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.

Full Results
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