Hope to inspire a new generation of runners for peace: Shreyas Karnad, instructional designer in an MNC

runspiration

Shreyas N Karnad

Sportskeeda is proud to present a brand new series – Runspiration. In this series, we converse with runners from across the country who have found inspiration by taking up running and related activities, and have been successful in dealing with their problems, health or otherwise. These are people who lead truly inspirational lives.

Today we converse with Shreyas Karnad. Shreyas is an Instructional Design by Profession at Accenture. True BLUE Bangalore Boy, running all over Bangalore and cycling all around Bangalore. He identifies himself with his passion than his profession. Running and Fitness are THE goals of his life. He wants to take running to every person irrespective of gender and age. Also hopes to inspire a new generation of runners for peace: both physical and mental. Shreyas started running as he was over weight and wanted to lose weight and he made sure he achieved what he first set out for.

Here are the excerpts from the interview with Shreyas.

When and how did you first start running?

The running saga started as a weight loss agenda. 2010 Jan, my weight was 113 kgs and my height is 5 foot 6 inches. I had no option but to lose weight, if I wanted to live a happy life. It took me a while even to walk one kilometre.

90% of the people who I met said its difficult to loose weight, and when I tried to run I was made fun off. They were embarrassing times. It was one of those days when I just got hooked to the treadmill for 30 mins and managed to jog and crawl for four kms. That was one of the happiest days in a long time and that is when I got hooked on to running.

Started reading more about it, got good shoes and spent more time on the TM and eventually, I started losing a lot of weight. Today I am 68 Kgs. Waist size before running was 44, but now it’s closing up to 32. Just run guys, you will be free of mental and physical illness.

Recall your first marathon

My first marathon was a 10K in 2011 organized by SNAP fitness. I signed up for it and went there to have fun, but ran my heart out and manages to clock 46 mins 30 secs, and was also among top ten finishers. It was just awesome and that is how I started finding about distances beyond 10KM.

How do you go about preparing for a marathon?

It depends on the distance I am training for. Having a right group and a right partner is the first step according to me while training for a marathon.

My running friends play an important role. It is important to train with the right people. My performance has significantly improved since I have started to train with Tim Tim Sharma, who plays a key role in helping me get stronger with new core exercises and cross training. Since we train as a group (Proton Runners) we follow the same strategy for a FM.

FM preparation starts two months prior to the date of event: which I think is a good time for us, since we are regular runners. The training depends on a lot of factors:

1. Place of event: Important to know the geography and weather of the place where you will be running.

2. Route: Very important to know the route: surface (thar/trail), elevation and number of loops.

3. Injury Free but yet really intense and fun training: It is important to keep yourself away from injuries while training for a marathon. Cross training like Zumba, Cross-fit/Functional training, Core exercises, warm-ups, post run stretches, Cycling, and Elliptical workouts condition the body very well.

4. Running techniques: We try to improve our running form with every marathon we run, which is very critical if you want to run for long without injuries.

5. Five Long Runs: We plan for four long runs in the two months (8 weeks) training for a FM. First long run would be in the 2nd week: an easy 25 KM 3rd week would be 150 to 200 KM cycle ride on a weekend to enhance endurance. 4th week would be a 30KM strong run. 5th week would be another 30KM @ 15 seconds faster/KM than the previous run. 6th week would be a 35KM, 10 seconds faster per KM than the race day target. The final 15 days leading up to a marathon is all about easy runs, cross training, keeping a close watch on what we eat, mentally prepare, do easy runs.

Do you follow a diet in preparation of a marathon? If yes, describe it.

Diet is an integral part of training. Though, my diet is a carb rich diet: I thrive on almonds, lots of fruits, horse grams, flax seeds, dry fruits and tender coconuts. The intake of these increase during my marathon training period, cause I feel easily recovered after a long run. So it is important to eat right and find out those important recovery foods for the wear and tear your body goes through after every training session.

Do take us through your running kit? Eg: Shoes, Outfit, Drinks, Supplements etc

Shoes: Nike Flyknits Racer – I think it is the Ultimate shoe for Running. I don’t see a better shoe anywhere. Outfit: Nike Dry fit Tee and Nike Running Shorts, Drinks: Gatorade, Supplements: I am trying hard to be a Vegan :)

What are the other runs you participate in?

It was only in 2012 towards September, I started participating in events except for a couple of them in 2011. But in 2013, I will participate in all major events. Here is the list of events I have been a part of. 1. Auroville 2. Bangalore Ultra 3. Contours Women’s Day Run (Missed it this year) 4. Snap 10K and 60K 5. KTM 6. Spirit of Wipro Bangalore 7. MidNight Marathon 8. The Sundown Marathon

What other sport do you play or follow?

Cycling! Now getting hooked to Zumba.

Your favourite sportsman?

I draw inspiration from my real life heroes, though I am in love with Scott Jurek. My favorite sportsman (runners) list: 1. Arun Bharadwaj 2. Arun Kumar (who the won B’lore ultra 100KM ) 3. Tim Tim Sharma 4. Ashok Nath 5. Vishwanathan Jayaraman

Any message to our readers who wish to start running?

Don’t think, just start running, its the best therapy. It is happiness, It is bliss, It is nirvana. Welcome to the runner’s world and start living.

To read the rest of the Runspiration series, click here.

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Edited by Staff Editor