Priest, prosecutor-mom ready for IronMan race

Fr. Brigoli says that the triathlon has taught him to trust more in the Higher Power.
CDN PHOTO/JUNJIE MENDOZA

Joining a triathlon is no joke. To say that one needs to sacrifice sleep for rigorous trainings is even an understatement.

But for Fr. Brian Brigoli and lawyer Maria Alice Ingles, all the sacrifices are worth it. Even the pain.

“I wake up at 4:15 (a.m.) to run. I need to wake up early because I have to teach at 8 a.m., and I also have office work at the Archdiocese (of Cebu),” says Fr. Brigoli, who teaches at the San Carlos Seminary College and heads the Cebu Archdiocesan Commission on Cultural Heritage.

“It’s hard because I have mommy duties and I have prosecutor duties. So, I wake up at 3:15 (a.m.) so I have enough time to train and perform all my tasks,” says lawyer Ingles, who at 34, serves as prosecutor at the Talisay City Prosecutor’s Office.

Fr. Brigoli and lawyer Ingles have both signed up for today’s Cobra IronMan 70.3 Philippines triathlon, and both confidently said they are ready for the race.

5th IronMan

Joining the IronMan race is not new to Fr. Brigoli anymore. In fact, this year’s race is already his fifth. Last year, he joined IronMan in Cairns, Australia.

“I find it (triathlon) a reason to really achieve something. In this sport, you’re not competing with other people. You know, in other competitions, you have to let others lose in order for you to win,” says Fr. Brigoli.

It didn’t come easy, though, as Fr. Brigoli had to juggle several jobs every day. Proper time management, he said, is the key.

He holds classes from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m., and performs his clerical tasks in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cebu and in the Archdiocesan Museum in between. He also occasionally celebrates Mass.

Fr. Brian Brigoli is set to start his bicycle training routine, which is one of his preparations for today’s Cobra IronMan 70.3 Philippines race.

Mantra and pain

In times when he badly needs motivation to do all his daily responsibilities, Fr. Brigoli has this mantra: Nakahuman man gani ko og IronMan, mahuman sad ni nako (I even finished IronMan, so I can also finish this). There is no slowing down.

For the 38-year-old priest, triathlon has taught him to trust more in the Higher Power, to not just pray for an easy race or an easy life but for a stronger heart to endure all the obstacles.

Being a triathlete for several years already, Fr. Brigoli revealed that he still suffers from body pains during trainings and races.

In his last IronMan in Australia, he had leg cramps even before he could finish a kilometer of his run.

“You can’t go away from pain. Every race nako, lain-lain g’yud na akong sakit sa lawas. Sa Australia, may na lang naay anti-cramps nga medication so naulian ra dayon ko (In every race, I get different body pains. In Australia, I was lucky because they had anti-cramps medication so I recovered fast),” he said.

Prosecutor Ingles on being a triathlete: “All the pain are worth it.” PHOTO FROM MARIA ALICE INGLES FACEBOOK

Time management

Lawyer Ingles, for her part, also credits proper time management as an essential tool to be a successful athlete and a career woman.
“Plus being a mommy and a wife,” she quips.

Today is her first Cobra IronMan race, but she has been joining triathlons since November 2016.

Since she is new to the sport, Ingles had to train extensively, joining triathlons whenever possible to maintain a strong stamina.

Ingles wasn’t a fan of triathlon in the beginning. Weighing 230 pounds just two years ago, Ingles was motivated to start a healthier lifestyle for her seven-year-old daughter.

“I started running in January 2016. I surprisingly loved it. After about five months, I lost 60 pounds,” says Ingles, who also acknowledges the support of his father and his husband for her “life-changing” decision.

But there were times when she asked herself why she chose to add another burden, especially when she gets pressured from work.

Talisay City Prosecutor Maria Alice Ingles (above and right) prepares to ride her bicycle on the bicycle leg of last year’s triathlon in San Remigio town in northern Cebu.
PHOTO FROM MARIA ALICE INGLES FACEBOOK

Family support

In times of doubts and confusions, she just looks at how far she’s gotten in the sport and how her family supported her in her journey to remind her that “all the pain are worth it.”

She narrated that on her triathlon race in Bantayan, northern Cebu in April, she suffered from an arm injury, causing her to almost surrender on the swimming event.

“I really wanted to call the marshal but then I remembered that my husband and my daughter are on their way to Bantayan to see me. What will I tell them if I stop?” Ingles said.

Inspiration

With hearts full of gratefulness for how sports changed their lives, both triathletes pledge to continue their passion for the triathlon and eventually serve as inspiration for others to go beyond their limits, and to be more than what their profession and vocations ask them to be.

For the Cobra IronMan 70.3 Philippines on Sunday, Fr. Brigoli and lawyer Ingles have just one ultimate prayer: to let all the 2,756 triathletes finish the race happy and strong.