On Course for Hyderabad Half

I wanted to ramp up mileage badly and had to make the time. Long distance running is a lot about personal motivation. At the end of the day, no one can drag you out of bed and out the door for a run except you. When I have company and run with Chennai Runners, it is great. But many a time I have to step out the door on my own and enjoy a run as timings and location could be different. When I am out there on my own, I am alone but not lonely. At work I am constantly connecting and engaging with people. At home I don’t get the chance to switch off or isolate myself. So running alone for me is an opportunity, it is therapeutic.

Reading through my blog entries of last year, I picked up that there were places where work pressure and hectic schedule were cited as reasons for struggling to stick to a training plan… well, looking back, with my current reality, last year was nothing!! It kind of sunk in that the here and now will always seem to be improbable, and in due course I would certainly look back and say, “that was nothing” – in the intervening time, I would have missed out many a run that I could have put away. This is where the 2 simple rules I spoke of last time come in to play – and why I should strive hard to stick to the rules.

Armed with the insight about last year Vs this year and the need to make time, this is how I ramped up since the last post…
Thu, 13th Aug: 5.6 km - Kakinada
Sat, 15th Aug, 5.1 km - Chennai
Sun, 16th Aug, 15.6 km - Chennai
Tue, 18th Aug: 5.7 km - Chennai
Thu, 20th Aug: 10.3 km - Chennai
Fri, 21st Aug: 6 km - Chennai
Tue, 25th Aug: 5.6 km - Kakinada
Wed, 26th Aug: 15 km - Kakinada
Fri, 28th Aug: 5.6 km – Kakinada

This morning a thought crossed my mind. During the registration for the Hyderabad Half, due to a glitch in the system I tried twice, and actually ended up registering for the full marathon instead of the half. I was told that I could change it at the time of collecting the bib, so left it. The thought today was, why not get out there and run the full?? Finally (as I write this, that is) based on the fact that I have not trained adequately for the full, and that the terrain is full of ups and downs which will bust me up in in no time, I decided that I should stick to the half marathon distance and not try and let my enthusiasm ruin the ramp up to achieve the 4 x 4 plan.

Based on my recent timings and the hilly terrain that the run will be held, I think a timing of 2:30 is possible. I am mentally ready and rearing to go. A feeling of restlessness exists about the run, which is great!