Monday, June 6, 2011

2 Hour Run - Done with Groups

My weight seems to have increased last week so I was not going to miss my long run for anything. I have been having a cold and a cough so I wasn't feeling too great when I woke up. I woke up at about 6:20 because I planned to join the so-called Nike running group at Galerria Mall at 7:00am sharp.
I was tired of running on the tarmac and was eager to discover softer routes with a group even though I was concerned that 7:00am was a tad late.

At any rate, after parking I found a group of guys engaged in stretching and warm up. There were two kids aged about 5 or six years and I wondered if they could handle the distance I had in mind. Anyways, we started warming up and I was observing my buddies shapes and I could see that these were very heavy guys whose bodies are not accustomed to intensive exercise and I wondered...Plus, we were doing all these on the tarmac and I came here because I wanted nothing to do with the tarmac...

After running about a little some guys joined us and I heard some guys saying those were Hash Harriers. They joined us and we started warming up. After about 7 minutes, another group joined us. The guy who is in the best shape introduced himself and said he wanted us to get warmed up for about 20 minutes then we would work on our abs, calves etc.

20 whole minutes?!!! I screamed inside. I looked at the guys around me and two of the heavyset types were sweating profusely. Then it dawned on me!
I was with the wrong group. These were fitness enthusiasts, not runners. Where was the Nike running group? I looked around desperately.

Okay, I decided. 20 minutes already wasted. I won't waste a minute more. I have 25K to cover.
So I just told the nearest guy that I will be back and I ran off. I didnt care to find out. Even if they are the Nike or Puma running group, anyone who wants to waste my 30 mins on warming up cant work with me.

I decided to run to Karen shopping center and come back. So off I went. But after about 20 minutes I was feeling weak and my legs were heavy. Fine, I wasn't feeling so well but was it this bad? I struggled on. I resolved that since I had money in my pocket, if I got overwhelmed I would take a mat. So I soldiered on, past Hillcrest, past Karen Hospital and thats when I realized there is quite a distance between Galleria and Karen shopping center, and a bend and some inclines to cover before reaching Karen shopping center. But I wasnt so strong. Do I make a U turn after 45mins?
I wasnt going to return a half assed 1:30mins run on a Sunday morning so I soldiered on and I reached Karen Shopping Center after 45mins. I decided to go right past it to the other world. And I passed some small hills and school kids and Defense Academy until I reached some lane called Mudodo lane at 1:00:42 and I turned round.
My energy rose and fell intermittently on my way back till I reached Galleria after 2 hours then I stretched and did the other strengthening exercises.

I made a few decisions:
No more group runs for me. I will run alone. I may join groups for races, but not for exercises. I know my goals, I know my problems, I know my times, my schedule, my priorities, I know my desires, I know my weaknesses and I know my strengths and I know what to do. I dont need a group so thats the end of my dalliance with groups. We will meet at the races.

I will do slow hill runs on Sundays on a dirt pavement (for 2 hours) and do 2 hour long runs every fortnight.
This way, I will get everything I need until I am faster.

Lets see what this week brings. I did an easy 50 mins recovery run today. Here is Clay Guida after defeating Pettis in UFC 131.


Cheers guys,

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