24hours of happiness

Bengaluru Stadium Run 2021 

“So, What is a business, is it a collection of numbers or sales reports??? As you know David and Jan, it is much more” – Michael Scott in The Office, Ep 16, Valentine’s Day.

And in the same breath, what is running? Is it a collection on personal bests (PBs), medals, distances & pace? I have come to realize during this very challenging Covid year, it is much more.

Running my self-contained loop over thousands of times this year gave me the confidence to bounce back from a nadir in my career last year. It gave me the shoulder to cry to brace the worst news I received in my life – to stay positive amidst all the madness that was thrown at us this year.

Training:

The stadium run had been on my mind. But the event itself was pushed out at least 3 times. I wasn’t training specifically, but did some good running leading up to the event. A 50k almost every weekend, including one on a 30hr fast at Chennai, a quarantine 100k, a fast 66k at the AFI Solidarity run and to top it all – a run to Nandi and back!

Although, I had done almost no speed work or long tempo runs.

Goal setting:

I wanted to erase the memory of my last 24hr run and finish this one strong. And for something that has stayed with me unconditionally, how could I give back nothing but happiness. I had to get off the ‘high pedestal’ of being an Indian team member, of having done 200+ kms in 24hrs, of the baggage of numbers and expectations.

The week leading up to the race day was all about staying positive and relaxed. I had shifted jobs recently, a job at which I want to do well, and didn’t want to take my eyes off the ball. Late nights extended right till the Friday.

Bangalore goes through 3 seasons in a single day – super cold and foggy mornings, to dry and very hot mid-day and pleasant evenings. It was the dry heat that I was dreading. I had resigned to not carrying any targets or expectations, but just to stay on course. I didn’t feel the need for a support crew (last time, I had set up a shift roster for my crew).

The moment of the race happened even before it started – my wife said she would be there for the entire 24h for support. My parents offered to take care of the kids for the night. My dad even made plans to get to the stadium for the last couple of hours. I was a winner even before I got to the start line.

The Jinx:

A day before the race, a routine bike parking exercise, my ankle touches the silencer for a microsecond, peeling off the skin. Exposed wound, prayer and some regret were added to my modest race day kit.

The race day:

The race was not in the familiar Kanteerava stadium, but at DYES ground at Vidyanagar, off airport road. It was an open track unlike the colosseum feel of Kanteerava (which also traps the heat). I was assigned the track #1 meant for “elites”. There were a lot of familiar faces at the starting line, the mood was buoyant. Given the COVID situation, the bib collection, pre-race photoshoot was toned down. I found a quiet corner in one of the tents for a few mins of meditation reflecting on and thanking the Lord for the opportunity to be at the start line.

I had a somewhat sedate start, easily 2 – 3 laps less per hour than my usual. Binay was racing on, Velu was close, Pranaya was clipping, even the girls were running strong. I was keeping steady – 10 in 1, 20 in 2, 30 in 3, 39 in 4, 48 in 5 hours. I stopped for a longish 10min break and power nap at 5AM – 11hours and 90km on the clock. Lack of sleep in the last few weeks, a crazy work schedule, no more 10pm shutdowns – may have had the cumulative effect.

I also had to stop at the aid station a few times to rebandage my burn bruise.

I must have had a gazillion loo stops by this time to the port-a-loo and a horrible sight of a “very popular” ultra runner also peeing at the door of the port-a-loo! I know of some competitive greats who mess-up en route to world records, our man quit and this was super-gross. Don’t worry, yours truly did the right thing – poured some water on that mess.

Ps: there are some memories to forget. I brought up the peeing incident to submit to the ultra runners – we have a responsibility to be role models and have a larger community that looks up to what we do. We owe it to them to behave in a civilized manner. As the sport grows beyond to international venues, let us cultivate these at home, so it becomes a habit.

“Happiness is nothing more than good health and a bad memory” – Albert Schweitzer

But because I was stopping to smell the roses, I had a great time catching up with folks, the ones on my track and those on the other races as well – Aparna, Appu, Shibani, Praveen, Naresh, Jay, Atif and many others. I was able to smile more with all who came out to support – Ashwini’s gang, NEB family, Anand and many others. Thanks!

It was a frying pan when the sun came up. My worst fears came true. I covered a paltry 26kms between 8AM to 3PM, who “runs” at 3.5km an hour. Probably for the first time, I was scared of the heat. At 1:30 or so when I stopped at the lunch tent, my mind refused to go back to track. I told Shreya, who was faithfully by my side, through all of this, that I wanted to nap for a bit. I pretended to sleep for about 10 mins, then got back on track.

By 3PM, I had covered 135kms (contrast that with 186 I had done in the 2019 edition -> link here) and was considering running again (or not). Shreya urged me to try to some running. “Hmm, I thought. Why wait till the last 2 hours, if you can run a bit in the last 3 and spread it out a bit.” And I started to get into a run-walk pattern – run the straights and walk the bends. I did this for an hour of so. My parents and kids came in by about 4:30PM and went straight to the sand pit. I was surprisingly able to keep good rhythm. The joy of being on my feet getting into the last hour was a great high. I started to run more and walk less with each lap. My son (all of 5 years) started pacing me from the inside of the track during the bends. I was able to keep good form too.

The strong finish:

The last hour is the best time in the 24hour – not because of what’s left, but because of how strong you still feel. (alas, I had to miss this last time). I put in a total of 18kms in the last 3 hours, finishing the last lap in a sprint at sub 4min/km (15kmph) pace. I picked up pace in the last lap and was joined mid way by Velu (who ran a monstrous 222km) and we sprinted with joy in those last few strides!

Care about the final mileage, anyone? Maybe one day, happiness will also come with a good quality mileage, who knows, maybe not. But till then, let's enjoy the journey!