Timex Ironman Triathlon Sleek 150

"Whether pushing yourself towards a qualifying time or a new personal best, the new Timex® Ironman® Sleek™ 150-Lap watch allows you to access information without breaking stride, giving you the edge when every second counts.Buy the Timex Ironman Triathlon Sleek 150 Lap TapScreen watches in full and mid sizes:" - Triathlon Magazine.eu

I got this watch couple of months back as a gift from Pao. He had it ordered from amazon since the watch wasn't available locally during those time. It took some time before I could write the review but non the less here it is.

The Sleek 150 comes in a few different colors and styles. My watch is a mid sized violet which appeared to be pink in the catalogs. I found it comfortable to wear as my daily-wear watch and not just as a sports watch. I like the large number display and the Indiglo night light feature.

The watch set up is fairly easy but given the number of features, you might want to read the pocket sized manual first. be sure to keep it handy so you could look at your cheat sheet from time to time.

The touch sensitivity is adjustable so you could specify the amount of force needed to activate the functionality. This eliminates the chance of accidentally ending a lap especially in swimming when your hands are hitting hard into the water.

I've tried using the tap screen feature during my swimming laps and it proved to be much useful in swimming than in running. The fact that you just have to tap and not look at the buttons is so much useful when you are hurrying to catch that PR. Of course nothing still compares to our good old GPS watches but this one is pretty nifty itself.

The target time pacer can help you stay on target when you are training for a consistent speed. You set your desired time per lap, mile/km. Then when you tap the watch at the end of that lap or mile, it will give you a slow beep signal if you are going too slow, a single beep if you are on target, and a quick beep signal if you are going too fast.

The watch also has customizable alerts for when you should drink or snack on longer workouts. You can turn these signals on and adjust the time between signals. This is an excellent feature for those who forget to drink or who don't trust their thirst signal.

Timex Ironman Triathlon Sleek 150 Lap Tap Screen Product Specifications:

• TAP SCREEN TECHNOLOGY Focus on performance, not buttons. Just a simple TAP to operate the CHRONO (start/laps) and TIMERS (start/stop).
• 150 lap memory recall Chronograph up to 199 hours
• TARGET TIME PACER A built-in audible tracker beeps when laps are taken to advise if real pace was SLOW, FAST or ON PACE from your TARGET LAP time.
• DATED TRAINING LOG with best lap, average lap, and total segment time. If the Target time pacer is ON there will be delta time feedback of SLOW, FAST or ON PACE information per lap.
• LAP MANAGEMENT SYSTEM Important times can be LOCKED into memory with a new management system. All workouts are saved and oldest training will be automatic deleted.
• HYDRATION A LARMS With time as your most fierce competitor, it’s easy to loose track of your vital needs. Fuelling Alert timers remind you to re-fuel at regular intervals.
• LABELED INTERVAL TIMERS Complex routines become automatic and effortless with 3 workout sessions withup-to 16 intervals each. Each Interval can be labeled according to pace intensity (I#, WARM, SLOW, MED, FAST and COOL )
• SOUND LEVEL Loudest alarm in an IM watch– increased the level of chimes and alarms by 5 Decibels
• ERGONOMIC SLEEK DESIGN complements the technical innovation and provides increased comfort with the open vents on the strap to minimize skin contact and increase breathability.
• ENHANCED READABILITY Oversized curved face improves readability at a quick glance
• 3 alarms settable for daily/weekday/weekend/weekly with 5 minute back-up alarm
• 2 time zones for travel conveniences
• INDIGLO night-light with NIGHT-MODE
• Water Resistant to 100m

To sum it up the watch is pretty cool. Timex Ironman Triathlon Sleek 150 with Tap Screen Technology is as fancy as the name implies. Its casual enough to wear everyday and sporty enough to cater to your basic triathlon needs.

Pros

• Tap screen for ease of recording of laps.
• Full-featured Ironman sports watch
• Well suited for distance training, marathon and half marathon pacing.

Cons

• Doesn't upload data to your computer

Description

• 150-lap memory and training log
• Tap the screen to record a lap.
• Nine interval timers
• Chronograph
• Target pace timer with audible alerts for slow, fast, and on pace.
• Drink and snack timers.

Getting Ready For My FIRST Half Mary

Having a goal in mind has always been the best motivation, hence to improve my running I made it a goal to run my first half marathon by the end of the year. I thought that this would be a nice way to celebrate my running anniversary, and with that in mind, I registered in the upcoming Standard Chartered Marathon in Singapore. :)

Training of course is essential to every endeavor - and I'd like to show you guys my new training plan.

I made this plan through miCoach ♥ 



This is a 17-week long training program built to prepare me for the half marathon. This training plan is composed of 4 parts - long run, steady run, speed training and active recovery. Each of them with intervals to allow adequate rest and recovery. 

LONG RUN - my long runs are scheduled every Sunday. I scheduled it such so that I could have the luxury of going out of town come time that I need to search for places to do my mileage run. As you can see, my training program starts at an easy 45 min run, incrementing 5 mins every week till it reaches about 2 hours something or so. It is composed of a 5 min warm up and a 5 min cool down - the remaining time of which is a straight green zone run. I try to strictly adhere to my training schedule, fighting the urges to run faster than I should or walk when my legs are hurting.



STEADY RUN - these runs are scheduled every tues. Its a constant 30 min program from the beginning of the plan to the end. It is composed of a 5 min warm up 20 min run and 5 min cooldown.



SPEED TRAINING - done every thurs, so that I'd have enough time to rest since I'm working from home.
This is where I am allowed to pump up my zoom! It is designed to change pace at certain intervals to train my heart to adapt with the changing stress. As of the moment i run 4min/km to reach the yellow zone. Maybe in time that could be faster. :)



ACTIVE RECOVERY - active recovery is the most important of all. Its a 30 min low effort run or fast walk program. This workout is designed to let my body heal while running and prepare me for the Sunday Long Runs. This is scheduled every Saturday. :)



So there you have it - My Half Mary training plan. I also do a lot of strength workouts in between runs. I try to keep it a balanced workout for both the upper and lower body. I alternate my workout to cater every muscle in my body. I especially am very strict with my core and ab workout. :)

In addition, I also use a lot of petroleum jelly during my long runs - the tale of kikay runner's 35km run gave me a scare. and i quote:
"I’ve been using BodyGlide as an anti-chafing balm ever since I experienced painful friction burns under my arms after Condura. However, it seems BodyGlide doesn’t work for me over distances longer than 21 kilometers. During my 35-kilometer run, I got a small burn on my chest area, and blood started oozing out into my shirt (!!!). I’m going to bathe in tubs of petroleum jelly on race day."
- kikay runner

I know I'm not running 35km, but just to be safe, I'm gonna bathe in petroleum jelly as well. lol

I guess that's it for now... ciao!!! :)

Up the Hills and Over the Mountains

I wish I am telling the story of how I've overcomed the hike for Mt. APO or the trail of Mt something something, instead I will be sharing the story of my comeback run in AMG Fun Run 2 @ McKinley hills better known to me now as "Bulubundukin ng McKinley".

AMG Fun Run was organized by my office peers in HP. It was a charity fund raising event (as most running events are) for the benefit of PGH patients. My friend Tin was kind enough to pledge the donation for my run and since this was my first run after being rested for some time, I only registered for the 6km category. :)

I feared that it would rain on the race day, It was already raining when we left home, however considering that Mckinley is more than 21km away from my home it was expected that it wasn't raining there yet.

We arrived at the venue a couple of minutes late but since this is a non profit race it is expected of course that we would start late so I was just in time for the stretching.

The bang for the 9km category started a few moments later, followed by the 6km and then the 3km. I, belonging to the 6km mark was with a handful of eager-to-run HP folks. The signal was given and we dashed off... Much to my surprise I was in the front group leading the pack of the 6km runners along with 4 guys i don't know. The first stretch was a steep descend which was immediately followed by a steep climb. :P After about 2km of up and down my knees started hurting and I started walking. My breath was thin and my vision blurred as i walked in a very slow pace up the hills of McKinley. Everyone was passing me now and from the lead I was bumped into the middle of the pack.

I tried to run but after about 2 mins my chest started hurting - I muscled all my energy to run as I threw careless curses into the wind - blaming the hills for my hurting knee. 3KM passed. At some point during the course of the run Loogz caught up with me and we started walking together. I was panting hard having that feeling that I was about to faint - he said he had the same so we decided to just walk the remainder of the race route. The steep climb was harsh even when we were walking, perhaps it was the lack of practice or the cold legs - I just couldn't run anymore. I walked, I walked very slow until we got close to the 5km mark. At this point it already started raining - and presto! I now have a reason to stop running. :P

To sum it up i wasn't able to finish the race - I was too tired too soon. The run was again as excruciating as my first and i suppose the fact that we were running in such high inclination didn't help one bit. :(

Now I'm Back. I'm back to my training plans and Im hoping that the next run takbo.ph anniv run would be better. hopefully a sub 40 or sub 35 :)

here are some pics from the race.

almost flying

sooo tired (yes i've gotten a lot darker from the swimming lessons T_T)

gunstart

lap marker

One With The Water

As I've mentioned in my previous blog, I was on a running Hiatus for the whole of May to give way to my swimming lessons. Just to break the monotony of my running blog entries, i'd share the story of my summer swimming lessons.

I enrolled in Bert Lozada's swimming school (Ascott branch) last April for the May 2010 beginner's class. I have been afraid of the water all my life and I've decided that this may be a nice change for me. The first day of class was generally easy, as with the rest of the 5 years olds that were in the pool, we were taught the basics - floating and bubbles. lol After that the next thing we did was the glide - a move where we just floated and kicked and held our breath in the water.

Coach kept telling us not to be afraid of the water. He taught us the 4 swimming techniques, freestyle, breast stroke, backstroke and butterfly. In order of easiest to hardest, Id say freestyle is the easiest followed by breaststroke, butterfly then back stroke.

I know it may be a surprise for some that I tagged backstroke as the hardest, but it was particularly difficult for me since i was terrified that the water would creep into my nose and drown me from within. Breast stroke - or the froggie was so much fun to do - i just pretended that im a frog. :) Butterfly - i think, requires a lot of upper body strength because the constant slamming into the water did hurt for some time. It was also particularly hard to push myself forward. My favorite part of this technique is when I launch into the water like a mermaid. hehehe :) Last but not the least is freestyle - my favorite. By the end of the 10 sessions I was already capable of swimming the 2 laps (50m) straight using freestyle. That for someone who had been terrified of the water is a HUGE milestone. :)

Aside from swimming, one thing I've learned from this experience is the value of a good rest. My shins had been aching so bad since I use to run everyday at least 5-10km. After a month long rest from running, my shins recovered and the pain was gone. After that I immediately changed my training plans to allow adequate rest for my legs. I try to strictly follow my schedule now, Long run Sunday, moderate run tue, speed training thurs, active recovey sat - and weight trainings in between.

I find that returning to running is a bit hard after that month long rest but it did paid off since my feet and legs are not hurting anymore. This time I'll try to train wiser. :)

Bdw here are some pics from my swimming class :)

HELLO THERE!!! im a shy turtle - NOT!




with my classmate


my coach - thanks coach JC!


team picture