Tokyo Marathon

Well … What can I say?  I’ll keep it short and simple …

Did it … Finished it … and will never, ever, EVER do it again !!

I won’t even get into the weather conditions, cramps, blisters, etc. …. I just ask that this subject never be brought up again.

Having now vented … and put in some horrific time … I am genuinely happy that I finished this nightmare and I can now put it behind me!  (well, maybe not quite yet, since it’s Wednesday, and I’m still walking with crazy pains)

In closing, I still feel as though I need to leave some thoughts for Paul … and so, I will quote Samuel L. Jackson from Pulp Fiction.

The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the inequities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men. Blessed is he who, in the name of charity and good will, shepherds the weak through the Valley of Darkness; for he is truly his brother’s keeper, and the finder of lost children. And, I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who attempt to poison and destroy my brothers! And, you will know my name is The Lord when I lay my vengeance upon thee!   (Ezekiel 25:17)

The bold section is just a small indication of how I will feel if you ever suggest anything like this to me again! 

Watch it on YouTube: Julius in Pulp Fiction

Well, with the 2009 Tokyo Marathon just around the corner, I just happened to walk into the new Asics store in Harajuku to have a look around and decided to grab a new pair of their Gel running shoes … the Gel Kayano 15. 

The place was fairly quiet and the vendor offered to do one of those detailed computerized profiles of my feet … so I said why not?  Well, the scan and the results were quite impressive, and for all serious runners (no, I’m not one of them!), I definitely recommend that you do it.  Needless to say, make sure you get the vendors to walk you through each aspect of the results.

Below is the report for my feet (click on image to enlarge).  All in all, a fairly good pair, no weird anomalies except for one big toe which apparently decides to lean a bit !

Here is the BBC video coverage of this year’s Great Ethiopian Run which had over 32,000 people running through Addis Ababa.  By now the largest street-run event in Africa, it was founded eith years ago by Haile Gebrselassie, the great Ethiopian long distance runner who has broken 26 world records and has won numerous World Championship and Olympic titles

Each year, a sigle color from the Ethipian flag is chosen as the official race color.  This year, the  color was RED.  I have also included a couple of photos from previous years: Green (2006) and Yellow (2005) just so you can enjoy the stunning visual sights.  (Reminds me of this year’s Nike Human Race at Mt. Fuji !!)

• Men’s Winner: Chala Dechasa (28:55)
• Women’s Winner: Wude Ayalew (33.31)

OK … Let me start by saying that my training has been sad beyond belief … assuming I can even call it training ! With that said, I have been blessed with an exit sign !? … I have to be in Europe the weekend of the race for an event that I cannot get out of … no way, no how. So many apologies Joe … You will not have the opportunity to blow past me Best of luck & I fully expect you to deliver a sub-4 time.

Well, I’m not one to invest too much in this stuff, but I had to buy some gear … so here is what I bought … all very comfy … but note, since I tend to get very hot very quick and the fact that the cold does not bother me too much, I did not get the heavy duty stuff … My purchase was based more on skin protection against general wind, water and exposure as opposed to looking to try and stay warm as I’m sure my quick increase in heart rate will pretty much heat me up in the first 2k before I decide to pass out!!

Head & Hands: Since are primary points of temperature loss, I did go for coverage… Patagonia Glove Liners and a Nike Hood
Body: Nike “Spere” Thermal gear is really nice … No too hot but great material … Can’t find links to my stuff, but for fun technology & materials research byy Nike, check this out re: “Spherer”: www.nike.com/nikebiz/nikebiz.jhtml?page=2&item=react

Not that any of this will compensate for the fact that I’m still way out of shape and will probably have a coronary! (Thanx Paul!)

Hi crew … A Happy New Year to all … Well, I left Tokyo on Dec. 12th for a 1-month trek around the world to see all my friends before coming back to Tokyo and the prospect of work! I ha dall intentions to do quite a bit of running and as expected, the “D” word has not made much of an appearance! (

Dec. 12-25 (New York/Miami): Pathetic … Did a total of maybe 25k in all in NY and a miserable 10k in Miami. In NY, I was getting slammed by tight schedule and seeing friends … topped with the requirement to eat and drink at every session! In Miami, the trip was short and I was either playing with my god-son (Nicholas) or spending time with my best friend (Herve). The family’s ability to consume enormous amounts of food at each meal did not help either. Once again, “D” was nowhere to be found!

Dec. 26 – Jan. 4 (Geneva): Hmmm … OK … No excuses … many friends away on vacation, city is quiet and oh yes, there is a “beautiful” lake to run around … Results: Nada! Niente! Rien! Bubkus! NOTHING! Miserable cumulative of about 25k! Hopeless. But then again, I went up to Megeve for New Year to see very dear friends and with hopes of getting some skiing in (easy cardio), but if I told you that I saw 0.5 inches of snow, I’d be lying! Aaaaargh! Of course the day I left, they got 18 inches! Double-Aaaaargh! Back in Geneva, ran a bit more but n othing significant. HOWEVER … Did go to “Bains des Paquis” which is a lakeside swimming area which transforms into sauna/turkish bath in the winter … well, definitely enjoyed the sauna and even SWAM in the lake … at a desirable 5 degrees Centigrade!!! Yikes but lovely!

Jan. 5-8 (London): Well, just got into London and of course I am greeted by London weather … gray, gloomy, wet & miserable. I am going into this weekend with very low expectations of running as time is short and those I am here to see are simply bastards when it comes to drinking and doing pretty much every counterproductive thing possible to someone trying to pretend that they are preparing for a marathon. So let’s see … But I will try…

To Be Continued …