A Seven Continent Journey

Next week this time I will be close to running my 3rd attempt to another 26.2 mile journey on foot. How do I feel, well I have put in my effort completing the last long run today of around 10 miles. No training goes to plan, would have liked to a long run last weekend, but couldn't find time. 2 weeks back I had somehow managed to run a 20 miler on a treadmill. Won't recommend this to the sane, I had no choice, Green Bay is reeling with a Arctic Blast. The temperatures have been as low as -40 F. This year I got to be smarter, didn't try the heroics of last year training outdoors. I have to admit it is much more fun outdoors, but for now I have to accept whatever is an "easier" way to train. During the 20 mile run I watched 2 movies, and of course took some short breaks to refuel. I am feeling quite healthy and hopefully should have a good run. I leave on Wednesday for Paris and then onto Marrakesh. I will meet up with Peter Sayer, a runner from Atlanta who I got to know in Rio De Janerio when he ran his first marathon. On Friday I hoping to travel to Casablanca. Next day will be spent in Marrakesh, and also getting ready for the Marathon . Post Marathon, I am looking forward to a sumptuous Moroccan dinner celebration. I leave Morocco on Monday, 26th and return home on Tuesday after spending a night in Paris. Look out for the link to PHOTO STREAM , I will be uploading photos as I go along with this trip.

Finish Time: 2hrs.06 mins. Dec. 7th, 2008

Later this week I will be traveling to India to attend a wedding. Within a few hours of my arrival, will attempt to participate in the 1st half-marathon hosted by Running and Living, an organization which has been trying to promote Fitness by Running in India. This run is being held in Gurgoan which is at the outskirts of New Delhi. If I feel strong enough, I'll attempt to finish 16 miles that day. It should give me a break from running under different layers of clothing as the weather is likely to be much better in India.
Running in India is still infancy. It is very hard to find any joggers on the run. On my last visit in March I was able to run in Nehru Park near the diplomatic enclave, the park is small but I was still able to do around 8-9 mile runs there. I was well protected from the traffic and stray dogs, which can be an issue in India. Long term I would like to do at least 3 runs in India, of course, the top race is the Mumbai Marathon, most likely in January 2010 as the last leg of my 7 continent journey. Hopefully Mumbai will be much safer and quieter then it has been the last few days. Recently held Delhi Half-Marathon also seems very appealing. If I ever get to be crazy enough to do ultra marthon I will definitely consider Bangalore Ultra .

Green Bay's notorious winter is back. In the last few weeks the temperatures have dipped to less then 20 degrees Fahrenheit. It is getting tough, to run outdoors in morning hours. I'm surprised how quickly the weather has changed from record-breaking 70 degrees Fahrenheit in October to quickly dropping to 20 degrees. Compared to this, last year, I was able to run outdoors quite easily up to middle of January. I think the injury's risk goes up in colder weather. Obviously I want to avoid this. I am trying to do 3 runs a week. The first run is usually a speed run. This week I did 2 miles of easy run followed by 4 X 800 meters with 1.5 minutes of recovery interval in between. The pace for 800 repetitions was 7.5 minutes per mile. The 2nd run today was a Tempo run, 1 mile of easy run followed by 5 miles @ 8 minute per mile pace. This weekend I am planning a long run of 14 miles at 9.15 minute per mile pace. Hopefully the weather will cooperate.

An article published in New York Times makes an interesting read click here for details

Over the last 12 days I have tried to push for more mileage. Initially everything seems to go with the plan. Last week I was able to put more then 30 miles of training session, including a long run of 8 miles. However I've had some discomfort in my lower back with some radiation of pain to the right leg. My diagnosis is probably a nerve entrapment. This week until today, I had been able to run only 4 miles . I felt low and miserable. Did some stretching exercises last night, and surprisingly felt good in the morning. Ran 5 miles at a slow pace in the morning, with no worsening in back pain. Returning back from work, I was able to sneak in another 7 miles. Tomorrow's a rest day, possibly some cross-training. I will attempt 13/14 mile long run on Sunday.