Munatsuki 10k

It was unseasonably hot on Sunday.  But I had signed up for a local 10k.  And the party afterward featured an intense cake baked by one of our teammates, Harrisson, who is a renowned pastry chef.    
 

I would have found the concept of racing 10k to be overwhelming in Sunday's weather conditions.  Except for the knowledge that the majority of my teammates were running the half-marathon distance, or even more appallingly, were attempting to run a full marathon in the searing mid-day heat.  Running a mere 10k in comparison seemed conceivable – in contrast to a marathon it felt relatively sensible even.  

So when we started our 10k race at 10am I went out reasonably fast – probably too fast in retrospect.  At the 2k mark I was distressed at the thought that I was going to slow - I calculated that I was running just under 3:50 per kilometer pace, slower than my pace for 21.1 kilometers at the Cinco de Mayo Half-Marathon four weeks earlier.  I was in 7^th place at this point and tucked in behind a fast slender looking guy in red singlet and we proceeded to overtake 3 other runners and move into 4^th and 5^th position.  At around the half-way mark the course climbed a short hill up to a sluice gate crossing the river, and my new friend in the red singlet raced away from me (ultimately finishing a strong 2^nd -- over 2 minutes ahead of me).   

I struggled at this point, running with no one remotely close to me but managed to hang on for 5^th place position in a time of 38:16.  I felt pleased with my race, though it was a lot more effort than I had wanted to expend. 

But that effort was ultimately worth it –  17 of us descended on Sizzler (a surprisingly upscale restaurant in Tokyo), and were awarded for our efforts with the amazing hazel-nut, passionfruit, cake with hand-made macaroons.