Track and Field Blogs - Jenny Barringer

10:45pm
Ok, I'm starting this planning on it being short because I'm tired... we'll see how it goes.

I woke up at 7 and waited for Heather to show up to hang out for my morning run. By the time I got out to do it the heat index was up to 98 and it felt like it. I had a long run scheduled for today but considering the conditions we made some compromises. I ran steady for 45 minutes and then finished off the last 30 minutes pretty easy. I ran back and forth from where Heather was set up so that I could grab water and a towl about every 20 minutes. I think I downed about 3 water bottles during my run and I had sweat streaming from my face and elbows. So miserable. I felt pretty good though considering the weather and the long trip behind me.

Next I took off to Kyoto for a sight-seeing day. I don't want to be on my feet a lot in the days closing on my races so I figured if I was going to go on a day trip it had to be as soon as possible. Heather and I navigated the trains together and practiced the very few words we know in Japanese in order to get food and general directions. All of this resulted in tons of laughter and an overall amazing adventure.

Kyoto was beautiful with temples and shrines around every corner. I forgot my camera cord but I'll try to get some pictures up here to share at some point. I have never been in a place so unlike anything in my own experiences. Nothing is like the states.... nothing. The people are kind but not very social. There isn't a single piece of trash to be seen on the streets but you can't find a trash can to save your life. There are rituals at the temples that are so unusual and I'm looking forward to researching to see what they're all about. They drive on the oposite side of the road. I haven't seen any dogs on leashes but we photographed a cat on a leash today. Just so different from our own lives and so exciting to experience.

So this short entry ended up long again but Kyoto is very deserving. It's an amazing place that I hope I can visit again before we take off on the 28th!