17 K Test-Run with 9 Surges

                            

Venue: Inawa Sports Park

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_p5pbnHb1vI

Temperature: 14.1℃~15.4℃

Marathon pace run: 25:00.00

Surge 1: 1:00.00

Marathon pace run: 8:00.00

Surge 2: 2:00.00

Marathon pace run: 2:00.00

Surge 3: 3:00.00

Marathon pace run: 5:00.00

Surge 4: 2:00.00

Marathon pace run: 5:00.00

Surge 5: 2:00.00

Marathon pace run: 5:00.00

Surge 6: 4:00.00

Marathon pace run: 5:00.00

Surge 7: 1:00.00

Marathon pace run: 5:00.00

Surge 8: 2:00.00

Marathon pace run: 5:00.00

Surge 9: 4:00.00

Food (banana) break @ Lawson's: 11:00.00

Warm down: 5:00.49

Total 18 K: 1:43:49

I went to Iwana Sports Park today to test-run the first 17 K of the course I'm running this weekend in Sakura Asahi Kenko Marathon 2018. I mixed in surges of varied lengths at regular intervals to build my fatigue resistance. 

I am so glad I ran the course today, because I was able to check the road condition. In much of the course the surface was very rough. The sole of one of my aqua shoes, which had resisted the shock and friction throughout the entire 42.195 K at the Tateyama Wakashio Marathon this past January, got a hole! I also got two blisters in my right sole. That didn't happen when I did similar training last week for a much longer distance in Tesla's Baretrek. I have an extra pair of aqua shoes, and I can use them at the race this coming week. I don't know if the same can happen there as well. I hope it won't. And I have reason to believe it won't. First, I won't run as fast in the race as I did in the training. And when I ran at my race pace in Tateyama, the sole didn't get damaged. Also, the sole probably was slready pretty worn out as a result of past frequent use. But the new pair is, as you see, brand-new and least worn-out. So I may run in Baretrek if the blisters don't heal, which is still a pretty good option for a minimalist (though a bit too protective for a man who respects Abebe Bikila), but I will mostly likely run in aqua shoes if the blisters present no problem.  

                           

Cruise Ks: 8 X 1K @ Half-Marathon Pace (4:30/K) with 60 Seconds Recovery Between Reps

I did cruise Ks. It's a close cousin of the tempo run. It's essentially a sustained effort broken into smaller chunks with a short recovery period between repetitions. It's a great way to get in some lactate threshold work without totally destroying yourself, whereby you can develop your ability to maintain decent performance under the influence of building lactic acid in your leg muscles. It's a decisive element in the final phase of a long-distance race.

Tonight I did 8 reps of 1K at my half-marathon pace of 4:30/K with 60 seconds recovery between reps.

The detail of the training tonight is shown below:
1st K: 4:22.75
Recovery: 1:00.33
2nd K: 4:20.41
Recovery: 1:00.45
3rd K: 4:21.62
Recovery: 1:00.51
4th K: 4:24.65
Recovery: 1:00.25
5th K: 4:27.25
Recovery: 1:00.54
6th K: 4:29.60
Recovery: 1:00.38
7th K: 4:17.53
Recovery: 1:00.23
8th K: 4:19.19
Total 8K: 42:05.69

I ran in aqua shoes that I'm planning to wear at Sakura Marathon on 25th. They are by far the best shoes for me right now. First, they are super light. For a long-distance runner, every extra gram in your footwear is a cause of energy loss. But my aqua shoes are as light as leathers. Second, they immediately correct any inefficiency in my running form, especially cadence. This is because there is little cushioning in these shoes. You inevitably choose the right cadence where landing shock is minimal. Thirdly, they are damn durable, AND cheap. A pair costs US$10. And I'm still using my first pair that I bought nearly half a year ago. I could add a couple of more merits, but I won't, because if I did, more people would buy them, which can result in a higher price! Just kidding. I'm not worried about that at all. Minimalist runners are still a minority.

My next training will be this coming Sunday. It's going to be my last quality session before the race on 25th. I'm thinking of doing another 2-hour race pace run with periodic surges of varied lengths. I may do something else. I don't know yet. Whatever I do, I must carefully choose to do what brings out my potential most without leaving unrecoverable fatigue.

"the Sports Gene"

Just finished reading "the Sports Gene" by David Epstein. Great read. It touches on the eternal discussion of nature vs. nurture in the field of athletics It also illustrates numerous case studies and scientific research, as well as cites data to back up points. The conclusion is quite expectedly that athletic performances are resultant products of both genes and environments, but the book makes this point quite convincingly and dramatically thanks to the author's unrivaled writing skill. I highly recommend the book to those who enjoy doing athletic activities as well as parents who have athletic kids. The book comes to an end with a friendly statement "Happy training", and that reflects the undertone of the book despite a solidly scientific style of argumentation prevailing throughout it.

Learning to be a Rider of a Large Motor Cycle

Two Sundays ago I took my second last lesson before a qualifying test to complete my course. As I might have written about it before, I got my license to ride a motor bike whose displacement is below 400 cc. I almost bought this motor bike I had always dreamed of owning, but then at the last minute I changed my mind, and decided to go to my driving school again this time to get the license to ride ones whose displacement is 400 cc and beyond. There was a huge discount on tuition fees if you took another course within one year, and I didn't want to miss out on it. Plus, in three years' time when I am officially allowed to do tandem on highways (Japan's traffic law allows you to do it only three years after you become a licensed rider), I would most likely want to ride a large bike because you need a lot of power to cruise comfortably on highways with an passenger sitting behind you.

Anyhow, the skills I needed to learn was two: how to keep balance at a super low speed, and how to keep balance while making a sharp turn. My instructor was Mr. I, one of the most theoretical teachers who is observant and quick at identifying his student's weakness, and very good at explaining why it happens, as well as providing solution. I highly trust him for his expertise.

The first skill, keeping balance at a very slow speed, wasn't so challenging, mainly because I had done it once before with Mr. I while I was still learning to get my first motor cycle license. The second skill, though, was not as easy. I had done this one too before with a smaller motor bike, but it was still awfully hard. I hoped to do better this time around, and I tried my best. But I wasn't able to impress my teacher. Seeing me quite discouraged by my own poor performance, Mr. I consoled my devastated soul by saying that it's not the goal of that lesson to do it perfectly. Knowing how hard it was and that there was always a safer alternative when taking a u-turn was important, Mr. I added. I was relieved.

My last lesson before the qualifying test was scheduled on the following Sunday. But I cancelled it. That's because I had things much more urgent and important. They are preparation for teacher seminars and for Sakura Asahi Kenko Marathon 2018. Motor cycle lesson can wait. I have re-booked my last lesson on the first of April when both the teacher seminars and the marathon will have been over. Then and only then can I give my full attention to getting my new motor cycle license.

Three-Hour Run with 21 Surges

Three-Hour Run with 21 Surges>
Marathon Pace Run: 24:00.00
Surge 1: 1:00.00
Marathon Pace Run: 5:00.00
Surge 2: 2:00.00
Marathon Pace Run: 5:00.00
Surge 3: 4:00.00
Marathon Pace Run: 5:00.00
Surge 4: 1:00.00
Marathon Pace Run: 5:00.00
Surge 5: 2:00.00
Marathon Pace Run: 5:00.00
Surge 6: 4:00.00
Marathon Pace Run: 5:00.00
Surge 7: 1:00.00
Marathon Pace Run: 5:00.00
Surge 8: 2:00.00
Marathon Pace Run: 5:00.00
Surge 9: 4:00.00
Marathon Pace Run: 5:00.00
Surge 10: 1:00.00
Marathon Pace Run: 5:00.00
Surge 11: 2:00.00
Marathon Pace Run: 5:00.00
Surge 12: 4:00.00
Marathon Pace Run: 5:00.00
Surge 13: 1:00.00
Marathon Pace Run: 5:00.00
Surge 14: 2:00.00
Marathon Pace Run: 5:00.00
Surge 15: 4:00.00
Marathon Pace Run: 5:00.00
Surge 16: 1:00.00
Marathon Pace Run: 5:00.00
Surge 17: 2:00.00
Marathon Pace Run: 5:00.00
Surge 18: 4:00.00
Marathon Pace Run: 5:00.00
Surge 19: 1:00.00
Marathon Pace Run: 5:00.00
Surge 20: 2:00.00
Marathon Pace Run: 5:00.00
Surge 21: 4:00.00
Warm Down: 2:00.00
Total 3:00:00 with 21 Surges

Two weeks to go before Sakura Asahi Kenko Marathon 2018 I ran part of the course. I left home around 1:00 p.m. and headed for the Inbanuma Pond. From Yukarigaoka on I did fast runs of varied lengths (1 minute, 2 minutes, and 4 minutes) at a regular interval of 5 minutes. Once I hit the cycling road around the pond 8.8 K from home, I ran along it. Soon I came to the 26.5 K mark of the race course, and from that point on, I just ran along it till the finish area. Along the way I came across a large group of volunteers picking litters along the course. Some of them threw words of encouragement at me, assuming that I was running the race. I was thankful to them for their behind-the-scene effort to make the event success. At the finish area I rested for a while, stretching my legs and so on. There were some people at the stadium all wearing the same blue coat. One of them talked to me in a friendly tone. He asked me how far I ran. I wasn't going for mileage, so I wasn't sure, so I told him I was just aiming to run for three hours, and that I had run a little less than three hours. He was a city government worker who was responsible for making the very first Sakura Marathon take place. Once he knew that I was running the race, he asked me a series of questions about aid stations, such as drink preferences and how helpful various foods at aid stations were, and so on. He shared very interesting stories from the past, like the course had changed a few times before they finally settled for the present course. The original course went all the way to the Kobayashi Farm in Inzai City. The local police department was involved to control the traffic, and it was a lot of work for them. They didn't like it, asking Sakura City to manage the race within their their jurisdition. I was like, "Wow, I didn't know that..."

He thanked me for my input, saying, "Sorry to keep talking for so long. I don't want you to catch a cold. I should let you go." I thanked him for sharing interesting episodes, and took off. I ran from the Iwana Sport Park to Keisei Sakura Station. There is a very long hill between them. Going over it was tremendously hard work for the tired two legs. But I mixed in two surges, one being for one-minute, and the other for two minutes with a 5-minute marathon pace run between them. I wanted to finish up my training with one more surge for 4 minutes, but I just reached the station, so I took a train home. After a 15-minute ride I got to Shizu Station, where I got off the train, and started running back home. Within 300 meters from home, I reached the community park where earlier today a local cherry blossom festival was going on. By the time I was back there, all vendors had left, and locals were leaving, with only sporadic groups of people still sitting on the ground or mocking around with one another. I jogged across the park all the way home. But then at the last minute I changed my mind, and ran fast another four minutes around the park, making the total number of surges 21 instead of 20.

All in all, my training today was a longer version of the session a week before. I ran an hour longer, and there were 9 more surges. My main purpose of this type of training is to build my lactic acid tolerance, the ability to sustain good performance even under the influence of building lactic acid. The influence of lactic acid on my performance was getting larger and larger especially after two hours, because I had never done this type of training after running two hours. But that was the whole purpose. I wanted to go beyond my limit. And I feel I achieved my daily goal. 

I will probably not going to run a distance longer than what I ran today. There are only two opportunities left for me to do decent training: this coming Thursday and next Sunday. I have a few things in mind that I want to do. I will have some inner talk with myself and decide what's best for me.

Rainy Day 25-Minute Core Workout

https://youtu.be/xNcbdWHuLv0

Two-Hour Run with 12 Surges

It's Sunday today. After taking a motorcycle lesson at driving school, I had plenty of time, so I went home and watched Biwako Mainichi Marathon 2018. Shogo Nakamura met the qualifications for MGC, or Marathon Grand Championship, the selection process whereby three runners are eventually nominated to run at the Tokyo Olympics. Seeing elite runners' amazing fortitude motivated me. I changed into my running wear and hit the road.

I set off without setting specific mileage. But I wanted to run minimum two hours. But I didn't want to just run at my regular marathon pace. I wanted to include surges of 1, 2, and 4 minutes duration every five minutes in the middle part of this session.

The weather was good, and it was warm like in April. Winds were strong, and I sometimes had to run into them, but they felt more refreshing than disturbing. I took a scenic route around the Inbanuma Pond instead of running my neighborhood. I saw quite a few runners along the way. Some of them must be running the same race as mine, Sakura Asahi Kenko Marathon 2018 as it is a big local race.

When a surge lasts only a minute, you have very little to worry about in terms of running the entire one minute without having to stop at a traffic light. But when it comes to a 4-minute surge, you need almost one kilometer of uninterrupted road. So I chose areas that had as few traffic lights as possible. They were easily found in recently developing residential areas in the suburbs, and also on cycling roads around the pond.

As it was originally planned, I was able to run for a little longer than 2 hours and did some decent speed training with 4 sets of 3 different durations of surges with an interval of five minutes between surges.

The detail of the training today is as follows:
Run at marathon pace: 26:00
Surge: 1:00.00
Run at marathon pace: 5:00
Surge: 2:00.00
Run at marathon pace: 5:00
Surge: 4:00.00
Run at marathon pace: 5:00
Surge: 1:00.00
Run at marathon pace: 5:00
Surge: 2:00.00
Run at marathon pace: 5:00
Surge: 4:00.00
Run at marathon pace: 5:00
Surge: 1:00.00
Run at marathon pace: 5:00
Surge: 2:00.00
Run at marathon pace: 5:00
Surge: 4:00.00
Run at marathon pace: 5:00
Food Break: 5:00
Surge: 1:00.00
Run at marathon pace: 5:00
Surge: 2:00.00
Run at marathon pace: 5:00
Surge: 4:00.00
Run at marathon pace: 11:00
Total: 2:05:00

Again, I learned this training method in "From Last to First" written by Charlie Spedding of the UK, who says in the book that he originally got the idea from 1983 Boston Marathon winner Greg Meyer of the United States. So my hat is tipped for both.

Midnight Mixed Training Inspired by Charlie Spedding & Greg Meyer

I ran for a little longer than 40 minutes tonight. Originally nothing was scheduled. For one thing I have a very early start on Saturday morning, so I should crash early to give myself a good rest. Also, I'm scheduled to do some quality training on Sunday, so I should save up energy for it. But nevertheless I ran, because I was in a mood for it. Now that the session is over, and I can see how good I feel, I think I was right about going ahead with it.

I ran because there was something I wanted to put to the test. It's this training I learned while reading "From Last to First" by Los Angeles Olympics men's marathon bronze medalist Charlie Spedding. In prep for a race he did something that he learned from his fellow long-distance runner Greg Meyer, who is best-known as the winner of the 1983 Boston Marathon. The training consist of 20-mile run at a good race pace with occasional surges. The duration of surge varies from one through two eventually to four minutes. There is a five-minute run between surges, but it's not a jog.

The total distance is far shorter than 20 miles, but I did it for about 25 minutes and got a feel for it.

I wrapped up my training tonight with 3 reps of a 350-M sprint. I finished under 1:15 in all three, which is a huge improvement from two attempts ago. It's so empowering to see myself get faster with each attempt.

The details of the training tonight is shown below:
Run at full marathon pace: 1:00.00
Surge: 1:00.00
Run at full marathon pace: 5:00.00
Surge: 2:00.00
Run at full marathon pace: 5:00.00
Surge: 4:00.00
Run at full marathon pace: 5:00.00
Surge: 1:00.00
Jog: 2:26.80
350 M sprint: 1:14.41
Jog: 2:50.13
350 M sprint: 1:12.50
Jog: 3:16.47
350 M sprint: 1:10.86
Jog: 5:41.75
Total: 41:52.92

I ran in Vibram Five Fingers. They were good for fast run, giving me far greater stability, and a far better grip on the road than aqua shoes especially when landing.

6 K Night Hill Jog Making Double Training

I ran 6 K after coming home from work. I ran in a pair of Baretrek by Tesla. They are minimalist running shoes. They are a bit narrow for my feet, but not to the point where they become uncomfortable. I wore socks too, which is unusual of me. They are partly for protecting my feet from friction with the shoes, and partly for keeping my legs warm. It was too warm for long athletic tights, but a little too cold for going out in shorts and no socks. I ran the distance in 31:48.64. I thought I was going as fast as I did earlier this morning, but I wasn't. I was planning to do some intervals too, but I didn't feel too motivated, so I called it a day. After I got home, I made myself simple pasta with butter, olive oil, salt, and dried 'nori' seaweed. It was exquisite. I still don't feel that my motivation is back after running Ohme. Maybe it's because I haven't been able to have a decent sleep because I woke up earlier than usual to go to driving school a few times, and also woke up much earlier than usual to give a corporate seminar once. I'm afraid that I'm suffering from a minor shortage of sleep. I should give myself a good rest and wait until I feel strong enough to have some quality session soon.