Balancing Family and Triathlon

While all eyes will be on IronMan World Champions Pete Jacobs and Chris “Macca” McCormack of Australia in this Sunday’s Cobra Ironman 70.3 Philippines, Cebuano athletes will also be looking for a share of the limelight in this prestigious international event.

The Cebuano charge will be led by runner-turned triathlete Mendel Lopez, who was last year’s highest placed Cebuano, finishing third with a time of 4:39:24. August Benedicto (4:27:39) and Franklin Peñalosa (4:35:28) took the top two spots in the elite Filipino category.

Making this year’s race special is the fact that Lopez will be competing with his wife, Lorhiz. They tied the knot in October of 2011.

Last year,  Lorhiz was part of a relay team that  included Amale Mendezona-Jopson and Mary Joy Tabal. That team topped the all-female relay category.

While Mendel will once again compete in the same category, Lorhiz decided to join the age-group category as an individual. This means she will have to conquer the 1.2-mile swim in the waters of Mactan, the 56-mile bike through four cities and the 13.1 mile run course.

But both multi-awarded triathletes admitted that this race won’t be easy for them.

They are aware that their glory days are over now that their focus is more on  their growing family.

“Of course, family comes first and triathlon has to take a back seat,” said Lorhiz, who competed in the bike event of the relay competition last year. “Before, I didn’t have to worry about anyone but myself. I trained when I liked, worked when I liked, I controlled my time. Now, I don’t get to train as much as I want to. Even if I can train, let’s say after  work, I can’t think of anything else but my toddler. We’re practicing attachment parenting, that’s why we’re so hands-on with  our little one.”

Mendel, on the other hand, said he doesn’t train that much also since he has to balance his training with his work as a Geodetic Engineer.

But that that doesn’t stop them from entirely leaving the sport. The couple said they managed to squeeze  in some time to train hard for the biggest triathlon event in the country.

In fact, Lorhiz still managed to qualify for the Kona World Championships and XTerra World Championships.

Mendel, meanwhile, rides his bike to work everyday  so he can continue training even while working. He said he improves his mileage by biking to and from work.

So even with their lack of preparation and their commitment to their family, Lorhiz and Mendel are still considered among the top Cebuano bets for this weekend’s race. After all, these are two of the best triathletes Cebu has seen. And as the saying goes, you can’t underestimate the heart of a champion.