Got my second deep-tissue massage last week... It was like giving birth (well.. me thinks :) ... man.. Greg has so much affection on my muscles (leg and thighs, especially), that he gave them each his special attention... A couple of times, it felt like my legs would just break away... A few times, I broke into laughter after the shouts did not make my pain get any lighter!
At the end of it all, sitting in the ice cold water (cryo tank) seemed heavenly, in comparison.
----------------
Tried running again on Saturday.. pain started between 1.5 and 2 miles.. (ITB)... I then, did the stretch run walk combinations. Finished 5 miles.
For next week, I am going to focus more on my exercises.. And be more conservative on the field, do a 1 - 1 combination.... 1 minute run followed by 1 minute walk...
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Got my Timex Ironman triathlon watch... it should help me in timing my runs
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Saturday, August 16, 2008
The double life!
I entered the life of 'double digit mile' runners today..
After the break of a couple of weeks (of no mileage), I started walking on the trails at the start of the month. But my knee started paining after just a mile.. So, I continued to take it light - as they say "walk to the pain; not through it!".
I continued walking on the designated days with my team, but I hit the 'four mile' barrier all over again. I continued my exercises and stretching. Like I said, I also had the deep-tissue massage last week. So, I was confident I will get back in the game. That is especially important now since we have started increasing our weekend mileage. For example, I was due to do 16 miles today.
We had today's session at the beautiful Sawyer camp recreation trail again and I was pretty excited. I decided to walk my mileage today and may be started a bit too fast. Within a mile, my shins started aching. I took a break - gave my shins some good stretches and rested for like 30 minutes. And I continued walking, at a slower, more comfortable pace - with some 'duck walk's and stretches every now and then. I felt alright and could finish 10 miles for the day!!
One thing is for sure - there is a lot of work to be done before I can get to running the 26.2 miles. But, I am quite happy with my crossing into the double digit league! Thanks Reena for the continued support and company on the trails. Thanks coach Martina, all the coaches and co-ords, especially, Gurpreet, Srini, Jaya for your support and words of encouragement today.
After the break of a couple of weeks (of no mileage), I started walking on the trails at the start of the month. But my knee started paining after just a mile.. So, I continued to take it light - as they say "walk to the pain; not through it!".
I continued walking on the designated days with my team, but I hit the 'four mile' barrier all over again. I continued my exercises and stretching. Like I said, I also had the deep-tissue massage last week. So, I was confident I will get back in the game. That is especially important now since we have started increasing our weekend mileage. For example, I was due to do 16 miles today.
We had today's session at the beautiful Sawyer camp recreation trail again and I was pretty excited. I decided to walk my mileage today and may be started a bit too fast. Within a mile, my shins started aching. I took a break - gave my shins some good stretches and rested for like 30 minutes. And I continued walking, at a slower, more comfortable pace - with some 'duck walk's and stretches every now and then. I felt alright and could finish 10 miles for the day!!
One thing is for sure - there is a lot of work to be done before I can get to running the 26.2 miles. But, I am quite happy with my crossing into the double digit league! Thanks Reena for the continued support and company on the trails. Thanks coach Martina, all the coaches and co-ords, especially, Gurpreet, Srini, Jaya for your support and words of encouragement today.
Friday, August 15, 2008
The Indian Conundrum
Thanks to Rajeev for this poem on Olympics and the Indian Conundrum
The Indian Conundrum
E pluribus unum
That ought to be OUR motto say some.
A billion plus people we are,
Yet we have but one Olympic star.
Brimming with pride we get excited,
Make oaths and promises unrequited.
Every four years repeated, it is a disease,
A swear, a promise then back into deep freeze.
A committee will certainly be formed,
Of which a sub-committee will deform.
Money apportioned will surely go astray,
Ah! Satyameva Jayate.
Easy fix we have, on cricket let's put the blame,
In Europe, isn't soccer just the same?
They make Olympic gold in spite or despite it,
While we lay blame, shake our heads and sit.
Infrastructure will come once perceptions change,
When sports and academics are in the same range…
Your young ones, when inspired by your running feat,
Out of one will rise many with glory replete.
-------------------------
A saying goes that you have to be the change, not just want it...by running you inspire and when you inspire your bring change...so keep at it - in our own small way we do what we have to.
Rajeev
The Indian Conundrum
E pluribus unum
That ought to be OUR motto say some.
A billion plus people we are,
Yet we have but one Olympic star.
Brimming with pride we get excited,
Make oaths and promises unrequited.
Every four years repeated, it is a disease,
A swear, a promise then back into deep freeze.
A committee will certainly be formed,
Of which a sub-committee will deform.
Money apportioned will surely go astray,
Ah! Satyameva Jayate.
Easy fix we have, on cricket let's put the blame,
In Europe, isn't soccer just the same?
They make Olympic gold in spite or despite it,
While we lay blame, shake our heads and sit.
Infrastructure will come once perceptions change,
When sports and academics are in the same range…
Your young ones, when inspired by your running feat,
Out of one will rise many with glory replete.
-------------------------
A saying goes that you have to be the change, not just want it...by running you inspire and when you inspire your bring change...so keep at it - in our own small way we do what we have to.
Rajeev
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
3 Myths—and 1 Truth—About Running and Health
by Katherine Hobson
Every person who takes up running has, at one time or another, been confronted by a helpful critic who is more than happy to reel off the reasons running will ruin your life. It will cripple you in your later years; you might drop dead in the middle of a marathon; and on and on. As an avid runner, I have a lot riding on whether or not these ideas about the sport are true. Here is a look at four questionable claims about running and health, including results from a new study looking at running, longevity, and disability.
1. Running will give you a heart attack or other heart problems. It is true that exercise temporarily raises the odds of a heart attack while you're mid-workout, but doing it consistently reduces that risk over the long haul, leading to a net benefit. Some researchers have questioned whether marathon running, especially in people who haven't trained a lot, might cause heart damage, at least temporarily. But there's no evidence that it causes long-term harm or actually leads to heart attacks. Even athletes with enlarged hearts—if they're healthy hearts—aren't, as once feared, at risk of early death. The bottom line: Simply going for a run most days of the week is doing far more good than bad for your heart.
2. Running will ruin your bones and joints. A study in the August issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine found no evidence of accelerated rates of osteoarthritis among long-distance runners when compared with healthy nonrunners. "We used to say that osteoarthritis came from wear and tear. That's now revised to say that is can result from tear but not wear," says James Fries, emeritus professor of medicine at the Stanford University School of Medicine and senior author of the study. Moreover, weight-bearing exercise like running helps stave off osteoporosis by maintaining bone mineral density.
3. Running can increase your odds of skin cancer. This one appears to be true: A 2006 study found that white marathon runners had more abnormal moles and lesions than nonrunners and were at a higher risk of both melanoma and nonmelanoma skin cancer. (Marathoner Deena Kastor, representing the United States in the Olympics, has had skin cancers removed.) The more miles run per week, the more likely a runner in the study was to be referred for surgical treatment, suggesting the length of sun exposure is a factor. The solutions: Wear sunscreen, no matter what time of day you run. (Only 56 percent of the runners in the study used sunscreen.) Don't run when the sun is strongest—go early in the morning or later in the afternoon or evening. And cover up if you can, by wearing a hat and protecting as much of your skin with clothing as you can stand.
4. Running will kill you before your time. According to a study published this week in the Archives of Internal Medicine, running and other vigorous exercise in middle age is associated with a longer life. Not only that, it will make your later years more pleasant by reducing disability. After tracking runners and healthy nonrunners for 21 years, starting when they were at least 50 years old, a research team led by Stanford's Fries found that the ability to perform activities of daily life like getting out of a chair and walking was better among runners than nonrunners. And 19 years into the study, 15 percent of the runners had died, compared with 34 percent of the nonrunners.
Every person who takes up running has, at one time or another, been confronted by a helpful critic who is more than happy to reel off the reasons running will ruin your life. It will cripple you in your later years; you might drop dead in the middle of a marathon; and on and on. As an avid runner, I have a lot riding on whether or not these ideas about the sport are true. Here is a look at four questionable claims about running and health, including results from a new study looking at running, longevity, and disability.
1. Running will give you a heart attack or other heart problems. It is true that exercise temporarily raises the odds of a heart attack while you're mid-workout, but doing it consistently reduces that risk over the long haul, leading to a net benefit. Some researchers have questioned whether marathon running, especially in people who haven't trained a lot, might cause heart damage, at least temporarily. But there's no evidence that it causes long-term harm or actually leads to heart attacks. Even athletes with enlarged hearts—if they're healthy hearts—aren't, as once feared, at risk of early death. The bottom line: Simply going for a run most days of the week is doing far more good than bad for your heart.
2. Running will ruin your bones and joints. A study in the August issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine found no evidence of accelerated rates of osteoarthritis among long-distance runners when compared with healthy nonrunners. "We used to say that osteoarthritis came from wear and tear. That's now revised to say that is can result from tear but not wear," says James Fries, emeritus professor of medicine at the Stanford University School of Medicine and senior author of the study. Moreover, weight-bearing exercise like running helps stave off osteoporosis by maintaining bone mineral density.
3. Running can increase your odds of skin cancer. This one appears to be true: A 2006 study found that white marathon runners had more abnormal moles and lesions than nonrunners and were at a higher risk of both melanoma and nonmelanoma skin cancer. (Marathoner Deena Kastor, representing the United States in the Olympics, has had skin cancers removed.) The more miles run per week, the more likely a runner in the study was to be referred for surgical treatment, suggesting the length of sun exposure is a factor. The solutions: Wear sunscreen, no matter what time of day you run. (Only 56 percent of the runners in the study used sunscreen.) Don't run when the sun is strongest—go early in the morning or later in the afternoon or evening. And cover up if you can, by wearing a hat and protecting as much of your skin with clothing as you can stand.
4. Running will kill you before your time. According to a study published this week in the Archives of Internal Medicine, running and other vigorous exercise in middle age is associated with a longer life. Not only that, it will make your later years more pleasant by reducing disability. After tracking runners and healthy nonrunners for 21 years, starting when they were at least 50 years old, a research team led by Stanford's Fries found that the ability to perform activities of daily life like getting out of a chair and walking was better among runners than nonrunners. And 19 years into the study, 15 percent of the runners had died, compared with 34 percent of the nonrunners.
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Deep Tissue Massage
Having been in physical therapy the last four weeks, I went for a deep tissue massage today. Man, this guy played on my ITB band and the muscles like playing the veena... Has loosened some rock-like muscles and a knot on my thigh....
Hope it speedens the recovery process.. for now it is paining so much that I am standing in ice-cold water...!
Hope it speedens the recovery process.. for now it is paining so much that I am standing in ice-cold water...!
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
SF Marathon!
Some 'public' pics from the SF Marathon this Sunday, Aug 3, 2008. I did not run.. I just went to cheer my friends that did!
And for those that think I missed their picture, here is yours as a group!!! ;-)
And for those that think I missed their picture, here is yours as a group!!! ;-)
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