Tokyo Marathon Recap

I know Kristen got on here and told everyone my time, and I just wanted to let everyone know that I had a great race. We did not have perfect conditions, and honestly, when I woke up I was a bit worried about the wind. Kristen set me straight and got me to suck it up. Getting over your own mental block is half the battle.

It has taken a lot of work to get back to this point. Last year I ran my first marathon in January, and then I really lost the drive to run, so I basically took 6 months off until we moved to Japan. I have been training since we moved here in August with Tokyo Marathon in my sights. When I ran a half marathon in November in just over 74 minutes, the prospect of running 2:25 was not looking so good. Everything really came together the last couple months with a lot of hard work, and a couple of 120 mile weeks.

As for the race, it was really quite amazing. Nothing like lining up with 35,000 of your friends for a Sunday run. I had to battle my way to the front before the race started due to an unlucky number assignment that put me behind about 3000 people. Once I got to the front, I felt a lot better about the race. I was lucky enough to go out with the lead women, and their pacers brought me through the first half marathon right under goal pace. For those of you in the know, I was running side by side with Constantina Dita (womens olympic marathon champion) and she really does look like she is running all out from the very start. It was really windy during the whole race, and the last 5k had us running right into the wind. I stayed strong and didnt' let it get to me, and finished just under 2:26. I figure the wind cost about 2 or 3 minutes. I felt really comfortable, and know that I will be able to faster next time. Overall I am very happy with it. Here is a link if you care to see pictures. I have to warn you, they are not pretty. Surprisingly enough, I was actually very relaxed for most of the race, even if the pictures tell a different story. You can really get a good idea of the wind in a couple of them by looking at my hair. My bib number is 22020. http://tm09eng.allsports.jp/photo/photo_list_tag_search.php?tag_code=zekken&tag=22020

My plan now is to do some spring road races, and hopefully get in a couple of track meets with a little help from a running friend I have made in Tokyo. Next December there is an elite level marathon in Fukuoka Japan, that I am going to apply for, and I will make every effort to go for the Olympic Trials qualifying mark. They moved it down to 2:19, and there is no reason to shoot for anything slower. I'm sure we will keep you all up on the races between now and then.

Quinn