Stockholm Halvmarathon '09

The one obligatory half-marathon for 2009 is now behind and the feelings are quite mixed. On one hand the entire trip to Stockholm was great and the run was good. But on the other hand I missed my target time by 21 seconds. It may seem like nothing when we're talking about a 21 kilometer run, but it's annoyingly close. Had the difference been many minutes, that would've been easier. Now I can't help but start thinking that had I in fact been just a bit faster at the drinking stops I would've been able to go under two hours. But oh well, such is life. And here's some statistics about the run (from the HR monitor, so the time is slightly different):

• Duration: 2 hours, 0 minutes, 28 seconds
• HR (average): 179
• HR (peak): 187
• Energy: 2553 kcal

And then the times that the organizers recorded for me:

Distance	Total time	Lap time	Pace
5km	0.27.17	27.17	5.27/km
10km	0.54.52	27.34	5.30/km
15km	1.23.42	28.50	5.46/km
20km	1.53.56	30.13	6.02/km
Finish	2.00.21	6.24	5.50/km

Overall it's somewhat difficult for me to analyze what the issues were. I guess one thing that can be derived from the numbers is that I started faster again and then slowed down towards the end instead of being able to run with an increasing speed. But then again, there was only one point in the run when I actually felt really tired and that was around the 18km mark (the 17-18km part took me 6:18.7, according to my own measurements). Besides that, the run was quite decent, but I couldn't have gone any faster. So in this respect I'm somewhat satisfied with my run. Next time the target time is 1.55.00...

Decision making and the recession

The recession seems to have finally hit pretty close to home. While coming back from Sunday's training I swung by the store to pick up some food and for the first time during my time in Lauttasaari I was met with a slightly sad situation. In front of me in the queue was a woman who was purchasing a couple of ciders and a salad. It turned out that her bank balance wasn't too good as her debit card got rejected twice. After the first rejection she removed one cider from her purchases. After the second rejection she returned the cider back and just removed the salad. Apparently getting alcohol is more important than eating.

Krav Maga

I recently took up a new hobby to support my quest in improving my physique: Krav Maga. The choice may seem somewhat strange when it is reflected against my previous hobbies of choice: yoga, golf, fencing, tennis, long-distance running, etc. It's actually quite exhilarating to try something entirely new again; the rest of the people practicing Krav Maga don't fit into the typical group of people who I've met in conjunction with my other hobbies.

So, why Krav Maga? Well, I've always been drawn to a certain level of pragmatism: I want things to work and be as efficient as possible. One of the key issues that I had with fencing was that it just felt a little bit silly, like I was restricted by something artificial. Why should I have to respect the right of way if the point is to kill the other combatant? Why can I only hit the torso? This elaborates why I was very quick to move on from foil and try épée instead. Nonetheless, regardless of how much I want to live in the times that have already passed, I have to admit that cross-training with other methods is a necessity that can't be circumvented. Thus Krav Maga: a seemingly very simple and efficient method of self defense, which focuses not on form but on the ultimate endgame -- survival.

This actually illustrates a very relevant point: in the search for efficiency, simplicity rules. But simplicity isn't a silver bullet. Nor is it as restrictive as it may sound. In golf one of the most common problems that many people have is that their back swing isn't efficient: it's hindranced by all types of extra maneuvers, which don't belong in the swing and just increase complexity and chances for things to go wrong. The same is true for punches: even the most basic of punches, the straight punch, isn't as intuitive as people think. It is simple, but you have to get your head around to the fact that you don't swing your arm. Instead you punch directly at the target and then retract your arm into a protective position again. Simple. Elegant. Efficient. It serves a purpose and does so efficiently...