6)Sunday June 29, 2003 Weather : Cloudy then Sunny Water Lily

• After completing the 100 km Ultra Marathon Race, I have felt a pain in the right knee and thus I have refrained from long-distance running.
• However, I could not stand and I decided to run more than 20 km.
• I could not get up early in the morning and I started to run around 8:00 AM to Shakujii Park.
• It was cloudy and humid. Shortly, the sun appeared and the temperature rose.
• I arrived in the park at 9:00 AM. I could see the flowers of water lilies in the pond.
• A few ladies were painting in oils beside the pond.
  
  
  Water Lily Water Lily
  
  
  
• I felt good and started to run toward Hikarigaoka Park alongside Shakujii River.
• Since I did not have a map, I lost my way and I could not reach Hikarigaoka Park.
• Anyway, I returned to my home by way of Ohizumigakuen and Niiza City. The total running distance was 36 km. More than I expected!

5)Friday May 30, 2003 Weather : Sunny Mother Spotbill Duck with chicks

• I could not run in the moring on Monday and Tuesday of this week owing to rain.
• Thus I ran every in the morning from Wednesday to Friday. (Total running distance : 30 km)
• Now is the season of breeding for spotbill ducks.
• You can see mother spotbill ducks with chicks in the Ochiai/Kurome Rivers. Specially at Ochiai River.
• It's nice to watch a duck with chicks.
• I could find 5 mother ducks with chicks this morning! One mother duck had ten small chicks! I sincerely hope all chicks grow safely.

4)Saturday May 24, 2003 Weather : Cloudy Tamako-Lake Circular Cycling Road

• Last week, I went to Atami City with my running mates to lodge for training.
• We trained hard at the slopes of Atami and thus my knee was heavily effected by the running at the slopes.
• This weekend, I planned to have last long distance running for "Shimanami Ultra Marathon Race" to be held on June 7, 2003.
• The running distance would be approx. 40 km.
• I left home at 7:00 AM. It was cloudy and cool in the morning.
• Immediately after the start, I felt pain in the right knee. It may be caused by the hard training last week. However, I put up with and continued to run.
• I arrived in the Tamako-Lake after 1.25 hours via Tamako-Lake Cycling Road. I found that the Tamako-Lake was dried up since the work to reinforce the bank of Tamako-Lake will start from June.
• After I went into the Tamako-Lake Circular Cycling Road, I met only several people.
• I could run quietly, however, I felt uneasy about my right knee while running. I was forced to run slowly.
• Just before the end of the Circular Cycling Road, an elderly runner just caught up with me.
• For a while, we ran together and chatted. He was already a retired man. He said he left his home at 5:00 AM and had been running. The distance from his home to the Tamako-Lake is 10 km. He would run three times around the Tamako-Lake and return to his home. (Total distance would be 60 km!!) He joined Saloma Ultra Marathon Race two times. He completed the races within 11 hours!! He will join the race this year again and were training there. I was so much impressed to hear the story.
• While running, I saw several joggers with daypack. I thought they would also join the ultra marathon races.
• I managed to complete the 40 km running, however, I was so exhausted.

3)Saturday May 3, 2003 Weather : Sunny Running northward on the Tama River Cycling Road

• I had a plan to run more than 50 km during the Goden Week. I finally decided to run on the Tama River Cycling Road northward from Fuchu city.
• I left home at 8:00 AM. It was sunny. The expected maximum temperature was more than 25 degrees Centigrade.
• I ran alongside New Koganei Roadway southward to Tama River. On the way, I passed Tokyo Horse Race Track. I saw a lot of families coming into the race track.
• I started to run on the cycling road from Koremasa Bridge.
• A lot of families were enjoying barbecue beside the river.
• The amount of water of Tama River there was not so much as that of the lower part of the river.
• I passed Kunitachi city, Tachikawa city, Akishima city and Fussa and finally reached Hamura Dam. The water of Tama River is delivered to Tamagawa Irrigation by Hamura Dam.
• It took almost 6 hours to arrive here. The distance was approx. 50 km. I drank 1.5 litters of sports drink since it was hot.
• According to the guide plate at Hamura Dam, I crossed the bridge of Tama River there and started to run again on the opposite side. However, unfortunately, the cycling road shortly was terminated.
• I looked around, but all I could find was hiking road.
• I felt tired and thus I gave up to run further. I decided to go to JR Hamura station to go home by train.
• I should have bought the canned beer at the station, however, I could not have a time since the train just arrived when I reached the station.
• The cycling road of this day was almost perfectly paved cycling road. However, I could not find food shop alongside the road except one convenience store. You should run with food on the back. You can find a lot of vending machines of drinks. There are a lot of parks alongside the road and thus you don't need to worry about water and toilets.
  
  
  Hamura Dam Tamagawa Irrigation
  
  
  

2)Sunday April 28, 2003 Weather : Sunny occasionally cloudy Kibi Heights Cycling Road (Okayama Pref.)

• I went back to my home country during the Golden Week of this year by a night highway bus.
• It was warm and my condition was recovering. Threfore, I decided to run around 40 km.
• I selected to run on the Kibi Heights Cycling Road alongside Ashimori River.
• I left my parents' home around 9:00 AM. It was fine and warm.
• It was not holiday and thus I could see few people on the course. The scenery was very rustic.
• I finally reached the place called "The country of fire flies", northern part of Okayama city. The running distance was almost 20 km.
• I retuned from there to go back home. The total running distance was 38.5 km.
• I could run quietly, arbitrarily in the countrysdie.
• It was sunny all day and I got sunburnt.
  
  
  Jizouson Bridge to be submerged in case of flood
  
  Cycling Road
  
  
  

1)Sunday April 20, 2003 Withdrawal of Kakegawa full marathon race

• I caught a cold again in April and had tonsillitis consequently.
• I had a very sore throat and thus I could not swallow the food.
• I went to see the doctor in a hurry and was immediately given an intravenous drip injection.
• Under the circumstances, I was forced to refrain from running for a while.
• I had been running or joining the races although my condition was not so good. That the reason why I caught a cold easily again.
• Therefore, I decided to withdraw the Kakegawa full marathon race manfully this time.
• This is the fourth withdrawal of the races this year. (Three full marathonn races and one half-marathon race)
• I wonder why my condition is still no good! Anyway, I need a rest.