Tag: jet lag

Sleepytrigirl is back

I don’t recall suffering from jet lag as much as I am now. Its been more than a week  since I got back from Ethiopia and my body clock is still off. Last Sunday, I ran the Greenfield 10k race on 1 hour sleep.  That night, I slept soundly and after 7 hours of sleep,  was able to train at 7 am. The next day however, I could not get out of bed! I skipped training all together.

But jet lagged or not, I’m suppose to be back in training. It’s triathlon season for me. And I do miss doing triathlons. The last six months I did three marathons – Amsterdam in October, New York in November and just  this March, Tokyo. The week we got back to Manila, my training partner and I  swam and biked and he said “Partner, we’re triathletes again!”

I laughed and said, “yes we are.” Truth is, we never  stopped being  triathletes. Though my last three  major races were all marathons, we actually did our fair share of triathlons in 2008.

Last July,  Joey and I planned a trip to NY  and looked for a race to join in the area. His sister lived in New Jersey. So did my cousins. Best of all, m my brother Lino was living in New York. We ended up doing  the Rhode Island inaugural 70.3.

Joey, me and his bike in times square
Joey, me and his bike in times square

 

 

 

Rhode Island 70.3 ironman
Rhode Island 70.3 ironman

 

 

The next week, I did NY tri with Lino.  A few weeks later, Joey represented HSBC Philippines in the HSBC triathlon in London. Then he did the 03 triathlon in Subic. I did the Olympic distance.

 

NY Tri with Lino
NY Tri with Lino

 

 

Finally, in September, I did the Singapore 70.3 and he did a full ironman distance at my  event “12 hours in Memory of Gabriel.”

 

Singapore 70.3 ironman
Singapore 70.3 ironman

 

 

 

Joey finishing his ironman in the rain
Joey finishing his ironman in the rain

 

Ani de Leon, who completes our trio had her share of triathlons that year too. She did Ironman Langkawi in February where she qualified for a slot in Kona, the world championships. To prepare for Kona  she also did the Singapore 70.3 and the 03 in Subic. Then she was off to Kona to fulfill her dream.

Ani doing her dream race Ironman Kona
Ani doing her dream race Ironman Kona

 

Although I love doing tris, it definitely takes a lot of time  to train for one.  I have to plan my training schedule very carefully.. I need to plot and work  in 3-4 sessions of running, biking and swimming, plus at least 1 yoga and 1 boxing session (boxing is our easy day/cross-training work-out).

 My training partner and I need to juggle work, parenting and other commitments throughout the week.  And in my case, I need to be protective of the amount of back-to-back runs my legs can handle to avoid injuries.. And yes, I need my sleep.

So every week, we start out with a training plan. But every night, my training partner texts me and asks, “What’s ETT?” That’s estimated time of training. You see, even though we already have a plan for each day, he knows that it could change depending on:

       How my body feels/what’s on my mind

       how much sleep I will get

       changes in my schedule

 Although I always try to stick to the training plan, I sometimes alter the distance or intensity of the session, depending on the three factors above.  If I suddenly have an early day, then we will just do a quick run or box for 45 minutes.

What makes our ETT even more difficult to predict these days is the summer heat. I always fantasize about starting at day break..IF I could only get to bed early. But that rarely happens when you have a long day with lots on your mind, kids to take care of and work that you take home. 

So what’s a sleepytrigirl to do? Same thing, I’ve done the past few years. Kiss my kids goodnight and set my alarm; hit the snooze button a few times before I finally roll out of bed in the morning; text or reply to my partner that I’m awake or check that he is and down my oatmeal and vitamins before he walks in the door.

Rain or shine, sleepy or wide awake,  its time to train and be grateful for the gift of fitness.