Great Run

Sometimes the most rewarding runs are the long ones. Every Sunday I go from 14-16. They are fun because I can really explore and go new places and because they are often on trails. This time I started uphill to Kurondo ike and then did my big loop ending up in downtown Kyotanabe. I averaged 8:24 for the 15.1 miles with my last 3 miles under 8 min per mile. This was a new record for the course and was really a confidence booster.

Hill workout - I had another great run today. I have a 7 mile loop where I work every hill hard. Short hills I run at 1500 pace, medium at 5k pace and long hills at marathon pace.. I felt strong and worked hard so I consider that the mark of a successful training run. After 4 days I have about 45 miles for the week.

Hotani Scenes

The continuing saga

It has been ages since my last update. The biggest news has been no news. I have been applying for teaching jobs in the US. I applied to about 7 different colleges and so far have received two direct no's, for one the funding was cut for the position, one interview and several non-responses. I will go for an interview around the 1st of June in Bremerton. The school will pick up part of the cost of the ticket so I am assuming they are interested in hiring me.

Running is quite sporadic at the moment. When I was in the US for spring vacation I lost a lot of fitness because I was focusing on finding a job. I have gained most of it back in the past few weeks and feel back to previous fitness. I run every morning with Loran and have been running most of the time in the afternoon with other teachers here. There are three other teachers who run with me most days. It actually helps quite a bit to have someone to run with. We don't run particularly fast but it is great to have the company. Yesterday I did a workout where I ran all the uphills hard. It made the run go much faster and was challenging. I haven't given up on my goals in running but I am focusing more on the important thing at the moment...getting a job.