Japanese Surgeon's Daily Life

A Week To Ehime Marathon

　　On Feb. 1st, Saturday, one week before Ehime Marathon, I joined the volunteer work of cleaning the route of the marathon. The Amino-Value Running Club, which I belong to and is one of the biggest clubs in Japan, took part in the road cleanup with other running clubs, company groups and university students. The weather was clear and just like early spring though the northern part of Japan was in the midst of heavy coldness. I was getting excited to imagine that I would run there a week later cheered on by lots of people.
　　One more thing: Ehime Marathon topped the popularity vote across the country last year. It is said that Shikoku, in which Ehime is included, is rich in O-MO-TE-NA-SHI mind. This Japanese word was introduced in the final presentation for hosting 2020 Olympics in Tokyo at the IOC general meeting held in Brazil last year.
　　Anyway, I'll run the first full marathon next Sunday!

Omotenashi in French：　http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j60fhcJzoRw 

Never Too Late?

　　New British research suggests that elderly people who take up exercise in their 60s are three times more likely to stay healthy both mentally and physically than their inactive peers.
　　I'm 55 so I'm in time? (It's a joke.) As I wrote about the marathon trainings several times before, I started jogging as everyday exercise. Additionally, I'd like to acquire a good knowledge of Chinese and German as well as English, though I can't spare enough time. I enrolled in a language school in January and am going to attend private German classes twice a month. I've already met a fundamental standard of the national German level test (link), but it was not satisfactory at all. I decided to brush up my German skill just after returned to Japan from Germany last November.

(Vocabulary)
never too late to　  ～するのに遅すぎることはない
take up exercise　   運動を再開する、再び始める
more likely to　   ～する可能性が高い、～しがちである
inactive peers　   活動的でない仲間　→　同年代の運動していない人たち

Turn-around point

　　Last year next month, I was around at the finish of the Ehime Marathon for something different from the marathon and I saw lots of runners passing the finish line after their long run of 42.195km. Their faces looked tired and exhausted, but looked proud at the finish at the same time. I didn't know the route of the marathon and I wondered how far they ran. Some of them looked far older than I and fatter than I. I thought, chances were not bad that I could finish the marathon. It was my cue to do the marathon.
　　I had some advice from one of my friends who had a hobby of jogging, about a training plan for beginners. As a result, I started with some rapid walking at the end of last February. I have jogged in the night of weekdays and in the daytime of weekends, and eventually joined two road races of 10km and a half-marathon.
　　Today, I tried to run all the way of the Ehime Marathon to estimate my physical strength. To complete the race, I have to keep it in mind that a high pace during the early part of the race will lead to a drop-out in the latter half. At last after a year's struggle, I reached the turn-around point of the Ehime Marathon, the farthermost point from the start, the answer to the question which I had muttered last year at the finish point of the Ehime Marathon.

http://kumo.typepad.jp/marathon/Marathon_Training.html

(Vocabulary)
turn-around point（マラソンの）折り返し点
sb's cue to do ～するきっかけ

First Half-Marathon

　　I challenged the half-marathon yesterday for the first time. More than 2,000 people, who want to be fit for everyday life, joined the race. The boom in jogging in Japan is soaring more and more and I am one of the marathon beginners. My ultimate goal is to finish the full marathon, 42.195km! I've been thinking about the way to accomplish it. I ran 10km road races twice in May and October. I've lengthened the distance bit by bit which I could run at one time, and I joined the half-marathon. I could finish it in 2 hours and 31 minutes. This record might not be good generally, but it was really favorable to me. I couldn't imagine that I would be able to run such a long distance even last year.
　　To my regret, however, I was extremely exhausted in the final section of 2km. I thought it was simply from the lack of physical strength at that time, but I knew today that it had been the lack of energy supply in and just before the race. I learned about the favorable diet for the long run from the sales representative of one of the Japanese main dietary companies, Meiji. Her story was really acceptable and I'll take her advice into my everyday training. The picture shows the samples of their products.

Test Run

　　A marathon, named the "Bochann Run Run Run!", will be held on Dec. 7th, just 7 days later. I'll attend the category of half-marathon. Today, several runners got together and did their test run. I also joined them. The first picture is of the right feet of members. The single running shoe in the center is the photographer's. It's a nice idea. The foot with a blue shoe is mine.

Uniform of Matsuyama Chuo Lions Running Club

　　I sometimes wrote about the Ehime Marathon in my blog, which has been held in my hometown for 50 years. It had been only for professional or semi-professional athletes for a long time, but now it is open to the public. Moreover it's getting more and more popular across Japan. About 8,000 city runners are permitted to join the marathon and the competition rate has been more than double every year recently. The other day, four members of my Lions Club, including me, were drawn to obtain permission to join the marathon. The president of the club is an enthusiastic supporter of the marathon and he instantly established the running club in the Lions Club.
　　As I attended the regular conference of the Lions Club today, several dozen uniforms, shown below, were prepared for not only the runners, but supporters. Seemingly, several club members will support the runners along the route wearing the same uniform. It's really cool, but I would never be allowed to retire from the race. I have to definitely pursue the completion of the marathon.

Long Running

　　Nov. 3rd is a national holiday in Japan, which is designated to celebrate the birthday of Meiji Tennoh, who had been the Emperor of Japan from 1867 to 1912. On this holiday, though the weather wasn't good, I took on a shot at running 25 km without stopping, even if the speed would become slow. I wasn't confident about myself and asked a friend for the support to lead me at a constant pace because I'm going to attend a half-marathon on Dec. 7th. The time limit for the half-marathon is set to 3 hours. I could manage to attain the limit this time, but I didn't think that it was enough for the Ehime Marathon, which will be held in February. I have to complete it within 6 hours.
　　Though more than 3 months are left until the Ehime Marathon, there were several dozen runners on its route  and several signboards for runners were seen on the way, which indicated where you were on the route. I'll show you one of them at the bottom. As the fitness fad is growing more and more powerful in Japan, the number of city runners has increased. More than 20,000 people applied for the Ehime Marathon which is staged in a local city of Matsuyama City. The competition rate was nearly 3 times.

(Vocabulary)
take [have]a shot at　～に挑戦する
fad はやり, 流行
a passing fad  一過性の流行
city runner　市民ランナー

　

Imabari City Marathon

　　Today, the Imabari City Marathon was held and I joined its 10km category. It was the second time for me to run 10km, following the Asagiriko 10km Road Race last May in which I recorded 83 minutes, so this time my target time was set to 70 minutes. As a result, I had my personal best, 67 minutes.
　　For about 30 years after graduation from university, I'd never run more than 100 meter at one time. I don't know why, however, I came up with an idea that I might be able to run a marathon. I started rapid walking in February and reached this level today. Now, I have taken to jogging every two to three days. The change of lifestyle surprised my family, but the person most surprised is me!
　　By the way, take a look at the cap in the picture. Several days before the road race, this cap was presented by my acquaintance, who had actually got on board the USS Chafee (DDG-90) in Hawaii. He was moved by some entries of this blog and e-mailed me, and our relationship started at that time.
　　My next plan is the Bocchan Marathon on Dec. 7th., in which I would run a half marathon, about twice the length of this time. I set my target to 2 hours and 30 minutes.

(Vocabulary)
take to
take to sb/sth ＜…＞を好きになる
We took to each other right away.  私たちはすぐにお互いを好きになった．
take to sth (定期的に) ＜…＞をするようになる, が習慣になる
take to doing sth ＜…＞するようになる, ＜…＞する習慣［癖］がつく
She has taken to getting up early to go jogging. 彼女は早起きしてジョギングに行く習慣がついた．
take to drink  酒浸りになる
take to sth like a duck to water  ＜…＞をすんなりと覚える, にすぐになじむ
take to the streets/highways  (抗議などのために) 街頭［大通り］に繰り出す
Thousands of people took to the streets to protest the election results. 何千もの人が選挙結果に抗議して街頭に繰り出した．

　

Rescue Training

　　I've been involved in motor sports for over 30 years. I attended lots of rallies as both a driver and a navigator. When I was young, even though my car broke down, I could maintain my car because the mechanism of the car was simpler than today. It lead to saving the cost of keeping a rally car. Now, however, the mechanism of the cars has become too complicated for an amateur to repair the car. It became costly to maintain a rally car and I gave up driving it. I'm enjoying the rally as one of the enthusiastic supporters or a course marshal now.
　　Today one of the rallies of the Japan Championship was held near my hometown and I attended as a member of the rescue team. My task was to stay in the car called FIV - First Intervention Vehicle - at the starting point of the special stage. The regulation strictly requires that medical personnel should be ready for an emergency in FIV. Following the headquarter's instruction, I was supposed to step onto the course first prior to other cars like wrecker trucks and investigate the condition of the entrants and the course itself.
　　The last picture shows the rescue training. A driver played the role of a spine injured driver. The rescuers removed his helmet and HANS device. They protected the injured driver with K.E.D. The injured driver was taken out of the car and was being placed on the spine board in the picture.

New Camera

　　I wrote about my new camera before, which I got really luckily. This camera has a function of shooting 6.5 pictures per second. I had been eager to use the function after knowing that. Though I shot pictures of cars passing in front of my house, it was not fun. Last night, I happened to watch a TV news item and knew the preliminary games of the senior high school baseball tournament had begun. I believed that's it!
　　Today, I went to the stadium with my camera hanging from my neck. I tried to shoot the scene of battings. I'll upload a set of pictures below. You can see a small ball clearly. I wondered at the function. I'm not a professional photographer, but I could take these pictures. Thanks to the development of memory cards, you can actually stock as many pictures as you want in the camera and moreover they are recorded digitally and don't need any development. It leads to saving money.

Marathon Exercise

　　I wrote about the catalyst for my recent endeavor to engage in running in February. I started reducing my body weight at first along with light walking in February, and now I sometimes run in the area around my house. I am far from being able to complete a marathon, but I'm trying to run faster bit by bit.
　　By the way, my Lions Club is the 8th biggest club in Japan on the basis of the number of the members. About 110 people belong to the club and some of them are fond of running. They put together a running circle to evoke the health trend in the club and naturally I joined them. On the other hand, as the popularity of marathons has risen, students, who major in physical education or physical exercise in Ehime University, have voluntarily begun teaching citizens how to run and complete a marathon safely. I joined this circle as well. This circle is sponsored by the pharmaceutical giant, Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., which manufactures various sports drinks. It's very useful for people like me, who usually shy away from sports, to find out more about exercise, warm-ups, cool-downs etc.
　　The gadget in the picture - sorry for the lack of sharpness - is a device for carrying a bottle of water on the waist. In Japan, especially the southwestern part, is experiencing sweltering and scorching heat and thousands of people have been rushed to hospitals. Water is essential for running at present.

(Vocabulary)
catalyst  (重要な変化や出来事を) 引き起こす人［もの］, 要因 [＋catalyst for]
endeavor [C](フォーマル) 試み;[U] 努力
in an endeavor to do sth ＜…＞する試みとして
make every endeavor to do sth ＜…＞するためにあらゆる試みをする
scientific/creative/artistic/human endeavor 科学的［創造的，芸術的，人間の］努力
endeavor to do sth  (フォーマル) ＜…＞しようと努力する［努める］
health trend 健康志向
shy away from (doing) sth  ＜…＞（すること）を避ける, にしり込みをする
Don't shy away from saying what you think.  しり込みしないで思っていることを言いなさい．
find out more about ～についてもっと多くのことを発見する、知る，調べる

Altitude Training

　　Three months have passed since I determined to join next year's Ehime Marathon last February, seeing the runners pass the finish line of the race. I could have lost 3 kilograms of weight for the past 3 months, but I didn't run more than 10 kilometers. I had to increase the amount of the exercise.
　　Then a friend invited me to go jogging in a highland area, in which the traffic wasn't heavy and the temperature was comfortable. The plan was to run a distance of 15 kilometers in the countryside and within 2 hours for me. I put "Altitude Training" as the topic of this entry, but it is considerably exaggerated. It was chosen just for sparse traffic and cool weather. The result? Miserable. I realized that I had to run and run.

Asagiriko Lake Marathon

　　Asagiriko Lake Marathon took place today and I joined the category for the 10km road race. It was the first time for me to run more than 100 meters in the last 30 years, so it was epoch-making stuff in my life. The lake is located an hour's drive south of my hometown and the route was arranged around Asagiriko Lake. The route was surrounded by serene rural scenes which was a nice place for relaxing and feeling the nature.
　　Lots of people were registered to run in the event, as you can see in the first picture. There were about 2800 runners and this event is undoubtedly one of the biggest events for this tiny village. The start of the half marathon was coming and the runners moved to the starting point.
　　My friends and I were going to join the 10km road race, which started 30 minutes after the start of the half marathon. We took pictures of ourselves during the 30 minutes which was given for people to see the start of the half marathon. The man wearing number 1428 in the picture is me.
　　I finished the 10km road race keeping the pace as previously scheduled. Generally speaking, the record was not good, but I found it very satisfying. I'll try other races and complete a full marathon some day.

(Vocabulary from comments)
applaud  ［正式］…を賞賛する（praise）；…を支持する（support）
I ～ your decision to quit smoking.  よく禁煙を決意しましたね
We ～ed him for his courage to attack the difficulty.  我々はその困難と戦う彼の勇気を賞賛した.
sideline 〈負傷などが〉〈選手〉を試合に出場できなくする; 〈病気・状況などが〉〈人〉に仕事をできなくする
Plantar Fasciitis  足底筋膜炎
nagging  〈痛み・悩みなどが〉しつこい, 絶えずつきまとう; 〈声・親などが〉口うるさい, いつも小言を言う
a ～ cough  （なかなか治らない）長引く咳
a ～ doubt   つきまとって離れない疑念
have a ～ pain in one's arm  慢性的に腕が痛む.

Garmin ForeAthlete & New Balance Marathon Shoes

　　I made up my mind to join the 52nd Ehime Marathon next February. However, I haven't run more than 50 meters in 30 years. What should I do first? I asked one of my friends for some advice, and he told me to walk fast during my commuting time of 30 minutes for some time and then start running. He also gave me a lesson about the runner's watch. It seemed to be very useful not only for the training but for the actual marathon. I bought a ForeAthlete 110, which is shown below. This gadget is really wonderful. It has a GPS receiver built-in and can record the time and its position every second. That is, it records the running route and various data about running. When I carry it while commuting, it records my walking route and speed in detail. Those data will be uploaded on the net and utilized to increase my physical strength.
　　Adhering to his advice, I have tried walking rapidly every day for a few weeks and I bought a pair of shoes for the marathon today, which were manufactured by American company, New Balance. They are said to be designed for participants of the ultra-marathon. I tried various pairs of shoes on at the shop and chose those because they fit my feet perfectly, holding my heels tight and keeping my toes free to some extent. I can't wait to jog with them on.

Ehime Marathon

　　Marathons have become more popular in Japan recently. Nothing about marathons has attracted me until now, as some of my friends took part in the 51th Ehime Marathon. So, I went to Horinouchi Park designated as the endpoint of the marathon to cheer them on and welcome them. An IC chip attached to every runner's number tag enabled you to know the present location of a particular runner. I'd like to have seen my friends running on the route, but I didn't fully understand the road traffic regulations, which are seemingly very strict, so I stayed at the finish, waiting for their arrival. A Hougaku concert of traditional Japanese music was taking place in a hall in the park so while I was checking their present position, I was able to listen to beautiful tunes until their arrival. The picture shows a part of the park. The castles on the hill are one of the potent symbols of Matsuyama City. A variety of stalls were busy in their preparations.
　　All my friends, but one, successfully arrived at the finish. The one who didn't make it stopped running at 30km because he didn't reach the finish line within the given time. He was picked up by bus and brought to the endpoint. The runners must arrive at the finish line within 6 hours. I was watching the runners coming into the finish during the last 20 minutes. Some of them were slightly fat and it made me think of the possibility that I could participate next year.

Cycling and Taiwan

　　One of my friends proposed a wonderful plan for people who went skiing together in Whistler last March to get together and enjoy cycling along the Shimanami cycling path connecting Shikoku and Honshu, the smallest and biggest islands of the four main islands of Japan. It was great and the day of action was set for Nov. 3rd.
　　We rented our bikes at the Shikoku side of the path. I have my own bike, but I rented one. When one of us got exhausted, we could return the bikes at the nearest rental point and get back by bus or something. That's why we utilized the rental system of the bikes.
　　This cycling path is well known for the beautiful scenery of the Seto Inland Sea. The first picture shows a poster of the path put up on the wall of a rest house. Did you notice that it's written in Taiwan style Chinese? I recalled that Taiwan was the home of Giant Manufacturing. I suppose that cycling would be popular in Taiwan too.
　　I searched for famous places for cycling sites in Taiwan and found RiYueTan (日月潭), which has a circular path around the lake. It looked really nice and I became eager to visit there.
　　Another picture is of an outdoor tea ceremony which was held in the grounds of Kosanji Temple on the way. It was an accidental invitation and I got nervous, but enjoyed it.

(Vocabulary from comments)
put sth forward ＜提案・論拠など＞を提出する, 述べる, ＜計画・意見など＞を提案する, ＜学説など＞を提唱する=propose
The committee is meeting to discuss suggestions put forward by members. 委員が提出した提案を話し合うために委員会が開かれている．

Seto Inland Sea

　　Seto Inland Sea, called "Setonaikai" in Japanese, is the waters between Shikoku and Honshu, both of which are the two of four main islands in Japan. In this area, there are lots of small islands and you can view the beautiful scenery composed of those small and tiny islands by several means. One of them is cycling. Honshu and Shikoku are connected by three routes which respectively consist of several bridges connecting small islands. One of these three routes has a bicycle path beside the main road for the vehicles. I enjoyed the landscapes from crossing the bridge and from a sightseeing boat later, which set off from a few ports on the route. I'll show you pictures shot from onboard. You would be amazed to see the rapid currents and beautiful sea.
　　I'd add one thing about a unique channel, called Kurushima Channel, in the area. It is unique in a way that ships sometimes could run through on the left side. As you know, ships must pass each other on the right side, regulated by  international law, when they face each other in a narrow space. However, in Kurushima Channel the route sometimes alternates between the right and the left. Kurushima Channel is the only place in the world where ships pass on the left side. The sea traffic control constantly monitors the currents and commands all the ships in the channel to run right or left.

(Vocabulary)
waters 《複数扱い》水域, 近海, 領海
the coastal waters of Alaska  アラスカの沿岸水域
They got permission to fish in Japanese waters.  日本領海内での漁が許可された．

Cycling

　　I joined an annual cycle ride event sponsored by Imabari City which is located near my hometown, Matsuyama City. As I wrote in another entry, Imabari City is the Shikoku-side terminal place of the Shimanami Kaido Route, one of three routes connecting Shikoku and Kyushu, both of which are the biggest and smallest islands of four big islands of Japan. The organizer arranged three routes, 20km, 40km and 100km. I chose the middle, 40km. I competed and successfully finished the distance of 100km last year and it was really hard. That's why.
　　Just before the departure after the ceremonial event, I came across an old friend from my elementary school, nearly a half century long friend. He was suited up in pink. Ordinary middle-aged Japanese people tend to avoid flashy colors, but the pink suited him. I'll post a picture of us.

Trip to Tokyo

　　I wrote that my friend got hurt in Whistler when skiing down. At that time, one of the rescue staff was surprised that we didn't wear helmets. He advised me, "You'd better wear  a ski helmet if you want to ski down a 'black' run." 'Black' means the most difficult ski trails at Whistler. I thought that he was right and to tell the truth, I had wanted to get one since four years ago. I looked for one in Whistler four years ago, but couldn't find a nice one. I looked for one this year, but I couldn't find one. The time of the year might be bad. It was the end of March or the beginning of April, i.e. the end of the ski season. Even the biggest one found in Whistler was small for me. The upper temporal part of my head touched the inner part of the helmet. I decided to look for one in Japan.

　　I found various big helmets on the internet, but I had to try them on. In order to try them on, I flew to Tokyo. Then, I called my eldest daughter and her fiance and enjoyed walking in a historic and modern district.

　　Do you know the mountain in the first picture? It was taken from the plane. The second one is the gate of Yasukuni Shrine. The next one is the tallest broadcasting tower in the world called "Skytree", one week before its opening to the public. The last picture is of my ski helmet.

Guided Tour by Bicycle

　　Something has been booming in the past several years in my prefecture; The number of cyclists is increasing remarkably. My prefecture, Ehime, and Hiroshima prefecture are connected by a series of eleven bridges. I'll show you the website and I hope you'll see it. These bridges compose a part of the highway called "Shimanami Kaido", and they are getting popular across the country because these bridges are equipped with bicycle paths. You can cross the bridge as fast or slow as you want on foot or by bicycle. One of the giant companies manufacturing bicycles, GIANT from Taiwan, is going to set up its flagship store in Imabari City, which is the Ehime-side terminal point of Shimanami Kaido. I hope that lots of people from overseas visit here and enjoy the scenery of Seto Inland Sea.

　　I joined a guided tour today. With several guides, I'm free from feelings of anxiety such as injury, flat tires, unexpected physical problem and so on. Additionally they weave some amusement into the tour. I enjoyed cooking pizza myself on the way this time. There is an old shrine on the way, and I bought three charms called "helmet charms", which are getting popular.

　　I almost forgot, I met the mayor of Imabari City on the way. I'm happy to know that he is also a cyclist.

P.S. The CEO of GIANT visited Ehime to see Shimanami Kaido and announced that Shimanami would be a paradise for cyclists. I agree.

Shimanami Kaido:
http://www.go-shimanami.jp/global/english/index.html

The today's route:
http://kumo.typepad.jp/wadachi/Shimanami2012_05_06.html

(Vocabulary)
boom   《[自]通例進行形で》〈関心・人気が〉急に高まる
weave sth into sth  ＜計画など＞を＜…＞に織り込む
Weave some time alone into your routine.  一人になる時間を日常に織り込んでおきなさい．