Friday Morning Run – October 14, 2011

This morning run was so far my hundred and eleventh run his year! I can't believe that I had already ran that many times! I still can't comprehend what I did with my time before I started running?.

Since I joined this group in July 2010, I have learned so much from the Coach and everyone else. I also learned from my own high and low moments which offered me quite invaluable experience..

Still suffering from shin-splints pain, I started this week with the 4K XC race on Sunday. I was 1 min and 30 seconds slower than my PB time and thus was quite disappointed. After completion I had a joint photo with the Philippine Mafia gang, which made me feel much better. I was also so happy to see Waleed Modara finish just one minute after me – he had put such great effort into the race!.

I knew the 400 meter race was coming up on Tuesday, so I rested Monday to nurse my shin-splints and did not join the group for the easy AAA run. On Tuesday, I headed to the Sod Farm instead of the Hills Track because somehow I had misread the coach's email. Fortunately, Faiz was warming up there and told me that I was in the wrong place. I ran back up to the Hills Track to join the group and was able to be there in time. I did the usual three warm-up laps around the track, after I was already warmed up from my Sod Farm run. I thought that the coach will set the starter pack to go first as he had done before, but fortunately he had the fastest runners go first. This was great because myself and other starter pack runners had the opportunity to observe the first class runners in action. WOW! What an excitement was it to watch and cheer all of them! It was like I was at the races! By the time my turn came my palms were getting sore from clapping. The first round I saw Christian lead with Ibe trailing behind up to the 300 meter mark. Although I like Ibe so much, I was cheering for Christian. I wanted him to win over Ibe - I still feel guilty about it! Ibe, I have such high hopes for you, and as a young athlete you have many more wins to experience. I also enjoyed watching Mike Hulver run and I was cheering for him. It appears that he has benefited from all the coaching he did while coach Ian was on vacation. He is a super fast athlete for a gray-haired fellow!.

Just before my turn came, the coach pointed his finger at me and said “I need to see effort”. This guy is like a mini god for me, so when my turn came I went as fast as I can. I thought I could continue like this for ever, but it was not to be. I had to slow down at the turn after the 200m mark. There comes Noor behind me and takes me over to finish in 1:37 – great time! I myself finished in 1:42 which is really good considering that my previous 400m time was 2:12 on May 22, 2011..

At the 400m race I saw Abdallah and I told him about my shin-splint problem. He advised me to run on the grass because it strengthens the leg muscles. Coach had advised me the same before, but he did not explain why? So I did not follow his advice. It was a big mistake, for I learned that this is the best thing you can do for shin-splints. On Wednesday I ran with Waleed Modara on the grass at the Sod Farm for 35 minutes. On Thursday morning I ran by myself on the grass for 50 minutes, and now my shin-splints problem is almost gone! After I was through running on the grass my legs felt like jelly. My thighs as well as my calves got a jarring workout. I intend to run on the grass again to strengthen my muscles and reduce injury. So far it appears to have helped me more than water running. While running on the grass I used the “pose” method which requires that you pull your foot straight up beneath you and let the gravity push you forward. This method somehow minimizes shin-splint pain while running. It is supposed to be an efficient method for long-distance running..

This morning I was supposed to run 8 miles, but ended up doing only 6 miles . I ran with a petite girl named Michelle from the Philippine Mafia. She recently joined the group and this run was only her fourth run with the group. Tracey joined us by the Dock Pond after her group decided not to continue. I enjoyed running with both of them and Tracey lead us. Michelle did extremely well for someone new to the group. Next week on Friday I am going to attempt the 8-miles with Tracy..

In the weigh in I lost 9.2 kg in 16 weeks which is about half a kilogram a week. I am disappointed because the previous period I had lost 7 kg in 8 weeks. I definitely have to control my food intake for the current period..

I love everyone in this group! Happy running!.

Data for this run is available at http://connect.garmin.com/player/121394178.