Swim Squad

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

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

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

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

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

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

Here is my recent running mileage: 

Midlife Training Crisis

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

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

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

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

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

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 --

Mitake Mountain

I certainly recommend the Mitake Marathon. I particularly recommend it to visitors to Japan seeking a quintessential Japan athletic experience. Mitake contains a number of wonderfully Japan running elements:

1. A brutal climb - Other countries have hill climbs, but a 1,000 people at an obscure, local race on a December morning? All bursting up an amazing steep incline when the starting gun goes off? All maintaining a hard pace for several agonizing kilometers?

2. Scenic - Where else in the world does a race take you through a "Rock Garden" where participants leap from rock to rock past waterfalls and moss-covered stones? The course also extends along ridges with sweeping views of the 30 million residents of the Kanto Plain, and over forested hills with colorful autumn leaves.

3. Crowd support - People of all ages in the most remote areas yelling out the ritual words of polite encouragement: "nice fighto desu" and "gambatte kudasai"

4. Shinto Shrines - The marathon finishes at the 2,000 year old Musashi-Mitake Shrine

5. Onsen - This is the real cool part of the Mitake experience. All participant's race numbers correspond to one of the numerous onsens near the finish line. After a hard trail run on brisk December morning, everyone is welcomed at an atmospheric inn, and within minutes of finishing is soaking in a steaming hot springs bath.

I ran OK. The first couple kilometers are absurdly steep, but since they are the first few kilometers of a race everyone runs hard. I decided it would be almost as fast to walk. My thinking was I would pick it up when I got to the top. Unfortunately we ran into the tail end of the first wave, so I could only pick up the pace so much. But this allowed me enjoy the scenery more.

I had been warned about the steep downhill plunge at 13k, but it did not seem so bad. I held onto the support ropes as much as possible on the way down to avoid plummeting to my death (or at least avoid the embarrassment and bruises Eric Fitzpatrick suffered coming down this cliff last year).

Bizarre as this might sound, I was disappointed to realize the race was ending. I actually wanted to run farther. Partly because I felt I had energy and could pass more people. Partly because I was enjoying the course. Somehow the varied terrain of a trail run allows me to run much farther than a flat paved course.

I hope to do the Ome-Takamizu 30k trail run on April 1st.

Short Intervals

Grown-ups are supposed to run longer, slower distances right?  I mean once you get out of high school gym class if you run at all it is marathon distances or at least 10k, but certainly not sprinting 200s on a track. 

Nonetheless, this past Monday I found myself doing a workout of 4x200, 3x330, 2x400, with Gerard and Juergen.  I blasted through the 200s in 33-seconds desperately trying to stay between my compatriots and surprisingly managed to do the 400s in under 70 seconds.

Short intervals are usually defined as repeat distances of less than 600 meters usually done at a fairly high level of intensity.  Even for marathoners, short intervals are recommended during the early build phase of training.  I have heard of the benefits of short interval training for a long time, but have been too lazy to make the effort.  But now with my hopes of redeeming myself I am trying again.   Believe it or not it actually was rather fun.

I will try to follow-up in later postings regarding any perceived benefits from short intervals.