Last week (week 8) was a monster week of training for me at 19.5 hours. I realized that with an upcoming trip to the US, followed by some business projects, getting in training time in February was going to be tougher, and so I felt compelled to squeeze in some key workouts now.
I had even planned to wake up early this morning and ride again at Oifuto. However when the alarm went off this morning, it was clear to me that I need the rest more than the ride.
Everything I have read on triathlon training has stressed the importance of recovery. And the best recovery is sleep. Most people apparently do not get enough sleep anyway and I have heard it suggested that individuals training for a triathlon need an hour or more per night than they would otherwise.
I have found that I need more sleep than most people. Left to myself I will sleep 9 hours per night. Much less than that starts to take a toll on me quickly. Moreover my circadian rythmn seems to be off - I belong on a planet with a slower rotation, maybe 25 or 26 hour days. I find my sleep patter benefits wonderfully when I fly several time zones west. I often think that I would be in best shape if I could just circle the globe continuously like this.
So now you have to wonder how do I have time to do ANYTHING else these days? I spent 19.5 hours on pure training time last week, but the getting to and from the workouts, and showering etc. added at least 12 hours to that. And on top of that I am sleeping absurd amounts to recover.
So I look around at my apartment - what a disgusting mess. No time to straighten up anything. After March 4th I will need to catch up on a number of things. I don't know how these other ironman find the time to maintain this training regime.
Week 8 - January 22-29
Total Hours Training - 19:30
Swim - 3:00 (7 kilometers)
Bike - 10:30 (255 kilometers)
Run - 6:00 (67 kilometers)
Sunday, January 29, 2006
Saturday, January 28, 2006
Yoga for Runners
This afternoon I participated in the inaugural session of Tokyo's Yoga For Runners. Micheal Glenn guided David Motozo, David Halle, Keren Miers and myself through an hour of what Michael described as beginning ishita yoga.
I have attended several other hatha yoga classes in the past, and found today's class more strenuous as well as seemingly more beneficial. As Michael noted runners like myself tend to have muscle strength imbalances such as the outer thighs being stronger than the inner thighs. Moreover I am inflexible to begin with and endurance training has only excacerbated this problem. I knew this before today's class. What surprised me was my limited core strength and my general imbalance. I toppled over during several yoga poses. I used to be so good at situps and on the balance beam as a kid.
I have spent less time stetching in recent years after reading numerous studies showing that stretching has not been shown to reduce the incidence of general overuse injuries in runners. However, now I am becoming convinced that I could benefit from increasing my range of motion in certain muscle groups, and by stetching certain muscles that are unnaturally inflexible.
Furthermore the research appears unanimous that improving core strength and balance helps everyone, especially as we get older, and especially for triathletes.
Unfortunately, that said, I will likely be unable to attend many of the Yoga for Runners sessions over the next two months, but I am hoping that Michael will be able to continue this program.
I have attended several other hatha yoga classes in the past, and found today's class more strenuous as well as seemingly more beneficial. As Michael noted runners like myself tend to have muscle strength imbalances such as the outer thighs being stronger than the inner thighs. Moreover I am inflexible to begin with and endurance training has only excacerbated this problem. I knew this before today's class. What surprised me was my limited core strength and my general imbalance. I toppled over during several yoga poses. I used to be so good at situps and on the balance beam as a kid.
I have spent less time stetching in recent years after reading numerous studies showing that stretching has not been shown to reduce the incidence of general overuse injuries in runners. However, now I am becoming convinced that I could benefit from increasing my range of motion in certain muscle groups, and by stetching certain muscles that are unnaturally inflexible.
Furthermore the research appears unanimous that improving core strength and balance helps everyone, especially as we get older, and especially for triathletes.
Unfortunately, that said, I will likely be unable to attend many of the Yoga for Runners sessions over the next two months, but I am hoping that Michael will be able to continue this program.
Tuesday, January 24, 2006
Oda Field 10kTime Trial
The Namban Rengo running club likes to run time trials. The last Wednesday of each month the club members powers through a punishing 5,000 or 10,000 meters round and round the track.
Personally I just like having the energy of other people to run with and perhaps pull me along.
This factor was especially compelling last night. I had ridden my bicycle 100-kilometers along the Arakawa from 1:00 to 5:15 pm (24k average per hour into the wind, 29k per hour with tailwind). I had a 90-minute transition break during which I ate bananas, nuts, and gel before I started my run at around 6:30pm. I had run about 9 kilometers when the 10,000 meter time trial started at 7:20 pm. I hoped to run 4-minute per kilometer pace even though this pace puts me light years ahead of my ironman pace. The first kilometer was 4:05. I felt suprisingly strong and started passing people, my next kilometer was 3:55 and the next 3:50. I went through the 5-kilometer mark in 19:32 and wondered if I could hang on at this pace after all the cycling. Somehow I managed to actually run a few 3:40 kilometers and completed the 10,000 meters in 38:30.
I am pretty pleased with this time, though I am not sure if it really demonstrates anything I could do in an event that is twice as long in the mid-day sun with no 90 minute break between the bike and run. Actually my immediate thought is to wonder what kindof HALF ironman time I might do.
Unfortunately matters spun out of control at the festive post-run dinner. I sat with Gareth, Yumiko, Taeko, Yasuko and Yuka at Zest, a psuedo Mexican restaurant near the track. Fajita after fajita was washed down by pitcher after pitcher of beer and I just barely caught the last subway line before the trains shut down.
Personally I just like having the energy of other people to run with and perhaps pull me along.
This factor was especially compelling last night. I had ridden my bicycle 100-kilometers along the Arakawa from 1:00 to 5:15 pm (24k average per hour into the wind, 29k per hour with tailwind). I had a 90-minute transition break during which I ate bananas, nuts, and gel before I started my run at around 6:30pm. I had run about 9 kilometers when the 10,000 meter time trial started at 7:20 pm. I hoped to run 4-minute per kilometer pace even though this pace puts me light years ahead of my ironman pace. The first kilometer was 4:05. I felt suprisingly strong and started passing people, my next kilometer was 3:55 and the next 3:50. I went through the 5-kilometer mark in 19:32 and wondered if I could hang on at this pace after all the cycling. Somehow I managed to actually run a few 3:40 kilometers and completed the 10,000 meters in 38:30.
I am pretty pleased with this time, though I am not sure if it really demonstrates anything I could do in an event that is twice as long in the mid-day sun with no 90 minute break between the bike and run. Actually my immediate thought is to wonder what kindof HALF ironman time I might do.
Unfortunately matters spun out of control at the festive post-run dinner. I sat with Gareth, Yumiko, Taeko, Yasuko and Yuka at Zest, a psuedo Mexican restaurant near the track. Fajita after fajita was washed down by pitcher after pitcher of beer and I just barely caught the last subway line before the trains shut down.
Bicycle Cafe Brick
If you follow the Arakawa river trail far north of Tokyo, past the gleaming towers of Omiya, through quiet bucolic rice fields, deep into the bowels of Saitama prefecture, after some 50 kilometers of riding you will come to one of the great destinations for Japan cyclists -- the bicycle cafe.
Today I rode to bicycle cafe as part of my brick -- a workout combining swimming, cycling and running.
As is so often the case, it was Keren Miers who discovered the bicycle cafe for our Tokyo cycling club. The Arakawa river trail appears to dead-end some 35 kilometers upriver from Tokyo Bay. But one day Keren followed a group of local riders over a bridge, past a golf course and up a side road and discovered the path continues for god knows how long - maybe up into the Japan Alps, maybe to the Japan Sea.
The bicycle cafe appears out of nowhere along the bike path riding north throught the farmland. The cafe itself is in a rusting, ramshackle building next to a small swamp. The building is surrounded by vending machines with small plastic table and chairs scattered in the patch of gravel out front. Nearby are several outhouses. Perched high on a pole in front of the cafe is an old, vintage Schwinn bicycle. The bicycle cafe may not be much to look at. And for that matter the food is not very special either. But after 50 kilometers of cycling, a plate of piping hot yakisoba, a bottle of cold Pocari Sweat and a can of Boss coffee can somehow be remarkably satisfying.
Today I rode to bicycle cafe as part of my brick -- a workout combining swimming, cycling and running.
As is so often the case, it was Keren Miers who discovered the bicycle cafe for our Tokyo cycling club. The Arakawa river trail appears to dead-end some 35 kilometers upriver from Tokyo Bay. But one day Keren followed a group of local riders over a bridge, past a golf course and up a side road and discovered the path continues for god knows how long - maybe up into the Japan Alps, maybe to the Japan Sea.
The bicycle cafe appears out of nowhere along the bike path riding north throught the farmland. The cafe itself is in a rusting, ramshackle building next to a small swamp. The building is surrounded by vending machines with small plastic table and chairs scattered in the patch of gravel out front. Nearby are several outhouses. Perched high on a pole in front of the cafe is an old, vintage Schwinn bicycle. The bicycle cafe may not be much to look at. And for that matter the food is not very special either. But after 50 kilometers of cycling, a plate of piping hot yakisoba, a bottle of cold Pocari Sweat and a can of Boss coffee can somehow be remarkably satisfying.
Sunday, January 22, 2006
Spinning in Akasaka
Snow fell heavily on Tokyo this weekend. Today the Arakawa bicycle trail remains blanketed in snow and a brutal cold wind whips across the Kanto plain.
These sortof winter conditions are why people in Tokyo don't enter March triathlons.
Thank goodness I rode 100 kilometers on Friday.
And thank goodness for the spinning class at Y's Academy every Tuesday and Thursday evening.
Y's Academy is a large bike retailer in Akasaka in central Tokyo. Well, large in that it encompasses 7-stories of bikes and bike gear which may sound enormous. But Y's Academy is located in one of those very common Tokyo "pencil buildings." Each floor is approximately 500 square feet cramped and cluttered with gear. The 5th floor is the spinning studio.
The 20 or so bikes at the Y's spin session are always filled despite the fact it is all based on word-of-mouth marketing. At 500-yen per session it is a good value, and I keep hoping that they add more classes each week. Y's is only a 5-minute jog from my apartment so I can squeeze a good hour spin workout into my day by leaving work at 6:35 and eating dinner at 8:40.
At my swimming sessions at the Roppongi Hills spa, in contrast to US clubs, I seem to be the only person training seriously. At Y's the other participants (spinners?) appear more intense even than myself. Most of them are clad in expensive cycling shorts and jerseys and state-of-the-art shoes and carry sports drinks and even technical moisture-wicking towels.
I have attended a few spin sessions in the US, which I acknowledge where quite strenuous, but the other participants tended to be clad in baggy sweats and cotton t-shirts and I surmised that their objectives for spinning primarily focused around weight loss.
Spinning hasn't been the same since my spin partner friend Nicola left for Melbourne, but it is still a highlight of the week and an efficient workout. Moreover, on these snow days, it is the only thing allowing me to get in crucial bike training for the triathlon.
Monday - 1.25 hour swim
These sortof winter conditions are why people in Tokyo don't enter March triathlons.
Thank goodness I rode 100 kilometers on Friday.
And thank goodness for the spinning class at Y's Academy every Tuesday and Thursday evening.
Y's Academy is a large bike retailer in Akasaka in central Tokyo. Well, large in that it encompasses 7-stories of bikes and bike gear which may sound enormous. But Y's Academy is located in one of those very common Tokyo "pencil buildings." Each floor is approximately 500 square feet cramped and cluttered with gear. The 5th floor is the spinning studio.
The 20 or so bikes at the Y's spin session are always filled despite the fact it is all based on word-of-mouth marketing. At 500-yen per session it is a good value, and I keep hoping that they add more classes each week. Y's is only a 5-minute jog from my apartment so I can squeeze a good hour spin workout into my day by leaving work at 6:35 and eating dinner at 8:40.
At my swimming sessions at the Roppongi Hills spa, in contrast to US clubs, I seem to be the only person training seriously. At Y's the other participants (spinners?) appear more intense even than myself. Most of them are clad in expensive cycling shorts and jerseys and state-of-the-art shoes and carry sports drinks and even technical moisture-wicking towels.
I have attended a few spin sessions in the US, which I acknowledge where quite strenuous, but the other participants tended to be clad in baggy sweats and cotton t-shirts and I surmised that their objectives for spinning primarily focused around weight loss.
Spinning hasn't been the same since my spin partner friend Nicola left for Melbourne, but it is still a highlight of the week and an efficient workout. Moreover, on these snow days, it is the only thing allowing me to get in crucial bike training for the triathlon.
Monday - 1.25 hour swim
Long Run around Imperial Palace
The sidewalk around the Imperial Palace grounds in the heart of Tokyo provides a 5-kilometer loop of uninterrupted runnning. This is my core route - the Palace is an easy 2k run from my apartment - and I run this course at least once a week when I am in Tokyo.
Having run in a lot of different cities, I would say this is one of the great urban courses in the world, the downside being its proximity to vehicular traffic. But the scenary is stunning, and on a clear winter day like today with the trees and side of the moat covered with snow, it is particularly stunning.
Today I join Rie, Juergen, Renald, Takako, Mami, Gary, Zach, Stuart, Subash, and Yuka as they prepare for the Kanagawa half-marathon. I run with the group at Rie's race pace - approximately 4:20 per kilometer for one lap. It feels OK, but I remind myself that this is much faster than my own triathlon race pace. Rie, Yuka, and I run the next lap at 5-minute pace and plan our 2006 half-marathon trips. Then Yuka and I run a lap at a bit over 5.
I manage to cover approximately 28-kilometers in 2 hours 35 minutes including the time for a little snowball fight and a stop to buy gel.
Strangely, the one component of my ironman training that I have fallen most short on is long runs. This would seemingly be the most accessible and pleasant part of the training, but so far only twice have I run for over 2-hours.
January 15-21 (Week Seven) Weekly Totals:
Total Training Time - 13:30 hours (Plan - 12:30 hours)
Swimming (2) - 1:30 (5.5 kilometers)
Cycling (3) - 9:30 (215 kilometers)
Running (2) - 2:30 (25 kilometers)
Having run in a lot of different cities, I would say this is one of the great urban courses in the world, the downside being its proximity to vehicular traffic. But the scenary is stunning, and on a clear winter day like today with the trees and side of the moat covered with snow, it is particularly stunning.
Today I join Rie, Juergen, Renald, Takako, Mami, Gary, Zach, Stuart, Subash, and Yuka as they prepare for the Kanagawa half-marathon. I run with the group at Rie's race pace - approximately 4:20 per kilometer for one lap. It feels OK, but I remind myself that this is much faster than my own triathlon race pace. Rie, Yuka, and I run the next lap at 5-minute pace and plan our 2006 half-marathon trips. Then Yuka and I run a lap at a bit over 5.
I manage to cover approximately 28-kilometers in 2 hours 35 minutes including the time for a little snowball fight and a stop to buy gel.
Strangely, the one component of my ironman training that I have fallen most short on is long runs. This would seemingly be the most accessible and pleasant part of the training, but so far only twice have I run for over 2-hours.
January 15-21 (Week Seven) Weekly Totals:
Total Training Time - 13:30 hours (Plan - 12:30 hours)
Swimming (2) - 1:30 (5.5 kilometers)
Cycling (3) - 9:30 (215 kilometers)
Running (2) - 2:30 (25 kilometers)
Thursday, January 19, 2006
Swim at Roppongi Hills Spa
My current existence is an odd and occasinally disconcerting mixture of poverty and luxury. One of the luxuries is access to the Roppongi Hills Spa.
At lunch today I walk over from my office at Roppongi Hills Tower and hurriedly push myself through 50-minutes of swimming (approximately 2-kilometers). I had woken up this morning feeling fatigued, and I struggle through what is essentially a rest day.
The other guests at this upscale spa do not appear to be training for a triathlon. In fact the swimming pool and exercise equipment are relatively empty. Tokyo's wealthy pamper themselves by receiving facials and massages, sipping nutritious juice drinks and having personal trainers prod and contort them. This being Japan, there is a big emphasis on bathing - lots of showering and soaking in numerous tubs and whirlpools, and saunas. Lots of changing slippers and plush robes. The whole facility is sleek and gorgeous. The attendants are sleek and gorgeous. But I don't have time to relax or appreciate any of this, I just try desperately to squeeze in all my training requirements in limited time.
Anyway I remind myself what a contrast it will be swimming in the tumult of ironman with its frenzied mass start, versus gliding back and forth in the tranquil Hills Spa with the soft colors and gentle new-age music .
At lunch today I walk over from my office at Roppongi Hills Tower and hurriedly push myself through 50-minutes of swimming (approximately 2-kilometers). I had woken up this morning feeling fatigued, and I struggle through what is essentially a rest day.
The other guests at this upscale spa do not appear to be training for a triathlon. In fact the swimming pool and exercise equipment are relatively empty. Tokyo's wealthy pamper themselves by receiving facials and massages, sipping nutritious juice drinks and having personal trainers prod and contort them. This being Japan, there is a big emphasis on bathing - lots of showering and soaking in numerous tubs and whirlpools, and saunas. Lots of changing slippers and plush robes. The whole facility is sleek and gorgeous. The attendants are sleek and gorgeous. But I don't have time to relax or appreciate any of this, I just try desperately to squeeze in all my training requirements in limited time.
Anyway I remind myself what a contrast it will be swimming in the tumult of ironman with its frenzied mass start, versus gliding back and forth in the tranquil Hills Spa with the soft colors and gentle new-age music .
Arakawa River Bike Path
The Japanese civil authorities seem willing to go to amazing lengths to avoid any risk at all of flood damage. One result is the construction of an elaborate and spacious network of bike paths and playfields that extend along the rivers. The most accessible and continuous of these bike paths in the Tokyo area is along the Arakawa River.
I leave my bicycle at Keren's house near Ome Station, which is a 10-minute ride from the river, and a direct 24-minute subway ride from my house. Taking the subway to my bike proves much easier than the nightmare of riding all the way from my house to the river.
Yesterday I feel strong enough again to do a few hours ride along the river. A few hours turns into a 3.5 hour workout with a difficult finish coming back from Tokyo Bay against the wind. The river trail is blissfully free of little league baseball players and people with pets, though I do need to dodge a number of very elderly Japanese men on rickety little bikes. These elderly men have the distressing habit of meandering back and forth across the path is a wide S-pattern, seemingly oblivious to all around them. I keep wondering how they have managed to survive to such an advanced age given their apparent lack of self-preservation skill.
I finish the ride at dusk and immediately head off to Oda Field for my Wednesday run with Namban Rengo. Instead of doing the 6x1000 track workout, I do a steady run, round and round and round and round the 400 meter track for some 18-kilometers. 45 laps around the track. Fortunately Mika T joins me for my final 7-kilometers as she is preparing for the Osaka Marathon in 10 days. She pushes my pace to 4:25 per kilometer, a nice brisk but comfortable speed. Even though it is a comfortable pace I whine to Mika about doing too much. Last night I feel a bit of fatigue and soreness from the workouts, but largely seem to have shaken the virus.
I leave my bicycle at Keren's house near Ome Station, which is a 10-minute ride from the river, and a direct 24-minute subway ride from my house. Taking the subway to my bike proves much easier than the nightmare of riding all the way from my house to the river.
Yesterday I feel strong enough again to do a few hours ride along the river. A few hours turns into a 3.5 hour workout with a difficult finish coming back from Tokyo Bay against the wind. The river trail is blissfully free of little league baseball players and people with pets, though I do need to dodge a number of very elderly Japanese men on rickety little bikes. These elderly men have the distressing habit of meandering back and forth across the path is a wide S-pattern, seemingly oblivious to all around them. I keep wondering how they have managed to survive to such an advanced age given their apparent lack of self-preservation skill.
I finish the ride at dusk and immediately head off to Oda Field for my Wednesday run with Namban Rengo. Instead of doing the 6x1000 track workout, I do a steady run, round and round and round and round the 400 meter track for some 18-kilometers. 45 laps around the track. Fortunately Mika T joins me for my final 7-kilometers as she is preparing for the Osaka Marathon in 10 days. She pushes my pace to 4:25 per kilometer, a nice brisk but comfortable speed. Even though it is a comfortable pace I whine to Mika about doing too much. Last night I feel a bit of fatigue and soreness from the workouts, but largely seem to have shaken the virus.
Monday, January 16, 2006
Shibuya Ekiden
Ekiden is a Japanese word which roughly translates as relay race, the term deriving from the traditional practice of each competitor running from one train station (eki) to the next station at which point they pass the baton (actually a long sash in Japan) to their next teammate.
Months ago I promised I would participate in yesterday's Shibuya Ekiden for my Tokyo running team, Namban Rengo, which roughly translates to barbarian horde. Two years ago our barbarian horde veteran team was edged out for first place in this event by a group of mild-mannered insurance company workers, a stunning defeat that left many of my teammates crushed and broken men.
Naturally I felt compelled to help the horde achieve redemption. No matter that this ekiden consists of each of four runners doing a 3k distance, a relative sprint that is completely inconsistent with my training schedule. No matter the fact that on Saturday night I found myself with some sortof strange combination of stomach flu and fatigue. It only makes sense to attribute my illness to Friday's long bicycle training in the cold weather. No matter - I have on several previous occasions felt weak or ill before a race, and then once the gun goes off, I feel fine.
Unfortunately for me when the gun went off I did not feel fine. A swarm of junior high students sprinted out in front of me within the first hundred meters and I felt no strength or desire to try and pass them. But the first 600 meters of this course is in full view of my teammates who were cheering me on, and expecting me to be in first place. So I summoned the strength to make a mad charge to move into second place. Needless to say, I soon started fading again, and around 1000 meters the Namban B team runner, Michael, passed me and encouraged me to hang on. The rest is a painful blur. Apparently when I handed off to my teammate, Steve Lacey (pictured above), our number 2 runner, I put my team in even more of a hole, by accidentally untying the sash. Steve, along with my other teammates, Subash, and Brian Baker, struggled with the sash, wrapping it around themselves in various ways, and manage to bring us back for a second place finish.
After the race I stood in a daze for awhile. Finally my kind and lovely teammate, Dayan, said to me, "Jay, get yourself home and get some rest", which I promptly did - spending the rest of the day in bed.
Thursday, January 12, 2006
Speed Work
I need to complete long, slow, steady runs in preparation for the full marathon.
But the one constant in my life is on Wednesday night I go to the track for intervals with Namban Rengo
Bob, the all-knowing, Zen Master announces we are doing speedwork - 1600, 12oo, 1ooo, 800, 600, 400. I try to take it easy on the intervals and keep running during the recovery -I run with Brian Baker and Anthony Zellar and my interval times are 5:50, 4:20, 3:18 (I pick it up a bit on the 1,000 and chase Yamada-san), 2:40, 1:50, 80.
I feel OK. Nothing like the pace I had a year ago, but then I have to think the last 6 weeks are having an impact on my footspeed.
But the one constant in my life is on Wednesday night I go to the track for intervals with Namban Rengo
Bob, the all-knowing, Zen Master announces we are doing speedwork - 1600, 12oo, 1ooo, 800, 600, 400. I try to take it easy on the intervals and keep running during the recovery -I run with Brian Baker and Anthony Zellar and my interval times are 5:50, 4:20, 3:18 (I pick it up a bit on the 1,000 and chase Yamada-san), 2:40, 1:50, 80.
I feel OK. Nothing like the pace I had a year ago, but then I have to think the last 6 weeks are having an impact on my footspeed.
Wednesday, January 11, 2006
Learning to Swim
In my first triathlon some six years ago the swim was only 400 yards. I searched for a triathlon with the shortest possible swim leg. I still almost drowned. I went off course and panicked and started hyperventilating in my effort to catch up with the rest of the field. The lifeguards on their surf boards surrounded me asking me if I needed to be rescued. I managed to recover by floating on my back for a minute. I then dog paddled the rest of the course. It was a little embarassing to stagger out of the water minutes after all the other participants had finished the swim. But I was happy to survive. Which has generally been my attitude toward the swim part of the triathlon ever since.
So yesterday I met my unofficial triathlon coach, Keren Miers, at the central Tokyo public pool. Keren was alarmed at my poor swimming form and more importantly that I fail to do drills and intervals during my swim training. I usually just go back and forth, back and forth, at my slow speed, until I get bored and stop.
Keren taught me several new drills yesterday that even I could grasp and implement:
- Practice by balling my fingers into a fist to force me to use my whole arm to generate power
- Think about reaching up and "pulling the basketball down" with each stroke
- Spread my fingers out more to create more surface tension (apparently every child learning to swim is taught this and I somehow missed that lesson)
Swim: 75 minutes (2 kilometers)
Bike: 60 minutes (25 kilometers) spin class
So yesterday I met my unofficial triathlon coach, Keren Miers, at the central Tokyo public pool. Keren was alarmed at my poor swimming form and more importantly that I fail to do drills and intervals during my swim training. I usually just go back and forth, back and forth, at my slow speed, until I get bored and stop.
Keren taught me several new drills yesterday that even I could grasp and implement:
- Practice by balling my fingers into a fist to force me to use my whole arm to generate power
- Think about reaching up and "pulling the basketball down" with each stroke
- Spread my fingers out more to create more surface tension (apparently every child learning to swim is taught this and I somehow missed that lesson)
Swim: 75 minutes (2 kilometers)
Bike: 60 minutes (25 kilometers) spin class
Tuesday, January 10, 2006
13 weeks to a 14 hour ironman
I have been training for New Zealand Triathlon since early December. When I started training in December I did not really believe I would be so crazy as to actually sign up for the March ironman, but I begin training nonetheless figuring it would be good off-season conditioning.
My triathlon quest is very much inspired by the performances of my teammates Stuart McIntosh and Keren Miers at last August's Ironman Korea.
Stuart and Keren recommended a training schedule by a Gale Bernhardt from Triathlon Online. Following this 13 week schedule has made the seemingly impossible, at least apparently doable. My main goal is to simply finish the ironman, though this training program is designed for intermediate triathlons seeking to complete the event in 12-14 hours. On the New Zealand IM entry form I put down 14 hours for an estimated time, so I guess I qualify, just barely.
Unfortunately I did not have a great base of training in any of the three components of the triathlon going into December. In fact my beat-up, old bicycle had been unridable since September and my swimming had consisted of a handful of swims in the ocean off Shimoda, Japan and at the Mukilteo, Washington YMCA. I had been consistently running 2-4 times per week.
Ms. Berhardt's training schedule calls for only 8:45 training hours the first week, and I launched into the program with much fervor, doing over 10 hours of training, including 3 one-hour swims and a 3-hour bicycle ride.
...and I promptly came down with a cold which set me back again. Fortunately I managed to get back on schedule in week three (December 18-25) and have beenlargely on the schedule since then.
My triathlon quest is very much inspired by the performances of my teammates Stuart McIntosh and Keren Miers at last August's Ironman Korea.
Stuart and Keren recommended a training schedule by a Gale Bernhardt from Triathlon Online. Following this 13 week schedule has made the seemingly impossible, at least apparently doable. My main goal is to simply finish the ironman, though this training program is designed for intermediate triathlons seeking to complete the event in 12-14 hours. On the New Zealand IM entry form I put down 14 hours for an estimated time, so I guess I qualify, just barely.
Unfortunately I did not have a great base of training in any of the three components of the triathlon going into December. In fact my beat-up, old bicycle had been unridable since September and my swimming had consisted of a handful of swims in the ocean off Shimoda, Japan and at the Mukilteo, Washington YMCA. I had been consistently running 2-4 times per week.
Ms. Berhardt's training schedule calls for only 8:45 training hours the first week, and I launched into the program with much fervor, doing over 10 hours of training, including 3 one-hour swims and a 3-hour bicycle ride.
...and I promptly came down with a cold which set me back again. Fortunately I managed to get back on schedule in week three (December 18-25) and have beenlargely on the schedule since then.
Deciding to attempt New Zealand Ironman
I had concluded that someday, in the very distance future, say when I am back living again in Palo Alto, or Honolulu, I would attempt to fulfill my dream of completing an Ironman distance triathlon. But of course not this year. Not while I reside in central Tokyo where every bicycle ride out my front door is a life-endangering ordeal, where I swim in a tiny 17-meter pool, where my running mileage has been averaging less than 40 kilometers per week and where my training schedule is frequently interrupted by overseas trips.
Nonetheless I just registered a day ago for the New Zealand Ironman on March 4th.
The registration form asked "Why are you undertaking the Ironman Challenge?" I struggled to answer this question. Um...because I think I can?.. Ultimately I wrote down how many years ago I had run a marathon and I had rode in a double-century bicycle ride, and I had missed the challenge of a pure endurance event where it is a satisfying triumph to just finish the event, no matter the time.
My training mate, Keren Miers had said he would bet big money that I would not do an Ironman this year. So if nothing else I need to prove Keren wrong.
Nonetheless I just registered a day ago for the New Zealand Ironman on March 4th.
The registration form asked "Why are you undertaking the Ironman Challenge?" I struggled to answer this question. Um...because I think I can?.. Ultimately I wrote down how many years ago I had run a marathon and I had rode in a double-century bicycle ride, and I had missed the challenge of a pure endurance event where it is a satisfying triumph to just finish the event, no matter the time.
My training mate, Keren Miers had said he would bet big money that I would not do an Ironman this year. So if nothing else I need to prove Keren wrong.