Robin's last SLR!

SLR WILL BE TOMORROW 7AM FROM IN FRONT OF THE ARA!

There are lots of holiday and going away parties Friday night, so let's get our long run DONE. Since many of us are running long this week-end, please meet us FRIDAY morning at 7AM in front of the ARA. We will be going 18 miles at/around 10 minute/mile pace.

This could be your last chance to say good-bye to the DTC!

Co-founder, Dave Martz, will not be running.

Wednesday, December 16th Victory Day 8K & 4K Run and Walk

Please click on the flyer to see the details. Come out for this fun event! With a short and fast course, this will likely be the fastest 8K you ever run!

SLR DAY & TIME CHANGE next week-end

First of all, congrats to all the runners that ran SIXTEEEN MILES today! Doesn't it feel GREAT?!

Great job Emily, Christine Marie, Robin, Kelly and JR. Next week is a step back week for most

and an important time to let the body recover. Because many folks will be participating in the annual Splash and Dash next Saturday morning, we will be doing SLR Friday morning December 11th and leaving at 7AM from the American Club gate. Join us for an easy 7-10 miles.

SLR

Friday, December 11th

7AM

Spash and Dash*

Saturday, December 12

9AM

*You MUST pre-register for this event. See last post for details.

Splash N Dash

Don't miss this annual event put on the by the American International School of Dhaka. A fun thing for the whole family. Relay teams welcome! Make sure to sign up by the date listed. Click on the flyer below to view it larger. See you there!

Dear multi-sport athletes,

The time is fast approaching that Dave and I will get on an airplane with the girls and move to Bhutan! We are looking forward to this new adventure in our lives, but are also sad to leave Dhaka and our friends here (otherwise known as training partners!).

When we came to Dhaka over 2 years ago, we started the Dhaka Triathlon Club so we could find other like minded multi-sport athletes to train and compete with. We have been lucky enough with our training to run the Chiang Mai & Khon Kaen marathons, Phuket and KL half marathons, Mt. Kinabalu Climbathon half marathon and the China 70.3 Half Ironman. We have had a blast swimming, biking and running with all of you!

We have really enjoyed planning road races & duathlons, donating money to charity, organizing training runs and rides, informing the community of athletic related resources such as Re-Fit gym & local PTs and lastly our biggest joy of encouraging newbies to try their first 5K, 10K, marathon and triathlon! It has been well worth the time and effort and sacrifice of Dave and I never getting to run one local road race with you! :)

Now it is the time to pass on the torch and we are reaching out to the athletes (multi-sport or otherwise) in Dhaka. You are the ones that train and race and compete and have (hopefully!) gotten some benefits from the Dhaka Triathlon Club and so we need you to continue what we started.

What does this all mean? Well, it means agreeing to keep the spirit alive however you can! It might mean hosting a road race in Baridhara, duathlon in Bashundhara, or triathlon from ISD or AIS/D, inviting others on your weekly long runs (let’s face it-it’s easier with others!) and/or talking up good races in the region.

Please watch this site for more information on the future of the Dhaka Triathlon Club.
Thanks for everything!
Robin Martz
rmartz@umich.edu

An update from the DTC!

We are still doing SLR (Saturday Long Run) leaving at 6:30AM from the American Club.

Robin & Dave leave for Bhutan December 20th, so come out and join us for only THREE more SLR's! December 5, December 12, and December 19. More details on blog coming soon about future of the DTC.

Pictured: Robin and Christine Marie running 13 miles.

Photographer: Lorinda (also ran 13 miles that day!)

DTC Halloween 2009 5K

Thanks to all the racers in today's 2nd Annual DTC Halloween 5K with a start and finish at Re-Fit gym on Road 63. Congrats to Marc and Emily, the overall men's and women's winners and for all the age group winners. The men's winners were: Fred (<19), LBH (30-39), Mark G. (40-49), and JR (50+). The women's winners were: Felicity (<19), Lorinda (20-29) Carla (30-39), Chaunpit (40-49) and Diane (50+).

Emily-1st female (23:21)

Marc-1st male (20:03)

The Martz and Rinfret family.

Congratulations again to all the finishers/racers. Sorry to those of you that got lost! As I mentioned Dave and I will be leaving Dhaka soon and would love to see the DTC stay active. Please email me if you are interested in carrying the torch for the club. Email me at rmartz@umich.edu Thanks again for coming out and racing.

SLR this week-end & Halloween 5K

Please join Robin for SLR this Saturday morning 6:30AM in front of the American Club.

We will head to Basundhara and over the bamboo bridge. Last week-end it was really muddy, so don't wear your good shoes. I will run out to the BIG bridge (7 miles) and back. Pace will be slow.

Please join us!

We will be gone 24 October so SLR is on your own! We will back for SLR on Halloween 31 October.

There WILL be a Halloween 5K on Friday October 3oth at 3PM with start and finish at Re-Fit on Road 63. Stay tuned for more details.

DTC race proceeds go to ICDDR,B Hospital Patient Welfare Fund

DTC hosted an Eid-ul-Fitre 5K to raise money for the ICDDR,B patient welfare fund. There were 26 runners that braved the poring rain to run. A total of 13,000 taka was raised and the DTC donated another 2,000 to bring the grand total donated to FIFTEEN THOUSAND TAKA.
THANKS TO EVERYONE THAT PARTICIPATED AND DONATED!

Glitter ball run

Remember Glitter Ball last year? If you do, then you remember it can be a night of eating, drinking and just staying up late. SO,
If you would like to SLEEP IN SATURDAY MORNING, then come and join me for a slow long run (alternate SLR) on FRIDAY morning 6:30AM leaving from the American Club. I will head towards the bamboo bridge-hopefully its not under water already!

Dave will still be doing SLR Saturday morning for those wanting to come to the regular SLR. Please join him for between 5-8 miles.

After a step back week last week, I will be running 13 miles Friday morning. Please join me for some or all of it.

So, to recap:

GLITTER BALL ALTERNATE SLR FRIDAY MORNING 6:30AM
AMERICAN CLUB FRONT GATE

REGULAR SLR SATURDAY MORNING 6:30AM
AMERICAN CLUB FRONT GATE

SLR report: 26 September

We had a nice group of runners Saturday morning. Thanks for coming out! Our route was a familiar one. We headed towards Basundhara (still no bamboo bridge!) and ran down 'the' nice shaded street near the kids playground.

Don't let the barricades slow you down on this street. The secruity guard usally only manages a half-hearted 'madam, problem' as I cruise by. I like to wave and say thank you on my return, though! Some folks did just over 6 miles, others about 8 miles and another 11. We all ran nice and SLOW as it was a HOT one out there! We were sorry we missed JR and Kelly-our marathon training faction that left just after us, keeping their own SLR pace. Sorry we missed Irina coming into town, Andrew heading out of town, and other runner friends that decided to either run on their own or decided it was a good day to sleep in! Hope to see you back running with us soon!
Join us this Saturday at the same time and same place as we 'step back'-we will only be running between 5-8 miles. See you then!

****If anyone is interested in running another road race, please email Robin at rmartz@umich.edu with your thoughts on race distance, course, etc.

EID 5K RACE A SUCCESS!

Thanks to everyone for coming to our Eid-ul Fitre 5K race on Monday. Kudos to all the runners that braved the rain to run for a good cause! 12,000 taka was raised for the Patient's Welfare Fund at ICDDRB hospital.

Congratulations to Greg/Zollie and Mike, our top male finishers and to Lorinda, Emily and Bela for crossing first for the ladies! Sorry no official results for this race, folks. If you know your time and place, feel free to email me, otherwise we'll get you next time!

Stay tuned for info on our next race...either an Oktoberfest or Halloween run. Send Robin your ideas for other races, charities to donate to or any comments to rmartz@umich.edu


PLEASE JOIN US FOR OUR SATURDAY LONG RUN (SLR) AT 6:30AM THIS SATURDAY IN FRONT OF THE AMERICAN CLUB GATE. WE WILL HAVE A GROUP RUNNING BETWEEN 6-8 MILES AND ANOTHER RUNNING 12 MILES.

SEE YOU THEN!!!

Eid-ul Fitre 5K race Monday 9/21 10AM

The Dhaka Triathlon Club is hosting a 5k fundraising race on

Monday, September 21st at 10:00am

The 5K course is 2-loops around Baridhara and will start at the intersection of United Nations Road and Road # 10.

Prizes for the fastest male and female finishers!

100% of race proceeds will go to the ICDDR,B Dhaka Hospital “Patients’ Welfare Fund”.

The objectives of this fund are to purchase blood for transfusion, medications, clothes, life saving diet for persistent diarrhoea cases, attendants for very sick patients without a companion, transportation costs and admission fees for referral cases to other hospitals.

Please come out and run and even if you can’t, please consider making a donation or giving your “zakat” money to the hospital’s “Patients’ Welfare Fund” c/o Md. Ramzan Ali, Manager Hospital Administration.

500 taka race fee due at sign in (9:45AM)

Please pre-register by emailing Robin at rmartz@umich.edu

September 12th SLR-a great turnout!

Well, we missed certain people at SLR this morning (yeah, you know who you are!) but we saw some new faces, which was great! We welcomed SIX runners this morning to SLR. Jaden, Dave, Nanou, Sabiena, Robin and Kyla.

Dave and Jaden ran into Baridhara for a nice easy 5-miler. Also in Baridhara, Dave ran into JR and Kelly, (who we hope to see at SLR next week!) both in training for the Khon Kaen marathon in Thailand in January.

The ladies decided to go with Robin to Basundhara for an 8-miler. We ran down a beautiful tree-lined street with a huge rising sun ahead of us. Just beautiful. If not for the heat and humidity, it would have been perfect. We were so comfortable chatting away, that we had to call Nanou and Sabiena back as they ran right past the 4-mile turn around point!

The 8 miles was a stretch for some and with the heat and humidity it was a tough run, even with the great company. The group ran back to the ARA and was advised to drink lots of water and gatorade and add some salt to their food today. :)

We will run next week, same place and same time. Dave will likely lead any runners who'd like to run 6-7 miles and Robin will be doing 10. Please join us!

Make sure to bring water or gatorade with you!

SLR resumes at new time: 6:30AM Saturdays

After a wonderful holiday in Canada. The DTC is back. We will resume SLR this Saturday. New time is 6:30AM. It is still dark at 6AM now and it is starting to cool down a bit. We will start with short-ish long runs (~6 miles/10K) and then slowly work up to our regular 10-13+ mile range(15-20k). We meet at the front gate of the American Recreation Club (ARA) located on Rd. 67 in Gulshan-2. See you Saturday!

ARA front gate 6:30AM: 6 mile/10K

We are considering hosting a Eid-ul-Fitre 5K. Let us know if you are interested. Email Robin at rmartz@umich.edu

Dave and Robin finishing the Golden Trails 1/2 marathon last month in Timmins, Ontario.

The Dhaka Triathlon Club is still on vacation!

Sorry we have been so silent. Things (as they always are) were quite busy before we left on holiday in early August. We will be returning to Dhaka in about one week's time. We look forward to the fall and some group training and roadraces.

We will continue the following activities and welcome you to join us: morning and Masters swimming at the American School (AIS/D), spin classes at Re-Fit, early morning week-day road rides, week-end mountain bike rides hosted by Ken, running tempo and speed workouts and our signature "Saturday Long Run".

See you soon!
The Dhaka Triathlon Club
Robin & David Martz

PS Here is a link to the race results from the Golden Trails 1/2 marathon we ran in Timmins, Ontario last week-end. How about the local kid beating the Kenyan? Gotta love a small town race!

http://www.sportstats.ca/display-results.php?lang=eng&racecode=45356

SLR on 20 June 2009

Please join Robin and Dave and the rest of the Dhaka Trathlon Club this Saturday! We will leave at 6AM from the ARA. We will be 'stepping back' to 10 miles, but AS ALWAYS, runners can run any distance. Lorinda is just over a week away from running the KL half marathon! So, lets come out and join her as she tapers and wish her luck!

SATURDAY 6:00AM ARA 10 miles

Will Smith’s Race Report: WestPoint Lake Sprint Triathlon

600 yard swim (20:29) + 15 mile bike (50:57) + 5K run (28:17) = Final time of 1:43:06

My primary motivation for giving this a shot was to have another opportunity to have a good time with my brother (he has done several of these). My goal for my 6 months in the States was to run a marathon and do a Sprint Tri. I’m happy to report that mission has been accomplished, plus a half-marathon trail run! I am so blessed!

I just barely pulled it together in time for this Sprint Triathlon. First of all, my nutrition and training really dropped off about a month ago. The thought of returning to South Asia has us all busy trying to fit in fun experiences and over indulging in fun foods. My swim training has also been very irregular. I think I did four mile long workouts of easy freestyle in preparation (no open water training). I got my bike about two weeks before the race and fit in one 18 mile ride. My clip-in bike shoes arrived the day before the race! O’well, besides just spending time with family, I just wanted to experience a Tri to learn, not so much to compete (good thing!)

The swim was an out and back that went around two bois and skirted a small island. In the excitement, I started out way to fast. It wasn’t long until I was feeling the pressure of people swimming up beside me. Then the water got really choppy and my mouth filled with water a couple of times when turning to breath. I really needed a few good breaths and ended up having to dog padel to get them. When I stopped, I felt like a rock and had a brief, and private, panic attack. I was actually looking for a boat to call out to for help, but none were around. I just started easing toward the island and seriously considered quitting. When I got to some shallow water, I noticed several guys walking to catch there breath. I did the same and managed to pull it together. I headed out with a slower pace and found a comfortable rhythm. On the final stretch, I felt pretty strong and felt great when I hit land.

Transition 1 was uneventful, but not really fast (1:52). More room for improvement.

The bike was a blast! Yes, I managed to get clipped in. No, I did not fall over when I came in for T2 (by God’s grace!). I could tell the clip shoes were giving me more control and power on each rotation. A lot of folks passed me on their 2-5K bikes, but I did overtake a few folks myself. It felt good to be racing.

At T2 (1:37), for some idiotic reason, I decided to run without socks. I know… stupid. I had never trained without socks. What made think this was a good idea? I dun’ no. Anyway, it didn’t take long before I felt a holes being rubbed into both of my arches. Ouch! By the end of the race I had some fat blisters. Before that, however; I experienced to joy of running like a man who’s legs felt like they were just run over by a truck. BRICK training would have also been a good idea. Even with the pain of hot spots, after the first mile I got my legs back and started to feel much stronger on the run. I was pretty pumped when I finally smocked a 65 year old guy I had been trailing for half of the run.

Despite the fact that I had no open water experience, very little bike training and such a painful run; I really had a great time and would love the chance to do it again. We need to do one of these in Dhaka!

Joyfully in Christ,
Will

PHYSIOTHERAPISTS IN DHAKA!

Joey Delacruz 0172 769 1383 joeden15@yahoo.com

Physiotherapist (certificate), fitness instructor and masseuse
Requires doctors referral for first consultation
Specializes in musculoskeletal injuries and sports rehab/management
Consultation and treatment (one visit) = 1500 taka
60-90 minute therapeutic massage = 1500 taka
Does home visits

(Currently working on getting: licensed to practice in Bangladesh and ultrasound equipment)

ANOTHER PT RESOURCE:

At Apollo hospital, Dr. Araf is a board-certified rehab medicine specialist who evaluates patients, designs PT programs and has a staff of 4 physiotherapists that carry out the rehab.

Their group has gotten good reviews as people have been pleased with the treatment and the cost is minimal.

***The DTC provides this information for the benefit of its members and does not endorse any specific provider***

SLR NOW STARTING AT 6AM!!!

SATURDAY LONG RUN WILL NOW BEGIN AT 6AM!!!

Due to the intense heat, please join Robin, Dave and the other DTC regulars at 6AM (instead of 6:30am) for the Saturday Long Run leaving from the ARA front door. We will have folks running anywhere from 10-20K. Please bring plenty of water and electrolyte drink and wear a hat and sunglasses!

See you then!

Will Smith's Granite Grinder Half-Marathon Race Report

On April 19th, 2009

Since I am planning to return to Bangladesh in July, and will have few race opportunities (except for DTC races, or course!), before I had even completed my first marathon in March, I wanted to have another race on the calendar.

The Granite Grinder is a trail run that meanders through miles of trails at the Centennial Olympic Horse Park (the location for all of the 1996 Olympic equestrian events) in Conyers, Georgia. The fun of the race was the diversity of the course. We ran across large open fields and many different kinds of wooded trails. Since the paths where narrow, I really had to surge forward in open areas and make quick passed in the wood. The steep dirt hills, stream crossing, and mud patches where added hazards that kept things interesting. Perhaps most unique, and the reason for the races name, were the vast patches of granite moonscape we traversed several times during the race.

Being so soon after the marathon, my goal was to attempt my marathon pace (10 minute), not whip out, and enjoy the outdoors. As an added treat, my daughter Katie (11) decided to come along to cheer dad on. She jumped right in as a volunteer at a water table, made new friends and had a great time.

Before the race, I was reading Jeff Galloway’s marathon training book and was fascinated by his advice about walk breaks. There are all different kinds of walk/run ratios for different levels of training, but the idea is that by giving your muscles a break early and regularly during a race, one can avoid leg soreness and run faster longer, more than compensating for lost time in the later part of a race or long run. This certainly made sense, especially after my marathon experience, so I decided to give it a try.

I probably didn’t rest as often as Jeff would recommend, but from the beginning I would run 10 minutes and walk 1 minute. As I pulled to the side to walk, I actually got comments from people like, “hey, don’t give up!” and one lady said, “Hey, don’t walk. I’ve been trying to catch up with you.” But when my one minute walk break was over I would take off and almost always pass whoever passed me during a walk break. Sometimes they would pass me later, during my next walk break, but I would usually pass them again and eventually not see them later in the race. This is probably because I was able to maintain a faster pace for more of the race than most other folks could with continuous running. At least that is what Galloway would say and that sure seemed to be what was happening. This walk/run method helped me keep a comfortable marathon pace and complete in 2:08:00 over some challenging terrain, so I will probably us it in the future to help me go further on long training runs and future races.

Joyfully in Christ,
Will

2009 ING Georgia Marathon Race Report by Will Smith

I had always considered myself an active person, maybe even athletic, but after several years of pursuing degrees, raising a young family and adapting to the environment of our new Dhaka home, I suddenly realized that describing myself as athletic was really a distant memory, not a present reality. My re-entry into the running lifestyle began with a couple of DTC SLR’s, but really took off after the Habitat for Humanity race on April 25th. That race did it for me. After that I was on my way back to regular running.

It wasn’t long before I felt the need for a formidable fitness goal. Since I was looking forward to my six month state-side assignment in Atlanta and was looking for something fun to do with my brother (who competes regularly in Sprint Triathlons), I called him up and talked him into signing up for the ING Georgia marathon.

Making the commitment, putting it on the calendar and actually registering for the race (non-refundable) did wonders for my running, but I still had a lot to learn about training. Since I didn’t want to admit I was a “beginner” or “novice” I started out with a training program that was way too aggressive, but worse than that, I really did not appreciate the training process and the time required for one’s body to develop the endurance necessary for a marathon distance. My mentality was, “the more miles the better, run through the pain, push, push, push!” I remember my SLR buddies talking about taking it easy and giving time to recover, but I just wasn’t hearing them. I had a big goal and my aggressive type A personality was just love’n it.

In my zeal, I was breaking all the training rules, but my biggest mistake was simply over training. This all came to a head in November, when 2 miles into a run, I experienced a sudden sharp pain just below my left lateral knee. I could walk, with discomfort, but running was unbearable. After a couple of weeks of this pain, I finally got it scanned and discovered it was a stress fracture. Treatment? You guessed it. No running for at least six weeks. Oh well, there goes the marathon idea; but maybe not. After 6 weeks, I was back in the States, well rested and all geared up for some cold weather running on some delightfully quiet American roads. In this three month period before the March 29th race, I had steadily increased my long-run distance to a whopping 22.5 miles! This was the closest I was able to get to marathon distance before it was time to taper for the big show.

Talk about nervous. I tossed and turned the whole night before the race. It was a relief to hear the alarm go off that morning. My brother and I ate some oatmeal and a banana and headed for the subway. Not trusting the clothing drop-off system at the race, we about froze to death waiting for the race to begin. Rusty and I exchanged some final encouraging words as he split off to find his 3:40 pace group (which he stayed with for the entire race! His first marathon! Wow!). I, on the other hand, joined the 4:30 group, but not for long.

The energy of the crowd, the excitement of the endeavor and the amazing urban atmosphere (especially in contrast to Dhaka) was so exciting for me. When the gun went off, and the crowd began to creep ahead, even though I knew most of the folk around me were doing the half-marathon, I decided not to resist the urge ease ahead to a faster pace group. My goal was 4:30, but before I knew it I had passed the 4:20 and the 4:10 groups. My spontaneous new strategy was to see if I could shave at least 10 minutes off my goal but start in the 4:10 group just to create some buffer.

For the first 8 miles, I felt awesome. The city was beautiful, the crowd was fun and I was just pumped to finally be on my way. My first pang of reality hit when I approached a huge sign that read “Half-Marathon, Turn Right”, and I watched 90% of my running companions leave me with a slightly slower and much sparser field of runners. The intensity of these runners was noticeable and sobering. I could tell from determination on their faces and the cheers of admiration from the spectators that this was going to be a long and tough journey and I had better find my rhythm and settle into my own pace.

The beautiful homes, parks and the interesting people made it easy to occupy my mind, but at mile 13 the strain on my legs had become a persistent ache and I was almost startled when the 4:10 pace group seemed to blow right past me. I tried to keep up with a couple of surges, but came to my senses and returned to my rhythm. My breathing was great and my body temperature felt perfect (55F outside), but the muscle ache was there to stay. I stayed fueled up with Power Gels and sports drink and gave myself some 60 second rest breaks at the water stations.

From this point forward, I just kept those doggies move’n. Several times, especially toward the end, a simple thought would dominate my mind “this hurts and I want to stop”, which was followed by “well then stop, dummy”. Then I would think “Wait a minute! This is what you spent all that time and energy training for, so don’t stop, it is supposed to hurt”. I remember me regularly asking myself “Is it physically possible to keep running?” “Well… yes.” “Then don’t stop, just make it to that next corner and reassess.” And that is exactly what I did. I kept negotiating with myself over and over, until I finished the race with very minimal walking.

Some of my friends know that I have my own personal cheering squad. They are my 12, 11 and 6 year old daughters, my 5 year old son and my amazing wife, Carol. It was such an encouragement to be greeted by their cheers. They managed to see me again at two other spots on the course and met me shortly after my finish. As I approached the end I was determined to finish strong, for them. I also stopped thinking about how many miles I had already done. Instead, I would pretend I was just stepping out for a 6, 5, 4, etc. mile run. I can do that! In fact, it felt kind of like the beginning of my runs when I was over training. Been there, done that, so press on! You get the idea. Just more mind games that got me to the finish.

My finish included a little surge to get past a guy I had my eye on for about 3 miles. My final time was 4:20:58 and I was thrilled to realize I had achieved all of my goals. I finished, I had fun, I spent some good times with my brother, I took minimal walk break, I felt “good” at the end, my kids got to see their Daddy follow through on a challenging goal and I finished with a desire to do it again some day. I could not be more pleased.

I really want to give a special thanks to Robin and Dave (Guys, you better include this if you use this report!). If they had not started the DTC I probably would have never found the motivation to pursue my dream of running a marathon. Every time I seemed a little discouraged and would say during a steamy SLR “Man, I just can’t imagine running a marathon”, they would always encourage me to just keep at it and be patient. Thanks for investing in people. I thank God for the pleasure of knowing your family.

Joyfully in Christ,
Will

Ironman China 70.3 Race Report: The Toughest Race You’ll Ever Love!

by Dave Martz, Born Again Triathlete
(For Robin's race report see... http://bangladeshmartzes.blogspot.com/2009/04/ironman-china-703-race-report.html)

Whether it was swimming like a salmon up stream in the strong current of the Nandu River, enduring a stiff headwind and slight up-hill climb for the first 20 miles of the bike, or battling the +42C heat and humidity of the brutal mid-day sun, Ironman China 70.3 was race a of survival. Out of the over 200 participants that started the swim only 130 or a little over 60% crossed the finish line. For me this was one, if not the, hardest things I've completed enduring for over 7.5 hours in the elements. To put this into perspective, this took more than 2.5 hours longer than my previous 70.3, of course that race was under much better race conditions.

There were many points during the 70.3 that I seriously contemplated dropping out. However, I had many positive and motivational thoughts to keep me going. On the swim, I decided that I would continue to swim even though at some points it seemed like I wasn’t making any progress because of the current. Note that the Ironman China website describes the swim, which was changed from last year, as “a sheltered swim course in the clean, slow moving waters.” Needless to say, this was a major understatement. When I finally stood up out of the water, both my legs started to cramp up from the extra hard kicking that I used through/against the current. This of course was not a good sign since I needed to get on the bike and ride 90k, and then run 21k.

After the extended swim in the endless pool where I probably swam long enough to cover 600 meters more than the required distance, I walked into T1 and again thought about dropping out. But then I remembered all the trouble that we and others went through for us to bring our tri bikes to Dhaka. To give you a sense of what it took, I had researched and bought a durable hard, double travel bike case and had it shipped to my dad where our tri bikes were being stored. My dad then took our bikes and the travel case to have the bikes broken down and packed in the case. He even bought Robin two new rims for her bike when the bike shop found a crack in her front rim. He then paid to have them shipped to where we would be staying in Dallas. We then carted the bikes/case back from Dallas to Houston (back of Honda Odyssey), from Houston to Dhaka (on two long-haul BA flights) and then from Dhaka to Kuala Lumpur to Haikou (on two Air Asia flights). Not to mention the fact that we had to pay excess baggage charges for the over-weight bike case, which of course had two bikes. When I thought about all this during my walk to T1, I realized that I had to get on the bike and ride hoping that this would help loosen up the leg cramps.

After spending nearly 10 minutes in T1 carefully pulling on socks and putting on bike shoes in such a way to avoid cramping, I walked to my lone bike (there were maybe 10-20 bikes left out of 600 that started both distances that morning) and walked out the TA. I got on my bike and started to ride, unfortunately I wasn’t able to ride very hard trying to keep my heart rate (HR) low and to avoid my legs cramping. The first 20 miles were in a headwind and slightly up hill, two negative forces which slowed me down. A number of 140.6 triathletes cruised by me on their second lap. While no 70.3 participants passed me, not many were behind me to pass. I was able pass a handful of 70.3ers on this stretch despite the wind pushing against me either as a stiff headwind or crosswind. Despite these challenges, I kept positive thoughts like “you're on an open road with a wonderful surface, enjoy it because you can’t do this in Dhaka!”

As I chugged along at a slow to moderate pace, the wind continued to whistle by me. About the time I started to get in a rhythm, I was brought back to reality. The grassy median that the divided 4-lane highway was roped off with pink police-like tape to keep our lanes closed to traffic. Well one of the pieces of tape had broken free and started whipping wildly in the wind just as I was rolling over it. However, instead of running over it as I had planned, it got caught up in my front wheel casing, cranks, and rear derailleur. I went another 10 feet or so before my bike came to a grinding halt.

I got off my bike to assess the situation and concluded pretty quickly it was just fubarred. Just then two bike course marshals stopped to ask if I was okay and assisted me with untangling it. After a couple of minutes of trying to untangle the mess, I realized that it would be much simpler to take the wheels off and get the tape off. This speeded things up. In the end, I probably was on the side of the road for 5-7 minutes, which was much longer than any time penalty. I realized that the handful of people I had passed, had now passed me back.



Soon after this unplanned pit stop, I came up to a km marker and thought I feel like I should be halfway. However, the sign read 30km mark or 1/3rd the course in about 1:16. At this rate I would finish the bike course nearly 1 hour slower than my Eagleman bike time. Once I got to the midway point, the course changed took us through some small villages. While the road quality wasn’t as nice as the tarmac on the highway, this was offset by the wonderful villagers who came out to cheer us on. Also, it was during this stretch of 10-15km that we were able to climb some short yet welcome hills, which forced me out of the saddle and allowed me to ride in a different position than aero bars. After a rather nice descent, we headed back towards Haikou on the wonderful highway; however, this time the wind was either at our backs or neutral at worst. Once I accepted the fact that my biked time was going to be a PW for me, I just tried to enjoy it as much as possible. I even stopped for a couple of minutes at an Aid Station to fill up my bottle with Gatorade. Things were going okay until I reached the 85km mark, and my left quad started to cramp up so I slowed down even more. Eventually, I made it back to the TA and took another 10 minutes or so in T2 to carefully change my socks and shoes and replenish my nutrition.

I then walked through the TA and embarked on the 13.1km slog. I started out running, but quickly realized that something wasn’t right when my HR shot up to 160, and I should say I wasn’t running very fast to justify this. So I started walking till my HR came down to 130. After walking for about five minutes, I started running (at best maybe 10 minutes pace); however, my HR shot back up again only after about two minutes. I continued this run-walk-run approach for the first few klicks before I realized I really needed to get my corps temperature under control. At the next Aid Station, I loaded up with cold sponges and chunks of ice blocks in my shirt. This seemed to work as my HR didn’t spike up when I started to run, really jog. It was a little after the 5km mark that both my legs started to cramp up. So back to the run-walk-run approach I’d been using. However, I noticed that when I walked I still had the cramps and when I ran they didn’t get worse, at least not yet. I then focused on a new strategy, run to the next Aid Station, which were about 1.5-2km apart, stop and load up on Gatorade, ice and sponges.

I should mention something about the run course here. They designed it so that you ran out 5km, turned around and ran back 5km to the TA, and passed it at the 10km mark. While this made managing logistics (e.g., Aid Stations and Medical Tent) easier for the race organizers and volunteers, this really tested whether you wanted to continue on with the run. For the people doing the 140.6, they had to pass the TA three times as they had to complete two loops of the course. Imagine having to run by your bike and keep the idea out of your mind that you could just stop, pick up your bike and things and jump on the bus back to the hotel. For me, I had to fight the urge to stop running and again drop out. Even though I wasn’t even to the halfway point, I started saying the mantra “just get to the finish line” when I started to see the TA and began to run by it. Fortunately, my mind and will prevailed, and I ran past the TA only stopping at the Aid Station to refill my shirt with ice and cold sponges, as well as get more Gatorade. I think it was about this time that I started dowsing my head and face with cold water.


I have to say that the second half of the run is a bit of a blur. I just slogged along from one Aid Station to the next. There were points later in the race where I saw Robin, who I’d been chasing the minute we stepped into the water. The last few km were designed, again to torture us with out and backs. While it was nice to see Robin a few times and have an idea how many minutes I was behind her, it’s very unsettling to know be within sight and earshot of the finish only to have to turn around and run away from it. The last five km were definitely the most difficult part of the race. I was drained from being out the sun, and the cramping in my legs was getting worse. Even though my gait probably looked more painful for the spectators to watch, I get going. However, just as I felt that I was getting closer to the finish and could even hear them announcing finishers, my bubble burst when one of the course volunteers said, “you’re almost there, just ONE MORE KILOMETER.” This coupled with the fact that I heard Robin’s name being announced at the finished really took what little steam I had left in my engines. As many endurance athletes are familiar with the idea of hitting the wall, this was the most profound of the many walls that I’d hit that day. At this point, I thought let’s walk for a few minutes. This little respite was just enough to allow me to run the last little bit and cross the finish line!

I look back on the day and am amazed that I was able to overcome the physical and psychological challenges that confronted me. It also made me realize that our training in Dhaka either would need to be adjusted or the distance and race conditions we do are reduced. At the end of the day, I’m satisfied with the accomplishment of being 124 out of the 130 to finish the race.

My Quick Stats:
Swim: 01:13:34, 155 out of 162 who finished the swim
T1: 8:05
Bike: 03:26:11, 112 out of 160 who finished the bike
T2: 10:00
Run: 02:39:55, 82 out of 130 who finished the run
Overall: 07:37:44, 124 out of 130 who finished the 70.3

Hello DTC'ers!

We are still running every Saturday morning, 6:30AM from the American Club. Please join us for a run at ANY distance. We have runners going from 5-15 miles these days.

It is getting HOT, so please bring water and/or an electrolyte drink, sunglasses and hat.

This will be our last SLR before Ironman China 70.3! That race takes place in Haikou, China (Hainan Island) on April 19th. Wish us (Dave and Robin) luck!

Stay cool Dhaka runners and triathletes!!!

Race Report & Results - St. Patrick's Day 5K

On March 20th, the Dhaka Triathlon Club hosted the St. Patty's Day 5K. For an event that was organized in just a few days - based on demand from club members - there were nearly 30 participants, which is a good turnout.

While the overall race times were better compared to runners previous race paces (8K Turkey Trot and Halloween 5K), Greg ("Red") and Amy ("Fern"), out local dynamic duo, were the male and female first place finishers. It is worth noting that Fern was just a few seconds behind Red and looks to be on a trajectory to take be the overall winner in the next event.

We'd like to thank all the runner and walker participants for coming out and congratulate them on finishing. We also extend our appreciationt to JR for volunteering his time and helping make it a safe and fun event for everyone. BTW, the large arrows he used to mark the course are still there in case anyone would like to host a 5K, 7.5K, or 10K this weekend.

Regarding the next event, please email us if you have any suggestion on possible dates, distance, format, etc. and would like to volunteer to organize/support.

Since we are the Dhaka Triathlon Club, we are very keen to organize a sprint distance tri (swim: 400m, bike: 10k, run: 5k) very soon before it gets too hot. Please email us if you're interested in participating (individually or relay) or would be willing to volunteer as a signup, bike safety checker, lap counter, timer, etc. Also, it was mentioned that not everyone interested in doing a sprint have a bike. If this is the case, I'm sure that we could help arrange loaners for people.

St. Patrick's Day 5K

The Dhaka Triathlon Club is hosting a St. Patrick's Day 5K race this Friday at 8AM in Baridhara

Race begins on the corner of Road 10 and UN Road at 8AM sharp. Cost is 100 taka. The flyer will be posted at the ex-pat clubs today, but please help SPREAD THE WORD!

Email Dave at dmartz@umich.edu if you are interested in volunteering. I will be on a plane to the US and will not be around to help.

Thanks and have a great race!

Dhaka Tri is still running!

Sorry for the long silence. The DTC founders took a quick trip to the USA. While there, Dave and Robin ran in the Texas Half Marathon in Dallas. Weather was great but the bowls of chili and multiple helpings of cornbread the night before did not help the runners get a PR! OH well, it was fun!

Saturday Long Runs continue. We start at 6:30AM in front of the American Club. March 7th we had a group run 6 miles, another runner ran 8 and two more did 10. Please join us for any distance you like.

Swimming continues at the American School. Pool is open all week day mornings from 6-7AM. Masters swimmers are also there 9:30AM-11:30AM on Fridays.

Is anyone interested in running a St. Patrick's Day 5K or 10K? if interested, please email Robin at rmartz@umich.edu. We are EXTREMELY busy, but if there is enough interest, we will plan a race! Hope to hear from you soon!

Marathon Madness

Marathon Madness
By Jonathan Dunn

January 28, 2009

This past week took me to Laos to visit friends, followed by a drive to Khon Kaen, Thailand, where I ran my first marathon, and a quick trip to Bali via Singapore. It turned out to be a perfect way to experience my first marathon. The run itself was part of a busy week, which helped me not to focus too much on the crazy pursuit I was staring in the face in Khon Kaen.

I’ve concluded that Laos is a fantastic place to visit, even though I was there for only two days and did not leave the capital Vientiane, so missed much of what the country has to offer. The contrast with Dhaka could not be greater. Vientiane is a city of around half a million, dead quiet (what a joy) with no air pollution to speak of, full of sidewalk cafes with excellent food and shops selling Lao handicrafts, and host to the brewery producing the highly respectable Beer Lao, which is easy to enjoy when sitting at ‘The Deck’ on the north bank of the Mekong River. Aside from enjoying the city’s pleasures, I received royal treatment from my hosts Mathilde, Stefan, Christoph and Leonard. My first morning there, I emerged from my room to find the table spread with a breakfast of fresh mango, passion fruit and cantaloupe; smoked salmon and ham; fresh, warm baguettes and cinnamon rolls; and fresh coffee and juice. Life does not get much better.

I took advantage of my visit to Laos to pursue my textile hobby. Mathilde and Stefan found a number of workshops that are busily reviving the Lao silk industry and weaving culture, from the planting of mulberry trees and the harvesting of silk from cocoons right through the production and dyeing of silk yarns and weaving of traditional and modern textiles. Some weaving takes place in the workshops themselves, though the majority is farmed out to weavers at hundreds of looms in villages throughout northern Laos. I came away with something old and something new. The textile places I liked most were Mai Savanh Lao—run by a couple from Alsace focused on rebuilding the whole chain of Lao silk textile production—and Carol Cassidy’s Lao Textiles, where modern textiles are woven using Lao motifs.

After two relaxing days in Vientiane, on the second of which I did my last 2-mile training run, Stefan drove me to Khon Kaen. As we entered Khon Kaen from the north, we made our way to the Golden Jubilee Hall on the campus of Khon Kaen University (KKU), where I picked up my race pack. Stefan dropped me at my hotel downtown and began his journey north for a bit of Home Depot style shopping in Udon Thani before reaching home that evening. I spent the remainder of my pre-race day eating a large late lunch with Robin Martz (and her unbelievably cute daughter Caroline), also there from Dhaka to run the marathon, and then a more moderate dinner with Robin, Lauren Moriarty, and Lauren’s friends Ismail and Nadia Asmal, in from Bangkok and Hanoi, respectively. Lauren and Nadia were there to run the half marathon, and Ismail came along as the support crew.

Prior to getting on hotel shuttle to go to the start (3:30AM)

I managed to sleep about 4 hours and then rose to my usual routine of instant oatmeal and a banana before a long run. Robin and I met in the lobby at 0330 to catch the hotel shuttle to the start/finish line adjacent to the Golden Jubilee Hall at KKU. In the lobby we met up with a Malaysian who runs marathons without shoes! He told me later that he finished in 4h 5m, and I would say he has at least a decade on me.

I was ready for the race to start at 0430. That stage was exciting, perhaps because I did not know what lay ahead. A large number of Kenyan runners were milling about and warming up, one of whom completed the race in 2h 13m. I am not sure what one can say to put that time in perspective.

Robin and I started the race together and kept a decent early pace—at least I thought so as a first-time marathoner—up through mile 10, at which point Robin picked up her pace. At the course’s 21-kilometer sign, after running for about 2h 15m, I became grateful that I had come to my senses a week earlier and abandoned my fantasy of completing the marathon in 4 hours—if I had run at that pace up to the halfway point I doubt I could have finished the race. Carrying my own bottle of half-strength electric blue Gatorade, I could sip whenever I wanted rather than waiting for the water and hydration stands set up along the course, though I used them regularly after the halfway point.

Since I was feeling pretty good at mile 13, I picked up my pace. My GPS showed I ran at an average pace of about 9.5 minutes for the next five miles. School kids, bands, and neighborhood groups—out of bed before dawn to cheer on a bunch of runners they don’t even know—entertained us during this stretch with dancing and music. The support teams thinned out as we headed out of town. Perhaps my favorite was a group standing along a lonely stretch of highway, gongs and brass raising a racket while cows grazed just behind them in the early morning sun.

Things went smoothly up to around mile 18, when I started to wonder what I was doing on this cool, beautiful Sunday morning in northeast Thailand. Passing the 20-mile marker made this the longest run of my life. Unfortunately, I also knew I was about to head up a long, gradual hill to the northern gate of KKU after what had been a flat course up to then.

I can hardly describe miles 22 through 24. I kept going only by talking to myself (“Yes, we can”). My pace dropped off to something well over 10 minutes per mile as I dragged myself up a 2.5-mile uphill stretch. I have done some mountain climbing, and that stretch felt like climbing a steep snow slope with a 15-kilogram backpack at altitudes above 5,000 meters. Each step was a struggle as my run became a primarily mental exercise. As I crested the hill and entered the flat spot leading to the KKU Gate, I suddenly knew I would be able to finish.

The last 2+ miles of the Khon Kaen course wind downhill gently along a shaded road through the KKU campus. Large groups of students, with another band playing music with gusto, cheered us on along that stretch. In normal circumstances that tarmac would be a pleasant place to run, but I was not soaking in the beauty of the campus at that point. I was especially grateful to my Gatorade security blanket because I could not bear the thought of breaking my pace to drink from a water station.

When Stefan and I had driven into the KKU campus the day before, we happened to drive down the last 2 miles of the racecourse. As I rounded what I knew would be the last turn before seeing the gates around another corner, I saw Robin ahead and heard her cheering me on. I have rarely been happier to see anyone in my life. Just before I crossed the finish line I glanced up to see a time of 4:31:11 on the clock above the lane next to me. I went immediately to the timing chip return station to collect my medal, at which point I burst into tears. I doubt anyone can accurately describe the emotional rush after that first finish—it would be like putting words to the experience of driving through Dhaka. You have be there to believe it.

Post-marathon and back at the hotel (9:30AM)

After eating a large and healthful breakfast with Robin around 1030, I took a break in my room. Soon food beckoned from the shopping mall across the street, where I gorged on fried pork dumplings, a chocolate-filled waffle, and a Dairy Queen ice cream cone. ** I then had the best full-body massage of my life. After I enjoyed some blueberry cheesecake and a café latte, Robin and I joined up for the ride to the airport. We topped off the evening with delicious cheeseburgers, cold beer, and chocolate milkshakes at 2200 in the Novotel at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi airport.

Post-post marathon bliss

JR, I missed you very much at the marathon and wish you could have joined us. It’s a small consolation, but I did bring back some nice wine for us to share. You may have company for the Phuket marathon in June—at least along half the course and, most importantly, for cold beer afterward. Karen and Mathilde are thinking about training for the half marathon, and I can see doing that as well. Robin, you cannot imagine how grateful I am that you were in Khon Kaen—I would not have enjoyed the experience nearly as much without you and Caroline there. Nadia and Ismail, it was a pleasure to meet you in Thailand. Lauren, I look forward to seeing you soon in Dhaka and thank you for your support and for introducing us to your friends.

** Robin asked me later if I had my cone dipped in chocolate. I responded that I am of two minds about the dip. It tastes good, but it interferes with that indescribable combination of melting DQ vanilla ice cream mixing with a crunchy light cone, so no dip for me.