I had an awesome last week number 31. Let us see if we overturn any major milestone during week number 32.
Day 1 – Sunday, August 09, 2020 – Quarantine Day 146
An awesome way to start the week and Sunday.
I didn’t have any major plans for Sunday, so getting a 5K run under my belt for the day helped me better position the rest of Sunday.
From a personal front, I have been looking for some roommates to sublease my current apartment, so that I can save some rent money as I have been staying with my friends, Monika & Anupam, for the last six months. A couple of guys have shown a positive interest and I hope this works out. Fingers crossed for the day.
From a professional front, many things are happening at work & waiting for some good news at work, let’s see. I will keep you posted once I do.
Day 2 – Monday August 10, 2020 – Quarantine Day 147
Welcome to the first day of the work week.
For the last few days, I haven’t been able to wake up at my usual time, so I had to be creative to find some time to go out for a quick run. Today was a real challenge to find the time, but I was glad that I could find a short 30 minutes window during a busy work day and completed a quick 5K. This came around 11AM and post which I was welcomed by a flurry of emails and meeting notices.
I didn’t even realized when the day went by. By the time I realized what time it was, I was accompanied by my friends Monika & Anupam to finish a 30 minute HIIT workout. The workout almost killed me due to heat and so many things to handle. What was a surprise for me was that we had a plan to go out for a bike ride after the HIIT workout. Sure, it was a surprise, but a pleasant one and I didn’t mind a bike ride with Jinx.
In the end, it turned out to be a really awesome day!
Day 3 – Tuesday August 11, 2020 – Quarantine Day 148
One more day and one more awesome run under my belt. The work has never been this busy and I could feel the strain on my eyes that caused because of staring at my laptop screen for more than 12 hours. This is the first time in my life that I had issues with my eyes under stress due to too much screen time – I guess, it is safe to say that I am getting old and will hit the 30 year mark next year. I am starting to realize the kind of changes my body is going through and hopefully running will help me keep my body healthy and fit.
Talking about the run, this was the third run of the week for the three consecutive days. I don’t remember running for three consecutive days before during this ultramarathon preparation and it felt like a big achievement to me. I am at this point in this running journey that running a 5K doesn’t mean a big thing to me, but still, running three days in a row meant a lot.
Anyway, getting back to the run, I went to my now favorite spot to run and that’s the NHS. I had a great time running there and glad that I learned from yesterday’s run and carried enough water for the run. After finishing every mile, I had a few sips of water, enough to keep myself hydrated and keep the pace constant throughout this short run. I was sweating profusely due to 85F temperature. I was glad to finish the run and call it a day!
Day 4 – Wednesday August 12, 2020– Quarantine Day 149
It really feels like an ecstasy as I am continuing this running form for the fourth day in a row. Today also was the same location and the same distance covered with a few seconds less for this run. The distinction was the follow up fuel that I always have whenever I crave for it. This run made me crave for BnB and I had to make one a quick one myself before heading out for an hour of soccer practice with the kids.
The most outstanding part about this run was that it made me a “Local Legend on Northville Tracks” on Strava as I completed the most number of segments on the Northville Track for the last 90 days. It is a big achievement for me and surely the first one in a long time. Let’s see when’s the next one will be.
Day 5 – Thursday August 13, 2020– Quarantine Day 150
Man! I am on fire. I have never ran these many consecutive days in my life. Running five days in a row is not a big deal for many, but it is for me and I am certainly happy to experience that. I wasn’t sure whether I was going out for a run today due to work and other things, but I squeezed in 30 minutes after work and was glad to finish 4 miles under 40 minutes.
The run started as usual at NHS. The NHS kids might be sick of me now as they have witnessed me for that many times when they are also practicing football. I wasn’t bothered by it and continued my run. One special thing about this run was that I sprinted the last 0.15 miles as I thought I could last for that much distance, sprinting with almost 6’ pace. Turned out, I could last only 0.13 miles and had to return to my normal pace for the last 0.02 miles before stopping the run. I wish I could have gone through the rigor of those 0.02 miles, but, anyway I will have many chances to correct that mistake and I am sure that I definitely will.
The day ended with an hour of soccer with the kids and some delicious food.
Day 6 – Friday August 14, 2020– Quarantine Day 151
The streak has finally ended! Gosh, I felt so bad that I couldn’t go out for run, but as always, I knew it is one of the ways my body is telling me to take some rest and recharge and come back stronger.
Instead of being sad about it, I told myself to come back stronger and better.
Day 7 – Saturday August 15, 2020– Quarantine Day 152
And boy, did I come back stronger.
Today, I finished the 8th Half Marathon of my life and it was a PR run.
Before I start with my running and other fitness activities, let us wish my home country, India, a very happy 74th Independence Day. I am not a big fan of celebrating festivals, so apart from this small wish, I don’t know what else to do!
With that, let us start with my Half Marathon update.
The best thing about this run was that I wasn’t going for a PR time, but, the NHS track and the weather played a huge part in achieving this feat. I started the run at around 6.30AM and it was dark, rainy, and cloudy at that time. The temperature was around 60F, so I felt a little cold when I was stretching before the run. It was so cold that it took me more than 3 miles to get my first sweat drop. The weather helped so much that I took the first sip of water after finishing 5 miles of running. Though I stopped for a quick drink, I didn’t lose my pace and continued with the same pace. Everything was going smoothly and according to the plan. And then came the moment when I realized that I could be achieving my PR time. The last PR for Half Marathon came in 2 hours 15 minutes, so when I saw my Apple Watch for the first time during this run, I had covered more than 10 miles at around 1 hour 40 minutes mark. It was this moment when I realized I could go for my PR and that’s what happened at the end.
I finished the run at 13.15 miles. The time taken for this distance was 2 hours 8 minutes 15 seconds with 9’45” pace, which is way better than I expected.
After finishing the run, I was overjoyed and clicked a few photos before heading home. Take a look.
After the Half Marathon, thanks to my friends, I got to devour the lovely breakfast. It was awesome and loved every single bite of it. After finishing the breakfast, it was time to head to our normal Saturday Hiking plans and this time, we decided to revisit the Proud Lake State Recreational Area. The last time we were here, we couldn’t check out the other part of the hike, so this time that was the goal for us.
The only downside of this hike was that most of the hiking trail was not covered by the trees so we were exposed to the Sun most of the time, causing us to fatigue more and frequently. If the trail would have been covered with trees and other medium, we would have gotten more shadow, elevating the entire hiking experience. I am not the one to complain, so went ahead with it and we could finish the 6.5 miles before devouring the 2 large pizzas. Take a look at the photos.
& that brings us to the end of this week. Gosh, such an awesome week with so many things. Here’s the overview.
See you next week!
stochasticity 
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