12 Weeks Until the New York City Marathon, Week 3 in India!

So sorry to my link-up friends, as I am behind with my post this week, mostly because I wanted to get this recap of Jaipur up and now Dustin is here in Mumbai, so I just haven’t had any downtime to blog.

Better late than never!

Here is how training for the NYC marathon went this week:

Monday: My first run at my new hotel, located in Bandra Kurla. Since I didn’t know my surroundings yet, I ran 3 miles on the treadmill first before the sun came up and then 3 more outside, trying to figure out where to go. I had been told that a full loop around the Bandra Kurla complex would be 3 miles, but I had trouble figuring out the route, even with a map from the concierge. It was a little frustrating, so I’m not sure I’ll run around there again, especially since I found other options.

I hopped on the treadmill around 9 pm after returning to the hotel after work for another 5k.

9 miles total on the day.

One great thing about my new hotel location- Starbucks!

Tuesday: Planned rest day. I had to be to work at 6:30 am for something, then I left the office at 4:30 pm. It’s an hour commute back to the hotel (2 hours in the car every day is tiring for a girl used to a 5 minute commute…!), and I then had conference calls late into the evening, so it was a good thing that it was a rest day.

Zero miles.

Wednesday: The other option I mentioned above for running is the Worli Sea Face path. The Worli Sea Link is a newly constructed bridge that ends right on the shore and in the morning, it’s only a 10 minute drive from my hotel.

My driver waits for me while I run (he just naps- ha!): I always bring a big towel from the hotel so I don’t sweat all over the seat of the car when I get done…The path is quite wide and open, though only 2.2km long, which gets a little repetitive. However,  it’s pretty safe as there are a lot of runners and walkers out in the morning and there is a nice sea breeze to keep you a little bit cooler. I ran 7.5 miles and felt fantastic! I think I was just happy to be able to run ‘free’ without stressing about where to go.

7.5 miles at an 8:40 min/mile

I ran another 5k on the treadmill after work to get in more miles. Junk miles for sure though it helps me unwind at the end of the day to zone out for a bit with no noise, well except maybe a podcast.

10.5 miles on the day.

Thursday: I attempted a 400m repeat workout: 2 miles to warm-up, 8x400m with 2 minute recovery, 2 mile cool down. 7 miles total. The 400m were tough, but I got it done.

Running in India is not easy!

I often get room service while here since I get home so darn late from work, but on Thursday I actually went to eat in one of the hotel restaurants.

They must be used to lots of solo travelers, as they brought this guy for me as company! So cute.

Friday: Dustin arrived Thursday evening, i.e. Friday morning around 1 am. Now I didn’t have to rely on the goldfish Antonio for company!

He didn’t get a lot of sleep before we were up to try to do a long run.  I was working from the hotel this day since we had booked a flight to Delhi that evening (my hotel is much closer to the airport than the office), so we ventured a bit further from the hotel for our run.

I had the driver drop us off on Marine Drive. We were both supposed to do 17 miles, but after 12 we were DYING.  I had brought my fuel belt but it wasn’t enough water for both of us. The humidity was like a heavy blanket weighing down on you, not to mention it seemed like the air quality was really bad. I know Dustin was struggling mostly because of the lack of sleep (i.e. 24 hours of travel will do that to you), and I was just struggling from the heat/humidity.

We called it off after 12. We considered finishing the run on the treadmill, but we were both beat. Dustin had a 10 am pickup for a Dharavi slum tour with Hemali and I needed to start work, so 12 miles it was…

I know that there’s a big difference between 12 miles and the planned 17, but I just couldn’t do it. I hope I have enough time to really put in the work to prepare for NYC when I get back to Minneapolis, as I’m definitely not getting it done here. 🙁

12 miles at a 9 min/mile average.

Saturday: Our flight from Mumbai to Delhi was delayed quite a bit (don’t fly IndiGo! It’s the Spirit Airlines of India!)

We had plans to meet up with a runner for a 10k run around Delhi, but we got to the hotel so late that we cancelled on him. We also didn’t realize how far away our hotel was from the meeting spot and the driver we had arranged in Delhi wasn’t ‘hired’ until 9 am so the run was cancelled. Sleep instead.

Saturday morning, we spent about 4 hours with a guide exploring Delhi:

(I will share a travel post dedicated to what we saw in Delhi.)

In the early afternoon, we had a hired driver take us to Agra, where the Taj Mahal is located. Agra is about 3.5 hours from Delhi. We arrived in Agra around 5 pm and squeezed in a 30-minute run on the treadmill (running outside was not advised in Agra). A 30 minute run wasn’t much; it wasn’t what was scheduled, but it was something.

3.5 miles on the treadmill at the Oberoi.

The short treadmill run  did help to rejuvenate us before a lovely dinner at the Oberoi in Agra .

Yes, I stayed at another Oberoi hotel, but they are awesome! And at this Oberoi, every room has a view of the Taj.

If you’re going to see the Taj Mahal, (which let’s be honest, is probably a once-in-a-lifetime experience for most of us), you should splurge and stay at the Oberoi. It’s worth it and its located on the road to the Taj. This road isn’t open to any vehicle traffic unless you are staying at the Oberoi.

The Oberoi also arranged for our tickets to tour the Taj Mahal the next day and they arranged our awesome guide. The Oberoi also has little golf buggies to take you to the Taj entrance. It’s pretty sweet.

*By the way, our guide is for hire even if you don’t stay at the Oberoi, here is his information:

Sunday: No running…Just touring the Taj Mahal!

One of the seven wonders of the world.

Yes, it was a hassle and a lot of time and money to get to Agra in just one weekend, but it was worth it. When else would I ever see the Taj Mahal?  Probably never.

Our tour guide of course made it even more meaningful as he was very well educated on the history of the Taj Mahal.

I may never come back to India, so this was my chance to see what is considered ‘the most beautiful building in the world!

And it was awesome to have Dustin there with me.

I have to remember that running will always be there; I can’t expect to get the full India experience without a few hassles and a few missed runs.

(Clearly, I’m writing this here to convince myself that I’ll be just fine, even if my training isn’t perfect.)

20 years from now, will I remember that extra 7 mile run, or will I remember the memories of my visit to the Taj Mahal?

Anyways, after touring the Taj Mahal, we also toured the Agra Fort (or Red Fort as many call it).

We had a little bit of time to relax at the Oberoi pool before heading back to Delhi for our flight back to Mumbai that evening.

ZERO miles run…c’est la vie. 

Summary? 

Only 42 miles of running…

And no strength of course, other than an occasional plank and maybe a little lifting in the hotel gym. I’m going to be in for a rude awakening when I get home and try to do a solidcore class! 🙂

Sorry for the delay on getting my link-up out! I hope some of you are still reading and joining in. I love reading your recaps. Please continue to join Jess and me every week!