Have bought a couple of these books recently to help with my Japanese reading. I didn’t read Tintin when I was young. I remember the library had similar books but then they were in French. Although the stories are pretty far fetched they are reasonably easy to follow. Recent exposure to words for reactors and nuclear energy has come in handy. An interesting point is here he’s called Tantan, not sure why exactly but one theory I heard was the closest approximation on Tintin in Japanese is Chin-chin, which if you want to look up isn’t the most flattering name for our red-haired Belgian boy detective.
From the Barcelona metro
Wet and wild day in Yoyogi koen. Not a cherry blossom in sight. But great beers, ales, stouts and ciders made for a good day. Highlight was a coffee stout, lowlight a raspberry dark ale. Thanks to the Brewmeister Steve Lacey for making it happen.
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The new iPad. It’s a lovely little thing.
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(Source: geekculture.com)
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3:10 (my watch)
Well, I had hoped to rejoin the exclusive Sub-3 Club but that will have to wait a little longer. I have managed to avoid toilet troubles since my first marathon (Belfast 2004), but I think a very large bowel of porridge 3 hours before the race may have been my undoing this time. Two pit-stops around 12k and 25k interrupted my pace a little but probably didn’t effect my final time that much. I just didn’t hit my required 4:15/km splits soon enough. Around 30k I developed a bit of pain around my hip/ITB and started to slow to about 4:50/k pace. I thought it was going to gradually get worse from there — the pain and pace — and took a 400mg ibroprofen and started to improve. I picked up the pace and finished the last 2k at 4:25/k. Not entirely sure why, but I really enjoyed the race this year. Being able to pick things up on the home stretch was a nice new experience for me. And instead of cursing myself for all this unnecessary self-inflicted pain I’m looking forward to my next marathon. Might be sooner than I planned ;-)
I had become a bit cynical / jaded with Tokyo Marathon over the past few years. A course runbackwards, Shinjuku stress etc, but this year I was reminded it really is a pretty good race. I appreciated the crowds. The organisation is very smooth now, and the super-genki volunteers at the finish were a welcome sight. I might even try and enter again.
The 5k splits.
Tomorrow morning at 9:10 I’ll set off on my 13th full marathon.
It will be my 5th Tokyo. I’ve had mixed experiences with this race. 2007 — retired after 10km, knee injury. 2008 — broke 3hrs for the first time, a 2:58. 2009 — ran a slightly disappointing 3:03. 2010 — a 3:04 in brutally cold conditions. Didn’t run it last year.
So what will this year hold? Not sure really especially after the 3:30 shock at Ohtawara in November. Training has been solid, but possibly not at the intensity and depth of previous campaigns. My weight hasn’t really dropped at all, hovering around 68.5kg, despite a month off the drink.
I believe I can run a 3:00hr race, and that’s what I’m going to try and do. Hopefully a few seconds quicker. The weather looks reasonable, dry, not too cold (10c) but a steady wind from the north.
Here’s my gear.
Roughly anti-cloclwaise from the runners. Adizero Tokyo Haile’s – quite new, pretty light, very comfortable. Old Nike shorts, good size zip pocket on the back. Namban signet with race no. 2 x gels (170 kcal’s each). Gloves, probably won’t need them. Coin pouch, have a couple of ibuprofen if things go badly wrong. Light yellow hat. Cheap sunglasses. Green bandana, see Eiko can see me in the crowds. Tight thermal Nike top. Hopefully this won’t make me overheat. Light bicycle shorts. Vaseline usually works, but I wear these if I want guaranteed no chaffing. Ankle socks. Probably use a pair of strategically placed Band-Aids too.
So a monster plate of spaghetti bolognese now, and then a good nights sleep. Hopefully.
You should be able to follow my progress by putting my bib no. B22289 into this site. http://p.tokyo42195.org/
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11am. 4C, 2m/sec N wind and dry
21.5km – 1:39:20 – 4:38/km
Ran with Namban club mate Harrisson. 5km warm-up, 10km a bit faster than race-pace (4:15/km) 6km cool-down. Decent session, will be the last hard run until race day next Sunday. Hope to get a bit of an energy boost from the taper as that 4:15 pace is still feeling a bit fast. Just two runs this week for a total of 35km.
13:49pm. 8C, 4m/sec N wind and dry
21.1km – 1:29:31 – 4:15/km
A good effort today. Half marathon distance in sub- 1:30. Including a 2km warm-up. Didn’t feel too hard which is good on an 80km week. Averaged 4:15/k which is Tokyo target pace. 4m/sec headwind on the way out helped me on the way back. Don’t want to jinx myself, but I am feeling pretty confident in the condition of my legs, just need to be careful over the next two weeks. Good to see the average weekly pace coming down too.
12:28pm. 8C, light wind and dry
16.94km – 1:18:10 – 4:37/km
Better today. Pace felt comfortable all the way. Forgot to grease the undercarriage — inner thighs pretty sore now.
