Trail run and photos..

Today was a trail run. It felt really good doing a trailrun. But, it needs a lot of concentration to dodge the rocks, tree roots etc..pretty easy to slip or twist your ankle! But, the zilker park trail called 'Green belt' was scenic and we had a nice run for about 70 mins (6 miles). Remember its recovery time!..So, just did a few miles.
Since there is very little content in this post, I am using the opportunity to post photos from earlier runs. The group photo with the bison poster was the "Motive Half-Marathon" snaps. Click on each image to get the full size of the image. I also have photos from the 18 mile 'Brom' run last week.

18 miles and going....

Wow we did eighteen miles again on Dec 17th. I was pretty busy at work..as you can see from the haphazard postings :) . I had 2 hrs of sleep and I had to do this eighteen miles on a saturday morning! Well this was almost the last straw for me..

It took me 15 mins to wake up and when I brushed my teeth I felt like puking !!

Well, I learnt my lesson...proper sound sleep is necessary for every run. It took me 4 hrs to do eighteen miles and it took me 2 hrs and 41 mins to do it the previous week for the lab. The lab was flat and the brom (that was the name of this run) was a bit hilly. Nevertheless I could feel that I was going much slower than my easy pace.

At least there was ganesh and savitha for company. Ashwini and aravind had to return at the 2 mile point because ashwini had severe back pain.

This is a very tough phase in training. Most runners are prone to injuries at this time. The most common being ITB .

We had a new half-marathon runner in the team joining us in the run. Purna will be doing the half-marathon in just under 2 months of training. Even after the coach scared him like hell, he was hell - bent on undergoing the challenge. Welcome purna! You are truly one of the gang :)

After about 4 hrs and a tiring 18 miles in temperatures of 30-40s, I got 4 hrs of sleep and was back at work :( ..

At least I can look forward to 2 weeks of recovery runs during the hols and no work! Will be off to North carolina to meet up with my cousins..its been more than 10 years since the three of us met!

The Lab again!

I was really caught up at work and couldn't keep the blog updated on time.Sorry!

The 1st week of December :

This was a recovery week and we did 10 miles. I got a new pair of shoes and got adjusted to it. I was worried that it might cause more strain on my shins...Thankfully, it was no better than the old shoes or worse :)

I stopped icing my shins. Because the swelling and pain had decreased. If I just keep icing it when there is no pain or swelling, I will end up injuring it again :)

2nd week of December :

We all did the LAB again. 2 miles warm up, 4 laps around the 3.5 mile loop at MGP and 2 miles cool down. Well finally I have understood what MGP means...Its just the pace better than your easy pace ..tough enough so that you can't converse as easy as with the 'easy' runs and slow enough so that you don't burn out.

Finished the 14 miles in 2 hrs and did the warm-up and cool down at 10 mins a mile to finish the 18 miles in 2 hrs and 41 mins.

This is good going and if I can hold on to this time, I might have a good chance at a sub 4 marathon! But, I have got to be careful and take it easy :) ...

The recovery from this long run was pretty long. My legs were aching like crazy and as much as I tried to cover it up..I was limping at work for a couple of days.
Thankfully no sustained injuries!

Ashwini and aravind did great to finish the run after starting late. They have been giving their all and have been putting in a splendid effort! I really do admire them for what they are doing. It could be very easy to drop off from long runs. But, they have patiently gone through numerous pains and have sticked to the plan !

Wishing them a wonderful marathon! They keep joking about they running slow and ppl passing them etc...but, the truth is "ITs NOT ABOUT HOW FAST!" ...running fast might mean more effort on your legs to pound faster etc...but, to run for a 'LONGER' time requires more endurance skills....