I decided to take a rest day today based on a message from God.
Humans need rest. I believe that rest and recovery are essential for running. I struggle with taking a break. This morning, I decided to take a rest day because it had rained and I felt a bit like I was coming down with a cold last night.
However, habits are scary, and I still woke up before 5 AM. I know that trying to go back to sleep actually makes me more tired, but I still try to close my eyes and end up getting up. I used to peek at X's activities in the early morning (am I a night owl?), but I felt like it was a waste of time, so I filled my time by inputting upcoming races and events into the Garmin calendar using connect garminn for future participation.
Here are my upcoming participation plans. I'm probably participating too much even though I don't have the strength. I consider participating in races as a significant part of my training.
Maybe I'm getting bad results because I'm participating too much? Or is it simply a matter of ability?
I wonder if I'll get into the Yokohama Marathon. The lottery is on June 12th. It's in late October, so it's definitely going to be hot.
The team practice session that I have hardly been able to attend. Tomorrow's menu is 1km intervals, 10 times if there's a race over the weekend, 5-6 times.
For those aiming for a sub-3-hour marathon: ~3'50
For those aiming for a sub-3-hour 5-minute marathon: ~4'00
For those aiming for a sub-3-hour 10-minute marathon: ~4'05
...
For those aiming for a sub-4-hour marathon: ~5'00
I am aiming for a sub-4-hour marathon over the weekend, and if running 5-6 times, the pace should be set 5-10 seconds faster. So, I decided to run 6 times at a pace of 4'45 or less (J=200 setting), but I lack a bit of confidence, so I took 90 seconds rest based on time.
What should I do to prepare before doing point practice? I didn't know what to do, but I found a tweet from Micchi on the SPIRITS RUN website, suggesting the following warm-up before point practice:
Dynamic stretching: Warm up the body while making it moveable (I practice this almost every day with a loose approach using a rubber band).
Muscle stimulation: Light muscle training for the abs and buttocks to maintain an efficient form (same as above. I want to do A-SKIP for the iliopsoas muscles, but I haven't practiced it yet).
Warm-up jog for 10-15 minutes: Exactly 1km from home to the planned interval course. A faster warm-up for 2km around the planned 1.06km course. I ended it at 2km because I was sweating.
100m WS 2-4 times: About 120m. Run at a pace of less than 4 minutes 20 seconds per kilometer. I haven't done this before. It's said that doing WS will make the body move during point practice.
3-5 minutes break: Enjoy the break.
Start point practice.
The results: 427-430-427-430-433-435
The target was to finish below 445 without focusing on time, so I dropped in the second half, but it was good to complete 6 times. However, it was extremely tough from the 4th time, and although the rest was 90 seconds, I also walked. This is an area for improvement, and looking at these results, the goal for the next attempt would be to consolidate below 430 without any walking or stopping during rest, and it's okay to have a slow JOG.
Finished with a fast 4km down run.
Ran a total of 13km, and I managed to exceed 300km for the GSK in May.
I'm definitely making progress compared to a year ago, but I feel a stagnation in the past month.
I will do my best to "break the current situation."
I tried running with the "JOG IN DASH" that was being done by Harada Taku, a running coach in Nagoya who is currently achieving consecutive victories at the Chitose JAL Marathon on his YouTube channel. It involves repeating a jog with short bursts of fast running, which naturally increases the pace due to the added load. I tried it for the first time in about a year today, and despite its name, "JOG," it turned out to be a threshold-level run for me, becoming a high-intensity workout. The first kilometer was more like a warm-up, so it was a bit slow, but I pushed through and managed to run 10 kilometers in 51 minutes and 15 seconds, with an average pace of 5 minutes and 7 seconds per kilometer. I think it was a good workout, but it may be a bit more demanding. At this pace, I feel like I can only push myself for about 2 more kilometers. I have the speed of a sub-4 full marathon, but I still think my speed endurance is insufficient.
Runner Sub2.5 Rangaku Tsuru-san has posted his goal setting on X. It seems that he also creates a paid training menu.
If you can continue running slowly and reach about 300 km per month, you can be certified as an advanced runner in the field of running. Then, he will tweet a lot about setting a marathon goal time and moving on to the next stage if you achieve it.
→ I can run more than 300 km per month.
People who are working hard in training but are not making progress (myself).
I believe that I am accumulating the strength to eventually make a breakthrough (I am convincing myself of this).
Endurance training is necessary. I certainly think so. (Maybe I can't endure it. I'm afraid of getting injured).
Full marathon training:
30 km slower than race pace (10-20% slower) - The goal is 2 hours 45 minutes, so around 3 hours to 3 hours 10 minutes?
16-20 km at race pace - Assuming 5 minutes 35 seconds, the other day 16 km in 1 hour 30 minutes 07 seconds, pace of 5 minutes 37 seconds (no room for error)
6-12 km faster than race pace (regularly once a week) - Yesterday 7 km in 37 minutes 09 seconds, average pace of 5 minutes 17 seconds (no room for error)
Interval runs of 400m to 2000m - I have hardly done interval runs.
I absolutely haven't been able to do 1) and 4). It shows in the results. It's important to decide on a menu and run after all.
Setting times for pace runs (8 km) and intervals (1 km x 5):
If aiming for sub-4: P: 5'20/km, I: 5'00/km
If aiming for sub-3.75: P: 5'00/km, I: 4'40/km
If aiming for sub-3.5: P: 4'40/km, I: 4'20/km
It's important to practice aiming for sub-4, considering my actual running ability and the fact that I am at the level of sub-45.
I plan to carefully plan my training menu for the week. So today is Monday (designated as a rest day). However, maybe I'm participating in too many weekend races. Especially in June, it's tough.
Scheduled races in June:
June 2nd - Chitose JAL Full Marathon
June 9th - F Village Half Marathon
June 15th - Grandson No. 3's birthday party (this is the most important)
June 23rd - Sunagawa 10 km
June 29th - My birthday (this doesn't matter)
By the way, I couldn't wake up early yesterday. I went to the hair salon I had reserved and got a haircut and dyed my hair. I thought about whether it was okay to run right after dyeing my hair, but I went for a run. I ran about 8 kilometers in around 5 minutes and 20 seconds per kilometer, aiming for a pace to achieve a sub-4 time. I didn't have much leeway, and it was tough. After the run, I went to see the fields of rapeseed flowers in Takikawa, and then I had Nepalese curry before coming back.
The Lake Toya Marathon only managed to maintain a sub-4 pace until 19 km, and then I had to walk. Walking is definitely not good. After 35 km, I couldn't stand straight due to the recent problem with my latissimus dorsi cramping. Despite it being a bit hot, I had better training leading up to it than the Osaka Marathon on February 25, and I thought sub-4 was a must, but... a shocking 4 hours 27 minutes.
But I can't just keep regretting. Because on June 2, 2024, there's the Chitose JAL Full Marathon. The first 22 km is a gentle climb through the forest, followed by a descent, a course unique to Hokkaido, including places that can only be run during the race. It shouldn't be an officially certified course.
Post-Lake Toya Marathon training:
May 20: Rest & walk
May 21: Rest & walk
May 22: Recovery run 10 km in 58 minutes with running tabi MUTEKI, plus a little walk
May 23: 5 km at M pace + 4 km at T pace + 2 km at T pace + 10 seconds
559 (warm-up) 527-526-522-520
442-442-444-437
509-454
May 24: 6 km Bup in Taiwan sandals
611-522-509-503-501-454
WS 6 sets
May 25: Planned 90-minute jog, but ended up running 16 km at marathon pace
605-539-535-533-539
543-540-546-540-538
531-534-526-530-523-535-540
I didn't feel like I could run another 26 km at this pace.
I may be in the midst of evolution, but it might be a bit of a stagnation period. Train, build up my abilities, and rest well to eventually produce results. This was the cry of a 62-year-old (almost 63) geezer.
