Longer and harder

Week of June 21 ~ 27
Comes with a revelation.

Plan: 20/20/24/15/20/30km 129km / 87 mi.
Ran: 20/20/24/15/20/30km 129km / 87 mi. 11:27

Monday
Rest

Tuesday
20k @5:13 1:44:17
28:05/27:01/24:30/24:39 @5:36/24/4:54/57
Knees very stiff first 5k. 3mins walk & stretch after 10k, then felt better.
Time: 2:30
Weather: 30C/86F, 50%
11:30 - Wts and core at gym

Wednesday
12:00 - 12k. 6k@5:55, 6k@5:27 Knees stiff.
7:30pm - 8k. Another new workout for the running club. 1200 at a moderate pace, jog 100, run 300 fast. x4.
B group did 800m for the last 2. About 3:30 rest between each. That's a tough one on a hot night.
I ran with the B group and took it easy, but still a good workout. Ran the last 1600 barefoot. Felt good!

Thursday
24k. 2:01:22. This was the "harder" part of the week. In the middle of the 20k run (8.6k going out), there is a 500m hill. It is not extremely steep, but steep enough, and continuous. So I ran 10k out, then 1.4 back, then turned around and ran up and down the hill 4 times (an extra 4k). Running hard up and easy down. The ups & downs were 2:20/18/16/15 and 2:36/35/37/35. Pumped my arms hard the last 200m of each hill - that's what weight training is for!
The 20k was 28:51/26:13/23:23/23:21. @5:45/15/4:40/4:40. So the last 10k was pretty good, especially after 4 hills.
Last k was 4:32. Very tired, but quads were ok. Took 3 stretching and 2 water breaks.
Time: 4:00
Weather: 28C/82F, 35%
Weight: 61kg

Friday
15k. 1:21:22 29:05/26:59/25:16 @5:49/24/03.
Legs felt very tired at first. 6th k was 5:56, so I said this is ridiculous and picked up the pace. Then I felt better. Felt surprisingly ok the last 5k.
Revelation: Wore my lightest shoes, which are an old pair of Nike Zoom Air Racing that weigh 182g/6.4oz. - with no insoles! They felt really good! This could be an easy way to achieve "minimalist" footwear - light shoes with no insoles.
Time: 1:00
Weather: 31C/88F, 30%
11:30 - wts and core at gym.

Saturday
20k. 1:51:46. @5:36. Distance approximate, but very close. In Tsudanuma, at my father-in-law's. Ran a different course than usual for the first 10k. Have to measure it by car the next time I go there. Legs tired. Wore my Nike Air Zoom Cage+ with no insoles. I used these for the Santa Barbara and LA marathons, but I now realize they are too soft, especially with insoles. Without insoles they feel much better.

Sunday
30k. 2:38:00. @5:15
28:22/26:27/26:03/25:02/26:04/26:00
@ 5:40/18/12/00/12/12
At planned pace thru 20k. Wanted to go fast last 10k, but legs too tired and temp too hot to go under 5:00. Did very well to stay at 5:12, thought it would be 5:20 or more. Drank 2 160ml bottles of Aquarius, plus stopped and drank a lot of water at 21k, and refilled one bottle. Legs VERY tired and did well to pick up last k to 5:00.
Time: 2:30
Weather: 29C/84F, 60% (felt like 90%)
Weight: 60.2kg (finally got the weight down near 60. Can I keep it here?)
Shoes: 210g old Nike Cage 2 with no insoles. Felt fine.

129k is not my longest week ever, I did two 130+ weeks in 2008, but much of that was twice a day easy 10k runs. So this was my hardest week ever!
Next week: 135k including a 5,000m time trial.

Pretty Good Week

Week of June 14 ~ 20

Plan: 20/15/15/20/20/25k = 115km / 71.5 mi.
Ran: 25/18.5/12/20/15/27.5 = 118km / 73 mi.

Finished the week with a nice long trail run. Legs tired but not painful, so training is going ok, I guess.

Monday
Rest

Tuesday
7:15am - 5k 28:19 2.5k@6:18 2.5k@5:00
Thought I would try an early morning (for me) run to see if I should do this more in the coming weeks to add mileage. First half at very easy 6:00 pace, stretch a bit, then pick it up to 5:00. It felt ok.
4:00pm - 20k @5:14 26:55/26:40/25:23/25:40 @5:23/20/05/08
Ok going out, legs kind of tired coming back.
Temp,humidity: 28C/82F 50%
Weight: 60.9kg
11:30 - weights and core. 3 workouts!

Wednesday
12:00 - 12k @5:33 5:54/5:13
Pace as planned. Ok, but legs heavy.
7:30 (track) - 400 x 4 x 3. First 2 sets very easy at 1:50, then 1:40, last 2 @1:30. Last 4 barefoot - felt good.
Gave the club members some speed work on a hot night. Broke into small groups (6-8) and had different people lead each 400. Worked very well. Even slower people ran much faster when they were the leaders - great motivational technique. Everyone enjoyed the workout (if they didn't, they didn't tell me...).

Thursday
12k @5:27 5:56/4:58
7:15am. 4 mins. walking/stretching in between the 6ks.
Actually, I now realize that if I am not running the Wednesday night intervals hard, Thursday should be a hard day and not an easy day. (Although today I had to go to Epson in Nagano prefecture.) Then Friday easy, Sat moderate and Sun very long.

Friday
20k @5:09 1:42:55
27:10/26:05/24:49/24:49 @5:25/13/4:58/58
Felt ok but quads a bit sore last 6k.
Time: 1:00
Temp/hum:29C/84F, then rain
Weight: 60.8kg
AM- weights and core at gym

Saturday
15k @5:25 1:21:17
27:33/26:51/26:53 @5:30/22/23
Easy day. Legs quite tired so took it real easy.

Sunday
27.5 2:46:36
Long run on the trails in the hills above Kamakura (very old, cool town an hour south of Tokyo) with two other club members. Then the last hour on roads, including a looong (9-minute) hill. Distance approx because a good part of it was clambering up, down and over big rocks, roots, etc. Actual distance was shorter but I was working much harder than a flat run, so 27.5 is a good approximation of the effort. (The Garmin wearer's battery failed - I don't have one). Cool and pleasant up in the hills, with a good breeze. But a very tiring run.
We tried to go to Ajisai-dera (hydrangea temple) to see the flowers, but since they are in full bloom, the place was PACKED, including about 100m of the road leading to the place. A laughable amount of people. Ah, Japan....

Total for week: 118k / 73.2 miles. 10:56
Next week...130k?

Up to 100km

Week of June 7 ~ June 13

Plan: 20/15/15/20/15/25k = 110k / 68 mi.
Ran: 20/16/15/20/14/15k = 100k

Cut back the last long run because my quads are sore.
Planning to run nothing under 5:00/k pace (except Wed. intervals). Decided I don't need to run "fast" when I am building up distance. It just makes the legs more sore.

Monday
Rest

Tuesday
20k @ 5:11 26:41/26:08/25:22/25:26
Felt. ok. Ran the pace I wanted to.
AM: weights and core at gym.
Weight: 61.1kg

Wednesday
12:30 - 8k @5:31
7:30 - 8k. Warmup then 1000/1000/1500/1000/1000
4:25/4:33/5:36/4:14/4:18 (1500 @ 3:44/k)
The objective of this workout (for club members) was to run 2 1000s at 15 secs. slower than usual pace (jog 200), then a 1500m time trial (walk 200), then 2 1000s at usual (hard) pace. I decided to let the runners try a 1500m time trial and this seemed to be a good way to do it. I think it was a good workout. I took the 1000s easy and ran fairly hard on the 1500. However, this caused a bit of hamstring tightness over the next few days. From now on, Wednesdays will be easy.

Thursday
15k @ 5:42 28:50/27:55/28:39
Quads stiff first 10k, sore last 5k. Any pace was ok...just for the mileage.
15k is a long way when your quads are sore and you are running at a slow pace.

Friday
20k @ 5:29 27:32/27:20/27:14/27:34
Kept the pace easy. Quads a bit sore the last 3k.
AM - weights and core in the gym.

Saturday
14k @5;22 26:43/26:22/22:04
Last 4k @ 5:32 as quads got sore.

Sunday
15k @ 5:36 (different course, no splits)
Legs tired and right quad sore.
Well, 100k is ok for the week.
Weight: 61.2kg

Total for week: 100k / 62 mi. 9:14
Nice weather every day but next week is supposed to be rainy (start of the rainy season).

Revving Up (for the World Cup, too)

Week of May 31 ~ June 6

Plan: 10/15/10/15/10/10/20 = 90k / 56 mi.
Ran: 10/15/10/15/ 0/15/10+15 = 90k

First week of marathon training leading to a Nov. marathon. Will spend 3 weeks working up to 140k weeks, which I will then maintain, more or less, for 18 weeks. For a bit of historical perspective, before the LA marathon in March I had 9 110/120k weeks. Prior to that, before the Santa Barbara marathon in Dec. I had 18 weeks of 88-113K.

Monday
10k @5:09 26:18/25:15
Felt ok, legs a little stiff.

Tuesday
15k @ 4:48 1:12:03 25:30/24:18/22:14 @5:06/4:52/4:27
Very surprising. Not trying to go fast, but every k was 10 secs faster than i thought I was going.
Due to the new Biom shoes or to having fresh legs (haven't run much last 2 weeks)? Probably fresh legs.
AM: wts and core at gym.
Time: 4:00
Temp/humd: 23C/73F, 30%
Weight: 60.7kg

Wednesday
10k @ 5:21 27:04/26:34

Thursday
15k @ 4:47 1:11:50 25:19/23:48/22:42 @5:05/4:46/4:32
Around the Imperial Palace (each 5k actually 26m short). Lovely day for a run.
Ran in between afternoon meeting and evening drinking bout with 5 other blokes to do our World Cup pool. You put in 6,000 yen and "buy" teams in an auction format. Each time one of your teams wins, you get 3 points, and 1 point for a draw. I came away with Argentina, Cameroon, Greece, Slovenia, Slovakia, Algeria and South Africa. Not so great, but not so bad either. None of those teams are real losers. If Argentina, Greece and Cameroon go through the first round, Slovenia gets past England and USA, the home team does well and the other two win a game, I could be ok. Oh, and if Argentina wins the whole thing. So root for my teams. Go Slovakia! (Note to Ewen & Jon: Steve got Australia, but spent most of his money on Spain and Italy, so only has 3 teams.)

Friday
2 - 3 hour meeting turned into 5 hours. Planned another Palace run, but had no time.
Actually, just as well, because I ran too hard Tuesday and Thursday.

Saturday
15k @ 5:33 Left thigh a bit sore, just wanted to take it easy.

Sunday
8:00am - 10k @ 5:51 Moving at any pace in the morning is acceptable.
2:30pm - 15k @5:16 1:19:06 27;11/26:05/25:49 @5:27/5:13/5:10
Legs tired, as I suppose they should be, since I ran 39k last week and 35k the week before.
Temp, humd: 25C/77F, 40%
Next week: 110k

Another 5k - Same Result (And Another Birthday)

Week of May 24 ~ 30

Monday
Whoops, today seems to be my birthday. 63 and still not grown up. Hard to believe I'm 63, since I feel like I'm in my early 40s, but that's what running will do for us. Wish I was running like I was in my early 40s, but I think I have a few good years left.
Anyway, today was a rest day, after the 18:32 5k yesterday.

Tuesday
8k easy @5:38 pace, hamstrings ok.
Am - weights and core at gym

Wednesday
Another rest day - 5k time trial tomorrow night.

Thursday
5,000m on the track at 7:30pm. 18:34 with splits of 3:41/39/41/49/44. Last 400 in 85.
I wanted to run under 18:30, hopefully about 18:20. I felt good but started out too slow - 3:45 pace for 800m then picked it up. This was a big multi-club time trial held in 3 sections, with about 70 people in each section. I was in the middle group (17:00 ~ 18:30). Had a nice group of people to follow for 3,000m, but then I slowed a bit and lost them. That caused me to slow more, so ran a 3:49. Ran in alone, but picked up the last 400. Too bad I couldn't go faster, but I suppose it was a pretty good effort since I have not trained hard for about 6 weeks - basically have been running 50k/30mi weeks. I'd like to try to run a good one in late September after 4 months of hard training.
The fast section (under 17:00) was...fast. Two guys were hammering (actually they were cruising) at about 3:05 per k. The one in 2nd was a tall, young guy, very smooth. He moved ahead with about 4 laps to go, picking up the pace. Then with 300m to go...Zoom! He just took off. Looked like he was running an 800. Everyone went "Whoooa." Like, Oh, that's how a good runner kicks in a 5000. He flew across the finish in 15:06. 6 guys were in the 15s. Fun to watch.
Weight: 60.3kg
Shoes: 192g (light racers)
Temp: 19C/66F

Friday
Rest. Am - weights and core in the gym.

Saturday
7k very easy. Legs not sore but kind of stiff and tired.

Sunday
15k. 1:16:16. @5:06
26:24/25:12/24:39 @5:17/5:02/4:56
Legs felt fine, hamstrings fine, although quads getting a little sore at the end. Seems like the first nice run in a long time (the 5ks are more like sprints). The first in 6 weeks, actually. Cruising at a 5:00 pace feels good for a change.
So I am ready to start my marathon training tomorrow. The first week will be building back up to decent mileage, probably 90k/55mi, then going to 110, then to 140, which is where I want to be.
Weight: 60.1kg. This is quite low, considering I haven't been running much. It is due to my new policy of not eating before going to bed. I expect to get really lean this summer, down to 59 or below, which is where I have not been for a long time.
So...bring it on!

Easy Week with 18:32 5k at the End

Week of May 17 ~ 23

Only 35k, but it ended well with an 18:32 5k. The objective was to heal my hamstring and run a decent 5k on Sunday, so mission accomplished.

Monday
6k easy @ 5:30/k.

Tuesday
Rest
AM: weights and core at the gym

Wednesday
8k very easy @5:39. No track workout.

Thursday
8k easy @ 5:26. No pain in hamstring.

Friday
Rest
AM: weights and core at the gym

Saturday
6k @ 5:06. Easy, then from 2.5k @5:00 for one k, 4:06 for one k and 5:00 for last 1.5k.
Hamstring ok, but felt kind of sluggish (from not running much).

Sunday
Mari Tanagawa Ekiden. Mari Tanigawa has been retired for several years but is still a very popular runner in Japan because she became one of the top Japanese marathoners without coming up through the corporate pro team system (she was one of us!).
This ekiden is 4-person teams, 5k each, along the wide path next to the Arakawa river in northern Tokyo. There were 1,700 teams in two divisions (men's and women's/mixed). I suppose 1,000 teams in the men's division.
The weather was about 17C/63F and raining, although not hard rain.

Unfortunately one of our members got sick the day before and could not run. I found a substitute, but due to a communication problem (misunderstanding) he did not make it. However, it was ok, since I was coming off a hamstring problem and the other two guys, Paddy and Harrisson, both have had sore ankles. So none of us was treating this as a "must try to run fast" race, but rather as a "let's see how the injuries are" race. And since it was chip timing, we got our official times, even though we did not officially finish.

I ran the first leg. Due to waiting for the fourth member and a long line at the registration, I only had time to jog 300m to the toilet, then another 300m to the start. I started in the middle of the pack, so could not move too well for about 500m, and then better but still not up to speed for the next 500. Actually, this was just as well, as it served as a warmup. Still, I ran it in 4:06. The rain was not a factor, but the puddles were. After that I moved out and got into a good rhythm, having fun picking out groups to pass and flying (well, kind of) by them. I felt good and the hamstring was fine. Didn't even think about it.

I didn't see any of the remaining kilo marks, but there was a 3.5k mark at the second turnaround. The course went out, turned 180°, came back past the start, went out the other direction, another 180, then back to the start area and around a track, where the handoff zones were. It was perfectly flat...a good course and good for spectators/teammates. Anyway, at the 3.5 mark I was 12:56, so 8:50 for 2.5k, or 3:32 per k. (17:40 pace if the marks were correct). Finished in 18:32, so the last 1.5k was 5:36, or 3:44 per k. Paddy's garmin measured the course at exactly 5k. Anyway, 95% if not 100% of large Japanese races are measured correctly.

So considering I have not done any hard training for the past 5 weeks (except for a few sessions of 400s, which were not that hard), and considering that my 5,000m time trials over the past year have been about 18:50 (not races, but as hard as I could go in training), I am very happy with 18:32.
Of course, immediately after saying that, I think, gee, if I get into really good shape I could give sub-18 a shot. By October, I intend to be in really good shape (marathon shape, but my 5 and 10ks are based on stamina and not speed anyway) so maybe I should try to run a 5k race then. I am planning a 10k and a half...maybe I can fit a 5k in also. Before a marathon in November (probably Tsukuba).

Looking directly ahead, there is a big 5,000m time trial on the track this thursday - our club and several others. If the hamstring is ok I will try to run a good time then. Then ease into marathon training the following week.

As for the dnf ekiden, next year we will come back and run it well! We now know exactly what to expect, where to be, when to be there, etc., and it's a fun race, so...next year!

Hope you dear readers are running well and enjoying the warmer weather (don't know about you Aussies in Oz).

Biding My Time

Week of May 10 ~ 16

51km. Just taking it easy to heal my (slightly) sore hamstring before 5k in an ekiden on May 23rd.

Monday
6.5k @ 5:30 (approx). With Amer. Schood girls.
Went to physical therapist in the morning. HS is not sore, but interestingly is a bit painful when pressed...showing that it is not healed.
Weight: 60.8kg

Tuesday
In Nogawa park, 6 x 400 with girls @ about 84 (turns and slt hill).
HS slightly sore at first, but ok on 400s.
AM - weights and core at gym

Wednesday
7.8k at track. 1200 x 4, 600 x 2
Very easy - about 4:40/k. HS sltly sore.
Interesting how much faster you run on a track, even when you are running "easy" (see next two days).

Thursday
9k. Very easy @5:39

Friday
10.5k @5:32. Easy with Don McMillan (visiting from Calif.)
New BIOM shoes - look cool and feel great. I am an official Biom tester, so got a free pair, which is good because they cost ¥35,000 ($375).
"Natural Motion", yak leather, Polyurethane instead of EVA, bonded not sewn. They last twice or more as long as other shoes (they better!). Check them out at thebiomproject.com. Made by Ecco of Denmark.
AM - weights and core.

Saturday
Rest. HS Invitational track meet, with the usual league, plus international schools from Okinawa and Korea. Our kids ran very well. Beautiful day for running.

Sunday
10k @5:42
Very easy. Hamstring soreness 0.5 on a scale of 10. Not zero.
Weight 60.2kg. By the way, in an impressive display of will power, I stopped eating before bedtime about 4 weeks ago. I have been eating quite a bit before bed for many, many years, so it is no mean feat. I tend to wake up early in the morning, starving, but once I start running decent mileage again I should lose even more weight than the 2kg (4.4lbs) I have already lost. I plan to be VERY thin next fall.