I registered for the Berlin Marathon this morning... 20th September 2009.
Am already excited about it! Target: 4 hrs.
More on this later.
Missed my runs on Monday and Tuesday - sleeping in, working late.... how does 3 AM sound? That's my excuse.
Ran 5km this morning in 26:40 - felt good. I just have to do this 8.5 times and bingo, Berlin's in my pocket. Would really like to crack 5km in 25 min and 10km in 55 min by the end of 2008. Stay tuned!
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Back to Church
Well, that’s a take on what Shumit has on his email footer…
“The road is my Church
Sweat is my Prayer
Running is my Religion”
Am back on the road now, started with a 5.2 km run yesterday.
Recovery from the marathon was pretty quick, I was back at the office on Monday morning though I had initially planned the day off. My body was kind of aching, mostly in my legs. Especially after I sat for a while and tried to walk I would clam up. Once a few meters of walking was done, it was fine. By Tuesday most of the aches had gone, and Wednesday was pretty much normal. I was itching to run on Thursday but deliberately did not pack my running shoes for my trip to Kakinada to force some rest… apparently there are a lot of micro tears and injuries that happen during and the lead up to the marathon that one needs to refrain from running for at least a week. Or so the story goes.
Friday was a sleep in, and I had to get out yesterday. I planned an easy 5 km run, and my wife Nithya joined me. She has been running these days and is already running 5.5 km non stop, albeit at a gentle pace. I gave company for a couple of laps and did a couple of faster laps myself to finish 5k in 32 min.
Sunday is the day of the long run with my buddies at Chennai Runners. I rocked up at the starting point today with nothing more than a 7 to 8 km run in mind. I ended up finishing 10.2 km in the end. Beyond 5 km I can feel my legs a bit, but going past 8 km it seemed okay. I have slowed down a fair bit... 10k in 1:06. Need to get this down to <1 hr consistently at least for shorter runs.
There is a lot of noise about Auroville marathon (Feb 15th) among my running buddies and I must say the temptation is there to run the full again… but I have to forget marathon training for some time and get stuck into other priorities at work and life (like writing my Singapore Story!!). The plan now is that I will do “base level” training, running 4 to 5 days a week, min 5 km and weekend runs of about 15 km, with one run a month being half marathon distance. In fact one of these half marathons could be at Auroville, and Nithya is aiming to run the half there - her first - so I might give her company. I also need to go the gym and get some workouts done aimed at my core and leg stengthening. That should keep my system well lubricated to ramp up for the next marathon… Berlin, September 2009.
Staying happy!
“The road is my Church
Sweat is my Prayer
Running is my Religion”
Am back on the road now, started with a 5.2 km run yesterday.
Recovery from the marathon was pretty quick, I was back at the office on Monday morning though I had initially planned the day off. My body was kind of aching, mostly in my legs. Especially after I sat for a while and tried to walk I would clam up. Once a few meters of walking was done, it was fine. By Tuesday most of the aches had gone, and Wednesday was pretty much normal. I was itching to run on Thursday but deliberately did not pack my running shoes for my trip to Kakinada to force some rest… apparently there are a lot of micro tears and injuries that happen during and the lead up to the marathon that one needs to refrain from running for at least a week. Or so the story goes.
Friday was a sleep in, and I had to get out yesterday. I planned an easy 5 km run, and my wife Nithya joined me. She has been running these days and is already running 5.5 km non stop, albeit at a gentle pace. I gave company for a couple of laps and did a couple of faster laps myself to finish 5k in 32 min.
Sunday is the day of the long run with my buddies at Chennai Runners. I rocked up at the starting point today with nothing more than a 7 to 8 km run in mind. I ended up finishing 10.2 km in the end. Beyond 5 km I can feel my legs a bit, but going past 8 km it seemed okay. I have slowed down a fair bit... 10k in 1:06. Need to get this down to <1 hr consistently at least for shorter runs.
There is a lot of noise about Auroville marathon (Feb 15th) among my running buddies and I must say the temptation is there to run the full again… but I have to forget marathon training for some time and get stuck into other priorities at work and life (like writing my Singapore Story!!). The plan now is that I will do “base level” training, running 4 to 5 days a week, min 5 km and weekend runs of about 15 km, with one run a month being half marathon distance. In fact one of these half marathons could be at Auroville, and Nithya is aiming to run the half there - her first - so I might give her company. I also need to go the gym and get some workouts done aimed at my core and leg stengthening. That should keep my system well lubricated to ramp up for the next marathon… Berlin, September 2009.
Staying happy!
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Beaten, but still victorious...
I did not achieve what I first set out to do i.e. "conquer Singapore in <5 hrs" nor did I achieve what I estimated as my finish time would be (2 weeks before the race) i.e. 5:30 and I did not get to beat my performance of last year i.e. 6:04. So, I guess I was beaten, fair and square. But - I finished the race in 6:18, battling on after about 30km. The first 30km took me 3:25 and the last 12km took me 2:53!!! After hitting the wall at 38km, and a massive cramp attack at 39km, I was pretty much written off to be a "transport by ambulance" case. Lying on the pavement for a long time and talking my legs into taking me to the finish line, managed to get up and do it - a triumphant smile on my face as I crossed the finish. ...
I am really happy I finished, it was a fight, and I did not want to see a "DNF" against my name. That kept me going and I think this means more to me than a <5 hr finish. Victory, after all.
More on this and other related stories later.
I am really happy I finished, it was a fight, and I did not want to see a "DNF" against my name. That kept me going and I think this means more to me than a <5 hr finish. Victory, after all.
More on this and other related stories later.
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