Ibusuki Marathon

We tested our physical strengths to the brink by running our very first full marathon last weekend. Due to the cold weather lately, we hadn’t really been doing any training since September/October. Maybe only 3 or 4 short distance runs. Going into running 26.5 miles (42K) without much preparation was really worrying us. Especially after reading this article: http://www.marksdailyapple.com/physical-effects-poor-training-marathon/ Nipple/thigh chaffing, cramps, blisters, dehydration, plantar fasciitis, ITBS, renal failure?? Did we really sign up for this? But we kept assuring ourselves that we are in reasonable shape and we could at least walk the whole distance, if it came to that. We figured the only thing that could stop us from dragging ourselves across the finish line would be terrible weather conditions. Well, wouldn’t it seem ironic then that it was pouring rain the ENTIRE race. Especially since the whole week before and even the next day after the race it was pure sunny skies all across Kyushu. Despite this fact, we think this may have motivated us even more. Once we started there was no turning back, so the only way out of the rain was to just keep going forward. It also distracted us from thinking about our bodies slowly falling apart muscle-by-muscle, because we had to keep a close eye out for big puddles to avoid getting our shoes even more soaked and keep the rain out of our eyes. Also, the race atmosphere made things much more exciting too. There were around 17,000 people racing alongside us and all the energy was really encouraging. The local communities came out as well to flank the roads offering all sorts of candies and home grown fruits and vegetables. Not only that, but there were also food stands provided by the race staff with ramen noodles, fried fish, baked sweet potatoes, edamame, mangos, miso soup, hot green tea… So many things to sample it was kind of like a Costco on a Saturday morning. I think all these distractions helped us to finish. We were both feeling pretty great until about 30K into the race when the rain really started to come down heavy. It was about here that Tyler’s legs started giving him a tough time. Samantha still had an extraordinary amount of energy (thanks to the 2 energy bars she had been eating and 4 concentrated energy gel packs) and a great playlist that powered her til the end. We stayed together all the way until the 32km mark, this is when Tyler had to slow down to stretch more often. She finished at 5 hours and 32 minutes. Meanwhile Tyler eventually crossed over at 5 hours 50 minutes. The scenery was very beautiful and the course took us along the coast line, next to a big lake, and around the Kaimondake volcano. The area is also know for beautiful yellow flowers. There were abundant fields of them along the course. Ultimately we had a good experience. Today we are still feeling quite sore. Moving our legs at all is quite a challenge and the pads of our feet are very tender. But Samantha is pretty excited to tackle another one in the future. Tyler is a little more apprehensive.