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.