This is a picture of Indei-san and I running our fastest, trying to reach the goal.  Of course, she beat me!!!!!  I tried to catch up to her, but she was too fast!!!!  Anyway, it was a lot of fun!! Thank you, Indei-san, for challenging me to run my fastest!!!!

 

Well...another school marathon come and gone.  This was my third (and probably my last) marathon to run at Moka Joshiko.  I ran 7 kilometers, and my time was about 38 minutes and 55 seconds.  I was the 108th runner to cross the finish line.  2 years ago, I pratically had the same time of about 38 minutes, but I was around the 80th runner to cross the finish line.  Last year, my time was about 45 minutes, and I was around the 110th runner to cross the finish line.  So, I think the students this year were, by far, much faster than the previous 2 years. 

 

When I was a high school student, I was not only a member of the swimming team, but I was also a member of the Cross Country team.  The term 'Cross-Country' literally means long-distance running.  There were Cross Country competitions about 3-4 times each month.  We had to run 3 miles (about 5 kilometers) at each competition.  So, in addition to the daily swim training with my swim team, I had to do Cross-Country training immediately after.  I was in much better physical condition back in my high school days compared to my physical condition now.  However, many of these students at Moka Joshiko are so athletic that I am sure they would have completely demolished me even in my high school days!! 

 

Some people may think that a marathon is just a race.  However, I believe that there is much more significance to running a marathon.  A marathon race is one of the true tests to the physical endurance and mental power of a person.  As much as your body aches and your legs feel as if they are going to collapse, your strong will, heart, spirit, and mind can give you the strength, power, and determination to reach the goal.  When you do reach that goal, it is one of the greatest feelings of self-accomplishment ever.  Doing your best, trying your hardest, and never giving up are great virtues to possess while trying to reach the goal line in a marathon, but we all have so many other different goals in life, so if we all apply this kind of positive attitude to other aspects of our lives, we will be able to reach our other goals just like we all did in the marathon. 

 

Thank you for reading my diary.  Until next time!!!!!!!