Tsukuba Marathon Race (The 29th)

Date: Sunday, November 22, 2009 Weather: Rainy, then cloudy, Cold!

Location: Tsukuba City, Ibaraki Pref.


Details of Race:Refer to the 20th Tsukuba Marathon Race.


ImageF

 
Eco Bag

Records & Impression

• The weatherman said it would be cloudy then rainy and cold on Sunday. It was warm sunny day on Saturday. It might be the worst condition for marathon on Sunday!
• Anyway, I left home at 5:40 AM. It was cloudy and cold.
• As usual, I took on the train of Tsukuba Express from Minami-Nagareyama Station via Seibu Line and Musashino Line. It was so early and the train was not so crowded then. The train became very crowded from Moriya Station owing to rush of runners.
• I left at Kenkyu-Gakuen Station and took on the shuttle bus. I reached the marathon site at 8:00 AM.
• This year, the numbers clothe and measurement chip was sent by mail in advance. Therefore, it became unnecessary to register on the marathon day. The only thing to do for runners is to get gift in exchange of coupon ticket. The gift of this year was small eco-bag. I this it is much better than T-shirt.
• While visiting the booth for getting eco-bag, the rain already started to sprinkle.
• The full marathon would start at 9:30 AM. The starting position was changed this year.
• Anyway, I went to the designated starting position around 9:00 AM. It was cold and thus I wore a vinyl bag.
• Contrary to my expectation, the rain started before starting time. What's going on?
• Anyhow, Mr. Maruyama, a famous attorney, TV personality-turned politician, fired a signal gun. He continued to speak loudly via MIC and it was so noisy!
• I was positioned in the front part of the line. However, the line did not move for a while after the start. I was forced to walk to the start line as I did at Shonan International Marathon Race. The loss time was 3.5 minutes.
• The course out of the campus was different from that of last year. The runners had to run reverse the last course of that of last year. Therefore, the road was not so crowded during 10 km from the start like last year,.
• It did not rain hard, but it continued until I arrived in 10-km point. I was running with vinyl bag wore. The wind was very cold. Soon I could see Mt. Tsukuba far away.
• I could enjoy seeing yellowed ginkgo trees between 10-km and 15-km distance.
• I took 2 pcs of buns filled with bean paste at 12-km aid station, which were the only solid food I had during the race.
• After 15-km distance, the course was narrowed and crowded with runners consequently. The situation continued over 20-km point.
• I was passed by 4-hour pacemaker around 17-km point. This time, I tried to catch up with him as much as possible, but it was so hard that I gave up at 20-km point.
• During this race, it was so hard for me to run between 20-km and 25-km point. After 25-km point, I changed the mood and tried to run as fast as possible,
• Before 30-km point, I could take a cup of sweet bean paste soup with rice cakes as usual. Then I aimed to finish remaining 12 km.
• It was hard to run after 30-km point. but I continued to run.
• Finally I reached the point of 5 km to the goal. It was still cold and the body didn't warm up regardless of continuous running. I did not feel to drink water for a while and passed a few aid stations. I couldn't believe the hotness of one month ago.
• The course was flat and it was not hot. Therefore, I did not feel fatigue until 39-km point. But it was very hard to run the last 3 km and my running pace drastically slowed down.
• I was forced to run on the sidewalk for the last 1 km since the time was over 4 hours.
• I forgot to run one turn on the track and thus I felt the goal suddenly became remote.
• The goal time was 4 hours 14 minutes. The time was a little bit better than that of Shonan Marathon Race.
• Runners made a long line at the booth of record certificate issue. It took much tome to get it. I prefer to receive later than to wait for a long time.
• It was very cold. I hurried back to the deposit place and changed the wear as quickly as possible.
• I had to start for the Europe next day for business trip and thus I got on the bus to return to my home without seeing my running mates this time.
• In the vicinity of every station of Tsukuba Express, new condominiums and houses has been increasing. A large shopping moll was opened near Kenkyu Gakuenn Station. A lot of cars were parked around the shopping moll. I remembered the similar scenery in the US long time ago. The traffic was jammed and it took time to reach the station.
• I could reach home around 16:30. It was really a cold day.
  
  
  Record (Loss time: approx. 3.5 minutes)
  
  

  5 km	32 minutes
  10 km	60 minutes
  15 km	1 hour 28 minutes
  20 km	1 hour 57 minutes
  25 km	2 hours 26 minutes
  30 km	2 hours 57 minutes
  35 km	?
  40 km	3 hours 59 minutes
  Goal	4 hours 14 minutes

  
  

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