Coast to coast!

Japan is a country small enough where you can ride your bike
coast to coast in one weekend.

Thanks to Phil the Rhino, I learned that the half-fast group was making the cross-country trip, and after some coercion from Phil, I decided to make the journey.

Coast to coast in 2 days.
10 riders.
220 kilometers.
130 miles.
Lots of fun.

First stop: family time!

Dinner with my cousin Mayumi in 仙台市 Sendai:



真由美 and her 2 darlings

恭之介ヤスノスケ/帆奈ハンナ, Yasunosuke and Hanna.

They were very genki. Notice the resemblances? -_-



....The next day we began the bike tour in beautiful Matsushima on the Pacific Ocean,
about 20 clicks north of Sendai.......
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...."oh Matsushima, oh Matsuhima", we exclaimed as we gazed at
the mystic islands and Pacific Ocean beyond.
And so, we headed west to the Sea of Japan from Matsushima.....




..............It was actually an easy first day, with lots of shrines, temples to
see, local cuisine to taste, etc....................




....And don't forget the ponds....
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...koi koi koi...


...c'mon koi!

親父.
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...we stayed at a nice ryokan near Naruko onsen the first night...equipped with karaoke of course....
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My voice has a certain effect on people...especially drunk ones.........


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Sumie and Peter, the dynamic duo.
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.......Naruko Onsen 鳴子温泉...a view to a kill....




And the weather behaved...that blue in the background is the sky.
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They are called kaki... -_-　　
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Not to be confused with
kakikukeko...親父
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no shortage of cameras on this trip...
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...crossing the border from Miyagi Prefecture...
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....to Yamagata Prefecture...
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What's this? A flat?
Domo Brian!
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...Team "coast to coast" always points west....




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...nothing like the smell of swans in rice fields...
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We had some awesome scenery....
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...the final swan park takes the cake...
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We arrived on the Sea of Japan at a small city called Sakata.酒田
...and stayed with a monk in this temple持地院..

And yes, we did imbibe in the local sake (nihonshu).
I don't recall it being that great, but the monk's version
of "yesterday" was one of the most memorable karaoke songs
I have ever heard...


This is the route we took (more or less)



Many thanks to Leo for leading and organizing the whole trek.
Hat's off.
Great to meet the half-fast riders again.
And the rhino?... well, he didn't make it this time...

utsukushii and atsui

Welcome to the hurt locker.

Last weekend's triathlon tragic was set in Aizu, Fukushima ken.

The landscape lives up to its name of “Utsukushima Tri at
Aizu”, despite the heat. A really beautiful lake with mountains to
back it up. Would recommend it and a stay at the luxurious Washington
hotel.

Now for the pain and race report. Here is the short version for non-ironman types...

Swim: 27:23 ok, but a lot of kicking, tossing and turning going on…1
minute slower than last year…
Bike: 1:10:40 (inc T1 & T2) good… averaged 35.5 kph despite scorching
weather and chain problem…
Run: 57:54 wow…shocked at the time, shocked that I actually ran…
total: 2:35:57 not bad, considering the heat and my knee injury…a PW
needless to say…





And here are the gory details....

Swim:

I found it harder to get in a rhythm this year. There was a
whollotta kicking, squirming, tapping going on…
guess the numbers were at almost 500 athletes (this is a major ranked
race in Japan now!), which makes a combined start a little hectic…
26:00 out of the water, about a minute slower than last year…I also
think they changed the course to stop serial porpoisers like motozo
from abusing the actual swimmers…





Bike:

I pulled up to T1 just as Keren was pulling out, so geared up in
the blazing sun, and set my sights on his pointy head and blue namban
rengo shirt. WIth some help from the drafting marshal, we caught Keren
at about 20k. The course was a little tougher this year also with the
heat and stiff headwind, but enjoyed the downhill from 10-30k, pushing
Hillary’s gas pedal down to 60kph at one moment. There were long
stretches where I averaged over 50kph, and I thought, this is what it
feels like on a time trial at the tour de France….until my chain fell
off at an 180 degree turn, and Keren and 10 other bikers passed me
without hesistation……

no, it was not the tour de France! 1:10 bike was 1-2 minutes slower
than last year, about right given the heat,wind, and mechanical
problem…










Run: I dismounted Hillary and boy was it hot. But I thought,” fu_k it,
I’ll give it a try”, threw on my knee brace, and ran out of T2. The
first 1k was pure pain. I had 3 big challenges:

1. Torn minuscus (knee)
2. Fatigue from lack of running training (no runs since June)
3. Heat (it was the hottest part of the day) and no shade.

But I incorporated the Jay Johannesen “running while in pain”
technique, hydrated liberally every 1K, walked every few minutes,
spurted every 2 minutes, and somehow made it to the finish in under 1
hour. Those water and sponge breaks were heaven. I actually overdid it
with the happy mizu showers, got my shoes waterlogged, and developed
some nasty blisters on the bottom of my feet. During the last 2k, I
could feel the blister bursting hot fluids on the arch of my left
foot. I hope the Chinese real estate bubble does not look like the
bottom of my foot, coz it is pretty damn ugly! (it actually looks like
the flag of Japan, if you can imagine…. -_- )



Good to share it with Alex, Keren, and Stanley.

Ohhh Oshima triathlon: surfing USA

Another month, another triathlon...we had a nice weekend in the neighboring Oshima (big island), a mere 2 hour jet boat ride from downtown Tokyo. 5 nanbanners (Phil, Andrew, Stefan, Laura, and your humble narrator) made the trip for the adventurous rough water swim, superfast bike, and hot and windy run. My lovely wife, accompanied me as usual, and thanks to her, the action shots of the race and party are below.

This was me looking genki in a "guts pose" before the swim start....easier to do before the race starts...



Tiptoeing gingerly thru the rocky beach...



Driving it home with the waves behind me...



Back to the beach...where is that zipper again?



Running surprisingly hard to transition 1..trying to beat my 4 minute T1 from last time...


Just mounted Hillary Swank, and ready to crank with the nice tailwind...



I'm riding so fast that Megu's shot is blurry...




Is that a happy-to-be-off-the-bike grin, or a sadistic grin when the pain starts to kick in?



Bringing it home against a nasty headwind...




Team Oshima with post-race euphoria...



Megumi is in the haus! She had a tough workout too!



The Ryano with 2 little rhinos...



This spot is reserved for Meggu...the only veggie plate!



The waiting is the hardest part...kampai already!




My results were decent this year.

Swim: 28:13 (57th place)
Bike: 1:08:40 (31st place)
Run: 46:08 (51st place)
Total: 2:23:01 (29th place overall, 27th out of 244 male finishers)

It compares well to 2 years ago. My times from 2008 were:

Swim: 31:59 (78th place)
Bike: 1:09:28 (38th place)
Run: 46:21 (55th place)
Total: 2:27:48 (43th place overall, 42nd out of 190 male finishers)


This year I finished much higher, 29th, versus 42nd 2 years ago, despite the more crowded field. The wind and heat were tougher this year, so I guess I was better prepared.

Swim:
The swim was faster, but a slightly shortened due to the immense waves. They say it was 1200 meters instead of 1500 meters, so I figure an extra 4-5 minutes, but the swim was much more challenging this year as the huge seas rocked us up and down like seals in the surf. It was actually a fun adventure to get thru, and I felt moments of surrealism as I glimsed at the tiny minnows swimming below me.

Bike:
I was particularly happy with the bike, which I improved by about 45 seconds despite getting lost in T2, which must have cost me 40 seconds. It was also hotter than last time. Without the 4 minute T1 transition and 1 1/2 minute T2 transtion, my bike was about 1:02:15, very close to that 1 hour barrier, averaging 38.5 kph. 2 years ago, I averaged 37 kph, so that was a nice improvement.

Run:
The run was a hard grind as we had a nasty headwind for the final 5k. 2 years ago I saved too much for the 2H of the 10k, so this year I made sure I was near max throughput for the first 5k. I did 22:42 for the first 5k, but as the head wind hit me at the turnaround, I couldn't hold the pace. The heat was started to make me dizzy. Luckily a guy passed me with 4k to go, and I sped up, got right on his tail, and drafted for the next 3k. Still, the last 5k was 23:27, so the allusive 46 minute barrier once again escaped me.

No worries, though, a fair show, given the big waves, wind, and heat factors. With a little more speed training in the pool and on the bike and track this summer, I should be ready to test PBs in both olympic and half ironman distances in August and September.

Nijima triathlon: paradise in Tokyo

This was my 2nd year in a row to Nijima, and the beautiful island did not disappoint. Last year we had a cozier group of 6-7 peeps, but this year the gaijin horde dominated the course, with 18 of us in the race, and 3 supporters.





As for the race, I had hoped to beat my time of last year, 2:25, but my lack of training over the winter was going to make that a tall order. On race day, some small waves on the swim and a breeze on the bike course shattered any hopes of getting close to my time of last year.



Compared to last year I lost 30 seconds on the swim, 2 minutes on the bike, and 30 seconds on the run. It was a fun race though.

Swim: We (Keren, Jay, Mika, Mary, Ma, Phil, Pia, Vanessa, Motozo) lined up 4 minutes after the young bucks, and sprinted into the shallow water. It is quite an easy start, with about 100 "free" meters of running and porpoising allowable, I felt



pretty relaxed and settled into my usual drafting position behind a big splashing guy about my speed. At the halfway I came in at 12:10, so hoped to get in under 25 minutes, but I must have slowed slightly. I came out at about 25:00, but took almost a full minute to get out of the wetsuit despite not wearing socks.




Bike: The bike was tougher this year. We had a stiff headwind at the first 1-2k until you ride thru the little town. And the course is very curby and hilly, so it is hard to get into a good groove on the bike. 3 loops X 13.3k. At the end of the first loop, I had done about 25 minutes and knew that it was going to be a slow one on the bike as I had hoped for 23 minutes X 3 = 1:09 bike...




but alas one cannot control the elements...it was great to see many nanbanners on the course...I targeted Reza who was about 4-5 minutes in front of me, and had wild dreams of catching up to Keren, who was behind Reza, but had started with me, so about 1 minute ahead. It looked like Kimm was having a great debut, as he and Adam dueled it out several minutes ahead of the "pack". And of course Jay and I had our friendly rivalry on the whole course. I knew I needed a big cushion on the bike, as Jay has run well under 40 minutes at the olympic distance. So my 2nd and 3rd loops were about the same, and I dismounted Hillary Swank at 1:15 or so...as I bent down to put on my running shoes, I got severe stomach cramps where the actual ab muscles popped out...very painful...so I had to do some extra stretching before I could start running...some Japanese girls were saying, "yabai" as they saw me stretched out at T2, and I hoped they would call the marshal's on me...

Run: The first part is a severe climb, but I was ready for it, and was thrilled to see my wife Megumi at the top of the hill. I thought she would start running with me as she has done before in races....we got near the turnaround and I saw all the same guys running well: Adam, Kimm, Stefan, Keren, Reza, Andrew, which was nice motivation to keep pumping hard...




At the turn, I caught a glimpse of Vanessa behind me (she is a fast runner)..more incentive to run hard! Near the 5k, Bevan lapped me with a "gambatte"...eeyyyy! 2nd 5k was almost exactly the same split 23:22, although I accelerated at the end, I was fully spent and did not have much to finish strong.





Times:

Swim: 25:59 (52)
Bike: 1:16:10 (37)(T1 and T2 included)
Run: 46:47 (34)

Total: 2:28:59 (34th place out of 242)


To put it in perspective, last year's times were:

Swim: 25:22 (75th place)
Bike: 1:14:08 including T1 and T2 (35th place)
Run: 45:49 (32nd place)

Total: 2:25:21 32nd place out of 170 finishers

So my swim actually improved from last year despite the slower time. That is encouraging since I have only done 4-5 swims this year.
The bike needs a little work, although I was more competitive this year as well.
The run was a smidgen slower in gross time and competitiveness, but not too shabby.

Many thanks to Phil and Mika for setting up the trip again. Congrats to Kimm, Ma, Phil, Andrew, for popping their proverbial cherries. Thank you Meggu, for your lovely support and photos. Thanks to Gerard for coming all the way from Aussie! Che che to Leng Leng and Arnaud for coming and supporting also. We will miss you!






For those that care, here is my write-up of last year's event.

http://davidmotozo.blogspot.com/2009/05/nijima-triathlon-long-and-windy-road.html

Next up is Oshima, June 12, with vague hopes of cracking the 2:22 PB area...would need a fantastic swim on that rocky coast to give myself a chance...final note: if you ever go to Nijima, take the plane from Chofu. It is a fast, scenic ride for only a few pennies more than the ferry or jet foil. Nothing like flying back to Tokyo from a distant island in 30 minutes!

I'll be your superman: Tokyo Marathon 2010

Hello earthlings! This was my 4th consecutive Tokyo marathon, but 1st as SUPERMAN. I think I will try to break the record for consecutive TOkyo Marathon’s by a gaijin/uchuchin, if I haven’t already. As Steve and many other’s already echoed, it was a miserable race with hard rain just above the freezing point, even for someone with super powers. I definetely was feeling like I had been zapped by kryptonite at 16k when we made the turn at Shinagawa and headed into that vicious freezing wind.








Thanks to Super Steve, we were able to keep our spirits and bodies warm before the freezing rainy start, but that is when the happy part of Superman’s story ended (until the superfantastic La Boheme party and nijikai). I managed to sneak in okusan wonderwoman to the A gate, and we quickly warmed up from 0 to 5k, running at 5 minute pace with plenty of fuel in the tank and encouragement, “Superman, gambare”...i wondered how many times I would here that in one day. Than I pulled over for a H2O break and lost wonderwoman. Mary pulled up and gave chase to super okusan, which left superman all alone...


I was happy to run with Mika for a considerable distance, thanks to Mika’s stretching regime. Than it was a very very lonely 20k to 30k….I had super blisters on the bottom of my feet from the moisture…lots of skin ailments/chafing from the not-so-super costume, and the old hamstring injury felt ready to start screaming again. The only consolation was that wonderwoman was ahead of me by 10 minutes on pace for a big old PB!(and Leng Leng screaming "you are superman!" at Hibiya).





At about 33k the blister pain subsided to a dull ache and I latched on to Arne for some comradery, with plenty male bonding with Fabian and Arne for the last 8k. At 35k, i felt like I could finish well under my PW time, which was my worst-case-scenario goal (yes, this race was worse case scenario).







I felt that superman would never-ever live down the shame of running slower than his IRONMAN sub-4 hour time, even with that heavy soaked cape! At 42.189k, I felt genki enough to do a little superman dance and victory lap around the finish line, so I guess my time would have been a minute faster or so, but no cares on planet earth...my PW was not violated! And my lovely wonderwoman Megumi came through with a massive PB by 11 minutes. She clearly likes freezing rain more than superman.





super splits were:
25:19 (up up and away)
25:12 (superistic)
26:16 (hmmm)
26:27 (uh oh)

27:22 (chotto)
28:10 (ara…)
28:45 (down to planet earth)
30:28 (Houston we have a problem)
14:21 (FUBAR)

3:52:22 Superman

3:39:21 Wonderwoman





Many thanks to nanbanjintachi Steve, Leng Leng, and Chiba san for a super dinner…great to see Joachim/Christiana from China too…






ps. FUBAR=F’ked Up Beyond All Recognition