8K milestone
Last night, I covered a distance of about 8.2km, running for 80 minutes straight with two 1.5 minute breaks. At the end of it, I was still feeling fresh, with no noticeable ache in knees, ankles or legs, which looks like a good sign. But since this was inside the cosy confines of a gym, I am not sure how that would translate to the real world.
I can check that tonight. I’m going to run 5K with a group, in a weekly event organised by the Running Room. They say that a marathon must be run at a speed which at which one can have a comfortable conversation with fellow runners. But does that mean I should actually be conversing with fellow runners? Interesting, I will know that tonight.
The weather can no longer play a significant role in hampering my training.
That’s because I, after much thinking and debating, signed up for a gym membership. You might have read earlier that I had a 10-day trial pass. Well, that expired and I started looking for something new by visiting few gyms.
Gym#1:
“Hi, I would like to know about new memberships”
“Let me give you a tour of the place, then we can talk.”
I got a brief tour of the facilities of that gym.
“I like the gym, but I don’t see myself using all these equipments or benefiting from your night classes”
“Sure, in that case, we can offer a special discount. How about $X per month”
“Umm.. sorry man, my budget is only $X/2″
“Okay we can work something out, why don’t you come tomorrow and I’ll talk to my manager meanwhile?”
Gym#2:
“Hi, I would like to know about new memberships”
“Our monthly price is $1.5X, if you signup for a year, it is $1.4X”
Usually one can tell if the other person is not open to negotiations.
“Okay, thank you for the information”
Gym#3:
“Hi, I would like to know about new memberships”
“Let me give you a tour of the place, then we can talk.”
I got a brief tour of the facilities of that gym.
“Its great, and its close to my place. But I don’t think I could come in everyday. Do you have a scheme for 3 times a week or something like that”
“Sure we can find a deal for you – X/3 per month and you could come in for 3 days a week.”
It took few minutes of negotiations to arrive at that.
“Great, can I come tomorrow and signup?”
I prefered Gym#1 since it was close to work, but Gym#3 was cheaper. Both offered comparable facilities, but the former one was a newer place, with few customers while the later one was one of those evil, as my leftist friend would put it, corporate chains. 
This morning, I called Gym#1 and apologised for not being able to take their membership.
“What if we match the offer from Gym#3?”
“Oh can you do that? I’m definitely more interested in your place!”
And thus, I got a membership at Gym#1. It’s a very nice and cosy place, very close to work, new equipment, not crowded at all, and, if it matters, a predominantly homosexual clientele. I don’t have to worry about the unpredictable weather anymore. I’m just hoping that I will use the gym regularly!
Moral of the story: One doesn’t get what one doesn’t ask for! (in this case, it was the discounts.)
I’m giving my legs some much awaited break today. They ache a little bit from my continuous practise sessions, but it’s not an injury ache. Seasoned runners might laugh at this because I’ve clocked a mileage of just 13km over 3 hours.
It is interesting to see how human body adapts to change and challenge. I am following a 13 week training program and eventually I’m supposed to clock over 40km per week at a much better speed. I’m curious to discover how that happens!
Its not such a bad idea after all
Until last week, I had been to the gym maybe twice or thrice in my life. However, last week I got a 10-day free trial membership at a big gym in downtown Toronto. The reason? To try the shoes I was going to buy.
As I mentioned in previous posts, I still haven’t found the perfect shoe. The shoe store lets me try their product for 30 days and I can return or exchange the shoes if they don’t suit me well – provided I keep them in mint condition. So, it was important to try the shoes in an indoor setting, and hence the gym.
Getting a 10-day free trial membership at Extreme Fitness is not a task for the soft bargainers. I had to sit through almost 20-30 minutes of discussions and negotiations. The sales guy called his manager because I wouldn’t budge. Their membership costs $85 per month and by the end of the negotiations, the sales manager offered me a discounted price of $60. All memberships have an annual contract, so I’d be set back by $720 per year. I understand that people have different resources, needs and goals in life, but this was an exorbitant cost for me. All I wanted, for selfish reasons of course, was the free 10-day pass, which they advertise everywhere.
Finally, after the manager got convinced that I will not, under any circumstances, commit to a marriage before dating, he gave me a free 10-day trial.
I admit I do feel slightly brainwashed by the institution. I can see the benefits of a gym membership, especially given the Northern winters and generally unpredictable weather.
So I am recalculating my financial forecasts to incorporate the potential risk of higher healthcare costs, and identify another expenditure area to compensate it from (can you tell I work in the government?).
The 20-minute challenge
Tonight I am going to socialize with other runners. Running Room , a sports store that specialises in running equipment, is organising a 20-minute challenge. It’s for everyone – those who run to exercise and those (like me) who are preparing for a race. I am told that these 20-minute thingies get pretty crowded. At the end, everyone gets a free hat for participating.. hehe. 
I think I can comfortably do the 20 minute thing. I’ve been running for 60-90 minutes for the last two days consecutively and today might be a pleasant break. I still haven’t decided on the shoes btw. Hopefully I’ll be able to finalise by this weekend and return the pair that I like less.
Finding the right shoe is harder than finding a date
It’s been a week since I started my shoe research. After visiting few stores, doing some tests and reading materials online, I think I have short listed the two finalists.
Back in 2003 when I was young and reckless, and biked from Goa to Bombay, I ended up injuring my right knee. It doesn’t hurt except when I bike continuously for more than 40km. In retrospect, I could easily have taken better care of myself on that particular cycling expedition, but such things happen. Also, I have bowed legs, due to which my feet pronate a lot and I can feel it all the time. The tests confirmed that I have high (but not unusual) degree of pronation and may need some correction 
in the future. Since I don’t have insurance to cover that, I’m not going to do anything right now.
So I ended up settling on two pairs – Mizuno and Asics. Both are Japanese brands, one uses plastic and the other uses gel for cushioning and support. Mizuno is lighter but Asics has better cocooning for my feet. I am going to the gym tonight and will test run in each pair for 3km before settling on one.
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