Our trip from the ferry to our hotel last night was breathtaking. Through the mountains and down to the sea. We are back on the big island of Honshu. We navigated our way along windy roads with the ocean to one side, the mountains to the other. Japan really does have a bit of everything to offer, from snowy mountains to beaches to desert and its technology, agriculture and botanical offerings to boot. Some teammates have expressed a strong desire to come and live here for awhile. The athleticism of the population is a draw as well.

Yesterday was another 12 plus hour day travelling. We enjoyed a meal of miso soup, rice and salads at the hotel before hitting the sack. There is never enough time to get an eight hour sleep in so I've learned to make do with fewer REM cycles. Last night I got two cycles but I sure look forward to more. I'm yearning for a sleep-in morning when I might even pull off one of those rejuvenating 10 hour marathon sleeps. Right now sleep is fleeting, grabbing naps in the van and sleeping most of the way in the planes from China to Japan. I expect to sleep from Tokyo to San Francisco. Our hotel rooms in Japan have been perfectly appointed right down to the slippers, cotton robe and flashlight under the desk in the event of a power outage.

I had another great run today from 10:30 to noon, 10.8 miles. It was hot, humid and mostly ugly industrial interior road but I had a breeze and felt well. I think the better food and sleep, despite our travel pace, has paid off for all of us. All of Team Silver ran well today through a variety of venues. I was especially envious of my team mates who scored the Pacific coastline. We wove through more mountains along the sea and over suspension bridges reminiscent of the Big Sur area. Strange square concrete blocks have been deposited just off the coastline and in many of the rivers. This is for Sunami protection. Early in the day we drove along a section of sea wall and the horizon was full of cargo ships. Our team mate David informed us that the Czechs call the Pacific the "quiet" ocean. It doesn't look quiet here as the surf was active and dotted with surf boarders.

I have been blessed to be able to run all of my legs so far and within the alloted time. We are contracted to run 10 miles a day in under 90 minutes. I have focused on getting the job done and have ranged in my elapsed times from 80 to 90 minutes, taking time to enjoy my surroundings and trying not to do anything to over stress my body. Elapsed means the time it takes you to get from point A to point B, including water and bathroom stops. We have committed ourselves to run 10 miles every day for 95 days in under 90 minutes, excepting when the run staff schedules a day off. Today I took three water stops and ran my 10.8 miles in just under 90 minutes. The mileages are usually measured for 10 miles but can range anywhere from 8.5 to 11 where secure areas for stopping vehicles do not coincide with the 10 mile formula. Some of our runners have a different attitude about the running. The psychology has been interesting to observe. Some are fighting the clock against themselves, some are competing with others on the team, some are simply not willing to take a rest day when sick or injured because they feel they must run every rotation no matter what. Some have broken down as a result and others have come forth to fill in the miles. For me, filling in the miles will be giving me a gift tomorrow as I now am scheduled to run into Tokyo to hand off the baton to Taeko on what was to be a day off. I will share my 10 miles with David and he, myself and Taeko will run the last legs in Japan, five miles each to the final hand off west of the Pacific Ocean.

Taeko is our Japanese runner, born and raised here and a citizen and resident of Japan. I was born here, close to Tokyo in Yokohama at the base of Mt. Fujiyama, as a German, now a citizen and resident of the U.S. Taeko owns her own businesses (clothing design and a restaurant) and is a world class runner about to put in her bid for the Japanese Olympic Marathon Team. She plans to run the Tokyo, Osaka and Nagano Marathons for a qualifying time. She has won the Honolulu Marathon and holds a personal record in the marathon of 2:28:10 at Osaka. Taeko will be the focus of the Tokyo event. As soon as we finish, we head back to the hotel, shower, and we're on a bus to the airport to fly to the U.S. I will be without computer for a bit as I am changing back to the Green Team. The Silver Team computer must stay with the team. So don't become concerned if there are no blogs from me for a few days. Team composition will be sorted out in a matter of days. I expect to either stay with the Green Team or return to the Silver Team.

Japan has windmills for energy. They showed up on yesterday's horizon and I've been seeing them here and there since. The country is definitely trying to offset its high consumption. The consumption has been my only critical observation so far. It is a wonder to me why Japan can only supply 30% of their food when I see crops and farms everywhere. Interestingly, we were doing a photo shoot today in some rice fields and I commented that all the workers are older persons. We were told that young people are not taking over the agricultural work which probably explains why local production is diminishing. I'm sure that Tokyo will overwhelm me as it did when I came through here over 10 years ago and decided not to stay.

We've been watching the bullet trains, amazed by their speed. Emmanuel and I lucked out today. At our final exchange point the communications van appeared and asked us to go for some photo shoots including trying to see Mt. Fujiyama. We never saw the mountain as it is elusive and this time of year is mostly in the clouds. But we did get to the coast and we got to spend time with Taeko in her homeland. Best of all, we got to take the bullet train to Tokyo. Of course we also expected to beat our team mates to the hotel but that did not happen. The estimated driving time of seven hours was exaggerated. But no matter. We are safe and sound and ready to fly across the other big pond to finish our journey. Fitting that we cross another large body of water to help get water to those who need it to survive. Soon I'll be talking with you from the States.............

Water is life. Pass it on!