Training Recap

May 2 - May 8

I was a bit off the plan last week and was not able to meet 10 hr training time. I have skipped the weekday run and bike and settled for a 24km run saturday, and a 70km ride sunday. Legs were a bit stiff after these back to back long workout but it was all worth it as I have build a quality workout.

Running

I arrived in Nuvali Sta Rosa at 5:00am (saturday) and started to do my first 2.5km loop while waiting for Cherry and Egay to show up. As I complete my loop I already saw two runners who passed the starting area of our run and I figured that it was Cherry and Egay. I saw Rodney Supangco, also a GRC member and confirmed that it was the couple who went ahead. Rodney and I eventually catched up with the two. Plan was to complete a 24km run while Rodney had to go back at km 6 as he was geared to do a 12km run only. This was the longest run of Egay so far and he felt good about it. Some photos during the run

End or the road? well, we could have run the trail, but we were restricted not to proceed.

Nice shot! I wonder what these two were thinking?

Egay resting as he was about to head back finishing his longest run - 24km

Cycling

Did the cycling workout last sunday. Met up with Junrox at 6am while Al Hebron catched up somewhere around 16km. We used the same route in Nuvali, and did our laps there. It was a good workout overall, a combination of climb and sprint. Completed a 70km ride at 23.1 kph.

Need to catch up on weekday workout. Let's see what happens.

Training Recap

April 25-May 1

Last week was a heavy workout in terms of mileage and training hours (at least an increase from the previous weeks). I skippd the Sunday long run as I felt leg fatigue nearing the end of the week. But I was happy that I managed to maintain a 6 day workout. Below is the summary of my workout last week.

Total Mileage logged

Run : 41km

Cycling : 130.51km

Total Distance : 171.51km

Total Training Hours: 9.28 hours

Monday - easy run

Tuesday - tempo ride

Wednesday - tempo run

Thursday - brick session (32km bike; 5km run)

Friday - easy long ride (endurance training)

Sunday - rest day

For this week, I'm looking forward for a 10 hour training workout.

Training Plan

Running

During the past weeks, I have been trying to do tempo runs and was hoping to break a sub-60 on my 10k runs. I was glad to have been on that horizon and hopefully I get to improve each week. I believe that my training for BDM 102K has earned me enough mileage in improving my endurance. I am now beginning to put in some tempo runs and speedwork in my regimen in order to improve my speed. In the past, I have focused on endurance building and totally forgot about temp run and speedwork. Probably one of the reason was to avoid any risk of injury as I have been on the sideline for a long time in 2009 which caused me to lose running mileage. Good thing I have cycling as my cross training. It's time that I get out of my comfort zone and push myself a little bit and increase my training level up one notch. It is still a long way to go to improve my performance and the only way to go is to continue training. I still need to achieve two running goals this year, a sub 2-hr half marathon, and a sub 4:45 full marathon. Let's see how I progress.

Swimming

After my 70.3 Half Ironman stint here in the Philippines in August last year, I have not put in swimming (and cycling) in my training plan as I focused more on building my running mileage. As a result, I completely lost the proper form and need to get back to the basics. A lot of mistakes in my swim, my arm stroke was not syncrhonized, my kick was wide, had difficulty in breathing technique, and I was not swimming in a straight line. Everything was a complete disaster and I knew I needed to refresh and get back to do more drills.

Cycling

I began to get back on the saddle last month. Started off with an hour of spinning on the trainer to get the feel of it before doing my road rides. Then I gradually started to build mileage on the road and had a two 80km ride during the Holy Week. I have now included cycling in my training regimen, 2 weekday rides, and 1 weekend long ride. Probably I would insert a brick session (bike-run) in one of my weekday rides.

This is how my training plan would look like this week. I hope I can keep up with it (Mon-Wed is done).

Training Under the Sun

Temperature rising! It was so hot since last week, I believe the temperature was ranging from 36-38 degrees. In my morning runs, I can already feel the heat at 6:30am. On weekends, I used to bike and run when the sun is up and it was manageable. But riding (40 km) last Saturday was so difficult as I can feel the heat pass through my bones. It was really exhausting and I have been hydrating too often. Worst, my route had an uphill climb to jamboree in UPLB. I have never sweat that much but I was dripping wet going up the hill. I was supposed to do a 10k run after, but managed to do 4.5km only as I cannot bear the heat and I started to feel dizzy (a sign of heat fatigue).

In this hot weather, some will opt to avoid the sun, while others continue their training regardless of the heat. For some they say it is a good way to test your ability on such weather so that come race day, you are used to the said environment especially if you are racing in marathon, triathlon, or even ultramarathon (speaking of which, I saw one lady ultramarathoner in LB on my way to my bike training at 12nn, I was doubting if I will continue my training but seeing her determined and focused, that got me motivated, I salute her for the effort).

However, we need to be safe also in training in hot weather. Here are some reminders for those biking or running under such condition:

1. Keep yourself hydrated – do not wait to be thirsty before hydrating, make sure you hydrate at least every 15 min. Use energy drink for those running or biking more than 30 minutes.

2. Put sun screen – always good to wear sunblock to protect your skin from UV ray and avoid sun burn.

3. Wear light colored shirt – dark shirts (especially black) is absorbing the heat and will affect your performance as well. I saw one rider up to tagaytay last Sunday wearing all black. Hope he did well, but saw him struggling already.

4. Know symptoms of heat fatigue – such symptoms are dizziness, nausea, fatigue, excessive sweating, difficulty breathing, vomiting, headache, muscle cramps. Try to cool down by foaming water in your head. If symptoms persist, seek medical attention.

5. If possible avoid training in hot weather – try to schedule runs early morning or at night. Do not risk your health, train smart.

Stay safe everyone!

Ready for Condura Run

Another week has passed and I must admit that it was not a very good training week. I felt tired and there were times that I am just not into a running mode. I was not able to follow my training plan to the letter and was 20km short of my planned distance for the week. I guess, the aggressive build up in mileage in the last 3 weeks had me stressed out. I guess it was a sign to hold back and took some time to rest.

There was no bike training last week as well and just focused on running. I did two weekday run (11k each) and one Long Run (21k). Surprisingly, I did get a PR for a 21km run, I finished at 2:24 last Sunday. It was a 10 minute improvement from my best 21k which was during the Ayala Eco Dash held last year. Thanks to Jay for pacing with me. Hopefully I get to beat this time and set an official PR at the Condura Run.

Speaking of Condura Run, this will be my anniversary run as I officially joined run races in the 2009 Condura Run where I ran my first 10km. I was hoping to do a full marathon for this event, but I have been nursing an injury after my first marathon in Bangkok in November 2009 and decided not to risk getting injured again this year. I still have some discomfort in my left hamstring but I am lucky that I can run and managed to build some mileage. I do hope that on Sunday, the injury will not go back and continue training for the next events.

This year, I am glad that more of our employees at CCAC (Concepcion Carrier Airconditioning Company), a sister company of Concepcion Industries Incorprated (CII), are joining the Condura Run as runners. Most of them who are new to running will be joining the 3km race, those who ran at 3km last year are running 5km this year, and some of the 5km runners will do the 10km run. Mike (Aftermarket Sales Director), and Ric (EHS Manager), will be running their first 21km. Hopefully they find running as a means of their fitness activity and becomes a part of their daily routine. I'm sure some, if not all of them will be bitten by the running bug. Meanwhile, most of us in the Gone Running Club will be running the 21k, and 3 of them will be running the full marathon. Good Luck to you guys!

I still have a week to do some easy runs and hopefully no injury gets in the way. I think I am ready on Sunday. Will try to enjoy the run and just let my legs bring me to the finish line with a new PR.

To those running at Condura Run, see you all on Sunday and Good Luck!

Week 4 Training Recap

It was an exhausting weekend and I felt so tired and sleepy after two consecutive days of long ride and long run. I guess I need to look at my nutrition and vitamin supplements. Last week, I have increased my run mileage as planned, did a total of 58 km. I was happy to have followed the distance as per my plan. Also, I was able to do a test ride on my newly acquired road bike (second hand) and did a 50km time trial.

Below was my running workout, I have been running 10k’s in 4 consecutive days. Waking up in the morning has been so difficult last week due to the cold weather. But I needed to remind myself of the Condura Run (where I hope to do a new PR for my 21k run), and not to waste the effort I did in building up my mileage. I was happy with the result last week as I was able to again improve my time for 10k at 1:03:15, this is my current PR for this distance. Hopefully, I get to improve this week. I am close to sub-60 mark.

Date / Distance / Time / Pace / Remarks

Jan 19 / 10 / 1:09:47 / 6:58 / Recovery Run

Jan 20 / 10 / 1:06:57 / 6:41 / Easy Run

Jan 21 / 10 / 1:03:15 / 6:19 / Tempo Run

Jan 22 / 10 / 1:04:40 / 6:28 / Easy Run

Jan 24 / 18.5 / 2:04:37 / 6:51 / LSD

I did my long distance run yesterday with fellow Gone Running Club runners. We planned to use the Paseo – Nuvali Road –Cangolf and back. Unfortunately, as I was about to unload the hydration at the guard house, the guard told me that it was prohibited to run along Nuvali road as mandated by the management (I guess for the safety of the runners). Runners are allowed only to run at the lakeside area, but bikers are still allowed. I will have to coordinate with Nuvali management to clarify this mandate. Anyway, we ended up going to the Paseo-Lasalle-Verdana Route but we were not allowed to enter the second gate going in to Verdana-Greenfield road. So we headed back and use alternative routes since there are many options anyway in the area. It was a good run, I only had brief walk breaks. I hope to improve next week as I felt so tired in the last 3km stretch.

As for biking, I felt a totally different handling on the road bike vs mountain bike. Obviously it was lighter and helped to add more speed. I did a 50km ride with an average speed of 24kph, way off the mark of the elite riders that was training at that time, they were riding at an average of 35-40kph. I needed more leg power to increase the speed, my heart rate was at 80% only and my legs can’t keep up. In time, I'll be able to catch up with the pack. Another week of training, let’s see what happens.

Running and Biking

It was a good workout last week, however, I have slipped a bit on my planned mileage for my running workout, but I compensated in my bike mileage instead. I logged in a total of 7 hours and 46 mins of workout the whole week which includes a 2 hour and 53 mins of weekend ride on my mountain bike in Tagaytay yesterday. Total running mileage was 42.5km and a cycling mileage of 48.5km.

It was a better run for me last week, I decided to push myself a bit and exerted more effort in my 10km run and I was able to finish in 1:04:57. I am less than 5 minutes off the sub-60 mark. Hopefully this week would be a better run for me.

Sunday was the planned long ride with fellow Mountain Bike riders and we decided to take the reverse palace route going to Tagaytay. It was a cool morning and we took off from Paseo de Sta Rosa at about 6:00 am. I was riding with Luigi (Ford), Leo (Avon), and Neil (Avon). I appreciated that we started on time as agreed, no more waiting and setting up of bike. We were just read to go and pedal all the way.

I haven’t had an uphill climb for a while now and found myself struggling and have been on granny mode (lowest gear) on the way up. Sure thing, running and biking are two different workouts. But good thing that my cardio has improved through running. Indeed, I need to do more uphill bike training in preparation to Laguna Loop part 2 (about 185km and I missed part 1). I believe we are scheduling this in February after the Condura Run.

After 15km of ride, we took a pit stop to replenish and hydrate, it was already foggy and rain started to pour, we waited for awhile hoping that the rain will stop as it was very cold already, aside from the rain, it was also windy. As other bikers started to arrive at the pit stop, we decided to proceed since we figured that the rain will not stop. The chillness in the air helped us to climb easily, the road was foggy and you can barely see other riders from a distance.

Another training week ahead to look forward to. Here are some photos from our ride.

At km 20, foggy, raining, and windy. Brrrr! I came from down there and decided to stop a bit to capture this moment.

Still at km 20 looking up ahead, about 500 meters to the Tagaytay National Road.

With Neil while waiting for Leo.

With Luigi, Leo arrived 2 minutes after.

Mileage Build Up

Last week was my 3rd straight week of training without getting any new injury, though I still am suffering from a hamstring tendonitis which was the last injury I had after my first Marathon in November last year. Good thing I didn’t felt much pain during my run and it’s slowly getting better. I was given medication by my doc last week, hopefully it gets better soon. Meanwhile, I have to do some leg strength training to stabilize my run further.

So far, I was able to log good run mileage. Two weeks ago I had a total of 57 km , and last week was at 52 km, plus a 25km ride. You can view my training log at dailymile . Here are some highlights of my run last week.

1. I mostly did easy runs to build up on my mileage. Taking it one day at a time, hopefully I get to improve my pace as I move along. Tried to do some speed work, but I’m still protecting my hamstring injury, so I declined and instead to a steady pace.

2. It was my 3rd straight training last week without any injury (last year my training was always cut to 2 weeks straight due to injury).

3. Running has become a habit already, there was a time that I have this urge to run in the middle of the day while at work. Crazy huh? Well, I ended up running in our village after work.

4. Last Saturday, I did a 5km run and then proceeded with a 25km ride using my mountain bike. Hopefully I get to train using a road bike soon.

5. I did my long run in UP Los Banos (my hometown), had lunch at my sister’s house to celebrate my niece’s bday. My parents were there also, and we all had a good chat. Then went to do my long run in the afternoon inside the UP campus. I finished 16km with a steady pace of 7:00 min/km.

Feels good to be consistent in my runs, I have learned that building up mileage and being consistent is key to better performance. I hope to maintain my target mileage and to have a better performance this week.

Cross Training

The Mizuno run was my first activity after my two weeks of absence in my run and bike training. It was a good run, however, this time I think I injured my right knee. I think I had this on my way down at the Kalayaan Bridge during the Mizuno run. Believing that it was just a sore muscle, I decided to cross train using my bike last Monday (June 8).

I was suppose to do a trail ride in the usual “upac” and “duck trail” in the morning, but since I will be riding alone, I decided not to and opt for the cardiac hill. Luckily, Runner45 (Mhel) and my bike buddies (Zaldy and Ed) planned to train at the cardiac hill in the afternoon and advised me to join them instead. It was raining that day, and I was thinking that they will not proceed but Zaldy confirmed that they will go if the rain stops. Luckily it stopped but it was dark at 4:30 pm.

I then got up and took my bike and ride from my house up the cardiac hill (5km). I was there ahead of them so I decided to traverse the other side of the hill, on my way back, I saw the guys arrived. I took a rest while Zaldy and Ed set up their bike and Mhel stretching preparing for his run. Then off we went to try the uphill climb which is a 1km ride. My knees were just fine and didn’t felt the pain.

This is the first time that I will get a time trial for this training. Will use these data as my benchmark and hopefully see improvements in my next try.

First 5km (house to hill) – 25:46.43
Trial 1 – 1km (uphill) - 7:58.90
Trial 2 – 1km (uphill) - 7:50.63
Trial 3 – 1km (uphill) - 7:57.42

It was good to cross train as I get to exercise without worrying about my knees. Biking definitely has less impact than running, but it helps me to be stronger when I do my biking especially on uphill. Good thing with biking, it helps me improve my endurance and stamina as well.

I tried to join Mhel in his last 200m of uphill run, but I just cant finish it to the top as I can feel the stress in my knees, but the short 200m was a good try. Hopefully someday I would be able to try running the hill as well.