Ahhh....first times are memorable

Remember your first time?? Now I know what your thinking but even including 'that', any first time is memorable, whether good or bad, you still remember it.

Well, I was in Japan for the first time and besides the long flight, it was a great time and an awesome experience. The Japanese are so polite, respectful, and disciplined. Their subway and train systems are unbelievably huge and complex but so organized and always on time. The city is so clean despite having millions of people living there. There is no garbage on the ground, no cigarette butts laying around either. Nobody talks on their cell phones when in tight public places so as to not disturb others. Nobody walks around eating and drinking....truly different than North America.

These are just a few things that I noticed while there but a very interesting thing to watch was when at a busy intersection, with crosswalks going straight ahead, diagonally, across......to see hundreds and sometimes thousands of people, cross all at the same time when its their time....unreal, and it all goes down in a matter of seconds and then before you know it, everyone has reached their destinations and the cars start rolling again......I actually had to take a video of it.

A good trip.....and, speaking of first times......I actually tried real sushi for the first time and really enjoyed it. You sit around a bar like counter and in the middle you have a couple of sushi chefs preparing plates and putting them on a conveyer belt and you pick the plate you want as it comes around to you. They charge you by the amount of plates you have in front of you as you stack them up.....so there I am, the foreigner, with 10 plates stacked up high.....good stuff but not very filling.

So back from Japan and off to Calgary I go for my first skate of the year. All I can say is that my 'staying low' exercises I have been doing all summer seem to have paid off as I put it into practice. I say 'seem' cause we'll see if I can maintain that during higher speeds in races. I felt real good and my knees were not an issue. It was good to see everyone again....it was like I never left there. I am getting a bit excited now as I am more comfortable on the ice and I can feel that it will be a good season. I am playing with the thought of trying the 5,000m (12 1/2 times around the Oval)cause I feel I get stronger as I go longer compared to the sprints.....we'll see.

In the pics, a busy Tokyo street, big Bonsai trees near the Imperial Palace, and the Oval ice is back!!

Peace