Category: December 26 Marathon Training

The older I get, the more I realise that running is not about proving what I could do yesterday. It’s about discovering what I can do today. This week, I ran the CME Soldierathon Half Marathon in 1:48:55. But this wasn’t a race for me. It was a dipstick test. A way to measure where I stand… Continue reading Week 18/20: The Dipstick

After a few weeks of rebuilding speed, this week was about something runners find surprisingly difficult: not running fast. The knee has been behaving, the pace has been improving, and naturally, the brain wants to celebrate by doing something stupid. Fortunately, the legs and Garmin negotiated a ceasefire. The Week That Was 41.9 km | 5h… Continue reading Week 17/20: The Art of Doing Less

Some weeks are about mileage. Some are about speed. And some are simply about collecting evidence that the body has stopped plotting against you. This was one of those weeks. After the knee drama of the previous few weeks, the objective remains simple: build fitness without giving the knee a reason to remember its revolutionary past.… Continue reading Week 16/20: 12K of Evidence

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