Yokohama Triathlon, the long and windy road

Yokohama was the venue for my latest triathlon comeback trail, a nice little day trip on Tokyo's doorstep. Needless to say, I did a PW (personal worst) at 2:37:46, owing to my limited training regime (see photos below), recent long USA trip, and a very technical bike course. I wasn't unhappy with the result, and feel somewhat ready to tackle the next half-ironman challenge in Taiwan next month. Total result was as follows:

Swim: 32:24 (267th place)
Bike: 1:17:44 (158th place)
Run: 47:38 (353rd place)

Total: 2:37:57 (204th place out of 924 finishers, 195th place out of 833 men, 43rd out of 181 age groupers)

Swim: It was my first triathlon swim in 2 years as the 2 spring races both cancelled the swims. I felt fairly good, but the time was shockingly slow. I couldn't believe that my watch said 15 minutes at the end of the first loop.

My swimming training this summer...
 


The water was smooth as glass in Yokohama's protected bay harbor, and there were little complications at the deep water start. I was able to incorporate my drafting technique when a big splashy swimmer passed me on the 2nd lap. I latched on to his heals and successfully drafted for the last 400 meters.

Bike: The transition was very long, maybe 300-400 meters, which is tough running in a wetsuit after a swim. I was pretty exhausted, but the bike went fairly well although I ran out of drink at 30k. The course was very technical with 3 hairpin (180 degree) turns, a tight 6k loop. Still I managed to pass many bikers and achieve 33.2 kph for 40k. My bike leg was my most competitive by far as it usually is and I was happy to get over 81% percentile on very limited training (no outdoor bikes in past 6 weeks).


My tri bike collecting dust this summer....
 


The course wasn't well marked, but thanks to my odometer I knew when to make the final turn into the transition area. Mika was not as lucky.

Run: On the last leg of the bike, my spirits were lifted by Mary, Nick, and Kimm on the sidelines. Many thanks for your enthusiastic support! My run started slow. Again, after the bike I felt nearly spent, but after a long drink where I actually stopped for a few seconds and a pee break (I never stop in an olympic distance tri), I felt a lot better and thought my goal of 46-48 minutes was realistic. I took in some salt tablets, and the continued cheers from Mary and company really helped. I finished in 47:38 which was a pleasant surprise.


 My run training this summer....

Some "rookie" mistakes:
Go to the Saturday briefing!
Loosen running shoe laces (lost a  few seconds on T2)
Don't wear money wristband for swim! (came off during swim and nearly lost Y17,000)
Remember to pee in wetsuit just before the swim start.



Drinking and biking: only try this at home...




Good to see Dave Sims, tall Mika, Stan the man, Brad, Geraldine, and Mark the rising star out there competing hard.