18 October 08

I took part in a charity event, Run for the Cure, round the palace with Bettina and her friend Aliona. It was really hard to locate the registration venue at Hibiya City, but eventually we found it with some help from a few other bemused participants. I had been deliberating over whether to do the 5km or 10km distance, but when I came to the head of the registration queue I took the plunge and went for the longer course, though I have only run half an hour at most since I was pregnant.

There was a long walk to the start, which was back at the Palace behind Gaisen Moat. It was predominantly men doing the longer distance, so I started too fast, but by Otemachi (1km) I had slowed down and found the right pace. There is only one hill, on the north-east side of the Palace. I felt that I did well on the first lap and came through strongly past the finish line where Nick and Steve were waiting, but I soon started to flag on the second lap. It was far too hot for me, and I found a water-soaked sweatcloth a godsend. Even so, I had to walk a few times, especially on the uphill, but I think I probably ran 9 of the 10 km, and managed to find energy for a semi-sprint for the last couple of hundred yards.

We chatted to the others for a while then headed back to Mita for a late but welcome lunch at David's Deli, followed by a nice relaxing afternoon at home.

I was out in the evening with the Embassy mums (and Bettina). We had some food at the Hard Rock Cafe, where the music was very loud, making conversation difficult. Two stiff cocktails soon loosened my aching legs. We moved on to Heartland, notorious among expats as a pickup joint. It was OK but hard to avoid smokers and I felt that we were under scrutiny the whole time. We only stayed for one drink then walked to Roppongi Crossing where we dived into a basement blues bar. It was very dimly-lit and we were the only customers, making me feel even more drowsy. I enjoyed the night, but had to throw in the towel around 12.30 and get a cab home from a still-buzzing Roppongi.