"Each step forward has a sacred meaning of its own" Sri Chinmoy
Kyoto 1 Mile Race - Gyoen Gardens - Feb 2026 - Kyoto
Every christmas trip has its races, and this time we met in the gardens of the imperial palace at Gyoen (less than a mile from the hotel) for a run on a perfectly flat course. There were no tight bends and it was a wide and spacious course, but times were going to be a little limited by the soft gravel underfoot! For me that was a blessing though, as I was finding my way back from some injury issues as per usual and soft was good as far as I was concerned. Soft was more important than fast!
I lined up near the front then remembered my recent times and shuffled back a little. I was aiming for anything under seven minutes and keen to run at just below max pace rather than risk a flat out effort. Having said all that, the plan went out of the window pretty much from the start and I went off with the top ten runners thinking I could somehow get my speed of 1-2 years ago back just from memory. The silence at the start was soon broken by the sound of feet on gravel as we took the first bend and looked for the firmest going underfoot. It was all good to the second turn, I was still in touch with the leaders up ahead and pretty much level with the first of the girls in the race. Then things got a bit softer and the effort required to maintain a good pace went up a notch.
My pace began at 5.30 ish (going off faster than I could sustain, as usual) then dropped as the race went on to something like 7 minutes per mile. I was working hard, trying to hold back just a little, but then after Jwalanta overtook me with ease on the straight with only a few hundred metres to go, I summoned up an effort round the bend and on to the line (marked by our familiar LED race clock) to finish at something like 5.40 pace. The overall time was 6.34, with which I was well happy.
Breathing had "doubled" as I call it quite early on, going from one breath for 2 paces to 2-breaths-for-3 and even 1-for-1 towards the end. Heart rate averaged 153 but maxed out at 168 - staying pretty constant at that rate for the last half mile.
I finished in the top 10 so that was also a good result, though I have to wonder how I have lost all the speed I had in lockdown - now 5 years or so ago. Still, on the day of the race as we gathered afterwards for prasad, race prayer and results, I was focussing on the positives. Back out there running, back out racing, no injuries on the day.
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