I finally did it! I am officially part of the Marathon Club, albeit the slow Marathon Club :) My finishing time was well below my expectations but I am happy (and proud) to have made it across the finish line.
When I signed up for the race back in November 2010, I had set my finish time at 4:30. As I was training for the marathon, I was feeling pretty optimistic of even pulling a 4:15-4:20 and race day excitement even had me thinking of clocking in under 4 hours! So it was a bittersweet moment as I stumbled across the finish line, some 4 hours, 52 minutes and 59 seconds later, having done one of the most physically enduring things in my life.
In hindsight, choosing a race with 1600 feet of elevation gain was probably a bad idea for a first marathon. But on the bright side, beating this time should be fairly easy in the next one :) ( Eugene 2012 anyone !?!)
I can almost divide the race into 2 sections - the first 19 miles and the last 7 miles.
Here are my official splits:
0:30:05: 5 Km
0:59:27: 10 Km
1:27:33: 9 Miles
2:08:41: Half (13.1)
3:11:39: 30 Km
4:23:18: 24 Miles
4:52:59: Full
Looking at this, I was pretty much on track to come under 4:30 at the half-way point. I had paced myself really well and felt pretty good about hitting my goal time. If you do the math, I did the second half in 2 hours, 44 minutes! And looking at my Garmin data, I did the last 7 miles (from Mile 20-Finish) in 1 hour and 40 minutes, at a whopping 14 min/mile! I'll give you one shot to guess where I hit the "wall". Here's another hint...it took me 18 freakin minutes to go from Mile 19- Mile 20 ;-(
I guess there's some element of truth to the following :
" Anyone can run 20 miles, it's the next 6 that count!"
Overall, it was a heck of an experience! And congratulations to all my running buddies, Yelena, Chris and Stacey, with all of us accomplishing what we had set out to do!
Monday, June 27, 2011
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
4 days to go!
Actually, less than that. By this time on the 4th day, I should ideally be past the halfway mark :) But yeah, if you have talked to me recently, you'll know that I am just about ready to get this over with.
After 6 months of training, logging in ~440 miles and 70+ hours of running, I am finally ready to tame this beast!
I head out to Seattle on Thursday evening after work, will hit the expo on Friday morning to collect my t-shirt/bib no. and then probably not sleep on Friday night and then crash and burn on Saturday morning. That's the worst case scenario. Or one of the many worst case scenarios that have been going on in my head over the last couple of days.
Nervousness aside, I feel pretty confident, though the enormity of the event probably won't hit me till Saturday morning when I am standing in my corral . And it'll be too late to chicken out at that point, so I am just going to go and run the race anyway. That't the plan.
In the meantime, I'll continue to look at cheesy motivational videos on YouTube to remind me why I signed up for this 8 months back and to keep me from going mad over the next couple of days.
And talking about videos, found a pretty cool video on Last Minute Marathon Tips on YouTube:
After 6 months of training, logging in ~440 miles and 70+ hours of running, I am finally ready to tame this beast!
I head out to Seattle on Thursday evening after work, will hit the expo on Friday morning to collect my t-shirt/bib no. and then probably not sleep on Friday night and then crash and burn on Saturday morning. That's the worst case scenario. Or one of the many worst case scenarios that have been going on in my head over the last couple of days.
Nervousness aside, I feel pretty confident, though the enormity of the event probably won't hit me till Saturday morning when I am standing in my corral . And it'll be too late to chicken out at that point, so I am just going to go and run the race anyway. That't the plan.
In the meantime, I'll continue to look at cheesy motivational videos on YouTube to remind me why I signed up for this 8 months back and to keep me from going mad over the next couple of days.
And talking about videos, found a pretty cool video on Last Minute Marathon Tips on YouTube:
Monday, May 30, 2011
Hitting the "Wall"
Haven't updated the blog for a few weeks but the training had been going really well...atleast until today.
Today was our longest training run before the marathon....21miles! I was pretty excited about this one, since I had been logging plenty of miles over the last few weeks and was feeling pretty good about the upcoming marathon. Of course, there was one monster that I hadn't yet encountered so far. Folks in the running community commonly refer to it as "Hitting the Wall"!
I have heard and read about hitting the "wall", where your glycogen reserves get completed depleted. What I hadn't anticipated was how crippling it is.
Normally, it hits you around the 18-20 mile mark, but being the overachiever that I am, my body decided to bring it in at mile 15. And it was one of the weirdest feelings ever. Here I was, in mid-stride, going about my business and just like that....I stopped dead in my tracks. Mentally, I could have gone for another 10 miles but physically, I couldn't go more than 0.2-0.3 miles before stopping to recover. At this point, I was pounding packs of Gu Gel and Cliff Shot Bloks to restore my glycogen levels but that feeling of hopelessness is something that I never want to experience again. It took nearly 3 miles of really slow running/walking before my energy levels rebounded enough for me to start running again and finish off the run.
Overall, it was still a heck of a run and it did teach me to fuel up better the next time I head out.
TL;DR: A glass of milk and a banana is NOT enough fuel for a 20 mile run.
Today was our longest training run before the marathon....21miles! I was pretty excited about this one, since I had been logging plenty of miles over the last few weeks and was feeling pretty good about the upcoming marathon. Of course, there was one monster that I hadn't yet encountered so far. Folks in the running community commonly refer to it as "Hitting the Wall"!
I have heard and read about hitting the "wall", where your glycogen reserves get completed depleted. What I hadn't anticipated was how crippling it is.
Normally, it hits you around the 18-20 mile mark, but being the overachiever that I am, my body decided to bring it in at mile 15. And it was one of the weirdest feelings ever. Here I was, in mid-stride, going about my business and just like that....I stopped dead in my tracks. Mentally, I could have gone for another 10 miles but physically, I couldn't go more than 0.2-0.3 miles before stopping to recover. At this point, I was pounding packs of Gu Gel and Cliff Shot Bloks to restore my glycogen levels but that feeling of hopelessness is something that I never want to experience again. It took nearly 3 miles of really slow running/walking before my energy levels rebounded enough for me to start running again and finish off the run.
Overall, it was still a heck of a run and it did teach me to fuel up better the next time I head out.
TL;DR: A glass of milk and a banana is NOT enough fuel for a 20 mile run.
Monday, April 18, 2011
Reasons for Running (a Marathon)
As more and more people find out that I am training for a marathon, the most common responses that I get are, "Why would you do that to yourself?" or "Man, that's awesome but I don't think I can ever do it" or "I can 't go beyond 5K!" or some variation of that. Notice, that there was only one question in there...and I never have a good answer for them. Or myself for that matter.
So I decided to sit down and write my main reasons for running the marathon (or running in general)
1) Loose weight/Fitness: This one's obvious. My main motivation when I first started running about 2 years back was to loose weight. And running gives you the most "bang for your buck" in terms of burning calories. Since then, I have lost about 40 lbs, gained back about 5 but still, a net of 35lbs ain't too shabby. And it's an excellent way to stay in shape and get a good cardio workout.
2) Eating without a guilty conscience: Averaging 20-30 miles/week means you are burning 2000-3000 calories. That's a lot of beer/pizza/chocolate!
3) Bragging rights: Rest assured, the day I finish my first marathon, I am going to be dropping the following sentence atleast once a day: "So when I ran my first marathon...". Ofcourse, being in Portland, this is just going to sound lame since every second person you meet here has finished a marathon and is probably better than me. But I can always move to Alabama. Or Mississippi.
4) Taking long lunch breaks: I normally do my weekday runs during lunch time. And going for 6-8 milers followed by a shower and I am away from my desk for a good 1.5 hours, 3 times/week. But my manager knows I am training and he is OK with it. Atleast for now.
5) Improved Vocabulary: Running comes with its ugly beast...running injuries.But you get to learn cool new words like the Illiotibial Band Syndrome (ITBS), plantar fasciitis, runner's knee, Medial Tibial Stress Syndrome (MTSS)/shin splints, etc. Throw these words around in your daily conversation and you'll sound totally legit.
6) You join an Elite group: Acc. to the 2009 numbers, only 0.15% of the US Population completed a marathon. That's some pretty elite company! Source
7) You start noticing the topography: After I started running , I have caught myself on more than one occasion looking out for running paths and elevation changes whenever I am in a new neighborhood. My reactions go from, "Oh, this would be a cool neighborhood to run through" to "Oh God! getting over that hill is going to suck!"
8) Meet new People: I have met a lot of new folks since I took up running and made some great friends in the process. Ofcourse, you also come across the weird ones...people who drink these nasty, moldy protein shakes ( I am talking to you Jim Nau!)*
9) Battle Scars: It's not everyday where broken toe-nails, blisters and bloody nipples make you happy. Us runners take a certain masochistic pride in them!
10) Everyone's a Winner: Running is one of the few sports where everyone is a winner. Literally! Doesn't matter if you come first or last, everybody gets a finisher medal. And I guess this is one of the most difficult concepts for people to grasp (or atleast for my friends and relatives back in India). This is a typical conversation I had when I was in India last month:
Them: So, it's a race?
Me: Yeah, I guess so.
Them: Are you going to win?
Me: Not really. The first person will cross the finish line in ~2 hours. It'll take me double that time.
Them: So, what's the point of doing it then?
Me: Because...I shrug my shoulders and shake my head as I walk away
And then I came across this beautiful gem on the Internet, "Those Mad People Who Run" [PDF] written by Uruguayan runner, Marciano Duran. If you have ever run a race, I would highly recommend reading it, 'coz you'll be able to relate to all of it.
My favorite part is:
"They enjoy the start, they enjoy the run and when they arrive to the finish line they enjoy lifting their arms because they say they have succeeded. That they have won again! They don’t realize they barely lost by a hundred or a thousand people... but they insist they have won again. They are lunatics." ...
..."They hang their medals around the house where guests can see them and ask about them. They are not well. “This one is from last month” they say trying to use their most humble tone. “This is the first one I won” omitting to say that it was given to all runners, including the last one, and the transit inspector. "
* Jim is a total bad-ass, but he is also from Ohio, so it's OK to hate on him.
So I decided to sit down and write my main reasons for running the marathon (or running in general)
1) Loose weight/Fitness: This one's obvious. My main motivation when I first started running about 2 years back was to loose weight. And running gives you the most "bang for your buck" in terms of burning calories. Since then, I have lost about 40 lbs, gained back about 5 but still, a net of 35lbs ain't too shabby. And it's an excellent way to stay in shape and get a good cardio workout.
2) Eating without a guilty conscience: Averaging 20-30 miles/week means you are burning 2000-3000 calories. That's a lot of beer/pizza/chocolate!
3) Bragging rights: Rest assured, the day I finish my first marathon, I am going to be dropping the following sentence atleast once a day: "So when I ran my first marathon...". Ofcourse, being in Portland, this is just going to sound lame since every second person you meet here has finished a marathon and is probably better than me. But I can always move to Alabama. Or Mississippi.
4) Taking long lunch breaks: I normally do my weekday runs during lunch time. And going for 6-8 milers followed by a shower and I am away from my desk for a good 1.5 hours, 3 times/week. But my manager knows I am training and he is OK with it. Atleast for now.
5) Improved Vocabulary: Running comes with its ugly beast...running injuries.But you get to learn cool new words like the Illiotibial Band Syndrome (ITBS), plantar fasciitis, runner's knee, Medial Tibial Stress Syndrome (MTSS)/shin splints, etc. Throw these words around in your daily conversation and you'll sound totally legit.
6) You join an Elite group: Acc. to the 2009 numbers, only 0.15% of the US Population completed a marathon. That's some pretty elite company! Source
7) You start noticing the topography: After I started running , I have caught myself on more than one occasion looking out for running paths and elevation changes whenever I am in a new neighborhood. My reactions go from, "Oh, this would be a cool neighborhood to run through" to "Oh God! getting over that hill is going to suck!"
8) Meet new People: I have met a lot of new folks since I took up running and made some great friends in the process. Ofcourse, you also come across the weird ones...people who drink these nasty, moldy protein shakes ( I am talking to you Jim Nau!)*
9) Battle Scars: It's not everyday where broken toe-nails, blisters and bloody nipples make you happy. Us runners take a certain masochistic pride in them!
10) Everyone's a Winner: Running is one of the few sports where everyone is a winner. Literally! Doesn't matter if you come first or last, everybody gets a finisher medal. And I guess this is one of the most difficult concepts for people to grasp (or atleast for my friends and relatives back in India). This is a typical conversation I had when I was in India last month:
Them: So, it's a race?
Me: Yeah, I guess so.
Them: Are you going to win?
Me: Not really. The first person will cross the finish line in ~2 hours. It'll take me double that time.
Them: So, what's the point of doing it then?
Me: Because...I shrug my shoulders and shake my head as I walk away
And then I came across this beautiful gem on the Internet, "Those Mad People Who Run" [PDF] written by Uruguayan runner, Marciano Duran. If you have ever run a race, I would highly recommend reading it, 'coz you'll be able to relate to all of it.
My favorite part is:
"They enjoy the start, they enjoy the run and when they arrive to the finish line they enjoy lifting their arms because they say they have succeeded. That they have won again! They don’t realize they barely lost by a hundred or a thousand people... but they insist they have won again. They are lunatics." ...
..."They hang their medals around the house where guests can see them and ask about them. They are not well. “This one is from last month” they say trying to use their most humble tone. “This is the first one I won” omitting to say that it was given to all runners, including the last one, and the transit inspector. "
* Jim is a total bad-ass, but he is also from Ohio, so it's OK to hate on him.
Thursday, March 31, 2011
March Madness!
It's been over 4 weeks since my last post, and these 4 weeks have been pretty hectic. I was on the road for 2 off the 4 weeks, some of it planned, some of it not. Had to make an unplanned trip to India, which resulted in missing out on the Shamrock 15K . I was kinda looking forward to this event since the 2010 Shamrock Run was my first ever racing event and I was hoping to get a gauge on how much I had improved over the course of the year. Guess it wasn't meant to be.
Being on the road definitely affected my running progress. I guess I still haven't reached a point where I am motivated enough to run when I am traveling. My goal at the beginning of this month was to hit 200 miles, but I am hovering around the 180mile mark at this point. Not terribly bad, still averaging ~60miles/month but I'll need to take my mileage up a notch for the next couple of months.
I figured taking a couple of weeks off from running would do me good, but man, was I wrong! First run after the break and I was gasping for breath and doubling over with side stitches. But if experience has taught me anything, it's to run through the pain (not recommended for joint or muscle pain!) and sure enough, after 2.5 brutal miles, things just seemed to click together and the World was a happy place once again. The best way to sum it would be:
"To a runner, a side stitch is like a car alarm. It signifies something is wrong, but you ignore it until it goes away"
As I close out March, I just realized that I am halfway there! 3 months to go before the Marathon and the training has gone pretty well so far. But as I look ahead, things are looking pretty intense. Looking at the training schedule, I see that the majority of my weekend runs are going to be double-digit runs from now. Not only double-digits, but I am approaching distances that I haven't encountered before. I feel pretty comfortable going up to 13 miles, but anything beyond that (15,18,22 mile runs) and it's going to be an immense mental challenge.
Let the madness continue!
Being on the road definitely affected my running progress. I guess I still haven't reached a point where I am motivated enough to run when I am traveling. My goal at the beginning of this month was to hit 200 miles, but I am hovering around the 180mile mark at this point. Not terribly bad, still averaging ~60miles/month but I'll need to take my mileage up a notch for the next couple of months.
I figured taking a couple of weeks off from running would do me good, but man, was I wrong! First run after the break and I was gasping for breath and doubling over with side stitches. But if experience has taught me anything, it's to run through the pain (not recommended for joint or muscle pain!) and sure enough, after 2.5 brutal miles, things just seemed to click together and the World was a happy place once again. The best way to sum it would be:
"To a runner, a side stitch is like a car alarm. It signifies something is wrong, but you ignore it until it goes away"
As I close out March, I just realized that I am halfway there! 3 months to go before the Marathon and the training has gone pretty well so far. But as I look ahead, things are looking pretty intense. Looking at the training schedule, I see that the majority of my weekend runs are going to be double-digit runs from now. Not only double-digits, but I am approaching distances that I haven't encountered before. I feel pretty comfortable going up to 13 miles, but anything beyond that (15,18,22 mile runs) and it's going to be an immense mental challenge.
Let the madness continue!
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Bloody Nips and Bloody, Nips!
So I made a rookie mistake today. I forgot to tape up my nips. I never thought it could happen to me. I have seen pictures of it before, men in white tshirts, crossing the finishing line with two parallel trails of blood running down their shirts. But those pictures are of men finishing half-marathons/marathons/ultras, not doing an easy 8 mile weekend run. I guess I was wrong. It didn't help that it was a chilly morning, with temperatures in the mid 20s after factoring in the wind chill.
Moral of the Story:
Running with untaped nips: Bad Idea
Running with untaped, pointy nips in cold weather: Really Bad Idea!
Now just to be clear, it was nowhere near as dramatic as shown in the picture. But it hurt and they were on fire for a good hour or so. I was dreading entering the shower, as I stood for a good 5 minutes trying to figure out how to avoid getting hot water on the affected area. Finally, decided to man up and just feel the burn! And man, did that STING!
And of course, this got me thinking about the 200,000 year old question...why do men have them in the first place? If 200,000 years of evolution can't explain it, I certainly can't but I think the message is clear: Men, tape your nips!
Moral of the Story:
Running with untaped nips: Bad Idea
Running with untaped, pointy nips in cold weather: Really Bad Idea!
Now just to be clear, it was nowhere near as dramatic as shown in the picture. But it hurt and they were on fire for a good hour or so. I was dreading entering the shower, as I stood for a good 5 minutes trying to figure out how to avoid getting hot water on the affected area. Finally, decided to man up and just feel the burn! And man, did that STING!
And of course, this got me thinking about the 200,000 year old question...why do men have them in the first place? If 200,000 years of evolution can't explain it, I certainly can't but I think the message is clear: Men, tape your nips!
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
"60% of the time it works, every time"
And I am not talking about Sex Panther. I am referring to the Runkeeper App on my iphone that I was using to track all my runs. Well, as it turns out, the damn thing is off by as much as 10% in most cases. And that's only if it doesn't lose signal or crash in the middle of the run. If I am going for a 10 mile weekend run, I want credit for the whole thing, not a measly 9! And more than the distance, it's the pace that really threw me off. So I may be scorching the trails, running at a blistering 9:30/mile and the app shows me going at a rather pedestrian 11:45/mile. Inconceivable!
So I decided to man up and bought the Garmin Forerunner 305 last week. And you do need to be a man to sport one of these, or have really big wrists, 'coz this thing is freakishly big. But it's also pretty damn cool, has a lot of neat features, and is also one of the cheaper GPS watches on the market. And most importantly, it's really really accurate! And after strapping my iphone on my arm for the last 6 months, I barely notice this thing on my hand.
Moving on to more exciting news, I ran my 100th mile of 2011 this past weekend! WOOP! WOOP! This milestone came sooner than I expected, and I have justly rewarded myself, by not running at all this week (this has more to do with being super busy at work and traveling for the rest of the week)
Also, just found out today that our friend, Stacey, will be joining Yelena, Chris and me at Seattle RnR Marathon this June. I guess what they say is true..."Misery loves company. Stupidity loves it even more!"
So I decided to man up and bought the Garmin Forerunner 305 last week. And you do need to be a man to sport one of these, or have really big wrists, 'coz this thing is freakishly big. But it's also pretty damn cool, has a lot of neat features, and is also one of the cheaper GPS watches on the market. And most importantly, it's really really accurate! And after strapping my iphone on my arm for the last 6 months, I barely notice this thing on my hand.
Moving on to more exciting news, I ran my 100th mile of 2011 this past weekend! WOOP! WOOP! This milestone came sooner than I expected, and I have justly rewarded myself, by not running at all this week (this has more to do with being super busy at work and traveling for the rest of the week)
Also, just found out today that our friend, Stacey, will be joining Yelena, Chris and me at Seattle RnR Marathon this June. I guess what they say is true..."Misery loves company. Stupidity loves it even more!"
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Running Goals for 2011
I guess I am a month late in making this post but I think it's the best place to start.
We all make New Years Resolutions and here are mine, specifically wrt running:
We all make New Years Resolutions and here are mine, specifically wrt running:
- Run a Marathon (Seattle Rock N Roll on June 25,2011)
- Run 600 miles by Dec 31,2011. (Averaging 50miles/month)
Given that I have been running for a year now, I think both of these goals are quite achievable, barring any serious injury. I have given myself 6 months to train for Seattle RnR, which is plenty , and in essence, my first goal will help me achieve the second one. Achieving my second goal may become challenging during the second half of the year, but Hood to Coast and the Columbia Gorge Half Marathon should help me keep on target.
Now having outlined my goals, I am quite proud to say that I did achieve my target for January, racking up 63 miles! But thinking back on it, maybe I shouldn't have set the bar so high in the first month! It's going to be a tough act to follow, especially with February being a shorter month and a couple of business trips planned in the next few weeks. Oh well...
Before I sign off from this first post, I would just like to give a shout out to my partners in crime, Yelena Bean and Chris Nunez, who are both doing the Seattle RnR with me. I do my long weekend runs with Yelena and Chris and also run a couple of times with Yelena mid-week. The three of us are going to be spending a lot of time running and training in the coming few months!
If any of you reading this want to get in on the action, just let me know and we'll work something out :)
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)