Photo from the 'bridge race' (a half marathon) between Danish capital Copenhagen and Swedish city Malmö. I ran this race in 2005 and scored my best running time so far.Registration is now officially open meaning there's no turning back anymore: Shanghai (half -for me) marathon is getting closer and closer. Since I didn't train as much as expected during my holiday in Scandinavia (do people EVER do something that they have planned to do during their holidays except for drinking a lot and spending time in the sun?!) I am a bit behind with my schedule and I think my ridiculous goal of running the half marathon in 1.5 hours has to go... Well, no, 'think' is an understatement. This stupid idea is now just a stupid idea from the past. I am, however, planning on running this race faster than my personal best 1 hour and 50 minutes (this sounds a tiiiiiny weeeeeny bit more do-able...) so I still have to continue to train hard (although I didn't train as much as expected during the summer I still trained... so it is definitely still possible to do some fine tuning). One annoying bit about this, however, is that I have a birthmark I have to remove (I have postponed it for too long now) and that means I won't be able to train for what -1 or 2 weeks?! Annoying! But better to be safe than sorry I suppose.
At the gym, some of the trainers have found out about my running goal and they are now trying to help me to prepare in the possible best way for the race that takes place on November 30.
Meanwhile one of them is giving me diet advices (he wants me to eat a lot of rice, quite a lot of veggies and no meat -hm... sounds tasteless?!) the other one is trying to get me to attend classes like 'bodyjam', 'bodypump' and 'bodystep' as he believes this will help my running (? -I suppose he is thinking about cross-training although I think it's a little bit late for that now). Since he was nagging so much last week I decided to try out the bodypump... That was, ehum, interesting. The most interesting part of the whole class was that my trainer friend, the soft-spoken and friendly trainer, turned into a crazy, loud (we are talking a lot of screaming here?), energy-ball on stage when he was leading the class. It was... well, quite different?! And very interesting! Straight after class I went up to talk to him and then he instantly turned back to being the slightly shy trainer again?! Talk about mixed personalities?!
Anyways, a good thing about preparing for this race is the fact that it has cooled down a fair bit outside and that I soon can take my runs to the streets where everybody will look at me as if I am a mad person (running or sweating is not really hip over here. Forget about those respectful glances u r used to getting from non-runners you bump into while you're on your sixth lap in the park...) but well.. that's just how it is.
Anyone else thinking about running Shanghai marathon (or the half one?) in November?
At the gym, some of the trainers have found out about my running goal and they are now trying to help me to prepare in the possible best way for the race that takes place on November 30.
Meanwhile one of them is giving me diet advices (he wants me to eat a lot of rice, quite a lot of veggies and no meat -hm... sounds tasteless?!) the other one is trying to get me to attend classes like 'bodyjam', 'bodypump' and 'bodystep' as he believes this will help my running (? -I suppose he is thinking about cross-training although I think it's a little bit late for that now). Since he was nagging so much last week I decided to try out the bodypump... That was, ehum, interesting. The most interesting part of the whole class was that my trainer friend, the soft-spoken and friendly trainer, turned into a crazy, loud (we are talking a lot of screaming here?), energy-ball on stage when he was leading the class. It was... well, quite different?! And very interesting! Straight after class I went up to talk to him and then he instantly turned back to being the slightly shy trainer again?! Talk about mixed personalities?!
Anyways, a good thing about preparing for this race is the fact that it has cooled down a fair bit outside and that I soon can take my runs to the streets where everybody will look at me as if I am a mad person (running or sweating is not really hip over here. Forget about those respectful glances u r used to getting from non-runners you bump into while you're on your sixth lap in the park...) but well.. that's just how it is.
Anyone else thinking about running Shanghai marathon (or the half one?) in November?
How long is the marathon anyway? I don't think you've mentioned how far you'll actually be running.
ReplyDeleteBut don't give up! I'm sure you can get the 1.5 hour goal!
Well I am only going to run the half marathon which is 21km.. so the distance shouldn't be any problem. Running it fast, however, might prove to be harder. But well, nothing wrong with trying! :)
ReplyDelete"Anyone else thinking about running Shanghai marathon" - yep, I think a lot, about Shanghai, Marathon, history, food, lots of things, even running. Not that I get around it to it very often, except to catch the bus; I just stick to cycling. Much better.
ReplyDelete克莱夫 -K then!! I get it. And sure, bike riding is much easier. But not as challenging! ;)
ReplyDeleteThe trouble with running too much, my doctor said, is that when you run, some of the red blood cells in your feet will be crushed, which can cause other diseases like anemia. If you don't run too much you should be fine, personally I prefer fast uphill walking or working out.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, congratulations on your almost literary-quality blog. :)
Arthur -"almost literary-quality"... what do u mean by "almost"?? ;)
ReplyDeleteI guess I have to take the risk of anemia since I really enjoy running. And I bet all the health benefits from running makes up for the crushing of red blood cells in your feet... Or at least I hope so! :)
Try randonneur cycling [or Audax riding] if you fancy a challenge - http://www.aukweb.net/. Everything from 200 km to 2000km [and more] on the calendar.
ReplyDeleteI never heard any tales of cyclists crushing red bloodcells. Sounds like an old wives tale rather than genuine medical advice.
"Almost" because you never intended it to be.
ReplyDeleteRunning must be a joy especially in China with the many people you jog past.
I'm holding off my visit to China until my Chinese is good enough, your blog makes me feel as if I'm in China even though I'm not... ;)