Welcome to Ibusuki, 1hr south of Kagoshima by train or bus. I stayed in Kagoshima because Ibusuki was full-up.
Race morning, up around four to grab a taxi to the train station and take the bus just after 5am.
We arrived in Ibusuki almost 3hrs before the 9am start, and I spent the down-time between the bathroom and trying to stay warm in the gym. Funny pre-race story, I noticed some runners outside the gym, numbers strapped to their chest, canned coffee in one hand and cigarette in the other (really?!?). To each his own.
In true Japanese style, the race began promptly at 9am. Shoulder to shoulder for the first mile (imagine 30,000 people on a two lane road), then opened up ever so slightly. Around mile 10 (16km) the pack thinned out enough to move at will.
I was stuck to the plan, heart rate below 150, running just over 9min/ mi (6min/ km), and of course, keeping an eye out for toilets. After my 7 pit-stop marathon in August and continued stomach problems through training for this event, location of toilets was constantly on my mind. But, almost 2hrs in and not an inkling of a need to stop, 'a victory in and of itself. Ok, get it out of your mind, see how far we can go.'
Just passed the 2hr mark and through half-way, low heart rate, no bathroom break, taking on food and sports drinks at every other aid station (each station was 2mi apart). Lots of food on offer: bananas, tomatoes, sweet potato, noodle soup, hard candy and more; but, my stomach was holding up, 'don't get adventurous, bananas and sports drink. Ok, maybe one sweet potato. Mmm, tasty, but don't risk anymore.'
Closing in on 3hrs, strolling through what seemed a very rural area, but people still lined the streets (not packed, but they were there), impressive support. We rounded the bottom of this 26mi loop and were heading back toward Ibusuki. This part of the course overlooked the sea, which was gorgeous, but cold.
3.5hrs and we hit a long, steep climb (or at least it seemed so after that much running). I could feel the strain and lack of training through my legs, knees and calves. The only thing that kept me at a decent pace was the guy who stomped passed me, cigarette in hand, 'you have got to be kidding me!'
Finally we crested the hill followed by a steep decline. I decided to let my legs go, 'forget the short, efficient strides, let the legs free for this downhill,' and it felt great. With some relief in my lower half, I came on the final stretch through Ibusuki, streets lined and sun shining.
No major kick at the finish, keep the heart rate low, crossed the line and couldn't believe it. No not time, 4.10.23 right on schedule, but I didn't stop for the bathroom once! What a way to start the year.
Now time for my favorite, recovery. Each racer was given a bowl of udon or soba noodles (love'm both, but went for soba), 3 onigiri (rice ball), an anko sweet (red bean) and of course, sweet potatoes (absolutely delicious). After feeding, I hopped on the race sponsored bus to a local onsen (natural hot spring) where racers could use the facilities for free. I have to say, I've recovered from races in several ways but nothing beats an onsen.
A great race: beautiful scenery, well organized, good crowd support, sufficient aid stations and toilets and great post-race set-up. Click here to see the race course on my Garmin page (note my heart rate monitor is wrong, I know my HR was never as low as 70 nor as high as 200 as Garmin claims.).
I will say, this is not a PB course. The shoulder to shoulder start and 1,900ft of climbing put a PB out of reach. Though, I suspect 1,900ft is low for Japan.
Tips for this race:
- Get a hotel in Ibusuki as travelling from Kagoshima means being up too early on race day
- If not staying in Ibusuki, register the morning of the event (takes 5mins) to avoid making two trips
- Don't worry about locking up your personal items, everyone leaves their bags in the gym (more-or-less unsupervized, amazing I know, welcome to Japan)
- Get as far forward as possible at the start
- If you can handle the first 8-10mi without food or water, no need to take anything with you as there are aid stations every 2mi afterward
Oh yeah, in case you're curious, I saw a number of racers red-faced and sweating sucking down numerous post-race cigs (no, I'm not joking).
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