Samurai's Morning Discipline Routine

The regimented life of 'samurai' appeals to me.
They would devote themselves to the perfection of whatever they pursued.
Though the class of samurai per se no longer exists.
Their spirits still do.
And they manifest themselves in many aspects of our modern life.
Devotion, dedication, discipline, and perfection.
They are often proven to be indispensable elements of quality work.
So this morning as well, I woke up to find myself marching to a nearby park
to prepare my mindbody for potential external threats and pressures of competitive business world.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWfjxbN8BTY

Wednesday Night 5 K Sit and Kick Run & Short Interval Training

I was ill for almost two weeks,

and I didn't do any running training all this while.

The main symptom was this nasty cough I couldn't shake off,

and it gave me such a hard time in teaching.

But this morning that cough finally stopped.

My voice still sounds a bit funny,

but breathing is normal and my normal energy level is back.

So I went out for a major training run.

First I ran 5 K at half marathon pace.

I didn't ran each K at a regular pace.

But instead I started off at full marathon pace,

and finish the last 200 M in sprint.

This elevates my heart rates significantly,

and it is expected to improve my ability to maximize the oxygen use I breathe in.

After the 5 K run, I rested for 5 and a half minutes,

and did 4 sets of 650 M interval training.

In interval training, the pace is a lot faster,

and in the last couple of hundred meters

I often push myself so that I need to sustain a high speed

in a state of oxygen debt.

As I understand it, this type of training helps improve your ability

to sustain a high level of performance even in a state of fatigue.

The details of today's training is as follows:

1st K: 4:46

2nd K: 4:41

3rd K: 4:47

4th K: 4:29

5th K: 4:34

Rest: 5:30

650 M: 2:27

Rest: 2:00

650 M: 2:36

Rest: 2:07

650 M: 2:33

Rest: 2:00

650 M: 2:45

GIVE UP!! 

Eliud Kipchoge (Kenyan Long-Distance Runner I Like)

Eliud Kipchoge is a Kenyan long-distance runner.
I like him a lot for many reasons.
His excellent records in many major races are of course one reason,
but my biggest reason is his long extended career.
How has he been able to continue his athletic career so long,
and at such a high level?

In 2003 he beats my middle-distance running hero Hicham El Guerrouj in Men's 5000 M.
Though he is beaten by El Guerrouj in the Athens Olympic Games,
he makes a beautiful transition to longer distances,
and scores a series of marvelous times in many races.

What I find particularly inspiring is that in the last mile before crossing the finish line
Kipchoge is apparently smiling as he puts on a spurt, leaving his competitors behind.
Yes, he is smiling after having run over 40 K!
His form is impeccably beautiful, running almost as if he was running a shorter-distance track race, swinging his arms back and forth forcefully and throwing his legs forward one after another
like a locomotive.
How can he do it so beautifully?
How could I run like him?
Would I be able to carry on like him over many years?
That's one of my recent interests.

I am going to find more information about him and his training,
and hope to share some of my findings here in this blog.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_z5Iiz1iWY

My Farmer Friend Atsushi and His Sauvage Method

On July 10, 2016 I visited a farm where my best friend Atsushi was growing tomatoes.

He has been well known for his film farming method

ever since he was featured in the documenatary Gaiya no Yoake.

The reason I visited his farm this time was because he was experimenting a new farming method called "sauvage" method.

Sauvage typically refers to a female hair style that is characterized by tight curly hair.

Why is his new method called sauvage?

One obvious reason is that when his tomato plants have grown large, they will look like female sauvage hair.

How so?

Well, in his two green houses where he conducts this film method,

only the main stem is kept and all the secondary buds are nipped.

The main purpose of this is to concentrate all of the nutrients into the main stem,

and therefore eventually into the fruits.

On the other hands, in sauvage methods

secondary buds are not nipped, but kept, 

except for the ones under the second row of fruits from the bottom.

This allows the plant to grow its secondary buds all over the place.

As you can see in the left picture below, the plants grow over a net that is hung over a row of arches. In a couple of months the arches will be covered with leaves, creating a tunnel of tomato leaves!

Out of curiosity I asked Atsushi, 

"But isn't it the case that if you don't nip secondary buds,

tomatoes will get less sweet, because nutrients will be stretched thin 

among a greater number of fruits?"

His answer was no.

The truth of the matter is that now that there are more leaves growing all over the place,

they create more nutrients through photosynthesis.

At the same time the plants actively expand their roots deeper and more widely 

in order to meet the demand of the expanding top.

This is something that he cannot do in film method 

because the volume of soil is limited because of the film 

that encases the soil.

According to Atsushi, his production cycle with film method has been quite streamlined already,

and he is ready for a new challenge.

On the day I visited his farm, I helped with my bilingual companion with nipping unnecessary secondary buds and also with tying the plants to nets with plastic tape

so that they would grow along the net neatly.

When the work was over, Atsushi kindly gave us a bunch of fresh tomatoes from his green house and two bags full of Thai basil leaves that he started growing recently.

My bilingual companion and I enjoyed having them both fresh the next day for breakfast.

I will visit him again to offer him a helping hand soon.

It may be around the end of August of the beginning of September

when he starts planting seedlings in his green houses in Isehara.

A Bounty of Nature

I went on a business trip in Osaka this past weekend.

I had an awesome seminar with eight teachers mainly from the western part of Japan.

I got lots of positive feedback from the participants on questionnaires.

The only regret is that I developed a minor laryngitis during the two-day seminar,

and it got worse after I came home.

I gave myself a complete rest on Tuesday.

I skipped my running training entirely, of course,

as I couldn't shake off my nasty coughs,

and I was completely exhausted...

The following day I felt much better thanks to a good rest.

So to refresh myself I went to my favorite bush about 8 K from home.

I crawled through the bush for about 20 minutes and collected a bag full of Japanese ginger.

(See the picture below.)

I rinsed the dust off and put lots of it into the cold broth

when I had buck wheat noodles for late lunch.

Thursday Midnight 4 K Interval Training

After coming home from a corporate seminar,
I wanted to reset my mindbody,
so I hit the road to do some interval training.
Today I aimed at running 1 K under 4:00.
I finished the first K at 3:48.
After resting for 3 minute,
I set off for the second K.
I came back at 3:49.
At this point I was so exhausted
that I didn't want to carry on.
But I decided to continue by lowering the expectation of myself.
I significantly lowered the pace to make the 3rd round bearable.
I knew I was going at my 10 K pace of 4:30/K,
but the time was 4:17 when I finished,
because I kicked the last 200 M.
I could have called it a day,
but the 4:17/K run in the 3rd round made me want to repeat the same approach
in yet another round.
So I went for one more,
and finished the 4th round in 4:16.

I only ran 4 K,
but because of the much faster paces than usual
in the first 2 K,
I was much more exhausted than I usually am
when I run the same distance
at much lower paces.

Tomorrow morning, I will probably slowly jog for a few kilometers
just to elevate my heart rates to get my system activated,
but won't inject pace much so that I can give my legs some rest.

Thursday Morning 4K Build-Up (2016.7.14)

After giving myself a half day break from running training,
I was ready to run as soon as I woke up this morning.
I did a 4 K build-up training.
In this training you gradually inject pace as you progress from one lap to another.
The last lap was run at full marathon pace.
The second was at half marathon pace,
with the third run at 10 K pace.
And the last lap was run at 5 K pace.

One difference between this training and race pace Ks
that I did two days before
is that there is no rest between laps with 4 K build up.

Today's result is as follows:
1st Lap: 5:12
2nd Lap: 4:53
3rd Lap: 4:39
4th Lap: 3:58
Total 4K: 18:43

On my way home from the park I did 12 reps of shoulder rotation, 9 sets to stimulate my shoulders and traps.

It seems I am exercising all the time without rest,
but the truth of the matter is that I shift the target region
from one area to another so that I won't overwork on particular muscle
or muscle group.
It's very important in avoiding injury.

Lats & Core Training

When I ran up the stairs in Keisei Katsutadai Station,
I found my legs significantly fatigued,
I decided to give them a rest tonight.
I did some body weight training instead.
Please check out the video below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vO9JbUsELs0

Wednesday Morning 2 K Run (2016.7.13)

I ran 2 K this morning.
When I woke up, it was cloudy and cool,
perfect for a quick run.
I began the first K at full marathon pace (5:16/K).
I rested for 30 seconds before setting off for the 2nd K at the same pace,
and injected pace in the last 200 meter
to finish at 4:33/K.

I ran in a new pair of sock-like running shoes "Muteki".
They fit me perfectly.
The thin rubber sole's grip on the road is firm.
And the toe is comfortable
as an extra 0.5 mm in the new pair gives it some additional room.

Tuesday Midnight Race Pace Ks (2016.7.12)

I did race pace Ks.
In this training you do 1 K repeats at different race paces.
Tonight after quickly walking for about 800 M,
I first started off at my full marathon pace of 5:20/K.
After actively resting for a minute and a half,
I did my next K at my full marathon pace of 4:50/K.
After coming back from my second repeat,
I rested a little longer, for two minute,
to get ready for the 3rd K,
which was then run at my 10 K pace of 4:30/K.
Between the 3rd and 4th repeat
I took the longest rest of 3 minutes
so that I could muster up all of my remaining energy
to meet the final challenge of running the last K
at my 5 K pace of under 4:00/K.

The exact times of all of the four repeats tonight are as follows:
Warm up walk:  800 M
1st K: 5:22
Active Rest: 1:30
2nd K: 4:52
Active Rest: 2:00
3rd K: 4:27
Active Rest 3:00
4th K: 3:44
Cool down walk: 160 M: 4:14

Weekend Fight with a Cold

My cold symptoms got worse last Saturday,

so I skipped my running training both Saturday and Sunday.

The situation did not get better, nonetheless,

so I decided to do something radical.

Instead of giving myself a complete rest,

I went our for a training run in the summer heat.

I ran 3 K from my bilingual companion's home to the Chigasaki Beach,

and from there ran 2 K to the east along the beach,

and ran another 2 K to the west to where I started off

to cover total 7 K.

I rested for a while on a bench, looking out to the sea and

seeing a bunch of surfers having fun in their own styles.

After resting awhile I started off again,

this time to the west along the beach,

ran 1 K, and then turned around to get back to where I started off.

I rested there again.

I had covered total 9 K up to that point.

Running from there back to my bilingual companion's home would make a total of 12 K,

which was sufficient for the day.

So instead of running further along the beach,

I did some body weight endurance workout there hitting my chest and core.

Five sets of one-minute training quickly exhausted much of the glycogen remaining in my body.

I then slowly headed to the north to complete the final phase of the training.

I stopped by a convenience store and grabbed a bottle of sports drink to fuel myself once,
because I was so thirsty, and out of gas.

I finally reached the goal almost two hours after I left home.

After quickly taking a shower, I temporarily felt exhilarated from completing a total 12 K training run with some body weight endurance training mixed in.

A light meal had been prepared by my bilingual companion,

which consisted of fresh fruits and veggies.

I had them all like someone who had not eaten for days.

Once I finished the meal, I fell sleepy.
I dozed off and kept on sleeping like small baby.

When I was awake again,

I realized that my entire body was in tremendous heat,

and I couldn't move an inch.

Something in my body was fighting off the cause of the cold.

I rested for another two hours in bed.

By the time I was awake again, I had recovered my normal body temperature.

I still had occasional coughs, but they didn't seem as nasty as they were a couple of days before.

I was planning to go home to get ready for a new week,
but I was afraid a long train ride back home would be too exhausting,
so I booked a room at a hotel between Yokohama and Central Tokyo,
and gave myself a full rest.

The following morning I woke up to discover that heaviness I had felt in my body was gone.
My body temperature was normal.
I coughed a few times, there was no soreness in the bronchus.
I felt my long battle with the cold was almost over.
Another nutritious meal or two and sufficient hydration would get me completely out of it,
I hope.

Friday Midnight Barefoot 4K Run (2016.7.8)

I had a cough today, and my throat was a bit sore,
so I was going to skip my running training tonight.
On my way home I stopped by a drugstore
and bought cough syrup.
I took some after a late night light meal.
Suddenly I felt all right.
So I changed my plan and hit the road.
I was in a mood to run barefoot for no particular reason.
I put some adhesive cloth on both of my soles for minimum protection
from potential injury, and did cruise Ks at my half marathon pace.

Today's result is as follows:
1st K: 4:49
Rest: 30 seconds
2nd K: 4:51
Rest: 30 seconds
3rd K: 4:42
Rest: 30 seconds
4th K: 4:50
Total 4 K: 20:44

Midnight 2 K Run

After coming home from work,
I had roast pork and boiled whelks for dinner
while watching some minor political parties
state their political views on NHK.

Once I finished the meal,
I put my feet into my Muteki running shoes,
and ran 2 K at my 10 K pace:
1st K: 4:37
2nd K: 4:18
Ttoal 2 K: 8:55

Although running in Muteki feels tremendously refreshing,
and the feeling of landing is close to that of genuine barefoot running,
I still miss running barefoot.

I might run without shoes tomorrow morning
if I'm in the mood when I wake up.

Body Weight Endurance Workout & 2 K Build-Up Training (2016.7.7)

Variety is the spice of life.

No matter how effective some exercise may be,

if you keep doing it again and again,

you get bored.

Therefore variation is the key to maintaining motivation.

So though I often start a day with some body weight training

that I can do from home,

I make small changes every now and then

so that I can do it with a renewed motivation.

For example,

pull-ups, dips, and hand-stand are my favorite home workouts.

Sometimes I go for a certain fixed number of reps for each exercise,

and do those reps a certain number of sets.

But today I did pull-ups and dips not for reps,

but for a period of 30 seconds.

In this time frame I began with a concentric movement for four seconds,

held at the peak contraction for four seconds,

did the eccentric movement in four seconds,

and once my arms got all extended,

went back to the first movement and continued

till I hit 30 seconds.

I did the same for dips, too.

Now when you approach the workouts this way,

the key muscles are constantly engaged with varied degrees of contraction

depending on the angle of your arm in the cycle of their concentric and eccentric movement. 

And you can give maximum stimulus to the key muscles in that fixed period of time.

This is particularly effective in building endurance.

I learned from experience 

that when you do this training, 

you can develop your ability to do pull-ups and dips more reps

than you are usually used to doing,

Of course, strength can be defined in many different ways,

and endurance is not the only kind.

There is an explosive power also.

If you want to improve on that,

maybe a different approach is better,

such as hand-clap push-ups 

instead of slow dips such as demonstrated in the video below:

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

Anyhow, after doing the body weight training above,

I went for a training run.

Today I ran 2 K as I recorded my lap time at every 500 M.

I started off at my relatively comfortable half-marathon pace,

and slowly built up the pace

to eventually run the last 500 M at a pace 

that's a little faster than my usual 10 K pace.

The details are as follows:

1st 500 M: 2: 29

2nd 500 M: 2:23 

3rd 500 M: 2:19

4th 500 M: 2:12

Just for your information,
when you run a long distance after high intensive muscle training,
you can maximize your body fat loss,
because much of your muscles glycogen has been exhausted
by the time the muscle training is over.
In order for you to sustain your running training,
your body must tap your fat reserve for energy.
Therefore, effective body fast loss.

So when your main focus is one losing your body fat fast,
remember this order of intensive muscle training first
and slow cardio such as running after that.

4 K Run Variations

On July 5, Tuesday night, I stayed at a hotel in Asakusa
because I had an early start on the following morning.
As soon as I checked in after work,
I quickly had dinner and shuttled along Nakamise Dori
between the Kaminarimon Gate and the main building of the Sensohji Temple.
 I did 5 repeats to cover 4 K.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4qcN5ZtlHs

The street was pretty much deserted
with only a handful of foreign travelers strolling through it
every now and then and taking their selfies...
I had the entire street almost to myself,
and had a great time running.

On July 6th, Wednesday night, I ran 4 K,
but this time I took a 30-second rest between Ks,
and changed the pace each time.
The result is as follows:
1st K: 4:58
Rest: 30 seconds
2nd K: 4:35
Rest: 30 seconds
3rd K: 4:15
Rest: 30 seconds
Last K: 4:52
Total 4K: 20:15

Monday Morning 200 M Hill Sprint

When I woke up this morning,
it was sizzling hot,
and the heat brought out a burning desire in me
to hit the road and run till I dropped!
I found myself significantly dehydrated
aｆter sleeping for hours in the heat,
so I had two glasses of cold water from the fridge,
and grabbed some pieces of fruits.
The juicy sweetness got me fully awake,
and I was ready to go.

Instead of running around the park as I usually do,
I headed into the opposite direction to aim for this 200 M uphill
1.5 K away.
Once I reached there,
I did five 200 M hill sprints
with a two-minute rest between sets.
The result is as follows:
Warm Up 1.5 K: 8:10
Rest: 30 seconds
200 M: 39.55
Rest 200 M: 2:00
200 M: 42.16
Rest 200 M: 2:00
200 M: 40.96
Rest 200 M: 2:00
200 M: 42.53
Rest 200 M: 2:00
200 M: 44.90
Rest 200 M: 2:00
Cool Down 1.5 K: 8:12
Total 5 K: 30:24

 

Weekend Running Training

July 2, 2016
I had a long and busy week.
When I came home from work,
my mind was blank.
I had dinner with a glass of red wine,
and lay down awhile with my eyes closed.
When I woke up, it was a little before 11:00 p.m.
I suddenly felt a strong urge to run.
I quickly changed into gear and went for a training run.

I had run 2 K in the morning.
Another 2 K would have made me achieve my daily goal.
But once I started running, I felt so good
that I couldn't stop myself even after having run 2 K.

After all, I ran 4 and went home.
The result was as follows:
1st K: 5:11
2nd K: 4:37
3rd K: 5:05
4th K: 4:34

July 3, 2016
The following morning I slept late.
When I climbed out of futon, it was already 11:30.
I had two cups of corn soup to lightly fill my stomach.
I enjoyed watching a Japanese chess match on NHK.
A young player beat a higher-ranking player.
I did some gardening after that, taking care of my tomato plants,
and relocated some shiso plants.
By the time I was done with it,
it was already past 1:00 p.m.
I went with Madam to a ramen restaurant in Inage,
and enjoyed having lunch together.

By the time I was back home again,
It was already close to 4:00 p.m.

I put my feet into the Muteki running shoes and ran for about 30 minutes.
The result is as follows:
Warm Up 650 M: 3:48
Rest: 30 seconds
650 M: 2:27
Rest: 1 minute
650 M: 2:30
Rest: 1:00
650 M: 3:42
Rest: 30 seconds
650 M: 2:29
Rest: 1:00
650 M: 3:29
Rest: 1:00
100 M: 14.99
Rest: 1:00
100 M: 15.45
Rest: 1:00
100 M: 16:11
Cool Down 260 M: 2:46
Total: 4460 M: 29:04

I still have slight discomfort in my left ankle,
but the pain in the left calf is completely gone.
I'm still wondering what's the best training for me
when the ankle joint isn't in perfect condition.
Should I run in shoes with cushion,
or should I run in less protective shoes to run more slowly...?
I will listen to what my body will tell me tomorrow morning.

Daily Run Back in Full Swing

I ran 2 K both last night and this morning
at the following paces:

July 1, 2016
1st K: 5:30
2nd K: 5:13

July 2, 2016
1st K: 5:21
2nd K: 4:40

No pain was felt in the left calf
that had previously been injured.

When I ran around the park near my house,
nearly a hundred people, scattered across the misty park,
 were exercising to the music from the radio.
I was surprised to see the size of the local population
that is so health-conscious as to wake up early on a weekend
to join an organized athletic event.