Plan for Next Three Months - Need for Speed

After running 21K last Sunday, i feel like my body is not yet ready to run 21K on a weekly basis. There are no major problems but i could see my body is taking little more time to recover. No knee pain, ankle pain or discomfort. But i don't feel the urge to run which i would be sensing after a break for couple of days. I m concluding that my body is taking more time for its recovery and i hope that it recovers stronger.

So far, my running is successful because i have always tied my running with a specific goal like running for 30 minutes to running a self-paced half-marathon. The next target is "Need for Speed".

In next three months, my goal is to

• run 5K under 30 mins
• and possibly run 10K under 1 hour 10 mins

In order to achieve it i have to increase my speed by 3 kmph for a 5K and 5 kmph for 10K.

Can i achieve it? Only the time can tell.

Next Month:

• Reduce mileage by 10% and increase intensity by 10% every month for next three months before raising the mileage & retaining the intensity. To be in safer zone.
• No 21K for next three months. 
• 15K would be my longest run (once per week) and 10K on other days (3 days per week). My week should be - 10K, 10K, Rest, 15K, Rest, 10K (little more intensity), Rest

OpenGyan - Update

Most of the colleges have reopened and we have received few workshop requests. Glad to see that people are calling us again. We feel that it is easier to expand this way. In July and August, we have finalized on conducting two workshops - Linux Programming Interface in Coimbatore and JVM Architecture in Vellore. I think, we should be doing couple more in August/September. Will keep you posted.

Badhrinath has come up with a proposal document of what is (really) OpenGyan and what we intend to do/make difference. It is a document that answers most of the questions in people's mind so that it will be easier for us to reach out to people/institutions. He will post it in Facebook to as notes.

When we conduct workshops, we are planning to meet up with key people and find out a way of working closely with set of institutions who are not commercial (or at very least not seeing OpenGyan to make more money).

We have also added Networking and Network Security to the list of workshop.

The website has undergone few minor upgrades and by now you should be knowing that there is a Facebook page managed by Badhrinath.

Web - http://www.opengyan.com

Facebook page - http://www.opengyan.com/opengyan

Request you to reach out your alma mater and share this initiative.

Way to 21K

The update is that i have completed by self-paced first half-marathon. Before i started to run (again), i never had an idea of running a half-marathon. Surely, Runner's world, Born To Run, Jeff Galloway and K7 made a difference this time.

I planned to run my half-marathon sometime end of June or early July but had to run yesterday because of this video. Watch it. If you need instant motivation to recover your wellness, look no further, watch that video. Awesome, awesome and awesome is the only word that i could get after watching it. The guy barely walked but later ran "Boston Marathon". I don't know him name but i watch it just before every run. It is possible to inspire other by just being consistent and focused on self. Utmost selfishness to be great & consistent is utmost selflessness.

Here is the stat of my dream run (it all took three straight months for a couch potato to enjoy a dream run & it is equally rewarding burning around 15kg of body mass)

• Distance: 21KM
• Duration: 2 hrs 55 mins
• Energy spent: 1954 Kcal
• Hydration: 500 ml of tang and 2 liters of water while running.

Post run, had (and i enjoyed every sip of the juice and every bite of pizza)

• a jughead special in Fruitshop on Greams Road
• half small jugalbandi pizza at pizza corner
• 500ml of Gatorade

While running, had cramps in thighs and butt few times. The cramps went away with stretching and walking for 2 mins.

After the half-marathon, my next target is on pace. Run 5K in less than 30 mins (probably 27 mins, which means that i should run at 12 kmph for 27 mins). It is going to heavily taxing on my legs, bones and lower body. Time to apply brain while running and be more sensitive to body.

During this journey, i can't really measure the amount of inspiration provided my little nephew K7 (is now Anna) who was dancing for this song when he had broken his left arm. I can't stop running when i hear this song (imagine that he is dancing) and i shoot up speed at least by 2kmph. God bless.

On the way (back to 2003) fitness

Seems like long distance running at slightly lower pace and medium distance with slightly higher pace is doing the trick. Glad that i m getting back to 2003 fitness level in running (i used to do a 5K @ 32 mins on a treadmill).

Yesterday, i ran the usual 10K distance and there is a marked improvement in overall pace. The completed the first 5K in 36 minutes. It really excited me and i think i should try to work on my 5K running pace. So, my running goal for next 3 months would be to shave off 6+ minutes and complete 5K under 30 minutes.

Another goal that i would be reaching by end of this month is running my first half-marathon distance. (eagerly looking forward). As far today, my max distance is 19.1K which i did last Sunday.

These days, i seem to love every running days and particularly weekends due to longer run.

Other stuffs:

1. Would be joining Inshape or Maverick Fitness early July
2. Research more on my next Asics running shoe
3. Improve hydration
4. Move running to the morning. I wont be consistent running in the evening due to work and little longer commute to work.
5. Get my lipid profile tested by end of July (all my previous lipid profiles are normal and in safe zone. I feel that i should still reduce bad cholesterol and triglycerides)

With all these, i believe i can reach my 1995 fitness levels in next 3-4 four months and my life's best fitness level in next 6-9 months (you see i was never in underweight/normal weight zone. I was mostly in obese zone and little in overweight zone :-)).

Eagerly looking forward.

Check this video. Excerpts of the book Brain Rules

Exercise Benefits for Cancer Patients by David Haas, Mesothelioma Cancer Alliance

Exercise Benefits for Cancer Patients Begin at Diagnosis
Of the many stressful events in life, a diagnosis of cancer ranks highly. One in two men and one in three women will face the stress of diagnosis, which can result in secondary symptoms and ultimately exacerbate the symptoms caused by cancer and treatment. Secondary symptoms caused by diagnosis include depression, anxiety, insomnia, and loss of appetite. Researchers have discovered a therapy that is capable of lessening the stress of diagnosis and other common symptoms as well.

Exercise as a treatment has been evaluated for many types and stages of cancer. It prevents and reduces the severity of symptoms and also increases the efficacy of treatment, reduces the risk of recurrence, and reduces the development of chronic diseases related to specific treatments.

Benefits of Beginning Exercise with Diagnosis
Clinics have been slow to make physical fitness experts available to patients at every stage of treatment, but this shouldn’t stop anyone from being active. Those with fitness experience should continue at their normal levels and talk about their routine with their doctor. Those with little history of exercise are advised to speak with their doctor and begin a low to moderately intense program.

Programs can consist of walking for 20 minutes each day for six days a week. Other exercises such as yoga, cycling, swimming, or any type of aerobics work as well. Strength training at least twice a week is also important. Weight training, isometric exercises, and special types of yoga will build lean muscle quickly and increase your aerobic ability. It’s vital to achieve higher levels of fitness before treatment, especially for chemotherapy and radiation. Treatment will reduce exercise capacity and those who start in better health will experience less severe symptoms.

One study performed for the Journal of the National Cancer Institute sought to determine whether exercise following breast cancer diagnosis was responsible for reducing cancer mortality and recurrence. After controlling many factors, experts found exercise did improve overall and disease-free survival for cancer patients.

Addressing Other Forms of Cancer
Breast cancer requires regular screening and is highly treatable. Other forms of cancer spread before being caught and others are resistant to treatment. In cases like pancreatic cancer and mesothelioma, exercise may seem unwarranted, but research shows it will still be beneficial.

When time is limited, quality of life becomes an important factor. At least one study has shown that a higher quality of life can be used to predict longer survival time. In any case, exercise is a unique method of reducing the severity of multiple symptoms without worry of compounding side effects.

About the Author: This is a guest post by David Haas, Awareness Program Advocate. Mesothelioma Cancer Alliance. David is a cancer support group and awareness program advocate at the Mesothelioma Cancer Alliance. In addition to researching the many valuable programs, David often blogs about programs and campaigns underway at the Mesothelioma Cancer Alliance, as well as creative fitness ideas for those dealing with cancer, while creating relationships with similar organizations.

Half-Marathon (Self) Training

Lots of experiments on my body especially heart, knees, back and foot. 

So far, my body responded well for the "running challenge". I never thought i would take running so seriously (with a lot fun when i m on the road). It is real fun when you run and great learning when you throw the towel and give up. You become so upset because you cannot run that additional kilometer. Running teaches me many things. Every time i step into my shoes i m determined to run X kilometers and i m becoming more of a tough guy (prepared to crawl and reach home). When running, we generally take heart to a upper level and make the body to burn the calorie. I learnt to watch my strides to make my run comfortable and i can inhale/exhale at a comfortable pace. 

I started running by reading articles in Runner's World. Sometime in March '12, i started of my jogging (i should say restarted) with a 21 days training for running 30 minutes. Next step is to take running bit more seriously. How about running a self-paced half-marathon? Won't it be a big test of my consistency? 

With all my experience in past two plus months, i should be able to run few half-marathons in 2-3 months from now. It is biggest challenge in my life - "can i run half-marathon? (consistently)", only the time can decide. 100% committed. Will share my progress here with you.

My heartfelt thanks to all my friends who comment here and in Facebook. I owe you people a lot.