Fukuoka, December 27, 2007
Yesterday, I saw an impressive session at Ohori Park, Fukuoka, at 4.30pm.
Athlete: `So` (the son of the famous Takeshi So who is now a coach in another town in Kyushu)
Age: 25 years
Best times: 5000/14:16, 10,000/30:08, half marathon 66:35
Todays session: 10 times 2km on the road circuit of Ohori Park, on a rubberized surface surrounding the lake
Rest between intervals: 90 seconds
Time objective: between 6:00-6:15 per 2km
I watched `So` run, and it was impressive to see the effort he put into his training. He is tall (1.82) and thin (62 kilos), and his style is not the best, because, unlike many of the shorter athletes, he has a bit of uppper body movement which cuts into his efficiency.
His times: `So` ran the first 2km interval in 6:03, but then for the next one he hit 6:11, and then the other intervals averaged around 6:14-6:16, so the coach was not quite so happy, as he was one second over on some of the runs. There was a bit of wind around the lake.
Pain tolerance of Japanese: Phenomenal tolerance for discomfort. I saw `So` throw up his lunch (it looked like some `miso soup` and noodles) after the fifth repetition, and then after every next run he was bent over and dry heaving and groaning like a wounded beast - but he kept on, and finished the session, with clear pain etched on his face. The coach told me that this was not `fast running` but `So` looked like he was working very hard to run that pace. I followed on the bike, about 25 meters back, and his 1km split was always around 3:07-3:08, so he ran the same pace all the way through. Of course he was wearing racing flats, as all the Japanese do when they do these sessions on the road or rubber surfaces.
Comment: I have known many British and French runners with similar times to `So` and none of them, to my knowledge, would ever do 20km of intervals in one session! In fact people like Mike Fuller (14:17/29:22) did about half the training or less compared with this character, and ran just as fast.
This leads one to think, that some of the Japanese may be overtraining for their level.
The athlete in question - `So` - appears to be limited in speed, judging from his style, and I would venture to say that were he to line up for a 1500m race, he would have trouble going faster than 3:55-3:57 - he obviously does not have the talent of his more illustrious Dad - Takeshi - who ran 2:09, and many times sub. 2:12 in the late 70`s and early 80`s. But one has to admire the tenacity of `So` for doing a session like this which is very hard.
Complication: There are so many other runners and joggers at that peak time in Ohori Park, that it is like running in a traffic jam, and `So` had to weave in and out of human traffic a few times.
Communication between athlete and coach: After the session, the coach said a few words, and then `So` merely said `Kaerimaska` (I`m going home) and put on his jogging suit and jogged down to `Nishijin` where the club house and athletes` dorm is located.
Conclusion: I doubt that runners in the UK and the U.S with similar times (14:16/30:08) are doing as many quality miles in intervals as these Japanese characters. 20km of intervals seems a high price to pay to run around those times. But this is the Japanese system, and who am I to criticize. `So` is being moulded into a marathon runner, but looking at him run, I think it will be difficult for him to run faster than 2:13, which is still the B League level in Japan.
Ghost in Korea