tokyo marathon

i did it. full marathon number 5. it was amazing.

i got to tokyo friday night. met up with a giggly jim. went to his place. we talked and hung out.

saturday jim and i met my marathon running friends for lunch. then jim left, and i went to the expo with the other girls. the expo was AMAZING! every brand that sells running products was there. it was so much fun. i bought a pair of shoes. then we hung out. went around to the Ginza area. we met up with my friends friends. one guy reserved an okinawa restaurant. he planned the menu and so about 20 of us ate a bunch of food that was good for runners... pre racing. it was really fun to meet everyone. people were so nice even with my limited japanese speaking ability (this weekend was about 85% japanese speaking-maybe more) then we went back to our hotel. packed up and got ready for the big race the next day.

sunday morning

6:00 -7:00 get up, get dressed, pack up my stuff, eat my corn flakes

7:30-9:10 leave and get to race start check in our bags at the race. find out where we need to go. i was in E block. my friends were in G block.

9:10 the race starts 5 minutes after the start, i cross the starting line and am on my way. fans line the street!

for the next 4 hours and 13 minutes i run. i ate a banana, a lemon lime gel, and a lot of sports drink. i gave high fives. i listened to my favorite songs, enjoyed the nice weather.

i was cruising along.. feeling good. then kilometer 33 i lost it. for the next 7 kms (about 4 miles) i struggled. i just knew i had to keep going. i gave high fives. i smiled. i tricked myself into thinking i felt good.

2 kms to go. i sped up. i had to beat my last time of 4:15. i pushed. i fought. i perservered. i saw the finish line. i looked at my watch. 4:12. go jen go.

i did it. 4 hours and 13 minutes. my best time ever. (although not my smartest race) i finished my 5th marathon 13 minutes faster than my first marathon. its the fastest one i have run in 2 continents.

columbus 4:26
nagano 4:46
kanazawa 4:31
ibigawa 4:15
tokyo 4:13

after the race i was exhausted. i got my medal. free food. found my bag. changed in the middle of a huge changing room. went upstairs and met another friend who just finished before me. then i waited for my 3 friends who i was with.

we met up and went to foot bath for the runners. we decided it would be best to go get our public bathing on and head on over to the onsen. we showered and soaked our tired muscles. then began the trip back to nagoya.

i was tired and hurt. but only sunday and monday. i am good at recovering. resting up for my relay race (i run a 5k part) this weekend!

hope you enjoyed my take on tokyo marathon. it was an excellent race. i have no complaints. i would run it again. it was the best out of the 5. i give it five stars. eureka stars.