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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