Final Phase Conditioning: A 5 K Barefoot Jog

Oct. 17, 2918
Jogged 5 K in 33:09.87.

Four more days to go before Aqua Line Marathon 2018. Former ultra marathon world record holder Mr. Takahhiro Sunada’s recommends in his book that a sub 3.5 marathoner should do a 60-minute jog at 6:30/K. I’m no sub 3.5 marathoner. My PR is 3:43:08. There is still a long way to go. But nevertheless, it is my all time dream to someday achieve that goal. Dr. Yamanaka, who is world-renowned for his discovery of the IPS cell, is a sub 3.5 marathoner. He is older, and presumably a lot busier. And yet he is disciplined enough to keep the fitness to do it as a citizen runner. He did it. I may be able to do it. So I never give up my hope.

Anyway, although I loosely follow Mr. Sunada’s recommendation, it is not always easy to strictly stick to it, because I’m not strong enough. In fact, a 60-miunte jog felt too much for me tonight. For a number of reasons. One, I ran 11 K last night, and my legs were a bit heavy. Two, I have a super early start on Friday morning, and a seven-hour corporate seminar throughout the day, and need to save up energy of that. Three, interval training is scheduled on Thursday night, and that gives me a lot of pressure. With all these things pressuring me, I almost skipped training entirely. But I didn’t. I decided to hit the road anyway, and to decide how long to run as I went along.

To my surprise, or should I say “as expected,” because that’s the feeling I always get when I get to run even when I’m not in a mood, my body felt less heavy. And as I went on, I felt even refreshed, and glad that I ran. I enjoyed the fresh air that was much, much cooler than in early October. In fact, I had running tights and a long-sleeved shirt on because a temperature notably lower than usual. I enjoyed the cold feeling of the pavement, as well as the mild stimulus of the rough road surface on my soles.

After running two laps around the 2.5 K loop starting from home, I felt I’d run enough for the night. Running more could leave me feel too tired to stay focused at work. That’s the last thing I want. After taking a shower, ordinarily I fuel myself with carbs and protein. I usually eat brown rice, a raw egg, natto, or fermented soy beans, dried ‘nori’ seaweed, and some grilled fish. But tonight I didn’t eat anything. I had enough water and hit the bed immediately. A 5 K jog is not enough to justify a meal, I thought. At this stage of preparation, weight gain can be a big disadvantage in the race. Especially because I’m running without shoes. I should make my utmost effort to minimize the burden on the soles.