Midnight Barefoot Jog in the Park

 Oct. 29, 2020

4 K: 20:42.75

I got home at 1:10 A.M. I taught a lecture between 9:00 and 10:30 P.M., left my office at 11:00 P.M., caught the last train home at 11:56 P.M., and an hour train ride finally got me home where I find peace and comfort. 

I got one project finished today, and I found a brief moment of mental peace after a long time. My mind craved for something spiritually up-lifting, so I decided to go for a slow jog while listening to Brian Tracy. 

Brian is a multi-billionaire who started off very poor. He is very well-read, and has a good sense of humor. He quotes many great thinkers from the past, and all of them are gems of wisdom to me. 

Most of the things I listened to while jogging are not completely new information, but nevertheless his speech was extremely motivating, because he enthusiastically emphasizes over and over again some of the most important principles in life that helped him progress from misery and poverty to happiness and wealth. 

His information is mostly practical business advice that everyone can apply the moment they hear it.  My short-term goal for now is to get up tomorrow morning one hour early to write about one thing I learned today from his lecture.

Recent Training: Barefoot Jog & 6 K Tempo Run

Oct. 26, 2020

4 K Barefoot Jog: 21:25.83

Tire Walk 10 sets by 30 seconds with a 15-sec rest between sets: 9:02.79

You raise the tire in the photo over you head and walk for 30 seconds. Rest 15 seconds. Repeat until you hit 10 sets. Easy at first. But it becomes progressively harder as you go through more sets with building lactic acid making it hard to hold the tire above your head. It hits traps and tri-ceps as well as shoulders. 

4 K Barefoot Jog: 21:16.06

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Oct. 27, 2020

3.1 K Jog: 17:30.44

6 K Tempo Run (Target=4:55/K): 28:00.85 (Average 4:40/K)

3.1 K: Jog: 18:48.25

Total 12.2 K: 1:04:19

Rainy Midnight 15.7 K Run in Aqua Shoes with No Cushioning

Oct. 22, 2020

15. 7 K: 1:29:38

My legs were sore from interval training on the previous night. So I decided to go for a slow jog to alleviate their tension. I wanted to run a course that I don't usually run. I did a significant amount of brain work throughout the day, and my brains craved for something novel. I Google-Mapped the course below. It's a 15.7 K loop except the first and last one kilometers overlap. 10 K seemed too short. 20 K seemed too long. 15.7 K seemed just right for a midnight jog.

I ran in aqua shoes with no cushioning. They are the same shoes in a different design that saw my PR earlier this past January at Tateyama Wakashio Marathon. They are super light. The sole is made of a mesh fabric and drains water immediately when it gets wet. It's cold when I step into a puddle, of course, because the water directly reaches my feet. But the shoes never get heavy, and dry pretty quickly. I usually have a huge advantage over shoe-clad runners when a race is held on a rainy day.

I love the feeling of running in shoes with minimum protection. I feel I am moving forward with my own effort. I feel reassured that with each step I take, I am getting stronger. My purpose of running is not improving my PR. Not that I'm not happy when I renew my PR. I do. But my primary purpose is to become a stronger version of myself. I want to be more endurable, both mentally and physically. I feel a tremendously amount of satisfaction when I become capable of doing something that I wasn't capable of doing in the past. Luck doesn't contribute to my feeling of satisfaction. Only constant effort does. So the minimalist shoes are one of the  indispensable elements of my fitness endeavor. 

I jogged at a comfortable pace tonight with particular attention to my cadence and running form. I think I watched both pretty well. 

I surged in the last K as it is recommended by late Yoshio Koide who coached Sydney Olympic Women's Marathon gold medalist Naoko Takahashi. It's not always easy to finish strongly because you get more tired the longer you run. But when you can, it feels great. It's a major confidence booster, and physically it feels awesome after taking a shower after finishing a long run with a strong kick. 

As always the case with all running training, it felt like shit before I began, but when it was done, I felt like I was in seventh Heaven.

Midnight Interval Training: 0.85 K+ [5 Sets by 1 K] + 1 K

Oct. 21, 22

Did intervals at midnight in Vibram 5 Fingers. Ran on sidewalks to avoid traffic. The road surface was uneven and uncomfortable to run on, but the Vibram provided a solid protection of the sole. 

Warm Up 3.4 K: 19:56.90

Rest: 1:00.19

I did the intervals after jogging for about 20 minutes. I measured a new 1 K loop on Google Map, and tried running it for the first time. 

In the first fast run, I took a wrong turn and ended up running a shorter loop. But from the second set on I ran the correct course. I ran at a brisk pace in the first 2 sets. But then the time dipped badly in the 3rd set. It improved a little in the following set. But it didn't stay good in the following one. At this point, I felt I was running out of gas. Instead of pushing myself further, I decided to cool down. 

<Intervals>

0.85 K: 3:25.09

Rest: 1:00.23

1 K: 4:14.54

Rest: 1:00.15

1 K: 4:13.85

Rest: 1:00.33

1 K: 4:26.82

Rest: 1:00.56

1 K: 4:22.67

Rest: 1:00.40

1 K: 4:38.83

***********

Rest: 1:29.60

Jog 0.86 K: 5:14.83

Rest: 0:45.38

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I jogged for about 5 minutes to reach the community park near my house. I could have called it a day. But instead of going home, I did one last fast run, hoping to finish under the target of 4:25. I didn't. It was at this point that I realized that I had run out of gas. At least for the night. 

1 K: 4:31.79

Rest: 1:00.19

I could have gone straight home. But I jogged for another 16 minutes or so, because fitness benefit is supposed to be very large if you jog after intervals. 

Warm Down 2.64 K: 16:39.26

Total 13.75 K: 1:21:01

I ran more than 13 K after working 11 hours in the office. Good for a man who did a 12 K run on the previous night with a significant surge in the last K. Thursday is either a day for a rest or a very slow and long run just to relax the tired legs. 

12 K Run

Oct 21, 2020

12 K: 1:02:00

As I get older, it takes longer and longer to recover from hard training. A few years ago, regular muscle training would almost never be a limiting factor in long-distance training. But now it does. So I need to calculate its effect to continue long-distance training on a regular basis. 

Anyhow, almost after a week from my last run, I finally hit the road for a one-hour jog. 

I jogged a 6 K shuttle course rich in undulation first, and then 900 M before completing it, opted into a 6 K loop also rich in undulation, and finally completed the remaining 900 M of the first shuttle course to cover 12 K.

I ran in aqua shoes with little cushioning. I enjoy the direct impact of each landing. It's something you could never possibly feel if your feet are well-protected with cushioning. I feel my feet get stronger with each step.

I surged in the last 900 M for a little extra cardio benefit. I visualized the last K in the Ohme 30 K Road Race. It offers one of the most dramatic finishes of all races. Someday when the Corona-pandemic is no more, I will run the race again for a strong finish.  

Recent Training: 6 K Jog & 10 K Barefoot Jog

Oct. 12, 2020

6 K: 36:00.00

Ran in aqua shoes. Aimed for 10 K or more, but felt a bit tired, so turned back after running 3 K to cover 6 K in total.

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Oct. 13, 2020

10.6 K: 1:01.00

Ran in bare feet. Felt awesome. Ran on the sidewalk at first to observe good manners of citizen runner. But the surface condition was terrible, and it felt beyond uncomfortable and a bit painful at times. So ran on the driving road when cars were absent. Much of the time cars WERE absent, because it was past midnight. 

The pain in the right foot that had plagued me for weeks a couple of months before was non-existent. It's such a great feeling to be able to run pain-free!

Want to increase running distance and training intensity. Not too soon. But gradually. I'm beginning to learn what the optimal level of challengingness is for me. 

Recent Training: Home Workout & Double Training

Oct. 10, 2020

It rained all day today, so I worked out from home.

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Oct. 11, 2020 

Double Training

<Afternoon>

5.5 K: 30:47.35

Sub-total: 5.5 K: 30:47.35

<Late Night>

3.5 K: 20:50.53

Rest1:00.24 

<Intervals>

1 K: 4:16.25

Rest: 1:00.28

1 K: 4:13.28

************

Rest: 1:00.44

3.5 K: 21:19.91

Sub-total 9 K: 53:40.93 

Daily total 14.5 K: 1:24:31.46

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Using the cycle computer on my road racer I measured my usual 1 K course where I do intervals. It turned out to be shorter than 1 K. No wonder it felt easier to hit the target. 

After measuring exactly 1 K, I did two fast runs tonight just to see how hard it really was to hit my new target of 4:25. I was able to run well under it both times. But it was certainly a little harder than when the course was shorter. 

Now that I'm 100% sure about accuracy of the course distance, I feel even more focused to tackle the new target. 

Recent Training: 23 K Jog & Intervals: 7 Sets by 1 K @ 4:25

Oct. 4, 2020

23.66 K: 2:20:57

I ran with a friend followed by another friend who was on a bike. Together we ran the 5 K loop below 5 times with two brief breaks after 10 K and 15 K. Five by five makes 25, but the Garmin on my friend's wrist said 23.66 K, because in the first lap we missed the small loop inside the park. We realized that while running the 2nd lap, and from that point on ran the entire 5 K distance with each lap. It was a fun ran without any target pace. We went with the flow as we chatted along the way. 

When we finished the last lap, I bought a bottle of sports drink from a vending machine and quenched my thirst. It felt great. After that me and my friends hit a nearby ramen restaurant and enjoyed having lunch together. 

It was drizzling early in the morning, but the sky cleared once we started running, and it remained sunny during our run. All in all, it was a fantastic fun run. I thought I should train with friends more.

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Oct. 5, 2020

After the long slow run yesterday I had a good rest and ate well to recharge my body's batteries. By the night I felt fully recovered, so I decided to go for some fast runs. It wasn't in the plan. I just followed my instinct. But the training proved fairly good. Two months ago when I got my right foot slightly injured, I figured it was because the target was too high, and also because the transition to the higher target was too soon. 

So tonight I raised the bar of my interval target only by 5 seconds from my previous target of 4:30 when I was aiming to run a sub 3.5 marathon. 

It turned out to be optimal. It felt reasonably challenging, but not painful to the point of being demotivating. 

I will stick to the pace for a while. And I will increase the number of reps to increase the challenge, instead of raising the bar in terms of target time. 

*****************

Interval Training: 7 sets by 1 K @ 4:25 with 1-minute rest

3.4 K Jog: 19:09.59

Rest: 1:00.31

1st K: 3:56.60

Rest: 1:03.50

2nd K: 4:08.19

Rest: 1:00.31

3rd K: 4:15.54

Rest: 1:00.08

4th K: 4:19.46

Rest: 1:00.17

5th K: 4:20.54

Rest: 1:00.33

6th K: 4:20.94

Rest: 1:00.07

7th K: 4:11.46

Rest: 1:08.30

3.4 K jog: 20:32.86

Total 14.29 K: 1:17:28

London Marathon 2020

＜"Nothing Lasts Forever＞

"Nothing Lasts Forever." So the title of one of Sidney Sheldon's best-selling books goes. Neither of a man's dominance over the sport of marathon. In the London Marathon 2020, Shura Kitata of Ethiopia won in a sprint finish in the final straight, ending world best time holder Eliud Kipchoge's winning streak of 4 at one of the most prestigious long-distance running events of the world.

Kitata, who had finished 2nd two years before, effectively controlled the race after injecting the pace about 1:48:30 into the race, and outsprinted in the final straight fellow Ethiopian Sisey Lemma and Kenyan rival Vincent Kipchumba. Eliud Kipchoge crossed the finished line, 6th, at 2:06 something, the slowest time since 2013.

Will this be the end of the long-distance world's legend's reign over the 42.2 kｍ distance, and the beginning of a new ear with many emerging younger athletes both from Ethiopia and Kenya? It's too early yet to judge. For now I'm eager to listen to Eliud's story of what was going on in today's race? Is it because his training didn't go well because of the corona pandemic? But that seems like an lame excuse, because the condition is more or less the same for all the other contender? Is it because he had already reached that inevitable peak of performance around the time of the Ineos 1:59 Challenge, and from that point on, his fitness slowly but surely started to fall down? Maybe. Or is it because he was so busy with so many promotional events after the Ineos Challenge, and wasn't able to focus much on his training? I think it's highly likely. I also think his loss is due to a combination of everything that I have mentioned so far.

My biggest concern is two:

1) Will he be chosen to run in Tokyo at the next Olympics?

2) Wil he be able to motivate himself again to win a big title?

Though he lost today, he remains my hero, and a long-distance world's legend also. For now, I hope he will take a good rest to recoup, and make a fresh start for whatever new goal he will set for himself.

Good job, everyone who ran! And I would like to express my heart-felt gratitude and respect to everyone who was involved in making the event take place in the time of many social challenges and limitations.