Back At It

Week of May 19 ~ 25
44.2 km / 27.5 mi.

Counting this Monday and Tuesday, I took 9 days off to rest my hamstring, which did the trick.

Monday, Tuesday
Still resting, also HS Far East track meet, which the ASIJ kids won (girls first, boys second, overall first). Pretty impressive, because some of the military bases (Kadena, Kubasaki) have big teams. We have some very talented (and hardworking) kids.

Wednesday
7:30pm - club track workout.
Tested the HS with 600, 800, 1000, 1200, 1000, 800, 600, all very easy at about 5:20/k pace.
No problem - didn't feel anything.
Weight: 59.6kg - not TOO bad after 9 days rest

Thursday
7:30pm - multiclub 5,000m time trial at the track.
This is a great chance to do a good 5,000 "race", but of course I took it easy.
21:38 (4:22/28/26/08/14). Again no discomfort at all in the hamstring.
The race, however, was a bit of an adventure. They run it in 3 groups - 20:00 and over, 17:30-20:00 and under 17:30. I ran in the first group, starting at 7:00. At 7:05, it began to rain. At 7:10 the skies opened up - hard downpour with strong wind. In a matter of minutes, we were splashing through deep water. Then at about 7:45, it stopped. Talk about luck! Hard luck...
The first group had 123 people in it, of which quite a few elected not to finish. Just as the rain started though, I did a quick count of people ahead of me. There were about 90, and I wasn't going THAT slow. There are a lot of good club runners in Tokyo, including women.
They combined the 2nd and 3rd groups, which started at 8:00. 115 runners. It was won in 15:30. It's fun to watch the fast guys.

Friday
12:00 - weights and core in the gym.
3:30 - 9.8k @5:30/k. Slight twinge in the left (other) hamstring at 9.4k, so walked 200m and jogged in. Smart! Felt ok, but quads a bit sore.
Weather: 22C/72F, sunny
Weight: 59.2kg

Saturday
Happy birthday, Bobby!
Ran 7.3k at an easy 6:00 pace, with 5th and 6th ks @5:22.
Ate a HUGE dinner at night - at a restaurant with a buffet and free-flowing wine. I have a total lack of control at buffets. Good that I only have one birthday a year.

Sunday
1:00 - (after eating *nothing* in the morning and still feeling rather heavy) 12.5k
3.25k warmup, then:
3000 - 13:06 (4:14/22/29) 5' walk
3000 - 12:59 (4:17/23/19) 5' walk
2000 - 8:38 (4:18/20) 1.25 warmdown
Felt (just) ok, but legs were tired on the 2,000.
Anyway, it was a good workout, the first in quite a while.
Weather: 28C/82F - I like it this way!
Weight: Afraid to get on the scale.

Next week I have a 10K race on Sunday.