Last month, I temporarily quit my gym and my Japanese lessons so that I could save more money. Now, I doubt I'll go back to either of them. I found a cheaper and stricter Japanese teacher who teaches from my home. I also found the best possible exercise place in Japan, and it's free. It's the stairs in my building. 
Like most Japanese people who live in cities, I live in a MANSION. No, it's not a real mansion. That's Katakana English for an apartment or a condominium. My MANSION (apartment) has over 20 floors and of course they're all connected by a long staircase. The staircase is ideal.
-Japanese people in apartments don't usually greet their neighbors or come out of their houses. This is not a "porch" culture. Neither is it the kind of culture where people will borrow sugar and eggs from you because you live next door. Perfect. Nobody even sees me do this.
-My stairs are outdoor stairs but they're not visible from the outside. That means that they are not hot or stuffy and they're also not displaying me to the whole city. When I pass the 10th floor, I get a nice breeze, too.
-The stairs in my building are very solid and soundless. This assures me that I don't disturb people when I exercise.
Of course, nobody wants to be a spectacle while they're exercising. If you live in NYC or anywhere with stairs clearly visible to people below (fire escapes, etc), you're not going to be able to do this. Who would want to run up and down this thing again and again? Also, you might not be able to do this if you live in some old haunted-looking place or in a building with a really isolated stairwell full of potential creeps.
And obviously, this famous scene would never have happened if some dumb kid were racing up the stairs training for a marathon. Use your discretion. If you're disturbing people, quit running up and down the stairs. Moon river is a great song, isn't it?
I'm running a marathon in October! It will be my first marathon. I'm training almost every morning and night now. I'm running and climbing stairs and walking home from work (this takes one hour) every day. Does anyone have any marathon tips?
Friday, July 10, 2009
Free exercise in Japan (and... I'm running a marathon in October!!)
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13 Comments:
Good luck with your marathon!
Thank you!!
If any of you are interested in marathons in Japan, Haruki Murakami's book about running just came out on paperback.
He wrote a new book last month apparently inspired by Orwell's 1984. It's his first in 5 years. I read that in the first week, it outsold Kafka on the Shore by 4 times.
I don't know anyone who dislikes Haruki Murakami. I know some people who don't love him, but nobody hates him. I'm excited for the new book to be translated into English.
Which of Haruki Murakami's translators do you like better?
Alfred Birnbaum or Jay Rubin?
It's the opening sentence of Wind-up Bird Chronicle translated by A. Birnbaum and J. Rubin:
Rubin:
"When the phone rang I was in the kitchen, boiling a potful of spaghetti and whistling along with an FM broadcast of the overture to Rossini's The Thieving Magpie, which has to be the perfect music for cooking pasta. "I wanted to ignore the phone, not only because the spaghetti was nearly done, but because Claudio Abbado was bringing the London Symphony to its musical climax."
Birnbaum:
"I'm in the kitchen cooking spaghetti when the woman calls. Another moment until the spaghetti is done; there I am, whistling the prelude to Rossini's La Gazza Ladra along with the FM radio. Perfect spaghetti-cooking music. "I hear the telephone ring but tell myself, Ignore it. Let the spaghetti finish cooking. It's almost done, and besides, Claudio Abbado and the London Symphony Orchestra are coming to a crescendo."
Stair running is awesome exercise. I only have one flight of stairs at home so sometimes I combine stair running into a circuit - squats at the bottom, push ups at the top. But then we have internal stairs so no chance of anyone seeing me.
Wow julie!!!!! A marathon!! That's so very amazing! I am in awe of people who can run!
Be careful running up those stairs! I tripped up some at work last night and now have esculator-shaped indentations in my right knee. Ouch!
Best of luck for the marathon!
I'm trying to get into the routine of running before I leave for Japan, so I can take advantage of getting in high altitude shape so I can feel like a super-human for a little while once I'm down at sea level! Running up and down the stairs is a great idea, good luck!
Hello, I read your post and I thought I could give you a hint or two. I've ran 4 marathons and it always helps to have a strict schedule to go by and always being cautious of injury and allowing time in the schedule for proper recovery from injuries and muscle breakdown . I purchased a running plan from active.com and that helped me out tremendously; they're as little as $30.00 I think, and they'll taylor the training depending on your goals and the time that you have have to train for it, you just give them the info and they'll come up with a plan in a day or two. Hope that helps you a little
jonas
Hey,
I've been reading your blog for a while. I studied abroad in Japan about 2 years ago. I'm studying Sports Medicine in the US. Here's a running plan for the marathon. I'm glad you're having fun in Japan. Good luck!
Justin
http://www.military.com/military-fitness/running/running-plan-for-marathons
I thought about checking out What I Think About... but I'm too much of just a casual runner to read it. No marathons for me. I have not read Kafka..., I think I will read The Wind-Up... first. I'm also stoked about IQ84.
P.S. Am I wrong or does Breakfast at Tiffany's have the most racist portrayal ever put to film?
You're right. And that is why, despite numerous recommendations, I have never been able to watch the movie. I have seen clips and I have started to watch it three times now, but I have to turn it off when Mickey Rooney comes on. I'm always surprised when people can overlook that sort of thing. There's nothing to read into with that character. No ambiguity at all. It's exactly the same as blackface.
I think Audrey is gorgeous, obviously (thought Anna Karina is 191927373 times more beautiful and more interesting but similar) and Moon River is one of my favorite songs. That's it. Haven't seen the movie.
You haven't read Kafka or Wind-up? What have you read??? (Those two, along with Norwegian Wood are the two everyone tends to read first)
I like him. His short stories are the best, but I like his super long books because English books are expensive in Japan and I'm a fast reader, so I tend to pick long, epic books. Lately I've been reading a lot of Indian literature because for some reason, those books tend to be HUGE.
It's sad to be broke and have to pick books based on their volume. haha.
I went to pick up Wind-Up... but I'm on a big classics kick and I got Brave New World instead and I'm kind of upset. Looks like I'll read Murakami again for an upcoming flight. I've only read Norwegian Wood twice (looking forward to the film adaption, Rinko Kikuchi at Naoko FTW) and South of the Border...What a waste that was. All it's about is a guy cheating on his wife. When's IQ84 getting translated?
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