"after life"

When you die, if you had to choose just one memory to take with you for eternity, what would you choose?

This is the question posed by the movie we watched a few days ago.  It is one of Jeff's all time favorite movies, called Wandafuru Raifu.  That's a Japanese pronunciation of "wonderful life" for those keeping score, but that is actually how it is listed in English characters.  It is however known as After Life in English speaking countries, due in part to the original title's similarity to the well-loved Christmas movie.

Anyways...  It is a really good movie, and you all should watch it.  Yes, it does have subtitles, but I don't want to hear about not wanting to read while you're watching a movie.  That's ridiculous.

Also, there are no "action" scenes, nothing gets blown up, and for a movie about dead people, it is not in the least bit scary.  It is instead an interesting take on the omnipresent question of what happens after one dies, and begs the question: how do you distill a life down to just one memory? And it has some cute old people telling real stories from their lives in addition to the actors reading lines.  

I expect to hear of a run on Blockbuster/Netflix.  Let me know what you think.

Mata ne,
Melissa

Guest post: The Marathon by Jeff

On February 28th, I ran in the Tokyo Marathon with 31,999 other participants. 

I was determined to come in under 3 hours and, if all the stars were aligned, meet the NYC marathon automatic qualifier time of 2:55.

To begin with, winter marathon training in Tokyo is much easier than in Ithaca/Syracuse. No icicles dripping off my nose and chin, no skating across ice patches, no getting blown into the large snow banks on some of the more pernicious high-elevation plains. The worst weather here involves rain and occasional snow, but it usually melts within half a day. (Actually, the worst weather I think I've experienced in Tokyo happened for the first 20 miles of the marathon).

However, I do desperately miss being able to hop out of my front door and be surrounded by the trees and nature that I get back home. Here, I navigate narrow city streets on my way to some parks and rivers, which are actually quite nice, so I can't complain.  For my longer runs (20 mile range), I can hit some of the best places to run in Tokyo, including a loop around the Imperial Palace and the Outer Meiji Shrine park decicated the Japan's first modern emperor.

Anyway, on to the race. 

Grim weather forecasts sent me to the 100 yen shop (the dollar store, or with today's lousy exchange rate, the $1.11 shop) a couple days before the race to get a cheap poncho, hat and unflattering arm warmers. (see the pictures)

On race day, I arrived in Shinjuku at about 7:30am for a 9:10am start to find thousands of runners half naked in the station, changing out of the travel clothes and into race outfits and rain gear. The race starts west of the station, home to many of Tokyo's tallest skyscrapers (whose elevator buttons are smeared with our fingerprints).

I milled around in an attempt to stay warm, but after I took my post-race clothes to the drop-off point, I followed signs to the "B" waiting corral, which had started to fill up. Standing in one place in the chilly rain for 40 minutes didn't seem like the best pre-race warmup, but no one really had any options. I was cold, but so was everyone else.  Perhaps with the exception of the guy in front of me holding the umbrella, whose run-off gave everyone around him an extra dose of cold rain.

I could see the start line about 100 yards ahead, and felt close, but there were probably several thousand people ahead of me. I was desperate to get moving, and finally, after the opening ceremony, the wheel chair start and a bunch of group cheers, I shed my 100 yen shop purchases (except the hat), set my gps to get a satellite lock. Surprisingly, most of the others around me in ponchos and garbage bags kept them on.

After the gun went off, we commenced the slow shuffle towards the start line. I felt impatient for a split second, but quickly realized that I'm here to have fun and soak in the fact that I'm doing it with 32,000 other crazies who would be cruising on foot down Tokyo streets that close down to car traffic today and today only.

I hoped to go out at a 6:30min/mile pace (about 4:02min/kilometer), but when I hit the first kilometer in over 6 minutes, I started to panic, unsure of how long it had taken me to get to the start line. I weaved through the throng as quickly as I could, and before too long, the crowds thinned out and I felt comfortable to sit back and hold my pace.

I rounded the Imperial Palace at about the 10k point (42:52) and caught a glimpse of the Tokyo Tower, which I passed under a couple miles later and mused on how small I must look to the people standing at the observation deck, and damn them if they took the elevator rather than climbing the 600 steps to watch down on other people with sore legs. 

The 10k to 20k leg of the race is an out-and-back, which eventually let me see the lead runners flying by in the opposite direction. This gave me a jolt of excitement about my own race, and a feeling like I had pretty a decent spectator "seat" for watching their race. 

At the turn-around point of the out-and-back, I realized that the rain had been at my back for the last 5k or so, and now it was time to eat it. Rain turned to sleet, and it came pelting us in the face with a vengeance. My frozen fingers were practically useless for opening my gel nutrition packet, which I eventually succeeded in doing by clam-gripping the packet between thumb and hand, and tearing off the top tab with my teeth. Sweet sugar.

I hit the 20k point in 1:24:01, within a couple minutes of my target, and shortly thereafter heard Melissa screaming "Jeffrey, Gambare (work hard!)" She was a wonderful cheering squad of one, having coordinated where to be based my projected split times, and navigating Tokyo's confusing train stations and streets (race map here). I smiled at her and heard an "I LOVE YOU" as I rounded the corner.

The next 10k was another out-and-back towards Asakusa, where dancers performed in festival attire as the rest of us ran by. I popped a caffeine pill for an ergogenic aid, having weened myself off of my beloved coffee three weeks earlier in the hopes of it having the greatest effect.

I had been running right alongside a guy with a shirt that said "smile" (su-ma-i-ru) in Japanese script and shorts with a smiley face on the rear. Amid the poor visibility due to the rain/snow/sleet and my general haze, he was one of the few people I could consistently pick out of the moving crowd. He started pulling away at about the 25k point. However, as I neared 30k (2:05:44), I began to feel the effects of the caffeine kick in and give me a little boost, and I reeled him in and surged passed.

With just over 10k left, I felt like 90,000,000 yen (one million dollars). I ran one of my fastest miles at around 21 miles. In my last two marathons, I had started to slow a solid two miles earlier in the race, so holding the pace until now was a good sign. About on pace to hit 2:55, I begin to feel giddy. "I've got this in the bag," I kept on chanting to myself.

At the 35k point, however, I started to wear down and slow. The rain subsided, and my hands had thawed, so despite conditions finally turning around in my favor, my legs were beat. I slowed enough to realize by 40k (2:48:58) that my chances for breaking 2:55 were shot, but I knew that I could coast in under 3 hours.

The guy with the smiley-faced shorts passed me as we pulled into the finish area and I didn't care. Beyond the finish line were warm towels and food, and I cared deeply about them and nothing else.

I crossed the line at 2:59:03. I'm not quite sure what my chip time is yet, as I unwisely started my watch as the gun went off, so will have to wait for the Tokyo Marathon officials to send me my official finisher's certificate with net time on it. I'm guessing somewhere in the 2:57s. 

Next came the best organized finish I've ever experienced. I received my post-race gear quickly, changed into warm and dry clothes, and then rolled my jeans up to soak my sore feet in wooden hot tubs prepared by an onsen company. Bliss.

I was very pleased with my time, a personal best on a day in which the top runner came in nearly 5 minutes slower than the course record. And not coming in under the automatic NYC marathon qualifying time seems to be a good opportunity to take a break from marathons and focus on shorter distances, which I basically have ignored since high school x-country.

Waiting patiently for me in the "family meeting area" was Melissa, who yelled "I'm so proud of you" with teary eyes as she ran to give me a big hug. She's the best. She then treated me to an amazing falafel pita at a most improbable vegetarian food stand we spotted on our way to the station. Once arriving back in Koenji, we celebrated by having a large meal at New Koenji India, our favorite local eatery which deserves its own post some day. 

Jyanee (see ya),

Jeff 

For additional pictures, type in "2010" for the password, and my bib number "22494" here:
http://tm10eng.allsports.jp/event/00034096.html

For my 5k splits (relative to gun time), type in my bib number "22494" here:
http://p.tokyo42195.org/

For those interested in a good training plan, I followed this one with little variation: 
http://www.runnersworld.co.uk/racing/rws-garmin-ready-marathon-schedule-sub-300/2757.html

with the wind blows the ginkgo

A while back (when Michael and Sara were here visiting) we went to Kamakura and did some seeing of the sights.  While we were there, we noticed this huge tree just to the side of the steps up to the big temple.  The reason we took note was because it looked completely dead and yet sported the ropes and white papers containing prayers indicating its import.  I wondered to Jeff why they didn't get rid of it, as it seemed to be dangerous and likely to fall down any moment - the area around it was even cordoned off (which you can sort of see with the red barriers at the bottom of the tree). 

(The aforementioned ginkgo is the large brown, leafless one on the left of the picture.)

Fast forward to yesterday, when that tree did, in fact, fall over.  And who knew, by the way, that said giant ginko tree was one thousand years old.  Yeah.  Kind of a big deal.  It is apparently very closely connected with the history of the shrine.  The chief priest was, I quote the Mainichi newspaper, "too shocked to comment on the matter."

Here is a picture of the aftermath:

[Go ahead and blame the poor quality on the Mainichi - I took the picture from them.] 

This is sort of like when the Old Man of the Mountain fell down in New Hampsire. 

And so it goes....

Mata ne,
Melissa

when the cat's away...

What's a girl to do when she finds herself home alone in her tiny little apartment one cold, snowy evening?  Clean the bathroom?  Don't be silly.

I started the evening off right with a nice home-cooked prepared dinner.  A classic.  The peanut butter and jelly sandwich (don't worry, the husband didn't leave me alone with no food - this was me spoiling myself).

Then I puttered around for a bit.  Thought about doing some work to prepare for lessons this week.  Decided that would be a poor use of my "me time."  Wrote a few emails.  Ate a few pieces of chocolate (note to self: buy multi-vitamins).  Poured myself a glass of wine.  Decided to play around with photo booth.

Commence photo booth montage:

not enough light.

That's better.

Starting to get boring.

Obligatory Japanese high school girl pose. 

Fun with comic book effect.

Ok, enough of that.  I'm off to get started on one of the three books I picked out at the library today.  Another pillar of Japanese literature, Kenzaburo Oe (winner of the 1994 Nobel Prize), and two pillars of American literature, F. Scott Fitzgerald and Henry James. 

Mata ne,
Melissa

P.S. For those of you who are concerned about such things, I was not a bum all day.  I followed yesterday's 11 mile run with 2500 yards meters in the pool today.  Surprisingly, the run was easier.

not again...

Tokyo, I think we need to have a talk.  Your behavior in the weather department today is simply unacceptable.  It is not kind to tease me a week's worth of gorgeous, sunny, spring-like days and then pull a stunt like this. 

It is March, need I remind you?  You've promised me beautiful sakura viewing picnics in a matter of weeks!  And now.... SNOW!?

I expect more from you Tokyo.  I hope you will have come to your senses by tomorrow. 

Mata ne,
Melissa

halfsies

Yesterday was our 6 month lunaversary!

There are we lovebirds on our wedding day.  

 Its hard to believe it's been six months already, but we've most certainly decided that this whole marriage thing really is all it's cracked up to be!  We've been telling all our friends how great being married is, and apparently some have been listening; no less than 4 couples we are close with have become engaged since our wedding day.  We'll go ahead and pretend we had something to do with it.

[Side note:  Aaron told me when he was here that I have huge trapezius muscles.  I thought that all my swimming muscles had scaled down to normal, but judging by this picture, I was fooling myself.]

To celebrate this milestone, we spent the entire day together (as we do anyway), snacked our way across Tokyo (yes, snacked - we ate something new about every 100 meters),  and enjoyed each others' company.  We were very happy to find a ramen shop that not only served vegetarian ramen (very hard to find), but also vegetarian gyoza (thus far, impossible to locate).

Then we got dressed up in a manner befitting the occasion and went our for a nice dinner.  Just me, my adorable husband, and

our little friend, the pig leg, sitting next to our table.

Normally, I am not one to gnaw on the leg of an animal for nourishment, or even to enjoy sitting next to such a display, but when you call it prosciutto and watch the owner of the quaint little restaurant in which you are dining cut it by hand, well, "when in Rome...."

The restaurant, owned by a charming British ex-pat, was quite small but served up arguably the best international fare we've had in Tokyo.  We didn't even look at the menu or prices - just asked him what was good and told him to keep it coming - and when we left we were astonished at the bill.  I could not believe how little we owed for all the food we ate.  I even asked Jeff if maybe he gave us a discount because we told him it was our lunaversary.

And there we are again, six months into marital bliss.  Think we look any different?  Older and wiser?  Still "honeymooners"? 

One thing is for sure, I am my beloved's and my beloved is mine.  

And we couldn't be happier. 

Mata ne, 

Melissa (and Jeff)