Friday, July 23, 2010

Less than 100 days!

Yesterday I added the countdown widget to the blog and it freaked me out!

Now, there are less than 100 days till the marathon.......

Tomorrow I have to run 13-14 miles. But thankfully it is the Saturday long run where we run with the whole team and I have a running buddy. It makes it so much easier when you run with someone who runs at the same pace as you. My buddy and me set small targets and push and motivate each other. Our targets are like "Let's run for 15 mins and then take a small walking break for 30-60 sec." It somehow works for us!

Thursday, July 22, 2010

7/20 and 7/21

Yesterday was a big fail in terms of running. I got up early in the morning, changed, filled my bottle, put on my shoes and I don't know what hit me. I was so groggy with sleep, that I just took my shoes out and went back to bed. Bad...bad...bad girl! Even later during the day, I could not focus in the lab. Somehow I managed to go through all experiments planned for the day without mishap, but never got around to reading some literature that I have been putting off, or drafting some letters, or reviewing some papers, or working on a hypothesis for a fellowship application. So apart from bench work, I was very unproductive in lab and also irritated that I did not run in the morning.

I tried to make up for the morning run and ran in the evening. Ran on the treadmill again as it seemed that it was going to pour outside. Mid-way through mile 2, my left knee started hurting real bad. Tried walking for a bit and then resume running, but it just kept hurting. I am really scared of having long-term injuries, so I could not ignore that pain and had to call it quits for the day. Decided I would try again tomorrow morning and if the pain persisted, I would contact my PCP about going to a physical therapist. So overall, yesterday was a big fail!

But thankfully, today morning was much better. It was not hot and humid, so I ran outside. There was a light breeze and I enjoyed my run too! The knee did not hurt, I wonder if it was specific to running on a treadmill?
But I was glad that I could finish the run without pain.

One of the runners from the team is already injured. He got injured while cross-training. I feel so bad for him and hope that he gets better soon. The coach immediately sent us all a message about how we need to be cautious about over-exertion and injuries. I just hope the whole team stays injury free and can successfully complete the marathon.

7/20/2010
Distance: 1.5 miles
Time: 18 mins
Pace: 12 miles/min

7/21/2010
Distance: 5.5 miles
Time: 70 mins
Pace: 12.7 miles/min

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Pace

So I am not that slow....but I am slow. Since April, I think my pace has improved just a little bit. My endurance has definitely increased and till date my longest run has been 10 miles. But my pace is still slow. My first 2 miles are usually good with a pace of 11 min/mile. But after that I average out between 12.5-13 min/mile. Initially this bothered me a lot. I would get frustrated and try to run faster, but that just tired me out and I would not complete the distance. But after talking to a lot of people, I realized that marathons are about distance and endurance. 26.2 miles is a lot and the only way I will be able to finish it is by running at a comfortable pace. So now my aim is to finish the marathon. I don't care how much time I will take to finish as long as I can keep the total time below 6.5 hrs.

Whats most important is that I enjoy my training (seriously....did I just write that?!?) and my runs! Yeah, I do enjoy them, although I am secretly cursing myself during the long runs as to what hit me in the head that I am torturing myself!

But what I enjoy the most of all this training, is the time with the people whom I am training with. I have met so many amazing people through the Team AIDAsha. Some people have run for these organizations more than one time. Their passion towards social causes and the personal will to push themselves to their limit is a source of inspiration for me. The mentors never fail to motivate me. So many of us first-timers push each other and keep everyone going.....the camaraderie is amazing! Well, when we all are committed to torturing ourselves, it is so much easier to joke about failures and successes!

Todays run:
Distance: 4 miles
Time: 48 mins
Pace: 12 mins/mile
Ran on the treadmill in the morning as it was too humid outside even at 5:00 in the morning! Yes, I am an early riser and usually do my weekday runs in the early morning!

Monday, July 19, 2010

Why?

Why a marathon?

(I actually keep asking myself that question during every training run. Why am I doing this when I could be sleeping an extra hour or so?)

Growing up, I associated marathons only with road blocks. I knew that on the day of the marathon, certain roads in Pune or Mumbai would be closed and we would have to take detours. Marathons also signified an event where all the top athletes came together and ran. Infact, I always thought that only athletes participated in marathons. It was only in 2004 when my sister Sharmila and her husband Chetan took part in the Mumbai marathon, that I realized that even people like me can actually run the whole 26.2 miles. I felt like I actually knew someone who ran a marathon. Maybe even I could do one? But by then I was already immersed in a different kind of marathon, graduate school.

After completing graduate school, I moved to Boston in 2009 and just a few weeks after joining my new workplace, I actually witnessed the Boston Marathon and saw the elite runners zoom by. The crowd cheering on, the runners pushing through, seeing all the achievement left a lasting impression on me and I just knew that I have to experience this at least once in my lifetime!

So finally in April 2010, I went for a trial group run with the team AIDAsha and since then there was no turning back. I initially had aimed for the half marathon, but in May I decided that I will give it my all and train for the full marathon.

Why Asha for Education organization?

'Asha' means 'hope'. Asha for Education is an organization that is dedicated for change in India by focussing on basic primary education for all with the belief that education is critical for bringing about socio-economic change.

The cause for education is very near and dear to my heart. My parents instilled in me deep respect for education through their actions. Many children in India are still deprived of this basic human right of education. Asha for Education is an all-volunteer, not-for-profit organization that is trying to change this. Asha's volunteers work to find, develop and fund education projects in the hopes of empowering India's youth.

I have registered to the run the Marine Corps Marathon in Washington DC on October 31st. I will represent the Asha for Education organization and have pledged to raise $100 for every mile I run. So for 26.2 miles, I have pledged to raise $2620.