chitose JAL international marathon

yesterday rie and i ran the chitose JAL international marathon in hokkaido. it was raining quite heavily when we started and cool (or even cold), but by the time we finished the rain had turned to clouds. the race takes place through a forest and on tracks for the first 34km and then the final 8-9km are run on roads. as it was raining (and rained the day before) the tracks were pretty muddy. in fact it seemed to resemble cross-country more than a road race! as such i would say this was a really tough marathon! on top of the rain and the mud, it was also very hilly. from the start to about 22km included an overall increase of almost 200m vertically. the 'actual' increase was probably more like 500m with all the hills that we encountered. the second half was mostly down although there were still a couple of killer inclines there too.

so the results. well we both did amazingly! i finished (covered in mud) in a time of 2hours 46mins 55seconds. while this was about 6 minutes slower than my debut in nagoya, i think it would probably equate to about 2hours 37mins on a flat course like that. i finished in 17th place overall (out of about 3000 runners), and 7th in my age group (up to 35 years old). i was very pleased, especially as the last 10km were so tough. i ended up with three really nasty blisters, holes in my socks and legs that felt like lead... i guess par for the course when running a marathon! i actually ran the first half really well (in just under 1hour 20mins) and felt good, but all those hills and all the mud took their toll in the end. overall i was really pleased.

rie came home in 4hours 21mins 55seconds. actually, that was the gross time and when the official chip times come out it will probably be just under 4hours 20mins, as it took that long to cross the start line. an amazing effort i think, especially given that it was such a tough course and such draining conditions. she said she ran about 60mins/10km pace until 30km and then had a tough final 10-12km, but she was really pleased and i was so proud! she finished 25th in her age group for women and about 120th overall in the women's race out of about 500 runners. amazing, especially for her debut run!

so, both very satisfied and incredibly sore today! immediately after the race rie swore she'd never do it again, but today is talking about trying to do another one! it is really difficult to describe that feeling of total satisfaction and pride coupled with the pain that makes you walk like a robot!

on a side note, the whole race was brilliant. the eight drink stations were really well stocked with energy drinks, water, lemons, bananas, bread and sponges. the volunteers were cheering and helping (remember that they are standing in the middle of a forest in the rain) and the crowds at the start and finish was as awesome as ever in japan. this truly is the best country to run marathons! on top of that we had rie's mum and grandmother cheering us at the end. we both got our free towel and finisher's t-shirts and hot buttered potatoes. also, my runner's number was called out for a prize. i was too stiff to move so rie's mum ran off to see what it was and came back with a brand new pair of 90-pound mizuno shoes! we exchanged them for rie's size and that was her prize for completing her first marathon.

an EXCELLENT day!

may training summary

distance: 170.5miles (274.5km)
time: 21hours 52minutes 56seconds
runs: 9 easy, 5 long, 4 tempo, 1 race

lots and lots of miles this month. despite having a race (and therefore a few days off before and after) and also tapering down for the marathon next weekend, i managed to get in all the miles i wanted. did several of these runs with rie at a nice easy recovery pace so i actually feel very refreshed, despite the distance covered.

have tapered nicely down for the marathon from a peak of 50 miles three weeks ago, to 40 and to 30 last week. i will do only two runs this week, one with rie, to make sure that the old muscles are plenty rested before sunday. wish us luck!

about a week before the JAL chitose marathon

so, only nine days to go before the JAL chitose marathon which starts at 10.10am on june 7th and i fully expect anyone who reads this to be thinking of rie and me then!

we have dropped down our training a lot recently and i am hoping that the increased rest will enable our tired muscles to get some well-deserved rest before next weekend. there will be about 3000 men and 500 women running the full marathon so there should be plenty of people to sympathise with us along the way! there are also plenty of water stations (and first aid posts), which is good news as it could easily be pretty warm.

it's been quite windy recently too, so i am praying for a nice cool, calm morning on sunday 7th!

a funny story...

here is a funny story about running (and japan) that my friend sent me recently:

*****

Shizo Kanakuri disappeared while running the marathon in the 1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm. He was listed as a missing person in Sweden for 50 years — until a journalist found him living placidly in southern Japan.

Overcome with heat during the race, he had stopped at a garden party to drink orange juice, stayed for an hour, then took a train to a hotel and sailed home the next day, too ashamed to tell anyone he was leaving.

There's a happy ending: In 1966 Kanakuri accepted an invitation to return to Stockholm and complete his run. His final time was 54 years, 8 months, 6 days, 8 hours, 32 minutes and 20.3 seconds — surely a record that will never be broken.

******

brilliant.

tohohiragawa half-marathon

today rie and i ran the tohohiragawa half-marathon up here in sapporo. it was a nice route, around a park and along the river, but it was incredibly and unseasonally hot. it was really sunny, without a cloud in the sky, and it must have been 25 degrees - which is too hot to be running so far.

despite that we both did well and finished with respectable times. i ran 1hour 20mins 32secs, finishing 41st overall and 24th in my age group. rie ran 1hour 56mins 48secs in her half-marathon debut and finished 125th out of almost 400 female runners. in fact she was just outside the top half in the whole field (there were about 2100 runners in all). it was very impressive running from her, especially as it was so hot.

as for me, i was a little disappointed at first as my time was slower than inuyama, but looking back i am just pleased that i finished. i went off at my aim pace for the first 2km, but then the group i was running with put in an incredibly fast 3rd km and it killed me. i slowed down immediately to try to limit the damage, but it was too late. i went through 5km in 17mins 12secs (new PB) and 10km in 35mins 37secs, but suffered over the next 7-8km. i couldn't get my legs into a comfortable pace and, even though i did pick it up in the final couple of kms, couldn't keep going. however, i am glad to have made that kind of mistake, because it reminded me how far the half-marathon really is and how tough it can be if you go too fast! i certainly won't make the same mistake in the marathon next month! you can see the sense of relief at finishing here...

both of us had some blisters and, of course, some sore legs, but we came out of the race with no major injuries. we will just try to keep going now with some training for the marathon, which is only just over 4 weeks away!