Tight hamstrings - the cause of all evil

Ok so according to my PT, my hamstrings are so freaking tight that he does not expect them to loosen up in time for Hyderabad but promised me I should be fine in maybe another week after aggressive rounds of stretching every day.

And I have to say, yesterday was PAINFUL. I could not handle it. I had to keep running on the treadmill for a period of five minutes and then stretch my hamstrings. The running part I liked because I realised that every single time I returned to the treadmill, it hurt a little less but stretching? I cannot emphasise on how painful it was. The PT assisted/tortured me during those moments and when I went back home after an hour, I genuinely felt like I ached all over the body especially my hips.

But when I woke up this morning, my left leg felt about as good as I can possibly hope in this short time frame. I have also changed my running form and paying more attention to my upper body and that has helped me a lot. I have not stretched today so far (it's only 5pm) but I feel very tired today just not ready to move past the pain I felt yesterday.

But then Sunday is Hyderabad. That means I just don't have the luxury to call it a day on my IT band and hammies and say - screw it. But then I am also feeling really optimistic about September. By next week, my knee issues will most likely be sorted (I am being VERY aggressive) and with my changed running form and constant stretching, I should get back on HM training track as early as next week. No rolling hills for me for a while though, that's for sure but the focus is on training, strengthening and stretching. I found out yesterday that even though I thought I was stretching certain muscles like my hamstrings, generally when they are tight, we go easy on them and that should be the opposite. I have been doing this subconsciously but it has caught up to me. Happy running.

Officially scared for Sunday and my left knee!

Ok so my left knee (IT Band) has been doing loads better in the past week and a half. Loads of stretching, foam rolling and cross training has made it pain free on days I don't run. Yesterday feeling relatively confident I went out for a 7k run or so I thought. Right from minute 5 my knee felt uncomfortable but no pain. So I stopped a bit and stretched and the leg felt better and I took off again. At minute 17 (my 3 mark) I started feeling pain. It was mild enough that I thought I could push through it. But at minute 26 when I had finished 4.5km, my pain navigated from sides of my left knee to my whole lower knee and I knew I had to stop so as to not exasberate the condition further.

Now since I have been through this whole rigmarole with my right knee, I know that this will get better (my right knee has been very smug and pain free through these past few weeks touch wood). But I am truly worried about Hyderabad Marathon coming this Sunday. I have upped my daily stretches to four times a day and I plan on doing another short run tomorrow to test my legs. I just really want to enjoy an entire period of time when my legs are devoid of any kind of pain except for the usual soreness. Hopefully September will bring with it a pain free month that I enjoyed in July. Stretch people! It saves your knees!

Update: A panicked phone call occurred from my end to my physiotherapist right after lunch. Yup. I panicked and how! Almost laughing now at how desperate and scared I sounded on the phone. Anyway, long story short - am gonna go to PT after work today and probably spend hours working on the IT band. Wish me luck! 

One thousand feet to ascend

The longer I look at the trail map for the Hyderabad Marathon, the more scared I tend to become. By the looks of it I the first 7.5KMs are bumpy by themselves with loads of ups and downs. And then my route ends with a clear ascent of close to 1,000 feet.

Oh well. It will be a blast anyway. If I run in Hyderabad, then I would have run in Bangalore, Chennai, Pune and Hyderabad so far and that count can only increase by October when I run the Coimbatore half marathon. Either way I have decided to become very serious starting this week. Going to run anywhere between 17 and 20kms on the weekends and going to sucker in one 10k run during the weekdays in the coming weeks with maybe a 5k run if I can manage it. Also, not going to forget about heading to the gym. I want to run injury free in Coimbatore. And I don't want to be in too much pain at the end of Hyderabad. Let's see. Fingers crossed. Happy running. 

Just in - push the panic button

This is what happens when you make a knee jerk decision without thinking things through. While I love being an impulsive person, I just just found out that the Hyderabad marathon features a terribly hilly terrain. So for my first leg of the competition, I literally have to do a slow descent up a hill! Which is awesome when you have IT Band issues (not!). Sigh. It's ok. I will make it. I can do it. I will just train extra hard this week. Stretch extra hard and pray extra hard. And take it easy on the hills. I have an hour and 45 minutes before I am disqualified and that's ok cause even at my slowest walk I finish in 70. So I am taking it slow and going to enjoy the run and stretch all day long after the race. And am definitely not tackling any form of hills in the near future and I should be fully recovered in time for my first official half marathon on October 6th. I know I am cutting everything short but I have faith. And plenty of time to foam roll. Till next time you guys.

P.S Always check before letting someone register you for a marathon. Even if it's a relay. But then 10.5 does not seem like it will be too much. Fingers crossed and praying. 

A good day

Yesterday was a very good day. No...I did not run pain  free. In fact I did not run at all. But I cycled for close to 20kms and spent the whole day with runners and those adapting a healthy lifestyle and it was great. Morning I woke up late and biked about 7kms from Jayanagar to Koramangala for a special vegan buffet lunch that had been organised for runners by a runner. I spent hours there with my friend Radha (who has recently turned vegan) and tried everything from almond and cashew milk, to vegan cheese and even had some vegan pizza. Good think I had cycled my way to the lunch cause there is no way I would have worked out those calories otherwise :P

Then I biked another 10k right after lunch to IIM Bangalore where a movie was screened for runners called Unbreakable. It was the story of ultra runners and how they conquer the incredibly difficult Western States 100 where they have to run a 100 miles through a mountain terrain. Watching it I certainly felt a little dumb about complaining about my IT Band problems after only having run 20k! But then it was also terribly inspirtational. I biked home another 5km after that and I was really pooped. Did I mention it had also rained cats and dogs in Bangalore yesterday which meant I was very wet for a lot of the time?

But that said I had a brilliant day. My cardio was taken care of as well as my cross training. I stretched religious and today I went to the gym without complaining and finished the whole routine without any knee pain. Am going to test my leg left on Sunday. Which means more stretching today and tomorrow no matter what. As well as another round of gymming tomorrow. I can't wait for this weekend cause Arsenal plays its first game of the season! And next week I will be jetting off to Hyderabad for the Hyderabad Marathon. So am finishing this week in no pain and plenty of hope. Keep running and stay safe. 

A Bangalore runner's plea to men - don't attack me

I have thought long and hard about posting this particular blog as I really didn't want to even broach this subject but I have come to the conclusion that it's necessary for me to talk about this issue. It goes without saying that I love to run. Even through injuries, it is what I love doing. I love that feeling you get after a run that's gone off particularly well. What I hate about it though? How unsafe I sometimes feel while running in the city.

I wear Nike shorts on race days but during my own personal runs, I wear over sized t-shirts and loose fitting sweatpants. I figured early on that I will not give reason for anyone to stare or "pass judgement" as the so-called moral police would say. Oh how wrong I turned out to be. You see whether I wore shorts, or compression tights or the baggiest sweatpants on earth, I have always found that the city is simply not a safe place for a woman to do anything except hide inside her house. I live in Jayanagar, a suburban area with mostly middle class, upper middle class residents. When I decide to go on personal runs, I generally have this tried and tested 1.1k loop which I keep repeating until I complete my desired mileage. This helps me stay close to home which I think it very important. I also ensure that I don't run too early in the mornings when the roads are deserted, because as long as there is some general movement, I can always call out for help.

Therefore every week before I go for a run, I am also subconsciously thinking about different ways I could possibly get harassed by men. By now I am used to the curious glances. Even though there is a vibrant running community in the city, generally when a woman runs alone, men on bikes, autos, scooters, cars, or any kind of vehicle for that matter, slow down and stare at her. I still have no idea what exactly they are trying to figure out or what exactly they are gawking at but I crank up my iPod and essentially put them away from my mind.

And then there is the more dangerous kind - the ones that will hurl comments at you. It still takes me by surprise when a disgusting old man passes a lewd comment at me, be it when I am running or when I am going about my business for the day. Do they get some form of guttural satisfaction knowing that they have objectified a woman? But seeing as I have been taking the public transport since I was 17 (in three different cities no less), I have also learned to tune it out (see how women have to condition themselves against harassment?).

There is also another kind of a man - the one that starts stalking you. It's only happened to me two times so far but both times (it happened in plain daylight), I was shaken and scared. The first was when an auto driver kept looping my route and stopping around me. I kept quiet for a while but when it got scary, I pulled out my phone and threatened him with police action and he went on his way. The other incident happened last weekend when these two guys on a scooter (by the looks of it they were both educated and from so-called "good families"), decided it would be fun to call out to me and be around me. Suffice to say that once again the threat of police action and some yelling from my part and the threat of their faces being photographed, got them to leave me alone.

But then I keep thinking what happens if I encounter the most dangerous kind of man? The one that is not deterred by threats? I now carry pepper spray when I run alone. I carry my cellphone and I am always wary. I know as long as I am in my own area, I should be safe but experiences have told me not to take even that for granted. But a day before India celebrates yet another Independence day, I have to ask - how independent are women really in this city? In this country?

Why have men been conditioned to think it's fine to harass someone as long as they don't do anything beyond it? I remember once when I was in college in Chennai, these bunch of boys from Pachiappas College had boarded the same bus as me and were singing lewd and horrible songs every time a girl came onto the bus. When I complained to the bus conductor, he stared at me for a while and told me to get off the bus because I was making a scene and told me very clearly - boys will be boys.

And in many ways girls have learned to adapt to the way the men behave in this country. If you wear a salwar and a duppatta, don't be surprised when a guy on a bike yanks off your duppatta and drives away. You just learn to either pick up that duppatta again and keep walking or simply skip wearing it the next time you decide to wear salwar kameez (this actually happens in Chennai). I have learnt to run with a group of trusted people because there really is safety in numbers and I have learnt to never board a crowded bus in any city in the country. All because I am a woman.

But today I have one simple plea to men - set women free in India. We are not property. We are not things to be objectified. We are living breathing human beings with actual emotions. Let us be. A girl should be able to get into an auto or ride around in a scooter without fearing for her own safety. A girl should be able to take part in physical activities, no matter the time or place, and feel safe enough not to carry a pepper spray. As for me, I will keep running with my pepper spray in tow for now hoping for a day when it's no longer the case. Oh and next time I am definitely calling the cops. 

The crouch is not cool for your body

We have all had parents or grandparents telling us to sit up straight growing up and apparently that particular posture is key is ensuring faster recovery from injuries like mine (IT Band Syndrome). You see I have generally the worst posture of all time. Seriously. When I was a kid I was not a very confident person and hence would crouch while walking around and generally not pay attention to my posture at all. And being a backpack person, my natural gait suffered (I still carry a backpack!).

So, yesterday I was sitting at the PT's office absolutely devastated that even though my left knee seems to be on the mend, it's still taking much much longer than I had expected it to. And that's when my physiotherapist, the fabulous Dr Gladson told me that my posture was all wrong and that was hindering faster recovery. It also not helps that my job requires me to be sitting for hours at length and my go-to stance while working is the crouch. While I must say that in the past year since I started working out, I have improved my stance considerably, it's the little things that you ignore that end up biting you in the ass. I think it's also because I have naturally broad shoulders for my height, I tend subconsciously minimise it by crouching. But my muscles are put under a strain every time I do this. While I have been told to sit up straight more times than anyone else I know, I finally paid attention to the doctor's words yesterday.

Anyway I decided that from today I will not bring my shoulders together in order to blend in and be invisible (childhood trait but nothing is set on stone). Gladson said that in order to achieve perfect posture while siting and working on a cubicle, you need to position your butt in the far end of the chair which will naturally make you sit up straight. Then you need to pull your chair close to the desk, so your hands rest comfortably on the desk while you type on the laptop. It's as simple as that but is definitely easier said than done. Right now my mind is looking for any kind of slip up to bring me back to my original position but I am mentally being aware of my own body. And what's better is that I am already noticing that lower my back does not hurt as much as it used to just a day ago. It may be the easiest tip on earth but one really needs to be aware of their own body and what it does to literally pull you down. Am still hoping to run a bit tomorrow but essentially that depends on how confident I feel about my left knee. Happy running you guys :)

My calves

It's hard to explain how tight my left calf has become. It's fine when I foam roll it but then after 10 or 15 minutes the heaviness to the knee returns. So I foam roll again to find out that the calf is still tight. I woke up this morning and figured that instead of hitting the gym I might as well just foam roll and stretch for a long time...(I also wanted to oversleep just by a little bit...). So, that's exactly what I did. Foam rolled on my calves for over 10 minutes and then stretched my hamstrings, calves, IT band areas and inner thighs. The moment I finished my stretches, I immediately felt good but the nagging weight kept coming back. So I foam rolled AGAIN which is when I realised that my left calf is unbelievably tight and I really need to do something about it before it becomes too much of an issue.

My lower left back also seems to be radiating some amount of pain. I am hitting the gym later tonight after work and hope to sort out these issues. I also plan on gymming again tomorrow, so I am ready for a hopeful (and I am very hopeful about this) but easy 15k on Thursday. Seeing as it's independence day, I don't have to work...whoohoo! I really really want to iron out all my muscle strains before the August 25th, so I run pain free and then carry on that trend till my half marathon. Of course I will like to be injury free for the rest of my running career. Suffering pain 10 minutes into a run is no one's idea of fun. I want to do better. Guess that means hitting the gym harder and complaining a little less about lack of sleep. It's hard to remember how good I feel after a run that early in the morning when all I want to do is curl up and go back to sleep. I might have started hating my alarm clock...

Happy running and hope you guys have a better relationship with your calf muscles. 

Running 10k and pain

I honestly am never ever going to ever skimp on stretching properly at least twice a day from now on. Because I am a vegetarian runner or because of my own history with injuries, I seem to have very weak muscle tone that keeps straining. So apart from cross training, am going to stretch religiously no matter how sleepy or tired I think I am. Why such a vehement preamble you ask? Well my left leg is the one struggling with a IT band related knee pain right now.

Exactly the way I struggled with my right leg, my left leg has decided to get in on the action as the right leg seems to be on the mend. I ran a little over 10k yesterday. As far as endurance goes, I could have easily run 5 to 6kms more without feeling the strain but my left knee started proving to be problem after 10 minutes! I went home (finished run in 62 minutes which is not too bad considering my knee) and foam rolled till I died. Took a very hot bath, stretched and foam rolled again. Leg was certainly better but the pain was not gone. What's worse is that my right leg was fine! My left calf is so tight that it's PAINFUL when I foam roll through it. And my IT band area also aches. I woke up this morning with my knee feeling terribly heavy and yes I stretched for a looooong time. Then came to work where I have to sit all the time! I took the lunch time to do another round of stretches. I don't care who's watching, I need my leg to be in fighting shape! Tomorrow I head off to the gym and today after going home I plan on doing MORE stretches, foam roller and some yoga videos I found on youtube. I will write a whole other post about the Yoga videos once I have tried a bunch of them and gauge their usefulness.

Oh and I am running in the Airtel Hyderabad Marathon (see why I am panicking?) on August 25th. It's only a 10k relay but I need my knee to be absolutely fit, so I can recover and keep my knees in tip top shape for my first half marathon which is less than two months away. Right now my back hurts and my left knee while loads better is still feeling extremely off. I am never ever ever skimping on stretching ever again. That's for sure.

P.S That foam roller I bought was one of the best investments I have ever made. A few months ago, this pain would have even worse but thanks to the painful painful foam roller, my knee would be fine in time for tomorrow's early morning workout. Bye guys and happy running.

P.P.S Btw I almost forgot to mention - it was my first run in over a week and I really really enjoyed it minus the pain. Only when I run do I genuinely feel like myself.

Falling sick

I fell sick and remained sick for the whole week. Viral infection is going around the city and of course I had to catch it. I didn't even have energy to stretch or anything! Now I feel like a potato or something but much much weaker (although I don't know how a potato can feel weak but am sick so cut me some slack!).

Thankfully I feel much much much better today, so I have figured that I will spend some time at the gym in the evening. And then my mom is forcing me to watch Chennai Express, so I will be going for the 8.30pm show. Hopefully I am home by at least 11 and I get some sleep cause tomorrow I wake up at 5 to bike to Lalbhagh and then run for about 10-15k depending on how I feel. My legs feel relatively good despite my whole body aching, so I am very hopeful about tomorrow. Now from this coming week I am going to get serious about my training, my sleep schedule (I have to wake up by 6am from now on and hence should force myself to sleep by 10pm the previous night no matter what), and my stretching and eating habits.

No more falling sick and my legs are going to get strong whether they like it or not. Sure injury sucks but with training, strengthening and STRETCHING (I still hate it though), I think anyone can become a serious runner. Happy running you guys and eid mubarak! :D

Running costs big bucks!

So here's the thing - the last couple of weeks I have been on a massive spending spree because everything you hear about running before you are a runner is a total lie - it's not the cheapest workout ever. In fact it is very expensive if you want to maintain a running lifestyle!

For one thing, I went on another run in the Kanakpura road and ended up straining my IT band again (this time my left leg fell victim). And since I have never experienced any pain on my left leg, I felt pretty horrible for a couple of days when the knee felt heavy and useless....

So I splurged and bought a foam roller. Yup I finally succumbed to the lure of putting myself through even more pain so I can enjoy a pain free run. Left IT band has been screaming every time I have run a foam roller through it but I have seen loads of improvement in both my legs, so I am going to eschew the horror that is foam rolling yourself when your muscles are tight and just be grateful that I can run at all.

And then I also bought Nike Dri Fit socks which also cost a bomb. I mean a pair costs close to 500 bucks and I had to buy a bunch and I could not find cheaper alternatives to saving my toes as the only place that stocks cheaper Toe socks is Decathalon in Sajjapura road and they are apparently out of stock (total bummer!).

And my final splurge? I bought a cycle! Yup I am not officially an all around health nut. I got a relatively cheap Hercules Roadeo Turner and it's six speed with great balance and I got it all for under 8 grand (it helped that I flirted with a shopkeeper a bit so he gave me free carrier installed plus a free bottle holder...am completely shameless).

My baby is blue and aptly called Bergkamp because it flies!

But that's when I started noticing - you need to keep buying things in order to supplement your running life span. Foam rollers, physio therapy (because let's face it most runners run into injuries no matter what), yoga mats, the right gear and clothing even the right water bottles and belts!

And then I realised that I didn't care. Sure, when I look back to that time when someone told me about how cheap running is compared to a gym (I now go to a gym because you need to add cross training to supplement your running! LOL), I have to chuckle at the absurdity of the statement. That person is perhaps just a morning jogger who does not have to invest in their own health more than keeping themselves fit. But then that feeling I get at the end of a run when I have pushed myself beyond what I thought possible? It's priceless. I cannot explain it. So next time I worry about buying new shoes (which are also expensive), I am just going to remember that I love running at the end of the day.

Maybe this is why runners generally find it hard to talk about anything other than running - they invest so much of themselves in this "hobby" that it becomes part of their identity. And anyone who wakes up at 4.30am in the morning just to run 15 plus kilometres is definitely invested. And that's a great feeling. So keep spending as you get better and keep getting better. Once you run down this path (pun intended), you find yourself completely changed for the better and that's everything.

P.S The Premier League starts August 17th! Adding to my woes is now the fact I have to juggle running with staying up late watching Arsenal matches...on the other hand - yay!!!! Arsenal is back in my world again!