30 K Run

Two weeks before Kasumigaura Marathon I went for a 30 K run as scheduled
in order to develop muscle and tendon endurance.
First I had breakfast consisting of an orange, a small piece of apple, a cup of soy milk, half an avocado, which I ate with dried 'nori' seaweed.
There was no staple or equivalent in the fridge,
so I decided to skip it and get some along the way.
I left home a little past 8:00 am to head for my first destination, Massaki.
On the way there I stopped by Mini Stop to eat a cup of pudding
to fuel myself with sugar and protein.
Ui-san, my friend from elementary school days, offered to accompany me on his bike.
I was running down a long stretch of road leading to the destination
when I saw a man on a bike with flashy green paint on it.
It was Ui-san.
He read a post I had left on FB and went to Mini Stop to find me,
Unfortunately, he couldn't find me, and left the convenience store to go ahead and catch up to me.
But in fact, I was still there when he thought I had already gone.
So when he could find me anywhere along the road,
he stopped and decided to wait awhile to see if I would come.
Once he and I got together, I decided to change the route
so that the journey together would be more enjoyable to him.
I suggested running around Inbanuma Pond, and he consented.

Massaki and Sakura Fureai Park is connected with a cycling road.
There are many cherry trees along the road, but flowers were not in full bloom yet.
12.9 K from home we arrived at Sakura Fureai Park.
It was crowded with visitors who were there to enjoy seeing tulips.
Also, there was an aid station for a long-distance race.
I asked one of the aid workers what kind of race was going on.
He said there was a race called Eco Slow Marathon was going on.
As I listened to him, runners passed by me one after another.
Most of them were people from abroad.

Soon Ui-san and I left the park and headed for our next destination, Futago Park.
As we proceeded along the cycling road, we saw many runners participating in the Eco Slow Marathon. Many of them waved their hand and said hi to me as they ran in the opposite direction.
By the time we got to Futago Park, the sun had come out, and it was getting hotter.
I took off my long-sleeved shirt and continued to run in a short-sleeved one, wrapping the long-sleeved one around my waist.

Between Futago Park and the next destination, Massaki, there is a spring,
where you can drink fresh spring water.
Though my breathing became rougher, and legs became heavier,
the prospect of the fresh spring water was enough to keep me motivated.
When Ui-san and I got to the spring, a number of people were waiting to fill large bottles with the spring water.
I get their permission to cut the line to hydrate myself.
I put the cold water over my head, on my arm, and gulped a few scoops.
It was extremely refreshing, and the building pain was forgotten for a moment.

When we passed Massaki, and were back in a residential area of the town of Yuukarigaoka,
I was dehydrated and hungry, and my vision was blurred and my throat was dry.
Fortunately, I was able to reach a convenience store before I became completely out.
I bought a bottle of mineral water, and a doughnut.
It didn't take me longer than a minute to finish a 500 ml bottle of water,
and I munched the doughnut like a man who had not eaten anything for three days.

The water and food gave me the energy to carry on with the endeavor.
There was 5 more K to go.
I was no longer able to pick up speed, so I steadily put forward one leg after the other finally to reach home almost four hours after I left home.

I quickly took a shower and changed into comfortable home wear.
I put myself between two blankets on my futon.
I felt pain here and there in both of my legs, but the comfort of lying in futon was so indescribably huge, I couldn't stop laughing for almost half a minute.

Later, when I checked the distance of my run on Google Map,
it was almost 34.6 K that I covered.
No wonder I was more exhausted than I thought I would be.
Anyhow, I achieved my goal, and I am happy about it.
Next week a couple of good training sessions are scheduled.
I am looking forward to completing them to become a stronger version of myself.