The end of a long day...
Yamanaka-ko. Another Marathon. Preetam's going to run 13 kms... We woke up at four in the morning today. Took the first train to the car rental. It was a Nissan Serena this time. There were eight of us. I knew some people from before, their wives/girlfriends I was meeting for the first time.
By the time we reached Yamanaka-ko, it was raining very hard. It's impossible to run in this rain, it's crazy, I thought. And yet there they were. Hundreds of participants. All age, weight, size and nationalities - walking, stretching and warming up. Yamanaka-ko is a huge lake, one of the five lakes around Mt Fuji. The Marathon was around this lake. Anyway, we got off and by the time the participants(which in our case, were only the men folk) registered and changed into running wear, shots were fired and the Marathon began. We ladies picked up the bags and belongings of our men and walked back to the car. Just SO MANY people. It was a strange enthusiasm. Undampened by the rain. Almost like a carnival. The leaves were the brightest green, the barks were the richest brown. We walked over to the edge of a narrow pier jutting into the lake. Clouds were all around us. Couldn't see more than a few meters. It was almost unreal. It became cold, and my socks started feeling damp inside. We cheered the runners for a while. Then went to a coffee shop. Good breakfast and hot coffee...in a warm cafe besides the lake... rain, and some lazy talk...I loved the hour. The runners started returning back after a circle around the lake. We spotted our folks and met by the car. A good lunch. Amazing view of Mt Fuji as the clouds parted to let the sun in. A drive around the country. Hot spring. And the journey back. Preetam says running in the rain today was one of his best experiences so far...Today was very very long and I am dog tired. But it was a beautiful day. :)
By the time we reached Yamanaka-ko, it was raining very hard. It's impossible to run in this rain, it's crazy, I thought. And yet there they were. Hundreds of participants. All age, weight, size and nationalities - walking, stretching and warming up. Yamanaka-ko is a huge lake, one of the five lakes around Mt Fuji. The Marathon was around this lake. Anyway, we got off and by the time the participants(which in our case, were only the men folk) registered and changed into running wear, shots were fired and the Marathon began. We ladies picked up the bags and belongings of our men and walked back to the car. Just SO MANY people. It was a strange enthusiasm. Undampened by the rain. Almost like a carnival. The leaves were the brightest green, the barks were the richest brown. We walked over to the edge of a narrow pier jutting into the lake. Clouds were all around us. Couldn't see more than a few meters. It was almost unreal. It became cold, and my socks started feeling damp inside. We cheered the runners for a while. Then went to a coffee shop. Good breakfast and hot coffee...in a warm cafe besides the lake... rain, and some lazy talk...I loved the hour. The runners started returning back after a circle around the lake. We spotted our folks and met by the car. A good lunch. Amazing view of Mt Fuji as the clouds parted to let the sun in. A drive around the country. Hot spring. And the journey back. Preetam says running in the rain today was one of his best experiences so far...Today was very very long and I am dog tired. But it was a beautiful day. :)
posted by Pallavi at 10:39 PM
3 Comments:
What the hell were you doing till 2.09 AM? :) Yeah, it was just so wonderful running and more so running in the rain. I alsways used to fear getting into the rain. What if I catch a cold? With sufficient care and some investment in dry gear, it could be awesome. It feels good. Btw, a correction - I ran 13.6 km and not 13 as reported by piyu. :)
Sorry dude, I didn't give you enough credit.:) So 13.6 it was! No mean feat. Congratulations! :)
13.6 or 13 - at least you ran ... and in the rain - AWESOME AWESOME.
And I can only begin to imagine how pretty it must have been out there - As I read you description images from LOTR start flooding in - or images from the monsoon trek @Matheran for us lesser folks ;)
Way to go dudes (and dudettes) - sing in the rain.
-Venky
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