Tokyo – Reach for the Seven Stars

Wow. Just Wow.

There is nothing but mixed emotions for this one, making it more special than the others. Yes, I finished the long-awaited Tokyo Marathon but it wasn’t in the condition I hoped it would be. And here’s how it started going all wrong. Also, I had zero sleep due to jetlag and nerves.

1. It was too hot!

For the past week, I have been intensely looking at the weather app… it was predicting 18 deg Celcius on race day. I was getting worried. I should have started mentally preparing myself for this but I didn’t. At the Start Line (9am), it was a bit cloudy so it wasn’t so bad and there were buildings. However, in the middle of the race, the temperature peaked at 21 deg Celcius! I was not ready for this. I was training in 5 deg Celcius in Portsmouth.

At the start line, instead of getting mentally prepared, I was busy looking for the last porta-loo so I can go for one last wee, which thankfully I managed to do.

Lesson: Gotta nail the Mental Game down. Also arrive early for adequate pre-race toileting.

Still looking fresh but desperate for the toilet.

2. Ran out of water!

The other thing was that no water/bottles were allowed to be brought in, they were providing water/sport drinks/nutrition at the Aid Stations every 2km starting at 5km. The problem was that they ran out of water and cups later in the race! Everyone stopped at each station to drink something as it was so hot! So did I.

I was doing well and was happy with my pace the first 5km, all things considered. Normally, I wouldn’t drink/have a gel until about 15 km in but I was already so parched by 5km so I had to stop.

Lesson: Couldn’t control the running out of water but need to improve at hydration/nutrition strategy.

3. Way too many toilet breaks!

And because I drank so much water, I ended up using the toilet 3 times.

Lesson: as above.

4. Run/Walk and The Wall!

Yang Yang, Paolo and Sohail were all at 21 km (halfway point), I was still okay then. Pace hung around 10:30/mile which I was fine with given the heat but at 30 km, I started to fall apart. I didn’t even stop to say hi to them at 30 km, I just had to keep going.

I started run-walking at this point. At first, I planned to run 0.9 miles and walk 0.1 miles. But then the sun was directly overhead, the buildings weren’t providing any shade anymore, my legs were heavy as lead. My strategy was not working. I was hitting the wall. I kept stopping because they felt like they were about to cramp. I feared that if I cramped, I would not finish.

Lesson: Master the Mental Game.

5. Headphones

The other thing I did for this race, which I never do was listen to music. In my other big city races, I didn’t use head phones and just enjoyed the crowd and be present in the moment. This time, I periodically got distracted with the music and fiddling with the headphones, putting them back in the case to charge, fiddling with my phone. I brought these along because the songs on my playlist had helped me run faster but again… not in these conditions. By having the headphones, I was just not present.

Lesson: No more headphones on race day ever.

6. The longest switchback ever!

When we got to the last stretch (last 5km), we were on this long road – on one side it said 1 km to go, which was exciting and also started seeing the other runners going the opposite way, which was also reassuring. But the road we were on was so long and the switchback was not in sight. It just kept going and the sun was right in front of you. Eventually, everyone turned right and the switchback was another 1km away. Got there eventually and now we were in the last stretch.

Lesson: Study the marathon route so no surprises.

By this point, I thought I might as well do some sight-seeing and take pictures, so took photos of the Tokyo Tower and the Zōjō-ji Temple. My form along with my dignity was completely gone.

I Finished!

This was my 9th marathon – NINTH! One would think that with that many, I would have nailed my routine but I clearly didn’t with this race. For the Portsmouth Marathon this past December, I was not physically ready. This one, I put in the miles the past few months before but I was not mentally ready. It feels like I have been regressing and it is not a good feeling.

It is during these times when I need to humble myself and acknowledge and really learn from the challenges and of course, still be grateful for the whole experience.

After a gruelling run/walk, I crossed the Finish Line at 5:23:55. Of course not my best time – in fact, second slowest! But you know what, I did not cramp, I am not injured, I did not drop out and got a pretty cool post-race poncho. I am especially grateful for my friends who came to support me. AND I achieved my fourth star in Tokyo!