The BOOMING Philippine Economy - A morning with Dr. Bernie Villegas

It's not just in boxing (Manny Pacquiao), Entertainment (Jessica Sanchez) and Basketball (Jones Cup) that things seem to be looking up for the Philippines!

I very recently had the pleasure of spending a morning with Dr Bernie Villegas. What was suppose to be a brief update turned out to be more that two hours hearing about his view of the "very promising" prospects for the Philippine Economy. Known in the business community as the "Prophet of Boom", Dr Bernie was a bit more introspective and somewhat "conservative" than his usual hyper-optimism.

Fast Growing Economy

Nevertheless, my confidence in the future of our country was boosted a gazillion times after that chat with Dr Bernie. In my hopes to spread the optimism, I am sharing some of the key points I remember from the talk.

Let's all try to live long, quality lives. We'll be rich soon!

The Philippines will be the 16th Largest Economy by 2050!

The Prophet of Boom started out by citing the very exciting prediction of the top economists of HSBC that the Philippines is poised to be the 16th largest economy in the world by year 2050! That means that when my kids hit my present age, they'd actually be enjoying the perks of being a rich 1st world country! That's assuming the present economic and political fundamentals hold up and are sustained. That's a 5% to 7% growth rate consistently for the next 20 to 30 years. Very doable.

It's like what happened to Korea, Taiwan and Singapore. Korea grew to be the economic super power by the mid 80's even after having been torn to bits by the Korean War only 30 years prior. The tiny island state of Taiwan which still isn't even officially recognized by many nations rose to its place in the World Economy despite only being a "breakaway" state from Mainland China a few decades before.

Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Korea all eradicated poverty in just one generation. This is despite being very poor in natural resources, not having a domestic market as large as the Philippines and some having gone through war.

Meanwhile, a lot of good things are looking up for the Philippines:

Stable Democracy:
After many years of finding our balance, our Democracy is now on firm footing. The 2010 elections was a turning point in our history where clean and generally peaceful elections took place thanks in part to the PICOS machines and a maturing electorate.

The 2010 elections gave us a glimpse of how clean elections can be achieved. We all need to do our part in protecting this new-found source of true democracy.

We just need to "make tiis" watching and seeing more of Kris Aquino and Boy Abunda on TV. Ika nga nila, "what are we in powder for?" Joke lang.

Labor Peace:
It's been a long time coming but we finally have a more cooperative and peaceful labor sector. The era of massive strikes, plant shut downs and even urban terrorism against the management sector are now, for the most part, lessons in our history. We are seeing a more progressive, responsible and cooperative labor sector willing to partner with management to add jobs to the economy.

Militant Labor has quieted down.

New Face of Philippine Labor:
Peaceful and Cooperative!

Educated Young, English Speaking White Collar Labor Force:
Despite the unrelenting efforts of programs like Willing Willie, Vice Ganda and similar shows that seems to be a consipiracy to "idiotize" the Philippine population, the foundations of the Philippine Education system, poor funding notwithstanding, has continued to churn out a well educated mass population. More than 50% of the population is below 25 years old, knows math, a little bit of science and enough structured English. Moreover, parents in the Philippines still labor hard both here and especially abroad to send their kids to some form of schooling with most being able to complete at least high school where they learn critical thinking, life skills and English.

The Business Process Outsourcing Industry:
The educated labor force is fueling the astronomical growth of the Philippine BPO industry. We have already outpaced India, Ireland and all other challengers to the BPO market. This is giving rise to more affluent and young middle class which is also feeding the growth of real estate (condos and mid priced housing), retail and liesure. It really is starting to be MORE FUN IN THE PHILIPPINES.

OFW Power:
This phenomenon has continued unabatted and even accelerated over the past 20 years and counting. At any given time, around 8 to 10 million pinoys are abroad mostly either as contract workers or immigrants who all send back money to the mother land. This is fueling the housing boom, the retail boom and the micro enterprise boom. Many pinoys left here in the Philippines go into business to augment their income. The Go Negosyo movement may also be inspiring the legions of OFW family members here at home.

It's also somewhat fueling the education boom as more and more kids of the OFW's are able to progress into college. And, as they graduate, many ambition to work abroad and take over as their parents come home to retire.

The OFW families has also created a spike in the savings rate of the average Pinoy family. Thus the banking system is awash with CASH!

Strong Financial and Banking System:
Credit this to Cory Aquino's Banking Team. Joey Cuisia and Jess Estanislao used their expertise to set up a very stable and efficient banking system when they took on the reigns after the Marcos era. The reforms they put in place adds to our strength as an emerging "market". Portfolio of loans and assets are very healthy and our systems well managed. This is what sets us apart from many economies in Asia and the rest of the world.

Low Dependence on Petrol and Exports:
Our economy is less dependent on petrol and exports as other countries are. This has insulted us from the crisis that hit the USA and Europe of the last few years. As such, our economy continues to grow and our dollar reserves expanding despite the turbulance in other parts of the world. And, despite the economic slow down in these markets, the Europeans and those from the Middle East are too highly dependent on the Filipino labor force to do tasks they have become accustomed having Pinoys do.

One of the Best Performing Stock Markets in the WORLD:
Have you guys seen the index lately? It's up more than 25% since the start of the year! We have consistently been in the top performance list in the past few years. This will bring in even more investments into the country. And a lot of instant millionaires.

Dr Bernie recounted the contributions of each of the recent past Presidents in setting up the Philippines for greatness:

Ferdinand Marcos: Well balanced source of energy. We can thank Marcos for pushing geothermal and other alternatives to petrol for our energy requirements. Though we are presently still among the most expensive electricity cost in the world, this will eventually come down as efficiencies kick in.

Corazon Aqunio: The strong and stable banking system and the restoration of Democracy. She fought off all those coup d' etat attempts that practically squandered the goodwill generated by the People Power revolution. She prevented our country from falling into the control of a military junta like what was seen in Latin America during that era.

Fidel Ramos: De-regulation, Liberalization and De-nationalization of key industries to drive efficiency and development of key industries and infrastructures. The telco industry is one of the biggest beneficiaries of this move. Singapore Premier Lee Kwan Yu commented during his visit here in the mid 90's that "98% of the Filipinos had no phone and the balance 2% were waiting for a dial tone". This embarassingly true observation inspired a more aggressive de-regulation of key industries. The BPO industry is benefiting from the de-regulation of telco and BPO is one of our main engines for growth in the next few decades.

Joseph Estrada: Modernization of the Agriculture Sector care off the appointment of Ed Angara as Secretary of Agriculture. In their short tenure, Erap and Ed layed down the roadmap for building farm to market roads, post harvest facilities, irrigation and rural development. All this helped spread the wealth as well as grew the contribution of our agri sector in moving the economy forward.

Erap gave priority to Agricultural Development

Gloria Macapagal Arroyo: Gloria helped continue build a massive infrastructure that is yielding many benefits to the country. The nautical highway, SLEX, SCTEX, NLEX and many other projects in the country-side has aided in generating commerce and trade even to far flung areas in the country.

What could derail our good fortune?

Corruption remains to be our biggest challenge. This is probably why President Noynoy is focused on establishing a clean government.

Red Tape is also a damper on our progress. It takes too much effort to invest and get business done in the Philippines. It also provides many opportunities for the corrupt. If we can streamline our processes and not have to go through too many steps to get permits, licenses and approvals, our business activities will grow exponentially.

Vulnerable to Natural Calamities. We sit right smack in the usual path of storms and depressions. This is a challenge we need to get used to or should always be prepared for.

High Rate of Poverty. We need to drive growth in the economy consistently at 6% to 7% to eventually eradicate the poverty that eats up our country. Other countries have done it in the past. We are poised to make it happen.

Dr Bernie is expecting the country's credit rating to be improved to investment grade by or before Christmas. If this happens, then maybe his other forecasts will finally prove right!

The Prophet of Boom,
Dr. Bernardo Villegas

I am keeping my fingers and toes crossed!

Mabuhay ang Pilipinas!

Triathlon will certainly help in jumpstarting the boom. Mahal ng bike, eh.

Avoiding Burnout (from Triathlon and Running)

Let's face it. The sport of either triathlon and running has seen a boom the past 18 to 24 months. The races, whether big or small get filled up soon after registration opens. More and more runners (or cyclists) transition to tri and more and more sedentary people get into running. This feeds into the sport which has taken a life of its own.

Another evidence of my (amature) observation is the amount of races we now have in a year. I don't know if you guys noticed it but there's practically one tri or duathlon each month starting January. And, instead of that one big gathering we have at the annual Subic International Tri, we now have 3 to 4 major "A-races" to join - the K-Swiss SUBIT, the Century Tuna 5i50, the Cobra 70.3 Cebu and of course, Whiterock Long Distance Tri (roughly 70.3 distance). There's also the Tri United series which kicked off in Laiya and will culminate in a Sprint Race in Ayala Alabang in October. The Powerade Duathlons of Thumbie and Popo Remegio are also getting packed and is a race series the tri community looks forward to. Not to mention the almost weekly run races all over the country.

As such, we pour ourselves into intense training almost the entire year. And it's not just the training. Along with this is the scheduling, the dieting, the actual races and the sacrifices that we, our families and friends and sometimes, even our work have to make for us to stay in top racing form (or just be able to do the sport).

I know many, especially the beginners, obsess with the goal of completing the 70.3 Ironman (half distance). It is indeed a great feeling to be part of the unique family of "triathletes" who have completed the half ironman distance. This obsession pushes many to train harder than they probably should. Some go as far as registering for an full Ironman on top of all the major races I mentioned earlier.

This whole year calendar of racing and the training, dieting and self discipline that comes with it literally beats up the body, the mind and even our will. Not to mention causing us emotional distress when the training leads to stresses in our personal relationships.

In my case, I may have pushed it too hard by racing each month at least twice via either a tri, a run or a duathlon. Despite a strong showing in the Laiya Long Distance Tri just 4 weeks before the Cobra Ironman 70.3, I was totally cooked in Cebu (that's my official excuse for my crappy performance - BURNOUT).

The typical symptoms of burnout are 1) lack of interest in the sport; 2) deminishing returns from training; 3) difficulty to train as hard as you did only a few weeks back; 4) Irritability and a general feeling of guilt for not training at top level; and 5) sometimes, intermitent illness either manifesting as a bum stomach, slight fever or mild headaches. It's your body's way of telling you to take a break.

Irritablility is a common symptom of burnout.

Moreover, it takes 3 to 4 weeks for the immune system to recover from a 70.3 Ironman race and 5 to 6 weeks for the Full Ironman. However, the race calendar doesn't seem to allow us to recover fully before we're off again to yet another race. We just usually tough it out and wish that we don't get sick.

After the difficulty of the Cebu Ironman 70.3, I felt the full brunt of a classic burnout situation where I couldn't even get myself to wake up early enough to run, bike or swim. I also couldn't sleep well and when I did I spent the first few days waking up late (6am versus 4:45am).  I enjoyed the life of a non-athlete. It was GREAT! I also put on some weight but enjoyed the feeling of eating anything and as much as I wanted. Until I had to buckle my belt one hole looser.

Even the pros go through burnout. Former world champ, Peter Reid quit abruptly when he realized that he couldn't go on another year of intense training at world champion level. He may be able to still do it physically, but mentally, he felt totally toasted. For pros, the issue is the intensity of the training. For us age groupers, it's the balance of training hard while earning a living, raising a family and our other pursuits that adds to the burnout.

The general prescription of most materials on the subject is generally simple. It's to take a break. For me, what worked wonders is a two week break from any form of hard training. I just did short runs for exercise rather than to be race ready. I also made it a point to resist the temptation to register for any major race that would pressure me to get back into the hard grind. After the two week lull, I felt energized, refocused and raring to go. However, I was careful not to ramp up the intensity and volume right away to where I left off. That would have left me frustrated especially as it is to be expected that I wouldn't be as fast or as strong as when I was in top race form.

It is also recommended to take another 2 to 4 week break at the end of the year. That "book ends" the race calendar with a long break before we start over again for 2013.

Other prescriptions to avoid burnout is adding variety to our program or routine. Do other stuff like Bikram Yoga or surfing or weight training or mountain biking. Join short run races or sprint tris to keep the competitive fire burning without risking burning out.

I plan to take it one year at a time and after not doing well in the last Ironman 70.3, the short but well deserved 2 week gap gave me perspective and prevented a total falling out with this great sport we all love.

Happy Training and see you guys on the road.

My Mom's 85th Birthday

I want to dedicate this post to my beautiful and loving mom.

My Mom, Merced Hernaez Banzon

At about the age of 38, shortly after I was born, my mother was diagnosed with cancer. Though I have absolutely no memory of those days, I can only imagine that it was a very tough, sad and worrisome time for her. By that time, she was a young mother of 8 kids all under 11 years old and married to our dad who chose the glamorous but low paying job of being an officer in the Philippine Air Force.



Mom with her eldest child, Joan our sister.

Mom and Dad with 5 out of the 8 kids.

But my mother is a survivor. Sadness and tragedy was nothing new to her. She lost her own mother at the tender age of 3 and was raised by her Dad - our Lolo Pepe (Jose Hernaez), her elder siblings and her aunts - the sisters of her mother. She is from a wealthy landed family from Cebu and always has a cheerful disposition. So, I can imagine her childhood must have been quite happy despite the absence of true maternal love. Unfortunately, tragedy would strike again after about a decade. World War II reached Philippine shores in the form of the Japanese Invasion and life as she knew it was rudely interupted. She would tell us stories about the evacuations they had to do to stay away from the Japanese soldiers given the 5 beautiful females including herself in the family. She lost two of her siblings during the war. Her sister, Honey who suffered thyphoid from eating dirty ice cream at a small party during a break from evacuating and evading the enemy and her brother, Pepito who was shot by Japanese soldiers as a guerilla. Honey was only 13 when she died and Pepito was barely out of his teens.

I recall her telling me about her prayers and how she marched forward reciting the Rosary on her knees at Baclaran church to ask the Almighty God to make her survive her cancer. She didn't ask God to spare her life. But rather, she asked God to give us, her children a good mother who will take care of us and love us unconditionally. Something she was deprived off as a child and into her adulthood.

I sincerely believe that to this day, God always stops and listen whenever my mother prays. Because, not only did she survive the aggressive surgery and treatments in those days to rid her of cancer, but through our many challenges as a family, small miracles have always happened when we needed it most and in perfect timing.

My mother's name is Merced Hernaez Banzon. She took up law at the MLQU after graduating from the University of Santo Thomas. And though was breathtakingly beautiful and from a well to do family with many suitors, she married for love. She chose not the richest, nor the most handsome or the one with the fanciest car. She simply married the one she loved - my dad who at that time was a debonaire pilot from the Philippine Airforce.

Mom as a law student.

She has kept the promise she made 59 years ago to love eternally as she has stood by my dad through the best of times, to the worst. Through abundance and even through poverty.


Wedding Picture

Thier wedding was a golden moment in time blessed by God as mom and dad had 8 healthy children. And though the large family would put a major strain on our resources and on the marriage, my mother would always somehow pull off a hat trick and, with the help of my dad,  give a quality education for 7 boys at De La Salle and our sister at the school next door, St. Scholastica's. We didn't have the frills and thrills of our rich classmates, but we had more than our fill of caprices and tiny luxuries.

Joan's Graduation at St. Scho

Family Picnic

Rene in his batman sneakers, red socks having simple fun....
grew up to be a chicksboy.....until.....

Mom with three of her kids and three nieces (the Zayco kids).

Many wondered how my mother divided her love among 8 kids. I'll tell you her secret. She didn't divide it. She multiplied her love for us so she could keep her promise to God to love and care for all 8 of us. We'd have our meager but consistent daily allowance and baon for school and when cash would run low, she'd get a lucky streak at the mahjong table which would augment our money. She would stay up all night when we'd get sick and would patiently care for us even for simple toothaches. She knew all the moves and just having her there would make me feel good.

Erwin and Jun - simple fun.

Raoul and Baby

Rene playing near the fish pond inside the house.

The three athletes in the future...who would have thought.

Maximizing the assets....hand me down pants for Jun.
Di naman masyadong bitin...pa.

We had picnics and occassional trips to her hometown in Cebu where we had a chance to visit our relatives and her farm (before Land Reform). We didn't fly PAL. Rather, we were frequent fliers in military planes. We would sit on metal seats along side soldiers, both living and the dead (sometimes we'd ride a transport flight that ferried the coffins of soldiers from the conflict in Mindanao at that time).

Lunch at the De La Salle Taft grade school followed a strict schedule. And when the yaya wouldn't be able to bring our lunch in time, we'd later on see our mother at the door of our classroom calling us out to have lunch. I can still very vividly remember her well dressed and perfectly coiffed hair standing outside the classroom signalling me to come out to eat. And as soon as I come near her, she greets me with the customary term of endearment "hello, tots". That's why she is called Tita Tots by some of our cousins.



Hello Tots

Our main source of income as a family was my dad's military pay check and my mom's earnings as a sugar planter in Cebu. But when the sugar industry collapsed, we found ourselves scrambling for cash to pay tuition. She personally appealed to the De La Salle Brothers to give us discounts or even scholarships given the many Banzon boys who went through the exclusive boys school and our very active participation in sports. This continued all the way through college.

She was our BIGGEST sports fan. She scrounged for money to buy us running shoes and track shoes. She bought the fruits and vitamins that we said we needed to help our performance after reading Runner's World magazines. She would attend all our competition and even if we were on the outer lane on the other side of the very large Rizal Memorial track & field stadium, we could hear her cheering us on as athletes at the top of her voice. Calling us out by name.

Baby during Track Days

One time, when my brother Jomari (aka Baby) ran the Milo Marathon in his teens, she surprised him by being along the run course in the final few kilometers lugging some food and coke in a plastic bag.

We would always rib here about her penchant for singing ballads in the wrong key, wrong tune and even wrong lyrics. Even our family driver, Mang Tomas (aka Horse) would join in the ribbing by saying, "patayin nyo nga ang radio" even when the car radio would be turned off and the only music was my mother singing.

She is happiest when my dad would be home for his monthly visits. She brings out the best food and would patiently still be "waiting on him" like a newly wed bride.

She is also happiest when we visit her and she gets to see her grandchildren. Always insisting on having more food than we can eat for days all laid out on the table. I feel so guilty when ever I miss the weekly Tuesday dinner with mom. And when I am there early, I see her sitting quietly in her couch just waiting for us "kids" to come home to her.

We "surprised" our parents with a grand party on their 50th wedding anniversary 9 years ago. And on that day, I could see that she was really, really happy. We had a video recap of their lives as a couple and all their relatives and friends were in attendance. It was a bit sad that as my Dad's sibblings were still mostly in attendance, none of my Mom's were present. By that time, she was the only surviving member of her immediate family. But nevertheless, her happiness was from seeing all of her children and their families present. That night was capped by a slowdance by Mom and Dad to the song of Nat King Cole. The lyrics where very touching:

"For all we know, we may never meet again.
Before you go, make this moment sweet again.
We won't say "good night" until the last minute,
I'll hold out my hand and my heart will be in it.

For all we know, this may only be a dream.
We come and go like a ripple in a stream.
So love me tonight, tomorrow was made for some.
Tomorrow may never come, for all we know".

Mom and Dad in their older years.....

Over the years, we saw my mother transform from a vibrant, beautiful and charming woman to a frail grandmother. She suffered a fall a few days before her 81st birthday and broke her hip. She had to go through hip replacement and I was the one "available" to keep her company at the hospital in the morning of her surgery. As I walked in at 7am in the morning, I saw her tearfully writing her "Last Will and Testament" in case something would go wrong on the operating table. That was a very, very rare moment to see her weeping. She is tough and always has a happy disposition. I assured her that she would be okay and she soon collected herself and was calm and had a brave look on her face when they carted the bed away to take her for her surgery.

I looked at the Will and smiled. She doesn't have that much possessions. But read that she left me some of her silverware from Rustan's.

More than the silverware though, she has already gave all of her children the gift of lifelong loving care of a great mother, support and confidence in our triumphs but more so in our most challenging moments. She taught us humility and was a shining example of how to love eternally and unconditionally.

Mom with the Boys

Mom and Dad with the kids and spouses.

I am glad God listened as my mom knelt and whispered in prayer.

Thank you, Mom. Thank you, Lord.

Happy 85th Birthday.

"Eat the Pain" at the Cobra Ironman 70.3 Cebu

The tougher the challenge the sweeter the victory.

If the event informal slogan was "EAT THE PAIN", this year's race was a BUFFET!

The 4th installment of the Cobra Ironman 70.3 in Cebu was clearly the TOUGHEST triathlon staged here in the Philippines. A sufferfest on all levels. Unlike the swim in Camsur's CWC man-made lake, the swim in Mactan Shangri-la's Ocean front though luxuriously beautiful, hid the tough challenge of battling against a strong current for at least half of the swim. The seemingly flat and easy bike course which everyone looked forward to, turned to be a challenge even to the most powerful cyclists. Strong gusts of winds for at least 25% of the course ambushed the triathletes quite unexpectedly in the long stretch in the "M" loop each time after exiting the thrilling ride inside the tunnel leading to Talisay. Experts say that riding against the wind is like doing climbs without the hills. You need to easy up on the gears. I'm certain very few did so. I surely didn't. I kept pushing and fighting the head wind. And the run....the run....that extremely painful run. I can imaging loving running the course given the charming countryside appeal along some parts, highend housing in other parts and of course, the seaside run in Punta Enganeo. But doing the run in the 10am to 12nn microwave oven heat?! Napaka-sakit, Kuya Guy! It also hurt extra because I spent all my run legs fighting the wind in the bike course.


Clear Tri Team Ready for Battle

Bahala na yung Corals at Bato!

Swim Start - time to Rock Cebu!

Tita Ting! Fast swim as usual.

Emotional on completing the swim course.

Anthony Pangilinan on the bike!

Ralph Lorenzo along the MFernan Bridge

Shampoo Model and Relay Cyclist Mish on the bike.

Cobra Ironman 70.3 poster girl, Sam on the run course.

Tri Clark John powering to a 5:19 finish

Retzel proving anyone can recover from a
health episode and finish strongly.

Oh, and the psychologically torturing "extended finish line". I thought the tri gods were playing mind tricks on me and kept moving the finish line. I decided to give whatever energy I had left when I saw the sign that said "18km". The zigzagging maze to get to the finish was extreme punishment. I was glad to finally see the ark. And there stood Ernie Lopez, Senator Pia Cayetano and my favorite voice in the world, the Ironman announcer (ano pangalan nya ulit?) waiting like angels welcoming me into paradise. Well, after doing a 70.3 that tough, Sir Ernie does look like a cherub.

But this is why we love this sport. Being able to push ourselves to the limit under the most extreme situations and survive it. Suffer 5 to 7 hours or so but be able to brag for the rest of our lives.

Anyone who finished Ironman 70.3 Cebu , whether in 4 hours and change or 8 hours and 29 minutes can be proud of their accomplishment. True Tri Warriors given the difficult course, the heat and the fact that water ran out in the run course for those who negotiated the race in over 6 hours.

Jubilant Ebbie Baghei welcomed at the Finish by Ernie Lopez,
Pia and the Voice of Ironman!

Top Honors went to Australian Pete Jacobs the defending champion and European Women's Ironman Champion Caroline Steffan of Switzerland. In the local side, gutzy but ever humble August Benedicto took top podium for the male division while defending champ, Monica Torres took the female division win.

Big Thanks and Congratulations to Fred Uytengsu, Guy Concepcion, Princess Galura and the rest of the Sunrise Team who outdid themselves for this event. A perfect venue, a tough but safe course, worldclass logistics and a truly international level sporting event in terms of the Expo, the pre and post events, the race briefing and even the mass on Saturday night. Thank you as well to the Cebu Provincial Government and Tourism Authority for opening up your beautiful city, closing out the traffic and brining out the warm audience to support the tri community.

The Mactan Shangri la served as the epicenter of the 4th chapter of the Cobra Ironman 70.3 here in the Philippines. This laid back and very luxurious, sprawling hotel turned nuclear with energy on the weekend of August 3rd to the 5th. Over 1,400++ triathletes from 20+ countries plus their families, sponsors, friends and supporters decended on the hotel for the event.

Arrival of the David's Salon Team at Shang

Mactan Shang Band + Ironman 70.3 Reg Band...hottest passes in town.

Everyone and anyone into tri were probably in attendance either as athletes or just to witness this monumental event. The race was sold out fast when it opened for registration several months back. The lure of coming to the country's number 1 tourist destination that is Cebu to do our favorite sport and an Ironman 70.3 at that was irrestistable.

Team Pangilinan

Latest cut offered by David's Salon?

Matteo at the Shang Bike Parking lot.

You could see the excitement as early as the airport in Manila. You'd think it was a tri convention center with so many tri cases being lugged by the familiar faces in the sport. The airport was ready for us as ground staff for the airline and the airport were extra friendly and supportive. Wow, Princess and here crew thought of everything.

I settled in at the Cinnabon for a treat after checking in. Here I see Matanglawin himself, Kim Atienza with his family. I really love this sport. To think Kuya Kim just went through a health episode a couple of years ago and here he is, all slim, fit and Ironman 70.3 ready. He did so well, he finished way ahead of me despite my 6 year headstart on him in triathlon.

Quick pre-flight snack at the airport....

Transporting the bike cases was no sweat as the receiving airport in Cebu was well organized as well. Like a production line, the ground crew moved our stuff from carousel carts onto transport vehicles and into our hotels in less than 45 minutes. The presence of Sinulog dancers was an extra treat that gave the event a truly Cebuano stamp!

Quick and Efficient Cebu Airport

Poster at the airport.

The Shangri La Mactan was a luxurious as ever. During my 20 years working for multinational companies, this hotel was a frequent venue for meetings. We hosted the Asia Pacific boss of Johnson & Johnson in this wonderful hotel and to this day, he talks about his most pleasant memory of the Philippines at the Shang Mactan.

Shangri La!

As usual, the registration was both a thrill and so efficient. I always feel so hardcore to be among all the athletes and when I receive the bag containing all the race stuff. The free Cobra, Alaska Milk and Century Tuna products (this time, high end Bangus) is always a welcome treat.

Tri Hard Assasin, Mayi Maligaya with Papa Piolo who did a relay for Timex.

I mixed a little business with the pleasure of racing by going out to see supermarkets to check out the quality of our presence in this very strategically important market. All is well. Century brands have good distribution and are displayed well.

Good to see our products well distributed.

The part I always look forward to is the race briefing. Here you see all your friends and all the teams in their nice t-shirts, jackets, uniforms. The race briefing adopted the use of a video originally done in the last Century Tuna 5i50 Triathlon to show athletes the race course. It was followed by a surprise inspiring video on Ironman 70.3 Philippines defending champion and Ironman World Championship runner up, Pete Jacobs plus an inspiring speech from Pete. Here, we are introduced to the phrase "Eat the Pain" which is what powered Pete Jacobs in his duel with Realert from Germany for the 2nd place finish in Kona.

Century Tuna Tri Hard Team - "Eat the Pain, Not the Lechon!"

On race day, the Shang Mactan served breakfast as early as 3:30 am to accomodate the practice of triathletes of eating 2 hours before race start.

Some of the Tri Hards at the Swim Start waiting area.

We then got ready for the very brutal day ahead. Body marking was fast and once again efficient and soon the beach was packed with triathletes from many parts of the world. There was a big Fil-am contingent and a sprinkling of Japanese, Chinese Hong Kong, Singaporean, Australian, Malaysian, Thai and a few European athletes. One of the most sought after faces was of Jensen Button, the Formula 1 Champion and age group triathlete. Also present were several celebrities from the local showbiz and news industry. Basta ako, Papa Piolo forever!

Jenson Button - Formula 1 Champion and 3rd Place in his Age Group.

Papa Piolo and Papa Magno....

Celebrity sighting - Drew Arellano

The race was a water start which adds to the prestige and "astig" factor. Feeling Kona!. Despite the over 900 athletes in wave 1, I was surprised by the very little banging I got in the swim. I had a clear path for most of the way probably because I avoided the bouys and that the Ocean provided more swim space for everyone. I felt a strong current swimming away from the Shang but this was compensated for by the strong tail current coming back to the beach towards the finish. My swim was 20% faster than usual.

Swim Start Warm Up....

Tri Hard Tony Lu doing a great swim...at last.

I get out of the water at the same time as eventual age group podium finisher, Don Velasco and my teammate, Raymond Ordoveza who are both better swimmers than I am. Maybe all the swim training helped. Both guys however power through the bike as early as km 8 and I soon lose sight of both. I ride with a pack composed of Maxi Abad of Polo Tri, Kuya Kim Atienza, some guys from Fil-Am Tri, Tri Clark and PLDT. My mistake was to keep pushing to achieve my target average speed even during the strong head winds. I would pay for this dearly after the bike ride. A rookie mistake by a 6 year tri veteran.

At transition 2, I knew my race was in bad shape as soon as I got of my bike. My legs were mush. I enjoyed the ride too much that I spent all my legs along with it.

I shuffled and walked the run portion of the race. I decided to "Eat the Pain" and keep moving forward. Taking water showers wherever I could get it to bring down my core body temperature. I got to talk to everyone else who was suffering along the course and we all give each other encouragement. Seeing everyone - both veteran and newbie - warrior on inspired me.

Toughing it out in the run....

Art Ifurung warriorin through the run.

ATM  - Automated TUBIG MACHINE - would have been
handy during the race if I brought change.

Parang hindi napagod....Don Romero at the Finish.

Tri Power couple Mark and Doray

The Don at the Podium once again.
A strong run helps win the race.

Close up of the Trophy and Finisher's Medal designed by Kenneth Cobonpue



Josette Dequina conquering the Ironman 70.3 after
 last year's heart breaking cut off miss.

I also kept going despite all the pain because I knew my 87 year old Dad was at the finish line. He used to watch my brothers and I in all our major races in our youth. We were runners who dominated the track especially in our teen and college days. It's been 28 years since he's seen me race and he thought I could still race at the level he remembered me doing in my youth. That's why he went to the finish line as early as 8am. I crossed the finisher's arch at 12noon plus change. But it was indeed rewarding to see him smile his big smile when I crossed the finish. I had earlier dedicated the race to him and my mom who is celebrating her 85th birthday in a few days.

At the airport with my Dad back in Manila.

So many heroic and inspiring stories were written that day. Everyone was indeed a winner whether on the course or when they got home.

Congratulations to everyone.

It is said that it takes3 weeks for the immune system to recover from a 70.3 Ironman. Load up on the vitamins and rest. Enjoy life with a low training load. Off season began yesterday.

On a sad note, one of our Tri Brothers passed away during the race. Ramon Igana, Jr., an employee of Cebu Pacific and registered in the relay suffered what the organizers says was a Pulmunary Embolism during the bike portion of the race. Let us all pray for the repose of his soul and the well being of his family. The added sadness to the tragedy was that his wife, an ultramarathoner, was his relay partner waiting for him in the run.

Let's all stay healthy and safe.