I was extremely flattered when Jaymie Pizarro, aka The Bull Runner, asked me to pose for the Jan Feb 2010 issue of her magazine. I felt a bit unworthy as the previous covers were Pia Cayetano, Drew Arellano and Tessa Valdes but how could I say no! 🙂
I gamely posed for Ben Chan and answered Marga Deona’s interview and here is the cover photo… can’t wait to see the magazine! Jaymie said it will be out by the 17th.
Thanks so much Team TBR!!!
Filed under Adidas, Pinay In Action, Running, Selected Features, Timex
After all these years, I was finally able to join EX TRI, the Philippines’ longest-running off-road triathlon. And boy was I glad I did! My friend Rizzo had to go out of the country and turned over her slot to me, even lending me her mountain bike shoes (we both have big feet!). I have to thank Rizzo and Anton for those and Ginny Summerfield for lending me her mountain bike…hugs to you!
I was officially adopted by TEAM SABAK for the weekend, and being a group of mountain bikers, they were hands down the perfect group to be with for an event like this. I was able to test-ride Ginny’s bike once in a Sta. Rosa Ride with Tyrone, Ginny and David a week and a half ago to make sure I still knew how to use a mountain bike (last time I rode one was when I joined Carrera-Habagat in 2007!).
Our “school bus” going to La Luz Resort in Batangas included David, Noel, Richie, and David’s trusty driver Rex. We had a long convoy of Team Sabak SUVs with bike racks and luckily we had a relatively fast trip. As we neared the resort I saw the choppy waters and thought, this was going to be interesting…
Eric and his eXtribe Crew gave us the race briefing and we headed to shore soon after that. A lot were nervous because of the waves. I get excited when I see the rough ocean though–as long as it is not too much. This was perfect, I thought. It was a fast swim and up ahead I could see the lead swimmers, Nonoy and Noel in the distance.
The bike was a mixture of paved road and trails and as I settled into a good rhythm (only after stopping to figure out how to use my borrowed CamelBack..tsk tsk, rookie) I found myself grinning. This was pure FUN! I loved the small break from my tri bike, to be honest. I forgot how much I enjoyed mountain biking.
I completed the bike quite satisfied and went on to do the trail run… which might as well have been a roller coaster ride. The first part had no flat portions whatsoever. It was either straight up or straight down. I mean it– I had to resign myself to walking up the hills. Oh well, I thought, everyone else would walk too for sure.
The last part of the run was along the beach, and it was a barrage of rocks and sand, I was a bit slow in my footing as I wasn’t wearing proper trail shoes and I dropped down two places because of this (I count the guys 🙂 ) but it was all I could manage as training on the track and running on loose sand are definitely not the same.
I saw the finish line after the stretch of big rocks and for the second time during the race caught myself grinning again. If only all races would make me this level of happy, I would bottle the feeling up and sell it! I was especially happy because my athletes did remarkably well and snatched the top podium spots. A coach can only be so proud 🙂
Congratulations to all the finishers and thank you very much to the organizers for putting up such an awesome event!!! Thanks to Teddy Tong, Raoul Floresca, and Alman Dave Quiboquibo for the photos.
One of the perks of being a Timex athlete, aside from getting really cool Timex gear, is meeting other Timex athletes! Me and my gal pals Tessa Leana Lara and Lea were bent on having a blast for this particular run, and we did…. and we even saw other Timex athletes on the road, like Team Timex, Coach Rio, Polo Tri, and, ahem.. Piolo Pascual. Not a bad deal eh?
To make the morning even more awesome, we watched the Manny Pacquiao-Miguel Cotto fight in the Timex tent with other runners. It was my first time to watch a boxing match with so many other people, I didn’t realize how much fun it was! Met new friends as well, like DJ Hilary of 88.3 and Leo, whom I always see running in Ultra but was never introduced to. Manny outdid himself and claimed his seventh world title, and I could feel the whole tent bursting with Pinoy Pride.
After this I crossed EDSA to meet up with my family at the Global Pinoy Bazaar at the Rockwell Tent. It was a great collection of Filipino Made products at bargain prices. Kudos to Yabang Pinoy for putting up a splendid display! Pinoy Pride, indeed was the order of the day. I love it!
Filed under Art and Culture, Athletes, Events, Family, Friends, Race Report, Running, Timex
Just present your race bib to enjoy 20% discount on regular-priced Timex watches worth P3000 and above. Get huge savings when you buy a pair of Timex watches. (Offer is for selected promo watches only.) Get the much talked about “I’m running with Piolo” t-shirt for P300 ONLY when you buy Timex items on Nov. 15. Buy UNICEF cards and gifts, and get 20% discount on all Flojos items. Visit www.timexwatches.com.ph for more details. It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas at the 2009 Timex Run. Don’t miss it!
More prizes and awards to be given away at the 2009 Timex Run! A total of 26 Timex watches will be raffled off and given away as prizes for online games and special awards. Visit www.timexwatches.com.ph to join “Guess the Bib No. and Finish Time of Piolo Pascual” online game for a chance to win a fabulous Timex watch. And aside from the 24 category winners of the 3k, 5k, 10k, and 21k distances, we will also be awarding the youngest runner and the oldest runner registered for the event. They will each receive a Timex watch and a gift pack from Nature Valley Crunchy Granola Bar. The largest group/club/team/company delegation will also receive 5 Timex watches as their prize. Christmas just came earlier this year! See you at the 2009 Timex Run!
The fun and excitement never stops at the 2009 Timex Run! Not only do you get a chance to run and take souvenir photos with running coach extraordinaire, Coach Rio, and every girl’s dream boy, Piolo Pascual, but as a participant of the 2009 Timex Run, you also get a chance to watch the Pacquiao-Cotto fight LIVE on an LED screen ABSOLUTELY FREE courtesy of Cignal and Smart Telecommunications. And for only P500 per person, you can enjoy a sumptuous eat-all-you-can brunch buffet while waiting for the title fight in the comfort of an air-conditioned tent, courtesy of Paul Calvin’s Deli. Tables and seats inside the tent are reserved for those who avail of the brunch buffet so buy your tickets ahead of time and get a head start so you can still pick the best seats. Only 500 meal tickets will be available for pre-purchase by Friday, November 6, at Nike Park, Bonifacio High Street until supplies last. But race participants who prefer to eat elsewhere are free to stay and watch the fight as long as they don’t mind the “standing room only” policy for non-diners.
This is just the tip of the iceberg, a mere taste of things to come at the 2009 Timex Run. More surprises await you on race day!
Hello Timex Runners! With the holidays fast approaching, more and more events are being scheduled in Bonifacio Global City. Based on our recent meeting with Fort Bonifacio Development Corporation, we have been advised that fun run events scheduled in the next coming months will have to be slightly relocated in order to accommodate other events. In line with this, we would like to inform everyone that there will be some minor changes with regards to the location of the start/finish area and the 3km race route of the 2009 Timex Run. Please take note that the start/finish area has been moved from 8th Avenue to 28th Avenue. This is the same set up as the Adidas King of the Road held last October 25. Rest assured that although there will be some rerouting with regards to the 3km race route, this minor adjustment will not greatly affect that of the other distances. To view the updated route maps for 3km, 5km, 10km, and 21km, please visit http://www.runrio.com. Our apologies for any inconvenience this might cause. Thank you for your kind understanding. Sincerely, Coach Rio
Tour Of Matabungkay Team Time Trial – Batangas, Oct 24 2009
There are some races which are fun, some which are painful, some which are tough and lonely, and then there is the Team Time Trial. Which I ABSOLUTELY LOVE. Maybe because I love time trialing per se. Or because I love when we all look so professional and slick in our matching cycling kits. And then there are my female teammates. Who Absolutely, Positively, ROCK. I just love being part of this relatively new all girls cycling team and am really proud of what we have done in so little time. We were the first women’s team to cross the line!
Special thanks to Doray for putting it all together the past few weeks, my work as captain was much easier on race day (all I had to do was keep shouting at them, and trust me after coaching for years this comes quite naturally to me by now). Thanks to Rizzo Tangan, Bea Locsin, Tonichi Balaguer, and Mimi Lucas. Love you girls!
P.S. Fitness First Cycling Ladies Team is actually a combination of Fitness First, Polo Tri, and Sabak Tri ladies 🙂
P.P.S. Thanks Anthony Balaguer for letting me use your wonderful photos!!!
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ADIDAS King Of The Road- Taguig and Makati, Oct 25 2009
Today was a great 21k training race, one that I did not expect to have the day after riding hard with my teammates in the Tour of Matabungkay… I was just glad to make it to the race venue before 5am. I drove home late from the race in Batangas the night before to make sure my sponsor would be happy! Sleep I need! I saw Lea Caringal organizing all of her Adidas athletes and after her trusty photog Nesty took some snapshots we hurried to the start line. Soon enough we were surrounded by uber bright yellow singlets and then it was quite easy to stay alert. When the gun went off something inside me woke up as well and even though I had agreed to just run with Joey and Paolo (oops sorry guys) I mindlessly dashed madly with the crowd… something that surprised even myself as I am always scolding my students not to do this exact thing! Hahaha….
Anyhow it turned out to be a good race, I was happily dancing to the music at the aid stations and thanked the cheerleaders for holding up encouraging placards for the runners. I also kept cheering for all the students I ran into. The food and drink were plentiful, which is always important. I was running in 5th place for most of the race and was actually content to stay there til I noticed at the last turnaround that the two girls in front of me were not doing so well. I decided then that I could still afford to pick up my pace a little bit and that was enough to get me into 3rd place. Cool! After the awarding I looked into my goodie bag and found out that I got a Globe Tattoo– way cool!Â
That afternoon after a well-deserved nap I coached the SuperTriKids for their Bike and Run session. What a great weekend!
Thanks Patricia and Paolo for the pics!!!
Filed under Adidas, Athletes, Biking, Events, Fitness First, Pinay In Action, Race Report, Running, Timex
Well it’s been about 10 days now and I have been slow to blog about this race. I was kind of wishy-washy in joining it because:
1. The organization was also slow to update us on the status of the race. I was already on the plane and brief thoughts of “what if I wasn’t properly registered cause my name isn’t even on the site?” popped into my head.Â
2. My heart was not into it because of the recent devastation in the Philippines brought about by Typhoon Ondoy.
3. My training had really been only good enough for a sprint, not a half ironman (my friend Paolo even pointed out to me when I told him this– “heck, more like a mini-sprint!” as he knew of my crazy schedule).
4. My fellow Ironfools Pia and Joey cancelled, for understandable reasons. Our kababayans needed help.
Oh well, you get the picture. Naturally it is not recommended to go into a race with this mindset, and I highly discourage it, but there I was. My only bright spot was that Patrice was going to be there, and I thought to myself well that’s more than enough reason to make the trip!Â
It turned out to be the right decision. It was a beautiful place, a wonderful hotel, and a well-organized race. Being the budget airline kind of gal that I am, I flew in at the God-forsaken hour of 3am, and was lucky enough to be woken up by the hotel cleaning staff just before I missed the free buffet breakfast. It was a yummy spread of Asian food that I loved, and I started to feel good about coming. I went down to register, saw Emma Bishop of TBB among others and we had a nice chat. Later in the afternoon, Monica and LC from our National Team also arrived, followed by Peter the next day. So all in all we were four Filipinos. Although lean and mean, I knew we could still REPRESENT!
I can honestly say that I had fun during the swim, bike, and run portions… even though it was sometimes lonely–but that is long distance racing for you! Being part of the last wave on the swim was not very ideal for me as I had to go through a lot of the men’s previous waves… but I didn’t really mind, I felt like I should be taking it easy anyway. The bike course is beautiful, very nice roads but we had some confusion about the loops, which we gladly sorted out. As for the run, I liked the idea that we were running on the main road of the CBD but there was nobody, no cars, etc. Putrajaya is a new city the Malaysians created to relocate all their government buildings, and since it was a weekend, they obviously had no work. Very Cool.Â
 I thought my time was really slow (okay, it was really slow) but then everyone seemed to be a bit slower that normal too because for some reason it was not a very fast course. But it didn’t matter, I am always happy to race. Happier still was the fact that somehow, I finished first in my category (I suspect it was because of my expert nutrition from Hammer, as I really do not know where else to credit it to). My effort earned me another Clearwater 70.3 World Championships slot, and so I took it, just in case.
My equestrian friends from Malaysia, Nazroff and Qabil, dropped by to see me as they were in the area for a show jumping event. Was glad to see old buddies!
So there it is…another race in Malaysia, another good memory. I like our neighboring country’s triathlon events. I am sure I will be back for a few more next year!
Filed under Adidas, Art and Culture, Coaching and Training, Events, Fitness First, Nutrition, Pinay In Action, Race Report, Timex, Travel
This was an “impromptu half ironman” race, if I may call it that. We decided to join this two weeks before the event, and we were quite lucky to make it. But sometimes the best moments are those which go unplanned. It was quite a productive race (I guess that would mean: 1. Good Results 2. Great Company 3. Yummy food afterwards!!!), with the Ironfools all present and with Che, Nadine, Patrice and Peter joining our happy party too.
Special Thanks have to go to Daniel Sng and Irene Tan of Singapore for lending me a rear 650c wheel when mine decided to conk out. You guys are lifesavers 🙂
Here is Pia’s blog about it: http://mydailyrace.com/myblog/?p=490
Filed under Adidas, Articles, Coaching and Training, Events, Fitness First, Friends, Pinay In Action, Race Report, Timex
I was asked to co-host the Timex Ironman 70.3 Philippines Launch Party along with Monster Radio RX 93.1 DJ Gino Quillamor. I was kind of nervous at first but eventually got the hang of it with the help of Gino and had so much fun! Thanks to Gemma Pagsibigan of Timex for entrusting me with the job 🙂
The bash was filled with filled to the brim with Ironmen and Women, including some of my favorite girls included in the photos here- Tessa, Leica, Team Women’s Health Relay members Lara, Debbie, and Christine. I was happy to be introduced to Marc Nelson as well (which woman in her right mind would not be?) and he gave me tips on how to host the program too.
Thanks so much to TIMEX for putting up an awesome party for the triathletes and for always supporting us!!!
Filipina Ironwoman 