Marathons, Triathlons and More...

Interesting marathons in 2011

2011-05-09T14:50:00.000+05:30

23 April: Two Oceans ultramarathon, Cape Town
1 May: Big Sur, California, USA
8 May: Prague marathon
15 May: Geneva marathon
21 May: Great Wall marathon, Beijing
22 May: Edinburgh marathon, UK
29 May: Comrades ultramarathon, South Africa
25 June: Midnight Sun Marathon, Tromso, Norway
26 June: Mt Kilimanjaro marathon
20 July: Helsinki marathon
31 July: San Francisco marathon
11 August: La High Ultramarathon, Leh, India
10 September: Medoc marathon, France
18 September: Sydney marathon
25 September: Berlin marathon
9 October: Chicago marathon
31 October: Dublin marathon
6 November: New York City marathon
13 November: Athens Classic marathon
27 November: Florence marathon
4 December: Singapore marathon

Goa River Marathon Dec 19, 2010

2010-11-25T09:38:00.002+05:30

Its been a really long time since I last posted. I guess blogging is dying a slow death and micro blogging has completely taken over (atleast for me).

Been through two rounds of malaria over the last 2-3 months and now some ligament/tissue damage near the knee. Have had lotsa starts, 3-4runs a week with 40km odd weekly mileage but have been trying to ramp up too quickly post my malaria episodes, and I have a feeling the injury is due to this quick ramp up. Will be taking the next few weeks easy with short runs, so that I am fit for my Goa marathon.

I have a long 15day holiday down south before the Goa marathon, so it will give me a lot of time to train and get back in shape for the Dec 19 half marathon.

An open letter to Facebook (Privacy policy department)

2010-05-25T13:50:00.002+05:30

I refer to the article that was published on Sunday (May 23, 2010) in the Bombay edition of The Sunday Times. The article carried some pictures of the late Ms. Sujata Survase, who was an air hostess on the ill-fated Air India Express flight IX 812 that crashed in Mangalore on Saturday morning. I had some questions to ask you with regards to use of personal pictures of Facebook user late Ms. Sujata Survase (http://www.facebook.com/#!/profile.php?id=582633584&ref=ts) by Times Of India, India's largest selling newspaper.

Here is the relevant link: http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=393807774036&comments#!/profile.php?id=582633584&ref=ts.

Please also refer to the Epaper link: http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Client.asp?Daily=TOIM&showST=true&login=default&pub=TOI&Enter=true&Skin=TOINEW&GZ=T&AW=1274760466421

Specific reference is drawn to pages 1 and 7 of the Bombay edition of the Sunday Times published on May 23, 2010 [article on Ms.Sujata Survase (Airhostess on flight IX812)]. On page 7 Times of India has given credit to Facebook for allowing them to use these pictures of late Ms. Sujata Survase. Please find attached the pictures for your ready reference.

In relation to the above, I had some questions for you and was wondering if you could help me out with them:

1. Have you indeed granted permission to Times of India for publishing the personal pictures of late Ms. Sujata Survase? If yes, can you please share the same with me.

2. Which clause of the terms and conditions of Facebook requires Times of India to take permission from Facebook for use of personal pictures uploaded by its users?

3. Does Facebook own the photos that have been uploaded by users on its website?

4. Is Times of India required to seek any permission from the family members of late Ms. Sujata Survase for the use of pictures uploaded by her? Are you aware if such a permission was indeed sought? If yes, do you have a copy of the same and can you please share the same?

5. Who the ‘lawful owner’ of the photos uploaded by late Ms. Sujata Survase on Facebook?

Hoping to get a positive response from you at the earliest.

Yours truly,

Girish Mallya
www.facebook.com/girishmallya
@girishmallya (twitter handle)

An Open Letter to the Editor of Times of India

2010-05-24T12:27:00.000+05:30

Dear Jaideep Bose,

I refer to the article you wrote that was published on Sunday (May 23, 2010) in the Bombay edition of The Sunday Times. The article also carried some pictures of the late Ms. Sujata Survase, who was an air hostess on the ill-fated Air India Express flight IX 812 that crashed in Mangalore on Saturday morning. On reading your article and especially on the publication of the pictures of Ms. Sujata Survase, I had some questions for you and was wondering if you could help me out with them:

1. You have credited Facebook for the pictures of Ms. Sujata Survase. Can you let me know which clause of the terms and conditions of Facebook requires you to take permission from Facebook for use of personal pictures of the users? If its not too much of a hassle, can you also please share the permission given to you by Facebook.

2. Does Facebook own the photos that have been uploaded by users on its website?

3. Are you required to seek any permission from the family members of Ms. Sujata Survase? Have you in fact sought any permission from the family members of late Ms. Sujata Survase? If yes, can you please share the same.

4. Since you work for a national newspaper I assume that that you would have adequate in house legal support. Can you please also get some clarity on who the ‘lawful owner’ of the photos uploaded by late Ms. Sujata Survase on Facebook?

5. I was wondering if you had acquainted yourself with the norms of journalistic conduct prescribed by the Press Council of India with specific reference to Clause 6 of these norms that deal with the Rights to Privacy. Here is the link to the same for your ready reference: http://presscouncil.nic.in/norms.htm

I am looking forward to hearing from you on the above. Please note that your response to these have a direct bearing on the reputation of your newspaper as a national newspaper or for that matter a newspaper at all.

Yours truly

Girish Mallya
@girishmallya (twitter handle)

Home away from home..

2010-04-02T22:07:00.009+05:30

Its been a good weekend break so far. Managed some good runs in Kamati garden Baroda, I was focused on improving my pace, as this garden provides me 1k and 2k loops where I can run at a constant pace without breaks.

But yes there is no getting away from stray dogs in India, they are omnipresent. But thankfully these were very friendly and non violent stray dogs, who mind their own business.

Over the last couple of weeks I have been asked quite a few questions on Micoach, so I decided to click some pictures, to help explain my answers in a better manner. So here go the FAQs on Micoach gathered from Twitter & Buzz.

this give you an idea on the size of the devices. I have used my regular running glasses to help put things in context.

The main micoach device (the heart of the device) can be clipped easily to your shorts or to the arm band carrying the Ipod/Mp3 player.

This is to explain how the HRM is strapped on. It has two buttons to strap the elastic (which includes the Heart rate readering sensor).

The stride sensor (pedometer) is clipped onto the shoe lace (one does not need to remove the laces to install them), this sensor can also be installed into the cavity of certain Adidas shoe models (similar to how Nike+ works)

back to regular running

2010-03-29T10:10:00.009+05:30

Managed over half a dozen runs over the past two weeks. Its been quite a task juggling cycling and running. I definitely like and enjoy running more, but cycling is so much convenient for getting to work (plus the fact that I can sleep that extra 30mins if I am cycling), makes it really hard to run to work on weekdays. Weekends are a different story as I don't have any deadline and can wake up comfortably (plus lounge & laze around) and still manage a comfortable run.

Micoach provided the required extra excitement and motivation. For starters I was able to get my discipline back, trust me it’s really hard to bring forward your morning wakeup time by an hour. It affect the entire day both ways, your morning work productivity and night sleep time and hours of sleep.

Being a gadget freak, I can be quite activity engaged with a gadget for more than a few days and Micoach has lived up to expectations. For starters it provides more inputs and features than its direct competitor Nike+ and provides accuracy in terms of distance which comes close to a Garmin and Iphone Runkeeper app. I hope Nike wakes up and launches the advanced version of Nike+ which currently only has a stride sensor integrated to an Iphone/Itouch app.

I have never really understood the way the Polar or Micoach calculates the exact distance (my assumption - the stride sensor provides the number of strides, they have my height as a parameter which assumes the length of my legs & length of strides from some research report) and calculates the distance travelled), this sort of approximation is more than enough for a distance runner, though a GPS based calculation will obviously be more accurate.

I have synced all my runs to the online module of Micoach on www.adidas.com/mycoach and analysed my performance on various parameter. The obvious irritant is the short break I have to take due to stray dogs and signals (as I run on a highway with intersections), this not only disturbs my rhythm but also messes up my average on most parameter (avg speed, heart rate, stride per minute, etc)

I have also found the heart rate monitor reading quite insightful, though I am not sure what I should do to correct or improve it. I manage to hit the red zone quite often, its when the heart rates goes beyond 168 in my case (find it hard to believe that I manage to hit 180 quite comfortably!), I need to monitor my heartrate over a longer run preferably something around 20km. I have a feeling on longer run I will tend to be on the yellow zone.

The graph on the link below will explain what I am trying to say, wrt the Red zone issue.

Micoach stride sensor, strapped to my shoe laces

25th Anniversary of MDS

2010-03-26T15:41:00.004+05:30

I was recently talking to a friend of mine (Brigid) wrt her upcoming MDS in Sahara. This will be the 25th anniversary. She has participated in MDS 3 times already and this will be her fourth visit. MDS is the toughest multi stage ultra in the world.

My first question to her was - what has changed between the 1st and the 4th time. Since we are both endurance runners, there is no need to explain the mental toughness, familiarity with course, conditions etc. These were some practical points which stayed with me.... in her words -

"I started with 14 kgs the first time, had half a household on my back - was more than tough. Now I have a new Rucksack which spreads the weight on the back AND the front. I have managed to get incredibly light weight stuff like sleeping bag, matt, clothes for the night and this makes an enormous difference. The emphasis has to be on food. If you have enough food, you can move better. Plus salt tablets to keep the water in your body, managing your water...
I also now have everything I need in absolute mini-portions, as I know now how much stuff, like sun cream, emergency kit, wipes, bandages etc i will need. In addition, by getting a light-weight sleeping bag and matt, I've saved about 1.5 kgs. Plus taking more high-calorie but lighter weight stuff, like parmesan cheese instead of 800 grams of power bars (which I can't eat after a day anyways)........."

Anyway, here's the link to the Marathon des Sables homepage, where you can send email to a competitor from April 4 to 9: www.darbaroud.com

Brigid Wefelnberg, Germany, Bib no. 537

Do try and drop in a line on the dates mentioned above.

Detailed review - Micoach

2010-03-15T13:33:00.006+05:30

After my weeklong break post March 7, 2010 BRM of 300km, I finally returned to running. This was my first run in March and I was missing it a lot. Plus I was super excited to check out and test my new running gear/aid - Adidas Micoach.

It took my about an hour to register on the www.adidas.com/micoach website, with my contact details, download and transfer the details to my PC and to my device (age, height, weight, etc to calculate distance, calories, max heart rate etc). After that I had to pair my Micoach pacer to the heart rate monitor (which was strapped on my chest)and to the stride sensor device (which is strapped to my shoe laces). Once paired its quite simple as the voice activated commands instructs you to do the rest (headphone is connected to the Micoach pacer device).

I don't believe in having specific pre programmed workouts, so I choose the free mode which allows me to do my own thing and the voice activated coach, informs me about my stride frequency, average speed, distance completed, Time taken, current heart rate, heart rate zone, etc, at the push of a button.

I run on the same route everyday, so I got to test the Micoach pacer over 2 days on the same route. It was nice to find that the readings were almost identical.

I am very new to the concept of having an heart rate monitor strapped on me, plus the readings that come off it. Strapping something on your chest while running is not really a nice feeling as one has to take deep breaths and this just gives you that claustrophobic feeling. On the second day I managed to get used to it, I also realised that the strap was adjustable. Now the most interesting bit, there are three zones, green, yellow and Red. Red being the danger zone. I realised that I was hitting the red zone quite a few times during the run, which might be for quite a few reasons, I was returning to running after a break, was yet to find my rhythm, the heat/sun and resultant discomfort due to late starts, etc. So I will have to give is a few more runs and somehow manage my runs while sticking to the Yellow zone.

Some interesting numbers which I discovered is that my average strides per minute is about 177, Now I need to check how good or bad is that. I remember watching a video called evolution running which had suggested the ideal stride rate for a long distance runner (and height of a person has no impact on stride per minute)

The device at the bottom is the heart rate monitor (which needs to be strapped on the chest with a elastic band, with plastic coated metal strips as sensors), on the left is the stride sensor and on the right is the main device (primary device which drives and collects data from the other two devices, and also connects with the PC for data upload and download).

Cyclothon - Tour de Bombay, February 21, 2010

2010-03-10T12:54:00.010+05:30

The Bombay Cyclothon was another memorable event. It was also the first time I had a flat tyre (in a race) and had to travel half the distance running/walking with my bike (I was using a regular road bike without quick release, plus i did not have a spare tube, pump).

http://mumbaicyclothon.com/ had different race categories, but the only one I was eligible for was the 24km ride (sorta the biking equivalent of the dream run), I was not really keen on participating in this 24km ride as I had just completed a 200km BRM a couple of weeks before this event. The sea link ride made it all worthwhile (inspite of the 24km distance) and I was really looking forward to the event.

The 24k ride started very well and I really enjoyed riding my bike at 30km plus, on the streets of Bandra (without any vehicular traffic), reminded me of the first time I watch Tour de France on TV and used to marvel at the way those riders rode so close to one another without ever bumping into one another and having crowds (locals) line up on both sides. This bike ride through Bandra during the cyclothon recreated that experience for me. This experience was bigger than what I experienced running or cycling on the Bandra Worli Sea link.

The flat tyre only added to my memorable experience, it will ensure that I remember this for a long long time. Not many people understood why I was running with my bike, wouldn't it be more sensible to just hop onto the support vehicle and return to safety. I have never understood how people can give up on anything, even if it looks/sounds impossible, isn't it the obvious thing to do - to just go and get what you have aimed for, irrespective the variables (internal and external) thrown at you? I have always finished any race that I have started and even those I have not been able to finish (like my 2nd Bangalore Ultra) due to time limits, I have tried to do it till the very last minute.

I hope next year the cyclathon organised have atleast a 50k bike ride for regular cyclists.

this is the nasty nail which gave me a lot of grief

Running to reviewing running gear

2010-03-10T10:04:00.005+05:30

I was recently approached by Adidas to review their product - Micoach PacerB. Its basically a device which helps a runner accurately monitor his progress, wrt no. of strides, calories burnt, monitor heart rate, distance covered, speed, etc.

I am a big gadget freak and have experimented with quite a few timing devices in the past, but most have not been very accurate, but have been good fun to use. My first tracking device was the Nokia 5500 sport phone (which I believe has been the only true sports phone from Nokia), I have also tried the Iphone GPS based run keeper application and I use a cat-eye cyclocomputer on my bike.

So far I have not yet got down to testing Micoach, but my initial homework tells me that it will help me monitor my progress better and also help me improve my avg speed. I am a little sceptical about the max heart rate numbers theory and their relation to running, but I do believe that its definitely better to do higher speeds without pushing your heart beyond reasonable limits. I hope Micoach will help me firm up my opinion on the max heart rate confusion I have in my head (will the theoretical max be different from what I experience myself).

Looking forward to putting Micoach to test this weekend, after my week long break post last Sundays 300km bike race.

After ultra running its also ultra cycling now

2010-03-09T16:39:00.003+05:30

Its been a long break from blogging. But now I am back for good, hopefully :P

The last few months have been quite interesting, in addition to doing the regular Bombay marathon (my 7th successive full marathon, since inception of the event) in Jan 2010, I completed it in 4hrs 43mins. Which was quite good, given my level of preparation and the weather conditions in Bombay.

I also did the 200km and 300km BRM in India. These BRMs are organised http://randonneursindia.blogspot.com/ the Indian Chapter of Audax Club Parisien (France). Randonneurs India has been formed to get together the Hypermiler cyclists, with a view of participating in Paris - Brest - Paris 2011.

I hope to do the 1000km race in 2011 in France, If I can get everything else in place for it. I need to do four races in one year to qualify for it - 200k (in under 13.5hrs), 300k (under 20hrs), 400k (under 27hrs) and the 600k (under 40hrs). I am not really a natural cyclist, which means I can't just go for really long rides on my own (for training) and that in turn means doing longer distances in races is going to get increasingly difficult. My training - I use the cycle for commuting to work (about once or twice a week) and try to ride with friends over weekends. On the other hand running is something I really enjoy and can easily train for it alone, plus running (training) does not take up that much of time.

For more on randonneruring visit this link - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Randonneuring

I started cycling primarily to get the biking going for my Ironman preparation, which requires 180kms of Biking and there is no way I can train for it in a Gym or on the streets of Bombay. The only option was to participate in group rides and races, Randonneruring was the obvious solution given by limitations and interest levels wrt. cycling.

Another very big plus for this sort of endurance cycling has been the benefits of cross training. I have not had any running related injury for over a year now, which is a very big achievement for me (as I don't like gyms and hence was lacking strength training).

Delhi Half marathon November 1, 2009

2009-11-06T12:13:00.006+05:30

I had stopped participating in the Airtel Delhi Half marathons for the last 2 years as its just way too much effort to run just 21kms. This year it so happened that I was scheduled to attend a wedding in Delhi, in the last week of October (and I had booked for it 3 months in advance). During the second week of November when i actually got down to writing to friends in Delhi, about catching up with them, I realised that I would be in Delhi during the Delhi marathon.

Once I realised this, it would be stupid and impossible for me not to participate. I had to pull a few strings to get my registration done, as the last date for online registration was already over.

I did a 20k run two weeks before the delhi half marathon and was reasonably sure that i should be able to do a decent time at Delhi (ie a sub 2hr time).

I reached Delhi on a Thursday morning and was having a blast attending a traditional Indian wedding which takes place over 3-4 days, which means lotsa food and wine. But I did take the tough decision of going on a healthy high carb diet on Saturday evening to ensure that I have enough good calories for the run but could not manage enough sleep (barely had 3hrs of sleep that night before the run, as we were attending the marriage reception till 2am).

Sunday started well, the weather was good and I was able to find my way to the start point quite easily (Nehru Park), met up with lotsa old colleagues at the start as well as post finish in the holding area. I also met some runners from Bombay who recognised me, esp. one of them who runs regularly at Shivaji park.

Organiser Procam had done a decent job, much better than the what I had experienced 2yrs back, but it was nothing exceptional. I wish they do a lot more to make things better and special for the real runners, instead of worrying purely about the sponsors, TV partners and celebs.

My 21k went exactly as per plan, i did the first 10k in about 55mins and after that I was quite sure about doing a sub 2hr time. I kept the same pace and tried to accelerate during the last few kms and managed a decent time of 1hr 56min 53secs.

Split @ 7.5K 00:41:02
Split @ 10K 00:54:52
Split @ 19.35K 01:47:07
Split @ 20K 01:50:58
Finish Time 01:56:53
http://www.timingindia.com/results_page.php?keyword=8948

Managed to click just two pics from the marathon

#mmmm and self styled Triathlon.

2009-08-10T14:34:00.006+05:30

I did my first triathlon last Sunday and it was a lot of fun. Since it was self style and personalised one, there was only one participant! India does not have any Triathalons (not even 70.3 ones), so you have do your own thing to train for one.

I got up at 3.30am in the morning and took a 4.15am start for my bike ride. It was a 27/28km bike ride from home to NCPA, Nariman point. It took me about 1hr 20mins, which is not bad given the road conditions. I parked my bike at a secure place in Churchgate, just in time for the 6am start from NCPA for the Mumbai monsoon mini marathon (#mmmm). This #mmmm was organised by local congress party politicians & workers, to protest against terrorism & to support peace. To my horror the planned (not publicised) start time turned out to be 7am and the final start time was close to 7.30am.

But the spirit was very good and the turnout was lot higher than what I had expected it to be, so things improved as soon as the run started (since it was a very short run of 5k, the delay did not really make much of a difference). I finished the distance in about 25minutes and then headed by to Churchgate for my swim. So I ended up doing about 8k or so that day (3k on my return to Churchgate)

I had originally planned a 1k swim as I was hoping that the mini marathon would be somewhere around 12km or so (which turned out to be just 5k). So I decided to make up for the distance by doubling my swim, to 2kms.

After that I had some yummy breakfast and then the bike ride back home (another 28km). With that I completed a 55km bike ride, 8km run and 2km swim. The only thing I need to really improve upon is the run for my next triathlon, need to take that to atleast 20km, and that will take be very close to the 70.3 Triathlon or half Ironman or Olympic Triathlon.

This triathlon has given my confidence a big boost and Ironman no longer looks so difficult. I was also inspired by a friend who recently completed his first Ironman (he did it in a little over 13hrs, a super effort indeed). Do catch his blog www.bedders.blogspot.com for more ...

August 9, Mumbai monsoon mini marathon POA

2009-08-06T17:16:00.002+05:30

I am planning to participate in the South Bombay mini marathon this Sunday. It starts at 6am in the morning, and given the fact that its about 30km from my house. I plan to cycle to my start point. To make this possible I will have to start from my house at 4.30am, so that I have enough time to make it (esp. given that I will have to use street lights to guide me). And if all goes well I hope to do a 1km swim after the run. This will help me create my own little triathlon. And yes after the whole thing is over, I will also have to cycle back home (another additional 30km).

All of this means I will be doing about 60km of cycling, about 12-15km of running (the exact distance is not known) & about 1km of swimming (if I am feeling really good, I might extend this to 2k). I will have to carry good amount of food & sports drink to replenish my salts (as the biggest hurdle I will face is not fatigue but cramps during to loss of salts). I will have to be careful about parking for cycle plus I will need to find a place to deposit my helmet at 6am in the morning (or actually run with it, carry it inside my hydration backpack)

I will be taking the next couple of days easy, plan to take tomorrow off to catch up with some friends who are in town, load up on carbs and keep myself well hydrated.

Cycling to work..

2009-08-06T14:19:00.002+05:30

I have finally got down to cycling on a regular basis. And the best way to make this happen is to cycle to work, once a week. Anything over weekend will be a bonus.

Last Friday was the first day I cycled to work and today is the second day I will be doing the same. Just need to keep it up for the next few weekly before it becomes a habit. Cycling to work means I am able to put in about 25km of cycling a trip (both ways combined), this includes some twilight/night cycling while going back.

Cycling to work is quite effortless compared to running to work, which (running) is quite an effort when I do it twice a week. I am now getting used to cycling in traffic and once I get comfortable I can easily increase it to twice a week.

With this new addition I am able to do about 25km of cycling in addition to about 50km of running a week. Now my next goal is to improve my running mileage, need to take it from the 50km level to 80km level. Hope to do the 60km with 13k, 13k, 15k & 20k splits as the next step 70km with 13k, 13k, 20k, 25k levels.

Mini Monsoon Marathon, August 9, 2009, Mumbai

2009-08-05T16:28:00.002+05:30

Bombay is hosting a Pre-Independence day “Mini Monsoon Marathon” this Sunday, 9th August 2009, at 6.00am (Its really early & am very doubtful about the turnout given that most of Bombay stays in the suburbs!!).

Cause - A run for peace, to combat terrorism and build a united peaceful city.
Start point - Opposite the NCPA, Nariman Point, Mumbai.
Entry fee - Free
Event organised/Supported by Annie Shekhar (MOS, Maharashtra Govt.)and Milind Deora MP from South Bombay

Other arrangements - They will have stalls all along with way serving drinking water.

Route - Not sure about the exact distance, but the route is as follows -
Start - opposite NCPA Nariman Point, Mumbai
Netaji Subhaschandra Bose Road towards Chowpatty
Takes a U-turn near JD Road
Proceed towards Netaji Subhashchandra Bose Road again
Takes a left at Veer Nariman Road, near Soona Mahal Building
Take a right from Eros Theatre towards Maharshi Karve Road
Take a left from Madam Cama Road
Go on to Shyamaprasad Mukharjee Chowk
Take a left towards “Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Chowk
Go towards the Gateway
Take a right from the Taj Mahal Hotel
Go on to Ramchandani Mar
Take a right from Radio Club
Proceed towards Azmi Road
Take a left at S.B.S. Road towards Sasoon Dock
Take a left from Indumati Sakhrikar Marg
Ends - Shantabai Sathe Chowk.

Mumbai (Bombay) marathon 2010 registration open on July 9, 2009

2009-07-07T12:06:00.007+05:30

Mumbai Marathon 2010 registration starts on July 9, 2009. The last day for registration is August 18, 2009 (or earlier if they finish the quota for each category). Please register early if you are planning to participate in the dream run, as that is the category which fills up first.

Official website for registration: http://scmm.indiatimes.com/
Mumbai Marathon 2010 will take place on January 17, 2010.

Entry fees Rs 500/- (including cost of disposable championchip) for full and half marathon runners. If I remember correctly till last year the champion chip was optional, but I guess this year its different. Dream run will now cost you Rs.300/-

Race Category Indian Applicant (#Overseas Applicant)
Marathon Rs. 500* (USD 35*)
Half Marathon Rs. 500* (USD 35*)
Dream Run Rs. 300 (USD 20)
Senior Citizens' Run Rs. 200 (USD 10)
Wheelchair Event Rs. 200 (USD 10)

* this includes the non-refundable cost of ChampionChip timing service being offered to all marathon and half marathon participants.

The Great Indian Desert Run 2009 dates postponed to December 7-14, 2009

2009-07-07T11:33:00.005+05:30

The organisers of The Great Indian desert run 2009 have posted the race dates from September 2009 to December 7-14, 2009.

They have also worked hard to revise the participation rates. The new rates are as follows - The cost of the event is lower than before - US$ 1,500 (earlier USD 2000)for international participants and INR 40,000 (earlier Rs.65,000) for Indian Participants.

The event will now be held on the dates December 7-14, 2009, as they had got feedback about participants wanting time to train, and others needed time to fit this event into their calendars.

The Registration date is now August 15. Visit http://www.greatindiandesertrun.com for more details.

So now we have two Multi stage ultra marathons in December (and both are in Rajasthan, India). It might be good if both of them combine their energies and do a joint event, the other options would be for one of them to back out - it will be survival of the fittest or the smartest ;-)

Best wishes to both the organisers, am sure they will not leave any stone unturned to own the privilege of organising the first the first Multi Stage Ultra in India.

Rajasthan Thar Desert Run 2009

2009-06-16T14:24:00.002+05:30

We now have another Multi-stage ultra marathon in Rajasthan, December 24-30, 2009. This is in addition to Great Indian Desert Multi stage ultra marathon, from September 7-13, 2009.

The details of the Rajasthan Desert Run 2009 are as follows -

Globe Racers’ Professional, Indian Rajasthan Thar Desert Run is a 5 day, 210K (~130miles), endurance race. One of the first in the Indian subcontinent, it is designed to test your strength, and offers Royal cultural experience, while you stay at Palace Hotels, which are earlier residences of Rajasthan Royal families, at the end of each gruelling day.

When: December 24, 2009 – December 30, 2009

Registration: Before September 15, 2009
Race Fee: $2000 for foreign nationals, Rs.50000 for Indian nationals
Payment at the time of registration: $1000 for foreign nationals, Rs.25000 for Indian nationals.

Contact: Kavitha Kanaparthi: +91 98454 00158 (or) +1 989 796 4231 kavitha@globeracers.com or Ram Sethu: +1 336 255 0937, rams@globeracers.com

For more details visit - www.globeracers.com

New found love for cycling

2009-06-13T18:08:00.002+05:30

I could never have imagined, I have now started to like cycling. And I owe a good part of the credit to me joining www.cyclist.in and meeting some serious cycling enthusiasts.

Over the last few weeks (well months now), I have done a 50km cycling trip to Khargar. Gone a trip to town, actually managed all my travelling for one full day exclusively on the bike, clocking about 65kms and this included a big chuck through city traffic (which was extremely stressful) and a night biking trip which had its own charm and hurdles, plus done a critical mass cycling event.

Critical mass cycling event is a meet very like minded cyclists meet up and cycle some distance in city traffic (in the case of Bombay its Saturday evening, but usually its Friday evening in most other countries), highlighting their claim over the road in a nice and peaceful manner.

Cycling is lot less stressful and enjoyable if done in a group (well atleast a 2 member group), plus its a lot safer. Running I continue to like doing on my own, and having a companion makes things complex and difficult, as its difficult to adjust to someone else's running speed.

Month of catching up..

2009-06-13T18:01:00.003+05:30

Its been one interesting month, I have been running about 45-50k a week for the last one month. Its been stable, but I have not been able to push things up. The good thing is that I have been able to add some swimming or cycling once a week, during the last four week, which has meant cross training is happening and I am able to stay injury free.

This week has been good so far I did three runs of 11k during the week on Tuesday, Friday and Saturday and hope to top it off with a 20k tomm, if I can get everything right. Plus, I also did a 700meters swim today.

Its been twitter all this while and once I update things on it, it sort of becomes difficult to write a detailed account on the blog. Tweeting is so quick and instinctive, where as blogging continues to remain a planned activity. And the plans keep getting postponed ;-)

Paramount Airways Inflight Mag article with my comments & interview on distance running

2009-06-13T17:20:00.003+05:30

Finally a post after almost a month. I seem to have run out of excuses for not being regular with my posts :(

Great Indian Desert Multi stage ultra marathon, September 7-13, 2009

2009-05-11T12:40:00.002+05:30

The details and pricing for the first multi-stage ultra in India have arrived. The pricing is quite steep, but given the challenges of organising an event of this magnitude for the first time and difficultly in managing sponsors in these difficult times, its quite understandable.

Further details when the website is up.

Dates - September 7-13, 2009

Details as provided by the organisers EchoStar Sports Private Limited are as follows -
"The website and the registration link will be up on 19 May 2009, and we’ll send the link a couple of days in advance. The key points with regards to the registration process are listed below. (Please note that we are trying to bring down the fees as much as possible, and it is dependent on the sponsorship we can raise.)

1. Important dates
(a) Registration opens May 19, 2009. The registration link will be open till the Confirmation date (refer below), or till such time all slots of the race are filled, whichever happens first. Keeping the link open is at the discretion of the race organisers.
(b) Cut-off date: July 15, 2009. This is the date after which a participant may not withdraw from the race without attracting a withdrawal fee.
(c) Confirmation date: August 15, 2009. The date by which the participant must confirm her/his participation by remitting the final instalment of the fee.

2. Race fee: The fee for GIDR’09 is as follows:
Indian Runners
Total fee - INR 65,000.00
1st Instalment (Paid at time of Registration) - INR 25,000.00
2nd Instalment (Paid after Cut-off date and before Confirmation date) - INR 40,000.00

International Participants (including NRIs)
Total fee - US$ 2,500.00
1st Instalment (Paid at time of Registration) - US$ 1,000.00
2nd Instalment (Paid after Cut-off date and before Confirmation date) - US$ 1,500.00

PLEASE NOTE:
(a) The total fee for GIDR’09 may vary (in either direction) due to various reasons. The amount quoted above is at best a close approximation of the fee that may be charged. The fee will be recalculated and communicated before the cut-off date. Participants may please note that the 2nd (and final) instalment amount may therefore be different from that mentioned above.
(b) In case the total fee charged exceeds the amount quoted above by 15% or more, a registrant may withdraw without any charge. Refunds on withdrawal are governed by the guidelines listed below.

3. Refund guidelines
(a) Full Refund: A registrant is entitled to a full refund of the 1st instalment, if she/he withdraws before the cut-off date (July 15, 2009).
(b) Partial Refund:
i) A registrant is entitled to a refund of 50% of the 1st instalment, and a full refund of the 2nd instalment (if paid), if she/he withdraws after the cut-off date and before August 1, 2009.
ii) A registrant withdrawing from the race after August 1, 2009, and before the confirmation date, will forego the 1st instalment of the amount paid, and a 10% withdrawal fee on the second instalment (if paid).
(c) No Refund: A registrant withdrawing from the race after the confirmation date will forego the entire amount paid up as race fee.
(d) While the guidelines in 3a, 3b, and 3c hold good under ordinary circumstances, in case the total fee charged exceeds the amount quoted above by 15% or more, a registrant may withdraw without any charge, and the amount paid up will be returned without any withdrawal fee.

Also, some of you have contacted us asking about accommodation, food, etc. In brief, these are being taken care of as follows:
1. Accommodation: participants and crew will be housed in tents during the race. The tents will be typical camping tents. There will be toilet facilities at each campsite.
2. Travel: International participants must get to New Delhi. Race organisers will arrange for participants to get to the race starting point from New Delhi, and from the race to New Delhi.
3. Food:
(a) Food will be provided for by the organisers for the entire duration of the race. We will ensure that the fare will take care of requirements of endurance athletes at an event of this nature.
(b) During registration, participants may mention any dietary constraints that they need to adhere to. We will do all we can to ensure that such restrictions can be taken care of, and inform participants in advance if we are unable to do so.
(c) Some participants may want to carry their own food. You are most welcome to do so. Hot water will be provided for at the campsite for pre-mixes and packaged preparations.
4. Checklist: A checklist of items one must carry will be provided to registered participants. Some of the items will be mandatory, and some others will be at the participant’s discretion. More information on this will be available on registration.
5. The race route will be charted in June 2009 by the organising team. Efforts are underway to make the course GPS enabled. This will be confirmed only after the course has been marked.
(a) The location of the race is between 26o 18’ N (Jodhpur), and 26o 55’ N (Jaisalmer), and the altitude is between 150-300 metres above sea level.
(b) The terrain, as already mentioned, is desert, with sand dunes and dry arid stretches.
(c) The timing of the race is towards the end of the monsoon season in India, when we experience most of our annual rainfall. The average temperature during this period is reported to be in the range of 70F-95F (21C-35C). The temperature variation between daytime and night may be significant.

A good week but down again?

2009-05-01T09:43:00.002+05:30

Last week was quite good, managed four runs as planned on Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday. Did 11k on all these days days plus added a good 1km swim on Saturday after the run.

This week has been very different, Given the long weekend i decided to run on Wednesday, Thursday or Friday, followed by Saturday and Sunday. But things turned out to be very different on Wednesday, I stepped out to run after my regular basic stretching on Wednesday morning and after the first four strides I felt intense pain in the lower neck region (where neck meets shoulder close to the top of the spine), so I walked for a few minutes and then tried to run again, and realised very quickly that this was something serious and had to immediately abandon the run.

Wednesday was a very painful day at work, it started to get worse by noon and then the intensity continued. This got me really worried, so I decided to call my regular sports injury ortho for an appointment. Thankfully he was able to squeeze me between his appointments in the evening. Doc told me that I was suffering from severe muscle spasm (minor tissue tear), so now I am on medication and pain ointment (7 day course). He also mentioned that this could be due to bad posture while sleeping the previous night or bad posture while using the PC for long hours (have a strong feeling its the former) and thankfully it has nothing to do with running. He also allowed me to start running as soon as felt better.

So I am still under pain but can make necessary neck movements. I am not able to run today, but if I feel better might give it a shot in the evening. I am keeping my fingers crossed, I badly need a run tomorrow morning (already starting to have withdrawal symptoms from run deprivation).

super couple of weeks..

2009-04-19T20:05:00.005+05:30

Its been a wonderful week. Could not manage runs during the first half of the week due to various reasons, primary one being not able to get adequate amount of sleep. So I decided to convert this shortcoming into an opportunity. I planed to run on all days, Thursday to Sunday and was hoping to also add an swim on Saturday.

And everything went as per plan, I ran on Thursday and Friday, 11km to work and did 14.5k on Saturday and topped it off with a 17k run on Sunday, taking the four day tally to 54k. This is the first time I have attempted and completed four consecutive/successive runs. This gives me a lot of confidence for taking up multi-stage ultras, as they not about running hard or long, but about recovering from your run and putting another run, day after day. I hope to come to a position where I can do four half marathons back to back without much effort, to be in a position to mentally prepare myself for a multi-stage ultra.

The week before that was also very eventful and special. I was going through my twitter feeds on (www.twitter.com/girishmallya) to find out what I was upto during the week. I also discovered the reason for not being able to post last weekend, my internet connect wasn't working properly for the whole of last week :(

The highlight of the week was a bike trip from home till a place called Khargar, its about 25km from my place. This was the first long bike trip I have ever attempted, my previous best was a 22km trip. It felt really good doing this 48km trip, climbing steep flyovers (some of them were very steep and would be impossible to climb without a geared bike), riding on a national highway, going downhill at over 50km/hr, having state transport bus drivers intentionally coming close to you (for some stupid sick reason), the only thing that you need to rely on is your skill & riding ability. Plus its also getting that extra confidence to be able to ride on the highway with ease, instead of getting stressed out. Thankfully I had a fellow cyclist with me (who has done many long distance biking trips) leading the way. I would never have attempted this trip, had he not been there, riding solo on these highways is not a sensible thing to do. I hope to do a 75k or 100k biking trip as soon as I find another person or group to do it with, physically I know I am ready for any of these distances, but there is no way I can do it without someone to pace with (plus obviously having more than 2 riders makes things safer not only from the traffic point of view but also incase of a puncture or accident).

In addition to this wonderful and memorable biking trip (I hope to do the same trip again, as I want to see wonderful Khargar during the monsoons, it was the first time I had been to that place and it was truly beautiful), I also managed three runs, including a 18k on Sunday and a 17k run on Friday (after a really late night and 3 hours of sleep on Thursday), all of this made the last week also very special. And yes I think I did one more run on Tuesday or Wednesday, but can't recollect, it was a 11k run.

So its been two very good weeks, but I need to focus and continue biking or swimming atleast once a week, badly need cross training to stay injury free.

Weekend getaway in some really hot weather..

2009-04-05T19:33:00.002+05:30

Managed 4 runs during the week, did two 11k runs on Wednesday and Thursday. Took a two day break, to Sula Vineyard Nashik and had a great time. This place is about 200km from Bombay, but its not muggy like Bombay, just plain dry heat. This forced me to hit the gym at Ginger Hotel, my first treadmill run in a long time. Running on treadmill is so easy, esp with the Aircon on ;-) Managed a 7k run in 40minutes (the equipment was really good, maybe coz its a new hotel). I completed the week with a very hard 15k run in 1hr 45, Stupid lazy me started at 8.30am in the morning and paid the price for it. I did a total of 44km for the week. It was a good lesson for me, I need to start at 7am in the morning on both work days and holidays!

I have a long weekend in the coming week, hope to stay in Bombay and catch up on Running and swimming. Need to get some good mileage in.

Rejuvenation required and a new discovery...

2009-03-30T21:44:00.004+05:30

I had a great Sunday on March 22, managed a 25km run, but could not follow it up with an improved week of running. Last week I managed 4 runs during the week on Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday, all runs of 11-12km, taking the weeks tally to 45km. This was almost the same as the week ended March 22, when I managed 47km.

During the two weekend runs, my legs felt tired right from the start of the run and I was not able to enjoy my Sunday run. My Sunday runs are very important for me, as they are very rejuvenating & relaxing. Am hoping that things get back to normal during the week. I hope to continue with weekday runs and then follow it up with a couple of swims/cycling over the long weekend. I guess I need a break from the routine... to improve things and move into overdrive.

New development - have registered a url www.letsrun.in, with a hope to build a website, which will provide a platform for runners in India to interact with each other. I have always wanted a website/forum for Indian runners, as the realities of running here are very different from those in the western world. This coupled with the fact that many fellow runners like me have also been looking for a similar platfrom. Plus I was recently inspired by the efforts made by a website www.cyclist.in, which has done a very good job for cyclists in India (esp. Bombay).

Currently I am working at gathering volunteers who will help me build it and contribute resources to host and run the site. I have the basic structure ready, but don't want to do too many things using my own instincts. Instead, I want to start with something basic and small and then build on it based on user feedback/opinions. Unlike a commercial product there are no revenue pressures, so the product can evolve and find its own way.

The trigger for going ahead has social media (comments on my blog) and I plan to use social media at each stage to build this online product. I asked for suggestions for a suitable name for this runners platform on Facebook and Twitter, and it threw up a whole host of diverse options, some of which I could never have imagined. I finally decided on a suggestion given by a twitter user @ekalavyab as this was simple, easy to remember, no opportunity for typos and most important of all it was available for registration.

March so far..

2009-03-21T10:06:00.006+05:30

Its been a good injury free March and things seem to be looking up. Over the past two weeks I have managed a good number of runs and am now planning to push up a gear. Last week I did four runs of 11k each on Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday and followed it up with two runs this week on Tuesday and Thursday. Unfortunately I skipped todays runs as the this week has been a little hectic and I haven't managed enough sleep (plus was watching some test cricket early in the morning, the only form of cricket I really enjoy), in simple words I was lazy & mentally tired due to lack of sleep.

I hope to more than make up for it with a good 20k plus run this Sunday, hopefully something like 25k. So I hope to run from my house till Girgam Chowpaty in town. I need to concentrate on my long runs now and also step up my weekly runs from 11k to 13k starting April.

I am hope to take up with first multi stage ultra in India this September, its call the great Indian desert run 2009. For details visit this Facebook group -

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#/group.php?gid=59462137898 The website is likely to be up by the end of this month and registrations are going to start in the first week of April.

I hope the organisers - Echo Star Sport get their pricing right. Given the fact that this is the first time its being organised and that the lead time is only 5 months, the number of participants is going to be very limited. I am quite confident that the organisers will put up a good well planned show, their initial homework seems promising. I have a lot of questions for them and most of them should get answered once their site is up. This ultra is being organised in and around Jaisalmer in Rajasthan, India.

From what I understand, this Multi stage ultra should be on the lines of Four desert marathon http://www.4deserts.com/atacamacrossing/

Great Indian Desert Run 2009, Sept 7, 2009

2009-03-15T20:29:00.003+05:30

Mon, Sep 7, 2009 The Great Indian Desert Run
Rajasthan, India 6:30 a.m.
200-250kms stage run (race format). 5-7 days.
Type of terrain: Desert terrain - Sand dunes, dry-arid flatlands, dirt tracks, village trails.
Temp. 50-80F.
What is provided: Travel ex-Delhi, food, H2O, medic team, t-shirt, medal, certi, race dinner.
Annual: 1st time event
Contact: Suren Sista/Dr. Rajat Chauhan
Email: echostarsports@gmail.com

This is the first time something like this has peen attempted in India. The official website will be up soon, it will also carry the pricing of the event. Will keep you posted on the details as soon as they are made available.

Cross training..

2009-03-08T17:22:00.006+05:30

Its been another good week, managed four more runs this week. I ran on Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday. The distances moved up a notch too, managed 11km, 11km, 19km and 10.5km respectively, taking the tally over 50k for the week.

Saturday was special as I did my first run and swim combo, did 19k run followed by 1k swim. And followed it up with a 10k run on Sunday, am very happy with the quick recovery I was able to manage after the strenuous effort on Saturday.

Last sunday I had done 20k of biking followed by a 10k run and this week it was the swim and run, I have a feeling that this will help me stay injury free (relatively). Its the sort of cross training that I badly need. Hope to do more of it in the coming weeks.

Hopefully a turnaround week...

2009-03-01T20:36:00.004+05:30

After a long time its be a great week of running. I managed 4 runs of 11k each on Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday & Sunday. Plus a 20k biking trip on Sunday morning. This Sunday was truly special, as I was doing the run immediately after the bike ride and I still managed to do my regular time. I could not have asked for anything more.

That day is not too far when I will do my first home Tri, a 20k bike ride, followed by a 20k run and a 2k swim. Am looking forward to it.... bring it on.

The weather has worsened, its no longer pleasant in Bombay. Actually I am happy that its happened as its now a lot easier to get up in the mornings :) Its feels wonderful to be positive under any situation. But yes, this will make the swim more difficult as the pool will tend to be a little crowded.

I now need to carry forward this weeks momentum.

Blood pressure saga

2009-02-22T19:48:00.003+05:30

I had a low key week wrt running. Managed only two runs this week, a 11k on Tuesday and 7.5k on Sunday. I have been suffering from some very bad cold for the last 3days or so, Sunday was the worst day. But, the short run helped me clear my throat & chest (and breathing).

The highlight of the week, was a silly blood pressure test I took at a Electronic store. I know it sounds stupid, but they had this fancy gadget for taking readings, so my friends and I just took that for a lark (although I have always had a feeling that I am a good candidate for high BP) and the reading said 85 - 140. (this clearly according to the administrator was not in the normal range 80-120). And that almost screwed up my Sunday afternoon, here I try to do everything right - Exercise regularly & more, don't smoke, am actually my below ideal weight and I have to suffer this reading. I was waiting to get home to start to reading what this meant and found some interesting stuff -

http://www.vaughns-1-pagers.com/medicine/blood-pressure.htm (this definitely is not the best but its got heavy duty SEO done on it!)

But the important one is from my favorite health portal - Discovery health

http://health.discovery.com/encyclopedias/illnesses.html?article=31
"High blood pressure, also called hypertension, is defined as a systolic blood pressure reading greater than 140 mm Hg or a diastolic blood pressure reading greater than 90 mm Hg."
"How is the condition diagnosed?
Adults should have their blood pressure measured at least every two years. The diagnosis of high blood pressure is made on the basis of two or more blood pressure readings. It is diagnosed if two or more readings show a systolic blood pressure greater than 140 or a diastolic blood pressure greater than 90. Other tests may be ordered to look for conditions causing the high blood pressure."

All of this means that I am a boarderline case, just need to relax more and stop getting excited when people tick me off, plus maybe try my hand at meditation (but running is like meditation for me, its so calming). Plus I need to take more readings in the coming months to get some clarity as suggested by Discovery Health.

And yes I also need to go for a complete health checkup. I don't even know my blood group. So lotsa catchup up to do....

Runs continue...

2009-02-15T17:50:00.002+05:30

This week I managed only three runs - Tuesday, Saturday and Sunday with 11k, 15k and 10k runs. My right calf was feeling stiff Wednesday onwards, but decided to run on Saturday with it. It has not worsened and I managed to do the two runs quite comfortably (but my legs still not feeling completely normal).

Looking forward to the next week....

Mumbai marathon update & post marathon ...

2009-02-09T10:41:00.003+05:30

I just realised I had written one post on my Bombay marathon run but its disappeared.

So will just do a quick recap of the last one month. I had a decent Mumbai marathon on Jan 18, 2009. Managed a time of 5hr 23min, which was good given my preparation levels and recent injuries. Did the first half in about 2hr 11min (which is what I was hoping to do) but after that my lack of training caught up and then it was a lot of run and walk. I got a good tip from one Apollo Hospital medic on quick relief from chin splits during a run (more on that later).

Post marathon I took a weeks break and after that I have managed to run twice in the last week of Jan and managed four runs of 10-11k last week. So things are starting to pickup but will now need to get the Sunday run upto 15-20km.

And yes now I have a proper roadbike and it should be fun riding it. More on the bike in the next post.

Over the past one year I have not been regular with my blog, first it was Facebook addiction and now its due to Twitter. Do check my twitter profile and if you are already on twitter you could follow me there - www.twitter.com/girishmallya

Will work hard to be regular with my blog posts.

Biking come back..

2008-12-28T20:09:00.002+05:30

During December I did another good thing, I gave my bike for a second overhaul. During two previous incidents before the overhaul, I had some dreadful experiences, during one of the rides the chain broke and during another one the back tire frame got damaged. I did not want to take any more changes and went for almost a complete overhaul of the bike, so now everything except the old frame has now been replaced.

It was a pleasure riding the bike for a 20km ride during one of the Sundays. If I remember correctly it was on December 14, It was my first bike ride and run combo. It was quite a experience, as the run felt very different, after the bike ride. This happened because biking requires a different set of muscles (compared to running), and this makes running difficult after a biking trip (this is also one of the main reasons why most tri-athlete find triathlons difficult). I know common sense would make one feel that the run should be easier as the bike ride has not really strained the leg muscles used for running, but that is not the case.

Finally a 50k plus week

2008-12-28T18:31:00.002+05:30

This week has been nice and productive, I seem to be peaking at the right time. Have a feeling this time I am going to be lucky with my next race (opposite of what happened during the Bangalore Ultra), even though I have not had enough time to prepare for it.

This week consisted of four runs, first post ultra 4 run week. Managed to run on Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday, and completed 11k, 12k, 11k and 16.5k respectively. My first 50km week after a long time.

The only thing I need not to keep it on for the next week, hope to do another 50km plus week. I hope to run on Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday & Sunday (11k, 11k, 15k & 20k + 5k), taking to a 60k week. If all goes well, I should be able to manage it, especially with the coming Saturday being a holiday. Next Sunday should be quite interesting, I have a big 20k 2hr run followed by a fun 5k run with old school mates, from NCPA to Chowpaty. If any of you are interested to join do post a comment and I will put up the exact start time & place later in the week (its a informal & fun run, dedicated to the city).

I have been having a great time on Twitter over the last few months, it takes blogging to the next level and its highly addictive. Havn't bumped into too many fellow runners, but have met a few who want to take up running/sport/gyming. What makes it special is that its super interactive and people are so helpful, someone or the other will always come up with a solution for any of your problems, once you have spent enough time and developed a good network of followers & people/brands to follow.

Post Bangalore Ultra

2008-12-24T08:47:00.005+05:30

The same night (on the day of the ultra) I had to travel again and was out the whole week. The first couple of days where a little difficult (which is to be expected), and I had to work hard to walk normally. At the conference I met up with some very interesting people, including one who had done a Ironman in 2002 and another who was a short distance Olympic swimmer. To recover quickly, I did swim on most days (except the first day) and that make the recovery quicker and easier.

I had taken a two week break from running after the Ultra which sort of ensured that everything was back to normal before I started running again. I am still quite worried about the right outer knee pain/injury, which can reoccur when I attempt a really long run. So far I have not done anything more than 12km post Ultra. The only thing I can do is wait for the day of the marathon and find out. If it reoccurs on the day of the Mumbai marathon, I plan visit a doctor and get a complete check up done. My runs so far have been quite good (in December).

The first week of December I ran twice, the second & third week three times each. This week I hope to do four runs. All my runs in December (so far) have been between 10-12km each. This week I ran on Tuesday with 11K run run and hope to do a run on Thursday, Saturday and Sunday. Since Thursday is a holiday, I hope to do about 15km, followed by a 11k on Saturday and another 15k odd on Sunday.

This Sunday I might have to do another 5k in town after my regular run, as a old graduate school mate is trying to orgainse a informal run (with a small group, as we don't want to get hauled up for not having police permission!!) from NCPA to Chowpatty, to show his solidarity for the city. Hope he is able to manage it, though I am yet to receive a confirmation (on the run) from him. (with details on time & start point, plus number of participants)

Back after a long break..

2008-12-13T18:43:00.005+05:30

Its been almost a month since my last post. I have not been active during this period as I have been hooked to twitter, which makes blogging so much easier.

Its been one hell of an eventful month. Lotsa ups and downs, especially on the running front.

I ran my toughest race till date on November 16. The Bangalore ultra turned out to be a lot tougher than what I had bargained for. Thanks to my previous injury, (which had more or less kept be out of action for the last 3-4 weeks before the Ultra), I started having problems with my run after the first 1.5 hours. At the 18km mark I was quite sure that I will not be able to complete the required 75km in 12hour time limit. This meant that I had to run/walk/crawl the next 10hour in great pain (after completing the first 2 hours of the run) knowing fully well that I would not be able to complete the distance in the required time. And this was the toughest part of the race, it was made all the more difficult when lot of runners decided to discontinue after the 50km mark. I still managed to successfully complete 67km in 11hr 37mins. I would have needed about 13hours to complete the race, but this was beyond the timeline, plus it was getting dark.

What was very surprising was the fact that most runners did not do as well as the previous year. I guess training was lacking or they focus was missing. This could have been my lucky race, only if I had remained injury free before the race. I was quite confident of doing the 75km in about 10 1/2hrs and this was the time of the third place finisher. I had prepared a lot better/harder compared to the previous year. This year the weather was lot better, it was cloudy all through and the temperature was pleasant all through the race.

Quick update

2008-11-14T23:10:00.003+05:30

Last two weeks have been difficult. I have only managed 4 swims during this period, three 1km and one 2km swim. Manged good time of about 26mins per KM. In addition I managed 2 cycling trips of about 20km each.

I have not been running for the last two weeks, but have tried to walk as much as possible. Plus have been down with a cold and bodyache during this week. So basically everything that could go wrong did, but all this makes thing easier as it just takes the pressure off me. I just need to now go out on Sunday morning at 6.30am and just give it all I have got. Its going to test me fully for my future ultras and multi-stage ultras, as the last few weeks have ensured that I am under prepared for the the Sunday run.

I am looking forward to the run.

Diwali week and recovery plan

2008-10-28T19:24:00.002+05:30

I don't think I have had such a holiday filled Diwali ever before. I will not be working five of the seven days this week.

I have had to take a break from running, to give my legs some much required break (well its a forced break, did not really have a choice) and to also get on a course of anti-inflammatory medication during the week. I am taking Voviron 50mg (antibiotic) and combining is with Evion 400mg, vitamin E medication (to ensure that there is no cramping). I am taking this under medication supervision. Self medication can be dangerous. The only reason I am putting this up on my blog is so that I remember what i had taken and when (pl. do not take this medication without consulting your doctor). The course started on Monday night.

I need to keep my legs moving so started the week with a swim today, I did around 1.2km today and managed 1km in about 29minutes. I will keep a track of my distance and time over the next few swims so that I can get a better idea of my standard/default pace. Which means I will have to do a minimum of 1km, will try and do at least 2km on one of the days.

I will be swimming thrice this week, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. I will mix it with a cycling trip n Wednesday with a 20km plus trip. If all goes well, I should be back in business on Sunday with a 10km run. The plan is well laid out and hope that things fall in place.

Things going from bad to worse..

2008-10-26T19:29:00.003+05:30

Things don't look very promising and I will need to take some corrective action to get things back on track.

Last weeks slide continued, I managed to run on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. I only managed 10.5km run on all three days. The Sunday run was the most difficult, my right leg is definitely not in good shape. Thankfully this is not a injury, its just strain and hammering my leg has received over the past few months. But, that does not make things any easier.

I plan to use the new week, which has tons of holidays to get my right leg back in shape. I can't afford to rest them completely as that will set me back big time and I won't be in the right shape for my Bangalore Ultra on November 16. So next week should see a good amount of cycling and swimming, I just need to find motivation to ensure that I do one of the two on at least four of the five holidays I have next week.

Interesting week..

2008-10-21T11:21:00.003+05:30

Last week was quite different. My legs were strained, actually my right calf and upper part of the ankle were feeling awful and I knew my body needed rest and by Tuesday I was also struck by a nasty cold. The cold made my body feel drained and tired.

I still managed to run on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Managed two 10.5km runs on Friday and Saturday, followed by a 21km run on Sunday, taking the weeks tally to 42km. Things don't look too good with my right leg (Calf and shin). Will be watchful and decide accordingly.

Things are improving..

2008-10-12T20:28:00.002+05:30

This weekend turned out to be a lot better than what I had expected out of myself. I managed a reasonable 12km run in about 1hr 20mins and followed it up with a 20km run in 2hr15mins. It was a bit of effort and yes my legs are a little strained due to the training. But there seems to be no injury, thank god for small mercies.

Now I only need to stick it out and keep chipping away and aim for a 50+ week for the next 3-4 week, don't think I want to push my body with a really long run. Will attempt it only if my legs feel really good on one of the Sundays, as the last thing i need is a injury before the ultra.

I have got most of the things organised for the Bangalore ultra on November 16, including my tickets for Saturday afternoon, to make it well in time for the Sunday ultra. I don't think I will be able to make much improvement on my 11hr 7 minutes time at the ultra, but am confident that this time my recovery after the ultra marathon is going to be a lot better.

I also have a very strong feeling that given my current training, the biggest benefit is going to come during my Bombay marathon. I stand a good chance of doing a time of under 4hr 20mins.

Tough times..

2008-10-09T18:13:00.003+05:30

I was away for quite a few days on work, but managed to put some kilometres into my training. The good thing is that this was around a steep hill on asphalt roads, which meant I could pack more effort with less kilometres. It also meant that my legs took some beating, I had some stiffness around my shins before I left and this sort of aggravated it.

I managed to run on Saturday, Sunday and Monday, and did 6km, 9km and 6km respectively. Which does not sound much but the high impact doing downhill and the steep climb ensured that I kept up with my training going. But, when today I had a tough time doing my planned 20km and managed only 12km in about 1hr 25minutes.

I will try my best to get over this stiffness around my shins and manage some good distances over the weekend. Guess these are the after effects of the hard training of last few weeks. I hope I feel much better and legs are back to normal on Sunday, badly need a 35-40km run in October.

Registered for Bangalore Ultra

2008-10-02T22:03:00.003+05:30

I finally got down to actually registering for the Bangalore ultra on November 16, 2008. This year they thankfully have a online payment option, which makes things sooo simple.

visit for online registration http://www.thefullerlife.com/index.php?id=568

For offline registration download the form - http://www.thefullerlife.com/index.php?id=206

The rates are Rs.1250 for regular people and Rs.1000 for RFL members (and it costs Rs.1000 a year to become a RFL members). Strange that they don't have a lower rate for last years runners, which is a usual policy at most progressive marathons. Guess they are more keen to build RFL membership.

And yes these are special early bird rates, applicable till October 15, 2008. After this they go up a little. They have also made arrangement to stay at Our Native Village, venue for the Ultra marathon.

13k plus 7.5k, plus more to come

2008-10-02T21:49:00.002+05:30

I was not able to run on Tuesday morning as my legs still appeared a little strained from last week. Thought of making up for it on Wednesday, but as luck would have it, I went out to catch a awesome event in town and slept very late. And then it was down to Thursday, which was a holiday. As usual I got up early but could not get out of home before 8.20am, the scheduled time was 7am!

Given the heat, sun and humidity, I knew I would not be able to do the planned 20km, so did the second best thing. I did a 13km run in the morning and followed it up with a 7.5km run in the evening. Now its down to two more weekend runs on Saturday and Sunday while I am traveling, I don't think I will be able to make up for the lost day, but that is not really a problem. Till the time i got the long run today (breaking it up into two parts is as good, as it helps me to train at make quicker recoveries)

My 30km journey on a Sunday morning...

2008-09-28T13:49:00.002+05:30

Its been one of my most eventful runs till date. I started with some really tired legs and the first few kilometers were very difficult, I almost gave up on my planned 30km run. I also made changes to my route, originally i had planed to run till Hali Ali, about 2hrs after start then come back to Shivaji park and then do another 30mins around Shivaji Park, to complete the 3hr runs for doing 30km. After evaluating my condition at the 5km mark, I decided to abandon plan A and shifted to plan B. I now planned to run directly run to Shivaji Park and then run around the park, hoping for a 25km but was reconciled to something like a 20km. This would not only protect me from the sun (the path around the park is shaded) and 30 odd degrees of temperature, but also ensure that I was not stranded in the middle of nowhere especially if my legs simply gave up on me (the fear was very real).

That was not to be, by the time I touched the 10km, things started to change, I was getting into a good rhythm and the fatigue in my legs was starting to disappear (I also had a slight twitch in my right outer thigh a few kilometers back and even that did not appear again) and I got a feeling that the 30km was still possible unless something unexpected came up. And then next 20km were sheer bliss and I put in some 15laps around the park. It was an amazing experience moving from one extreme to the other. Actually my legs were feeling better after than the run than when I started.

What makes the run even more special is that this was my third consecutive run, I did a 11km on Friday followed by a 10km on Saturday. I needed to make this run, to give me confidence for my ultra (78km run).

Next weekend I will be traveling again, which means there will be no long run over the weekend. But luckily for me Thursday is a holiday and I can easily put in a 20km plus run for the week. I hope to run on Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday, doing a 50km plus week (since the Saturday and Sunday runs will be in a around a hill, I will be able to bring some variety to my run and climbing steep slopes will do me a lot of good). I also hope to run on Monday and Tuesday, which will sort of make up for the missed Sunday long run, as i will be able to put in four consecutive runs of around 10km each.

Last two weeks...

2008-09-27T06:07:00.003+05:30

Its been over 12days since my last post. So will do a quick recap of last week. I again managed to do 4 runs during the week, on Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday, with 13k, 13k, 11k and 23.5k. The Sunday run was very difficult as I just was not feeling good during my run & legs were feeling tired, which meant i had to walk in between twice to get through the distance. I sort of got into some rhythm after the 17km mark but did not have enough time to do a 30k given that I was already running late for a breakfast meeting in town.I took a good 2hr 40min to do this distance. I started at 7.50am instead of the planned 7am run, its still so difficult to get myself out of the house on a Sunday morning. But, now that the weather is deteriorating I end up suffering bigtime for delays.

This week has been very hectic and given the schedules its been difficult taking time out for early morning runs. I managed a run on Wednesday, finally a good 13k smooth run and am now trying to follow it up with three consecutive runs on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. I had a decent run on Friday and managed a 11k. I hope to follow it up with another similar run today and top it off with a good 30k run tomorrow. I badly need a good long run and the three consecutive runs will do me a world of good if I can manage it well. It will also tell me about my level of preparation for the Ultra in November.

Awesome weekend...

2008-09-14T19:05:00.002+05:30

I could not have had it any better. I did a 20km run today in 2hrs, after doing a 17km run yesterday, could not have done any better. This takes my weeks mileage to 61km, the best (yet)weekly mileage for the year. What makes it really special is that fact that I was planning it to be a low mileage week, as I am away from Bombay.

The main reason for this has been the wonderful weather in Baroda. Its rained in the evening on both the days, which has kept the temperature at reasonable levels, plus the fact that I had 6.30am and 6am starts on the two days. And yes it was quite humid by Baroda standards, which is usually quite dry.

I plan to take a break on Tuesday (my scheduled day of running), to celebrate this. But, will try and make up for the miles towards the weekend. I hope to do a 30km run next Sunday.

Weekend getaway and big questions...

2008-09-13T21:08:00.001+05:30

So for things have been going better than expected with my runs, am trying to have a well deserved weekend break to unwind and to get recharged.

I managed a 13km and 11km run on Tuesday and Thursday and followed it up with a super 17km run today in Baroda. I had originally planned two 10km runs on Saturday and Sunday. I was feeling very good and the weather was a lot better than Bombay and I decided to do more. It was also easier for me to have a early start today (6.30am), lot easier to get out of bed in a new city. I hope to go for my run tomorrow at 6am and hope to do atleast another 15km tomorrow.

I also caught two very interesting and inspiring movies, Rock On and A Wednesday. The former tells you to live and fulfill your dreams (plus its never too late to pursue it) and the latter tries to shake the common man and system out of their slumber while dealing with terrorism (though I don't agree with the means used in the story, but we definitely need a awakening to be more demanding of ourselves and our government & its bodies). The serial blasts which have taken place in Delhi today, just reinforces how helpless the common man is in the hands of terrorists. Wondering what answer the common man can give to these endless serial blasts, and being insensitive and moving on with normal life is just not the answer....

Dri-fit shoes??

2008-09-07T19:37:00.002+05:30

I recently realized the discomfort one goes through (other than dehydration & exhaustion!!) while running in humid weather. All my recent runs which last more than an hour, have been in shoes which are completely wet (its almost as if I am wearing shoes which have been soaked in water) on the inside. Its the same feeling while I am running in the rains. The reason why this happens is that perspiration from my singlet and shorts (both of them are dri-fit), drips through my legs, to my socks (again dri-fit) and finally into my shoes. And once it enters the shoe there is no place for it to go.

Are there any shoes which suck out the fluids from inside to the outside and keep the inside of the shoe dry? (well as dry as it can get in the given conditions). Or, how does one stop the body sweat from entering the shoes (something like sweat band for ankles)? Any suggestions??

End of a tough week

2008-09-07T19:28:00.003+05:30

Its been one hell of a tough week. I have not missed my runs for a long long time, its very difficult when your legs feel perfectly fine but your body (in this case the severe bout of cold, which made breathing difficult) just does not allow you to run.

After a lot of struggle I have managed 6km, 12km & 15.5km runs on Tuesday, Saturday and Sunday, taking the weeks tally to 33.5km. Am yet to recover from the cold and cough. Today's run was smooth but after the first the one hour mark, I needed to walk a while to get my breathing back to normal. Given the traffic conditions in Bombay, its not a good idea to breath through the mouth. It took me 1hr 46mins to complete this hard run of 15.5km. The extremely hot and humid weather just decided to make things more difficult (it had rained the previous night), even though I had a early start of 7.20am.

Looking forward to a much better next week. I hope to run on Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday. I am off for a long weekend, badly need the break to recharge my batteries, and look forward to some interesting runs in a new city. On mileage terms the week will not be very big, as there is no way I can take three hours off to complete a 30km run over this weekend.

Last two weeks, high and low combo

2008-09-07T06:05:00.004+05:30

I had a fab run last Sunday, managed a good 25k run to complete the targeted 60km for the week. Did the run in about 2hr 40mins. I had managed three other runs during the week of 11km, 11km and 13km each on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.

I was traveling on Monday and Tuesday, so had planned a short run on Tuesday of about 6km followed by a 13km on Wednesday morning when I returned. But this is when things started to go wrong, I was down with a very bad cold on Tuesday. I was just about able to complete my 6km run on Tuesday morning in Maharani Baug area of Delhi, which was a welcome break from my regular runs. After that its been 4 days of a lot of rest and sleep (10hrs each day) and cold medication for 2 days to bring things to bearable level (my first shot at cold medication after many years, I usually prefer to just wait it out).

All this meant I was only able to run on Saturday and this was a sort of a comeback run, getting my lungs to act normally & legs back to normal. It was a hard fought 12km and it took me 1hr 30mins, as it included a walk and run routine, as the chest congestion (from the cold) is still there. But, the only way to start feeling normal again was to start running. Plus a break from running simply messes up my training and build up of long runs. I hope I can complete the week with a good long run today, but will not try and attempt something fancy.

Krishna Festival Pic from last Sunday.

2008-08-30T09:09:00.001+05:30

59km week, the best so far for the season

2008-08-24T21:13:00.002+05:30

I managed to do the planned 20km run today and achieved the weeks target of 60k.

The natural variables were all in place (exactly how I had hoped for it to be) and the weather could not have been better, but I did my best to make it as extremely challenging for myself! I was out the whole of Saturday mall hopping and the day ended well past mid-night. This meant I barely managed 5hours of sleep and started with some really tired legs. Thankfully after the first 14kms, I settled into a great rhythm and could have gone on for another 10km.

I hope to do another 60km distance next week.

Alarming polution levels in Bombay

2008-08-23T12:28:00.003+05:30

Like they say pictures speak a thousand words. I shot these pictures at Haji Ali, while doing the freedom run on August 15.

How to get out of bed for a early morning run?

2008-08-23T12:08:00.003+05:30

I have been trying to figure this out for the last five years. Its always been an effort for me to get out of bed early, esp. on a holiday, for my run. Yes, there are some days when I am highly motivated & I can manage it, but on most other days its a very big effort. Everything else has becomes a habit/routine, but not this thing. I am a early morning person and am at my productive best in the mornings, but I still have not been able to figure of why its so difficult, other than the two core facts that I love my sleep (I can sleep anywhere and at any time, especially in a moving vehicle or while waiting for something/someone. This is a big plus under normal conditions, as I can easily nap any time and be really fresh for something important, plus I don't waste time doing nothing!!) and the second is that fact that I am extremely lazy (so doing something that I don't enjoy is a big effort). Another special trait - if I have had a hard week with limited sleep and I want to make up for it on a Sunday, I can easily get up in the morning, have my breakfast and go back to sleep (can't sleep long hours on a empty stomach).

Now the solution, this has been arrived at after years of research. I have tried everything from changing into my running gear as soon as I get up, to immediately brushing my teeth on waking up, to doing stretches after getting up, to switching on the TV or loud music,...... the list goes on, but I always manage to laze around for a long while or actually get knocked off to sleep even in a sitting position. Today I got up and immediately went for a shower, this made all the usual issues/problems just disappear (the reason I have never tried having a shower in the morning before a run, is the fact that I need to have one after the run and it did not make sense to have two showers in quick succession). So, from now on I plan to have a shower before my run on all holidays, so that I can have a early start and beat the sun (the rains are almost over and sunny days are back!)

Week so far..

2008-08-23T11:52:00.002+05:30

I have managed three runs so far in the week, did a 10.5k, 13k and 15.5k, on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Had to shuffle my days as had a tight schedule this week and the best way to find time was to run on two of my holidays (Tuesday and Saturday), the only regret being the late start on Tuesday which did not give me enough time for clocking more miles. So its been a 39km week so far and it seems highly unlikely that I will be able to do my targeted 60km for the week.

But, I will have to wait till tomorrow to find out as I still have sometime to catch up, with a bit of luck I might just be able to make it happen. Things I need to make that happen, early start - 7am (today for the first time after many months I managed a 7.20am start on a holiday!!), cloud cover, lot of continuous rain esp. in the second half of the run, 8 hours of sleep and need some really fresh legs when I start my run to last the half marathon distance (esp. after today's 15k)!

2008-08-17T21:29:00.002+05:30

Its been a good week, completed another 11km run today after the 21.5km on Friday. Taking my weeks tally to 43km with 3 runs. Next week should be a lot bigger, as I have two holidays to work with, on Tuesday and Saturday. So if all goes well I might have a 60km week. I hope to do 4 runs, Tues, Wed, Friday and Sunday.

Bangalore Ultra marathon 2008 registration

2008-08-16T11:48:00.003+05:30

Bangalore ultra takes place on November 16, 2008, at Heseagatta (40km off Bangalore city). Its a 13km loop in the area around what was Lake Heseragatta. View directions to the venue from Bangalore on Google Earth http://blorerun.googlegroups.com/web/OurNativeVillage_TI.kml?gda=oElxnEoAAABbbrl3Xt4S_I8Q-4Pqr_ueG9mg4RdVZC1Bune7jF4P3aEfD8gizBqda3A8nb_OSkeB5hZJE018p2t5eJYDY_GanIi1syVLgFXllRLk-d1u5Q
Stay is being arranged at a resort which also happens to be the start and end point for the http://www.ournativevillage.com/

Registration process starts from August 25, 2008. Visit http://www.thefullerlife.com/index.php?id=178 for more details on the registration process or mail bangaloreultra@thefullerlife.com or on +91 -80- 4112 3851. Fees for registration are yet to be finalised.

The Bangalore Ultra Marathon is an initiative of Runners for Life, a running community, based in Bangalore.

Running all year round...

2008-08-16T08:47:00.003+05:30

I have always been asked this question, how do I am manage to run all year round and still not get bored of it (at any point in-between). The answer is quite simple, first things first I enjoy running (without it, its impossible). But, to make is a self sustaining activity, you need a lot many more things.

Even after about 6 years of regular running, getting out of bed early in the morning is a very big effort, it is not easy. (which is evident from my Freedom run starting at 9am instead of the planned 7am). Plus on a holiday its even more difficult, as I don't really have a deadline which I have to beat (which is very much there on a working day). But, once I hit the road it is a lot of fun, relaxing and nothing like what it was to get me out of bed. I have to run in the mornings, don't really have much of a choice, the stray dogs and traffic make running in the evenings impossible (as I run on the highway). So running very early in the morning or very late in the night, I can beat the traffic but the stray dogs are at their very best and I have to be extremely alert, to avoid being chased by them.

The biggest thing which works for me is that I try to bring variety, add some fun elements, throw in some adventure and also reward myself. I plan and do a midnight run or a 4am half marathon or do a freedom run or run on a route I have never run before and yes run on totally unknown routes in other cities when I am travelling (Hotel Gyms just do not make any sense), all of these things at regular intervals and in small dozes make running more fun.

I love coffee and am also aware that too much of it is not good for me, so I try not consume any coffee during the week except on the days that I run, when I unwind with some strong coffee at my favourite coffee shop (and this does not necessarily need to be immediately after the run, I can also store these rewards and use it the next day).

Shopping for gear (shoes, singlets, energy drink, shorts, socks, energy bars........), at regular intervals I go out to shop for new things which would aid or make my runs more fun. There is no high like shopping for sports gear, it lasts a lot longer than shopping for regular clothes.

You need to have races to run and participate at different times of the year, running regularly becomes a lot easier. So you train for them, once you have zeroed in on a race. Its a lot easier to break it up week by week and to continue running.

Freedom Half marathon

2008-08-15T17:30:00.004+05:30

Its been a good week, I managed to run on Tuesday and did a comfortable 11km run. But the highlight of the week was the half marathon which I had planned some weeks back, to celebrate Independence day. I started at 9.00am in the morning instead of the planned time of 7.00am, as I was not able to sleep early the previous night. This also meant that I had to abandon my swim plans, as I would not be able to reach the pool in time (as the morning session closes around 11am or so)

Once I started my run, things started to fall in place and I completed about 21.5km in 2hr 20mins (its about 10mins off my personal best during training and about 8mins of that took place in the first 11km but after that I got into a good rhythm and things were smoother.)

Thanks to the middle drizzle which kept me company during the second half of the run, I did not need much water and managed with about 1liter of water. It was a wonderful watching people dressed in colours of the Indian tricolour (flag). I also stopped midway during my run when a flag hoisting ceremony was talking place at one of the buildings on the way (and the national anthem was playing). I would usually have not stopped if it was a training run (and that would not have been disrespectful), but since this was a run to celebrate the independence day, it seemed the best thing to do.

Good week so far

2008-08-09T19:31:00.003+05:30

Its been a good week so far. Managed all my planned runs, plus something extra. I did 11km runs on Tuesday and Thursday, followed by 10.5km run on Saturday (plus a 0.5km swim after the run).
Its been raining all week, so the weather has been quite good. Hope it continues like this for a few more days. I hope to have another good run tomorrow, and try and do about 15km or so, using it like a practice run for my half marathon on next Friday.

I am planing to do a half marathon on August 15 (am calling if Freedom Run!!) and if I am still feeling good after that I might also go for a swim. I think it will be one of the few August 15 (India's independence day) when it might actually rain, keeping my fingers crossed.

Painkillers and magic sprays/gels

2008-08-03T16:41:00.003+05:30

I developed a backache yesterday afternoon (thankfully it had nothing to do with running), while doing some cleaning and rearrangement at home. This is the second time I have had this backache, the first was when I was trying to lift a box which was about 20kgs plus. On both occasions it was the technique which was faulty and not the work or weight. Yesterday, I kept my legs straight and bent from my waist while doing work and rearranging things, instead of bending my knees and doing it.

I usually try to avoid using painkillers and magic spray as they don't really cure much and give one false sense of relief. Its especially dangerous to use these when one is training, as they tend to hide pain/injury and one tends to push the body, when it actually needs rest. So I rested the whole of Saturday, with little bit of stretching and then waited till Sunday morning to decide on my ability to undertake the run (had it been a running related injury, I would have taken an additional day of rest). I also believe that one should not take any painkillers/sprays during a race or before a race as a precautionary measure (it somehow feels like cheating). The only time I have ever used sprays was during my first Ultra, not sure if they were very useful as they provide only temporary relief & when it wears off, the pain/cramp/injury becomes unmanageable.

Three consecutive runs...

2008-08-03T15:24:00.002+05:30

Its been three consecutive runs this week (wanted to use back to back, but I guess its not applicable with 3 in a row). Managed to run on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. After the two 11km runs, I topped off the week with a 12km run today. Did not want to push myself too much, thought it was a little tempting. I did the 12km run in about 1hr 17mins.

It was a hard, bright day. It had drizzled in the morning, but when I started my run at 9am it was sunny, with no cloud in sight and 90% humidity. Thankfully I was feeling good and things went off well.

Eventful week..

2008-08-02T18:40:00.003+05:30

Its been a week with a lot of ups and downs and so I am not sure what is in store for me tomorrow.

I had a dreadful run on Tuesday, I managed only 5km. I had a delayed start (I need to get to work in time to complete my shower, etc well before 9am), then had to come back home after the first 100meters as I forgot to take my handphone and then after the first kilometer of my run, things were just not feeling right, calves and outer part of the shins were feeling stiff and it started to get worse as I continued to run. Then I realised that the problem occurred because the previous day I decided to sprint in the evening for some 100 meters with my work shoes, as I was getting late to get somewhere. Moral of the story, an endurance runner can neither sprint nor walk, he can only run!

So I decided to rest my legs for a couple of days and skipped the planned run on Thursday. I decided to make up for by running on Friday and Saturday. Both these runs went off quite smoothly and the Tuesday nightmare was over. I am managed a comfortable 11km on both the days.

I only wish things ended there. I was in for some more surprises. I decided to do some good deads for the day on Saturday, which included cleaning and remodeling of my living space. So I ended up abusing my back, by putting it through some intense activity, without any warm up or without taking proper care. So I am now down with a sore back. The only thing felt for me to do is to take as much care as possible and hope that things get back to normal by tomorrow morning.

First 50km week of 2008

2008-07-27T21:30:00.002+05:30

It feels great after having finally done my first 50km week of the year. Managed four runs during the week, 11km, 13km, 11km and 15km runs on Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday.

I did Sundays 15km in about 1hr 35mins, in some amazing weather. It was raining during the entire duration of the run, which made things very easy and enjoyable. Actually its been raining all through the week, which has been a welcome relief (its not rained for almost a month, and Bombay was suffering water shortage, drought in Maharashtra and massive load-shedding in areas around Bombay). I personally love running in the rains, it makes running so much easier. Though it can be dangerous - greater chances of impact injuries, slipping, rashes, plus there are pot holes and manholes to manage (so its better not to experiment, and stick to the tried and tested routes). Will write a more detailed run on running and rains later.

A 45km week...

2008-07-20T19:33:00.002+05:30

As planned I managed four runs during the week. I ran on Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday, doing 11km each on first three days and 12km on Sunday, taking the weeks tally to 45km. I could have done more on Sunday, but had to catch Dark Night in the morning (super flick, its got the best script ever for a super hero film. It had more than a slick action and digital special effects).

Next week I hope to do 50km during the week. And in a phased manner take it to 80km in two months time. Which means that September would require about 3 weekly runs of 13km each and Sunday run of 20-25km, totaling to about 65km a week. So that I have about 4-5 weeks in October with 80km each (doing about three to four weekday runs to 13km each and do a 30-35km on Sunday) and take November easy so that I am ready for my Bangalore ultra on November 16, 2004. I only hope I don't have to travel much in November, as that will make things more difficult.

I was recently contacted by a runner who wanted to participate in the Bombay marathon. He had ever run more than a few kilometers, but had gymd reasonably regularly till recently. I initially suggested that he take up the half marathon in Jan 2009. But, he wanted to do the full marathon in 2009, this again was very doable as he has about 6 months to go. So I suggest he aim for a time around of around 5.5 hours. And after that things went haywire. He mentioned that he wanted to be one of the top Indian finishers in the full marathon. I know most of us would have brushed this off as a random wild thought, but when he told me, I knew he meant it (don't ask me how, but I knew it). And this got me really worried. As a responsible runner I did my best to explain to him the pitfalls of attempting it (and explained to him the most obvious outcome, a permanent injury which will make it impossible for him to ever run again and tried to get him to postpone his goal to 2010). Distance running is about patience, determination and continuous training, and results don't come overnight. I hope he reconsiders his decision and takes up a more realistic and practical goal.

Catching up over the weekend

2008-07-13T18:06:00.002+05:30

The long weekend is almost over, which makes it two great weekends in a row. I also made up for the lost time by doing two runs in 16hrs. I did a 11km run today in about 1hr 10mins with my new pair. It took my weekly mileage to 29km.

The weather today was hot and humid which made the run difficult, but the fact that I was wearing my new pair made up for it. The shoe seems to be behaving well and is living upto my expectations. I look forward to doing about three runs next week.

I also hope to become more regular with my blog, as I have been quite erratic with posts.

Eventful day..

2008-07-12T21:37:00.004+05:30

Its been a great day, although it had a slow and lazy start. But after that its been a totally different day, when I went shopping.

I picked up some much needed cycling gear, cycling gloves and a foot pump. The sad thing was the store selling these biking accessories and gear (Hypercity, Malad), does not keep anything specific to road cycle. They only stock Raleigh gear (a UK company having a manufacturing base in China), which is almost 'dumping' stuff in India at some really attractive prices. So the gear and accessories they stock are also produced by Raleigh (which seems to only produce mountain bikes). I wanted to pick up spare tubes, seat covers, etc, could not find anything for my road bike.

But the highlight of my shopping expedition was purchase of a pair of Reebok Road running plus shoes (one of the few specialty road running shoes in India!). I have had a couple of bad experiences when I have purchased Reebok running shoes, as the cushioning technology they use does not seem to suit me. But these specialty running shoes have the extra cushioning to help my cause and I got them at a very special price (thanks to a sea (almost every clothing brand and accessory) of 'sale' and discounts doing the rounds in the city, to boost consumption, which has taken a huge beating after the recent news of Inflation - which at the consumer level is at 16%). I personally believe that in times of high inflation its better to spend more, as savings do not really help your cause.

Now I am fully stocked up on my running, swimming (not sure if I have mentioned, I now have another set of complete swimming gear which I picked up recently) and cycling gear. The only thing left is to train on these three disciplines.

I completed the day by doing a 7km run in about 42minutes. Thank god I went for the run today, as I found the new pair of road running shoes, while I was returning after my run and coffee break.

Lazy couple of weeks

2008-07-12T09:29:00.002+05:30

Its been a lazy couple of weeks, though I have been running regularly, esp. last week. I managed 4 runs last week of 13km, 11km, 10km and 11km, on Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday.

I also managed a short holiday last week, from Thursday evening to Sunday in Baroda. The weekend runs took place in Baroda and I had a great time running in a park, which had a 1km and 2km loop and it was a welcome break running on asphalt instead of concrete. The weekend break did me a whole lot of good, was completely distressing, lots of eating, cafes and watching movies (Jaane Tu was a highlight, it should be the biggest hit of this year, a very well made flick using a regular love story).

This week has not been so good for running, as I guess I strained by thighs a little. So taking it a little easy, more strengthening required for thighs now! I managed a good 11km run on Wednesday and will do another run on Sunday (I skipped my Saturday run, as I wanted to take it easy and go shopping, inshort I was feeling extremely lazy).

13K run in extreme weather

2008-07-01T10:39:00.006+05:30

It really was extremely. I completed by 10.5km run today in about 1hr 10mins and did the balance distance in about 16minutes, after a short breakfast pitstop. Most of the pictures (below) have been shot at King circle and Dadar TT area in Bombay

Taken at Dadar TT, Outside Damodar Sweet shop

More pics from Dadar TT

BEST bus going up Tilak Bridge at Dadar

Road leading to King Circle flyover

Stranded taxis at King Circle flyover

Knee length water & higher in most part of King Circle area.

It was really deep.....

Massive traffic Jam before King Circle railway station, due to water logging

Road divider were submerged.

Water coming out of storm drains (knocking off 'warning' signboards)

More stranded BEST buses at King Circle area.

Rhythm is coming back...

2008-06-29T21:43:00.003+05:30

Its been another good week, three good run of 10.5km, 10.5km and 13km each on Tuesday, Friday and Sunday. All three 10.5km distances were done in 1hr 06/07mins. Which clearly tells me that my running rhythm is coming back. In the next few weeks I hope to increase from 3 to 4 runs a week and to step up my Sunday long run to something like 20km in a phased manner.

I have been watching a DVD called Evolution Running, given to me by a fellow runner. It was sort of a extension of the Chi running book I was reading last week. But its just that the drills and other things suggested by them are a little difficult for me to follow, but thankfully I have been doing most of the things right. Just need to get more regular and be patient.

Another week down..

2008-06-23T21:08:00.002+05:30

I could not manage the planned run on Saturday. I did not really have a choice as I barely slept on Friday night, managed only 3 hours as I was having a blast on Friday night. The Sunday run was a late run, but managed the 10.5km run in about 1hr 9minutes.

Over all the week had some two very good runs and the weekend was a lot of fun. Looking forward to more such eventful weekends.

Am looking forward to tomorrow's morning run. Next week is going to have a bit of traveling so I hope I can stick to my running schedules. And yes, am waiting for the rains to return, am missing them big time.

Late start to the week

2008-06-19T22:29:00.002+05:30

I had a very good run today, did a very peaceful 11km run in about 1hr 10mins. Not sure if it was a freak case or benefits of chi running kicking in. I have completed about 5 chapters of the book, but the main benefit/essence of the book was picked up by me in the first chapter and after that the book has just rambled on without actually taking the book to a higher level with each successive chapter. The big thing I picked up was that one needed to relax arms and limbs completely and to just let the body move (more glide) on its own, with complete control over ones breathing & driving the body from Chi (the center of the body). I hope I can actually make it happen with each of my forthcoming runs.

I hope to do two more runs this week, one on Saturday and the other on Sunday. And if I am lucky and can get out early maybe even do a swim on Sunday. I am yet to do two activities back to back, bike and run or do a run and swim. Will this Sunday be the first one?

a mixed week

2008-06-15T17:29:00.003+05:30

Start to the week was dreadful, I suffered a bad bout of stomach infection and needed to take some antibiotics (my first for stomach) to get rid of it. The second half of the week was a lot better, thankfully did not have to take too many days off from running and also from work.

This gave me a lot of time to think about Triathlons. I was giving some deep thought to the different types of Tri's in the market and I should aim to do first. The ultimate is Ironman - 3.8km swim, 180km cycling & 42km run. Half Tri (medium distance), which is basically half of everything in Ironman. Olympic tri with 1.5km swim, 40km biking, 10km run. I was originally planning to take up Olympic tri in 2009, which given even my current ability seems a little too easy (I should be able to manage it with as little as 2months preparation time). So I might actually have to find a Medium distance Tri or actually directly get down to doing a Ironman as my first tri, directly in 2010.

I did a mid-night run on Thursday (after a long time), managed 6kms in 36minutes. I also when for a swim on Saturday evening as I was feeling extremely lazy to do a morning run. This was not the usual with mechanical laps, more leisurely, relaxed swimming for about 30mins. Sunday I was back to doing my usual runs, managed a 11km run in about 1hr 12mins.

I need to pick some pace, distance and improve my frequency of runs, I have been doing the 11km runs for too long now.

Chi running and more

2008-06-08T20:52:00.005+05:30

I finally got down to reading my first book on running. Actually there aren't any books on endurance/ultra/distance running, and definitely none in any Indian book store (which is quite understandable as there is no running culture). I have just about read the first chapter, but realise that this book is actually written for me, its in sync with my running habits & the way I approach running. I am quite sure that I will enjoy reading the book and will gain a lot from it. I have to thank a fellow runner whom I met recently during one of my runs for this book.

I would recommend this book who is looking at taking up running seriously. You can pick it up from Amazon - http://www.amazon.com/ChiRunning-Danny-Dreyer/dp/074325144X

Yesterday was very interesting, I cycling for about 22km in the morning, my first biking ride/trip in ten years. I could not have chosen a worse time to do it. I had rained the whole day on Friday night and the road was slippery, mucky and there was a lot of traffic on a Saturday morning. The 22km bike ride took 1hr 25mins to complete. It was one of the toughest things I have done in a long time, I have never been so alert ever in my life. Stray dogs where at their worst, guess the rain had really upset them and I was chased (well the dog was charging at me with a lot of aggression), one of them for quite some distance. Lessons learnt - never to go on a biking trip on the highway on anything but a Sunday, to start by 7am in the morning and to never bike when its raining or when roads are wet. I had hoped to have done the cycling trip in about 40-45mins, so may entire schedule for the day went haywire.

I was hoping to go for a swim after the cycling trip. The only problem is that the pool is about 25-30km from my house, so need to plan for it well in advance. The cycling trip took a lot out of me, I was completely covered in muck (my entire back was covered with it). I needed some super cleansing and disinfection to feel clean again... and I gave up my plans to go for a swim.

In the afternoon, I happened to catch a new flick "21" - a movie about a bunch of MIT kids (led by their Math prof), crack Black Jack in Las Vegas using their intelligence, math skills, training and memory (counting) to beat the house. This movie was a huge stress buster and got me ready for my swim in the evening. I did about 1.25kms (50laps of my pool) in about 35mins very comfortably. By this time the weather change of the last few days had already had its impact and I was suffering a horrible throat infections. By some weird logic I was hoping that the swim would cure my throat infection.

The throat infection and the strenuous exercise routine of Saturday was starting to take its toll on me and I decided to skip my planned Sunday morning run. I always believe in listening to my body and not push it when its not really ready. I decided to rest and ensure that I slept till late on Sunday morning and in the afternoon. But by afternoon I was again itching to go out for a short run as it was getting difficult to resist running in the rain. Its been raining the whole of Saturday and Sunday but I had not had a single run in the rain (this year). I finally got out of my house in the evening (3km one way) for a short run to the coffee shop and to get down to reading Chi-Running.

Great week in the making

2008-06-06T22:56:00.003+05:30

Its been a great week so far and in all likelihood it should stay the same way. I successfully managed two weekday runs with reasonable ease. I ran on Tuesday and Thursday mornings to work. I did the two 10.5km runs in about 1hr 7mins 30sec and 1hr 6mins respectively. Today's run was the smoothest (for the last 2 months) as I was able to manage it comfortably without having to walk in between, the rhythm seems to be coming back (hope I have not spoken too early). Though the in between waking does not really affect timing, it does take the sense of fulfillment out of the run.

It rained in the evening on both the days when I ran, which ensured that the run was in very humid weather. These are pre monsoon showers, the monsoons is due sometime mid June. But its a welcome relief from the high temperatures of the last few months.

I am looking forward to my first biking trip, plan to do a 20km run. I hope it does not rain tomorrow, last thing I need is a slippery road when I am riding a bike after a long long time. I have my riding gear in place, so it should not be much of a problem. After cycling, I hope to go for a swim to try and get things going and finally end the week with a run tomm., with a 13km run.

2008-06-01T18:14:00.002+05:30

Its been a regular week. Managed the regular 2 runs during the week. The first was on Tuesday, did a 10.5km run in about 1hr 10mins. This was the first time when my backpack troubled me, the weight was straining my upper back (so I need to add another element to my list of things to strengthen).

This Sunday run was one of the toughest in a long time, could not manage anything more than a 7.5km run. I started really late 9.30am, which is this weather is not the best thing to do, plus the fact that I have not been logging enough weekly mileage, ensure that I had to give up well before the planned distance of 11km.

So I badly need to increase my frequency of runs, what better than to start off on Monday morning itself. I only wish I can sleep early, which will be possible only if the IPL final is a one sided affair!

And yes, my bicycle is looking wonderful after a complete overhaul (well everything except for the original frame seems to have been replaced!). Not sure when I will start riding again, I can't see myself riding it in the traffic, so I will need to get up very early in the morning to ride it. Maybe get up early on a Sunday morning, cycle 20km and then do a 10km run. Seems like a good idea.

Biking - pedal power, a new begining..

2008-05-25T20:32:00.003+05:30

A friend of mine recently spoke about wanting to cycle from Bombay to Matheran, a 100km ride. This got me thinking and I realised that I also had a bike with, which has lying unattended for over 2 years. So I immediately decided to give it a complete overhaul and then eventually get down to using it regularly, and maybe some day even do a trip to Matheran.

Since i am hoping to do a Triathlon sometime next year, I need to start cycling sooner or later. Doing a cycle in a gym is not really the solution, need some time on the road. Plus it give me that extra time before I buy a decent modern bike (maybe a Trek) to replace my 18year old bike (Atlas Concorde Pro). I also hope to get some protective gear in place during the next few weeks before I start biking on the Highway.

Finally found my new running shoe

2008-05-25T17:31:00.004+05:30

Its been three runs since my last post. I did a one on last Sunday, managed the 10.5km run in 1hr 10mins, given the heat and my fitness levels that was a decent effort.

I followed it up with a 5.5km run on Tuesday while I was in Delhi, in about 29minutes. This was one of my most pleasurable runs in many months. The weather was amazing, it had rained in the night and the temperature at 7am in the morning was a very comfortable 23degrees with medium humidity. I am waiting for the rains to hit Bombay, badly need a break from this muggy weather. The only disturbing part was the jarring and impact my legs suffered during the short run, which was a clear indicator for me to immediately replace my shoes (I have been trying to find a new pair of my favourite/current shoe for the last few weeks, but have been unsuccessful).

On Saturday I set out to discover my new running shoe, after two unsuccessful attempts, I finally manage to finalise it. I bought a Allegra Cushion running shoe of Adidas. Its quite similar to my Adidas Nova Cushion shoe. The new shoe felt quite good, as I was trying to break into them yesterday.

I started out on my Sunday morning run at 9am, which made the run difficult. I should ideally have started at 7am but could not get myself out of the bed, as I have been having continuous late nights over the last three days. The run felt good, though I was a little sluggish, as I have still not got into a rhythm. The new shoes behaved well and everything went of smoothly (no shoe bites, injuries....).

I am now looking forward to some good weekday runs with my new shoes. Feeling a lot more positive about picking up some momentum on my weekly mileage.

one run this week...

2008-05-17T21:46:00.002+05:30

I managed only one run during the week, it was on Tuesday, i did a 11km run in about 1hr 8mins. It was one of my better runs and the best time I have had for sometime.

Was planning another weekday run but skipped it as my legs are still not ready for three 10+km runs a week, so will need to be patient about it. But am feeling ready and good about my Sunday morning run.

I have been doing a bit of thinking about my schedule for the next couple of years. I hope to do the following - Bangalore Ultra in Nov 08, Bombay marathon in Jan 09, an olympic triathlon sometime in the first half of 2009 (it will have to be some place in south east asia, need to find/discover that). This should get me ready for a MDS in March 2010 and an Ironman Triathlon in the same year.

2008-05-11T22:13:00.003+05:30

Not really an eventful week. Last Sunday I went for a half hour swim instead of the usual run. It was a welcome change from the routine.

During the week I managed one weekday run to work. The weather has been very humid during the week, but thankfully its not really sunny. I did the 13km run in about 1hr 34mins (which includes about 8mins to pick up my breakfast).

I have not been able to run over the weekend. I had consciously taken a break on Saturday as I had to catchup on some work over the weekend. I could not manage the planned Sunday run as I strained my lower back, which I had to rest. After some 14hrs of sleep my back has recovered quite well. I hope to make up for this skip by doing two weekday runs in the coming week.

Active week....

2008-05-03T20:07:00.004+05:30

Since my last post on Saturday, I have done four runs. The Sunday one was a 10.5km done in 1hr 7mins, followed by another 11k run on Thursday (which was a holiday) in 1hr 11mins, a 3km run on Friday night and a 7.5km run today in about 47mins.

All of this has strained my legs (no injuries!), just need some rest. So plan to skip my Sunday morning run. Hope to make up for it by going for a swim on Sunday morning, which will not only be a break from running but also help me rebuild my endurance levels.

Since the time I have started running with the backpack plus pouch, I have had complete strangers giving me a good cheer, each time (atleast 2-3 per run), which is so welcome. Today was the best one, I for the first time met a serious runner in Bombay (outside of people I have meet at Mumbai marathon) who runs all year around (trust me in a city like Bombay with an almost zero running culture, its easier to find a UFO), most others are either casual runners or the Mumbai marathon prep runners.

I have still not got my rhythm back, guess it will take a few weeks and I will need to be patient. Plus the weather is a lot hotter now (atleast 30-32degree Celsius) during mornings, I have put on a couple of kilos, the weight I carry has increased (the waist pouch was 500gms and now its gone up to 2-2.5kgs, with 1.5l of water, 500ml gatorate, extra clothes & reading material for my coffee break), plus its more humid. I will get it right pretty quickly...

The Human Race - August 31, 2008

2008-04-26T12:16:00.006+05:30

The Human Race is slated to be the largest/biggest race ever. No this is not a ultra marathon, its more than that. Its a 10km run, which will be run (at the same time) by over one million runners in 28 different cities of the world.
The cities are -
Europe - Amsterdam, Istambul, Johannesburg, London, Madrid, Moscow, Munich, Paris, Rome, Warsaw
Americas - Bogota, Buenos Aires, Caracas, Lima, Mexico city, Quito, Sao Paulo, Vancouver
Asia Pacific - Melbourne, Seoul, Singapore, Taipei, Tokyo
United States - Austin, Chicago, LA, New York

Its sad that Bombay or New Delhi has not been included in the list. Had Bombay been there, I would have definately participated in it. Not sure what is the reason for the organiser (Nike), not having included a single city form China or India (if you exclude Taipei), two of the most populus cities. It would have been wonderful to have been a part of this initiative (even thought its a pure commercial exercise) and have asked my friends at CMP India to ensure that Bombay is a part of it next time around, should there be something like this again.

This is slated to be one of the biggest marketing initiatives (both the scale, resources and monetary investment) done by any organisation.

The beneficiaries of this initiative (Other than ofcourse the organiser - Nike) are WWF (World Wildlife Fund), Lance Armstrong foundation and ninemillion.org.

For more details and registration visit www.nikeplus.com

Weekday run after a long time

2008-04-24T08:56:00.003+05:30

I finally managed my first weekday run (on a working day) in a long time. Managed to do a 13.5Km run in 1hr 31mins. Which included few minutes of walking at regular intervals and a break to pickup my breakfast, not bad at all.

Am feeling a lot better today after the run and hope to do my next run on Sunday. Next week I plan to do two weekday runs, basically run from home to work. With my ultra backpack things are a lot easier as I can also carry my work clothes in them (not everything but things that I need specifically on a particular day). Plus this weekend I hope to get my water pouch for the ultra backpack, which is going to make running a lot easier, as I will not have to remove the pack off my back each time I need water, I just sip water using the extended pipe which is attached to my 1.5liter water pouch.

I hope to use the water pack for the Sunday run, as I would get it on Saturday. One regularly needs these extra to keep adding that extra excitment to running. I also need to buy a new pair of running shoes, I am waiting for my regular vendor to arrange the Adidias Nova pair from me as its been out of stock for sometime (hope to get it soon).

Yet to get started...

2008-04-20T22:06:00.003+05:30

Am yet to get really started. Things were really looking good at the end of last sunday, but mid-week I was struck by a bad bout of bad throat infection. So this meant the only time I could actually run was on Sunday and managed a 10.5km run. I took about 1hr 11mins to complete the run.

Its been a hectic and tough week on multiple front. But am sure I will bounce back next week with some good runs.

Refreshing weekend runs

2008-04-13T20:24:00.002+05:30

Its been fun a weekend, truly relaxed and laid back, something which I badly needed as last couple of months have been very hectic. I did some good runs this week, did a 55minute run on Saturday, followed by two runs on Sunday of 65mins and 17mins (morning and evening). My legs seem to be holding up quite well, but I have not done a 12km Plus run for many weeks now (that will be the real test). Saturday run was difficult as my lungs are not really used to doing even a 10km run, so I have had to mix it up with short walks. This will get sorted out once I start running atleast 3 times a week. Waiting to do a 20km run very soon. I have also managed early starts this weekend, started at 7.45 on both days. Given the weather conditions I don't really have much of a choice, but have managed to do this without sacrificing on sleep.

So after a long time I managed to do 20km plus mileage in one week. Hope to carry the good work to the next week. Look forward to doing some week day runs, will hopefully manage 3 runs during the week.

A roller coaster ride

2008-04-06T11:52:00.004+05:30

This week has been quite a bit of a Roller coaster ride. The first half of the week was quite normal, but mid week I was suddenly hit by a viral infection (severe throat and body ache, accompanied by mild fever). I was not able to rest sufficiently on Thursday as I had a action packed work day on Friday. But, after that I was able to take complete rest from Friday evening to Saturday evening (tons of sleep, with food breaks & snatches of India's disappointing performance in the second test against South Africa).

By Saturday evening I was almost back to normal. To confirm the same, I decided to go for a short 3km run and a well deserved cup of coffee at my favorite coffee shop, to celebrate my recovery. The run was almost effortless and the blues of the viral were blown away. I needed this run before I attempted my Sunday morning run.

Sunday morning I started early, at 7.45 which has been the quickest start time for a long time. With temperatures going up, even a half an hour delay makes a huge difference. I managed to complete the 11km run in about 1hr 05minutes, which is quite close to my regular pace, thought this was a mixed with walk and run. Which clearly means that the lower frequency of runs (now restricted to 1 or 2 runs a week) have resulted in my losing my running rhythm (without really the finish times).

But the highlight has been the super quick recovery from illness and I have only endurance sport (distance running) to thank. The quality of rest is now so much better, which helps the body bounce back in double quick time. Its almost as if the illness is like a 50km run and you need about a day to recover and get back to normal. I would never have imagined myself running so soon after recovering from an illness.

So along with the known benefits of regular running, like a 40% reduction in chances of a heart attack, weight reduction, better energy levels & stamina, there is a new one - super quick recovery from illness, esp. flu. (and this would also extend to bigger things like surgeries).

No more whining...

2008-03-30T20:47:00.002+05:30

I have been told that I have become a whiner (whining about my injury) on my blog. So no more injury talk - the next update will be when I recover completely from it.

Now the good news, I have made a healthy beginning today. Did a laboured 10.5k run in the morning and after that did a lot of walking late afternoon while traveling and catching up on different things, would have managed 6kms + during the evening (about 2kms odd stretches each time).

Did the 10.5k run in about 1hr 07min, which was mixed with run and walk. The weather is now quite humid and hot, so that adds an extra burden to the effort. Looking forward to a promising week ahead. I hope to get more opportunities to update my blog (regularly)....

Back to back runs..

2008-03-23T13:52:00.005+05:30

I finally managed to do two back to back 11k and 10.5k runs on Saturday and Sunday over the long holiday weekend. The three day holiday weekend was a welcome break after a long time. It took a lot of effort to do the sunday run as injury is still very much there. But, i still managed to complete both the runs in almost the same time.

I have also resolved (finally) about working to cure my injury, I will start the strengthening regime from Monday (everyday for the next few weeks) and will go to a specialist doctor if that does not yield the desired results.

I am yet to decide on the races I plan to take up next. The way things are going, I think the Bangalore ultra should be the next run in December this year, followed by the Mumbai marathon in Jan 2009 and finally if I can get my preparations started in full swing (after complete recovery from injury), do the MDS in Sahara in April 2009 (big hope, but time is too short) or April 2010 (this looks more likely). So the only thing coming between me and my decision is a niggling injury. And this will also be my first attempt at raising corporate sponsorship for the run. Currently am trying to find out if any Indian (resident) nationals have successfully completed the MDS.

Prescription glasses and more...

2008-03-16T21:48:00.002+05:30

I have been neglecting the blog for the last couple of weeks, which was due to a combination of factors - lack of running and a hectic work schedule.

I managed to run once last week (on saturday), did a 10k run which was again hard and tough. Could not run the next day (sunday), as I was not in any shape to do back to back runs. This week was a lot better, I managed to do a 5k run on one of my travel trips. Its somehow easier to do a weekday run in some other city. I followed it up with a 12k run today in good time of 1hr 13mins, guess my body was properly warmed up thanks to some continuous standing and running about at a trade exposition on the previous day. Hoping to run atleast twice next week, need to get back in action. And yes my leg strengthening has not yet started, not sure what I am waiting for!

Oh yes, I now have prescription glasses for myopia. Haven't managed to do any long runs with them as I have still not got used to them, as its just been a little over a week since I started wearing them. I did do the 5km run this week wearing them and it was quite inconvenient (need something to keep them in place). Might actually consider using daily disposal lenses for my long runs, if I can't get used to glasses. Plus its difficult to run in the sun without sun glasses.

No change...

2008-03-03T20:32:00.003+05:30

The break continues, managed to run only once this week. Did a 11km run and did it in about 1hr 10mins. This was not so smooth, so am still not back to normal. I managed to get some very good tips on leg strengthening from a Physiotherapist friend, so now the only thing left is putting it to practice. Going forward that should help me in a big way. And yes this was my first run with the runners backpack, which was another new variable.

I had also visited the eye doc during the week, a long overdue trip (as I need glasses for longer distances). All the checking resulted in a two day headache, so need to get my glasses in place real quick. Only if I can find my favourite pair..... Will need to get a pair which are good for running, should I need to replace my sun glasses (going forward). Am actually looking forward to my new look.

Quick update..

2008-02-26T10:36:00.003+05:30

Last week was quite hectic and eventful. Managed to do two runs during the week of 4km and 5km each respectively on Thursday and Friday around Ulsoor lake in Bangalore. Its a very nice place to run, as you get a decent mud track and its good enough for a (upto) 1hr run.

The Sunday run was super special, I managed to do a painfree 12.5km run from Home to Shivaji Park, the first one in about 5 weeks. I could have continued running but did not want to push myself, as this was my first long run (after a long time).

But the thing which really made it special was when one of the Autorickshaw (Tuk Tuk) drivers came up me and asked me why I was late for my run. I have been running on this route on Sundays for the last 5 years, so it would not be really surpising for them to have noticed it (but it definately made me feel special)

Chugging along

2008-02-17T21:55:00.002+05:30

Its was both interesting as well as a hectic week, especially with the traveling thrown in. Thankfully this travel was refreshing, thanks to some super fine weather and fresh air. I also managed to do two uphill runs on Wednesday and Thursday. Managed 3km and 4km runs respectively.

I followed it up with a run today, did a 7.5km run. I wish I could have done more, but am yet to get back to normal, which appears quite far away. So till such time I will keep chugging along and manage with run&walk routine anytime I am doing more than 7km runs (as I need to make the most of what is possible).

I also managed to pick up a wonderful Puma ultra runners backpack during my recent travels. Its fits me perfectly and can store quite a lot of things. Sadly I have not been able to use it during any of my runs, as I am not doing any 13km+ distances. This again will have to wait till I am able to restart my runs to work.

Complete break..

2008-02-10T23:03:00.000+05:30

After a long time I have had a complete break from running (esp. the Sunday run), actually its also been a complete break from any sort of exercise. Lots of work to catchup on, so everything else has been put on hold. Actually the break will do me a lot of good. Next two weeks is going to be a lot of travel, but I hope to catchup on some running during next week, though these runs will be shorter (5km runs).

The weather in Bombay continues to be very pleasant. The minimum temperature is around 8degree Celsius and the maximum temperature is around 24degrees, both are 8degrees below the normal temperature during time of the year. The biggest surprise has been the day temperature, which never dips so low, it never really goes below 28degrees. Great weather to run (actually its better for just lazing), and its likely to continue like this for the next week or so (though the temperature is likely to go up gradually). Its a very rare sight to find so many people wearing woolens during the day in Bombay.

Running with an injury...

2008-02-03T19:28:00.000+05:30

I decided (and managed to) to run on both Saturday and Sunday, managed to do about 10kms on Saturday (I ran to BKC from my house) and did about 8km on Sunday. My Saturday run was more eventful as I started at 11am in the morning, thanks to the wonderful weather continuing in Bombay. My injury continued, and the pain started after the first 6kms on Saturday run, the Sunday one was harder as it started 3kms. The pain does not seem to disappear anytime soon (I seem to be talking about it on almost every other post, but don't seem to have done anything to cure it. So far its been all talk and no action). The reason I seem to be dragging my feet (literally as well), is because I have time on my side, my next marathon/ultra is still far away (well its not even been decided).

Got to know about some ultra/multi-stage ultra which are taking place in India, there was one ultra in Himalayas (around Sandakphu) a 100mile run over 5 odd days (took place Oct/Nov 2007) and there is one coming up in Rajasthan. I am yet to find out more about them, will post as soon as I get more inputs.

Super Bombay weather

2008-01-27T14:09:00.000+05:30

Did about 11kms today in a little under 1hr 3minutes. It was quite smooth, though had to put in some effort after the first 5kms. The best part of the run was the weather, this is the best weather I have seen in the last few years, this Saturday was the coldest day in the last 40 years and was the main reason for making the run effortless. And I started at 9.00am for my run. And on Saturday I did the second 3km run after coffee at 12noon, absolutely unimaginable in Bombay. Global warming seems to have some positive impact for Bombay.

A new begining after Mumbai marathon.

2008-01-26T12:39:00.000+05:30

The start has been very good after the Standard Chartered Mumbai marathon 2008. After a few days of rest, I am back to running. Went for a swim on Friday and followed it up with a relaxed 6km run today. Hope to continue swimming once a week, if I can manage my schedules better. The run was quite enjoyable and I don't seem to have picked up any new injury after the Mumbai marathon. The old injury flares up when there is lot of strain (over longer distances) and this needs to be cured permanently. Other than that I seem to be quite normal and fine, which is a welcome relief, can't dream of missing my Sunday morning coffee after the run (it just does not taste the same without the run!!).

Am looking for my first long run after the Mumbai marathon tomorrow.

Hard fought 5hr 23 at Mumbai marathon 2008

2008-01-20T19:23:00.000+05:30

Todays Mumbai marathon was very hard for me and that is an understatement. The injury and the lack of training post Bangalore Ultra (did only two 10plus KM runs in the last one month).

The weather was just perfect (well by Bombay standards), it was more pleasant than what its been for the previous 4 editions. The arrangements made by Procam was better than ever before. Right from pre-race arrangements on raceday, during the race (water stations at regular intervals, thought there were too few toilets) and post race (speed with which timing certificates where distributed, medal and arrangements to sit and refreshments). The arrangements were just perfect to do a personal best.

With a lot of effort I managed to reach the 21km mark in 2hr10mins and after that it was all downhill, the next 21km took about 3hrs 15mins. But, given my condition, this was a fabulous effort and yet again I have someone to thank, I happened to meet a fellow runner Anand from Hyderabad, who gave me company till the end and we both combined very well and put in a mind blowing effort for the last 6kms, even though both of us very in really bad shape. Plus my friend from Pedder Road, who came to give me a chilled bottle of Gatorade at the 33km mark, which helped make the effort possible. Even thought the time achieved was disappointing, this was the most enjoyable and hard fought Mumbai Marathon, as I was able to manage it despite the fact that it was almost impossible for me to raise my right leg (thanks to the old nagging injury, which badly flared up at the 25km mark). The effort required for the last 15kms, was more daunting than what i had to put in for the 78km ultra.