Intervista con Runners

Sabato grande riunione di gruppo nel parco di Yoyogi. "Runners" il piu' grande mensile di corsa in Giappone ci ha richiesto un'intervista. Tante foto e poca corsa, ma ne e' valsa la pena. Il risultato sara' visibile sul numero di Gennaio. Beh, per il nostro gruppo e' una vera soddisfazione che "Runners" si interessi e ci prenda come esempio per promuovere la corsa e la solidarieta' che si crea nel gruppo. Abbiamo contato 13 nazionalita' diverse nel nostro gruppo: Italia, Inghilterra, Svizzera, Francia, Germania, Olanda, Stati Uniti , Canada, Australia, Nuova Zelanda, Singapore, Hong Kong e ovviamente Giappone. Almeno un corridore per ogni paese e chissa' quante altre nazionalita' abbiamo dimenticato. Molti espatriati vanno e vngono e dopo molti anni ritornato anche!

Corsa e Tofu

Ieri sera ho inziato a correre intorno a casa verso le 20:00 dove ho due circuiti misurati: il piccolo di 1,5K e il grande di 5K. Sono andato calmo per un'ora tanto per fare un po' di lavoro di scarico, coprendo un giro piccolo e due giri grandi. Faceva veramente freddo ed il minestrone con il pane che mi sono mangiato dopo la corsa mi ha fatto stare bene. Per mettere nella cena anche un po' di proteine mi sono mangiato 150g di Tofu.

Prima che partissi dall'Italia il tofu era diventato abbastanza popolare tanto che si trovava anche al supermercato pero' la qualita' qui in Giappone e' decisamente superiore. Per intenderci e' come paragonare una mozzarella fresca in Italia a una qui a Tokyo che e' arrivata al negozio dopo vari giorni di viaggio..... Solitamente il tofu e' indicato come formaggio di soya, ma del formaggio non ha nulla.

Il tofu e' uno degli alimenti base dell'Asia da oltre 2000 anni, molto nutriente e con un sapore praticamente neutro, quindi facilmente abbinabile a molti ingredienti di cui ne acquista il sapore.

Principalmente ne esistono di due qualita': sodo e vellutato. La differenza e' creata nella preparazioni a secondo si quanta pressione viene esercitata e quanto liquido di scolo viene tolto ed hanno due funzioni diverse in cucina. Quello sodo si puo' preparae al grill, fritto, al forno, affumicato o servito in zuppe. Quello vellutato solitamente viene mangiato cosi com'e' con l'aggiunta di un po' di salsa di soya.

Tra i principali benefici c'e' da ricordare che il tofu e' ricco di proteine di alta qualita', vitamina B, calcio, facilmente digeribile, riduce il livello del colesterolo "cattivo" aumentando il livello di quello "buono" ed e' ricco di isoflavoni che aiutano a regolare la produzione ormonale corporea.

L`allenamento del mercoledi

Scrivo questo post dal cellulare sulla via per il campo d`atletica. Come ogni mercoledi sera il gruppo si riunisce alla pista del campo di Oda nei pressi del parco di Yoyogi. Stasera sono previsti 6x1000m, ogni ripetuta in 6m30s incluso recupero. Fa freddo ma si sopporta. Speriamo che al campo non ci sia il finimondo! Quando la pista e piena e` una vera impresa correre, diventa quasi una gimkana e ogni giro di pista include sempre qualche metro oltre i soliti 400m. Gli spogliatoi diventano pieni all`inverosimile. D`altronde questa e` Tokyo, una metropoli di 16 milioni di abitanti...speriamo che le festivita` facciano il loro effetto e che quindi molti siano gia` partiti...

Edit:

all fine devo dire che non c'erano neanche tanti corridori e gli spogliatoi erano accessibili. Il lavoro e' stato cambiato ed anziche' fare 6x1000m abbiamo fatto una scala di 800/1200/1600/1200/800/400m

Namban Mile

ITALIANO
E' tutto iniziato da una email spedita dal mio amico Jurgen.

Ogni secondo mercoledi del mese l'allenamento tradizionale del nostro gruppo e' di 1 miglio seguito da 5 ripetute sugli 800m. Jurgen scherzosamente ha menzionato che la tradizione del miglio doveva essere ripetuta perche' aveva avuto un'intuizione che io avrei provato a stabilire uno dei 3 migliori tempi di sempre della nostra squadra veterani.

L'email ha generato delle aspettative (incluse le mie!) e dal momento che sono arrivato al campo diverse persone mi si avvicinavano chiedendomi: "allora, a quanto corri stasera?"

Beh, io ci ho provato e ho veramente messo tutto quello che avevo finendo in 4'58" ed eguagliando il terzo miglior tempo di sempre!

Mi ha dato anche una sensazione piacevole essere andato sotto i 5 minuti nel miglio.

ENGLISH
It all started with an email sent by my friend Jurgen to the group list.

Each second Wednesday of the month our running group traditional workout is made of 1mile (at your fastest pace) + 5x800m. So he jokingly mentioned that we should have kept the traditional mile workout just because he had a hunch that I wanted to try to give a shot to the top 3 best Veteran times ever in our club.

This email created some expectations (including mine!) and by the time I reached the track several people were approaching me asking : "so, how fast are you going to run tonight?"

Well, I did try to put all I had and I ended up to finish in 4:58 to equalize the best 3rd time ever!

It also gave me a good feeling overall by having broken the 5mins barrier

Tanzawako Marathon

Tanzawako Marathon was meant more for a day trip out of Tokyo than a race. In fact, having just come back from Ohtawara, I was undecided if to go or not until the very last minute and this indecision took me there just 10 minutes before the race start! My warm up was from the bus stop to the desk to collect the race number, run back to the start line, pass all my clothes to my son and run! I joined the 5K and finished 5th in the over 40 category in 17:39. Quite few ups and downs since Tanzawako is in the five lake region near Mt Fuji in Kanagawa prefecture.The day was a beautiful warm day with an explosion of nature. Mother Earth was giving a feast of autumn colors to all her creatures. The view of the lake surrounded by the mountains was very refreshing and the classic snow covered top of Mt Fuji was adding the final touch at the a stunning view!Many food stalls as well in the school compound. I have tried everything they had to eat. Tongiru (a soup made of pork, miso and vegetables) but with a variant of having "wild boar" instead of the pork. Barbecued fish on a stick: simply delicious!....oranges, yuzus, kaki and few types of sweets.A race to remember only for the atmosphere, the view and the colors. I hope the pictures can transmit the reader the beauty of the day

Ohtawara Marathon 10K & Mochitsuki

I felt good from the beginning and kept a steady pace throughout the race, passing in 18:22:07 at the 5K mark and, always according to my watch, finishing the second 5K in 18:22:04

The wind has been quite nasty throughout the 10K race and at the turnaround point (about 6.5K) , when everyone was expecting to receive a bit of help, actually it get worst!

Finished 9th in my age category in 36:46 just to make it to the podium for one of the medal.

On an interesting cultural note, it was nice to observe the preparation of "Mochitsuki".

"Mochitsuki" is a classical Japanese tradition present at any local
festival. A Japanese custom fundamental to the Japanese character.
It is literally translated as "pounding the mochi".

"Mochi" is the paste obtained from boiling/steaming a particular type of rice (glutinous rice) and then pounded into a paste of a chewy and soft consistency.It is usually served with "kinako" a powder obtained from toasted soya beans. Sugar is usually added when "kinako" is served with "mochi"

Making "mochi" is not a solitary activity, it requires many hands from
boiling the rice, pound and shape the "mochi" paste.

So making the "mochi" is emblematic of bringing the community together to have fun and socialize in a community project.


Find more videos like this on Running Marathon and Track Races in Japan

Toda Saiko Marathon

Sports & food stalls, free products as giveaway and a perfect organization that went from Half Marathon, 10K, 5K to the 2K for parent and kid and kids only for a total of 6306 entrants. Toda Saiko Marathon, definetely an event to recommend to join.
Just before starting my warm up I realized I did not bring my running watch and I decided to take the race as it would have come and to run by feeling instead of by time.
The 10K course was one big loop with two hills and mostly flat, with each KM marked and three water stations.
I went out at what I felt a good pace trying to avoid starting fast. I adjusted at a comfortable speed and kept going. 5K mark came quite quick and just before the mid-race mark an 180 degree gave me vision where I was in the race: about 15 people ahead of me. I remembered that from the brochure this seemed to be quite a competitive race so I imagined that the leading group were fast guys running at 32/33mins final time and being not so far from them I deducted that I was running at a good pace.
At 7K my right side started to bother me as it usually does just before stitches blast out so I reduced a bit the pace and after a while a guy passed me. He definetely looked over 40 so I decided not to let him go too far.
Around 9K another over 40 runner approached me and passed me.....with about 800m left to the finish line I decided that stitches or not I would have give everything I had into a final kick.
I passed a first runner, a second runner and with 300m to the finish line even a third one. I closed keep kicking as much as I could!
The finish was a bit of drama for me because I had no watch and I clearly saw 16:20 on the clock but with a big sign saying 5K and I thought I also saw another clock saying 36:16 for the 10K. Two clocks on two different sides and for a one eye guy like me this can be a challenge, especially when you are passing the finish line sprinting!
I kept wandering in the sport and food stalls untill they called the names and mine was the 6th. I moved to the result board just to feel sad when I did not see my name in the sixt position and instinctively I started to look downward...7th...8th...9th...my name was not there!
"Let's have a look upward" I said to myself and with great surprise I found my name in the first position of the over 40 category with a time of 36:17 on 501 finishers! This is a 1m30s improvement from my previous 10K PB in TYO Marathon.
Overall I finished 13th on 1294 men and 438 women. A nice Mizuno orange bag, a diploma and a thick, heavy gold medal was presented to me by Yuri Ichihashi.
A day to remember!

WARR: World Airline Road Race

This year WARR (World Airline Road Race) took place in Sydney.
A nice day for a scenic race course along Darling Harbour. May be too many twists and turns but overall, apart for two small uphills, very flat.
Unfortunately the race did not go as I wanted after having trained for so long and so hard...but not everything can be perfect. In Italy there is a say that goes "not all the donugths come with a hole"!
So, let's start with the result: 17:26 good for a 7th place overal and 2nd place in the Master Category.
The Sunday before, 21OCT08, I run Takashimadaira but I did all the warm up in singlet and shorts untill the start and then the race. The day was quite cold and since I was already into the warm up when I started to feel cold, I decided not to bother too much. Unfortunately this is not my usual warm up standard so the next day I paid the consequences with a backache just on my right side only and I brought it all the way with me in Sydney up to the race day. Overall the biggest affection was during the days before Sydney race because it limited my tapering to be done properly and it gave me a very negative overall feeling with thoughts that I could not even finish the run.
On the race day I woke up early to have breakfast and tape my back to give support to the muscles.
The race went fast up to KM 3 where I passed in 9:30 (later GPS downloads gave it as 2.9K) but soon after I felt like a stitch to the back so that I must have slowed down subconsciously because at the end of the race I felt very strong with still lot of energy inside.
By 7 secs I lost the previous year title of first master that I won in Amsterdam in 17:47. Even the fact that this year time was 21secs faster could not let me feel less sad. The first Master in Sydney run in 17:19, the same time I did obtain on Shibuya T&F twenty days earlier. Nothing to say, he was faster!
Further info on WARR: http://www.worldairlineroadrace.org/