10km recovery run

I went out tonight to run 9km.

It was mostly going to be a recovery run, as I was still slightly sore from my 21km Thursday run.

I went out and was feeling the soreness right when I began. It was also so hot that I thought I might not make it past 5km. I was sweating profusely very quickly, and it was difficult to breathe. it was hot and muggy.

I started the perimeter of RBS, and when I got to the top of Yarden-Dolev, I went up to Dolev and did two cycles around Dolev. Then I went back down to yarden to finish the perimeter and finish the run. On Yarden I bumped into a friend who was running (shout out to Klompy!) who tured around and joined me for the rest of my run.

We ran down Yarkon, across Kishon, and then I turned back and ran home.

I concluded the run at 10km, despite the heat and discomfort.

45 kilometers

45 Kilometers.

No, I did not run 45km today. But I did run 45km this week, from Saturday night until Friday.

That is the most I have run in a very long time. And it is the most I have run in one week, in one month, ever since I started barefoot running about 6 months ago.

Let's see if I can keep up a reasonable amount of running.

A tough 21km

I ran this morning 21km. Man, am I wiped.

I made a mistake. I ran the wrong way.

There is a clear and easily defined route of about 18.5 km, and it is easy to extend by running out an extra km here or there to increase the distance. The route, as the BS Running Club usually runs it is out to the 10, right on the 375 until Elah Junction, right on the 38 passing Zechariya towards Bet Shemesh, right on Tzeelim and up to RBS. From my house to my house that is about 18.5km.

But I ran it backwards. The route as it is has two very large and steep hills near the end of the run that make the end very difficult. if those hills were at the beginning of the run it might not be so bad, but they are at the end. You hit these hills when you are already tired from running for so long.

So, I thought I could avoid these large hills by running it the other way. Sure there would still be hills, but nothing so bad. There would be a long gradual incline, but very slight. I calculated it was a better direction.

Boy was I wrong.

While I saved those steep hills, there was far more uphill than I remembered, even going in the opposite direction. Let's put it like this: there is a reason the club runs the route in the direction it does and not the other way.

There was a very long, though not steep uphill towards the peak above Zechariya. Then there was another long hill after Zechariya. Then after turning left at Elah Junction and running along the 375, the whole road in that direction is uphill, albeit most of the time at a slight incline, but in some sections more seriously.

When I hit about 16 km or so I started to feel wiped. Like I was running on fumes. The hills had gotten to me. I pressed on and finished the run at 21km, but I didn't extend the run as much as I thought I might. I only extended it enough to get it up to 21 - rather than the 24 I was considering. I wanted to hit 21, so I cut it at that. The thought of 24 was dependent on how I would be feeling, and at 21 I was feeling like I had had enough.

It was a great run, and as far as the view is concerned, running the same route all the time gets a bit monotonous. Running it backwards is a nice way to break the monotony - seeing the course from the opposite perspective is nice sometimes.

Had a great 10km run tonight

I am a very slow runner. There are a number of names my type of running is known by:

• slow running
• slow jogging
• Lazy Running
• Tired Running

They all more or less mean the same thing - that I run slow.

I kind of plod along, with heavy steps, while everyone else looks like they are sprinting. I can run "fast", but usually I cannot keep it up for very long.

Running barefoot, using the Vibram Men's FiveFingers KSO has smoothed out my running, but I am still running slow (I am running slightly faster than I ran in shoes, but relative to everyone else I am still slow). OK, no problem. That's life. I am a slow runner. Big deal.

Tonight I got in a very good run. I just felt like I had to get out there, and break out, let loose.

I went out planning to keep the run relatively short - in the 9-10km range. I just ran 14km the other day after a few weeks of no running, and I felt like it was smarter to do a shorter run next.

So I head out and after about 1.5km I notice that I am running hard - much stronger than usual, and a pace that was faster by about at least 25 seconds per kilometer than any of my runs over the past few months. I figured that perhaps it was because it was the beginning of the run, but I would not be able to sustain the speed.

I kept it going for another kilometer or so, when I hit the massive Yarden-Dolev hill. I ran up the hill, and while that always slows me down considerably, tonight it only slowed me down a bit. I ran hard and conquered the hill faster than usual.

When i got to the top, I decided to turn in to Nahal Dolev with is a circuitous street that is relatively flat. The circuit of Dolev is about 1.5km. I ran the circuit twice, knwing that the perimeter run I was doing is only 4.9, and it would be too monotonous to do the perimeter twice.

After finishing two circuits around Dolev, I turned back out to the perimeter and ran back down. Getting to my starting point was still only at the 8km mark, but I was still feeling and running strong and fast the whole time. I knew I was on pace to finish 10km faster than any of my more recent runs, so I decided that I wanted to hit the 10km mark for the purpose of logging my 10km time.

I still could not believe that I had basically kept up a tempo pace for 8km, including a large hill.

So I continued straight, and ran another km out and then back, concluding the 10km at 58:55. Still slow, but faster than any of my recent runs, especially when the runs include that large, and steep, hill.

I felt good, knowing I kept the faster pace over the course of the whole 10km run. I could feel it in my legs that I was pumping harder and strengthening muscles to the point I usually do not. They will definitely be sore tomorrow.

I would like to get a long run in later this week, maybe Thursday morning or Friday morning. I would like to do it breaking 21km. I need to start increasing my distance now to be ready for marathon training season, just to give me a realistic shot at doing it.


Vibram Men's FiveFingers KSO

Getting ready for marathon season

Last night I felt like I just had to go out for a run. It has been a couple weeks since my last run and I was itching to get out. I am still running inconsistently - i can go a couple of weeks running a couple times a week and then a couple of weeks not running at all.

So out I went, at about 9:30 pm. I had no goal, just to run until I had enough. Since I hadnt run in a couple weeks I thought I should start off with a 9 or 10km run.. I started off going around the RBS perimeter, which alone is a 4.9km run.

When I got to the corner of Yarden-Yarkon, I decided to go down to Roads 10 across to 375 and back. Then I finished the perimeter. I was still feeling great, and it was only about 9km, so I decided to go around the perimeter again.

I finished my run at just over 14km. My speed was a little slow, but this route has some serious hills, and I am out of shape.

Marathon training season starts in about 5 weeks or so, and I would really like to give it a shot this year. Hopefully I will have time to train, and more importantly be able to keep up my motivation and determination. i hope to try to run more regularly now to try to get in shape ahead of marathon season.