Run less Run faster

After almost a year of no running, I want to start again. One reason is that I enjoyed it so much and the other is that it is too cold to go cycling. Ready for a new challenge I ordered a copy of "Run less Run faster." It will give me freedom to do some cross training on my stationary bike and enjoy running a couple of times a week.

It feels really good to do these intense workouts instead of running the same distance and intensity every day which I used to do before. The book has great advise and helpful feedback from many new and experienced runners.

Hot summer running

I have run through two crazy hot summers with outrageous humidity levels. I learned that no matter how often you practice running in the heat, it doesn't make it any easier or safer. Becoming dehydrated or over-heated is always a possibility. The difference is that someone used to the hot weather would notice the symptoms that tell him or her to slow down or take other preventive measures to maintain a healthy condition.

The decision to cancel the 13.1 Chicago race was an appropriate one and might have saved some lives.

As I did last year, I plan to get up around 4 A.M. to go out for my morning run. It is a beautiful sweaty run and has to be done at no more than 80 persent power. The only disadvantage is having to go to bed early at night when it hasn't cooled down properly yet. It takes a while before being able to fall asleep but it feels great to wakeup when it is warm.

Throughout the day I have to keep an eye on my water consumption and the amount of electrolites (from salty food) I get inside me. But I love it, even though it is tough it is way better than winter.
 

Unlucky

This morning I woke up early because I had gone to bed faster than usual. We’ve been suffering from stormy weather due to the typhoon that is raging over Japan. Usually I don’t mind the wind but the rain is a pain in the bottom. This morning when I opened my eyes I couldn’t hear any rain, so I went downstairs and opened the curtains to confirm that it was not raining. I dressed in long trainers and long sleeve under-shirt under my running t-shirt and ran out the door. After a 5 minute warm-up jog and some stretching I continued with an easy run.

However, as you can guess from the title things didn’t go as hoped for after that. Ten minutes into my run some rain began to fall, and within 15 second it was raining cats and dogs as if the clouds just came crashing down. I considered going back but at this stage and this heavy rain I would be soaked anyway so I continued to run the rest of my run. Some puddles I couldn’t avoid came up to my ankles and made my shoes really heavy. I tried to keep good posture and landing on the ball of my foot but with both strong wind and rain it was hard to do. When I came home I washed my shoes and clothes and noticed my knees and upper legs were a bit soar from probably a combination of the added weight and the resistance from wet running wear.

It wasn’t too cold so I could finish my run with a smile.

Running through radiation

As you must know by now, I live in Japan at about 150K from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. Here in my town the radiation levels are still a little higher than areas further to the south including Tokyo. Somehow life has returned to semi-normal conditions and most Japanese seem the believe or have accepted that life can and must go on as it was before. There is no way around the radiation that is in the air so people are running as usual and so am I. After a long winter break, the spring has given me wings and I just wanna go outside and run. My wife is very worried but doesn't tell me to stay inside or avoid running/ cycling. The only advantage that we have is the fact that we avoid tap water which has increased levels of radiation by ordering bottled water from far far away and also our vegetables come from the far south where the amount of contamination is minuscule.
Yesterday was my first interval run in a very long time, I practiced constraint but I do feel a little stiff. Again today it is about 25C so I hope to go out for another run or maybe a bicycle ride.

Forum for Runners

I’ve created a forum for runners from all over the world. It’s caller Runners Talk. There are some forums for running out there on the web already but I just felt it would be nice to have a general forum for marathon runners.

Currently there are only a few categories, but there is room for expansion if forum members express a idea for new category titles. There are two main forum categories, “marathon” and “country and continents.” These are subdivided into sub-categories which relate to the main categories. I guess that both the main and sub-categories can be adjusted and increased if a certain number of forum members deem it appropriate.

I am hoping that many people will sign up for my runner’s forum. For any beginning forum there is the thing that people post their topics but only a few members can reply to them. Maybe we just have to be patient…

Runners Talk home

Runners Talk Registration page

Hope to see you all on the forum.

Earthquake hit Japan

I'm all right. I live 200KM from the epicenter of the march 11 earthquake and roughly 120KM from the Fukushima nuclear plant here in Japan. For three days we didn't have water and electricity which was quite uncomfortable. Can't go back to work because the gas stands have long waiting lines and new supplies are not scheduled. Most of the gasoline is being used for emergency services and other vehicles which support important life-lines such as food and water.

 This is definitely not a time for running. On the other side of my town people are still without water and some even without electricity. Many stone fences and roof tiles have fallen on the street which would make for dodgy running. On top of that there is an extremely high amount of radioactive dust blowing through town because the wind is very unfortunately carrying it our way. The government has suggested to stay inside or either get inside asap for those who are outside. Even in my town the level of Sievert per hour is many times higher than is good for us.

Race results

It's been already two months ago since I ran my marathon. Probably the reason for not blogging for a while. My aim was to break the "magic" four hours. At mile 13 I was running at 1:50 so completely on track and feeling good. But of course there has to come an "however" otherwise this entry would have been written much sooner after reaching my goal. At mile 14 my stomach started to feel funny, never had that feeling before. Maybe it was all the excitement, adrenaline, and my breakfast which mixed into a deadly ball of pain. As i look back on the whole event I know what went wrong. It was just being too nervous and not planning enough, though I thought I did. I usually don't have breakfast before running, I always train on an empty stomach because food and running always gives me trouble the next day... But on marathon race day the troubles came at mile 14 and never went away. The stomach pain was so serious that I had to walk at intervals. This resulted in a five hour marathon. Very depressing to run more than an hour longer that your goal time.

The worst was that I had sacrificed so much of my social life for my training. Almost everyday on the road just to run miles. On the weekends doing long runs left me constantly exhausted and not interested in spending time with my family or friends.

So, the motivation is gone.

And it is winter (cold, snow, wind) so there's not much running. I go out once a week for 10K or some interval running, but I don't think there will be another marathon. I'm thinking of running 10K races instead. Less training and more enjoying running. It could have been my competitiveness that made me suffer so much. Even thinking of running a 10K race makes my mind set high goals.

I'll try to keep everyone updated on how thing unfold.

Holiday Running

 

Holiday season is here with lots of time for running. Christmas running and family running and new year running. For me, I hope to catch up on my running because the cold weather tells me not to go outside. But hopefully around Christmas I can run in the daytime without freezing to the tracks. After my last marathon in November I have lost my appetite to run. No goals and cold weather besides a busy work schedule keeps my running shoes in the closet.

Sunday morning run

Finally I have reached the 30K peak in my marathon training. It has been over one year since I participated in the Kasumigaura marathon in Ibaraki prefecture Japan and ran so long that my legs hurt the next day (today). With my next marathon planned at the end of November, I hope to have to more runs of around 32 to 34K before beginning with tapering. Yesterday was a great day, starting off cool at 17C with clear blue skies the temperature rose to 24C. I choose a 3K course and went round ten times, running in the shadow of trees and in the sun at about same amount of time. The 29th kilometer was hardest and for the last one I gave it all I had.

Maybe if I had eaten a better dinner with more carbohydrates it could have been and easier run. Also, I usually run without having breakfast which could have provided some additional carbs but I’m not sure what it’ll do to my stomach and if I can digest it at all.

Pace Improvement

Finally summers seems to have passed on to other parts of the planet. Early autumn smells good and temperatures are optimal for running. Now every morning I'm fortunate to see the sun come up while running my morning training session. The sky turns red to orange to yellow which is great to gaze at while hearing the birds sing their morning songs. I'm already seeing improvements in my pace since I loose less sweat and my core temperature doesn't go up too high while running. I was becoming worried about my pace not improving much as I ramp up my weekly mileage.

Just two months and a bit before my marathon race. Hopefully I can keep up with my long runs and avoid a burnout. I feel very motivated and ready to set new personal best.