I did manage to getup early enough to manage an early start, which was suppose to be 7am, but it did not take place and I finally got out at 7.45am. Sometimes I just feel extremely lazy to get ready and get out of the house. This made the run even more difficult (plus the fact that I was not really in great shape over the last few days) as the heat and humidity really took a toll after the first 11kms of the run. I decided to walk for about a kilometer, just to let my body rest and get back to normal temperature and then followed it up with a good 7.5km run after that. Actually the break makes it (mentally) tougher to get back to running again. But, that is the challenge, which I tend to enjoy and it will actually help me for my Leh run, as I might have to walk after every 8-10kms, just to catch my breath (with avg altitude of over 3500meters that is very likely) and then start running again. So in all I managed to do about 19.5km in about 2hours 3minutes.
The highlight of the run was a conversation I had with a milkman (who was on a bicycle delivering milk to his regular customers in traditional milk jars/cans, they actually have their own cows/bufallos & deliver fresh milk) during the last couple of kilometers, of my first 11km run. He obviously saw me quite exhausted & advised me that I needed to breathe only through my nose to avoid exhaustion (and I was trying to explain to him, that I was breathing in through my nose and breathing out through my mouth). And then he started a string of questions, why was I running in the sun, why was I running at all, was it something to do with school competition (school & me, now?), and then he went on to explain that he used to run during his younger days for a good 3-4kms at a stretch (and he was actually all of 24years). It was difficult for me to explain to him, why I was running, I tried to explain to him that running was a hobby and that I participate in different marathons, in different parts. But what really caught his attention was that today I was planning to do a 20km run today and the fact that I was a lot older than he was.
It is these conversations or incidents which makes running in the outdoors great fun. It could be anything - running with a total stranger, meeting someone at a crossing and exchanging a few words, or just some passing comments from people who see you running (and react in totally unexpected manner). But, what really gets the maximum reaction from me, is when I have some runner appearing out of nowhere and trying to overtake me during my practice runs, it happened to me again after a long time during this Thursday run, when someone came from behind and tried to overtake me and immediately the competitive spirit kicked in and I overtook him in the next few minutes. On my return from the half way mark, I found him walking after being totally exhausted trying to match my pace, the expression on his face was very satisfying for me.
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6 comments:
Hi I have read all the recent blogs.Must say that now i find descriptive details much more than before.Makes for good reading due to better details for visualization.One almost feels one is there.
Wow u have done it and been there in varied situations. I agree such variations help in keeping up the motivations.
I really enjoyed in reading all the details of all the days i had to catch up with.Hope to be regular and give maybe short but constant comments. I realize it may add to your motivation....when someone notices and shares your excitement or whatever.As Benzie said...your family may not understand...so someone else has to provide the "i understand bit'
bye for now ironman.Take care.Ipm.
Don't get too competitive when you get to the mountains!
Thanks IPM, am working on it, will be adding more things on running in general, preprations and do and donts on different aspects of running (based on my experience & reading).
Yes, it definately helps when I receive comments.
Beanz, yes I know I can get carried away at times, as I tend to be highly competitive and this can result in injuries (esp. muscle strain). But, this does not really happen in a race, where I run only at my pace (whatever the temptation).
Mountains, its going to be one hell of an effort to just complete the race. We start at 3800 meters and the avg altitude will be 3600. I have never travelled, let alone run at anything over 2300m.
I did that once - tried to catch up someone who had overtaken me and ended up with a two week calf injury!
Yes Ian, I know that is a very likely possibility. But, I do try and have a good look at the person who overtakes me (it is difficult to resist when a seemingly unfit person does that to you!!)
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