End of June Stats

Weight - 85.5 Kgs. Lost 3 more kgs this month.

Calories Burnt due to Running - 21,500

Kilometres Run - 174.5

Days Run - 25

Overall, its been a great month. I consistently did around 42 - 45 Kms per week; overall rhythm was good. I can now do a 10 Km run peacefully. My longest run to date has been 13 Km

A typical weekly running schedule this month

The typical weekly schedule that I have been following through the first 3 weeks of this month is as follows. My running week starts with a Saturday - which is the day of the Long Slow Distance.

Saturday - 11 / 12 / 13 km (Progressively improved each week from 11 to 13)

Sunday - Interval Training (250 M x 6 at 12.00 Km / Hour pace; each lap followed by 1 equidistant lap of walking; the pain of Saturday's run strikes me only on Monday morning)

Monday - Easy run of 5 km (average speed 8.7 - 9.1 Km / hour; average HR of 78- 80%)

Tuesday - Easy Run of 6 Km

Wednesday - Tempo run for 30 minutes at speeds close to 10; this week hit 10.1 Km/hour

Thursday - Easy run of 8 Km

Friday - Rest

A PR for 5 km - broke the 30 Min barrier!

Today was my tempo run - I did 5 km in 29 Min 45 seconds and broke the 30 minute wall for the first time!

Some of the resistance training and interval run work is beginning to pay off

Today's Long Run - 13 Km

I am posting after quite a few days. Overall, I had a pretty good week, and kept all my milestones. Today's long run was 1 km more than the last week at 13 km. I ran pretty well, despite the humid, muggy conditions.

Finished 13 kms, happy, in 1 hour 29 minutes.

Also, have ordered a few running books from Amazon, including 'The Lore of Running' by Dr Noakes - which is pretty much refered to as the bible of running.

Overall weekly mileage (though the running week will only close by Monday), is likely to be 41 Km, including the forecasted one for Monday. This means that I have pretty much kept a 40 km + mileage for the last three weeks. I plan to now step this up to 45 - 46 next week

Mid June Stats

So far, in the first 2 weeks of this month, I have run 85 Kms. The mileage in the both the weeks is almost the same - 42 Kms in the first; 43 in the second. Overall, the body, this month, has responded pretty well.

Have also been more regular to the gym this month. I am trying to keep to a schedule of at-least 4 days a week - of which, 2 are for the lower body, 1 for the upper body, and 1 for abs.

My Running Goals for the next 8 months

I have clarified to myself my running objectives for the next 8 months. 

Overall Vision- I want to be a full marathon runner.

Main Goal - Run the full marathon in the Standard Chartered Marathon in Mumbai in Jan 2010

Interim Goals

1. Run the Airtel Delhi Half Marathon in Oct 2009

2. Run the Hyderabad Half Marathon in Nov 2009

These 2 half marathons would be nice milestones to achieve in my push for the full marathon in Jan'2010

As per my training schedule, I should be reasonably ready for the half marathon by end- August. Post that I have around 19 weeks to work towards the full marathon. Seems quite feasible to me. 

My Five Year Running Goal: To qualify for the Boston Marathon by 2013

Today's Long Run - 12 Kms

Today was a fantastic run for me. I got up early and was out on the roads for my run at 6.45 AM. The rhythm was good - and I did not push myself into running faster. I ran 12 kms in 1 hour 27 minutes. Was completely at ease, and my average heart rate was 82%

..well, one of those good days I guess. 

Today's Run - 5 Km

Today's run was well...run of the mill. Did 5 km in 34 minutes - and maintained an easy pace. I wanted to take it a bit easy today morning since I had done some strength training in the gym yesterday evening

Today's Run - 8.6 Km

Today morning's run was very good. Even though, again, I started later than usual at 7.30 AM. I ran for exactly 1 hour - and covered 8.6 Km. Had a good feeling about the run, and was in the zone right through - ran at a steady pace and did not over-exert myself. My average heart rate was at 80% of max heart rate.

I can feel my cardiovascular system getting stronger. A month ago, my average heart rate for a run of similar intensity and distance would have been 84-86% of max heart rate.

Slow it down

I had remarked earlier about improving my 5 Km PR from 33 minutes to 30 minutes in 2 weeks. Well - I just got slightly more literate, and scientific, and the fallacious, and dangerous nature of this objective is apparent to me. Some principles I have set down-

1. Am not going to focus on my speed for this year. The emphasis will be on finishing my goals.

2. This is the way I am going to keep it till I complete my first half marathon

Today's run made me come to this realization. I ran 5 km in 32 minutes - and improving this by 2 minutes is still a long way from here ---am not even going to think about it.

The second aspect is that somewhere my weekly mileage in the last 2 weeks has ramped up faster than what I initially planned ....and its also faster than what I have read in many running blogs (the 10% ramp up per week rule). I have moved from a weekly tally of 30 to 43 Km in 3 weeks. But I am listening to my body ---and am not feeling any repercussions, or warning signs. I am allowing myself 1 day for rest in the week .. and things seem ok.

Why Run at All?

Here is a nice article I found on the c25k website-

http://www.c25k.com/finishing.html

Today's Long Run - 11 Km

I was planning to start my run today at 6.00 AM. Wanted to be out before the sun, but then..Murphy struck. It was 8.15 by the time I stepped out. The weather  was humid and muggy. I decided to restrict my run in and around my colony.

Also, today was the big day - was going to try out my Camelbak Hydration Pack. It is 2 litre water backpack and it allows for hands-free consumption of water on the run. Camelbak is a true innovator - the fact that these guys thought of specializing in building these bags blew my mind off! These guys are very very serious about quality. For more info, you can check out www.camelbak.com.

I found the hydration pack an incredible value-add. The water remains cool - and the bite valve is perfect. There is no taste of plastic at all. The pack is quite unobstru sive. There is some noise of the water moving in the bag, but that hardly was a distraction for me - since I anywhich ways run with some music on.

Ran 11 Kms in 1 hour and 14 minutes. Felt pretty good overall. This week so far has been very good - have run 44 kms in the last 6 days

Suunto T3C Running Pack - Revisited

It has been a month since I got my Suunto T3C running pack -and here are the highlights of my experience so far-

1. It is a great training device. The heart rate monitor gives accurate information, and foot pod measurements in terms of speed and distance is very consistent. 

2. The motivation that one gains from this is invaluable. Every day, one knows one's benchmarks and hence what targets to set. The Training Efficiency index acts as a good alarm - it helps me decide on which days to raise my intensity, and when to cool off.

3. The manual was quite useless. However, I familiarized myself with using the watch in 3 - 4 days. The controls are simple, and the screens are well designed

4. Suunto Training Lite software is fairly elementary. However, it still helps me as it automates the storage of basic training data. 

Before I bought it,  I had read about the susceptibility of the watch screen to get scratches. And, yes , I have got my first scratch. Nevertheless, I am not too worried about it.

At an overall level, I am extremely happy with my purchase and experience

Some Thoughts on Murakami's Book

I read Murakami's book, 'What I Talk About When I Talk About Running' a few weeks back. For somebody who is not into running, the book could infact be banal. I know a couple of folks who just could not empathize with what Murakami was trying to convey.

I found the book a fantastic read, and in many cases I could really connect with Murakami's thought. I think that the main theme of the book is on the therapeutic power of running. It can change one's life so much for the better. Running clarifies the mind like no other activity.  The entry barriers to running are also minimal - all one needs is a good pair of running shoes.

Murakami's maxim in the first chapter - 'Pain is inevitable; Suffering is optional' is something that every runner can connect with. The book has a zen like quality about it and I enjoyed reading it very much

A 10 Km Run Yesterday

Yesterday was a good run - a really good, rhythmic run infact. I completed 10 km in 1 hour and 12 minutes. The speed was not really important. I just felt full of energy, and ran the entire run at almost the same pace. Celebrated it in the evening with some pasta!

Running Through the IIT Powai Churn

Last Saturday, my friend Gopal, who stays in Bhandup, called me over for breakfast.. and we were supposed to have a stimulating conversation on simulations, and a general rant on the frustrations of living in a non-linear world.

I thought the distance would be perfect for my weekend long run. Mentally, I reckoned the distance to be around 10 km from my house. My plan was to start at around 6.30 and be at Gopal's house by around 7.15.

The distance was actually 7.5 kms and it took me 51 minutes. I should have reached atleast 5 minutes earlier were it not for some frustrating road-blocks at IIT Powai. My run had to peter into a crawl for almost a kilometer. The roads were dug up, there was bad traffic and pollution, and the whole scene was quite pathetic. I do not know when the authorities are planning to clear up this mess.

Today's Run - A Question of Will

I woke up in the morning at 6.45 and every bone and muscle in my body urged me not to run. Somehow willed myself outside at 7.15 and told myself that I would run atleast  5 km. Ran in the big ground in my colony - one lap of the ground is 210 metres. Anywhich ways, finished 5 kms in 33 minutes - not a bad performance given the starting problems.

It was quite critical for me to run today, as I had ditched my run yesterday. An official get together on Sunday evening at the work place meant that I could not get up early enough. Also, I had had a glass of wine in the party, which made me a bit lethargic on Monday morning. Missing 2 days of running in a row would be catastrophic in my books - and not good at all for the momentum built up over the last 2 months