JackRabbit JerseyMan 70.3 Race Report

Wow! It's been a long time since my last entry..... this report might end up to be a long!

Added this to the calendar to serve as a tune up event for the big daddy IMLP which is now only two months away from today.    The day before, me and my brother did a short brick workout 20miles ride and 3 miles run.   I was feeling great, so I was having a hard time holding myself back. 

My day started 4am, took a shower and ate breakfast (bowl of cereal w/milk, toasted pan desal w/ peanut butter and cup of coffee).  Arrived at Spruce Run 0615 and the race is scheduled to start 0800. So Lence and I had enough time to pick up race packet and setup our stuff at transition.   This is only the 3rd year for JerseyMan, so relatively it's not that big compared to the IM brand 70.3s.. But I'm sure this will become a premier event here in the tri state area, paceracing.org did a really great job organizing the race, I will rate this 4 out of 5 stars (will tell you later what I think could use some improvement).    

The transition area atmosphere was very relaxed and the thing I appreciated most was that we didn't had to hustle and battle for the bathroom!!! Then the other FAT members started to arrived, Jasper (70.3 virgin) Rainier, Mark & Kit who did a sprint triathlon the day before (Looneys!)  We all went down to the swim starting area, again feeling relaxed and calm.   This was my 5th 70.3 and I have never felt relaxed like this before.

Photo by: Intense Focus http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/pages/Intense-Focus/146590505401198

My game plan for the swim was to take it easy... Water temps was in the low 60's and  foggy, made it very difficult for sighting, also meant no swim warm up for me since I didn't want to freeze.  The swim was a U shape swim, with the buoys always on our right side.  There were five buoys on the way out before we turned right, then one buoy on the middle before we turned right to head back to the beach with another five buoys.  After the 4th buoy it was very difficult to sight the turn buoy, was to far apart, another buoy would had help.  I kept relaxed, strokes long and smooth, used 2 beat kicks.  When I finally saw the swim finishing chute, I started to pick up my pace a little bit.   Came out out of the 34 mins and change.

T1 - wanted to try out a new strategy that I want to use during IMLP.  Instead of wearing a tri top, I would change into a regular bike jersey because I want to stash all my nutrition, spare tubes and CO2 cartridges.   It wasn't bad but I think I'm just going to go back have a nutrition bag attach to my bike and have all my spare taped to the saddle.  

Got into my bike planning to keep an easy effort, but it's hard not to put in a big effort when the course is hilly .  It was still foggy and the visibility was poor during the first 10 miles before it cleared up.   The bike course is very scenic, we passed along residential areas, open farmlands, the Delaware river, creeks and mountains.   At mile 46 was the final major hill,  I was on my big ring on the front since we were riding flat roads before when we had to make that hard left and hit the climb.  I tried to drop to the small ring but it wouldn't, so I had to get off and drop it by hand.   This was when Mark V. passed me, he was kind enough to wait for me since I couldn't get ride on my bike again until we got to the flatter section.   I was very disappointed, I know I could have climbed that hill but instead I walked!   Overall bike split 3:23, not too bad compared to my Timberman bike split of 3:20 which I think was a notch easier compared to this course.

Bike Profile

    













T2 - changed to tri top from my bike jersey, no issues and started to "run".

The first 2.5 miles was inside the park, started with an older man and he told me he like my pace, I replied back "it's only going to get slower".  I had to stop to pee, so the older man went ahead.   Legs felt so heavy, I was thinking maybe we shouldn't have done the brick workout yesterday.   Somewhere along the course a driver pulled over, I thought he was going to attack me, but he only wanted to inquire how long was each leg, so I replied 1.2 swim, 56 bike, 13.1 run, the driver followed up, is this over TWO days?  I smiled and said we have to complete all under 8 hours!   Finally after mile 5 I got into a rhythm, kept a steady pace until I got back in the park.   I still had over 2 miles to run, but I can hear the announcer on the loud speakers as the other athletes finished.  This was not good for me mentally, I just wanted to get this all over.  I still had a lot in my tank, but I just got impatient because it appears to be almost done but I know I still have over 20mins of running to do.   Overall run time 2:29, I even had a faster split on the second half which I was very happy.

Overall time 6:33:59 almost a 15 minute improvement from my previous 70.3 personal best time.

Thanks everyone for reading and hope to see you out on the road.  Ironman Lake Placid here I come!!!

Special thanks to some friends who came out and took very amazing photos.   They had to also get up early in the morning and waited for us in the park until we finished, you guys are amazing  James Ang from Intense Focus http://intensefocussbr.zenfolio.com/p768692684 and the Leyno brothers Edwin and Edgar http://www.flickr.com/photos/infinititech/sets/72157626782831022/

Unite Half Marathon at Rutgers University

April 18, 2010
8:30 am, 57F Partly Sunny
Official Finish Time 2:02:39

I had so much FUN and a GREAT time running the race! There was so much energy from the runners, it was very well organized, a lot of people cheering and entertaining along the course, and it was a beautiful scenic & challenging course.   Big shout out to Team Brandon http://www.teambrandon.org/  they were able to race enough money to provide a girl with a wheelchair so she can play basketball.

Ok so I started out relaxed and kept to an honest average pace of 9:10min/mile until the 10th mile turn around at Johnson Park (setting a new Personal Best 10 mile distance). But I probably was enjoying the run to much that I lost focus on my nutrition plan which resulted the last 3 miles dropping my average pace to 9:22min/mile. The last 2 miles was a steady incline so that also killed my spirit knowing I was not going to finish under 2 hours.   But I'm still happy with my perfomance considering I had foot surgery earlier in the year and I'm feeling good now coming in the New Jersey Marathon in 2 weeks.

Congratulations to Arland Macasieb finished 13th overall and 2nd in AG after a very tough training week.    Congrats to Lence Dayo and Kit Verzosa for finishing strong despite not feeling 100% well.  Thanks to Agnes Macasadia for waking up early and for waiting for us in the cold, I love you!

I would definitely join this race again next year.  I few things can be improved like more portable toilets at starting area and make the aid stations longer it was very easy to miss getting fluids but other than that I had a wonderful time especially the finish line was amazing and electrifying!

Nutrition Summary

Woke up 5am ate one banana and drank one cup of water.  Drove to Red Bank from Toms River and sipping a little coffee along the way.  Ate another banana, 1 trail mix, and 2 tablets of Multi-V.  Drove to New Brunswick from Red Bank and drank 20oz of GU brew.

Got to the starting area and used to the porta toilets,  I was well hydrated at this point. I took 2 capsules of thermolytes and consumed 1 pack of Sports Beans.   Along the course I drank water most of the aid stations and gatorade endurance at 2 aid stations on ly.   Ate one packet of GU vanilla at mile 6.


Race Data

E. Murray Todd Half Marathon

March 7, 2010

57 F Sunny and very Hilly

My foot was telling me I cant cross that finish line, but my mind & heart told me otherwise.....

This event was suppose to be my 1st race of the 2010 season.  My plan was to guage my fitness level at this stage which is about 8 weeks away from NJ Marathon. But yesterday I had to shift my goals from running a potential sub 2hr performance down to only attempting to finish running the distance 13.1 miles.

Flashback to Feb. 2nd, I had surgery on my left foot to remove a nasty wart. As a result it gave me a big open wound on the bottom of my left foot. So I was sidelined for 3 weeks, no running for me only did some strength exercises and some spinning on the bike trainer.

About 2 weeks before the event my doctor said I can run again as long as I can tolerate the pain, however the weather here in NJ was horrible, it was cold and lots of snow on the ground.  So I started some mini runs on the treadmill.  It was still a bit painful to run, which my body compensated for it and changed my running form and now my lower back was hurting too.

Finally it started to get warm and the snow melting away, so the day before the event it was my first time to run on pavement again. I couldn't even run 2 miles without stopping to walk around Agnes house. Prior to that my longest run so far this year was only 9 miles back in mid Jan.

Ok enough with the excuses and lets get down to business.. The weather couldn't be more picture perfect on race day! Lence and I got to the venue, we went to register and then saw a lot of friendly faces from the Jersey Shore Tri Club and my compatriots from the Filipino-American Tri Club... I felt lots of good energy, everyone was happy to be there and just to finally be able to go outside and play again after a very tough winter season...

Just before the start, I felt I needed to pee again but I decided to hold it! I said a little prayer and off we go...

The 1st mile I was going a bit too fast for my pace, So I had to really hold back or I wont make it. The first 4 miles was so painful and very uncomfortable because I still had that feeling that I needed to take a leak. But finally between mile 4 and mile 5 my foot started to numb and I didn't feel like peeing anymore. Then I concentrated on my form and picked up the pace a little bit. The course is very tough because of the steep hills and the long inclines. I continued to focus on my form and making sure to get my nutrition in, I also kept telling myself not to walk.

From mile 5 to mile 10 I was running in a good rhythm, then right before you enter Thompson park the last 3 miles of the race you have to go over a monster hill. From there it was purely survival mode for me, my pace slowed until I cross the finish but I never walked.

Here is my data from my Garmin http://connect.garmin.com/player/26427474

My foot told me I cant cross that finish line, but my mind & heart told me otherwise so I crossed that finish line http://www.dotphoto.com/Go.asp?l=jsrc05&P=&AID=6109880&IID=233769039#

Mabuhay!

Cerrone

4 Mile Easy Run

Garmin Connect - Activity Details for 4 Mile Easy Run

Shared via AddThis

Rain, Rain & More Rain

Sunday September 27, 2009 was the Newport Liberty Half Marathon, the clouds opened up and it rained the entire time of the event.

Woke up 5:30 am and after an hour Agnes and I were on our way to Jersey City. Got to the race site with 20 minutes to spare for registration and a short warm up! As we were entering the parking building we saw Lence, asked him to get my number to save time. We really should had left the house 30 minutes earlier, now I didn't had any time to fully prepare!

Meet up with Lence, put on my race bib number and champion chip. Tried to use a Porta-a-John but lines were too long, then we heard a staff event member shouting 3 minutes till start time! I didn't really felt like disposing any business yet, so I told Lence let's just go and run. Turn out to be a BIG mistake, more about it later.

Got to the starting line, gave Agnes a kiss and she took our usual pre-race photo.




My initial goal for this race was to break 2 hours which I have never done before. Lence was going to help me achieved this goal. However leading up to this race I got sick and weather conditions were not ideal. I told Lence let's just see how things go and how I feel but I will still try to break 2 hours today.

Mile 1 - was our warm up, we passed Rainer Dones and his wife! Congrats for toughing it out there!

Mile 2- pace picked up to 8:30min/mile, too early & too fast had to pull back to 9:10min/mile.

Mile 3- had to stop 5minutes @ a McDonalds and dispose my business, couldn't wait to get back to the finish line anymore. This is why getting to race site EARLY is really important, so that this kind of things don't happen. Told Lence just to conitnue and I will try to catch up with him later.

Mile 4 breaking 2 hours was going to be really tough now! paced picked up and was too fast 8:41min/mile. I saw a woman wearing a sign at her back "Seek Ye first the Kingdom of God" as I was passing her I shouted "Amen Sister" and she smiled back!
I ate one GU Roctane followed by water.

Mile5 I got lucky race marshals stopped the trains from crossing, but right after I passed the tracks they let the trains go by as a result some runners had to stop a for a minute or 2. That would have been more time lost for me, yikes!

Mile6 we were now inside Liberty State Park, lot's of puddles and mud run. Race clock read 1 hour and change, calculated I have to run less than an 1 hour for the next 7 miles to break 2 hours, it wasn't going to happen today so I changed my goal to finish less than 2:10

Mile 7 in the zone, after the pit stop @ mile 3 I was just passing a lot of runners and I wasn't being passed. This felt really GREAT!

Mile 8 dropped my Endurolytes tablets, grrrrrrrrrrr..... Good thing the aid stations were now serving Gatorade, so I switched to Gatorade from H2O.

Mile 9 caught up with Lence and saw Joanne Jager on the other side, words of encouragement were exchanged. I was feeling fatigue now, I guess dropping my nutrition bothered me mentally.
Ate another GU Roctane followed by water.


Photo courtesy of KenShelton

Mile 10 & 11 recovery run but still was passing a lot of runners and not being passed!

Mile 12 & 13 picked the pace up again just enough to finish within the new goal time.

Our official time was 2:09, no PR today but it was still a new Course Record for me. So it didn't turn out to be a total lost anyway. There will be another day to break that 2 hour barrier for me.

Thanks to Lence for dragging my butt and of course to Agnes for her Love & support, waking up early and waiting for 2 hours in the cold and rain is just has hard as running 13.1 miles.

For the geeks you can check our splits by clicking HERE

Thanks for reading!

Mabuhay,
Cerrone

Fil-Am Tri Club Ride/Picnic

Long Island, NY September 19, 2009
Sunny & Clear 70F

Thanks to Andrew for organizing the ride & picnic.... 30 strong Filipino riders came out for a beautiful day of riding, eating & playing.

Enjoy the Video

Monmouth County Park Sprint Triathlon

I made the decision to participate in this race only the night before. This race has been one of the oldest triathlon events in the Jersey Shore area, it's the 25th annual sprint triathlon @ Seven Presidents Park.

Coming into this race I had no real training, it's been 3 weeks now since Timberman 70.3, so I'm hoping there is still a little bit of fitness left that I gained from all that Ironman 70.3 training. My goal here was just to enjoy every bit of moment for my the Last triathlon event for my 2009 season.

The race was scheduled to start @ 7:45 am and registration @ 6:30am. It's about an hour drive to the park from my place, so I set the alarm clock on my cell phone @ 5:00 am. I was deeply asleep and I thought I was dreaming when I heard somebody calling my name, it was actually my mom waking me up, it's 5:30am!! Oh no gotta hurry now...... So I got to the park with about half an hour to spare, still needed to register then setup transition, I kept calm and just did everything I visualize while driving to the park (Note: I firmly believe in visualization training is really important too!)

The swim was 1/4 mile long, but the waves that morning were like 8-10 feet high! Definitely a good morning for surfing and not much for swimming. It was hard getting past the breakers but I gotta admit it was also a lot of fun for me though, I like the feeling riding up those waves... Anyway click on the link to see the details from my Garmin http://connect.garmin.com/activity/13254176

Now the bike was a 12.5 mile flat and straight away course, there were some head winds on the first 3 miles and the final 3 miles that definitely slowed us down. Choice of nutrition on the ride was Gatorade Endurance Formula mix, 2 Endurolytes & 1 GU Roctane... http://connect.garmin.com/activity/13254180 (I forgot to pressed the lap button until about .5 miles into the course).

Onto the 3.1 mile run, the course on the boardwalk along Atlantic Ocean, very beautiful!!! started out easy and stayed relaxed, got to the half way turn point and popped another 2 Endurolytes tablets... Then I saw Lence only a few meters away from making his way to the half way turn around also. The race was on for me, I wanted to test myself and see if I can hold him off.... I picked up my pace and increase my leg turnover. With about 3/4 miles to go to the finish line we were running shoulder to shoulder, picked up my pace and attacked, Lence responded, I relaxed a bit and then I tried to attack but Lence responded again, with about 1/4 mile to go he finally passed me and I was done.... Maybe next year! http://connect.garmin.com/activity/13254183

Thank you all for reading!

Mabuhay,
Cerrone