Angkor Wat Half Marathon, Training
September Training
Weight training with stair stepper or bike 1-2x per week
Bikram yoga 1-2x per week
Kudilini yoga 1x per week
Running 1x per week
1) 6 miles 2) 8.3 miles 3) 11 miles
Today 10-1-2009
First run of the year, (outside of indoor training).. 6 miles Zuma beach point to point.
felt good., except for the extreme nipple burn. I’m familiar with running the Zuma beach 10K so it wasn’t too tough. I was thinking about what adding another 10k to it will feel like.
Today 10 -8-2009
8.3 miles in semi-soft sand. Felt good. I could have done a few more. My calves were getting tight. An overall easy run. Vasiline and cotton wife beater=no nipple burn.
End of Zuma (Trancus) to the point (Dume) back to Zuma through to the end of Broad Beach (house on point) and back to end of Zuma 8.3 miles
I ate a lot this week with heavy weight training. I wanted to carry the extra weight to build overall endurance and physical strength. I felt heavy. My body was almost at the fat happy lay on the couch place. But My energy was high. I started out realizing i just had to aclimate to the extra fuel. Like super jet liners, the first leg of the trip is the toughest because it has to carry so much fuel. I just mentally affirmed this extra strength and fuel was perfecting my structural strength for running and building extra mydochondria. After I burned what was in my stomach I could feel my body getting lighter. After mile six I actually felt I was in proper strength and stride. The last 2 miles were faster and stronger. The slope of beach at the dume end are pretty challenging on the calves and ankles. Paul reminded me to run from the hips not the feet. This is exactly why I prefer cardio training on the stair stepper vs the treadmill or bike. The stair steper trains the hip flexors, (thigh lifting). Combined with unjaya breathing and locking my energy centers, my body moved into proper structural movement. It was fun. Tomorrow rest. Saturday Bikram with Master Teacher Betsy in Westlake. It will feel good to stretch like taffy!!
Today 10-15-2009
11 miles semi soft sand Zuma beach. stretched thoroughly before the run, It started slow. Had a lot of stifness in my ankles. Actually had to stop after a couple minutes and massage them. then started slow, I put my mind to work. Prepared for a non-stop execution of time. I only stopped once for about 10 seconds when an over excited puppy dog pounced on me…
Calves warmed up, but my pace was slow. the first point came quickly so I knew I was a good pace of energy exertion. moved through the second point pretty smooth, lots of mantras. The last three two miles I had to work a little bit
For me being the Kapha body type It takes a while for me to get started but i move like a freight train. So for me its better to keep a consistant rhythm of running rather than running and walking. The uneven sand and sloped beach is really giving my ankles a workout. I am curious to see how this transfers into wearing shoes next week.
Today 10-30 -09
I was a little discouraged. After getting fitted for my new shoews and taking it to the street, my knees screamed. I took a week and a half off with injured achilies and stiff shins. A week later I ran on the treadmill. average time. knees hurt again the next day. So I decided to go with an alternative plan. Today I trained like the prisoner of war who played golf everyday in his 4×4 cell.
I decided to stick with low impact training and save my knees for the race. Today i trained on the Stairmaster, 60 minutes at level 8. I maintained a heart rate of 155 my power level was at 72. I went deep inside for this one. I ran for at least half of that time. I ran mentally with my eyes closed for 45 minutes in deep meditative visualization.. I place my heals down and visualized the ground. (Since we know the mind knows not the difference between reality and thought), I trained with visual intensity. I felt every muscle. As i was running I felt exactly where the imbalanced were. I asked my body to make the necessary corrections and then sent a piering light to the muscles and joints that were being effected. At one point I followed an intense bean of light which pierced through my body to the core regenerating and strengthening from toes to crown. The training was great fun and intense. I burned 700 calories. I listened to one of my classic yoga mixes for the first 45 minutes.When the mix started to get a little slow I had to let Avenged Sevenfold and Linkin PArk take me the rest of the way.
Oh if you didn’t know. the story is the man in his 4×4 cell played visual golf every day in his head . a different course every day. upon being released he entered and won his first tournament.
November Training
Today 11-13-2009
Thanks to my guru runners to remind me to run everyday. I realize the importance of movement memory as much as strength and endurance memory. I’ve been running even if its a little bit. The good new is everyday it gets longer and easier. I thank Paul for reminding me to run from the hips and not the feet. Thank you for my teachers for intuitively providing my classes with complimentary strengthening of the hips and thighs. It’s getting easier to put my shoes on and my body begins to anticipate the run far in advance. Thank you Pati for asking me to Man Up and figure it out, that running is beautiful.
Tonight I ran aroung the park 3x yesterday was an intense leg work-out on strength machines because I wanted to let my blisters heal from the day before.
11-20-09
This week I ran the Santa Monica boardwalk for 8 miles. I felt really good I was surprised. My knees felt good during the run. My endurance was strong. However the nest few days were murder on my knees. I was again getting a little upset by this process. The race is getting closer and I’m making slow headway on the structural element of it all. Another ultra marathon runner friend gave me a little more advice. 1.Train on the trails or a dirt track not the pavement. 2. Advil. as much as it may seem to supply an air of dependency, she said she takes two Advil before a run and one every two hours. 3. Ice, lots of Ice. 4. MSM, Glucosamine and Condroytin sulphate. nThis runner told me she had really bad knee issues and never thought she would be able to take running seriously. Today she runs 5 days a week and frequently runs 30- 50 miles at one time.
12-29-09
Only two days before I leave. I decided to follow the rules of the last piece of advice. I got my goo and covered my criticle rubbing spots with runners Glide. I drove to the end of Reseda to run in the trails of the Santa Monica Mountains. No music, 2 Advile, a week of MSM suplements and goo was my preparation. I decided to work on endurance only. I set pout to run for two hours. Distance didn’t matter as I was going to be running in the hills. I was going to do the best I can. Those first few miles are allways the worst. Breaking through the warm up, getting mentally psyched and finding a rythm is a process for the run. I took off on a trail I thought was going to be 4 mils one way untill I somehow got misguided. About 40 minutes into it I ran back to where I started. I found another trail and just started running again in another direction. I was following the trail signs and figured I was probably going to get in about 11 miles on this run. I reached a point where I figured the return run would about push me to my edge.
When I returned I was blown away. Not by the fact that I ran about 11 miles in the mountains, but the fact that I ran non-stop for Three Hours! The time-distance factor was not well but the endurance factor was. I felt good the entire way, my knees felt good throughout the day and proceeding days. I was about as ready as I was going to get.
12-5-09
In Cambodia, the night before the race, I have not done anything since the 29th. I have done some good stretching so I feel my flexibility is on par with my norm.
12-6-09
Race day started at 5 AM. The gun went off and I started to run with two goos in my pocket and my mini camera in a waist pouch to record the event. I was excited from the energy of a thousand people from 40 nations running for the humanitarian purpose to bring light to the tragedy of landmines. I found a good pace and my friend Paul and two others found a bond in our running styles. We were at the front third of the racers. our pace maintained well ubtill about 12 k. At that point I bagan to fall back until I was about 20 seconds behind. I got into my meditation and dug deep for the meaning of my body in this situation. About at the 14 k point I found a surge of energy. I bagan to gain on my running pack. At 16 k, I found a rhythm that brought me surging past my running group. Two of the group began picking up their pace to run with me, but one remained at the steady pace. At 18k I could not keep up the pace and felt I was hitting a wall as I reached for my last goo I dropped it and was way too into my forward experience to turn back. I slowly faded back from the two and yet well ahead of the other runner who stayed back. At 20K I found it difficult to even lift my legs. Just When I should be charging forward for the last push, It seemed I was being passed in droves. At the final turn I found great delerium (because I can’t really call it ”energy” at this point) in the surreal chanting of the crowd to cross the finish line at a much faster pace than expected. Approaching the finish line I was delighted to see the time at 2hr: 1 min! I ran better than expected and was encouraged to know how good I felt throughout my body. The next day only my right ankle felt stiff. This was the ankle I broke in five pieces when I was younger. So overall I was DEEEElighted.
I was encouraged again to know how the human body can overcome percieved obsticals no matter how critical they may seem and reconfigure to acheive a determined goal.
PLease watch my Angkor Wat Marathon Video here on YouTube by searching “”utdougie.” Here is the direct link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xRG9L1ty4oA
