There was a time when shaving my legs never even entered my mind. I think of it as a sign of feminity, something my masochistic ego wouldn’t even consider.

I was once asked by a rider in a peloton why I still had hairs on my legs. I replied “Why not?” and took offense. The rider just smiled and told me a hairless leg was beneficial if I was to ride my bike more. I didn’t speak to him anymore that day.

A few days later, I figured in a nasty crash leaving me with bruises on both knees. I cleaned up the bruises and applied bandages and surgical tapes. Several hours later, I thought of changing the bandages and tried taking off the ones stuck.

It was hell!

The hairs clung on the adhesives tightly, and each time a hair is pulled, the stabbing pain would make me grimace.

Now, I know why that rider asked me.

Shaving legs, in our culture, is a feminine practice. As men, we take notice of how smooth a woman’s legs are especially if we don’t see any hair on it. But what about men?

There are fitness forums where shaved legs have been discussed, and there were some, who haven’t got the slightest clue on why legs are shaved, who’d try to be smart-asses and say its more aerodynamic. What??? It probably would be if you’re hitting more than 100kph on the bike or run, or probably doing 10-second 100 meter laps in pools. But more aerodynamic? You must be kidding.

Shaved legs are better for cyclists, and probably runners, as we are prone to crashes, which may result to bruising and open wounds, as simple as that.

A friend of mine quizzed me one time and asked if I could point out the “hardcore” or veteran triathletes in races. I said, “easy, just look for the darkest persons in the pack…”. NOT! The ones deep into triathlons are those who have hairless legs. Ooowwww, now I know!

Two weeks ago, I was chatting with a cyclist in a bike shop I brought my bike to. He noticed that hairs were already growing on my legs and pointed it out…”Sir, mukhang kailangan na ulit mag-ahit…”…I said ” Oo nga eh..”. He then told me a story of how he was referred to as “jologs” within the peloton he was riding in because he had hairs on his legs.

Do you want to be called jologs?

No way!

My friend and I were on our way home from UP Oval one weekend morning when we decided not to take the Katipunan flyover and take Aurora Blvd. instead, to reach Pasig. We needed to make a U-turn at a very busy Aurora Blvd. and Katipunan intersection which proved very, very hazardous.

My friend crossed Aurora Blvd. and was waiting for me at the other side when accident struck. While slowly swerving to the left to make a quick U-turn, a passenger jeepney cut me to the left. I tried avoiding him by swerving back to the right only to find out that another jeepney was close. My right handlebar hit the jeepney to my right, and I bounced back to my left thereby hitting the other jeepney. My handlebar got caught at the rear of the left jeepney and I came sliding down the road, making a couple of tumblings then Superman’d along Aurora Blvd., face down. A third jeepney almost ran over me, stopping only when my calves were already under its engine. Close call.

Riding on Philippine roads is probably one of the most dangerous cycling adventures in the world. No matter how careful you are, the risk of getting into a painful situation always lurks with manholes, road craters, debris, parked vehicles, electric posts, unloading public vehicles, etc. littering the small road space in front of you. I have ridden the roads of Metro Manila in the morning, noontime and evenings and the only thing constant in those times of the day is this: DANGER. Let me share with you how I have survived the Metro Manila jungle so far:

1. Keep your eyes on the road

I cannot emphasize this so much, but, when you’re on the road, don’t let your eyes wander. Focus on what’s ahead. Philippine roads aren’t the smoothest. In fact, our engineers have mastered copying the surface of the moon to a “T”. Ask any cyclist, who have crashed already, about the reason why he crashed, and chances are he will say he didn’t notice this or that in front of him. Bird-watch while dismounted guys.

2. Asphalts are slippery when wet

Until now, the condition I fear most is wet aphalt roads on a descent. Too many things can happen as you are riding on glass-like surface. Pressing the brakes only will stop your wheels from spinning, it won’t stop sliding down.

Even on flats, the presence of water poses a peloton of risks: open manholes not visible on flood waters; splashes of water from vehicles beside you, hitting your eyes and temporarily blinding you; nails and other sharp objects ready to puncture your tyres; all of these will contribute to a nasty and humiliating crash if rode on.

What I do when roads are wet on descents is brake early on. I don’t wait until I reach a speed which is unmanageable for me. If the rain is hard, its better to just dismount and wait til it subsides. Its always better to be on the safe side in these occasions. On flats, walk your bike. Don’t try to be macho and ride the flood or strong rains, its stupidity at its finest.

3. Stay on the rightmost part of the road

Some cyclists will tell you not to stay on the rightmost part of the road and mark your territory. Do this and get the ire of motorists who will try to sideswipe you or at least threaten you by cutting you off the road. They go faster than you do and you are just a roadblock to them.

Stay on the rightmost if you can. Always remember that the slower vehicles, by courtesy, stay on the rightmost part of the road and give way to faster vehicles on the left. You are not exempted from this.

4. Uncleat seconds before you fully stop

Always the cause of the majority of road crashes, uncleating from the pedals on a full stop. Presence of mind is key. Disengage from the cleats seconds before you fully stop. If you will hold on to a vehicle beside you, make sure you let go a few seconds after it starts moving and you can balance on the bike already.

5. Watch out for uneven roads

Have you noticed how uneven roads are when its newly repaired?

I had the unfortunate experience of riding on these uneven roads. Result: I saw my bike below me as I was in the air for a split second and needed weeks of therapy after.

Uneven roads cannot just be ridden straight, you should bunnyhop to be able to go over it especially with a roadbike.

6. Ride like you’re driving your car

Respect the traffic signs. Lance Armstrong once was bumped by a car when he was trying to beat red lights. He succeeded in beating a few, but ran out of luck nevertheless, resulting to stitches on his head and legs.

7. Wear blinkers at night

Riding at night would probably be the most dangerous as you are not as visible to motorists as during daytime.

Wear blinkers, at least be seen a bit more.

8. Be a defensive cyclist

…and always look over your shoulder. Check out what the vehicle behind you is doing. Some student drivers panic at the sight of a bicycle in front of them. Some drunk drivers might treat you as a target. Stay away from these guys. Stop or dismount if needed.

9. Don’t outran a vehicle

…because you are not as strong as their engines.

Some drivers hate it when a cyclist tries to be a smart-ass and pedal faster than their vehicles. They will try not to let you overtake, instead, they will try to squeeze off the road.

10. Always be in full battle gear

Helmet, shoes, socks, gloves, shades, shoes. Wear these for protection and never leave home without it. Bring your healthcard and ID as well, these may come in handy.

Lastly, always start your ride with a prayer. It works.

I consider myself a beginner in triathlon. I try to absorb all the tips that the veterans shared with me and was able to successfully follow some, but frustratingly failed in most. I realized that athletes have varying levels of endurance and with me being a noob, I am at the bottom part of the “endurance” category.

When I was starting, I thought that I could be better than most triathletes in my age-group. I have been indulging in sports most of my life: varsity basketball, badminton, golf, gym.

But that wasn’t what happened. Instead, I would always be in the middle, either lower middle or a bit on the upper middle of the finisher’s list. Though I have breached the top 40% of my age-group in a race once, that was an exception rather than a norm.

What’s the point of this blog entry?

In a beginner’s perspective, I am writing down the 10 things that I have learned or realized in racing a triathlon. I’ve done 4 of these races ( more than 4 and I won’t be a newbie anymore, right? ) already and I guess its high time that I share these things and hopefully, some people who want to experience tri-ing can pick up a thing or two.

1. Train months ahead of a race

This shouldn’t be brushed off, no matter what your physical condition is. Training properly is your key to finishing a triathlon. Don’t rush your training as you will be prone to injuries. Have you read my Condura 42K 2010 account? That’s a good example of what not to do.

Training way ahead of a race gives you confidence, a much-needed mental trait at the start of the race.

2. Swim more than the race distance

Swimming in pools alone is very, very different from swimming in a pool or sea or lake with hundreds of other swimmers. I learned how to swim properly a month before I joined my first triathlon, a mini-sprint. I told myself that if I was able to complete a 50-meter lap, then there shouldn’t be any problem finishing 350 meters of swimming in a congested pool….NOT!

I sprinted at the start of the race, then slowly faded on the 4^th lap. Then, as if fate was punishing me, a splash of water ended in my mouth and choked me. I thought I was going to drown and panicked big time, and hung on to the lane divider for dear life. I wasn’t equipped with the necessary skills to manage such situations and got off the water among the last ones, with a very, very humiliating 12++ mins swim split.

This would happen again in Camsur 70.3. Before this race, I was doing 2K swims in pools in less than an hour, so I thought I’d have a swim split of about the same time come race day….again…NOT!

Open water swimming disables you from kick-starting every 50 meters, so you’re slower. There are no sea or lake floor markers which you can use as reference if you’re swimming straight or straying away from the course.

Include sighting practice in your swim workout. Don’t do this and swim 100++meters more during the race.

My swim split was 1 hour 14 mins, 4 minutes beyond the 1:10 swim cut-off, which, thankfully, was not enforced.

As a suggestion, swim more than the distance you are racing in a pool and try to do it within the target time you plan on completing the swim portion. Also, try to mimic open sea or lake swimming by not touching the lap-ends in the pool, instead, turn around swimming, not stopping.

Also, practice “emergency” swimming or what to do if you panic. Doing this regularly will give you the confidence in the water. Try swimming backstroke or floating, strengthen your breaststroke too which you can use for “sighting” in open waters.

3. Relax in the swim

During the race, if you’re a slow swimmer like me, start at the back of the pack. Enter the water around 1 minute later than the stronger ones to avoid getting kicked, punched or swam over. Relax, and think of happy thoughts while swimming, and don’t mind the depth of the water. Swimming in 50 feet and 8 feet deep waters is the same, your feet won’t touch the bottom if you stand.

Just survive the swim if you’re a slow swimmer like me. Finishing it within the cut-off is okay, just give them hell on the bike.

Now, if you’re really nervous about the swim and suffer from panic attacks every 2 minutes, swim near the buoy and hold on to the ropes to recover. Breath-in until you’ve calmed down and swim again. Repeat this if necessary. Better be slow than drown, okay?

4. Transition Fast

To get back some time, practice transitioning fast. In order to do this, make sure that your bike has everything you need: helmet, sunglasses, shoes, gloves, etc. Just wipe the water off you and wear your cycling gear. Helmet first, then sunglasses, then race number then shoes and off you go. Keep the sequence in mind: top to bottom. Your number one enemy at T1 is confusion on what to wear first.

T1: Helmet first, sunglass, race number then shoes. Wear gear from top to bottom

If you transition 30 seconds faster than the guy who smoked you in the swim, that’s like getting back 25 meters of swim advantage. Substantial? You bet!

5. Know the bike course

Bike is the longest part of a triathlon and it pays to know the course, or at least memorize the map.

I promised myself not to race in Ayala Alabang anymore due to one simple reason: I always get lost in the otso-otso loop.

I raced there twice and got lost in the bike leg in both occasions, resulting to slower times. The map was posted weeks before the race but I was too lazy to even look at it, and I paid for it dearly. The sad thing is, those weren’t the only races I got lost.

It became a habit for me to look at maps and study the courses of a race, whether these are triathlons or duathlons. I have to do this or else, I won’t stop knocking myself on the head.

6. Bike like you’re being chased by a lion

Someone told me to take it easy on the bike and reserve some of my energy for the run. I followed this in this year’s SubIT. My strongest among the three disciplines is the bike, and it is with deep regret that I didn’t give it my all in this race, I could have made up more time.

If cycling is your strength, then by all means, exploit it!

Though I felt good after dismounting, I also faded in the last kilometers of the run leg due to heat and exhaustion. Now I know!

Since running is the last part of a triathlon, it’s the part where the pros and elites are tested. They dig better than you coz, well, they’re pros and elites. Heard about how Craig Alexander caught Chris Lieto in the last 5 miles of Kona 2009? The camera captured all of it. What it didn’t capture were the swarm of age-groupers walking the marathon. Yes, that’s a normal sight in long distance triathlons, people like us walking.

Even if you take it easy on the bike, there’s no stopping the sun from baking you to a limp so better to hack it out on the bike and then survive the run. I’m sure you’ll be in good company.

Chris Lieto is not really known for his running, but for his cycling. If he didn’t register the fastest bike split last year, he would have ended up beyond 5^th place.

Attack where you are strong.

7. Eat!

I have a friend who’s a strong runner and swimmer. Bike is his waterloo. Everytime he dismounts and runs, he always fades, almost to the point of bonking. Reason: he doesn’t eat during the bike portion.

Your body burns thousands of calories in a triathlon race, so you need to replenish these burned calories during the race itself, especially if its long distance.

Buy a bike bento box, put gels and powerbars in it, and practice eating while on the bike, together with pulling your water bottle and drinking and putting it back in the cage…and save your race.

In last year’s Camsur 70.3, I had one gel for every 15kms I rode, a total of 5 gels during the bike and a last one before I ran. I wasn’t hungry and had the calories to burn for the run, I just had too much to drink and was bloated. Lesson learned.

8. Wear visors, not caps

I used to wear caps during races, until I discovered how much more convenient it was to wear visors instead. Imagine this: you are approaching a water station, got hold of two cups of water, drank one and threw the cup away, took off your cap to pour water on your head and put your cap back on.

Imagine this now: You are approaching a water station, got hold of two cups of water, drank one and poured one on your head.

Which one is faster and easier to do?

Enough said.

9. Wear socks on the run

Don’t do this and have blisters on your feet. That simple.

10. Smile at the finish line

…and look good in pictures!

Thank the Lord for giving you the strength to finish the race. I read somewhere that there are no atheists in the last kilometers of an Ironman, live it.