The urge to better my FM timing was always there but it got more intense after my Chennai Marathon 2022 ,when I realised I can go below the 3:50 mark for an FM.
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| All smiles after the run. |
Training
After a memorable FM at Ladakh, my plan was to attempt a PB at Ahmedabad Marathon.However,the travel acclimatization for the Ladakh marathon and a minor injury on my left leg , had a good toll on my fitness.I decided to skip Ahmedabad and Vagamon ultra plans and instead stick to TMM in January 2024.
I started my training in mid October. Coach Siva gave me a personalized 12 week plan which had runs for 4 days a week with an average weekly mileage of 65 to 70kms.It was a mix of intervals , TEMPO and hill runs and closing each week with Long run for the weekends.
Thanks to the company of my buddies Gopal and Sathya,I was able to execute these workouts without slack
Mini races : within this cycle, I registered for 4 runs as 'mini-races' that would simulate my mind and body to handle max exertion levels.
The first race was the NEB Hyderabad Half marathon. I went to this run with minimal expectation but I was pleasanltly surprised with a strong performance. It was a good confidence boosting run. Seeing my performance, a good friend suggested that I experiment with more gels.
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| Hyderabad Half Marathon. |
Hyderabad Stadium Run: The next race was Hyderabad Stadium Run.The entire TRYSquad was at audience.Their cheering helped me hit my first sub100 HM. It was also a chance to fine tune my race fueling. I was getting more comfortable with gels.
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| Stadium Run. Finally breached 1:40 mark!! |
Coimbatore Marathon 2023 : The next mini-race was the Coimbatore Half Marathon. I was not sure if I should do a hard and short 21K or a long and easy 34k.Finally ended up with an inbetween state :) But I was so happy to finally run this race in person after missing it for 2 years!!
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| At Coimbatore Marathon 2023. |
Chennai Marathon 2024 (20miler) : I skipped the inperson event.Instead ran the distance at Hyderabad with buddies Satya and Gopal. The body was pretty fatigued with back to back travels. Satya paced me really well and I had one my strongest runs for this distance.
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| Chennai 20miler. Last Long run. |
Tapering:
The long weekend just the week before racing came as a blessing. I managed to catchup on rest and sleep before race day.
Race execution
*1-5km* Sea of runners : The flip side of a popular race like this is that it's going to be really crowded I came mentally prepared for chaos and commotion for the first few. Its easy to say 'not to push' .But the crowd and the vibe in those initial kms and the urge to catch he pacer is strong.I recalled my past mistakes and I held my head down and I managed to stay on my slowest pace for this first 5 KMs.
*5-29km* Worlli sealink !! : Except for a higher humidity the weather was better than what I had anticipated. At around 10 or 11km, we crossed Peddar road. A mini KBR climb if you may want to call it.A gnawing thought came to me that I would be encountering this place much later (35-37) with much lesser energy.
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| Worli Sealink : Favorite part !! |
*29-34km* Signs of fatigue : There was a small U turn here before I entered the Mahim area. I have fond memories of this place from the last race with cheers from kids and kindness from the residants of this area.For some reason, the organizers had decided to cover this area this time and it dampened my experience.
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| Signs of fatigue post 29km. |
The signs of fatigue started to creep in.I scolded myself for overshooting my pace a bit after the Worli sealink downhill.I saw my buddy Sunder going at a strong pace 500m ahead of me. Thanks to Sunder, he was my motivation to stay strong in this section. I decided not to break my pace until the 34K.I managed to hold my pace here.
“Endurance is not measured by someone’s first steps, it is measured by her last step.”
*35-38km* : Enter Peddar road! A test of endurance for every marathoner doing the Mumbai marathon. I took some walk breaks in this section. I felt bad that I was giving in to my mindvoice which was screaming high to 'just stop'.But the bright side was that, there were many strong and serious runners like Sunder who pushed through this section and kept running.That prevented me from taking too many breaks and I managed to shut my mind off and keep jogging.
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| Peddar Road uphill .Digging deep for strength. |
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| Last 2kms. Deep inside my pain cave |
The last 100 meters were a blur and finally found myself at the finish line A lot of emotions as I crossed the finish line!!
The clock read 3:41:57.A personal best!!
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"Was that life ? Well then ,once more " Nietzsche |
PostRun Notes:
Fueling : Unlike earlier races where I had relied more on natural food items with one or 2 gels, I stuck to gels as fuel for 100% of my race. I had non-caffeine gels for the 8,16 and 24k mark and caffeine ones at 32,36. I am still not used to the post race bloating from these gels , but gels have been really helpful to sustain my pace.
* On run : water + gels at 8, 16, 24, 32, 36.
* Post run : 🍚
Cramps : 10mins after the run, I got a major cramp that seized my left leg ..The pain was so high .It was the first time I experienced severe cramps like this.I am still figuring out the reasons for this , but I feel its part due to high pace of my run , especially on the downhill after Peddar road climb and the plated shoes. which stress different part of muscles than with a normal shoe. A humbling experience .I felt greatful that the legs held up till the finish line. It took about 45mins to recover . Thanks to Sathya and Navya for helping me !!
A word of gratitude:
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| TRY Family !! :) |
