Adrien Semblat, Kim Atienza & Isabelle Daza on their triathlon training and their personal lives

Adrien Semblat, Kim Atienza & Isabelle Daza on their triathlon training and their personal lives

by rick olivares, stu balmaceda, and yu murayama

There are two challenges when it comes to triathlon – the grueling race itself and finding the time to train with everyone’s day jobs.

We caught up with footballer Adrien Semblat who currently plays for Nomads (and once suited up for Kaya) at the 5150 triathlon at Subic Bay. The Frenchman, who works for adidas during the day, said that he took up triathlon one year ago because of his girlfriend Isabelle Daza. And now the two compete for Team Gotta (that also includes Kim Atienza).

Triathlon is something that Semblat always wanted to do but he’s still committed to football as he hopes to suit up for Nomads by the next cup.

“It’s difficult trying to juggle work, sports, and being in a relationship,” he confided. “But I am young and I find the energy to do so.”

Atienza believes that it’s all about time management and the will to do so. Aside from his ABS-CBN shows Showtime, TV Patrol, and Matanglawin, the eldest son of the former Manila mayor also has time to spend with his wife and children not to mention train for triathlon.

“It’s not too difficult,” he enthused. “You just have to know what you can do and what you cannot do.” The call time for Showtime is at 11:30am so he has the whole morning from 6:00am-11:30am for training or family time. At night, it’s more or less the same. Right after informing us about the country’s weather condition in TV Patrol, he heads home to his family or he could go on for another round of training. And just so we all know, those hours of training are sufficient enough to prepare a triathlete for an excruciating full Ironman triathlon course.

Isabelle Daza on the other hand says that rest and sleep are just as crucial. “I sleep really early and wake up really early to train.” Then the daughter of former Ms. Universe Gloria Diaz heads for GMA to host Eat Bulaga. For triathlon events, she knows she’s not going to finish on anywhere near the Top 20 leaders. Her goals are quite simple –to finish and to break three hours and thirty minutes. “Maybe,” she concluded with a smile.