Lowcountry Race for the Cure 5k race report
Posted by Gypsy on Oct 17, 2010
Running the Lowcountry Race for the Cure was a relatively last minute decision and I didn’t register until Wednesday, four days before the event. I had been going back and forth, unable to make a decision, but finally opted to go for it when my friend Chrisey asked me about it while we were working out. Besides, who can resist a race where the dominant color will be pink?
Even though the actual 5k didn’t start until 9:15, I met Chrisey (along with her husband and another friend) and Dawn at the gym at 6:15 so we could carpool to Daniel Island, where the race was being held. Since it was pretty early, we were able to find a place to park right away. Chrisey was running with a team, so while she went to find them Dawn and I hit the sponsor booths for some swag. We also may or may not have grabbed cupcakes from the Bi-Lo booth. Cupcakes are an acceptable breakfast on special occasions, right?
The course was a flat, tailed-loop going almost entirely through residential neighborhoods. This was actually pretty fun as tons of people were on their porches to cheer the runners on and one guy even had his drum kit out to give us a beat to run to.
Mile 1: 10:00 I was trying to keep up with Chrisey, but since her goal was a sub-30 minute 5K, there was no way I could and I ended up falling back about a half mile in.
Mile 2: 10:16 Still keeping a decent pace, but starting to slow down. My back/hip was hurting for some reason and that definitely had an effect on my time.
Mile 3: 10:39
Final .1: 1:15
Fashion report: I wore an Adidas running skirt with a black tank top and my pink Nike Zoom Elite 4 running shoes. I also had a pink bracelet around my wrist. I started the day with a sweatshirt as well because it was pretty cold, but by the time our race was about to start it had warmed up considerably and I ditched it. I kinda wish I had put together something more festive and pink for the race, but since I signed up last minute I didn’t really think about it. Next year I’ll be more fashion conscious.
Turning Japanese – part 3
Posted by Gypsy on Oct 16, 2010
With the weather finally relatively nice, it was time to get our butts outside to do some sightseeing. I say relatively nice because while the sun was shining, it was also in the high 90s and humid, so it looked beautiful but felt miserable. We started off by catching the bus to Foster, figuring it would save us a little money on cab fare as the exchange rate has been pretty rough lately. From there, we grabbed a cab to take us to our first stop, the Nakamura House, an 18th century farmhouse that is now a museum. We were actually able to actually walk through the house, which required taking off our shoes first. What I found really cool about this was not only how soft the tatami mats are (I’m totally wanting to do a whole room with them once I have my own place again), but also how smooth and soft the wood was in between rooms and on the steps up to the house. Another feature of the house I dug was the wooden pegs that were used to actually hold the house together. Houses really aren’t made like that anymore.
We also saw some examples of shisa, or shishi, dogs, the traditional Ryukyuan guardians that are often placed at the doors or on the rooftops of houses. The shisa consist of a male and a female, one with its mouth open and the other with its mouth closed. According to legend, the male has his mouth open to expel evil from the home while the female has her mouth closed to keep in the happiness. However, there are some who believe that the closed mouth dog is the male, who keeps evil out, while the female’s mouth is open to share happiness.
After we were done at the Nakamura House, we walked up the hill to Nakagusuku Castle, the first stone castle to be built in Japan. It was built in 1450, but at this point it is in ruins. But the really cool things about Nakagusuku Castle is the view because it is so high up on the island. From the first section of the castle ruins, it is possible to see the Pacific Ocean on one side and the East China Sea on the other. I took a video, which can be seen here, but keep in mind it’s very shaky. As impressive as the view from this vantage point was, I think the next thing Andy and I saw ended up being our favorite part of the castle. Stepping down from the first section, we discovered a stone staircase leading to a well. While we were not looking forward to going back up the stairs, our curiosity got the better of us, we made our descent and were immediately rewarded by a temperature drop of at least ten degrees. I probably could’ve sat down there the rest of the day and been completely content.
By this point my trip to Okinawa was about 60 percent complete and I still hadn’t made it to the beach even though all I could see was beautiful clear water and every day was hot. So it was just our luck that the day we planned on going to Kadena Marina for snorkeling would be the day the storm clouds rolled in. Instead, Andy and I, along with his friend Austin, went to Araha Park to spend some time walking around and taking photos. The rain didn’t hold off forever, though, and we waited it out up at Futenma bowling and seeing a movie.
The next day it was time to check out of our hotel room on Futenma and go back to Naha for the last three days of my trip. Since it was a beautiful day and we had time to kill between checking out of one hotel and into the next, Austin picked us up and we went to Kadena Marina to finally go snorkeling. This was my first time snorkeling and as someone who isn’t a strong swimmer I was pretty nervous. While I did give it my best try, it just didn’t work out for me and I wasn’t having fun at all. Luckily, I have the best husband ever because even though he really wanted to go snorkeling he was totally cool with heading over to the beach area and just swimming and hanging out in the water. After, we head out for a bite to eat before Austin drove us to Naha to check into our hotel.
Flickr sets in this post: Japan August 2010
Turning Japanese – part 2
Posted by Gypsy on Oct 2, 2010
I can’t even describe how awesome it was to wake up that first morning in Japan. I slept like a log and woke up completely rested, on the opposite side of the world, in a country I have always wanted to visit, curled up next to Andy. Perfect morning. We had some problems getting a hotel room on one of the military bases for the whole trip, so we were spending the first two nights and last three nights in Naha. So we had a whole day in Naha to bum around and see what we could find. After sleeping in and having a bit of a lazy morning, we walked down to the mall and shopping district. The mall was really where I had my first experience with the differences in our culture versus the Japanese culture. American malls have various stores, all separated by walls and responsible for their own security. In Japan, the mall looks more like a department store. You can tell that there are different shops, but there are no walls in between them. Since there isn’t a theft problem in Okinawa, there is no need to separate shops with walls and doors. This is actually very economical because it means less space is required.
After our walk through the mall, we wandered down the street to the shopping district. This area is very touristy, but it’s still pretty interesting to walk through and see the different shops and what they have to offer. Since we were getting hungry at this point, we decided to look for somewhere to eat. Here we found a fun little steakhouse and met the awesome T. Shinya, who was our chef for the afternoon. While the soba the night before was good, the steak and vegetables we had for lunch this day was even better. And it was a lot of fun to have him cook for us and put on a little show. Andy and I hadn’t really been to anything like this in the States, though we do have them here, so it was an experience. After lunch we were worn out from walking around. I always thought it was hot and humid in Charleston, but that is nothing compared to Okinawa and after a few hours in it we were both ready for a shower and air conditioning. The rest of the day was pretty uneventful, with us mostly relaxing in the room and having dinner at the hotel.
On the second day of my trip, we moved to MCAS Futenma, where we would be staying for the majority of my time on the island. After checking out of the hotel, they called us an on-base cab, which took us right to the hotel. The rest of the week is really a blur. It rained every single day, so there wasn’t much we could around the island. Instead, we took the bus to Camp Kinser, where I got to see Andy’s barracks, meet some of his coworkers, and get some groceries for the hotel room; and to Camp Foster, which is the nicest of the three bases. We also made the trek to Kadena Air Base, which is where my dad was based when he was stationed on Okinawa.
Near the end of my first week two awesome things happened. First, the weather finally started to let up and gave us some sunny skies (though it still remained very hot and humid) and second, Charles finally returned from training in Twenty-Nine Palms. Charles left San Diego about a month before we did and was getting ready for an Afghanistan deployment, so I definitely wanted to make sure we spent time with him while I was there. Plus, this is Charles’s second tour in Okinawa, so I knew he’d know the best places for us to visit while I was there. Unfortunately, the first couple days all the guys who came back were restricted to base. This meant Andy and I had to go to Foster to hang out with him and Paul, though we were able to escape for curry at Coco’s Ichibanya before word of the restriction was officially passed. (Shhh, don’t tell their chain of command.)
After lunch there was still a question of whether or not the guys were on restriction, so Paul, Andy, and I set off for American Village. American Village is basically a little resort area with a small beach, tons of shopping and restaurants (many of them American), and a giant Coca Cola ferris wheel. This was where Andy and I finally got a photo together before heading back to base to hang out a little.
Unfortunately, the restriction wasn’t lifted before Paul was set to go on leave, so his last night there we had to eat at the Macaroni Grill on base. However, where you eat really doesn’t matter as long as it’s with the right people and the four of us were still able to have a great time. The guys spent most of dinner harassing other guys from the unit who were also dining there, while I alternated between apologizing to the waitress for their rowdiness and trying not to encourage them by laughing.
Unfortunately, the next day Charles was still on restriction and we were still on our own. However, with the weather finally nice I was done sitting in hotel rooms doing nothing. So Andy and I set off on our own adventure…
Flickr sets in this post: Japan August 2010.
