Midnight Intervals: 1 Set by 1 K @ 4:25

Feb. 26, 2021

Warm Up 3.37 K: 19:42.00

Rest: 1:00.71

<Intervals>

1 K: 4:34.48

***********

Warm Down 0.55 K: 3:33.31

Total 4:92 K: 28:50.50

I came home from work at 0:45 a.m. My whole body was cold to the bone from riding my bike home from Central Tokyo on Route 357. I had hot tea before getting out to hit the road.

Last night I aimed for 6 sets of 1 K fast run, but ran out of gas after two sets. 

Tonight I wanted to complete the remaining 4 sets.

I jogged for about 20 minutest to warm up. Then I went for the first fast run after resting for a minute. I tried not to hop too much, hoping to save energy for the remaining sets. The body felt light, probably thanks to a light breakfast earlier this morning consisting of fried veggies. There was no breathing difficulty. I kept pretty much the same pace throughout the entire K. The time, though, sucked. Almost 10 seconds slower than the target. My heart sank. I was not able to muster up any energy to push myself for another ran. I called it a day. 

As I jogged back home, I patted myself on the shoulder in my mind. I could have skipped training entirely. But instead I tried. I failed, but it's still better than nothing. Every effort counts. 

 

Midnight Intervals: 2 Sets by 1 K @ 4:25

Feb. 25, 2021

Warm Up 3.36 K: 19:53.56

Rest: 1:00.52

<Intervals>

1st K: 4:28.75

Rest: 1:00.54

2nd K: 4:22.42

Rest: 1:00.50

Warm Down 0.55 K: 3:40.53

5.91 K: 35:26.82

I hit the road, hoping to complete 6 sets of 1 K @ 4:25. After doing 2 sets, I was simply too sleepy to go on. Will do the remaining four sets hopefully tomorrow night. 

Midnight 10 K Jog in MUTEKI

Feb. 23, 2021

0.5 K: 2:53.06

10 K: 55:47.20

0.9 K: 5:19.05

Total 11.4 K: 1:03:59

I ached all over from a forearm challenge yesterday. Afraid that inaction could make it worse, I went out for a slow run. I ran the same route as yesterday, but from the opposite direction. 

Running the same course twice from two opposite directions allowed me to fully analyze the variation in undulation throughout the entire 10 K distance. It would take a little while to come up with the best strategy to tackle this challenging course.

One downside of this new course is that there is one section where traffic is busy even late at night, and that there is one section that has garbage scattered on both sides. It's demotivating to run through a mountain of rubbish...

There are more twists and turns in the new course, and there are more traffic lights too. Maybe I'll simply go back to the original 10 K course and persistently tackle it until I can finish under the target with ease. 

Exploring a New Course (10 K Jog)

Feb. 22, 2021

0.5 K: 2:53.27

10 K: 58:39.55

0.9 K: 5:19.48

Total 11.4 K: 1:06:52

Google-mapped a new 10 K course, and test-ran it tonight. It was much richer in undulation that I thought. There is a very steep uphill near the end. Quite challenging to run it under 45:50.00 in a tempo run, but I want to give it a try soon.

Midnight 10 K Hill Tempo Run

Feb. 16, 2021

0.5 K: 2:59.47

10 K: 46:15.79 (Target=45:50.00)

1.9 K: 15:08.67

Total 12.4 K: 1:04:23

After four days of full rest, I gave a go at a 10 K hill tempo run with the target time of 45:50.00. It's the pace required for a sub-3:25 marathon.  

I started off at a brisk pace. Legs felt light thanks to a good rest. Breathing was easy thanks to interval training a week before.  I picked up the pace on the first long downhill. Heart rates shot up. I slowed down when it leveled off to let the heart rates come down. 

Then came a long upward incline. I tried not to increase the pace too much in order to save energy in the tank for an increase in pace in the latter half. I began to feel stress slowly building both in the legs and breathing as well. 

When it leveled off, I took shorter strides for running economy to bring the heart rates down that were elevated throughout the hill climb. 

But within 500 meters of reaching the top of the hill, another long descent began. I took wider strides and increased the pace, because downhills are the only places where I can get a significant time gain.    

Increase the pace I did throughout the long downhill. But the after running about 300 meters on a flat area, the longest uphill began. This is the most challenging section of the course. If I use my legs too much here, I could run out of gas, and the latter half could be a total mess. If I slow down too much, it can lead to an irrecoverable time loss. I focus on my form and rhythm, and stop thinking about anything else, trying to save energy for everything after the hill.

Ordinarily, I can easily shift my gears after reaching the top of the hill, and when a decent begins. But today breathing wasn't right. I had to a little longer to get back my steady breathing on a flat section. And that remained for another couple of kilometers. 

With only less than 2 K remaining, I finally regained steady breathing and good cadence. I gave everything I had to making up for the slow-down resulting from the difficult breathing. I surged significantly in the last 500 meters, picturing myself running the last stretch leading to the finish line in the Ohme 30 K Road Race, which is always so dramatic!     

I fell short of the target by a little less than 16 seconds. But I can tap myself on the shoulder, considering how tough the course is. 

I look forward to doing a tempo run on a flat 10 K course soon. Hopefully, I can see the benefit of training on a challenging course like the one I ran tonight. 

Offshore Wind Power

On Feb. 13, 2021 I watched an interesting report on NHK about offshore wind power. According to the report, in Goto City, Nagasaki Prefecture offshore wind power is growing as a new industry. A local construction company is responsible for managing the power generators that stand in the ocean. Electricity generated is sent to islands in the city. The construction company started with just two employees. As the business grew, the company employed local islanders to have them manage the generators that steadily increase in number. 

Many people see this development with great interest. Some of them are universities, maritime companies, local governments. 

The article got me thinking that this can be one of the ways to supply the energy we want without relying too much on sources of energy that produce carbon emissions and harmful radioactive substances. 

Although the report doesn't mention it, offshore wind power may have positive influence on fishery. Here is how. When something is constructed in the sea, seaweeds grow on it, and shellfish start living there. Fish come to eat the shellfish. They also use the seaweed to nest. It promotes the reproductive process among the fish. The number of fish increases. Local fishery will benefit from it. 

If the business is successful, other local governments with seashore that spread across Japan may buy the system from the company. Should that happen, it can hire more people from the islands. Some young islanders may take interest in the future of the business, and decide to study the subject at university. These young people can provide the industry with more knowledge and skills to benefit the industry, thus fueling the positive cycle. 

I would like to continue to keep my eye on the development offshore wind power. It looks like a thing of the future.  

 

 

Midnight One-Hour Recovery Run

Feb. 11, 2021

11.4 K: 1:09:45

Two nights after massive hill intervals. Still not completely recovered. So took a short nap after dinner. When woke up, felt fully charged to get out and hit the road. 

The street was deserted. The stars were less visible than usual because of clouds. But thanks to them, the drop in temperature was limited because they trap the air underside of it. 

Ran in aqua shoes in the photo below. Removed insoles to allow myself to directly feel the impact of landing. Insoles are good for protection. But sometimes being too protective is not good for you. One down side is that your running form may be crooked. Why? Because when your feet are protected, it doesn't hurt much even when your running form is not good. On the other hand, running barefooted or in minimalist shoes with little protection allows you to immediately detect a slight glitch. I hardly ever get my legs injured, running barefooted, and that's exactly why I don't. When you are in bare feet or minimalist shoes, you simply cannot continue to run in a form that can lead to injury, because you get the immediate feedback of pain if something is wrong with your form.  

Tomorrow night I want to have one more easy run for an hour or so if I feel strong enough. But I'm not sure. I have a lesson until 10:30 p.m. I come home past midnight. I have an early start on Saturday morning. I must be at the office in Tokyo by 9:00. It takes minimum an hour and a half between home and the office. I may skip training and rest. If I skip training tomorrow night, my next training will be Saturday night. I'm going to have either another easy run, or a tempo run, depending on how strong I feel.  

Midnight Hill Intervals: 6 Sets by 1 K @ 4:25

Feb. 9, 2021

Several weeks ago when I first did this training in my preparation for the race in April, I felt like I was going to throw up after the 3rd fast run. Tonight I completed all six without feeling sick. Though I fell short of the target in two of the six fast runs, the margin is negligibly small. There is a certain feeling of improvement in my cardio capacity as well as leg strength. Will continue to do it at least once a week for another two months. Cannot wait to see how much stronger I will have been by April.

Warm Up 3 K: 19:13.39

Rest: 47.14

<Intervals>

1st K: 4:23.88

Rest: 1:00.49

2nd K: 4:22.63

Rest: 1:00.46

3rd K: 4:27.78

Rest: 1:00.55

4th K: 4:19.10

Rest: 1:00.68

5th K: 4:26.87

Rest: 1:00.32

6th K: 4:24.11

Rest: 1:00.50

Warm Down 3 K: 20:12.01

Total 12 K: 1:12:39

One-Hour Jog in Vibram 5 Fingers

Feb. 8, 2021

11.4 K: 1:05:12

Another easy run after dinner for the purpose of conditioning my body for interval training scheduled for tomorrow.

Soreness resulting from high intensity cardio two night ago is almost gone. However, there is a slight pain in my right foot. It's not too bad to keep me from running, but I'll cancel the intervals tomorrow. Instead, I'll do some speed training on a bike. With a bike you can train cardio without putting too much of a burden on the foot. 

Midnight One-Hour Jog in MUTEKI

Feb. 8, 2021

11.4 K: 1:06:11

Jogged for a little more than an hour in split-toe minimalist shoes MUTEKI. Ran the hilly course I use for tempo run. It was deserted and quiet, perfect for listening to an educational program. Listened to the new psychology of selling by Brian Tracy while running. Very insightful. Rich in content that I can share with my clients in corporate seminars. 

Will have one more jogging session on Monday, and then on Tuesday hope to do intervals. 

Midnight 2.5-Hour LSD in Aqua Shoes

Feb. 2, 2021

24.5 K: 2:23:25

1 K: 4:43.80

Total 25.5 K:  2:28:08

I taught a 2.5-hour corporate seminar this afternoon, which went well. I also had a good meeting with my boss after that. He gave me an assignment which looks pretty exciting. On Wednesday I work from home. Since there is no commute, I can  sleep later than usual. So, tonight I can go for a long run without worrying too much about getting up early. I set off for an easy run without deciding how far I would go.

A 3.7 K run took me to the Kashiwai water treatment plant. The road surrounding the plant is 2.2 K. There is a combination of a few blocks right next to the plant whose surrounding road makes exactly 1 K. When you run both in a figure of 8, you cover 3.2 K. I ran it 4 sets to cover 12.8 K.   

I was originally running 5 sets of this, but after doing 4 sets, I got bored. So, I took the route below for additional 5.3 K. There is a convenience store 4 K into this route. I kept my motivation by telling myself that I would buy ice cream when I got there. 

But then when I finally got to the convenience store, I just ignored it and pressed on. Ice cream is simply a mental trick I often use to motivate myself. But most of the time I only think about it, and don't actually buy any, because I don't want to kill the benefit of my effort. 

Two hours have passed, and I was in the last 3 K, which is the most hilly section of the course tonight, but it's also the part that I'm most familiar with, because that's where I do hill intervals. A mere prospect of an approaching finish made me feel so happy that I couldn't control a grin. Luckily, it was all dark, and not a single soul was seen on the street. If there were people, they would suspect that I was on something illegal, because I must have looked like a drunken man who's running, and I couldn't stop grinning from runner's high. 

With 1 K remaining, though, I set myself on a testosterone mode and surged for a fast finish. I ran the last K in 4:43, which isn't so bad for a man who had already run more than 24 K. 

I want to wrap this up with some neat closing remark, but suddenly my eyes got heavy, so I'll hit the bed. Tomorrow I want to do some training. But at the moment I feel too sleep to do any thinking. Good night.