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Tuesday, June 11, 2019

Ainan Triathlon Festival

Japanese triathlons are pricey.  Japanese Triathlons are sold out months in advance.
They are totally worth it!

 Ainan was a hella long drive, but this race was for JTU (Japan Triathlon Union) points so I knew it would have a big field and be quite popular.

So, after a 5 hour drive I arrived in Ehime Province, in the small town of Ainan.

  
 






The town of Ainan is small and totally surrounded with trees, mountains and clear blue water.

Arrived Friday night for the Saturday afternoon race.  A bit odd with a 1pm start time, but given the rural location it was a good idea. Saturday morning I drove to the race site - YIKES -Turns out bike course has a mountain in it!  Roadside pylons showed when I was driving on the course... and I was on top of a mountain at the time.

Looking down from top of the course down toward where we will be swimming
both lanes blocked off for us, take the full lane!


Next was the usual routine of morning registration and race tattoo application, always so formal and organized here.  Huge teams of volunteers helping with everything.

 
Race briefing in a big hall and included even a sign language translator, video demos and intros of all the various JTU referees who'd be on the course.



Race started at 1pm - so it made for a very civilized morning routine.  After the briefing there's lots of time to do transition set up, wetsuit donning, etc...

As seems the norm here, a mandatory 50m swim warm up about 20 min before the start.  They don't let you can pick up your timing chip until you've completed your swim warm up!  It's a great idea and it relaxes everyone a bit.

15 minutes before the start we gather on a giant boat ramp and listen to some speeches etc at the lengthy start ceremony.  The... Otter (? ).. town mascot then weaves out to awkwardly wave and give us  inspiration.  The otter beast then needed help to get away from the edge of the pier and almost wiped out a few times, but sadly, he didn't.



SWIM
2 Laps 1500m
It's a deep water start, and the water is fishbowl clear!  Could see the bottom of the ocean 20 feet down.   What a treat.

Men’s 40 to 49 is massive as usual, couple hundred guys.  We were the second wave to start, but the largest start wave of the day.

We swim out to start bouy and countdown -  GO!  A horn blasts and our heat takes off. 

Jellyfish snowstorm!  Never swum in a jellyfish white-out like that.  It gave the sensation like you were drafting too close and always hitting people, but you were hitting jellyfish.  Seemed to be a non stinging variety, so no peeing on friends needed here.  The big heats were separated by only a couple minutes, so soon we started banging into the heat in front of us and I was fighting with other swimmers in addition to jellyfish.


At about 600m I got passed by someone with my same cap color:  So I jumped on those feet!  Suddenly going fast was easy! 

The super clear water meant there was another surprise lurking below - at random intervals we saw divers 20 feet down below watching us.  There was quite a few of them hidden out there.

Followed whole rest of 1500 drafting.  Nice!  Best feeling swim in ages. 24:59.. so it seems logical to round down to 24 even.

Long jog to the long long transition area - it's fully lengthwise in design. 

BIKE
4 Laps for 40km
Most people brought road bikes.. weird.  Then I rode the first of the laps.  Now I get it!  This is the first triathlon course I've been on where you could be legit fast on a road bike.  3km long hill that ranges between 5 and 9%, then a very short flat section, then about 4km of a crazy curvy descent with hairpins and very narrow roads.

Not many areas to get down to the drops on the course.

First lap I was passed by 2 guys: 1 road bike and one beam bike guy.

As the laps ticked by... I gradually reeled in beam bike guy, but never saw the roadie again.  Confirming my thought that it's actually possible to race well here with a just a road bike.

By the second lap there are tons of people on the course, so lots of hollering “on your left” which nobody here understands, which is lucky because now that I think about it... I was usually on their right.

By the last 2 laps the sun and heat hit in earnest. And by the run start, it was intense.

Run 3 loops for 10km
Started the run feeling not bad, then after about 400m the course heads up another long steep hill! Crap!  Pace goals were thrown out the window, just aimed for not walking.  Sky high heart rate.

Passed by a quick little guy on the first hill, so figured I might not do all that well...

...But in the 400m tunnel at the hills' top - I caught him back, then dropped him on descent, so all good!

Loved the volunteers - they wear signs around there neck to declare if their trays are water or sports drink, looks hokey but was so helpful in the fog of heat and pain.

Last lap it was survival mode, and trying not to be too pessimistic in the heat and hills.  My goal on the hill by that point was just to not walk it.

Course full of people by now, it's tough to tell who is catching you, who you might be catching, or if they are on a different lap.

Finally in the finish chute - glance around and seems to be no sprint needed, so it's a nice coast to the line.

Second triathlon in Japan and again - they hold a ribbon for me to run through - so cool!
I know I’m not actually first!  I had no idea of my actual placing!  But a ribbon still seems awesome for some reason.

Post race
 So we hurry off for a nice onsen on a nearby hotel rooftop, and figure we’ll find out later tonight how it worked out.  Hang out on the rooftop with my new buddy Atsushi whom was parked beside me at the race.  Other than the nice onsen on the roof - hotel is sorta from Japanese version of "The Shining" so I took a few pics of it's weird highlights.


Yes! more taxidermy at hotels!
a faded giant pooh sat beside a badly stained wall.  Why not.


It's part cow, part monster.  Why not.


Awards Party - over the top as usual!

After a brief stop at my ryokan to drop off the bike and kit, we headed over to the nearby hotel for a all you can eat and drink awards feast! Sweet!

When we walk in we get checked off on a list, the girls checking me are suddenly excited and say I get a special badge, I’ve won my AG!  Thus, I must assemble with other winners in hallway outside before ceremony starts.

Great awards presentation- so generous of the organizers.
Big gifts and some (apparently) really fancy and expensive fish are the prize.  My friends Atsushi and Aiyana tell me the fish is a really awesome prize, which is helpful since I really wouldn't have known.

 



More pix, more drinks, more food follows.

Got a nice selfie with the epic announcer lady; she went full volume on the mic all day ..and all evening! Her real job must be as a shock jock radio personality to pull that day off so effortlessly.


small red arrow is me!

I thought Yokohama was a 'one off' amazing race, but this one makes 2 in a row.  Thousands of volunteers, professionally organized, 3 deep in all categories racing, and a super hard, but beautiful course.  Gotta like triathlons in Japan.
http://ainantriathlon.jp/result2019/


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