Izumo Taisha

Time: 30:03
Distance: 4-5 miles

We went to the oldest Shinto shrine in the world. It was over 2,000 years old and is a popular to get married. While we were there the team and I got to see a bride in a traditional Japanese bridal gown. It had a sweet looking hat. The tour was pretty relaxed as guys were getting excited for tomorrow. After visiting the shrine we went on a course tour in the bus. Each of us took turns sitting in front trying to get familiar with the part of the course we were going to run. Max starts off with an 8k, hands off to Tarpy who runs a 5.8k, to Jon Marcus for a 8.5k, to me on a 6.5k, Courtney runs a 5.0k and finally Steve Sundell runs a 10.2k for a total of 44k. My leg didn't look too challenging. It finishes with a 600m downhill. Slight downhill. The only concern will be the wind and the direction it is blowing. Today it was blowing in the runners' faces.

After, we went to the Izumo athletic complex and went on a short run around the fields. We got a look at the other teams who were jogging on the track. We got there a little late in the day b/c they weren't around for long. I ran a few 100m strides with Tarpy and then ran 2 x 200 with splits of: 29.88, (60), 30.59. Legs were feeling good and I was ready to roll.