Adarq.org

alright, i'm enjoying running and want to do more. time for a goal. there are no races in islamabad, so i'm gonna have to do time trials on my own. c'est la vie.

TENTATIVE PLAN SUBJECT TO CHANGE AFTER I COME DOWN FROM THE EXTREME TRAINING ITCH I AM CURRENTLY EXPERIENCING:

GOAL 1: sub-23:00 5k by 21 december
GOAL 2: sub-21:00 5k by 21 february
GOAL 3: sub-20:00 5k by 21 april
GOAL 4: run in the khunjerab pass 10k next summer (http://www.irunforsmile.com/khunjeravpassmarathon/)

currently i'm running 10-15km/week and can comfortably run under 25:00 on the track. first order of business is to continue building an aerobic base.

plan to meet GOAL 1 will be as follows:

- build up weekly distance to 25km/week, 4-5 days running/week
- one day/week of 500m tempo practice at 4:30/km pace (e.g. 500m x 6 in 2:15 with 90s rest)
- yoga/HIIT/gymnastics 1-2 days/week (continue rehabbing shoulder)
- test right before vacation

if my brother gets his visa a few days of that will be replaced by some high-ish altitude hiking. will probably not train much while home for the holidays, apart from long walks.

then, plan to meet GOAL 2 will be as follows:

- build up weekly distance to 40km/week, 5 days running/week
- one day/week of 1km tempo at 4:10/km pace
- one day/week of 500m tempo at 4:00/km pace
- two easy days
- one long easy day
- yoga/HIIT/gymnastics 1-2 days/week
- test

plan to meet GOAL 3 will be as follows:

- build weekly distance to 50km/week
- one day/week of 1km tempo at 3:58/km pace
- one day/week of 500m tempo at 3:48/km pace
- yoga/HIIT/gymnastics 1-2 days/week
- test

plan to meet GOAL 4 will be as follows:

- suffer. the khunjerab pass is at 4,700 meters/15,400 feet. i was there in august and even just walking around made me a little lightheaded. the marathon, which i won't attempt, gains 2300m. not sure how much gain on the 10k. in any case the point will be to finish.

asked a weird question on this Kenya running IG:

Quote

hey, weird question.. but I think you guys would know. Where are all of the "old Kenyan runners" (let's say 60+ years old). For example, I see tons of photos of older runners in the US, mostly recreational obviously.. but how about Kenyans? I mostly see photos of young guys putting in work, which I understand.. but do people 60+ years old still run often & enter races for fun etc? Or do they have problems running as thy get older, due to all of the mileage they put in when younger? Just wondering if you can provide any insights as to how Kenyan runners, which have the most beautiful form & mindset for running IMHO, function as they get old. Thanks alot!

weird but, just wondering about it.. hope they can provide some info.

edit:

wow they came back with some great info.. look at this reply:

Quote

kenya_experience_iten @andrewdarqui Hey Andrew, great question. In summary the answer is that running is are career choice so when it is done with as a viable career option it is done with all together. Very few former runners continue to run just for fun when their competitive days are finished. In rural Kenya there are very very few who run just for enjoyment or health. It is running ares serious training or not at all. In the cities, the emerging middle classes do run as recreation/fun and you see more of what you have typically described from elsewhere. I expect this will grow as Kenya continues to grow economically but it will be a long time until this idea spreads to the rural areas

damn!

Living in a country that's similar to Kenya economically and with a similar national professional sports obsession (cricket in this case), that definitely scans. Many boys play cricket, and there are amateur and pickup cricket games all over the place for young men. But you don't see old people playing. Exercising for its own sake is basically only for the rich and foreign-educated or raised. The gym my gf used to take yoga clients at charges something like $500/month (!). There are people here who can pay that without blinking but not that many. I met a muscle-bound dude last weekend who owns a coffee shop near my house and also a luxury car importer: he's generationally loaded, and good for him. Even middle class people never, ever look like that.

But as the middle class starts to emerge, exercise is spreading as a hobby. The track I run at is in a very rich area but not all the people there are wealthy: plenty show up in old cars or on cheap motorcycles. I saw some young guys doing boxing training together and there are a couple of MMA-type and other gyms in less-than-rich neighborhoods. That will only grow as time goes on. It's only a matter of time before someone opens a Crossfit box here, IMO, and before yoga spreads from the foreign/rich to the middle class.

But that will happen independently of the national sports obsession, much like the response you got from Kenya on IG. Cricket is linked to national identity and aspiration. Casual exercise is linked to leisure time, to sedentariness and the accompanying weight gain and anxiety, and to disposable income.

as adarq goes, so (slowly) do we all: adarq.org run squad, assemble!

file this one under "and shit": https://twitter.com/mallorydowne/status/921527393529094144

 

ETA: https://deadspin.com/heres-an-impossible-volleyball-play-from-three-differen-1819751647

- jump rope x 8 mins
lots of mistakes, ???

- GMB warm up

- pistol work x 10 mins

- KB SLDL x some

- run 5.5km in 26:55
4:53km pace, but i went out a bit hard in 4:39 for the first km and then settled into 4:50-4:59. still, no single km over 5:00. last 0.5km was mentally pushing it a bit, brain wanted to quit after 5. told brain to fuck off, pleased about it.

- stretch

what a beautiful morning.

word, think i'm gonna get myself a garmin for my birthday. now just need to figure out which one. don't want a smartwatch, do want something that tells me how fast i'm going, has an interval timer/stopwatch, and syncs easily with mapmyrun.

toe...midfoot...heel