Men's marathon at the World Athletic Championship was indeed a very tough race. The starting temperature was 29 degrees, even at 7 in the morning. Of the 87 runners who started, 30 retired before coming to the finishing line. Once again you have to remember these are all elite runners who run over 100 miles per week. I salute all the runners - it is such a great achievement to have finished the marathon in such a heat.
I had my share of heat problem today. I intended to do the marathon-pace run for 15 miles. The sun returned with a vengeance, however, and I started to feet dizzy and had to stop after 7 miles. A couple of weeks ago when I did the 12-mile run under the sun, I also felt I was losing concentration, but I was already at the 10-mile point so I was able to finish the training. Today, there was no way I can complete 15 miles. I could have slowed down and extended the mileage, but that would have nullified the whole point of marathon-pace run.
One interesting discovery from today's debacle is the following. Initially this marathon-pace training was scheduled for next weekend. When I got up this morning, however, I felt very good. I have never felt so good for weeks, so I decided to try this hard training today. The end product was disastrous. I have now come to believe that there is absolutely no relationship between how you feel, and how your run will go. Many of my best runs have ben done when I was feeling totally shit.
So not a very good week; I failed to achieve what I set out to do twice this week. Hopefully this is just fatigue from the taxing training I put in in the previous week. I wish for better runs with more fresh legs next week!
Today: 10 miles
Weekly mileage: 62 miles.
Saturday, 25 August 2007
Friday, 24 August 2007
Osaka 2007
The World Athletic Championship begins tomorrow. Not only this is the World Cup of Athletics, but this time it will be held in my hometown - Osaka, Japan. Naturally I have a great interest, so I checked the schedule. I found out that the first event is men's marathon, and that comes even before the opening ceremony! This is highly unusual; it's like Beck playing Loser right at the start of the concert (but hold on, I think he did exactly that last time he played in London).
Then I noticed that the reason they start with men's marathon at 7 in the morning is the heat. Osaka is hot in summer, and it has a different kind of heat. When I lived in Japan, I go visit my family in summer, and when I returned to Tokyo I felt cooler. Even though the temperature is not that different, so it must be humidity. And Japan is having THE hottest summer in history. My parents told me they cannot touch the wooden wall inside the house, because it gets too hot! A few days ago I talked about the hot places where it seems crazy to have the marathon, in which I conveniently forgot Japan, but August in Osaka certainly qualifies. So good luck to all the runners tomorrow (actually it has already started because of the time difference). I know you are all elite runners, but I appreciate it will be hard as hell even for you.
Today: 6 miles
Weekly mileage: 52 miles.
Then I noticed that the reason they start with men's marathon at 7 in the morning is the heat. Osaka is hot in summer, and it has a different kind of heat. When I lived in Japan, I go visit my family in summer, and when I returned to Tokyo I felt cooler. Even though the temperature is not that different, so it must be humidity. And Japan is having THE hottest summer in history. My parents told me they cannot touch the wooden wall inside the house, because it gets too hot! A few days ago I talked about the hot places where it seems crazy to have the marathon, in which I conveniently forgot Japan, but August in Osaka certainly qualifies. So good luck to all the runners tomorrow (actually it has already started because of the time difference). I know you are all elite runners, but I appreciate it will be hard as hell even for you.
Today: 6 miles
Weekly mileage: 52 miles.
Thursday, 23 August 2007
Don't let me down
I am not sure how widely it is known that the public transport system in London is terrible. It sucks. I wasn't aware of this disaster until I arrived here. Having grown up in Japan, I made a very bad assumption that the Japanese train system is a norm. How wrong I was!
That being said, I have been free from the London underground trouble for a very long time. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that I am taking the first or second tube of the day. However, my luck ran out today. Having arrived at my local station, I was informed by a very bad handwriting on the notice board that the District Line is not going from the station. "Please seek an alternative route", it said. How? There is only one line going from this station; it is not exactly the Shinjuku station in Tokyo! So I arrived in office late, which meant less running. Aargh - there is nothing worse than your run taken way by the London Underground Ltd!
Today: 15 miles
Weekly mileage: 46 miles
That being said, I have been free from the London underground trouble for a very long time. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that I am taking the first or second tube of the day. However, my luck ran out today. Having arrived at my local station, I was informed by a very bad handwriting on the notice board that the District Line is not going from the station. "Please seek an alternative route", it said. How? There is only one line going from this station; it is not exactly the Shinjuku station in Tokyo! So I arrived in office late, which meant less running. Aargh - there is nothing worse than your run taken way by the London Underground Ltd!
Today: 15 miles
Weekly mileage: 46 miles
Wednesday, 22 August 2007
Running in the dark
As I began to run this morning, it was dark. Actually it has been dark throughout this week in London. I don't think I have seen the sun since Saturday. Not that I am complaining; the weather has been very accommodating for us runners. I am so glad that there was hardly any day with scorching sunlight and searing heat this summer. And yes I used the past tense; sorry folks but the summer is over - at least in England.
I was talking to one of my colleagues the other day, and he told me he was contemplating running a marathon, or I think it was even an ultra marathon (that is, longer than 26.2 miles) across the Sahara desert. Now I am sure many people think I am nuts to run 26 miles for (essentially) my pleasure, but even I have never dreamt of running in the desert, especially in Africa. Running in such a hot climate is a completely different beast from "ordinary" marathons. So I checked, out of curiosity, if there is any marathon in a hot place. Lo and behold thy are everywhere! There is a Singapore Marathon, which is almost under the equator and if I remember correctly the temperature is over 30 throughout the year. Last year almost 10,000 runners defied the heat and took up the challenge - I tip my hat! It starts at 5:30, so they did choose the coolest time of the day but such an early start must pose another difficulty. Then there is a Dubai marathon. Honestly, how can you train for the marathon when you live in a place where the temperature goes above 40? I think I will stick to the marathons in a cold (and wet) climate!
Today: 13 miles
Weekly mileage: 31 miles
I was talking to one of my colleagues the other day, and he told me he was contemplating running a marathon, or I think it was even an ultra marathon (that is, longer than 26.2 miles) across the Sahara desert. Now I am sure many people think I am nuts to run 26 miles for (essentially) my pleasure, but even I have never dreamt of running in the desert, especially in Africa. Running in such a hot climate is a completely different beast from "ordinary" marathons. So I checked, out of curiosity, if there is any marathon in a hot place. Lo and behold thy are everywhere! There is a Singapore Marathon, which is almost under the equator and if I remember correctly the temperature is over 30 throughout the year. Last year almost 10,000 runners defied the heat and took up the challenge - I tip my hat! It starts at 5:30, so they did choose the coolest time of the day but such an early start must pose another difficulty. Then there is a Dubai marathon. Honestly, how can you train for the marathon when you live in a place where the temperature goes above 40? I think I will stick to the marathons in a cold (and wet) climate!
Today: 13 miles
Weekly mileage: 31 miles
Tuesday, 21 August 2007
Back on track
What a difference a good night's rest makes! After the disappointing run last evening, I was back on running with a vengeance today. I managed 16 miles this morning, and I threw in VO2 Max training (600m times 5) for good measure.
Although I still think I was right to stop yesterday, it gives a nagging doubt to any runner; is there something wrong with me? Or am I on the verge of injury? So it was very satisfying to know that I am able to run for more than 2 hours again. What a relief!
Today: 16 miles
Weekly mileage: 18 miles
Although I still think I was right to stop yesterday, it gives a nagging doubt to any runner; is there something wrong with me? Or am I on the verge of injury? So it was very satisfying to know that I am able to run for more than 2 hours again. What a relief!
Today: 16 miles
Weekly mileage: 18 miles
Monday, 20 August 2007
Take it easy
The 22-mile run I did yesterday had a full effect on me today. Initially I was going for a 7-mile recovery run, but I gave up only after 15 minutes. I normally go out in the morning, but today I waited until the evening so that my legs could receive the maximum rest. It was to no avail. I really shouldn't have bothered.
I am not disappointed, however. Actually I am happy that I stopped running, because sometimes it is a more courageous thing to do. Young Yasushi of last year would have gone for 7 miles this evening, but I learned from the mistake I made when I got myself injured early this year. It was a very costly and painful education, but for me it was a lesson well-learned. I am not saying I am already there, but I think I am beginning to learn when to push myself, and when it is better to just stop. I think once you know the difference between these two, you can call yourself an "experienced runner".
Today: 2 miles
Weekly mileage: 2 miles
I am not disappointed, however. Actually I am happy that I stopped running, because sometimes it is a more courageous thing to do. Young Yasushi of last year would have gone for 7 miles this evening, but I learned from the mistake I made when I got myself injured early this year. It was a very costly and painful education, but for me it was a lesson well-learned. I am not saying I am already there, but I think I am beginning to learn when to push myself, and when it is better to just stop. I think once you know the difference between these two, you can call yourself an "experienced runner".
Today: 2 miles
Weekly mileage: 2 miles
Sunday, 19 August 2007
88 miles
I did it! I ran 88 miles this week, which was by far the longest weekly mileage I've ever done. In this cycle I had done 77 miles twice, and back in January I had extended it to 80 miles (but I got injured in the following week, so I need to be extra careful next week).
I must say the push for more miles has taken its tolls. I normally go for a long weekend run on Saturday morning; I want get it out of the way quickly so that I can relax for the rest of weekend. Yesterday, however, I was just too tired to go out. So I had to run on Sunday morning in the rain, but I was so glad when I lasted 22 miles. That's the longest run done and over with!
Today: 22 miles
Weekly mileage: 88 miles
I must say the push for more miles has taken its tolls. I normally go for a long weekend run on Saturday morning; I want get it out of the way quickly so that I can relax for the rest of weekend. Yesterday, however, I was just too tired to go out. So I had to run on Sunday morning in the rain, but I was so glad when I lasted 22 miles. That's the longest run done and over with!
Today: 22 miles
Weekly mileage: 88 miles
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