Lot more to do!

You might have read my half-marathon race report earlier. Few days after the event they published data from the race and I got more details about the event. Below are my some statistics from the website and some other statistics that I could calculate.

All this data is available on the Sport stats website and I think its a fabulous resource to track historical information. You can look up my name there too.

So these numbers only prove that there is a large scope for improvement. I am planning to run next on May 15, 2011. But for now, I am enjoying the emotional high…

¶ Blogged by Priyank Thatte | Tags: Marathon training

The day I ran my first half marathon…

Apparently I was acting kinda weird last evening and this morning before the race. I blame it on nervousness and apprehension. Probably because despite having a plan and a backup plan and a plan C and D, I was still unsure about what was going to be in store.

Start:
So the race began at 8 am on a crisp cool Sunday morning. The weather was forecasted to be perfect – clear sky, moderate wind, and a sunny 8ºC. It was quite overwhelming to see the sheer number of people assembled at the starting point. Runners were self-organised in the ascending order of their anticipated finish times – those expecting to finish early (under 75 minutes) were at the front while others were at the back. I stood around the 2 hr 15 min pacer.
I used to be fascinated seeing the runners grab a drink while running, drink it or pour it over their heads, and throw the cup away. I always wanted to do that…
The course:
It was surreal to run with thousands of other people (in 2009, there were approx 5,000 runners). I was kinda cold since I was wearing only a light t-shirt and shorts, but that was resolved shortly. Before the 2km marker, I was already drenched in sweat.

The first water station was setup at 5km. I drank a cup of water eventhough I wasn’t feeling thirsty. But they say that one must drink water regardless because if you feel thirsty then its already too late by then. I also drank some Gatorade. Interestingly, I never had a sports drink before today.

Apart from random people ringing bells, banging drums, blowing whistles, etc, there were few bands playing music. There were also lots of people cheering and encouraging us. All runners had names written on their number bibs, and there were lots of shouts “Go Dave!” “You are doing great Amy!” “Looking strong, Brian!” etc. from random strangers. It was one of those rare moments when I wished my name was something familiar to the average North American… “Rick” or “Alan” or something common like that.

By the 10km mark, there were more water stations and I gulped down few sips every time I crossed one. When I used to watch marathons on TV once in a while as a child, I used to get fascinated seeing the runners grab a drink while running, drink it or pour it over their heads, and throw the cup away. I always wanted to do that. And guess what, I did, except that I didn’t pour anything over my head; hehe!

Near St. Lawrence Market, 17km

And obviously, my bladder was full now. I stood in the queue to use the portable toilet. It was quite unclean but all I needed was a minute of privacy and it did the needful. Unfortunately I lost quite a lot of time waiting in the queue; it took me another 7km to make up for the lost time. I think in the next run, I will plan better and avoid stopping at a toilet.
There were hot-dog carts, people walking around with coffees and snacks, other runners (who had already finished) with bananas and bagels in their hands. Oh what a torture that was! I wanted to cross the fence and and grab a bite…
It was very interesting to watch the scenery along Yonge street – I had only seen parts of the street before. The hills, turns, cheering crowds, water stations, police and fellow runners kept me busy from getting too distracted from the knee pain. My right knee started hurting at around 5km and the left one joined the party after 10km. However, after a while I became oblivious to the pain.

I unexpectedly saw Chad and couple of close friends around the 17km mark and that lifted my spirits. It was perfect timing. By then, my feet, knees and hands were complaining and I was also feeling significant overall fatigue. I feared I would have to lower my speed. There were a couple of places where runners had collapsed and paramedics were attending to them. The wind was stronger and colder and there were not many to cheer us on the last 3-4 km stretch. Usual problems, you know…

The clock at the old city hall struck 10 o’clock when I was at Queen St W and University Ave, just 2km from the finish line at Queens Park. There were hot-dog carts, people walking around with coffees and snacks, other runners (who had already finished) clapping for us with bananas and bagels in their hands. Oh what a torture that was! I wanted to cross the fence and and grab a bite…

Finish:
With the finisher’s medal

The last two kms were quite challenging, but the increasing number of cheering people kept me going. The end is exactly how they show on TV – narrow lane, loud crowds on both sides and a big sign that says “Finish”. I could see the digital clock. I was close – 2 hours, 13 minutes, 5 seconds…. getting closer.. 6 seconds… almost there… 7 seconds… crossed it!! That’s when it ended. 02:13:07

I collected my medal, grabbed a big glass of energy drink, some bagels, bananas, oranges, hydration gel, etc. and got a mediocre free massage. Then I got out of the runners area and cheered for some people that were just arriving. Soon the marathon runners arrived. What a fascinating sight that was. Some day I will be one of them…

“Mon -Dad, this one is for you.”

So that was my race report. Hope you enjoyed it. Thanks for the messages, wishes and support during the last 90 days! Ofcourse, I will do this again.

¶ Blogged by Priyank Thatte | Tags: Marathon training

90 days of training will be put to test tomorrow!

That’s me!

So I’m all excited, motivated and ready for the race tomorrow!!

I just picked up my bib number from the marathon expo and the mood there was electric. People were all charged up and discussing their last minute plans. This process has exposed me to the whole “running scene” here – clothing, footwear, other gear, nutrition, exercises, training programs, books and what not. Its fun!

So this is what’s going to happen tomorrow. I am:

• going to finish the half-marathon;
• set a personal best record (since its my first time, haha!). I am targeting to finish under 2 hrs 15 minutes;
• enjoy the atmosphere and deal with the pain; and
• run the full marathon within the next two years.

Thanks for all the messages and support. I’ll post the final report tomorrow.

¶ Blogged by Priyank Thatte | Tags: Marathon training

Am I nervous? Heck yeah!

I am certainly looking forward to running this coming Sunday but that is also making me somewhat nervous. Probably because its my first time running in such an event and also because I have never actually run that long in my practise sessions.

So for the last three to four days, I am going to switch to a carbohydrate dominated diet – a process called Carbo loading – to maximise the glycogen storage in muscle. So say bye-bye to lentils, beans, daals, eggs and tofus.

I also have 2 light runs scheduled – 10k tonight and 5k on saturday.

And that’s the update for now.

¶ Blogged by Priyank Thatte | Tags: Marathon training

I anticipate having a knee problem in the future

I ran 18km this morning and it feels great. I wanted to do 20 but that would have been an excessive gain (60%) since the last run. At the end of it, I am not mentally or physically exhausted, but my right knee does feel fatigued.

Origin of the problem with my right knee can be traced back to 2003 when I biked 650km from Goa to Mumbai without adequate preparation for or knowledge of long distance cycling. So now whenever I bicycle for few hours or run more than 10km, my right knee starts hurting a little bit. The pain is not excruciating, but is significant and recurring enough to warrant a checkup. It’s obviously worse when running on asphalt or concrete v/s grass or dirt.

When I get health benefits at through my job, I will get this checked and treated. Because I do want to run the marathon next year and hopefully qualify for the Boston Marathon in next 3 years.

So now that the half-marathon is only 2 weeks away, I should accept 18km as my peak distance and slow down over the next 2 weeks. I am thinking of 4 more runs in next 15 days – 12km, 10km, 8km and 3km.

Now my thoughts are moving to race day nutrition, clothing, etc.

¶ Blogged by Priyank Thatte | Tags: Marathon training

Distance running is quite solitary and its important to keep one from getting bored

I was supposed to run 15km today but I got bored after 10km and returned home after 12.5km (1.25 hours at a speed of 10kmph). I won’t to go into excuses (okay, it was the same old route, the weather was colder and there were no interesting sights on the way) but I realised that I have to find something to entertain myself on these runs.

I imagine that conditions on the marathon day would be quite different. I am picturing cheering crowds, lots of fellow runners, water stations, random entertainment and a completely new route to explore. That itself would give one enough drive. But what about practise sessions?

In the initial days, I used to listed to music, and it made it quite easy to focus one’s mind on something. But then I am not going to sport an ipod on the race day so I decided to practise without it.

But what the heck do I do when I am running? How to keep my brain engaged?

I try doing various things. For example:

• I pay attention to the Canada geese that have currently taken over the lake shore. I check out their grazing habits, their droppings, their calls and their flight. Today there were lots of other birds too, flying in V shaped formation. It was nice.
• I do lot of math games. For example multiplying three digit numbers (348×851), converting Celsius to Fahrenheit (don’t ask me why), calculating the numerical value of a word (e.g. “run” = 18+21+14=53) and nerdy stuff like that.
• People are also my beloved objects of study. There are so many things once can observe – some of them can be quite amusing.
• I daydream about travel, imagine myself in random situations and think of what I would do, etc. I also spend time contemplating about life.
• Ofcourse, I am regularly paying attention to my running – spine posture, shoulders, angle of my hands, feet pronation, point and angle of contact with ground, stride, breathing, hydration, etc. These factors are enough to keep one busy for a while.

But it seems that all that is still not enough to sustain my attention. Math exercises can be so taxing that it sometimes makes me pause or slow down in order to finish a critical calculation… haha! I have discovered that the easiest part of my run is when I don’t have to focus on it.

So for now, I have decided that for the next run, I am going to choose a different route. Hopefully that will keep my mind busy and I wont get bored. Its just a matter of another 20 days, or 4-5 runs.

¶ Blogged by Priyank Thatte | Tags: Marathon training