Tokyo Marathon 2010 Fail & Private "Marathon"

After successfully completing the Tokyo Marathon last year (my first marathon), I thought doing the same race this year would be a breeze. I trained harder (but still took a break over winter vacation while I was in Malaysia and Thailand), and felt more ready than I did last year. The day of the marathon arrived, and I was feeling rested, prepared, and calm. So, what happened? Sunday, February 28th was a day filled with bad luck and bad decisions, and ended up with me being disqualified from the marathon.

I went to the race with my friend, B., who was running her first marathon. Before the start, we got in line to use the toilet and waited too long. We missed the deadline to be in our starting block, and while she managed to jump a fence and get to the place we were supposed to be, security stepped in and prevented me from following suit. As a result, I had to go to the back of the 35,000 runners, which meant it took me 20 minutes to reach the start after the gun went off, instead of the 10 minutes it would've taken if I'd been in my starting block. 

Next, remembering how long the line was for the first toilet last year, and even though, yet again, I had to go right at the start of the race, I managed to wait until about 4.5k before needing to use the bathroom desperately. BIG MISTAKE. I couldn't find a short line, and although I'm not sure, I must've been in line for about 25 minutes. I knew I was wasting valuable time, but still wasn't worried about the 7 hour time limit, and really had to pee. What I didn't know, was that I was already dangerously close to the 5k gate time cut off. My fault for not reading all the race materials. When I got there,  there was a rope across the street, and race officials pointing people towards a couple of buses. I was shocked. I couldn't believe that I'd been DQ'd, especially so early in the race, and not due to an injury or something more substantial than bad luck and my own mistake. I called a friend who was cheering further along the route, and tried to figure out what to do.

Then, I saw someone step over the rope and start running. Hmm, I thought, maybe it's ok to keep running? So, I jumped over the rope and started running again too. The race officials that I passed were still cheering for me, so I thought maybe it was ok, and I picked up speed. I passed tons of people, and even passed people waiting in line at toilets, so I thought I was safe. In fact, I ran the next 5k in about 27 minutes, 8 minutes faster than planned, and only 10 seconds slower than my 5k PR. However, I made it to the 10k gate cutoff about 30 seconds too late, and this time they were more forceful about putting people on the buses. They even chased down a couple of people who jumped over the rope. 

So, the 2010 Tokyo Marathon ended for me at 10k this year and I was devastated. All that hard work, wasted. I was so disappointed in myself. And I learned a valuable lesson: ALWAYS be aware of ALL time cutoffs, even if you think they won't affect you.

My friends who ran finished, and were happy with their times. I tried to be positive that night when we went out to celebrate, and I came up with a plan to make myself feel better.

I plotted out a 42.195k course in and around the town where I live and planned my own, private marathon-length run so that the training wouldn't go to waste. I tapered again, and treated it exactly how I had prepared for the real race: plenty of sleep, water, carbs... and this time I did get nervous, and had a hard time sleeping the night before. 

I woke up at 5:30, ate oatmeal and drank coffee, and started running (in the rain- just like the weather during the marathon) at 7:30. I started early so that B. would have time to meet me for 10k near the end. How awesome is that? She'd just run a marathon 6 days before (in 4:26!) and she offered to keep me company when I'd need support the most. That's a great friend!

The first half was fine, and I made good time, although the route I'd picked was hillier than I'd remembered from long runs I did last year. I met up with B. at 25k, and she ran with me until 34k, when I turned back towards my town. My knees were killing me by then, but there was no way I was going to give up, so I pushed through the pain. I made it home at 12:57pm, which meant a total time of 5:27, and my Garmin time (taking off time for 2 bathroom breaks and traffic lights) was 5:03:12. Last year my chip time at Tokyo was 5:47, so I'm very happy with both times, and relieved to have long runs behind me for awhile.

I'll probably try another marathon next spring (either Tokyo or Vancouver, depending on where I'm living then), but for now, I'm back to short runs and training for a 10k race on a hilly but beautiful course, and I'm hoping to break 1 hour, or at least get close. This will be my 4th time doing this race, and 1:06:42 is my PR for the course. However, I've never been properly trained in time for the race (actually last year it was 3 weeks after Tokyo, and my first run after the marathon), so I'm hoping that if I focus on hills and speed work in training, it might be possible. I've been running for a week now since my private "marathon" and my knees are a little achy, but my confidence is back and I'm ready to speed up!    

A Japanese delicacy

In Japan, the new school year begins in April, and to welcome the new teachers and say farewell to those transferring schools or retiring, we have enkais, or work parties. This year I went to a smaller party for the young teachers last Friday, and the main event for the whole school on Wednesday. On Friday, we went to a small izakaya (japanese-style bar) and then for karaoke. The food was typical fried Japanese bar food, with one exception: chicken sashimi.

That's right, raw chicken breast. It came with wasabi and soy sauce for dipping, and the other teachers were thrilled to eat it. I, on the other hand, was wary. I had heard about chicken sashimi from an American friend who had eaten it twice in Matsusaka and ended up in the hospital both times. The Japanese people he was with ate it and didn't get sick, and every Japanese person I've asked has told me that they love chicken sashimi and think I'm weird for being worried about it. I didn't eat it on Friday, and later I did some research. It seems that the chicken that is used for sashimi is Nagoya Cochin or a similar breed, with very strict breeding conditions. However, the fact that my friend got sick while the people he was with didn't, makes me wonder if Japanese people are less susceptible to salmonella. Next time I'm offered chicken sashimi, I may give it a try... and hope for the best.

Tokyo Marathon!

やった！
I ran my first marathon in Tokyo on Sunday!!
I headed up to Tokyo with my boyfriend、Yosh (who was there to support) and a friend who was running. We arrived in the early afternoon, went to the Tokyo Marathon Expo to register:

and then back to Shinjuku to check in to our hotel. After a brief rest, we went to Shibuya to meet a bunch of friends for dinner. Originally I had hoped for a low-key, early night on Saturday, but my friends ended up doing the planning. There were maybe 20 of us: my friends who had travelled up to Tokyo the day before us as well as friends who live in Tokyo. Dinner was delicious: tapas, pizza and pasta, and it was great to see everyone. We managed to sneak out around 9:30 and headed back to the hotel. Unfortunately, I was too nervous to get much sleep, and was pretty sleepy when I got up at 6:15.
Breakfast was the buffet (western and Japanese style) at the hotel, and then we left for the Start, which was only a few minutes walk away.



After loading my bag onto a truck that would deliver it to the finish line and saying goodbye to Yosh, I headed into the runners only area to wait for the start. I got in line for the bathroom (a 30+ minute wait) and then walked to my corral.

The runners were split into blocks, with A-block at the start line, and I was in G-block. The gun went off at 9:10, and it took about 10 minutes to get to the start line. I couldn't believe how many people there were (35,000)!! The first 1km or so was very crowded and I couldn't run the pace I wanted, but eventually it thinned out a bit. I saw Yosh at the 1km mark, but he didn't see me. He got some great pics of the wheelchair racers:

and the elites:

I guess I drank too much water and coffee in the morning, because I had to use the bathroom again, and stopped at the first stop. And waited about 10 minutes in line :( The first 5k ended up being really slow (53:52), which was pretty disappointing to see, but if I took off the waiting and time to get to the start, I was pretty much on pace.
I ran the whole thing pretty slow. Since it was my first and also since my knee has been a problem, my goal was just to finish, without walking (except through water/food stops) and not be last. My knee did start to hurt right at the beginning, but it wasn't that bad. It slowed me down near the end, but never felt bad enough to make me think I should stop. My boyfriend tracked me on the website with his cell phone, and managed to find me 4 more times along the course.







Three of those times, I stopped for an "energy kiss": much more effective than the Gu I was eating for energy ;)
The course was very flat, and there was so much crowd support. It was so much fun. The last 10k was pretty hard. My knees and hips were starting to really hurt, but I saw some friends at about 34k, and with about 2k to go, my boyfriend found me again and ran with me on the sidewalk for awhile. I crossed the finish line 1t 5:57:19. I had hoped for 5:30, but since at least 20 minutes was due to extraneous factors in the first 5k, I can't complain. I was so happy that I almost cried across the finish line, but I knew there was a video camera, so I held it in until I received my finishers medal.

I met up with my friend (he finished in 5:13) and Yosh and started the long subway journey back to the hotel. I had a pretty hard time walking up and down stairs after :( And then, after a nap and shower we ate Mexican food!!!! It was so perfect.
I can't wait to do it again next year! I hope i get in!!

Tokyo Marathon

In only 3 days, I'll be heading to Tokyo for the marathon. I can't believe it's so soon. So many months of training have led up to this weekend. A few weeks ago, I ran my last long run, 32k. Afterwards, I had alot of pain in my right knee (I think I'm developing runner's knee), so I've kept off it, except for a few short runs, to let it heal. It feels pretty good now, although I can still feel a little twinge, especially when I walk down stairs. Hopefully it'll be healed enough to get me through the marathon, but I have a knee brace to help me out. Wish me luck!

Ekiden Results

I didn't run in the marathon relay, but I was support for the girl who ran our section of the course. I couldn't believe how fast some of the runners on the other teams were! Taki came in 21st place over all (out of 29 teams), and 9th out of 14 towns in the town division. It took us about 2:41 to complete the marathon, which was 5 minutes faster than last year. This got us a prize for 3rd most improved team, so at least we didn't walk away empty handed! After the race we went for all-you-can-eat yakiniku (table-top bbq) with Matsusaka beef. Yum! The whole day was great, BUT I'm glad it's over! I feel inspired to work on my speed, so maybe with enough training I'll feel ready for something like this in a year's time, but I'm not signing up again unless I am significantly faster. Too much stress for a slow-poke like me!

Marathon Relay Update

It looks like I might not be running in the race afterall. Previously I had thought that the runners and back-up runners were already decided, but I was wrong. On Wednesday, we had time trials to decide the final team roster. Of course, the other girl in my division (a high school girl who ran track in junior high), was faster than me, so I'm out. I could have another chance to beat her time on the 4k course on Saturday, but there was a difference of about 2 minutes, and I know I can't close the gap enough to make it worth risking injury. So, I'm not going to bother. Besides, I can use Saturday for my long run, which I otherwise would've had to do tonight, on tired legs. I'm so relieved. I'd much rather cheer my team on than have all that pressure of being fast. The marathon next month is more important to me anyway, and it was getting way too tough to train for both. There is still a chance that the girl running my section will get sick or injured or something, but (knock on wood) I should get to be a cheerleader on the day of the race. Go Taki!!

Umashikuni Mie-ken Inter-city Marathon Relay: Mie's fastest runners... and me

I'm still not really sure how this happened, but somehow I ended up on the Taki-town team in an upcoming inter-city, prefecture-wide marathon relay. It's on Sunday, February 22. It seems that Taki had trouble finding enough elite female runners to fill their team, and someone had seen me "running" around town and started asking about me. Turns out the manager of the team is a teacher at my school, so he asked me to join the team as a favour to him. When I agreed, I had no idea what I was getting myself into.

I went to the orientation meeting and met my teammates. It's a really cool idea. Each team has 20 members (a runner and an alternate for each of the 10 legs of the race), and each leg is run by a different age group. There are elementary students, junior high students, high school students, over 20, over 40, etc. I'm in the general female category, and I'm running the 7th leg (2.89 km). After the meeting, we had our first practice. We just jogged for 40 minutes, and while their "jogging" was more like a quick run for me, I kept up with them.

At the 2nd practice, we were meant to run for an hour on a course that included stairs. I kept up for the first 30 minutes or so, and then dropped back. During this practice, I also pulled a quad during sprints at the end.

After a couple days of icing and massage, my leg felt ok, so I went to the next practice. This time we were supposed to start with 5min/km and gradually increase our speed. For an hour. I'm slow, and training for a marathon, so until these practices, my pace was more like 6:30/km, and my fastest 5k race pace was 5:50/km, so while I can run 5:00/km for a short while, I can't hold it for an hour, and I certainly can't get faster AND hold it for an hour. I only made it about 15 minutes till my quad started to hurt again. I ended up walking most of that practice (my coach taught me how to speed walk- apparently he is Mie's record holder for speed walking!).
This was also the practice during which a local cable TV company came to interview us (including me) and record us training. (It aired last night.)
Also, since I'm the only foreigner in the whole race, the newspaper interviewed me this week for a profile that'll come out the day before the race.

I haven't been able to go to the last couple practices, but I've been training on my own. I know I'll be much slower than the 9minutes they expect/hope me to run it in, but that's what they get for not making me try out for the team! (Everyone else was selected based on times from a race in January that I didn't run.)
Follow the link below to see my team's picture and uniform.

http://mierk.jp/pref_ekiden/2009/team/56.pdf

Wish me luck!!