Wishing everybody a peaceful, prosperous, and successful new year. I will continue to run and blog and hope that this time next year we will still be in contact and better runners/people for the experience.
All the best
Scott Brown
Bye the way I'm all set up with Skype and if you'd like to talk sometime I can be found under the name "abenokibrown"
Well that's, the title of this post, what I'm telling myself. Did 3:17:50 a full 2 minutes faster than my previous best time so I'd have to be happy with that. It ended up being near perfect conditions so I didn't have to worry about that and as this came on the back of a pretty average build up and mileage I should be satisfied.
I do know one thing for sure I will really have to train hard and have things all come together on the day if I'm going to get anywhere near under 3 hours.
But you'll be happy to know today didn't deter me from that goal.
The photo was taken by Kato san a fellow Kawachinagano running club member and it is 200 metres from the finish of today's marathon. And if you look closely you can see that I'm getting some "air!" ;)
I can't believe my luck when it comes to rain. I just checked the weather and it is going to rain on this Sunday. Seriously the last time it rained on Sunday here was the last race I ran. This would be funny if it happened to someone else, Ewen for example. But frankly I'm a little pissed off.
Any advice for running marathons in the rain and/or uplifting stories about you or anyone you know running a PB in the cold drivng rain.
As the clip says "I'm looking for a perfect sky."
By the way this song sung by Bonnie Pink features "Ebi Chan" the lastest teen idol here. "Ebi" is "Prawn" and "Chan" a title for young girls. The prawn reference comes from the fact that she made her debut in a TV commerial for the McDonalds "Ebi Burger."
I have a few things to say but also pretty tired tonight. As I was "torn" between posting and going to bed I thought about this clip. I reckon it makes a good compromise.
I've had a good week and feeling pretty fit. Had three great sessions this week, a long run, 31kms, on Sunday, a speed session on Tuesday 2mins flat out 2mins jog recovery, 1min flat out, 1min jog, 30 seconds flat out and 30 seconds jog, x 3. And a 15km run on Weds @ an average of 4:30 per km. The reason I'm happy about all this is that I did them all relatively easily.
I don't want to put a jinx on myself but I'm really feeling good about my marathon on the 23rd. The foot pain is down to a slight burn and even with a bit of partying recently I've been able to keep the weight down.
I'm still a bit worried about my lack of kms in the build up but I have a secret training method that sometimes helps in cases like these. Now don't go writing into the running site's noticeboards cause its an advantage I'd like to keep pretty much under wraps. What I do is, I've learnt the words to "Cantaloop" see video, and I sing these at the top of my voice while dancing under a alternatively burning hot and ice cold shower. Please try it and let me know how it goes for you. If you're worried about your mother/father, wife/husband or children, boyfriend/girlfriend coming in mid session you could do it in some bicycle pants. A good idea too for those old fellas prone to shrinkage, pun intended. "Bid de Bid de Bop!!"
I finally signed up to "facebook" the other day. I mean I've been resisting cause I know that I'm going to spend more time over there than I should, but I think I'll try it. Not that I will give up this blog, not as long as Ewen and Speedygeoff and a half dozen others, you know who you are, continue to blog.
"Facebook" seems interesting but I don't like when they ask questions like: "What are your favorite books?" And "What are your favorite movies?" I mean I've read a fair bit and of course watched a few movies, still, I feel I always come off like a dill when I say what they are. I just think I'm not as "highbrow" as most. A bit like the following.
Sorry for the delay in posting, I've be lurking but shirking. Anyway I'm fine, working a bit more than I'd like but can't complain about that.
I've lost 6 kgs in the last 5 weeks and feel good but my ankle is still not 100% and I've cut out a few runs to try to rest it. That seems to have helped as it is definitely getting better but I'm a little worried that I'm under done, kms wise, for my up coming marathon on Dec 23rd.
Well just thankful that I've lost the extra weight that I put on over the summer here and that the ankle is almost healed. I was thinking that as this is my 7th attempt at a full marathon and if I hit the start line with no other problems my experience and my 4 years of accumulated kms might be enough to see me to a PB. I've still been doing about 50 to 70kms a week for the past three months just haven't been able to get in the couple of 100km weeks that I wanted to do before this next marathon.
We will see. I'll let you know how the training goes for the remaining three weeks.
I'll leave you now with a favourite song from my youth. Actually still is. This kind of music probably doesn't do much for you there in Australia as you still may hear it often but for me it is special for the memories it brings, I reckon I haven't heard this song for close on 20 years.
Well my foot held up during today's' race but it hurts now. I had a bad first 10 kms still nursing a big hangover from the night's before BBQ. You know I've never got drunk the night before a race so at the time I thought it would be OK ;)
Anyway it wasn't OK and I was so dry the first half and couldn't get into a comfortable rhythm. But somehow at the 13km mark I came good and ran my second half really well I seemed to be getting stronger and faster from the 13th K on right up until the 20th K when a lady of about 60 years (The eventual 2nd place woman's winner) flew by me and I couldn't catch her.
My time was 1:31:15. I'm a little disappointed with that as I should have done better given the conditions today. It was 19 degrees and no wind to cause problems and apart from ten minutes at the end it didn't rain. I was thinking on the way home that I just have to toughen up my training if I want any more PBs, more harder runs at pace and a bit more consistency. These PB don't come easy, you know.
On a brighter note I went to see a pro soccer game with my sons after the run today and our local team "Cerezo Osaka" won 4 to 0. We will take that ;)
I'm running a half marathon this Sunday. This race is special to me for several reasons and it's a bit of a love hate thing. It was the first time I'd ever raced. I trained for about 5 months and did this race and 4 years later and I'm still running races regularly with no end in sight. So for this reason I love it and I do it every year. Also it's a fast half and I hold my current half marathon PB there.
What I'm not so thrilled about is that it has been cold and rained every year on this particular day since the first one I did here and it's at time of writing this forecast to rain again this year! It usually blows a gale too as it runs up and back along a river. You might think, "Oh a river that sounds lovely" but the old Yodo river is not a very scenic affair and the only time you might "Oh" is when you see a animal carcass float by.
It seems that some races are like this either they are always held in perfect conditions or they are always held in crappy weather. Still, I won't give this race up as sure enough the day a decide to not run it it will be 15 degrees sunny with a light breeze.
On another related note, my ankle is still not better and I now regret entering the last 10K race as it was not 100% when I ran this race but I did it anyway and I've aggravated it to the point that it has interrupted my preparation for this half and I will go into this Sundays race a little underdone and still a little lame.
Anyways, you might say I'm a little lame brained to be doing this and I'd agree. I would say to anyone of you, "take it off and save yourself for the next race", (mine is a full marathon on the end of December). but I can't bear to miss this race and the injury is more of a niggle than anything. One day it seems fine and next day, not so much ;(
Well it hasn't stopped me from running my normal runs this week and I'm betting that a few days rest before and the atmosphere on the day will have me pumped up enough to run a good race, even if it's not a PB.
This brings me to my song of the week from the German Punk band "Oxymoron." We are all sometimes a bit oxymoronish, I reckon. Song title: "Run from reality" exactly what I`ll be doing this weekend ;)
I was teaching a final year high school class today and as they are only a few weeks away from graduating I've been taking them aside one by one and asking them questions about their future. This has been for my benefit perhaps more than theirs.
Here are some of the questions I put to them today. "In your future do you think you will:
run a marathon?" have children?" learn to play a musical instrument?" take a trip to Europe?" own your own business?"
After they answer I ask follow up questions but apart from the students simply practicing using the language I've found this exercise illuminating. Basically nobody imagines themselves running a marathon in their future. This is, I guess, because they are simply not interested in running or they can't imagine doing something that seems impossible to them now.
I think I would have answered in the negative too at seventeen but I hope they will try one day and come to know the reasons I love running so much.
The following quote by Christopher Reeve explains much. He says: "So many of our dreams at first seem impossible, then they seem improbable, and then, when we summon the will, they soon become inevitable."
For me I love running because I can challenge myself and what I once thought impossible can be made, through effort and sacrifice, possible.
Living a good life is all about doing now what we thought we couldn't do before. Or at least trying to ;)
Had my first race, a 10k, today. That is the first since before the summer here. Last race was Nagano marathon in July.
Anyway, on Thursday night I slipped coming out of the shower and twisted my ankle. It was pretty bloody painful at the time and next morning I couldn't put much weight on it without screaming like a banchee. Part of what I wanted to scream about was: Why does this sort of shit always happen so close to race days #%&!?
I thought my race for this weekend had finished right there, but with a program of ice and hot baths I felt right to go on the day, two days later.
I started the race with a 4:05 first K slowed by the large crowd. The 2nd K was better a 3:39 and a 4:00 min K the 3rd one. From about the 6th K I felt a little out of wind, first race blues or blews, but mostly I was starting to feel my ankle and it was weakening me enough that I started to bleed seconds.
I finished in 41:58 the best I could do today. Still all things considered I reckon that was a pretty good time.
After the event my wife, the kids and I went to a theme park and had a very nice BBQ lunch down by the ocean. It was a bloody terrific day ;)
Now to continue the training. I need to lose at least 5kgs before my full marathon in Dec and get in a few good/hard speedwork sessions in before my next half marathon event on Nov 11th.
Hi, just a bit of housekeeping. Does it seem quiet in bloggsville or is it only me?
Maybe just a dry patch during the change of seasons? I wouldn't be so worried but I just had a look at Ewens blog and he has only 1 comment, mine, for the last couple of days. This coming from Mr. blogopular who normally gets 20 comments.
Now I'm thinking twice about uploading my lastest video I took of an open leg sore that was going to be titled "Does this look infected to you?"
Anyway, I hope you'll all come back when you can. One thing I really wanted to ask, seriously, is does anybody else have trouble when logging on to Robert Song's or Tugerranong Don's blog? Cause 9 times out of ten when I visit these blogs my computer just shuts down seconds into reading. While it always boots itself back up I don't understand why it does this and only to these two blogs. It's been like this with Roberts blog for 8 months and TD's for about 6 months. I can only comment on them at the computer at work my home one doesn't want to view there work for some reason.
Anyway, let me know if you know. And if you're caught under a overturned bulldozer and can't blog at the moment I fully understand ;)
On my never ending quest for self improvement I came across this clip. Definitely found this a help and I'm now looking to avoid all future "retard traps." I will try to think about any so called traps that us runners could try to avoid. Please also let me know if you can think of any.
It's been a strange week and it's only half way over. Some rough classes at school. See youtube clip for example. Boy "Gogo Yubari" the Japanese school girl from "Kill Bill" has nothing on some of my students. They can be rough ;)
Also came down with a cold on Sunday night after my 27K long run, maybe in sympathy with Tesso and I haven't run at all for a couple of days. Still feel better already after a few early nights.
Well it hasn't been all bad news as I found out that I had some "lost super" still on hold for me and it is possible to make claim to it. Now that put some balance back in the week ;) Think I'll go and buy a new pair of runners to celebrate!
We've got a lot of friends running the Melbourne Marathon tomorrow. So I my song of the month is posted with them in mind. I know not everyone is 100% ready for it but I know you will all show at least as much grit as bruce did. All the best!!
