Another weekend; same situation. The situation being that on Saturday the weather was spectacular and we had naginata class from 2-5PM. And today's weather was...very grey, windy and wet.
Add to that that although I had high goals for today, I basically did nothing. Gah. What I DID do was catch up on TV and beat a difficult mission in Advance Wars. What I didn't do was go for a run. Or make satsumaimo cakes. Or even think about Japanese.
But maybe I need to ease up on myself a little. It's too late now. So I'll just start over again tomorrow.
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Monday, October 11, 2010
3 day weekend
Last weekend was a 3-day weekend for the Japanese and some lucky Americans whose companies celebrate Columbus day! Our holiday was for "Health and Sports Day." I love the national holidays here.
Lately weekends have been kind of piss poor...the weather is always terrible or at least terrible compared with the the rest of week (aka when we have work and no free time). Sometimes, the only good day of the weekend is Saturday and guess what? We have 4 hours of naginata practice on Saturdays. And not even in the mornings...smack dab in the middle of the day during prime sunshine hours. No, I'm not bitter about this. I'm downright depressed. I think it's a little abnormal to be depressed about the weather though, isn't it? So I can't blame just the weather. Honestly, like I told Ryan, I'm having a bit of a "existential crisis" or some kind of lustrumnal disorder (I made up "lustrumnal"...coming from the word lustrum meaning a period of 5 years. No, I didn't remember it from Latin class. Sorry, THHS.) I'm in a dark place...a darker place than usual. Hahaha. No need for alarm. I'll work it out. Actually, I went for a run and feel a little better already. Also writing this blog is helping too. I guess it puts things in perspective. I'm not bitter about having naginata practice. I love naginata.
Anyway on to the list...
23. Hike the Maruyama trail. FAIL
We tried to take advantage of the good weather on Monday (Health and Sports Day) by trying to find this trail. We walked all over Maruyama park...even tried just climbing up something that *looked* like a trail but abruptly ended even though there seemed to be signs on it. Also, the dirt was really muddy from the wet weather that we've been having and I was slipping all over the place. And Ryan got bitten by bugs. It was pretty miserable I guess. But at least we tried. And I will try again!
At least...
We did get to see a lot of cute little boys and girls wearing kimono and hakama for shichigosan celebration. Basically it's a celebration for 3, 5, and 7 year old boys and girls. They get taken to the temple and petitions are made to the gods for a healthy and happy life. Last year, we were guests in one for the girls I tutor.
And we did go out and about to celebrate our health and sports...in the spirit of the holiday!
29. Grow your hair until January. (THEN you can do whatever you want with it.) FAIL
Well, I tried to grow my hair but Ryan made a hair appointment and I decided I would just do it! So that takes this off the list. Pictures later.
15. Start an indoor herb garden. (Rosemary is a MUST!)
On Friday, I bought a rosemary plant, seeds for basil and parsley and a seeding tray. More on that later...
Coming soon:
44. Make satsumaimo cakes.
18. Buy yourself a piece of naginata bogu.
40. Compete in a naginata tournament and win one of your shiai.
28. Do something for Halloween.
42. Make a Halloween costume.
30. Buy new underwear.
25. Buy yourself a pair of knee high boots finally.
Lately weekends have been kind of piss poor...the weather is always terrible or at least terrible compared with the the rest of week (aka when we have work and no free time). Sometimes, the only good day of the weekend is Saturday and guess what? We have 4 hours of naginata practice on Saturdays. And not even in the mornings...smack dab in the middle of the day during prime sunshine hours. No, I'm not bitter about this. I'm downright depressed. I think it's a little abnormal to be depressed about the weather though, isn't it? So I can't blame just the weather. Honestly, like I told Ryan, I'm having a bit of a "existential crisis" or some kind of lustrumnal disorder (I made up "lustrumnal"...coming from the word lustrum meaning a period of 5 years. No, I didn't remember it from Latin class. Sorry, THHS.) I'm in a dark place...a darker place than usual. Hahaha. No need for alarm. I'll work it out. Actually, I went for a run and feel a little better already. Also writing this blog is helping too. I guess it puts things in perspective. I'm not bitter about having naginata practice. I love naginata.
Anyway on to the list...
23. Hike the Maruyama trail. FAIL
We tried to take advantage of the good weather on Monday (Health and Sports Day) by trying to find this trail. We walked all over Maruyama park...even tried just climbing up something that *looked* like a trail but abruptly ended even though there seemed to be signs on it. Also, the dirt was really muddy from the wet weather that we've been having and I was slipping all over the place. And Ryan got bitten by bugs. It was pretty miserable I guess. But at least we tried. And I will try again!
At least...
We did get to see a lot of cute little boys and girls wearing kimono and hakama for shichigosan celebration. Basically it's a celebration for 3, 5, and 7 year old boys and girls. They get taken to the temple and petitions are made to the gods for a healthy and happy life. Last year, we were guests in one for the girls I tutor.
And we did go out and about to celebrate our health and sports...in the spirit of the holiday!
29. Grow your hair until January. (THEN you can do whatever you want with it.) FAIL
Well, I tried to grow my hair but Ryan made a hair appointment and I decided I would just do it! So that takes this off the list. Pictures later.
15. Start an indoor herb garden. (Rosemary is a MUST!)
On Friday, I bought a rosemary plant, seeds for basil and parsley and a seeding tray. More on that later...
Coming soon:
44. Make satsumaimo cakes.
18. Buy yourself a piece of naginata bogu.
40. Compete in a naginata tournament and win one of your shiai.
28. Do something for Halloween.
42. Make a Halloween costume.
30. Buy new underwear.
25. Buy yourself a pair of knee high boots finally.
Monday, October 4, 2010
3. Run in a 5K Race.
As of October 3, 2010, I am an official road runner!!
I'm finding it difficult to organize and elaborate on all my thoughts about this momentous achievement...so I'll just start from the beginning. The very beginning...
When did I decide to start running? I don't remember...must have been months ago. Maybe it was June. I downloaded the Couch-2-5K iPhone app. I can't remember now if it was because I intended to run a 5K or if I wanted to lose weight. It definitely wasn't because I needed something to do or because I loved running.
At this point, let me admit this: I hate running. See, I just don't see the point. If I wanted to get from point A to point B...why would choose to run? I have a bicycle- I can get there faster and use less energy. Plus, it takes a lot of time. I don't think the time to benefit ratio is that great either. For instance, if my intention was to lose weight, I think a good diet and a good circuit training program would have sufficed. I hate running. It's boring. It's time consuming. And, yeah, it's painful- not just to the body but to the mind. I never realized how strong my quitting complex was. My mind was like...like one of those kids who doesn't want to go where their parents are taking them so they kind of sit down and nothing's going to make them move. That's my mind. It never wants to resolve this problem I have with running.
So how do I go from that train of thought to a 5K? Well, just because I "hate" running doesn't mean I don't appreciate the hard work that goes into it. I have always looked up to marathoners. I guess because I hate it so much and know so well how hard it is, I just think runners are this awesome breed of human. And then I realized they weren't. I realized the only thing that's different about them is that they tried. I realized that I had been saying "If only..." and "I wish..." and "One day..." and talking about how cool it was. Well, that's when I saw the advertisements for the Sapporo Marathon in October and signed myself up!
Let's fast forward through the boring training part: I graduated from the C25K program in the summer and started running by myself in the fall. By the end of September, I was doing a 5K at a solid 35minutes. I was able to get a 10minute mile too. The longest distance I've run so far is about 6-7K. Pretty good for someone who never really ran in her life and hated running, don't you think?
So I signed up for this 5K back in August(just before the deadline and using a website that was all in Japanese, by the way!) and that brings us to October 3rd. (I just realized I wrote about the day before the race...on the day before the race. So I don't think I need to mention it again!)
It was a gloomy day- clouds threatening to pour down at any second. I slept well, ate a good breakfast (fried egg on rice with ketchup and half a banana), made a 35 minute playlist on my iPhone and got to the starting line at the exact time that the race started. I barely had enough time to say bye to Ryan! Luckily the walk from the train station to the stadium was a good warm-up.
The race was awesome. It was like being part of one gigantic animal, winding its way around this park and tearing down everything in its path. It was awesome! I said that already. I guess I was pretty amped because I just felt great the entire time and I was running faster than ever- my iPhone program kept reminding me that I was way ahead of my target pace. Also, no pain at all- not even a side cramp. The most unusual thing though was that about 3/4 into the race, I started getting this hot, burning feeling in the pit of my stomach- as if my belly was blushing. It wasn't pain or nausea or hunger. It was just there and it was kind of comforting in a way. (Except not comforting in that I had never felt it before so I was a little concerned.)
When I finally got to the stadium, I was so HAPPY. I didn't even think about stopping once during the race except when we started to make our way to the stadium where I knew the finish line was. I was pretty upset though that once we got there we had to make a loop around it to get to the finish line. It took all I had not to just stop before crossing the finish line. And guess what! My 35 minute playlist was still playing! I finished in 30 minutes! My best time ever!
I collected my free sports waters, made a post run video, somehow got lost and ended up walking to the farther subway station and finally made it home to a hot shower and lunch at Jacksonville Burger. Also, I ate 4 cupcakes. It was a fine day.
I'm not gonna lie: Running does feel good. Of course, not all the time. There are times when I have a crap run and I never want to run again. Most of the time, it's just a run- neither good nor bad. But sometimes, it can be amazing. Amazing enough for me to run another day? Yeah, I think so. So I guess that means next year...I'm running a half marathon! (Maybe. Honestly I'd settle for the 10K but my big mouth is telling everyone I'm going to do a half marathon so I better nut up, or shut up. Right?)
I'm finding it difficult to organize and elaborate on all my thoughts about this momentous achievement...so I'll just start from the beginning. The very beginning...
When did I decide to start running? I don't remember...must have been months ago. Maybe it was June. I downloaded the Couch-2-5K iPhone app. I can't remember now if it was because I intended to run a 5K or if I wanted to lose weight. It definitely wasn't because I needed something to do or because I loved running.
At this point, let me admit this: I hate running. See, I just don't see the point. If I wanted to get from point A to point B...why would choose to run? I have a bicycle- I can get there faster and use less energy. Plus, it takes a lot of time. I don't think the time to benefit ratio is that great either. For instance, if my intention was to lose weight, I think a good diet and a good circuit training program would have sufficed. I hate running. It's boring. It's time consuming. And, yeah, it's painful- not just to the body but to the mind. I never realized how strong my quitting complex was. My mind was like...like one of those kids who doesn't want to go where their parents are taking them so they kind of sit down and nothing's going to make them move. That's my mind. It never wants to resolve this problem I have with running.
So how do I go from that train of thought to a 5K? Well, just because I "hate" running doesn't mean I don't appreciate the hard work that goes into it. I have always looked up to marathoners. I guess because I hate it so much and know so well how hard it is, I just think runners are this awesome breed of human. And then I realized they weren't. I realized the only thing that's different about them is that they tried. I realized that I had been saying "If only..." and "I wish..." and "One day..." and talking about how cool it was. Well, that's when I saw the advertisements for the Sapporo Marathon in October and signed myself up!
Let's fast forward through the boring training part: I graduated from the C25K program in the summer and started running by myself in the fall. By the end of September, I was doing a 5K at a solid 35minutes. I was able to get a 10minute mile too. The longest distance I've run so far is about 6-7K. Pretty good for someone who never really ran in her life and hated running, don't you think?
So I signed up for this 5K back in August(just before the deadline and using a website that was all in Japanese, by the way!) and that brings us to October 3rd. (I just realized I wrote about the day before the race...on the day before the race. So I don't think I need to mention it again!)
It was a gloomy day- clouds threatening to pour down at any second. I slept well, ate a good breakfast (fried egg on rice with ketchup and half a banana), made a 35 minute playlist on my iPhone and got to the starting line at the exact time that the race started. I barely had enough time to say bye to Ryan! Luckily the walk from the train station to the stadium was a good warm-up.
The race was awesome. It was like being part of one gigantic animal, winding its way around this park and tearing down everything in its path. It was awesome! I said that already. I guess I was pretty amped because I just felt great the entire time and I was running faster than ever- my iPhone program kept reminding me that I was way ahead of my target pace. Also, no pain at all- not even a side cramp. The most unusual thing though was that about 3/4 into the race, I started getting this hot, burning feeling in the pit of my stomach- as if my belly was blushing. It wasn't pain or nausea or hunger. It was just there and it was kind of comforting in a way. (Except not comforting in that I had never felt it before so I was a little concerned.)
When I finally got to the stadium, I was so HAPPY. I didn't even think about stopping once during the race except when we started to make our way to the stadium where I knew the finish line was. I was pretty upset though that once we got there we had to make a loop around it to get to the finish line. It took all I had not to just stop before crossing the finish line. And guess what! My 35 minute playlist was still playing! I finished in 30 minutes! My best time ever!
I collected my free sports waters, made a post run video, somehow got lost and ended up walking to the farther subway station and finally made it home to a hot shower and lunch at Jacksonville Burger. Also, I ate 4 cupcakes. It was a fine day.
I'm not gonna lie: Running does feel good. Of course, not all the time. There are times when I have a crap run and I never want to run again. Most of the time, it's just a run- neither good nor bad. But sometimes, it can be amazing. Amazing enough for me to run another day? Yeah, I think so. So I guess that means next year...I'm running a half marathon! (Maybe. Honestly I'd settle for the 10K but my big mouth is telling everyone I'm going to do a half marathon so I better nut up, or shut up. Right?)
Saturday, October 2, 2010
A Letter to Myself on the Eve of my first 5K race
Dear Jane,
This is your post-run optimistic self talking...YOU CAN DO THIS! Honestly though, even the pessimist in you thinks it's possible.
All I want from you tomorrow is to not give up. Don't stop. Don't think. Just run. JFDI. Run as best as you can and don't you dare lose focus. The goal is to finish. Just finish. This is your first race. This is the first time that you've committed yourself to running and are completing this goal. It's a small goal, yes but you went from not running...not even liking running...and now you're wearing a number card and a runner's tag and you're an official runner. It's big for you and I don't want you to forget that just because it's a relatively small feat.
Don't run anybody else's race but your own. Yes, there's going to be a lot of people there. There's going to be a lot of people that are going to be faster than you, leaner than you, tougher than you. But there's nothing you can do about that during your race. It's YOUR race and the only person you're running against is yourself. Ohkay, technically, you're running against thousands of other people but your main opponent is yourself. Your mantra for tomorrow: It's MY race.
Be kind to yourself. You know your limits and you also know how far you can push them. Push them...but listen to your heart. Not your mind. It's going to tell you that you should stop. You can't possibly keep that pace. You're so stupid for even trying. But don't stop. Slow down if you have to, but don't stop. It sounds cruel not to stop when you think you want to/have to but you're underestimating yourself. Your cruelty in this case will be a kindness later when you look back and see what you've done. Pain is temporary; pride is forever. And if you really feel like you can't hold on remember: A hero holds on one minute longer!
Before you know it, you'll be done. It's going to be awesome. Who cares how long it took you? (Though I'm sure you can do it in 35 minutes, which is a satisfactory average time for you.) You're going to enter that stadium and run past the finish line and it's going to feel awesome! Now the only thing you have to worry about it your finish line pose...you suck at those kind of things.
Yours Truly,
Yourself
So today I picked up my number card at Nakajima Park. Before I did, I did a 20 minute run around the park to get myself psyched for the race tomorrow. The run was great- I felt good. I hadn't run in four days and I was a little worried that I had shot myself in the foot by being so lazy. The weather was great too. I ran 2.75K in 20 minutes. Pretty slow pace but hey, I just wanted to let off some steam and reassure myself that I could still run after 4 days of no running. I kept a good 7 min/km pace so tomorrow's time shouldn't be so terrible. The adrenaline could go both ways for me though- getting me excited and making me run faster or making me feel discouraged and slower.
I felt the adrenaline just going into the sports center to pick up my number card and tag. There were so many people picking up their stuff too. People of all shapes and sizes and ages. (Let's not get too crazy though, most shapes were athletic and most sizes were small...both descriptions I don't really identify with.) It made me feel...I don't know. "Bad" feelings I guess.
Overall, I'm excited to be running tomorrow. I know I can finish and I'm proud of myself for starting. Tomorrow I don't want to think about my body issues or my adequacy issues. Tomorrow I want to celebrate my achievement and not think about it's relativity. I still haven't decided what to do post-race. I think I'm going to pick up a box of Betty Crocker cake mix at the import store to make cupcakes though. Hahaha.
Actually I was so excited that I told Ryan that I was thinking about doing the half marathon next year. That's a far cry from the thought I had this week which was that I would quit running after the race because I feel I could do more effective exercises with my time and also because I don't really like running. Anyway, let's see how it all pans out...
Think fast thoughts for me tomorrow!
This is your post-run optimistic self talking...YOU CAN DO THIS! Honestly though, even the pessimist in you thinks it's possible.
All I want from you tomorrow is to not give up. Don't stop. Don't think. Just run. JFDI. Run as best as you can and don't you dare lose focus. The goal is to finish. Just finish. This is your first race. This is the first time that you've committed yourself to running and are completing this goal. It's a small goal, yes but you went from not running...not even liking running...and now you're wearing a number card and a runner's tag and you're an official runner. It's big for you and I don't want you to forget that just because it's a relatively small feat.
Don't run anybody else's race but your own. Yes, there's going to be a lot of people there. There's going to be a lot of people that are going to be faster than you, leaner than you, tougher than you. But there's nothing you can do about that during your race. It's YOUR race and the only person you're running against is yourself. Ohkay, technically, you're running against thousands of other people but your main opponent is yourself. Your mantra for tomorrow: It's MY race.
Be kind to yourself. You know your limits and you also know how far you can push them. Push them...but listen to your heart. Not your mind. It's going to tell you that you should stop. You can't possibly keep that pace. You're so stupid for even trying. But don't stop. Slow down if you have to, but don't stop. It sounds cruel not to stop when you think you want to/have to but you're underestimating yourself. Your cruelty in this case will be a kindness later when you look back and see what you've done. Pain is temporary; pride is forever. And if you really feel like you can't hold on remember: A hero holds on one minute longer!
Before you know it, you'll be done. It's going to be awesome. Who cares how long it took you? (Though I'm sure you can do it in 35 minutes, which is a satisfactory average time for you.) You're going to enter that stadium and run past the finish line and it's going to feel awesome! Now the only thing you have to worry about it your finish line pose...you suck at those kind of things.
Yours Truly,
Yourself
So today I picked up my number card at Nakajima Park. Before I did, I did a 20 minute run around the park to get myself psyched for the race tomorrow. The run was great- I felt good. I hadn't run in four days and I was a little worried that I had shot myself in the foot by being so lazy. The weather was great too. I ran 2.75K in 20 minutes. Pretty slow pace but hey, I just wanted to let off some steam and reassure myself that I could still run after 4 days of no running. I kept a good 7 min/km pace so tomorrow's time shouldn't be so terrible. The adrenaline could go both ways for me though- getting me excited and making me run faster or making me feel discouraged and slower.
I felt the adrenaline just going into the sports center to pick up my number card and tag. There were so many people picking up their stuff too. People of all shapes and sizes and ages. (Let's not get too crazy though, most shapes were athletic and most sizes were small...both descriptions I don't really identify with.) It made me feel...I don't know. "Bad" feelings I guess.
Overall, I'm excited to be running tomorrow. I know I can finish and I'm proud of myself for starting. Tomorrow I don't want to think about my body issues or my adequacy issues. Tomorrow I want to celebrate my achievement and not think about it's relativity. I still haven't decided what to do post-race. I think I'm going to pick up a box of Betty Crocker cake mix at the import store to make cupcakes though. Hahaha.
Actually I was so excited that I told Ryan that I was thinking about doing the half marathon next year. That's a far cry from the thought I had this week which was that I would quit running after the race because I feel I could do more effective exercises with my time and also because I don't really like running. Anyway, let's see how it all pans out...
Think fast thoughts for me tomorrow!
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