Takamizu trail run

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

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

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

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

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).

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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Tuesday, June 03, 2008

30-45 minute window

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

..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

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.