Today is the Shizuoka Marathon. It’s held every year at the end of February or the beginning of March. Some years I’ve gone out to cheer for people I’ve known who were competing. I understand how it feels having someone cheering for you.
When I lived in the US, one of the things on my Bucket List was to run a marathon in each of the 50 US states. I was never a fast runner (translation - I was a slow runner), but I had endurance. Since I will never be going back to the US, I no longer have this goal on my bucket list. Below are the races I ran before I left.
My first marathon was the Grandfather Mountain Marathon in North Carolina. July 1984
At the time, I thought it would be my only marathon, so I saved the shirt.
St. Louis, Missouri November 1989
This race was chosen because it was just a few hours from where I was living at the time. When I finished, I thought I would probably do another sometime.
Las Vegas, Nevada February 1991
When I was in law school, I belonged to a running club that met every Sunday to run and eat a pot luck brunch together. A group of us went to Las Vegas for the marathon, including my law school professor in the picture with me. (My behind isn’t as big as it looks in the picture - I have a long sleeved shirt tied around my waist.)
Memphis, Tennessee December 1998
I visited Elvis Presley’s home on this trip, in addition to the marathon.
London, Ontario Canada May 2000
One thing I remember about this race was that it was measured in kilometers, not miles!
Wichita, Kansas October 2002
Louisville, Kentucky Marathon April 2003
I went to this race with quite a few friends from my running club. Three of us stayed in a hotel room together, like a slumber party.
Tecumseh Trail Marathon, Indiana December 2003.
This was probably the most difficult marathon. It was freezing cold, there were streams to go through and big hills, and a dead deer on the course. The friend who I traveled with had to drop out of the race. I was sad for her, but I felt so good to be able to finish.
Columbus, Ohio October 2005
My high school friend and her family hosted me in Columbus. It was good to catch up with her that weekend.
Huntington, West Virginia November 2005
This was a very small marathon and I was running alone for much of the race.
Jacksonville, Florida December 2005
This race was held on a rainy day. I remember a delicious seafood dinner after the race.
Myrtle Beach, South Carolina February 2006
This was a lively race, with lots of runners who were having a good time.
Callaway Gardens, Georgia January 2008
I had been to Callaway Gardens for needlework classes with many other stitchers, but this was the first time to be there alone.
Shamrock Marathon Virginia Beach, Virginia March 2008
This race was sponsored by a beer company and there was free beer at the finish.
Triple Lakes Trail Marathon North Carolina October 2010
This marathon was rugged. The trail was steep and rocky in places, and had big tree roots in other places. I finished this marathon with dirty bloody knees.
Huntsville, Alabama December 2010
This was a large crowded race. It was my last before moving to Japan in 2011.
Machu Picchu is high on my Bucket List, so I was very happy to read about Jesse Katayama's story. He went to Peru in mid-March in order to visit Machu Picchu, with the intent to spend only a few days in Peru. Then, the pandemic hit and not only was he unable to visit the famous world heritage site, he was stranded in Peru.
Peru has had 33,305 coronavirus related deaths so far and the highest per capita Covid-19 mortality rate of any country in the world. International flights have recently resumed but to only seven Latin American countries. Last Saturday, Katayama was able to visit Machu Picchu, with the special permission of the Peruvian government, before returning to Japan. His entry came thanks to a request he submitted while stranded in the country, according to the minister of culture, Alejandro Neyra.
Sometime in November, Peru will reopen Machu Picchu for tourists, permitting only 30% of its normal capacity of 675 people per day.
La Sagrada Familia has been on my bucket list for quite some time and I was not disappointed! The construction began in 1882, under the direction of architect Francisco de Paula del Billar y Lozano. After only a year, he resigned and the position of chief architect was given to Antoni Gaudi. Gaudi devoted his life to the project and when he died in 1926, less than one quarter of the church was finished. He is buried in the crypt. The early construction was slow because it was funded on private donations. In July 1936, Spanish Civil War revolutionaries set the crypt and workshop on fire, destroying many of Gaudi's original plans, drawings and plaster models. It took 16 years to reconstruct them. It is on schedule now to complete the Catholic Basilica in 2026, one hundred years after Gaudi's death.
I bought a tour ticket in order to be able to skip the lines. Unfortunately it was a windy day and the tour was not able to go up in one of the towers.
In this model the grey shows the current building, the yellow is yet to be built.
There are three entrances. The Glory or front entrance began in 2002 and is not finished or open. We entered through the Nativity entrance, which was the first entrance to be finished. The Passion entrance began in 1954 and was finished in 1976.
This is our tour guide explaining about the many details in the facade. Gaudi's design called for eighteen spires - the twelve apostles, the Virgin Mary, the four evangelists and Jesus Christ, which will be the tallest. The completion of this spire will make La Sagrada Familia the talles church building in the world.
Close-ups of the door in the photo above.
The stained glass inside is amazing. One side is blues, greens, and purples. The other is reds, oranges, and yellows.
This is the unfinished Glory entrance from the inside.
I can't imagine how this all works and can bear the weight of everything above it.
There are windows from the main floor down to the crypt.
The tour ended, and everyone could continue on their own or leave at that point. I went outside through the Passion entrance.
This is a puzzle where all lines and combinations add up to 33, the age of Jesus at his death.
Next, I continued on to the museum.
I found this next exhibit fascinating.
I'm so glad I had the opportunity to visit this amazing place!
