CYCLE FOR A RUN - ZÜRICH RUN 2015

Team of runners from Asha for Education - Zurich Marathon 2015

Another year, another run and this time at Zürich marathon, I was part of a team relay and my individual part was running a stretch of 11.4 km. Together with three other team members, we completed the marathon. This is first of its kind for me and I thoroughly enjoyed this after having ran single runs till date. This run, the first of this year (and many more in the pipeline for this year) is also unique in many ways - firstly, I ran more than 11 km at an event after nine years and to prepare for this event, I experimented with a different training regime. I opted to cycle instead of running leading up to the event.

TRAINING LESS WINTER

I must admit, ever since I completed the Winter Run in Zürich last December, my training, leading up to the second week of March was negligible. Winter, being a touch harsh and no indoor gyming (didn't renew my membership), I went through a period of three months with little running. However, I did walk, and those were quite a few miles along with my wife leading up to her delivery. I had few issues with my throat during the month of January, and I chose to go easy on my body till the time our baby was born. Easy, in my definition was - no outdoor trainings while the temperature touched below zero, during snowfall and when it was windy. Walking was the best option!

ZÜRICH RUN 2015

I signed up for the run with Asha Foundation, Zürich and I was grouped in a team where I would have to run 11.4 km at the Zürich marathon. This was a challenge as I normally prefer shorter distances over in excess of 10 km. On the other hand, the whole run was for a cause - a fundraiser for THE betterment of education in India for under-privileged children.

With less than a month to go and by this time, our 5-day infant was back home and my wife recovering, I was slightly worried about my lack of preparation. I don't like running more than 5 km at a time - but I know on a given day, I can finish long distances. That's not the point; to me, after any run (be it any distance), I must be able to continue with my life without any difficulties. And preparation helps you immensely in going about your life normally post race. I had to be prepared! and I was not sure if I wanted 'running' to be the integral part of my training.

BUILDING UP THE MOMENTUM

It was in that indecisive moment of choosing how to train, I stumbled upon an idea. In fact, it was just a fortnight ago, while I randomly picked up the cycle and went for a ride, I came with the plan. The spring weather, with cool breeze, light for most hours during the day and the temptation to cycle more led to an experiment which I wanted to explore personally. Cycling as a training method for running.

I have previously completed a half-marathon with very basic preparation - but those times were different. I somehow cannot imagine me doing such distances as I have grown out of it. This 11.4 km was not my personal choice, however wanting to run ruled over the distance factor. Yes, let's face it - I do not want to run 10 km every second day or more than 5 km each day, but I wanted to complete this 11.4 km and at the end of it, the need to feel normal (as I had a four-hour meeting on a hill after the event) was paramount. The goal of preparation was not to feel exhausted and spent at the end of 11.4 km. And more importantly, at times during the race, an unprepared body gives up.

I decided to cycle hard and cycle alone as a part of training. I started with 14.3 km and then 22.6 km the next day. Subsequently, 18.2 km, 21.3 km, 24.2 km and 26.6 km. I came to the conclusion - if I were to cycle close to 90 mins and cover more than 20 km (keeping in mind the Swiss altitude), I feel I would have trained enough for the race.

THE RACE DAY

I was feeling good after a good night's rest (which was a premium considering one has to be alert to baby's call, anytime). The first runner completed 9.1 km and then it was my turn to run a further 11.4 km. I ran, picked up my pace slowly with each kilometre. I took about 75 minutes to complete this distance. This was not lightening quick, however the goal was to complete the distance and at a decent time. I felt good throughout the run and never once felt the need to give up. I came back home, freshened up, ate four parathas and off I went to Felsenegg for a meeting.

Since the beginning of 2014, I had decided not to run more than 5 km (ok, 6 km at times)  and this one came as a mini-challenge. With each challenge comes an opportunity to do things differently and that's precisely what I did when I chose not to include running in my training regime.

Next up, is the Bern run (in three weeks time) and I am taking it easy with a 5 km run.

On my way to completing the second part of the team run

YOUR CONTRIBUTIONS WILL MAKE A DIFFERENCE TO SOMEONE'S LIFE

Asha for Education, Zürich have raised close to 23,000 CHF through Zürich marathon 2015. We have two weeks for the final fundraising and we are short by 2000 CHF of our target. Request you to contribute any amount of your comfort by clicking here in my profile - http://www.asha-zurich.ch/marathon/p_runner.php?id=RAT

MY FIRST WINTER RUN - SILVESTERLAUF ZÜRICH

Impressions from the 38th Silvesterlauf, Zürich 

The 38th edition of the annual Silvesterlauf (Silvester run) came to an end last Sunday in Zürich. Among the 21,643 runners who registered for the event, I too was one of them. This was my first run in conditions which were below 5 degrees. Unlike my other runs in the past few years, this was different weather wise while in running terms, I did not feel a strain since preparing well in advance helped me getting used to running in such conditions.

Well, in all fairness I have ran at the races without preparation (including a half-marathon) and as a result I have also suffered from those body aches, niggles and other small bodily discomforts. I didn't want any of this and moreover I wanted this run to be like a normal run, a feeling of routine from my daily life. This was my goal and I am happy I was able to achieve this small milestone.

THE CHALLENGE

For a long duration in my life I have spent winters that hovered around 15-20 degrees. Yes, it is a paradise by the looks of it and hence my breathing and tolerance to cold weather and sub-zero climates had to be adaptive. One of the best methods to adapt to colder conditions is to face them, train in them and giving the body an incremental challenge to get used to the surroundings. Last year, I could not manage to take part in the 'Silvesterlauf' and this year, I was determined to take part if I were to be in Zürich.

TRAINING  

Kept it simple - just made it a point to spend time outside with relatively less warm clothes by jogging, and running. This time the weather leading up to the race helped me train better. There were many days late in the evening where temperatures were below 10°C consistently and on few days it hovered around 5°C and less. I spent anywhere between 15 minutes to 40 minutes training depending on the time and I managed to complete the full-distance at least twice a week, if not more. This gave me the confidence early on - that I could finish the distance without grasping for breath and in relatively quick time!

I prefer variety over mundane training and this included the route I chose each day. I measured a lot of distances within my town and the neighbouring two towns and came up with a lot of options. For a given distance, I had close to 5-6 route variations to choose from and this helped me a lot! Maybe, it is me and something to do with personal preference and my curiosity to explore more 'routes' within the distance I wanted to achieve.

THE RACE DAY

The race day was a Sunday and I treated it  just like 'any given Sunday'. Like I mentioned in my earlier posts, to me short-distance running is an extension of my lifestyle and not something I have to spend a lot of time. My race was scheduled at 18:35 and the weather conditions were not too bad or that was how I felt, minutes before the start. The beauty of Zürich Silvesterlauf is - that you get to run around the busiest parts of the city which on any other day or time is impossible. And once on the run, it was auto-pilot in action and I ran at my own pace without bothering what was happening around me, while soaking up the carnival atmosphere and managed to complete the race well within my target.

NOW  WHAT

A day's rest and the usual routine starts. Though there are no runs scheduled till the Spring time, I will use this time to get used to training in sub-zero temperatures and explore more on adapting to colder conditions.