Showing posts with label "cushioned shoes" "vibram five fingers". Show all posts
Showing posts with label "cushioned shoes" "vibram five fingers". Show all posts

Saturday, June 2, 2012

The North Face 50M - Washington DC



Hi Endurance Athletes + fans! It's been a while, yeah? Well, after being injured last November, my blogging has plummeted - but I have endured and did some races; just not blogged about it.

Well, I decided to run The North Face 50 miler as a pre-race for the upcoming summer Ironman races. I felt like it was the right race to do since I used to live in Virginia and why not hit a race there since it would be a nice way to meet my old friends and get a good run out of the way.

Unlike Hong Kong where stone and cement is replaced by Virginia's lush green trees and dirty trails; where hot humidity is replaced with cool dry weather; where pollution is replaced with pollen, it would be my first debut to run a race on American soil since 23 years ago. Unfortunately, my training hasn't been consistent because of injuries; but I felt pretty good going into the race and had ample servicing at the physio and sports massage bench.

The race started at 5:00AM with about 45 minutes of night running. A headlight was required and so, I wanted to wear my camera since I didn't know when the light would be ample for the camera. I held the headlamp in my right hand and used it more like a flashlight. The course started/ended at the same place. It runs past Trump International golf course east into Great Falls where there is a 3 loop run. It's about 20km to the drop bag location which includes a few steep hills through the forest. The initial 20km was a mud fest and very slippery. If you ever thought about doing a mud run, there are many in America. I just wasn't planning to do one this year but the rain was torrential the day before stirring up overflowing streams.

As always, Jogger style; I went out pretty fast and then cruised about 35km afterwards. My biggest problem is that it's hard to not go fast initially. I think I should concentrate on 10-20km races as I might be better at them, but anyways; I'm not trying to be the fastest.

I think the overall going to the physio and doing many strength training and more stretching help a lot on this race. There was no occasion where my legs cramped up like previous races; but I did have a bit of cramping in my lats around 60km.

I saw probably around 4 other people wearing the new Spyridon LS Vibram Five Fingers. The shoes really were meant for these trails and the mushy soft mud felt like velvet. There were some rough rocks in a very small section of the race; but overall, the run was quite comfortable compared to the other old VFF KSO versions.

Overall, I'm very happy with my time based on my preparation and happy to see that I am back on track for a decent running season. I think the most important learning experience to tell is keep care of your body and please see a professional person whether it is in physio, chiro, accupuncture, voodoo or whatever your religion might be. Just don't be a hero and think you can heal the body yourself. That's just my opinion from a 9 months disability.

And if you get a chance to run in America, there are definitely fine places to race off road. Take a look at TNF and if you need more distance; I'm sure there is a race right around the corner if you search for it.

My results:
place: 136/320
bib: 188
time: 10:36:18
chip: 10:36:12
pace: 12:44/mile
AG: M36-45
AG Place: 39/86
Gender Place: 117/248
21.7 Mile Split: 3:51:22
28.6 Mile Split: 5:21:17
35.5 Mile Split: 6:57:14

Sunday, August 28, 2011

Revolution Asia Double Triathlon



It's been a few months since I've competed in a local race. This triathlon race has a unique format of super sprint times 2: 300m swim, 12km bike, and 3km run. The week earlier I had a nasty cold virus which prevented me from exercising about 6 days. On top of that, the night of the race as I was retrieving my bicycle from the window, I stepped down hard onto an electric plug. I drew blood and it really hurt. Luckily in the morning, I was able to walk on it and only penetrated near the arch.

Although I doubt that I really save much time, I decided to wear Vibram Five Fingers throughout the race without changing in transition. Actually, I'm glad I did because my sore at the bottom of my feet was stinging when I entered the water. The transition between the bicycles seemed around 200-300 meters and being in barefoot on the stony asphalt would increase my chance of more issues with my feet.

Unfortunately, since the waves are spread out so much to accommodate the traffic, our age group start would be at 8:40AM. This meant a hot/humid run for the second leg. I biked over from my house to the starting line which takes around an hour (35k). I've raced over here multiple times so I knew what to expect; although the second time would be much slower.

Swim (7:11; 24/47)
The swim started in the water supposedly behind the pier. I enjoyed this swim because it was relatively quick. Once again when I exited the water, I wasn't last. Out of the water, I was able to pass around 16 people in my squishy VFF. I put away my camera and quickly went off on my cervelo.

Bike (25:16; 16/47)
This bike leg, I felt pretty fresh and was able to increase my place by 8. The first turn around came quick and I saw an injured guy on the road. I also had to slam on the brakes!

Run (17:14; 13/47)
The run leg, I felt pretty good as well but tiring at the end. I was able to pass another 3 people. But, once I hit the water.. I felt really sluggish. At the point, I was only 7 minute back from the winner Luke Wimbush.

Swim #2 (10:31; 17/47)
I lost a lot of steam on the second swim. Adding an additional minute per 100m. I also didn't have the camera for the second swim. I did notice and confirmed with others that there was definitely an increase in current.

Bike #2 (29:27; 17/47)
Usually I'm able to pick off some riders, but with the age group competitors being so slim and the fact that I was getting tired. I was able to keep my placement, but was neck-in-neck with a guy named Kevin Lam.

Run #2 (19:39; 18/47)
This is probably the first time I got picked off on the run and lost placement. But, personally; I was happy I could run at all with the troubles I had earlier in the week and the night before. Although, I wasn't able to pass Kevin and he beat me by 10 seconds.

Friday, July 1, 2011

Ironman France

more Video and pictures WILL follow:

facebook photos: swim


The experience of participating in a first Ironman isn't necessarily about the specific race; but the journey to get there. With this journey, I was able to know more about my abilities and acquire a great training friend. My best friend and racing partner, Danny McFee, is the reason why I raced an Ironman. It all started about a year ago after completing the Hong Kong Standard Charter Marathon. Danny was getting tired of running, and decided to get a bike. I went longer on the runs and participated in ultra marathons. When I came back from Vietnam Ultra, we went to a local bike shop and I bought my first time-trial bike. I really didn't have a clue about bikes, so somehow within the few minutes looking at several bikes the Cervelo caught my eye and it looked cool. I'll admit in hindsight, buying it turned out to be a good choice, but not necessarily the best choice for an amateur doing hilly routes. Hong Kong is full of hills, steep and short. A lot of people were adamant about using a road bike for this course, but after plunking down a load of cash, my thoughts about getting a road bike wasn't high on the list. I felt a lot better when Danny bought his Cervelo and decided to race with it as well. The biggest challenge for me was the swim. As you know from my blog, my swimming is really weak. I was initially very concerned about making the cut-off time once I realized I had to complete within 2 hour and 20 minutes. Luckily, training with Ginny from 3rd move using Total Immersion techniques helped tremendously.



Registration
One day out of the blue, Danny texted me and said, we should really think about doing an Ironman. I replied that it needed to be some great destination where we can vacation after a long hard day. He mentioned Brazil and I thought it was too far. Within 5 minutes, I texted him back and told him I already signed up for Ironman France - Nice. I didn't bother to look at the course or know anything about the history. It just seemed like the right place to go. Later, it dawned on me that the course is considered tough for the bike leg. 1100m altitude with over 2600m of total climbing. I'm thinking, whatever comes up must come down. With that out of the way, over the course of several weeks, I registered for a couple half Ironman. I never had second thoughts, but I was becoming a little concerned about cycling with my Cervelo P3.

Once I landed in Nice, the weather was perfect and pleasantly cool. Unfortnately, each day closer to the race, the temperature incrementally became hotter. The registration was simple and fluid. The registration area was very close to the Promenade and within 5 minutes walk to the swim start line. I didn't go crazy on the product binging, but did walk away with a nice long IRONMAN bento-box, and Skins tri-suit + compression calves. I wanted to feel comfortable for this race; so since this race was going to be hot, I wanted to try the compression suit which had a zipper in the front and pouch in the back unlike my current club tri-suit.

Pre-race
The last few weeks before the race, I really took it easy. I mainly concentrated on the swim and bike. Before coming to Nice, I stopped over in Dubai and only did a 9km run. It was so bloody hot, that I noticed some blood pressure issues in my hands as they seemed very stiff after the run, similarly to my blowup after the HKSCM where I went into heat exhaustion. With that in mind, I would only run an easy 5km in Nice before the race. Danny and I did 80km on the bike and road some of the course to a little town which had a grade steepness of less than average of 4 percent. The total swim preparation was probably less than 600m in total. I felt ready!

Morning Check
I left 4:30AM in the morning and headed toward the bike racks with my bike pump in hand. The current inner tube tires will slowly leak air (by design) after 7 hours which was a big mistake that I learned from my Ironman Singapore 70.3 race. Knowing your equipment is very important if you want to reduce unnecessary problems. I met Danny inside the bike transition and told him I needed to return my bike pump. By the time I came back, they were already closing the swim warmup. I headed down the ramp and ensuring that my swimcap was on properly that it ripped over my head. It really wasn't a good start since I was experimenting with my new camera. Well, I placed the ripped swim cap on my head and then placed my camera head band over it. With little time for replacement, I had to make due.
Danny found me at the beach and we took pictures. I prefer to be next to the inner course edge as Danny prefers the outer. The human washing machine doesn't bother me as I know I'll be at the back and my thoughts are the further I'm away from the line, the longer my swim!

Swim
Music blaring, athletes clapping, fans cheering! What a rush. The countdown began and I now felt part of the biggest triathlon franchise sport in history and I was making my own history in the French Rivera! In the first 100m my googles got knocked off. Luckily, I trained before in these conditions, so I didn't panic and patiently waited for a good time to remove the water. The first leg of the swim was approximately 2400 meters. I made a quick estimation of 1 hour for the first and 30 minutes for the second. When I exited the water, the announcer said; "we've just went over an hour". It seemed like I was on target. But the moment I hit the water, my legs started to spasm. Luckily, wet-suits are awesome to keep the legs afloat if you have no leg power. The second segment, I had a little navigation issue, but the lifeguards were quick to point the way. Also, in a few locations the water change temperature and was certainly noticeable, it was certainly an interesting feeling. Exiting the water required extra effort as I stumbled up to the exit ramps with the help of the volunteer. I trotted under the shower overhead to slip my arms out of my wet suit sleeves. As always, I passed a couple of people to the bike rack.

Bike
Hills are my friend. I'm light and I brought my TT bike - cervelo P3 (my only bike). It'll take approximately 25km to hit the first hill. My garmin showed 17% grade. There were a few who had to disembark on their bike and walk up. It would be another 15km of light undulating hills to the next small town which I reccee with Danny. The difference on race day would be that we would not be drinking any beer and would have to haul 140km before any rest. The ride was going well and easily passing the weaker riders. Since after 40km was unknown territory, I knew whatever small decent would quickly turn into longer and steeper ascents. Each rider I saw within 50m was a target to catch up to them. Then up the first of many long uphills, I met Danny after 50km. "You must have flew up here", said Danny. We spoke about the swim and he exited around 10minutes before me. We didn't even hit the harder section, so I was actually feeling good about first part of three. Between 70-90km, the grade is averaging 6% and with switchbacks allowing you to see the riders above you and below the riders behind. This is also where I saw the name 'GUNTER' on a rider and thought.. FACEBOOK! Snap. I yelled out his name and said JOGGGERJOEL. In addition this area is absolutely has fantastic views of Nice. I'd recommend this route if you happen to look for a cycling tour vacation, or better yet, participate in an Ironman France - Nice! Once we reached 100km and 1100m altitude, the rest and fun began. Some people pulled over to get their 'special needs' bag. I'm thinking, my special need is going downhill without hitting the brakes! I also wanted to minimize my overall time, so I kept on riding and pushing the pedals passing cyclists on the down hills. With a lot of air in your face, we were faced with one more incline. The legs were getting used to light riding, but I kept on pushing knowing that I must be pulling more away from Danny. There is a section where thr route is out and back allowing you to see riders in a 10km span. The weird part of this section is that you think its going down but actually a small incline. I couldn't keep over 29km, but coming back was easier. Right before exiting the out-and-back route, I saw Danny again. I calculated the time and estimated a lead of 20-25 minute lead. Now with less than 50km left, the road becomes much more twisty. The road became very busy with cars and cyclists. I seem to spend a few times on the wrong side of the road, is it perhaps being in Hong Kong too long? Well, a motocycle pulls next to me and shows a yellow flag. I knew it couldn't be because of drafting. He said its because you were riding on the wrong side of the road. Bad luck! I would come to find out that this would cost me 5 minutes in the penalty box. I finally reached to the last 30km where its basically flat, but I couldn't push mysef to do anything greater than 31km/hr. Also, I figured why should I kill myself on the last 30 when I have a marathon to go.

Run
I estimated my run time to be around 4:00-4:15. With the heat and multiple walks through the aid station, it would be a little longer. It would require 4 loops to the airport and back. First 10km was under an hour. I was happy about that! Approximately 8km into the run, I saw Danny again and shouted at each other. 20km I was still around 2 hours. My estimated time was pretty accurate. 30km I seemed to hit the aid station too much downing cola, water, bananas and crackers. My last time coming from the airport, I ran into Danny for the last time and told him I estimated 13:15. He still had 25-30minutes more to run. The last km, I was full of energy, well not necessarily my legs; but in less than 8 minutes, I could call myself an IRONMAN finisher! The last stretch of blue mats with a cheering crowds, cheerleaders, fans, family fueled my final strtch to the finish line. I gave a big high five to the announcer and walked my daughter through the finishing line. My goal for 2011 was completed successfully!

Epilogue
I hope you enjoyed my journey of almost 21 months from not exercising to completing an Ironman. This is really not the end, but just the beginning. Feel free to drop by or add me on facebook to follow my adventures. Thanks for your interest!

- JoggerJoel

Thursday, March 24, 2011

Ironman Singapore 70.3




Critical Thoughts
I have concluded that when you start the Ironman series for the very first time - you really don't know any better. Thus, the first being at Phuket Thailand 70.3 Asia Pacific Championships (even though anyone could enter), I really felt except for the local traffic issue - the Phuket race was done quite well compared to Singapore. It just seemed as though the race logistics, race gift, and overall race wasn't prepared as well as Phuket.

(Friday) Race pack collection
I landed on Wednesday to take in some Singapore touring and try to be more prepared compared to my time at Phuket Thailand 70.3. The race registration commenced on Friday and it was across from my hotel at the Suntec Singapore International Convention & Exhibition Centre. Of course, I missed everything as I was being a tourist and spent the day at Sentosa Island. My friend, Danny, gave me the low-down on the 'Compulsory' race briefing. He also viewed that this location made his travel quite difficult since the official hotel was 'extremely' close (4.5km) to the race venue which is not the case for regisitration and bike support. He was less impressed with the Carbo loading dinner 2 nights before the race. How much does one need to eat before to keep the carb loading effect 'working' for the race day?

(Saturday) Day before race
Danny and I met early in the morning after I got lost cycling trying to locate his hotel. I went over the East Coast Parkway bridge and found myself lost near Raffles Blvd because the sidewalk ended abruptly with staircases going down from the bridge. I spoke to a security guard and asked him for directions to Marina Bay (where I just came from). I really meant East Coast Park, and he looked at me for a few seconds with a loud laugh stating that I was really lost. I met up with another early rider and still under the impression that I wanted to go to Marina Bay, he showed me the way. After crossing Nicoll Hwy, I realized that the ferris wheel was in sight and told him I was going the wrong way :(. A long story short, I ended in the Park only to cab it to Mecure hotel. Finally meeting up with Danny, we rode our bikes along the route and saw massive groups of cyclists preparing for Sunday's race. We also got in a 1km swim near the race course and even a 3km run. In the evening, it poured while we were checking in our bicycles. It was a little refreshing as the weather was quite hot and humid, I guess carbon fiber doesn't rust, but some of the screws can and gear can...

I came across Nora (ultra distance runner from Hong Kong) and was able to secure a bus full of Lantau Buffalos for the morning race. It was nice because somehow I was thinking of walking??? Of course all this information was available on Ironman Singapore's website, but it's always great to meet up with friends.

Race Day - Pre-race
Prepared for a long day, Danny and I headed over to the Buffalo herd and arrived safely to the transition area. As usual, there was a lot of noise before the sunrise as everyone was double checking the equipment and layout. We headed over to the beach as the race would begin in a half hour. The sea looked calm initially, but as the women were heading in for their first lap - a few got clobbered by the Men age grouper. There wasn't any rope to prevent the mass swimmers from the ones who were exiting the sea onto the beach start and on top of that there was a strong current. It was a sight to see.

Swim [pictures]
I'm not a swimmer! Although I've increased my speed in the pool by 10%, it's still very slow. The start of my race, I had my googles knocked off and kicked on the top of my head amoung other clawings. It took a while to finally find some space as everyone sped off except the breast strokers. Once I exited the first lap, I looked at my watch and noticed over 30 minutes. I knew it was going to be a long day, but even at the pool, I can manage 1km under 30 minutes. I got shifted around in the water a lot and probably swam a lot more than I needed to in terms of distance. The current didn't help at all as for the second loop, I found myself hitting the rope with my left arm - A LOT. While I turned back into shore for the last loop, I saw a man turn over on his back and backstroke it 'home'. I haven't seen that before and just thought when the hell am I going to be done? Once I finally arrived out of the water, 63 minutes passed. My thoughts of swimming disappeared as I past 8 people on the run to the bike transition to the transition. btw, can you believe I'm taking swimming lessons every week???

T1
It took me 1:55 minute to jog back from the swim to the bike. I then spent another minute putting on socks and race belt, and 1:05 minutes moving the bike to the start line.

Bike [pictures, more]

3 loops for this course. For the first 24km, I was roughly under 1:50km/hr. My friend kept on saying I needed to get a bike fit (sorta late 1 week before the race). My back was hurting and I had to go to the standard non-areo position for probably 80% of the course. I started to get disgusted with my performance when I saw over 2:00km/hr. After the first loop, the elites were already starting their run. I had around 2 hours more to go...  Being quite slow on the bike, it was un-eventful. I enjoyed the partial course the day before as I had a few km under 1:30. I guess the swim and the back issue didn't help.

T2
My transition took longer than usual as I had to slip into Vibram Five Fingers.

Run [pictures, more]

I ran with Vibram Five Fingers KSO and my first 4km was around 4:35/km. The heat and humidity got to me again and I started to stop briefly at the aid station after 10km. I maintained under a 7:00/km for all but two kilometers. As the rain started to pour around 18km, I decided to not stop at the aid station. It really didn't matter since most of the food and drinks were gone. I felt sorry for those who were going to have a long day on the run/walk.


Garmin



My swim isn't that bad. This occurs when the garmin in on your wrist. If you put it undernearth the race cap, you'll see more of straighter line.







Top 5 [official results]

OverallNameFinish timeCategoryGender positionCategory positionSwimT1CycleT2Run
1Kris GEMMELL3:50:56Male Elite110:27:450:02:252:06:300:00:371:13:39
2James CUNNAMA3:51:45Male Elite220:02:290:02:330:00:360:03:121:14:24
3Peter JACOBS3:54:25Male Elite330:02:250:02:390:00:430:01:091:16:59
4Patrick VERNAY3:55:50Male Elite440:02:300:02:330:00:460:01:421:18:23
5Faris AL-SULTAN3:56:13Male Elite550:27:580:02:170:01:040:01:081:18:13

Below is a list of prominent triathlon clubs in Hong Kong, (Yes, I took time out to gather this information; so I hope someone appreciates it): Hong Kong Team Color:

Tritons [blue]
Dragons [red]
Buffalos [grey]

OverallNameFinish timeCategoryGender positionCategory positionSwimT1CycleT2Run
33Dane Cantwell4:32:18Male 30-342940:33:550:02:322:19:180:00:511:35:42
WTDClinton Leong4:36:52Male 35390:40:450:02:332:10:340:03:121:39:50
55Oliver Baillet4:43:22Male 40444870:36:090:02:392:19:120:01:091:44:14
72Scott Stanton4:49:33Male 25296260:37:470:02:332:23:520:01:421:43:40
79John Pesci4:51:35Male 40-4469120:40:490:03:102:18:390:01:081:47:50
93Jason Keg4:56:49Male83150:42:540:03:212:18:110:01:381:50:45
109Shunsuke Tanaka5:00:06Male 303498160:40:050:03:242:22:590:02:071:51:32
115Sven Maier5:00:59Male 35391210:44:020:02:532:27:020:01:111:46:15
117Laura Walsh5:01:23Female 454910410:44:020:02:532:27:020:01:111:46:15
118Julie Shelley5:01:37Female 353913210:47:270:03:532:25:030:01:101:43:26
122Paul Thompson5:02:33Male 454910970:38:480:02:322:19:230:01:222:00:28
151Etienne Faure5:08:25Male 3539135280:47:260:03:362:31:580:01:211:44:04
161Liam Choen-Ruhle5:09:49Male 3034142270:41:560:03:292:28:330:01:481:54:04
174Rebecca Kynaston5:11:55Female 40442120:41:230:03:192:33:160:01:511:52:06
DQFBruno Lebeda5:09:50Male 40440:46:080:03:342:18:400:01:262:00:04
196Claudia Soldati5:15:22Female 35392450:42:140:03:282:25:480:01:342:02:19
212Barry Day5:17:08Male 3034186320:41:290:03:052:35:350:01:081:55:52
238Sian Abate5:21:00Female 45492840:54:240:03:012:38:060:01:261:44:04
240Paulus Schram5:21:13Male 4044212640:48:460:04:372:23:110:01:552:02:44
288Frank Marriott5:26:38Male 505425570:49:020:03:162:33:250:01:111:59:44
292Nora Senn5:27:04Female 35393480:48:240:04:242:32:190:01:382:00:18
296Karen Fairley5:27:30Female 40443540:40:540:04:052:42:400:02:241:57:27
306Anders Kind5:29:06Male 4044268740:59:030:04:402:33:420:01:411:49:59
314Rudolf Fleischmann5:30:12Male 4044276770:55:220:03:242:38:390:01:391:51:09
324Christiaan Straatemeier5:30:57Male 4549284310:43:040:02:522:24:120:02:122:18:38
334Nicolas Sordet5:32:41Male 3539292690:44:080:04:252:31:540:03:032:09:11
338Alejandro Tripodoro5:33:15Male 4044387940:33:120:03:572:36:140:02:122:05:10
346Eduard Wehry5:33:59Male 4044303870:54:170:04:052:30:230:01:402:03:36
373Martin Wray5:37:44Male 4549328370:45:430:03:292:33:480:02:352:24:40
416Daryl Albury5:42:29Male 40443651030:50:380:03:512:40:550:02:482:04:17
440Danny Mcfee5:45:24Male 3539295840:49:520:03:522:33:350:02:122:12:36
450Bea Desseigne5:46:48Male 353957150:53:090:04:002:47:320:01:332:03:51
541Hyun chang Chung5:55:50Male 40444701111:11:050:05:012:43:250:02:521:53:27
579Vincent Ypersiel6:01:50Male 40445021380:47:270:05:222:42:040:02:482:24:09
598Rob McVie6:03:58Male 3034517860:53:400:04:032:44:580:01:322:19:45
603Joel LaBelle6:05:09Male 40445221451:03:180:03:572:52:500:02:282:02:38
670Claus Schuermann6:13:04Male 4549580720:55:070:04:542:45:070:06:202:21:36
820Luke
Miller
6:29:02Male 35397111631:02:110:04:042:46:350:02:572:33:14
887Julia Stanton6:38:32Female 3034118200:50:100:05:413:15:100:08:272:19:04
901Sergio Fernandez6:39:55Male 5054782311:05:090:05:092:58:480:02:052:28:44
1012Lindsey Coen-Fernandez6:56:02Female 4549132190:55:530:04:563:07:220:04:132:43:38
WTDRichard ThorntonMale 40440:47:570:03:422:40:510:02:26