Run

Life in Japan has drastically changed for me since COVID forced me out of my job and I began drinking more beer. Luckily I was able to get a job with the city and my new coworkers are runners. In the spirit of a beer and getting back on a healthy routine we made a promise to enroll in this years marathon. For me it is a pathway to form better habits and to burn off the COVID fat. There are only 2000 slots (men and women combined) which will be determined by lottery on May 15th. Either way I am looking for the training to be a way to improve my health and promote bitcoin.

230409・Training Schedule

As Philippides (the Greek messenger who ran from Marathon to Athens) experienced a marathon is a battle for life and death. To ensure my chances of surviving I created a 21 week training schedule starting on June 19 and ending on November 12 running four~three days a week while incrementally increasing the distance. Until the training starts I will get my legs back into better shape by walking and running. On top of all of this I will continue a relaxed calisthenics routine of push-ups, pull-ups and core.

230412・Marathon Registration

The process was very troublesome since it was all in Japanese and asked a million questions. Also I thought I could register at Lawson's but instead had to download their app and register all online through my cellphone. But in the end I was able to register as entry number 0076331599.

230418・Merrel Moab Flight

Finding size 30cm running shoes in Japan is very difficult. Luckily I was able to find a pair of bitcoin orange Merrel Moab Flight Men's Running Shoes on Amazon. In the past I have had knee and foot trouble because of bad running shoes. Hopefully I will not have the same issues with these shoes.

230501・Bitcoin Running Shirt

A big thank you for the printing shop and friends who helped me get my shirt. Everyday, one step at a time, always moving forward.

230519・Marathon Rejection (First Lottery)

Unfortunately I wasn’t chosen in the Marathon’s first lottery (prefectual applicants only). Now I am waiting for June 20th to see if I am chosen in the Marathon’s second lottery (open application). Until then I am running a 10K on the weekends and 5K during the week with one rest day.

230620・Marathon Accepted & Paid (Second Lottery)

Yeah, I was accepted for my first marathon! Glad that I have already been training for three months else my legs wouldn’t be able to handle the stress from this point on in the training program. Went to the convinient store to pay the fees and now it is offical. Going to continue to train with 8K Mondays, 4K Fartlek Wednesdays, 4K Slow Friday and 11K Long Saturday; while occasionally upping the distance per month.

230624・Achilles

In Greek mythology, Achilles was a hero of the Trojan War, the greatest of all the Greek warriors, and the central character of Homer's Iliad. Achilles' most notable feat during the Trojan War was the slaying of the Trojan prince Hector outside the gates of Troy, but some of us will remember him best for his heel.

Achilles was killed near the end of the Trojan War by Paris, who shot him with an arrow. Later legends state that Achilles was invulnerable in all of his body except for one heel, because when his mother Thetis dipped him in the river Styx as an infant, she held him by one of his heels. Alluding to these legends, the term "Achilles' heel" has come to mean a point of weakness, especially in someone or something with an otherwise strong constitution. The Achilles tendon is named after him due to these legends.

During my last run my right Achilles tendon got a little injured. Despite there being no pain, during squats I can feel my Achilles tendon like sandpaper is rubbing and grinding in my ankle. Not sure if I can continue to run, just need some tape or need surgery; so I will go to the doctors to get it checked out. Hope it is nothing and I can continue my training course.

230724・HOKA Challenger 7

Running shoes have about a 500km lifespan and my Merrel Moab Flight Men's Running Shoes were at their end. They even started to tear but again finding size 30cm running shoes in Japan is a problem. Even on the internet, Amazon.com and other American shoe makers will not ship to Japan. Luckily I was able to find two brands that do carry size 30cm in Japan... HOKA and ON. After comparing the two I decided to go with HOKA Challenger 7, a strong cross-country shoe. Hope these last until the marathon.

230729・First Half Marathon

Since I started running I never imagined that I would have the energy to run a half marathon but today I have completed that milestone. The time isn't as fast as I would like but my time goal has changed to a finishing goal. Not so concerned about the time as I am just about finishing. The heat and humidity of the summer is like an anvil that I can only get slight relief by starting my runs at four in the morning. Hopefully this November will be much cooler and allow all my strength to be focused on running rather than just surviving.

230827・American in Japan

Been sweating out my weekends with long humid 21km+ runs by myself and have recently even started to push into the upper 26km range. I have my music so it isn't so bad but this week my friend from America came to visit me in Japan. He isn't a runner but insisted that he joined me for this long journey. Knowing my past pains to build to this point I knew he wouldn't be able to run the entire distance but would jog with him as long as I could. To my surprise he was able to jog 10k at a slower but decent speed. After 10k I ran ahead because we were coming back on the same trail so on the return I met him and we turned around together. Overall it was a real slow jog but it was one of the best jogs because I had someone to talk to and it was a slow pace.

230916・おおくら先生

The issue of my Achilles tendon had got worse with inflamation and a lot of tension was working up the outer side of my right leg. I went to an orthopaedic specialist in July who x-rayed and used an echocardiogram procedure on my ankle, but he couldn't find nothing wrong. So I continued training throughout the summer while the tension in my leg continued to grow. It came to the point where the ache was always constant so by September I decided to go to a highly recommended sports therapist in the region, Doctor Ookura (おおくら先生). The appointment was very simple... The first 30 minutes my leg was hooked up to electrodes which shot pulses thought my leg to mimic a massage. Then the doctor came in and pushed down and out on my shin for about 10 minutes. The final step was the doctor rotated my ankle and popped it a several times. Afterwards the doctor explained that my ankle was jammed and not flexing, but he had fixed it and that he did. Weeks after this I still don't have the ache. Still going strong with the marathon training.

230925・HOKA Clifton 7

With the final months before the marathon the mileage has been increasing on my HOKA Challenger 7 shoes, so to relieve the wear on the shoes I have bought another pair of HOKA Clifton 7. Not sure which one I will use in the marathon but currently the HOKA Challenger 7 feels much better in the toe area. After I break-in the new shoes I will start to wear them for the 30km+ runs to decide which shoe to use in the marathon.

230930・200km in One Month

There have been lots of small milestones but getting over 200km in one month is one I like to celebrate. The summer has been hot, humid and drained me of much energy but now I have passed the hardest months and much better weather is setting in. Looking forward to not having to hydrate as much and focus more on endurance and speed.

231006・Achillies Tenosynovitis

Pain, strong pain below my right calf muscle and the right achillies tendon feels like there is sand grinding in the tendon. Went to the foot doctor and after an ultrasound of the area, he assured me that I had no issues with the tendon ripping and just to rest. At first he recommended two weeks but after a trail jog at that point I decided not to run until the marathon. Thus my goal of a 4 hour marathon has now switched to completing the marathon (under 6 hours).

231111・Pickup Bib Number

It has been about one month since my last run, but still planning on running in the marathon. So much energy, time and commitment was put into the preparation of the marathon that I need to give it a try. My right ankle is feeling better but if I feel pain... I will try to walk it off and if I can't walk it off I will stop. No need to risk serious injury. Today drove into Okayama to pickup my bib number. So crowded and no parking, luckily was able to find paid parking about 2 blocks away from the event grounds. Have decided to take the train tomorrow to avoid the no parking issue.

231112・Okayama Marathon

Woke up at 4:30am, caught the 7:15am train and was at the marathon starting line at 8:30am. It took about five minutes after the marathon started just to reach the starting line. First 15k felt wonderful no issues and pretty good pace. Every five kilometers there were toilets, drinks and small snacks. I took advantage of every drink and snack except for some chocolates and ramen. The streets were lined with supporters cheering on the runners, little kids stuck out their hands to get high-fives for the runners who would give them. I was surrounded by thousands of Japanese but yet felt very alone in the runner as one of the only foreigners. Along the race I saw only four other spectating foreigners and at the finish line it looked like one other foreigner had participated. The southern part of the course was cold, not many buildings to block the wind. Also none of my training had prepared me for the cold so I started cramping at the 18k mark which lasted until the 34k mark. I would run until I cramped and then walked and stretched out the cramp and then continue running. This was also when I noticed more runners on the side of the course who had fallen down and were receiving medical care. Luckily besides my cramps I had no other issues. Towards the end of the race my family cheered me on and as I got closer to the finish line my confidence grew that I could finish. It was an amazing experience and under the right circumstances I might be willing to endure the training and pain again to do a second marathon.

231125・Recovery & Next Year

The day I finished the marathon I went straight to an onsen. Actually the next couple of days I went to the onsen to relax my legs. The day after I could barely stand but two days after I was able to walk just about normal. Taken the two weeks after the marathon to do nothing. Stopped all walks, jogs, push-ups and pull-ups. Feeling good and will start to train again starting next week with calisthenics, walks and 5k jogs. At work the head of the Board of Education announced that he will do the Okayama Marathon next year. The man is 80+ years old so if he is planning on doing the entire marathon or the 5K fun run I might join. Else next year I plan only on taking pictures of the event. Until then I will keep training, stacking sats and staying humble. Thank you for joining me on my journey.

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