Nearly there!

Collected my bib today. I have mixed feelings. It was a great expo, it had all the buzz and energy thats typical of a large marathon expo so I'm excited now but I'm also feeling pretty close to a nervous wreck. The butterflies that normally spawn in my stomach prior to race day are a hundred-fold this time around and premature by a week since the expo thats normally done the day before the event has been advanced to the weekend before the race. Given how my last two long runs have gone, I think my nervousness and lack of confidence is completely justified but I must talk myself out of it as these feelings are completely unhelpful.

To make matters worse, on Wednesday, I tripped over one of my cats (I think she did it on purpose!) and sprained my right ankle. Its not too bad but its not alright either leading to too much tapering on Taper week. By too much tapering I mean zero running. I have been working out and doing strength sessions (which now I'm wishing I had done more of during these past so many weeks) but haven't really run or walked during this week. Maybe tomorrow. And then maybe another short sweet shakeout run on Wednesday and then cross my fingers and hope for the best on Saturday.

Ever since last Sunday (after the abysmal run) I've entertained thoughts of dropping out of the race. I try and quickly push those thoughts out of my head and replace them with "I can run 20 miles. Its easy." It doesn't always work. Plus I'm still not completely over my second bout of flu and an irritating dry cough persists making it hard to get a good night's rest and so then recovery feels incomplete and it becomes all too easy to consider dropping out of the race. Then I figured, I've paid for the race so might as well go and collect the bib and goody bag (which was quite dismal) and then see how I feel after the shakeout run. Baby steps.  

On race day, I just need to complete the distance. Whether I run, walk or crawl, the aim is to just get to the finish line. I found out today that the cut off time for completing is 5 hours - which is great.. I figure even if I run/walk the 20 miles at 9'22" minutes to a km I can make it in the time. Which seems like plenty. Its sad though that after last week's run I have even lost confidence in my ability to walk to the finish line... :/ ... Wait, wait, positive thoughts! "I can run 20 miles. Its easy."

Abysmal

Today was my longest run of this training cycle. I was hoping it would go better than last week's long run so I could go into Race day feeling confident. The plan looked great on paper.. 6:00 run, 1:30 recovery walk x 30 sets. The run bit had a pace goal of 8'00" - 8'10" : nice and easy! Garmin estimated that I would be covering a distance of 27K in the whole time if it went as planned. Perfect!

I estimated that last week's recovery interval of 1 minute and the longer run interval of 9 minutes probably was the reason for the achy knee 2 hours into the run and the reason I had to do completely walk the last 1 hour or so. I assumed then that a shorter run interval (6:30 minutes) and a longer recovery walk interval (1:30 minutes) would get me more desirable results. Wrong!! 

I'm not quite sure why but quite early on in the run itself (around the 1 hour mark I think) the right knee started complaining. I tried telling myself it was all in the head and that it wasn't too bad and continued the run/walk plan for another hour or so. By the 2:30:00 mark, it had become quite clear to me that the pain was not in my head and that it was very much real. I decided then that I would have to walk the rest of the duration of the workout but in another half an hour or so even walking became quite painful and finally at 3:20:00 I called time of death and literally limped home. 

Crazily enough, I put the workout on pause mode to be completed later and the last 25 minutes of the workout was spent slowly pacing my living room later in the evening after I felt I had recovered some.

Abysmal.

Still here...

Eight weeks and no updates. You could be forgiven for thinking that I had thrown in my towel. But no, a trip to Australia, a cyclone, a wedding and a week-long snotty nose later, I'm still ploughing on.

I'm nearly at the end of my training period. I have just 3 weeks to Race day and my training has been less-than-stellar. Given everything that life had on offer these past couple of months, I just did not manage to stick to the plan. However, I did prioritise the weekly long run and whatever the situation, I tried to push things around and squeeze in at least that one crucial run every week.

The logic is this: considering that this is my first time attempting this distance, my primary goal is just to get to the finish line. To last on my feet for however long it takes to cover the distance. So then, the aim being endurance, the weekly long run gets a slight edge over all the other runs on the training chart. Don't get me wrong, everything else on there is important too - the tempo runs, the strength sessions and the walks - and in an ideal situation, my training log should have been covered with green ticks and not pock marked with so many red crosses - but in a less than ideal situation (such as what I've had) I'm glad that the green ticks are next to the long runs.

Yesterday I ran my longest run so far in the training cycle: 3hours and 20 minutes. I am still a little sick - a bad cough and a stuffy nose persists - so my sleep has been less-than-ideal and I am in general more fatigued that normal. So I'm not surprised that the run felt very laboured and tough. Anticipating that it wasn't going to be great, I had factored in 1 minute walks every 10 minutes, that probably helped me get to the end, but nevertheless, after about 2 and a half hours, my right knee started feeling strained (it is usually always the first to complain) and the last 50 minutes was spent mostly just walking. Still, I managed to cover about 23km.. which is the longest I have ever gone. Ever. Small victories :). 

This week is meant to be "Peak Week". Going to try and get in all my runs and at least 2 strength sessions and close the week with a 3hr 40 minute run. I'm hoping I'll be better rested and in better condition this Sunday than what I was in yesterday and that I will be able to keep running through the whole duration. If I can cover about 26/27 km in that time, I'll definitely feel better going in to race week.

Of Gummi Bears and Glucon D

When I first started training for a half Marathon, I discovered a very simple and effective solution for fuelling during the run - the very humble and down-to-earth Glucon D powder. This unassuming sports drink which has been around since the 1930s and with several special appearances during school "sports days" under its belt (I only used to have it, never took part in the actual sports day activities) is pretty sans-glamour but it does what it is meant to - spike the blood glucose levels for instant energy during intense activities... It did the trick, it was easily available, convenient to use and super pocket-friendly so it made sense that in this training cycle too, I would go back to my trusted fuel.

For an added hit of carbs during the run, in the past I've turned to Gummi Bears and that had also worked very well for me. I've read that the thumb rule for fuelling on the run is 30-60g of carbs per hour that you're running for. I suppose its not an exact science but I calculated that it worked out to about 15 gummies for my 2 hour run today.

So armed with my Glucon D and Gummi Bears, I set out nice and early for my run today, and it went really smoothly. I've recruited Dom to be my fuel Marshall on my long runs from here on out and its really sweet! He trails me on his bike and gives me my sports drink at designated intervals :). It really saves me from having to lug around the bottle with me and plus, I also get a body guard for the dark and lonely patches in my route;).

It has been over 5 years since I've done a 2 hour long run but still, the drop in my pace seems quite alarming. These days I find it a struggle to maintain even a sub-8'00" pace for longer durations. When I started this training cycle, I told myself its only natural and that the pace would pick up and settle over the next few weeks. But its been 8 weeks of consistent running and the pace doesn't show much signs of improvement. Back in 2018 16K in 2 hours was a slow day.. :) Today, I could just barely do 14K... 

The wise thing to do would be to not stress about it, continue keeping the pace easy and focus on just being able to cover the distance. Afterall, it will be a first. Now if only I can take my own advise.

(Almost) 8 weeks in

Just like that, another 4 weeks have slipped by. The 2nd block of my training is almost through. Encountered my first hiccup in the training when a week ago I fell ill with the flu. Things were going pretty well till then. I had completed my 90 min run in week 6 without incident and was feeling pretty good about the whole thing and then, BAM! Flu. I got over it in about 4-5 days - or at least I thought I had - but I guess I was pretty fatigued from the flu and I couldn't get through my long run for the week (the 1hr, 45min one). My knee started hurting about 1 hour into the run.. and for the last 30 minutes I had to stop and walk.

The week that went by has been better... my last run felt good. The knee was well behaved and now tomorrow, I nervously look forward to my 2 hour run. 

Even though the previous week was pretty much bust, it did give me a chance to look over old training notes, and catch up on some long overdue running-reading and it helped me realise that my runs have been getting longer, yet, I haven't really tweaked up my hydration or my pre, during and post run fuelling... This absolutely needs to change. Starting tomorrow. And oh, I absolutely need to get better with the strength training. (Yes, I know! We've been through this revelation before!)

4 weeks in...

As mentioned before, I've divided my training weeks into blocks of 4. Each with its own goal. Yesterday marked the completion of the first block. 

I considered Block 1 as my honeymoon block, the easy block which would be a nice segway into Block 2 - slightly more intense. The goal for Block 1 was for me to transition from 0 (almost) running to consistent running and by the end of it to build up to running for a duration of 1 hr. Happy to say that it has gone well. This 4 week period was important because the idea of running 1hr at a stretch was not too daunting but the task of running consistently was still challenging enough. I feel it probably wouldn't have gone as well as it did if I had set myself loftier goals of say, a running a 12K straight away.

My time "off" running certainly shows in my training though. It has affected my fitness and endurance levels and most visibly it has affected my overall pace. Whereas before I could comfortably finish 8.5K in an hour, it is now a struggle to even do 7K. I used to consider 7'45" as my "run-forever pace" (you know, the pace that you can run at which feels so good that you feel like you can run forever at that pace) that has now slipped down to 8'45" or even 9'00" I would say. I'm trying not to be too concerned by it. The main goal for this race is to just to complete it but ideally I would love to finish it in under 4 hours. I'm hoping as the weeks go by, my paces will improve.

For Block 2 (weeks 4 to 8) I have set myself the goal of building up to running for 2 hours. Its not unchartered territory per se, but the last time I ran for 2 hours was 5 years ago. So yes, I'm definitely a bit nervous about it but having managed to get through the 1st block, I do feel positive going into the next one.

Wish me luck!

2 down 16 more to go

Two weeks of my training plan done! :) Feeling so great about it!! Been quite consistent with getting my runs in but have been skipping some of my strength workouts which is not ideal. Need to get better at doing those regularly too. 

For a few weeks before I started this, I had been doing nothing in terms of movement or exercise so my body is going through a coping phase. But its not so bad that it has become sore in protest. Energy & enthu levels are still quite high and I think thats the benefit about starting the training at a slow volume suited to my prior activity levels. 

My current training volume feels quite comfortable. Yesterday I ran 50 minutes straight (at a nice and easy pace of 8'15") and the thought of running 1 hour in a couple of weeks is not the least intimidating. But sometimes the errant thought creeps in that soon I would be running for 3 / 4 hours and that really gives me the butterflies - so I try not to think about it and tackle each training block as it comes. We'll cross that bridge when we come to it.  

And it begins...

This week, without too much pomp and ado, I started my training. As always, I have my excel sheet ready with the training plan jotted down and after every run / workout that I do, I gleefully get to add my green tick to the chart (or woefully a red cross). 

Since I haven't been doing much running of late, the first 4 weeks of the training plan I've dedicated to base building and to getting my confidence to run long and far back. At the end of this block I should be able to comfortably run a steady hour. And then seeing how this block goes, I'll then move on to the next blocks of training which is to increase the distance / time on my feet.

I like to build my plans around time on my feet rather than distances... and week-on-week I would compare the distance covered in the same chunk of time to judge any progress. I find this way makes it mentally easier to tackle the run. I haven't specified any rest days. I'll add them in as I go along, swapping either the Wednesday, Thursday or Friday workouts for recovery as and when depending on how I'm feeling. This way the plan becomes flexible enough to absorb the inevitable curve balls that the upcoming weeks may have in store (migraine attack / unexpected late night socialising / too much work)!

So there! all set to take this on... more updates as I progress.

The years that were... :)

Wow! Logging back into this site after 3+ years!!!  So much has gone by, but on reading my last post, I realise that running-wise I'm still pretty much in the same place I was three years ago... 

To recap, I got injured in 2018. Feeling cocky after a particularly good half marathon race in October, I signed up for a 20-mile race (a new distance for me) with less than 8 weeks time to train for it. Recipe for disaster right? I know! Developed a cyst in my knee due to over training (too much, too fast), was kept off running for about 7-8 months, slowly built back to running a 5K in 2020 Jan... then, Covid19! Many lockdowns and also getting covid meant an on-again-off-again training pattern. The first half of 2021 seemed promising, it felt like I was getting back into the groove again. I was focussed on my 10K training and by mid year, I was almost back to pre-injury paces. Then we moved. I know it sounds ridiculous to say that the new place vibes turned me into a relaxed-i-don't-want-to-workout-anymore-person but I am saying it anyway. In 2022 July, I ran my slowest 10K race ever, clocking 72 something minutes. While it felt great to be doing a running event after a big gap, the race failed to reignite the old passion I felt for running.  Since then (and about a dozen cats later - IYKYK) my runs have gotten really sporadic and I seem to have really imbibed the feline spirit wanting to just stretch out and sleep all day. 😐

Okay so why the need to resuscitate this blog only to report this bland turn of events - you may be thinking right about now - and this is why: 2 days ago I decided to sign up for the Chennai Marathon coming up in Jan 2024. And I signed up for the 20 mile category. Yes, I did too! Its my big move to beat the distance that brought me down 5 years ago, to get my running mojo back and to fall in love with the sport all over again. Its a big ask - but I have 18 weeks to train and I think I've got it in me to see it through. 

So like with all the races that came before, I've got my training logs & records reopened and I remembered that this blog used to be a big part of my record keeping too. 

So here goes!!!