One-Hour Recovery Run

Jul. 9, 2021

11.8 K: 1:10:04. 

Listened while running to "Stay With Me" by Miki Matsubara who prematurely died of cancer when she was still 44. 

Leg muscles were tense before run. They felt lighter and more relaxed thereafter. 

Listened to "Stay With Me" by Miki Matsubara who prematurely died of cancer when she was still 44. Leg muscles were tense before run. They felt lighter and more relaxed after run. 

10 K Barefoot Recovery Run

Mar. 15, 2021

1st K: 5:52.57

2nd K: 6:11.01

3rd K: 6:05.63

4th K: 6:09.41

5th K: 6:00.66

6th K: 5:53.58

7th K: 5:55.57

8th K: 5:56.49

9th K: 5:53.69

Last K: 5:58.37

Total 10 K: 59:56

About 24 hours after running 33.25 K I enjoyed having a recovery run for an hour in bare feet in a nearby park. It was crowded with people of all ages. There were quite a few teenagers sitting and talking in groups in the sun. They are probably new graduates from a local junior high school. There were an equally large number of elderly people in the park. They were walking on a 500-M loop. I ran the same loop 20 times to cover 10 K.  

It's been a while since I last ran without shoes. It always feels great to feel the grass directly on your sole. 

An easy run for an hour alleviated stiffness in the legs. Strong sunshine lifted my spirit. 

I had lost a substantial amount of subcutaneous fat from the 30 plus K run yesterday. Running with less fat carried in your body is a pleasant experience. I want to stay lean like I do now. It seems to be an important part of going for a better time in a race. Aiming for a higher self seems to me to be all about not carrying anything that's not needed when you run, and also about only having what's truly essential. No more muscle training that doesn't make sense in terms of long distance running. Not too much carbo loading when you already have excessive fat around your waist. I'll take diet and workout seriously so that next time I'm invited by the multiple sub-3 runner to accompany her, I can run farther and faster. 

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.  

One-Hour Recovery Run

Jan. 5, 2020

5.1 K: 31:18.14

5.1 K: 31:18.14

Total 10.2 K: 1:02:36.28

Jogged at an easy pace to alleviate tension in the legs resulting from interval training on the previous night. It worked. A warm shower after the run felt like heaven.

One-Hour Recovery Run, Listening to the Commentary for Berlin Marathon 2018 While Running

Feb. 14, 2019
1:04:49

I ran for 1:04:49 very slowly to recover from the 10 build up on the previous night. I listened to the commentary for Berlin Marathon 2018 while running to motivate myself. It's the race in which Eliud Kipchoge smashed the previous world best record to finish in 2:01:39. I pictured him hammering down the streets of Berlin, and pictured myself also surging in the last few kilometers of the race that I'm running this Sunday.

 Tomorrow night I will sandwich a couple of fast-paced Ks with a 20-minute jog to keep my cardio in nice nick. On Saturday I will give myself a rest, except that I might run in the morning so that there will be sufficient resting time before the race.

I haven't run in bare feet for almost an entire week. I'm afraid my soles have softened a bit.  If they have, they may not be able to withstand the landing shock against the road. I'm hoping an adrenaline rash will keep me from feeling any pain.