At no other time of the year are people more conscious of their bodies than this time. Summer brings out our bodies, and with Instagrammers all over the place, everyone has to work extra hard to avoid bikini fail.
This is the time of year when trisuits replace my fur and fluff. I may not be an awesome athlete but I always try to look my best. I usually start my fitness program, aka my look-good program, at a Runnr store, where I can find a complete selection of the latest running shoes, gear and accessories.
Lately, I’ve been checking the colorful collection of the 2013 line of Newton Running shoes. I completed my very first marathon in New York wearing Newtons. This new collection is even more colorful and has additional features for stability, balance and distance.
The Newton Motion is designed for stability—a training shoe that can also work for faster sessions. The Newton Gravity can be used as a daily training shoe for faster-paced tempo runs, interval sessions and as a race shoe.
The Newton Distance S is for fast-paced running; it’s super lightweight for short- or mid-distance racing and weekly speed sessions.
Proficient athletes
The Quorum Group recently picked Newton ambassadors to inspire all runners, all of them competitive, driven and technically proficient, high-performance athletes. These elite athletes all embody the “Work Hard, Play Hard” ideal.
Heading the ambassadors in fitness level is Arland Macasieb, a professional triathlete, a three-time Boston Marathon Qualifier, and the 2011 Timex 226 and Ironman 70.3 Camsur Filipino Elite champion. My bike coach Andy Leuterio, head coach of Alpha Training Systems, is also on the team, together with Joey and Jami Ramirez, the owners of Specialized Bikes.
Super triathlon couple Mark and Doray Ellis embody the active and fit lifestyle and are both champions in their age group. Mark is country manager of Fitness First; I know Doray better as she is part of my Friday running gang.
Other ambassadors include Don Velasco, Jay Valencia, Keshia Fule, Sandra Gonzalez and Sen. Pia Cayetano. Senator Pia really sets the example that fitness can work around a busy lifestyle.
Toby Claudio, president of Quorum International, completes the list. He is truly passionate about running and spearheaded the introduction of Newton Running and the Runnr retail chain back in 2008. He’s also a great salesman. I picked up a few Newtons, CWX compression pants and even yurbuds—sport earphones that are guaranteed never to hurt or fall out.
Cool earphones
Annie Karayiannis, creative director of yurbuds, recently designed the “Inspire for Women” line for female athletes. These earphones are slightly smaller and come in cool colors. Daniel DeVille, director of marketing for yurbuds, was also here for the launch. Check it out at www.yurbuds.com.
I got to try out all my new purchases at last week’s Hamilo Coast 3rd Pico Tri Invitational. I was one of the many triathletes who swam through calm, open waters, pedaled through the challenging, lush terrain, and ran under the beating summer sun. Actually, I lie.
The pedaling part was all done by my relay teammate Raeanna Cranbourne, who was nice enough to dial down her tri and instead just relay with me. Rae has finished the full Ironman in New Zealand, so the grueling Pico bike course was no match for her.
For my swim, I used a Speedo trisuit that I first used three years ago, qualifying it as a vintage item in my wardrobe. After the 1.2K ocean swim, I passed the timing chip to Raeanna, who then biked 35K through the area’s challenging, rolling terrain.
At the final transition, Raeanna and I posed for a few pics by the shore before I took off on the final 8K run. We’ll have to rethink the race-and-pose strategy next time, as we were beaten to third place by the team of Guy Concepcion and Women’s Health editor Lara Parpan.
Coastal lifestyle
The Pico Tri Invitational was started in 2011 to highlight the active coastal lifestyle of Pico de Loro Cove, the maiden community of Hamilo Coast, a development of SM Land (www.hamilocoast.com). Rona Torres-Tan, SVP of Costa del Hamilo, has nurtured its growth and was happy to join the run relay this year.
Showcasing the steady growth of participants since the invitational began, this year’s race was attended by nearly 300 triathletes swimming for the reefs, biking for the mangroves and running for the turtles of Hamilo Coast. Together with its long-standing partner for sustainability, the World Wide Fund for Nature Philippines, this year’s race focused on the preservation of Hamilo Coast’s natural environment.
Sponsors for the Pico Tri Invitational 2013 included Hamilo Coast, Pico de Loro Beach & Country Club, Pico Sands Hotel, WWF, Master, Vaseline Men and Seventh High.
The event was also supported by Globe Telecom, Cignal Digital TV Broadcast, Bo’ Athletics, Milo, Nesfruta, Nautica Fragrances, Gatorade, 2XU, Pinarello, Zoot, AquaSphere, Salice, Yurbuds, Garmin, Antonov Vodka, Sports Unlimited, Men’s Health Magazine, Women’s Health Magazine, Multisport Magazine and Turista Magazine.
For those interested to join triathlon training camps, check out “The Next Step Tri Camps” in Pico de Loro, conducted by coaches Dan and Ani Brown. Their Pinnacle Tri Camp is for serious athletes and will be from July 10-21. For newbies, join the Beginners Tri Camp this Sept. 14-15. For info, visit www.thenextsteptri.com or e-mail nextsteptri@gmail.com or call Ani at 0915-4440290.
The best part of any triathlon is always the after-party. Seen around the coves of Pico de Loro over the weekend was TV5 noontime wonder Willie Revillame. We were happy to lounge around his yacht, Wil. Meanwhile, on the beach, we also met ABS-CBN Foundation head Gina Lopez, who was there to survey the clams in Hamilo Coast’s marine sanctuary. It’s just too bad no Instagrammers were around to take a photo of Wil and Gina together.
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