But what I really want to do is direct…

June 21, 2010

 

 

But what I really want to do is direct…

 

By Rene F. Concepcion

 

 

     A little over a year ago, I wrote in this same column about my first true try at triathlon.  I said that the sport was pretty crazy and that the racers were crazier.  I did admit though that I got bitten by the swim-bike-run bug.  One year later, I’ve become a sponsored athlete, I can run faster than Piolo, plus I’ve lost a lot more weight - but I also lost four front teeth from flying off my bike, but that’s different story.  For now, I’ll just describe how big the sport has become, and how much more tries I’ll try when it comes to this insane sport called triathlon.

 

            The biggest multi-sport race in the country will be in sixty days:  the Cobra Ironman 70.3 Philippines in Camarines Sur.  Over 800 individual and relay participants will be racing in August, starting and ending at the Camsur Watersports Complex to complete a 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, and a 13.1 mile run (hence, 70.3).  Professional stars of this sport will head to Camsur, including last year’s winner from New Zealand, Terenzo Bozzone.  Popular running coach Rio dela Cruz will also bring his Team Timex – RunRio three-man squad back to Naga to defend their tri-relay title.        

 

As for me, after a humbling attempt at this international half-Ironman event in its inaugural year last year, I swore I’d be better prepared this time around.  So, I haven’t seen my beer buddies in months.  And I’ve forgotten what KFC tastes like.  There has also been a couple more minor, albeit still skin-breaking bike falls.  I take on these sacrifices and deal with daily fatigue due to training for what exactly:  six hours on race day of continuous muscle pain felt by a delirious brain?  If you want to know what leftover Beef Stroganoff feels like being nuked inside a microwave, sign up for Ironman Philippines. But you’ll have to wait till next year because Camsur’s 70.3 is already sold-out.

 

There are really a lot of us out there, who pulverize our Nike shoes on the pavement, risk being side-swiped by truck drivers who don’t see cars let alone bikes, and hope sharks aren’t hungry when we’re out in the open sea.  If I subtract one second for every time I ask myself “why am I doing this,” I’d be faster than Terenzo Bozzone.  Right now, my 70.3 time isn’t much faster than one of our Senators. Thus, I train and train and train.  I swim, I bike, I run.  Thankfully, I am still able to balance work and family with my (ahem) hobby.  I can honestly say triathletes have mastered the juggling of three things.  You can’t deny there’s a strong admiration for that.

 

I haven’t done a full Ironman yet, unarguably the real barometer for triathletes who have embraced the multi-sport lifestyle and not just jumped in on a craze.  I haven’t even run a full 26-mile marathon yet, and an Ironman ends with that!  I’m sure to attempt it.  It’s a question of where and when.  I can choose any of the over twenty Ironman races offered all over the world – often staged at major tourist destinations such as Nice, Zurich, New Zealand, and Australia.  They sell-out fast, roughly 1500 participants join per race.  The question now is can I do it?

 

Before I answer that, it’s best to first focus on the next sixty days.  The training will be intense (sample run set:  5 x 1-mile faster than 10k pace).  Every minute of extra sleep will be golden.  Vitamin C sales will shoot up.  Good performances in races earlier this year mean nothing because as the adage goes, you’re only as good as your next race.  Kevin Costner won the Best Picture and Best Director Oscars for Dances with Wolves, but all that everyone remembers is that his next movie, The Postman, sucked.  It’s a tough crowd with a lot of hecklers and over-analyzers, but none tougher than one’s own midlife-crisis ego.

 

My words aren’t exactly reassuring especially to those wondering if they should try triathlon.  Just trust me that it’s not a cult or like a paddled-in-the-butt hazing to be in a fraternity. To those who are in this for the long-haul, to those who’ve made this sport a big part of their lives, you know what I am talking about.  Why am I doing this?  The answer’s easy:  because I love Beef Stroganoff.

 

 

Professor Rene F. Concepcion is a full-time faculty member at De La Salle University, teaching marketing under the College of Business.   He is also the head coach of the defending UAAP champion DLSU varsity swimming team.   Comments can be sent to his email address:  rene.concepcion@dlsu.edu.ph