Arun Gupta, Miles to go ...

Week 9 Mileage - PR on Rancho

Mon: Rest
Tue: 8.5 miles
Wed: 7 miles
Thu: 7 miles
Fri: 5 miles
Sat: 5 miles
Sun: 9 miles

I did Rancho PG&E this morning with 48:40 going up (starting from the first parking lot) and a total timing of 1:19:23 (stopping at second parking lot). I started slow and wasn't very happy with my performance but guess my clock showed otherwise But I definitely need to do it more often in order to be prepared for the upcoming marathon.

And BTW, this was my first 40 mile week

Here are the interesting reads of this time ...

• Boston Course Tips - Mile-by-mile guide to the Boston marathon course.
• Are you drinking too much water ? - Also read my previous post on this (includes hydration guidelines from USA Track & Field)

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Week 8 Mileage

Mon: 7 miles
Tue: 7 miles
Wed: 7 miles
Thu: 7 miles
Fri: None
Sat: None
Sun: 10 miles

Here are the interesting reads of this time ...

• Potassium rich food - Crucial mineral that helps you keep hydrated and aids in recovery.
• Run it off - Calorie-burning workouts from America's best coaches will help you slim down--and speed up
• Best Training Plan - 75% - 80% at relaxed pace, 12% at tempo pace, 8% at interval pace, Weekly long run at 20-40% of total distance for the week
• Can Hill Running make you faster ?
• The Marathon and Your Heart

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Week 7 Mileage

Mon: 5 miles
Tue: 7 miles
Wed: Rest
Thu: 7 miles
Fri: 7 miles
Sat: 5 miles
Sun: Rest

Thank you The Ventian for sending my forgotten Polar F11 last week.

17 more weeks to go and some more articles to read:

• How much are you really eating ?
• Start your engine - 10 strategies that'll kick your metabolism into high gear

Over and over and over, I've heard that tempo runs are the most essential runs to get faster and stronger. So I've started running 20 minutes at a 30 seconds faster pace twice a week. I've started with a short tempo run to begin with but will be increasing the time/distance gradually. For now, I've already started feeling the difference in a week but may be it's more psychological I'll report more on this later.

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Week 6 Mileage

Mon: 3.5 miles
Tue: 3.0 miles
Wed: 3.5 miles
Thu: 7 miles
Fri: None
Sat: 5 miles
Sun: 8 miles

I could not run on Friday because The Venetian charges $35 for their fitness center usage. Happy running and reading the following links:

• Be a smart eater - 20 simple swaps that will cut fat and calories from your diet, boost nutrition, and make you a better runner
• 9 ways to loose flab
• The Perfect Form - Running better, from head to toe.
• Can hill running make you faster ?

I forgot my Polar F11 at The Venetian last week. Luckily they found it, after multiple reminders, and called me over the weekend to inform they have sent it to me. I'm waiting ...

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Week 5 Mileage

Mon: 3.5 miles
Tue: 3.5 miles
Wed: 7 miles
Thu: Rest
Fri: None
Sat: Traveling
Sun: Traveling

Low mileage and no hill runs yet!

Happy running and reading the following links:

• The Runners Diet
• Run Off 5 Pounds

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Week 4 Mileage

Mon: 3.5 miles
Tue: 7 miles
Wed: 7 miles
Thu: Rest
Fri: 7 miles
Sat: 10 miles
Sun: Rest

The highest mileage in a week, 34.5, of this training season so far. I'm planning for my first hill run this week.

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Week 3 Mileage

Mon: 7 miles
Tue: 3.5 miles
Wed: 3.5 miles
Thu: Rest
Fri: 7 miles
Sat: Holi
Sun: 8.5 miles

With a total of 29.5 miles this week, I'm on track for building up mileage before starting hill runs in 2 weeks. With a total of 21 weeks before the run, there are miles to go.

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Week 2 Mileage

Mon: Rest
Tue: 3.5 miles
Wed: 3.5 miles
Thu: Rain
Fri: 5 miles
Sat: 7 miles
Sun: Rain

The goal, for next 2 weeks, is to build up mileage gradually and then start hill runs. I'll definitely need lots of hill runs this time and that's why starting early. For that, Rancho is my friend. I found a great tool that calculates route distance and elevation for any possible route at Rancho so this is going to be handy.

And if you are planning to register for San Francisco Marathon, 3rd tier is sold out as well. The current registration rate is $100, as opposed to $75, $85 & $95 in the previous tiers, and expires on 4/7/7.

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Week 1 Mileage - Low mileage last week

Mon: 5 miles
Tue: Rest
Wed: 8.5 miles
Thu: Rest
Fri: 7 miles
Sat: None
Sun: None

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Marathon Training, here I come!

Last pre-training week with a total of 26 miles.

Mon: 7 miles
Tue: Rest
Wed: 7 miles
Thu: 5 miles
Fri: None
Sat: 7 miles
Sun: Rest

So marathon training, here I come tomorrow. Check out some good articles in the meanwhile:

• The Runners Six Pack - How to get ready for a peak running performance
• Get Strong Legs - How to get a strong lower body
• Run Through The Cold - Training through the cold winter months

Miles to go ...

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Two 7-milers this week

Another good pre-training week

Mon: 4 miles
Tue: Rest
Wed: 7 miles
Thu: Rest
Fri: 7 miles
Sat: 3.5 miles
Sun: Rest

21.5 miles total this week, and so just another week like that before I start marathon training.

Miles to go ...

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7-miler this morning

This week has been a good running week:

Mon: 3.5 miles
Tue: 3.5 miles
Wed: 3.5 miles
Thu: 3.5 miles
Fri: 7 miles
Sat: Rest
Sun: Rest

With a total of 21 miles so far in the week and the upcoming weekend, I plan to have two more weeks with similar mileage and then start my marathon training.

Many more miles to go before the run

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Marathon and Community

I got the first feel of fellow runners marathon this morning when I was at Stanford University School of Medicine Hospital helping Dr. Suzanne Miller in a study on "The Effect of Endurance Exercise on the Cardiac Function of Recreational versus Professional Athletes". Read more about the study here. In approx an hour at the hospital, the following tests were conducted:

• Spoonful blood sample
• Height/Weigth/BMI
• Electrocardiogram
• Heart rate variability
• Heart Echocardiogram

The results of the study will be published in a medical journal and the results of personal heart tests (claimed to be worth thousand of dollars) will be made available.

"It's all about Community" said the Director of marathon on the radio yesterday. 3500 registered runners from all over the country, 800 marathoners, The Health Trust, Hilton, NBC 11, ASHA, KLIV and a multitude of sponsors and charities shows community involvement. 

My next blog will be after the run and will talk more about community.

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Tapering down before the marathon

With a slow pace of 9:25 for 22 miles the weekend before, and a better pace of 8:51 for 21 miles last weekend, my final push for marathon training is over. Now I'm tapering down and waiting for the days to pass. I might do few tempo runs and uphill but other than that I can afford to be lazy in the mornings

Here are some good articles on why and how to taper.

• Tapering for Marathon
• Why should you taper for a marathon ?
• What is Tapering ?

Technorati: Running Marathon Fitness SiliconValleyMarathon

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Breathing and Running

I've made a new friend on my running trail couple of weeks ago and we were talking about breathing styles. After 9 weeks of marathon training, I realized I've not read much on breathing so here is my learning over the past few days. There are a few terms associated with breathing:

• Inhale/Exhale method - Breath can be inhaled through mouth only, through nose only, through mouth and nose. Combine that with an exhale and there is a 3 X 3 matrix.
• Breath Control - Either chest or belly may be used to inhale/exhale. Belly breathing allows you to inhale more Oxygen and exhale more Carbon dioxide.
• Breathing Rhythm - When running you could inhale during 2 steps and then exhale during next 2 steps. Each of this could differ depending upon the length and pace of the run.

All these terms are nicely explained here.

For the first couple of miles, I tend to breath through nose only but then I switch to mouth and nose inhale/exhale pattern. I need to practice on belly breathing since I realize I'm a chest breather and runs out of breath when I run faster than my regular pace for few miles. I've not tried calculating my rhythm but I think it's mostly 2/1 during fast runs and 2/2 during normal pace.

Here are a few articles that I found helpful:

• Are you a noser ? - Open up your breathing.
• Nose Breathing - Forum discussion on nose and mouth breathing.
• Cadence Breathing - Explains Breathing rhythm.
• Breathing @ RunnersWorld - "Breathe through your mouth. Breathe through your nose. Suck the air in through your ears, if you can."
• Breathe Right And Win - Breathing techniques for different sports.
• Running Economy - talks about stride length and rate and correlate with breathing rhythm.
• Running Tips - Scroll to the bottom of the page for a good read on Belly breathing.

And here are my lessons on breathing:

• Just breathing through nose can cause hyperventilation, so breathing through both nose and mouth is better.
• Mouth should be open slightly and jaw completely rested. This is also called as "dead fish" position because that's what it looks like.
• Belly breathing is better than chest breathing since you are breathing in more Oxygen and exhaling more Carbon dioxide. I need to practice this.
• Don't try to achieve 2/2 or 2/1 or 3/1. Do what feels right, is comfortable to you, and go with the rhythm of your body. 

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