I hate to be haunted by regrets. After skipping STREETATHON last week, I am on a mission to get into the best shape I can for the Tokyo Marathon.
No more indulgent foods. No more unnecessary sugar. Train, train train.
My first two runs back still felt like I had lingering tobacco in my lungs. And the pace reflected that. My third long run (about 12km) felt much better. There's hope for the sub-4 Tokyo after all.
They say fitness never really leaves you. That even after weeks or even months of dormancy, your body remembers. I'm leaning into this comforting thought as I train for the Garmin Run Asia - Hong Kong half-marathon on December 14.
My pace is sitting right at the 2.5 hour half-marathon cut-off time.
I want that medal. I want that social validation of posting up with some hardware. I want my acceptance as a "runner".
This vanity goal should be secondary to the primary goal of just increasing my fitness. Finishing a half-marathon is still an accomplishment regardless of time.
But the glistening hardware beckons.
In other news, Joe and Adrianne have come to Hong Kong from Tokyo. They said they have intentions of moving to Hong Kong soon - and that would be amazing! Truly game-changing.
At the risk of sounding like an ass-hat, there are friends you have "before the fame" and friends you have "after the fame"...and people treating Karen and myself differently after her social media rise is a very real thing. So to have two friends that truly get us from before Karen's success will be heart-warming and real. I can't wait.