My LAST LONGEST RUN B4 THE MARATHON....and THE BEST RUN SO FAR!!!!!!!!

Hi to All!!!

Below are my details for this Sundays Run..

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/60087220

When you have the enthusiasm and the passion, you end up figuring how to excel. 

I guess today i can say this for myself....

Today, when i am writing this mail to you, i am feeling extremely proud of myself.....

Proud for what i managed to do yesterday....i personally did not think that i would finish so strong...

IT WAS A NEW PERSONAL BEST FOR ME..

I managed to pull off 38 kms in 4 hours and 12 minutes...

If you compare this 38km run to 38km run in LONAVALA, then you would come to know the difference..i guess since there were no slopes, the timings have bettered....

if things go this way, I am surely on my way to cross the Finish line under 5 hours on 16th Jan 2011..

This Sunday was our last longest Run....as from now on, every sunday, we would taper and do lesser distances so that our legs are fresh on the D-Day.....

I had made up my mind since last week that i wanted to finish strong when i finish the desired distance....and hence, was taking care of all that was required to maintain the same..

I was treating this Sunday as a MARATHON day and was preparing myself accordingly....

i had very bad cough and cold on Saturday morning and hence i came back from Office by Noon and took medicines and slept the entire afternoon to recover..

In the evening i started with my Carbo Loading plan...as the more carbohydrates the Body has before the long run, chances to Cramp gets lesser....

so in the evening, I had a Double Burst Cheese Pizza, with 2 bananas and while sleeping, i had 200 Gms of Flavoured Yoghurt followed by milk and slept by 1030pm...

i somehow got up at 3am and then had 1 more banana and slept to get up at 5am....

This sunday, we decided to run as per Marathon Times, and so i started my run at 556am....15 minutes prior the actual time as i could not wait any longer to start my run...( I WAS THT MUCH EXCITED TO RUN!!!!)

I started from home instead of MIG Club as did not have a car with me and did a very slow run for the 1st 2 kms as a warm- up...

then i got to my rhythm and within an hour or so, i was already at Siddhivinayak and then hit the Worli Sea Face...where i took my speed training practise to test...

i increased my speed with proper breathing ...i was not at all thinking about the time but only thing i was bothered about that i should not start cramping.....

so i ran a little fast and then got back to my original speed...when checked on my watch, i saw i was clocking almost every Km under 7mins per KM, which itself was a great achievement..

I said to myself, if i can continue this speed for the full distance, do not see a problem in completing under 5 hours...

i met the entire gang at the Haji Ali stretch, where i took a break for water, a bit of stretching, a few dates and oranges and then headed to the Pedder Road, where i knew my Wifey was waiting for me to click pictures...

when i met her, i really enjoyed that moment...felt like hugging her there and then, but i was too sweaty to do that.....i waved my In-laws when i was on the Flyover, who i guess were enjoying their cup of tea....

I took the next Mini Break at Babulnath and then started to get back to my speed at Marine Drive...

As soon as i crossed Babulnath, i started getting a pain in my left feet, which also happened at Lonavala and during my 1st 30km run...

but this pain was always happening after 25km...but when it started after 15km, i was slightly worried....

i was wondering what will happen, how am i going to finish the remaining stretch, etc...

People ask why I run.
I say "If you have to ask, you will never understand".
It is something only those select few know.
Those who put themselves through pain, but deep down know how good it feels

i just halted there and then, did some ankle and feet stretches, stopped thinking about the pain and started running.....i decided that I will do the feet stretches every 10-15 mins so that it does not aggravate....

It worked....i ran in a similar manner upto NCPA..half way target achieved and no sign of cramps or knee pain whatsoever....now the main aim was to get back in similar manner....

Dr. Ajay kharat and Ajay Pimpley were slower than usual this time.

Ajay Pimpley was nursing an Hamstring injury so was taking slow on purpose...

Dr. Kharat was at his normal speed, but i guess i have had a tremendous improvement in my speed due to the speed runs on Tuesday, which is showing in my performance...( Thanks to Dr. Kharat for this).......

I was continuously sipping water for the entire distance every 15 - 20 minutes, which helped me to be Hydrated enough...and again not cramping...

The last 3 -4 kms did slow me down, but that will happen when we Run so much...

I must say, that when i reached MIG, i was not tired at all..infact, i could have done 4 kms more and finished the Marathon distance..as i had recovered well enough....but the additional 4 kms are left so that the excitement on the MARATHON DAY, remains intact...

The rest of the day was a recipe for Disaster..... As soon as i reached home, i had to get ready for a wedding function and hence, did not get rest even for a minute....

i just had a quick shower and got ready for the wedding and then had to search for an auto to reach the highway, where a car pick up was waiting for me...luckily, i did not have to drive......

i got back home at around 4pm and since then had only slept...when i got up at 630, the entire body was paining & Started getting cramps , in fact, its still paining Now, when i am writing to you this mail....

hoping to recover fully before tomorrows speed run...:-)

its less than a month now to finish the Full Marathon....the Dream that i had since the Marathon started in Mumbai ..

I could not run until last year due to my knee problem as had both my Patela's a bit dislocated due to excessive dance and table tennis...

I somehow managed to pull last years HALF MARATHON...and then, sprained my leg after the marathon and was hit by a Ligament tear, where at times i thought i might not be able to run forever....

Luckily, the mind won over the Body, and today, i have run more that 500 KMs already after my Ankle injury in February 2010....

I Have lost 8 kgs and have started fitting in my college clothes back again..however, need to put on some weight back as soon as i finish the marathon...

Need to add more strength to my legs, so the next years marathon is even better and Stronger...

The Next 2- 3 Sundays, i might run or not run at all, as i am in Lonavala for those weekends, however, shall update you on the same if i run......

or else my next update will be straight on 17th Jan....

till then.....

Adios....

Regards

Pratik

5th DEC - 28KM Run from MIG to Babulnath And Back

Good morning to all!!!!!

Sorry for being a little late in writing this mail...

but was very busy to sit and write yesterday...

Today i am writing this mail after doing a Speed Run of 1.2km X 5 laps..that 6 kms of SPEED RUN under like 22 mins to work on my speed....

this is what we are going to do every tuesday..

next tuesday, we will try 1.6km X 5 laps.....

Anyways, this Sunday we had planned to Run 28kms Only...

i feel so nice mentioning the word ONLY as it was actually a piece of Cake this time....

Below is my RUN DETAILS

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/58812558

We started our Run @ 542am after our Warmups and as usual I started my run with Dr. Ajay Kharat whom after few mins of warmup i left behind....

he is 56 years old, but still runs like a 35 yr old...

When I reached Worli Sea Face, i saw Dr. Ajay catching up with me as he also increased his pace...we again ran the Sea Face stretch together with a great speed......all this with a bit of talking and chit chatting so that we maintain our conversational Run Speed..

just as we were discussing that we might spot Anil Ambani on Sea face, we saw him speeding and overtaking us...he was running in a tremendous speed with his trainer and was a pleasure watching him run so fast.....

we felt like catching up with him and maintaining the same speed, but then realised, that he is running just 21km and can keep that speed accordingly, we have to run additional 7km....

so kept running at our own pace....

I sometimes wonder what timings would i clock now if i have to run a HALF MARATHON?

my last years timing was 2.24 hours Gross....

i am sure i would manage to shave off atleast 15 minutes from that..

Anyways, back to the run....

I was going on a very easy pace and rhythm just like i did last Wednesday...

Dr. Ajay could not match up with me from Haji Ali as he was assisting others to run and sacrificed his own schedule and timings and mileage to Aid others...

So while running, i decided that on the way back, will run with him to give him company...

Last Wednesday i had clocked 14.5km in 1 hr 37 mins....so i planned, that i should reach Babulnath Temple in similar timings...and thats what happened..

I reached Babulnath in 1 hour and 34 mins..the reason behind this was NO BREAKS and no pain in the legs for cramps, hamstrings whatsoever....

After a bit of stretching @ Babulnath and then started my journey back to the MIG Club...

I met Dr. Ajay at Haji Ali and there we had arranged a waterstop assisted with Dates and Oranges....the moment we saw the car, it was a feeling of an Oasis in Desert.....had a few oranges and Dates and we carried on with our Running...

we were going well upto Atria Mall, and then a lot of people known to Dr. Ajay started to come from the opposite direction and we had many breaks....

i pulled Dr. Ajay and we started running again....we were 22km done with and the knees became a bit sore and we started to slow down...

This is what generally happens, when you are few kms away from your target, you start getting all types of pains in your body...

sometimes i feel i should keep my target as 10 kms more then it is decided so that i finish strong at the finish line...

we then took a walking break @ Shivaji Park and resumed running slowly as Dr. Ajay was then feeling a bit cramped in his legs....REASON....tooo many breaks and the rhythm was not setting right..

however, on reaching MIG Club we were quite surprised, that inspite of so many halts our timing was 3 hours and 5 minutes only.....

my previous run on this route, where i did break by 30k barrier was 3 hours and 42 minutes...so considering 2 kms less @ 9 mins per km( AS I WALKED LAST 2 KMS), that day, my timing for 28kms would have been 3 hours and 24 mins..thts an improvement of 19 minutes......Vowwwwwwwww!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thank God for running. It is the ultimate detox for me, whether my poison is bubbles, a foul mood, or a bad attitude. If I combat inertia, get out, and get moving, eventually every kind of toxin works its way out.

Also, i was not limping at all after the stretch...only pain that happened was in knees which  happens when they swell due to so much running....

after stretching had breakfast and got back to home....

Took some rest and was greeted with awesome lunch by my wife.......with menu being the right for recovery mode...

awesome Chole, Paalak Paneer, Onion Paratha and Cabbage Rice....

i could not get a better meal than this...

but my joy was shortlived as only got 45 mins to sleep as had to go to sisters place...

nevertheless, i was quite OK and less tired than usual sundays..guess distance under 30 does not matter me and my body now....

next week i wont be running as on Babymoon with my wifey....

We are Off to Goa....and the only way i can stop myself running is by NOT TAKING MY RUNNING SHOES...otherwise running is quite an addiction now :-)

" I RUN BECAUSE IT'S MY PASSION AND NOT JUST A SPORT. EVERYTIME I WALK OUT THE DOOR, I KNOW WHY I'M GOING, WHERE I'M GOING AND I'M ALREADY FOCUSSED  ON THAT SPECIAL PLAC WHERE I FIND MY PEAVE AND SOLITUDE. RUNNING TO ME IS MORE THAN JUST A PHYSICAL EXERCISE.....IT'S A CONSISTENT REWARD FOR VICTORY!!! "

So to cover up, running 18km tomorrow followed by a lot of slopes on friday morning...

the next to next Sunday that is 19th DECEMBER is our MOCK MARATHON run on the same route as 16th Jan except worli sea Link...

we are doing 40kms on that day.....and lets see how it goes.......

so once back from Goa, have to hydrate myself a lot more and load a lot of carbs and keep the legs as fresh as possible...

after that we would be tapering down so no long runs and the next big run will be on the D-Day.....

so will write again on 29th December..not before that.....

bye till then....

Regards

Pratik

FULL MARATHON EXPERIENCE AT LAST !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hi Guys!!!!!!!!

How are you all?????????????

At my end, i just could not be feeling any better......for many reasons.....

28th November 2010 - 1 of those days, where my mind conquered over the body and i understood the real meaning of Running with a STRATEGY and keeping the emotions in control......

For many of you who dont know, Last Sunday on 28th November, 15 regular members of our TOPGEAR Running Group had decided to run around 38-40 kms @ Lonavala and the run was to start from Bushy dam at the base going all the way upto AMBY Valley Dead-end which is about 19kms and back to the base of the Dam making the total distance of 38kms...

THIS IS A LITTLE LONGER MAIL THAN USUAL...DISTANCE IN INCREASING, SO WILL THE MAIL LENGTH ;-)

MY GARMIN RUN DETAILS AS UNDER:

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/58289734

This run was planned well in advance and all of 15 members had locked in their dates and promised to be there and complete the distance NO MATTER What...

and hence, LAST SUNDAY we did not run to keep our legs fresh....

also we loaded a lot of carbs by eating rice, pasta and specially NO DRINKS!!!!

i stuck to the above plan...

i did not drink even a single beer at a friends COCKTAIL Party...and trust it....it paid off in the end when i finished 38km..

Anyways, back to the run.....

In the elite list of 15 members, I was the youngest at 30 years & happy to be a part of it..

All others being between 45 - 53 yrs...

Mind you the oldest member of our group Mr. Dilip Patil ( 53 yrs) is the fastest of our group...who clocked the MUNICH MARATHON with a timing of 4 hours and 12 minutes....

We decided lonavala as a place mainly for 2 reasons..

1. its a nearby place to get to on a Saturday night and sleep early

2. the climate which would support us and help us run more than normal.....

We left from Bombay at around 5pm from MIG Club and reached to the MSEB Guesthouse at around 730pm....

all of us kept our clothes and other gear ready for the morning and made our beds and met for Dinner where we exchanged many ideas as how to pace the run, where are the waterpoints going to be located, what time we start the race, do's and dont's etc.....

After many of such discussions, all of us hit the bed at around 930 - 1000 pm as we planned to get up by 430am and get ready by 515 am to meet at the reception for a small warm up session as it was very cold in the morning...

we did the same....prayed before running and then headed to Bushy dam in our cars....

It was Pitch Dark and we could not see a single thing there with temparature being 17 Degrees and it was Windy as well..

meaning we had to run against the Breeze and on a slope...

YES, the point where we started, just 500 metres into our run, and we realised that there will be continous Upward slope for 3 - 4 kms nonstop...

i immediately decided to run VERY SLOWLY on the slopes as if i do run in excitement, i was sure of cramping later...

All my last runs, i have cramped badly in the last 3 - 5kms of my decided distance and have ended up walking the same.....

if you have read my 27k and 30 k runs, you will realise the same...

This time i had decided that i wanted to run to the finish line and end on a HIGH.....

hence, i decided to go very slowly, and not speeding myself on the downslopes also......

i decided, that i would run in my normal speed when i take a U-Turn and thus in a ways it would ensure that i finish strong...

The only good race pace is suicide pace, and today looks like a good day to die

I said to myself....

The 1st thing i did was i did not run with our normal members who run much faster then Me...

yes, most of the guys, actually, 5 of them are much faster than I am....

these 5 guys are: Dilip Patil, Ramdas ( they ran munich marathon under 4.30 hours); Pradeep Kadu, Vaiju  & Samson Sequeira..

All these 5 guys are also training for COMRADES MARATHON in SOUTH AFRICA IN MAY running a distance of 89 kms.    (www.comrades.com for more details on Comrades).

I let them pass so that i can keep my emotions in control and ran the entire distance alone with my music player....

The going was very very smooth....

i was having a feeling of a little strain on my right Hamstring as usual...but this time since i was very cautious, i did not continue running, but keept stretching after finishing every 3 -4 kms....which helped me BIG TIME..........

my 1st 25 kms were without any problem, in perfect rhythm and i was hydrating myself perfectly with drinking Lucozade & gatorade at regular intervals..

also as 10km, there was a waterpoint kept along with dates and oranges..i ate a lot of oranges and dates at that point...and started running ahead for Glory, which was still 28kms away.....

the entire route was very beautiful and i saw such a lonavala for the 1st time..without any cars, without any noise...

there was complete silence and on my left i could see a perfect Sunrise....1 of my most beautiful mornings ever....

At the AMBY VALLEY end, Dr. Ajay Kharat caught up with me and asked me to accompany him as he was getting tired and company helps a lot in running..

i ran with him from 16km to 22 kms with his speed which eventually slowed me down....but in the process my legs got the needed rest and they were fresh as the beginning...

I left Dr. Kharat behind and started running in my rhythm again....from 22km to 28km, i ran with perfect rhythm, speed and breathing...

1 more km to push and i would have my water point, where i could load my carbs back and hydrate myself with water, dates and oranges...

but due to some miscommunication, the car was not there....and i was shocked, as i had a little supply of water left with me...

also 2 more kms of running and i started experiencing a strange pain on the outer side of my LEFT FOOT....

Initially i ignored it but after few more steps of running, it became very stiff and it felt like i have sprained it and could not put the feet down...

i didnt knw wht to do as it was sunny as well...

the time was 10ish in the morning with the sun beating over the head.....but still windy enough to not have tht much sweat....

i started walking as i had decided....

if i couldnt run the distance, i would walk down the entire distance if needed.......

just 10 mins of walking and i was in bad pain again..just then Mr. Ramdas who had finished his distance took the car and came to provide water to every1 on the route....

i took 1 litre of bisleri with me and 1 more bottle of Lucozade with me....

i removed my left shoe and poured the water on my feet....thts when i realised that my body temperature was so warm that normal room temperature water was giving me a feeling of chilled water..

did few more stretches and started walking again...this time the pain was less..

A quote came to my mind under the above situation

I ran. I ran until my muscles burned and my veins pumped battery acid. Then I ran some more.

I decided to walk for 2-3 kms so that the pain would ease..if you see the Garmin link, 22nd, 32nd and 33rd Kms were the most difficult patches for me...

then came the deadly slopes again...but this time they were downwards...my leg felt good, pain was a little less and i was feeling a little better....

just then from my playlist, 2 songs played back to back...

1. EYE OF THE TIGER.

2. ROCKY THEME....

as soon as the 1st song started, the balance water tht i had with me, i poured some on my head, some on legs and some on my neck and spine.....and decided that will run with a good speed till these 2 songs finish..

and it helped...

i was running like a determined person and looking quite a PRO in tht heat where every passing car and bike were checking it out that who is this tall man running in his tights, with sunglasses and with such an awesome speed at 1030 in the morning....

what a feeling it was....

As soon as i reached Bushy dam i was thrilled....i completed the distance and was elated....i was not bothered about the timing....

the only thing that mattered was 38KM....and yes i did it on slopes as well....

I saw my clock which showed a time of 1120...so i reverse calculated and assumed the timing of 5 hours and 25 mins...AND MY GARMIN SHOWED A TIME OF 5 HRS AND 1 MINS, WHICH IS THE MOVING TIME UNDER WHICH I CLOCKED THE DISTANCE.

IF I DID NOT HAVE ANY STOPPAGES LIKE I HAD WITH DR. KHARAT AND THE INJURY WHERE I WALKED 2 - 3 KMS, I COULD WELL DO THIS UNDER 4.45.

MY INITIAL TARGET WAS TO FINISH THE MARATHON UNDER 5 HOURS.....

I THINK I WILL BE ABLE TO DO IT AS THE MUMBAI MARATHON HAS ONLY 1 SLOPE @ PEDDER ROAD....

I SHALL KEEP THE TARGET SAME THIS YEAR..UNDER 5 HOURS ONLY...

HOWEVER, DEEP INSIDE, IN MY NEXT RUN, I WANT TO BEAT MYSELF WITH THIS TIMING AND ON MARATHON DAY, WANT TO DO BETTER THAN JUST UNDER 5 HOURS...LETS SEE IF I CAN DO IT.....AS I AM FINDING NEW WAYS TO IMPROVE MY SPEED...

I would just like to end saying the following:

People ask why I run.

I say "If you have to ask, you will never understand".

It is something only those select few know.

Those who put themselves through pain, but deep down know how good it feels

Do let me have your valueable feedback :-)

Regards

Pratik

My first 27Km Run - 3rd October

My Yesterday RUN....
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/51447160?sms_ss=email&at_xt=4ca8115c76779813,0

 

HUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That was How i screamed when i completed the 3rd Loop of Kalina....

as told to you all earlier, 1 loop when started from MIG CLUB gate, ends exactly at the same place at 9 kms....

when i did that loop for the 3rd time and reached there, i yelled like HELL!!!!!

 

i was looking like a maniac drenched in sweat and was shouting in the middle of the road for no rhyme or reason as understood by others....

But only I knew the reason why i was yelling....

 

"To describe the agony of a marathon to someone who's never run it is like trying to explain color to someone who was born blind."

 That is what is happening to me...i actually cant explain much in words for completing the finishing line..

In our group of 35 - 40 ppl, there are 5 of us who are doing FULL MARATHON...out of 5, 3 are attempting it for the 1st time and the remaining 2 did it last year for the 1st time and now are going to MUNICH to run their 2nd FULL MARATHON on 10th October......

the remaining gang is running Half Marathon, so they have to either do 15 kms or 18 kms depending on how they feel while running....

All the remaining 3 of us had to start early....

We targetted to start running by 5:15am, but could manage to start only by 540am...the reason to start early was to do atleast 12 kms without Sun, so that we can pull the remaining 15kms in the scorching heat.....

my first 9 kms were easy going...i ensured that i started as slow as possible and tried maintaining that pace so that i can conserve energy later...the slower you run, the heart rate is under control, and you end up burning more fats of your body...if you run fast and exceed your heart rate limit, you get tired too fast and also the body uses oxygen from your blood, thus leading to cramps, fatigue, tiredness, pain, etc..

I could do the first 18 kms with ease....and as soon as i reached the MIG GATE nearing my car, i stopped myself, drank some Electral which was kept in my car, put some water on my head, stretched a bit and started of for the last 9 kms which i knew were going to be the most painfull..

when i started the last loop, the time was 750 am and the sun was shining bright on our heads... i started the last loop with other 2 ppl whom i mentioned earlier.....All of us were exhausted but we wanted to BREAK THE MIND BARRIER, that we can do it comfortably...

the break helped......i started running slowly and reached the Highway..running on the highway in opposite direction helps you in giving a nice breeze because of the cars and buses coming in your direction....my legs were paining and my calf muscles were tightened...

but, i was not at all breathless, so i started running in my normal speed and to my surprise, the pain vanished in a few minutes....i pulled 3 - 4 kms easily without any stops or Water breaks...but then the pain started again....

thats when i remembered what my Brother in law ( MITUBHAI) once said, that if you can pull of the pain which started after 22 km  upto 30 of 35 kms, then the last 7 to 8 kms are an easy go as you have OVERCOME THE PAIN, you have OVERCOME THE BARRIER....

i just realised, that you can OVERCOME the same only through your mind..

ITS ALLLLLLL IN THE MIND and NOWHERE ELSE.....

Humanbody is capable to do wonders only if the mind is strong and the decision is taken by the mind that COME WHAT MAY, I HAVE TO DO IT...

NEVER SAY NEVER ATTITUDE is what helps you pull such distances..

All this PEP TALK to myself helped me overcome the pain, i took a walking break thinking how will i finish the balance 5 kms with Sun shining bang on my head....thats when i thought of a strategy...

i ran half a km and walked for half a km....then i ran 0.75 km and walked 0.75 km, then again half a km run and half a km walk, such variation helped me easing the pain, becoming mentally stronger and tackling the heat...

in the end, when i reached the MIG Gate, i think i finished quite strong...

i finished 27 kms in 3 hours and 9 mins.....YES IT WAS PAINFULL, YES IT WAS KILLING ME SOFTLY, but in the end, FINISHING 27km and OVERCOMING THE BARRIER was indeed a wonderful experience....

If i would have decided to do 4 loops i.e. 36 kms, then i would have to prepare myself for the last loop now and would not think of the first 27kms again....

lets see how it goes when tht happens....

I WOULD BE HAVING A BREAK FROM SUNDAY RUNNING FOR 2 WEEKS NOW...I WILL WRITE AGAIN ONLY WHEN I RUN THE LONG DISTANCE WHICH SHOULD BE 24TH OCTOBER...

THIS WEDNEDAY I WILL RUN 15KM, BUT WONT ENJOY WRITING THE SAME ;-)

THE REASON FOR THE BREAK; WELL IT NAVRATRI TIME GUYS!!!!!

NEED I SAY MORE:????

for the first time, i will be having a great stamina for dancing as all the other years, i keep on eating and having beer until navratri, knowing that i will loose all the fat gained in these 9 days..this time its different...

i am assuming that on 24th OCTOBER, i should be able to run 27km easily and maybe even more....

Uptill now, i have built my stamina through running, lets see where i reach after 9 nine days of 4 hours of Cardio...

More on the same later..

Regards

Pratik

30Km Barrier broken.....BACK TO MY BEST RUNNING FORM....

Hi!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Today i write this mail in the most elated and cheerful mood...

Reason being a mental barrier overcome and still strong enough to get back to my speedruns tomorrow morning....

the knees are still a bit sore, but hopefully, they should be fine by tomorrow morning.....

 

Check my running stats and route..try watching in in Satellite mode,if possible

 

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/56608796

 

This week i was very very focussed on completing 30 kms, come what may, as 2 weeks back, i tried, but could not do the last 3 kms because of my right leg cramping after 20kms....

 

i had pre-decided to hydrate myself well the previous days and thanks to google got to know that Carbo loading is very much essential..the more carbs i load during the week, the better chances of me not cramping at all as the body uses the oxygen from the blood in the absence of carbs, thus leading to cramps...

so, i ate lots of rice on Saturday noon, drank lots of water mixed with electrolytes and had pizza in the evening with my friends who had come home...

the only thing i missed to do was sleep well....as we slept at around 12 ish and i got up by 445 to start running by 515am....

 

so my running started at 529am....

 

I ran with other group members as my 2 running partners were not there today.......we were 5 of us to begin the run...

 

i was running with a person called Jagannath Hajib....during conversation, i realised that he was a CEO of AIR INDIA....i was like, vow....this guys dedication is great....and yet so humble and down to earth..

agreed, AIR INDIA is not doing tht great, but still he was not a manager or something, but a CEO....

 

anyways,,,,, back to running...

have reduced my speed for all the long runs for the only reason, that if i start too fast, i dont have the gas and reserves in me to push for the later distances...

earlier, i was targetting to finish 1 km under 7 mins, but now i dont care...

 

I would rather compete slow than watch at any speed.

i run with the most comfortable speed as possible, and to my surprise it is not that bad...its about 7.15 or 7.20 mins per km....

 

Running towards Babulnath and return was our target, as we were getting bored with our usual BKC- KALINA Loop.....

 

it was indeed a refreshing run, with so many ppl running and training on the roads for the Mumbai Marathon..

and so many ppl , in all sorts of Shapes & Sizes and age group...

 

i was quite shocked not to spot many youngsters...most of them were oldies or in their early 40's....

 

by the time 1 reaches Worli Sea Face and then to pedder road, you end up knowing so many ppl and keep on cheering every runner who crosses u, running with pain becomes running with pleasure...the runner cheer you up, and do an exchange of Hi- five's which keeps the motivation level quite on the high....

 

THE NEXT TIME I M RUNNING THE SOUTH BOMBAY ROUTE, I NEED TO MAKE A WATER PIT-STOP @ PEDDER ROAD FOR SURE....

SO CRYSTAL & SONARICA, PLEASE HELP ME ON THIS BY WAKING UP EARLY IF POSSIBLE ;-)

 

by this time i have figured 1 thing out, that the real challenge of running is after 20 kms....

the last 10 kms, will the toughest as thats when the body gives you alll the possible signals of giving up and just taking a cab and go back to home...and thats where the mind comes into the picture....

 

the long distance running helps me in getting stronger mentally, also keeeps me a lot calmer and the focus keeps on getting better...

 

We run not because we think it is doing us good, but because we enjoy it and cannot help ourselves......

 

my next target is now on 28th November, where 15 of us are going to run to LONAVLA....we will start from Bushy dam upto Amby Valley and back to Bushy dam..the distance wil be about 36 kms...

 

so the simple strategy is to train very hard this whole week, go easy on the knees on the coming sunday, which is 21st November and then the week after, train regular enough to be ready for 36kms...

On 21st November, we plan not to give any stress to the knees, so i have come up with this unique idea of cycling from Bandra to Oberoi hotel and back...this way we will strengthen our Quadriceps and our knees will be super fresh of not running for 1 Sunday...

 

28th november is like a dress rehearsal for 42km MARATHON, as if i do that on slopes, i m sure, i can complete 42kms..

 

1 thing is sure, i will walk, if not run, Crawl if not walk, but come what may, no matter what time i finish, i WILL cross the FINISH LINE on 16th Jan 2011.

 

 "Now if you are going to win any battle you have to do one thing.  You have to make the mind run the body.  Never let the body tell the mind what to do.  The body will always give up.  It is always tired morning, noon, and night.  But the body is never tired if the mind is not tired.  When you were younger the mind could make you dance all night, and the body was never tired...You've always got to make the mind take over and keep going."

With this quote, i end as of now.....see you next Sunday ;-)

Regards

Pratik

PLEASURE,PAIN,DEPRESSION & PRIDE

Hi to allllllllllllllll!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

The subject line of the e-mail explains by Running experience in short & yet a simple way.

 

please see my running details as under;

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/55092191

 

I had decided since Tuesday that on 31st October, i would run 31km..

Basically, wanted to get over the barrier of 30 + km in my mind..so that i can take the next step of going 35+km..

 

our Training loop is of 9km...

so before jumping from 3 loops to 4 loops, it was important to be in the middle first.

 

For that i also took a complete break from Running after Wednesday so that i have fresh legs on Sunday and hoped to run the full distance without any troubles....but it seems i was not lucky enough.

 

i started my run at 5.33 am with another person. Mr. Ajay Pimpley. A banker with HDFC, 46 years old...and running with him was indeed a pleasure.

 

we did the 1st 2 loops at a conversational pace, talking to each other and maintaining a very good rhythm...

just at the end of the 2nd loop, i started cramping in my right leg...and thats when my Pleasure turned into PAIN.....

 

however, as said earlier, the only way to get rid of the pain, is by not thinking about it and maintaining the same rhythm.

thts what i did..i requested Ajay Sir to go ahead and i'll follow behind..the reason being, i had to talk to myself to beat the pain..

 

i kept yelling to myself things like NO PAIN, THE PAIN IS GOING, THE PAIN IS NO MORE, GOING, GOING, GONE....

sounds crazy, but trust me, it really worked.....i started feeling fresh, and in that excitement, increased my speed and ran fantastically for 4 - 5 kms...and i guess thats where i made the mistake and paid heavily for the same...

 

as the cramps aggrevated and i could run no more...i could have stretched and ran again as i was neither out of breadth, or stamina, but running could have invited an unwanted injury, which i do not want at this stage....so i started walking...feeling completely LET DOWN and DEPRESSED of all my efforts going to vain...

just when i was reaching MIG Club, the start point of our loop deciding that i am not running 3 more kms, i saw Ajay Sir, taking a U-turn and going back to finish his quota of 31kms...

i was so tempted, but once u have an injury, your body tells you when to draw the line...and thts what i did...

however, when i checked my clock, i saw it showed me the run time of 3 hours and 16 mins,,,....which was so very cool as the last 2 kms took 20 -22 minutes...had i been normal withou injury, i would have clocked 3 loops under 3 hours and thats when my DEPRESSION Went away and i felt i did great...

my chest swell with PRIDE, as it should improvement in my performance, speed and stamina...

 

its just that i m not following a diet thus causing these cramps...so have to take care of that....

next weekend I am at my native place so will try running there and weekend after that i am in GOA for a holiday with friends..

 

i have to run there as well....i do not know what times, but thinking to run there post 10am, so that can get used to the Heat as well..

lets see how it goes....

 

our group is planning a run in lonavala month end.. the idea is to go 30+ km once every month i.e. OCT, NOV and DEC..

 

i did fail in OCT, but in NOVEMBER, i am going to eat that fear and conquer the distance for sure.....its going to be fun to run from BUSHY DAM to AMBY VALLEY and Back....

 

shall keep you guys posted..

bye for now......

Regards

Pratik

 

1 of my NOT SO GOOD Long Run of 21KM....

Hi Guyssssssssssssssssssss

 

By this time, i have healed completely, and fresh with enthusiasm to take on the coming Sunday on 31st October....

but last week was not that great....

please check the below link for my Run..

 

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/54295468

 

this was my 1st Long run after a break of 2 weeks as the last run i did was on 3rd October...

so after Navratri, when i ran on Tuesday and wednesday, i realised that my legs need to get used to the Roads again and that will take some time...

 

i was not sure if i could do more than 20 km, and hence, kept a target of 25kms before i started my run.....

I had to be @ Pedder Road, Crystal at around 10ish, so thought it would a good idea to run from my house to Marine Lines and back to Crystal to complete a perfect 25 kms under 3 hours...

 

I started at 5:51 hours with a plan in mind to reach by 8:51 latest at Crystal, do some stretches and have a nice bath and be ready for the Mundan function of Kahaan...

however, i could run only 21km as started cramping after 17kms at the backside of my knee....

 

When i started in the morning, i started at a very easy pace keeping in mind not to get tired and push harder early on, as later on it becomes quite difficult to manage the distance...so i kept running at an easy pace nonstop upto Mahim Causeway...took a waterbreak and then ran upto Siddhivinayak for another waterbreak and a mini walk break....

i then decided to ran upto Worli sea face and took a break just before the Sealink, stretc myself....

i guess i had a thought running at the back of my mind, that I am going to cramp later..i wish i didnt think as then, my running experience would have been different...

nevertheless, i completed worli sea face with ease.....

just when i finished that stretched, saw a runner running in an opposite direction with 1 of his friend....did a small hi-5 and greeted each other and he and his friend crossed me and later took a U-Turn...they were running from Marine Drive and u-turn and back to Marine Drive, is what i guessed and were running continously behind me upto Marine Drive....

 

I stopped Babulnath for a little walking cum water break and then started running again.....

just when i reached mid-way of Marine drive, the 2 guys running behind me, came next to me as i slowed down due to cramps...

they wished me again this time and we ran for almost 30 seconds....

 

just then i realised that i have seen this guy somewhere...and guess who he was......

IT WAS NONE OTHER THAN ANIL AMBANI.....

i am serious...can u believe that???????????

they stopped there and i ran some more distance..just when i saw a nice BLACK AUDI, latest version, top of the line come in front of ANIL AMBANI, and 2 guys dressed in white got out with Juice, Water, Napkins, Newspapers, etc....

Vow, i would like such a service after a long run...but i am not ambani.....soo....aint tht lucky enough.....

 

Anyways, took a U--turn, ran as much as i could and then after a while realising that running more would only injure myself, i decided to stop 4 kms short of my original target and took a cab...and reached Crystal...

 

Overall a Good run which ended with a nice surprise.....

had a good day overall, as after that was busy in the function followed by Dinner with Dad and Mom in another function...

all my sundays have been like this..

 

i guess i am practising to attend social functions after long runs as well so that on 16th Jan, can attend my Father-in-laws birthday party....lets see how it goes...

 

next week, plan to do ATLEAST 30KM..or to make it sweeter, 31km on 31st OCTOBER as the title sounds intresting...again tht depends on what my group sets the target to run on..but i want to run the most for next sunday as the week after i diwali and week after Diwali is GOA for me....so have to cover up the distance ;-)

 

bye for now....

i am sure by now all of you reading the mail knows the reason why Chandani is not running at all with me or not exercising ;-)

BYEEEEEEEE

 

Rgds/ Pratik

HALF MARATHONER ATLAST ------22KM Run @ KALINA on 26th September

Hi....

 

I am back from my Last Sundays run where i ran 17km...

This sunday it was 22km ;-)

Please see my Running details for my This Sunday's Long Run....

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/50516004?sms_ss=email

 

Somebody asked me once what is it like Running a MARATHON... I had no answer to this as i have not run the same yet... I AM JUST 1 HALF MARATHON OLD..and the fact is I am trying to find that answer this time....

Hopefully on 16th JAN 2011, I would have the exact Answer..however, i answer the question with the below quote  which i read somewhere..

We are different, in essence, from other men. If you

want to win something, run 100 meters. If you want

to experience something, run a marathon

 

If i can inspire even 1 person to get to running or any form of fitness to maintain a healthy lifestyle, i'd really be happy..... HENCE, sending it to people whom i know and think would read my post,...even if they dont reply its ok...the fun is reliving the run again when writing this mail and atleast a few if not all do appreciate on my running and then writing the same ;-)

 

Anyways, back to the Run.....

 

This Sunday was the HOTTEST to run....temparatures were soaring upto 30 Degrees at 715am itself...

however, i fought the heat with something innovative....

First, i was carrying a pouch on my waist having all the Water Supplies and some peppermints in it to replenish the Sugar loss while running...

Secondly, to tackle the Heat, i wore Sunglasses, and luckily it did help in comparision to my previous Hot & Sunny runs....

Next have to try a SunTan as i really think that will be needed, once i cross 30km and over 3 hours or running.....as it is better to have a soreness in legs then to tackle  a sunburn on your face and shoulders.....

 

Starting my Run at 5:54 Am, it was quite cool and pleasant to run.....

I had decided NOT TO RUN FAST in the beginning of my run so that i can have all the energy to run that latter part of distance...

and it indeed helped...

If you notice the timing in the above link, you would clearly see that in my first 6 -  7 kms, i was maintaining a pace of over 7 to 7.5 mins per Kilometre......

this really helped, as after doing that slow speed run, it really warmed me up well, and gave me the energy to charge later completing the entire 22kms....Next loop, i clocked under 7minutes per km, for most of the part, where i did not take any walking breaks...

 

ONE KALINA - BKC Loop is exactly 9 kms from the MIG CLUB..thats where we start our runsfrom....

i took a break of 1 minute after completing 1 full loop....and then started Running again..this time in the reverse direction and after completing the 2nd loop, took 1 more break...had some water and started running till my clock showed distance upto 20km......

 

I had to run 22km, so ran upto Wockhardt at BKC, put my timer on Stop as took a water Break, stretched a bit and started running back to MIG Club to finish 22km...but i forgot to restart my watch...and that is the reason it shows only 20km..

but nevertheless, i indeed did 1 km extra than the Half Marathon and still finished Strong...

 

The afternooon nap was indeeed as good as heaven especially after a hot sumptous meal served by my dear Wifey......which was much required after burning almost 2500 calories..

Dum Aloo was just toooo goood ;-)

 

Hope to cross 25k next sunday..however, depends on what schedule is set for the entire group next sunday and will plan accordingly....

Bye till then

Regards

Pratk