Andrew Stevenson
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Tell us a little about yourself. Who are you?开云 Where are you from? What do you do?
-17
Im half Japanese and half Scottish,开云入口 born in Hong Kong,开云APP school in the UK and Australia and have been living in Beijing for nearly 17 years! To be honest I have no idea where Im from and dont really feel like I have a nationality. I have spent most of my life in China so maybe I should just say Im Chinese!
DJ Obentos
I have done quite a few things in my life, I have been a music DJ, I have worked in a bank, been a consultant, and now Im an entrepreneur in the restaurant business with a concept called Obentos. I have always wanted to do my own business, ever since I was young, and I guess that is also because my dad is an entrepreneur and I think I have always wanted, like him, to build something from the bottom up and to really have ownership of a brand and a business.
Obentos
Obentos is definitely a part of me and is very close to my heart and my passion in life. Ever since I was young I have been involved in sports and health & nutrition have come hand in hand with that. I started Obentos because I wanted to build a brand focused on offering high quality healthy, natural and balanced food. I have found that there is a real lack of good quality healthy food here and an even bigger gap in peoples understanding of healthy & nutrition, and my mission now is to try and change all of that.
How did you get into Triathlon?
I got in tri about 5 years ago, its something I did a little of as a kid when I used to train in swimming but 5 years ago was when I really got into it. I bought a road bike and started going out for rides around Beijing in the mountains with a cycling group and absolutely loved it. There is incredible riding in Beijing and its the perfect place to train for cycling. A few people in the group did triathlons and it just felt like the next step. I signed up the first Beijing International Triathlon and that was it, I got bit by the bug as they say and have been seriously into tri and training ever since.
What makes Triathlon so special?
I think its hard for anyone that does tri to really be able to explain what it is about the sport that is so addictive. Its funny there are races when I have been absolutely dying and in my mind I think, why the hell do I do this to myself? This is the last time for sure! But then when the race is over you forget all about that and you start thinking about the next race straight away and what you need to do or buy to be faster. Triathletes have very short memories and all we care about is the next race and buying better equipment!
I think anyone that does tri will also tell you its all about the atmosphere that all the athletes, volunteers, spectators and organizers create at each race. It really is so special and you get touched by it at every single race no matter the size, no matter the place. As triathletes were all competitive and want to do well but at the same time everyone out on the road is encouraging each other and I think this element really makes tri quite special and unique.
What sort of training are you doing right now?
10-12
Right now all the training I do has the ultimate goal of going faster in my next race. From my running, swimming, biking and even the yoga I do, its all about wanting to go and get faster for longer. I have a pretty intense job running my business so for me its not really about quantity in training but quality. I would say I currently pull about 10 C 12 hours a week in training, I wish I could do more but my priority right now is my business and getting that up and running.
70.3 70.3
Training for Half and Olympic Triathlons are obviously less time intensive and I think it is a good goal for any athlete looking to compete in these distances.
Who are your favorites Triathletes?
Craig Alexander Jan Frodeno Brownlee Javier Gomez
I watch replays of the Kona Ironman on my laptop when I train on the bike trainer at home and am very familiar with all the main long distance athletes. Craig Alexander is an athlete I respect greatly and have think he was definitely the strongest and most consistent a few years ago. Now its pretty hard to see anyone getting the better of Jan Frodeno and he is definitely setting the standard every year now, but it will be really interesting once the ITU guys like the Brownlee brothers and Javier Gomez come into the mix and start competing at Kona. Konas still the main tri event of the year and definitely the title everyone looks out for each year. Hopefully Ill get the chance to compete there in the next few years.
Craig Alexander |
What is the most nervous point during the race?
The most nervous is always right before the start. My strongest leg is the swim so I dont really worry about the swim leg at all but its really just the waiting around before the start that gets the nerves going. But as I get more experience and if I have done the right amount of preparation and get a good sleep before the race I dont get too nervous anymore.
IRONMAN
Tell us about you and Ironman?
IRONMAN IRONMAN 70.3 11 IRONMAN
My first Ironman wasnt until last year at the Hefei 70.3, and then I did the Xiamen 70.3 in November. Up until then I had mainly done other Olympic distance races and some other mid distance ones. Due to my work I have always found it really tough to travel overseas to do a race so when Wanda took over Ironman and had plans for races in China I was really excited and of course now I plan to do many more Ironman races here.
IRONMAN 70.3 42322
My favourite race and best result were both in the recent race in Liuzhou. The people and town of Liuzhou was really great and the scenery during the race was beautiful and you cant really ask for more when traveling to go race. I really did love it and will definitely be back next year 100%. I managed to get 4:23 and 8th in my age group in Liuzhou which is okay, but the swim leg was much fast than usual due to the current in the river and my swim leg was 22 minutes which is way too fast for a 1.9 swim! So the time is a little inaccurate, and anyway it is always hard to compare race times as each course is different.
53 IRONMAN
For the rest of the season I should have another 5 or so races with three of those being Ironman ones. I have already signed up for Qujing in Yunnan which I cannot wait for, I definitely want to go back to Xiamen and I will see if I can do Chongqing as well. I always want to go to interesting and beautiful places to race and Yunan, Chongqing and Xiamen sound like the perfect places for me! I cant wait!
Obentos
Tell us about your restaurant Obentos.
Obentos Obentos
As mentioned above, obentos is a Japanese inspired health concept focusing on a Healthy, Natural & Balanced lifestyle. The brand is really just an extension of who I am and everything that I represent. Of course I love to lead a healthy active lifestyle and food and nutrition is an important element of that. I studied Sports Science, Physiology and Nutrition in University in Sydney and it is something I am still very much passionate about, and obentos provides me with a great platform to push healthy eating in China.
Obesity is now becoming more of more of a health issue. One of my goals now is to do my part in educating our customer base and beyond on the basics of nutrition so people can make smart choices and lead a better healthier lifestyle as a result for themselves and their families.
Obentos IRONMAN Obentos
We did sponsor triathlon for a few years. This is something I think we can look at again in the future as all triathletes want to have healthy food options leading up to a race and immediately after one.
Can you give our readers a few training tips?
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> Training is not necessarily about quantity but more about quality
If you have a busy work schedule, then you will definitely need to make sure all the time you put to training is efficient and effective. I dont have a training plan and just train to feel, but each time I train I make sure I am hitting the right times, heart rate or power. Of course we need to get distance in our legs as well but I think training at a high intensity is so much more effective than sitting on the bike for hours on end.
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> Having data for when you train will help you improve so much quicker
GPS
Having a power meter on your bike or bike trainer, having a heart monitor and having a run GPS tracker can help you improve so much quicker. Youll have the numbers to make sure you are training in the right zones and you can push your numbers up as you build up your training towards a particular race. The numbers dont lie and you can see very clearly how you are doing and the improvements you are making. It also acts as a great motivator as there is nothing better than seeing tangible improvement week after week.
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> You have to get the right nutrition in you
The food and drink you ingest is going to play a huge role in how you perform in training and in a race. You need to get your macro right and make sure you are eating the right amount of protein, fat and carbohydrates to ensure you can train well and recover quickly to get your body ready for your next session. I see so many athletes with really poor nutrition and I know for sure they could improve drastically just by changing what they eat for training and also leading up to races.
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> Practice your race nutrition in training
I had a friend who did his first triathlon ever at Liuzhou 70.3 and he made the biggest rookie mistake one can make. He bought all these gels for the race without ever trailing them in training. The gels also had caffeine in them and of course during the race he consumed all these gels and then he ended up getting a really bad stomach and spend a lot of time during the run in the bushes! A lesson for anyone looking to get into triathlon, trial your race nutrition during training so you know how your body responds so there are no surprises come race day!
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> Have fun and dont take it too seriously
80
At the end of the day were not professionals and we all do the sport because we love it and want to push ourselves and lead healthy lifestyles. Make sure you enjoy every element of the sport from the training, diet and to the races you compete in. Youll meet some amazing people along the way and hopefully be a part of the triathlon community for the rest of your life. For the last few Ironman races in China there has been this 80 or so year old competitor from Japan and you can just see from his face how much he loves it. Theres nothing more inspiring than that and when you see stories like his you know youre in the right sport.
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