Thursday, August 31, 2017

25.4 K Midnight Run Over Hills

1.7 K: 9:36.49
1 K: 5:00.42
1:K: 5:09.75
1 K: 5:02.80
1:K: 5:08.96
5.7 K: 29.58.96
Water break: 19.58
1 K: 5:00.65
1:K: 5:09.86
1 K: 5:07.97
1:K: 5:04.69
9.7 K: 50.41.17
Water break: 22.23
1 K: 5:00.78
1:K: 5:12.93
1 K: 5:09.09
1:K: 5:19.16
1 K: 5:03.23
1:K: 5:21.36
15.7 K: 1:22:17
Water break: 27.37
1 K: 5:10.49
1:K: 5:30.23
1 K: 5:30.41
1:K: 5:29.99
19.7 K: 1:44:19
Water break: 46.63
1 K: 5:18.39
1:K: 5:36.23
21.7 K: 1:56:00
Water break: 29.76
1 K: 5:08.49
1:K: 5:15.18
1.7 K: 9:31.57
Total 25:4 K: 2:16:25




Tuesday, August 29, 2017

Two Personal Goals Considered for the Second Half of Year 2017

I have two new goals considered for the latter half of this year. That’s in addition to all the fitness goals related to the races that I’m scheduled to run. One is getting a motor-cycle license. Right now I only have the regular driver’s license that allows me to drive cars up to the size of 8 tons and scooters with the engine size of under 50cc. I am planning to get the license that allows you to drive up to motor-cycles whose engine size is max 400 cc. It costs around US$900, and takes a months or two to get it.
The second goal is a fitness goal. I want to develop my bi-ceps. My bi-ceps are the most underdeveloped part of my body. The biggest reason is that I have never chosen to focus on this particular muscle. As I look back on it, I really don’t know why I haven’t, but my guess is that when someone set his mind to build muscles, the first muscle he focuses on is his bi-ceps, probably because of their association with Popeye and strength. Well, then, why didn’t you focus on that symbolic muscle? I guess I just didn’t want to do what everybody else was doing. I wanted to be different.
They why the change? One reason is Jeff Cavalier. Jeff is a fitness guru who shares zillions of fitness videos on You Tube. While helping many celebrities with their physical development, Jeff himself is shamelessly fit, ripped to shreds to the core, and his body never looks artificially inflated. Gathering from this athletic ethics which permeates through his speeches, he probably never depends on steroid, or mystery chemicals, or God knows what. I highly respect Jeff. And he’s got massive bi-ceps. And from what he says, he never had any genetic advantage as a young man. He simply did endless bi-cep curls throughout his adolescence and into now.
But he says two additional efforts helped him. One is metabolic resistance. By that I mean that you can increase the effectiveness of the bi-cep curl by elongate it eccentrically halfway down, instead of all the way down, stopping, and then pulling it back up concentrically. This way you bi is constantly under tension throughout the effort. The metabolic resistance is maximized. One note of caution is that when you do this exercise, the weight of your dumbbell should be reduced only slightly. I don’t have any dumbbells, and I use fitness rubber bands instead. When I do, I adjust the length and reduce resistance.  
The second tip, according to him, is stimulating bi-ceps eccentrically while increasing the weight of your dumbbell. When you increase the size of your weight, it becomes harder to bring up the dumbbell. In some cases, it’s simply too heavy to lift. Many people simply give up. But you don’t have to. There is something you can do. First, you can cheat up the weight, with the aid of the other hand if necessary. And then you slowly elongate the muscle eccentrically, taking 12 seconds. I feel this is super effective, because as I do it, I can actually see the massive tension in the muscle triggered through this effort, and that your bi literally blows up with each effort.
My bi-ceps have always looked a lot smaller in size than my shoulders, which is normal. But when I saw those of Jeff Cavalier which apparently looked larger his already quite large balling ball shoulders, I thought, “I want to get those.”

I am planning to make a follow-up video to demonstrate the two approaches to maximizing muscle gain and sharing it with you soon.

High Intensity Cardio for Maximum Calorie Consumption

Today is cardio day. I did ten sets of one-minute cardio consisting of burpee, mountain climbers, and weighted leg lunges with an old tire.
It's a genuine total body workout that engages core, chest, bi-ceps, tri-ceps, forearms, shoulders, traps, abs, thighs, calves, etc.
For the entire workout click the link below to see the video.
https://www.youtube.com/edit?o=U&video_id=wrTVaOP6tnw
Unfortunately, it's mostly out of focus, but it gives you a rough idea.
I feel pleasantly burned out for the day.
I will give my legs a rest, and mainly do upper body workout
so that I won't be too tired on Thursday night
when I want to do a 25 K run.
I will probably hit bi-ceps at home,
and if the temperature isn't too high,
I may also do some forearm workout and video-shooting in Shinobazu Park.

Monday, August 28, 2017

21.4 K Evening Run Over Hills

I did everything I wanted to do for the weekend, and I feel content.
There were three things on my to-do-list.
One was to watch a good movie.
The second was to celebrate my bilingual companion's birthday.
The third was to have a good training run.

As far as the first goal goes, I watched "Million Dollar Baby" and was totally knocked out by it. For the details, please see the link below.
 https://goo.gl/CghY7d

Regarding the second goal, I shopped at H&M in Landmark Plaza, and dined at Motsushige in the Noge district.
https://goo.gl/QQJBXe

Finally, with the third goal, I went to my favorite 1 K hilly stretch that's 1.7 K from home to do 18 repeats to cover 21.4 K.


Today's result is as follows:
1.7 K: 10:27.86
1 K: 5:29.56
1 K: 5:31.41
1 K: 5:24.62
1 K: 5:19.43
Water break: 14.87
1 K: 5:06.63
1 K: 5:17.54
1 K: 5:12.08
1 K: 5:13.33
Water break: 15.86
1 K: 5:03.31
1 K: 5:18.75
Water break: 13.23
1 K: 5:13.45
1 K: 5:19.69
1 K: 5:15.70
1 K: 5:27.13
Water break: 15.49
1 K: 5:14.60
1 K: 5:25.83
Water break: 15.79
1 K: 5:19.79
1 K: 5:19.19
1.7 K: 9:01.19
Total 21.4 K: 1:56:16

Million Dollar Baby (2004)


This weekend I watched "Million Dollar Baby" on Amazon Prime. God knows how many times I had seen it before, but it was a renewed pleasure to see it again.

Without giving too much away, the story is about a 31-year-old white woman named Maggie (Hilary Swank). One day she comes to a boxing gym owned by Frankie (Clint Eastwood). She persistently asks Frankie to train her, saying that she wants to box seriously. He refuses flatly because he thinks she's too old, plus he doesn't believe in women boxers. But when Frankie hears about Maggies plight centering around her dysfunctional family with father who died when she was still young, and 145 kg mother who has been on welfare for years and a sister with a baby who is married to a husband who is in jail, he finally consents to training her, on the condition that she should never ask questions and that she always say, "Yes, Frankie." Maggie improves quickly, and once she starts fighting matches, she keeps on beating her opponents on after another until she was offered a title world title match. The champion is not only tough and aggressive, but also fights dirty. In Round 4 of the title match she punches Maggie on her blind side while the referee isn't looking, and Maggie is sent falling, her neck hitting the lying chair on her corner. She breaks her neck and becomes paralyzed for life. Without even the ability to breathe on her own, an oxygen pipe is connected to her throat, and Maggie is in a state of passive euthanasia. While she is hospitalized, Frankie comes to see her almost everyday. Although it is never told in the movie, Frankie is estranged from his own daughter. He goes to church every single day, and through his few exchanges with the priest, it is hinted that he has a sense of guilt deep in his mind, the nature of which is never told after all. Meanwhile, her obese mother visits her hospital one day with Maggie's married sister and her husband now out of jail, and a lawyer. She suggests that Maggie should sign a paper to allow her to take care of all of Maggie's assets now that she is disabled and incapable of doing it herself. Stunned by her own mother's shamelessness, Maggie finally realizes that she has been unhealthily attached to people who care about nobody but themselves, and also that it is time to disconnect her relationship with them once and for all. With emotional connection to her family lost, what she has left is her brief glory as a boxer. Sleeping in bed, she has dreamed of her audience shouting her name and this Gaelic phrase that is printed on her gown that says, “Mo cuishle.” Convinced that these are the best moments and best memories of her life, she wants to end her life before they are taken away from her. Maggie asks Frankie to let her die by disconnecting the oxygen pipe. He says he can’t. Later Frankie tells Father about his conflict, but Father simply tells Frankie to let the Lord take care of it. That night, though, Maggie tries to solve the problem by herself. She bits her tongue, trying to die from bleeding. Doctors stitches up her tongue, but she tries again, so now the doctors cover up her tongue to keep her from doing it. “Which is right?” Frankie struggles. Let her live like this, in a passive state of euthanasia, like Father says, or take her life away as she pleas? One night entering her bed room, unnoticed, Frankie bends over Maggie and whispers to her the meaning of “Mo cuishle”. Maggie smiles a faint smile, and as she does so, a tear runs down her cheek.

The movie got me thinking about a lot of things, one of which is biological parenthood vs human bond developed through working together for a purpose. The relationship between Maggie and her mother is biological, but it is dysfunctional. That between Frankie and Maggie is only social and not biological, but it is need-fulfilling. When one is born, one cannot choose one’s own mother or father. What if they are destructive, and irresponsible? Naturally, one’s life is significantly affected while one is still small and helpless. But should it continue to be affected even after one grows independent financially? Should her happiness be determined by what kind of parents she is born into? “Million Dollar Baby” seems to give us viewers an answer.


Thursday, August 24, 2017

15.4 K Midnight Run Over Hills

I came home from a corporate seminar past 11:00 p.m. The seminar went well and I wanted to reward my mindbody that did a good job. I asked it, "What do you want?" It said, "I want to hit the hills!" So hit the hills I did. I jogged 1.7 K to the place where my favorite 1 K stretch lies with one long downward incline and one long upward incline.

Today's result is as follows:
1.7 K: 11:09.60
1 K: 5:17.71
1 K: 5:20.34
1 K: 5:12:74
1 K: 5:07.30
Water break: 15.70
1 K: 5:06.69
1 K: 5:15.89
1 K: 5:16:47
1 K: 5:16.38
Water break: 13.90
1 K: 5:20.39
1 K: 5:21.10
1 K: 5:18:68
1 K: 5:08.16
1.7 K: 10:39.35
Total 15:4 K: 1:25:20



Wednesday, August 23, 2017

5 K Midnight Run + Upper Body Park Workout

When I came home from a 90-minute corporate seminar, I was so sleepy, but my body wanted some physical activity to reset the exhausted mind, so I went out for a 5 K jog around a 2.5 K loop near my house. I wrapped up the short jog with park workout consisting of 4 sets of 45-second swing push-ups, and 45-second lying flexed arm hang with a short rest between exercises. In about 50 minutes I was totally refreshed, and my mind was completely reset.

Monday, August 21, 2017

One-Minute Alternate Runs by 25 Sets

Today is speed day!
I did one-minute alternate runs by 25 sets to run a total 50 minutes.
In alternate runs you jog for a minute, and then run fast for a minute,
and repeat this cycle 24 more times.
I  learned this training from "Running with the Kenyans" by Adharanand Finn
who did the same training with Kenyan runners in Iten.
It's a great way to improve your ability to surge as well as to quickly recover from a temporary exhaustion.

Each quick run is short, and soon to be rewarded by a short job, but because there are so many sets, when the first set is over, you can never imagine you will be able to go through another 24 sets. But as you knock down one set after another, the prospect of completing all 25 sets overwhelms the initial fear of failure. And when you finally complete the entire sets, you feel ecstatic!

It is a good break from tedious long runs at the same pace. I will do it again probably after I have done a couple of 20 K runs.

Sunday, August 20, 2017

15.4 K Run

I went for a practice run on Sunday afternoon because the temperature wasn't so high, and it seemed a good condition for a long run. I didn't want to run a flat course. I wanted resistance. I chose a 1 K route with two slopes and did 12 repeats. Different from training on a flat course, it forces you to change your running from depending on the incline of the slope, and therefore good for preparing for a hilly race that is scheduled within a month. I felt my running efficiency hadn't been lost so much though I didn't run much at the end of July and at the beginning of August. It even felt as if the form had been kind of solidified during that non-practice period. I felt strong around 10 K, but slowly ran out of gas after that. I hope to build my long distance endurance slowly. I am planning to do two things. The first is double training. I am going to run again tonight in order to increase my total daily mileage. The second is sticking to around 15 K distance for a while instead of increasing distance right away. The process of endurance building should be slow and steady.

Today's result is as follows:
1.7 K: 9:15.75
1 K: 5:09.46
1 K: 5:19.42
Water break: 20.29
1 K: 5:10.12
1 K: 5:11.56
1 K: 5:08.41
1 K: 5:08.96
Water break: 20.13
1 K: 5:03.34
1 K: 5:16.66
Water break: 20.20
1 K: 5:12.87
1 K: 5:21.80
Water break: 23.07
1 K: 5:18.10
1 K: 5:19.97
1.7 K: 10.21.90
Total 15.4 K: 1:23.42

I did some park workout on my way home to hit biceps and chest. I didn't last very long as I was already significantly exhausted from the run, but it added a good finishing touch to it. I felt pleasantly burned out for the afternoon.

Thursday, August 17, 2017

7.5 K Run + 1-Minute Alternate Runs

Just came home from a quick practice run. I ran 7.5 K at a comfortable pace first, and then did some intervals after that. Today's interval training is 1-minute alternate runs. I learned this training from "Running with the Kenyans" by Adharanand Finn. In this training you cruise for a minute and then run fast for a minute and repeat the set as many times as you want. In the book the writer did it 25 sets for 50 minutes. Today I just did it 5 sets. It's a good speed variation to add to a pace run. I often throw it in after running a good distance at varied paces.

My speed sucked today, as my ability to sustain speed had significantly deteriorated from the end of July to the beginning of August when I was too tied up with work to do any good running training. But my basic running strength has not been lost much. I was especially relieved my cardio was still quite strong, mainly because during this summer vacation I enjoyed skin-diving a couple of times, and that required me to use my cardio and legs all the time. So I wasn't totally out of shape.

Although I ran 7.5 K with no problem, that's mainly because the pace was easy, and it's a different story if I ran at a much faster pace. To do that I still need to gradually increase my running distance, and once I can run 20 K at my full marathon pace, I would like to start doing some major speed training.