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! 

Dreams coming true and more cheesy lines

I know I have been radio-silence for almost two weeks now but I have good reason for it - I was terribly lazy. Yes. The lazy-bug caught me good. I actually did not work out or run for four days after the race cause I was "too busy with work." But then my friend did the best thing for me - he hooked me with an awesome running group.

We are called the BeeGeeRunBugs and most are from my own locality and they are mid-serious runners who for the most part run half marathons. And they are so much fun. And guess what? I ran 19k on Saturday! I was in pain after the run but I completed in two and half hours and it was the most exhilarating moment yet and next weekend I am running 20k again. Which means I am off to physiotherapy/gym this evening. What's great is that with continuous stretching my right knee was fine by Monday morning (oh I ran another 7.5k on Sunday!).

I can now officially boast of being a semi-serous runner who is ready to take on half marathons! I can run that distance! I am so happy I could burst. My dream when I started the blog has actually come true. I don't know if I want to run down streets yelling in joy or completely break down in tears knowing that I was able to overcome this injury and keep running.

I think this is my lesson from my whole short running career. There are more mountains to climb. Actual half marathons to run....full marathons to run but for now I am happy reveling in the fact that I have officially in my own way become a runner.

Keep running you guys...there is no greater feeling that accomplishing your goals in life.

P.S I have brand new socks which I will blog about soon enough and I have a new running wardrobe consisting of dri-fit t-shirts! AND I might be buying a new cycle. It's an all around great month for me :)

I made it to top 10!

Yesterday I ran in the 10k category of the Chennai Half Marathon and I finished 8th in women! I mean my timing was not great (just about 60 minutes) but the city boasts such terriblly humid conditions that we were all struggling to push past that heaviness that envelopes you through the run.

I was out of breath at the 3.7k mark and had no idea what my timing was but the marathon itself was so brilliantly organised and the atmosphere was so amazing that I genuinely wanted to give my best. Honestly it was one of the most organised runs I have been to so far. Everything from collection of the bibs to the goody bag was so brilliant that I was simply impressed right from the get go.

But then the night before the run, the city saw heavy heavy rains with thundershowers! I was really worried that it may not stop raining but thankfully it stopped around 11.30pm and I got a few good hours of sleep. I woke up at 3.45am and ate a banana. Then stretched really really well for a good 20 minutes. I wore my socks, my shoes and I wore my running belt too because I wanted to carry my cellphone during the run. My MP3 player was charged and I was as ready as I could be. Reached the venue at around 4.30pm and the atmosphere was electric.

The organisers had thought of everything and while they were showing the crowd to do the Zumba (I HATE Zumba), I went off with other regular runners where we did our own set of warms up and stretches...no matter what kind of warm up these events boast, most runners I know prefer their own routine and generally chuck these Zumba warmups. Stretched again and that's when I noticed that I was already sweating and thirsty.

The problem is that I run in Bangalore, where the temperatures are low and boasts almost no humid conditions. The only problems I have faced are my knees as the roads go up and down quite often and I am already recovering from a knee injury. But when I started running, I knew that my knees were going to be just fine and I just had to run the best I can but the humidity (which was really high thanks to the previous night's thunder showers), made it so hard. At around the 6k mark I felt like I was wearing another human suit that was hugging me around my chest. But I knew that half the battle was won and the sights were beautiful. Besant Nagar beach is one of the most beautiful beaches ever especially in the morning and Chennai looked so beautiful that day.

I was simply determined that no matter what, I would have fun because there is no way you can run long distances without enjoying the experience. I cracked jokes and ran at a good pace and kept up with the runners but it was at the half way point when I realised I was actually passing people by and that I was running ahead of most. And thanks to my training so far, I did not stop really until I reached the 8k point. Now I regret having stopped at all because otherwise I would have cracked 60 minutes. I smiled and made funny faces every time a photographer was nearby. But in the last 2k I was all business. I kept with the fastest runners in my near vicinity and they were all men. I was the only girl for a long time (I knew there had been more than a few that had already surpassed me but behind me I did not spot too many). In the last 1,000 metres I honestly just wanted to give up when this guy behind me shouted - "come on now! keep going". I took that as a sign and kept putting one leg in front of the other at a good pace despite the fact my chest felt constricted.

In the last 500 metres something wonderful happened. I was nearly at the end when this woman who had already finished her run, yelled at me - "Beat them all....just keep running!" Something about the way she said it and how she said it, spurred me on. I suddenly increased my pace and beat two other guys in front of me. And then, the finish line. I had done it in 60 minutes. The same girl who could not run 17 minutes because of a knee injury a few months ago had finished 8th in women and 120 overall out of 1,000 runners.

Me with my fancy medal right after the run!

It's not much but it's a high you get from knowing that you ran a race quite well. I know I can improve my timing now and do better and now I am all the more looking forward to my first half marathon in September because with training and enough sacrifices, anything is possible. And for some reason even now when I remember that moment when that woman cheered me on, I almost well up. I guess that's the kind of spirit and human connection you find at these events. People are willing to push you and push themselves and I have not found that in any other facet of my life. Anyway, I am off now. I have to get to my gym tonight and then a 15k run either on Wednesday or Thursday and my friend has promised me to hook me up with a running group near my house, so I can train for good time for my half marathon. I am just really happy.

Oh and I stretched really well right after my run and got to meet loads of dedicated and wonderful runners. It really was a wonderful experience and I can't wait till my next run. Happy running because if it's not happy, then it's not worth it.

Ran my farthest distance today!

Well from now on I guess nearly every run I run will be the "farthest" I have run yet but I still can't help being proud of having run 13.2km (8.2 miles) and I am very very happy! For one even though my right knee felt a bit off in the beginning, it never actually troubled me until I was well into one hour of running and nearly 9k into the run. My body didn't feel like it ran out of fuel (although I was very very tired after 11k) even after running 13k. And here's the best part- apart from one moment when my knee suddenly shot up after I stretched, I am currently without any pain.

I had drunk chocolate milk before going for the run. I cycled for five minutes and then stretched for a good twenty minutes before going. I still felt that I would end up in extreme pain by the end of it as I have literally never run anything more than 11km and that was last week! But those last 2.2km were not as bad as I thought they would be. I took breaks this time around. I finished my run in 1 hour and 27 minutes. And through it all I had taken about 15 minutes worth of break. Honestly this was better than I was hoping for this week and in fact in that last lap I actually accelerated. I came home had a glass of banana milkshake immediately after drinking water. I have noticed that when I don't eat immediately after a long run, I get massive painful headaches a couple of hours after the run and I really don't want to deal with the headache today and I just want to recover as soon as I can possibly.

I also had another banana. By 12 noon I plan on having my lunch along with a cup of curd. Protein is incredibly important for runners and as a vegetarian I have to rely on things like cheese, curd and milk to get my requisite protein and calcium intake . I know there are those who believe that vegetarians don't have enough energy to run because they don't eat meat and I call bullshit for that. With enough veggies and carbs introduced to the diet, you will have more than enough fuel not only to run long hours in the day but also go about the rest of your day like nothing happened.

Also, please let this be some source of inspiration to anyone who just happens upon this blog and thinks they can't really run - I could not run 17 minutes a month ago without experiencing extreme pain and now I ran for an hour and a half and I am fine. You just need to be inspired. You need to work hard and you need to be dedicated. I find that runners are often the most determined people I meet and that's because when the rest of the world is still sleeping or is feeling "too tired", runners are out of the house and pushing their bodies beyond what can be expected of it. They inspire me and I honestly can't wait till September when I run my first half marathon! Next week is 15km. Wish me luck and happy running. 

Time for some great news

I ran for 75 minutes straight yesterday and no knee pain! It slightly hurt for a bit at the 31 minute mark but for the most part my right leg acted like there was no problem! I know this is just a start and probably when I do my first 13k run on Thursday I might end up with some pain but I am relishing my wins. I have no pain to report today and apart from the fact, I always seem to be hungry these days, I am fit as a fiddle.

This Sunday is the chennai half marathon and I have logged in several 10k runs so far this month and will be running 13 this Thursday. So I am ready. Hopefully. Not jinxing this. Happy running and let's make it to the half marathon mark already!