Category: December 26 Marathon Training

Last week was “Back in the Game?” There was a question mark. This week, I think we can remove it. Not because I suddenly became fast. And certainly not because my knee and I have signed a long-term peace treaty. We have simply moved from rehab negotiations to regular employment. The knee has reported for work. For… Continue reading Week 15/20: Back to Work

The question mark is important. Two weeks ago, the knee revolted. Last week was a cautious test drive. This week, for the first time in about 15 days, running started feeling like running again. Which is precisely when a runner becomes dangerous. One good run and the brain immediately announces: “Recovery complete. Resume stupidity.” Fortunately, the… Continue reading Week 14/20: Back in the Game?

Last week the knee revolted. Pain. Medicines. Rest. Physiotherapy. A couple of walks. So Week 13 wasn’t about recovering lost kilometres or restarting the training plan. It was simply about staying positive and getting back in the game. Most of the week was deliberately boring: Zone 1, Zone 2, run-walk, repeat. Tuesday and Wednesday were particularly gentle,… Continue reading Week 13/20: Getting Back in the Game 🏃‍♂️ Again.

Week 11 ended with optimism. Threshold was back, the long run finished at marathon pace, and the chassis appeared to be behaving. Then the right knee revolted. Most of the week became: Pain. Medicines. Rest. Physiotherapy. Repeat. No threshold. No Zone 2. No long run. After several weeks of rebuilding, the knee clearly wanted a different… Continue reading Week 12/20: The Knee Revolts Again

Sometimes the smartest training session is the one you don’t try to win. Last week I finally accepted that my knee does not care about my race calendar. I withdrew from the Delhi Half Marathon. Trying to rebuild enough fitness to chase my original goal in October would mean compressing training exactly when the knee was… Continue reading Week 11/20: The Reset Button 🏃‍♂️🔄

Week 10/20 — Ahmedabad Marathon Training Every September, the world discovers that the phone in its pocket has suddenly become prehistoric. A new iPhone arrives. Better camera. Better processor. Better battery. Better something-that-I-didn’t-know-was-bad-until-Apple-told-me. And somewhere in Pune, I was conducting my own product launch. i Pron-ate-IN Bro. No titanium. No 48-megapixel camera. Just one 51-year-old… Continue reading Week 10/20: i Pron-ate- IN 🤳 🏃Bro!

Last week, the chassis came back from the workshop. This week, I finally got to take it out on the highway. Not racing. Not flooring the accelerator. Just checking whether all the nuts and bolts stayed where the physiotherapist had left them. After two weeks of protecting the right knee, Week 9 was about getting back… Continue reading Week 9/20: Back on the Highway

Last week the chassis went to the workshop. The engine was fine. It wanted to run. Unfortunately, the right knee had other ideas. So Week 7 became physiotherapy, exercises and run-walks. I stopped asking, “What pace should I run?” and started asking, “Knee kaisa hai?” Week 8 was about getting the chassis back from the workshop. Not racing… Continue reading Week 8/20: Chassis at the Workshop

Marathon training plans look wonderfully linear on Excel. Week 1. Week 2. Week 3. Mileage goes up. Long runs get longer. Marathon-pace blocks get faster. Eventually you arrive in Ahmedabad and run 42.195 km exactly according to plan. The human body apparently doesn’t use Excel. After the knee problem in Week 6, Week 7 was… Continue reading Week 7/20: Two steps forward, One back

This was supposed to be another build week towards Ahmedabad. Instead, it became a useful reminder that marathon plans are written in Excel, Garmin and Runalyze — but the body retains veto power. The week finished at 49.1 km of running , plus one strength/other session. On paper, considerably lighter than planned. In reality, there was… Continue reading Week 6/20: When the Knee Gets a Vote