Chart of my week7 training for the marathon. I did better with mid week runs and also improved on my speed. I ran with the 11 min/mile pace group and was feeling really good after the weekend 12 mile run. Think, it is time to move up to 10:30 
..
July 29, 2008
Week 7 training..
July 17, 2008
Week 6 training and improved charts with Google Charts
Week 6 of the Chicago marathon training and I was again not able to keep up with my mid week runs. Although I did manage to improve the charts displaying the training program .. I added a new column to compare my actual milege to the recommended milege.
Here are the parameters I used
cht=bvg
chs=400×250
chtt=week+6+Training
chdl=Recommended+Miles|Actual+Miles
chco=ff0000,00ff00
chxt=x,y
chxr=1,0,15
chxl=0:|Mon|Tue|Wed|Thu|Fri|Sat|Sun|
chd=t:0,3,4,3,0,7,0|0,2,0,3,0,0,7
chbh=10
July 11, 2008
Tracking my runs using Google charts
I wrote a brief blurb, when Google came out with their Google Charts API. The API essentially allows you to represent your data visually by just generating a URL.. I have been wanting to use this in real life for quite some time now and think I finally found a need . I am going to be tracking my weekly runs with using this APIÂ moving forward.
Here’s a graphical representation of my runs for Week 5 of my traning for the Chicago marathon
As you can see, I have been slacking off on my mid-week runs.
I used the following parameters to generate the graph
Type = cht (vertical bars)
Legend = chtt (Week 5 training)
Axis Values = chxl (Mon, Tue, Wed, Thur, Fri, Sat, Sun)
The URL I used to generate the image is http://chart.apis.google.com/chart?chtt=Week+5+Training&chts=FF0000,20&chdl=Miles&cht=bvs&chxt=x,y&chxl=0:|Mon|Tue|Wed|Thu|Fri|Sat|Sun|&chs=300×150&chd=t:0,0,3,0,0,0,10&chco=4d89f9,c6d9fd&chbh=20
I still need to figure out, how to show the values in the image and play with the ratio of the axis.
You can get all the information you need about this API by visiting this link http://code.google.com/apis/chart/
May 6, 2008
My first rugby game..
Over the weekend, I had the pleasure to watch my first rugby game. I always thought that rugby was a rough game, but after watching it in person, I realized that there is more to it then brute strength. There is a lot of team work and coordination involved. And you do need to be TOUGH to be able to play rugby . Click here for some pictures from the game.
March 30, 2008
First run of 2008 : Shamrock Shuffle
Successfully completed the first “official” race of the year . Completed the 2008 Shamrock shuffle in 49 min and 46 seconds. That’s roughly a 10 min/mile pace. Hope the next one, will be better.
February 4, 2008
2008 SuperBowl : Well worth the hype..
The NY Giants put on another exciting show tonight. I usually support the underdogs, and this was a case of the underdogs playing their heart out and winning the game. If I take data from the Superbowl party, I was at, as the sample data for how many people favoured the Patriots vs. the Gaints, I think 80% of the country is pissed off now that the Patriots lost..
Final Score : 17 Giants – 14 Patriots
I kept saying this line from the movie, The Replacements , throughout the superbowl party “Heart.. miles and miles of heart”. That’s what it seemed the Giants had today. Congratulations to Eli Manning, on coming out of his elder brothers shadow and on being given the MVP award for the 2008 Superbowl..
January 20, 2008
Most exciting game of the 2008 NFL season..
I think, we just saw the most exciting game in the 2008 NFL season. The game between the NY Giants and Greenbay Packers, was a nailbiter till the last minute. The game went into overtime and the final score was 23 – 20. I loved the way, NY Giants kicker Lawrence Tynes, who missed two not so difficult goals earlier in the game, made a come back and scored the field goal in overtime to win the game for the Giants.
I should confess.. I am not a big sports guy.. But this game was exciting .Â
December 25, 2007
Update – Loosing Weight.
I have been regularly working out for the last 4 weeks and man what a difference it makes .. When I started off, I could barely run for 5 minutes without panting like a dog.. Am up to 35 minutes now and can run ~3 miles without stopping. Long way to go before I can do a marathon.. but a good start.
I also successfully lost 5 lbs as promised. Now the goal is to loose another 10 lbs before end of Jan 08. I should mention that it makes a big difference in energy levels and the way you consume food. Even though, you don’t go on a diet per se, just that fact that you are working out makes you eat less and more conscious of what you are eating. I guess, you finally realize, how difficult, it is to burn off those 100 calories from the small pop can ..
Graph from Traineo showing the results of the last 1 months workout…
December 1, 2007
Loosing weight!!
Most people make their resolutions around the New Year. My resolution to loose weight and get into shape came around when I went on vacation with my family over the thanksgiving weekend. We went to the Grand Bear Resort in Utica, IL for the holidays. The resort had a indoors waterpark and when I got ready to get into the water, I felt ashamed to undress because of my shape . I came up with a resolution than and there to get into shape. I was never a fit person, but the two marathons I ran in 2004 and 2005 forced me to work out and as a result, feel good about myself. I want to take up running again and hopefully fullfill my lifelong dream of learning to swim and complete a tri-athlon.
My sister and brother-in-law were good sports and decided to keep me motivated by announcing that they were going to loose weight along with me. We have a small bet going along to keep us on our toes. I wanted to find a tool, which would keep us connected with each other about our progress. My search lead to several sites, that would do this.. and I finally decided on Traineo (http://traineo.com/). It is a web 2.0 site that allows you to keep track of your goals and progress. Very cool..
Now.. the real challenge is to loose those flabs .. Wish me luck!!!
October 23, 2006
Chicago Marathon 2006 : Thoughts..
It was a blast to see the runners braving the 45F weather to run the 2006 Chicago Marathon. I signed up for the marathon, but didn’t run it because I didn’t get to train (something called a job took up all my free time ). I took a ton of pictures, but the two below convey the spirit of the day
Freeeeezing
You go girl!!!