Once a Runner

Ran!

2009-09-22T08:03:00.001-07:00

After 2 months of absolute post-graduation laziness and one month of fasting....finally ran.

It wasn't much, but hey, at least I bloody ran. About frikkin time. In other news, someone stole my iPod. Ah crap.

Distance: 1.5 km

Time: 8 mins 28 secs

Mileage on the Pegasus: 15 km?

2008-11-24T21:39:00.000-08:00

Last few swims:

30 laps

36 laps

38 laps

Last few swims

2008-11-19T23:18:00.000-08:00

40 lengths: 952 m

28 lengths:666 m

30 lengths: 714 m

2008-10-28T21:21:00.000-07:00

Tuesday, 27 October 2008
Laps: 44
Distance: 1005 meters
Almost found breathing rhythm today. Need to make a new blog for swimming. Later...

Monday,26 October 2008
Laps: 30
Distance: 685 meters

2008-10-08T19:07:00.000-07:00

Distance: .548 meters.

I need to break 1 km soon. And start timing myself. Hmmm.

Swimming....

2008-10-05T15:42:00.000-07:00

1 length = 22.86 meters

Oct 5, 2008: Blodgett
Lengths: 26
Distance: 594.36 meters
Time: About 50 mins?

Oct 4, 2008: MAC
Lengths: 12
Distance: 274.32 meters

2008-08-30T13:30:00.000-07:00

Distance: 5.02 km
Time: 28 mins 55 secs
Average Pace: 5 mins 45 secs / km
Best Pace: 3 mins 9 secs / km
Temperature: 31 C
Humidity: 71%
Mileage on Nikes:

2008-08-16T11:20:00.000-07:00

Forced myself to run. The IBS is really annoying. Running on a constipated stomach is plain awful.

Distance: 2.25 km
Time: 11 min 35 secs
Pace: About 5 mins 24 secs/ km
Temp: 31 C
Humidity: 74%

2008-08-10T08:05:00.000-07:00

Ran after almost 2 months. Maza aya. I think I will start again. I don't mind if I don't do a lot. 9 km a week is just fine with me.

Distance: 3.5 km
Time: 20 mins approx
Pace: 5 mins 42 secs / km
Humidity: 79%
Temp: 32 C
Mileage in 2008: 46.5 km (ARGH!)
Mileage on Nikes: 254.5 km

2008-06-15T12:34:00.001-07:00

Time: 24 mins 14 secs
Distance: 4 kms (Last km was fartlek. Need to do that more often. Felt good)
Avergae Pace: 6 mins 3 secs / km
Temp: 33 C
Humidity 75%
Mileage on Nikes:

2008-06-08T00:33:00.000-07:00

Run you fool, run.

2008-06-06T07:53:00.000-07:00

Ran. Toe has healed. It's the lil toe, so it doesn't move much anyway. It was very hot and humid, my favourite kind of running weather, except I was very very lazy, so didn't run much.

Distance: 3 km
Time: 19 mins
Average Pace: 6 mins 19 secs/km
Best Pace: 3 mins 17 secs/km
Temp: 31 C
Humidity: 79% (felt like rain!)
Mileage on Nikes: whatever

9 miles untimed

2008-05-12T13:29:00.001-07:00

In my excitement to post on my own blog about my last run, I didn't post it here.

9 miles of pavement carving their way into my knees =P

Writeup here.

4.5miles untimed

2008-05-04T14:56:00.000-07:00

I ran on the road after ages yesterday. I'm fasting these days, so I can't run during the day, but my response so far was to not run at all.

Yesterday my roommate said I was looking fat.

At 3am.

So I put on my shoes and hit the road, planning on just walking, but then I couldn't help myself and ran/walked the 4.5 miles. It wasn't quite an unbroken run, but that wasn't the point. I interspersed it with skipping about and just having a good time. The weather was great, and it all felt really nice.

The one black mark was the realization that about 18 months ago, I had almost exactly the same physical fitness as I do today. There were times in between when I was much fitter, but let exercise go for a few weeks and you lose it all very quickly.

Anyway, I guess the positive is that I haven't bloated as badly as I could have...

2008-05-02T11:20:00.000-07:00

Toe not healing. I thikn I have a hair-line fracture or something. Crap. Too lazy to go to a doctor.

Distance: 3.38 km
Time: 18 mins 24 secs
Pace: 5 mins 27 secs / km (was at 5 mins a kilometer after the first 2 kms. Got screwed in the 3rd)
Temperature: 33 C
Humidity: 84%
Mileage on Nikes: 244.75
Mileage in 2008: 35.97 km

Really need to break 10 km soon. About the only time I have the energy to run these days is on days I skip work or on holidays. Something has to change.

Crap crap crap.

Return of the IBS?

2008-04-30T10:03:00.000-07:00

I went through a period of digestive madness at LUMS (courtesy pre-LUMS stresses and PDC food) from 2005-2007. It got better after a year of IBS medication. In other words, I stopped throwing up. And now that I have settled into a work routine, I have realized it's not gone yet. The heavy duty stuff has gone, but the remnants..well, they remain. :S

I need to see a good gastroenterologist in Karachi. Crap.
No pun intended.

Distance: 2.04 km
Time: 10 mins 54 secs
Pace: 5 mins 21 secs / km
Temperature: 28 C
Humidity: 79%
Mileage on Air Max:

2008-04-23T10:34:00.001-07:00

Toe has almost healed. Didn't hurt during the run at any rate.

Distance: 2.57 km
Time: 14 minutes 20 seconds
Avg Pace: 5 minutes 49 seconds / km
Humidity: 79%
Temperature: 29C

One of these days, when I have enough sample points, I am going to do a multiple regression on run times and distances with humidity, temperature and time of day. That should be fun.

Changing speeds to go the distance...

2008-04-22T02:16:00.001-07:00

I am thinking of taking up some of this advice, once my toe heals.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/17/fashion/17fitness.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

SARA HALL experienced an instructive epiphany in 2006. In the fall, she’d won the national road-running championship for 5K (3.1 miles), a distance she specialized in at Stanford. At the time, she considered herself a 5K runner. So did everyone else.

Sara Hall, an aspiring Olympian runner, trains at UC Riverside by running speed drills around the lap.

Multimedia

Graphic

This article is the second in a series that began with “A Swimmer’s Different Strokes for Success” (March 20).

Hall takes an ice bath after her daily exercise regimen to help with muscle recovery between training sessions.

A few weeks later, everything changed when she won the Fifth Avenue Mile in New York, a glamour event in American road racing. “Afterward, I thought, ‘That’s my distance,’ ” she said. “It plays to my strengths. I loved the fast pace. I’m not a patient runner.”

Today, Hall, 25, is laser-focused on training for the 1,500 meters (0.93 mile) in hopes of making the United States Olympic team in middle distance running.

She and her coach, Terrence Mahon, who also coaches Hall’s husband, Ryan Hall, the winner of the United States Olympic team men’s marathon trial, have increased her speed work and reconfigured how much she’s running and her intensity.

“Her work capacity has gone through the roof,” Mahon said, and she can run greater distances faster than ever before. Which makes her current regimen a good model for how recreational runners — not just the elite — can get swifter and sharper, and perhaps even decide that they have been racing the wrong distance all along.

SPEED THRILLS

“I’m not running as far these days,” Hall said, compared with the distances she ran in high school and college. That might come as a surprise to anyone who learns that her average weekly mileage remains 85 to 90 (compared with her husband’s 140-plus). A typical training week includes easy running on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday (usually twice a day). Hall, who can run almost a four-minute mile, lopes through these 30- or 50-minute workouts at a leisurely mile pace of 7 minutes. (To accurately figure her mile splits, she wears a watch equipped with G.P.S.) On Saturday, she takes a 14-mile run at a pace (5 minutes 45 seconds per mile) that is between what she runs in races and her easy days.

Then there are the fast, hard interval sessions at a track on Tuesdays and Thursdays. These hurt because they are supposed to. “You stress the body to get it to adapt” to the mechanical and physiological demands of speed, Mahon said. A typical Tuesday session includes two miles of warm-up, six miles of intervals and three miles of cool-down.

Anyone not aiming for an Olympic qualifying time should adjust speed-training mileage downward, Mahon said. “Go to a track and run a mile flat-out” and record your time, he said. Your ideal pace for a 5K race would be around 95 percent as fast per mile. Then implement what Mahon calls “over-speed and under-speed training.” In over-speed, you sprint through quarter-miles, 800 meters and other intervals at a speed faster than your 5K pace (close to your top mile time). Don’t run more than two fast miles.

For under-speed work, time your interval splits to be a little slower than your 5K pace, with shorter rest periods than those within the over-speed intervals. Total mileage can be four to six miles. Cool down with a gentle jog of about half your total interval distance.

Try sprinting one week, and running slower the next or, if you’re an experienced racer, both in separate sessions in a week. Don’t, despite its discomforts, worm out of speed work. “The most common mistake” that recreational runners make, Mahon said, “is running the same pace all the time.” Occasionally making yourself run fast, he said, “is the only way to make yourself a fast runner.”

STRIDE RIGHT

Hall kicks like a mule when she runs. She’s trying to stop. “This year, we’ve been totally focused on my form,” she said. “I tend to lean forward and I have a big back kick.” This slightly toppling stance lessens the power of her strides, and also has made her prone to being tripped up from behind during races.

Although some runners and coaches are loathe to fiddle with a runner’s stride, Mahon isn’t one of them. “Proper running form will lessen the chance of injuries and further the longevity of an athlete’s career,” he said. “It will improve running economy and allow the runner to run faster with less fuel expended.”

To help with form, “those of us in the elite-distance running community have started looking at what sprinters do,” Mahon said.

Ideally, he said, “You want a straight, perpendicular line between the ground and your ankle and knee.” So, for up to two hours a day, several times a week, Hall has been practicing various drills, which as she said, are designed to teach her to “keep your feet right underneath you.”

During each exercise, she said, she tried to land more toward her heels than her toes. This is known as “dorsiflexion” of the ankle, or a slight upward tilting of the foot. Mahon said this is the ideal foot-strike position. Landing flat-footed or near your heel, he said, “allows for the arch to work as a spring.” It also “allows for the ankle joint to disperse shock up to the knee and hip and lessen the total blow on a single joint.”

The drills seem to be working for Hall, who demonstrated some of her favorites on a recent Thursday while training at the University of California, Riverside, with her husband. “People have told me I look more upright,” she said. She hasn’t tangled legs with another racer for months. And, she said, her feet don’t hurt like they once did.

LOAD UP ON ICE

“You can’t keep up with a heavy workload” of running if you don’t recover between sessions, Mahon said. Hall schedules a weekly sports massage and, after hard interval sessions, settles herself into an ice bath (a tub filled with ice-cube-laced water at the sports medicine department at U.C. Riverside, where she trains) for 15 minutes.

This immersion is widely believed to help reduce the swelling and soreness that can follow intense workouts. Ice baths after intervals “feel really good,” she said. The scientific evidence is more equivocal.

A study published last month in the European Journal of Applied Physiology showed that cold-water immersion did hasten muscle recovery and also reduced swelling in men assigned to complete repeated leg press exercises. Other studies haven’t shown similar benefits from ice baths.

But Mahon, at least, believes ice baths are helpful in reducing swelling and soreness in his athletes, allowing them to return for another interval session within only a day or two. (Most sports medicine doctors suggest waiting until any significant muscle soreness is gone before repeating a hard workout.)

TRY IT, YOU MIGHT LIKE IT

“It can be hard for an average runner to know what his real genetic potential is,” Mahon said. “Many runners pick a distance and stick with it.” The dedicated, mediocre marathoner may never discover that nature had intended him to win his age group at 5Ks.

“You have to run different distances,” Hall said. “Experiment. If I hadn’t run that Fifth Avenue Mile, I wouldn’t be doing the 1,500 now.”

More systematically, Mahon says, track your performance during intervals. “Are you excelling in the workouts that highlight intensity or those that highlight endurance?” he said. “We saw that Sara was topping the charts in intensity.” She was clearly meant, he said, to be going hard, fast, and relatively short.

Destiny, of course, can be tweaked. Hall doesn’t expect to contest the 1,500 for the rest of her career. “The speed work that I’m doing now for the 1,500 will translate beautifully” to the 5K, she said, should she decide to run that distance at the 2008 United States Olympic Trials or at future Olympics.

Then there’s the marathon, which has an ineluctable pull. “Ryan makes the training look so fun,” she said almost wistfully. But for now, “I haven’t reached my potential in the 1,500. There’s still lots of speed to explore.

Running halted

2008-04-10T02:16:00.003-07:00

Hurt my toes in a semi-fall on the steps.
Crap.
Need to break 10 km soon.

Pacing it

2008-04-04T09:38:00.000-07:00

Paced myself after a long time. Tried to bring the pace down. It's been 6/5-7mins a kilometer lately for relatively longer runs of 6-8 kms.

Ran just 2.25 kms today, but did it at 4 min 57 secs a kilometer. Much better. Need to build stamina at this speed. It hurts. Dunno how Dave does it for 15 km.

Distance: 2.25 km
Time: 11 mins 10 secs
Pace: 4 mins 57 secs /km
Rest time: 45 secs
Temperature: 26 C
Humidity: 78%
Mileage on Nikes: 236.76 km
Mileage in 2008: 27.98 km

Running History

2008-03-31T03:48:00.000-07:00

Number of runs since August 04: 57
Total distance run since Aug 04: 232.98 km
Average Distance run since Aug '04: 4.1 km
Total time run since Aug '04: 23.11 hours
Average time run since Aug '04: 24 minutes

I am certain there are runs missing here. I didn't keep accurate records back then. Oh well.

Dang, but I take the recreational runner bit to an extreme. Need to be more regular. Really need to be more regular.

Is!

2008-03-30T10:33:00.000-07:00

Distance: 7.83 km
Time: 56 mins 33 secs
Pace: 7 mins 22 secs / km (yes yes, the pace is pathetic, but who cares at this point)
Temperature: 26 C
Humidity: 76%
Mileage on Nikes: 234.51 km
Mileage in 2008: 25.73 km (SHIT!)

2008-03-30T07:49:00.000-07:00

The Garmin froze up on me yesterday. I thought I had lost it. Fortunately, a visit to Garmin's tech support website cured it.

Distance :2 km
=P
Crap run. Was in a bad mood anyway and the Garmin didn't help. I need to break 10 km again soon.

Soon.

Runner's High

2008-03-26T23:16:00.000-07:00

Yes, Running Can Make You High

Filip Kwiatkowski for The New York Times

By GINA KOLATA

Published: March 27, 2008

THE runner's high: Every athlete has heard of it, most seem to believe in it and many say they have experienced it. But for years scientists have reserved judgment because no rigorous test confirmed its existence.

Yes, some people reported that they felt so good when they exercised that it was as if they had taken mood-altering drugs. But was that feeling real or just a delusion? And even if it was real, what was the feeling supposed to be, and what caused it?

Some who said they had experienced a runner's high said it was uncommon. They might feel relaxed or at peace after exercising, but only occasionally did they feel euphoric. Was the calmness itself a runner's high?

Often, those who said they experienced an intense euphoria reported that it came after an endurance event.

My friend Marian Westley said her runner's high came at the end of a marathon, and it was paired with such volatile emotions that the sight of a puppy had the power to make her weep.

Others said they experienced a high when pushing themselves almost to the point of collapse in a short, intense effort, such as running a five-kilometer race.

But then there are those like my friend Annie Hiniker, who says that when she finishes a 5-k race, the last thing she feels is euphoric. "I feel like I want to throw up," she said.

The runner's-high hypothesis proposed that there were real biochemical effects of exercise on the brain. Chemicals were released that could change an athlete's mood, and those chemicals were endorphins, the brain's naturally occurring opiates. Running was not the only way to get the feeling; it could also occur with most intense or endurance exercise.

The problem with the hypothesis was that it was not feasible to do a spinal tap before and after someone exercised to look for a flood of endorphins in the brain. Researchers could detect endorphins in people's blood after a run, but those endorphins were part of the body's stress response and could not travel from the blood to the brain. They were not responsible for elevating one's mood. So for more than 30 years, the runner's high remained an unproved hypothesis.

But now medical technology has caught up with exercise lore. Researchers in Germany, using advances in neuroscience, report in the current issue of the journal Cerebral Cortex that the folk belief is true: Running does elicit a flood of endorphins in the brain. The endorphins are associated with mood changes, and the more endorphins a runner's body pumps out, the greater the effect.

Leading endorphin researchers not associated with the study said they accepted its findings.

"Impressive," said Dr. Solomon Snyder, a neuroscience professor at Johns Hopkins and a discoverer of endorphins in the 1970's.

"I like it," said Huda Akil, a professor of neurosciences at the University of Michigan. "This is the first time someone took this head on. It wasn't that the idea was not the right idea. It was that the evidence was not there."

For athletes, the study offers a sort of vindication that runner's high is not just a New Agey excuse for their claims of feeling good after a hard workout.

For athletes and nonathletes alike, the results are opening a new chapter in exercise science. They show that it is possible to define and measure the runner's high and that it should be possible to figure out what brings it on. They even offer hope for those who do not enjoy exercise but do it anyway. These exercisers might learn techniques to elicit a feeling that makes working out positively addictive.

The lead researcher for the new study, Dr. Henning Boecker of the University of Bonn, said he got the idea of testing the endorphin hypothesis when he realized that methods he and others were using to study pain were directly applicable.

The idea was to use PET scans combined with recently available chemicals that reveal endorphins in the brain, to compare runners' brains before and after a long run. If the scans showed that endorphins were being produced and were attaching themselves to areas of the brain involved with mood, that would be direct evidence for the endorphin hypothesis. And if the runners, who were not told what the study was looking for, also reported mood changes whose intensity correlated with the amount of endorphins produced, that would be another clincher for the argument.

Dr. Boecker and colleagues recruited 10 distance runners and told them they were studying opioid receptors in the brain. But the runners did not realize that the investigators were studying the release of endorphins and the runner's high. The athletes had a PET scan before and after a two-hour run. They also took a standard psychological test that indicated their mood before and after running.

The data showed that, indeed, endorphins were produced during running and were attaching themselves to areas of the brain associated with emotions, in particular the limbic and prefrontal areas.

The limbic and prefrontal areas, Dr. Boecker said, are activated when people are involved in romantic love affairs or, he said, "when you hear music that gives you a chill of euphoria, like Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 3." The greater the euphoria the runners reported, the more endorphins in their brain.

"Some people have these really extreme experiences with very long or intensive training," said Dr. Boecker, a casual runner and cyclist, who said he feels completely relaxed and his head is clearer after a run.

That was also what happened to the study subjects, he said: "You could really see the difference after two hours of running. You could see it in their faces."

In a follow-up study, Dr. Boecker is investigating if running affects pain perception. "There are studies that showed enhanced pain tolerance in runners," he said. "You have to give higher pain stimuli before they say, 'O.K., this hurts.' "

And, he said, there are stories of runners who had stress fractures, even heart attacks, and kept on running.

Dr. Boecker and his colleagues have recruited 20 marathon runners and a similar number of nonathletes and are studying the perception of pain after a run, and whether there are related changes in brain scans. He is also having the subjects walk to see whether the effects, if any, are because of the intensity of the exercise.

The nonathletes can help investigators assess whether untrained people experience the same effects. Maybe one reason some people love intense exercise and others do not is that some respond with a runner's high or changed pain perception.

Annie might question that. She loves to run, but wonders why. But her husband tells her that the look on her face when she is running is just blissful. So maybe even she gets a runner's high.

2008-03-17T09:30:00.000-07:00

Distance: 6.48 km
Time: 41 minutes 50 seconds
Pace: 6 mins 27 secs/ km (really need to up this to 5 mins, but running is so sporadic....)
Temperature: 27 C
Humidity: 54%
Mileage on Nikes: 224.68 km

The iPod is good. I was beginning to think it was a bad buy after the itunes dependency (and that is one clunky software) but the run made up for it. Good sound quality, and it's so light, you don't feel it!

Oh also, got into HGSE! Again!

Muaha.
Ahem.
alhamdulilAllah

2008-03-02T08:28:00.001-08:00

Distance: 3.2 km
Time: 21 mins 9 seconds
Pace: 6 min 36 secs/km
Temp: 23 C
Humidity:78%
Mileage on Nikes: 218.2 km

Damn but I need a new mp3 player

2008-01-15T09:29:00.000-08:00

Comfy run after ages. I am worried about the pain in my right knee though.

Distance: 4.22 km
Time: 28 minutes 59 second
Average Pace: 6 minutes 52 seconds / km
Best Pace: 4 minutes 31 seconds / km
Temperature: 22 C
Humidity: 22%
Track: Nisar Shaheed
Mileage on Air Max:215 km

2008-01-03T08:42:00.000-08:00

Distance: 2 km
Time: 14 minutes

I will take when I can get.

2007-10-28T11:21:00.000-07:00

Very comfortable 5 km run after quite a while.
Distance: 5.07 km
Time: 31 minutes 1 second
Average Pace: 6 minutes 7 seconds / km
Best Pace: 4 minutes 12 seconds / km
Temperature: 26 C
Humidity: 57%
Track: Nisar Shaheed
Mileage on Air Max:208.8 km

Date: Oct 17, 2007
Distance: 3.48 km
Time: 18 minutes 28 second
Average Pace: 5 minutes 19 seconds / km
Track: Nisar Shaheed
Mileage on Air Max:

2007-09-08T11:11:00.000-07:00

Dist: 5.88km
Time: 34 mins 28 secs
Average Pace: 5 minutes 52 secs /km
Best Pace: 2 mins 52 secs/km

2007-09-05T08:23:00.000-07:00

Distance: 4.51 kms
Time: 26 mins 9 secs
Avg. Pace: 5 mins 48 secs/km
Best Pace: 3 mins 50 secs/km
Temperature: 34 Degrees Centigrade
Humidity:79%
Mileage on Nikes: 194.37 km

Half decent run after AGES! At least I came near 5km. The barrier is not physical. I am easily capable of running 8 km. If I push it, then I can go beyond 10km in a few days. No, the barrier seems to be mental. I walk around irritated and annoyed at home if I don't run and the moment I hit the track, I start thinking of all the really 'important' things I have to do on my PC back home, like bug friends on Facebook. Stupid idiot I am. Need to break the stupid barrier and get INTO running.
I need some inspiration. A running buddy.
Dave post your half-marathon times here.

2007-08-19T09:14:00.000-07:00

Distance: 3.40 km
Time: 20mins 3 secs
Average Pace: 5mins 54 secs/km
Best Pace: 3 mins 18 secs/km
Track: Nisar Shaheed
Music: No
Mileage on Nike Air Max 2004: 189.86 km

Didn't feel like running. Ran anyway because tomorrow is a work day and I will probably need it. Hit the plateau after the 2nd kilometer till which time I was growling under my breath. Once I hit the plateau, it was difficult to come out of it. Didn't want to slow down or speed up at the end. Actually wanted to keep going and get another km done. Dunno why I didn't. Just in a bad mood. and being stupid. I am stupid too often.

2007-08-15T11:13:00.000-07:00

August 15,2007, Wednesday
Distance: 3.20 km
Time: 18 mins 51 secs
Pace: 5mins 54 secs/km
Track: Nisar Shaheed
Music: Yes
Stamina slowly going up. Next week, 5 km
Mileage on Nike Air Max 2004: 186.46 km

August 08, 2007
Distance: 2.05 km
Time: 12 mins 32 secs
Pace: 6mins 27 secs/km
Track: Nisar Shaheed
Music: No
Ran after: Ages

Template Change

2007-07-19T15:55:00.001-07:00

I was experimenting with a new template on my own blog and thought I'd try something new here as well.

Let me know if you don't like it.

Trashing the Nikes

2007-07-17T18:34:00.000-07:00

Letting go of the Nikes, now that the NBs seem to be working fine.

These were pretty good shoes, but they started working themselves loose a few months ago. I should really have replaced them back in December. Instead, I stopped running in them and used them regularly for racquetball and the gym.

Note the missing rubber at the outside of the heel. The same piece also worked itself off the other shoe too.

I have to say I'm feeling a little guilty because they were in what 90 percent of the world's population would undoubtedly consider pretty good condition. But I don't want to mess with my ankles and knees.

2007-07-10T22:22:00.000-07:00

Okie, I don't understand why Blogger won't let me click on the Title section.

7-10-7

I'm going to Niagra Falls tomorrow InshAllah, so this was probably the last workout of the week.
NB857 additional mileage = 3.3miles in about 33 mins (including 5 mins warmup/cooldown and about two minutes of walking in between) + 30 mins elliptical

In zone = 41.10
Av/Peak/Min HR = 170/194/131
Calories = 1409
Total time = 1:07:00
Recover 1 min = 166-118

Felt harder than yesterday. I could barely keep the elliptical machine moving. Still didn't manage to go through the treadmill workout without taking a two minute walk-break

If you only looked at this blog, it seems as if I've been very irregular with exercise. Untrue. I had pain in my knees and ankles earlier (probably because the Nikes were old), and so I was getting a lot of swimming/racquetball/biking/Elliptical machine/weight-training done. The upshot is that I have lost about ten pounds over the last two to three months, and I'm feeling the fittest I've been in a long time.

=)

First NB-857 run: 3.2k on the treadmill

2007-07-09T20:45:00.000-07:00

Correction: Oops, it was 3.2 miles, not kms. Can't fix the title. Don't know what's wrong with Blogger

Notes:

So the new shoes finally came under use. I don't know if its because my old shoes were so old or these new ones are so great, but the run felt so easy, and didn't stress my feet.

I did have to slow down to a walk for a couple of minutes in between to allow my HR to slow down. But otherwise, I felt in good shape by the grace of God.

Conversely, my recently repaired watch doesn't seem to have been repaired properly. I miss the good old days when it wasn't so messed up.

Later, I jumped on an elliptical trainer for another 30 mins.

Total Time = 1:03:00
In zone: 38:42
Av, Peak, Min HR = 149/192/75 (including changeover from treadmill to elliptical)
Calories = 1576

...and now, my new cross-trainers!

2007-07-07T23:30:00.000-07:00

NB 621, for the gym and racquetball.

Time to throw out the Nikes!

Ali's sasky new New Balance Ndurance

2007-07-03T11:00:00.000-07:00

New Balance 857

Not every run is a race. For long-distance training at a slow pace, this stability shoe delivers a surprisingly smooth ride for runners seeking firm support. All testers—even those who don't pronate—scored the 857 high for protection, cushioning, and durability. Stability is enhanced by stiff support under the arch and dual-density medial posting. The relatively stiff and chunky construction render this a one-dimensional shoe, but that's just what you need when you're ramping up your mileage.
Bonus: Even the hard-to-fit will find the right size; like most New Balance shoes, the 857 is available in multiple widths. Bummer: Rabbits of the road will find it a bit too heavy. 14 oz; www.newbalance.com

2007-04-24T14:36:00.001-07:00

24 April2007
8:18 PM

Distance: 5.5 km
Time: 33 mins
Pace: 5 mins 59 secs / km
Mileage on Air Max: 181.21 km

...and again, though not early

2007-04-11T13:50:00.000-07:00

Nearly identical workout. Ran 3miles in 30, which felt REALLY weak since the girl next to me ran about 4 in 35, and was almost always at higher speeds.

Hopped on the cycle for another 30 mins/10miles.

Didn't take my ankle wraps off between the treadmill and the cycle, and having just taken them off, I've realized that my blood circulation was awfully constrained by keeping them on for so long. Ouch!!!

To the gym, bright and early!

2007-04-09T08:23:00.000-07:00

Treadmill and stationary cycle for almost precisely 30 mins each:

Treadmill = roughly 3 miles (5k) (I didn't bother checking distance)
Cycle = Precisely 10 miles

2007-04-04T11:20:00.001-07:00

Distance: 2 km

Time: 9 mins 30 secs

Running Links

2007-03-31T14:21:00.000-07:00

I've been web-browsing and wanted to organize some of the links I found...

MSN has some excellent articles about perhaps the most important component of a run: your knees

And Misc links:

And finally, some stuff I'm thinking of buying:

Whew, what began simply as a read up of an area of concern (my knees, for which I am petrified), ended up being a random walk in the endless corridors of the internet.

2007-03-29T12:40:00.001-07:00

Finally finally ran. So it's official. I REALLY hate running in anything below 20 degrees centigrade. And about 80% humidity is just fine. That's how I like to run.

So anyway, because met a chit of a girl at LUMS who doess 8k and I felt so bad for letting my running go, that I got up and ran a somewhat decent 5.5 k. Need to run more often.

Sometime back: 1.5 km

Today:
Distance: 5.52 km
Time: 32 mins, 54 secs
Pace: 5 mins 58 secs / km
Mileage on Nikes: 173.71 km

Yeah, it's really slow, but who cares. I RAN!

2007-03-27T06:46:00.000-07:00

2006 Mileage till 1-11-06 = Approx 10km

Mileage since 1-11-06 = 123.2km and counting!

7k in the morning!

2007-03-27T06:25:00.000-07:00

Couldn't sleep after Fajr, so I hit the road. The sun was out, but not as sapping as last time. Lots of traffic though: had to run on the spot many times while waiting for the pedestrian walkway to open.

P.S. My previous calculations were slightly off. The 7k runs earlier were probably closer to 6.5-6.8. Needlessly pedantic I know, but wanted to straighten the record

Another 7k...

2007-03-25T21:26:00.000-07:00

...at 3pm, on a rather hot day, tiring and time-consuming...

7k

2007-03-23T23:47:00.000-07:00

Unlike the last run, there were no hiccups tonight and I managed to run straight for 7k. It's more hilly than Race Course Park used to be, but 7k really isn't pushing me too much nowadays. However, I'm kinda constrained by the available running areas in my neighborhood.

Oh, and this was done on a windy, damp midnight right after light rain. Gorgeous weather!!! I was kinda (actually, very) sore after the last run, which was my first in ages, but the weather decided it for me tonight!!!

P.S. Once again, no time!

6.5k

2007-03-21T22:32:00.000-07:00

My Timex just managed to break its strap. It's been a wonderful watch over the last three years, and it still works perfectly, but I really don't know how to reclaim it at this point. Since my watch is also my HRM, I have lost use of that too, for now (I'll try to figure something out, maybe get a new watch that receives HRM data). Running without clocking myself, and without the HRM felt pretty nice actually. I enjoyed it quite a bit.
Stopped at the midway mark because my new ankle wraps were too tight, and were stopping blood circulation. Stopped after another km again because I (almost literally) ran into a very close friend waiting for a bus. However, at the end of the run, I wasn't much out of breath. Either its because a first run after a break is always brisk, or the long runs in Pakistan have left their mark on my stamina. Either way, it was a fun, relaxed run and my first in the US after returning from Pakistan.

Addendum: Eeeep! I just realized I was just two days short of two months without a run...

2007-03-10T10:44:00.001-08:00

Date: March 10, 2007

Distance: 3.19km

Time: 17 mins 53 secs

Pace: 5 mins 36 secs / km

Crappy run after ages. Winter has gone and I finally ran after AGES. Wish the flu would go away. Tired of coughing.

Keep running you fool.

2007-02-08T17:46:00.000-08:00

That's about 100k in less than three months. I'd be pretty happy if I kept this up for the rest of the year (i.e. 400k for the year). Haven't run that much in ages. Don't see the next run on the horizon though: it's -18C outside and I'm not feeling well.

Runs in Pakistan

2007-02-08T16:27:00.000-08:00

All of these runs were at Race Course, which I miss as much as I miss the glorious weather back home this time of the year. I would love to, but can't run until it gets warmer.

I did run a couple of times and either lost the summary, or didn't bother making one. I'm happy enough with this list though!

8-1-7
Recover 187-155
Av/Peak/Min HR = 175/187/152
In zone = 26.28
Calories = 723
1 173 5.17 5.17
2 174 6.16 11.34
3 173 7.02 17.39
4 174 4.42 22.21
5 180 6.22 29.57
5.5 180 4.06 32.49

9-1-7
Recover 177-149
Av/Peak/Min HR = 174/181/117
In zone = 41.52
Calories = 1140
1 160 5.40 5.40
2 173 6.04 11.44
3 173 6.03 17.48
4.25 175 7.31 25.20
5 175 5.18 30.38
6 175 6.34 37.12
7.25 177 7.43 44.56
8.25 177 7.06 52.02

10-1-7
Recover 173-144
Av/Peak/Min HR = 170/186/30
In zone = 62.32
Calories = 1443
1 156 5.40 5.40
2 170 6.07 11.47
3 168 6.02 17.50
4ish 169 6.25 24.15
5 170 6.12 30.27
5.5 168 3.18 33.46
6 164 3.32 37.18
7 167 6.01 43.19
8 173 6.34 49.54
8.25 172 1.59 51.54
9 175 4.16 56.04
10 175 6.22 1:02.33
11 178 5.56 1:08.29

12-1-7
Recover 172-144
Av/Peak/Min HR = 175/193/30
In Zone = 59.56
Calories = 1622
1 173 5.50 5.50
2 176 6.39 12.29
2.75 173 4.52 17.21
3 176 1.31 18.53
4 175 6.27 25.21
5 176 6.18 31.39
5.5 176 3.16 34.56
6 174 3.15 38.12
7 176 6.12 44.25
8 177 6.53 51.18
8.25 175 1.58 53.17
9 174 5.03 58.20
10 176 6.54 1:05.14
11 178 6.41 1:11.56
End 175 1.25 1:13:21 (To canteen)

13-1-7
Recover 177-135
Av/Peak/Min HR = 170/183/128
In Zone = 49.06
Calories = 1129
1 160 6.01 6.01
2 170 6.47 12.48
2.75 168 4.47 17.36
3 170 1.34 19.10
4 170 6.43 25.53
5 172 6.11 32.05
5.5 170 3.25 35.30
6 171 3.26 38.56
7 173 6.09 45.05
8 175 6.33 51.38
8.25 179 1.52 53.31

22-1-7
Recover 167-142
Av/Peak/Min HR = 174/184/103
In zone = 23.22
Calories = 736
1 163 5.18 5.18
2 173 6.11 11.30
3 175 6.09 17.40
4.25 175 7.28 25.08
5 177 5.13 30.22
5.5 179 3.15 33.37

23-1-7
Recover 170-163 (walking)
Av/Peak/Min HR = 174/186/107
In Zone = 1:03.34
Calories = 1679
1 158 5.32 5.32
3 172 12.17 17.50
4 174 6.26 24.16
5 175 6.11 30.28
6 174 6.25 36.53
7 175 6.05 42.59
8 174 6.47 49.46
9 175 6.49 56.35
10 176 6.45 1:03.21
11 177 6.28 1:09.50
12 180 6.16 1:16.06
End 184 0.35 1:16.41 (+.15) = 1:17

2007-01-30T16:52:00.001-08:00

Jan 30, 2007

Distance: 3.51 km

Time: 20 minutes, 9 secs

Pace: 5 mins 43 secs / km (argh!)

2006-12-24T12:27:00.000-08:00

Ran on the treadmill for the first time - not too comfortable an experience. I am always afraid I will fall off if I go to fast.

Speed: 6 km/hr (upto 8km/hr in the last 2 minutes)
Distance: 1 km
Time: 10 mins
Max Heart-rate: 126
Weight: 65 kgs/145 lbs
Mileage on Nikes: 160 km (same as before. Ran in my socks!)

Not much of a run, but it was cold outside and I wouldn't have run at all if it weren't for this, so chalta hai I guess. Ran only on my toes. Felt this one in my calves. Need to improve my running action.

2006-12-20T14:53:00.000-08:00

Date: 17-12-06
Distance: 8.12 km
Time: 42 mins 22 secs
Pace: 5mins 13 secs/km
Mileage on Nikes:

Winter running

2006-12-11T11:31:00.000-08:00

Gosh, it's pretty chilly running in the winter in Scotland! 50mph wind, snow, dark!

Date: Today (11/12)
Distance: 4.8 km (on Gmaps-pedometer: 3 miles exactly)
Time: 18.52 secs
PAce: 3 mins 55 secs / km

2006-12-07T11:57:00.000-08:00

Ran finally. Not much, but ran. Thighs actually felt this run. Need to run more.

Distance: 2.35 km
Time: 12 mins 35 secs
Mileage on Nikes: whatever.

Short city run

2006-11-30T06:42:00.000-08:00

Date: Weds 29/11/2006
Distance: 4.1 km (on Gmaps-pedometer)
Time: 17 mins 31 secs
PAce: 4 mins 15 secs / km

4 miles = 6.4k

2006-11-25T22:27:00.000-08:00

Draper Drive (0.7ish miles) = 164/6:50/-
Plantation Parkway (0.5ish) = 175/14:10/7:20
Eaton Place (0.7ish) = 174/18:50/4:40
Halfway
Plantation Parkway = 173/23:40/4:50
Draper Drive = 170/31.17/7:33
Stop = 179/39:09/7:52

Av HR = 173
Peak HR = 240 (This can't be right, I didn't sprint and I wasn't in any discomfort at all)
Min HR = 112
1 minute Recovery = 165 -133

Note: A new battery has breathed life into the Timex again, thank God. Snow is expected from next week, so I have to get as many runs under the belt this week as possible, if I can cope with my workload that is.
P.S. Finally managed to run without breaking into a walk. Probably because the weather wasn't cold, making breathing easier...

Muddy cross-country runs

2006-11-25T10:23:00.000-08:00

Home with the family for a few days and with nothing else to do on a rainy Saturday morning I set off on a muddy x-country route with my father.... bear in mind that our pretty slow time incorporates wading through knee-deep mud, falling over several times, getting lost and more than a few not-inconsequential hills. Gotta love x-country without spikes. Alors...

Date: Sat Nov 25 2006
Distance: 10.5 km (on Gmaps-pedometer)
Time: 51 mins
PAce: 4 mins 51 secs / km

Btw, thanks for adding me Ali

Another 6k!

2006-11-17T22:00:00.000-08:00

Hadn't run all week, but I finally motivated myself to hit the road in chilling weather. You're right about it hitting you in the throat: mine is not going to be well over the next few days.

I'm pretty sure I ran faster than last week, but the watch gave out on me at long last, going blank in the middle of the run. I'm not sure if it's just in need of a new battery or if I'll have to replace it...

I'll chalk in 40 mins approximately.

2006-11-16T12:52:00.000-08:00

Date: Nov 16 2006
Distance: 2.03 km
Time: 8 mins 36 secs
PAce: 4 mins 15 secs / km
Mileage on shoes:

Winter's coming...

2006-11-14T08:59:00.000-08:00

I HATE running in the cold air. It hits me at the back of the throat. Argh!

Oh for Karachi nights....

Distance: 2.12
Time: 11 mins 51 secs
Pace: 5 mins 34 secs/km
Speed: 10.7 km/hr
Mileage: 146.39
Stepper: Level 10, Steps Climbing, Time 7 mins

Running resumed!

2006-11-12T10:30:00.000-08:00

I think I have lost some times though. Ran a bit, and lost times. Damn. GPS was away up north in with the RISEPAK team and hence...
Ah well.
Ali I am back. No more 'freedom'!

Date: 03 November 2006
Distance: 2.16 km
Time: 11 mins 33 secs
Average Speed: 11.2 km/hr
Average Pace: 5 mins 21 secs / hr
Mileage on Air Max 04: 144.27 km

Date: 16 July 2006
Distance: 5.09 km
Time: 24 mins 16 secs
Average Speed: 12.6 km/hr
Average Pace: 4 mins 46 secs / km
Mileage on Air Max 04: 142.11 km

Date: 2 July 2006 - 8 July 2006
Distance: 5.88 km
Time: 30 mins 40 secs
Average Speed: 11.5 km/hr
Average Pace: 5 mins 13 secs /hr
Mileage on Air Max 04: 137.02 km

Date: 23 June 2006
Distance: 3.79 km
Time: 21 mins 44 secs
Average Speed: 10.5 km/hr
Average Pace: 5 min 44 seconds / km
Mileage on Air Max 04: 131.14 km

2006-11-09T18:20:00.000-08:00

Ahem, that makes it almost exactly 20k in exactly one week. Maybe that's too much, too fast. I should start with less mileage I think. I'll try for 15 by next Thursday InshAllah...

4.8k more baby!

2006-11-09T18:13:00.000-08:00

I was feeling very tired from the 6k yesterday, so I decided to buy ankle braces today and dust off the knee braces. But said ankle braces were bought 5 mins away from a practically free gym, so:

3 miles in 32 mins, with long durations (5mins each) of walking in between because the cardiovascular is probably not in shape yet. It was either that or the 45 minutes of weight-training before it.

Why the sudden burst of running? I weighed myself at a friend's place a few days after Eid, realized I was 20 pounds more than my Pakistani weight, and decided to do something about the gut. That, the buzz of doing something a little off-routine, and the fact that there is nothing major due these days...

6k!

2006-11-08T12:53:00.000-08:00

I ran approximately 3.8 miles today, which is basically 6k. Felt every bit of the extra kilometer, and had to stop to catch my breath twice. Took me 43 minutes, including having to stop at the pedestrian crossways around 5 times, and the minute or so I stopped around the 3k and 5k marks.

Lost a pound on the run, but that's almost certainly just dehydration =)

Addendum: Just scrolled down the blog and two things struck me, well three:

First 6k in eons
Neither of us has run regularly all year: we're plateauing =(
Haven't ever really broken out of the 4k-6k range with just a couple exceptions

Oh, and one more thing: I need to get myself new running shoes and possibly a new watch...

Ali Hasanain: crushed and frozen

2006-11-03T19:10:00.000-08:00

Four words describe today's run: same route, 35 minutes =(

It was zero degrees centrigrade, and I just couldn't push harder than that.

On the brighter side, at least I had the tenacity to actually go out and run. I just hope I can do this regularly, cold or not. All bets are off though.

Aha Aha Aha!

2006-11-02T00:57:00.000-08:00

Me has just run 3.2 miles (i.e 5k) in 25 mins after eons. Basically, moved to a stray-dog-less neighbourhood and my year without running is at an end, InshAllah.

My watch is breaking down and my shoes too, so I ran without the HRM and in my regular sneakers instead of my running shoes. Tried running a bit on my toes. Trying to build their durability up for greater bounce and speed.

Wasn't aiming for it. I didn't realize it was 5k until afterwards, and I was just planning on running 1.6m anyway. The area is somewhat hilly, like Pindi, so there were some uphill/downhill bits, and since the footpaths are nice and wide and since the main run is straight on Fairfax's main road, it was well lit even at 11:30pm. I was exhausted, but the weather was beautiful, with the first drops of light rain starting to wet my tee just as I was finishing up. Hamstrings ached sharply afterwards, but that's what I get for neglecting running for a year.

Did light weight-training for about an hour later too, but really, all I need to do to get a half-decent body again is drop something like 20 pounds.

Sigh, it's so nice to be writing on a blog no one (no one important anyway! Haee lagee Ahmad?) reads again. I can be that much more... open!

Anyway, pray I build this up not so much in distance, but both speed and regularity...

1 mile

2006-06-19T23:15:00.000-07:00

Heh, okay, so that doesn't really qualify for a run, but I was at this hotel with a line of treadmills, so I just hopped on one and ran 1 mile in about 8 mins. Didn't want to run till exhaustion, which I felt would not be far off.

Man, I'm out of shape

2006-04-29T20:32:00.000-07:00

Distance: 2.2 km
Time: 10 mins 36 secs
Speed: 12.45 kph
Mileage on Nike Air Max 2004: 127.35 km

2006-02-21T10:22:00.000-08:00

Distance: 4.3 km
Time: 18 mins 55 secs
Speed: 13.64 km/hr
Mileage on Nike Air Max 2004: 125.35 km

2006-02-12T07:01:00.000-08:00

Ooops. Changed my mind. Ran after all.

Distance: 6 km
Time: 32 mins 11 secs
Speed: 11.2 km/hr
Mileage on Nikes: 121.05 km

2006-02-12T04:22:00.000-08:00

Running halted for a while due to gymming hurts and laziness and crazy routine and far too much Worms Armageddon!

2006-02-11T07:16:00.000-08:00

I give up. It's snowing. To hell with running.

2006-02-05T10:56:00.000-08:00

Distance: 2.75
Time: 12 mins 6 secs
Speed: 13.6 km/hr
Mileage on Air Max: 115.05 km

Slowed down to nonexistent pace for Shaheer in round 4; trashed my speed

Toe Running!

2006-02-04T08:23:00.000-08:00

Kicks ass I tell ya! Consistency in speed! Finally!

Distance: 3.3 km
Time: 12 min 58 sec
Speed: 15.3 kph
Milage on Air Maxs: 112.3 km

5k on Treadmill

2006-01-31T13:20:00.000-08:00

In zone 15:30
Average HR 164
Peak HR 195
Min HR 30 ????
Total Calories 754
Warmup 4:44 95
Halfway 22:52 167
5k 37.37 (including warmup, so 33) 183
Cool-down 41.55 156

A 100 km in 2005

2006-01-30T08:48:00.000-08:00

That's what I ran in 2005. A 100 km. Sh0uld really do get my act together.

Here's the first run of 2006. It's nice to see Ali ran at almost exactly the same time as I did.
=D
Good going old buddy.

Track: Cricket Field Track
Distance: 6.5 km
Time: 32 minutes
Speed: 12.2 kph
Mileage on Nike Air Max 2004: 108.9778.

How come mileage in km is still mileage?
Never mind with the weird 4 digit accuracy. It's just my 'system'.

2006-01-28T18:56:00.000-08:00

My body is screaming for exercise, so I finally did a proper run on the treadmill. Still ran only for 15 mins, and then on the exercise bike for another 20, but I intend to switch my running on.

In zone 7.1
Avg HR 151
Peak HR 193
Min 94
Total Calories 646
1- 127 4.26
2- 180 14.34 (10)
3- 156 16:43 (2)
4- 143 39.1 (2)
25- 134 41 (2)

2005-12-12T06:16:00.000-08:00

Further running halted due to snorkelling injuries.

2005-12-07T03:08:00.000-08:00

Track: Nisar Shaheed Park
Distance: 5.1 km
Time: 34 mins 57 secs
Speed: 8.75 km/hr

Run followed by an hour of Yoga, stretching and calisthenics. Thighs screwed quite a bit. Hope I recover for the marathon snorkelling session friday.

Loooovely to run again.

2005-12-01T23:23:00.000-08:00

Distance: 3.1 km
Time: 18 mins 57 secs
Speed: 9.81 km/hr

Decent run after quite a while in Nisar Shaheed. Karachi air is different.
Back hurt quite a bit after the 3rd km all of sudden. Strange. Doesn't normally happen. Maybe I was too stiff or perhaps it was because of the new posture.

We shall see.
Will run soon again inshallah.
Karachi is fun.

2005-11-16T19:34:00.000-08:00

Distance: 2.3 km
Time: 14 minutes, 45 seconds

Stepper:
Feet climbed: 1783
Time: 15 minutes

2005-09-28T22:43:00.000-07:00

Thursday, Sept 29 2005

Went 5k after a couple of weeks. Rains haven't been allowing me to run lately. Am back.

Distance: 5 km
Time: 31 mins 27 secs

The Track

2005-09-08T13:31:00.000-07:00

Ze track around ze cricket field is fairly decent. Not amazing but decent. The dirt is goood since it doesn't screw up my knees as bad. And it sucks cuz it has ROCKS on it! Damn! Twisted my ankle twice...three cheers for ankle exercises.

The breeze is great though. Felt like running in Karachi.

*grin*

Time: 23 mins 28 secs
Distance: 5 km

Starting again....

2005-09-08T09:42:00.000-07:00

Back at LUMS. Beginning training. Have to get back in shape. Started off easy with a 3 k run in the new track around the cricket field. Great thing about the cricket field is that you get a breeze while running. Also, mp3 player rocks. Does wonders for making you forget how screwed you are or if your breathing is out.

Not a bad.

Tuesday , 6 September 2005
Distance: 3.3 km
Time: 15 mins 47

2005-09-08T09:41:00.000-07:00

Tuesday, 26th July 2005
Time: 27 mins 33 secs
Distance: 4 km

2005-09-08T09:40:00.000-07:00

Thursday, 21st July 2005
Time: 54 mins
Distance: 7 km

2005-09-08T09:36:00.000-07:00

Friday, 10th June 2005
Time: 22 mins 53 secs
Distance: 3.29 km

19-7-5

2005-07-20T02:05:00.000-07:00

5k in 29:50mins 171HR
5.25k in 31:50 177HR (split)
5.5k in 35:00 156 HR (split)

This was another hard run, I felt really hot, just willed my self to keep going after 3k.
311 or 670 Calories. Pick one!
In Zone: 12:46
Average HR: 170
Peak HR: 196
Min HR: 103

Elf's Curse No.1: My watch has been cursed. The orange button, which controls the Heart Rate Monitor, got stuck when I pressed it to turn the HRM off. It is still working, but there is definately something wrong with it.

Elf's Curse No.2: My knee is acting up. I just ran between two shops and was hobbling. Today is rest day anyway, and if my visa call comes in, I'll be gone for another couple of days, so maybe it'll be okay next time I run.

I badly want to be back to 10k fitness by the time I go. I'm not going to be one of those PhDs-with-a-pouch.

18-7-5

2005-07-18T09:08:00.000-07:00

5.25k run in 30mins or so (I was such a goof, didn't turn on the watch for the first few minutes, so this time isn't exact)
.5k cool-down in about 6 mins
In zone: 15:22
Av HR: 173
Peak HR: 204 (This should not go above 199)
Min HR: 139
324 or 659 Calories depending on which instrument you believe

A fairly hard run, but I just willed myself to keep going. That 10k is far, far off at this point.

17-7-5

2005-07-17T22:36:00.000-07:00

Fully a month since my last run?

I'm really unfit and I need to start running regularly. Bas bohat ho gaee. I couldn't run 5k at a stretch for crying out loud!

Ran/walked 5.06k
35.30min
Either 286 (treadmill) or 699 (watch) calories burnt. I've always wanted to believe the watch!

In zone: 13:48
Av HR: 173
Peak HR: 198
Min HR: 90

17-6-5

2005-06-18T01:25:00.000-07:00

The treadmill has been fixed so I gave it a go after a hiatus of about 2 months or so. The safety pin got dislodged in between and I stopped in the middle because there were some weird squeaks that eventually disappeared on their own. It was a boring run, and as has been happening for some time now, I ran out of energy quickly. I think I'm going to have to start gyming to get the energy back.

In zone: 8.52mins
Av HR: 163
Peak HR: 192
Min HR: 82
Total Calories: The disagreement between the HR monitor and the treadmill continues 707 said the former, 300-odd said the latter. I tend to think the HRM is more accurate because it asks for my current weight before calculating, but I could be wrong.
Splits:
1-4:47 (warmup) HR = 117
2-19:32 161
3- 26:49 172
4- 30:35 180
5- 30:38 176 *this is where the machine because of the pin, so I walked a bit before restarting
6-32:48 179
7-39:41 177 (6km, 1-km walk during warm-up, cool-down; 5km run)

Just adding to the record....

2005-06-14T03:48:00.000-07:00

Saturday, June 11, 2005

What does one do to look for inspiration to run? Boredom catching on, the moment I hit the platea. The plateau is the point of extension, satisfaction, rhythm, endurance...not boredom.
Need inspiration.

Distance: 4 km
Time: 22 mins, 53 seconds

2005-06-13T12:42:00.000-07:00

YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEHAAAAAAAAA!!!
Oooohh yeah baby! 10 k!!
ahahahah...ummm been too long. Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!

Ali is going to be so jealous. It's not just that he doesn't have my Nike Air Max 2004s. He doesn't have the legs for it. Tsk tsk. *grin, this should be fun*

With no prior training, after not having run for ages (except a 4k run after a month of inactivity 1 week ago), I just get up and do a tenner. Oh yeah!
ahahahah...

Mein kuch cha gaya hun....zaida nahee...bus thora thora.....AHAAAHAHHAH!!!

Hey Ali. What's up? *grin*

There is something about running for so long. Knowing that after an hour - when the basketball match has ended, when the second six-a-side footy match is over, when all the spectators have left, when the PDC has closed, and the only sound in the area is the sound of your footsteps, your even breathing and the music society people drumming up in the music room - you are the only one still up and running. It's a beautiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiful feeling.

Got knee aches at the beginning of the 8th km. Sucks. Running on sand is out cuz its too difficult and Lahore sucks as it has no beach. There is no grass stretch long enough to be a decent track around here. That leaves the road.
Sigh.

The last 3 kilometres were punctuated by growls and grunts. I got some very stunned looks from a couple of females. Mein kya karun. It was dark. I thought I was alone and therefore eligible to growl and grunt all I like.

I was laughing like a doped out Woody Wood Pecker by the end of the run.
Nice endorphin rush. But just nice. Not amazing. I think I am ready for 20 k.

I can't imagine what running for 2 hours will do to my knees though. Better do it on a weekend. I sure as hell won't be able to walk to class the next day.

Distance: 10 kilometres
Time: 1 Hour 7 Minutes

2005-05-10T11:09:00.000-07:00

I was just humiliated in the 1500 metre race. Yes, I know I don't run short distances. Yes I know the race was over in five and a half minutes and I generally run around an hour, but damn it feels bad.

I am never running another short distance race in my life. Well, maybe the 100 metre. Finished a whole minute behind everybody else.
Faugh! *growl*

On a brighter note, I chikkofied the sproj viva, so I might end up getting my first A in a computer science course!

muahaha...
I still need to run. Damn it, I need those endorphins released! argh! *growl*

Distance: 1.5 km
Time: 6 minutes 29 seconds

21-04-2005

2005-04-21T23:13:00.000-07:00

On the treadmill at 1:30pm on a hot Lahori day:
In Heart Rate Zone (179-199): 2:02
Average Heart Rate: 151
Peak Heart Rate: 181
Minimum Heart Rate: 95
Total Calories: 549

Speed=7km/h for 11:22mins with Average Heart Rate 127
Speed=10km/h for 20:01mins with Average Heart Rate 167
Speed=4km/h for 3:39mins with Average Heart Rate 141

Notes: I'd been playing squash the last few days, so this was my first run in a week. It felt more like a chore than anything else really. Didn't feel like running much, barely reached the 30min mark before I had to call it quits. The heat and the fact that I hadn't had a proper breakfast probably had something to do with it. I was sweating more than I've done in ages and I got a headache that hasn't worn off even 24 hours later.

FINALLY!!!

2005-04-20T13:34:00.000-07:00

muahahaha....
RUNNING LOG:
Distance: 5.3 km
Time: 33 mins, 52 secs

Ah....finally...so frikkin long...pissed pissed pissed at myself for slacking so much,...ARGH!! run you damn fool, run!