Tuesday Runs

I love days like today when I'm up, laced up and running before the sun. :-)

Ran with the Nitros today. Did another easy 6K slowly progressing up my schedule. Was in much better form today than during my run on Saturday. Finished my run in 41:50. 

As always, running with the group helps me pick up my pace but I'm constantly in the danger of comparing myself to the other runners in the group - some of them are way better runners than me in terms of pace & form and they have about the same length of running experience as I do. I have to keep telling myself that each runner is different and considering that I never had much of an athletic background growing up and in my younger adult years, I should learn not to be too hard on myself

Heres our customary post-run group picture. This time around, we changed the backdrop.. :-)

Run Update

I had to switch activities around in my schedule this weekend thanks to some social commitments and ended up doing my 6K today as opposed to yesterday and squeezed in a bit of Yoga yesterday instead of today.

Was out of my home and running by 5:30 am today. I debated a bit about taking the long route through Haddows road & college road but stuck to my regular route instead. It was super humid today - like it has been for the past few days and felt like I was running in a sauna. By the time I got to my half-way point, I was ready to call it quits but somehow talked myself into continuing. Drank a few sips of water, slowed down considerably and managed to push myself into finishing my 6k. Took me nearly 45 minutes but felt great at the end.

I figured that a lot of my exhaustion was probably also because I was most likely dehydrated from the couple of drinks that I had last evening. Alcohol and running just don't mix and I've discovered that time and again. Every time I've had a drink or two in the evening prior to my run, I've felt it in my running. 

Did a longer than usual post-run routine and everything feels good. Looking forward to my Tuesday run already.

The Gear...

I'll be the first to admit it... one of the things I enjoy the most about prepping for a run is putting together my running gear. I love coordinating my sports bras and tops with my socks and shoes. And if it is a big run, like the few races I've taken part in - then the planning starts weeks ahead. I recently discovered the ultimate comfort of running in Dri-Fit and would love to replace all my cotton gear with Dri Fit. 

Dri-Fit is Nike's patented performance fabric but most sport's wear brands have their own versions of it. (Like Reebok's Play Dry). In a textile sense, the property of fabric to move sweat away from the body and to the surface of the fabric is called wicking and most mid to high end sports wear brands use this technology to develop performance fabrics for athletic gear. Wicking is possible only in fabrics with high polyester content and living in a hot, humid climate, I would shudder at the thought of wearing polyester or anything synthetic at any point in the day. Wearing polyester gear while running was therefore inconceivable!!

During my last race with the Dream Runners however, I was talked into trying out Dri-Fit. My leggings and sports bra were both Dri-Fit and what a difference it made. You don't get the heavy drenched feeling and the clothes feel dry and light even though you're still pouring with perspiration. My tank was cotton though. 

For my next major run I'm going all out wicking. :-)

The Way Forward

I've gone on four runs now since recovering from my foot injury. And so far so great. I love that the foot is behaving well and that there is no recurring niggling pains. I've given myself two more relaxed weeks (not counting this week) to ease into my training and if all goes well, I am thinking of going into full-swing half marathon training from October 12th onward. That will leave me 8 full weeks of training before the race week. 

Heres's my planned schedule. As always I'm sure it will be subjected to a lot of changes over the course of 8 weeks...

Most hard-core runners would say that my schedule has too little running. Which is probably true if you're a serious runner and you have set-in-stone targets for bettering you PR or earning a podium finish. At this point I am more concerned about running injury-free and running strong. So I figured that a thrice-a-week running + thrice a week cross + 1 day rest schedule will work just fine for me. 

Been reading up a lot of articles online and there are lots of different opinions out there on how much you need to run. Here are two conflicting thoughts on the matter from runner's world & competitor. Ofcourse for a novice who is really just running for the fun of it (me) some of those points are just moot...

Good Run & Feeling Good

I had a good run today. Woke up feeling very enthu, laced up the running shoes and ran up to Haddows park to meet the Nitros gang. Ran at an easy relaxed pace along the usual Nitros route of Nungambakkam High Road & Cathedral Road up to the Flyover on Radhakrishnan Salai. Counting my run up to the Haddows park, that was a total of 4.5k which was on my schedule anyways.

Post-run the talk was about registering for the Wipro Chennai Marathon which is about 90 days away. This time though I'm going to register only once I'm sure my foot can withstand the distance & the training that I will be putting it through. There is still plenty of time. Foot feels okay though, after today's run, so thats a start!

Heres us in our customary post-run pic.

Missed it!

I had a running event scheduled for today. It is the Bessie Runners' anniversary celebrations and they had organized a fun little run where you predict your finishing time at the start and run without any gadgets or timers. Had signed up for the run earlier in the week and had predicted a finishing time of 34:50 for 5K. Didn't run yesterday thinking I would have this run today. 

Come this morning, I slept through my alarm and suddenly woke up around the time when I should have been lining up at the start line. :-( Felt pretty awful. Since I had all my running gear set out from last night for this morning I decided to run a 4.5k along my usual route in hope that I would feel a little better. It was late already (6:45) when I started. It was hot and humid and I felt exhausted by the time I hit 1.5k. The general lack of sleep that I've been putting myself through the whole of last week thanks to work also didn't help with the exhaustion. Decided to call it quits and head home.

Hopefully next week is better.

Next Time

Now that I've started running again, I am glad that I didn't follow through with my crazy idea of going for the CTM 2015 trail marathon. Not running for 6 weeks has made my fitness level drop quite a bit. The 3K was a comfortable distance for me to run the other day but I would have found anything more that 5K taxing - let alone 21.1k on rough, uneven terrain.

However, now my FB news feed is filled with pictures from the trail run and I do feel disappointed I could not run...

On the flip side here is a picture that a runner posted of his shoes post CTM.. :-)

Next time. Theres always next time!

Feels Great to be Back Running

I resumed running proper today. Did a nice and easy run by myself along my usual route down Kothari Road and its bylanes. It felt great to be pounding the familiar streets and to see the familiar faces on their routine morning walks. 

I ran the 3K comfortably and was able to run throughout without walking breaks. The foot seems to be fine but I made sure I stretched it out before the run and icing my feet has become a permanent feature in my post run cool down routine.

Feels fantastic.

A Crazy Thought...

The Chennai Trail Marathon will be held this coming Saturday. If you remember, I had registered for it while riding my runner's high after having completed my first half marathon. Then that annoying thing with my peroneal tendon happened and I had resigned myself to sitting out the race. While recuperating from my foot injury, I used to get see the rare update from the race organizers which was easy to deal with. But now, as the race day approaches, the updates and also notifications from their facebook page have increased significantly.
Here's the latest - the race route map!

I only resumed running last weekend (and that too a run/walk combo) but I am so tempted to go. (Maybe I can run slowly, Maybe I can do a run/walk combo, Maybe I can walk all the way....). 

Yes, as this post title suggests, I am aware that its a crazy idea. I wouldn't attempt a regular half marathon with no training let alone a trail run over hills, farmland and muddy terrains... But look how exciting this route looks... And I did register!

I think I should let a sane, impartial person - non-bitten by the running bug - talk me out of this.

Finally on the run!

Yay!  I've got my happy face on because I finally got out and ran today after nearly five weeks of rest.

Last week a committee member of the Chennai Runners had got in touch with me and asked if they could use one of my images shot during the Dream Runners Half Marathon for use in some of the promo material for The Wipro Chennai Marathon to be held later this year. With my permission they used it for a "girls only" running event to generate more participation from women in the upcoming race.

I thought it only natural that I participate in the group run that my face was promoting.. :-). I got one of my friends, Pooja to run as well and it was her first ever run... Kept it nice,slow and easy and we went 5k with a run/walk combo. We ran about 2 k of the distance and walked the rest.

Pooja & I enjoying our post-run energy drink! :-)

I'm just feeling happy and content post the run. The foot too seems to have taken it sportingly! Such a pick-me-up running is for me!!