Week 1 Reality Check: When Life Laughs at Your Perfect Plan
If you haven’t read my original half marathon plan, check out The Half Marathon Plan first to understand the ambitious 5-week journey I’ve committed to.
Week 1 Target: 13km total (3km + 4km + 6km)
Week 1 Reality: 19km total (4km + 5km + 5km + 5km)
Verdict: Accidentally overachieved while completely ignoring my own schedule 🤷♂️
Week 1 (June 9-15) was supposed to be my foundation week - nice, structured runs to build that base. Instead, I learned that having a perfect plan is like having a perfect weather forecast in Mumbai during monsoon season. Cute idea, but reality has other plans.
What Actually Happened
The Good: I gave it my all. Even when I couldn’t stick to the exact schedule, I ran whenever and wherever possible. Chaos? Yes. Progress? Also yes.
The Challenge: My sleep cycle went full rebel mode. I became a night owl, sleeping around 2 AM, which made those early morning runs feel like trying to wake up a hibernating bear. On two days, I simply couldn’t wake up early enough - my body was like “absolutely not, human.”
The Runs That Mattered
June 10th - The 4km Morning Miracle Early morning, somehow dragged my zombie-like self out and actually ran 4km. This felt like winning the lottery given my new nocturnal lifestyle. Small victories, people.
June 13th - The 5km Google Maps Betrayal (That I Loved) Ran 5km, but Google Maps decided to play pranks and led me completely astray. Plot twist: instead of cursing at my phone, I was actually vibing with it. Sometimes the best adventures come from wrong turns.
June 15th - The Absolute Disaster Run (AKA My Humbling) Sunday. Humid weather that felt like running inside a pressure cooker. Aimed for 8km but it turned into the most spectacular failure of the week. Gave up within the first 2km, then spent the rest gasping like a fish out of water with zero running technique. I was basically doing everything wrong except putting one foot in front of the other.
That afternoon, I went down a YouTube rabbit hole and found this game-changing video: How to breathe while running. Finally, someone explaining the technique I desperately needed.
The Evening That Changed Everything
Later that evening, I received a text from my dear friend Soham, who lives 15km away from me in Pune:
“ghari yeto ka 8 vasta” (Come home at 8 o’clock) “running karila jau” (Let’s go running)
Perfect timing! The universe was basically saying, “Hey, time to test that new breathing technique.” We ran 5km without stops around the World Trade Center in Pune - and what a redemption run that was! The technique actually worked, my breathing was controlled, and having a running buddy made all the difference. This run single-handedly saved my week.
Other Week 1 Attempts
Swimming: I inquired about swimming classes for cross-training, but due to the off-season and lack of coaches, they said they’d let me know later.
Nutrition: Tried to hit my protein targets by eating 3 eggs daily plus whatever else I could manage.
Exercise: Besides running, I didn’t do much other exercise - definitely need to step this up.
Week 1 Lessons
- Flexibility beats perfection - When life disrupts your schedule, adapt and run when you can
- Technique matters - All the motivation in the world won’t help if you don’t know how to breathe
- Running buddies are gold - That evening run with Soham was my best run of the week
- Humidity is brutal - Need to time runs better or accept the challenge
- Sleep cycle affects everything - Need to figure out this night owl situation
Looking Forward
Week 1 wasn’t perfect, but it was beautifully chaotic and real. I ran when I could, learned crucial techniques, and discovered the power of having a running partner. Most importantly, I survived my first week without injury!
Follow my journey on Strava to see all my runs, splits, and the beautiful mess that is my training data.
Aiming bigger for next week - let’s see if I can bring more structure while keeping the adaptability that got me through this week. Week 2 targets: 4km + 5km + 9km. Can I actually stick to the plan this time?
Stay tuned for more chaos, breakthroughs, and probably more Google Maps betrayals. 🏃♂️