Have wife, will carry

Chanced upon this wonderful race which is due to be held this weekend.

Unfortunately for my husband, I am otherwise busy and will be unavailable to be carried. But let that not stop you, I say! Go forth and get carried away.

I don’t know why I chose this picture (courtesy jupiter images) as, in the unlikely event that of me being carried across the finish line, neither me nor my husband is likely to look this happy.

odu raasa odu!

So after last Sunday’s 45 minute run with fellow Rani in Shrewsbury, Ammani insisted I quit C25k and just start running 5k three times a week and slowly build things up from there. I thought about what she’d said during the week when the rain washed out all running plans and decided that she was right. So this morning I found myself running with R, a new friend of mine who lives around these parts. We managed the 5k in 34 minutes, and the last 10 minutes up hill almost killed me. Seriously. But it made me realise I could run 5k without reaching the end of the c25k program. So I officially resign from the program and the challenge now is to do 5k thrice a week and build up from there. Year end goal is to do a half marathon. How are all of you doing? Come on Ranis, write! And run

the abonimable running woman

Regular readers of this blog will know that one of my (many) new year resolutions was to start running and get fit. I’ve been using the couch 2 5k app, and have managed to progress to week 4 alive, red faced and out of breath. All signs of someone in good health I assume. Before I started running, I asked a<a href=”jikku.blogspot.com”> good friend</a> what were the basic things I would need to start off. I followed her advice and found myself armed with a good pair of shoes, some sports bras and a couple of track pants. I decided to forgo fancy running gear. I’d spent enough on the shoes, and since I wasn’t sure how long I’d be running, I figured it made sense not to spend another small fortune on the rest of my kit. As a result, most days, I head out running looking like this.

The loose, black jogger pants with the white stripe is a nod to a time when workout gear was meant to hide one’s flaws and doubled as clothes to watch daytime talk shows in (“You are my baby’s father” “No I’m not” “Yes you are” “No am not ho” “Don’t you call me a ho, your mama a ho” and so on). The red fleece is to warn people a few miles off that a crazy person is going to hurtle right in to them if they don’t get out of the way. The white beanie is a souvenir from Switzerland and says “Schilthorn piz gloria” so that people know that I have witnessed the glory of the Schilthorn mountains. It also keeps my head warm. And the gloves add a touch of whimsy to the whole outfit. They say, yes, I am a dedicated runner. But I’m still a fun person. I call this look bag lady chic. People who see me gracefully sprint by, often give me worried looks. Perhaps it’s because they think I’m being chased by the bag lady mob who are angry at me for stealing their trolleys filled with plastic bags. (cross posted at www.runningranis.wordpress.com)

what shall we sign up for

UK running ranis, this site lets you look at running events and races across the country. Fancy signing up for something?

i guess i;m making progress

If my husband asks “Where did your butt go?”

Week 3 of couch25k begins today! I”ve dropped 2kgs and my pants are starting to get really loose! woohoo!

And here’s what I look at every morning in the kitchen!

running to the beat of…

And I am very pleased to say that I have started week 2 of the Couch to 5k program. And boy do I feel good. I have synced the app to some songs which are on my Ipod most of which are Hindi and Tamizh film songs. Today I found myself running to this. I kept giggling the entire time. I can’t find a video anywhere and am desperate to see the way it has been shot.

I’m thinking it’s time to get some new songs. But I will keep Aval oru pachai kuzhanthai. GOD!

Howdy

So I got roped into this by my darling little sis, ms.menaka raman. Probably as retaliation for making her work out when she was on holiday with me. oh well.
So let me quickly introduce myself, since the rest of you seem to know each other rather well. Im a scientist plodding through a post-doc on the other side of the pond from you folks. I have an active almost 3 year old, which you would think should keep me ship-shape. Alas, that is not the case. So after a festive holiday season with sister and family where we ate, drank and made merry (and put on an alarming 5lbs in 2 weeks), I decided enough is enough…time to lose said pounds and look like a skinny bitch (can I say that here??).
Im no runner but dont disqualify me!! While I wait for all the snow to melt here in Boston, I work out every morning with the wonderful “Jillian mami” and “Tony mama”. If Im felling bored I even try silly hop-hop dances and carmen electra’s strip tease. Its more hilarious than sexy Im afraid -think 30+ indian mami trying to shake that booty. It was even funnier when my sister and I both did it together. Most of the time we just ended up in a giggling mess on the floor.
so thats it for now. Thought I should quit lurking…will post when I start running…hopefully.

update

So far things have been going pretty well. I have embarked on the c25k program, been doing Gillian Michaels 30 day shred program and Tony Horton’s 10 minute trainer. I feel fit and also tired. It’s hard to do ab crunches with a heavy 19 month old sitting on your stomach. What can I say. My son wakes up before I do and insists on joining in my work out sessions. He already has made his partiality to Gillian Mami very clear by watching her perfect abs and sports bra with slack jawed awe. When Tony Mama comes on the TV he goes up and hits the screen. Oh well.

I feel all round pretty darned good. Have also been eating sensibly, This means buying Gu mini puds and not Gu big puds. Hey, We gotta start somewhere.

S, where are you on c25k and ammani has the brain unmushed itself?

11.01.10

First run of the New Year. 11.01.10. Looked like y’day’s date was speaking to me in binary, only i don’t know the language.  Thanks to M, the C25k was a great way to start off.

Y’day was week 1, day 1 and the temperature was -1 C. I did 30 min. It was very refreshing to feel the sweat against the cold easterly wind.

Anyone up for a race?

PS: yes it was a struggle to jump puddles of snow, ice and slush. But I’m sticking to the main roads, as it’s well lit for the time of day (or night) I run.

Brain mush

I never thought I’d say this. I miss running. I miss the the buzz that comes with having run for about 45 minutes. I miss the groaning unwarmed ankles at the start of the run. I miss the racing pulse as I come around to a stop at our front door after the run. Heck, I even miss the fact that I sometimes embarrass myself by singing aloud along with whatever’s playing on the matchbox.

Clearly I have been incarcerated at home for too long due to the snow and my brain’s turning to mush. Why else would I be missing running?