Amit has been championing many public health initiatives in and around Thanjavur through ProHEALTH Foundation. Amit and ProHEALTH also organized the inaugural Tanjore Rural Marathon in December 2013, which is back in its second edition on 21-Dec-2014.

My family was in Thanjavur to celebrate Diwali with our parents and we enlisted ourselves as volunteers for the Thirukattupalli marathon. Race date was 25-Oct-2014 and there were three categories of runs: 3K (kids below 10 years), 5K (kids between 10 and 15 years) and 10K (Open category, above 15 years).

Thirukattupalli Marathon (Pic courtesy: ProHEALTH)

Amit told me that there were about 800 registrations already, including nearly 200 girls. It was heartening to see such huge enthusiasm for running in a rural setting. Amit also invited my 6-year old son to run the 3K. Local sponsors had pledged about Rs. 20,000 towards prize money, which should hot up the competition. It promised to be a cracker of an event and we were eagerly looking forward to it.

Race day arrived and we started from Thanjavur around 4:30 AM, and arrived at the start point shortly after 5 AM. Amit was already busy, and we got to know that the venue of the race in Thirukattupalli, Sir P. S. Sivaswami Iyer Higher Secondary School, located in the heart of the town is a 100+ year old institution. The place was buzzing with athletes even before the gates of the school opened!

108 year old school as race venue

We helped a bit with traffic management and directed parents and other spectators’ vehicles to designated parking areas so that they do not obstruct runners. The run was on a two-lane main road and the route to follow was an out and back loop of 1.5K, 2.5K and 5K according to the category. The local police also supported the race by blocking vehicular traffic for the runners.

Race start was delayed by a few minutes because of the huge crowd and a large number of last minute entries. Amit and the ProHEALTH team should be commended for encouraging everyone to run, even if they had not registered in advance. The crowd had swelled to excess of 1000. At about 6:10 AM the 10K runners were off, followed shortly by the 5K runners. The youngest of them all, the 3K athletes were waiting patiently for their ‘seniors’ to be flagged off. My son joined the 3K crowd, and accompanied by my wife, who ran with him, had a whale of a time running the race. The entire town of Thirukattupalli was out on the street, cheering the runners and encouraging them to run harder. Vehicular traffic was stopped for a while, and curious bus passengers got down from their seats and joined the Thirukattupalli crowd in cheering the runners.

Athletes lined up

And they are off!

Faster!

Overall it was a fun event and we had a great time doing our small bit towards its organization. My son thoroughly enjoyed the run and proudly wore his medal during our drive back home. No words of appreciation are enough for Amit and ProHEALTH for bringing running closer to the masses and making such events accessible to all. If such races mushroom in every village, recreational running will no longer be seen as an activity of the elite. For a mere Rs. 25 registration fee, the team has managed to provide a finishers medal, certificate, biscuits, bananas and water. There is plenty of scope for the big city organizers to learn from the Thirukattupalli Marathon. Hope this race becomes bigger and better next time around.

BACKGROUND

If you are aiming to compete in a race, irrespective of your actual goal, be it just to complete or finish in the podium, it is vital that your training program includes varied different types of running workouts. Varying your running not only allows you to keep things interesting, but also helps you inch your way towards achieving your running goals. This blog post describes the various commonly used running workouts that should be an integral part of any running training plan.

INTERVALS

This kind of a workout consists of short bursts of higher intensity activity followed by a recovery period. The whole set is repeated many times and this alternate period of high intensity followed by recovery helps you to burn fat and also progressively become faster.

Example workout could be: Warm up for 5 minutes, Run 5 minutes at 10K pace followed by 90 seconds of recovery jog: repeat 5 times followed by a cool down period of 5 minutes.

HILLS

This kind of a run is critical if you are training for a hilly course. You could either do a hill repeat: run up and down a hill or could just do a hilly course. It is important that you slow down during up hill so that you are not exhausted prematurely. Incorporating hills in your regimen would certainly boost your confidence when you reach the start line!

TEMPO RUN

A tempo run is a sustained effort at or near lactate threshold. This run tests your fitness and is to be attempted only by intermediate or advanced runners. The goal of tempo runs should be to sustain your pace longer and also to progressively increase your lactate threshold.

LONG SLOW DISTANCE RUN

If you are training for half-marathon and above, you should do at least one long, slow, distance run every week. This run should be at a relatively slower pace and should not be strenuous. The goal of this run is to adjust your body to the long durations that you would spend on the course and also to ensure that your body is capable of resisting fatigue for long durations.

RECOVERY RUN

This run is relatively shorter and is done at a very easy pace. A recovery run typically follows a hard workout or a race. The aim of a recovery run is to add a little mileage to your running while at the same time not to increase your training load. A recovery run should make you feel rejuvenated and should charge you up for future workouts!

Vary your running by including different types of running to make your workouts interesting.

BACKGROUND

The Kaveri Trail Marathon is one of the most popular trail races in the country organized by Runners for Life. KTM, as it is abbreviated usually would always be special for me since it was the first ever running event I participated in (I did the 10K in 2012). This time around I had been training for the full marathon. My previous marathon personal best was around 5 hours, and I was eagerly hoping to set a new personal record in this year’s race.

PRE-RACE

The race was scheduled on 21-Sep-2014 and the course is in Srirangapatna, near Mysore, around 130 Kms from Bangalore. My friend Bharath (who was doing the half marathon) and I decided to drive down on 21st early morning directly to the race, since we were participating in a hackathon on 20-Sep-2014. It turned out to be a big mistake and I could not get to bed before 11:30 PM on 20-Sep-2014. With less than 2 hours of sleep, I woke up, got ready and we started the drive to the race venue. Stopped in Maddur Cafe Coffee Day for morning coffee and all seemed well. Unfortunately, as we neared the race venue, things turned bad and I was overcome with nausea. I got down from the car and puked on the road, emptying much of the coffee that I had taken in earlier. Felt really weak at that point of time, and if not for Bharath’s motivation, I would be decided to give the race a miss.

COURSE

The Kaveri Trail Marathon trail is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful courses in the country. It is a 10.55 Km out and back loop which the full-marathoners have to do twice. The river Kaveri runs alongside the entire trail and lush green fields make up either side of the course. It is indeed a visual delight, enough to make runners forget any pain they are feeling. Runners for Life are renowned for their near perfect organization and the full marathon started exactly at the stroke of 6 AM.

Kaveri Train Marathon. Pic courtesy: Runners for Life

Since I wasn’t very sure about my health, I decided to take it slowly maintaining a pace of about 7mins/Km for the first half of the race. I was pretty much leading from the rear, with my slow pace. However, I did not let that get into my head since I wasn’t sure whether I would be able to finish the race if I pushed myself. I consumed a gel approximately every hour an a sip of water every 30 minutes or so. I completed the first half of the race in under 2 h 30 m and I was reasonably pleased with myself, considering that I was doubtful even to start.

Meanwhile, I saw that Bharath, who was targeting a half marathon finish time of under 2 hours, did very well to finish in 2 h 3 m, which was a commendable performance considering that he had been deprived of sleep as well, and not to mention he did the driving all the way from Bangalore.

Pretty hot conditions

POST RACE

I finished the race so late that the organizers ran out of medals Jokes apart, the post race brunch was simply awesome and provided much needed relief after being out there on the course for six hours. Many thanks to Bharath for patiently waiting for me to finish, and driving me both ways. He must have been waiting for me for more than three hours.

LESSONS LEARNED

1) KTM is a tough race, I had seriously underestimated it.
2) Do not compromise on sleep the day(s) before the race. Next year I will stay closer to the venue and not do the 3 hour drive from Bangalore on race day.
3) Wear a cap, especially if you are a slower runner.

BACKGROUND

I had been seeing some posts about the IBM BlueMix Monsoon Marathon on my Facebook feed, but didn’t think much about it till almost the last minute when my wife and son decided to go for a running event on the weekend. Race day was on 31-Aug-2014 and online registrations were closed. Spot registrations were however open at the bib collection venue: Forum Value Mall, Whitefield, Bangalore which was a good 25 Km distance from my home. Went along with the family, finished the registration process and collected our bibs and t-shirts. I signed up for the half-marathon while my wife and son signed up for the 5K. One of our neighours and his son also signed up for the 5K. Timing chips were optional and cost extra, and none of us picked up timing chips since we did not have any realistic chance of a podium finish.

RACE DAY

We started around 5 AM from home to cover the 25 Km distance to the start point. Reporting time was 5:45 AM and the 21K was scheduled to start at 6 AM. Milkha Singh was to flag off the race and we were quite excited to catch a glimpse of the legend and hear him speak. We were not disappointed and soon enough Milkha Singh reached the venue and gave an inspirational speech about hard work and his dream to see an Indian winning a Olympic medal in athletics in his life time. The kids managed to get themselves clicked with the legend himself.

Milkha Singh arrives

The kids with the legend

COURSE

The 21K flag-off was delayed by about 15 minutes but we were pretty charged up after Milkha Singh’s inspirational speech. The race was in Whitefield, Bangalore: the city’s IT district. The course looked pretty flat with no flyovers or any major climbing to do. The entire race was on properly paved road. The race organizers had done a commendable job in cordoning off traffic along the run course, though there were some complaints (in the organizer’s Facebook page) from local residents about the “strict” traffic restrictions.

Cool conditions

More or less flat course

My primary goals for the race was two-fold:

• Run the entire race at an even pace
• Consume no supplements / energy drinks and as little water as possible during the entire race

My personal best for the half-marathon distance was 2 hour 19 minutes set in 2013 Dream Runners Half Marathon, Chennai and my secondary goal for this race was to set a new personal best.

With these two thoughts in mind I set off and got into a steady rhythm soon. The first 5Km of the race was smooth sailing with a heart rate of less then 155 bpm and a pace of about 6m30s per Km. I knew that if I maintained the same pace, I would beat my previous personal best. Kilometers 6-15 saw me put in some additional effort to maintain the same pace and my average heart rate rose closer to 160 bpm for a 6m30s/Km pace.

Towards the 15th Km, I began to tire and decided to take my fist sip of water at the next aid station, which thankfully, was not very far away. I grabbed a 200 ml bottle of water and it felt refreshing to have a drink. Unfortunately, there weren’t any dustbins after the aid station, and I had to discard the empty bottle on the side of the road. Hope the organizers make arrangements to strategically place dustbins after aid stations so that runners can discard their empty bottles / cups instead of littering the roads.

I had to put in additional effort to maintain pace for the rest of the race, my HR climbed to mid 160s bpm but I could still maintain a consistent pace. By now I knew that I was on my way to a new personal best. For the last few Kms, I didn’t care much about my increasing heart rate and romped home in 2h16m setting a new personal best. Overall, I was quite happy with my performance, having achieved a PB in fasted state with on course nutrition consisting of 200 ml water.

More or less steady pace throughout

Consistently increasing heart rate

POST RUN

There were lots of fun activities after run: Ice bucket challenge by Milind Soman, dance etc. Kids had a lot of fun and they even got to volunteer for a while distributing medals for the finishers. Post run refreshments consisted of biscuits and some juice. On the whole, it was a well organized, fun-filled event on a Sunday morning and I hope to be back next year again!

Kids got to volunteer for a while

Post run fun

One notable deficiency in aid stations was that they stocked just water. There weren’t any energy drinks or bananas or biscuits commonly found in other races. While this didn’t affect me personally because I didn’t plan to consume any, it could have been a factor for other runners. Hope the organizers make amends next year.

Running has always been one of the most efficient ways to burn calories. Running is also one of the cheapest ways to get started with exercising. You don’t need to invest in a gym-membership or buy a fancy bicycle to get started. All you need is a (cheap) pair of running shoes and a place to run.

GETTING STARTED

Anyone can run. Even if you haven’t exercised since childhood. Even if you cannot run continuously for 30 seconds even. All it takes is about 9 weeks for you to get from a “couch state” to running continuously for 5 Kms. It might sound hard to believe, but it is possible. I followed the plan that I am going to describe and got from a couch-potato state to completing my first 10K race within a span of about three months.

SIGN UP FOR A RACE

I have always found that I am more motivated when I have a goal in sight. You may be sufficiently motivated, but for most of us if there is a time-bound goal to achieve, we are more likely to stick to our training plan. With this in mind, I would urge you to look out for a 5K or a 10K race roughly three to four months from now. Sign up right now, even before you start training. You would then have a target in sight and you know that you have to work hard in order to finish the race.

A little motivation

COUCH TO 5K PROGRAM

Nine weeks, three workouts a week for 30 minutes each. That’s what it takes to get you from the “couch” to running non-stop for 30 minutes. Here is a description of the plan week by week. You should do all the “running” described below at a very slow pace. A rule of the thumb is that if you are not able to have a conversation while “running” then you are going too fast. Always remember to stick to a “conversational pace” while following this plan.

WEEK 1

1) Five minute warm up walk.
2) 60 secs run followed by 90 secs walk. Repeat 8 times for a total time of 20 minutes.
3) Five minutes cool down walk.

Repeat the same workout 3 times during the week as per your convenience.

WEEK 2

1) Five minute warm up walk.
2) 90 secs run followed by 2 minutes walk. Repeat 6 times.
3) Five minutes cool down walk.

Repeat the same workout 3 times during the week as per your convenience.

WEEK 3

1) Five minute warm up walk.
Do two repetitions of steps 2-3:
2) Run 90 secs. Walk 90 secs.
3) Run 180 secs. Walk 180 secs
4) Five minute cool down walk.

Repeat the same workout 3 times during the week as per your convenience.

WEEK 4

1) Five minute warm up walk.
2) Run 180 secs. Walk 90 secs.
3) Run 5 minutes. Walk 150 secs.
4) Run 3 minutes. Walk 90 secs.
5) Run 5 minutes.
6) Five minute cool down walk.

Repeat the same workout 3 times during the week as per your convenience.

WEEK 5

Workout 1:
1) Five minute warm up walk.
Do two repetitions of step 2:
2) Run 5 minutes. Walk 3 minutes.
3) Run 5 minutes.
4) Five minute cool down walk.

Workout 2:
1) Five minute warm up walk.
2) Run 8 minutes.
3) Walk 5 minutes.
4) Run 8 minutes.
5) Five minute cool down walk.

Workout 3:
1) Five minute warm up walk.
2) Run 20 minutes.
3) Five minute cool down walk.

WEEK 6

Workout 1:
1) Five minute warm up walk.
2) Run 5 minutes. Walk 3 minutes.
3) Run 8 minutes. Walk 3 minutes.
4) Run 5 minutes.
5) Five minute cool down walk.

Workout 2:
1) Five minute warm up walk.
2) Run 10 minutes.
3) Walk 3 minutes.
4) Run 10 minutes.
5) Five minute cool down walk.

Workout 3:
1) Five minute warm up walk.
2) Run 22 minutes.
3) Five minute cool down walk.

WEEK 7

1) Five minute warm up walk.
2) Run 25 minutes.
3) Five minute cool down walk.

Repeat the same workout 3 times during the week as per your convenience.

WEEK 8

1) Five minute warm up walk.
2) Run 28 minutes.
3) Five minute cool down walk.

Repeat the same workout 3 times during the week as per your convenience.

WEEK 9

1) Five minute warm up walk.
2) Run 30 minutes.
3) Five minute cool down walk.

Repeat the same workout 3 times during the week as per your convenience.

SMARTPHONE APPS

There are numerous smartphone apps that help you keep track of your workouts while you are training for your race and following the Couch to 5K program. Some of them are C25K specific like the C25K trainer (Andriod, Apple) while others are general purpose workout trackers such as Runkeeper (Andriod, Apple) and Endomondo (Android, Apple).

Good luck with your training!