Monday June 22

6.46KM. It was a laboured run. Rain was pouring heavily and had to stick to the parking lots.

Our hero and his friend decide to take a treacherous route populated by nomads and campa ( thieves )  – as there are no district officials in that route. The district officials would have stopped their progress as they do not have permit to go to Lhasa.

The 2 fugitives move from one nomad camp to another and are well taken care of. Here they find polyandry common – a woman living with 2 or 3 husbands. As they get deeper and deeper, they find the nomads becoming more and more hostile. They were entering the campa territory. Campa are the thieves who plunder from nomads and caravans.

They unknowingly go near a tent, assuming it is that of a nomad. Soon they find out it is that of a Campa – as they do not have any sheep or do not look anything like that simple nomads. They have a fitful sleep if they will be murdered that night.

The next day morning they quickly start. The campas let them go, but soon 2 sturdy looking campas start accompany thing them prodding them to go to a nearby hill where a smoke was emanating. Our heroes quickly decide it is a bad idea, and soon retrace their way back to the campa tent giving some excuse, and then they follow the route they came – as they knew it already and it was not campa infested.

Somehow they dodge the pursuers, and now take a different route suggested by the nomads – which is  even more treacherous but no humans inhabit this hostile territory.

Tuesday June 23

Target was 11kms. I decided to get out on the road. It was a very bad idea. There were poodles of water and it was raining heavily. I mis stepped multiple times and I knew it was not good for my legs.

After 6.8kms gave up as I had developed a familiar pain on my right legs – Shin splints.

I used to have it in my left leg a long time ago. It usually comes when I run a lot or I run bad. This time it could be the combination of both.

I was worried a bit as does this mean my marathon conquest is going to end? I decided to give a rest to the training program.

Wednesday thru Saturday

Rest. I was constantly researching where to go run. Ruled out Sanjay Gandhi park as they have laid it in concrete the entire stretch to Kanneri caves and I can only go after 7:30AM. Have zeroed in on Aarey colony – have to go check out.

On Friday I did manage a few steps and there was no pain. I was at Isha foundation at Coimbatore and was trying to reach the 5:45PM Nada abhishegam. We reached at 5:45PM and had to run to the Dyanalinga. It was beautiful the meditation and the scene – it was cloudy and drizzling, at the foothills of Vellingiri mountains where we spotted 5 water falls.. and a beautiful calm ashram. Could have stayed forever.

Sunday June 28th

According to the training plan I have to run 19kms on Saturday ( yesterday). I decided to do the long run today.

Thankfully the rains had spared Mumbai the last 2 days and the roads and park were dry. There was a brief shower in the morning but it was not heavy.

I ran for 8kms at a stretch. No pain. Phoo. The marathon is on. Took a short walk break and continued running for another 2kms. I went back to the apartment security guy where I had kept the water bottle and drank it all. My legs were already tired and sat down for sometime. Screw time.

P was doing his cycle rounds and spotted me. The chatter box will not leave me alone. I was starting on the next 9kms with a doubtful heart. And this guy asks,

“Naana why you are not running?”

I said, “boss my legs are tired. I am giving them a rest. Will have to think of something strong and then run”

“What strong things – like metal?”

I thought for a moment and said – “like Love and Joy.”

P wanted to come with me on his cycle – I had to force him to cycle within the apartment complex. On a shorter run perhaps I will take him with me. Today I have a tough run ahead.

I walked for another km, and then entered the park. This time decided to finish the remaining 8kms in the park itself. I ran a mapping run – to see how long the trail was – had to put on the headphones for this and switched on the audio book. The trail was a perfect 1km. What a blessing this place is.

Our heroes now enter Lhasa. They use their wit and lie at couple of places that a bigger entourage is following and they have to go and prepare lodging for their bosses and race through the checkpoints.

They are received well, and the Tibetans take good care of them. Even the Dalai Llama’s parents meet him. They were simple peasants in a village in China before their son was identified as the Buddha reincarnate.

They were then brought to Tibet where they were treated as a King and Queen.

The heroes now are more or less saved. Their first night was funny – after spending days in the cold in their make shift tent, they get a nice warm heater and a soft bed – and they find it hard to sleep.

I switch to my running songs and complete the run with more walks towards the end – after a marathon 2hours and 45 minutes. 19kms conquered.

P was waiting for me near the gate of the apartment complex and we both go and drink Tender Coconut.

My legs are super worn out. Shin splints did not appear.

I will be making few changes to my run – I think I get the drift of this marathon preparation.

Here is going to be my new torture plan for the next week. Deviating from what Nike run coach is suggesting ( i am cutting off one run )

Monday : Sweet Rest

Tuesday : 8kms
Wednesday : 11kms

Thursday,Friday : Rest

Saturday : 8kms
Sunday : 23kms

Will use tomorrow to explore my new route at Aarey colony.

Here is what I did on Week 5.

Monday – June 15

I decided I will not doubt anymore if I can complete the marathon or drop midway. I have survived 2 weeks and I have run 86kms in 2 weeks – something I take 2 months or more to do.

I have to be distracted when I run – either by a podcast or music or a good audio book. Sunday evening I was hunting for a good audio book. I discovered 7 years in Tibet – set against World War II. Had seen this movie long back – Brad Pitt was in it. Downloaded it and was looking forward for the morning run.

Also, a friend of mine advised me to not run on concrete too much – I run around the parking lots – the hard concrete surface damages the knees in the long run ( hehe – unintentional pun ). So I moved to a nearby park – it was completely deserted because of the rain and the track was a mud track and was wet slippery and soggy at lot of places. Not sure if this will still be runnable after the Mumbai Rain comes in full force.

This autobiography starts with the narration of German mountaineer, Heinrich, is part of a mountain expedition and is waiting to take a ship back to Germany. It is the beginning of World War II and immediately after Britain declares war on Germany –  his team is arrested by British Indian soldiers in Karachi and is deported to Dehradun POW camp. There he plans his escape. He knows no knowledge of English or Hindustani ( thats how he says Hindi ) and tries to learn as much as possible and plans the route to Tibet – which is a neutral country and he can apply for an asylum.

6.4kms passed away on a strong note.

Tuesday – June 16

It was sunny and no rain. Weird. It is a 11km run – and I went to the muddy track to run.

The story was engrossing. Heinrich and his friend escape and travel quite a distance on foot. English Saahibs never carry anything except a rifle, and all their belongings are carried by Indian servants. So these 2 if spotted will be in trouble. So they travel in the night and hide behind trees or boulders during the day.

They make quite a good progress before they get captured. They are then sent back to the Pow camp and get 26 day solitary confinement. And again they start planning for the escape during the summer of 1939.

This time 7 others join him – but 4 were going to Burma, and 3 along with him to Tibet – which is a neutral country and hopefully they will get asylum there.

The 11km run today was a bit difficult. Managed to finish it keeping under 7 pace. This has become my goal nowadays – to keep the pace hovering around 6:56 or so.

Wednesday – June 17

Today it is a 8km run. It was drizzling and it was gloomy.

I started with the This week in tech podcast – learnt about Apple Music – which I am looking forward to launch in India – and generally the panel was in negative mood. So I switched to 7 years in Tibet book.

The fugitives make good progress. They enter Tibet and keep making their way to Lhasa – passing one village to another – and being mesmerised by Himalayas. The author takes time to describe Himalayas, Manasoravar lake etc. and I am jealous of him. How beautiful it would have been at that time – untouched by humans and pristine.

Things finally look up for the fugitives and they might be granted a pass to go to Lhasa. I end the run just a little shy of 7 pace. Give a pat to myself for having finished the run for the 3rd successive day and earned a rest day tomorrow.

Today my legs were both tired. I figured, even if my legs are tired I can run at this gentle pace – perhaps this week long run I have to run this way only.

Thursday – June 18

The beauty of a shade is only appreciated after standing in the sun for hours. Today is rest day – and I am loving it.

Friday – June 19

Mumbai is getting heavy rains. Schools and most of the offices are closed today. Local trains which never stop were stopped because the tracks were all flooded. And in this weather I ran. I wore a cap, a rain jacket and regretted immediately as it got really hot – not a good idea. It is better to run drenched.

The park I run was unrunnable. Ran on the roads and felt my pace getting hammered. Let go of the under 7 pace goal. Had to run into many a puddles, wait at intersections, and water got into the shoe. It was fun. Not sure if it will dry by tomorrow for the long run.

6.4kms was completed in a gentle pace.

Saturday – June 20

It was as if a big bucket of water got dumped on Mumbai. 1/10th of the annual rain fall came in just one day.

Throughout the previous day was wondering where to run? Was tempted to ask this question on twitter – but it would have raised a storm – when the city is flooded is this your biggest concern @venkat2? Ideal topic for trolls. Kept my peace.

And today is the mega run – 16kms.

I started the run today and decided to stick to roads – no parks. I did not listen to the book – had to be alert to listen to the vehicles. If I was listening to the audio book or music, I will get prompts every 1 km. But today I had to run without these alerts. I ran for quite some time and thought – I should have run some 10kms. I took a walk break and that time checked my phone and saw I had covered just 5kms. Man this is going to be tough.

I took a deep breathe and again started. This time I discovered a new park behind our Apartment Complex – a larger one – has a mud track and was slippery in patches. It was deserted. Running in roads did not excite me – I like the parks. Did a couple of rounds, and ran through the parking lots once again. Had kept a water bottle before the run with the security guard of our Apartment Complex – took a break to drink and checked the distance. It was 12kms. Phoo – just 4 more kms.

I switched on the audio book and decided to run within the parking lot. Our hero is stuck in a village – has made friends with the locals and  celebrates Tibetan New Year. A young girl dies of chicken pox and observes their rituals. 3 men carry the dead body to a place of burial marked by lot of vultures and birds. Here one of the men chop the body into many pieces and even break the bones for the birds to consume. The other men keep the birds away.

In Tibetan culture – the soul has gone on its journey of reincarnation. They do not want any part of the body left behind and they let it get consumed by the earth. Sounded barbaric but natural.

Having signed up as an organ donor it resonated with me. Each human being can give an eye sight, or  even more precious – life – to 9 other people – by donating organs.

Anyway 1 km was left, and I have run more than 2hours. World record for marathon is 2:03:02. And here I am still struggling to finish a 16km run. I am in awe of the super humans who can run a marathon in 2 hours time.

I completed the 16km distance and heaved a sigh of relief. Week 3 conquered. My legs were done. My pace was 8mins.

Coming back to the story. The war is over but he is still a fugitive. Tibet has not given asylum and they are urging him to go to Nepal – where he is sure he will get arrested and sent to the camp.

So our hero plans an escape. Does all the preparations and sets off in the night – the villagers even though they protest – because they will get punished by their higher authorities, do not stop him. I am eagerly waiting when he will reach Lhasa and meet Dalai Llama who was a kid that time – the exchanges between them was very interesting in the movie.

My pace went downhill

Current week torture report

Next week torture plan

Here is what I did on Week 4.

Monday – June 8th

When I woke up felt my legs ached a bit. Was debating whether to give it a pass – as I have 2 long runs coming up the next 2 days.

Anyway, dragged myself out of the home and started at my gentle pace. Once I started running did not think of the mild pain.. it went away I guess. It was just my mind fooling me. Then when I had 2 kms to go raised my pace a bit. I think I can identify 2 paces – a slow pace where I breathe through my nose effortlessly, and a slightly faster pace – where I really run – and breathe through the mouth. I feel I have one more gear left.

Listening to Once a runner audio book. It is about a bunch of cross country athletes in a South Eastern University of Florida, and our protagonist – Cassidy – is in trouble. He had represented other athletes against a rather stupid circular from their Athletic director – to cut hairs and wear collared shirts. And the athletic department has suspended him to bring fear and discipline in others. He is to face the board today, but before that goes for a run with his friend – and the author philosophises about running – beautiful piece.

Tuesday – June 9th

Night I had to put Volini on my knees. They were not feeling normal. When I woke up knees did not have the odd feeling. Had the nagging fear – will I get pain on my knees and I have to break my run midway?

I was searching for WWDC podcasts, but none were there. I continued Cassidy’s story and he is thrown out of college. He goes to the woods and lives alone and becomes a monk runner – runs twice a day.. almost a full marathon each day.

Todays run is 9.7 KMs, had to run at a fast pace after 1.6KMs. I picked up pace, and each lap I ran faster than the previous one – like a Formula 1 car that picks up speed as its fuel load lightens up. Ended up with amazing timing – almost 6.30 on average – pretty impressive.

Right knee is acting up a bit – gotto give it a massage in the night, and perhaps buy the knee braces. This running business is expensive.

Wednesday – June 10th

Woke up at 4:20AM in anticipation. Thought I will do Sudarshan Kriya, but dozed off. Searched for any good podcasts, I only got 2 hours left in the audio book. Did not find any interesting podcasts, so decided to run with the book.

It was a gentle good run – 8.4kms – did not push too hard at any point.

In the story Cassidy practises real hard and even manages to run a mile within 4 minutes. His friend Denton keeps Cassidy filled with books, training and keeps him sane. He is trying to enrol Cassidy in an athletic meet, but the College board removed Cassidy’s name from him. Denton talks to the Chancellor – and says Cassidy can bring glory as he has improved a lot, but the Chancellor talks of discipline etc. and even threatens Denton openly on his academic career coming to an end if he keeps supporting Cassidy.

I picked up a mild pain in the right leg muscle below the knee on the back. Tomorrow is cross-training day ( I call it rest day ) – if I give it enough rest it will be alright.

Thursday – June 11th

Cross-training day. Did Suriya Namaskar and Sudarshan Kriya.

Friday – June 12th

I had a 8am meeting in Worli. That means had to leave home by 7am. That means I have to complete my run by 6:15am max. That means I have to wake up by 5:00am. Thats what I did and ran 6.4kms.

It had rained the night before, and it was dark and there are little pools of water here and there. The Mumbai rain season is just beginning. Legs felt heavy and was wondering how I will do the long run tomorrow. Also I did not have my morning dose of filter coffee – so was in a terrible mood at the beginning. But like in all runs – after a few steps the dark mood drifted away.

Cassidy trains real hard. Denton his friend and trainer makes him work really hard. Does interval training where he gets him fully tired. Then makes him repeat it – and here is where Cassidy discovers something inside him. After this he sleeps for 17 hours straight after this.

And he is going to race in the College Track once again. The worlds faster runner – a bloke from NewZealand – is to participate and Cassidy is enlisted as Faaz – with Denton doing some shady stuff – as a Finnish runner. And Cassidy had stopped shaving and grows a beard – so he won’t be recognised. Can’t wait for tomorrow’s run to see how this story ends.

Saturday – June 13th

Today is the longest run of the week.13kms.

Legs feel real tired. I started the run with lot of doubts – could I finish today’s run and the Marathon?? It was drizzling a bit and had to watch where I put my foot as I might slip on the slopes.

I tuned into the audio book – and Cassidy walks the track before the race night thinking what he will do at every step. And the race night. It is all explained in detail. After the race starts, somehow the word spreads and everyone comes to know the bearded runner  is not Faaz – the finish runner – but their own hero – Cassidy – who has been expelled – and the crowd starts chanting. Cassidy’s now ex-girl friend – Andrea – stands up and sees his face – and suddenly realises what this runner is all about and she too starts chanting – much to the chagrin of her new boyfriend.

I cry here. Thankfully my spectacles is all wet and no one would have known. I was rooting for Cassidy too.

The Newzealand Runner is ahead but at the final stretch Cassidy beats him to win the race and that too in 3.52 minutes. His fastest ever and he not only breaks the 4 minute barrier, he also beats the worlds fastest runner. The Athletic director eats humble pie.

The story ends with him leaving the medal on the field and walking away.

The story got over quickly. I still have 5 more kms to go and it was getting tough. My legs have become very tired and the last 2 kms I had to really push hard to complete.

Tomorrow thankfully is a rest day – and from Monday Week 3 starts. And next week the long run is 16km. It is cruel – after a gruelling week – on Saturday – when my poor legs are the most tired is when I do the longest run of the week. This is how athletes build strength I guess. This is how they learn to run the last 10 or 15 kms of the 42km Marathon – when they are all done and tired, they dig into their deepest reserves to complete the race.

“Trial of Miles. Miles of Trials” – Once a runner.

This week running summary

Next Week plan

[ Week 3 Notes ]

September 20 is my D-Day – The Kaveri Trail Marathon [ http://kaveritrailmarathon.com ]. Got to know via a tweet and it set me on another of my adventure / irrational act – to run a full marathon ( 42kms ).

I had run (half walked in pain) a half marathon ( 21kms ) in the Bangalore Midnight Marathon held in Dec 2011 and it was a disaster. [ My first half Marathon ]. I finished last. And vowed never again. Next time I will train better and will run the full race, not walk half the race.

It has been 3 long years since then and I could never bring myself to run even a half marathon again. Always the fear of failure was there and the last disastrous experience kept haunting me.

What if I cannot cross the wall – the point wherein body has exhausted its glucose content and starts burning fat. Body thinks it is starving and self preservation kicks in and freezes itself – and a runner cannot take one step forward as body does not allow fat to be burnt. Every marathoner has to overcome this wall.

What if I get cramps at the 41st km just before the finish line – and my legs are all locked up and I am lying on the floor watching the finish line and see others runners crossing it.

What if I develop shin splints and other running injuries and I have to give up the training midway.

What if on the race day I land my foot on a hole, and sprain it badly that I have to DNF ( did not finish ).

What if I develop blisters, stomach cramps, dizziness – or the myriad ailments that can strike me when it is undergoing the heavy stress of a marathon?

My mind quickly got filled with all the Nos. Why should you subject yourself to such torture, when on the very Sunday on Sep 20th – I could be sipping my morning filter coffee and reading a nice book in the comfort of my home.

And it is not just torture for one day – the next 4 months is going to be a torture – every single day.

Why bother at all with this?

But then there is this little voice in my head – which keeps fighting all these little devils – tells this – what if this frail body we are all in can pull off an impossible feat. And I want this little voice to grow louder and defeat these little devil friends of mine.

So I pulled up my phone, launched Nike Running, navigated to Coach, keyed in race date as 20th Sep 2015 – and it created a training plan starting from June 1st ( 16 weeks total)

I will have to do 5 runs a week of which one of them is a really long run. One cross training day. One rest day. One of these runs, as per the running program – I have to do a Fartlek – interval training – run very fast for a few minutes, then run slowly to recover and keep repeating it.

Till date I was averaging 40 to 50 kms a month. From the very first week I have to run 43kms in a week.

I completed the first week successfully. Legs were tired throughout the week, knees a bit wobbly – but thankfully no pain.

Continuing my vegetarian diet. I eat Brown rice for lunch and last week started legumes for evening snacks.  Thinking of adding Soy milk for increasing protein intake.

I have travel coming up – not sure how I can fit them with my training – do not want to miss a single running day.

Will I last the 16 weeks of training?
Will I complete the marathon?

Doubts.. and the battle with these doubts – this is my life for the next 4 months.

[ Week 2 Notes ]