Wednesday, December 3, 2008

The Thanksgiving Run

Finally it was 'Thanksgiving' last Thursday and we had the much awaited Thanksgiving Marathon that morning. It was an awesome experience. Even though I was not among the 30,000 people registered to run, I was feeling great supporting Shavi who was running the 10K marathon. There were people of all ages - starting from 7-8years to old people on wheelchair - running and walking in the 5K and 10K race. The enthusiasm of the people on wheelchair for the run was amazing. I had never seen such a big crowd in Sacramento ever. There were all sorts of stalls and music playing. Even people with kids in strollers were running/walking - it was just astonishing to see so many people supporting the cause - 'Run to feed the hunger'.

I did not have to wait much for Shavi at the Finish lane - he was there much before we were expecting - he ran 10 kms in less than 50 minutes. Shavi finished the marathon among the 1st 1000 people out of the 30,000 people running. I am proud of him that he could make it within the 1st 800 with so many professional runners.
We did not know before that The Sacramento Thanksgiving Marathon is the most famous marathon of US and has the most people running. We have the pictures posted on our facebook profiles.

Though it was a sad week - it was just a couple days after the Mumbai Tragedy news, we still tried to cheer up ourselves on that day. It was quite hard - the heinious crime - the Mumbai shootings on 26/11 had left such a deep impact on everyone concerned. Well, I dont even want to get started on this topic. There are 2 kinds of people - one who just talk and complain and the others who act and I do not want to fall in the 1st category as I know that I can never fall in the 2nd category:(

Thursday, November 13, 2008

What drives you...

In this monotonous life we all live in, there needs to be something that drives you to wake up the next day. For most of the people (including me most of the times), it is the coming Friday. Monday morning we wake up thinking - Only 5 more days and then I will get to sleep at my will. 

But then, sometimes the weekend also seems to give not enough 'juice' to drive the brain to 'Get up and get on it'... 

So, like most of the sane beings out there, I (should rather say - we: Ruchi and I) have started this Running regime that we try to stick to. We have been successful for the last 6 months. Hard to believe and imagine - we do get up at 5 am in the morning to go make ourselves uncomfortable in the gymnasium.  She loves to go do group cycling and I am a big fan of running. (Run Forest Run!!!). We spend almost 7 hours/week at the gym. 

While this schedule is still driving her pretty strong, it kinda started fading away for me. My restless brain needed more 'juice' to drive it. Don't get me wrong - our 6 month ordeal has paid us big time. Both of us have burnt off some good amount of weight, and are very satisfied with our progress: both on the weighing scale and on the speed-o-meter on the treadmill (Endurance). 

While it has not only been a great motivator for us so far to hit the gym every AM, it also has been helping us quite well at keeping away from 'junk' foods. We are eating healthier, just the right portions and are able to now say NO to something that looks unhealthy. [As they say - if it looks unhealthy, it most probably is]. It also is giving Ruchi a good enough reason to go on a shopping spree, now that our clothes 'dont' fit us anymore...
 

This is when Ruchi suggested I should participate and practice for a 10Km (6.2 mi) run on Thanksgiving day that is coming up on November 27th. Its called RunToFeedTheHungry. And that has done the trick for me so far. I actually look forward to run everyday. I have seen my progress in the last few weeks: averaging from 6 miles / hour when I started practicing, I now average 7+ miles / hour. I keep telling myself I can do much better - and that's what is driving me (for now). I keep telling myself, as each day passes by, that I have less and less time to improve. 

I have since installed a couple of iPhone apps (runKeeper and iMapMyRun) and trying to track it. Have been planning out what songs should I put on the playlist that will keep me going during my first public attempt at a marathon.

From the RunToFeedTheHungry website:
WHEN: Thanksgiving Morning Thursday, November 27th, 2008 "Rain Or Shine!"

So, Rain or Shine, I am going to go Run to feed the Hungry on Thanksgiving. And then later that evening sit, relax, recover from my first marathon, drink and think about the next 'juice' for my brain.




Wednesday, August 13, 2008

This is how we are going...

Here we complete almost 2 months of our exercising and 'eat healthy' diet. Shavi lost a whooping 4.6kgs (10 lbs) and I lost 3.5kgs (7.5+ lbs) in almost 5 weeks. Our weighing scale had always been de-motivating us in the past even after lot of efforts but this time it is seriously working! We are all the more motivated now - feels great! I really wish to return to my normal self (weight wise) - what I was before marriage! And so the efforts continue........

One thing is for sure - Moderate exercise alone can do nothing; Strenuous work-out plus keeping an eye on what you eat makes a whole big difference. I am proud of ourselves and our will-power - Shavi has lost almost 9kgs+ in the last 2 months and I too have - a little less than Shavi though:)

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Fitness Fitness Fitness!!

It is unbelievable for us but that is true - we have been waking up at 5.15am every weekday to go for the Cycling class at the Gym which we joined on June 13, 2008. Let's see till when we can keep up with it!!

Not to mention, our dinner now constitutes of salads only and our dinner time has moved from 9pm to early 7-7.30pm which has given us an excuse to cut down on our evening snacks. It's hard to keep up with this but feels so light! Feels like an achievement at the end of the day! Talk about end of the day - which is like at 10.30-11 pm now - which had never ever been before 12 in the past...
Thanks to Shavi for his will power on this!

Being so health/fitness freak these days, we decided to post some health-related tips here:

1. The hour just before the evening meal is a popular time for exercise. The late afternoon workout provides a welcome change of pace at the end of the work day and helps dissolve the day's worries and tensions.
Another popular time to work out is early morning, before the work day begins. Advocates of the early start say it makes them more alert and energetic on the job.
You should not exercise strenuously during extremely hot, humid weather or within two hours after eating. Heat and/or digestion both make heavy demands on the circulatory system, and in combination with exercise can be an overtaxing double load.

2. Do Cardio. The overall best way to shed fat fast is to do cardio (30 min minimum) right when you wake up. Your body will search for energy to use, when it finds nothing in your stomach, it will go directly to your fat storage for energy and the fat will burn up so fast!

3. Keep your metabolism revived all day by eating a small meal, with a mix of protein, fat and carbs every four hours.

4. Stretching is not a warm up. In fact, studies show that excessive stretching prior to exercise may lead to injuries.

5. Exercise before eating. Even a ten minute walk can decrease your appetite and prevent you from over eating.

6. To cut bad fat, cook with olive oil and not vegetable oil. Or, saute or stir-fry using cooking wine or vegetable broth.

7. No carbs after 9 p.m. Eat no breads, cereals, or pasta until morning. During sleep, carbs in your stomach turn into fat.

8. For a midnight snack, eat a small amount of protein and no carbs or sugar. Mix protein powder in water or eat a bar.

9. Never eat food which contains Corn Syrup. Corn Syrup/High Fructose Corn Syrup(HFCS)/Corn Starch are poisons if you care to reduce. Be Careful - almost all eatables in US have corn syrup! Even Breads and Tomato Ketchup! You cant stop eating them but look for those which do not contain these. For details on HFCS, check out my comment on this blog post.

10.
Instead of frying, prepare foods by dry roasting, grilling, oven cooking, or steaming.

11. Keep a track of whatever you eat - seems difficult initially but it really really works and teaches you to control your diet. I found it foolish at first but it is really worth the effort!