I Lived With PRO Japanese Runners for 30 Days!

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Jake Barraclough, aka "Ran To Japan"
⚠️ Train Harder, Not Smarter.
🇬🇧 Documenting my life ‘on the run’ in Japan!
1 month, running over 1,000km in the mountains of Nagano, Japan’s Marathon Mecca. 1 house, 40 girls, 1 guy… ME! 😉

[@TwiinStar1224]

For me biking 1000km is a good month. Running it is next level. Kudos to you.

[@jacklafferty6654]

You've got phenomenal energy brother, keep it up. Your channel is such a good watch

[@GarrettHoltGolf]

Wish I found this channel before my Japan trip a few weeks back! Enjoying the content, keep at it.

[@matasgedziunas2720]

Insanely entertaining

[@edouarddoudounovic4230]

Brilliant journey to follow mate ! Keep going and hopefully a sponsor will knock on your door soon

[@RanToJapan]

Glad people are enjoying it 🙌 Let’s hope so… my shoe graveyard (& and bank account) can’t handle much more!

[@kevrunsascott]

Two of my favourite things.....running (despite being terrible at it) and Japan.....sold.

[@terciosantana4697]

for me, 3: running, japan and FOOD! love it! :D

[@kevrunsascott]

@ yeah same - far to much ha

[@Leeroy49]

Having someone run next to you is already value. No need to talk ;). Please get this man a shoe sponsorship :).

[@edwardaustin6410]

I really like your videos, really interesting and easy to listen to you. You sound knowledgeable and your commentary is infectious. Well done. Hope you get some brand sponsorship soon.

[@petermoysey5332]

Live your dream. Love your enthusiasm. I was like you as a youngster and am still almost have your zest for life and sport. Keep it up.

[@davidnewman7934]

Man I run 90-100 miles every week and thought I was high mileage hero. Everyone tells me to drop the mileage and focus on quality workouts so you're really inspiring me to crack up even more miles lol, thank you for enabling me... I've got a 16 minute 5k and plateauing, any recommendations on sessions? I normally do 80% of my miles under 150 HR (3:50-4:00 km pace)

[@RanToJapan]

@@davidnewman7934 another high mileage warrior… good man! 🦾 I think with the mileage the key is going eeeeasy on the easy days. Like most of my runs are at 4:30-5:00/km (7-8min/mi), often under 130 HR. But then when its session day it’s go big or go home! With that huge day-to-day variety I can still get quality sessions in while keeping the mileage up. Pretty much year-round some staples are 10x1k @10k pace (r=1min), alternating tempos 1k (or mile) @10k/HM pace, 1k steady and do 8-10 miles worth of that - gets you seriously strong! Plus a steady long run every week 🔑 Maybe give those sessions a go mate

[@davidnewman7934]

@@RanToJapan thanks for the reply man, New favourite channel will give it a go as its clearly working for you! Appreciate the insight thanks for taking the time to reply

[@cmanunes]

@davidnewman7934 apart from what @RanToJapan said about easy runs with low HR (Z1 very important for recovery) you'll also need to focus on specific sessions when you get close to your races. Something like this: - 10*30sec hill sprint(jog down recovery) - 6*(1km + 2min recovery) at race pace - 12*(400m + 90sec recovery) faster pace - 1600m(90sec off), 2*800m(60sec off), 4*400m(45sec off), 8*200m(30 sec off) from 10k to 5k, 3k, 1500m pace. This last one should be done when you're very close to your race and mimic what you'll face on race day. Another thing very important that was mentioned on the video and that a lot of athletes don't do is core and strength work. Lifting weights for endurance training (around 65% rep max) is very important. Start with 6-8 reps and each week increase 2 reps. When you get to 10-12 reps increase weight (usually 2.5 to 5 kg) and start again with 6-8 reps and increase. This will allow the body to adapt and avoid injury.

[@P.o.a.t.a.n]

could you please share your training routine

[@flocav6962]

Great stuff! Keep them coming 🎉

[@JJR-Running]

4:12 is definitely the highlight of this video 😂

[@iannovick]

The Japanese pretty much adhere to the Kenyan methodology. Start with 200 athletes, pound them into the dirt- race the 20 who don’t get career ending injuries

[@arceus54321]

a lot of what you said regarding the japanese running culture was covered in The Way of the Runner too. extrmely high mileage too early, very skinny bodies because they dont fuel enough, lack of sleep, etc. especially the part where running seems like a job. running should be taken seriously but for such young runners, it should also be seen as fun. i think those are some of the big negatives about the running culture in japan and why many runners never fulfill their potential after university (as Finn wrote in his book) and are stuck in injury perpetuity. Flotrack recently released two videos with the University of Colorado XC team and i watched that a few days ago so the contrast is pretty noticeable. but i enjoyed watching this video and your story about the camp. i get where 選び放題 is coming from but that's a weird thing to say about high schoolers 😆😅

[@RanToJapan]

I said they were all uni students & pro runners ahaha it’s all good! 😂 Finn’s book is what originally got me interested in Japan, great read! It was crazy seeing it first hand tho and there so many more aspects to the lifestyle that weren’t cover in the book (I guess cos he never actually managed to spend time with any elite teams). There are defo big positives and negatives to the Japanese system, it’s interesting for sure! I actually watched those flotrack vids too and yeah the western style is waaay more relaxed but I think some people could train harder and actually get more out of themselves like the Japanese do.

[@tobyk8125]

You've got the UK flag the wrong way up mate!

[@RanToJapan]

Wow, it was today that I discovered the flag could actually be upside down! 😂

[@stun5866]

I was just going to say the same thing but good to see it’s already been sorted 😂

[@villarmario]

I am truly amazed by such a big volume! As I saw in the video, you do little intensity training, and it is mainly zone 0-1 running?

[@RanToJapan]

I actually done use HR zones at all but go off pace/feeling. So a typical week would be 60% easy running (4:20-5:00/km), 25% steady (3:30-3:55/km), and 15% hard (under 3:20/km)

[@us4rnam4]

Amazing content, you should be sponsored by NASA with that mileage! keep going fast. In your opinion, what works better in long distance training, going by pace or heart rate?

[@RanToJapan]

Hahaa would that mean my race kit would have to be a spacesuit tho?! I’ve always gone off pace, never used HR but I think either can work

[@forgetful212]

This man needs a shoe sponsor bad. Somebody help him!

[@ericwonyongjo262]

I have never left any comments on any other KZbin channels but I had to leave one here. I also moved to Japan in June and left my job( unfortunately not for running). I am an amateur novice runner trying to dedicate more time on running here. Thank you for the great contents! Btw do you do any online coaching?

[@RanToJapan]

A debut comment, what an honour! Ay that’s cool that you made the move out here too. I actually just got asked that question earlier. It kinda seems like a bit of a cash grab, I’m very happy to answer anyone’s questions about training or offer advice but doesn’t feel right to charge for online coaching atm!

[@ericwonyongjo262]

@@RanToJapan A lot of athletes and coaches do that for their jobs. You will be sharing your talents and knowledge with amateur runners by helping them with structured and tailored plans. And I don’t think it will take too much of your time but will get you some extra cash. Let us know if you decide to give it a try! I will be very interested !

[@RanToJapan]

@@ericwonyongjo262 yeah true I see a lot of runners also coaching on the side. It’s not something I’ve properly considered before but I guess you never know in the future!

[@danvinten6954]

Cool, motivation for my marathon in Osaka 😅

[@TirnanHealy]

Enjoyed the video, especially the breakdown with sessions and mileage. Do you run most of your mileage in zone 1? It seems like you block similar types of workouts together in a week… so rather than (1 tempo + 1 Vo2 max, in a week), you would do either 2 tempo type workouts or 2 vo2 max workouts…. Is that correct?

[@RanToJapan]

Cheers for watching! Id say 60-80% of my weekly mileage is easy (4:20-5:00/km). Actually it’s more similar sessions blocked together during a training cycle. Like in the build up to Fukuoka marathon I did ~6 weeks of mainly just vo2 max sessions. Then the last 6 weeks has been mostly threshold work. Now in the marathon phase I’ll do a steady long run on Monday, threshold/faster reps on Wednesday, and marathon pace intervals/tempos on Saturday. So theres a fair bit of variety during the week, trying hit all the different zones

[@TirnanHealy]

@@RanToJapan thanks for clearing that up. So for improving my 5km time, is the key just run as much mileage as I can while focusing on having 2x vo2 max workouts a week and then after about a month switch it to 2x threshold? Or 1 of each?

[@RanToJapan]

@@TirnanHealy it massively depends on the individual, as you might respond better to different training from me. Like I’m all slow twitch muscle fibres and long tempos/intervals seems to work - I ran my 5k/10k PBs while in a marathon block doing absolutely no vo2 max stuff! But I do think for any distance high mileage should be a staple so maybe give that a go and experiment with different workouts (e.g. vo2 work, threshold, tempos, long intervals etc.) but try to keep it varied

[@TirnanHealy]

@@RanToJapan high mileage and two varied workouts a week, sounds sweet! Thanks again for the advice 👌🏻

[@derferd]

Great video! 🎉 What is your marathon goal for those races?

[@RanToJapan]

Thanks man! For Fukuoka Marathon probably around 2:12/13 but won’t know for sure til I’m deep into the marathon block 💪

[@derferd]

@@RanToJapan good luck! You will make it :)

[@joejackson6146]

dope vid

[@arceus54321]

also jake, this is something i commented on sota's video with you and im just going to copy and paste it here because im interested in your thoughts. "you think a 5k/10k block would be beneficial for jake in upping the vo2 max? i've been following jake for maybe the past year now on strava and i rarely see him do any 5k type work. even in this video he mentions he's been doing more speed work (reps no longer than 2k) but in the 7x2k workout, he's doing it at HM pace which roughly translates to threshold pace. threshold pace isnt really speed work. so if 3:05(ish) is his threshold, wouldnt 800m-1000m reps at 2:55/km (VO2 max effort) or even 400m repeats around 63-65 (anaerobic work) be solid for building his vo2 max? renato canova has talked about how a fast 10k is important for the marathon because if you're a fast 10k runner, the marathon pace isncomparison feels very slow. just my 2 cents and something i noticed from watching this video and the 7x2k video. i know jake has run a sub30 10k before but i dont know if he's dedicated 12 weeks to pure 5k/10k speed." i follow guys like rory linkletter, conner mantz and clayton young on strave/youtube and they do a decent amount of work under and around that 2:55/km mark. thats where my thinking came from

[@RanToJapan]

So I actually spent the first 6-8 weeks after Gold Coast doing exactly that, like a real 5k focus with 2:50-2:55/km pace reps. Then I transitioned to threshold work when I went on this training camp. Now I’ll move into marathon stuff so hopefully that speed foundation will make a difference 💪

[@TarZanIQ]

i feel like too much work at 5k pace wouldn't be sustainable at his mileage and would be more diminishing returns

[@RanToJapan]

@@TarZanIQ yeah I’ve never really responded well to vo2 max work. I used to do a lot in the past and ran way slower over 5k/10k. Actually all my PBs are from during a massive marathon block so that seems to work best!

[@General1Cal]

Back in my army days you ran past the point of being able to talk but singing

[@kerrymckay7885]

You dawg!

[@CostamanhaLab]

Do you use your phone or a smaller camera? Thanks for the fun videos (Y)

[@RanToJapan]

Insta360 camera - it’s tiny so ideal for running!

[@rinbox002]

will you ever make a video on how you built up to the mileage that you are running?

[@RanToJapan]

Yhh for sure, I’ll talk more about my running journey in the upcoming vids and at some point I’ll do a full vid about my injury prevention routine to survive the mega mileage!

[@rinbox002]

@@RanToJapan amazing, looking forward to it. I want to know the way of the speedophile

[@JapesZX]

I thought I was the only one who found onsens boiling hot. The first one I took a dip in was at 41 °C I think? I couldn't take it. LOL 39 is pushing it. 38 is just about perfect. I tried multiple times to stay at the hotter temps but it just doesn't get any more comfortable.

[@RanToJapan]

Yeah it’s too much for me! I don’t mind hot baths in Europe but the Japanese ones are next level ‼️

[@angejo5591]

Niceeee

[@슬라임월드.슬라임세]

During your stay in Japan, come to Korea when you have time. There is a marathon culture in here Korea that is different from Japan.

[@RanToJapan]

Oh for sure, I really wanna visit Korea at some point soon. Looks very cool (and such an easy flight from Tokyo!)

[@riverwood_creations]

As a white man who has covered some distance in Japan before, I totally understand the looks 😂 I felt like I was doing something wrong…

[@MuhamedNifal]

Hey can you tell me the techniq or how to breath our speed running?? i need to increace my speed what i do?? 🙃

[@RanToJapan]

I’ve never thought about breathing or technique! For me, I got quicker by just running more mileage (mostly easy pace but with some v hard sessions) 💪

[@estebanwingate960]

my life wouldve also peaked at that homestay LOL

[@MoreRice514]

I noticed all lots shoes in many of your videos are vomero 17, i have them too but what makes you use them so much instead of other brands and models?

[@RanToJapan]

They’re pretty cheap, fit well, and are just a solid easy run shoe. I’ve worn vomero for ages and they seem to work well

[@Joseph-ns2pl]

Love the videos! What % of your runs are in carbon plated shoes?

[@RanToJapan]

Cheers! Long run + both sessions so 3 out of 14 runs in a week

[@Joseph-ns2pl]

@rantojapan thank you!

[@katharinaschneiderr]

Where do I sign up for this experience omg

[@RanToJapan]

Ahah I’m afraid this program is only open to Brits… I got very lucky!

[@NickLAmoreaux]

Are ultramarathons popular in Japan? Their popularity is growing in the US like crazy.

[@RanToJapan]

Running in general is so popular here but ultras are nothing compared to half/full marathons in Japan

[@NickAtkins]

Let's be real. How is this working out? There isn't a single Japanese runner in contention in anything

[@luciferotto]

Fr

[@laurencharltonn]

Is there a lot of walking involved in your typical day to day life?

[@RanToJapan]

Not a tonne, I try to rest my legs between runs!

[@dokutaaguriin]

選びほうだい。。。笑笑笑笑！