Sunday, November 2, 2008

The New York City Marathon

Hi, its guru reporting from New York City. It is a bit ironic again for me at this moment.
I could see the NYC marathon at the streets of Manhattan.
And, i will not be able to run the Delhi Half marathon next Sunday.
I was cheering at the 22 mile mark near Engineer's Gate Central Park. It was really cold and a bit of windy as well.
I got to catch some of the elite women runners on my camera. Paula Radcliffe, who was the eventual winner was the first women to pass the 22 mile mark. And man, all the elite women were fast enough to be caught on a normal digital camera, like the one i had. I wish if i could train myself to run like them.

Thursday, September 18, 2008

Double digits - getting comfertable

Now, the 11Km run has become easier then before. I don't cramp in the legs or stomach throughout the run. Probably that's a good signal, simply means that i have become comfortable in that zone. And yes, i don't consider the timings, i will have a better timing if i race the same distance. I have raced just one 10K, with a timing of around 57 min. So if i go for timing then i have to do at least a 55 min - 10Km run, but that's not important now since i am training for a half marathon. I would rather increase my long run distance. And when i could do a 15km long run, i would go for a 10Km test run, say something like a tempo and try to break 55min. So, to target that I plan to do a run of around 13Km this Saturday, and by next weekend improve to do a 15Km run. And, if i can do that, i will be more that happy.

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Airtel Delhi half marathon

An alarm to all those who have been looking up for the Delhi half.

The registrations are going to open from tomorrow, check this out

http://adhm.indiatimes.com/articleshow/3458603.cms

I am going to register for this one as soon as possible.

Saturday, September 6, 2008

Entering the double digits

OK, here is a milestone, for me obviously:)

I ran 11 Kms yesterday evening in a time of 1Hr 8 min.

The weather was good if not perfect. It was raining the whole day, was a bit humid by the evening, no rain and good quality air(because of the rain).
I have been looking for such conditions, so that i can just jump over the mental barrier of the double digits. So, with a plan, i started out slow, remained patient and concentrated on my breathing throughout the run. Overall, a fruitful long run.

I am concentrating on my speed training also. Just trying to run sub 5 min Kms on tempo days and around 4min 30 sec per Km on interval days. Need to keep doing the stuff and do it wholeheartedly.

The next target is to do a 13 Km in the time period of 1Hr 15 min. (That chops off 5 min from my usual long run pace.) I am giving myself 2 weeks for that.

I am enjoying running like never before. It's on!

Thursday, September 4, 2008

Importance of Warmup and Stretching

Mostly i'd do a 5 min stretching before a run, tie my shoe lases properly and start running.
Yestready was the day when i realised what mistake was i doing. I could do only 2.5 Kms at a 4.5 min pace. And at the end my legs feelt like mud! SEERIUOSLY.
I have made it a point to do good warmup and stretching before starting to run. And the result is really really satisfying. I think stretching releases the tension in the muscles and warmup gives a signal to the body that there is going to be more work load.
Now i do a routine of streches for around 15 min before and after the run. Warmup is usually a slow jog of 1 Km, which i do only on the days when i inend to run fast.
And that has helped me a lot, i must say. An advice to everybody.

Thursday, August 21, 2008

Coming close to the double digit

To day i did a 9KM run. I kept it pretty even paced until in the last lap when the sun came shining to its best, already the humidity was high, where i lost around 10 seconds. But sometimes tough conditions are good tune ups for the actual races.

Following were my splits.
2.2 km - 12.41
4.4 km -13.09
6.6 km - 13.09
8.8 km - 13.20
4oomtr- 2.13
---------------
9.2 km - 54.34
---------------

It was a commitment, well accomplished in time.

So what i think is that i am not far away from the 10Km mark. Not bad!

Thursday, August 7, 2008

Running workouts

It feels great to do all kinds of running workouts.
I am trying my hand at both slow, fast and mixed pace workouts.
At the slower side, i try to maintain momentum at around a 6 min per Km pace.
The fast days to me are intervals of 1 Km at a sub 5min pace.
And medium days, i try to run around 5Km, starting with 6 min pace, then gradually build to 5 min pace and finish the last 800mtrs at a 4 min pace. This gives kind of a good practice for a strong finish.

Bottom line is to maintain a good form and get the most out of the day, have a sweaty but smiling face.
-Happy running

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

800s Workout

Today was an interesting day. I was on my regular maintenance slow run. Started with an easy speed of just under 7 mins per Km, did 4Kms(No stops). Then thought of trying something interesting. On the road where i run, there a section which measures approx 800 meters. So, thought of running that. Went on to do 2 * 800s. Did both of them under 3 min 20 sec, with a recovery of 2 min in them. Ended the day with an easy walk-run for 1 Km. Felt very strong doing the 800s. I think i am going to do this kind of a workout very often, once a week will be good.Also, i will plan to reduce the initial warm-up from 4Km to say 2Km and then try to do multiple 800s, will gradually increase the count and speed.

Any comments on this workout are welcome. All this is for a half-marathon training.
Also, i came through Bart Yasso 800 on the internet. Interesting!

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Recovery and replenish

The bangalore race was a real test for me, physically, psychologically and spiritually. All the effort and pain that i put in it was fruitful. It was an amazing feeling of some kind of a win, we don't have to win the race to get that feeling. I earned a wealth of experience from this first ever race of mine. At the end of the race i had a kind of pain in my right ankle, but it was not bothering me much. Later, i was in a mood of a good recovery. One week and i didn't go for running any single day. I was giving myself as much rest as possible. The ankle pain started to disappear slowly. Today its a complete month after the race, I feel fit and ready for the training again.
So this time it is going to be a half marathon, target of sub 2 hr, time remaining is 4 months. Plan is to start slow and low mileage every alternate day. Gradually will increase the mileage and then some speed days. As simple as it looks :)

"To keep from decaying, to be a winner, the athlete must accept pain - not only accept it, but look for it, live with it, learn not to fear it." - Dr. George Sheehan

Update: Started with slow jogs of 15 minutes on alternate days. 2 weeks passed. Now i can do upto 30 mins on a 6min/km pace. I am not pushing very hard, i stop during a run once or twice; to take a breather if i feel to. Starting next month, i am going to start my actual half marathon training with a good strategy.

Update II : Now i can do 5 Kms within 30 mins in slow jogs, 3 Kms in 15mins during medium runs. All runs remain non-stop. 2 run days followed by a rest day.

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Bangalore 10K unleashed

This Sunday, May the 18th 2008, i ran the Sunfeast world 10K in Bangalore.

Distance : 10Km
Official Time : 56 min 55 sec
My timing : 57 min 20 sec

My target timing was a frame of 55 min to 60 min.
The race started @ 9 am in the morning. It was hot by that time and as i thought it kept getting hotter for the next hour. I could have achieved 55 min or even better if the the race would have started earlier in the morning. It was so hot while the race that i was literally throwing water all over my head to cool down. Being my first ever race, i have learned a lot of things from it. And now i understand what were the correct things i did and what i need amend in my training plan for the next race.

I opted for the chip timing, and yet to receive my timing certificate. According to my watch, following were my splits:

First 4 Kms - 22:35
Next 3 Kms - 18:40
Last 3 Kms - 16.05
---------------------
Total - 57:20
---------------------

The race was good and well organized. The organizers tried there best to do everything they could. The security arrangements were good too; both inside and outside the stadium.

Friday, May 9, 2008

Getting lost

Today i went on a long run. Decided not to go on the usual path.
Got up at 5am, left room @ 5:45am, direction to go : Unknown.
Almost got lost in the messy roads and fate got me back to a known road to my usual path.
It really feels amazing to see new things and especially the way people(street dogs too) look at you because rarely anybody runs in my place on the roads.
Did 1Hr and covered above 10Km.

Monday, May 5, 2008

Sunfeast World 10K Bangalore

Following is the update which i got from the organizers.

Open 10K will be going to start at 9:00 am. All Open 10K participants are required to assemble at Kanteerva Stadium from 7:30 am, on May 18th, 2008.

But you have to be in Bangalore on or before 17th May to collect your running no. the bib collection as well as chip timing will be from the indoor stadium, within the kanteerva athletic complex, from 14th to 17th of may.

UPDATE : Race map http://images.photogallery.indiatimes.com/photo.cms?msid=3018618

Thursday, May 1, 2008

My latest timings

I ran yesterday and today to see my timings again.
Yesterday was a tempo day, but i decided to give a shot at the 3Km run. And i ran it, no stops. First 2 Km i ran at a steady pace, and last one was an eye opener to me. I discovered that i can run very well after my disciplined training. I did not take any stops and finished it in 11min, 01 sec. I was all smiles at the end. After that i had a cool down run of 15 min at very slow pace.
I never follow a tempo run day after a fast day. So today, went for a long slow run, and measured the approx 10Km road in 58min. I feel great after these two days. But one thing, i am going to take two rest days now before i hit the road again :)

PS: Rules of success - 1. Never take an iPOD on a fast day, and 2. Never forget it on a long run.

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

The bangalore world 10K

Participated in a 3Km race in the firm i work. Finished in a respectable 14min 30 sec.
Registered for the World 10K at Bangalore, hope for the best. My target is to finish the run within 60 min.

Monday, April 14, 2008

New shoe

I did a lot of research on the right type of shoe that i should wear while training. Best place to get a guide is runnersworld.com, i did that and bought the Adidas Response Cushion 16. Though that cost me a good 4700 rupees, but then you need to invest to get returns :-)

Training is on schedule, but right now in the beginning phase only. I go to run 5 days a week, 1 rest day after two days of run. Do around 20 -30 minutes of slow jog. At this phase building right amount of stamina is much more important then speed.

Happy training :-)

Thursday, April 10, 2008

Rediscover the passion to run

It might be a bit ironical, but it always feel great to rediscover great things. This time it is a sport that i always admired - RUNNING. Just starting it alone, but hope a lot of others join me in future.
My plan is to start training for longer runs with more stamina and strength, will start with a 5K, then 10K , next a half marathon and not to end till a full marathon. All needs to be done in a span of 12 months. Ultimate goal is the mumbai marathon's half marathon, to finish it in 1Hr 30 min(10 months from now).
Whats there for others in it ? You can come here and check my progress, ask questions about training, injuries, scheduled races in Inida and anything that comes to you mind and finger tips ....

Happy blogging,
Guru.