Social Media Runner

As you could read/see in my last post, I will be visiting a few countries for my next holidays which start next Sunday.

I am taking 3 weeks off from work and will pass by France, Germany, Austria, Hungary, Romania and Istanbul. I didn't want to stop training so I planned ahead the routes I could run in the different cities I will be staying. For that reason, I created an account at walkjogrun.net and found routes around the areas I am visiting. In this sense, I just need to log in on my account and put my running shoes on every time I want to go for a run. I love sharing my experiences on running and social media is a great tool to do so.

I have been updating my profile with different routes and I will continue to do so. If you want to see where I am running, you just need to visit my routes here:

http://www.walkjogrun.net/members/EFESOR

I was in Paris some months ago and I can do the same routes I did then, but here you have screenshots of the routes I already created for the other cities:

1. Munich (it doesn't look like a very nice area, but good enough):

2. Budapest (this one is my favorite one):

3. Istanbul I (this route is around the first apartment we are renting and meant for a long run):

4. Istanbul II (for our second location and for a shorter run):

I just hope I get fully recover soon and can enjoy the opportunity to run in so many countries! I will let you know if I managed to follow the routes or if I got lost and will take as many pictures as possible. Wish me luck!

PS: At the left column of this blog I added three polls you can answer to while I am on my holidays. In case I won't be able to update anything, you can still interact with the blog by answering. The poll will be open till 10.08 at 9pm.

Plantar fasciitis and holidays

The true is that I was getting ready a much nicer post about a new training plan I prepared 2 weeks ago. The idea was to train for the Amsterdam Marathon which will take place on 17th October. But I have two problems now:

1. Plantar fasciitis won't let me follow the training program for 1 week and I will have to take it easier when I start running again. The doctor recommended to stop running for a whole 1 week, also stretching the area and put ice. I also got a prescription for anti-inflammatory pills.

2. Three weeks holidays, traveling around Europe on a train, making very difficult to follow any training.

Nonetheless I created routes around the cities I am going to visit on my holidays (Paris, Munich, Budapest, Vienna, Bucharest and Istanbul) and I will try to run as much as possible. If after my holidays I feel strong enough, I will register to the Amsterdam Marathon and train for my first full marathon!

Running for SPAIN

Midnight Run

One month working from this desert island was too much for my running routines. I was missing a lot the feeling of running outdoors and my workouts at the gym did not satisfied me enough. Last night, I decided to give it a try and had a short run around the area I am staying. The idea was to check if my body could cope with the high temperatures here (even at night) and how I would react in general. I left my hotel room at midnight and came back having one of the most beautiful experiences I had during my time here.

It was only 6.5km and found very interesting places around the area. What is more important, the heat wasn't that painful and I would have stay longer if I would have taken some water with me! I enjoyed so much (only you runners know what I am talking about) that I already decided to run a new route tonight.

I will take the car after work and go to try what it is recommended in the map. It looks like big fun. Here I am, running in this warm island!

http://www.walkjogrun.net/routes/current_route.cfm?rid=C04F9FF6-96AC-1178-A9E8C4EF5876C863

I will be back in Helsinki during the weekend!

La soledad del corredor (en el gym también)

Unfortunately, I have to extend for 2 more weeks my stay in Bahrain. It is actually very good for my job; not for my running. I work long hours and I don't even think about going for a walk outdoor; it's just too hot in here.

I decided to change some routines and visit the gym as much as I can. Today I spent one hour and used the treadmill. It felt as usually: I hate it! Here are the numbers:

When I arrived to my workplace I found out that we have a new desk at the Zain Football Zone. They have a body composition analyzer for free! The guy promoting this service does not have much idea about it so I didn't care much of his recommendation. Nonetheless, I would appreciate your comments. Here we go:

Body Type: Standard
Gender: Male
Age: 27
Height: 167cm
Weight: 68.3kg
BMI: 25
BMR: 7390 kJ // 1786 kcal
Fat % 11.8
Fat Mass 8.2kg
FFM 61.4kg
TBW 44.8kg
Visceral fat rating 2


IMPEDANCE
Whole Body 492
Right Leg 215
Left Leg 222
Right Arm 249
Left Arm 253

SEGMENTAL ANALYSIS

Right Leg
  Fat % 11.7
  Fat Mass 1.4kg
  FFM 10.8kg
  Predicted Muscle Mass 10.3kg

Left Leg
  Fat % 13.1
  Fat Mass 1.6kg
  FFM 10.3kg
  Predicted Muscle Mass 9.8kg

Right Arm
  Fat % 12.9
  Fat Mass 0.6kg
  FFM 3.7kg
  Predicted Muscle Mass 3.5kg
Left Arm
  Fat % 13.3
  Fat Mass 0.6kg
  FFM 3.7kg
  Predicted Muscle Mass 3.5kg

Trunk
  Fat %11.8
  Fat Mass 4.4kg
  FFM 32.9kg
  Predicted Muscle Mass 31.6kg

DESIRABLE RANGE
FAT% 8-20
FAT MASS 5.4-15.4kg

I think it looks pretty good. Considering that 2 years ago, when I started running, I was 78.5kg :-)
Any comments?

From Bahrain with love

It has been over a month since I last posted on this blog. There are always good excuses, but I could have also sat down and write what was going on. After the great experience at the Helsinki City Run I spent two weeks in Spain. The first week in Madrid I went for a run three times, in three different places. The meeting with other bloggers was a fantastic experience that I hope you have again. Thank you guys, I loved it!

The following week I visited the family in Algeciras. I also run three days and realize how much pollution is in the area. It was very hard to breath properly and didn't enjoy the running as I usually do. One day, I visited the outdoor track and trained with my cousin who has been running since... always! He helped me with my technique and gave me very good tips.

Back in Helsinki I only had 4 days before going to deliver a service to Manama (Bahrain) where I am right now. I loved running again in Helsinki, perfect temperature and clean air. Here in Bahrain, I try to go to the gym as much as I can, but I work around 12 hours everyday and is not really possible. Running outside is not really gonna happen: the temperature here is around 40 to 45 ° C even at night time. Who would dare?

I will have more time to train for longer and better in Helsinki. Also for the planing for the races I want to join for the autumn.

Thaks for reading, habibis!