Jitensha

August 8, 1983, Monday

Today became a day of rest after my last-minute decision yesterday to run the extra distance into Toyotomi. My legs are very sore from yesterday’s hard effort. Today was a nice, sunny day, almost like how a summer day is supposed to be. I bet Toyotomi does not see too many days like today outside of August.

To loosen up a bit, I rode an old papa-san bicycle that I rented from the ryokan. I just puttered around town on the clunker and then rested again in my room. It is funny how easy it is for me to feel tired now. Just a little bit of effort, and I feel like lying down for a while. I spent most of the day doing just about nothing. Watching TV and eating were about all that I wanted to do today.

I am already thinking about what I'm going to do after I finish. I called an old high school friend, Jimmy Clark, who now lives in Tokyo. I let him know that I will be there soon and we made plans to get together. Hanging out in the big city of Tokyo will be a nice change of pace for me, especially if I don’t have to run through it.

My desire is so much stronger now to wear regular clothing and just be normal again. I am tired of these running clothes! Just one more day and I will have covered the entire country of Japan on foot. How is the run going to be on my final day? I hope it will be a memorable one.