Week 34/2010 Summary and (nice) 5K race report

I do not know exactly why, but last week marked a turning point in my training.

Maybe because  of the weather or maybe I started to "absorb" the workload, but for the first time I felt I was RUNNING and not crawling.
If I would have to re-conduct everything into figures, I would rely on the "Training Load" plug-in of SportTrack : when I raced on 15/8, the TTSB (Training Stress Balance) was on the severe overtraining territory, becuase I was ramping up the load quite quickly. A couple of days rest, some easy runs plus the smoothing of the training load had brought back the TSS into the right zone... therefore with a decent level of freshness.

MONDAY: 13.5Km all easy effort, but end up at 4'20" average pace
TUESDAY: 14.5Km start easy with 5km progression run at medium effort... felt excellent, another 4'20" average pace with very low bpm
WEDNESDAY: 15.5Km very easy in the wild in Dongguan...struggled because of the heat
THURSDAY: I was in Shanghai (Fengxian District) for work and managed a 11km easy run under a baking sun.   It was a crappy road along the sea with no shadow at all and warm breeze... I was just hoping to getting done

FRIDAY: the return from Shanghai was a classical "airport horror story"

- 15.45 (on thursday): boarding for 16.15 take-off, flight CZ to Shenzhen
- 16.15: announcement that take off will be delayed because a passenger is missing so they must download his checked baggage
- 16.30: thunder and lighting on the horizon
- 16.45: announcement that take off will be delayed because of the thunderstorm (it did not help that on the day before there was an air crash in Heilongjiang because of bad weather... so obviously now they are taking a no-risks approach)
- 20.00: after 4 hours sitting on the plane, we are disembarked and told to wait until further notice. Rain is pouring down in droves.... the airport is a mess because all flight were suspended, so it was a fight just to find an empty seat to camp
- 00.00: boarding again. Rain stopped. We should be #2 at take off, so should be over soon...
- 01.00: we are not moving.... passengers are getting very angry and insulting openly the crew and ground staff.... seems they were is a mismatch between the passengers on board and the boarding list. The crew is totally INCAPABLE to manage such a simple issue...they do recount but with all the passangers going around the plane (!!). they do not sit down to match the boarding lists with the seats, etc... real crap
- 02.30: after the discovery that they did not recount an infant (who was in the passenger list), the arcane is solved and we take off...
- 04.30: land in Shenzhen... total delay 10 hours...
- 05.30: arrive home... I did not sleep a minute and the sun is already rising...
take shower and get ready for work...

So you can expect that I did not feel too much like going for a run with 30C outside...

SATURDAY: 5K race in TaiTam...

Actually some of you might remember that 2 years ago I won this race...but the situation was totally different.. I was really well trained then while now I would have already been happy to take the Master victory and score points in the "Adidas 5K series".

Well, it did went much better then expected...the course is a tough beast with 1.2k flat, 1k on a very hard climb, small loop at the top and then come back...
Praise to the organizer for including also a Junior category, to give some deserved space to the next generation of runners....

(Thanks to Victor Lee for these nice pics !!)

After the flat start (I am #126) we tackle the climb in a large group and little by little we lose pieces until I realize that we are only 2 at the front .
I was labouring VERY HARD, but I could not expect differently since the climb is really steep (many runners slowed down to a walk).
While tackling the downhill I felt already a bit doomed because the hamstring was still tight so I could not risk to dive into the downhill at full speed... I tried to work on the cadence, but I was losing ground and by the bottom I was already 50m behind.
Well... I hoped to be able to make up some ground, but I simply "bombed",...I was totally done and closed the last Km in damage control, scoring 2nd OA and 1st Master.

this is the face of someone hurting badly...

Nice Album from Victor Lee

The disappointment of losing out, was mitigated by 2 facts:

1) In 2008 I won in 18'05" and the 2nd come into 18'25". This time the winning time was also 18'05" and I closed in 18'25" as well... (nice coincidence...).
So I am closer to my 2008 levels much more than I expected.

2) I chatted with the winner, who was a total unknown. I found out that he is a new comer to HK and we both run the Fukuoka Marathon 2007, but his time was 2h25' (!!!!). He was still not fully trained yet, but all the same I felt like losing to someone of real good caliber

Race results are HERE

As last race here, I wore the Polar HR right to see what is my maximum HR right now and calibrate the training...

quite interesting is the comparison with 2 years ago in terms of HR levels during the race.

Average HR: 188 (2008) vs 185 (2010)
% of time HR over 190: 50% (2008) vs 25% (2010).

So in such a short race the training allows the body to push more and sustain a higher level of fatigues without the shut down effect of the central governor. Even if my 2008 training was mainly geared to marathon, I was still more conditioned to work near my maximum.

SUNDAY: rest , which was a mistake because the legs would have needed a slow jog to toss out the soreness due to the downhill... by the end of the day I felt the quadriceps like stones...

So a good week and definitely a step in the right direction. I need now to get more focused on my training and dedicate more time to increase the lactate threshold.

Week 33/2010 Summary

I must thank everybody for the kind words on my Sunday's race.
It was cool to be back to a real race after almost 2 years...

But in reality, looking at the race with a more detached analysis, I really sucked...

End of May, I run that 5KRace and ended up in 16'59" only based on a good cycling training and some easy runs. That time equates to a 35'20" on 10k using the McMillan calculator.
(I would say the weather was slightly better in May, but only a couple of degrees lower)
So running 36'50" is really slow in comparison .... especially after 6 weeks of training based on only running
I can not say that I "underperformed" the race because also all the training leading to last Sunday was pointing to a 36'xx" performance...
The issue was that I was sucking in training and the race went along the same lines.

I still need to figure out the reason because it is pointless to train in the wrong direction. I might be that I had problems to absorb the workload (running 80km weekly after months of no running...), but suggestions are welcome...

Weekly Summary:

MON: 6km on tradmill
TUE: no running, unplanned
WED: I ended up at the Sport Ground  in the early evening and went for 800m intervals at 10k pace, with 400m recovery jog.
I was clocking around 2'50"-2'55" with moderate to hard effort and that was exactly what I was looking for,,,
unfortunately in my 6th interval I slightly pulled my hamstring in a kind of sprint...
THU: jogged 10k harmstring was tight
FRI: rest (my daughter's first day of school ... took time to get her ready)
SAT: I planned a longer tempo run, but ended up miserably...
I was shooting for 9km @3'50" pace but started maybe a bit too fast and after 4k I felt the hamstring tight plus i was already cooked, so i aborted the workout...
no point to push when the body is not there...
I am a little concerned about the hamstring because is not easy to treat
SUN: best run in ages... I just wanted to go steady and easy with some kind of progression in the pace and for the first time in months I was able to keep 4'20"/k with very low bpm until I started to push a bit harder @4'05" which still felt reasonably easy. Total 16km

TOTAL: only 60km for the week, with 1 poor workout and 1 decent steady run...

NOTE: I throw my old light weight trainers in the garbage and switched to a pair of Mizuno Elixir 4 (which I won at a race 2 years ago...., no I think the current model is Elixir 5).
These shoes are simply great, they feel the right amount of cushioning but very responsive.
....as I mentioned time ago, I stopped using heavy trainers like Asics Kayano because together with orthotics was like running in boots and I think was a major reason of heel striking.
With lightweight trainers or even better racing flats, the stride is more natural and more "mid foot landing".
I do not buy into the barefoot running fashion because the foot was yes done to run barefoot, but on unpaved roads... probably the Lord did not plan the foot to run on concrete all the time...
so some cushioning and protection is needed, but as less as possible... when I run in flats or lightweight trainers, I feel the stride much more efficient and mid-foot landing

Chung Hing Cup Race Report

Yesterday I had the pleasure to be back to real racing in occasion of the 10th Chung Hing Cup Race.

A mid-August race in HK means only a sure thing: extremely hot and humid.... yesterday was no exception with a light rain before the start which stops right in time for a strong sum to create a "steamer" effect on the ground....

in 2008 I had a strong showing in this race finishing 4th overall in a very good 34'57"... but that was 2 years, 2 kids, a tendinitis and many miles ago...

For this time, I was already happy to be at the start and to use the race as gauge of my training progress.

For the occasion, I wore the uniform of a Charity club based in Italy "Andrea e i Corsari della Maratona" from Piacenza: it was set-up in memory of Andrea, a young child dead of the age of 15 for a rare disease. They collect funds for the cure of tumors in children and youth, so it was really a good cause and they deserve all the support.

The race was perfectly organized as usual by Mr Li of HKMP and 1100 brave souls took the start line.

In absence of our own local Kenyan, a sudanese-canadian in visit ripped us (local runners) and won the race in a modest 35'04" (well... it was like running in a steam cooker...).

my race.... well... I was more or less aware that my training has just started and I could not expect to be nowhere near the level of 2 years ago.

I would have been already happy to score something like 36'xx" and have a decent placement in the Master cat.

Since running is a very predictable equation between training, talent and final result... I ended up in 36'50", 3rd Master and 10th Overall.

So no particular regrets and no particular over-achievement....

Full results are HERE

A photo of the start

I had to shove to find my pace because I did not start with the elite runners but quite soon I found the right position and got into the right gear.

The first 5K were a decent 18', but the way back to the finish line was long... very long and not only for me....

I can not avoid noticing that my legs are quite bulky, probably still the effect of the cycling training.

For the Master category, we end up very close for 2nd and 3rd place but I was really out of ammunition for the long sprint...

The price presentation was "lavish" with hundreds of prizes offered by the title sponsor (which is a sport goods shop which is almost impossible to find...but a real hard core runners place...)

Lastly... we (with my neighbour E. and another runner) won the team race which was for a 150USD voucher...

Dongguan running route - the forest

I mentioned about this route before, but today I grabbed the Garmin on purpose to share the actual route with whom might be interested.

As the "world's factory city" Dongguan is not particularly famous for her green areas... but in reality there are some, just that nobody comes here if not for business...

So this morning, 5.40am, temperature 27C, slightly overcast I ventured for a long run all the way from Dongguan to Shenzhen Longgang through this forest road. I have not done this route since my injury, so I was also curious to see what had happened... (China changes every day...)

well... until now the run was in totally unspoilt area, green fields, lakes, small hills... no human presence apart from farmers...
So I had to swallow a tear when after 5k I saw construction equipments and the banner of "Guangdong Highway Contruction Co"..... it goes without say that in 1 year probably there will be an highway passing in the area...

Start point is at the QiYeShi Reservoir, in the eastern side of Qingxi Town (which is where I actually work/live...)
The course is partially dirt and partially concrete road and enjoys a good shadow in early morning because of the hills.
Not any tough climb, but many small hills makes for a good workout... the full return way to Longgang is 21km, but can be increased further doing a detour in a branch road in direction of Fenggang.
No 7-Eleven, Starbucks or Mama/Papa shop along the course so must carry his own water (I run with a Nathan Quickdraw handheld bottle in one hand and another normal water bottle in another....).


so enjoy the course until possible...it is still unspoilt and quiet ...



for details oriented readers, a link to the Garmin data

Week 31/2010 Summary

MONDAY: crawling jogging 11km. The heat was oppressing...

TUESDAY: hit the track... I was planning to do 10x800m but in the warm-up I felt my hamstring getting tight (a lunge badly executed...), so I after 5 intervals in around 2'45" I thought it was better to jog home

WEDNESDAY: in Dongguan, run 11km on trail.. very easy pace even if the ups/downs make for some work anyway
THURSDAY: unplanned rest, due to poor planning...
FRIDAY:  it was right after an heavy storm, so the air was much better and slightly cooler (26C). Better workout in ages... 25' w/u + 10 x 1'on/1'off at strong pace, jong 6' then 10x30"on/30"off.
Total distance 18k... a real big workout and felt quite strong
SATURDAY: easy 11k
SUNDAY: 21k with some hills. It was super-hot and I lost 3-4kg of sweat during the run... a real torture...I was glad that I could still keep a decent pace even after 1hr...

Total 80km. Not a perfect week, but at least I kept a decent mileage.

in a Magazine

the local sports magazine Sport Soho features a profile article on myself....

a) I would have never expected to end up profiled in any sport magazine....
b) I would have never expected to end up in any kind of press in Chinese...

so being profiled in a Chinese Sport Magazine is really a double "Wow"...

(NOTE: the magazine itself is really interesting, full of interesting local contents (local athletes profiles, local hiking or running routes description, local sport medicine advices...) really well done.
Sometime many "regional" sport magazine are either only a reprint of articles from major magazines or a sterile collection of race results... while this Sport Soho has real content ...)

NOTE 2: I am having the article translated.... later post it here...

behind schedule... (and Polar SW Exertion agrees)

Last night I was browsing my 2008 training  log and I could avoid noticing the huge difference in volume/intensity compared to my recent days.

I really need to crank up my training...

In early August 2008 I was already cranking 100km a week with really big workouts and long runs. Now I am still just jogging around and with only shorter workout....

A good comparison is given using the "Exertion" function in the Polar PT5 SW.

It is probably one of the most useful function of the Polar SW.

at first, it is very important to set-up the function correctly.
There are pre-set parameters, but I think it is worthy to change them.
Personally I followed the "Intensity factor" listed by Jack Daniels in his book at page 39.
I divided my HR training range in bands associated with standard training effort
(Recovery / Easy / Marathon Effort / LT / Vo2 ) and give them a intensity score according to the mentioned page (well, Daniels' table gives point by 1 bpm division, so I took a mid level for each effort band).

In the Polar PPT5 menu, you search for OPTION/ PERSON PROPERTIES / SPORT ZONES / EDIT and set-up the parameters.
Then it becomes a breeze to monitor the training load and also the breakdown of the training into different effort level...
It is much more effective as the pure check of mileage because you have a clear measure of the internal load on the body.

In June 2008, I was doing a consistent 400 points per week and reaching 600 points in August.
Now in 2010 I just barely touched 400 points for a single week...
So huge work ahead...I really need to build up momentum and motivation...


It does not help that the temperature/humidity outside is simply awful...  28C with 85/90% Rh in the early morning and then 34C-35C with 70%Rh on daytime...

From Run back by 7