Bib# 19428, Wave 3, Corral 2..all set for The (Boston) marathon experience

Arriving at Connecticut, US with just about 2 weeks( and 5 easy training runs)  to go for the 118th edition of the Boston Marathon marks the beginning of  the end  of the journey that started nearly 3 years ago. Qualifying and running in Boston was an aspiration ever since I did my first sub 4 hour marathon  at the Sun Trust National Marathon in March 2009. However, I pretty much gave up the on this goal  after the Feb 2011 announcement tightening the qualifying standards by 5 minutes from 2012 onwards as I now needed 3:40 instead of 3:45 to qualify in the 55-59 years age group.  But then the PB sub 46 minute finish  at TCS open 10K in June 2011 and the interaction with coach and author Bill Pierce at a customised  FIRST running retreat in Greenville, SC in July 2011 gave me confidence that with focus and structured training I might be able to get there. Subsequently my main goal for 2012 was to qualify for Boston 2014 and I trained and picked my events accordingly.  I squeaked to a BQ by 3 seconds  at MHRM in Ocotber 2012 and managed to beat my BQ by 2 mins 40 seconds at SCMM 2013. In September 2013 this enabled me to get an entry into the 2014 edition of the  race - after a tense waiting period of  over 2 weeks after the registration opened. And now over 6 months later I am maha excited to be on the verge of running my 41st FM (including 7 ultras)  in the world's oldest and most hallowed marathon event and achieving one of my long term running goals!!

 Whether to give it all and race at Boston or simply soak in the experience and the ambiance and enjoy the 'once in a life time' event is now the dilemma that I am brooding over. Reflecting on my future running goals , while this may not be the ONLY time I run Boston  I don't expect to run it many times . I may do it  a couple of more times if I manage to qualify -   Boston and Big Sur marathon in the same year(2016?) and then maybe once in my 60s(2019?).  The 2013-14 running season has not been a great one for me -  a tear in the right calf muscle just before the TCS 10K in May resulted in a below par start to the season.  Post that race I took some time off and trained 10 weeks for the Airtel Hyderabad marathon. However, the race on 25th August did not go too well and I finished in 3:46:20 -  a good 10 minutes + slower than my target time. While I did well at the 7th Bangalore ultra I started suffering from severe pain in left glutes and calf and numbness in my left sole during my long runs while training for SCMM 2014.  As a result I missed my PB by  9 minutes in the race in January.  And the training for Boston 2014 which started a couple of weeks after Mumbai(11 weeks training instead o 16 weeks) has been a mixed bag. Due to the stress with the left  glutes, hamstrings and calf and numbness in the left front sole ( now pretty much diagnosed as piriformis syndrome  - more details in a future post)  - the training runs have been inconsistent - falling short of  the timing goal for at least one of the 3 workouts( intervals, tempo, long run)  in most weeks. Though some specific stretches 
(Neural flossing) and strengthening exercises (which I restarted at Manipal hospital from February) helped me feel better after the workout the pain/stress still appears  during a moderately hard run and the glutes continue to hurt when sitting for quite some time after a workout. I have been hesitant to push myself in the training runs  and risk further aggravating the injury.  Also more than normal amount of travel in February and March has impacted my training. The second half of March was specially disruptive with travel to Tirunelveli, Chennai and Pune in a space of 10 days. Less intense training and frequent eating out coupled with a glass or two of wine (I normally avoid alcoholic drinks completely in the last 6 weeks leading up to a race )has resulted in  my weight  increasing by 3 Kgs+ (from optimal race weight of 55 to about 58). Therefore not being in the best of shape means it is easier to decide not to push hard and race at Boston and instead enjoy the spectator support and the historic course.  I will most likely carry my phone to take pictures along the way - something I do only in events that I am NOT racing in. 

The only time I have run a large marathon before I did not have a great timing though I had a fantastic experience. The London marathon in April 2007 was my slowest ever(4:47:56). Even if I were in a better shape and completely injury free this race looks to be quite challenging due to several other factors.  Being in Wave 3/Corral 2 my race start time is 11am. To get to the athletes village in Hopkinton near the start area between 9 and 930 am  I will need to take a bus from Boston between 8 and 830am. This means I will need to leave Bedford (where I will be staying) around 7am.  So not sure what I should eat and when. Some food and beverages is likely to be available at the Athletes village. I typically eat bananas and some nuts 1 to 2 hours before the race start soon after waking up. In this case I would be up at least 5 hours before the start of my race which will be a new factor to contend with. Also, the comfort level during the 1 hour +  wait at the athletes village will depend very much on the weather - I am of course rooting for dry and warm ( or not too cold) conditions. Due to the unfortunate incident in Boston 2013 understandably security has been tightened up for this year's race. So there will be no baggage check-in allowed at the start point in Hopkinton. One has to check in gear in the transparent bag provided for the purpose (in the expo at the time of bib pick-up) before boarding the bus in Boston. This means depending on the weather one may need to discard some additional layers before starting the race. And crazy runners in this country are actually shopping specifically for things to wear and discard on race morning. 

BAA has been sending frequent mailers to participants for the last few weeks explaining the security policy, getting to the start area, the waves/corrals etc. All of this information is summarised here. The weather on race day will be another crucial factor for my performance. Detailed analysis of past race day weather can be found at Boston Marathon Weather History and Impact on Results and Boston Marathon Weather: Not as Crazy as You Think.  Personally, cold weather does not work well for me and I prefer temperatures around 15C . Depending on the weather one will need to decide what combination of half-sleeve and/or full-sleeve shirt to wear. As of now the weather forecast for 21st April is  sunny with high of 11 C and low of 8 C which, though not too bad,  is on the colder side  for me. If this forecast stays then I will  need to run in full sleeves and also wear gloves. 

The race itself is likely to be quite fast paced as most of the 36000+ runners have come through the BQ route(others coming through charity or running clubs).  The corral cut-off times for this year's race depicted below  shows how the race has become progressively faster over the years( With my qualifying time I would have been in wave 2/corral 8 in 2013  instead of the wave 3/corral 2). I am pretty much in the middle of the pack with over 19000 runners ahead of me and some 17000 or so behind me.

The race route passing through 8 towns and cities(Hopkinton, Ashland, Framingham, Natick, Wellesley, Newton, Brookline, Boston) is not an easy one. The first 15 miles are mostly flat/rolling hills after a steep drop in the 1st mile. From mile 15 onwards one is going to be climbing and dropping for the next 9 miles. None of these hills ,up or down, seems to be a killer on its own. However, the cumulative effect can be quite devastating if one is not careful. I am for sure not a strong hill runner. The hill in Newton after mile 16 is considered by many to be the toughest one.Mile 19 has another tough hill and then the famous Heartbreak hill at mile 20. Miles 21,22 and 23 have several downhill stretches some of them quite steep that could batter the quads. Though I have been training for a  MP of 8:17/mile(for a sub 3:38 finish) I am unsure of my race strategy as of now. Given the tough last 10 miles I am looking at a conservative start to hit mile 15 in about 2:08 at an average pace of 8:30 per mile and then try and keep an average pace of 9 per mile for the remaining 11 miles to finish under 3:50. I am hoping this will be my worst case time and if the first half goes well and if I hit the half way point in around 1:48 and feel energetic then I will probably skip taking pictures(even with the Wellesley girls - something strongly recommended by a dear fellow BHUKMP runner ) and push for  a sub 3:45 finish. I am not going to finalise this till race day morning based on the weather and how I feel at the athletes village.

Finally, would  like to conclude this post with kudos to the runners who have done over 25 consecutive Boston marathons;  Every race, specially the large ones, have a number of runners on a streak - but 25+ consecutive Boston marathons needs really special mental and physical endurance!!

50K PB at the 7th Bangalore Ultra

A fastish first half ,a fall between km 29 and km 30, a PB time of 4:52:22, a 2nd place finish in the senior category (and fifth overall) sums up my 7th consecutive 50Km+ finish at the Bangalore Ultra on 9th November 2013. Though I felt that I could perhaps have managed a  sub 4:45 finish if I had not  lost time due to the fall around 29Km ,overall I was very satisfied with the outcome and the experience. In a way it was probably a blessing in disguise that the fall forced me to slow down as I was running at a faster pace than I had planned to. Having done my regular interval and tempo workouts as per my 'Run Less,Run Faster' based FIRST training program pushing harder on a 50Km run could potentially have increased the risk of injury and fatigue and disrupted the rest of my training for SCMM 2014. The good thing was the bruises due to the fall were minor and my recovery was quite fast. Most of the soreness was gone within 36 hours after the run and I was even able to climb up and down staircases quite comfortably. It usually takes me 3 days before I am able to do that. As a precaution I skipped the scheduled  interval training workout of the week following the race. However, I was able to do a 10K tempo run and 21K long run at the targeted paces fairly easily. 

Waking up at 3:35 after about 4.5 hours of sleep I had 2 small bananas and some walnuts and salted pecans before leaving home at 4:20 am.  As in 2012 I left Domlur around 4:35 am  - with Shilpi Sahu and Shilpa Deo riding in my car(I ended up waking up Naveen who was also supposed to come with us and had overslept. He nevertheless made it to the race start on time !). We waited at the ORR/Hennur road junction for a fellow runner Rajesh Swaminathan's car to join us. Following the well laid out RFL banner directions from the point of right turn from Hennur road we reached the start point at Kingston county just after 530am. After warming up, checking in a bag and using the port-a-loo I was at the starting line by 545am. As usual met up and chatted with a number of familiar runners from around the country while warming up - it was quite a nippy morning.  Post the  customary announcements regarding the race, route, aid stations etc by A1 and A2 the 50K run was flagged off ,on the dot, at 6am, by Rev. Samuel Reddy - a 11 times finisher of the gruelling Comrades marathon.

I started  at about 5:20/Km pace and was joined by Pani around the 2nd Km. We ran the 1st half of the race pretty much together. As a result  I ran faster than planned - completing the 1st 25Km in about 2:12 at an average pace of 5:17/Km versus a goal of 2:20 or so. I had the (Powerbar) energy bar in two installments : at about 18Km and then 27Km. After picking up some water at the aid station at Km 27 I was chatting about my race strategy while running along with a fellow runner bicycling the trail when I tripped on a stone and fell down quite hard. In the process  I scraped both my knees and  my left palm(lesson: never take your eyes of the route specially on a trail where stones, roots and generally uneven terrain is part of the course).Getting up after a couple of minutes I slowly continued my run with blood streaming down both my knees. At the next aid station I washed my knees and hands and with the help of Jaggi sprayed relispray in all the bruised areas. Though I felt much better after a few minutes I decided not to push myself and continued at between 5:30 and 6:45/Km pace. I stopped at every aid station to have water,enerzol and some salted peanuts. I also took a couple of short walk breaks in the 2nd lap. I sensed that I would comfortably better my Ultra 2012 timing of 5:07:31 and if I remained steady do a sub 5. I managed that easily with 6:01 and 5:49 in Kms 49 and 50 finishing 2nd in the senior category behind Pani!

Though it became quite warm towards the end of the 2nd loop it was not very hot. In fact my hands and finger tips were cold till the end of the 1st lap. Another unusual thing about this run was I stopped for a loo break 3 times - in the past it has been once for sure and sometimes twice in the ultra. 

A number of friends did their best times and/or longest distances - though the number of true ultra runners is still much smaller than the non-ultra distance runners in this event the Bangalore Ultra has certainly helped a number of runners achieve distances much beyond their imagination a few years ago!!

I left Kingston county at about 12 after lunch and got back home by 1PM.

The video of the event shot by Runners for Life is available here.

PS. This race report is very late - I started it about 2 weeks ago but could not complete it due to travel over consecutive weekends. 

Less than a week to the 7th Bangalore Ultra

Looking forward to completing  my 7th consecutive year of 50Km or longer run at the Bangalore Ultra on Saturday 9th November 2013. SCMM in Mumbai ,the 10K in Bangalore and the Bangalore Ultra are three events that I have run every edition.  The first five editions of Bangalore Ultra were held in a trail at Hesarghatta . In 2012 the race moved to a new route in the bamboo forest off Hennur road. The first edition in 2007 was an out and back loop of 6.5Km  each way- so runners ran multiples of 13Km. The ultra runners ran 4 loops to do 52Km. In subsequent years at Hesarghatta the route was standardised to an out and back loop of 6.25Km each way so that participants ran multiples of 12Km. And then from 2012 the new route at Hesarghatta is 12.5Km out and back for a loop of 25Km. 

As in the past I do not plan to race at the ultra. That is, I plan to run at a moderate pace without pushing myself too much. The intent is to reduce chances of injury and conserve energy for the two important races of the season , that is, SCMM on January 19th  2014 and the Boston marathon on April 21st 2014. Depending on how it goes in first half of the race my goal would be to do better than the time of 5:07:31 in 2012 - in any case keep it below 5:25; My 50Km timings over the years has been  5:50 in 2008, 5:22:29 in 2009 and 5:24:17 in 2011.

My strategy will be run at an average pace of under 5:30/Km to complete the 1st 25Km in under 2:30 and then pace myself comfortably to try and finish in around 5 hours. Followed the same last year and did the first 25Km in 2:19:19; however slowed down considerably in the second half . This was due to the lingering fatigue from my first sub 3:40 race at Mohawk Hudson River marathon on 7th  October 2012 just 5 weeks before the ultra. This year the gap between my last FM at Hyderabad and the Ultra is much more (11 weeks) so I hope to achieve a timing of just under 5 hours.

The 50Km at the Ultra  will replace the 2nd of the five 32Km long runs that are part of my 16 weeks 'Run Less,Run Faster'  training program from FIRST for SCMM on 19th January 2014 -  I anyway convert one of the five  32Km  runs (usually the last one)  into a longer one of 36Km

Marathon training post injury lay-off

Injury is a bane of all experienced/regular runners - having to stay away from something that one is passionate about due to injury of all things is a dreadful phase for a runner to go through. But injuries are a fact of life for runners. There are various statistics floating around about running injuries. One popular one is that 70% of runners will get injured in a given year. Of course this is too vague as both the definition of runner and injury can vary. Another way of looking at it is that in most cases there may not be a strict line between being injured or not. The closest a runner(specially one doing Half marathon and longer distances regularly) maybe to being 'injury-free' is when he/she is able to run freely without pain and even then the runner maybe balancing several weaknesses,imbalances, scar tissues etc.

Fortunately I have  not to be laid of weeks together due to a running related injury since I did my 2nd Full marathon in 2005. Though I have had breaks from running due tom sickness, travel and even just to give my legs and body some rest. However the 2013-14 running season started with injury woes.. While training for TCS 10K 2013 using the 'Run Less, Run Faster' training program from FIRST I got hit with pain in my left calf/ankle   and I had to consult a sports physio and adjust my goal for the race. A week before the race my right calf got hurt so bad that  I had to abandon my medium pace  training run after 2 Km or so and almost decided to skip the TCS 10K. However, I ended up running the race and while trying to push for around 45 minutes time I tore  a muscle in my right calf. Based on the Physio's advice I took 3 weeks completely off from running- doing light cycling, rowing and stretching to keep myself fit. After the TCS 10K race on 19th of May my next run was a slow 10K as part of the Mother Earth run on 9th June!!

Getting back to training after an injury layoff is quite tricky.One should pick up the pace and distance very gradually however much there is temptation to do otherwise due to the eagerness to catch up on lost training time. If the stressing demands of running are introduced at a rate and volume that the body is not ready for—especially after time off after an injury—it makes recovery difficult and makes the body vulnerable to new injuries due to compromised form. The key for a successful return is allowing the soft tissues to have the chance to adapt. More in this article in Competitor - a great online resource for running. As another article in the same site states:

A  running plan post an injury should be formed strategically based on  the following five factors:

1. 1. The severity of the injury—a stress fracture or injury that required surgery differs vastly from tendonitis.
2. 2. How long one was  sidelined from running.
3. 3. One's  fitness level prior to getting injured.
4. 4. How many years of experience one  have as a runner.
5. 5. Whether one  could cross-train during the  layoff.

Here's another nice perspective - this one from RunnesConnect on how to get back to training after injury,sickness or missing training.

In my  case after some nice easy runs during the week of 10th June to build mileage I started my training for Airtel Hyderabad marathon 2013 with 6 x 800m intervals at Kanteerva stadium on 19th June jumping into week 10 of the 16 weeks 'Run Less, Run Faster' training program. I did not push myself during the intervals which I was doing after a break of over 2 months. The 33Km slow run up and down Nandi hills on June 23rd was the longest run since SCMM in January 2013. Though exhausted at the end of the run there was no pain in either calf - so my injury seemed to have fully healed.

The next 8 weeks of training went off quite well. Was able to do most of the workouts - skipped a couple of tempo runs and a couple of cycling workouts due to travel. Most of the running workouts went well specially the long runs. Also managed to get in two 33Km runs and one 36Km run. And work out for about 15 minutes on the foam roller and do about 45 minutes of stretching at least once a day while not travelling. This was complimented by strength training - rowing, leg press, calf press, leg raises, squats, lunges, step ups 2 days a week.  My weight varied in the range 118 lbs to 123 lbs and body fat dipped just under 10% for the first time ever. Except during the tapering fortnight , when I am going through the usual jitters, doubts, aches and pains, overall I feel well trained , fitter than ever before and ready for my first marathon of the season!! .

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. 

'Final Countdown' to Mumbai numero 9

The next 6 days leading up to my Seventh Full marathon at the Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon  on 15th January(9th run at SCMM including the Half-Marathons in 2004 and 2005)  is going to be quite nerve wracking- I can sense the tension building up since Saturday(7th) evening. I was pretty much in the same state last year also. From my 4:42:28 finish in SCMM 2006 to the 3:52:48 in 2010 I have been successful in beating my goal every year specially at Mumbai with significant improvements in the last three years. However, this year's target of 3:45 looks daunting. This is the second Full Marathon that I have trained using the 'Run Less,Run Faster' program from FIRST. As per the race prediction table in the book I should be able to do a FM in 3:43:49 as my best HM time is well below 1:46:36( 1:43:33 at Mysore HM in Oct 2011). Nevertheless, in my previous FM of this season at Hyderabad, which was the previous FM for which I ahd trained using the FIRST program, I struggled to finish in 3:51:48. I ran a very fast first half in this race(1:45:17) which took its toll in the second half given the elevations in the course. 

To finish within 3:45 I need to do an average 5:18 per Km pace. I am as yet unsure about the race strategy to adapt this year. That is, whether to try and do almost even splits that I managed last year   or to try and do a fast first half    and sustain a good pace till 35Km. Given the way my pace has dropped in the last few Kms in the past , one option is to get to 35Km in 3:04 at an average pace of 5:15 per Km. This would leave me about 40 minutes for the last 7.2 Km at an average pace of 5:40 per Km.  Last year I got to 29.9Km in under 2:44 at 5:28 per Km. I certainly need to be much faster this year. If I were to aim for even splits then I am looking at 21K in 1.51, 30K in 2:39 and 35K in under 3:06. So my goal will be to get to the half way mark between 1:46 and 1:50, 30K between 2:35 and 2:39 and 35K in as close to 3 hrs as possible. Of course, despite all the hard training of last several weeks(which has mostly gone well) a lot depends on the next few days and the race day itself. One needs to get to the race day adequately rested both mentally and physically. This means very little running and cycling the next four days(I will do one easy 9K and another easy 7K on Tuesday and Thursday this week and nothing after that) and reasonable amount of sleep every day with no undue tensions at work.  On the race day itself there is a major dependency on the weather being favourable. One is hoping it will be at least as good as it was last year. The earlier start of 5:40am should help though the weather forecast as of now says it will be 23 Celsius at 6am going up to 27 by 10am! Finally to have a near perfect race one is praying there would be no issues with the stomach on race day , no recurrence of severe cramps and ache in the left glutes and hamstrings and the shoelaces don't come off(well even a few seconds matter!). I may even avoid taking a leak during the race or chewing on a energy bar and depend only on water and Gatorade  to shave a few seconds - I will carry the bar with me though and decide during the course of the race. In races where I have a stringent time target I avoid talking to runners and try and stay focused on my pace - something that is tough to do at Mumbai with so many familiar runner friends. Familiarity with the route should  help. After some speculation in the press that the route might be changed this year it looks like it is going to remain the same as last year with the sea link round the 25th Km.

I would of course be thrilled to hit my target of 3:45; finishing a minute or so below 3:50 would be satisfying; not bettering my PB of 3:51:48 would be a disappointment.  One will know by this time next week. Here's wishing all friends running SCMM 2012 a great race!!

Less than 12 hours to the Mysore Half Marathon

After vacillating quite a bit I went ahead and registered for the HM in Mysore  couple of weeks ago.  I would be leaving for Mysore in a few hours along with Rich, Neera, Sid and a couple of other runners. The evening/night before a race is always a restless one for most runners and certainly so for me. This one is even more so as I know that I should probably not be running this race(My coach and mentor  Bill Pierce is quite categorical about it). I have not been unable to train much since the Hyderabad marathon on 28th August. Work schedule has been hectic and also I have not fully recovered from the niggle in my left glutes and calf which I picked up a couple of weeks before that event. So logically I should take some more rest and focus on the training for my next marathon event. However, I did not want to miss the opportunity to run a runner friendly (with RFL handling the organisation) HM event in the vicinity. Moreover, I have not run a daytime HM event since May 2005.  My goal is   to use this race to get over the disappointment of not meeting my target at Hyderabad and also restart my training   using the Run Less,Run Faster program from FIRST  for SCMM 2012 which is 15 weeks away.

The  1st target is to beat my HM PB of 1:46:03 from Midnight marathon in December 2009 and if all goes well to go below 1:43. This will depend on how the 1st half goes . If I can manage the 1st half in about 49 minutes at an average pace of 4:52/Km without  much stress to my left glute and calf then I will try and do the second half in under 54 minutes. Else I will take the second half easy. Either way am looking forward to the race - the route looks pretty interesting  with the start and finish being at the famous Mysore Palace and about 4 Kms of soft path around a lake and also going through Mysore University. Hopefully there will be efficient traffic control and weather wont be too bad - both critical factors for a race starting at 6:45am. This is the first time I have seen the video of the route put up on the website for an event in India.

Countdown to Hyderabad Marathon 2011

The Hyderabad Marathon which will be my first Full Marathon of the season (the last one was at Auroville in February) is less than a week away - in fact by this time next week it will be over. And I will know whether the hard work and training of the past 11 weeks enabled me to achieve my goal of beating my previous PB of 3:52:48 achieved  at SCMM 2011 in January by over 10 minutes. Right now it looks extremely challenging - A couple of my recent long runs were below par, my usual left calf niggle seems to have resurfaced and  a light cold and sore throat has  set in over the weekend. Moreover I realise that the flyovers and gradients on the run route are going to pose quite a challenge !

Whatever the outcome I know that I have trained very hard for the race. While I have generally been following a training regimen of 3 days of running and 2 days of cycling this is the first time that I have trained specifically using the 'Run Less, Run Faster'  training program from FIRST. Though the weekly mileage using this training program has never exceeded 55Km the training has been very intense and specific. With each of the 3 training runs each week , that is, the interval run, the tempo run and the long run having quite stringent time goals. I have usually struggled in my interval runs  to meet the pace goals - the interval training has varied from 10 x 400m to 3 x 1600m with intervals of 800m,1000m and 1200m in-between. On the other hand the tempo runs varying between 5KM for the short tempo to 16Km at marathon pace were very comfortable. And so were most of the long runs varying from 21Km to 36Km. I have never done as many consecutive weeks of 21K+ runs before.

I did have two below par long runs during this period; the 1st one was on 7th August where I ran a 30K  in 2:39 at an average pace of 5:16 versus my goal of 32K in 2:46 at an average pace of 5:14 per Km.  The last 5Kms of this run was quite a struggle and I decided to stop at 30Km rather than completing the planned distance. I was probably both mentally and physically tired due to stress at work and also lack of sleep the previous night. Plus it was the 3rd consecutive day of excercise and I seemed to have had a mild stomach upset. The 2nd one on 14th August was in the hilly terrain of Yercaud. I did not find a good run route and managed a 16Km in 1:31 instead of the target of 21Km in 1:46 . In both these runs my left calf hurt towards the end and these dented my confidence a bit - however a good 20K/1:41 run yesterday has had a positive effect. Whatever the outcome next Sunday I am quite satisfied with the progress I have made using the FIRST training program and hope to make further improvements over the next 12 months or so based on valuable detailed  feedback from Bill Pierce, Scott Murr and Ray Moss - the authors of the book 'Run Less, Run Faster'.  As all experienced marathon runners know there are several factors that all need to come together on race day and many of these are beyond the runners' control.

My strategy next Sunday will be to try and reach  the half way mark as close to  1:45 as possible and sustain the pace to get to the 35K mark in around 3 hours. I have very pleasant memories of the 2008 edition of the Hyderabad marathon which was the 1st one in my journey of running 12 marathons in 12 months. I am once again  looking forward to a great running experience , meeting fellow runners from around the country and having a fun weekend!!

Run Less, Run Faster ..the 3Plus2 training program from FIRST

I just completed reading this book and have decided to try this program for my next road marathon in 2011-2012(either Hyderabad marathon in August 2011 or SCMM in January 2012). The weekly mileage advocated by this program is lower compared to most other training programs. The FIRST program suggests running on alternate days 3 times of the week. However, it specifies that each run of the week be of a different type(tempo, interval, long run) and also the intensity of the run in terms of pace. This means though the weekly mileage is lower the intensity of training is higher compared to most other programs. Another critical component of the FIRST training program is two weeks of cross-training which can be cycling,swimming etc.  And hence the 3plus2 concept.

In some form I already do the 3plus2 training. I usually run 3 days and cycle 2 days a week. I also do one tempo run and one long run almost every week. However neither of these are usually done with a target goal pace and I have never ever done interval training program. I am looking forward to doing the the 16 weeks  FIRST program with a target FM time of 3:55 in the 2011-2012 running season.