Wednesday, January 16, 2008

The Day after the Marathon!

Andre, my running friend at work - sent me the following video!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-hCuYjvw2I

Pretty hilarious! I can totally identify with a lot of these!! I loved the slogan at the end!

"Here's to one part of your body that doesn't hate you right now.....YOUR HEART" :)

4 more weeks to go for Marathon #2!!

Monday, January 07, 2008

Back in the Groove...

After 4 weeks of lazing around, eating, partying, and merrying in India and not managing to get any quality running in, I went for my 1st long run of the year on Saturday morning - bright and early at 7am in Georgetown, 30mins outside of Austin. It was a beautiful morning, not too cold, but with a slight breeze. We were going to do a 20-miler that morning. It started off pretty well - I did good for the first 5 miles or so. The only thing that was bugging me was my sniffles...I think after 6 years in Austin, I have finally become a victim of the dreaded allergies that this city is so infamously known for! :(

I struggled from Miles 6-10, especially during the killer climb upto the top of the Georgetown Dam between Miles 8-9....but wow....that climb was totally worth it, as I was treated to a gorgeous view from the top! It's amazing how something as simple as that can really lift up your spirits or re-energize you! I had a nice run back down and was generally feeling strong....I got a massive sniffle attack again at Mile 16, and really struggled to get those last 4 miles in, added to which the weather had gotten warmer and the sun was actually blazing for a little bit!! I also felt a lot more tired that I would usually!

Not training properly for the last 4 weeks really did show its effect on Saturday. When you train for a long-distance endurance event, you slowly teach your body, over a period of time, what it's capable of and how to adapt to new challenges. If you completely give it a rest, you definitely need to take the time to ease it back into the previous rigorous routine you used to have! I probably should have run a shorter distance yesterday, but oh well! I'm glad at least that I took it slow and managed to cover the distance injury-free!

I had to drop out of the RunTex Distance Challenge!! :( My cousin has decided to get married on the day of the 3M Half-Marathon in California.....and well, I can hardly tell him to postpone his wedding so I can go run 13 miles and not lose out on the totally rad finisher's jacket!! Or wait...can I?? ;)

Special kudos to Amit Bhai for conquering those nasty hills at the ARA Run Hard Live Easy 30K yesterday and also for completing his first ever 20-miler!! Woohoo!!

2 amazing movies that made me cry bucketloads this past weekend: City of Joy and Taare Zameen Par! 2 MUST-WATCHES for those who haven't already!!!

A Very Happy 2008 to all of you!! :D