Run, walk or crawl at TMM 2020?

TMM 2020, my annual must do FM ,is just about 7 weeks away and I have been off running or any form of excercise since abandoning my last run on 10th November. This is turning out to be the worst ever running season causing severe angst and  depression to even a seasoned runner who has been constantly in and out of injuries for the last decade. Have been pretty much taking rest from excercise after deciding to not run the Spice Coast Marathon in Cochin on 1st Dec - the third DNS of my career. While the ankle is much better it does not seem to be have healed fully as it is still hurting  around the bone on and off. Prolonged the break from 2 to 3 weeks and now in a dilemma whether to prolong one more week or try out a short easy run in the next day or two. Either way I will, at best, have time to do no more than two 25Km+ runs so maybe better to give it one more rest. Will probably take a call early in the coming week.  I am now mentally reconciled to the fact that, barring a miracle, this will likely be my slowest ever FM at Mumbai. Whether I should set any timing goal will depend on  how it goes once I resume running. Nevertheless,  I am determined to run, walk or crawl to complete the race within the stipulated 6.5 hrs time to keep my streak at Mumbai alive and also to complete at least one FM event for the 2019-20 season. 

Forced break..another washed out season

After struggling to a below par 3:14/33K in the most critical training run, on 3rd November, for Spice Coast Marathon I was anyway on the verge of backing out from the event. I did not see a point in incurring travel and stay costs to either run a 4h+ FM or run just a HM. However, postponed the decision till after the next two long runs , that is, 25K on 10th November and 32K on 17th November.

When I stopped after just 3K of the 25K run due to niggle in the left quads, pain in the right ankle and super negative thoughts in the mind it was game over for the Cochin event. The mind started looking for reasons to justify the struggles with long runs including the switch to vegan diet.   The last straw was when Dr. Basavaraj, an ortho at BGS hospital, whom I consulted due to increased pain, tenderness and swelling in the right ankle, diagnosed it as peroneal tendonitis and advised rest from any physical activity of the lower limbs for 3-4 weeks! In a way it was a blessing in disguise as my long training runs were among the worst ever and I would have probably struggled to do a sub 4 hr marathon even on a flat surface. This would have further hurt my confidence in my ability to do a sub 3:47 ever again.  However, now targeting a time goal for even the Mumbai marathon on 19th January 2020 looks futile. As I will be left with just 5 weeks of training assuming I can restart running from 1st Dec. This means the 2019-20 is another washed out season - the 4rth one in last 5 years.

Well such is a runners life : injuries popping up at the most unexpected of times and derailing plans for the season. Given how the last few seasons have gone  I need to seriously introspect as to whether I should:

A) give up on timing goals for FMs and just run for completion and maybe switch to slow ultras(albeit flat, road runs)  OR g

B)  stop running marathons/ultra marathons and stay with easy runs of shorter distances

While I very well know B) is sufficient from a health and fitness perspective andis probably the logical thing to do it is unlikely the heart will allow me to stop making attempts at FM timing goals for a few more years!!

A make or break month - November 2019

In my long distance running career,  that started sometime in 2001, I hit peak form between June 2011 to August 2013 achieving PBs in 10K, HM and FM distances and qualifying for the Boston marathon. Since then it has been a steady downhill with perennial niggles in the left glutes and left sole hitting the nadir in 2017.  While I continued to enjoy my running  and be fit and healthy for my age , it was a disappointing realisation that the days of setting time targets and achieving them were over.  With minimal running and focused strength training  from mid 2017 to mid 2018 (including a personal strength trainer for the first time ever) it looked like the niggles had been overcome and I had a decent run at the challenging course of The Malnad Ultra in Oct 2018. Then I narrowly missed my goal at TMM 2019 in spite of training well for it. And it has been back to square one or actualy square minus one since then.  The niggle in the left glutes has been replaced by one in the left quads/IT Band with the numbness in the sole showing up on almost all longish runs specially on gradients.Unable to put the right finger on the issue to get it fixed has been very frustrating and demotivating.

Nevertheless, I decided to make another attempt at sub 3:48 FM (and  BQ ) at , the flat as a pancake, course of  Spice Coast marathon  in Cochin on 1st December 2019 . The ten weeks training post the Mysore celebration half on 22nd September has not been going well. There has not yet been a single week when all 3 training runs(interval, tempo and long run) have gone as per target pace. The intervals have been by and large fine(except the one this week which I ran the day after a 13K at MP).  The tempo runs are going ok. The strange thing is the mental and physical struggle in completing the long runs when in the past I have usually completed 32K or even 36K training runs well within the target time.  This is playing on my mind to such an extent that, for the first time in 18 years of distance running, I am no longer enjoying the long runs. In fact I am starting to dread them and the thought of sticking to shorter distances and giving up on racing has crossed my mind more than once.  This does not seem to be just due to the stress in the quads and left sole which increases even with a few meters of elevation. The increasing dogs, dust and traffic on my usual running routes as well as higher than optimal weight and slightly worn out shoes are probably playing their role. Also the frequency of the strain in my right hip/abdoemen has increased- it occurred this week for the 3rd time in the past year or so.

With just about 7 targeted training runs left, before the Spice coast marathon,  the next 4 weeks is critical not just for achieving the FM timing goal but to determine the psyche and course of my future running career.  Am giving it all I can by running the two remaining  long runs (35K on 3rd November and 32K on 17th Nov) on relatively flat courses, dilgently working on strengthening of glutes, quads and calves, recovering through weekly workouts in the swimming pool and taking it easy two days  before the long runs. In spite of this if the long runs and/or race on 1st Dec goes badly or is not enjoyable then a serious introspection on future running plans and goals will be in order.