The Lion and the Moray

I've been to Laiya, San Juan, Batangas for quite sometimes but I've never knew that it is a marine sanctuary. I had never gone diving nor snorkeling around either. Luckily today, after we had our ocular inspection for Dec5's Ex-Tri, I had the chance to get close to the marine life and come face to face with two awesome creatures down there.

A small lion fish and a moray eel are a resident of a hard coral about 15 meters away from the shore. This was the closest I've been to these creatures.

Thanks to my diving gear and my Olympus camera.

But hey! No one pulled me towards the resident Sea Turtles! Anyway, there's still December 5.

White Rock Triathlon '09 (I look good in a shirt)

Just arrived at the haunted conference room. I was clueless about it until Jason told me an hour after. Then I couldn't pee nor brush my teeth. So I just decided to sleep and do it the next morning. Hahaha.

I never thought I'd look good in my shirt (and UWH Bootcamp baller)!
Under the Start Arch. 6:45am, I blew the horn.

After the swimmer's gone. Packing up the cones. That's me and Anina heading for some post-swim briefing and finisher area preps.

Working those muscles. Doing some job in the finisher area.

I didn't come out of the box. My heel needs an ice compress. The plantar is aching!


Strong finish until they crash! A towel after a cold ice sponge bath. Wish I had some.

Indeed, we had our own ice sponge bath, like kids splashing water after the last finisher arrived. Well, most of us are still kids, and kids at heart. :-)

Awarding night.
Posing before the arch that we had transferred from the field to the stage. It was quite a task.

Party! Party!

The poses are just so inviting.
In the wave pool, the next morning. Why do these boys want to spread their legs wide apart?

The sun was such a nice treat. A big group pic before half leaves for Manila. I went back sunbathing after this shot.

a weekend that Rocks

The warm sunlight and cold wind on my skin told me me what I had been missing with staying a lot in Manila on weekends.

I was in Subic this weekend (since the very first seconds of Friday, October 6 til Sunday, October 8), not for my usual vacation, but for a triathlon event. A stranger would easily assume that I'd be in this place to join the competition. But hardly would I.

White Rock Triathlon 2009 marked my first year with Extribe as a volunteer. While this year, we were down to half of the numbers of participants from last year, the race was still, well organized and the athletes were well taken cared of (at least from my perspective, and from what I've collected from the finishers). I'd say, after one year, I've internalized my role as a race volunteer, and as a part of the organizing team. The fact that I've ran my own races, a full-marathon worth noting, and have seen other athletes crash to the finish line, made me realize that giving participants a good experience makes a GREAT race - one that is worth the second try.

Amongst my job designations this year, I think I loved being in charged with the finish line most. It is where you'll see the athletes pump more adrenaline to sprint towards the arc that says "FINISH". On the other hand, their entrance, or shall I say, grand exit, were no less than walking, or a steady pace. Some would crash as they cramp just after they pass the arc. Yet, on another more lively display, some passed the finish line dancing out of joy. A great spectacle for my eye worth mentioning, was Javy Olives doing his headstand under the finishing arc. How impressive?! I recall imagining myself doing the same thing!

This year, majority of the finishers, finished strong. Everyone in the finish line were welcomed with water, their finisher medal, and some cold sponge bath! I can tell how much they've enjoyed it. With this, I knew just when and how to give them their finisher towels.

Some of the finishers have stayed in the recovery area more than I expected - more than how long they've stayed there last year. Some faces went back to us to extend their gratitude for taking care of them. Some even couldn't help but cry. I just loved hearing one finisher saying "everyone is happy." Indeed, hearing that already made my day.

After we've given the last finisher, my friend and my buddy run partner, Jay, the cold sponge bath he deserved, we, some of the volunteers have given ourselves the same treat! We were like kids chasing each other with some wet pink sponges. We quiver, shout, and laugh as we feel the cold water touching our skin. It's fun playing after working.

A morning sun bathe was my own reward for the weekend's work. I love the sun and my tan, just as I love seeing athletes having a great experience in our races.

October 25

I swear the heat in Manila is nothing but enjoyable. I get headaches specially at night. Damn it. How come early mornings and past midnights are a different story?

I was enjoying the cool morning breeze by the balcony of Magnet Cafe in Bonifacio High Street. The entire cafe was empty if not for us Extribe, underwater hockey peeps, and friends. "Definitely Christmas soon!" I kept on telling myself and my friends.

The breakfast was pretty neat. For 160 pesos, I've had corned beef, egg, garlic rice, and some tea (which I gladly traded for coffee). The waiters were all friendly and accommodating. The space, and view were all worth the reasonable cost.

When I said breakfast, I was referring to "Runners Breakfast" - which was, true to it's name a breakfast for runners. Indeed! We just had a 10km run. Our little group queued at the end of the file. We were composed of mostly first timers - race volunteers, organizers, and friends. We enjoyed the brief time when the road was all spacious for about 10 of us. I had to be a little playful as I pretended to be running in front of a squad of 'my bodyguards'. This, I enjoyed much. Haha.

Relaxed pace got me to a time which is about 5minutes longer than my last 10km run. My last one was a bit on the competitive mode. So I guess I may have done so much better this time. I'm feeling some pains in my left leg and foot. I'm dreading of something serious that might stop me from running. I hope, just for a while. Might be stuck to swimming and underwater hockey. But it doesn't sound bad at all. Except that all the cute boys are apparently in the streets - running!

Right before lunch time came. I had eggs and a bottle of Colt45. I needed some strong kick as I couldn't seem to settle on my bed. It happens a lot after a race.

Evening falls and I was contemplating on getting another bottle of beer. It is really hot and I was hoping for a rain or get a little tipsy. If I rely on intoxication to get to bed, then maybe I'd end up as an alcoholic should the heat stay for more than two weeks more. Not getting a beer belly sounds like a good challenge. But let me think about it.

It's almost 11pm now and I can't seem to hit the sack...

Beer? Chat? Porn?
I must be running out of bright ideas.
Boys out there, any help?
My hand is tired already.

For the record

The weather's been so hot lately that even brushing my teeth gets some sweat to lump in my forehead at night.

I did a 25 minute run in the treadmill this evening: started on 5.5kph@1% gradient pace up to 5.5kph@7.5% gradient in 4 minutes accelerating to 8.5kph in 5 minutes; accelerate to 12kph@1% gradient in 2 minutes; 12kph@1% gradient for 8 minutes; 5 minutes to decelerate to 5.5kph@1% gradient; and 1 minute 5.5kph@1% gradient. After 20minutes of stretching, I did 500meters swim (in a 20meter pool) for 00:14:26.

I thought that if I continued my roadrun and treadmill training, I'd be able to sustain 10minutes of 12kph pace in 1 week. Then maybe endure 10 minutes more in another week. In about 3 weeks, I'd be able to stand 25minutes of 12kph in the treadmill. Tell me that I'm shooting too far?

The other night, I did 20 minutes of run in the treadmill, 3 sets of clean-jerk-arnold press, and 3 sets of another sort (it's been difficult finding the proper name for the compound exercise that aims to get a full sweep of your back muscles through an upward jerking motion of one arm holding a dumbel). After that I finished a 500meter swim in more than 16minutes. Tonight's 500 meter is almost 2minutes improvement from the other day. I aim to finish 500meters in 12 minutes in 2 weeks. But the water in the gym pool is just soooo warm! It gives me headache after 400meters. I wish their thermostat bust soon and leave no swimmer around. LOL.

It's just so hot lately. Have I told you that?

While I am trying to finish a bottle of Colt 45 at this very minute, my iTunes has played one particular song for a hundredth time - "Nobody's Gonna Break My Stride". Did I say I'm finishing a 500ml of Colt 45? First time eh?!

The last time I drank, I had two bottles of Cerbesa Negra. For more than a minute, I forgot that I was having a swollen body from gym workouts and aggravated pain from a claustrophobic wisdom tooth coming out. Where the hell can I get some Cerbesa Negra? Colt 45's just so bitter. But it makes me tipsy anyway - and I'm loving it. My body might be thankful for a couple more calories after a hard workout this evening.

I'm tipsy and I'm loving it.
I'm loving it.
If only I'm not alone in my bed tonight...

Ooops! I think I'm crashing right to my bed now.

Til the next bottle!

Marie Antoinette Moi

My iPod was playing Michael Jackson's Happy when I heard my phone rang. A strange number registered. Then a lady's voice spoke over...

"Good morning! May I speak with Marie Antoinette Bernardo?"

I had like three years of experience receiving calls from agents trying to sign me up for a credit card. Most of those times, the caller got my name right and for the record, made me sign up for 3 more credit cards. Yeah, tell me about it - I had 5 credit cards back then!

Yes, my gut told me it's the same credit card call. So I just said, "sorry, wrong number". So it was, but the same old story - end of the conversation.

What if I had answered, "Marie Antoinette, speaking!" Maybe it would have made my day better! I'll keep my voice low next time I get a call.

A competition is born

Last month, luck was on my side when I happened to pick up an old pair of grey Ala after our underwater hockey game in Celebrity Sports Complex. The old damaged piece (the ribs are already tearing) of all rubber flippers were supposed to be given to the newbies. Thankfully, no other feet fit on them - except for mine!

Last night, I had an informal race with two other who are running on a different fin. Junvie has been playing hockey with his Mares Avanti Quattro Powers maybe around 6 years. Kelvin has just finally adapted to his brandnew carbon fibre Breier fins a few months back (Kelvin had been using Quattro for a year before his big upgrade to Captain Nemo and Breier). I had been using Quattro for more than a year till I met Ala. We had three sets of underwater sprints on 25meter length and 25meter recovery swim-back. In all the three sets, Kelvin was ahead of me by his entire body and fin length. I think Junvie was abreast me, if not a little behind.

Last time we all did the underwater sprint drills were a few months back. I'd still take the lead with my Quattro. However, I do recall that Eric could overtake me with his Captain Nemo. After last night's drill, I was wondering if I got a little slower because: of my sore legs (fresh from last Sunday's run); my legs are still adjusting to my new fin; or my fins are just too soft already.

Maybe I need a fin upgrade.

But hold it! Fibre Glass/Carbon Fibre fins may be really good but they're pretty EXPENSIVE. They're 40% and 20% more responsive than plastic. Captain Nemo and Breier are roughly PHP 8k and PHP 14k respectively including all costs. There's a premium on the fit for fibre based fins - as snug mean efficient. For asian foot, I've heard that Captain Nemo foot pockets are a bit too wide. Breier's are 100% snug.

The new Legends Fin are estimated to be above PHP 11k inclusive of the shipping (pre-order cost is 121 British Pounds) . These are manufactured with three different rubber which should reinforce the form of its ancestor - Technisub Ala.

Considering element and weather, Fibre Glass/Carbon Fibre fins hold better promise as they will withstand degradation due to temperature changes and chlorine - the Waterloo of rubbers. However, older versions of Breier are known to be breakable. You can't stand on it, nor kick off the wall. The current ones, they say, have been reinforced.

Eight, 11, 14 grands are not easy money. Though, once I got my 13th month, I could already get several of these fins. But what the heck?! Japanese players sprint like agitated piranhas, overtaking fast players kicking on the accelerating Quattro fins - and yet, our Nihon counterparts are only sporting their Speedo fins (read: cheap, uber soft, non-competition)!

OK! I have just slapped my own face.

Right! I could wait and train before I deserve an update. I'll keep my money for Colombia 2010!
Woohoo!