The 12-12-12 Challenge

In December 2011, a co-worker of mine forwarded me an online news article which was titled - "12m12m". It stood for 12 Marathons in 12 Months. As crazy as it sounds, that's what a bunch of runners in Bangalore successfully did in the year 2011! As I was reading the article, the name of one of the runners that did the 12m12m caught my eye. That was Nitin Jain and he is connected to me on DailyMile.com. Nitin's success story instantly provided me an inspiration to start a 12-12-12 challenge. The idea was to do 12 Half Marathons in 12 Months in the year '12. And, there started an interesting journey of Half Marathons.

The first Half Marathon (1 of 12) of the challenge went well and I completed the Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon on Jan 15, 2012 with a timing of 02:06:58. Mumbai was a breeze. Since we started running down the Worli Sea Link and then ran on flat roads up to CST, it was an easy course to finish! It gave me the confidence of breaking the 2 hour mark.

My next Half Marathon (2 of 12) was at Auroville on Feb 12, 2012. My target was to break the 2 hour mark at Auroville. It was also a reunion event as many of my friends from Bangalore, Chennai and Coimbatore were also running alongside me at Auroville. I was doing well up to the 17th km. But the humidity of Puducherry got to me at that point. I was severely dehydrated. I somehow finished the race, but my timing was 02:13:00. I threw up after the race and was sick for a few hours before I recovered well.

I also developed a left Achilles tendon injury at Auroville. The injury got worse forcing me to abandon long runs for the next couple of months. I did not do a Half Marathon in March & April 2012. But I kept on running shorter distances, which was a mistake. After every run, I applied ice on my left Achilles tendon and it gave me relief. But the injury did not heal.

I was determined to go ahead with the rest of the 12-12-12 challenge in May 2012 and did an unofficial Half Marathon (3 of 12) in Cubbon Park with my good friend Nagabhushan Puli. I was way behind schedule with my 12-12-12 challenge, as I had done only 3 Half Marathons in 5 months. Having 7 more months to go in 2012, I had enough time to make up for the lost months.

The left Achilles injury flared up again at the TCS 10 K run on May 27, 2012. Although I finished the 10 K in 00:58:31, I knew that I should visit a doctor and get my injury treated properly. An MRI showed no degeneration of the tendon and the doctor advised me a 3 week complete rest. The rest helped me heal completely. I also learnt an important lesson in this process. For any run related injury, rest your feet for a few weeks before you spend huge sums of money on the doctor and a MRI!

I resumed running by the end of June 2012 and did another unofficial Half Marathon (4 of 12) in Bangalore with my friend Nagabhushan again. This was my 4th Half Marathon in 6 months. I was still behind schedule.

July 2012 was a very hard month for me. My beloved dad passed away on July 14, 2012 after a yearlong battle with cancer. I was registered to run at the Dream Runners Half Marathon on July 15, 2012 and had to miss it. So, it was again an unofficial Half Marathon (5 of 12) with some running buddies on July 28, 2012 at Cubbon Park in Bangalore. We all finished it in 02:23 hrs. My friend and co-worker Girish Singh set the pace and I ran along with him. Overall, it was a great group run!

August 2012 was the month to make up for the lost months in 2012. I did 2 Half Marathons in August. The first one was a solo Half Marathon (6 of 12) on Aug 15th, and I named it "The Independence Day Half Marathon" commemorating the Indian Independence Day. I finished it in 02:13. The big event of August 2012 was the Airtel Hyderabad Marathon (6 of 12) on Aug 26, 2012. I was once again aiming for a sub 2 hour finish. You can read all about my AHM experience by clicking here.

September 2012 was a strong month for running. Did 2 more Half Marathons this month. The first one was at the Spirit of Wipro run (7 of 12) on Sept 15, 2012 in Bangalore. I finished close my previous PB with a timing of 02:07:43.

The unofficial Bangalore RoadRunners Sept 2012 Half Marathon (8 of 12) was very special for me. Do you remember Nitin Jain from the first paragraph of this blog? Well, he joined us for the run on Sept 22, 2012 and ran almost 14 km with us. We finished the run in 02:27 hrs.

Then came the first running event for me at Chennai in 2012. It was the CTC Buckingham Canal Marathon on Oct 7, 2012. I did the Half Marathon (9 of 12) at this event and it was also a moment of enlightenment for me. I felt that Half Marathons were not challenging any more. I was finishing Half Marathons without much effort, although the elusive sub 2 hour finish timing was still eluding me. I knew that the only way to conquer the 2 hour mark was to start training for a full marathon. So, I changed my Half Marathon registration at the Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon 2013 to a Full Marathon and formally started my FM training.

My first step towards a Full Marathon training was to do a 10x10 challenge from Oct 22 to 31, 2012. This was running 10 km continuously on 10 consecutive days. My 10x10 log is posted here. Please look at row number 73. My successful completion of the 10x10 challenge without any injuries gave me the much needed morale boost to my full marathon training. My running buddies Alifiya and Rubaina accompanied me on and off these 10 days of running.

My target was to achieve running 30 km by end of November 30, 2012. Taking advantage of the November 13th Diwali holiday, I pushed myself to do a 27 km run (10 of 12). And, on Nov 24, 2012 I reached the 30 km mark in running (11 of 12). At that point in time, I had done 11 Half Marathons in 11 months and was well on target! With that confidence, I registered for a Full Marathon at Auroville in Feb 2013.

December 2012 came to pass and it was time for the final big running event of South India of the year 2012. It was The Wipro Chennai Marathon. It would be my 12th HM of my 12-12-12 challenge. It was a much publicized event and 1100+ people had registered for the Half Marathon. It was now or never for me to break the 2 hour mark. Two other running buddies of mine - Srinath and Keerthana were also aiming for the same. December 2, 2012 had dawned but the Sun was not out yet. We formed a trio at the start line and off we went at 5:15 am on a pleasant (no kidding) Sunday morning. The start was strong. We kept chugging along. Half way through the race, Keerthana looked at me and said, "Uncle, there are only 2 women ahead of me and I want to finish on the podium". I needed no more motivation than those words of Keerthana. I pushed Keerthana on and on, and in the process my pace and timing was improving all along. Of the trio, I finished first, Srinath next and Keerthana third... but all 3 of us BROKE THE 2 HOUR MARK! I finished with a Personal Best (PB) timing of 1:56 hrs according to my trusted Garmin 305 watch. More importantly, Keerthana finished 3rd in the Women's category and it was a podium finish for her! The official results of TWCM of Keerthana, Srinath & me can be viewed here. All 3 of us did it, and, it was the best feeling of my running career!

Overall Rank	Bib	Name	Gender Rank	Net Time
106	2302	PATRICK PITCHAPPA	104	1:56:30
116	2407	SRINATH JAGANNATHAN	114	1:57:52
119	2735	KEERTHANA SWAMINATHAN	3	1:58:20

As I relax and type this blog, I just realized - it is not how you start that matters, it is how you finish! I am so happy to finish my 12-12-12 challenge so strongly. This feeling is just so amazing!

Friends and Diet

Well, there's really no connection between Friends and Diet. Forgot to mention about my friend and training partner Naga Bhushan in my previous blog. Bhushan and I have been training together for the past few months and looks like this friendship and training would go on for a long time. Bhushan insisted that we drive in his car from Bangalore to Hyderabad. So, we left early in the morning on Aug 25th towards Hyderabad. The highway was immaculate and 2 of Bhushan's relatives also joined us in the drive. Bhushan drove at a very good speed and we reached Anantapur for breakfast. We had breakfast at Bhushan's aunt & uncle's home. Nice hot idlis and upma was the perfect breakfast before a marathon day. We finally reached Hyderabad around 2pm and went straight to the expo to collect our bibs.

Bhushan completed the HM on Aug 26, 2012 in 02:22 hrs!! Well done Bhushan! Right after the marathon, we drove back to Bangalore in Bhushan's car! A smooth Sunday drive on the highway!

Coming to diet, you burn about a 100 calories for every 1 mile (1.6 km) that you run. So, make sure that your calorie intake doesn't outweigh the calorie you burn while running.

What to eat?

1. Eat carbohydrates. Carbs are very important for producing energy during your run. Complex Carbs should be part of your lunch and/or dinner. 
2. Add an egg to your diet every day, if possible. 
3. Proteins are very important. Eat proteins in whatever format you can - veg or non-veg! Seeds and food with seeds are very important. 
4. Replace snack with fresh fruits like apples, pears, bananas, pomegranates, oranges and grapes. 
5. Drink a glass of milk everyday. Add cheese, yogurt and curd to your diet. Eat curd rice for lunch or dinner. 
6. Drink plenty of water throughout the day. 
7. You need fat to a certain extent. But don't over dose on fat. 
8. Green Tea or coffee without sugar. 

What to avoid?

1. Mid meal snacks
2. Oily & deep fried foods. This includes chips, murukkus (முறுக்கு), bajji (பஜ்ஜி), vadai (வடை) and pooris.
3. Soda and aerated drinks
4. Alcohol
5. Sweets (all kinds).
6. Fast foods - Pizza, KFC, McDonalds etc. They have no nutritional values. 

On a running day, this could be your diet:

Breakfast: (one of the following)

1. Idli or Dosai. You may have an egg on the side as an omelette or scrambled. 
2. A couple of toast and jam sandwiches along with an egg (omelette or scrambled) on the side. 

Lunch: (one of the following)

1. 3 or 4 chappatis or rotis and a bowl of curd rice. The subzi could be veg or non-veg.
2. A bowl of rice (boiled or bissibelabath or briyani or pulav) and a bowl of curd rice. Side dish could be veg or non-veg. 
3. A bowl of pasta and bowl of curd rice. 
4. A bowl of noodles and bowl of curd rice. 

Dinner: (one of the following)

1. 3 or 4 rotis or chappatis and a bowl of fresh fruits, followed by a glass of milk.
2. Pav Bhajji (as much as you can eat) and a bowl of fresh fruits, followed by a glass of milk. .
3. Steak and a bowl of fresh fruits, followed by a glass of milk.
4. Fajitas, Tacos, Burritos or Enchiladas and a bowl of fresh fruits, followed by a glass of milk.

On non running days: (only the breakfast menu changes. The lunch and dinner are same as above). 

1. A bowl of cereal or oat meal or Raagi. 

Note: Ice cream and cakes can be had in moderation. 

Just before you run:

1. Eat 2 or 3 fully ripe bananas
2. Drink 1 liter of water. 
3. If you are running more than 10 km, carry Gatorade with you in your fuel belt or on your hand. 
4. Try GU for instant energy. You may also eat organes for instant energy. 
5. Keep hydrating yourself with water or Gatoraade every 15 to 20 minutes. 

Have fun running folks! Write a comment below if you would like to contact me. 

From Zero to a Half Marathon in 7 Weeks!

One of the new initiatives that I took over in 2012 was to start coaching long distance runners. So, my rookie coaching year started with me coaching my close friend Venkatesh Prabhu (Venky). Venky wanted to take up running and I started coaching him in January 2012. Venky has been regularly working out at the gym for years, hence his stamina was good and he was able to finish the 10K in Auroville (on Feb 12, 2012) in 59 minutes. From there, it's no turning back for Venky and he's enjoying his running. He did the TCS 10K in 53 minutes on May 27, 2012. My first coaching effort was a success!

Speaking of the TCS 10K, I was surprised one day when a young lady at work walked up to my desk and asked me if I was a runner. I said "yes". Her next question was, "Do you religiously run?". I said, "Yes, I religiously run and do at least a 10K every time I run". Then I asked her if I can help her in any way. She told me that she wanted to take up running and that she hadn't run at all in her life. She expressed her desire to finish the TCS 10K in May 2012. We had over 2 months to go when I started coaching Andal and her close friend Preethy for the TCS 10K. I chalked out a training and diet plan for Andal & Preethy. I would pick them up on every running day and all 3 of us would go to Cubbon Park in Bangalore to train. This effort also paid off, and Andal & Preethy completed their very first 10K runs on May 27, 2012 at the TCS 10K running event in Bangalore.

Well, you might be wondering what this "From Zero to a Half Marathon in 7 Weeks" was all about... so, here starts the amazing story of 2 men who had never run in their lives training and completing an official Half Marathon race with just 7 weeks of training!. Yes, S-E-V-E-N weeks!

It all started with a phone call from my high school friend Alexander Vaidhyan (Alex). Alex and I were classmates from Kindergarten to 12th grade! We played basketball together in high school. So, yes, we knew each other very well. When I picked up the phone, we didn't spend too much time catching up, Alex went straight to the point. He paused and asked me, "Patrick, can I also run a Half Marathon?" My immediate response was, "Yes da, you can certainly do it". The Airel Hyderabad Half Marathon was exactly 7 weeks away and I told Alex he should aim for that. Alex promptly registered for the Half and I started an experiment. And, I chose my close childhood friend to experiment on. YEAH!

Here is the training plan that I came up for Alex:

Alex talked his friend Venkat also into training with him for the Half Marathon, and both Alex & Venkat started training religiously for the HM. A couple of weeks into the training Alex called me one day and told me that he was developing some pains on his shin and also a back strain. I asked him if he was landing on his toes while running. He replied affirmative. So, I advised him to present his full foot while running. This took care of his back strain. The shin and calf pains that occur for rookie runners also disappeared for Alex.

After 4 weeks of training, I met Alex in Chennai and we both ran together at the Marina beach in Chennai on Aug 12, 2012. That day I taught Alex the stretching that the Dream Runners' trainer Elango taught me earlier. Alex learnt his stretching exercises and started doing stretches before and after his runs.

On Aug 15th, Alex ran 20 km and was beaming with confidence! Venkat & Alex were raring to go and conquer the Airtel Hyderabad HM.

Meanwhile, I was chosen as a "Running Ambassador" by the AHM Organizers. Please click here to read my Running Ambassador story. Reading my story, Paras Shah from Mumbai emailed me and asked me to help him complete the Airtel  Hyderabad HM on Aug 26th. I never knew Paras before. So, I offered advice and tips to Paras via FB. This was Paras' first ever Half Marathon as well.

The day arrived. It was a chilly and cloudy morning in Hyderabad on Sunday, Aug 26, 2012. Alex, Venkat and I drove to the starting line. Paras met me at the starting line and shook my hands. Our adrenaline was pumping and off we went on one of the toughest marathon courses in India. Rolling hills, fly overs, head winds and to top it all, it started raining as well. I was worried about Alex when I crossed the finish line in 02:12 hrs. When I was stretching with the Dream Runners group from Chennai, my right calf muscle cramped so badly that Elango had to rush to help me. I was still worried about Alex!

A little later Alex's son Felix found me in Gachibowli stadium where we finished the run and told me that his dad Alex was looking for me. I heaved a big sigh of relief. Alex had finished the race and in the crowd I had missed his finishing moment. Nevertheless, he had FINISHED!! And, that's all mattered. I rushed to him and gave him a big bear hug. I also hugged Venkat and congratulated him as well.

I got my breakfast and sat down next to Alex. When I started eating, Alex's wife asked me if my experiment had succeeded! I replied to her, "Since testing on animals in now banned, I chose my close childhood friend for the experiment and I proved to the world that anybody can run a HM with just 7 weeks of training". Then I threw my hands in the air and yelled "EUREKA!!"

Here is a picture of Venkat, Alex and I after our Half Marathon finish!

From Left to Right: Venkat, Patrick and Alex.

I later found out that Paras Shah from Mumbai had also finished the HM in 02:23 hrs. Way to go Paras!!

I am writing this to encourage everybody that reads this story to get off your couches and get on the road, park or trail (you choose) and run! Yes, R-U-N!! Keep running folks, it is such a joy and in a way, "therapy" too!

Meanwhile, I have now completed 2000 km of running since Oct 2010. My next Half Marathon is the Wipro Half Marathon on Saturday, Sept 15, 2012 in Bangalore!