Marathon Training Update

Despite two crossings of the International Date Line and several weekends of family visits, I have been able to maintain my marathon training program. It is now only 3 weeks until the big day.

Yesterday was the day I had been looking forward to the most since I started my 16 week training program. It was my longest training run - 20 miles. For me, I enjoy the long training runs a lot. The next three weeks are the taper. I will run less and less up until the 18th of October. Then I will run a marathon.

When I participate in a marathon race, I enjoy the camaraderie with the other runners, the right to run in the middle of the street and stop traffic, the atmosphere of people who care about their health, the enthusiasm of the crowds, the excitement of the start and finish lines, the dedication of the race volunteers, the t-shirt, and the fact that a 4+ hour run can be fully catered.

But, as much as I enjoy the marathon race, the 3 and 1/2 hour solo training runs are the highlight of the whole 16 week process for me. I get to explore new areas on my own and ask for directions from people who wonder how I got way out there and where I am headed. I also get to focus on one outdoor activity for an entire morning with no distractions.

Yesterday's run took me along the coast from our house, up a river that cut across the city, over a gap in the mountains and down to the city of Yangsan. It was a great run and even the hour long subway ride home was not too bad.

My schedule called for a 20 mile run, but the route I planned was 21 miles. A few wrong turns in the hills, and it ended up being 23 miles to the train station. I thought about running another 4 miles and making it the longest run of my life, but I was getting a little hot and thirsty by then. I am now in my taper for the marathon, but I am hoping that my enthusiasm carries over into November and I can try for a 30 mile run by myself. We'll see what Mameko has to say about that.

In the picture below, you can see how I spent 3 hours and 45 minutes yesterday morning.

Avram's bellybutton attacks

Do husbands and wives learn about each other until we die?

One day he asked me to play the game of "rock-paper-scissors." I said OK.
He did it under my big belly, so I couldn't see his hand! He cheated!! He did again and again. We couldn't decide anything with rock-paper-scissors then.

Today I was lying down on a futon. Avram was standing by me with a pen in his hand. He had a wicked smile. He suddenly stuck the pen in his bellybutton and swelled his belly, then pushed the pen into his bellybutton and shot it to me! It hit me many times. Unfortunately I can't move so quickly now, so it was hard to attack him back.

He seemed nice before we married. He didn't tell me that he uses belly language. I would learn about him more in my life.

Baby class

We went to a Baby class last Thursday.
We learned how to hold a baby, how to change a diaper, and so on.

The instructor asked how to hold the baby. When I saw Avram, he was picking the doll's toe and hanging it in the air:(

When the instructor asked what we should do when the baby cries, Avram was ready to pass the doll away to someone with smiling. Sigh... .

Avram was disappointed when he heard babies often wake up and cry at midnight. He said I can take care of the baby at night and he will during daytime. After the class we went to the library and he borrowed about twenty books. I asked why he needs so many books. He answered he reads while he's taking care of the baby and while I'm taking a nap. I said babies don't read leadership, economy, and SF stuff yet. He said we don't have to read only children's books. That's true, but I can't believe those books are for our baby.

In father's class, the instructor asked fathers what they want to teach to their children. One father said love and background of his family. Avram was saying speaking, walking, and exercising. Then I said "Answer seriously." He answered different things.
After the class I asked him if he doesn't want to tell our baby about our background, the differences, and so on. He said no. It's because motor skills are first and then learning, thinking, and e.t.c.. That's true motor skills helps to develop brains. He has a point.

He can't wait for taking our baby out, especially for his running. He thinks the baby could help his running. He thinks the baby could give him a towel or a bottle of water when he needs just like a god with a thousand hands.
Now he is thinking about his birthday hike with our new born baby though she should be only twenty days old. I won't let him do that in winter yet!

Please don't worry about our parenting. Even though Avram was having fun in the class, he listened to the instructor well and answered right. We got three prizes for three quizzes.
In those twenty books, some are about taking care of babies. He's looking forward to seeing his baby and taking care of her.

I'm happy that he has a good sleeping and nap schedule for our baby. Even now he's taking a nap because he's tired from his twenty mile run yesterday:)

Father and daughter

Finally Avram and I are together again. We are very happy now:)

Avram sees and feels my bigger belly now. He sees Mameko's moving and can touch it.
When Mameko moves big, Avram asks me how I can do that and he tries. He says, "Look at me, look at me!" and shows his belly. He does belly dance and it makes me laugh. I say "It's not your baby. You can see it next morning." He says,"You're right. I can't keep it for many months like you do." That's disgusting, Avram! I imagined that!!

He sometimes pokes my coming out belly button. I say, "Don't do that, otherwise I will get stomachache." He says, "Why? It's the window to talk to my daughter." Then he starts to talk to his daughter.
"Your mom is listening to us. Let's talk later when she's not here." and asks me "Why are you always with her? Don't bother father and daughter's conversation."
What a cute father he is!

The doctor said the place of placenta, umbilical cord, and Mameko are all fine. It means her head is bottom now. Last night Avram was saying, "You know a badminton shuttle. The round part is heavy. That's why it's always bottom." He meant our baby has a big head like me.
Fortunately she kicks her father when he's rude to her and me. I love it!! I guess Mameko and I can practice soccer to beat her father. We'll be a perfect team:D

"Take turns to visit me."

My 5 year old nephew Konan visited his grand parents in Amamioshima without his parents this summer. His grandpa Shinya helped him to make a boat, swim, and walk in the river. Konan loves fish, so Shinya took him to show Konan's favorite tropical fish by a half submarine and to an aquarium. They also saw some fish when they were swimming in the beach near our house.


Konan was a mama's boy. But he did men's stuff with his grandpa, so he's proud of himself as a man and thank his grandpa now. After Amamioshima, Konan likes to do or play with his father or his boy friends.


My mother and His other grandfather Shohei( his mother's father) often call and visit their grandchildren. When they call him, Konan says "Time to talk to other grand parent." and makes them change the person who talks on the phone.
When my mother and the other grandpa Shohei say, "I'm visiting you to see your sports day." He says "No, you can't. It's not your turn. Next is Grandpa Shinya's/Grandma Chako's turn. Take turn to visit us. Otherwise you might fight each other."

This time, my mother gives up to go to see his sports festival because it's Grandpa Shinya's turn to visit them.

Now Konan likes to talk man to man. He always asks my mother if his grandpa is there to talk with him. My mother is happy and sad about it.


Konan says it's Avram and our daughter Mameko's turn to visit him next time. He can't wait for talking with them. It's fun to see his growth very much.

Baby Growth

Our baby is less than 32 weeks old, but as you can see from the picture below, her head is already well over 34 weeks old. 34 weeks and 5 days according to the notations at the bottom left. Dr. Young stressed several times that her head is not too big, it is just round, so that the normal measurements of cranial diameter are not as accurate as with a pointy headed baby. Most of Rie's family have big heads, so Rie had to kick me to stop me from laughing in the doctor's office.

We did not get any good pictures of the nose, but on the video you can tell that her nose seems to represent her Jewish heritage well.

As for overall body weight and length, Mameko is perfectly normal in the Asian baby measurement system, and a little small for a European baby. Since she is half American, half Japanese, and going to be born in Korea, I figure she is two-thirds Asian, so no worries there.

Visiting hours

We just got back from our latest visit to the doctor. I enjoyed the anticipation in the car of driving someplace to see our loved one. As usual, our visit was closely monitored and we were not allowed to touch or pass any items back and forth. We had to wait our turn to go into the visiting room and were only given a short amount of time before the people in charge told us to leave. But, Mameko seems to be doing well. She is now more than 31 weeks into her 40 week sentence and we are looking forward to her release in mid-November.

We managed to get a copy of the security camera video. It is your standard black and white surveillance video with no sound, but if you pay close attention, you can make out a big round face and a nice nose.

Rie in Japan

Rie has been having a fun month in Amami Oshima with her family.

Below is the island at the end of the river in the ocean near her mother's village.




Next is the more and more pregnant Rie. Behind her is the river and behind the first hill on the right is the village.




Rie's mother, step-father, and sister at the river.

Walking from the village to the ocean along the river.