Good Run

I had three outings in 4 days, and even if I pushed the hardest tonight, I feel as if I could have gone for quite a few Ks more. Excellent!

It started Friday morning with a last recce of Sunday's KFMH3 trail. When I had first went there the previous Sunday, it had become apparent that my original plan was too long. The remedy to this was to turn it into an A-to-B course and doing it the other way around. Friday's run allowed me to find a good route to enter the mountain trail, and make sure that once I was on trail, I could recognize it easily. As experience hikers and trailrunners will tell you, a trail going one way looks quite different going the other way. It took me about 75 minutes to complete it, including a 5-minute break at a nice lookout point to enjoy a rice ball (my favorite on-course snack; fills you up, gives you energy, but doesn't feel heavy on the stomach). After the run I bought some tofu at the supermarket and ate some on the train; people were looking at me pretty funnily!

Then on Sunday was the day of the actual KFMH3 run. I walked the whole course, something I sort of needed to do as I started with almost 5kg of flour with me. I needed this much as virgins (newbies) were coming and rain was forecast for the afternoon. I had to change the course slightly in the beginning as the area was celebrating a shrine's fall festival. Near the end, I realized that a self-righteous citizen was probably going to erase some markings, so I warned the pack about it. Everyone enjoyed the course, even the people complaining that it was a little hard and whose muscles were hurting. With a waterfall, two temples, many lookouts and the site of a former castle, I guess it shouldn't be too surprising.

Then tonight I ran back home. I took a modified Yodo riverbank course, jogging up and down the dikes & pedestrian overpasses and taking a small detour, scouting for a future KFMH3 trail. I started at a good pace and never let down. Even with all the up and downhills on stairs, I felt good running the whole time. With about 2 kilometers to go, I even decided to increase the tempo pretty significantly, going as far as sprinting the last 20-30 meters or so. Arriving at Kugahashi shrine, my goal, I felt great at my accomplishment. Not only did I do more than usual, with all the up and downs and detour, but also I ran faster, putting on the turbo at the end.

It small things like this that are interesting with regular jogging, or any other exercise; sometimes you go beyond your usual limits without straining anything, and you know that you could actually have done even more. Knowing that your full potential is not yet realized is an exciting feeling, something to look forward to.

H3 Weekend

Four days. Five runs (well, 4 and an unnameable 1/2). Over 40 kilometers mostly on mountains trails. A few (OK more than a few) beers along the way. And yes, my legs are hurting, although I really think that it was walking back with my heavy bag that made the most damage to my ankles. In other word, a great time at the Nagoya H3 Nash Hash.

It started with a small run (in my case) in downtown Nagoya. I opted for the shorter 2km trail as Wednesday I twisted my knee doing a handstand before a class. I therefore ran the whole weekend with either a knee brace or my jogging tights. My knee felt better and better along the way, which does not surprise me too much based on similar past injuries. I'll take it a little easy for the next week or so, but luckily these injuries, which are twists, don't really affect my running.

Coming back to Friday evening, the run was finished sooner than later, and we then retreated to an izakaya for some food and drinks. It was great to meet friends from all over Japan again, as we usually see each other only once a year at this event. There were quite a few people and as you can, things got embarrassing  for some.

The next day we made our way to Okazaki where the main event was held. It was raining and quite windy, but it didn't stop me and others to join a welcome 8km run mostly on trails. I had tried to lead a pack on the trail before, but had gotten lost along the way. Luckily, I wasn't the hare (the person who lays the trail) this time, so most people made it safe back without any problems. In the long part of the trail, we climbed a trail in the middle of a pine forest. With the dark rainy and foggy skies, the atmosphere was a little spooky, and it felt as if ninjas would jump down from the trees to ambush us!

After a nice hot bath and decent dinner, we ran the welcoming circle and other libations. The highlight was the surprise Hash Wedding for two Tokyo members. Some people got the groom to perform his mime antics while others took his bride away and put her in a wedding dress. She came in the room as he finished his skit, and a big uproar erupted. The vows were pretty funny. After the end of the circle, exhausted, I quickly got back to my room, knowing that the next day would be a full one.

About 120 people gathered from kennels all over Japan

The beautiful couple

Things got blurry before I headed back to sleep

And the next day was full indeed. It started with a 6:30 wake-up. After an OK breakfast the hares for the day's run split into groups to lay their respective trails. The early morning was very foggy, but as we headed out, the weather cleared and we were blessed with wonderful conditions. I laid the second half of the ballbreaker trail. As we were carrying kilos of flour and toilet paper rolls (for the really bushy parts), we didn't run at all. It proved quite interesting, especially since I spent most of the time with a member I knew little about, the boyfriend of someone I know well. You can see him on the following, just after we exited the really shiggy part.

We finished just in time for lunch, which consisted in Japanese curry and rice. Not too long after lunch, it was time to actually set out on trail. I opted to do the full ballbreaker, to act out as a middle sweep (someone who makes sure people don't get lost). This meant that I would jog at my regular slowish pace. In all, the trail was about 16km, with two long down and ups. Sadly, my camera had some technical glitches and I could only take pictures in the beginning. I left the first water stop quickly, and going down the second down, I ended in a group with whom I completed the trail. After the down, they stopped jogging and so did I since it was sort of my responsibility to do so. I pointed some interesting artifacts and stories on course, and the conversation was always pleasant.

Run down the hill...

Some got creative with the course

The course itself was pretty creative 

The view from the dam

As the day before, after getting back people got washed, we had dinner, and then we headed to a nearby lookout for an outdoor circle. Again some members had a Hash Wedding, and lucky for them, as you can see on the picture, Hulk Hogan made it! After some fireworks and contest of all descriptions, we retreated back indoors to have fun the comfort of a party room that also had a karaoke machine. The party lasted well into the little hours of the morning, and this time I stayed up a little later than the previous evening.

The next morning I joined a 10km run down to the mountain to the site of the departing party. I ended up with a group of walkers, and again the conversation was nice. Since we walked we arrived too late for the actual final run, but hot as it was, I'm not sure if I would have wanted to join anyways. Thank yous and goodbyes were exchanged and it was time to head back to Osaka, after a quick late lunch of miso katsu (deepfried pork filet with a Nagoya-style miso sauce). We then got on the bullet train and not too long after, I was in the comfort of my futon, where I had a pretty restful night.

Thank you to everyone present over the weekend, especially the Nagoya H3 organizers who produced a fantastic event for all of us. Kudos.

Time to Switch into High Gear

Last Monday I jogged again from work, and while a back ago the distance was a little long for me, now it is quite easy to complete. I guess this means that it is time for me to run longer, at a stronger pace and to venture onto trails. And lucky for me, next weekend is the NH3 Nash Hash, where I can run on Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday! I may not run so much on Sunday as I will lay the course in the morning, but depending on my feeling, I might go on the 'ballbreaker' trail which is about 15km with two big down-and-ups.

This increased stamina certainly helped last night when I went to the Manu Chao concert at club Quattro, Osaka. I was right at front, jumping, screaming, sweating, moshing like everyone around me. Truly one of the best shows I've been to! I shot a few shots during the concert, you can see them here.

Stamina Jog

I went for a jog today, and I call it a stamina jog since I had a good run two days ago, went to my capoeira lesson last night (a lot of fun, with our contra mestre's birthday; I got him good when he went a little too soft on me with a scorpion kick) followed by some intense bicycle riding back home. Today my legs did feel a l little sore, but after spending a few hours editing my first ever commercial, I felt I needed to go out for a bit of exercise. I did a short jog, just under 5k mostly on grass with my trailrunners on my feet.

Instead of jogging the last few hundred meters, I did a little bit of capoeira, working on my meia lua and forearm equilibrium. This week has surprised me in that even if in the past weeks, months to be honest,  I haven't been exercising so much. Thursday on a longish run I felt good, last night's lesson didn't tire me out as in other times, and I even went jogging this afternoon, training for three days straight. Hopefully I'll keep it up and get in better shape.

I don't know if it has anything to do with it, but this week I started doing 10 push ups randomly during the day (let's go for another set). I do it for capoeira, and elite runners would avoid it to keep their upper body mass low, but I jog for health and peace of mind, and strong arm do help with some of my favorite moves in capoeira, mainly handstands and equilibriums. Next step are sit-ups and crunches, that would definitely help keep my weight down and my center of gravity... centered!