The Final Act.

"The difference between the mile and the marathon is the difference between burning your fingers with a match and being slowly roasted over hot coals." ~Hal Higdon

Wow.....it's been more than 3 weeks since I ran and finished the marathon. This post has been long overdue. For a week after the marathon, I was recovering and had so much work in the lab that I was in no position to write. And after that, although the body had fully recovered, the workload would leave me physically and mentally exhausted at the end of the day. Weekends were also mostly spent in the lab, excluding one in which I resorted to retail therapy.  But now, I myself have this itch to write this up before I start to forget small details. It will also be a nice way to end this journey I started on the blog.

The weather was close to perfect. A nice, crisp and chilly morning. Temps reached mid to upper 60s during the day. It was also a very clear day.

Amol captured this while we were making our way to the start line. 

 We were all so excited and nervous. I personally was very very nervous. I knew how poor my training had been in the last month and was very anxious at the start. But the buzz and the excitement around me was very very contagious.

Cold, scared, nervous.......(wow....look at that characteristic Mandlik double chin!)

Part of the team at the MCC tent. All geared up and ready to go........

He has been a huge part of my accomplishment!

The atmosphere at the start line was even more charged up! This was my first experience of something like this. It was awesome. The scale and the magnitude of the marathon was overwhelming. There were some 30,000 runners.

Gun Time

and...everyone was off!

The start line.

The first 6 miles comprised of some real steep hills. They were really steep, but I was glad they were at the start of the race rather than at the end. The excitement, the crowd, the cheering and the fervor were so great, that I almost did not feel those hills. Almost....because...I did feel them later.....when my whole body was sore and screaming :(

The first 10 miles were the best I had ever run. I enjoyed every bit of it. All the festivities, all the costumes for Halloween, all the crowd cheer and the smile on the fellow runners faces. Passing through Georgetown will truly remain a very memorable experience. The music, the dancers, the cheerful crowd.....it was so much fun. 

At mile 11, I saw Amol. Was just so happy to see a familiar face. I had lost SK and Ketki at around mile 5 and then at around mile 7, I met Nalin. After that I was all alone. So seeing Amol at mile 11, felt so so good.

Amol captured this at mile 11. I love this headband. 

After mile 11.....it was all downhill from there. Downhill as in not a decline in the course, but a decline in my stamina. Mile 12 to mile 13 was the worst part of the race for me. I was running alone amidst a crowd of people. I felt lonely and tired. This portion of the course also had the least number of cheering support. It was mentally exhausting.....I saw the 5:30 pace group behind me and I thought that I should run with them from that point. But starting out fast was now taking its toll on me......I could not keep up with that pace group. I was drained out completely. 

And then at mile 13 finally, the cheers reappeared....it was a big milestone! We were halfway there. All the runners would shout out in joy when they crossed the 13-mile mark. I was happy to be halfway done.....but also knew that the second half was going to be hell. Mile 13 to mile 16 was also awful......I lost the 5:30 pace group and the rest all seems like a blur to me now. I encountered a few Asha runners from other chapters.....all we could do was try and smile through the obvious anguish. At mile 16, I spotted Jaya and Amol waiting for us. Jaya was cheering at the top of her voice. I was so tired and thristy....

Mile 16

Their encouraging and motivating cheer pushed me on. From that point all I could think was of crossing the gauntlet mark at mile 17 and then the Beat the Bridge mark at mile 20. Mile 16 to mile 20...I pushed myself on....kept running with stops just to stretch my legs. I had no walking breaks in those 4 miles. I just wanted to beat the bridge so that I could still stay in the race. Upon crossing mile mark 19, I sped up and with a smile on my face I crossed the mile 20 mark. I also met Amol there. I am really amazed at how he managed to meet me all these spots. 

After crossing the mile 20.5 mark, I gave in to walking. I tried to keep a steady pace. I felt really lonely. But another Asha runner from the DC chapter just appeared from behind me....I was so happy to meet her there on the course. We started chatting and shared stories of our training. We crossed the mile 22 and stopped to stretch. And that was when I felt my right knee. It was swollen and was hurting like hell. I have no clue what happened and how it happened. Was it because I stopped running and broke into a steady paced walk or was it because of the stretching? I will never know.....but after being injury-free for the whole training period, I was just not prepared for something like this. I thought that maybe if I continue to run slowly, the pain would be bearable. But it was not so.....every step was difficult and the last 3 miles through Crystal city were getting unbearable. Amol also caught up with us there. I cried in pain and told him about my knee. Sangeeta and Amol kept pushing me on. At around mile 23, my injured running buddy, Pratima caught up with us. I had lost hope for Pratima and had thought that she could not beat the bridge.....but that girl has some guts and perseverance. She crossed the bridge mark with one minute to spare before they were going to close the route. Hats off to her....she was a big inspiration and motivation for me in the last few miles.

My knee was just getting worse after that. In the end I just hobbled all the way to the finish.....dragging my right leg with me. It was horrible. Nalin, Pratima's husband found us at around 25.5 miles. He had finished long back and was waiting for us at finish line. After waiting for long, he just set out to meet us on the course.  

As we approached the finish, all we could think was off crossing it and finishing this once and for all. Pratima and me ran the last 200 yards and crossed the finish hand in hand. The moment we crossed it, the pain on the face disappeared and the smile spread from ear-to-ear. I hobbled to the medal line and while in line, I saw my other team mates waiting for us with big smiles on their faces. I also saw Neha....my childhood buddy. It all felt surreal. It was so bittersweet. My knee hurt like crazy....the swelling was getting worse. But the fact that I had just finished it made me forget that pain and to rejoice with others. 

Pratima and me. 

All smiles.

I did not see this poster throughout the course...so I requested him to finally show me what is on there.

I hobbled my way to the MCC tent. Chatting away to glory with Neha.....I was still dragging my foot.....but the cribbing and crying had all vanished :) Met the rest of the gang at the tent and just felt like a dream was just fulfilled.

celebratory foto!

Thank you team! You all have been wonderful. When I joined the program, I knew that I would be training to run. What I did not know was that I would also be making such wonderful friends and sharing so many wonderful moments with everyone. You all have shown extreme patience for a slow runner like me and have just been awesome! Thank you so much!

A big shout out to my wonderful family! Amol, although reluctant to get on board initially, you were there every step of the journey with me. A big thank you to my parents who always inquired about my running on our weekly phone calls, always converted the mileage in kilometers and marveled at how much I had progressed and kept encouraging and motivating me. A big thanks to my sisters and brother-in-laws, for being with me all through the writing and making of this blog and for making me laugh during the tough training times.

A big thanks to all my friends. I am happy to say that I have also motivated a few to take up running and if even one of you gets inspired and runs a marathon, I will feel like I have given back. If you all remember, it was learning about another friends marathon experience that had got me inspired to run one. So I hope the cycle continues. 

A big thank you to all those who contributed to my cause. At the end of the day, as much as I was running this marathon for myself, I was also running for the charity. I am happy to say that I reached and went beyond my target and all that money is going to really help make the lives of some children better in India. When I started, I thought fund raising would be the toughest part. But I feel truly blessed and thankful for the wonderful friends who made this the easiest part.

The knee has recovered now. The other pain, muscle soreness and tightness were a distant memory after one week. But the knee and the swelling stayed with me for two weeks. Now it is much better. I did go for two short runs after the marathon and will soon start it on a more regular basis.

Running the marathon has definitely been the one of the most significant things I have done in my life. Even graduate school and getting a PhD pales in comparison to the utter joy I experienced at the finish line. I have experience so many different emotions during the training and the run. I have discovered so many personal strengths and fears along the journey. But beyond everything it has made me believe that the mind can really will the body to do anything :)

Thank you for being a part of this journey with me!

Emotions!

We started in the spring, when the leaves had just started to peep out and the mornings were the typical Boston spring mornings....cold! We endured the summer heat and humidity and persevered. We were blessed with great weather on our last few long distance runs. And now for the last few weekends, its like we have been transported back into the same old cold temperatures. But we are not the same anymore. We have all come a long way since April. We have crossed milestones, become stronger physically and mentally. And now just one week remains for the culmination of this long effort!

I am scared, jittery and very very anxious. The 'what if' scenarios keep playing in my mind. I keep trying to tell myself to just go there and have a good time. Enjoy every moment and be proud of whatever you achieve. But the anxiety always creeps up! The fear takes over and all rational thoughts vanish..............

Having fun!

Today was our last long training run! Almost 19 miles again. But so much more satisfactory than the earlier 19 miler. I ran the entire way with just one walking break between mile 15 and 16. That too, Amol did not let the walking break extend for more than a minute. He again biked with me the entire way.

It was a cool, crisp morning to run. The weather stayed beautiful right till the end. I was worried in the morning about my run because of my non-existent weekday runs. Early mornings are too cold for me and labwork keeps me in the lab till late. I just cannot find the time to run and neither the energy. I am mentally and physically stressed at work. Learning a lot of new things, playing with real exciting data, but falling way behind on my science literature. The anxiety of the marathon and the excitement of getting data and trying to make sense of it, is all too overwhelming right now!

But for the last three Saturdays, I have been enjoying my long runs. Its like I have a new attitude about these runs. All that it needs to make them enjoyable is to just let go of everything and have fun while running. And that is exactly what I did today too. I was just having a good time out there. Now lets just hope that everything goes smoothly from now till the end of this month! I really really need this positive frame of mind.

We are now at the tail end of the training. Just three weeks to go for the D-day. I am so excited about it.

I promise that I will try and be more regular in my postings. I know that now you all are a part of this journey with me and you come by looking for new updates. I have been really lousy in posting for the past two weeks, but hopefully I will be better now! Stay tuned for more!

Getting there......

We are at the tail end of our training. Just 4 weeks to go. Two weeks of long runs (15 plus miles) and then two weeks of moderate runs (less than 10 miles) and then the longest run ever on Oct 31st.

The long distances are tiring me out now. I just managed 15 miles yesterday when the goal was 20. I had decided my run yesterday would be with a smile on my face. The weather was so uncooperative. Just when you thought Fall had descended on New England, the as always predicatably unpredictable  New England weather creeps up and bestows us with a hot and humid day.

Amol was not biking along yesterday. The first two miles were very hard as I tried to get adjusted to the weather. I had an upbeat playlist and the smile on my face as company. Gave myself an imaginary pat on the back as I conquered every mile. Till mile 12, I was feeling great. At around mile 14, I stopped to stretch. I felt my upper body was too stiff, so I wanted to just do a couple of quick back and shoulder stretches. And while doing that, I pulled a muscle in my back. The pain seared through my back and I could feel the tightness. So I partly jogged, partly walked and partly hobbled to mile 15 and stopped. When I came to the 15 mile water stop, I found a few other fellow runners who had stopped. They just did not feel up to it to finish the next 5 miles. You could clearly tell that the long runs were getting to us.

I was a little disappointing that I did not finish 20 miles, but was also satisfied with my 14 miles. I had a smile till the end and was feeling good but for the muscle pull.  I knew that I could not have run with the muscle pull. I iced it as soon as I got home. Amol massaged it out a bit and after a nights rest, it is good to go today. 20 miles....I will get to you next week!

Did you all notice the school bus! It now has two kids in it. We are getting close to our target and just a little more and we will have the third kid also in the bus!

                   Thank You everyone!

I have miles to go before I sleep and you have promises to keep!

As I cross off each milestone, I stare in disbelief at my mileage. In April, I could not even finish 1 mile without a huge struggle and yesterday, almost 5 months since that rainy day in April, I ran 19 miles!

Again luck was on our side and it was a beautiful day to run yesterday. A cool, crisp morning with clear blue skies! The route was going to take us from Arlington center, onto the Minuteman bikeway to Alewife, then one loop of Fresh pond, onto Fresh pond parkway to the river, cross the river at Arsenal street, run on the other side of the river and cross back on JFK bridge, back to Fresh pond, Alewife, Arlington Center and then one loop of the Mystic lake and back to Arlington Center. After sorting out all the confusion over the route and the water stops, we still lingered at the start point. The coach had to literally push us into starting! Ketki was going to run with me till around mile 12-13. I was so thankful for having her run by my side. Also Amol was biking along. He was going to serve as mobile water support for us! I felt like I had my own running entourage!

With the help of Ketki and the unwavering support of Amol, I managed to finish the entire 19 miles. After mile 13, Ketki picked up her pace and went ahead. I tried my best to pick up a little pace, but did not succeed much. The last two miles were a combination of walking and running and they felt endless! But I finished the assigned distance of 19 miles. When I got back to Arlington center at the end, the whole team was waiting for me and greeted me with cheers. They are such a special group!

After the 19 miles I felt like I had no energy left. I cannot believe that I still have to run another 7.2 miles on the day of the marathon. So I still have miles to go before I sleep!

But all of you also have promises to keep! All those who are still considering about donating to the cause, please do so! Team AIDAsha is relying on your support to ensure a successful fund raising campaign for this year.To donate you can click here.

To all those who have already contributed, I cannot express how thankful I am! All the support means a lot to me and helps me run those last few miles that are so difficult. THANK YOU!

Mixed bag

Did you happen to look at the countdown widget on the right? Yes….there are only 45 days left now.

Right now I am mixed bag of emotions!

I am excited by the prospect of running my first ever marathon.

I am scared of not making it in time.

I am proud of myself for having come so far.

I am nervous of how much more I have to go.

I am happy sharing my experience so far with people and talking about the cause.

I am very worried and nervous about my pace and endurance.

I am freaking out that there are only 45 days left for the marathon.

I am so glad that there are ONLY 45 days left now and soon I will be done with all this and can reclaim my weekends!

I am so proud of all my teammates and the wonderful friends I have made in this journey.

I am sad to always be the last one to finish any distance.

I am so humbled by all the support I have received be it in the form of donations, wishes and encouragement.

I am so scared of letting people down.

This mixed bag of emotions needs to go out and run and clear her mind!

Quick update

Wow....its been more than 10 days since the last post. I am so sorry for not posting my updates. I wish I could say that I have been so busy with all the running, that I did not get time to post! But alas, it is not so. On the contrary, I feel that I have run very little in these 10 days.

We went to Seattle for labor day weekend. I so needed that break. But the timing could not have been worse. Right in between the training and also right when I started to get some amazing data in the lab. Before leaving for the mini-vacation, I felt really guilty about going, but now in hindsight, I was glad that we did go coz we enjoyed so much and were truly refreshed once we got back. We had such a good time there....amazing friends, lovely weather, the beautiful pacific northwest mountains and the exciting Seattle downtown! We enjoyed everything and have come back with so many memories. The best part was meeting high-school friends whom I had not seen in the last 10 years.

This weekend was a cut-back run. We had to do 13 miles on the Minuteman trail and I did 11.5 miles. I was not too happy with my run, but I knew that I had to pay the price for not running the previous weekend in Seattle. Now there are just 6 weekends left before the big day and the next few weeks are going to be the toughest part of the training. And now after a refreshing break, I am all ready for it!

Two months

Just two months left now.......

60 days!

Success is never final, failure is never fatal.

"If you feel bad at 10 miles, you're in trouble. If you feel bad at 20 miles, you're normal. If you don't feel bad at 26 miles, you're abnormal."- Rob de Castella, winner 1983 World Marathon Championships.

I think I have just gotten over the 'being in trouble part'. I did not feel bad at 10 miles.

We were supposed to do 18 miles. I just stopped at 17.5 miles. My legs could not carry me any further. I was completely fatigued out. I was fine till mile-13 and this was my first long run wherein I did not take a walking break till mile-13. Even after that short walking break, I was okay for another 1.5 miles. But after that it was like I had no energy left. I was completely fatigued out. I ran into Amol and another friend SK (they were on bikes) at mile 14.5 and had more water and a gu gel. But it did nothing for me. I knew that I had just another 3.5 miles more.....but they felt like forever. I kept breaking into run-jog-walks. It was horrible and my legs felt completely disconnected from my body. They felt like jelly and each step felt like I would wobble over and fall. Amol was with me the whole time and he could clearly see my plight. And then at mile 17.5, I could not go any further. I knew that I had just another 0.5 miles to go.....but my mind gave up on me that day. First my calves, then my soles, then my back and knees and finally my mind. It could not edge my body to go on. In retrospect, I am so angry with myself for not finishing the last 0.5 miles!

The good part: 

• I did not break into a walk till mile 13. That is such a major improvement for me. 
• At least I ran as much as I had run last week.
• Recovery was real good this time. After the run, I went home and had an ice-cold water bath. In the evening I stretched again and used the foam roller. Sunday morning I repeated the stretch and foam roller exercises and was out and active the whole day. Monday morning I could even go for a short 3 mile run. The ice, foam roller and regular stretching really helps.

The bad part:

• I gave up.
• I did not finish 18 miles.
• Did I mention....I gave up!

I hate it that I gave up! I had to post about this huge failure as I am accountable to all my readers, donors, motivators and friends. At that moment, stopping felt like the right thing to do, but the awful feeling of guilt is still there! And I hate that awful feeling..........

From Zero to 200.......

I started training in April and started keeping a record of my mileage since last week of May. Yesterday I logged into Flotrack to log my long run last Saturday and when I saw the total miles I have run since the last week of May, I was in for a huge shock!

200 MILES! In 4 months I have run more than I must have run in my entire life before April 2010. Isn't that crazy!

My running log-May 22nd to August 21st

 Well, this graph tells me some things:

1. I need to be more consistent about my weekday runs.
2. I still have a long way to go and hopefully two months should be enough for that. 
3. If I can go from zero to 200 miles in less than five months, then I am sure that I can achieve anything I set my target on (I really need to set my target on learning how to swim......now that I have put the earlier statement out in the public, I will be more accountable to get over my fear of water.)

Also, for those who have donated and are wondering why the school bus counter has not moved from $226 mark, I am really sorry. The technical team still needs to work on sending notifications to runners when donations are received through google checkout (it should be up soon). But in the meantime, if you have donated, please drop me a line by email (anjali.mandlik@gmail.com) or in the comments section of this post and I will work on moving the bus counter and even advancing myself on the top banner. A big THANKS to all those who have donated to the cause!

17-miler under the belt!

The muscle soreness, ache and pain is still there. The pride and contentment on having finished a 17-mile run is still there. But do you know what else is still there? The fact that I have to do this all over again next Saturday and add two more miles. I wish I could just run two miles on Saturday and add the two up (17 and 2) and say that I ran 19 miles ;-)

The weather was beautiful that day and the route was scenic and inspiring for me. As I mentioned before, I was always in awe of people who ran along the Charles river. All I could think of at the start was that I just have to finish it.

Charles river basin loop. Pins indicate water stops.

I started out decently. After about 2 miles into the run, my breathing had stabilized and I had found my rhythm. Aided by a groovy, upbeat playlist, I felt really comfortable. At the first water stop, I ran into a lot of the other runners. Everyone seemed to be enjoying the weather and the run. Amol was going to man the next water stop and I was so happy when I saw him there. A few words of encouragement and smiles make such a huge difference to your morale. But after that water stop, I fell behind from the group and was running alone now. I could still see them way ahead of me till around mile 10. Then I lost sight of everyone, it was just me battling it out all alone. I knew there was a water stop at around mile 11, so was determined to get till there without stopping. I got a little confused near the Longfellow bridge and accidentally took that bridge. Halfway across the bridge, I remembered that we had to go till the Museum of Science bridge. So I turned back and was frustrated because of my mix-up. Ran back and got on the route again and by then I could see that my energy levels were really low. Made it to the water stop and had an energy GU gel. Felt good to talk to someone and then I set off again.

The running got really challenging after that. I was tired and alone :( I started taking walking breaks, but tried to keep them to only half a minute or so. I cursed at my pace, I cursed at my decision to run a marathon, I was so ready to give up! But after not completing my 16-miler two weeks ago, I was so determined to finish this one. The next manned water stop was only at mile 14 or 15 as there were a few water fountains before that. I yearned for a familiar face. Finally, when I spotted Abhishek and Priya on their bikes, I jumped with joy. Not only did they give me water and gatorade, they also gave me a lot of encouragement.

After that stop, all I could think of were the bridges I had to come across. I could see the BU bridge, and after that I knew there would be the Cambridge st bridge, the Western Ave bridge, the Harvard footbridge, the JFK bridge and then it was less than a mile to the finish. Those landmarks were what kept me going. I crossed each bridge off my list and when I crossed off the JFK bridge, I was ecstatic. But that feeling did not last long as I saw one of the runners, Aamer sitting on the sidewalk in the shade. He was having a hard time and had already thrown up a few times. I did not have a phone on me and so the only option was that I run fast till the finish and send someone to go and get him. That was a huge motivation for me...I knew that he needs to get water as soon as possible, so I did my best to reach the finish as fast as I could. When I finally saw the other runners all stretched out on the grass, I heaved a sigh of relief and we quickly sent two others to go and help Aamer. 

At the end, I just flopped down on the grass and could not believe that I had finished it. The happiness and contentment of that achievement was unmatched. Now I have started getting a taste of what the feeling will be when I cross the finish line at DC on Oct 31st.

A big thanks to all those friends who sent me some 'motivation' through gtalk. Thanks to Team AIDAsha for the constant cheering and encouragement!

Keep sending all those wishes, words of encouragement and motivation....they really make a difference and help me go that extra mile. And don't forget to help the cause. http://2010.teamaidasha.org/runner.aspx?num=201012

Charles river basin loop conquered!

If you are visiting my blog for the first time, WELCOME! Please do read the old posts or the tabs that you can find on top. It basically explains why, how, when and what I am training for!

You know how you get nervous before an exam? I was feeling the same exact nervousness before today's long run. I had butterflies in my tummy. Amol could notice the anxiety on my face. I have no clue why I felt that way. But after the last two long run debacles, I just knew that completing this run was going to be a big challenge for me.

But.......I did it. 17 freaking miles! I ran the entire Charles river basin loop. It was actually 17.5 miles because of a detour we took. Don't ask me the time it took me.....all I can say that it is something I am not proud of :(. But today's goal was finishing it and keeping walking to a minimum. And, I did that!

Today I became one of the Boston runners who run on the Charles river basin. I would always marvel at these runners and wonder if I would ever run there. Since the training began, we have done a good number of runs around the river, but today was the first time we did the whole loop.

More to come when I recover and can think straight again!

After the run, at Soldiers Field Road!

Enough of this negativity!

Did a 3.5 mile run today morning. It was eh...just eh! The some days are good, some days bad is turning into most days are bad :(

There is just so much negativity right now with my running. Mostly it is just me and sometimes when it is not me, there are external forces like no water support or horrible awful cramps.

There is just so much going on right now. The training, lab work (yay....finally I have data), getting some paperwork sorted out (this is the worst), trying to start fund raising (I need a kick to get started now) trying to regularly update this blog and getting ready for our small 4 day vacation to Seattle.

I promise I will have a happy run soon and you will not have to hear any of the negativity :(

Till then go and check out my friend's blog. She is the one who keeps pushing me and does not let me give up!

Blame it on the water support!

Amol was supposed to provide water support during my long run yesterday. The plan was 16 miles and I ran just 7.5 miles. All because of poor....wait make that NO WATER SUPPORT!

Down

The weekly runs were not bad this week. I did a 4-mile run on Tuesday, hill repeats on Wednesday and a 4-mile run yesterday. But....
I did not enjoy any of the runs. The one on Tuesday was brutal, I ran in the evening as I could not get my lazy bum out of bed Tuesday morning. I hated every minute of my run. Just wanted it to be over and as soon as I hit 3.99 miles, I stopped. The run on Thursday morning was no better. Although it was a lovely morning to run, I was literally pushing myself to finish the 4 miles. The only slightly enjoyable run was the hill repeat on Wednesday and the only reason for that was, Amol had accompanied me with the camera to take pics of me running.
There are still more than two months for the marathon. It is really important that I enjoy my runs to keep going. All I can think of these days is what I could have done with my summer evenings and weekends if I had not been training. I really hope I can get my running mojo back soon!

Mi familia

I am making everyone in my family work for my marathon and fund-raising.

My sisters (Shilpa and Sharmila) are like my PR people. They are going to help in publicizing my blog and my fund-raising page.

The credits for the cartoon of me running go to Chetan, Sharmila's husband. He is such an awesome cartoonist and artist.

Viraj, Shilpa's husband used Chetan's cartoon and made the banner for my blog. Doesn't it look good?

I thought my parents would dissuade me from training and running a marathon. But I was so mistaken. My mom regularly asks me about my training and keeps encouraging me.

Last but not the least...Amol who has to do water support for the whole group and hear me crib, complain and whine like a baby. He also has to take on a lot of the house work as I am almost immobile after the long run. Also, I get the bragging rights once I am done with the marathon, so putting up with that torture is going to be a big task anyways.

How awesome is my family! Thanks everyone!

Not yet reached the 15-mile mark :(

I was so pscyhed up about the 16 miler on Saturday. My weekday runs had been good, the weather was perfect for running, I was going to cross the 15 mile mark......everything was positive in the morning.

But I failed.....I just ran 10 miles. I had to stop after 10 miles. Amol was providing water support, so I was lucky to get a ride back home immediately.

I felt so bad for not being able to finish it. Saturday was ruined because of the run. All I did was sat on the couch at home and sobbed about it. It made me realize how emotionally vested I am in this marathon training and the fund-raising. It is so much more than just running a marathon for me now. It is a test of not only my physical endurance, but also my mental endurance. 

This coming Saturday was supposed to be a cut-back week for everyone. Since my 10 miles last Saturday will be counted as a cut-back week now, I will have to do 16 miles all alone. Amol has said he will bike alongside and provide personal water support for me. :)

HUMID

Today was the complete opposite of a cool and crisp morning. It was warm and humid. The humidity was oppresive. I stepped out of the building and could immediately feel it. So I decided to run on the treadmill in the gym. Stepped into the gym and felt like I had stepped into an oven. The air conditioning was not working and since there are no windows, it felt like a hot oven. Running outside in the humidity was a better option. Five minutes into the run and I was already drenched in sweat. It was really oppressive. So I did a short run today. Just 2.5 miles. I makes me laugh out loud when I say "just" 2.5 miles. A few months ago, I would have boasted of the 2.5 miles.

Last week, I had this weird pain in my lower left leg. It was not shin splints, but one of my shin muscles (on the inner calve) was hurting pretty bad. Even while walking, I was aware of that muscles and there was a distinct pain. P from Team AIDAsha suggested I use the foam roller along with regular ice packs. So far it has worked.  

Foam roller

Foam rollers are good for self-myofascial release (I love throwing out these big words these days). It provides deep tissue massage to release tension in your muscles. Used correctly, it can help prevent injuries and improve performance over time.  The foam roller is not very easy to use and you can actually feel the massage deeply. It also helps improve balance. In my case, the pain is not yet completely gone, but reduced considerably since I used the foam roller. I used it after the long run, and it felt very therapeutic. It is a good buy!

The weather is going to be much better during our Saturday run! So glad and thankful about that. 

8/3 and 8/4

Yesterday was such a perfect morning to run. It was a cool, crisp early summer morning. Got out at around 5:20 and spent an hour running! It was awesome. What was more awesome, was my playlist! I had it on shuffle and somehow all cheesy and dhinchak hindi songs came on one by one. I did not even know half of them existed on my ipod. Imagine my horror when somewhere in mile 3, 'Mustafa...mustafa' came on. Remember that one... where Prabhudeva demonstrates how plastic his body is! Like who has such a song in their playlist. Well, apparently I do! That song is like ancient. I rarely sync my ipod with my itunes these days (coz I sync my iphone...duh!). I think it is time to sync it with my Lady Gaga collection now! I am going from cheesy to cheesier!

Distance: 5 miles
Time: 1 hr

So far this week seems to be going good in terms of running (in terms of everything else....hmmm lets not talk about it!). I went running today morning too. I did the hill repeats all by myself near my place. I ran by The Childrens Hospital in Waltham and there were a decent number of people on the road even early in the morning. I am sure they must have wondered what is wrong with me. All they could see me doing was run up, jog down, run up, jog down, run up, jog down 6 times or so. I felt awesome after finishing it. Next week, my target is to do 8 repeats.

Dear 14.5 miler,

I conquered you this Saturday and although I took a long time to finish, I am proud and happy of the run. I had the least number of walking breaks and also each walking break was really short. In my last 14 miler, I mostly walked the last one mile. So this time I can confidently say that I ran the entire 14.5 miles.

You took me from the Minuteman trail at Arlington Center, to Alewife and then onto Fresh Pond trail, route 16 to the Charles river, across Arsenal St bridge on the other side of the river, then over JFK bridge to retrace my steps to the beginning at Arlington Center. It was a beautiful day to tackle you and I owe a lot to Ketki who kept me going and did not let me break into walks. I also tried my first Gu gel on the way, but would have also liked more water support. From next time, I will carry my own bottle or get a hydration pack.

Your buddy 16 miler is next on my list. Next week, I will tackle the 16 miler and I will work on improving my time!

Regards,
Anjali

Hill repeats

One important component of our training is doing hill repeats. Hill repeats are repetitive runs up a hill. They are considered a strengthening workout. They help to improve a runners leg strength. This is a concentrated effort to run the hills multiple times to build leg strength. This was the first time I was going to for the hill repeats training. Little did I know how challenging they would be.

After doing a short warm-up run, we did some dynamic stretching which included walking lunges, the famous frankenstein walk, knee raises and some others for which I do not remember names. The dynamic warm-up was pretty intense and we could really feel our heart rate up. A short walk to the slight incline road and we began our hill repeats. What we had to do was run up the hill with strong strides and then jog/walk down and repeat that 4-6 times. The first run up itself left me huffing and puffing. The repeats were killers. I felt the long runs pale in comparison to the hill repeats. The coach paid attention to our form while doing these repeats and gave a lot of good inputs.

So hill repeats are now an integral part of weekday training. We have to do them once a week and slowly and gradually increase the number of repeats we do each time!

Evenings

I. hate. running. in. the. evening!

Too many cars, too many people!

7/24 --- 14 miler

The forecast said --- cloudy with temps in the low 80s. I was glad that it was not going to be sunny and in the 90s. When we started out, it seemed pretty pleasant to me. But the humidity is so deceiving sometimes....in no time we were sweating like pigs and it ended up being a wet and icky run!

We had to run 14 miles of the Minuteman trail. We all met at Alewife, the coach went over some details, we did our warm-ups and started around 7:20 am. We were to run to the mile marker past Lexington Center and the turn back and return to Alewife.

The first 5 miles of my run were pretty good. I maintained a pace of 12 mins/mile and I was pretty happy with that. I did take small walking breaks in between, but kept them to a minimum. At 3.5 miles, the half marathoners turned back, they were going to run just 7 miles that day. During my 6th mile, I met some of the fastest in the group who were on the way back. So they were almost 2.5-3 miles ahead of me. I must have passed three such runners, who on crossing me would clap and yell 'good job' to keep me motivated. Finally I could see Lexington center where we had a water stop and majority of the group was drinking water there on their way back. At the water stop, I also did some stretches and waited for my running buddy to catch up with me. After she had her water break, we continued to run till the mile marker. I tried to run at her pace as she seemed really tired and exhasuted. I would run a bit ahead and then walk or just run in place for her to catch up. I did not want to leave her behind...we are committed to pushing and motivating each other till the end. Till the end of my 12th mile, I had lost track of my time due to all the stops and did not bother with tracking it anymore. Till 12.5 (which actually was my longest till that day) I was fine. But after that my calves were just killing me, it felt like there were huge stones in my calves. My soles felt tired and sore. There was just 1.5 miles left to go, I manged to run/brisk walk another 0.5 mile. But after that I just could not. Running buddy caught up and we just walked the last 1 mile till the end. A few runners were waiting for us, we did our stretches and then we all went and had brunch. It was lots of fun.

So all in all, although I did not run the whole 14 miles and walked the last one mile, I am satisfied with my run. My longest run before this had just been 11 miles and so stretching it to 14 was really asking for too much.

The rest of the weekend was spent just lazing around. I finished 'The girl who played with Fire' by Steig Larsson. Loved it much more than the first book in the trilogy and now cannot wait to read the last one. I will write about the books in my other blog.

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!

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

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!

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.