Cobra Energy Drink IRONMAN 70.3 Asia-Pacific Championship Cebu Philippines

For the first time, the IRONMAN 70.3 Asia Pacific Championships are being hosted outside of Australia / New Zealand, in Cebu Philipines. Known as a must do race for the region, the race sold out in 30mins, and this year had a total of 3000 participants.

I signed up for the race as a package with Danang, Vietnam, as I pulled out last year due to the arrival of my baby son.

I sustained a misaligned intermediate cuneiform (a bone on the foot) after my Danang race, and was barely able to walk properly. Thankfully, Hanniel Lim my physiotherapist managed to get me back on my feet in a month, and I could finally run again.

Foot all wrapped up for support

I did only a 8 week training block for this race though, but somehow I didn't feel very focused thru it and there were various schedule shuffles and missed sessions. So I knew I wasn't in the same form before this race, as I was before Danang. Well just had to do my best with what I had.

A few of us were on the same flight into Cebu on Friday morning, the flight was full of triathletes. I wondered if our bikes would make the flight in. One stopover in Davao, and we arrived in Cebu at 14:35. 

Wefie at Cebu Airport!

Thanks for the bikebox Abel! Bike arrived safely!

Waited anxiously for our bikes but they all came thru with no fuss, although mine was the 3rd last. Waited a while for our transfer to the Movenpick hotel, on the way there, the roads were jammed and we were stuck in traffic for more then an hour. Finally arrived at the hotel, we were very hungry and proceeded to the restaurant as our first order of business. The food was pretty good and after we were fed, we dumped our stuff in the room and proceeded to race pack collection.

One of the reasons this race was so popular is the race expo and the race pack. The expo was huge, with more stalls then I had ever seen at a race expo. Besides a whole ballroom in the hotel, there were stalls along the pathway leading to the expo. Mostly prices weren't very good, though I heard there were very good deals on bikes with Argon 18s going at half the price of Singapore.

The race pack was called a loot pack, and was a huge yellow back pack style drybag. Inside were Cobra drinks, snacks etc etc. Particularly useful were small bottles of alcohol, which would make removing the race number tattoos easier later.

Race pack collection

After collecting our race packs and browsing the expo, we proceeded to the carbo loading dinner. It was a festival like atmosphere, with music, dancers, fire dancers and what not. Seating was limited except on the grass, and food selection wasnt very wide either. We werent feeling very hungry so we decided to pack the dinner back to the hotel. It had started drizzling so we walked back with food and race packs, and bought some 4l bottles of water on the way.

The awesome loot bag

Back in the hotel it was time to assemble the bikes. No issues there and the bikes were assembled pretty fast. My rear brakes were a bit loose and out of alignment though, fortunately tightening the calipers helped to keep them in alignment, but they still felt rather soft.

We had our packed dinner and it was time to sleep.

Day 2

We decided to join the bike out recce and familiarization swim the next day. After breakfast, we decided to just do the swim at the hotel's private lagoon. Hey it was just less then a km down from the actual swim course so conditions couldnt be very different. There was a floating pontoon at the end of the lagoon which we swam to and back, a distance of about 75m. After the swim, we went up to change and headed for the bike out.

Awesome private lagoon

Great view from our hotel room

Test swim done!

This would actually be the first time I was joining a race organized bike out actually. There were quite a lot of people and the route took us thru Mactan Newtown and up the Marcelo Fernan Bridge, before Uturning. Winds were rather strong, I found the climb up the bridge ok but could feel my front wheel twitching on the downslopes with the crosswinds. The roads were quite rough too and on the downslope of the bridge, there were a lot of spares and bottles ejecting from their various carriers on the bikes in front of me. Flora and Elaine had caught up with me during the ride and we kinda cycled together all the way back to the hotel.

Picture before our bike out reccee

The Shangri-La pulling out all the stops for the event

Waited a while for Fiona and Yuxuan and not seeing any sight of them, cycled back to the hotel to look for them. Sure enough they were in the room, and we went out for a recce run. It was now very hot, Flora had said don't run just rest and hydrate and it was very tempting to do just that. However we just went for a short 10min out and back to find our legs. I found the run route to be very similar to Desaru, with its enclosed road and rolling slopes. Thankfully, the slopes were nowhere as tough as Desaru though! We finished our run, showered and had lunch at the hotel. Rested a bit and headed back to ShangriLa for bike check in and the race brief.

The weather was turning dark but fortunately Danny Goo's slot in transition was beside me and he had left some trash bags to cover the bike for me. Thanks Danny! 

Thanks Danny!

The busy transition area during check in

The brief forecasted good conditions in the swim and bike leg, though strong winds were expected. There was an 85% chance of rain on the run leg, which was greeted with cheers from the crowd. However we were reminded that weather forecasts were only an educated scientific guess...well we will find out tomorrow! Pokemon Go had just been launched and we spent some time waiting for the brief to start catching some Pokemon.

A wild sandshrew appeared!

We had dinner back at our hotel, showered, packed for the next day and applied the number tattoos on each other. Someone got the first tattoo wrong and I ended up with only one for my legs... So finally we were all done and ready for our big day!

Helping each other apply the tattoos

Race Day!

Swim

The swim was a straightforward rectangle clockwise swim as usual. Again, it was self seeded into different timing pens. I do wish people would be honest with their swim times. We chosed the 30-35min pen and it was quite obvious there were a lot of people around us who weren't in that kinda timing. It makes for a better race for everybody if only they would self seed accordingly.

before swim start...Roka!

It took about 20mins from the first Age grouper start before I entered the water. Entrance to the water was rocky and full of corals and I floundered around as I was afraid of getting cuts. With the rocks and corals it was impossible to kick as well. I learnt after the race the trick was to just pull yourself along using the corals until it was deep enough to kick.

The crowd in the start pen

After the first turn buoy, I spotted a familiar figure gaining on me...shit it was Yuxuan! We had a rivalry going on in swim since Danang where I beat her by 5 secs. Seeing her, I knew I was at least 4secs down as I knew she had started after me. It was game on!

Beautiful sea

We matched each other stroke for stroke and were always in sight of each other. Breaststroking thru the next turn buoy I shouted Basket! at her, which she didn't hear. Her face was very serious and focused as we continued on. After race, when we were talking about it, apparently we both were having the same thoughts. We both didn't know whether to laugh or curse at each other, to both of us, the other looked very serious, and we were both hoping each other would give up the chase. I did lose her for a short time and just as I wanted to relax, I saw her chasing again!

The last return stretch of the swim was a bit choppy and finally ended at a slippery ramp up. I reached the ramp and headed out to T1 without seeing Yuxuan. A quick glance at the watch and saw 40mins, a PB!
(in the end Yuxuan would beat me by 7secs for swim, escalating the rivalry and continuing to provide lots of amusement for us and our mutual friends)

Heading to T1

T1

It was a short run to T1 on carpet over gravel. Could still feel the rocks and pebbles though. A quick spray of sunblock and I pulled on my helmet. During set up earlier, I found one of the tabs to keep the visor of my helmet in place had broken. I had hoped it would stay in place. Putting on my helmet, I grabbed my bike and headed out. However the visor was loose and reaching the corner of my transition area, I decided not to take the risk. I put my bike down at the corner and ran back to my area to take out the visor and grab my shades. Ran back to pick my bike and headed out....and realized there was a queue to exit T1. Yes a queue maybe 20m or more long. First time I had to queue to exit transition...

Queuing out of T1

Bike

Finally reached the mount line and headed off! I focused on keeping my power around 50% ftp and found that heading out I wasn't going very fast. Headwind had picked up and roads put of town were a bit rough.

I found myself crawling along at less then 30kmh, so after eating my trusty Bonkbreakers and 2 electrolyte tablets, I increased my power to about 70%. Reached the bridge and climbed comfortably but on the downslope was hit by crosswinds and had to slow down. After that it was a grind all the way against the strongest headwinds I had experienced.

Heading down the bridge...scary!

It was demoralizing grinding out so much power for so little speed. I gambled that with a head wind, there should be a tailwind and hoped the tailwind would be as strong. There were crowds lined up along the road and many children hoping you would throw your bottles to them. 

The water points were quite crowded with many people stopping so it was a bit tough to roll thru to grab bottles. I grabbed what I could,  focused on my power and grinded on.

Finally reached the U turn point and I knew I had to make up for lost time. Thankfully the tailwind was as strong as the headwind and I could hit 40kmh on 60% power. I maintained as fast as I could all the way back, but down-slopes on the viaducts and tunnel were risky with crosswinds and I could only do 30kmh there.

One more U turn and a fight against the wind again... I couldn't wait for the last U turn and to fly back to transition. On reaching it, it was pedal to the metal and try to make up for lost time. I finally made it back in a shade under 3hours. Phew!

Finally reaching T2

T2

Fortunately there was no queue into T2, i was relieved to reach it. Ground was rocky though and made it hard to run on cleats. I stopped halfway and took off my shoes. Reached my transition area, bike racked, helmet off, socks and shoes on, cap and shades on. Sprayed more sunblock and Salonpas quick pain relief as I had felt a twinge of cramps on the bike. Then it was off.

Run

The run would go thru the narrow roads of Punta Engano, where the local community will turn out in force and line the streets. It was very hot and humid though and it affected me straight away. I slowed myself down but by the 3km mark, my heart rate was too high and I felt I was overheating. 

I broke one of my own rules about drenching myself and did so at the 3km water point. I knew I needed to cool myself down. It meant though that my socks and shoes would be soaking wet and heavy and blisters would threaten. After drenching myself with cold water, i felt better but kind of regretted it once I started running. The soaked socks and shoes were really uncomfortable, and would produce some blisters later!

Hot humid and stuffy

I had decided to use my Hoka One One Clifton 2 for this race as I didn't want to risk injuring my foot again. It is an excellent shoe with great cushioning and support. However when wet...well I suppose all shoes will feel heavy soaked.

After the 3km mark, we reached the area known as the microwave. While before it was hot humid and stuffy, now it was HOT. Totally exposed to the sun for the next few kms. Where was the rain that was forecasted?! On top of that there was a very strong wind blowing, but the wind did nothing to cool you down. I was down to walk run by now and fought on.

In the microwave...no shade!

I saw Yuxuan as I headed back thru the town and she asked if I had seen Fiona. I said no and ran on hoping I would see her. Sure enough a bit later I saw her and I felt really happy for her...she was going to make it!

The run was a two loop course and soon it was time to U turn. Andrew Patterson caught up with me then. He's a great guy to suffer on a run course with, as he always has a joke to help you forget your pain.

We were in the middle of town, there were crowds along the street and loud music blasting. Andrew suddenly asked me to look there! There was a transsexual twearking and twirling her hair....oh man....it was a sight that could not be unseen! Both of us laughed, and then Andrew headed off as he was feeling fresher then me. Thanks for the laughs!

The rest of the run was just one foot in front of the other, and trying to actually jog as much as I could. Somehow I made it thru the microwave again, and headed to town. Before I knew it I had passed the 18km mark....3 more km! There were 3 guys from the BSG tri team in front of me, we had been leapfrogging each other all the way. They started going faster and I followed them.

Grabbing quarter filled 2L bottles to wet myself and drink on the run

Finally pass our hotel, and like 1km more to go...I picked up my pace again glad that it was over....turned into the finisher chute, high fived the Mc...and er stopped to queue to cross the finishing line. Those in front of me were posing for pics as they crossed the arch...by the time it was my turn I was like heck, I've queued so long might as well pose too.

Finally! Check out the queue behind me...

Got my medal, queued for my towel, queued for my t-shirt, and slowly walked back to transition...packed up, grabbed my phone and live tracked Yuxuan and Fiona. Yuxuan seemed to be finishing so I walked back up to the finish line... As I reached it she had just crossed. Oops.

Congratulated her and followed her to pick up her towel and t-shirt. We headed back to the transition area where I grabbed some food. It was pretty good but the coconut wasn't cold. We sat on the grass and relaxed and waited for Fiona. Elaine and Flora joined us a bit later for the prize giving ceremony. Elaine was 2nd in her AG! Congratulations!

Some of the food offered after race...yummy...

The live tracker had stopped on Fiona with 5km to go and we didn't know where she was. Alex texted that he had ran with her and was back at our hotel. We decided to head to the finish line to cheer Fiona on.

In one of those weird scenarios, we somehow missed her and she missed us. We waited for about 15mins before deciding to head back to the transition area.

Yuxuan had helped Fiona pack her things knowing she would be too tired to do so. As I went in, Flora shouted that Fiona had gone in. Again in one of those weird scenarios, as we went in she exited...leaving Yuxuan 's poor bike all alone. I grabbed my stuff and bike and did the bike check out, and headed back to the grass patch where we finally saw a very sun burned Fiona!

We had all completed! Although to be honest, I didn't really like the race maybe because it was too crowded,  but yes the organization, logistics, expo etc was the best I had seen. I would also say it's a tough race, but then I've realized there's no easy race. My timing was half an hour more then Danang, but I wasn't really disappointed knowing I had done what I could.

Happy finishers!

Dinner that night was the famous Le Chon roast pork and we would head for whaleshark snorkeling and Kawasan waterfalls the next day. It was the most fun post race RnR I ever had!

Zubuchon Lechon roast pig

snorkelling to see whalesharks!

Kawasan falls

So another 70.3 in the bag, and I really couldn't have done it without Hanniel for getting me back on my feet so fast, my wife for being ever supportive, and of course God for keeping me safe thru training and racing.

Thanks too to the Triumphant team who were live tracking us from Singapore, and for all the bonds we have forged.

Onwards to the next target! Thanks for reading!

Weeeee.....

VNG IRONMAN 70.3 VIETNAM

Known as one of the hottest races in the world, I signed up for this race as a package with Cebu that would be happening in August.

Training
Determined to do better this year, I started a 20 week training plan, consisting of a 4 week base, 8 week build and 8 week specialty. The training plans were from Trainer Road, and I rearranged the plan to fit my schedule. 

The plan could peak to 10 hour a week, and consisted of 3 double training days. Basically in all 3 disciplines, one session would be vo2 max intervals, one tempo, and one endurance. For the bike though I did only 2 sessions a week.

I could feel the plan working and saw improvements across the disciplines. However after about 8 weeks, I saw a drastic drop in performance. Researching on the net, it seemed to be symptoms of overreaching so I took the next two weeks at a lower intensity and volume. I started getting a toothache though and fell sick about 5 weeks from race day.

I came into the race then unsure of my performance and without much confidence after a lousy Metasprint earlier. I couldn't seem to find the performance I was having earlier anymore. From an initial target of 6:30, I modified to 6:45, and with the expected heat, I felt anything sub 7 would be acceptable.

Travel

The excitement mounted and soon it was race week. Most of us took a Jetstar flight to Danang and we gathered at the airport together. Felt great going with such a big group! We were sent off by Jasper and Kelvin, thank you for the support!

It was a 2 hour 30 min flight and we touched down in Danang around 8:30pm. We anxiously waited for our bike boxes as we had heard the earlier flight had problems with the amount of bikes and 12 bikes didn't make it.

Sure enough a notice was pasted at the luggage belt. Most of our bikes didn't make it!

Many of the guys felt angry and anxious. We were supposed to assemble our bikes tonight and go for a reccee ride tomorrow. Now we don't even know when the bikes would arrive! 

There was nothing else we could do so we headed to our hotel, the Hyatt Regency. This was the race hotel and we would soon discover it to be a great place.

My roommates Yuxuan, Fiona and Peilin had already checked in earlier, so Eddie and me headed straight to our room. It was a 3 bedroom suite and was great, with a wonderful seaview.

Eddie and me immediately ordered room service on arrival and listened to Yuxuan and Fiona's stories of their missing bikes. About an hour later,they received a call from the concierge. Their bikes had arrived! They went to collect it and Eddie and me helped them set up. 

After chatting a bit more, we turned in for the night.

Beautiful sunrise view from our hotel room balcony

Pre-race Day

The original plan was to collect our race packs at 9am and head for the swim orientation, and after that a bike recee.

However, Eddie and my bike hadn't arrived so Yuxuan and Fiona went off for a quick bike in the morning. We met them at breakfast and went to collect our race packs. 

Entering the IM village, the excitement started when they strapped the wrist tags on. There wasn't much to buy at the race expo but I bought 2 event T-shirts and a singlet as I had almost no clothes. Most of my clothes had been in the bikebox.

 
After the expo, Fiona, Yuxuan, Eddie and me headed to the beach for a sea swim.

The water was cool but very choppy the first 100m out. Memories of my poor Metasprint swim in choppy waters came back to haunt me but I knew I had to overcome it. We swam out to the turn buoy and regathered and discussed the conditions. 

We swam back to shore and swam out again, went back to shore and our rooms and went out for a quick run.
 

The heat in Danang was legendary, but out on the run we weren't feeling that bad and there was actually a cool breeze blowing in from the sea. We checked out the transition area, the run in and out and took some pictures. We then returned to our room, showered and went out for lunch.

 

Lunch was at Lotte Mart, seemingly the only shopping place in Danang. It was a hypermart with some shops...and the food wasn't very good.

After lunch, we returned to our hotel and took a nap before going to the race briefing later in the day.

Race brief forecasted temperatures of 37 degrees with a feel of 45 degrees. We were quietly hopeful though as that day even though sunny, had cool breezes of the sea.

After the brief, Roger told us the concierge had called and our bikes were at the airport! The helpful concierge wrote a memo in Vietnamese for us and we took a cab to the airport together. It was such a relief finally seeing our bikes!

Our bikes!

finally reuntied

Eddie and me headed straight to our room and I ordered room service as we set up our bikes. Yuxuan and Fiona helped and after we were done, Eddie and me went for a quick test ride around the hotel. We headed back to the room, showered, helped each other put on the race number tattoos and went to bed. Big day tomorrow! 

Bike assembled!

Race Day 

Eddie and me headed to check in our bikes at 4:30am. After laying out transition, we went back to our room for breakfast and headed back to the transition with our roommates.

Swim
Those who did the swim orientation the day before were a bit worried as there was substantial chop for the first 100m out. I heard though that early morning the waves would not be that strong. On race day, those that did a warm up swim provided buffet breakfast for jellyfish larvae and many of us had stings and itches. The swim course on race day was straightforward though, it wasn't as choppy as the day before and the first 100m were shallow. 

Group pic before start

Group cheer!

 
We started in the 35-40min pen and it was a rolling start, releasing us 6 at a time. This kind of rolling start eliminates most of the washing machine effect, unless you start in the wrong pen and get overtaken by aggressive swimmers.

here we go!

We ran out about 20M before the water got waist deep and I dived in. Water was choppy and I could feel a bit of panic rising. I reminded myself to just swim like yesterday, a slow and steady pace with deep breathing. The chop settled about 100M later and we reached the first turn buoy. 

The buoys on the course were tiny and impossible to sight. I just drafted whoever was in front of me, and with the lane rope in sight, I hardly needed to sight. After the turn I saw Yuxuan on my 5 o'clock. We swam on and I don't remember making the next turn, after that another turn and it was the longest stretch back where I sighted Yuxuan again.

2 more turns and it was the home stretch back to shore. The choppy waves now helped us pushing us back to shore, all we needed to do was glide.

I saw Yuxuan again at my 5 o'clock and she was gaining fast! I picked up my pace too and suddenly there was this guy between us who was pushing me out away from the ropes. 

Frustrated, I hopped over him and continued on. Yuxuan had gained on me though and I saw her stand up. I got 2 more strokes in before standing. I turned to her and asked, "You drafted me all the way?"
"No!!!" she retorted. 

Chuckling, I ran off thru the waves. When I stood up, my watch had shown a swim time of 41mins. Unsure where the timing mat was, I didn't want to risk losing the swim time.
Yuxuan insists I purposely ran off to get a better time then her.

pleased with my swim time

T1 was a long 600m run on uneven cobblestone which was very painful especially barefoot. I dried myself, wore my cycling shoes and helmet and off to the bike!

Bike
The roads in Danang are very smooth and the first 10km of the bike course was a nice scenic route along the famous China Beach. It was so scenic I wanted to stop and take pictures!  The only elevation was a steep climb of 600m up a suspension bridge, one of 7 bridges in Danang. Most of the business came in the 2 loops after that battling winds from all sides.We then headed back to hotel, and passed it for another 6km to Uturn. That 6km was the most mental part,battling a strong headwind. However after the uturn, a nice tailwind meant you could hit 40kmh.

My plan was to maintain just 50% ftp for the first 30km. So I took my time and enjoyed the scenery along the way. I was overtaken by many people but maintained my power.

I soon reached the only climb of the course, a rather steep climb of about 600M. Downhill I was hit by crosswinds and slowed down. After the bridge we hit the roundabout and it was time to get down to business. 

The next part was 2 loops along the coast where there were winds alternating between head, tail and side. I increased my power to 80% ftp and hunched in aero. 

I was trying a new hydration plan where I only depended on my BTA and water points to fill up. The idea was to ride with as little weight as possible. My nutrition plan was one Bonkbreaker and 2 electrolyte tablets after the first 15mins, one GU gel and electrolytes after 45mins, and one Bonkbreaker and electrolytes the next 45min.

oops caught snacking

Before I knew it I was done with the 2 loops and headed back over the bridge and back to hotel. Passing the hotel, the headwind was very strong and speed dropped. Keeping an eye on my power, I maintained about 80% ftp. A lady was drafting me though, everytime I slowed down she would overtake me but couldn't maintain and I would overtake her again. After the u-turn the headwind became tailwind and with 6km left only, it was now or never. I hit speeds up to 40kmh with the lady following close. 

T2
Another run on cobblestones which was tough with cleats, as well as a loop around the transition. The bike in and run out shared the same narrow path though which meant some congestion. Frustrated with the flooring I took off my shoes and ran barefoot the rest of the way.

A quick spray of sunblock and Salonpas quick pain relief spray (spray for fun, I wasn't cramping or anything) and I was off! 

Run

The run was a straightforward 10.5 km out and back, which was the same 10km of the first of the bike course. Shade was minimal and got less as the day wore on. Hydration and ice were adequate except one or two stations later in the day. Finish line would be a short run on the beach.

I took a chance using my On Cloud shoes which I bought the week before. Test runs had shown that it was light and comfortable and although I hadn't managed to run more than 10km in them, they felt good.

I started out too fast at a close to 6min pace. Forcing myself to slow down, I just relaxed and walked thru the water stations. After 5km, I started seeing people I knew coming back on the other side and cheered them on.

When I came out of transition I realised that I had dropped 2 of my gels. No choice but to use the ones provided, fortunately they were the same brand but different flavors. I came out of every water station with an ice sponge and a cold water bottle in my hand. However the sponges were huge and I couldn't put them under my hat. Soon I reached the uturn point and found I was doing pretty well. I stopped taking sponges and just took a bottle of water to drink and throw on myself. I increased my pace a bit but still conservatively. 

At about the 16km mark, there was a Japanese lady in front of me. She was going at a good pace and I decided to follow her. We paced each other and encouraged each other , sometimes I would be in front of her,most times she would be in front.

At the 19km mark I started smiling to myself. 2 km to go, I was feeling fine and my pace was actually increasing. Thoughts of all my training came to mind. The hard swims till I teared behind my goggles, the 5am runs, the indoor bike trainer sessions where I almost puked...

And so I reached the turn into the hotel where I saw Jerlynn cheering me on. A few more turns and it was on to the sandy uneven beach, down the finishing chute, up the ramp and jump shot!

I am Triumphant!! 

A big thank you to God for journey mercies. Twice on the bike course I almost hit the curb on the right and swerved. Thank Him for delivering our bikes in time and keeping the group safe.

Thank you to my wife for looking after the little one and the big one too, during my trainings and during the race.

Thank you to the Triumphy Wags group for standing in the sun and supporting us, even though twice I had to shout to get their attention lol. They are however getting really good at support and taking photos!

A big thank you to the Yellowfish squad, and the Triumphant family, for pushing me beyond what I believed I could.

 

A PB of about one hour!

 

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I learned in this race that pacing was key, go out nice and easy, and aim for a negative split. Also try to reach race venue 2 days before as airlines cannot cope with large number of bike boxes.

All in all, a good race and a good course. This is will probably be one of the must do races of the region soon. I think we were lucky as race day while toasty, wasn't as hot as it could be, or as last year. This I would say is a recommended race!