Goal 2 - Jogging

In these 3 months my fitness levels improved significantly - I was 20 pounds lighter, could perform 100 sun salutations (Goal 1) and post that walk for 30 minutes at 6 kmph at an incline of 12. I couldn't help but wonder if I should attempt more...

When Hussain had started treating me in Jan 2012, he had promised that I will be running by June and I had laughed at his statement. But now that goal looked achievable. So I decided to start with some jogging on treadmill. In between incline walks at 6 kmph I started jogging, in intervals, at slow speeds of 7 kmph at a mild incline of 1 or 2. I would walk for a minute and jog for 2 minutes - first day I managed 17 minutes of jogging in the 30 minutes that I spent on the treadmill. I couldn't believe it...

Next day I was able to increase the  jogging time to 20 minutes and average speed of jogging also went upto 7.5 kmph. I know that for most people this is brisk walk pace but I couldn't risk higher speeds, lest I increase my pain. Hence I stayed at lower speed, mild incline and in about 3 weeks I could jog at 7.5 kmph for 40 minutes non-stop (5 km in distance) . In order to avoid overtaxing same muscles, I would intersperse jogging with swimming and incline walking. 

This, incidentally, was also a time when I was in between jobs and hence enjoying a 2-month break between my last working day at previous company and joining date at the next one. Since I had time on my hands I was still doing 100+ sun salutations a day (increasing by a few every now and then) in addition to the walking/jogging/swimming. I would start my day with breathing exercises (pranayama) and 100 plus sun salutations (18-24 minutes depending on the count). This would be followed by 40 minutes of jogging or 30 min of high incline walking. Morning workout would end with about 20 minutes of stretching to soothe my sore muscles. If I had energy I would also go for a swim in the evenings.

Being at home these 2 months allowed me to eat early in the evenings. My diet now was tea, marie biscuit and fruits or oats for breakfast. An early lunch (11:30 AM) of 2 chapatis and vegetables. Mid afternoon I would have tea/coffee with marie biscuits. And I would wrap up the day with an early dinner (6:00 pm) which again constituted of 2 chapatis and vegetables. If I felt hungry between 6 pm and bed time, I would consume a glass of hot milk (sans sugar). I would also have my occasional rum with diet coke or a small piece of chocolate but I kept those indulgences to minimum. This no longer had to do with losing weight. Any time I ate more at night or ate late or indulged in alcohol, I was not able to enjoy my workout the next day. 

By third week of May 2012, I could jog at 7.5 kmph for 50 minutes non stop. So I decided that it was time to let go of the confines of home & treadmill and step out in the open. First attempt, I managed to run 5+ km in 41 minutes - while it was much slower than the speeds I was used to 5 years back, it was an achievement none the less. In less than 5 months I had reached my second goal - this was freaking awesome!