Run Update 25.06.2016

On Saturday I was scheduled to do a long run of 15k at an easy pace. The weather was really awesome - it was drizzling ever so slightly when I started and a light breeze made for a very pleasant run. Halfway through, it had build up to a steady drizzle and I did toy with the idea of cutting the run short but the cool weather made me run on and that too at a faster pace that I had initially planned. 

It was the first time on the road for my new shoes and they did good! :-) I'm really loving this new pair. 

New Shoes!!! :-) :-) :-)

My pair of Pumas have seen me faithfully through 750 odd kilometers and though they still seem to have a lot of life left in them, conventional wisdom tells you that running shoes ought to be retired every 500 kilometers or so. (My first ones saw me through 1150 km). So last weekend I treated myself to a pair of new running shoes and boy! am I kicked with them!!! 

I went to my "candy store", Running Lab, the only running specialty store my city has to offer. Now, I have never been fitted for running shoes to date - my previous pair of shoes had been bought online -(yes, really!) so it was pretty cool to see them measure the width & length of the foot, gauge the arch as well as check my gait in order to pick the perfect pair.

It is common knowledge that when trying on running shoes you should ensure that there is about a thumb's width space between your big toe and the front of the shoe. This apparently is to prevent your shoes from knocking against the front of the foot during a run which usually results in blisters & black nails. My previous shoes have always been a snug fit and to date haven't given me any issues but this time around I decided to follow good advice and pick a pair that offered wiggle room in the front. I have quite long feet and normally wear a size 8/41 in regular footwear. Finding regular footwear is usually a task in itself. Most footwear brands in town stop at size 7/40 for women. Now this extra toe space bumped my shoe size up to 42.5 and the store assistants cheerily tells me I would have to go for a Men's shoe! Dismay!

I did find a really cool pair in the On Men's section and I tried them on, ran a few lengths in the shop's indoor track and was overall quite pleased with them. I find them super light and it does really feel like running on a cloud as the brand's tagline suggests. Read more about it here.

I broke them in today doing a few laps on the terrace of my building and a really fun speed drill functional football training workout with my husband. It was just half an hour of training and now I can't wait to get them out on the road.

P.S - heres a really informative article on buying new running shoes by runnersworld

Run Update 18.06.2016

I have been feeling pretty good post-D2D. I've been in a good frame of my mind with regards to my running and am actually looking forward to the Dream Runners Half Marathon scheduled on July 24th.

I joined the Nungambakkam Nitros on Saturday for my long run. It was to be a easy paced 10k. Our group was being hosted by the Pillar Pacers (these names!) from Ashok Nagar - another chapter of the Chennai Runners - and the plan was to run with them along their standard  LSD route. 

We met up at Haddows Park as usual and then we car-pooled it to Ashok Nagar. There were quite a few runners from the other chapter and before long a runner was leading us in some dynamic stretches & warm-up. Though it was a huge group of runners, once we started the run, I found myself running pretty much on my own. There were some runners running way in the distance and a bigger bunch a little way behind. It was nice to run along a route different from the usual but somewhere I took a wrong turn and I did end up actually running all by myself :-). I was in a familiar area though and I knew my way home so eventually I just ran back there - finishing my 10k.

It was a good run. The weather was kind - not too humid & with a steady breezy. I managed to keep up a moderate pace and finished at a decent time of 10:09. Happy overall.

3 Down 3 More To Go

Heres what my day looked like yesterday...

Up at 5:30 in the morning to get ready for a long day at the studio - I was coordinating a photoshoot for work, on my feet for all of the morning and the better part of the afternoon, got home and had a late lunch of simple carbs, managed a quick hour-long nap, got my running gear all ready, squeezed in some stretching and a quick banana snack, got ready, warmed-up, took my customary pre-race picture and was whisked away to the venue for my first ever night run. I was doing a half-marathon run for D2D. Honestly, I don't think a long day at work should end with running 21.1 kilometers! :-)

I reached the venue at 9:15 and the flag-off was scheduled at 10:00. While waiting, (stomach full of butterflies) I warmed up for the 2nd time, partly listened to the compere on the dias and had an interesting chat with a fellow runner I just met. There were many more runners lined up than what I had expected - considering that the bib expo was almost deserted in comparison to the bib expos of other runs. There also seemed to be only a teeny-tiny percentage of women runners. The flag-off was about ten minutes late and there seemed to be an awful lot of runners at the start all around me. 

The 21.1k run was through a looped route. I remember thinking "ugghh" when I first saw the route map. Its mentally so much more tedious to run in loops and this one showed 3 loops.

By the time I had finished the first mini loop, the route was joined by the the 10k runners who had just been flagged off and the road was filled with loads of runners. The first loop went swimmingly well, I was surrounded by other runners, had good music in my ears and though it was stiflingly humid and hot (yes, it was freaking hot at 10:00 pm - felt like 40 degrees), there was a good steady sea breeze which gave a bit of relief. I finished the first 7k at a good strong pace of 7'00" ish and I was feel very good about myself. 

As I approached the 2nd loop and all the 10k runners split off towards their finish, suddenly the roads seemed deserted. There were very few 21k runners around me (I believe there was a huge number of drop outs) and then slowly the runners seemed to become very few and far apart. Running along the beach stretch, suddenly the street lights were off and I found myself running in pitch black. I could make out a runner about 100 meters or so in front of me and when I turned around I could see no one and I honestly thought I was the last runner in the pack. It was a scary 300 odd meters stretch of darkness with short respites of light as a vehicle or two passed on the other side. After a point the street lights were back on and I found myself plodding on to the turn-around point.

There were many hydration points along the route with water and gatorade and though I had fueled up at intervals, at the turn around point I felt completely drained of eneregy. It was the 14k point and my pace was at 8'15" something. At many times between then and the finish I kept thinking I should stop running and walk the rest of the way and I kept talking myself out of it saying we're 2/3rds done and if I continued running I would finish the torture sooner. I had worn my fuel belt supplied with electoral and a small pack of gummy bears and around the 16k mark I had some of the gummy bears and few sips of the electoral and from then on I think these two were the only things that kept me going.

I realized there were lots of other runners behind me and quite a few in front of me as well though the number of runners were quite scraggly in comparison to the start. I counted just 4 other female runners throughout the route and I knew for sure that two of them were way ahead of me. By 18k I felt that my legs were lead, my feet and ankles were sore and begging me to stop. The last three kilometers were run purely in my head and I could'nt believe it when I finally saw the finish line and the big digital clock hanging about it. Phew! it was over! 2:45:41 of why-am-I-doing-this-to-myself pure torture.

My first night marathon was great as running experiences go but will probably be my last. I felt awesome after crossing the finish line but I think night-time is meant for sleeping and morning time for running. The body is all set to wind-down-mode and it will fight you for trying to make it run a half marathon when all it wants to do is curl up in bed.

Well, another half marathon done and dusted and this run has rekindled my running spirit and made-up for the blah-ness that I felt post Pinkathon. Bring on the next!

Pinkathon - 3rd time around

Thats another 10k done & dusted! :-)

Yesterday was the 3rd edition of Pinkathon, Chennai. It was my third Pinkathon as well and also my third 10k this year. Pinkathon holds a special place for me because it was my first ever official race. Training for this race back in 2014 is how I got infected with the running bug. I remember I was so excited at the finish of my first 5k. However, each year the race seems to become a little less enjoyable. The standard of organization has waned from previous years, and it seems like the enthusiasm of the organizing team has also dwindled. This year, race-day was coloured by a terrible mishap where a wooden bridge leading from the parking facility to the event venue collapsed before flag-off, injuring several women who were crossing at the time. There were snippets of it on the local t.v channels, in the newspapers and of course on social media as well...

The event went on as scheduled and most of the participants were blissfully unaware of this until possibly after the race. The flag off was late - this, I had expected since it was the same last year - and at 6:10 we were off. Shortly before the flag off, I discovered that my mp3 player had conked and the realization that I would be running the entire 10k with nothing playing in my ears except my own random thoughts was terribly off-putting. Honestly, I don't know how some runners do it. I found the run quite boring and tedious without the music to distract me.

It was a steady, uneventful run. The heat was taxing, I was bored, I just somehow wanted to get to the finish line. The route was same as last year and most of it was along the marina beach - my usual training run route - so there wasn't even a change of scenery to perk me up. I got to the finish line in a time of 1:11:36 and it was so anticlimactic. In the past, after every race - no matter what my finishing time - I have experienced the runner's high. I always get an overwhelming sense of euphoria and achievement that transmutes to a ear-to-ear grin on my face that usually lasts the whole day.  For the first time ever I felt - nothing! I was mildly in a good mood for the rest of the day but thats it! 

I had also opted out of a timing chip so I'm not sure how my timing compares with all the other 10k runners. Considering there weren't many elite runners who took part this time, I'm thinking it would have been a decent rank.

The high point of the race was catching up with two of my friends who ran the 5k distance and the yum breakfast we had post-run.