Sustainable running

I attended an interesting talk last Saturday. Mr. U.G. Murthy, my running coach, told us about Sustainable Running. 

Sustainable Running isn't exactly what it sounds like. These days, the word sustainable often has environmental connotations. Sustainable running is something else altogether. It has more to do with being a runner for an extended period of time with no negative side-effects. Although a concrete definition for sustainable running probably doesn't exist, it isn't difficult to jot down a couple points outlining your own understanding of the term.

As a fledgling runner who is 27 years old and aspires to continue running for the rest of his life, here are a few things which I think constitute sustainable running:

1. Having the physical ability to run long distances at age 65 (for argument's sake; it could be higher than that).

2. Having the enthusiasm to run long distances at the same age as above and in the intervening period.

3. Improving as a runner throughout said period. This improvement need not exclusively be in terms of speed or distance.

I don't mention injury free running among my points. I think it's impossible NOT to have a few injuries along the way. However, it is not impossible to minimise these injuries.

So, having established what sustainable running means to you, how do you practice it?

Mr. Murthy's presentation highlighted some points that should seem obvious, but often get obscured for various reasons. They included keeping expectations realisitic, training according to level of fitness with slow and steady increment, and consistency. It's easy to overlook these pointers, especially when you're a beginner and full of enthusiasm.

For example, I recently started using Instagram and started following several running accounts. A lot of the runners on these accounts have finished sub 4- hour marathons on their very first attempt. The phrase 'qualifying for Boston" is thrown around with alarming frequency. Ultramarathons happen around the world in exotic locations. All put together, beginners such as myself might be led to believe that distance running is easier than it looks.

This is where having a coach, as opposed to a mass-produced online training plan, is really helpful. While there are certainly those who might be able to achieve excellent marathon timings on their first attempt, others without such talents could injure themselves quite seriously if they pick up plans that are too intense.

So what am I going to do to make my running sustainable?

1. Try and keep the injuries away for as long as possible. I will do this by running a relatively small amount each week, gradually raising the bar as I improve. I'm at the ~40 km/week mark at the moment.

2. Include core, leg, and general strength training in my running training.

3. Have a lot of fun while running! For example, one of my motivations in lugging myself out on Sunday mornings for a long run is the delicious Koshy's breakfast of appam and stew.

Welcome to Running on the Rocks!

I'm a geologist living in Bangalore, India. This blog is an attempt to document my journey as a runner.

Like most, I discovered my passion for running after a couple of years lounging around in a comfy office chair. That wasn’t to say that I had never run before: the boarding school I attended insisted that all students who were lousy at cricket, football, hockey, and whatever else had to run cross country. Being more of an intellectual (I like to tell myself that) I was forced to spend my evenings running around Ketti Valley in the lovely Nilgiri Hills. What made me loathe running back then was the fact that if you didn’t complete the course on time, you’d be ridiculed by the Principal at assembly the next day and have points docked off your house championship tally. Being an intellectual (refer above) I devised an elaborate strategy to run the course in time. Did this comprise a strict training regimen supplemented with nutritious food? Nope. I became an expert in taking shortcuts through tea gardens, the staff quarters, underneath fences, and just about anywhere I could to shave a few minutes off my running time.

Then came the fateful day of the inter house championship. Staff were positioned strategically along the route to ensure that intellectuals such as myself (refer above) did not use our little grey cells for nefarious purposes. Even worse, we had to collect tickets every kilometre or so to prove we had passed by fairly! Some people will stop at nothing I tell you!

I completed the course three seconds late and had fifty points deducted from my house and several loud words directed at me (and a couple other poor sods) by my house captain. Life was hard.

After boarding school, I went to Bombay for college and promptly forgot everything about running. Five years later and I was in Bangalore, about to start my first ever job. A colleague was a runner and we exchanged stories: his about a PR at the Chennai Marathon a year earlier, and mine about the time I ate wild passion fruit that was growing along one of my favourite shortcuts in Ooty.  He convinced me to dust off my shoes and I started running again, doing 5, 8 and 10 k runs for the next two years.

In January 2017, I ran the half-marathon at the Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon. My training regimen was less than stellar, but having made the decision to crowdfund for a few animal welfare NGOs as part of my run I was determined to complete the course. I managed to finish without hurting myself, the NGOs got Rs. 22,000, but Life was still hard, especially for the next few days.

I then made the monumentally irresponsible decision to run the Ladakh Half-Marathon. I had always wanted to visit Ladakh, and when I saw a booth advertising the Marathon at the SCMM Expo, I made up my mind to do it. This time though, I decided to get help. A half-marathon in Mumbai was bad enough. One at 11,000 feet? This was no joke.

That brought me to Mr. Murthy and his Excelbased training plans. Running in Ladakh was one of the most superb experiences I’ve ever had thanks to the training, and I hesitated only a little to sign up for my first full marathon: the reincarnated Mumbai Marathon, now being sponsored by Tata. Ladakh was also rewarding for other reasons: I crowdfunded for a cause once more, raising Rs. 81,850 for a wildlife conservation NGO I worked with in my childhood.

Besides giving me the opportunity to write (something I enjoy immensely but usually use some kind of excuse to avoid doing), I hope this blog finds its way to the screens of other fledgling runners like me and helps them understand that training for long distance running is serious, but extremely rewarding, business. So without further ado, welcome to my running journey!