The long run

And so its been a year and a few months since I started my running program. Its been a long journey and a lot of miles (literally and psychologically) too. It all started after my NCC Kerala Trek (from Jan 15 - 28, 2008 during my fourth semester) where we trekked 105km in 7 days and I reduced around five kilos of weight. I decided that I shouldn't let this weight reduction reverse and my fellow Tamil Nadu cadets (Particularly Dinesh senior - thanks if you ever get to read this blog!) suggested I go running everyday.

the running started on feb 1 2008: first day 4 laps in eleven and a half minutes. was quite impressed with myself as I never believed I could run four laps. Initially I wasn't consistent. I would run for two weeks and stop for a week due to cycle tests, tech fest work, getting up late in the morning etc. Eventually I improved my time for four rounds to approx. 9:30, ran on the periphery of the track and I started to get the rhythm of running.

My fourth semester holidays came and I still didn't run properly. I four or five days a week. However, I ran on paved road and increased my running distance. Also my times started improving. There were some good days (click to read) and some bad days (click to read) and since it was during my holidays I had ample time to blog on it.

Then came my fifth semester, the time when I got serious. I increased my distance to six laps, followed by sprints, ran almost every day, and woke up to an alarm everyday at 545am. I could feel that I was becoming more fit and my waist started reducing slowly. But as usual, during any semester there's always tests and exams in the middle when i stopped running as running and studying continuously is hard.

My fifth semester holidays comprised of two parts: a short two week holiday in Guangzhou, China and the Tata Jagriti Yatra. The first part was really good in terms of running. I ran almost every day, my times were improving, I was eating healthy food and could feel that I've reduced waist. The second part was bad. As I was in a train for 18 days just sitting eating and talking, I put on the tummy again! But I quickly reduced it within a week during my sixth semester.

The beginning of my sixth semester was a new peak. I gradually increased my running distance to 8 laps in about 20 minutes, ran 11 laps once and 15th laps on another occasion and maintained good run times and health (eating fruits like apples, banana etc and maintaining a close to proper diet). However this effort came to a halt due to health reasons (read the 3rd tip). Now just as i've written a blog post after a long time, I've resumed my jogging too. Due to the heat, gain in weight and running after a long time, I'm finding it difficult even to complete 5 laps. More on this later when things get better.

Some final tips I would like to give:
1) If you're going to start running, start with a minimum distance of 4 laps (a mile) and increase it slowly. After you're comfortable with a distance, try to improve your time. If your time isn't improving, increase the distance
2) Eat healthy food such as fruits, oats, etc. Avoid foods that don't give nutrients like soft drinks, cakes, etc
3) Wear tight underwear (for guys) if you're going to jog. I tell you this after some bad experiences (ie. pain in the private area).
4) Don't worry if you have bad days/periods. Things will improve if you keep running and thinking about what you're doing.
5) Take good rest everyday. Ensure that you're sleeping properly. That itself will take care of everything else.
6) Get up around the time the sun rises and run it out. A morning run is better than running at any other time of the day