Double Training: 20-Minute Muscle Training & 21.1 K Barefoot Run

Today is August 5, my birthday. I turned 52. Though I don't feel as agile as I used to be when I was younger, and though I am also far less explosive than before, I feel definitely much stronger in terms of endurance. I'm not sure about my power. I used to lift 100 kg in bench press though it was one-time max. I no longer lift weights mainly because I work out from home and there is no equipment at my home. I build muscle, but I do so mainly through body weight training. I weigh 3 to 4 kg less now than when I was in my early twenties. My body fat doesn't seem to have changed much, so it's mainly lost muscle that is the cause of my weight loss over the course of 25 years. But I'm not sure if the decreased muscle mass means that I am less powerful. Probably I am less powerful just a little bit, because I remember doing a single-hand pull up once in my twenties. Now it doesn't seem possible. But just because I've become less powerful as I've got older doesn't mean I don't work on it. I do. For a couple of reasons. One, when you keep decent muscle mass, your metabolism remains high, so you are less prone to easy weight gain. Two, when you keep decent muscle mass, you generally look good so long as you body fat level is kept low. Anyhow, since strength and power are, and will continue to be an important part of my athletic life, I did some body weight muscle training today. It was tough! Especially in the scorching summer heat. But there was a tremendous feeling of accomplishment when it's done. 

At night following a couple of hours of nap after dinner I went out for a practice run in bare feet. I ran a 2.5 K loop four laps to cover 10 K, ran a 6 K shuttle course, and then ran the 2.5 K loop again twice, taking a slightly different route to cover an extra 100 M to make the total distance 21.1 K. The details are shown below:

2.5 K: 14:34.36 

2.5 K: 14:04.28

2.5 K: 14:42.35 

2.5 K: 13:49.99

6 K: 36:12.46

2.55 K: 15:57.58

2.55 K: 16:29.42

Total 21.1 K: 2:05:50 

Both soles were OK until in the second half of the 6 K shuttle course where I took a slightly different route to find out that the road surface was rough there and the soles got sore. As a result the last two laps around the 2.5 K loop were rather painful. I almost quit after the first lap. But then thinking of the full marathon in October, I kept saying to myself that the same could happen during the race, and that I'd have to deal with it no matter what. So I decided to slow down, but to keep on running until I hit 21.1 K. 

When it was done, I was glad that I didn't give up.