The day it all paid off!

Nov 13th 2010- the day when everything went according to plan and all the training, discipline and self-belief culminated into something which seemed incredulous a year back. I completed my first half marathon.

I had prepared intensively and I had a feeling of quiet confidence that this would be done easily. However a week before the race, i started getting jitters. Though I had read that this is normal, it was not enough to allay all the fears that kept creeping into my head out of nowhere. I realized that I was too keyed up for the race and for the last 2 days, I tried to not think about the race at all. I did spend some time banishing thoughts from my mind that it was not worth the effort and I should give up the idea totally.

Night before the race I ensured all the things were in place- t-shirt, tracks, running gloves, cap, shoes, energy gels, heart rate monitor, race bib etc. I also packed my "Shani Chakra"- my good luck charm that I use on important days. My cosmic edge available for divine intervention if required, I went to bed.

Race Day-

I woke up groggy primarily because I had a fairly sleepless night. A spot of yoga calmed my nerves and I had hurriedly got ready and rushed to the venue in the cab waiting for me. I reached later than I hoped because I had to turn back to my hotel for my cell phone which I had forgotten.

The cab drop me about 5 blocks away from the start line and walking the 5 blocks in the cold (yes it was literally freezing), I was totally out of breath and was left wondering the wisdom of running in sub-zero temperatures.

A bag check in and a longer than expected line for the toilet meant I reached the starting line later than the start time. Horrors of horrors, the race was on time and my corral (corral 4) has already left. I ran in corral 5 after a race volunteer assured me it was fine and I wouldn't get an incorrect time.

Quite an inauspicious start! I took it in my stride assuring that all the things in my life that don't start on the right foot eventually end up being a success. And so I was off!

For the first mile or so I couldn't run. There were so many people around that all I could manage was a brisk jog. I was overwhelmed and yet enthused by the huge turnout. Runners in all shapes, sizes and ages.

Since I couldn't run as fast I would have loved, I tried to soak in the atmosphere, the sights and sounds of downtown Richmond embellished by the running carnival.

Since I had run a 10k sometime back, I had some kind of reference. I knew I was definitely slower but this was a longer race and it was really cold.

Much to my dismay I reached the 3 mile mark after 30 mins. At this point, I began hearing small voices in my head asking to stop and this wasn't worth the effort. I trudged along ignoring the voices and concentrating on the music instead. Slowly the voices changed their message- Ok run If you want but only this once. Don't repeat the insanity.

The demons in the head conquered, I ran spiritedly only to find my first uphill patch. I ran with my head down so that I wouldn't see the upward incline and thus trick my mind into believing that I was running on a flat course. I had read this somewhere and it worked well.

It also warmed my body up and I knew I was running well now.

Bryant Park and a whole host of spectators now greeted us. In my excitement I missed the 4 mile marker and by the time I reached the 5 mile marker, my speed was considerably up. It was only 45 odd minutes. This was also around the time I dropped and lost my running gloves. I breached the 10K mark in 54 mins and I now was comfortable that I would complete the half marathon.

Miles 6 onwards were a party in the truest sense of the world... scores of people cheering their friends, husbands, mothers, wives, sisters, brothers, colleagues etc... banners and posters of all shapes, sizes, colors and messages cheering hundreds of runners to complete their lunatic Sunday morning activity. A few of the banners stood out-" Marathon is a mental activity and you are all mental", "Pain is temporary! Pride is permanent!", "One more mile to glory", "You're almost there... really".

Around Mile 8, I started looking at a possible finish time. I was around 1 hr 15 mins into the race. I decided to speed up then. Luckily I had conserved my energy well and was well hydrated. It was also getting warmer. I terminated my semi jog trance and started sprinting. I hit mile 10 by 1hr 32 min. I now decided to target a finish time of under 2 hrs.

This was also the time I was in Richmond downtown.

It was now sufficiently warm and I took my jacket off and tied it around my waist. I didn't abandon it on the road as many others had done along the way... may be it was my frugal self that forbade me from doing so. or maybe I wanted to keep all the mementos from the race.

I was now sprinting all out - I knew this because my body was a collection odd pains and creaks... especially my back and ankles. I half feared if I had had a stress fracture... I decided that even if I did have one I would still have it at the end of the race and I would look at it then... NOTHING in the world would now stop me from finishing.

Into the last mile, I was shaking not so much out of exhaustion but out of the excitement of finishing... the last half mile was a steep downward slopes... I smiled in glee and ran as fast as I could... and then it was over...

And as I waited for my tears to mingle with the sweat, I looked up and thanked the almighty. Just then the victory theme from Lakshya played on my Walkman and I realized someone up there had been looking out for me while I ran!

I did it!

I ran my first half marathon- the McDonald's Half Marathon- finished in a time of 1hr 58 mins. Mission for 2010 accomplished. This is not a time to rest on my laurels but to prepare for the long road ahead. Completing the half marathon has given me the confidence that I can go even further.The logical graduation from a half marathon is the marathon itself-26.2 miles of sweat, fatigue, self inflicted pain and tears. I don't know whether I am ready for it now but i know that I am going to start preparing for this target. I don't know yet when I want to tackle the marathon but sometime in late 2011 would be nice.

The last 5 odd months of running has been largely driven by body and my emotions. I have realized that i haven't used my brain as much as I can. Sure I have used my mind but not my brain- as I run more and more, I have started appreciating the subtle difference- the difference that I can feel but I cannot put down in words.

Going forward in addition to running, I have decided to add weight training, yoga (including pranayama) and proper diet to my list of daily tasks.

I will be putting up snaps of the event and my experience of running my first half marathon soon.

Game On!

I would be running the Richmond Half Marathon on 13th Nov

https://www.raceit.com/Register/registrantSearch.aspx?event=786

Watch this space!

13.1 miles breached!

Yesterday was a special day.. a day where the culmination of all the training miles finally bore fruit. I completed my first half marathon in training and though this was accomplished on a treadmill as against the outdoors, It still was a very special achievement.

I hadn't run at all for almost an entire fortnight and I was wondering if I was losing my touch. So after a 3 hrs Saturday afternoon nap, I decided to hit the gym. I just wanted to run for half an hour or so. But once i was close to an hour, I realized that I was running well and so took the decision to try the whole distance. 2 hours 22 minutes and 1799 calories (as shown by the treadmill), I hit the magical figure of 13.1 miles.

I would love to have written how eventful the run was or how momentous it felt after i reached the target. But strangely It was not. I wasn't as tired as I thought I would be. I think the reason may be that I have trained well all summer and I paced myself well during the run.

More than anything else, this run was just what I wanted before the Richmond Half Marathon on 13th November for which I have enrolled. Upwards of 10 miles had been an unknown territory for me so far. All throughout my training, I wondered if I would hit the "Wall" somewhere during the half marathon and not be able to complete at all. Now I am certain- the wall doesn't exist for me, not atleast in the first 13.1 miles for me. I can actually run the whole distance without getting worried about having spent myself up completely midway in the race.

I was also surprised by my ability to pick up pace as required during the run.

At the Richmond Half Marathon, I would be starting in the 2 hr 15 minute wave. My practice run reaffirms this as a reasonably correct estimate of my expected finish time if all goes accordingly to plan.

I am planning no long runs till the 13th. I just want to be fit, focussed and eating well till the big day.

Signing off now.

Philosophy of running!

Its been 10 weeks now since I took up running seriously. To have it going for this long is an achievement for me especially when we live in a world where every hobby or activity has a limited shelf life and there are several hundred activities that fight for our mind-space at any given time.

This world of multi-tasking makes devoting time for any one activity on a regular basis a near impossibility. And yet it is perhaps this very reason that I have been able to pursue running so religiously.

In the beginning it was all physical for me. I ran to burn calories and to look and feel fitter. And so it seemed like an effort and the pain after the long run seemed real. Somewhere along the journey, the physical part of running become a side story and running soon became an exercise in introspection. Earlier while running I looked outside-at the sights, the sounds, the mile markers, the changes in the terrain etc and my running was affected by all possible external factors. Now increasingly i look "inward". Running allows to me clear my mind and think positively about all aspects of my life-small and big. Running is no longer an activity to mark down the miles covered, it is becoming a meditation of sort for it leaves me clear-headed, calm and positive every time.

Having said this the meditative aspect of running isn't encountered so easily. The first couple of miles require supreme physical effort. But after this somewhere down the line almost like a miracle, I am in the "Zone"- what some may call a happy place. I stay there till the end of my run and like meditation, the pure and positive vibes stay with me all day.

So every time someone who thinks I am overdoing the running asks me to take a break, I smile and tell myself "I am doing just that"

The 10k run in numbers!

http://results.active.com/pages/oneResult.jsp?pID=91897368&rsID=100490&pubID=3

My first 10k race!

Random googling on a boring office afternoon is what triggered my first official race.

Nutrition, Running, Races in Virginia and things to do over the long weekend- these were the series of searches that led me to the page where I filled out a quick online registration form and completed an online transaction. Before I knew I was enrolled for American Family fitness 8th Annual 10k.

The prospect of taking part in a 10k over the long weekend seemed easy like an easy enough way to expose myself to race conditions especially the idea of running on a coldish morning.

As an assurance to myself that I could do it, I ran a fast (by my standards) 10k in the hotel gym that night. I clocked a time of around 59 mins or so and I hoped I could replicate this time on the race day.

A couple of days before the race day, I bought some stuff that I would need for the race- energy gels, running socks, a new t-shirt and running shorts.

The day before the race, I made sure that I had everything laid out and in place so as to have no last minutes surprises. I had a normal dinner and slept really early (around 10 pm) as I knew I would have to be up by 630 am the other day.

I reached the venue about an hour before the start time of 9 am and completed the registration. It was fairly cool when I reached there but the sun was shining through and I knew instantly that this would be a good day for running. The songs being played on the loud speakers were among my favorites and I knew this was a good sign.

I was still very confused on what would be a good finishing time- I didn't just want to run for the sake of finishing only and at the same time I didn't want to exhaust myself midway in the race. I voiced my concern to the kindly gentleman at the registration booth and after a quick analysis of my running history for the past 3 months, he suggested that I aim for a finish time of 55 mins which seemed like a long shot to me really. I smiled and reached the start point.

The start wasn't ideal to say the least- my heart started beating really loud, I had a feeling that my legs had frozen and my iPod wouldn't start. And then in the midst of all this confusion and the mini disasters, we were off. The first few minutes up to the 1st mile marker were a haze- labored breathing, an obstinate iPod, me dropping money, people overtaking- it just seemed too much.

Sense started knocking into my system after the first water stop- i slowed down a little, my iPod started blaring out music again, my breathing returned to its normal agitated levels and I was off. In spite of all this I had covered the 1st mile in less than 8 minutes. No need to get excited I told myself-the first mile is carried by the adrenaline. So i put my head down and ran- not looking for the next mile marker but looking at my feet. 16 mins 7 second and I was at the 2nd mile marker- not bad I gloated to myself and at the next second I admonished myself- the race isn't over I kept reminding myself. I reached mile 3 at 24 mins 30 seconds and mile 4 at 32 mins.

Between mile 4 and 5, I encountered a steep upward slope. My only impressions of that slope were heavy breathing, most inappropriate love songs playing on my iPod when I could have done with really peppy and lifting music ( i was playing on shuffle mode) and like a million people crossing me. Finally I reached mile 5 and I was surprised that I hadn't taken ages to reach it. My watch timed me at 40 minutes

I was thrilled- I could actually complete this under an hour and thats when out of nowhere panic and self-doubt kicked in. My mind got clouded with the most bizarre questions- is this a 10K race or a 10 mile race? Have I completed 5 miles (ie around 8 kms) or just 5 kms? Why do they have mile markers for a 10K race? Do we have to run the same distance back to finish this race? Thankfully this endless maze of questions was broken by an over-enthusiastic volunteer whose cheering (or at least some words) I could hear over the music in my ears and confusion in my head. Did she just say across the corner- Am I there already? Sure enough, I saw the finish line and the large digital timer in the corner of my eye. I veered around the corner and covered the last few metres as fast as my legs could carry. I wanted to beat the 52 min mark.

And it was over- almost an anti-climax. There was no wild pumping of the fist, no leaping in the air, no welling up of eyes or any show of emotion.

There was just a silent prayer and an acknowledgement that a small but significant milestone had been reached.

Week 8,9- Croppers

Disappointing disappointing disappointing... I got my first running injury... a side/groin sprain... my mistake at the end of it. I took the phrase "Mind over Body" too close to my heart and ignored the pleadings of a battered body... the result.. 10 days of no running and a pain that refuses to go away completely and prevents me from giving my 100%. Its not a great feeling when you run but at the back of your mind you have a feeling that the injury may return.

Strangely though there was a kind of relief I was out of running action. I was happy that I didn't get my running injury to close to my starting point else I would have given up the idea of running completely. It also gave my body much needed rest. Its almost September end and its the start of the winter running season. I will have enough time to resume proper running before the winter sets in.

Somehow I feel it will be better to run in the fog and the cold rather than the unrelenting sun. I sincerely hope to complete a couple of races (10K upwards of course) before the year end.

Having said that I started running last week and in three runs clocked 5.4, 6.8 and 9.5 miles respectively. The last one being in light rain.. yay :)

Funny thing is that till the time I am running, I am also eating well. In the 10 days that I did no running, ice-creams, French fries and chocolates sneaked their way into my palate. The small print at the back of an ice-cream tub denoting high calories make sense only when one understands the effort required to burn them all.

I hope this will be a lesson to do everything and especially running in moderation... heck who I am kidding? :)

My first ten miler!

Ten miles- the distance between my old home in Delhi to my old school two times over, distance to India International Center, to my moms old school and back 5 times over, to Qutub Minar and back 3 times over-some of my the thoughts that crossed my mind as I completed my first 10 miler on foot.

I now seriously think i have a chance to complete a half marathon some time and though I don't to burden myself with unrealistic expectations, I would like to accomplish this within this calendar year.

1 hour 43 minutes 27 seconds is what it took... though putting a number to it doesn't do the justice to the efforts of the past 6-7 months which have included countless hours at the gym (sometimes on weekends as well), saying no to family friends on numerous occasions so as to not miss a training session, giving up leisure reading almost completely for the want of time, leading a disciplined life in all aspects- food, sleep, relaxation etc.

This run was also special as I covered 10 kms in under 60 minutes.

I now find myself amidst unchartered waters... having broken the 10 mile barrier, where should I be headed now? I have the half-marathon in sight but only time will tell where I actually end up!

Till such time, I am enjoying every step that I run and every calorie that I burn.

Week 4,5,6,7!

Week 4 , 5 and 6 were really poor in terms of running.

I wanted to clock 100 miles within 4 weeks but it was not to be. Richmond is the midst of thunderstorms that strike with no warning of any sort. I don't mind running in 90 degree heat but there is something about lightning strikes that scares the hell out of me. In my small self-centered existence I visualize every bolt of lightning programmed to strike me... so running in the rains is out of question. I did however work out a bit in the gym.

But week 4 wasn't all bad.. I had one good run of 9 miles which is my longest thus far. I took about 1 hour and 45 mins for it and I was pleasantly surprised to note that I was not as tired as I thought I would be. I did stop once for a drink of Gatorade and I made sure I had enough energy gels to keep me going. Thats something new that I have discovered and they help me when I run in excess of 1 hour at a stretch.

My feet of course were not thrilled with the unexpected exertion. This run was good since I got to know a lot about my body.

a. My feet hate running. Its not their fault. I have flat feet and so I tend to over-pronate. So to fix this issue as best as I can, I got a new pair of stability shoes from Brooks. More about that in another post though.

b. My body is uncooperative atleast for the first 20-30 minutes when it acts like a little kid who wont go to school at any cost. After that however its literally a piece of cake. Somehow the body ceases to have a mind of its own and listens to the mind :)

c. Music can make or break my running session. I have read a bit about the influence of music on exercise and honestly I have read equally contradictory views. For now fast, peppy music works well and so does devotional music.

d. I can run best when the mind (or is it the heart?) dreams up visions of all the good things that I believe will come my way. Positive thoughts greatly improves performance.

e. Endorphins exist! I used to think this was a hypothetical concept concocted to make people feel good about all the exercise they did. Its really a high to cover distances on foot that I once thought were possible only by bus, car etc. This "high" is what keeps me going. I just take enough care not to exert and work up an injury.

So week 4 in terms of numbers was worth about 15 miles

Week 5 and 6 even lesser- about 10 miles each and mostly "treadmill miles". :Treadmill miles" is a term that I have coined and in my mind I regard them a secondary status and every time I run on a treadmill I think I am cheating in some way. In my mind that loves mathematical equations, there is a formula for this too:

Treadmill miles=.75*Outdoor miles.

Week 7 has been good so far. I have run three times and covered 5.6, 5.6 and 8.3 miles. I hope to run again tomorrow so that I can close the week at over 25 miles. These sadly are treadmill miles as the weather is still not too kind for running-either pouring or sticky hot and once its cool, its almost sun-down. Its August end now and I guess days will be much too shorter now for my liking. So there is something to think about- either stick to "treadmill miles" or wake up in the morning and run. I am not a morning person and I don't like compromises as well- so here's something to think about.

Total miles till now is 123 in 7 weeks.. an average of around 18 miles a week.

Next few weeks agenda is to constantly clock 25 miles a week so as to up this average.

Till then, Keep running!

Week 2 and Week 3 roundup!

I wanted the updates to be weekly but I guess I am falling behind my targets. Luckily though this doesn't apply to the running and I am quite on track.

Week 2

I covered about 20 miles which was a little bit disappointing but I was suffering from a stomach infection which prevented me from running any serious distance. We are also in one of the hottest summers US is having for a long time. The trouble with summers is that I can get in only about an hour and half of running in relative outdoor comfort. This time is from 7-830 in the evening. Anything earlier and the sun is too oppressive and beyond 830 the traffic and the fading light make running on sidewalks a really risky affair.

Week 3

This by far has been the best running week not only in terms of miles covered but also in terms of the things I am beginning to understand about my body. I am also getting closer to proper running schedule.

Earlier running was just putting my shoes on and trying to cover as much as distance as I can and as many times as I can in a week. This isn't the smartest way of running. These days I am trying to run for 4 times a week may be 5 but definitely not more than that. As the miles covered in a day increase I am beginning to appreciate the importance of a rest day.

As I begin to refine my schedule, I am also looking for signals that my body gives. For reasons unknown to me yet, I feel the most tired on a Thursday evening, so I plan not to run on Thursdays. I am trying to keep my long runs on the weekend plus 2-3 running days on the weekend... so something like Mon-Wed-Frid-Sun or something like that. I want to use this schedule and increase the mileage upto 30-35 miles a week.

Week 3 mileage was about 23 miles which included four days of running. I also ran my longest run on Friday-8.2 mies in about 1hr 40 mins (which included a 10 min break)...The time is something to boast about but this was my first 100 min long run. I was surprised that I wasn't as tired as I thought I would be and I has enough fuel for a couple of more miles. I resisted the temptation to avoid an injury.

The idea is to cover about 50 miles in the next two weeks combined and include a ten miler in this.

Signing off

Week 1 Round Up!

Last week is what I will call my first week of serious running in the US. This is also the first week of running outside... well almost. On Sunday I ran on the treadmill but for the next four days Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday I ran out in the open. Over here I mostly have to run on the sidewalks...so my attention is in a way divided between dodging the traffic (its not that bad though) , searching for the exact song I want to be played at that time on my Ipod and checking my speed, heart rate, miles covered (its takes ages for this one 2 move), fat burnt all at one go. And you would have guessed it by now- I bought a new uber cool sports watch... but more on that in another post sometime.
I have charted a route of my own.. for atleast a few weeks till I can run more... I start from my hotel and turn on to what is called Broad Street though it doesnt seem to be particularly broad..may be they named it after one Mr Broad :)... The next few minutes of running are a lesson in marketing... Target, KFC, Traders Joe, Longhorn Steakhouse,McDonalds and by the time I reach Walmart which is around 1 mile from my hotel, I have a definite idea of how this run is likely to be. By this time my legs let me know whether they are going to give me a hard time or behave like good children. I usually try to cover this distance in about 7 minutes.

As I pass Walmart, the distance between traffic stops increases so I can run for a longer time without having to worry about stopping and looking out for traffic.This is about the time I encounter a flock of geese who seem rather bemused by my frantic activity or so I would like to believe. As the scenery gradually changes from a series of malls to open fields, I immediately feel overcome by a desire to run further than the last time. I usually try to keep the one way time to around 30 mins... its tempting to run further but I remind myself that I have an equal distance to cover back.

In a one hour run , I am currently covering around 6 miles... the idea is to increase this to abt 7 in a couple of months time.

This week I covered about 25 miles in 5 days of running. 25 miles of sheer happiness

Signing off for the week

Like they say
" Well begun is half done"

Why running?

Of all the things that my fertile imagination has thought for me, serious runing never figured in it. In my dreams,I was sometimes a marketing top dog, sometimes a spiritual guru, sometimes a street smart guy.. but never ever a runner.

Why do I run now? Flashback 6 odd months to last December... I could barely walk 10 steps without breaking into a sweat,I was eating wrong and was living wrong. To cut the long story short... I needed to change and this change needed to be permanent and for the better.
And so I started my journey.... I just wanted to be fitter and I thought that it was a good enough to start. I realized soon that I needed to be more specific...I then went through a whole gamut of goals that I wanted to achieve for myself..having a 6 packs, doing 108 Surya Namaskars at a go,having 18 inches biceps amongs others. I did chase each of these goals with a lot of enthusiasm and dedication but I realized most of these weren't something I could sustain for a long time except perhaps Surya Namsakars which is something I stil do may be not so regularly and certainly not with the competitive streak I had earlier (which is not a bad idea as performing any exercise in Yoga with a compertitive streak defeats the purpose in the first place). I actually eliminated serious running earlier partly because I was running on treadmills,partly because it seemed very boring but most importantly running doesnt have the same "glamour value"attached to it as going to a gym.

In India, atleast in Pune running is not a bright idea- the traffic, the absence of running paths, the sad state of roads, intermittent rains make it an actual for run your life kind of situation. Lets not get into the pollution bit and the fact that people give you strange looks when you run.

Then I came across a wonderful piece of writing "What I talk about when I talk about running?" by Haruki Murukami. I had earlier been greatly moved by the tender emotions potrayed by him in "The Norewegian Wood" and I amazed how person could juggle his time being a serious marathoner and a world renowned author. The book introduced me to the world of running hitherto unknown to me. As luck would have it, I got packed off to US for work. The book has numerous references to the many famous marathons in US and this whetted my apetite to put on my running shoes (sorry if that sound too cliched).

So here I am running. Running makes sense in US... I dont feel couped up.. .I dont need a partner.. just a good pair of shoes and and ipod and i am off .. It helps that this is summer and the days are long so I can run after work.

As the sun sets beyond the green fields and the far away mountains, my ipod plays "Peaceful Easy Peaceful" mirroring my thoughts.I jog along happy at the prospect of a warm bath, cold drink and a light salad that await me at the end of this mile.