Running in late 20s

Last Friday I turned 31. And it is time to think about the resolutions. Last year in early December I posted my resolutions here and I am quite pleased that I achieved them all. This year I will try to be more precise in my goals. So if I miss any of these by the end of November 2014, Please feel free to question me. - Running a couple of ultras and get enough qualifying points for UTMB 2015.  In case you are not familiar with UTMB, Ultra Trail Mont-Blanc is one of the greatest mountain ultras in the world. It's a race every ultra runner would like to run.  To run this race you require qualifying points which you can earn by running a number of ultras. For the main race you need 7 points and for shorter distances (Short is quite relative here as a couple of short races are over 100km!) you need 2 points. I've already got 2 points by finishing the K78 last July. I am planning to run another couple of ultras to get all the qualifying points for 2015. The first one is Iznik

Istanbul marathon done in an embarrassing time of 4:16:58. I will post the full details in a few days. Not every marathon goes as well as you expect. There were important lessons to be learned from this marathon. Stay tuned

I am now tapering for my fifth marathon. As I said before  mental preparation is an essential part of training for a marathon. I was planning to set a PR in Istanbul, but given that I've missed quite a few training sessions and was not able to run properly for a few weeks, a PR now sounds far too optimistic. I know Istanbul is going to be a tough one but that doesn't stop me from trying my best. It might hurt a lot, but I will embrace the pain and go on. I might not be in the best shape but I am ready for the challenge.

Last year, a couple of weeks after my 30th birthday, I wrote down my running resolutions and for the first time ever I published it  here . Now it's time to set new goals but before that, I have to review my last year's resolutions to see where I am standing now. Theses are what I was expecting myself to do until 22nd November 2013: Running my first Ultra.  I did finish  Swissalpine K78 . Running my first ultra was indeed a great experience. For sure I am going to run more ultras. Running at least three marathons. Dubai Marathon (Dec 2012), Paris Marathon (March 2013) and Istanbul Marathon (Due on 17th November). So if everything goes all right in Istanbul, this one is also done. Losing more weight.   Done! I am 5-6 kg lighter than last year. Strength workout, plyometrics, stretching and swimming more often.  Pretty much done. Although I still skip stretching most of the time and leave swimming for when I am recovering from an injury! Adding Speedwork and hill

It's been a stressful month. Since 5 weeks ago, I've been pretty much away from running due to air pollution and a few health problems. Of which some can be serious. I am not talking about those issues here -at least for now- but I'd assure you I am not making excuses. There is no point in doing so. Since I started running, my definition of many concepts in life has changed. When you leave your comfort zone, pain is no longer something to be scared of but a sign that you're on the right track. What sounded impossible is now something achievable, something to make you motivated. Running means a lot to me. It has simply changed my life. When I started running, I was overweight, absolutely out of shape and a heavy drinker (Although I wouldn't agree with this back then). And now after more than three years of running, I cannot imagine myself not running. Running has taken me to a lot of places I would never go if I wasn't a runner. I experienced life in a whole