Friday, December 30, 2016

Tokyo Marathon 2017 New Course Test-Run

2016年12月29日木曜日、東京マラソン2017の新コースを試走した。今回は抽選に外れ応援に回ることになったが、事前にコースの知ることで実際に走行する選手に感情移入できるだろうと思ったのがきっかけだった。今回の試走は、2017年1月に走る2つのレース、「サンスポ千葉マリンマラソン(ハーフ)」と「館山若潮マラソン(フル)」の調整を兼ねており、試走距離は最初の30キロ。ゴール地点は銀座だ。

12時44分。スタート地点の西新宿東京都庁第一庁舎前をスタートした。スタート後まもなくコースは青梅街道から靖国通りへ出て飯田橋方面を目指して東へひた走る。全体的に下り基調なので、フル充電状態の選手たちが最も軽快に走れるのは前半のこの部分であろう。今回の試走では交通規制がないためにかなり頻繁に信号につかまり、身体がなかなか温まらなかった。信号待ちの頻度が減って軽快なリズムで走れるようになったのは市ヶ谷をを過ぎた当たりだった。

飯田橋へ辿り着くとコースは右へ折れ、その後左、右、左と細かいターンを繰り返し神保町で靖国通りへ回帰。そこから神田須田町へ目指しさらに東へ進んだ後、天下の中央通りに突入し、10キロ地点日本橋COREDOの交差点を目指す。10キロにエントリーしたランナーは、このCOREDOの当たりがゴール地点となる。ここまでは特に厳しい上り坂などは殆どない上に靖国通りは南側に外堀がある関係で太陽が燦燦と降り注ぎ、10キロの部の選手の皆さんは、天候に恵まれれば、これ以上無い気持ちのよいfun runとなるだろう。

さて日本橋COREDOを左折すると、フルのランナー達は15キロ地点浅草雷門を目指して、永大通り、新大橋通りと進み、清洲橋通りに入り、その後江戸通りを北上する。旧コースでは28キロ地点だった雷門が新コースでは15キロ地点になるのは新旧の大きな違いの一つだ。フルを目指す殆どのランナーは15キロまでは難なく走れるはずである。旧コース時代は、雷門に辿り着くまでにすでに相当数の初級ランナー達がエアサロンパスの世話になりながらやっとの思いで辿り着いたことだろう。新コースでは殆どのランナーが元気な笑顔でここを通過することになると思う。

雷門を後にするとランナーは江戸通り(国道6号)を南下。蔵前橋通りへ左折した後、清澄通りへ右折するとさらに南下を続ける。次なるランドマークは中間地点、門前仲町は富岡八幡宮だ。今回の試走で最も注意が要ると思ったのがこの区間である。理由は坂の存在だ。新コースには旧コースの豊洲以降のような長く険しい坂が少ない。しかし清澄通り沿いの都営森下駅、清澄白河駅、さらにはそれ以外のところに川越えの小規模な橋が散在し微妙な起伏を作り出している。これが曲者だ。フル経験の浅い多くのランナーにとってレースで蓄積した疲労が本格的に顕在化してくるのは25キロ以降だと思う。中間点前のこの辺りでは深刻な痛みが出ることはそう多くない。だからといって調子にのってペースを上げると、中間点以降で脚が攣って動けなくなるランナーが続出すると予想する。なぜならばランナーは、富岡八幡宮で折り返した後同じ坂のある清澄通りを北上しなくてはならないからだ。両国横綱公園を左に見ながら清澄通りに別れを告げて蔵前橋通りへ戻ると、蔵前橋のだらだら坂も後半の疲れた脚には相当のダメージとなろう。従ってフルの経験の浅いランナーは、富岡八幡宮が中間点なのではなくて、蔵前橋を乗り越えて清洲橋通りに戻って直後の25キロ地点が心理的・戦略的中間点と言い聞かせて脚を温存することをオススメしたい。これが今回の試走で私が選手の皆さんと最も共有したかったことの一つだ。

清洲橋通りにへ戻ると、残りは17キロ弱だ。往路と同じ道を日本橋まで引き返し、中央通りを南西へひた走ると30キロ地点銀座である。ここはコース中最も声援の多いエリアだ。旧コースでは私はいつもここで応援をしていた。新コースになってもここで友人ランナーの到来を待ち声援を贈るつもりである。

今回の私の試走はここまで。本番のレースではこの後数寄屋橋交差点、日比谷を経て品川へ南下。そこで折り返して、同じ道を北上。日比谷のペニンシュラホテルまで戻った後、ホテルの裏手へ左折。ゴール地点の行幸通りを目指す。ゴール地点は既に下見をしたことがあるが、東京駅を背にしながら、荘厳に低く棚引く皇居の緑を仰ぐ圧巻の景観である。私はこのゴール地点へは当日はあえて赴くことをせず、選手たちの味わうであろう感動の幻を想像して我が喜びとするつもりだ。

当日の応援が今から待ち遠しい。

On December 29, 2016 I test-ran the new course of Tokyo Marathon 2017. I am not running the race officially because I didn't win the lottery, but some of my running friends are running it, and I wanted know the course well. I believe I can imagine runners' joy and pain alike if I have actually run the course. That's the primary reason for this project. But also I have another reason for running it. I have two big races scheduled in January, 2017. One is a half marathon. The other is a full. And I wanted to be accustomed to a distance close to the full distance. So I decided to run the first 30 K. Most of the new sections are in the first 30 K, and the remaining 12.195 K is pretty much the same as the first half of the old course, so I skipped it this time.

I left the start line outside the Tokyo Metropolitan Government building at 12:44 pm. The first several miles are more or less going down. There is no major uphill, so for most runners, it will be the most pleasant part of the race. The first big difference between the new and old course is that while the old course would keep going south after turning right in Iidabashi, the new one goes east till you hit Chuo Dori Street. Once you this most iconic street of Central Tokyo, you keep going south till you reach Nihonbashi COREDO, which is the 10 K mark in the new course. 

One thing I learned after running the first 10 K is that you get stopped by traffic rights so frequently without any traffic regulation. The situation was worst in Shinjuku. But farther away from this crowded town, the situation gradually got better. Leaving Nihonbashi behind, the next landmark was the Kaminarimon gate in Asakusa, which is the 15 K mark. The section between these two towns consists of five streets: Eidai Street, Shin-Ohashi Street, Kiyosubashi Street, Edo Street, and Kaminarimon Street. All of them are almost completely flat, and do not present any major challenge to runners. 

Once your reach Asakusa, you chuck a uey, and go back into Edo Street and continue down south till you hit Kuramaebashi Street and turn left. You go over a fairly long bridge as you see the Tokyo Skytree far ahead on the right. You soon get to Kiyosumi Street with Koyozuna Park on your right. You turn right there and go down south. The next landmark is Tomioka Hachimangu Shrine in Monzennakacho, which is the halfway point. Among all the sections in the new course this is the one that needs the greatest caution, in my opinion. Here is why. There are many small bridges, which give the course slight undulation. Between 15 and 20 K most runners, when reasonably well-trained, don't usually experience much leg pain. It will come much later, mainly after 25 K. When you are less experienced, though, you cannot easily anticipate at this stage of the race that kind of pain can come all of a sudden. So you can pick up the pace through those ups and downs without realizing it can take a toll on your legs later on. Another thing runners must not forget is that after chucking a uey at the halfway point, they must go back the same route that has the same ups and downs as the way to the halfway point. I can imagine a whole bunch of runners suffering Charlie horse along the way up Kiyosumi Street. The Kuramaebash bridge across the Sumida River will feel like the longest bridge ever to runners with damaged legs.
My small piece of advice to marathon virgins and inexperienced full-marathon runners for that matter is simple: Don't think of the real halfway point as your halfway point. Set your own psychological, and strategic halfway point somewhere else. The 25 K point after overcoming the Kuramaebashi Bridge and all the other small ones along Kiyosumi Street may be a good one. Anyhow, runners should go easy until they cross the Kuramaebashi bridge, saving their legs and as much energy as possible for the last phase of the race.

The 25 to 30 K mark is almost flat. Much of this section is the same as the route from Nihonbashi up to Asakusa. But there is this excitement associated with the feeling of going back to Central Tokyo when you run this section again. You feel most excited when you come back to Chuo Street as you leave Eidai Street behind. The street is suddenly livelier with decorative facades of stylish department stores and ostentatious entrances to powerful skyscrapers and so on. When I finally reached the gateway to the Ginza shopping district, it was way past 4 pm, much much later than my originally scheduled arrival time. But I was satisfied. I could have gone another 12.195 K if I had tried perhaps. But I called it a day.  I knew what the remaining part of the course was like, at least geographically. Of course, in real life the toughest experience always comes in this last phase. So strictly speaking I have no right to make any judgement about the new course until I run the whole course without a break someday. But nevertheless, I now have a fairly good picture of it with my hands-on experience at least regarding the first 30 K, so I should be able to cheer them on when people run the race next February.

Sunday, December 25, 2016

Movie Review: "On the Waterfront" (1954)

"On the Waterfront" is a 1954 crime drama world-renowned for winning 8 Oscars.
Without giving too much away, the story is about a man named Terry Malloy (played by Marlon Brando) who works at the docks. One day he witnesses a murder of one of the dock workers, Joey. Joey complained about the bad working conditions and mistreatment of workers at the docks. But his righteous attitude had become a nuisance to a big boss named Mr. Johnny Friendly who controlled all the operations at the docks as the head of the workers' union, and Joey got silenced by his thugs. Terry was indifferent to the incident at first, minding his own business. But the story takes a new turn when he sees Edie, a younger sister of now deceased Joey. Edie tries desperately to find out who killed her beloved brother with the aid of local priest Father Barry. Edie, kind of an under-nourished overly-proper Catholic girl, and Terry, an errand boy at the docks slowly get attracted to each other. At first Terry just tries to talk Edie out of doing her private detective kind of business with her brother's death. But there is a wakening of a conscience in him when he faces increasing intervention by Father Barry and helplessness of the girl who's becoming increasingly precious to him. Meanwhile, a subpoena reaches Terry, and Johnny worries that Terry may testify against them in court. So he tells Charlie Malloy, Terry's older brother and also a crooked lawyer working for Johnny, to talk Terry out of eating cheese (=to become an informant). Will Charlie able to succeed? Failure means his own death as well as his brother's...

All in all, director Elia Kazan (https://goo.gl/Cu5Jrf) does a magnificent job of drawing the best out of all of the actors. The camera work is especially effective in expressing conflicting emotions in Terry's mind. The music, which is done by Leonard Bernstein, who takes charge of the music for "West Side Story" seven years later, also plays a big role in making the movie as dramatic as it can be.

Without doubt it is a movie that has stood the test of time, and that is worth watching over and over again in order to appreciate it from many different perspectives such as acting, music, camera work, screenplay, to name a few. Six stars out of five. It's a must-see. Won't let you down! (https://goo.gl/1RvJtZ)


Christmas 25 K Run

I am in sheer euphoria, feeling like I am floating on a cloud in the sky.
Two hours ago I ran 25 K in my neighborhood.
I went around a 7.5 K triangular course three times,
and a 2.5 K near-circular course once to cover the distance.
There were occasional traffic stops, a few hydration breaks, one toilet break,
and one major stop to fuel myself.

The result was as follows:

1st 7.5 K: 38:41.87
Hydration break: 11.38
(29.43.43)
Food stop:  3.31.84
(10:08.60)
2nd 7.5 K: 43:23.83 / 1:22.60 (15 K)
Hydration break: 10.56
(1:23.02)
Toilet break: 42.38
(39.33.32)
3rd 7.5 K: 41:38.70 / 2:04.06 (22.5 K)
Hydration break: 13.12
Extra 2.5 K: 13.:02.51/ 2:17.22 (25 K)
Total: 25 K: 2:17.22

I originally planned to run 22.5 K, but when I completed that distance,
there was still energy left in me.
Plus, there was no major pain in any of my leg joints, nor in any of the leg muscles,
so I decided to go extra 2.5 K to reach 25 K.

I strictly controlled my urge to increase my pace to avoid pain.
It worked.
I also didn't fight hunger.
I made a stop at a convenience store when I was hungry.
When I fueled myself, my tank was full,
and I felt full of energy.
Overall, it was a pleasant pain-free run,
and it gave me the confidence to go for an even bigger challenge.

My next training is December 29th.
I am going to test-run the new course of Tokyo Marathon.
Instead of covering the full distance,
I am thinking of only running the first 30 K.
The 30 K mark is Ginza.
I am planning to have a meal there.
I have not decided what to do with the remaining 12.195 K.
I may run if I am strong enough.
I may not if I feel I have had enough.

https://goo.gl/qb8r5K



Friday, December 23, 2016

Emperor's Birthday Honorary Run

It's the Emperor's Birthday today.
It's a national holiday.
But I worked from 9:30 am to 4:45 pm.
I left work a bit early to make adjustment for overtime on the previous day.
I went to Yoshinoya in Ginza to have a small quick dinner.
With my stomach half full, I walked to Raffine Running Style in Hibiya
to change into my athletic gear.
I have a membership at the one in Kanda, but didn't have one in Hibiya.
But they let me use their facility without asking for anything 
except for my name and phone number.
I expected the place to stay open till late,
but a sign on the door said it closed at 8:00 pm.
It was almost 6:00 pm.
Though I was expecting to run 20 K,
obviously there wasn't enough time to run that much.
I immediately decided that 15 K would be the longest I could cover tonight.
I left the run base shortly after 6 o'clock,
and headed for the Imperial Palace.
It was said to be crowded with nearly 38,000 visitors earlier,
but not a soul could be seen,
and there were only some deserted tents
which probably were used to welcome in the visitors.
The sidewalk around the palace was almost empty.
There were few runners at first.
As I went on, though, I overtook some runners, but not many.
The night before Christmas Eve was definitely not a popular day
for running around the palace.
I finished my first lap at a fairly brisk pace,
and got right into my second lap.
It seemed to go on as in the first.
However, my right knee started hurting halfway into it.
I kept on awhile, but the pain grew discomforting,
Also, I didn't want it to lead to some sort of unrecoverable major injury,
so I stopped running and walked for a while as I rotated my shoulders
forward and backward alternately
to stimulate my deltoids and traps. 
After taking a short active rest for about 5 minutes,
I started running again.
By then the pain had been gone, and I was positive I could go on.
But then it started hurting again shortly after I was into my third lap.
This time I didn't stop running, though.
Just like in a real race, I tried to manage the pain by slowing down and changing running form, and so on.
The pain was rather acute at the beginning,
but as I went on, it became gradually dull.
So I kept on going with the pain for a while,
and when the bight city lights of the Yurakucho district
were in sight, I increased my pace, 
and when I finally came to the Sakuradamon Gate,
instead of turning left to go under the gate,
I kept straight and surged till the next intersection.
I could have gone for another block if I hadn't been stopped by the red light,
but lucky or not, the traffic light turned from green to red
just before I reached the intersection.
I came to a sudden halt, threw my arms on the guardrail nearby.
I was so out of breath, and it took a minute for my heart rates to calm down.
The light turned green again.
I started jogging back to the run base.
When I reached the intersection at one corner of the Hibiya Park,
I found myself waiting for the light to turn green with so many couples.
They were enjoying strolling along the street after dinner.
The light turned green. 
I darted off from among the crowd across the street,
and in no time I was back at the run base.
It was a little less than an hour and half run with occasional walks and toilet breaks.
Chilly toward the end, but over all a pleasant one.
The run base was convenient.
500 yen for a locker and shower seems a good deal to me.
I'm going to use it more often.

My next training is either tomorrow or this coming Sunday.
I feel I need to be used to a distance beyond 25 K soon.
I'll put aside speed for a while.
Distance over speed as I am planning to test-run the new course of Tokyo Marathon 2017 soon.

Sunday, December 18, 2016

Hill Interval Training: 1K by 7 Sets

I'm in euphoria an hour after doing interval training.
Today's interval training was special.
The course included two long hills.
One was steep, and the other less so, but longer.
The course was 1.9 K from home.
I slowly jogged to the area for warm up.
In about ten minutes I reached the start area.
The sky was cloudless.
The sun was strong.
And winds were almost non-existent.
It was a perfect condition,
except that it was a bit too warm for the intensive running training.

Lap 1. It began with a short stretch of about 200 meters,
and then started going down for another 200 meters.
The decline was fairly steep, so I had to control speed
by slanting my upper body backward slightly.
Once I hit the bottom of the hill, there was another stretch of 200 meters.
I picked up speed.
Then came another hill, this time upward.
I immediately shifted my gear  back into second,
and started taking shorter and quicker steps.
This helps me minimize energy loss,
allowing for a final surge.
Once I reached the top of the hill,
there was a final stretch of 200 meters, all flat till the finish.
I increased the pace, and finished at 3:50.02.
Good start.

I rested for two minutes,
and went back the same route this time in the opposite direction.
The second lap was a little worse than the first.
My energy tank was still close to full,
so it wasn't because I was tired.
It was mainly because the down slope in the first lap was a little steeper
than the other one, so when you ran up it, the resistance was bigger.
The second lap was 4:03.38.

I repeated this cycle two more times
until I was up for the last.
Each time the time got just a little bit worse than before.
Then came the last lap for the day,
to which I gave everything I had left in me
and finished at 3:58.82.
I was happy I came under 4 minutes in the end.

The result of today's interval training is as follows:
1st lap: 3:50.02
Rest: 2:00.09
2nd lap: 4:03.38
Rest: 2:06.16
3rd lap: 3:53.87
Rest: 2:00.08
4th lap: 4:08.15
Rest: 2:00.17
5th lap: 4:02.35
Rest: 2:00.00
6th lap: 4:12.77
Rest: 2:00.24
7th lap: 3:58.82
Total 7K: 40:16.13

I ran 7 K in interval training, plus another K to jog back to the start area.
I also ran 1.9 K from home and another 1. 9 K back home.
So the total distance covered was 12.8 K.

Overall it was a very good session.
No major pain in any part of my body.
I still had some energy left after the running training was over.
I stopped by a park in my neighborhood to do some upper body muscle training
using a monkey bar and a steel fence surrounding the swings
to hit chest, back, shoulders, and arms.
These areas remained pretty much intact after the run,
so I enjoyed burning some extra calories training them.

My next training is this coming Thursday night.
I am planning to run 20 K.
The focus then is distance rather than speed.
I have a choice between running my usual 2.5 K circular route 8 times,
and running my new 7.4 K route 3 times to cover a bit longer than 20 K.
The latter includes the 1 K which I ran in the interval training today.
So it is quite rich in undulation, and therefore very much close to the race situations.
I will wait and see how quickly I recover from fatigue and make my decision accordingly.


https://www.google.co.jp/maps/dir/35.6946558,140.1236915/35.7015122,140.1302081/@35.6989252,140.1258158,16z/data=!4m2!4m1!3e2

Monday, December 12, 2016

Monday Night 20 K Run

I ran 20 K after dinner today.
I meant to run at a comfortable pace,
but once I hit the road,
I felt so good that I ran a little faster than I had originally planned,
and finished at 1:36:01.
I ran a 2.5 K circular course 8 times.
Today's result is as follows:

1st lap: 12:02.96
2nd lap: 12:00.77 / 24:03.73
3rd lap: 11:55.18 / 35:58.91
4th lap: 1159.82 / 47:58.73
5th lap: 11:57.96 / 59:.56.69
6th lap: 12:20.23 / 1:12:16
7th lap: 12:28.58 / 1:24.45
8th lap: 11:16.33 / 1:36:01
Total 20 K: 1:36:01

I finished strongly in the last lap by shedding over a minute off the previous lap.
I am satisfied.

My next training run is this coming Thursday.
I am planning to run 15 K.

Check out the You Tube videos below
to see how I ran the distance.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VY2FDE140BE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wop8R7SKLRA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPnaLYeVwPc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwYZnkNLYBE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJ3_1_kSbc8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FytUBZqwp9Q


Thursday, December 8, 2016

Thursday Night 15 K Run

I ran 15 K after coming home from work.
It was a first long run after running the half marathon in Hadano this past Sunday.
The knee pain that plagued me during the race had gone.
And the slight tension in my right calf hadn't completely gone,
but it was negligible.

I ran a 2.5 K circular course 6 times.
The laps were as follows:
1st 2.5 K: 12:40.85
2nd 2.5 K: 12:20.56/25.01.41
Hydration: 8.96
3rd 2.5 K:  12.08.67/37.19.04
4th 2.5 K: 12.08.87/49.27.91
Hydration: 20.26
5th 2.5 K: 12:06.03/1:01:54
6th 2.5 K: 11.20.63
Total 15 K: 1:13:14

It took me awhile to warm up,
but in the third lap I finally got close to the pace I had originally aimed at,
and in the last lap I finished well under 12:00.

My next training is probably either this coming Sunday after taking the TOEIC LR Test,
or next Monday. I want to run 20 K. I haven't decided where to run.
But running around the Imperial Palace is a possibility.

Tuesday, December 6, 2016

"Big Date Baseball" and "The Sports Gene"

Two days after running a half marathon,
I'm on an intellectual mode.
I need intellectual stimuli every now and then
in order to keep motivated on running.
Man cannot live solely by bread for his body.
He needs bread for his brains too.

I have two books right in front of me.
One is "Big Data Baseball"  by Travis Sawchik,
and the other is "The Sports Gehe" by David Epsten.

I've read the first ten pages or so of both books.
Both in terms of style and content,
I intuitively prefer the latter to the former.
But of course it's too early to make any fair judgement.

Originally both of the books were recommended to me by a student of mine.
Mr. I is one of my students.
He went to the Rio Olympics with Japan's national team of table tennis.
He is an athletic analyst whose job is to collect data about the sport,
analyze them, and make hypotheses about correlations between certain factors and performances (as I understand it).
If you are an avid tennis watcher, you probably notice
that data are shown to TV watchers every now and then
of where each player's services fell,
and where he or she received his or her opponent's services, and so on.
These data, although they are not allowed to be given to the players during the game,
are immediately analyzed once the game is over,
and players together with the help of analysts and coaches try to come up with means to counter their opponent's winning formula.

According to Mr. I, however, application of data to the enhancement of players' performance is still at an embryonic stage. Plus, Mr. I says, even if some exciting things should be found as a result of data analysis in table tennis, things happen so quickly in the sport, it is very difficult for players to make adjustments according to revealed findings.

Anyhow, his point was that the future of his role as a table tennis data analyst was unclear, but nonetheless he reiterated that the field of data-analysis in sports was fascinating, and he recommended the two books mentioned above before he left school.

I am going to read both books alternately for a while, and would like to share with you what I find interesting along the way.

Sunday, December 4, 2016

Hadano Tanzawa Minase River Half Marathon 2016

I ran Hadano Tanzawa Minase River Half Marathon 2016.
I finished at 1:42:45.
To show you what this time means to me,
I would like to share with you all the times for my previous half marathon races,
the first of which started in 2012.

2012.01.15: 1:49:41 (1:45:02) The 31st Frostbite Road Race 
2012.12.02: 1:42:33              The 8th Hadano Tanzawa Minase River Half Marathon
2013.01.20: 1:54:03 (1:50:52) The 37th Sanspo Chib Marine Half Marathon
2013.12.01: 1:41:58              The 9th Hadano Tanzawa Minase River Half Marathon
2014.12.07: 1:43:25 (1:42:49)  The 10th Hadano Tanzawa Minase River Half Marathon
2015.01.18: 1:41:16 (1:39:11) The 39th Sanspo Chib Marine Half Marathon
2015.12.06: 1:49:36 (1:49:17)  The 11th Hadano Tanzawa Minase River Half Marathon
2016.01.24: 1:43:54 (1:42:30)  The 40th Sanspo Chib Marine Half Marathon
2016.12.04: 1:42:45 (1:42:16)  The 11th Hadano Tanzawa Minase River Half Marathon

As you can see the net time is the third best time in all the half marathons I have ever completed.
Also, it is the second best time for the course.
I have a mixed feeling about the result,
but over all I feel positive.

Before the race I had two concerns.
One, there was a slight pain in my right calf.
Two, I hadn't been able to train much due to the pain
since I ran a 10 K race in November.

I was careful not to increase the pace too much in the first 5 K.
From the 5 K point to the 15 K mark the course continued to go up.
I took short quick strides to minimize energy loss.
Both my running and breathing were smooth until the 12 K mark.
Frequent changes in undulation took a toll on my right knee,
and it started to hurting. 
Also, my right thigh started feeling sore.
It was the kind of discomfort that I had not experienced for quite a while. 
Two causes were possible.
One, I was unconsciously trying to cover my pained right calf.
Two, my training had been mainly on flat roads,
my legs were not sufficiently prepared for the resistance presented by the hill course in Hadano.
Whatever the reason, I had to do something to deal with the situation.
My immediate response was taking even shorter strides and slowing down.
It worked.
Although I was overtaken by a significant number of runners between the 12 and 15 K mark,
the pain in my right leg had become bearable,
and thanks to my effort to keep my heart rates in check while climbing uphill slopes,
there was still enough energy left in my body's batteries. 
I changed my gear slightly as soon as the course started going down. 
But not all the way, as there were still 6 more kilometers to go.
It doesn't normally seem like a big deal, but 6 K after running 15 K isn't the same as the same distance run from scratch. 
My plan was to keep between a 4:30 and 4:40 pace up to the 19 K mark, and surge in the last two. 
It was fairly successful, except that in the last 2 K I wasn't able to run as strongly as I wanted to.
I did sprint at least in the last 100 meters as Rio Olympics Men's Marathon Champion Mr. Eliud Kipchoge did in the home stretch leading to finish line, but it was far from enough to make my time better than my personal best.

When I crossed finish line, though, all the pain that plagued my entire body was suddenly gone,
and I was engulfed in a tremendous feeling of exhilaration. The sky was blue, and the sun was high and strong. And all the cheerers gathering around the finish arc were smiling with excitement. Local school children kindly offered a bottle of sports drink to all finishers, of whom I was one. The sports drink tasted awful, but the joy of completing the challenging race was so overwhelming that I happily tolerated the otherwise unbearable insult to a half-marathon finisher.   





Friday, December 2, 2016

Friday Night 2.5 K Run

I ran 2.5 K after coming home from work.
It was a session that hadn't been scheduled.
Originally I was planning to do some stretching and core training.
But I changed my mind.
Reason Number 1. I wanted to run.
Reason Number 2. I wanted to run.
Reason Number 3. I wanted to run.

Fortunately, I knew better than overdoing it to exhaust myself to the point
where fatigue was unrecoverable.
I ran the same distance as yesterday--2.5 K.
Though I didn't mean to pick up the pace,
when I saw my watch at finish, it said 11:00.80.
Almost 50 seconds faster than yesterday.
My legs were light.
My breathing was easy.
There is still a slight lingering discomfort in my right calf.
By now I have given up my hope of being completely free of pain.
I will just live with the discomfort, keeping my fingers crossed
that it won't act up during the race on Sunday.
And even if it should act up, I will grit my teeth and bear,
and make my utmost effort to reach the finish line.

Thursday, December 1, 2016

Thursday Night 2.5 K Run

Eleven days have passed since the 10 K road race in Yotsukaido.
I'd had a few running sessions scheduled before my next race in Hadano
that takes place this coming Sunday,
but I'd canceled all of them because of a pain in my right calf.
I'd had a similar problem a few years before
when I did some single-legged hill climb.
The pain is mainly caused by excessive training with too much intensity.
Complete rest is the only solution.
But today I decided to go for a trial run.
I hit the road without pre-fixing the distance nor the length of time.
I ran mainly to check my running from and how my right calf would react to the workout.
I ran 2.5 K in 11 minutes 50 seconds,
which is roughly equivalent to a 4:44/K pace.
Should I be able to keep this pace for 21.1K,
I can finish a half marathon race in just under 1 hour and 40 minutes,
which isn't so bad because my personal best is 1:39:11 that I recorded in Sanspo Chiba Marine Half Marathon 2015.

I could have gone further, but I didn't mainly because I didn't want to take a risk and get my leg injured. But it was also because I was kind of confident that the pain wouldn't affect the coming race so much.

Tomorrow I am going to do some stretching and some moderate core training.