Weekly Summary – 77 Miles in 11 runs. Traveled to Japan and got settled in here in Otsu. Had a great last long run and then a really good final workout one week out from race day with 10km in 30’43. Feeling the taper and the excitement. Less than a week to go until Lake Biwa – ready!

Don’t forget to follow me on Instagram and Twitter (@TylerCAndrews). And, of course, don’t forget to check out STRIVE’s 2017 Programs! You can come do service work and train with me in Peru or Kenya and for 2017, we’ll once again have programs for High School and College students, and even a 10-day trip for adults and families, so be sure to take a look if you’re interested in an amazing summer experience! Finally, I have a few spots open for athletes looking for custom training plans and online coaching. Check out my site and email me if you’re interested!

 

Lunes, 20 de Febrero, 2017 – 8am: Got maybe 5 hours of sleep on the plane. Woke up and had some coffee and did a bunch of walking and actually jogging as well. Ended up getting in probably 20-30’ of relatively continuous jogging. Nice way to wake up!

Ended up walking about 10 minutes of every hour with a few longer breaks.

Got into Tokyo around 9:30pm (about 5 hours late, due to very bad weather at Narita which forced us to land and refuel in Nagoya and then come back). Got through airport stuff pretty easily and then made the very last train from Narita to Tokyo. It was way too late to get to Kyoto at this point, as the Shinkansen trains stopped running earlier, but I got a room right next to Shinagawa station, so I could get right on the train in the morning. Finally arrived and was in bed by about 1am. 28 hours, 9 minutes door to door!

 

Martes, 21 de Febrero, 2017 – 11am: Slept well, no problem sleeping through the night! Woke up and had some breakfast since it was included in my room (and a lot of coffee). Did some searching online and asked the front desk where I could run and ended up running a loop of just over a mile around our block that they recommended. There were some places relatively nearby according to the internet but I didn’t feel like taking a train or cab and just wanted to run and hit the road. So, I ran 9 laps of this loop which was just fine today. All on pavement, mostly sidewalk, but not too busy. Legs felt surprisingly good after a slow first mile. Cool out, a bit windy still and around 50F, but very sunny. Ran most laps around 7’15 which is probably about 6’50-7’00/M. Last one ran quicker at about 3’30/km pace. A nice hill on the loop so nice to break up the rhythm a bit. Total run ~9.5M, 15km+ in 67’.

XT: Back/hips (no weights)

6pm: Finally made it to Lake Biwa – Otsu. Got in around 5:30pm and was out the door running around 6pm. Already pretty much dark. Ran out to the waterfront and then explored the network of waterfront paths. A lot of brick sidewalks! Some grass in the park though, on the shoulder of the path which was nice. Colder than I’d realized, upper 30s and a bit windy. No strides again as I was quite cold and just wanted to get back and get to sleep. Tomorrow I’ll start getting in a real rhythm! Total run 4M++ in 32’.

Miercoles, 22 de Febrero, 2017 – Sparknotes: 22km (14M-) in 1’15’47 (3’26/km avg) with 16km moderate (57’00) + 6km fartlek in 18’47 w/ 2x [3’, 2’, 1’ on @ 2’45-3’10/km / 1’ off’ @ ~3’30/km].

8am: Easy shakeout around LB shorefront park and exploring Otsu a bit (still looking for a grocery store). Kept it short and easy with a longer session slated for 12pm. Total run 4km+, 3M- in 21’.

12pm: Ran last longer workout today (11 days out) and managed to cover most of the LB race course. Jogged out to the park. Legs felt great with a lot of coffee this AM and a nice morning shakeout. I actually wasn’t even sure what the plan was heading out. The biggest thing was that I wanted to run most of the course and get in a decent longer effort. I knew my body was still getting used to jetlag, travel, a few very weird days sleep-wise, etc., so I didn’t have super high hopes. My legs did feel good though with the big drop of recent mileage.

Stopped and did drills and strides after about 2km and 200m in ~38 (there are some distance markers in the park which seem to be somewhat accurate). Then headed off.

Running pretty consistently ~3’40s for the most part. Had to stop a few times to make sure I knew where I was going/cross streets, but was able to get in a pretty good rhythm. The way the course laid out (a long out/back that curves back up towards the start – picture an uppercase “U”) made it pretty easy to run almost the whole thing (by taking a bridge at the top of the “U” and then essentially running the second half of the course).

I was mostly on sidewalks or the path that runs along the river, but I was right next to the main road, which I assume is what we’ll run on. The course seems extremely flat without too many turns. It should be quite quick, as billed, if weather holds.

I got to 16km in 57’ and then decided to do a short fartlek with some quicker running just to open up the legs a bit. Did 2 sets of 3’, 2’, 1’ on, 1’ off. Had to stop in the middle of the second 3’ for several minutes at a major intersection, so that really interrupted things, but oh well. Covered 6km in 18’47 of running to come to 22km in 1’15’47.

After, jogged through town and up to the stadium just to check it out and see if I might be able to get in. Looked pretty official, so I wouldn’t be too optimistic. There is a giant field complex with a path around it that had some distance markers, so I might check that out later in the week as a good spot for a last workout. I’d really like to get on the track, though.

Cool down was longer at 5km with the trip to the stadium, so that put us at 30km total with about 1h45 minutes of total running.

Very tired this afternoon – struggling to stay up past 7pm. This jetlag thing! Glad I’m here early and not racing this weekend.

Total run 18M++.

Jueves, 23 de Febrero, 2017 – 8am: Easy run down to the stadium, around the stadium loop a few times, around the fields a few times (it was very muddy and I was worried about slipping), and then over to the track. Just jogged up through the main stadium entrance and no one stopped me, so I did strides in the middle of my run since I figured I didn’t know when I’d be able to get back in. Did 10x 100m stride/100m jog. Felt very good. 10 strides were 1000m+ in like 2’31 – very good! Finished with 200m very relaxed in 36.x.

After, ran back through town to the Lakefront and out to the end of the parks and back. Finished at the grocery store and then jogged back with breakfast. Total run 9M++ in 62’.

XT: Back/hips (2x, no weight from here on out).

PM: OFF – no running until tomorrow PM session. Taper time is here!

Viernes, 24 de Febrero, 2017 – AM: OFF – rec block. Took a long walk with Jon down to Parco to get a bunch of stuff from the grocery/dept store. Nice nap after that!

3pm: Ran after a nice nap out/back on the lakefront and across the bridge. Felt fantastic today – 24+ hours of rest since my last run, plus tapering, plus adjusting to jetlag: a very positive trend! Legs felt great and was running quick out the door and in the 3’40s-50s for a lot of the run, even with some blustery wind coming off the water. Ran back through town and up to the stadium, no problem getting in again, and did 6x strides on the track and then 200m in 35, feeling very relaxed. Too easy!

Finished with easy run home for 10M, 16km, in 62’.

XT: Back/hips (no weight)

Sabado, 25 de Febrero, 2017 – 9am: Ran later with Jon down to the track, very slow jog with him, and then on the track solo a bit for warmup. It was quite crowded! Lots of kids on the track practicing. Saturday seems to be a busy day…

Did about 4km and then stopped and did drills and changed shoes and did a few strides and 200m in 35. Then did 4x500m, short rest. The goal was to run Marathon Pace even for the first one and then surging the last 100, 200, and 300m of the next 3x. Splits were: 1’32 (even, but out too fast in the first 200m, then settled), 1’29.2 (75.x/14.x), 1’27.6 (57.6, 30.0), 1’22.2 (36.8, 46.4). Rest was ~45 seconds. Felt very good! Really have to hold back to run ~37/200m which is still a bit quick (though on a track).

Jogged with Jon after very slow down to the lakefront to take some pictures and then home. Total run 7.5M, 12km.

XT: Back/hips (no weight)

4pm: Easy run down to the stadium and then around the outer loop to see if that’s a suitable backup for tomorrow’s workout (if I can’t get on the track). Looks OK. It’s about 700-750m but it’s asphalt (as opposed to brick on the other loop). A parking lot crossing, so not ideal, but not the worst. A decent backup option. Finished on the track with 4x strides, 200m in 39. Jogged home. Total run 3M in 20’.

XT: Hips.

Domingo, 26 de Febrero, 2017 – Sparknotes: 10km in 30’43 with 5km at MP (15’45), then 5km at 14’58. Very controlled. Great!

8am: Easy shakeout down to the stadium and a few lap on the big outer loop. Felt very good. Legs felt ready to go. Half a cup of coffee before this. Track was open but had soccer players on it. Total run 4km+ in 17’.

11:50pm: Very easy jog with Jon over to the stadium. Soccer games on the field/track, so Jon made the executive decision to not try to do the workout on the track, but instead use the asphalt loop around the fields. The distances are marked every 100m and the path is decently wide, so it seemed like a good option. There were 4 very sharp 90deg turns (one which was a bit blind going out onto a busier sidewalk), so it definitely felt slower than a track, but nice to have all the feedback.

So, did about 3km warm up and then drills a couple light strides, used the bano once, and then ready to go. It was warming at this point with sun and light wind in the 50s.

Goal was to do 10km with 5km at goal marathon pace and then 5km quicker. Ideally that would be something like 15’50-16’00/15’00-30. The loop was 730m and I had written down that 2’18 per lap was 3’10/km pace and 2’11/lap was 3’00/km, so I had these as point of reference.

It was nice to have the 100m feedback for the first lap or so as I was getting into it. First lap was 2’19 and then the second one quicker before settling into a good rhythm of 2’18.x for a while. Felt very comfortable and found myself naturally speeding up and forcing myself to slow down after the first few laps. Didn’t feel that tired and was mostly just excited to get to 5km and see what I had for the remainder.

Passed 5k in 15’44.9 (I didn’t have a 5km split, but I knew I was running well as Jon was giving me each lap split and I was right on pace the whole time). Next lap was 2’11.0 which is 2’59 pace, so didn’t have a very gradual acceleration. After that, I took my bottle and promptly got a whole bunch of it up my nose (it was just a twist-off, not a squeeze bottle) and so lost a few seconds sputtering and trying to catch my breath.

Settled in a good rhythm of 3’10-11 for the next 4 laps; Jonwas telling me to stay relaxed and not strain, so I didn’t push at all. Ran the last lap a tiny bit more focused to run 2’08 (2’55/km).

This brought me in for 31’24 for 10.22km (30’43 for 10km, 4’56/M, 3’04.3/km). The first 5km was 15’45 and the last was 14’58.

All in all this was a fantastic run. This is faster than I’ve run for some of my tuneup races (19’50 for 4M before CIM, 14’59 for tuneup race before Hartford, etc.) and it felt very controlled and comfortable. I finished feeling like I could have done the whole run again! That’s a great place to be one week out. I’ve managed to get myself into extremely good shape and I’ve managed the travel and taper super well, it seems. Now, I’ve just got to get through my carb depletion and then it’s smooth sailing to race day. Very excited!

Jogged home with Jon very short and easy ~1km, NT.

Total run was 14km, 9M-.

Time Split HR Rep
0.73 km 2’19.1 (2’19.1) 152
1.46 km 4’36.7 (2’17.6) 173
2.19 km 6’55.4 (2’18.7) 174
2.92 km 9’13.5 (2’18.1) 174
3.65 km 11’31.9 (2’18.4) 175
4.38 km 13’49.1 (2’17.2) 176
5.11 km 16’05.7 (2’16.6) 176 15’44.9 at 5km
5.84 km 18’16.7 (2’11.0) 179
6.57 km 20’30.8 (2’14.1) 178
7.3 km 22’41.2 (2’10.4) 178
8.03 km 24’52.5 (2’11.3) 178
8.76 km 27’03.6 (2’11.1) 178
9.49 km 29’15.0 (2’11.4) 178
10.22 km 31’23.8 (2’08.8) 178 (30’43 at 10km, 14’58.3 last 5km)