Will he do the same on the bike at the Ironman?

 

Today is a colossal day for a lot of triathletes. The Cobra Ironman 70.3 Philippines has gathered over a thousand foreign and local elite champions and athletes to Cebu, with hottie hunk star Piolo Pascual and I joining them.

 

Timex is once again the official timekeeper, as it is for the Ironman World Championships in Kona and Germany, and various other events like the New York City Marathon and the London Marathon.

 

Timex has also supported a little team called Team Valdes for three years now. Team Valdes originally started with my hubby Dennis as our swimmer, my brother-in-law Robin as our biker and me as our runner. With Robin moving to Canada, I have been bumped up to biker, and my son, Bryan Prieto, is now set to run the course.

 

Timex endorser Piolo, who used to be the Timex runner, is now also biking. Perhaps we can hang out at the transition area! Timex is running a special promo, with anyone guessing our bike splits eligible to win a Timex watch. (Follow @TimexPH for details.)

 

The last time I saw Piolo was early this year at the Timex Run, where he just ran past me. Will he do the same on the bike at the Ironman?

 

The next Timex Run is also in Cebu on Aug. 19. and Timex Run Davao is on Aug. 26. Coach Rio de la Cruz will be handling both races, with the Pangilinan family—Maricel, Anthony and kids—enjoying the races.

 

Fila run

 

My last run was at the Fila Schools Run for School Rooms a month ago. The charity fun run at the Bonifacio Global City helped build schoolrooms for unfortunate school children in Iligan City, who lost everything to Typhoon Sendong last year. It was a beautiful, unifying event for our devastated, classroom-deprived school children.

 

This was Athletes in Action’s first-ever, student-based, fun run. The project was in partnership with Fila Skele-Toes, the Department of Education and   GMA Kapuso Foundation.

 

Fila queen Cris Albert, who continually supports our Red Charity Gala, also recently celebrated her birthday with close friends and family in an intimate party at her beautiful, floral-covered condo.

 

Another upcoming fun run is the 14th Adidas King of the Road  (KOTR) on Sept. 30 at the Bonifacio Global City. This year’s race will have three categories—5K, 10K and 16.8K.

 

For the 16.8K distance, there are two sub-categories—the “Closed” category for Filipino nationals and the “Open” category for all nationalities. The top male and female winners from the 16.8K Closed category will be hailed as the Philippines’ King and Queen of the Road and will qualify for an all-expense paid trip to Singapore on Oct. 28 to compete in the Adidas KOTR Southeast Asia Championship.

 

Adidas endorser Chris Tiu was present at the presscon held at Aracama Restaurant. It was fun to reunite with him and reminisce about our Adidas Trip in Singapore last year.

 

Jason Gervasio, Adidas sports marketing manager, told me that KOTR allows runners to achieve their personal best. Register online for the Adidas King of the Road 2012 at https://adidaskingoftheroad. com/ph or at Adidas stores. Info is also on the Adidas Facebook page.

 

My list of coaches, trainers, doctors and yoga gurus is getting longer as I get older. I am training less but getting more help on the physical therapy and medical aspects of sports. Many elite triathletes, like Ani de Leon-Brown, Monica Torres and Noy Jopson, share great tips in the blog  www.SwimBikeRun.ph.

 

Forget time goals

 

Dan Brown, coach of the Next Step Triathlon Camp Series, shared his tips on forgetting time goals and enjoying the overall experience. As Dan so aptly puts it, “control what you can control and leave the rest in God’s hands.”

 

Power couple Dan and Ani biked with me in Nuvali in Sta. Rosa last month. With just the few bike-training sessions I’ve done, I really need all the advice I can remember.

 

Bike coach Patrick Joson assisted me with my one and only long bike ride to Tagaytay from Alabang. The best thing about the Fondo Rides of coach Patrick is that aside from the medical and mechanical support teams present, photographer Peter Capocao takes action shots all the way.

 

The rides are well-hydrated thanks to sponsors Powerade and LightWater. I told Patrick in our next bike ride, Magnum would provide Almond Chocolate bars at the top of the mountain.

 

Olympics-watching

 

It’s really a big sports weekend for the whole world, what with the London Olympics in full swing. I have been watching the phenom Michael Phelps make Olympic history with his unbelievable number of medals! Thanks to our new Cignal TV connection, I got to watch his record-setting 400-meter swim in HD.

 

Also available on Cignal is the Food Network HD featuring mouthwatering culinary delights. Check “Down Home with The Neely’s” and get delicious recipes and cooking tips. I believe that as much as you can train, one needs to eat properly too!

 

In line with the new commitment of Smart Infinity to give dependable customer service, premium lifestyle packages, perks and privileges to its subs, they have launched monthly lifestyle access packages.

 

In July, they offered a culinary demo at Enderun Colleges in Taguig, led by chef Thomas Wenger, the school’s senior culinary lecturer for Restaurant 101. After the class, the lucky subs got to eat the three-course meal prepped by chef Wenger.

 

It’s just too bad that Smart Infinity and Enderun won’t be offering the culinary demo at the Ironman 70.3 in Cebu, as I’m sure all the triathletes will be working up a great appetite after their swim, bike and run!

 

Follow @tessavaldes on Twitter or e-mail her at [email protected].