The Greater Perrinville Athletic Association

2011 Run Mileage

2012-01-09T18:21:00.005+09:00

I have dutifully tracked my running mileage this year on the Running Ahead website. One of the benefits of this effort is that the technology can generate various graphs which might somehow illuminate training patterns and future training strategies. So below is a chart showing my monthly mileage for 2011:

The Running Ahead site requires me to classify each run (even though many of my runs are just random blend of mostly slow running with maybe some hills and speed thrown in). As I look at this chart it is apparent I do very few "long runs". My longest runs are usually races - like in February when the 42-kilometer Tokyo Marathon represents a big chunk of the 176 kilometers I accumulated for the whole month.

Apparently my running dropped off in May amidst my journey to South Africa and Turkey; and never really picked up during the summer of triathlon training. The encouraging thing is how much I have managed to pickup my run training in November, December and January to-date in spite of much travel, races, continued swim workouts and increased cycle workouts.

Laguna Phuket Triathlon

2011-12-08T23:54:00.003+09:00

I finally competed in the Laguna Phuket Triathlon last week after years of dreaming of doing this luxury resort triathlon event. And it was amazing - amazing accommodations, amazing food, and amazing organization (the organizers provided more police escort and support for the PRACTICE bike ride on the Friday morning before race than most events do for the race itself..) Of course before the race I said that Phuket event was just an excuse to visit Phuket, but when the race starts it was totally serious. And just like my last triathlon (Murakami in October) I performed great on the bike, slogged through the run in mediocre but acceptable fashion, and have a puzzlingly disappointing swim result:

Swim (1.8 kilometers in ocean and lagoon) - 40:34 / 359th place of 672

Unlike Murakami I felt I executed the swim really well. In the pre-race, pre-dawn darkness I grew increasingly stressed-out at the thought of my first real triathlon swim without a wetsuit. But my sighting was

good, my form felt smooth, and I had plenty of space even though I took an inside position around the buoys. It was only after the race when I saw my relative results that I felt disappointed with my swim. Swimming has been my main training focus and yet I am placing worse that I did several years ago.

Bike (55 kilometers with a few steep hill sections) - 1:42:37 / 112th place
When I see the bike results though I am ecstatic. I actually out-splitted Keren(!) on the bike. The Tim Smith Carbon Bike and my limited indoor training rides seemed effective again. I passed other cyclists on the steep hills from 5k to 10k and on several long straight sections toward the end. I seem to be the only cyclist with only one water bottle (most participants are carrying three!) - and yet I don't even finish drinking my one bottle before exchanging for a full water bottle and the two aid stations. Teammate Jack Byrd passes me around the 50k mark and I am inspired to chase after him the last 5k.

Run (12k on pavement, dirt and golf course) - 53:37 / 45th place
I slog through the run as best I can. Since it is "only" 12k, I do not bother with run/walk strategy. The run is not as miserably hot as I feared it would be - running on a golf course seems to alleviate some of the heat effect we suffer doing triathlon runs on pavement.

Total - 3:21:24 / 92nd overall, 8th out of 100 in age group

Pumpkin Push 5k

2011-11-04T12:20:00.002+09:00

I completed the epic Pumpkin Push 5k this past weekend in Seattle. I ran the hilly course in 17:36 and placed 6th out of 636 competitors. Actually I don't know if I should call them competitors - many of the other participants were small children in Halloween costumes. Certainly the top dozen guys were competitive though -- I went out for a 5:25 first mile with a pack of 5 which broke up on a brutally steep short hill at the half way mark. As you can see in these pictures from the race photographer I was struggling to maintain a massive kick that I launched with 500 meters to go in an effort to crush some guy who had been running next to me the whole way. I did manage to beat him but could not overtake the 5th place guy. Well the cash prizes only went to the Top 3 overall finishers. Next year I will have to wear a costume.

Murakami Triathlon

2011-10-04T17:24:00.001+09:00

Last Sunday's Murakami Triathlon was my big "A" race of 2011 -- it was not supposed to be, but it worked out that way. The race was an Olympic Distance PB for me, and arguably my fastest overall triathlon performance to date. The bike leg was great, my swim was poor, and my run was acceptable.

SWIM - 31:09 (185th of 542)
It was a pleasant morning for a swim in the ocean. But despite all my training, I did not seem to execute well. I got off to a slow start (partly by plan), and then just seemed to never get comfortable. Through the first half I had hopes that I was going faster than it felt, but when we ran up onto beach at the halfway mark I despaired to look at my watch and see spit of over 16 minutes. (I had hopes of a swim time closer to 25 minutes). But open-water swim conditions are variable - my veteran swim teammates Chad and Keren estimated their swim times were 3 minutes slower than usual, so my effort was not as bad as I feared at that point. And thanks to all the training I was not nearly as drained from the swim as I used to be several years ago.

BIKE - 1:10:50 including transitions (51st place of 542)

The bike distance of 40k is short enough that (unlike Vineman Half Marathon) the lack of long training did not seem to matter. The short sessions on the indoor trainer did seem to help. And I have to admit again that my new bike really helped. I simply outroll people on the black beauty. I was amazed to pass so many people on the fast, flat out-and-back course. It felt exhilarating cycling back with a tailwind at speeds over 40-kilometers per hour.

RUN - 39:18 (23rd of 542)
I did OK. My unusually fast run at this course in 2008 (36:48) created unrealistic expectations. Sunday's 39:18 run time is in line with my other recent triathlon run times -- and my training. In running my race result times and training effort are much more closely correlated. I guess that is a nice aspect of running - the justice, the simple payoff for the preparation involved.

TOTAL -- 2:21:17 (49th place of 542)

Here are the overall results --

http://www.iwafune.ne.jp/~triathlon/2011/2011results-k.pdf

Sweltering in Singapore

2011-09-06T14:58:00.001+09:00

Two years ago I did the Singapore Safra Bridge Run in 84 minutes which was good for a Master's 3rd place and an assortment of lavish prizes. I recall feeling comfortable in the pre-dawn Singapore air and the equatorial humidity did not seem to affect me until late in the race.

So I returned this past Sunday to hang out with my good friends in Singapore, do extensive swim training, and attempt to win enough marathon prize money to cover months of living in some Laotian jungle.

The half marathon started at 5:15am, seemingly early enough to avoid the heat. But before we had even covered 800 meters, I looked over to my teammate from Tokyo, Omar, who started with me, and exclaimed, "My god it is hot - it is so humid I cannot breathe". I felt like I did when I ran in the high altitude of Denver, Colorado last year. Somehow I still managed to settle into a reasonable 4 minutes pace and start passing people.

The marathon course is good for us people with background in urban planning and real estate development and I pointed out to Omar the whole new amazing skyscraper office district that the Singapore government is constructing at Marina Bay. I am not sure that Omar really cared about the Marina Bay development project -- rather he kept replying about his lack of training and concern about melting. Soon Omar dropped back a bit, and by this time I had lost interest in the splendid sights of Singapore. For a while I concentrated on staying with a pack of Thailand team runners and then when I lost contact with them I concentrated on maintaining good form, then finally I simply concentrated on not giving up. Increasingly I found myself cursing at my expat friends for living in Singapore.

In the end I was pleased to finish in a time of 84 minutes just like two years ago (I am choosing to completely ignore several runners who claimed the course was short). Somehow I seem to run 84 minute half-marathons when I am in sub-optimal conditions or sub-optimal training - Cape Town, Singapore, Katsunuma, Cambodia in 2007..

After the race I told myself that the next time I come to Singapore it will be only for swim events, but likely I will forget about Sunday, and find myself running in Singapore again.

Vineman 70.3

2011-07-24T19:26:00.005+09:00

A decade ago when I first started struggling to do a triathlon I was told of the Vineman Half-Ironman where the swim venue was so shallow that competitors could actually walk during the swim. This sounded great to me. Then a few years ago, teammate Adam York did Vineman and spoke of cool conditions throughout the day. This also sounded enormously appealing to me. So when my friend Arturo happened to mention the window of opportunity to sign up for Vineman 2011 way back last October I seized the opportunity to sign up, figuring I could always cancel and get the bulk of my registration fee back. Suddenly the event was upon me - it was only last month when Mika T pointed out that I should be doing half-ironman level training sessions, at which point it struck me that my Olympic Distance training was not optimal preparation for 5-hours of what is presumably my "A race". But Vineman was more of an A "trip" and I did not feel moved to alter my OD training plan. I would just wing it.

So it did prove true that the Russian River swim was so shallow that I could actually walk. Of course after ten years and hundreds of hours of swim training, this was no longer such a big deal, but it was kind-of interesting to stand up and look around during the swim. Unfortunately what I discovered when I looked around was that a lot of the people in my age-group wave were way, way ahead of me. I find that I do not get off to fast starts in swimming. My time at the turn-around was a distressing 22 minutes. But then we swam downstream rather than against the current and suddenly my speed was much faster. Faster not just versus the first half of the swim, but faster than the other competitors, I was passing people like crazy, apparently I am like a leaf and get carried along by the current. Carried back to the transition for a time of 36 minutes.

My bike time was 2:53:03, my 90k bike PB. I did not try to leave some strength for the run. In fact I barely seemed to have energy to make it to end of bike. At 80k a guy passed me and asked me if I was OK. I did not think I looked bad at that point, but its true I was tiring a bit toward the end of the ride. I tried to eat as much as I could, but I have been in more of a run/short triathlon mode the last few years and have lost some of the high calorie consumption while racing skill-set.

So my run was a survival thing and went OK. I ran 1:40:25 and was still passing people like crazy. It seems that in China, the spectators uniformly yell "Jar-yo" (literally "add gas"), while in Japan they invariably yell gambatte - which roughly seems to mean "hang in there" or "persevere". I thought Americans had a variety of random exhortations to cheer athletes on, but it seemed like the only thing I hear now is "good job". Though when I was passing some other faster runners Sunday, they commented "niiiiiiiice" which I thought was pretty cool. So over the last couple miles when my pace slowed to 8 minutes per mile and a couple other runners passed me I tried to reply in kind, but it just came out as a gasp.

Overall I was pleased with my Vineman effort given my training. Moreover it was a nice weekend amidst the scenery of Sonoma Valley and having the chance to see my classmate Gordon at his nearby Coppola Winery and enjoy post-race barbecue with Arturo after the race. Here are results -

Swim - 36:01 828th
Bike - 2:53:03 746th
Run - 1:40:25 400th?
Total - 5:17:44 354th

So (comparing apples and oranges), Vineman is my PB half-marathon to date:

2011 - Vineman - 5:17:44

2008 - China - 5:45:27

2007 - Lake Stevens - 5:33:28

2006 - Sado - 5:39:04

2003 - Wildflower - 6:14:48

Swim Relay Night in Singapore

2011-07-01T17:25:00.002+09:00

I join the evening training swim workout with the Yellowfish Swim Squad in Singapore.

After months of swimming indoors and sharing one lane with 10 other swimmers, I find it glorious to swim in the open air on this typically tropical Singapore evening, surrounded by palm trees and towering residential blocks. The 16 club swimmers share 4 lanes in the spacious 50-meter pool.

When I arrive the coach, David, asks me about my swim level. Since I really have no idea about my pace, I mutter something about being OK in longer-distance freestyle, but lacking speed, and completely unable to do other strokes. So David assigns me to lane two, which is one of the slower lanes, and he has us do numerous sets of 200 freestyle. When it is my turn to lead the 200s, I swim them in around 3:45 and find myself over 30 seconds ahead of even the group in the faster lane 3 (though I am quite a distance behind the 3 guys in the faster lane 4 who are doing a different workout).

Then David informs us that tonight is a relay night and I find myself the anchorman for one of the 4 teams. This is the first race I have done in a swimming pool in my life, unless you count some informal childhood competitions dog-paddling against friends across a small neighborhood pool. I am the slowest of the 4 anchormen, and our team is crushed in the 4 x100. But then amazingly I manage to hold onto the lead and we win the 4 x 50. And then, even more amazingly I find myself doing the butterfly leg in the medley relay.

Now, I really cannot do the butterfly stroke, but I frequently do a "butterfly drill" for 20-30 meters as part of my training. The other three members of the team were adamant that they could not even do a single stroke of the butterfly, so being the team player I am I agreed to give it a shot. When the gun went off I gamely powered halfway down the length of the pool, windmilling my arms underneath me, and at this point, yet another amazing thing - I am actually ahead of the other 3 swimmers. Unfortunately I have not mastered my "butterfly" technique well enough to thrust my head fully up out of the water and get much air (I suppose this is one of the reasons I am ahead at halfway). Naturally I find myself gasping, sputtering, and reflexively holding onto the side of pool to get air. For the remaining 20 meters I am forced to revert to doing a hybrid dog-paddle, butterfly like flail. Somehow I make it to the hand-off, and my teammates seem pleased with my effort (or just happy that they did not have to do the butterfly). This being an informal affair we are not disqualified for the numerous infractions I would have incurred. My first pool competition of my life is great fun, though I probably should remain focused on open water competition.

Oshima Triathlon

2011-06-15T17:23:00.002+09:00

I place remarkably well at Oshima Triathlon (Duathlon) on Saturday. As you can see from this picture I am very happy to win a medal.

I am mostly happy about my bike ride. It was far and away my fastest race on a bike ever - I covered the fast 40k course in around 64 minutes, thanks in part to very favorable wind conditions.

I finished 16th out of 250 (officially I was 12th but I am pretty certain the officials gave our wave a break of about 90 seconds).

Due to terrible weather before the race, the swim was replaced with a 5k run. I was disappointed that yet again I am unable to put all my swim training to use and attempt to gauge my swim progress. However the waves and w

ind and rain conditions right up until the race starting gun were terrifying. Moreover substituting a 5k run improved my competitive positioning - I was officially the fastest person in the 5k. On the other hand, both my transition on and off the bike were comically inept. Somehow in the tumultuous, pre-race storm I miscounted the racks and I was convinced my bike was on the far right rack when it was closer to the middle. Even worse, I double-knotted my laces on my running flats, a mindlessly stupid thing to do in a duathlon. The race timing results adds the two

transition to the bike time so I cannot determine how much time I consumed on the transitions and precisely how fast my bike time was - but I believe of the 1:09:19 total bike time at least 5 minutes were transition.

I found myself mostly dueling with teammate Stan Chow. I had managed to catch up with Stan who started in the first wave, but from midway in the 5k run to midway in the 10k run we went back and forth. Stan blew me away on the transitions.

The new bike ride certainly seemed to help. I felt so much faster - it was especially evident on downhill sections and so much more confident on corners and in crowds.

Amazingly I was fastest among the 5 Namban teammates (and even beat the legendary Kimm-san). If we had done a swim I have to think I would have lost the advantage, but compared to last year's Niijima result against Kimm-san, Reza, Motozo when I was 8-11 minutes behind on the bike, this year I was much more respectable.

My results (official):

5k Run - 17:12 (1st)

40k Bike - 1:09:19 (43rd)

10k Run - 40:40 (11th)

Total - 2:07:11 (12th)

Two Oceans - Cape Town South Africa

2011-05-17T11:37:00.002+09:00

I traveled to Cape Town South Africa for the Two Oceans Marathon.

The marathon was meant to be my "A Race" for the first half of 2011. But ultimately it turned out to primarily serve as a fine excuse to journey to parts of the world I would otherwise never venture. The journey proved highly worthwhile, I can see why Cape Town was voted the world's number one travel destination on Trip Adviser. I have read that travelers are most attracted to places that remind them of their homes. Cape Town was like visiting a parallel universe version of my old home - San Francisco. And the athletic culture in Cape Town is amazing.

The marathon organizers held a "Friendship Run" around the Cape Town waterfront on Friday morning for runners coming from outside the country. It was a remarkably scenic and well organized event. I violated yet another sacred rule among more serious runners about never doing a run event carrying a balloon. This is probably an even more profound violation of the sacred standards than the many other rules I have now broken - doing pre-race group aerobics, walking during a race event, wearing the event t-shirt during the race..

The next day 6,000 runners gathered at dawn for the start of the marathon. Among the most moving parts of the event was hearing most all of the 6,000 runners around me bellow out the South Africa national anthem. As you know if you have seen the Hollywood movie "Invictus," the anthem itself is a beautiful song and represents a unifying element of South Africa ( During my visit to South Africa I was constantly reading and hearing of the issues of race and belonging and unity in South Africa)

The half marathon winds through Cape Town's upscale neighborhoods at the base of Table Mountain. I started slowly and managed to move past hundreds of other runners. My name was printed on my number and throughout the run spectators and fellow runners kept yelling "go Jay, looking good Jay" etc.

The race finished with a long, long finishing chute lined with bleachers that were packed with cheering supporters. Like at an Ironman Triathlon, the announcers work the crowd to encourage each runner. A different color medal is awarded to finishers under 4 hours, 5 hours 6 hours and 7 hours and as the clock ticked toward each hour mark, the crowd would build into a frenzy of cheering and stamping and clapping to exhort the runners staggering down the finish chute - yet another moving

element of Two Oceans.

My teammate Matthias had inspired

me to do Two Oceans - in fact I had originally had visions of joining him for Comrades, an 89-kilometer event in Durban, South Africa that also ranks among the world's great endurance events. Another teammate, Renald, is finishing up a several year work assignment in South Africa and he proved an amazingly host for us - we toured the wine country, cruised the harbor, climbed Table Mountain, ate at unique local restaurants, explored game parks and were able to gain a fascinating glimpse of South Africa. I may or may not make it back to South Africa for Comrades someday, but we are certainly keen to reunite our group for several possible events later this year and next in Europe.

(Oh, I finished the half marathon in 1:24:50 - I hoped to be able to run well enough to contend for prize money but it was not happening)

Its all about the bike

2011-04-19T16:22:00.003+09:00

I had been in a stalemate over buying a new bike for a ridiculously long time. This really should not be so difficult - most of the cyclists I know spend countless hours researching and discussing their next bicycle purchase - one cycling friend lovingly studies at least 2 different bike magazines cover-to-cover each and every month in anticipation of a bike acquisition that might be several years away. But I could not even be bothered to even remember even the most basic information about my own old bike.

And I really dislike the triathlon "arms race" where vendors fuel a spiraling sense among triathletes that they need to keep up with competitors buying ever more expensive equipment, such that the average Ironman-level bike cost (including wheels) is approaching $10,000. I would be happier if races just supplied everyone with the same standard bike and the race would be totally about the cyclist ability, not his/her budget.

Five years ago I bought a $1,000 Antares as a stop-gap bike to use until I could afford a real, grown-up triathlete bike. The Antares was an object of much scorn and derision, especially since I took terrible care of it. Late last year the Antares" brakes reached a point where cycling was getting extremely perilous, and so I took the Antares to the local shop for desperately needed repairs. The bike repair guys told me it would cost 40,000 yen just to do the minimum work to achieve a moderate level of safety, and he urged me to immediately throw my bike into the trash bin, noting I could instead buy a better, brand-new bike for 60,000 yen. But I resisted buying another stop-gap bike. I would just prefer not to buy a lot of junk (the whole Ikea disposable furniture mindset is dispiriting to me, versus the traditional concept of buying a few, well-crafted items and keeping them for years and years and fixing these things).

Teammate Keren suggested I get in touch with "Titanium Tim" who was building custom made bikes, sourcing frames from close contacts in China. Tim was amazingly great - he spent considerable time carefully taking my measurements and consulting with me over frame, wheels and components. Tim initially suggested a titanium time trial frame with top end racing wheels, but I pushed back given my current level of poverty and the reality that I would spend far more time riding this bike around town than in races. Tim was able to put together a no-brand full carbon frame, no-brand full carbon racing wheels and the mid-range Shimano components for a cost that was maybe less than half what I would pay for a similar performance branded bicycle.

So anyway after the above anti-materialist rant how do I feel about my new bike?

It is totally great!

It is just a joy to ride (and I have only ridden around town so far). It is light and responsive and comfortable.

And I am surprised by the strong reaction to the bike. I figured I would not need to worry about theft because the bike is so non-descript - it is just an all-black stealth object - not at all bright and flashy like many high-end branded bikes. But in fact I have had several complete strangers ask me about the bike. And when it was parked in front of a cafe last week I observed two different sets of people point at it and make some comment to one another.

Even though the bike is great value it is still worth more than all my other worldly possessions put together.

Run/walk marathon

2011-03-01T18:58:00.006+09:00

I ran Tokyo Marathon this past Sunday.

I executed pretty well on my plan. I did my weird run/walk tactic which seemed to help me make it to the finish line on limited training, and which seemed to puzzle so many spectators and other runners. I ran 4:30, then walked 30 seconds, ran 4:30, walked 30 seconds, etc. from the start through about 33 kilometers after-which I only ran through to the finish. The first couple walk breaks I found the course extremely crowded but after a few kilometers I had plenty of space to walk without interfering with the pace of surrounding runners. I was surging pretty strongly off the walks. At one point around 25-30k I had fantasies of dropping below 4 minute per kilometer pace and breaking 3 hours. But around 32k my legs started feeling really bad. I wished I could switch to swimming or biking (or sitting) for awhile. I am glad I did the run/walk thing as annoying as it can be. If anything I might have been better to have taken walk breaks all the way to the end. I plan to resort to the run/walk technique again in future runs, though hopefully not frequently.

Here are my splits --

Run for the Cure

2010-11-30T23:56:00.002+09:00

Run for the Cure is an excellent cause. But I am just in it for the prizes. I calculate that there is a sufficient probability of generating a return on my 5,000 yen entry fee and head off Saturday morning for the two loop charity event around the Imperial Palace.

Saturday is a splendid autumn day, but I am focused on only one thing - finishing in the top three. You can see the intense competitive tension in these pictures at the starting line.

When the race starts I tuck in behind teammate, UK James, despite the fast sub-3:30 pace - and this puts me in 4th place. Two kilometers into the run I surge past James, making sure to pass him on a hill and with enough speed so as to crush his spirit and leave him demoralized and broken. The two leaders are still way ahead of me at this point, but by 5k I manage to overtake the #2 guy who turns out to be another teammate, Michael.

I struggle through the last 5k never catching site of the number one finisher. I hate to finish second, especially when everyone keeps asking me "Did you win?" "Did you win?"

But one consolation is my time of 35:43 on the crowded course. I am pleased to be only 21 seconds off the fast time I ran in August on a perfect day when I felt good. The other consolation is that all of top 3 finishers win the same prize - 10,000-yen New Balance Shoe voucher and 20,000-yen Adidas store gift certificate.

In this photo a jubilant Kylie, Michael and I celebrate on the victory stand.

Lack of long training runs

2010-11-09T11:21:00.002+09:00

When I look at this chart of my daily run mileage and types from Running Ahead, I am struck by how much longer my races have been versus any long training runs. No wonder I was so tired at end of half-marathon. I guess I need to do some long training runs? or find shorter races...

Fruits Marathon

2010-10-28T02:37:00.001+09:00

I manage 8th place in the 23-kilometer Fruits Marathon on October
17th. This was intended as a social outing to the wine country west
of Tokyo, with a bit of running and cycling in order to admire the
scenery. But I don't really like wine. And as usual, once the race
starts my competitive instincts kicked in. I found myself passing
other runners and realized I had a chance to finish in the top 10. So
I maintained a 4-minute pace on the flatter first part of half of the
race, then somehow maintained my position to the top of Mount
Daibusatsu as we gain 1250 meter over the 23k. The course is a paved
road all the way to the top which helps me.

5k time trial - 17:05

2010-09-30T23:10:00.002+09:00

My recent 35:20 time for 10k implies that I can run a 16:57 for 5-kilometers.

So last night I attempted to break 17 minutes in the monthly time trial on the track at Oda Field. Six years ago I ran around 16:50 in a 5k time trial, but in recent years I have been content to go out relatively easy on the first kilometer and try to run progressively faster on each kilometer.

Last night I did the first kilometer in 3:23 and tried to maintain that pace.

It was painful - as you can see in this picture.

I faded over the

3rd and 4th kilometer, but am reasonably pleased with the 17:05 I did manage to run.

Northwest 10k Road Run Championship

2010-08-28T04:19:00.001+09:00

I entered the Snoqualmie 10k near Seattle on the morning of the race this past weekend. I had been concerned about fatigue from my journey to Thailand, Singapore, Tokyo and Seattle over the previous 7 days. But the course is scenic and flat and fast, and the race serves as the Pacific Northwest 10k road run championship -- so lots of fast runners from the Club Northwest team I occasionally run with in Seattle are participating.

Conditions are almost perfect, sunshine and 14 degrees Celsius. What, twenty degrees cooler than what I would have faced at Aiz I am actually a bit cold during the first mile. But after the weather in Tokyo... well, I don't need to bother explaining how wonderful it felt to me to run in these cool, crisp conditions.

In an effort to maintain a reasonably pace I run with a Club NW team member, Susan, for the first mile, and as expected she paces me to ideal 5:46 first mile. (Yeah in America even though the race distance is in kilometers they give splits in miles..) After the first mile I pickup the pace and abandon Susan and catch up with another Club Northwest woman, Claudia, who is the eventual winner of the woman's division. I feel surprisingly fast and relaxed and am delighted with my 5k split of 17:34.

My goal was to break 36 minutes, something I have not done is at least 5 years. So I push myself to hang on and maintain the pace over the last 5k. I am all by myself for the last 4k and feel I am slowing down. Thus I am a bit surprised (and happy) to see my finishing time of 35:20. I finish 3rd in 45-49 division, and 19th overall.

For the Seattle runners this August race represents the latter part of their running season, and many of them peak for this event. I am not at all sure anymore when my "running season" starts or ends, but August would really be my off-season to the extent that I have an off-season.

Sprint Triathlon in 36C/98F heat

2010-07-26T16:21:00.001+09:00

The most difficult part of yesterday's Watarase Triathlon was waiting for the swim to start and absolutely baking on the concrete rim of the reservoir in our full wetsuits. The race officials finally allowed us into the water which proved disappointingly warm (disappointing when you are looking forward to a refreshing dip into cool water). For the entire 750 meter swim I felt miserably hot. I don't recall ever feeling too warm during a swim in my ten years of triathlons and open water swims (most of which have taken place in oceans or in cold lakes in Seattle area and northern California). I was so happy to stagger out of the hot, murky water in just under 14 minutes.

And then came the second most difficult part of the Watarase Triathlon -- the T1 transition. Dazed from the swim I struggled unsuccessfully to peel off the sweltering wetsuit as I hopped across an endless stretch of burning pavement in my bare feet. It took seemingly forever to get out of my wetsuit, slather on sunscreen and get on to my bike.

But the rest of the Watarase Triathlon - the 20k bike ride and 5k run - was no problem - a pleasant day in the park. It felt refreshingly cool on the bike - and the course was generally flat and straight. At a distance of only 5k the run was psychologically easy to deal with -- after having become accustomed to longer distances lately.

I seemed to place reasonably OK given that I usually am relatively more competitive the longer the distance of the event. I felt I was cycling well, staying in my aero bars, passing lots of other guys and that I generally improved since Nijima - though the results did not seem to support this perception.

Swim - 14:26 (64th overall)

Bike - 43;12 (145th overall) includes my endless transitions

Run - 19;16 (9th overall)

Overall - 1:16:54 (59th out of like 300 total entrants)

Kamakura Rough Water Swim

2010-07-11T21:24:00.001+09:00

I spent almost two hours struggling through 5-kilometers of ocean
waves yesterday in the Kamakura Rough Water Swim. 1 hour 55 minutes
and 30 seconds of swimming to be precise - more than 20 minutes slower
than my time in the same event last year which I have a vague memory
of being much easier and more pleasant.

Yesterday's event on the other hand was not particularly pleasant,
aside from afterwards sitting on the deck of the beach-house watching
the sunset, sipping a beer, and being glad the swim was over, and I
knowing I would not be doing any swims this long for another year.

I have spent considerable time on swim training since last year's
event and hoped to see a big improvement in time, but upon reaching
the first turnaround and seeing my split was 20 minutes, I realized my
time was going to be much, much slower than last year. And those
first 20 minutes seemed like hours and hours - it was distressing to
think I was only one-sixth of the way through the race. I tried to
stay positive and focus on each stroke. By the time I staggered out
of the ocean I was not so much fatigued from exertion as I was
nauseous from the swell and the salt water.

I finished 40th out of some 200 entrants (maybe a third of the
swimmers did not meet the cut-off time and ended up as a DNF). I did
not place as high as last year, though I am still pleased to be as
competitive as I was. Moreover I finished ahead of teammates Kimm-san
and Phil who are strong, natural swimmers who seem more genetically
pre-disposed to swimming than myself.

Shore Run 2010

2010-06-14T11:41:00.001+09:00

I run Seattle's Shore Run 10k this morning and redeem myself for the
embarrassing
struggles at this event two years ago when I faded badly. This year I
stayed behind the
leading woman runners through the first 3 miles and we hit the 5k mark
in about 18:50. I broke away from a big pack around that point, ran
the last half of the race in 17:50 which is good for 3rd overall out
of 400 runners.

I feel a bit sheepish about needing to burst into a frenzied sprint in
the final 100 meters to overtake one last competitor - but it is worth
it to nab the gift certificate prize at Seattle's Jock and Jill
specialty running store.

Ocean Swim School

2010-05-23T22:18:00.001+09:00

I did open water swim training yesterday.

In 90 minutes yesterday we got more practical triathlon swim experience than in my first 6 years of triathlon. During most of my years of triathlon, I would only experience the chaotic start of a triathlon maybe 2x per year. Yesterday our group kept racing from the beach into the surf and battling the crowd and the current around buoys, interval after interval. I wish I had done this years ago.

Niijima Triathlon 2010

2010-05-17T21:25:00.002+09:00

Bicycle training is apparently not necessary in order to achieve a respectable Olympic Distance triathlon time. I finished the Niijima triathlon this weekend in 2:31:23 despite essentially zero training on my bike.

I finished the course 3 minutes slower than last year:

2010 2009

Swim 26:09 (58^th) 26:28 (93rd)

Bike 1:24:49 (100^th) 1:22:05 (76th)

Run 40:25 (8^th) 39:42 (4th)

Total 2:31:23 (44^th) 2:28:15 (39th)

* 44th out of 242 / 39th out of 170 finishers

Going into the weekend I was very stressed about my lack of bike training. Though maybe I was even more stressed about sleeping in the bowels of a boat and then waking up and doing a triathlon swim in the cold Pacific Ocean.

The boat turned out to be a charming adventure again this year though - there is something inherently exotic about embarking on an overnight boat trip to a remote island with 21 fellow athletes. And the triathlon went well -

Swim - The ocean water was really, really cold. The first moment jumping into the water was not at all pleasant. But as usual the worst part was the anticipation of the cold water. Once we started swimming, the water temperature was simply a non-issue. Still I struggled at the start

making the adjustment from a winter of training in a

calm, warm swimming pool. My first lap was 13:15, while my second was 12:45 as I got into a rhythm and I begun passing other swimmers. My time is only 19 seconds faster than last year, but I think I did swim much faster as indicated by my much higher place this year.

Bike - I thought I was in really big trouble when after only 500 meters of cycling my muscles started screaming with surprise. What an unfamiliar activity. But somehow the long-term muscle memory from decades of bicycling across the

United States and around Seattle and San Francisco kicked

in a bit. I was able to ride in my aero bars and push the bigger gears for a good percentage of the rolling course and enjoyed the sunshine and scenery.

Run – The lack of bicycle training seemed to manifest itself more once the ride was over and I started running. The uphill coming out of the bike to run transition was an ordeal. I could see teammates ahead of me on the turnaround sections, but I just did not have the strength this year to make up the huge lead they had established.

Though my Niijima time was "respectable" considering my lack of bicycle training, I do hope to improve on this by mid-summer.

Fuji Susono 2010

2010-05-11T15:58:00.004+09:00

Every May I run the Fuji Susono Half-marathon. For some reason, that is not entirely clear to me, I am the organizer of this event and in charge of coordinating the overnight adventures for 25 or so teammates. I am generally pretty good at planning travel, but in Japan everything is inscrutable to me, and I have been out of the country for weeks, so the activities are a bit chaotic. Fortunately my teammate Chiba-san is amazingly organized and diligent and it turns out to be a great little weekend trip with a nice express train journey to the sprawling resort situated on the side of Mount Fuji. We enjoy singing and dancing and feasting and skating and lots of family activities.

The race itself is a bit of an ordeal (for me anyway). The course climbs for the first 5k, then it rolls up and down for the next 11k before dropping back down over the final 5k. I feel reasonably good through about 10k but then start to run out of energy -

5k - 21:05

10k - 40:02
15k - 60:20
21.1k - 83:21

Compare my times over the past 3 years at this course -

2008 - 1:20:18
2009 - 1:25:03
2010 - 1:23:21

I just could not stride out on the final 4k downhill section and make up for the slower uphill start like I did back in 2008. Maybe it was the fatigue from recent travel and stress, or maybe just mental weakness (or maybe the basketball shorts I raced in). I felt completely drained at the completion of the run and was passed by 3-4 people over the final 5k (in contrast to most of my recent races where I have managed to pass competitors the entire race). Still I was able to enjoy a 5th place podium finish and the nice weekend.

Jeju Ultramarathon

2010-04-04T23:21:00.004+09:00

I was irrationally distressed about letting 18,000 JAL award miles expire on March 31. When I learned that the organizers of the Jeju Ultramarathon were offering my team free race registration and 2-nights of free hotel accommodations and I could journey to this South Korean island for next to nothing I was ecstatic.

There was just one catch - I had to run 50-kilometers.

50 kilometers is a long distance to run for me. (I know, I know, it is long for most people to run). In my case I have been doing 10k/half-marathon oriented training, and 50k dis

tance is about my average weekly running mileage. I was terribly concerned about suffering some over-use injury and taking weeks to recover. So I decided that I would emphasize survival and use the technique of alternating between walking and running which has been proven to reduce stress on the body. I repeatedly reminded myself before the race - walk early and walk often. As it turned

I got off to a very slow start - my stomach was full from eating a big break

fast, and much kimchi the

day before, my teammates and I started at the back of the pack of 500 runners; and so the first half of the 50k was a socializing and sightseeing event, punctuated by oddly frequent bathroom breaks.

Through it all, I was very disciplined about following my plan of doing 5 minutes of running, then 45 seconds of walking, then 5 minute running, 45-second walking, etc. I sensed th

at my run/walk technique drove the Korean competitors crazy as I passed them, then abruptly started walking. I was convinced that they were all thinking "look at this lazy American who keeps stopping to walk". Meanwhile I was thinking how darn much discipline the technique required and how it would be simpler to just run.

But the run/walk technique worked really, really well for me again. I kept feeling s

tronger and stronger as the race

went on, and begun to run faster at around the halfway mark - after each walk break I burst out into to a faster pace. It felt like a triathlon in the sense that I just

kept blowing past other competitors. At 35k I thought to myself that I should have taken the event more seriously as the start as I could have broken 4 hours, which struck me as a worthy goal. At 40k, I figured I sh

ould attempt to come as close to 4 hours as possible (though I would need to break 39 minutes for the last 10k). Yet still I adhered to the run/walk format all the way to about 47k before running it in. I was rather astonished that I actually did run under 39 minutes for the last 10k despite the walk breaks (not to mention that I had run 40k already).

Here are my rough splits for each 10k -

10k - :56:10

20k - 1:49:31 (53:21)

30k - 2:38:01 (:48:30)

40k - 3:20:56 (:42:55)

50k - 3:59:48 (:38:52)

I seem to have achieved the main goal of walk/run - minimal stress to my legs and minimal interruption to my triathlon training schedule. My right knee was sore the day after the race but I have felt good the last few days.

And it was a great opportunity to experience South Korea. I enjoyed a fine 35k bicycle ride along the Han River through central Seoul.

The Ultramarathon was a great chance to meet people from all over the world.

In addition to

free race registration and 2-nights accommodation at a 4-star hotel, we received a particularly s

harp-looking hot-pink jacket. This came in handy since it was surprisingly cool on the "Hawaii" of Korea. Matthias and I both wore our lovely pink jackets the day before the race as

we strolled along the waterfront near the hotel. Apparently Jeju is the number one destination for Korean honeymooners and the "pair look" concept of the newlyweds wearing matching outfits is quite popular. Matthias and I received a particularly disapproving look from the Catholic nun whom we asked to take our picture posing in front of the rocky coastline.

Ohyama Tozan Climb

2010-03-16T16:52:00.001+09:00

I completed the Ohyama Tozan 9-kilometer run/climb on Sunday.

I am racing so much lately, and I was a bit concerned to find myself limping when I tried to do some strides during the warmup. Actually my struggles during the warmup may not have been the mileage and racing as much lately, as the tough yoga session the day before. I really have no idea.

So I started at a relatively slower pace - 3:56 on the flat first kilometer. This may not seem that slow, but amazingly there must have been close to one hundred other 40-50-year old men and female runners ahead of me at this point. By maintaining about a 4-minute per kilometer pace through 6k (23:55), even as the course got gradually steeper and steeper, I passed dozens and dozens of runners - and was feeling reasonably good given the increasing grade of the hill.

But then we hit the stairs at 7k. I just can't get over how the guys around me simply exploded past me at this point. This happens to me at every hill climb race. Today I was telling myself to be mentally tough on the first set of stairs and not let up. But I still dropped from 12th to 17th place over the 8th kilometer. Do these guys really train that much all winter on stairs (or am I just that weak on stairs and slowed down that much?)

I hung on fairly well over the final kilometer up the rocky steps to finish in 48:44. This was good for 18th place. Not 18th overall - 18th place in my age division. Yet I felt like I ran nearly as well as at Arizona/Tokyo races where if finished 3rd/4th respectively -- overall.

Ohyama Tozan is always an interesting challenge for me - even if I am not competitive on stairs.

2010-03-04T11:44:00.004+09:00

Below is a chart of my monthly running mileage for the past 8 months.

I begun making a concerted effort to run more after the end of my triathlon season in early October. A lingering cold and travel hampered this effort, but since late November I feel like I have been running an awful lot at over 50k per week.

And it seems that this additional running has improved my race times.

Arizona Marathon

2010-02-22T03:25:00.008+09:00

I run a charity half marathon on the western edge of Phoenix. As you might expect if you know Phoenix, the course is flat and fast. So flat that the freeway overpass during the final mile seems like a mountain. As you might not expect, this race through the desert is surprisingly cold at 8am, and surprisingly lush with the first half winding through golf course resort neighborhoods.

I had low expectations for receiving serious race support. The early aid stations offered cinnamon rolls with gooey frosting. But then around halfway as I approach an aid station, a young boy sprints up to me, struggles to run along side me, holds out a handful of PowerBar Gels and asks me if I want one. I am so impressed: first by his effort, second to receive just what I wanted - Power Gels, and third to receive them right when I needed them at halfway right before water.

I finish 3rd overall out of 540 in 1:19:43 - precisely a minute slower than Kanagawa, but reasonably good given the lack of taper, and given that I could see no one near me for most of the last half of the race. All I could see was this huge futuristic stadium finish, and the freeway overpass looming across the desert in the distance.

1:18:43 Half-Marathon

2010-02-08T12:20:00.000+09:00

I run 1:18:43 (chip time) at the Kanagawa Half-Marathon.

This is my fastest time in 4 years. My teammate Juergen points to a age-grading calculations that would suggest guys over 40 slow-down some 30-seconds per year in a half-marathon which would make this time even more strong for me.

I am not convinced we should make such a large adjustment for age (I would rather not concern myself with this at all), but in any case it is a very good run for me, perhaps the best in my second running life.

My rough splits - 18:35, 36:55, 55:50, 1:14:48 reflect my generally consistent effort (I am puzzled why the 3rd 5k is not as fast).

The additional mileage I have done recently seems to have helped my endurance at the end of the half-marathon. And the barefoot running and strides seem to have improved my form, and perhaps helped improve my time versus last year, though it is difficult to gauge.

One-legged hill training

2010-02-01T16:39:00.001+09:00

I attend a running seminar on forefoot running last weekend by my ekiden teammate - Mike Trees.

Mike comments that runners tend to be rather stuck in their ways and reluctant to try new things. Well, there may be something to this -- I am quite jaded and skeptical about new training, nutrition and gear recommendations, and generally just want to enjoy the same old running. But I am a triathlete, and Mike goes on to say that triathletes are more eager and willing to try new techniques...

(In fact one new technique I have tried - the barefoot running mentioned in my post of December 3rd, is progressing slowly but surely - I am up to 3k per week of barefoot running - with no serious ill effects.)

Mike tells me that if I wish to get faster I need to work on strength and form. I have been hearing for some time now that plyometrics can be effective, so I am relatively open to doing Mike's strength drills which we practice a few times and you can see on his blog -

Mike's one legged hill running and cadence drills .

I will start a 6-week hill cycle after next month's races and post feedback to this blog.

Shibuya Ekiden

2010-01-26T16:02:00.002+09:00

I am the weak link on a stacked master's relay (ekiden) team at the 4x2.9k Shibuya Ekiden. Compare to last year when I was the star taking the lead for our winning team. This year I follow Kuri's blistering 9:21 and my 9:57 manages to hold onto first place, which is all that was really required of me, as I hand off to Mike Trees one of the faster 45+ 10k runners (in the world. seriously) Fabrizio anchors us to victory in total time of 39:20 - and I get the glory again at award ceremony in this picture.

Hong Kong Mountain Race

2010-01-14T18:37:00.003+09:00

I am reminded again that trail running is not my strength - or at least reminded that racing down rocky stair steps is not my strength.

I had heard that the 14-kilometer Lantau Mountain Marathon in Hong Kong had an interesting climb followed by a nice flat trail section and I had gathered a group of teammates for the event.

The initial 4.5k climb up the rocky mountain trail went fine　- I started slowly and then passed dozens of runners on the narrow trail. The view was fantastic and I felt I was moving into good position. But then we crested the hill and I struggled on the downhill as runner after runner scampered around me. I was becoming a bit of a hindrance to the other runners with my slow, cautious side-stepping. Apparently I am just too caught up in self-preservation, and do not lean forward and let gravity carry me down. My only solace was the thought of opening it up on the final flat 7k and overtaking everyone.

However while the final 7k section proved to be relatively flat, it continued to be a narrow and rocky trail, and I could never really open up and simply "run". I had built up a lot of pent-up energy by this point and whenever we did hit a more open section, I burst into a sprint. I managed to overtake most of the runners who had passed me on the downhill, and finished 16th overall in 1:38:21, 3rd in my age group which was good for a HK$200 gift certificate.

My teammate from Tokyo, Fabrizio, was one of the runners who had blown past me on the downhill. I managed to catch up with him, and we were together with 2k remaining in the race when Fabrizio tripped on the treacherous trail and went down in a bloody heap. Poor Fabrizio staggered in 4 minutes behind me. Another teammate, Matthias, did the full 29k version of the course and fell several times plunging down the steep trail.

I felt vaguely responsible for my teammates' mishaps since I am the one that suggested this event - and this club definitely sits on the flat, fast, wide paved running surface side of the continuum. My friends that encouraged me to do the Lantau race on the other hand are trail runner purists who live to run in natural setting and uneven terrain, and who view urban running with scorn and disdain. I sit somewhere in between, and would prefer to do most of my running on mountain paths, but as I said at the beginning of this post, it was clear that when it comes to racing - plunging down rocky steps is not my strong suit.

1,500 time trial - 29:35

2010-01-06T14:10:00.001+09:00

Thanks to my teammate Mary, I was finally able to do a swim time trial in the pool today and establish a benchmark for my swimming times. The triathlon times in open water seem less accurate because of currents and other variables.

I struggled to swim 29:35. Mary and I shared a lane, and I started first since I am usually faster, but she got fed up with my pace and passed me at 300 meters, afterwhich I drafted off her for much of the remaining 1200 meters.

I did the 1,500 swim segment of the Choshi Triathlon in October in 27:32 (and my pace at the 5,000 meter Kamakura open water swim was also around 27:30 per 1,500 meters).

I guess this quantifies how important the buoyancy of my wetsuit is for me, and that I need to learn how to do flip turns if I hope to swim well in a pool.

Barefoot running

2009-12-03T21:10:00.002+09:00

I have moved to the dark side and begun experimenting with barefoot running.

Barefoot running seems to have suddenly turned into a crusade in the US with websites and best-selling books. My friend Glen admitted to being a complete convert and evangelist for the barefoot running cult. Glen gushed about how running has eliminated his running related injuries, and how he just clocked a 10-year PB in the Vibram five-finger, a rubber sandal which apparently replicates one's bare foot.

I had been gingerly jogging a couple cool down laps bare foot on the track over the past few months since Bob, Namban leader suggested it to the club. But last night I decided to push a bit faster. I took off my shoes before the last 1000 interval in a 6x1000 workout. Pulled along by the energy of a group of 20 fast runners, I was amazed to blast through the first 200 meters in 40 seconds and finish the 1k in a respectable 3:27. The other runners seemed amazed too - "Jay, you forgot your shoes" several people shouted.

This morning the soles of my feet felt a bit tender, and my heel and right achilles tendon ached a little bit. Apparently it takes months (or years) to adapt to barefoot running. But given my chronic running injuries/imbalances I figure it is worth a try to at least do some of my running barefoot.

And anyway with the Great Recession, I cannot afford to keep buying $150 running shoes.

Choshi Triathlon

2009-10-08T21:26:00.002+09:00

Japan has been barraged by typhoons the past few weeks. Fortunately the Choshi Triathlon fell on this past Sunday -- the one gorgeous, sunshine-filled day. Teammate Mary provided a ride to Choshi in her spacious SUV so I felt like I was back in the US. I was still completely unorganized prior to the race and arriving 90-minutes before the gun did not give me nearly enough time to properly socialize with friends and register and pin numbers on my singlet and use the restrooms and deal with bike problems and eat/caffeinate exactly 30 minutes before race time and splash in the water, etc. Nevertheless I somehow frantically made it to the starting line and ultimately did well --

Swim - 27:11 My primary goal for the day was to execute on the swim, and incorporate some of the improvements I have made in my swim technique this past year. So when the gun went off I energetically high-stepped through the shallow water. When I actually begun to swim my heart rate was high, I was breathing heavily and it took a long time to get into a rhythm. In fact I was feeling a bit discouraged until I noticed the numerous orange-colored swim caps around me. The orange caps meant that I had already caught up with swimmers from the 2nd wave which started 3-minutes before mine. I started in the 3rd wave and I found myself facing a constant wall of swimmers in front of me throughout the race. However I was able to pass on the inside. Since I prefer to breathe to the left it was easier to stay to inside on the clockwise course and elbow my way right under each of the inflatable buoys marking the turns. "Work the pocket" I kept telling myself, and was happy to see a time of 26:30 as I left the water (prior to long run to bicycle which completed the swim portion).

Bike -1:24:46 - My goal for the bike segment was to avoid having anything really, really bad happen -- somehow I succeeded, though I did have a few near collisions on Choshi's tight corners and my bike made some irritating and worrisome noises. It was a pleasant ride. Maybe too pleasant. I need to push myself a bit more on the bike - unlike running and swimming I do not automatically push myself when bicycling. Next year I hope to ride with a bit more intensity.

Run - 40:17 - I hoped to break 40 minutes on the 10k run. But unlike my last two triathlons at Murakami and Niijima, I felt spent at the start of the run. Normally I am pretty good about cheering and waving at teammates as we pass each other on the course, but on Sunday I was reduced to just grunting when my fellow Nambanners yelled support during the numerous out-and-back loops. I managed to drop to 3:45 pace on the 2nd of Choshi's 4 run loops, but struggled from there to gut out a reasonable time - probably the best time I could expect going in.

Despite all the logistical challenges and high entry fees, I really enjoy experiencing triathlons and intend to do more than two next year (and certainly will try to do Choshi again).

Prize Money

2009-08-29T12:21:00.004+09:00

I journey thousands of miles to Singapore to compete in the Singapore Bay Run. And it is worth the 7-hour flight. I win hard cash - 200 Singapore dollars (along with a Timex triathlon watch and other random prizes). The big race payday almost covers the entire cost of my trip (which is not difficult since I used 20,000 award miles and teammate Fabrizio negotiates an amazing deal for us to cram a bunch of guys into the ultra-luxury Mandarin Oriental hotel).

My half-marathon time is a rather lame sounding 1:26:50. But it felt almost as fast as the 1:19 I ran in February.

The Bay Run is the biggest running event in Singapore with over 70,000 participants and it seemed like most of them were ahead of me at the 1k mark. I went out in a relaxed 4:10 pace and then picked my pace up slightly so I passed hundreds and hundreds of fellow runners through 20k.

Needless to say it was terribly hot and humid in Singapore, even at the 5:30am starting time - I was told that the humidity would

add 5-minutes to my half-marathon time. But even though the heat slowed me down, running in the pre-dawn darkness was much, much easier than the mid-day sunshine of the half-ironman events I have done.

My time was good for third place in the veterans division far behind the veteran winner from Thailand (not to mention the overall winner from Kenya). But I was happy to take the money. I am tempted to move to South-East Asia and live off race earnings.

Wendy Mile

2009-08-12T16:37:00.002+09:00

Despite the traumatic experience in January, I participate in another beer mile last week - the Wendy Mile. I am even one of the instigators of this seemingly unhealthy event - an event in honor of teammate Wendy - who appropriately enough is a medical doctor specializing in gastroenterology.

Fortunately this event was a relay rather than a full mile - so I only had to drink one beer and run 400 meters. The festive event makes for a fine social outing and lead-in to dinner.

New Nambanner and Washington Post writer, David Nakamura captures the essence of the event with his article for the Atlantic.

I always hoped to make it into such a fine publication. Never thought it would be in the FOOD section...

Mongolia - Sunrise to Sunset

2009-07-31T19:14:00.002+09:00

I traveled to Lake Hovsgol in northern Mongolia this past week for the Sunrise to Sunset Marathon.

Mongolia is becoming a regular destination for me. While some people summer in normal places like Maine or Tuscany, I seem compelled to deal with the long jeep rides and yak milk of Mongolia. This is partly due to the fact that the stunning wide open spaces of Mongolia are a perfect antidote to the concrete and clutter of Tokyo. Also Sunrise to Sunset is considered one of the most unique and well-organized adventure runs in the world. And also I was able to journey from Narita to Ulanbaatar for a mere 20,000 award miles.

Sunrise to Sunset is held at a Ger Camp along the shore of Lake Hovsgol. Lake Hovsgol is touted as one of the most unique locations in the world - however upon arrival it struck me as identical to the lakes near Seattle (and my teammate Isobel says it looks exactly like Lake Taupo, New Zealand). Identical that is other than the Gers (or yurts) - the portable, felt-covered tents used by the nomadic people of central Asia. The Gers are really quite comfortable with softbeds and woodstoves to keep us warm at night

I "only" run the 42k marathon event. I say "only" because half of the participants are doing 100k. At least 8 ultra-marathoners urge me to do the whole 100k and I find myself actually considering this. But then I snap back to reality - even 42k is longer than my average weekly running mileage over the past 4 months. Anyway I am not equipped for 100k. I am hardly equipped for 42k. The organizers are a bit dismayed by my lack of water and warm clothing. But I have a compass, an iodine tablet, a caffeine tablet, a Platypus waterbag, and a couple Power Gels so I feel prepared to survive if I wander off course and cross the border into Russian Siberia.

The race starts in total darkness at 4am and I quickly do wander off course. Fortunately the sun soon rises and the route is quite well marked and I do not lose much time. I had been a bit caught by surprise at the start. Apparently I should have expected that the Swiss organizers would start on schedule, even if half the participants are still milling around. My slow start and strategy to take regular walk breaks early, means that I am still near the back of the field after the first few kilometers. Then over the next 20k I steadily pass almost the entire field. It is interesting to strike up conversations with the other runners, all of whom are in high spirits at this early stage in the race. From 21k on though I do not see any other runners.

It is at around 21k that I decide breaking 5 hours will be a worthy goal. But clambering through underbrush over the course's second big hill (from 28k to 32k) sucks up a lot of time and I hit 32k in a few minutes over 4 hours. I do not wish to trash my legs, but I am determined to break 5 hours and run most all of the last 10k to finish in roughly 4:59. At the finish I learn that a young Mongolian runner finished ahead of me, so I am second overall and am the first veteran finisher in the 42k. Remarkably though, two 100k runners had reached the 42k mark ahead of me. The other remarkable thing is how 42k does seem like a rather short day after running with all the 100k competitors - 42k seems almost inadequate at the time - like something to apologize about.

But I am glad to save my legs -- and still experience Sunrise to Sunset. The experience of staying at the Ger Camp with 100 ultra-marathoners from Mongolia and from all over the world and then the shared experience of doing the race is extremely rewarding.

During our fabulous 2.5-day journey back to UlanBatar across the rolling green steppes of central Mongolia, Gary and Isobel and I discuss plans for next marathon - the Sahara Marathon.

Kamakura 5k Swim

2009-07-16T19:15:00.002+09:00

I swam well at the Kamakura 5k Rough Water Swim this past weekend. My stroke felt stronger and I finished a surprising 21st place out of some 170 finishers. I am astonished to place so high -- I would never dare to even call myself a "swimmer" The swim has been something I simply tried to survive and make it to the bike and run. Now I have visions of entering more swim events.

My time (1:33:30) is 3 minutes slower than last year. However it would seem that in open water swimming, comparing times from event to event is not meaningful.

My teammate, Motozo, who I used to swim head to head with blows me away by some 4 minutes and wins the age division. Whereas I gingerly wade out into the water when the starting gun goes off, Motozo aggressively porpoises through the first shallow 100 meters and builds a 2 minute lead on me after the first of 3 loops.

I made a concerted effort to start slowly and smoothly, and I presume that I will overtake other swimmers toward the end. In fact I find myself tiring toward on the final loop and I am passed by several competitors. Oddly enough it my legs that feel most tired toward the end.

Swim Friends 2 - Remedial swim training

2009-07-07T20:19:00.001+09:00

At my second swim squad workout the coach Steve is shocked and appalled at my breathing exclusively on my left side. Apparently it is not worth bothering working on other stroke mechanics until I can get down the basics.

Breathing on my right side is a skill that has eluded me since first attempting to swim as a young child. Fortunately over the past year through the osmosis of various swim drills, breathing on the right size has become a somewhat attainable feat, albeit in a clumsy and inefficient manner (my legs drop a bit on every breath).

Steve has me doing nothing but 5-stroke breathing pattern always alternating sides, switching to a 3-stroke pattern when my swim mechanics deteriorate too much and I start sputtering and suffocating. Steve informs me I can breath on my strong side in races but need to build balance and efficiency during training.

Swim Friends

2009-07-01T16:27:00.001+09:00

I drag my feet on joining our new Tokyo swim team - "Swim Friends".
Not because of the name (yes, Swim Friends is hardly the most
fear-inspiring swim team name, but I could understand that most of the
swim training market is young children).

No, it has taking me forever to join the swim team because: (1) I am
so destitute and increasingly parsimonious about paying for swim
workouts -- "my running and cycling teams do not charge $20 every
track session" I grumble, (2) I am lazy about going to swim outside
the comfort and convenience of Roppongi Hills Spa, and (3) Joining
swim squad requires a money transfer by bank ATM which is such a
complex ordeal for me in Japan.

But I need to prepare for the upcoming Kamakura 5k swim, and so on
Tuesday I journey to the public pool at Sendagaya. At 2:30 in the
afternoon the pool is blissfully empty.

After only a few warm-up laps our coach, Steve, starts providing me
useful feedback - (brush my shoulder against my ear on strokes to make
sure I am narrower and creating less surface resistance in the water,
try to kick more vertically, etc...).

Moreover, just having someone asking about my stroke count per lap and
breathes per stroke is valuable. At this point I can manage to do the
50-meters in less than 55 strokes and breathe on every 3rd or 4th
stroke.

I realize I should have joined Swim Friends earlier.

Niijima Triathlon

2009-05-20T12:12:00.002+09:00

I competed in the Niijima Olympic Distance triathlon this weekend and did well - finishing 39th out of 170 finishers in a time of 2:28:15:

SWIM - 26:28 (93rd place)- I swam smoothly o

nce I got into a rhythm halfway through the first of the two swim laps. Swimming is the area I have been working on the most, and I had hoped to see more improvement since last year. But it is hard to gauge swim performance (outside the controlled environment of the pool), and I struggled a bit in the open water and never really found anyone to draft comfortably behind. I had dreams of keeping up with Motozo, but he was over a minute ahead. The cold water was a bit of a shock and may have slowed me a bit at the start by contributing to my need to initially breath on every stroke. I suffered through 10-seconds of pure anguish upon plunging into the ocean at the start, and feeling cold water seep down my back into my wetsuit. Yet I much, much, much, much prefer the tens of seconds of hardship at the start of the race versus the 40+ minutes of pure hell of running on a hot day (and sweating for an hour or more on the bike). It was a bit of a challenge though getting out of wetsuit because my hands were a little numb and I was in the usual post-swim daze. My transition must have been 4 minutes (but am not sure as the official transition times are included in the bike times.

BIKE - 1:22:05 (76th place): Unlike swimming, I had not trained much on the bike. I recall writing the same thing last September about Murakami triathlon, and for Niijima my bike prepar

ation was even more feeble. But I maintained my position reasonably well and

felt like I was cycling pretty darn fast. Niijima is described as a "technical" course with lots of tight corners and bumpy road surface and I am a particularly inept cyclist these days and kept hitting my brakes . I found the bike course is reasonably flat considering this a is a mountainous, volcanic island.

RUN - 39:42 (4th place) - I ran very well, finishing with the 4th fastest run time in the field. Again, like at Murakami triathlon, my legs felt surprisingly good getting off the bike. And like the Fuji-Susono half-marathon

six days earlier, the Niijima run begins with a long, tough uphill and then continues to be a roller coaster pretty much the entire 10k. But unlike Fuji-Susono, Niijima was cool weather and that made all the difference. Niijima is a good course for seeing and cheering on teammates and it helped me to have the extra incentive of trying to overtake Phil and Nick.

NIIJIMA ISLAND - The Niiji

ma Triathlon is a wonderful weekend trip. Embarking on the huge passenger boat at night from Tokyo feels like an exotic adventure. And the island itself is in fact quite an exotic, tropical destination (especially considering you are still technically in Tokyo). How many other triathlons have free, open air, natural hot springs beautifully perched on a rocky oceanfront cliff 300 meters from the finish? The post-race party with most all the participants starts in these "Roman baths" then moves to sashimi dinner provided by the race organizers. Cycling around the spectacular island on Sunday morning completes the adventure.

(pictures courtesy of Mika T)

Gotemba Resort

2009-05-15T12:25:00.002+09:00

Last year I could never be 100% sure that Mount Fuji really was looming over the Fuji Susono course, no matter what Yoshida-san kept saying - everything was shrouded in fog throughout the cold, drizzly weekend. And last year the half marathon was astonishingly easy for me - I somehow ran a 1:20:18 on the roller coaster course.

This past weekend at Fuji Susono saw clear weather and hot temperatures - Mount Fuji made for an impressive backdrop for all the photos that are huge and festive group took. And this year the half marathon was astonishingly difficult for me - I ran a 1:25:03 and even struggled on the long downhill finish.

Everyone was a bit slower this year - I only dropped from 4th to 6th place in my division. But my teammates did not seem to struggle nearly as much as I did. Perhaps I am weaker in the heat like I always like to complain about.

Or perhaps my 30+ teammates were just more realistic and wiser than me and took my advice about just relaxing at the bizarre Gotemba Resort and microbrewery.

Ome Takamizu 30k

2009-04-10T15:02:00.001+09:00

Your longest runs should never be more than 50% of your weekly mileage according to conventional running wisdom. I suppose this is even more true if the long run is a rugged trail race like last Sunday's Ome Takamizu 30k.

The past two Ome Takamizu races I had fared so well. This year I followed the same strategy as the last two times -- going out slowly and surging past people over the final two-thirds of the run. Through about the 22k mark everything unfolded as it had the previous two runs and as I moved up to 25th place. But then I simply ran out of strength.

The thing that puzzles me is not why I ran out of strength this year - it is how I could have done so well the past two races on such little training (50k or less per week of running). My theory is that I had been doing so much more ironman bicycle training (and a few more mountain trail runs).

Tokyo Marathon 10k

2009-03-24T09:14:00.002+09:00

I woke up on Sunday morning before the Tokyo 10k focused on one thing - fighting my way through the crowd of runners at the starting line to get a good position. I was assigned the "B" block. When teammates Keren and Frank and I arrived in the B corral 35 minutes before the starting gun we could barely make out the starting white block off in the distance, with the thousands of runners packed in front of us (see picture). We tried to be as polite as possible as we wound through the crowd, and maneuvered our way to a spot within only 10 meters of the starting line. We had done it! Frank and I congratulated each other on our accomplishment - "otsukare sama".

When the starting gun did go off it struck me that I still needed to actually run the damn race. Being so close to the front meant I went out like a bat out of hell. I felt tired almost immediately, and struggled in the wind.

I spotted a pack of runners with one guy wearing "pace runner" on his back and tucked in behind them. I discovered the pack was surrounding Harumi Hiroyama, the second seeded Japanese female marathoner. It turns out she was running 3:29 per kilometer pace and I dutifully (and stupidly) followed. I knew almost immediately I would be in trouble and could not maintain the pace. But much of the first 6k was downhill so I just hung on as long as I could. My 5k split was 17:22, 6k was 20:51.

The last 3k into the wind was an ordeal. Once the 10k and marathon groups split there was suddenly no other runners near me. I staggered home in 36:22.

36:22 is an acceptable time for me - it is about what I ran in my last three 10ks, but it was hardly spectacular. However the effort was good for 7th place out of 5,000 runners. The crowd and volunteers cheered me at the end like I was a famous star. It was all rather glorious, and I felt that the effort to get to the front at the starting line did pay off.

Masters Swim at Pebble Creek

2009-03-06T11:20:00.002+09:00

I joined the masters swim sessions at the Pebble Creek community pool during my recent stay in Arizona. Pebble Creek is an "active senior community" - and so, as you might expect, the community swim squad is an intense and competitive group. On one side of me is Jim, a retired schoolteacher, who started entering sprint triathlons and he sprints out way ahead of me on the 300 meter warmup and first set of 75s. Meanwhile on my other side is Katherine a 70+ Senior Olympics swimmer. I manage to stay well ahead of her on the warmup, but then she puts on a pair of long fins and on the 75 meter intervals we swim neck and neck. The group does the usual variety of swim drills and our coach, Bill, is excellent - goading us on and reminding me to keep my gaze farther ahead, keep my hands flatter as they enter the water and not to let my arm stroke cross over the centerline of my body.

We finish the workout with 8x200s - each length of 200 at progressively faster pace. With each 200 I work hard to swim faster, while my fellow swimmers seem to be tiring. On the final intervals I push myself with all my remaining strength and simply destroy Jim and the 70-year old woman - finishing at least half a length ahead.

Gasping and wheezing at the edge of the pool I lock eyes with a grotesquely overweight woman plopped in a lounge chair amidst the crowds of poolside sunbathers. I detect a look of outright disgust. Perhaps the sunbathers are annoyed by our splashing and noise? or feeling guilty at lolling all day long in the Arizona sun? Meanwhile however I feel a sense of camaraderie now with the rest of the swim squad, and they seem impressed that my interval times are faster at the end of the workout than at the start. "You have remarkable stamina" Coach Bill tells me. I am feeling a bit sheepish about all my competitiveness with 70 year old women, and don't want to babble on about ironman.. I simply say that yeah I have done a bit of long cycling and running and it seems to help make up for my poor technique.

Running in Arizona Desert

2009-03-04T06:41:00.002+09:00

It is 85 degrees (3l degrees Celsius) as I head off into the desert for my long Sunday run. Fortunately the temperature drops rapidly as the sun sinks to the horizon and so I start my run around 4pm in an effort to finish just past sunset.. Once I get beyond the inner 2-mile loop, crest a hill and look out and see no one else for miles. Just hundreds of enormous saguaro cactus. I run at what seems like a solid speed, but the trail drops in and out of washes (dry river beds) and by the time I hit the 14k mark I realize I need to pickup the pace. Unfortunately I am tiring a bit by this time. I see birds circling round and round above me and I assume they are vultures who are betting that I will not make it back to the trailhead and that they will be able to feed on my carcass. I push on more quickly and the sun casts amazing shadows against the mountains. I am really tired at 16k and alternate between walking the rocky, hillier sections and sprinting sections of flat, hard-packed trail. Of course it is dangerous and imprudent to start the run so late. (And I should know better having once scrambled through the dark across lava in Volcano National Park in Hawaii - guided by the sight of car headlights on a distant highway). But after the sunset the red sky in the desert and the lights of the sprawling city of Phoenix are magnificent. (and I refuse to run in the afternoon heat)

Running at Google

2009-02-23T07:23:00.003+09:00

On Friday I traveled to the Googleplex, Google's headquarters in Mountain View California, to run with my Berkeley classmate Glen and the Google employee lunch run group

I thought about

complaining about all the problems I have loading pictures and charts into this blog (Blogger is owned by Google), and complain about my startup's poor ROI on our adwords campaign. But I am just way too exhaused as we race around the landfill area next to SF Bay. As you might expect at Google, the runners are intense - several are competitive triathletes.

Supposedly even Google has been forced to cutback on expenses during the global economic crisis - but any austerity drive was not apparent to me. After the run we quenched our thirst with unlimited free smoothy drinks and showered in the comfortable employee changing rooms. And it is a challenge to choose from the unlimited free food prepared by world-class chefs in the cafeteria - spicy green curry soup, black sea bass, masala chicken - it went on and on.

Palo Alto Tri Club

2009-02-21T04:01:00.002+09:00

I lived in Palo Alto, California from roughly 1997-2002. In those days I thought a lot about becoming a triathlete but did little other than bike through the rolling Peninsula hills and occasionally join a group jog on Wednesday nights through the streets of Palo Alto.

On Wednesday, I finally make it back to the weekly 5.5 mile run. Of course I intended to keep up with the leaders and demonstrate how impressive I have become. However I get cutoff at a light at around 2 miles and never manage to catch up.

Just like in Tokyo the group goes out to a Vietnamese restaurant after the run. Vietnamese food seems to have become the universal choice among run clubs. Except in this case it is a spacious restaurant in a strip mall along El Camino rather than a cavernous hole-in-the-wall. And I also could also tell this was America because with everyone at dinner talked about their jobs and their investment portfolios.

Sitting there it felt that nothing had changed since 2002, but then I recall that at least now I have some claim of being a real triathlete.

Kanagawa Half-Marathon

2009-02-01T20:51:00.003+09:00

I hoped to run a solid half-marathon today in Kanagawa. And I did reasonably well.

I clocked a 1:19:38 which is my fastest time in over 3 years. I still feel like I am not quite achieving the 10k an

d half-marathon times I am capable of running. But doesn't everyone feel that way? And my philosophy about the sport is

based on enjoying the training and events, rather than too much periodization and sacrifice anyway.

The Kanagawa event is really about running a fast time (rather than say admiring pretty scenery), and this seems to be successful for the organizers - over 10,000 runners jammed the rather narrow registration area, porta-potties and starting area.

The crowd slowed me down a bit for the first 3k, which served

to make the next 15k that more enjoyable as I passed hundreds of

other runners, as I scurryed from drafting off one pack to the next to minimize the im

pact of the wind (see the smiling picture courtesy of Chad Clark). I seemed to be the fastest gaijin (non-Japanese), and so I was helped along by the crowd yelling "gambatte namban rengo".

I was beginning to struggle at 18k and feared that I would not manage to at least break 1:20, but when I saw the time of of 1:16:05 at 20.1k I closed my eyes and pushed to the finish.

Shibuya Ekiden

2009-01-22T18:15:00.002+09:00

My teammates in our 4-man relay last Sunday really set me up for glory. I was the anchor runner and was handed the sash in second place in the field, 5-seconds behind the lead master's team.

Within 500 yards I managed to catch the leader, and then stayed behind him, thinking maybe I should just wait until the last 100 meters and t

ry to sprint. But, as captured in this picture, I surged into lead at around

1k and held on to cross the tape 12-seconds ahead of second place.

Here are my teammates and team sponsors, Juergen and Fabrizio, amidst the

extravagant Shibuya award celebration.

Beer mile

2009-01-11T18:47:00.002+09:00

I ran a beer mile yesterday.

A beer mile entails drinking one beer befo

re each of the 400 meter laps that make up a mile.

Why would I do this?

I had heard a lot of discussion of the beer mile from my teammates and studied the beer mile website and was simply curious -- how would I do?

I did terrible.

When the starting gun went off I realized quite quickly that I ca

nnot drink a can of beer as quickly as other people. I caught up with many of the other participants on the first 400 meter run lap and felt fine run

ning. But then I had to choke down a second beer which seemed to take forever and I found myself in last place. The third beer took me 2-3 minutes to consume, and the fourth beer was not much faster. It felt so good to stop drinking the horrid beer and be able to run. I still felt quite strong and fast running even the 4th 400 meter lap. Though on the 4th lap of the race I somehow got lost. Apparently I was a bit drunk by this point - none of the other 20 odd runners seem to have gotten lost on the simple loop through the park.

"You are not a strong drinker are you Jay?" asked Satohi, Japan's number one beer miler who finished in an extraordinary time of 8:10. Apparently drinking is not my strength.

Next year I am hoping for a coffee mile.

Training in Laos (3)

2008-12-24T16:34:00.002+09:00

The global credit crisis has made it more difficult to support the high cost of training in Tokyo. Several other triathlete friends are thinking of relocating to Laos where we can survive on less than US$10 per day.

The biking is a bit rougher, so we need to re-focus a bit on competing in the Xterra type events which entail mountain biking and trail running. I managed to find some good cycling and hiking routes along the Mekong and was able to begin preparation for the Saipan and Ome-Takamizu events in the Spring.

Triathlon Training in Laos (2)

2008-12-22T10:42:00.002+09:00

Vang Vieng proves to be another fine city for triathlon training. I plunge into the scenic Nam Song river for swim training and the water appears clean and free of snakes, piranhas and villagers doing laundry. In fact the only real hazard is dodging the flying drunken bodies. A third of the way into my swim I round a bend and come upon the most surreal site -- an enormous and elaborate deck bar perched above the river with a huge slide and rope swing and hundreds of inebriated, bikini-clad Australian and European young woman swaying to blaring Laotian pop music - it reminds me of the Suzie Q entertainment scene in the movie Apocalypse Now. As always I stay focused on my swim technique.

The next morning at dawn I run up in the limestone hills surrounding the town Most travelers take the jarring, spine-crushing trucks to explore the caves. Running is much more easy and sublime - especially at this hour when it is just me and a few cows and villagers.

Running in Luang Prabang

2008-12-18T18:54:00.002+09:00

Luang Prabang proves to be a fine city for triathlon training. This is especially true if you wake at 6am for 12k run along the Mekong river and around the historical former capital of Laos. The best thing about running so early is stumbling onto the quintessential Luang Prabang experience: the procession of saffron-robed monks collecting alms from the townspeople lining the street. It was quite magical to accidently discover this on a quiet edge of town. I try to be respectful and try not to gawk too much at the monks. Upon reaching the center of town the alms-giving process deteriorates into a tourist spectacle with throngs of westerners with cameras and local vendors.

Okutama Ekiden

2008-12-09T13:27:00.002+09:00

I reluctantly agree to participate in the Okutama Ekiden this past Sunday. Reluctantly because of the logistic challenges of the traditional ekiden - a running relay with individual legs from train station to train station.

These logistics require that each team member carry the warm clothes to change into for the runner handing off to him. Of course I am late and screw everything up. So I need to run well to redeem myself. I manage 29:30 on the downhill 8.5k anchor leg and pass 7 other teams. Everyone is delighted and says this is a good performance.

And in the end it seems very much worth the time and effort to enjoy the highly traditional and scenic Okutama Ekiden.

.

Mr. Donut

2008-11-26T14:30:00.002+09:00

- I manage a 36:22 10k at Ohtawara last Sunday despite my feeble mileage.

- Solette, Staffan, and Mary from the US all are captivated by the unique Japanese running experience

- In the end it is all about coffee and honey-dips at Mr. Donut

Fast Seattle Women

2008-11-07T11:22:00.001+09:00

I wished to get in at least one quality training session during my 3 weeks in the US. So last night I returned to Seattle's Green Lake track to run with the unfriendly running club mentioned in my June 28 post.

The group may not offer a warm welcome, but they certainly provide a rigorous workout:

4x1000 at 3:25 with a mere 60-second rest, then after a brisk 10 minute run we launched into 4x400 in 77, 75, 73 and finally a blowout 69-seconds.

I was roughly in the middle of the group of about 30 runners. Maybe that is not surprising. But get this - running right around me (and ahead of me) were 7-8 women, several around 40 years old. So much for my dismissing all American woman runners as overweight, 7-hour marathoners carrying balloons and raising money for charities. The woman next to me, Susan, was 39-years old and had run a 2;47 marathon last year.

Edogawa 10k

2008-10-27T14:25:00.002+09:00

I participated in the Edogawa 10k yesterday, an event I have enjoyed in the past for its convenient location, elaborate award ceremony, festive post-race lunch and casual ambiance. Problem was that this year I was absurdly over-confident about running a good time going into the run.

At least through the first 4 kilometers I did feel reasonably OK - maintaining a steady 3:33 pace. But I found myself increasingly worried to be so winded and also to find myself ahead of faster teammate Gerard. I kept thinking that surely I should be able to run a pace significantly faster than the 36:48 10k portion of the Murakami Triathlon. But this proved to be wishful thinking.

I faded dramatically over the last half of the race and was clocked in 36:32.

Of course I could still enjoy the elaborate award ceremony. Here are pictures of me struggling to follow the proper marching and bowing rituals and receiving an incredibly heavy bronze medal for my 3rd place age-group finish. Naturally I am thinking to melt the medal down and sell the bronze to pay for food given my precarious financial situation now that all my projects are losing their financing.

Murakami Triathlon

2008-09-30T11:29:00.002+09:00

I am astonished to run 36:48 for the 10k run portion of the Murakami Triathlon Sunday. I am astonished I could run 36:48 at all, let alone after pushing through a 72-minute 40k ride. So despite the fact that stormy weather forced the cancellation of the swim portion of the event, my second triathlon event of 2008 proved another fine adventure.

When we arrived in Murakami on Saturday we were met by fierce winds blowing in from Siberia and huge foaming breakers crashing on the beach. Since I have been laser-focused on swimming this summer I was disappointed when the officials replaced the swim with a 1k beach run in heavy sand to start the event.

As usual I was unorganized during the final hour before the triathlon start. I felt reluctant to take my bike to the official race bike mechanic knowing I would be met with scorn and disgust, but I am so clueless about bike mechanics and could not get my front wheel to spin true. Sure enough the bike doctor was shocked and horrified by all the rust and neglect. I could not understand most of his grumbling in Japanese as he struggled with my bike, but what I picked up on was clearly shock and disdain: "hidoi, maintenance wa dame desu, toriazu shoganai..." I had pinched my front brake cable when I reattached my aero bars and lost various bolts and my front spokes were completely rusted, but thanks to the last second adjustments it appeared that my bike could survive another event.

When the starting gun went off I high-stepped through the sand as best I could, entering the bike transition zone about 10-seconds ahead of most of my teammates. But alas they overtook me right away, despite all my effort to prepare and focus on a fast transition.

The 40k ride along the Sea of Japan coastline was scenic with the huge waves breaking on the rocky shore. I rode well - my approximate time of 1:12 is a PB for this distance though I struggled a bit in some wind after the turnaround and during a short downpour toward the end of the ride.

Perhaps I slacked off a bit on the bike to save strength for the run, but I think I pushed pretty hard and my thighs felt sore when I dashed out of the second transition zone. And yet the bike ride did not seem to slow my run down at all. I felt like I was moving fast and this was confirmed when I saw my 2k split of 7:15. I passed Phil Ryan around 3k and he told me Anthony was just up ahead which further emboldened me. I hoped to finish ahead of the upstart Anthony who has just started doing triathlons this year, but who is clearly a natural talent. I finally managed to pass Anthony at about 7k as I maintained a steady 3:40 per kilometer pace to the finish.

My effort was good for 3rd place out of 49 runners in my division.

Murakami Triathlon Preparation

2008-09-25T18:26:00.001+09:00

I have been thinking I should change the blog's subtitle to "NOT training for a triathlon in Tokyo" or most accurately "Complaining about bicycling in Tokyo"

As is so often the case over the last several years, I have a whole litany of complaints about cycling training.

I had hoped to do at least a half-dozen good rides leading up to Sunday's Murakami Triathlon. But then a bizarre series of flat tire problems eliminated 3 crucial rides. Of course these flat tire problems were largely a result of my own neglect and my ineptitude with mounting the tube properly and starting my rides so late in the day.

I was thinking I was swimming and running reasonably well, but this is meaningless when your bike leg is slow and your legs are shot after the bike.

Beijing Olympics 5

2008-08-21T12:14:00.001+09:00

It is my last night in Beijing and naturally I am compelled to experience another track and field session. So I wade into the throngs of ticket scalpers lined up outside the Olympic Village entrance and spot a young Chinese holding a ticket for that night. When I try to begin negotiating he frantically gestures for me to follow him and leads me to a nearby building entrance. Apparently the Chinese authorities are still frowning on this market clearing mechanism. The young seller types out his asking price of 1500 yuan (US$215) on his cell phone. I point to my watch to indicate the fact the session is already starting and offer 200 yuan. I am a bit surprised when he indignantly marches off, and I grow concerned as I walk along the gate and all the tickets held up for offer are for events on later days. Then a burly Australian walks up beside me, asks if I need tickets, and asks 700 yuan. I respond that I can pay half that and I discretely slip him cash as we stride past the Chinese security forces and chat about US hopes against the Jamaicans. It is a win-win transaction; the Australian is no doubt delighted to unload his ticket at the last second at 350 (50 yuan below the face value) and I am delighted to get back in the Birds Nest.

One of the really great things about attending these international events is the camaraderie with fans from all over the world. I find myself sitting next to Ivan, a young 800-meter junior champion from Ukraine and a boisterous group of Estonians. They are all so extremely excited to learn I am from the US and they hug me with joy when Americans Dawn Harper and Jeremy Wariner win their respective races and try to console me when the British sprinter overtakes Sanya Richards in the 400. Of course we all go crazy when Estonia wins the discus throw.

One other thing that just does not come through on TV is the emotional power of the medal award ceremonies. When everything else at the track stopped and 90,000 fans rose for the New Zealand national anthem for the woman's shot put gold medalist on Sunday both Christian and I were deeply moved. For New Zealand! For the woman's shot put! an event we had not even seen or even thought about prior to that moment.

Beijing Olympics 4

2008-08-20T12:05:00.002+09:00

I attend the Athletics competition at the Birds Nest Sunday night. It is amazing to actually be at the Olympics. I feel goose bumps when we came out of the subway and in the distance I catch sight of the huge Olympic torch in the distance.

Only ticket-holders can go through wide perimeter security tents to get into the main Olympic Village. It is like entering a magical new world. Granted it is a bit of a corporate sponsor world with numerous Coca-Cola and McDonalds kiosks, Visa ATMs, and Bank of China VIP tents.

As amazing as the competition is, the architecture may be more memorable for me. It is breathtaking to see from different angles. Christian and I cannot stop take pictures in front of the Birds Nest and Water Cube. Most of the other 100,000 spectators are also posing in front of the stadiums as well.

The restrooms are hidden, the concourses are long and steep, the concession lines slow, but none of this detracts much from the magic of being at Olympics.

Beijing Olympics 3

2008-08-18T01:47:00.001+09:00

Naturally I was concerned about the air quality in China. For months I have heard so much about the stifling humidity and choking smog, and the risk of black lung I faced by running during my Olympic trip.

But I run with teammate Chuck in Shanghai and smog is not an issue. (avoiding getting hit by lightning was more of an issue).

Then in Beijing the sky is blue and I can see mountains clearly in the distance. Christian and I do 12k around the Summer Palace Grounds and the air is fine and I hardly break a sweat in the cool comfortable weather.

Beijing Olympics 2

2008-08-15T16:37:00.001+09:00

Everywhere I go in China (restaurants, convenient stores, getting my hair cut) I see televisions showing Olympic coverage. Everywhere I see the One World One Dream logo. And everywhere, everywhere I see the country medal standings. I thought tabulating national medal counts was counter to the Olympic spirit and was actively discouraged? But the medal counts scroll across the bottom of every Chinese broadcast 24x7.

Not that I watch Chinese Olympic coverage. Strangely I come to the Olympics in China and find myself watching coverage from the Philippines. Which is ideal. The Philippines have relatively fewer athletes competing and so the coverage is remarkably broad and unbiased (and in English).

Beijing Olympics - 1

2008-08-12T14:11:00.001+09:00

Who needs to go to Seattle in August to escape the heat when you can summer in the Chinese coastal city of Dalian. I arrive to blue skies and cool crisp temperatures. The US Olympic track team is staying here during the games as well to minimize their time in Beijing smog.

My one-year Chinese multi-entry visa was still valid , otherwise I probably would not have made it here since the Chinese government has been limiting "undesirables" like myself from getting visas during the Olympics. Amazingly I was able to travel to China during the Games using 20,000 airline award miles and the hotels are reasonably priced since no one can get in the country.

I enjoy several long runs through the hills and coastline of Dalian, but unfortunately I have yet to see Lagat running through the city parks or eating at the seafood restaurants.

Kamakura Shakado/Hokokuji Route

2008-08-05T13:43:00.002+09:00

Here is a map (courtesy of Joachim) of a 9km route through the quiet neighborhoods and hilly hiking trails of eastern Kamakura where Joachim, Mark, Ami and I ran several weeks ago.

This loop is an interesting variation on the normal counter-clockwise route I normally lead
around the circumference of Kamakura. There is very little overlap between the two routes other than the waterfront section.

This Eastern loop takes us through the remarkable Shakado pass which dates back centuries, past the Hokokuji temple and then along a densely forested ridge extending south to the Zushi Marina and the sea.

Fuji Mountain Climbing Race

2008-07-29T12:38:00.001+09:00

Last Friday I participated in one of the quintessential Japan running experiences - the Fuji Tozan climbing race. By the time I learned about the registration it was too late to enter the climb to the summit and I settled for the run to the 5th station. The Summit Race is 21 km with an elevation gain of 3,000 meters, and the 5th station race is 15km with an elevation gain of 1,480 meters. I was pleased to be forced to select the easier event - the 5th station race is more of a running endeavor (as opposed to a climbing/crawling, oxygen deprivation experience), and the summit race requires scrambling back down a long painful trail.

But when we arrived in the town of Fuji-Yoshida at the base of the mountain and I looked up at the awe-inspiring site of Mount Fuji looming above us - I could not help but feel that strange compulsion to make it to the top. I felt that even more so at the starting line with the

The cutoff times for Fuji Tozan are absurdly strict - for the Summit Race you must reach the 8th station within 4 hours. More than half the entrants are cruelly turned back after climbing for 19km - and runners who make it to the finish are considered conquering heroes.

I ran reasonably well - finishing the 15k course in 1:40:46 which was good for 21st among the 480 finishers in the 5th station event.

I went out easy on the course's flat section (all 500 meters of it) from the starting line at Fuji-Yoshida city hall to the first turn. Then as we begun the relentless climb, I started to steadily pass people. Fortunately much of the first 11km is on a smooth paved road where we enjoyed shade and splendid scenery.

I managed to get into a nice running rhythm despite the elevation gain. I did have to fight back negative, panicky feelings ("if I feel bad, now just wait until we really start to climb later"). Fortunately the Fuji Tozan 5th station race does not torture us with the ever-increasing steepness of Ohyama Tozama -- a race which I have done 3 times and which haunted me throughout.

The first water stop was 35 minutes into the race at which point dehydration was taking a toll. The water and cafe latte gel I carried gave me renewed strength and I passed Jin at this point. I thought I might keep only passing runners all the way to the top, but then when we reached Umagaeshi at 11km, the course becomes steeper and the terrain more uneven, and suddenly a series of gaunt, elderly men begun to scamper by me. It seemed apparent to me that these guys were a different breed of hill climbing runners and that they lived to climb these steep rugged slopes.

I reached a 13km marker at 1:15 on my watch and thought I might break 1:30. I begun to walk on steeper sections where I felt that little extra time could be gained by running. I was surprised that it took so long to get to the finish but felt pretty strong as we crossed the finish.

Now I feel I must do the Fuji Summit Race some day. I think I would be relatively less competitive at the summit event, but who cares - the challenge and uniqueness are compelling.

Kamakura 5k Open Water Swim Report

2008-07-14T15:18:00.002+09:00

I complete my first open-water swim event on Saturday in Kamakura - swimming 5 kilometers in exactly 90 minutes.

One of my goals for 2008 was to compete in a pure swim event - partly because it would encourage me to improve my swimming for the triathlon, but more importantly because it struck me as an interesting new challenge in itself.

I was mentally prepared to finish dead last among a group of muscular, former lifeguards, water polo players and collegiate swim champions. However upon arriving at the beach I immediately struck up a conversation with a fellow competitor - a slight, older Japanese triathlete who told me he had been running for years and the swim was his weakness. I managed to bite my tongue and avoid saying I was of the same type.

Two-hundred competitors lined up for a beach start - a start that was remarkably relaxed compared to the frenzied thrashing starts at triathlons. Most of the field, including myself, waded out into the ocean at a leisurely pace - seemingly in no hurry to actually start swimming. I found plenty of room on the outside and launched into a smooth pace - trying to avoid the numerous jellyfish blobs. The first half of the first of the three 1600 meter loops seemed to take forever - 18 minutes to 850 meter mark. After that I got progressively faster and passed other swimmers most of the way.

A boat at the turnaround buoy handed us water and some strange food-like substance that tasted very good after all the ocean water. I was a bit dehydrated in my wetsuit on the 28 degree morning, and these water stops saved me. I also ate my Cafe Latte Power Gel at the halfway mark which also seemed to help.

The other swimmers seemed to emerge on the shallow beach at the same leisurely pace we entered the water. However hoping to hit 90 minutes and being more of a land animal, I furiously porpoised through the shallow water and sprinted up the beach to the finish.
My time of 1:30:00 is much faster than my 1:27 for 3.8k at Ironman. I place a respectable 105th out of approximately 200 total participants.

Later in the afternoon along with teammates, Dave Sims and Oleg from our Tokyo International Waters Swim Club, I participated in a 3x750-meter relay. We finished 10th out of 41 teams. Unlike the 5k I entered the water at a full sprint after taking the wristband from Dave, and I found myself gasping for breath on every stroke for much of my leg. My pace was slower than in the 5k, partly because of the overly fast start and partly perhaps because of fatigue from the 5k.

Remarkably though, two day later I feel very little soreness and fatigue from the longest swim day of my life.

I have no intention to abandon running and cycling and devote my life to open-water swim, but I had a blast on Saturday and look forward to doing another open-water swim event next summer.

Countdown to 5k Open Water Swim

2008-07-11T16:53:00.002+09:00

Only 16 hours until my swim marathon. I feel increasingly anxious - but this anxiety could be caused by other things in my life. Anyway I need to focus on keeping my stroke smooth and long and consistent tomorrow.

I anticipate swimming for up to 2 hours - a long time to be working in the open seas. My rule in running/triathlon events is to eat every 30-minutes on any endurance event over 60-minutes. So I am thinking to tuck a gel or two inside my wetsuit. I have not practiced doing this, so I have no idea if eating in the middle of the swim will be do-able.

As is often before a big event I find myself thinking - "I really should have done one more real long training swim..."

My race goal? Really just to finish and have fun. I have been averaging 2:00 on 100 meters in pool for 20 reps, but when I get out in the open water the workouts do not seem as relevant.

My other goal - not to make excuses and tell other participants "I am not really a swimmer". Tomorrow I am a swimmer.

Takamizu trail run

2008-07-09T15:44:00.001+09:00

My teammate Gerard tells me what a fine job I do not over-training.

Ironically he is telling me this as we race up the side of Mount Takamizu - a 30k trail run (about my average weekly mileage) with over a 1,000 meters of elevation gain, on a day when I have had little sleep, the weather is terribly humid and I am carrying no water.

I felt reasonably strong through about 22 kilometers of the run, but at this point we begun to climb the last big uphill and for the next 8 kilometers I staggered along in an exhausted, dehydrated daze.

So much for not over-training.

Shore Run

2008-07-01T13:45:00.001+09:00

At the last second I decide to enter the 6.7 mile Shore Run on Sunday in Seattle. It is a splendid weather, a scenic course, a good cause, and unlike at the Seattle track workout everyone seems friendly.

I had been feeling strong on my runs in Tokyo and went out ridiculously fast - 5:32 for the first mile. (Whatever a mile is. I didn't realize miles were still used to measure running events and miles no longer means anything to me.)

Anyway this pace is unsustainable - my second mile is 5:40, my third is 6 minutes and then we start climbing some hills, I am feeling terrible in so many ways, and 3 women pass me in succession. The third lady to pass me is a woman I had chatted with before the race who looks very much like the actress Sarah Jessica Parker and (naturally) I make an effort to keep up with her.

As we approach the finish line I start to feel a bit stronger again. I briefly consider kicking past "Sarah Jessica" but I think to myself that I already look bad enough and I will really look like a dick if I start sprinting to the finish. So I cruise across the line in a time of 41:38.

Fortunately I still manage to finish first in my age division and 9th overall out of 540 runners, and win various prizes. God bless America - the running events are much less competitive.

All the local Seattle people are carrying on about how incredibly hot they think it is (about 25 degrees), and I feel like saying this weather is nothing compared to China IM or Suzu or Obuse, etc. but I bite my tongue. Still it is hot enough that I jump in the adjacent Lake Washington after the race. I seem to be the only runner that feels compelled to enjoy a swim in the lovely lake (I need training for Kamakura Swim) and to take advantage of the lakeside showers for shampooing and bathing. Running in Japan has conditioned me for public bathing (and this is good practice in case I become a homeless person).

Track workout in Seattle

2008-06-28T13:00:00.001+09:00

I join a group of 50 serious Seattle runners at a track near Green Lake last night. Having done workouts with groups in the past year in Singapore, NYC, HK, San Francisco, and Tokyo I was interested to see what the group from my hometown would be like. And I found this club was definitely different -

1. Faster runners - We did 6 x1000 and I slotted in with the B group. The four college aged guys in the A group averaged 3:05 per 1k. The five guys in my B group averaged 3:14 and I struggled to keep up. I needed to hit the restroom and missed the 5th interval and I could sense the rest of group B thinking that this guy just doesn't have what it takes.

2. Worst facilities - Considering Seattle is one of the wealthiest cities on the planet, it is shocking to experience the Green Lake track - more like one would expect in the developing world - a rutty, four-lane dirt track with dust blowing in from the interior soccer field.

3. Less friendly to newcomers - This group has to rank among the most unwelcoming, cliquish collection of people I have ever encountered. Not only did no one make any effort to say hello, my efforts at conversation were met with cursory monosyllable replies. There was no introduction of new people and rather than a post-workout group dinner people went off together in small clusters. I had observed how clannish and aloof Seattle people can be during numerous visits to my hometown since leaving for college two decades ago. I guess like the city of Seattle itself, the Green Lake track is perceived as already full, and newcomers are simply not welcome. I was just another outsider fresh off the boat further clogging up their city. I thought about calling attention to my deep roots in Seattle but it didn't seem worth the effort.

Laser focus on swimming - 2

2008-06-22T02:39:00.001+09:00

My swimming mileage is at all time high - not that I have ever really tracked it before but I am sure the last month is an all time high. Until early March I had been doing 1-2 short, easy workouts on my own each week - so a weekly average of about 75 minutes and 3 kilometers. Since then I have been doing drills with swim squad and doing more mileage on my own:

Week/#swims/duration/distance

Mar 9 - 3x, 1:30, 3.7k
Mar 16- 4x, 2:30, 6.0k
Mar 23 - 2x, 1:45, 4.5k

Mar 30 - 3x, 2:45, 6.5k
April 6 - 2x, 1:30, 4.0k
April 13 - 1x, 0:45, 2.0k
April 20 - 3x, 1:45, 5.0k
April 27 - 3x, 2:15, 6.0k
May 4 - 4x, 2:45, 7.0k
May 11 - 2x, 1:45, 5.0k
May 18 - 2x, 1:30, 5.5k
May 25 - 4x, 3:15, 8.0k
June 1 - 3x, 2:50, 7.5k
June 8 - 3x, 3:25, 8.5k
June 15- 3x, 3:00, 8.0k

More on Nutrition/Caffeine

2008-06-13T15:26:00.002+09:00

This morning Anthony sends me this article on nutrition to maximize performance and recovery.

So the jury is still out on carbohydrate and protein intake immediately after workouts (though I will still eat my Cliff Bar - I mean why not?)

So WHAT does the latest research recommend we consume after workouts? Yes, you guessed it, our favorite substance - caffeine. Once again the lab rats and test subjects have outperformed and more quickly recovered when loaded up on coffee. So before, during, and AFTER the race and hard workouts we should be hitting Tullys.

They say that people will seek out information that is consistent with what they want to believe. So readers of this blog might assume I am just desperately trying to justify all the coffee swilling and caffeine addiction whatever way I can. But I swear I keep stumbling on these positive remarks about caffeine (and nothing that says it is slowing me down).

Run Mileage Update - Why are my times faster?

2008-06-12T19:55:00.003+09:00

Here is mileage to date for 2008.
I can't figure out why I am running faster than last year given my lower mileage. Maybe less cycling? more swimming? better nutrition? more caffeine?

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30-45 minute window

2008-06-03T14:39:00.001+09:00

Our teammate Motozo left the pool last Thursday with ankle soreness and Keren and Mary and I shouted advice: "R.I.C.E., - rest, ice, compression, elevation. Take some ibuprofen, get a massage..".

But according to the recent research we should have been shouting at Motozo to quickly grab a yogurt smoothie.

Ingesting protein and carbohydrate within 30-45 minutes of exercise-induced muscle damage is apparently critical to taking advantage of the higher insulin level in the blood caused by the exercise. This "insulin response" causes your muscles to absorb more fuel (glucose) and rebuild - which is the whole point of training. Once the 30-45 minute window passes your body's ability to replenish fuel drops dramatically.

This is consistent with what I have been reading for several years, but the "energy drinks" that are available and we consume after workouts seem to be watery, sugary concoctions that taste good and quench our thirst but are grossly inadequate for providing the protein requirements for recovery? I am curious if there is anything I can buy out of a vending machine in Tokyo to adequately replenish carbohydrates and protein?

5k Time Trial - 17:14

2008-05-29T17:26:00.001+09:00

My teammate Yoshida-san announces that he hopes to break 17 minutes at last night's monthly running time trial, and I reluctantly stick with him despite this overly ambitious pace (for me). I need someone to establish a pace or else I will indulge in an easy jog, and I seek to stay ahead of the rapidly improving Paddy, the Irish Wonder.

Thanks to Yoshida-san I run 3:22, 3:25, 3:29, 3:32, 3:26 (kicking past Yoshida-san with 700 meters to go) for a 17:14, my fastest 5k in about 5 years.

Laser focused on open water swim race

2008-05-26T12:48:00.001+09:00

Only 7 weeks until I compete in the 5,000 meter open swim race in the tumultuous seas off Kamakura. So I am focusing my energy on preparing for this epic event.

This past weekend I joined Anthony, Keren, Mary and David at Hakkejima and swam some 3 kilometers, my longest swim since ironman two years ago. I swallowed a lot of saltwater, my goggles leaked irritating my left eye, and my wetsuit scratched up my neck. But covering 3k made me feel better about my chances of surviving the 5k swim in July.

Sagamiko to Yamanakako

2008-05-20T19:51:00.001+09:00

I have long heard glowing accounts of the cycling route from Lake Sagami to Lake Yamanaka through the mountains west of Tokyo. Last Saturday I finally did the 115 kilometer up-and-back ride along with Chris, Fabien, Adam, Mika and Keren.

The route was even more scenic than I expected, with lush green hillsides soaring around us. Even on a day when Mount Fuji was largely shrouded in clouds the course was stunning. From Sagamiko the course climbs gradually for about 45k then rises sharply for about 5k before dropping down to Yamanakako. We did one loop around the lake before returning. The ride took about 6 hours including several long stops.

I highly recommend the route. By catching the Chuo special express, Chris and I made it from Roppongi to Sagamiko in less than 90 minutes. According to Chris there is significantly less traffic on Sunday and weekday mornings.

Fuji Susono Half-Marathon

2008-05-14T11:32:00.002+09:00

On Sunday I ran a 1:20:18 half-marathon near Mount Fuji. It was wonderfully cool weather (11 degrees) after the wretched death slog in the 35 degree heat at China Ironman.

I stayed behind my ultra-marathon teammate Yoshida-san for the first 5k and when I heard our split of 21:45 I was not optimistic about my ultimate finishing time. Thanks to Yoshida-san's comfortable pace, the long uphill climb on the first 5k did not actually seem so difficult to me. So when we got to top of the hill I accelerated, running 18:54 for my second 5k. I pulled within about 20 seconds of younger, faster teammate Gerard and was pulled along by my effort to keep him in sight.
At 14k I started to weaken a bit. This is usually when a half-marathon starts to get painful for me. But here is the wonderful thing about the Fuji-Susono course: since the last 4.5k is downhill, I merely needed to survive until about 16.5k and then I could cruise. And cruise I did -covering the last 5k in approximately 16:30. I have always assumed that you cannot make up time on the downhill that you had lost because of running slower on the uphill, but somehow at Fuji-Susono I did make up lost time (even though I do not consider myself a strong runner on downhills). I finished 4th in 40-49 division.

Needless to say, I would have liked to break 1:20, but given training and conditions I was delighted with my race. My time was very similar to my Tokyo (half) Marathon time in February - in both cases I started out at a slow pace and enjoyed a relatively comfortable run. The shift to more bicycle and swim training over the past few months did not seem to slow me down.

Ironman China 2

2008-04-28T11:00:00.003+09:00

Still admiring the coconut prize a week after IM China. It is more impressive than my times. Given the variables in a triathlon it is more difficult to compare performances than in say a 5k track run. I am convinced IM China was my best triathlon to date.

Questions:
1. Was is it the heat or the bike ride that killed me on the run?
2. Was the swim really 1.8k as other swimmers claim?
3. Would my friend from SVTC have lasted 100 meters if he wore his "Free Tibet" shirt?
4. Where on earth can I find a half-ironman that is not so absurdly hot on the run?

Half-Ironman seem inherently hot because the run starts at mid-day in places warm enough to attract people to an open water swim. I would gladly trade off a few minutes of shivering during body marking on a cold morning in exchange for hours of cooler weather all afternoon (but I seem to the exception in this respect). I also kept suggesting to everyone I saw at Ironman China that they start the half-ironman at 2pm and finish under the lights rather than start us at 9am. But I only get blank stares in reply. Teammates Keren, Mika, and Michael are all planning to Singapore 70.3 in September, but I would rather do almost any other event - even Escape from Alcatraz where I could count on the cold summer weather in San Francisco.

Ironman China Report

2008-04-23T12:06:00.002+09:00

Wow - I actually won an award in a triathlon - a coconut trophy. I am so pleased - I feel like when I won a blue ribbon at field day in elementary school. I have won trophies in running events, but never expected to finish above the middle of the pack in a triathlon. Somehow I managed to capture 3rd of about 20 guys in the 45-49 division.

My swim was really solid. I swam straight, had few collisions, and was generally able to concentrate on my stroke. I was even first out of the water among the Nambanners in a time of 30 minutes 42 seconds (the course was short - call it 1500 meters? - maybe a bit more).

My bike was close to my most optimistic goal time as well - 3:06:42 - I maintained my target of 30k per hour on the flat stretches despite limited training.

The amazing thing is that I placed so well despite the fact I was not able to even run effectively. I decided right at the start of the run I was going to have to walk early and often. For the first 8k I managed to run for 4 minutes and walk for 30 seconds, but by the bridge at 14k I was walking more than I was running. I was a bit concerned about heat exhaustion (my friend Kyle from Silicon Valley Triathlon Club collapsed and had to get an IV during the race -- he still managed to finish). When teammate Mika Kume blew past me on the uphill section of the bridge and exhorted me to run with her, I just smiled and kept walking. My run time was 1:59:42 and overall time was 5 hours 45 minutes and 27 seconds.

Running in the heat was pure misery, but overall I was delighted with Ironman China experience, more happy it seems than most of my teammates. The bike course took us through the narrow streets of a traditional Chinese village packed with villagers screaming "Go Go Jia Yo!" and out into countryside past water buffalo and throngs of baffled farmers and coconut plantations. I would imagine most of the participants would have been happy to keep the course on the flatter, faster highway but I am glad the organizers took us through the village. The event was well organized for a first time organization.

More later

Caffeine Taper 3

2008-04-17T10:42:00.001+09:00

..Not that my bike training for China Ironman is the important thing. What really matters is the caffeine taper.

And I did it! I made it through a whole day with no caffeine.

After six weeks on only 100 milligrams of caffeine per day, I inadvertently made it through yesterday with only minimal withdrawal effects. Now we will see how the 700 milligram caffeine loading helps next Sunday.

Ironman China Training

2008-04-16T14:46:00.004+09:00

Here is my triathlong training (weekly hours being the best proxy for triathlon training):

Swim - Half dozen solid workouts along with my easy weekly swims at spa
Bike - Only three (THREE!) outdoor rides. I am doomed
Run - I seemed to hold up well for 35k at Ome despite limited miles.

Ome Takamizu 35k Trail Run

2008-04-07T22:15:00.001+09:00

I ran surprisingly well in yesterday's Ome Takamizu trail run, covering the hilly 35-kilometer course in 2:59:23 and finishing 13th out of over 900 starters.
http://www.gem.hi-ho.ne.jp/kfc-onishi/

Twice before I had run this race. Two years ago when the course was only 30 kilometers, I finished in 2:30. The extra 5-kilometers added some beautiful trail sections, but made the run significantly more difficult. I am not sure how I managed to improve on my previous effort given my recent lack of mileage in general and lack of trail running in particular.

As usual, I intended to go out slow and enjoy feeling stronger later in the race. But I joined my teammates near the front at the starting line and after the gun went off I quickly settled into the top 20 as we climbed the initial hill. By about 8k I felt worn out and wondered if I was in trouble - an uphill portion of the new section was so steep that I used ropes to help pull me up.

For almost the entire 3 hours I found myself passing a group of 6 other runners on the flat, uphill and paved sections and then watching in dismay as they simply blew by me on the steep downhill trail sections. When we arrived at the temple at the top of Mount Takamizu I made a point of ringing the gong and admiring the scenery (as the familiar group passed me yet again). At this point I was in 20th place. I suffered various cramps and stomach discomfort and sore thighs and hip pain and a wrong turn, but none of these slowed me down tremendously, and having done long triathlons I have grown more accustomed to working through various mid-race issues. For the last 15-kilometers I concentrated on working through one section at a time, uphill, downhill, ridge, etc., and managed to pass and maintain my lead over the group around me (including the fastest woman and a 52-year old guy). I was completely drained by the time I hit the finish.

I was one of the few runners not carrying water. Most other runners carried backpacks. It was a warm Spring day, but the 6 aid stations were adequate replenishment for me. If I could find a really small, tight water belt I would probably wear it on a day like yesterday, but am glad I did not lug my current belt which drives be crazy bouncing up and down. I did carry 3 gels and a power bar and was diligent about eating every 30 minutes which seemed to help.

I seem to be more competitive overall in trail races than road runs, yet within the trail races my strength relative to the other participants is overwhelmingly on the more flat, paved sections.

Swim Squad 2: Waterboarding experience

2008-04-02T12:20:00.002+09:00

After swim squad last night I understand why waterboarding was such an effective form of torture at Guantanamo and has outraged human rights activists.

We did one-arm swim drills and rotating, arm-by-side drills for 4x50 meters each. Soon I was inhaling water and experiencing the process of drowning, and death seemed eminent. My teammate Mary expressed concern to me when I finished each lap gasping and sputtering. "Jay - take it easy, I am getting worried about you - your face is turning blue" she kept saying.

Still I managed to recover and do the subsequent 8 x 200s in an average of 3:50, which is a big improvement for me. After the swim squad session I again felt a nice sense of accomplishment and am pretty sure that the waterboarding-like experience did not cause too much brain damage from oxygen deprivation or will lead to post-traumatic stress

Cross-training 2: Balance

2008-03-31T17:33:00.001+09:00

I always thought I had pretty good sense of balance. So it has been a rude shock to start yoga and find myself teetering and toppling over during balance poses, while the other yoga participants perch effortlessly on one foot like ballerinas.

So, just as I noted in my previous post on strength, I was intrigued to stumble across an article on the importance of balance, and moreover to find it contained another test to assess how I might rank against everyone else in this regard:

The test entails standing straight with arms folded across chest, raising one leg, bending the knee about 45 degrees and closing your eyes. You measure how long you can hold this position on each foot -- a 20-49 years old should be able to stay balanced for 24 to 28 seconds.

Alas my results were consistent with a 70-79 year old. Apparently one's balance steadily deteriorates from one's 20s. Perhaps running and cycling accelerates this decline? Fortunately it is apparently easy to restore balance if you work on it a bit, so I have been trying to stand on foot each day as I brush my teeth. Will try to follow-up on my progress in a later post.

(Follow-up note on strength - I am still stuck on about 40 push-ups)

Cross-training: Strength

2008-03-25T17:45:00.002+09:00

I have consistently heard that strength training is valuable for triathlon/running performance (and for any one's overall health). But maintaining a regular weight training regime is a tiresome hassle for me, and apparently weight training sporadically is of no value.

So as part of my effort to do 10-minutes of "yoga" every day, I have recently started doing push-ups, and was intrigued to read this NY Times article on the value of the simple push-up. The article characterizes the push-up as the "ultimate barometer of fitness".

What really intrigued me though was the benchmark provided: the "experts" recommend that 40-year old men should be able to do 27 push-ups. Naturally I had to see if I could hit this target, and I immediately managed to struggle to 32 pushups. Since then I added one a day before hitting a wall at 41. My goal now is to work up to 50 - or even better yet, double the benchmark and manage 54.

Swim Squad

2008-03-21T16:47:00.001+09:00

For over a year now I have procrastinated about joining swim squad - a group training session with a coach - Greg Watson. I find swim squad grueling and painful and counter to the happy, easy triathlon training style I have pursued recently which entails relaxed, steady swims and leisurely lunch at the spa.

Last week Greg asked me if I wanted to be taken off the swim squad mail list and I told him I would try to join the swim workout at least once this spring. At Tamako Ekiden, yesterday my teammate Motozo mentioned he was going to swim squad in the evening and so reluctantly I decided to participate.

And it was brutal.

3,000 meters of frenzied gasping and thrashing. Not only was this the farthest I have swam since Ironman in May 2006, it was the fastest. In swim squad you follow the previous swimmer by 5 or 10 seconds. I desperately tried to keep up with Mary and stay ahead of the guy behind me who kept bumping into the bottom of my feet. We did 100-meter intervals in 2 minutes, with 10 second rest, which was bad enough. However it was the 25 meter drills keeping our head above water and 25 meters of keeping our arms extended in front of us and just propelling ourselves by kicking that really killed me.

I felt really satisfied when the workout was over. Greg said my stroke looked better and I was quicker than a year ago and my times were faster.

Tamako Ekiden

2008-03-20T22:44:00.001+09:00

Seeking camaraderie in a festive spring ekiden (relay race), I traveled to lovely Lake Tama today with 20 Namban teammates for the 19th annual Tamako Ekiden.

Coming from rain-drenched Seattle, I have never had a problem running in the rain. The challenge today was not running in the rain, it is all the changing clothes in an open field in the cold rain and waiting around to run in the rain.

I ran pretty well - 21:20 for the 6k course which contains two cruel U-turns followed immediately by severe uphill climbs. I ran second on Namban's four man B team and managed to pass a dozen or so (mostly college/high school runners) while about 3-4 runners passed me.

As far as camaraderie and team spirit, I did make an earnest effort to cheer on my mates a little bit, but I found myself spending so much of my time and energy just trying to untie my shoe laces with my frozen fingers that I missed most of teammates Paddy, Steve and Bob's heroics.

Still it was a worthwhile morning all in all, and we received an enormous souvenir "18th Tamako Ekiden" toenail clipper which I have been needing.

Caffeine Taper 2

2008-03-17T10:30:00.002+09:00

The weather is growing warmer and I have started to contemplate actually training for Ironman China in 5 weeks. But I have been too preoccupied with my caffeine taper to think too much about bicycling. Without enough caffeine, my mind is simply too addled and woozy to think very much about anything.

I have somehow managed to reduce my average caffeine intake from 540 mg (two 12-ounce "tall" cups of coffee per day) down to only about 150 mg per day (for example today a small 4-ounce cup of decaf/caffeinated mix in the morning and half of a cappuccino in the afternoon).

Cutting down of coffee was surprisingly easy at first - cutting my consumption in half was no problem. I even managed to fool myself with the blend of decaf and caffeinated coffee I would make. But I am no longer fooled by the dreadful tasting decaf stuff. Moreover in the week ahead I need to be reasonably sharp to deal with some looming issues at work, not to mention an upcoming Ekiden.

Ohyama Tozan Climb

2008-03-09T16:48:00.002+09:00

I completed the grueling Ohama Tozan run/climb today - 9 kilometers from the center of a suburban Tokyo town to the top of mountain, wherein each kilometer is steeper than the last, and the last 2 kilometers are up stairs. Believe it or not, this is one of my favorite races in Tokyo.

I have done little hill training recently, though I considered running up the emergency fire stairs at the 52-story Roppongi Hills office building and joining the token hill workout of my teammates. Instead my plan was to push the relatively flatter first 6k and then hang on for the last 3k up the stairs (when our wave is slowed down anyway by the slower runners from the first wave).

I think my strategy worked well for me - I went out in 3:30 for the first kilometer and then consistently passed other runners until hitting the 6k mark in 24 minutes at which point I was 8th place among the 500 participants in my division.

My impression is that there is an "otaku" culture of hill runners who bring the exact opposite strategy to the Ohyama Tozan event - that is they live for the hill portion. I clambered up the crowded, uneven, rocky stairs as fast as I could and felt like it would be all but impossible to cover the last three kilometers much faster than the 25 minutes it took me. But in fact 9 runners went by me and the guy next to me at the 6k mark finished a full THREE MINUTES ahead of me.

I am pleased with my 49:03 finish time and would follow the same strategy next time I do Ohyama unless I have moved up into the mountains by then. The early stages of my coffee taper probably also took a small toll on my concentration towards the end.

Caffeine Taper: Detox/Fast

2008-03-05T11:46:00.003+09:00

With Ironman China only seven weeks away I have to focus on one thing and one thing alone - my caffeine taper. Swimming, cycling and run training are relatively trivial.

The coffee dependency has spiraled out of control in recent weeks. I knew I had hit bottom when I returned from Seattle and woke up in night with headache and had to brew some coffee in order to fall asleep.

Starting today I will begin the long, dark road back. My goal is to cut back from the 500ml of caffeine per day (five 8-ounce cups of coffee or 2.5 tall Starbucks coffees) I am drinking to zero by the end of March and sustain until the week before China IM.

Since I am cutting out coffee, I might as well cut out beer and food (most) in March as well, and totally detox and see how I feel. That part should be easier.

Tokyo Marathon 2008

2008-02-17T13:01:00.001+09:00

I had a blast today running an "unofficial half" at the 2nd Tokyo Marathon. For me it was a big "moving party" on a sun-splashed morning running sequentially with Stu, Rie, Yuka, Paddy, Gerard, Joachim, Martin, Bob, Steve, Brett, Omar, Yoshida-san, Christian roughly in that order.

I am delighted with my times given my erratic pace and the dodging and weaving past the "A" group throughout all of the first 4 kilometer. Here are my rough 5k splits:
5k - 21:10
10k - 18:45
15k - 18:16
20k - 18:41
Half - 1:20:35

I felt rather sheepish about only doing half of the real event. I kept wanting to apologize to the other runners and the spectators cheering so emphatically for the gaijin. "Sumimasen - I am really not running 2:41 marathon pace - don't be impressed." One of the biggest challenges was dropping out at the halfway area in Ginza where some of the largest crowds gather and the spectators seemed so enthusiastic in their "Gambatter Namban" cheers. I was relieved to spot Mutsumi and suddenly have an excuse to stop. Naturally a part of me wanted to keep going, but I didn't have the endurance in me today to go much farther today.

Why did I give up at the halfway mark? I have so many excuses, I don't know where to begin. My soft, suburban US upbringing? My 38k average per week training? The inconvenience of the Odaiba finish? The lack of scenery from the 30k mark out through the Tokyo Bay industrial wasteland? Fear of being beaten by Rie? My general anti-marathon running philosophy? The fact I needed to catch a 1:30PM bus to Narita Airport from central Tokyo?

Winter running mileage

2008-02-16T17:44:00.001+09:00

Here is my recent running mileage:

Midlife Training Crisis

2008-02-14T15:25:00.001+09:00

The Yoga Master keeps warning me about the cumulative effect of running. Given my earlier injuries, inherent inflexibility and some 50,000 kilometers of running over 25 years, some would argue that I am facing a looming running breakdown, after which I will be forced to live out my days in a rocking chair in front of the fireplace, talking incessantly about how great I did chasing Motozo down at the 2006 Sado Triathlon.

Here is the Yoga Master's response to my question about the body being like an automobile - capable of only so many running miles:

About your concern that you've already expended your allotment of miles at age 44: this is my basic thinking on such matters:

* Every body is different
* Hard exercise takes a cumulative toll on the human body
* To a degree, the body is regenerative
* The regenerative capacity of the human body declines with age
* An exercise program with diversity, including strength, cardio and flexibility training, is best

It's common sense, not rocket science. If a 40ish runner is too stiff to bend over and tie his shoes without creaking in the hips and knees, his overall quality of life at 60 is going to be worse, not better, unless he makes changes in his program.

I like to think that my body is quite regenerative and has adapted to running, especially given how light I am. Nonetheless this kindof thinking has contributed to my cutting out my "marginal running" -- those extra weekly maintenance runs, and extra mileage on tempo and long runs - extra running which I did not particularly enjoy anyway. I look forward to my first 5k loop of the Tokyo Palace, but why slog out another one if it is just destroying me. So instead of 80 kilometers per week, I am doing 30-40k per week along with more swim, indoor cycling and yoga.

Unfortunately this attitude is rather de-motivating. I miss the sense of purpose and progress that accompanied my more hell-bent training regimes.

Bike: Short Layoff, Long Comeback

2008-02-09T17:04:00.001+09:00

After the Suzu Triathlon last August I completely stopped cycling. 23
weeks of zero cycling - ending today with 60 minutes on my indoor trainer.

I had hoped that 40k per week of running along with my weekly swims
would allow me to maintain most of my cycling strength, but I felt
like was operating on maybe 30% of last August's level. According to
this recent NYT article "if you want to keep your ability to row, or
run, or swim, you have to do that exact activity". Running is not enough, runners propel
themselves by calves and ankles, while cyclists primarily use
quadriceps.

The exercise physiologists suggest that it would not have taken much
time to maintain my cycling fitness - the key is to substitute
intensity of effort for time: "the training needs to be almost like
racing". Next winter I will try to do one intense hour per
week.

For now though, with Ironman China only 10 weeks away, I need to
start doing much more specific (bike) training.

2007 Triathlon Spending

2008-01-11T12:15:00.001+09:00

2007 was another bad year for my net worth.

So again I am trying to figure out where all the money went by analyzing my spending versus the anecdotal reports on the Slowtwitch Forum

1. Bike (amortized) - Jay $250 Average $2,000
Other triathletes buy $6,000 bikes every few years but I am making due with my rusty, generic bike for a third triathlon campaign despite the scorn and derision of my teammates. My racing bike also doubles as my shopping bike so it needs to be rugged to deal with the milk and the chickens I load on it.

2. Bike Equipment - Jay $400 Average $3,500
In 2007 I overhauled my old bike which I left in Seattle, and spent $100 on tubes and lube and cables and new pump.
I still have almost no possessions anyway (of any sort).   I still live in a serviced apartment and all my worldly goods can fit in a small car (not that I own a car). I still don't know where some of the bike stuff I do own is - presumably in that cardboard box somewhere.

3. Running Shoes - Jay $190 Average $350
In 2007 I was loyal to Asics, acquiring an outdated pair of Kayanos for $90, a $100 pair Tarthers and a free pair 2120s. I keep running far too much on each pair of shoes - over 800 kilometers per pair, so my running shoe spending remains low.

4. Triathlon Apparel - Jay $100     Average $400
I am supposed to BUY triathlon apparel?? I did spend $90 on the wonderful compression tights.

5. Coach / personal trainers / massage therapy - Jay $ 0    Average - $700
I wish.

6. Gel, Power Bars - Jay $200 Average $300
I have started trying to eat more "food" and less "foodlike substances" like expensive Power Bars with their puzzling concoction of Maltodextrin, fructose, glycerin, phosphoric acid..

7. Swimming: Health Club / Masters Swim Fee - Jay $340    Average $400
My spa membership was free most of the year and I kept procrastinating about joining the swim squad. I incurred an occasional 400-yen use fee at the 50-meter public pool and purchased new swim goggles.

9. Triathlon /running event entry fees: Jay $900 Average $1,000
I did not do any notoriously expensive full Ironman events in 2007. The $100 entry fee for Tokyo Marathon seems relatively cheap.

10. Triathlon-related Travel: Jay - $4,500     Average $2,000
Lake Stevens was a good excuse to visit Seattle. Mongolia was wonderful. So was HK, Suzu, Shiobara, and Stone Wonderland.

2008 is looking even more expensive.   Especially if I do the half-ironman in Switzerland -- Zurich is hardly an affordable destination. Melbourne is not exactly cheap either. And my real dream - the Bhutan Half-Marathon. Of course I have always wanted to go to Bhutan, but the Bhutan government limits the number of tourists and keeps travel prices high.

Training in Vietnam

2008-01-07T18:54:00.001+09:00

I enjoy a fine winter holiday journey to "Vietnam" Nothing really went according to plan - most significantly I did not actually make it to Vietnam - somehow the prospect of boarding a 20-hour, overnight bus packed with locals spitting and snoring and shouting on mobile phones was just too daunting for me.

Instead I landed in some obscure Chinese city -- Xiamen -- where it seems that few westerners visit - who besides me would travel to China for European colonial atmosphere? The attraction for running - a car-free island! This island, Xiamen's historical area of Gulangyu, has become somewhat Disneyified - but I did not have a problem with that - it all still seemed authentic enough, and and the paths through the hills and along the waterfront were perfect for hours of running/sightseeing. A Xiamen bonus - even better running was to be found in the center of the town - after dark even. I went on a night run through Xiamen's version of NYC's Central Park - an endless network of wide trails alongside a series of lakes that reflected the city's colorful, neon-lit skyscrapers. For some third-tier Chinese city it was spectacular. No doubt this is the running mecca of Xiamen. Not that I ever actually saw any other runners, and I may very well have been the first person to ever run on these paths. I am sure however if I came back in 10 years the trails will be packed with Xiamenites doing long runs and interval workouts.

Next I journey to another car-free island and training destination - Hong Kong's Lamma Island.

My training suffers a bit -- even my wimpy, compromised travel journey is fatiguing. From Xiamen I do end up on a sleeper bus - however it is a 7-hour ride departing at 1:00 in the afternoon, and I am not sleepy, and I am assigned to a horrible middle bunk. I plead with a young man in the back rear window seat to trade with me and I am ready to offer him 50 RMB for the exchange, but once he understands my request he smiles and quickly moves before I can offer him cash. People pay thousands of dollars extra to lie flat on airplane flights but on this trip I want to prop myself up and look out at the rolling Chinese countryside. I overnight in Shenzhen in a lovely, spacious 1-bedroom suite. Based on the strange decor and all the odd accouterments stocked in the bathroom I presume the hotel caters to HK businessmen and their Chinese mistresses. Accommodations on Lamma Island are less luxurious, but no less interesting. The key to the apartment where we were to stay does not materialize and by around 11pm with all the hotels on the island full and the last ferry having left we start to grow concerned. We strike up a conversation with a local artist woman who takes pity on us and allows us to stay with her and her 5 children in a fantastic waterfront home where she is squatting as she tries to convert the place into a "cultural center". Granted the house has no running water, no lights, no covering on the windows... But the candles, the sound of the ocean, the artwork and the crumbling building create an amazing atmosphere.

I participate in Hong Kong's annual Boxing Day Run. Great weather, great organization, great course. Unfortunately the Boxing Day Run is only 4k, and I only start to wake up at about the 3k mark. Well, really I only wake up after the event when we go to The Flying Pan for American breakfast accompanied by bottomless cups of coffee. There is much to be said for the beer and pasta we enjoy after every event in Japan, but when it is still only noon I strongly prefer the breakfast food I grew up with - and the coffee.

Later I journey to the city of Yangshuo, formerly a great backpacker destination, which apparently is now hopelessly overtouristed and passe. But again I don't find this terribly troubling. I manage to get on a mountain bike and it does not take long to escape the hordes of (overwhelmingly Chinese) tourists. At the end of 70-kilometers of cycling through quiet rice fields and karst mountains and remote villages I am pleased to return to all the tourist infrastructure - particularly the lovely coffee shops.

2007 Gear Review

2007-12-17T15:26:00.001+09:00

As we all know, the sport is really just about buying stuff. Actually engaging in outdoor activity is a necessary evil to justify all these heavy expenses and trips to the store. With that thought in mind, here is my 2007 gear review:

1. Sports performance insoles - (Foot disc)
An amazing miracle cure. My shins and IT Band had been aching for weeks. After being analyzed and fitted with the insoles I felt better that night. Visiting a podiatrist would probably be even more effective, but would cost significantly more than the cost of my insoles - approximately $20.

2. Swim Goggles - Aqua Sphere Kaiman
Goggles have been an area of great paranoia for me. I seem to have an oddly shaped face and most of the leading goggle brands leak horribly. But Aqua Sphere fits perfectly. Moreover with the Kaiman, swimming in crowed open waters is less of murky, dark ordeal - the visibility is that much better. Definitely recommend trying on Kaiman.

3. Compression tights (2XU)
Apparently the idea is that these tights wrap around certain muscle groups to accelerate blood flow and oxygen delivery to muscles, and eliminate lactic acid. The wrapping effect also reduces muscle vibration which results in less muscle soreness and reduces recovery times. Hmmm. I was skeptical, but my legs do feel better. Moreover the compression tights are light, warm, and wick moisture well (and people say they look cool). Downside - they are really tight. All in all I would definitely recommend anyone buying a tight to spend a little extra (well probably a lot extra: $50-100) and get compression tights.

4. Neck gaiter
People like to point out to me how my hair is thin on top and thus I should wear a hat to keep 80% of body warmth from escaping through the top of my head. This does not seem true at all. OK, the part about my hair being thin on top may be true, but it is does not seem true that I need to keep the top of my head warm -- it is my ears I need to keep warm. But invariably after wearing a hat while doing exercise I get too hot and find myself carrying it. Then putting it back on. Then taking it off. Then eventually getting tired of carrying it and putting it down somewhere and losing it. The beauty of neck gaiter is that it provides a self-regulating system of rotating between my ears and neck depending on degree of warmth required.

5. Other -
I did not buy any other gear this year. Frankly, I truly hate shopping.

Kamakura Christmas 2007

2007-12-17T11:36:00.000+09:00

The 25k run in Kamakura is becoming a fine holiday tradition. December is an ideal time for a group run through the hills and temples and beaches.

I have been contemplating buying a new camera for some time, but I am so much better served to rely on the great photography of my teammates -- like these shots from Renald --