Dayoff

Last was a great time. I was passed out in bed by 9:15 pm. After the 5k on the track for the alternates the team headed over to a winery for the race reception. We all showed up about 6:15, got our name tags, placed our stuff at our table, grabbed a glass of wine and headed outside for the toast. The mayor said some words, awards were handed out and we raised our glasses. It was about 6:40 pm.

Everyone returned to their table and began grilling the meat and vegetables. The beer was soon to follow as was the "coin game." We were passing around the 1 yen piece from glass to glass. We couldn't fill our own glasses so you had to rely on a partner. Thankfully Tarpy was to my right as was a Japanese man who was pretty funny. We were eating and drinking for only about 10 minutes when we decided it would be a good idea to make some friends. Stern and I went over to a neighboring table and dropped the yen in a Waseda athlete's cup. He was a bit confused but once we raised our glasses with a "kompei" (spelling?) he knew what it meant. He caught on quick and passed it to a buddy. Soon the team was all about the game and we had some good laughs.

I ventured down the room and found some boys from Toyo University. I had an "eki" (spelling?) with who ended up being the "Japanese champion" of drinking. If you don't believe me just watch this... Countdown!!!