Month 8 – May
This month was all about building intensity. After establishing a strong base in April following the race, I shifted my focus toward higher-quality, more demanding training sessions. During my previous race, Budha Trails, I faded in the closing stage because I hadn’t been able to include enough long interval sessions. This training block was about addressing that weakness.
As I mentioned in my previous blog, I spent this entire month without my watch or heart rate monitor to track effort, training load, or intensity. Instead, I relied solely on perceived effort and Strava. I must admit, it felt good. The interval sessions were certainly challenging, but learning to pace them by feel was a fulfilling feeling.
Training Details –
- I Included 1 short and high intensity session and one threshold session of longer intervals.
- I Started the long interval session on a track and later switched to uphill and downhill repetitions.
- Ever since Satchit created two trail loops in our backyard, I’ve been able to include a midweek trail session in my training, in addition to the weekend hike sessions. This worked really well. Not only this, having a like-minded person to train with, is always an added bonus.
- In addition to the 2 high intensity sessions, I did 4 sessions with easy to very easy effort.
- I also spent a good amount of time doing the strength training. Which included, lower and upper body workouts, resistance band workouts and yoga sessions.
- Overall, I felt this was a good month of training, and I saw the results at the Mawla Ghati Ultra, where I finished five minutes faster than my already stretched target.
Challenges –
- The biggest challenge I faced this month was getting enough sleep. As far as I can remember, I hardly slept for more than five hours on weekdays.
- My project was going through a critical phase, and I had to travel to a different city very frequently.
- Overall, my screen time was also higher than usual. I spent more than 12 hours a day in front of my laptop for two weeks straight. It was the first time in my professional career that I felt mentally exhausted.
- The good thing was, I was getting good-quality food and may be that’s the reason my body could cope with the stress.
Month 9 – June
June was the month I was waiting for because I had planned two races just three weeks apart. The Mawla Ghati, 25 KM Category and the SET, 40KM category. The Mawla Ghati went really well, and I was able to achieve my target. However, the fall that I had on the last downhill proved to be more than just another fall on the trails.
What Happened
So, I fell towards my right while descending the last downhill, got bruises on my right leg, and a light hit on my ribs. What looked like a minor ache turned out to be long-lasting pain. Because of this, I could not train the way I wanted since 12th June. Whenever I tried to run, the pain would aggravate, and I had to take rest. To make things worse, I developed pain in my left hip joint as well, just one week before the race. It looks like my old injury had decided to crop up again.
Training Details –
After the Mawla Ghati race, I was mostly in a disaster recovery phase. I did rehab exercises daily, hoping to stand at the start line without any pain.
Before the pain aggravated on 12th June, I was able to do one Long uphill and downhill session along with 2 easy runs.
Next week, I went for one easy run+hike. Took rest for next 3 days. Did route recce on 21st June, Sunday, before the race, which highlighted the weak spots. I spent the next five days working on them. I would admit that on race day, I was up and running to some extent. More than that, I was mentally prepared to execute my race plan. Eventually, I finished the race in 5:36:14 hrs, which I believe is a decent time.
What’s Next –
I think I have asked too much from my body in the past few months. I would like to give it some rest, work on weak areas, and slowly get back to regular training. The next one month will be more focused on recovery. I want to dial it back and let the body recover before building back up again.
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