Going from zero mileage, I will be preparing to do an ultramarathon in Nepal.

Now for a little longer intro. I’m a 60+ teacher serving in the US Peace Corps in Nepal. Although I’ve been running on and off for the last 10 years, ever since I got here in February (2019), I’ve wanted to get into trail running. I had picked an ultramarathon next spring (Stupa-to-Stupa 54km Ultramarathon) but now it looks like it won’t be run. So, I’ve changed gears, and will concentrate on building a great base so I’ll be ready when I end up finding “my” race. And this blog will track my progress.

Run Forest Run!

I was never much of a runner. I ran to get in shape for soccer, but after I finally gave up that sport, almost all of my exercise came from cycling. Jump forward many years, and I found myself in a country too cold for a bike, Mongolia. With limited food choices, workaholic hours, and weather too cold outside to do anything, my weight exploded. I’m not sure how big I got, but I literally couldn’t fit into any of the clothes I brought with me a year before.

So, I found a C25K (couch to 5km) plan and bought what I think is the first smart watch – the Nike Sport Kit which included a band that stored data and a foot pod that tracked my steps. So, with Nike on my wrist and on my feet, I was able to approximate my distance and slowly build up my running. Eventually, after returning to the US, I ran several half marathons (PB 2:02) and one marathon (PB 4:45). My brothers don’t run so they would always tease me with “Run Forest, Run!”

But last year, after taking care of my terminally ill mother, I added way too much weight. Not as much as in Mongolia, but still too much. I got back into my running, but with no goals other than to loose weight. But now I find myself teaching at a rural school in the mountains of Nepal, about 4-hours from Kathmandu.

Training on the Side of a Mountain

During my initial months near Kathmandu, my schedule just didn’t allow for much free time and I was only able to get in two runs. And once I moved to my permanent site in Dhading, I was spending all my time and energy teaching.

But I’ve been here a little over 4-months now, and actually was running pretty consistently until the monsoon rains came. I only have dirt roads to run on and the torrential rains make them impossible to run on. So that’s why I’m starting at “zero”.

Garmin Vivoactive 3

This is my third Garmin GPS watch. Although the Vivoactive 3 is promoted more as an all around activity tracker, for running, it fits my needs very well. It doesn’t look like a running watch, and that’s nice. But the touch screen is finicky and my students love playing with it too much. If I decide to change, I might opt for the Garmin Vivoactive 4, Forerunner 45 or maybe even the Forerunner 245 Music.

Runalyze.com

Right now, most of the big names in running smartwatches are adding more stats on how your training is going – kind of like looking past the numbers. But why pay for something that a you can have free access to on the internet that does the same thing – and it’s called Runalyze.com. My Garmin data is synced to the website and I have instant access to things like my VO2max, Marathon Shape, Fatigue, Fitness Level, Stress Balance and Training Strain. And it calculates this for all activities that could affect it like cycling, walking/hiking and bodyweight workouts. I’ll post more about this later.

Luna Mono 2 Sandals

I’ve been running in Luna Sandals for almost 5-years now and love them. And it looks like the weather here in Nepal will allow me to run in them year-round. I was definitely influenced by “Born to Run” by Christopher McDougall which includes ‘Barefoot Ted’ who started Luna Sandals.

Next Step Out The Door

Let’s get this show on the road!!!