Running Updates

I just realized that for the last 6 months or so, all of my travel has centered around running. All the trips - whether to attend a friend's wedding or to meet the prospective life partners - were planned around some run.
After 6 months break due to a back injury in Feb'2010, I re-started running in September. Since then, I have been running almost continuously with the only breaks being those that were imposed by the body.  I have run four half-marathons since then. And except for a 1 month period where I had a shin-splint scare, I have been relatively injury free. ( It later turned out that the shin pain was due to worn out shoes putting extra pressure on my shin muscle. The pain went away to a great degree after I started running in new shoes - Asics 2150.)


The four runs/trips since November'10 have been -


Airtel Delhi Half Marathon, 21 Nov, 2010
Since I started from scratch in September and struggled with my increased weight, I wasn't in best of shape and it reflected in the finish time of 2:07. It was my slowest half-marathon ever. But good thing was that I was back on the track.


SC Mumbai Half Marathon, 16th Jan, 2011
This was my first run in Mumbai. The weather on the day was far better than what I had expected after hearing experiences of runners who ran there the previous year. The best part of this run was the local cheering and support for the runners along the route. Many families had come out on to the roadside and were providing water and eatable to the runners and were cheering them. All this and a small matter of losing 3 Kgs since Delhi helped me get a sub 2 hrs timing of 1:57 mins.


Auroville  13th Feb, 2011
I had registered for a full marathon at Auroville but could not train well for a full due to concerns of injury to my shin. However, I decided to run a half marathon there. I started the run early in the morning with full marathon guys. It was still dark when the full marathon starts and one has to run for about an hour in the pitch dark jungle with a handheld torch before the day starts to break. For me, one of the most attractive aspects of the Auriville marathon is to run during those early morning hours on a thick jungle trail and witness sunrise along with all the accompanying sounds and smells of the jungle.
For full, one has to cover the same route twice, so I decided to stop after first round. However, I missed the starting point and realized 10 mins later that I was well into the 23rd Km. I turned back from there and thus finished about 25 Kms. While going back to the starting area I removed my bib so that people don't mistake my shortened run for a world record.


Running and Living Half Marathon, Corbett National Park, 23rd April, 2011
This is the latest run that I did. The good part of it was that my two brothers and some relatives and friends also accompanied me from Delhi for this trip. We were a gang of 8 and usual fun was had during the 3 day trip. We could have saved ourselves some headache had we given a little thought in planning the whole trip but as it turned out it was fun nonetheless.
The run itself was pretty decent. I was targeting somewhere around 1:50 and was in pretty good position at around 18 Km mark at 1:33. But during the last 3 km the sun came out with full force, the roadside tree cover grew sparse and the route that seemed completely flat in the morning inexplicably turned inclined. The result was that I lost some 3 mins while walking some part of the last km and finished in 1:51.
Latter that day we roamed around Corbett and the highlight was bathing in a water fall after a hot day. The next day we went on the jungle Safari and though we didn't sight a tiger in the wild, it was pretty good fun. One of the things that struck me about the jungle - when we once suspected a tiger and turned the engines off - was how quiet it was.


I next plan to do a full marathon at Leh in August. This should be a very challenging run, not the least because of the very high altitude of the location. The organizers have made it mandatory that the runners report at least a week in advance in Leh so that they get enough time to acclimatize else it can be too risky to run long distances at such an altitude. So, I can use that 7 days period for sightseeing and general vacationing in the Himalayas.
However, given that it's summer and just to get a 5K run in the park one has to wake up at 5:30 in the morning or else it becomes too hot to run, it will take all the dedication and discipline to train for this run. 

Journal Update: November Runs

November has been a good month for me - running wise. Not only have I completed two half marathons - Delhi (1st Nov) and Hyderabad (22nd Nov) - but I have also been able to improve my time by 18 mins over my first half marathon (30th August, Hyderabad) time. Importantly, I have been able to remain injury free. The knee pain which was becoming almost a regular presence during the first two months of training is gone now. I always knew that the pain would last only until my quads get stronger and start taking more responsibility of my relatively broad and heavy upper body. A bit of cycling in the gym also helped in cross training and easing the work load on my knees. Apparently my quads are stronger now and behaving like good responsible grown ups! Though I am sure they still have some way to go when it comes to running up the inclines. Hopefully, all in due time.

Now, about the two runs.

Airtel Delhi Half Marathon

After my first taste of endorphins during the August Half Marathon in Hyderabad, I realized that the endorphin was not a bad thing to get high on. So I registered for ADHM and Ghaziabad being my hometown I also decided to use the occasion to make a trip back home. Only, now because of the run I was going home a week after Diwali - which, as you can imagine, was a bit hard to explain to family and friends. But I managed.

The venue of the run was about 30K from my home so on the day of the run I had to wake up at 4 in the morning and then my brother drove me to the venue - Nehru Park. There were long queues with hundreds of runners waiting to enter the holding area in the park. It took about 15 mins to reach the holding area from where one had to go to the other gate of the park and then to the starting line. By the time I reached the starting line, the big clock there read 8 mins - but that didn't matter because the run was chip timed and I was not competing for a top slot.

Waiting to get into the holding area.

What surprised me at the very beginning was the sheer number of runners on the road. It took about 15 mins into the run for the runners to be distributed to a reasonable density. After that it was easier to get into the rhythm. The cool November morning, an even route and historical delhi buildings like Indian gate and Rashtrapati Bhawan as a backdrop made for a perfect race settings.

Personally, I felt quite good - the rhythm was good and I was feeling strong. In fact, I remember that somewhere around 12K mark I felt so good that I thought - "Good thing, still 9K left". But as someone said - "If you start to feel good during a marathon, don't worry you will get over it." I did get over this feel good thingie. I remember my feet grew a lot bulkier and gravity a lot more intense during the last 2 Ks.

Joy of Running @ 20K: Ignore the face. ;-)

But all the weariness just flew away when I looked at clock on the finishing line - it read 1:59:xx which meant my net time was comfortably under 2 Hrs. After that my brother helped me stretch a bit and gave me a really good on the spot massage.

01:50:55 :-)

I then collected my certificate and the medal along with some much needed refreshments. Considering the number of participants, I think the race was well organized. Most of the times one step just smoothly flowed into the next - which is always a good thing.

Hyderabad 10K Half Marathon, 22 November

In terms of performance and feel-good factor, this was undoubtedly the best of my three Half-Marathons. I improved my timing by about 5 mins in three weeks and more importantly I still felt strong after the run. In fact, going by my experience in Delhi Half-Marathon I was surprised to see the finish line so early - just before I saw it I was thinking that the finish was still at least 1K away.

01:46:14 - My best so far !

The conditions here too were good for running - nice comfortable temperature and decently even roads. Though, I think a little more thought could have gone into the organization part of the run. For instance since the run started when it was still dark the organizers should have made sure that the street lights were on for the initial stretch around Husain Sagar. Also the traffic at some locations could have been better controlled. At one point an half-awoke APSRTC bus driver almost got competitive with me while crossing the road at the same time. Had not my natural modesty and good sense made me back out from this encounter the things could have got interesting. But I am willing to ignore these minor slips and specially so considering that some of the traffic cops were genuinely clapping and encouraging the runners.

Here I must also relate a rather peculiar incident that happened along the run. In my overenthusiastic effort to remain hydrated before the run I drank lots of water in the morning. But, as is my wont I reached the venue in a rush and just on time and forgot to relieve myself. As anyone who has drank more water than he can handle can imagine the things got a bit uncomfortable after a while. Luckily, I saw a Sulabh Sauchalya (the paid urinals on the roadside) soon enough and darted right into it. Since I wasn't carrying any money on me I tried to explain to the guy that I was running and didn't have any money right now and will pay him later. He apparently wasn't convinced (and I am not sure he even understood what I said) but not wanting to waste any time I just ran away from there - literally. I heard him say something under his breadth which luckily I did not understand. After that it was quite a different run. :-)

And the other good part of the run was that I got to see the Charminar for the first time - even though I have been in Hyderabad for about 3 years now. But again, to be true I am not much into the historical sight seeing scene right now. I still remember my first reaction on seeing Taj Mahal a few years back was "Man! It looks the same as it does on TV." Shahjahan would not have been impressed. But I digress, back to the run.

The other good part of the run was catching up with Hyderabad Runners group - a contagiously enthusiastic lot with some really good runners. A good thing for me because I can use all the enthusiasm and experience I can get to train for my next big run - which I hope will be a full marathon.

First Long Distance Run

“There is an ecstasy that marks the summit of life, and beyond which life cannot rise. And such is the paradox of living, this ecstasy comes when one is most alive, and it comes as a complete forgetfulness that one is alive.” - Jack London

Perhaps these lines best describe how I was feeling on crossing the finish line of my first half-marathon. I certainly wasn't conscious of much except for a vaguely ecstatic feeling of respect for myself and the fellow runners.

The run (competently organized by Hyderabad 10K Run Foundation) started from KBR Park at 5:30 AM towards Gachibowli stadium covering a total distance of about 21 Km. for half marathon. It was still dark when the race started and this combined with an almost palpable sense of excitement and enthusiasm all round made the whole scene a bit surrealistic. But a few minutes into the run, the day started to break and everyone got down to business.

During the run, the first thing I noticed was the camaraderie amongst the runners and for someone like me, who has been mostly training alone, this was a very pleasant discovery. There was this sense of common purpose amongst the participants that made everyone cheer each other along. I remember that whenever I felt low and started to think of walking, I would hear a "Come on!" from someone and that would keep me going.

The other good thing I observed about the long distance running (and endurance sports in general) is that it continuously affords you an opportunity to re-iterate your value-system to yourself. For instance, during the last 400 m. or so of the race, there was this final turn which could also be covered through a shorter diagonal path. The difference between the two paths wasn't more than 20 m. but having run almost 21 Km. the temptation to take the shorter path was very strong and specially so when you have seen some other runners taking that path and you knew that your own reputation was protected by anonymity. It is one thing to talk and write about values like 'integrity' and quite another to actually show them in the face of temptations. As a person who believes that the first and foremost virtue that one must possess is integrity of character, I am glad that I did not disappoint myself.

Overall, it was a very enjoyable and highly satisfying experience. So much so that I have already registered for my second half-marathon in Delhi.