part 1  part 2 Crossing the finish line provides a certain emotional high.  While my goal was just to finish within the time-limit, others usually have more specific targets such as reaching the goal within xhours or so.  Via  GPS functions embedded in wrist watches, or chips or in mobile applications that provide  stats not just guide runners to assess their current running conditions and help make necessary adjustments.  At x ave min/km with respect to [...]

Just as the recently concluded Indian Open MS results when LCW was denied of the crown by a certain Shon Wan Ho of Korea, my first half of the GoldenWeek weekend was totally unexpected entwined with some twist of fate. I set my Saturday morning schedule earlier than usual because I wanted to complete my house-keeping and laundry before I set out for a day of badminton.  Last minute, a friend organized badminton games in the morning [...]

Part 1…. A marathon is exactly 26.2 Miles (42 according to legend, .16 km was added later).  According to legend, it is the distance between Marathon and Athens, which the Athenian soldier Pheidippides used to run to relay messages to Athens during the Battle of Marathon.  Marathon is one of the original sports in modern Olympic event held in 1896.  [Read more]   Running a half-marathon is a usually a pre-full marathon race preparation.  But [...]

The setting was perfect for Tokyo Retry, a 21.5km half-marathon run organized by Tokyo One, the same organizers of the annual Tokyo Marathon.  Ojimakomatsugawa Park  hosts not just cool breeze, long-stretched smooth pavements to run and the full-bloomed cherry blossoms.  Then again, we all know there’s no such thing as perfect.  April 14th greeted Tokyo with rains and another drop in temperature.   Runners were already dripping with rain water while waiting at the start line.  Nevertheless I [...]

We had a visit from our badminton friend who moved back to the U.S.to take his Master’s education.  Unlike farewell parties, these kinds of get-togethers has a different feel.  More than the dinner and the margaritas, it was about catching up on the latest ‘news’, the latest ‘rumors’  and the tiny bits and pieces of how life has been the past year.  JS each gave us a souvenir ‘easter egg’ supposedly representing us.   To make [...]