Too hot for comfort [07/24/2010]

We planned on a movie tonight with friends. So the run (3M) had to be done earlier than that. There's a heat wave around here. So I had to get my ass out of bed early enough. And that 'early' turned out to be 9am.
One of the hottest days I have run in. And now I know what they mean when they say that its too hot to run. I was sweating buckets. After 1.5miles, if felt as if we were running for 3. Good thing Madhura got some water.
I thought it would be better to cut the route short. So cut through the woods and got back home. Gosh! We drank like camels.
Got to remember to carry water, the cap and sunglasses the next time.
Wonder how we plan to do the planned 9M tomorrow. Am too tired to even think or plan.
Route:




Pain: The achilles tendons are quite sore. And I think I figured out why that would be. That 4miler day before yesterday. I remember I tried to land on the balls of my feet the last 1 mile. Just to figure out if that helps any. I guess that must the culprit.
The LYR app seems to be working now. I had to re-install it.

A drudging 4 miler [July 22 2010]

The achilles tendon was a little sore. So I thought I would cut a mile short from the scheduled 4 miler.
The usual gear. I am liking the topless run, I must admit. I have to work a couple of Fridays here at Dover. So I can make the Thursday runs.
At the bend where I would have turned for the 3 miler, I decide...well...if this is all about discipline, let me stick to the 4 mile run. So I go ahead to run around Leipsic. Good decision!
I had decided not the strain the tendon too much. So I had taken off really slow. Surprisingly I got to a pace of 9m/hr! Not bad at all! During the run I was contemplating if I should revise my 4hr target time to 4:15. But now am feeling better about the 4:00. Lets see.
It was a hot day again. And I sweat a lot too. Good thing I gulped down the 32oz bottle of water just before getting off work.
That reminds me...got to get the Gatorade mix asap.
The fuckin LYR app did not work today! Was so bummed out. I am sure I did a negative split. Well...
4 miles in 36min! Yay! Amazing result. I don't know how I got to that number.
Map:





Meals: Cereal + soy milk for breakfast, Jake's hamburger + iced tea for lunch, Heat-n-eat Daal makhani + 3 rotis + pizza slice for (heavy) dinner.
Tomorrow's a rest day. Will be icing my feet after I get home.

Quite a long run [July 21 2010]

The schedule said 5 miles. So I 'buckled' up, sprayed some bug spray and took off... topless. This time I decide to take the route that I had taken way long ago when I almost lost my way back. Turned on the LogYourRun iPhone app. Now I am pretty impressed by this app. Doesn't need a lock on your location to start counting miles. All it needs is your height and there you go. Some kind of calculation based on the iPhone accelerometer and its as accurate as Google maps! Lets you measure your heart rate too, if the need be. Got to play with that some time soon. It helps measure your pace in real time too. What else does one need?
Felt pretty good. Did some ab strengthening before taking off too.
I tried not to focus too much on the road...rather on the beautiful scenery out there. Helped take my mind of unnecessary thoughts too. It was a HOT day. Sweat buckets.
This was an interval run. 1M run at an easy pace (though I must admit I tried to maintain a pace of 10m/hr) - 2 min walk. And that worked excellent.
Map:




The other one thing I did was I stopped 0.5 mile short and walked it out. Read some place that recovery is better when you cool down properly.

Meals: Cereal + soy milk for breakfast, 6" spicy italian sub + coke for lunch, beer + heat-n-eat Daal + paratha for dinner. And LOTS of water.

Marine Corp marathon 15 week training program

Here's a program I charted out on LogYourRun.

It's basically a derivative of another 15 week program I found on the same site. All I got to do is stick to the schedule now.

Target time: 4:00:00.

Week	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday
1	Rest	4 mi	5 mi	4 mi	Rest	3 mi	9 mi	25 mi
2	Rest	4 mi	5 mi	4 mi	Rest	4 mi	10 mi	27 mi
3	Rest	4 mi	5 mi	4 mi	Rest	3 mi	7 mi	23 mi
4	Rest	5 mi	6 mi	5 mi	Rest	4 mi	12 mi	32 mi
5	Rest	5 mi	6 mi	5 mi	Rest	3 mi	13 mi	32 mi
6	Rest	5 mi	6 mi	5 mi	Rest	4 mi	10 mi	30 mi
7	Rest	5 mi	7 mi	5 mi	Rest	3 mi	15 mi	35 mi
8	Rest	5 mi	8 mi	5 mi	Rest	4 mi	16 mi	38 mi
9	Rest	5 mi	7 mi	5 mi	Rest	3 mi	12 mi	32 mi
10	Rest	5 mi	9 mi	5 mi	Rest	4 mi	18 mi	41 mi
11	Rest	5 mi	7 mi	5 mi	Rest	3 mi	14 mi	34 mi
12	Rest	5 mi	10 mi	5 mi	Rest	4 mi	20 mi	44 mi
13	Rest	4 mi	6 mi	5 mi	Rest	3 mi	12 mi	30 mi
14	Rest	3 mi	5 mi	4 mi	Rest	4 mi	8 mi	24 mi
15	Rest	3 mi	4 mi	3 mi	Rest	Rest	26.2 mi	36.2 mi

So here we go. Obsession with days and miles for the next 15 weeks. 

Picking back up [07/20/2010]

I don't even know where to begin now. Its been so long that I have to relearn running. Not a good thing.
And then I realized I have just about 3-1/2 months for the Marine Corp marathon which I registered for. Damn!
So its upon me to get this thing done. And I am determined not to do this half-heartedly.
So I have to chalk out this calendar and stick to it!
I did not do that this weekend. So I ran round the block.


   
   


Meals: A breakfast burrito from the dollar menu on the way in from home + coffee for breakfast, chapatis and black eyed peas भाजी for lunch, an italian sausage (which Marquis grilled on our backyard grill...yummmm!) and blacked chicken alfredo pasta (from Schwan's) for dinner.
Will chalk out a schedule for the next few weeks to plan for the Marine Corps.

Progressive run [06/07/2010]

It feels great to be able to decide, "Okay. Let's run today."
Quickly charted out a ~4M run. Decided to do a walk-run schedule. 5min run - 2min walk.
The 3.86M run took 45mins.
I did not push myself too much at all. Took it really easy. No music, and I did not miss it at all.
Overall a good run.
Am hoping to join Holly in her run tomorrow evening.

Start back up [06/01/2010]

I don't even remember when was the last time I ran now. After the half marathon, there's been a lot of stuff going on. First the leg pain (which wasn't really too much, but well...). Then the home searching on weekends. We did finally put down an offer; that got accepted and we closed on the home! We were busy with the move for the next few weeks. Then Madhura's parents are over to visit.
At the same time, we started the training on the project here in Dover. A lot of people came in and went. Learning new stuff. Standing up in front of a bunch of people and teaching them, frightening and enlightening at the same time. And tiring too! So I decided to just take it easy and hang my shoes up for a while.
And during this whole time, I just felt I was missing out on something all the time. I met Holly Scott who is a seasoned runner and invited me to join her running group. But I just couldn't get together to run with her. Lately, when I decide I am going to join them, I have started to feel worried that I will not be able to keep up with them. I even registered for the Marine Corp Marathon this October.
So finally I put on my Fivefingers and went out for a run. A quick and simple 3M. Ran 5 minutes and walked 2 mins. Very very refreshing. Hopefully I will not come up with more excuses. So here goes....