Date: 13/11/12

Today was the day for the YIS Cross Country Day. It had been 11 weeks since I set out my goal of getting 10th place in the Cross Country Race however I was injured that day and sadly could not compete. It was a not the best way to end my goal, as what I wanted to finish 10th place and was not able to even try. Although I did want to try to achieve my goal, I was not dejected about it as I knew the efforts I took to try and reach my goal were tremendous and I was really glad that I was able to put as much energy and persistence to reach my goal and that even if I was not able to reach my goal in the end, it was really the sacrifices and the constant work that I put in that allowed me achieve my goal, not that single run.

Learning Targets

I set out to attain 10th place at the YIS Cross Country run this year and try to improve my overall time and fitness during my running.

Description of the Learning Experience

All of my runs have been documented in the GCD Personal Goal category and have been titled according to the number of Weeks since I began the project.

Learning Outcome

I learned an enormous amount from trying to achieve my goals and trying to run each week. Firstly, I improved my fitness and my running time hugely and by running at least thrice a week during Cross Country season helped my learn to be persistent and keep on working on my goal. I was also able to better reflect on my weakness during running and constantly tried to initiate new ways to help my running. I was very weak at running down hills, but during Cross Country seasons, I learned to work on running down hills more and by running every week, I became more at ease and better at running down hills during runs.

Inquiry

If I could do this project once more, I would have focused on trying to keep up with running after Cross Country was over. After the activity, Cross Country had finished, I could not keep up with running every time each week and became more and more relaxed about skipping runs. I think that I should have been more persistant and continued running because I became less fit when I stopped running regularly.

9/10/12

Todays run was quite a tiring run, as I was not feeling very well today. We had a course in which we had to run up a steep hill twice, and I found that in my condition, it was quite a challenge. I numerously found myself gasping for air, and I could sense that I was not in the right condition to continue
running. However, I wanted to end my run really well, as it as something I was trying to work on these couple weeks, and I tried to overcome my pains. I was quite pleased that I was able to persevere with my running, and finish the course and run strongly. I was however altered to the health of my body, and was made more aware that I shouldn’t try to push myself too hard. Today was an example of how I pushed too hard on myself, and that I should try to accomplish things within my limits. Overall, it was a tiring and challenging run, as I felt pain and strains on my body. I think that next time, I should consider the condition my body is in before running, as this is a very important part of staying fit, and knowing your limitations. I will make sure I am ready for every run from today, and make sure I stay safe and healthy by knowing what my limitations are on my body.

11/10/12

Today we had a short run before the big run on Saturday, and to make sure we wouldn’t wear ourselves too much. We had to run a course that consisted of running up a hill for 4 times back and forth. This was seen as an ideal way to prepare for the hill we have to run during the course on Saturday. During this run, I wanted to see if I could try to run as long as I can at a steady pace. I tried the plan of running down the hill slowly and recuperate enough energy to run at a steady pace up the hill. The plan was a very good plan, as I was able to run at a steady pace up the hill and at the same time I was able to keep my energy when was running down the hill so that I can use it when I ran up the hill. However, after running the course for the 3^rd  time, I was very tired and realized I needed to focus on my fitness to help my run up hills. At the end of the run, I was quite satisfied with myself but knew that I had to improve my fitness in order to have a good stamina and so that I would be able run up hills for a longer time. I will try to improve my fitness by going for a run frequently so that I will slowly improve my fitness levels.

13/10/12

Today was the Kanto Plains Cross Country Finals. It was a day were runners who had finished 1^st,2^nd and 3^rd as well as the School which had the most points were to be rewarded. However, the overall course of the run was no different to other days. The runners were also divided for this special occasion, and I was classed into JV High School Boys. All of the other High School boys were classed into the Varsity High School Boys race. As usual, I wanted to try to begin strongly and keep a steady pace throughout the run. I wanted to improve on running up the hill as well, as it was a key flaw in my run. I began the race quite disappointingly, as I had not warmed up well before the run. I began to feel weary and tired at the beginning of the race, and I was worried if I could finish the race in its entirety. However, I kept on trying to run, and my body slowly adjusted to the pace that I was trying to run at. I was quite satisfied with my run up the hill, as I kept a good speed and I did not stop running. When I was nearly about to complete the race, I wanted to finish strongly. I began to think about where I would begin to sprint, and when I was about to see the other runners who had finished, I began to sprint. I was satisfied with my finish, as I had completed what I set out to do. I received 34^th place, which I was very proud of, as I have never received a place that high. Overall, I thought that it was a terrific race for me, as I finished well, kept a steady pace and was able to run up the hill without getting sapped full of energy. If there was something I need to work on, it was my start. Again, I began the race poorly, and I think that this is an aspect of my run that I need to work upon.

It’s the final week until Cross Country Day at school and I am really happy about my progress over the few couple months. Evere since August I have been running for some time and I can really see how the effort has been paid off. Now I can really run much better and can run much longer distances.

My only concern was the past few weeks. Ever since Cross Country season has ended, I have somehow stopped running for some time. This has caused some concern as I felt that I was not as fit as before Cross Country season. This has made me wonder if I cannot achive my goals at the Cross Country Day due to my sudden decline near the end of my Personal Goal. However, I did try to squeeze as much running and sports into my day to make sure I had enough time and fitness to get ready for Cross Country Day.

Date: 11/11/12

After a few weeks of not running, I wanted to try to run so that I could get more fit today. I wanted to see how fit I was and to make sure I could run the Cross Country Race well. I firstly started a quick job and was quite content with my progress. I had a difficult time starting off my run but as I continued I became more and more relaxed with my run and got into a good pace. I ran falt mainly and tried to really work on stamina and fitness during this particular run as I had not run in quite a long time and I thought this was something that I would have lost over that course of the time. It was a very pleasant run and I was quite happy with my fitness levels but did realize that I had to make a timetable for myself to ensure I run every week. Near the end of the run I noticed pain in my leg, and after a while could not run anymore as the pain was too insufferable. So I had to end my run a bit shorter than I would have liked.

I think that I should keep up running even when Cross Country seasons is done to make sure I have a constant sport that I am preforming.

Date: 2/10/12

Today I ran the cardiac course, which consists of around roughly 7.9 Km. As this is the longest course that the Cross Country team had to offer, I thought that this course would allow me to improve on my stamina and my mental strength. I began the run at a steady pace, and continued at this pace for the following 3 Km. After I had ran around 3.5 Km, I decided to put more effort and speed into my run, and consequently, I was able to run at a faster but better pace. I tried to continue this at until the end of the run, and I was quite happy that I was able to keep up a good effort. However, I did realize that I did not have a very efficient run, as I would tire easily and I had to try very hard to try to keep up with the group. I think that I need to try to develop a much more efficient way of running, or a style a running to help my stamina and my overall run. I also found that I had difficulty running up a hill ruing the course, but I think that if I become much more mentality strong, I will be able to run up hills very quickly and without any struggles. I think that the main obstacle in Cross Country is your own mind, and I think that if your are able to get the better of that obstacle, running will become much more easy. In this case, your mindset becomes very negative when running up and hill but I believe that if you can change that mindset and make it a much more positive mindset, you can easily run up the hill without any struggles. I was also quite pleased that I have begun to improve upon areas of weakness in my run, such as stamina and mentality, and I think that it represents that I have steadily improved, like all of my Cross Country team, throughout the season.  I found that It was a very positive run for me today, and I look to work on as many faults in my run as the season comes to a finish in the next two weeks.

Date: 3/10/12

Today, because of the rain, many members did not show up and so we had a very short run. However, I did try to work on key weaknesses in my run that still need improvement. The main weakness I wanted to work on is my start. Throughout this season, my bad starts have stopped me from attaining my goals, since I regularly have to catch up or get used to running at a good pace. Most of the times, I place too much effort into my starts and become tired, and sometimes I have a bad pace and have to try to change it in order to continue to run comfortably. Today, I tried running at a good pace, but at a fast speed as well. I was quite pleased that I was able to accomplish this, and I hope than I will try to implement this technique in each of my upcoming runs. I also tried to put as much effort throughout my run as possible, and I was very happy with my performance. However, I think that the lack of inclines and the fact that it was raining may have played a part in my stamina today. I also tried to work on my finish, and wanted to try and sprint the last few meters. I accomplished this, but I think that timing was crucial in a real race and that I began sprinting much too early, and this meant that I was tiring near the end. I was also happy with my time, which was not very different to the other times I have on the same course, which are around 26 minutes. I was quite pleased with the effort I made today, but would also like to work on finishing  my run well to ensure that I will be able to get under 20 during the YIS Cross Country Meet.

Date: 4/10/12

Today was the last run for the week, since we had not Saturday run as it had been cancelled due to SAT testing. Seeing as this was the case, I decided to work extra hard during this run to make up for this lost race. The cross country team ran a very rigorous course today, which consisted of running up and down a hill for around 4 times. It was a very difficult run today, as I was not at ease and used to running up and down hills. Even though I was able to run the course 4 times, I still felt that I struggled a lot during this run, and that I was very tired at the end showed me that running hills is something I need to work on. I will try to work on my incline running, and try to learn from my mistakes to ensure that all aspects of my running are to a high standars. Even though I was quite dissatisfied by my performance today, I will find mistakes in this run and work on them. The next time I run hills, I can implement what I have learned and get a better time and performance.

Date: 25/09/12

Todays , in preparation for the last few weeks of the Kanto Plains  Cross Country, we began to run up hills and improve our endurance on elevations. We practiced this run because during the Kanto Plains cross country run, there is a large hill we need to run up against. In order to help us improve our speeds and endurance  on this part of the run, we practiced running hills as a way for our bodies to get used to running up. I found that this was not my strong aspect of my run, as I continuously struggled to run up the hill very fast and had to really strive to get to the top. I found that I was  using up all my energy before running the hill, and so I was tried the moment I needed to put all my effort into running up the incline. After two laps of running the hill, I found that keeping a regular pace was a struggle, since I had no more energy left for running. However, once I finished running up the hill, I tried to focus on continuing to run and forcing myself to keep a regular pace and not begin jogging  I found that I was able to continue to run at a regular pace and that I had become much more mentally stronger than at the start of Cross Country. I found that this was a good run for me as I was able to challenge myself to continue running even though I was tired, but I need to improve on running up the hill. I think that I will try to use the strong aspects of my run, my mentality, as a way to gain an advantage during cross country. However, I will strive to work and improve my weaknesses, like running up the hill, so that I become a more complete cross country runner with strengths in all areas of running.

Date: 26/09/12

Today was a regular run for me, as the cross country team ran its regular run, which was about 2.1 Km. I continued to work on my main weakness, pace and stamina, to ensure that I am ready for the Kanto Plains Cross Country event. I found that I still struggled on maintaining a good pace, however I found promising signs that It was improving. I was able to run with as much effort as possible for a longer time and distance, which was something I could not before. Apart from that, I mainly worked on my strengths and weaknesses and ensured that I gave as much effort as possible so that I could learn and improve much more from this practice run. I was also able to  run much faster than before, and I wish to work on that part of my run as much as I can.

Date: 27/09/12

The course of the run that was chosen today allowed me to emphasize on my running hills as well as how to maintain a continuous pace throughout all the race. These two components of running are the two major components I need to work on, so I was relieved to know that we would be given an opportunity to work on these components during our run. I worked on running up the hill, and I was glad that I was able to keep a steady but relatively quick pace on the  incline of the hill. I was also quite pleased, but noted that I do need to improve, my pace throughout the run. I was able to maintain a quick steady pace throughout most of my run, and I was quite happy with that. However, i did find that I did not give all my effort during the run, and this is something I will try to work on during the later runs. I feel that over the last few weeks, I have been able to identify faults in running, which has allowed me to work on components of my run which are the weakest.

Date: 29/09/12

Today was the day of the Kanto Plains Cross Country, and I was quite happy but at the same time concerned with my run. I was quite happy that I was able to receive 50th place, which is one of the top places that I have received this season. I was also happy that I was able to maintain a steady pace through most of the run, but my start is something I need to work on. Although I did try to improve it, my run during beginning of the race was not very approving. I knew that the start is the place where I need the most drastic improvements, so I worked on it during the practice runs , but I still seem to struggle. I think that I really need to have a fine start to the race to ensure that I will achieve my goals, but at the moment this is something I struggle to get. Although I did struggle at the beginning, I soon was able to keep up a secure pace, and I was able to run up the hill keeping the same pace, though I did have trouble continuing to run near the top of the hill. I think that I will need to work on finishing well on hills, to make sure I do not use up all my energy when going up hills or inclines.

Date: 18/09/12

Today was quite a difficult run for us as we had to run “A Cardiac Run”, which consisted of running around 8 Km. It was quite a challenge for me, as I had never actually ran as far as that but i always tried to run at a steady pace like always. At the beginning, we began running on flat ground for around 2 Km, and this was the part I found the most tiring. Trying to keep up with the rest of the runners while also trying to retain a good pace was not an easy thing for me to accomplish, but I was proud that I was able to run most of the way and keep up with the runners.  The other difficult aspect  that I was trying to keep up with was the mental aspect. The fact that I did not know how far I had to keep running was very difficult for me, as I repeatedly wanted to stop and walk the distance. However, I persisted with my running, and was able to meet up with the rest of the runners at the end of the 2 Km.  After this flat 2 Km, we had to run up a lengthy hill which finished at the around 4/10s of the final distance. The hill was not very steep or high, but the sheer endlessness of the hill made my very tired and I really had to persist and keep on trying to run. Once, at the top of the hill, the difficulty was trying to find our way around the area, as well as running around sharp roads and uneven ground, which made my use up of my strength. After running through that area, I made it back to school district, and had to give myself the last few efforts to make it to school without walking. I finished the run, and It made me realize that my endurance was a critical competent of my run. My endurance had to improve as I felt exhausted at only 4/10′s of he run, and my run was quite difficult. I now know that to ensure that I am able to attain my aims, I will need to work on endurance and fitness.

Date: 19/09/12

Today we had a less physically demanding run due to the fact that we had just run cardiac the day before. For this run, I had run slower than what my time usually was during this run. After a couple of times running this specific course, I have frown accustomed to it and I think that this has helped me a lot during my Cross-Country. Since I know my course better, I know when to run faster or where the difficult hill is  and so on and so forth. It has really helped me improve as a runner since I always try to get a better time on the same course and try to go past my limits. Although I did not reach this aim today, I did learn than Cross-Country was not only about running but also about beating your personal goals and if you stick to the same course, you will improve you running hugely.

Date: 22/09/12

Today was a Kanto Plains Cross Country day, and like always I wanted to try to beat my previous time. In the previous race I had received 79th place, so I wanted to try and go beyond this number. When I began the race, I instantly felt unsteady and did not feel comforttable with running, but it soon subsided and I tried my best to keep on running at a good pace.I tried to keep up with the rest of the group but yet again, I became much too tired, and too fast so I think I was not able to run at my full energy today. Although I did try to push myself when running up the hill during the course, i think that I did not have the best run since I did not push as much effort into my run as I wanted to. Near the end of the race, I tried my best to run as fast as I can but I wasn’t able to make up for my lost time, and I actually only beat my time by a few seconds. My goal before the race was to beat my time and place, but I think that it was insufficient to be very significant. I ended coming 69th which was a large improvement from before, and this was something that I think I need to take take encouragement in. Overall, i think that I need to apply what I have been doing in my runs on school days during the Cross Country races to ensure I can be able to attain the aims I have set for myself.

During this week, I had been given a 3 day weekend, with Friday being the day to have off from school. Using this opportunity I had, I was able to go to the gym, something that I had been wanting to do in order to keep up with my fitness for Cross Country.  I was able to run on the Friday and the day after that run for the Kanto Plains Cross Country. Although the week has not been finished, I wanted to write this early journal entry to try to look back on what I should improve in my run.

Date: 14/09/12

I was really happy during this run since I had smashed my previous personal best. I had never made it near 254 calories so I felt really joyful afterwards. I was really happy since I tried to maintain a constant seed and I managed to do so for around 12 mins. This is what I determine is the main aspect of Cross Country running; maintaining a steady run. I tried also to work on my finish, and I hope all this work will help me in my areas of improvement. I was able to run a record distance of 5.19 Km which I think will test me a lot. I found out though I had very hard time trying to maintain a speed, due to my fitness. However,my only issue is running outdoors, as the temperature and the mental aspect of running in cross country is an aspect which I have to  get over.

Cross Country

Date: 15/09/12

This cross country run was not the greatest run I was able to do. Before beginning, I felt pains and found that it was quite difficult for me to run without feeling very sore. I felt very unsure whether I would be able to accomplish my goals during this cross country run. During the run, i tried my best to get a steady speed, but I ran too fast at the beginning of the race, as I was worried about my run, so i pushed myself a little too much. This meant that for most the of the rest of the race, I was not at my steady speed. I arrived in 79th place and I learned many things during this run to help enhance my running. Firstly, I now know that I should begin slow, and try to work on my run instead of focusing on running fast. I also now learned to try to maintain a regular pace, and try more frequent exercises before the race to ensure that I didn’t feel too painful during my runs.

Date: 13/09/12

During this week, I participated in my first Kanto Plains Cross Country run. During this run, we were not able to use any electronic devices to record our times or speed but I did know that I came in at 57th place. During this run, I was particular about running at a constant speed and I tried to keep a regular speed throughout my run. This was accomplished and I felt that it was a key factor in my running. I also remarked that I need to improve on my finish as well as my downhill runs. When I neared the finish line, I was planning to run towards it but was not able to due to my fatigue. During the next race, I will try to reserve some energy so that I can run at a hastier speed near the end. I also need to improve on my downhill run, as I was constantly trying to run too fast, and did sometimes I made it very hard for me to continue running. Overall, I found that this was a great start to my Cross Country running, and I hope that I can work hard on my faults.

First Run: 09/09/12

This was my first run after the cross country run. As you can see, I tried running for around 25 mins, but I went pass that mark. I was running in an unfamiliar place, as I tried to work on my running from yesterdays race. I was not able to constantly run, as I did not properly warm up before I began my run. This being the case, I did try to run for a long distance, and try to keep a regular pace. Overall, I did not do as good as I wanted during this run, which I think was due to the fact that I did not put as much effort to it. For my next run, I will try to ensure that I am 100% ready to run, to make sure that a run like this doesn’t occur once more.

Second Run:

Date: 12/09/12

For this run, I prepared well and made sure I was 100% fit to run. I was quite happy with the speed at which I ran. During this specific run, I tried wats to speed myself up as well as try to keep myself ready to sprint at any time. This was something I tried to accomplish, and I tried my best to achieve those goals. During run, I ran at a constant speed, which by now is something I am still not completely accomplishing, as I slip between fast and slow speeds during my runs. However, I tried to sprint during the last few 300 metres, and felt disappointed that I was not able to sprint for a further 100 metres. To help with my Cross Country, I will try as hard as I can to make sure I still have energy to use, in case I would like to keep a constant speed.

Date: 6/7/12

For the last week, I have been trying to get confortable with the temperature and the mental aspect of running outdoors. For most of the part, I have run outside of school with the Cross Country team. For the last three practices, I have noted down my times, calories burns, miles run, average speed and number of steps.

Below is the data I have collected, using a application that can detect these things during my run.

First Run:

This data shows that I had run for around 35 mins. It also shows the average speed of 3.1 mph or 5 km/h. The distance I ran was around 3 km. I was really pleased about this run, as I did not stop throughput the run and I also ran further than I would have usually ran.

Second Run:

During this run, I found it was a quite difficult run from the last run I had done due to the elevation which was much steeper this time. Instead of running for a long time on relatively plain ground, the cross country team practiced running on the hills, to help us run faster when we are running uphill. I found that it was quite a challenge for me, as I found that I could not maintain a steady speed. I hope to improve on this performance in order to be competitive in cross country.

Overall, I found that these two runs made me realize what I am good at and what I need to work on. I hope that I will increase my speed when running on hills, and make sure that I keep a steady pace throughout my runs.

Date: 2/9/12

Over the past 2 weeks,I have been trying to improve my fitness so that I would be able to reach my goal of getting less that 20th place at the YIS Cross Country. I have mainly focused on running in the gym, on a treadmill for 30 mins, but during the last week I also participated in Cross Country. I decided the take part in Cross Country as a extra-curricular activity because I knew that running in the gym was not enough to get to my desired goal. While running in the gym did help my stamina, it did not pit me against the conditions I would be running in, e.g the hot weather and mental aspect of running the whole race. I included the mental aspect part since I believe it forms an significant aspect of cross country. When I mean mental aspect, I mean the ability to keep on running even though you still have a few kilometres to go and not stopping. When I am in the gym, I cannot really have this mentality, as I am always in the same position, but when I am running outside, you can see the distances you have to run, and you have to keep on going, even though your body is tying to give up.

These are the last few results I have obtained from these 2 weeks.

Day 1 of First Week:

From this data, you can see that I bruned 207.0 kcal or calories during my 30 mins run. Although it is not visible from this photograph, I also ran for around 4.05 KM in that 30 mins span. During this run, I tried to keep a constant speed and I would try to keep running at 8.4 KM/h for around 15 mins and then change the speed again. My only concern during this run was the fact that I was slowing down at the end, and was running at around 7 Km/h. I will try to improve this aspect of my run, so that I can end my runs on a strong note.

Day 2 of First Week:

This data showcases the massive improvement of my run from Day 1. As you can see, I bruned more calories than before ay 235.5 kcal but I also was able to run at a higher speed for a longer time. Instead of the speed of 8.4 KM/h, I as able to run 2 KM/h faster than that, and I was able to run longer, as I ran that constant speed  for around 25 mins. The only concern was the finish, that I have still not improved on. Yet again, I was not able to finish well, and I was slowed a lot down near the end of the 30 mins.

Day 3 of Second Week:

 Data shows how much the calorie count has improved over the last few days. I was able to get a very high calorie count this time, but lower than Day 2′s, and this was  due to a very  constant speed at which I ran. I also started the run very fast, beginning at 8.0 KM/h when I would usually begin at around 6 or 7 KM/h to get used to the speed. I was more at ease at the start, which I think was the reason for my stamina during this run. I also was able to  keep on running near the very end, and was very joyful that I was able to finish the run at a good pace, as I would most likely have slowed down. I still will work on trying to keep at good speed, and get used to it, so I will be able to run for a extended period during Cross Country.