Recently in Running Category
Last year, since I was regular at the NRC, I had trained well. However, this year, I was neither regular nor well trained. I wanted to do atleast 200K before the actual race and atleast 4-5 10Ks but I managed about 100K with not a single race distance. However, one good thing I noticed was that my overall pace had increased and I was able to do the small distances that I was running with ease. I was thinking that I would be able to do 52-54 mins for the 10k.
Once I completed, I took a few minutes break and went back looking for Vasu. She was near the Hudson circle gate and I pushed her to run the last 700 odd metres. This was her first 10K and I am glad she completed it under 1:30:00.
After the race, we went to the Nike Lounge for foot massage, photo session and a sumptuous breakfast. I also ran into Dr.Rajat at the lounge. He was cheerful and all smiles as always. When I approached him with a couple of questions, he was happy to provide me inputs on the spot. So bad that he does not consult in Bangalore anymore.
The lunch was at Ragoos, on Kanakpura road, a vegetarian place for pizzas, pastas and rice. More about it later.
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It is a fight between your body and mind. The body says it cant go any further but the mind is trying to push. When you achieve this harmony, then you can breeze.
-- Balaji, 2010
As an aspiring runner, it is always the motivation factor that keeping me going. I always think I am mentally strong to accept and face challenges. But running is a different ballgame altogether. As in any other group activity, people draw energy from one another and motivate one another. Hence, while running at the Nike Run Club, there is no dearth of motivation. But there are times when I don’t have company. One of the biggest problems when running alone is the boredom that creeps in. I still have the energy to do another couple of KM but feel like stopping. Like last week, when I started off planning for a 15K, I had all the enthusiasm but into the second KM, I wanted to stop. The music player in my phone complained of corrupt files and stopped. I had no inclination to continue. I was figuring out ways of keeping my mind busy and the idea for this blog post was born.
When I used to run on the treadmill, usually my goal was to run as much as the person next to me runs. If the person started running before me, I will try to do the same distance he/she does in a minute or two less. If the person starts running after me, I usually try to run as long as he runs. I remember an incident that occurred a while back in Fitness One. Another guy and me started running around the same time. We had completed around 22 minutes at a decent pace. I did not want to give up until the other guy stopped but I was unable to go any further. After another couple of minutes, I pressed the emergency stop button and stopped. The other guy also did the same almost around the same time. After he stopped, I told him that I was trying to run until he stopped, but could not and he said he also usually does the same thing and he was waiting for me to stop :-)
Another trick I do is to find someone who runs at a decent pace and try to maintain the same distance. A friend once said that, he clocks his runs by the number of songs that play in the gym. One song is normally 4 minutes, so on an average he does about 5 songs for 20 minutes.
My wife has just started cycling and her biggest challenges are the uphill paths. She pants and puffs her way through them. She says, when she sees an uphill, she diverts her mind by thinking philosophy or tries to recollect lyrics of songs she learnt as a child. Sometimes, she says, she also sings aloud or smiles or waves at strangers. This diverts her mind, and she gets through easily.
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Unless you're not pushing yourself, you're not living to the fullest. You can't be afraid to fail, but unless you fail, you haven't pushed hard enough.
-- Dean Karnazes
Someone asked me at the NRC this morning: What is the difference between running on a treadmill and running in a community? I blurbed along the lines of this is more fun, yada yada. I might not have said what I wanted to express and hence this post.
A few weeks before the Sunfeast 10K, when coach Beedu used to ask how many of us would run the 10k, a few hands would come up reluctantly. After a little prodding, a few more would raise their hands. Interestingly at the Nike lounge after the run, a lot of people were congratulating each other on their successful completion and timings. Contrast that with today. After Nike announced the registrations for the Human race on Oct 24th, the conversation has been completely different. Everyone is talking about completing the 10K, bettering their time. Today, I met a couple of folks who completed the Chennai half marathon in approx 2 hours and discussing about their experience and providing tips. Both of them started running less than six months ago. You will not find this companionship when you run on a treadmill. You will not find some one patting on your back and pace you up and ask you to push a bit and cheer you.
Running on treadmill is helpful when you want to time your runs properly in a controlled environment. But it is not so much fun. Get out on the streets and you will enjoy every bit of it. If you want to run with some greenery around, go to either Cubbon park or Lalbagh. Cubbon park is the best thing that could have happened to runners in Bangalore.
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"There are clubs you can't belong to, neighborhoods you can't live in, schools you can't get into, but the roads are always open."
-- Nike
A couple of years back, my only running was from my apartment to the main road where the office cab stops. Hardly about 250 metres. I will huff and puff to reach there in 3-4 minutes. Slowly, I started running at the gym. I was able to run with great difficulty, a KM under 10 minutes. The Fitness One guys started pushing me and I did a mile under 10 minutes once. I slowly started increasing the time I could run continuously and after a while I was able to run around 30-40 minutes continuously. My best on the treadmill was 5K in 32 minutes.
But then, running on the treadmill was no fun. Late last year I started venturing out into the real world. It was a completely different experience. I was back to square one. I could hardly run a couple of kilometres. Then subbuj joined me as my running buddy. We started slowly pushing our limits. Subbu has a Nokia N95 with Sports Tracker installed and that helped us track our progress. I was planning for training with Runner's High, but then a sudden trip sent me to San Francisco. Thankfully, it also helped me continue my running and I enjoyed every bit of my stay there. I also picked up a good running shoe there.
Once I came back, we started running at the Cubbon Park. One fine day, we decided to check out the Nike Run Club. They were just beginning to ramp up their training sessions and it was a blessing. Coach Beedu and Reeth were helpful with tips and helped in the training. Nike took really good care of us during the training sessions. They did a gait analysis, arranged pep talks, provided trial shoes and finally ensured that everyone gets mentally and physically ready for the run.
The day before the event was just like the day before an exam. I was a bit nervous and was also tired. It took me a while to realise that the main reason why I started running was to have fun and if I get tensed I would miss the fun. So the next day, I went to the run with only thing in mind. Finish it and if I can finish in 90 minutes I would be happy. Subbu and I started running on the race day and after a couple of KM, I felt that I could run faster. I slowly picked up the pace and got into a nice rhythm. Went to the 5K mark in 28 minutes and I was nicely pulling along. Then came the difficult part of the run, since the road was slightly steep from Dickenson Road to Kamaraj Road to Cubbon Road. I slowed down and after a few minutes started walking. I walked for a couple of minutes and then started running again. After entering into the Cubbon Park, it was the regular trail and I picked up pace. The last KM was the fastest pace and according to my watch, I finished in 58:28 minutes. Woohoo! We then went into the Nike Lounge and were royally pampered. There was one guy handing out cold towels, another guy taking pictures, a sumptuous breakfast, a foot message and some very nice music. It turned out much better than what I had imagined. When the official timings came out the next day, I found that I had done it in 57:43 mins. Nike has also promised that they would give a specially designed T-shirt, "I'm a finisher" for everyone registered with NRC.
So what are you thinking. If you want to start running, drop in tomorrow, 13th June, at Kanteerava Stadium at 6AM and join the Nike run club.
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Pain is temporary, Pride is permanent.
-- Saw on poster by someone cheering for Runner's High
I was getting ready to leave for my morning jog yesterday when I read this shocking news. The third page of The Hindu routinely carries such information. The reason why it worried me was that every day when I run, I see a whole lot of people walking / jogging / running on the road. Many of these folks are more interested in carrying a conversation on the road rather than concentrate on the road. Many times I see folks completely blocking the road or walking in parallel oblivious of the surroundings.
So if you walk or jog on the road here are some tips:
- If there is a park in your area, please walk there.
- Always walk / jog on the extreme right of the road facing traffic.
- If this is a new road that you are running, first for the first couple of days focus on the road and traffic to get an idea.
- If the foot path is usable, please use it.
- Keep an eye on the traffic. There is no guarantee that the guy in the car is going to see you
- It is okay to lose a 30 seconds waiting for the car to pass, rather than risk your life.
And if you are driver, please respect the traffic rules. If a road is marked one way, _it_ _is_ _a_ _one_ _way_. This does not (atleast in Bangalore) change based on time of the day. If you are interested in racing, go to a racing track and not the road. Give space to pedestrians.
