16*16 challenge

Its been long I updated my blog. In this 2 months I had done an event for my trainees as I trained them for a 10k step up and I did my 16*16 challenge.

It was a journey in the last 16 days. I had never planned such an endurance run or I was even prepared. I had read about our fellow runners from Dream Runners taking up the challenge. I read about their day to day running and thought of supporting them.

I started with them from Day 11. I travelled everyday 50kms up and down getting up at 3.45 am. It was a wonderful experience running with an elite group. Day 1 was tough for me as I have not been running 10k+ for a long time because of my knee injury.

Everyday was a memory running with different people in different pace some times together sometimes all alone. When 3 of my fellow runners completed their 16*16 something in my mind and heart motivated me to take the challenge. I was pretty sure I need to run all alone for the nest 11 days and will get support from my running group Annanagar Dreamers and other running groups in Chennai.

From day 6 to 16 my journey started. I started running in soft surface more considering my knee injury and focusing on completing my run. I had my tag "sports is life" in my mind on each day and I started to take each day one by one. I was determined to complete the challenge and the toughest part was the mental strength.

My running group supported me a lot and Dream Runners group cheered me on each day with support run every day. All I leant in this 16 days is mind over matter. A strong mind can conquer your tasks no matter how riskier or tough it is. I faced a lot f challenges in this 16 days and I had good people around to support me.

The things I learnt during these 16 days ...mental strength matters , relaxed and calm mind, run according to your pace and never over do, think about the challenges you faced and facing all through your life and the learnings of life..these thoughts will inspire you and take you forward.

M running statistics of 16*16

Day 1 - 1.51
Day 2 - 1.45
Day 3 - 1.38
Day 4 - 1.40
Day 5 - 1.30
Day 6 - 1.30
Day 7 - 1.30
Day 8 - 1.35
Day 9 - 1.45
Day 10 - 1.35
Day 11 - 1.37
Day 12 - 1.27
Day 13 - 1.23
Day 14 - 1.21
Day 15 - 1.32
Day 16 - 1.30

Sports is Life
 

Its a been a week now of low and high intensity training and a thought came to my mind to write about injuries and the recovery process.

I had seen sports from all quarters as an athlete, coach, parent and mentor. The frequently asked questions or concerns among beginners who have started running is what happens if i am injured or am I over doing. My straight forward answer is you tend to get injured in any sports and the only way to avoid injuries is to train in an organized way.

Injuries are part of sport and when you are injured and getting recovered you realize the reason for the injury and at the same time cherish the moments you had trained.Coming back strong from injury requires a lot of patience and not overdoing when we recover.

In my own example after completing 5 half marathons in a span of 6 months with a personal best timing in the last 3 events I had a ligament tear in my knee. Its been 4 months i have not been running on hard surfaces. The injury was a concern but in the 4 months period i had an opportunity to train a group of runners for 10k and some of the runners did their first half marathon. The time with the team gave me immense satisfaction that i had trained a new set of runners.

I am back to my running now and i have created a 4  months plan for my half marathon. I am going through the process of change and I believe a steady recovery process will take your running further.

So be strong and cherish the moments of your training and achievements when you are going down. The moments will take you further. 

This off season is the best period for high intensity training and endurance build up for the competition season. Being a non competitive season the focus should be to set short term targets and training plans.


I had set a 10k step up plan for our running group Annanagar Dreamers for a period on 8 weeks. This training is focused on speed and endurance training. 3 times a week running on 3 different parameters. The training is progressing in a steady pace and there are 16 participants taking the training program.

The program is named "10k IMPROVERS"

https://gearjunkie.com/meb-keflezighi-marathon-champion-training-tips-in-40s

Grilled Chicken Effect:

Somewhere in 2007 I was 107kgs in spite of being in weekend sports activities. But one fine day I decided to lose the extra baggage and started working on it and set a target for 3 months.

6 days a week training focusing on weight reduction and an organized diet plan. Weekly training focussed on cardio, stretching and strength training. 3 days of cardio and 3 days of minimum weight training was the plan. Over a period of time I started realizing the more the time we spend on cardio the fat starts burning rapidly. I started with 15 mins of treadmill and 15 mins of cross training and gradually increased in a months’ time increased to 30 mins of treadmill and cross training.

By this time I had increased my endurance level and at the start of the third month I was comfortably doing 45 mins in tread mill at 10.5 pace and 35 mins of cross training and would on an average lose 1000 to 1200 calories per day. From 107 I came down to 94 kgs in 3 months’ time in an organized way.
I
thought about grilled chicken and the way the fat gets burned during the process and more the time it goes into heat we get the best output. I promoted this concept to few of my friends and it worked. Try and see the grilled chicken concept and it will work for sure.

Sportsislife

Sports is Life

A small intro about me and my life for sports. Sports has been an integral part of me since childhood and has continued in my journey in all my good and bad moments. All these years there has never been a time that I thought I will quit playing sports or regret I had chosen it as my partner in life.
Sports taught me to face challenges, introduced to me different communities and made me lead a simple and desirable life. My passion for sports made me complete my master in sports in Switzerland which gave me a broader understanding of sports.

In continuation to sports and training I will talk more about long distance running, preparation for 10k , half & full marathon, sports physiology, psychology and sports nutrition.

Do follow my page and start posting your comments and suggestions for me to take my journey forward

Some of my sports & running credentials
Master of Sports Administration (AISTS, Switzerland)
FA certified level 1 football coach
10 k: 49.9
21k: 1.52