Rest - Injured Heel

Yesterday when I was jumping, hopping and bounding (remember the plyos?), I kicked a twig that had thorns. One thorn went thro my shoes and pierced my heel. I stopped and carefully removed it. There wasn't any bleeding. I never thought much of it and my workout went on quite well. Ten hours later, it started paining. By night time, I was limping. My sweetheart squeezed it last night. This Morning it was painful so I decided to rest.
I will therefore do my fartleks tomorrow. I am limping now but I expect to be able to run tomorrow.
This has been a great week for my running and I hope to see further improvements next week. I will go for a long run on Sunday.

 Meanwhile, The distance between World Extreme Cagefighting featherweight champion Jose Aldo (pictured above) and the rest of the 145-pound division may be wider than first thought.

Patient and precise, Aldo stopped top contender Manny Gamburyan on second-round punches in the WEC 51 “Aldo vs. Gamburyan” headliner on Thursday at the 1stBank Center in Broomfield, Colo. Gamburyan succumbed to strikes 92 seconds into round two, as he experienced defeat for the first time in four WEC appearances.

“When I came back in the second round, I just put all the work I’d been doing in the gym into the cage,” Aldo said, “and I was able to knock him out.”

Aldo -- who survived an early glancing encounter with a Gamburyan right hand -- attacked his foe with a series of leg kicks in the first round, as he softened “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 5 finalist for what was to come. He clipped Gamburyan with a straight right hand in the second, sensed he was hurt and approached for the finish. As Gamburyan dropped for a defensive single-leg takedown, the Nova Uniao standout cracked him with a grazing uppercut, wheeled around behind him and unleashed a furious stream of punches that left Gamburyan facedown and unconscious.

A winner in 11 consecutive bouts, the 24-year-old Aldo appears to have no equal in the featherweight division.

“If it’s up to me,” Aldo said, “my reign will last forever.”

Cheers

Easy 46 Mins plus plyo

Even though I was feeling explosive and strong, I decided to take it easy today. Easy on the running but up on the plyometric exercises. I did two-legged hops, lunges, lateral runing, pressups, squats, leg extensions and crunches.
My legs feel fine so I am thinking maybe tomorrow I do interval runs. slow 500m fast 1Km, recover 500m, fast 1km etc.I need to be disciplined to avoid injuring myself because I am really psyched up. My friend Ogutu is also back in training after about 2 months. Sikuku is also starting now. Its all systems go.
Here is a photo of Leonard Patric Komon who ran a world record of 26:44 for 10k in Utrecht, Netherlands on Sunday, September 26. This broke the 27:01 run by Micah Kogo, also run in the Netherlands in 2009!

Now this is Running!

I was up at 5.45 and did some stretching. Tights on, truck on, sweatshirt on, gloves on. When I stepped on the parking area and took the first few steps after starting my stopwatch, I decided to attack the distance. After 100m, I felt I needed more air and shifted from normal breathing to loud hissing (turbo breathing), I opened up my lungs and attacked. I was at the gate in 2 minutes and cleared the first 1.5Kms in about 7mins. Daylight was streaming in and my vision was fairly good. No dust, no huge crowds, no vehicle fumes. Just me and the road.
I attacked the hill at 1.7Kms with gusto and I passed some runners. I really wished there was someone to challenge me and push me but I had decided to push hard and that's exactly what I did. I pushed and it was fun feeling my legs strong, my core strong and my breathing very okay. I crossed in 17mins a place I used to cross in 20 mins and crossed in 20 mins a place I used to cross in 25mins.
I went further than yesterday within the same time period. Due to my fast take-off, I didn't manage to negative-split but I did some interval runs on my way back. Crossing the road also slowed me down because there was quite some traffic.
I want speed. I am gonna get speed. Gaddemit!
Here is a snap from last weekends Berlin Marathon which was ran under rainy conditions. It made Paul Makau the man to beat because despite the rain, he returned a 2:05. Cheers.

43Mins Tempo

I am jackin it up. I am feeling better and great actually. I was up at 5:40 and stretched and did the toilet thingy (empty). Gloves on, sweatshirt on and I was off. I met fewer runners today relative to the last time I ran last week. My speed was good though I didnt push very hard. At the turn of 23 minutes, I had increased my distance by about 300metres compared to same time last week. I then ran back, negative splitting and completing the run in 43:34. I need to conclusively measure that distance.
I will probably go for an easy one tomorrow. If I feel great I will make it a fartlek session because speed is my main concern right now and I want to keep pushing. I am also doing deep breathing to improve my lung capacity.
I did lunges, one-legged hops and stretched thoroughly then I cooled down with pushups and some crunches.

Elsewhere, iaaf.org says that "Leonard Patrick Komon of Kenya smashed the World record* in the 10Km at the ABN AMRO Singelloop in Utrecht, The Netherlands, today.

The 22-year-old clocked a jaw-dropping 26:44 over the 10 kilometre course to knock a massive 17 seconds from the previous mark of 27:01 set by his compatriot Micah Kogo in Brunssum, the Netherlands, on 29 March 2009.

Last year Komon clocked 27:10 in Utrecht to occupy the No. 5 position over the distance all-time and vowed to return this year to challenge not only the World record, but the 27-minute barrier as well.
Fast from the outset, Komon, the 2008 World Cross Country silver medallist, covered the first kilometre in 2:36 and reached the first five kilometres in 13:19 (unofficial).
Kenyan Sammy Kitwara was a distant second, clocking 27:11."

 Cheers, fellaz.

2:20 LSR

I went for a LSR yesterday with a rookie (Kirer). It was my first normal LR since mid July, during which time I have been battling with some malady of sorts.
It went well. I was strong and relaxed and my main aim was to do 2:20. I babysat my rookie running-mate for a huge chunk of the race but I didn't mind because I wanted to take it easy since I am making a comeback. He on the other hand, experienced pain and suffering but he was a tough guy and was quite impressive for a beginner.
Next week I will go for the same but harder and faster.
I took a break today because I have huge plans for the week especially when it comes to speedwork and tempo runs.
Meanwhile Frank Mir kneed Cro Cop in their third round in UFC 119. And Patrick Makau won the Berlin Marathon in 2:05:08 - far from the WR.

Makau finished more than a minute outside the record in a time of two hours, five minutes and eight seconds.

Compatriot Geoffrey Mutai tucked in behind him, crossing the line just two seconds later. Third place went to Bazu Worku of Ethiopia with a time of 2:05:25.

Makau and Mutai had set their sights on Gebrselassie's world record of 2:03:59 set on the same course in Berlin in 2008. But bad weather took its toll and both men were more than 30 seconds off the pace at the halfway mark.

Gebrselassie was absent from this year's marathon, planning instead to run the New York City Marathon in November.

Another Run

I went for another run today. I am now strong and fast and I am relaxing. I went further under the same time, with the return trip being a negative split. I met several runners and I am sure many are preparing for Stanchart next month. Maybe by next week I will feel like I was never sick in the first plsce. I am just glad that I kept on struggling through my runs and I think that has jhelped a lot even though my training was not up to scratch.
Tomorrow I rest then Sunday I go for a long run with a beginner.
Here is my beauty.

Ana 45 Mins

I went for ana 45 mins run today. I really am feeling better. I am once again back to my former self: I can recover quickly after a burst of speed. I really am excited and I am pretty sure if I am okay for the next five weeks, I can meet my sub 1:30 goal.
I am able to do pushups easier and my crunches are easier. I just need to watch my right knee which feels slightly painful. What I will do is keep working on my quads. Today I did leg extensions. Tomorrow I will do lunges then rest on Saturday to go for a long run on Sunday.
I am really excited about how I feel good. The sky is the limit. I feel like I have been running (wading is more like it) in a swamp for two months and now I am finally on dry ground.
Meanwhile UFC 119 is due this Sunday and features Mir vs CroCop, Bader vs Little Nog and Bisping vs Akiyama. Cant wait.
Today's eye candy is a pic I took in Irene and Victors wedding with my wife and her friend.
Cheers.

I am Back

The cold that is clearing up is among the last one in a trail of minor ailments that have buffeted me in the last few months. Today I went for a 46 mins run. I felt light and good. I didnt push. I just wanted to run and have a feel of my body. I felt good. I met more than 15 runners! Guys have woken up!
I will do the same for the next two days then go for a long run on Sunday.
Stanchart is five weeks away and I want to be at my very best. I will be doing 46-50mins runs 5X a week then a long run on Sunday for four weeks then I taper/rest.

Meanwhile, Iaaf.com says "The 2010 IAAF Race Walking Challenge Final in Beijing turned out to be a show run by the Chinese hosts as presumed. Three Chinese men and two women finished in top four of the 10km races on Saturday (18) morning on fast courses.

On the men’s side it was a Chinese 1-2-3 in the total standings due to the fact that Italian Giorgio Rubino, who finished third today, had not competed in three IAAF Race Walking Challenge competitions before Beijing and was not in contention for the prize money. On the women’s side Russian Tatyana Sibileva won the final race in Beijing, but she too missed out on the prize money for the same reason.

The men’s 10km race was the fastest ever at this level. Winning time today for Wang Zhen was 37:44, the equal second fastest all-time. Norwegian Erik Tysse has the fastest time, 37:33 in Hildesheim 2006 and also walked 37:44 last year. But the depth in those races was different. Tysse was the only athlete to dip under 38 minutes before today. Two Chinese athletes Wang and Zhu Yafei went under 38 min and Rubino and Chinese favourite Wang Hao both were timed in 38 minutes flat."

I Hab A Code

Ab been abbin a code por de lath doo dhays. Ab dekken some biridon en am beda. Dumorro I go por a 7k run. Lemme bost from iaaf webbite.
Philadelphia, PA – Ethiopia’s Meseret Defar and Kenya’s Matthew Kisorio wrote themselves into the record books with superb runs of 1:07:44 and 1:00:15 at the ING Rock ‘n’ Roll Philadelphia Half Marathon on Sunday (19).

In her half-marathon debut, Defar smashed the U.S. all-comers record, running the fastest time ever run by a woman on American soil for the distance.  Her time bested Berhane Adere’s previous of mark 1:07:52 set earlier this year at the Rock ‘n’ Roll Mardi Gras Marathon and Half Marathon.

Ana 7K - Taking 3 days break

I am taking a three days break. I am getting better albeit slowly. Today I ran better than yesterday. I have a small ache on my right knee but since it didnt bother me when I was doing lunges, I aint worried. I have a busy weekend coming up with a wedding on Saturday and in-laws coming over.
After the three days, hopefully, I will be better. I want to have four intensive weeks of training then I do Stanchart.
Meanwhile, Florence Kiplagat (below) and Wilson Kiprop will lead a strong Kenyan squad at the IAAF / Sinopec World Half-Marathon Championships in Nanning, China, on 16 October, as the east African powerhouse looks to defend both team titles.

7K run - No Recovery

Still testing my body. I have understood the nature of my problem. My problem is that I do not recover after I have incurred some oxygen debt. I remain struggling and I stay at my lactate threshold instead of going below it. Does that make sense? It means that even when I slow down, I feel as if I am still working hard. Which means I cant speed up even though I can still run for hours. I need to research on what may be causing that.

Today I give you Hind Dehiba after her dramatic 1500m victory in Split

Mwea Classic Marathon - Race Report

Me and Sikuku before the MweaClassic Marathon. I did a 6Km recovery run today. Lactic acid has not completely left my muscles.

On Saturday I went for the MweaClassicMarathon. I went with Sikuku and my lovely wife. We arrived late. Sorta. While we were still exchanging pleasantries and thinking of warming up, we saw a group running past. We rushed toward them. We saw Gachanja in the crowd of runners and asked him which race it was. "21Km", he roared back. We looked for an opening in the fence and joined them. We were in the race. No bib, no stretching, no warm up. Just like that.
So anyway, we started and caught up with Gachanja. Sikuku stayed with me for about 400m then he surged forward with Gachanja. I want gonna chase them. I decided to go slowly until my body asks me to go faster.

I had just travelled from Malaba the previous night and slept past 2am. Against my wife's persuasion, I woke up at 6 to go for the Marathon. Plus I have been ailing from something I don't know (I suspected Hepatitis but the doc said it wasn't Hepa) and I had just cleared antibiotics on Thursday. Nonetheless, I wanted to test myself. After all, you have to pass out first before you can die, right?

So here I was. Lethergic, flooded with malaise, alone, slow, in a dream like state. Was I gonna make it? I knew my mind was strong even though my body wasn't ok. I trusted my mind. There were plenty of crowds, yelling some unintelligible stuff. I didn't even spare them a glance. Me and the distance.
I looked behind me. There was a mzungu woman about 200m back. Ahead of me was someone 300m ahead. I have never been so alone in a race. I usually have people on my left and right and just behind me and just ahead of me. This was weird. Where was everybody?

At any rate, I started slowly and in my mind, believed I would power up after 40mins. But it never happened. I struggled. My lungs felt full and extended. My feet were fine but there was no energy to propel them faster. So I just maintained and relied on my mind to carry me through the race since my body was clearly screwed by one thing or the other.

After about 30 mins, I saw a girl struggling ahead and caught up with her. She was panting heavily as I came up alongside her. There were some cows coming toward us so we made space for them.

"How far?" she breathed.
"21Kms" I answered easily. glanced at my watch and knew we ere at about the 7k mark.
"I mean where are we?"
"Seven Kms"
"What? Only 7 Kms, kwani how far is this 21Kms?" She panted. Crowds urged her on.
"You have done a third of the work lady. But dont worry, you will start overtaking people after 40 mins." I assured her. But she wanted to scream. She sighed heavily and started walking. Eloi Eloi Lema Sabathchani, I thought.
As I chatted with this girl, the mzungu caught up and advised her to slow down. She stared running again. I left them behind. Then the sun penetrated the clouds and started baking us as we ran through the rice fields. WTF? Luckily I had my cap on.
I accelerated and widened the gap between us. My shoulders ached. My back ached. I even had a stitch but it didn't last more than 3 mins.
Where is the turbo? Where is my energy? I couldn't move faster. Am I this wasted? I made a mental note to go to hospital on Monday.
I reached 10K in 46mins, which wasn't bad.
So I did a quick calculation. If I did the next 10K in 56mins and the last 1K in 10mins, I would finnish at about 1hr 52mins.

So I tried to maintain speed. I passed some other guy in 12K, another lady in 13K, Gachanja in 14K, Sikuku in 15K. And I was passed by some guy in Green with headphones at the 13th K. Then what really took me aback was a woman who passed me at the 14th K. She looked quite heavy. But she strode past me quite easily, while holding a bottle of water. She was steady, didn't have the best running form but she was okay.
That shook me and I realized I am truly out of form. It simply meant I hadnt practiced as much as she did. But anyways I was not well. I wanted proof. Here it was, clear as daylight.

The organizers placed the third water point about 10K apart from the second one. This was bad for business. And Sikuku was dying of thirst when I passed him.

Afer I had done about 18Km, I met a board saying 5Kms. This discouraged me. I do 2Hrs long runs and I vowed I would not walk before 2hours are done. But after seeing that 5K was still left, I was passed by another lady and at 1:56, I started walking. I mixed the walks with the runs until Sikuku caught up. I cleared in about 2:15. Wasted. Baked. Incredulous. Humbled. Pensive. When my wife showed up I gave her one advice: Never, ever, under any circumstances, go for a marathon. And if you hate someone so much and you want them to suffer, tell them to go for a marathon.

Anyways, this is what I learnt from the race:
1. Weight isn't really a big issue. Just work out well. That woman was proof.
2. I need to do 2:30 runs for my long run. 2 hours simply cannot do.
3. I need to up my mileage for Stanchart.
4. I can be sick so I should not only worry about injuries but illnesses too because disease can screw a runner too.
5. Once I am okay, I will work on my speed.
The organizers can't handle 42, 21 and 10K at the same time. I will probably never go for Mwea marathon again. I would rather do Ndakaini. They don't care about the distance. They can give you 23K and call it 21K. Jipange.

Here are pics we took with Sikuku after the race. We could still smile so I guess it wasn't so bad. I drove back to Nai. Tired as hell and with a king size headache.

Going For Mwea

 

The Mwea Classic Marathon is on 11th Sept. I haven't been okay at all. I have actually been pretty sick for the past 5 or six weeks and it has efd up my training but I hope I will be ok in three days. I am in Malaba and went for an 8K in the morning. I am not very strong at the moment. Damn. Lets hope for the best.

Meanwhile,  IAAF says that in Split, Croatia – Bernard Lagat made history tonight at the IAAF / VTB Bank Continental Cup and also added plenty of evidence to the argument that at the moment, there may not be a better tactical middle distance racer in the world.

Lagat added the Continental Cup 3000m title to the 5000m crown he took yesterday to emerge as the only individual double winner in Split. Along with his 1500m win at the World Cup in Madrid eight years ago, the 35-year-old American became the first athlete to collect victories at a World or Continental Cup in three different events. Considering the fields he faced, his was hardly an effortless chore.

“This is great because I was running against the best in the world,” Lagat said after kicking, for the second straight day, to a convincing victory, this time in the 3000m. “I was running against Tariku (Bekele) tonight. Last night I was running against some of the best guys in the world, and I won it.”

At 7:54.75 in today’s 3000 and 13:58.23, neither race was particularly fast, playing perfectly into Lagat’s hands. The similarities in their outcomes was uncanny.

“They kind of went the same,” Lagat said. “But yesterday was more clear. There was just one person I was chasing. Today we were about five of us still together with about 300 metres to go. But I was composed. I know when I have plenty left, and I had plenty left. Yesterday I did too.”

“In terms of strategy they went about in a similar way but this one was a bit more because I had to look at all the other guys because we were still all together with 80 metres to go.”

One glaring difference was that as the leaders kicked off the final turn, Lagat found himself boxed on the inside. Was there any hint of doubt that his double ambitions might be in jeopardy?

“No doubt at all,” Lagat said. “I was a little concerned when the guys had me a little blocked in. But then I was waiting for whenever that opportunity happens, when an opening pops up. Bekele went a little bit to the outside and then I was able to move.”

That’s where patience, persistence and experience entered the picture.

“It’s a trap that you can do two ways: You can swing wide, but then you’re probably going to lose because there’s only 80 metres to go. But having that composure and believing that I can still kick, and waiting for a miracle to happen so somebody can make an opening that you can go through. And it was very narrow. As long as I didn’t impede anybody I was happy to go straight and really fast. Once I was in there, I knew it was over. I looked at the screen with about 10 metres to go, and I knew that I had it. So I just started smiling.”

Still smiling after the race, Lagat further expounded on his lesson for aspiring runners.

“In these kinds of races, it always comes down to tactical races. And the ability to keep the kick and push until the last stretch. So you can just kick and go. And it was part of the overall strategy that worked out very well for me yesterday and today.”

With his third Cup victory in hand, Lagat hinted that this would probably be his last appearance at the world’s primary team competition. Or, maybe not.

“It’s been eight years now, since I won the 1500, in 3:31. Wow. And you’re still going to see me next time.” He paused briefly, then added, “But no, maybe not. I’ve done this now and I’m looking forward to another challenge. The world championships next year and the Olympics after that.”

And from hereon, it’ll be the 5000m that will attract his attention.

“I’m done with those 1500s. I’ve done it for a long time and I’ve achieved something in that that I’m happy with.”

Is there a tactic he’s not comfortable with?

“Something I need to learn is when they go fast then slow, fast then slow. But I shouldn’t say that because they might try to do that next year. But I don’t care because I’m going to train for that as well.”

gETTING bETTER

Yes, I played with the font cases above. I am taking some antibiotics and am getting better. I was pushed by a stranger in the first 1.2Kms and I did better today and negative splitted. Meanwhile, in Zagreb, Croatia – Tyson Gay won the battle of 100m world leaders. It was hardly the smoothest race in Gay’s already storied career, but history’s second fastest man was nonetheless content with his 9.92 victory and meeting record in unseasonably chilly conditions before a capacity crowd at the Sportpark Mladost. Below is Gay.
Cheers.