Good Week — Now Off to Thailand

Week of Dec. 19 ~ Dec. 25

Plan: 0/20/10/15/15/30/0 - 90km
Ran: 0/20/10/15/15/30/0 - 90km / 56 mi.  7:41

Monday
Rest

Tuesday
11:30 - Machines and core at the gym.
Read an article in the NY Times that said older runners can be just as efficient as younger runners, but they should go to the gym twice a week to work on upper body strength. So I've got that right!
2:30 - 20k in 1:47:28 @ 5:22/k
Left hamstring slightly sore last 10k. Legs still tired from hard run last Sunday.
Weather: 10C/50F, 20%, sunny
Weight: 60.8kg

Wednesday
7:30pm - Club track workout
1200/1200/1000/1000/800/800
4:57/4:49/4:03/4:04/3:15/3:17 (200m jog, 2:30)
Didn't want to run faster than 4:00/k to protect the hamstrings, but actually didn't feel like going any faster. It seemed to be extremely cold....
Weather: 7C/45F

Thursday
4:30 15k in 1:21:21 @5:25/k
Felt good - hardly any soreness.
Weather: 6C/43F, 50%
Weight: 60.9kg

Friday
11:30 - Machines and core at the gym.
2:00 - 15k in 1:10:17 @4:41/k
27:00/21:51/21:25 @5:12/4:22/4:17
Planned to run last 10k at MP (4:20/k) and did so without any problem. Out 7.5k into a cold wind, but coming back was much easier.
Weather: 7C/45F, 15%, windy
Weight: 60.7kg

Saturday
1:30 - 30k in 2:32:47 @5:06/k
27:13/26:45/26:38/24:58/24:07/23:01
@ 5:26/21/20/5:00/4:49/4:36
Felt pretty good. Both HS slightly sore last 10k. Planned to come back faster, so this was a good run, especially after yesterday. Had to work a bit the last 5k.
Weather: 7C/45F, 25%, sunny
Weight: 60.3kg

Sunday
Off to Bangkok with the wife to visit our daughter and her husband until Jan. 5th. Will spend 3 days at the Koh Kutt resort and the rest in Bangkok. May run a 10k race on the morning of the 31st (6:00am). It's about 30C/86F there, so it will be interesting to see how the running goes. But I hate cold weather, so am happy to get away from it.
Hope you have a nice holiday and can get some good runs in. And not put on too much weight, which I am sure I will.

Longest Week in 17 Weeks

Week of Dec. 12 ~ 18

Plan: 0/20/10/15/15/20/25 - 105 km
Ran: 0/20/10/15/15/20/25 - 105 km / 65 mi.  9:04

Has it been that long? I've done lots of  good short and medium length runs, but no consistent distance. Time to rectify that as I get ready for the Tokyo Marathon on Feb. 26.

Monday
Rest

Tuesday
11:30 - machines and core at the gym.
2:00 - 20k fairly easy in 1:46:54 @5:20/k
27:34/26;30/26:03/26:36
Both hamstrings a bit sore the last 5k.
Weather: 12C/54F, 25%, sunny

Wednesday
7:30pm - club workout at track
600/800/1000/1200/1000/800/600
2:37/3:13/4:05/4:54/4:12/3:23/2:34 (jog 200m easy)
Took it easy, as running fast will surely aggravate the hamstrings. Right one was fine, left was only slightly sore.
Weather: 10C/50F

Thursday
2:00 - 15k in 1:23:04 @5:32/k
Relaxed pace. Right leg ok, left a bit sore.
Weather: 13C/55F, 25%, sunny
Weight: 61.3kg

Friday
11:30 - machines and core at the gym.
4:00 - 15k in 1:20:34 @5:22/k
Only slight soreness in left butt.
Weather: 10C/50F, 20%
Weight: 60.7kg

Saturday
2:00 - 20k in 1:42:37 @5:03/k
27:08/25:46/25:48/23:53 @5:24/09/10/4:47
Felt so-so, left hamstring more sore than yesterday. Against a brisk wind coming back.
Planned to run a faster last 5k.
Weather: 10C/50F, cloudy

Sunday
2:30 - 25k in 1:57:03 @4:41/k
25:25/24:15/23:54/22:13/21:15 @5:05/4:51/47/26/15
Felt good from the start. No pain in the legs, had a bit later, but didn't bother me.
Planned (hoped) to run the last 10k at MP (4:20/k). First 15k were faster than I expected, but felt fine. 4th 5k felt nice at a little under 4:30. But decided to see if I could pick it up with 5k to go and did without much difficulty. This was my best run (except for the Half races) for a good long time (esp. after a decent 20k yesterday).
Weather: 10C/50F, 20%, sunny - another perfect day for running.
Weight: 61.1kg
What do you think about this? I have one of those chairs with a footrest that powers up. I like to sit in it and read (or sleep) with my feet up all the way, which puts them higher than my butt. Elevation is supposed to be good, right? But I realized, maybe that position is stressing my hamstrings. Especially if I stay there for like 3 hours, which I did Saturday morning. So I skipped it Saturday night and Sunday morning, and my hamstrings felt better. Maybe this has been contributing to the hamstring issue.

Slightly Better Week and Great Party

Week of Dec. 5 ~ 11

Ran: 0/0/10/15/15/12/25 - 77k / 48 mi.   6:52

Monday
Rest after good ekiden run yesterday. Quite sore in some strange location that is not quite hamstring, not quite butt, not quite groin...somewhere inside there. But on the left side now, not the right as two weeks ago (?).

Tuesday
1:30am - machines and core at the gym.
Tried to run, but still quite sore, so better to rest.

Wednesday
7:30pm - Club track workout 1000m x 6
4:13/19/16/19/20/27 (jog 200m, 2:20)
Took it easy. Hip area a bit sore.

Thursday
12:00 - 15k in 1:22 @ 5:28/k
Slight soreness, but not bad, maybe because I took 2 ibuprofen at 9:00.
Weather: 8C/46F, 60%

Friday
4:30 - 15k in 1:17:15 @5:09/k
Slight soreness but felt ok.

Saturday
9k in Yoyogi Park before the Namban Rengo year-end party.
Then we went to the track and had 2 teams of 4 guys each trying to run a 4-minute mile. Each person ran 100m 4 times (run, then jog back to where you started). Last leg was 109m (mile = 1609m).
Could they do it? Well, four guys, going all out, the times were 4:12 and 3:56. Success! The 3:56 team was anchored by our top runner, Joe Stowe from Georgia Tech, who is an 800m guy. What this shows is that a 4-minute mile is really fast! This is a fun thing to try, but I'm warning you, you have to have four pretty fast guys (ok, or girls). I didn't run - didn't want to aggravate the sore hip.
(You can also do 200m x 2 x 4, but I prefer our way).
Easy 3k afterwards.

6:30pm - Namban Rengo party with 92 people. And we know how to party! A few photos are below to induce you guys to move to Japan and join our club.

Sunday
2:30 - 25k in 2:09:19 @5:10/k
26:45/26:01/25:25/25:33/25:34 @ 5:21/12/05/06/07
Felt pretty good. Pace was very comfortable. Slight soreness the last 10k in what seems now to be the upper hamstring. I plan to follow my previous plan of ignoring it until it goes away. (But not doing any fast running.)

Like I said, we know how to party!

Ekidens Are Fun

Week of Nov. 28 ~ Dec. 4

Ran: 0/15/7.6/0/0/5/6.5 - 34.1km / 21 mi. 2:52

Easy week...sore butt...ekiden on Sunday.

Monday
Rest

Tuesday
11:30 - Machines and core at the gym.
3:00 - 15k in 1:15:21 @5:01/k
27:16/24:41/23:24 @5:27/4:56/4:41
Pace according to plan. Felt good.
Weather: 16C/61F
Weight: 61.7kg

Wednesday
7:30pm - 5,000m time trial at the track.
20:24 3:53/4:04/01/11/13
Planned about 19:30, but both buttocks were sore, so took it easier. From yesterday's run and last week's soreness not completely healed.

Thursday
Rest - sore when walking.

Friday
Rest (also cold rain)

Saturday
5k very easy in 29:54 - tomorrow is a race.

Sunday
Okutama Ekiden. The 73rd running of this race, the second oldest ekiden in Japan (oldest is Hakone - the university New year's ekiden). It's out in the countryside west of Tokyo - mountains, river, old houses...nice scenery. Namban has been running it since 1988 and this year we upped our presence with 3 men's teams (6 members each) and 3 women's teams (3 members each). The men's course is 44.4km and the women's is 11.1 (an old-school ekiden). I ran the third leg, which is 6.5k of rolling hills, more up than down. I felt good and ran pretty well. 26:00 or 4:00 per km, not bad for a net uphill course. I passed three guys and got passed by two..and almost caught another. i also passed one university kid! (different division but running together). The Namban teams were pretty equal so we had some competition, which was fun. My team was second of the three.
After the race we went to our traditional sushi place and watched the last part of the Fukuoka marathon on TV.

Next week a bit of rest and then start training for the Tokyo Marathon (Feb. 26th)

Easy Week

Week of Nov. 21 ~ 27

Ran: 0/0/11.4/12/0/12/20 - 55.4km / 34.4 mi. 4:58

Monday
Rest after half marathon.

Tuesday
Rest

Wednesday
7:30pm - club track workout.
1200/1200/1000/1000/800/800
4:47/4:41/3:47/3:46/3:13/3:11 (200m jog, abt. 2:00)
12s and 8s were intensionally at about 4:00/k pace. Pushed the 1000s somewhat, but felt kind of sluggish.
Weather: 14C/57F

Thursday
2:00 - 12k in 1:09:09 @5:45
Very easy. Legs sore from yesterday, or actually still from the half marathon.

Friday
Rest - race tomorrow.

Saturday
11:00 - Run for the Cure 10K. Charity race (breast cancer).
They give good prizes for the top 3 (not a high-level event) so if I had a chance, I planned to run hard. However, 5 guys took off fast at the gun, 3 of whom were from my club and I knew they were fast. So with no chance for a prize, I opted to run with former American School runner now mother of 4 Sara Wilhelm at her pace, which turned out to be 42:22 (she finished 3rd in the women's div.). A nice day and a nice run. We also had the event's special guest, Ai Ueda, running with us. She is a former Japan and Asia triathlon champion, and is on the Japan team for the 2012 Olympics. She was cruising even more easily than I was, and we even chatted a bit. Her PR is 34:07 - at the end of a tri, I assume. Photo below.
Weather: about 16C/61F, sunny

Sunday
1:00 - 20k in 1:54:04 @5:44
Easy run, legs a bit tired.

Next week is the club 5,000m time trial on Wednesday, which I won't run too hard, as I have an ekiden on Sunday (6.4k leg).

Unrelated topic: Reading Keith Richard's Life. Great book. Not just "great" as in fun to read, but a really, really good book. Highly recommended.

1:25:26 Half Marathon

Week of Nov. 14 ~ 20

No real plan, as this was a taper week for the Half on Sunday.

Monday
3:00 - 10k very easy in 29:17/29:12.
Ran today due to business trip tomorrow. Legs tired but not sore (ran 22k with 10k at half marathon pace yesterday).

Tuesday
Rest

Wednesday
7:30pm. Club track workout.
400/1000/1200/1200/1000/800/400
1:40/4:11/4:47/4:53/3:59/3:10/95
Trying to keep to 4:00/k pace (about half marathon pace). Felt ok.

Thursday
4:30 - 8k in 45:38 @ 5:42.
Easy pace. Felt good, but kept it easy.
Weather: 16C/61F
Weight; 60.2kg

Friday
Ordinarily before a race I would rest Friday and run easily Saturday, but the forecast is for heavy rain tomorrow.
11:30 - machines and core at the gym.
4:00 - 7k. 2.5k easy, 1k @5:00, stretching, 4 x 500m in 2:00 with 500m jogs.
Weather: 13C/55F
Weight: 60.5kg

Saturday
Rest. Cold rain - hope it stops tomorrow.

Sunday (rain stopped, then got warm, then got too warm!)
Toda Half Marathon. Toda is in Saitama, just north of Tokyo. Takes 2 hours from door to race. The race starts and finishes in a huge park and goes around Lake Saiko twice. There is also a 5k and a 10k. It’s a good race, very well organized, free shuttle buses from and back to the station, quite a few water stations, people telling you to be careful of tiny bumps, etc. The course is basically flat, just two small hills that you go up and down twice each. It’s a two loop course and it doubles back (180 degree turn) four times, so you can see who is ahead of you, which is good if you are aiming for a top place in your age group or you want to wave to your friends (or you just want to feel superior to all the slower people).

My time was 1:25:26, good for 2nd in my age group, out of 207 men. First was 1:24:02, second was about 1:30 behind me.
I was about 38th overall out of 2,540 men.

5K splits were 19:53, 20:07, 20:24, 20:35, 4:25 (the 20th k was 4:17. I did kick the last 1.1, but those distances may have been wrong).

I was actually aiming for 1:24, but the exceptionally warm weather slowed me down, I think. It was 22C/72F...or more in the sun. I was working very hard the last 6.1k, but getting slower instead of faster.

(I was hoping for about 14C/57F. It was 14 at 8am, but at 9:00 the sun came out and by 11:00 it was hot. A beautiful day, but a bit too warm for good racing.)

Nice gifts and prizes. All participants received a nice large hooded rain cape. Top 6 in each category (10-year age groups) got prizes. I got a good Mizuno backpack, a nice cellphone strap (with a pearl!) and an assortment of fruit (to be sent to me). And a big medal.

Nice Week with a Good 10K at the End

Week of Nov. 7 ~ 13

Plan: 0/20/10/17/20/10/18 - 95km
Ran: 0/20/11/18/20/0/22 - 91km / 56.5 mi. 6:07

Monday
Rest

Tuesday
11:30 - machines and core at the gym.
3:00 - 20k in 1:49:21 @5:28
Felt ok. HS and left quad sltly sore last 5k.
Weather: 18C/64F, 40%, cloudy
Weight: 61.3kg

Wednesday
7:30pm - track workout.
600/800/1000/1200/1000/800/600
2:13/2:48/3:32/4:20/3:30/2:24/2:03
200m jog in between 2:20~3:05
Felt pretty good and ran hard. We had a big, fast A group, in fact, there were 16 or 17 people ahead of me. A lot, considering I was running 3:30 1000s. The club never had this many fast people before.
Weather: 15C/59F

Thursday
3:00 - 18k of fairly easy running. 5.5 to school, long break, 7k with 1k hill loop at a decent pace, break, 5.5k back.
Legs tired but not sore.

Friday
3:30 - 20k in 1:43:27 @5:10
26:54/26:29/24:52/25:10 @ 5:24/18/4:58/5:02
Felt good, not running hard. Only very slight soreness.
Weather: 12C/54F, rain, hands were cold....
Weight: 61.6kg

Saturday
Didn't really have time to run so decided to rest for tomorrow.

Sunday
10:00 - Total 22k (approx) at the Namban Rengo Half and 10K.
Ran the 10K in 40:27. Wanted to run half marathon pace (for race next Sunday) at 40 or faster, but 40:27 was ok. It was rather hot, actually. The course alongside the Arakawa river was completely in the sun.
Then ran 2k or so out and back twice pacing people in the half, including one woman who I ran with for 2.5k who ran a 1:32, so that was about 4:20/k pace. Ran more than I intended to, but had no soreness at all.
We had over 90 people out for our run and BBQ, of whom about 70 ran. A great day.
Weather: 24C/75F, sunny, a very warm day for Nov. 13.

A Good Week

Week of Oct. 31 ~ Nov. 6

Plan: 0/20/10/18/10/16/24 - 98km
Ran: 0/20/11/17/10/14/25 - 97km / 60 mi. 6:42

Feel like I'm finally back in a good training rhythm after two months of running with the HS cross country team, racing a half and a 5,000m, and having a sore butt.

Monday
Rest

Tuesday
11:30 - machines and core at the gym.
3:00 - 20k in1:48:56 @5:27
27:37/27:21/26:31/27:25 Relaxed pace.
Slight soreness, but not bad.
Weather: 22C/72F 20%, sunny
Weight: 61.3kg
Shoes: 240g K-Swiss for a bit more cushion.

Wednesday
7:30pm - track workout 1000m x 6
3:56/59/57/57/59/54 (200m, abt. 2:35)
Wanted to run 4:00 pace because that will be approx. half marathon pace (Nov. 20) and because of soreness. Had acupuncture before running, which helped somewhat.
Weather: 18C/64F

Thursday
2:30 - Ran to school for an easy run with two of the coaches.
5.5 to school, 6k run, 5.5 back (with long rests in between).
All at about 5:40~50. A bit sore, but not much.
Weather: 20C/68F, 50%, cloudy
Weight: 61.3kg

Friday
11:30 - machines and core at the gym.
3:00 - 10k in 52:16 26:44/25:32 @5:21/06
Running easily.
Weather: 22C/72F, sunny

Saturday
12:00 - 14k. 3k WU, 10k tempo, 1k WD
16:58 easy with two stretch stops.
10k 43:12 @4:19 4:14/30/27/22/22/18/20/21/10/07
Planned to run 4:30 pace but felt fairly good so went a bit faster. Also planned to pick up the last 2k, which I did.
Running well, with proper midfoot striking, which I always mean to do, but often get away from.
Weather: 20C/68F, 60%, cloudy.
Weight: 61.5kg - gaining instead of losing!
160g AdiZero Pro (Half race shoes)
Took 2 ibuprofen 4 hrs before the run to reduce inflammation, which it did, I think. hardly any soreness during or after the run.

Sunday
3:00 - 25k in 2:10:52 @5:14
28:28/27:08/25:56/25:05/24:12 @ 5:42/26/09/01/4:50
Planned to run easy 5:30 pace but got faster without trying to. Just cruising the whole way. Again took 2 ibuprofen 4 hrs before and had no soreness, except a bit near the end.
Best two days in quite a while.
Weather: 18C/64F, 70% (right after rain)
Weight: 61.8kg - ok, really have to lose weight.

5,000m in 18:13 — I'll Take It

Week of Oct. 24 ~ 30

Ran: 6/3/8/0/0/10/21 - 48km / 30 mi. 4:34

Monday
2:30 - 6k easy as the right buttock/upper hamstring is still sore.
Went to the local physical therapy place for some electrical (mild current) and ultrasound treatment, which may or may not help, but is very cheap with national health insurance. Also the sensei is a fun guy to talk to.

Tuesday
11:30 - Machines and core at the gym.
3:30 - American School 3k fun run. Easy jog as the time trial is tomorrow.
More physical therapy.

Wednesday
3:00 - Visited the good acupuncturist (Yamate Street Clinic), and that made a difference! No pain during the run.
7:30pm - 5,000m. Goal was 18:00, time was 18:13. Splits were 3:40/37/37/43/36. Started a bit too slow, then my pacer Paddy picked it up and hit the right pace - unfortunately I slowed the 4th k. He actually finished in exactly 18:00.
It was a nice night for running and we had a big group (total of 50), so there were lots of people around. Saara, the Finnish woman in my new profile photo (and below) went smoothly by me with 800m to go and also ran about 18:00. Four of the ASIJ varsity team boys also showed up and I beat one of them, so felt good about that. It was a good run and I still think I can get under 18:00!
Weather: 17C/63F, slightly windy.
Weight: 60.3kg
Shoes: 145g light racers



Following Paddy (in black)









Thursday
Rest
Buttock a bit sore.

Friday
Rest

Saturday
10k in 53:12 @5:19/k 27:07/26:05
Just running very easily - still a bit sore.

Sunday
Namban Rengo did our annual run all the way around the Yamanote train loop that circles central Tokyo. It's 39k (29 stations), however, people can opt out at any station, so I went about halfway - 21k in 2:07, a 6:00/k pace because there are a number of not-fast runners. Also lots of stopping to wait for red lights, bathroom breaks, etc. But a lot of fun. We started with 29 people and I think about 15 ran the whole thing. I actually didn't plan on doing it, but one of the original Namban members from 23 years ago, Andy Robinson, was visiting Tokyo from London and it was our only chance to meet, so we ran together.

Next race will be the Toda Half on Nov. 20th. I've run it twice before and it's a good race, so I hope to run a good time.
Looking further ahead, I got into the Tokyo Marathon (300,000 in the lottery for 32,000 spots), so decided to apply and run it (Feb. 26). I'm also in the Kyoto lottery, but the race is only two weeks later, so I think I'll skip it. Just have to hope for good weather at Tokyo. I also applied for the Ome 10k, which is the previous week. I ran very well there this year (38:10), so I'd like to run it again - will have to think about that.

A Slightly Strange Week

Week of Oct. 17 ~ 23

Ran: 13/7/8.8/0/0/12/7 - 47.8km / 30 mi. 3:58

Took last Friday, Saturday and Sunday off to see if the soreness in my buttock would go away. It didn't. In fact, it seemed to feel worse on Monday than it did last Thursday. So my new strategy is: ignore it and it will go away. It hasn't but it's not getting worse and in fact seems to be not as bad.
Not a long, hard week as I am looking ahead to a 5,000m race (club time trial) next Wednesday night.

Monday
3:00 - 13k river run with varsity boys in 1:01:10
Out: 32:57 @5:00 In: 28:13 @4:20
First 5k: 25:50. Last 5k: 21:30
As above, some soreness, but no problem running, and it loosened up the 2nd half.
Weather: 24C/75F, 40%, sunny

Tuesday
11:30 - Machines and core at the gym.
3:00 - 7k inc. 3 mile tempo run with varsity girls.
6:24/6:57/6:35 - 19:58 @6:39/mi. 20:48 5k pace
Good run. We were aiming for 6:50 but started too fast (it didn't feel fast). Top five girls finished well - they are in good shape.
Weather: 22C/72F - great weather.

Wednesday
7:30 Club track workout.
1200/1200/1000/1000/800/800
4:24/4:21/3:31/3;33/3:01/3:08 (200 jog 3:00-3:20)
Pushed a bit on the 1200s and a lot on the 1000s. Ran the 800s very easy.
Felt pretty good. Butt only slightly sore, but more sore on the 800s.
Weather: 19C/66F
Weight: 61kg

Thursday
Rest. After 3 kind of hard days.

Friday
11:30 - machines and core at the gym.
Rested another day.

Saturday
2:00 - 12k in 1:04/05 @5:20
Out: 34:18 @5:43 In: 3k in 15:15 @5:05, 3k in 14:31 @4:50
Felt fairly good after 3k. Slight soreness, but it didn't get worse. Feel a bit heavy - have to lose weight by next Wednesday.
Weather: 19C/66F, 70%, cloudy.
Weight: 61.2kg

Sunday
4:00 - 7k in 40:36 with 3 500m pickups in 1:58/1:49/1:48 - close to 18:00 5k race pace.
Felt ok, but not "fast". That is, I was running smoothly, but had to work a bit. Does not bode well for an 18:00 5,000m on Wednesday night. But we shall see!

Not Much of a Week

Week of Oct. 10 ~ 16

I've had this annoying niggle in my right hip/buttock area for a week, so decided to rest to get rid of it. I can run ok, but I would rather it not be there, especially as it could get worse....

So I took off Monday and Tuesday, then ran 4 800s at the "decent" pace of 3:05-3:10 on Wednesday afternoon with the varsity girls. I could still feel it. Went home, then went to the track workout, where I ran 1000/1200/1200/1000/800/400 with the 1200s at a decent pace, the second 1000 fairly fast at 3:32 (but comfortable), and the others very easy. It felt the same, neither better nor worse, as I expected.

Thursday I just jogged with the kids for 3.5km, and it felt the same, i.e, still an annoyance. So wanting to get rid of it, I decided to take three days off, yesterday, today and tomorrow. We'll see Monday if that did the trick.
It's not that it would slow me down for the 5,000 on the 26th, but I am looking ahead to the Half on Nov. 20th, so don't want any distractions in the month before that.
(Ewen: aiming for 18:00 in the 5,000. Or rather, I want to see if I can run 18:00 if I "race" 5,000.)

The American School cross-country team had their league finals today. The boys crushed everyone and the girls lost by one point to a school called Seisen. But they ran well and it was a good result, since Seisen had beaten them badly two weeks ago. It was rainy and muddy, a real cross country kind of day.
Actually, they have one more race - they go to Guam next week for the Far East International Schools championship.

"Kind of Hard" Week

Week of Oct. 3 ~ 9

Ran: 15.5/10.8/7.4/8.5/9.8/0/20 - 72km / 44.7 mi. 6:11

A bit difficult to assess this week. Some fairly hard runs, but not much distance, both because I'm still recovering from the half on 9/25 and because I'm focusing on shorter runs to get ready for a 5,000m time trial that I'll run as a race on the 26th.

Monday
3:30 - River Run with varsity boys. 13k in 1:02:45.
Out 34:12 (5:15/k), In 28:33 (4:24/k) with 5 500m pickups, progressively faster.
5 x 100m barefoot strides.
Weather: 21C/70F, 20%

Tuesday
11:30 - machines and core at the gym.
3:00 - Hills with varsity boys (behind them). 300m x 7 (20 mins.), 50m x 6, 400m x 2
All in all, a pretty hard workout.
5 x 100m barefoot strides.
Weather: 21C/70F

Wednesday
7:30 - club track workout. 6 x 800m, very easy as right buttock sore (3 pretty hard days in a row).
3:35/39/26/22/33/28 (200m jog 2:30-3:00)
Weather: Rain, 16C/61F, but felt much colder.

Thursday
3:30 - After warmup, 35 min run with Nos. 4,5,6,7 varsity boys. 5 x 4 mins hard, 3 mins. easy.
First four hard ones were at a good pace, the fifth was a very good pace. This is a good workout.
Weather: 22C/72F, 50%, sunny
Weight: 60.1kg

Friday
11:30 - machines and core at the gym.
3:00 - 2k + 1k warmup, then 3 mile tempo run with 5 varsity girls. Target was 7:00 per mile, we ran 6:53, 6:59, 6:44 (top girl picked up the last one, not me). So 4:18/km - good run for them.
Weather: 24C/75F, 20%, sunny

Saturday
Rest. I realized I ran 11 days in a row! Although thurs/fri/sat last week were quite easy.
But I worked outside cutting trees and bushes, then picking up branches and leaves, which required about 300 bends/squats, so didn't really rest my buttock much.

Sunday
1:30 - At Tsudanuma (father-in-law's). Nice 20k run in 1:45:11 (57:00/48:11 @5:42/4:48).
Coming back I picked up the pace for 3 2ks (1/2, 5/6, 9/10), which wer at about 4:20 pace.
Right butt is still a bit sore, but I felt ok. Will take two days off (school is on vacation).
Weather: 23C/73F.

Easy Recovery Week

Week of Sept. 26 ~ Oct. 2

Ran: 0/6.6/10.2/5/3/10/15.6 - 50.4k / 31 mi. 4:57

Recovery week after the half marathon last Sunday.
Last year, my faithful readers may remember, I trained pretty hard the two weeks after the Half, then ran (tried to run) a 10k race and tore my calf muscle. No repeat of that this year.

Monday
Rest

Tuesday

11:30 - machine and core at the gym.
3:30 - 4.8km (3 mi.) tempo run with varsity girls on our new course in the park next to the school.
Fairly easy in 20:27.

Wednesday
7:30 - 5,000m time trial at the track, which I ran easily, pacing other people. 22:20.

Thursday
3:30 - 5k easy with the team. Legs tired.

Friday
Cross-country meet on the ASIJ course. Jogged 3k showing the course to another team, then rode my bike, leading the girls. I.e, showing the course, as the top girl was from another school. Boys finished 1-2-3-4-5. Top boy ran 17:10 for 5k, all 5 were under 18:00. The girls unfortunately got beat by another school.

Saturday
4:00 - Easy 10k in 55:20.
Weather: 23C/73F, 30%, sunny. Nice fall weather all this week.
Weight: 60.1kg

Sunday
10:00 - 15.6k up and down the hills of Ome. Lovely day for a run through the woods. 1:53:34
Out VERY easy in 1:02:18, In easy for 19' then moderately fast, total 51:15.
Have to run with varsity boys tomorrow, so took it easy.
Hot spring and beer afterwards.

Half in 1:26:02...Long?

Week of Sept. 19 ~ 25

Ran: 15/8.2/18.6/0/0/8/21.1 - 70.9km / 44 mi.

Monday
3;30 - 15k including 13k River Run with varsity boys.
4k in 19:55 @4:59, 5k in 24:06 @4:48, 4k in 17:41 @4:26.
I paced the boys at exactly the pace we wanted to run, i.e. not speeding up too much the last 4k.
Abs work afterwards.
Weather: 29C/84F, 50%, sunny
Weight: 60.2kg

Tuesday
11;30 - machines and core at the gym.
3:30 - 8.2k with 600m hill x 5.
With the girls in 2:45/44/34/29/10 (3:30 jog down)
Nice workout, felt ok.
Weather: 20C/68F ! First cool day. Misty rain.

Wednesday
Typhoon hit Tokyo. It went through in the late afternoon/early evening, so track training was cancelled. Unfortunately, I was downtown and all the trains stopped. I managed to take the last subway to the station where "my train" leaves from, but it had stopped. So, as I had my running clothes with me, I changed in the station, put my bag in a locker, and ran home. It turned out to be 18.6km, which I did in 1:45:26, which works out to 5:40/km. I'm quite sure I was going faster than that (about 5:15/k), so maybe Map My Run is not so accurate. Fortunately the rain stopped just as I started, but the wind was strong (mostly at my back). Anyway, I was not planning a long run today, but I suppose with rest I will be ok for the race on Sunday.

Thursday
Rest. Some jogging with the kids, but not worth recording.

Friday
Rest

Saturday
10:00am - 8k very easy with the team (meet was cancelled due to typhoon debris on the regular course). We will have one meet in Nogawa Park, right next to the school, so we mapped out a 5k course and did a time trial today. I jogged easily with one of the Junior Varsity girls in 28:39. Fastest boy was 16:55, next two 17:14, 17:16. Not bad....

Sunday
Watarase Half in northerm Saitama (the boonies), 2 hours from home. This is a nice race, 3 times around a reservoir, surrounded by greenery. Probably about 2,000 people.
Time 1:26:02, 6th in the 50-and-over division (no 60s).
Splits were 20:07, 20:36, 20:05, 21:00, 4:12.
HOWEVER, the 4th 5k was way off. The first k was in 3:51 (garmins beeping around me), then I settled into a nice pace (although I planned on running about 19:45). 2nd 5k I guess I got lulled into an easier pace and it was too slow. Picked up the 3rd 5k a bit, and was feeling good. Planned to pick up the next 5k, and I did - considerably. I was really moving well and passing people who I had seen ahead of me the whole way. So that 5k was definitely long. Quite a bit long, in fact. I'm sure I ran 19:30 or faster. I also picked up the last 1.1 kilo, but not so much as to go from 4:12/k (21:00 5k) to 3:48/k (4:12 1.1k).
As to whether the entire course was long or not, I don't know. Two club members said their garmins showed it to be just about right. I think it was long, mainly because I think I ran faster than 1:26, but I can't say for sure.
Anyway, it was a nice race and I felt good and ran quite well. Feeling strong the last 6k of a half marathon is always nice.
Weather: 21C/70F, about half sunny, half cloudy. Felt hot when the sun was out, nice when it was not.
Weight: 60.1kg
Shoes: AdiZeroPro 160g (no insoles). Ball of right foot was a little sore at the end, but not bad.

Here's the "HiTeck Tumbler" (drink bottle) I got as 6th place prize.

No More Squats

Week of Sept. 12 ~ 18

Ran: 15/9.5/10/7/10.8/7/0 - 59.3km / 37 mi.

Monday
3:30 - 15k. 1.6 WU, 13km River Run, 100m x 4 barefoot.
Ran with the varsity boys, 7.5k Out in 33:40 @5:11, In in 30:16 @4:39. We sped up the last 1.5k (last k in 3:50), actually more than we should have (not my doing). Next week we will keep the pace manageable, as the next 3 days will also be hard.
Weather: 31C/88F, 40%, sunny.

Tuesday
11:30 - machines and core at the gym.
3:30 - 9.5k with 600m hill x 4. Ran with the varsity girls in 2:34/38/29/35 with 3:45 rest back down.
(2:40 is a moderate pace, 2:35 is slightly hard, 2:30 is hard).
Various exercises afterwards, including 20 x 3 squats (hands behind head, lower butt until legs are at a 90° angle)
Weather: 32C/90F
Weight: 60.1kg

Wednesday
7:30pm - At the track 400/1000/1200/1200/1000/800/400
WU/4:05/5:01/5:05/4:15/3:14/1:42 (200m jog)
Took it easy as I had done two relatively hard days and also my inner thighs and butt is sore.

Thursday
3:30 - 7k easy with the team (they did 3-mile tempo run, which I timed).
Thighs and butt still quite sore - finally realized it was from the squats.
Weather: 32C/90F

Friday
11:30 - machines and core at the gym.
5:30 - 10.8k in 55:57 @5:11.
5ks in 27:55/24:05 @5:35/4:39.
Legs felt ok, but butt still sore.

Saturday
1:00 - 2k WU in 11:16, 5k in 21:59 @4:24.
No time to run more. Planned to go faster, but difficult due to heat, humidity, wind, a short rain squall and a sore butt. Never again will I do squats.
Weather: 29C/84F, 60%

Sunday
2:00 - machines and core at the gym.

Half marathon next Sunday. Hope it will be cooler. Forecast is for 26C/79F, which will at least feel cooler than 30.

The Heat Returns

Back to summer with 30C/86F + days on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Week of Sept. 5 ~ 11

Ran: 19.2/8/8/11/6/10/25/0 - 80km / 50 mi. 6:58

Monday
3:30 - 4.6 easy warmup. River Run with the varsity boys. 4k @ 5:07, 1.5k @ 4:48, 2.5k @ 3:48, .9k @ 4:12, 2.1k @5:20.
That should have been the end of the run (11k) but I went back out 1.8k at a good pace (4:10) to find a lost kid, and then 1.8 easy in. So 19.2k - a pretty hard run.
Weather: 26C/81F
Weight: 60.2kg

Tuesday
11:30 - machines and core at the gym.
3:30 8.8k easy, with 4 easy .6k hills with the slowest girl.

Wednesday
7:30pm - track workout - 1000m x 6
3:44/34/34/36/36/29 (200m jog 2:45 - 3:00)
Felt pretty good. Weather a bit cooler and had people to run with, including a young Finnish woman studying at Tokyo U. for 2 months who is blond and beautiful and ran behind me at first, then progressively faster, doing the last 1000 in 3:20.
How can we convince her to stay in Tokyo?

Thursday
3:30 - With the team 6k before and after their 1-mile tempo runs (one mile all out, then 3 x 1 mile at one minute slower).
Legs tired and sore.
Lots of core exercises after the workout.

Friday
11:30 - Machines and core at the gym.
4:30 - Very easy 10k in 57:51 by myself. Legs still stiff and sore (right hip, left knee).
Weather: 30C/86F 50%, sunny

Saturday
1:30 - 25k in 2:10:31 @5:13
28:24/27:02/26:20/24:45/23:58 @5:41/28/16/4:57/4:48
Hot, but felt ok after 8-9k. Left knee sore at first, but then ok.
Weather: 32C/90F, 40%, sunny
Weight: 61.1kg
Team had its first x-country meet and everyone ran well. The school we were against has a small, weak team, so the kids just cruised. The girls ran as a pack, hitting the first mile exactly at the Thursday tempo pace. Then they picked up the second half of the race. High school cross country is fun to watch - go out and support your local team.

Sunday
Rest, as I now run with the team on Mondays.

Shorter and Faster

Week of Aug 29 ~ Sep 4

Ran: 10.5/9.5/11.7/7/7/0/10 - 55.7km / 34.6 mi. 4:52

Monday
3:30 - 10k in 46:44
First run with the American School X-country team. Did our traditional River Run from school to the Tama River (4k), 1k along the river, then back. Ran with varsity boys (9) going out and with the top 3 coming back. Out was 26:35, in was 20:09. The first k in was about 4:00, the next two were real fast and the last two were just under 4:00. On a very hot day! So this was a good run - worked very hard - and stayed with them until the last 200m. A good run for them on their first day of practice. (They ran "some" over the summer.)
100m x 5 barefoot on the field.
Weather: 30C/86F, sunny
Weight: 60.2kg
Shoes: AdiZero 180g

Tuesday
11:30 - Machines and core at the gym.
3:30 - Hills with the team. .6k hill x 3, .5k hill x 1. Moderate pace.
Weather: 30C/86F

Wednesday
12:00 - 2.5k to train station to pick up my bike. Yes, I count this as a run.
7:30 - 5,000m time trial on the track.
18:57 3:44/46/48/50/48
Felt good. Time was ok, considering it was hot and humid, and I was running by myself from 2,000m.
Weather: 28C/82F
Weight: 59.6kg
Shoes: AdiZero Pro 160g

Thursday
3:30 - 7k easy/moderate run with the team. Hard abs workout afterwards.

Friday
11:30 - Machines and core (light) at the gym.
3:30 - Speed work with varsity girls. 800m x 3, 400m x 2.
3:08/09/2:57/83/80 (3 mins. in between)
100m x 4 barefoot
A good workout for the girls, and not bad for me.

Saturday - A rare hangover. Drank too much at the annual Copywriters Drinking Party that I host (40 copywriters, designers and other ad types).
Also hard rain off and on from the edge of a typhoon.

Sunday
3:30 - Easy 10k in 55:41 just to loosen the legs a bit for the hard River Run tomorrow. Although I plan to run with the 4th and 5th boys, not the top 3.

Short Week & Awa Odori Videos

Week of Aug. 22 ~ 28

Plan: 0/20/10/15/20/20/0 - 85km
Ran : 0/20/10/15/16/16/0 - 77km / 48 mi. 7:28

And went to watch the great Awa Odori Festival (videos at the end).

Planned a slightly easy week, with Sunday off as I will start running with the American School X-country team from Monday. Also had a very hilly trail run on Saturday.

Monday
Rest

Tuesday
11:30 - machines and core at the gym.
3:30 - 20k in 1:48:57 @5:27
29:20/28:26/25:50/25:18 @5:51/40/10/03
Wanted to run last 10k at about 5:10 pace.
Weather: 28C/82F, 65%
Weight: 59.9kg

Wednesday
7:30pm - Club track workout: 1200/1200/1000/1000/800/800
4:34/4:24/3:34/3:34/2:51/2:52 (3:00-3:30 jog)
Felt pretty good.
Weather: 27C/81F
Weight: 59.9kg

Thursday
3:30 - 15k easy in 1:21:10 @5:25
28:34/26:37/25:58

Friday
11:30 - machines and core at the gym.
2:00 - 16k in 1:26:03 @5:22
28:39/27:45/25:13/4:25 @5:44/33/02
It started raining at 8k, so turned around. Very strong wind, but rain didn't get hard (it did in downtown Tokyo, where several areas were flooded).
Felt ok but not great. Ran a good last k.
Weather: 31C/88F > 24C/75F
Weight: 59>6kg

Saturday
1:30 - 16k trail run - lots of very steep up/downs over rocks and roots in the hills above Kamakura (seasind town south of Tokyo). Easy pace, but not an easy run. Ran the last 600m back to the beach very fast.
22 people came out, about 10 of us did the entire trail run. Lots of beer and food on the beach afterwards.

Sunday
Went to see the Awa Odori in Koenji, a Tokyo neighborhood 20 minutes away by train. This is a famous Japanese dance festival, the main one being on Shikoku, the smaller island south of Japan's main island. The one in Koenji is the second largest in Japan, with about 200 dance groups and thousands of dancers. It's on Saturday and Sunday afternoon, and tens of thousands of people go to watch, the streets are packed for a few kilometers. Awa Odori is colorful, musical and a ton of fun to watch. It's very simple, and the object is just to have fun. The song goes: Odoru aho ni, miru aho. Onaji aho nara, odorana son son.
The dancers are fools, the watchers are fools. If we're both fools, why don't you dance?
Here are three videos:

An Average 100K Week

Week of Aug. 15 ~ 21

Plan: 0/15/10/15/24/10/30 - 104km
Ran: 0/15/11/15/20/25/15 - 101km / 63 mi. 9:15

Monday
Rest

Tuesday
11:30 - Machines and core at the gym.
4:30 - 15 easy in 1:22:18 @5:29
Quads a bit tight, hot day.
Weather: 33C/91F, 50%, sunny
Weight: 60kg

Wednesday
7:30pm - track workout.
400/800/1000/1200/1000/800/400
Warmup/2:54/3:34/4:25/3:39/2:54/82
Plus a slower 400 barefoot.
Hot but felt ok and worked pretty hard. 2-4 people running the same pace made it easier.
Temp: 30C/86F on the track.

Thursday
4:00 - 15k easy in 1:25:37 @5:42
Legs stiff and it was hot!
Weather: 35C/95F, 40%
Weight: 59.5kg

Friday
Have to adjust 3-day schedule due to various commitments.
AM - hard rain
3:30 - 20k in 1:49:22 @ 5:28
29:16/28:18/25:59/25:50 @5:51/39/12/10
Planned to go faster last 5k, but quads sore. Anyway, a hard run tomorrow.
Weather: 23C/73F, 70%, some rain

Saturday
2:00 - 25k in 2:08:30 @5:08
29:02/27:25/27:31/22:22/22:09 @5:48/29/30/4:28/4:25 Last 2K 4:22/4:10
Legs stiff at first, but stretched 3 times and worked hard last 10k. A good effort.
Weather: 25C/77F, 50%

Sunday
4:30 - 15k in 1:21:06 @5:24
Out: 42:43, In: 39:23
Legs felt tired, but not sore.
Weather: 20C/68F, misty

Slogging on in the Heat

Week of Aug. 8 ~ 14

Plan: 0/20/11/15/24/15/30 - 115km
Ran: 0/15/10/15/24/15/30 - 109km / 68mi. 9:46

Monday
Rest

Tuesday
11:30 - machines and core at the gym.
4:45 - 15k in 1:25:34 @5:42/k
29:58/28:58/26:37
Very hot and I knew my quads would be stiff and heavy from Sunday night, so did an easy 15k. Stretched after 10k and picked up last 5 with difficulty.
Weather: 32C/90F
Weight: 59.8kg

Wednesday
7:30pm - Namban club workout on the track.
400/1000/1200/1200/1000/800/400
WU/3:41/4:32/4:32/3:36/2:51/83. Plus extra 400 with slower people in 91.
200 jog +1min rest after 1000s, 400 after 1200s (water after 2nd 1200).
30C/86F on the track! But felt pretty good and ran fairly well.

Thursday
8:30pm - 15k in 1:23:50 @5:36
Ate dinner at 5:00. Quads a bit sore.

Friday
10:30 - machines and core at the gym.
5:00 - 24 in 2:03:48 @5:10
26:50/26:33/25:14/24:37/20:30 @5:22/17/02/4:55/4:53
Wanted to run 5:00~5:15, so perfect. Felt ok.
Weather: 32C/90F, 50%
Weight: 59.7kg

Saturday
4:00 - 15k in 1:27:00 @5:48
Different (shady) course. Might be a bit long. Legs tired and heavy.
Actually 12k is enough for a hot Saturday recovery run.
Weather: 32C/90F, 50%
Weight: 59.5kg

Sunday
4:15 - 30k in 2:39:38 @5:19
30:00/29:13/28:04/26:12/22:22/23:45
@6;00/5:51/36/14/4:28/4:45
Heat and heavy legs made first 10k slow. Felt better next 10k. Last 10k, program called for MP (4:20), but planned to be happy with 4:40. Surprisingly, the first 3k was at 4:20, but then slowed to 4:40. *Totally* exhausted at the end.
Stopped at water fountains at 7k, 13.7k, 17.9k, 27.2k (didn't plan to stop at 27, but dying of thirst). Also took energy gel cubes 3 times and stopped to stretch after10k and 20k.
Weather: Guess what? 32C/90F, 50%. 30 at finish.
Weight: 59.9kg

I think I will cut down the Tuesday and Saturday distances a bit so I can run hard on Wed., Fri. and Sun.

Pretty Good Week

Week of August 1 ~ 7


Plan: 0/20/10/15/20/15/25 - 105km
Ran: 0/20/11/15/20/15/22 - 103km / 64 mi. 9:15

Monday
Rest

Tuesday
4:45 - 20k in 1:43:55 @ 5:12
28:50/26:30/25:18/23:16 @5:46/18/03/4:39
The plan was to run the 2nd 5k at 5:15, 3rd at 5:00 and 4th at 4:40 and basically accomplished that. I felt ok after 5k and good the last 5k (rain second 10k made it a bit cooler).
Weather: 26C/79F, cloudy then rain
Weight: 59.8kg

Wednesday
7:30pm at the track. 1000m x 6
3:51/37/40/41/43/29 (200m jog, total time 6:30; 8:00 and water after 3rd)
Felt good from the 2nd, pushed the last one, feeling good.
Weather: 27C/81F at the track

Thursday
5:00 - 15k in 1:25:03 @5:40
Legs tired.
Weather: 28C/82F
Weight: 59.4kg

Friday
11:30 - machines and core at the gym.
1:30 - 20k in 1:45:46 @5:18
28:48/27:19/25:57/23:40
Hot. Hard to run fast on the last 5k.
Weather: 31C/88F, 50%
Weight: 59.8kg

Saturday
1:30 - 15k in 1:25:02 @5:40
Very easy - hot....
Weather: 32C/90F, 70%

Sunday
9:45pm 22k in 1:57:35
5k - 12k with 1.5k hard, .5k easy x 6 - 5k
5k: 30:19, then:
7:10/3:23/6:44/3:38/6:53/3:23/6:07/3:29/6:20/3:34/6:17/3:16
5k: 26:54
Heavy rain in afternoon, so had dinner at 5:30 and ran at 9:45. It was cooler and pleasant to run. The bicycle path is pretty well lit, so no problems. Felt stiff at first and still heavy from dinner. The original program called for the 1.5ks in 4:00, but that is obviously too fast, at least in the summer. First 1.5k was at 4:45 pace, then felt better. 3rd one was mostly uphill, 4th was mostly downhill, but even so, 6:07 (4:03/k) was surprising. 5th and 6th were pretty good, too.
22k is long enough for this workout (original plan was 25). Even so, the last 5k feels very long. On a hot day, you could reduce the intervals by one. It's a very hard workout.
Weather: 25C/77F, 70%

115K Week with "Not Bad" Time Trial

Week of July 25 ~ 31

Plan: 0/20/10/15/24/15/35 - 119km
Ran: 0/20/10/15/15/20/35 - 115km / 71.5 mi. 10:26

Monday
Rest

Tuesday
11:30 - Machines and core at the gym.
3:30 - 20k in 1:49:22 @5:28
29:11/27:29/26:03/26:37
Knees and quads stiff and a bit sore. Took it easy so maybe I can run a decent time trial tomorrow night.
Weather: 29C/84F, 50%, cloudy
Weight: 60.7kg

Wednesday
7:30pm - 10k with 5,000m time trial at the track.
19:05 3:46/46/51/55/47 last 400 in 85
Felt pretty good, but it was hot and I was running alone (well, there were 100+ people on the track, 50 in our club, but no one running with me). Not bad for a warm, humid night.
Temp: 28C/82F
Weight: 60.1kg

Thursday
4:00 - 15k in 1:23:12 @5:33
Legs a bit heavy.

Friday
3:00 - 15k in 1:18:37 @5:14
27:56/27:24/23:14 Last 2k 4:26/4:14
Felt "weak" going out. Drank a bunch of water and felt ok after the turn, then felt good the last 5k (rain made it a bit cooler).
This was supposed to be a 24km day, but I didn't have enough time to run that far.
Weather: 29C/84F, 60%, light rain last 5k
Weight: 59.6kg

Saturday
3:00 - 20k in 1:57
59:00/58:00. On a course near my father-in-law's place, so distance approx, but very close.
Just an easy run, legs tired. Rained 3 times, once very hard.

Sunday
2:00 - 35k in 3:06:28 @5:20
29:37/28:07/27:52/27:15/25:38/24:16/23:09
@ 5:54/36/33/27/07/4:57/38
Good progressive run. Felt ok after 10k. Knees (quads? - I can't really tell) a bit sore the last 5k, but not too bad. Light rain (heavy mist) most of the middle 20k, but it didn't bother me. Stopped for water twice.
Weather: 24C/75F, 70%, some rain
Weight: 60.1kg

A Nice Run at the Beach

Week of July 18 ~ 24

Plan: 0/20/10/15/20/20/20 - 105km
Ran: 0/20/10/0/20/20/20 - 90km / 56 mi.

Monday
Rest

Tuesday
12:00 - Machines and core at the gym.
3:00 - 20k in 1:47:43 @5:23
29:30/27:20/25:58/24:54
Could do no better than 5:00 pace last 5k. Legs felt heavy and it was very humid, with rain the second half - edge of typhoon.
Weather: 26C/79F, 80%, rain
Weight: 60.7kg

Wednesday 7:30pm - club workout on the track
6 x 1000 4:00/3:45/45/45/39/38 (200m jog, total time 6:30)
Very humid from typhoon. Felt ok the last two.
Weather: 24C/75F, light rain

Thursday
Rest. All-day business trip and did not feel like running in the rain early in the morning.

Friday
11:30 Machines and core at the gym.
3:30 - 20k in 1:46:21 @5:18
27:40/27:05/25:29/26:06
Felt ok after 3k. Took it easy last 5k - saving myself for tomorrow.
Weather: 25C/77F, 40%, sunny
Weight: 60.1kg

Saturday
3:00 - in Kamakura (beach town 1hr south of Tokyo). Run with 26 club members.
From beach - 7k loop. About half up into a very hilly community, very easy pace.
Back to beach, then 13k on a sidewalk along the waterfront with Paddy O'Connor. Out at about 4:50/k, back at under 4:30/k but into a strong wind. Hot, but not brutally hot. Total time 1:50:15
Then beers and Thai food and bikini watching on the beach!

Sunday
4:00 - 20k in 1:43:30 @5:10
27:51/26:21/25:00/24:18 @5:33/16/00/4:52
Felt ok after 5k and fairly good coming back. Last k in 4:25. Nice to feel that good after yesterday's hills and good pace. My legs must be pretty strong!
Weather: 29C/84F, 50%, sunny
Weight: 60.2kg

Hot, Hot, Hot

Week of July 11 ~ 17

Plan: 0/20/10/15/20/15/25 - 105km
Ran: 0/20/10/15/24/10/25 - 104km / 64.6mi. 8:56

Carefully worked out a schedule and then didn't look at it! Thought I was running 24k on Thursday, but it was supposed to be 20k. So ran less on Friday. It was *extremely* hot every day.
Came up with the "perfect' interval workout (Wed.)

Monday
Rest

Tuesday
11:30 - machines and core at the gym.
4:15 - 20k in 1:42:50
28:41/27:17/24:56 @5:44/27/4:59
5:01/4:09/16/22/05 4k average: 4:13
Legs very stiff first 5k. Program called for starting at 5:15-30, but can't do that - especially in the heat, when it is harder to get going. Felt pretty good the last 4k. Original program was for marathon pace (4:20) on Tues and sub-MP on Fri, but decided to reverse that (or slower - see Friday).
Weather: 31C/88F, 40%, sunny
Weight: 60.3kg

Wednesday
7:30pm - At the track - 400/1000/1200/1200/1000/800/400
I have decided that this is the perfect interval workout. The first 400 is not run all out, but as a warmup. Then you get up to speed on the 1000, then work hard on the 1200s. (I know some people like 1600s, but I think they are just a bit too long, especially for the slower runners, many of whom are women, in our club.) Then you get progressively faster with 1000, 800, 400. Total distance 6,000m, which is also "perfect."
95/3:37/4:30/4:32/3:41/2:59/79
90 sec. after the 400, then 200 jog/walk in about 3:45 after the others.
Legs felt a bit tired. The 20k tuesday is harder on the legs than I thought. Worked hard.
Weather; 27C/81F on the track

Thursday
4:30 - 15k in 1:22:30 28:31/27:07/26:50
Weather: 32C/90F, 40%, sunny
Weight: 60.2kg

Friday
10:30am - 24k in 2:06:50
28:28/27:40/26:05/25:16 4:50/47/51/45
WAY too hot to run marathon pace for the last 4k. Happy at 4:50. But for a hot morning run, I felt pretty good.
Weather: 30C/86F —> 34C/93F, 40%, sunny
Weight: 60.4kg

Saturday
5:00pm - 10k in 58:08. Legs felt very heavy.
Weather: 30C/86F, 40%, sunny
Weight: 59.9kg

Sunday
4:30 - 25k in 2:12:05
This workout is supposed to be: 6.5k easy, 6 x [1k@3:50/k, 1k@5:30/k], 6.5k@whatever
"whatever" meaning faster if I feel good, slower if I feel bad.
However, it's way too hot to run 3:50 pace. So the times were:
28:50/8:32 then 1Ks in 4:10/5:30/4:41 (uphill)/5:50/4:22/5:44/4:22/5:30/4:01 (rolling hills, felt great)/5:25/4:20/5:40
Last 6.5k in 8:18/26:56.
Felt ok once I started going fast and was surprised by the first 4:10. Stopped for water at 5.4k and before the 10th 1k. Legs VERY tired last 6.5k.
It's too hot for a workout this hard (actually, this is an extremely tough workout - not recommended unless you are in really good shape). Have to run the fast Ks slower, or less distance, or both. I'll probably slow the Ks down to 4:40s.
Weather: 32C/90F, 50%, sunny
Weight: 60.3kg
Shoes: 185g Asics SkySensorNeo

New Program Starts

Week of July 4 ~ 10

So here is my training program for the next approx 11 weeks. It's a 21-day cycle.

Mon 0
Tue 20 5k@5:15~5:30, 10k@5:00, 5k@4:20 (marathon pace)
Wed 11 w/ 6k of fast intervals
Thu 15 Easy
Fri 24 w/ last 4k @ 4:00 ~ 4:10
Sat 15 Easy
Sun 35 Starting easy, getting faster, average about 5:00
Total 120
Mon 0
Tue 20 5k@5:15~5:30, 10k@5:00, 5k@4:20
Wed 10 w/ 6k of fast intervals
Thu 15 Easy
Fri 20 w/ last 4k @ 3:50 ~ 4:00
Sat 15 Easy
Sun 25 1st cycle: 6.5k easy, 6 x [1k@3:50/k, 1k@5:30/k], 6.5k@whatever
2nd cycle: 6.5k easy, 6 x [1.5k@4:00/k, .5k@6:00/k], 6.5k@whatever
3rd cycle: 5k easy, 5 x [2k@4:10/k, 1k@5:00/k], 5k@whatever
Total 105
Mon 0
Tue 20 5k@5:15~5:30, 10k@5:00, 5k@4:20
Wed 11 w/ 6k of fast intervals
Thu 15 Easy
Fri 24 24@ 5:00 ~ 5:15
Sat 15 Easy
Sun 32 w/ last 16k @ 4:20
Total 117
Do once: 35k. 10k easy, 10k mod, 10k MP, 2k v easy, 3k all out
(Actually this is for 3-4 wks before a marathon, but since I won't do a fall marathon-did not get into Tsukuba so will do a Half in Sept and another in Nov.- this is not really necessary)

Accordingly, the past week looked like:

Plan: 0/20/11/15/24/15/35 - 120km
Ran: 0/20/11/0 /24/15/30 - 100 km / 62 mi.

Monday
Rest

Tuesday
11:30 - machines and core at gym
4:00 - 20k in 1:44:44
29:04/27:28/25:19 @5:49/30/04
Last 5K - 5:19/4:24/27/26/14 aver of 4k: 4:23 (MP is 4:21)
Hot, so would've been happy with 4:30. Legs felt tired first 10k, but finally "warmed up."
Weather: 30C/86F, 50%, cloudy
Weight: 60.2kg
Shoes: 180g AdiZero Japan

Wednesday
7:30pm - 6 x 1000m at the track
3:53/42/43/49/45/41 (200m jog, total time 6:30-7:00)
Felt tired. A bit better after the first, but legs not fresh at all. A bit of a struggle.
Weather: 27C/81F at the track
Weight: 60.3kg
Shoes: 160g

Thursday
Rest. Am: work, PM: out. Could have run 6k, but felt tired so decided a rest would be more beneficial. Be flexible!

Friday
11:30 - machines and core
1:00 - 24k in 2:05:57
27:44/26:54/25:59/26:22
last 4k: 4:42/50/47/40 aver: 4:44
Very hot and humid. Legs tired after 18k. No way I could run 4:00~4:10 pace, or even 4:20~4:30. Happy to run 4:44. Also had a side stitch last 8k due I think to drinking too much water 1km previously.
Weather: 32C/90F, 50%, cloudy
Weight: 60.4kg
Shoes: 185g

Saturday
1:00 - 15k in 1:24:39 @5:39
Hot. Ran along Tamagawa Josui (water course), which is shady.
Legs felt tired.
Weather: 34C/93F, 40%, sunny
Weight: 59.7kg

Sunday
3:15 - 30k in 2:38:15 @5:16
28:37/27:32/27:21/26:02/24:56/23:47
@5:43/30/28/12/4:59/4:45
Very hot, so decided on 30k instead of 35, which was a good call.
Felt ok after 5k. Achieved the progressive run (each 5k faster), which was good. Picked up last 2k in 4:43,4:34 and felt ok, although pretty hot and tired. Stopped for water five times and ate some carbo jelly cube things also.
Weather: 34C/93F —> 30C/86F, 40%, sunny (course is probably 2/3 in the shade.)
Weight: 60.2kg
Shoes: 180g

Obviously, it's hard to run when it's over 30C, which it will be most days in July and August, so the times and maybe even distances in the program may have to be scaled back a bit, which is ok. It's the effort that counts!

Finished with Hills!

Week of June 27 ~ July 3

Plan: 0/20/10/15/20/15/20 - 100km
Ran 0/20/10/15/20/15/20 - 100km / 62 mi. 8:39

This week was the last of my hill workouts - 5 weeks of them. I have to confess, I'm got quite tired of them, and the heat makes them very difficult. Next week starts a new program...which I'll tell you about next week.

Monday
Rest

Tuesday
11:30 - Machines and core at the gym.
4:00 - 20k with 10k hills.
27:02 4:30/59/27/59/34/5:12/4:40/24/5:47/4:34
24:58 - happy to stay under 5:00/k on the last 5k, had to kick last 100!
Hot! Legs stiff, stomach heavy. Stopped for water (rest!) at top of 5th.
Weather: 31C/88F, 40%, sunny
Weight: 61.2kg
Shoes: 185g

Wednesday
7:30 - 5,000m time trial at the track.
19:12 3:46/48/53/56/48
Felt fairly good, time good for the heat. Led a group most of the way. Felt like it was a nice pace - not killing myself, but didn't especially want to go faster.
Weather: 29C/84F at the track
Weight: 60.5kg
Shoes: 145g racing

Thursday
3:30 - 15k in 1:21;26
28:37/26:37/26:12
Easy run, felt ok.
Weather: 26C/79F, rain then sun

Friday
11:30 - Machines and core at the gym.
2:30 - 20k with 10k hills.
27:35 4:41/5:09/4:41/5:07/4:40/5:03/4:38/16/5:38/4:18
23:21 @4:40
Hot and legs felt tired on the hills - because it was hot?
Surprised that I was able to run 4:40 pace coming back, but it was not easy.
Weather: 30C/86F, 50%, cloudy, some rain
Weight: 60.5kg
Shoes: 180g new AdiZero Japan - felt good.

Saturday
3:30 - 15k very easy

Sunday
2:30 - 20k with 10k hills. (Had to run at 2:30 as I had to go out at 5:30.)
29:09 4:36/56/38/46/36/58/39/32/5:37/4:35
24:24 @4:53
Hot! Felt exhausted last 4k of hills and 5k back.
In cooler weather I was running the uphills under 4:20 and today the downhills were 4:32 and 4:35!
Managed to stay under 5:00 pace for the last 5k. Then staggered to the drinking fountain.
The last hill workout and I did work hard at it.
Weather: 32C/90F, sunny
Weight: 60.9kg
Shoes: 160 AdiZeroPro

Slightly Easier Week

Week of June 20 ~ 26

Plan: 0/18/10/10/16/10/20 = 84km
Ran: 0/18/11/0/16/8/20 = 73km / 45 mi. 6:38

After three hard weeks of hills, I decided I should take an easier week (but with a hard workout on Sunday).

Monday
Rest

Tuesday
11:00 - machines and core at the gym.
4:30 - 18k in 1:31:14. 8k of hills rather than 10k. 3 up hard, 2 down hard.
5k in 27:43. 1 k hills: 4:45/5:09/4:33/5:15/4:37/4:23/5:33/4:21
5k in 24:50 @4:58.
Legs tired, hot weather, and slight cold? (cough)
Weather: 28C/82F, 45%, sunny
Weight: 60.6kg
Shoes: 185g Asics SkySensor Neo

Wednesday
7:30pm - Track workout - 11km
2000/1600/1200/800/400 +400, 2x100 barefoot
7:39/6:03/4:37/3:00/82 (400 jog after first two, 200 jog after next two).
Felt only so-so, but worked hard.
Weather: 27C/81F (on the track)
Weight: 59.8kg (finally under 60! - the leaner you are, the faster you are))
Shoes: 160 AdiZeroPro

Thursday
Rest - felt very tired, also it was very hot (32C/90F), and cough is worse.

Friday
11:30 - machines and core at the gym.
4:30 - 16k in 1:20:18. 6k of hills. 2 up hard, 2 down hard.
5k in 27:24. ik hills: 4:35/5:10/4:34/4:10/5:31/4:12
5k in 24:39 @ 4:56
Legs tired, esp. last 5k...and hot!
Weather: 30C/86F, 50%, sunny
Weight: 59.8kg
Shoes: 185 SkySensors

Saturday
8k easy in 56:05.
Cut it short from 10 to 8 to try to beat the rain, but was 1.4k too long - cloudburst!
Cut the distance yesterday and today to have a good workout tomorrow.

Sunday
9:30am - Paddy and Don from Namban came out to run the hills with me. They are both stronger runners than I am.
20k in 1:35:49 w/ 10k hills
4.6k in 25:41. 4:13/5:00/4:04/51/09/5:08/4:16/3:47/7:37(1.4k)/3:57
5k in 20:46 @4:09 (as usual, no rest between last hill and 5k)
Fast on the hills following those two. Tired last 2 and 5k back, but worked hard. They came back in 19:40/50.
Good workout, nice to run it with others. Actually, I am not 100%, as I still(!) have a slight cough.
Weather: 22C/72F, 60%, very humid
Shoes: 160kg AdiZeroPro

Lovin Those Hills

Week of June 13 ~ 19

Plan: 0/20/10/15/20/15/20 = 100k
Ran: 0/20/8/25/30/15/20 = 98k / 61 mi. 8:14

Monday
Rest

Tuesday
11:30 - Machines and core at the gym.
2:30 - The usual 20k hill workout (1k x 10 hills) in 1:38:18
28:27 4:21/5:14/4:20/56/22/57/16/01/5:19/3:58
24:00 @4:48
Felt ok. Left knee sore after 3k, but 2 stops for stretching fixed it (I always stop twice for stretching before the hills).
Weather: 25C/77F, 50%, cloudy
Weight: 60.4kg
Shoes: 185g SkySensorNeo

Wednesday
7:30pm - 400 x 4 x 3 at the track
89/81/80/80 - 81/80/81/79 - 80/79/81/77
Total run and rest 2:00, so only abt 40 sec. after 400s. 400 jog (4:30) between sets.
Running with (behind) 6 other guys.
Felt good but not great.
Temp: 19C/66F
Shoes: 160g AdiZeroPro

Thursday
4:00 - 15k recovery in 1:23:16 @5:33
28:30/27:21/27:25
Weather: 25C/77F, rain last 6k

Friday
4:30 - 20k hill workout in 1:38:59
27:47 4:36/5:10/4:28/5:14/4:27/5:15/4:29/4:09/5:29/4:15
23:35 @4:43
Legs a bit heavy and very humid (after rain). Also ate lunch with client (usually I do not eat lunch). Did ok considering.
Weather: 20C/68F, 70%, felt like more.
Weight: 60.6kg
Shoes: 185g AdiZeroPro

Saturday
3:30 - 15k recovery in 1:23:16 @5:33. I guess this is my recovery pace.
Felt ok at this easy pace. Light rain.

Sunday
1:30 - Machines and core at the gym.
3:30 - 20k hill workout in 1:34:44
27:46 4:14/5:01/4:16/59/12/5:08/4:16/3:59/5:39/4:00
21:09 @4:14
Felt ok on hills and good last 5k - didn't have to work hard.
Weather: 24C/75F, 55%, cloudy
Weight: 60.4kg
Shoes: 160g AdiZeroPro

More Hills

Week of June 7 ~ June 12

Plan: 0/20/11/15/20/15/20 101k
Ran: 0/20/12/15/20/15/20 102k / 63 mi. 8:40

The 20k hill workout consists of :
5k warmup @5:10 ~ 5:40/km
1k hill up/down x 5, 4 hard up, 2 hard down
5k @ whatever pace I can run 4:20 ~ 5:00
Doing this for 5 weeks to build leg strength before a summer marathon program.

Monday
Rest

Tuesday
11:30 - machines and core at the gym.
3:30 - 20k in 1:37:40 w/ 10k hills
27:33 4:30/5:02/4:21/58/25/54/25/4:03/5:28/3:59
23:56 @ 4:48
Legs very stiff at the start. 2 stops for stretching helped some.
Weather: 25C/77F, 50%, sunny
Weight: 60.7kg
Shoes: 185g Asics SkySensorNeo

Wednesday
7:30pm - 12k at the track.
1600/1600/1000/1000/400/400
6:19/6:15/3:42/3:44/83/82
+ 6 x 100 barefoot on the grass
Legs heavy. Warmed up and stretched, but still heavy. The hills are taking their toll.
Temp: 22C/72F
Weight: 60.6kg
Shoes: 145g Asics Japan Lyte

Thursday
4:00 - 15k in 1:23:18 @ 5:33
Legs a bit tired.

Friday
11:30 - Machines and core at the gym.
1:30 - 20k in 1:37:53 w/ 10k hills
28:18 4:17/5:08/4:17/5:01/4:19/5:04/4:23/3:57/5:27/4:11
23:46 @ 4:41
Legs a bit tired. Felt tired on the 4th up and tightness in left calf.
Ran the last 5k ok, though.
Weather: 26C/79F, 50%, cloudy
Weight: 60.3kg
Shoes: 160g AdiZeroPro

Saturday
2:00 - 15k in 1:23:40 @ 5:35
Legs really heavy at first.

Sunday
2:00 - 20k in 1:35:32 w/ 10k hills
28:05 4:27/59/26/50/26/53/25/08/5:14/4:14
21:21 @ 4:16
Planned to do the hills in 4:30 up and 4:10-15 down due to calf worries (sensitive to that since I tore a calf muscle last oct.). Also it was a muggy day. But run last 5k strong. The calf was fine and I surprised myself by coming back at 4:16/k pace. A good week!
Weather: 25C/77F, 60% but felt higher, cloudy
Weight: 60.4kg
Shoes: 185g SkySensorNeo

Hills!!

Week of May 30 ~ June 5

Plan: 0/20/11/15/20/15/20 101k
Ran: 0/20/11/0/20/15/20 86k / 53 mi. 7:15

The 20k hill workout consists of :
5k warmup @5:00 ~ 5:30/km
1k hill up/down x 5, 4 hard up, 2 hard down
5k @ whatever pace I can run 4:20 ~ 5:00
Doing this for 5 weeks to build leg strength before a summer marathon program.
(IMHO, if you do this 3 times a week, you WILL get stronger.)

Monday
Rest

Tuesday
11:00 - machines and core at the gym.
1:00 - 20k in 1:35:35
25:45 4:17/59/14/54/13/5:04/4:19/3:57/5:18/3:51
24:40 @ 4:56
Ran the ups (and downs) much better than 2 weeks ago. This is how I should run them.
Legs getting tired on the way back.
Weather: 21C/70F, 30%, sunny
Weight: 60.5kg
Shoes: 185g Asics Sky SensorNeo (no insoles)

Wednesday
7:30pm - 1000m x 6 at the track.
3:39/30/32/31/34/27 (int.: 200m, abt 3:00)
Legs felt pretty good and I ran well. Hoped to run in the low 3:30s, so nice to see some speed. Pushing, but not to exhaustion.
Weather: 17C/63F
Weight; 60.1kg
Shoes: 145g Asics Sortie Japan Lyte

Thursday
Rest - long meeting and then chilly rain

Friday
11:00 - 20k in 1:37:37
27:33 4:21/5:08/4:23/52/20/56/25/04/5:21/4:07
24:02 @4:48
Felt ok, but tiring a bit on the 4th up and 5k back.
Weather: 22C/72F, sunny
Shoes: 210g Nike Air Zoom Cage+. After wearing the Asics and AdiZeroPro last week, I realize that these shoes are crap. Even with no insoles they are too soft, for me anyway. I think most Nike shoes are too cushiony.

Saturday
3:00 - 15k recovery run in 1:21:18 @5:25
Weather: 26C/79F, 40%, sunny

Sunday
2:00 - 20k in 1:38:52
26:59 4:27/5:13/4:17/5:16/4:20/5:25/4:25/4:05/5:36/3:59
22:40 @4:32
Legs a bit tired. Also stomach heavy from a big breakfast. Tired the last 5k but pushed it.
Weather: 25C/77F, 50%, cloudy
Weight: 60.9kg (I can feel an extra .5kg)
Shoes: 160g Adidas AdiZeroPro. Good! They feel a bit tight, but a friend says his were the same and loosened up. I heard they are on sale at the Adidas store, I should go buy another pair.
Will be interested to see how my legs feel on Tuesday, after this week of 4 hard workouts.

5K Week

Week of May 23 ~ 29

49.5K 4:15

Monday
Rest

Tuesday
11:30 - Machines and core at the gym.
1:30 - 10k in 58:56 - very easy
Legs VERY stiff - to be expected after hills friday, saturday and sunday plus 5k at MP on sunday.

Wednesday
7:30pm - 7.8 with 5000 easy at 22:00 on the track. Race effort tomorrow.

Thursday
7:30pm - 8.2k. 5000m time trial with about 8 clubs. Wanted to run 18:30, ran 18:28.
3:42/40/42/44/40
Felt pretty good and always had people to run behind. Spent the last 4 laps trying to stay with a girl wearing polka dot tights. Really did not want to lose to her. She opened up 5 meters with 600 to go but I figured I could get her in the last 200. Got to right behind her with 100 to go...and she kicked! Damn. Well, at least she got me under 18:30.
Fastest 5k in 3-1/2 years, but have not really "raced" 5k in that time. Also have not done regular speed training for 2 years. I am going to remedy that and plan to be faster in the fall.
This TT had 3 sections. First was for people over 18:30 and had 70 runners. Second was for 17:00-18:30 and had 57 runners (where I ran). Third was for under 17:00 and had 33 runners. Winner ran 14:47 and was fun to watch - just floating along.
Temp: 20C/68F, no wind
Weight: 60.8kg
Shoes: 145g super-light racing shoes

Friday
11:30 - machines and core at the gym
1:00 - 10k in 53:36 @5:21. Easy recovery run.

Saturday
12:00 - 6k in 33:57 @5:39
Easy - ekiden tomorrow.
Temp: 18C/64F, rain

Sunday
9:00 - Green Ekiden around the Imperial Palace.
A low-key, enjoyable ekiden. About 150 teams of 4 running 5k, 2k, 3k, 5k. Namban Rengo had 2 teams, each of which had two "fast' and two "slow" people, although the slow were not so slow. I was a "fast" anchor and started 3+ minutes behind the woman anchoring our other team. Didn't think I would catch her, but finally got her in sight with 500m to go. Worked hard and was 20m behind her with 100m to go. Ran her down about 20m from the finish. I felt a bit bad about that, but not bad enough to let her beat me. And my team was happy. The two teams finished 8th and 9th - not a high-level ekiden. Team time was 60:55.
My time was 19:30. I felt pretty good, but I suppose my legs were still a bit tired from Thursday. And it was raining fairly hard. Also, the Palace course is not so easy, with a long hill at the 2k point. Wore my new AdiZero Pro shoes (bright green - perfect for the Green Ekiden) and they felt great. I've seen pictures of Kenyans wearing them. They're very light (160g) but a nice firm feel.

Next week back to hills. Unfortunately, it is supposed to rain every day. Combination of a typhoon and the start of the rainy season.

Start of Summer Training - Hills!

Week of May 16 ~ 22

Plan: 90.4K
Ran: 88.4K / 55 mi. 7:58
The 1k hill is 500m steadily up, then 500m rolling with more up than down.
The up/downs were: hard/easy/hard/hard/easy/hard.

Monday
Rest

Tuesday
11:30 - Wt. machines and core training at the gym.
3:00 - 16k in 1:17:57 with 6k of hills
Bike out 3.5k. 5k Warmup in 25:41. 6 x 1k hills (2 hard up, 2 hard down) - 4:39/5:04/4:32/4:06/5:18/4:01
5k in 24:33
Felt good, legs felt fine.
Temp: 20C/68F, 65%, light rain
Weight; 60.9kg

Wednesday
7:30pm on the track. 1200 x 2, 1000 x 2, 800 x 2
4:21/4:21/3:34/3:36/2:51/2:49
Walk 200m in between (about 3 mins.)
Good workout! Worked pretty hard and felt good. Had other people to follow, or try to follow, so that was good.
Upon checking old logs, was surprised to find that except for time trials, this was the first Wed. night workout where I really tried to run fast since July 15, 2009! I have now come full circle and rather than relentlessly pounding out miles, have come back to the realization that speed training once a week is important, so I won't neglect this anymore.
Temp: 20C/ 68F
Shoes: very lightweight racing shoes.

Thursday
3:00 - 15k in 1:22:55 @5:32
28:05/27:23/27:26. Easy recovery run.
TemP; 25C/77F, sunny
Weight: 60.8kg

Friday
11:30 - Wt. machines and core training at the gym.
3:00 - 16k in 1:19:51 with 6k of hills
5k Warmup in 27:03. Hills- 4:44/5:11/4:31/4:08/5:28/4:02
5k in 24:40
Quads stiff.
TemP; 27C/81F, sunny
Weight: 60.9kg

Saturday
17.4k on trail thru the woods out at Ome. Continuous up/down, with many very steep climbs full of rocks and roots. Not exactly a recovery run, but I did it at an easy pace. This was a "birthday run" with 8 people for myself and another guy in the club.
Out: 1:02:55, In: 58:12
Afterwards we enjoyed ourselves at an onsen (hot spring - on the 6th floor of a building! - they pump the water up) and karaoke (at which I am terrible, but I can clap and sing along...and drink).
Temp: 27C/81F, but cooler in the woods.

Sunday
1:30 - 14k in 1:08:53 with 4k of hills
5k Wrmup in 27:39. Hills - 4:51/5:16/4:49/4:25
Back in 21:50 @4:22!
No rain when I left home on the bike. Slt rain when I started running. Downpour when I started the hills - with a strong wind. Cut off the last 2k due to big puddles and I figured I did enough hills yesterday. Planned to run back at a good pace, but it was faster than I expected, which was nice. Rain lessened as I ran back, then stopped. i picked the wrong time to run. Although this happened to me last summer also, 2 or 3 times. Heavy rain out at Lake Tama (9k away) and none at home. It seems to be a different micro-climate out there. Although it did rain later at home.
Anyway, a good 5k run to end a pretty hard week.
Temp: 27C/81F, down to abt. 17C/63F.
Weight: 60.7kg

Time to Get Serious

This week marked the end of my period of marathon recovery, and of running short intervals with the high school kids and easy runs the other days. Next week I start summer training in preparation for fall half marathon and possible marathon races.
That training will consist of first, six weeks of hill training, then nine weeks of short, long and generally hard stuff.
The hills will be 1km hard, 1km easy x 5, with 5km warmup before and 5km after at whatever pace I can run (20km). Those will be on Tuesday, Friday and Sunday. Wednesday will be fast intervals on the track. Thursday and Saturday will be 15k easy (total 100k).
The first week I will start off with only 6k of hills. The second week, Tues and Wed will be easy because there is a big multi-club 5,000m time trial on Thursday that I want to try to run fast.
Looks like a fun summer!

Week of May 9 ~ 15
59.3km / 37 mi. 5:09

Monday
3:00 - 7.5k with kids at decent pace.
Legs, inc. calves, felt ok.

Tuesday
11:30 - Gym workout for upper/lower body and core.
3:00 - 5k. Speed workout with track team girls. 550 x 1 @ 1:59, 400 x 4 @ 81,79,79,81.
Temp: 24C/75F, rain.

Wednesday
7:30pm - 8.8k at track, 800,1200,600,1200,600,1200,600
Very easy - just a recovery workout.
Weight: 60.9kg
Temp: 15C/59F, chilly and rainy.

Thursday
3:30 - At 300m track with the girls. 300 x 4, 200 x 3
60,58,58,56. 200s: fast, fast, cruise.
Temp: 16C/61F, chilly and rainy.

Friday
3:30 - 15k in 1:14:11 @4:57
26:53/24:00/23:18 @ 5:23/4:48/4:39 last k in 4:06
Felt good. Nice day.
Weight: 60.8kg
Temp: 25C/75F, 50%, sunny

Saturday
HS track finals. Top boy ran 9:11 for 3000m (1st), 4:16 for 1500m (2nd).
Top girls ran 2:34 for 800m (1st), 5:26 for 1500m (2nd, almost 1st)
Very warm (hot) day.

Sunday
3:00 - 20k in 1:43:31 @5:10
27:03/26:28/25:00/25:00 @ 5:24/18/00/00
Nice run, felt ok.
Weight: 60.9kg
Temp: 24C/75F, sunny

One More Easy Week

This was a relatively easy week, and I will have one more before I get into hard summer training. In fact, the coming week will be even easier than last, as the HS track team will be tapering for their Finals on Saturday.

To answer Scott's query, upcoming I have a multi-club 5000m time trial on May 26th and a 5k ekiden on May 29th, which I will run hard, but are not serious races. Then nothing but hard training (I will post a schedule next week) until mid-September. Will probably do a half at the end of September, maybe one at the end of October, and then either another half or a marathon in November or December, depending on a possible trip to Bangkok or Hawaii to see my daughter, who is moving to Bangkok. (There is a Bangkok marathon and Half in November).

Week of May 2 ~ 8
44.6K / 27.7 mi. 4:05

Monday
3:30 - 8.7k (approx) 52:17
Easy run with track girls, 6 x 100m strides afterwards.
Temp: 24C/75F
Weight; 61.2kg

Tuesday
11:30 - Weights and core at gym.
3:30 - 7.5k. 400 x 9 (3 sets of 3) at 300m track.
90/87/83/83/83/79/83/79/80 (70-90" walk/jog, 4' bet. sets)
With 4 girls, legs felt ok.
Also ran 600m behind the Takushoku university ekiden B team (16 guys), who were doing 12,000m (40 laps!) starting at 3:50/k, down to abt. 3:30/k. They were just cruising easily.
Temp: 17C/63F, light rain

Wednesday
7:30 - 7.6k. Back on the track, instead of the park!
1600, 1200, 1200, 800, 400
7:11, 5:33, 5:22, 3:21, 98
Legs tired, so VERY easy.
Ran the last 800 and 400 barefoot. The track has been resurfaced and is rough, so I tore some skin off one toe.
Weight: 60.9kg

Thursday
3:30 - 5.2k. 300 x 3 x 3 at 300m track.
Left calf sore due to running barefoot last night (after 9 400s previous day). It was a bit sore when walking, but felt fine when running, so I ran.
64/65/66/62/63/66/65/57/63
Calf felt more sore afterwards, so I'll rest the next two days.

Friday
11:30 - weights and core at gym

Saturday
TELL (Tokyo English Life Line) charity 5k/10k race, of which I am the race day director. A busy, tiring morning, but everything went well and a good time was had by all (about 700 people).

Sunday
3:00 - 15k in 1:20:32 @5:22
Calf still tight when walking, but ok when running. Just a nice leisurely pace on a lovely day.
Temp: 25C/77F, 40%, sunny
Weight: 60.6kg

Feeling Good

Week of April 25 ~ May 1

62.3km/38.7 mi. 5:51

Monday
3:30 - 9.6k. 9k (approx) with track team (1500/3000 boys) in 46:13 with second half at a good pace (4:20/k?).
75m x 8 barefoot on artificial turf.
Weight; 61.2kg
Temp: 16C/61F

Tuesday
11:00 - machines and core at gym.
3:30 - at 300m track. 400m x 9 (3 x 3) with girls.
83/86/83/81/83/81/82/83/84
(100m walk, 100 walk, 200jog bet. sets)
After a good warmup, felt pretty good.
Weight: 61.8kg
Temp: 21C/70F

Wednesday
7:30pm - in park. 5,000m time trial.
20:29 (4:04/05/07/08/05). Not trying to run all out - a moderately hard effort.
Legs felt good. Surprising, after 20k on sunday, good run on monday and 9 400s on tuesday.

Thursday
Rest. Business trip.

Friday
1:00 - 20k in 1:40:14 @5:00
27:36/26:01/23:25/23:12 @5:30/13/4:41/36
Along the shore in Makuhari. Nice run. Felt stiff going out (and into wind), but ok coming back.

Saturday
HS track meet all day

Sunday
10:00 - 17.4k of hills (constant up/down including some very steep places) at Ome.
2:07:54.
8.7k out - very easy in 1:08:50.
8.7 in - 59:04. Very easy for 39, fast for 15:30, easy for 4:30. A nice run.

An Enjoyable Week

Week of April 18 ~ 24

63.4k/39 mi. 5:31

The people of the Tohoku region in Japan where the earthquake/tsunami hit are still suffering a lot of hardships, and there are many charity events and activities aimed at helping them. You may have already donated some money, but if not and you would like to, or if you would like to donate a bit more, I am participating in a fund-raising activity that one of the women in my club organized. Each person logs their mileage from March 20 to April 30, and then contributes a certain amount per kilometer. The person can also have supporters who contribute. Any amount per kilometer is ok, in fact, a small amount such as 10 yen/cents is fine. So if any of my readers would like to support me, let me know by email to tokyoracer@me.com and I will tell you the final total and send you a PayPal request for money.
As you know, I have not been doing big mileage recently, so I suspect the total will be just under 350km.
The money will go to the Japan Red Cross relief efforts.
Thank you.

Monday
3:00 - 9.5k in 51:42.
Easy/average pace with ASIJ track team, including two hilly 1k loops.
100m x 4 barefoot on artificial turf.
Legs a bit tired but not bad, considering did 20k @4:14 yesterday.
Weight: 61.7kg

Tuesday
11:00 - machines and abs at gym.
3:30 - at Fuchu 300m track. 600, 400, 300, 200 x 2 with track team girls.
2:10/85/58/40 2:02/81/60/36. 2' after 6 & 4, 1.5' after 3, 5' bet. sets.
Good workout., legs felt fine.
Temp: 11C/52F, windy

Wednesday
7:30 - 9.5 in Yoyogi Park. 2000, 1000, 2000, 1000.
9:01/4:17/8:57/4:09.
Legs felt ok.
This workout was written up here
with a nice photo of yours truly.


Thursday
3:30 - 6.8 at Fuchu track.
400 x 4, 300 x 4, 200 x 2 with track team girls.
82/86/85/85, 64/61/62/60, 36/37
Temp: 16C/61F
Weight: 61.1kg

Friday
11:00 - machines and abs at gym.
12"30 - 10k in 50:00 (25:49/24:11). Felt ok.
Temp: 19C/66F

Saturday
Rest
American School track meet. Terrible weather - very windy, with rain on and off, mostly on.

Sunday
1:30 - 20k in 1:40:16 @5:00
25:56/24:49/24:25/25:05
Legs feeling stiff last 5k.
Weight: 61.5kg
Temp: 20C/68F, sunny, a beautiful day!

Some Speed and a Good 20K

Week of April 11 ~ 17

This week's schedule planned around running with the ASIJ track team and a 20K "race" on Sunday.

Monday
10:30am - 6k easy in 34:09 @5:42
Not much time, but didn't feel like doing more.

Tuesday
11:00 - machines and abs at the gym.
3:00 - on the 300m track.
6.5k inc. 400 x 8 with the girls.
80/82/78/84/84/80/78/82 (150m walk in between).

Wednesday
3:00 - 9k with kids at easy/average pace.
7:30 - 10k in the park. 3000/2000/1000. Very easy pace.

Thursday
3:30 - 7.2k at 300m track with the girls.
400 x 4 83/82/85/84
300 x 4 59/62/62/62. Felt ok.

Friday
11:00 - machines and abs at the gym.

Saturday - second day of rest to prepare for a 20k run tomorrow.
Also ASIJ track meet. Our top boy ran a 4:21 1500. Not bad.

Sunday
9:00 - Marathon time trial (the Not the Nagano Marathon) organized by another club for people who had entered the (cancelled) Nagano Marathon. All major races in eastern Japan in March and April were cancelled. They offered 10, 20, 30, 40K and full marathon. There were 75 runners, including 11 from Namban Rengo.
The course was a wide, flat bicycle path next to a river. Hardly anyone on it, which was good. It was a 5k course, marked every k. You went out and back, etc. Temp at the start was 14C/57F, which rose to 17C/63F or more, but the course was in shadow for the first hour. One of our guys wanted to run a sub-3 marathon, so I decided to pace him for 20k. Hit 1:24:50 (4:14/k), so just under 3:00 pace. I felt good - legs got tired the last 2k, but it was a nice run. Quite happy to feel that good just 4 weeks after the marathon. It was a nice event and an enjoyable day. And the guy I paced finished in 2:58:54!

Back At It

Took one week off after the marathon and have been running the last two weeks, mostly easy, but some up-tempo stuff with the American School track team. I run with the 1500/3000m girl runners - the boys are too fast over short distances.

Week of 3/28 ~ 4/3

Monday
10k in 56:35 (27:40/28:54)
Quads sore after 6k, calves slightly sore. Should have run 6k.
Temp: 11C52F
Weight: 62.3kg (gained about 2kg after the marathon)

Tuesday
11:00 - Wt. machines and core
2:00 - 5k in 29:37. Quads and thighs sore.

Wednesday
7:30 pm. 10.5k with 5k time trial. Easy in 24:50. Quads felt ok.

Thursday
3:00 - 7.5 easy with kids, part of it on a hilly loop.
Weight: 61.7kg

Friday
3:00 - 7.5 easy with kids in 39:34
100m x 8 barefoot on artificial grass.
Abs and other exercises with the team.

Saturday
Rest

Sunday
10:30 - 16.6k to/from and around the Palace.
29:04/26:25/26:39 (5k + 26m)
Easy with other people.
Temp: 10C/50F

Week of 4/4 ~ 10

Monday
3:00 - 8.4k. 4k warmup, 300 x 10 @62sec., last 2 @58
With girls, good workout.
Temp: 13C/55F, windy
Weight: 62kg

Tuesday
3:00 - at 300m track. Easy 1200, 1500 in 6:16, jog 600, 1500 in 16:36, jog 600. 1500s: run straights, jog turns.
Temp: 15C/59F

Wednesday
3:00 - 8.4k with kids at about 5:30/k. Legs stiff.
7:30 - 9.4k in park. 1000m x 6.
4:56/53/58/46/59/42.
Took it easy but felt much better than in the afternoon.
Temp at 3:00 - 19C/66F

Thursday
3:00 - 8.5k. 2.1 WU,400 x 2 strides, 400 x 8.
83/85/85/83/87/86/87/85. With two girls. Legs a bit tired.
Temp: 20C/68F, windy (it's windy every day).
Weight: 61.9kg

Friday
10:00 - 8k easy in 44:59.

Saturday
Rest

Sunday
10:30 - 15k in 1:14:38 @4:59
26:49/25:28/22:20 @5:22/06/4:27
Temp: 17C/63F
Legs felt ok, but stomach feels heavy due to extra weight. Esp. during last 3k at about 4:20/k.
The sakura (cherry blossoms) are 100% full! And no wind today. The wife and I went to Koganei Park with wine, cheese and crackers - along with 1000s of other people (most people were under the trees, and there are LOTS more trees).

New Favorite Song, New Favorite Singer

Brandi Carlile - The Story

LA Marathon - The Splits

No running last week, so might as well post my LA splits - a story that did not have a happy ending.
Target pace was 7:01 per mile (3:04).

Mile:
1 6:43 Up > down
2 6:47? Down. Rain started. Mile marker blew away.
3 6:47? Down. Rain stopped.
4 7:07 Up. Rain started, steadily.
5 7:12 Large up, short down.
6 7:00 Large up, short down. Had been running with other people, now alone.
7 6:54 Slight up/down.
8 7:02 Running behind a very tall guy. Still steady rain, but not hard.
9 7:08 Slight up. Cheered by family.
10 6:55 Hollywood. Still behind guy. Rain now hard.
11 6:56 Pain in upper left thigh. Manageable.
12 7:04 Running alone again. Rain varies from hard to very hard. Windy gusty at times. This continues to the finish.
13 7:18 Halfway about 1:31:36. Basically running alone - until the finish.
14 7:01 Pain in right groin also.
15 6:48 Down.
16 6:45 Down.
17 7:50? No mile marker. Slight up. Calves started to hurt.
18 7:50? Slight up. Rodeo Drive. Realized I slowed way down.
19 7:25 Hard rain, wind against us.
20 7:31 Slight up. Calves now very sore.
21 7:46 Slight up. Cold, drenched, calves painful.
22 7:56 Slight up.
23 7:55 Happy to stay under 8:00. Just trying to finish without calves giving out.
24 7:51 Down
25 7:49 Down
26.2 9:32 Slight "kick" last 100m. Freezing after the finish. Needed the space blanket.Family found me and wrapped me up and got me to the car as quickly as possible. What fun!

Thru 16 miles: 1:51:29 = 6:58/mile = 3:02:30
Thru 20 miles: 2:22:05 = 3:06:17
Last 10.219 : 1:19:37 = 7:47.5/mile

LA Marathon in Brief

The Tokyo Marathon is usually very cold and wet. The LA Marathon is sunny and warm.
But not this year! This year, things were reversed. LA yesterday was cold, windy, and very, very wet. The weather gods played a joke on me.
100s of people got hypothermia. I really felt sorry for those who were out there for 5 or 6 hours. Even for 3+ hours it was not pleasant (although still fun to run though Hollywood, Beverly Hills, etc.).

My result was not satisfactory — 3:10:55 and 2nd place in my age group (out of 318 men). Last year was 3:08:17 and 1st.

Actually the problem was not so much the cold and rain as pain in my calves the last 10 miles and especially the last 6. That slowed me down a lot. I was on 3:02:30 pace thru 16 miles (26k). The guy who won the 60s (who was second last year), ran 3:02:28.
I think my new light shoes were too light (didn’t do enough hard runs in them).

I also think maybe I will concentrate on half marathons for a while….

Whole Lotta Shakin Going On

Week of Mar 7 ~ 13

Plan: 0/15/10/15/15/15/15 - 85km
Ran: 0/15/13.5/15/10/10/15 - 78.5km / 49 mi. 7:07

This week's running paled into insignificance beside the earthquake on Friday, but nevertheless, the LA Marathon is next Sunday, so I have to keep at it. It seems like flights out of Narita are back to normal, so if there are no more large earth movements (although "experts" are saying there could be), I will be out of here next Thursday. This week was a moderate taper week, with MP runs on three days, and next week will be very light.

Monday
Rest

Tuesday
11:30 - Machines and core at the gym.
1:00 - 15k in 1:21:57 @5:28.
Legs a bit tired, but felt ok.
Weight; 60.3kg
Weather: 10C/50F, 40%, sunny

Wednesday
13.5k. 3000/2000/1000 in the park. Aiming for race pace 4:21/k, which I hit pretty close.
13:07/8:40/4:18 (6:00 and 4:30 jog/walk in between)
Weight: 60.1kg

Thursday
12:30 - 15k in 1:17:33. First 10k easy, last 5k at 4:19/31/20/16/21. Felt ok.
Weight: 59.9kg
Weather: 8C/46F, 10%, cloudy

Friday
11:00 - 10k in 54:34 @5:27
Easy, felt ok.
THEN, at 2:46, the big one hit. I was in Shinjuku station, changing trains, 15km from home. No one panicked, it was more like everyone froze, waiting for it to stop, which was a long time. Then everyone made for the street. Along with everyone else in Tokyo. During the last decent-sized jolt about 5 years ago, which was itty-bitty compared to this one, the trains stopped for hours. So I knew the only way to get home would be to walk/jog. I had on shoes, but casual shoes, so it was not too bad. I had to walk for a long while though, because I was on a major road and many, many people were doing the same thing. Which was ok, because I didn't want to run too much anyway. After about two hours I started jogging because I wanted to get home sooner (I had been calling my wife from pay phones - thank god they still exist! - so knew she was ok. Cell phones of course stopped working 20 seconds after the quake, although you could send email from them.). So I had an extra 3.5 hours of walk/jog for the day.

Saturday
Planned not to run due to the extra 15k yesterday, but my legs felt ok, so did a very easy 10k at 4:00.

Sunday
2:00 - 15k in 1:19:06. First and last 5ks very easy. Middle one in 4:26/18/21/17/13. Felt fine.
Weight: 60.1kg
Weather: 15C/59F, 20%, sunny.

Next week I will rest Monday, do 10k easy Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, rest Friday in LA, do an easy 5k on Saturday, and be ready for a good, no, a really good, effort on Sunday. So...bring it on!