It's such a blessing when the race site has scenic views and clear waters. The weather was hot, but with the race starting at 5.45 am, it settled pleasantly. The sunrise was also early and beautiful.
The Standard Distance race for Elite men was on 13th August 2017. It was a pontoon start, with a line-up of 27 elite men from 9 different countries.
The currents were pretty strong that morning with an incoming tide, but I was able to maintain and managed a decent 1500-meter swim. I exited from the swim with the 2nd pack (there were 6 of us), and we maintained this 2nd pack for the entire 40 km bike route. There were 4 people in the lead pack. It was a scenic 4 loops, but it went pretty fast on relatively flat grounds. Our pack worked really well on the bike, and that helped us increase the gap from the chase pack.
The run was 3 loops of 3.333 km. Off the bike, I felt pretty good on the run. Water stops were well spaced out and I made sure to hydrate well because the temperature was rising fast. I maintained a good pace for 8 km with good surges. I started to feel the pain creeping in after the 8 km mark, but I've been working on learning to curb and endure this strain and pain, and still push on with a steady pace. Overall, it was a pretty decent run and I finished the race 15th overall, with a time of 2 hours 01 minute and 57 secs.
I was happy with my race outing at Mt. Mayon, especially after my run at Palembang just over 2 weeks ago.
When I returned, I had 2 full days off of training. Then, it was back to training full swing last weekend to prepare for the National Championship on 10th September 2017, and maybe another race end of September (not yet confirmed), as well as a race in 3rd week of October in Hong Kong.
Thank you Nuzest for your never-ending support and encouragement, it really spurs me on. I comforted and blessed to know I am not alone in my journey.
