The day it all paid off!

Nov 13th 2010- the day when everything went according to plan and all the training, discipline and self-belief culminated into something which seemed incredulous a year back. I completed my first half marathon.

I had prepared intensively and I had a feeling of quiet confidence that this would be done easily. However a week before the race, i started getting jitters. Though I had read that this is normal, it was not enough to allay all the fears that kept creeping into my head out of nowhere. I realized that I was too keyed up for the race and for the last 2 days, I tried to not think about the race at all. I did spend some time banishing thoughts from my mind that it was not worth the effort and I should give up the idea totally.

Night before the race I ensured all the things were in place- t-shirt, tracks, running gloves, cap, shoes, energy gels, heart rate monitor, race bib etc. I also packed my "Shani Chakra"- my good luck charm that I use on important days. My cosmic edge available for divine intervention if required, I went to bed.

Race Day-

I woke up groggy primarily because I had a fairly sleepless night. A spot of yoga calmed my nerves and I had hurriedly got ready and rushed to the venue in the cab waiting for me. I reached later than I hoped because I had to turn back to my hotel for my cell phone which I had forgotten.

The cab drop me about 5 blocks away from the start line and walking the 5 blocks in the cold (yes it was literally freezing), I was totally out of breath and was left wondering the wisdom of running in sub-zero temperatures.

A bag check in and a longer than expected line for the toilet meant I reached the starting line later than the start time. Horrors of horrors, the race was on time and my corral (corral 4) has already left. I ran in corral 5 after a race volunteer assured me it was fine and I wouldn't get an incorrect time.

Quite an inauspicious start! I took it in my stride assuring that all the things in my life that don't start on the right foot eventually end up being a success. And so I was off!

For the first mile or so I couldn't run. There were so many people around that all I could manage was a brisk jog. I was overwhelmed and yet enthused by the huge turnout. Runners in all shapes, sizes and ages.

Since I couldn't run as fast I would have loved, I tried to soak in the atmosphere, the sights and sounds of downtown Richmond embellished by the running carnival.

Since I had run a 10k sometime back, I had some kind of reference. I knew I was definitely slower but this was a longer race and it was really cold.

Much to my dismay I reached the 3 mile mark after 30 mins. At this point, I began hearing small voices in my head asking to stop and this wasn't worth the effort. I trudged along ignoring the voices and concentrating on the music instead. Slowly the voices changed their message- Ok run If you want but only this once. Don't repeat the insanity.

The demons in the head conquered, I ran spiritedly only to find my first uphill patch. I ran with my head down so that I wouldn't see the upward incline and thus trick my mind into believing that I was running on a flat course. I had read this somewhere and it worked well.

It also warmed my body up and I knew I was running well now.

Bryant Park and a whole host of spectators now greeted us. In my excitement I missed the 4 mile marker and by the time I reached the 5 mile marker, my speed was considerably up. It was only 45 odd minutes. This was also around the time I dropped and lost my running gloves. I breached the 10K mark in 54 mins and I now was comfortable that I would complete the half marathon.

Miles 6 onwards were a party in the truest sense of the world... scores of people cheering their friends, husbands, mothers, wives, sisters, brothers, colleagues etc... banners and posters of all shapes, sizes, colors and messages cheering hundreds of runners to complete their lunatic Sunday morning activity. A few of the banners stood out-" Marathon is a mental activity and you are all mental", "Pain is temporary! Pride is permanent!", "One more mile to glory", "You're almost there... really".

Around Mile 8, I started looking at a possible finish time. I was around 1 hr 15 mins into the race. I decided to speed up then. Luckily I had conserved my energy well and was well hydrated. It was also getting warmer. I terminated my semi jog trance and started sprinting. I hit mile 10 by 1hr 32 min. I now decided to target a finish time of under 2 hrs.

This was also the time I was in Richmond downtown.

It was now sufficiently warm and I took my jacket off and tied it around my waist. I didn't abandon it on the road as many others had done along the way... may be it was my frugal self that forbade me from doing so. or maybe I wanted to keep all the mementos from the race.

I was now sprinting all out - I knew this because my body was a collection odd pains and creaks... especially my back and ankles. I half feared if I had had a stress fracture... I decided that even if I did have one I would still have it at the end of the race and I would look at it then... NOTHING in the world would now stop me from finishing.

Into the last mile, I was shaking not so much out of exhaustion but out of the excitement of finishing... the last half mile was a steep downward slopes... I smiled in glee and ran as fast as I could... and then it was over...

And as I waited for my tears to mingle with the sweat, I looked up and thanked the almighty. Just then the victory theme from Lakshya played on my Walkman and I realized someone up there had been looking out for me while I ran!

I did it!

I ran my first half marathon- the McDonald's Half Marathon- finished in a time of 1hr 58 mins. Mission for 2010 accomplished. This is not a time to rest on my laurels but to prepare for the long road ahead. Completing the half marathon has given me the confidence that I can go even further.The logical graduation from a half marathon is the marathon itself-26.2 miles of sweat, fatigue, self inflicted pain and tears. I don't know whether I am ready for it now but i know that I am going to start preparing for this target. I don't know yet when I want to tackle the marathon but sometime in late 2011 would be nice.

The last 5 odd months of running has been largely driven by body and my emotions. I have realized that i haven't used my brain as much as I can. Sure I have used my mind but not my brain- as I run more and more, I have started appreciating the subtle difference- the difference that I can feel but I cannot put down in words.

Going forward in addition to running, I have decided to add weight training, yoga (including pranayama) and proper diet to my list of daily tasks.

I will be putting up snaps of the event and my experience of running my first half marathon soon.

Game On!

I would be running the Richmond Half Marathon on 13th Nov

https://www.raceit.com/Register/registrantSearch.aspx?event=786

Watch this space!

13.1 miles breached!

Yesterday was a special day.. a day where the culmination of all the training miles finally bore fruit. I completed my first half marathon in training and though this was accomplished on a treadmill as against the outdoors, It still was a very special achievement.

I hadn't run at all for almost an entire fortnight and I was wondering if I was losing my touch. So after a 3 hrs Saturday afternoon nap, I decided to hit the gym. I just wanted to run for half an hour or so. But once i was close to an hour, I realized that I was running well and so took the decision to try the whole distance. 2 hours 22 minutes and 1799 calories (as shown by the treadmill), I hit the magical figure of 13.1 miles.

I would love to have written how eventful the run was or how momentous it felt after i reached the target. But strangely It was not. I wasn't as tired as I thought I would be. I think the reason may be that I have trained well all summer and I paced myself well during the run.

More than anything else, this run was just what I wanted before the Richmond Half Marathon on 13th November for which I have enrolled. Upwards of 10 miles had been an unknown territory for me so far. All throughout my training, I wondered if I would hit the "Wall" somewhere during the half marathon and not be able to complete at all. Now I am certain- the wall doesn't exist for me, not atleast in the first 13.1 miles for me. I can actually run the whole distance without getting worried about having spent myself up completely midway in the race.

I was also surprised by my ability to pick up pace as required during the run.

At the Richmond Half Marathon, I would be starting in the 2 hr 15 minute wave. My practice run reaffirms this as a reasonably correct estimate of my expected finish time if all goes accordingly to plan.

I am planning no long runs till the 13th. I just want to be fit, focussed and eating well till the big day.

Signing off now.

Philosophy of running!

Its been 10 weeks now since I took up running seriously. To have it going for this long is an achievement for me especially when we live in a world where every hobby or activity has a limited shelf life and there are several hundred activities that fight for our mind-space at any given time.

This world of multi-tasking makes devoting time for any one activity on a regular basis a near impossibility. And yet it is perhaps this very reason that I have been able to pursue running so religiously.

In the beginning it was all physical for me. I ran to burn calories and to look and feel fitter. And so it seemed like an effort and the pain after the long run seemed real. Somewhere along the journey, the physical part of running become a side story and running soon became an exercise in introspection. Earlier while running I looked outside-at the sights, the sounds, the mile markers, the changes in the terrain etc and my running was affected by all possible external factors. Now increasingly i look "inward". Running allows to me clear my mind and think positively about all aspects of my life-small and big. Running is no longer an activity to mark down the miles covered, it is becoming a meditation of sort for it leaves me clear-headed, calm and positive every time.

Having said this the meditative aspect of running isn't encountered so easily. The first couple of miles require supreme physical effort. But after this somewhere down the line almost like a miracle, I am in the "Zone"- what some may call a happy place. I stay there till the end of my run and like meditation, the pure and positive vibes stay with me all day.

So every time someone who thinks I am overdoing the running asks me to take a break, I smile and tell myself "I am doing just that"

The 10k run in numbers!

http://results.active.com/pages/oneResult.jsp?pID=91897368&rsID=100490&pubID=3

My first 10k race!

Random googling on a boring office afternoon is what triggered my first official race.

Nutrition, Running, Races in Virginia and things to do over the long weekend- these were the series of searches that led me to the page where I filled out a quick online registration form and completed an online transaction. Before I knew I was enrolled for American Family fitness 8th Annual 10k.

The prospect of taking part in a 10k over the long weekend seemed easy like an easy enough way to expose myself to race conditions especially the idea of running on a coldish morning.

As an assurance to myself that I could do it, I ran a fast (by my standards) 10k in the hotel gym that night. I clocked a time of around 59 mins or so and I hoped I could replicate this time on the race day.

A couple of days before the race day, I bought some stuff that I would need for the race- energy gels, running socks, a new t-shirt and running shorts.

The day before the race, I made sure that I had everything laid out and in place so as to have no last minutes surprises. I had a normal dinner and slept really early (around 10 pm) as I knew I would have to be up by 630 am the other day.

I reached the venue about an hour before the start time of 9 am and completed the registration. It was fairly cool when I reached there but the sun was shining through and I knew instantly that this would be a good day for running. The songs being played on the loud speakers were among my favorites and I knew this was a good sign.

I was still very confused on what would be a good finishing time- I didn't just want to run for the sake of finishing only and at the same time I didn't want to exhaust myself midway in the race. I voiced my concern to the kindly gentleman at the registration booth and after a quick analysis of my running history for the past 3 months, he suggested that I aim for a finish time of 55 mins which seemed like a long shot to me really. I smiled and reached the start point.

The start wasn't ideal to say the least- my heart started beating really loud, I had a feeling that my legs had frozen and my iPod wouldn't start. And then in the midst of all this confusion and the mini disasters, we were off. The first few minutes up to the 1st mile marker were a haze- labored breathing, an obstinate iPod, me dropping money, people overtaking- it just seemed too much.

Sense started knocking into my system after the first water stop- i slowed down a little, my iPod started blaring out music again, my breathing returned to its normal agitated levels and I was off. In spite of all this I had covered the 1st mile in less than 8 minutes. No need to get excited I told myself-the first mile is carried by the adrenaline. So i put my head down and ran- not looking for the next mile marker but looking at my feet. 16 mins 7 second and I was at the 2nd mile marker- not bad I gloated to myself and at the next second I admonished myself- the race isn't over I kept reminding myself. I reached mile 3 at 24 mins 30 seconds and mile 4 at 32 mins.

Between mile 4 and 5, I encountered a steep upward slope. My only impressions of that slope were heavy breathing, most inappropriate love songs playing on my iPod when I could have done with really peppy and lifting music ( i was playing on shuffle mode) and like a million people crossing me. Finally I reached mile 5 and I was surprised that I hadn't taken ages to reach it. My watch timed me at 40 minutes

I was thrilled- I could actually complete this under an hour and thats when out of nowhere panic and self-doubt kicked in. My mind got clouded with the most bizarre questions- is this a 10K race or a 10 mile race? Have I completed 5 miles (ie around 8 kms) or just 5 kms? Why do they have mile markers for a 10K race? Do we have to run the same distance back to finish this race? Thankfully this endless maze of questions was broken by an over-enthusiastic volunteer whose cheering (or at least some words) I could hear over the music in my ears and confusion in my head. Did she just say across the corner- Am I there already? Sure enough, I saw the finish line and the large digital timer in the corner of my eye. I veered around the corner and covered the last few metres as fast as my legs could carry. I wanted to beat the 52 min mark.

And it was over- almost an anti-climax. There was no wild pumping of the fist, no leaping in the air, no welling up of eyes or any show of emotion.

There was just a silent prayer and an acknowledgement that a small but significant milestone had been reached.