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My 300 km Fuji brevet (BRM518)

joewein

Maximum Pace
Oct 25, 2011
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BRM518 was my third brevet ride with AJ NishiTokyo this year and my fifth brevet overall (including an unofficial shadow ride in January). It makes May the 9th month in a row for me with a Century ride (over 160 km).

I'd been wanting to ride this brevet again since I did it last year (my first brevet ever). I worried about family or business travel that might conflict, or about foul weather on the day, but none of this came to pass.

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I left home at 19:20 on Saturday, got back around 20:30 on Sunday and slept all of 20 minutes in between. I rode about 360 km altogether, since this time I didn't pack my Bike Friday into the rinko bag for a train ride to and from Machida, the starting point, but rode from Setagaya to the west side of Fuji and back.

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At the signup I was greeted by David and William, who had come across my blog last year. This was the 3rd brevet we rode together. The previous weekend they had completed a 100 km hike for charity. Kudos to them!

Garmin troubles

I'd been training for this event for a year and bought a Garmin 500 with heart rate monitor belt in January, but Sod's law would have it that the battery of the belt ran out just before the event. I had done a last training ride a week earlier and everything had worked fine, but when I rode out to the start on Saturday night, the Garmin did not pick up data from the HR belt. I suspected the HR sensor battery (I had used the belt for 2500 km over 4 months). A CR2032 button cell was 250 yen at the next conbini, but I also needed a tiny screw driver (the size used for eye glasses and watches) to change it. A mechanic at the Cherubim bike shop (where the brevet signup takes place) helped me out. Thank you!

With the new battery the Garmin started displaying numbers though it also warned me about the presence of multiple heart rate sensors, hardly surprising in the reception area of a brevet!

Another problem was that around the 300 km mark, the Garmin lost satellite reception, with no tunnel or other obstacle to explain it. Also, the route as plotted by Strava has me swerve out into the Pacific once. Though my Garmin charger cable worked beautifully to extend its battery life beyond 16 hours, I'd say the jury is still out on whether the Garmin 500 will cope with brevets beyond 200 km.

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Too fast and too slow

Why do I use a Garmin if I ignore its data? The idea with HR data is to always operate at your maximum sustainable rate for the duration of the event. I didn't do that, far from it.

On brevets you need to maintain a minimum average speed of 15 km/h (by elapsed time, including all breaks) overall for the course and up to each check point (PC). Since most climbs are such that my speed will drop below 15 km/h and I can't make up the lost time on faster descents because they are too short for that, I need to build up a time buffer on flat sections. The first third or so of the course was mostly flat, so we could go fast. I also worked hard for the first 50 km of the 200 km West Izu and Kintaro brevets, but foolishly pushed even harder during the first 75 km of the 300 km, when I should have slightly dropped my speed to allow for the longer course. On top of that I felt the effects of riding through the night without sleep.

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As a result, the 4 hour climb from sea level at Fujikawa to 1,100 m above Lake Motosu was really slow. Most of the time my heart rate wouldn't move much beyond 120, when it had been in the high 150s/low 160s on the flat sections. This is where I lost a lot of time.

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I only recovered via the long descent from the toge to Fujiyoshida and then down to Tsuru. My banana-raisin-outmeal energy bars also helped. I think they perked me up more than any bread or onigiri I bought in the conbini.

Before the Tsuru check point I had all but written off my chances of completing within the time limit. I had to take a second brief nap by the road side at R139 before Fujiyoshida. The high speed descent from Fujiyoshida to Tsuru is always fun and by the time I got there, my time buffer didn't look great, but workable.

In the end I was 17 minutes faster than last year and will receive my brevet medal by mail :)

Teru teru bozu at work

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The Fuji brevet two years ago (2011) got rained out. Though the real hard core riders battled it out in their rain gear, from the pictures it didn't look like a pleasant experience. The weather report had forecast rain for Sunday right up until the last day, when the outlook changed to something more positive and it worked out OK. At the pre-ride briefing one of the organisers showed us the "teru teru bozu" (anti-rain charm usually made by kids) to ward off rain. Of course I don't believe in this stuff, but it only started drizzling during the last 30 km before the goal, and only on and off. It was so little, I didn't even put my smartphone away until I had arrived.

I had discussed my concerns about the weather with Jose (Jayves) and he advised to make sure I'd be warm enough if it rained. I had considered wearing either my GS Astuto bib shorts on top of a long base layer or my dhb winter bib tights and finally opted for the latter. As it happened, the first choice would have been better. I only wore my windbreaker between 04:00 and 06:00 for the early morning descent from Gotemba to the coast. The weather and what to wear is always a guessing game on long rides, especially if you want to minimize how much you carry.

What's next?

Just like after last year's 300 km brevet, the AJ NishiTokyo organizers asked me if I was going to give the 400 km brevet in June a try. Also, from next year they will have a 600 km event, for which they will do a trial run in September. My main concern about the longer rides is the effects of lack of sleep. I did much better on that front this year. Short naps work well for me and I probably should have tried one sooner this time. Riding to the brevet start was a decision I only made hours earlier and I still brought along the rinko bag, in case I was too tired after the ride to consider cycling home, but as it happened, I never used it (I could leave it with the staff during the ride). 400 km over 27 hours isn't that much more than the 360 km over 25 hours that I rode for this event. So I would say, I am definitely up for a 400 km brevet in the future.

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Well done, Sir!

And how extraordinarily lucid you manage to be, so soon after all of that. Even if I'd succeeded to do what you did (and I wouldn't even start to), I think I'd be mumbling to myself, drooling, and bumping into things for the first half of the next day.

The first third or so of the course was mostly flat, so we could go fast. I also worked hard for the first 50 km of the 200 km West Izu and Kintaro brevets, but foolishly pushed even harder during the first 75 km of the 300 km, when I should have slightly dropped my speed to allow for the longer course.

I guess that "fast" depends on "hard", and "hard" depends on how the previous half-hour has gone, etc etc. But if it's not a thoroughly stupid question, what might "fast" mean here?
 
Good stuff, Joe. Looks like you had a great time. Some great photos of fuji, too. That possible 600km brevet sounds like a killer.
 
microcord, a km/h number will not really answer it, because for example 28 km/h drafting someone is very different from doing it by yourself. It also depends on wind and if the road is really level. Down to Enoshima there were a lot of traffic lights, so the effort wasn't so continuous anyway.

Mostly I wasn't paying attention to the km/h display, only to the other riders and the heart rate readout (though not acting on it as I should have).

Sometimes the road would climb a little and rather than dropping speed as appropriate to keep the heart rate down I'd pedal harder and saw my heart rate reach 165, which is too high for me during a long ride (my zone 3 upper limit is 159, according to RWGPS calculations). I spent twice as long in zone 4 than I did at the 200 km Kintaro brevet and I paid for it by being able to spend a lot less time in zone 3, where I should have been.

If you are riding with someone who is faster but may provide an opportunity for drafting, it may be tempting to speed up to be able to stay behind them. It's much easier to stick to HR target zones when you're not riding in a group. It's also easier to stick to a feeding schedule.
 
Wow - great write up! I agree that watching HR and your forays into AT may be a big player in these events. I'm taking a similar approach with the Team Tauge riders in that getting them to practice power management rather than just 'hacking at the weeds'. Withdrawals from your glycogen bank are hard to replace on the fly regardless of what the supplement makers will tell you - so it's very important to manage appropriately.

Clothing choice is always a killer - do you overdress , then carry? Underdress and freeze out? I'm constantly struggling with this one. So far my favorite 'lifesaver' has been the venerable 100y store rain jacket. Light and thin as a vesper - I cut it down so it has a longish rear and short front. The hoodie on it is what I really like. When the rain hits, it fits perfect UNDER my helmet and keeps my head / neck dry. That bothers me the most. Cold and wet head and feet and I'm done! Everything else can soak as much as it likes!
 
microcord, a km/h number will not really answer it, because for example 28 km/h drafting someone is very different from doing it by yourself. It also depends on wind and if the road is really level. Down to Enoshima there were a lot of traffic lights, so the effort wasn't so continuous anyway.

Ah yes, that all makes sense.

. . . I'd pedal harder and saw my heart rate reach 165, which is too high for me during a long ride (my zone 3 upper limit is 159, according to RWGPS calculations). I spent twice as long in zone 4 than I did at the 200 km Kintaro brevet and I paid for it by being able to spend a lot less time in zone 3, where I should have been.

Jeebus, that makes no sense at all. Heart rate? I suppose mine goes faster when I push harder. Numbers, zones? I think I understand the general idea behind one "zone system":

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but never bothered to read more than the first couple of paragraphs about even this.

Oh well, back to school for me.
 
Great post, Joe. Thanks! (and good shots of the big mtn)
 
Two more memories from the ride:

1) On Sunday morning as I was approaching Fujikawa I met this gentleman from Switzerland:

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He was on his way from Chiba to Kagoshima/Kyushu and then on to Okinawa by boat. He rode a single speed bike and carried most of his stuff in a back pack. He's planning to return to Tokyo in early July.

2) Also, one of the brevet riders was riding in jeans and a polo shirt. Not sure how quickly he finished, because he already lost me somewhere on the way to Enoshima. Last year I was also still in cotton shorts and cotton underwear. I have to say, the bib tights were much more comfortable during the last 100 km :)

Pictures of Doshi dam:

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I was invited to join the group shot of Audax Japan NishiTokyo after the event wrapped up:

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They are a really nice bunch of people :)
 
@Forsbrook, @baribari revived a thread from last year's run. This year's report is >> here << :) I've been doing this event three years in a row now.

@baribari, it helps to use one of these:

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I've had my Brooks B17 for a bit over two years now. I am sure there are other good saddles that will keep you comfortable on long rides.

This year I didn't even wear padded cycling shorts or bib tights because I was more concerned about cold than about sweating, since the event was held 4 weeks earlier and it rained for the first half. I was wearing heattech long johns under uniqlo corduroy trousers.
 
No problem :)

Besides using a good saddle, it helps to stand up every now and then, to help out circulation.

I find overly padded, soft saddles more uncomfortable in the long run than firmer ones and have the same problem with car seats: unless they're firm they become uncomfortable rather soon because they let your sitbones sink in too much, subjecting muscles and nerves surrounding them to too much pressure. Mamachari saddles tend to be the worst.
 
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