Egg Before The Chicken

This is the first time I received a race medal upon registration. It's anti-climactic in a way.

Well, at least I can use it as paperweight in the office. Frankly, it would have more value to me if I get to finish the 25km Power Run inside 3 hours (2:55, ideally). The distance also forces me to log my weekend long run, something that I'm just too lazy to do (although I was able to log 22km last Sunday when I got myself in the mood for a sunset-evening run).

See you on November 6th!

Oh yeah, 25km babyyyyyy!!!

Race Hungry

I've been raceless since Aug21 (Run United2 21k). I've become bored with the Maffetone training that I've been injecting tempo runs lately seeing that my Maf pace doesn't seem to be improving.

Quite worried that I might be doing this HR-based training method and not be conditioned pace-wise in time for QCIM 42k. I'm worried as well that I'm not being committed to my weekend long run schedule, the longest being a 23km (Run United2 + 2km for warmup and cooldown).

Shit, that was almost a month ago?!?!

Being raceless for quite some time is not helping as well as I think I'm experiencing race-withdrawal panic.

To put it simply, I need to join a race. A long one. And soon!

Finishing Kick II

The 10,000m race below was held just recently in the IAAF World Championships in Daegu. The heavy favorite was Mo Farah, one of the UK's famous running elites.

The video starts with the last 400m (last lap) of the race, with Mo Farah starting his final kick. Unbeknownst to him, Ibrahim Jeilan of Ethiopia made pursuit.

It's incredible to watch such amazing athletes run their heart out to finish first, something that I've experienced (in a small, untelevised way, hehe) when I ran in some races. I won some, and lost some too ---all for the unprecious, no-prize hundredth of a place in the finishers' list.

But the video that plays over and over again on my mind recalling that mini duel as I drive back home?

Priceless.

Maffetone after 89 kilometers

Except for Run United 2 where I ran the 21k event, all my runs since Aug13 have been set below the Maffetone pace for my age (180-37 = 143). Forgive me for my nerdiness, but below is a summarized table of those runs:

As obviously pointed out in the Maffetone training method, this type of training will have you eat your ego. That is, those "back of the pack" runners will seem to be faster than you as you try to keep your HR below the prescribed Maff pace, especially in uphills. I had to swallow a lot of pride, especially in my 20km long run last Sunday, when I wanted to speed up but my beeping GF305 won't let me to. I had to stay below the 143 HR. I finished the run in 2:53.

My aerobic capacity needs a lot of work, especially in the longer distances. Based on the above, it seems that my aerobic capacity is primed only up to around 8k. Beyond that, I have to tap into my anaeraobic tank which does not last for long. What I like about this method is that it's relaxing and less injury prone because of the slow pace. I just need to keep my running form in check from time to time.

I'll give this thing until end of September before I inject back my other workouts (intervals & tempo runs) as I think I'm ready to climb the urban Everest again ---all 42.195kms of it. The dream of finishing sub-5 hours is there for the taking.

The QCIM full marathon this December awaits.

False Prophecy?

I've been following Pete Larson's blog for quite a long time, especially when I started to explore into the minimalist/natural running trend. Migrating from a heel to a forefoot/midfoot strike, it is true that improving one's gait to a more natural form is greatly beneficial to not only improving one's race times, but reducing injuries as well. That was my experience since going thru the Newton Distancia Racers, Adidas Adios ---both I consider to be transition shoes to minimalism/natural running. Currently, I'm rotating between my VFF Bikilas and the Brooks Green Silence, both of which encourages barefoot and minimalist running, respectively. The pain on my left knee has subsided since then. This of course, coupled with consciously following the prescribed paces/heart-rates for my workouts and reading about how to improve one's running gait ---until now. Yes, I'm still a work in progress.

Going back to Pete's blog, I read his post on the Mizuno Wave Prophecy last May 2011 and I couldn't help but recall his views ("personal bias" as he had said) against the said shoe. With all the hype/blogs being posted about preference for the Wave Prophecy, it would be good to put in some "balance" by echoing Pete's post that somehow discourages barefoot/minimalist-wannabees like myself from purchasing it.

Pete's post ("Mizuno Wave Prophecy – The Anti-Minimalist Shoe?") can be read in detail by clicking here.