Catch the waves of emotion

RRC member interview

Text: Shun Sato

11th Course A+ Team (Goal: Full marathon sub 2 hours 50 minutes) MVP: E Katayama

The wind blew in Tsukuba

I was surprised that I was able to achieve my goal of a sub-second time (2 hours 48 minutes 01 seconds) at the Tsukuba Marathon. It had been hot since around July, so I had no motivation to run, and I was so out of shape that I couldn't even aim for a sub-3 time. It wasn't until about two months before Tsukuba that I finally got motivated. I thought, "I've got to get serious about this," so I started scheduling distance runs and weekend runs, and then things started to move forward. I had planned to achieve my time at Beppu-Odai, so I wasn't really focused on Tsukuba. But maybe that actually helped me relax and run well.

Transition to a fast jog

I think a small change in my approach around summer played a big role in my success. Specifically, I reevaluated my jogging pace. Up until then, I'd been running at about 5 km/h, but I set it to M-pace (average marathon pace) plus about 30 seconds. The impetus for this came when I did a distance run with Tamken at a 4:15 pace during a Tamken training session. It was pretty tough, and I realized I needed to get my heart and lungs used to a faster pace. At the time, everyone else was incorporating fairly fast jogs as a quality jog, so I thought I'd give it a try. It was a little tough at first, but once I got used to it, a sub-3 pace wasn't so hard at all, and even a 20km run at a 4:15 pace felt easy. A 4:30 pace felt slow, and I was able to maintain that momentum heading into Tsukuba.

Waves of emotion

My condition, or rather my emotions, fluctuate, so I can't achieve personal bests every time and keep improving like Kazuma (Kore-eda). I have a fairly weak mentality even in my private life, and I'm a bit of a nervous person. I often hear that people who can continue triathlons or marathons for a long time don't get hung up on the results, don't dwell on failure, and are good at switching gears, but I'm always striving for results, and if I fail once while I'm concentrating, I think, "Never mind," and my spirits drop. I'm a bit of a perfectionist, so I get annoyed when I fall apart along the way. In reality, I think I'd improve more if I kept on building up without falling apart, but I can't do that (wry smile). Conversely, even when I achieve something, I end up feeling burned out because I feel like I've done everything I can, so I find it annoying (laughs).

Accepting things as they are

Last year, I began to understand those emotional ups and downs and how to motivate myself. When I couldn't run, instead of getting negative and thinking that I couldn't run at all, I realized that I should just accept that those times are going to happen. In fact, I ran well in the Tsukuba Marathon, so I've come to think that I can just keep doing my best without rushing in the future.

-Why do you run?

I run because I want to experience the sense of accomplishment and satisfaction that comes from challenging myself and completing something, like completing a set task in a training session, or reaching a goal and crossing the finish line. Sometimes, rather than the sense of accomplishment I get from finishing and getting a good time, I feel a greater sense of relief and fulfillment, like "I'm done" or "I'm free from something difficult." I suppose it's a reward for all the hard work I've put in, but it's a completely self-indulgent world (laughs). Also, I get excited when I see the expressions on the faces of the RETO members when they achieve their goals. I want to try a little harder and experience that sense of accomplishment, so I'll run again. Running is simple, but my motivations are made up of many different things, and I think that's why I can keep running.