The day after

We had a good Halloween party here Saturday night, but I drank too much red wine and beer and struggled with my long run on Sunday.

I left it until I felt a little better in the afternoon and right on sunset set off for two and a half hours. The first 40mins were fine, the next 20mins hellish, and the last hour and a half I ran robotically while my thoughts raced from subjects as varied as "Why don't you ever see baby pigeons?" to "Clairie hasn't blogged since she wrote of hurting her back, I wonder if she's alright?"

Anyway I was none the wiser after the run a little sore but happy I could get it in. If anyone knows the answers to the questions above or would like to share some things that go through their minds on long runs I'd be happy to know.

Weight loss

This subject was raised recently on Ewen's blog and since then I found a good article on an interesting blog "uncommonbody" Take a look you may know the information here but it's always good to brush up.

http://uncommonbody.blogspot.com/2006/10/top-10-favorite-foods-for-losing.html

Cold

It's getting as cold as a witch's tit over here thesedays, but it is fitting as we are now preparing for a Halloween party for the kids on Saturday and one for the "grown-ups" in the evening. It should be a hoot, so to speak. I encourage you all to go ahead and make some puns in way of your comments but I don't expect "boo" out of anyone.

Number 29

Not much happening today so I thought I'd add another installment on the theme "Things I don't want to see on my daily run." Today #29

PB

Photo shows me 500m from finishing, looking for a sub 40min, see hand,
close but not this time, but I did managed 40mins 10sec to get my 10K time down 21 seconds from my best time previously. Although I'm a little miffed I didn't go sub 40min I am rather happy with this as I've been fighting off a head cold for the last few days and I was feeling under the weather going into this.

I didn't mention that in my previous blog as I didn't want to come across as giving excuses just in case I didn't run well. Anyway still feeling a little fluey, but happy as I'm chipping away at my times and I was also able to spend the day with my family. Excellent seafood BBQ.

Wakaura Bay 10K

I'll be running a 10K race this Sunday the 22nd. It starts at a marina, while it's not as beautiful as the Gold Coast it is nice and there is a theme park for the kids and a BBQ restaurant right on the water where you can buy and cook your own seafood. I'll be doing that after the race with my family and the in-laws.

Anyway, this is the first race for me since July when I did the Gold Coast marathon. I had some time off, 3 weeks, without running and since I've been training in the heat of summer to race a fast one. A PB for me will be under 40mins 30 sec. I'll go for it but anywhere around there I'll take.

This is the second time I've raced here last year I did the half marathon in a pretty ordinary time. About half way through that race I passed the crushed shell of an old tortoise that had been squished by a car and I started dwelling on that image thinking that it was analogous to my race and I ran a bad one. It might sound strange but it doesn't take much to affect me mentally, got to work on that! *:)

Persistence

I want to talk about "persistence" as, I believe, it is the one quality that best enables us to succeed in life and running. I'm a bit of a "self/help improvement" nut, I have heaps of these kinds of books that I read and re-read. My favorite and the bible of the self help genre is a book titled "Think and Grow Rich" by Napoleon Hill.

In this book it gives 4 simple steps which will lead to the habit of "persistence" and therefore success. The first of these is this:

"A define purpose backed by burning desire for its fulfillment."

It seems to me that distance runners understand this. Their "define purpose" being their next race, their "burning desire" comes from the their drive to get a PB. Basically we don't give up so easily and this persistence fuels improvements in all apects of our lives.

Close but no cigar

Attempted to break 11:00mins for 3Kms this morning but couldn't finish
it off. I'm a fader par excellence. I'll have to keep working on my overall fitness. My 1K splits were 1st 3:25, 2nd 3:48, 3rd 3:53. Total 11:06.

Break something

Something is going to be broken today. I'm wanting it to be my 3K time trial record, not my achillies tendon or my spirit. I'll do my best.

Measure me!

I had a nice weekend in Tokyo and was able to meet up with my English friend Malcolm for five laps around the Imperial Palace on Sunday morning. It is 5kms around and we did 5 loops.
Malcolm is looking fit, his last race was a run up Mt Fuji and he told me that it's so steep in sections that he had to use his hands to help him climb.

He also tells me that when they measured out the course for the Tokyo Marathon they used, wait for it, a meter rule. They were so keen to get it right. The Japanese are nothing if not perfectionists or anal retentive you could say.

Malcolm even told me, and I think he might be having a lend of me, that when they were going through the Ginza, a shopping district, that there was a band playing on the road and instead of asking them to move they just went right on through measuring between the bass player and the drummer. Got to love this country.

All roads lead to....

"Congratulations! You have been selected to run the 2007 Tokyo marathon." So said the email I received yesterday. Thanks for your wishes. To just say I'm happy is to understate it. I'm as happy as a bastard on Father's day!

Going to Tokyo

No, still haven't found out whether or not I've been accepted to enter the Tokyo Marathon, but I'm going for business there this weekend. I'm going to do my long run of 2 hours around the imperial palace on Sunday morning.

It is a loop run of about 3K and it's really a good scene if your a runner. A lot of individuals and running clubs gather there and its a good chance to socialize. This will be my 2nd time to run there, last time I met and old guy who, no kidding, has run more than 300 marathons.

Busy day

Busy day today so I couldn't get my run in until after work. I did an hour starting from 9:00pm and came home took a bath, ate and just writing this before going to bed. Legs a bit tired now and the left achilles has been a little sore for the last week. I don't think I need to run less just working less would suit me.

Things I don't want to see

Another theme I'll start on this blog tentatively titled "Things I don't want to see on my daily run." Today #43

High?

I had a strange experience while eating breakfast this morning. After doing a speed session this morning that I was just able to complete I came home took a shower and sat down to a big bowl of cornflakes. Somehow this tasted better than I've ever remebered I just woofed it down like a man obsessed. It was only after I finished that I realised that I've had that experience before, but before it wasn't fueled by a fast run but something else, I did as a misguided youth, yes I had the munchies. Is this possible? Or was I having a hunger induced flashback?

Tip # 25

As it is a slow running day I thought I'd introduce a theme for Monday's blog "25 Tips for improving your running." Today's tip, # 25 is: How to improve your stride length. You need 1 Bengal Tiger and a 1000 to 3000 meter stretch of ankle deep water.

Lazy Sunday afternoon

Did my long run this morning I lost a bit of energy around the 1 hour 20 mark but I came good at the end. Still a little sore now, I'll get a massage on Tuesday. Tomorrow is a public holiday, day off, tonight it's the family mans salvation of red wine cheese and DVDs.

Clean streets

And no "Cat gravy"either please. No news yet on the Tokyo Marathon. Rest day too.

Tokyo Marathon

The news came yesterday, for some, that they had gainned a place to run in the Tokyo Marathon. I heard that there were 90,000 applicants and 30,000 will be chosen to run, they do this by lottery.

I applied but haven't heard yet, they are sending emails to everyone whether they got a place or not, so I'm a little worried that I can't go. This will be the first such mass participation marathon held in Tokyo and they want it to soon rival the likes of NY, London, and Berlin marathons.

Anyone else applied and heard yet?

Fingers crossed.

Early vs Late

Back to running 5 days instead of 4 as I've been doing for the past couple of months and decided to take the advice of another blogger and try an early run before work. So I was up at 4:30 and just did a slow jog for 40 mins.

Last year I was doing just about all my running early, but recently doing them either during the day or later at night. My preference is for the early runs for no other reason than I'm sure to get the run in if I do it in the morning, but sometimes the late run will get bumped due to other commitments.

What is your preference and why?

Bad run Good run

Did a 50 min jog today. I felt really stiff and tired for no apparent reason for the first half but at around 30min into it I was really cruising. The pain I had in my ankle disappeared and I got my wind back and ran the last half about 8 mins faster than the first with less effort.

I really don't know why some runs are easy and smooth and others are not so. I guess I'll know more with experience and simply keeping a record on this blog may offer up some answers.

Honest sport

Just want to touch on another factor that attracts me to running. It is the honesty of the sport. Pat Carroll often talks/writes about it and we all know that there is no faking a new PB.

I got thinking about this recently watching the news and dealing with people at work. The news can be spun and it depends how you look at the efforts people put in at work everyone has their own interpretation on value. Running is the polar opposite.

It's simple and clean, you either run faster or harder than the last time or you didn't. Running into a strong head wind, like I heard Clairie did recently, does not serve as an excuse for slower times, in fact, most runners, Clairie included, are just as happy or happier with a slower hard run than a faster easier one.

I'm sometimes stressed in my everyday life trying to sort out what is "the truth" and what is bullshit but running relieves me from that. I know what "the truth" is. The elation you feel after a good race comes because, I reckon, you have the certain knowledge that you did your best. It's beyond the judgment of others.

Back to work

Back to work full time from today. It is the end of my summer holidays and now I'm going to have to fit my running around my work and not the other way around like I have been doing. On Monday and Thursdays I have to leave my house at 6:30am so it's pretty hard to fit in any longish runs in the mornings on these days.

I wonder how full time workers fit in their running and balance their other commitments? I rarely if ever miss a session but sometimes that means running later in the evening after all the things I must do. Tonight I have no running planned but I have to do my strength program and I can't start that until 9:00pm which sees me pretty tired going into it. The only alternative is to not do it but feel more satisfied if I can do it.

In a perverse sort of way I like the fact that it is not always easy to fit in my running. I think you understand.

In the rain

Did my long run in the rain today. 24 kms all up around a pond I go to all the time (Sayama). This course is a loop just under 3K around and I did 8 laps at around 16 to 17 mins a lap. Pretty slow, but I usually run my long runs slowly. I picked it up the last lap doing that in 15mins.

That went relatively easy today, I like running in the warm rain.