Shibuya Aquathlon: The end of the curse

On Saturday 22nd I took part in Shibuya Aquathlon. The third part of the Setagaya Aquathlon tournament.
This race took place in the 25 meter pool of the Shibuya sport center near Hatagaya Station. The distance: 300 meter swim + 1500 meter run.

This time I wouldn't let bad luck or bad performance defeat me. I woke up early and arrived 2 hours before my race, giving me enough time to warm up and stretch.
Little did I know that university triathlon teams were also present, spicing up the competition.

The swim part was about to begin. Me and 5 guys lined up in front ready to fight (literally) for the first position. I swam hard for the first 20 meters and when I looked up I realized that I had closed too much and was about to pass by the left side of the first pole (person) when rules say I must pass on the outside (it's a square and we must swim on its perimeter).
I did what I had to do and sumerged under one of the guys popped up headbutting him and with an arm covered another guy. This created a mess in the corner ... in a few seconds I had taken down 3 guys and had only a few bruises on me (man am I bad ... yea right)
Not on purpose of course ... just an accident :)
The first position was mine.
The swim continued and I was literally ranned over by those 3 guys plus 2 others ... the party was over. (not on video unfortunately).

Out of the pool it was time to play my game.
I went pass by 4 guys capturing the 2nd place and was then passed by a guy ending up third in my heat. I was pretty satisfied with the run. The course was 3 laps on a zig zag loop making it very difficult to reach good speed.
I guess the swim could have been better.
I ended up 5th in general.

The first two guys were very fast. Even with an impeccable performance I don't think I would have had a chance to beat them.
I guess there is no way I can win the tournament this year ... next time I guess.

Video links below:
Swim part 1
Swim part 2
Run part 1
Run part 2
(Thank you Shoji-san for the pictures and video and cheering)

In other news
I ended with an inury after I paced a friend for a fast 1000 meters the evening after my race. I don't know how I did it, but after the run my calf felt strange.
I took Sunday off, practiced on Monday and Tuesday and now my calf feels even worst.
Hopefully it feels good enough tomorrow to run the 5km time trial with the Atomi club.

The weather

The weather in this country is terrible ... why? Because there are four seasons.
In Lima it is always fall / spring kind of weather. It never goes below 11 and definitely never goes above 30. However in Tokyo this summer it went over 40 and in winter it can go a couple of degrees below 0. In addition to that we have rain, (non of that in Lima), wind, super humidity and typhoons.
Doing sports under this conditions is a real challenge.

Recently I went through a general body check up to make sure my protein, blood cells, calories, and other data were all in order. Apparently I was taking a little too many naps and that got some people here concerned.
Just like I thought: I had a perfect health. The doctor was really surprised that a person with such perfect data existed still in the world.
Why the naps then? Well it's too hot in June, July, August and September and too cold in November, December, January and February. I guess once I get used to it in some 10 years things will be fine.
Something worth sharing I got from the hospital was the secret to a long life:

Low salt
Omit sugar
No smoking
Good sleep

Low fat
Increase of interests
Fiber
Exercise

Komazawa Aquathlon: The aquathlon curse continues

Three weeks three races.
Sunday 9th was the 2nd part of the Setagaya Aquathlon tournament. This time a much bigger event and of course a lot more competitive.
It was held in Komazawa park. The swim (300 meters) in the olympic outdoor pool and the run in the running course of the park (1 lap 2,150 meters ... total of two laps: 4.3km).
Many athletes attended, just in the men's group 106 people. All looked very well prepared and really professional, some wearing their full body swim suits and Iron Man swim caps.
If you read my previous report ... I already had 10 points in the tournament as I was 2nd place in Nihon Gakuen Aquathlon by less than 1 second (damn).
Yusuke (the guy I lost against) was taking part in this race as well.

Let's take a step back in time ...
The race began at 9:45 ... that is all I read in the paper I got ... I missed the part that said that registrations closed at 9:15. And waking up at 7am the one day I don't have to (I work 6 times a week) can be hard at times ... but I usually get away with just on time entries in this country. This time though they did not buy it ... "I am sorry," they said, "you cannot participate".
So I put on a sad face like the cat in shrek, and told them, "but I will win this race, how can't you let me participate...it's 9:30 I have 15 minutes".
So they made a brief meeting and decided to let me go ... but with the condition of no registration. If I won like I said it would not count.

I then went down to the meeting area and saw the competition and the amount of people ... man I thought ... this is going to be hard to proof.

The race:
Men were divided in 3 groups ... each group with about 35 athletes ... after the last swimmer of each group finished then next group began. I was in group C (so actually I had like 30 - 40 minutes before the start ... JTU people are so damn strict) and Yusuke in group B ... with no registration my only goal was to beat his time.
We had a talk before the race and he was actually happy that I missed the registration as now he had big winning chances.
Groups A and B looked really strong. The swimmers were definitely triathletes and fast ones.
My group came up and the swim part began ... I sprinted the first 25 meters to not be caught in between people like before and got a comfortable second spot. The first place was really fast ... he was going at under 1.10 / 100 meters pace (if there were no turns). By the time he finished I still had 30 seconds left of swimming ... but had managed to keep the 2nd spot.
Takako said the swim was funny because some of the judges did not know I was swimming unregistered (thus no numbers on my arms) and were wondering and asking each other who is that swimmer there without number...how did he get in there!!!
The run began ... 4.3km that I was going to do hard this time.
Again I catched the 1st position within the first 500 meters this time keeping the pace ... catching people from group B every second that went by.
When I finally saw the finished line I made a final sprint to pass the bycicle guide and finish first (in my group at least). I ended with a YAPPARI KATTA to the judges faces.
You could see they were surprised ...
It was not over yet though...group B's winner had been Yusuke ... he got out of the pool 9th or something and once again had catched everyone.
We waited for the results and he was absolute champion of the race ... his time 21.01
My time ... not official ... 20.29 ...
So I am the non official meguro aquathlon champion and by FAR. I could have stopped to take a quick pee and still win the race.

It is ironic and sad ... finally got my first place in an individual event in Japan and it was a quite competitive one as well. However it did not count.
Well at least all the judges and the winner know who had the better time. Next year I guess.

Things learned:
1. Wake up early and get there ON TIME
2. I am quite good at this aquathlon thing, who knows maybe I could end up been a good triathlete ... won't do one this year unfortunately.

Oh if anyone is interested the awards to this are a trophy and a 2000 yen gift certificate.

For a video of the swim part click here

August running: back to the pool

I was determined to do a triathlon this year so I spent August preparing for it, swimming in the mornings and running in the afternoons. I think currently I am fit enough to finish an olympic distance triathlon in an acceptable time. Unfortunately I was not able to sign up, so no tri for me this year ... bummer.
I guess it is for the best as a tri might get me too tired for the upcoming racing season in the fall.

August

1.- Jog 17 km
2.- Jog 19 km
3.- Rest
4.- Jog 13 km
5.- Rest
6.- Jog 21 km
7.- Morning: 1900 meters swim
Afternoon: 6 x 400 - 90 sec 200mt recovery jog: total 15km
1.06 - 1.06 - 1.06 - 1.06 - 1.06 - 1.06
5 min break
3 x 200 - 2 min 200mt recovery jog
28 - 29 - 30
8.- Morning: 1850 meters swim
Afternoon: 4 x 200 - 90 sec 200mt recovery jog: total 15km
31 - 32 -32 - 31
9.- Tempo Run 10 km. Total 17 km
10.- Rest
11.- Jog 18 km
12.- Jog 17 km
13.- Morning: 2000 meters swim
Afternoon: Jog 13 km
14.- Cycling 40 km
15.- Morning: 1800 meters swim
Afternoon: Jog 15 km
16.- Morning: Jog 9 km
Afternoon: Jog 10 km
17.- Jog 10 km
18.- Rest
19.- Jog 17 km
20.- Jog 18 km
21.- Morning: 1900 meters swim
Afternoon: 5 x 1000 - 90 sec 200mt recovery jog: total 15km
3.09 - 3.09 - 3.10 - 3.13 - 3.10
22.- Morning: 1850 meters swim
Afternoon: Jog 17 km
23.- Jog 17 km
24.- Morning: Jog 12 km
Afternoon: 1200 meters swim
25.- Rest
26.- Nihon Gakuen Aquathlon : 11.54 - 2nd place
27.- 11 x 200 - 60 sec 200mt recovery jog: total 13km
32 - 33 - 33 - 32 - 32 -32 - 32 - 32 - 31 - 32 - 29
28.-Morning: 1650 meters swim
Afternoon: Jog 20 km
29.- 5km TT - called it a day on 4.2km ... too tired: total 16km
30.- Rest
31.- Morning: 2200 meters swim
Afternoon: Jog 24 km

Total running : 372 km
Total swim : 16.7 km
Total bike : 40 km
*During most of my swims I did intervals of 5 x 100 at 1.28 pace

Deadly Earthquake hits Peru

Some weeks ago various cities in Peru were affected by a 7.9 (ritcher scale) earthquake that shook the country violently for over 2 minutes.
Over 500 dead, 1000 wounded, 35000 families with loses, 33000 homes destroyed. These are some of the numbers this disaster left.
Economists estimate it will cost the country over 250 million dollars to rebuild what was destroyed.

These deadly natural disasters occur often in countries like Japan and USA, unlike them however, Peru is not economically prepared to confront this situation.

A simple example ... for each household destroyed each family will get about $2000 (best case scenario, so says the news) in aid. $2000 dollars is suppose to help them rebuild what took their entire lives and savings to construct. That without mentioning the fact that these people have lost their jobs and after a few months will be forgotten by the government.

How can you help?

The embassy of Peru in Tokyo has opened two accounts (with just 500 yen an entire family in Peru can eat all their meals ... the affected areas were very poor)

________________________________________________

BANCO DO BRASIL - TOKYO BRANCH ACCOUNT NUMBER: 314555 - 4 (NAME)SISMO PERU 2007 - EMBASSY OF PERU

___________________________________________

MIZUHO BANK - KAMATA BRANCH ACCOUNT NUMBER : 1195505 (NAME)PERU DAIJISHIN GIENKIN GUCHI - SISMO PERU 2007

.

I was thinking on organizing a charity race ... but have no idea where to begin. I guess with all the races going on this fall it might be hard to find a place available.

This is an article from Reuters from the day after the disaster. The exact numbers are larger.
Peru earthquake kills 450, bodies in streets

By Jean Luis ArcePISCO, Peru, Aug 16 (Reuters) -

Peruvians pulled hundreds of dead from the rubble of homes and churches on Thursday and bodies piled up on street corners after a huge earthquake ravaged the country's central coast.
Firefighters, civil defense officials and the United Nations said about 450 were killed in the 8.0-magnitude quake on Wednesday night. Some 2,000 people were hurt and the death toll was expected to rise, with local media reporting more than 500 dead.
As rescuers scrambled through the debris in search of survivors, dazed residents guarded bodies on the street, unsure where to take them. Many of the victims were poor and were trapped after their traditional adobe-brick homes collapsed.
In the hard-hit town of Pisco, south of the capital Lima, at least 50 bodies were laid out in the main square, where a church caved in during a service.
"They had gone to the church for a mass to commemorate a dead loved one," said Enrique Gonzales, 48, sobbing as he searched for his wife and three sisters-in-law. "They never came back."
The rescue of a man from the ruins of the devastated church brought some hope to rescue teams battling into the night to find survivors amid the rubble.
The U.S. Geological Survey upgraded the quake's magnitude to 8.0 from an earlier 7.9 measurement, and powerful aftershocks rattled the country on Thursday.
Hospitals were overwhelmed with the injured and morgues with the dead, forcing Peruvians to place dead bodies pulled from crumbled mud-brick houses on city streets.
In the town of Chincha, wounded people lay on the floor in San Jose hospital, where walls were destroyed by the quake.
"We don't know what to do. I don't know where to hold a wake for her," Jose Flores, a boy about 12 years old, said as he stood near the body of his dead mother outside their destroyed home in the city 125 miles (200 km) south of Lima.
"The wall just came down and crushed her when I was outside," he said.
PRISON ESCAPE
Hundreds of prisoners ran out of Chincha's Tambo de Mora prison after the earthquake ripped the old building apart.
"The authorities couldn't do anything. It was really hard to control all the prisoners," said Manuel Aguilar, vice president of Peru's prison authority. He said 29 prisoners stayed behind.
In the San Juan de Dios hospital in Pisco, doctor Ricardo Cabrera said staff was struggling to cope with 200 wounded, more than 40 dead and no power.
Many people were left homeless around Pisco and Chincha, where the huge tremor was felt the strongest, cracking highways and cutting power and telephone lines.
The Red Cross said it would send planes with tents, blankets and other aid from Panama.
With a major highway ruined, Peruvian rescuers airlifted victims by helicopter and aircraft to hospitals in Lima. Officials appealed for blood donors to come forward so they could treat the injured.
President Alan Garcia visited rubble-strewn towns and sent condolences to the families of the quake's victims.
It was one of the worst natural disasters to hit Peru in the last century. In 1970, an earthquake killed an estimated 50,000 Peruvians in catastrophic avalanches of ice and mud that buried the town of Yungay.
The USGS said the quake on Wednesday was centered about 90 miles (145 km) southeast of Lima at a depth of around 25 miles (40 km) and was closely followed by nine aftershocks.
Peru is a leading minerals producer, but many of its major mines sit far away from the quake zone. The Cerro Lindo copper, zinc and lead mine near the zone suspended operations due to power cuts but its structures were not damaged.
In the central square of Lima, the Peruvian flag flew at half-mast as Garcia declared three days of national mourning.

Bullied by High School kids: Race report

This race report begins with the jumbi (japanese for preparation) of the previous day.

Saturday/Sunday schedule:
10am - 5pm: Work
6pm - 7pm: Shopping
8:30pm - 10:30pm: Dinner/Flamenco show and of course drinks.
12:00 - 3:30am: Farewell party with lots of crazyness and of course drinks.
7am - 9am: Watch the Marathon on TV
12:45: The train I am on stops for 20 minutes due to an accident.
1:30pm: My race !!! (biggest hangover/body pain/nausea ever).

In search for a 1500 meter PB I signed up for a race in Kounosu City (Saitama). It was a local race in which most participants were high school / university club students.
I was placed in the first heat (usually 1st heat is the slowest but in this event they did it the other way around).

I got there with just enough time to jog 5 minutes, stretch and compete ... I had the biggest hangover ever.

The race was about to begin and we lined up waiting for the GO. Wierdly we had a false start ... high schooler's pfff.
The first 200 meters were terrible. I consider my start one of my strengths, but in this race it was so slow. I guess I was still sleeping as I found myself in the very back of the pack running at 5km pace. I tried to move forward after the curve but I kept been pushed around by the evil high schoolers.

I have never been touched so much during a race (yea that doesn't sound right). These kids would lock me up in a box, grab my waist from behind and kick the sole of my shoes.

At a certain point I managed to grab 2nd place but felt too tired from all the speed changes to take the lead.

Finally the last lap came ... looked at my stop watch and finally woke up.
I came in 4th in my heat, 6th out of the 5 heats.
No PB, but a good race considering the conditions I was in and my bad start.
I think that if I can add the start from my previous races and the end of this race I can manage to go under 4.10, which would make this a successful year ... next 1500 race scheduled for October ... gambarou.

Click here for a video of this race