Gut Health and Running Performance

 What you defecate is directly related to your running performance.

Online Running Coach Fatih Buzgan

You might have heard that our intestines are our 2nd brain, true.

If your GI system doesn't work well, it affects your ability to digest food and absorb the nutrients well. This condition causes even mental retardation through malnutrition! You don't want to lose your abilities about creative thinking, right? Read on.

You know we have bacteria in our intestines, both good and bad. Bad ones cause bad things in simple terms, but good ones do good things regards our health. So we better keep them play in the game!

I wouldn't be able to win Dalyan Caretta Run Half Marathon race, if I had diarrhea then

Constipation

If we're constipated, we can't get rid of the by-products and the toxins within our bodies and they stay within us! You don't want that to happen, right?

There're countless reasons for constipation. Here are a few of them that are worth to mention;

1) Bad partner/spouse

2) Negative energy (through "friends", tv, social media, newspaper, colleagues etc)

3) High consumption of simple carbohydrates

4) Lack of fiber in your nutrition

5) Inadequate liquid consumption

6) Low magnesium (Due to a diet high in refined carbs))

7) Low serotonin levels due to stress factors I listed above and lack of some positive energy sources

8) Staying on the couch or not having an active life (as running only twice a week and beefing around for the other 5 days)

You may see me running with a disturbed gut in my 2:45h Leipzig marathon performance, instead of running it in 2:39h. Lessons taken.

Diarrhea

If you've diarrhea, you're doomed. You run out of gas, I mean the fuel. Imagine that you've a Ferrari with no battery, it's useless. You can't show off anyone with an immobile sports car :) You've got the idea.

Diarrhea, cause loss of your valuable minerals that should be your bloodstream. Those are also called electrolytes, your electricity substances. If you've diarrhea, you've no electricity in your body! No proper nutrient absorption, no benefit obtained from those organic expensive foods, alas!

I've been coaching athletes at any level from all around the world and this is what I initially share with them. Eat healthy foods, stay away from negative energy, feed your good bacteria down there in your body!

All these apply to living a healthy life, aside from being an athlete as well. So, it's better to keep these in mind and live according :)

Have a great running time everyone!

Feel free to contact me for learning more about my online coaching services.

http://www.fatihbuzgan.com

Hamstring Tendinit Nedir?

Hamstring tendinit (diger adiyla tendonit), arka ust bacak kaslarini pelvis, diz ve alt bacaklara baglayan yumusak dokular iltihaplandiginda ortaya cikar. Tendinit cogunlukla fazla kullanimda meydana gelir ve akut veya ani bir aciya sebep olup dinlenme ve bir miktar ilk yardimla azalir. Cogu insan bir veya birkac hafta icinde duzenli faaliyetlerine geri donebilir. Tam toparlanma iyilestirici calismalari icerir ve birkac hafta alir.

Hamstring Tendinit Nedir? 

Hamstring kas grubu iki ic veya orta hatta dogru olan (medial) kas icerir. Bu kaslar, semitendinosus ve semimembranosus olarak bilinirler. Ayni zamanda dista (lateral) bir kas olan bicep femoris de bulunur. Bir tur bag doku olan tendonlar, bu kaslari pelvis, diz ve kaval kemiklerine baglayip dizin esnemesine ve kalcanin uzamasina olanak saglarlar. 

Hamstring tendonlari fazla veya yanlis kullanildiklarinda kucuk yirtiklar meydana gelir ve iltihapla agriya sebep olur.

Dahil olan kaslara bagli olarak, hamstring tendinit durumlari dista (lateral) veya orta hatta (medial) gorulebilir. Asagidakilerin etrafindaki tendonlari da dahil ederek merkezden/ortadan uzakta (distal) olarak da tarif edilebilirler:

• diz
• arka uyluk
• baldir

Tendon iltihabi teknik olarak tendinit diye adlandirilir ancak karsiniza tendonit ismiyle de cikabilir. 

Belirtiler 

En yaygin hamstring tendinit belirtileri sunlardir:

• keskin, yakan bir agri
• kas ve eklem zayifligi
• agri veya zonklama
• kas ve eklem sertligi
• sisme ve iltihap

Belirtiler, daha fazla egzersiz veya kullanimla daha kotu hale gelir ve uyuma veya oturma gibi cogunlukla uzun sureli hareketsizlik sonrasi da kotulesir.

Belirtiler cogunlukla sakatligin hemen ardindan ilk birkac saat icinde kotulesme yonundedir, sonrasinda kademeli olarak azalir. Sert veya iltihapli hamstring tendonlari siklikla su bolgelerde aci hissettirir:

• diz
• uyluk
• kalca
• alt sirt

Teshis 

Hamstring tendiniti dogru bir sekilde teshis icin bir doktor veya bir fizyoterapist MR ya da X-ray taramasi isteyecektir. Tendiniti teyit etmek icin bu goruntuleri kullanip, sakatligi degerlendirerek tedavi plani konusunda rehberlik edeceklerdir.

Bazi durumlarda hamstring tendiniti evde kendi kendinize de teshis edebilirsiniz. Hamstringi devreye sokan herhangi bir faaliyetle beraber ani bir aci artisi, kuvvetle muhtemel hamstring tendinitin isaretidir. Birkac basit esnetme testi ise, bu sakatliga dair fikir verebilir. 

Testlerden biri, ayagi sert bir zemin uzerine yatirip, bacagi 90 derecelik bir aciyla uzatip, ayagi gogse dogru cekip esnetmeyi icerir. Diger bir test, bir diziniz bukuk sekilde sirt ustu yatip, bacaginizi 90 derece aciyla yavasca duzlestirmeyi icerir. Her iki calisma da bir ip, kemer veya yoga bandi gibi bir seyin yardimiyla veya bunlar olmaksizin yapilabilir. Eger bu esnetmeler aciya sebep oluyorsa, kuvvetle muhtemel hamstring tendinitiniz var demektir.

Tedavi 

Bircok kisi icin 72 saat boyunca RICE (Rest = dinlen, Ice = buz bas, Compression = kompresyon kiyafeti giy, Elevate = iltihapli bolgeyi yukarida tut) yontemini uygulamak bu belirtileri tedavi etmek icin yeterlidir.

Buz, kan damarlarini daraltip kan akisini azaltir ve bu da iltihabi azaltir. Buz, bir seferde en fazla 10 dakika icin uygulanmalidir. 20 dakikalik aradan sonra buz yine 10 dakikaya 20 dakika dongusunde birkac defa daha tekrarlanabilir. Buz uygulama, gun boyunca 2 veya 3 defa yapilabilir.

Kompresyon giyimi ve iltihapli bolgeyi yukari kaldirma, bu bolgeye kan akisini azaltarak iltihabi azaltir.

Ibuprofen ve naproksen gibi recetesiz satilan non-steroid antienflamatuarlar, sakatligi takip eden gunlerde belirtileri daha yonetilebilir yapabilir. Eger yogun aci birkac gunden daha fazla surerse veya temel tedaviye olumlu yanit vermezse, bir doktorla gorusun. 

Toparlanma Suresi ve Anlik Tedavi Egzersizleri 

Sakatlanmis dokular fazla yakin zamanda kullanilmaya zorlandiklarinda, cogunlukla tamamiyle iyilesmezler. Zayiflamis tendonlar tekrar sakatlanmaya cok daha fazla meyillidir. Ayni doku ne kadar cok sayida hasar gorurse, uzun sureli hasar olusumu ihtimali de o kadar buyur.

Genellikle buyuk rahatlama hissinin baslamasi birkac gunu alip, 6 hafta veya daha fazla sure tamamiyle daha iyi hissetme icin yeterli olacaktir.

Ilk 48 saat icinde bu tendonu kullanacak herhangi bir faaliyetten kacinin. Bunun ardindan yapilacak faaliyetler ancak ek aciya sebep olmuyorsa yapilmalidir.

Sakatliginizin ardindan ilk hafta genel kuvveti saglamaya odakli olan yavas, duragan hareketlere yeniden baslayabilirsiniz. Iyi bir baslangic calismasi, izometrik diz esnetmesidir. Sakat olan hamstring, diger bacagin uzerine konur ve rahat hissedildigi kadar 30-60 ve 90 derece acilarda kasilir.

Uzun Vadeli Toparlanma Egzersizleri

Cogunlukla bir hafta veya buna yakin bir sure sonra hareket, uzatma ve kuvvet egzersizlerine baslamak guvenlidir. Kolay bir baslama noktasi tek bacak yeldegirmenidir (single leg windmill). Bu calismayi yapmak icin:

1. Sakat olan bacagi duz tutarken diger bacagi bir sandalye uzerine uzatin. R
2. Sirtinizu duz tutarak asagi egilin. 
3. Bu pozisyonda 30 saniye kalarak esnetin. 

Elinize alacaginiz agirliklarla bu esnetmeyi daha zor hale getirebilirsiniz.

Nordic hamstring egzersizi ise bir baska faydali esnetme calismasidir:

1. Diz cokun ve kalcaniz normal durusundayken rahat ettiginiz kadar ileri egilin. 
2. Ayaklarinizi sabit tutmak icin bir yerden yardim alin. 
3. Bu pozisyonda 30 saniye boyunca esnetin. 

Birkac hafta sonra, bu kasi uzatilmis halinde calistiracak ek calismalar eklemeye baslayabilirsiniz. Bukuk bir dizle sirt ustu yatarken, direnc bandini kullanip dizi yavasca esnetip ters kuvvet olusturmak iyi bir egzersiz olacaktir.

Sakatligin 4-6 hafta sonrasinda, squat, hamstring curl ve hamsting bridge gibi daha yogun calismalari eklemeye baslayabilirsiniz. Bunlar butun bolgeyi guclendirip gelecekteki sakatliklari onlemeye yardimci olabilir.

Bircok tendinit durumu fazla kullanimdan meydana gelir. Kosma, tekme atma ve ziplama etkinlikleri, yogun diz esnemesi ve kalca acilimini barindirir ve bunlar da bu durumun ortak sebepleridir. Futbol gibi hizda ve yonde ani degisiklikleri veya ani patlayici guc kullanimini icinde barindiran sporlar, bu sakatligin ortak sebepleri icindedir.

Fazla kullanim ayni zamanda tendonlarin normalden daha uzun sure icin kullanilmaya zorlandigi zamanda olusur. Isinma yapmamak da tendinite yol acar. Isinma yapmak, kas dokusunu egzersiz icin kademeli olarak hazirlamaya yardimci olur.

Bazi insanlarda tendinit, dengesiz uyluk kaslari veya zayif karin kaslari yuzunden meydana gelir. Kotu durus/postur, ozellikle de alt sirtin veya lumbar bolgenin yanlis durusu tendinitle iliskilendirilmistir.

Bu sakatlik cogunlukla dinlenme, buz uygulanmasi, kompresyon giyimi ve bu bolgeyi yukarida tutma ile tedavi edilebilir. Aci azaldiginda yavasca egzersize geri donup, hamstringi hedef almak icin nazik esnetmelere baslayin.

Eger aci kaybolmazsa veya surekli olarak hamstringinizi sakatliyorsaniz bir doktora gorunun.

Herkese saglikli gunler.

Triatlon ve Kosu Antrenoru Fatih Buzgan

Diger makalelerim icin tiklayin.

Soguk Havada Kosu

Soguk havada dis ortamda kosuyla ilgili birkac konuyu hesaba katmalisiniz.

AYAK BASISI 

 Yerde kar var mi ve kaldirimlarla caddelerdeki kar temizlenmis mi? Boyle bir durumda, cogunlukla birkac santimetre derinligindeki karda kosmanin, kurekle temizlenmis ve kaygan hale gelmis yuzeyde kosmaya gore daha guvenli oldugunu hatirlayin. Mumkun oldukca buzdan uzak durun. 

RUZGAR

Soguk havaya maruz kalmak : Git-gel seklinde bir rotada kosarken, ilk kosacaginiz yon, ruzgara karsi kosacaginiz taraf olsun, boylece eve donus yolunuzda ruzgar arkadan esiyor olacak ve daha ilik bir hava hissi verecektir. Ruzgari arkaniza alarak kosmaya baslamadaki problem, daha kosunun ilk yarisinda vucut isinizi hayli artirip, donus yolunda soguk hissettiren karsidan esen ruzgara dogru kosarken terli kiyafetlerinizle daha da usumenize yol acmasi olacaktir. (islak yuzeyin ruzgara maruz kalmasi durumu)

NEFES ALISVERISI

"Soguk havayi solumak o kadar kotu degildir." 

Insanlar bazen soguk havanin akcigerlerini donduracagini dusunur fakat akcigerlerimiz soguk havayla (donmus doku degil elbette fakat soguk hava hayli kuru olabilir ve soguk, kuru havanin solunmasi bazi dokularin kurumasina sebep olabilir) basa cikma konusunda hayli iyilerdir. Hizli nefes alisveristen kacinip, 3'e 3 ritmi deneyin (3 nefes al, 3 nefes ver) Daha eforlu kosarken ritim 2'ye 2 ritme hizlanacaktir. Dis ortam kosusunda goreceli olarak kac dereceden kacinmaniz konusunda emin degilim. Buna ozel bir veriye sahip degilim fakat -5, 0, +5C dereceler gercek bir problem degildir. Cok soguk havalarda antrenman yapip, yarisan ve hizli bir sekilde bu havayi soluyan Cross Country kayak sporcularini dusunun. Her tur antrenmanini boyle soguk ortamda yapan kayak sporculari daha ileri seviye tavsiye almak icin dogru kisiler olacaktir.

IC MEKAN SECENEGI

Kosu bandinda antrenman yapmayi dusunun. Bazi insanlarin kosu bandinda kosmayla ilgili olumsuz gorusleri oldugunu farkediyorum fakat benim de imkani olan bazi sporcularim, kis aylarinin soguk gunlerinde ic mekanda, kosu bandinda antrenmanlarini yaparak programlarini takip ediyorlar.

Hatta ben de eskiden Dokuz Eylul Universitesi Spor Fizyolojisi laboratuarindaki medikal seviye (normal kosu bantlarinin gucu yetersiz kaliyor) kosu bandinda kosmama izin verildiginde, soguk havadaki bazi kilit antrenmanlarimi burada yapiyordum ve dis mekanda stabil olarak surduremeyecegim 24km/saat hizi, kosu bandinda istedigim sure boyunca surdurup bundan verim almaktan mutluydum.

Online Kosu & Triatlon Antrenoru
http://www.fatihbuzgan.com 

Butun makalelerime ulasmak icin : http://fatihbuzgan.blogspot.com 

2:47 SEOUL INTERNATIONAL MARATHON RECAP

It was a very long and cold winter I had to deal with. As a person having moved to Seoul from a very warm, sunny mediterranean city and having around 9% of total body fat had made me feel like I was living in an igloo with a bare body.

Back in my hometown, this was the way we used to dress for running even at 5-6a.m. in the morning

That's why I couldn't have had a higher mileage, nor had enough long runs before the race. But this was a marathon! You cannot just jump to the start line with no long run under the belt and enjoy the entire the race. You would suffer without an enough long run, I guarantee it. So I had to squeeze my last long run (40km) on Monday within the race week, which was nonsense to many experienced runners. Well, as a running coach, I should remind every runner to focus on the running amount of time, rather than the distance. If one thing I've mastered was the marathon training, the other one was the flawless recovery as I like to pay attention on countless details taking important place in running. Also, the deep tissue sports massage I had (thanks to my girlfriend) the day before the race helped me to recover quicker and felt me stronger. So, I did everything I was supposed to before the race and showed up at the race area as the first member of the SeoulFlyers running club of which I became its fitness director in the last months.

Everything was looking like being organised well. How couldn't it be? It was the world's second oldest marathon after the Boston. Even the A, B, C, D, E runner sections' guides were at their locations 1.5 hour before the starting time. I had read that the trucks for the bag drop would promptly leave at 7:30 a.m. I stripteased and dropped my bag 1 hour 15 minutes before the start. I was shivering in my super breathable race singlet! until Sarah offered to give her jacket to me. How nice she is, as being cheerful as well. We had our group photo, then I wanted to accompany my hardworking trainee David to make sure his pre-race routine was in the way it was supposed to be. So we dropped his bag, waited in the line for the toilet, then did a 1 mile easy warm up on the concrete sidewalks around the race place. We wished luck to each other and I went to the A corridor, found a good spot among many fast runners. Oh, I've forgotten to put my heart rate band that I've left in my bag on. It's late to go back and run after the trucks that were already left. While waiting for 20 minutes there, I knew that my need of going to pee was going to become an issue at some point of the race. In few races in the past, I could have peed while running but that kind of multi tasking wasn't fun and not easy either!

So, I changed the plan, skipped the water stations until I took gels. I had to skip and that strategy had always worked but a new issue had occurred; The first 5 km I felt a tension and pain on my upper achilles tendon (aka calcaneal tendon). That might cost the entire race, I wouldn't risk. So, I listened to my body, paid more attention on my footing, landing and the ground. I set my mind to not to increase the speed, go by feeling instead. It was also headwindy then. So, I found a 190cm tall Korean warrior looking guy to draft for few kilometers behind him. He liked my pace when I appeared next to him and he followed me loyally for a long while (probably for 8km), until he picked up his pace and I let the skyscraper boy go. I was alone then, oh lonely boy with so many master runners who had started 5 minutes before our A group. It was around 20 km point, so I knew I was going to run the rest with my own motivation then. I kept listening to my body, didn't have any tissue pain but testicle pain due to holding my pee for a long while and adding more water by taking sips from the cups I grabbed at water stations. That was not fun at all but it reminded me of my previous 2 Leipzig marathons where I had had same experiences (due to coffee consumption and another reason). I didn't repeat myself this year but the outcome was the same! Every time I passed by feeding stations, I laughed seeing "Choco mallows" (in Germany, it was called Schokoküsse), the sweets of my childhood were given to the runners :)

Choco mallow


Sometimes we have to just stay positive even in the worst case, just to be able to survive and complete what we started. So, I told myself, this full bladder is going to hold your pace back from an over-ambitious level and will let you pace yourself better, even though I was already good at pacing myself in long races. There were people at every section of the course, so peeing wasn't an option for me ( I thought of stopping while passing under a tunnel but then gave up), people were cheering me up while I was running around 15.5-16km/h speed with a smiley face. How could I stop?

Seoul Flyers Cheer Squad Angels

How would I disappoint the SeoulFlyers Cheer Squad waiting at km36 patiently for hours just to send us their good energy? I love you guys. How could I disappoint my trainees as their coach giving up from the distance I was experienced at?

Show must go on, you've a load to carry till the finish line and dance there! As I held my effort and pace back in most of the race, it let me to feel "great" after km 35 where majority of the marathon runners start to hit the wall and slow down. After km 37, I switched on the "race mode". Even though there was going to be some climbing ahead, I should have been able to get another sub 2:50, according to my body and my watch was saying. The increased temperature was so good for my soul while it was too hot for many other runners. As I increased my speed, the audience was able to notice the difference of the effort I was able to apply while overtaking many exhausted runners and I received some good energy from few people then. Km 38 and 42 had climbs which was my talent (grade adjusted pace for km38= 3:35, for km42= 3:14) but I didn't know about the course. It was my first time there, for e.g. I didn't know that we were supposed to run almost a lap at the track right before the finish, but all happened in fast motion with many quick decisions. A youngster 10km runner was inspired and became competitive in the last 50 meters and challenged me made the officials laugh since they noticed I was finishing a marathon distance then. I finished with a 400 meter sprint at the track (3:02 average grade adjusted pace), felt great, tried to lower my heart rate while keep jogging in the crowd and found my way to the post race services.

The post race kit was containing a banana, a cream filled pastry, that choco mallow! I couldn't have during my race and a medal. Another nice feature was Pocari Sweat brand's photo shooting of you with your race time on a digital panel in front of you and getting quickly printed photo of you on a can of pocari sweat drink.

It was the unofficial time taken as a reference from my watch, official time 2:47:12

I had to drink that fluid as I desperately needed minerals then but I'm going to save that can with a photo of mine on it forever! I met Lynne after a while. She had started from another location with my successful 10k runner trainee Katie who performed very well, despite the unhealthy air pollution level and some leg pain.

Lessons taken, experience gained, while it wasn't a PB, another good race performance would remain in my mind for a while until I would perform better. Thanks for everyone who helped this huge, nice, peaceful sports event to happen, also special thanks for my strong half marathon runner trainee Tobias sponsored my race registration, Jihwa for helping with the registration and distributing the race kits, Zeny and Ron for hosting the pre-race pasta party social event, Eunjin for taking our photos, Eunjai, Junga, Ari for their cheer up support for all of us and for who else I might have forgotten to mention their names here. Thanks again.

Fatih Buzgan
Online Running & Triathlon Coach
http://www.fatihbuzgan.com (Personal Coaching Website)
http://fatihbuzgan.blogspot.com (My articles)

Fatih Buzgan Signature Fartlek

Most of the runners know about all the workout types, including fartlek, means speedplay in Swedish. Runners do fartlek workouts mostly in short splits, like 200mt fast, 300mt moderate, 500 slow, 300mt fast, etc.

Any kind of fartlek workout has benefits on running performance for sure but when it comes to marathon training, the details of any workout become much more important, especially the key workouts.

As it provides different intensities in different lengths, fartlek runs aren't as much demanding as tempo runs, intervals and race pace long runs but still you can make a fartlek session as hard as one of those I just mentioned.

Shorter distance burst speed workouts don't help much for a 42.2km/26.2mile runner, unless you are able to do 40 x 400s, which doesn't even take place in many mortal marathon runner's knowledge. So what is the good distance in a fartlek/speedplay that can be helpful for a distance runner?

1km repetitions are long enough to help improving the endurance, yet short enough to improve agility. Okay, 1km reps are beneficial, what about the rests? It all depends on the intensity you apply in each 1km burst and how many times of 1km reps you will be doing. That's a speedwork/interval session's topic but our focus is on fartlek runs and I find 1km reps with 1km rests very helpful for marathon (also for half marathon) runners.

Isn't a 1km rest too long for 1km fast split? Well, the rest/recovery isn't like the one in your mind I'm meaning here. Let me share some numbers, so it becomes more clear;

If you are capable of running 1km fastest in 3 minutes, then you can 1km repetitions by slowing this down to 3:15, if you want to increase the repetitions, you can slow it down to 3:30 and your rests can be 2 minutes if you are familiar with this workout, or same amount of time with the fast parts in the rests if this is new to you. This is a speedwork's content, we are talking about fartlek and 1K fast, 1K slower fast will be much more helpful for physiological improvement, less hurting (for your joints and muscles).

I don't support writing a workout plan for public as everyone needs a personalized/tailored training plan but to give you an idea, I'm going to share my fartlek session's contents with you;

Fatih Buzgan Signature Fartlek

2km warm up (60-65%maxHR), 3km warm up if the temperatures are below freezing point.
1km on (3:30 to 3:49 pace/km, depending on the incline/decline and wind)
1km off (3:56 to 4:05 pace/km, same criterias above apply)
1 to 2km cool down.

The repetition quantity of the "1km on" depends on your current physical capacity. If you aren't familiar with this type of an intense workout, you may start to try 1 x 1km on, 1 x 1km off, then increase the repetition every week (or every other week, depending on the rest of your workout load in your week).

What is the purpose and benefit of this specific workout? (Always ask this question to yourself or to your coach)

Running at or right below your lactate threshold (82-88%maxHR) aka "Comfortably Hard" (the speed that you can run an hour long) is very beneficial kind of a workout. Here we stress the body not that long (1 hour) but with more sustainable fast rests in between, we increase the fast running time by letting the heart rate go a bit lower than the fast splits, but still almost as high as we may experience in a race.

A slower runner would do it like (After 2km warm up as always), 2 x 1km on (4:45 to 4:59 pace/km), 1km off (5:05 to 5:15 pace/km), 1km cool down.

This is much doable than trying to do a sustained tempo run. Because tempo runs are already tough and sustaining the same high speed/intensity makes it even harder for many runners but running for 1km at or slightly above your lactate threshold and then running the next km below your threshold makes your workout both more doable, less impact on your joints and muscles and more fun with varied speed under your control.

Also, if you find the fast split a bit tiring for the distance you were planning to cover, then go at "off" mode for 2km, instead of 1km. There is nothing wrong with fine tuning your fartlek session due to the given current conditions and your feelings during the workout.

Here is my own fartlek session for you to browse and analyse.
Good luck!

Fatih Buzgan
Online Ironman triathlon & marathon coach
http://www.fatihbuzgan.com

Jeju Island Guide

Everyone wants go to JEJU, buy why? Because Jeju Island is so beautiful! If you are reading this, you are probably planning to go and visit Jeju soon. So, let's start our Jeju guide that will help you in your next visit.

The island has an area of 1849 km2 (714 sq mile), located at southern side of South Korea. Its length covers 73 km and its width covers 31 km. So, cycling is a good option for this island, as long as the weather allows.

TIME 

We went to Jeju island twice; First in mid-October, second in the beginning of November. The weather was nice in our both visit. If you are going there for the beach, late spring, summer and early fall would be better.

FLIGHTS

You fly to Jeju island from Gimpo airport where you can reach via metro/subway. Since it is an international airport, you may fly from somewhere outside Korea to Gimpo, then fly to Jeju with a connected flight.
In our each travel to Jeju, we chose different airline companies (to save money). We flew there first with T'way air, in our second trip with Jeju air.
Both airline companies were similar, not quite different than each other. You have 15 kg of baggage to check in and a backpack to carry on. The sum of width, length and height of the checked in baggage must be 203cm or shorter, fyi.

ACCOMMODATION

We booked and stayed in 3 different places in our each visit to Jeju island.

1) Art Airport Guesthouse (Jeju Center) It is a centrally located, cute, quiet guesthouse. We stayed here for 2 nights, 2 people which cost us 108.000won (92$) total. The receptionist girl was lacking of fluent English but was eager to help. There is a supermarket and a pastry shop near this guesthouse. The bus stop is only 2 minutes away. You can get to this place from the airport by taxi as well. It takes 8-10 minutes by a taxi.

2) Kkodak Kkodak Guesthouse (Seogwipo) It is a very simple, quiet guesthouse. You sleep on the ground comfortably. Even though the page of the guesthouse on booking.com mentioned free eggs for its breakfast, the owner of the place said no eggs. Also there was nothing to eat in their breakfast, only kitchenware (like toaster, fridge, kettle to use). So you may better do the shopping for breakfast beforehand or have your breakfast outside (recommended). We paid 29.700won (25$) for our one night stay there.

3) Nammi Hotel (Seogwipo) This hotel is not listed on any website, so you cannot book through those booking, agoda, hotels.com agencies. We coincidentally came across this small hotel while walking through the streets of Seogwipo on our way to the seaside. It was centrally located, yet on an inside street where cars passing by. The hotel was almost empty due to the low season, so it was easy to book our room in the last minute with an early check in. When you walk into the hotel, you are going to see delicious Jeju tangerines on your right, those are free for you. We had so many of those yummy fruits in our each entrance and exit to the hotel :) The hotel owners live at the reception area, so you will have a 24/7 reception ready to help you :) But they don't speak any English, so to be able to communicate, you will need to use google translate through your phone's internet. There is no breakfast in this place either. We stayed there for 4 nights and paid 40.000won for each night's stay there (Double room)

TRANSPORTATION 

There are 4 options here;

1) Renting a Car (Requires International Driver's Licence).

2) Renting a Bicycle or Bringing your own bike.

3) Taking public buses (We chose this for Mt.Halla , Seogwipo, Jungmun, Airport) 

4) Taking a taxi (We chose this for our first stay in the center from the airport and the opposite direction) It doesn't cost much for the short distances, so you may choose this if you have no idea about the destination or in a rush.

FOOD

If you like junk food, you'll be happy to see Dunkin Donuts or Paris Baguette in Jeju. Since most of the guesthouses, pensions and mini hotels don't provide breakfast (or a hearty and nutritious one), you better plan it in advance. There are Starbucks branches as well but prices there are high for us so we always look for somewhere else.

We found a rice porridge cafe in Seogwipo, had porridge there in 2 different visits and liked it.

Rice Porridge with assorted seafood (with kimchi side dishes) 8500won

 For lunch or dinner in Jeju, you have much more options for any budget and any kind of food.
Our first dinner was flawless! It was at a Japanese sashimi restaurant in Jeju Center, very close to the sea. Only one young chef was able to speak English in the whole restaurant, so we had his help to communicate and make sure what we were about to order. We weren't able to figure out the name of this nice restaurant but I guess there are not many Japanese Sashimi restaurants in Jeju center, so you may find it easily.

I thought they would never stop bringing food, I was happy, so my stomach was.
  
We were lucky with our dinner decisions. Another good restaurant to have dinner was Soul Kitchen in Seogwipo. It is in the first place among 2841 restaurants of Seogwipo while having a certificate of excellence on tripadvisor website. They really deserve it. The waiters were polite, welcoming, helpful, the menu was varied, food was delicious, prices were reasonable for a fine dining restaurant.

Real hamburger menu at Soul Kitchen in Seogwipo, Jeju

Our other favorite restaurant was a very little Fish and Chips place in Seogwipo. It is actually called as Sol Fish but you may find it by clicking above and zooming in the map while there. We tried fish and chips and quality beer, loved it!

HALLASAN (HALLA MOUNTAIN/ MT. HALLA)

We read this while writing this article, so we noticed what we missed to look at before climbing to Mt.Halla

This should be another blog page itself. (And yes, I'm going to write about Hallasan with many visuals and infos, if you write down below this page that you would like to know more about it) Climbing to Hallasan is so special for any visitor of Jeju. It is a must, otherwise lost. So, whenever you are planning to go to Jeju island, make sure you reserve "an entire day" for the climb to Hallasan, I assure you that it is going to be worth. Hallasan is the highest peak of entire South Korea, located in the middle of Jeju island, which has 5 different routes to its peak suitable for any level of climber. Here are those 5 routes;

- Seongpanak Trail:
Seongpanak → Dongneung Peak
9.6 km / 4 hrs 30 mins each way

- Eorimok Trail:
Eorimok → Nambyeok Bungijeom
6.8 km / 3 hrs each way

- Eoseungsaengak Trail:
Eorimok → Eoseungsangak Peak
1.3 km / 30 min each way

- Yeongsil Trail:
Yeongsil - Nambyeok Bungijeom
5.8 km / 2 hrs 30 mins each way

- Gwaneumsa Trail:
Gwaneumsa Temple - Dongneung Peak
8.7 km / 5 hrs each way

Since we were staying in Seogwipo, we chose the Seongpanak route (Which was the longest and we didn't care). We started to climb at 10:30am which we learned that it was a very late time to climb if you wanted to reach to the peak. Since we were both runners with a climbing talent, it took us only 1 hour 34 minutes to reach Jindallaebat point (roughly instead of 3.5 hours) but neither of us knew that we were supposed to pass that point before noon time/12:00 and the worker at the checkpoint was very strict about this rule, while we were there at 12:02! Telling him that I was the overall winner of Jeju trail running race didn't help any :) I know it has a safety reason which should be valid for everyone, just we were a bit disappointed by knowing we could make it to the top in a short amount of time. So we had a long break at Jindallaebat point while it was sunny at noon time. So, if you are going to choose the Seongpanak route, make sure you start to climb "very early" time of the day.

Saeseom Bridge (very close to the Cheonjeyeon Waterfalls). So beautiful place!

Jusangjeollidae Promenade (Jusangjeolli Cliffs)

Another must visit in Jungmun, Seogwipo, Jeju. Jusangjeolli Cliff was formed when the lava from Hallasan Mountain erupted into the sea of Jungmun. They are rock pillars shaped like cubes or hexagons of various sizes and almost seem as if stone masons had carved them out. Its address is 216, Jungmungwangwang-ro, Seogwipo-si, Jeju-do

제주특별자치도 서귀포시 중문관광로 216 (중문동)

It is a very popular place with many visitors. The entrance fee is 2000won. We coincidentally found this place with no knowledge about it and we were lucky to see it, as it was only 45 minutes before its closure. Its operating ours between sunrise and sunset. So make sure not to go there late.

Cheonjeyeon Waterfall

The Nammi hotel (where we stayed for 4 nights in Seogwipo) was only 500mt away from the waterfalls, so we visited there easily on foot. The entrance fee is 2000won per person. After walking for 5 minutes, you reach to the waterfall. Since it is a touristical place, it is crowded.

Stone Grandfather (Dol Hareubang)

Because of the relative isolation of the island, the people of Jeju have developed a culture and language that are distinct from those of mainland Korea. But as a visitor with no Korean language knowledge, you don't notice this difference. Jeju is home to thousands of local legends. Perhaps the most distinct cultural artifact is the ubiquitous dol hareubang ("stone grandfather") carved from a block of basalt. Some Koreans name it as the "wise grandpa". We met this cute grandpa when they had given it as one of the race awards in Ulta Trail Jeju Running Race. By the way, they don't give these grandpas to all the race participants. If you want to win one (besides other race awards, you may contact me through my online personal training page)

You will not only see Jeju residents on the island but come across many Chinese tourists who have the ability of visa free visits to the island, ended up 3 millions of Chinese visiting the island last year. Additionally, Chinese now own 2,050 acres (830 ha) on Jeju, up from just five acres in 2009 which has been concerning the Korean residents of Jeju Island.

COSTS

Flights : T'way Air; October departing 60.000won, return 74.000won.
Jeju Air; November departing 30.000won , return 30.000won.

Tip: If you are flexible with your flight times, you can buy your Jeju ticket as low as 14.000won (one way) ;)

Accommodation : 30.000 to 50.000won for a double room per night is okay.

Tip: If you are going to travel to Jeju in high season, try to book your place by checking both tripadvisor.com and booking.com (in case you get discounts if you are a genius level member) in advance.

I'm going to add more information in the future as I remember and find time to work on this article. If you want to add any useful information about Jeju Island, please comment down below. New visitors are going to appreciate your help.

Cheers.

How To Cope With An Injury Before A Marathon?

As runners, we are healthier than many other individuals but this still doesn't mean that we may never encounter pain or even an injury. No matter if they are sprinters or endurance athletes or beginners or experienced ones, actually thousands of runners experience few or more times of injuries in their athletic lives/careers.

That's why we, personal running coaches take place in every runner's (who has hired us) training period, to ensure a safe preparation to their athletic goals. Let's have a look into some topics we must focus on, if we have been dealing with some pain;

HARMLESS PAIN
If a pain appears at the beginning of your run and goes away as you cover distance, do not worry. This is a kind of pain, actually any single runner encounters (yes, me too), maybe once in a month or once in 3 or in 6 months period. It comes and goes away.

HARMFUL PAIN
If any pain occurs before, at the beginning or at some part of your run and stays there (even increases) as you cover longer distance, this is kind of the pain that has to be taken care of, by a physician/specialized doctor immediately.

ALY-TAMI-DAY-C (Always Log Your Training As Much In Detail As You Can)

You may have been training for an event on your own or with the help of a faster friend, or with a personal trainer. It doesn't matter. The most important thing is being able to provide a training history log with the most possible detailed way. By looking deep into your training history, Your physician/doctor or trainer will appreciate this info and will be able to assess, analyze and help you at best.
Whenever I start to train someone or help to a runner experiencing injury, I ask him/her to provide me the last 6 weeks of his/her training. So I can analyze all the training volume and training load with some extra questions, thus I can help much better.

STOP RUNNING

If you experience the harmful pain I explained above, Give yourself "at least 48 hours" of total rest with the best TLC you can provide. If the pain limits even your walking, by causing you limp, stop
immediately and visit the doctor as soon as possible. If the pain occurs only when you run, then do not run. It is the signal of the body that is trying to say, you are giving it a harm.

R.I.C.E

Many of you already know this, but it is good to remember;

Rest
Ice
Compress
Elevate

Leading the Dresden marathon race in my Nike Lunaracer's

KEEP IT COOL

Runners are the people deal with internal inflammation all around year. Inflammation doesn't progress when you keep the inflamed area cool. Not just apply ice as it is suggested in RICE method but also keep the zone giving you pain as cool as possible all day and night long. If the race day temperature wasn't -4C, I wouldn't be able to run my second fastest marathon (2:47) in snow and hail, while having an achilles pain for 23km in Leipzig, Germany last April. The pain I had then was allowing me to run but it was an annoying one, considering the location (achilles). So I analyzed the pain level, micro-tuned my strides to lessen the impact and felt thankful for the freezing cold in a race for the first time.

MASSAGE IF IT DOESN'T HURT

Massage is always a helpful action for the tired and achy muscles, veins and some tissues used during our runs. Tendon massage depends on the current condition and should be taken care of an expert. I suggest a very slow and light massage to increase the blood circulation which helps to get rid of the lactic acid, tiredness, heavyness and even inflammation with peppermint oil use.

TURMERIC, GINGER, CINNAMON

These are the magic powders for any runner to use not only when they have pain but regularly in their daily nutrition. Turmeric is the strongest natural anti-inflammatory herb. Ginger increases circulation, relieves muscle soreness, boosts immune system and even aids digestion. Cinnamon helps to increase circulation, metabolic rate, regulates blood sugar. These 3 powders should take place in your each meal, especially during an injury case.

STYLE OUT, COMFORT IN

No more high heels, even classic shoes with no heel anymore! You should give your feet and legs a real rest, so they can feel relaxed and recover quicker, instead of getting even more tired and swollen after wearing those shiny, uncomfortable, classic leather shoes. It isn't limited to only your footwear, you should still wear comfortable and not super tight clothes with the accompany of comfortable shoes. Let your body circulate at its best to get rid of the inflammation asap.

Here I'm wearing NB barefoot like shoes which are used to strengthen the feet. (me as a pacer)

LONG, DEEP, UNINTERRUPTED, QUALITY SLEEP

Yes, all in one. It should be long enough to give adequate rest for your muscles and joints. It must be deep, because just lying in bed or on a couch for 10 hours with no sleep (or with 5 hours of deep sleep) is not going to help you at all. Go to REM (deep) sleep, not the concert of R.E.M.
Wear your sleeping mask, put your ear-plugs on, provide a dark, cool, quiet sleeping environment, so you can get the best sleep and recovery. Also follow the biorhythm by putting your head on the pillow latest at 10:00pm.

DRINK ALKALINE FLUIDS ALL DAY LONG

Water, mineral water, vegetable juices, smoothies, real berry drinks are recommended.

WEAR YOUR MOST COMFY RUNNING SHOES

Not your racing flats with no support. It depends on the level of the pain but it is best to support the muscles and tendons while there is already a pain. I recommend to wear bare-foot like shoes to strengthen the metatarsals and tendons connected to the feet, only if there is no pain at all.

2:45 marathon, I ran it in my more supportive shoes, not in my 5-10K specific super light racing flats

HOW TO GO BACK TO YOUR RUNNING?

You did all the suggestions I wrote above for the last 48 hours and you have a marathon race coming up soon (let's say in 3 weeks). If you don't have any pain while walking, give it a try, BUT
* Run on either smooth and flat soil or on a flat grass, or on a track if those are not your options.
* Run very slowly with a proper warm up of at least 10 minutes and increase the speed gradually.
* If you haven't been able to do stretching after your last run, do a very slow and light stretching before the run or after the warm up part.
* Check the painful area, try to change your stride if the pain is still there (the shorter stride with the least impact, the better)
* Bring ice compress with you to your running place if possible, in case of a sudden huge pain.
* Stay positive, don't think negative and don't be nervous. Relax your muscles, shoulders, listen to your body. You may listen to calming music before and during your run.
* If you have tough workouts like interval, fartlek, tempo runs to do soon, forget about them. It is better to reach the start line of your marathon uninjured, rather than being faster but tend to get injured during the race.
* If you have another long or mid-long run to complete before your marathon, again forget about that if you still experience pain. Let your body get rid of the problem first.
* Let's say, you did a check run at the track with a very easy pace for 4km and had no pain. Then do a "reverse tapering", to check if everything is going better as you increase your daily mileage. I would recommend to leave one day of rest for each running day, even though your program was making you run 5 or 6 times a week previously. Once you get rid of the pain completely while being able to run your usual daily distance and pace, then you may start to run more often.

Good Luck!

Fatih Buzgan
Online personal trainer, 2:45 marathoner, Half-ironman
http://www.fatihbuzgan.com 
You may read my other articles here