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!
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Monday, July 26, 2010
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.
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.
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!
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
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
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.
(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.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)