Let’s get started! Shall we?

Day 1 – Sunday, March 08, 2020
What an awesome day it was! We spent the entirety of Sunday outside, biking, running, walking, and having fun!

This day brought in such a lovely weather, we couldn’t control ourselves from heading to the Kensington Metropark, a 30-minute drive from my place! I love that place so much.

It was me, my friends, Monika and Anupam and their lovely kids Aryan and Arnav.

We did one loop of the biking trail which was roughly 8 miles and boy, we loved it! We stopped at many places to click some pictures and have a few sips of water. We had a nice time.

Here’s the loop that we did in Kensington Metropark!

And here’s the Apple Watch after this bike.

After the bike ride, I did not feel that much tired, but after having tummy full of lunch, it was harder for me to complete the 4 mile run that I had on my schedule for this day.

I could complete the 4 mile run in 46 minutes 48 seconds at 11’41” pace. The run was good except the fact that I had to burp many times during this run.

Here’s my Apple Watch.

Day 2 – Monday March 09, 2020
Monday brought in some extreme workout, thanks to our Coach, Jeff. We had fun, well, we were sweating like crazy at the end of the workout, so that is our definition of fun for bootcamp workouts.

As you can see the workout was a little simpler than usual, but we made sure to put in some efforts to finish it. Burpees were the hardest, but I was glad I got through all quite easily.

Day 3 – Tuesday March 10, 2020
Tuesday, I was supposed to run, but I chose not to! 🥵
I had a work happy hour to go to in the evening, so I attended that instead of running for the day.

I know, today, I cheated, but I don’t have many regrets, as I gave my body to relax and recover from the heavy grind that it has been through for the last couple of weeks!

Here’s the picture summarizing my Happy Hour.

Day 4 – Wednesday March 11, 2020
Wow! This was the best workout ever! All thanks to our coach, Jeff!

Jeff’s speciality is that he knows how to surprise us by throwing a couple of twists in the workout. Take a look at the workout first.

Now, the biggest surprise for us during this workout was the “RUN” part.

So there were three sections to this workout – Heavy, Medium, and Light! We will call them as 1, 2, and 3 respectively. So, we had to run 200 meters before starting off with 1. Once we are done with 1, then do 300 meters run and do 1 and 2. After that, 400 meters run and 1, 2, and 3. Oh man, it was so tiring, yet so good! I cannot describe it in words how happy we were at the end of this workout and told him that this has been one of the happiest workout ever!

It was a good day!

Day 5 – Thursday March 12, 2020
Ready for some RUN, Eh!

I had the Eureka moment today. When I was driving back from work, I saw a guy running on Hines Drive with a sweatshirt on. That is when I realized I can wear a sweatshirt when the temperatures are in mid 40s, so that I don’t feel that cold and also don’t suffer from Nipple Chafing. Gosh, it was such a good and wonderful decision.

It was a 6 mile run, outdoors and on Hines Drive, my favorite place. I was pretty stoked. Thankfully, the decision of wearing a sweatshirt during the run worked and I had so much fun during the run! I could have gone for more, but didn’t to prevent any injury. I deliberately ran slower than needed to relax my muscles a little bit and give myself a chance to have some fun during the run!

I could finish the 6-mile run in 1 hour 16 minutes at 12’39” pace. Not a great pace, but it was a good run!

And here’s me after the run, soaked in my sweat!

Day 6 – Friday March 13, 2020
Rest Day!

I did enjoy the Chai after so many days at my place!

Day 7 – Saturday March 14, 2020
By this time, every person in this world is affected by Covid19 a.k.a. Coronavirus, and this was the last day we went to our gym in Michigan – which we did not know until Monday, March 17.

I am glad that I could go to this workout and enjoyed it. However, I missed my usual partners, Monika and Anupam during this workout.

Here’s take a look at the workout.

Jen was our Coach during this workout and she made sure we do not slack during this as it had a lot of running. We could run outside the gym, though I chose not to because it was colder for me. We did deadlifts with the bars and some GHDs, which I absolutely loved.

I could not go to our usual Saturday brunch place without my friends, so chose to make something at home after the workout and it was a turkey sandwich with a cup of coffee.

I had the most amazing afternoon nap this day – my absolute favorite thing to do in the entire world. And, after the nap, I knew I had to go out for the run. This time, it was a short distance of only 4 miles.

I pushed myself very much during this run and clocked in the best 1 mile pace and best pace for a 4 mile run.

I finished 4 mile run in 40 minutes 1 second at 9’59’ pace. The first run under 10’ pace.

I was so tired and happy after this run, I cannot describe it in words!

After this run, I did recover myself with some cold water and one more sandwich. Good day, good work!

See you next week!

New Month, New Week, Same Old me and my running ritual!

Shall we?

Day 1 – Sunday, March 01, 2020
Thank God, I was not running a Half Marathon again on this day. I think, my body has been through a grinder this week and I was not ready for one more long run. But, as it goes, I couldn’t help but drive 30 minutes to my gym to put in those miles.

Remember, it doesn’t matter how much you put in when you are at the peak, but when you do one more push-ups, run one more mile, when you are down. That is where the real work gets up in and the characters are made.
I gave myself a pat on my back when I hurled my ass to the gym for this run.

Once I was at the gym, only a couple of trainers were working out and I was the next in line. I grabbed my gear, stretched a little bit and started off with my run. The most frustrating part about the run was the treadmill OR should I call it a “dreadmill”. I don’t know how many times it stopped during the run, which messed up with my timing and strategy to attack the run. I had to stop many times to reset the machine and continue with my run. Apart from this one hiccup, everything else was good for me.

I finished 7 miles in 1 hour 24 minutes 24 seconds at the pace of 12 minutes 03 seconds per mile.

My Apple Watch after the run.

Obviously after this long run, I had to recover myself and I used my now-normal technique to do that. I think this was the best part of the day. By now, I think my body is in tune with the cold water and ice, therefore, I could sat through the entire time in that cold water. I got up only after I saw every piece of ice morphing into the water. It was a good feeling and the Sunday did not feel that tired to me.

Day 2 – Monday March 02, 2020
Monday brought in the rest day for the run, but some grueling work thanks to our wonderful coach, Jeff. Damn, we put in some serious work during this workout.

I am not sure if you can read it clearly, it was a 5-minute EMOM of 6 rounds each.
My rounds were as follows.
1. 12 heels to ceiling
2. 15 Box jumps
3. 15 Wall Balls
4. Dumbbell Bear Complex
5. 2 rope lengths of Sled Pushes
6. 12 Kettlebell pullovers

It was a crushing workout, as you can see!

Day 3 – Tuesday March 03, 2020
The funny & interesting thing about this run is that the original plan was 5 miles run, but, I ended up running more than I anticipated, so that the total number of miles will be a whole number.

As soon as I hit 3 miles, I knew I could go for a bigger distance. It was a reminder to myself that my stamina has increased and can take on new challenges.

I finished the 5.4 miles run in 01 hour 04 minute 59 seconds, with an average pace of 12 minutes 01 second per mile.

Day 4 – Wednesday March 04, 2020
New Day! New Challenge! New *grilling* workout by our coach, Jeff. I think, by now, whenever I hear the word “TABATA”, I get scared real fast. This workout needed more efforts than I thought in the beginning. Just by looking at it now, gives me sweats and not in a good way!

I attempted this workout in the following way.
1. Tubing Press crossover – pulling the tubes horizontally with your back to the tube, working harder on your triceps.
2. Burpees – no explanation needed here.
3. Battle Rope – make sure you keep your upper body stiff and move only your hands, without rocking those hips
4. Row – self-explanatory
5. Plank shoulder tap – it was easier than I thought. Jeff made it harder by telling me to slow down the tapping process and bringing hands closer.
6. Squats – initially tried the “slow pace” approach, which Jeff, clearly saw and asked me to target 16 squats per 30 seconds, which I did. Ughh.
7. Triceps Extension – with a 45 Lb dumbbell, it looks easier than done.
8. Ball slams – looks easier, but when it is the last round of your TABATA, the body tries to give up. This is where I had to push myself the most. Jeff helped keeping the motivation alive till the last round.

Gosh, I just relieved this workout!

Day 5 – Thursday March 05, 2020
Talk about the weather on this day. I was very excited for this as the weather finally allowed me to run outside, which I have craved for quite some time now. Honestly, I love my CrossFit gym, but running on the same treadmill everyday gets kinda boring after a few times, therefore, it was refreshing to run outside finally!

Here’s the snap that I took that very morning.

There were many downsides to running outside though. Let me list those down here.
1. Windy – Though it was sunny and high of 60s, the constant wind made it harder to run and breath properly at some times. I underestimated how cold it was as I didn’t check the wind conditions, and hence end up regretting dressing lesser than required, which had further repercussions on my body and bones (literally).
2. cold – The windy weather made me shiver so much that I had to sit idly in my car for a good 2 minutes. I was shivering so much that I could not get my key and start the car. I remember just sitting in my car, looking at both of my hands and how red they have become. I thought of clicking the picture, but couldn’t muster the courage and strength to do it. It was post 3 minutes, I moved my hands and put the key in ignition and drove away to the nearby Costco, to treat myself with a slice of Pizza. I was desperately craving for that.
3. Improper hydration – Before starting the run, I had a KitKat bar for my sugar intake, but I think, my water intake was not right, and hence, at the end of the run, I could feel my lips to be dry and slightly hard, which is not good in any weather. So, I should take care of it during the next time/weather.

Here’s the KitKat bar that I had before the run.

And here’s my Apple Watch after the run.

And my treat for the day – a slice of Costco pizza.

It was a good day filled with many learning and adventure.

Day 6 – Friday March 06, 2020
A much needed rest day. Plus, we celebrated the birthday of one of my best friends, Monika. Here’s the cake.

Day 7 – Saturday March 07, 2020
Here comes my favorite day of the week.
The usual ritual of this day is to finish my run, complete my interval workout, and then head to my favorite brunch place!
Run – the 4-mile run was quite uneventful. I corrected my past mistake of starting my run later. This time, I made sure I start it in advance so that I would get at least 40 minutes to rest before starting the interval workout.
I finished the 4 mile run in 47 minutes 05 seconds with the pace of 11’44” per mile.

Interval Workout – The Interval workout was really fun and competitive. All credit goes to our Coach Jen. She wrote down the workout on one whiteboard, and the time we took to finish each workout on the different whiteboard. Seeing that after each round made us work harder than everyone else and we saw the real competitive spirit during this.

Brunch – After finishing both the run and the workout, it was time to feed ourselves with our favorite Saturday Brunch routine. This time, I ordered an extra side order of sausages, which I was craving for, along with my regular Western Omellette, with wheat bread, and hash browns.

I was so glad that this week was finally over. Tomorrow is bringing the new week, same grind!

What a week! This week has been very important to me, as I achieved many things both personally and health wise.

So, let’s get right into it!

Day 1 – Sunday, February 23, 2020
The first half marathon of 2020.

This was a big day for me, and all thanks to the Michigan weather. My preparation plan had 10 miles, but the weather was so good I just couldn’t resist myself going for the half marathon. And, I decided that mid-run during the 5 mile mark.

Let us go through this run in a chronological order.

Pre-run meal – I knew I was going to run a long distance and during the afternoon, so I needed to properly fuel myself. Therefore, I decided to eat a good amount of food before starting this run. It turned out to be a brilliant decision to load myself with a lot of carbs before a long run, and I will definitely repeat it before my long runs.
My pre-run meal looked like this.

It is a single slice of garlic cheddar bread with two slices of ham, one slice of cheese and two hard side up eggs and a glass of black coffee. The meal was tasty and very important for the long run.

Run – The run was really good. If you get temperature in 50s and the Sun is out during this time of the year, it is considered great weather in Michigan. I had to take advantage of it, because it gets boring after a while to keep running on the treadmill. I knew the 10 miles won’t be easy, I was so wrong. Not only I could scale that 10 miles to 13.1 miles, I did it without breaking a sweat. The only reason my T-shirt was sweaty is because of the three layers I wore to protect myself from the cold weather.
As soon as I completed 13.1 miles, I walked a good 10 minutes before reaching my car. I think those 10 minutes were really needed to destress after a long run. Once I reached my car, I stretched a little bit and then headed home.
Here’s my Apple Watch after this run.

I was so happy with the time. Before this run, I imagined finishing the Half Marathon in around 3 hours, but I was so sweetly surprised that the time was just shy of 2 hour 30 minutes, with an impressive pace for a Half Marathon.

Recovery – Damn, I needed recovery after this run. During the mile 12 of this run, I realized the amount of pressure I was putting on my legs, so it was obvious that I needed recovery. Apart from this, to see myself go through the last mile of the run, I promised myself I would go for a KitKat after the recovery.

Here’s me enjoying my recovery session.

The good thing about this recovery session was I could sit in water more than my previous recovery session. This is one of the indicators that I am making progress each day. I felt better after this “ice bath”.

And obviously, treated myself with a “King” size KitKat.

It was a day to remember!

Day 2 – Monday February 24, 2020
Monday was a rest day for the run. I did go to my CrossFit bootcamp and kicked some serious ass. Jeff, our trainer, made sure that we put in some good work and work harder.

Even though it was a 30 second ON and 30 second OFF workout, those OFF 30 seconds seemed less and we wanted more rest to prepare for the next rep.

Day 3 – Tuesday February 25, 2020
Tuesday brought in a 3-mile run, the distance I was going for after many days. This 3-mile run seemed like a warmup for a half/full marathon. This is going to be the case on April 18th, when I am registered for a combo of 5K and Half Marathon. I am so excited for it.

Talking about the run, nothing too extraordinary. I think this 3-mile run was better given that I just ran a Half Marathon on Sunday. I felt good after the run and the rest of the Tuesday went like a breeze.

I finished this 3 mile run in 35 minutes 46 seconds, the pace being 11’55”.

Day 4 – Wednesday February 26, 2020
This Wednesday brought in so much snow that only five people showed up for the bootcamp workout in the evening. To give you an idea, this is my car covered in a blanket of snow with my Starbucks cup on top of it.

We had so much snow that our trainer, Jeff, was running late, so we were helped by a different trainer, who made sure that we work just as much, and hardly gave us any rest.
All complaining aside, it was an awesome session and he helped us perfect our rowing techniques, our wall-ball squats, and push-ups.

Here’s the workout from this session.

Day 5 – Thursday February 27, 2020
The Wednesday snow continued until the midnight, so I could not make it to my gym in the morning. I had to come back from work and kill the 4-mile run.

I think I got enough rest from Wednesday’s bootcamp, and hence, could kill this run.

Here’s my Apple Watch after this run.

Whenever I see my pace below 12’ for the run, it lifts my spirit.

I finished the 4 mile run in 47 minutes 31 seconds at 11’52” pace.

Day 6 – Friday February 28, 2020
A rest after what seemed a very long week. The only exercise that I did this day was help a friend move from the third floor of his building to the second.

Day 7 – Saturday February 29, 2020
Welcome to the LEAP DAY. A day that we witness once every four years. Naturally, I did many special things this day and totally enjoyed it.

The day started with a 4 mile run. If you remember my last Saturday, the one mistake that I corrected was to start the run before 7.45 to make sure I get enough rest between my run and the interval workout.

During the 3rd mile of the run, our interval trainer, Jen, told me that we have a lot of running in the workout, so advised me not to overdo it. It was so nice of her to pay attention to details.

Here’s my Apple Watch after the run.

I finished the 4 mile run in 47 minutes 39 seconds at 11’54” pace.

The run was followed by the interval workout. We had fun during this workout. We got to work on our legs and I completely destroyed the workout.

Here’s the workout that we did.

I mistakenly put the date as February 28th. Silly me.

And, here are the times for this workout.

Your truly topped two categories – 30 Box Jump Overs and 500 meters ROW. Felt so good after this.

The interval workout was followed by a quick shower at the gym and then the usual Saturday brunch at one of my favorite places.

That’s my usual Western Omelette with wheat bread.

The rest of the day was spent with friends and eating food. I went to a restaurant after so many days. Drank tea after many days and had an Indian sweet called Gulab Jamun after months, I guess.

I will leave you with a nice looking picture of the Gulab Jamun. Please do not blame me for your cravings.

Now, before closing, here’s the weekly summary from my Running Journal.

Take care, folks!

Time flies quickly. Welcome to the week number 7. If you missed, please check week #6 here.

Skipping Saturday’s run made my Sunday’s run more difficult and longer. So, let us start with that.

Day 1 – Sunday, February 16, 2020
Oh My God! Where do I start with this? There are many things to discuss about this run. I will start off with recovery after the run as it was something I did for the first time after running a long distance.

Recovery – I was researching about the efficient ways to recover after the long run. That’s when I stumbled across this amazing article. I read through this article and found the advantages of ice bath after the long run. I was immediately sold and really wanted to try it out after this run.
Long story short, after finishing the run, I filled the bathtub with cold water and dumped a good amount of ice in it. The moment I stepped my left foot in the water, it sent a wave of cold throughout my body and I immediately took a step back. It was harder than I thought.
I remember taking a couple of breaths before taking a step in the soul cold water. This time, I managed to keep my feet in the water for a couple seconds before getting out of it. This continued for next 2-3 minutes, before I submerged the lower part of my body in this demonic water. I couldn’t last more than 10 seconds in that water and had to repeat it multiple times to take a proper ice bath.
I did not imagine that doing this simple activity would help me tremendously. It worked like a magic and the pain the I felt the last time I ran long distance, was no longer there. It was an Eureka moment for me. I learnt something new, which I am going to repeat after every long run. It works, trust me!

Here’s the picture I took during one of those step-ins in the cold water.

Jogger’s Nipple – It is also called Runner’s Nipple. I had only heard about it and seen it in the famous The Office episode (the one where Michael hits Meredith with his car). They have shown Andy suffering from Nipple Chafing while running the 5K that Michael organizes for the entire office. Instead of boring you with the details, here’s the quick recap of that incident.

Before today’s run, I had only imagined it being experienced by “other people” and not me. I was so dead wrong. There were many reasons I suffered Jogger’s Nipple after this run. I would like to summarize those as
– I ran a long distance (9 miles)
– I wore a Polyester Fabric during this run
– I took a hot water bath immediately after soaking lower body in an ice water

The moment I felt the pain, a little part of me died. It was excruciating and simply unbearable. I cursed myself for wearing that T-shirt. I told myself I would take an extreme precaution before my next long run, which is next Sunday.
I spent the later part of the day scratching the sore area and basically being uncomfortable. I have learnt my lesson.

Also, a huge shout out to this article. It helped me come up with some new techniques to possibly prevent this and if needed, do some damage control.

Run – Talking about my run, I broke a new ground today. This was the most amazing run I ever had, and part of the credit goes to the T-shirt I was wearing. I am in a dilemma now! I must come up with a way to keep wearing that T-shirt (similar cloth) and prevent post run pains such as Jogger’s Nipple.
I don’t know what was different during this run, but, I felt like I could go on for 30 minutes more, but, I didn’t to prevent any injury. I clocked in my best pace for a longer distance in the course of this run.

I finished the 9-mile run in 1 hour 45 minutes 40 seconds. I maintained an average speed of 11.44 minutes per mile.

This is a big improvement over the last run and a significant improvement of 4 minutes than the last 9-mile run I did. My Apple Watch has been my side throughout this journey.

Day 2 – Monday February 17, 2020
I was glad that I was not running on Monday, because I needed a break from Jogger’s Nipple. Yes, it was still paining. It was CrossFit day and our bootcamp workout was not that easy. I went with the heavy weights for most of the movements and barely managed to finish the workout.
Here’s how it looked like. Please note that the workout started with DBB, which stands for Death By Burpees. We did 45 burpees before starting the actual workout. Side note – Burpee is my favorite movement.

Day 3 – Tuesday February 18, 2020
This was the first time I felt skipping the run. I don’t know what was wrong that morning, but, I felt like just laying on my bed, taking a couple more hours of sleep and then go to work. But, this is the moment that tests you and your mental capabilities.

These are the kind of moments that I live for. These are the moments that either make you or break you. If I do not rise above this particular moment, then the 30-days 100 push-ups challenge, Ultramarathon prep, and CrossFit are of no use for me. And, I know I have talked about this in the announcement post, but I always keep this scene from “Brittany Runs a Marathon” at the back of my head, which motivates me to push harder and go beyond.
I am putting that scene here once again! You’re welcome!

Anyway, getting back to the run, though I did not feel like running, that was the case until I stepped at my gym. Seeing many people working out and cracking those burpees motivated me and I started my run (obviously after stretching and some water intake).

It was a good run, especially because I clocked in the best time for a 4-mile run, keeping up with my 9-mile pace.

I finished the 4-mile run in 47 minutes 07 seconds, maintaining an average pace of 11.47 minutes per mile.

Here’s my Apple Watch after this run.

Day 4 – Wednesday February 19, 2020
One more CrossFit day. My session starts at 6 PM and I could barely make it at time due to work. But, I was glad I did come and saw myself through the workout.

At first, the workout looked daunting, but wasn’t at all. I remember not looking at the clock throughout the workout and found out we were done for the day and I was not even that tired. The outstanding part of the workout was I had to do a sled pull with >100 Lb of weights and my trainer standing on top of those weights. It was surreal completing the entire pull and then breaking for the movement. I really liked my don’t give up attitude during those 30+ seconds. Yay for me!

Now, here’s the workout.

Day 5 – Thursday February 20, 2020
Time for a 4-mile Thursday morning run. I underestimated the low temperature as I could not see any snow, but, boy it was cold. I remember taking baby steps to my car to head to the gym. As soon as I got in the car, I blasted off the heater in my car and I was on my way.

I was happy seeing people working out, motivating myself to perform better. As far as the run is concerned, it was nothing new for me to finish a distance of 4 mile now. The only thing that I had in mind before starting the run was to finish it before 48 minutes and I am glad I could do that.

The 4-mile run took 47 minutes 22 seconds at the average pace of 11.50 minutes per mile.

And here’s my Apple Watch

Day 6 – Friday February 21, 2020
A rest day, finally! Seemed like forever.

Day 7 – Saturday February 22, 2020
Last day of the week! This week seemed like forever. I was so ready for Saturday and call it a week.

So, the day started with a run, followed by the interval workout, and the usual Saturday brunch at my favorite restaurant in Northville.

The run was pretty decent. From the start, I did not want to stress myself, therefore, kept a lower pace than usual and 3 miles into the run, my treadmill just stopped working, therefore, I lost a precious 10+ seconds fixing it, before resuming it to the normal speed. I think this was part of the reason, I took more than usual to finish the 4-mile run. I am not complaining though! It was a good run. The only thing could have gone better was starting the run sooner. I got up later than planned, and ended up finishing the run at 8.40 AM, giving myself only 20 minutes before starting the interval workout at my CrossFit gym. I will talk more about it, but first take a look at my Apple Watch after the 4-mile run.

I finished this 4-mile run in 48 minutes 06 seconds with 12.01 minutes/mile pace. I am not worried because of this.

Now, talking about the interval workout, the reason I mentioned I got only 20 minutes between the run and the workout is that 20 minutes into the workout, I started feeling a little dizzy and I had to take a good 5-minutes break to wear off that feeling. My trainer, Jen, recommended drinking more water, which certainly helped. I think because of this, I could not workout to my full potential, but, I think, it happens sometimes and you just have to live with it.

I could not take the picture of the workout, but, it went something like this.

10 minute Assault Bike – team of 3
10 minute AMRAP – individual
– 3 dumbbell crushers
– 6 dumbbell squats
– 9 dumbbell biceps curl
– 12 dumbbell over head walking lunges
10 minute row – team of 3

It was the first minute of the dumbbell crushers when I felt some dizziness, so I had to take a step back, rest, and attack the workout again!

My favorite part of the day and the week came after finishing this interval workout. We went to our usual place for Saturday brunch and this time I ordered an additional side dish of sausages. I was craving for those for a long time. Here’s the picture.

This is it for this week.

If you are interested, here’s the highlight of the week in a single picture.