サザンセトロードレース (Sazan Seto Road Race)...CHALLENGE #2!!! :D

Brandon, Michelle, me, and Choruru - Yamaguchi's mascot - before the race.

The day had finally come. Exactly one year ago I had found myself in the same predicament: running 21.097 km in under 2 hours 10 min for the half marathon portion of the Sazan Seto Road Race here in Suo-oshima, Yamaguchi, Japan (my hometown). My BOE had made me a special T-shirt with everyone's signatures. I was pumped and ready to fulfill the dream I had set for myself one year ago as I crossed the finish line 2 min after the allotted time. I was not to be defeated this time.

5 min to race time. I lace up my shoes. I take time for one last stretch. I tighten my ponytail. I am set. Cue Eminem on the iPod. I soak up his words like a sponge. If you had, one shot, one opportunity, to seize everything you ever wanted, one moment...would you capture it? Or just let it slip?

Bass pounding, the gun sounds, and we're off. This year I had a new strategy to ensure my success, 10-1-10, which is where you run 10 min, walk 1 min, and continue to do so throughout the race. It made sense. During the 10 min run, you would be using different muscles than the 1 min walk. I could give certain muscles a rest, thereby allowing me to run more efficiently with less fatigued muscles. Gold.

Gosh there sure are a lot of old people running this. One by one, participants donning orange 'Hiroshima Senior Citizen Club' jerseys pass by. I push myself and continue to run according to the 10-1-10 strategy. At first it takes me a while to adjust to the time-keeping with my stopwatch but finally get the hang of it at around the 6 km mark. Time passes and the 10 km mark is in sight. Oh the 10 km mark. I look down at my stopwatch. A little under 60 min had already passed. Perfect. Or so I thought. In order for me to finish within 2 hours 10 min, I would have to run 10 min miles. I naively assumed that I had ran 10 MILES (in accordance with 10 km), and would finish the race with time to spare. I had calculated wrong. At that point, I had ran a little under 6 miles. The clock was ticking.

I pass by a group of grandmas and grandpas that had lined the sidewalks to cheer. Gambare! Makenaide! they shout, waving their little Japanese flags and clapping. I flash them a winner's smile and continue on. Oh thank God! The turn around point! A big, orange cone welcomes me to my reality. Wha...!? I realize my amateur mistake. 50 min to run the remaining 10 km. It was do-able...for Olympians...but for me...hmm...I begin to panic.

Oh gosh, I'm going to let everyone down. All the people at the BOE! And my friends who came to cheer me on. Focus. Focus, Tiff. It's not over till it's over. Given that I had been running for a little over an hour, I felt pretty good. My legs weren't yet burning and I felt like there was enough "gas in the tank" to make it back to the 2nd water station. Run like the wind, Tiff! 10-1-10. Stick to the plan. I make it to the water station and grab a cup from an elementary school kid. I hear him say (w/English translation), "Hey! I know her! She's my English teacher! Hang in there!" That がんばれ was all I needed to pick up the pace. Here we go.

I begin blogging in my head as I look off into the beautiful Seto Inland Sea. I wonder if at the end of this blog entry, I'll have a picture of me jumping for joy as I cross the finish line or passed out on the ground defeated? Focus Tiff! Left leg...right leg...left...right...just keep putting one foot in front of the other. I make many analogies between running and my JET experience; getting through hard days, enduring and overcoming challenges to become a stronger person, all the while keeping up with my 10-1-10 strategy.

I glance at my watch and take time to do correct math. 30 min left with 6 km to go. Things began to look grim. Doubt started to set in. Fatigue. Disappointment. Pretty much everything and anything that you would find in a goodie bag from the devil himself began to trickle in. I see a runner pass me by, #508. We had been playing tag the entire race. As much as I wanted to leave her in my dust, I did hold her in the highest respect. She appeared to be in her 60s afterall. Yes, my pacing buddy was a 60+ year old lady, no shame in that. We run together, up the last remaining mountain, through the last remaining fishing town. Every second that passed by brought me closer and closer to defeat. I was exhausted at this point. 10 min was all that remained for me to finish 2 km. It was not going to happen. The 10-1-10 system began to break down. I found myself starting a new method, the 5-1-run-whenever-you-can-feel-your-legs-again method. I can assure you you won't find that one in many running magazines :P

I'll have you know that I finished. I managed to escape the First Aid bus that picks up people who seem like they've had enough. I ran my little heart out till the end, passing #508, and ending on a high note "sprint" (I'd call it more of a "flying wobble.") A part of me was disappointed that I hadn't finished in time and another part of me was content that I hadn't given up. I pondered the meaning of the day as I waited for my friends at the finish line. Suddenly I hear, "Tiffany-sensei!" I turn and see a group of elementary school kids that I often teach. They had come to cheer on their classmates in the 5 km race. And then, the meaning of the day, the resolution, became clear. When I leave Japan, no one is going to remember my race time or that I didn't finish in time. The important thing is the friendships: the friendships that led my BOE to make me such an amazing T-shirt, the friendships with the teachers and kids who passed out water and cheered me on, the friendships that were waiting for me at the finish line. My impression on the people that I will soon say goodbye to is what's truly important. As much as I'd love to post pictures of me victoriously crossing the finish line here at the end of this blog, I'm just as happy to end it with these :)

Kyle and me :)

Yamaguchi JETs represent! (L to R: Brandon, Kyle, Steff, me, Christina, and Michelle) Photo courtesy of Steff Y :)

 

My awesome T-shirt signed by my BOE coworkers.

Thanks Nakamura, you were right! :D