Running in late 20s

Despite the lack of training, I headed to Dubai last Wednesday to run the Dubai Marathon. First task was collecting the race number from the race official hotel which was quite posh. It was well organized and collecting all the stuff took only a few minutes. I was expecting to see many runners there but there were no expo to look at the latest running products and socialize with other runners. Collecting race number, JW Marriot Hotel The couple of days before the race spent chilling out, hanging around with my family and of course carb-loading! On race day it was not easy to get to the start line as metro was not working untill 2pm! And almost everyone had to take a taxi or drive there. The taxi drop-off point was quite far from the start line but I had more than enough time to get there in time. It was quite chilly with a fairly intense fog which remained for a couple of hours. The course route recorded by my gps watch Marathon started at 0700 hrs. And probably beca

While I was looking for Dubai marathon official photos, I found that marathon-photos  still holds some photos of me back in 2009. As I lost all my digital data in mid 2010 I didn't have any copy of these photos I got the hold of them.These are taken in June 2009 during Northern Rock Cyclone. There were three different routes to chose from (31, 62 and 100 miles). I did cycle the 62-mile route and that was my first experience in endurance sports. Back then I used to ride my bike everyday for transport and getting fit.  On weekends I would cycle from Newcastle to Tynemouth and come back. I got to know John - one of my cyclist friends who has cycled across country and beyond a couple of times - and had a couple of training sessions with him. The longest distance I had ever gone on a bike before this event was around 30 miles. So tacking 62 miles sounded like a big challenge at the time. The start and finish line of the all races was in Kingston Park S

I am going to write about it in details. But for now just wanted to let you know I've run the Dubai marathon in 4:05. Have a great day everyone.

Packing for Dubai now. Dubai marathon starts in less than three days. And that is going to be the first race of 2013. Although I haven't trained as much as I had to do I am going to give it my best this Friday. I know I am not in the best shape now but I am quite prepared for the challenge. I am ready for the torture. Stay turned!

Running a marathon is all about commitment, dedication, passion and good spirits. No matter how hard you train for a marathon you could always have train harder.  The whole journey of training for a marathon can be as enjoyable as the marathon itself. I am not only talking about the great feeling you get after a workout but also about sacrifices and kicks up the arse. Marathon can be a real torture, especially if you are not completely prepared for that.  Pain is an essential part of this game. So if you feel all right during and after a marathon, you  probably haven't done your best. Mental preparation for the marathon is at least as important as physical training. When you are not completely ready for the event, you can still go for it. But you shouldn't expect it to be easy. You should be prepared to embrace the pain. Endurance is the ability to stay outside your comfort zone.  The moment you cross the finish line all the pains fade away. And they come back a few ho

Following my previous post  you will find this film inspiring.  Dariusz Strychalski's journey to Badwater ultramarathon. THE WINNER / ZWYCIĘZCA from SensiMedia on Vimeo . Short documentary about polish man overcoming his own weaknesses in Death Valley in USA during one of the hardest ultramarathons in the world. The race is 135 miles long and has to be completed in 48 hours. Hilly surfaces and temperatures over 115F make it all the more difficult, however the the crucial fact is that Darek has partially paralyzed body and eyesight disorders. Despite of his impairments Darek takes part in Badwater Ultramarathon together with other healthy people. What led Darek start in the ultramarathon, what kind of experiences he had and did he complete the 217 km race through the desert you will find out while watching "The Winner". http://www.facebook.com/filmthewinner http://www.sensifilms.com http://www.sensimedia.pl -----------------------------------------------------

Training for a marathon -or any other distances- requires planning. So you sit down, evaluate your current situation and ability, set a goal and write down a training plan to achieve that goal.In an ideal situation you keep up with that plan and never miss a single training session. But how about if you missed many of those sessions? We all have numerous reasons and excuses for missing those workouts, but at the end it doesn't matter so much. The goal is getting ready for your big run. As you might have known until now I haven't been able to keep with my training very well. I missed days and weeks of training and now I am quite close to the race. What I'd rather do in this kind of situation is not going back to my training and do the exercises I had to do three or four weeks ago, but jumping to this date on my plan and alter it to meet my needs. Yesterday I went for a long run after a few weeks followed by a fairly intense plyometric workout. And I am going for another lo

Just watched Running on the sun: The Badwater 135. And such a great documentary it is. I just cannot recommend it enough. Badwater Ultramarathon is considered one of the toughest races in the world. 135 miles across Death Valley in mid July with temperature as high as 50 degree Celsius. I first read about it in Ultramarathon Man where Dean Karnazes writes about his experience. Then I got to know a few others who finished it including Scott Jurek and Reza Baluchi an Iranian ultra runner. So if you are in need of inspiration, get the hold of this film.

Here are some photos of Tehran. Photos on the left are taken on 17th and 21st Dec 2012 and the ones on the right shows the situation this morning. How could you run in this kind of situation? Or would you? Have a marathon planned in three weeks and all I can do is training indoors. I had a long run planned for this morning but I didn't go out as I could barely breath. When you are running or doing another endurance sports, obviously your body needs more oxygen for your muscles.You breath harder and that inserts more toxin into your system. This is about the only time that exercise can bring more harm than benefit.