Miscelle Gilbuena (center) poses for a photo following her victory in the 2017 Powerman Philippines Asian Championships on Sunday at the Clark Freeport Zone.
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
Cebuana duathlete Miscelle Gilbuena spent half a year doing rigid training in preparation for the 2017 Powerman Philippines – Asian Championships.
Her hard work paid off over the weekend as Gilbuena outlasted her counterparts via come-from-behind fashion to be named the Powerman Classic Female Elite champion at the Clark Freeport Zone.
The 29-year-old Gilbuena, who hails from Bantayan Island, Cebu, finished the grueling race in three hours, 39 minutes and 34 seconds, just one minute and 10 seconds ahead of Alexandra McDougail of Australia, who wound up in second with a time of 3:40:44.
Gilbuena had everything under control early as she finished the first run well ahead of McDougail, but the Aussie didn’t fold up easily as she took a two-minute lead over the former after the bike portion.
But Gilbuena made sure that her long preparation for this race wouldn’t go to waste as the pendulum of fortune swung her way catching McDougail in the final two kilometers of the second run to take the title.
“Everything paid off. I really prepared for this,” Gilbuena said.
Next up for Gilbuena will be the National Duathlon Championships in Subic on Nov. 12 before she returns to Cebu this December to compete in the Milo Marathon.