When I started out this blog (which was only five days ago) I resolved to write only about running here. And like any other resolutions it will be broken within a week, so today I am going to write about baseball. I was reading yesterday an interview by Hideki Okajima, a Japanese pitcher who plays for the Boston Red Sox. He joined the Red Sox at the start of this season, and since then he surpassed everybody's expectation and established himself as the No. 1 set-up man. In this interview I was most intrigued by the part when he talks about the game against the San Francisco Giants on 16 June.
http://sportsnavi.yahoo.co.jp/baseball/mlb/column/200708/at00014174.html
(Sorry this article is in Japanese)
When he entered the game at the top of the 8th inning, Boston was trying to preserve the slim 1-0 lead. He walked the first batter and the next batter singled to the left, however. With two runners on, coming to the plate was Barry Bonds who hit the all-time home-run record No. 756 this week. Against Bonds Okajima threw two curve balls but quickly fell behind 2-0. At that point the Red Sox pitching coach John Farrell visited the mound and talked to Okajima. I was watching this game on Internet, and I remember the commentator questioning Okajima's command in English and speculating how they are communicating to each other. Well, never mind the language because Okajima was totally a different pitcher after Farrell's visit. He threw a curve-ball and two fast-balls to Barry Bonds, all strikes, and incredibly Bonds didn't swing the bat even once and he was struck out.
I was always curious what pitching coaches say in this kind of situation, but in this particular game I wondered more than ever what Farrell said during his visit, which clearly helped Okajima's performance so much. Well, it was all revealed in this interview. Actually he only said "Daijoubu?" in Japanese, which simply means "all right?" To which Okajima replied "all right." That was it! No instruction on how to attack one of the most feared batter in baseball, or fine-tuning his mechanics. Just an exchange of courteous words! But Okajima said he got his calm back thanks to this visit, and eventually he got out of the jam wothout allowing a run.
I think this episode emphasizes importance of psychology in sports. Long-distance running is also more mental than generally perceived (yes, finally I forced the topic back to running). Paavo Nurmi, nine-time gold medalists at distances from 1,500 to 10,000 meters, said "Mind is Everything; muscle, pieces of rubber. All that I am, I am because of my mind." Have a nice weekend everybody!
Today: 7 miles
Weekly mileage: 47 miles
Friday, 10 August 2007
Thursday, 9 August 2007
Thursday is a hard day
Once you start running the marathon, you begin to think everything in your life in terms of marathon. This is dangerous, I know! For example, my Thursday trainings are just like the 20 mile/30 km point in marathon. This is without question the most difficult point of marathon; you feel there is nothing left in your body, yet you still have to keep going another 5 miles/10 km. That’s exactly how I feel when I go out for a run on Thursdays. My body is fairly tired because of the training I have done from Monday to Wednesday, and yet I still have two more runs left before the week. By Friday it gets easier because my focus shifts to the long run on Saturday (in any case I only do an easy run on Fridays). The long-run itself is of course tough, but mentally it is easier as I know this is what I have been training for all week long. Thursday is a kind of limbo.
Having said that, my run today was relatively easy (or less hard) for Thursdays. I am sure it is all thanks to the recovery run I did yesterday (so it does work, really) Also the weather was favourable – sunny but crisp. So the hardest day of week is gone!
Today: 11 miles
weekly mileage: 40 miles
Having said that, my run today was relatively easy (or less hard) for Thursdays. I am sure it is all thanks to the recovery run I did yesterday (so it does work, really) Also the weather was favourable – sunny but crisp. So the hardest day of week is gone!
Today: 11 miles
weekly mileage: 40 miles
Wednesday, 8 August 2007
Recovery run
Last night I wrote I was "exhausted" after the first interval training in the current cycle. At least I thought I was. Wrong again! Because when I got up this morning, then I realised what truly "exhausted" means. I felt extremely tired in my body; in my mind I thought I remembered the fatigue that comes after the intervals, but clearly I have forgotten! So it was a tough day to get through. Just as well I only planned a recovery run today.
Now I am sure to many of you "recovery run" sounds like self-contradictory terms. But in truth quick and easy runs help your legs to recover. Again according to the book by Pfitzinger and Douglas, "recovery runs improve blood flow through the muscles; this process improves the repair of damaged muscle cells, removes waste products, and brings nutrients to your muscles". And I can testify this is true. Psychologically, however, it is more difficult than you think to do a successful recovery run. As a runner your tendency is to run longer and faster, which obviously defeats the whole purpose of recovery run. It is even harder to decide when to take a day off completely from running. This is the time when I wish I had a coach. In January this year I got myself a serious injury for the first time since I started training for the marathon four years ago. I will write properly about this injury later, but of course with the benefit of hindsight I shouldn't have gone out for training on that day, and the injury could surely be avoided. Proper rest and quick recovery is a big key to complete your marathon training successfully.
Today: 5 miles
Weekly mileage 29 miles
Now I am sure to many of you "recovery run" sounds like self-contradictory terms. But in truth quick and easy runs help your legs to recover. Again according to the book by Pfitzinger and Douglas, "recovery runs improve blood flow through the muscles; this process improves the repair of damaged muscle cells, removes waste products, and brings nutrients to your muscles". And I can testify this is true. Psychologically, however, it is more difficult than you think to do a successful recovery run. As a runner your tendency is to run longer and faster, which obviously defeats the whole purpose of recovery run. It is even harder to decide when to take a day off completely from running. This is the time when I wish I had a coach. In January this year I got myself a serious injury for the first time since I started training for the marathon four years ago. I will write properly about this injury later, but of course with the benefit of hindsight I shouldn't have gone out for training on that day, and the injury could surely be avoided. Proper rest and quick recovery is a big key to complete your marathon training successfully.
Today: 5 miles
Weekly mileage 29 miles
Tuesday, 7 August 2007
VO2 Max (not a name of new soft drink!)
Or Fartlek (in Swedish). But simply put it is an interval training. According to the book by Pfitzinger and Douglas (titled Advanced Marathoning - my bible!), VO2 Max is "the ability to transport large amounts of oxygen to your muscles and the ability of your muscles to extract and use oxygen".
The way to improve such oxygen intake is an interval training. Today was the first time I did these intervals in the current training cycle. I ran 600 metres at the 5k race pace, then jogged for one and a half minutes, and acceletrated again and repeated this process 6 times. My breathing is normally steady and hardly goes loud while running, but this VO2 Max training is an exception. By the end of training I always feel like goldfish out of water! Also I find it most demanding physically. I mean 30-minute intervals are harder than 3-hour steady run. Again according to the Pfitzinger and Douglas book; "The interval workouts put your muscles and cardiovascular system under the most stress and generally require the longest recovery time". So I am exhausted this evening, but I also know that when you start VO2 Max your marathon training is approaching an end. What a relief!
Today: 13 miles
Weekly mileage: 24 miles
The way to improve such oxygen intake is an interval training. Today was the first time I did these intervals in the current training cycle. I ran 600 metres at the 5k race pace, then jogged for one and a half minutes, and acceletrated again and repeated this process 6 times. My breathing is normally steady and hardly goes loud while running, but this VO2 Max training is an exception. By the end of training I always feel like goldfish out of water! Also I find it most demanding physically. I mean 30-minute intervals are harder than 3-hour steady run. Again according to the Pfitzinger and Douglas book; "The interval workouts put your muscles and cardiovascular system under the most stress and generally require the longest recovery time". So I am exhausted this evening, but I also know that when you start VO2 Max your marathon training is approaching an end. What a relief!
Today: 13 miles
Weekly mileage: 24 miles
Monday, 6 August 2007
Running in big cities
I am sure every runner has their favourite running course on which their bread-and-butter training is done. For me that course is here:
http://www.mapmyrun.com/run/united-kingdom/london/683590184
(I also mapped this course in the link section on the right-hand side bar)
I used to run the other way, from the City of London towards Westminster. It was OK once you hit the bank of the Thames River, but to get there I had to run along the big road with traffic. Especially during summer, like now, it was difficult because I could really feel and taste fumes coming out of the cars and tracks in my lung. Then one day my colleague showed me this route, which is so much quieter and traffic-free. It is also a nice distance (about 11 miles) which takes me about one and a half hours - just enough for my bread-and butter training. When I want to gain more mileage I make a detour to the Victoria Park, which I didn't do today since this is a recovery week.
In general I think it is easy to run in London in comparison to other big cities. There are a plenty of good-size parks all around London. I had lived in Paris for two years, and I used to "jog" (I was not a marathoner then) in Parc des Buttes Chaumont. The loop I used to run there probably took me two minutes - obviously you cannot train for the marathon in such a tiny park. If you are in Paris, you really have to head for the big "bois" on either side of the city (Bois de Boulogne and Bois de Vincennes). In Tokyo the most popular (and probably the only) running course is around the Imperial Palace. I haven't run there for ages so please forgive me if I am wrong, but I think the loop around the imperial place was about 6-km (4 miles). It was nice; I particularly liked the gentle up and down. What I didn't like was traffic, again, on the busy road that circulates around the Palace. But it is kind of silly to complain about heavy traffic in Tokyo - you just have to get used to it!
Since I started running I travelled to several cities, and I think I became quite good at finding a running route in a strange city. To me the Golden Rule is "hit the water!" If a city has a big river (for example the Charles in Boston) there is usually a running/cycling path where you can run comfortably. If you don't see a river on the map, just head to any waterfront. The best run I had while travelling was in Tallinn, Estonia. I had arrived the night before, and I was yet to visit the tourist information, but I just ran towards the sea relying on a small map provided by the hotel. I was able to find miles and miles of running path. It was on Sunday morning, very quiet and freezing cold, and I was running next to a freeze-out expanse of the Baltic Sea (naturally quite a sight!)
Today: 11 miles
Weekly mileage: 11
http://www.mapmyrun.com/run/united-kingdom/london/683590184
(I also mapped this course in the link section on the right-hand side bar)
I used to run the other way, from the City of London towards Westminster. It was OK once you hit the bank of the Thames River, but to get there I had to run along the big road with traffic. Especially during summer, like now, it was difficult because I could really feel and taste fumes coming out of the cars and tracks in my lung. Then one day my colleague showed me this route, which is so much quieter and traffic-free. It is also a nice distance (about 11 miles) which takes me about one and a half hours - just enough for my bread-and butter training. When I want to gain more mileage I make a detour to the Victoria Park, which I didn't do today since this is a recovery week.
In general I think it is easy to run in London in comparison to other big cities. There are a plenty of good-size parks all around London. I had lived in Paris for two years, and I used to "jog" (I was not a marathoner then) in Parc des Buttes Chaumont. The loop I used to run there probably took me two minutes - obviously you cannot train for the marathon in such a tiny park. If you are in Paris, you really have to head for the big "bois" on either side of the city (Bois de Boulogne and Bois de Vincennes). In Tokyo the most popular (and probably the only) running course is around the Imperial Palace. I haven't run there for ages so please forgive me if I am wrong, but I think the loop around the imperial place was about 6-km (4 miles). It was nice; I particularly liked the gentle up and down. What I didn't like was traffic, again, on the busy road that circulates around the Palace. But it is kind of silly to complain about heavy traffic in Tokyo - you just have to get used to it!
Since I started running I travelled to several cities, and I think I became quite good at finding a running route in a strange city. To me the Golden Rule is "hit the water!" If a city has a big river (for example the Charles in Boston) there is usually a running/cycling path where you can run comfortably. If you don't see a river on the map, just head to any waterfront. The best run I had while travelling was in Tallinn, Estonia. I had arrived the night before, and I was yet to visit the tourist information, but I just ran towards the sea relying on a small map provided by the hotel. I was able to find miles and miles of running path. It was on Sunday morning, very quiet and freezing cold, and I was running next to a freeze-out expanse of the Baltic Sea (naturally quite a sight!)
Today: 11 miles
Weekly mileage: 11
Sunday, 5 August 2007
Half-way point
Hello, my name is Yasushi. Having successfully completed the Boston marathon in April (in what proved to be a very tough weather!) I have begun training for the Loch Ness Marathon in late May. I normally train for 18 weeks for the marathon, so this weekend marked exactly the half-way point. So far I have been trying to increase the weekly mileage up to 70, with an aim to build up my endurance. On Saturday, however, I did my first tempo run in this training cycle. The weather has been cooperative this summer, but unfortunately yesterday was a hot and sunny day. When I usually run in the Victoria Park in London, most of my route is covered under the shade. Yesterday however I was exposed to the sun as I had to measure the mile precisely. So it was a tough going, but I did my best to stick to the 7 minutes per mile pace for 12 miles.
To be honest I struggled during the month of July. Normally I find the week 12 to 8 the hardest stretch; I was feeling more and more tired but there was still a long way to go before the marathon. Thankfully next week is a recovery week, so I intend to drop the weekly mileage before the training reaches its peak from mid-August.
Weekly mileage: 72
To be honest I struggled during the month of July. Normally I find the week 12 to 8 the hardest stretch; I was feeling more and more tired but there was still a long way to go before the marathon. Thankfully next week is a recovery week, so I intend to drop the weekly mileage before the training reaches its peak from mid-August.
Weekly mileage: 72
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