The Weekend Review - Happy Chinese New Year!

Well, good news: I can walk today!

I honestly thought I might not be able to...

So, here we are. Another Monday morning. But for me, this was not just any weekend. This was the weekend of getting into training for the Tokyo Marathon, now less than two months away (hence the fact I thought I would be much more sore than I am).

I spent this weekend mostly around my house (or in the neighborhood) with a long run to Akashi and back (about 30 kilometers r/t) on Saturday afternoon and then finished the Harimacho 10k Roadrace on Sunday morning.

The Roadrace
This was my third time running in the Harimacho 10k, and while it went well, it was a little strange to be there without the expats I came to Japan with and have attended the event with in previous years. Last year, I ran the race with my friend Hong, whom I met in Korea and was visiting from Gifu Prefecture. Tam and Clayton ran it, too, while Kelly, Robyn and Takiko cheered us on and took pictures.

Takiko’s husband was running the race this year, so she did come to say hi and then she and her husband cheered me on at the finish line (because her husband finished the thing in 35 minutes – wow!), but it was just a different vibe.

I finished the race about 45 seconds slower than last year (at an hour and two minutes), but I was honestly just enjoying myself and trying to take it easy during the race. I woke up feeling like someone had taken a hammer to both my knees on Sunday morning (due to Saturday’s run), and while it did get better with stretching, I also didn't think running a 10k was worth ruining my legs for!
Other than running, I did a few things but had a rather relaxed weekend.

Friday & Saturday
On Friday night, I went to Japanese class in Kobe and then came home, took a bath and watched a few episodes of the Daily Show before going to bed. I had to be up on Saturday morning to meet the old ladies, but I did get to sleep in a bit longer than usual and really appreciated the extra hours (probably still needed them from the inauguration night on Tuesday!).

I ended up staying about an hour and a half longer than I planned talking with ladies, which was nice, but I didn’t realize how much longer I stayed and subsequently got started on my long run (the first in a long time) a lot later than I had expected.

Once I had eaten lunch and gotten out on the road, I decided to take the seaside running path to Akashi, which I really enjoy because there are usually a lot of people to watch, it's smooth and I love watching the water. The whole trip took me less time than I expected (even with stopping for an energy drink, bananas & mochi in Akashi) and I now know the landmarks along the path and was really to use them to guage how far I had gone. It had gotten dark by the time I was on my return leg of the trip and nearing home, but I was also surprised the track wasn’t as difficult or dangerous as I might have expected it to be (since it's not really well-lit) and it was a little funny how the manmade island shined like OZ in the distance (felt a bit like Dorothy, actually...).

After the run, I stretched for a bit, took a bath and was in bed before 9, apparently along with three other friends at my apartment building. Not the most exciting Saturday night, but again, I think I needed it and the sleep was nice.

Sunday

On Sunday, I had to be in Harimacho, the town next to mine, around 8am to register for the 10k race. I got up on time and made it over, but then I had a few hours before the actual race (which started at 11) so I came home, made breakfast and spent some time installing a new Microsoft Office package on my computer (so I can finally finish those silly applications from home!).

The race went well and then I spent the rest of the day running around: meeting my other old ladies in Okubo, going to a Chinese New Year dumpling-making party that my friend Ann was hosting (but that I could only stay at for about an hour) and then volunteering at an Harimacho IFA Event (group picture to the left).