Started my training for London Marathon

I woke up at 4:05 am as I could not sleep due to the anticipation of starting my training again. I guess that is a good thing. I ran 10.15 km in 1 hour and 12 minutes! it was pathetic and I was struggling half way.

My buddy Villi was going to run 10 km with the running group in the evening and I decided to join them, I have never run twice in a day, today was the first. The weather was nasty it was drizzling sideways and the temperature was 1 c but felt like -5 c. Anyway I completed running 10.28 km in 57 mintues 28 seconds... I am planning to average about 30 to 40 km a week for the next month and then I will gradually increase it to 60 to 70 km.

Oslo Marathon: 4:27:19

I finished the Oslo Marathon in 4 hours 27 minutes and 19 seconds. It was the toughest run that I have ever done as I was running with the Flu and I was cramping all over my legs. I am not going to use that as an excuse for my poor performance, so I have a lot to improve with regard to training, my diet and mental discipline. I have promised myself to work harder for the next marathon.

Here are the official results from the Oslo Marathon.

The Night of Oslo Marathon

Well, I am up at 3:30 am... I have been feeling awful, I don´t know how I got the cold. I was feeling funny when I woke up after my short nap around 4:45 pm yesterday and my throat was itching and my nose was running. I could not believe it, I have been so careful with water, trying to eat carefully and keep myself warm. I think it was the change in weather yesterday, everything was great until around 12pm and then it started raining cats and dogs.

I am really worried about tomorrow but I am positive and I am going to smile even if I feeling miserable. I woke up because of a dream or rather more like a nightmare! I was late to the start of the marathon and I was struggling after the 3rd kilometer :( anyway, I should be sleeping and I just cannot go back to sleep.)

But the night before I ate
1. Plain Pasta
2. Grilled Chicken
3. Green Salad

The dinner was great, almost everyone part of the Glitnir Marathon team was there with our CEO and it was a lot of fun. We shared a lot of funny stories and the mood was very positive. I like Oslo a lot... we had dinner at Brasserie located in Aker Brygge. We were also very close to Glitnir's new Norwegian headquarters. It is a great location in Aker Brygge and we had tour of that by Bjorn Richard our managing director of Corporate Communication.

1 week before Oslo Marathon

I cannot wait for the Oslo Marathon, I am really excited to run again and feed on the energy that everyone will exude there.
Some numbers
1. Total distance run from 8/20 to 9/24 = 165.22
2. Average Pace = 5 min 45 sec per kilometer
3. Average Heart Rate = 159 bpm
4. Average Speed = 10.44 kilometer per hour
5. Total Calories burnt = 19,873
6. Max Heart Rate during training = 190
7. Total Run Time = 15 hours 26 min 20 sec

Dean & Sam's Weblogs... a true inspiration

I have been wondering why Dean Karnazes has not started blogging, but he has and here is Dean's Blog. I learnt about Sam Thompson while I was searching for training programs to help me prepare for the Oslo marathon and it was only 6 weeks after I finished my first marathon. I was inspired by what Sam was doing with regard to running 50 marathons in 50 days in 50 states. Sam has finished running this schedule and he has brought a lot of awareness and media to the fate of people in New Orleans following Katrina.

I was happy to note that Dean ran with Sam and has written about Sam in his Weblog... thank Asgeir for bringing it to my attention.

1 and half size smaller and 13 kilos lighter...

I went to my tailor to alter all my suits... she had to take 4 to 6 inches off my pants and similar measures in my coats. She mentioned that it would have been great if it was her suits :) I thought that was a great compliment for my efforts so far.

Looking back it has been a very interesting journey... I have learnt soo much about myself with regard to exercise and diet. I have lost 13 kilos total and I don´t think I will ever go back to being as heavy as I was 6-8 months back.

I have not made any drastic changes to my diet but I run 4 to 6 times a week and I try to eat a lot of green vegetables and keep off of sugar and soda. It has worked wonders for me...

Increasing speed and endurance simultaneously!

I have started my training for the Oslo marathon... so far I have been doing around 10km and I did 12.7km on saturday. The strategy this time around is to do temp runs... this entails running 1/6 th of the distance at a slow pace and then run 2/3rd of the distance 10% faster than the marathon goal and try to maintain the pace for the entire distance and then run the last 1/6th at a normal pace.

I started out by trying to run the first half of my run slower than the last half. I have accomplised that goal in my last 4 outings... the interesting observation is that I have increased my average pace to 5 minutes and 16 seconds per km which is about 30 seconds faster than my marathon pace goal!! I guess I need to see how much more I can push my body... of course I am not trying to kill myself doing this :)

We raised $315,000 for charity!

We raised US $ 315,000 for charity through the marathon. We had an event where we presented the monies collected for charity through the marathon to representatives of the charities.

I was honored to have the opportunity to present the check for $3800 US to the Diabetic Research Foundation of Iceland and talk about my fight against the disease. I was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes on January 5, 2006. I beat the disease by diet and exercise (preparing to run the marathon helped quite a bit! my doctor agrees :))

Iceland has been in the forefront of diabetic research. DeCode is a genetics company in Iceland that found the gene that causes Type 2 Diabetes, here is the link to the press release.

Official Marathon Result

I was eager to see my name in the official published list of marathon finishers the day after the marathon only to find "Hlaupari 2TM9EPY" next to my time. The marathon organizers did not get my name in the list :( I had to wait until last Thursday (8/24) to get my name in the list.

I am happy to note that they got my name in the List finally, I am number 242 in the list

Running the Oslo Marathon in 4 weeks!

Call me crazy but I have decided to run the Oslo Marathon on Ocotber 1, 2006. It all started with my Boss deciding that Glitnir will sponsor the Oslo Marathon. The deal is to be signed on Monday (8.27.2006), Glitnir will be the official sponsor of the Oslo Marathon and the team from Glitnir which ran the Reykjavik Marathon has unanimously voted to run the Oslo Marathon as well.

As part of the prepartion, my strategy is to consider the Reykjavik Marathon as my last long run before the Oslo Marathon. I will follow the plan as I would have if I was running a marathon in 4 weeks.

Glitnir Reykjavik Marathon - 4:12:30!

Ran the Glitnir Reykjavik Marathon 2006 in 4 hours 12 minutes and 30 seconds! Extremely proud of the personal achievement! I was the 241st to finish out of 406.

Goal 1 2006 - Done!

I could not have done it without the support of my wife, family... and of course my buddy Vilhelm Thorsteinsson, who was my sounding board, coach and inspiration! He finished the race in 3:21:22.

London Marathon 2007, here I come...

Marathon Day

It is 5:48 am on Marathon day. I am feeling very excited and eager to start the race... It has been a crazy 6 months. I would have never believed myself that I was going to run a marathon in Iceland.

I was at my mother-in-laws place last night and she had cooked Noodles, it was a good source of Carbohydrates, in addition to that I have been Carbo-loading for about a week now. I feel good. I will be eating a bowl of Granola with AB Sour Milk (it is icelandic version of Yoghurt, but I am told that it is made differently), a cup of coffee and may be a slice of bread by 6 am.

I have decided that if this marathon goes well I will be running the London Marathon and a 55 km race in Iceland next summer. My goals are to improve my speed and endurance 20% to 30% depending on how I do today.

This Marathon is sponsored by my bank and since I belong to the CEO's office I have been getting a lot of Publicity. We had our photo shoot yesterday with all the marathon runners from Glitnir, it was a lot of fun and it is very impressive that we have 500 people from the bank running various lengths in this marathon. Here are some statistics about this marathon from my bank's perspective
1. 500 Glitnir employees have signed up to run the marathon
2. Glitir has raised approximately 21 million Icelandic Krona = 303,431.34 USD for various charity organizations
3. People from 34 different countries have registed to run the marathon
4. Approximately 8000 people will be starting the marathon, it is the biggest in the history of Reykjavik Marathon

I feel very proud to be part of a group of people from my bank who are making a difference in the community. I think a lot has got to do with our leader and CEO, Bjarni Armannsson... He is running the whole marathon and that has had a very positive impact on the us.

2 days before the marathon

Well the big day is getting pretty close. As I mentioned in my previous post, I have been using Garmin to monitor my heart rate and my running statistics, since May 18, 2006 I have
1. Ran a total of 452 kilometers
2. Ran a total time of 47 hrs 50 minutes 01 seconds
3. Burned 59538 calories!
4. I weigh 80.5 kilograms

10 days to the Marathon

Well, it has been a while since my last post. I have been sticking to my running schedule and have been travelling a bit as well. I ran my longest distance 30km in New York City on the West Side, it was quite enjoyable on a early Sunday morning. I just love NYC, and I forgot to buy I love NYC t-shirt again.
My wife and I went on a flight with the least number of carry on as our daughter stayed with her grandparents in Reykjavik. It was a strange feeling, both of us kept calling to check on her... they warned me that life changes once you have a baby :)
Well, the big day is approaching fast. I have been tapering down on my running schedule but I have this weird feeling that I have not prepared enough. Maybe I have´nt I don´t know. I ran this morning and started hurting a bit on my the back of my leg so I stopped... it could be that I did too much (I played 18 holes the evening before!). I have been talking a lot about running to my colleagues during lunch and I probably got the best compliant for a long time, that the ones I speak to get motivated about running after talking to me. Felt good that I am able to positively impact someone else. I guess the reason that I talk as much is because I have been reading quite a bit on Marathon preparation and the science behind it (my pathetic way to reinforce my belief system that I can do this :)).
I would categorize the talk into 3 topics
1. Training strategy and schedule
2. Science behind food and stamina
3. My time recordings from my running schedule

I guess the most controversial is the my running strategy which I got from Jeff Galloway, where he advices a walk-run schedule. I run 4 minutes and walk 40 sec to 1 minute, I ran 30km that way and did it in 3 hours and 5 minutes! If I keep the same pace I will be able to finish the marathon in atleast 5 hours... or should I say that is what I am hoping ;)

Alesund, Norway

I am in Alesund, Norway for business. This is my first trip to Norway and I have been blown away by the serinity of this place. I am blogging from the hotel room and if you plan to visit Alesund make sure you book the hotels well in advance as they are always over booked. I was luck to have the same room for two nights. It is a beautiful Archipelago with tall mountains and scenic ocean fronts. I realized there is so much to do here in Norway, it is a shame that I am on a busines trip. I think I will plan a trip to Norway with Agusta and Mira to drive through all the islands and see the small towns.

I was glad to have one of my collegue also here with me who is also preparing to run the Reykjavik marathon so we have been running the last two evenings. It has been great, I have learnt quite a bit about the Factoring business and all the tourist things that we can do in Norway. So far my experience in Norway has been very positive...

Ran 21 km in 2 hours 13 min

Over the weekend I ran 21 km in 2 hours and 13 minutes. It was tiring but I finished and my legs are still sore. I plan to run again tomorrow for about 5 miles.

Back on track... literally!

Well, had a good run on Monday for about an hour and an hour and 10 minutes today. Feel rejuveniated about getting back to the schedule. I tried Jeff Galloway´s method today, I ran for 10 minutes and walked for 1 minute. I was actually not hurting when I was done, I think I am going to change my running schedule to include this pattern. Training this way I might spare my knees and legs from the abuse of running a marathon.

We had a formal launch of my bank´s sponsorship to the Reykjavik Marathon. Actually it is called Glitnir Marathon. We had some pictures taken and had the press. My boss, the CEO, Bjarni Ármannsson is a runner and so is my colleague Vilhelm Þorteinsson. Actually Vili used to be Slalom Skier for Iceland. He just finished running the London Marathon in 3 hours and 15 minutes, his personal best. I have a lot to live upto, but I am not putting any pressure on myself, I am going to train hard and finish the marathon in a respectable time. All the employees who were there in the press conference were running to contribute to a charity, I am running for a cure to Diabetes.

Slipping on my running schedule

I have missed 3 days of running the past week. I cannot blame anything else other than my procastination and lack of motivation. I am waiting for my toy to track and monitor my performance, that should be no excuse. I hope to get back on the running trail, soon...

Snow and Sleet did not stop me from running

Yep, I woke up 3:45 am and ran while it was snowing on April 24. I think I was the only person outside running in the whole of Reykjavik. I completed my run and took a flight to Copenhagen on business. I have been sticking to schedule and have been running every other day. On April 26, it was a clear day until I was half way into my run then it started sleeting... after a while the sleet stings your face, but I completed my run as planned.

I ordered a toy to help me in my running, It is the Garmin Forerunner 305. I am eagerly awaiting the arrival of it so that I can track, measure and improve on my running. So far I should say I have been pretty disciplined on the plan, I hope to keep with it.

My goal is to run the marathon in 4 hours, which means that I need to run 6.5 miles in an hour. I think I am running at the rate of about 5 miles an hour, so I need to improve considerably I just hope I have enough time to do that... the marathon is on August 19, 2006

Natural Elements, Psychology and Marathon Preparation

On Wednesday (April 19), I woke up at 4:45 am and ran 4 miles without walking or stopping. I think I roughly did it in about 40 minutes, it felt really good! I felt like I was in the zone and could have run longer. As per my schedule I rested the day after and woke up again this morning at 5:00 am and started running, the first issue that was bothering me was the constant drizzle of rain and after about 1.5 miles the wind, the grey clouds and every natural elements was appearing to wear me down. I stopped running and walked for a bit, I was feeling really bad that I am loosing out to the elements. I am rejuvenate after the run, as the last 1.2 miles I gritted my teeth and said come what may I am going to run the rest of the distance and I did!

Actually, it was my mind playing games with me... It has nothing to do with the elements. It was actually much warmer than the days before and I just let myself down with regard to focusing and completing my goal. I learnt an important lesson, if I really focus and fight the elements within myself I can overcome them... It is only when I start feeling that I am loose do I really loose. It is a pretty good lesson after about 7 outings. I am really excited that I am taking on this challenge and I hope to learn a lot more about myself.

Running Schedule & other items about my Marathon Prep

Well, I started my training for the marathon on August 19, 2006 last saturday. I think I ran and walked about 4 miles, I am not sure since I did not know the markers or the distance. I am planning to drive my car today and calculate the distance. Sunday, Monday and Tuesday I was down with Strep Throat, my daughter gave it to me. It was pretty bad, I could not eat or drink anything since my tonsilites was the size of two golf balls and it was pretty painful. Thank God for Penciliin that I am feeling much better.
However, I went running on Wednesday night after dinner... bad idea. My diaphram was really struggling given my full stomach so could not do much of a run. Today, I went for a run in the morning, had an excellent rhythm and was able to run the same marker as the last saturday's run with much less walking. I could sense my stamina is picking up and I am really excited about that. Made a schedule today, I am really looking forward to run the Reykjavik Marathon... Wish me luck ;)

Ultra Marathon Man -Dean Karnazes

I have started reading a book by Dean Karnazes titled Ultra Marathon Man. I never knew that a human being is capable of enduring such physical hardship. If he can do that I can at the very least be happy and maybe run the Reykjavik Marathon.
You see I have started thinking about running the marathon but have not started the preparation. Maybe I need to remind myself not to procastinate. Anyway, I am hooked... Be on the lookout for my running plan and progress. Reykjavik Marathon here I come :)

Icelandic language & Marathon Running

I have been to 3 classes so far (missed one due to team outing), I should say I never thought I will have so much fun with learning a language. I have learnt about 60 words and know a couple of phrases. It has been interesting. My job has been great, I feel like I am having an impact in changing the bank for the better. My personal goal is to be part of the bank when it becomes the No.1 bank in Iceland, now we are considered No.3 (it is pretty bad when you consider that there are only 3 banks!). The people are great and the weather has not troubled me yet. Actually, it has been getting better every day.
I went with Íslandsbanki´s Reykjavik Corporate Credit team for a team outing, we went Go-carting and then relaxed in the blue lagoon. If you have not been to blue lagoon you should definitely try it. It is very relaxing and totally energizes you.
I think I am going to run the Reykjavik Marathon, it is not enough to have one challenge of joining a new company and learning a new language. I feel I need to channel my energy into something that I can have fun doing in the long run. Reykjavik Marathon is August 19, 2006 that gives me about 28 weeks and I think if I get disciplined about running regularly and preparing for it I should be able to do it... wish me luck