Recent Training: 6 K Barefoot Jog

I hadn't run since 17th. The reason is, as I might have mentioned in one of my previous posts, a slight discomfort in my right foot. It somehow seemed to have eased, but not completely gone. I had a choice. One is of course avoiding running for another week or so. The other is going for a short run to see how it goes. I took the latter.

Aug. 25, 2020

I ran slowly and carefully not to injure the foot. It was good for realigning my running for as a matter of fact. What's painful in one K can be almost unrecoverably destructive. As I ran, I came to learn that the best running form for the foot is taking short strides a little quickly, but without kicking too much. I think former World Athletics Champion Hiromi Taniguchi's form is a good example. His running form is somewhat unique because of his head slightly tilted to one side and one of his arms shaken as if he was arm-wrestling. But his cadence is a whopping 210 or thereabout per minute, and his up-and-down movement is almost non-existent. His locomotion is ideal for long-distance running. I kind of mimic Eliud Kipchoge in terms of his upper body movement, because it's so beautiful, but as far as his lower half is concerned, his strides are too wide, and his entire movement seems a little too bouncy. Only he can run like that because of this talent and effort. I'm an average citizen runner. Maybe I should use someone more down-to-earth as a role model. Hence, lower body movement wise Hiromi Taniguchi is my role mode for the time being, with Kipchoge still being the role model for upper body movement. The question is, "Can they mix?"

<Midnight>

6 K: 37:47.08

Aug 26, 2020

It's been a while since I ran in the morning. I hit the road between 8:30 and 9 am. The sun was already strong, but the road wasn't too hot to run on. Many cars on their way to work passed me from behind, with some drivers giving me a puzzled glance because I had no shoes on. "Did he lose his job because of the corona pandemic and go insane?" I say in my mind, "You don't know what you are missing."

<Morning>

6 K: 35:05.96

After having two short runs very slowly, I have concluded that I can run if slowly. At the moment my hunch says keep on running at this pace for a while without increasing pace nor distance all of a sudden, and other than that, follow your instinct. 

 

London Olympics Men's Marathon: Personal Review

 On August 12, 2012, the final day of the Summer Olympics in London, the men's marathon took place. Ugandan Stephen Kiprotich won the second gold medal for his country (since John Akii Bua 40 years before won the first gold medal in the Olympics for the country in the men's 400 M hurdle), leaving behind two Kenyan rivals around 36.8 K by one of the most dramatic accelerations Olympic marathons have ever seen.

The race grabbed my attention in two ways. The first is the way it unfolded. The second is how Kiprotich won the race. Let's look at them one by one. 

<How the Race Unfolded>

The tone of the first half was set by Wilson Kipsang from Kenya. He pulled away from the rest and at some point and kept his lead for a while. A small following group was formed with his fellow country man Abel Kirui, Dos Santos from Brasil, some Ethiopians, and a few others, one of whom was Japan's Arata Fujiwara.

But slowly one runner after another dropped off the pack, leaving only two, Abel Kirui and Stephen Kiprotich. They succeed in catching up to the leader around 26.5 K, and from then on the race was controlled by the group of three.

Around 35 K a small gap opens up between the two Kenyans and the Ugandan. And the gap seems to become wider, and for a moment everyone thought Stephen Kiprotich was done.

But to everyone's surprise he hangs on, and the gap remains more or less the same for another few kilometers.

Then, the decisive moment comes. At 36.8 K Stephen Kiprotich suddenly passes the two Kenyans from around the outside at one corner, and motors away. Taken by surprise, neither Wilson Kipsang nor Abel Kirui could attack back. Abel Kirui does his best to catch up, but Wilson Kipsang simply lags further and further behind. 

A minute ago he looked like a broken man, but Stephen Kiprotich is full of running, his legs nice and fresh and cadence significantly increased. But anything could happen in the last 5 K of the ultimate test of endurance. Can he maintain the pace? Or at some point, will one of the Kenyans catch up to him and make a prey of the running gazelle? 

Well, as the last phase unfolds, it becomes clear that it is the Stephen Kiprotich that is the predator and that the other Kenyans are gazelles eaten by it. 

The Ugandan keeps the lead and crosses the finish line by one of the best times for an Olympic marathon, holding up the national flag in triumph, bringing home the country's second gold medal since John Akii Bua in the Munich Olympics. 

<How He Won the Race>

To make a long story short, he wasn't falling behind because of a patch at 35. He strategically dropped to save energy for the final attach. He was also sizing up the Kenyans from behind. How much do they still have in their tank? Which one of them could imposes greater threat to me when I attach? In other words, he is a lion that sits on the savanna, apparently with no interest in hunting for a grey. Gazelles around him are relaxed, enjoying their morning gulps of water. But the truth of the matter is the lion is carefully judging who makes the easiest target. And when the moment of the truth comes, he makes the decisive move, and the jog is done!

All in all, the 2012 Olympics' men's marathon is one of the most tactical races that I have ever seen. It also shows the overwhelming dominance of the East African marathoners in the early 2010s.  I recommend you to watch the race not just because the race is interesting for the reasons I mentioned above, but the You Tube video made available by the courtesy of the Olympic channel offers some of the most spectacular views of London's monumental architecture. Check it out!

Mid-Summer Park Run & High Intensity Cardio

Aug. 16, 2020

In the old calendar 7th of August was the beginning of autumn. It doesn't feel like it because daytime highs hover around 35 degrees Celsius almost everyday. But this morning I thought the old calendar wasn't entirely off the mark. Though the temperature was already creeping up as of 8 a.m., the winds were dry and slightly cool even. The change of seasons was clearly in the air. 

But then once the sun is high, a sign of the approaching next season is quickly pushed aside by the still dominant summer, and there is no way to miss the benefit of its intense heat in order to maximize your cardio-vascular capacity.

Today I jogged 1 K, and did high intensity cardio for a minute, and repeated it 4 times, and then wrap up the training with one final 1 K jog. Well, the truth of the matter is I intended to do 5 sets in total, but then when I finished the 5th jog, I was so feeble I had little glycogen left in my tank, so I had no choice but call it for a day. 

1 K: 5:51.81
High intensity cardio: 1:00.00
1 K: 6:20.40
High intensity cardio: 1:00.00
1 K: 6:39.42
High intensity cardio: 1:00.00
1 K: 6:07.36
High intensity cardio: 1:00.00
1 K: 6:10.61
Total 5 K: 37:49.82

Midnight Intervals: 5 Sets by 1 K @ 4:11 + 5 Sets by 400 M

Aug. 9, 2020

It's been a while since I last did intervals. I've been tied up with work, and wasn't able to bring myself to do long intensive training such as intervals. But I got one big project finished this afternoon, and for the first time in the last two weeks I felt truly freed from work-related stress. 

Unfortunately I ran out of gas in the middle of the 6th lap, but instead of quitting, I switched the target distance from 1 K to 400 M, and continued till I hit 5 sets.

Tomorrow I am planning to go to Central Tokyo to run part of the original marathon course of the Tokyo Olympics between Kanda and the New National Stadium Japan in Gaienmae. It's 9.1 K one-way. A round-trip makes 18.2 K. It's going to be a fun recovery from the training tonight. 
*********************

Warm Up 3.3 K: 20:55.58
<Interval Training Part 1: 5 Sets by 1 K @ 4:11 with 1-Minute Active Rest>
Rest: 40.16
1st K: 4:08.67
Active rest: 1:00.16
2nd K: 4:06.69
Active Rest: 1:00.31
3rd K: 4:12.16
Active Rest: 1:00.08
4th K: 4:08.89
Active rest: 1:00.02
5th K: 4:03.44
Active rest: 1:00.16
***************
<Interval Training Part 2: 5 Sets by 500 M with 1.5-Minute Rest>
1st 400 M: 1:43.87
Rest: 1:30.15
2nd 400 M: 1:39.85
Rest: 1:30.18
3rd 400 M: 1:33.73
Rest: 1:29.98
4th 400 M: 1:38.56
Rest: 1:30.17
5th 400 M: 1:38.26
Rest: 1:01.28
****************
Warm down 6.6 K: 44:32.84

Total 17.25 K: 1:47:05

One-Hour Park Workout

Aug. 6, 2020

2 K: 11:23.57

High intensity cardio: 2 sets by 1 minute: 2:53.49

2 K: 11:36.15

High intensity cardio: 2 sets by 1 minute: 2:59.07

2 K: 11:25.04

High intensity cardio: 2 sets by 1 minute: 2:55.60

3 K: 17:54.40

Total 9 K: 1:01:07

It was such a beautiful late afternoon. The western sky was burning red with the setting sun. The air was gradually cooling, and locals came in twos and threes to the park for a pre-dinner light exercise as my training progressed. I love working out in the summer heat, especially receiving the rays of the sun on my body while doing it. I love that quiet couple of minutes right after the exercise, where all you can hear is your heart beat, pounding fast and strong. I feel alive. I love showering my arms and legs with tap water too. Exercise makes simple things like this incredibly special. People say, "I can't stand tap water. All I can take is Evian," or something along that line. But here tap water is special. Tap water is the King. You cannot replace tap water with Evian or Contrex. A lavish splash of tap-freakin'-water is the only consolation to your aching muscles. 

After taking a shower at home, you throw yourself in a loose "Life is good" T-shirt and CaRiLOHa shorts and relax on your favorite chair, with your skin completely dry, not a sign of sweating though the thermometer still reads 28 degrees Celsius. I love this moment too. Your body feels warm, but pleasantly dry, just like right after swimming in a pool on a hot summer day. Everything feels just perfect after park workout on a hot summer late afternoon. You should try it too.

Midnight Barefoot Jog Combined with Park Workout

Aug. 5, 2020

Warm up 600 M: 4:11.06

Park workout (1): 4:35.94

Lying pull-ups=12 reps +10 reps + 8 reps + 6 reps=36 reps

Swing push-ups=12 reps +10 reps + 8 reps + 6 reps=36 reps

2.6 K: 15:43.40

Park workout (1): 4:42.35

Lying pull-ups=30 seconds (27 reps) + 30 seconds (20 reps)

Push-ups=30 seconds (20 reps) + 30 seconds (17 reps)

2.6 K: 15:41.16

Park workout (2): 5:10.91 

Lying pull-ups=12 reps +10 reps + 8 reps + 6 reps=36 reps

Swing push-ups=12 reps +10 reps + 8 reps + 6 reps=36 reps

2.6 K: 18:15.63

Warm down 670 M: 4:04.12

Total 9.07 K: 1:12:24

Double Training Part 2: Midnight Half Marathon in Aqua Shoes

August 3, 2020

21.2 K: 2:11:44

I'm too spent to write anything, except that I'm happy I completed a half marathon to make the total daily running distance 31.2 K. It's been a while since I ran more than 30 K in one day. It's a real confidence booster.

10 K Jog Combined with Body Weight Muscle Training in the Scorching Summer Heat

August 3, 2020

As my birthday comes closer and closer, I feel a tremendous amount of energy well up from with in. Though the sun was high and heat was unbearable to most this afternoon, I found myself throwing myself into my running gear when I got a part of    a project finished, and marching toward the nearby park in flip-flops, which were soon to be taken off once I got there.

The park was empty except for a young man who was working on agility by maneuvering with quick steps through plenty of round yellow objects placed on the ground at regular intervals. He appears to be one of those people who enjoy training when most others don't. I felt slight kinship with the young man.

There is a little platform in the park next to the parking lot. As soon as I got there, I took of my flip-flops, put them on the platform, and set off for a jog. One lap around the walking track in the park is 500 M. My goal today is to 4 laps to cover 2 K and then do some body weight muscle training, and go back to run 2 K again, and then do another kind of muscle training, and repeat this cycle until I hit 10 K.

To make a long story short, it was good training. The details are shown below:

2 K: 10.55.89

Body weight muscle training (1): 20 jumping squats: 45.05

2 K: 14:16.66

Body weight muscle training (2): 20 hand-clap push-ups: 59.35

2 K: 11:42.47

Body weight muscle training (3): isometric training 10 reps by 3 kinds:1:36.14

2 K: 11:51.56

Body weight muscle training (4): crossover knee-to-elbows 20 reps by 2 sets:2:38.70

2 K: 12:28.46

Body weight muscle training (5): pike push-ups 12 reps + 10 reps + 8 reps +6 reps=36 reps: 2:17.43

Total 10 K 1:09:31

When I stepped on the scale after a shower, I weighed 61 kg. That's 1 kg lighter than my regular weight. I didn't feel light, but there seems to be some tremendous fat-burning effect in combining long-slow cardio with high intensity body weight muscle training. I think I should do it more often.