Riding a Bicycle on Hot Lava & Five things You "Must-Not" do to be a Good Runner !

Alright ! I'm back - ten days on and I've kept my attempts at running alive. Although, I must admit, I almost went dead on my second day of the Couch to 5K eight week challenge that I've set myself on. 

Yes, you read that right - the C25K as its famously / infamously known in the running world. 

So here are a few of the things I've been up to : 

1: I've earned a batch for exercising all 7 days a week - 😉

2: Attempted not one, but two five kilometre runs and completed them in 43-45 odd minutes 

3: Felt nice about reconnecting with my old running motivators on Strava 

4: Got back to the Nike Training and the Nike Run Apps - which means I have a more structured warm up and cool down routine

5: I have cleaned up all of my distracting subscriptions on YouTube - which encourages me to focus my screen time only on watching Running Videos - which, I am totally loving, at this point in time ! 

As important it is to know what is a 'must-do', it should be equally critical to know what is a 'must-not-do': 

1: Not Staying Hydrated : 

Never step out without the right intake of water - I almost dehydrated myself on my last run by skipping that glass of water before I headed out.

2: Skipping your Warm Ups & Cool Downs :

Lack of time should not be used as an excuse to skip your warm ups - go back to your childhood and reckon the days you've played a sport. Your coach never allowed you to touch that ball / racquet / hockey stick without ensuring your muscles were all warmed up. 

Even if you've never played a sport, remember to warm up using the below sequence, starting from your head down to your toes : 

1: rotations 

2: jumping (well head to toe sequence doesn't obviously apply in the case of jumping) 

3: stretching 

and for a cool down, slow down for the last five minutes and end with the same stretching routine.

3: An Under-Fuelled Body :

Yoga is probably the only form of exercise that can be done on an empty stomach. All other sport / exercise requires you to eat a healthy snack before you begin to burn those calories. 

4: Using only your Nose to Breath In :

Yes, in my last post I remember recommending breathing in through the nose for 3 strides and breathing out through the mouth for 4 strides. That worked, since I was probably just getting started and wasn't in it for the distance. But two 5Ks in the kitty and now I cannot emphasise enough on the importance of using your nose and your mouth to both breathe in and out. It keeps you going longer since you take in more oxygen to your blood cells this way !

5: Bad Form :

Sitting for long hours with a hunched back or being a stomach sleeper resembling the pose of a Spider-Man climb or dragging your feet while running - bad posture has disastrous consequences on our skeletal system.

I haven't really started to take my running so seriously, so as to give importance to form or technique - but my timings and the level of exertion I've felt on running two 5Ks are indicators enough that I should ! 

So while four of these five things are easier to do, the one I will be focussed on over the coming weeks, is my Running Form. My feet touching the ground for a fraction of a second and quickly off the ground - ensuring my Achilles Tendons are powering my runs ! 

And must I mention that I will Run like I'm riding a Bicycle on Hot Lava - Ouch, Ouch, Ouch !! 😊

Ouch ! That Hurt's !

It began how it begins every year - Year 2021 ! With renewed hope of keeping fit, I spent a week trying to get my body accustomed to walking long distances.. five, six, seven, even eight kilometres. 

There is something about Monday's - after the morning blues are gone, I finally make up my mind to try n run this evening. And wow, Do I feel awesome ? "Hell yea!"

What went right that day is what I will replicate on my following attempts I decide. 

So here it is - whatever went right & more of what went wrong : 

1: I made peace with my circumstances : 

Yes, this is a running tip. Anything you will attempt out of your comfort zone, has everything to do with your Mind first and your body later. So you may have demanding pets / children / ageing parents n in laws needing attention, maids that don't keep commitments, unannounced guests, incomplete errands, abandoned chores, a hard day at work, subordinates that under-deliver or bosses that over-commit, you're thinking about finished groceries or that course you had to tick off a week ago, which you remember not starting at all, laundry, dishes, prepping meals, several notifications crying for your attention, basically all hell breaking loose - but the truth is - life has always been like this - irrespective of your age, gender, relationship / employment / financial status - chaos is synonymous with everyone's life in one degree or the other. And hence, rather than trying to dot every i and cross every t, you must just make peace with your circumstances and get things and people around you, used to your short-lived absence ! 

2: Warm Up : 

While a lot of You tubers will claim - "30 minutes a day is all it takes" - that is not the truth ! It takes me a while to train my mind n body to get into that "zone". Then there's the dressing n lacing up for the run - a transformation from your Work-From-Home clothes. And now-a-days you will most likely come back to fetch your mask - if you are a mask hater like me ! Then you will want to take at least 10 minutes to warm up and another 10 to cool down, if you intend to run injury free. That is 50 minutes of your 24 hours gone right there.. ! However, if you really are a sucker for your time and other commitments - you do a ten minute run - just as good. In the age of capsule wardrobes, why can't there be capsule runs !  ;)

3: Breathe : 

To breathe is to live - literally ! Its taken me umpteen injuries and bad runs to learn to attach importance to the right breathing pattern. For this Monday evening what worked was breath in for 3 strides and breathe out for 4 strides - an odd-even breathing pattern. So let's say you took your breath in on the right foot strike and then after you breathed out for four strikes you end up taking in your breath on the left foot strike - ensuring both sides of your body get enough oxygen in the cells. Result - no injuries due to incorrect breathing. 

That's all that I got right on my Monday evening run. 

On Tuesday, I avoided these mistakes : 

1: Replaced my earphone with ear pods : 

Running with a phone in your hand and the cord hanging from the earphones makes one feel like you're running with too much circuitry in a wireless world ! 

However, even my ear pods fell off while I attempted my run today. (Lol !! :) ) And no, its not the B&O earpods at fault - it's just how my ears are. I've struggled for years trying to find something that fits well ! :) So if you're like me who refuses to move an inch without music, then it's worthwhile to invest in the right alternatives. 

2: Went without my jacket & with my waist pouch : 

You can get warmed up pretty soon and even the weight of a light jacket can prove to be a drag, especially when you're just starting. So you may be better off leaving it behind, unless you're running in the north pole ! 

Anything in your hand is a distraction. Your phone is best carried in a waist pouch. Better still, don't carry your phone at all. But again, if you want to carry your music along and don't really have a GPS enabled watch, you are left with little or no choice but to invest in a waist belt. 

Tuesday's run should have been better - or so, I thought ! It turned out worse - cause I committed new mistakes ! :)

1: When starting anew running everyday isn't going to work : 

While my knees don't hurt at all, it was my calf's and hamstrings that refused to let loose today. 

2: Of course the absence of music was a big let down : 

Elite marathoners never run with any music on - but its years to go before I get there ! For now Music is Motivation ! or to be precise - "Shape of You" is motivation ! ;) 

So this is how my first two days of a new running season have panned out. 

And hopefully, I'll keep learning, un-learning, re-learning along the way until I join the club of "Elite Runners" - for 

"If Your Dreams don't scare You - they aren't Big Enough!" 

Sweet Dreaming...! :)

We were, we are and we always will be "The SuperAwesome Family !! "

Dear SuperAwesome's, 

As I sit down to pen this, the smell of the soil from the raindrops that God surprisingly blessed us with last night, makes me want to relive an entire monsoon with all of You - like a child, all over again. :)  

While there is no rewind button to our existence, I'm glad we all had a chance to create new memories for time immemorial ! 

The five days spent together cannot possibly be captured in a twenty minute movie and neither can our experiences as a family, but the journey of those five days has been reflective of how all of our lives have panned out so far...

On our way, we've soaked it all in..!! 

Those long winding roads, at times gave us a sight of the deep dark valleys - never making us forget, how we were trapped into those at one point in time. 

Somewhere along the road, we got a  glimpse of the treacherous mountains - always reminding us of how vehemently we've bounced back, standing tall with all our might and pride today. 

We stood by to witness the waves, banging against those rocky stones on the beach, the noise they made, the splashes of salty water they left - bringing back flashes of some of our biggest disagreements - but eventually, even they retreated to unite with the ocean ! 

Sometimes the water currents were so strong, as though trying hard, to remind us of how we all needed to get back into motion to save ourselves from sinking in grief. 

The other times when we swam with the waves, brought back joys of the times we've showed confidence in traversing unknown territories and banishing our own fears..!! 

With every experience we've had over this vacation, there has been a parallel to the time we've both - failed and triumphed in our lives, together as one family !  

Fortunately, we are all the descendants of a legacy richest in its values and beliefs - the elder generation has served to be the best "Cheerleaders" one could ever ask for, while we battled it out on life's playground. 

It is not so much for the money, or the fame, or the power and neither the perceived notion of success that we have strived for. These, I'm glad each of us have, in one magnitude or the other, achieved as a by-product while we were focussed on looking out for each other.  

Our Family propels me to live for those moments when I turn back and I know for sure -  "I will see You All" with clapping hands and smiling faces, cheering me on... into the next day, the next chapter, the next challenge - reassuring me of a better tomorrow with all of your heart ! 

You may not hold my fingers any longer, but I do feel Your humble touch every step of my way ! 

And I'm glad our next generations will enjoy this very feeling - the feeling called "Family". A place where I belong, You belong, We All belong and the ones to be welcome Will belong... ! 

A place where "We feel at Home" will never be built with four walls - it will go on to become our abode only when, we will continue to have each others company - for Now and Forever ! 

" Each one for Everyone - Stay SuperAwesome ! " 

P.S : Here is the short film compiled by Abhi -  

Click on this link - best watched on the laptop or the TV screen - bigger the screen, more the fun. 

Scripted & contributed to by All of Us, where we ALL are the stars, the Celebrities of our own lives ! Time to sit back, relax and prepare for the next Block Buster Hit of the Year 2021 ! 

Cheers to MySuperAwesome Family ! :)