Run 4 Fun

Tomorrow marks 24 weeks since I laced up my shoes and decided to run again—starting from early March. If you compare my first and most recent runs, the difference in conditioning is like comparing a rusty bicycle to a well-oiled machine. The Numbers: 6th March : 4 km non-stop | Avg pace: 7:00 min/km | Avg/Max HR: 161/176 27th March : 5 km non-stop | Avg pace: 7:25 min/km | Avg/Max HR: 146/152 15th August : 4 km non-stop | Avg pace: 6:29 min/km | Avg/Max HR: 145/152 That first run? Felt like jump-starting a tractor that had been abandoned in a field for months. My heart rate was screaming, “What are you doing to me?” But I was determined to make this comeback different. So I ditched pace obsession and embraced heart rate training—hello, Zone 2. By 27th March, I was running strictly within Zone 2, resulting in a leisurely 7:25 min/km pace. Fast forward to 15th August—24 weeks and 880 km later—and I cruised through 4 km at 6:29 min/km. My heart rate barely broke a sw...

The Good: One should give credit where credit is due even if that credit is due to you. Congratulations on completing 20 weeks streak of not missing a single week with 95 total runs in 20 weeks averaging close to 5 days/week running. After a long hiatus from proper training, this wasn't easy for sure. This also wasn't flawless and indeed needs dissecting for learnings. So, let's get to it.   I made the decision to run most of these runs at slow easy (zone 2) pace and I was able to diligently follow it. Running fast without being in good shape was painful so sticking to easy running in summer months made it tolerable. I wasn't very sore/fatigued from these runs but I was stiff like a stick.  There is no hiding of my disdain for stretching pre/post runs. I have mostly avoided it so far in my running and I got away with it when I was young and reckless (Thank God) but at 40+ (42+ actually), my chickens have come home to roost. Right around week 15 of the program, I began t...

If you are a runner, you keep coming back to it despite the highs and lows. The exhilaration of a great race gives you euphoria, while injuries, setbacks, and periods of poor training bring frustration.  For experienced runners who have tasted success, the mind longs to replicate past training achievements, but the body may not be ready for it. Many seasoned runners overestimate their ability to handle training stress—perhaps due to the mental resilience built over years—while underestimating the risk of injury. But the running gods are fair. They see through carefully crafted Strava profiles, rewarding consistent effort while ultimately ensuring that bad training habits catch up with you, often in the form of a setback.  Learning from Past Mistakes:   The last time I trained consistently for months was between April 2018 and March 2019. Since moving to India in June 2019, other aspects of life took priority. I continued running, but without a structured training plan. Ea...

Running scene in India is growing at an explosive pace and every weekend there are tons of races across various towns. I ran/race quite regularly in Houston for many years and observed the running scene very closely. I can't help comparing running in India Vs Running in US in my mind. Moreover I have noticed some socio-economic trends which are peculiar to both countries.  In USA, the running scene exploded in 70's where it became mainstream to run marathons. However, the runners were motivated by almost "Rocky" type self-motivation and grit and it wasn't much later when corporate houses like shoe/apparel/nutrition companies became a dominant force in running. In India, however the explosion of running scene is happening with clever and active drive of these same/similar corporate houses trying to entice upper middle class to lighten their wallet for the glory that comes with running.  For the following socio-economic analysis, I have made the following assumption...

I hesitated to write this post about 6 weeks back because I didn't want to jinx the rhythm I had found.  As much as I enjoy many aspects of running, I struggle to blend it into a lifestyle as many runners seem to have achieved around me effortlessly. I keep falling off the wagon like an incorrigible  alcoholic :) I tried to prepare for TMM Half 2023 in haste and overconfidence which resulted in a unique recurrence of injury called "Calf Heart Attacks" (three separate instances so far in my running career, all happened when I tried to return to running from a break in haste). I still ran TMM half 2023 because I didn't want to miss the marquee event of Mumbai running. I finished the race in 1:52:xx but limping with pain.  I examined the cause of the injury and a pattern emerged. I was simply too reckless as shown in the table. Not only I squeezed in three half marathon races without adequate training, I ran them comfortably hard as well. I also squeezed in few speed wor...

I'm writing this post to put my experience about this weird running injury involving calf muscles. I wrote about it in my previous post. However, at that time I didn't know that there is a particular term about it, "Calf Heart Attack". The earliest documentation of this injury on web is from a Runner's World article by John Parker. The second article  about Calf Heart Attack is much recent from 2019 by Daniel Frey. In first article, John Parker describes calf heart attacks as:  The calf would get tender, sometimes knotty, after hard training (usually intervals); then a few days later, while out on a run, I'd feel a sharp pain very deep in the gastroc, and bingo, I'd be out of business.  So I'd take a few more days off, more massage, and then start back. Deja vu all over again. And I found I could repeat the cycle as many times as I wanted, and the injury would just keep popping back up. It was the most frustrating injury I had ever dealt with. As ment...

The year 2022 is almost over and it is a good time to reflect and look forward to 2023. I will share my thoughts related to running in this post. I still call myself an accidental runner. Running has given so much to me and it has also taken so much from me. I truly credit running for what I'm today (good or bad) because during the year 2007-2012, running really shaped my life, how I approached various things while living in US and to a great extent it kept myself fairly sane. Although, one must question how running marathons can ever be called being sane :)  I have always struggled with what running needed from me in the form of miles run or the discipline part of it when there are no goals in sight. I still do not think I have fully incorporated running into my lifestyle. It still requires a lot of mental work from me to get into running mode for extended times (anything more than couple of weeks). But, that may not be a bad thing per se.  Let us get back to the title of thi...

I'm beginning to sound like a broken record or that nagging old(er) guy who wouldn't shut up. I wrote on this blog in February, 2018 that I want to give structured training another go and few weeks later in March, I busted my ankle. During a long run a mishap happened and I sprained it very very bad. As a result of that my training was set back by at least 3-4 months and my range of motion on ankle is not back 100%. I did run law week 8k/Bayou City Classic/Bellaire Trolley Run and in each single of these race Tom Wille wiped the floor with me. He enjoyed continued improvement over his stellar 3:19 marathon in January. He also started doing track/hill work with Jon Warren's group to get some speed training. Which brings us to say June 2nd or Height's 5k run. Now, heights 5k is insanely fast course 5k but usually held in the worst possible weather conditions of Houston summer. I wanted to have a go at another attempt at sub 20 5k but during warm up itself I knew that i...

Wow, what a difference 7 years make. Last time I wrote on this blog was when I was still a graduate student at Rice, in age group 25-29, living with a roommate, driving my 2000 Toyota Echo, running sub 19@5k/sub 40@10k, snapping pictures at Valhalla with an actual camera and taking my dates to Taco Bell (okay, this is a lie) ;) I would spare the personal journey of last 7 years and talk about running. I took a sabbatical from running after running Boston Marathon 2012 (Oh, how I wanted to write a race report mentioning that Brunette at Wellesley College I kissed during my run). I lived in Denver during Sept 2012 till August 2016 and while I enjoyed hiking/skiing, I stopped running almost completely. In total I believe I ran less than 200 miles in those 4 years. I moved back to Houston for work in August of 2016. When I showed up early morning in Memorial Park in mid August to meet up with Natalie and Paul for a run, I felt like we were running 8 minute/mile for our first mile and ...

Past Sunday concluded HARRA warmup series race leading to Houston Marathon. FinishLine sports organized 30K race starting/ending at Sugarland town square. The race included running out about 3 miles, doing 3 loops of about 4.3 miles and returning back to the start line. Verdict: 18.6 miles in 2:06:58 or 6:49 min/miles. Race Report: On the way to the race: I thought I had enough gas in the tank only to realize that I am in trouble as I was getting closer to sugarland. Thankfully I reached parking garage just in time without having to push my car :) Many thanks to Benard Castro for picking up my bib a day before and handing it out to me on race day morning. I also thank Chris McGrew for letting me use his Garmin 405 for the race as my Garmin is giving me some problems lately. Pre-race warmup: It is cold but not that cold. I decide to run in a half-sleeved shirt with gloves and a warm cap. I didn't do much of a warmup before the race as the race is long enough and I want to start out...

If I wake up tomorrow morning early enough and join BCRR for Sunday River Oaks run it will mark a special occasion. This will be first week in my three years of running that I will run 70 miles in a week. I am excited about it and more so because I am feeling very good about my training and I have no aches and pains whatsoever. Edit: I did wake in time to join my BCRR friends for a nice and easy 12 mile run in chilly weather. Here is a table showing weekly mileage data from August 2010. The cells marked in red are my LAZY weeks which is my secret of not getting hurt and giving my body enough time to recover from training runs. Week No. Week Miles 1 Jul 26 - Aug 01 35.8 2 Aug 02 - Aug 08 29.76 3 Aug 09 - Aug 15 40.94 4 Aug 16 - Aug 22 42.63 5 Aug 23 - Aug 29 40.65 6 Aug 30 - Sep ...