Running in Singapore - The Starbucks Run

Saturday morning in Singapore means the "Starbucks Run". The Starbucks Run follows a paved river trail right through the heart of central Singapore. I highly recommend this run to visitors to Singapore. We start on River Valley Road and follow the Singapore River out to Marina Bay , taking us past Clark Quay and Boat Quay, the Singapore government's Disneyesque restaurant redevelopments. In the evenings the path is filled with tourists, but at 7:30am it is completely empty other than a dozen runners, a handful of Falun Gong adherents, and a few elderly strollers.

7:30am may seem early to start a run. I am not a morning person and 7:30am seemed way too early to run. However given Singapore's heat, 7:30am is on the late side. Half of our group this morning had already completed a 40-kilometer cycling workout before even starting the run, otherwise we would have started even earlier. In Singapore, which sits very close to the equator, the sun rises at roughly 7am and sets at 7pm every day of the year, and most runners in Singapore begin their workout at 7am or a bit earlier.

The Starbucks Run provides excellent views of Singapore's modern skyline, colonial architecture, the planned multibillion dollar integrated casino resort, and the Merlion statue. Unfortunately the Merlion is being cleaned today (so after traveling 7,000 miles I don't see the Merlion..)

The Starbucks Run is an out-and-back course, and this morning some of the group turned around after about 4-kilometers, but Brian, Mika, John and I pressed on to the East Coast Highway Bridge at 5.25k before turning around. See the map created by Brian of the course (satellite image only).

After the run we cooled off in the spectacular pool at Mika's apartment complex before heading for post-run pastries and beverages at a certain Seattle-based coffee chain. After waking up early and doing the scenic but grueling run, it was a welcome sight to see a grande latte.

Triathlon Gear Review

It is time for the post-Ironman gear review.

I am really not the gear geek that many of my colleagues are. This is partly because on my part-time work schedule I lack the financial resources to purchase all the requisite hardware. Nonetheless over the past few years I have somehow managed to cobble together enough equipment to make it through ironman. Here are some comments about notable items -


1. Aqua Sphere Swim Goggles - Goggles are a big concern for me. I struggle with visibility in the water and I wear contacts so I am preoccupied with water leaking into my goggles. None of the market leading swim goggles (Speedo, TYR) ever seem to fit my face. I had high hopes for the Aqua Sphere Goggles after reading that they are the number one ranked goggles among triathletes, and hearing an aggressive sales pitch in New Zealand. The Aqua Sphere goggles did live up to expectations in terms of 180 degree peripheral visibility and adjustability, and they felt reasonably comfortable. However they still left huge indentations in my face (it is always bad for me to look like a raccoon when I return to the office after a lunch swim). Moreover they occasionally leak meaning I did not feel comfortable relying upon them for Ironman and wore my trusted old pair. The Aqua Sphere goggles would definitely be worth the premium price if they fit my face - perhaps they work well for other people.
http://www.aquasphereswim.com/products/sealxp_clr_clr.html


2. Gel Kinsei - I have run over 700 kilometers on pavement and mountain trails on the Kinsei and they are still simply the most comfortable shoes I can ever remember (and I go back to original Nike Waffle Trainer). Great cushion and stability. Granted you trade off some weight and flexibility -- I tortured over whether to wear them for the Ironman marathon, but with my 3:30 goal pace I did not feel I would need to gain any speed with racing flats and would simply subject my exhausted legs to more pounding.
http://www.asicsamerica.com/kinsei/


3. Shimano TRO2 - My snobbish cycling friends actually approved of these shoes after making many condescending remarks to me about my old touring shoes. Yes the Shimanos are light and stiff. Problem is that the velcro strap on my right shoe constantly folds backwards and rubs against the crankshaft on every turn of the pedal. This friction can't help my speed. (maybe I will switch back to my reliable touring shoes).


4. Bento Box Bike Bag - This is very clever. And so crucial for storing gels. I just wish it was bigger so I could fit my mobile phone and more food.



5. Polar S150 bike computer and HRM - I truly hate this product. The manual is totally incomprehensible. Straps were broken straight out of the box. The watch visibility is poor, the buttons clumsy. I have nothing good to say about this piece of dog turd.


6. Orca Predator Wetsuit - Great buoyancy, warmth, and durability. And it looks cool. I do seem to lose a lot of freedom of motion with the long-sleeves, but I would buy the same long-sleeve model again

Bike Training in Rainy Season

They say you never forget how to ride a bicycle.

But I am getting worried.  I have only had one real training ride since early May.  

It is rainy season in Tokyo and each time I set aside the requisite 3+ hours for cycling it has been pouring down rain.  I don't hesitate to run in the rain, but I am not willing to risk my life on slippery crowded streets.  At least I managed to get in 3 swim workouts this past week, a spin session and some solid running. 

I am just concerned that when I finally get back on my bike I will have completely forgotten how to ride the thing.

Roppongi Hills Spa

My mailing address says Tokyo, Japan, but I actually live ensconced in an expatriate bubble, and my day-to-day existence rarely provides any cultural insights on Japan. However exercising at various "spas" or "health clubs" in Japan, Asia, Europe and the US over the past year, I could hardly help but ponder the extraordinary contrast in how the local people behave at the different facilities.

Much of my training these days is at the Roppongi Hills Spa, the one luxury in my otherwise ascetic existence. I spent some two hours at the Roppongi Hills Spa yesterday and during the hour I was in the swimming pool I did not see a single other swimmer. After the swim I spent 45 minutes in the exercise room which I shared with only two other members. But then I head to the showers and suddenly it is wall to wall people. In the 15 minutes I spent hustling through my shower, I counted nine other guys. Guys gingerly cutting nose hairs, guys applying face lotions, guys lovingly blow drying their hair, guys languidly washing themselves before their bath, guys soaking in the bath, guys languidly washing themselves after their bath, guys toweling, guys sleeping... This practice of bathing is apparently a highly refined art in Japan, an art whose relaxed pleasure continues to elude me.

Contrast this with the "spa" I went to in California recently. Actually in America we would not call this kindof facility a spa. Americans go to "athletic clubs" or "health clubs". The Redwood City Athletic Club possesses all the same facilities -- pool, exercise, sauna, restaurant as the Roppongi Hills Spa. But us Americans (at least the males) hastily change our clothes and spend our time rigourously swimming, lifting weights, playing basketball, spinning. It is a grim, goal-oriented, time-harried crowd. Showering is a perfunctory thing. The shower facilities are rather spartan and do not always smell particularly nice, but even if they were as luxurious as Japan's, people are in too much of a hurry to care. Too much of a hurry to chat much either. More than half the people are wearing i-pods at the Redwood City Club anyway.

Now contrast this with the spa I went to on a business trip to Germany. As usual I was preoccupied with completing my swim and bike workout programs. But all around me the people were wading and floating in waist-high water, holding drinks and socializing with one another. I felt like I was at a huge poolside cocktail party. Nobody else was wearing goggles or doing laps.

Now that the ironman is over and my training requirements are less time-intensive pehaps I can relax a bit more at the spa? I doubt it, I am too American I guess in this respect.

Ironman recovery

Apparently most ironman finishers experience a "cavern of despair and disorder" after ironman, an "inevitable sense of letdown and purposelessness".   Well in my case I have no time for this cavern of despair - I have to start thinking about the Lake Stevens 70.3 triathlon on July 23 and the all-important Fire Festival 10k Run in August.    Anyway I had my despair and purposelessness after New Zealand Ironman fiasco.

So now I am just wondering how quickly I should start training again.

 The rule of thumb on straight marathon run recovery is one day of recovery for each mile of the race - so almost a month of recovery for the 26 miles of a full marathon.  This formula would imply what?   Over three months of recovery for the 140 mile ironman event? 

I am thinking of this recovery as a "reverse taper".  So last week (the 6 days after the ironman) I did  a total 2:15 hours of training - a 5k run with Jayne, an hour spin and a 45 minute swim.
This past week I did 7 hours of training, (a spin session, two swims and three runs).  One of the runs was a 6x1000 track workout wherein I pushed to sub 3:20 on 3 of the 1000s.  Perhaps this was too fast too soon?

As usual I am not doing enough cycling.   It is raining in Tokyo so I abandon plans to ride at  the dreary Oifuto Sunday cycling mecca.

Ironman Japan - Analysis

With a week to reflect, here is a bit of postrace analysis:

1. Should I have pushed myself harder on the bike?
I know, it is easy to say now, sitting here in comfort, largely recovered from Sunday's event. And taking it easy on the bike was my core, pre-race strategy (my only real pre-race strategy for that matter). Still I am inclined to think a 10% increase in bike effort would result in less than a 10% reduction in run performance. On the other hand, 10% extra effort on the bike might result in a dramatic reduction in pure Ironman event enjoyment (as I recall from Wildflower triathlon).


2. Why did I "hit the wall" during the final few hundred meters of the run?
a. I simply bonked - in other words I stopped eating too soon
b. My 4:15 per kilometer surge on kilometers 37 and 38 caught up with me
c. I abandoned my walk/run strategy at 37k
d. Cumulative effect of the whole 12 hours
e. Lack of really long training runs
f. Mental weakness - Soft, suburban, American upbringing
g. I subconsciously decided to create a more dramatic story and more interesting pictures for my blog
answer - all of above?

3. Why was the ironman so much easier for me than the Wildflower half-ironman 4 years ago?
a. Better training, particularly the long bicycle rides
b. Nutrition - I was conscious to eat much, much more at IM Japan
c. Weather - The 80 degree F. California midday run zapped me at Wildflower
d. Run/walk tactics
e. Slower bicycle pace
answer - These past 6 months I have been focused on bike training to avoid the struggle I had at Wildflower, and I definitely noticed improved condition in December and January. But I think nutrition, weather and run/walk tactic also helped.

3b. Which is more difficult - Ironman Japan or the Obuse half-marathon?
answer - Definitely the Obuse half-marathon is more difficult. The Obuse half-marathon is run in late July in a valley north of Nagano, Japan where the conditions are mind-boggling humid. The Obuse course zigs and zags through dusty fields and in the end passes tantalizingly close to the finish line creating a cruel mental torture. Last year every step beyond the first 2-kilometers was absolute misery for me.
You might argue that Obuse is only 80 minutes of pain versus 12 long hours for Ironman Japan. However it is 80 minutes of sheer hell versus 12-hours of alternating periods of mild discomfort, giddy euphoria, and general fatigue.

4. How much did cool weather help me?
So many of triathlons are held in hotter climates and the half-ironman distance means doing the run in the middle of the day. The 15k run at the Saipan triathlon was a real slog for me because of the heat. So am I doomed at Sado in early September?