GVGV at Japan Fashion Week

It's not all about running. Some recent shots from GVGV at Japan Fashion Week...

Running going a bit better

I trained 4 days this week and will probably run again tomorrow - so 5 days in one week. The most I've run in months. I have a LOT of weight to shift, so I'm keen to get back to running some decent mileage again. Sixty-three kilogrammes when I returned from Oz - I should be 58kg.

Re the City-Bay fun run. Turns out I came 9th in my age group (M39), 348th overall. My family - wife, dad, sister, niece, nephew, brother-in-law all finished in the top 25 for their respective age groups (from M12 to M66) - good going in a field of over 30,000 runners.

City-Bay fun run Adelaide, South Australia

Should I feel pleased? I guess I should. After being unable to train properly since February I lined up in a 12km run in Adelaide, the capital of South Australia. Long ago, I marked this race as one I wanted to do well in - and had a time of no more than 45 minutes in mind.

But poor health meant virtually no training for 7 months. I was 5kg overweight, got drunk 2 nights before and walked all day the day before. I should have had an awful run.

I went through 1km in 3.30; 2km in 7.10; 3km in 10.45. Then crumbled. But I kind of held it together for a 48.56 (12km). Which I just found out is a PB - beating the time I ran when I was 25 years old by 2 seconds!

Two small rants

I try not to bang on about negative stuff, but I'm in a negative mood lately, coz I can't run.

So here goes with two things that bugged me today.

I went to a college fashion show today. I thought I might spot a future talent - always good in my field to keep your finger on the pulse. But I saw nothing.

All the clothes looked like they had come out of a manga comic, and the seats were set so far back from the stage (I was front row, but still 25m away!) that I couldn't see if what I was looking at was well made or not.

But then the prizes were awarded and I was stunned to learn that nothing had been made by individuals. It was all teams! No wonder the standard was so poor - this was fashion design by committee. No room for individual expression, no chance of stunning people with your special effort - just middle of the road, cartoon-inspired rubbish. Stupid system.

Second rant, Miyuki Hatoyama. Not cute. Not sensible. Not "a breath of fresh air". Just plain wacky - which is not good for a first lady or Japan. The international press are saying Ms. Hatoyama is breaking the mold of meek Japanese women who stand behind their men, but the same system that produces meek produces immature fruitcakes. The nation's first lady has a lot of growing up to do, I hope she does it quickly.

Not running again

Well, this year my big aim was to win my age group in the City-Bay fun run in Adelaide in mid-September. I even got myself a special race bib. But that fast run is now officially not going to happen. My up and down health since the marathon in February has taken another dive, resulting in me being house- and bedridden for the past two days. The doctors say I have nothing wrong with me (gotta love the Japanese health system).

The good news is I got appointments with two excellent doctors in Australia. So with any luck I might finally find out what's up, so I can get on with getting better.

I'm really missing running, and being able to eat whatever I want.

Finally ran at Oda Field again

It had been about 4 months, but I finally made it out to Oda Field to run again. I'd forgotten both how fun it is and how hard it is - I couldn't even finish the final 800m effort.

I can't go next week, but I'm going the week after that for the 5km time trial.

twitter.com/KankiKnight

My (awful) Tour predictions

Well, the Tour's finished, and my selections weren't so great. I had Contador, Schleck and Vande Velde in about the right spots, and I picked the Green, White and Team winners, but I chose all the guys who had dire Tours too - Evans, Menchov and Rogers all performed below anyone's expectations.

1. Cadel Evans - 30th
2. Alberto Contador - 1st
3. Andy Schleck - 2nd
4. Carlos Sastre - currently 17th
5. Denis Menchov - 51st
6. Lance Armstrong - 3rd
7. Christian Vande Velde - 8th
8. Mikel Astarloza - currently 11th
9. Michael Rodgers - 103rd
10. Sylvain Chavanel - 20th

Plus Green jersey
Thor Hushovd - in Green

Polka Dot
Carlos Sastre - 14 points (43rd place)

White
Andy Schleck

Team
Astana

And now for a new category - Best Post-Tour Trick (click on photo for link to PEZ Cycling - www.pezcyclingnews.com)