Fastest 1200s in 9 Years

Planned for week: 70k. Ran: 68.8k

Mon: Rest

Tues: AM: Xtrng (wts and abs)

PM: 10k easy in 59:00.

Wed 7:30pm: 9.8k. 600/1200/600/1200/600/1200/600. 200 jog after 600s, 400 after 1200s.

Times (jog): 2:12 (1:56) 4:16 (3:44) 2:08 (2:18) 4:04 (4:13) 2:05 (2:48) 4:05 (4:15) 1:58.

The 4:04 and 4:05 were the fastest 1200s I have run in 9 years (3:24/k pace). Most over the years, including recently, have been in the 4:20s. The 600s were pretty good, too.

So, as fellow club member Juergen said to me after the workout: What happened to you?

Well, there were four reasons. 1) I am finally getting into pretty good shape. 2) I am down to almost minimum racing weight. 3) I am getting comfortable with my new running style (midfoot striking, light on the feet, feet landing under the body, feet flicking back and up, quick cadence, straight back or slight forward lean). Or as Caballo Blanco says in Born to Run: Easy, Light, Smooth, Fast (the first 3 take care of the 4th). And 4) The mental attitude/lessons of Born to Run, one being: You're tougher than you think you are, which I modified to You're faster than you think you are. The first 1200 was pretty good, but Paddy, our good Irish runner, was quite a ways ahead of me. The second one, I just decided, You're faster than you think you are, stay with Paddy. Which I kept repeating. And stayed with him. Light and smooth all the way. Then did it again on the third one and on the last 600.

So...it's a combination of the physical and the mental. When both are in an optimal state, you can run well...better than you think you can.

Temp: abt 22°. Wt: 60.0kg. Shoes: 250g (lightish)

Thurs: 10k easy in 52:59 (26:38, 26:21).

Fri: AM: Xtrng (wts and abs).

4:00pm: 15k in 1:14:35 (27:11, 24:56, 22:26).

Planned to run 27:30, 25:00, 22:30, and did that, even though there's no real reason to push the last one. Was kind of tired the last 3k.

Temp: 28°. Wt: 60.6kg. shoes: 280g

Sat: Easy 10k (approx.) in 54:00, pausing twice to watch two groups of 14 Namban crazies race a Beer Mile (drink a beer, run 400m x 4).

AND...tried 200 x 4 barefoot on the grass (Born to Run again). Yes, I have to admit, it feels really good to run barefoot. It feels really...natural. I think I will incorporate barefoot striders into some workouts. Not ready to run far or on asphalt.

(Michael B.: I was skeptical, but now I get it: once you read that section of the book, you want to go out and try it.)

Sun: 14k in Ome hills in 1:55:36. Easy pace with visitor Denise from Michigan, Taeko and Kiki. Of course, even "easy" at Ome is a good workout. Very pleasant run in the cool of the woods.

Next week is an easy week because I have a 10.7k race around Saiko (one of the five Mt. Fuji lakes) on Sunday.

Almost finished Born to Run. This book is so good, I think I am going to take it with me everywhere, so I can re-read sections whenever I feel like it.

Up a Mountain!

Week — Planned: 70k. Ran: 69.1k.

But 16k of that was practically straight up and down, as hard as a 30k run.

Mon: Rest

Tues: AM: X-trng (Wts, bk 15 mins., abs)

4:00: 10k in 53:43 (27:47, 25:55). Knees still at first, ok after 3k.

Wed: 12.1k. 2.1k warmup, 1000m x 6 (by myself in the morning; could not go to the track at night).

3:46/49/50/47/48/44 (400m jog in 3 mins.)

Felt ok, worked pretty hard. Calf and knee were fine.

Thurs: 10k easy in 54:41 (28:23, 26:18). Legs stiff, esp. knees.

Fri: AM: Xtrng (Wts, bk 15 mins., abs)

4:30: 15k in 1:12:56 (26:03, 24:52, 22:00). Planned last 5k to be at 4:30 pace and then 4:15 for the last k, but ran the last one in 4:03.

Knees a bit sore off and on, but felt generally good.

Temp: 20° (light rain). Weight: 60.6kg. Shoes: 250g.

Sat: 6k very easy. Legs very stiff, and have to run uphill tomorrow.

Sun: 16k (approx.) 2:15:13. With 4 other people (Colin, Cyrille, Taizo, Satohi).

Ran from Mitake station, which is in the Okutama mountains west of Tokyo. Out further than the Ome hills that I usually run.

7 mins. flat along a river (with white water kayakers), then 13 mins. straight up to the cablecar station. 13 minutes is a long time to go straight up, but that was just the start! Short rest, then 25:16 up a zig-zagging path (too steep to go straight up) to Mitake Shrine. Fun to pass the people walking (struggling) up and hear their expressions of surprise that people are _running_ up. Naturally, by "running" I mean slow running. Another short rest, then 45:55 along mountain trails, at first following a stream, mostly up, narrow with lots of big and small rocks, then serious Up (partly walking/climbing) to the top of Nabewari mountain, 1,084m high. Then back down to the cablecar (half of which was very treacherous going) in 30:20. Rode the cablecar because I didn't want to stress my calf too much, but then had to run the long downhill to Mitake station, which was ok, and ran the stretch along the river at a pretty good pace. Pretty damn tired at the end. Took the train 30 mins. to Kabe where there is a nice onsen (hot spring baths) that also has a Japanese restaurant for post-run carbo loading of noodles, rice and beer.

All in all, a very nice run, but very tough. I do not want to do that every week! In fact, I may not do it again, as it is just too much climbing. I prefer the shorter ups and downs of Ome. It was a hot day, although much cooler in the mountains.

A Decent Time Trial

Plan for week: 70k. Ran: 61.4k

Cut down the Friday and Saturday runs because my left calf was sore.

Applied for the Santa Barbara Marathon (Dec. 6).

Mon: Rest

Tues: AM - Xtrng (wts, bike 15 mins., abs)

4:00 - 9.8k very easy in 61:00. Legs very stiff from Sunday, right knee a bit sore, left calf got tight at 6k and was hurting at 9.8k, so stopped.

Wed: 5,000m time trial in 18:40 (3:44, 46, 43, 44, 43)

Wanted to run 18:45, so was happy with this. Calf was slightly sore, but did not get more sore during the run. (Went to the kinesio taping place before the run.) This was with the club, and I had several people to follow, especially in the last 2k, which was helpful. Nice that I didn't slow down.

Time: 7:30pm. Temp: abt 17°. Shoes: lt. wt. 250g. Weight: 60.5kg

Thurs: 10k slowly in 60:00. Calf a bit sore, legs stiff and tired.

Fri: 10k slowly in 58:27. Calf and rt knee sore, so cut run from 15k to 10k.

Sat: 3:00 - X-trng (wts and abs). Then 7k in 38:50. Felt better than yesterday, but had two sharp twinges in calf, so only ran 7k.

Sun: 17.4k on Ome trail in 1:57:53 (Out: 1:05:34; In: 52:19; 7-8 min. rest in the middle).

Nice run. Took it easier than last week going out, back in at a decent pace with Anthony, Rie and a Swedish guy from Seoul named Axel (Taeko and Geraldine also ran). Calf was ok.

Fortunately, it was not hot (20°) and the rain held off until we finished.

Even going slowly, this is a great run for the lungs and legs. I should say run/climb, because sometimes you really have to work to get up the side of a hill. As a result, it's very satisfying: After I finish, I can always say, "I worked harder today than any of my future competitors did."

Good Birthday Run

Plan for week: 60k. Ran: 61.6k

This is the first week of my "training for my training program." That is, working up to where I am comfortable with 90k (55 miles) a week prior to starting my 18-week marathon program on Aug. 3rd. Leading to the Santa Barbara Marathon on Dec. 6th.

Mon: Rest

Tues: AM - Xtrng (wts, bike 15 min., abs)

4:30 - 10k in 50:03 (25:52, 24:10). Wore Newton shoes, which feel ok with my now normal midfoot striking, as opposed to trying to run up on my forefeet.

Wed: 8.6k. 1200m warmup, then 1200/1200/1000/1000/800/600/400

Times: 4:28, 4:19, 3:31, 3:34, 2:47, 2:00, 76 (200m jog of 3 mins. after each).

Felt sluggish the first one (not warmed up) but then felt good. Had a big group with a number of people slightly faster than me, so was pushing hard to try to stay with them. Times were faster than I have run in quite a while and I feel like I am getting into decent shape.

The last 76 was all out and although 76 seems like a slow 400, it was pretty good at the end of that workout.

7:30pm. Temp: 23°. Weight: 60.2kg. Shoes: 280g (mid-weight)

Thurs: 8k. Easy in 45:54

Fri: 10.6k.  (5Ks: 24:59, 24:12) Twice around Imperial Palace (plus a bit) with former ASIJ runner Zach Griffin, who is now running for Washington U. in St. Louis, a Div. 3 school that is quite strong in track and cross country. Easy pace as we were chatting the whole time.

Oh, and usual X training in the morning.

Sat: 7.2k. Easy in 41:09. Legs heavy and knees slightly sore (after effects of Wed., I guess).

Sun: My 62nd birthday. It was raining when I left home at 8:00 to go out to Ome (for those of you who don't speak Japanese, that's pronounced oh-may), which is one hour to the west. It's where the mountains to the west of Tokyo begin. There is a nice trail through the woods, which while not exactly mountainous, is continuous up and down (more up going out) with lots of rocks and roots, and including some very steep places where you are actually climbing up roots and steps. It's a great place to run, unpopular with hikers for some reason and shady the whole way (not a problem today). You can run slowly for a pleasant run, and as you pick up the pace it gets MUCH more challenging. It's an out and back course. I usually run 8.7 or 9.3 out. You can run further, but you hit a long, steep set of steps. And 18.6 is plenty on that course.

So today I did 17.4k in 1:52:10 (1:00:05 out, rest 4 mins., 52:03 back). I always push the last stretch of the trail, which is about 3k, and then continue on the road another 0.8 mostly downhill to the station. The last 3 was 12:10, which is not bad, and I was not going all out. I believe my record is 10:29, about 8 years ago. The last 3.8 was 16:00. Actually, my left calf started to hurt with about 900m to go, so I eased up a bit.

Anyway, it was a good run and I proved to myself that I am not getting old! I think a birthday run like this (a hard run) is a good tradition to follow (well, after a certain age, and I guess I am at that age). So...I'm ready for another year of good running!

Two good workouts

Did two good interval workouts this week, on Wednesday and Sunday.

Mon: 6.4k. 900m triangle hill x 3 with kids. Good pace going up (300m). Short 50m hill sprint x 3.

Tues: AM - Xtrng (Wts, Abs, Bike 15')

4:00 - 5.5k. 400 x 5 with Wynne @ 80/80/78/78/79. Almost all out. Guess I need speed work. Humid.

Wed eve: 8.4k. Brief 800 warmup. 400/800/1200/1600/1200/800/400. Times were 88 (warmup), 2:48, 4:22, 5:53, 4:25, 2:50, 83 (warmdown).

A 4:21 1200 is 3:36/k and a 5:54 1600 is 3:42/k, so the pace was not bad. Oh, 400 jog after the 1600, 200 jog after the others (total time run+jog: 3', 5', 7', 10', 7', 6'). Felt good, pushed each one, had people to run with/try to stay with.

Thurs: 6.9k. Warmup. 900 x 3 easy (3:49/44/32) with girls. Warmdown. Last workout with the ASIJ track team.

Fri: 15k. 1:19:32 (27:34, 26:17, 25:40). Ok for early morning (8:15 is early for me).

Weight 60.3kg (down from 62.3 after the marathon). No desserts, no snacks before bed (just a banana).

Sat: Rest. HS track invitational with all the regular schools, plus 2 Okinawa schools (military), Seoul and a few others. Great meet. Sam Krauth ran 1:59 and 4:06! (1500m). The 4:06 is a 4:24 1600 equivalent and he beat the kid who has beaten him all year. Jen Stolle ran a 5:02 1500 but just lost to a girl from Okinawa. Both of our 4 x 400m relay teams broke the league record. The boys record had stood since 1985.

Sun: 11.4k. 1k warmup, stretch, 150m x 2 striders.

2000m x 4 in 7:49/46/48/32. Slow 200m jog in 4' after each. Then 80m x 5 hill sprints.

Felt good the whole time. I like this workout a lot. You run fast , but even so, 2000m is a long interval. Then work on leg strength. So the workout combines speed, endurance and strength.

5:30pm, windy, 20°, weight 60.4, shoes 250g. 

This is sort of in preparation for a 10.7k race on June 21, around one of the Mt. Fuji lakes. Apparently, the last 700m is uphill!

Week: 58.6k

By the way, a good blog is at trailgirl.blogspot.com. I am a sucker for a good quote, and she has lots of them. 

Eg.: Do it Now! We have to stop procrastinating, pretending that we have forever to do what we want to do and to be what we long to be. If we think that we want to become better and more loving human beings, we had better start moving in that direction right now. Lama Surya Das

I am also a sucker for a good photo, and she has lots of those, too!

A fun ekiden

The past week was highlighted by the Inagi Ekiden on Wednesday.

Mon: 10k. Easy in 58:46. Legs heavy. American School on holiday.

Tues: AM - Xtrng (weights and abs).

4:00 - 3.9k on the track. 900m and 300x 2 with kids at moderate pace. Taking it easy for tomorrow. Steady rain.

Wed: Inagi Green Ekiden. Inagi is out on the Keio line, about 45 mins. from Shinjuku (the outer edge of central Tokyo). A nice little ekiden, 4 people on a team, each person running 3k. Namban Rengo had one team in the mixed open division (3 guys and one woman) and one team in the mixed masters (2 men and 2 women). I ran anchor on the masters team. There were 17 teams in our division and maybe 60 in the other, and then another 80 in the open division.

It had been raining early, then stopped, then started again just as the race started...but not very hard. Our team came in 7th, I was 3rd fastest on the anchor leg. I felt good and ran pretty well, felt like I was going very fast, however, the people I was passing (in both masters divisions) were mostly pretty slow. Time was 12:01, which seems so slow (4:00/k) that I was sure the course was long, but Brett and Paddy, who ran faster on the other team, felt that that was caused by the many sharp turns and the several hills, one of which was about 500m long and about 300m from the finish. Anyway, it was a good effort and a fun race. The other team came in 2nd, with Brett having the fastest time on the anchor leg of any division.

Thurs: 6k. 3,000m on the track with Wynne in 12:57. Just cruising and not even winded at the end. Again, causing me to question the 12:01, but...who knows?

Rain all day again. Apparently, this is because we are getting the effects of a typhoon out at sea.

Fri: 15k. Rain in morning (did not feel like going out to the gym), but nice when I ran at 5:00 (but humid).

1:07:51 (24:14, 22:41, 20:55). Last 5k, which I intended to push, especially the last 3k, in 4:23/23/07/07/3:55. So the last 3k was 12:09. So I can run 12:09 on a training run, after a decent 12k. Anyway....  I felt pretty good.

Sat: HS track finals with all schools in the league (about 8). Great meet, both the ASIJ boys and girls won. Lots of great, gutsy performances, including some school and league records by our kids. Our main boy, Sam Krauth, ran 1:59 and 4:14 (1500). Good times, especially considering it was hot and windy. Jen Stolle ran 2:23 and ??, a fast 1500. Wynne won the 3,000 in 12:04. Arisa, after having trouble breathing the last 3 laps of the 3,000, managed to hold on for 2nd and completely collapsed at the end. (Fortunately, I realized she was going to and ran to the finish line in time to catch her.) She then CAME BACK to finish 4th in the 1500 and run a fast 400 on the 4 x 400m relay team, which broke the league record! (The anchor girl, Gwen Thornton, runs a 57 400. And she's a great hurdler, I expect her to be a good NCAA division one hurdler, remember that name.) Like I said, lots of gutsy performances. High school kids are tough when they are motivated, and are really fun to watch.

Sun: 7.3k. Easy run in 40:09 (5k in 27:04, 5:25/k). Plan to run fairly hard with the top HS boys tomorrow. Although Saturday was the finals, next Saturday is an invitational meet, with all the regular schools, as well as some from Okinawa and other parts of Japan (military schools), so the kids are still practicing next week.

Week: 50.3k

Time trial: not bad, not good

The only notable running this week was the Wednesday night time trial.

Mon: 7.1k. 1600 warmup, 300m hill (600m recovery) x 3, run up stairs (103 steps) x 6, 1600m back at good pace.

Tues: AM —  Xtrng (abs, weights, bike 10', treadml wlkng 15'). 

PM — 4.4k. 400 x 8 in 90-94" last in 88". With Wynne.

Wed: 9k. 2000m warmup, strtchng, 800m.

5,000m in 18:56 (3:48/51/47/50/39). Wanted to run 18:45 (3:45 pace), but this was ok. After first lap, was alone all the way. Felt ok, kept pushing, last k was good. Midfoot running felt pretty good. 

I consider 18:56 to be slow, but since I haven't done 5k/10k training for more than a year, I guess it is ok. Last year I did not run ANY 5k time trials.

Cool evening, about 14°. Weight: 61.0kg. Shoes fairly light 240g.

Thurs: 6.9k. 2100 warmup. 400 x 4 (91/88/87/86), 300 x 4 (abt. 65), 200 x 4 (fairly fast). With Wynne, felt ok. Very warm at about 23°.

Fri: AM — X-trng (wts, abs, bike 10').

12:30 — 15k. 27:41, 26:02, 24:41. Legs felt tired due to last two days and weights at 10:30. Worked a bit to run 5:00 pace last 5k.

Sat: TELL Charity Runathon around the Imperial Palace, which I help organize. Big success, had more than 1,000 people. Beautiful weather.

Sun: 12k. 1k warmup in 5:30. 10k in 23:45, 21:49. 1k warmdown in 5:45.

Felt ok after 1k and better after next k, so realized I could run a decently paced 10k. Planned to pick up second 5k. Midfoot striking with more forward lean on second 5k. Tired a bit the last k. Not bad for running at 12:00, after a big protein banana milkshake at 9:30 and heavy shoes.

Wanted to do a good run so I can go easy on Monday and Tuesday, as I am running in an ekiden (only 3k but requires some speed) on Wednesday (national holiday).

22°. Wt: 61.1. Shoes: 430g.

Week: 54.4k