Sunday, July 08, 2012

Running Adjustments

Since last Jan's debacle when I missed the 2hr mark by 30 seconds, I've been working on things.
The Gear
- I bought a pair of new shoes one size bigger than my natural size.
- On my visit to Amsterdam, I came across an ACSICS store and bought myself a Hydration Backpack.
I had seen someone running with similar product back in my Thane Marathon. When you are trying to shave 30 secs off the clock, you tend to go overboard. I'm thinking, if I did not stop to hydrate myself during the run, I might have saved about 4 minutes. But then to carry 1 liter water along may slow me down. I do not know how it will finally pan out but then I'm making all efforts :).
- Yesterday I bought 3 pack Dri-Fit socks from the Nike showroom. My run was ruined by blisters on both my feet. I could not walk properly for 2 days after the event. I read up on the net. Cotton socks are the worst offenders when it comes to long runs. They absorb the sweat and become soggy. At the same time your feet swell up after running for an hour or so. Add the two and you have a perfect concoction for blisters.
I typically start feeling the friction after 8-9 kms of running. Thats about 45 mins into the run. Today, I ran wearing the new pair of dri-fit socks and honestly I did not feel any discomfort for the whole 16 kms. When I removed the socks, I saw that the blisters were there but then at least they did not hurt.


Training
Last year this time I was off the track. I was nursing a knee injury. The doctor said I should stop running. Instead
- I gave myself a 4 month break and started training only around September. That helped.
- I did not run on the road except a couple of runs in December.
- I did not attempt to run fast. I realized I get the pain if I tried to run @12 kmph.
- I also trained on elliptical for stamina.
This year has been a little better so far. No knee injury yet. Though I must say I did feel the discomfort  today when I ran 16 km for the first time this season.
In terms of running @12kmph(5 min /km) the best I did was 5 kms in 25 min back in 2010. Last year was a washout due to knee injury. This season I've been trying to ramp up. Earlier this week, I went up to 6 kms in 30 min. Now that's the benchmark I set for myself. I had a similar run way back in April. But right after, I had one of the worst flu infections. Since then, I've been trying to get there but could not. Last week, I tried eating a couple of bananas before the run and that did the trick. Bananas are a great source of instant energy. I believe I'm going to carry one on my run this time.


I've started clocking 20 kms a week for the last 2 weeks. I think I'll keep that on till October and then increase to 25km or so till end of Dec. Jan will be more about building up the reserves. Hence low on mileage. 

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