I hit some health issues, unrelated to running, late August into early September forcing me to stop running for nearly two weeks. That meant after recovering a ramp up taking another couple of weeks with a total time loss of nearly one month. To ease me into the training regime, in the first week that followed my coach had me do a 30 min run, a 40 min run and a 60 min run without regard to pace. Since that went well the following week we resumed the three key runs at a fairly moderate level - intervals were 400m's and the long run was 12 miles. This week we are back on full throttle with the long run at 17. Even though the long run is Key Run #3, I take that as the first run of the week. So, yesterday I went for the 17. I was beginning to get worried about getting in the required number of long runs before the marathon. So I decided to focus on completing the distance. Further, I was having lot of trouble finding more flat sections to include in the route as we have mostly hills in our neighborhood. The search for flat sections pushed my route towards the town center. More flats should mean easier run, but I always had trouble breaking that down to mentally handle the distance. Perhaps it was because I wasn't very familiar with those roads, or it was the crowded streets and traffic. Somehow that route seemed to drain my energy. So I decided to spend more time on my usual hilly routes in the neighborhood yesterday. Although the runs would be harder I figured it would be easier to get my head around the course. A 4 mile hilly route with 2 miles up and 2 down formed a major section of my regular runs before the marathon training pushed me to athletic fields, and other areas looking for a mix of hills and flats close to the NYC course. I went back to that section and stuck a gentler one mile detour on the way up and the same mile on the way down making it a loop of about six miles. That worked pretty well. About two thirds of the way through I felt good enough to extend the run by an extra mile and ended up running close to 18.5 instead of 17 (Yay!!). Although I was two seconds behind the targeted pace, this run was a confidence booster to face the 20 miler coming next week. I did run out of drinks again in the last 5k or so and the calves began feeling tight, but I was able to run and have a strong finish. In addition, also had the energy to do 10 burpees in the end to energize my legs!
If I can run, u can run
Monday, September 26, 2016
Sunday, August 28, 2016
A hard but successful week
Last week wasn't easy but was a successful week. The speed/interval sessions are feeling more comfortable. I am able to keep an even pace and the walk/jog rest intervals have now become jog intervals. The pace itself for various speed intervals are now within a few seconds of each other showing I am able to get a hang of the intervals and manage my pace better. Compare this to interval work early on where the pace was hopping around all over the place. Coming to threshold runs, I think I still need to figure out how my Garmin Forerunner 620 work for pace alerts when used in workout mode. In the week before my pace tracking got messed up and I ended up falling below the target pace which was a doable pace. So last week I changed my pace tracking to a more simple format and didn't use the workout mode in Forerunner. The greatest success and the hardest part of the week was the 17 miler. It was a must do run for me as I hadn't really completed a 17 miler before. Last time I attempted it my lower legs froze at 15 miles or so. I could've dragged them for another 1/4 mile or so but didn't see much point in it. Also, the week after I couldn't do the long run due to personal schedule. So last week was in a mandatory mode. I had to get that longer run in. It was a hot day - upper 80's F (about 30 C) and real feel in low to mid 90 F (around 35 C) :( There was no way I was going to be able to complete it on the usual course which is 2 miles up hill 2 miles downhill - repeat as many times as needed to cover the distance. I decided to do those hills just one time and explore other flatter areas near a park and the town center. That really helped. Goal pace was 9:50 per mile which I decided to throw in the wind and focus on just completing it. I had taken 1/2 gallon of Gatorade which was done before mile 15 or so due to the heat. Legs, especially the lower legs, were feeling heavy and muscles were complaining almost refusing to move in the last couple of miles. As would happen when you run out of electrolytes (sodium, potassium, etc.) cramps were beginning to raise their ugly heads but somehow I managed to finish the distance. It was a great morale booster. I ended up clocking 10:07 per mile which was way better than where I thought I was going to land.
One positive about the 17 miler I mentioned earlier that i wasn't able to finish a few weeks ago is that I think I was able to narrow down what caused it. There were also a couple of similar cases in the past where I couldn't complete a long run target I had planned. In all these cases I had done fairly rigorous leg exercises the previous day. One time there was a 5k in the neighborhood which I judiciously decided not to run, but walk. However, I did a lot of jumping that day in the celebration with color both before and after the 'run'. No wonder the next day's long run my legs refused to move after mile 10 or so. On the 17 miler recently that I had to stop at mile 15 or so, the day before was a rigorous session involving plyometric squats and other leg exercises. I think I really need fresh legs for the long runs for the distances that we are hitting now. So from last week onwards I am keeping Saturday, which is the day before my long run, a complete rest day, at least for the legs. I don't think it is a good idea to bike the previous day and also do other leg exercises... duh..
Other things that seem to help me is some resistance band exercises for the hips on the evening of my runs, and some strength exercises for the legs and glutes right after the runs.. So this may sound crazy, but after a 13 mile run today I was doing burpees in the parking lot!!
Anyway, here is my report from last week!
Thanks for staying with me. I don't know most people who are reading this blog, but I know that you are in US, France, India, China, Jamaica, UAE, Brazil, Canada, Russia, etc. etc.. Thank you for following my training. When I am out there in the scorching sun with heavy legs in my last miles you give me the feeling that I am not alone. Sometimes that is all I need to dig a little deeper and move forward.
Thanks again.
If I can run, u can run
One positive about the 17 miler I mentioned earlier that i wasn't able to finish a few weeks ago is that I think I was able to narrow down what caused it. There were also a couple of similar cases in the past where I couldn't complete a long run target I had planned. In all these cases I had done fairly rigorous leg exercises the previous day. One time there was a 5k in the neighborhood which I judiciously decided not to run, but walk. However, I did a lot of jumping that day in the celebration with color both before and after the 'run'. No wonder the next day's long run my legs refused to move after mile 10 or so. On the 17 miler recently that I had to stop at mile 15 or so, the day before was a rigorous session involving plyometric squats and other leg exercises. I think I really need fresh legs for the long runs for the distances that we are hitting now. So from last week onwards I am keeping Saturday, which is the day before my long run, a complete rest day, at least for the legs. I don't think it is a good idea to bike the previous day and also do other leg exercises... duh..
Other things that seem to help me is some resistance band exercises for the hips on the evening of my runs, and some strength exercises for the legs and glutes right after the runs.. So this may sound crazy, but after a 13 mile run today I was doing burpees in the parking lot!!
Anyway, here is my report from last week!
Key Run #3: Sunday 8/21
Target: 17 miles @ 9:50 pace. Lets see how this goes we need to start getting the longer run in.
Actual: 17.1 miles @10.07 (9:58, 10:23, 10:15, 10:30, 10:00, 9:31, 10:14, 9:25, 10:00, 10:14, 10:23, 10:09, 9:47, 10:09, 10:36, 10:14, 10:24 & 0.1 mile @ 9:15 pace)
Hot & humid day. Stopped a few times for bathroom and for changing drink bottles. Stopped the clock also. Finished ½ Gallon Gatorade and still ran out of drink towards the end and started feeling the beginnings of cramps on the upper calf. I know this was not the pace we were aiming for, but wanted to finish the distance. Heart rate reached higher than ever recorded. Avg HR’s recorded for miles 10, 17 and the last segment (186, 188 and 198) were at or above what I thought was my max HR of 186 or so! Max HR for those segments were 205, 206 and 202! Just wondering whether I should update my Max HR in the Garmin watch.
Key Run #1: Wednesday 8/24
Target: Warm-up followed by 5 x 800m’s in 4:06, jog 400 for RI. Cool down.
Actual: Warm-up followed by 5 x 800m’s in avg 4:02 (4:06, 4:00, 4:02, 3:59, 4:01). RI’s jogged. Cool down. Although didn’t run at the target, felt better at managing pace this time.
Xt-2: Thursday 8/25
Target: 10 min. easy spinning as a warm-up, alternate 1 minute at level 4 resistance (on a perceived resistance scale of 1 to 5) as fast as you can followed by 4 easy (level 1) minutes of fast spinning. Repeat this 6 times. 5 min. easy as a cool-down.
Actual: Same.
Key Run #2: Friday 8/26
Target: 5 mile run @ 9:17 pace. Ease into pace.
Actual: 5.08 mile @ 8:59 pace (9:29, 8:43, 8:53, 9:03, 8:54, + 0.08 miles @6:58)
My attempt was to keep an even effort so the downhill was faster. Uphills actually turned out to need hard/very hard effort level. I deliberately ran faster to make sure I don’t miss the target on this run.
Today I experienced pain on the right upper quad a spot about 6-7 inches below the joint on the front slightly to the right and a similar spot on the lower leg about four inches below knee slightly to the right again.. I thought it will go away after the first mile or so, but it didn’t.. Felt like it reduced later but never went away. It wasn’t too bad or intolerable. I also felt it on the one mile walk back home. After the post run stretches the legs felt perfect, though.
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Thanks again.
If I can run, u can run
Sunday, August 7, 2016
Into the 4th week of training
I haven't been getting a lot of time these days to post updates more frequently. Partly, actually mostly, due to the increased demands from marathon training. Today is the long run day and after a couple of calls that I had to make in the morning the temperature got too warm to be comfortable for the long run in the morning and quickly getting warmer. It seemed like temperature in the evening, though in similar range was getting warm to less warm which looked a bit more attractive than running into the heat that is getting hotter and hotter. Not the best of options, but given the choices available I decided to run in the evening as the temperature starts coming down when I am hitting the tiring miles.
This training is keeping me busy 5-6 days a week. Three days running and three days of cross training. I will get into the details so you get a sense of what it is like. In my last post I sort of complained that the training was taking down my longest run from 13 to 10. Well, after three weeks it is now at 17! The three runs are very different and focus on different aspects of fitness. One run is an interval run which has me running somewhere from a half mile to a mile at a fast pace followed by a rest/recovery interval. Repeat 4 times or so. This is targeting the VO2Max and running mechanics. You can read all about VO2Max here. The second run is slightly slower but at a challenging pace and it targets the lactate threshold - essentially the level at which we can do sustained hard work. This run has me running at something like 30 - 40 minutes at a pace that is challenging for that duration. The third run is the long run pushing your distance limits. This is also run at a challenging pace. Last week the long run was 15 miles at a pace of 9:40 min/mile. This may not sound like much, but my regular long run pace is 10:40 - 11:00 min/mile which may make me look like a snail to you. Let me stop you right there - remember my half marathon times? They were all in the range of 8:49 - 9:00 min/mile. They were all accomplished with my training runs in that above snail's pace range. Your race effort is best kept for the race. Not for training. Of course, my training route may be harder than some race courses and perhaps a bit easier (I'm not so sure if this is the case, though). The point is it has me running at a challenging pace. After the first couple of weeks I started getting confidence in the paces needed for my first and second runs, but the pace for the long run is still a bit intimidating. For those who are interested, here is my week by week training log.
WEEK 2
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WEEK 3
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Given the predominantly uphill/downhill route in the neighborhood, I am trying to look for flatter segments to add by taking different routes - also considering traffic (long run on Sunday was not too good from traffic point of view - a couple miles or so with no shoulder or sidewalk and lot of vehicles and 50 mph/+
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I have shifted some of my strength exercises to the cross training days. Especially, some burpees/jump squats, etc. and lunges after the bike or later at home. Also some core work. Added some stretches for hip flexor as well. 'Donkey kicks' seem to make it feel better also!
Well, that should give a good idea about how things are going.
Keep at it, folks.
If I can run, u can run
This training is keeping me busy 5-6 days a week. Three days running and three days of cross training. I will get into the details so you get a sense of what it is like. In my last post I sort of complained that the training was taking down my longest run from 13 to 10. Well, after three weeks it is now at 17! The three runs are very different and focus on different aspects of fitness. One run is an interval run which has me running somewhere from a half mile to a mile at a fast pace followed by a rest/recovery interval. Repeat 4 times or so. This is targeting the VO2Max and running mechanics. You can read all about VO2Max here. The second run is slightly slower but at a challenging pace and it targets the lactate threshold - essentially the level at which we can do sustained hard work. This run has me running at something like 30 - 40 minutes at a pace that is challenging for that duration. The third run is the long run pushing your distance limits. This is also run at a challenging pace. Last week the long run was 15 miles at a pace of 9:40 min/mile. This may not sound like much, but my regular long run pace is 10:40 - 11:00 min/mile which may make me look like a snail to you. Let me stop you right there - remember my half marathon times? They were all in the range of 8:49 - 9:00 min/mile. They were all accomplished with my training runs in that above snail's pace range. Your race effort is best kept for the race. Not for training. Of course, my training route may be harder than some race courses and perhaps a bit easier (I'm not so sure if this is the case, though). The point is it has me running at a challenging pace. After the first couple of weeks I started getting confidence in the paces needed for my first and second runs, but the pace for the long run is still a bit intimidating. For those who are interested, here is my week by week training log.
WEEK 1
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Key Run #3: Sunday 7/17
Target: 10 miles at 9:30/mile
Actual: 10.06 miles at 9:24 @ 8:47, 8:33, 8:56, 9:39, 10:03, 9:35, 9:51, 10:06, 10:26, 8:52, 7:45 (0.06 miles) + 2 miles walk after
Hard effort or higher. Very hard to keep even pace due to hills.
XT-1: Tuesday 7/19
Target: Upright bike - 8 min easy to moderate, 30 min moderate, 7 min easy
Actual: Same
Key Run #1: Wednesday 7/20
Target: 10-20 minute warm-up, 4 x 800 m in 4:05. Take 2:00 for RI. 10 minute cool-down
Actual: 10 min warmup; 4 x 800 m average 3:49 @ 3:53.6, 3:56,5, 3:43.6, 3:42.3 RI’s mostly walked. 7 min cool-down walk/jog
Ran in an athletic field. Not on measured track. Distances tracked by GPS watch. I had no sense of pace when running. So ran at effort level ‘very hard.’ Breathing level at ‘very hard’.
XT-2: Thursday 7/21
Target: 10 min. easy spinning as a warm-up, alternate 1 minute at level 4 resistance (on a perceived resistance scale of 1 to 5) as fast as you can followed by 4 easy (level 1) minutes of fast spinning. Repeat this 6 times. 5 min. easy as a cool-down.
Actual: Upright bike 10 min warm-up. 5 x (1 min at intensity level 20/25, 4 min easy), 5 min cool down. 1 min intensity bursts were done at approx 50 rpm for the first three sets sitting on the saddle. The remaining two were done at approx 60 rpm standing. Yikes! I just realized six reps were specified but I only did five!!
Key Run #2: Friday 7/22
Target: 1 mile easy, 3 miles @ 8:50/mile, 1 mile cool down
Actual: 1 mile downhill @9:14; 3 miles @8:24 (downhill with some moderate uphill and flat sections), 8:37 (first half downhill, second half uphill), 8:44 (uphill with some moderate downhill and flat sections); 1 mile walk uphill - this section is very hard to run/jog.. Doable but I wasn’t sure how it fits in with the training plan focused on improving specific aspects.
Ran mostly at hard and sometimes very hard levels of effort so that I don’t miss the targeted pace.
XT-3: Saturday 7/23
Target: 30 min easy spinning on a stationary bike
Actual: 30 min easy-moderate spinningWEEK 2
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Key Run #3: Sunday 7/24
Target: 12 miles @ 9:35 pace.
Actual: 12.12 miles average 9:34 pace @ 9:09, 9:28, 9:26, 9:52, 9:53, 9:30, 9:23, 9:50, 10:07, 9:13, 9:38, 9:45, 0.12miles@6:41
Ran in the range of hard-very hard most of the time. I know we don’t go by heart rate in our program, but just wanted to note that the bpm was recorded in the range of 175-181 for the last mile+. I believe my max heart rate is 186 - when I did a ‘uphill run’ test last year.
XT-1: Tuesday 7/26
Target: Upright bike - 8 min easy to moderate, 30 min moderate, 7 min easy
Actual: Same
Key Run #1: Wednesday 7/27
Target: Warm-up followed by 3 x 1600 meters in 8:35. Take a 2:00 walk/jog RI between 1600's. Cool down.
Actual: Warm-up followed by 3x1600 m 8:03 avg pace @ 7:55, 8:07, 8:03. RI’s 2:00 walk. Cool down
Ran at hard and higher effort level, but feeling safe that I would make the target. I was feeling a bit of tightness on the front of the hip at/above the right upper thigh (hip flexor?). I am doing stretches after the runs and also foam roller later in the night, but the right hip flexor has a tendency to make its presence felt, more often than not.
XT-2: Thursday 7/28
Target: 10 min. easy spinning as a warm-up, alternate 1 minute at level 4 resistance (on a perceived resistance scale of 1 to 5) as fast as you can followed by 4 easy (level 1) minutes of fast spinning. Repeat this 6 times. 5 min. easy as a cool-down.
Actual: Upright bike 10 min warm-up. 6 x (1 min at intensity level 20/25, 4 min easy), 5 min cool down. 1 min intensity bursts were done at approx 50-55 rpm. Pedalled standing up for one burst and half of another approx 60 rpm. (This time remembered to do 6 repeats..:-) Those one minutes were strenuous, but in a few hours the upper legs were feeling nice and strong in the front and back.
Key Run #2: Friday 7/29
Target: 1 mile easy, 2 miles @ 8: 45 pace, 1 mile easy, 2 miles @8:45 pace, 1 mile easy.
Actual: Things didn’t go that well today due to a multiplicity of factors. I ran at hard level and thought I would make the target, but didn’t. It was raining, and the GPS watch was off for the mile markers. I thought I could adjust for the calibration and extract more reasonable numbers from the garmin app, but that also didn’t seem to show much of a difference. Also the easy miles were hard due to uphill. So, here are the stats for today - as recorded by the app :-)
1 mile easy downhill @9:15, 2 miles avg 8:43 @ (8:23 mostly rolling downhill, 9:03 half downhill and half uphill), 1 mile easy @10:02 (mostly rolling uphill), 2 miles avg 9:02 @ (8:55, 9:08 - moving pace is showing avg 8:57 - not sure what to report), 1 mile ‘easy’ @9:38 (rolling uphill). Followed by 1 mile uphill walk.
Not very happy - seems like if I had run a bit slower in the early sections I may have had better results.
XT-3: Saturday 7/30
Target: 30 min easy spinning on a stationary bike
Actual: Same.
WEEK 3
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Key Run #3: Sunday 7/31
Target: 15 miles @ 9:40 pace.
Actual: Overall avg 9:43 @ (9:25 9:39 10:01 10:13 10:19 9:37 9:46 10:01 10:05 9:53 9:17 8:35 9:27 9:48 9:44 0.06 miles @8:25) followed by 40 min uphill walk back home.
Tried a different route after 9-½ miles from the usual 2 miles uphill and 2 miles downhill. Mile 11-12 had downhill allowing faster pace, then a couple of miles were flat. Still turned out to be a grueling run. Running 15 miles first time since last November. Rain the first hour, and then high humidity (~97%). Temp close to 80F.
XT-1: Tuesday 8/2
Target: Upright bike - 8 min easy to moderate, 30 min moderate, 7 min easy
Actual: Same.
Key Run #1: Wednesday 8/3
Target: Warm-up followed by 2 x 1200m's in 6:18 (8:24 pace) Followed by 2 x 1000m's in 5:12 (8:19.2 pace). Take a 2:00 RI between all. Cool down.
Actual: Warm-up followed by 1200m 5:38 (7:33 pace) 1200m in 6:08 (8:13 pace); 1000m in 5:07 (8:14 pace), 1000m in 5:08 (8:15 pace). RI’s walked. Cool-down
My pace was all over the place for the 1200m’s.. Need to learning to keep pace at a sustainable/required level. The 1000’s were felt better in terms of keeping a steady pace, but still faster than required. Felt like I was getting better towards the end, but I need to learn to control the pace.
(By the way, hip flexor pain from Sunday’s 15 mile run hasn’t gone away..)
XT-2: Thursday 8/4
Target: 10 min. easy spinning as a warm-up, alternate 1 minute at level 4 resistance (on a perceived resistance scale of 1 to 5) as fast as you can followed by 4 easy (level 1) minutes of fast spinning. Repeat this 6 times. 5 min. easy as a cool-down.
Actual: Same. Tightness in hip flexor area has reduced. Due to late sleep the previous night I wasn’t able to do this in the morning as usual. Did in the evening. Hope it is not too close to tomorrow morning’s key run.
Key Run #2: Friday 8/5
Target: 1 mile easy, 5 miles @ 8:50 pace.
Actual: 1 mile easy @9:40, 5 miles at average 8:34 (mile splits - 8:39, 8:22, 8:50, 8:32, 8:25) Tried to log faster pace on the downhills and flats worried that uphill sections would slow down too much.. I felt the pace was coming under better control and feeling better also mostly. Ran the last mile somewhat harder. Ended up running harder/faster overall :( Cool down - 20 min walk uphill back home.
Felt fair amount of tightness/tenderness from the lower front of the right hip down the thigh. Considered not running, but decided to run hoping it would go away after a warmup. Also a slight discomfort on either side of the right knee perhaps due to the 1 minute bursts on the bike last night (?)
Given the predominantly uphill/downhill route in the neighborhood, I am trying to look for flatter segments to add by taking different routes - also considering traffic (long run on Sunday was not too good from traffic point of view - a couple miles or so with no shoulder or sidewalk and lot of vehicles and 50 mph/+
----
I have shifted some of my strength exercises to the cross training days. Especially, some burpees/jump squats, etc. and lunges after the bike or later at home. Also some core work. Added some stretches for hip flexor as well. 'Donkey kicks' seem to make it feel better also!
Well, that should give a good idea about how things are going.
Keep at it, folks.
If I can run, u can run
Sunday, July 17, 2016
Switching Gears
Howdy, y'all!
Things have been a bit busy on the personal front, but running has been coming along alright also. A couple of misses here and there, but overall I have been keeping 6-6-10 schedule and also managed to raise it to 6-6-13. As of last week another milestone is behind. The number of workouts logged by MapMyRun crossed 200 since I started using the app. Miles run stands at 1527.77 (2444 km) which was run in 248 hours 40 minutes. That is more than half way across the United States (New York to Los Angeles), or Thiruvananthapuram to Kolkata, in about 10 days and 8 hours :-) Calories burned is 197,242.
Marathon countdown has started. Another 48 runs and if all goes well I should be at the start line. I am switching gears to a structured training plan. The specific plan I am planning to follow is called FIRST (Furman Institute of Running and Scientific Training) and is detailed in the book Run Less, Run Faster by Bill Pierce, Scott Murr, Ray Moss and Amby Burfoot. It requires three runs a week and cross training 2-3 remaining days. There is a multitude of training plans for the marathons. The reason I chose this one is that it involves only three runs a week. Three weekly runs goes well with my current run schedule, and I am really not excited about running on the heavily crowned roads in our neighborhood any more than I have to. Most other programs would have me run four, five and six days a week accumulating a lot of mileage. That doesn't mean this training plan is easy. I had a taste of it today in my first training run. My long runs have been at 13 miles, but this plan cut it to 10 miles (yay!) but needed me to run at 9:30 per mile :( That pace is a bit ambitious for me. In the hot and humid temperature today I wasn't sure I can do it, but gave it a try anyway. I did manage 9:28 but had to work really hard for it. Anyway, it is just one data point. The remaining two runs is a interval run and a tempo run, both at specified challenging paces. If I don't hit the target paces then the plan may have to be tuned - or I may have to work harder. The point is that the plan is not an easy plan because it involves fewer runs and miles. Each run has a specific purpose or goal and working at a specific intensity is required to accomplish that. The interval run is focused on improving VO2Max, the tempo run for improving lactate threshold, and the long run to improve endurance at the targeted marathon pace. Similarly, cross training also comes with specified intensities.
Don't take it easy. Keep at it.
If I can run, u can run
Friday, June 17, 2016
Two great days after a bad day
I had a great run today and Wednesday. In contrast, this Sunday was one of my worst runs
ever. Right from the beginning my lower
legs were feeling aches all over and completely drained of all energy. They
simply came to a halt about half way through the planned 12 miles. I decided
not to push too hard, and walked back home. The legs had no complaints at all
on the walk back and back home… they were happy like a cranky little child who got
the candy he was crying for. As if to compensate for that lousy day the runs
were excellent Wednesday and today.
Although they were shorter at the usual 10k on weekdays, I haven’t felt
this good after a run in a long time. The
pace was very good, heart pumping at a good rate and the body working at very
good speed. Wednesday was slightly faster through most of the course and the
beat and rhythm kept playing in the back of my mind for the rest of the
day! Today was a more even pace with an
almost exact time but was feeling different – I don’t have the beat playing in
the background, but the body is feeling just great. Perhaps you hit that goldilocks
zone once in a while; or perhaps some of the exercises and the extra stretches that
I’ve added recently working their magic – I sure hope so.
A highlight of some of my runs are animal sightings. Seeing
an animal on a run just cheers you up even if it is just standing at a distance
and watching. The fact that an animal is standing and watching, even casually,
means it is connecting with you at some level or in some sense. Occasionally, I
have seen a deer calf or a bunny rabbit jumping and running when they see me
running. Mostly they run away, but there have been times when a calf or a bunny
have run with me, actually a little ahead of me at a slight distance, in seemingly
playful fashion for a little while.
However, today’s encounter was a bit different. After
my two mile mark coming downhill on a slight bend a large bear just popped out
from the woods the other side of the road about 15-20 feet ahead of me, he
looked in my direction, probably already looked in the opposite direction,
found there is no traffic and trotted across the road. He was around twice to
two and half times my size across and definitely much longer or taller. His stature should look pretty imposing if
standing erect. He/she showed excellent
judgment of my speed while crossing the road and looked convinced that a
collision was not possible – as I mentioned before, I was running at a good
clip today. I didn’t slow down either
seeing that he wasn’t planning on stopping. I thought his face conveyed a sort
of awareness of his surroundings including me. He looked beautiful – very
chubby and healthy – and didn’t look threatening, nor threatened. The driver of a utility van that came by gave a
surprised look at me and in the direction of the bear which must’ve been quickly
vanishing in the tall grass.
Have fun folks.
If I can run, u can run
Monday, June 13, 2016
Sunday, June 5, 2016
A Tale of Two Half-Marathons: Airbnb Brooklyn Half Marathon, New York City
Brooklyn Half is a big one. It is featured in many bucket lists. The largest half-marathon in the US and extremely popular, the race this year was sold out in just 52 minutes after registration opened! More than 27000 runners pounded their way along the course from Brooklyn Museum on a round of Prospect Park and then straight down all the way to Coney Island finishing on the boardwalk.
Now that I've check it off, I don't think I will be doing it again as the race logistics turned out to be most inconvenient for me. Packet pickup was not available on race day. It had to be picked up on a week day in Brooklyn. Since it was very inconvenient for me to make a trip to the city on a week day I had decided to skip the race. However, a friend working in Manhattan took the trouble to spend a few hours after work and picked up the race material for me. That's not all. Next challenge was to get to the starting point in Brooklyn before six in the morning. Race organizers New York Road Runners had recommended public transport and strongly cautioned runners about the scarcity of parking spots. However, there was no public transport available, either train or bus, that would take me from Morris Plains/Parsippany to Brooklyn by 6 AM. So my only option was to drive. It also meant I needed to wake up at 3 AM which in turn meant very short sleep the previous night. I don't want to rant more about this, but just want to say that the entire episode in the morning before the race and later the trip back from the finish point after the race was very painful and is not something I would want to do again.
The race itself wasn't bad, except for the mess I got myself into during the race - but I finished and did that within my normal finish time. The organizers had done an excellent job. The security check was very much more strict this time. It was almost like going through an airport security checkpoint with security personnel scanning everyone and no bags allowed to the start corrals. That meant I had to throw out some bananas as I could only eat so many. There was still one hour left (7 AM start for my wave - wave 1). So I took the water bottle with me and decided to take an energy gel instead of the banana about 15 minutes before start.
Next one hour was just a long wait. I saw the 1:50 pacer and took position keeping some distance behind him as that time would be too fast for me. The course was advertised as a fast course, but I knew I wouldn't be that fast. After my turn in the bathroom there was still about 45 minutes before the start. So I decided to give some rest to my legs and sat on the curb like some other folks around. Pretty soon I found that the curb seating was getting filled and the rest of the folks were leaning against trees or simply squatting on the road which formed the start corral.
Once on the straight road I noticed a senior woman runner looking somewhat weak and chanting something continuously.. She was moving at a steady pace and as I was passing her heard the
words "One more time... Just one more time..." I was humbled by her determination. This race must mean a lot to her. She may have been running the Brooklyn Half for a long time and she probably has a lot of history with this race. Her face and her running reminded me of NYRR's legendary co-founder and NYC Marathon race director Fred Lebow's last marathon when he was suffering from cancer. Fred's life and passion and the story of New York City Marathon is nicely captured in the documentary Run for Your Life.
The crowd on both sides were cheering us and I kept at the same effort level. Now taking a swig at my bottles almost every mile. I was also making sure to refuel every 30 minutes or so. After about 10 miles I felt the fast pace in the initial stages were catching up with me. I was breathing harder and things seemed to take effort, but that is okay, I was used to somewhat hard effort albeit not recently, but before my December injury. By then we had entered Coney Island. A uniformed police officer controlling the crowd shouted "Welcome to Coney Island". There were a bunch of people waving the "big hand" at us.. I swiftly moved towards them and hit each one of those hands and the crowd loved it. A bearded young man cheered me "You are looking great.. you are looking great." which was an indication that I was looking the way I was feeling.. T-I-R-E-D. I could feel my legs were feeling tired, especially my quads and sides of the upper thighs were feeling heavier perhaps due to the long downhill and also due to the fast pace I was at for the first half. Anyway, I labored my way through. By now instead of taking my own drink I had started grabbing the Gatorade endurance from the fluid stations. It certainly seemed to give a boost of energy than my regular Gatorade.. So I kept grabbing a cup or two from the fluid stations on the go without stopping.
The course was downhill all along Coney Island, but unfortunately, it was also turning downhill for how I was feeling. Around mile 12 or 13 I started feeling cramps on my right upper calf. I tried to run giving it some stretch while running but that didn't work. So I had to stop on the side and stretch for a little while. Once it felt better I started running making sure I am not running too hard, but after a little while the one that was troubling me and the other calf both started getting cramps. I again pulled over and spent some time stretching both my calves against the curb. Once it felt better I ran the rest of the distance slowly. After crossing the finish line I checked into the huge medical tent - a first time for me. To my surprise there were a lot of runners getting attended to. The tent was very well staffed. I was greeted by a volunteer right at the entrance and I explained to her that I felt cramps on both my calves in the last mile or two and if there was something they could do about it - I was fine to walk though. She immediately connected me with a young doctor Roger who checked things out and wrapped ice packs around my calves. He said I could walk around with the ice packs if I felt comfortable. It felt perfectly fine.
I am not entirely sure if I can isolate a single factor for this - whether it is the lack of sleep the previous night, or the somewhat warmer temperature in the second half of the race - at least warmer than I had been used to thus far this year, the long downhill second half of the course, or it was my foolish running in the early part of the race. Perhaps all of them had some role to play, but I think the biggest is probably my harder running in the first half and the fact that I was blind sided by the uphills and downhills in the first 6 or 7 miles. Anyway, lesson learned. It is a lesson for other races however, as I don't think I am going to sign up for the Brooklyn Half for the reasons I explained earlier. I am not entirely disappointed with my time of 1:57:06 or 8:56 per mile. This is not my fastest time, but not my worst either.
Well, everything is well that ends well, right?
Don't give up. Keep at it.
If I can run, u can run
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