15th and 16th August was a long weekend for Team LifeMojo after a long time. Varun Khurana and I love training (running for varun and cycling for me) on mountains. We enjoyed the Nandi climb a few weeks back and wanted to train on a different mountain this time ( this way we all have an outing as well ). Varun Gupta was nice enough to become our support (with the vehicle) for this training session

We somehow managed to fit in my bike in my Santro (Nangia Airlines) and pushed off. There was no space for the guy sitting in the back seat to keep his legs down, so it became a sleeper birth ( the only Business Class Seat in Nangia Airlines )

On the way to Yercaud, we stopped at Salem for lunch and then decided to train (run / ride) on the uphill the next day morning. On the way up we noticed a lot of monkeys near the base, but there were few of them near the top. After a fun filled evening on 15th (guess what we did) we woke up a bit late than we decided (thanks to me ). We got ready and reached the hairpin bend no 5 at around 8AM and got the bike together.

The Training

It is a nice 8Km climb (with 2% – 12% gradient) to the top (from hairpin bend no. 5 to 20).  After 500 meters or so, I realized I am not able to shift properly, the screw that maintains tension in the gears had been replaced a few days back and I knew that was to be fixed. We had to wait for 10 minutes till I got that back into shape and we started again. Varun Khurana ran almost at the same pace as I rode my bike (which means he is a nice runner). Varun Gupta was with us the whole time, helping us with Gatorade, Water and moral support.

The Finish

When we started, Varun was ahead, halfway up the climb (after I took a leak), I was ahead and then Varun climbed on hairpin bend 18 or 19, skipping 100 meters and took a lead of about 50 meters. As soon as he saw the destination, he started pacing up. Seeing him do that I shouted lets race and moved my gears to 2 – 6 (the same gear ratio that I usually use on flat roads). I gave it all I had and I think I reached 15 seconds before him.

Overall It was great fun !

Here is my split timing for the 10K
2 Km    15:13
3 Km    7:42
4 Km    7:31
5 Km    8:28
6 Km    9:27
7 Km    8:09
8 Km    9:26
9 Km    7:39
10 Km    7:44

My official 10K timing : 1:21:29
Avg. Speed: 7.36 Km/hr

Target for next year: Finish 10K in 40 Minutes.

It doesn’t matter if you are the lion or the gazelle, when the sun comes up, you better be running.

Need to find a comfortable running stride and style for myself…

Here is a video that made me think about Front and Mid foot landing while running.

I started running on 26th November 2008 just to get back in shape, but now I want to run as many marathons in my life as I can. I ran for around 15 days and then Knee Pain started. 12 days in the gym and I was back on my feet to run again…

I have been running with Varun (Gupta), Himanshu and Varun (Khurana) on Sundays at Lalbagh. We usually run as much as we can and then have a nice meal at MTR. The maximum that I had run before this was close to 5 Kms.

Stuff that helped me complete the 21 Km run:

1. Music: I have started listening to Trans music now a days, specially while running and working out. Oh, and iPod Shuffle, it is the best iPod to run with. I love the fact that it has a clip and I can clip-on the iPod to my shorts while running.
2. Clothes: Nike Dri Fit T-shirt and Adidas Running Shorts. I used to think that cotton is the best to run with until someone (sorry I forgot who it was) told me otherwise.
3. Shoes: I don’t have the light running day shoes, but I am happy with my Nike Zoom Structure Triax+ 11. They are Motion Control Shoes for over pronators like me.
4. Diet: Pretty much what LifeMojo suggested as Runner’s Diet.
5. Stretching Exercises: All the stretching routines that I had mentioned before and a new one for the shin that Dharmendra suggested.
6. Crowd cheering along the way: I can’t even express in words, the motivation that I got when strangers smiles and clapped as I passed the milestones. It is a great moral booster, especially for the first timer like me.
7. Water: I don’t remember how much water I drank while running, but it was a lot!

It is a great feeling to complete the Half, and I would try to improve my timing next time.

(I am not the right person to take marathon running advice from. I am just sharing what I did to complete my first Half Marathon.)

I was running fine for around 15 days, and then the Knee Pain started. The pain was concentrated on the left side of the right knee and a friend of mine who is a physiotherapist said it is because of the strain on the knees when I run. Here is what I was suggested:

1. I would need to get shoes that suit my feet type. (Motion Control Shoes for me because I over-pronate).
2. I could try doing a few exercises in a gym that would help me make my knees strong.
3. I would have to find a softer surface to run than running on the road.
4. I would need to lose some weight before I can run long distances.

I really want to take up running as a daily exercise so I went ahead and bought a pair of Nike shoes for motion control. I started hitting the gym and did doing the prescribed exercises. For running on a softer surface I would have to travel a few kilometers and would have to switch to running in the mornings which I can’t afford right now. And I am trying my best to lose weight; I would not switch to an unhealthy way to lose weight ever again. (Read about the last time I tried a shortcut to lose weight)

Finally after 12 days on 25th December, I could run again without any pain.

I searched about the knee pain on the net and i guess it is called Jogger’s Knee. For me there are two solutions

1. Buy shoes which have more cushion than the shoes that I have.
2. Stop running on hard surfaces, and find a park nearby.

OR both.

Tomorrow I might not be able to run (not because of the pain, but because I would be busy most of the day). I would be happy if I can complete 2 miles in Lalbagh this Sunday.

I ran for 10 minutes today and walked for about 30 minutes.

I did 5-2 X 4 (i.e. 5 minutes Running + 2 minutes Brisk Walk; 4 times) which is 5-2 X 1 times more than the plan, and that wasn’t all I ran for 2.5 Kms after this (as I did on Day 9). It feels great to see the progress. The next milestone for me is to run 3 Miles the coming Sunday at Lalbagh.

After the warm up, (I don’t know why but) I decided to measure my speed. I completed 1 Km in 5 minutes, so 12 Km/hr which is ok for me as a beginner, but after that I couldn’t run as per the usual 5-2 X 3 program. I ran for about 3 more minutes, and then knees started hurting. I walked for about 25 minutes and then stopped.

I guess I should just keep the Sundays for the experimentation and follow the program on weekdays