A lot of travel, personal, professional commitments and let’s say some overconfidence made it difficult to find time to run and/or exercise.
I did not run for more than an entire week. The days from July 1 to 9 were a big failure from a training perspective.
By the time I got back home on July 10, I was feeling extremely bad about not having trained for so long. I felt like instead of moving forward, I had moved backward on my practice. I checked my email on the 10th to see that the group was planning to run 6 miles on the 15th. I felt completely unsure if I was prepared for the 6-mile run. (As a part of this training for the half marathon, even if I don’t find time to run with the group, I am trying to make sure that I cover the total mileage covered by the group in the week, as well as cover the same maximum distance that the group is running. I am using it as a way to make sure that my preps are well on track.)
Now I had a choice. I could either feel overwhelmed by the progress the group had made or start gaining momentum again and catch up with the group as fast as I can.
So I decided to start running incremental distances in that week.
In the week from July 10 to 14, I did manage to get back on track a little bit. Of those four days I managed to run for three days, covering 2 miles, 3 miles and 4 miles. I cross-trained (spinning) on one of the days. I was finding it really difficult to find time in the mornings or evenings to run, and therefore I ran at around noon.
Running in the sun is a totally different game. It makes you so tired so fast. However, covering incremental distances each day and getting back to that fourth mile got some confidence back. Again, the first mile is more difficult. The third and the fourth mile, the body is setting in a rhythm, and I am enjoying the third and the fourth mile more.
One concern I have right now is that I am not stretching myself beyond my limits. I have been running the threes and the fours for awhile now. My body and my heart are totally supporting me in running the threes and the fours. There is no pain in my legs while covering this distance. Also, I am not going out of breath at any point. I know that running 13 miles is not going to be the same. I need to train my body to run longer distances as much as I can. I want to get to that point in my training as soon as possible. In the week to come, I will focus more on running longer distance, as well as strength training — something I have missed out on in the last few days.
In terms of food, I am continuing to have a glass of milk and a fruit each day. I have also started taking a multivitamin tablet each day. I am avoiding having any alcohol as far as possible. Also, being a little more selective in terms of what I eat. I am trying to cut the fried, greasy food out of my diet. Basically just focusing on eating simple food that will nourish my body and help me in my preparations for this run.
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Dipti Gore’s training schedule for this week:
Monday: Yoga
Tuesday: Run four miles
Wednesday: Strength training
Thursday: Run six miles
Friday: Strength training, yoga
Saturday: Run (cover the same distance as the team)
Sunday: Run (cover the same distance as the team)
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