Maratom

Training for the ekiden

2010-09-06T08:21:00.000-07:00

OK, so I have an ekiden coming up in November, and I'll be running the 10km first stage. Trouble is, I've hurt my right foot quite badly, having landed on it awkwardly whilst doing some sprints at the local small park. Running hard on it is out of the question, so instead, I'm doing some circuit training to try and stay in shape until the foot heals.
Now, to find a training program for the 10km...

W1 D4,5,6 and 7

2009-11-08T00:14:00.000-08:00

Woo hoo! First week finito : )
Legs are feeling a bit achy, and feet are sore, but overall very pleased with progress so far.

On day 4, I did a late night one hour run, at normal pace around the backstreets of Nakameguro and Yutenji, with an added 5 minutes of hill work. Although the pace was easy me legs sure did hurt afterward - pretty still, so I rubbed Tiger Balm all over them and that seemed to relieve things.

Day 5 was a rest day, and I celebrated by attending a leaving party at an Irish pub, drinking 2.5 pints of Guiness, which didn't help matters much the next morning, for day 6s 4 miles! Still, once finished I felt fully awake and it kept me sharp all day.

So, today was the long run, and Joseph and I ventured out to Shinmaruko, and Tama River. Nice weather, so the junior baseball players were out in force playing their matches, as well as a bagpipe player and a trumpet player. The ground was mostly grassy, so much softer than our usual concrete runs, which by the en of 8 miles made a big difference.

W1D3

2009-11-04T04:47:00.000-08:00

A morning session today of:

3 mile run
4*100m sprints

Not as crowded as yesterday, due to it being a work day, and very sunny and crisp once again.
Legs felt strong, and I enjoyed the sprints at the end.
I'm wondering when to fit in a couple of gym sessions during the week, on top of the running. Rest days have to be complete rest, I feel, so maybe its going to be on a Wednesday and Saturday.
Also trying to choose a decent sports drink. At present using Amino Suppli, which isn't bad, but if anyone has any suggestions, do drop me a comment.
I want to raise some funds for Unicef too, so am contacting them regarding sponsorship plans.

First day training

2009-11-02T19:28:00.000-08:00

In a push to stave off the cobwebs of my encroaching 40s, I have decided to pitch my will and strength against the might of the Tokyo marathon 2010, held on 28th Feb. Yes, 26 miles and 385 yards of excruciating pain and madness, to prove that I still have "it", whatever "it" may be.
So, today I started on the running program that my friend Joseph and I have decided to follow LINK
It seems reasonable, especially as the first day of training yesterday was a rest day, which gently segued us into what should be a memorable journey.
Anyways, enough blabber.
The aim of this bloggy is to keep a record of what I did to build up to the big event, and to detail the exercises I used to get me there. I'll also jot down my thoughts about how it feels to undertake this journey, and hopefully will be useful for any other aspiring mad people who want to do a marathon ; )

We're setting our finish time at 4 hours, which for a first marathon is ambitious, but we're both fairly fit and have been running now for some time.

So, today's training involved the following:
2 miles running at marathon goal pace
2 miles tempo pace (which means running about 30 seconds faster per mile than at goal pace)
2 miles at marathon pace again

The weather was very sunny, but quite chilly, and I chose a familiar course along the Meguro river.
It was pretty crowded with other runners, perhaps also starting their 16 week programs, which was a good energy boost.
I felt strong finishing, and made sure I did about ten minutes of stretching both before and after the run.
So, overall, a good start.