May 3rd and 4th - Track meet in Niigata
Went on a racing / visit Takako's family trip to Niigata for Golden Week this year. The visit was fun, but the racing turned out to be terrible.
I thought that by going up north where winter had recently ended, I would find nice cool weathered races. Unfortunately for a number of factors, my plan failed.
1. I should have known though that racing and "there is nothing really planned" trips, don't mix well together.
2. I didn't know what time my races were until 40 hours before the actual race.
3. This was the hottest spring in Niigata with temperatures passing the 30 degrees C.
4. The races turned out to be late in the afternoon which meant that the barbecues and beers had to be done in the morning/early afternoon (before my races).
5. It was just one of those weekends where your body doesn't feel like yours.
I had the 1500 on Saturday and was going out for a personal best and hopefully a win. That is what I planned ... but I was in terrible pain after my race on Tuesday and had had no cool down runs due to the trip.
Arrived to the race venue on time and warmed up as I watched the heats go. The competition seemed week ... then again all the fast runners were in my heat. 3rd heat came up (I was on the 4th) and BAM two kids fell flat on their faces ... and I am sure they were pushed down. "oh man"
My turn came out, waited there for the gun shot. Every time I stand there I tell myself I have to go out quick, catch the top 3 positions and slow down to my goal pace all in the first 80 meters. Just how I like it ... top 3 in the first 80 meters. Oh wait ... I am 11th now and just 210 meters have gone by!! The race was pretty much over ... I was trapped in between high school kids getting kicked and bumped. The next 1000 meters were about passing people and changing speeds ... by the 1200 mark I was tired with no energy for a final kick. Finished with a 4.12.7 or so ... still faster than my April 6th time, which keeps me happy, but the way I raced was disappointing.
Next day though, after a day of racing I felt a lot better (physically). The muscle pains were almost gone and a good 5000 run looked like a possibility.
"Oh man it's hot in here ... gotta open the window" "Damn it's even hotter outside"
Over 30 degrees C... running the 5000 today was going to be a race for survival.
Again arrived to the venue with enough time to warm up ... but did I really want to warm up under the hot sun? ...
To keep this nightmare short ... I ran the first km in 3.05 after been pull by the pack. Strangely this first kilometer felt really comfortable. Then the heat hit me and I ended up running the 4th kilometer in 3.30, making it the slowest km split I have ever had in my life (for a 5000 race).
Time: 16.21
Considering the winner won with 15.11, going off his pb by over 20 seconds I could actually call this a pretty satisfactory run ... but I think I'll keep calling it a total mess.
May 6th - Inagi Ekiden
Inagi Ekiden has officially become the race I've participated in the most, running with this, 3 out of its 4 editions.
First year the team consisted of myself, Brett and Swiss visitors Stephan and Daniel. If I remember correctly I ended up running a bit over 10.10 for the 3000 hilly course. We finished second, losing to the winners for just a second.
Inagi 2006 (left to right): Daniel, Stephan, Omar, Brett
The second time, with the Swiss boys gone, the team members changed to Patrick, Jason, Brett and myself. We finished first in a course record time of under 39 minutes. My time been of 10.04 running in the first leg.
Inagi 2007 (left to right): Jason, Brett, Patrick, Omar
This time, keeping up with our reputation, we finished second again. The members this time were Jason, Brett, Christian and well me of course. Unfortunately for this year two of our runners (Brett and Christian) were in post marathon recovery stage and Jason was ran injured. Fortunately though we managed to gradually move up positions up to the 2nd spot. Perhaps if the race would have been some 10 days later we could have managed to steal the first place ... next year I guess.
Inagi 2008 (left to right): Brett, Jason, Christian, Omar
Oh and mission accomplished. I finished with a 9.48. A relatively good time for a hard course.
May 11th - Ekiden Carnival
In my head I had the idea that I would run the 3km leg in the B team wearing my running uniform under beautiful spring weather conditions. Fate however had a different plan. I was to run the 5km anchor leg of the A team under terrible weather (cold, rainy and muddy) wearing a sexy chinese one piece (want more details: white, short and tight).
It was so cold I had to run to the nearest department store and wait there until it was time for me to run (hence I had no idea what place we were in when my turn came).
I made Jason wait some 10 seconds before I took the sash from him as I was a bit lost and confused once I got to the start line. With this in mind, my start was fast and I went out to catch whoever was infront (how many ... I had no idea). I saw a fast guy in the distance and once I managed to get next to him I noticed his 4th leg bib number, he looked at me and had a "I can't believe a foreigner dressed as a Chinese easy girl just passed me" face ... one down.
Passed the first kilometer in 3.02 ... way too fast, but it's a relay and slowing down is out of the question ... plus I already had another guy on my aim.
Caught up to him by the 1.5km mark, but he kept at my speed when he noticed my presence. Seconds later another 4th leg runner caught up to us ... and race within the race had begun.
Before I continue I must say that unlike other races, the ekiden carnival has thousands of participants running in a narrow road. Therefore after the 1st leg is done, the 2nd leg fast runners must not only run fast, but also zig zag in between all the slow 1st leg runners. The 4th leg runners must deal with the very slow 2nd leg runners and the slow 3rd leg runners ... which usually only leave one or a maximum of two openings between their bodies.
Back to the race ... we are three runners trying to fight our way through two openings. Slowing down is not an option. Elbowing and stomping on inocent weak girls and boys and running over them of course is. Making a situation (which didn't happen) like:
You are running and cross eyes with a beautiful girl who smiles and has a look that says "wow it's so cool you are running wearing a Chinese dress". But you have no time for any of that, so you knock her out by putting your hand on her face tackling her over the drink table and getting her out of the way in order for your to keep your pace.
Anyways, a lot of bumping and "foul" moves took place between kilometer 1.5 and 4. I definitely pushed through at least 10 runners making them lose their balance. And I was definitely pushed off the road, forced to run on the hilly grass where the crowd stands for about 30 meters. It was fun, but more was to come. At about the 4km mark we spotted one more runner and began sprinting pretty much straight, as there was no time to zig zag or excuse me's. The last 500 meters were pretty exciting ... unfortunately I was forced off the road again and had to jump a hurdle to get back to the finishers lane. Finished with an excellent time of 15.15 for the 5km course. Never had so much fun.
May 11th - Ekiden Carnival
In my head I had the idea that I would run the 3km leg in the B team wearing my running uniform under beautiful spring weather conditions. Fate however had a different plan. I was to run the 5km anchor leg of the A team under terrible weather (cold, rainy and muddy) wearing a sexy chinese one piece (want more details: white, short and tight).
It was so cold I had to run to the nearest department store and wait there until it was time for me to run (hence I had no idea what place we were in when my turn came).
I made Jason wait some 10 seconds before I took the sash from him as I was a bit lost and confused once I got to the start line. With this in mind, my start was fast and I went out to catch whoever was infront (how many ... I had no idea). I saw a fast guy in the distance and once I managed to get next to him I noticed his 4th leg bib number, he looked at me and had a "I can't believe a foreigner dressed as a Chinese easy girl just passed me" face ... one down.
Passed the first kilometer in 3.02 ... way too fast, but it's a relay and slowing down is out of the question ... plus I already had another guy on my aim.
Caught up to him by the 1.5km mark, but he kept at my speed when he noticed my presence. Seconds later another 4th leg runner caught up to us ... and race within the race had begun.
Before I continue I must say that unlike other races, the ekiden carnival has thousands of participants running in a narrow road. Therefore after the 1st leg is done, the 2nd leg fast runners must not only run fast, but also zig zag in between all the slow 1st leg runners. The 4th leg runners must deal with the very slow 2nd leg runners and the slow 3rd leg runners ... which usually only leave one or a maximum of two openings between their bodies.
Back to the race ... we are three runners trying to fight our way through two openings. Slowing down is not an option. Elbowing and stomping on inocent weak girls and boys and running over them of course is. Making a situation (which didn't happen) like:
You are running and cross eyes with a beautiful girl who smiles and has a look that says "wow it's so cool you are running wearing a Chinese dress". But you have no time for any of that, so you knock her out by putting your hand on her face tackling her over the drink table and getting her out of the way in order for your to keep your pace.
Anyways, a lot of bumping and "foul" moves took place between kilometer 1.5 and 4. I definitely pushed through at least 10 runners making them lose their balance. And I was definitely pushed off the road, forced to run on the hilly grass where the crowd stands for about 30 meters. It was fun, but more was to come. At about the 4km mark we spotted one more runner and began sprinting pretty much straight, as there was no time to zig zag or excuse me's. The last 500 meters were pretty exciting ... unfortunately I was forced off the road again and had to jump a hurdle to get back to the finishers lane. Finished with an excellent time of 15.15 for the 5km course. Never had so much fun.
*The 5km course is actually about 4.8km, but considering the rain, my outfit and the amount of people around me I did a pretty good run...
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