My Marathon

Hi again!

I really am trying to catch up before our trip back to the U.S.!

This time I'll tell you about the marathon I ran in April. I started casually running when we moved to Tokyo, so on and off since April 2014, but when 4 out of maybe 7 of my friends here moved away between November and January, I decided I needed something to fill my schedule since coffee dates and lunches no longer would. I thought it would be the perfect time to train for a marathon. I decided this in mid-December so I went online to find a nearby marathon far enough in advance to train for but also not too close to my sister's baby's due date in early May. I chose a race called the Tohoku Food Marathon scheduled for April 26th, in the Tohoku region of Japan. Tohoku is a rural area in Japan where the massive earthquake happened four years ago and is located about three hours away via the Shinkansen and another local train.

Let the training begin! Running a marathon is something I've always wanted to do but have never had the time or motivation. In college, I bought a book called 4 Months To A 4 Hour Marathon. Luckily, I brought the book to Japan, I dusted it off and planned out the training schedule that was offered. I really tried hard to stick to it the best I could. But along the way, I realized I am not a fast runner. I can go the long distances but am rather slow in getting there. I set a goal of 4 hours and 30 minutes for this marathon, hoping to run it a little faster.

As the race day neared, I was feeling good as I was able to complete my 20, 22, and 24 mile long training runs. I had confidence I could at least finish the marathon! The marathon organizers were hosting a few different tours in the Tohoku Region for the runners the day before the race, so I jumped at the chance to join and tour a few sake (Japanese rice wine) breweries and explore the area a little bit! Who drinks sake the day before a marathon? Apparently, this girl does! I had so much fun meeting new people and getting to taste really great sake right where is it brewed.

Me and one of the tour volunteers drinking sake

The president of the brewery telling us how the sake is made

A tour volunteer, the sake brewery president,
the 2015 sake master and (just) me!

The next day, I took a taxi from my hotel directly to the race venue. It was about a 45 minute ride but was well worth the expense since the trains don't come as often there as they do in Tokyo. I was already nervous enough about the race, I didn't need to worry about missing the train or getting on the wrong train, too! It was a surprisingly peaceful ride. We passed many rice fields and wide open spaces that I miss when we are in Tokyo. I arrived at the venue around 7am which was the perfect amount of time to check-in, check my bag, use the port-a-potty and line up for the 8am start time. I was one of only a few (maybe a dozen) foreigners out of a couple thousand runners. Just before it was starting time, a Japanese man standing next to me said, "gambatte kudasai," which means "do your best" or "good luck". I replied with the same to him.

Here we go! And we were off. My Japanese "friend" and I started out together but I soon passed him. I started out strong running 9:15-9:30 minute miles. That went really well for about the first 9 miles. After that, I realized I started too fast because I started slowing down significantly. The course was two laps around a lake and as people were cheering the half-marathon finishers after one lap, all I could think was, Oh man, I wish I had signed up for the half! I glanced at my watch and noticed I completed the half marathon in approximately 2 hours and 3 minutes. Somewhere between miles 15-16 my Japanese friend that I started with passed me and waved back at me when he did. I thought, so nice! I wish I could keep up with you though! Although I never walked at all during the marathon, I did slow down, a lot. I had some 11 minute miles, which was slower than my training pace. Around mile 20, I started doing some math in my head as to how fast I will have to run to finish under 4:30. (Without music, you think about the craziest things while running for hours!) I figured out that I could still do it but I'd have to run faster! So I did. I got a surge of energy and picked up my pace. I had about a mile to go when I heard people cheering and music playing and I went even faster. I was cruising right along, had about 1 km to go (just over a half mile) when I see my friend I started with, walking ahead of me. I thought, no, you are not walking right now! We are almost done! When I got close to him, I grabbed his arm (he probably thought, what the heck?!) and said, "ikimasho, let's go!" He saw me and smiled and he started running with me. As we were nearing the finish line, he was saying something in Japanese and motioning for me to go in front of him and I started speaking in English about how we were going to finish together and that we did. We raised our held hands as we crossed the finish line, both with identical times of 4:23:35. I pulled him in for a sweaty, big-ol-American-style hug. Joe and the boys met me at the finish line and after hugging them too, I had to quickly tell Joe why I gave a random guy a hug first after the race and not him, haha! It was such a cool story of a very cool day. I learned a lot from my first marathon: what to do and not to do for my next race and a lot about myself.

Oh, and just so you know, the race was called the Tohoku Food Marathon for a reason. There were food stations with every water station, every few miles! Everything from gyoza and fruit to full-on BBQ meat and sake! Be careful you don't grab the sake thinking it's water! So along with some very serious runners, there were also runners who would run from station to station, enjoying the food at each.

Me giving my new Japanese friend a hug

So tired, but so happy to see my boys at the finish line cheering for me

I did it!

"I ran the full marathon" and Jacob, too

After taking a week-ish long break, I started running again. I think I might be a "runner" now. But I have learned that now, a race (I have since made new friends, but haven't forgotten the ones who moved!), is my motivation. I ran a 10k near the end of May with a time of 57:14 and a half marathon in the middle of June with a time of 2:20 - there is a whole other story that goes along with this one! My friend and running partner, Hanna, and I had to walk/run maybe 5km just to get to the race and then we showed up with less than 10 minutes to spare! The heat and humidity were pretty intense, but we both had a good time. I am also running a 5k in August in Rapid City, South Dakota. And yes, I have signed up for my next marathon! I registered for the Fujisan Marathon to be held at the end of November. The race will take place around Lake Kawaguchiko, which if you've read any of my other posts, know that I am practically in love with Mt. Fuji and the view of it from around this lake. I am also going to apply to run the Tokyo Marathon again this year. Registration takes place during the month of August and lottery winners are notified in early September. Last year, I was one of about 315,000 applicants and only 35,000 people get to run. I will start training for Fujisan in August but if I win the lottery for Tokyo, I am thinking about postponing the Fujisan Marathon until next year to have more time to train for Tokyo. We will see!

Thank you so much for reading. I love you.

XOL

I have to thank my amazing husband and wonderful kiddos who haven't seen me on Saturday mornings for many months, as that is when I do my long runs. You guys are the absolute best.