S1E5 -- 90% mental and 10% in your head with Juan Craveri

In this episode, I speak with Juan Craveri from Argentina.  He has completed thirteen 515 distance races, 61 Iron distance races and four 135 mile ultramarathons and is a 2-time Epic 5 finisher.  This year, COVID permitting, he will take on Uberman.

In the Ultraman Canada 2021 athlete profile section, I speak with a Japanese athlete--Eiko Hibino.  Eiko will be racing in her second 515 distance race at UMC.  A former drift car racer, and retired plastic surgeon, Eiko now spends her time travelling the world in pursuit of new ultra athletic endeavours. 

In Steve King Stories, Steve, gives a racing biography on 6-time Ultraman World Champion Alexandre Ribeiro.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Ultraman Canada
• Epic 5
• Uberman
• Badwater 135
• Arch to Arc Triathlon
• Ultraman World Championship
• Eiko's Beauty Products
• Vietnam Mountain Marathon
• Ironman Western Australia
• 515 Israel
• Trans Am Tri
• Ironman Canada

Shout outs and mentions in this episode:

• Kate Bevilaqua
• Giorgio Alessi 
• Jonas Colting
• Mike Le Roux
• Slater Fletcher
• Miro Kregar
• Jane Bockus
• Amber Monforte
• Hillary Biscay
• Ardis Bow
• Mike Coughlin
• Kevin Cutjar
• Alexandre Ribeiro

Show Contributors:
Host : Larry Ryan
Contributing Raconteur : Steve King
Announcer : Mary Jo Dionne
Production : 5Five Enterprises
Music  :  Run by 331

For show notes and past guests, please visit the Podcast Website: https://515theultrapodcast.buzzsprout.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/515TheUltraPodcast

 If you enjoy the podcast, would you please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts/iTunes or where you get your pods.   

 I would like to hear from you and who you think should be interviewed.

 Email : 515Ultraman@gmail.com

Transcript

Larry 0:00

Just before the theme music comes in today, I want to send out some thanks for listening. We reached over 200 downloads in our first 20 days and have listeners in over 20 countries. But that is just a start. Be sure to tell your friends about the show and remind them to subscribe like you did so they never miss an episode. Also, a quick update on our sponsor race, Ultraman Canada, which I co-race direct with Brad Sawa. We have opened applications right up to 2023, and due to pent-up frustration with COVID cancellations around the world, applications have been coming in quickly. Unlike other races, UMC does not have official entry windows for applications. We don't even have an application fee. Go to officialultramancanada.com for registration information and follow us on Facebook for up-to-date information on the 2021 race and the 2022-2023 registration. Now let's start the show.

Juan Craveri conversation (13 times @ 515 distance)

Larry 2:09

With a resume like that, I can only be speaking to one athlete in the world. Joining us from his home in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Juan Criveri. Hello, Juan.

SPEAKER_02 2:20

Hello, how are you? It's been a long time, huh?

Larry 2:22

It has, it has. It's nice to have you here on the podcast. Thank you for bringing me or giving me that time.

SPEAKER_02 2:29

My pleasure.

Larry 2:30

Yeah. Um, so I've mentioned all of these uh races that you've done, and you've also done 22 marathons. Uh what allows you to continue to race, uh, race after race after race? How come you just haven't gotten bored of this activity?

SPEAKER_02 2:52

Okay. No, I think it's a matter of balance. Okay. A lot of I have a big family, a lot of work. So it's a kind of balancing that uh stress life. So I can go really fast on uh on my work, family, a lot of work, a lot of time spending uh my my mind on that things. So I need the races or perhaps training to deal with that. Okay, so for me, totally it's uh 100% a matter of balance.

Larry 3:24

Yeah, and and obviously with as many races as you're doing in the distances that you're doing, the the balance comes from working really hard and spending that time with the family. So you're you're not just doing a little bit of time with the family and a little bit of time with work and a lot of racing. There is that balance in between to keep it nice and even. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 3:44

Unfortunately, the day has only 24 hours, yeah, 30-hour day at least. That's what all that we have. We we have to manage that.

Larry 3:53

Yeah, yeah. And and how often do you take family members with you on a on a trip to do one of your races?

SPEAKER_02 3:59

Well, it depends on their schedule. Okay, in uh in our country, South America, our school year goes from March to uh December. So it's difficult to find a spot, perhaps during the winter holidays, which are in July, or perhaps during the summer, okay, from uh December to February. Okay, so it depends on the on the on the races. It was impossible for me to take them to, for example, Ultraman Hawaii because it's in at the end of November, they are doing the final exams, so it's difficult. On the other side, uh, when I went to Iron Man Um uh Hawaii in October, it was one month previous to that, so they escaped from school for one week or 10 days. Um we managed to do that. Okay.

Larry 4:56

Yeah, yeah, it's uh winter for a majority of the of the world at that point, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 5:02

Exactly, exactly.

Larry 5:06

Of all of those races that you've done so far, uh, is there one that you could pick that means the most to you? Like maybe not necessarily for the result that you had, but just for the experience that you had at the race. Is there one that stands out for you?

SPEAKER_02 5:21

Yeah, I think by by far it's epic five. I did it twice. By the first time I did it, it was 2011. It was a mind-blowing experience. As you know, it's uh five iron months, five consecutive days in five different islands. So uh sleep deprivation is the key issue. Uh, you the last two days you sleep two hours, three hours. I'm not very good on the bike. So, as you know, this kind of sport, you need to be good on a bike. If you're slow, it takes a long time to finish. So that's my case. Uh so uh, besides the long distances, sleeping is the real issue. So you look you feel like a zombie uh the last two days, but it's uh mind-blowing, totally mind-blowing. It's amazing how far you can push your body and your mind. I remember the second time I did it, it was 2017, I think. Remember the the fifth Iron Man was in the big island. I remember going on the bike, falling asleep on the bike. That day I had only one hour of sleep coming from two, three, or four hours the previous days. So it was really, really dangerous. As soon as I realized I was falling asleep on the bike, the first time that that happened to me, uh I put myself on the side, waited, and I waited for for wait for the my crew because it was really really really dangerous. I was feeling that I was crossing to the the opposite side of the road, really, really dangerous. So it's uh it's dangerous on the side, but uh interesting on other sides. Yeah, it's pushing, it's it's pushing your mind and body to the extreme.

Larry 7:09

Yeah, and you're gonna be doing something that's gonna push your body past everything you've already done to this point as well, because I saw on your Facebook that you signed up to do Uberman. Can can you tell us a little bit about what are the components and distances and uh areas of the of the race that you'll be doing with Uberman?

SPEAKER_02 7:33

Yeah, I was talking about mind-blowing uh distances. Uh in this case, it's uh you have to cross or swimming the um from Santa Catalina Island to LA. It's it's around 30, yeah, yes, 34k. It's I think it's 22 miles. Then uh there's a lot of ship traffic in that one.

Larry 7:54

There's a lot of ship traffic in that area, is there not?

SPEAKER_02 7:57

Yeah, you you must be you must have a uh um small ship uh going with you and two kayakers. Okay. Uh it but it starts around 11 p.m. So the traffic will be at the very lowest. Okay, yeah, all right. Then uh we have to uh take the bike 400 uh miles, which is 600 something K, from LA to uh Badwater, the lowest uh point in the US, in the continental US, and then doing um which is Bad Water from Bad Water to Mount Whitney, from the lowest point of the US to the highest point. Yeah, uh so it's 135 miles, which is 217 K. So we'll we we'll see. We'll see. It's uh what um my main concern now is the the stream. I never done such distance. My longest stream was 10, 11k for the ultra man. Uh we'll see. We have plenty of time. Uh also we must wait to see what happens with the pandemia. If we will be allowed to allow to travel, uh well, we'll see. It's in October, so it's plenty of time. We have plenty of time. And if it is not this year, I'll do it next. So I have I'm not uh stressed about this.

Larry 9:20

Yeah, and and of course, you've you've done bad water twice already. So you you know that part of the of the course.

SPEAKER_02 9:27

Exactly, exactly. I've been there four times.

Larry 9:30

Oh, you've been there four times?

SPEAKER_02 9:32

Yeah, I did um two times, one with uh different uh course. If you remember, there was an issue um several years ago. Yeah, there was a new deputy, or I don't know what, uh, one political, a new political uh guy that wanted to make the first lines of the papers, and they they challenged the this race. So they did an alternative course, so I did that. Then I did the regular one, the usual one. I went there for a third time, but I had uh Planter Fisatis, which appeared one month before the race, so I went there anyway. Uh when I was 90k 90k from the finish line, I was done, so I had to DNF. And then I did it uh fourth time, but as a crew member, a crew for um for a for a friend. So I I knew the the cause fortunately. Yeah.

Larry 10:27

And what what do you think the the difference was for you doing it as a as a crew member versus as an athlete? Did you did you share in a different way with that uh experience?

SPEAKER_02 10:39

No, it's a it wasn't the first time for me crewing. I had crew uh before for Ultraman, so I like it. I like it. I think it's a way of giving back because as athletes we always depend on we need or we must have the crew. We cannot finish events without the crew, we are a team. So that's why I always try to finish the race, crossing the finish line with my crew, because it's it's a way of uh expressing thanks or to um saying we are a team. Yes, because I'm going to receive the medal, but we we all did it. So I I love and I like to be on the other side to um feel what the crew feels. Perhaps sometimes uh it's boring, sometimes they have to deal with uh not good humor of the athletes. Uh it's interesting, it's interesting.

Larry 11:32

Yeah, and and that's I think one of the the great things about the the ultra family is the circle does go around, everybody's giving to the other person. Yeah, exactly. And and that's how you and I met Johanna.

SPEAKER_06 11:45

Yeah, yeah.

Larry 11:46

And and that's how you and I met because in 2011 uh Lucy and I crewed for you at the Ultraman Canada. You've still to this day are probably the easiest athlete that I've ever crewed for at Ultraman.

SPEAKER_02 11:59

Everything was just like yeah, whatever, whatever.

Larry 12:03

It's always whatever. So yeah, I appreciate that in you.

SPEAKER_02 12:07

Um I think that that's the attitude for a long distance. Yeah, you have a lot of stress going that distance. So if you had uh bad attitude, you can't do it.

SPEAKER_06 12:19

Right.

SPEAKER_02 12:19

So I think that's let it go. Let it flow, let it flow, and you will finish.

Larry 12:24

Yeah. So with your Uberman, then do you have a crew picked out for that? Do you have some go-to people that you're hoping to count on to show up and help you out with that one?

SPEAKER_02 12:36

Not yet. Not yet. No, no, not yet, not yet. No, I I have decided to do this race perhaps two or three weeks ago. So uh I didn't have enough time to think about this. And as I said before, it will depend on the COVID and if we can travel so if they can take uh people from um my country, or if I will need people from from the states to make my my crew. Yeah, right.

Larry 13:04

So anybody out there who's listening that uh wants to help Juan, send them a message. Yeah, please. Okay. Um with uh a race like that, how long are you expecting to be um on the course, like total time, and would you be taking time to sleep so that you're not crashing your bike?

SPEAKER_02 13:24

I remember once, as I'm not good on the bike, once I tried to do uh furnace quick 508. Okay, uh I was with a guy, he had experience doing the race, um, and he told me that it will be good to sleep only 20 minutes from time to time. That that's good for the brain, blah blah blah blah blah. But my idea and how I know my body is to sleep from time to time or four hours. For example, doing 300k, take uh a nap of four hours, then uh resume and so on. Unfortunately, I followed his advice, so I didn't finish. So, in uh for algorithm, that's my idea. Once I finish the swim, perhaps take a nap, two or three hours to recover, then start the bike and uh fraction the bike. Okay, it's 600k, or perhaps do 200k, take uh three, four-hour nap, not only for me, but also for the crew, then resume and again and again. Okay, fortunately, it's not a matter of you you have a time limit. You can take as long as you want, right? But that's my idea. I recover really fast when I sleep, so it's really important for me. Okay, so that that's that's the the main idea. Of course, I will make some adjustments as soon as I go closer to the race.

Larry 14:51

Okay. Yeah. And I know that like people listen to this podcast, they're they're focused on doing Ultraman, probably, or they're Iron Man people. And one of the first questions we always get when people are signing up to do Ultraman is how do I plan my nutrition? Because they're used to doing Iron Man, where they can, you know, have a few gels and water and Gatorade or whatever and get through the day, and they don't know the difference of how to go for a three-day event and get their nutrition. So on an event like this, what's your nutrition plan gonna look like?

SPEAKER_02 15:31

Um, I don't know if I I am the best example talking about uh nutrition. I remember during uh Epic Five, uh once I sent my crew to McDonald's and they brought me tons of calories. So for some people that might be the worst thing to do. But when we are um burning calories as we do during these events, anything might help. So we have to eat what so uh it's really really personal. I think that every athlete has different needs and they must talk with the nutrition specialist and make a plan. Of course, it's not only with gels. For example, for me, during uh Ultraman, uh it's it's gels, it's ensure, which is that shake. Uh Turkey sandwich. Uh we we we that's the my main uh menu for the race, okay? And from time to time we can add uh cheeseburger or that that's good for the for the mind also. So, but I insist it's it's really really really personal. It's you must go and visit uh the nutrition specialist, and the he or she will help you with uh the plan, with your needs, special needs. We are all different, right? Yeah. As we do with a training plan, it's not uh my training plan, it's not exactly the same as for you. So the the same we need for nutrition, it's a personalized plan.

Larry 17:07

Yeah, it's good advice. Good advice. And and I think probably the other thing is is uh to try and uh train on your nutrition plan.

SPEAKER_02 17:16

Of course, of course. Nothing new during the race race day, of course. No, no, no. You have to try your nutrition during uh training to make your body adjust and adapt to that nutrition, of course. That's by far, yeah, totally agree.

Larry 17:32

Yeah, yeah. Um, so this sounds like a a pretty crazy event that you're gonna be doing. I'm sure most people listening will think that this is uh insane kind of distance, and there's always something else that's that's more insane and a greater distance. Are there any other races that you have on your radar, on your bucket list of things to do that you you want to complete before your athletic days are over?

SPEAKER_02 17:58

Yeah, yeah. So a friend of mine, uh Giorgio Alesi, uh from Italy, he did with his uh from arc to arc. It's from the Marvel Arc in London. You have to run from that Marvel Arc to Dover, then wait for the tides, and when the tides are good, you swim from Dover to Calais, and then from Calais you get your bike and go from Calais to Paris, and you finish at the arc of the Arc of Triumph. So that's it, uh looks looks funny at least, or different, or different.

Larry 18:37

Yeah, and that's just like a personal journey, it's not like done as uh an event or exactly, exactly.

SPEAKER_02 18:44

Yeah, it is but you need to get the the authorizations, you need to get the it's it's not easy, it's not that I want to do it next weekend and I go and that's done. No, you have to take uh ask for permissions and um uh first for the crossing. Swimming the channel is not uh an easy tax. You must be on the middle of the channel, going good, and out of an hour, the the tides change, right? And you are streaming on a treadmill. So you have to finish and you are done. So it's really it's not it's not uh uh an easy one.

Larry 19:22

Yeah, yeah. Um what what's you were talking earlier about your balance with your your family and your and your job? What what is the things that you do outside of triathlon training in order to help maintain that balance? What what do you have for hobbies? What do you have for um activities that you do?

SPEAKER_02 19:46

Besides uh family work and training.

Larry 19:49

Yeah, is there anything else that fits in your life other than those three things?

SPEAKER_02 19:52

Yeah, yeah, it's not not enough time, but uh I like to read. I unfortunately I don't have enough time to read as I would like to have. So I have uh changed to Audible. Audible is nice, so while training, you can put your pods and uh read uh fantastic books. Um and mostly that reading, reading and spending time with the family. But uh it's it's difficult. As I said before, you only have 24 hours, so besides sleeping uh six, seven, sometimes if you're lucky, eight hours, then uh training, commuting, working, it's oh yeah, it's not easy to have uh plenty of time. So mostly uh during holidays, I have enough time to to read as long as I want to have three, four, five books and uh make a balance of what I didn't read during the year. Yeah.

Larry 20:52

Is is there something that you're you're reading now that that you think is interesting that you might want to share?

SPEAKER_02 20:58

Uh no, I have finished uh I'm yeah, I'm reading, reading, reading, and reading, uh, air quotes, yes. Um from um thoughts of Marcus Aurelius, the Roman Emperor. Yeah, so it's it's interesting to have the uh that vision so many years ago. It's uh really interesting.

Larry 21:22

So you you you don't just delve into books about the sport, you're you're using sports. No, no, no.

SPEAKER_02 21:28

Go outside of the sport. Exactly. Yeah, yeah.

Larry 21:32

Excellent. Uh well, you know, um if I could just get one more one more tip out of you, because you're probably the most experienced person we've had on the podcast at this point. And I know people want tips, they want ideas of of what they can do to train. So if there was one thing that that helped you out, whether you learned it from a coach or learned it on your own or learned it by doing something wrong uh at a race, what what would you say is the one thing that could uh change a person's ability to finish an ultraman as they are training we we always found for find ourselves at the lowest point and we are more closer to quit than to go on and what we have to be we have we have to be patient wait wait wait wait and uh remember the um the movie gladiator when uh the the the most as they said hold hold hold that's what we have to do hold hold hold and time will go over and you will find that you are on the deepest point of yourself you want to quit you want to go home and if you wait if you hold you will realize that slowly but slowly you will start going up up and then you'll finish it's it's it's a matter of patience but always your body and your mind uh tries you to to quit to go to your to the car or get the chair or or whatever because it's easier so it's your mind remember this is part that we said is 90% mental and the other 10% is in your head. Okay so it's because we we are supposed to be trained for these races so uh the other is 100% mental so that's my best advice or what I have learned in my races this you have to hold of course if you have a a wound or it's better to wait and don't not to make things worse but it's just a thing of um of being tired both mentally or physically it's keep hold hold and and keep going right you will you you will bounce you will bounce and you will face your race excellent that's excellent advice I really like that yeah yeah well I I appreciate you dropping in on Zoom and and giving us this time to to hear some of your stories and hopefully people out there have now picked up a few more tips as well and we'll be following you on Uberman whether it's this year or next year we'll we'll be watching that and I I would love to have you back after the race in order to hear how that all unfolded for you.

Steve King 24:19

Okay okay if I'm alive yes not in a black bug okay great

Steve King Stories

Steve King 24:36

amazingly over the years we've seen two athletes that have won the world ultraman title on six different occasions so I'm going to introduce you first to the gentleman who did that he had been here just before getting his first win in 2003 but he came back and won the event again in 2005 2008 2009 2011 and his final win was in 2012 at the age of 47 in 2007 he was actually in uh second position to the great Swede Jonas Colting and in 2010 he was fourth place behind the Australian Mike Larue Jonas Colting and the US's Slater Fletcher but some interesting things had happened as well because when you look at the battles he used to have with the great Miro Krieger of Slovenia uh you may have heard uh Jane Barkas in her talk uh on this podcast talk about the Brazilian who often ran uh with Miro and the two of them would run together usually to um even beyond the 40 mile point and take off at such an amazing pace one time they were inside 39 minutes for the first 10k it was just amazing to watch but in 2012 he bested Miro and that was the year that Abba um Montfort was uh in third place the the woman who owns the record for the course uh on Hawaii and uh in 2013 Miro who was in his 50s then won the event overall beating out Alex and third place uh was Hilary Biscay of the US and so don't forget we've had three women therefore have been third overall at the World Ultraman Championships I mentioned Amber Montfort Hilary Biscay but the earliest winner in 83 and again in 85 was artist po now it also when you look at 2011 when this man had a victory he bested the Canadian Michael Coughlin and Miro Krieger and as I mentioned Miro came back and took that victory in 2012 and in 2015 Mike Coughlin actually ended up uh winning the world title but in 2010 what was interesting uh was the fact that uh Kevin Kartjar of Australia who lives in Penticton won the world title in 1995 but in 2010 he won Ultraman Canada ahead of Mike LaRue who went on to win the world title that year and Mike Coglin was third that year and went to the Big Island and won the race in 2015. Now you may notice the shirt I'm wearing here one of the things about this gentleman is every year he would bring over shirts for a lot of members of the organizing committee and I was always always very proud to be a recipient of one of these and we're very proud of this gentleman because one of the other things he did over the years was get involved in the sport in terms of helping organize and he's one of the organizers uh for the UB515 an ultraman distance race in his home country of Brazil and the man I'm referring to of course Alexander Ribeiro thanks Steve we have another Athlete turned 515 race director coming up in the next episode be sure to tune in and listen to my conversation with Van Sanchez of Mexico.

Larry 28:05

And speaking of the world championships the invitations and welcome packages are being sent out in the next few days. Watch your inbox if you've applied a few spots are also held for the Ultraman Canada finishers in July. So if you are one of our UMC racers this year you could be attending the World Championship in November. And stay tuned after the Ultraman Canada athlete profile for a cruise story from UMC alum and Hawaii finisher Will Rogers and now my conversation with Aiko Haibino who hopes to finish Canada this July and apply for one of those coveted spots in Hawaii in November today's

2021 UMC Athlete Profile : Eiko Hibino

Larry 28:55

Ultraman Canada Athlete preview is with a woman who loves to travel and race. She has participated in ultra marathons in New Zealand Vietnam and Japan she's a finisher at the 515 race in Israel and she shares time living between Dubai and Tokyo where I've caught up with her today. Welcome to the podcast Eiko Haibino Thank you it's really good to see you already I'm doing well thank you very much it's uh it's great to have you here you're our second Japanese athlete to be on the podcast yes I already saw the Makotos yeah yeah that that that one has been a hit people have enjoyed uh listening to Makato and and his answers yeah he's really doubly possible yeah do you know him personally yeah of course yeah yeah we usually swim together on m every Monday yeah he he's a pretty good swimmer and and and do you keep up with him in the pool then or yeah will will will you two will you two be racing at Ultraman Canada as you do the swim will you be near one another hope so because he he's much hotter than I all right well um before we get into your athletic career you have a pretty interesting background outside of your ultra racing you've also done another kind of racing which is drift car racing yes uh I I'm a practical practical surgeon and when I was a medical student I I have been doing uh drifting racing and and and how does one get started in that what what how how did you get involved in that uh actually my father was working for the uh for one of the best Japanese company um maybe you know Toyota yeah uh he's a director of the Toyota and uh uh when I was young when when I was a child he already took me the circuit to see the Formula One races so from my third I really like uh driving cars seeing the car racing and when I entered the university he he bought me one car and then I found it's dear fun dearly fun so I want to do something with my car and I decided to do drifting. Nice so now did you do that on a track or are you doing this like illegally out in the roads like we see in the movies or what what are you doing? To be honest uh yeah I sometimes deserve eating a fuck over yeah yeah long long time ago yeah long time I was young yeah yeah and so when you're when you're doing that um I'm assuming there's a great adrenaline rush involved in in doing that kind of racing and things like that have you have you ever been scared of your own performance of holding the car or or anything like that yeah of course uh I crashed a lot a lot okay a lot but uh I I've never broken my my body never well that that's a good thing yeah it's it's really lucky yeah so so tell me tell me tell me about these crashes then like was there anything like really terrible or do you know uh have you ever seen drifting? Yes well I've only seen it I've seen it in the movies and like a documentary on TV or something.

SPEAKER_04 32:40

Ah okay I see so when I was doing the drifting how can you say English like uh I was doing the the the the drift the actual drift part the the the sliding of the war and I I strick to the wall and crashed oh yeah so would would that be like side onto the wall then as you're drifting into it or did you like lose control and go head on into a wall? I lose control totally and um speed was like 100k.

Larry 33:15

Oh yeah and and so you said you've crashed multiple times does that mean that you've rebuilt your car each time or you just get a new car?

SPEAKER_04 33:25

Rebuild.

Larry 33:26

Rebuild.

SPEAKER_04 33:27

Yeah because uh uh I was just a student I don't have enough money so I usually uh rebuild my car by myself oh you're also the mechanic yeah and not not a professional but that's because I don't have enough money so I have I have to do it by myself I learn by myself and I try the build sometimes ask my friend my professional friend yeah and I already again I don't know how how man how many times I did it but I think more than 10 times and and and what color was your car?

Larry 34:03

Was it all tricked out with lights and all that stuff or was it inconspicuous and just a regular looking car?

SPEAKER_04 34:15

Sure oh yeah so that's like a like a metallic purple yes actually I cut out it by myself as well you did the paint job yeah because I don't have money at the time wow you just did everything that's amazing I just want to try by myself and if I cannot maybe I would ask I would ask someone and are there a lot of women involved in drift racing?

Larry 34:48

Not really when I did it maybe less than 10 people I think and uh uh I'm our only student you were the only student everybody else had a little bit of money in the bank and was able to afford uh to do it as a hobby after one year of racing I got some sponsors to have my career. Oh that's good yeah and uh I had been drifting for six six years before going to internship yeah as a medical doctor yeah yeah well let's let's move on to that part then let's uh let's find out about your your occupation you you list your occupation as a as a plastic surgeon um but I'm I'm a little bit skeptical of how much you work because after following your Facebook it seems like you're always on the road you're always doing a race somewhere in the world so are you still a practicing plastic surgeon? No I already okay so um after finishing uh internship as a medical doctor I already started my my business as an owner of uh cosmetic surgery clinics okay and uh when I moved to Dubai I started another business I started selling uh cars because I I I had a I really had a good connection of uh writing teams so I started trading cars from Europe to Dubai and Japan sorry did you say you're importing cars yeah import and export yeah okay between Europe Dubai um Japan but sometimes China okay so this was this was kind of a little uh entrepreneurial side hustle that you set up to yeah right like that yeah and also uh I started uh another business as a a supplement I I'm suggest hearing a program um like uh beauty beauty serums beauty serum is that beauty serums for cosmetics okay yeah yeah and it works very well so at this moment I don't need to work so hard so you you you've you've had a number of uh jobs already yeah yes and I have my staff so now I can I can focus and I I really want to focus on my schools now yeah that's nice that you have that comfort to be able to do that yes I'm really happy to do so and and do you have multiple um plastic surgery clinics that you own now uh yeah and where where are they uh in Nagoya have we ever Nagoya yeah have you ever been to Japan I have not been to Japan no I was I was thinking about coming last year to go to the Olympics I went to the Olympics in 2016 and I was thinking about coming again and then um it it overlapped too close with our Ultraman race so I wasn't going to be able to do it and then of course COVID so yeah everything goes out the window yeah I I have my critics in Nagoya uh where our wit is in the middle part of middle part of Japan uh like it took uh it takes two hours from Tokyo two hours by train by train yeah express and you also spend some of your time living in Dubai yeah or is that your kind of your permanent residence now or how do you split your time between Dubai and Tokyo uh I usually stay in Dubai in the winter because in summertime Dubai is too hot like it it it was like 50 degrees I don't want to stay there in summer so summertime I prefer to stay in Europe or Japan.

SPEAKER_04 38:56

In winter in Dubai it's perfect.

Larry 38:58

Now when you're in Dubai like you were saying it it can be very hot in the summer and you're not going to go there but is there a place to work on your cycle training while you're in Dubai it seems like it's very flat is there mountains or hills nearby that you can get to uh we don't have uh mountains in Dubai but uh um there's a good good uh mountains in the Rasar Kaima it's another uh region uh another part of uh UAE okay yeah and it takes uh two hours from Dubai okay so you have to drive for a little bit to get to a good cycle training area yes but we also have a good cycle track in Dubai a lot on on the track on on the track but uh like 80 kilometers or something oh okay that's that's pretty good and when you're when you're in Dubai um what what are you what are you doing at that point are you running your export or import business still at that point or are you just hanging out just just trading just trading everywhere okay well let's try and piece together these these different phases then you were training to be a medical doctor you're drift racing and when you leave the drift racing you you find your way to triathlon where where's the piece in between how do you find your way to triathlon out of drift racing um I stopped the drift racing because uh I I was getting busy because of uh uh internship as a medical doctor so after finishing our internship actually I wanted to get back to the drift racing and so uh when I finished that I just noticed more like a money game even we are parented if we we don't have enough sponsors we cannot win because of because under uh uh races with good sponsors we can get uh expensive engines they get the best cars yeah yeah yeah that's true so I thought uh it it's not pure right do you understand what I mean yeah yeah it's not it's not it's not the best driver winning it's the best car winning yeah that's right so for me uh it's no more challenge so I wanted something something new to try myself and that's why I studied sports right yeah even if I get uh expensive bike it's all about my efforts and my heart um my training it's still you that's running the bike yeah yes yeah let's uh let's do our transition and get over to your athletic side then since we you kind of brought that up now that we're we're talking a little bit more about your transition into athletics we uh if you've listened to the podcast with Mikado you know that I do a thing called two minutes in transition where I'm going to give you like just some rapid fire questions and you just give me some quick snappy answers you don't need to go into detail on these ones and then on the other side of that we will we'll get into your athletics okay you ready how many bikes do you own do you have a favorite some people have a favorite um what what is you're a big traveler so what is one place that you have not visited yet that you still want to travel to raw I don't where's that um Yemen Yemen yes oh okay what is your go-to meal or treat after you finish a race ice cream ice cream any particular flavor chocolate chocolate and i i know that you just you said that you also like to cook so what do you cook when you want to impress someone what's your what's your meal to impress ice oh yeah I'm getting already now it's not here um who is your favorite athlete again again what what is it with you Japanese people Oh, you got the book. Okay, well that that was my next question is what's the last book you read?

SPEAKER_04 44:09

Uh it's well.

Larry 44:12

Finding Ultra? Yeah, nice. Alright, last question. A little bit strange, but you're an ultra marathoner. Have you ever posted a photo of your feet on Facebook after a race?

SPEAKER_04 44:23

Yes.

Larry 44:24

Yes, okay. More than once?

SPEAKER_04 44:28

More than ten times.

Larry 44:29

More than ten times. You've done a number of ultra marathons. Um I saw in your resume that you had uh Terrawera Ultra Marathon in New Zealand, Vietnam Mountain Marathon, Yakushima Ultra, Kyoto Grand Traverse, uh, Izu Trail Journey. Are there which of these? I mean, they all sound like some beautiful places and and challenging races, I'm sure. Which of these would you recommend for other people to try, either for the course or just for the destination itself? Which which ones did you really enjoy going to?

SPEAKER_04 45:11

Vietnam.

Larry 45:12

Vietnam?

SPEAKER_04 45:14

Vietnam, 100%.

Larry 45:17

Tell me more about the Vietnam race and what was that one like and why is that the quickest one to come to your head?

SPEAKER_04 45:23

I wanted the race for my friend, and uh it's pretty far from the airport. Um from Japan to Vietnam, it took only five hours. But after arriving airport, I had to ride a bus more than six hours to interest me. But even though I can say it was busy, uh the area is called the Sappa. It's closer to China, and there is some minority ethnic minority people there and very small small yes. And the view was so beautiful, and food food was great, and people are so nice, and the race is very tight.

Larry 46:21

Yeah, tell so tell me about the race. What kind of elevations were you climbing through the mountains and stuff?

SPEAKER_04 46:27

Yeah, I joined 42k. But erbation game was I think four thousand meters.

Larry 46:35

Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_04 46:37

So it means uh there is also a down here. So a broken metric 20k with 4,000 irvation gain.

Larry 46:50

It's pretty much and and you you were saying that some of the views were nice. Is it is is a lot of the course with view or are you in trees for a lot of it? Like how how's the course run?

SPEAKER_04 47:02

70% of the course we have views from the mountain. It was so beautiful, even it was heavy rain.

Larry 47:12

Oh like a tropical rain?

SPEAKER_04 47:16

Not tropical rain, consistently raining all day. Um it was completely sunny day. And he sent me some picture, and it was so beautiful. I really wish to get back there.

Larry 47:38

Yeah. So you think that's a race you'll do again to try and see it in its real beauty?

SPEAKER_04 47:45

I I did only 242k, but next next time I I want to try 100 miles. And uh 100 miles uh rusty, uh I think only two 20 was 30% completed the 100 miles. Because rest cost was very tough.

Larry 48:02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 48:02

But I wanna show it.

Larry 48:04

And and and in the rain then was it all muddy as well, or was the trail pretty good?

SPEAKER_04 48:08

Muddy it's muddy.

Larry 48:10

Muddy, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 48:11

Yeah. Some people roast their roster their shoes because of muddy.

Larry 48:17

Oh.

SPEAKER_04 48:18

And then they decided the and air.

Larry 48:21

Yeah. It's tough to run without your shoes.

SPEAKER_04 48:24

Yes, it's pretty tough to raise, but enjoyable.

Larry 48:28

So there's one for the people listening to to go check out. Um, I I saw that you did one of your Iron Man races in Busselton.

SPEAKER_04 48:36

Yes, my first Iron Race.

Larry 48:38

Your first Iron Man, okay. Well, I I lived in Perth for a year. I was on a teacher exchange. That's my my day job, is I'm a high school teacher. And I was on exchange uh coincidentally, because I didn't know her at the time, with uh pro triathlete and ultraman world champion Kate Bevelacwa. She's from Perth. So I I thought Western Australia was a beautiful place and a great place to live. Um, what was your impression of Western Australia?

SPEAKER_04 49:07

I've heard it up there. Yeah, it was my my first time uh to visit the Western Australia in my life, and uh it's more beautiful than I expected. Yeah, they they have the the nice white sand beaches and yes, yes, and uh well when we swam for some some in the race, I can find some turtles.

Larry 49:35

Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_04 49:40

Oh, are they uh I almost forgot it's a base.

Larry 49:43

Yeah, I was gonna say you didn't stop to like look and touch them and stuff, did you? You stayed in your race.

SPEAKER_04 49:48

Yeah. It was so beautiful. And the race course is also beautiful, and um they proud at a fast course.

Larry 49:57

I and looking at the other things that you've done, I I know that most triathletes, for most triathletes, swimming is usually either their best thing or it's the thing that they really struggle with. And I saw that you did an ultra swim in Thailand. Was that because you enjoy swimming and you want to do ultra swim, or is it because it's something you're working on?

SPEAKER_04 50:18

I didn't have swimming, that's it. I went to there with Makoto.

Larry 50:23

Oh, with Makoto, okay.

SPEAKER_04 50:24

Yeah, yeah.

Larry 50:25

So tell me a little bit about the ultra swim. What's that event like?

SPEAKER_04 50:29

Uh it's called Oshanma. It's like uh I am on race. Like I am on race, but only for swim.

SPEAKER_06 50:39

Right.

SPEAKER_04 50:40

They also have a world championship. And everywhere they change a place for world championship.

Larry 50:47

Okay, so it rotates each year.

SPEAKER_04 50:50

Yeah.

Larry 50:50

Yeah, and it's part of a race series, the one that you did.

SPEAKER_04 50:53

Yeah, yeah.

Larry 50:54

It's Ocean Man, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 50:55

Yeah.

Larry 50:56

Have you done any of the other Ocean Man events?

SPEAKER_04 50:59

Uh not yet. Actually, I I already started uh Ultra Ocean Italy last year, but it's cancelled.

Larry 51:09

Okay.

SPEAKER_04 51:10

Yeah, but this year I hope we I can do it on the race.

Larry 51:14

And since you were accepted to Ultraman Canada, you were also able to get into another 515 race and you completed that before COVID hit. You did the 515 race in Israel. Um now for the listeners, the the Israel race calls itself Ultraman Israel, but it's not an official Ultraman family race.

SPEAKER_06 51:37

Um I know that.

Larry 51:39

Yeah, so I just I just want to clarify this for some of the listeners because sometimes they get confused when they see Ultraman and they think they're doing a qualifying race, and then they apply to Ultraman World Championship in Hawaii and they they're they're not accepted. Um so Australia, Poland, India all use the Ultraman in their title, but they are not qualifiers. The the qualifiers are our race, Canada, Arizona, and Florida. Um so I just wanted to mention that for the people that might be listening so that they're not confused. But with that out of the way, tell tell me about your race in Israel. How was how was that race? How was the course? How were the people? Tell me about that race.

SPEAKER_04 52:20

Uh I did I decided to do the Ultra Israel. I just uh tried to find some 55 bases in the world, but it's and also Israel is uh one of my dream destinations, so it was very nice to be there. And uh I I just uh write uh Ultra Israel Facebook page and uh race overnight and try to catch me.

Larry 52:52

Oh the the race director was pursuing you to come to the race?

SPEAKER_04 52:55

Yeah, yeah, yeah. And uh that pushed me a lot. It was a lot of my friends because uh I didn't have any sports background. Uh to I started uh I started sport just two and a half years ago. And my past ultrama is only one and a half years after I started just ready.

Larry 53:23

Yeah, that's pretty quick.

SPEAKER_04 53:25

So it was not my problem, but they pushed me a lot. So okay, and then I say okay, I will go. Um I don't have any friends in Israel and the uh from my from Japanese TV. I I have some some trial roads in Israel, Israel and the Middle East. So I I was a bit upright to be seen there. Okay and and uh I thought everything everything I thought in my mind to the press director, and they you know we had a lot of chat chat video meetings and uh try to uh uh relieve my mind.

Larry 54:14

Right. They try to convince you.

SPEAKER_04 54:16

Yeah, yeah. And they're very nice people.

Larry 54:20

That's good to hear, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 54:23

And also I I didn't find uh any of my my my supporters, no, what can I say?

SPEAKER_06 54:30

Crew?

SPEAKER_04 54:31

Yeah, yes, I couldn't find my crews and I asked some of Japan friends, but uh they also are to visit their visit Israel.

Larry 54:39

Okay.

SPEAKER_04 54:41

And then I asked the rest director and they introduced me uh my crews.

Larry 54:47

They they gathered some crew for you from local people, yeah, from their side.

SPEAKER_04 54:52

A rest cross is very beautiful. Uh we started a race in from uh from the lake called Gary Gary Sea, I think it uh it was uh it's it was said that uh Jesus Christ was on the rake. Yeah, we started swimming with that lake and then biking from the north part to the uh uh on the Red Sea. So it was not a travel, but I could see the I could enjoy the all most of all parts of Israel.

Larry 55:33

And and you were saying that you were you were a little bit concerned about going to Israel, but the the race director assured you that you know it was safe for you to come and things like that. Um once you got there, did you feel it was safe and you were you were okay, or or did you feel any times where you you didn't feel safe?

SPEAKER_04 55:53

It's completely safe.

Larry 55:54

Completely safe, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 55:55

Yeah, yes. I can say yes.

Larry 55:58

Good, good.

SPEAKER_04 55:59

My crews are very nice. Yeah, I couldn't have done it without without my crews. I really appreciate them. Yeah, they're they're all like a my new family. That's ultrahama.

Larry 56:12

That's ultra man. Yes, the Ohana, yes, that's exactly what it is. You you go to these races and you come back with new family members.

SPEAKER_04 56:19

Yeah.

Larry 56:20

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 56:21

Well, yeah, I enjoy a rock.

Larry 56:24

And do you do you think that now that you've done a race of that distance, is there things that you learned at that race that you will use to when you come to Canada? Like what what are some of the things that you learned about your own racing that you can apply to racing the same distance in Canada?

SPEAKER_04 56:43

Well, nothing not as uh nothing special, but uh I think I I should go more long long ride and long run.

Larry 56:52

More long on your training, you need to do more long rides and long runs?

SPEAKER_06 56:56

Yeah, yeah.

Larry 56:59

Were you were you ever um at risk of m missing a cutoff when you were in the Israel race? The 12 hour cutoff?

SPEAKER_04 57:08

No. I I always did make it uh around 11 hours 30 minutes every day.

Larry 57:15

And then do you do you have uh expectations of what you want to do in Canada as far as times, or you just want to finish?

SPEAKER_04 57:21

Next time I want to finish sub-30.

Larry 57:25

Sub-30, okay.

SPEAKER_04 57:26

Yeah, but and uh I have been training very hard these days, so I'm pretty sure I can make it.

Larry 57:34

Well, there's nothing else to do, right? Except for train.

SPEAKER_04 57:38

That's right. And after my prior, after Ultraman calendar, of course I wanted to write the Urama World Championship.

Larry 57:48

Okay, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 57:49

And after six months of Urma World Championship, I wanna I wanna join Transom. Yeah, it means Trans America, 2022.

Larry 58:02

So you have a lot you have a lot of things on the horizon then.

SPEAKER_04 58:05

Yes, because I want to try. I want to challenge by myself. So uh about transform I have to swim 50k and 5,000 kilometers of biking and 500 kilometers of running in dead body.

Larry 58:23

Oh yeah. Yeah, that's the the the bad water race.

SPEAKER_04 58:28

Yes, bad water course. Yeah.

Larry 58:30

When you come to Canada, you you are also planning to stay for Iron Man in Canada.

SPEAKER_06 58:36

Yes.

Larry 58:38

Um, and tell me tell me a little bit about um your your plan for the Iron Man race. Then is that just again, do you have another time goal in mind now that you've done a couple of Ironmans, or are you just trying to tack on an extra race because you're traveling to Canada?

SPEAKER_04 58:54

Just want to visit Canada. And uh I'm I'm not seeking for world championship for I am Iron Man. So just want to be there and enjoy traveling and enjoy dancing and that's it.

unknown 59:09

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 59:10

It's after Ultraman Canada.

Larry 59:13

Yeah, yeah, it's a couple weeks after, so yeah, I'll be very tired.

SPEAKER_04 59:17

I don't want to push myself just No, no, you won't be tired.

Larry 59:20

You'll be in peak performance.

SPEAKER_04 59:22

Peak performance?

Larry 59:23

Peak performance, yeah, because you'll have enough time to recover from the Ultraman and then it'll just be an awesome race for you.

SPEAKER_04 59:29

Let's see. I'm not sure about that.

Larry 59:33

You spend a couple days going to the wineries and Penticton to relax. It'll all be good. I I really appreciate the the time that we've had to to discuss your your racing career and your your fascinating um background when you're drift car racing and plastic surgeon and all the jobs that you've had. Uh, for such a young lady, you've you've certainly filled your life so far, and I can see you have great aspirations in your athletic career to come. So I look forward to meeting you in person when you come to Penn TikTokin. Hopefully it's this year. So thank you very much for for coming on the show, and uh, we we look forward to meeting you in Canada.

SPEAKER_04 1:00:11

Thank you so much. Looking forward to seeing you all in Canada. Very soon.

Larry 1:00:19

Today we are going to end the episode with our next cruise story. If you want to be on the podcast by sharing

Crew Story : Will Rogers about athlete Andres Villagran

Larry 1:00:25

a cruise story, just email me at 515ultraman at gmail.com. Here's Canadian Will Rogers.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:44

I've crewed for Alan McPherson, Armando Amanili, Stacey Shann, Lucy Ryan, Melissa Ure, um, a host of others from around the world, mostly North America. Uh but you know, my favorite guy uh for just things going haywire is basically Andreas Villigant out of Ecuador. Uh he came up here to do uh uh Ultraman Florida. That was the second year they had it. A lot of things went wrong that could have gone wrong that were unexpected. Uh we got him through though. The weather turned uh very cold. It was one degree Celsius the morning of the swim, which uh, you know, uh they delayed the swim by two hours from seven till nine, which was okay. You know, I mean it was nice and light when we started, and people were able to get up, you know, sleep in a little bit more. The trouble is that pushed that into the darkness, and once the sun goes down in Florida, it is pitch black, very much like in a Hawaii. So we got him through the swim. He was a little over the six hours, but he was told if he made that up on the bike, that would be great. The big thing about the swim was that was my first time ever kayaking for any uh athlete, and uh trust me, I had to pee for three hours and twenty minutes out there. Other things uh for that from that race, it was so bitterly cold that morning. Uh and uh people, a couple of people went in the lake, uh, flipped their kayaks, uh, and they weren't wearing proper gear. Um they were very cold, of course. Uh, but everybody got through it. As the day went on, the uh the the dark set in, uh and we were people were cycling on the highway in pitch black. Um we made a turn down uh down a long stretch, about 25 miles, you know, 40k to the finish line of the day. And uh Andres tells me that he's lost his cell phone and it's his business phone. So we had to go back and look for it. I actually found it in the middle of the highway, wrapped in a glove, and I could see the light in the darkness when we were phoning it. Andres uh is a good cyclist, it was bitterly cold again the next morning, and as the day went on, as it does in Florida, if it's cold for one or two days, that's that's what happens. You know, we wrapped him up in everything possible. The uh we were you know, we were buying extra clothes for him for the morning starts, and then as the day went on, he starts stripping clothes off, of course, and got down to regular ordinary cycling gear and finished day two quite strongly. And then, of course, you know, the guy goes out and does an eight-hour and five-minute double marathon and his glasses broke, his running glasses, his favorite glasses. We didn't really have a spare set for him, so we were trying to Mickey Mouse his broken ones together. So that was my uh that's my uh story for uh crewing from that race. It was an adventure. I'll never forget it.