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And the second tempo run of my week 2/8 of marathon training is DONEZO!!!!!
Am single parenting today and tomorrow. Before I left home for my run at 9.20 am today, I was happily tied up with a fitness session for a trainee, settling my kids for online school and lecturing them over 20 minutes about my upcoming 2-hour absence from home for the run! My cook and I made fancy sandwiches for the kids and I innocently sneaked in one in my tummy while making them and that happens too often – because this Girl’s GOTTA FUEL and fuel well! My morning flew by and I must mention that the city of Gurgaon was shining with the warmest winter sun, even though the temperatures were as low as 6 degrees when I left!
Today’s speed run format – 4 kms warm up, 14 kms speed run, 2 kms cool down.
I was about to start when I realized I had left my water bottle at home. So I went back.
Girl’s gotta hydrate!!!!
4 kms warm-up – felt like the easiest thing on this planet. My mind was now free – I had finished 1/4th of my work, kids were on their own mission, my next call was scheduled for 12.30 pm and the upcoming Sports Day at Bright Orange Foundation (the NGO I volunteer at) is shaping up well! Sometimes I need to bring a lot of things together to earn that me-time (my run time). Sometimes am a complete mess. I still get out!
4 kms under the sun later, it was time was the real deal – 14 kms of speedwork – relaxed speedwork – sprinkled with self-control and luckily with a lot of sunshine!
What worked on this speed run – (this is all guesswork)
- I skipped yesterday’s strength session. Instead, I did 45 minutes of mobility and stretches. It’s only week 2/8 and am being conservative in spending my energy.
- Eating carbs the whole evening before the speed run – chicken rice, sweet potatoes, and Gulab Jamun(s)! I have the sweetest tooth amongst the runner and non-runner community! One Gulab Jamun is a joke for me. I ate 3 of them!
- 4 litres of water throughout the day and now my kids check the loo first before they check my study when they are looking for me.
- Crib session with my friend Nupur – I do think this is what worked the most. But she wasn’t listening because I quizzed her after cribbing and she was clueless! Such a bestie to have!
While on the run, I was in rhythm till the 9th km. It was after the 10th that I reached out for my run-bottle in my belt but it wasn’t there. First I forgot the bottle, and then the bottle dropped somewhere. No am not clumsy. It’s just that they don’t make good run bottles anymore!
So I popped in another juicy date and kept my energies going. My paces stayed between 5.35 and 5.29. I focussed on my cadence and my breath. But yes I was breathing a little harder today.
There was mild discomfort during the last km of the cool down.
At the 12th km of the 14, I was thirsty and felt a bit uncomfortable. I thought of my son, Aadit, who turns 10 tomorrow.
I got home and quietly walked into my kids’ rooms. They hadn’t realised that I was back and so I tiptoed into my room and finished my stretches.
And with that …..the second part of my day had come to an end… it was 11.45 AM!
Looking back at 11th January 2014 – My boy, Aadit, was in my tummy – extremely restless. I had felt my first set of contractions. They were still more than 60 minutes apart. I was getting ready for a friend’s birthday party. It was 7.45 pm. I checked for the last-minute things in my hospital bag and requested our driver for his availability through the night. Between excitement, jitters, and concern, my mom asked me if I wanted to stay at home instead and rest before we got to the hospital.
I remember saying to her – “I want his last in-my-tummy treat to be a pepperoni pizza and lots of cake and maybe a glass of wine!”
I started running 8 months after Aadit was born. Every parent knows that life after kids is going to change, but what I went through…was a transformation or I’ll put it like this – He transformed me, and in the best possible ways!
Next run? 27 kms in 3 hours.
Come back and I’ll tell you how it went!
Hasta pronto
PS – This is the 3rd piece on my marathon training blogs. My marathon training is an 8-week plan that started on the first day of January 2024 and ends on the race day – 25th February 2024. I’ve decided to log my runs on my public blog this time. If you are a runner, these blogs might speak to you in some way or the other! Life does get more beautiful when it is shared!
Here are Blog 1 and Blog 2 from the series.
