October 2020 – Run Diaries

Day 24/300 – It doesn’t matter how I look…

10 minutes in. I am not warmed up yet. It feels very heavy today. It’s interval training day and I have to push myself to run as fast as I can for 4 minute intervals.

Fellow runners on the road always get my attention even if for a very brief moment. The co-passengers. As I glanced over to my right, I noticed a 20 something man in grey running shorts and black hoodie stroll by me. He looked like he was warming up. His strides were smooth and effortless. The body seemed to be not even in the second gear.

As I was pounding away my body with every ounce of energy I can muster into my hips and legs, my fellow runner just passed me running faster than I am, while looking like he is not even walking.

This is nothing new for me. I am not an athlete. I don’t look like one. I am not built like one and I don’t run like one. I am in my 40th year, who did jack with physical fitness for 30 of those 40 years.

But as I saw this wonderful athlete wave past me like a feather, it hit me – my thoughts for those brief few seconds..

“…It doesn’t matter how I look this moment. I am not running in this moment to look good. I am not running in this moment for anybody here on this street right now. I am. And I am running for something beyond me and beyond just this moment….It doesn’t matter..”

The lethargy and heaviness vanished in that very moment, my eyes nearly closed and the run continued with every ounce of energy in that moment.

He was a teacher today. That gentleman whose name I don’t know. I don’t know if he knows he was a teacher today. But he was.

An hour later, I finished up what I had to train for today. Tomorrow, If it comes, we will learn something new!

Running – Injury Prevention and Care (1/n)

For every one hour that I run in a week, I make it a point to spend at least an equal amount of time, an hour, working on my body preparing it for the run and recovering afterwards. Preparation includes strengthening and conditioning of the muscles, and recovery includes rest, restoration and active care. While rest is the most effective form of recovery, there is a need to also do a more active form of recovery. That includes yoga, massages and lighter form of activity.

I don’t think I have run a single day, wherein some part of my body hasn’t felt some pain. That pain is almost always an indicator for me to put some extra care to that part of the body. From the foot to the jaw, every part of the body at some time or the other needed additional care.

One thing I have learnt is when running, it is of utmost importance to be acutely aware of the body. A wandering mind that is not aware of the body is many times more likely to attract injuries. Our body has a way of signaling the injuries before they manifest. And by keeping the attention on the body, on the pain, on the signals, I have learnt to care for the problems mostly before they become major. Touchwood!

Over the next few months, I will from time to time focus on how I care for various muscle groups and lessons learnt. And I owe a big debt of gratitude to many teachers all around the running and yoga community.

Today I would like to make a mention of the immense help that a foam roller has done to my running.

Every day that I run, and on some non-running days too, I spend a few minutes running the foam roller on my legs, lower back, hip and calves.

Do google and youtube for a proper medical/scientific explanation of how a foam roller works.

This little piece of magic has helped me heal an acute IT band (knee) pain in less than 10 days and for months on now, a 5 minute foam roller session on the day of the run, has cured the legs of all fatigue and tiredness every single time. From runs of 10 miles to 30 miles – the foam roller after the run has worked wonders in getting the muscles in the lower body circulating again and absorb away the fatigue within minutes.

That immediate release and preventing the muscles from tightening up for extended periods, also goes a long way in preventing injuries from building up.

Until next time!

Day 8 of 300

A partially hilly trail run on a Sunday morning. On a back-to-back run day, after running 12 miles yesterday, I set out for a 4-5 mile, 1 hour trail run in the South Mountain Reservation’s Lenape Trail. What i did not evaluate properly ahead of the run was that this trail is not an easy one. I should have checked the elevation profile and some of the reviews of other runners. It’s hilly in parts and definitely mildly technical.

Further, many trails crisscross and that means one has to be very aware of the maps to make sure I don’t go away on an unplanned escapade.

All in all, it was an excellent experience both from a trail run perspective as well as giving my legs a good workout.

I treated myself to a Chocolate GU gel at the end of the run 🙂

Day 7 of 300

October 10th, 2020

Weekend long run – 12 miles back and out loop from Hoboken to Liberty Park.

While the distance was comfortable, I did push the pace slightly above my long run speed today. I did try out a new run-walk-run combination. It was 3:30 minutes of running and 1 minute of walking which is a step up from my usual 3:00/1:00 mix. I was happy with the average heart rate which was 155, something that didn’t rise up even as I extended my run duration.

Next week, I plan to step up the combination to 4 minute run and 1 minute walk on my long run. It will be an interesting challenge.

Day 5 / 300 Days of Training

October 8th, 2020

I had my alarm set to wake up at 5:30 AM. I had a day with meetings starting at 8:30 with work planned all day. The only possible window to run today was going to be between 7 and 8 in the morning.

And as it would have it, I had a night I couldn’t get much of a sleep. With 3 hours of sleep, I stepped out to run 5 miles. While I did warm up, it wasn’t easy to move the body to run. There were times, I felt as though I was propelling my body forward as though I am pushing a heavy log of wood.

And almost an hour later, I did complete my 5 miles of planned run. At target pace and target heart rate.

Some runs start rough, but as I did hit the stop button on my watch, I was pleased!

300 Days of Training

On 07/31/2021 – I will be running the longest distance I have run to-date. It will be my first 50 mile race.

Today is Day 1 of the training regime in place to get my body to a place where I can finish a 50 mile race with both legs standing, with a smile on my face and joy of running in-tact.

The training will involve lots of running, many hours of gym training for the legs, core and the various other muscle groups, lots of yoga for healing the body and many other forms of healing for both body and mind.

In the course, I plan to run at least two runs of 30+ miles, a few marathon distance runs and many weekends of 20+ mile runs.

The training will also involve, for sure, a lot of mental processing to prepare not just the body but my mind for the endurance test. There will be a lot of meditation…both while running and while not running.

I will be logging the journey as I go through it. Much life will happen in 300 days.

Day 1 –

4 Miles, 49:07 Minutes

After a 14 mile run yesterday, today was recovery run on tired legs. No thought of speed or any other considerations, just pulling my legs along to be able to run was adequate. Ended the run with a sit down at the cafe for a coffee and toast on a sunday morning brunch!

Best!