Tokashiki [almost] Half-Marathon

I've been mostly out of the game since the end of December, missing all of my long weekend runs due to my right knee. With two weeks to go to the Okinawa City marathon, I decided to see if I could handle 30k (with the result being used to make a decision on Tokyo).

So I ran 10k when I woke up, then took the boat (which left five minutes early - and without me - but thankfully came back) to Tokashiki for the [nearly] half-marathon. Okinawa schedules all of its marathons (in Japan that word is all-encompassing for running races of any distance) in the winter because the weather is cooler, but it doesn't work. At least not when I am signed up. The weather was hot. Like mid-70's hot. Not a cloud in the sky.

[Taiko drummers welcome a ferry full of runners]

The race began at 1pm and started uneventfully. I didn't feel great for the first 4k, which is par for the course (usually that lasts 10k). But there was a giant hill at 4k and I excel at hills, so I took off and nailed it, passing ~30 people en route. I passed one slightly older lady near the top and wished her good luck as I went by. She passed me on the downhill with a wave. We played tag all the way to the finish, then talked and found out we are both signed up for Tokyo.

[the Tokashiki JET, James (from NZ), finishing]

Anyway, it was only 2o.9k so there isn't much of a story. I did well on the uphills and tried to be cautious on the downs. I didn't run the race hard, just intelligently. I finished in 1:43.55, 30th of 331 and 16th of 82 in my age bracket (30-39). I figured I'd be in the 1:40-1:45 range so considering the heat, I was pleased with this. Even more pleased that my knee didn't present any problems. I'm close to buying those Tokyo plane tickets.

Here are the numbers:
time: 1:43.57
HR average: 159
HR range: 102-183
ascent total: 1420 feet
high point: 673 feet, 32 minutes into the race
low point: 20 feet, 4 minutes in

side note: I check my stats on the 2008 Okinawa City marathon, known as a 'hilly' course. Total elevation gain for a distance twice as long was just 1050 feet.

[friend Eri finishing - and promising moments later to never run this course again]