5:41 to 3:24 - my marathon journey
I was about to turn 30 in 2012, was injured for 1 and half year, was weighing 70Kgs and I was desperate to come back to running. Started running long distances in 2005 and I had done 52K(9:10hrs), 50K (7:40), one marathon in 5:41 and several half marathons with best time being 2:12. So I set aim for myself of sub-2 half marathon, 3:24 full marathon was just a side effect.
TL;DR : Just read the sub-headings.
My training logs are at DailyMile
Following are the things I did/followed to improve my personal best by 2 hour and 17 minutes. Can't really accurately attribute the weightage to each of the things, but I more or less tried every trick in the book.
Moving to food I ate as child
In order to run I had to lose weight I gained during layoff period of 2 years (2010-12). So as first step decided to change my diet completely.
First thing I gave up was refined sugar, no cold-drinks (I even drank vodka without Limca or Sprite), no fruit juices, cut down on sugary tea drastically.
Reduced eating out considerably and started carrying lunch box to office.
Started 4-5 meals a day plan with breakfast being largest meal.
Breakfast of mostly roti, beans/lentils, eggs, sprouts, banana and green tea.
Lunch mostly daal, roti, chicken, egg.
Glass of milk, roasted gram, almonds, pistachio, dates, walnut, dried fig etc.
Dinner most mixed vegetable half cooked soupy salad, green leafy vegetable (spinach, fenugreek(methi), red spinach, dil and some rice/roti (one bowl), fish/egg /chicken, some fruits like banana, sweet lime, apple etc (whatever available in market).
Weekend were mostly lots of fish for both lunch and dinner (crab, mackerel, prawns, Indian salmon, squid, pomfret, red snapper, pearl spot, lady fish, king fish, sear fish).
Key point was to avoid eating processed foods like biscuits, chips, noodles etc and snacking at random time.
Give into temptation once a week or two in limited quantity (only one unhealthy food stuff you like per week). Try coffee without sugar, green tea+honey instead of tea+sugar. Have tea only once/twice a day. Dates to satisfy sugar craving.Find some of your own replacements.
This combined with my running helped me in reducing weight. Lost 12 Kgs in first 3 months and 5 more in next 3 months and stabilized after that with same diet continued.
Found my weekly running plan and regular Dandi runs
I achieved my target of sub 2 half in 3 months of starting runs. Did a 1:52 in June 2012. So I had 6 more months and I was aimless and running was still going strong. Decided to continue and see where it goes.
By this time I had already done 2-3 Dandi runs (30+Km), I realized these weekend runs are making weekday runs bit easier and faster, so I decided to try to be regular for these long runs and improve my time slowly and steadily. During this course I got injured thrice (once I fell while running in dark and twice because of over-training, I was doing 5 hard runs a week).
On return from injury I reduced running days from 5 to 4. 1 tempo, 1 interval, 1 dandi long run and 1 recovery, 3 days of good rest and recovery. This reduced my risk of injury and over-training and kept me fresh for next runs.
By December 2012 I figured out my weekly running cycle which can go longer without an injury break. So I decided to register for Auroville Marathon.
Next 8-9 weeks did all Dandi runs (one of them was a solo full marathon distance), stayed injury free and started getting faster.
Because of lots of 30-35Km runs before marathon, my “unknown zone” was of length 7-8Km, which was not that long compared to the overall distance. This pretty much kept me at ease till 34-35Km and post that I got cautious but was doing well. Before I realized I reached 38 and decided to start final all out dash.
Key learning I had about “actual running” about running was
Long runs are very crucial, 75-80% of actual run length will be good.
Take enough rest per weekly cycle to not to accumulate fatigue.
Take off if you get signs of some injury and recover from the injury completely and strengthen those parts.
Moving to "non supportive" minimalistic shoes
I moved from Reebok to nike to asics, asics were the best amongst them. Still I got lots of blisters and injuries every other week and during later stages of the runs I was kinda feeling the weight of the shoes. Decided to try barefoot at Cubbon as it was bit difficult to do on road due to sharp things on road and finally moved to “Vivo Barefoot Ultra shoes” (150 grams).
I actually bought Vivo because they looked good. But found them good for running and it became my “pseudo serendipitous” discovery about what shoes is working for me.
In 2010 Mumbai Marathon I had DNF at 25Km due to stress fracture in my feet. Post that I ran 2 10Ks but was injured. Tried running late 2010 and whole of 2011, but I was carrying a ITBS which I expected will cure by itself, that never happened.
So first step I took to start running was to strengthen my lower body and core. Did exercises like plank, side planks, squats (both legs and single legs), bridge, superman, lunges, touch your feet, calf raises, hamstring curls, pushups 2-3 times a week. in 7-8 weeks I started seeing improvements. Thats when I started running 5Ks in March 2012.
I heard lots of discussions around JD (non alcoholic one) running plan, tempo and intervals, so decided I should try it.
Intervals were boring and intense as I was trying to do it on same strip of road. If done too fast can cause injury or pain. Tried this twice and gave up. Finally made up mind to give another try, this time tried to intervals on a route instead of on same strip of road. This was it was mix of terrain some intervals were on uphill, some on downhill, mud road, tar road etc etc. This solved my boredom problem and intervals training fell in line. Key is to increase the speed gradually and try to see that you are feeling good.
Tempo runs were fun, intense workout over small time. Did some variations in them and sweat profusely even in winter.
For last 3+ years I have stopped using motorcycle if I have to travel alone in Bangalore. Daily office commute, travel to parties and meetings all done using cycle. Good way to cross training and timewise faster in Bangalore. Every week I do 75-100Km on cycle. Good xTraining and saved money on fuel.
Because of change in shoes and some work I stopped doing heal strike, got a slight lean in my posture while running and learned to relax/keep upper body relaxed while running. Internet has good source of resources and videos. Do this slowly and steadily. To do form improvement initially you have compromise on your pace a bit.
Pre race days hydration and 'carb loading'
I stay hydrated most of the time (drink around 2-3 liters of water) a day, so hydration was usual for me. Started carb loading 3 days before the race as I can't eat lots of food at a time just before the race.
Race day hydration and fueling
I drink purely based on how am I feeling. In Bangalore during 30k+ runs I drink around 300-400ml water in winters, but at Auroville it was different I drank 1.5 to 2 liters. Ate some dates and dried grapes while running after 25K or so. I usually eat a banana 1 hour before any 30+ long run.
Enjoyed this self improvement thoroughly. I never in my wildest dreams thought I'll finish in top 3 in any race (however small) since I started running. Hope to continue and improve this plan, stay healthy and injury free.
