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| Managed to nab the inside lane this time |
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| Cold and wet = gloves and beaney |
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| It was painful |
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| The Japanese Victory blessing I pinned to my Team Victory singlet didn't work |
Following on from the track race I was in no condition to run till the following Wednesday when I met up with Mikes club, Namban Rengo ~ Tokyo International Runners Club.
With the track closed for resurfacing , club founder Bob Poulson (Bob's blog ~ http://bobs-training.blogspot.com.au) swapped the session to nextdoor Yoyogi Park.
Unfortunately it bucketed down all evening and we were absolutely drenched. Mike and Andy sat out the session, 2km, 3x1km, 2x500m.
My back continued to give me pain which I described as like a 300lb bear jumping on my back and squeezing! It was really difficult to breath deeply and it achedlike feck!
I got through the session and headed to the Hachimanyu bath house, another club ritual.
The steaming hot baths eased my back and I was able to enjoy an Indian meal following and a few beers later at the Aldgate an old English style bar in Tokyo.
I did not run again till the following Monday's race north of Tokyo as part of the 28th Otawara Marathon festival.
Another Bullet train journey at 300km an hour!
Conditions were cold and raining, a couple of thousand runners, starting with 800m around a track then a level out and back course.
I started hard and was able to hold Mike for the first 2km.
The town itself puts on this race and makes an immense effort at getting volunteers to help. The organisation was amazing and it seemed like the whole town came out in the rain to cheer us on. I think I got lots of special cheers being a rare Westerner. The gap ahead to Mike got wider and I couldn't hang onto any of the guys passing me. We finished with another lap of the trak. My official chip time was 34:57, Mike ran 34:05.
Mike was 3rd over 40 and I was 6th over 40, a beautiful inscribed metal medal and certificate along with a carton of Asahi beer (race sponser) and a sac of rice! I kid you not! Mine was alcohol free but Mikes was the proper 5% Asahi we'd been drinking during the week! I gave my beer rice prizes away to Hiroe, a former triathlon prodigy Mike used to coach, who had hosted us during our stay in Otawara.
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| Quality medal for 6th over 40. |
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| It's hard to put into words how beautiful these trains look and how incredibly fast they travel. |
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| Asahi Super Dry sponsor for 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Otawara 10km |
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| 35 years since we last raced together at the 1980 English Schools Cross Country Championship in Newcastle UK. |
3 comments:
It was a pleasure to have you here, hope you can come again.
And I hope the back gets better soon.
They were singing Flower of Scotland in many a Karaoke bar in Japan last night as Team Garmin Lama swept all before them at the Tom Gould Classic athletic meet at QE2 stadium yesterday followed by the gala black tie sports presentation . It was a formality that the Garmin Lama himself would take the accolades as Distance Runner of the year . Who could forget his win in the open 10k championship and his performances against the touring British masters distance squad was a tour de force of age graded excellence . But it was the lesser luminaries of Team Garmin Lama often lost as they are in the glare of their mentor who shone out with the brilliance of a Super Nova and so marking the day out as something special in the annals of masters sports . Professional Garmin Lama impersonator Con Dimauro captured the middle distance award and he was able to fill in and collect the real Lama's award as well with no one the wiser such is his uncanny resemblance to the popular Scotsman. The man himself is still in Japan negotiating a singing contract . Not only will he now be the face of Garmin but also its voice . Fellow Scotsman Ian ( Braveheart) Cameron managed to capture not only the senior Norm Gulbranson award in the 3k but the highly coveted Merv Jenkinson title as well in the 1500 . Many were comparing this feat to that of fellow countryman Eric Liddle in the 1924 Paris Olympics . If that wasn't enough to warm the hearts of Scots world wide Peter (Bracko) Bracken managed to take out the Junior Merv Jenkinson 1500 title at his very first attempt . Talking via telepathic link up through Medium Mike Trees , the Garmin Lama said this was the performance that brought a tear even to his hardened competitive eye . Since he adopted Bracko as his godson the youngster has gone from strength to strength ." I knew Con and Ian would deliver for me , " explained the GL through the lips of his medium , " but Bracko is still young and learning the art of masters age graded running which is brutal and dog eat dog . You'll be surprised to learn that I've never won a Merv Jenkinson award such is the fierce competition in masters 1500 age graded running . For Pete to do it at his first attempt is just unprecedented ." When asked to elaborate further on the awards the GL , ever modest as always , explained through his medium once again that he was accepting his award on behalf of his whole team . " This Distance Runner of the Year Award is just as much for my supporters as it is for me . They support me in all weathers and through good times and more challenging times so this award is for them as much as it is for me ." Unfortunately at this point the popping of a wine cork broke the telepathic hookup but the message had been clearly delivered . Team Garmin Lama are back in town and will be a powerful force to be reckoned with in the years ahead .
You're a stud! Stories are motivating and want to make a trip to Australia to race. 4 months out from a month in intensive care after bike crash and racing my first 10k in 4 years this Sunday. 34.57 ain't happening but with some luck maybe soon. Hard in the tropics but maybe next yr at 50+. Nice to see 50+ runners much faster than me and gives me hope I can hang with young guys for a few more years.
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