NKG Ekiden

Mixed results.

I ran a Palace-loop PB of 18:12.

Had hoped to go a bit closer to 18:00 flat, but 1) I might have gone out slightly too fast in the first kilometer, and 2) I guess I just wasn't in that shape. Still it was a PB by five seconds (from memory) and I did work very hard, sprinted home, finished exhausted, so I cannot complain about my effort. Reviewing the splits I seemed to lose too much time on the third (uphill) and fourth kilometers.

So, a good time, but I was beaten into second place in the overall rankings by an ever-improving Mr Nakagawa. The bugger ran about 18:17 last year, so I thought I might have bagged it, but then when they read out the results, I was announced in 2nd place, then he was announced in 1st in 17:45!! げえ〜〜〜！ There's nought I could have done about that. So well done him! And I am happy with my 5000 yen of gift vouchers (which I handed straight over to my wife).

On a more sober note, literally, the buggers didn't provide any beer this year. Just because it was raining off and on throughout the event is no excuse. We still could have done with some crappy mass-produced lager. Still, I made up for it by heading to a Belgian beer afterwards and sharing several interesting libations with a friend. Not a bad way to end the day.

And tomorrow, bring on Arakawa Ekiden