Most people you talk to about 2020 will say it sucked. I will not disagree with them, but for me personally, it has been a year of (mostly positive) change. Gone are the days of just letting time go by without any progress being made. I read an excellent book that has changed my outlook and made me into a better person (if I may say so myself). It lines up nicely with Hanshin’s 2021 slogan, too:
挑 (chō) = 挑む (idomu): CHALLENGE
As I read through Atomic Habits and reflected on my identities, and what identities I want to own (and not hide, which most of us do with our undesirable side), I realized that I AM A CHALLENGER, just as long as I feel comfortable doing so. I also came upon something I want to own, which I have ignored for far too long: I AM AN ACTIVE PERSON. I left that in Hokkaido back in the day, I think, because since moving to Hyogo, I’ve been pretty sluggish for the most part. And so, I decided to blend these two identities and try out running once again – something I had done in my younger years, but had largely ignored for the past decade. The perfect opportunity presented itself last month…
An online marathon? What could be easier? All I needed to do was pick a date and time, use a GPS device on my phone (or watch), and run either 3 km, 10 km or a half-marathon! The problems were twofold: First, I did not want to do the 3 km because I feel like anyone could do that… but I had also not run 10 km in over a decade. Second, I am not the spring hen I once was… so I needed to dig deep to try to achieve the next part of the slogan…
超 (chō) = 超える (koeru): CAREER-HIGH
Well, way back in the day, I used to log my running times (on an old-school spreadsheet), and noticed that my best time for 10 km was exactly 52 minutes. I did not quite get there this time around, some 12 years later, but came pretty darn close:
As you can see from the certificate, I finished in 22nd place (out of how many people, you ask? Don’t. I don’t know, and we’re better off not knowing!), which is not bad, given that I am probably older (and heavier) than the average participant. Still, I am not satisfied with that number. I am going to work hard this year to hit a career-best and try it again this coming December.
I highly doubt I will achieve the third part of the slogan,
頂 (chō) = 頂へ (itadaki e): CONQUER
But I have set myself a lofty goal: under 50 minutes and a top-10 finish. I know, my place in the standings is completely out of my control, but as long as I shave my time by a couple of minutes, I am pretty confident I can rise in the standings.
For the record, I came REALLY close to winning some of the door prizes they did draws for. My participant number was 2221, and…
2222 won Norihiro Akahoshi‘s autographed batting gloves
2216 won an autographed Keita Nakagawa (Buffaloes) backpack
2226 won an autographed Fumihito Haraguchi t-shirt
2228 won an Adidas cap offered up by Zett (baseball equipment manufacturer)
2211 won a thermos also offered up by Zett
Also, not that it’s worth bragging about, but I beat the relay-team of Akahoshi (1 km), coach Atsushi Fujimoto (2 km), Haraguchi (3 km), plus former Tigers Keisuke Kanoh and Osamu Hamanaka (2 km each), who ran the 10k in a combined time of 1:14:02. Obviously, they were not trying their hardest, as they are all younger than me and also former (or current) players, so they could have finished in about half this time, I bet.
All I know is that next year, they all better look out, because I am coming for all of them, plus the rest of the field, too! Older is not going to mean slower for this Tigers fan!
Tell me if you have anything you want to challenge in 2021… it will be fun to spur each other onward to greater, higher peaks!