4 December 2010

Tokyo Bay Enduro

Back in September, Sergey created the post on the Tokyo Cycling Club website for the clubs traditional end of year event and bonenkai (party!) and since that date the riders registered, and even the teams registered have changed many times. I was able to take up the place of Yair after his hospitalization in team C along with Travis of sea-to-summit fame and the more than capable Doug, who I met for the first time on the day.

5 of us met at Kisarazu station in Chiba, for a 9:30 roll out to the new Sodegaura race track, just 17km away. Nice warm up, and by the time we had arrived Doug and his family had secured a nice spot in the pits for us and Alan and Naomi were already there having driven over by car.

The circuit is 2.4km long, a short but noticeable rise after the start to a right hand bend, then downhill to a long right hand bend which came back uphill and would prove to be the toughest section of the course for me, as riders accelerated out of the bend and gaps opened in the pack. After that, long flat bends before a long right hand bend and an uphil sprint past the pit lane up to the long finish straight.

We started off 11:30 for the 4 hour enduro, I was the first to go in TCC-C team. The first few laps were mayhem, I saw several crashes, bikes bouncing in the air and yellow flags waving to warn us of the danger ahead. At one point I thought they were wanting to bring the safety car back, as riders were all over the track to the left of the pit entrance.  Another crash caused meant I was on the wrong side of a small gap, but this was easy to sprint across at this early stage. The trouble is this race is open to all levels. With experienced amateur riders (some had radio back to pit crew!) driving the peloton at 50kph+, suddenly there are small children, large men, anime mamacharis in the midst of the chase. It would be a shame to limit the entry, as its a good experience of bike racing, but I would recommend an 18 certificate for this event at least!

At one point someone took a chunk out of my derailleur with their front wheel. On closer inspection after the event the damage was not much more than a scratch, but it could have been so much worse.

So my prerace plan was going well. This was to stay upright and stay with the lead group for the first 50 mins, then put in some extra effort for the next 30 mins to see what was possible. In fact, all that was possible was to move towards the front of the leading pack, and very briefly ride at the very front. It was clear that after an hour there were fresh legs appearing in the pack, several of these were attempting to ride off the front in pursuit style but none were succseful for long.



I could have stuck with the pace a while longer, but certainly couldnt chase down all these attacks so I was happy to give my 3,2,1 lap remaining signals and on my final lap accelarate up the pit lane to pass the timing chip ankle strap on to Doug. Average speed was 40.1kph including the 2 safety laps, which weren't so slow or safe. I was level with the main pack at this stage, but still a few seconds would pass before Doug could start rolling. He did a great job and sprinted down the main pack, making contact within the lap so all was going well.

Somewhere in Dougs turn the peloton really began to split, and so when Travis went out for the final effort it was difficult to see which group was actually in the lead, who was chasing or who had been lapped.  Still, Travis made a great sprint on the final lap, which proved to be very valuable as he grabbed 8th place for our team, a great result to finish in the top 10. The B team of Alan, Sergey, Gunnar finished 5th and the girls got second place, so a respectable day for the TCC.

After the race, Phil took us on a nice quiet as possible route to Chiba and to some well earned beer and food. Thanks for this Phil, and to all who took part in this exciting, great day out in Chiba.
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28 November 2010

Kawaguchiko Round the Lake Race

The start of winter for me over the past few years has started with a visit to Kawaguchiko  and the round the lake running race, or for those who insist two laps and full marathon. This year was the 35th event, and its certainly as popular as ever - the race filled almost immediately after internet applications opened back in August. After that, the accommodation fills up just as fast when people realise they have a spot for the race. Theres only a limited number of hotels around the lake, and all within walking distance of the start/finish charge 2-3 times the normal rate.
The first time I visited the lake we hired a car, then I suffered food poisoning and couldnt run and we were stuck in traffic the whole journey home. After that, we travelled by coach with the same problem on the run home, the next year we took the train which of course had no delays but was relatively expensive and took a long time.
So this year would be different, partly as Satoko had decided not to run due to little training. I couldnt be bothered with hiring a car, or being stuck in traffic in a bus again, so it had to be cycle out and back. The weather was looking good, so the grand duathlon challenge was on.
I took the opportunity to ride westwards along route 35, which is an excellent road running parallel and between the bumpy route 20 to the north and the mountainous Doshi michi to the south. 35 is a great road, wide, perfect condition and very little traffic. The one main climb up to the tunnel is extremely gentle, then theres a nice descent down to the Otsuki/Fujiyoshida road. After the distance, the climb up to Fujiyoshida seemed much longer and steeper than 35, and certainly wasnt as pleasant due to the heavier traffic.
Felt good to arrive at the registration, get my number then grab some yaki soba at a restaurant with a great view over the lake.

I'd arranged over a few emails to stay with Mike (Namban newbie) and his friends in Pension Woodstock to the north west side of the lake. They'd arrive by car and train but I couldnt wait around in the cold and arrived at the pension first. Not much to do out here, I tried all the settings on the massage chair before they arrived. Once they arrived, we went out in search of food and found a nice place a short drive away to put away a few unagi don and a few beers.  The game of cards was cut short by the pension owner at 10, very useful as it would be an early start for the race.

5am wake, eat my bento then Mike, Rory and Pete left in the car in search of a car park near the start. As I was on my bike I had the luxury of staying in the warmth as long as possible. I definitely recommend this option, staying several km from the start then rolling in on a bike. Saves a lot of money.

The start of this race has a tight bottleneck between the main start and the larger car parking area. If you're ahead of this bottleneck, you'll be running in no time, but behind this mark will take half an hour to cross the start line. This is the only weak point of the race organization, its impossible for people to line up in expected finish order as there is no space either side of the lining up area. So with this in mind I squeezed in by clambering over the small fence in the middle of the bottleneck, so I could get a speedy start.

7:30 start, and into the first 2km my legs were feeling tire. I was worried at this point, this could be a very long day after my cycle out the previous day. So I made sure to take a power gel early, after about 7km.  I dont normally take these for a run, but as this weekend was a bit more than the average run, I planned to take a couple during the run to keep me going.

The run is fantastic on a good day like this. First you head up directly towards Mount Fuji up a wide dual carriageway before heading back down to the lake. This section is really just about making up the distance. Once by the lake, its either one or two laps of a very flat course. Mount Fuji is visible from about 80% of the course, and the autumn colours of the maple trees here are later than in previous years as its been so warm lately. Before I knew it, the half marathon was up, then there was just another 6km for me to the finish. I said hello to Anthony and Brian from Namban Rengo, they were both doing the full marathon so good luck to them.

So I finished in 2hr 5min, this was a complete surprise as its 10 mins faster than Ive done in previous years, was the ride out a good warmup, or was it the power gels that carried me the distance? Maybe the half marathons Ive done through the summer have helped as well.
I took full advantage of the early finish, and took a bath on the top floor of one of those souvenir shops by the finish. All these shops seem to have a souvenir floor, food floor, general space then a floor with a bath! So no need to stay in an expensive hotel with an onsen, however nice it is. Today was about having a decent bath then getting some dry clothes on before the ride home. Binned my running gear here, that would save me a fair amount of weight.

After a ride up to Fujiyoshida, past the Torii entrance to the Fuji shrines and round the back of Fuji highland, theres a steady climb up to Yamanakako for the final majestic views of Fuji san for the day. After that, the short climb then the long, long descent of Doshi michi all the way home. Cant beat this road when homeward bound, especially with a tail wind.

In summary, this weekend was similar to similar to the sea to summit adventure, yet seemed altogether more civilized and comfortable. Still,  240km of cycling, 27km running for the weekend, will be nice to take a rest in the office on Monday.
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13 November 2010

Kamakura Trail Run with Namban Rengo

When organising a trail run, its unlikely you would take into account the location of the US president, or the ministers and leaders of any country for that matter. But even with the APEC (Asian Pacific Economic Cooperation) in town, we hadn't figured this would affect our run around the hills surrounding the historic and beautiful town of Kamakura.
The first hindrance was the lack of lockers at the train station, none available for security reasons. Lockers were removed long ago in the UK and US, for fear of bombs being planted etc but they're so useful when you're in a new town, for all kinds of travellers. Instead we had to plead with the restaurant owner to the west of the station to leave our bags with them, we'd be eating there later so a safe choice.
After that the APEC leaders decided to delay our run further by blocking the main road up to Tsuruhachimangu shrine. Before they could pass, the police had closed the roads to all traffic. Large crowds of people were standing along the road waiting to see who or what would pass by, was it Obama? Lots of excitement but in the end the 3 white buses with some bureaucrats waving out the rear window was quite an anticlimax, and an added delay to the start of our run.

Heading out east from the main temple, Tsuruhachimangu, to Zuisenji, then the start of the Tenen hiking trail. The trail is steep in places, a lot of the climbing is at walking pace and certainly where there are steps. But most of it is in dense vegetation so it very quickly feels like you're in a deep forest, even though you're obviously only minutes away from a large city.

I've walked this course before on a day with clearer skies when you can see across the ocean to Mount Fuji, but even today its really nice to be able to stop at the several viewpoints and admire the scenery. Lots of other running groups out today, but Namban Rengo have the largest group, 15 rengo out in force.

The tenen trail ends (or starts) at Kenchoji temple, and if you run east to west then this means you get into the temple grounds for free, which we felt was paid for by the hard effort we had put in to get this far. The group split in half here, one group heading back to the station for a 10km run, the other half crossing the road and heading northwards to pick up the Daibutsu trail for a km or so. We dropped down to Zeniarai Benten shrine for a habitual stop. This temple has a small cave at the rear of the ground where people wash money (coins and notes) in the spring water. By doing this, the money is said to pay back more than its face value, so a real bargain if it comes true.
The Daibutsu trail leads of course to the famous big buddha of Kamakura, but the feeling in the group at this stage was to head to the coast and away from the tiring ups and downs of the trails. After the delayed start, it was clear we would not get back to the restaurant for the booked time if we stuck to the hills.
The sea looked so inviting, and Peter took the plunge whilst we continued towards Enoshima and back, Jay wouldn't be happy if we had covered less than 20km for the day.


After a quick sento which was too hot to be relaxing, but at least we were clean, we met the others in the okinomiyaki restaurant. Most of us were pretty tired by this stage, so when faced with do-it-yourself meal we could easily have sat back and let some enthusiastic person do the cooking. Instead, it was left to me to cook and order some food, which was quite a disaster as the other table seemed to have a mountain of food, whilst we had a few strips of meat and some bean sprouts. And with Kylie being a vegetarian, she even couldnt eat the vegetarian omelette after someone sprinkled the dried bonito fish flakes over them. But at least the beers were flowing and it was all good fun.

On leaving the restaurant John was missing his shoes! Never heard of this before in all the places over the years Ive been in Japan, that someone has taken, by accident or otherwise, a pair of shoes from the entrance to a building. The restaurant offered a pair of slippers, several sizes too small, but a spare pair of running shoes was supplied by Peter for the journey home. I wonder if the shoes will one day be returned to their rightful owner, as often happens in this country?

Thanks Jay for orgainising this trail run, it was a great day out with the Namban Rengo running club.
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23 October 2010

Tour de Nagano

Day 1 Chino to Bessho Onsen, via Venus Line  118km
http://www.mapmyride.com/route/jp/nagano/965128827023978500

I'd been planning this trip for several weeks, missing the previous public holiday with a cold and bad weather so when with the upcoming RIKEN founders day approaching and good weather for at least Saturday and Sunday this weekend looked like the last chance of the year to head for the high mountains before the snow arrives. Yes, the RIKEN foundation day - many companies in Japan will have an extra holiday for their own foundation, some days its good to work for RIKEN.

Steve was keen to cycle the Venus line, and my route to Nagano which was originally planned for the Monday but it made sense to switch days as rain was forecast to move in Sunday afternoon and linger around on Monday.

So we boarded the first Super Azusa from Shinjuku (boarding at Tachikawa) for Chino in Nagano. Theres not much space on these trains for bikes, it was a real squeeze, especially when these early trains are full of hikers with many backpacks.

On stepping off the train in Chino, it was clear the sunny skies would keep us warm today, so no need for leggings and short sleeve would be fine, at least down here. The Venus line starts in Chino, and we had a long but very pleasant climb up to altitude at 1760m for the first pass, the autumn colours were magnificent all the the way up. The route would take us to a height of over 2000m eventually and undulates over many kilometers above the treeline so giving stunning views across to the northern Japan alps, and south to the Yatsugatake range. Its not often you get above the treeline in Japan, so this route is particularly attractive and very popular. For us, traffic was not a problem, we hardly noticed it probably to absorbed in the mountain vistas and concentrating on the steady climbing and thrilling descents.

We passed Lake Shirakaba, a nice spot which has been spoiled to some degree by the sprawling roller coaster and other funfair rides. All lakes in Japan have swan shaped boats, but here I think we found the mother of all swan boats, out of the water for repairs.

The road from here has the unfortunate name Kurumayama - Car Mountain! Besides the name, it was one of the most spectacular sections of the road, we decided to stop at the high point just above 1800m for some soba and a good chance to photograph the panoramic views.


Several more descents at high speed, more climbs before we approached the final climb of the day up to Utsukushigahara highlands. We knew the climb was approaching, but we were descending further and further, it really was one of those times that you didnt want the road to go down any further, as this would just increase the distance and pain of the final climb! It was a stunning sight when it came into view, it really looked more like Alpe d'huez with the number of hairpin bends than the long rolling climbs we had done so far this day. Again, the clear skies and 紅葉(red leaves) took our minds off the pain of the ascent.


At the top, a restaurant is at the southern end of Utsukushigahara highland. To the north is a hotel situated at the highest point, and in between is a stone track. Earlier in the year Mike and Ludwig had cycled this track to connect across the highland, so we took their advice that the path is rideable. In truth it was OK, but I wouldnt recommend it for road bikes. It doesnt get much better after the hotel either, perhaps worse as you're going downhill, and only at the visitors center do you pick up full sealed road again. You'd be better off descending the 464, but then you'd miss the views, the famous cows on the pasture(?) and the chance to descend the full length of route 62, which really was fast and exciting. But sure was cold!

We originally intended to find a small mountain road which would keep us at altitude and climb over the top of the the 254 tunnel, the main east-west road beneath us. Its marked on the map, but its clear that many of these small roads were never maintained and we didnt even notice the start of our intended route, it must have been completely overgrown. Worth noting that other small tracks, which appear as 'white' roads on the normal road maps are just stone tracks, suitable for 4 wheel drive or mountain bike only. Would be very nice to explore this area on mountain bike another day for sure.

Missing the intended route was a blessing in disguise, as we descended from over 2000m which was now feeling very cold and the daylight was fading. Windbreakers, long gloves did the job, but my shorts felt cold on this descent! Still, the temperature rose as we descended. Through one long toll tunnel (¥20 for bikes!) and after that we could smell burning bundles of rice stems, the remains of the harvest, as we rolled towards Bessho Onsen.

We stayed at the very nice Maharoba youth hostel, mainly because all the hotels were full, but this proved to be a very nice location and comfortable accommodation. Internet, washing machines, good breakfast but you will need at least 2 of their futons - seemed to be made of concrete. Also, when was the last time you had starched sheets?

After all that cycling, we relaxed in O-yu, then had some good food at a recommend izakaya, and looked forward to another big day in the mountains.


Day 2  Bessho Onsen to Nagano 130km
http://www.mapmyride.com/route/jp/nagano/790128827066889887

After breakfast we rolled down the road towards Ueda city. Early Sunday morning, but why do Japanese drivers take so much offence at cyclist riding 2 abreast? Its not just the odd driver, all of them sound their horns as soon as you do this, but then they'll still overtake on a bend into oncoming traffic.

After reading Ludwig and Mikes painful description of the tortuous climb of Jizu toge beyond Ueda, we decided to go with the lesser of two evils, the 144 which ended up being a 22km climb up to 1362m, but this still saved us nearly 400m of ascent.  A lovely descent followed all the way to Manza Kawaguchi. Wide roads, low gradient and no need for brakes - the speed was high and perfect riding conditions.

The road from Manza Kawaguchi is an excellent route for cyclists, but when it joins the main road to Kusatsu onsen (292) we were amidst the coaches and heavy tourist traffic for the first time this weekend. The only redeeming feature of this road is the section of musical speed bumps! As vehicles pass over the bumps, the ripple noise creates a short tune. It really works, I guess you'd notice it even more if you're in a car.

Kusatsu is another famous onsen town popular all year round as it has a small ski resort as well. I've been skiing there 2 years ago, that time we were snowed in under a heavy blizzard, luckily today the weathers good. Still, its chilly and we are glad to get into a warm ramen restaurant for lunch.

The climb of Kusatsu is one of the favourite events for Tokyo Cycling Club and one of the first hill climbs of the year. Must be much nicer on the day of the race, as today I noticed the large amount of traffic up the twisting road. Still, its nice and wide and no real problem. You certainly smell the sulphurous gases on sections of this climb, is this worse than car fumes?

After the summit, we turned left on the 466 to pass through Manza onsen. A check of the map here saved us heading back to where we had come from, and instead climbed higher to a long undulating ridge. After Manza Onsen, you lose the traffic as they either head north or south. Virtually zero cars head to Nagano from this point. For undulating, read up and down 150m or so each time! After 11 or so km, we were still above 1900m, and we could see the clouds changing shape, becoming heavier and threatening rain, so keen to start the massive descent down to Nagano city.

It was fast, very colourful, used a lot of brake pad and the rain started when we were on the lower slopes. I was very glad to be off the mountain before the rain set in, so getting wet on the run in to the city didnt feel like a big problem. We checked out Zenkoji at closing time, then Steve head back to Tokyo when I got on the train back to Bessho Onsen.

I slept much better on the concrete-like futons this night!


Day 3 Bessho Onsen to Matsumoto 54km
http://www.mapmyride.com/route/jp/nagano/782128827132665630

The rain stopped at 7am, so I enjoyed my breakfast and strolled around the sights of Bessho whilst the roads dried up. The town has 3 public onsen. They're all quite small, Oyu of course being the largest also has a small rotemburo. The other 2 onsen are too warm to be comfortable.

It has been described as the Kamakura of Nagano, with all its several temples and historical sites. A nice place to visit, I took several photos then headed up the hill side around the back of town on the way to Matsumoto. Really nice mountain road, recommend this section.

I discovered the connecting route from day 1, the route which would have taken us from Utsukushigahara highland - it was another stone track. We'd still have been on the mountain if we'd insisted on finding the planned route!

The 181 started off as a promising climb. Wide, quite well maintained but this proved to be only low down the slopes within the mountain villages. As I ascended, the road gradually disintegrated, the moss became greener and thicker and several streams of debris covered the road. All totally rideable, but certainly the east side is for climbing, I wouldnt have felt safe descending this side.
This climb really reminded me of Otoge near Otsuki, as its buried in forest with no views and is seemingly endless. Also, I was heading up into the clouds. It proved to be that the blue skies of the Ueda valley did not stretch to Matsumoto, where the clouds remained low and the roads wet.

So a wet run in to Matsumoto, but I was very impressed with the run in to town down the 143. Before now, Id always thought of Matsumoto as another sprawling urban city, but this route into town was off the busy roads through rice fields.

At Matsumoto castle, I registered my first 5000km on the NeroRC - not a bad tally for weekend rides since March!



In all, the Venus line is tremendous and perhaps with the Norikura skyline road the most impressive roads I've been on in Japan so far. We were very lucky to have such good weather for Saturday the views were amazing on a day like that.
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26 September 2010

Super Hill Climb 2010 in Toyo Tires Turnpike

The weather gods smiled on the 1500 or so competitors today who took part in a new hill climb event a short distance from Tokyo. Yesterday typhoon #12 carried on its way out to sea, tomorrow and the next couple of days will see heavy rain so it was great to start the day in clear skies and without the sweltering temperatures of Japans hottest summer ever.

The course was on a toll road which normally takes motorists up from sea level in Odawara to the hills overlooking Lake Ashi and the tourist hotspot Hakone. So a unique experience, noone at all will have cycled this course, but the website for the race is very informative. 13km, 1000m ascent with an average gradient of 7.2% However the final 3km are rolling, the average gradient for 12th km is 0% so the first 10km was where the pain would be on this testing course.

Hill climbs by their very nature are normally difficult to get to, requiring either lengthy car journeys, or expensive train journeys into the mountains. Also, most events start early or at least require registration the day before, so you normally need to book a hotel somewhere adding to the expense. This race couldnt be more convenient for Tokyoites as you just get off the speedy Tokaido line at Hayakawa and the start is only a few hundred meters from the station. And as the organizers had posted our timing chip, jersey numbers and lots of other information we only had to drop off our bags to be carried to the top by 10am, and give our race numbers before the race itself.

After a rambling warm-up on the local roads, any of which are suitable as there's nothing flat around here, and the usual search for coffee/cola before we line up at the start. The race is a large field, and even within the main 8 categories of riders (age, sex, mtb) we are starting in groups of around 30 or so as we line up, then the next 30 one minute behind. This means that on the climb itself, really fast guys fly past but because they started several minutes behind you, they are traveling significantly faster and there's no chance of drafting these speedsters.

In general, the climb a tough test, but no crazy sections, I didn't even use my lowest 25 gear on this climb so the compact 34-23 was enough to power up the steepest sections today.  Lots of shade also, easy to escape the sun if need be. There were a number of high bridges on the climb with amazing views over the Izu peninsula and the ocean, which had been coned off on either side of the road presumably they thought we might somehow be distracted enough by the view to tumble over the 1.5m fence which was by the roadside anyway?

After the finish its a cool 15 degrees at the top, not worth hanging around too long so we descend to Lake Ashi then find some more amazing rindo routes to take us to one of the best descents around back to the train station at Odawara.

The website is one of the slickest for any sporting event Ive done so far in Japan, the results are up only a few hours after the race. Mike had the best time of 47 mins, 21st in age group and as he is very fast and has been training hard all summer, this is shows the quality of the field for this event was very high. I was happy with my effort, 54:08 but just making the top 100 in 94th place is not so impressive, there are some very fast riders out there today.

After a good race in great conditions on a testing course, the chances of getting a place in the ballot for the race next year will be much smaller - we'll need Kimm to find another new hillclimb for us!
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6 September 2010

Pro for a day - Kamaishi standard

How many times do you get the chance to enter a sports event for free? Probably either never, or a thousand times once you've won a medal at the olympics for pushing a big stone along the ice or running quickly along a track whilst jumping over obstacles, or jumping a long way into a sandpit. So normally it takes some kind of achievement to be invited to an event, but here in Japan the ability to be foreign still has its advantages and 3 of the Namban Rengo, the Tokyo based international running club, took up an offer too good to be true to compete in the 21st Kamaishi International Triathlon, a long way north in Iwate ken.

A thousand thanks to Kimm, who was the main protagonist in arranging this party, I am sure he would have been on the shinkansen journey to Shinhanamaki without illness, but maybe next year we will send you north to take part as a pro for the day, hope you get well soon.

We were kindly put up at Sun Route Hotel, the largest building in central Kamaishi. The view out the windows here is not so great, smoke rising from the iron ore factory which is the focal point of the place. The city was made by its iron mines but now they're closed down the towns population has shrunk from 100,000 to 30,000.
Its only about now that we realise the triathlon takes place several kilometers from this industrial town, its going to be a logistical task to go to and from the registration and carbo party, then the event the next day. Luckily we get a call from Kobayashi san, the organiser of the tri, to say that he has sent a minibus over to take us from the hotel with bikes to the party. Saves a couple of taxi journeys or cycling through tunnels in the dark, so we jump in. Chris jumps in the boot with the bikes to take extra of the race machines, hes not taking any chances with the local drivers on these country roads. We know Chris is in determined mood, he was wanting Satoko to help him find caffeine tablets at the pharmacy.

tasty sanma
We register, and are rewarded with a very heavy goodie bag containing everything from a t shirt, towel, energy gels, other nutrition samples, water bottles to wakame (type of seaweed).
At the party Phil gets talking to a group of big Aussies, Kiwis and Tongans - they're professional rugby players, playing for the iron works as a commercial team - apparently one of the best in Japan. They're happy to live in this part of the world, and seem to have been rewarded with Russian wives as part of the deal as well. One of the WAGs is singing 80s songs at the carbo party, and not doing a bad job.

We have time to test the sea temp with a good swim before the food is served, so work up an appetite. These tri events all put on a good show, here we had large barbecued scallops and fish and as much noodles as we could eat. There was even enough onigiri, bananas and drinks to take for breakfast as well. After the introduction from various officials, a local dragon dance accompanied by taiko drums took to the stage and the party ended with a small fireworks show. Very impressive, smooth show.

Sunday morning starts with a visit to the convenience store at the corner of the hotel for water, energy gels and we find Chris doing the same before we get on the bus at 6.30am. Although Phil is just yards away in the foyer of the hotel, the clock in the bus says 6:32 and so the bus driver is getting anxious in a very Japanese manner as we will not be on schedule. We do our best to calm him down and Phil boards the bus and we make the short 7-8km journey to the start.

Its a beautiful morning, the sea looks so inviting and the mountains look breathtaking around the bay. The weather couldnt be better at this stage, yet we know its going to warm up considerably before we finish. As Im explaining to Chris about the dangers of over inflating tyres, theres a loud bang as someones tyre explodes somewhere in the rows of bikes, could be due to the rising temperature. Hope they discovered this in time.
Eventually, after the usual rituals of racking and unracking, placing the shoes etc, we get to main event. Almost forgot we had to do the race, the setting is so pleasant, and Im looking forward to this.

A real athlete being interviewed
for a documentary.
The swim is a straight 750m out, round the bouy then back. Couldnt be smoother, temperature around 23 degrees so perfect conditions. Before the start, I attempt to make myself panic and hyperventilate by swimming fast and catching sea water in my mouth. This seems to work, as I start well in the swim and dont panic in any part of the swim. Psychologically this was my best swim of the year, yet I only managed 28min 21s, 101st place! Maybe my other swims I had gone faster, and so found myself out of breath thrashing amongst the masses??

As always, its good to get out of the water. No sign of Phil, hes long gone after an impressive 23m43s! But I do find Chris faffing around in the transition area, hes only 10s ahead of me for the swim but I make a swift exit for the first time. My first race to wear my shirt under the wetsuit, it really is a waste of time trying to fight with a cycle jersey and race numbers after in transition.

The first 5km ride takes us first along the coast and back, one dark tunnel is unnerving as its very early into the ride and with sunglasses on its very difficult to see anything at all. Another basically flat 5km, then the route climbs for 10km following a river up a scenic valley, at around 3-4%, possibly 5-6% at the top. Going around a large cone at the half way point, we expect to freewheel all the way home, except theres a noticeable headwind, and this means pedalling all the way downhill. Its quite exposed, and here I was crying out for a set of tribars - next season I will upgrade.
Some blatant drafting took place in this race - one group of 5 were clearly in chaingang mode, it was very satisfying to pedal straight past them! Im sure if a group had overtaken me, I might have latched on for the ride, but again in this race I was passing everyone from start to finish - the benefit of having a very bad swim I suppose.

In this race I even went without a saddle bag, so no repair kit of any kind. Later we find out that the fastest female punctured, put in a spare tube and still did a 1hr 7min ride! Very impressive. This is the last time I'll ride a tri without a spare inner tube, it would be a waste of a weekend, training time and a lot of money for the sake of not carying spares. 

A decent transition to run, small stop to tuck laces into my shoes, and I soon found all progress made on the bike start to fall away I felt the heat rising. At the first turning cone, I spotted Chris not so far behind. I managed to hold him off on the bike, but the run was to be something else. 2 laps of 5km, with one short steep section on the return the run is either waterside or in the forest so again pleasant scenery.
At the 5km point, I stopped and took a few bows to a lady with a hosepipe, they found it very amusing and I enjoyed the soaking, however my shoes filled with water and I was squelching along the road after this. Bad mistake. Also, I could see Chris had closed considerably and I felt like I was slowing down. Sure enough, he overtook me about 6km mark and I had no response. Any ideas of making it a sprint finish were dashed by my inability to fight against the heat and my own slow pace.

After the race we are interviewed by the local newspaper, and I tell him how great the course was, how hot it was, what a great event its been etc, but when he asks "Why were you invited to this triathlon?" I dont have a good answer. Except to spread the word of Kamaishi triathlon. 

After the grilling by the press we all took a relaxing swim in the sea. Then more food followed by presentations and the journey home.

Its been a great weekend, and a well organised triathlon. The swim, bike and run courses were excellent and the field was very strong at the head of the field. I was 51st here, but a similar time in the Tokyo island series got me close to a top 20 place. I guess the best racers in northern Japan all race here. If you're going to do the race, it would be worth trying to get the hotel near the race itself rather than staying out in Kamaishi town. Many were camping on the small space left for tents, the weather is still great at this time of year, another recommendation for next year.

Whether we will be invited back again remains to be seen - I am sure that if Kobayashi san thought all foreign triathletes living in Japan were super athletes, his illusion is broken now.

It was a great honour to be invited to this race, thanks to Kimm, Mika, and Kobyashi san for making it all happen. We did our best, and enjoyed the weekend as pro triathletes. Now back to the day job.

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