Mumbai Marathon 2018- our annual running
pilgrimage!
Greetings and thanks for reading it
through…..
My younger son Ankush, fellow runner in
Runner’s High completed running his second marathon at Mumbai this year.
During the preceding week of rest post-
Mumbai run when life seems to be moving at a leisurely pace, I happened to make
a passing comment to Ankush about writing my own report. To my surprise, he
jumped to it, insisted wearing his trademark mischievous smile that I must get
on with it right away! He would naturally
expect me to write differently from his, thus his excitement & curiosity
was all too evident.
Brief background
For my introduction, I have served in the
Indian Army for 25 years, took a premature retirement in 2010 and made this
city as our home. Both Ankush & I joined RH in November 2012, started our
running from 10k to now running a marathon. The pure joy of running, training &
playing golf together and also, having company of each other bode well in a way
that transcended the barriers of mere father-son relationship to a more rounded
companionship. It simply made better sense to me of having a fitter, smarter
& handsome buddy for company and in keeping up with a fitness regime. A
tailor-made solution for better things to come…..!
The training for fourth marathon at
Mumbai
Coming back to my attempt this year at
Mumbai, the year 2017 preceding it was an eventful year. After coaches retreat in February 2017, the
training regimen at Runner’s High did a volte face, went in for a total
transformation from a ‘one size fits all’ to individual customization of
training schedule for every runner! This was a major shift, was aimed at
challenging one’s own capabilities. It was designed to enable runners pushing
limits in terms of their intensity in training and extent of running. After a detailed discussion with coach
Santhosh and a few other coaches, I along with coach Srini V took on very
intense regime that would push us more than we have done in the past. This would also help us understand how the
customized schedule will work for different runners. During this period of training, I have had multiple
setbacks in terms of health, partly due to the rigors of demanding training
regime and partly, upheaval in personal life caused by excessive rains in
Bangalore. Due to waterlogging of the
neighbourhood causing serious health concerns, we had to move house, change our
car, made numerous visits to Vet due to our pet dogs repeatedly taking ill and
my elder son suffered from chronic bronchitis due to seepages in his room apart
from all other family members going through health concerns. Nonetheless, I was desperately trying to keep
pace with the training regimen but somehow felt, I could not & did not come
up to the standards expected. My basic fitness at running, strength-building,
etc. had taken a hit. This was quite
upsetting and something, I was most uncomfortable with. My resolve to get past
this adversity grew even stronger, I was just waiting for things to settle down
a bit. My coach Santhosh, advised me to
settle down to a lesser intense schedule which would have allowed me a more
manageable routine. I though, wanted to buy a little more time. Come September,
winter season for marathon training started with Mumbai as the target race.
Health wise, my fitness was still not at 100 %.
I did try to keep up with the earlier regime but had to mellow down to a
lower one owing to health-related issues flaring up every now & then. The silver lining however was, now Ankush
& my routines were similar. Thus, it
allowed me to keep a tag on his progress more realistically and my own training
intensity got relatively easier! Halfway through the season I slowly yet
steadily worked my way up to reach my natural fitness. I started hitting my paces in the later half
of December but still felt that I needed a little more time in terms of
buildup. Talking of niggles, both my
knees started hurting in most of my long runs, one in every three long runs was
going bad where I had to abort. Finally,
with 2 weeks left for Mumbai I had to consult Dr Ranganath, Orthopedic Surgeon
and member-runner from RH for my sore knees. He advised complete rest of both
knees for a better management as the time now was too short to do anything more
spectacular! I also met Susan, our own physio for a deep tissue release of my
calves, hamstring. Post this session which
left me nicely(?) sore for a good 3 days on, I did a little of training in
terms of running & strengthening just to ensure things. Thankfully, the
tapering in the training schedule allowed me the respite, nothing major was
lost and allowed me to stay focused for the target race, albeit tentative about
a target finish time. Later when we had coaches’ buddy group breakfast, I came
to know even Santhosh was little apprehensive about my fitness & results
but preferred to keep quiet about it.
Reaching Mumbai
We arrived in Mumbai on the day prior to the
race day on Sunday. The idea was to reach
the hotel after collection of bib enroute, relax through the afternoon, and
maybe catch a nap after a good lunch. However,
our flight got delayed at Bangalore itself, on landing at Mumbai went straight
for bib collection and reached hotel around late afternoon. We finally managed to
catch some lunch at Mahesh Lunch home around 3.30, had to forgo the much need
nap and instead settled for a short stay at the hotel. As per the emerging
agenda on the go, caught a gorgeous sunset at Chowpatty, ate nukkad(around the
corner) paani-puri near our hotel. Had
an early dinner of curd rice(which turned out to be quite a dampener, with its
oily tadka overdone!!) with couple of fellow RH marathoners. Of course, one of
them Ramesh (Subramaninium) was still feeling quite upbeat about exploring some
more on the food front! First he went
looking for some bread, the Irani bread incidentally was the best find as it
came handy to make some pre-run snack for next morning. Then he went looking for some daal-roti to
make amends for the oily curd rice but found the place shut. We then moved to a
nearby Parsi hotel for some homemade desserts.
Finally, I had to retire as it was getting late. I needed some quiet time with Ankush to strategise
next day’s run, arrange our running gear, check garmin watches, prepare on-run nutrition
pouches, shower, etc. Finally, hit the
bed at 10.30 pm and could get a good night sleep for about 5 hours.
The Race day
Surprisingly, I found myself to be totally
calm on the day when I woke up, the sound sleep might have helped. I wasn’t really thinking of the race ahead,
neither was too bothered about Ankush & his foot injury that had left him
without running for last couple of weeks preceding the race day. Somehow I felt I was very clear about running
it- a slow buildup, finding the rhythm early on, setting off a slightly
aggressive pace yet consciously conserving energy for the last, hydration &
nutrition on the go at regular intervals & avoiding the cramping
sensation(in hamstring & calves) by a smooth rhythm, pacing by the feel of
it, etc. Everything was in order as we started & being in the enclosure ‘A’
helped in avoiding the clutter through the initial 3 kms stretch. Ankush, true
to my expectations & NOT as per my instructions vanished around 1st
km mark, never to be seen till he came & joined us from behind at 24th
Km. He seemed to have lost the energy
burst that of a wild horse and showing signs of an early fatigue as he trudged
along. I expected it, nothing new for me but just egged him to keep at it. In
the end, full marks to him running all by himself, learning through his own experience
and yet completing in a respectable time.
A great leap in faith for him & I am sure he will only get better
from here.
Coming back to my race, due to aggressive
pace that I had set off initially & with coach Prateek joining me around 7k
mark, we reached 10k & half way mark(21k) a little ahead of planned
time. With him being of equal pace, the
going became comfortable and we were exchanging little notes to keep ourselves
distracted from fatigue building up.
However, at 27k I found that I was moving ahead of him & did not
want to slow down. From there on it
became a solitary affair of running the rest of it all by myself. I hit the 30k mark at the expected time,
stretched it to 32 k…still on course for an aggressive finish. But then, sudden unexpected drop in energy
levels led to cramping sensation in lower body which made me consciously reduce
the pace. I felt if I keep the pace by
its feel then I will have avoided the physical occurrence of cramps which meant
in terms of time to complete the final 10k will have to be compromised. The trade off seemed more in order &
doable rather than going aggressive to end up with a probable, miserable
failure. One year of effort, trials
& tribulations seemed to be at stake & I was coherent enough to opt for
a slower finish so that beer at the Irish House would not taste rather
bitter(of a failure!)!! A gamble which paid off in the end. Coming back to the run, at Peddar road around
36k had to ask a lady for some coke (which probably had kept for themselves, I then
couldn’t care less) which she graciously offered and I shamelessly gulped it
down. That showed I badly needed a sugar
spike at that point of time & the drink came as a blessing. By now, I had settled into a much slower pace
of 6:15/Km and finishing in a sub-4 hour was in sight. I trudged along the
final 5 km stretch on the marine drive in full glory of a rising sun beating
down with no shade at all. I was just waiting
for final 2k turn towards Churchgate station which never seems to get over. Finally,
I pushed through the last 1km to finish in 3 hours 56 mins officially (my garmin
showed a 3.53 finish), though my personal best yet way off my aggressive target
of 3.45. It was a better bargain of the two as spelt out earlier under the
given conditions and I was not not complaining.
I found my elder son, Anish anxiously waiting for us at the finish line. He greeted me with open arms, we embraced and
then waited for other runners including Ankush from RH.
Prateek, fought some serious cramps to
finish at 4.06 & Ankush at 4.07!
Other runners from RH barring one odd had all finished, mostly achieving
their personal best which lends credence to an excellent training design &
its clinical execution. Thanks to
Santhosh for all of this & coaches Srini V & George for a remarkable
job done at its execution.
This time Tata Mumbai Marathon had given
each Marathoner two medals, one for finishing the race and other one for
inspiration, which is a first of its kind in the world of running. A well thought out gesture by Chairman, Tata
Sons N Chandrasekaran who himself ran a half marathon in
this edition!
I dedicate my inspiration medal to:
1.
Soldiers who fight for our
nation with unquestionable loyalty & at times, beyond the call of duty,
2.
Persons with disabilities who
run despite challenges & still manage to put a smile on their faces,
3.
People who have fought off serious
health setbacks to come back stronger to their running & fitness,
4.
Women of all ages who take to
running, or any other sports in our country,
5.
Runner’s High as the community,
and
6.
My family of ‘Fantastic Four’, and last but not the least…
7.
The creed of runners (to which
I belong to) who don’t take their running too seriously & avoid getting
branded as social brats!!!
Till the next run……Cheers!!
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