Kasumigaura Marathon Race (The 22nd)

Date: Sunday, April 15, 2012 Weather: Cloudy occasionally sunny

Location: Tsuchiura City, Ibaraki Pref.


Details of Race:Refer to the 14th Kasumigaura Marathon Race.

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�@T-shirt (Back)


Impression

• On Saturday, the cold rain continued all day and the temperature was around 10 degrees Centigrade. If the same weather repeated on Sunday, it should have been really cruel.
• The weatherman said it would be cloudy and occasionally sunny and the maximum temperature in Tsuchiura City was 15 degrees Centigrdae on Sunday. It would be favorable for the marathon race.
• The race was ceased last year and thus the race would be held after an interval of two years.
• I left home before 6:00 AM. The rain already stopped and the sun was shining in the in the pallid sky. It was so chill in the early morning.
• I took on the trains of Seibu Line and Yamanote Line to get on the train of Joban Line from Nippori Station. However, just before arriving in Tabata Station of Yamanote Line, announce was made that the train of Keihin-tohoku Line got troubled. Thus the train of Yamanote Line also stopped.
• According to my schedule, only 7 minutes would be allowable at Nippori Station in order to make connections. I was so irritated.
• The train finally started after 5-minute stop and arrived in Nippori Station at 6:46 AM. The train of Joban Line bound for Tsuchiura would leave at 6:48 AM. Only two minutes were available. I dashed up and managed to catch the train.
• I took on the second car from the front of the train. Contrary to my expectation, I could sit on the seat with ease. The train was not so crowded since it would arrive in Tsuchiura Station at 7:52 AM. It might be a little bit earlier train for runners. I could see a lot of old generations' runners in the train.
• I tried to sleep in the train since it took almost 1 hour to reach the terminal. However, since the four old-aged runners who sat next to my seat continued to chat noisy, I could not sleep at all. They should have considered the discourtesy to other people.
• It did not take time from get out of Tsuchiura Station as expected.
• I started to walk to the marathon site. It was still cloudy and chill wind was blowing. The cherry blossom season already finished.
• My running mate who took on the limited express already reached and set up the tent. I changed the wears in the tent. The temperature was less than 10 degrees Centigrade and the cold wind was blowing.
• I was wondering whether I should wear a long-sleeve T-shirt or Half-sleeve T-shirt. Finally I selected a half-sleeve T-shirt. My decision was finally correct.
• Before the start, I went to the toilet. A lot of toilets were prepared, but runners stood in long lines.
• I went to start line around 9:40 AM. The sun appeared.
• Full marathon race started at 10:00 AM. More than 16,000 runners joined this year. The loss time was 3 minutes.
• During the front half, there were several ups-and-downs. It was getting sunny and I felt a little bit hot.
• I continued to run calmly until 20 km point. Then I started to feel a little bit tired, but tried to continue to keep the same running speed.
• After middle point, I still continued to run patiently. I started to feel a little bit pain at the root of leg, but I tried to keep the same running speed with other runners. I took bread and lemons at each aid station.
• Just reaching the 30 km point, I noticed that the course was very crowded with runners. Soon I found a few runners with balloon. I could catch up with 4-hour pace makers!
• I could come very close to the pace makers, but soon I lost sight of them.
• After 30 km point, I passed a old man whose age seemed to be more than 70, then he passed me again, the seesaw battle continued for a while. I did not know the final result, but I could peek at the power of old age.
• After 30 km point, the window stopped and the sun was shining. It was getting hotter.
• I could get a small rice ball and a cup of hot green tea at privately operated aid station before 35 km point. A lot of runners stopped there.
• After 35 km point, I devoted myself to run to complete the race.
• My running pace finally slowed down during the last 2 km. I felt that it seemed to be very long while running the last 1 km.
• Anyway, I managed to finish. The time was 4 hours 06 minutes. I was 252nd out of 1,485 runners of more than 60 years old.
• After completion, I drank a canned beer with my running mate in the tent. Then we went to Japanese pub in front of the station. The small glass of draft beer and nibble were served without cost for runners! A lot of runners entered into the pub. It was so crowded that the handling of the staff could not catch up with the customers' requests.
• We could get the seat in the train from Tsuchiura Station. We again enjoyed drinking canned beer and one-cup Japanese Sake in the train.
• I returned home around 7:30 PM. When seeing the mirror, I found my face was sunburn.
• Now I could complete 70th full marathon race!
  
  Record
  
  

  5 km	31 minutes
  10 km	58 minutes
  15 km	1 hour 26 minutes
  20 km	1 hour 54 minutes
  Middle-point	2 hours
  25 km	2 hours 23 minutes
  30 km	2 hours 53 minutes
  35 km	3 hours 23 minutes
  40 km	3 hours 53 minutes
  Goal	4 hours 06 minutes

  
  
  

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