Never Stop!!! LIVESTRONG

An amazing ad. I watch this time and time again...
Happy New Year!!!

Recharge n Recover

You have just finished a weight training session or a run in strenuous conditions or a hectic trek then you know you are going to be sore somewhere or the other the next day. Or you are just into fitness and want to make sure you are healing up after your exercise routines. Or you just have some muscle damage like tears or pulls or spasms that are bothering you. Then, here are some things, mostly natural, that can heal those muscles and help you bounce back faster...

Green Tea, I am a big fan of this, contains ingredients like antioxidants and other things (catechins) that help reduce muscle damage and aid recovery. If you, like me, really drink tea (green or black without milk) often, then go for it unsweetened or use artificial sweetener to avoid the excess sugar calories. Now another amazing ingredient you can add to green tea is Ginger. Ginger is known to help inflammations and is very therapeutic. So grab that Ginger stick and chop it into your next cuppa...
Another item known to aid recovery is Chocolate Milk. Yummmmm! Choc milk has carbohydrates and proteins (apart from calcium and vitamin D) that can really help you after exercises. Again try to watch the sugar and if possible use milk with reduced fat. Now with milk another great traditional muscle soothing item that can be had is Turmeric. Turmeric has a host of medicinal benefits but one of them is helping reduce inflammation. I haven't read anywhere what is the amount of turmeric that should be taken but what I do is add about a small spoon of turmeric to about 1/3rd of a glass of milk and gulp it down in one shot because everyone knows it tastes pretty bad, but hey its really good for you and you can follow it up with choc milk ;-)
Couple of last few items, Walnuts and Almonds. We all know that nuts are high in fat content and high in calories, but as it turns out the fat in Walnuts are plant based Omega-3 which help in decreasing inflammation and increase your HDL (the good cholesterol). Almonds are also good for you, it contains vitamin E, an antioxidant. The fat in both these nuts are in fact good for our heart and help in keeping our arteries clean. It is really good for people into fitness, exercise or running. Just note that cashews are still are not in the good books but walnuts and almonds are. They have been found to help muscles recover and keep you really healthy. So, go nuts!!!

42

No, no, I am not giving the answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything. It is just that I finished another full marathon and a marathon is 42 kilometers...

The Bangalore Midnight Marathon was held last weekend. This event was supposed to happen in December 2008 but got postponed and then at the very last minute they rescheduled it and probably that is why the participation was very low. The half marathon still had decent participation but the full marathon participation was extremely low, probably less than 100 people ran the full marathon.

Anyway, I had been preparing for the half marathon and targeting 1 hour 45 minutes but a week before the run decided to do the full thing. Did a 16k run the weekend before in 1 hour 23 minutes and felt that the 4 hour mark for the full was definitely attainable.

During the race, [as expected] since I had prepared for the half marathon, the first half went off quite well. I was at the halfway mark at about 1 hour 50 minutes and the 4 hour target was still in sight. But then the decline set in. And it set in at a much faster rate than expected. I was able to get to 31-32 kilometers only by about 3 hours, about 10 minutes behind schedule. The last 10K saw further decline and I finished the whole thing by only about 4 hours 18 minutes...

The race organization was definitely flawed. We were running loops of about a 10km route and the water stations in the second section were just too less and later in the run whatever few water stations were there they also had wrapped up and disappeared. Luckily friends who had earlier finished the half marathon helped out and provided electrolyte water and some energy bars.

Since the participation was less and the professionals hadn't showed up, I finished 5th in the men's section and 6th overall. The first two spots went to professionals, an Ethiopian and an Indian. The fifth overall spot and first in the women's section went to my friend who finished in 4 hours 16 minutes...

So the race was good for me, I was really sore after the run, had to pop an Advil but overall I was quite satisfied. There was a nagging suspicion that the route had not been measured accurately and later we confirmed from a friend who had run with a GPS watch that the organizers did actually blunder with the measurement and in fact the total distance covered was 43.2kms. One kilometer more than the official distance, so based on that I probably would have finished the full distance in about 4 hours 9 or 10 minutes. That puts me below 4:10 so that gives a little more satisfaction...

Satisfied but not sated. Missed the 4:00 mark...

I plan to run more races this year than last year. Probably shorter distances for now, a 10k and a half marathon before taking a shot at the 4 hour mark once more towards the end of the year...

Potatoes, Aaloo, Bataata, Aalugadde, Urlakarn...

Potatoes are nutritionally amazing, for everybody and especially for runners. They have close to ZERO fat!!! But according to a doc "...sadly more than 50 percent of those [potatoes] are fried--turning them into a nutritional disaster, which helps account for their bad rap."
In India I would say 100% of the potato preparations are nutritional disasters...
Anyway read on for more awesome facts about Potatoes...

"The potato is a nutritional powerhouse, in addition to being an excellent source of carbohydrate, a potato contains 45 percent of the daily requirement for vitamin C, and more potassium than a banana. If you eat it with the skin on, it's a terrific source of dietary fiber. A fresh potato contains no fat or cholesterol, and has only 100 calories."

"Potassium in potatoes keeps your muscles firing properly, warding off cramps during a tough workout or race. Potassium is a key ingredient in sports drinks. Few foods contain significant amounts of potassium, which is why your coach keeps urging you to eat potassium-rich bananas. One medium-size potato, however, boasts more potassium than a banana."

Baked, mashed, or boiled, potatoes actually provide more energy-delivering complex carbohydrates than a cup of pasta. All varieties--russet, red, yellow, purple, and sweet--contain impressive quantities of vitamins and minerals. Plus, they're easy to digest and prepare. "People often assume that because potatoes are white, they're a nutritionally empty food," says Tara Gidus, R.D., a spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association. "But the opposite is true."

Potatoes rank high on the glycemic index--higher than pasta--which means their carbs get into the bloodstream fast. Postrun, potatoes replenish carbs quickly, and topped with protein, help repair muscle fibers. Plus, the vitamin A in sweet potatoes aids new cell growth and repairs postworkout microtears in muscle, helping you recover and refuel for your next run.

[Potatoes] A perfect runners' food--just steer clear of the fries.

The General Motors

This is a running related post and not anything else...

Found a good article about this 4-star general in the US army who is a very keen runner and how he uses running at the center of his philosophy. He says "This [running] is where the world's complications become clearer to me."

Interesting to note at the end of the article how with age this person now seems to be stepping down from the god like complex. The reporter after getting totally beat down by the severe competitive spirit of the general asks him his thoughts on a quote by E.E. Cummings: "Nothing measurable matters." The general replies "I'm increasingly thinking Cummings may be right, as you get older, you're less keen on having somebody start a stopwatch."
The general even finds out what his recruits and aides are made of by taking them out for a run. He says "when we bring a new guy in, I take him out for a run," and then the general will try to "waste" this person.

Read the article here: The General Motors

Another 21.1kms...

1 hour 51 minutes and 24 seconds...1:51:24. This number brings an immediate smile to my face...it is the time for the half marathon (HM) I ran in the Bangalore International Marathon 2007 that happened this past Sunday.
It was my best running performance till date. I sprinted the last 400 meters inside the stadium, quite a contrast to the dead horse like finish last time.
After training quite hard and setting the target of doing a sub 2 hour HM, I was still in doubt about doing a sub 2 hour race. Before the race I had calculated that I'll probably finish in 1 hour 57 minutes. That was too close for comfort. A single race day incident or delay or problem would push me over 2 hours. But nothing of that sort happened ;-)

The race for me was an amazing one. The weather was perfect...no Sun, cool breeze and good supply of nutrition by Mr. D during the run. D, sadly could not run but was sort of the hero of the day, handing out Electral and nutrition bars to S and me...Salaam to you D!
The split timings I was getting on my watch were just too good. I was at 5kms in about 24 minutes, then halfway (10.5kms) in about 52 minutes, ahead by nearly 3-4 minutes of my target. But there were still questions about losing time near the end and just running out of steam. But when I crossed the 16km mark I was about 6 minutes ahead of my previous best performance and at that point I knew I was having a good day. I paid attention to my strides and found that they were still decent. I was running with good 'form' and even my mind was fresh. It hadn't dulled down or anything. Finally when I entered the stadium I looked at the 400 meter track and just went for it.
Later I realized I ran the whole race and unlike previous races and practice runs, at no point did I feel like walking or did actually walk. I stopped twice to drink water that D was handing out and that total may have taken 25-30 seconds...

In the end my average speed for the whole 21.1kms was 11.4 kms/hour...
That's all... :-)

You can ignore this post, just a rambling...

I had run on 19 consecutive days before a sore throat and cold declared their hostile intentions on me and lay siege. In those 19 days I ran for 83.5kms at an average of about 4.4kms a day. Actually not a big deal compared to some other things happening around, like this sports doctor from Manipal Hospital running a half marathon (21.1kms) everyday in the month of October or this other guy trying to become the first Indian to run 100 miles or 160kms in 24 hours...

Oh well! I have recovered and started running again, 9.2kms done in the last 2 days...

Tempo Run

I have been running at the same capacity, speed and stamina level for quite some time now. I have been unable to improve my stamina, capacity and times. Even if there have been improvements they are too slow and too little. This is mostly due to the lack of time. Work, travel and lastly my own laziness have been major factors. Lack of good training resources and plans have also led to the stagnation.

So recently I bought two running magazines 'Running Times' and 'Runner's World' that contained lots of training tips and plans. After devouring them front to end, something caught my eye that read 'This "Comfortably Hard" run is key to running your fastest'.

This was an article on 'Tempo Running.' Basic definition of a Tempo Run is that the effort should be "comfortably hard." As in something that is really hard in effort but still do-able and not over the top hard. And it is obviously not something that is comfortable in effort, along the lines of 'comfortably numb' ;-)

Tempo running improves our metabolic fitness. Tempo runs teach the body on how to use the oxygen reaching the muscles more efficiently for metabolism. LT or Lactate Threshold is the level at which the body fatigues. Tempo runs aim to push the threshold higher thus making your muscles better at using the acidic by-products of metabolism. The result is less acidic muscles letting you run farther and faster...

"A classic tempo or lactate threshold run is a sustained, comfortably hard effort." In a tempo run you start with an easy warm up and end with an easy warm down. In the middle you run at a speed that is higher than your average running speed but is a sustainable speed and not your top speed. At this speed you should not end up panting or feel the need to walk in these middle sections. The magazine had a very simple plan that I have started following.
Week 1: 5x3 minutes at tempo pace, 60 second easy jog between each one.
Week 2: 5x4 minutes at tempo pace, 60 second easy jog recovery
Week 3: 4x5 minutes at tempo pace, 90 second easy jog recovery
Week 4: 20 minutes steady tempo pace.

Run!

SF run...

The Twin Peaks in San Francisco were the target of my run in SF. I started running from the Mission street in the general direction of the hills. It wasn't a good idea to run uphill after a week's layoff from running but it was a nice sunny day and very ideal for running. Obviously I got lost but finally did manage to make it all the way up to the hill right besides the Twin Peaks called the Sutro hill which I now found out is about 50 feet taller than the Twin Peaks anyway ;-). The Sutro hill has a huge and very peculiar tower called the Sutro tower on top of it. I had my camera with me in a pouch that fitted very nicely in my hand and took some pictures on the way up and made mental notes of the rest that I wanted take pictures of on the way down, here they are...

This was another one of those steep streets that I ran up. Well I ran up this one but there were several on which it was just not possible to either run up or down. Check out that striking dark red, maroon tree...

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Finally I spotted the Sutro tower right in front of me and I took this without stopping on the way up the final uphill street...

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Below is the 'Transamerica Pyramid' building (taken with 12x digital zoom), a fairly prominent part of the SF skyline...

And lastly the Golden Gate bridge was visible from the top. The bridge is now 70 years old...

21.1kms

After doing the full marathon, 42.2kms, at the Bangalore Marathon last year, I decided to do the half marathon, 21.1kms, in this year's marathon which happened to be a midnight one. This time the objective was to train right, perform strong and hit a target time.

The Bangalore Midnight Marathon was organized on 19th May. The organizers claimed that we were creating history by running the first ever midnight marathon. My main aim was to have a much stronger run this time and since it was a night marathon which meant much lower temperatures, really focus on getting a good time in. I set myself a target of at least 2 hours 30 minutes, otherwise I find myself a lake or something and go jump in it, and at the same time I was dreaming of a sub 2 hour run. Seriously I only dreamt of sub 2 hours, awake I knew it just wouldn't happen ;-). Anyway I finished the run in 2 hours 15 minutes. The official time is awaited but my stopwatch indicated 2:15. Wall Street and Dalal Street would have been so happy, I gave an outlook forecast of 2:30 to 2:00 and hit it bang in the middle :D

The course was fairly tough one, for me. It was a circuit of about 5 kilometers and you had to run around 4 times to complete the half marathon. It consisted of 5 uphill sections and about 3 flat and downhill sections each, making it a fairly tough course. Couple of the climbs were pretty treacherous, anyway loaded with carbs throughout the day and appropriately rested to remain fresh at the start, the race started. I made a mistake on the first round itself, in that I carried a full one liter water bottle with me, long story forget that but I shouldn't have done it. That took a lot out of me. In my practice runs I had usually covered the first 5kms in about 26 to 28 minutes and so while I was expecting to cover the first round in 28 minutes or so, this time round it took me nearly 32 minutes. I finally chucked the bottle and from then on the second round roughly took me another 32 minutes, the third round about 34 minutes and the fourth round about 37 minutes.

The fourth round, what can I say, "I" missed it! ;-)
My mind was there, my body was there but "I" wasn't! Those two kept arguing about they should stop and walk, no they shouldn't but in any case I was somewhere else. Don't know where, somewhere floating around I guess. So during the last round the mind kept winning and the body tagged along like that faithful Pug dog in that Hutch ad for quite a while but at the steepest climb of the course the mind finally relented to the body's demand to walk that section. But at the top of that climb as soon as the mind saw someone overtake them, the mind booted the body in the behind and they were both up and running. They immediately overtook the overtaker and from there on they ran all the way to the finish line including the last uphill finish. Thanks guys!!!

Parkour

Have you seen the latest 007 movie, Casino Royale? No? Then first go down to the end of the post and click on the Casino Royale movie link and watch the initial 5 minute chase clipping. Ok now if you have seen the movie then you probably remember the chase right at the beginning of the movie. In this sequence Bond is chasing some bomb maker type of suspect through a building construction site having those typical tall cranes and heavy machinery. Bond chases the suspect at full speed and they both jump around like crazy from heights and through holes so small that it almost seems impossible. Well that is Parkour or free running. And the black guy Bond is chasing is Sébastien Foucan, one of the founders of free running/Parkour.

Parkour (l'art du déplacement) is defined as the aim to move from point A to point B as efficiently as possible, using the abilities of your human body to the limit. Also known as Free Running, it is doesn't need an obstacle course, an arena or any specialized equipment as such, it is basically meant to be done in your surrounding environment, where you live, work, play, etc. In articles it is not recognized as a sport but more of an art which combines martial arts, gymnastics and self defense. The idea is to use dexterity and physical strength of your body to efficiently escape or simply get from point A to point B. It could be done while climbing down stairs or just while going somewhere.

I recently saw a feature on Parkour on Nation Geographic and man did it look exciting. The techniques, the roll after the jump, the balancing, etc, looked extremely exciting. I like running and this, on the face of it, just seemed like a new way of running. But obviously Parkour is extremely tough and requires super strong upper bodies to pull yourself up from any hanging or inclined position and powerful legs so that you have balance after jumping and even in awkward positions. Strong abdominal muscles are probably key too with all the twisting and bending. Finally, agility and flexibility are definitely required. So roughly speaking it requires a super fit and super flexible body…ha! :-)

In many cases effective Parkour techniques depend upon rapid redistribution of body weight and by utilizing momentum to perform seemingly impossible or difficult body maneuvers. Absorption and redistribution of energy is also an important factor. Example, the body rolls when landing which reduces impact forces on the legs and spinal column, allowing a jump from greater heights than those often considered sensible...

Search for Parkour on YouTube, it has a ton of videos showing amazing maneuvers and tricks from all round the world…
Casino Royale sequence
Parkour – Wiki
Parkour/Free Running video

Run Forrest! Run!

Forrest Gump: "That day, for no particular reason, I decided to go for a little run."

If you read through the links that I posted below about the Ultramarathon Man, Dean Karnazes, you might have come across him talking about the runner's high. It exists...I don't know how to define it. According to Dean the amount of running he does the running high sometimes lasts 3 weeks. I don't know about that long but when I come back from my long runs it hurts, it hurts real bad sometimes. But it feels really good. When I stop my run whether it is after 10 or 12 kms or sometimes just after about 30 minutes there is something good in the air at that point. Something that makes me feel...happy. Its a kind of invincible, good invincible, feeling. The head is just clear at that point. I know this can be medically explained with the hormones and adrenelin flowing through your viens but it is there and it does happen.

Once you get your mechanics sorted out and find your equilbrium speed, there is something about running! Maybe it is that feeling that you have left your troubles behind...maybe it is the insulation that it gives you from life's chatter and clutter...maybe it is the peace of mind that it gives...maybe its just the view of the road passing beneath your feet...maybe it is that solace you've been searching for...maybe it is just about getting somewhere... maybe it is about you proving something to yourself...maybe its the wind on your face and its hum in your ears...maybe this, maybe that, maybe, maybe, maybe....arrrrrrrrrgh! :)

Just take it that it exists. Don't run as if it is a race, run for yourself. Find an area that you like and keep your head up because you will notice things that will open your eyes. Put on your favorite music and just run. Run till you know it is going to hurt tomorrow and then just wait when the pain comes...you will be smiling :)

PS:
As an after thought, I actually wore the wrong shoes when I was running back at home during the Diwali vacation and I came back with the inside area of my shins hurting in a nagging kind of way. I was quite miserable but it didn't stop me from enjoying my runs. Don't get me wrong I know how long distance running can be damaging to the body. My friend 'U' has done that to himself so I did pay attention to my pains and bought myself a great pair of shiny New Balance running shoes ;-)

Ultramarathon Man

What if I told you that you had to run 50 marathons in 50 days? A marathon is about 42kms or 26 miles. Well that’s not all, after you have run these 50 marathons you have to run more? 3000 miles actually, back to your home...your reaction???

Now, would you believe me if I told you that there is a man on this planet who is already doing exactly all that I mentioned just now? He has finished his 50 marathons in 50 consecutive days, the New York marathon on November 5^th was his 50th consecutive marathon, and now he currently running back from New York to his home in San Francisco. Oh and he has already covered about 540 miles in 12 days.

Name: Dean Karnazes - http://www.ultramarathonman.com/flash/
His daily blog including the 50 marathons in 50 days: ENDURANCE IS
Where is he today running from NY to SF? Here...
His book: Ultramarathon Man: Confessions of an All-Night Runner

Quotes:
"There is magic in misery."

"To me life is a struggle. If I'm not pushing myself, then I'm not happy," he says. "People think if we had every damn comfort available to us - if we removed all the struggle - we'd be happy. I think there's a lot of miserable people out there, and one of the reasons is, there's no struggle. They're taken care of every day. But I think there's a lot of happiness in suffering."

I have slept some 20 hours in the last two days...Why? Because I am on a $%#$ vacation ;-)

Diwali is here and I am lounging at home for the past two days. I got about 10 movies to watch during this week and already have finished 4...should have got more of them...

Went for a run early in the morning around 7am. It is so damn hot here that early morning is about the only time suitable for running. Getting down here from the flight at 11 in the night the temperature was 29 deg C, day time it must be 34-35. Anyway the run was really good, ran next to lake and then all the way to the departments and by my school. School starts really early now and I saw the kids go in...felt really nostalgic and my attire was almost exactly like their uniforms navy blue shorts, white t-shirt and black shoes. Maybe I should have gone inside and antagonized the teachers again, just for old times sake :)

One song that helped me through my run last Sunday was Pearl Jam's "Release". It goes:

I'll ride the wave where it takes me
I'll hold the pain...Release me...

I guess if you have heard the way Eddie Vedder sings these lines you may understand why these lines had such an influence...

42.2kms

It took me 6 hours to finish the Bangalore marathon. Not a very great time as I had aimed to finish in five and a half hours but still I managed to overcome my body screaming at me "STOP!" "STOP!" for 42 kilometers...

I had decent pace for the first half, completing 10 kilometers in just over an hour and then getting half way by about two and half hours. But at about 26 kilometers I had run my last for this race. I walked the rest of the way to the finish, taking about three hours to cover the last 16 kilometers.

Almost every part of my body below my waist hurt. The groin area, knees, calfs, ankles, feet (heel and sole) and each one of the 10 toes. Pains in each these areas would come and then dull away giving way to something more painful...
Plus I developed a condition in my upper body which is very common among amateur male long distance runners but a little embarrassing to describe here. I had taken some precaution but it didn't work and the roaming medical team had to help me. I soon forgot about it but I spent some anxious 10 kilometers...

The race was very badly organized but I don't want to go into those things here as I am too busy nursing my sweet and nasty aches and pains...ow! ow! ow! ouch!