Running

This morning I ran the Wakamatsu Tsuruga Castle Marathon. In Japan, any race can carry the name marathon and be under marathon length. It is also common to say marathon(ing) instead of running. I decided to run the 10k, which while my longest race, is not the longest distance I have ever run. I was the only foreign person running the 10k, one my friends in Wakamatsu ran the 5k, he got a 21:03, which is a pretty good time. My fastest 5k has been just under 22:00.
Today I ran a 51:43 which while a decent time was not what I had hoped for. In training I was running just over 50:00 and was hoping that the added plus of actually having people running with and against me would propel me to do better and maybe get a 49 or 48. It was not to be. While I finished the first 5k in about 23:30, twice during the second half I had to walk in order to bring down my pulse quickly. I became dizzy and so decided to check my pulse. My watch has a heart monitor on it and when it exceeds 185 beats per minute the watch will beep, which means, STOP, and it did twice. Normally I run between 155-165 beats per minute and will go to 175 or so when I am sprinting at the end of a race, but the day was hotter than normal and I was overheating. So twice I walked.
In any case I am happy with my run, it is the first formal race that I have done in a long time and in the past two months I have run the fastest and longest distances that I have ever run. Many of you are probably thinking, that is great, but why even run? What is the point?
There are two reasons I did this race. The first is that I took initiative to have people pledge money for my run, the proceeds of which I am donating to an orphanage in Thailand called Baan Dada(see sponsor names above on my homemade shirt). Some of the JETs in the prefecture responding by pledging money to see me finish, so I couldn’t let them down. The second reason is that. I love running. My day doesn’t feel complete if I don’t run, or exercise in some way, and it is a great time for me to unwind mentally and physically. Beating the paths around the river in my town I have had lots of moments of peaceful reflection, improved my health, and seen wildlife that I would not have otherwise. I also see my students out and about town and I hope it encourages those that already do to stick with it. Today, I saw many of my students at the race. A few of them were cheering me on as I ran and a few I met after where I learned what race they had just done or were about to do. It was great to see them so happy with what they had achieved. Seeing the power that inspires these kids to run inspires me also. I hope that in turn seeing me at the race will encourage them to keep running.