HOUYHNHNM

Even now, at the age of 48, I enjoy racing the most.

In April of this year, Kaburaki-san won second place in the 141-km ultra trail race "Ultrafjord" held in Patagonia, Chile in South America, which was broadcast on the TV program "NHK Special: Running in the Realm of God. Why do you continue to be an active competitor at the age of 48?

turnip-shaped whistle made of hollowed-out wood or deer horn (attached to an arrow to sound when fired)I think my position is gradually shifting to that of a race organizer. However, I still want to keep my perspective as an athlete, and I don't want to forget how I felt as an athlete. And I believe that these feelings and experiences will be useful in my activities as an organizer.

Above all, I enjoy myself the most when I am fighting. I feel that I am most alive when I am racing. I feel that if I stop being a competitor, I will not be able to be myself. I want to continue to be a competitor as long as I can.

Do you know which race you will compete in next?

turnip-shaped whistle made of hollowed-out wood or deer horn (attached to an arrow to sound when fired)I'm looking for: I'm looking for a race, a race that will make me spring up. I don't want to enter a race that I entered once again, but I want to take on a new challenge.

Training for races is more than 1,000 km per month!

How are you training for the race?

turnip-shaped whistle made of hollowed-out wood or deer horn (attached to an arrow to sound when fired)I started preparing 5 months in advance for the Ultrafjord. To give you a rough idea of my training, I concentrated on training for leg strength in the first half of the race and training for longer distances in the second half. I feel that this worked out well this time.

What exactly do you mean by "long distance"?

turnip-shaped whistle made of hollowed-out wood or deer horn (attached to an arrow to sound when fired)The monthly mileage is more than 1,000 km.

The distance is 1,000 km!

turnip-shaped whistle made of hollowed-out wood or deer horn (attached to an arrow to sound when fired)But I only do that during the two months before a race. In the past, I used to focus on increasing the distance anyway, but if I kept doing that, it would be difficult to lose fatigue, so I concentrated on the period of running long distances in the period immediately before the race, and in the first half of the race, I focused on increasing leg strength and speed.

In the trail running world, there are no trailblazers, so there is no know-how on what kind of training to do after getting old like myself. I am probably the first athlete in Japan who is still active at my age. It is like a human experiment using my own body. It is hard work in its own way, but it is fun.

On days when you don't feel like running, take a break and don't force yourself.

By the way, do you ever wake up in the morning and say, "I don't want to run today"?

turnip-shaped whistle made of hollowed-out wood or deer horn (attached to an arrow to sound when fired)I don't want to run. When I don't want to run, it means that my body is rejecting the idea of running, and I should not train. In such cases, I take a break.

However, there are times when my body is ready to run, but I simply don't want to do so today. At those times, I try to imagine myself in the race and get myself pumped up. I imagine myself dashing along, imagining that I am in the race that I have set my sights on. That way, I feel like I have to do it.

Muscle soreness is evidence that there is still room for growth.

By the way, even at Kaburaki-san's level, do you experience muscle soreness after a race?

turnip-shaped whistle made of hollowed-out wood or deer horn (attached to an arrow to sound when fired)I don't get sore muscles in middle races of less than 70 km, but I can get them in long races of more than 100 km.

It is amazing that you can run such a long distance and not get muscle aches. ......

turnip-shaped whistle made of hollowed-out wood or deer horn (attached to an arrow to sound when fired)But if you get muscle soreness, it means that muscle regeneration is progressing and that there is still room for growth. That is a very happy thing. The fact that I don't get much muscle soreness means that there is no more room for growth. ......

It is rare that I get sore muscles during practice, and when I do, I think to myself, "Oh, I have sore muscles, lucky me! I think, "Oh, my muscles are sore!

I see. Muscle soreness is actually a good thing, isn't it?

turnip-shaped whistle made of hollowed-out wood or deer horn (attached to an arrow to sound when fired)I'm not sure how to describe it, but I'm sure it's a good idea. You should keep causing muscle pain (laughs).