In May 2017, I was talking to other members of the 3K Running Club (Ljubljana) about Tokyo 2018 and learned that there was an Irish agency offering arrangements for the Tokyo Marathon. I wrote to them, received a positive reply in August, paid part of the entry fee and the preparations for Tokyo 2018 have started. After London 2017, I had a minor knee injury, which later turned out to be a mistake in my choice of running shoes. in 2017 and 2018 I visited several physiotherapists, did strength exercises, but the pain did not subside until I actually changed my running shoes The cause of the pain surprised me because I always run in the same model of shoe (Kayano, Asics), so I had never looked for a problem with my running gear. In the image below you can see a representation of readiness (yellow line) in 2017 (until London) and then a yellow line showing that I am almost not doing any activity anymore due to an injury. However, I started preparing in October 2017 (3k programme, Igor Kogoj), ran regularly and followed the programme without any problems. I flew to Munich via Trieste and then directly to Tokyo. The price for transport from Tokyo to the district where the hotel is located was extremely cheap and the airport is 15-20 minutes away from the hotel complex, so far so good. I found the organiser at the hotel, introduced myself, exchanged a few words, got all the necessary information to raise the number and meet Denis, my roommate for 5 days. Somehow I manage to convince my roommate that while we are in Tokyo, we should do some sightseeing. There's always a trade-off between how much sightseeing to do before the race On Friday evening (the race is on Sunday) I meet up with an old colleague, and according to Slovenian custom, we do not just have a beer. In the morning I was a bit tired, I went to the train to get my race number, realised I had a cold and got annoyed with myself. The Tokyo Marathon mess is something special, I have not seen anything like it at the Six Majors. Everything was very modestly prepared, there were no great offers and even those who were there were a challenge as far as the "EU XL" number was concerned. On a positive note, I was able to take photos in front of the "finisher clock" where you can set your desired time. Realistically, due to the lack and interruption of training, I was less prepared than in previous marathons, but I had still set myself a target of 3:38! Personally, I am a fan of running by heart rate rather than "peace time" and I used the "Marco Marathon Calculator" (https://feelrace.com/marco/) to plan my pace according to HR at different stages of the marathon. After the expo, I drank a lot, ate a big portion of spaghetti for lunch and dinner and went to bed. At night around 3:00 am I wake up drenched in sweat, the cold has taken its toll. I rush to the toilet and the first shock is that the urine is orange-yellow in colour. For those of you who do not run, let me say that this is pure dehydration, which is not a good recipe for finishing a marathon. I drank a lot of water and went back to sleep. I got up at 4:30am, had breakfast, the usual routine before a marathon. I meet the team at the hotel reception and they drive us to the starting point. I was cold and the feeling was anything but positive. In Tokyo, I took a bracelet that my daughter had prepared for me as a motivational anchor. I looked at the bracelet and told myself that if I arrive here and train for months, I should do my best to finish the race. The race began! The course is set up to be downhill for the first few kilometres, which fits perfectly with my tactics (low HR, run fast). Because of the previous night, I decided to drink at every water point. The official drink was Pocari Swet, which I had previously ordered online and knew the taste of so I would not repeat the mistake of London 2017 where my stomach did not react well to the new drink. During the run, everything went according to plan until the 25km. The fan atmosphere in Tokyo is different, strangely enough the Japanese just cheer differently than in the EU or the US. The course passes all the highlights of Tokyo. The only challenge of the Tokyo course is that it is mostly parallel. At km 25 comes the longest of these parallel sections, where you have to run back about 10 km along the route you have already run. At about 35 km comes the turning point to the finish. I looked at my watch, pulse, pace, everything was under control, so I accelerated and reached the 40 km mark very quickly, I accelerated again and ran the last two kilometres at 30 seconds/km faster (@4:30km) than the rest of the full marathon. I crossed the finish line, put my hands up and stopped my watch which read 3:38, a 5 minute PR improvement on the Chicago 2016 result!!!! Considering I had not trained for almost a year before this marathon training cycle, I was more than pleased with the result. I congratulated myself, congratulated the others and made my way to the bus that took us back to the hotel. I felt great, my legs did not hurt, no cramps, everything went according to plan. On the way back I meet the team from the hotel, who convince me that there will be a good afterparty in the evening, organised by the Tokyo Marathon organiser. Considering the fact that I was alone, I say to myself, okay, I'll go. We drank a few beers, ate prepared food, applauded when six big medals were awarded to the participants, socialised, exchanged ideas and literally enjoyed the energy. It is very rare for a group of like-minded people who share the same hobby and have come to Tokyo from different parts of the world to come together in one place and for one goal, and the atmosphere was just right for it. Tokyo 2018 was my first organised participation through the agency and I can say it was positive. The organisers were great, the people were amazing and despite a cold and a sleepless night, I managed to improve my PR! Next one? Boston! Few snapshots from Tokyo 2018:
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