Journey and Introspection

Had a thought post run. For a long run we can pace and plan. We know the milestones, we train for it and then try and stick to the plans. Whereas in life we start the run and figure out the milestones and our limits on the way.. not too deep I know, but may be I can think this through a bit further . Ok my official training for the half marathon starts tomm ( its a rest day heh heh ). Went to the park today to try out my new shoes. The good news is that they seem good, my feet do not hurt and I had a nice run. Now the bad news. 15 minutes of non stop running on the treadmill does not translate into 15 minutes of non stop running on the road!! could barely run for 3 minutes before I stopped out of exhaustion , being out of breath. I managed to finish the first mile in 10 minutes, and the next mile took me 14 minutes. I didn't run the third mile. Well, the next big day is Tuesday - when I run 2 miles. Let me see how long I take. My aim is to finish it under 20 minutes. reason s

Ok finally went to the gym...ran comforatbly for 15 minutes at 8.5 kmph..which was more than I expected. Came off the treadmill and on the way home decided to walk by the park. In the park, decided to run and man, its so much tougher. Will need to start road running from tomm as treadmill is really not a good substitue. Off to runners need in Kings Cross now to buy a pair of good running shoes.. Went to Holborn finally and bought a pair of Nike Pegasus +25. I was very suprised when the salesguy analysed my gait and showed me the video saying,'you have a nice neutral gait'! I always felt I pronated while running and in a funny way knowing that I have a neutral running gait is a motivator( not that its a big deal, cos pronating or suponating are also natural). Looking forward to my run in the new shoes tomorrow. I only hope I have not bought a size too large. Will try and complete 3 miles..one mile to get a feel of the shoe, the second mile to see how far I can run without a brea

Week Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday 1 Rest 2 mi Rest 2.5 mi Rest 3 mi 2 mi EZ 2 Rest 2 miles Rest 3 mi CT or Rest 4 mi 2.5 mi EZ 3 Rest 2.5 mi 2 mi 3 mi CT or Rest 5 mi 2 mi EZ 4 Rest 3 mi Rest 4 mi CT or Rest 6 mi 3 mi EZ 5 Rest 3 mi 3 mi 3 mi CT or Rest 7 mi 3 mi EZ 6 Rest 4 mil 3 mi 4 mi CT or Rest 8 mi 3 mi EZ 7 Rest 4 mi Rest 4 mi CT or Rest 9 mi 3 mi EZ 8 Rest 4 mi 3 mi 3 mi CT or Rest 10 mi 3 mi EZ 9 Rest 5 mi 3 mi 4 mi CT or Rest 11 mi Rest 10 3 mi EZ 4 mi Rest 3 mi CT or Rest 12 mi 3 mi EZ 11 Rest 4 mi Rest 3 mi CT or Rest 5 mi 2.5 mi EZ 12 Rest 2 mi 20 minutes Rest 20 minutes Race Day! Rest Day!

Hmm..in my enthu have also signed up to nike plus which has a 12 week running schedule.. But this assumes that I have been running for at least 6 months AND have run a 10K/5K race. Well I have obviously not heard of learning to crawl before learning to walk. Anyhoo....here I go...

Week Mon Tue Wed Thurs Fri Sat Sun (km) 27 July 2009 Off 30 min run Off 25 min run Walk off 4.8 03 August 2009 Off 30 min run Off 30 min run Walk off 6.4 10 August 2009 Off 30 min run Off 30 min run Walk off 8 17 August 2009 Off 30 min run Off 30 min run Walk off 4 24 August 2009 Off 30 min run Off 30 min run Walk off 10.4 31 August 2009 Off 30 min run Off 30 min run Walk off 4.8 07 September 2009 Off 30 min run Off 30 min run Walk off 12.8 14 September 2009 Off 30 min run Off 30 min run Walk off 4.8 21 September 2009 Off 30 min run Off 30 min run Walk off 15.2 28 September 2009 Off 30 min run Off 30 min run Walk off 6.4 05 October 2009 Off

It been over a month since I have been to the gym now. No running, no exercise and weeks of drinking beer and eating pizza. The fact that we have had a weekend in Rome and then a weekend in Vienna is just an excuse. I had genuinely lost the motivation to go to the gym. But a few things have happened since then that seems to have helped my motivation again: 1. In spite of of no exercise, I have not put on weight and now weigh between 82.5 to 83 kgs ( as in my last post a month back) 2. I had intended to run a 10 K run, but did not do so. I have to at least get that done. 3. The stanchart Mumbai marathon is scheduled in Jan 2010, and I will be inMumbai then. I have just found out that a lot of my friends have been running and now have a motivation to compete ( there I said it) Finally, I have realised that I was a much calmer person when I ran, as it automatically controlled my diet, drinking etc.. I seem to be sliding back into the habits I had in April 2009 and do not want to undo all