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Prime symbols for minutes and seconds

— Posted in Sport by

So, when I was still on Strava, I quite often saw fellow runners notate interval times using prime symbols instead of writing down 'sec' or 'min'. Although you might think it efficient, or simply cool looking, I always get a bit confused by it. However, I sometimes find myself using these symbols just to keep my running log from expanding too much.

Just as a quick reminder, I'll list the use of prime symbols for time below, together with some examples.

  • Single prime for minutes
    • 3*5′@MP (3 times 5 minutes at Marathon Pace)
  • Double prime for seconds
    • 20*30″@i4 (20 times 30 seconds at intensity level 4)
  • Combining minutes and seconds
    • 5*3′30″@i3 (5 times 3 minutes and 30 seconds at intensity level 4; I would rather just write 3:30 here, by the way)

If you find primes hard to find on your keyboard, you can just use quotes of course, as in 3*5'@MP.

I got my information from Wikipedia. The relevant page offers a line that actually pretty much sums up what you need to know.

Primes are sometimes used to indicate minutes, and double primes to indicate seconds of time, as in the John Cage composition 4′33″ (spoken as "four thirty-three"), a composition that lasts exactly 4 minutes 33 seconds. This notation only applies to duration, and is seldom used for durations longer than 60 minutes. (source: Wikipedia)

There's some useful information in this StackExchange thread as well.

Thanks for reading!

My First Ultra

— Posted in Sport by

Last Sunday I ran a distance beyond the marathon for the first time, one of the reasons being the frustration of having almost completed a tough training plan just when the marathon of Rotterdam got cancelled. Given the pandemic, I do understand and fully support this decision, of course, but it still sucks.

Trying an ultra-distance I didn't feel like racing on my own, because I do like having other runners around to group up with, keep each other out of wind et cetera, so I decided to try an ultra distance – a 50K, at long run pace, so around 4:30 per kilometer. Below you'll see the route.

enter image description here

It was a weird experience, running beyond 42K and especially doing it without other runners or people along the sides of the roads. Luckily, my wife was crazy enough to accompany me on her bike and provide me with support, drinks and, near the end, some small foods.

How it felt The only thing I regret is wearing Hoka Clifton's. Of course, they are made for long runs, but the toebox is so narrow that 35K may still be okay (I've worn them for most of my long runs), but not for more than that. I already felt chafing at 10K and I had two major blisters afterwards, while I actually never really have any blister issues.

enter image description here

During the run, there were the usual emotions: first 20K were fun, from 20 to 30K I felt okay, from 30 to 35K I was fed up with it, and from 35K onwards it was okay again, apart from the wind that got stronger and stronger. Hitting 42K I felt good until 47K and at that time, I just didn't want to run anymore. Of course, I kept on going, keeping cadence high and pace steady, but it felt like it cost a lot of energy. Which it probably did. Hitting 50K was a milestone, of course, and doing a 2K cooling-down felt okay, so mission accomplished.

Conclusion Would I do it again? Well, a 50K I'd do again, but only in an organised race, I think. And wearing different shoes, of course.

Running metronome MP3's

— Posted in Sport by

It's been a while since I posted anything here. A lot has happened running-wise, most importantly of course cancellations, like the cancellation of the Rotterdam Marathon, due to the corona virus.

I'd like to focus here on something else however. I've created a simple page with downloadable metronome MP3 files, ranging from 170 to 200 BPM. Each MP3 is an hour long and can be looped in your favourite player.

enter image description here Photo by Steve Harvey on Unsplash

Although everyone can generate metronomes using Audacity, I thought it would be handy for others to be able to just download lengthy metronome MP3's. They're great to use when working on your cadence and technique.

If you're interested, the files are free of course and can be found on https://www.reuneker.nl/files/metronome. Enjoy!

Choose your moustache wisely

— Posted in Sport by

What a great page by Runner's World's Nick Weldon: 'The Best Running Facial Hair of All-Time'.

enter image description here Image from Runner's World

I don't have much to add, but if you're planning a race and you want to run with some style, be sure to check it out at Runner's World.

The Jericho Mile

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The Jericho Mile is a tv movie from 1979, in which a man is in Folsom prison – for life. He's not interested in anything other than running and gets scouted by a running coach. After a tragic situation (no spoiler here!) he tries to qualify for the olympics.

enter image description here Still from The Jericho Mile, taken from IMDB. Copyright the respective owner.

The movie is some forty years old and it shows, but apart from that, the movie is great. I sometimes feel not all actors are up to speed, and the dialogues sometimes feel a bit forced, but overall, it's a great watch. The movie did win an Emmy Award, so it's by no means an obscure, unknown movie. A bit forgotten nowadays, I guess.

Oh, something else – The Rolling Stones' Sympathy for the Devil plays at just the right moments in this movie.

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