Running is a passion - 4

Diet can help shed some weight, build your muscles etc. so your heart rate does not soar high. If someone knows the secret diet to increase stamina, he/she will be a millionaire by now :) I am not a millionaire or in other words diet expert. I can share what I did. I pretty much replaced cooking oil with olive oil where ever possible. I changed my snack habits to munch on nuts like edamame (best out there, available in Sams), pistachios, cashews etc. Chicken used to be the side dish before, now rice is the side and chicken is the main course. As vegetarians, you can replace chicken with dal, beans etc. I do not walk out of the grocery store without atleast one of these - avacado, broccoli, asparagus, cucumber. Since we all want to lose weight in this process, let's just be careful not to compensate the calories lost with eating.


When it comes to what to eat just before running, I don't think there is a silver bullet. What has worked best for me is empty stomach. I have seen lot of exp. runners take yogurt (good mix of proteins and carb) before the race. What is more important is to replenish the fluids and electrolytes lost after the run. Try to stick to water unless you run for more than an hour. If absolutely required, go with low calorie Gatorade. Here is the general rule - you weigh yourself before and after the run, the difference is weight is how much water you should intake. I never followed this, I trusted by thirst reflex.

Running is a passion - 3

Let's talk about endurance - After running for a little while,what do you think is stopping you from going? I will attempt to answer that, it is your heart, literally. Everyone has a max heart rate (MHR). The heart cannot pump any faster than that. The easy way to calculate your MHR is 220 - your age. The resting heart rate is anywhere between 60 and 75 (depending on the individual, trained professionals have as low as 40). As we run, the heart rate climbs up. The ideal heart rate while running is ~65% of MHR, which can be sustained for a long time. More importantly, this is the HR zone where we can lose weight, the body is processing stored fat for energy. As we run and get to the 80% - 90% range, it is NOT possible to sustain for long. Once you reach 100%, that's it. Even trained professionals cannot sustain at MHR for more than a minute. That's one reason why runners drink energy drinks like Gatorade while running. It has sodium which helps bring down the heart rate. I have a heart rate monitor that I use while running. When you get to more than 10 mile runs, you may want to consider buying one. For now,  measure your HR manually when you cannot go any further. It will be interesting to track and see how it improves.

Running is a passion - 2

If we have to stay on course with any training schedule, the key is to stay injury free. So, don't forget to stretch before and after the run. If you are in a hurry, you may skip stretching before the run, but NEVER after the run. Everyone's body is little different, my problem area is shin. So, I make sure I specially stretch my calf muscles. If any particular area is giving you trouble. pay special attention to it. I once had to take 3 weeks off from running because of shin splints. Costly lesson - prevention is better than cure! There are several ways to stretch, so pick whatever works for you, but don't skip! Cross training is equally important to stay injury free.

Working the same set of muscles everyday causes wear and tear.  Let's be honest, there are days we just feel like taking it easy. On those days, instead of skipping the workout altogether,  just walk slowly with incline set to ~5. There is no better way to strengthen the thigh and calf muscles that walking uphill. Even better, walk (or slow jog) backwards. Also, I recommend to get some weights (5-10 lbs dumbbells) from Sports Authority or somewhere and work your arm muscles and shoulder muscles. Or just carry the weight over your shoulders when you do slow walking.

The above two things are too important to ignore. As we put too much focus on miles and pace, we tend to disregard these. I can give first hand info, ignoring them is recipe for injury.

Running is a passion - 1

When I got into running, it was not easy in the beginning. Let's be honest, it is not a pleasant experience. Couple of my friends got into the habit of running as well but did not last more than a month. I kept going. After a month or two of hardship, I started liking it. There are instances where I will have long days at work, get home at 7:30 pm, but will still go out to run for an hour, come back and work till late night. Initially I requested Lakshmi to push me to go run, but very soon, the table turned, she would request me not to go to gym (so we can spend time together) and I will not listen. Literally, in my last July's half marathon, around mile 3, I felt like a violin fell on me, I thoroughly enjoyed the run, the pace, the whole nine yards... I guess that what some call runner's high! All this verbose is to say one thing, running is difficult in the beginning, once you train your heart and muscles, it is one of the best things. First thing I guess everyone tells beginners is to hang in there long!

Running races (full, half, 10K or 5K does not matter) is all about personal goals, we are not competing against anyone but ourselves. So, with the race 6 months out, one of the first things to do is decide on the pace to run 3.1 mile. When I was a beginner, I set the thread mill speed to 6 miles per hour and could not finish a mile. After a week of running  at 6 mph, I was still struggling to finish a mile. so, I brought the speed down to 5.5 miles per hour and was able to finish 1 mile comfortably (in relative terms). At 5.5 mph I felt like I had a good rhythm to run atleast a mile. So, I set my target to be 5.5 miles per hour for the 13.1 race. Run at a pace that is comfortable to slowly build the pace and distance. If we try to over reach, we will soon get tired and de-motivated.

For now, with so many words, if I am not clear, I will repeat, you are in for a long RUN, so take it slowly and stay motivated!