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

Vibram Five Fingers Spyridon Quick Review

Vibram Five Finger Spyridon Quick Report. Meant to go out for a quick 10k, but ended getting a bit lost and doing 28k taking close to 4:00. Here's the report:

Asphalt: [v] check
Pot Hole: [v] check
Sidewalk: [v] check
Gravel: [v] check
Monkeys: [v] check
Diamond Hill: [v] check
Concrete Staircase up: [v] check
Concrete Staircase down: [v] check
Single Track Trail: [v] check
Large Stones on Trail: [v] check
Trip over Root x 2: [v] check
Trip over Speed Bump: [v] check
Climb over Fence: [v] check

Summary: Of all the shoes I've worn, this one is PERFECT for Hong Kong! Very stiff and sturdy on the toe tops and arch support. Wearing toe socks make it even more comfy! I feel the LS version really beats the velcrostrap hands down. Everything I hit over or ran by felt like a knife cutting soft butter.

I think everyone will agree that Shui Sham Po, Monkey Long a** hill, Diamond hill, Shing Mun Reservoir Trail, Raleigh Wilson Trail, and sections of MacLehose Trail - I've covered all bases. I would have definitely raced with these if they were available before the HK100.

As an 'official' Vibram Team Tester, I give my full approval with this shoe type for most terrain in Hong Kong. The littered stone you might find on KOTH: Lantau or HK100: Section 4 might still have issues, but we'll see...

I think it's a good shoe to wear for my Ironman 70.3 Singapore. The feet feels quite tired on asphalt.. I think this could help!

Too bad I won't be doing any more trail races until fall...

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

Vibram Prize goes to

As a jogger, I felt like this would be a great way to contribute to the amateur runners in Hong Kong. The heat, humidity, and hills make it a tough place to run. But, if you do it enough, the body will adapt. So, I took it upon myself to create an internet campaign. The idea is that I would video people while I jog and then later find photos of them on the course. This is very time consuming, although I know those who found their photos where no photographer would dare to go would enjoy the picture. Since facebook is social, I went ahead and made a contest based on the fact that I would be jogging in Vibram around 200km in a month. So, after uploading the pictures, racers would then tagged themself or a friend, they would be part of the lucky draw. So, the Vibram shoes were sponsored by Escapade Sports only if I finished the race and I decided to give them away. I hope the winners appreciate the pain I had to go through for their gain. I believe one thought or one action can start a revolution!
So, here is my revolution and the winner is...

26th Thaiquain 10k

Hong Kong had a tropical depression on Friday which moved the thick smog out but cleared in blazzing, hot and humid weather for Sunday's hilly race. Thaiquain starting point is the same as Oxfam Trailwalker 100km which I will participate in November.

Morning Start:
Sai Kung is not the easiest to go. But it only required 2 transfer from mini-bus to the double decker bus. Another note about early starts - make sure you eat at home otherwise, it's egg salad sandwich from 7/11. The bus ride took 1.5 hours with about an hour to spare to collect my packet

From 26th Thaiquain 10k

I recently bought a few gadgets which I would like to share with my viewers before I begin:
1. Vibram Five Fingers KSO

From 26th Thaiquain 10k

This is the first race that I ran with VFFs. In training I've ran with them less than 6 times varying between 1km to 10km. It's hard to say if I would have had a better time. I notice a little heat building up and my forefoot feeling ready to start blistering. I wouldn't recommend running anything more than 10k in the hot, humid Hong Kong with them because the sweat runs down your legs and into the shoes making it quite wet; hence the start of a blister? Some people report very sore calves running in VFF. I don't seem to have that problem; however the following morning I feel a little sore all over.







2. Action Camera:


26thThaiquain10k "OntheRun" Pictures

3. Cyling jersey














I find that runners like to run in baggy outfits. I am not sure why this is the case especially in Hong Kong. I would think that this would create more rash. For myself, since I having began to cycle more; I am wearing cycling jersey. The zipper provides open access to the chest when it gets hot. The tight jersey is "aerodynamic" for the speedy downhills :) Also, for longer runs; there are pockets in the back to provide easy access to energy GU.

4. 2XU Compression short pants
















Now for the race route:


Race Split:
1 00:04:10 1.00 04:10 <--- I need to get to the front... too much congestion!
2 00:04:56 1.00 04:56 <--- What happened? Oh right - gravity and hill
3 00:04:30 1.00 04:30
4 00:04:26 1.00 04:26
5 00:04:38 1.00 04:38

6 00:04:31 1.00 04:31
7 00:04:42 1.00 04:42
8 00:04:42 1.00 04:42
9 00:04:45 1.00 04:45
10 00:04:10 1.00 04:10
11 00:00:34 0.13 04:16

A semi-decent beginning to the race season..

1 1 1 MB 2005 FELBABEL, Erich 0:37:11 0:37:06 0:18:47 0:18:25

2 2 1 MC 3039 NG Kam Tai 吳金帶 0:38:05 0:38:02 0:19:49 0:18:16
3 3 1 MD 4023 KAM Wing Keung 金永強 0:38:46 0:38:44 0:19:50 0:18:57
4 4 1 MA 1007 CHAN Hon Man Alfred 陳翰文 0:38:54 0:38:50 0:20:13 0:18:41
5 5 2 MB 2018 CHAN Ka Chun, Eric 陳家俊 0:38:59 0:38:57 0:20:12 0:18:47
...
67 66 14 MD 4037 Dwyfor EVANS 0:45:01 0:44:56 0:22:36 0:22:25

70 69 17 ME 5089 CHAN Chau 陳 就 0:45:12 0:44:58 0:23:07 0:22:05
68 67 5 MF 6054 CHEUNG Kwok Ming 張國明 0:45:03 0:44:59 0:23:03 0:22:01
69 68 16 ME 5091 LEE Chau Ning 利就寧 0:45:09 0:44:59 0:23:26 0:21:44
74 73 15 MC 3018 LEE Kin Wai 李健偉 0:45:26 0:45:05 0:22:58 0:22:29
71 70 13 MC 3042 WONG Pui Yuen 黃沛源 0:45:22 0:45:07 0:23:37 0:21:46
81 80 21 MB 2057 FONG Chun Wing 方俊穎 0:45:41 0:45:09 0:23:49 0:21:53
73 72 14 MC 3104 CHOY Kai Man Tenny 蔡啟文 0:45:25 0:45:14 0:23:22 0:22:04
78 77 18 ME 5084 CHUI Chi Lap 徐自立 0:45:36 0:45:15 0:23:20 0:22:16
72 71 6 MF 6163 POON Pak Sun 潘百新 0:45:24 0:45:21 0:22:47 0:22:37
79 78 16 MC 3075 LEUNG Tsz Kong 梁子江 0:45:36 0:45:22 0:23:13 0:22:23
76 75 7 MF 6052 CHAU Yun Tung 周潤桐 0:45:33 0:45:25 0:23:33 0:22:00
77 76 8 MF 6031 WONG Chi Kuen Johnson 黃志權 0:45:34 0:45:26 0:23:11 0:22:24
75 74 20 MB 2085 LEE Siu Hong 李紹康 0:45:32 0:45:27 0:23:16 0:22:17
83 82 16 MD 4009 CHAN Hon Man 陳漢文 0:45:44 0:45:31 0:23:19 0:22:25
80 79 19 ME 5048 TAM Ping Hung Simon 譚炳雄 0:45:39 0:45:34 0:23:04 0:22:35
82 81 15 MD 4063 LEE Ying Ho 李英豪 0:45:43 0:45:34 0:23:09 0:22:35
84 83 1 MG 7009 CHAN Kwai Tim 陳貴添 0:45:46 0:45:39 0:23:14 0:22:32
90 87 22 MB 2060 NGAN Chiu Wik 顏昭域 0:46:11 0:45:40 0:24:07 0:22:05
86 84 20 ME 5122 Victor YUEN 0:45:51 0:45:44 0:23:45 0:22:07
85 2 2 WC 331 CHEUNG Chui Fong Kitty 張翠芳 0:45:50 0:45:46 0:23:04 0:22:47
88 85 9 MF 6029 YIP Kei Fu 葉基虎 0:45:58 0:45:53 0:23:18 0:22:41
87 3 1 WD 440 CHONG Miu Ying May 咗 莊妙英 0:45:58 0:45:54 0:23:43 0:22:15
89 86 17 MC 3066 KUT Yip Ming 吉業明 0:46:05 0:45:57 0:23:13 0:22:53
93 90 19 MC 3052 Joel LABELLE 0:46:18 0:46:03 0:23:07 0:23:12
...
690 601 167 MF 6112 TANG Siu Hung 鄧肇雄 1:28:57 1:28:32 0:42:06 0:46:51

691 90 18 WE 510 LEUNG Oi Yee 梁靄儀 1:31:50 1:31:27 0:44:09 0:47:42




At the end of the race, there was RedBull. Here is a tip: Don't drink it without plenty after race hydration. Your pee will turn dark red for about 2-3 restroom stops.