head-to-head with Ironman Legend, Craig Alexander and is one of the most lethal cyclists in the sport. Last year's Champion in Camsur, Pete Jacobs who also achieved a runner up finish in Kona is back to defend his title here in the Philippines. Also racing is David Dellow, Ironman Australia 2012 Champion and winner in the recent Century Tuna 5i50 Triathlon in Subic as well as former 70.3 World Champion and the inuagural Ironman 70.3 Philippines winner Torrenzo Bozone. European Ironman champion Caroline Steffan, of Switzerland leads the Tri-tans on the female side to challenge last year's defending champion and also the Century Tuna 5i50 Triathlon winner, Belinda Granger. Truly a clash of super powers in the sport.

Ironman Europe Champion, Caroline Steffan

The battle among the pros will surely be dramatic and exciting. But the real drama will be among the 1,300 age groupers who have put in huge volumes of training hours in the pool, on the bike and on the road running. Given the prestige of the Cobra Ironman 70.3, most of us have been training like gladiators for many weeks now. And though podium finishes usually rotates among a handful of demigods among the legions of  age groupers, many still aim to chalk in their PR's (personal records) on the record books.

We train much longer, more intense and at high frequencies. Unfortunately, oftentimes, all these goes to waste due to the absense of tapering. This is the needed marked reduction in training load a few days leading to the major race. After going through many weeks of high level training, some find it hard to ease up on the gas pedal either due to habit or even ignorance.

The rule of thumb for tapering is to follow a simple pattern. This usually suggests increasing training load by 10% to 20% 14 days prior to race day. Then the tapering duration is a 10 day period where training load is reduced by 40% to 60% to give the body time to absorb all the benefits of the hard training and recover from accumulated fatigue. For the more fit triathlete, the reduction in load is somewhat compensated by intensity in the workouts. For us less fit, the reduction in load is also coupled with a maintenance or even reduction in intensity. I personally just go through the motions of training and not push too much. I do maintain training frequency so as not to feel rusty.

During this time, you feel a surge in energy courtesy of the reduced training load. You must resist the temptation to train hard or too long. Experts say that nothing you do 10 days before the race actually adds to your performance. What's left to be done is just to stay sharp, keep the muscles active and preventing these from de-training. If you are able to do this, it is to be expected that your race will be at optimal levels commensurate to the training you put in.

Learn to ease up and relax.

Other tips during the taper period are the following:

Avoid Big Meals or Overeating. Your training load is much lower thus the calorie burn is also proportionately less. Sometimes, we still tend to eat at levels where your body's calorie requirement is still on base, build up or speed mode while the level of activity is on taper mode.

Avoid Strength Training. I find that doing strength training takes off the zip in my pace. Without the load needed to jumpstart power in my body, I prefer to just focus on specificity - swimming, biking or running.

Avoid Sleeping Late. The body is recovering from the accumulated fatigue. It's best to give it the amount of sleep needed to complete this task.

Avoid new diets or medication. Your body is a machine that's been programmed to race through training, rest, nutrition and concentration. If you introduce new elements such as performance boosters and the like, chances are, something's gotta' give.

In the end, you manage your taper according to how well you know your body. One man's tapering program is not necessarily universally applicable to all. I usually use the guidelines but listen to my body to achieve maximum results.

Good luck, everyone. 7 days and a few hours to show time.

Bonding at the Mind Museum

Training has been twice a day for many weeks now. And Sundays are reserved for those long 100km rides on the bike which is often times mixed with an 8km to 10km run we call Bricks. And true to it's name, these workout sessions never ceases to make my legs feeling like bricks afterwards. The load sometimes leaves me totally wasted and I am reduced to a zombie for the rest of the day.

But I can never be too tired to enjoy a bonding session with my kids. Somehow, my situation makes me treasure every minute I can spend with them.

This Sunday was set for the boys and I to go to the Mind Museum at the Bonifacio Global City.

T-Rex on display at the Mind Museum.

I guess my teammates noticed I was holding back this morning. I purposely eased back on the training so that I'd be "good company" for my day out with the boys.

The Mind Museum is a project of the Bonifacio Art Foundation and is spearheaded by Butch Campos of the Unilab/SAFI group, real estate baron, Fernando Zobel de Ayala, Charlie Rufino, representing the Bonifacio Global City property owners, Antonio Aquino of Ayala Land, Emily Abrera, an institution in the Advertising Industry and Mariano Tan of Unilab.  In the early days, Jimmy Ayala and Manny Blas were the backbone of the project. I attended a few meetings when the pioneering team was still putting things together. This was way back in 2008 I think.

Logo of the Mind Museum.

My two boys and I were excited on our way to BGC. We've heard about the Mind Museum being a FIRST CLASS SCIENCE MUSEUM and both kids are into science as well as going to museums. It's located along 3rd Avenue and is a 5 minute walk from the Bonifacio High Street cluster of buildings. This made it convenient for us to park at Serendra, lunch at Chelsea, do a bit of shopping at Fullybooked then proceed to the Museum.

Signage at the Lobby

It's important to go at specific times as they let visitors in only on 3 hour viewing shifts - 9am to 12nn, 12nn to 3pm, 3pm to 6pm from Monday to Friday and an extra 6pm to 9pm on Saturdays and Sundays. We got there at 2:15 so had to wait 45 minutes. Strange though that there weren't any chairs or benches in the lobby for the visitors. It's not too friendly for kids and the elderly in this regard.

Aide the Robot will greet you at the Lobby Entrance.

The hassle of waiting 45 minutes without benches or chairs was a bit tiring, but I figured it was part of the rules to manage the crowds inside the Exhibit Halls. Aide, the talking robot gave us a very quick overview of the facility and some "house rules".

Getting Ready to Enter.

There are 5 galleries to see at the Mind Museum - Earth, Life, Atom, Universe and Technology. Each gallery loaded with interesting and highly informative exhibits.

Earth:

This is where the T-Rex bones are displayed. This makes it a thrill and a must for kids to learn from and have fun with.

You can get up close to the T-Rex bones.

The head of the T-Rex is as big as my youngest son's full body. That must have been a really spooky Dino when it roamed the earth. Even its poop was scary. It was actually on display.

Fossilized Dino Poop

Universe:

A space outfit is displayed in the Universe gallery. There's also a thrilling film on Cosmic Collisions in this gallery that shouldn't be missed. You get to watch this inside a dome shaped mini theater where the film is projected on the dome's ceiling. You watch the film lying down on your back.

Space Suit on display.

Catching the film lying down.

Life

The highlight of the Life Gallery is the giant brain on exhibit as well as the quick walk through on how life began and evolved to what it is today.

Highlights of the Life Gallery. Very Austin Powers layout.

The other galleries were on Atom and Technology. I wasn't able to take that much pictures here because my phone batt was running on low. But I guarantee that all the exhibits are worth visiting as well.

Building curiosity.

Shopping:

There's also a Mind Museum gift shop which you can brose through before and after the tour. The stuff here are nice but a bit pricey. I guess that's the "cost of education".

Nice stuff for sale.

Entrance is P600 for Adults and P450 (discounted) for kids with valid ID cards. It's a pleasant and relaxing experience.

Excited to enter....

It's a pleasant bonding moment that I'm certain, the kids won't easily forget.

My youngest son who's growing up too fast.

Close encounter with a T-Rex.

Find the time to do this. It will help your relax and be mentally strong for the coming races.

More importantly, it's a form of Work - Life - and Triathlon Balance!

Training in the Rain!

Wala ng atrasan! (No turning back).

Despite last night's continuous downpour, most of us still wished for Tropical Depression, Ferdie (Catabian?) to be out of the "Philippine Area of Responsibility" and headed towards China by the morning.

No such luck.

I guess we all woke up to the same heavy downpour. It's okay if it's raining and we still train. But then, with a little heavy rain comes the floods. This is SLEx below (how do you get through that):

Ahhh....SLEX River?

But, we all need to put in the mileage. It's 14 days to the Cobra Ironman 70.3 Cebu.

Here's how the tri community responded to this morning's challenge:

THE RESIGNED:

Bullrunner, Jaymie posted this as her FB status:



"Race wheels and aero helmet all set...for a long
bike trainer ride this morning! Bitin!" - the Bullrunner

 I guess she ended up using the bike trainer. Nice bike, though. Pogi!

THE PRACTICAL

Most took the practical approach and rode the bike trainer this morning. I'm guessing a range of 2 to 3 hours on average. This allows you to still put in the miles, be safe, watch tv or a video and saves a lot of time since you don't have to travel anywhere to bike.

"Simulation indoors. After 3.2k swim sa ace water spa, 2.5hr spnnervals.
Run mamaya. Sarap!!!-Tri Hard boys Louie and Ryan doing
a joint workout on the trainer. Very Brokeback.

Many still rode "together" as like Louie and Ryan did. But most just did the deed alone.

Super-marathoner, Jay Nacino on his bike trainer this morning.
Anong libro yun pinatungan? Aren't those his kid's school textbook?! AYOS!

THE BRAVE:

Of course, some of us will not be deterred. Ulan lang yan! So, the hardcore of the hardcore still Warriored on. Here are some of the guys who braved the rain to still put in the miles.

Edward Ifurung from the Tri Clark Defensive Line
rode with Jumbo and did 90k to Tarlac and back.

Ironman Julian also rode with his crew.
Teka, bakit isang bike lang dala nila? Angkasan?

This is the post of Century Tri Hard, two time Ironman Ivan -

"It was raining cats and dogs and yet the GVT boys still pushed through with the simulation. Eager beaver me heard the turnaround was Shell so off I biked to Shell Trece. Apparently the turnaround was Aguinaldo Highway and Shell DH! Haha. Good thing Nikko was kind enough to follow and pick me up. Saw lots of like-minded triathletes trying to rack up some last minute mileage in spite of the weather. The run was pretty intense. Ordo and I started off with a sub-5 pace but backed off when Coach George, Ryan and the National Team started doing sub-4:20. Settled down to a 4:40-5:15 pace. On the way back, Nikko and Coach sprinted to a 3:30 pace! Great workout!" - Ivan Fojas.

GVT is the George Vilog Training pool. It's composed of the Philippine Tri Team, the Elite core of Century Tri Hard and the Christian Tri Team, Live Right.

George Vilog texted me this message last night....I pretended not to receive it....

"Sir, Pwede ka tom? 5am Porto (fino). Simulation tayo. Suwabe lang" - Text of Coach George Vilog to me at 9pm last night.

Suwabe is 4:20 pace in the run? Ano kaya yun push>

In my case, I opted to run. 20k easy in the rain. Covered 3 villages then had a nice corned beef and rice breakfast right after. Then slept.

I think it won't rain tomorrow. Or at least not that much. Last long ride tomorrow before the 70.3 in Cebu.

If it rains though, this is what I would most likely do.

Train safe everyone. And don't get sick.

All Roads Lead to Cebu Ironman 70.3

By now, everyone who's anyone in the triathlon community is slaving away excessively to either hit their peak in time for the Cobra Ironman 70.3 Cebu or cramming to ensure a decent performance. The top teams use this event to showcase their best talents and make "pa-pogi" with their best (and sometimes newest) tri suits.

Aside from Dophy Pictures and Tributes, most Status Updates, Wall Posts and Comments are either  about the big volume load of training, the long rides and the preparations for the 4th installment of the Cobra Ironman 70.3, this time to be staged in Cebu.

Here are some of the posts floating around in FB. You'd be surprised at the amount of discipline, sacrifice and dedication the Pinoy tri community is putting in to do well in Cobra.

From Edward Ifurung of Tri Clark last July 13th:

 "4200mtrs swim done! Now rest for the 120k bike tomorrow :P good night peeps!"

That's a pretty awesome load of workout right there.

Edward is a regular face in triathlon and is known for his strong swim and bike. Kaya naman pala!

Edward of Tri Clark!

And of course, the equally famous brother, Tri Idol Art Ifurung will not be left behind. Here's a post from Art's FB Page:

"This has got to be the most fulfilling training day for me this year, was able to ride 130kms @ 3:58 early in the AM, and ran 18kms later in the PM @ 1:37 (and for the first time in 6 months, minus the ITB pain@ a very decent pace, 90 rpm cadence on the run) more than makes up for my dismal burnt out feeling during last fridays swim TT, o what wonders does one day rest plus short cranks make..... :p"

Given his training stats, we can expect the Kapampangan Shark to attack the course in Cebu. Aside from the bike and run powers Art showcased in his post, he has also perfected his Swim via a self-taught program of Total Immersion. He cut as much as 30% from his time and can now swim like Shark! Kaya nga sya the Kapampangan Shark, eh.

Art Ifurung - the Kapampangan Shark aka Eric Bana of Macabebe!

This overload of training is not exclusive to the boys. You can spot some interesting posts as well among our hardcore members of the fairer sex.

Women's Health Editor in Chief, Lara Parpan revealed the secret to her killer run in an FB Post last Sunday.

"Sunday's agenda: humid two-hour run, refreshing 2.6-km swim, one hour of reggae dancing...Yes, I think this cold is gone. =D"

May sakit na, nag 2 hour run pa, 2.6k swim and then 1 hour dancing. I think the secret to her Podium-level training is the Reggae! Where do we enroll?!

Lara Training?! - Sasabihin ko sana "Very Soul Train" but that will
give away my age...so "Very Beyonce" nalang.

Some are less verbous. Mr. Helty Almusal,  a regular Podium Occupant posted this as his Status Update:

 "long run"

Previous to this, he also posted this as his status.

"on the bike"

What Helty Almusal, aka Frank Lacson does sparingly in his posts, he compensates a million-fold via his powerhouse performances in the race course. He is a consistent podium finisher and has dominated his age group for the longest time.

For us mere mortals, our concerns are less glorious. Another popular regular post is on bike cases. How to send the bikes to and from Cebu in pristine, race-ready, super speedy condition. It ranges from P1,900 for a box to P10,000 for a kick ass case you can proudly take to even the most high end tri events anywhere in the globe:

This is the post from the Brick Multisport Store:

"New bike bag available at The Brick! P10k for a semi hard case that isn't too heavy but has enough protection for your bike."

Nice and Durable.

Here's another one. More affordable.

And of course, the nice bikes people have invested in to get an added gear and psychological advantage for the big race.

Bikes of Charles and Andie

Andie posted this about the bike:

"RH and WARPY with their Ckret--- MOA @ 5:30am!! BOOOMMM!!!!"

Aba, may pangalan pa mga bike. At, sumasabog!

This will certainly be a dramatic 70.3. The new venue was the craddle of Christianity in Asia. One can expect many of the athletes praying especially in the last 5k of the run! The swim course is one big loop, the bike course is a flat and fast 2 loop course to Talisay from the Shang while the run course is a 2 loop run to Discovery. I think this will give us a chance to eyeball each other as we go through the loops.

Water start, 1 long, clockwise loop in the pristine waters of the Shangri La Mactan! Sosyal!

2 loops but I think generally flat with a few minor climbs along Fernan Bridge.

My Favorite. The run is where races are won.

This is it. Less than 20 days to go. Peak Performance Training. Konting tiis nalang.

Sige, see you later. Swim pa ako eh... habol pa ako sa mileage ni Edward.

(pictures care off FB).

Overtraining?

It's 22 Days, 12 Hours, 8 Minutes and 46 Seconds from the Cobra Ironman 70.3 in Cebu on August 5th as of this writing.

Many in the local triathlon community are loading up both in terms of mileage and intensity in the hopes of doing a PR in what is being touted as a fast and exciting new course. Given that the 70.3 is one of only 2 races in the country of this distance (1.9k swim, 90k bike and 21k run), the tendency is to really pack in a lot of mileage so as to train the body to keep a strong or at least decent pace evenly through the three disciplines.

This increase in training volume which some say is double what most age groupers and tri newbies are used to oftentimes results in overtraining. Let's face it, we are in this sport because we can endure a lot of pain and suffering. Our insecurities about not having the "lungs" to complete the 90k bike ride or have enough "legs" to run the 21k after the swim and the bike pushes us to train well beyond what the body is able to "recover" from. Aside from higher volume and intensity, we throw in "heat training" for good measure.

My worst bout with overtraining was when I was training for Ironman West Australia. It really wasn't pretty. The common symptoms include the following:

• muscle soreness especially in the legs and lower back;
• tightness in the upper back area;
• inability to push in training - especially in the run and sometimes even when cycling;
• a deep feeling of fatigue but inability to sleep - insomia;
• irritability;
• the feeling of always being thirsty; 
• a faster heart rate;
• lowered resistance and susceptability to illness like colds, flu and cough.

You also feel anxiety over your condition so the tendency is to fight the feeling and train even more. This results in an even deeper level of overtraining.

I realized I was overtraining when 1) I couldn't keep up with even the slower members of our team in training; 2) I had a hard time sleeping at night; and 3) I was becoming irritable.

The good news is that the remedy was simple, effective and immediate. One just needs to recognize first that he/she isn't deteriorating and "getting too old" - it's really just your body telling you to rest and recover.

The typical remedies are to take 2 to 3 days off, max of a week. During this period, it is adviseable to eat a lot of protein to regain muscle mass and speed up recovery. It is also important to hydrate a lot while "recovering".

Other recommendations are the following:

Getting Lots of Sleep

During the Slack Period - one should get maybe 10% to 20% more sleep that usual so that the body can repair. It would greatly be beneficial if you are to enrol the help and assistance of the household to minimize all distractions and stressor at home.

It is interesting to note that some international tri coaches even encourage sex and intimacy when overtrained. This is said to help relax the athletes and modulate the neurotransmitters to bring faster recovery. I'm not kidding.

Proper Diet

I usually take on 10% to 15% more protein when I start to feel lethargic. It's both a treat and helps rebuild damaged muscles from training.

Mild Massage

This also helps recovery by reducing stress and keeping the muscles pampered. However, caution here is that the massage, if done too hard is like exerting pyshical effort. So hard massages when you're overtrained is a no no.

Hard Massage is like exercise. Go for light massages when overtrained.

Monitoring the Heart Rate

Aside from doing it by feel, you can also determine if you are overtrained by monitoring your heart rate at a regular time each morning. There are three states which needs to be measured. When you wake up and still in a rested state, 15 seconds after getting up and finally 90 to 120 seconds after getting up. The average heart rate will be the two readings after standing up (15 secs and 90 secs). It is important to read this daily and note down the averages. A 10 second swing is a clear indication of being overtrained.

In my case, I am training well for the coming 70.3 in Cebu. Certainly not overtrained. More like "under trained". But that's what all triathletes say. It's called sandbagging. Another pass time we all excel in.

Don't ask me about the sex part.

My Ironman Journey - 1 Year After

The 3rd of July is special for me.

Exactly one year ago, I finally completed a full Ironman race after several very painful attempts. I paid an extremely dear price for this quest. Maybe much more than I thought I ever would and willing to do. Most other people within my calibre in this sport can easily hurdle this challenge. But for some cosmic, metaphysical, psychedelic, inexplicable reason, the Universe gave me a much harder time. That just means mine was truly a freak passage to becoming among the extremely rare set of people who can be called Ironman.

Sharing this article I wrote which was published by Total Fitness Magazine (June 2012 Issue) and the Philippine Star. Sorry that it's a bit long -

Iron Obsession, Iron Will


By Gregory H. Banzon


My story started four years ago at the finish line of Ironman Malaysia 2008 in Langkawi – a full distance Ironman that involved a 3.8km open sea swim, a 180km bike race and 42km run – all within a 17-hour cut off. I trained almost 20 weeks for that race, which took me 17 hours and six minutes to complete. Yes, I missed the cut off by a painful six minutes! They gave me the finisher’s medal, but I was unable to earn the distinction of being called Ironman. Thus began an obsession that would take me four years to conquer.

Finisher Medal

For the uninitiated, the full Ironman is probably the most gruelling endurance sport there is. It starts with a 3.8km swim, which is like swimming the length of EDSA from the Buendia intersection to Roxas Blvd, within a 2:15 hour period. Immediately after that, one has to mount a bike and ride for 180km. This is like biking from the Mall of Asia to the foot of Baguio in La Union. The cut off for this part of the race is about eight hours. If one does not make it to the cut off, he will be pulled out of the course and the day ends for him. Finally, after the tough swim and long bike ride, one caps the race with a full 42km marathon. This is equivalent to running from La Union and head back to Pampangga.  In the Philippines, the only official Ironman race is a 70.3 miler and is sometimes called a half Ironman.

It is an extremely painful and exhausting endeavour for sure, but that’s what makes it appealing. It is the challenge of pushing yourself to the extreme limits of physical, and often times, even psychological capacity.  Once you cross the finish line, the announcer calls out your name and shouts “You are an Ironman!” To hardcore triathletes, this is the ultimate confirmation that one is indeed a member of the rare breed of people who have completed the distance.


In Langkawi, I was totally devastated to I learn that I just missed the cut off by a mere six minutes. This meant I had to carve out another 20 weeks of my life to train for another Ironman and go through the same agonizing experience to lay claim to the distinction of having conquered this extreme challenge.

Other Failed Attempts

Days after Ironman Malaysia, I was already online searching for the next best and affordable Ironman race available. I eventually signed up for Ironman West Australia 2009, and started to both train and save up for the trip to Perth. Unfortunately, after training for over 12 months almost 18 hours a week, my race in Australia ended up in yet another failure. I had a good swim and was already 148km into the bike when I lost control and crashed to the ground unconscious. Though I insisted that I was okay to continue, the race marshals decided it was too risky to let me keep racing because of possible contusions. I literally bawled like a little boy when they took away my bike, loaded it on a pick up truck, and officially declared me DNF (Did Not Finish).

Actual ride in Ironman Australia. This was somewhere around km 110. I crashed at km 148.

I was immediately brought to a medical facility for a check-up and was discharged the same day. It was painful to see all the athletes cross the finish line triumphantly while I was on the sidelines nursing a bruised head and an even more banged up ego.

Brothers in our Ironman Quest - Coach George, myself and
Drew Arellano in Perth Australia.

No sooner than I was at the Singapore airport from a connecting flight from Australia, I was already back online registering for the closest Ironman race available. I figured that I should race immediately so that all the training I just put in for Australia would not go to waste. I would just have to sustain my fitness level and march on to the next Ironman race. Interestingly, it was once again Ironman Malaysia – 2010! A return bout with the course where I had missed the cut off by just 6 minutes!

This time around, I poured everything into the training. I practiced 20 hours a week through Christmas, New Year, and all other weeks and holidays to prepare for a rematch with the course that broke my heart but not my spirit.

Feeling good on race day, I poured it on the swim and came out feeling fresh. I remember telling myself, “Put everything into it as this is the last time you’ll ever swim this distance”. I hammered the bike but was a bit more cautious, lest I face a repeat of the Australian debacle.

I used to be fat!

However, I forgot to hydrate properly and manage my nutrition, and started to suffer the symptoms of hyponatremia (or excessive loss of sodium in the body). This condition is said to stress out vital organs such as the kidneys, the liver and makes one’s brain cells swell. By the time I was on the run leg of the race, I was already feeling dizzy. The brain swelling made me disoriented and I suffered extreme nausea – I threw up a total of nine times on the race course! Then, with only less than 14km left in the run, I ended up in the medical tent half alive where I threw up another 3 times. Once again, the race marshals deemed it best that I not continue and was brought to the Langkawi Hospital via ambulance where I was given two IV’s and an overnight stay in the emergency room.

A Fresh Challenge

By this time, the score was: Ironman, 3 – Greg Banzon, 0. I kept a lookout for interesting and affordable  Ironman races and the next one I found was Ironman China 2011. This was slated for June and my training went on full gear as early as December 2010. I woke up at 4am daily for the next 6 months to prepare, training as much as 21 hours a week.

Unfortunately, three weeks before the race, the organizers had to cancel due to problems in obtaining government permits. There were supposed to be at least 30 Filipino athletes participating and all of us were devastated. However, the multinational company that owns and organizes Ironman events, World Triathlon Corporation, gave us complimentary registration to Ironman Korea 2011, which was just a month away. Almost everyone took advantage of this opportunity.

I only had to extend preparation for another month. The training I needed to prepare for all the Ironman races I’ve joined in the past had made me miss a lot of important occasions with family and friends already. “What’s one more month”, I said to myself. The obsessive amount of time and discipline I had to put in to train would put a serious strain on my family relationships. Despite this, I decided to keep my head in the game and go for Ironman Korea 2011 in Jeju Island.

Final Attempt at Glory

This was now my fourth attempt at Ironman Immortality. I have been a prisoner of my obsession for over 4 years. This prison compelled me to wake up at 4am almost daily to either swim, bike or run. Weekends was spent in hard labor biking at least 120 to 180 km along Daan Hari or to Tagaytay and doing long runs. The diet in this prison was Spartan. I had dropped 20 pounds since Langkawi.

Hahahah...siningit talaga itong picture....relevant naman....

"Faith is easy to come by when you know the outcome, but the true test of faith is when you don’t know what will happen”. No one knows for sure how one will fare in an Ironman race before they start. Not even the pros. I was living proof that despite doing all the necessary training, anything can still go wrong during an actual Ironman race especially because of the distance. However, my faith carried me through the training and gave me the strength to once again take on the ultimate challenge. On July 3^rd 2011, I was finally at the start line of Ironman Korea. I reported early for body marking; my race number is stamped on my arms and legs to allow easy identification especially in the water. I went to my bike (which I had racked in the previous afternoon), gave it a final check, then nervously walked to the beach. It was a foggy morning and visibility in the freezing sea was no more than 30 meters forward. Sighting was clearly going to be difficult. There wasn’t a single soul at the starting line that was not nervous. I felt a big lump on my throat, daunted by the task of completing the Ironman distance, a total of 227km of swimming, biking and running. I knew I was going to be in for a very brutal day.

The Swim Start

Then, as the start gun went off, an explosive energy was unleashed. Over a thousand brave and determined triathletes attacked the freezing and foggy sea in black wet suits like seals chased by sharks. It’s called the “washing machine start” when everyone jostled for a good swim lane to complete the long 3.8 km course. One would get kicked, elbowed, grabbed at, and crawled over for a good portion of the swim. We were at such close quarters that I could smell the breath of the swimmers beside me. My arms and legs were cramping from the continuous swimming motion that took nearly 1.5 hours to complete. But I felt strong coming out of the water and ran fast to my bike at Transition 1.


The bike course in Korea was unforgiving. Nearly 80k out of the 180k was hilly with some long stretches of climbs. It literally zapped the energy out of me, and my legs became heavy as lead. I must have messed up my nutrition as I started feeling nauseous nearing the 90k marker. I glanced behind me and, seeing there was nobody directly at my back, let out a major high velocity stream of vomit while moving at 30kph. It was so painful I decided to regulate my nutrition out of fear of throwing up more during the race. That took its toll on me though. By kilometer 130 on the bike, hypoglycaemia started to kick in because I stopped eating. I was depleted of most of my body sugar and was literally getting really sleepy on the bike. Luckily, I caught up with another Pinoy triathlete, Erick Olonan, who agreed to ride alongside me to Transition 2 to make sure I didn’t fall asleep while biking.

Finally, I was on the run leg of the Ironman – 2 x 21km loops with yet again an inordinately high proportion of hills. I think the race organizers put in so much hills on the run course so that the race earns a reputation of being a really tough Ironman challenge. Like being whacked by frat initiation paddles, my legs were aching intensely from the long bike ride. This was made worse by the constant pounding of my feet against the ground across this long distance. Despite this, I kept running, propelled only by my will and the desperate need to finish an Ironman race, once and for all.

While clawing through pain and hypoglycaemia, I started to get uncontrollably sleepy. It got so bad that I had to sit by a tree along the run course and take a nap. My team mate from Century Tuna Tri Hard, Ivan Fojas, and multi Ironman finisher, Andrew Chinalpan, saw me asleep and woke me up. I was probably sleeping for about five minutes. They helped me get back in the race by pacing me. Ivan was particularly gracious as he even doubled back an additional 2k just to help me find my pace. However, by that time, fatigue, poor nutrition, and the onset of hyponatremia made me vomit again. Everything and anything I ate or drank came back out a few minutes later – I vomited a total of six times during the run! But unlike my disappointing pull out from Ironman Malaysia, I was able to push myself to continue running. The presence of many Pinoy triathletes on the race who kept encouraging me to go on also helped me pull through. Most importantly, my coach, SEA Games Silver Medalist George Vilog, was patient enough to keep me company throughout the run course just by being there at key aid stations. He had finished the Ironman Korea 70.3 earlier in the day and had qualified for the World Championships in Las Vegas. Also helpful were the guys from Tri Clark/Yellow Cab who egged me on whenever we saw each other on the run course. Most notable of whom was my good buddy, Art Ifurung.

With 6km left in the run, I started getting tunnel vision and felt I was going to pass out. To prevent another defeat, I decided to step up the pace and push harder to the finish. Because of the punishing hills, lack of nutrition and a combination of hypoglycaemia and hyponatremia, I started to doubt whether I would make it. To keep going, I relied on positive mental pictures of people who inspire me and all the work and sacrifice I had given in training.

Ang mamatay ng dahil sa 'yo?

Before I knew it, I saw the arc at the finish line and heard the festive music that blared at every Ironman finish line. My past three misses had built up some interest in my story, so that many of the Pinoys present in Jeju were waiting along the finish line for me despite the late hour. Soon, I was running along the red carpet. At this point, one of the Pinoys in the crowd handed me the Philippine flag. A few meters further, I finally crossed the finish line and heard the announcer shout “Gregory Banzon, IRONMAN!” Suddenly, I was unable to control my emotions. I placed my head in my hands and started crying. I couldn’t shout for joy. I could hardly talk. I was numb. I had given it my all, I gave it everything. Total time: 15 hours, 46 minutes. Well within the 17 hour cut off.  Some minutes later, I was rushed to the medical tent for IV therapy and there, more throwing up followed. Three more times to be exact.

Ironman at last.

But it didn’t matter.


Finally, after four years and on my 4^th and final attempt, I am an Ironman. At last.