It has been about 3 months since I read The Cool Impossible the first time. Since then I have probably read the book couple more times and soaked in these big ideas:

• Form and Strength and how they are interdependent
• Benefits of strength exercises for my feet
• Nutrition and general diet
• Mental strength and discipline
• Awareness (probably the biggest one!)

This is a quick update on my last 3 months.

Living in Bangalore, India, I decided that it was too expensive for me to ship the Slant Board and Stability Disk from the U.S. I improvised and designed my own alternatives here (I will post on this separately for the benefit of others who might be living outside the U.S). I have not started any of the Fitball stuff as yet though.

I went back to Square1 and started with the Sugar Detox and the Whole Food challenge. I weaned myself from my Adidas normal running shoes to a pair of Merrell Trail Gloves since I do most of my running on a dirt trail. I started by running 20-30 minutes and then slowly built up to 30-45 minutes at a gentle pace and worked on my form, running 3-4 times a week. Got used to the forefoot strike and became conscious of my upper body form. 

As I approach my 50th Birthday, I went through my first comprehensive health check. This was a battery of blood tests, Chest X-rays, Abdomen scans, Tread Mill Tests, ECG etc. All parameters look good and I now feel mentally ready to get into the meat of my preparation.

My CI for 2014? I am going to volunteer as Crew Member at the La Ultra 2014 (thehigh.in) in August, just to experience altitude running before I try it out myself, maybe in 2015. The race organisers have put together a 38K Trail Run for the crew and I am planning to check this out.

Over the last week, I put myself to the 1-Mile Test and the 20' Test and diligently recorded the data suggested. I am going to start on the Foundation regimen in the coming week.

It is Summer Vacation for the kids and just as luck would have it, my first week is going to be on our family vacation in the hills of Coonoor in South India. I am determined to start my program despite that. This will give me about 13 weeks of training before I fly to Leh for the La Ultra. I do hope to share my weekly experiences here.