Tag: Training

HDHM, here I come!

Yesterday, I received the acceptance letter for the Hutch Delhi Half Marathon (HDHM), confirming my entry. I was very happy to see that, my first entry into any long distance event of this kind. It even gives my running number : 485, so if you happen to see a 485 at HDHM, you know who that was, right 🙂 October is going to be a tough tough month for me, with lot of other commitments, so it will take all the determination I have to keep my running schedule on track.

Since this is my first event, I would like to know how good the organizers are here in India when it comes to organizing events like these. How are the facilities, is it just plain water, or sports drinks, any gels, etc, and at what distances. Do put in your comments if you had experiences of running in India.

Tomorrow is another big challenge for me, the 19K long run. And it is raining like anything here in Delhi, so lets see whether it would be possible to run at all or not.

Run and Jump, what!


There are some crazy moments when you happen to lose all the sense you have developed in all those years of living sanely. The problem is, when those moments come, you are helpless in using your mind at all. This happened to me this Tuesday, when after running 5 kms I was cooling down when I noticed some boys doing high jumps over a junk plastic pipe. I immediately fell for it, as it brought back memories of me doing high jumps in school at least 15 years back, and which I have never since done. With my legs tired after the run, I went for the jump, which I actually did fine. The problem was that my legs were gone, unable to carry my weight on the way down, and I went straight to the ground with a bad strain in my legs. As a result, I missed todays run and still have a mild pain. What a jerk I am!

16 km, and hurting!


As I reached the 16 km target for last weekends long run, I realised that it is going to be tough from here on. In my last run, tiredness was less of a factor than other discomforts like chaffing, etc. But this time, I felt fully drained out. This might be because the weather has been unusually hot for the last few days here in Delhi. I guess this might also be the time to start taking gels and bars stuff with what I usually take, Gatorade, as my running times go to 2-2.5 hrs.

BTW, I do my long runs in Nehru Park (Chanakyapuri, Delhi), an excellent place with very nice surroundings and a 2.75 km loop. As for the weekday runs, I manage in the sports stadium in Noida, a 1 km circle.

14 kms this weekend!


As per the schedule, I completed my first run at such a long distance. I would not say that I was totally exhausted at the end, but was uncomfortable with some soreness on chest and groin. I guess I may have to use some tapes or something to prevent this from happening, or get some expert advice. I continue to use Gatorade for replenishment during the run. Rest of the day, I just felt like relaxing in the bed and doing nothing.

The Training Plan

Here is the 18 weeks training plan which I plan to follow for running a marathon by Dec 4, 2005. The plan has been developed by Hal Higdon, the details of which you may find in the book “Marathon: The Ultimate Training Guide”

Week Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun
Aug 01 18 rest 5 5 5 rest 10 cross
08 17 rest 5 5 5 rest 11 cross
15 16 rest 5 6 5 rest 8 cross
22 15 rest 5 6 5 rest 14 cross
29 14 rest 5 7 5 rest 16 cross
Sep 05 13 rest 5 8 5 rest 11 cross
12 12 rest 5 9 5 rest 19 cross
19 11 rest 5 10 5 rest 21 cross
26 10 rest 5 11 6 rest 16 cross
Oct 03 09 rest 5 11 6 rest 24 cross
10 08 rest 6 12 6 rest 26 cross
17 07 rest 6 13 7 rest 19 cross
24 06 rest 6 14 8 rest 29 cross
31 05 rest 7 15 8 rest 23 cross
Nov 07 04 rest 8 16 7 rest 32 cross
14 03 rest 8 13 6 rest 19 cross
21 02 rest 6 10 5 rest 13 cross
28 01 rest 5 6 3 rest – race