Powerade Duathlon Leg 3

It’s always nice when you’re joining a race but it’s even nicer when sometimes you just have to be an “audience” or “supporter”. And that is the scenario earlier today when my beloved husband joined the Powerade Duathlon Leg 3 at MOA by the Triathlon Association of the Philippines (TRAP). He also joined the last leg which was his first road Duathlon. Compared to the last leg there were a lot more “duathlete” who joined, and almost all of them are eager and excited about the race. There were a lot of familiar faces during the race, Ian aka Seabiskwit, Pinoy UltraRunners  Hector, Jeremy, Mikey (also of Second Wind), Rico Villanueva aka Sheerwill, Ryan (forgot his last name) just to name a few.

Athletes who joined the race

Erick fixing his things at the transition area

Chatting with good friend Mikey

A briefing was held first informing the athletes of some changes in the route of the race. And started at 6:45AM, the athletes were off to their (2x)3.5K loops from Bradco Avenue to Macapagal Avenue/Coastal Road.

Here’s Erick finishing his first loop. He finished his first run of 7K in 34minutes.

Off to his 30K bike ride

He clocked in his 30K bike ride in 59minutes which I think is not so bad considering he is using a mountain bike. God permits he would be able to buy his road bike in the next couple of weeks in preparation for the Speedo Tri. Leg 4 at UPLB on October 3.

And here he is completing his duathlon with the last 3.5K run in 17minutes. (Thanks daw kay Mayo sa pag pacing sa kanya)

As per his official time-keeper [me], his time is as follows:

RUN1 (7K) : 34minutes

Transition1: 2minutes

BIKE (30K): 59minutes

Transition2: 1minute

RUN2 (3.5K): 17minutes

Total Time: 1hour 53minutes

A thought from me:

I really like the “I CAN DO” atmosphere of runners, bikers and every athletes out there, though in the heat of the morning sun, though you’re the last of group, we try to push ourselves to the limit. No distance bounds us with what we can do, on how long the ditance we can run and how many kilometers we can bike. It’s the CAN DO attitude that sets us apart from others. Congratulations to all the runners, bikers and athletes out there who believe that they CAN! 🙂

TNF100

To those who are taking the TNF100 challenge this week, here’s an update from Pinoy Ultra Runners site which I think would be very helpful to us in preparation for our trail run this coming Sunday:

10KM

Based on the map the 10km runners would be running roughly 30-40% of the course on the Sacobia River.  After which runners would climb a steep hill leading to a flat trail.  Most likely the dirt trail would be established since there are several communities nearby.  It might be very muddy or dusty depending on the rain fall.  After this road a gentle downhill will lead runners to a concrete roads going back to the finish line.  Try to sprint here so you can overtake and get the best possible time.  You will have five water stations, based on my estimates it would be spaced from 2km to 3km apart.  You can bring a hydration pack so you can skip the water stations and finish the course at slightly faster time.  If you’re not a fuel guzzler, a hydration belt with water bottle would also suffice.     Elite runners won’t bring anything, since they want to be as light and nimble as possible.   It may be a 10km distance but since it’s a trail it would feel a bit like 15km or even more.

20KM

Will follow the same route as the 10km but it will extend past the Haduan area where an old bridge is located.  Runners would then climb a dirt road and follow a narrow trail used by the local communities.   Based on the map this trail will be flat but very challenging surrounded by tall cogon grass.  Runners then will reach Gate 4 and exit back to Sacobia river, try to hydrate as much as you can the terrain can sap a lot of fluids and energy.Remember you still have a long way back,  try to stay positive and kick in that second wind.

Bring any type of hydration system (pack, waist, and hand) it may slow you down but at least you wont run out of fuel.  You might also want to bring energy bars or gels giving you that extra energy to overtake the runner in front of you.  For those who are new to trail running the surroundings will really drain your reserves.  The Sacobia river will sap your energy and the cogon surroundings and blazing sun will definitely sap all of your fluids.  The sand will create lots of glare so you might want to bring a pair of sunglasses.  Remember to pace yourself, let lead runners guide your way.  Try to overtake runners before entering a narrow trail and don’t stop during hill climbs.  My estimate is,  20km trail will be like a 25-30km road.

Nice!

Visit the Pinoy Ultra Runner site to read more about this. See you all this Sunday.