Countdown Cebu | We Ask the Top Athletes and Coaches

SBR.ph Team

0 45 5 minutes read

The Ironman 70.3 Philippines Cebu fever is burning! Are you ready?? With less than 10 days to go before the biggest, grandest, and most anticipated race of the year, SBR.ph had a little chit-chat with the country’s elite triathletes, top coaches and age groupers and asked them two questions that is surely on everyone’s (newbies esp!) mind!

1. What else can I do NOW that will make me faster on race day?

2. What advice can you give to Ironman 70.3 Philippines Cebu first timers and age groupers?

See below for their answers! :)

Enjoy!

Noy Jopson – Filipino Elite / First Ironman 70.3 Philippines Filipino Elite Champion / Kona Finisher

1. Stretch, hydrate and stay off your feet as much as possible. Visualize your entire race from start to finish. Play out different worse case scenarios on your head, (what if my goggles get knocked out, what if I was unfairly called for drafting, flat, multiple flats, cramps on the run, distracted by seeing Jessica Michibata waving at me on the run) and visualize yourself handling each and every scenario to the best of your ability and still having a great race.

2. Enjoy the experience, there will only be a one first time. Put in a solid effort, but don’t worry about time goals. It’s new course, nobody knows if it’s slow or fast (even us from Cebu) so don’t sweat it. Let’s all set a benchmark performance that we can improve on next year.

Arland Macasieb – Filipino Elite / Ironman 70.3 Philippines Defending Champion / Record Fastest Filipino Ironman Time

1. Just get in your last few key sessions in each discipline – not sure much for fitness anymore but for confidence – if doing intervals hit the pace, power but go to full recovery in between reps and cut overall volume by 50% for a sunday race, I like having friday’s off for massage and carbo loading. Sat just some light workouts in all 3 – then give it on race day! Plan all nutrition way in advance – what you will eat drink on the bike and run and you can also rehearse your transition skills – remember Cebu is a WTC event so we will be using bags and a changing tent. For the run since it’s 21Km I highly recommend wearing socks.

2. Just stick to your race plan. take it easy on the swim. don’t panic. try to draft and sight. Hold back on the bike so that you will have legs for the run. it’s going to be a long day. Don’t start pushing until after the first 10K of the run. And most importantly have fun and enjoy it It should be a great day!!!

Monica Torres – Filipino Elite / 3x Ironman 70.3 Philippines Women’s Champion / 3isgreaterthan1.com

1. Nothing, hahaha. You can’t get significant speed gains in less than 2 weeks ;p It’s now all about conditioning yourself for the race… Maintaining frequency and intensity of workouts, but cutting back a bit on the duration.

2. Check out www.3isgreaterthan1.com for Monica’s blog post about this one! :)

Ani Karina de Leon-Brown -Filipino Elite / First Filipina Kona Qualifier /SBR.ph Online Coach

1. Eat well, rest well, avoid cramming in more long training. The hard work should be done by now. Do only short to moderate distance workouts. Have your bike tuned up. Get a massage a couple of days before the race. Prepare your nutrition and hydration accordingly. Pack early and make a checklist so you do not forget anything.

2. You will only have one “first race”. You will enjoy the race better if you do not place too much pressure or expectations on yourself. Savour every stroke, every stride, and every breath. Remember, it’s not about getting to the finish line… it’s about what you learn along the way.

Guy Conception – Polo Tri / Ironman 70.3 Philippines Cebu Race Director / Olympian

1. Watch a lot of the London Olympics on TV and get excited about the highest kind of athletic performance in any sport.

2.For first-timers, the goal is just to finish. For the rest of the age-groupers, newbie or veteran, my advice is to enjoy the race course — it is the first Ironman 70.3 in Cebu, so please enjoy the view.

Dan Brown – Next Step Triathlon Camp Series Coach / Pro Athlete

1. Keep training. Don’t suddenly stop training when you have been training at a certain level for the past 2-3 months. You will likely feel sluggish and a little stale come race day if you do. Tapering is a personal thing which you need experience for to know exactly the best for your body. There is still work to be done from here though. Either freshen up/rest now for 3 to 4 days then do a few more key sessions or gradually reduce volume from here. Take a few easy days again before the race. If you are tired then take the time to rest now.

Add in some intensity. Your body needs to be ready for the demands of the race coming up. Keep the intervals shorter though. Up to 10k on the bike and 2k on the run. You don’t want to build up a large backlog of fatigue right now.

Spend time on the aerobars. Don’t expect to ride fast on race day if you haven’t done the time there. Stop chatting to your friends on the group ride and go for a solo mission sticking to this plan. During the race you should aim to be on the bars 98% of the ride so plan for this. If you are not then you will be slower than you can be. Your glutes, hammies, lower back and neck need to be conditioned also so you can run off the bike also.

2. Forget time goals and you will enjoy the overall experience more. No use feeling like you didn’t succeed because you had an unrealistic expectation. Give your best effort you will be happier with that.

Control what you can control. The rest is in God’s hands.

Don’t change anything at the last minute. The number 1 common mistake. Just because one of your friends is dropping a few spacers the night before doesn’t mean you have to also!

Matt O’Halloran – teamTBB / teamTBB coach / Pro Athlete

1. Take a moment, go somewhere alone thats quiet and visualize race day, see yourself feeling good, focused and having a good race; hear the crowd cheering, go over confidently on particular parts of the race that maybe challenging for your personally and finally, imagine the strain in your body as well to the ecstasy of crossing the finish-line! If your heart rate raises during this moment – you have done it correctly!

2. Dont let yourself over-whelmed by the energetic atmosphere of this big event and dont waste energy over-analyzing other athletes fancy equipment, their training stories or ripped body’s. Break up the whole course into several different sections and give yourself a theme, focus or goal on each of these sections; it will help to keep you focused on the task at hand as well to make the course appear a bit shorter ;)

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