The importance of personalized practice and awareness

RRC member interview

Text: Shun Sato

11th Course C Team (Goal: Full Marathon sub 4 hours) MVP Keiko Shiino

The opportunity to restart

I achieved a sub-4 time (3 hours 57 minutes 07 seconds) in Tsukuba.

Until then, my personal best time was 4 hours, 3 minutes, 36 seconds, which I achieved at the Nagoya Women's Marathon in March 2023. I joined RETO as a sixth-term member in August 2023, hoping to break the sub-4 barrier, but the level was high at first, so I struggled to keep up with the official training. I pushed myself too hard and injured my knee in January 2024, resulting in my first DNS at the Hi-Tech Half Marathon. Even walking was painful, and my motivation plummeted. However, I changed my mindset and deliberately set a target time of 4 hours, 15 minutes for the Tokyo Marathon and Nagoya Women's Marathon in March 2024. Perhaps because I had some free time, I found running to be fun for the first time in a while, and it felt like I was able to start anew from there.

Steps to regaining confidence

Around that time, I was given the opportunity to run the Legacy Half Marathon in the RETO category, and I thought, "I have to run this properly," so I started working on it seriously. First, I decided to slowly increase the distance and pace, running 20km almost every weekend, and made sure to take care of myself after long runs to avoid carrying over fatigue. I also participated in various training sessions, such as point training, to improve my running ability, and I ended up exceeding 200km in monthly distance. I had a habit of arranging the menu during official training sessions to create an escape route, so I first challenged myself to keep up with the pacer, even if it meant it would not work out. I was able to complete the menu and began to feel like I could run.

Things connected to Tsukuba

Of course, I was aiming for a personal best at the Legacy, but I also thought of it as a test of strength before Tsukuba, and I managed to achieve a personal best of 1 hour 47 minutes. I was able to run half the race under 5 km/h, which felt really good to me. I gained confidence in my speed and tolerance for the distance, and my strategy was to steadily maintain a pace of under 5 minutes 30 seconds, so I think I was able to achieve a sub-4 time in Tsukuba with ease.

What is important to achieve your goals

What I realized after achieving a sub-4 time this time is that the training and mindset that are right for you are important. It's important to challenge yourself and do your best in high-level training, but rather than feeling anxious or like you can't do it, I think it's better for me to train at the level that I need and prepare so that I can approach the race with peace of mind and ease. Everyone in RETO was achieving their personal bests and goals one after another, so I got very anxious, but a marathon is a competition where you have to face yourself and see how hard you can push yourself, so if you're worried about other people, your time won't improve. I think that focusing on yourself and approaching the race calmly will lead to good results.

How long will it run for?

As I get older, it takes longer to be able to do it and recovery becomes slower. But it's fun to see my times improve little by little, and it feels rewarding. My family often asks me, "How long will you continue?" but I have Cherry (Sakurai Tetsuya), whom I respect, close by, so I want to continue enjoying it until I can no longer run (laughs).

-Why do you run?

I think I like running with others. Some people run alone in silence, but I'm not good at that. I often call out to others and talk while I'm running, but I'm often told that if I'm aiming for a good time, it's better not to talk (wry smile). Also, after repeated trial and error, trying to figure out if this worked or that didn't, and experiencing frustrations, when I finally achieve my goal, I feel a sense of personal growth and it's a great feeling. I want to continue to renew that sense of accomplishment over and over again.