Today is going to be a different day. Something completely new to me I am going to try. That is doing a cycling race. I have never done one before so my body is just going to be shocked with the pace the other riders are going to do.
The first event is a 10km Team Time Trial (TTT). We have practiced this before but not with this kind of terrain. The marshals let us take our turn and from the start, i was already chasing the main pack of my team. By the time I was able to lock in my pedals, the gap between myself and the last rider was around 150m. I pushed as hard as I could be just couldn't quite really seal the gap as they were pushing really hard as well.
As we reach the turn around, I still had some little confidence that I'll be able to catch the last rider but they are just going too fast. Damn. This is not going as planned. I tell myself to just keep going and push to get the experience. After the last turn, I see the finish line in sight. My legs are aching so bad already and I feel i'll cramp up anytime causing me to fall. Luckily, I was able to cross the finish line not so far behind from the team. One down. One to go.
We head back to our hotel to rest and recover to be ready for Stage 2, which is a 90 kms road race. Dang.. This is going to hurt. My brother and I decide that we'll just finish the race on our own pace for experience. At the starting line, around 200 riders are waiting for the gun to go off signalling the start of the race. The sky is threatening to make things interesting. Downpour seems to be not so far from happening. KA BLAM!!!! Here come's the rain. Riders are released and we're on our way.
To make the long story short, 8 laps with climbs really pushed my limit. I'm very happy I was able to deal with the short cramps on my thighs that I experienced on the last lap while climbing. Nutrition was pretty good today.
I am just happy that I lasted today. Forget Stage 3. I have no more energy. Time to go back to my room, rest, take a shower, have dinner with teammates and go back to Manila. It's been a very productive day. Until next time.
