Happy Morning Run

Published November 30, 2019

Fastest 5k ever in my life? Wasn’t even sweating.

After a series of 2-hour cat naps, up for the day. Tight cruise-ship type of room. Managed the shower. Unpacked my run clothes. Marathon not ‘til tomorrow. Today, Osaka’s Happy Morning Run. Start near Osaka Castle, same run beginning as Sunday’s marathon.

Sunshiny skies, light jacket. Good to acclimate, get in a short run (after flying all-day yesterday). Just a 5k – not the distance that had me freaked. Japanese characters. Super foreign. Squiggle, 2 long lines. Box shape, arrow to the right. Crazy foreign.

Navigation: Google Maps to my destination, British app ‘What3Words’ would get me home. No tunes, no streaming. Phone fully-charged ALWAYS. Solo travel navigation tool.

Immediately outta the hotel, wrong direction. LOL> Ok, reset. Turnaround. Much faster my second try. Empty city streets. Saturday morning early. Two undergrounds, one long street – then, green park ahead AND other runners. [GREAT hotel location 😊]

Once in Castle Park, English signage & super friendly volunteers. Nicest folks. Upbeat, smiles, ‘good morning’. No blending. Giant white Gulliver far, far from home.

Brought my registration card. Bib pick-up easy peasy (just kept showing my piece of paper). ‘United States’ – VERY cool. An hour early. I’m where I need to be. Just follow the crowd – & soak in the experience. Sea of Hong Kong, Taiwan, Australia, Japan.

Announcements. Something repetitive. More Japanese.

WELCOME 🇬🇧 & an opening ceremony… DRUMS. Traditional & AWESOME! …& then we ran. 14 minutes. Garmin read 1.5 miles. Definitely notta 5k. Short & sweet. But… I got out. No longer hotel sequestered. Quick shower, change of clothes.

Focus: FOOD. Handful of cherry tomatoes not gonna fill the Buddha.

Happy Morning, friendly sunshiny Japan!

: Castle Park

: registration & bib pick-up

: Japanese drums (和太鼓)

: Osaka Castle

: Happy Morning START

: United States of America 🇺🇸

: opening ceremony

: friendly sunshiny Japan

: 14 minute FINISH 🙂

Osaka ‘Happy Morning Run’

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Welcome to Japan

Published November 28, 2019

Lottery entered in April, golden-ticket pull 3 months later.

Osaka Marathon. Asia, my 7^th continent.

Thanksgiving celebrated Saturday. Snowpocalypse Tuesday.

D.I.A. 3:30am Thursday. Roads plowed; airport open. Going West – far far West.

LAX breakfast burrito. Bloody Mary. Next stop: Japan. O’er the Pacific, past the International Date Line. Touchdown: Osaka. Kansai Airport.

5pm, FRIDAY.

Taxi. Hotel check-in. Sleeps. ‘Happy Morning Run’ tomorrow.

Welcome to Japan. Land of the Rising Sun.

And this Sunday, my 7 Continent FINISH 😊

: Los Angeles ➛Osaka

: o’er the Pacific, past the International Date Line

: hotel home #what3words

: Asia, my 7th continent

Welcome to Japan

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7 Continent Journey

Published November 27, 2019

4 years & a 100 marathons ago. Just north of the border, my journey began. First run in kilometers, first outside Team USA. Alberta, Canada. Goal: 2 provinces annually & it started in Banff. Lake Louise hike with Toronto-bestie Sarah, bib pick-up at a local curling club, wedding [not mine], marathon the following day. Banff National Park, my North America run. Well… my first North America race in kilometers. 7 Continent goal wouldn’t kick-in ‘til Continent #3. Like most of us, just didn’t DREAM BIG enough 😊

Destination: Europe. Italy, Iceland, Austria. Celebrated marathon #100 w Sis in Dublin. But my first…that was Moscow. Red Square, Kremlin. Past revisited. 4 years outta college, biggest/most influential career/life boost. Anything is Possible mantra sparked. Reconnected with Dima, now married. Language flooded back. So many memories. I’d finish Sunday with a first-time marathoner. Life’s moments best when shared.

Continent 3: Australia/New Zealand. On-the-left/self-drive two weeks with my bestie Dawn, both North & South Islands. Longest flight EVER, L.A. to Auckland. Rotorua. Christchurch. Franz Josef Glacier. Queenstown. Oamaru. Hobbiton. And… a marathon.

São Paulo Brazil. Largest city in South America. First-time I felt completely foreign. Hot & balmy. Brought home more than my 4^th continent medal. Sis named him Pepe. 6 months of Colorado doc visits, before folks realized I harbored home a parasite – whole nest of ’em.

Elephant, lion, hippo, cheetah, giraffe – Africa’s Big 5 – and my fifth Continent. Knysna South Africa. After an initial fender-bender (sorry Hertz), had the most FANTASTICAL life adventure. Yes, elephants DO snore. WOW destination. I’ll come back to Africa 🐘

ANTARCTICA. Journey to the bottom of the World. NEVER EVER did I dream I’d be snow-tenting on Earth’s most remote continent. Crazy cold sleep even in… summer? Penguins. frigid Antarctic water. Place & time I’ll never forget. Forever LIFE IMPRINT.

6 down, one to go… Sunday’s 42k in Osaka, Japan will complete the set. Absolutely ANYTHING is POSSIBLE! ❤️