19 Mart 2017 Pazar

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)

7 Mart 2017 Salı

Aci Gercek: Maraton Kosmak Oldurmuyor



85 yasinda 3:56 maraton kosan Ed Whitlock

Maraton kosmak oldurmuyor. Bunun neresi aci bir gercek olabilir? Ne kosu sporunu, ne maratonu taniyan halka bu degerli spor bransi (ve hatta tum spor branslarinin atasi), basin tarafindan mutlaka olumsuz yonleriyle tanitiliyor. Iste bu, bu tur insanlar icin aci bir gercek. Bir gun bir gazetenin son sayfasinda "kosmak sagliga zararli" basligiyla sig bir sekilde ele alinmis bir yazi goruyoruz, diger gun bir gazetenin 3.sayfasinda "maratoncunun feci olumu" basligiyla bir haber okuyoruz.

92 Yasindaki Maratoncu


Hepsinin verdigi mesaj su: "Spor YAPMAYIN, sakin KOSMAYIN, suruden ayrilmayin, yeni bir etkinlik denemeyin, zararli cikan siz olursunuz". Olumsuz bilgi ve enerji, basin araciligiyla hizli bir sekilde toplumda yayiliyor ve kisa zamanda kosu sporuyla tanisma SANSINI yakalamis, dogduktan 35 belki 45 yil sonra bedenini kesfetmeye baslamis, hayatinda ilk defa hucrelerine kadar tum dokularina yatirim yapabilme firsati bulmus, serotonin hormonunun (yani mutlulugun) aslinda ucretsiz ve kendi kendine salgilayip, hayattan zevk de alinabilecegini deneyimlemis, ne botoks, ne liposuction (yag aldirma), ne bir kismi ter kokan ve uyelerinin cogunlugunun partner aradigi spor salonu uyeligi gibi masraflardan kurtulmus (kaliteli salonlari ve uyelerini tenzih ediyorum), ozetle genclesmis, kaybettigi yillari geri kazanmaya baslamis olan yeni sporcuya bu olumsuz haberler dar goruslu arkadaslari tarafindan iletiliyor; "Elimde kapi gibi haber var, gazetede yayinlanmis bilimsel makale var.!Sen hala 45 yasina basmis, esek kadar adam olmus, aile babasi kisacik sort giyip anlamsizca kosuyorsun, yollarda olup kalacaksin, olan bize olacak, arkandan uzulecegiz, yahu git isine, ise yarar bir seyler yap!"

Bu tur arkadaslardan hizla uzaklasin, mumkun oldukca az gorusun, spor yapmaya devam ettiginizi bilmesinler. Cunku hicbir firsatta spor yapma isteginizi, cesaretinizi oldurmek icin tum degerli zamanini ve enerjisini harcamaktan cekinmeyeceklerdir.

105 yasindaki maratoncu. Kosmaya 81 yasinda basladi. Kaynak: ESPN

Her konuyu yuzeysel bakis acisiyla degerlendirmeye calisilan toplumlarda, elbette kosu sporu da hayatinda ya hic kosmamis, ya da bir iki defa kostuysa, bunu tamamiyle bilimden uzak bir sekilde, kendine iskence edercesine, yapilmamasi gereken ne varsa hepsini yapip, bu bir iki denemede kendisini basariyla spordan sogutmus kisiler tarafindan sig bir sekilde elestirilecektir. Gercek hayattan ornek vereyim; Hayatinda bisiklet ve dusuk hacimli motora sahip motosiklet kullanmamis birisine Suzuki Hayabusa kullandirirsaniz, 2 tekerlek uzerinde 300km hizin uzerine cikabilen bu aracla %99 ihtimalle kisa zamanda buyuk bir kaza yasayacaktir ve basinda "yaris motoru kullanimi erken olduruyor" dusuncesini zihinlere yerlestirecek bir baslik ve icerikle haber olarak karsiniza sunulacaktir. Prospektus okuyamayan, farmakoloji bilgisine sahip olmayan, fakat birbirine agri kesici recete eden insanlardan, "kosu yolu yaptik" diye boburlenen, fakat beton zeminin kosucunun en buyuk dusmani oldugunu bilmeyen yoneticilerden bahsediyoruz. Yilda 500 sportif makale okuyan, 28 yillik sporcu ve yillarin antrenoru olarak sirf kosunun kardiyovaskuler, anatomik ve fizyolojik etkileri uzerine yazilmis duzinelerce "olumlu" makale okudum, hala okumaya devam ediyorum ve bunun sonucunda literaturde ulasilan genellemeyi sizlerle paylasmak isterim;

Kosu sporu, bilimsel bir sekilde yapildigi muddetce zararin aksine bircok yonden vucuda fayda saglamaktadir. 

Ben de dahil olmak uzere hepimiz bu tur ölümlü haberlerden etkileniyoruz, cunku halk bu tur haberlerle zaten taninmayan veya yanlis taninan kosu sporu ve maraton bransindan soguyor. Lutfen kosuyu, bedeninizi, sagliginizi ciddiye alin, onemseyin, kosu sporu icin ozel olarak uretilmis kiyafetleri ve ayakkabilari giyin (700TL'ye aldiginiz suslu kosu ayakkabisi icine pazardan aldiginiz pamuklu corabi giyerseniz, kosu hayatiniz ilk haftada sona erebilir v.b.), kosu oncesi, esnasi ve sonrasinda izotonik icecek tuketiminize hayati onem verin (ki, kosuya dair olumlerin cogu asiri sivi kaybi ve mineral eksikliginden olusan kalp krizi yuzunden gerceklesiyor), bir konuya ozel yazilmis makaleyi birden fazla kaynaktan okuyup farkli bilgileri kiyaslayin. Karar veremediginiz sonuclar ve cevaplayamadiginiz sorular olursa spor bilimcilere, spor fizyolojisi uzmanlarina, kendisini yenileyen antrenorlere danisin.

Herkese saglikli kosular diliyorum.

Fatih Buzgan http://www.fatihbuzgan.com
Online Kosu ve Triatlon Antrenoru, 2:45 Maratoncu


9 Ocak 2017 Pazartesi

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

8 Ocak 2017 Pazar

20 Gunde Nasil 8000TL Kazandim?



Bu tarz basliklar cogunlukla abartilarak (yalan soylenerek) dikkat cekmek amaciyla yazilir fakat beni taniyanlar bilir. Cok kelimesini bile gereksiz kullanmamaya ozen gosteren bir dilbilimciyim. Anadilini bu kadar yozlastiran bir kalabaligin sebep oldugu bu durumdan rahatsiz oluyorsak, dogru yazmaya gayret edip iyi birer ornek olmaliyiz. Baslikta ne yaziyor? "20 Gunde Nasil 8000TL Kazandim?" Yazimda tam da bunu aciklayacagim, ancak biraz sabretmeniz gerekecek.

Eger 30 gun bu sekilde calismaya devam etseydim/edebilseydim, o vakit 8000TL degil, 10.000TL kazanmis olacaktim fakat ben 20 gun calistim ve bu kadar kazandim. Belki siz daha sanslisinizdir veya daha caliskansinizdir ve bu sayede daha fazla da kazanabilirsiniz, ANCAK oncelikle bunun icin Turkiye disinda olmaniz gerekiyor. Ilginc degil mi? Turkiye'de ayda 10.000TL kazanan kimse yok mu? Bu miktari gunde kazanan bile var elbette, fakat buradaki kazanc yolu hak ederek, kimsenin hakkini yemeden, adil bir sekilde, kimseye yalakalik etmeden, kimsenin ayagini kaydirmadan kazanma seklini kast ediyorum. Turkiye'de de mutlaka hakkiyla bu kadar parayi her ay duzenli olarak kazanabilen bireyler vardir, onlar ne sansli insanlardir! Cunku azinliktalardir. Sansinizi artirmak istiyorsaniz, ulke disinda olmaniz onemli bir kriter.

Sosyal medyada ticari fakat ucretsiz bir sayfa olusturdum, her firsat buldugumda bu is sahasi ile ilgili ozgun gorsel veri kaydettim. Reklamlara ayirabilecek bir butcem yoktu, bu yuzden ucretsiz yolu tercih etmek zorundaydim. Zaten yabanci bir ulkede, duzenli geliri olmayan bir turist idim, o zaman reklamlara para harcamak yerine, daha sinirli bir ilerleme ve buyume saglayacak olsa da dogal buyumeyi tercih ettim.

Kariyer.net gibi bir sitede, %100 dolu bir profil ve goz doldurucu bir ozgecmise ragmen, gectigimiz 10 yilda basvurdugum onlarca firma arasinda sadece 1 firma (ceviri firmasi) olumlu cevapla benimle iletisime gecmisti. O firma da bana bir sozlesme imzalatip fakslatti ve bir daha da hic iletisime gecmedi ve bes kurus kazanmami saglamadi.

Bunun aksine craigslist sitesine 3 farkli konuda ilan biraktim ve 8000TL kazanmami saglayan musterilerden bir ikisi bana bu ilanlardan biri sayesinde ulasip bana is getirdi.

Peki ne idi bana bu kadar parayi boylesine kisitli bir zamanda kazandiran? Bir kaymakam maasindan bile fazla kazaniyordum ama nasil? Insanin degerinin olmadigi bir ulkeden geliyordum (olsaydi 30 yildir savasta olmamiza ragmen, issizlik, egitimsizlik oranlari dunyanin bircok ulkesine gore cok daha gerideyken kendilerine saray yaptiran, limuzinler alan yoneticileri secmezdik). Aciz sokak hayvanlarini tekmeleyerek buyuyen duzinelerce insan gordum, ebeveynleri boylesine vahsi bir davranisi gormezden gelen bir toplumun ferdiydim fakat ne mutlu ki "sevgi" kavraminin bende onlarca karsiligi olmasini saglayan, bu olguyu en kucuk yastan itibaren bana yasatan ve ogreten bir ailede buyumustum, kosulsuz, ayrimcilik yapmadan, etiketlemeden. Ne bir cama yumruk atip devlet malina zarar verdim, ne bir agaca kalp cizip bir canliyi yaraladigimi farketmeden kendimi tatmin ettim, ne bir sokak hayvaninin kuyruguna teneke baglayip kendime bir canliyi oyuncak ettim, ne de kimsenin zamanini calip hirsizlik yaptim; Hepsi de sevgi bilincinin varligindan geliyordu. Sevgiye bu kadar asina birinin insani sevdigi kadar hayvani da sevmesi dogal ve kolaydi.

O zaman sadece yurt disinda degeri olan hayvanlarin bakimiyla ilgilenmek, bir gelir yolu olabilirdi. Zaten boyle bir meslek vardi, hayvan bakiciligi; Ingilizcesi "petsitting" olan bu is, bircok ulkede hayli yaygindi. Benim de hayvanlarla olan gecmisim, onlari anlamakta zorluk cekmemem, bu konudaki tecrubem, Ingilizce bilgimle de birlesince olumlu sonuclar verdi. Bu arada bu isi Turkiye'deyken de tam 4 yaz mevsimi (8 ay) boyunca yapmistim, "e o zaman niye Turkiye'de hayvanlara deger verilmediginden dem vuruyorsun derseniz", musterilerim sadece yabancilardan olusuyordu, hicbiri Turk degildi.

Ayni yabanci musterim Turkiye'de 3 yaz boyunca bana kedisini ve evini teslim edip, her defasinda da ayni derecede hizmetimden ve guvenilirligimden memnun kalinca, diger yabanci arkadaslarina da beni onermisti ve 2 farkli yabancinin daha evindeki kedilerin bakimini ustlenmistim. Buna ek olarak baska 2 yabancinin da evindeki cicekleri suluyor ve bunun icin odeme aliyordum. Demistim ya, canliya deger veriyorlar, canlinin turunu ayirmaksizin.

Yurtdisindaki isimde ise, 5 farkli ailenin toplam 9 evcil hayvanina baktim, ikisi haric hepsi de ayni zamandaydi, evet 7 farkli turdeki evcil hayvana ayni anda baktim. Ucu yasadigim evde, digerleri ise kendi evlerinde her gun ve her ogun benden yemek, su, tuvalet temizligi, dolastirma, kosturtma, ilgi, sevgi ve sefkat bekliyordu. Hepsini de elimden geldigince eksiksiz bir sekilde yerine getirmeye calistim. Bir gunde 50 kilometreye kadar mesafeyi kosmus, 350 kilometreyi bisikletiyle katetmis (bu derece yorgunluklari deneyimlemis) biri olarak 7 farkli karaktere, ihtiyaca ve beklentiye sahip hayvanin birer bebek gibi doymasini ve ihtiyaclarinin giderilmesini saglamak inanin kolay degildi. Kendime neredeyse hic zaman ve enerji kalmiyordu. Sabah beni evdeki 3 kopek uyandiriyor, 3'u de acikmis, tuvaleti gelmis bir sekilde bacaklarima sarilip havliyordu. Kahvalti edip dus almadan evden adim atmayan ben, onceligi daima onlara verip, kendimden feragat edip, isimi yaptiktan sonra kendi kahvaltima geciyor, ardindan hemen metroya binip diger muhitlerdeki kedi ve kopeklerin bakimlarini gideriyordum. Yorgun da olsam, onlarin kosmalarini sagliyor, tasmalariyla gezdirirken aniden beni belimden cekip kosturtmalarina bir sey demiyor, anlayis gosteriyordum. Hayvan sevgisi bunu gerektiriyordu. En utangac, gecmisinde iskence gormus, kurtarilmis 6 aylik kopek bile bu surecte ilk defa bir erkekle yakinlasip benimle arkadas oldu, sahipleri onun tuylerinin bile daha parlak hale geldigini, daha cana yakin ve mutlu bir kopege donustugunu soylediler. Bunlar benim mutlulugumdu. Hizmetlerim icin bana para oderken, yaptiklarim icin beni defalarca takdir eden bu nazik insanlar, sayfama da olumlu yorumlar yazarak yeni musterilerin bana ulasmalarini sagladilar.

Para kismi muhim degil, para kazanilir ve harcanir. Insanlar daha ilk bulusma sonrasinda birine evlerinin anahtarini veriyorlar, aile ferdi saydiklari hayvanlarini 2-3 hafta boyunca birine teslim edecek kadar guveniyorlar. O insanlar ne sansli insanlar ki guven duygusunu kaybetmemisler ve ben ne sansliyim ki bu guzel yurekli insanlarla karsilasiyorum. Sizin de guven, kosulsuz ve tur gozetmeksizin sevgi konularina daha cok odaklanip bunu kazanima cevirebileceginiz bir yil gecirmenizi diliyorum.

Fatih Buzgan

29 Kasım 2016 Salı

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.

20 Ekim 2016 Perşembe

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

19 Ekim 2016 Çarşamba

Kore'ye Tasininca Hayatimda Neler Degisti?


Basligi ilk 30 gun sonrasinda Kore izlenimlerim olarak da yazabilirdim ancak fark ettim ki, burada 50.gunumdeyim ve herkesin 30 gune sigdirip edinebilecegi tecrube ve his farkli olacaktir. Bu yuzden basligi gun ile sinirlamak istemedim.

Evet, tam 50 gundur Guney Kore, Seul'deyim. Aklimin kosesinde bile olmayan bu Asya ulkesine bir sekilde geldim ve her gun izlenimlerimi artirip facebook sayfamiz olan soulsteps'ten sizlerle paylasmaya calisiyorum.

Daha huzurlu biriyim. Beni taniyanlar biliyor, zaten hep huzurlu gorunumu olan, gulec, olumlu, huzur yayan biriydim ancak Kore'ye tasinmadan once ic huzurumda buyuk eksiklikler vardi. Su anda ic huzurum kusursuz mu? Elbette degil, fakat eskisiyle kiyaslanamayacak kadar daha iyi bir seviyede.

Saygiyi her yerde hissediyorum. Kimse benim nereli oldugumu, unvanimi, egitim gecmisimi, ne kadar kazandigimi, nasil bir inancim oldugunu bilmeden ve onemsemeden bana saygi duyuyor. O kalabaliga ragmen, sokakta yol veriyor, metroda hayat arkadasima yer veriyor, sehir parkinda selam veriyor ama saygiyi samimiyetle her an hissettiriyor. Kosulsuz ve cikarsiz saygiyi hissedebilmek guzel.

Artik hic televizyon seyretmiyorum. Cunku Kore'deki evimizde televizyon kanallarina bir aboneligimiz yok :P
1923 yilinin ait oldugu cagda dunya icin yapilmis en buyuk icat olan televizyon, artik yanlis kisilerin (kanal sahiplerinin) ellerinde sadece bir beyin yikama araci haline gelmistir. Fakat televizyonun bu kadar yayginlasmasi ve evlerde olmazsa olmaz bir aygit haline gelmesi hasebiyle bilgisayar ve internet gibi bu cagin aygitlari ve teknolojileri bile televizyon kullaniminin onune gecemememektedir. Insanlar televizyon uretim teknolojilerine ve kampanyalarina sevinip giderek buyuyen ve incelen televizyonlardan evlerine almayi adet edinirken, bu devlesen ekranlarin aslinda bizlere sadece olumsuz enerji, yanli bilgi, erklerin kotu niyetli hedeflerini sizlere suslu sekilde sunup kendi ideolojilerini empoze etmeye calisan aygitlar oldugunu goremiyor. Sizi agir yapilmis, sagliksiz aksam yemeginizin ustune saatlerce oturacak sekilde sabit tutup obezite ve kalp, damar hastaliklarina yaklastirdigi gercegine daha detayli deginmeyecegim bile. Evet bizim evimizde de bir televizyon var fakat hem kanal aboneligimiz yok, hem de sadece ayda bir aksam begendigimiz, kendi hur irademizle sectigimiz, bize bilgi veya keyif saglayacak bir film izlemek icin aciyoruz.

Uyku sorunu yasamiyorum. Turkiye'nin en medeni sehrinde dogup buyudum, yine de 5000 yillik gecmisine ragmen benim icin yeterli bir medeniyete sahip degildi. Ustelik aci olan da her gecen yil, yanlis yoneticilerin elinde, disaridan aldigi niteliksiz goc nufusu ile medeniyetten iyice uzaklasiyordu. Halbuki 1 milyon dolarlik caddeye sadece 100 metre uzakta oturuyorduk. Fakat esege altin semer de koysan, esek yine ayni esektir sozu bu durum icin de gecerliydi. 50 yil oncesinin teknolojisi olan mopedlerine cikardigi kendi gurultusu yetmezmis gibi, daha da dikkat cekmek amaciyla ekledikleri gurultu egzozlariyla gun boyu ve gece boyunca sokagimizdan gecen dusuncesiz insanlar yuzunden deliksiz, kesintisiz, huzurlu bir uyku saglamak mumkun degildi. Kore'de 50 gun icinde daha bir tane bile bu tur arac gormedim. Seul'deki evimizin bulundugu muhitte, komsularimizin Porsche, Range Rover, Bmw gibi ust gelir seviyesine sahip insanlarin kullandigi, guclu motorlari olan araclari var. Hatta sokagimizdan bazen Ferrari, Maserati ve diger super spor araclardan da oluyor fakat bunlarin bile hicbirinin sahibi, bu dar sokaklarda gereksiz yere 20 metrelik araliklarla gazi kokleyip aniden durup gurultu yapmiyor ve bos yere benzin tuketip cevreyi katletmiyor. Hepsi de sessizce ve 20-30km hizla giderken dogal olarak ne kadar ses cikariyorlarsa o kadar cikarip yollarina devam ediyorlar. Bu bir psikolojik durum, "bana bakin, beni dikkate alin, ben de onemli ve degerli biriyim" mesaji vermeye calisan insanlarin basvurdugu bir yol fakat ise yaramadigi gibi baskalarina da zarar veriyor.

Kopeklerin boyutu ne olursa olsun havlamiyor. Ister dev bir cins, isterse en minik turde olsun, hepsi de mutlu, huzurlu evcil hayvanlar, cunku sahipleri onlari sevdigi icin sahipleniyor, hava atmak veya uzerinde iskence uygulayip ruhunu tatmin etmek icin degil. Evet kopegine kotu davranan Koreli de gorduk fakat 10.000 evcil hayvan sahibi gorduysek, sadece 1'i kopegine bizim davranmayacagimiz sekilde davraniyordu. Evet 10.000'de 1. Maalesef Turkiye'de evcil hayvanina hak ettigi gibi davranan sayisi cok dusuk. Burada evcil hayvanlar evde, kulubede hapsedilmiyor, her gun sokakta, dogada, sehir parklarinda, kucakta gezdiriliyor. Diger hayvanlarla ve dogayla bulusturuluyor. Havlayan kopek olmadigi icin de gunduz sokakta guvenle yanlarindan gecebiliyor, gece de huzur icinde uyuyabiliyorsunuz. Sadece mahallemizde mustesna bir kucuk evcil kopek var, istisnasiz her sabah 9-10 arasi havliyor, o da muhtemelen sahibi ise gidiyor, gitti diyedir.

Yesil, yesil, yesil. Doga ve dogal kelimelerinin ici bostu. Evet Turkiye'de de bir Karadeniz bolgemiz var fakat diger bolgeler o kadar yesil degil. Yesil olanlar da her yil para icin bilincli sekilde yakiliyor, katlediliyor. Burada bu kadar kalabalik bir sehir ve bir o kadar da beton olmasina ragmen, mumkun oldukca dogayi korumaya calisiyorlar. Sehir parklari var ve bu parklar her gun herkesce ziyaret ediliyor. Ha, yesillik ve sebze pahali. Bunlarin da degerini bilin, durust ciftciyi destekleyin.

Sehrin merkezindeki Namsan ormani hergun yuzlerce yuruyuscuye saglik sunuyor

Temizlik ve cevre bilinci. Sadece evlerin onu degil, sokaklar, parklar, metro, otobusler, magazalar, stadlar, umumi tuvaletler, ozetle her yer temiz. Copler, Almanya'daki gibi biyolojik, geri donusumlu ve donusumsuz diye 3'e ayrilan kutulara atiliyor. Bunu sadece havaalanlarinda gormuyorsunuz, evinizin onunde, gectiginiz bir sokakta, her yerde.

Sehrin en cok ziyaret alan yerlerinden Namsan kulesine gunde kabaca 50 defa sefer duzenleyenler, cevreyi korumak icin elektrikli otobus tahsis etmisler.

Yayalar ve bisiklet suruculeri degerliler. 50 gun icinde daha hicbir yayaya veya bisiklet surucusune korna calindigina sahit olmadim. Sadece motorlu arac suruculeri birbirine korna caliyorlar ve oranlarsak, Turkiye'dekinin %5'i kadar korna sesi duyuyorum. Cunku korna burada, ilkel toplumlarin kullandigi gurultu gibi bir haberlesme araci olarak kullanilmiyor. Sadece bir motorlu arac surucusu gercekten tehlikeli bir hata yaptiginda uyarmak icin korna caliniyor. Her kavsakta mutlaka bir yaya gecidi var ve o yaya gecidinden bir yaya geciyorsa, motorlu arac suruculeri %95 duruyor. Isterseniz o yaya gecidini 1 dakika gibi uzun bir surede gecin, kimse size korna calmiyor, sabirla bekliyor.

Yayalar da, bisiklet suruculeri de kurallara uyuyorlar. Trafik lambasi olan bir kavsakta yesil isigi gormeden gecen bir Koreli yaya veya bisiklet surucusu henuz gormedim. Bu sayede motorlu arac suruculeri de onlara saygi gosteriyorlar. Kisacasi herkes birbirini kolluyor, bencillik yok.

Jeju adasinda siradan bir ara sokaktaki cop alani ve siniflandirilmis cop kutulari & ogutme makinesi!

Milli icecekleri ayran degil, bilakis alkol de iceren pirincten yapilan Soju fakat 50 gundur daha hic sarhos veya cevresine rahatsizlik verecek kadar icmis birine rastlamadim.

Gecmisten gelen batil itikatlara (kurbaga/kaplumbaga heykelinin ayagini open de gordum) sahip olan gruplar da var, Sam amcanin uzun vadeli emperyalizm planlarinin ise yaradigini belli eden gruplar da var, yine de 50 gundur tanistigim hicbir Koreli, Amerikali, Kanadali, Ingiliz, Myanmarli, Alman, Cinli kimse inanc uzerinden onyargili, yanli veya empoze edici bir konusmaya beni dahil etmeye calisip vaktimi calmadi. Herkes diledigine inanmakta veya tapmakta serbest.

Sokak hayvani yok. Sokak kopegi zaten hic yok. Kedi ise 50 gunde birkac tane gordum ve benden kacan bir kedi mutlaka gecmisinde buyuk travmalar yasamis demektir. Bunu arastirdigimda kedilerin, Kore kulturunde fare, sican gibi bir hayvan olarak goruldugunden, herkesce pek sevilmedigini ogrendim. Yine de ozel cins kedileri evinde besleyenler de varmis.

Deniz urunleri luks tuketim urunu degil. 3 tarafi denizle kapli bir ulkede deniz urunlerinin daima luks yasam tuketim urunu olarak gorulmesi ve balik lokantalarinin sadece kaziklanmayi onemsemeyen zenginlere hitap etmesi hep tezat gelirdi. Burada deniz urunlerinden yapilan her sey sokakta bile satilacak kadar dusuk fiyatli. Vejetaryenlige gecis gibi gorulebilecek deniz urunleri tuketimini tercih eden bir yasam sekli, etcil kulturun baskin oldugu kapali bir toplum icin simdilik gercekci gorunmuyor.

Seul'de bir sokakta satilan cubukta deniz urunu (saniyorum yengecti) 4TL.

Bisiklet yollari. Ama gercek bisiklet yollarindan bahsediyorum; Kesintisiz, motorlu arac girmeyen, giremeyen, mazgalsiz, hendeksiz, tumseksiz, cukursuz, putursuz, copsuz, huzurlu ve guvenli bisiklet yollari var. Ustelik ucsuz bucaksiz, cunku tum sehri dolasiyor. Seul'den Busan sehrine kadar (yaklasik 550km) bisikletlilerin guvenle gectikleri bir bisiklet yolu var ve bu rotayi tamamlayanlarin adresine madalya gonderiliyor!

Bisikletinizle "40km kesintisiz" bisiklet yolunda ilerliyorsunuz ve karsiniza bisiklet tuneli cikiyor! 

Dinc ve saglikli bir halk. Sabahin 6'sinda sehir parkinda 85 yasinda bir kadin yuruyus yapiyor, 7'sinde bir, bazen birkac rahibe yuruyup dogayla bulusuyor, 65 yasindaki zinde adam kosu antrenmani yapip yarislara hazirlaniyor, takim elbiseli genc adam ayaginda spor ayakkabisiyla hizli bir yuruyusle hem temiz hava soluyor, hem de isine gidiyor, gorme engelli bir kadin, sehir parkindaki yuruyus ve kosu yolunun ortasindaki kabartmali zemini asasiyla takip edip 3.5km'yi huzur ve guven icinde katediyor!

Ortasi gorme engellilere ozel, motorlu veya motorsuz hicbir aracin giremedigi tartan zeminli kosu ve yuruyus yolu


Hayatimda ilk defa serbestce dolasan yani hayvanat bahcesinde "tutsak edilmemis" oklu kirpi gordum. Evime sadece 2km uzaktaydi, sehir parkinda muhtemelen karsidan karsiya gecmeye calisiyordu. Biz de o anda kosuyorduk, onun en uzagindan gecip korkutmadan oradan uzaklastik. Insanlar ve hayvanlar, doganin ayni degerdeki uyeleri olarak baris icinde birarada yasayabiliyorlar. Bunu hicbir hayat bilgisi dersinde uygulamali olarak ogretemezler.

Han nehrindeki bisiklet yolunun yanindaki acik hava spor salonunun icinde bulunan golf sahasinda golf oynayan ve sehir parkindaki kosu yolunun yaninda bulunan tenis alaninda tenis oynayan yaslari 55-75 arasi degisen insanlar gordum. Ustelik zengin sporu olarak bildigimiz golf ve tenis icin para odemeden, belediyenin ucretsiz bir hizmeti olarak bunu degerlendiriyorlardi. Bu insanlarda yaslilik sendromu, panik atak, stres olur mu?


Izmir gibi 4.5 milyon nufuslu, ulkenin en kalabalik 3.sehrinden geliyor olmama ragmen, Istanbul'dan bile yuzlerce kat daha fazla olan nufus yogunlugu Seul'de hemen kendini hissettirdi. Ozellikle de bazi caddeler, semtler ve ozellikle metrodaki bazi istasyonlarda igne atsaniz yere dusmez bir ortamda bulunmak ilginc bir tecrubeydi. Yine de bu buyuk kalabaliga ragmen insanlarin size carpmadan ilerlemesi hostu. Fakat onlarin carpmayacagina guvenip siz de dikkatsiz yuruyemezsiniz. Cunku cep telefonu kullaniminin en yaygin oldugu yerlerden birindesiniz. Herkesin gozu telefonunun ekraninda. Metroda, otobus duraginda, yolda her yerde insanlar telefonuna bakarak yuruyorlar. O kadar guvenli bir sehir ki, bir sey olacak endiseleri yok. Sizin aceleniz varsa veya onlardan hizli hareket ediyorsaniz, daha cok dikkat etmelisiniz, bu da dogal bir durum.

Schengen ulkelerine gittigimde paramizin (ve ulkemizin) ne kadar degersizlestirildigini gormustum fakat Asya'da da durum degismedi. Ornegin kaliteli bir dondurma icin 14.000won (40TL) veya bisikletinizin jant akordu icin 50TL oduyorsunuz ve burada kazaniyorsaniz, bunlar sizin icin yuksek rakamlar degil. Cunku bir ogretmenin aylik geliri Turk lirasiyla 6000-9000TL arasinda degisiyor. Konusunda tecrubeli bir ogretmenseniz buna ek olarak bir de size esyali bir evde oturma imkani sunuluyor. Boyle bir evi Turkiye'de kiralamak isteseniz aylik 3500TL kira gideriniz olur. Elbette her meslek grubunun geliri ayni degil (hicbir yerde olmadigi gibi) Ancak vurgulamak istedigim sey, 50 yil oncesinin Turkiye'sinde degerli olan ve artik bir degeri kalmamis olan ogretmenlik, o ulvi meslek, bizden ileri olan ulkelerde hala degerini koruyor.

Parayi iki el ile aliyorlar. Cunku paranin kolay kazanilmadigini biliyor ve kendisine para kazandiran insana da saygi duyuyorlar. Ben de kisisel antrenorlugunu yaptigim her musterim icin boyle bir saygiyi dogal olarak gosteriyorum. Her musterim/sporcum, dogal olarak arkadasim, bazen dostum haline geliyor. Kimse paraya tapmiyor veya onun esiri olmuyor fakat gecimini saglamasina destek olan herkese saygi duyuluyor.

Spora ve sporcuya saygi buyuk. Bir buyuksehir olan Seul'un ana caddelerinde her gun, gunun her saati yirtmacli mini kosu sortum ve askili yaris formamla kosuyorum. Gozlugumdeki aynadan surekli arkami kontrol ederim, bugune kadar bana arkamdan bakan, gulen, alay eden olmadi. Aksine kaldirimdaki yayalar yol veriyor, sehir parkindaki yasli adamlar tezahurat ediyor, bisiklet yolunda antrenman yapan bisiklet sporculari motive edici isaretler yapiyor. Yarislarda en one ben geceyim sorunu yok, istedigim yerde yarisa baslayabiliyorum. Bir arazi yarisinda 1.gelerek 450TL degerinde bir forma kazandim. Sporcum da 3.gelerek 400TL degerinde bir canta kazandi. Yarislarda destek ve sponsor sorunu yok, bu sayede yaptiginiz sporda iyiyseniz, kucuk olcekli veya butceli bir yarista bile guzel odullerle taltif edilebiliyorsunuz.

Katildigimiz yarisi kazaninca, bana ustumdeki ceketi, sporcuma da fotografta olmayan degerli bir cantayi hediye ettiler.

Gec kalma sorunu yok. Cunku metro ile her yere ulasabiliyorsunuz. Dunyanin en buyuk metro agina sahip sehrinde otobuse veya taksiye binmeniz gerekmiyor. Metroya ozel cep telefonu uygulamasi var, oldugunuz/yakininizdaki duragin adini ve gitmek istediginiz duragi yaziyorsunuz. Size en az aktarmali ve en hizli olarak 2 secenek sunuyor, aktarma sureleri de dahil olmak uzere toplam sureyi veriyor ve siz metroda kaybolmadiginiz surece bu sure daima tutuyor, boylece hicbir yere gec kalmiyorsunuz.

Izmir'deyken 20km uzaktaki is yerime 2 otobus, 1 metro aktarmasi yuzunden tek yone 1.5 saatte ulasiyordum. Bu da her gun hayatimdan 3 saatin bos yere gitmesi demekti. Kendi cabamla bisikletle gideyim dedim, bu sure 45 dakikaya indi, fakat bu sefer de ya kotu yol kosullari yuzunden bisikletim zarar gordu, ya da tehlikeli yollar ve saygisiz motorlu arac suruculeri yuzunden kendimi sayisiz defa olume yakin ve huzurdan uzak hissettim. Bir de kosarak gideyim dedim, sure yine toplu ulasimdan daha hizliydi! Ama bu sefer de beton ve bozuk zeminli, isyeri sahiplerince isgal edilmis dar kaldirimlarla, ustume suren arac suruculeriyle dolu anayollarda kosmak ruhuma da bedenime de iyi gelmedi. Burada bisikletle de metroyla da her yere huzurla, guvenle ve zamaninda ulasabilmek mumkun.

Oyle ki, okuluna yani is yerine bisikletiyle giden ogretmen sayisi cok. Onlar icin araba sahibi olmak sart degil. Ister 1000TL degerinde standart bir sehir bisikleti, isterse 8000TL degerinde bir arazi yarisi bisikletiyle hem ulasimlarini sagliyorlar, hem cevre kirliligini onluyorlar, hem de hafta sonlari ya da is sonrasi gezi yapabiliyorlar.

Isine bisikletle giden ogretmenlerin okul onundeki bisiklet park yeri. Ondeki bisiklet 8000TL.

Takdir, tesekkur burada daha yogunlukla kullaniliyor. Yeni tanistiginiz bir sporcuya birkac tavsiyede bulunuyorsunuz, sosyal ortamda size tesekkur edip gururunuzu oksuyor, dolayli yoldan isinize destek oluyor. Herkes birbirine tesekkur ediyor, kendini zorlamadan, cikarsizca.

Burada daha ne kadar kalacagim, yasayacagim henuz belli degil. Bundan sonraki tecrubelerimin de ne yonde olacagi net degil. Burada yazdiklarim, simdiye kadarki tarafsiz ve kisisel goruslerim.

Daha guvenli, huzurlu bir aile, sehir, ulke ve dunya mumkun. Bunu basarabilmis olanlara bakip ornek alalim.

Yer yer kiyaslama yapmam gerekmis olsa da, elimden geldigince (aslinda nerede oldugumuzu farketmemiz acisindan faydali olan fakat alisik olmadigimiz) elestirilere pek yer vermemeye calistim. Umarim faydali, aydinlatici bir icerik olmustur. Sorulariniz olursa ve cevaplarini biliyorsam seve seve cevaplayip bilgilendirmek isterim.
Esenlikle kalin.

Yazar notu: Yazinin ve yazida kullanilan gorsellerin tamami yazara haiz olup, izinsiz kullanimi durumunda yasal yollara basvurulacaktir.