MultiSport: 2015 November-December

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C O V E R S TO R Y MULTISPORT

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Recovery doesn’t just mean sitting at home and sleeping the pain away; active recovery involves engaging your body at a low intensity to help it recover.

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C

laire Adorna is getting better in more ways than one.

The 22-year-old torpedo in the national team’s arsenal has five years to achieve her dream of becoming an Olympian triathlete, so everything she does at this point contributes to attaining her and every athlete's ultimate goal.

She’s got a chance to make it to the 2016 Olympics in Rio, and even Tokyo in 2020. After earning gold at this year’s Southeast Asian (SEA) Games last June, there should, in theory, be no reason to doubt she can make it.

Except for one little thing. The wrench in the gears, so to speak.

Ardent followers of the local triathlon scene know that her SEA Games gold medal was won on an injured foot. It’s a tear in the peroneal tendon; specifically, an injury on her left ankle, on the strings of tissue in the foot that stabilize and protect it from sprains. It’s an injury she’s had since her swimming days, a curious pain that never really debilitated her. Swimming is a low-impact sport, so she’s never had a pressing reason to have it checked. In fact, she even thought it a lucky charm that attributed to her great performances.

It may very well be that. With high-impact running and cycling now added to the mix of her training, an existing foot injury is bound to get worse. Still, it appeared like it never bothered her. Adorna, in fact, kept competing and raking in achievements. She finished third in the 2014 New Taipei ASTC triathlon, her first international competition.

Three months before the SEA Games, she finally decided to have her foot checked. Despite the nagging pain in her ankle, Adorna chose to represent. The

SEA Games and Asian Games were rare opportunities she couldn't afford to miss. To manage her condition, she eased up on her training so she could still tear up—no pun intended— come race day. “[In] the end, it boiled down to her really wanting to go for it,” remarked coach Ani de LeonBrown, one of Adorna’s mentors and confidants. “She and I both knew it would be a real struggle to get her to the starting line fit enough to win. But she decided she'd tough it out and wait till after the SEA Games to get the surgery done. I wanted her to be successful in the long run, but we had this pressing goal which was immediate.” After all was said and done, Adorna's grit and determination brought her and the country some much-needed glory.

After the battle, the soldiers must rest. Adorna, most of all, deserved it. When we meet her on one of the last few scorching-hot days of the year, she can neither run nor ride her bike. She had just undergone an operation to fix the tear on her ankle a few weeks back, and now she's wearing a medical boot to help her foot heal.

The tall, morena beauty is full of energy; obviously, her condition hasn't stopped her from making her second appearance on the pages of this magazine.

“Conservatively, the doctors said six months recovery, but that's for people who don't do sports,” Adorna shares.

“Siyempre, ‘yung mga active, mas mabilis sila mag-heal sa mga operation nila. For me, my doctor said I can swim this week, but without kicking first, with pull buoy lang. And I can do cycling after one month, then running after two. Medyo matagal ‘yung run, pero at least wala ka nang pain na iniisip. Kasi long-term din naman ‘yung goal namin, eh.”

“I was not sure what the extent of [the injury] was until we had a proper MRI,” said Brown. “I just knew that every time we would increase the load or intensity, her feet would swell up like a tennis ball. It made us rethink our

strategies for her training over and over again. We had to be creative.”

Recovery doesn’t just mean sitting at home and sleeping the pain away; active recovery involves engaging your body at a low intensity to help it recover. Of course, Adorna has to work extra hard as her lower half is pretty much indisposed.

“I have to do upper-body workouts pa rin kasi hindi rin ako pwedeng magpabaya. So when I go back, I don't [have] to start from zero. At least kahit papaano, malakas na ‘yung upper body strength ko. I have rehab at Sante Impact three times a week.

We're doing strengthening and conditioning. Every Tuesday and Thursday, and on weekends, I do my own strength exercises. I do core, I do sit-ups, I do weights.”

Does this scare her and batter her confidence? Of course. More than affecting athletes physically, an injury haunts them mentally and emotionally. Being sidelined due to an injury is perhaps more painful than the injury itself, there's also that unshakable fear of the injury never healing or popping up again.

That’s just the way sports is, especially one as grueling and challenging as triathlon. When an athlete has to put his or her body on the line, when he or she pushes it to its limits, one way or another something will give. It’s just a matter then of managing training and performance wisely.

“Most triathletes have such a hard time grasping the concept of recovery,” says Brown. “Knowing when to regroup is part and parcel of being a smart and successful athlete.”

As she slowly but surely recovers, Adorna looks at the positive side of this situation. She's getting better, which means she can finally give her 100 percent again. “If I'm going to represent the country, I have to give everything I've got,” she says. “Not just 90 percent or 80 percent because I'm feeling some pain, ‘di ba?” And she’s right. Anything less than the best isn’t enough, especially for dreams as lofty as hers.

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CHARGING STATIONS

CLAIRE REFLECTS ON THE PROCESS OF RECOVERY How long does it take you to fully recharge?

It depends. Minsan one week.

After the SEA Games, I took almost two months off kasi naubos lahat ng pwedeng maubos sa akin. Triathlon kasi, it's not just physical, meron rin siyang mind games. There are people who are trying to bring you down. Some people, malakas sila, pero they're not really strong pagdating sa mga mind games. Hindi pa sila nag-re-race, down na ‘yung selfesteem nila.

What do you do when you’re taking time off?

I'm training pa rin, but I'm not putting so much effort in it.

I do swim just to relax, and sometimes a 2000m swim; I run to take away stress and to be fit.

Ayoko namang tumaba habang nagpapahinga. You can train, but no intensity. If you don't want to train, go swim. If you wanna bike, bike.

What kind of mental exercises do you do?

Well, my dad said when I was still in college, “You don't think of your opponents. You let your opponents think about you.” So every time, ‘yun ‘yung ginagawa ko. ‘Pag may sinasabi silang negative, lumalabas lang ‘yun sa kabila kong tenga. Then I let them think about me, parang sina-psyche out ko lang sila. And you always humble yourself. You let them be arrogant, just show them what you've got on race day. And you pray. You always pray na lumayo ‘yung mga ganyang bagay sayo.

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C O V E R S TO R Y MULTISPORT

“ ” If I'm going to represent the country, I have to give everything I've got,” she says. “Not just 90 percent or 80 percent because I'm feeling some pain

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FULL SPEED AHEAD

MULTISPORT T R A I L S

JUST LIKE IN THE WORLD OF MOTORSPORT, RACER STEFANO MARCELO LEARNS THE HARD WAY THAT THERE ARE NO SHORTCUTS IN TRIATHLON

By Eric Nicole Salta | Photo courtesy of Stefano Marcelo It’s a familiar story: A racecar driver experiments with endurance sports to complement his fast and furious career, then throws himself into it after getting addicted to its endless thrills and spills.

What's different about this story is the man behind it. Racing alongside good friends and fellow Ford Forza Tri teammates Matteo Guidicelli and Ivan Carapiet is Stefano Marcelo, whose execution of speed, whether on two wheels or on foot, commands a second look. Despite having a stressful and painful experience at his first duathlon, owing to his admittedly weak run, Marcelo has learned to always look straight ahead, aching legs be damned. “All the races really mold your character,” he says. “The run is always a test for me whether I’m going to give up or not, so finishing long runs are really rewarding.”

You're more known as a racecar driver, but can you tell us more about Stefano Marcelo the triathlete?

I started triathlon because of my friend Matteo [Guidicelli]! He called me up one day early in the morning and told me to sign up for Ironman even though I had zero training. I didn't realize how disciplined I’d have to be to complete the race.

I’m lucky that two years on we’ve been able to form a good team with lots of my close friends. It definitely makes the training and racing much more fun.

What do you think are the similarities of triathlon and car racing?

Definitely the time and commitment in order to improve yourself. There’s not an easy way of getting faster other than training. So really being disciplined is crucial if you want to have a good (and less painful) race. I remember one of my earlier races I tried to skimp on my training runs; I thought I would be able to wing it. Worst decision. It was the most painful race and it showed me the importance of no shortcuts.

What are your strengths and weaknesses?

I really enjoy the swim. I think I'm a pretty quick swimmer, though there’s still a long way to go if I want to be like some of my friends.

I am definitely weakest at the run, I’ve been struggling for a long time to get faster and have better endurance. The run is always the one I get in trouble with for not training enough.

Are you faster on two wheels or on four?

Definitely four. It’s something I've been doing for much longer. Also, it really runs in the family so it’s something I enjoy doing with my dad.

What gives a better high? Racing on foot, bike, or car?

Of course racing cars will always be my go-to adrenaline rush, but I feel as though biking and racing cars are very similar. It’s nice to work with a machine; it’s exciting because you can get to pretty good speeds on a bike. Definitely thrilling when you're going over 40kph on your bike. It’s a similar rush.

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HER OWN HERO

MORE THAN BEING IRONMAN WORLD CHAMP PETE JACOBS' WIFE, JAIMIELLE JACOBS IS AN ACCOMPLISHED TRIATHLETE HERSELF AND A CHARMING WOMAN WITH A LIFE NO DIFFERENT FROM OUR OWN, AS SHE REVEALS IN THIS MULTISPORT EXCLUSIVE

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Last August, while walking along the beach minutes before the start of Ironman 70.3 Philippines, I saw a couple from afar who looked like they could be a great addition to MultiSport’s editorial coverage. We were trying to capture Kodak-worthy moments, you see. I whipped out my smartphone and snapped candid shots of the two—a quick hug, an encouraging smile here, an offhand wisecrack there. It was only when I got closer that I realized that Pete and Jaimielle Jacobs were my Kodak couple.

Hours after, at the finish line, I watched on the sidelines at how Pete, crossing in at seventh, waited patiently for Jaimielle to arrive.

It was just like in the movies, or maybe Matteo Guidicelli and Sarah Geronimo’s juicy finish line pageturner—only even better. For the Jacobs, such a gesture revealed the roles they play in each other's lives, regardless of how different their triathlon journeys are. While Sydney-born Pete is a distinguished triathlete noted for winning the 2012 Ironman World Championships in Hawaii, his wife Jaimielle has had podium finishes in the Philippines in her age group from 2011 to 2013, and again this year.

She even qualified for the World Championships in her hometown, the Sunshine Coast in Queensland.

Jaimielle, 30, is easy-going and forthcoming despite not having met her personally, but there is an immediate connection pervading past the e-mail exchanges.

She is interested in others as they are in her—in other words, she's nothing like a snobby or unapproachable celebrity athlete people may assume. Her activities outside triathlon back this up.

“My daily routine imitates that of a getaway reporter-slash-fitness junkie with a passion for triathlon, nutrition, fashion, business, and coffee—emphasis on the coffee!” says Jaimielle, who is also codirector of Training Mask Oceania (trainingmaskoceania.com),

FOLLOW THE JACOBS’ ADVENTURES ON PETEJACOBS.COM AND RECKLESSFRONTIER.COM. JAIMIELLE ALSO CONTRIBUTES TO FIRSTOFFTHEBIKE.COM

F E AT U R E MULTISPORT

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FOLLOW THE JACOBS’ ADVENTURES ON PETEJACOBS.COM AND RECKLESSFRONTIER.COM. JAIMIELLE ALSO CONTRIBUTES TO FIRSTOFFTHEBIKE.COM

ON HER OWN BEING A WORLD CHAMP'S WIFE HAS ITS PERKS: JAIMIELLE GETS TO TEST HER METTLE AGAINST A GREAT TRIATHLETE, AND THAT HAS YIELDED IMPRESSIVE RESULTS

BEST IRONMAN 70.3 SPLITS

26:04 2:37:18 1:33:55 AGE GROUP CHAMPION AT which provides training tools for stronger breathing technique.

“When I am not working on that or all things Pete Jacobs, you will find me running with our two rescue puppies or out training with friends.”

As is often the case, a strong association with a world champion husband will permanently be part of her. It's a fact that she accepts wholeheartedly. “I am incredibly lucky to be in a position that enables me to train and race often, let alone do it with the man I love,” she says. “I am able to appreciate (to a certain point) how hard Pete has had to work to accomplish what he has and see the appreciation people have for Pete as a person and a triathlete. I don’t imagine many partners get to see their better half in all aspects and stages of their job like I get to—seeing the bad days, the good days, the appreciative co-workers, the audience.”

“I’ve seen him totally wrecked from training, barely speaking after

a run, and backing up a couple of hours later to get in two more good sessions for the day, and then repeat that over and over,” she adds.

Jaimielle and Pete go a long way back, competing in the same swim and surf clubs when they were growing up. When asked if she gets competitive with him every now and then, she answers with a laugh, “The only thing I think I’ve ever beaten Pete at was a game of putt-putt golf. He is so naturally talented, it is annoying!”

Triathlon aside, they are just like any couple, she says. “There are some days when you feel like the luckiest person in the world getting to work and live so closely with your better half, then other days you just want to throttle each other—I wont lie!” she exclaims and laughs.

Would it be a different story if, say, only one of you was into the sport? I probe.

“I am not sure. When I was younger, one of my prerequisites to saying yes to a date was if

he liked to run and whether we could go running together,” she says. “Then I happen to marry one of the fastest, fittest men in the world and he is too fast to run with! Once when Pete and I arrived at Pete’s mum’s house from swimming, Pete’s mum declared, ‘a couple that swims together, stays together.’ Little did she know we were bickering during the whole swim!”

It’s these moments of candor that, despite being sports celebrities in their own right, resonate an utterly charming universality about Jaimielle that feels physically real. The way she navigates her life with Pete is manifestation of an expedition that, though different, basks beautifully under the Australian sun. “I have discovered that you can be your own hero. I never thought I could start a triathlon let alone finish one although with the right mindset, positive affirmations, and self-belief anything is possible.”

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2011 2012 2013 2015 IRONMAN 70.3 PHILIPPINES

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WEEKLY MILEAGE

5-10km 3 hours

100-180km 6-8 hours

35-40km 3-4 hours @multisportph

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E V E N T S MULTISPORT

TRI UNITED 3 Three months after the previous leg of the Tri United Series, Bike King Philippines once again brought athletes back to Subic Bay and Sandbox, Alviera last Oct. 25 for Tri United 3.

Unlike normal triathlons, the course wasn’t the normal loop from start to finish. The 1.9km standard distance swim leg began at 6am at Subic Bay with the Elites donning their red swim caps up front. Sherwin De La Paz was first out of the water with a time of 15:47; almost an entire minute ahead of the whole group.

As the athletes took off, friends and families followed suit, riding alongside them all the way to the transition area at Sandbox. The heat was deadly enough for the bystanders, having to run 21K (long distance) or 10K (standard distance) definitely took a toll on the athletes. Even celebrity Iya Villania-Arellano finished the race with tears, hugging her husband Drew Arellano, as she crossed the finish line.

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A new addition to the race was a gong finishers could strike if they felt like they exceeded themselves.

Overall, it was another great race organized by Bike King Philippines.

Congratulations to all the finishers of this year’s Tri United 3!"

01 Participants came from different age groups and backgroundstt 02 Athletes dashing to get a good start 03 Drew Arellano 03

THE NORTH FACE MOUNTAIN ATHLETICS CHALLENGE The Mountain Athletics Challenge held last November 7 at the Sandbox, Alviera Porac, Pampanga exposed the champions among the ordinary Filipinos. This High Intensity Interval Training program (HIIT) designed to improve one’s performance in outdoor activities pushed each of the contestants to their limits.

From the brand renowned for gearing up athletes and explorers all over the world, The North Face brings their Mountain Athletics line of apparel to the Philippines. This newest Tekwear line uses Flashdry™ fabric; a revolutionary technology that regulates temperature and facilitates the quick evaporation of moisture effectively so that the wearer stays drier and more comfortable outdoors.

Tekwear was put it to the test with the Mountain Athletics Challenge, an

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outdoor training course designed for The North Face in partnership with the professional trainers of Fitness First.

There were 3 rounds, each getting harder and harder until a winner, from both the male and female category was announced. The top finishers in the men’s category were Steven Tali for 3rd place, Christopher Talosa for 2nd place and the Male Champion David Articulo inching ahead of the 2nd placer with the time of 2:46.25. For the women’s, Josa Camie Bassig finished 3rd place, Liza Paule 2nd place, and in first place, the fastest female at only 13 years of age, Julienne Christine Javier clocking in at the same time as her male counterpart at 2:46.25.

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01 Participants were made to perform different exercise challenges, including a barbell squat to overhead shoulder press...

02 ...and a wall-climbing challenge.

03 The grand prize winners received cash prizes, The North Face gift certificates, a sixmonth Fitness First membership, and a slot at the 2016 North Face 100 race.

04 The brave men and women who faced the grueling challenge in the sweltering heat.

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ER AT H G 3 | Iss ue 10 e lum Vo r 20 15 be Nov em

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ARDIE GARCIA, 45

Words by Eric Nicole Salta | Photo by Ronan Capili

S

tockbroker Ardie Garcia may have gone on a long hiatus from running but his drive for sports and determination to bounce back remain intact.

“I suffered torn ligaments in my ankle in high school from doing the triple jump,” says Garcia, who started running in grade school, was part of his high school's track team, and was co-captain of his college’s track team. “That was traumatic. I thought I would never run again.” Since then, Garcia, now a triathlete, has been relatively injury-free, save for minor ailments—high hamstring tendinitis and turf toe—that naturally come with age. In that span of time, he also mastered 10 half-marathons, eight duathlons, a couple of sprint triathlons and Ironman 70.3 relays, and a marathon close to his heart.

“Running a marathon was farthest from my dreams until one day, I decided I wanted to run 42K before I hit 42. By choice, I wanted to do the New York City Marathon for sentimental reasons because I grew up in New York.” While it took three years for him to finally participate and brave the ice-cold 2014 edition of the popular road race (“My legs

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were cramped severely after 32K, I thought I wouldn’t be able to finish”), Garcia emphasizes that running will forever be an integral part of his life.

Next on his list is the Osaka Marathon. “I’m on the 14th week of my 16-week training program (as of this interview). Since this will be my second marathon, I’m hoping to have learned from mistakes.

I’m constantly trying to follow my planned pace and, with any luck, I can beat my time from last year.”

(Ed's note: He made a new personal best at Osaka) This marathon attempt is a clear bid for redemption. But it also shows the confidence he's gained both from past races and from training by the book. “Post-run recovery techniques involve stretching and foam-rolling,” says Garcia. “A glass of chocolate milk is also a great way to get some protein back into the system to help jump-start muscle repair.”

As for his Osaka recovery plan? “I will basically follow the general rule for recovery: rest, ice, compress, and elevate. I’m also hoping to spend 30 minutes in the onsen (hot springs) right after I soak my legs in ice-cold water,” he says.

PERSONAL RECORDS

B Y T H E N U M B E R S MULTISPORT

1:40:56

42K

1:47:44

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2015

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OSAKA MARATHON

POWERADE DUATHLON

3:56:28

6K-30K-4K

CONDURA SKYWAY MARATHON

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COMPETED IN

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HALFMARATHONS

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DUATHLONS

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MARATHONS

SPRINT TRIATHLONS

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IM 70.3 RELAY

AVERAGE TRAINING MILEAGE EVERY WEEK

1.5K-3.2K

30K-60K

27K-40K

RECOVERY TIME AFTER MARATHON: 3 DAYS, FOLLOWED BY AN 8K RECOVERY RUN

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