Let's Get Down to Business

The last two weeks were full of some great training.  This has been the first two back-to-back, full, training weeks I've managed to get through.  I have a good training schedule going now, and I intend to stick with it.  It feels almost invigorating to have a new race in mind, and a training plan to go with it.

I know the Bangalore Ultra is still a long ways away, but I'd really like to focus on building an endurance foundation this time around.  My goal for this training session, roughly the next 6 months, is to get to the point where 40-50 mile weeks are relatively easy.  I only had 2 weeks that were over 40 miles in my training plan for the 2012 Marine Corps Marathon.  I've got 6 weeks of 40 or more miles in my training plan for the BU, and, depending on how quickly I progress in getting my mileage up, I may add 3-4 more weeks of 40+ miles.  I'm starting from a much different point fitness-wise for this race, not to mention I'm about 30 pounds lighter, so I'm optimistic that increasing my mileage will be a bit easier.

I ran with Hyderabad Runners last weekend, and I was surprised to see so many people.  There were at least 30 runners, and the group was very inviting.  I was excited to see some extremely talented runners as well.  I think this group will be a great help in getting my long runs in, and they will also be a great support system for training for my first ultra marathon, since many of them have run ultras or ironmans before.

Training Summary for Last Week:

Monday:       Off
Tuesday:       6.38 km; 36:33; avg. pace 5:44/km
Wednesday:  6.16 km; 36:16; avg. pace 5:53/km
Thursday:      Rowing: 3 km; 15:06; avg. pace 5:02/km
Friday:          Off
Saturday:      7.47 km; 46:31; avg. pace 6:14/km
Sunday:        10.19 km; 1:05:33; avg. pace 6:26/km

Total Km:         30.2 km
Total Time:       3:04:53
Average Pace:  6:07/km

Happy Running!

The India Roller-Coaster

I feel like I'm at a point where I'm trying to break through the wall between recreational fun-runner and serious runner.  I don't mean that I'm trying to become a competitive runner, as in winning races.  I'm not so disillusioned to think that's even remotely possible at the moment.  I just mean that I want to build an endurance foundation that allows me to run multiple races per year.  I want to get to a point where my training becomes more about bettering my pace, rather than just focusing on being able to make it to the finish line come race day.  I hope that training for my first ultra in November will provide that.

I'm definitely beginning to find my running groove in India.  It sucks running on the road, but I'm getting better at it.  I think it's only a matter of time before I get hit by a car, or bus, or auto-rickshaw, or motorcycle, or camel pulling a cart, or anything else you could possible imagine moving along the road here.  Stray dogs are a bit of a problem too.  In general they tend to run away from me when they see me coming, but every once in awhile they get that look in their eyes like they're thinking, "I could take this guy.  That'd be more meat than I've had all year!"  So far so good, but I'm just waiting for my first encounter with a rabid dog.

I found a running group in Hyderabad, called Hyderabad Runners, who do several weekly runs, including a long run.  I'm going to my first run with them this weekend.  I'm hoping that I'll meet some new running partners, and that they'll show me some nice trail running locations.

At the moment, the only thing that seems to be holding me back from building my endurance is my constant bouts with 'Delhi Belly.'  For the last 5 or 6 weeks, as soon as I start to feel like I'm making some progress I get hit with a severe case of food poisoning and the only place I'm running is to the bathroom.  I'm hoping that this is just my system adjusting to a new, slightly less clean than I'm used to, environment.  I've been recovering very quickly, so I guess that's a plus, but I'd really like to avoid these stomach issues in the future. All in all, I think I'm moving forward, and I'm excited to start training with a purpose.

Happy Running!