FM at Mumbai SCMM 20 Jan 2013

Hi folks,

A brief race report!

As pics say it a lot better than (especially my) words, I'll use the photos I took as we ran along...

I'll start at the race start.

Hooked up with my Runner's High buddies Chandra, Rahul & Praba. The atmosphere was electric!

At the holding area before the start.

The early morning weather was just superb. So much so that I had to take a leak  :-p  at a public loo at Chowpatty! Then had to catch up with my mates; that took some effort, esp on the Pedder road flyover.

RH Lovebirds #1 Neha and Ajay at the Sealink start    :-)

I like to think that we're all on a lovely running/walking tour of this awesome city. Best way to see it. Yeah.

Soon enough we reached the beginning of the Sea-link; it looked really beautiful in the early morning. And who do we find there? The lovebirds of course, Neha and Ajay! (engaged).

Needless to say, we all owe a huge debt of gratitude to them for their selfless aid.

Of course, they enjoyed each other's company and were perhaps oblivious of all else ;-)

Running the Sea-link was fun! With Chandra, Rahul and Praba, conquerors all!

The Elites! We let them go   :-P

Rahul and I had trained for and adopted a run:walk of 23:3 min (23 min run, 3 min walk); it worked very well for us and we pretty much kept to our target pace (almost) throughout.

As an aside: I find that many folks consider walking during a run to be "wrong"; please don't: a run-walk regimen can really help. Of course, YMMV (your mileage may vary): but do give it a shot, especially when you're new to running or the distance. We did all our water/food/salt tabs breaks during the "walk" part. You can do a suitable ratio: 7:1, 8:2, etc etc.

Sherry met us with some fantastic cold coconut water at the end of the Sea-link. Thanks Sherry!

Then, at around the 20k mark at the end of the Sea-link, the elite runners passed us. 

Rahul and I debated whether or not to let them and go; "okay chalo, this time let 'em go, we won't embarrass them". So we didn't. :-)    :-P

Rahul Warrier on Pedder Road. Yeah!

At the halfway point, Chandra and Praba asked Rahul and I to go ahead... we wanted to try and hit our goal (basically at 8kmph, do the FM in about 5:15). (Well, I ended up getting a PB at 5h20m, Rahul just 3 min behind. Happy).

The going got harder now. In fact I actually felt worse at this point (between 21-32k) than i did at the long run at Decathon, Bangalore. Still, I had great company with Rahul Warrier there!

Knew that it's just one of those things: there'll be ups and downs in runs like this; I just had to stick it out...

Of course, the Mumbai crowds and spirit is tremendous; it would regularly lift us and keep us buoyed up!

We meet RH #1 Lovebirds (A/N) again! Man, Ajay/Neha are amazing: they generously gives bananas, etc to other runners and then instruct them to raise funds for Asha! I think it's just great.

Back on Pedder Road, around 35k down, and we have mixed emotions- we know we're a lot closer but.... But. But. There's still a ways to go and 7k is not the same when you're running it afresh as opposed to at the tail end of a marathon! :-)

Okay this guy, Rahul Warrior. Yes, I deliberately spell his surname wrong as he's a Warrior !!!

This is Rahul's first FM and he's just amazing! I'm so impressed. Way to go buddy!!

We catch up, overtake and then jump off, a 5.30 "bus" heading to VT. (What's at VT today? Everyone seems to be heading there. Anything special?  :-)  )

We do this quite a few times leading up to the 38k mark on Marine Drive.

Now what? Now it's mostly a battle of the mind; body feels like an automaton, we run, walk, walk, run, walk, run, .. you get the idea :)

The heli just above the sea. Wow.

Dilshad calls me on my phone..I don't think i make much sense, But, it helps a great deal. 

Darius has finished his 21k in no time and is now apparently helping others, along with SIndhu. 

Just like so many of our amazing community. Good job!

The bands playing there really pep us up for a bit; I charge hearing "Rock On"! yeah baby.

A helicopter blazes at a really low altitude along the coastline. We're dead tired. It's loud. It's a party at which we're kind of fatigued. Still. It's awesome!

Rahul and I convince each other that we can make it to the left turn at about the 40.5k mark. We eventually do; Rahul tells me to go ahead, he'll follow along in a moment.

So I try, running faster than i thought i could (well, for a few seconds anyway). Ah. 1000m. I say "I'll just run!" but No, the body has some issue and does not agree. Okay. So i walk in a patch of shade just before 500m and then I do run! All the way to the finish. 

Even though I've done this a few times (6th FM), it always feels like Wow, am reeeeaaaally done now. Thank you very much FM but i've bloody had it with you. Full stop.

Until the next one :)

After! A PB of 5:20

Rahul, Chandra, Srini P, the coaches, all the RH folks in fact, thanks!!! Could not have done it without everyone (i am a coach too but believe me, am learning new stuff all the time).

Santhosh, am indebted to. Heartfelt Thanks.

Had a lot of fun!

Unfortunately, am not there at the Auroville event this year. 

Will of course miss all the fun there, especially my awesome "Shut Up and Run!" buddy group!!!

Am certain you'll do just great though.

FM at Auroville, Pondicherry, 12 Feb 2012

Barefoot Ted

This time, I did not feel that strong and ready for the FM...well, nor did I feel I cannot do it.

So, went with family (Dilshad & kids, Darius, parents, in-laws) to Pondy! Good fun. Dilshad & Darius are running the 10k event!

Heard some of "Barefoot Ted's" talk at the Visitor's Centre. It was good.

We picked up our bibs, went to the hotel. I was quite tense about how i'll reach Auroville early morning as my hotel (Green Palace :) seemed unknown (it's near the bus stand). So i booked a cab... later found that the pickup was at the hotel next to mine (Hotel "Mass")!

Things did not pan out all that smoothly; like life  . (Echoes of Chief Santhosh ;)

I did not have my garmin- it decided to stop working a week before the event. Ok not so bad...

Darius borrowed my ipod- the plan being i'll take it back on the 2nd loop...

Meanwhile, in the taxi (after a bit of a late start at 4.10am) it suddenly hit me i had no money- it was in the ipod pouch! Luckily, the taxi guy said "no problem saar, i'll collect it from the hotel". Whew.

Got there, nice to meet up with a few RH (Runner's High) folk- Kalpana, Siva, Asad, Karthik..

Then, 5 min before the race started, i realized i had no torch- so i "warmed up" by running back to the tent & collecting it :)

The we were off! Though i've had the good fortune to experience this a few times now, starting a marathon is always a great experience- a surge of adrenalin, so many people, so much energy, one & all locked into the fact that Hey, this is the easiest part! and still smiling & happy. Yeah, we know, we're all crazy ;)

Very quickly, all thoughts of "how easy & suitable for a PB Auroville FM is" just vanished. Honestly! I was almost shocked at the trail & the _really_ slow pace i was crawling along at... (also had some pain, bit of an internal injury)..it took me nearly 1h20m to do the first 10k! Thoughts of giving this one up went through my mind often in the early part...once the sun was up though, i felt better, the pain subsided.

Well, from then on it was your typical hot, difficult, run-of-the-mill marathon :-)

Some highlights- 

I ran alongside a guy running in socks. Yes, socks. Asked him- what boss, you ok with that? And of course he said- yes, am fine. Okay. He pointed out another guy ahead doing it barefoot; and of course, Barefoot Ted was there. Hm. Not for me. Yet.

At 36k. Notice the cyclone damage.

I met Srini. Frankly, i was amazed- our Srini P lounging around enjoying the scenery, not eating up the trail! Will wonders never cease ;)

At about 27k down for me, I met the Chief! Hey, his voice calling out my name & as usual encouraging me on was just what the doc ordered! Another good break. We chat for a few minutes while running along, Santhosh helping pace some Ananya kids...(how they run! Gosh).

Spoke a bit on the phone w/ family, friends :) that helped.

Met Asad (another RH runner) at an aid station at about 29k & we ran together for a while...always helps! But by some 33k i just could not run..fatigue engulfed me, i just wanted to sit down & forget all about this thing. Yeah.

 That's when the run-walk thingy becomes the walk-run-if-u-can thingy. So, i walked, probably about 3k. Actually, it helped me get stronger. I also knew that Darius would meet me at abt 39k, kept me motivated. Hey, Darius did a great run- 10k 18th place! As did so many of our runners. Go RH!!!

Sure enough, we hooked up there .. then, a very pleasant surprise - the wife, Dilshad, and Cyrus Dhabar (also with RH)- met us at the 40-41k mark. Am feeling quite special & content now, not caring about the time, just looking forward to finishing, very happy to have my own personal convoy guiding me through...Thanks guys! 

And who do i see when my legs have almost given way about 500m to the finish- Ajay Gupta! Ah, you look familiar, I say, and Ajay says So do you! It goes without saying- he complimented (read bull-sh*tted) me about how strong i looked, and had me really running! I finished strong- almost sprinting the last 100m. Took me 5:52 but i really didn't care.

As usual, an awesome experience.

Santhosh's Interview @ "Chai with Lakshmi"

Santhosh, founder of Runner's High (RH), and Rashmi, a medical doctor and member of RH, were interviewed by Lakshmi Rebecca of "Chai with Lakshmi".

Here's the video, it's about 7 min, do watch!



It clearly shows how RH is much more than just a "running club" of some sort.
Inspiring, yes!?

Link to the full story.

Favourite RUNNING QUOTES

Running, and other, Quotes that are just awesome! Enjoy.
(In no particular order).


Mental toughness is built by doing something that is hard over and over again, especially when you don't feel like doing it.
Our society has conditioned us to believe there should be no discomfort, to stop when we are uncomfortable. But the discomfort we feel when we're doing a challenging workout is an important part of the strengthening process.
Push through your down days when you're not feeling your best (unless, of course, you are injured or ill). Dogged determination requires keeping your feet moving forward through inconveniences, discomfort, and insecurities to reach your goals.
- Jim Afremow.

The biggest obstacle you’ll ever have to overcome is your mind.

If you can overcome that, you can overcome anything.

-The Age of Enlightenment

Running is nothing more than a series of arguments between the part of your brain that wants you to stop and the part that wants to keep going.
- Gibson's Daily Running Quotes, facebook.

What you feel doesn't matter in the end; it's what you do that makes you brave.

There's a lot of go waiting for you on the other side of tired. Get yourself tired, Andre. That's where you're going to know yourself. On the other side of tired. (Pg 155)

This is why we're here. To fight through the pain and, when possible, to relieve the pain of others. So simple. So hard to see. (pg 256).

A poem : pg 298
Though much is taken, much abides; and though
We are not now that strength which in old days
Moved heaven and earth, that which we are, we are;
One equal temper of heroic hearts,
Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.
-from  "Open", Andre Agassi's autobiography.

We only go around once. There's really no time to be afraid. So stop. Try something you've never tried. Teach it. Do it. Risk it.
- Jon Blais

You give but little when you give of your possessions.
It is when you give of yourself that you truly give.
- Gibran

Let us then be up and doing,
With a heart for any fate;
Still achieving, still pursuing,
Learn to labour and to wait.
- Longfellow

Cheerfulness is the rich and satisfying result of strenous discipline.

Don't be afraid that your life will end,
be afraid that it will never begin.

Work like you don't need money.
Love like you've never been hurt, and,
Dance like no one's watching.

“Your pain is the breaking of the shell that encloses your understanding.” - Kahlil Gibran

“It is not the mountain we conquer but ourselves.” - Edmund Hillary

“You don’t have to be a fantastic hero to do certain things – to compete. You can be just an ordinary chap, sufficiently motivated.” - Edmund Hillary

"Courage has never been known to be a matter of muscle; it is a matter of the heart. The toughest muscle has been known to tremble before an imaginary fear. It was the heart that set the muscle trembling." - Gandhi

It is difficult to free fools from the chains they revere. - voltaire

In the process of completely exhausting myself, I connect with an inner part of me ordinarily veiled by the everyday distractions of life. During that short time spent on a trail in the mountains, my life is reduced to it's simplest terms. Most ultrarunners are people who find goodness and joy in difficult times, who see beyond the misery to the beauty of nature, and who truly realize the elemental and important aspects of life. Going for a run always clears my head, but running 100 miles distills my soul.

"Massanutten Mountain Trails 100 Miler: A Triumph of Desire over Reason" by Keith Knipling, one of a collection of amazing  essays from the book "Running Through The Wall: Personal Encounters With The Ultramarathon", Neal Jamison.

"If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets as Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music, or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well."
- Martin Luther King Jr.

"This is the highest wisdom that I own; freedom and life are earned by those alone who conquer them each day anew." - Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

The true runner is a very fortunate person. He has found something in him that is just perfect.,George Sheehan,Motivation

------------------------------- Collected From: http://divaruns.blogspot.com/
"You feel good while you're running and you feel even better when you're finished." Fred Lebow"Just do it." Nike

"For me, like so many others, running is the answer. Out on the road it is just you, the pavement, and your will". John Bingham

"There is only one runner in this race, and that is me". George Sheehan

"We all have dreams. In order to make dreams come into reality, it takes an awful lot of determination, dedication, self-discipline and effort." Jesse Owens

"Last is just the slowest winner." C. Hunter Boyd

"Tough times don't last but tough people do." A.C. Green

"Get out there and do what you love!"Kara Goucher

"Winning is not about headlines and hardware [medals]. It’s only about attitude. A winner is a person who goes out today and every day and attempts to be the best runner and best person he can be… Winning is about struggle and effort and optimism, and never, ever, ever giving up". Amby Burfoot

"What matters is not necessarily the size of the dog in the fight - it's the size of the fight in the dog". Dwight D. Eisenhower

"If you want to run, run a mile. If you want to experience another life... run a marathon". Emil Zatopek

"Life (and running) is not all about time but about our experiences along the way." Jen Rhines

"The long run is what puts the tiger in the cat." Bill Squires

"I tell our runners to divide the race into thirds. Run the first part with your head, the middle part with your personality, and the last part with your heart." Mike Fanelli, club coach

"I always loved running... it was something you could do by yourself, and under your own power. You could go in any direction, fast or slow as you wanted, fighting the wind if you felt like it, seeking out new sights just on the strength of your feet and the courage of your lungs". Jesse Owens

"There are clubs you can't belong to, neighborhoods you can't live in, schools you can't get into, but the roads are always open." Nike

"You only ever grow as a human being if you're outside your comfort zone", Percy Cerutty

"Good things come slow - especially in distance running". Bill Dellinger, Oregon Coach

"A runner must run with dreams in his heart, not money in his pocket." Emil Zatopek

Full Marathon at KTM, 18Sept'11

Below is the email I sent out to the Runner's High group mailing list - the running community consisting of runners, ASHA volunteers, coaches and physio that I train with - that pretty much sums up the difficult but satisfying full marathon (life-altering!) experience that the Kaveri Trail Marathon (KTM) is! (Billed as "the toughest marathon in the country").

I'd also like to say:

• Many many thanks to all you generous folk who donated to 'ASHA', toward the education of underprivileged kids.
  And hey, if you haven't yet, that's okay :)
  You still CAN! Please Do so.
  
• Having my family turn up at the event was just great! (See photos below). Did wonders for my morale during the tough phase of the race thinking about all of you.

A few pics below!

==========================================================

Hey All,

Congratulations!!

So many of you did your PBs (Personal Best); inspiring to see all the effort put in on a tough course!

And yes, for many, a difficult day; it's no wonder at KTM..

For me, it was a very good, though very tough (last few km) FM.

I did a PB bettering my time from last year's KTM FM by about 40 min! (i finished in about 5h:35m or so). 

Obviously, due to the fantastic training and support from the RH community, coaches and physio!!!

Felt great. Heartfelt thanks.

I had a fun and enjoyable first 10k running with Chandra. Thanks Chandra, as usual!
Then, right till about the 35k mark, I was going strong, following a run-walk pattern, hydrating, salt tabs, etc and generally feeling good. 

After 35 km KTM took over and the dragon revealed herself :-)

Found it very tough then, and was reduced to a fast walk from about 39k on, due to quite severe cramping...

Then, 1.5k from the finish, Ajay was there - thank God! He was just brilliant. It's only due to Ajay that I managed to finish strong, running (most of) the last km - which seems never-ending at KTM, believe me! Kanishka and the other supporters cheering along the way lifted me.

At the finish line, the last few metres, I charged (at least i think i did :). And promptly collapsed after crossing it. People helped me up and in a few minutes i was okay. I remember saying "Man, I'm all wasted here; and, just think, I saw Santhosh back out there on his third loop!!!". Awesome. Inspiring. 

My brother Darius did his first 10k yesterday (in very decent time 1h:06m!) and was there at the finish, along with Nileesh, Chandrika, Ram, Kalpana and so many other familiar faces. Felt wonderful seeing them all. 

I really enjoyed cheering and seeing others finish, Sreeni P included.

Awesome to hear about the Ananya kids doing so well, in such conditions. Wow.

Again, many thanks.

==========================================================

Chandra and Ajay

Fellow marathoner Srinivas P

At the finish line, whew :-P

Some of the RH gang

Canal of the Kaveri river; it runs the entire length 10.55km course 

Cooling off!

With Amit Sheth

I was lucky. Amit Sheth, author of "Dare To Run", was in Bangalore launching his book at Reliance on Sat 6 Aug '11.

He gave a wonderful presentation, showing many photos of marathons/ultras he's been in. He showed us why he's a really good motivational speaker & author!

Amit's blog makes for interesting reading!

My running logs

Am using a great online website to keep a detailed track of all my runs, training & events.
It includes some awesome tools, including viewing the run route "in 3d" and on maps.

It's called Running Free Online (earlier "RunSaturday").

http://www.runningfreeonline.com/people/kaiwanrun


On the left-column menu, "Training - Blog" has a summary of each run.
Do check it out!

A Fantastic Half at Auroville, 13 Feb '11

Had a fantastic race at Auroville, Sun 13 Feb '11. I did a half marathon (HM) and I loved it!
The natural beauty of Auroville, the energy and kindness of the runners and volunteers, team RH being there - an almost spiritual experience!

In fact, a PB (personal best) for me - "official" time of 2:27 (though my garmin shows i finished in 2:26:05).

 Auroville Visitor's Centre

Key Learning's-

- Well before race day, I argued with myself, Santhosh and Preeti, saying that, man, what's the use of running a half when I've already run two FMs (although quite poorly). Today I stand corrected, and how! Running a good race is not just about the distance or the time you take or even if you're successful. I really enjoyed it.

- Any runner who's had (or has) ITB issues knows that sinking feeling when it hits; it happened to me soon after I took up running seriously, at the KTM '10 FM and at the Ultra. This time, I worked harder on strength training for my legs & core; I think it definitely paid off- I did not have any ITB pains. Whew, what a relief! You take out what you put in. No shortcuts. Yup.

- Sticking to the schedule (after my initial bumps & having Santhosh tell me off about doing my own distances!) is bloody important. (I know, I know, eye rolling from Santhosh; when will these people listen!). Thanks Chief!


Soon after completing, I picked up the book "Dare To Run" by Amit Sheth, mostly on impulse. I love to read and a book on running! Yeah. By today I've read about 60 pages of it and Wow! it is inspiring. Do read it. Even better, I saw Amit Sheth there; I paused, wanting to go up and say Hi but he was conversing with friends and I thought it rude to intrude. After reading just part of his book though, I wish I had!

An Update!
Here's the Amazon link to Amit's book "Dare To Run"; I reviewed it as well!



Reading all the RH (Runner's High) folks emails was very inspiring. Fantastic. Kudos to all the PBs; Ajay's sub-4, Pree's 4:30! Wow.

Many thanks to RH, especially all the coaches. Had a fun trip there and back with Chandra and  Preeti, get-together's with Surya, his wife and Gopalan Sir. Meghana and Sudarshan - thanks to their kindness I was offered a lift to the venue on race day from the (beautiful) Zest Big Beach resort.

Wish my family could have been there too, but hey, that will happen next time! Dilshad had quite a marathon day herself juggling two lively boys, Sheroy and Danesh (1.5 years old at that!).

Am really glad and thankful to be a part of the awesome RH group, to have a passion for running. What more could one ask.

Zest Big Beach resort

The sea @ Zest Big Beach resort!

Below, a 3d Google-Earth-powered view of the race! (courtesy of runningfreeonline.com).

HELP Wanted! Running for a Cause with Team Asha.

Hey!
Lucky me, lots of stuff happening... have decided to run a second full marathon. It's the Kaveri Trail Marathon (KTM) and is on Sept 19, 2010. It's billed as a beautiful though very tough run.

This time I want to train better (than I did for the Mumbai one); so, I joined the excellent group Runner's High for a 3 month training programme. This one's specifically for the KTM.

Santhosh Padmanabhan runs it (I talked about him in this earlier post). They're very professional -- highly recommended!!!

Santhosh and team basically does this to raise funds for the Asha Foundation.
Ah. That's where the "HELP Wanted" part comes in.


So: PLEASE click here to navigate to this page now, and help out. It's for a really good cause and I know you'd want to.

Thanks!!

International Women's Day Run : 7 Mar 2010

Ran for Women today! :-)
Dilshad wanted to come along for the 5k run, but could not make it thanks to catering to the needs of a certain 5.5 month-old person named Danesh (and his elder brother Sheroy!).

I ran from home to Ulsoor Lake where the run started (dist of about 2.25km), ran 5k around the lake and back home for a total of about 10km. A nice run, lots of ladies and kids as well. Was fun. Unfortunately, knees are still hurting (in spite of starting hip strengthening exercises about a week back - yeah, i'll give it more time & cut down on mileage).

Details from the Contours International website here.

Strides of Hope

The fortnightly RFL run this time (Sun 21 Feb 2010) was at EGL. Again. A favourite location for me though, no complaints.

What made this run very special, is that we were all a small part of a pretty amazing and awe-inspiring event: Strides of Hope:
an extraordinary gentleman, Santhosh Padmanabhan, was running for 48 hours, raising funds and awareness for "Team ASHA". Wow.
(Click here to see Santhosh's blog).

Santhosh Padmanabhan

Santhosh started his incredible ultra at 4pm on Friday. Obviously, a lot of supporters/volunteers/Team ASHA members ran with him, in a kind of morally supportive relay, throughout. Sunday morning, it was our turn, through the good offices of RFL.

Incidentally, Santhosh ran an awesome 156 kilometres (nearly 100 miles), at the Bangalore Ultra 2008 event.



Also, I ran a half marathon distance (21.1k) in a PB (personal best_ for me: 02:24:15. Another reason to be happy...

The certificate from the 'Strides Of Hope' event.

RFL's Neat Bookmark-cum-Marathon-Checklist

While in Mumbai for the marathon (17Jan2010), at the expo I spotted the Runners For Life, Bangalore stall.
Arvind Bharati was there; was fun meeting up.

I picked up a couple of cute, and very useful!, bookmarks that RFL produced - one side has a "Check list" for runners (see pic below).

 

Click pic to zoom in.

In fact, the checklist really helped - I took along my water bottle (the red Kingfisher one provided) and a hanky for the full marathon, which turned out to be a really good idea.

My First Full Marathon !! Mumbai 17Jan2010

26 miles? Huh easy breezy man, c'mon.

Kidding!! 
Yeah, you bet I'm kidding - not about the doing it, about the "easy" part.
Yes, actually did a full marathon - the SCMM (Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon) -
on Sun 17 Jan 2010!

When I reached Mumbai on Sat 16 Jan, at about 1pm, I was taken aback by the heat. It was really hot! As though I (and am sure others running their first) didn't have enough doubts and those small lurking extremely rational fears inside that say "look, this is crazy..you can't really be expected to last this distance"...; the weather Gods decide to add to the fun.

Sherry (Bharda) was kind enough to pick me up at the airport -- probably had more to do with the fact that her parents (and Bailey) landed up the same day, same time (ok kidding again Sherry).

Met Arvind Bharati at the expo where we picked up our running bib and goodie bag.. Arvind (A2), is the on-the-ground guy for RFL and like virtually every runner in the group, is an extremely helpful and great guy..
I (and in fact several other runners from B'lore) stayed the night at a small decent-enough hotel - Landmark, next to (behind) VT - it's generally known as "Railways Hotel".

Well, up the next morning at about 5.15am. My new 'Race Ready' shorts' pockets quickly filled up: credit card/cash in one, small 'Volini' balm in another, back mesh pockets held a total of 5 gel packs (thanks Mum, Silloo!), mobile phone. Felt quite heavy.

Met with the other runners in the lobby; waiting for Ramesh...finally left only at about 6.20am. Quickly walked down to Azad Maidan (the start area), but of course, it can't go that smoothly right... we found we had to ask directions and take a round-about route (including going down the steps and across the VT/CST station to the other side).

So..we were at the Marathon holding area / start at just about 6.40am. Obviously with the large crowds, I really couldn't see much ahead and just followed along with the crowd moving up to the start. Some gal was shouting something over the sound system...at least I gathered we were about to start and then we did! Exactly on schedule: 0645; hey, not bad! Excited, smiles all around, a large number of people on the sidelines cheering us on. Wow, the Mumbai Marathon's living up to it's name! Reminded myself of my 'race strategy' -- yeah, sure, just finish the damn thing. No, seriously, go out slow, really slow...so i mostly just jogged slow/walked fast that first km..

Of course, when I switched on my trusty Garmin Forerunner 305 GPS watch (at the last minute, too late!), it couldn't lock onto the GPS satellites immediately (this happens if you move a long distance from where you used it last). So, it took more than 5 minutes before i could press Start, and we'd already covered about 600m. So, i thought to myself, when this guy reads 41.6 km you've already covered the 42.2 ! (For you skeptics out there :-) here's the wikipedia entry on the full marathon).

The SCMM 2010 Route Map


Soon hooked up with Ramesh (another RFLer) who had a similar race plan-- go slow now. So yeah, we did, taking photos of the Air India building (Darius, remember how we played there on the escalator as kids!), the Oberoi, etc on Marine Drive, enjoying the cool morning air and thinking 'hey this isn't half bad'.

Before starting (in B'lore itself), I agonized over whether to take my phone on the run or not. If I do, I'll have to carry it in my hand (it bounces too much in the mesh pocket and the front pockets are too small). Finally made a compromise- I carried along my old Motorola Rokr phone and not my (kinda new) Android one; really, the main reason was that my Rokr camera was working and my newer phone's cam was on the blink! Good thing, really enjoy taking some photos on runs.
So, at about 7.40am guess what- I get a call, form none other than my Sheroy!! Was really great to speak with him now, as always.

Soon after, on Pedder Road, caught up with Manjula, another RFLer. Actually, both Ramesh and Manjula are primarily cyclists- who also run marathons. Man! Just a month back, Manjula had completed the really demanding 900km-in-8-days TFN (Tour of Nilgiris) endurance bike race.

The thing about running the Mumbai Marathon- which I heard about and now saw first-hand - the people come out and watch, cheer you on and are really helpful! On Pedder Road, I saw at least 3 people handing out biscuits, snacks, glucose and fruit to any runner who'd like some! In Bangalore we're lucky if we don't get run down..well, it'll happen (the good stuff :).

The elite runners (which included the world's top marathoners --big purse, after all), started at 7.45am, an hour after us. When Manjula and I were at about the 8km mark, just starting on the Worli seaface road and next to Haji Ali, a bus comes up behind us. Was puzzled, until we saw it's a bus for the press. Then, at a pace I can hardly believe - correction- cannot believe - a troupe of about 10 tightly packed Kenyan athletes 'swish' past us! Okay, so the press weren't there for us huh ;-)

Man, it was just awesome to see these guys go. Then an Air Force helicopter carrying a TV crew zooms in low on our left over the sea, following the runners. Wow. Quite a show.

Slowly progressed up North, past the Worli Diary, Shivaji Park, Mahim (see map).. I think it's around here that we hit the halfway point (21.05km). There was no marker, nothing to inform us that we're halfway done (my gps watch did). As of now, I was right on schedule - 3 hours, 9.45am, halfway. So, the plan was to go easy and then, if feeling good, step up the pace a bit to finish in under 6 hours. Ha!

By now of course, I had spoken on the phone with Dilsh, Sheroy and Nads a couple of times..that was nice; it definitely helps. Sherry called; said she'd meet me at the start of the Worli-Bandra Sealink. Great. Told her I'm coming along slowly..Just before the Sealink, there was an aid station that most of us took advantage of -- they really were helpful; I saw guys lying down, seated, most putting on a brave face while a volunteer massaged their sore muscles/applied sprays, ointments and what-not. I got my legs sprayed (the balm stuff); they literally forced me to drink some electrolyte-laced water "your muscles will seize if you don't. Drink it!". Yes, Sir.

Met Sherry within 2 minutes of the aid station at the bridge entry point (it's about the 25km mark here). That was nice. Took a couple of photos there. Sherry goes "how can you stop running yaar? C'mon go now". Interspersed with some choice expletives, I explained that I could, indeed, just walk and talk, even stop a bit and not just keep running, you know! :-)

With Sherry at the beginning of the Sealink

On a more serious note, it's an accepted fact that running a marathon is a fairly difficult undertaking; hence, many, most perhaps, runners do it for a reason: charity, a cause, in memory of someone they hold dear, etc. Giving this some thought, a few days back, I suddenly knew why I'd do this: in memory of my dear friend Burjor Bharda. So, here at the Sealink, I told Sherry. Now of course, I had to complete it!

Photo: Manjula, me and Ramesh.

Feeling good now, we're (Ramesh, Manjula and myself reunited -- see photo) smiling and heading down the sealink. Well, the high doesn't last all that long. It's almost 11am and burning hot. The sun blasts down  on us, there's no cover. Worse, there's no water stations! Luckily am carrying the red water bottle from the goodie bag. We took some photos, walked, jogged and tried to keep our spirits up. But that bridge is one long mother man. And hot. At the very end, Ramesh and I find some volunteers - it's about 29k-30km now. We collapse in front of them, lapping up their TLC! Water in two places- mouth and top-of-head (but not much, as they don't have all that much now and need to keep some for others- we understand). Ice packs on top of my thighs, under Ramesh's calves. Yup, we're not looking all that pretty now. By the way, on the bridge I see workers clearing away the marathon-signage, ad hoardings, etc. Hm. Then check this out: a big bus comes trundling along behind me; I can see some runners sitting inside; the guy at the door says 'do you want to get in?' And give up? No no go! I say, sounding braver than I feel, actually. He throws me a water bottle from the moving bus and I really accelerate to catch it! The things we'd do for cold water.

View from the Sealink bridge

Ice aplenty, where's the scotch??

The three of us get over the darn bridge and and are back on the Worli seaface. Somehow, it's not as much fun now. We're happy in the sense that, we're now about 32km down, and essentially know we're going to finish! So we lie to each other saying Yeah, now it's all downhill man. Yeah, right. We calculate that at our current walking pace (everything hurts too much now to keep running), we'll take, Manjula says nonchalantly, "about another 2 hours". That hit me...already out here nearly five hours, I don't want to be out here in the heat another 2 hours damnit.

Soon after, at around 12pm, the brother, Darius, messages me with some inane encouraging statement :-). I call him right away saying "hell, speak to me bro; I need your voice not a damn message!". "Oh, i thought you're running and can't speak". Hmm, people really think we (meaning guys like me) actually run all the time for 26 miles??? Anyway. I break away from Ramesh and
Manjula while speaking with Darius ("go for it bro!")... they've stopped at a water station. Feel a bit guilty but I really want to try and push it now and finish- trust you two understand!

Finally, I pass Haji Ali and am back at Heera Panna, Pedder Road. I clearly remember Burjor showing me around here when I visited, oh-so-many years back (1988 or 1989). Very fond memories (an aside: remember my suitcase being taken off the train at Dadar; I panicked ran out onto the platform, retrieved it, from the guy who kept pleading his innocence (he did not run away with it while he had it, after all)!).

Walked, bone weary, up the Kemp Fort flyover. A guy from Bangalore had a small aid station running somewhere after that...was really thankful for it..tanked up on ice water, and yes, poured it on my head as well, filled up my bottle. He offered me a sandwich, I said no, am not really feeling like eating..did not even feel like having the gel at this point. Suraj called me (in fact, twice) somewhere around here; he was in Mumbai & thought he'd catch me at the finish by now...but nope, I'm slower than that!

The Mumbai Marathon this year, as usual, had many plusses as I've mentioned already. On the negative side, it felt like it's really being organized for the elite athletes, with the "good" runners also being taken care of. Slow-coaches like myself, you're on your own buddy, after around 5 hours. No sign-age, we almost went the wrong way (me and a few others). To be fair, there were a few aid stations still operating but not enough and no med aid station at all now. Also, taxi drivers regularly tried to run us off the road by now.

Back on Marine Drive, and am in no mood to enjoy the scenery. All I think of is how hot it is now and when will the finish line show up! (it's now around 12.30pm and the temperature is about 34-35 degrees Celsius). Chatted with Amar(?), a sardaji from Rajasthan; he's in engineering college there. We jogged and walked, until I told him to just go ahead. At first he said No problem, but then the slow-coach got to him and off he went.

My feet have been burning for several hours now (yup a fairly big blister had formed on each foot).
At the expo, I picked up a few bookmarks from the RFL stall- it's really nice, with a Marathon Checklist on one face! Taking it's advice, I took along my hanky. Thank God!!
Now I would slop water on it and wipe my face...relief for a few seconds at least.

Hitting around the 37km mark, I was basically finished. Yup this was the Wall all right. Those 5km from Marine Drive back to VT felt like forever.
Near the 40th kilometre, I get a call from whom else? Sheroy. They're enjoying a coffee-brunch session at our favourite Sunday watering hole, Raintree. Sheroy says (before I can say anything as usual) "Dad! Diana fell and hurt her lip! Blood's coming!!". Yeah, Mum did fall (she's okay now, some niggling muscle pull still hurts though). Then Dilshad speaks with me. You know, in the movies, men are this macho lot, no pain can move them etc etc. But honestly I wasn't man. Speaking to her, I was virtually in tears now- it just came out.

The last kilometre was not like I had imagined it would be. Indeed, I did put on a brave front and even started to run fairly quickly when I saw (from my gps) that I'm about 500m from the finish. Tehn, somewhere near Churchgate Station I suppose, there were many intersections, circles, traffic lights, traffic. No sign-age on whcih way to go, nor was my mind really all there. At one of these junctions, I stopped to take a photo: no luck, my phone memory was full (and now was not the time to sit and decide what to delete). A foreign couple who had finished waved me on, encouraging me-- I asked them 'whci hway do i go??'. They pointed, and I went. But it got worse. I was reduced to asking directions, and some guys I asked about the finishing point had no idea what I was talking about, nor were they helpful. Of course, I probably looked like a lunatic to them, running around sweat-stained and dirty at 1.40pm in the blazing heat. Another runner waded into view, he seemed to know the way, we briefly mumbled something about no directions and I followed him. Then he slowed citing an injury, and I went ahead. I kept running, on fumes. Very close now and...another wrong turn- no volunteers, no sign-age.
Finally finally I see something- the Marathon flame, a little ahead a table and some volunteers sitting around. As I approach, still struggling along, one of them jumps up and cheers me telling the others to get up. They don't; but that's okay, I thank that guy!! I cross the finish line, throw up my arms. I click the Stop button on my watch. It reads 42.2km. I started it late, by about 600m. So I've actually run 42.8 km, about 600m more than a full marathon, in 6 hours 55 min, or so. Man. An unintentional Ultra :-)

It's peculiar, I thought I'd be elated etc but no there's really no emotion right now, that had drained out...I somehow found the Marathon Holding area and stumbled in. Almost like a hospital, people lying all over the dirty matted floor, but with a key difference: there's joy in the air, a feeling of achievment, wan smiles and good-natured shared pain. Ah, I feel like I belong. A lady at a table gives me a finisher's medal! Cool. Even though many of us did not meet the 6 hour cut-off. Hey very positive, we all really appreciated that! Ramesh and Manjula came in soon after and we were really happy! Took some photos, then took a cab back to the hotel (which was a 10min walk away).

So, yeah. An experience I'll treasure.
Of course, the real reason I was here in Mumbai and finished this (a major goal I wanted to achieve), is because the wife, Dilshad, supported me. Most people would think, yeah sure, and why not. Yes, but most people don't have to juggle a 6 year old, a 4-month old infant!, a successful financial advisory business (where clients call you at all hours) and a home! And that's not mentioning all the long training runs on weekends. Thanks Dilsh! and indeed, the whole family.

Some surprises: I really did not use my ipod as much as I thought I would; I really did find carrying my phone (with camera) and a handkerchief very useful! My typical injury-prone spots, my knees (and a groin injury) were okay- am sure the sprays helped a lot there. In fact, after the race, the back of my right upper calf/back of knee hurts (still does). Yeah, carrying the (somewhat bulky) water bottle and handkerchief also turned out a good thing.

Well, this still pales before what others have done: the winning Kenyan completed the race in 2h12m! Gulp.
A Dr. Ashis Roy was running his 100th Marathon the same day in Mumbai! We actually saw him, walking at a fast pace (he finished before I did). Two weeks later, he runs his 101st Marathon at Chandigarh. Idiot.
:-) yes am just joking and green.

Q. What's the biggest room in the world?
A. The room for improvement.

Couldn't resist - an aerial view of the route taken - see the multi-coloured line toward the top...[might have to click it to zoom in & see it fully]
(courtesy runsaturday.com and google maps).

Bangalore Ultra 2009 | 25K in the Bag!

Yup, a new PR for me -- a 25 km run. Took a looong time, 3.5 hours, but what the heck. I really didn't care, given this was my first 'ultra' run.

The B'lore Ultra 2009 edition was on Sun 15 Nov 09. Beautiful weather, cool, cloudy, even a bit of a drizzle at times to cool us off. Over 600 people participated. Was great.
And the funny thing-- even though it's definitely the most i've run so far, it didn't feel like it, what with the amazing company, chatting here & there with others, the fantastic support / aid stations etc etc.

Yeah my knees hurt a bit in the last five...well, naturally right ;-).
All in all, it was a lot of fun. Kudos to RFL. Really looking forward to trying even more!

Read more about the event, some pics, here.

Nike+ Human Race 2009 Run

Impressive organization skill!
Nike apparently had no less than 27 cities participating (more or less) simultaneously in the Nike+ Human Race 2009, a 10k event, on Sat 24 Oct. Looks like Bangalore was the city in India..lucky us!

The race started bang on time - about 3-4 min early in fact..
Saw Sreesanth (the cricketer) among the people flagging us off.

Wanted to run the 10k in an hour or under, which is definitely a challenge for me. Intended to use my Garmoin 305 watch to pace myself correctly.. and guess what. Of course, I left it behind! Driving at 3.20pm when I realized it, I could go back & possibly miss the start or forget it. Well i forgot it...
Instead, I downloaded the MyTracks Google app onto my trusty Android-Google phone & used it instead. Worked out.

So. The race was hard going, but fun, as always. This time I was very focused on my pace etc... haven't got the 'official' results yet (we all wore a timing chip), but according to my 'phone I did complete in about exactly an hour or just a bit over! Lets see...at any rate am happy with my performance..by contrast I took 1:11:20 for the same distance at the Sunfeast 10k in May this year.

Anju Bobby George gave away prizes after... the cool chicks from Golds Gym Mumbai had us perform warm-up & cool-down exercises before & after the race. :-)

Here's a link to a quick article on this event...

Also, we're already in the taper period for the big one - the Bangalore Ultra is up in about 3 weeks. Fingers crossed!

Nice run with my new toy :-)

Before you think kinky :-) -- it's my Garmin Forerunner 305 I'm talking about.
Just Super.

Won't bore everyone w/ all the tech details, but it has an excellent built-in GPS and tracks you (walk/bike/run/etc). Can then download the track, save it to a website (i'm using runsaturday.com (link below)), analyze your effort, blah blah.

Bottom line- it worked, and so did I! , had fun.

My Workout.

Map:

The mind is willing...

Yup, been a while since I've posted; though no one's really hanging onto my every word waiting for that next awesome post :-)

Improved in terms of distance running, yes. Have run the half-marathon distance (21km), now a total of 5 times, with one run in GKVK hitting the 23.4 km mark (11 July '09).

I seemed to have hit a plateau though... running anything more than 20k (heck, 18k) is, well, hell :-). It's not like the runs are getting much easier either.. Actually, I've been doing some speed-work and it definitely does help. But.. yes, always a but in there isn't it - I think the strive for speed and distance in the recent weeks has exposed another chink in my (already flagging) armour- I now seem to have a groin strain on my left leg :-(.

Can still run- today I ran 16.4k, albeit with some pain..guess I'll rest it for a while now.

So, in summary, I really do want to hit higher milestones; regrettably, the mind is willing but the flesh is weak.

PS> I've ordered a Garmin Forerunner 305 runner's watch- a superb piece of equipment, literally a must for serious runners; should reach me in about 10 days... waiting..

A trail in Cubbon Park.

From Kaiwan's Running Blog