Bravery - Alexey Pappas.

 

Picked this book after listening to Alexi Pappas at the RichRoll podcast (episode 653.Which BTW is a good one for those looking to work on their dream or just excel in their endeavours)

❇️❇️ A summary of the book ❇️❇️
📚 Alexi is an Olympian, poet, filmmaker and the author of a best selling memoir.Above all,her biggest accomplishment is handling the trauma of losing her mother at and early age.Diagnosing and overcoming depression which popped up later in her life to achieve her dreams!
📚 Its a deeply personal account of her life.In the early chapters , she shares the gory details about her mother's condition and how losing her at an early age impacts her at every stage of her life.
📚
❇️❇️ Reading experience ❇️❇️
I will try to categories this book into 3 broad categories.
▪️ Coping / accepting bad situations: Loved the way Alexey had brought to words the loss of her mother and things she missed growing up.The topic about her mom it's impact on her keeps coming at several places in the book.But what I liked is how she she controlled her life outcomes better than her mother.
▪️ Identifying and overcoming depression: A good insight on how depression may feel like and tools , mindset that helped here to get out of the phase.
▪️ Chasing your dream/managing disappointments:As a runner with lot of 'dreams' and also setbacks,this section resonated.The ideas and the tools aren't new and most self help books might say the same thing.But I liked how she had expressed it.

❇️❇️Verdict ❇️❇️:
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ - I recommend this book for people with high ambitions, but stuck without progress due to an injury, or a life event or any kind of setback.
Alexy calls us forget the past and be brave (and kind) to believe in ourselves and work towards making our dream a reality.

NMDC Hyderabad Marathon 2022

"Satisfaction and happiness in life don't come from sitting around and doing nothing.It comes from working really,really hard at something and actually accomplishing it from time to time.That is where happiness is found.In that struggle "-Tommy Rivs (ultra runner).

That's closest to how I felt today at the finish line of the NMDC Hyderabad Marathon 2022 .A happy ending to months of hard work!

With KVB .Who paced me to the sub4.

Partners in crime. So many long runs with these2. Lets do it more!!

With unrelenting rolling elevations and a total elevation gain of 311m (for context ,the Boston Marathon's elevation profile is 316m! https://www.strava.com/segments/965206) Hyderabad Marathon is rightly described by some as one of the toughest city marathons of India.My debut FM on this route , still one of the most memorable runs of my life, had one unchecked box . It was not a sub4. So when I registered for the 2022 edition, my secret stretch goal was to achieve a sub4 on this route.

Sharing my preparation and execution as a memory for my future reference !!

▪️▪️Training block▪️▪️

Although I started training soon after my 60k at the Ooty Ultra.The serious training started from the June. Thanks to buddies Veera, Kishore, Jay and Madhan. They were great company and helped sustaining the training blocks without breaks.

With my training partners Veera, Kishore, Jay and Hanimi . Dry Run (20miler)

Hill runs with Veera were one of our favourite routes.

With Madhan and Jay at the last long run before race day.

Memorable training runs: There were many long runs that were quite memorable for the efforts /experiences /struggles. Notable are my 20miler 'simulation' run on Hyderabad marathon route , 35km run on DRY run day, HM race on rolling hills.

After a HM at race pace n rolling hills..

  

'tired legs' after 35K !! 

▪️▪️Learnings▪️▪️ 

*  Things were going smoothly when I got myself into 2 injuries, one in June and again around the first week of July.
* Thankfully got some timely help from my physiotherapist Shruti Desai (Panacea PhysioYoga, Hyderabad) which resolved the issues by mid July. 
* I realised that I am not doing adequate warmups / activation and cool downs in spite of increasing mileage. This led to some muscles working well, while some didnt , leading to overuse injuries .

* Activation and pre-run warm ups : For the last 6 weeks of training, I took the pre-run warmup and activation seriously.They helped me sustain the mileage.It's one of my biggest learnings from this training and I hope to continue this routine going forward.

* Proper sleep (min 7,preferable 8)  : This is another items that many would ignore but becomes important as the days and miles accumulate.What I have found is that a min 7 hour sleep is very important and its OK to sacrifice an early morning run/workout to prioritize sleep. 

* Pre and Post run nutrition : I think my pre and post run nutrition this time went well. Hope to continue the same strategy. 

* On run nutrition : This is still evolving.My energy levels after the 28K mark were not adequate this time and I had to take an additional gel from KVB as an emergency measure. I should find a solution for my energy drop beyond 28K.Perhaps more gels! Something to try in coming races.

Training inspirations: 

Long gap from speed runs and workouts had their impact , and I was finding it difficult to sustain the pace,especially with the rolling hills. So it was natural that the motivation levels were flagging down . 

During these low times, my biggest motivations were Sowjanya , Litty, Jyoti from TRYSquad who were training for their  FMs.Their dedication inspired me a lot.

Debut FM and HM runners . My inspiration for the training block.

Decent mileage . Thanks to Siva's training plans:

Inspite of hiccups, I managed to clock a decent mileage towards the last 2 months .Guess it helped with the outcome. 

Glad with the elevation gain and mileage 

And the training did showup where it mattered . I completed the race without cramps.

And I had my strongest sprint finish this time !! 

Race performance across 4 FM races. Happy with the strong finish.

* Curveballs and Self doubts*

Got an unexpected sore throat on the Sunday before race day,and by Tuesday, I found it hard to go for any runs.I was pretty disappointed with this turn of events. Fortunately an aggressive mix of steam inhalation + turmeric team + lozenges and natural vitamin C rich food helped mitigate the efforts and I was feeling much better by Saturday. Called up Siva who was available that day for good advise. As always, the coach did not load me his expectations on me.(Dont worry. All are in the same boat. Start easy and stick to the pacer no matter how you feel , upto 32K was his advise) I thank him for that !!   

Expo day:

TRYFamily at EXPO day.

With Friends from Chennai.

▪️▪️ Race Day Execution ▪️▪️

My plan for the day was to stick with sub4 pacer KVB Anna for as long as I can hold on to him. KVB's plan was even spits at the flat portions, slow down at the uphills and some pickups at the downhills.

Gear :

Ofcourse I always wear the same gear .This race was no exception. The Hyderabad Ultra Runners T-Shirt gifted by my buddy Suren and the Russel Sports shorts has been my go to option for hard runs as they do not cause chaffing.

▪️0-9K ▪️ The first (and only section) that is completely flat.In this section, we run around the HussainSagar lake. I tagged with the 4:00 hour bus and we hit a consistent 5:30 pace here.

The 4:00 pack at the initial kms.

▪️10-13K ▪️: Rolling elevations on the Punjagutta flyover. We were just getting started with the ordeal. We kept our momentum picked up from the initial flats.

▪️14-17K ▪️: The toughest climb of the race. But it also comes very early. Its one of the sections where I erred during the 2019 FM attempt. KVB had planned a constant 6:00 pace and I am very happy to have stuck to the pace here. I reached the highest point of this segment without much drift to HR !

▪️17-27K▪️ A comparatively easier section .Downhills from KBR gliding us all the way upto IKEA and biodiversity . We crossed the 21K mark at sub2 and had a reasonable buffer in seconds for the coming elevations.I paced myself a bit at the IKEA downhills!!

At DurgamCheruvu bridge. Around 21K

▪️27-29K▪️- The last flyover of the race.I usually find the Gachibowli flyover easy to manage but today I was starting to feel the initial sensations of fatigue. KVB sensed my struggle and kept motivating me to cross this section.

▪️29-37K▪️ - I took advantage of the Microsoft downhills and paced a bit . But the next few kms until the Gowlidoddi junction felt tough.I was starting to feel my energy levels drop. I realized that today is not going to be an easy finish. I tried to keep my mental state positive, even though I was starting to feel the fatigue set in and my cadence starting to drop.

▪️37-40K▪️ -- The toughest part of the race for me. The mind was starting to play the games.I have used up my gels and the stomach was bloated with dates and seem to have exhausted all the tools with me.This section was a true test of my will power on whether I had to 'really do a sub4'.
Luckily , KVB and Hari were around and it was heartening to see my inspirations Amit Kshirsagar , Shubham , Vijay, Preetham in this section.

500m from finish line. 

▪️40-42K▪️ - It was the home stretch.My form had gone for a toss long ago. I was starting to take long strides and my core was no longer stable. Some slight crampy sensations surfaced everywhere.

The sight of some of my runner friends Sudhakar Silveru , Bharat, Lipi and well wishers helped me keep moving forward. I was stil taking run + walk breaks.

A strong finish :
As I entered the stadium, I could see that I still had 2 mins and 500m to cover. The energy inside the stadium made me sprint to the finish line with the time of 3:58:20. Yes, I made it. I hit sub4 FM today !!

video courtesy: Prashanth I

▪️Nutrition▪️:

▪️Pre-race ▪️ : Bread + Jam + 2 bananas 1.5 hours prior
▪️On - race ▪️: Dates + rock salt every 5 K, 2 Unived gels (10K,17K,27K,32K) , 1 fast&up gel (with caffeine 34K).
▪️Post race▪️ : Breakfast at the stadium.

Gratitude :

Thanks to all from Hyderabad Runners who were part of the organizing commitee.It was a flawless execution . Excellent pre/on/post run experience, topped it with beautiful pictures along the route. You have set a high bar for all city marathons to follow! Kudos to you all.

Sincere thanks to KVB Reddy anna and Hari Prasad .Especially KVB. Whose calm composure and easy pacing style helped me immensely 😊. He is the 100% reason for today's outcome 🙏🙇‍♀️

My partners Veera, Kishore, Jay, Madhan .They are always by my side, accepting whatever crazy timing that I propose for the runs and the locations.

 
FM debut runners from TRYFamily , specially Sowjanya ,Jyothi and Litty, whose dedication both for the training sessions and the training sessions were a huge motivation for me to get off bed regardless of time, weather or distance of the route.

To Shruti, physiotherphist from Panacea, for always being available and helping me recover from my injury on time.

To Deepali, whose excellent yoga sessions have helped my body to recover from hard runs week after week and become ready for the next week.
Ramesh and Navya of TRY. Elite athletes from Hyderabad who spend their mornings training us with  the best running drills ! 

 
And last but not least, my coach , 'The Running Yogi' Siva .Who has always been by my side during think and thin , my highs and lows . Along with the physical training, your counsel at many times has helped me stay in the right mental space on race day. Thank you Siva for the tips and constant support .Cannot ask for a better coach 🙏!!

Home

 You can never leave home . You take it with you no matter where 

you go.Home is between your teech, under your fingernails, in 

the hair follicles, in your smile, in  the ride of your hips, in the 

passage of your breasts 

        Maya Angelou.

The River.

It is said that before entering 
the sea a river trembles with 
Fear.

She looks back at the path 

she has traveled , from the 

peaks of the mountains, the 

long winding road,crossing

forests and villages.

And in front of her, she sees 

an ocean so vast, that to 

enter there seems nothing

more than to disappear 

forever.

But there is no other way.the 

River can not go back.

Nobody can go back.To go 

back is impossible in 

existence.

The river needs to take the 

risk of entering the ocean,

because only then will fear

disappea, becuase that's 

where the river will know

it's not about  disappearing

into the ocean, but of 

becoming the ocean. 

   - Khalil Gibran.

Jaishan's gift to Athai and Mama.

 Happy Anniversary Akka and Athan.Jaishan made this painting as a gift for the 20th Anniversary celebrations for Akka and Athan. 

Happy Birthday Daddy

 Happy Birthday Daddy .  May Lord Almighty shower his choicest blessings on you and Mummy for a very happy and healthy life ahead.

We celebrated Daddys birthday with wishes from kids !! Here are some videos and pictures.

Metrics to track during base building

 The 2021 running events are now officially over. This article by Matt Fritzgerald couldnt have come at a better time.

https://www.trainingpeaks.com/blog/fitness-tracking-build-phase/ 

Has some good information. Please check it out .

fueling for your ultra marathon

A very good presentation . Lot of good information.

Lockdown art by Jaishan

I am NO JEDI !!

Nice picture that is . Young padawan !!

                                       Believe it !! 

                                                                        Warli Art.

My books 2021

########### A summary of Books that I read in 2021 ########

This year turned out to be a  year of non-fiction with 100% non-fic.But I am not complaining.

These books helped me expand my knowledge on a lot of topics.

A short summary on each of these books:

 The Doctor and the Saint  + The Annihilation of caste: This book was my introduction to Dr.Ambedkar and his ideas.I learnt a lot about the man and the causes he fought for. Some may find the speech challenging.It questions beliefs that many have grown to accept. Beliefs that are sacred and beyond scrutiny.I would say, read it with an open mind without preconceived notions.If this is your first book on Ambedkar, then I suggest picking the annotated edition as it has good coverage on the history of Dalit movements/struggles in India (pre and post independance).

 A Mind at Play: A beautiful bio of Claude Shannon, a mathematician and the father of information theory. Apart from his life and work , the book has some great sections describing our  leap from analog to digital communication and the fundamentals of information theory.With this book, I was able to appreciate the ideas much better now than at college.

 Today we die a little: The biography of Emil Zatopek, the only human to have won 3 running at the same Olympics (5000m, 10,000m and the FM) !! His training volume and efforts were legendary .He is also credited to have invented 'intervals training' workout. A good one time read,especially if you love running.

 Preparing for Death : I picked this book during the peak of the second COVID wave.The title may sound scary but the book was a real treat ! It talks about the last days / moments of great humans over the ages ( the Buddha, the Mahatma, Ramana maharshi and so on).the book is filled with excerpts from various spiritual texts.

The world of Buddy : Dr.Susanta Misra was my first lead at the office. He has been a mentor  and a role model to me ever since.He loved his pet dog Buddy a lot.So much so that he published a memoir of the dog after it passed away.The book is written from the PoV of the dog.It is full of heartwarming anecdotes and happenings in his life.  It Is beautiful  and it is a treat for any dog lover.

Why we sleep: Brilliant in the initial parts. But became redundant and boring towards the end. My longer review on this book is here - https://www.instagram.com/p/CW_VX1shHVC/ 

Breath : Another read during peak COVID. You can find my review here -https://www.instagram.com/p/CR3NIuwlGCm/

Field guide to Ultra running: I read this as preparation for my Malnad Ultra. A good reference for anyone planning their first ultra run.Review - https://www.instagram.com/p/CQS2uzGF7ti/

Greenlights : Read my review on this book here - https://www.instagram.com/p/CPYAHaol1k5/

Fuel your body Naturally: A book on nutrition for runners by Sunil Menon. I loved this book for compressing so much info into so few pages.A ready reckoner for anyone looking for simple but effective food choices to fuel your next endurance event. Longer review - https://www.instagram.com/p/COb-V8nFQo9/ 

The Body : Anything by Bill Bryson is a treat to read. This one was no different. Read my longer review here -https://www.instagram.com/p/COHchW3lB5X/

Issac Newton : Yet another biography book for the year. Review here -https://www.instagram.com/p/CMTbHCbFGbs/

 The Difficulty of Being Good : A good refresher on the Mahabharatha. I loved the exploration of characters and the primary (moral) flaw of the key characters.Must read if you love India's epic.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CUIEOYJqwlo/

 Indica : A deep natural history of the Indian Subcontinent : This book made me fall in love with geography and geology. Beautiful illustrations /coverage on an offbeat subject.Highly recommend the hard copy version of the book. Full review here: https://www.instagram.com/p/CNSrcehl0aq/