10K race in Kuwait on November 6th.

A friend on Facebook alerted me of this 10K race organized by FSRI (Fawzia Sultan Rehabilitation Institute). on November 6 2010.

From the looks of it, it appears to be a fun race for charity with a registration fee of KD 5/-.

According to their wesbite, the race day schedule is as follows:

7:30am: Registration at the grounds of the Scientific Center in Salmiya.
8:30am: Warm-up lead by various trainers from the Fawzia Sultan Rehabilitation Institute and Al Corniche Club
9:00am: 10K Run/Walk will start on the Gulf Road outside the Scientific Center, will continue to the Al Corniche Club and loop back to the Scientific Center.

Childrens activities will be provided for the duration of the race on the grounds of the Scientific Center by Fit4Fun.
Runners will not be individually timed but there will be 5 pacemakers running the race at various speeds. Runners will be able to follow them for timing.

Since it is on a Saturday morning (which is my normal day for long distance running), I am looking forward to join this group of runners to make this a successful event and bring more awareness to their cause.

Source: RunQ8 Website.

Meet The Healthiest Member in our Family.

Erika trying skating.

I would like to think that I am the healthiest member in our family - considering all the running and regular workouts that I do - combined with a balanced diet that I follow religiously.

But I have to grudgingly hand over the "Healthiest Member" crown to my 6-year old daughter Erika.

Does this mean that Erika eats only healthy food? Far from it. She enjoys eating Chicken Nuggets and French Fries from McDonalds and she drinks thick milk-shakes.

What about exercises?  Well, she doesn't run any Marathon distances.

So what keeps her healthy? I've been noting down all the things that Erika does, trying to understand what keeps her healthy and I thought I'll list them down so that we can try to incorporate some of her better habits in our day-to-day life.

1. She Sleeps...a Lot. Sleep is the most important thing for Erika. Once she goes to sleep, it is impossible to wake her up until she completes the full sleep cycle. This ensures that her body is well rested and she is full of energy when she gets up.

2. She eats variety of foods. Erika loves to eat different foods. She may love to eat McNuggets, but she eats strawberries and cucumbers with equal relish. This experimentation with different foods automatically results in a sort of a balanced diet plan for her.

3. She is always on her feet. It's very rare to see Erika sitting in one place. Even when she is watching TV, she is usually walking around or dancing or singing along with the characters. This means she is constantly burning calories - and staying fit.

4. She was born healthy. Ok, this is really an unfair advantage that she has over most of us and something we have no control over. When she was born, the first call that I got from my wife was to inform me that Erika just popped out without any trouble - and the very first thing she did was grab her and start sucking away. She came from the hospital the very next day and only visits the hospitals on very rare occasions. When she gets sick, we avoid taking her to the clinic unless it is necessary - because she can usually fight off most diseases on her own.

That's about it. Except for the last part, the key elements of staying healthy remain the same.

- Take plenty of rest.
- Eat variety of foods
- And workout regularly.

There really are no shortcuts in life. You want to stay healthy, you need to work for it.

Our job as parents is to ensure that Erika continues on this path and stays healthy as she grows from a young girl to a teenager (oh man, I am dreading that period), and then to a healthy adult.

After that, she is on her own!.

My First Marathon Run.

My first Marathon Run. What an amazing experience!.

I achieved something today that I was very sure was beyond my capabilities. I ran a full Marathon distance (42.2 kilometers) and I did it without stopping or changing my pace and I completed it in less than 4 hours (considered to be very good).

The thought of running such a brutal distance came to my mind about 2 days back. Due to some problem or the other, I was not able to do any running for 4 days. This meant that my legs were fresh. Since I normally run a half-marathon distance every Saturday (21.1 Km), I thought this would be a good opportunity to push myself from the normal routine and see how far I could go. Could I go for 3 hours? (around 30 kilometers) or could I continue running the full Marathon distance?

I have never run for more than 2 hours straight (which is the time it takes me to complete a half-marathon). So a full Marathon would theoretically take me somewhere in the range of 4 hours. To prepare myself, I did a couple of things:

1. Informed my family that I plan to run for very long so that they would not get worried.
2. Carried a 1-liter bottle of Gatorade (I calculated that this will last me for 4 hours).
3. Paid attention to my previous posts and ensured that I was properly dressed.
4. Ensured that I had a good night sleep.
5. Ate a breakfast full of carbs and protein (cornflakes mixed with low-fat milk) to fuel  the run and drank plenty of water before hitting the gym.
6. Weighed myself on the weighing machine at the gym (I wanted to see how much weight I would lose by running continuously for 4 hours).

I normally run the half-marathon at 11 kph so I decided to set the pace a bit slower at 10.5 kph. This pace is normally slow for me - but it is still enough to complete the Marathon distance in under 4 hours.

I completed the first 2 hours as expected and I was relatively tired. Everything after this was unknown territory for me - even the music. At one point, a fast tempo number which goes something like "I got a blue pill...Viagra..I am going to pump you UP and DOWN, UP and DOWN" started blasting from my playlist. I continued running.

At the 3:00 hour mark (about 31Km), I was very tired. I have heard of many runners hitting "The Wall" - which is another way of saying that you hit a mental block and can go no further. I did not hit such a wall - but my legs were definitely getting heavy.

It is at this stage that I realized that my Gatorade bottle was almost empty and there was no way that I could continue running for another 1 hour unless I replenish the drink. Luckily for me, one of the gym waiters was passing by and he got me a fresh (and refreshingly cold) bottle of Gatorade so I decided to continue running.

At the 3:30 hour mark, my legs were feeling like pieces of wood. I knew that if I stopped now, I won't be able to continue running. I was hoping nobody calls me on the phone because if I stop to answer the phone, my run would be essentially over. Again, luckily for me, nobody called me.

At the 3:45 mark, my legs were turning from wood to lead and each step was proving to be more and more difficult, but I continued at the same pace. The end seemed so near.

The playlist was getting pretty weird by this time. I suddenly got one of the gospel songs called "Victory to our King" and the lyrics go something like "Oh glory unto you...This battle cry we sing...That victory belongs to him...Victory to our king". Normally, I would have quickly hit the "Next" button since it's very difficult to run to gospel songs, but something about the lyrics struck a chord and I got goosebumps all over my body as the lyrics seemed very fitting at this stage. I think the song is what actually rejuvenated me to complete the remaining 15 minutes.

I finally completed the distance in 3 hours 56 minutes and 46 seconds (more than 3 minutes ahead of my goal). I was exhausted and could hardly walk, but I knew that I had to stretch and cool-down to avoid any injuries.

Finally, I checked my weight on the same weighing machine. I had dropped 3.5 Kilos of weight!!. I understand that most of the weight-loss is water loss but keep in mind that I was drinking continuously during the run (I finished 1.6 liters of Gatorade), so there was definitely a significant loss of body fat (and perhaps some muscle loss too).

When I uploaded my run to the Nike website, I was immediately directed to a video by Marathoner Paula Radcliffe, congratulating me on being the 0.1% of the world population that has completed a Marathon distance. You can watch the video by clicking on this link.

I am tired..but happy of this achievement.

Hot or Cold Bath for Post-Workout Recovery?

Jacuzzi

The gym that I go to has a nice jacuzzi room. After a hard workout, I used to go in the jacuzzi and relax for 5-10 minutes - enjoying the hot jets of water massaging and soothing my sore muscles. I would feel pretty refreshed after I came out of the jacuzzi.

I would have probably continued doing this as a post-workout recovery method. But luckily, while researching on post-workout recovery, I discovered that I was not doing my body any favors by jumping into a hot-water jacuzzi.

Here's why it's not a good idea.

After a long run or any tough workout, your joints and muscles are inflamed. If you put heat on them, the blood flow to those areas will increase, which can make them even more inflamed. In addition, you may already be slightly dehydrated post-run, and the heat from the hot tub may dehydrate you even more. - Source.

Your body is basically in overdrive after a hard work-out. What you need to do is shut it down - similar to how you shut off the engine of your car after a long drive. The best way to do this is to have an ice bath which will shut off (or at least slow down) your metabolism and allow your body to recover. 

Since our gym doesn't have ice baths, I guess I will have to go for the next best thing. A cold shower.

But what about that lovely jacuzzi? Perhaps on my non-workout days.

How often should you weigh yourself?

Regular checking of your weight is very important.

Keeping track of your weight is very important for a healthy life-style as it acts as a warning indicator in case you  suddenly start gaining weight (or losing weight for that matter). All you need to do this is a cheap bathroom scale that you find in any super-market.

But how often should you weigh yourself? My recommendation would be to weigh yourself at least once a week (If you can do it daily, then that would be ideal).

By weighing yourself frequently, you will notice if the weight is going up and you can then determine the root cause of the weight-gain - and hopefully, take corrective action to reverse the process.

Keep in mind that your body weight fluctuates during the day by at least 1 to 2 kilos so it is very important that you weigh yourself at similar times. For example, if you noted your weight immediately after getting up, make sure that the next time you compare your weight, you do it at the same time.

Keeping track of your weight itself is of not much use - unless you have a target goal in mind.  Calculate your target weight by using a BMI calculator, and then plan your course of action (exercise, diet or both) to achieve your ideal weight. Keep track of your progress by noting the weight on a notebook. Analyze your progress and adjust your diet/workout accordingly.

  

Anatomy of a half-marathon.

My half-marathon run on 2nd Oct. 2010.

Few months back, I started doing half-marathon runs (21.09 km) once a week. I usually reserve this run for Saturday morning (which is a non-working day) and I make sure that I don't do any workouts on Friday to ensure that my legs are well rested in preparation for the run.

The half-marathon run is a very interesting run. It is very challenging and requires lots of physical and mental preparation to complete the grueling distance. But at the same time, it is not as energy sapping as the full-marathon. 

When I initially started running the half-marathon distance in March 2010, I would be totally drained of all energy and would need at least 2 days to recover. When I compare that to todays run, I realize just how far I have progressed in my running. After I finished the run today, I did 5 minute stretching and relaxed in the jacuzzi for 15 minutes to unwind, and I was back to my normal self. It is amazing just how much our body (and mind) is capable of doing. We are very good at under-estimating our capabilities, and usually need a good kick in the butt to make us realize our potential.

There are no short-cuts in fitness. Your fitness level is directly proportionate to the amount of effort you put in your daily workouts and your nutrition. If you are not willing to work for your fitness, you will be unfit and suffer from health-related problems. On the other hand, if you work extremely hard, you can be sure of extreme success in fitness. For most people, the balance should be somewhere in the middle.

Coping with Injuries.

Illustration purpose only. I don't walk
around half-naked like this.

Once we start working out (especially heavy resistance workouts), injuries are expected. We try out best to minimize the injuries with:

1. Proper warm-up and cool-down.
2. Proper form.
3. Gradual increase in weights or intensity.

Even when we do all of the above, injuries will still happen. This is because we all have our breaking point - and by increasing the weights or intensity, we are essentially testing our body "breaking point". At one point or the other, you will find the breaking point. Result is Injury.

My resistance workouts (especially the upper body workouts) have come to a complete standstill for the past 2 weeks after I suffered a minor elbow injury. The injury may be minor, but it essentially prevents me from lifting any weights.

Fitness theory suggests that I should work "around" my injury - giving my elbow enough time to recover, while focusing on other parts of the body (legs, abdomen etc.).

That is exactly what I have been doing so far. I've focused more on running (I run almost every day now for an average of around 60 kilometers per week). I also do some ab-workouts. This should help me to reduce some more body fat (hopefully without any muscle-loss).

Once the elbow heals, I will have to start the whole process of slowly training my upper body once again and then increasing the weights till I reach my breaking point.

And the cycle will continue.