SD does 21- Training plan so far

Published on Dec 17th, 2011

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So coming back to SD and his training plan.

First some don’ts

– Since he was epileptic there was going to be no pushing him into ‘stressful’ situations. Stress is  a known trigger for epilepsy incidents.

– Also since he was asthmatic no anaerobic training either.

Besides the above, here is something by way of his training background.

– He was already running on tread mill for about 30 minutes each time for 3 times a week at the Cardiac Rehab. His HR used to be under 150 at the end of each run.

– He also did some minimal weights for strength training.

With this background, he wanted to do the HM and felt that he should train  with a group so that he can be motivated better.  With him going to Rehab for 3 days a week, it was decided that he would join me for runs 3 times a week. Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays were deemed the most practical based on the calenders of both.

He has been very punctual and regular. Very driven. In the first few weeks, I wanted him to get the mental exposure / sensory overlaod to running on the open ground. The enclosed ground at MIG was very suitable for this purpose since it gave him a protected environment to start running. Far better than running on unpaved roads.

His initial focus was on feet time. He was slowly graduated to combinations of running with walking. He began with first two days of only walking around. I wanted to be sure that his ‘chassis’ can take the load in progressive basis. After that he was  told to run one length of the ground ( 100 mtrs ) and walk 3. Slowly the mix of running was increased. No attention was paid to his pace at all. As long as he ran comfortably it was OK. He voiced an opinion ( often ) that he could do better than this, since aerobically he was doing 30 minutes on the treadmill. I assured him that I was slowing him down for his own good, since his body should be able to adapt. I also assured him that a stage would soon arrive when I would be ‘pushing’ him and he would find excuses to avoid training. It bought a smile in him, knowing that he was a go-getter by nature, who was being restrained in the initial phase of his training.

All along his strategy has been to do a run/walk. He is quite happy with that. He also knows that his proportion of running will increase as he trains and his walking will decrease. After about one hour of feet time..which was about 3 weeks into training, he did his first Kalina loop of 9 kms. Again a run/walk but he did it quite comfortably. On the Sunday that Raj ran his second 100 kms, he came to Marine Drive and did 14 kms ( two loops ) and went home very happy.

In a progressive manner he has been slowly inching up his distance and last Sunday he did 18 kms. Today again he did 18 kms and I must add rather very comfortably. Jan 31st, he is determined to do 21 kms.

In order to meet with his business commitments, he has taken to taking flights to Ahmadabad and Baroda so that he does not miss training.

He has had no injuries, which was my major fear. He ices himself religiously after each run. He ensures that he controls his diet on evenings prior to training so that he does not face digestive issues. He also does steam inhalation on mornings before the run so that his chest passages are clear of phlegm.

I learnt today that out of the 11,000 or so runners who register for the HM, only about 7,000 show up at the starting line. In each of these 7000 there is a ‘human interest’ story like SD. I felt that if I did not share one such story then I would be doing injustice to the readers of this forum who are the silent majority and each one of whom may have something similar to narrate.

Cheers…and more as we go along.

Venkat