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. 

2.5-Hour LSD (25.8 K)

Sept.15, 2020

25.8 K: 2:30:23

The temperature dropped to 20 degrees Celsius or thereabout. It almost felt a bit chilly before warming up, though once I settled into a steady pace, it just felt perfect for a long slow midnight run.

I listened to the audio of two fitness videos by Jeff Caveliere. Jeff is a former New York Mets physical therapist. He is the producer of the Athlene-X fitness program. He offers countless free videos on You Tube around the theme of fitness and functional strength. I personally feel the variations of exercises he introduces are a bit too many, and not good for someone like me who loves simplicity. But nonetheless I enjoy watching his videos because of the clarity by which he explains the scientific aspects of exercise. He is very learned in his field of expertise, and his reasoning is very convincing, though at time I feel intimidated by the technicality of his fitness vocabulary, which I presume he chooses to use extensively in order to project a high degree of authority to his advanced audience which I'm not a member of.

Anyway, back to talking about my run tonight, it was awesome. Up until 20 K I felt like I was flying, though I wasn't running fast; I was jogging. But breathing was easy and the legs felt light, mainly because I had my home-made sports drink in my backpack, and hydrated myself at regular intervals, which helped to recharge my body's batteries. 

With 3.5 K remaining, though, I felt I had run out of gas, so I stopped by a convenience store. I wondered if I should by a sweet sports drink or frozen blueberries. I went for the latter because they are healthier. 

A mouthful of frozen blueberries gave me the energy to cover the remaining 3.5 K. Thanks to the aqua shoes with little cushioning my running form was kept right throughout the training tonight. With little cushioning to absorb the impact of landing you must run to buffer it entirely with your leg joints and their supporting muscles and tendons. This is a big incentive for my body to choose the bio-mechanically most reasonably running form. (So I hope.)

I'm glad the long absence of training while my right feet was in pain didn't set me back so much in terms of my ability to run a long distance.