Thanks to our Team Manager Tristan Brown for putting this together… and even though I raced only til March 2011 I still got included in the video somehow

On to 2012… must make my team proud!

2012 Timex Multisport Team

Posted in Racing by Tristan Brown

In 2002, the first Iron Distance Triathlon (3.8km swim/180km bike/42.2km run) in the Philippines was held in Matabungkay Batangas, called the Phil Irondistance 2002. It was organized by First Wave Tri (Raul Cuevas, Ricky Ledesma, Lito Fugoso). The second one was put up a year after, called the Enduraman, organized by Karlo Magpayo and co, held in Subic Bay Philippines.

After a long wait, on Dec 3 this year, the third race of this distance finally came into fruition, and was organized yet again by Raul Cuevas and Bike King. Known as TIMEX 226 because of the total combined distances of the swim bike and run legs, it is the first title sponsorship and banner event of Timex Philippines for a triathlon race (although Timex has been active in sponsoring runs and triathlons both here in the Phils. and abroad).

Anda Beach in Bohol proved to be a beautiful venue, and Governor Art Yap was an equally welcoming host to the 66 participants. There were 63 males and 3 females, mostly Filipino racers with two Singaporeans in the mix.  A total of 6 local teams supported the event, namely Timex TMM (14), Bike King (4), Polo Tri (3), Quest 825 (7), Tri North (3), and Sport Spray (3).

Here are some more quick facts about the race:

• Some of the highly respected names in the triathlon community who joined are Arland Macasieb of Filamtri/ Athlete Octane, Alvin Alindogan of Timex TMM, August Benedicto of PMI, and Neil Catiil of Timex TMM, .
• Aside from Alvin, Rommel Fernandez of 7-eleven Multi Sport Team and Omar Paredes of Herbalife are Timex226  participants who were also present in the 2002 Phil Iron distance race.
• The after-party hosted by Congressman Art Yap was a blast. Bottomless beer, crabs, lechon, barbecue, chicken, and more were served. Among the prizes for the party games were Timex watches, free hotel accommodations in Anda, and free entry to next year’s Bohol Triathlon.
• Second to the last finisher was Jun Cunanan of Timex TMM. He arrived 30 min ahead of Luis Arcangel, the last finisher, but decided to wait for Luis at the finish line. The two of them then crossed the finish line together.
• Alvin Alindogan, who took 1^st place in his age category, slowed down only 19 minutes in his finish time in a span of 9 years since the Matabungkay triathlon.
• Participant Edgar Villar AKA ‘Boy Power’, 61 years of age, biked from Davaoto CDO, CDO to Boholport in Tagbilaran to get to the race venue. He also biked his way to Anda the day before the race! He finished 3^rd in his age group.
• Neil Catiil had to drop out of the race because he collapsed in the 1^st loop of the run course. His body was rejecting his nutrition, and he was 2^nd to Arland in leading the race when he dropped out.

A respectful salute and hearty congratulations to our newly-forged Timex 226 Iron Men and Women! And a big pat on the back to the organizers, Bike King, Timex Philippines and the Sponsors. See you all next year!

Official Race Results:

I had an epidural-free water birth at home, an option I felt most comfortable with. It was a decision that I had to stick with, even in my last hour of labour, which took a total of 25hours. Yes, that long, partly because Dash came out a whopping 9lbs!!! It was pain beyond my imagination, but believe me when I say I did not even entertain getting anesthesia, as I wanted to be really involved in the process, no matter how excruciatingly hard it turned out to be…no race on earth could ever compare to that. TRUST ME. If you don’t, ask my husband, who has done the Ultraman World Championships in Hawaii, which consists of a 10k swim, 421k bike, and 84k run (he placed 8th). To this day he is still in shock about the whole birthing ordeal, haha. He was my rock till the very end though, even when he almost passed out after he saw Dash’s big head come out from underwater. When Deborah, our American midwife, asked if he wanted to cut the umbilical cord, he could not even move his mouth to form any words!

After that it is a big blur of waking up in the middle of the night a couple of times, breastfeeding (ouch. OUCH!!!), changing diapers, bathing, morning strolls, burping, rocking, singing, lots of crying and lots of smiles and laughter.  And here we are.

I write this blog in a hurry while Dash is having his afternoon nap, and it took me umm, 3 hours to make him fall asleep. Obviously we are still trying to get the hang of parenting, but we are fully committed. How can we not be? We are totally smitten with our boy, and am praying that we will be able to raise him well.

Here are pictures of Dash’s first week, and some of our visitors…. thank you for your love always!

To Help the Birthing Home:

After renting for 17 years, we have an excellent opportunity to buy the facility for Shiprhah Birthing Home. A ministry of HELP International Ministries, Inc., Shiphrah Birthing Home is a public home place for birthing families. Shiphrah midwives care for women with dignity and love as we teach, do prenatal check-ups, attend births, check moms and babies after birth, and assist couples in their family planning choices.

You can give easily online at http://meansusa.wordpress.com/donat/. Our Recipient Numbers are: R1613 for General Giving and R1674 for Shiphrah Birthing Home land.