82.6k as Planned

Planned for the week: 83.6k. Ran: 82.6k.
Less than planned on Mon. and Thurs., made it up on Wed. and Sat.

Mon: Rest
Tues: 9:00AM: 8k in 43:31 (5:26/k)
11:00AM: Xtrng (wts and core)

Wed: 7:30AM: 8k easy in 47:24
Namban track workout at night — 800/1200/1600/1200/800/400
Times: 3:04/4:24/5:58/4:28/2:58/81. Jogs in between: 2:30/3:34/4:05/4:00/2:58.
Legs a little tired, very humid, but worked hard.

Thurs: 10k recovery run in 57:42 (29:24/28:18). 8:00PM, light rain.

Fri: 10k easy in 57:43 (29:16/28:27). 11:30AM, more than high humidity, the air is saturated. Also stomach full and legs tired.

Sat: 20k. 27:22/27:23/26:14/27:15. Legs kind of stiff from the beginning. Got tired last 5k. Kept pace easy due to running at Ome tomorrow.

Sun: 18.6k of hills at Ome. VERY hot and legs a bit tired. Out very easy in 1:15:31. In 1:02:33. Picked up pace for about last 3.6k in 19:00 (except for last downhill on the road). Last stretch to barriers in 12:22 — last week was 11:02, but in this heat it is not bad.

Next week will be easy, except for 5,000m time trial on Wed, night, and then the 18-week marathon program starts on Aug. 3rd, which I am really looking forward to.

Good Week.

Planned: 70k. Ran: 74.3k
Pretty good intervals on Wednesday, good 15k run on Friday, nice Ome hills run on Sunday.
Not wearing heavy, well cushioned shoes at all anymore, nor am I using the heavy custom insoles. (See Born To Run, Pg. 171-183.)

Mon: 5k very easy in 30 mins. (did not run previous Sunday).
Tues: 11:00 - Xtrng (wts and core). 4:00 - 10k in 55 mins + barefoot on grass 100m x 12 (faster up slight hill, slower down).

Wed: Evening track workout. 2.8k warmup. 2000/1000/2000/1000 in 7:25/3:32/7:27/3:32. 400 jog after 2000s in 3:51, 4:31, 200 jog after 1000 in 3:49.
Hot, but there was a breeze. Felt pretty good, kept pushing the pace, thinking about running light and up on midfoot. Weight was only 59.5kg!

Thurs: 8k in 39:43 (under 5 min pace). Legs felt ok.

Fri: 15k in 1:13:26 (27:22, 24:54, 21:10).
As planned, although last 5k faster. First k (of last 5k) was a surprising 4:17, so decided to hold that pace. Last k was 4:04. Very good effort at 2pm on a hot day (29°/abt. 90°).

Sat: 11:00 - Xtrng (wts and core). 3:00 - 5.3 easy, 10 x 100m grass hills barefoot, plus 400m back to gym on asphalt!

Sun: 17.4k at Ome hills with Barry Bergmann, fellow 60 yr old runner who struggled a bit in the heat. Out: 1:06:51, In: 1:00:06, with last 2.8? stretch in 11:02 (by myself), which is fast.

An OK Week

Planned: 73km. Ran: 80km
Short week because tomorrow (Sunday) I have to go with the family to visit my mother-in-law's grave.

Mon: Rest
Tues: 20k in 1:47:59 (27:30, 27:02, 26:21, 27:05).
Legs stiff at start. Felt better on 2nd and 3rd 5k, but kept pace easy, because: what's one of the worst things you can do? Run hard on your easy days. Legs felt tired on last 5k.

Wed: 8.8k. 1k warmup. 1200/1000/800/1200/1000/800
4:22 / 3:36 / 2:52 / 4:27 / 3:36 / 2:52. (400 jog after 1200, 200 jog after 1000s and 800).
Legs tired...got tired after about 600m on each one. Worked hard on 1000s and 800s. Very humid!
Didn't have much speed, due to 20k yesterday and humidity.

Thurs: 12k in 1:01:39.

Fri: 15k in 1:17:09 (26:54, 25:58, 24:16). Felt ok.

Sat: 25k in 2:04:15 (26:10, 25:50, 24:49, 23:57, 23:27). 4:58/k aver.
Legs a bit tired the last 10k, but was able to pick up the pace. Didn't want to go any faster.
Time: 10:30am. Temp: 30° (abt. 90°F). Shoes: 300g Brooks Ghost.

Sun: Rest

3 Good Workouts

Planned 73k for the week. Ran 72.4.
Hard workouts on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday.

Mon: Rest
Tues: AM - X-trng (Wts, Core and Bike 15 mins.)
4:00 - Easy 12k in 1:06:03 (33:43, 32:20)

Wed: 9k. Evening track workout with club.
1600 warmup, 1000m x 6, 100m x 4 (barefoot)
1000s were run in 3:42/27/32/32/33/29 (200m jog, total time 6:30, 7:30 after 4th).
Ran with Frank, Fabrizio and Juergen (French, Italian and German...we are Tokyo's international running club), plus a fast Japanese girl (Rie) and did my best to stay with them. Not bad times for me, especially on a warm, humid night.

Thurs: 10k easy in 57:33. Legs tired.

Fri: AM - X-trng (Wts and Core)
12:00 (right after x-trng) - 14k progressive run. 2k warmup in 10:58, 5k in 24:50, 5k in 22:19, 2k in 8:07 (4:05/4:02). 1:06:15 for a 4:44/k pace.
Legs felt tired before running, but were ok once I started. Last two k were faster than expected, without really trying to push hard.

Sat: 10k easy in 55:03.

Sun: 17.4k. Ome hills. 1:41:12 (53:24, 47:47)
Had no one to run with, so went out fairly hard and came back very hard. Last week came back from that point in 48:09 after going out easy, so under 48 after going out at a good pace is very good. The average pace (over 5:00 per k) seems very slow, but there are four big hills where you have to climb carefully over many roots and rocks (large steps), so both up and down are very slow. Good for the leg muscles! In between those places I run fast on the flat, downhill and short uphill parts, so it's really a hill and fartlek run. I was pretty exhausted at the finish.