tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-85897627528224284552024-03-12T23:46:15.370-07:00Running TalkA middle aged distance runner in JapanAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13574695550382730184noreply@blogger.comBlogger39125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8589762752822428455.post-73477098646539030992018-07-29T23:46:00.000-07:002018-07-30T00:00:28.458-07:00History of the Kanto 10 Mile Road Race<br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">After
completing the Kanto 10 Mile Road Race in December last year, I asked the race
organizers to share with me information about the history of this race. I had
heard that it was the oldest 10-mile road race in the world, though there are
few details available about the race and its history, particularly in the
English language. Below, I have summarized the history of the race posted photographs
of the letter I received from the race organizers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The
Kanto 10 Mile Road Race was first held on 28<sup>th</sup> March 1937. The race
was held twice a year, in March and December until the 103<sup>rd</sup>
convention in 1989, since which time it has been held once a year in late
December. The race was not held from 1942 to 1945 due to the second world war,
before resuming on 8<sup>th</sup> December 1946. Keizo Yamada, winner of the Boston
Marathon in 1953 is a former participant in the race, as is Yuko Arimori, who
won silver and bronze medals at the Olympics for the marathon in 1992 and 1996 respectively.
A 10KM race was added to the event schedule in 1961.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The
current records for the 10-mile race are 47:20 (male) and 54:05 (female).<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13574695550382730184noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8589762752822428455.post-14912341276404193602017-12-30T23:34:00.000-08:002018-07-29T23:14:53.592-07:00131st Kanto 10 Mile Road Race<div class="MsoNormal">
The Kanto 10 Mile Road Race is the oldest 10-mile road race
in the world, having begun in March 1937. The race currently starts
and finishes next to a temple, about 10 minutes’ walk from Sogosando Station in
Chiba Prefecture, close to Narita. Arriving at the race HQ in the temple grounds
on the cold and windy morning of December 17th, there were runners standing around
huddled in groups or laying on the ground relaxing. <o:p></o:p></div>
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From the little information that I had managed to obtain
prior to the race, I knew that the last 1km of the race was all uphill. I searched for the start line on the road by the side of the
temple, and set off to walk the last stretch of the course. Having confirmed
that there was indeed a fairly steep hill from the 15km to 16km point, I
stripped down and jogged the first 2km part of the course, which runs in the
opposite direction along the road. I managed to get back to the start point
just in time to watch the 10KM race start, which had a field of about 300
runners and was won this year in a time of 32:30.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo-3O_bGPbSF6xSuOwC2A9bzQmZ5HV12mgIqNprD_TcqhRhbKtGAEelZiad6xOtbuAJO5_tLKRhwx9mQq20wgxE3_pjyePK3S548VOATudqHASi88K7q9raTXDAoa03TMr5768tcd0Fpvx/s1600/Start.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo-3O_bGPbSF6xSuOwC2A9bzQmZ5HV12mgIqNprD_TcqhRhbKtGAEelZiad6xOtbuAJO5_tLKRhwx9mQq20wgxE3_pjyePK3S548VOATudqHASi88K7q9raTXDAoa03TMr5768tcd0Fpvx/s320/Start.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Start of the 10 mile race</td></tr>
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Surprisingly, the field for the 10-miler that gathered on
the start line a few minutes later was much smaller, with just over 150
runners. I could see that there was a large contingent of runners from Juntendo
University and Chuo University. Perhaps they were using the race as a final
tune-up before the Hakone Ekiden at the beginning of January, the highlight of
the university and running calendar in Japan. When the race started, the
university teams began at a sprint, quickly rounding a bend in the road and passing
the main entrance of the temple, before heading out of the town along a main
road.<o:p></o:p></div>
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For the first 1km I ran with the front pack of the second group,
with the large leading pack of university runners having already sprinted away.
However, the second group slowed to 6 minute mile pace, so I
decided to push on by myself, running the the rest of the race alone.
After 1.5 miles, there was a steep downhill section, before quickly levelling
out again for another KM. There was a queue of cars at a traffic light on this
section of road. I had not anticipated cars on the course,
and I was forced to cross into the middle of the road to get around them. <o:p></o:p></div>
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At about 3km, the course turned off the main road, and from there
followed a long out and back section on a narrow road through rice fields. As I
was running alone, I had to work hard to try and keep pushing myself with no
one to chase. I could see a small group of 3-4 runners that had come detached
from the leading pack about 300 metres ahead of me in the distance, but they
did not seem to be getting any closer. The wind was strong, and the number pinned
onto my vest strained against the safety pins, in danger of being torn
off. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Just after the 7km point, some relief came as the large leading
pack came hurtling past me on the opposite side of the road. Soon afterwards, I
too turned back around at a cone next to a house on the edge of a rice field. Somehow, I felt strong and managed to push along at a decent pace
back along the narrow road. Rounding a bend in the road at the 15km point, a
small group of spectators had assembled at the bottom of the last climb, and
one woman shouted at me, “last kiro”. At this I took an extra deep breath to gather
myself and then hit the hill as hard as I could, thinking that I still had a
chance to get a small PB if I didn’t lose too much time on the hill. I remember
that last km hurt, but the time seemed to pass quicker than I expected. The
road levels again at the top of the climb and there is a short flat stretch
before you turn to the left off the road and the finish line is set back about
30 meters from the road in front of an entrance to a school.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKzcBJi6nEPzW7KY5ZeIb4_tPsZ_Dn07-N1kuFRcEeHuU9d3M4Q3nUc3vGVrjC0qVjrXLxdBZJOEPamp36JAZ8oQXakdKsOnV8iuNuRKo4yZt6BI2PVimVHSZMWJenqsEAezl2aU8YttF5/s1600/Results.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKzcBJi6nEPzW7KY5ZeIb4_tPsZ_Dn07-N1kuFRcEeHuU9d3M4Q3nUc3vGVrjC0qVjrXLxdBZJOEPamp36JAZ8oQXakdKsOnV8iuNuRKo4yZt6BI2PVimVHSZMWJenqsEAezl2aU8YttF5/s320/Results.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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The winning time for the 10-mile race was 49:41. This is a good road race, attracting a strong field of university runners, with 21 men finishing in under 52 minutes. I finished
in 44<sup>th</sup> place in 58:40, which is a modest PB and a 15 second
improvement on my previous best. It was a nice way to end 2017, having started it with a half-marathon PB in January. </div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13574695550382730184noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8589762752822428455.post-80449176954346246192017-07-08T00:30:00.001-07:002017-07-08T00:58:55.127-07:00Tomisato Suika 10K Road Race 2017<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><i>Suika
</i>means Watermelon in Japanese, and they are in season currently and are grown in
huge volumes in Chiba Prefecture. Temperatures are hitting the 30 degrees centigrade
now, and coupled with very humid conditions, running fast times over middle and
long distances is a gruelling task. As an antidote, Tomisato, a rural town in
Chiba close to Narita Airport, hosts an annual 10K road race to celebrate the
sweet watermelons produced around the town.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX9E5o-GGdtt5fZKqh0TpQs-5ChMzDgvn8WvMW0KHPgj_L7QL-ssXWilzxiq6qFNw0Vr8C5i3nFbLDsqJ-Sb1h8LMQ-60DUiJxjEWVe32Gd_m104pC3aUEdAekN5DY69eTU3i85eOkJaaO/s1600/FullSizeRender.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX9E5o-GGdtt5fZKqh0TpQs-5ChMzDgvn8WvMW0KHPgj_L7QL-ssXWilzxiq6qFNw0Vr8C5i3nFbLDsqJ-Sb1h8LMQ-60DUiJxjEWVe32Gd_m104pC3aUEdAekN5DY69eTU3i85eOkJaaO/s320/FullSizeRender.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Unlimited slices of watermelon on offer<br />
<span style="font-size: 12.8px;">to race finishers!</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Getting to
Tomisato for the start of the race from Tokyo requires a 5am wake up to catch
an early train to Narita Airport. The thought of tasting the legendary sweet
melons of Chiba drove me out of bed and I felt euphoric as I jumped onto a train
packed with other melon running enthusiasts. This race is so popular that entry
is decided by a lottery draw for about 7000 places. Perhaps
the enthusiasm can partly be explained by the fact that on the race course,
alongside the usual water stations, they have ‘melon stations’ too. Once you
finish the race, you can also eat unlimited amounts of melon. And the top 20
finishers in each age category are given, yes you’ve probably guessed,
their very own full sized Tomisato melon to take home!</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8FTpOov9LatI_QuYHzPdS5bPZRWQeQjJAuO9l7gYy7qUlBin1UhgFVVIHHkmNLibQrNpUxHiqPP5__SjOgqs_Uy2oPa4qMuxrOGQDL-Tpfpq-HkoQAD7c2CFLt16_P_O_c3ahKXJEmfpA/s1600/FullSizeRender_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1478" data-original-width="1108" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8FTpOov9LatI_QuYHzPdS5bPZRWQeQjJAuO9l7gYy7qUlBin1UhgFVVIHHkmNLibQrNpUxHiqPP5__SjOgqs_Uy2oPa4qMuxrOGQDL-Tpfpq-HkoQAD7c2CFLt16_P_O_c3ahKXJEmfpA/s320/FullSizeRender_1.jpg" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The leading pack of the under-40 10K race</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">There was
a huge line at the nearest train station to the race, with successful lottery winners waiting for the shuttle
bus to take us the 20 minutes ride into deepest Chiba to the race HQ. As I
limbered up and jogged to the race start line, I saw many runners had donned
melon themed costumes for the run, and I couldn’t help but smile as I saw a
family of 4 all dressed as watermelons. The 10K is split into two races, with the
under 40’s race literally being ran first and the over 40’s section starting about an hour later.
It had been raining all morning, but that hadn’t kept the crowds away. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvOBsPswusSSupjAmSAVp6Qz57TfWyXKUqLe5n1CqL8inOXbb9HKIiL_5aEmdWjxWka2en7dSoNdmkQtxEFNWF9fRH3DkrQr5MuAZIlUPctvdQaSce46QWGw0AuwS4WlcQdwMI7bW6uHn7/s1600/FullSizeRender_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1478" data-original-width="1108" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvOBsPswusSSupjAmSAVp6Qz57TfWyXKUqLe5n1CqL8inOXbb9HKIiL_5aEmdWjxWka2en7dSoNdmkQtxEFNWF9fRH3DkrQr5MuAZIlUPctvdQaSce46QWGw0AuwS4WlcQdwMI7bW6uHn7/s320/FullSizeRender_2.jpg" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The rain didn't deter these<br />
melon running enthusiasts</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">The first kilometre
was along a flat road section, and perhaps over enthusiastically I covered that
in 3:20. Soon afterwards it started raining again and I slowed down after hitting some uphill sections. It was warm and
very humid, though I had heard that several runners were taken to hospital the
year before with heat stroke, so a bit of drizzle was preferable. The course is
basically a big undulating loop. I was inside the top 20 for the early part of the race, but started to slip back after the half way point, and once I knew I had lost
any chance of winning a watermelon, my motivation waned a little and I eased off. I kept looking out
for the watermelon station, which turned out to be at the 8.5km mark, though I decided to skip it – partly
because I could see an uphill climb immediately afterwards which I just wanted
to get out of the way.</span> </div>
</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhleE-0Re34dar9rvItq8LDVdFUyFMNnyND-A4kcZ2Ftx1glwSTxxkMZanPsXioHvfaaPIuV6_fvttFNcvTINXT24NH6kfaJnNndHe8NwAD5EKgoDXBeBMBcj5myPlmt_NydwCdT6dY_hQE/s1600/IMG_4314.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1478" data-original-width="1108" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhleE-0Re34dar9rvItq8LDVdFUyFMNnyND-A4kcZ2Ftx1glwSTxxkMZanPsXioHvfaaPIuV6_fvttFNcvTINXT24NH6kfaJnNndHe8NwAD5EKgoDXBeBMBcj5myPlmt_NydwCdT6dY_hQE/s320/IMG_4314.JPG" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tasty: this is what it was all about</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">I finished
the race in about 37:21, around what I had expected beforehand due to lack of
training since Tokyo Marathon. However, I did get the
chance to eat several slices of watermelon afterwards, and I can confirm that
it was especially delicious after running 10K. I will certainly apply for this race next
year: I want to get inside the top 20 to win my very own Tomisato </span><i style="font-family: "times new roman", serif;">Suika</i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">.</span></div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13574695550382730184noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8589762752822428455.post-35613138393091540532017-06-23T18:52:00.005-07:002017-06-23T18:52:59.210-07:00Fuji Susono Half Marathon 2017<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
My running club Namban Rengo
organise an annual trip to Gotemba to participate in the Fuji Susono Half
Marathon and 10K, which is around mid-May. As my birthday is also around this
time, I thought it would be good to go away on this overnighter to an onsen
resort next to a brewery. Saturday saw a group of nearly 30 Nambaners travel
from Tokyo to Gotemba in Shizuoka Prefecture. We took in a quick dip in the
onsen waters before giving in to the temptations of some deliciously brewed
beer at the resort brewery restaurant. It was clear that the group focus was
more on the onsen, food and beer combo rather than athletic excellence, which
suited my birthday mood.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjspQyRoJN8sDzOrxS9J-V0oxFfUze42XOic1uKHDn8GgDaFawBBj18jpNO9JJUs9VgXbbU15kV5rdmmxdAgD-9MdkzlkglaioKuHqiI_7WcGzpMMD_OEZHfWu91Ra3BREn60JAlIHm0UMt/s1600/Group+Pic+pre-race.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="624" data-original-width="960" height="208" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjspQyRoJN8sDzOrxS9J-V0oxFfUze42XOic1uKHDn8GgDaFawBBj18jpNO9JJUs9VgXbbU15kV5rdmmxdAgD-9MdkzlkglaioKuHqiI_7WcGzpMMD_OEZHfWu91Ra3BREn60JAlIHm0UMt/s320/Group+Pic+pre-race.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
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The half marathon has a couple of
thousand participants. The race began with 300 metres on a running track,
before the course left the stadium with a 100 metres flat section to a main
road. Then there was a right turn onto an uphill section up to the 5K point.
That’s right, 4.4km of uphill running. I took it very easy for the first flat
400 metres of the race, and gradually moved through the field before reaching
the 5km point. The course then turned left onto an undulating loop for the next
5km, then re-joined the earlier main road for another 3km of uphill running and
then again taking in the same 5km of undulating roads. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSJs9a89zsLpS0v39v2_BlB5Rim1sE23cn-mpfSVoE1IIZQKfRhGiAXoKXk-8_wYWSXAISzxKX_Hg6PuK1GG1gZwdJNIsiICqOQhmAtn1FqOqp9ez_cCtndbPgO26s4J-7CATSdsoSqbIc/s1600/Race+Day.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="1282" height="159" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSJs9a89zsLpS0v39v2_BlB5Rim1sE23cn-mpfSVoE1IIZQKfRhGiAXoKXk-8_wYWSXAISzxKX_Hg6PuK1GG1gZwdJNIsiICqOQhmAtn1FqOqp9ez_cCtndbPgO26s4J-7CATSdsoSqbIc/s320/Race+Day.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
The last couple of KM’s was
downhill along the main road back to the stadium. I was really struggling with
dehydration by this point and was expecting a fair few runners to come hurtling
by as I was barely able to pick up my speed, but was surprised that only one
runner did. As I entered the stadium and crossed the 300 metres to go line, I
realised I could scrape under 1 hours 27 minutes if I ran the last part of the
race in under a minute, so I managed to find some reserves from somewhere to
inject a little increase in speed to finish in 1 hour 26 minutes 56 secs. This
is 10 minutes slower than the half marathon PB I ran in January, but Fuji
Susono does involve an awful lot of uphill running.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9P_oa4Gl1OMeTZtnYvQBVq2ZniZmUaScSA5ijw6gVRzcsArHBvc6Ezs9S0-S39iLheLKwj17Mx-GBdqU2YaAw70pkRKYdm3cAptVUuBHYizwE2_1EG7Xx4M3tYQ3pmje3YPf-YRgmTrhe/s1600/Beer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9P_oa4Gl1OMeTZtnYvQBVq2ZniZmUaScSA5ijw6gVRzcsArHBvc6Ezs9S0-S39iLheLKwj17Mx-GBdqU2YaAw70pkRKYdm3cAptVUuBHYizwE2_1EG7Xx4M3tYQ3pmje3YPf-YRgmTrhe/s320/Beer.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
After I finished, I watched the
half and 10K finishers coming in, unwisely getting sunburnt in the process. The
10K race is a straight 5K up hill and 5K downhill affair, on the same course as
the half. Returning as a group to the onsen resort after the race, we could ease
our aching muscles with a good soak in an open air onsen before reminiscing about
the day’s events, aided by the excellent beer of the brewery. <o:p></o:p></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13574695550382730184noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8589762752822428455.post-86403350627297821502017-06-11T19:54:00.002-07:002017-06-13T04:56:25.823-07:00Tokyo Marathon 2017<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Things were not going well with
my running by the summer of 2016. I had really lost my way in life, being
forced out of my job, was going through a divorce, facing financial ruin, and
worst of all I was only running 4 miles once or twice a week. I did, however, apply for Tokyo Marathon
entry, thinking that I probably would not get selected in the ballot but that
it might help increase my chances for a future ballot. In September 2016, I got
accepted into Tokyo Marathon. It was what I needed. Nothing short of getting a
place in Tokyo Marathon could have forced me to turn my life around and start
training consistently again. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbU623XHHVmBQXZxE77xwmE7ICAQq2Ss6t_-030wEX9VVPoLhphh8zEPZQzCnwtRbtHooPS1bjUeYdP59u_2ijAzLiWx5K5h08zSpaN-iaAg0dFu1kXwQ-xIDUekt8xNz4oUOlQrAxiymE/s1600/Toda+Half+Marathon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbU623XHHVmBQXZxE77xwmE7ICAQq2Ss6t_-030wEX9VVPoLhphh8zEPZQzCnwtRbtHooPS1bjUeYdP59u_2ijAzLiWx5K5h08zSpaN-iaAg0dFu1kXwQ-xIDUekt8xNz4oUOlQrAxiymE/s320/Toda+Half+Marathon.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Finishing straight at Toda Half Marathon in Nov 2016</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /></div>
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In September and October, I
struggled to get used to running 5-6 days a week again. The first target was to
run over 40 miles a week, and it took me a few weeks to do that. I started
doing long runs again on a Sunday, going to the Tamagawa River and running
along there. The first 2 hour run almost killed me. I did a 10km time trial in
November and a half marathon in Toda, Saitama the following week. Somehow, I managed to run 1
hours 19 minutes 54 secs at that half, so that really encouraged me to believe
that perhaps I could aim for a good marathon time. I really ran above my
fitness that day, drawing on years of previous racing experience to get the
pace spot on – and starting the race 100% fresh.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWPE2yMpYoNkKVP169HFZJz8F3CjnjVBBuzZPXlwmb6Z7i4neN-lpEpb6cu75XMgJZrN7rYwtu9ZvDe_oTclg6BTAo7hmOwW2VuXDCoo8aGoQdrnRNT148s6XdYdXdBi7hLlOcgMwtomvN/s1600/Shibuya+Ekiden.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="274" data-original-width="206" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWPE2yMpYoNkKVP169HFZJz8F3CjnjVBBuzZPXlwmb6Z7i4neN-lpEpb6cu75XMgJZrN7rYwtu9ZvDe_oTclg6BTAo7hmOwW2VuXDCoo8aGoQdrnRNT148s6XdYdXdBi7hLlOcgMwtomvN/s1600/Shibuya+Ekiden.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ekiden action in Yoyogi Park, Jan 2017</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
By December last year I started
running twice a day a couple of times a week, and was averaging 70 miles plus
throughout December and January. I could feel during my training runs that my
fitness was rapidly improving. The highlight of the Tokyo Marathon training was
running a new PB of 1 hour 16 minutes, my first PB since 2011, in the Shinjuku
Half Marathon at the end of January. This made me start thinking that I had a
realistic chance of running sub-2 hours 45 mins for the marathon.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht1zJNiD2FGJYd6hq1F61_CaFdDbOglzP_YgTGNffTzVyxJF80Ikh2tZWE_o_HPzGIf3a-qhoJznIcBg2XGZmLdjMCkNW0bH2lmOWDYkOA55s1UdTPzGHjj9676bM5NzFBcHr6AlPdvRQK/s1600/Shinjuku+Half.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="960" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht1zJNiD2FGJYd6hq1F61_CaFdDbOglzP_YgTGNffTzVyxJF80Ikh2tZWE_o_HPzGIf3a-qhoJznIcBg2XGZmLdjMCkNW0bH2lmOWDYkOA55s1UdTPzGHjj9676bM5NzFBcHr6AlPdvRQK/s320/Shinjuku+Half.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">On the way to a half marathon PB in Shinjuku, Jan 2017</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Tokyo Marathon 2017 was my second
marathon. I finished in 2 hours 52 minutes. I got to half way in 1 hours 22
minutes and 30km in 1 hour 57 mins. By 35km though I knew I was in big trouble
as I turned around at a giant cone to head to the finish line, and I jogged
the last 2 km at a painful crawl. So, I missed my target, but I had achieved a
bigger goal of falling back in love with running and getting reasonably fit
again. And more helpfully, if you finish Tokyo Marathon in under 2 hours 55
minutes, and are a non-permanent resident in Japan, you can avoid the ballot
and apply for Semi-elite entry into the next years Tokyo Marathon.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUnjzcYyBZbPOse_YppIja8KYNexQbL9CObXwfTcXHaL-IC4AVBG8F-QbEaXZ9zGDs26v1JXaErAZTwaAY3b-nbWlcjwkVm9EsrNrRgwRXgXURjCyGKMDH6GdJMHBrW5-dxNlLwCigcT2i/s1600/Tokyo+Marathon+results.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="540" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUnjzcYyBZbPOse_YppIja8KYNexQbL9CObXwfTcXHaL-IC4AVBG8F-QbEaXZ9zGDs26v1JXaErAZTwaAY3b-nbWlcjwkVm9EsrNrRgwRXgXURjCyGKMDH6GdJMHBrW5-dxNlLwCigcT2i/s320/Tokyo+Marathon+results.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tokyo Marathon 2017 splits</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
It took me over 1-hour to hobble
the 2km from the Tokyo Marathon finish line in front of Tokyo Station to the bag
collection area. My legs almost gave way and I had to grip a wall a couple of
times to remain upright during that walk, as my legs were totally spent. Even
in the throes of pain, I was already thinking about how I can return and run
Tokyo Marathon in 2018 and break that 2 hours 45 minutes barrier. From now and
until I achieve that aim, all my running and training is going to be about
smashing down that barrier.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3mzF2KjoRXIxbcx4u7MY2sxsOlpM5lKst-ggziTYYGnl74TCJ9VS42VVZB8RGaD0A-7mgDoQvC4uZZ5Fd3zFRZiWfc90WshqkSXsHuHe0Zq9RF23s4B5p821SDC7a7KGCcO7ohXVXpKP9/s1600/Marathon+run.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="640" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3mzF2KjoRXIxbcx4u7MY2sxsOlpM5lKst-ggziTYYGnl74TCJ9VS42VVZB8RGaD0A-7mgDoQvC4uZZ5Fd3zFRZiWfc90WshqkSXsHuHe0Zq9RF23s4B5p821SDC7a7KGCcO7ohXVXpKP9/s320/Marathon+run.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tokyo Marathon 2017</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1TkrFthO3C_5woF1IcPprA2RZ24GOKUENst80jKwu2LQVoc1GyOH3OVNdtDW4jeclO_0AdgzyOskHXUyQUuDcI1Wdik67V3S1DwCQ8YS_GMH8bn9sq5wdaMGXD67iqyy9uxaMTJHLU5-W/s1600/Tokyo+Marathon+post-party.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="635" data-original-width="960" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1TkrFthO3C_5woF1IcPprA2RZ24GOKUENst80jKwu2LQVoc1GyOH3OVNdtDW4jeclO_0AdgzyOskHXUyQUuDcI1Wdik67V3S1DwCQ8YS_GMH8bn9sq5wdaMGXD67iqyy9uxaMTJHLU5-W/s320/Tokyo+Marathon+post-party.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Namban Rengo post-Tokyo Marathon party</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<br /></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13574695550382730184noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8589762752822428455.post-43202005408488280932016-01-01T22:41:00.003-08:002016-01-01T22:50:13.360-08:00New Year: New Running Club<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">I
have joined the Tokyo based Namban Rengo International Running Club. I have
really missed being in a running club. Namban Rengo’s main training night is
Wednesday. They currently meet in Yoyogi Park at 7:30pm for an immediate start,
warm-up not included. Since I moved to Tokyo in October, I have not been able
to go along as I usually work until about 8pm on weekdays. However, December
23rd is a National Holiday in Japan, thanks to the Emperor’s birthday falling
on that day. I could finally get a chance to try out the club!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">About
10 runners showed up, down from the usual attendance of 50+ so I was told, due
to the holiday. The session was 5x1000m around a loop inside Yoyogi Park, with
about 2 minutes interval between repetitions. Then the following week, on
Wednesday 30th, I could go to the club meet again as my office was closed for
the week. I won’t be able to go along to the main club night again for a few
months. For the last Wednesday club session of each month, there is a 5km time
trial, again inside Yoyogi Park. About 15 runners showed up, and the course was
two 2km loops followed by a 1km smaller loop. I enjoyed setting off and running
in a pack again, but soon had to drop off the leading pace. My finishing time
was a new Personal Worst for the distance. So I went into 2016 knowing that I really have
to up my game.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg51kNM5yXY3j8f4Pp2Enbl1_0cnAEe8G9ZTFg5Y8qr2q7JUzy9aIAopQp129OBZ7yU3eCB5TfX90C1Ut4c87VJb1sjAdUfCef54o2ZywxZLZVABG9LZb1gcXZwRbF79aPJ_8SpFgjhAgTD/s1600/IMG_2995%255B1%255D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg51kNM5yXY3j8f4Pp2Enbl1_0cnAEe8G9ZTFg5Y8qr2q7JUzy9aIAopQp129OBZ7yU3eCB5TfX90C1Ut4c87VJb1sjAdUfCef54o2ZywxZLZVABG9LZb1gcXZwRbF79aPJ_8SpFgjhAgTD/s320/IMG_2995%255B1%255D.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This morning's Saturday hill training group</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Luckily
enough for me, a few of the club members meet every Saturday morning at Akasaka
Palace for a hill repetition session. I went along to that this morning. We did
8 repeats in total. A good session and it certainly got the heart rate up and
legs turning over, and running with others certainly helps you to push yourself
harder than you would do alone. Some club members also organise long Sunday
runs. I will definitely be going back for more training sessions with the club
this year.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13574695550382730184noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8589762752822428455.post-91910344838215340822015-12-20T06:25:00.000-08:002015-12-20T06:27:44.712-08:00Tokyo<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">It
took me two weeks to recover from the 24-hour relay race I did back in late
July. At that point, I got an unexpected opportunity to change my life. I have been waiting
and looking for a chance to do that for a very long time. Indeed, it was why I
came to Japan. I had to then put running very much onto the back-burner so that
I could first get a new job, wind up my life in Kyoto, relocate to Tokyo and
start a new career.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibbIPAm6AGhgFuWlY9FRgNh1qakAVjm__NcuezHwW7uMMSvn5VoN5CXjnBsw3Ms2LqllE11FtGMIIGEBz6_ol_xSuK8Vy8_mVwAGca5r0ZXKuD3n0EUCNaT1GRKTBDiwPfhVALdifCfoEl/s1600/IMG_2914%255B1%255D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibbIPAm6AGhgFuWlY9FRgNh1qakAVjm__NcuezHwW7uMMSvn5VoN5CXjnBsw3Ms2LqllE11FtGMIIGEBz6_ol_xSuK8Vy8_mVwAGca5r0ZXKuD3n0EUCNaT1GRKTBDiwPfhVALdifCfoEl/s320/IMG_2914%255B1%255D.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Since
moving to Shinjuku, Tokyo - for the first 10 weeks I barely ran at all. This
last week was the first time I have managed to run 6 times in one week, getting
in three sessions and a long run. This morning I ran 5km to the Imperial
Palace, ran two laps of its 5km outer moat path and back to my new home. I had
always hoped to see the Imperial Palace in Tokyo at some point during my time
in Japan, but never got around to it until my recent life change. It is famous
as a place for running, with a fully pedestrianised circuit path in the heart
of Tokyo. Today was the first long run I have done for about 5 months, and it
felt good, until the last mile at least!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">I
have lost a lot of fitness. I do not have anyone giving me guidance or training
schedules anymore. Due to working late evenings during the week I cannot join
in sessions with a running club. I cannot find a track near where I live where
I can train. Being based in Shinjuku is not a good starting point for
long runs. Though I feel, strangely, optimistic about g</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">etting
back into training and racing. I will have to go
back to old school ways of road training only, by myself, for a while. I have
entered two races early next year and this has given me the motivation to get
out on the cold dark nights this last week and hopefully continue to do so in the weeks ahead.</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13574695550382730184noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8589762752822428455.post-9753782589886125312015-07-20T21:23:00.003-07:002015-07-20T21:23:37.186-07:00Maishima 24 Hour Ekiden Road Race<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">After I ran in the Kyoto Ekiden in
February for the Kyotamba team, one of my team mates, Okura, asked me to join
him and another team, P-Man, for a 24
Hour Ekiden Road Race in July. As it was 5 months away into the future I agreed
with little thought given to the reality of what I was signing up for. Well,
last weekend I took part in this race.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRCUgxKIbkD_iNo7BxdwqDtKXXew5_2vJuG3qxTSgpMn_2wrjIr-D9cGx4hudHEMaWJFXilohhYQR8jKSX2R3tX82sWwQvCxg0wJK6maGyPaSY8N7wXm22ofzq70suaD91FchKxaSj01xO/s1600/Team+P-Man.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRCUgxKIbkD_iNo7BxdwqDtKXXew5_2vJuG3qxTSgpMn_2wrjIr-D9cGx4hudHEMaWJFXilohhYQR8jKSX2R3tX82sWwQvCxg0wJK6maGyPaSY8N7wXm22ofzq70suaD91FchKxaSj01xO/s320/Team+P-Man.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">P is capital letter of Physical, Powerful, Passion, <br />Pure, Proper, Practical, Perfect, Pretty and so on.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Due to the disruption and damage caused
by Typhoon Nangka, which had battered the Kansai region of Japan during the 2
days prior to the race, the start of the Ekiden was pushed back 5 hours to
17:00 on Saturday 18th July and shortened to 19 hours. The race was held on
Maishima, an artificial island just off the coast of Osaka, which was created
to host a variety of sporting events and is known as Sports Island.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Teams were made up of 18 runners, with 120
teams taking part. I was surprised when I arrived at the venue about just how
big an event this was. After setting up our team tents and equipment, I asked
P-Man’s team leader who would run the first leg. Okura pointed to another man
and said that he was the first runner, but the other guy shook his head and
made it clear he didn’t want to do it. Okura then asked me if I wanted to go
first, and I said yes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM9QCFUoKK07tBClQ3mOy0Vlr0qsKOxI3yJywV-JOfFGFw5oXkUYOqmAjT8LWsU28Sc8RCjnLgJ3PQKxaDrwNZ9jNp87AsmZsoKalm9e7Y0Nz8FrbgUpst4XwiZ93CCGG1N_capVDOCTxY/s1600/Team+photo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM9QCFUoKK07tBClQ3mOy0Vlr0qsKOxI3yJywV-JOfFGFw5oXkUYOqmAjT8LWsU28Sc8RCjnLgJ3PQKxaDrwNZ9jNp87AsmZsoKalm9e7Y0Nz8FrbgUpst4XwiZ93CCGG1N_capVDOCTxY/s320/Team+photo.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Team P-Man after the race</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">So just before 17:00 I lined up with 120
other runners under the watchful eyes of a couple of thousand spectators for
the start. The atmosphere was filled with excitement and the crowd counted down
the last few seconds to the start. The race began at a blisteringly fast pace.
I wanted to try and run a fast time on this first leg as I knew my fellow team
mates would look carefully at my result, but also because I wanted to put the
team in a good position.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">P-Man finished 5th in 2014 and had high
hopes of bettering that position this year. The first 200 metres of the course
was straight, before turning to a short and steep downward slope. As I ran down
it I must have been in about 30th place, and began to try and work my way
through the field. It was tricky though as the course was really narrow in
parts and I did get held up a little because of this. I completed my first lap
in 4:20, handing over the team <i>Tasuke</i>,
which had an inbuilt racing chip to monitor how many laps the team completed,
to the next runner. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6dhrcAqDT0-wcS9d0ceR56J61K9rSpaMAi0GxKNXGbSBMSgrzIVgiEtc5BhPjG5PxNP7kgN4lfuGD23SVWNcI1m-xObh9_DWoXCzyvRUfwgNOCAcFIM5fTBT_LK31-25A1aiHu153Iy9N/s1600/Change+over+area.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6dhrcAqDT0-wcS9d0ceR56J61K9rSpaMAi0GxKNXGbSBMSgrzIVgiEtc5BhPjG5PxNP7kgN4lfuGD23SVWNcI1m-xObh9_DWoXCzyvRUfwgNOCAcFIM5fTBT_LK31-25A1aiHu153Iy9N/s320/Change+over+area.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Runner change over area</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">After the first leg I made my way back
to the team tent and lay down for an hour. This was unchartered territory for
me as I had never run for much more than 3 hours previously. In total I ran the
course 14 times over the 19 hours. My times did slow down but not by as much as
I feared. I think the slowest lap that I ran was 4:43. I was given a 3 hour
rest period between 23:30 and 02:30, during which I got about 30 minutes sleep.
I actually felt pretty good after I woke up. I got to see dawn breaking over
the city skyline of Osaka in the distance as I was completing one of my laps in
the early hours of the morning.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkin-EsGvu6-pQOeUkfX1Vkrmuc1BWJLVwdLz9Q5zzkOSyGtnq8ePg21m640bFAN-1msnpyUQEjOUfxvY0HEja3Ff_zXtdMO9X6oCcJyA2FqQlDeHjXYdIEwRfQIUEu5CtTTCF-rLzz1SG/s1600/Night.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkin-EsGvu6-pQOeUkfX1Vkrmuc1BWJLVwdLz9Q5zzkOSyGtnq8ePg21m640bFAN-1msnpyUQEjOUfxvY0HEja3Ff_zXtdMO9X6oCcJyA2FqQlDeHjXYdIEwRfQIUEu5CtTTCF-rLzz1SG/s320/Night.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Night running</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Though there were some very serious
teams with top quality runners taking part, there were also a good number of
teams taking part just for fun. For example, I had to weave around male runners
dressed in skimpy skits and wearing wigs, a team that all carried a rugby ball
around with them, and I also recall passing a woman dressed in a full chef’s
outfit carrying a large metal mixing bowl at one point during the night!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbaxhy_9TN5yb25HtXscdJ4OxMoubqFS2l9G01VPVJHIbb6XYjbAUCbRy6jnWQpkUPi3t7zlyR3wjBEnCDzhyn5FWJHOmCs4D495ngOVv3RAZpZBKsFx5MKxlN-Tj-5qK1-72_l9IVWPFp/s1600/Day.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbaxhy_9TN5yb25HtXscdJ4OxMoubqFS2l9G01VPVJHIbb6XYjbAUCbRy6jnWQpkUPi3t7zlyR3wjBEnCDzhyn5FWJHOmCs4D495ngOVv3RAZpZBKsFx5MKxlN-Tj-5qK1-72_l9IVWPFp/s320/Day.jpg" width="212" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sometime late on Sunday morning</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The atmosphere became incredibly charged
again during the last hour of the race, and it was exciting running the course
on my last lap with less than 30 minutes remaining, accompanied by roars and
cheers from the by then thronging crowds.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">With 10 minutes remaining, race officials closed off the runners change
over area. Then it was left to the runners already on the course to keep
running the circuit until exactly 12 noon when the race ended</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjycRKbABqZzF3EF5DMFQ76td6-I-XSePpVmuQmM85UnK2iDrTAq1wEsoj6dNV5EXgcV1hTz4WDe0jRnVejpJ7U0tnmINlZS_tPGJ-mf9hZhawKKPaI2zqs9WK3S6_GWlAUk1X13pSHz3XE/s1600/Trophy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjycRKbABqZzF3EF5DMFQ76td6-I-XSePpVmuQmM85UnK2iDrTAq1wEsoj6dNV5EXgcV1hTz4WDe0jRnVejpJ7U0tnmINlZS_tPGJ-mf9hZhawKKPaI2zqs9WK3S6_GWlAUk1X13pSHz3XE/s320/Trophy.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">7th Team Trophy</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">After packing away the tents and
equipment, we went over to see the closing ceremony. Team P-Man finished 7th
overall and we were presented with a trophy. Though I felt exhausted, I have to
say that I do not feel as tired as I did after completing a full marathon. I
think it will only take me a few more days to recover. Team P-Man is going to
meet up again in the next few weeks for a celebratory drink, which I am looking
forward to. I suspect I will be asked to join the team again next year, though
at this point the thought of doing this all over again, plus another couple of
laps over an extra 5 hours of racing, seems barbaric. Maybe that’s why the team
will meet up is in a few weeks’ time, when the stiff legs and fatigue have
lifted. Over a few beers with team mates, it will be hard to say no, as after
all, next summer seems so far away.</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13574695550382730184noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8589762752822428455.post-82574831947036077832015-05-06T23:58:00.002-07:002015-05-07T00:19:33.103-07:00Japan Masters Athletics 3000m Race, Osaka<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">It has been a while since I last
did a race. Over 2 months in fact. Training has been going well. For a long
time I have not been improving. Though for the last month or so, I have started
to slightly improve my repetition times and to be able to do sessions that I have
not been able to do for many years. No major progress, but it is encouraging.
So I was looking forward to running a 3000m track race at a Japan Masters
Athletics meet in Nagai Park, Osaka, held yesterday on the last day of the
Golden Week national holiday.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNu4csRnV_t6rqk8k9Ywvt7QXkQJQymTMfrp1J9NHWAhfAgiA-cpe9IJodvQX1bf9o1VVRC5VhKG_MQZtlnorgiZ-L9VbqdPOTXsJGihJMccmQhWKIiA5KB_Tb6buFcwfwIJlxwtq8YhBn/s1600/Sonobe+6+laps.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNu4csRnV_t6rqk8k9Ywvt7QXkQJQymTMfrp1J9NHWAhfAgiA-cpe9IJodvQX1bf9o1VVRC5VhKG_MQZtlnorgiZ-L9VbqdPOTXsJGihJMccmQhWKIiA5KB_Tb6buFcwfwIJlxwtq8YhBn/s320/Sonobe+6+laps.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">10 days previously, I had jogged
up to the hard packed sand track in Sonobe, the town where I live, and ran
2400m, or 6 laps, as hard as I could, as a little workout to round off the week
and a test of my current fitness level. I was surprised to finish it in 7:46,
which is less than 80 seconds per 400m pace. I had ran the same distance on the
same track 4 weeks previously in 8:18, so this was a decent improvement. I
began to think, if I could run a race on a proper track after a few days easy
running to freshen up, a new personal best could be a realistic possibility.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">I arrived early at Nagai Park yesterday,
partly to avoid the renowned Golden Week traffic nightmare, but also because I
did not know what time my race was. I had to wait 7 hours for my race! I took
it easy, lying down for most of that time in a shaded area with other runners trying
to reduce our time spent out in the strong sun. I felt relaxed. I reflected on
the fact that I had been to Nagai Park once before in November last year, to do
a 10KM road race, coming second in the second fastest time I had ran that
distance. Everything was pointing towards a good race for me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">31 men lined up for the 3000m men`s
race at 3:30pm. Race Officials put out a table on the side of the track to hand
out cups of water during the race, so it was hot! The start was fast, but though
I tried to hold back on my initial pace, I found myself in third place after
200 metres, and I moved up easily into 2<sup>nd</sup> place by 400m. The man in
1<sup>st</sup> place was well ahead by that point. I remember going through 600
metres in about 1:51. I thought, I am on course for a personal best if I can
hold the pace at about 76 seconds per 400m.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">After I had ran 1500m, the man in
third place overtook me on the straight section. I must have been slowing, but
as I was out by myself I was not too concerned and tried to tuck in behind him
and use him to drag me along at a good pace. Then, as I approached the lap
counting sign, showing 3 laps to go with 1800 metres already ran, 3 race
officials leapt out in front of me onto the track trying to flag me down. What
was this? I realized I was being forced to withdraw from the race. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">There was a problem with the race
number that I was wearing on my vest. Due to a mistake or miscommunication issue
not of my making, I was not given the correct race number to wear. I and the starter
race officials both had only realized this as I lined up on the start line of
the race. I waited anxiously as 3 officials (not the same 3 who forced me out
of the race) talked amongst themselves about what to do. My name was on the
official race entry list as I had entered weeks before. I had paid my race fee,
of about 15 British Pounds Sterling! At the last moment, they said I could run
the race but had to tuck my vest in! I was taken by complete surprise when the
other officials leapt in front of me during the race, as I have never been
forced out of a race before, but I quickly realized it was about my race
number.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">I packed up quickly and went home.
What a massive disappointment, waste of time and money, and an embarrassment. I
had been planning a summer campaign of track races. There are few to no decent
road races during the summer months ahead, whereas the Japan Masters Athletics
Association organize regular track competitions throughout the year. I know
that the problem that led to me being given the incorrect race number is very
likely to reoccur, so for the time being I will not do any more Japan Masters
Athletics Association races. This means there will be very few chances for me to
race until the Autumn when, due to the cooling temperatures, the number of road
races picks up. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13574695550382730184noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8589762752822428455.post-54198930223105303582015-02-27T01:01:00.001-08:002015-02-27T01:34:00.593-08:00Kansai Masters Ekiden Championships <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The 2015 Kansai Masters Ekiden Championship
was held in Wakayama Prefecture last weekend. There were several relay races,
for different age groups and genders, plus an open relay. Kyoto Prefecture were
the reigning champions and had to hand back the winner’s trophy during the opening
ceremony. I’d been called up to join the Kyoto team and hoped that we could win
it back!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizFjEBkIBYp8iGRVRAqxSrbG3ENqfBsewuzKvjGLujSxggw2yqa987BQO9qTYWgxYq8Q1NCCBZKflm-ot66aazEhubG2IogFouCoUHBR4R4fnJUY82Gf1QLIBggsUDNRhnW0ttpoFrEKd2/s1600/Kyoto+Team+photo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizFjEBkIBYp8iGRVRAqxSrbG3ENqfBsewuzKvjGLujSxggw2yqa987BQO9qTYWgxYq8Q1NCCBZKflm-ot66aazEhubG2IogFouCoUHBR4R4fnJUY82Gf1QLIBggsUDNRhnW0ttpoFrEKd2/s1600/Kyoto+Team+photo.JPG" height="254" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kyoto Masters Team</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The first race was an over 35 years of age men’s
relay. I’m only a few months shy of my 35<sup>th</sup> birthday so had to sit
this one out. I watched the first leg runners get off to a breezy start on the
track with the lead runner clocking 72 secs for the first 400m and 3:01 for 1000m.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9eufeRMMuVE2IhpMa5oAOLE0HcFQGvP5k0Fz2zKtk3ruKDzTeq2aZAwBqmpQ5TGLLlGxB-bdaggDPMbXAwyLTcsanvfe21bVZuibMoI3WILlAfC2k87KFsB6_Pagz3WNwJkCIDe-KRSKi/s1600/Start+35++Race.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9eufeRMMuVE2IhpMa5oAOLE0HcFQGvP5k0Fz2zKtk3ruKDzTeq2aZAwBqmpQ5TGLLlGxB-bdaggDPMbXAwyLTcsanvfe21bVZuibMoI3WILlAfC2k87KFsB6_Pagz3WNwJkCIDe-KRSKi/s1600/Start+35++Race.JPG" height="320" width="286" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;">The first Ekiden race gets underway</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The only race I was eligible to run in was
the open race. The first section was 3.1km, followed by three 2.4km sections.
On the Kyoto team bus to Wakayama in the morning of the race, I was informed by
the team manager that he wanted me to run section one AND section four, as he
wanted to pull out due to an injury he’d picked up the week before whilst
acting as an official pacer for the Kyoto Marathon. I can’t say that I was
thrilled by the prospect of running twice, as I didn’t want to overdo it and
get injured, but concealed my misgivings.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjof514X7OMmS7Rwyg-M5W3696juBz2ICUZBm-tqzP3UQREtngpcOmPNmKj41ry1Dc0CEbul1Kp_zx70KnZ-4PRP3IlnJmNc2T31fMc2EOFTCUmGEbNEoVbKSBIKxCVgHzDrWI4_jnsuLd/s1600/Go+Kyoto.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjof514X7OMmS7Rwyg-M5W3696juBz2ICUZBm-tqzP3UQREtngpcOmPNmKj41ry1Dc0CEbul1Kp_zx70KnZ-4PRP3IlnJmNc2T31fMc2EOFTCUmGEbNEoVbKSBIKxCVgHzDrWI4_jnsuLd/s1600/Go+Kyoto.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ganbare (do you best) Kyoto!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">At 1:10pm I lined up with the other open
section runners for what was to be the second race of the day. After only 50m I realized that the pace
wasn’t going to be fast so I took the lead. The first 700m was on the track
before the course left the stadium and wound its way through a car park, onto a
short section of cycle path, down a side street, with the last 300m back on the
track. As I ran through the car park I knew I had a healthy lead as I couldn’t
hear any other runners steps, but I didn’t want to relax too much at this stage
as I wanted to give the other two runners in my team a good lead, as after all,
I was going to have to run again for the last section and wanted to have as
easy a run as possible the second time around.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1eyAKzy5CEweHTKKLUBhn5UDdTQvkuL5-WQMnA9lxDL6vrwwS7UBDhLMdpm8zh0rMAMPSksOPZf7FrwDwwRGBkgliMR2ZIrO1kD4MvnBCPeDHCS73ATqWH8QKoYNY3ekCPN6WnXgvBL9_/s1600/Changeover+Rika.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1eyAKzy5CEweHTKKLUBhn5UDdTQvkuL5-WQMnA9lxDL6vrwwS7UBDhLMdpm8zh0rMAMPSksOPZf7FrwDwwRGBkgliMR2ZIrO1kD4MvnBCPeDHCS73ATqWH8QKoYNY3ekCPN6WnXgvBL9_/s1600/Changeover+Rika.JPG" height="320" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Changeover at the end of the first leg</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">It was a warm day, though with a gusty wind,
as the stadium was very close to the coast. Near the end of the first section I
eased off the pace a little, wanting to save something for my second run. On
the last bend of the track I lifted the team </span><i style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">tasuki</i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> (sash) over my shoulders and then held it out for the next
runner in my team at the changeover point, where a crowd was gathered.
After handing it over, I looked around and could see that our team had about
250m lead over the second team. My
time was 10:13, which was a decent enough pace, being about 3:18 per km.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span>
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5Qj-tQf1d_1jD2VAWJz1j9u7QCobehriL5Z6QhTKVLqveBW597JpdE3wFhpDfKDnnPkziCfSO3UcRUrM6l4ttp6kMzFi_cXsN61_UNKNyX6aoZ8lxfXeKeQMembmGDLqfpx3UTc4a71kb/s1600/Results+first+section.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5Qj-tQf1d_1jD2VAWJz1j9u7QCobehriL5Z6QhTKVLqveBW597JpdE3wFhpDfKDnnPkziCfSO3UcRUrM6l4ttp6kMzFi_cXsN61_UNKNyX6aoZ8lxfXeKeQMembmGDLqfpx3UTc4a71kb/s1600/Results+first+section.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Results from the first leg of the open race</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I took it easy whilst the second leg runner
was out, but was a little surprised to see her return in second place, about 80
metres down on the lead runner. Once our third team runner was out, I started doing a few easy striders to get ready for my next outing, having changed vests
to show my fourth leg number. I got a lot of amused comments from other runners
when they realised that I was going out again! </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">As our third section runner entered the
stadium I jogged over to the changeover line, and could see that he had also
lost one place, leaving me to pick up the </span><i style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">tasuki</i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
(sash) in third place. Any thoughts of taking this second run easy were displaced
when I sensed that victory was possibly if I worked hard. After about 300m I
caught the second placed runner as we entered the car park. The lead runner had
a much bigger lead, and I didn’t catch up with her until half-way around the course on the cycle path. It was nice to win the race and break the finishing tape to gain valuable points for our team. My time was 8:11
for the 2.4km, so a slightly slower pace than for the first section.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpYAKHXcfYmFETN6u5o7ShSjOfufD__hUqFPQ8NmHaYlKF1AWcxOEQGsDHzNyF3ruAV-RA-BO74PadbACGmqzncaF1yF5jLXr1Gj2fXYM7RRQ38wy65unOIDPNKe-dIjtzwwXg_jgECRSt/s1600/Results+4th+section.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpYAKHXcfYmFETN6u5o7ShSjOfufD__hUqFPQ8NmHaYlKF1AWcxOEQGsDHzNyF3ruAV-RA-BO74PadbACGmqzncaF1yF5jLXr1Gj2fXYM7RRQ38wy65unOIDPNKe-dIjtzwwXg_jgECRSt/s1600/Results+4th+section.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Results from the last leg of the open race</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-align: justify;">Sadly, Kyoto came last out of the six Kansai prefectures
this year. Osaka won overall on points. On the bus back to Kyoto I asked the
team manager why we’d done so badly, and he explained that he couldn’t get a
full team together to enter into the women’s race, so we’d missed out on loads
of points – scoring zero in that event. He also said that he wanted me to run in
the over 35 men’s race next year. I will, but only for one leg next time!</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13574695550382730184noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8589762752822428455.post-67311402895971146902015-02-11T15:49:00.005-08:002015-02-27T01:35:24.595-08:00Kyoto Ekiden 2015<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Before
I came out to Japan, I’d read about the unique style of relay races in Japan
and hoped that one day I could experience it for myself. The Kyoto Prefecture
Ekiden is held annually in Sandanike
Park in Fukuchiyama. Each town and city in the prefecture can enter a team.
This year there were 22 teams. I was selected to run with the Kyotamba team, my
connection to the town being that I teach at the town’s senior high school. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">An
Ekiden has several unique features. The most obvious is the role of the <i>Tasuki</i> (sash). Each team has one sash
which the runners must wear or carry and pass on to the next runner. Another is
the nature of the course. When I did the National Road Relay Championships
12-stage in England, each ‘leg’ or section starts and finishes at the same
place. However, the Kyoto Ekiden had a 38KM length course, with each of the 8
sections set out at a different point along the route. For the Kyoto Ekiden,
each team had to be comprised of at least one male and one female junior high
school student, one male and one female senior high school student, one adult
female and one adult male – with a free choice given for the remaining two
runners! I got given section 3 to run, which at 7.1KM, was also the longest. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2DmsN770h24YZnmShDHED_8s9gAk4uBU3icL7m2CPJKLQ4OYY9_FYMFFX3pOkmzrezoETrJest8upv8DiMH7aLziGfe_dtwGFYobblgUWWI6ZWBDYo_37w_T5CPVfA6fBVQZ_7B90jEG_/s1600/Kyotamba+team+logo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2DmsN770h24YZnmShDHED_8s9gAk4uBU3icL7m2CPJKLQ4OYY9_FYMFFX3pOkmzrezoETrJest8upv8DiMH7aLziGfe_dtwGFYobblgUWWI6ZWBDYo_37w_T5CPVfA6fBVQZ_7B90jEG_/s1600/Kyotamba+team+logo.JPG" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">On the
bus to the start of my leg with the other section 3 runners, I got talking to a
university student from the Kameoka team who told me that his personal best for
5000M was 14:20 and that he went out to Iten in Kenya last summer to train. I started
to feel out of my depth and hoped that my team would not be too disappointed
with my time.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The
race started at 11am and the first two sections were each 3KM long. The first
section was to be ran by female adult runners and the second by female senior
high school student runners. I saw the first runner from section 2 round the
bend in the road and come into view at 11:19 and head towards the changeover
point where I was stood. I watched keenly so I could observe how to receive and
also how to hand over the <i>Tasuki</i>.
Kyotamba were in 14<sup>th</sup> place by this point. The section 2 girl in my
team held the <i>Tasuki</i> out to me and I
grabbed it and turned in one quick motion and started out down the road in my
first Ekiden!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHH69Vhbkm7BoGLDUmNtn8BhyphenhyphenfqzIDHZ1o4Z_hwoMiiLi23ToPWBVRVi5mRyrn7QdxbBVceUjDRwm5VfB_6KVMYWjvsbYkqg16v5vt-d0Kzm_tB6sPPP6bUeFMP8Mx55NaMIF0FZ16NrSt/s1600/Knee.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHH69Vhbkm7BoGLDUmNtn8BhyphenhyphenfqzIDHZ1o4Z_hwoMiiLi23ToPWBVRVi5mRyrn7QdxbBVceUjDRwm5VfB_6KVMYWjvsbYkqg16v5vt-d0Kzm_tB6sPPP6bUeFMP8Mx55NaMIF0FZ16NrSt/s1600/Knee.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Knees up: rest and ice did the trick</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The
runners ahead of me were well clear by this point. I had jogged the race route
the day before so I knew what to expect - an undulating course through some
small rural villages. It was a bit windy and cold but with clear skies. Some
spectators lined parts of the race route and I could hear them say, “Kyotamba”
as I ran along as it was emblazoned across my vest in Kanji. Sadly I lost three
places. I’d missed 3 weeks of training in January as I tripped and fell and
landed on my right knee on a concrete floor causing a lot of pain. I was just
happy to recover enough to do this race, though I certainly tried to run my
best.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Section 3 results</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">As I
approached the changeover point, I took the </span><i style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Tasuki</i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
off and held it taut between my right and left hands, with arms outstretched
shoulder width apart, as I’d seen the other runners do earlier. The junior high
school boy section 4 runner in my team grabbed it and sped off only a few
seconds behind the 16</span><sup style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;">th</sup><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> placed runner. My time was 25 minutes 23
secs, the 17</span><sup style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;">th</sup><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> fastest or 6</span><sup style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;">th</sup><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> slowest of the section
depending on which way you look at it! The lad I’d spoken to earlier from the
Kameoka team ran a stunning 20:56, which was inside the section record, but a
runner from Kyoto City had topped that with 20:54.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNkYQUewZLUAvMy9s-hYQZ1ha6l-E7PU_3XqF3vO9lwZZ-4-aslzmPVqT8MTSL4q2UwfVVM-sYGiAepRwTbQMKrwx7viMH-tZ-8d9mKmu5pZcFnoslSphKO-sgfLGGwt4Yj33QfxJaadKb/s1600/Kameoka.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNkYQUewZLUAvMy9s-hYQZ1ha6l-E7PU_3XqF3vO9lwZZ-4-aslzmPVqT8MTSL4q2UwfVVM-sYGiAepRwTbQMKrwx7viMH-tZ-8d9mKmu5pZcFnoslSphKO-sgfLGGwt4Yj33QfxJaadKb/s1600/Kameoka.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kameoka`s section 8 runner taking the victory</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">After a
quick warm down the section 3 runners were bussed back to the start/finish
point of the Ekiden. At 1pm the section 8 runners started coming in. Kameoka
were the winning team this year! Kyotamba finished 18</span><sup style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;">th</sup><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">. The
standard of running was high and I feel privileged to have taken part in this
Ekiden to represent Kyotamba. It has certainly inspired me to try and improve
my running times and I hope to run this race again next year.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB9XhIOpTVR-N_I_vdjmKCfO7yUifFlDD-YgfmwADh03h4kRTkShd2xeEozEx-mwoAwbCa2DLXQH4gDK4jSMpLiWK1PVLV82oJHegjkNIE-hNip6kCBCSyJdDwBjJziudBYPK5TRW0yekP/s1600/Kyotamba+finish.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB9XhIOpTVR-N_I_vdjmKCfO7yUifFlDD-YgfmwADh03h4kRTkShd2xeEozEx-mwoAwbCa2DLXQH4gDK4jSMpLiWK1PVLV82oJHegjkNIE-hNip6kCBCSyJdDwBjJziudBYPK5TRW0yekP/s1600/Kyotamba+finish.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kyotamba finishing in 18th place</td></tr>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13574695550382730184noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8589762752822428455.post-52854868112901628042015-01-11T03:33:00.000-08:002015-01-11T05:28:30.477-08:00Relays<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Back in September 2014, I'd planned my winter training around the goal of running a half-marathon PB in Osaka on Sunday 25th January. I'd read that it was a flat course with a strong field. As there is no cross-country season here, I was struggling to find something to work towards over the winter so this seemed to fit the bill. However, I've had reason to reconsider this plan.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Firstly, though communication with my UK based coach is sporadic, it's clear he doesn't want me to run a half-marathon yet. I've struggled to make any progress as I've been beset with repeated injuries. Best get that dealt with first, build a solid base of consistent training and get my times down for shorter distances before I have a crack at a half-marathon. This is currently the longest injury free spell that I've had for a very long time, so I haven't even began to fully benefit from this yet. If I can keep this up, the speed and PBs should follow.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Also, I've had two offers come along. On February 8th I've been invited to run in the Kyoto Ekiden. An Ekiden is a relay race, though with a unique Japanese twist. I'll be representing Kyotamba, a rural town that I teach in twice a week, in this intra-Kyoto Prefectural competition. I'd read about Ekiden relay races before I came out to Japan and hoped to get the chance to run in one. So getting an invite to this is great. I'll be running a 7K leg.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJnMBiDmOooB2CtcDIHLLXW42JLXtHshu0baN85hYJ-OekSf2zyIGPmSMhIpmn2W_WA8Ti-UyyvesRS_TZzeUkizBOdRO59PyntjvM11F7BmDDmg3sf4iT_o2ikQRx_VX61IH9K60cIGyo/s1600/IMG_1486%5B1%5D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJnMBiDmOooB2CtcDIHLLXW42JLXtHshu0baN85hYJ-OekSf2zyIGPmSMhIpmn2W_WA8Ti-UyyvesRS_TZzeUkizBOdRO59PyntjvM11F7BmDDmg3sf4iT_o2ikQRx_VX61IH9K60cIGyo/s1600/IMG_1486%5B1%5D.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">This week I also received an invite to run in another relay event. This is the Kinki Masters Relay Road Race Competition, to be held in Wakayama Prefecture on February 22nd. The distance is 3K for each leg. I'll be representing Kyoto Prefecture in this inter-Kansai region (Kinki) prefectural event. I've never been to Wakayama-ken before, so this will be a great way to get my first visit in. The invite comes after I came to the attention of the Kyoto Masters Athletic authorities by winning the Kyoto Masters 10K just a few days before Christmas last year. It will be a great honour to represent Kyoto-fu.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">So, from having an empty period with little to aim for, my schedule has got some quality racing action in it, with both relays being held over short distances, which my coach would favour. In that light I think that it's best that I change the plan. Focus on these relay races instead. After the relays, look for some fast 5K and 10K races in the spring and ideally some track races. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">2015 is off to a promising start.</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13574695550382730184noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8589762752822428455.post-8712401433433830182014-12-26T21:50:00.002-08:002014-12-26T22:11:18.519-08:00End of 2014<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">I
haven’t updated this blog for a couple of weeks as my computer was broken. In
that time I have ran in two races.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">On
23<sup>rd</sup> November I did a 10K in Nagai Park, Osaka. It was two and a
half laps of a pedestrianized road inside the park. The 10K start line was 400
metres behind the half-marathon field, with both races starting at the same
time. So it was bit tricky getting past the half-marathon runners, with a lot
of weaving about being necessary. The day was unseasonably warm and there were
huge crowds milling about relaxing in the park as well. I ran at the front of
the 10K field from the start, though was quickly joined by one other runner. We
stayed together throughout the race. I made a bid for glory at the end of the
second lap, but the other runner caught me and put in a nice sprint finish to
take the race in 35 minutes 6 seconds. I finished second in 35 minutes 19
seconds, which is also the second fastest time I’ve ever ran a 10K, though its
well outside my PB.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br />
On
14<sup>th </sup>December I ran my last race of 2014, and my first Japan Masters
Athletics race. There were two races, a 5K and 10k, with both fields starting
together, in Kyoto City along a hard packed sand path beside the Kamogawa
River. Soon after the race started there were three runners in the lead pack,
including myself, though I didn’t know whether the other two runners were in
the 10K or 5K. I tried to hang on to them but after we turned around a cone at
2.5K to head back to the start line, they opened up a gap on me. As I
approached the 5K mark and start/finish line, I could see the other two runners
cross the line and stop: so they were racing the 5K! I turned around and headed
back the way I had just came, knowing now that I had a clear lead in the 10K.
It was a narrow path at points and plenty of dog walkers, cyclists and joggers
about, and with three turns in the race, it wasn’t a particularly fast race. I
crossed the finish line in 36 minutes 5 seconds. A journalist from the Kyoto
Shimbun newspaper interviewed me after the race and it was published in the
paper the following weekend.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiGUWfApNd60e7YnPkFCEFHUNJMyaaD28TKYJoy1AbpiSiBPkHOsJA_YADjXC7zcN7g69gwxvSPEpRVJL7jhgUdXeBH0zxPt-KGqEPcCbCKrHbTUjGgERpFCHym0oMarhkR-0bEcbuUp9J/s1600/Kyoto+Masters+10K.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiGUWfApNd60e7YnPkFCEFHUNJMyaaD28TKYJoy1AbpiSiBPkHOsJA_YADjXC7zcN7g69gwxvSPEpRVJL7jhgUdXeBH0zxPt-KGqEPcCbCKrHbTUjGgERpFCHym0oMarhkR-0bEcbuUp9J/s1600/Kyoto+Masters+10K.jpg" height="238" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="text-align: justify;">That’s
it for 2014. I had hoped that I could make a breakthrough and get a PB this
year, but I didn’t. The closest I came was running 16 minutes 40 seconds for
50000M in Osaka in May, which is a joint PB. However, I had three lengthy
injury spells this year, each with back pain, that prevented me from getting
more than several weeks of consistent training in before having to take a few
weeks off. I’ve thought several times
about quitting competitive running as I don’t seem to be able to make any
progress from the plateau that I’ve reached, but each time have quickly
dismissed the idea. If I can remain injury free for several months and train
consistently, then I remain optimistic that in those circumstances I could set
new personal best figures. Maybe next year!</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13574695550382730184noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8589762752822428455.post-89489691992053600652014-11-07T23:19:00.004-08:002014-11-07T23:42:05.206-08:00Kyoto Tamba 5K Road Race<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Having
done this race last year, my first in Japan, I had been looking forward to
repeating the race. Last year I finished fourth overall and first veteran man
aged 30-49 in a time of 17 minutes 22 seconds. For this year’s race I set my
eyes on a top three finishing spot and beating last years' time, preferably with
a sub-17 minutes run.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">This
year, the only change from the previous year was that the race was on a Monday
and not Sunday, it being a national holiday. My plan was simple. Knowing that
once the starting gun was fired, there would be a sprint start from most of the
field along the race course, which for the first 200 metres was uphill, before
the pace settled, I would wait until the course turned out of the park where
the race started and descended into the nearby town – and then work at catching
and then hanging on to the lead group. This is what happened last year. This
year though I just couldn’t seem to get my legs going. It was half way down the
steady descent into the town that I realised that there was no way that I was
going to catch the lead group.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">I
just tried to dig in and graft away and not give up hope that I could at least
have a solid run. After 1 mile there was a steep 200 metre climb which didn’t
seem too difficult, though a young whippersnapper worked his way past me on the
ascent. At the crest of the hill I could see down a long stretch of flattish
road which the course was to follow and decided to latch onto the youngster and
use him to pace myself down the road. However, after about half a mile his pace
began to waiver so I dispensed of his services and slipped past him. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Two
runners passed me at 4K. I could hear them working at catching me and had
expected to see the youngster once more, but unbeknown to me he had faded well
back by that point. The race finished on a track and I tried to at least look strong and determined in front of the assembled crowd. I crossed the line in eighth
place overall, and third veteran man aged 30-49, in a time of 17 minutes 18
seconds. So I had achieved one of my goals, though I was disappointed not to
have run a better race.</span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0HaDS72N2-7rWQ4EAJanqAdBB1mpuiXCXo-TbJJpO73wcPPZKczzNKSNvU8fwwecH_bcj3zGEEIA4FWCiaS6DXXhz1XZL9ogR_eDQu1_Y6OWi0Au3IErjS1hbRsbBTT8okEYAJ67mLrII/s1600/IMG_0935.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0HaDS72N2-7rWQ4EAJanqAdBB1mpuiXCXo-TbJJpO73wcPPZKczzNKSNvU8fwwecH_bcj3zGEEIA4FWCiaS6DXXhz1XZL9ogR_eDQu1_Y6OWi0Au3IErjS1hbRsbBTT8okEYAJ67mLrII/s1600/IMG_0935.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">3rd man 30-39 prize: locally produced Tamba wine,<br />
a bag of rice and certificate</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The
second placed overall finisher was a fellow British runner, also called Mike,
formerly of Darlington Harriers. He recognised the Morpeth Harriers club vest
that I had worn during the race and we chatted whilst waiting for the prize giving ceremony. It seems that he’d previously lived in Japan many years ago,
had married a Japanese woman, was a veteran 50 years plus runner and returned
to Kyoto annually at this time of year on a business trip from his current base in
Reading in the UK and made it a tradition to run the Kyoto Tamba Road Race. Small world.</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13574695550382730184noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8589762752822428455.post-63717168801097565522014-10-20T01:41:00.001-07:002014-10-20T01:48:27.858-07:00Awaji Island 5KM Road Race<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">I
first read about Awaji Island, the birthplace of Japan, several years ago and
so was open to an opportunity to visit. When I saw that there was a road race
on the island I booked a place. Training has been going terribly over the last
few months, beset with chronic back pain and other distractions. So I saw this
race as a nice day out and a bit of fun rather than aiming for a good finishing
time. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The
course was mostly flat and I felt good throughout. It was a bit of a surprise
to run a decent race, finishing 4<sup>th</sup> man overall and 3<sup>rd</sup>
senior man in a time of 16 minutes 49 seconds and securing a place on the
Winners Podium. I have finished in the top three of several races but always
missed the prize giving ceremony due to not understanding how these events work
and the language barrier. I was determined not to miss it this time around. I
received a magnificent trophy, three types of Awaji Island produced salad
dressing, a certificate and a bag of onions – the agricultural product that the
island is best known for!<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Other
highlights of the day include driving across Akashi Kaikyo Bridge and seeing
Izangi Jingu Shrine. Awaji Island is connected to the main island of Japan,
Honshu, by Akashi Kaikyo Bridge, which at 2 miles in length is the longest
suspension bridge in the world. It was a bit of a thrill to drive across it to
and from the race venue, which was next to Izanagi Jingu Shrine - the oldest
shrine in Japan.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha6UXmfiKl77k94wflMUAL69_syrHTSeIzgs-LWd1EO2HwPDDgKvSUX48yLALcojJn4wrMqiF9Ma7YBumjCu5aidtRFobzzWt3ML3boh6ExrGdMG__X73QAYD9qSnYoeyq0h9aBS9VLP1I/s1600/IMG_1416.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha6UXmfiKl77k94wflMUAL69_syrHTSeIzgs-LWd1EO2HwPDDgKvSUX48yLALcojJn4wrMqiF9Ma7YBumjCu5aidtRFobzzWt3ML3boh6ExrGdMG__X73QAYD9qSnYoeyq0h9aBS9VLP1I/s1600/IMG_1416.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Legend
has it that Awaji was the first island of Japan, created by the gods Izanagi
and Izanami. They stirred the sea with a heavenly spear, and when they lifted
it, a droplet of salt water fell from the spear into the sea which created
Awaji Island. The gods then descended to live on the island, going on to create
the other islands of Japan before taking human form and living out their days
at the site of the shrine that is now dedicated to them. Many runners took the
chance to visit it after the race, making a relaxing end to a nice day out on
the island.</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13574695550382730184noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8589762752822428455.post-39346046814124814092014-08-23T20:07:00.000-07:002014-08-24T17:56:04.417-07:00Fuji-san<div style="text-align: justify;">
Fuji-san is one of the most iconic images of Japan. Naturally, I've long wanted to climb it, and the official climbing season is July and August of each year. On Thursday last week I decided to make a solo attempt on it and so booked two days off work.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_Rmk-AX61ZNca9VxXU3oUC2fVQPqZ5TrLWS24C0YNBx4hlNuCGMQfXO-3pLYXL0nxvM3P2sCAnCErG8GzHRzj3MXtlOup5Cv6gcij0zszIf2MATA4EjUGttrORqWbUYnO0R575vfYY_f2/s1600/photo+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_Rmk-AX61ZNca9VxXU3oUC2fVQPqZ5TrLWS24C0YNBx4hlNuCGMQfXO-3pLYXL0nxvM3P2sCAnCErG8GzHRzj3MXtlOup5Cv6gcij0zszIf2MATA4EjUGttrORqWbUYnO0R575vfYY_f2/s1600/photo+2.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
<span style="text-align: justify;"><br /></span>
<span style="text-align: justify;">Waking up at 5AM, I really wasn't sure if I'd even be able to succeed in getting to Fuji-san, never mind making it to the summit. However, I managed to get to Kyoto Station and book myself onto a Shinkansen (bullet train) to Tokyo without incident. Speeding along to Tokyo and admiring the views out of the window, a sense of excitement began to build inside me. Yet I was pressed for time as I had to get to Shinjuku Bus Station in Tokyo to catch a bus to Mt. Fuji 5th Station, the starting point for 90% of people who climb the dormant volcano. You can't just rock up and jump on the bus; you have to pre-book a seat. As it turned out, I managed to just about make the 10:40AM departure I'd booked onto with only a couple of minutes to spare.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGD5RP4AP9lG1QhQ5Hswk0qw9KQiaMIFazvrK0Tyuu5n9ncYqBo-6KUXEbAhMweu2azwCx60kY0oVgYEa102PtL8x5vwLZCvO5tLNoBDaIDiMvN4PXxeFW7MxJ_XM0eVYZsOyQy8LsYiLh/s1600/photo+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGD5RP4AP9lG1QhQ5Hswk0qw9KQiaMIFazvrK0Tyuu5n9ncYqBo-6KUXEbAhMweu2azwCx60kY0oVgYEa102PtL8x5vwLZCvO5tLNoBDaIDiMvN4PXxeFW7MxJ_XM0eVYZsOyQy8LsYiLh/s1600/photo+1.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="text-align: justify;">I arrived at Kawaguchiko-guchi go-gome 5th Station just after 1PM, and spent some time admiring the view of the towering mountain, eating some lunch, buying drinks to take with me and pottering around the shops. At 3PM, I set off on the long walk up the Yoshida track.</span><br />
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It usually takes 6 hours from the 5th station to the summit. I did it in 3 hours. It certainly wasn't my plan to beast it. There are a number of mountain huts along the track, that you have to pre-book into, to spent the night on the mountain. The tradition in Japan is to time your ascent so that you reach the summit in order to greet and see the dawn of the new day. As I fancied trying it the traditional way, I'd booked into Fuji Hotel, a mountain hut at Station 8, 1.3 KM from the summit. My initial plan was to just reach the hut and spend the night there before heading to the summit in the dark to see the dawn of a new day. I surprised myself on the quick pace that I made up the mountain, and reached Station 8 by 5:30PM. Carried along by the excitement of having got to this point, and knowing that the top of the mountain was so close with a few hours of daylight left, I just thought, I'm going to go all the way to the summit now!<br />
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The summit itself is a huge crater with a 1.6 KM circuit around it's rim. There were very few people on the summit that evening when I got there, which was suprising given the thousands of people I'd seen on the way up. The peak itself was on the far side of the crater to where the Yoshida track arrives onto the crater, so I made my way around to that whilst admiring the stunning landscape and views. It was thrilling to reach the peak, and as I made my way back around to the Yoshida track, I got to see the sun set.</div>
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Making my way down to the mountain hut, which was little more than a large wooden shed, I hungrily devoured the curry rice meal they gave me before attempting to get a few hours sleep. I didn't succeed in getting much sleep as you're forced to sleep virtually on top of other climbers crammed onto long wooden racks, and I had the misfortune to be next to the only person who seemed to be snoring very loudly. I felt on such a high at this point that I didn't care much, though I did feel a slight sensation in my head which I knew were the symptoms related to the altitude that I was at.</div>
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At 2AM, many of the climbers in the hut started to wake up and get ready to make their way in the dark to the summit in time to see the rising sun. Despite the chronic lack of sleep I virtually leapt out of my sleeping bag and headed outside to join the huge thronging crowds snaking their way up the trail. At some points on the track the crowds were so dense that they ground to a halt and people just stood in long lines in the dark waiting to move forward slowly. I didn't want to miss out on getting to the summit to see the sun rise so I ducked and dived and weaved my way through the crowds using the skills I've learnt on countless cross country races in the UK and got to the peak on the summit by 4AM, where there was a small group of people with cameras at the ready.</div>
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First, the glow of the sun began to appear on the horizon on the opposite side of the crater, and at around 4:30AM the sun appeared in the sky. There was a real sense of excitement in the air and one of the guys on the summit shouted out loudly, "Ohayo gozaimasu" (good morning) as the sun appeared, followed by a chorus of dozens of people replying "Ohayo gozaimasu!". By 5AM the sun was rising rapidly and I decided to make my way off the summit as I was getting really cold by this point. I took the Gotemba track off the summit, which had few people on it compared to the busy Yoshida track. On the way down there was an option to take a 20-minute side trip to the summit of Hoei-zan, a peak formed by a secondary side vent of Fuji-san. I took the side trip as I was enjoying myself so much, but there were very strong winds on the summit and ridge of Hoei-zan. There was a great view of Fuji-san from the summit.</div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
I was amazingly lucky with the weather as it was perfect conditions during both off my visits to the summit of Fuji-San with clear views, no rain and not windy at all apart from when I was on the summit of Hoei-zan. It really was a fantastic experience and a true highlight of my time in Japan.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13574695550382730184noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8589762752822428455.post-19293795669552273632014-06-09T04:17:00.000-07:002014-06-09T04:17:52.989-07:00OTTY National Convention 10K<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">I
ran this 10K race yesterday morning, set in the leafy and attractive grounds
around Harima Park, Hyogo. I’ve got a warm up routine that I like to go through
before each race. About 40 minutes before the gun is fired, I do a run of about
2 miles, starting very slowly and building up the pace. Then I do about 5
minutes of stretching, followed by five or six 80-100 metre striders at goal
race pace, before joining the start line.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Getting
my excuses in<b>: </b>as I did the first
mile of my warm up yesterday, I realised that this was not going to be a day
for fast times, with the first mile of the course being almost entirely uphill.
The weather was muggy and overcast. Sweat dripped from my arms onto the ground
as I leant against a wall during one of my stretches. So, it’s going to be a
warm race, I thought to myself.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The
race course consisted of two 5K undulating loops on tarmacked paths. The race field
was fairly large and I remained near the front throughout. However, there can
be no mistaking the fact that I had a bad run! Sometimes when you race, though
you’re suffering, you feel strong and can churn out the miles. Not yesterday. I
had thought that having had a solid run at the Osaka 5000M track race four
weeks ago, equalling my PB, I’d have a chance of running well in this race. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-align: justify;">Though
it was a struggle throughout, I was still surprised to see a time of 37 minutes
8 seconds on my watch when I crossed the finish line in about 10</span><sup style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%; text-align: justify;">th</sup><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-align: justify;">
place. Rather disappointing given the amount of time and effort that I expend
in training and seems to cast serious doubt over my sub-34 minute ambitions. Was
it the heat? Was it the undulating course? Got the training wrong? Whatever the
answer, I was the 2</span><sup style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%; text-align: justify;">nd</sup><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-align: justify;"> male finisher aged 30-39 years of age, and as
a result won a huge bag of Hyogo produced rice. This has to be the most
unexpected prize I’ve ever won in a race, but certainly very welcome!</span><br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13574695550382730184noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8589762752822428455.post-79621072289213846962014-05-12T02:16:00.004-07:002014-05-12T04:31:50.608-07:005000M Track Race, Osaka<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: white;">It’s been six weeks since my last race and I
was pleased to end this racing drought yesterday with my first track race in
Japan. The 5000M race was scheduled to start at 13:05h at the athletics stadium
in Hattori Ryokuchi Park, Osaka City. It was hot by the time I arrived so I sat
in the shade and drank plenty of liquid whilst watching the 10000M senior men’s
race. I went through my usual pre-race warm-up routine and reported to the start
point at 13:05h raring to go. After some confusion, I was told that my race was
‘next’, so I waited for 20 minutes whilst the first 5000M got under way. The
same thing happened at the start of the next race! Such is the difficulties of
the language barrier because I couldn’t read the race schedule I’d been handed
when I picked up my race number. </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdlcxWKqDnWuC0OU7oDpQn5aIwDhu2ex5MdkGMgzYbJYdvQQz_AcJAd0VItMp7VGvZb1pC_2wceYSXHlYpzIidVnuqx6p-JNA6wM7sDLQvwD6_vRE3y5Jd5nqLD6UqrM5yUzdjZ6UnGQQb/s1600/IMG_0087.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdlcxWKqDnWuC0OU7oDpQn5aIwDhu2ex5MdkGMgzYbJYdvQQz_AcJAd0VItMp7VGvZb1pC_2wceYSXHlYpzIidVnuqx6p-JNA6wM7sDLQvwD6_vRE3y5Jd5nqLD6UqrM5yUzdjZ6UnGQQb/s1600/IMG_0087.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The lead group of the senior men's 10000M race</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: white;">At 2pm I was called over to run in the third
5000M race, by which time temperatures had reached 28 C. I’m not used to
running in such heat. This time I hadn’t got warmed up properly as I expected
the race to start 10 minutes later than it did. There were 9 men in this race. As
I hadn’t done a proper warm up, I set off steadily when the starting pistol was
fired. I went through the first 200M in 7<sup>th</sup> place in 39 seconds. The
pace at the front of the field was very fast, so I was content to let them go.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: white;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: white;">At 600M I started trying to move up through
the field. I quickly got past the 6<sup>th</sup> and 5<sup>th</sup> runners,
but it took me until lap 5 to catch the 4<sup>th</sup> placed runner. There was
a table with cups of water placed half way down the home straight. The 4<sup>th</sup>
placed runner slowed to get a drink which meant I closed the gap much more
rapidly than expected and got in front of him on the next bend. My mouth was
bone dry by this point as it was baking hot, but I just thought to myself, <i>I’m not going to get a drink; it’s only
5000M and I don’t want to lose any time.</i><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><i><span style="color: white;"><br /></span></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: white;">The runner in 1<sup>st</sup> place at the
beginning of the race had set off at a blistering pace such that he had a huge
lead after the first 400M. However, his deterioration was dramatic. He’d slowed
to 3<sup>rd</sup> place by lap 6 so I set my sights on closing the gap and
caught him by the end of lap 8 and I then stayed in 3<sup>rd</sup> place until
the end of the race. He finished 19 seconds behind me and 53 seconds behind the
winning time of 16:06. Getting in front of him gave me great pleasure, as he
had clearly badly judged the pace of his race. Running at an even pace really is
the key to good performances, though by no means easy to do.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWbHvtJB742izYZ_WApFsymf9I9nSUcHNiA2_Dn75oawjXtJ9HAiQVxsgXxOuNyLO-ea3ZV7648J6Ra1SCx6aZM1X8KdHqIka6AkDmKJ8czOH3za5XGpo8FCGhJrYDEcVTvsbtqVj3x6Z6/s1600/IMG_0090.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWbHvtJB742izYZ_WApFsymf9I9nSUcHNiA2_Dn75oawjXtJ9HAiQVxsgXxOuNyLO-ea3ZV7648J6Ra1SCx6aZM1X8KdHqIka6AkDmKJ8czOH3za5XGpo8FCGhJrYDEcVTvsbtqVj3x6Z6/s1600/IMG_0090.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Under 40 years of age men's 5000M race results</td></tr>
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<br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: white;">I finished in a time of 16 minutes 40
seconds. This is exactly the same time as my previous personal best for this
distance, set 3 years ago in Jarrow in May 2011. So it was a solid run, though
disappointing to get so close to a personal best and not make it! It’s the best
indication yet that I’ve turned the corner with my running after two terrible
years of decline and certainly whetted the appetite for more track racing in
Japan, if I can find races to enter.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13574695550382730184noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8589762752822428455.post-54636525930295693742014-03-30T06:29:00.002-07:002014-03-30T06:29:44.754-07:00Oide Yasu Kyoto Kamogawa River 5K Race<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: white;">Heavy rain poured throughout the three races,
a 10K, 5K and 3K, along the Kamogawa River in Kyoto City this morning. I
arrived soon after the start of the 10K and tried vainly to seek shelter in
order to keep warm and dry. The race route was ran along a predominately hard
packed sand path, with a few sections of slippery paving stones thrown into the
mix.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0m75jAwdItMOmdqp4Ig9jtRHz91z8yPGyKIPGTIfTN9BJtV5xo8b3emYPG8IVDnD_BedlPEhApaMNf8HPkHTH8hf8Qmd00ZyoJIxRGYFCwEzAu2Ab25epYh-UgQ4Rb5r9_B3yhjqPR-sD/s1600/10K.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0m75jAwdItMOmdqp4Ig9jtRHz91z8yPGyKIPGTIfTN9BJtV5xo8b3emYPG8IVDnD_BedlPEhApaMNf8HPkHTH8hf8Qmd00ZyoJIxRGYFCwEzAu2Ab25epYh-UgQ4Rb5r9_B3yhjqPR-sD/s1600/10K.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The 10K race under way along the Kamogawa River</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white;">After taking the first few initial strides
after the starting gun was fired, I found myself in the lead. Some of the other
runners around me seemed reluctant to take the race on, and as I was determined
to at least have a hard training run, I just ran it at a pace that felt
comfortable. The path was dominated by huge puddles. I could hear two runners
not far behind me, the splashing sound that they made as the ploughed through
puddles a constant reminder that I could not switch off too much.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: white;">After 1 mile, there was a turnaround point
marked by a cone and a race marshal. I could see that I had a lead of about 40
metres, with the 2nd and 3rd men running side by side. A comfortable lead, but one
that I knew was not insurmountable. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: white;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: white;">A large group of spectators huddled for
shelter under a road bridge at the 2 mile point, which was next to the start and
finish area. I couldn’t stop myself from cracking open a beaming smile as I
received a loud round of applause and cheer as I ran down the dip under the
bridge.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: white;">At the second and final turnaround point at
about 2.5 miles, I saw that despite my best efforts number 2 and 3
runners were still almost exactly the same distance behind me and that I hadn’t
shaken them off. When I clocked sight of the finish line with 300M to go, I
took a quick look behind me. I could see that a tall chap in an orange t-shirt
had dropped his companion and was closing down on me fast. This gave me the impetus
to put in a sprint to the line for glory.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: white;">I finished 1<sup>st</sup> in the modest time
of 17 minutes 22 seconds. A little slower than the 5K that I did 2 weeks ago,
but given the conditions, this is not a concern. I got a medal, giant winner’s
certificate and two different types of chocolate. I was covered in mud and sand
and it took an age to get changed and dried off. I waited around to watch the
start of the 3K race which was mostly made up of young children who, admirably,
seemed incredibly eager to race despite the downpour.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13574695550382730184noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8589762752822428455.post-5653683251443297642014-03-23T05:37:00.001-07:002014-03-23T05:53:44.150-07:00Track and Field school<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: white;">Starting
on Friday, all the best Senior High School track and field athletes in Kyoto
Prefecture have been attending a special four day training camp in Kyotamba. I
got invited to join in one of the sessions yesterday. The middle distance
runners were divided into three groups. The session set was six 1000M
repetitions with a 400M jog recovery. The pace was 3 minutes 10 secs per rep
for group A, 3:20 for group B and 3:30 for group C. Ambitiously, I opted to run
with group A, consisting of eight 16-17 year old students.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: white;">The
group ran the whole session in single file, with students taking turns at the
front to lead and set the pace. I decided to run at the back of the group, not
wanting to get in the way or disrupt the session. The group stayed in close
contact for the first three reps. During the fourth and fifth rep, I and two
other runners drifted a little off the back of the pack. 300M into the last rep
I realised that these two other runners had dropped out of the session, so I
had to run it by myself. It was a good session, though the pace was just
slightly beyond the upper edge of what I am capable of at the moment. About one
hundred young athletes attended the training camp. It was incredibly well
organised and impressive to see. </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQi5g8f9KUjbeVIguRJD8CkNVKpz7rPPkKssgARKB2ypad9AxhkKJE4yrSGTAjBO6ceGjev8Sjmvuro0PtkqTSyevKX4s2qGrk6NbFM-RX9AA6Uu8VFMEEaMYHWe_aer7w7rLqkrhpgEzT/s1600/Training.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQi5g8f9KUjbeVIguRJD8CkNVKpz7rPPkKssgARKB2ypad9AxhkKJE4yrSGTAjBO6ceGjev8Sjmvuro0PtkqTSyevKX4s2qGrk6NbFM-RX9AA6Uu8VFMEEaMYHWe_aer7w7rLqkrhpgEzT/s1600/Training.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kyotamba Track and Field school</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: white;">On
a different note, I received a welcome surprise in the post this week. I was
the third fastest over-30 year old male finisher in the Uji River 10K race that I
ran four weeks ago. Not realising this at the time, I didn’t stay around at the
end of the race to claim my prize. Having tracked me down, the race organisers kindly
posted out an impressive trophy, bronze medal and certificate.</span></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13574695550382730184noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8589762752822428455.post-25455490797788510732014-03-16T04:53:00.000-07:002014-03-16T05:11:55.077-07:00The 35th Kyoto City 5K Road Race<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: white; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">There
is a saying in Japan: ‘Three days cold, four days warm, spring arrives’. We
have certainly had our three cold days this week. Snow was falling when I left
the track in Kyoto City after finishing my session on Monday evening. This weekend,
things have been very different. Today, race day, was the warmest day of year
so far, with temperatures pushing close to 20 degrees. Great conditions for the
many spectators that lined the south bank of the Hozu River in western Kyoto
City to watch the 3K, 5K and half-marathon races.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: white;">A
small crowd of about 200 men assembled on the start line of the segregated 5K
race. The first few hundred metres of the race were ran over a badly worn patch
of grass, with fairly dense crowds of spectators cheering us on. As is usual,
the starting pace was brisk, but when we joined a narrow cycle path along the
river bank after 200M, it quickly settled down to a more manageable pace. I was
in about 12<sup>th</sup> place by this point, and as we approached the first
short climb, I got knocked aside by a runner who wanted to get in front of me
and clearly felt that I was running too slowly for him!</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">After
cresting the rise, the path remained flat all the way to the first turnaround point.
I managed to work my way smoothly through the field to 4</span><sup style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;">th</sup><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> place,
and was sat just a few metres behind the leading pack of three by the time we
reach the turnaround, 1 mile into the race. I was pleased to pass the lad who
had knocked me out of the way earlier and even more pleased to see that he had dropped
a good distance behind me when I went around the first turnaround cone.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: white;">The
leading group managed to pull away from me a little at this point, but I worked
hard to try and hold my pace. Half way back along the path to the start area, I
was passed by a lad in a black t-shirt who went on to finish third. After
passing the start/finish area, the race route continued along a more quiet
section of path. There was a second and final turnaround point. As I rounded
this, I could see that the 4th placed runner was coming back towards me and I
sensed a good opportunity to use him to try and keep up my own momentum, as I
felt like I was wilting in the heat. I caught and passed him soon afterwards,
but lacked the kick to open up a big enough gap to destroy his morale.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Predictably,
with 400M remaining, the youngster on my shoulder kicked and passed me,
finishing just 2-3 seconds ahead of me. At least doing battle with him kept me
focussed in the final stages. I crossed the line in 16 minutes 46 seconds. This
is the second fastest time that I have ever finished a 5K race. My 5K PB is 16
minutes 40 seconds, which I ran on a track in Newcastle-upon-Tyne in May 2011.
A good result then, boding well for the future.</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13574695550382730184noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8589762752822428455.post-78092893925884353202014-03-09T04:48:00.002-07:002014-03-09T04:48:32.451-07:00Kyoto City Track<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: white;">Spring
is struggling to break through, though there is no sign yet of the much vaunted
cherry blossom. Most days there is still a chill in the air and an occasional
snow flurry. I am feeling really great about running and training again. I had
been worried that I would never get this feeling back, but it has crept up on
me suddenly when I wasn’t expecting it.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: white;">In
January, I figured out how to get access to an all-weather running track in
Kyoto Tamba and did the necessary paper work. Then I discovered a problem. The
track is only open for use between 9am -12noon and 1pm-5pm, Monday to Sunday. Groups
wanting to book the track get given priority and exclusive use for either the
whole morning or afternoon session – even if they have finished using the track
and gone home, nobody else can use it for the remainder of their booking
period! Invariably, it is booked all weekend. I have to go to the track to see
if I can use it, but have been turned away several times due to a group making
a late booking. I could not plan my training with such unreliable access.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: white;">Although
it turns out this style of booking system and track opening hours is the norm
across Japan, there is thankfully one exception to this in Kyoto Prefecture. In
the heart of Kyoto City is a magnificent international running track and
stadium called Nishikyogoku Sougou Undou Kouen. This is not available to the
likes of me for training purposes. However, there is an all-weather ‘sub-track’
just outside the stadium which is available for use, by anybody, for 10 days
every month, between the hours of 8am-9pm, for a mere 200 Yen. The days vary
each month, but are spread throughout every month and are always on a weekday. </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: white;">I
went to the track a couple of weeks ago for my first tentative session after work. A
group of wheelchair athletes were training, taking up lanes 2 and 3. There were
also some groups of school athletics clubs finishing up their own sessions, and
me. I’ve been back a couple of times since. In fact, the last 4 weeks has been
the best and most consistent period of training that I’ve had for a very long
time indeed. At last, I am getting in two quality track sessions a week, occasionally
doing a road session on a Saturday and also a long-run on a Sunday. I am
enjoying my running again, even if is lonely having to run by myself all of the
time. I have also finally figured out how to enter races myself, without having
to get other people to do it for me. Next week, I will be running in a 5K road
race in Kyoto City.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13574695550382730184noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8589762752822428455.post-6214695180665478352014-02-24T02:35:00.002-08:002014-03-09T04:52:31.500-07:00Uji River 10K Road Race<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: white;">The 30<sup>th</sup> Uji River 10K Road Race,
which I ran yesterday morning, was most definitely not a flat or fast course. It
was the first 10K that I’ve raced in for over 2 years. I took my place on the
start line in Uji Sports Park, alongside 1000 other runners in the 10K event,
and also at least another thousand runners who’d entered the Uji River
half-marathon race, for a combined start. This was the biggest field that I’ve
raced in so far in Japan.</span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">As I was warming up, I saw a small team of
Japanese Self Defence Force soldiers doing their own warm up preparations, with
Taiko drums. Once the starting pistol was fired, they started an impressive
performance of traditional Japanese drumming as the field passed</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: white;">by.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiI__-ik5qOpmLJWTJ3KJIiK78nEvxIIAUXQ7i9zywpxj2wgQpn6tuifHPMvc87t0BBeSrm-fyE53J-16iSNNaWezBQIxibwG2Wfch08I45QlHte8XwHR7G9oQRmS3nNMAoM5voC6TF84x/s1600/Army+Drummers.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiI__-ik5qOpmLJWTJ3KJIiK78nEvxIIAUXQ7i9zywpxj2wgQpn6tuifHPMvc87t0BBeSrm-fyE53J-16iSNNaWezBQIxibwG2Wfch08I45QlHte8XwHR7G9oQRmS3nNMAoM5voC6TF84x/s1600/Army+Drummers.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: white;">I’ve learnt that front runners of Japanese
road races tend to start at a sprint, and as the race was downhill for the
first 2 miles, I was prepared for a fast start. I was surprised, given the
crowded start line, to get clear and to be able to run freely with plenty of
space around me after only a few metres.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: white;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: white;">After about 800m, the road turned sharply
left as we exited the sports park and continued our descent towards Uji River.
I lent forward slightly to increase my pace and to take advantage of the lay of
the land, but tried to run relaxed. I could see a couple of runners a few
metres ahead of me and I worked towards catching them so that I could run in
their slip stream and use them to shield me from the wind.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: white;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: white;">Just before we’d ran 2 miles, the road
levelled out and the course took us through a narrow stretch of shops lined
with many spectators that shouted encouragement, with some waving placards.
There then followed a long steady climb along a road that ran parallel to the
river, to the turnaround point, this being an out and back race. Just before
the 5K marker, the half-marathon runners were diverted away towards a path
along the bank of the river. Seeing the front runners of the 10K whizz past on
the other side of the road just before I went around the turnout point, I
realised that I was in 27<sup>th</sup> place. I was overtaken by three runners on
what was to be the last downhill stretch back along the road overlooking the river.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: white;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: white;">Then the climbing started. It was tough; 2
miles of uphill running with no let up. I expected to lose several places as my
pace inevitably slowed, but pleasingly, this didn’t happen. After a long drag,
we finally turned back into the sports park, for what I thought would be a
gentle climb back along the same road that we’d started the race down. However,
a race marshal directed us off to a branch road. As I turned onto it, I saw another
steep uphill section ahead.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: white;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: white;">The runner immediately in front of me was
obviously disappointed to see another, unexpected ascent, as he seemed to
literally wobble at the sight and ground to a virtual halt. Passing him as I
slogged up that last hill, I entered a running track stadium and stretched out
for the finish line, expecting the youngster I’d passed on the final hill
section to out sprint me at any moment, but he never came back.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiITjy5XimkxGPHQG0tfT2L2vXlV98z2L7UkmCLv0x8DH4l53ORkcAnDivpq4wH6RyL5vWfgYPeC5_lnDNljfgTdlC6ezqLjv9W2nH2S6-aWOXrV5eJ1Njap_y1THArT0-ZzWBGsVcld1w6/s1600/Finish+line.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiITjy5XimkxGPHQG0tfT2L2vXlV98z2L7UkmCLv0x8DH4l53ORkcAnDivpq4wH6RyL5vWfgYPeC5_lnDNljfgTdlC6ezqLjv9W2nH2S6-aWOXrV5eJ1Njap_y1THArT0-ZzWBGsVcld1w6/s1600/Finish+line.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-align: justify;">I finished 29</span><sup style="color: white; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%; text-align: justify;">th</sup><span style="color: white; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-align: justify;"> in 36 minutes 41
seconds. Not a great 10K time, but considering the hilly nature of the course,
I’m pleased with it. After the race, I went to a tea room overlooking a
Japanese garden, which was behind Byodoin Temple, for a refreshing drink of
Uji’s famous green tea.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxD01A3mw6BFgE5PI7koyCpOpuc0dpOZYRJLWRxVKc-7FwGOemEzIrXfpEBVEao_IOrCBXOpDcxnD2u7SzvkASAl6IsPNSBe_G0bgHJur9MZ4fCyuLXPPIJv51G56xSMSoy7x7LYXRDRms/s1600/Uji+tea.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxD01A3mw6BFgE5PI7koyCpOpuc0dpOZYRJLWRxVKc-7FwGOemEzIrXfpEBVEao_IOrCBXOpDcxnD2u7SzvkASAl6IsPNSBe_G0bgHJur9MZ4fCyuLXPPIJv51G56xSMSoy7x7LYXRDRms/s1600/Uji+tea.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13574695550382730184noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8589762752822428455.post-59853333588788505612014-02-09T04:39:00.004-08:002014-02-09T04:51:05.627-08:00Tunnel Vision<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: white;">The
last week has been a bit of a car crash, as far as running and training is
concerned. Gaining entry to the track in Kyoto Tamba on Monday after work, I
did a 400M repetition session. It was a struggle as I had a bit of a cough. By
the following day, it had developed into a full blown chest infection. As a
result, I didn’t get many runs in this week.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: white;">I
read about the ‘neck rule’. If you have a virus or infection centred above the
neck, then you can still train. If, however, the problem is below the neck,
then you should lay off running until you’re on the mend. I took two days off.
By Thursday, I was bored, so popped out for an easy couple of miles. After 3
miles, I had real trouble with my breathing, so stopped. I started to retch, and
then vomited onto the trail that I was stood on. Nice.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: white;">I
have been sick only once before whilst out running. I went out for a run with a
former member of the Swedish Winter Olympic team in the summer of 2000 whilst
working in Maryland, USA. I knew little about running at the time, only doing a
couple of jogs a week. Bjorn suggested that we did a hill session, and chose a
monster of a hill to do it on. We ran hard from the bottom to the top of the
hill, and then jogged slowly down, before repeating numerous times. Anyway, I vomited
sometime near the end of the session. It’s so rare an event, it’s memorable. </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsbqnnLlPYTmIR4qQYDJT9iqTl3q3dgp-VYF3mwRxiJP5mcH0szcMZ6eQsLaSXKyESVZAD9scMr9IKLBDVclfxPvXtmbJIEpNZeIkinaBvsmuhyoJRYLIGUTnoELmLmdsmwa7bEV1pSM20/s1600/Vista.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsbqnnLlPYTmIR4qQYDJT9iqTl3q3dgp-VYF3mwRxiJP5mcH0szcMZ6eQsLaSXKyESVZAD9scMr9IKLBDVclfxPvXtmbJIEpNZeIkinaBvsmuhyoJRYLIGUTnoELmLmdsmwa7bEV1pSM20/s1600/Vista.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: white;">A
few days of enforced rest were in order. Yesterday, much of Japan was covered by
a heavy blanket of snow. It is difficult getting out for runs in these
conditions. You have to balance the desire to train consistently with the risk
of falling over and picking up a serious injury. Helpfully, the infrastructure of
modern living provides a solution. I have read about runners who train in
multi-storey car parks when there is heavy snow and ice. There are no such
buildings in Sonobe - the rural town where I live. Road or pedestrian tunnels
offer another alternative.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioEWp8BY94-gwtncr5QwyEmNuYAzKh25aEbD5hWGg01T8lxBqIk8DWWZI4UjFUYGDONVez4XCBM6hd0MgdvaXWE-5FQNNH9E7W1w2ItJSNCG3RyYe93Wnf_4qZv37cAf9JJjIrH6kNDfnc/s1600/IMG_0313.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioEWp8BY94-gwtncr5QwyEmNuYAzKh25aEbD5hWGg01T8lxBqIk8DWWZI4UjFUYGDONVez4XCBM6hd0MgdvaXWE-5FQNNH9E7W1w2ItJSNCG3RyYe93Wnf_4qZv37cAf9JJjIrH6kNDfnc/s1600/IMG_0313.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="color: white;">When I lived in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, I used to
train in the Tyne Pedestrian Tunnel. It took about 60 seconds, running hard, to
cross from one side of the River Tyne to the other. Charlie Spedding, who won a Bronze medal in
the men’s Marathon in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, is said to have likewise
trained under the Tyne. I believe that it is currently closed for repairs; it did
look like it needed a face lift.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnwA7OAG8Vvvspj4RYTbljqqWY9Qhz5mBYLQfQR_-kz2agDgnpfuPyxax-YfS-MYVctsE3MS7YnceVGJfWSCshyphenhyphenD5uRWq9Hq_nxbceRIQ_kkUEiLnDj8ML-SjzC0M56X-g9nnY9USmfumx/s1600/Tunnel+entrance.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnwA7OAG8Vvvspj4RYTbljqqWY9Qhz5mBYLQfQR_-kz2agDgnpfuPyxax-YfS-MYVctsE3MS7YnceVGJfWSCshyphenhyphenD5uRWq9Hq_nxbceRIQ_kkUEiLnDj8ML-SjzC0M56X-g9nnY9USmfumx/s1600/Tunnel+entrance.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: white;">Luckily
for me there is 598 Metre long tunnel through a mountain, about half a mile
from my apartment in Sonobe. I struggled up to it through several inches of
snow earlier this evening and did a few easy laps. At least the snowy vista
from the tunnel entrance looked nice.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGNTkDwU7BYpCikeieSPm-_szOwbRDOrb88ljfOmYKC2Ya_pGT9RmTVptV5nKjSbIpnhw8wfLs0af6R1P8jCF7KzHYguTN6pcVqyemBInFRX65VT08LubJnPVcPRyL7TUvk1XgAa8j68kr/s1600/IMG_0943.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGNTkDwU7BYpCikeieSPm-_szOwbRDOrb88ljfOmYKC2Ya_pGT9RmTVptV5nKjSbIpnhw8wfLs0af6R1P8jCF7KzHYguTN6pcVqyemBInFRX65VT08LubJnPVcPRyL7TUvk1XgAa8j68kr/s1600/IMG_0943.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: white;">The
chest infection is not completely gone, but I am on the mend. A few more days
of easy running are needed before I can start training again. </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDasfgSMlzWXohE4o_ZyjgVW4wHnv3RdcNELDR1R4TZGc19P1HBhxu_b7MorqRf17BHvqpLtTKtISupKd1HicmG1tf6-qfgWOiB4J2PofmMP78f_izm4r0sSPAFfW-VijEqrvDQ8cpXEUj/s1600/Tunnel+length.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDasfgSMlzWXohE4o_ZyjgVW4wHnv3RdcNELDR1R4TZGc19P1HBhxu_b7MorqRf17BHvqpLtTKtISupKd1HicmG1tf6-qfgWOiB4J2PofmMP78f_izm4r0sSPAFfW-VijEqrvDQ8cpXEUj/s1600/Tunnel+length.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13574695550382730184noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8589762752822428455.post-68222644510706001012014-01-31T20:12:00.002-08:002014-01-31T20:23:57.531-08:00Back on track<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: white;">With no races planned after the 1st, January
was never going to be an eventful month, and so it proved to be. For the first
two and a half weeks of the month, I stuck rigidly to the training schedule
that my coach has drawn up. Then I was struck down by a virus. I did a track
session on the morning of Saturday 18<sup>th</sup> January. Six 400 Metre reps,
with a three minute jog interval. I should have felt fresh and have been
flying; I wasn’t. I felt excessively tired. I woke up the next day with a pounding
headache. A week of enforced rest followed, giving me time to think about my
training.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: white;">Over the last few months, I’ve increased the
workload that I can handle, getting used to training six days/running up to 50
miles a week again. So a reasonable level of base fitness has been built up.
However, I have felt stuck in a rut with my training for a while. I’m just not
making progress. My times are not coming down. I woke up one morning with the realisation
that I’ve not ran well since late 2011. Something has got to change.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: white;">The first priority is to get back to training
on a tartan track. Training once or twice a week on a tartan track has proven
itself as transformational to my running in the past. The cinder track that
I’ve been using for the last 5 months is just not cutting the mustard. Figuring
out how to get regular, reliable access to a decent track has been a challenge.
I sought and begged for help. Basically, with a lot of paper work and a small
fee, I’ve found a way to train on a tartan track on a Friday and Sunday
afternoon, each week. Not ideal days, but with some jigging around of my
training schedule, it can work.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: white;">I was thrilled to get the chance to do two
track sessions this week, having bounced back from the virus. It was hard. I am
even more unfit than I thought I was. Yet, I know this is the solution.
Training on a tartan track means I can make a comeback, albeit slowly. The
second step is to re-introduce training twice a day. I’ve never been keen on
this. Getting out of bed at the crack of dawn to put in a few miles before
going to work is brutal. I did train twice a day, five days a week, in the build
up to my first marathon in 2010. I ran several personal bests on the back of
that training. Therefore, I’ve started running twice a day. Just two miles in
the morning a couple of times a week to begin with, before I try and increase
this to running twice a day, five times a week. </span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: white;">That’s the plan anyway. It does feel good to
be back on (tartan) track.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13574695550382730184noreply@blogger.com1