Life has been coming back one full circle for me and I’m pressing
the RESET button – career, coaching, parenting-wise. Yesterday, running got
added to that list.
I crossed the finish line in 4:00:01 – the first time I had
gone under that timing was at Hyderabad marathon in 2009 and the last time over
that timing was in Mumbai in 2012! – RESET
The race day came with a general overhang of challenges. Non-stimulating
work has been a part of this for a while now. Although I had good training
block a month into the race, over 100k per week, my last 2 weeks were far from
ideal. Headaches and stomach bug forced me to take an entire week off, the week
leading into the race felt sluggish.
But the race eve perked me up. My last session at Asics
Running Club as a coach, my band of coachees giving me all the positive vibes.
The rest of the day was all about Kipchoge’s super human, 1:59:40.2 at the Ineos
159 Challenge. No Human is Limited, indeed!
Regardless, I had decided to race aggressively this time around.
I have had enough of holding back in the first half and struggling in the
second. I might as well be aggressive on the first half and be prepare to struggle
in the second. I had a 1:28 half marathon finish on a tough course 3 weeks
back, a strong 3:12 40k a month back and I knew I could push a 1:30 to 1:35 for
the first half and still run strong. That was the plan!
Contrary to my usual tapering, I did not do any stretching before
this race. I did not carb load specifically, there were no pre-race jitters
either. As for sleep, I think I am oversleeping quite a bit these last few
months.
At 2:30AM as I left home riding my bike, I felt my toe fingers
crushed inside my compression socks. I dismissed the idea of going back to
change my socks. At the baggage counter, I toyed around with the idea of
keeping or discarding my calf compression sleeves. I finally kept them on, because
its easy to stuff my gels in them. I was also running in my non-compression
shorts. I have been known to be lousy with my choice of running wardrobe in the
past. Will these choices come back to haunt me?
Race day morning was good, I quickly found my rhythm. Just
as I was getting out of the stadium, coach Shreyas overtook me. His plan was to
run a 1:35 for the first half and we both stuck together. I was running well
and clocked some steady 22:xx 5ks. I had had a gel before the race start (and
beet juice) and downed another gel at 12k. Things were on target, I stopped for
a pee break at 18k and lost sight of Shreyas who went on ahead.
One of my coachees, Sandeep, passed me close to the stadium,
about 5-7 mins ahead of me, into his second loop.
I wasn’t feeling the best, but came under the 21k arch with
the clock showing 1:35
As I climbed a small uphill in front of Vidhana Soudha, the
first signs of cramps appeared. I reduced pace, but pressed on, till GPO, then
took my first stretching break at 24kms or so. From then on, it was a story of
a struggle. At one point, on Cubbon road, as I stood to relax a cramping thigh,
I had 3 ladies looking on.
I gave a live demo of how a cramp comes.
A lot of runners passed me – some a quick wave of sympathy, others
trying to egg me on. I tried my best to run as much as my cramp would allow,
tried not be disheartened, tried not to judge myself based on this one bad day,
tried to still keep a smiling face.
It’s tough. I don’t know why I still do it.
Some feedback I received in subsequent days from running buddies & well wishers:
- Work on strength
- Given my height and reasonably high cadence, the area to improve could be from improved hip flexion and therefore a longer stride length
- Focus on overall nutrition (not just race day) and put on some weight
