Easy 60 mins - Flu

I got a flu. I am taking meds but I did an easy 60 mins yesterday and today. I feel like shit. Damn.

Stay active guys.
A

60 mins Hard

We were at it with Evans. I dont know whether to call them fartleks or intervals but they were hard. I had to ice my legs after the work out. Tomorrow is 60 mins easy and it will be a holiday.

Cheers guys

Speed Videos

21K in 1:47 - Determination is Nothing

Warning: Lots of expletives used in this post. I have been listening to too much DMX lately.Sometimes he fuels my emotions with his raw, dripping, unbridled and unvarnished narrative on life (how shit goes down).
Arrrrrrf
Yesterday, as scheduled, we went for 21.6K. Sikuku had a back problem. Gach had a stomach problem. Kirer's friends developed cold feet and altogether panicked. Mark had a restless, irritable baby. So they missed the run, unfortunately.
After being handed my ass by Gach and GK in May 16th, I had evolved as a runner. I had cut weight, abandoned the tarmac that was killing my legs, bought a bike for X-Training during rainy days or for recovery, started using a field to run, got a running partner, increased my daily runs to 60mins from 40 mins and had discovered a not-too-crazy pace for my speed runs. I wasnt worried about none this time. I had also realized that being determined is nothing without dedication to the sport. Dedication means putting aside all excuses and all I-dont-want-to-be-too-crazy-about-this cop-outs that lead to mediocrity which is a stock-in-trade for most Kenyans. If you want more, they act like you are crazy. Dedication means risking being regarded as a little over-the-top by the average guy who thinks being fit is enough. It means being out there every morning. Come fire or water. And I had been dedicated since May. While training, every time I remembered how I was heavy and slow, an insane look glinted in my eyes and I trained harder. So that loss made me better. Made me move from being a determined slob to a dedicated guy. Like I keep saying, tough ain't enough. You gotta be trained.
So I wasnt worried about none. In May I wasn't shit and as DMX would put it, the game got fucked. Yesterday I was the shit and was ready to bring it on.
I was disappointed that Gach didn't come coz I wanted to test my speed against him. Was I ready for GK?
I ain't worried bou' shit. That is what DMX would say.
Arrrrrrf. This dog is ready.
So we stretched. Warmed up. Some guys drank water. GK got acquainted with Borura and Kirer.
And we were off. I had this. You know what am sayn?
Arrrrrrf
Okay, what was the strategy here? Uh, lets see....
No strategy dawg. I told myself. Just stay in the pocket. Staying in the pocket means keeping busy, never relaxing and never running too fast and gassing out. It means running fast and staying within that fast speed range while not exceeding it and not slowing down. Runners call it a tempo run but I like using fight words. I stayed inside the pocket. Thats what I did. I am doing it. Thats what Rampage would say.

We immediately split into two. Borura and I moved to the front while Kirer and GK stayed behind us.

I felt comfortable so I increased the pace. After about 1K, Borura came up beside me. I wasnt lookin back for nothing so I sped up and Borura seems to have decided to stay with me. We sped up. By the time we were approaching 2K, I couldn't hear GK and Kirer behind us.

Unbeknownst to me, I had left the house without tying my shoe laces. But my shoes fit well so I didn't notice it. After 3Kms, I noticed that my left shoe lace was dangling. I stopped at the foot of a hill to tie it and Borura ran on past me. After tying it, I resumed and sped up the hill to Galleria (5K) which I reached in about 23mins and I glanced behind and couldn't see Borura. That was how I parted with Borura.

I have been running 21K every Sunday so I decided not to hold back for nothin coz this distance cant do nothin to me. No chance of hitting the wall or none. I increased my pace. When I reached 8K and glanced back, I couldn't see anyone. I recalled that GK is training for 42K. Is he planning to make the first 10K easy so that he can outrun us on the way back? Well, if thats the plan, I told myself, its my job to give him a big ass distance to close before getting to me. So I increased my speed and widened the gap. And increased. And I widened the big ass gap. When I reached Hillcrest (about 9K), I stopped to tie my right shoe lace which I had just noticed, was untied too. I took the chance to take in the landscape and traffic behind me. I couldnt see GK.
I resumed and ran on. After 49 mins, that is when I started feeling the weight of my feet. But it wasn't anything to slow me down too much.
I sped on and reached the turning point (10.8K) in 55 mins. On my way back I saw GK about 800 metres from the turning point, meaning I was about 1.6K ahead.
The way back is downhill and I felt strong so I pushed and pushed. I used surges and was basically on a fartlek run.
I ended up finishing in 1:47. GK in 1:52, Borura in 2:05 and Kirer in 2:10.
I know I could have done better if I was chasing someone or if someone was breathing down my neck but that is another story. It was what it was.

Now, today I did a 60mins easy recovery run.

What have we learnt:

1. We are still very slow so we need to work on our speed even as we maintain or increase mileage because speed is none without mileage.
2. I need to do more speed training manoeouvres. There are several videos on the net.
3. I need to become stronger and lighter. Need to shed 3 more Kgs.
4. I need more hills. I need my garmin too and better shoes. Fortunately I have found someone who can help.

 

Here we pose for a pic after having breakfast. GK, myself, Borura and Kirer. Gotta lose that cheesy marvin that makes me look like some shaggsmodos Limuru resident.

Cheers.

A

21.6K in 1:55

I did the above on Sunday, did a recovery run on Monday and did 60 Mins today. I am on PRINCE 2 Training this week. Got an exam tomorrow and another on on Friday. So,.. busy.
But still running.

60 Mins Hardish - 21K race planned

Now I rest tomorrow. Sunday its hills. Shin splint is back. Damn.

Here is the Race we have planned for 28th August:

60 Mis Easy - Disappointed in Obama

I was tired today. Legs were stiff, energy was low. But nonetheless, I slugged out the 60 mins.
Meanwhile, I have been looking at Obama's presidency, after finding that Prof Cornel West and his sidekick Tavis Smiley were just two disgruntled hommies demanding that Obama wipes their noses or they go to war, which they did on their inane poverty tour, I came accross a sober American who listed for me Obama's failures.
I checked them out. And they checked out.
I think Obama has failed. In fact, I think that in many ways, he is a despot of some sort. I dont think re-electing him can help him redeem his presidency. I know he has also achieved a lot. But I am mad at him for failing in places he could have succeeded in easily. I forgive him for Guantanamo (that is a complicated mess that I doubt anyone knows how to untangle). But I dont forgive him for being ruthless with whistleblowers. I dont forgive him for being more autocratic than Bush. I dont forgive him for giving the same hyenas who phucked up the economy (JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs and other thugs who have been looting the Federal Reserve from the Clinton eras) the job of cleaning up the economy - even though I know they are the ones who financed his campaign. I dont forgive him for attacking Libya without the approval of congress - in fact, that was plain incompetence on his part. So, no, he has messed up. Let him walk.

60 Mins Wow!

I did 60mins with Evans today. Hard. Hard means we took a shot at speed-work through fartleks. Fartleks is all we can do now because of the shape (shapeless) of the pitch and the length of it (about 70m). Wish we could do intervals but oh well.
Yesterday I didnt run because I didnt sleep. My -2months old son Trevor couldnt let the mother sleep so there. At any rate, today I was in great form and we didn't hold back much. Tomorrow we take it easy then Friday we attack again.

Cheers

21.8K and bike

I did 21.8K yesterday. My legs were stiff. It felt as if I had 2Kgs on my quads and 1Kg on my feet. But at the same time, It had rained hard the previous night and I had quite some mud sticking on my shoes. Anyways, it wasn't hard cardiowise, just speed-wise. I am just glad I didn't have to run on the tarmac the whole way.
I will see if I can do something about speed this week. I biked this morning and the bike said I had burnt 600 calories.

A

Sixty Minutes

Yeah, this week's workouts are complete. Tomorrow I rest. Phew! This is Marloes Coenen.

60 mins Hard

Yeah. It was great. We decided to do interval runs from the 40th minute and then did leg hops, back-pedals, crunches, pushups, lunges, toe walks, butt-kicks and vertical leaps.
It was thorough. I gotta tell ya.
You maybe wondering why I put up fight pics on my blog. Two reasons. One, I am an MMA fan. Two, running demands a fighting spirit. Its a fight all the way. So we are kindred spirits, me and fighters.
Strength, speed, training, endurance and strategy is required in both sports. And there is pain. So yeah.
This is Jim Miller in action.

Seekstee Minutos

We were at it with Evans again today. I would like to do 60 mins X 4 this week. Easy 60 mins, absolutely no speed because I see this as "resuming" training after all my traveling the last two weeks. 60 mins daily is not a walk in the park. It is a struggle against your every need. It needs determination and willpower. It actually pans out to about 90 minutes because after running for 60mins, I do lunges, vertical jumps + some butt kicks, pushups, crunches, heel-toe walks, calf raises and I stretch all the important muscles. If someone tells you that is fun, they have shit all twisted up. Legs are sore. But this is usual.
And goals have to be met so 60mins it is. I want to do hills on Sunday then next week I start some speed work.
No injury so far though my knee has been grumbling.

60 mins easy

With Evans. Bought new Puma shoes. Everything's great!

Biked 2:20 Run

I ran for 2:20 yesterday. I am curious to know the distance but I didn't get time to measure it. I felt heavier covering the first 65 minutes but felt much better past 80 minutes - stronger and faster. I suspect that I am slower. I am slightly heavier but not bad.
I biked for an hour today as I gave my legs a break. I am injury-free for the monemt though I give my right shin some shin support just to be sure.
Hopefully in the next 14 days I will get to shed some 3-4Kgs and get down to 79Kgs.
This week, I want to concentrate on mileage and a bit of speed.
Meanwhile, IAAF says that "

The first meeting of the season between the two greatest 800m talents of the moment  – Rudisha and Kaki – ended with the Kenyan World record holder winning in 1:42.91, a meeting record and UK All Comers’ record, bettering the time of 1:43.22 set by Steve Cram in winning the 1986 Commonwealth title in Edinburgh.

But the most important thing for Rudisha was the win in a race where, as in their epic race at last season’s Samsung Diamond League race in Oslo, the smaller man pushed him all the way to the line, teeth bared with effort, doing all he knew to narrow the gap including dipping at the line.

Rudisha, his face, by contrast, a mask of concentration, maintained the lead he had inherited with 350 metres remaining as the pacemaker peeled away having taken the field through 400m bang on target in 49.61."

Bowel Asserts Itself

I chose 'random' route on the treadmill. Random has hills and flat sections. I had decided to do 60mins straight. I was at the gymn early so that I don't become the treadmill hogger to the regulars who start flocking at 5:30pm. I was really getting my butt kicked by the exercise but I was determined to complete it. But after 45minutes, my stomach dictated and insisted that I had to go. Despite my valiant efforts, gritting my teeth, squeezin my butt, ignoring the urge etc, alack,alas, I had to go. Or there was going to be a catastrophy right there on the treadmill with unmentionable spatter and foul smell. And we didn't want that. So, go I did and on coming back, someone had grabbed the treadmill, as I half-expected. So I biked for 15mins and did weights, stretched and called it a day. It was thorough though. And I am satisfied.
So tomorrow I leave Imperial Beach Hotel Entebbe I reunite with my suffering wife in her third trimester who is suffering constipation from hell and take a break. Oh, btw, I am watching Game of Thrones and loving it.

Cheers

Biked

I biked for 55mins. I stayed away from the treadmill because there is only one. The workout was thorough and satisfying but I wish they could fix the non-functional treadmill.

Resource crunch

Yesterday I did 40 mins, today 47 mins. I had planned to do 50 mins but thanks to a malfunctioning treadmill, I had to leave after 47 mins or risk being the treadmill hogger that everyone in the gymn hates. Some dudes were hanging around wanting to use the treadmill. Damn. Now how do I do my 60mins kesho if its like this?

Okey Dokey - New Week

I tried out their Gymn today. First time I used a treadmill. I made it too steep and could only muster 30 minutes. It was well worth it. Now we are on a roll! I just need to watch out against injuries. Its good the package doesnt cover dinner.
Here is one of the magic tricks I have learnt. Enjoy:

Cheers

Flu Attack!

A megaton of the flu virus hit me last week. It might as well have been weaponized and loaded on a drone by the gods to make another Job (pun not intended) out of me and see, for their own private and holy pleasure as they compare prayer requests form genuflecting idiots down below, when I would be broken down enough to hung my running shoes. And whether the virus would get the job done. This Flu fucked me up pretty bad. But at first I saw it as a challenge when my nose started leaking and fever set in and I got chills.
So I battled with it and ran feverishly for four days in a row last week. Mind over matter, I stoically reminded myself feverishly in my stubborn mind. I took antihistamines and relied on grit and my fine-tuned system capable of ignoring malaise and difficulties caused by disease. After all, suffering creates character, right? But it seemed it was quietly galvanizing itself and regrouping. It picked a weak spot in my otherwise rugged system: my throat. And so, on Saturday, it asserted itself and my throat got inflamed. My vocal cords were shot and my voice went to hell. What remained was a croak and a hiss and, well, nothing. I could only muster a whisper. And with severe pain.
And so I haven't run since Saturday. I hope I can run tomorrow or hit the Gymn today. I am in Entebbe's Imperial Beach Hotel. It is some grandiose shit. Vast rooms, huge bed. Large windows. Very extravagant. Excellent ambiance but I think I smell bat shit or bird shit hanging in the air. I think they have a gymn. Hopefully I can hit it in the evening and revenge for the last two days. Meanwhile I am on meds. Antihistamines, antibiotics, antiprotozoan, cough syrup and mouthwash. Am a walking cocktail of drugs and biochemicals. I am jacks wasted recuperating ass.