Winter training

Now that I have had a rest from the training and a long awaited vacation(?), it is time to begin training for next year. It was not a vacation as much as a visit to meet my family and friends back home that became very hectic and I needed a few weeks after returning to recover from it :-)

I plan to start with swimming to get my stamina back. Then move onto long walks whenever the darn rain allows me. It has been a really rainy November and it continued into December. My poor dog is also tired of it. He is so low to the ground that his chest gets wet in the puddles and grass everytime tries to go out after a heavy rain.

Then start join the MCC training program for next year's marathons starting in January.

1/3 marathon

October 20, 2009: Even though I am not running in the MCM and did not get in to the Baltimore Half-Marathon this year, I am glad I trained. I am so much healthier and a bit lighter too :-). I stand straighter because I feel healthier and I know I complete this goal next year. I am particularly glad to have found an organization like AID. A charity that matches my personal vision of supporting several causes at the same time.

I am still collecting funds because the needs of the people supported by AID did not go away just because I could not achieve my personal goal of running this year. Please donate at the link below --

Check out my story at -- Acheiving personal goals while I Run For India

Read why I am excited about AID -- Why I am glad to be running


October 14, 2009: It was an interesting weekend. I was supposed to run the Baltimore half-marathon. I was told I was still on the waiting list so I went there to cheer those who were running with my runner's t-shirt on to identify with AID and MCP. The race started with me cheering beside a few runner's family members. Then we took a quick metro rail ride to just after the 4 mile mark to continue cheering. It was windy and cold.

As I held up the sign cheering all the MCP runners one of them came up to me with major cramps on his shins. The muscles had turned as hard as the bone. I showed him how to stretch them out and decided to run along for a bit to motivate him. The stretching helped for a while though he got cramps again and I continued to help him stretch, chat and joke to distract him. Before we knew it we were past the 11 mile mark and he was feeling good. So he took off and I ran a bit then walked the rest of the way. So even though I was not 'running' I ran a 1/3 marathon :-) It felt good.

Next Year!!

Well, it is the eve of the Baltimore running festival and I have still not heard anything from the organizers about if I made it past the waiting list. One of the coaches told me it does not look very hopeful because there are a lot of people on the waiting list ahead of me.

In some ways I am relieved because I was not ready mentally nor physically - the Baltimore races are pretty hilly compared to the MCM. I will join the cheer leaders tomorrow then continue cross-training with a hike later in the day. I have to get fitter to be able to complete the marathon next spring or fall.

In the meanwhile India here I come!

Did I say the 2009 Marine Corps Marathon? I meant 2010.

Did I say i was training for the 2009 Marine Corps Marathon? I meant 2010 :-) This year I am running in the Baltimore Half-Marathon on Saturday, October 10.

It is strange how not listening to your coaches is so much like not listening to your parents! I did not do enough cross-training and now I had to give up my dream of completing the Marathon this year. I have a lot of trouble getting past the 10 mile mark. Last week I did 12 miles in about 3 1/2 hours. Even though this time I paced myself with walks and stretching in between, I knew it was time to confront reality. I spoke with my coaches and decided to take part in the national Marathon in the spring of 2010 and maybe the MCM next year too. I needed to put in a lot more hours of training and cross-training to get my knees to the point of taking the pounding of running 26.2 miles and the training before that.

I am not too bummed out about this since I am more realistic about my 'advancing age' :-) haah! says my 'inner child' - the forever teenager. Double haah! Say I. I will run the marathon next year. I have got beyond the 3 mile mark this year after such a long time. I need to take time getting myself fit for the challenge.

BooHoo! Now my next goal of a triathlon has to wait a bit longer. I got time. It is not like I plan on popping off anytime soon. I may very well be the guy who completes a marathon on replacement knees -- naah! Too much pain involved and I run from planned pain.

Bye for now. Will keep you updated on my progress.

Stuck at the 10 mile mark!

Man! I am finding it hard to get beyond the 10 mile mark. After a few miles I keep going by focusing on the people that will be helped by the money I raise. Then, around the 10 mile mark, I am not able to go any more. My knees just don't budge. I need to do more cross-training and more often. I joined the pool and it shut down for 'annual maintenance' There went my cross-training.

DC is a nice place to walk

I just had a wonderful walk through the parks and streets of DC. I had been at work since 6 AM starting the day with a server being down and some tools not being able to complete the nightly backup. I had just been dumped upon without so much as a courtesy question if I had the band-width. I had even dropped my cup of second cup coffee. I decided it was time for break and went outside.

I walked and walked enjoying looking at the beautiful buildings and beautiful people (women). There were YMCA youth getting out of a bus all excited in anticipation of whatever sights they were going to see. There were more on the other side of the street trying to cross before the light turned. They did not make it! I walkd thru the courtyard of the Ronald Reagan building. There was a concert going on, a part of a series that will be here till Labor Day. I must remember to come over and see as often as I can.

I continued on and came up to the Smithsonian Museum of American Art. There were children with their beautiful mothers. In my eyes there is no more beautiful woman than the mother of a happy playful child. I walked around the Monument, Organization of American States building, the DAR Constitution Hall. I turned. Ahead of me were 3 young women with their shoes in their hands. Two were completely barefoot one had flip-flops skipping along giggling and chatting happily. I felt like following suit, taking off my shoes and walking barefoot myself. I walked behind them for a while just enjoying their freedom. I was jealous of their innocence and youth.

It was a very relaxing walk. I came back refreshed though my feet hurt. Walking in 'business casual' shoes is not such a good idea, but it sure is better than staying in the office thru lunch.

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7 miles in the bright sun, NOT!

Yesterday I sold my car! No I have not given up driving, I just got a deal in advance of getting my other car back from my son when he leaves for college in a couple of weeks. I had intended to sell it after I got his car, but had a deal that did not require me to advertise, answer the phone as different interested buyers asked the same questions repeatedly.

I had also thought that I may rent a car for a couple of weeks. I decided against it when my friend offered to give me a rides to the metro train station. So when I had a doctor's appointment, I decided to walk it. It was bright and sunny though some dark clouds seemed to threaten a few showers. I started then returned home to pick up my sun glasses and an umbrella. It was an interesting walk. I probably looked like one of those salesmen walking through the neighborhoods with a bag over my shoulder (containing the umbrella, cell phone, wallet and some papers).

I was wearing shorts and a thin t-shirt, so I decided to try to run some of the distance. I did not want to be completely soaked in sweat when I reached the doctor's office so I did only short stretches. I reached the office by 3:45 and estimated I had walked about 7 miles and was feeling pretty good since my shins and knees hurt like I had run a marathon. I plotted it on mapmyrun.com and it was only 4.65 miles :-( . I felt better after adding my morning walk/jog of 1.85 miles I did get closer to my estimated 7 miles.

When I got there I was told they were running a little late! In fact, I had the wrong time and was over an hour early for my 5:15 appointment!! I sat down in the waiting room. There in front of me was young mother with her 2yr old. The little girl had so much energy, and was still well behaved. She kept walking around in a small space around her mother or climbing all over her saying 'aunty!' 'aunty' in a tiny voice, handing her mother all the items in the room her tiny hands could pick up. I asked the lady why she was calling her aunty. She replied "She knows I am mommy when she needs something. Other times I am aunty because my nieces and nephews at home call me aunty." That was the cutest explanation since it brought back childhood memories of an aunt we kids called 'jija aunty'. We had no idea that in her language (Rajasthani) jija meant 'elder sister'. Her kids called her jija, hence we called her jija aunty. Pleasant childhood memories.


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11 miles and sore as %@*&

Yesterday, I ran in the Riley's Rumble half-marathon. Boy was it fun! It started raining hard a minute into the race and we had a steep decline within the first mile. I was already feeling it in my shins by the time we reached the first watering hole at mile 2! Then it got a little better since it became a climb.

Running on the edge of a rural road with rain and traffic is not the most fun of experiences. I had begun to hurt pretty badly by the time I crossed the 4 mile mark. I started walking on the downhills and running as much a possible on the uphills. I stopped to stretch a few times. Not much help. I managed to force myself to run/speed-walk till the 10 mile mark. The back of my knees and just below the knee-caps was hurting at each step. I was the last person being allowed to finish the race! All behind me had been turned earlier. The next guy ahead of me had just vanished over the next hill. One of the guys helping asked me if I could make it. I said I will, though slowly. Then I tried to start a slow jog and it really hurt. I turned around and asked if the offer was still on! He readily agreed and I got in his car.

As soon as I saw the person who had vanished over the hill was not as far ahead as I thought he was I regretted my decision. That small but steep hill had looked very long at the time of my decision. Anyway, we made it to the finish line after stopping and talking with some other volunteers. I asked him if I needed to go to the finish-line he said not necessary. I walked over to a few of the earlier finishers and volunteers from my charity AID (Lakhi, Ritu, Preeti etc) and began post race stretching. Next thing I see a few organizers running around flustered and worried "We lost a runner. #2312 is missing" They are on the radio asking the bike race volunteers if they have seen this runner. I look down and see my number - it is 2312!! :-) The person who gave me my ride forgot to tell the other organizers and suddenly I was a lost runner. So I had to hobble up slowly and tell them that 2312 was not lost, he had been stretching behind them. It was funny. Would have been funnier had I not been so tired and much in pain.

Even though I did not finish, it was a great experience. I now knew I could still push myself beyond my normal limits given the circumstances and the motivation. I went home and just sat fully-clothed in a tub of cold water adding a large bag of ice to it. Surprisingly, for a person who would normally not do something like that it felt good!!

I now know that I have to run more during the week and also train on my strength. Good lessons learnt.

Getting there - Riley's Rumble

Last week I had a bad week in terms of practice. I ran only 4 miles instead of the recommended 12. I thought I would be okay since I had danced the night away - nearly 4 hours at my niece's wedding on the weekend before and walked all over Univ of VA campus on Monday and Tuesday. I had walked as much as possible to make up for not running. It is not the same.

To make up for that I jogged/walked 4 miles on Monday and ran most of the same 4 miles on Tuesday. It is really a testament to the training that I was not even sore the next day! I did not want to overdo it so I rested yesterday. Today I plan to run hopefully 6-8 miles.

The first test of my training happens this weekend at the Riley's Rumble half-marathon. It should be fun. Several of the AID runners are taking part in it. I am so excited I feel like dancing.

10 miles and counting!

Yeah baby! I am getting there. I completed 10 miles and even managed to actually run in short spurts (as opposed to jogging and walking). It reminded me of old times.

It was a chilly October morning in 1983, when a couple of my friends and I ran the half-marathon in the first "Rath Marathon" in India on just one month's training. We were so fit then. We actually ran all the way and I personally was upset at finishing in 1hr 39 minutes. Today, I would be extremely happy to do it in under 2 hrs. We had never measured our training runs and apparently were running a lot more than we realized. We could have done it in under 1:30 or even run the whole marathon.

This Saturday, July 4th was a good hilly run in beautiful Rock Creek. Enjoyed it even more since I gave a ride to 4 beautiful ladies and also brought most of the supplies - it was AID's turn to host and most of the volunteers were out of town due to the long weekend. Always feels great to help.

Running in the rain!! 4.75 miles!!

I started last evening in the horribly humid atmosphere. Then when coming back it started raining. It felt so good. I wish it had rained a little earlier and a little harder. That would have made my run easier. The extreme humidity just before rain is crazy.

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9 miles! Wooooo!!

I completed 9 miles in 2 hrs 25 minutes.
I can do it!
Yes I can 'Run for India'.
Thanks to the company I had, I managed to do a lot more running this time. I felt good enough to plant the rest of my small 'rain-garden' later.

I feel good even though I am aching all over today and have been popping ibuprofen like cough drops. It still feels good. It was a good day yesterday. I went to a farewell for my friend Jim's youngest son Corey. He is going off to the Marine Corps boot camp tomorrow! That little baby is a young man now! I know he will make us proud.

Later I went to a college graduation prayer/party 70 miles in the other direction. It was for my friend Sunil's eldest son Manish. I ended up driving nearly 300 miles in the day. What a day! Started at 6 am and ended at 1 am.

9 miles tomorrow!

Thank god for dry weather! I have to run 9 miles tomorrow.

I keep telling myself "I will make it!! Yes I will!"
"Focus Arvind! You can do it."

I have to "Run for India". When I think about the poor villagers losing their homes to a new factory being built without proper compensation being given, I can keep going. Run till I just can't anymore.

8 mile mark!!

We were supposed to run 8 miles last Saturday. Well a storm created a bit of a problem. We had a huge tree down at less than a quarter mile before the turn-around point. So most of us (like yours truly) who chose not to try to climb over the tree ended up completing ~7.6 miles. Mine was again a walk/jog rather than a jog/walk. Not bad at all for me seeing that my previous best was 5 miles walking/jogging.

I am still being told by the trainers that I can make it so that I don't have to get on "The Bus of Shame" (non-finishers) at the Marine Corps Marathon. I will keep on trying. I like the way these experienced runners call that bus that picks up people who have not reached the 20 mile mark at 5 hrs "The Bus of Shame". It sure motivates one to try harder.

There will be No Bus of Shame for this old fart!
No way! I will finish.

5 mile run? Not!!

I was very excited that I had run 5 miles in the morning in 53 minutes. I had randomly added two small neighborhoods to a 3.41 mile run. Now it turns out it was only 4.43 miles. :-(

Adding the walk I took Jackson for afterwards makes it exactly 5.02 miles. Not bad, since that added only 15 minutes of slow-stopping walk to the total time. So now I know that I need to add the park to my run to make it a full 5 mile run.

I started the morning with an orange, and some water. Ended with fried egg on toast and a banana with vitamins, milk, 20 oz. bottle of Powerade and more water. I feel great!

That MapMyRun.com site is really awesome for this purpose.

This was originally written on Thursday June 11. wanted to write more then forgot to post it.

Run-Run-Run

Got to keep going. Even in this rain, I have to keep in shape.
Run-Run-Run!!

I saw this somewhere and decided to copy it here.

Change your thinking, change your future. Say
"challenge" when others would say "problem,"
"I'll be glad to" instead of "I'll have to," and
"I'm getting better at ..." rather than "I'm no good at ..."

I did it!

I did it!! I managed to get myself out of the house and run (jog) yesterday. Even though it was late when I got home, I managed to convince myself to run. I completed ~3.5 miles running nearly 75% of the way. I ran most of the uphills too. Now I really need to get my legs in better shape. I was out of breath a few times, but mostly my legs gave way.

Later I even walked my dog around the neighborhood adding ~0.6 miles. Then I even ate a very modest dinner because i felt so good. I did cheat a little, later when I could not sleep. Still it was healthy snacks -> a bitter melon vegetable sandwich on double-fiber whole grain bread and a handful of dry fruits.

I feel goooood!! na-na-na-na-na!

Run Don't Walk

Now that I am able to walk/run 5 miles, I need to run-walk the distance i.e more run than walk. I can hike more than that distance, so why do I feel so tired when I try to walk-run? I wonder if it is a mental thing. I have hiked with heavy climbing involved just recently and am sure I can do 10-12 miles of such hiking even today. Why can't I jog half the distance slowly? It must be a mental thing. I am mentally challenged when it comes to running.

Today is the day for my personal run.

5 miles!!!

This Saturday, I completed 5 miles, even though it was mainly walking. Probably ran about 1.5 miles. It was hard because I missed so many days of practice with my sinus issues. Well anyway, it felt good. I am also energized about helping AID

Rain Rain Go Away

Walk-don't-Run:
Man, it is tough to motivate oneself when one has not slept well for weeks. I have a 5 mile run this Saturday and have not yet reached anywhere close to that distance!! The darn rain, cold (~40 deg F), heat (~80 deg F) all in the same day is perfect weather to get really sick. And sure enough I have been sick. The darn sinuses have not healed even though the pollen has reduced significantly with the rain.

One thing nice about all this is my waist-line has reduced. I am waisting away, even when not running! :-)

Thanks to doctors, I now have allergies!!

Still aching and unable to sleep. %@$#*~ that pollen. I never thought I would get it this bad. It only happened to others, with weakened immune systems or people who have allergies etc. etc....

I did not have allergies till some quack doctor in Cincinnati misdiagnosed me and told me emphatically "This is not a cold, it is an allergy." and he was not even a specialist!! Till then I was blissfully unaware of it and told people "I have no allergies, I am a healthy individual. I only seem to get colds all seasons of the year." I was very proud of my knowledge level in this field. Stupid doctor! I bet he got paid a lot from the drug companies to tell me that. Ruined my whole future.

Ignorance was bliss! Now I can't just feed my 'cold'. I have to take medicines like Zyrtec/Claritin-d/Benadryl.....

Killer Pollen

Man what a toll just a little thing like pollen can take. I have been home for 2 days with a very sore throat. No running at all though I did get a little walking in yesterday. Hope to get some more in later today. I figured out one nice thing when tracing my route form home to someplace. The length of the main road outside my sub-division is exactly 4 miles (1.5 going east and 2.5 going west). Now I know how much I will be running soon.

Getting in shape

Tried to run yesterday. I was so 'out of it'. I managed to walk all around my neighborhood going into each cul-de-sac and around the park. I ran only about 300 yds in the whole distance. I need to get on my bike and figure out how much the distance is. I know it is well over a mile. Hope it is more than 2. Then to add to it, because I felt guilty about not running, I added another walk around the park with my old friend Jackson, my dachshund. Tomorrow is my next training run. Curiously, I am excited about it!

My how fast our body gets out of shape as we get closer to the half century mark. I made a promise to myself that I would complete a marathon before I turned 50! I have only 23 months to go to achieve my goal.

I started last year by signing up as a replacement runner for a friend in the Army 10 miler only one month before the race. I got up to 3 miles in ~10 days and was feeling pretty good about myself. Then there was a week of rain! That ended my training. Come May 2009, I thought 'Off course I can get to 3 miles in 2 days!" Yeah right! I am hurting all over after only three days of running spread out over 1 week, and I have got up to only 3 miles with walking.

Will I get to 6.2 miles by June 6? This is when I start to believe in God because I am asking his help in achieving my goal. If I get there he must exist.

Just Ten More Steps

"Just another ten steps! I can do it." That is all I keep saying. "Just till that tree", "Just till that corner". Next thing I know I have completed the run. Sometimes I have to walk a bit. Then I try to say "I will walk till that car" and attempt to start running before I reach the 'car'. It is tough in my 'old age' to start something like this. The whole body aches the next day as if one did a ton of aerobics. It was just a short jog!! I have till October to get to 26.2 miles. Currently I am at 1.2 miles!! Just another 25 to go. Pray for me please!

"I can do it. Just ten more steps"