Ibigawa with Rebecca: Tour of the Course

That was the best night's sleep I've ever had in Japan. I only woke up once in the night and slept from 9:15 to 6:00. When we went out for our morning training session, I considered trying the marathon again, but in the end decided this year is better for the half. Maybe next year will be the marathon if I make it here.

When we finished our training, we spoke to home for a while outside, then I went in to shower. A lady with a cart of orange tree branches came up to Rebecca and handed a branch with about 6 oranges on it to her. Rebecca didn't know if she should take them, but the lady passed them to her again saying "Doozo". They are really good. They are kind of like cuties, but much bigger.

Typical breakfast at the Iwama's.

We've had fun thinking about how things will go tomorrow. I keep giving Aaron "tips" of how he can do well. The last one I gave him was to make sure he turns right at the bridge instead of going straight. We're both in the half marathon and the full marathon is right at the bridge. I've let him know of what he should eat and how he should pace it. I'm hoping he takes my advice since I should finish about an hour or more before him if he does.

Rebecca is trying not to think about the race too much. At dinner, she was asking me what I would want to eat since I would be racing. Then, she realized that she will be racing too.

We stopped at the usual spots along the course except the footbridge with the bell at the other end. You are supposed to ring it when you get engaged. Eddie took us there after the lunch at the ski lodge.

The lunch was good. Rebecca was surprised by the gifts we received. They treat us so well here.

Rebecca is having a great time talking to the students and seeing how cute babies are. It's so much fun to watch her interacting with everyone. She's a natural at visiting with people. One of the highlights of the trip was meeting the cyclists in the picture below. Rebecca was right at home talking to them. One of them is the owner of a new wheel company called Gokiso. The wheels are $9000 a pair. I don't know who would pay that much for wheels. We had fun visiting with them though.

The students going to St George introduced themselves today. This one told us his favorite movie is Spiderman and showed us how to shoot out a web.

After the lunch and bridge, we went to the 100 yen store and food court for dinner. We had pizza that was really good. We're so tired. It's nearly 8:30 and we're off to bed now. We will leave for the race at 7:00 am tomorrow. I'm excited for the race and Rebecca doing it, but I'm nervous about what her experience will be. I hope she's glad she did it once it's over.

At the footbridge

The Japanese students that will be going to St George.

Eddie and Rebecca trying to scare each other by making the bridge swing and bounce

The gift exchange between cities

Meeting the cyclists on the course. The one next to Rebecca started a company called Gokiso that makes carbon fiber wheels. We looked them up. They sell for about $9000 a pair.