2012 Year end musings

With a nice 35.5Km/3:05 run at IRR/EGL this morning the last long run of 2012(and the last one before SCMM 2013) is done. And it is now time to look back at 2012 and put down the goals for 2013. In general it was a good year though the total mileage for the year was about 1900 Kms - after 3 consecutive years of 2000+Kms in 2009,2010 and 2011. This was mainly due to the 6 weeks complete break from all cardio exercises in Feb-March - my longest break from running since Janaury 2004. Also compared to the last 3 years I participated in fewer events - the focus was on improving the FM. I did two full marathons - SCMM in January and MHRM  in October; besides half-marathon in Auroville, the TCS World 10K, a 5K race at Puma Urban Stampede and  50Km at 6th Bangalore Ultra. I more or less met my goals in all in these events so there was no real low in 2012- though not meeting my goal of a sub 3:39 in MHRM i was a bit of a disappointment. Of course, I was elated at being fortunate enough to sneak through to BQ. 

Here's a summary of the timings of my 2012 events:

1. FM at SCMM : 15th January - 3:48:57
2. HM at Auroville : 19th February - 2:15
3. 10K at TCS World 10K : 27th May - 51:11
4. 5K at Puma Urban Stampede : 5th August - 21:51 (PB)
5. FM at MHRM : 7th October - 3:39:57 (PB) 
6. 50K at Bangalore Ultra :10th November - 5:07:29 (PB)

As in 2011 I trained for the FM  using the FIRST 'Run Less,Run Faster' training program leading up to MHRM in October.. The difference from 2011 was the rigor - I was able to do over 90% of the 47 training runs and 32 cross-training cycling workouts over 16 weeks between June and October.  Another big change was the stretching - I made it a point to spend at least 20 minutes post a workout on most days and longer on rest days. The twice a week strengthening sessions at Manipal was also beneficial.

In August I switched my shoes to Brooks Defyance 5 after using 7 pair of Adidas Supernova Cushion/glide and found them to be very comfortable.

Goals for 2013: 

1. Sub 3:38 at SCMM  in January

2. Sub 1:43 HM at Auroville in February

3. Sub 45 10K at TCS world 10K in May

3. Register for Boston 2014- of course this is not completely under my control

4. 50K/75K/100K at Bangalore Ultra

Above everything of course the goal is to stay fit and injury free and enjoy the running  - if the timing goals are met then of course it would be great! As usual I hope to start 2013 with a run on 1st January - either a 8K mid-tempo run at 4:46/Km or 10 x 800m at 3:17 or an easy run depending on how 31st evening goes!!

On Running Shoes

Running is a fairly simple sport with very little gear needed. However, as one gets serious about the sport  in terms of distance and/or timing the right shoe becomes a very crucial element. Or at least this used to be the case till a few years ago when running barefoot or with minimalist shoes took off soon after the publication of Christopher Mcdougall's 'Born to run..' in 2009. I used Adidas running shoes since I took to long distance running in 2011. Being a fairly neutral runner(that is neither a pronator nor a supinator) I picked a neutral , cushioned shoe namely Adidas Supernova cushion. And I stayed with this shoe for 10 years working through    a new pair every year.  In 2008 I did try a Asic Gel Kayano 13 - but this did not work for me and I switched back to my  seventh pair of  Supernova.  Supernova cushion then got replaced with Supernova Glide 3 which in turn got superceded by Supernova Glide 4 in 2012. In June I started my training for MHRM on October 7th 2012 with my new pair of Adidas Supernova Glide 4.  Though in the previous years I have felt very comfortable with the Adidas Supernova cushion/Glide shoes and have run all my marathons/ultra marathons in them, this new pair was not as comfortable. During the longer runs I was feeling a very distinct discomfort in my  right outer ankle.Later, on researching I realised this was a known issue with this shoe.After confirming with a gait analysis at a JackRabbit store in Manhattan that for my running form  I need a neutral cushioned shoe I switched to a Brooks Defyance 5, another neutral shoe, more than half way through my training in late August. And now I have become a fan of this shoe. Not just because I had a good MHRM and met my goal - the shoe feels very comfortable for me. My older Supernova which is a supernova Glide 3 and  quite worn out does not have this issue of irritating my ankle. In fact I ran the 2012 Bangalore Ultra with this shoe. It is kind of frustrating that shoe manufacturers release new models of the same shoe almost every year and while doing so tweak the show. This means one can never be sure that a model that worked before will still be comfortable after the tweak. Anyhow for now I plan to stay with the Brooks Defyance 5. I am pretty much a one shoe guy using the same shoe for training as well as racing. Many runners use a lighter shoe for racing called racing flats. These are flatter with very little or no cushioning and hence weigh less - 4 to 9 ounces as compared to 8 to 12 ounces for a cushioned shoe. My Defyance 5 weights 10.8 Oz while a racing shoe such as Asics Piranha weighs 4.3 Oz. The very light racing flats such as the Asics Piranha are meant for shorter distance races say a 5K or a 10K - though runners have started using them for HM and FM races as well. Since these shoes have no cushioning , in order to avoid injury, the racing flats are not used during training long runs. To get used to them they could be used in speed or interval training runs. I may consider using a racing flat in 2013 - need to research options(there don't seem to be many in India) and try them out.

Interest in running barefoot or with minimalist shoes has definitely picked up worldwide. In India also a lot of runners have now taken to running barefoot or with Vibrams or minimalist shoes. A few of my running friends recently completed  50Kms at the 2012 Bangalore ultra barefoot and using minimalist shoes.  While running in minimalist shoes or Vibrams is generally considered beneficial and reduces chances of injury one needs to make careful transition, over a period of time, from using cushioned shoes to non cushioned ones. As one's running form has got used to cushioned shoes and transitioning out of it involves some changes in running form.  There  is a lot of information on this topic on the net- this is one of the hottest topic of discussion in running and fitness forums. A lot of information is available on the Vibrams website as well as at this Runners world link and this NY times blogpost. 

I am personally not tempted to switch to minimalist shoes or barefoot running - as cushioned shoes seems to be working for me so far- why change something if it is not broken -unless one is going barefoot investment in shoes whether cushioned or minimalist or Vibrams is anyway similar. 

Skipped the 2012 Bangalore Midnight marathon

After having participated in every edition of the Bangalore Midnight marathon since 2007 I decided to miss this year's event that was held on 15th/16th December.  In the 1st edition held in May 2007 I did the full marathon. The 2008 edition was held in January 2009 - just a week before SCMM  -due to the Mumbai terrorist attacks in November 2008. So I did a 5K in this edition. In the 2009 and 2010  editions of the event I ran a fast HM as training  for SCMM. Last year in December 2011 I ran a 32K training run as part of the event.  However, I did an excellent 32Km run  on 15th (sat) morning rather than doing it at the midnight marathon thereby breaking my streak of participating in this event. Many of my friends who ran yesterday night had excellent runs partly helped by the cold weather. 

Start of training for SCMM 2013

After a week's break post the 50Km run at the 6th Bangalore Ultra the training for SCMM 2013 on 20th January has started in right earnest. SCMM is the biggest road marathon in India and has been a fixture in my running calendar for the last nine years.  After running the HM in Mumbai in 2004 and 2005 I have been able to run a FM there every year since 2006. The last couple of years I have been striving to improve on my PB for the marathon at this race. And that is the goal for 2013 as well. My target is to better the PB of 3:39:57 I achieved at Mohawk Hudson River Marathon on 7th October by a couple of minutes and try and finish in as close to 3:38 as possible. 

Once again I am using the 'Run Less,Run Faster' training program from FIRST which is based on the philosophy of 3Plus2. That is 3 specific running workouts and 2 cross-training workouts per week for 16 weeks. Based on the time left for the event I re-started my training from week 9 of the program. Having recently gone through the full 16 weeks program I am comfortable tailoring the program a bit based on previous experience and to fit in with the  work and travel schedules over the next few weeks. I have also switched back to training in Kms instead of Miles.It was not bad to do the 2 x (6 x 400m) intervals at Kanteerva after a break of 2 months. In fact all the 3 runs went very well - with the 32K long run at 5:27 per Km(versus goal of 5:30) and the last Km at faster than target marathon pace at 5:08 per Km. Hoping to keep the momentum over the next 7 week in spite of  travel plans (personal) on 3 of those weekends!!

6th Bangalore Ultra : 50K/5:07:31..a great trail, great company..a PB

That pretty much sums up my 50Km run at the 6th Bangalore Ultra on 10th November.  And this was as per my plan. The first half took 2:19:19 at a little over 5:30 per Km. The second half was much slower taking 2:48 at 6:29 per Km.   Enjoyed the new  wider, flatter trail at Hennur road and certainly the 25Km loop was helpful though it meant seeing other runners less frequently. Complete results are available here.I finished 4rth in the senior category and 11th overall. While in 2011 with a timing of 5:24:11 I finished 3rd overall. Shows the quality of the runners in this year's ultra and also the improvement that runners are making over years. 

Ravi Venkatesam and I left Domlur at 430am and reached the venue around 5:20am. After the turn into Hennur road from the ORR there were RFL signs and soon after we were part of a convoy of cars heading to the Ultra. It felt a few degrees cooler as we got off the car and walked to the holding area.  the holding area was well spread out and was buzzing with runners checking in their bags, stretching, catching up with fellow runners. I met Tanvir Kazmi of runinfinity fame targeting a 24 hour run. And several friends from Bangalore : Sunil, Jugy, Vasu, Venky etc.

After brief words from A1 and A2 the race started exactly at 6am. There must have been about 150 runners for the 50Km category. Hari Menon and I decided to run together as he was also targeting a finish between 4:45 and 5 hours.  After the first Km of broken road from the holding area the rest of the route was mud trail mainly through bamboo and eucalyptus forests.  It was great running with Hari and learning more about his running and cycling experiences. I was surprised to learn that he had never run beyond 31Km. However, he had a very strong HM at KTM this year. After about 6Kms into the trail we started to see runners from the longer distances who had started an hour earlier returning back. Between the 10Km and 12 Km mark(BTW - there were no Km markers on the trail which was disappointing and not expected of RFL) my shoe laces came off twice. At this time Hari Menon took off and I could not keep up with him. I decided to run at my own pace - did 12.5Km in 1:08:39. Soon after the turn around point Vasu and Pankaj Rai caught up with me and from then on for quite sometime the three of us ran together.  They are fantastic company and we talked about various topics. After the 35K mark Vasu slowed down while Pankaj pulled a little ahead of me. At the 37.5K turnaround I spent a couple of minutes helping Praveen with the sumo wrestler stretch to help assuage the stress in his groin muscles. Towards the end I caught up with Pankaj and we sprinted the last 200m and crossed the finished line together. Of course, Pankaj finished the race 7 minutes faster than I did as he had started his race late. 

Hari finished his first Ultra(including a first FM distance run) in an incredible 4:23:28 and was awarded second position in the men;s open category. As a result I was awarded the 2nd runner up in the senior category though I actually finished 4rth! Many runners did incredible timings in the 50Km  including Madhu from Egypt who ran her first ultra in 4:35:44. Also many runners including Ravi venkatesam did their 1st ever ultra.

The food was much much better compared to previous ultras as well as KTMs. We left from the venue around 1:45 and reached home a little after 3PM after another wonderful race experience!!

Less than 48 hours to the 6th Bangalore Ultra

With under 2 days to go for the 6th edition of the Bangalore Ultra  the buzz is building up among the running community not just in Bangalore but across the country. The Bangalore Ultra is India's 1st and largest Ultra marathon. The event has grown in leaps and bounds since the first edition in 2007 with not only more number of participants each year but also newer categories as well as other innovations from Runners For Life. After 5 years of the race being at Hesarghatta , this year the venue has moved to the bamboo forest off Hennur road which is something for all the ultra runners to look forward. to. There have been a couple of RFL runs at the Hennur road forest route including one in April 2009 when I did the 9th of my 12 marathons in 12 months. The new route for the ultra seems to be flatter and less uneven apart from being a 25Km loop (12.5Km out and 12.5Km back) instead of 12.5Km loop. From a logistics and organisation perspective it will be challenging for Runners For Life - as there will be no support of a resort. Port-a-potties, changing rooms, large holding area, food, waste management etc will need to be taken care of. With the experience of over 5 years in organising high quality running events behind them I expect RFL to do well and meet the runners expectations. 24 hours run and splitting the event between 2 days are the other changes that have been brought in this year.

Since my last marathon - Mohawhk Hudson River marathon on 7th October - I have been in a dilemma as to whether or not to participate in the ultra this year. Had I met my timing goal of 3:38 the decision would have been easy. However, since I am now targeting this time for the SCMM in January 2013 the advice from my coach Bill Pierce as well as running coach Dharam is to skip the ultra and focus on training for the Mumbai marathon. While my head also says I should focus on training for the Mumbai marathon and not run the 50K I decided to go with my heart. Having been involved as a core team member for the 1st edition of the event and having run 50Km or more every year since then I am keen on continuing the streak as long as I possibly can. I am verye xcited about the new route off  Hennur road and am glad that I decided to register for the race. Hopefully this will not have an adverse impact on my training for SCMM and more importantly on the race itself. Well one will have to hope for the best.

Though I am in a shape to run the 50Km in about 4:45 or so  this year, I am going to try and take it easy and not push myself in order to conserve energies for the next race. My best time for 50Km  was 5:22:24 in 2009. I should be able to beat this time comfortably. By what margin depends on how the race goes. My strategy  will be to do the 1st loop of 25Km in  about  2:18 at an average of 5:30 per Km and try and do the second half in 2:30 at an average of 6 minutes per Km to try and finish around 5 hours. A lot will also depend on the weather on race day - if it rains then this new route is going to be very slushy slowing me down. Very warm weather will also take a toll on the pace in the 2nd half. My main goal with the Bangalore Ultra  is not the target time but as always to enjoy the route, race ambiance and the tremendous comradarie of fellow runners doing 50Km or more -  I understand that nearly 50 runners are doing either 75Kms or 100Kms or the 24 hours category!!

Mohawk Hudson River Marathon race report

Taper and obsession with weather

The 3 weeks taper leading up to race day is usually a challenging period for most runners. Despite most of the training going as per plan self-doubt always creeps in during this period. The phantom aches and pains do not help either. In addition to the usual stress in the  left glutes and left calf and occasional  numbness in the left foot I started to feel a little tightness in my right groin and right hamstring. Also sensed light blisters/roughness under both my big toes.  Having  had the best ever training period of  16 weeks   including rigorously focused stretching and strengthening during this period my main concern was race day weather.
Unlike most other runners my body seems to be able to handle warmer temperatures better than very cold  weather. I became quite obsessed with the weather and started tracking the Albany weather from over a month before the race. Of course meteorological science is not advanced enough to accurately predict the weather weeks in advance. And the forecast kept swinging between being sunny and rainy with temperatures varying from 16/8 to 11/0 Celsius. As a result of this I also started tracking the registration and weather forecast for the Wineglass marathon  in Corning on September 30th which I had identified as an alternate/backup race. Till 22nd September which was the last date of registration for this race I was too psyched up about the weather and  in two minds as to which race to run. However, after discussing with my coach Bill Pierce and close  friend and running coach Dhammo I decided to take my chances and stay with the Mohawk Hudson River Marathon on 7th October. While at the beginning of the race week the forecast for Albany was rains and cold temperatures from the 5th of October - 48 hours before the race- the forecast changed to cloudy (13/2 Celsius) with rains in the afternoon. I was highly relieved that the dreaded rain was likely to stay away even though the temperatures were still going to be too cold for me.  The weather in Southbury, CT also started to cool down the week of 1st October.  I became overly cautious and  wore additional layers of clothing to stay extra warm this week. Also gargled with salted warm water 2-3 times a day  and drank mostly warm water to protect my sensitive throat.  During this period I also agonised over my race day attire - whether two wear two layers or one and if two layers which one to discard and which one to keep for the entire race(between short sleeve and long sleeve). I did not consider running in warm up pants as I have never ever trained in them. 

Race Strategy

My training using the 'Run Less, Run Faster' training program was customised for a  per mile pace of 8:19 with a target marathon time of  3:38:03. Based on my last long run on 15th Sept ,when I managed 13.1 miles in about 1:47 and 23 miles in 3:14 ,my race strategy was to get to the half way mark between 1:47 and 1:49 at an average of between 8:12 to 8:19 per mile. And then get to 22 mile mark between 3:02 and 3:04 and run the last 4 miles as fast as I could to finish as close to 3:38 as possible. The goal was to stay ahead of the 3:40 pacer (8:24/mile) and within sight of the 3:35 pacer(8:12/mile) while keeping  a close watch on the average pace on my Garmin and not letting it slide beyond 8:20/mile.  It is very challenging to run even or negative  splits in a marathon as is recommended by coaches and experts. I have been unable to maintain even splits in most of my training tempo and long runs. During the long runs the per mile pace kept varying between 7:45 and 8:45 or so. Often I found I was running faster than target pace. On slowing down the pace usually fell well below the target pace.  My goal  for the race was to run the 1st half slightly faster than the 2nd half keeping the difference between the two halves to less than 3 minutes. The ideal split I was looking for was 1:48/1:50. In preparation for the race I deleted historic data on my Garmin and also arrived at the most comfortable strap position(5th hole).  Of course, whatever the training and race strategy everything needs to fall in place on race day - weather, stomach, rhythm, mental strength, shoe laces etc 

Day before the race

The last few days leading up to the race were fairly relaxed - short, less intensive workouts and a lot of World cup T20 cricket on the TV - streamed from Cricinfo. I managed to get about 7 hours of reasonably good sleep on most nights. My last aerobic workout was a 4 mile run on 4rth October. On the evening of the 5th I walked for about a mile and a half with my sister and brother-in-law in Kettletown State Park.  On 6th morning I did some light foam roller and stretching exercises. My sister, brother-in-law and myself left Southbury at 1PM after lunch and reached Hotel Albany at 3:30PM. Withing the  2.5 hours drive the temperature had dropped by over 10 degrees. The hotel lobby was buzzing with runners - waiting to check-in or heading towards/from the bib pickup at the expo. We checked in and headed to the basement to the expo. The bib and T-shirt collection took a minute. I confirmed that I had a reservation on the bus to the start area and enquired about the possibility of a train coming at the railroad crossing around mile 17.

Collecting the bib and T-shirt

Checking on bus,railroad crossing and weather

I talked to the 3:35 pacer Scot as well as Larissa the 3:40 pacer and based on the discussions decided to start with Larissa and stay ahead of her while keeping Scot in sight.

In the evening we walked a bit in downtown Albany and had a Pizza dinner. After checking that all my gear was ready including the  fully charged up Garmin  I read a bit and went to sleep at 9:45 PM. Slept reasonably well though I woke up a couple of times during the night. As usual I woke up at 5:30AM before my alarm rang. 

Race morning

With the outside temperature around 4 Celsius I decided to keep myself extra warm for the bus ride and the pre-race period. I left the hotel room a little after 6:30 am wearing warm up pants, a full sleeved running shirt,a half sleeve shirt, a half sleeve sweater , a windcheater, gloves and two layers of socks with sandals. I had my usual two bananas and a handful of pecans and almonds for 'breakfast' and carried 2 Gu gels with me.  At the lift waiting area I met Sri Bodkhe - an accomplished runner from MA who was running the MHRM for the 4rth time. We walked down together to board the bus to the start point. The ride to the start point seemed fairly short as Sri and I were busy chatting. We got there a little after 7 am.  In the start area the race organisers had thoughtfully arranged for fire in the four  fireplaces in the pavilion to enable runners to stay warm.  Sri and I hung out near the fire for some time. Soon after I changed into my shorts and shoes and removed one layer of socks and the half sleeves sweater and we joined the port-a-potty queue.  Apart from the target race time the main topic of conversation among runners was the number of layers they were going to wear at the start with the temperature still around 45F/7C. I was getting a bit psyched up as most runners were talking about timings between 2:45 and 3:30. Anyway at about 8:15 am I removed my windcheater and checked in my bag. After taking a leak again, this time in the woods, Sri and I went to the start line. Sri was in the front as he was looking at a time between 3:25 and 3:30.  I stood shivering along with Larissa the 3:40 pacer - it was a bit too cold for me. There seemed to be about 1000 runners at the start. Many runners were wearing full sleeves shirt as well as gloves. Just a few minutes before race start I decided to run in a single (full sleeves) layer and discarded my half sleeves shirt  There was not much fanfare at the start and it reminded me of  Runners For Life races. This race is indeed organised by Hudson river runners club. The race started exactly at 8:30 am.

The Race

As I took off I felt good despite the cold. After just a couple of hundred meters I decided to pull ahead of the 3:40 pacer and try and keep the 3:35 pacer in sight. After going through the flat city roads we entered the bike trail at mile 4. With a small field the race picked up pace from the get go. My first three miles were at 8:16 , 8:14  and 8:02 pace which means I was in touching distance of the 3:35 pacer. Just before mile 5 we plunged down a big hill and then entered the best part of the course - with the Mohawk river on the left and a canopy of trees on the right. I had to be a bit careful running over the damp fallen leaves which we encountered many a times on the bike trail. At this stage I was running a pretty steady pace as the mile splits below show. Though a fairly narrow bike trail the runners were sufficiently spread out so I did not feel crowded out on the route. There were aid stations every 2 miles with water and Gatorade. These were organised either by local high schools or running clubs. The volunteers in these aid stations were very enthusiastic in cheering and encouraging the runners as they held out their paper cups. I generally slowed down at every alternate aid station after mile 6 to take either water or gatorade. I had my first Gu Gel around mile 10 and the second one around mile 16. Miles 5 through 11 were fairly flat with some minor rolling hills. At mile 11 there was a steep downhill which led to the only big uphill in the course around mile 12.4. The hill took a bit of effort and it had an impact on mile 14 pace as well. I hit the halfway point pretty much on target at 1:48:xx. By this time the 3:35 pace group had pulled ahead and I could no longer sight them. Nevertheless I ran very well till mile 18 - in fact mile 18 was my second fastest mile of the race as I wanted to get on the other side of the railroad crossing at the earliest. While the race organisers had a timing mat at the railroad crossing to account for the delay in case runners were stopped by a passing train. I was thankful this did not happen on this race day - stopping for a few minutes  during a run usually impacts my rhythm and momentum. The possibility of stoppage due to a train crossing was one big disadvantage of this race due to which I thought very hard about selecting this race. Miles 19 through 21 were through town  - in this stretch we had to dodge traffic cones which is the only separation between runners and oncoming traffic. Though this stretch was flat this is where I began to lose it both physically and mentally. With no trees and open roads I began to feel cold even though the temperatures had risen. I  was glad I had not discarded my gloves something I considered doing half way through the race. I somehow lost focus and was getting bothered with the narrow area for runners and my pace began to drop considerably.  Up to mile 18 I ran faster than 8:20 miles except miles 13 and 14. From mile 19 onward the pace was slower than 8:25.  From mile 22 onward we were back on the bike trail heading to the finish at the riverfront park in Albany. Though I was keeping an eye on the average pace and reached the 22 mile mark in my target time of 3:03  I seem to have somewhere miscalculated the time/distance/pace and did not quite realise how close I was to 3:40  till the time Larissa - the 3:40 pacer -overtook me half way between  mile 25 and  mile 26 egging  me on to speed up to meet the 3:40 goal. I figured  at this point that my Garmin was probably a bit off. Though I knew 3:38 was not going to be achievable I was running under the impression that I would finish close to 3:39. However, the toes of both my legs were numb - not quite sure whether it was due to the cold or whether they were cramped. In any case the last mile and a half was a tremendous physical and mental struggle . The finish clock was just past 3:39:30 when I first sighted it and made the last frantic push to the finish line completing a few seconds behind the 3:40 pacer. And the display monitor just behind the finish line showed my (gun) time as 3:40:11. I was slightly dizzy and cold - so I was glad when a volunteer gave me an Aluminium foil wrapper along with the finishers medal. My sister and brother-in-law welcomed me enthusiastically a few meters from the finish line. As the detailed results were being printed and posted on a wall close by I waited anxiously for the sheet with my name to go up hoping fervently that I had managed a chip time within 3:40. I was mighty relieved and thankful to my stars when I saw my chip time of 3:39:57.  I had indeed met my goal of BQ'ing!! Albeit by the smallest of margins of 3 seconds.  Shaving exactly 9 minutes off my previous best at SCMM 2012 was a great achievement - however I was disappointed that I could not finish closer to 3:39 - it could so easily have been a few seconds on the other side of 3:40!!

Few seconds after the finish

Wrapped in Al foil - speaking to the wife

The mile splits as per my Garmin  which showed 26.35 miles and finish time  of 3:40:07 :

1. 8:15.54   7. 8:14.32  13. 8:20.79 19. 8:24.72      25. 8:35.25
2. 8:13.65   8. 8:17.28  14. 8:22.97 20. 8:34:47      26. 8:42.63
3. 8:01.43   9. 8:10.82  15. 8:15.87  21. 8:39:02   . 35  2:56:12
4. 8:15.53  10. 8:17.54 16. 8:15.21  22. 8:42.86
5. 8:13.52   11. 8:19.92  17. 8:13:02  23. 8:33.35
6. 8:11.76   12. 8.14.12  18. 8:07:33  24. 8:38.03

Official results:

• Place: 239/922
• Division:  18/74
• Splits:   1st half  - 1:48:27,  2nd half - 1:51:42,  17.7 mi  - 2:26:36,  Net  - 3:39:57 , Gun - 3:40:11 
• Pace:  8:25  (versus goal of 8:19)

Aerial view of the riverfront finish area

Post-race 

I had some chocolate milk and chips from the refreshment counter - did not feel like eating a whole lot. After a bit of stretching I walked up to the baggage bus and collected my bag. Then had some hot tea and slowly walked/shuffled  back to the hotel room (half a mile away) with my sister and brother-in-law. I had a quick shower before we checked out of the hotel room - I had managed to get 2 additional hours beyond the normal check-out time of 11:30 am for no extra charge. We then went for a 'celebratory'  buffet lunch at an Indian restaurant in Albany before heading back to Southbury. I spoke to  a few people during the drive including my coach Bill and a couple of cousins living in the US. While I was fatigued and quite sore I could not sleep during the drive. A lot of ifs and buts kept going through my mind - Did I not push hard enough in the last 5 miles? What if I had lost a few more seconds at one of the aid stations ? Did I run the first half too fast? Or should I have run the first half slightly faster - knowing that I would inevitably slow down in the last 5 miles?  It is normal for any runner to go through such what ifs post a race - in this case it was more so due to the narrow margin by which I met my goal of BQ. We celebrated in the evening with a couple of home made margaritas- nevertheless I could barely sleep that night. I kept tossing and turning and the race route, the aid stations, the finish timing  etc kept going through my mind the whole night!!

Closing thoughts 

Overall it was a well organised point to point race with a net elevation loss. There was very little spectator support during most of the route though a few people did cheer us on at various points despite it being a cloudy and chilly morning. The aid stations were well stocked and the volunteers there were very enthusiastic. Except for the road portion through the city between miles 18 and 21 the route is very pretty.

When I set myself the goal of BQ'ing in  2010 the qualifying time for 55-59 age group was 3:45. When the qualifying timing for 55-59 age group changed to 3:40 as a result of the changes made by BAA in February 2011 I pretty much gave up the thought of BQ'ing. However, during the retreat at Furman University in July 2011 after observing me for 4 days coach Bill Pierce stated that with  the right  training and focus on fewer races I should be able to achieve sub 3:40. I formally trained for the Hyderabad marathon August 2011 using the 'Run Less, Run Faster' training program and hit 3:51:48 - my PB at that time. I further reduced it to 3:48:57 at SCMM 2012 the second time I used this training methodology. Thanks to the constant and prompt guidance and inputs from Bill in my 3rd(and this time I followed the program with much greater rigor compared to the two previous times) I was able to go sub 3:40. I certainly could not achieved this without the constant encouragement and guidance from Bill. I do feel confident that I can better this time by 1-2 minutes over the next 11 months. The low-mileage, intensive FIRST training program works for me - so I see no reason to discontinue it and move to one of the numerous high mileage training programs that are available.

Training for this race has been the single most area of my life's focus since June 2012 and  I tried my best to balance this with other aspects of family life and not impact spending quality time with the family members. I am extremely thankful of their implicit and explicit support and encouragement towards this endeavor.

My sister and brother-in-law who hosted my for 7 weeks at Connecticut and put up with my maniacal work and exercise schedule had a big role in the success of achieving my goal.  My sister took great care of my dietary needs during this period. Plus they sacrificed watching the finals of the T20 world cup to drive me to/from Albany and were there at the finish line to cheer me and take pictures.

Others who definitely helped me along this journey are good friend and running coach Dharam who promptly responded to my mail and phone queries with his inputs, Dr Gladson of AttitudePrime who patiently taught me about 15  stretches which helped me get over the stress of my left calf and glutes and last but not least the numerous friends from the running group BHUKMP who were encouraging of my efforts all along.

I now look forward to a few weeks of easy training and enjoying a relatively relaxed 50Km race with no timing pressure at the Bangalore Ultra on 10th November . After the Ultra I hope to start a 7 or 6 weeks training program for SCMM 2013 the week of November 19th or November 26th with a target of a sub 3:38 again!!. 

2nd half of training for the Mohawk Hudson River Marathon

This is a fairly long post - more like a diary log of the last 7 weeks of my 16 weeks full marathon training leading up to the Mohawk Hudson River marathon on 7th October.  It is a continuation of the  previously logged training details of month 1 and month 2. 

Half way through the 10th week  of my Full marathon training I traveled to the US and did the remaining training mostly in the Southbury, Connecticut area. I  continued training using  the 'Run Less,Run Faster' program of FIRST doing 3 running workouts and 2 cross-training cycling workouts every week. For the cycling cross-training workouts as well as for strengthening exercises  I took temporary membership of  the gym in Southbury. Compared to the gyms that I have seen in India this gym had excellent facilities including a large area exclusively for stretching exercises where foam rollers, exercise bands and exercise balls of various sizes were available. With a fairly large number of folks exercising on a regular basis in the gym I was motivated to go there often twice a day to do my foam roller and stretching exercises - in the morning usually after a run or cycling workout and again in the afternoon/early evening. The mornings were a bit of a challenge. Unlike while in Bangalore my workouts during weekday mornings were usually post 930/10am due to work related meetings with India. Nevertheless, I thoroughly enjoyed using the gym and it certainly motivated  me to stay obsessively focused on stretching and strengthening during the last 8 weeks of training. I used some of the machines available in the gym during weeks 7 through 4 doing strengthening exercises for the Adductor,Abductor, glutes, hamstrings and quads. The machines here were different from the ones I am used to from the Manipal Hospital Department of sports  medicine - the weights I was able to handle here were substantially lower.  During weeks 3 and 2 I focused on strengthening through squats, lunges and step-ups rather than weights. While finishing up a stretch of the right quads using a bench in the gym I hit my right toe thumb against an iron rod resulting in a swelling and pain for several weeks. While the pain reduced substantially there was a certain discomfort in the toe thumb even on race day.

As soon as I went out for my first run in Southbury  - a 10 miler at marathon pace (8:19 per mile) on 23rd August - I realised how hilly the terrain was. The roads in the the area had lots of ups and downs some of them being fairly steep and long. Though I have run in this area earlier this is the first time I was doing a timed run.  Though I did the 10 miler as per goal  I found the 20 miler a week later to be extremely challenging. Due to the steep ascents I ended up with an average pace of 8:57/mi versus the goal of 8:49 with several 9 mins+ and 10 mins+ miles. The Garmin connect entry gives  mile wise splits.  After struggling through a 15 miler on 8th September I did the next two long runs (a 23 miler and a 13 miler) in the Fairfield Connecticut area along the Atlantic ocean. In these runs I met my target average per mile pace as well being reasonably even across the distance as is evident from the splits. The route was very scenic and there were numerous runners and cyclists on the roads on both days. I had a minor scare when I pulled my right calf in the 11th mile of the 13 miler on 23rd September and had to walk for nearly half a mile. Fortunately I was able to recover from this in a couple of days. 

For the medium distance runs as well as one interval workout I used the Larkin Bridle trail close by. It was a beautiful trail. However, like most trails it was uneven resulting in high risk of tripping and injury. I was fortunate to get away without any adverse impact in the one 15 miler, two tempo runs and a 5 x 600m intervals that I did on the trail. However, I did have a couple of (mis)adventures. While doing my first (15 mile) run on the trail I unknowingly wondered off the trail into the drive way of a house where I encountered a couple of mastiffs charging at me. Fortunately I realized my folly and stopped just in time - plus the dogs were thwarted by an electronic fence. On another day while doing a warm up run on my way to a 10 x 400m interval run a couple of great danes being walked by a lady cut loose and charged at me. I fell on the trail and the dogs were literally on my face. Fortunately I got away with a few minor bruises. However, I was too shaken up and abandoned the run that day. This however, pushed me to research the athletic tracks at the local high school.

The 400m tracks at Pomperaug High school were excellent for interval training. I also did a couple of tempo runs and a 10 miler in the area around the school - finishing the runs with a few laps on the tracks. With facilities like these in a school in a relatively small town like Southbury it is no surprise that there are lot more faster runners in the US. However, even in the US one needs to watch our for dogs. I found that dogs being walked often become aggressive on seeing a runner and the owner may or may not be able to control the dog.

I have been using the Addidas Supernova Cushion/Glide shoe (except for briefly trying out ASICS Gel Kayono 13 for a few weeks) ever since I took to long distance running over 10 years ago. I am very conservative about changing my shoe specially half through training. However, from week 11 onwards I switched to a Brooks Defyance 5 shoe and ran the race with the same shoe. More details on the shoes in a future post.

Summary of month 3 and 4 workouts :

Week of August 13th (#9)

• 1 mile/2miles/3 x 800 m  - target : 6:57/13:53/3:20; actual : 7:01/14:20/3:32/3:20/3:17
• 4 miles mid tempo run - target :  7:45/mile; actual : 10 miler in about 1:40; miles 5 and 6 at 7:45 and 7:48 - Independence day run and breakfast with BHUKMP gang
• 20 mile long run - target : 8:49/mile;actual : 1st 10 miles at 8:41/mile and then 8 miles at 8:04/mile(Fast finish long run)
• Cycling 1: 10mins Easy/1min hard,1min easy/2min hard,1min easy/3min hard,1min easy/3min hard,1min easy/3min hard,1 min easy/8mins Easy

Week of August 20th(#10)

• 3 x (2 x 1200m)   - target : 5:06; actual : 4:55/5:03/5:00/5:04/5:06/5:10
• 10 miles tempo run at marathon pace - target :  8:19/mile; actual : 8:15/mile; miles 8 - 8:41 and mile 9 -  8:38  
• 15 mile long run - target : 8:39/mile;actual : 8:27/mile;varying between 8:01 and 8:57
• No cycling this week

Week of August 27th(#11)

• 1K/2K/1K/1K   - target : 4:12/8:46/4:12/4:12; actual : 4:19/8:44/4:23/4:25
• 5 miles tempo run at marathon pace - target :  8:19/mile; actual : 7:51/mile
• 20 mile long run - target : 8:49/mile;actual : 8:57/mile;varying between 8:18 and 10:35
• Additional 6.37 mile easy run in Michigan at 8:50/mile
• Cycling 1 : 8mins Easy/6 x(2min Easy,2mins hard)/8 mins Easy
• Cycling 2 : 46 mins/20Km Moderate

Week of September 3rd(#12)      

• 3 x 600m    - target : 2:29; actual : 4:19/8:44/4:23/4:25
• 10 miles tempo run at marathon pace - target :  8:19/mile; actual : 8:09/mile  
• 15 mile long run - target : 8:29/mile;actual : 8:52/mile;varying between 8:01 and 11:09
• Cycling 1 : 45 mins/20 Kms 
• Cycling 2 : 60 mins/25.5 mins

Week of September 10th(#13)      

• 10 x 400m    - target : 1:38; actual : 1:26/1:33/1:34/1:34/1:35/1:34/1:36/1:36/1:34/1:32 (Pomperaug High School Tracks) 
• 8 miles tempo run at marathon pace - target :  8:19/mile; actual : 7:56/mile  
• 20 mile long run - target : 8:34/mile;actual : 23 miles at 8:24/mile;varying between 7:56 and 9:05
• Cycling 1 : 25 Kms/55 minutes
• Cycling 2 : 20 Kms/ 45 minutes

Week of September 17th(#14)   

• 8 x 800m    - target : 3:20; actual : 3:19/3:22/3:23/3:24/3:29/3:28/3:21/3:22 (Pomperaug High School Tracks)
• Tempo run skipped due to travel
• 13 mile long run - target : 8:19/mile;actual : 8:15/mile
• Cycling 1: 12 Kms/ 45 minutes in the Hotel gym in Austin

Week of September  24th(#15)       

• 5 x 1K  - target : 4:12; actual : 3:58/4:04/4:03/4:04/4:05 (Pomperaug High School Tracks)
• 3 miles short  tempo run - target :  7:30/mile; actual : 7:25/7:21/7:23
• 10 mile long run  at marathon pace- target : 8:19/mile;actual : 8:11/mile;varying between 8:01 and 8:26
• Cycling 1 : 19 Km/45 minutes
• Cycling 2  : 17 Km/40 minutes

Week of October 1st (#16)

• Easy 47.5 minutes run - 5.31 miles at 8:56/mile
• 4 miles easy run  ; actual : 8:37/8:03/8:11/8:24
• Cycling 1 : easy 35 minutes cycling
• Cycling 2 : easy 30 minutes cycling

Training Summary :

As would be expected over a 16 weeks period the training had its share of ups and downs. Overall I did most of the run workouts skipping not more than 4 of the 47 training runs (48th being the marathon itself!!). A few runs were surely below par, most went as per goal and some of them went better than goal. I was very apprehensive about interval training when I started the training. Half-way through I felt quite comfortable with it and towards the end I even started to enjoy it. My favorite run though remains the tempo run - I find the short/medium distance ,at faster than marathon pace but slower than 10K pace, fairly comfortable and almost all of them went better than goal. As in the past  I have been experiencing a swing of 3-5 pounds in my weight during a day.  When I started my 16 weeks training on 17th June my weight was 59.7 Kgs or 131 Lbs. In the week leading to the race the weight varied from 125 Lbs in the morning after a workout to 130 Lbs at the end of the day before going to sleep. On race day the weight was about 57.5 Kgs or 126.5 pounds. 

BQ'ed by the skin of my teeth!!

It was a suspenseful, nerve wrecking few minutes at the Albany riverfront after I crossed the finish line  in Mohawk Hudson River marathon on 7th October. The race clock had crossed 3:40 and the scrolling display monitor in the tent behind the finish line showed my 'gun time' as 3:40:11. Having started in the middle of the pack I was hoping and praying that my net time would be at least 12 seconds faster in order to be a sub 3:40 finisher. The printouts of the detailed race results including the splits were being pasted close by and the sheet with my time arrived in about 10 minutes after I completed the race. I was hugely hugely relieved that my 'chip time' was 3:39:57 - I had scraped through to a BQ by just 3 seconds. That is, as per the current Boston qualification standards I will be able to register for Boston 2014 in the 55-59 age group in the 2nd week of registration provided race spots are still left. However, this does not guarantee that I will be able to run Boston 2014 as it depends on the timings of others and if there are enough registrants who have beaten their qualifying time by over 3 seconds then I will not get a place in the race. Anyway it is too far away to worry about right now. While I am thrilled that I met my goal of BQ'ing and shaved 9 minutes off my previous best at SCMM 2012 I am a bit disappointed at not hitting 3:38 - the goal for which I had trained. However, after this training and race experience  I feel reasonably confident that 3:38 is very achievable - I am certainly going to give it a couple of more shots and try and nail it between now and September 2013 when registration for Boston 2014 will open.

There are several details about my experience of the race that I want to put down including an analysis of my mile splits. I hope to write a detailed race report  as well blog my experience of training  for nearly 7 weeks in Southbury,Connecticut within the next  2-3 weeks or so.  

Half way through the FM marathon schedule..

With a fabulous long run at GKVK (by far the best running location in Bangalore specially for long runs) yesterday(Saturday 11th August) in the company of brothers Nari and Vasu I reached the half way point of my 16 weeks FM training on a high note.  This was my first run in  GKVK  in 2012 - the last time was in December 2011 a few weeks before SCMM 2012. We did a total of 32Km+ in two loops of 17Km and 15Km+ - each loop being a mix of trail and road. My Garmin showed 20.15 miles in 2:55. 

At the half way point I feel quite positive and confident - except for a brief hiccup in weeks 7 and 8 the training has been pretty much on target. I had a sprain in lower back/hip twice in 2 weeks due to which I ended up skipping my week 7 long run (13 miles at 8:34 per mile pace). The week 8 tempo run was below par mainly due to the slushy crowded  stretch at EGL in which I ended up walking.  On the other hand I did my PB 5K in 21:51 at the Puma Urban Stampede on 5th August - beating my previous best by over a minute. When I started my formal training in the 2nd week of June my weight was just under 60 Kgs. Now at the end of week 8 the weight has stabilized to about 58Kgs which I feel is my optimal weight. 

Summary of the second month workouts : 

Week of July 16th (#5) 

• 3 x 1600 m  - target : 6:57; actual : 6:48/6:55/6:58
• 3 miles short  tempo run - target :  7:30/mile; actual : 7:24/7:45/7:29
• 18 mile long run - target : 9:04/mile;actual : 8:55/mile
• Cycling 1: 10mins Easy/20mins Tempo/10mins Easy
• Cycling 2: 10mins Easy/15 mins Tempo/10mins Easy

Week of July 23rd(#6)

• 2 x 1200, 4 x 800 m  - target : 5:06,3:20 ; actual : 5:02/5:01/3:22/3:17/3:20/3:20
• 5 miles mid-tempo run - target 7:45/mile ;actual: 7:38/7:42/7:32/7:37
• 20 miles long run - target 9:04/mile; actual : 22.16 miles at 8:53/mile
• Cycling1: 10mins Easy/15mins Tempo/5mins Easy/10 mins Tempo/5 mins Easy

Week of July 30th(#7) 

• 6 x 800 at 3:20 - modified to Yasso's 800 at 3:30 with 3 mins RI;  actual Yasso's 800 at   3:29/3:26/3:25/3:27/3:30/3:28/3:27/3:29/3:27/3:28/3:25
• 6 miles long tempo run - target :  8/mile; actual : 7:55/7:57/7:52/7:46/7:46/7:58
• 13 miles long run at 8:34/mile; Skipped the run due to a sprained side hip/lower back
• 5K at Puma Urban Stampede 2012 in 21:51
• Cycling1: 10mins Easy/20mins Tempo/5mins Easy/10 mins Tempo/5 mins Easy  

Week of August 6th(#8)

• 2 x( 6 x 400 m)  - target : 1:38 ; actual :1:37/1:40/1:37/1:42/1:36/1:35/1:40/1:37/1:40/1:40/1:37/1:40
• 3 miles short tempo run - target 7:30/mile; actual : 7:41/7:21/7:30/7:50 
• 18  miles long run - target 8:49/mile ; actual  20 miles at  8:40/mile 
• Cycling1: 10mins Easy/20mins Tempo/5 mins Easy/10 mins Tempo/5mins Easy 
• Cycling 2: 10 mins Easy/5 x (3mins hard,3mins easy)/10 mins Easy

Puma Urban Stampede 2012 official results and pictures

My net time for the 5K at Urban Stampede 2012 was 21:51 - so I shaved over a minute from my previous best of 22:55 at the Duathlon  in 2010. The team completed in 2:04:33. See results here.

Some pictures from the event:

5K PB at Puma Urban Stampede 2012

Running as the first runner as part of the Alcatel-Lucent CXS/Motive team at Puma Urban Stampede 2012 I managed to complete the 5K in just under 22:05 beating my previous best from Duathalon 2010 by nearly 50 seconds!! My previous best  at Urban Stampede was 24:54 in the 2008 edition!! I was certainly helped by ideal weather conditions and the fast pace set by a number of runners. Considering that till the previous evening I was nursing a sprain in my right lower back I am extremely satisfied with my run. On the other hand skipping my long run (13 miles at 8:34 per mile) on Saturday probably helped me. The other three runners in my team finished in between 30 and 35 minutes for a team time of 2:07 or so. Need to check the exact timings when the results are out later this week.

Riding with Harish, a colleague from Alcatel-Lucent, I left the Domlur signal at 5:10am and reached Clarke's Exotica right at 6am - we were among the first runners to get there. By 6:30am there were lots of runners around.  The holding area  and race start was outside the resort property The race was compered by Atul who is very good at this. The race was flagged off pretty much on time at 7:02 am. I took off at a reasonably good pace and completed the 1st mile in 6:43. The second mile took 7:07 probably due to a gradient just before the U turn point at 2.5Km. I was able to pick up pace in the third mile for a time of 6:59 to keep the overall 5K time just around 22 minutes! The race organisation was great - the runner name and company name in black on a black background on the bibs made it a little difficult for others to read the names. The event itself has come a long way since the 1st edition in 2008 which started with 78 teams. This year saw   participation from over 350 teams!!The top three teams in the men's category were all from Toyota (yet again) with terrific timings. After a sumptuous breakfast and photo shooting on the podium we left the resort at 10am and got home around 11:15am after a highly satisfying morning!! 

FM training details

As mentioned (a few times) in previous  posts  my next marathon Mohawk Hudson River Marathon is on 7th October 2012. I started my 16 weeks training program for this marathon on 18th June using  FIRST's 'Run Less,Run Faster' program with a target time of sub 3:38 to qualify for Boston marathon 2014. The essence of this program is '3Plus2', that is, 3 quality and specific running workouts and 2 cross training workouts. The 3 training workouts are: 1. Interval training  2. Tempo run 3. Long run and the cross-training workout can be either cycling, swimming or rowing or a combination thereof. 

I have been doing 5 or 6 workouts per week and complementing it with strengthening (at  Manipal Hospital Department of Sports Medicine and at home)  and stretching after each workout and a few times in the evening.  The strengthening exercises I do at home are :squats, walking lunges and step-ups. The stretches are mainly for hamstrings,quads,glutes and calves. Before the stretches I try and do exercises on the foam roller for the same areas as well as the ITB.

My best case (or ideal) weekly schedule is as follows. I have  been able to keep to it to a large extent except during travel or when I have evening work related calls/meetings or personal commitments. I would say the morning workouts have been 90%+ to plan; the evening ones have been 70% to plan!

Monday 

morning - 15  minutes foam roller exercises and stretching

evening  - 1 hour strengthening at Manipal; 20 minutes foam roller exercises and stretching

Tuesday

morning - interval training, 20  minutes foam roller exercises and stretching

evening -  40  minutes strengthening, foam roller exercises and stretching

Wednesday

morning -  35 to 45 minutes cycling,  20  minutes foam roller exercises and stretching

evening - 40  minutes strengthening, foam roller exercises and stretching

Thursday

morning - tempo run,20  minutes foam roller exercises and stretching

evening - 40  minutes strengthening, foam roller exercises and stretching

Friday

morning - rest or 35 to 45 minutes cycling, 20  minutes foam roller exercises and stretching

evening - 1 hour strengthening at Manipal; 20 minutes foam roller exercises and stretching

Saturday 

morning - long run, 20  minutes foam roller exercises and stretching

evening - 40  minutes strengthening, foam roller exercises and stretching

Sunday 

morning - rest or short easy run or cycling workout, 20  minutes foam roller exercises and stretching

evening - 40  minutes strengthening, foam roller exercises and stretching

Interval training was at the tracks at Kanteerava Stadium till last week when Department of Youth Sports and Services(DYSS) which controls access to the stadium decided to restrict access to the stadium for amateur runners. This was a real bummer as I had started enjoying the training at the stadium. Based on the strong suggestion of coach Dharam I did my this week's intervals (Yasso's 800- more on that in the next post) at Cubbon park in the stretch from the central library to the Hudson Circle gate. And surprisingly enjoyed it even more than the tracks at Kanteerva. 

Tempo runs (between 3 and 8 miles) are usually on the Indiranagar-Koramangla Inner Ring road or EGL.

Long runs (13 to 22 miles)  are usually solo at EGL - sometimes I have joined the BHUKMP Dandi at Inner Ring Road.

In the 2nd edition of the 'Run Less, Run Faster'  book (released in April 2012) the cross-training cycling workouts are described in detail and classified as Easy, Tempo and Hard to correspond in intensity with Easy, Tempo and Hard(or interval) runs. My easy cycling workout is usually at 27-30Kmph/75-80 RPM. The Tempo workouts are 30-33Kmph/80-90 RPM and the hard cycling workouts at >  33Kmph and 85+ RPM. Have found it challenge to sustain 5 minutes of hard cycling workout. 

So far I have been able to do at least 4 workouts every week including all the 3 key running workouts. Except this week(week #7) I had to skip the long run (13 miles at 8:34 per mile) due to a strain in my left hip. I am keeping fingers crossed and hoping to keep as close to the above schedule as possible for the rest of 9 weeks of my training!!

Below par start to second month training

The  fifth week (or 2nd month) of training did not start well. At both the strengthening sessions in Manipal hospital  I struggled in more than one machine. The 3 x 1600m interval training at Kanteerva was a big challenge. The target was 6:57 per mile. Did the 1st one in 6:48(a bit too fast) and the second one in 6:57 after a 1 minute rest interval. However I was quite tired at the end of this and had to take rest interval of 2 minutes before the next one. Even then I struggled to complete in 6:58 and was completely beat at the end of it!!

The 3 mile tempo run(target pace of 7:30/mile)  this morning also did not go too well. There were too many variables - old shoes,cotton shorts, traffic on IRR and shoelaces coming off. The first mile was covered in 7:24, the second in 7:45(due to the lace coming off) and had a tough third mile in 7:29. Again at the end of the run I felt very tired.

I need to heed the advice of coaches Dharam and Bill Pierce and not to do any of my workouts at faster than target pace. I need to be specially careful at the long run this weekend - maybe I need to take it easy after 4 hard weeks of training. Else it  could lead to fatigue or  injury - both of which are certainly very avoidable!!

Monthly update on 16 weeks marathon training

Completed training week four of 16 using the 'Run Less, Run Faster' FIRST program with excellent back to back tempo and long runs on 13th and 14th July. This is not usual for me - I rarely do back to back runs - there was a possibility of going out of town Saturday night so I had little choice. So far the training has been pretty much on target with 3-4 runs and 2 cross-training cycling workouts every week for the last four weeks. All the three run workouts , namely, interval run, tempo run and long run have been as per the prescribed pace In fact  the   long runs  have all been at faster than target pace - I need to avoid this in future long runs - else there is risk of fatigue or injury. eg The 1st of 5 20 miler that I did this weekend was at target pace of 8:47/mile rather than 9:19/mile - this was also my longest run in my new pair of shoes. I also had a good run in Sankarnagar (Tirunelveli district) despite strong headwinds, stray dogs, gradients on the Tirunelveli-Rajapalayam highway, wrong turn on the return, stomach cramps and warm weather. This was the only long run in which the 2nd half was much slower than the 1st half - I managed negative or close to   even splits in the other 3 long runs so far. 

I started my 16 weeks training  on 18th June  for the Mohawk Hudson River marathon (7th October) from  after building base mileage for 8 weeks. During this period my weight has dropped from 61.5Kgs to 59.5Kgs   mainly due to the consistency of exercise and some control on diet - though  I have been travelling and eating out quite a bit as well. The pain in the left glutes and left calf has reduced considerably. Not sure whether this is due to the change of shoes or due to my rigorously and regularly doing specific stretching and/or foam roller exercises after every workout. These exercises were suggested to me by Dr. Gladston of Attitudeprime. 

Summary of the workouts : 

Week of June 18th (#1) 

• 3 x 1600 m  - target : 6:57; actual : 6:55/7:02/6:58
• 2 miles short tempo run in 15 minutes(7:30/mile)
• 13 mile long run in 1:51 versus goal of 1:54
• Additional 6 mile easy run
• Cycling1: 10min Easy/20min Tempo/10min Easy
• Cycling 2: 10minEasy/3 x(2min Hard,2min easy)/10min Easy

Week of June 25th(#2)

• 4 x 800 m  - target : 6:40/mile ; actual : between 6:29 to 6:38 per mile
• 6.5 miles tempo run at 7:57/mile versus goal of 8:19/mile
• 15 miles long run at 8:50/mile versus goal of 9:04/mile
• Additional 6 mile easy run 
• Cycling1: 10min Easy/10min Tempo/5min Hard/5min Easy
• Cycling 2: 10min Easy/5 x(1min Hard,1min easy)/10min Easy

Week of July 2nd(#3) 

• 1200m/1000m/800m/600m/400/200m; target pace : 6:48/6:43/6:40/6:38/6:32/6:16; actual pace: 6:41/6:35/6:37/6:25/6:21/5:33

• 7.5 miles tempo run at 7:54/mile versus goal of 8/mile
• 17 miles long run at 8:33/mile versus goal of 9:04/mile 
• Cycling1: 10min Easy/20min Tempo/10min Easy 
• Cycling 2: 10min Easy/3 x(2min Hard,2min easy)/10min Easy

Week of July 9th(#4)

• 5 x 1000 m  - target : 6:43/mile ; actual : 6:14/6:43/6:34/6:35/6:38 per mile
• 6.5 miles tempo run at 7:57/mile versus goal of 8:19/mile
• 15 miles long run at 8:50/mile versus goal of 9:04/mile 
•  Cycling1: 10min Easy/8min Hard,2min easy,8min Hard/10min Easy 
• Cycling 2: 40min Easy

Week 1, Day 1 of 16 weeks marathon training

Started my 16 weeks marathon training using the FIRST  'Run Less, Run Faster'  program today with  3 x 1600m interval training at Kanteerva stadium. This program requires one to do 3 specific runs and 2 cross-training sessions per week. The three training runs are: interval training, tempo run and a long run. Each of the 48 runs has a specific pace/timing goal. Of these, the interval training is definitely my least favorite - in fact I am always apprehensive before the interval run and usually want to get it over with as the 1st run of the week.Today though  I was  pretty much on target with 6:55, 7:02 and 6:58 versus a target of 6:57. Though I had been very busy the previous few days with inadequate sleep perhaps the fact that I was working out after a low mileage week(20Kms) ,  running after a break of 2 days and the cloudy weather helped me.  This was my 2nd run with  a new pair of Addidas Supernova glide 4 - a family of shoes that I have stayed with for the last 9 years.

There are of course several different marathon training programs out there- I have for now decided to stay with the FIRST program.  I recently acquired the 2nd edition of the book which has several improvements over the 1st. The tables are both in Kms and Miles. The sections on cross-training as well as stretching and strengthening are more specific and detailed. In general, I found the flow to be better. This is the 3rd time that I will be using the program. Both the previous times - Hyderabad marathon 2011 and SCMM 2012 - I fell short of my target. This time I am training for a marathon pace of 8:19 per mile with the goal of completing the Mohawk Hudson River Marathon on 7th October   in 3:38 and qualifying for Boston marathon 2014 in the 55-59 years age group. I used the last two weeks to do interval training and tempo run after a gap of 5 months.  I am continuing to do strengthening two days a week at Manipal hospital. Based on advice from several sports physios I am also trying to spend adequate time stretching(specially my calves and glutes) after a workout. 

For the record my weight after the 1st day of training was 59.7Kgs close to my target optimal weight of 59Kgs. It is quite amazing how my weight varies  as much as 1.5 -2 Kgs between the morning and night - not sure if so much variation is normal. The picture below was taken just after the workout:

PS.  By the time I completed this post I also did my tempo run for this week - which was a 2 miler at a short tempo pace of 7:30 per mile after a 2 mile warm up.