60-Minute Jog

Jan. 23, 2019
5.1 K: 31:10.76
5.1 K: 30.42.73
Total 10.2 K: 1:01:53

Jan. 24, 2019
5.1 K: 33:07.05
5.1 K: 30.53.27
Total 10.2 K: 1:04:00

Strictly following the training regimens recommended by former ultra marathon world best record holder Mr. Takahiro Sunada, I had a one-hour jog two days in a row on Tuesday and Wednesday night.

Both times the main purpose is to slowly recover from the fatigue accumulated through the long and hard training over the course of almost three months since Aqua Line Marathon 2018. There were two extremely hard-fought races during this course of time. In one of them I renewed my PR for 10 K. In the other I completed an entire half marathon in complete bare feet. When I didn't have a race, I was almost always hitting the road, training, except for only a day or two in a week when I gave myself a complete rest.

I now have a sure feeling that I am much stronger than I was at the same time last year. My soles are more endurable. My cardio is stronger too as I can run a longer distance in one go. I am faster, partly because I am lighter. In other words I am a much stronger version of myself than I was in more ways than one. And my mission this coming Sunday is to translate this positive feeling into actual performance.

22 K Jog in My New Pair of MUTEKI

Jan. 20, 2019
11 K: 1:05:23
11 K: 1:00.29
Total 22 K: 2:05:52

Almost 24 hours after doing a weighted 10 K barefoot pace run, I was ready for another training session: 90-minute jog. I asked myself whether I should go barefooted or in shoes. I opted for a shoe-clad practice. There was slight soreness left in both of my soles.

I put on my new pair of MUTEKI split-toe minimalist shoes with no cushioning. NIKE's Vaporfly with thick cushioning is all the rage. But it's not for me.  I'm a citizen runner who wants to become a stronger version of himself. Not a professional runner running for a prize money. I want to be faster. But I equally want to be more endurable. More accommodating of discomfort and more resistant to pain.

I took off, aiming to reach the Kashiwai Water Treatment Plant 9.9 K from home, and was going to decide how much farther to go from there. If I ran a lap around the water plant and headed straight back home, that'd be roughly 15 K. If I ran a lap around the water plant, and went back where I came from, that'd be 22 K. I didn't need to decided right away. I could go with the flow, and decide depending on my mood.

When I reached the far end of the water plant, I was still full of legs, so I decided to go back the same route that I came from to make it a 22 K session.

But as I went on, I found myself gradually getting hungry, and motivation started waning. I considered taking a shorter route to settle for a 90-minute jog as originally scheduled. But then another side of me said, "When you feel hungry, it means you have run out of your belly fat. Now your body has tapped your subcutaneous fat reserve to sustain your effort." I discovered meaning in going farther. I dropped the idea of taking a shortcut, and completed a 22 K run.

While running, I listened to a couple of lectures by world-renowned Canadian professional speaker & sale consultant Brian Tracy who says there are a number of keys to becoming a positive person, and one of them is eating good food. So as soon as I got home, I had organic miso soup, fresh watercress, fresh spinach, and fresh fruits. 

Tomorrow I will give myself a full rest. After that three days of a 60-minute jog follow. Then comes interval training on Friday. Saturday is another 60-minute jog day. And then comes Sunday when I run for my first sub-4 barefoot marathon.