Sherlyn Anne Bacus: The Lady 'Ironman'

SHERLYN Anne F. Bacus learned the ropes of triathlon only last year and yet she has already achieved much more than any other neophyte.

Shai, as she is fondly called, clocked six hours, 48 minutes and 12 seconds to finish third in the women's 25 to 29 category of the just-concluded Cobra Ironman 70.3 Philippines held at the sprawling Camarines Sur Watersports Complex.

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She along with Triathlon Association of Davao (Triad) president Dr. Oscar Escudero and Ernesto Rivera were the only ones who placed among the top three of their respective categories among the 15-member Team Phoenix-Triad Davao.

"I felt so happy and ecstatic! It was very rewarding. I really didn't expect it but my boyfriend was the one who knew I can place even before the race. He monitored my training and everything I needed for the race. That's how much he believed in me," she said.

She said preparing for the half Ironman race entailed efficient time management as she had to joggle time for training, work and loved-ones.

The 28-year-old Shai, a Colgate sales manager, is a native of Cagayan de Oro City. Her father, Baldwin, is an engineer while her mother, Sherlita, manages their household.

She's a Master's graduate of Science in Industrial Economics at the University of Asia and the Pacific.

She was a track and field varsity athlete way back in college. With her running background, it took her only a few months to get a grip of the three-division triathlon.

"I arrived in Davao April of 2009 coming from a nine-month assignment in Vietnam. I decided to go back to running since I couldn't do that in Vietnam. A month later, I joined the North Face Trail at Clark Sacobia where I placed second in the women's 20K," she recalled.

In August last year, she made it to the top 10 of the women's 21K in the 33rd National Milo Marathon Davao City eliminations. After two months, she finished third in the North Face Trail Run held in Cagayan de Oro City.

When she returned to Davao, Shai saw a poster of the Davao Mayor's Cup Sprint Triathlon. She raced past her rivals and went home with her first-ever triathlon age-group category title.

"I readily thought I would join the event when I saw the poster. I remembered seeing triathletes train at the Ultra track oval during college. At that time I really wanted to be like them. Now, it's happening," she shared.

She was a proud finisher of the Singapore Standard Chartered Marathon in December.

She opened 2010 with a second place overall finish in the National Age-Group Triathlon (NAGT) Speedo Sprint Triathlon in Davao in March and followed it up with a decent finish in Olympic distance event of the Subic International Triathlon in Subic held in April.

The five-foot-two ace then bagged the runner-up honors of the Columbia Duathlon Nuvali in May, second place over-all in the NAGT Speedo Sprint Triathlon in Cagayan de Oro and third place in women's 21K of the Adidas Kadayawan Festival Run in August before coming out as a surprise third placer in the Ironman.

Her day starts with a routine run that starts at 4:30 a.m. and ends at 6 a.m. She works from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. She swims or bikes by 6 p.m. onwards before she retires for the night.

Shai, however, still finds time to be with her boyfriend and loved-ones in between her hectic daily schedule.

Finishing a full Ironman remains her greatest dream as an athlete.