Getting cool here and winter is just around the corner. It's a nice time of year to race and train here now. It was a public holiday today, Tuesday, and we did somethings to celebrate my youngest's 8th Birthday.
Got a message from Ewen today too saying that the latest "Run 4 Your Life" magazine has just come out and they have a feature article of mine in it. If you are in Australia, or you want to subscribe, have a look.
Just uploading this here now to see how it looks before putting it or something similar on the "Samurai Running" website. Let me know what you think, if I should add something or leave something out. Appreciate it. And yes, I know I look like a dick, so you don't have to tell me that ;)
Aung Sang Suu Kyi Someone with a bigger heart than all of us!
Had my test today, don't know how I should think about the result, on the one hand it is lower than the formula 220 minus ones age (which would be around 175 in my case) so it says that I'm fit but not too much difference. The highest I could get it today was 170.
I've been running my sessions on the assumption that my MHR was between 190 and 180 because a few years ago I was able to get it up there on my hard runs. Actually surprised it's come down so much.
I do know now that I've been red lining too much in the past and definitely went into my last marathon over-trained! Just have to find the balance between that and the half I just ran where I slowed down significantly in the last 3rd of the race because I was under-trained. Sounds easy but it really is an art/science.
So now to adjust my sessions and see if the training by heart rate works! The one thing I have concern with is: I'm supposed to do my easy runs between 95 and 115 BPM and I reckon until I get a bit fitter I'm going to find it hard to keep those runs in that range.
Not sure why I expected any better today, but I did feel good going in. Still, I should feel happy with my 1:22:?? as only 4 weeks ago I couldn't even jog well and I haven't done any long runs, to speak of, since July. The speed is there, 18 min first 5K and 36 min first 10k, just started to struggle after the 15th K. Anyway I know what I've got to do in order to get some PBs early in the new year. Now to work on it!
Tomorrow I'll run the Osaka Riverside Half Marathon for the 7th time. This event was my first ever race at 39 years old! Seems like the weather will be suspect, as usual, for this race again, usually rains, but I'm in pretty good shape and if I can hold my pace until the end, my condition holds, I'll give my PB a shake or at least have a nice workout in prep for a few PBs early next year.
I was looking at the cards I got from the previous runs there tonight. They show a nice progression and just how much faster I've got and how this race has grown over the last few years.
2003 143rd place out of 499 people in a time of 1:39:18 2004 138th place out of 651 people in a time of 1:35:08 2005 Didn't run it 2006 56th place out of 620 people in a time of 1:29:00 2007 72nd place out of 668 people in a time of 1:31:21 2008 27th place out of 727 people in a time of 1:23:00 2009 11th place out of 1162 people in a time of 1:19:25
And 2010 (thinking something like) 7th place out of 1302 people in a time of 1:17:45 (We will see).
I've been running with a heart rate monitor this last week and I'm here to tell you it is by far the better option when compared to running by pace per km. Why? Because, firstly one can basically just estimate what 1km is when running on anything but a marked track. And, two once you know your max heart rate you can know how to run within the various limits and vary your pace and range more accurately, getting the best out of your training.
When I have been running by "feel" I tend to go too fast on slow days and too slow on fast days. This heart rate monitor is really showing me that my past training has been a bit hit and miss. I think in a month or so my racing condition is going to be so much better because of this new training method.
Looking forward to the running of the NYC Marathon tomorrow. Geb to win, Meb a close 2nd, I reckon. As long as they get out in front of the crowd that is ;)
Well as I said I'm pretty much over my injuries and back to some consistent, pain free running.
Ewen's version
"Monday: AM, 10k, felt like s#!t. PM, 20k, felt like something the cat dragged in."
Mine
Monday: AM, 10k, felt like Sammy. PM, 20k, felt like Geb.
Anyway, real happy to be able to be back into it and the only thing now is to get the weight down. That last period of comparative inactivity has me up 5kgs from what I should be to be in PB form.
Last week of overindulgence this week and then I'm on to it ;)
Rick asked, kindly, if I'd like to write something about my training. Gees you'd think this was a running blog or something! Well old son, there hasn't be much to write about on that front but happy to report I'm no longer injured and will start my training in earnest from this Monday. And I'll be sure to let you know how I'm going with it.
In the meantime a brief musical interlude. Really love this music, sure you will too!
Below is some translated information on Osaka marathon 2011 from the Osaka Prefectural Government.
"The theme of the Osaka Marathon is “Hoist a rainbow high together”. Seven specific charity themes are to be decided, and participants are recruited per each theme, and each color. Participating runners are to pick a color to cheer for their teams such as red or blue. It is planned that the supporters will color the streets along the course in seven colors. The logo mark has been announced, full of vigor, portraying a runner at full speed in a motif of a character “run”. It is also designed in the seven colors of the rainbow.
Isn’t there a great fascination and significance to have a marathon in the big city of Osaka amid the running boom nowadays? It is a huge attraction for participating runners to experience the charm of the town by running along roads and through places usually inaccessible except by car. Moreover, in addition to the 30,000 runners taking part, the whole of Osaka including supporters and volunteers will become spirited, and the economic impact generated by them will be on a substantial scale. In addition, this is the best opportunity to convey the “hospitality of a town, Osaka” to runners from all over Japan and the world getting together in Japan.
The huge expectation for “Osaka Marathon” includes energizing the local community and spreading the word about urban attractions. It will be one of the largest sporting events in Japan supported by the unified cooperation of participants and local residents, contributing to the energizing of the whole Kansai area.
The governor Mr. Hashimoto said “I want it to become a good event, rivaling the Tokyo Marathon. I want the whole of Osaka town to be energized through the marathon, and I want to show it both inside and outside of Japan.”
Through this marathon, we will send out the word about the charm of the people and the town, and Osaka full of Energy!"
Back by popular demand! Well not really but I like them ;)
Sorry Ewen I "jumped off the merry-go-round!" Still, not too upset with my race today considering how I've been feeling the last few weeks. I'm taking this as a good sign that I'm getting back on track and and now I'll build on this.
Having said that, it was tough out there today! Always find this race tough as it is the start of my racing season and I'm not yet ready or able to run at any speed for anything over 3 or 5Ks. I'm not the kind of runner who can just turn up underdone and pull out a good race, not that talented I suppose. Anyway I wanted to stop a couple of times during this one and I forced myself to keep on going. Happy about that. One of the times I wanted to stop was when at about the 3K mark, Erick Wainaina (Kenyan) the silver medalist, in the Marathon at the Sydney 2000 Olympics, cruised past me, smiling, like I was standing still.
"Guest runners!" what a concept ;(
Now there is a guy who is "intimidating" you probably couldn't give him much advice or tell him anything that he didn't already know. As for me, you definitely can and I'm always happy to hear it ;)
Got my first 10K of the racing season this Sunday morning and while I go into it a little lame I'd like to think, like some of the Beck lyrics say... "I'm a driver, I'm a winner. Things are gonna change...." But the chorus of this song keeps ringing in my ears... "Soy un perdedor.. I'm a loser baby so why don't you kill me?"
Anyway I'll know were I'm at by the end of it, I'm sure. And It'll probably be somewhere in between the extremes ;)
I've always thought we humans have a large capacity for empathy that allows us to care for more than those we have direct, face to face, contact with. Although I'm not sure this is true in the "virtual world" where our interest can be rather stretched by the amount of people we are "in touch with" via the web. Case in point, my blog is frequented often enough but few feel the need or have the time to offer any encouragement, by way of comments. Luckily I am, and we are all basically doing these blogs for ourselves otherwise there wouldn't be much of this so called.. "Virtual Global Community."
I don't want to shame anyone into writing "comments," just making an observation. I and I suspect most of us keep up our blogs because they have a "purpose" (although this may not always be clear, to my readers) and they help us in our quest of "mastering" our sport with the added value being that they helps us master other aspects of our life as well.
I really consider myself lucky and I'm thankful that anyone at all would even bother to look in. So if you just want to "lurk" feel free ;)
Have a look at this video it's interesting and it explains, well, a little of what I'm talking about.
