Time for the next one...

Every time I open up my blog these days, I quietly tsk tsk to myself when I see how long it has been since my last post. It is not because I haven't been running - that has been the most consistent it has ever been - but more to do with not finding the time (or inclination) to chronicle those runs.

Lets put the self-berating aside for a while for a quick recap. My last major run was at DRHM18 in July. I was thrilled to bits at the new PB that I had set during the race and I decided that I had earned some time off from running.  I dedicated 4 weeks to focus on strength and flexibility and that was pretty much all of August. Running is such a high-impact activity, that it does to an extent burden the joints. The whole point in taking the time off was to strengthen my muscles so it can be better equipped to support the running movement and to improve flexibility and mobility in the joints to counter any damaging effects that the running may have had on them. It was definitely not crucial to take a complete break from running, a good balance of these forms of exercises on a weekly basis should normally be more than sufficient so I'm really not sure how much good the 4 weeks off actually did... but it certainly did no harm. 

Come September, I resumed running. I signed up for two races and the first one of them is coming up on Oct 21st - the Bangalore Marathon. Still chasing my elusive goal of a 2:15 HM, I set up my training plan for 8 weeks. I have been more or less consistent with the schedule but haven't quite been able to hit the target pace. 

Here's the logic behind my training plan: To run a HM in 2:15, my average pace for that distance ought to be 6'23". I ought to be able to run a third of that distance (7K) at a little bit faster pace; say 6'10"- 6'15". Running at 6'15" would mean covering 7K in a time of 43:45. Come race day, I slow it down comfortably to 45 minutes and 7K x 3 = HM. 45 min x 3 = 2:15. Voila! (I hated math in school as a kid but I do love running math) Anyways, this is the basis of my training plan and also the reason behind the seemingly odd shorter distance intervals (1.4Kx5, 1.75Kx4, 3.5Kx2)

While logically the plan makes perfect sense (to me atleast) the trouble is that 6'15 (and even 6'23") is yet to become a comfortable pace for me. Running at those paces still feels like hard effort for me. 6'31" (thats my current PB pace)  to 6'23" seems like hardly a jump. On paper it looks damn silly. In reality it seems like an impossible gap to bridge. 

6 training runs & 2 and a half weeks to go.