Day 35

Wednesday practice, not running for last 2 days and hectic weekend showed. Was really tired. I was hoping that I could do the tempo runs for 20 min today, but even the first 2 strides were hard!! I think to make some serious progress, need to take lot of rest over the weekend, and also eat properly, not at random times. I hate that the practice just seems to take away all weekends. From next time its going to be hills, that will be some fun, but I am really looking forward to improving my uphill run, its what I am weakest at.

Day 34

Did not run on monday, was too tired from the hectic weekend. So ran today before the weights class, it was quite hard, could not run at all, so finally walked on that new treadmill, hopefully practiced uphill run/walk.

Day 33 Week 12

Ran 10 miles today, woo hoo!!
Went to the lake early, around 7:00, ran around the lake once, 1/2 inside and 1/2 outside. Was back by 7:38, must have taken 33-35 min to run 3 miles. After that there was 10 min break as I talked to other people etc. Then started on a 7 mile course with Rishi, somehow I was full of confidence that I can do it. The first half was quite easy, 2 miles near the lake, the same flat course, after that another mile or so was mostly downhill, so that was easy. The next 2 miles were flat, but in sun, and that is where most of my energy was drained, if I was alone, that would have been the point to stop, but thanks to Rishi I kept going. We got some unintentional breaks stopping for signal, figuring out the route and that was great help. The good thing about this route was that Ravenna came suddenly and we joined it pretty close to the lake, so the last 1/2 mile of so I was just running thinking that we are almost there.

Day 32

Friday run was getting too tiring, so I decided to run today after weights class. It was easier and harder, strength class was a warm up, and also tiring. Still managed to run 20 min @ 5.5, approx 2 miles. Every minute I was telling myself, you can do it, 2 miles is nothing, and then tomorrow you won't have to run :) A surprising improvement, I think I am going to stick to Thursday evening run and free up friday mornings for Yoga relaxation.

Day 31

Wednesday trainings are becoming easier, running to the fields does not kill me anymore and I can run more than 4-5 rounds on the track. Doing strides and tempo runs now and dreading the hills. Running strides reminds me so much of the time back in school during PT exam, when we were suppose to run some 400m and get points on our speed, I would run with all my strength and pray to God, please don't let me be the slowest person, and amazingly though I was probably one of the fatest in class, someone always managed to take few seconds more than me :) Not much has changed, except that I don't pray anymore and we don't get points on speed but on distance.

St Helens once again

If you ask me for a movie I can watch again and again, I will say DDLJ, and if you ask me for a place I can go again and again, I will say St Helens. Not because its the most beautiful place I have seen, but because I *can* go here again and again :). So this weekend, Srijan, Sree, myself and Subo headed to St Helens once again. This time I suggested Windy Ridge again, because I found it a lot more amazing view than the super crowded Johnson's observatory. Its here that you can go really close to the crater, look right into the spot from where the lava came out, and into the lake where it went, and you can do that that without bumping into 100 people. And it did turn out to be a very nice visit, windy ridge was windy as usual and it was nice sitting in open after a long week. Sometimes I wonder, for us city dwellers, the fresh air is so rare, while growing up, I just too it for granted. 5 years back if you had asked me what I would give to feel fresh, unpolluted wind on my face, I would have said are u crazy, but today, I am ready to drive for hours to get to a place where you can feel that wind, feel the freedom, feel so close to nature, feel away from all the worries that we have surrounded ourselves with.

Day 30

Not a good day for running. Went to the gym thinking that I will run hill, or faster, but was totally tired from the hectic weekend. Ran for like 5 min and then walked on the new machine for 10 min, that was enough exercise for the day!

Day 29 Week 11

Today was suppose to be big running day, I had planned to run around the lake once and then do the Burke Gilman trail. Got late in reaching greenlake, so did not get a chance to run around the full lake, just did a 1.5 mile run, after that the Burke Gilman trail, it was much better than before, and I think I could have pushed myself more, I was exhausted by the end, but not totally, I could have ran some more. Will shoot for 10 miles next time.

Day 28

Did not run, but walked on that new machine for 15 or something min, before the yoga class.

The Lost World - do i have to tell!!

Fianlly managed to get my hands on this book and read it. The book is good, interesting, still did not meet my high expectations, maybe I have read just too many. There are some loop holes in it like an Ihindi movie, but like a hindi movie, its totall interesting and worth the read. Since its such a famous book, there is no point telling what its about, only, its worth a read, so if you are looking for older literature, go ahead, read it up!

Day 27

This week is turning out to be pretty good, ran today also before the weights class on treadmill
15 min - 5.0 mph, 2.0 - 3.0 elevation.
Treadmill is a good place to get over the dreadful hills :)

Day 26

Today started out as one of the not so good days, I was totally tired by the time we reached the tracks. But then I did some strides, tired again, felt like that's it. Then ran another 11 minutes, tempo run and then ran back. By the end it was one of the normal days, getting better, need to keep it up :)

Day 25

Ran for about 40 min near Kirkland waterfront with Aparajita. Its a nice area to run, with lake on one side and mostly flat because of the lake. We ran about 2.8 miles and I was not too tired, talk about building stamina! The only problem on a weekday is too many cars.

Week 10

Did not run today, slept very late because of Indian Ocean concert Friday night. Instead went on a 7 mile rt hike. Hike was easy, but some exercise.

Soy milk

I finally tried Soy milk today after a lot of contemplations, and guess what, it was actually good!!
It has a slight flavour to it, which is much better than the tasteless milk that you get in US. Its of course a good source of protein and much more filling than milk. Need to check if it has enough calcium as that is one of the biggest reason to have milk. I am on my way to a semi-vegan lifestyle :)

Day 24

Today we did time trials on the track. I ran 1 mile in 11:30 minutes, kind of slow, it would be nice to increase the speed to at least 10:00, else I would just be the last person running on tracks. Ran 6 rounds without dying, so that was good.

Finally seemsed to be settled

Finally seems to be settled in the new place, arranged my closet on Sunday, opened some boxes, was nice use of time.

Day 23

Ran on Kirkland waterfront again with Marilyse. Its good to find a running partner, keeps me motivated and pushes me to run when I was to just call it quits like today :)

Day 22 Week 9

Ran another 6 miles today, it was easier than last time I ran the bruke-gilman trail. Next time need to try 8 miles.

Day 21

Great week!!
Went running at Kirkland waterfront again with Marilyse from office. Its was a enjoyable run, we also went down to a beach park. Getting ready for long run tomorrow.

Day 20

Decided to run Kirkland waterfront with Aparajita, she could not make, so I ran by myself. This is a better area to run, lesser hills. Ran mostly on weavy way, a small street away from traffic and lined with lake facing million dollar homes :)
20+ min at slow pace.

Day 19

Ran near the new place, its all uphill downhill, killing trail to run on. Managed to run like 20 min, after that was very frustrated by the lack of flat grounds. I think I will need to go back to treadmill, this area is hopless for running more than a mile.