Yamanote Run and Farmers Market

The Yamanote Run or better know as "Tour de Yamanote" is an annual run my running club does. The object is to run around the Yamanote line, as close to the tracks as we can get. The entire distance is relative to how many times we get lost. But its roughly 40k or so all the way around.
Its the GREEN line.
Out of the 4 years that this run has taken place, I've ran 3 of them. The 1st one I did was earlier in my running life so long distance was relatively new for me. I made it half way around and my legs were screaming!
The 2nd time I got some long distance training under my belt with 2 marathons and lots of half marathons, so it was pleasantly not that hard to complete :) Of course, I was tired at the end but the reason why it was "not that hard" is that we go at a VERY slow pace, stop at every single red light, wait for any people who get stuck at the stop light or are a distance back, and we stop for water and bathrooms when needed. It takes approx 4.5 hours in total.
The 3rd time was this Sun.
This year, I have taken a big break on the long distance training, so I didn't have any plans on completing the entire loop. Half way, I figured, was enough for me. With a scheduled brunch with girlfriends the same day, I had a valid reason to pull out in case anyone tried to persuade me otherwise.

The day started extremely early for me at 5AM. My alarm was set for 5:30AM, but I was so excited about the run that I was wide awake before it went off.
No appetite so early in the morning, but drank my coffee to get everything moving.
Luckily, I live close to where the start was, so it was a nice 10min jog down to Yoyogi-park. After the mandatory group shot, we were off at 7:30AM.

See if you can spot me. 

We look really serious with our matching Tour de Yamanote shirts, but today was not a serious day. Today was strictly a "fun" run. Anyone expecting to get a race out of this would be very disappointed.

The easy pace allowed for some pleasant chatting and since it's been awhile since I've joined a running event, I realized how much I missed the club....well, at least a few key members. Like these two lovely ladies!

Jaynie, Mary and I are planning to do Oxfam Trailwalker again next year. We're planning on having a ladies team, so we spend some time discussing who would be good for our 4th member and how we'll go about doing Oxfam. I know, were a little crazy. Here we are planning a hiking event that's what...5 months away, but these things got to be planned in advance.

More of my favorite peeps

As you can see, we stopped a lot. Check out my awesome camelbak backpack. This thing is so convenient! I can drink and carry water easily. Not to forget, carrying my camera wasn't a hassle either.

The initial plan was to run for about 2 hours to get me half way around the Yamanote, but after 2 hours I didn't feel very tired and decided to carry on for a couple more stops. After another 30mins or so, I finally started to feel it in my ankles a little, so I made my exit at Tabata.  For a total of 25k (probably 27k including my jog to the start), no injuries, lots of smiles and laughs I have to say it was a very successful run!

Ah, the joy of running with a group of people! I seriously should make a bigger effort to run with people as it really does help time fly!

Immediately after getting back, I took a quick shower, stretched my suddenly achy legs and dashed out the door for a late lunch with the girls. It was great to have girl talk over a vegan lunch.

With my run earlier, I felt I deserved a spurge! Vegan carrot cake for desssert. MMMMMM!

After lunch, I persuaded my friend to walk down to the Farmers Market. Every Sunday there's a Farmers Market in Omotesando not far from where I live, but ironically, I've never been there. So today I was determined that I'd check it out. Also it was about closing time so I thought I might be able to score a few discounts. And lots of discounts I got! I can't believe I don't come here every Sunday to buy my fresh produce. Organic vegetables and fruits were almost half the price that I buy at the store! Unbelievable! I was too busy buying stuff that I forgot to take photos. But I did manage to get a few.

It was love at first sight with the mini apples! So adorable! The kind apple man gave us each a mini apple for FREE!

I want this in my kitchen!

The best deal of the day were 5 organic pears for Y250! SCORE!

I'm totally going back there on a regular basis.

And that completes my fabulous weekend!