humid ... (too much)

In my first "come-back" week, I managed to run 70k, not too bad.

So this morning I get-up very early targeting a long run before work, to see if at least I can hold the distance of a marathon (regardless the pace).

BUT....

at 5.00am: Temperature 24C (around 80F), Humidity 95% ...

I was well prepared: took 2 bottles of water to hide in the bush for the out-and-back loop, wear NewBalance "Lightening Dry" socks, etc ... but at no avail :

after 1 hour, I was already struggling ... the shoes were full of sweat and at every step I could hear the "swoosh, swoosh" sound of overflown shoes...
The singlet was indeed simply beyond the capacity of saturation and also start to leak water along the legs...
I made it home in 2h15' of struggle @4'20" pace (7'00"/Mile), but the last miles were more a kind of crawl, spotting my high-rise building from afar like a oasis in the desert
(NOTE: living in a hi-rise can be sometimes psychologically very demanding for a runner. My home is in a building about 150m tall; even from distance, it looks very close, but maybe it is still 5/6km away !!).

resolution taken: during summer, I will avoid any run more than 1hr. If needed and if I would have the chance, I will double morning + evening to make 1h30' long run. Running longs in such heat does not make any sense (in a single run, I lost at least 2Kg of sweat, it is impossible to keep up rehydratation of such entity running on a daily basis..)

more on "running moms"

following the lead of the post below, I found an interesting article on these "flying moms" that are lining up for the US Marathon trials.
As an amateur runner and running fan, I feel strong empathy and closeness to the "normal" lives of these talented and very strong willed athletes, whose daily routine and training patterns are so similar to what we can also do.
It is really much more of an inspiration than reading about the life of a Elite Male Runner (sleep, run, eat, nap, run, massage, sleep).

The Doc eventually cleared me for running and maybe I will have revert to spend more time in running shoes rather than reading running websites....

mother with a lot of courage

Emily LeVan, a US top female marathoner, has her own blog and I believe she is a terrific athlete and parent: her daughter is fighting Leukemia and at the same time she is training for the US Trials.
Her story really deserves all our support as runners and as parents.

mission impossible

I badly forgot to mention a "small detail" in the picture of my injury and running plans:

some weeks ago, my wife insisted that we should go to Poland during the May 1st holiday period. (you can assume that she has some reason to go there...).
Our destination (area of Krakow) and the period matched perfectly with the CRACOVIA MARATHON (Krakow Marathon) ...
That coincidence, coupled with running the 10k in 33'30" just few days earlier, drove me to make my entry for the race.
I was calculating that running 5/6 long runs would have been enough to bring me to the start line in decent shape, enjoy a nice run in a nice city and to bring some "running spirit" to the otherwise long and tiring flight to Europe.
So I DID entered and felt injured only few days later...
Only 26 days left to race-day, and I have very bleak prospects. The leg is getting better, but nowhere close to be "pain free".
If I can resume some running, I will try at least to run the marathon as long training run, at least we will enjoy a good family outing in Krakow and have some good carbo-loading in one of the excellent restaurants over there.

I must really recommend this race if you have the occasion to join. Krakow is well connected to many European capitals with low-cost flight and the city is really a jewel in Central Europe. It is very compact, so it really fit a week-end trip (add 1 day if you want to visit the concentration camps of Auschwitz and Birkenau).
I did run this marathon also back in 2006 and it is well organized, with a start from the city park, a detour inside the old city and than a long run along the banks of the Wisla river to the industrial town of Nowa Huta and return. Good weather, pretty flat course, runner-friendly organization (a tent for change clothes is just few steps from start/end), not crowded (1000 runners).

"private" track

Still not running. I am pretty depressed because the tibial pain is not even improving since last Sunday, regardless of my continuous attention (Ice + Voltaren / Celebrex ).
If the things do not turn around quickly, I will have to close the season early (races are only until end April, after that is too hot for any hard effort). A real pity.

to go back to giving more details about running in Dongguan, here a good view of the primary school track in Dongguan where I make my track workouts.

I like running there because it is quiet, sometimes a bit of breeze, secluded from the noise of the main roads. It is only a short jog from my home, so really a hidden "jewel" in this harsh environment.
Usually all the school track in China are closed to "externals" but this seems to follow a particular admission schemes: from sunrise to 7.15am, the security let in some "selected" guests.
Allowed: myself, some elders who use the track as walking path, some people living in the neighborhood.
Rejected at the gate: youngsters and anyone looking like a worker from the nearby factories.
call it discrimination ....
The catch is that the track is only 300m long, so a bit painful on the ankles for longer intervals.
Because of the curfew at 7.15am, the available time is not too much, from 20/30 minutes in winter to 60/70 in Summer, but I can not complain ... I would not have probably resumed running back in 2005 if I hadn't discovered this track to have at least a decent , safe place to run in Dongguan.

Lastly, like any track, the first lane is invariably taken by joggers, backwalkers, people chatting, etc, etc. It must be a worldwide habit ...

Dongguan's training fields...

still in state "injured" ... but it is going much better. Maybe in 2 days I can start again gradually...

For a better view of how ugly is Dongguan, I post a good aerial view of my usual training loop.
Usual = the only place where I found possible to run without being chased by dogs, smashed by car and/or breath the exhaust fumes of trucks along major roads.
So I run around this kind of "bullet shaped" loop that runs for exactly 4k around some residential estate, hospital, town hall.
Do not be taken into error by the nice-looking green hills on the right. Basically there are no paths to go there and/or you risk to meet some straw dogs. As it often the case in China, if it looks a nice place, for sure it is not open/available for general public...
My record is to make a long run on this loop, a good 6 laps plus A/R from home.

depressing .... shin splints hit

too bad !!
A acute bout of shin splints hit my left leg last Tuesday morning.
it is very strange because it hit very suddenly, not even during or after a hard workout.
The root cause maybe are a combination of factors: my shoes are almost at the end of their season (all of them covered around 500M/800km), I always run on concrete and/or asphalt (no other choice) and running early in the morning is not ideal on "cold" muscle. Last Tuesday I basically rolled out of bed and went to run...
The recommended therapy seems 2 weeks or more of rest (+icing, Ibuprufen, etc) ... a real disaster in this moment of the season.
In some moments I can barely walk ... really I am at loss because I was planning to run a marathon in may to close the season and take a deserved summer "rest" ...