A Tiring Week

Week of Aug. 19 ~ 25

80.1km / 50 mi.

Monday
4:30 - 12k with 6k very easy, 6k in 28:36 @4:45. 2k splits were 9:52/9:35/9:07.
Felt very stiff at first, managed to run after stretching a bit at 6k. The last 2k was a bit of a surprise.
Weather: 32C/90F, 55%
Weight: 58kg

Tuesday
3:00 - Gym workout

Wednesday
7:30pm - club track workout. 7.6 k with 400 x 4 x 3
92/86/82/82  85/86/86/83  87/84/86/81 (walk abt 1:25 after each, 2:50 after 4th and 8th)
Felt ok but not great. Ran fairly hard - tough workout in high humidity!
Weather: 30C/86F, 80%

Thursday
10:30 - 8.5k very easy.
5:00 - 14k in 1:23:04 @5:56 (out @6:09, in @5:43). Felt much better than in the morning, although legs tired.
Weather: 32C, 31C, 60%
Weight: 58.2kg

Friday
1:00 - Gym workout
3:30 - 12k in 1:13:35 @6:08 (6k in @ abt 5:50)
Weather: 29C/84F, 60%
Weight: 57.6kg

Saturday
3:30 - 14k with 4k WU, 4k/3k/2k tempo, 1k WD
Really stiff and tired - could barely move at first. Walked and stretched after each WU km and managed to set off at a good pace. 4k in 18:10 (9:05/9:05) @4:32 - wlk 5 mins - 3k in 13:24 @4:28 - wlk 5 mins. 2k in 9:05 (4:36/29). Really good effort, esp. the 3k and the last k.
This is a good workout - I recommend it. (Ideally, you should get about 10 sec per k faster each interval. But hard to do on a hot day.)
Weather: 31C/88F, 55%
Weight: 57.9kg

Sunday
1:00 - 12k very easy. Lower back sore (got sore last night) but ok when running. Knee slightly sore. Very stiff and tired. Schedule called for 8k+8k, but cut it back to one run. (Have to run with kids tomorrow - first day of American School cross country practice.)
Weather: 25C/77F, 80%
Weight: 57.6kg

57.6kg is 126 lbs — light!

Good Training Week

Week of Aug. 12 ~ 18

81.5km / 50.6 mi.

Held back a bit on the distance (81.5 vs. program target of 90) and not running fast yet (not in shape), but a good week of training with no aches or pains.

All temperatures are taken in the shade, but also sheltered from any breeze.

Monday
4:00 - 12k with 6k easy in 33:38 (5:36/k) and 6k tempo in 27:07 (4:41/k). 2k splits were 9:30/16/23. First hard workout in 6-1/2 weeks. Legs felt good after warmup and some stretching after 6k.
Weather: 35C/95F, 55%
Weight: 58.3kg

Tuesday
Gym workout.

Wednesday
7:30pm - club track workout. 1200/1200/1000/1000/800/800
4:42/4:39/3:48/3:53/3:07/3:01
200 jog after each in 2:30~3:00, walk after the 800.
Good workout in the heat. Pushed them all, esp. the last 800.
First good track workout since June 19.
Weather: 31C/88F (on the track), 60%
Weight: 58.9kg

Thursday
9:00am - 6.5k very easy (means over 6min per km.)
4:30 - 8.5k in 51:30 @6:03/k. Felt ok.
Weather: am 32C/90F (sunny), pm 30C/86F (cloudy, breezy so feels cooler)
Weight: 58.2kg

Friday
11:30 - Gym workout.
1:30 - 10.5 in 1:00:32 @5:46. Walked 200m in the middle.
Weather: 34C/93F, 55%
Weight: 57.9kg

Saturday
4:00 - 3k WU, 3k x 2, 1k WD
3k in 3:14/26 @4:24/28 (walk 5:00 in between)
Felt good. Not going all out, but it felt fast enough. Planned to cruise at 4:30~40, but cruised even faster, even in the heat.
Weather: 32C/90F, 50%
Weight: 58.4kg

Sunday
10:00 - 10k in 58:37 @5:51 Legs felt ok, no stops.
4:15 - 12k in 1:11:01 @5:55. Felt ok, but not as good as am. No stops. No aches or pains!
Running twice a day is much more pleasant and easier on the body than one long run, especially in the heat. Glad I'm no longer training for marathons!
Weather: am 30, pm 32 (with breeze)
Weight: 58.1kg. Basically achieved my target of 58kg, so now will aim for 57, which with running 90km a week may be doable. (In the past, I was _never_ this thin. It feels good.)

Leg is Ok, Ready to Run

Week of Aug. 5 ~ 11

38km / 23.6 mi.

Took it easy this week just to make sure the calf muscle tear has healed, and I'm now sure that it has, so I'll start my training program from tomorrow.
Which will be:
Mon: 12k - 6 easy, 6 at "good" or "fast" pace, depending on how legs feel.
Tues: Rest
Wed: 11k - w/ intervals on the track, 1000m x 6 or similar variations.
Thur: 17k - am 8.5k easy, pm 8.5k easy
Fri: 12k easy
Sat: 14k - 3kWU, 10k of some type of long intervals, 1kWD (or switch with friday?)
Sun: 24k - am 12k easy, pm 12k easy (or 10/14)
Total 90k / 56 mi.

Monday
10k easy with walks after each 2k
Weight: 58.2kg

Tuesday
Gym workout

Wednesday
7:30pm - 8k track workout, 1000 x 6. All about 5:10, last one 4:53 - just easy to test the calf. No pain or stiffness at all.
Weight: 58.9kg

Thursday
10k easy, walks after 4k and 8k.

Friday
Gym workout.

Saturday
2:30 - 10k easy. Hot! 37C/99F. Was doing 2k loops at a decent pace with other guys. Drank water after 3rd, 4th and 5th. Planned to do another but felt a bit dizzy, so quit.
Weight: 58.2kg

Sunday
Gym workout
Weight: 57.7kg.

T&F World Championships has started out great for Japan with a bronze medal in the marathon by Fukushi. She is a real character, has long been my favorite Japanese runner. I've liked her ever since a long ago interview in which the announcer asked her, after winning a race, so what are you aiming for next? It's an annoying question, when you've just finished a big race, but Japanese always say something like: The Olympics is 2 years away, so I'll start training for that. Fukushi said: I'm aiming to see how much beer I can drink tonight.

Back Running Again

Due to a minor but painful calf muscle tear, I did not run all of July. Started in very gingerly Aug. 1, then the 3rd, 4th and 5th did 8k, 8k, 10k at an easy pace with several rest walks. No pain or stiffness at all, so I guess the calf has healed.

I'll rest tomorrow and do a moderately paced track workout wednesday as a test. If all is well, I'll get back to regular training next week.

Have lost 2.5kg since getting back from Thailand - pretty impressive considering I wasn't running.
Down to 58.2kg. The goal was 58, so I've revised that to 57. Kenyan thinness, here I come!

Have also been doing abs or a gym workout every day. People marvel at my 6-pack abs.

First photo is of me in two months time.
Second photo is of club members at the beach, with me up on the left.