Shiba Koen Swimming Pool

During that narrow 6-week window of time that is the official Tokyo summer, city officials open the impressive outdoor 50-meter Shiba Koen pool.

Keren swam on a drizzly night earlier this week and shared the pool with one other swimmer.

I went to the pool yesterday, a gorgeous summer weekday afternoon, and the scene was something like the accompanying picture. The pool deck was jammed with men sunbathing (so much for that salaryman work ethic Japan was so famous for).

Jostling with crowds is more representative of the conditions I will face in triathlon swims, so I am content to battle the crowds.

Kamakura Swim & Beach Party

Yesterday found us in Kamakura seeking that eccentric mix of surf/hiking culture and 1,000-year old Japanese history. Instead of my usual logical route incorporating the temples of Kita-Kamakura and the Great Buddha, I took a group of 15 runners through rugged trails to the north-east and east of town:

Kamakura lies at 35 degrees latitude and one imagines a temperate climate. But yesterday running through the forest trails it was very easy to imagine we were in the equatorial jungles of Southeast Asia

I had forgotten how scenic these forests can be on a sunny day. I had also forgotten how muddy these trails can be after a rainy day.

The mud slowed our running, but that was OK. The whole point of yesterday was the beach experience anyway, the run was just an excuse to travel down to Kamakura Beach.

Yes, some cynical locals my complain that Kamakura Beach is an urban wasteland with packs of enormous crows picking through garbage strewn sand. But for a brief period of the year which officials designate as "summer beach season", the beach is cleaned up, a remarkable city is constructed on the sand, and Kamakura Beach is just like Rio's Copacabana Beach without the crime and the volleyball. It is bizarre to witness how much resources the Japanese officials and corporate sponsors invest in this temporary beach-house metropolis -- especially taking into account that during the course of the typical beach season the whole beach city is blown apart several times by typhoons and needs to be rebuilt.

As you would expect, this little beach city provided us hot showers and lockers and a wonderful array of Thai and Okinawan beach cuisine. But what was surprising was the splendid entertainment provided: Thai fire dancing and exotic pole dancers. Yes, the pole-dancing was PG-rated entertainment, and not completely consistent with the squeaky clean, family image of our training club, but pole dancing has gone mainstream in recent years as a fitness regime, and several female teammates are taking it up for cross-training purposes to build core strength.

In addition to ogling scantily clad pole dancers, eating green curry on the sand, running in the jungle, and frolicking in the surf after a hot run, I managed to do something useful -- a one-hour swim with Mika and Keren. After my struggles at Lake Stevens Triathlon, I vow to train more in open-water.

Running in San Francisco

During my week in San Francisco I manage to run two of my favorite courses:

1. Golden Gate Bridge 20k Loop - (MAP)
Surely this is the most spectacular 20k urban run in the world.
The run starts along Crissy Field, a military air strip that has been lovingly restored to wetlands -- this is where all of San Francisco's 20-something professionals run - creating a moving dating meat market - as well as an impressive display of running talent.
Most people turn around after the Golden Gate Bridge, but I think the best part of the run is to continue out through the Presidio, Baker Beach, and the upscale Seacliff neighborhood to Lands End, and then along Ocean Beach. There are a variety of return routes, but for the most variety (and for old times sake) I run through Golden Gate Park and then straight north back through the Presidio.

2. Rancho San Antonio Park -
The mecca for Silicon Valley runners - 23 miles of great trails. Of course every high tech worker in the Valley seems to be out on their bike or running on this sunny July Sunday morning. As expected once we climb out of the forested canyon trails the crowds disappear and we wind our way up some 400 meters where we are rewarded with panoramic views of the entire Bay

Lake Stevens Triathlon

 

I was optimistic about achieving a good mark at the Lake Stevens Triathlon, perhaps even impressing my family and friends.  Whether I recorded a good personal performance or not, I looked forward to the sheer enjoyment of the day itself - anticipating a day like the Sado Triathlon where I burst out singing during much of the bike.

 

But the Lake Stevens Triathlon was just an ordeal, and my results disappointing.   So now all my impressions below are perhaps unfairly negative --

 

1. The course - 

The lake was a murky swamp, the bike course a tedious homogeneous journey through rural trailer trash blight, and much of the run was repeated loops through an industrial area.  The bicycle route was narrow and clogged with vehicular traffic which on two occasions forced me to slam on my brakes.

 

2. The local fan support -

The only local people we saw were the drivers in their SUVs and pickup trucks who were invariably flipping us off for daring to slow down traffic on Sunday morning.  (nothing like the support of the crazed people of New Zealand passionately cheering for every athlete all day long or the throngs of 90-year old Japanese ringing noisemakers along the bike course in pouring rain).

 

3. Race organization -

I am always grateful for the hard-working volunteers.  But amidst the constant chaos of Lake Stevens, I found myself missing the amazing diligence and precise organization of Japanese elementary school kids at aid stations, and the fussy elderly officials in their white hats and blazers.

 

4. My fellow Americans -  

Outside the US I am not accustomed to seeing large rolls of fat bulging over bicycle shorts. On Sunday I was shocked to see so many outright obese people participating in an event like a half-ironman.  What shocked me even more was to see how fast these overweight people were going.  And what really, really shocked me was when a heavy-set lady passed me... during the RUN.   I had recently read a thread on the Slowtwitch triathlon forum filled with mean-spirited rants about jumbo-sized US triathletes.  But as for me, I just wanted to express my admiration for how fast and determined they were given the extra pounds they were carrying.

 

5. My swim -

Why do I even bother training in a pool?

 

6. My transition - 

Why am I the only half-ironman distance triathlete who deems it worthwhile to spend 4 extra seconds to change from cycle shorts to run shorts?

 

7. Triathlon t-shirt - Superb.  But I left it in a drawer since I don't want to be reminded of the event.  

 

8.  My support - Much thanks to my parents, TC and Elaine for coming out to cheer me on.

 

9. What's next - After a few dark thoughts of abandoning the sport immediately after the race, I hope to redeem myself at Suzu.  But at Ironman Switzerland next year I plan to follow teammate Mary's strategy of doing minimalist bike training and just trying to coast along until the run.  And in Switzerland I plan to arrive earlier to recover from jet lag.

 

Countdown to Lake Stevens Triathlon

The race officials at Lake Stevens Triathlon registration are so impressed when they note that I have come all the way from "exotic" Tokyo - some 5,000 miles -- for the Lake Stevens Half-Ironman.   I don't want to point out that I was born in Seattle and actually used to run along Lake Stevens some 20 years ago.  The starting line is only a 20-minute drive from my parents house north of Seattle.

The 5,000 mile trip from exotic Tokyo on Wednesday was not optimal preparation for tomorrow's half-ironman.  I feel really jet-lagged.   But I decide that I have been whining about jet-lag too much and I will simply not let it enter my mind  tomorrow.  It is not something that thousands of milligrams of caffeine cannot solve.  And caffeine is in abundance here in Seattle.

 

The old bicycle I left at my parents starts to worry me.  As I look around at the bike check it seems apparent that my bike is easily the oldest, the heaviest, the cheapest in the entire field of 1,100 participants.  But I decide this isn't terribly important either.  Keren sends me an email exhorting me to pass as many people on $8,000 carbon bikes as possible. 
 

The fact that I haven't done any open water swims since last September could also be a source of concern.  Especially since the water will be cold in the morning and we will have little or no opportunity to warm up.  Nothing like the shock of icy water to precipitate panic and hyperventilation.  But I have swam frequently in choppy oceans, and a calm lake will not be intimidating.

All in all, my preparation for Lake Stevens has been adequate.  I may not be at the level I was for Sado last September, but I certainly should better the mark at my only official half-ironman - Wildflower in 2003.  And it will be fun.