Listen to Chris talk about life on the European circuit in this podcast at RunningTimes.com. The podcast is a supplement to an article Matt Taylor wrote featuring Chris, Matt Tegenkamp, Michelle Sikes, Simon Bairu and Tim Nelson in the magazine’s July/August issue.
Not sure why Nike chose this week to highlight Michelle Sikes (she hasn’t raced since the Falmouth Mile last August), but she is their Athlete of the Week. Our favorite part? Read her answer to, “What do you do to relax away from the track?”
Sikes will be running the US Indoor Championships in Boston before turning her attention to the outdoor season and the US Olympic Trials.
Over the course of a 13-hour plane flight from Osaka to Detriot and the 1.5 hour ride from Detroit to Greensboro, I’ve had plenty of time to reflect on everything I learned in the last few weeks. It would be pretty daunting to try to cover it all, so I’ll condense it down to the most important parts. My Top Five Lessons from Two Weeks in Osaka:
5) The Japanese bring the concept of order to a new level.
That applies to everything from conversations and introductions to riding an escalator. For instance, the language itself is divided between words to use in formal vs. informal relationships settings. Ohayou = Good morning, informal. Ohayou Gozimas = Good morning, formal.
Escalators provide the astounding sight of person after person neatly filing to the far right side of every stair - leaving free the path on the left for that late-rising American who needs to race up the escalator to make her next appointment on time.
4) Team USA and the Japanese Public Transportation System were similarly unbeatable
From Alyson Felix, Tyson Gay, and Jeremy Wariner winning golds in the sprints to Bernard Lagat’s double and the 1-2 finish of Reese Hoffa and Adam Nelson in the men’s shot put, it was a joy to watch every aspect of the week’s competition. Similarly, as far as I’m concerned, the Japanese public transportation system has no rival from any other Read the full article
I encountered so many fantastic Japanese people today! It began with the San Francisco State graduate-turned hotel bellhop. He gave me directions to the nearest public pool and doubled my Japanese vocabulary by explaining that “Ohio” means “good morning”! I’ve had plenty of opportunities to overuse both this word and my second Japanese phrase, “Arigato” (Thank You) throughout the course of the day.
Michelle Takes on the Public Pool System of Osaka…
Armed with verbal directions and a city map, I set off from the hotel in search of the pool. It’s great to finally experience the city without being separated from it by the glass windows of a bus. I took the scenic route, which parallels the city canal. I’m so relieved that this waterway cuts through the city; it gives a connection to nature that otherwise seems very difficult to find. Not that the shops and alleyways and buildings that have replaced a more natural world aren’t fascinating in their own way, but I’m finding more and more that I prefer a balance of human development and green places.
I manage to arrive at the pool without becoming ridiculously lost (one point to Michelle), but then have to confront the challenge of a) payment for the use of the pool and b) finding the locker room in a completely English-free environment (one point to The Pool). After much gesturing, hand motioning, and wasted breath in futile spoken conversation, I successfully pay and am admitted into Read the full article
I am in Terminal A of Detroit’s amazingly long airport. To fill the minutes before boarding my flight to Osaka, I’ve walked through the whole place and decided that it must be at least a mile from start to finish. During the walk I thought about my hopes that the Cleveland Indians can make their season string out in a similarly lengthy way. I’m not really that into baseball overall, but I love Cleveland’s sports teams and do my best to stay up-to-date. Unfortunately, the Tribe lost last night, 4-3, to the Devil Rays after laboring through 12 offense-less innings. Making matters worse, the DRs are the worst team in the AL at the moment and our ace pitcher - C.C. Sabathia - was on the mound. Still, we remain in possession of first place in the AL Central and 1.5 games ahead of the next closest rival - Detroit. See the irony?
Other excitements of the day so far:
After flying from Greensboro to Detroit, I’m faced with an important decision. I have five hours until I board my next flight to Osaka and in the meantime, I need to figure out whether I complete my 3 mile run
a) outside, despite the pouring monsoon of a rainstorm that has caused massive flooding throughout the Midwest over the last few days
b) inside, navigating the mile-long concourse three times, but also dodging people and ignoring the very legitimate frustration/unhappiness/commotion that accidentally bumping into or colliding against them is likely to cause
c) through a game time alternate option to be determined later
I elect C.
Plan C takes the form of the Fitness Center of the Westin Hotel. This Hotel is within the main airport itself and located directly across from Gate 36: the exact gate from which I’ll be departing in several hours. It’s a perfect set-up - complete with treadmill, showers, and even a small pool. Not big enough to allow any lap-swimming, but perfect for playing and wasting time in before my next flight…
The day rolls on…
I rode for the first time in a two-story plane!!! It amazes me that such an immense and heavy vehicle can get off the runway. There isn’t much to say about the rest of the ride - after my initial excitment over the novelty of flying in a double-decker plane subsided, the reality of a 13-hour plan ride quickly set in. Suffice it to say that very little sleeping and much reading was accomplished. I’m fairly confident that I read the phrase ’sub-prime mortgage’ at least 50 times.
Osaka - First sight.
The bus ride from the airport to our hotel is one hour. We did not emerge from the city for the entire ride. I thought that the terminals in the Detroit airport seemed impressively strung out - how small they seem in comparison to the way this metropolis goes on and on! I forced my sleep-depreived self to take in the sight of building after apartment complex after skyscraper.
Now I’m in the hotel - about to enjoy my first meal…more on the food later.
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Four KIMbia athletes will be competing at this year’s World Championships in Osaka, Japan. Matt Tegenkamp, Michelle Sikes, and Laban Kipkemboi all arrived today via Madison, Wisconsin, Greensboro, North Carolina, and Cherigany Hills, Kenya, respectively. Simon Bairu has been in Singapore for the last week with the Canadian National team; they chose Singapore as their training camp prior to the Championships. Simon will join the others in Osaka on Thursday, the same day Tom and I arrive.
Here is the competition schedule for these athletes:
Saturday, August 25th - Men’s Marathon (Laban)
Monday, August 27th - Men’s 10,000m Final (Simon)
Wednesday, August 29th - Women’s 5,000m 1st Round (Michelle)
Thursday, August 30th - Men’s 5000m 1st Round (Matt)
Saturday, September 1st - Women’s 5,000m Final (hopefully Michelle)
Sunday, September 2nd - Men’s 5,000m Final (hopefully Matt)
We’ll be providing coverage from Osaka on a regular basis starting later this week. In addition, the athletes are all keeping journals, which we’ll post as the days roll on. Sayonara.
