Training for Yamato

I've started training to join Wadaiko Yamato. Well, actually, I cannot join them, I am, unfortunately, too old. Thankfully, they do not have an age limit on their workshops. Last fall they offered a two day workshop called the "Yamato Course Workshop". Those who participated went through two days of training and practice in the same way that the performing members of Yamato do. That means starting with a 10 Km run through the hills and mountains surrounding Asukamura, followed by strength training (sit-ups, push-ups, pull-ups, etc), then breakfast and taiko practice until late in the evening. Look here, under Nov. 22 - 23, 2008 to read about it.

My wife, who spent 4 months as a tour assistant with Yamato in 1999, has always said that she wishes I could experience Yamato's training and practicing. Last year, I had hoped to join in the Yamato Course Workshop, but as it turned out, I had to work that weekend and could not go. Since then I have been hoping that they will offer a similar workshop again, before we return to the US late this year.

Several weeks ago, I happened to be in Asukamura (Nara Prefecture), where Yamato is based, and stopped by their house to say hello. Most of them were in Europe on tour, but the leader's wife was there and I had a chance to talk with her a bit. I mentioned my interest in participating in another Yamato Course Workshop and asked if she knew of any plans to offer one this year. She wasn't sure, but she warned me about how tough it was. In particular, she said that the 10 km they run is more strenuous than one might think because the course is not all flat, but rather goes through the hills and mountains.

No one wants to be the one guy (or girl) who can't keep up, so I thought that I should start training harder if I really want to do that workshop. Actually, I have been training since I came to Japan, but I rarely run for more than 45 min, and usually it is around 35 or so (but it does include a rather large hill). Anyhow, I figure that if I want to keep up with Yamato on their 10 km run, I had better be able to run for an hour through the mountains. Luckily, the mountains are quite close to my house, so finding a challenging course is the easy part.

Last Friday after work, the weather was beautiful, so, I picked a course that I thought would take me about an hour and started running. I ran uphill for 30 min, and then back down for 30 min, one hour through the mountains, and I did it all without stopping (a major accomplishment for me).

Much of the course takes me through small neighborhoods, and a large section passes through Kanazawa's largest graveyard! But for about 2 1/2 Km along the top of the "mountain", it is fairly isolated with only bamboo groves, pine forests or fruit orchards on either side of the road. There isn't much traffic that travels this road, so I could see some wildlife as I jogged along. I saw a pheasant and even what is called a Kamo shika in Japanese (Japanese Antelope?).
Photo credit

There are also signs warning of bears, though, so I don't know that I would want to run this course too early in the morning. I'm not too keen on meeting a bear all by myself.

Yesterday, I measured the course length with my car and it turned out to be about 9.5 Km. Just about the right length. I was pretty exhausted the next day, though. I am pretty sure that it was the first time that I ran for a whole hour without stopping, and through the mountains, no less. Unfortunately, I don't have time to run for an hour every morning before school, so I am planning to try to work in this long run at some point on the weekends, either Friday, after work, or Sunday mornings. The other two runs during the week I will keep running between 30 - 40 min.

While accomplishing a strenuous run like this is a big step for me, it is only a small step in preparing for the Yamato Course Workshop. Remember? After running an hour through the mountains, they go right into the strength training.

Christmas Presents

It's a bit late to be talking about Christmas presents, but since I got a couple taiko related gifts, I'll do it anyhow. The first thing I got was a practice pad. I had asked for this specifically. Since we live in an apartment building, we cannot really play/practice the drums in our house. I thought that a practice pad would be a good solution. You can't necessarily practice Nagado or Odaiko techniques with it, but it works fine for Shime Taiko practicing. Right now, in two of the three Asano groups I play for, I am playing Shime Taiko anyhow, so it is good timing. Furthermore, in a previous post, I explained how having good Shime Taiko techniques can improve your overall playing techniques for all types of drums.

Upon receiving this gift, I was looking forward to getting in some daily practice. My son, also, was looking forward to it and spent a good part of Christmas day hitting it with taiko sticks. In the evening we got a call from our downstairs neighbors, though. Apparently, even though the sound is much quieter than playing a real drum, they can still hear it. So I am wondering how much I'll even be able to use it. I did get a tip from older brother, though, who has the same pad, only a slightly larger one. He says if I take it off the stand and place it on a cushion or pillow, the neighbors probably will not hear it.

My other gift was a new jogging suit and reflectors. You see, it is winter now, the darkest and coldest time of the year. When I go jogging, it is usually around 5 in the morning. It is still dark then, and although there isn't much traffic, there is some and I would rather not be injured or killed in a freak traffic accident. Up until now, my jogging clothes have been black or dark colored, and fairly light weight. Using them at this time of year makes me cold and hard for cars to see. So, I received a warmer jogging suit, in a bright color (white) and various reflectors.

As you can see from the picture, I should be pretty hard to miss in an outfit like this. So far, I have only been able to use it once, though. Now that I have all the safety gear and warm enough clothes, I just need to find the motivation to get out of bed at 5 am when it is still dark and cold.

Cherry Blossoms and Training

Today Japan's meteorologists released their forecast for the 2008 Cherry Blossom season. It will start in Kyushu in a couple weeks, and over a month or so, slowly make its way through Japan, all the way to Hokkaido. Even though I woke up to a couple inches of snow today, I guess the cherry blossom forecast is a good sign that spring is not far. In fact, by mid-day most of the snow had melted and the temperature was fairly mild. Today I was able to come home from work early (around 3) and since the weather was nice, I decided it was a good time to get back into my running schedule. Since August, I was running consistently about 3 times a week, but by the time the end of November came around, it was so dark in the mornings, and the weather was so often rainy, I haven't been doing it for awhile. Recently, however, I've been noticing that the sun is coming up earlier, and the weather has been improving, so I have been mentally preparing myself to start up the training again. I'm happy to say that I have not lost much endurance, in spite of my break. The route I was running in the fall usually took about 35 - 37 minutes and today, I completed the same route in about 35 min. My goal is to run 3 or 4 times a week for 45 min to an hour, but after a nearly 4 month break, I am pretty pleased with 35 minutes.

Anyhow, I thought some of my readers might be interested in seeing the running route I take, so the other day I took my new camera and my bike and took some pictures of interesting spots along the way. So here is my little photo essay on my running route.
Here is the view from my balcony. In the back of the picture, there is a hill (not the snow covered mountains). There is sort of an open area, flanked by trees. That is my goal.



I always start from the same place, in front of my apartment building.



And proceed down this road until it ends...



The road ends at a high school (Izumigaoka High School). One of the top schools in the prefecture. On the left, there is a bakery, and even at 5:15 in the morning, they are already open. I can always smell the bread baking, but unfortunately, I cannot stop for bread...



I turn right here, and run along this street for awhile. This is a spot along the street...



There is nothing particularly special about this spot along the road. But sometimes, when the weather was warmer, there was an elderly man outside (at 5:20 or so) throwing bread up in the air. I would find this very amusing, if he had had no purpose, but he was, in fact, feeding eagles, from the nearby hills. When he threw the bread in the air, the eagles would swoop down, snatching it out of the air.

Anyhow, I follow this road for awhile and eventually turn here, when it turns towards the hills ...



I run parallel to the hills for awhile, passing this shrine on my left. You can't see the shrine, but I love the huge trees...



Finally I come to my Rocky Balboa moment. From here, there are more than 230 steps to the top...



Here is the top of the first set of stairs...



But this is only about halfway. There is still about 100 more steps to climb...



Finally at the top, there is a great view. If I have brought by Odaiko sticks (the big ones) along, I will swing them here about 100 times, before moving on. Air Taiko!





On a clear day you can see the Sea of Japan, even the Japanese Alps, in Toyama are sometimes visible.



On my way down, I pass this interesting looking tree.



My road home takes me through a large temple complex and Kanazawa's largest cemetery. I pass by the main gate of the temple ...



Even at 5:30 in the morning, there are people coming to the temple to say prayers. Sometimes, the quiet of the early morning is absorbed by the deep, rich sound of a temple bell.

This is the steepest part of the road back down the hill. It runs right through the cemetery. There are signs around warning people about the bears that sometimes come out of the hills, but it is also well shaded, and I don't have to work as hard going down hill. It is especially refreshing in the summer, and I haven't had to run from any bears yet.



Looking back from the bottom of the hill. From here, it's a straight shot, slightly downhill, through a couple of neighborhoods and back to my apartment.



As I said, it usually takes around 35 minutes. As soon as I get back into my 3 - 4 times a week schedule, I hope to go further and further up the hill, until I am running for 45 to an hour.