Envisioning the Finish Line- The Hokota Marathon
This weekend was great! I ran in a marathon (well u wldn't really call it so in the States bc it's not long, but that's what they call races here) and spent a really nice afternoon in the vortex city of Mito (the city I can't seem to shake off no matter what). But, I can't really complain because I really do like it. I could just do without the commute, you know?
Okay, so I trained for two months for this race and the outcome wasn't too bad. I came in forth in my age group. My goal was to run the 5k (or 3 mile) race in 25 minutes, but I ended up doing it in 26 minutes and 33 seconds. It's not terribly bad, but I was a bit disappointed. I was pleasently surpised though that I came in 4th place in my group. That was cool. Yet, after the race I did feel a bit of sadness that the event was at a close. It kept me motivated to run every morning before work and now it's all over. And the whole event was so much fun too. The people of Hokota were soo nice and welcoming. Of course we were treated as if we were some kind of rock stars because we were foreigners. I got to meet and shake hands with the mayor of the town. I know for sure that pictures of that conversation or shake will show up somewhere in a newspaper here. They just can't get over foreigners here. They also had drawings and gave out really cool prizes; a dvd player, a fancy bike, then $100s, $300s, and finally $500s. Uwwwa, it sure would have been nice to win some of that money. The experience was so cool that I'm now on the look out for more "marathons" to enter. Hmmmm.... where could the next one be?
The race was Sunday morning. Sunday afternoon was spent in the vortex and with an interesting character. It was really cool. I was reminded so much of a friend back home and our long conversations about anything and everything until the wee morning. Boy do I miss those late night talks buddy. I didn't hang out with my fellow Jets this afternoon and I felt I got to explore more of what lies under the belly of that city. It also seemed like there was more of a possibility of meeting young japanese people. I never get to interact with them bc one, I'm always with foreigners and two they're VERY hard to come by in my town.
Thus, I think I'm going to lay low with the Jets for a while. I feel the need to expand my wings and sore a bit.
Okay, so I trained for two months for this race and the outcome wasn't too bad. I came in forth in my age group. My goal was to run the 5k (or 3 mile) race in 25 minutes, but I ended up doing it in 26 minutes and 33 seconds. It's not terribly bad, but I was a bit disappointed. I was pleasently surpised though that I came in 4th place in my group. That was cool. Yet, after the race I did feel a bit of sadness that the event was at a close. It kept me motivated to run every morning before work and now it's all over. And the whole event was so much fun too. The people of Hokota were soo nice and welcoming. Of course we were treated as if we were some kind of rock stars because we were foreigners. I got to meet and shake hands with the mayor of the town. I know for sure that pictures of that conversation or shake will show up somewhere in a newspaper here. They just can't get over foreigners here. They also had drawings and gave out really cool prizes; a dvd player, a fancy bike, then $100s, $300s, and finally $500s. Uwwwa, it sure would have been nice to win some of that money. The experience was so cool that I'm now on the look out for more "marathons" to enter. Hmmmm.... where could the next one be?
The race was Sunday morning. Sunday afternoon was spent in the vortex and with an interesting character. It was really cool. I was reminded so much of a friend back home and our long conversations about anything and everything until the wee morning. Boy do I miss those late night talks buddy. I didn't hang out with my fellow Jets this afternoon and I felt I got to explore more of what lies under the belly of that city. It also seemed like there was more of a possibility of meeting young japanese people. I never get to interact with them bc one, I'm always with foreigners and two they're VERY hard to come by in my town.
Thus, I think I'm going to lay low with the Jets for a while. I feel the need to expand my wings and sore a bit.
posted by Shrls at 11:51 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home