The summary of my first half marathon from Runkeeper is:
Saturday Run
DEC 27, 2014 - 6:16 AM
Since my last post of my 16 km run on Nov 6, 2014, I have been consistently running and strength training at gym for 5 days a week, yoga for 2 days and swimming about 3-4 days a week along with healthy and complete diet including fruits, beetroot juice (good for improving endurance), dry fruits, green tea, nuts and foods rich in proteins, calcium and carbohydrates. My subsequent long run above 10 km was on 3rd Dec, 2014, a total of 18 km, which was an evening run and was pretty fast accompanied by few good IISc runners for few kms. I realized evening runs can be relatively faster that in the morning due to warmer muscles and active body. Now, my weekly mileage is above 20 kms, and my regular run speed is above 12 km/hr. I also broke my PR's (personal record) for 4 km: 18:18 minutes, last week.
I wanted to do my first half marathon by the end of this year. This year december is quite warmer compared to previous years. Today is the last saturday I will be spending in IISc, and I was confused whether I should run in morning or evening. I finally decided for the morning run, since there are no commitments and to enjoy the fresh and cool weather. Yesterday, I had heavy food to prepare for today's run. So today, woke up at 5:30 am and fueled up with 2 bananas and a dark chocolate bar (Cadbury Bournville - Raisin & Nut) and water. So, after a brisk walk to IISc Gymkhana football ground at 6:30 a.m, I did few warmups like backward jog, strides, lateral run and dynamic stretching. Finally, I begun my run all alone with my music and feedback from Runkeeper at 6:50 a.m.
I was quite energetic in the beginning due to the warmup and good pre-run snacks. Finished my first 5 km in 25:32 minutes at the below per km split speed:
Splits
NAME
SPEED
CLIMB
1 km
11.22
0
2 km
12.08
-1
3 km
12.08
-2
4 km
11.89
5
5 km
11.64
-2
The next 5 kms was pretty good due to the momentum gained and finished my first 10 km in 50:49 minutes which also my PB for 10 km run. I speeded up in the 10 km split to improve my 10 k timing. Split speed for the next 5 km is:
6 km
12.07
-1
7 km
11.62
-2
8 km
11.02
5
9 km
11.69
-3
10 km
12.92
-1
Then, I refueled with a pinch of dark chocolate and sipped few ml of water while running. The early morning sun was up, even though it was cool. The maintained my speed in the next 5 km also and finished the 1st 15.03 km in 1:16:57 hours :
11 km
11.71
-1
12 km
11.35
-1
13 km
11.53
2
14 km
11.72
1
15 km
11.44
-2
The subsequent 5 km was little uncomfortable due to some heat from sun rays and little fatigued legs. So, I had the last pinch of dark chocolate, sipped some more water and splashed my face with water few times without stopping the run, to refresh myself. Finished my first 20.02 km in 1:43:33 hours. The split for the next 5 km is:
16 km
11.26
1
17 km
11.59
3
18 km
11.20
-2
19 km
11.13
-3
20 km
11.28
5
The last 1.1 km I had speed up and sprinted the final 100 m to finish my first half marathon:
21 km
11.71
-4
22 km
14.51
1
After finishing a successful half marathon of 21.1 km in 1:48:56 hours @ 11.62 km/hr at 8:38 a.m. had a a brisk walk towards gym to do some static and dynamic stretching for 20 minutes. My target was to complete in 1:50 hours, and I finished 01:04 minutes ahead of it. the Had lots of water to rehydrate and went to mess at 9:00 a.m for a good breakfast. It was Idli today, so had 8 of them and went to room. Then, to cool down the fatigued muscles and body, went to swimming pool and did few laps and walks in water for around 20 minutes. And we do need to refuel with heavy food rich in carbohydrates and proteins along with fruits before and after the run.
Benefits of running regularly:
I now run at least 5 days a week and do not take more than one day break. I have improved my immune system and resistance to cold a lot. Previously, I used to get common cold regularly, but in the past six months I did not get any cold. A slight cold in the mornings is gone after the morning run. I have also improved my breathing technique for swimming as a consequence of running regularly. And of course it gives you a high in life, improves stamina and endurance, and removes all the depression and worries in the life. And long distance running does improve our patience and perseverance.
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