6 down... goal met :-)

Trivandrum Marathon: Done. 6 Half Marathons in 2016: Done.

It was a good day as far as goals go and a grand one as far as runs go. I made a new PB - 2:33:25 - breaking my earlier personal record by a minute and a few seconds. I ran the race with the amazing support of my mom & dad who were cheering me on at the finish line. I had my aunt and uncle with me too at the finish - they had done their first 10k strong and had their very own PBs to celebrate. And get this: I got a podium finish - actually came in 2nd!!! Couldn't have asked for a better run to end my goal with.

The event as such was small with way less participants than the other events I've taken part in but it was well organized, the hydration stations were stocked decently well for an event this size, there were plenty of volunteers along the way to ensure everyone stuck to the correct route and in general it was smooth running. The route was just okay. Though most of it was running along the coast line it didn't offer any views of the ocean. But more than that what disappointed was the constant traffic in the relatively small roads. At one point I had to flatten myself out against a wall to avoid an oncoming public bus...

I stuck to my race plan more or less most of the way. My start was faster than planned and I reached the 5k point a minute or so early. I reached the 10k mark at 1:12:00 as per the plan but by the 15k point I had slipped by two minutes. From the 17.5k point onward I sort of had company. We kept each other's pace up (I think) for I am pretty sure I would have let myself slow down post 18k had it not been for this runner. I didn't learn anything about him because we mostly ran in silence (me listening to my music) except for talking about the remaining distance and time elapsed. I could have finished the last 100 meters in a sprint but I was distracted because I was looking for my power song to finish with and when I looked up I was suddenly at the finish already. Finished 4 minutes later than my race plan but PBed nevertheless...

I'm happy with that!

There weren't many women taking part in the 21K category and while taking the U turns, I didn't see any of them running ahead of me. I did see the winner, Kenyan Jane Mbogo enroute but she was so far up ahead that at the time I thought she was running in some other category. (Her timing is nearly an hour ahead of mine!). The results were out today and woah! here I am at second place!

I'll say it again: It was an awesome finish to my running goal for the  year!

TVMM - Race Plan

I agonized over my race plan for the upcoming Trivandrum Marathon. I usually mentally break down the route into small manageable sections and set mini time targets for each section. Normally these sections are equidistant and I can plan my splits fairly quickly. When I break down a route there will be familiar landmarks that mark the sections so it is easier to plan it out in my head. For example, along my Marina route I know that the Gemini Flyover comes at the 3K mark, the Gandhi statue at the 6.5K mark and so on. So when I am actually running, when I get to these points, I just check to see if I am on track time-wise. The race route being completely new territory, I have had to go by the water stations as given in the organizers map. These are not equidistant so setting time targets going by the ideal pace involved some complex math (and I am not that great with math!). I have arrived at the magic numbers though and here they are:

Hydration Point 1: 2.5K: Target Time: 18:30 

Hydration Point 2: 5K: Target Time: 37:00

Its always a good plan to run the initial half of the run slower than the 2nd half - many trainers advocate this "negative split" because it conserves energy and you are able to finish strong. This is my intention as well. In any case the start will always be slow because it is usually crowded at the beginning. My plan means I will be running at an average pace of 7'25" which is quite a comfortable pace. 

Hydration Point 3: 7.5K: Target Time: 54:30

Hydration Point 4 / U turn: 10K: Target Time: 1:12:00

The next two bits will be run a slightly faster pace of 7'00". I believe this would still be a comfortable pace for me.

Hydration Point 5: 12K: Target Time: 1:25:30

Hydration Point 6: 13.5K: Target Time: 1:35:45

Hydration Point 7: 15K: Target Time: 1:46:00

The middle section of the race is when I plan to run my fastest - a pace of 6'45". This will NOT be comfortable yet it shouldn't be that hard as not to be able to sustain it for 5 km

Hydration Point 8: 17.5K: Target Time: 2:03:30

Here's where I deviate from the negative split plan. I would have to slow down and come back to 7'00" just to ensure that my legs don't fall off during the run.

Finish: 21.1K: Target Time: 2:29:45

The point between the last hydration station and the finish is a long stretch of 3.6 kilometers (a little concerned here). Going by all my previous HMs, I will be running on near empty by this time. This compounded by no hydration breaks, I will be bound to slow down during this last stretch. Keeping a comfortable 7'30" pace for this bit means I should cross the finish line at a neat 2:29:45 - sub 2:30 and PB if goal is met.

Very nice plans all, but everything could just go for a toss in a snap. If the weather is hot or muggy, I will be happy if I can sustain an average pace of 7'45". Too many inclines, too crowded, raining, not able to find my rhythm, not rested enough - it could be anything. Sometimes I wonder why I even bother to plan this out so meticulously  - 'coz not once have I been able to stick with it. :-) 

Maybe this time's the charm! (Hope. there is always hope!)

TVMM - Race Week

Finally, the race organizers of Trivandrum Marathon have sent some updates via email. I love reading these because it really amps up my enthusiasm and energy and is an important part of my ritual of getting race-ready.

They've sent the much awaited info on the bib expo venue, the race venue & details on the getting there bit, reporting times and flag-off times for the various events and - my favourite - the route map. I had heard, that last year the marathon was flagged off in the city and was run on a 10k loop that snaked through the city roads. I had been mentally prepared therefore to run the half marathon in 2 loops (extremely tedious & boring!). I was so happy to see, then that this year's route was a 21k loop which meant just a single loop half marathon (yay!). 

On a bonus note, the start point is from Shangmukham beach and the route that they've sketched may be the route along the beach towards veli - which offers lots more hope for a scenic, breezy, pleasant run than the city roads did. 

As always, I pored over google maps, obsessively trying to trace this sketchy route out on the "real" map. I think I've come pretty close to it. The angles of the route on my map is clearly not at neat, defined 90 degrees as shown on the race route map but it is a perfect 21.1k - and it hits all the landmarks shown on their map - Veli boat club, VSSC & All saints college. I'm going to assume its the right one.

Next, I would break the route down point-wise and figure out my ideal crossing time for various points - in case you were wondering, this is why I do this exercise in the first place. (I'm keeping this next task for another day.)

Race excitement aside, I am also greatly looking forward to visiting home - its been a while. I will leave on Friday evening and will have the whole of Saturday to relax with the folks - will have to nip down to the YMCA hall to collect my bib though. Post run on Sunday, I get to chill out and wind down at home and stuff my face with some awesome food - most likely parotta and chilly chicken! :-) Can't wait for this weekend to get here. 

TVMM Training Week 5

Woah! This week I was ON!

On Monday, I did a 20 minute stairwell workout followed by some upper body strength training. Normally you would hear trainers tell you to do weights first and then finish up with cardio - the idea being to deplete all the carbs (glycogen) stored in the muscles first so that when you then finish up with cardio, your body will turn to burning your fat stores for energy. But I find that when I try to do cardio after weights, I'm just not able to get through it... 

Tuesday morning, I got up well in time and had hit the roads by 5:00 am. I was to do the 18k lsd that I had missed over the weekend. When I started it was strange to see a bright big moon shining down through the trees - it felt very surreal. For the first 45 minutes or so the weather was considerably cooler than last week and the run felt good. My app showed a pace of 5'40" and I was pretty shocked since it didn't feel like I was going that fast. Then I figured that the app had somehow reset itself and wasn't tracking the distance correctly and so it was calculating the pace wrong. By the time I was at 800 meters it was showing that I had done 1 km. But since I was running on my most frequented route, I was familiar with the kilometer marks and stopped when I got to the point I knew to be 18k (though the app said 22.5k). It did not even track my route - which was a nice long one from home all the way to Napiers bridge at one end of Marina beach and back. Going by the more accurate distance of 18k in 02:06:45 put my pace at 7'03" - definitely not as fast as 5'38" but still pretty good.

Wednesday, I spent a good one hour weight training for my lower body. Of late, I have been trying to pay more attention to this part of my training. Strength training is probably my least favourite thing to do. But it is so important for all the long term benefits - stronger bones, stronger muscles, better muscle definition & toning not to mention better stamina and endurance. Thats how I found myself doing a long session of weighted squats, lunges & calf raises, deadlifts & leg extensions ending up absolutely drained.

On Thursday, I wanted to do a tempo run so I joined the Nitros but 300 meters or so into the run, I just wasn't feeling it. Even before I had reached Haddows park (at about 1.5k) I was feeling like I normally would towards the end of a 10k run. Just to keep me intrested in the run, I decided to make it a fartlek run instead and I did randomly timed fast sprints (run like a dog is chasing me) for random distances (from this tree to that lamp post) at random intervals (ok, I'm feeling good so lets start it up again). It was fun and somehow got me through the 6k distance. I enjoy doing really fast runs (5'00" to 5'30") but the trouble is that I cannot sustain that pace for long - maybe 100 meters at the most.

Friday was core day. Like many others, I aspire for nice, flat, toned abs (not six packs but I would like some definition). It is a very tough goal for me becuase it does involve a fair amount of dietary discipline (which I hugely lack) but I diligintely do core workouts once a week with the unabating hope that I'll get there someday (though I don't particularly enjoy doing crunches and planks and what not).

Today too I hit the roads at 5:00 with the goal of doing an easy paced 12k. I turned around at the 6k point and ran into some of the runners from Nitros. I enjoyed a chatty, slow run after that with even a couple of walking breaks thrown in. I turned off into Haddows park cutting my run short by 2 k, did my stretching, posed for the customary group pic, hung out with the group sipping the customary post-run coffee and headed home feeling pretty relaxed actually.

Now if I could queeze in a nice leisurely swim tomorrow then this week will be perfect!

TVMM Training Week 4

This morning, though I was able to get myself out of bed, laced up, on the road and all set to do an 18k, I just wasn't feeling it. I felt sluggish, low on energy, sleepy and the thought of running all the way to Napiers bridge and back felt daunting. 

It was also late (5:50) and something about starting the run in bright daylight seemed weird. I knew it would take me till 8:30-ish to finish and imagining running back throught the traffic and the heat dissipated whatever little inclination I had. But since I was out on the road anyways, I decided to do a fast 2K around Kothari road and call it even (thought the two targets are even the slightest bit comparable).

I completed the 2k at an average pace of 6'28" which was not bad! I put in most of the effort during the last stretch because I wanted to finish the 2k under 13 minutes and I just about managed to. 

Earlier during the week too,  I was not able to get out in time for a run although on Thursday I did manage a pretty intense indoor running drill session. 30 minutes of running in place in 1 minute intervals of fast running followed by 30 seconds of a recovery jog. 

So all-in-all that made for a pretty dismal Week 4 as far as training goes. I've run about 6 km this week and it was supposed to be peak week. Not feeling very proud of myself. To make up, I intend to run my 18k this coming tuesday, a tempo run or interval run on Thursday, and a 1 hour run on Saturday. Come race week, I should try and squeeze in a 12k on Monday or Tuesday and maybe a light 5k on Thursday. My training is far from ideal and I should not even entertain thoughts of achieving a PB this time.

TVMM Training Week 3

The training continues, though the Week 3 plan had to be tweaked somewhat.

Tuesday went as scheduled. I got a 5K tempo run done. Joined the Nitros for that one. Managed to maintain a fast pace and got it done in 33 minutes. Would have been a quicker run if my shoelaces hadn't come undone enroute (twice!! <eyeroll>).

Over the weekend, my social calendar just didn't allow me to sqeeze in an early morning lsd. Today being off, I decided to do my 15k. But I just about managed to get up at 4:00 am and push myself out the door for a run - for today was a record! I went to bed at 2:00 am and did my 15k run with only 2 hours of zzzzs. (eyeroll again)

I am surprised I got through the run - and that too at a moderate pace of 7'22". Again it had rained last night and again, I was looking forward to pleasant running-weather only to be sorely disappointed. It was as hot and humid as ever but with a bit of wind which lent some respite. We are in October! When is the weather going to turn mild?!

Very tired and I think I am sleep-typing this out. But I have to stay awake a little longer and keep hydrating. I may have chronicled this before, but all through my CTM training, post every long run I would get terrible headaches later on in the day which would last a good 8-12 hours - even race day was not spared. I did a lot of reading up on this and lot of what-did-I-do-wrong-musing and eventually wound up at the conclusion that it was caused due to acute dehydration. These past couple of months have been quite strangely hot. I did notice that the runs were sweatier than normal but I did not adjust my water intake accordingly. And mistake number two was snoozing for a couple of couple of hours shortly after the runs which only compounds the dehydration.

Last week, after my lsd, I was very careful with the hydration. I didn't care if I had to run to the toilet every twenty minutes, but for 2 hours post my run I continually kept sipping water (about 3 litres). And voila! no headaches. Apparently this is a very common problem, especially with people who are prone to migraines (as I am). Heres the forum & article that lead me to the answer.

Other than the postponed long run, Week 3 was good. In addition to the tempo run, I got in three sessions of strength training, 1 session of cardio workout, and 1 swim day. Which was perfect. Need to keep the momentum goin - onto Week 4.

TVMM Training Week 2

I'm gearing up for my 6th HM for the year and this one is going to be in Trivandrum on the 30th of October. I'm looking forward to running along a new route and ofcourse the added pleasure of running in my hometown. 

I started my "chilled-out" training program last week. I call it chilled out because it only entails 2 or 3 runs per week. Mind you, you will never see a professional running training plan that asks for anything less than 3 days of running - so this one is just for me by me. The days that I'm not running, I've got me doing strength, cardio or Yoga. Six of the seven days in a week, I will still be active. Of the two runs, one will be a short, fast one (tempo, fartlek or interval - depending on what I feel like) and one will be a long, slow one.

This week, on Tuesday, I joined the Nitros for a short run. The plan was to do a 6k tempo. The rest of the group were doing an easy run - I just had to keep up with the "easy" pace of the faster runners to maintain my tempo pace. Managed to do the 6k in 41 minutes which is about 4 minutes faster than my average 6k time.

I had my long run scheduled for yesterday. I was intending to do a moderate paced 12k but I knew that was a tough ask last morning given that I had had a long, tiring work day the previous day and had only about 4.5hrs of sleep in the bank. I decided to endure the whole distance by working an easy - slow pace. 

It had rained the previous night and I was expecting it to be very pleasant to run in the morning. I was so wrong. It was sultry, humid and almost breeze-less. I thought that once I got to the 6k point by Marina, instead of turning around, I would run along the beach promenade and back - just for some relief from the heat. But even along the beach it was still and opressive so I ended up turning around after all.

In the end, I did manage the whole distance and because I was going at a slow pace, it didn't feel totally torturous.

Another 4 weeks to go.