April 30, 2010

Best running video ever



Thanks to Stacey of Runner's Girl Blog Spot

April 26, 2010

Hamstring Issue

Week of April 19 ~25

Monday
6k. 24 mins. fairly easy with the kids, then 70m hill x 10, "sprinting" up.

Tuesday
4.8k At the Fuchu 300m track. 400 x 6. 80/81/81/81/81/81 (100m slow walk in between).
Rain and cold (abt. 13C/55F but felt colder). With 3000/1500m girl runner Arisa. Kind of funny...kept trying to pick up each one, and each one was the same 81. Arisa and I just didn't have it to go fast today.
Due to the accumulation of the 19:00 5k (in the middle of a 20k run) on Sunday, hills on Monday and 400s today, my right hamstring was sore at the end of the workout. Actually, I think the hills yesterday was the mistake.
AM: weights and core at the gym.

Wednesday
8.4 at the track in the evening.
1000/600/1000/600/1000/600/400
4:30/2:35/4:27/2:26/4:21/2:36/1:44 (200 jog after each)
Right hamstring a bit sore, so took it very easy. Fortunately, it was ok.

Thursday
Rest. Rt hamstring sore. Also cold rainy day.

Friday
Rest

Saturday
Rest
Hamstring sore early morning, but not in the afternoon.

Sunday
18.2. Easy run with 6 Namban Rengo members.
1:42:30. Out 52:30, In 50:00. @5:46/5:30.
On dirt and asphalt path of Tamagawa Josui (old Edo watercourse).
Right hamstring slightly sore, but not bad and did not get any worse.
Actually, with a hamstring problem, rest does not seem to help. I have had this experience before. Easy running is better, although 18k is too long.

Total for week: 37.4k 3:34

April 20, 2010

Mostly Short and Quick

Week of April 12 ~ 18

Monday
9.4k with kids. About 5k easy, then 10 x 70m hill, hard. Easy back.
Cold and rainy.

Tuesday
7.3k at Fuchu track. 400 x 8
86/82/80/79/79/79/80/78
With top 1500m girl. Felt ok once warmed up, but 79s felt harder than last week.
AM: weights and core at gym

Wednesday
Evening at the track. 2k warmup, 1600/1200/1000/800/600/400
5:56/4:40/3:58/3:10/2:19/94
Felt ok, ran the first 1500 hard for time (5:28) just to see what I could do. The rest at about 4:00/k pace.

Thursday
7k with kids in Nogawa park (next to the school).
Relay race: 200/200/400/800 x 2. Ran fairly hard and jogged in between. Didn't have a watch.

Friday
Rest. Had to go to Hamamatsu (Yamaha).

Saturday
15k @ 5:02 1:15:27
Stiff at first, but felt fine after 3k.
Snow in the morning! Track meet cancelled.
Very strange weather. It never snows in April....

Sunday
20k. Around Imperial Palace with Namban runner James Midgely. He wanted to run the 4 5ks in 25/20/25/20. I ran 25:07/19:00/24:25/23:19. (26m short).
He took off like a shot on the second 5k, I worked hard to follow. Followed for 3k, then eased up a bit. All in at the end, did not plan on running that fast. He also took off on the 4th, but I was content to cruise around on my tired legs in 23+.
Pretty hard run, considering I will run hills on Monday and 400s on Tuesday.
LOTS of people running around the Palace. The Japanese running boom is not subsiding.

Total for week: 67.7k 5:44 (only 67, but 5 "hard" workouts)

April 13, 2010

Great Asics video

A history of Asics, narrated by the founder, Mr. Onitsuka, before he died. (I once had a pair of Onitsuka Tigers.)

It's in origami and English.

April 12, 2010

Getting Back Into it

Week of April 5 ~ 11
A few good workouts. Not trying to put in mileage, just focusing on running with the American School kids 2 or 3 days a week and doing some speed work.

Monday
18.7k 1:36:37
5.5k to ASIJ in 30:51 @5:36
.9k warmup with kids
4.1 in 16:31 @4:00
Hill sprints (8 x 70m hill)
1k back to school, then 5.5k home @5:27

Tuesday
At 300m Fuchu track with kids.
3.6 @ 5:24
400 x 6 76/76/78/76/77/76 (100m slow walk in between). First 2 behind the boys, who are too fast, last 4 with top 1500/3000m girl (Arisa). Last 2 were hard. Fun workout. 2.4k warmdown
Weather turned warm at 18C/64F
AM - weights & core & 10 mins on elliptical trainer

Wednesday
Track workout in the evening
3k warmup, 100m x 6
4:07/01/07/02/03/3:59 (jog 200m, 2:30)
Pace not hard, but didn't want to go any faster.
Got cold again - 10C/50F and light rain.

Thursday
10k @5:14 Easy

Friday
20k @4:52
26:23/25:04/23:11/22:37 @5:17/00/4:39/31
Last 2k 4:21/23
Legs a bit stiff, not smooth and easy
Time: 4:30
Temp: 14C/57F

Saturday
Rest, went to ASIJ track meet. Good 1500 by Arisa, 5:17 and she beat Izzy, a strong runner from Sacred Heart.

Sunday
12k @5:17. Easy - felt ok.

Total for week: 80.7k/50 mi.) 6:57

April 5, 2010

Easy Week and Cherry Blossom Viewing

Week of Mar 29 ~ Apr 4

After not running at all the week after the LA Marathon, I got back into it with an easy week of 45.5k.
Sunday I went to the big park 5 minutes from my house, which is famous for cherry trees. The cherry blossoms were full and a few thousand people were having fun doing "hanami", literally flower viewing but in fact it means picnicing/drinking while sitting under the cherry trees. Something that every person in Japan, Japanese and foreigner alike, enjoys doing. Took a video with my new iPhone. I guess I have to practice so I can do this with less bouncing, the way Scott and Ewen do it. Fortunately, it got too crowded to run. Anyway, it gives you a rough idea of what Hanami in Japan is like.

Monday
7.5k @5:28.
Planned 10, but quads were a bit sore after 5, so cut it short. Felt ok, though.

Tuesday
6.5k At Fuchu track (300m) with ASIJ kids (with two top distance girls, actually).
600/400/300 x 3
2:16/86/63 2:13/86/60 2:21/84/57
Not hard, but had to work a little.
AM: weights and core in gym

Wednesday
5,000m time trial at the track at night
18:54 3:44/50/48/50/42
Felt pretty good. Legs were ok, slightly tired. Did I run a marathon 10 days ago?

Thursday
Rest - calves a bit sore.

Friday
Cold rain. 2k on treadmill at the gym. I hate running on treadmills, so got off after 2k. No time to run outside, but some more rest is ok.
Weights and core.

Saturday
12k @5:16 Easy at 10:00am. Felt ok.

Sunday
9.5k @5:30 (walking part not included). Easy in park with iPhone.

Here's the video:

April 1, 2010

Good read on LA Marathon

As I said, some bloggers wrote much more interesting accounts of the LA marathon than I did. Here's another good (and funny one) one, by the Punk Rock Runner. He's good on the Oakland marathon also.

http://punkrocktriguy.blogspot.com/

Here's the only race photo of me taken by my daughter near the finish.



And specially for Ewen, who for some unknown reason, thinks that arm warmers are "girly" despite the fact that many top male marathoners in Japan and the US wear them (you want to try telling that to this dude?):