Early morning (hilly) run in Fairfax [Nov 23 2009]

I did not update this blog last week. Did a 3 mile run in 34 minutes. It was a fartlek run. Comfy run. I think it was Tuesday last week. 
Anyways, I am not going to write about that entry.
Couldn't run this last weekend. So we decided to do an early morning run today (Monday). Got out at 8:45 and got back at 9:45. It was cold, but the gear helped! :-)
Quite hilly for what I am used to. This was the same route that Peggy had taken us on and I had found the return back very very tough. It was not so this time. We were pretty comfortable on the way back inspite of the slight ups and downs.
Concentrated on the breathing to make sure that I avoided the cramps. Works! 

Since we started this morning, I will not be able to update the meals part. So far I know I have had 2 eggs and a cup of tea. More as I go.

Jingle All The Way 10K

Madhura registered us for another 10K. Its called Jingle All The Way and is on December 13th in Washington DC's West Potomac Park. Not for a cause, but well...
Goal: 55 mins or less. Have to work on my stride and negative splits.

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(For this countdown timer visit: http://www.oneplusyou.com/bb/countdown )

Start back up [Nov 15 2009]

A week since we did the half marathon. Decided to slowly start back up.
After a week of rains and gloomy weather, it was a great Sunday. Perfect for a run. Enough rest. So decided its time to start running again. Enough rest.
An easy, slow run on our good old Government Center Parkway route. Took Maggy along too.
Knees are still sore and screaming! But by the second half, they were taking it well.
Heard Frank finished his Grand Canyon run. 55miles in that treacherous canyon - now THAT is something! Kudos to him! Someday I hope to run as well as him. 

Meals: Dosa + Mashed potato भाजी for brunch and sirloin steak + beer for dinner @ Applebee's.
Am planning to ramp up my runs a little more - more mileage per week. To increase pace. Lets see if and how the schedule and weather permits me to.

The first half marathon [Nov 8 2009]

So the D-Day finally arrives! The GCF race was to start today at 7am. We had a sumptuous Thai dinner with Jyothi and Lata the night before and a good night's rest. It was an interrupted sleep, but, all in all, quite restful. Woke up at 5:30am and took off at 6:15 to reach downtown DC's Freedom Plaza at 6:45. Quite stressful to find parking, but we did find a good place. 
Attire: Our base layers, tees, shorts and gloves. Come to think of it, it was an overkill, but we were not 'underdressed', so to speak. Everyone else was similarly dressed. The race count estimated ~1600. That included the half marathoners and the 5K-ers.
The race began 12 minutes late. But that was okay. We decided our target times to be between 2:00 - 2:15. That seemed achievable based on our practice paces. Being first time runners, we placed ourselves almost at the end of the whole crowd. It was a beautiful day. Perfect for running. Temperatures in the 50s. We were to do 3 laps of the course spanning Pennsylvania Avenue, Independence Avenue and Washington Avenue. Splendid view!

Madhura and I were together for about 3 miles after which I took off. The course was really even and smooth. I got the gloves and head cap off within the first 2 miles. Note to self: no 'overdressing' if temperatures are any where above 50deg.
At the end of the first loop, I was making really good time. 4.5miles took me ~34mins. That was way too fast, so I slowed down a tad.
The cramps set in at ~mile 6. I took it easy at the water break station and walked for a minute. The deep breathing and stretching helped. There were 2 water stations. I made sure to pick up 2 glasses - one gatorade and one water, mixed them up and sipped at them slowly. Not many people were really taking their breaks. I don't know if that was good or not. But it certainly helped me.
About around mile 5 the leaders passed me on their second loop. The speed that they were at...amazing! I was like...WTF! Some day...sigh!
I found a partner. Don't know his name. But he was a middle aged guy. We were together for the last 4 miles or so. Our paces matched. So it was good. Madhura waved to me whenever we crossed each other on the other loop. 
After an hour, my stopwatch stopped! Bummer! So I had to rely on the race clocks. At mile 10, the second clock said 1:34! I was pissed! 3 more miles in 26 mins. Impossible! I tried to push the pace up. Mistake! When I started back up, my thighs cramped up really bad! I let out a grumble and there was this other guy who prodded me on. Now that was so motivating. It was great! Asked him the time and he checked his watch to say 1:59! And there was still half a mile to go. I could see the finish line. But the little bit of sprinting that I did didn't help. Final net time was 2:03:38 with a pace of 9:26. Well, I met my target goal of 2:00:00 to 2:15:00. 

Place Div/Tot  Num   Name                    Age Hometown         Gun Tim Net Tim Pace  
===== ======== ===== ======================= === ================ ======= ======= ===== 
  225  78/109    332 Amit Gurjar              33 Fairfax VA       2:04:36 2:03:38  9:26 

392 155/196     25 Madhura Asanare          27 Fairfax VA       2:19:06 2:18:08 10:33

My feet really buckled after crossing the finish line. A good breather and stretching took care of that. Madhura came in at 2:18:08, a pace of 10:33. She cramped a muscle near her hip and looked pretty tired too.
Malli and Chandrika were there at the finish line. They are such a wonderful couple. They had water and bananas for us. We got our medals. I will post pictures as they upload them on their website.
For full results: 
Men
Women
The winners were right besides us. Their timings:
Men:

Place Div/Tot  Num   Name                    Age Hometown         Gun Tim Net Tim Pace  
===== ======== ===== ======================= === ================ ======= ======= ===== 
    1   1/89    1832 Demesse Tefera           27 Silver Spring MD 1:05:07 1:05:07  4:59 
    2   2/89    1420 Abiyot Endale            23 Bronx NY         1:06:22 1:06:22  5:04 
    3   3/89     612 Joel Mwaura              26 Waldorf MD       1:07:50 1:07:50  5:11

Women:

Place Div/Tot  Num   Name                    Age Hometown         Gun Tim Net Tim Pace  
===== ======== ===== ======================= === ================ ======= ======= ===== 
    1   1/196   1203 Teyba Naser              20 Albuqurque NM    1:12:33 1:12:32  5:32 
    2   2/196   1201 Alemtsehay Misganaw      29 New York NY      1:13:54 1:13:54  5:39 
    3   3/196   1205 Salome Kosgei            29 Sleepy Hollow NY 1:16:41 1:16:41  5:51

Look at those paces! Gosh! I have a lot to catch up on. Thats a good thing. I now know what to improve. :-)

There was Mandy Moore and Miss USA as chief guests, who we really didn't care for. Not now. Drove back home and slept like logs till ~3. 

All in all - a very very satisfying experience! I asked Madhura to immediately register us for the next race. That shows how much I enjoyed and want to do this again. 

6 months ago, whoever imagined I would do a half marathon!? Whoever imagined I could run non-stop for 2 straight hours!? In fact, even now friends don't believe it. I did it! And for once I can say, it was by the strength of my own will. And I enjoy every minute of it.

And I still have miles more to go...

A missed turn [Nov 4 2009]

In preparation for the upcoming half marathon, I decide to do another 3 miles. Chalked out a new route before taking off. Had to stop over at Best Buy to get a webcam for work. By the time I was ready to take off, it was really really dark. Well, since the route was in the inroads, I decide, not much traffic, so I should be fine. Started easy and then picked up pace. I missed a turn at ~mile 2. Soon I realize that the roads were not familiar. So I turn back. After getting home, I realize I had overshot by 3.5miles! But the good part is I covered it at a very very good pace! 6.4miles in 50min! A ~7.5 pace! Not bad!

Great part is that I was very comfortable! Had some stitches at mile 5, but slowing down and deep breathing helped. Overall very satisfactory and most importantly, I enjoyed it!

Meals: Cereal for breakfast + A (yucky) burger & fries for lunch + Chicken curry & Sarson ka Saag & roti & bread for dinner. Hydration - adequate. 

Have to do another run this Friday before the big one!

Leggings and top [Nov 02 2009]

I usually don't run on Mondays. But enough is enough! No more excuses. And I wanted to try out the new base layer we got from Dick's; just to see how comfortable they might be.
A quick run to Walmart to see if I could get any reflective items, to no avail. Will try some other store some other day.
A good warm up for 1/2 mile and then tried to keep a 8-9 pace (of course thats just from my judgement). Did the 3.74 miles in 32 mins = pace of 8.3m/hr. Not bad, I should say. Very very comfortable at the end of the run. Infact, I think after ~3 miles I felt I could spike it up a tad. Point to note.
The base layer leggings and runnings shirt felt superb! Infact I didn't feel that I was carrying a whole lot at all! So thats good. No stitches either. (Wonder if both have any link. I wouldn't think so.)

Meals: Cereal for breakfast + Regular Quiznos Turkey & Pepsi & a bag of chips for lunch + Bread  & Chicken curry (from Saturday's Halloween party...yuummmm!!!) & beer & Madhura's brownie for dinner. I didn't drink my regular quota of water. Inspite of that, didn't feel any discomfort.

Break the lethargy [Nov 02 2009]

Its been almost 2 weeks since we last ran. Last week was lost. My car conked out, farewell parties for the consultants rolling out, rain...excuses excuses!
So we decided to break the 'lazy run'. We got the base layer leggings and tops from Dicks. The last 12 freezing miles really got to us. 
Its been raining on and off last few days. So we just did a quick run on the treadmill at the apartment gym. 
I just cannot run on the treadmill! 2-2.5miles and I get 'bored'!
Lets see, weather permitting I may do a few miles this week. Have to try on the base layers too - see how comfortable I am in them.