5 K Run

I ran 5 K after coming home from work.
I paid attention only to my cadence--how many steps I take in one minute.
My goal tonight was 190 steps per minute.
I set the countdown timer on my Ironman wrist watch at 1 minute,
and check my cadence every minute.
They all fell between 184 and 192.
I ran the 2.5 K loop near my house twice.
The first lap was 12:18.68.
The second was 12:23.83.
I had a red flickering light on the back of my running cap,
and a white flickering light on the front of my trunk.
I fixed it on a fitness runner band from a dollar shop,
and wrapped it around my waist.
Both of the lights are from the dollar shop too.
I wear them so as not to freak out pedestrians in the dark,
and also to avoid getting hit by cars.
I recommend you to do it if you run late at night.
I am planning to run to a local event organized by a friend of mine
from my high school days on Sunday.
The venue is 11 K from home, but the route leading there is rich in undulation and good for stimulating legs and cardio.
Very excited to do it.

Weekend 30 K Challenge

It's been almost a week since my last long run.
I gave a full rest today and ate very well also.
Shortly past 8 p.m. I took off for a weekend 30 K challenge
in my minimalist split-toe shoes MUTEKI.
I took a couple of water break at convenient stores,
and one food break before a 2.5 K warm-down run to finish up,
but other than that I just went on and on along a very very hilly course,
past my high school near the halfway point,
to cover altogether 30.3 K in a little over three hours.
It's actually not bad, considering that it's my first 30 K + run
since running a full in Sakura this past March.
My running economy is significantly improved,
with no cramps in the legs during or after the run.
My cadence is between 180 and 190 today (I measured it on and off),
significantly higher than before, with the strides much narrower.
As a result the landing shock is minimum.
So although I ran in shoes with only a very thin rubber sole,
there is not much damage in the sole my feet.
I hope to become used to this distance soon,
and eventually (hopefully sometime before the race in September)
I want to run close to 50 K in one day by double training
where I run some Ks in the morning, and more later in the evening.

Today's result is as follows:
Stage 1 (11.2 K):
58:53.28
https://goo.gl/rMwwhQ

Stage 2 (5.4 K+11.2 K=16.6 K):
9:14.81
Hydration break: 3:14.09
47.37.73
Hydration break: 3:00.91
39:57.66
Food break: 5:10.19
https://goo.gl/GhXxqE
https://goo.gl/rMwwhQ

Stage 3 (2.5 K=loop near my home)
16:32.40

Total 30.3 K: 3:03:41

10 K Run + 1-Minute Alternate Run by 8 Sets

It's been a while since I last ran. It was two Mondays ago that I ran 26 K between home and my high school friend's architectural design office in Central Sakura. It took me awhile to recover from the fatigue, and once I recovered, I did too much muscle training and wasn't in a mood to go for a long run. And this past Monday I donated my blood, and I was told to refrain from anything physically too strenuous. Two days have passed since, and finally I felt strong enough to hit the road. I started off at my new full marathon target pace of 5:15/K, aiming to lap the 2.5 K loop near my house in 13:07.00. But I ended up running each lap a lot faster. When I finished 10 K, I was strong enough to do something more, but was a bit bored of running the same loop again, so after resting for two minutes, I did one-minute alternate run. I did it 8 sets. The alternate run is my recent favorite. It's a one-minute quick run followed by a one-minute jog. I like it for a couple of reasons. First, it's a good way to stimulate cardio. I can elevate my heart rate immediately. And since each quick run is short, I can run a lot faster than in other intervals. Second, I can get rewarded with a short rest at a shorter interval, so it's easier to stay motivated. By combining a long run at a comfortable pace and a highly intensive session, I was able to stimulate various systems of my body. It's one of my athletic goals--versatility. I want to have the ability to adjust my systems so that I can maintain high performance under varieties of race conditions.

The details of tonight's training is as follows:
1st 2.5 K: 12:46.89
2nd 2.5 K: 12:48.65
3rd 2.5 K: 12:44.49
4th 2.5 K: 12:27.42
Sub-total 10 K: 50:47.49
Rest: 2:00:00
1-minute alternate run by 8 sets: 16:00.00
Warm down: 1:57.90
Total 12.76 K: 1:10:45

 

26 K Run

I ran 26 K in minimalist split-toe running shoes MUTEKI.
https://goo.gl/aIdMLf
I left home around 10:30 p.m. and reached my first destination,
Morita Architectural Design Office in Central Sakura in 1:10:15, including one pee break,
one hydration stop, and one fueling stop. It's exactly 12 K between my home and the architectural office.
I dropped by a convenience store by the side of it, and stayed there for 9:09.23 to eat a bowl of wantong soup.
With my stomach filled, I headed for the second half.
I returned the same route in 1:12:43,
including one pee break and one fueling stop.
When I returned home, I felt strong enough to run some more,
so I decided to warm down by going extra 2 K near my house
to cover a total 26 K.

The details are as follows:
1st 12 K: 1:10:15
Break: 9:09.23
2nd 12 K: 1:12:43
Extra 2 K: 11:46.24
Total 26 K: 2:43:54

The course is rich in undulation. There are altogether 7 sets of ups and downs
of varied steepness and length.
Some are forbiddingly steep. Some are sickeningly long.
But I need them all in order to improve my running efficiency.
I pushed myself quite a bit when I ran up the slopes,
taking shorter, but quicker strides for minimizing energy loss.
I completed the session, pain-free,
which is a good sign that my running economy is of a decent level.

Weekend Calorie Blaster: Intervals, Core, and Sprints

I don't mind running a long distance slowly. But that's when I have plenty of time. Sometimes I don't. Today is such a day. I slept late. It took me hours before I finally felt strong enough to do something around 3 p.m. I was going to meet someone in the evening, so I didn't have time to run a long distance. But I still wanted to have some running training. What can you do when you want to gain a lot from your effort, but don't have a whole lot of time. My solution is intervals. 

Today I did alternate runs between a one-minute jog and a one-minute fast run. I did it ten sets to cover a little less than 5 K. 

I did some core training also. 30 seconds by ten sets, hitting hamstrings, shoulders, obliques, and glutes in addition to the core.

As I did the core training, I felt my heart rates got back to a sufficiently low level. Low enough to push myself further to have some short but real fast runs, namely sprints.  I ran across the park diagonally as fast as I could. It's approximately 150 M. In the first set I was strong. I ran it around 30 seconds. In the second set I was even faster. But it didn't last so long. In the third set I slowed down after 100 M, quickly running out of glycogen. The fourth set was pretty much the same. The last 50 M of the last two sets was suffocating. But it gave me a feeling that I gave it all I had got then. I was satisfied.

The details of today's training is as follows:

Alternate runs between one-minute jog and one minute fast run: 20.06.94.

Core training: 30 seconds by 10 sets.

150 M sprint by 4 sets:

1st: 31.17

Rest: 2:00.58

2nd: 29.84

Rest: 1:59.98

3rd: 33.18

Rest: 2:00.18

4th: 34.04

Warm down: 5:33.62

  

Midnight Muscle Training

I did some upper body workout after coming home from work.
I was originally just planning to take a short walk in my neighborhood
to relax my mind and body.
But as I came near the park where I often do morning workout,
I couldn't resist this temptation to work out,
so I did push-ups using swings,
and flexed arm hang and some other exercises to hit lats.
I began with flexed arm hang for 30 seconds,
rested for 15 seconds,
and did push-ups using swings for 30 seconds.
This is one set.
I did four sets today.
By the time I reached the fourth set,
my chest was so exhausted that I couldn't bring the two swings together
until they touched each other.
Tomorrow I hope to hit my shoulders
as they seem rather neglected for several days.

Post-Sushi 5 K Run + Intervals

I ate sushi on my way home from work.
I ate a little more than usual, and wanted to burn some calories
before going to bed.
So I ran the 2.5 K loop in my neighborhood twice
to cover total 5 K.
After that I did three intervals.
The first fast run was 650 M.
I did it after resting for a minute after the 5 K run.
I finished at 2:37.29.
I rested for a minute and a half before the second fast run,
which is 880 M this time.
I finished at 3:29.61.
Finally I ran 1 K in 3.59.11 after two minutes of rest.
I slowly jogged back home for warm-down
after the heart-break last set.
Tonight's result is as follows:
1st 2.5 K: 12.46.02
2nd 2.5 K: 12:30.97
Rest: 1:00.27
650 M: 2:37.29
Rest: 1:30.17
880 M: 3:29.61
Rest: 2:00.12
1 K: 3:59.11
Warm Down: 2:10.84
Total 7.81 K: 42:04.40

Ten-Minute Morning Exercises

I am sometimes in a mood for a run.
But I don't always have time to do so.
In that case, I replace running training
with body weight training of various kinds.
I like it because you can do it anywhere, anytime
without much equipment.
This morning I did some body weight core exercise
in a nearby park that requires no equipment.
Later on I did another exercise in yet another park
that has swings.
This time I used the metal poles and the swings
to do the workout.
The park was deserted and there were no kids,
so I hope I didn't cause anyone any trouble
using the facility for purposes they are not originally intended for.
Except that there was a cleaning guy
when I hit the park,
and he looked kind of suspicious of me doing the workout
using the facility designed for kids and their moms pops.

I believe the first workout is good for runners
as they are required to have single-legged stability
in the sport, and the exercise has lots of moments
where you hold your body weight in a single-legged position.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRjxZfo_F1g

The second exercise is good to build your upper body strength.
It mainly hits chest and lats, but forearms are also significantly
engaged.
Since exercises hit the areas of your body that have large muscle mass,
they immediately raise your heart rates,
and start firing up your body when you are into the second set.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hoh3t_w65xA

One of the two exercises in the second video is a static hold.
It's isometric. It doesn't look as dynamic as regular pull-ups
and chin-ups. But it can be a good start for those who cannot do those time-honored kings of upper body exercise.
For one thing, you can strength your grip.
Also, by starting from the top position and slowly sinking,
you can spend several seconds in the eccentric phase of a pull-up movement.
A physical trainer says that 70% of this effort will be transferred
to your performance in the concentric phase.
What it means is that by jumping to the poles (or a bar if you work with a horizontal bar), staying, and slowly coming down as you fatigue, and doing this process over and over again, you will eventually be able to do the regular pull-up
which is often considered the best benchmark of one's fitness.

5 K Run

On Thursday night I came home around midnight.
The TV was on, and a table tennis match was on.
Olympic medalist Jun Mizutani was losing against a 13-year-old new comer.
While I was changing into my running gear, the game ended,
and the medalist lost.
As I thought about the headlines of tomorrow's sports papers,
I slip my feet into my minimalist split-toe running shoes,
got out, and walked to the starting point of the day's training run.
The street was deserted when I got there.
I used to stretch a bit before starting to run.
But these days I skip it.
It's mainly because when I read "Running with the Kenyans"
by Mr. Adharanand Finn,
it was written that Kenyan runners hardly do stretching before running.
They simply kind of warm up as they run.
They do it and have no problem. Why not me?
That's the logic behind my recent approach.
As can be imagined, I have no problem, running with out warm up.

I cruised along my usual 2.5 K loop to finish the first lap in under 13:00.00.
I continued on for another lap, slightly increasing the pace.
While I was running the second lap, I was constantly asking myself
what to do next.
Will I go for another lap?
Will I do intervals.
While I was halfway into it, I was full of legs, and determined to go for another lap,
and then wrap it up with several intervals,
but by the time I was about to finish it,
I suddenly felt out of gas,
so I decided to call it quits so as not to over do it.
I have lessons to teach, and I need to save energy for them.
One of them is to prospective customers,
which requires a new kind of energy, and is a bit more stressful
in that I cannot assume so much common experience
like in the case of teaching regular students.