I'm feeeeelin' it... You??
Thursday, August 25, 2005
More Updates on the training..
Just found a few minutes to write this update on the marathon training .
This past weekend was our first 3hrs run..that translates to 180 minutes of running and the intended target was 18 miles..Some of us who arrived early at Glen Echo Park did an extra three miles of warm-up before the "real" training run started..The run was along the scenic C&O Canal/Tow Path.. team partners responsible (for fuel&food supply have set-up two fuel/food stations along the trail..The weather was not bad --Overcast skies made it cooler but actually it was a bit uncomfortable with the stifling humidity .. Glad it was not hot and humid..I completed a total of 22 miles in 240 minutes..a little over 10 minutes, given the last few miles were really tough (the course includes a serious climb-up/climb-down over a steep incline and a total of 3 sets of stairs to go up and down along the detour path due to some construction activity .. and it sure hurts like hell when you try and climb a hill/stair after running 20 miles)..The training run was followed by a Runner's social.. families and friends of the runners were invited for some food and chat with their teams and runners...Injury updates: A mild nagging pain under the calf and a bit of discomfort moving my left ankle still prevail after the race..Weekday training has been interrupted due to the pain factor, but am hoping on continuing irrespective of the pain starting tonight..That's it for now..Will see if I can get the pictures sent to me from our runners..You will get to some worn out faces, and one of them would be mine...
BTW, just this weekend, all registration formalities for running the MCM has been completed.. Guess what! Our Team will have 213 runners, yep two hundred and thirteen runners, taking part in the race..I was stunned to see the final numbers when they announced it during the runner's social ..and you will see all our runners wearing Lemon Yellow singlets ..
This past weekend was our first 3hrs run..that translates to 180 minutes of running and the intended target was 18 miles..Some of us who arrived early at Glen Echo Park did an extra three miles of warm-up before the "real" training run started..The run was along the scenic C&O Canal/Tow Path.. team partners responsible (for fuel&food supply have set-up two fuel/food stations along the trail..The weather was not bad --Overcast skies made it cooler but actually it was a bit uncomfortable with the stifling humidity .. Glad it was not hot and humid..I completed a total of 22 miles in 240 minutes..a little over 10 minutes, given the last few miles were really tough (the course includes a serious climb-up/climb-down over a steep incline and a total of 3 sets of stairs to go up and down along the detour path due to some construction activity .. and it sure hurts like hell when you try and climb a hill/stair after running 20 miles)..The training run was followed by a Runner's social.. families and friends of the runners were invited for some food and chat with their teams and runners...Injury updates: A mild nagging pain under the calf and a bit of discomfort moving my left ankle still prevail after the race..Weekday training has been interrupted due to the pain factor, but am hoping on continuing irrespective of the pain starting tonight..That's it for now..Will see if I can get the pictures sent to me from our runners..You will get to some worn out faces, and one of them would be mine...
BTW, just this weekend, all registration formalities for running the MCM has been completed.. Guess what! Our Team will have 213 runners, yep two hundred and thirteen runners, taking part in the race..I was stunned to see the final numbers when they announced it during the runner's social ..and you will see all our runners wearing Lemon Yellow singlets ..
Tuesday, August 02, 2005
13.1 miles in 136 minutes..Not bad!!
well, well, well.. What can I say! As I stated in my last blog, I ran the Half marathon on July 24 and ended up surprising myself.. For starters, I was a bit apprehensive to run the race when it was rated as one the Toughest in the region to run..Especially, the rolling terrain packed with hills ranging from gentle to steep and the weather in the 90 degrees + range was good enough to make me rethink the participation in this race.. But what the heck.. The usual reckless me decided to Just Do It, the nike way..Got up early, finished all the pre-race formalities and was at the finish line by five minutes to the start of the race..
If you can believe, there was a huge beeline, parallel to the runners waiting at the start-- a ton of runners waiting to use the Loooo! The race organizers didn't do a good job of catering to the public demand..They put very few portable toilets and it was the cause for all the disaster to come..I decided to use the loo in teh very last minute and trust me on the words "last minute" .. as I entered the loo, I heard the Hoot announcing the start of the race..I planned on getting out quickly but the bathroom door had other plans..
Though I was all done with in that tiny little enclosure, as I tried to get out, I realized that the door's lock was not functioning the way it should..What to do..No way out so I tried to fiddle with it as much as I can and somehow made my way out..By the time I got it, the race clock place at the start of the line announced the demise of a few precious minutes, precisely 6minutes, 57 seconds, and odd micro seconds.. If you can believe, even the spectators who were present to cheer and support their loved ones were all vanished and the place wore a deserted look..
Anyway, thinking it cannot get any worse, I deided to run .. It was definitely a weired feeling when I crossed the Start Line all by myself and none around to see even if was there or not.. But to be just and truthful, I did what anyone else would do.. Started to run and encountered the first Flagman (from the race organizing team) at the end of quarter mile.. He was amazed that there was this one runner still left after the last of runners cleared from his sight some 6 minutes ago.. Joking, he asked, if I my alarm didn't go off this morning.. Boy! I did my explaining as I continued to run and established visual of the first runner ahead almost around the half-mile marker.. that was an energy booster.. but the downside was that I spotted the runner at the very top of a steep grade..Boy! somehow I passed the first steep hill and the first runner as well.. that's it .. then I started beating one after the other and somehow managed to finish the race in a decent pace..and for sure someone didn't measure the last 1.1 mile properly as it seemed for ever to see that finish line..
I was surely ecstatic as I grabbed the water bottle offered at the finish line and noted the race clock reading 2hrs 22 mins and odd..Boy.. I couldn;t believe that my real but "unofficial" time was roughly 136 minutes (my wrist watch was @ 2hrs 16 mins)..I kept telling myself, it is not bad for a first timer on that terrible race to finish in such a good pace ..Feels good and now am all pumped up to finish the full marathon in less than 5hrs..If that happens, you know where I'llbe.. Of course, my new address would become "cloud 9"..
For your visual pleasures (and to prove my participation in the race), I have attached one of my race pictures, taken by a buddy of mine as I was coming down the country side with the blazing sun bearing down on my back..Though its hard to see, its the one and only one I have so far .. Let me post some more in the days to come..
If you can believe, there was a huge beeline, parallel to the runners waiting at the start-- a ton of runners waiting to use the Loooo! The race organizers didn't do a good job of catering to the public demand..They put very few portable toilets and it was the cause for all the disaster to come..I decided to use the loo in teh very last minute and trust me on the words "last minute" .. as I entered the loo, I heard the Hoot announcing the start of the race..I planned on getting out quickly but the bathroom door had other plans..
Though I was all done with in that tiny little enclosure, as I tried to get out, I realized that the door's lock was not functioning the way it should..What to do..No way out so I tried to fiddle with it as much as I can and somehow made my way out..By the time I got it, the race clock place at the start of the line announced the demise of a few precious minutes, precisely 6minutes, 57 seconds, and odd micro seconds.. If you can believe, even the spectators who were present to cheer and support their loved ones were all vanished and the place wore a deserted look..
Anyway, thinking it cannot get any worse, I deided to run .. It was definitely a weired feeling when I crossed the Start Line all by myself and none around to see even if was there or not.. But to be just and truthful, I did what anyone else would do.. Started to run and encountered the first Flagman (from the race organizing team) at the end of quarter mile.. He was amazed that there was this one runner still left after the last of runners cleared from his sight some 6 minutes ago.. Joking, he asked, if I my alarm didn't go off this morning.. Boy! I did my explaining as I continued to run and established visual of the first runner ahead almost around the half-mile marker.. that was an energy booster.. but the downside was that I spotted the runner at the very top of a steep grade..Boy! somehow I passed the first steep hill and the first runner as well.. that's it .. then I started beating one after the other and somehow managed to finish the race in a decent pace..and for sure someone didn't measure the last 1.1 mile properly as it seemed for ever to see that finish line..
I was surely ecstatic as I grabbed the water bottle offered at the finish line and noted the race clock reading 2hrs 22 mins and odd..Boy.. I couldn;t believe that my real but "unofficial" time was roughly 136 minutes (my wrist watch was @ 2hrs 16 mins)..I kept telling myself, it is not bad for a first timer on that terrible race to finish in such a good pace ..Feels good and now am all pumped up to finish the full marathon in less than 5hrs..If that happens, you know where I'llbe.. Of course, my new address would become "cloud 9"..
For your visual pleasures (and to prove my participation in the race), I have attached one of my race pictures, taken by a buddy of mine as I was coming down the country side with the blazing sun bearing down on my back..Though its hard to see, its the one and only one I have so far .. Let me post some more in the days to come..
