2010 - A Remarkable Year

First off, I'd like to greet all of you a Happy New Year! By now, most of you have already looked back and reviewed your progress in 2010 and have defined your plans and goals for 2011. Congratulations and Good Luck to you all!

Last year has been a remarkable year for me as there were a lot of accomplishments and rewards. I have exceeded my target running mileage of 1,000km and have reached 1,666.24km, which leads me to my total running mileage of 2,310.42km. I pegged a total of 2,047.27 km cycling mileage and now have a total of 3,082.27 km. I also logged in 68.75km of swimming mileage. Yes swimming, i'll talk about that in a while.

I have joined a few races last year. I have done only 5 half marathons, and was able to set a new Personal Record (PR) at 2:07:45 during the Greenfield Sunset run in April 2010. I have done only 1 marathon and likewise set a new PR of 5:05:47 which gives me a 37 min improvement from my first marathon. However, what I thought to be my biggest accomplishment last year were these two important races that elevated my fitness level. I have joined the Cobra Ironman 70.3 Philippines, my first official triathlon race and my first Ultramarathon 50 km race (Tagaytay to Nasugbu). I have no plans of doing these two events last year but it just happened.

Finishing the Ironman 70.3 (Half Ironman) in August.

Finishing my first Ultramarathon (50km). Next, 102km!

I recall in Feb 2010, Jay asked, "Let's join the Cobra Ironman 70.3 triathlon", at first I was hesitant since I planned to do this in 2011, and with no proper swimming skills, i doubted it. But in March 2010, we signed up for the event and hired a coach. Then in November 2010, I received an invite from baldrunner, to join the PAU 50k run. Both Jay and I signed up and off we went and conquered. And now, we are both training to do the BDM 102Km in March!

Conquering my fear

One of my biggest fear was to swim in open water. I have no basic swimming skills at all. Being a very active individual since my grade school, I have always looked for an activity/sport where I would engage myself in. One of it was swimming, I never had any formal training. I only swam during family outings and I dont even do a proper freestyle. But during those days, I was adventurous and my positive attitude tells me that I can do it properly someday. One day, when me and my friends went for a swim in UP, I decided to start at the deepest portion of the pool. Thought I was doing it right and that I was progressing, I stopped in the middle not knowing that it was still deep. Then I drowned, I can still recall that I was trying to wave to my friends for help, and they thought that I was just joking, until I sank. Luckily, the lifeguard was there and had me up in no time. That is when I developed my fear in water. So when asked to join the Ironman, I was really hesitant until we hired a coach. I can't even cross a 25m pool at that time, but through consistent practice I was able to conquer my fear and learned to swim in open water and completed the swim leg of the Half Ironman Triathlon. This was one of my biggest accomplishment.

My first open water swim at El Nido Palawan

A new race

It was last year when I entered a new marathon of my life. I have tied the knot with Kay whom I have committed to share the rest of my life with. This indeed was another blessing.

Last year was definitely a good year for me. I was injury free, set new records, joined triathlon and ultramarathon. I'm looking forward to a better performance and a healthy 2011. Here are my 2011 fitness goals:

1. Finish the BDM Ultramarathon - 102km

2. Set a new PR for Half Ironman Triathlon

3. Achieve sub 4:45 hours for a full marathon

4. Achieve sub 2:00 hours for a half marathon

5. Lose 10 lbs this year. Current weight 180 lbs.

I hope I can encourage more people to be healthy and fit and may I be able to inspire others to believe in themselves. Anything is possible, just put your heart and mind to it. Good luck to us all and again Happy New Year!