The marathon man cometh back 久しぶり

Whoa, it has been too long!　久しぶりです。

What a year 2011 was. We have a new little man in the house in case you didn't know. A knee injury and a new job are my excuses for not updating this running blog....

このＢｌｏｇを長い間書かなくて、赤ちゃん誕生と膝の怪我と新しい仕事が僕の言い訳です。

Anyway, here goes. I took 1 full year off from June 2010 to June 2011.
さて一年間休みました。





I started running lightly in July 2011 on the tender knee. It was a torn meniscus, and so I decided to take a full break from running and see if it healed up naturally (although meniscus is cartilage and does not repair itself, I thought the tissue around the meniscus might get better).
去年軽く走り始めた。膝の半月板を損傷していたのですが。

We went to Hawaii in December and I found
myself toeing the line of the Honolulu Marathon.






I ran a PW (personal worst) by a long shot (previous PW was a 3:58 during an ironman), 4:44:44. It was a training run of sorts for Tokyo marathon.

１２月にハワイへ行って、何んとなくホノルルマラソンの一週間前に申請してしまった。記録は自己最低　４：４４：４４．死死死死ね







On to Tokyo marathon, February 26, 2012.
It was painful, as I had been dreading, but 4:18 was faster than my “somewhere-
under-4:44:44-expectation” (sorry Geraldine!). Needless to say, a PW in Japan, but 26 minutes faster than my WW PW (4:44). I didn’t really train, which is a faux pas, “don’t try this at home”,

東京マラソンも痛みがあった。でも、タイムがずいぶん上がった。

no/no, in namban circles,







but as mentioned the injury and little Motozo at home prevented much serious training. I averaged about 25k per week for the past 2 months, and indeed hit the wall at 22k or so.
ランの練習はなかなかできなくて、週に２５キローしか走らなかった。

I ran thru it despite strong urges to pull over and rest…..it was a great thrill to see Meg and Ty on the sidelines cheering me on. That got me inspired to finish and get home quickly!

レース中、止めたかったが、恵とタイ君が応援してくれて、すごく嬉しかった。







And many thanks to Chiba san, Jaynie, Mary, and company for your support. It was a nice sendoff for Kylie (pictured with Keren in this photo) too. I pulled up to Kylie’s Dad at 30k or so, and we ran together for 5k.

千葉様、Ｊａｙｎｉｅ，Ｍａｒｙ，と皆様応援してくれて、ありがとう！Ｋｙｌｉｅもいい日送別会ができてよかった。


I think it helped us both. Great party and namband. Too bad they couldn’t play longer….was looking forward to more running songs…congrats to all that got PBs including Taro, Kylie, Dan N., Harrison, Don, Brandon, Jay Def., Stan the man!

自己ベストを出した人たちおめでとう！

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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....宮城県
to
山形県
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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.