tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38719917042678920962024-03-14T22:30:11.446+08:00Run back by 7A runner from South China.
The title of my blog comes from my habit to run very early in the morning and be back home by 7am.
Running in China can be very challenging at times and requires a lot of determination, but is also a good way to make yourself at home here...by7http://www.blogger.com/profile/02575145053431055482noreply@blogger.comBlogger345125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871991704267892096.post-7665909725251342572012-08-29T14:37:00.003+08:002012-08-29T14:37:44.301+08:00a long absence...and a come-back (or actually 2)I must beforehand apologize with those 2-3 people who sometimes read my blog: I have not been posting for very long, mainly because really busy with the work, but also because I really had a totally uneventful summer... no races, no particular running experiences to share.<br />
<br />
well, then maybe because of that (un-eventfulness...) I just piled in run after run, trying to survive the scorching summer heat, without making too many plan.<br />
I gave up the idea of running the Berlin Marathon (despite having already paid 100EUR of registration) because it did not match well with our family plans and now I am just putting ALL my cards in the Fukuoka Marathon on December 2nd.<br />
I do not have much more to ask to running, apart from eventually lining up for a marathon injury free and well prepared to tackle a PB. And this year, I know I am close to my last shots.<br />
<br />
Now that the rant is over, I can just summarize that:<br />
- somehow I had a good consistency during the summer, with many weeks over 100k and some decent workout<br />
- I focus a lot on stretching and strengthening to reduce the risk of injury and it seems working until now.<br />
- My right hamstring seems now almost ok, but I know I have to work more on glutes activation, strength, etc, etc<br />
<br />
I also committed to cut down on sweets, soda, etc to trim down a couple of Kg in time for race day...I was definitely 2kg over my normal weight in July, but now I am back to normal, and still some work to do.<br />
<br />
Relaxed and focused...<br />
<br />
So last Sunday I somehow hit an intermediate target into this path.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUGhkIAllWSU2oJEYs3WpnG8E6IM2JHeQcms63sV15XJLd73kpLXkue8MvWqUPJw01Ket4sucuaWll_ccsqvSSpXpBTQC7e66Px7oDkbd5paFNSpQo3_U1MTEr-WvlWUOC208EO9TJQzA/s1600/ChungHingCup2012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUGhkIAllWSU2oJEYs3WpnG8E6IM2JHeQcms63sV15XJLd73kpLXkue8MvWqUPJw01Ket4sucuaWll_ccsqvSSpXpBTQC7e66Px7oDkbd5paFNSpQo3_U1MTEr-WvlWUOC208EO9TJQzA/s400/ChungHingCup2012.jpg" width="400" /></a>At the Chung Hing 10K Cup I felt the same positive vibes as in the summer of 4 years ago... and it was like being back to my best period....<br />
<br />
<br />
The photo is the award ceremony for the Top 6 runners and I am the one on the right.<br />
With huge satisfaction, I finished 6th overall in this very loaded race, just behind all the very best runners in town.<br />
People familiar with the HK running scene will easily recognize the faces of the other guys, but is enough to say that the Top 4 are/were all HK record holders over different distances and then is me...<br />
To top my personal satisfaction, my friend Stefano also come-back from injury with a boom, taking the 2nd place.<br />
<a href="http://runbackby7.blogspot.com/2008/09/italian-sweep.html" target="_blank">It has been 4 years since we went to a podium together</a> and it has been a troubled 4 years for the both of us, but now we are back...<br />
<br />
Some more about the race: the course is out-and-back flat along a catch water and being August in HK, the temperature at the start was a 29C with 70%Rh...<br />
At the start, I realized that ALL (and really ALL) the best runners in town were at the start line and I was even wondering how I could have deserved an Elite bib for such a race...<br />
Said that, we started relatively slow and somehow we reached the 5k turnaround in 17'40" in large pack of 11-12 runners. I was feeling good and my stride was quite effective, but under that heat, the last 5K were going to be "long"...<br />
T.K. and Stefano were already clear ahead, but for our pack after the turn-around point, the fireworks lit up and the pace increased suddenly. I knew that I had absolutely to hang out tough with the remain of the pack as long as I could to make a gap with the runners left behind and then try to keep a decent pace once I would have been dropped myself (once you are in a group where the other runners have a 5K PB of 14'xx" you know that you are going to be dropped sooner or later...).<br />
As for the script, at 8k I was really done to follow them and went at my pace, which was anyway enough to close in 6th in 35'01" (with a 5k-10k split of 17'20")...<br />
In comparison, 4 years a<a href="http://runbackby7.blogspot.com/2008/08/kenian-among-us.html" target="_blank">go, I was entering into my best running season (which ended unfortunately very soon anyway) and I run in 34'57" at the same race </a>(temperature was similar)... so very encouraging.<br />
<br />
Now keep going and I will try to update more frequently, also with more general news about running in the area<br />
<br />by7http://www.blogger.com/profile/02575145053431055482noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871991704267892096.post-20187899310184326232012-06-04T15:03:00.000+08:002012-06-04T15:03:06.117+08:004 years later...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The very few people who have been following this blog since the inception, know that that in the September of 2008 I won a <a href="http://runbackby7.blogspot.hk/2008/09/again-1st-incredible.html" target="_blank">10000m track race</a> at the HK Track League. At the time I was really at the top of my game, in really amazing shape (for my standard). That was also the beginning of a quick downfall , among injuries, more kids, etc...<br />
4 years later, I am still trying to go back to that level of fitness or at least to run 6 months without injuries and see what I can do...<br />
<br />
So, last Saturday, I toed the start line for the 10000m of the Round 3 of the HK Track League with no special expectations apart doing a good workout after 2 months of only easy running.<br />
As sometimes it happens in the life, it was one of those days where stars aligned in my favor....<br />
All the "tier 1" runners (well...5-6 in total in HK) decided to join the meeting but on shorter distances, being obviously put off from the idea of running 25 laps in the mid of the afternoon with 28C-29C/80%rH... (on top of that, the local Kenyan runner arrived too late for the start time !)<br />
So the start list was mainly of "tier 2" runners like myself, for example including the likes of HoKi who this year run 2h36' for the marathon and so on... so a solid competition for my level, but nobody really "untouchable".<br />
<br />
Once the gun went off, I realized that the pace was something manageable for me and I positioned at the back of the lead pack, just letting the laps go until we hit the 5k mark in something around 17'30"...<br />
Paul, the coach of the National T&F Team was very kind to shout us the laps and soon after the 6k mark, I realized that we were slowing down lap by lap, that the 83"/84" were more and more 85"/86" so I did decide that it was maybe time to seize this opportunity and avoid the race going down to the last 2 laps or worse (where I stand no chance)...<br />
I made a move, putting down 2 fast laps and eventually I realized that I was alone... at the front of the race.<br />
There were still 8 laps ahead of me, and that gave me plenty of time to think about all the past 4 years, about the heaviness in my stomach caused by the lunch (never ever have lunch before an afternoon race !), about what to do if I was caught near the finish, about my hamstring and so on...<br />
<br />
At the last 4 laps, I just put my head down and tried to keep my cadence high and sprint at every straight.. the lunch felt almost ready to go out and I still had time wondering if vomiting a lunch could take less than 10-15 seconds....<br />
It was all made more difficult by being totally not clear on how much gap I had: there were many lapped runners and everybody was wearing more or less the uniform of the big local 3-4 clubs (WAC, TCAA, LW..)...<br />
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<a href="http://a6.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/581086_3985038874939_247921195_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="http://a6.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/581086_3985038874939_247921195_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
The bell felt like a liberation because only 400m to go...<br />
Somehow I pulled out another 81" lap and the finish was there... I was winning a track race 4 years later... near to turning 43 y.o. and with 3 kids on the stands.<br />
<br />
I know that I had a good dose of luck, but the awareness of my (poor) standard is anyway not a problem to enjoy this personal success against injuries and the advancing age...<br />
<br />
For the record, this time I pulled out from the closet the same shoes as the last win...these Mizuno Ekidens confirm themselves as "winning shoes" (I guess they scored 4-5 victories in about 10 uses) and ended up with the same blisters from the boiling hot rubber track as the last time...<br />
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<br />by7http://www.blogger.com/profile/02575145053431055482noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871991704267892096.post-56383809140410144672012-05-30T13:47:00.003+08:002012-05-30T13:47:32.964+08:00I am still too young...<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Last saturday I had the pleasure to join other fellow runners in the 5th Memorial <span style="letter-spacing: 1px; line-height: 20px; text-align: center;">Malcolm Phillips 5km Race, which is the only race in the territory to use "age graded" timing to classify the runner...</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white; letter-spacing: 1px; line-height: 20px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, once you run your 5K, all the times are equalized using the WADA tables. In this way, also Veteran runners have a fair chance to win the race...</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 1px; line-height: 20px;">So it is a bit tricky to "younger" runner to pace the effort, because you never know if some "old chap" running in 21' is anyway ahead of you in age-graded terms.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 1px; line-height: 20px;">Anyway a nice way to spend a Saturday afternoon and I was curious to see where my fitness stands after 2 months or relaxed training.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 1px; line-height: 20px;">Running at 4pm in Summer on a very hilly course in SaiKung is not exactly the recipe for a PB, so I just aimed to push the pace from the start without caring too much of pacing and the risk of blowing up...</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 1px; line-height: 20px;">To cut it short, I run at the front with another guy, until I decided that he was suffering more than myself, so it was time to attack.. I cut the finish line 1st in 17'11", which is really a positive surprise considering the heat and hills...</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 1px; line-height: 20px;">Once the <a href="http://www.avohk.org/admin/index.php?_spAction=saveMedia&room=content&recordType=attachment&media_id=703" target="_blank">results </a>were out, I ended up 2nd (with an equalized time of 16'00"), missing out the win by a mere 6 seconds to a 62-yo runner who completed in a very respectable 20'07" equalized to 15'54"..</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 1px; line-height: 20px;">So I still have another 20 years ahead to eventually win this race.....</span></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://a5.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/p480x480/556709_10150894634396961_669216960_9783865_946964021_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://a5.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/p480x480/556709_10150894634396961_669216960_9783865_946964021_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">All the top 5 Women and Men..(the winning women was a GB International in her prime, marathon PB of 2h32'...) </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 1px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 1px; line-height: 20px;">The effect of running at 4pm + the added dehydration of putting down some coffeine to digest the lunch were that from 4.20pm to 8pm I probably drank 4-5 liters of liquids until my stomach could not take it anymore...</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 1px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 1px; line-height: 20px;">At least another week of summer gone...</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 1px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span></span></div>by7http://www.blogger.com/profile/02575145053431055482noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871991704267892096.post-5896386425665794982012-05-25T14:19:00.000+08:002012-05-25T14:19:56.459+08:00Running Gait Analysis, my experience<br />
Long overdue... here a (hopefully useful for someone) kind of review of my visit to <a href="http://www.strideuk.com/" target="_blank">StrideUK</a><br />
<br />
So... early September of 2011, having a spare afternoon to spend before the flight back to HK, I fixed an appointment for a gait analysis with StrideUK, based in Hove (which is basically a suburb of Brighton).<br />
The most challenging part was reaching Hove from 50km away... surviving the appalling conditions of the British roads/traffic... with countless traffic lights, intersections, small villages etc... to arrive on time. I guess that cycling there would have taken less. Anyway...<br />
<br />
In line with my "engineer" style, I will try to keep it short and in bullet forms<br />
<u>DISCLAIMER</u>: I did not receive anything from StrideUK for this review. I paid for the analysis on my own (which was a non negligible 160 GBP).<br />
These notes are only my personal experience which can guide the reader to have a similar analysis done somewhere else.<br />
<br />
<div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<ul>
<li><b>How it works</b></li>
<ul>
<li>Well, basically I was left in shorts and I got markers on all joints, etc. Then we proceed to:</li>
<ul>
<li>some static analysis of the posture</li>
<li>flexibility test of different segments (calves, hips, etc).</li>
<li>warm-up on the treadmill</li>
<li>cranking up the pace up to Marathon speed (so I was running at 10mph...) and I had to run first 10-15 minutes to get into a "tired" stride and thereafter start video capturing:</li>
<ul>
<li>barefoot</li>
<li>with shoes without orthotics</li>
<li>with show with my own orthotics</li>
<li>frontal, back and side shots of the postures</li>
</ul>
<li>getting dressed</li>
<li>discuss the results with the analyst</li>
<li>receive and discuss prescriptions (with demonstrations) about specific strength and/or flexibility exercises, etc</li>
<li>Also receive a recommendation for the type of shoe which could fit best the running style</li>
<li>I eventually got a nice report with also a CD with all the video of my analysis</li>
</ul>
</ul>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><b>Level of the equipment</b>: I would score it 4 out of 5</li>
<ul>
<li>In a scale up to 5, I would give 5 to the equipment <a href="http://runningtimes.com/Article.aspx?ArticleID=21169" target="_blank">of the lab profiled in this issue of RunningTimes</a>... obviously that is "space lab" level. So we are somehow below that level but with all the right equipments. I particularly remarked the special treadmill used for the analysis (from <a href="http://www.sprintex.eu/en/" target="_blank">Sprintex</a>): a German product and the motor is actually at the back of the treadmill, so in a sense the runner is actually "pushing back" the belt (more similar to the reality of running) rather than the standard treadmills where the belt is "pulling your feet back". Also the belt is not actually a belt, but a succession of wooden plates similar to the tracks of a tank (slat-belt). The feeling is really good and very near normal running. Plus a proper set-up of video-cameras and related rigs.. So it was a solid set-up (I saw some labs trying to do running gait analysis using "home fitness" treadmills with max speed of 12kmh...)</li>
</ul>
</ul>
<div>
<br /></div>
<ul>
<li><b>Attitude of the analystt</b>, score 5 on 5</li>
<ul>
<li>Mitchell, the owner, really stands out in the crowd of the all the gait analyst which I met until now. Why ? because he took a "white sheet of paper" approach, without any pre-assumption on the needs of orthotics or this or that kind of shoes. Different from many labs, where a way to get extra income is pushing the envelope for this or that insole, he is not connected to any insole/orthotics manufacturer. I was incredulous when he told me that maybe I could even run without orthotics because my feet (despite hitting the ground at an angle), do not actually roll at all during the pushing stance. So we went through the whole process checking my static posture, barefoot running, running with shoes, etc and later discussing the images together so that I could also give my own opinion and understand the "why" of each image. We spent almost 2 hours together and he really made me understand the how and why of each step.</li>
</ul>
</ul>
<div>
<br /></div>
<ul>
<li><b>Outcome</b>:</li>
</ul>
I really would like to avoid to make a self-centered report of the working of each of my joints, so just take my personal case as a lead of the type of output which you could get from a similar analyst:<br />
<ul>
<li><u>Flexibility test</u>: poor result. My squat is really limited because of poor flexibility of calves and hip/glutes muscles. In retrospection, this poor flexibility has been a major driver of my injuries until now because stiff calves obviously lead to more strain to achilles tendons and the hip mobility seriously affect my stride cycle in the right leg. So the prescription was for Stretching and Foam Roller daily (!!)...</li>
<li><u>Posture</u>: like most of "office workers", the pelvis is tilted, with tight hip flexors and tight quads. Prescription: either change the type of job (unlikely) or stretching the muscles...</li>
<li><u>Leg length difference</u>: a certain difference was measured. We verified that putting 2-3mm under the right leg made the body feel more balanced. So the suggestion was to add a heel lift of 3mm (NOTE: the outcome of this action has been mixed...I am at present very dubious about the overall benefit of adding a heel lift, because it affect my pelvis tilt.. )</li>
</ul>
<u><br /></u><br />
<ul>
<li><u>Running </u>(either barefoot or with shoes), <u>back view</u>. </li>
</ul>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAS-gYXCtZo8c7F3wbz9JQOFxr6-rke1Hcsv_2jhr15JnJwTYzm7oEP2k-054gqEdj99sp_yME_s29JDvNJK0-kAzoPZkRNm4swEJSyiEOovFrw4enpcmT6WqWYhbg5bsZ_ztryRbWlVU/s1600/Barefoot_land.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAS-gYXCtZo8c7F3wbz9JQOFxr6-rke1Hcsv_2jhr15JnJwTYzm7oEP2k-054gqEdj99sp_yME_s29JDvNJK0-kAzoPZkRNm4swEJSyiEOovFrw4enpcmT6WqWYhbg5bsZ_ztryRbWlVU/s320/Barefoot_land.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
As you can see from the photo at the left, my foot hit the ground with quite an angle from the vertical. There is nothing I can do about it, it is related to my bow legs (see previous <a href="http://runbackby7.blogspot.com/2008/01/orthotics-2.html" target="_blank">post </a>on the matter). </div>
<div>
The major drawback is the added strain on the Achilles and also that all the impact load goes to the inside of the shoe.</div>
<div>
So I have been always naturally attracted to use shoes with "anti pronation" devices, not really because I felt the the need to control the movement of the foot, but rather because being of more solid material in the inside they could remain in "good shape" a bit longer. Neutral shoes would get all tilted inwards after few miles of use...</div>
<div>
I also have some custom made orthotics designed in a way to try to align the leg and the ankle during the run. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3qiFf1kKwAtKnkkoTr3Ir5kRQCYgz4hyphenhyphenTsHOZBlmcsPDN15ZbtsywEp9Ecn0gXOSJStsVemCCc2K1X-k-S1-v2aUzsHPPJZ7L-k74ptGxDL35PJbv9h-XdLIsMWz2zLNTCYJJfiVv6F8/s1600/Barefoot_land_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3qiFf1kKwAtKnkkoTr3Ir5kRQCYgz4hyphenhyphenTsHOZBlmcsPDN15ZbtsywEp9Ecn0gXOSJStsVemCCc2K1X-k-S1-v2aUzsHPPJZ7L-k74ptGxDL35PJbv9h-XdLIsMWz2zLNTCYJJfiVv6F8/s320/Barefoot_land_2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div>
Now, the interesting bit is that looking at the same stride a bit later in the movement, just before the tow-off:</div>
<div>
you can notice how the feet did not actually tilt inward more or with the ankles rolling-in like it happens to real "pronators" (of which Mitch showed me an example). </div>
So system foot/ankle/leg remain "aligned" (well.. in a broken line) during all the contact with the ground.<br />
The same back view wearing shoes (with and without orthotics) confirmed the pattern.<br />
Hence, the analyst did come out with the suggestion that I might not really need orthotics at all.<br />
<br />
(in retrospection, looking again to these images after few month, I did come to a personal conclusion:<br />
the tilt of the legs while hitting the ground put anyway a lot of load in the inner part of the foot. I suspect that my problems with the sesamoidis are related...<br />
So I feel that probably the best set-up for me is:<br />
- running with "support" shoes (Mizuno Nirvana, Asics Kayano, etc) <u>without insoles</u> for easy / short runs (definitely support shoes with orthotics is a kind of overkill)<br />
- running with neutral light-weight show (aka marathon shoes or lightweight trainers) <u>PLUS orthotics</u> for hard workout, long runs, serious training, races, etc... that should make a good balance between efficiency of the stride and the need to contain the "inward" forces during the landing phase (forces which either quickly destroy the shoe or my foot (or both)).<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEw2lb4CkJ2-BoVkKcdrHyjGrmQ2CtIUlEx_UgqjJdgF6OLjRmMfl2DEgsSi_Gd3zYmmasOQkVatf57dJNdw4DQHNL6sCUYGAGivQkZVcnxZCx2i8-yJRPdysTRkAFolTeIJZi6Omjjk0/s1600/05112007401.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEw2lb4CkJ2-BoVkKcdrHyjGrmQ2CtIUlEx_UgqjJdgF6OLjRmMfl2DEgsSi_Gd3zYmmasOQkVatf57dJNdw4DQHNL6sCUYGAGivQkZVcnxZCx2i8-yJRPdysTRkAFolTeIJZi6Omjjk0/s320/05112007401.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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this is what happen to a pair of neutral lightweight trainers under my "care"...<br />
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<li><u>Running </u>(either barefoot or with shoes), <u>side view</u>. </li>
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<span style="text-align: center;">that was quite interesting: despite believing all my life to be a "heel striker" (see evidence from a race in 2008), things evolved a bit and my "running stride" improved after years of training...</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi2jGwS0l-m0I_7QzuthByq9M-JAmoifxwZI-hkTNVkEBHdNJZJMVCUiC_GpMHB__-h2Uy3CKbIDq5JBJADAQ3poYS7hcU6rX9okPXuvu9Xu00xPA230w_-P9GK3rWXsjkLKxCegiz-K0/s1600/2171401776_515d5d3cdf_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi2jGwS0l-m0I_7QzuthByq9M-JAmoifxwZI-hkTNVkEBHdNJZJMVCUiC_GpMHB__-h2Uy3CKbIDq5JBJADAQ3poYS7hcU6rX9okPXuvu9Xu00xPA230w_-P9GK3rWXsjkLKxCegiz-K0/s200/2171401776_515d5d3cdf_o.jpg" width="133" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr_BiqOwlmIgX-OEAvTGvrfqzVyv6FTqxrcx6nxCHh2c5_VdOiPUQZZrh26v5PlIiXeh-NibCiP4_YJyGnJ3gcCxh4-7-0ltfblHQ6PpcOauiTVQHX6eMZ656WW394EoP193T1a1yxHLI/s1600/Heel+stride+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr_BiqOwlmIgX-OEAvTGvrfqzVyv6FTqxrcx6nxCHh2c5_VdOiPUQZZrh26v5PlIiXeh-NibCiP4_YJyGnJ3gcCxh4-7-0ltfblHQ6PpcOauiTVQHX6eMZ656WW394EoP193T1a1yxHLI/s320/Heel+stride+2.jpg" width="256" /></a></div>
Actually now my leg lands on the ground with the foot in almost ideal "full foot" strike. The foot can dorsiflex at the very last moment for an almost ideal landing !!<br />
The gait pattern seen from the side is much better of what I had expected.<br />
Also the analyst remarked that I do run "almost" in proper form.<br />
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The main remarks:<br />
- the pelvis is tilted anterior<br />
- the right glute is not activating fully, so the movement of the right leg is not as fluid as the left one.<br />
- Not enough strength in the glutes / hips, etc so you can notice how much the upper part of the body "collapse" during the stride<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihQLwy_sYs3qr3u-GWILTty0pErufpEUVdZqA0kZrZItzezCOsARioY7wcy-O91JMUgrrcKvL66Pzw1zuFsUD_jAMOQNNzCUnxufuGynoN1lAB9ivfQNNzENv-T44Oft8i8NIZZEz7-nA/s1600/Heel+stride+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihQLwy_sYs3qr3u-GWILTty0pErufpEUVdZqA0kZrZItzezCOsARioY7wcy-O91JMUgrrcKvL66Pzw1zuFsUD_jAMOQNNzCUnxufuGynoN1lAB9ivfQNNzENv-T44Oft8i8NIZZEz7-nA/s320/Heel+stride+3.jpg" width="256" /></a>- interesting to see how while running barefoot the landing is completely "flat footed", with no sign of heel striking as in the "with shoes" version...<br />
This is another demonstration on how the best way to improve the stride and eliminate "heel striking" is to get rid of those heavily cushioned trainers and run in lightweight racing shoes !! (while the barefoot running movement has reasonable conceptual fundamentals, it personally think it is a bit too far for most people and for sure not suited if you must run on concrete !)<br />
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<u style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">Running </u><span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">(either barefoot or with shoes), <u>upper body</u></span><span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguTaLKZ5sLsD4Ozhqzrc6i8IjkQPffWJSMliswlE0vKzH4m0M5s8K9L2ftQvKV6X8eI9R593qPpPr-cXl6-QiSZLkAU9GsL2p4zZ_tflliQEEHVemM8jMRW5aL1_HweUHtaVnH786fViA/s1600/chest_torsion.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguTaLKZ5sLsD4Ozhqzrc6i8IjkQPffWJSMliswlE0vKzH4m0M5s8K9L2ftQvKV6X8eI9R593qPpPr-cXl6-QiSZLkAU9GsL2p4zZ_tflliQEEHVemM8jMRW5aL1_HweUHtaVnH786fViA/s200/chest_torsion.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
It is evident from the pics that my hips/glute strength is not enough and the other part of the body is "collapsing" during the stride.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikLJWdiF2gpKiVOs2HhfZxMChuBr4qYWHX7duuhaFKDiTty7O701oYoY8vfLjI89uHwNYMV-J1TDOx-tup9vXb-AQI6Vxfn8Qif6G7jiAJiGspg7i_jVsoL6r6xJJUJ99hLEvjKK8uue8/s1600/shoes_land.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikLJWdiF2gpKiVOs2HhfZxMChuBr4qYWHX7duuhaFKDiTty7O701oYoY8vfLjI89uHwNYMV-J1TDOx-tup9vXb-AQI6Vxfn8Qif6G7jiAJiGspg7i_jVsoL6r6xJJUJ99hLEvjKK8uue8/s200/shoes_land.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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So... at the end I got a good dose of feed-back on areas of improvement: stretching, flexibility, strength training, etc calibrated to my particular issues...</div>
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it is clear that some fundamental "weaknesses" (the bow legs, the inward pressure on the feet, etc) are not going to be solved with any exercise or therapy, but this is also why we are not all running fast like Bekele.. "Choosing the parents" is always the main driver...</div>
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<b>Conclusions</b>:<br />
Overall I felt that I was satisfied of the visit... for me, it was money well worth.<br />
I would have like to have even more time to try all the possible configuration of shoes/orthotics that I have, but 2 hours is already a solid chunk of time.<br />
In particular, if you are near Brighton, I would endorse StrideUK as a very good gait analysis lab...<br />
It is clear that for similar gait analysis, the #1 success factor is related to the experience and the attitude of the analyst... if you end up in the wrong hands, there is no level of equipment which can alone generate a good analysis<br />
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Now, if you are running without injuries and you are satisfied of your running, most likely you can save yourself the hassle and the money and keep on going like you are already doing.<br />
But for all those runners, like me, which might have something not working properly and are afflicted by injuries and poor running, it is probably worthy to open the wallet for a gait analysis and find a long-term sustainable solution, rather than ending up spending the same on physiotherapists, unsuitable pairs of shoes and most of all, being out of action...<br />
Myself, I have now very clear what I should do... the only problem is finding the time to keep up with all the recommendations.<br />
It will be nice to have reports from other people who had similar experiences with gait analysis, I will try to add them at the bottom of the post !<br />
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Happy Running!!by7http://www.blogger.com/profile/02575145053431055482noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871991704267892096.post-28204447440632792702012-05-14T14:00:00.001+08:002012-05-14T14:00:39.808+08:00Season not totally over..still time for some race...<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://goo.gl/photos/ZNygDVGnvN" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-rBTSHH4HFQw/T69o_fAJHkI/AAAAAAAA9To/oOln2w6xN-Q/s512/IMG_6069.JPG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">on the "podium" as winning team... we are already grooming future talents..(3 kids on the lefts are mine)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Saturday we had the pleasure to enter our club in the "<a href="http://www.avohk.org/" target="_blank">AVOHK </a>30th Anniversary Team Race".<br />
AVOHK is one of the pillar clubs of the HK running community and I was their member before going on to set up the Italia R.C. with other friends...<br />
Anyway, the formula of the race was quite interesting:<br />
- each team formed by 6 runners (of whom at least 2 Masters)<br />
- the start was at staggered waves and 1 runner for each team for each wave: 1st wave at 16.00, then 16.01, 16.02 and the last 3 runners only separated by 30 seconds.<br />
- women were running 7 km, men 8km.<br />
- the result was taken on the last runner of each team to pass the finish line.<br />
Sounds complicated ? well, basically it was a kind of equalizer... a team could place his slower runners in the first waves without penalizing the overall results. Women were also a good components of a team, because 1km less means around 3'45"-4'00" of time.<br />
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Despite being at 4pm in Summer, it was not too bad because of some rain in the morning.<br />
We did a good plan on how to arrange our team members and in the end we delivered a nice victory for the club, with Michelle, Solange, Philippe, Peter , Curtis and myself all running well.by7http://www.blogger.com/profile/02575145053431055482noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871991704267892096.post-44360608797730795572012-04-27T21:12:00.000+08:002012-04-30T11:13:09.787+08:00Ranking 2011... somehow I am still there...A moment of self-celebration...<br />
I notice that the local athletic association has published the <a href="http://www.hkaaa.com/downloads.php?fid=1191&type=eng_file" target="_blank">annual athlete ranking for 2011</a>.<br />
Running in HK has gone a long way from the lows of 2004/05 and around...<br />
for example, to make it into the top 10 for 5000m, now a 15'xx" is a must, while some years ago maybe even a 17'00" would have landed a top10...<br />
still we are very far from really competitive nations, but the progress is tangible and anyway HK is a small place where sports are not really considered a meaningful way to spend people's time...<br />
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this said... despite having a very short season, I could still make it in the top 10 of the marathon, precisely landing a #6 spot!! very sweet to still see my name in the list and for next season I hope to make my name also in other distances (last resort is to switch to racewalking...hehe)<br />
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NOTE 1: 2 italians in the top 10 of a "foreign country"marathon ranking...really weird.<br />
NOTE 2: my team mates made it in the ranking across many distances... from 5000m to Marathon, we are all there in scores (especially best wishes to Stefano who got a serious health condition in April and had to stop running for the moment: despite running only 2-3 races, he is still #2 in the marathon and #5 in the half)by7http://www.blogger.com/profile/02575145053431055482noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871991704267892096.post-63916842091514535922012-04-24T22:48:00.000+08:002012-04-25T15:49:12.880+08:00when people really deserve it....This post is not really related to MY running, but rather to the outstanding performance of my team mate Michelle (her detailed race report <a href="http://michellel.fastrunningblog.com/blog-Sarnico-Lovere-2012/04-22-2012.html" target="_blank">HERE</a>).<br />
Thanks to one of the sponsor of our club, she was invited to take part in the <a href="http://www.sarnicolovere.it/" target="_blank">Sarnico-Lovere</a>, a point-to-point, 25.2k race along the coast of Lake Iseo in Italy.<br />
In November, Michelle cooked herself up by training too much for reaching the standard for the US trials and fared relatively poorly at her marathon in Japan (2h53'... very far from her target).<br />
She was really low in morale for several weeks and anyway put her heart in training for this race.<br />
This time, she changed her training (in my opinion for the better): less fast&furious interval training, more workouts of long intervals at HM effort and long tempo runs.<br />
I was really happy when we went out together for those long tempo of 15k or 18k...<br />
The result speak for itself: she arrived 4th in a race full of Pro or semi-Pro runners in a time of 1h35'53".<br />
Ahead of her, only a Kenyan, a Moroccan and a strong local girl.<br />
That is like running the HM in 1h19'xx" and add another 4k on top...so a huge "virtual" PB for her<br />
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<a href="http://goo.gl/photos/3wpOeOodUz" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-w5KCwQgKYq4/T5RAIV89B_I/AAAAAAAARcc/N2GX9TVPo14/s512/DSCF6046.JPG" /></a>by7http://www.blogger.com/profile/02575145053431055482noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871991704267892096.post-30475200775408541912012-04-18T22:30:00.000+08:002012-04-19T14:39:46.615+08:00Week 15 summaryThis period of the year is mentally very tough (for a runner living here): the temperature is rising day by day and the perspective of a very long summer would put off also the most committed runner.<div>
It does not also help that basically the next race is 4-5 months from now....</div>
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So I honestly did not feel particularly motivated to wake up at 5am to go running... but that's why I started this blog.. at least I can confess my sins ...</div>
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Anyway last week I still had some "duties", so It made for an interesting week:</div>
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Monday: I remember also going to bed somehow, but the feeling was more like unfastening the seat belts and soon after fastening the running shoes.</div>
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well.. anyway, after 4 hours sleep, I gulped some coffee because I was waited for a big day:</div>
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I was supposed to pace M. and A. for a 18k tempo run.</div>
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In local terms, that make like in UK being asked to pace Paula Radcliffe and Liz Yelling or something like that.</div>
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A. is shooting for the Olympic standard in the marathon, while M. is getting ready for her season top race.</div>
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The required pace was around 3'55" which was quite reasonable for me, but still not a stroll for a very humid day. So I felt a bit anxious of my legs getting tight or anything like that.</div>
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Anyway, we did it, even if A. had to drop out halfway for a niggling pain. </div>
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Total 25km of which 18k @3'56" pace.</div>
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Tuesday: rest...I was really cooked by the too little sleep</div>
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Wednesday: gorgeous MTB ride with some friends in China. Amazingly I really performed well, despite not having touched the bike for week</div>
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Thursday: rest (quite unplanned... but either I go early in the morning, either the day goes away too quickly)</div>
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Friday: easy run with M..... I felt very relaxed and maybe pushed the pace a bit too much for her (total 14k)</div>
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Saturday: another pacing duty with the 2 ladies... This one was a relatively easier progression run, but it was already very hot and humid so I just wanted to be done asap.</div>
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My right calf is tight and it affected the stride, so I was laboring more than planned. Total 20k, at the end we were going around 3'45"/k pace</div>
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Definitely flexibility/mobility/strengthening of the right left is #1 target in my future training.</div>
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Sunday: rest</div>
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Now, looking ahead...</div>
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April: take it easy until the 22nd</div>
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April/May/mid-june: work mainly of glute activation, stretching, range of motion, etc of the right leg.</div>
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Is no point that I start any real training plan if I do not settle the problem of the right leg.</div>
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Also I have time to play with different set-up (with/without lift, orthotics, etc).</div>
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June/July: base training and build up aerobic strength. </div>
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August/September: try to train more specifically for the Berlin Marathon (30/September)... but without spending all my reserves because I really want to go to Fukuoka in early December, so I can not be too cooked by the training in summer</div>
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<br /></div>by7http://www.blogger.com/profile/02575145053431055482noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871991704267892096.post-91164277864839791452012-04-11T22:00:00.000+08:002012-04-12T09:25:48.100+08:00hot week<div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;">
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end of term school break... a bunch of public holidays bundled in the same week...the perfect ingredients for a week at the seaside...</div>
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From Hong Kong, so we headed to Krabi, Thailand for a week...</div>
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I do not want to bother anybody with the report of my holidays, but just some glimpses of running-related information.</div>
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1) to my real surprise, most of the villages around Krabi are 99% Muslims...</div>
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I did not see a single Buddhist temple...but actually there were more Mosques there than Catholic Churches in the center of Krakow...</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Mosque just 200m from our place</td></tr>
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2) despite the heat, the area was beautiful for running and cycling...</div>
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the road were in good conditions and almost without any traffic and there was always the opportunity to dive into some track in the forest for some off-road</div>
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Great views and very clean air, so honestly was really a great place.</div>
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3) I did not have any specific training target, so I just headed out of the door to enjoy the air and have my 45' of running-induced pleasure.</div>
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I sneaked out at dawn (6am) and run for around 45' either on road or off-road.</div>
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Despite the temperature around 27C-29C, it did not really feel too heavy. I was sweating, but it was not the "torture like" feeling of the summer in HK. I guess that the pollution and the radiated heat from all the buildings make the difference... </div>
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So I was able to keep "normal" training paces and work a bit on my leg turnover.</div>
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total weekly: 70k in 7 runs</div>
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4) now some pics...</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimXgfhQvG2icwf67ESAskBGI0pmP5Elgk6zc5nINT8jzQdTlXCzqwg2qHvjZgGLoWkFT4fTf4ZSC85wyRSl4cDXmSL0tBjwFEcWYyl-cYT5X8AkiHGS8T8qwU3l9hrHPq0CQlY8OdxOF0/s1600/IMG_6518.JPG" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimXgfhQvG2icwf67ESAskBGI0pmP5Elgk6zc5nINT8jzQdTlXCzqwg2qHvjZgGLoWkFT4fTf4ZSC85wyRSl4cDXmSL0tBjwFEcWYyl-cYT5X8AkiHGS8T8qwU3l9hrHPq0CQlY8OdxOF0/s400/IMG_6518.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">not difficult to run relaxed with this view</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLaCuc5R6ApfVzt5GxfY8VPuqzronWKaQLHWcq0Xt0SeNS5S79xU02wU5bitfTsj9gY3LA0ofiBJURQwAZKcKhFroHx3GhT7BDyEo-4mWyrDBmcXuz1do27Lh7WKKArIn4n_F2fhhtGC4/s1600/IMG_6529.JPG" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLaCuc5R6ApfVzt5GxfY8VPuqzronWKaQLHWcq0Xt0SeNS5S79xU02wU5bitfTsj9gY3LA0ofiBJURQwAZKcKhFroHx3GhT7BDyEo-4mWyrDBmcXuz1do27Lh7WKKArIn4n_F2fhhtGC4/s400/IMG_6529.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">still many wooden houses around</td></tr>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1en56MrTwU2qLe1yLThnhTGRQv2T5mT-Xd_4In2kYoPnM-HGYp2AJl-AD9SbaNVfx4x3VqxR52fc3ylXxDn5Q02cuSjcd7nMq1_Ebv6T2PcVkVJZK781mTuZWhDhjVTAYmHI-k1-UmPE/s1600/IMG_6521.JPG" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1en56MrTwU2qLe1yLThnhTGRQv2T5mT-Xd_4In2kYoPnM-HGYp2AJl-AD9SbaNVfx4x3VqxR52fc3ylXxDn5Q02cuSjcd7nMq1_Ebv6T2PcVkVJZK781mTuZWhDhjVTAYmHI-k1-UmPE/s400/IMG_6521.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">That was my favorite course: a track in the forest going ahead for miles and miles (unfortunately I was not able to run it all)</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTw92nvAQaYErkShOhGdlhyphenhyphenVR_37Mng4FacHN4ps1a9GrRSqUUIJQVMd-ubhKZaWZzAcs83aoydw6Wx9_F20MozKrhFFJyYiY-r7th6dmNT43BuF5O73MndpMAaylhNqc-tT8Dh4JxpX8/s1600/IMG_6517.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTw92nvAQaYErkShOhGdlhyphenhyphenVR_37Mng4FacHN4ps1a9GrRSqUUIJQVMd-ubhKZaWZzAcs83aoydw6Wx9_F20MozKrhFFJyYiY-r7th6dmNT43BuF5O73MndpMAaylhNqc-tT8Dh4JxpX8/s400/IMG_6517.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">road lined by rubber trees (so you know where your Latex stuff comes from)</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQSrLNLMNnYOQZQwhZ1mDHBE5w7DeQOBHYLIqqDv_6BC4fom-QvCIXB7JolhGDdIjn5zzwYVsRR8qT92BmcCjx439izKcaJ72vXOUaj-iGUFTr4cjUrs9ybMXdq0MDD5V4ExjvnSCzAds/s1600/IMG_6504.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQSrLNLMNnYOQZQwhZ1mDHBE5w7DeQOBHYLIqqDv_6BC4fom-QvCIXB7JolhGDdIjn5zzwYVsRR8qT92BmcCjx439izKcaJ72vXOUaj-iGUFTr4cjUrs9ybMXdq0MDD5V4ExjvnSCzAds/s320/IMG_6504.JPG" /></a> </div>
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<a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img align="middle" alt="Posted by Picasa" border="0" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: 0% 50%; background-repeat: repeat repeat; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-style: none; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-style: none; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" /></a></div>by7http://www.blogger.com/profile/02575145053431055482noreply@blogger.com0SAO. KB. 2007, Khao Thong, Mueang Krabi, Krabi 81000, Thailand8.169692373629724 98.7494087219238288.1618333736297242 98.739538221923823 8.1775513736297238 98.759279221923833tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871991704267892096.post-15511352727199178512012-03-29T18:32:00.000+08:002012-03-29T18:32:39.553+08:00not everyday is Christmas....for a series of reasons (and also because it was supposed to be my last race for the season), last night I ended up racing again in the 10000m for the Round 2 of the HK track league.<br />
In this track meetings, usually very few people are brave to tackle the 25 laps of the track (understandable, since the track races are also in the peak of the summer and there are no prizes of any sort to justify the torture).<br />
Well... last night basically anybody in town with a PB below 34'30" was there, which at least made the race very competitive.<br />
On the very front, Gi K.M. run an amazing performance, to smash the HK record which was standing for 22 years.<br />
For me... well, I was really feeling very tired after sunday's race. Totally missing a consistent base of training, the recovery is much slower than usual and I was knackered on Monday, very tired on Tuesday and simply very weak on Wednesday..<br />
I set out at a reasonable pace, but I was feeling really tired and struggling a lot to tackle the turns. My right hamstring is not yet 100% and at every lap it got tighter and tighter over the turns.<br />
To make it short, I passed the 5000m in around 17'10", but then I was really starting to struggle and the last 3k were really VEEERY LOOOONNNG...<br />
I closed in around 35'10", which is obviously something considering that I resumed running 2 months ago, but a step back from sunday... after the race I was indeed as tired as after a full marathon.<br />
Anyway it was good to be part of such a "historic race" (maybe this new record will stand for another 20 years ?)<br />
<br />
After the race, we (our running club) all banded together for a dinner/party to make our best farewell to our runner C. who is leaving Hong Kong soon (anyway it celebrated in style winning on Sunday and placing 2nd yesterday).<br />
<br />
Changing topic... I also have people wondering how I could resume so quickly...<br />
<br />
well:<br />
1) I did a good dose of aerobic endurance with cycling.<br />
2) as usual, I avoided to make any "fast" interval training, just giving a lot of emphasis to build up the lactate threshold. In this way I was able to make progression runs and "slow" tempo almost every day with a good boost of specific running endurance, without breaking me down with too much interval training, etc...<br />
3) as demonstrated in several cases.... a good aerobic base gives the runner already a 95% "fitness" level...<br />
probably running at good aerobic pace daily is enough to give a runner a very solid season made of several good races and some good PB... while adding the interval training in right amount can be a sort of icing of the cake for the peak form of the year...<br />
(my personal opinion...I am sure that others might disagree)<br />
<br />
what next ??<br />
- april : I just want to focus on getting my right leg "right"... still the coordination is poor and today my hamstring is very sore... so strength work, stretching, glute activation exercises, muscle self-massage/roller/stick... Is no point to think to something if I can not even complete 10000m on a track without pain<br />
- may/june: general base training running+cycling, plus more strength work<br />
<br />
end of June I will decide if to tackle a marathon in the fall or just stick to lower-level local races.<br />
(also this year I made my donation of 100EUR to the organizers of the Berlin marathon, hoping to attend...)by7http://www.blogger.com/profile/02575145053431055482noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871991704267892096.post-11543058000923140252012-03-27T11:16:00.001+08:002012-03-27T11:16:05.230+08:00By7 is back !<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://goo.gl/photos/D2eXYwAutP" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-BodY-exfXpM/T28CNoxys1I/AAAAAAAANsE/9D7oLBwfG5Q/s512/IMG_1433.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small; text-align: -webkit-auto;">how sweet can be to lose a sprint !!!</span>
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<br />
I suppose very few people kept this blog in their RSS feeder... so I will hope someone will read these notes...<br />
<br />
After my last post cum race, I simply did not run for 3 months.<br />
My left foot was always numb and painful and I was really struggling with the tight right hamstring and glutes.<br />
<br />
I went through the usual cycle of denial, depression , acceptance, etc but honestly speaking, I would not bet a dime that I could have resumed running.<br />
<br />
Most of all, the left foot was really painful at times and nobody could figure out the right course of action (for sure not my orthopedist).<br />
<br />
My physiotherapist assumed that it was a kind of compensating injury related to the poor working of the right butt, but this was also something not sure...<br />
So little by little I got accustomed to the idea that my running career could be over and it was time to stick to cycling only.<br />
For 3 months I cycled and took time to do glutes activation excercises .<br />
It was true that I never realized that basically I was not using the right glute in a proper way. All the motion was coming from the hamstring with a swing back/forward of the leg without a proper knee lift.<br />
Also the right hip/glutes were (and still are) much tighter than the right one and with poor range of motion...<br />
<br />
Why ? since it has always been that way (right side tighter), I could not assume it was because of "sedentary life" or "accident" or "too much time in front of PC", etc.<br />
So I made X-rays plus leg length measurement and it come out something that I always suspected: because of the right left shorter by about 9-10mm, the right side was not really working in the right way.<br />
There are many different opinions on if and how correct leg length discrepancy, but for me, it was a no-brainer that it might have been an important factor... also at the point where I was, it was worthy anyway to change something...<br />
<br />
So I added a full-lenght 3mm lift on all right shoes and kept on pedaling and doing glute activation exercises.<br />
<br />
By end January, the left foot was no more painful and I went for a couple of jogs...<br />
Well, actually I was forced to run because we went on holidays, so I was without bicycle for 10 days, which left me with running as the only way to make some exercise.<br />
<br />
Honestly speaking, from that moment, it went much faster than I suspected... I was not really struggling a lot to keep 4'20"-4'30" pace and I kept alternating cycling and running.<br />
Now... to keep a good stride and activate the glutes properly, slugging around at 5'/k is as negative as running "too fast"... so I basically eliminated all the "easy runs", replacing them with solid bike rides.<br />
Either I was running at solid pace (hi-aerobic effort) or nothing...<br />
Hammering down on the bike gave me a solid aerobic boost even on those days when otherwise I would have been just jogging...<br />
well... to make it short, I did a couple of tempo runs which gave me unexpected good responses.<br />
Also I sometimes paced <a href="http://michellel.fastrunningblog.com/" target="_blank">Michelle </a>on her workouts and they felt relatively easy, while in late summer I was struggling to follow her.<br />
So I entered in Sunday's race with good vibes, but also without any particular expectation. My hamstring/butt is still not 100% ok and it gets tight whenever I am tired or run "too fast".<br />
<br />
I stuck to the lead group, but passing at the 2k mark in 6'46" was a bit scary, since I have not run faster than 3'30"/k pace for 6 months not even in 1 single interval... but I felt my body responding well, even if the stride was quite mechanical and far from fluid. We hit 6k together in 20'30", when my team mate Colin decided it was time to race for serious and hammered down, with immediate explosion of the pack.<br />
I eshitated to push hard, so I was somehow down to 4th place together with a boy (less than half my age and size)... I could not chase hard on my tean mate just ahead, so we had a couple of "slow" kms, when I decided that the boy was hurting more than me... so it was time to make my move.<br />
I might be running around 3'15" in the last k... anyway I caught up with Philippe with 300m to go and then we sprinted to the finish line for the 2nd place.. (and I lost..).<br />
Once it was over, I realized that I had just run 34'25", which is almost incredible considering that I resumed running only 2 months ago.<br />
Winning the Master category and also the Team classification was just a bonus, the real satisfaction was that I felt again a "runner"<br />
<br />
more to come in the following days....<br />
<br />
NOTE: follow the achievements of our running club on Facebook. I am amazed how we grew up as a club in only few months: <a href="http://www.facebook.com/italiarunningclub">http://www.facebook.com/italiarunningclub</a><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
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<br />by7http://www.blogger.com/profile/02575145053431055482noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871991704267892096.post-50500593703413919212011-11-03T15:01:00.000+08:002011-11-03T15:01:12.274+08:005000m .. done, now a long long rest<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Not much posting in the past month, simply because for a running blog, the key ingredient should be running... and I did not have much to say about it.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I did a MRI on the left foot and the diagnosis was that the pain at the ball of the foot was not caused by sesamoiditis or worse a stresss fracture, but by a tendinitis of the "<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flexor_hallucis_longus_muscle" target="_blank">Flexor hallucis longus</a>" . </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;">Digging on the web, I found that one of the possible root causes is poor flexibility of the calves, which put therefore more strain on the foot during landing and push-off phase of the gait.</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;">Therapy: RICE, NSAIDS and stretching of the calf.</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 38px;">At the same time, my right back/glute tighness did not go away and I am trying to work on it with the usual array of treatments: deep tissue massage, acupuncture, stretching, etc... (with little success).</span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 38px;">So most likely my running season is over before even starting. I must say that the disappointment is big, but I took it with a certain philosophy. Somehow my body is not really well suited to running and I must accept it. I do not feel even the urgency to go back again to training asap because it would be even more disappointing to fall into further injuries.</span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 38px;">The satisfaction from running is mainly in the process of reaching the ideal shape through proper training and exert myself to my limits, so scraping through some kind of sub-par training to be able to run later 37 min on 10k is not my idea of running right now.</span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 38px;">I might come back in time for a spring marathon or maybe for Berlin in 11 months time... </span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 38px;">So I put my mind into my family, my work and helping our <a href="http://www.facebook.com/italiarunningclub" target="_blank">running club</a>.</span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 38px;"><br /></span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 38px;">This said, I ended up anyway running the final of the HK 5000m track championship.</span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 38px;">The weather was nice and I brought the kids along to cheer me and also to give them some kind of inspiration to take up some/any kind of athletic/sport (rather than sticking in front of a PC): m</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 38px;">y daughter loved watching the Pole Vault and it was so enjoyable to make the warm-up with her on the warm-up track, pretending to race each other on imaginary 50m finals. While my elder son got scared by the starting guns !</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 38px;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 38px;">So I lined up at the start line totally relaxed that I had only to enjoy the day and keep on running for 12.5 laps...</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 38px;">Honestly, I felt much better than expected. I could not really extend the stride, but I was not really breathing hard. I felt like a 3000cc car shuffling at 30kmh because of flat tire...</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 38px;">The 12 laps went away quite quickly and I even found myself fighting at the last lap with another runner for the second-to-last place.. but I could not really run any faster.</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 38px;">At the end, I placed 5th in 17'10" which is somehow pathetic (for being a National Championship) and somehow a positive surprise because I could not believe that I would have run that "fast" after 2 months of no running...</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 38px;">Disclaimer: of the 8th finalists, 2 DNS and 1 DNF... so I arrived 5th </span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 38px;">Full results available <a href="http://www.hkaaa.com/downloads.php?fid=834&type=eng_file" target="_blank">HERE</a> (there were good performances by the local sprinters).</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 38px;">But the man of the day was my teammate Colin, who was able to complete an amazing double feat:</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvmcSIu5GtxkqJrNsOfqIAulKmc1yY44RXPo26Lmmsej03nPQJVvpFnaahKQdloaw_w_2I4KcMH6DoC5xKy8RTOown62NDI80Q1uTTUXyOsx7IYQOieu3AJXNoQGagbN7wAFaCabb6AjE/s1600/IMG00265-20111030-0957.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvmcSIu5GtxkqJrNsOfqIAulKmc1yY44RXPo26Lmmsej03nPQJVvpFnaahKQdloaw_w_2I4KcMH6DoC5xKy8RTOown62NDI80Q1uTTUXyOsx7IYQOieu3AJXNoQGagbN7wAFaCabb6AjE/s320/IMG00265-20111030-0957.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 38px;">- in the morning, winning the 5000m</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 38px;">- afternoon, double it with also the victory in the 10000m </span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; line-height: 38px;">Really a big hit which will cost me 3 bottles of wine which I willingly put at stake if he would have been able to achieve the double !! But well deserved !</span></span>by7http://www.blogger.com/profile/02575145053431055482noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871991704267892096.post-44878786738627821072011-10-04T17:47:00.001+08:002011-10-04T17:49:03.386+08:00Am I a 5000m specialist ??...Today I got the "pleasant" surprise to learn that I qualified for the 5000m finals of the HK track championship<br />
<br />
Somehow I did a <a href="http://runbackby7.blogspot.com/2011/02/something-bit-insane5000m-track-race.html">5000m track race in February</a>, 5 days after the HK marathon and scored a time of 16'21"...<br />
In May, I popped up for another <a href="http://runbackby7.blogspot.com/2011/05/oppss-am-i-supposed-to-race-today.html">round </a>because the race was right in front of my workplace and managed a very pedestrian 17'00"...<br />
Now, I have no idea on how they counted the scores (it seems an average of the best 2 performances) and why some runners who run 14'56" are not in..., but these 2 modest performances made me anyway good enough to be ranked 6th and reach the finals to be held on October 30th.<br />
I am very aware of the modest accomplishment becuase I have a IAAF score of only 524 points, which would not have made the cut in any other discipline from 100m to 10000m....<br />
<br />
Now, I am planning to not do any run in the next 2-3 weeks to eventually recover from all my niggling pains, but at this point I plan to go anyway to the finals... at worst I will be the 8th best 5000m runner in HK....<br />
For a middle-age guy... it is anyway a satisfaction to compete at Open level and I can bring the kids to cheer me up !!<br />
<br />
For a proof that I am not making this up... click <a href="http://www.hkaaa.com/downloads.php?fid=795&type=eng_file">HERE</a> and scroll down to 5000m<br />
Good to see that my teammates Colin and David will also be in the race (so we will be 3 out of 8 !!)by7http://www.blogger.com/profile/02575145053431055482noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871991704267892096.post-35030528417763753712011-10-03T14:24:00.000+08:002011-10-03T14:24:46.959+08:00we delivered.... 1st place at the XC National Championship<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">Lately I have been absent from this blog because my mood was terribly low... no point to afflict others with the stories of my injuries, etc, etc...</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">I also know that I still have to make a detailed report about my visit to StrideUK and explain why I am inured and how I am trying to solve it (especially because the case might be interesting also for many other readers).</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">So this week I will try to clean up all the overdue...</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">without dwelling into all the details, the tightness in the glutes obviously ended up also "killing" my back...</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">so I basically did not run for 10-15 days while I was doing my sessions of acupuncture, massage, etc.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">Now... the fact was that I was entered as one of the 6 man team for our <a href="http://www.italiarunningclubhk.org/">club</a> into the Hong Kong Cross Country Championship, to be held on October 2nd. So I really felt the pressure to be there and contribute points to the team. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">Moreover, the idea of our young club reaching the podium of the championship was giving me extra-motivation to give it a try.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">After 15 days of no running, last Thursday I went for a jog and it was painful everywhere.... those 6km felt harder than a marathon and I was really thinking to quit running altogether because it did not really make sense to hurt my body further.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">Friday so I ended up for another session of treatment at the local clinic and endured very deep tissue massage and a session of acupuncture with at least 10 needles placed in the back and in the leg...</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">Saturday I tried another easy jog and felt better, but running at 5'/km with the HR already at 150bpm did not really hint into a good state of fitness...</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">To patch up the different ailments, I took a good dose of pain-killers and muscle-relaxants to keep the glutes at bay for the race...</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">On Sunday morning, I really felt energized... we were there, with our "azzurro" jerseys, ready to take over to more established teams, but I felt confident because our club has a great depth and we had at least 4 runners capable of a Top10.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">How many years without running a XC race...? at least 15... and at least 25 from my last team XC at school... </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">On top of everything, the weather in the past few days has been awful, with heavy rains and a thypoon: so the course was MUDDY... really muddy, with large patches of flooded grass... honestly I was salivating to the idea to make a real XC, albeit my poor conditions...</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">Anyway, we start hard as in any XC... but I want to be really conservative because on that course the last lap is going to be very long . </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">While in front my team mates were doing a terrific race, my personal challenge was to finish the 3 laps without blowing up too much and run as smarty as I could...</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">In the last lap the soil has totally loosened up and in some patches my feet went 20cm in the mud... in one section I peeped my Garmin and noticed that I was running at 4'/km while being at full effort to get out of the mud...</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">My honest performance was good enough to grab the 2nd place of the Master, well behind my teammate Curtis and few seconds ahead of the 3rd.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">But the real deal was the awsome performance of David, Colin, Stefano...</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">They ended up 2nd, 5th and 6th overall with Curtis just few positions behind...</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">The race was won by the Kenyan Thomas Kiprotich while the Ethiopian Aboye was third.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">So David really eventually pulled out a great race, after suffering for months for different ailments...</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">Our team won the Team Championship by a large margin versus TWAC and WAC , 2 of the most established clubs in HK.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">Really a huge pride in winning it... we are a small club, just founded 14 months ago and we really emerged as a top local club in few months, thanks to the dedication of all the runners.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://a4.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s320x320/309888_10150841669670510_560270509_21311820_1062070602_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://a4.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s320x320/309888_10150841669670510_560270509_21311820_1062070602_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Team podium</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Once the pain killers pills weathered off... I felt again awful, but the sweetness of the days really deserved it...<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://a5.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/300684_10150841668295510_560270509_21311794_415806852_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="http://a5.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/300684_10150841668295510_560270509_21311794_415806852_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Masters' podium</td></tr>
</tbody></table>by7http://www.blogger.com/profile/02575145053431055482noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871991704267892096.post-38975562136012151662011-09-21T15:48:00.001+08:002011-09-21T15:48:50.563+08:00This is not a torture in Guantanamo...<p class="mobile-photo"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2Rg8jVuIuB0NqYEMYNksvd1A9UOm0oCRoxV-zP-3p-cKa2pZ76GSUdPGORKk6YRruPOF6YetIWpKFAERfK-lG44VKHN6e1fKJX2nmQBmqqjxIMI1Oe_F5KCRQ8FJAJUMo4fXDByMBU2Q/s1600/IMG00219-20110921-1541-730564.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2Rg8jVuIuB0NqYEMYNksvd1A9UOm0oCRoxV-zP-3p-cKa2pZ76GSUdPGORKk6YRruPOF6YetIWpKFAERfK-lG44VKHN6e1fKJX2nmQBmqqjxIMI1Oe_F5KCRQ8FJAJUMo4fXDByMBU2Q/s320/IMG00219-20110921-1541-730564.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5654716709823376946" /></a></p><!-- Converted from text/plain format --> <P><FONT SIZE=2>Acupuncture with electric stimulation...<BR> I guess that relying to my TENS machine from Compex might be more or less the same effect.<BR> <BR> Blog post done live with needles in...<BR> </FONT> </P> by7http://www.blogger.com/profile/02575145053431055482noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871991704267892096.post-69310216503898021482011-09-11T21:26:00.000+08:002011-09-11T21:26:38.252+08:00Acupuncture ....beyond beliefFriday The back was aching so much at I eventually decided to pop into the "physical therapy" clinic in Dongguan. <br />
Honestly speaking, my confidence in the medical care services in Chna is low.... Knowing how most things work in China is enough to make me doubtful whether the doctor in charge might have actually gained his degree properly or via some backdoor arrangement.<br />
Also because any public institution cares about avoiding an unsuccessful handling of a foreigner, the response can drift in 2 opposite directions:<br />
- being taken care in an utmost dedicated way and assign the best resources<br />
OR<br />
- at the opposite, the institution will find every possible way to get rid of you ASAP or to even not acknowledge the need of their activity, in order to navigate away from potential troubles and loss of face<br />
These 2 approaches can happen either going to then hospital or to a police station to report a crime (my personal experience on this has been mixed...) or at a building bureau office to buy/sell a property.... <br />
<br />
Going back to my back... I was just aiming for a light massage when the therapist on duty had actually other ideas... Using the approach #1 Of deploying all the resources, she called 2 other doctors to check on my back, asking all the possible questions on how happened and firmly said that what I needed was acupuncture...<br />
My reaction was kind of "wtf!!!" but I relented after making sure that needles were disposable single use, etc, etc...<br />
I thought they would have places the needle somewhere in the back.....but soon I realised that I will have needles planted in my hands and head...<br />
To make it short, to my absolute horror, I had a needle right in the Center of the forefront and others in the back of my hands...<br />
<br />
I was even asked to walk around 15 minutes while "wearing" them...<br />
<br />
Well, you would not believe it, but after that I was able to lift by myself from the bed without help (something which was unthinkable until 20 min earlier) and I could say there was a 50% improvement in back mobility....I even tried the bridge position without pain and effort...<br />
I left the clinic almost in shock....by7http://www.blogger.com/profile/02575145053431055482noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871991704267892096.post-34409982190104321042011-09-09T15:32:00.000+08:002011-09-09T15:32:32.776+08:00spell of bad luck continuesI do not want to sound a whining kind of person, since overall I enjoy a very good life...<br />
but runningwise, the past 2 months are going from bad to worse...<br />
<br />
the spell of bad luck which begun on July 19th continues at full speed...<br />
<br />
- last week: run decently while in Europe, the hamstring and glutes were starting to get better even if I still could not handle any fast pace... foot pain had his ups and downs..<br />
<br />
- week-end: between the trip, jet-lag, etc.. I decided to skip running for 3 days to give some time to the body to completely heal (foot, hamstring, etc...)<br />
I also feel refreshed by the fact that I have now fairly understood the root cause of each problems, thanks to the excellent running gait analysis done at <a href="http://www.strideuk.com/">strideUK</a> (more about that in the next post...)<br />
<br />
- Monday: for no apparent reason, my back become very stiff and painful ... I did not lift any weight or did anything strange, but I was completely blocked...<br />
<br />
I tried the usual therapy, without much success...<br />
<br />
The attempt at a releasing back massage on Wednesday was almost pathetic and funny at the same time: once the massage was over, I could not get up from the massage bed... the massage therapist was in tears fearing that she could have been sacked for screwing up the back of a foreigner; so she called other staff and they together handled me like I was a wooden pole to put me back in vertical position...<br />
<br />
Thursday I got some benefit from doing some electro-stimulation of the back and at least I can walk properly...<br />
<br />
so... another week of total screw-up and going from bad to worse...<br />
<br />
Weekly totals: 0 Km run, 0h0' bike, 0'0' gym....<br />
<br />
Due to a lot of time spared from being incapable to run/walk, etc I had the time to read 2 books on Kindle<br />
<br />
1)<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px;"><span class="contributorNameTrigger">Charlie Spedding</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;"></span><br />
<h1 class="parseasinTitle" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"></h1><h1 class="parseasinTitle" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 19px;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0052XNZAW/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=runbackby7-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399373&creativeASIN=B0052XNZAW">From Last to First: How I Became a Marathon Champion</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=&l=as2&o=1&a=B0052XNZAW&camp=217145&creative=399373" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /></span></span></span></h1><div style="color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><div style="font-size: 1.7em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;"><br />
</span></div>This is a real interesting book... Spedding takes the time to write about all his career from childhood race to his retirement. It is very interesting how he describes all the mental obstacles he overcome to become a Olympic medalist. He was for sure a talented runner, but not really achieved much until later in his career when he "changed gear" mentally. It is also very down to earth narration, very humble and without the hype and self-celebration typical of these kind of books<br />
All his ups and downs are well narrated and makes it a compelling read...</div><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 宋体;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 宋体;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0052XNZAW/ref=as_li_ss_il?ie=UTF8&tag=runbackby7-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399373&creativeASIN=B0052XNZAW"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://ws.assoc-amazon.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&Format=_SL110_&ASIN=B0052XNZAW&MarketPlace=US&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&tag=runbackby7-20&ServiceVersion=20070822" width="254" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=&l=as2&o=1&a=B0052XNZAW&camp=217145&creative=399373" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /> </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 宋体;"><br />
</span></div>2) <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0055LH5ZM/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=runbackby7-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399373&creativeASIN=B0055LH5ZM">Running For The Hansons: An Insider's Account of The Brooks-Sponsored Marathon Training Group Made Famous by Olympian Brian Sell</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=&l=as2&o=1&a=B0055LH5ZM&camp=217145&creative=399373" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /><br />
<div><br />
Sage Canaday is a runner in the Hanson-Brook team and gives this narration of his everyday life as pro runner who tries to make a breakthrough into "real" Elite running, while having to work to anyway cover the bills, etc<br />
The book is written in the form of daily journal and while it will not win a Nobel Prize for literature, it is a good easy read...<br />
It is somehow interesting to see how just below the real elite level, the life is quite harsh and the guy basically just live around "poverty line"..<br />
We might read about the Alter-G and Aqua-treadmill of some runners, but this guy does not even have time/means to do some gym...<br />
Interesting to read also how their training schedule is based on 2 days easy/1 day hard without sticking to a static weekly schedule...<br />
Lastly, I like how he candidly tells about his personal opinion on several aspects and how it might be difficult for a person coming from West or East Coast in USA to go and live in an area like Michigan with much different set of community values...<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0055LH5ZM/ref=as_li_ss_il?ie=UTF8&tag=runbackby7-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399373&creativeASIN=B0055LH5ZM"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://ws.assoc-amazon.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&Format=_SL160_&ASIN=B0055LH5ZM&MarketPlace=US&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&tag=runbackby7-20&ServiceVersion=20070822" width="257" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=&l=as2&o=1&a=B0055LH5ZM&camp=217145&creative=399373" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /><br />
<br />
<br />
</div>by7http://www.blogger.com/profile/02575145053431055482noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871991704267892096.post-22271729142665714332011-08-31T00:10:00.000+08:002011-08-31T00:11:12.069+08:00My jogging path today<p class="mobile-photo"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsYVicEqnvo-khgGjFBJcYDsU1TQna0tJ1UCzvGI6iQWIAAd_Q5-zTWHyahVFOKQbDggDzqQKBwLz5AWP4c03CxZ-j_Cv2c-DeGJIoC_dpUN9E38v-tDQlkKmO2joyNZcLk0NhEVwMR1U/s1600/IMG00194-20110830-1806-772070.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsYVicEqnvo-khgGjFBJcYDsU1TQna0tJ1UCzvGI6iQWIAAd_Q5-zTWHyahVFOKQbDggDzqQKBwLz5AWP4c03CxZ-j_Cv2c-DeGJIoC_dpUN9E38v-tDQlkKmO2joyNZcLk0NhEVwMR1U/s320/IMG00194-20110830-1806-772070.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5646682297251712962" /></a></p><!-- Converted from text/plain format --> <P><FONT SIZE=2>This morning 12k along the "streets" of Venice... Amazing</FONT> </P> by7http://www.blogger.com/profile/02575145053431055482noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871991704267892096.post-46906121254154255832011-08-22T16:56:00.000+08:002011-08-22T16:56:40.529+08:00Wk 34 & elastic bandsJust another ordinary week trying a turn around of my injuries...<br />
<br />
<b>MON</b>: easy run with <a href="http://michellel.fastrunningblog.com/">M</a>. around 14km. Incredibly enough, the left foot is not painful at all after racing in flats (w/o orthotics). I may start to believe that the rigidity of the combo "trainers + orthotics" might be a reason of the sesamoiditis...<br />
(anyway not conclusive becuase I took 3 pills of Voltaren 25mg before the race... so it might have affected the pain)<br />
<br />
<b>TUE</b>: also with M. Just following her program of 30' w/u, than 2x3km @ 10K pace effort.<br />
There is a kind of language barrier between a Metric System-born and bred engineer and a person coming straight from US and Imperial System, so we might have messed up a bit with the paces (6'10"/mile... is slower than the actual 3'45"/k which we run at).<br />
Anyway in short, she kicked my ass and I was struggling like hell just to avoid a larger gap in the 2nd rep.<br />
I wondered how I gave her 3' in the 10k race 2 days earlier...<br />
Right leg muscles quite tight. Total 18km<br />
<br />
PM: The orthopedic gave me a big disappointment: he did not think a cortisone shot was suitable because I did one already in April in the same spot, so a second shot might weaken the tendon.<br />
No running and a Voltaren course was the prescribed cure... :-((<br />
Since he is also a Triathlete, I might tend to believe he is right on this (I loved to see that on his desk there was a copy of Friel's "Triathlon Training Bible").<br />
<br />
<b>WED</b>: I will do rest from running, but from next week, so today easy run with M. 22km.<br />
<br />
<b>THU: </b>rest. Ok, doc ??<br />
<br />
<b>FRI:</b> cycling 90 minutes... the doc should be happy<br />
<br />
<b>SAT:</b> 21km easy, but the pace come out better than expected.<br />
<br />
<b>SUN</b>: stationary bike and X-training, weight, core stability, etc<br />
<br />
total: 75Km in 4 runs, plus getting serious about core training<br />
<br />
<br />
This week I eventually got all what I needed to start strength training with <a href="http://www.thera-band.com/">elastic bands</a>.<br />
<br />
They do not take space at home, they are cheap (50US$ is enough for 3 bands of different strength + accessories to make the workout easier) and versatile and you can workout the muscles using the same range or motion and working angle of running.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><object width="320" height="266" class="BLOGGER-youtube-video" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" data-thumbnail-src="http://2.gvt0.com/vi/DB3HBnl_Wg4/0.jpg"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/DB3HBnl_Wg4&fs=1&source=uds" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><embed width="320" height="266" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/DB3HBnl_Wg4&fs=1&source=uds" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"></embed></object></div>Plenty of videos online (I am not particularly a fan of Pose method, but this video shows a good exercise...)<br />
Now I try to work on my glutes and hamstrings... let's see....<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
by7http://www.blogger.com/profile/02575145053431055482noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871991704267892096.post-4247457895028944642011-08-17T19:31:00.000+08:002011-08-17T19:31:07.269+08:00Week 33 - at least not crippledI should say that returning to Hong Kong has been a good cure for my hamstring: having my massage therapist on hand and being able to also do some bike rides really did help.<br />
Now I am back to running, albeit much slower than my usual pace.<br />
<br />
the right hamstring and buttock are really tight and I can not really extend the stride.<br />
Especially the pain in the buttock is very tricky to treat because is really very deep inside and even rolling on a softball ball does not really go that deep (only the elbow of G. seems to do the job).<br />
<br />
I thanks everybody for the comments and I try to elaborate a self-analysis:<br />
<br />
- for some unknown reason, all my right leg is MUCH weaker and with much less range of mobility than the left one. Even when I walk, I noticed that sometime I do barely lift my right foot off the ground.<br />
This is probably due to a relative weakness of the hip flexors, hip rotators, gluetus, etc (do not know caused by what, maybe the road accident I had in February 2010) .<br />
<br />
- this unbalance generates a running pattern where I all the "pushing" is done by the left leg, while the left one is only trailing... when I hit the ground with the right leg, I am only stomping on the ground without any real push-off.<br />
<br />
- because of the weakness of the gluteus, etc, the right hamstring is loaded beyond normal because it must work as a the sole propeller of the right leg (so I am not actually pushing forward my body at each right step, but kind of pulling back the road with my hamstring only...).<br />
<br />
- the force unbalance is also the reason of the different ailments on the left foot/ankle. Probably the left foot is doing most of the propulsion and taking most of the load.<br />
<br />
(thank you for the comments about running minimalist, etc...: I am personally already totally bought about running in lighter shoes, now I am also figuring out if to get rid of orthotics too)<br />
<br />
So...<br />
based on this, the course of action should be:<br />
- single leg strengthening exercises for glutes, calves, hamstring, hip flexors, etc: squat, lunges, etc<br />
- stretching and dynamic mobility for the right leg<br />
- re-education of the motorial pattern of the right leg (concept on which I must still find suitable exercises)<br />
<br />
Now the issue is to commit myself to at least 30 minutes daily of extra-boring exercises, but seems that I have no way out if I want to be healthy and train properly...<br />
<br />
Let's go for the weekly summary:<br />
<br />
<b>MON</b>: met with <a href="http://michellel.fastrunningblog.com/">M.L</a>. a new comer in HK. She is targeting the USA O.T. Standard of 2h45' for a Fall Marathon, so her level is really good. Good for me that she is also probably a "earlier bird" than myself, so taking an appointment for running at 5.45am seems normal...<br />
run around 14k easy, I felt terribly tired at the end<br />
<br />
TUE: off<br />
<br />
WED: medium run with M. A good 22km for me @4'30" pace. The sky was cloudy, so it felt less horrible than usual. But after 18k the hamstring felt really tight and I had to slow down considerably.<br />
Evening: PT treatment... extremely painful deep-tissue massage. G. is really the best therapist I met and she could continue for hours to dig deep where needed...<br />
<br />
<b>THU</b>: rest becuase muscles really sore after massage<br />
<br />
<b>FRI</b>: nice bike ride... 75 minutes with a very steep hill. I saw my HR climbing over 185bpm, which is extra-rare on the bike for me. Cycling is definetely very a good cross-training for my case<br />
<br />
<b>SAT</b>: around 1hr run at easy pace. Hamstring felt better after massage and cycling<br />
<br />
<b>SUN : </b>Chung Hing Cup 10K race. Was a bit insane to think about racing, but I did not want to drop my team mates in the team competition.<br />
Popped down a couple of Voltaren pills to avoid pain and proceeded to a long warm-up of mobility exercises. Well.. warm-up is kind of misleading word because the weather was 30C/80%rH, so after 5min jog I was already extremely warm...<br />
950 runners at the start for this summer classic.<br />
To avoid digressing on every single KM split. I could say that I went way better than my expectations.<br />
I was basically with the 2nd pack until 7k, where my buttock start to feel like a sting, so I had to drop off the pace. I was not feeling my normal stride, but strangely enough a pace of 3'35"/km felt not too bad...<br />
After a tight sprint for the 10th place (lost..) I finish 11th overall (3rd Master) in 36'04".<br />
That is 50" slower than my time on the same course on July, but due to what happened in the past 30 days, I am more than satisfied....<br />
Thumbs up to Colin F for winning the race in convincing way and anyway we are able to win the team competition too... so it was a good Sunday on all aspects<br />
(also thumbs up to M.L. because she won the women's race in her first HK event... not a bad way to acclimatize to Asian heat!)<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWMPKjmxKRQU7diFAbHCTV9rAS_q6ruQ_JMdmVlhcf3wBYSCpJeDQNhanAvNlSET5lJfDmHJ1kCl3JuM8WmBRpDZR4pw1R7L2wH-7B1U9CP_j20Xz4gOVv9jb754_JrqiK5EWTPsPx00c/s1600/DSC_0025.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWMPKjmxKRQU7diFAbHCTV9rAS_q6ruQ_JMdmVlhcf3wBYSCpJeDQNhanAvNlSET5lJfDmHJ1kCl3JuM8WmBRpDZR4pw1R7L2wH-7B1U9CP_j20Xz4gOVv9jb754_JrqiK5EWTPsPx00c/s400/DSC_0025.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">After 2km with my team mate C.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ_csIGNfgdEOt3xLSX56vf2SsfxLkdN68xpTurFd73Fsj_xcDQu3HKor-nNLqCx5HfyCwZuFiOftM4Qcxo0FrWVGnYczV5Zi0XBLBzI4rAmW9fD3mSzbeX4ZGyel8N4mLT0lHmeWCiOc/s1600/DSC_1330.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ_csIGNfgdEOt3xLSX56vf2SsfxLkdN68xpTurFd73Fsj_xcDQu3HKor-nNLqCx5HfyCwZuFiOftM4Qcxo0FrWVGnYczV5Zi0XBLBzI4rAmW9fD3mSzbeX4ZGyel8N4mLT0lHmeWCiOc/s320/DSC_1330.jpg" width="212" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Last km...</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ-vgjUzHL-PkXvF_kqqFNSEihRD5MmP3KBKS5Q5WUpMdz-_mOvIrdztw06nSY-KfihJbr9cmsgUgHBkdIWS_uLl2TyxrngyAXwCyTzu6nz17bbXbRmwTWmQo4o13ptaGaWDrbXDFfVFc/s1600/DSC_1314.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ-vgjUzHL-PkXvF_kqqFNSEihRD5MmP3KBKS5Q5WUpMdz-_mOvIrdztw06nSY-KfihJbr9cmsgUgHBkdIWS_uLl2TyxrngyAXwCyTzu6nz17bbXbRmwTWmQo4o13ptaGaWDrbXDFfVFc/s320/DSC_1314.jpg" width="226" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Colin smoothly sailing to victory</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
by7http://www.blogger.com/profile/02575145053431055482noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871991704267892096.post-40935604862910390712011-08-10T20:42:00.000+08:002011-08-10T20:42:33.897+08:00it is a long way....I have been away from blogging for long and has been a long way also for me since the last post, a long way also both mentally and physically.<br />
<br />
to avoid typing three page of training summary, race reports and various consideration, I try to make a bullet-style summary<br />
<br />
<br />
<ul><li>June to July 19th: I really enter into a good groove of training. Albeit a torrid summer, I keep a good weekly mileage of around 100km and my form is coming up. Polar Running Index getting close to 80 and CTL in SportTrack getting closer to 100 (these data for data maniac runners like myself)</li>
<li>July 10th: 10K race. I arrive 2nd overall in a time of 35'15". On that course and during the summer, my PB was 35'04" in 2008, so I really get the feeling that I am getting closer to the same peaks touched in 2008. Just a small concerns about my left foot which is getting painful again around the sesamoidis like in <a href="http://runbackby7.blogspot.com/2011/04/5-lets-hope-i-can-last-42k.html">April </a></li>
<li>July 14th: board the plane for a nice family holiday in Poland. I am salivating to the idea of daily runs in the polish forests during a chilly morning...</li>
<li>July 19th: I go for a long run and it happens the unpredictable: after 15km of easy running, my right hamstring completely seizes and become like a piece of wood. No any alert, no any understandable causes (apart from weakness of the glutes, core, etc). Stranded in the middle of the polish countryside, I have also to walk (yes... walk home, I could not even jog) for 8-10km...</li>
<li>end July: I am down to jog 6km daily at 5'30" pace. My hamstring loosening up very slowly</li>
<li>now: back in HK I can go under the hands of my PT and feel much better, but it is like starting over again...</li>
</ul><div><b>Current status:</b></div><div>- right hamstring and glutes: not get back yet full range of motion. I feel tired even after running 10k at much more modest pace than before the injury. Work with PT and foam roller/ball/stick, whatever. I hope that in 15 days I could be running again normally</div><div>- form is seriously down... my Polar Running Index dropped to around 70...</div><div>- left foot: painful like hell after every run despite the forced rest. Already booked an appointment with the ortho doctor (cortisone shot seems unavoidable...). This is just a short term fix, I am still wondering what could be a real solution (note: I wear orthotics...do not send me to a podiatrist, I have 4 pairs of orthotics from 4 different podiatrist). Maybe is a pelvis alignment problem or maybe the hamstring problems on the right side are putting too much strain on the left side...</div><div>- Berlin Marathon: well.. maybe another year. I doubt I can celebrate my 42nd birthday, running 42km... </div><div>- mental side: I really want to give running a final serious effort for a couple of years, but it seems a bit pointless. After 40, my body is simply losing the wheels...</div><div>Now I will seriously try to work on core, glutes strength, etc, but if it does not work, it is probably time to give myself to lawn bowl... anyway the morale is underwater...</div><div><br />
</div><div><b>Positive thought</b>: give a read to <a href="http://asklaurenfleshman.com/">Lauren Fleshman's blog</a> and her amazing turnaround from injury to DL win (my cynical side reminds me that I am several years older and I do not have Nike to support the rehab..)</div><div><br />
</div><div><b>Question to the readers:</b></div><div>- does anybody know a serious place where they can perform a running assessment (using treadmill and foot lead measurement, etc) ?</div><div>I am going to South England soon for work, also Veneto region in Italy is ok or, closer to home, Hong Kong or Singapore...</div><div>(in HK, most places that I know are really poorly equipped)</div><div><br />
</div>by7http://www.blogger.com/profile/02575145053431055482noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871991704267892096.post-146089349925243002011-07-06T20:18:00.001+08:002011-07-06T20:18:54.599+08:00High inventory<p class="mobile-photo"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK3MWMcW6dM-vavn2P9CwbV_GNrjyLoDArQCL80yQKS_3PjGemeapnWcvuydUY9WrK2_tefwf2DKEEq8kbrVULdxJOs2YyhrIJm8QAtEzKK7T482SG64l4DU8oQHA-e7UenERgWh-MQKw/s1600/photo-734600.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK3MWMcW6dM-vavn2P9CwbV_GNrjyLoDArQCL80yQKS_3PjGemeapnWcvuydUY9WrK2_tefwf2DKEEq8kbrVULdxJOs2YyhrIJm8QAtEzKK7T482SG64l4DU8oQHA-e7UenERgWh-MQKw/s320/photo-734600.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5626212748620524386" /></a></p>SportTracks has an excellent function that keeps track of the usage of an unlimited number of equipments (even multiple equipments for the same workout).<br>In comparison, the SW Polar Trainer just can track 2 pair of shoes..<br>I use the function to keep track of the mileage of all my Running shoes spread among my 2 "homes" (Hong Kong and Dongguan).<br>Trainers, lightweight trainees, racing flats, etc.... All under tracking (currently I am rotating 6 pairs of shoes....).<br>To cut it short, both my main training shoes (the lightweight trainers Mizuno Elixir 5 and 6) reached 700km and I deem a good idea to replace them.<br>Considering my history of injuries, my heavy stride and the fact that with high humidity the shoes are always wet, 700km seems a good number to me. Better replace them a bit more often, but avoid to run on worn out shoes...<p>Digging out in the cabinet in Dongguan, I realised that I have 12 pairs of new shoes waiting (3 pairs are in HK not pictured below):<br>Mizuno Wave Ascend - trail running shoes<br>Mizuno Wave Aero 8 and 9 x3 pairs - marathon shoes<br>Mizuno Wave Musha 2 - racing flats<br>Mizuno Wave Spacer RS3 - racing flats<br>Mizuno Wave Nirvana 7 - support trainers<br>Mizuno LD track spikes<br>Adidas Supernova 10 - support trainers<br>Asics GT2150 - trainers<br>Asics Lyteracer DS<br>Asics Lyteracer DS2<p>Total insanity !!!<br>The good point is that I did not have to pay for any of them, because all won at the races.... At least my wife can not complain that I squander the money on shoes....<p>The bad point is that I realised that I had never used any of those models before, so I really do not know where to start from .<br>Any recommendation or good/bad experience ??by7http://www.blogger.com/profile/02575145053431055482noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871991704267892096.post-66548073282480238462011-06-28T13:21:00.000+08:002011-06-28T13:21:33.750+08:00Tropical Heat and influence on the training of the runner<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; border-collapse: collapse; color: #333333; font-family: 'trebuchet ms', verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 18px;"><i>"I can understand a little of what you're going through there Roberto. The humidity and heat creaping up here in Osaka but thankfully not to the levels you have to put up with. Interested to hear what you do to keep running in those conditions, hydration etc etc"</i></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; border-collapse: collapse; color: #333333; font-family: 'trebuchet ms', verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 18px;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; border-collapse: collapse; color: #333333; font-family: 'trebuchet ms', verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 18px;">I got this comment from Scott which in a sense touched an issue of common interest...</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; border-collapse: collapse; color: #333333; font-family: 'trebuchet ms', verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 18px;">..how to train under a tropical-style heat ?</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; border-collapse: collapse; color: #333333; font-family: 'trebuchet ms', verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 18px;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'trebuchet ms', verdana, arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 15px; line-height: 18px;">honestly speaking, most of the suggestions you can find in running magazines are pretty much obvious: run early in the morning, drink a lot, etc...</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'trebuchet ms', verdana, arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 15px; line-height: 18px;"><br />
</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'trebuchet ms', verdana, arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 15px; line-height: 18px;">on the other extreme of the spectrum, there are all the dissertation about the role of the Central Governor in avoid overheating, etc, which are sometimes beyond my grasp...</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'trebuchet ms', verdana, arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 15px; line-height: 18px;"><br />
</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'trebuchet ms', verdana, arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 15px; line-height: 18px;">now the question is how to do, when the minimum temperature in the day is at least 27-28C, high humidity and a long long summer ?</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'trebuchet ms', verdana, arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 15px; line-height: 18px;"><br />
</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'trebuchet ms', verdana, arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 15px; line-height: 18px;">I personally found that running in heat poses 3 challenges:</span> </span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'trebuchet ms', verdana, arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 15px; line-height: 18px;"><br />
</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'trebuchet ms', verdana, arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 15px; line-height: 18px;"><b>1) Alteration of gait caused by running "slower"</b></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'trebuchet ms', verdana, arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 15px; line-height: 18px;">Let's say that crawling around at 30"/km slower than the usual pace is anyway having an effect on the stride. The muscles get into their memory a shorter and less reactive stride.</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'trebuchet ms', verdana, arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 15px; line-height: 18px;">I think that several months of that and then it can become difficult to regain the right muscolar-activation pattern </span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'trebuchet ms', verdana, arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 15px; line-height: 18px;"><br />
</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'trebuchet ms', verdana, arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 15px; line-height: 18px;"><b>2) Heart Rate Drift caused by heat</b></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'trebuchet ms', verdana, arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 15px; line-height: 18px;">Once the body can not lose enough heat fast, the HR begins to rise even if the runner keeps a steady pace and the duration of the run is within his normal training.</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'trebuchet ms', verdana, arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 15px; line-height: 18px;">Personally I found that with temperature around 28-29C and 80%rH, I can keep around 25-30' at easy pace or 15' at faster pace before my HR begins to rise (and rise a lot).</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'trebuchet ms', verdana, arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 15px; line-height: 18px;">It is not uncommon that even if I am just running "easy", after 90 minutes my HR is in MP or HMP territory.</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'trebuchet ms', verdana, arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 15px; line-height: 18px;">Even worse, while doing "faster" workout, the HR can go easily over 90% HRmax even the pace is kind of "moderate"</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'trebuchet ms', verdana, arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 15px; line-height: 18px;"><br />
</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'trebuchet ms', verdana, arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 15px; line-height: 18px;"><b>3) Day-by-day recovery</b></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'trebuchet ms', verdana, arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 15px; line-height: 18px;">It is quite common in tropical weather to lose 2.0-2.5L of water per hour.</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'trebuchet ms', verdana, arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 15px; line-height: 18px;">Run 2 hours and even if you drink 2-3 bottles during the run, you will end up losing 3Kg of sweat.</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'trebuchet ms', verdana, arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 15px; line-height: 18px;">That means that rehydratation involves drinking at least 4 liters of fluids before the next workout. This also goes together with the loss of minerals, etc</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'trebuchet ms', verdana, arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 15px; line-height: 18px;">Honestly after a long run I feel really bloated by all the water which I know I MUST drink... </span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'trebuchet ms', verdana, arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 15px; line-height: 18px;"><br />
</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'trebuchet ms', verdana, arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 15px; line-height: 18px;"><br />
</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'trebuchet ms', verdana, arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 15px; line-height: 18px;">Anyway first a piece of good news:</span></span><br />
<a href="http://velonews.competitor.com/2010/11/news/heat-acclimation-gives-big-cycling-performance-improvements-in-cool-conditions-study-finds_148767">Heat acclimation gives big cycling performance improvements in cool conditions, study finds</a><br />
"<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;">A recent study by human physiology researchers at the University of Oregon found that huge physiological gains could be achieved in trained cyclists by doing 90-minute easy rides in high heat for 10 days.</span><br />
<div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Before the testing, the researchers expected to find improvements in the hot-weather performance of Cat. 1 and 2 cyclists after a heat-acclimation program. But what surprised them was that the physiological improvement translated to cool-weather performance as well."</div><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">This is something that I always suspected ... because whenever I leave HK in Summer and step out from the plane in a cooler country, my running takes another dimension, almost feeling effortless...</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">So there is a good reason to grind through the summer, but how to make it easier:</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">These are only my personal thoughts and experiences:</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><b>1) try to run in "doubles"</b>.</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">I know is very difficult to do for an amateur runner, but running in doubles during summer could be hugely beneficial:</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">- it is much easier to reintegrate 2 times 1-1.5 Liter of water, than 3 Liters...</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">- because it is unavoidable to slow down after 30'-45', the runner can base the training on 2times x30'-40', keep an higher pace and </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">maintain a more correct stride.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">- even for a long run, probably a split into 1h+1h at decent speed is much better than crawling around for 2hours.</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">I know runners who pride themselves to keep going also during heat waves, even if they have to slow down a lot. But honestly I do not see the benefit to run at 5'30"/km for a runner whose "cold weather" easy speed is 1 minute/km faster..</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">For keeping a good stride and also mantain certain neuromuscolar patters, I personally feel much better to run almost at my "normal" speed (let's say that 10"-15"/km slower is unavoidable), but stop when I can not keep the pace anymore...</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">I also do not feel anymore any issue with running 30' at good pace, stopping 5' for drinks and cool down and then start again..</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><b>2) fractional workouts</b></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">the concept is nothing different from point 1), but inside the single workout. </span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">No point to make "tempo runs" where the speed is too far from the target one or where you suffer a dramatic drop of pace after 20'...</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">much better to run at the "real" target speed, but in intervals.</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">So better 6-7x2km, than a 10k tempo run. The rest gives the time to drink properly and cool down the body a bit, so that every active interval is performed at the real target speed.</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">I am also applying this to longer runs: even for long runs, I split into many short intervals (maybe 10-15x2km) with time for drink and cool-down, or longer interval with longer rests (20' followed by 2' drink/cool-down), all performed at my "cold weather" speed or whereabouts.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><b>3) day-by-day recovery</b></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">this is an area where I am really still in search for a better way.</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">- what to drink, what to eat ?</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">- how to recover quicker ?</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">for example, drinking only water makes difficult to reintegrate also the minerals, etc... but if you switch to sports drinks or fruit juices, then there is the problem of the too large caloric intake (a glass of juice is over 100-150Kcal).</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">Also the drinking pattern: drink a lot immediately after the workout (not keeping into account anyway the limit of the effective absorption rate by the body), or drink a little but all over the day...</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">on top of that, I think that all the runners from S.E. Asia and similar climates suffer from the same situation where the fatigues increase day by day, and the heat is a kind of chronic illness which really affects the level of energy, even if in theory he/she drinks, eat and sleep enough.</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">There is a kind of cumulative effect on recovery of training in the heat, where it becomes impossible to fully restore from the day before.</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">I personally felt almost "on my knees" at the end of each summer, only waiting for the weather to get cooler and eventually recover.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">What do you think?? Any practical experience to share?</span></span><br />
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</span></span></div>by7http://www.blogger.com/profile/02575145053431055482noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871991704267892096.post-19138755454270286352011-06-15T08:33:00.000+08:002011-06-15T08:33:12.889+08:00Week 23 - over 100104Km for the week... with this weather is quite an achievement to be proud of<br />
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Monday: even if it was a public holiday, I headed out for a long run at 5.30am to avoid the heat. I would say that until 6.30 I was running, then once the sun was high in the sky, it become a sort of crawl... (in figures, first hour @4'20"pace, then dropped to 4'36"...). I was stopping every now and then to take a walk, but honestly it felt harder than running the last km in a marathon. Total: 25k<br />
Afterwards I felt so tired that I went back to sleep for an hour... seriously considered to give up running, if training must be so painful<br />
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Tuesday: 11km... "recovery run"<br />
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Wednesday: an approaching tropical storm from the Philippines was pushing <strike>warm </strike>hot air from south to South China. I had the same feeling as when you use a hair dryer in a steamy bathroom...<br />
w/u , then 2km mini-tempo run @ 3'25" pace (feeling much better than expected), 1km jog, then hill spring 8x15".. Total 13k<br />
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Thursday: awfully hot... it should have been a recovery run, but at the end my HR was at MP effort even if I was crawling... total 9k<br />
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Friday: I did not even try to run outside...11km on treadmill<br />
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Saturday: the tropical storm was now near HK and outside was too awful... so long run on treamill (a first time for me). Watching a TV channel in cantonese is not exactly the best way to fight the "boremill", but I felt really committed to go long...<br />
I can not swear about the reliability of the pace, but I did 13km easy, then cranked up the pace to 4'00" feeling very good (also because the thermometer of the gym club showed 21C/55rH..). Total 25K<br />
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Sunday: rain, rain, rain.. !! the storm eventually brought heavy rain and it was like another planet.<br />
It was raining so hard that I had to keep a hand in front of my eyes (yes... a bit bizarre to rain like that), but I felt effortless... 11km @ 4'05" pace, with average HR of only 147bpm... totally a different story !by7http://www.blogger.com/profile/02575145053431055482noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871991704267892096.post-51726958876754101422011-06-08T09:32:00.000+08:002011-06-08T09:32:32.612+08:00summer survivalA scene that repeats itself everyday, around 5am...<br />
after crawling away from the bedroom, I check the weather. I am really in disbelief that it could be already 29C/83%Rh at 5am, but this is the tough reality. That is something like an <a href="http://www.easysurf.cc/cnver16.htm">heat index</a> of 35C at 5am... and it can only be worse after sunrise...<br />
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So every time I try to run between 10 and 15Km, keeping a easy pace for 30' and than going always slower and slower... I try to control the HR below 75% but inevitably drifts higher and higher, so that at the end of the workout I find myself in a combination: jogging pace @ marathon effort...<br />
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With a sweat rate of 2kg water/hr... I am usually wasted after every medium-long run.<br />
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Trying to keep the things going, last week I totaled anyway 75km.<br />
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end of survival report<br />
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